Senaka Weeraratna

Germany’s fascination with Buddhism 

Buddhism has been growing in popularity in Germany for the past 50 years. Some reasons for this include: 

Tolerance: Buddhism is a tolerant religion that is open to anyone. 

Buddhism is the most animal friendly World Religion.

” Buddhism ought to be an animal rights religion par excellence. It has long held that all life forms are sacred and considers kindness and compassion the highest virtues. Moreover, Buddhism explicitly includes animals in its moral universe”.

Norm Phelps

The Great Compassion: Buddhism and Animal Rights Paperback – June 1, 2004

by Norm Phelps

Compassion

Buddhists strive to show compassion and loving-kindness to all beings, including animals. 

• Non-harm

Buddhists try to do as little harm as possible to animals, and avoid killing or hurting them. 

•  
• Respect

Buddhists treat the lives of animals with equal respect to those of humans. 

•  
• Karma

Buddhists believe that cruel acts towards animals will be paid for in a future life.

Emphasis on empathy and wisdom: Buddhism’s emphasis on empathy, wisdom, and the “love your neighbor inclusive of all living beings ” credo has an enduring appeal for Germans. 

Influence of early German Buddhists: The influence of early German Buddhists, such as Anton Gueth, Karl Eugen Neumann, Dr. Paul Dahlke, and Georg Grimm, are still very much alive in present-day Germany. 

Buddha’s teachings: Germans have always been fascinated by the Buddha’s teachings. 

The remarkable commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Das Buddhistiche Haus (based in Berlin – Frohnau), founded by Dr Paul Dahlke in 1924, in both Berlin and Colombo on August 3rd and 4th, 2024, under the patronage of the Govt of Sri Lanka and the support of the German Dharmaduta Society, led to launch of new books, issue of new commemorative postage stamps and first day covers, and the holding of an International Buddhist Conference Academic in Berlin (August 04, 2024). The resident monks of DBH led by Ven. Pelane Dhamma Kusala with the support of the Sri Lanka Embassy in Berlin led by the Ambassador Ms. Varuni Muthukumarana, Manager of DBH, Mr. Tissa Weeraratna, and the lay patrons of DBH including Mr. Lankananda Perera (who acted as the Moderator of the International Buddhist Conference) and a handsome grant from Dr. Elizabeth Bhikkhuni (USA) to finance the publication of the book ‘ 100 years Das Buddhistische Haus’ ensured the success of the event. Special mention must be made of Dr. Winfrid Liebrich (Librarian, Historian and Archivist of DBH) who conceived the idea of a Festschrift (collection of writings in honour of a person or institution) to honour the DBH. His initiative finally resulted in the publication of two books in English and German. The voluntary German organization Buddhistischen Hauses in Berlin Frohnau ( led by Herr Tobias Siesmayer also supported the organizing of this memorable event.

The growth of Buddhism in Germany is a testimony to the pioneering efforts of German nationals and latter day Buddhist Missions from the East particularly from Sri Lanka namely the German Dharmaduta Society founded by Asoka Weeraratna that rescued Das Buddhistiche Haus (then in a dilapidated condition)by buying it (assisted by a grant from a German Buddhist Walther Schmits) and helped to keep the flame of the Dhamma alive in Germany. 

Buddhism has come to stay in Germany and is now poised to become the fulcrum of Buddhism in Europe.

German Dharmaduta Society

 Das Buddhistische Haus (1924 – 2024)

Over 40 Buddhist Monks from all over the world but mainly from Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhist Temples

based in various European Cities attended the event. Here is the Photo of the bulk of the visiting monks

taken in the compound of the Das Buddhistische Haus in Berlin – Frohnau. 

The lay person in front is Mr. Tissa Weeraratna (caretaker of the Temple and nephew of Asoka Weeraratna (founder of the German Dharmaduta Society)

Royal Thai Embassy in Berlin participated in the International Buddhist Conference Academic to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of Das Buddhistische Haus, the first Buddhist House in Europe.

https://berlin.thaiembassy.org/de/content/das-buddhistische-haus-2?cate=63e3b66399f31647f419e342

100 Jahre Buddhistisches Haus in Reinickendorf

https://www.berlin.de/ba-reinickendorf/aktuelles/pressemitteilungen/2024/pressemitteilung.1473448.php

https://x.com/DCRGunawardena/status/1819781697313079312

The 100th anniversary of Das Buddhistische Haus in Berlin, also known as the Berlin Buddhist Vihara, was commemorated at Temple Trees on August 03, 2024

The highlight of the celebration was the launch of the book titled ‘100 Years—Das Buddhistische Haus’. The publication, compiled by the German Dharmaduta Society, features a collection of articles that explore both historical and contemporary perspectives, drawing material primarily from Sri Lanka and Germany.

https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240804/news/berlin-buddhist-vihara-centenary-celebration-held-at-temple-trees-566176.html

German Embassy Colombo 

edoSnrspot68hiiaa45aa9tut6mffm thggAtftih01l5h11uut576us9t3g  ·

Celebrating a Century of Cultural Harmony

It was an honor to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of Das Buddhistische Haus in Berlin-Frohnau or the Berlin Buddhist Vihara, a symbol of Germany’s multicultural and inclusive spirit.

Founded by Dr. Paul Dhalke in 1924, this historic site has served as a vital hub for Buddhist laypersons and monks from both Sri Lanka and Germany, fostering deep connections and cultural exchange.

Ambassador Dr. Felix Neumann highlighted Germany’s long-standing respect for diverse beliefs and the strong ties between Germany and Sri Lanka dating back to even 100 years, nurtured through cultural and religious exchanges.

The event was held under the patronage of Prime Minister Hon. Dinesh Gunawardena, and the German Embassy extend s its heartfelt gratitude to the German Dharmaduta Society for their unwavering dedication to promoting interfaith and cross-cultural understanding and for the launch of its book, “100 Years: Das Buddhistische Haus (1924-2024).”

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=814224084225680&set=pcb.814224650892290

German Ambassador Dr. Felix Neumann

100 Years Das Buddhistische Haus : Berlin – Frohnau ( 1924-2024 ) by

GERMAN DHARMADUTA SOCIETY

https://www.vijithayapa.com/product/view/32346

Prof. Hudson McLean

Is this How the Richest Person on the Planet Should Behave in Public or even in Private?

Please Read His Comments and You Decide!

For context, Musk was responding to a post about a Der Spiegel article that compared him to a media mogul who helped Hitler climb to power.

It was hardly Musk’s first, and certainly not his most offensive, statement involving the Third Reich or their White supremacist progeny. Just last month, 

Musk promoted Tucker Carlson’s widely condemned interview with a Nazi apologist who said the murder of Jews in concentration camps was humane” and that Winston Churchill was the chief villain” of  World War II. 

Musk later deleted his X post that called the interview very interesting” and worth watching,” per the Independent.

Rich & Sick!

Express Your Opinion – Read What Others Say!
The Independent Interactive Voice of Sri Lanka on the Internet.

Please visit -: http://www.lankaweb.com/

Prof. Hudson McLean

“Puppet on a String!”
https://lnkd.in/gGvzP2-8
New York Rep. Dan Goldman As the shadow Pres-Elect, Elon Musk is now calling the shots for House Rs on government funding while Trump hides in Mar-a-Lago behind his handlers,” Goldman wrote. It increasingly seems like we’re in for 4 years of an unelected oligarch running the country by pulling on his puppet’s strings.”

Express Your Opinion – Read What Others Say!
The Independent Interactive Voice of Sri Lanka on the Internet.

Please visit -: http://www.lankaweb.com/

Dr. Sarath Panduwawala and Dr Ruwan M Jayatunge

The ‘Post-War Period’ can be defined as the years following a major war, characterized by significant changes in the individuals as well as in the society. The Eelam War in Sri Lanka erupted in 1983 and ended in 2009. Following these years, Sri Lankan society experienced a collective trauma. The Sri Lankan conflict caused widespread human suffering and population displacement. Many individuals were physically and mentally traumatized, and war trauma still echoes in society.

Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community (WHO). Optimal mental health is important to personal, community, and socio-economic development. Prolonged armed conflict can extinguish the mental well-being of people.

There is a high prevalence of mental disorders in post-conflict situations. War has a catastrophic effect on the health and well -being of nations (Murthy & Lakshminarayana, 2006). War creates acute and long-lasting mental health problems (Kastrup,2006). Combat trauma has negative social and clinical outcomes. As a result of war-related collective trauma, people experience lower levels of mental well-being. The armed conflict in Sri Lanka has caused negative consequences in the general population (Somasundaram & Sivayokan,1994). Following war trauma, social equilibrium is shattered and it affected the mental health continuum.  

The Eelam War impacted both military and civilian lives and destroyed the social fabric. War-affected regions were left with weakened infrastructure, increased poverty, and dramatically under-functioning education and healthcare systems (Dissanayake et al., 2023). Armed conflicts produce a wide series of distressing consequences, including death, all of which impact negatively on the lives of survivors (Carpiniello ,2023). The Eelam War drastically and detrimentally affected the mental health of the people, and many victims still need treatment and psychosocial support. Although the war in Sri Lanka is over, the communities are still affected by the postwar consequences. 

There is poverty, wrecked social capital, and mental and psychosocial disorders in conflict settings. Carpiniello (2023) highlights a series of war-related, migratory and post-migratory stressors that contribute to short- and long-term mental health issues in the internally displaced, asylum seekers and refugees. Following war trauma, social violence, child abuse, high rates of substance misuse, breakdown in relationships, and mood disorders, grief symptoms follow, and the risk of suicide increases. Furthermore, unemployment, low productivity and poor coping strategies are evident. There is a significant association between psychiatric disorders (depression and PTSD) and disability among war victims. Some of the war victims have greater engagement in risk-taking behaviors and a tendency towards re traumatization. The collective trauma in Sri Lanka can lead to a generational trauma, and it can have a ripple effect beyond the immediate victims.

The burden of mental disorders is high in conflict-affected populations (Charlson   Et al., 2019). The war has disintegrated the existing protective networks in the communities. The community leaders have lost their designated positions in society. Due to poor social support, war-affected people are still struggling to build their lives. They experience high levels of psychosocial problems. The mental health consequences caused by armed conflicts are still underestimated in Sri Lanka. People are still experiencing the consequences of war, and it is essential to build resilience and establish supportive environments for mental health in war-affected areas with sustainable development goals.

Mental health can play an important role in effective post-conflict reconciliation and reconstruction (Baingana et al., 2005). Murthy and team (2006) indicate that populations in war and conflict situations should receive mental health care as part of the total relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction processes. Social support and resilience could be protective factors against mental health issues prevailing in victims (Dissanayake et al., 2023). Organizing mental health services in conflict and in post-conflict situations requires many skills and complex work across sectors (Piachaud, 2007) and it is a formidable challenge for mental health professionals. Culturally sensitive interventions have to be developed to meet the mental health needs of the population (Ghosh et al., 2004). Strengthening Coping strategies and promoting maternal psychosocial well-being in war-affected regions.  Provide fruitful ways of coping with the conflict situations.

In post-conflict situations there are six levels of interventions needed: first, increasing resilience; second, making the family the focus for effective support; third, encouraging community solidarity and traditional methods of support: fourth, using the media in mental health promotion; fifth, the integration of mental health skills of caring for the population with general services; and sixth, focusing on long-rather than short-term measures. (Ghoshet al.,2004).

Improving mental health facilities and providing psychosocial support for war affected communities are important. Mental health care must be prioritized, and effective community interventions should be implemented. Psychosocial rehabilitation is important, and these programs will encourage empowerment, self-management and autonomy in daily activities. These interventions would mitigate the harms caused by the armed conflict in Sri Lanka.

 (Dr Sarath Panduwawala is a retired Consultant Psychiatrist who served as a visiting psychiatrist of the Sri Lanka Army)

References

Baingana F. Fannon I. Thomas R. Mental health and conflicts – Conceptual framework and approaches. Washington: World Bank; 2005.

Carpiniello B. (2023). The Mental Health Costs of Armed Conflicts-A Review of Systematic Reviews Conducted on Refugees, Asylum-Seekers and People Living in War Zones. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 6;20(4):2840. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20042840.

Charlson F, van Ommeren M, Flaxman A, Cornett J, Whiteford H, Saxena S. (2019).New WHO prevalence estimates of mental disorders in conflict settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet.  20;394(10194):240-248. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30934-1.

 Dissanayake L, Jabir S, Shepherd T, Helliwell T, Selvaratnam L, Jayaweera K, Abeysinghe N, Mallen C, Sumathipala A. (2023).The aftermath of war; mental health, substance use and their correlates with social support and resilience among adolescents in a post-conflict region of Sri Lanka. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2023 Aug 31;17(1):101. doi: 10.1186/s13034-023-00648-1. PMID: 37653394; PMCID: PMC10472617.

Ghosh N. Mohit A. Murthy SR. Mental health promotion in post-conflict countries. J Roy Soc Promot Health. 2004;124:268–270. doi: 10.1177/146642400412400614.

Kastrup MC. Mental health consequences of war: gender specific issues. World Psychiatry. 2006 Feb;5(1):33-4. PMID: 16757990; PMCID: PMC1472268.

Murthy RS, Lakshminarayana R. (2006).Mental health consequences of war: a brief review of research findings. World Psychiatry.  ;5(1):25-30. PMID: 16757987; PMCID: PMC1472271.

Piachaud J. Mass violence and mental health–training implications. Int Rev Psychiatry. 2007 Jun;19(3):303-11. doi: 10.1080/09540260701349514. PMID: 17566908.

Somasundaram DJ, Sivayokan S. War trauma in a civilian population. Br J Psychiatry. 1994 Oct;165(4):524-7. doi: 10.1192/bjp.165.4.524. PMID: 7804667.

Xinhua

COLOMBO, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) — China and Sri Lanka expressed willingness to jointly advance high-quality development of Belt and Road during meetings held here between Sri Lankan leaders and a senior Chinese political advisor.

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya met with Qin Boyong, vice chairperson of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, executive vice chairperson of the Central Committee of the China National Democratic Construction Association, on Wednesday and Tuesday, respectively.

Qin said China was willing to deepen the high-quality development of Belt and Road with Sri Lanka, and practical cooperation under the strategic guidance of the heads of state of the two countries, to push forward their strategic cooperative partnership featuring sincere mutual assistance and a lasting friendship.

The Sri Lankan leaders thanked China for its assistance to the economic and social development of the country, saying that the new government will firmly adhere to the one-China principle and is willing to maintain high-level exchanges with China, jointly build the Belt and Road with high quality and deepen cooperation in various fields.

Qin, whose delegation visited Sri Lanka from Monday to Thursday, also met with Sri Lanka’s parliament speaker Jagath Wickramaratne.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Courtesy France 24

New Delhi laid out a red carpet welcome for President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who is on his first state visit outside the country. The President was ceremoniously welcomed by Indian President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rashtrapati Bhavan, where he received a 21-gun salute and inspected a guard of honour presented by the Indian armed forces. 

During his visit, he also met, among others, Indian foreign finance ministers and health ministers. He also visited the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial at Rajghat, where he planted an Ashoka tree to mark the occasion.

Allaying Indian Anxieties

The symbolism of the visit is as important as its substance.   For the JVP, which he hails from, this completes its transformation from runway anti-Indianism of its past, from Wijeweera’s text books on Indian expansionism to violent opposition to Indo-Sri Lanka Peace accord in 1988-89- to a party now in the state power and confronted with foreign policy realism.This is also the beginning of its socialisation in the high politics of foreign policy in the international system. Traditionally, the Sri Lankan Presidents, when elected, ,have made India the first stop of their diplomacy. President Dissanayake followed that tradition. 

In Delhi, the President reassured not to allow our land to be used in any way in a manner that is detrimental to the interest of India. The cooperation with India will certainly flourish, and I want to reassure our continued support for India.”

This is a commitment that successive Sri Lankan governments have made. However, considering that the JVP/NPP are untested newcomers, such symbolic reassurance will have an added weight. More so, some Indian foreign news commentators, had been harping on JVP’s perceived Marxist bent, which they have pre supposed would be more amenable to Communist China and its historical record during the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord. 

Since these pundits, and not the steller old guard, seem to be the source of foreign policy wisdom to the aspiring Indians, and also due to shared ideological predisposition may have ears of the decision-making circles, President Dissanayake’s reassurances may help alleviate certain Indian anxieties which could otherwise mothball.

Symbolism for India

For New Delhi itself, the symbolism of the visit is not missed. It is a considerable feat in India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ Policy, which has seen strains in the political change in Bangladesh recently and in the election of the government of Mohamed Muizzu in the Maldives previously. The raptures in the latter relationship seemed to have patched up with Muizzu’s state visit to India in October, but the essential Islamist character and worldview of the ruling establishment in the Male would continue to hold reservations about India. Whereas in Sri Lanka, New Delhi now has a more amenable leader, whose amenability may be due to a realistic understanding of Sri Lanka’s economic challenges but also due to suddenly being thrust upon with the supreme political power of the state with little practical experience.

India read the Sri Lankan election better than most of us, including the SJB and UNP pundits, to predict the NPP candidate’s victory. Mr Dissanayake had visited India before the elections at the invitation of Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar. 

If symbolism is the key to the President’s state visit, another element is of greater significance for the new government in Sri Lanka.

By hosting President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on a state visit, New Delhi is legitimising the new administration of Sri Lanka in the international system. One might say elections accord legitimacy. They do, indeed. However, how far and fast it transpires in the international system is a different story. The major international players, with their ideological bias, when hear of a Marxist-leaning President of a small state, are less forthcoming to embrace him. 

However, one perk of being a great power, which India surely is, is the ability to grant international recognition- or rescind it- togenerally less powerful states. This is a practice the United States indulge in quite often.  India, being the preeminent power in the Indian Ocean region, a key ally of the United States and seen as a bulwark against China, has the ability not only to accord recognition, but also to influence ideologically aligned major and small players to do so. One might say the recent invitation to the President by the UAE, a key Indian partner, maybe in line with these developments. In terms of the substance of the visit, it is all about the continuation.The agreed programmes and action plans look like Ranil Wickremesinghe visited New Delhi to preschedule it.
Some areas of cooperation highlighted in the joint statement are as follows:

Building Connectivity

i. While expressing satisfaction at the resumption of the passenger ferry service between Nagapattinam and Kankesanthurai, the leaders agreed that officials should work towards the early recommencement of the passenger ferry service between Rameshwaram and Talaimannar.

ii. Explore the possibility of jointly working on rehabilitation of Kankesanthurai Port in Sri Lanka, which will be implemented with grant assistance from India.

Energy Development

i. Take steps towards the implementation of the solar power project in Sampur and further augment its capacity as per the requirements of Sri Lanka.

ii. Continue consideration of the several proposals which are in different stages of discussion including:

(a) Supply of LNG from India to Sri Lanka.
(b) Establishment of a high-capacity power grid interconnection between India and Sri Lanka.
(c) Cooperation amongst India, Sri Lanka and UAE to implement a multi-product pipeline from India to Sri Lanka for supply of affordable and reliable energy.
(d) Joint development of offshore wind power potential in Palk Straits, while prioritising environmental protection, including fauna and flora.

iv. The development of Trincomalee as a regional energy and industrial hub.

Energy connectivity through pipelines and power grid connectivity has been a key area in recent Indo-Sri Lanka cooperation. The key JVP/NPP leaders at times opposed those proposed measures, citing loss of energy independence. Yet, new responsibilities seem to have mellowed the opposition.

Loss of Domestic Friction 

The Indian policy of the new administration represents the continuation of the past, which is welcoming news. There is probably another reason why the new government could better harness its relations with India than its predecessors.That is the erosion of domestic friction against greater economic and security cooperation with India. One of the major actors of that friction itself of the JVP itself. The other, like Wimal Weerawansa and political opportunists in the Pohottuwa, have been discarded into the dustbin.

That would release the new administration, provided it has control over its own party members, from substantial domestic pressure that always stood on the path of greater cooperation with India.

However, the continuation of the policies of the predecessor is the least one could expect from the new administration. It should view New Delhi as a window of opportunity, more so now that India is expected to be the fastest-growing large economy in the coming decade. It should come out of the shadows of protectionism and link the Sri Lankan economy with India through networks of interdependency.It should seek Indian government assistance to woo world-beating Indian tech companies to open shops in Sri Lanka and enter into the much delayed Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement. It should woo major Indian manufacturing companies and offer land on long-termleases to set up economic zones, similar to the practices adopted by forward-looking emerging economies like Vietnam.

Now that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has taken the first symbolic step forward, he should follow up with more substance, leading to greater economic cooperation and enabling Sri Lanka to benefit from rising prosperity in India. 

He might also have to stop listening to the usual idiots in local chattering classes, whose world view has not changed since the 1960s.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Colombo, December 18 (Daily Mirror)- Preparations are underway to warmly welcome President Anura Kumara Dissanayake during his future visit to China, Vice Chairperson of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Qin Boyong said.

She said this during a meeting held with the President at the Parliamentary Complex today, the Presidential Media Division (PMD) said.

The President expressed his gratitude to the Chinese government for its support during the debt restructuring as well as in the face of the economic crisis. 

He stated that his appreciation extends to China’s assistance in the debt restructuring programme and its provision of loans to Sri Lanka during the economic challenges.

President Dissanayake made these remarks during a meeting with Ms. Qin Boyong, Vice Chairperson of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), held today (18) at the Parliamentary Complex.

Ms. Qin Boyong noted that China looks forward to continuing its work with the new government of Sri Lanka, further strengthening the longstanding relationship between the two countries.

The President also expressed his gratitude for China’s assistance during Sri Lanka’s disaster situations and the provision of school uniforms for children. He emphasised the continued need for China’s support in the future.

President Dissanayake highlighted the importance of completing the unfinished sections of the Central Expressway under Chinese management and expressed hopes to expedite the commencement of supply hubs and institutional projects centered around the Colombo Port City and Hambantota District.

Ms. Qin Boyong stated that there are plans to restart maritime research activities, which were temporarily halted for various reasons, along with initiating relevant projects.

Furthermore, she mentioned that Chinese companies intend to establish themselves in the Hambantota investment zone, aiming to provide Sri Lanka with better global access.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

-There was no word from the Prime Minister explaining why she turned up for the event late, keeping the Ambassador and the officials waiting for an hour

Colombo, Dec 19 (Daily Mirror) – Last week, the government faced a diplomatic blunder when Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya accepted a consignment of school uniforms from China and ended up thanking the ‘Republic of China’ which Taiwan is officially known as instead of the ‘People’s Republic of China’, in the presence of the Chinese Ambassador and other officials.

Taiwan has been China’s arch rival and Sri Lanka too has no diplomatic ties with Taiwan and in fact does not recognize the breakaway state.

To top it off, Prime Minister Amarasuriya turned up an hour late for the event, keeping the Ambassador waiting at the Colombo Port. The Ambassador eventually went back to the Embassy and returned when the Prime Minister was about to attend the event.

This matter was exposed by our sister paper The Sunday Times over the weekend. The Daily Mirror reproduced it, giving all credit to The Sunday Times.

The Daily Mirror learns that while a ‘slip of the tongue’ is possible by any individual, what was not expected was that instead of owning up to her mistake, the Prime Minister instead saw it fit to use up her Parliament time to blame the media for her mistake.

On Tuesday, in her statement in Parliament, the Prime Minister said that while the government has taken steps to provide the full school uniform requirements for 2025 with the support of the Chinese government and while unfortunately, the government was working tirelessly to resolve issues, opposition groups were trying to sabotage their efforts.

The Prime Minister further went on to criticize the coverage given to this event by “certain media groups”, alleging that it was an attempt to create issues between Sri Lanka and China.

The opposition and certain media institutions aligned with them are trying to create the impression that our government’s international relations are weak. However, all such attempts have been consistently defeated,” she said.

Well, one would have expected Prime Minister Amarasuriya to utilize her time in Parliament admitting her mistake but it was most unfortunate to see her blame the opposition and media for her slip of the tongue. In addition, there was no word from the Prime Minister explaining why she turned up for the event late, keeping the Ambassador and the officials waiting for an hour.

To err is human and while we accept it, blaming others for one’s fault is not. The Daily Mirror learns that Prime Minister Amarasuriya had no intention to cause a diplomatic blunder and even regretted her mistake and apologized to the Chinese Ambassador thereafter.

The matter should have graciously ended there. But instead, the media was always blamed for reporting the truth.

උපුටා ගැන්ම  ලංකා ලීඩර්

විදුලි බලය අතිරික්තයක් දැනට තිබුණත් අනාගතයේ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ඇතිවන විදුලි බල ඉල්ලුම හමුවේ සැපිරිය නොහැකි තත්වයට පත්වෙන බවත් එවිට ඉන්දියාවෙන් විදුලිය මිලදී ගැනීමට සිදුවන තත්වයට පත් වන බවත් හිටපු පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී විමල් වීරවංශ මහතා පවසයි.

ඒ මහතා මේ අදහස් පල කළේ ඊයේ (18) ජාතික නිදහස් පෙරමුණේ මූලස්ථානයේදී ජනාධිපති අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක මහතාගේ ඉන්දියානු සංචාරය සම්බන්ධයෙන් අදහස් දැක්වීමට  පැවැති මාධ්‍ය සාකච්ඡාවකට එක් වෙමිනි.

එහිදී වැඩිදුරටත් අදහස් දක්වමින් ඒ මහතා පැවසුවේ ඉන්දියාවේ අදානි සමූහ ව්‍යාපාරයෙන් විදුලිය ලබාගත් බංගලාදේශය විදුලි බිල ගෙවා ගත නොහැකි තත්වයට පත් වී රටම කළුවරේ වැටෙන තත්වයට පත්වූ බවයි.

එහිදී වැඩිදුරටත් අදහස් දැක්වූ ඒ මහතා ඉන්දියාවට අවශ්‍ය ශ්‍රී ලංකාව දේශපාලන වශයෙන්, සංස්කෘතිමය වශයෙන් බලශක්තිමය වශයෙන් ඉන්දියාව මත යැපෙන තත්වයට පත් කිරීමටයි යනුවෙන් පැවසූහ. විමල් වීරවංශ මහතාගේ සම්පූර්ණ මාධ්‍ය සාකච්ඡාව පහතින්…

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1268529291135922

උපුටා ගැන්ම  ලංකා ලීඩර්

මැතිවරණ සමයේ දී රට රවටමින් උපයන විට ගෙවීමේ බදු සීමාව රු. ලක්ෂ දෙකක් කරන බව පැවසූ අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක මැතිතුමා ඊයේ(18) එය රු. 150,000 ක් කරන බව නිවේදනය කළ බව මාතලේ දිස්ත්‍රික් පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රීණී රෝහිණී කවිරත්න මහත්මිය පවසයි. එලෙසම අදාළ බද්ද ගෙවන පුද්ගලයින් 121,000 කට එමගින් වාසියක් සැලසෙන බව ඇය අවධාරණය කරන්නීය. මාසිකව හෝ අර්ධ වාර්ෂිකව තැම්පත් පොලිය ආහාර, බෙහෙත් ඇතුළු දෛනික අවශ්‍යතාවයන් සඳහා ලබා ගන්නා ලක්ෂ 50 කට ආසන්න පිරිසකට රැඳවුම් බදු බර පැටවීම සහාසික ක්‍රියාවක් බව ඇය අවධාරණය කරන්නීය. ඇය එලෙස පවසන්නේ පුවත් පත් නිවේදනයක් නිකුත් කරමිනි.

ඇය නිකුත් කළ පුවත්පත් නිවේදනය පහතින්…

බදු සංශෝධනය – අටුව කඩලා පුටුව හැදීම

ආණ්ඩුව විසින් ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කර ඇති බදු සංශෝධන මගින් උපයන විට ගෙවීමේ බද්ද (PAYE TAx) ගෙවූ 121,000 කට සහන ලබා දී, ස්ථීර සහ ඉතිරිකිරීමේ ගිණුම් ලක්ෂ 161 කට බලපාන පරිදි රැදවුම් බද්ද 5% කින් ඉහත දමා ඇස්බැන්දුමකින් රටම රවටා තිබේ.

මැතිවරණ සමයේ දී රට රවටමින් උපයන විට ගෙවීමේ බදු සීමාව රු. ලක්ෂ දෙකක් කරන බව පැවසූ අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක මැතිතුමා ඊයේ එය රු. 150,000 ක් කරන බව නිවේදනය කළේය. අදාළ බද්ද ගෙවන පුද්ගලයින් 121,000 කට එමගින් වාසියක් සැලසේ.

ඒ සමඟම රජය දැනට 5% ක් වන රැදවුම් බද්ද 10% දක්වා වැඩි කර ඇත. ලංකාවේ ඉතිරිකිරීමේ ගිණුම් ලක්ෂ 161 ක් පවතින අතර එයින් ගිණුම් ලක්ෂ 50 ක් මාසික ක්‍රියාකාරී මට්ටමේ පවතී. මේ සියළුම ගිණුම් සඳහා ලැබෙන පොලිය 5% ක බදු වැඩිවීමට යටත් කොට ඇත.

වත්මන් අර්බුදය හමුවේ මෙරට ආර්ථිකය දිගින් දිගටම හැකිලෙමින් තිබේ. සමාජයේ පහළ මැද පන්තිය සිය දෛනික අවශ්‍යතාවයන් සපුරා ගැනීමට නොහැකිව ලත වෙමින් ඇත. එසේ තිබිය දී, රටේ පහළම ආදායම ලබන පිරිසක් ද ඇතුළත් වන ලක්ෂ 161 ක් වන සියළුම ඉතිරි කිරීමේ ගිණුම් හිමියන්ට අතිරේක බදු බරක් පැණවීම කිසි ලෙසකින් හෝ අනුමත කළ නොහැකිය.

මාසිකව හෝ අර්ධ වාර්ෂිකව තැම්පත් පොලිය ආහාර, බෙහෙත් ඇතුළු දෛනික අවශ්‍යතාවයන් සඳහා ලබා ගන්නා ලක්ෂ 50 කට ආසන්න පිරිසකට රැඳවුම් බදු බර පැටවීම සහාසික ක්‍රියාවකි.

රෝහිණී කවිරත්න මාතලේ දිස්ත්‍රික් පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී

උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස්

ලාල්කාන්ත හා විජේපාල ක්‍රමය වෙනුවට වන සතුන්, ගොවියා සහ වගා බිම් සුරකින ක්‍රමයක් අවශ්‍යය

සජීව චාමිකර
ඉඩම් හා කෘෂිකර්ම ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ ව්‍යාපාරය

වගා හානි කරන වන සතුන්ට පෞද්ගලික වගා බිමක දී ඕනෑ ම ක්‍රියාමාර්ගයක් ගැනීමට කිසිදු නෛතික බාධාවක් නැති බවට කෘෂිකර්ම, පශු සම්පත්, ඉඩම් හා වාරිමාර්ග අමාත්‍ය කේ. ඩී. ලාල්කාන්ත පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ දී සිදු කළ නීති විරෝධී ප්‍රකාශයත් සමඟ සමාජය තුළ වගා හානි කරන වන සතුන් පිළිබඳ ව විශාල ආන්දෝලනයක් ඇති විය. ඒ අතරතුර මහජන ආරක්ෂක හා පාර්ලිමේන්තු කටයුතු අමාත්‍ය ආනන්ද විජේපාල සඳහන් කරන්නේ කුරුණෑගල දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ සිටින සියලූ ම අලි – ඇතුන් හමුදා මෙහෙයුමකින් විල්පත්තුව ජාතික වනෝද්‍යානයට ගෙන ගොස් ගාල් කරන බව ය. ඒ සඳහා වන සැලැසුම් මේ වන විට සකස් කරමින් පවතී. මේ සියලු කරුණු දෙස බැලූ වීට පෙනී යන්නේ වත්මන් ආණ්ඩුව විද්‍යාත්මක, පුළුල් ප්‍රතිපත්තිමය හා තිරසර, ප්‍රායෝගික විසදුම් ලබා දිය යුතු ඉතා ම සංවේදී ගැටළුවලට අවිද්‍යාත්මක හා අමනෝඥ විසදුම් ලබා දීමට ක්‍රියා කරමින් සිටින බව ය.

වන සතුන් ගෙන් සිදු වන වගා හානි පාලනය කිරීම, වන සතුන් බහුල ව වගා බිම්වලට පිවිසීමට බලපෑ හේතු සාධකවලට පිළියම් සෙවීම පමණක් නොව සමස්ත කෘෂිකර්ම අර්බුදයට ම විසදුම් සෙවිය යුතු බව අප දනිමු. මේ නිසා පසුගිය ඉතිහාසය පුරා ම අප මේ පිළිබඳ ව අඛණ්ඩ ව අරගල කළෙමු. පසුගිය කාලය තුළ බලයට පත් වූ ආණ්ඩු විසින් සිදු කරන ලද වැරදි සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘති, වැරදි ආයෝජන ක්‍රියාවලීන් සහ ඒ සඳහා වන වැරදි ප්‍රතිපත්ති හා අනපණත් සංශෝධනය කිරීම ඇතුළු බෝහෝ හානි කර ක්‍රියා සඳහා අප ගොවි ජනතාව සමඟ එක් ව ඊට එරෙහිව නැගී සිටියේ මේ සියල්ලේ ම අවසාන ප්‍රතිඵලය ගොවිතැන හා ගොවියා අර්බුදයකට මුහුණ දීම බව ඉතා ම හොඳින් දන්නා නිසා ය. නමුත් වගකීම් විරහිත ව හා ගැටළු ව නිවැරදිව තේරුම් නොගැනීම මත ව්‍යවස්ථාදායකය තුළ මෙවන් ප්‍රකාශ නිකුත් කිරීමෙන් හා අමාත්‍යවරු සතු බලය වැරදි ලෙස භාවිත කිරීමෙන් පෙනී යන්නේ වත්මන් ආණ්ඩුව ජනතාව සමඟ සම්මුති ගත වූ පොහොසත් රටක් ලස්සන ජීවිතයක්” ප්‍රතිපත්ති ප්‍රකාශනයේ සඳහන් වන ශිෂ්ඨසම්පන්න පුරවැසියෙක්, දියුණු මානව සම්පතක් මෙන් ම නීතියේ ආධිපත්‍යය සුරකින සමාජයක් ගොඩනැගීමේ පරමාදර්ශය ආණ්ඩුවේ අමාත්‍යවරුන් විසින් ම බිඳ දමන බව ය. මීට ප්‍රථම බලයට පත් වූ ජාවාරම්කාරී, ඒකාධිපති ආණ්ඩු පරාජය කර ප්‍රගතිශීලී ආණ්ඩුවක් ගොඩනැගීමට ජනතාව සතු ව්‍යවස්ථාදායක බලය බහුතර ජනතාවක් වත්මන් ආණ්ඩුවට ලබා දුන්නේ ජනතාව සමඟ ඇති කර ගන්නා සම්මුති කෙටි කලකින් බිඳ දමන ආණ්ඩුවක් ගොඩනැගීමට නොව රටේ පවතින ගැටළු සඳහා ජනතාව සමඟ සාකච්ඡා කර, විද්‍යාත්මක පදනමක් මත, සැබෑ තිරසර විසදුම් ලබා දෙන පාලන ව්‍යුහයක් ගොඩනැගීමට ය.

වන සතුන් වගා බිම්වලට පැමිණීමට හේතු

වන සතුන් වගා හානි කරන තත්ත්වයට පරිවර්ථනය වූයේ අප ගේ වැරදි ක්‍රියා මාර්ග හේතුවෙන් බව අප පිළිගත යුතු ය. ස්වාභාවික පරිසර පද්ධති විනාශය හා ඒවා ඛණ්ඩනය කරමින් ජනාවාස, වාණිජ වගා බිම් හා සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘති ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීම, වන සතුන් ගේ වාසස්ථාන හෝ ආහාර නොවන ඇකේසියා, පයිනස්, යුකැලිප්ටස්, තේක්ක වැනි වන වගාවන් ඇති කිරීම මෙන් ම ඒක භෝග වාණිජ වගාවන් ලෙස තේ, රබර්, කටුපොල්, උක් හා බඩඉරිගු වැනි වගාවන් ව්‍යාප්ත කිරීම සහ වන සතුන් ගේ වාසස්ථාන තුළ එම සතුන්ට වාසස්ථාන හා ආහාර නොවන ආක්‍රමණික ශාක ලෙස යෝධ නිදිකුම්බා, ගඳපාන, ගිනිතණ, කටුපතොක්, කහදියපර, කලපු අන්දර, කටු උණ වැනි ශාක ව්‍යාප්ත වීම වැනි තත්ත්වයන් රිලවුන්, දඩුලේනන්, ඉත්තෑවන්, වල් ඌරන් හා මොනරුන් ගේ වාසස්ථාන හා ගොදුරු බිම් අහිමි වී වගා බිම්වලට පැමිණ වගා හානි සිදු කරන තත්ත්වයට පත් වීමට හේතු සාදක වී ඇත. මීට අමතර ව ස්වාභාවික වාසස්ථාන සීමා වීම හා ඛණ්ඩනය වීම නිසා මෙම සතුන් ගේ ස්වාභාවික විලෝපිකයන් සීමා වීමෙන් මෙම සතුන් ගේ ගහනයන් වර්ධනය වීම ද සිදු වේ. එපමණක් නොව වන සතුන් ගේ වාසස්ථාන ආශ්‍රිත ව කසළ රැඳවීම මෙන් ම සංචාරක හා ආගමික වන්දනා ක්‍රියාවලීන්වල දී ස්වාභාවික පරිසරයේ ජීවත් වන, වන සතුන්ට බාහිරින් ආහාර ලබා දීම ඇතුළු ක්‍රියා නිසා ස්වාභාවික පරිසරයෙන් පිටතට පැමිණෙන මෙම සතුන් වගා බිම්වලට පිවිසීම වර්ධනය වීම සිදු වී ඇත. මෙම සාදක සියල්ල ම වගා හානි කරන වන සතුන් ඇති වීමට හා ගොවි බිම්වල ඵලදායීතාව බිඳ වැටීමට හේතු වී තිබේ. එබැවින් විසදුම් සෙවිය යුත්තේ මේ සියල්ලට ම ය.

වන විනාශය හා සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘති හේතුවෙන් වන සතුන් වගා බිම්වලට පැමිණීම වර්ධනය වීම

ලිඛිත සාධකවලට අනුව යටත්විජිත යුගයේ වර්ෂ 1881 වන විට මෙරට වනාන්තර ආවරණය මුළු භූමි ප්‍රමාණයෙන් සියයට 84 ක් විය. වර්ෂ 1900 දී එය සියයට 70 දක්වා පහළ වැටී තිබුණි. ඊට හේතුව කෝපි හා තේ වගාවන් ව්‍යාප්ත කිරීම සඳහා ශීඝ්‍රයෙන් තෙත් කලාපයේ වනාන්තර එළි කිරීමයි.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට නිදහස ලැබීමෙන් පසුව වනාන්තර පිළිබඳ ව පුළුල් සමීක්ෂණයක් සිදු කෙරුනේ 1956 – 1961 වසර වල ය. එහි දී වන ආවරණය සියයට 44.2 ක් නැතහොත් හෙක්ටයාර 28,98,842 ක් බව හඳුනා ගැනින. වනාන්තර මහ සැලැස්ම සැකසීම සඳහා 1982 – 1985 වසර වල ලෝක ආහාර හා කෘෂිකර්ම සංවිධානය මගින් නිදහසින් පසුව සිදු කරන ලද දෙවන වනාන්තර සමීක්ෂණයට අනුව ලංකාවේ වන ආවරණය සියයට 37.5 ක් නැතහොත් හෙක්ටයාර 24,58,250 ක් බව අනාවරණය විය. ලෙග් හා ජුවෙල් විසින් සකස් කරන ලද සිතියම් අනුසාරයෙන් වන සංරක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවෙන් සකස් කළ පරිපාලන වාර්තාවලට අනුව වර්ෂ 1992 වන විට ලංකාවේ වන ආවරණය සියයට 31.2 ක් නැතහොත් හෙක්ටයාර 20,46,599 ක් වන බව හඳුනා ගැනින. වන සංරක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ 1996 වසරේ වාර්තා වලට අනුව වන ආවරණය සියයට 29.6 ක් නැතහොත් හෙක්ටයාර 19,42,219 ක් බව සඳහන් වේ. 2010 වසරේ දී අවසන් වරට සිදු කළ වන ආවරණය පිළිබඳ වන සංරක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ අධ්‍යයන වාර්තාවලට අනුව ලංකාවේ වන ආවරණය සියයට 29.7 ක් නැතහොත් හෙක්ටයාර 19,51,472 ක් බව සඳහන් වේ. 1960 සිට 2010 වසර දක්වා ගෙවුණු වසර පනහ තුළ දී ලංකාවේ වනාන්තර හෙක්ටයාර 9,47,370 ක් එළිපෙහෙලි කර තිබේ.

ඉන් පසු ව ගෙවී ගිය අද දක්වා වසර 14 ක කාල සීමාව තුළ දී එළිපෙහෙලි කර ඇති වනාන්තර ප්‍රමාණය ඉතා විශාල ය. ඒ සඳහා ප්‍රධාන පදනම සකස් වී ඇත්තේ ජාතික භෞතික සැලැසුම මත ය. මෙම සැලැසුම ක්‍රියාත්මක කරන මේ කාලය තුළ සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘති ලෙස ක්‍රියාත්මක කළ යාන් ඔය වාරි ව්‍යාපෘතිය සඳහා අක්කර 15000 ක වනාන්තර, මොරගහකන්ද හා කළු ගඟ බහුකාර්ය වාරි ව්‍යාපෘති සඳහා අක්කර 25000 ක වනාන්තර, දකුණු පළාතේ හම්බන්තොට දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ ක්‍රියාත්මක කළ මාගම්පුර වරාය, මත්තල ගුවන්තොටුපොළ, දකුණු අධිවේගී මාර්ගය පුළුල් කිරීම, ජාත්‍යන්තර සම්මන්ත්‍රණ ශාලාව, ජාත්‍යන්තර ක්‍රිකට් ක්‍රිඩාංගනය ඇතුළු භෞතික සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘති සඳහා වනාන්තර අක්කර 25000 කට වැඩි ප්‍රමාණයක් එළිපෙහෙළි කර තිබේ. මීට අමතර ව 2010 වසරේ උතුරු – නැගෙනහිර පැවති යුද්ධය අවසන් වීමෙන් අනතුරු ව නැවත පදිංචි කිරීමේ කටයුතු නිසි පරිදි ක්‍රියාත්මක නොකිරීම හා ජනතාව භාවිත කළ ඉඩම් වෙනත් සංවර්ධන භාවිතයන්, සංචාරක ව්‍යාපෘති හා දැඩි ආරක්ෂක කලාප පවත්වාගෙන යාම සඳහා භාවිත කිරීම හේතුවෙන් අලුතින් ජනාවාස ව්‍යාප්ත කිරීම සඳහා වනාන්තර අක්කර 17800 ක් පමණ එළි පෙහෙළි කිරීම සිදු විය. මීට අමතර ව අද වන විට ක්‍රියාත්මක කරන පහළ මල්වතු ඔය වාරි ව්‍යාපෘතිය සඳහා අක්කර 10000 ක වනාන්තර එළිපෙහෙලි කරමින් තිබේ.

මීට අමතර ව මහවැලි අධිකාරිය හා ඉඩම් ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ කොමිෂන් සභාව යටතේ පාලනය වන වනාන්තර මහ පරිමාණ සමාගම් හා ව්‍යාපාරිකයන්ට පැවරීම සහ ඒවා නිරන්තරයෙන් එළිපෙහෙළි කිරීම යන මේ සියල්ල ම වන සතුන් ගේ වාසස්ථාන අහිමි වීමෙන් එම සතුන් අවතැන් වී වගා බිම්වලට පිවිසීමට ප්‍රධාන වශයෙන් බලපා තිබේ.

මහ පරිමාණ වාණිජ වගාවන් හේතුවෙන් සුළු ගොවීන් ගේ වගා බිම් වන සතුන්ට ගොදුරු වීම

අප රට දේශීය නොවන වාණිජ වගාවන් ගේ ස්ථාපිත කිරීම ආරම්භ වන්නේ බි්‍රතාන්‍ය යටත්විජිත යුගයේ ය. පළමු ව මෙය කෝපි වගාවෙන් ආරම්භ විය. නමුත් කෝපි පළමු ව වගා කරන්නේ බි්‍රතාන්‍යයන් නොව 1740 දී ලන්දේසීන් ය. එතැන් සිට ලන්දේසීන් විසින් මෙරට කෝපි වගාව ක්‍රමානුකූල ව වගා කිරීම අත්හදා බලා ඇති අතර 1833 දී බි්‍රතාන්‍යයන් විසින් කෝල්බෲක්-කැමරන් ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ කොමිෂම ගෙන ඒමෙන් පසුව මහ පරිමාණ වාණිජ වගාවක් ලෙස මෙම වගාව ස්ථාපිත කෙරින. ඒ සඳහා කඳුකරයේ වනාන්තර ශීඝ්‍රයෙන් එළි කර කෝපි වගාව ස්ථාපිත කර තිබේ. 1860 වනවිට ලංකාවේ කෝපි නිෂ්පාදනය කරන ප්‍රධාන රටවල් අතරට එක් වූ අතර 1870 වනවිට මෙරට කෝපි වගාව අක්කර 275,000 ක් දක්වා පැතිර තිබේ. ඒ අතර තුර කෝපි වගාවට දිලීර රෝගයක් පැතිරීම හේතුවෙන් ශීඝ්‍රයෙන් මෙම වගා බිම් විනාශ වීම ආරම්භ විය.

මේ අතරතුර 1867 දී ජේම්ස් ටේලර් විසින් නුවර, ලූල්කඳුර ප්‍රදේශයේ හෙක්ටයාර 8 ක භූමි ප්‍රදේශයක පළමු ව තේ වගාව ආරම්භ කෙරින. ඉන් පසුව 1872 දී පළමු තේ කර්මාන්තශාලාව ස්ථාපිත කළ ජේම්ස් ටේලර් පළමු ව තේ අපනයනය කළේ 1873 වසරේ දී ය. එසේ ආරම්භ කළ තේ වගාව අද වන විට කඳුකරයේ හා පහතරට තෙත් කලාපයේ හෙක්ටයාර 221,969 ක් පුරා පැතිර තිබේ. 1867 වසරේ දී හෙක්ටයාර 8 කින් ආරම්භ වූ තේ වගාව අද වන විට මෙතරම් භූමි ප්‍රමාණයක් දක්වා ව්‍යාප්ත කිරීමට නොයිඳුල් කඳුකර වනාන්තර හා පහතරට තෙත් කලාපීය වනාන්තර සම්පූර්ණයෙන් ම එළිපෙහෙළි කර තිබේ. අද වන විට තවදුරටත් කඳුකර වනාන්තර හා පහතරට තෙත් වනාන්තර එළිපෙහෙළි කරමින් අඛණ්ඩ ව තේ වගාව ව්‍යාප්ත කරමින් පැවතීමට ප්‍රධාන හේතුව ඒ සඳහා පවතින වෙළෙඳපොළ ඉල්ලුම ය. ඒ හේතුවෙන් මේ වන විට රක්ෂිත වනාන්තර පවා නීති වීරෝධී ව එළිපෙහෙළි කරමින් තේ වගාව ව්‍යාප්ත කෙරේ.

ලංකාවේ තේ වගාව ව්‍යාප්ත කිරීමට සමගාමී ව තෙත් හා අතරමැදි කලාපයේ වනාන්තර එළිපෙහෙළි කරමින් රබර් වගාව ව්‍යාප්ත කෙරින. 1876 දී ගම්පහ, හෙනරත්ගොඩ උද්භීද උද්‍යානයේ පළමු රබර් ශාකය රෝපනය කරමින් ආරම්භ කළ රබර් වගාව අද වන විට හෙක්ටයාර 133,668 ක් පුරා ව්‍යාප්ත ව පවතී. ජාත්‍යන්තර වෙළෙඳපොලේ රබර් මිල ගණන් වර්ධනය වීම හා පහළ බැසීම අනුව රබර් වගාව ව්‍යාප්ත කිරීම හා රබර් වගා බිම් වෙනත් භාවිතයන් සඳහා යොදා ගැනීම තීන්දු වේ.

යටත්විජිත යුගයේ දී බි්‍රතාන්‍යයන් විසින් ලංකාවේ ස්ථාපිත කළ හැකි වාණිජ බෝග පිළිබඳ ව පර්යේෂණ සිදු කිරීමේ දී උක් වගාව පිළිබඳ ව ද ඔවුන් ගේ අවධානයට ලක් ව තිබේ. උක් වගාව පිළිබඳ ව පළමු පර්යේෂණ සිදු කර ඇත්තේ ගාල්ල ප්‍රදේශයේ ය. නමුත් එම කාල වකවානුවේ දී වාණිජ වගාවක් ලෙස උක් වගාව ව්‍යාප්ත කර නොතිබුණි. 1948 දී නිදහස ලැබීමෙන් පසුව වාණිජ වශයෙන් උක් වගාව ව්‍යාප්ත කිරීම ඇරැඹිනි. 1956 වන විට වියළි කලාපයේ වාණිජ වගාවක් වශයෙන් උක් වගාව ව්‍යාප්ත කර තිබේ. 1973 හා 1994 වසරවල දී වියළි කලාපයේ වනාන්තර විශාල වශයෙන් එළිපෙහෙළි කර උක් වගාව මහ පරිමාණයෙන් ව්‍යාප්ත කෙරින. මේ වනවිට පැල්වත්ත, හිඟුරාන, සෙවණගල, කන්තලේ, මොණරාගල හා අම්පාර යන ප්‍රදේශවල හෙක්ටයාර 30,530 ක භූමි ප්‍රමාණයක උක් වගා බිම් ව්‍යාප්ත කර තිබේ. මෙම වගාව ව්‍යාප්ත කිරීමේ දී වසර කිහිපයක් තුළ පස නිසරු වීමත් සමඟ ඵලදායිතාවය බිඳ වැටෙන අවස්ථා වල දී සමාගම් උත්සාහ දරන්නේ අලුතින් වගා බිම් ස්ථාපිත කර ඵලදායීතාව වැඩි කර ගැනීමට ය.

අද වන විට වාණිජ වගාවක් ලෙස බඩඉරිඟු වගා බිම් වියළි කලාපය ආක්‍රමණය කරමින් තිබේ. මිශ්‍ර බෝග වගා කළ හේන් වගා බිම්වල අද වන විට වගා කෙරෙන්නේ බඩඉරිඟු පමණි. 1961 වන විට හෙක්ටයාර 12,957 ක් ව පැවති බඩඉරිඟු වගා බිම් ප්‍රමාණය අද වන විට හෙක්ටයාර 72,390 ක් දක්වා වර්ධනය වී තිබේ. මිනිසුන්ට දෛනික පරිභෝජනය සඳහා වැදගත් වන බෝග නිපද වූ හා යල කන්නයේ දී වන සතුන් ගේ ආහාර බිම් වන හේන් වගා බිම්වල අද වන විට සත්ත්ව ආහාරයක් ලෙස ඒක බෝග වගාවක් ලෙස බඩඉරිඟු වගා කෙරේ. මේ සඳහා පවතින ඉල්ලුම හා මිල ඉහළ අගයක පැවතීම නිසා ශීඝ්‍රයෙන් බඩඉරිඟු වගාවට ගොවීන් ප්‍රවිෂ්ඨ වෙමින් සිටී.

මෙරට පළමු වරට වාණිජ බෝගයක් වන කටුපොල් වගාව ආරම්භ කළේ යුරෝපීය වැවිලිකරුවකු වන ජෙරී වොලස් විසිනි. 1968 දී වටවල වැවිලි සමාගමට අයත් නාකියාදෙනිය වතු යායේ හෙක්ටයාර 0.5 ක භූමියක කටුපොල් ගස් 68 ක් සිටුවා පළමු වගා බිම ආරම්භ කරන ලදී. වර්තමානය වන විට හෙක්ටයාර 8781 ක පමණ කටුපොල් වගා බිම් ස්ථාපිත කර තිබේ.

මේ වන විට වාණිජ වගාවක් ලෙස ඩෝල් සමාගම අපනයනය කිරීම සඳහා කැවැන්ඩිස් කෙසෙල් ප්‍රභේදය වියළි කලාපයේ ප්‍රදේශ ගණනාවක වගා කර තිබේ. කන්තලේ, කුඩා ඔය, දෙමෝදර, බුත්තල ආදී ප්‍රදේශ ගණනාවක අක්කර 7000 ක් පමණ මේ වන විට කැවැන්ඩිස් කෙසෙල් වගාව සඳහා යොදා ගෙන ඇත. මෙම වාණිජ වගා බිම් සියල්ල ම වන සතුන්ට අහිමි වූ එම සතුන් ගේ වාසස්ථාන වෙති.

ගොවිතැනේ සැබෑ අභියෝග වන සතුන් පෙන්වා මඟහැරීම

පසුගිය කාලය පුරා ම සුළු පරිමාණ ගොවි ජනතාව වගා බිම්වලින් සූක්ෂම ව ඉවත් කර මහ පරිමාණ වාණිජ වගාවන් ස්ථාපිත කිරීමට උත්සාහ ගැනින. මේ නිසා ගොවීන්ට වගා කටයුතුවල දී ප්‍රධාන අභියෝග ගණානවකට මුහුණ දීමට සිදු විය. එම අභියෝග අතර කෘෂි රසායනික හා බීජ නිෂ්පාදන සමාගම්වල ග්‍රහණයට නතු වීම, ජල අර්බුද, ගොවියා වගා බිම්වලින් ඉවත් කරන ප්‍රතිපත්ති ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීම, ගොවි බිම් මහ පරිමාණ ඒක බෝග වාණිජ වගාවන් සඳහා සමාගම්වලට හා මහ පරිමාණ ව්‍යාපාරිකයන්ට ලබා දීම, ගොවි බිම් වෙනත් ආයෝජන හා සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘති සඳහා යොදා ගැනීම, මහවැලි ව්‍යාපෘතිය ඇතුළු වාරි ව්‍යාපෘති මගින් ජලය සපයන වගා බිම් සමාගම්වලට හා මහ පරිමාණ ව්‍යාපාරිකයන්ට ලබා දීම, පසු අස්වනු විනාශය, අස්වැන්න අලෙවි කර ගැනීමේ අභියෝග, අස්වැන්නේ මිල තීන්දු කිරීමේ දී වෙළෙදපොළ මාෆියාවට ගොදුරු වීම, අනවශ්‍ය පරිදි ආහාර ආනයනය කර ගොවීන් අතර වෙළෙදපොළ තරගයක් ඇති කිරීම මෙන් ම වන සතුන් ගෙන් සිදු වන වගා හානි යන සියල්ල ම පවතින බව අප දනිමු. මේ සියල්ල අවබෝධ කර නොගතහොත් සමස්ත ගොවිතැනට ඇති සැබෑ අභියෝග සියල්ලට පිළියම් සෙවීම වෙනුවට වන සතුන් පාලනය කිරීමෙන් පමණක් ගොවිතැනේ අභියෝගවලට පිළියම් සෙවිය හැකි වන බව බොහෝ දෙනෙකු විශ්වාස කරනු ඇත. එමගින් බොහෝ දෑ මඟහැරී යනු ඇත. මේ නිසා ගොවිතැන ගොඩනැගීමට හා ගොවියා ගේ පැවැත්ම සුරක්ෂිත කර වගා බිම්වල හා වගා අස්වැන්නේ සුරක්ෂිතතාව ඇති කිරීමට පළමු ව කළ යුතු වන්නේ වගා හානි සිදු කරන වන සතුන් විනාශ කිරීම නොවන බව අපි පිළිගනිමු. එපමණක් නොව මෙම වන සතුන් පරිසර පද්ධතියේ තුළිත පැවැත්ම පවත්වාගෙන යාමට දායකත්වයන් බොහොමයක් ලබා දෙන බව ද අප තේරුම් ගත යුතු ය. මේ නිසා අප ගොවිතැන දෙස බැලිය යුත්තේ මානව කේන්ද්‍රීයව නොව ජෛව කේන්ද්‍රීයව ය.

වනජීවී ආඥාපනත උල්ලංඝනය කිරීම

භූමියේ මෙම යතාර්ථයන් සියල්ල පවතින අතර තුර ගොවීන් ගේ හා වන සතුන් ගේ රැකවරණය වෙනුවෙන් නීති සම්පාදනය කර තිබේ. 2022 අංක 07 දරන පනතින් අවසන්වරට සංශෝධිත 1937 අංක 02 දරන වන සත්ත්ව හා වෘක්ෂලතා ආරක්ෂක ආඥා පනතේ 53අ උප වගන්තියට අනුව වන සතෙකු මැරීම හෝ මත් කිරීම සඳහා වස හෝ පුපුරණ ද්‍රව්‍ය හෝ මත් කිරීමේ ද්‍රව්‍ය භාවිත කිරීම නීති විරෝධී වේ. පනතේ 52 වගන්තියට අනුව කෘත්‍රිම ආලෝකය භාවිත කර වන සතෙකු ගේ පෙනීම මුලා කිරීමෙන් හෝ සතා ඇද ගැනීමට සැලැස්වීමෙන් හෝ අල්ලා ගැනීමට පහසු කිරීම සඳහා ක්‍රියා කිරීම ද නීති විරෝධී වෙයි. එපමණක් නොව පනතේ 52ආ උප වගන්තියට අනුව සතෙකු අල්ලා ගැනීම සඳහා පෙළැඹවීම හා ආකර්ෂණය කර ගැනීමට ආහාර වර්ග, සුවඳ වර්ග, වර්ණයන් හෝ වෙනත් ද්‍රව්‍යක් හෝ උපකරණයක් භාවිතා කිරීම ද නීති විරෝධී ක්‍රියාවකි. පනතේ 53ආ උප වගන්තියට අනුව වස හෝ පුපුරණ ද්‍රව්‍ය හෝ මත් කිරීමේ ද්‍රව්‍ය මගින් මරණු ලැබූ හෝ අල්ලාගනු ලැබූ සතෙකු සන්තකයේ තබා ගැනීම ද තහනම් වේ. මෙවන් නීති විරෝධී ක්‍රියාවකට වරදකරුවකු වන අයෙකු පනතේ 58 වගන්තියට අනුව රුපියල් 15,000 ත් 30,000 ත් අතර දඩයකට හෝ වසර 1 ත් 2 ත් අතර බන්ධනාගාර ගත කිරීමකට හෝ මේ දඩුවම් දෙකට ම යටත් කළ හැකි ය. මීට අමතර ව විශේෂිත කරුණක් වන්නේ පනතේ 59 වන වගන්තියට අනුව මෙවන් නීති විරෝධී ක්‍රියාවක් සිදු කිරීමට තැත් කරන හෝ වරදක් සිදු කිරීමට අනුබල දෙන ඕනෑ ම තැනැත්තෙකු ඒ වරද ම සිදු කරන අතර එම දඩුවමට ම ලක් කළ හැකි වීම ය.

ඒ අනුව ලාල්කාන්ත අමාත්‍යවරයා සඳහන් කරන පරිදි පෞද්ගලික වගා බිමකට පැමිණෙන වන සතුන් ව වෙනත් වගා පළිබෝධකයන් පාලනය කරන ආකාරයෙන් ම පාලනය කිරීමට ක්‍රියාමාර්ග ගතහොත් හෝ එසේ මරණ ලද හෝ අල්ලා ගනු ලැබූ සතෙකු සන්තකයේ තබා ගත හොත් සිදු වන්නේ වන සත්ත්ව හා වෘක්ෂලතා ආරක්ෂක ආඥාපනතට අනුව දඩුවම් ලැබීමට ය. මේ නිසා මෙම අමාත්‍යවරයා ගොවීන් නීති විරෝධී ක්‍රියාවලට පෙළැඹවීම ද සිදු කර ඇත. මේ නිසා වන සත්ත්ව හා වෘත්ෂලතා ආරක්ෂක ආඥාපනතේ 59 වන වගන්තියට අනුව ලාල්කාන්ත අමාත්‍යවරයාට එරෙහි ව නීතිය ක්‍රියාත්මක කළ හැකි ය. නීතිය නොදැන සිටීම සමාවට කරුණක් නොවන බවට ඇති නීතියේ ආප්ත ලාල්කාන්ත අමාත්‍යවරයාට ද අදාළ බව අවධාරණය කළ යුතු ය. එපමණක් නොව අමාත්‍යවරයා ගොවීන්ට වැරදි මඟ පෙන්වීම තුළින් සිදු කර ඇත්තේ විශාල අසාධාරණයකි.

ආරක්ෂිත නොවන වන සතුන්

වගා හානි ඇති කරන වන සතුන් ගෙන් වගා බිම් ආරක්ෂා කර ගැනීමට වන සත්ත්ව හා වෘක්ෂලතා ආරක්ෂක ආඥා පනතේ 30 වන වගන්තියට අනුව පළමු වන උප ලේඛනයේ සහ 31 වන වගන්තියට අනුව තුන් වන උප ලේඛනය යටතේ ආරක්ෂිත නොවන ක්ෂීරපායී සතුන් හා ආරක්ෂිත නොවන පක්ෂීන් නම් කර ඇත. පළමු උප ලේඛණය යටතේ ක්ෂීරපායී සතුන් පස්දෙනෙකු ආරක්ෂිත නොවන සතුන් ලෙස නම් කර ඇත. ඊට හේතු ව මෙම සතුන් වගා හානි කරන සතුන් ලෙස සැලැකීම ය. රිලවා, අළු වදුරා, වල් ඌරා, ඉත්තෑවා, හාවා ආරක්ෂිත නොවන ක්ෂිරපායී සතුන් වේ. තුන්වන උප ලේඛණයට අනුව ආරක්ෂිත නොවන පක්ෂීන් වන්නේ රෑන ගිරවා, කොළඹ කපුටා, ගං කපුටා, තිත් වී කුරුල්ලා සහ පිට සුදු වී කුරුල්ලා ය.

මෙම ආරක්ෂිත නොවන සතුන් අනාරක්ෂිත වන්නේ පෞද්ගලික වගා බිමක දී පමණි. නමුත් එම සතුන් වෙනත් වගා පළිබෝධකයන් පාලනය කරන ආකාරයෙන් කිසිදු උපකරණයක් හෝ රසායනික හෝ විදුලි සැර යොදා හෝ මදු තැබීමෙන් හෝ පාලනය කළ නොහැකි ය. නීතියට අනුව එම සතුන් පාලනය කළ හැකි වන්නේ බලපත්‍ර සහිත ගිනි අවියකින් පමණි.

වන සත්ත්ව හා වෘක්ෂලතා ආරක්ෂක ආඥා පනත ඉදිරියේ දී සංශෝධනය කර ආරක්ෂිත නොවන ක්ෂීරපායී ලේඛණයේ ඇතුළත් වගා හානි සිදු කිරීමට වැඩි දායකත්වයක් ලබා නොදෙන අළු වදුරා හා හාවා ඉවත් කර ඒ වෙනුවට දඩුලේනා සහ අනාරක්ෂිත පක්ෂි ලේඛණයේ කොළඹ කපුටා, ගං කපුටා හා පිට සුදු වී කුරුල්ලා ඉවත් කර ඒ වෙනුවට මොණරා ඇතුළත් කිරීමට පියවර ගත යුතු වන්නේ වගා හානි සිදු කිරීමට දායක වන සතුන් පමණක් එම ලේඛණවලට ඇතුළත් වීම ප්‍රමාණවත් වන නිසා ය.

පොහොසත් රටක් ලස්සන ජීවිතයක් අහිමි නොකිරීමට නම්,

වත්මන් ආණ්ඩුවේ පොහොසත් රටක් ලස්සන ජීවිතයක්” ප්‍රතිපත්ති ප්‍රකාශනයේ තිරසර ජෛව ලෝකයක්, සදාහරිත ජීවිතයක් කොටසෙහි සඳහන් කර ඇත්තේ සියලූ ම ජීවීන් ගේ පැවැත්ම තහවුරු කෙරෙන තිරසර පරිසරයක් දැක්ම කොට ගෙන ජාතික ජන බලවේගය ක්‍රියාත්මක වන බව ය. එපමණක් නොව මෙම ප්‍රතිපත්ති ප්‍රකාශනයේ මෙන් ම ජාතික ජන බලවේගය ජනතාව සමඟ සම්මුති ගත වූ මිහිකත, ඔබ, අප, මතු පරපුරේ ද උරුමය වෙනුවෙන්” වන පරිසර ප්‍රතිපත්ති ප්‍රකාශනයේ ද සඳහන් කර ඇත්තේ පාරිසරික යුක්තිය හා සාධාරණත්වය, පරිසර පද්ධතික ප්‍රවේශය, පාරිසරික යහපාලනය යන මූලධර්ම මත ක්‍රියාත්මක වන බව ය. ඒ අනුව ඒකාබද්ධ කළ හැකි වනජීවී හා වන සංරක්ෂණ කලාප හඳුනාගෙන මංකඩවල් ස්ථාපිත කිරීම, සියලු වන සතුන් ගේ ආහාර හා ජල අවශ්‍යතාව සැපිරීමට අදාළ පාරිසරික පද්ධති සුපෝෂණය කිරීම, ආක්‍රමණික ශාක ඉවත් කිරීම, අලි – මිනිස් ගැටුම පාලනය කිරීමට වන අලි ගහනය, සංචරණ රටා හා වාසස්ථාන පිළිබඳ ව අධ්‍යයනය කර ජීව විද්‍යාත්මක හා නව තාක්ෂණය භාවිත කරමින් ජන සහභාගීත්ව වැඩසටහන් ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීම, මොනරුන්, රිලවුන්, දඩුලේනන් වැනි වගාවන්ට හානි පමුණුවන වන සතුන් ගේ වර්ධනය පිළිබඳ ව නිවැරදි අධ්‍යයනයක් සිදු කර ජීව විද්‍යාත්මක ක්‍රමවේදයක් මගින් ගහනය පාලනය කිරීමට පියවර ගන්නා බව ය. නමුත් ලාල්කාන්ත හා විජේපාල අමාත්‍යවරුන් ගේ ප්‍රකාශ සමඟ මෙම ප්‍රතිපත්ති ප්‍රකාශන මීට ප්‍රථම පැවති ආණ්ඩුවල ප්‍රතිපත්තිවලට සිදු වූ ආකාරයෙන් ම ලේඛණවලට පමණක් සීමා වන බව පෙනෙන්නට තිබේ. එය පෙර පැවති ආණ්ඩු මෙන් ම වත්මන් ආණ්ඩුව ද බලය ලබා ගත් පසු ව ජනවරමට පිටතින් කටයුතු කිරීමකි. එවන් තත්ත්වයක් ඇති වුවහොත් සිදු වන්නේ පොහොසත් රටක් ලස්සන ජීවිතයක්” බලාපොරොත්තු වූ බහුතර ජනතාවට එය අහිමි වීම ය.

මේ නිසා වගා බිම් වන සතුන් ගෙන් ආරක්ෂා කිරීමට හා අලි – මිනිස් ගැටුම පාලනය කිරීමට කළ යුතු ක්‍රියාමාර්ග බොහොමයක් වේ. ඒ අතර ප්‍රධාන වන්නේ වන සතුන් ගේ වාසස්ථාන සුරක්ෂිත කිරීම හා ඒවා ජාල ගත කිරීම ය. වන සතුන් ගේ වාසස්ථාන වන මහවැලි අධිකාරිය යටතේ පවතින වනාන්තර හා ඉඩම් ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ කොමිෂන් සභාව යටතේ පාලනය වන වනාන්තර සියල්ල ආරක්ෂිත තත්ත්වයට පත් කළ යුතු ය. වන වගාවන් තුළ වන සතුන් ගේ ආහාර වන දේශීය ශාක වර්ධනය වීමට අවස්ථාව ඇති කළ යුතු ය. ඒක බෝග වාණිජ වගා බිම් වෙනුවට ශාක ස්ථර ලෙස සකස් වූ බහු බෝග වගා බිම් ඇති කළ යුතු වේ. එපමණක් නොව ආක්‍රමණික ශාක ව්‍යාප්ත වී ඇති ප්‍රදේශවල එම ශාක ක්‍රමාණුකූල ව ඉවත් කර ස්වාභාවික පද්ධති ඇති වීමට අවස්ථාව ලබා දිය යුතු ය.

වනජීවී වාසස්ථාන ආශ්‍රිත සියලූ ම කසළ රැඳවුම් ඉවත් කර ඒ වෙනුවට රට තුළ කසළ කළමනාකරණ ව්‍යුහයක් ඇති කළ යුතු ය. වනජීවී වාසස්ථාන තුළ පිහිටි සියලූ ම සංචාරක හා ආගම්ක ස්ථානවල මිනිසුන් පරිභා්ජනය කරන ආහාර රැඳවීම සම්පූර්ණයෙන් ම පාලනය කළ යුතු ය. ඒ අතරතුර වගා බිම්වලට වන සතුන් පැමිණීම වැළැක්වීමේ උපායමාර්ග සඳහා ගොවීන්ට පහසුකම් ලබා දිය යුතු වේ. එය සමාගම්වලට වාසිදායක තත්ත්වයට පරිවර්තනය කිරීම ද වැළැක්විය යුතු ය. එසේ නොමැති වුවහොත් සිදු වන්නේ නැවත වරක් ගොවීන් වන සතුන් පාලනයට ද සමාගම්වල ග්‍රහණයට නතු වීම ය. මේ සියල්ල අතරතුර ජනතාව ගේ අදහස් මත ඉඩම් පරිහරණ ප්‍රතිපත්තියක් සහ තිරසර සංවර්ධන ප්‍රවේශයක් ඇති කර දැනට ක්‍රියාත්මක කරන වැරදි ජාතික භෞතික සැලැසුම ද සම්පූර්ණයෙන් ම ඉවත් කළ යුතු ය. එසේ නොවුනහොත් ගොවියා, ගොවිතැන හා පොදු ජනතාව මුහුණදෙන කිසිදු ගැටළුවකට විසදුම් සෙවීමට නොහැකි වනු ඇත.

Courtesy Hiru News

The Cabinet has approved a proposal by the President to review government-owned non-commercial institutions, citing the need for modernization and the alignment of functions with current needs. Many of these institutions have outdated structures, insufficient powers, and overlapping functions, with some tasks being more efficiently performed by the private sector.

Currently, the government manages 86 departments, 25 district secretariats, 339 divisional secretariats, 340 state-owned enterprises, and 115 non-commercial state statutory institutions. The national budget for 2024 allocates around 140 billion rupees for these institutions.

A committee, led by the Secretary to the Prime Minister, has been appointed to conduct the review. The committee includes officials from various ministries, the Department of National Budget, and the University Grants Commission, with the task of submitting recommendations for improving efficiency and operations.

By Raj Gonsalkorale

Sri Lanka has become one of the fastest aging countries in the world. Its share of the population over 60 years of age, which was 12% in 2014, has exceeded the average of all countries in the South-East Asian region. According to population projections, this proportion will reach 28.5% by 2050. With ageing as the major non-modifiable risk factor for dementia, an epidemic of dementia is a certainty in Sri Lanka” – The National Institute of Health’s National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM)- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/ PMC9469587/#:~:text= According%20to%20an%20epidemiological%20study,was%20found%20to%20be%204%25

As stated by the Alzheimer’s Association (https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-dementia) dementia is not a single disease. It’s an overall term to describe a collection of symptoms that one may experience if they are living with a variety of diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease. The social impacts of dementia include stigma and dementia patients being treated as outcasts and not being treated the same way as other people. Gradual worsening of dementia conditions will have an overall effect on health, financial circumstances, employment status and relationships with those around them may also have a negative impact on self-esteem.

Dementia is reported as a group of brain disorders that cause a gradual decline in mental abilities. As the disease progresses, people with dementia may experience the following: Memory loss: Difficulty remembering recent events, names, and making new memories, Communication difficulties: Difficulty speaking, understanding, reading, and writing, Movement problems: Difficulty moving around, losing balance, and having trouble walking , Behavior changes: Acting impulsively, becoming aggressive, or having disturbed sleep, Personality changes: Losing interest in activities, losing empathy, or having aspects of their personality change , Hallucinations: Seeing or hearing things that aren’t there, Incontinence: Losing control of their bladder and bowels, Difficulty with daily tasks: Taking longer to complete tasks, having trouble eating and drinking, or forgetting how to eat or drink, Social difficulties: Finding social situations difficult or losing interest in relationships. There is no cure for dementia, but some treatments can help manage symptoms. People with dementia will usually need help from friends or relatives, and it’s important to plan for the future early on” 

Dementia indeed is a very sad disease where the personality, habits and the routine of a loved one could drastically change, and family members would find it extremely stressful to recognise and deal with this new person” who has evolved from the one they once knew. Dementia persons are by and large helpless and needs care for even the most mundane tasks. In an increasingly changing extended family life situations where home care for dementia patients has, and is becoming a major challenge, anecdotal evidence relating to how even dementia afflicted parents have been driven away from their homes or kept locked in rooms, are abound. Traditional religious beliefs tend to ascribe dementia to a karmic consequence or a condition where God would continue to love a person despite the persons dementia. Whatever the reasoning, the afflicted person is still a human being and needs love, care and compassion as any other human being.

PubMed Central^® (PMC), a free full-text archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature at the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM) goes on to say that according to an epidemiological study done on dementia in semi urban and sub-urban populations in Sri Lanka, the prevalence of dementia was found to be 4%. In comparison with studies conducted in the region, this prevalence is much higher and despite having a well-established health care system in Sri Lanka almost in par with developed countries, it is not geared to handle medical and social issues of rapidly expanding elderly people and notably that of dementia patients. This situation is worsened by the scarcity of knowledge based on research, on the current status of patients with dementia”

These statistics and statements are indeed frightening as Sri Lanka does not have the political or social preparedness, infrastructure nor trained staff to manage dementia patients and associated medical and social issues. There is very likely scant knowledge about dementia related conditions, and the extent of dementia cases in the country as there is inadequate research on this topic. Chances are that in a predominantly rural based population setting, this situation is possibly even worse than imagined. Given this disturbing situation, and hitherto neglected mental condition which requires a care approach very different to other diseases, Sri Lanka must give very high priority to developing a policy setting and a long-term plan to address the many medical and social issues associated with dementia.

According to the World Bank, 80.97% of Sri Lanka’s population lived in rural areas in 2022. The rural sector is also home to four-fifths of the country’s poor people, with almost half of them being small-scale farmers. Sri Lanka’s urban population is relatively small, with only around 18% of the population living in urban areas.  The International Fund of Agricultural Development (IFAD) states that although the rural population is large, there is a dearth of research on health and socioeconomic issues in this group. 

People with dementia in rural areas face many challenges, including, limited access to care and rural areas have fewer local providers and fewer resources for primary care, specialized care, and other support services. This can lead to delayed diagnosis and treatment. Transportation issues is another major challenge in rural areas, as long distances and transportation issues can make it difficult to access care. Not just rural areas, the entire country   lacks support services for caregivers, both domestic and external, and including family members who basically are the current caregivers. Currently, as far as the writer is aware, there are no respite centres in the country with professionally trained personnel to look after dementia patients.

Social isolation is common in rural areas, which makes it harder for families to connect with others and use community resources. In this regard, beliefs and attitudes, including religious beliefs and general stigmatisation of people with mental conditions, impacts on seeking help from family, friends, or formal providers and this has a direct impact on the adequacy of dementia care. Limited education in rural areas arising from limited resources for education about dementia and dementia care, and general societal attitudes linked to lack of education, has a major impact on dementia, including recognition of dementia as the cause for mental conditions, and caregiving for those afflicted. Rural areas tend to have more older people, which resulting in a higher prevalence of dementia.

Global situation

Key facts from the WHO (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dementia) illustrate the global situation related to dementia

• Currently more than 55 million people have dementia worldwide, over 60% of whom live in low-and middle-income countries. Every year, there are nearly 10 million new cases.
• Dementia results from a variety of diseases and injuries that affect the brain. Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia and may contribute to 60–70% of cases.
• Dementia is currently the seventh leading cause of death and one of the major causes of disability and dependency among older people globally.
• In 2019, dementia cost economies globally US$ 1.3 trillion, approximately 50% of these costs are attributable to care provided by informal carers (e.g. family members and close friends), who provide on average 5 hours of care and supervision per day.
• Women are disproportionately affected by dementia, both directly and indirectly. Women experience higher disability-adjusted life years and mortality due to dementia, but also provide 70% of care hours for people living with dementia

In an article titled Primary Health Care Reforms in Sri Lanka: Aiming at Preserving Universal Access to Health, Dr Susie Perera, Director, Organization Development, Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka (https://www.hsep.lk/index.php /downloads/publications-docs/34-reorganizing-primary-health-care-in-sri-lanka) states that Sri Lanka’s model of primary health care, available free through a government health system with island wide availability, forms a sound basis for providing universal health coverage. However, this system is increasingly under pressure notably from the high burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), increasing elderly care needs and the growing out of pocket expenditure for chronic diseases. Whilst the government’s commitment to maintaining universal health services of good quality for all continues, the need for change has been recognized. The government is exploring now how a rational model of care can best be instituted given limited resources.

The primary health care system in Sri Lanka has a community health service, (focusing mainly on maternal and child health and on communicable diseases and adopting prevention and health promotion strategies, based on the health unit system. The health units have defined catchment areas that coincide with local government administrative units and currently number 341 areas. Also known as MOH areas, they are managed by a medical doctor, supported by public health field staff), and a curative service (consisting of 496 Divisional hospitals providing both hospitalization and ambulatory services and 474 Primary Medical Care units providing only ambulatory care which function with non-specialist medical doctors and other staff).

Arguably, Sri Lanka has more than a basic infrastructure for its communicable diseases. As mentioned by Dr Perera the challenge now is increasingly from non- communicable diseases (NCDs) and elderly care needs including such needs for persons with dementia. 

The social dimension

The following abstract from a paper titled social aspects of dementia and dementia practice byIrja Haapala , Simon Biggs, Susan Kurrle (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30475199/) is a good summary relating to the social dimension associated with dementia.

Social aspects of dementia are becoming increasingly important as part of a wider shift in emphasis from cure to care. This is partly because approaches based on finding a cure have proved far more difficult and complex than originally imagined (WHO, 2016). New evidence on the effectiveness of public health measures, that while incidence is growing as the proportion of older people in society increases its prevalence amongst older adults is actually falling, has also led to increased interest in social dimensions of prevention, lifestyle change, and practical intervention in community settings (Prince et al., 2016; Kivipelto et al., 2017). This, in turn, has led to a rediscovery of the role of supports to people living with dementia in their daily lives, the needs of informal carers, and professional activities that can maintain the social engagement of each party (Winblad et al., 2016). The expansion of practice around person-cantered care, beyond traditional institutional settings, has also contributed to a socialized view of how interactions in dementia care are thought about (Bartlett et al., 2017), as has an increased awareness of the effects of the social construction of dementia in the public mind (Biggs, 2018). Most recently, people living with dementia, and particularly with respect to younger onset dementia, have begun to find a voice and to make connections to the wider disability movement (Dementia Alliance International, 2017). Each of these developments, in their different ways, have led to a re-emphasis on psycho-social elements of dementia, its experience, and how that might translate into clinical practice and service delivery.

The emphasis on rediscovery of the role of support to people living with dementia in their daily lives, the needs of informal carers, and professional activities that can maintain the social engagement of each party, the expansion of practice around person-cantered care, beyond traditional institutional settings, has also contributed to a socialized view of how interactions in dementia care are thought about, as has an increased awareness of the effects of the social construction of dementia in the public mind” is a good guide for Sri Lankan politicians, civil society leaders, religious leaders, health experts and health officials to take a cue from in viewing interventions for dementia care. It rightly stresses the importance of the wider society and key players in the society playing a greater role in dementia patient management.

Although the shared cluster system” mentioned in Dr Perera’s paper is an important component in primary and curative care, discussions should be had whether it is a suitable model for a disease like dementia which appears to require more social and family, and caregiving approaches considering the nature of the disease and the increasing challenges it poses as a patient advances with dementia.

In this regard, it is felt that the a system should consider how best the patient could be assisted to manage his or her life and how the immediate family and the community in which the patient and caregivers live and how associated challenges like stigmatisation, disowning of patients even by close family members, lack of suitable accommodation and facilities could be provided to the patients. In all this, the stress and pressures on those close to dementia patients cannot be and should not be overlooked as it is a major challenge that has and can have a serious ripple effect leading to kindness to patients becoming the unfortunate victim.

In looking at those within societies who could provide a significant psychological, and a coordinating role between the patients, the family caregivers, the community at large and the numerous service providers at rural level including mid wives, health officials, grama sevaka’s officials, various provincial council officials, are the clergy belonging to all religious denominations. They could play a major role within the society as they are the closest to the general public and on whom the public has the most confidence and trust. In this regard, considering that a majority of the population are Buddhists, in excess of 70%, the Buddhist clergy and rural temples could play a vital role in supporting dementia caregivers.

Rather than attributing dementia as a consequence of Karma but  providing much required solace to the patients, caregivers and families of people with dementia, the Buddhist clergy and Buddhist temples could lead the way in expounding the practice of the fundamental tenant of Buddhism, Metta, loving-kindness; Karuna, compassion; Mudita, sympathetic joy; and Upekkha, equanimity. to those affected and those around the affected. The care giving approaches essentially have to be a combined effort involving primary health care institutions and experts, as well as society leaders like the clergy from all religious denominations and institutions including Christian churches, Hindu temples, Islamic mosques and Buddhist temples.

Dementia is a mental condition that has to be recognised for what it is, and appropriate care provided to persons with the it. It is well to remember that no person, however rich or powerful, is immune from being afflicted with this very unfortunate mental condition.

Madyawediya

Courtesy Hiru

C. Wijeyawikcrema, B.A. (Hons.), LL.B., M.A., Ph.D.

වෙස්වලාගත් භාග්‍යයක් (crisis & opportunity)

කතානායකතුමාට (ව) ඇන්දවීම
Posted on November 25th, 2024

ඉහතින් සඳහන් කෙටි ලිපිය ලියා සති තුනක් යාමටත් පෙර මෙවැනි අළුත් මාතෘකාවකින් කථානායක රන්වලගේ ජවනිකාව ගැන ලියන්නට සිදුවේ යයි මා හීනෙන්වත් සිතුවේ නැත. ඔහු වංචාවක් කලාද නැද්දට වඩා වැදගත් වන කරුණු රාශියක් ඒ මඟින් මතුවිය. මෙහිදී මට මතක් වන්නේ චන්ද්‍රිකා තම උපාධි සහතිකය නිවසට ආ හිතවතාට පෙන්වන්නට එය ගේන්නට උඩ තට්ටුවට ගොස් ප්‍රමාදවන විට පහල සිටි ඇගේ සැමියා, නැති සහතික හොයන්නේ නැතිව පහලට එන්නැයි කිව්වා යයි යාළුවෙක් මට කී කතාවය. එහෙත් රන්වල හරහා එලිවන වෙනත් කාරණා කොසොල් රජතුමා දුටු හීන දාසැය සිහිපත් කරවන්නේය.  අනුර කුමාර ආණ්ඩුව විසින් මෙම උපාධි අර්බුදය කොටි වලිගයක් කරගන්නවා වෙනුවට එය තම පක්ෂ සාමාජිකයින්ගේ දුර්වලකම් (ලෝභ-ද්වේෂ-මෝහ) අඩුකර ගැනීමට ලැබුණු අවස්ථාවක් ලෙස සළකා ක්‍රියා කල යුතුය. යම් දේශපාලකයෙක් ඓතිහාසික රාජ්‍ය නායකයෙක් වන්නේ එසේය (from politician to a statesman).

අධ්‍යාත්මය (හෘදශාක්ෂිය)–à JVP–à npp

අනුර කුමාරලාගේ (jvp) හෘදය ශාක්ෂිය ගැන යලි යලිත් ප්‍රශ්ණ කලේ නාගානන්ද කොඩිතුවක්කුය. ජනතා  විමුක්ති පෙරමුණට (jvp) යාහැකි මඟ-part 1 (20/11/2023), ජාතික විමුක්ති පෙරමුණ හා සිංහල බුද්ධාගම (jvp &Buddhism) – part 2 (2/12/2023) යනුවෙන් ලිපි දෙකක් මා අනුර කුමාරට හා පක්ෂයට යැවූවේ jvp විසින් මාලිමාවට අධ්‍යාත්මය සපයනවා යයි අනුර කුමාර කල ප්‍රකාශ හා එක්තරා භික්ෂු සංවිධානයක් ඔවුන්ට සෙත් පිරිත් කියමින් රටවටේ යාමද නිසාය. 1935 සිටම අඩුවැඩි වශයෙන් රටපුරා වෛරය වැපුරූ මාක්ස්වාදී කළු සුද්දන් වෙනුවට 2024 වනවිට මෛත්‍රීයෙන් පිරිණු හෘදය ශාක්ෂියක් පිළිඹද විශ්වාසයක් අනුර කුමාර චන්දදායකයින් තුල ගොඩනගා ගත්තේය. මෙම හෘදය ශාක්ෂිය පළුදු කර ගැනීම ඔහු කර නොගත යුතුය,

වික්ටර් අයිවන්, ලයනල් බෝපගේ, නන්දන වීරරත්න, සුනන්ද දේශප්‍රිය යනාදීන් විසින් දැන් වයස ගියවිට කරණ පාපෝච්චාරණ අනුව බලනවිට, 1971 අප්‍රේල් jvp කැරැල්ල ගැන 1971 දෙසැම්බර් මාසයේදී මගේ වයස 25 දී මා දැරු අදහස් කෙතරම් යථාර්ථවාදීද කියා මට සිතේ. 1971 හා 1987-90 කාලයේ JVP ට උපකාර කල ප්‍රින්ස් ගුණසේකර මහතා දරා තිබෙන්නේ ද මෙවැනිම අදහසක් (ආයුධ අතට නොගන්නා ලෙස) බව මා දැනගත්තේ අදය (RNK ලංඩන් TALKS).  දිලිත් ජයවීර හැරෙනවිට අනිත් විරුද්ධ පක්ෂ මන්ත්‍රීන් අවලංගු කාසිය. එහෙත් ආණ්ඩුවේ මන්ත්‍රීන් 159 දෙනා ඉගෙන ගත යුතු පාඩම් බොහෝය. (NPP JVP අධිමානය- ලයනල් බෝපගේ, සාලිය ගලප්පත්ති සමඟ කල සාකච්චාව, විශ්ව වාහිනී TV 20/3/2024; දේශප්‍රිය, සන්නස්ගල සමඟ කල සාකච්චාව).

ඩෝබිලා හා දායක සභා

රසික ජයකොඩි දේශපාලකයින්ගේ විනාශයට හේතුවන කරුණු දෙකක් සඳහන් කලේය. එකක් නම් බලය ලැබුණු විට ඇතිවන උද්දච්ච කමය. අනික නම් ඔවුන් වටකරගෙන ඉන්නා මැටි මොල් රැලය. මොවුන් ඩෝබිලා හෝ දායක සභා හෝ විය හැකිය. ඩෝබිලා කරන්නේ  උදාහරණයක් වශයෙන්, ආරම්භයේදී රන්වලට කඩේ ගොස්, රෙදි සෝදා ඉන් පසු ඔහු අමාරුවේ වැටුණ විට ඔහුට අවාසිවන ලෙස රෙද්දේ අනිත් පැත්ත සේදීමය. මොවුන් AKD ආණ්ඩුවට කරන්නේ බලවත් හානියකි (ලියනගේ අමරකීර්ති, නිර්මාල් රංජිත් දේවසිරි- ජානක අධිකාරි යන ඔරිජිනල් jvpකාරයින් තුන් දෙනාගේ සමාජ ජාලා සංවාදය බලන්න, 13/12/24).

පන්සිල් පද පහ හා රංවලලාගේ ටයිටල්

රන්වල නොබෙල් තෑග්ගක් දිණු අයෙක් වුනත් කථානායක <හවරිය> දාගන්නා හැටි අසා දැන නොගත් එක උද්දච්ච්කම හෝ නූගත්කම අතර අර්බුදයක් බව මීට කලින් ලියූ කෙටි ලිපියේ සටහන් කලෙමි. ඔහු විසින් කල යුතුව තිබුනේ සිස්ටම් චේන්ජ් යටතේ එම ලෝගුවට විශ්‍රාම දීම නොවේද? හිසට දාඩිය දමද්දීත් නඩුකාරයින් නම් එය දමාගෙන ඉන්නේ සමහරවිට තට්ට හිසකට යම් ගාම්භීරකමක් ලබා දීමටය.

සමහර ඇමතිවරු ත්‍රීපීස් සූට් ඇඳගෙන යනවිට එය ඔවුන්ට පුරුදු නැති නාඩගමක් බව වීඩියෝ වලින් පෙනේ. අනිත් කාරණය නම් ඔවුන්ටත් සජිත් ප්‍රේමදාස ගාය (පොල් පරාල ඉන්ගිරිස් වලින් කතා කිරීම) වැළදී තිබීමය. රජා මරන්නේ නැතිව සිංහලෙන් කතා කර භාෂා පරිවර්තකයෙක් යොදා ගැනීම ලැජ්ජාවට කරුණක්ද? සිරිසේන ජනාධිපති පෝප් ඉදිරියේ කටුනායක ගුවන් තොටුපල අසලදී කරගත්තා මෙන් විහිළු සැපයීම සඳහා ඇමති ධූර පාවාදිය යුතු නැත. මෙය එක්තරා අන්දමක හීනමානයක් නොවේද? දැන් බලාගෙන යනවිට ආණ්ඩුවේ ඉන්නා අවංකම පංචස්කන්ධය ලාල් කාන්ත පමණක්ද කියා මට සිතේ. ඩයානා, කුමාරීයක් වූ පසු ඇයට ඉංග්‍රීසි කතාකරන්න ඉගැන්වූයේය. ඒත් ඇය රැජිනට කිව්වේ ටොප් ලේඩි කියාය. ඇමෙරිකන් ජනාධිපති දෙවෙනි බුෂ් යේල් යුනිවර්සිටි එකට ගියත් හරි හැටි ඉංගිරිස් දැන සිටියේ නැත.

කොසොල් රජතුමා- හොබ්/ලොක්/රූසෝ/ කාල් මාක්ස්

කොසොල් රජතුමා දුටු හීන දාසැය පිළිඹඳව මහා සුපින ජාතකයේ දැක්වෙන  විවරණය ලෝකයේ ප්‍රථම දේශපාලන විද්‍යා සූත්‍රයක් වැනිය. රන්වල නිසා රටේ මතුවූ උපාධි අර්බුදය ලංකාවේ සිංහල බෞද්ධයයි කියාගන්නා පක්ෂ දේශපාලක කළු සුද්දන් විසින් රටට කල විනාශයේ තවත් සිස්ටම් හුටපටයකි. ලංකාවේ තිබෙන ලොකු කුඩා දුෂ්ඨ ත්‍රිකෝණ වල නිලධාරියා යන අංශයට අයත්වන අනු සිස්ටම් තුනක් වන, ප්‍රොපෙසර්, දොස්තර හා ලෝයර් මාෆියා ගැන ක්‍රියාකිරීමට AKD ආණ්ඩුවට අනගි අවස්ථාවක් දැන් ලැබී තිබේ. ඔහුගේ ආණ්ඩුවට මුක්කුගසන මේ කොටස් තුන ශුද්ධ කිරීමට ඉඩක් ලැබේවිද යන සැකය ඇතිවන්නේ රන්වල සිද්ධියේදී ආණ්ඩුවේ මැති ඇමතිලා හැසිරෙන ආකාරය නිසාය.

දණ හිස්සෙන් පහල

නලින්ද ජයතිස්සට අනුව රන්වල සිද්ධිය දණ හිසෙන් පහල කතාවකි. මෙය මිනී දණ හිස්සෙන් ඉහලට ඔසවා ගෙන යාම තහනම් කල jvp යුගය සිහිකරවයි. මෙය රසික ජයකොඩි කියන උද්දච්චකම නිසා පාලකයින් විනාශවී යෑම නමැති මිනිස් දුර්වලතාවයට උදාහරණයකි. රන්වල ගැන අසත්‍ය කරුණු සැපයූ අයට විරුද්ධ ක්‍රියාකරණවා යයි නලින්ද දුන් උත්තරය ගහේ අත්තේ අග ඉඳගෙන ගහමුලින් අත්ත කපා දැමීමක් වැනි යයි ජනප්‍රිය  කාරිගේ චැනල් 1 න් දුටු දේ අනුව මට සිතේ. මෙවැනි ආකල්ප දැරීමේ භායනක කම නම් තමන්ගේ ශාඛා සමිති 13,000 මඟින් ගම්වල ජනතාව එක් රැස් කර  ගම පාලනය කරනවා යන කතාවට වෙන්නේ කුමක්ද යන්නය. පක්ෂ දේශපාලනයෙන් තොර ස්වාභාවික මායිම් සහිත ජන සභා ක්‍රමයක්  මඟින් රටේ ප්‍රශ්ණ සියේට හැට හැත්තාවක් පමණම විසඳාගත හැකිව තිබෙද්දී නලින්දලාගේ ආකල්පය ගම්වල jvp/npp නායකයින්ද අනුගමණය කලොත්, 1972 කාලයේ ආරම්භකල ජනතා කොමිටි සංකල්පය, ජනතා කොටි වශයෙන් අභාවයට ගිය අන්දම සිහිපත් කරලන්නේය.

සුගන්ධිකා ප්‍රනාන්දු විසින් දර්ශන හඳුන්ගේ සමඟ කල සාකච්චාවේදී පෙන්වා දුන් අන්දමට මුළු යුක්තිය පසිඳලීමේ සිස්ටම් එකම (උසාවි, නඩුකාරයින්, ලෝයර්ලා. පොලිසිය, හිරගෙවල් යනාදී) අතිශයින් දූෂිත මහජනයා පීඩාවට පත්කරන්නකි. සෞඛ්‍ය සේවය වගේම විශ්ව විද්‍යාල ගුරුවරුන්ද කරගෙන යන මාෆියාව දැන ගැනීමට ඒවායේ සිසුන්ට පුද්ගලිකව කතා කලයුතුය. මොවුන් නෝට්ස් කියවනවා මිස රටට වැඩක් ඇති පර්යේෂණ කරනවාද? වාරවසානයෙදී මොවුන්ගේ සේවය තක්සේරු කිරීමට  සිසුන්ට අවස්ථාවක් ලබාදිය යුතුය.

චතුරංග අබේසිංහ වැනි jvp තරුණ මන්ත්‍රීලා රන්වල සිද්ධිය ගැන කියන කතා ඩෝබි කතාය. කෙසේ හෝ පක්ෂයට සිදුවූ හානිය අවමකර ගත හැකියයි සිතා ඔවුන් කරණ කතා වැල්ලේ කඩදාසි ගෙවල් හදනවා වැනි බව ඔවුන්ට නොතේරේ. හර්ෂණ නානායක්කාරට ඔහුගේ නමට ආචාරිය කියා දැමීම ප්‍රශ්ණයක්වී CID ගියේ ඒ ගැන කතාවක් මතුවුනාට පසුවය!

රොනී ද මැල් සින්ඩ්‍රෝම්

නිලධාරියාගෙන් දේශපාලකයාට බලය මාරුවීමේ උපනතිය කල්තියාම දැක, ඒජන්ත රක්ෂාවේ ඇති රස දැනසිටි සිය බිරිඳගේ දිගුකාලීන විරෝධය ජයගත් වහාම විශ්‍රාම වැටුපත් එපා කියා සිවිල් සේවය අතහැර දේශපාලනයට බැස පක්ෂ මාරුකිරීමේලා වාර්තා තැබූ රොනී ද මැල්, මෙම උපාධි කලබගෑනියේ එක් පැත්තක ආරම්භය සනිටුහන් කරයි. සිංහල මාධ්‍යයෙන් OL, AL හා විශ්ව විද්‍යාවලට ගිය ගම්බද දුගී පිරිස් තමන්ට රාජ්‍ය සේවයට, විශ්ව විද්‍යාල ගුරුකම් වලට ඉඩකඩ ලැබුණත් ඉංගිරිස් නැතිකමේ හීනමානයෙන් පීඩා වින්ඳේය. රොනී දුටු උපනතියට ඔවුන් මුහුණ දුන්නේ දේශපාලකයා ගොනාට අන්දවමින් තමන්ගේ බඩගෝස්තරය රැකගැනීම හරහාය. දේශපාලකයා හත පාස් නැති, කසිප්පු මුදලාලි යනාදී වශයෙන් ඒම JR/RP ගේ චන්ද ක්‍රමය අනුව 1978 න් පසු ප්‍රචලිත විය.

ගංගොඩවිල සෝම හිමිඳුන්

තමන්ගේ අණසක යටතේ ඉන්නේ  උපාධිකාරයින් යන කාරණය නූගත් මන්ත්‍රීලාට මෝඩ අභිමානයක් ගෙනාවේය. මාකටින් දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ කඩයක බඩු විකුණමින් සිට ඇමතිකෙනෙක්වූ මර්වින් සිල්වා මෙම හීනමානය වසාගත්තේ සල්ලිදී ආචාර්ය සහතිකයක් ලබාගෙනය.  ඔහු කියා සිටියේ ඔහුටත් G. L පීරිස්ටත් ආචාර්ය උපාධි තිබෙන බවය! මෙවැනි කාරණා නිසා හොර උපාධිකඩ හතු පිපෙනවා මෙන් මතුවිය. එක්තරා උපකුලපති කෙනෙකුගේ ඥාති සහෝදරයෙක් ලක්ෂ දෙකකට ආචාර්ය සහතික විකුණුවේය. දකුණු පලාතේ ආණ්ඩුකාරයෙක්වූ විලී ගමගේ  නමත් මීට අයත්ද යන සැකය දුරු කල හැක්කේ ඔහුටම පමණය.  පාසැලට දමා ගැනීම සඳහා කුඩා ළමයාට පදිංචි ලිපිනය ගැන බොරුවක් කියන්නට සලස්වන දෙමාපියන් සිටින සමාජයක වෙනත් නොයෙක් දූෂණ අක්‍රමිකතා අතර හොර අධ්‍යාපන සුදුසුකම් පෙන්වීමට හිරි-ඔත්තප්ප භාධාවක් වන්නේ කෙසේද? වෙනකක් තබා ලංකාවේ ජනාධිපති වීමට තරම් ජනප්‍රියවූ සෝම හාමුදුරුවෝ රුසියාවේ අපවත්වූයේ උපාධියකට තිබූ ගිජුකම නිසා උගුලකට අසුවිමෙන්ය.

කොටි වලිගය

අනුර කුමාරට අතිමහත් රාජ්‍ය පාලන බලයක් ලැබීමට මූලිකම හේතුව වූයේ පක්ෂ දේශපාලක හොරුන් විසින් ඇතිකල දූෂිත, අශීලාචාර, ආත්මාර්ථකාමී, සමාජයක් වෙනුවට විනය ගරුක රටක්  බිහිකිරීමට ඔහුට හැකිය යන විශ්වාසය නිසාය. රටේ තිබෙන අනිත් හැම අර්බුදයක්ම මෙම සදාචාරය, අවංකභාවය හා විනය ගරුක සමාජයක් පිලිඹද රටවැසියාට ඇති ආශාවට යටය. උදාහරණයක් වශයෙන් ගම් නගරවල ඇති සෑම වගා නොකල, පහසුවෙන් වගා කල හැකි හිස් බිම්වල වගාකිරීමට නීතියක් පනවා එය රජයේ ප්‍රාදේශීය ලේකම්ලා යටතේ නිලධාරීන් මඟින් ක්‍රියාත්මක කර (සෑම GSN කොට්ථාශයකම නිලධාරීන් 6 සිටී), එම ක්‍රියාවලිය මොනිටර් කිරීම සඳහා දැනටමත් සංවිධානය කර  තිබෙන JVP  ශාඛා සමිති 13,000 උපයෝගී කරගත හැකිය. මෙම ශාඛා සමිති විනය ගරුක, සාධාරණ පුදගලයින්ගෙන් සමන්විත විය යුතුය.

AKD ආණ්ඩුවේ සෑම මන්ත්‍රී කෙනෙක්ම පත්වූයේ පක්ෂය මඟින් ක්‍රියාත්මක කල සංවිධානාත්මක සැලැස්මක් හා දැඩි විනයක් යටතේය. මේ නිසා යම් පංචස්කන්ධයක් බොරු තොරතුරු චන්ද දායකයින්ට පැවසුවා නම් ඔවුන් දුසිමක් දෙකක් වුවත් මන්ත්‍රීකමින් ඉවත් කර ලිස්ට් එකේ ඊලඟ මනාපකරුව/කාරියව පත් කල යුතුය. මීට හේතුව ඔවුන් වංචාකර ඇත්තේ පක්ෂයට හා මහජනයාට යන දෙකොටසටම වීමය. මෙවැනි එඩිතර දැඩි තීරණයකින් මිස AKD ආණ්ඩුවට මෙම  අර්බුදයෙන් ගැලවීමට නොහැකිය. මෙසේ කලොත් 1958 දී SWRD බණ්ඩාරනායක අගමැති ගෙන් පසුව මෙවැනි පියවරක් ගත් රාජ්‍ය නායකයා වන්නේ 2024 දී AKD ය. වෙඩිකෑ ඌරන්සේ හැසිරෙන පරාජිත දේශපාලක රොඩු මෙය අත අරින්නේ නැත. මැති ඇමතිලා හා පක්ෂයට කඩේ යන අය කියන නොයෙක් නිදහසට කරුණු පැස්බරා වැල්ලේ හිස ගසා ගන්නවා වැනිය.

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vijitha Herath, has provided an update on the country’s strategic efforts to revitalize its tourism sector, which has faced unprecedented challenges in recent years due to the Easter Sunday attacks, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the economic crisis.

Speaking at the India Foundation Program, Herath stated, We too had such a big tourism before the Easter Sunday attack, 2018. We got (the) highest amounts of tourists. And at that time, according to my memory, we earned four billion (dollars).”

Herath pointed out the compounding challenges Sri Lanka faced due to these crises: After the Easter Sunday attack, there was a COVID-19 situation. After that, the economic crisis was there. Because of those three factors, we faced so many difficulties. The first one was the Easter Sunday attack. The second one was COVID-19. The third one was the economic crisis. Now, all those factors are not there,” he explained, adding that these barriers are no longer present.

Looking forward, the Minister expressed hope for boosting tourism, particularly from India: We can increase our tourism industry. And we hope to open our hands to India. And we hope the Indian tourists will come.”

A key part of the strategy to boost tourism involves a policy change set for January 2024. Herath revealed, At the beginning of next January, we will pass some cassette notification in the parliament. In that cassette notification, we will give free visas to 39 countries.”

This move is expected to make it easier for tourists, including those from India, to visit Sri Lanka.

Additionally, Herath made an appeal regarding travel facilities for Sri Lankans to India, stating, Then the most of the Indians, not only Indians but also so 39 other countries, tourists can visit us easily. And apart from that, I feel from your country, you asked also for that facility. India has not given that facility yet. Therefore, please inform your government to give that facility to Sri Lankans.” 

(ANI)

–Agencies

Courtesy Adaderana

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has expressed his gratitude to the Chinese government for its support during debt restructuring as well as in the face of the economic crisis.

He stated that his appreciation extends to China’s assistance in the debt restructuring program and its provision of loans to Sri Lanka during the economic challenges.

President Dissanayake made these remarks during a meeting with Ms. Qin Boyong, Vice Chairperson of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), held today (18) at the Parliamentary Complex, the President’s Media Division (PMD) reported.    

Ms. Qin Boyong noted that China looks forward to continuing its work with the new government of Sri Lanka, further strengthening the longstanding relationship between the two countries.

The President also expressed his gratitude for China’s assistance during Sri Lanka’s disaster situations and the provision of school uniforms for children. He emphasized the continued need for China’s support in the future.

President Dissanayake highlighted the importance of completing the unfinished sections of the Central Expressway under Chinese management and expressed hopes to expedite the commencement of supply hubs and institutional projects cantered around the Colombo Port City and Hambantota District.  

Ms. Qin Boyong stated that there are plans to restart maritime research activities, which were temporarily halted for various reasons, along with initiating relevant projects, the PMD said.

Furthermore, she mentioned that Chinese companies intend to establish themselves in the Hambantota investment zone, aiming to provide Sri Lanka with better global access. She also revealed that preparations are underway to warmly welcome President Anura Kumara Dissanayake during his future visit to China.  

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment, and Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath, Deputy Speaker Dr. Rizvie Salih and committee member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Mr. Ma Youxiang, among others, were present at this event.  

–PMD

Madyawediya

Courtesy Hiru News

During yesterday’s (17) parliamentary session, MP Chamindranee Kiriella addressed allegations about her educational qualifications, posting a statement on her Facebook page in response to questions raised in Parliament.

Kiriella stated that recent social media allegations had made baseless and malicious claims about her qualifications, aiming to damage her reputation for narrow political reasons. She clarified her status as a barrister, explaining that she passed the bar exam at Lincoln’s Inn, UK, in 2000, and underwent 12 months of training (pupillage) with leading barristers in the UK, which allowed her to practice in any UK court. She emphasized that well-known figures, such as former British Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, are also barristers from Lincoln’s Inn.

Kiriella further explained that in Sri Lanka, titles obtained due to foreign educational qualifications are accepted, citing examples like the use of “Dr” by individuals with a Ph.D. from abroad. She also clarified that the term “barrister” is not used in the Sri Lankan Supreme Court, as the Sinhala translation of “barrister” is understood as “Adineethinga” in local language translations.

She reaffirmed her legal credentials, stating that she was sworn in as an advocate of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka in 2003. Kiriella also provided details of her academic background, including her Bachelor of Laws (LL.B Honours) from the University of Buckingham, UK, and a Postgraduate Diploma in International Finance and Law (LL.M) from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

In conclusion, Kiriella reiterated her commitment to upholding the trust placed in her by the people of Sri Lanka.

Courtesy Hiru News

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa addressed parliament today (18) to present and clarify his educational qualifications in response to questions raised by Minister Nalinda Jayatissa.

Premadasa detailed his educational journey, starting with pre-school at St. Bridget&rsquo;s Convent, primary education at St. Thomas Primary School (Grades 1-5), and secondary education at Royal College (Grades 6-9), after which he moved abroad without sitting for the Ordinary Level examination in Sri Lanka.

He explained that he completed his O-Level studies at Millhill College in England between 1983-1984, achieving 2 A passes, 2 B passes, and 3 C passes, while also receiving the School Prize for Political Science and Economics in the Upper 6th class, equivalent to the Advanced Level. He passed the A-Level examination with 2 B grades and 1 C grade.

Premadasa stated that he was admitted to the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he completed his degree in 1991. He later joined the University of Maryland College Park in the United States for a Master’s program in Public Management but discontinued it due to his father’s passing.

He also disclosed that in 2021, he enrolled at the Open University of Sri Lanka to pursue a Master’s degree.

Premadasa denied allegations of falsifying his qualifications and displayed his records to substantiate his claims. He refuted rumors of a fake W9 result attributed to him, affirming the authenticity of his credentials.

The Opposition Leader asserted that he would resign as a Member of Parliament, Opposition Leader, and politician if anyone could prove that the educational qualifications he presented were fabricated.

I am a degree holder, says Sajith

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa claimed today that he is a degree holder and tabled all his certificates in Parliament.

“I attended Kindergarten at St. Bridget’s Convent and then joined S. Thomas Prep for my Primary Education. I studied at Royal from Grade six but sat for my Ordinary Level and Advanced Level examinations at Milhill College UK. I joined the University of London and obtained by first degree. However, I could not complete my Masters as I returned to Sri Lanka in 1993 after my father’s death and took up politics. However, later I joined the University of Maryland, US and then did a Masters degree at the Open University. Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya was my lecturer at the Open University,” he said.

Premadasa tabled all his educational cirtificates in the House.

Sugath Kulatunga

Sri Lanka Public Service (PS) is a massive organization with 1.3 million public servants in a ratio of 1to16 members of the population. It costs the government Around LKR 1 trillion annually on salaries and approximately LKR 300-400 billion annually on pensions. As a percentage of GDP Public sector expenditure represents about 10-15% of Sri Lanka’s GDP.

The largest service within the PS is the clerical service (CS), with 28,000 members which plays an important role in the PS by maintaining records and facilitating decision making. As subject clerks, they are the keepers of information.

The locus in which information is stored, analyzed, and decisions are recorded is the FILE, which is treated with reverence.

A file is like a book but with the difference that the first page of a file is the bottom/last page. On the left of a file are a few folios where minutes are recorded.  The standard procedure is when letters are received (called Tappal) the OA or the Chief Clerk distribute the mail to the relevant subject clerks.

In the olden days the subject clerks used to submit minutes quoting relevant rules and precedents and even pros and cons of a decision to be made. Most staff offifcers were over dependent on the recommendations of the subject clerks who were the jealous controllers of information leading to a tyranny of the subject clerks.

On the other hand, today most subject clerks submit files to staff officers with a perfunctory minute or the favorite submission of ‘for orders please’. At present minute sheets are not maintained, and endorsements are made on the letter received.

A popular criticism of the office procedure is that public servants are dictated to by the the contents in the ‘in-tray’.

The cyclic movement of Files are upwards for instructions and downwards for action.

In every office the daily attendance of personnel is recorded in an attendance register. Which is a farce. It is manipulated to accommodate late comers. It should be replaced with time recording machines. In city offices clock watching is a common practice towards closing times. Hardly any work is done during the last half an hour. In Colombo train times determine the office times of many public servants.

The average daily routine of many public servants is signing the attendance register, spending 10 minutes in the washroom, 20 minutes at breakfast in the canteen, another 30 minutes to browse through newspapers. These times may differ between males and females, but the fact is that they start work only after 40 to 60 minutes. There many exceptions.

The cost per hour of a public servant earning Rs 50,000 per month, works out to be

Rs 30 per hour or 50 cents per minute.

Can the public servants be blamed for this waste of time? Most of them who work in the City spend at least an hour on travel to office in jam-packed buses, perhaps standing. They do not have time in the morning to have breakfast at home. By the

time they come to office they are exhausted.

The urban travel time cannot be reduced due to traffic congestion which has no easy solution. The better answer is to decentralize the office system. There are two solutions. One is to move departments where the work is more relevant to a particular region to those regions. For example, Colombo District has no major irrigation works but this big department is located in Colombo. It can be shifted to Anuradhapura. The very large Department of Agriculture is in Peradeniya operating efficiently and effectively. This is necessary even as a measure of decentralized administration.

The second solution which becomes easier with digitalization is to establish satellite secretariats in the peripheral towns around Colombo. These can be located in towns which already have hospitals, schools and other facilities, like in Negombo, Minuwangoda, Homagama, Horana and Panadura. An example of such a possible set-up is given below. This will be a systems change to make the PS more effective and more public servant friendly.

Central Office:

1. Fiber optic line connects to a switch/router.
2. LAN devices (desktops, servers, printers) connect locally via Ethernet or Wi-Fi.
3. Satellite Office:
   • The other end of the fiber optic line connects to another switch/router.
   • LAN devices at the satellite office are integrated into the network.
4. Routing and Security:
   • A secure link (e.g., VPN or MPLS) ensures that data between the two offices is encrypted and safe.
   • IT teams might set up firewalls, VLANs, and QoS (Quality of Service) to prioritize traffic.

Where necessary CCTV cameras can also be installed for monitoring.

Sugath Kulatunga

London Talks

1971 මෙන්ම 1987 -1990 අතර කාලය ශ්‍රී ලාංකාවාසින් නැවත මතක් කරන්නට අකමැති මුසල දේශපාලකයන් මෙන්ම අවස්ථාවාදී මිනිස් වෙස් ගත් වෘකයන් ජිවත් වූ යුගයකි. අනෙක් අතින් සිය යුගයේ මිනිසුන්ගේ සහ ගැහැණුන්ගේ ජිවිත වලට යහපත් දවසක් උදා කිරීමේ හුදු අරමුණින් යුතුව සමාජ ශෝධනයක් සහ නව සමාජයක් උදෙසා සිය දිවි පරදුවට තබා සටන් වැදී මානව හිතවාදී, දේශ හිතැති, සිය ජිවිත මෙන්ම ඒ හා බැඳුනු සියළු දෑ අහිමි කර ගත් තරුණ පරපුරකි. එහෙත් අවි ආයුධ සහිත සහ ආරක්ෂක බල ඇණි සිය පාලනය යටතේ තමනට රිසි පරිදි මෙහෙයවා ගත් බල ලෝභී, කුරිරු, අධම කපටි දේශපාලකයන් ඔවුන් සතු බලය යොදවා උක්ත තරුණ නැගිටීම් අවි බලයෙන් මෙල්ල කලහ. එත් ඒවා තාවකාලික මෙල්ල කිරීම් වූ බව ඉතිහාසය මෙන්ම වතමානයද සාක්ෂි ගොනු කොට ඇත. 1971 මෙන්ම 1987-90 කාලයේදී සිය නිර්ධන පන්තියේ මිනිසුන්ගේ අයිතීන් රකින්නට තමනට ගෙවන්නට හැකිව තිබු සුඛෝපබෝගී ජීවිතය පවා අමතක කරමින් අධිටනින් කොට, ජේ ආර් ජයවර්ධනගේ රාජ්‍ය ත්‍රස්ත වාදී ආණ්ඩුවේ දැඩි උදහසට පත්වූ ඒ සුන්දර මිනිසා නමින් ප්‍රින්ස් ගුනසේකරය.ඔහු නීතිඥවරයෙකි වෘත්තියෙ වරයෙකි. ඔහු විසින් එංගලන්තයට පිටුවහල් කොට සිටියදී ලියන ලද ‘අහිමි පරපුර’ කෘතියේ දෙවන සන්ස්කරණය ජනගත කිරීම වෙනුවෙන් පවත්වන ලද සම්මුඛ සාකච්චාවකි. වැඩසටහනේ සම්පත්දායකයන්: ජ්‍යෙෂ්ට මාධ්‍යවෙදී, ගත් කතුවර නන්දන වීරරත්න නීතිඥ රන්ජිත් පනාමුල්ලේ ගාමිණි මුතුකුමාරණ වැඩ සටහන මෙහෙයවීම : හේම සිරිවර්ධන , හිටපු ජ්‍යෙෂ්ට කථිකාචාර්ය ජනමාධ්‍ය

By Nalliah Thayabharan

Canada’s deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, quit her job, just before she was set to deliver the latest budget, like calling in sick before an important meeting that you know you can’t handle. The $62 billion deficit that was set to be announced – $22 billion more than finance minister Chrystia Freeland’s projected target – might have had something to do with it.

Chrystia Freeland claimed that she was pushed out first, though, writing in her resignation letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, On Friday, you told me you no longer want me to serve as your Finance Minister and offered me another position in the cabinet.”  Chrystia Freeland also informed that she rejected costly political gimmicks” like sales tax holidays and one time cash handouts, presumably, which she herself had spent months relentlessly promoting. Chrystia Freeland makes it sound like she was a sudden voice of reason, and referred to strenuous efforts this fall to manage our spending in ways that will give us the flexibility we will need to meet the serious challenges presented by the United States.”

The first person to descend at any random bus stop in Canada is about as qualified as Chrystia Freeland to manage Canada’s finances, and this would explain why inflation, cost of living, and unemployment have skyrocketed on her watch. But it’s really just a vibecession,” she recently suggested. Damn Canadians just need to shift their mindset and stop pretending that her economy sucks.

Canadians are always the problem for Chrystia Freeland, particularly when Canadians stand in the way of whatever agenda this World Economic Forum protégée and trustee is trying to force feed them. When Canadians pushed back against Covid jab mandates through the Freedom Convoy trucker movement, Chrystia Freeland ordered their bank accounts blocked.

Chrystia Freeland’s expertise seems to come from the financial journalism that she did, from Ukraine, where her grandfather once ran a World War II-era Nazi newspaper. Maybe she could just go be the finance minister there now, since the Ukrainian Canadian Congress just issued a statement calling her one of the key leaders in the G7 and international community in developing the plan to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, she ensured continued and predictable support for Ukraine’s defense of the freedom of Europe.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for a no-confidence vote against himself on Monday, officially asking the parliamentarians of the Bundestag whether they might wish to do him the honor of taking a foot to his arsch – a case of political suicide-by-cop. Chancellor Olaf Scholz wanted them to put his current mandate out of its misery because he’s totally impotent, politically speaking. Why? Because the yellow light centrists of his traffic light coalition bailed on him and he no longer has the majority needed to ram things through parliament.

All this came about because Scholz’s finance minister, Christian Lindner, from the centrist Free Democratic Party, decided back in November that he wasn’t interested in a career as a magician attempting to work miracles with Scholz’s spending priorities. Germany virtue-signaled itself right into economic devastation following along with EU sanctions to impress their girlfriend Vladimir Zelensky. Then Scholz told his finance minister to just lift his foot up off the debt brake a bit so he can go on another €15 billion ($15.7 billion) spending joyride for Ukraine. And Lindner was like, nope, how about you just dust off some of those long-range Taurus missiles in the closet and give those to your girlfriend instead? Yeah, they’re dangerous, but they’re also just sitting there like an unused exercise bike with laundry hanging off it, so it’s a win-win – well, except for that World War III risk.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz didn’t want to do that because it would mean babysitting Kiev so it didn’t start a third world war against Russia. It would also mean sending German troops to Ukraine so Zelensky could sit on their lap and pretend to drive the Tauruses. And it’s never the toddler who gets blamed for those accidents.

So Scholz and Lindner had a falling out over a month ago that ultimately led to a breakup, with Lindner and his yellow light centrists walking away from Scholz’s coalition table like a teenaged clique in the school cafeteria.

German lawmakers welcomed the opportunity to kick Scholz in the lederhosen and out of the Biergarten. One down, one more to go. Because next up (probably) is Christian Democrat leader Friedrich Merz, currently topping the polls ahead of an expected February election. He seems keen on giving Washington and Brussels even more power over German decision-making. Yeah, maybe Washington can advise Berlin on nail placement for its economic coffin, too? As if that’s really Germany’s big issue right now – that it wasn’t sycophantic enough under Scholz, with Merz saying how it was embarrassing how Scholz acted in the European Union.” Scholz shrugged off Nord Stream being blown up, putting the German economy at the mercy of pricey American gas, and Merz doesn’t think Scholz was enough of a team player?

Ukrainians sound about as well-off now as a result of Chrystia Freeland’s efforts as Europeans are free,” so she’s clearly done a bang-up job on both fronts. Just like she has in Canada.

Next up to pop the escape hatch: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself. Maybe. He’s reportedly considering his options. Ziplining into oblivion behind Chrystia Freeland sounds like a good one. If all these globalists could please just form an orderly line for a permanent express checkout, they’d be doing their citizens and the entire Western world so much more of a service than their presence ever has.

The Western political establishment is in crisis. The dominoes are falling, and it’s the leaders who once championed the very agendas driving their countries into economic and political disarray who are now jumping ship. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland have already taken the emergency exits, leaving behind chaos and fractured coalitions. The big question now is who else will flee soon.

Western leaders are pushing the world towards a global economic collapse and military conflict which could cost millions of lives. In the Middle East despite overwhelming evidence of fundamentalism and genocide, and also deliberately antagonizing China into conflict through escalated militarization in the Pacific, South China Sea and Indian Ocean.

Because the Global South is unifying economically and strategically, and with time will challenge the Western dominance which enables it to extract wealth and resources from poorer nations like Sri Lanks. Western imperialism is threatened, and Western governments clearly see war as the means for maintaining the status quo. 

By Dimitris Konstantakopoulos .Courtesy defenddemocracy

In my previous article on Syria I argued that there is a Damascus-Tehran (not forgetting Lebanon and Palestine) train that is now preparing to depart”.

The ink on the article did not have time to ‘dry’, so to speak, since no ink is used anymore, and the train started to whistle for departure.

The Prime Minister of Israel himself, after congratulating himself for the triumph” in Syria, rushed to address a speech in English to the citizens of Iran, promising regime change” much sooner than he thought, with the help of Israel itself of course. Judging by what happened in Syria, we can imagine what fate awaits the Iranians and their country if these plans come to fruition. 

According to the Times of Israel, the Israeli armed forces have already begun preparations for an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, considering that, after the destruction of Syria, a window of opportunity” has been created. Netanyahu accused Iraq and Iran as early as 1992 (!) of being ready to build nuclear weapons, accusations that were never proven, rather the opposite, but served as an excuse for the US-British invasion of Iraq, of which he himself was the architect. In an attempt perhaps to restrain Israel’s hotheads, CIA chief William Burns stressed last October that there was no sign of a change in Tehran’s decision not to build nuclear weapons. Similar assessments have been made by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the US Pentagon. 

Of course Israel wants to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme. But as in the case of Iraq, the alleged existence or preparation to acquire nuclear weapons serves as a pretext. The real aim is to overthrow the regime in Iran, if not to dismember that country, in accordance with the Yinon and Cohen strategies and the neoconservative Middle East war programme drawn up under the supervision of the current Israeli Prime Minister.(see for example the important article by the distinguished Columbia University Professor Jeffrey Sachs, the article and Ekaterina Matoi’s article on the geopolitics of Zionism)

Besides, the constant aggression and threats against Iran tend to act as a self-fulfilling prophecy” that may eventually push Iran to build nuclear weapons.

The American factor 

Mr. Netanyahu knows, however, that Israel’s forces are not sufficient for such a purpose. Despite Israeli triumphalism, despite Israel’s great recent successes, Iran remains a powerful military force and a serious state. No one can be sure what an attack on it will mean and what the results of an attack on it will be. 

That is why Netanyahu wants both the approval and the assistance of the Americans. And because he has tried many times to get it, often by methods of deception and misinformation, he has created a kind of antibodies” inside the American state, especially in the armed forces, to some extent in the CIA, and even in part of the US political staff, despite its unprecedented dependence on the Lobby. 

But Netanyahu’s forces are already working in Trump’s environment to get the approval of the newly elected American President who, in his first four years of government, has more or less acted as a Netanyahu’s proxy. The assistance of Israel’s intelligence services also apparently played a decisive role in his election in 2016. Trump abrogated the international Iran nuclear deal that Obama had concluded, thus paving the way for the wars now being fought and the much larger ones that threaten to break out. 

After all, Trump himself urged Netanyahu last October to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, either because he shares this goal or because he wanted to get more support from the Israeli lobby. Of course he did not say what America should do. He remembers and even said it once that he agreed with Netanyahu for a joint operation to assassinate one of Iran’s leaders, General Suleymani, but in the end Israel left him in the cold to carry it out on his own, causing a near war between the US and Iran. 

 Trump, of course, faces two problems. The first is that he was elected promising Americans to stop the wars, not start new ones, even if deception and promise reversal has now,  for structural reasons,  become the bread and butter of Western politics. All tendencies of the Western establishment make policies contrary to the expectations of the vast majority of citizens. Even if they don’t want to, most Western politicians are forced to lie. 

 When jihadist and Turkish forces invaded Syria, Trump said it was none of his business, it was a Syrian affair. Of course, the American, British and Israeli secret services have close ties with the jihadists, Turkey is a member of NATO, even NATO’s secretary Rutte was in Ankara on the eve of the attack on Syria, where the head of the Israeli spy agency, Shin Bet, also went. But in the absence of a direct, visible American involvement Trump could say it was none of his business. And the American magazine Time, which did a long interview with the new president made sure not to ask him anything about Syria. 

 The second problem Trump faces is that Iran is a critical strategic ally of Russia and China. He must be confident that these two states will not decisively assist Tehran in the event of an attack on it. 

To deal with the first problem, he has already begun to prepare public opinion. Speaking to Time, he did not rule out the possibility of the United States being at war with Iran, and the magazine itself helped him by raising the unsubstantiated, if not outrageous, theory that Tehran had tried to assassinate him. The whole interview, moreover, constitutes a statement of adherence to Netanyahu’s Middle East agenda, with Trump neither defending the long-standing position of two states in Palestine nor disapproving of the possibility of Israel’s annexation of the West Bank. At the same time, his transition team” staff leaked to the Wall Street Journal information that he is seriously discussing attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Stick to Tehran, carrot to Moscow. 

But Trump has also to calm down Moscow, if he plans an attack on Iran.  

In the same interview to Time, Trump decried Western long-range missile strikes deep into Russian territory and stressed the need to stop the conflict in Ukraine, even saying at one point that Kiev should back off a bit, but avoiding being even remotely specific about the kind of agreement he seeks and believes possible. Of course, the disapproval of the strikes came more than a month late and after Moscow responded with a warning military escalation. It is, after all, unlikely that Biden would not have briefed Trump in his meeting with him before the strikes were launched or that Trump would have strongly disagreed and not made his disagreement public in time. 

 Of course, what Trump will do about the Ukrainian issue after assuming the presidency remains completely uncertain. For now, what is certain is what is happening in the Middle East. 

The heart of the Empire—the true power behind the increasingly absurd Western governments—now appears to be divided into various factions. However, most of these factions share a common strategic goal: maintaining the West’s global dominance at any cost. This may involve instigating a world war while striving to avoid nuclear annihilation, though the likelihood of completely avoiding this outcome over the long term seems very improbable.  

There are of course serious tactical differences between the various sections of the ruling oligarchy in the West, including the choice of targets and the timing of the attacks. Some give priority to Russia, others to Iran, others to China. Those who may possibly realise that all this is dangerous and dead-end adventurism probably constitute a small and marginalised minority. Maybe some do understand that NATO is unable to realise its ambitions,  that it has already been defeated, and think it would be well advised to recognise reality and move on to other fronts, undistracted from Ukraine. But even them they would like before doing it to get as much as they can from Russia. Others consider probably a disaster to acknowledge reality, that is, defeat in Ukraine. We cannot know now which part will prevail.  

 Iran, key to the world situation 

The speed at which Netanyahu is moving, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, with parallel strikes in Iraq and Yemen, is somewhat reminiscent of the lightning wars” that Germany waged between 1939 and 1941, occupying one after another European countries before taking by surprise the Soviet Union, which thought it had an alliance with it, in June 1941. 

It is also reminiscent of the period from 1989 to 1991, when one after another the Eastern regimes collapsed before the players had time to fully realise the stakes and organise their defences. 

The destruction of Syria is certainly a serious blow to the world forces resisting American-Israeli hegemonism and the quest for the reconstitution of a unipolar world, but it is also a great victory for the forces of Chaos and the Clash of Civilisations”  in reality the War against Civilization. It would not make sense to deny the reality. But the overthrow of the Iranian regime and the dissolution of Iran would be a world-class catastrophe. It would plunge the entire Middle East into chaos, torpedo all Chinese plans and Beijing’s access to essential energy resources, and turn it into a privileged base of aggressive campaign in the former USSR, Russia and China and elsewhere, while further encouraging a Western aggression already manifesting itself strongly and simultaneously from Moldova, Romania and Georgia to South Korea, Venezuela and Cuba. 

 Such an outcome would be an immense strategic victory of the collective West, which of course includes Israel to its rank and with a special leading” role. Of course, even is such a scenario will come true in the long and very long run the West (the Empire) does not have the ability to take over the whole planet. But it has the ability to destroy human civilization, as events in Syria prove.  

Instead of going to a world of cooperation, necessary to manage productive forces and technologies that can destroy life on Earth, we are going back to the mentality of Alexander the Great, the Roman Emperors, Napoleon or Hitler, which except of being morally reprehensive, are also unrealistic, they will get all of humanity to annihilation. If we want to save humanity, we must all mobilise to turn this page. 

Mankind may once again stand at a pivotal moment in its history, one potentially as significant as 1989, or at the very least, of great historical importance. We find ourselves at a new crossroads in world history, perhaps equally crucial to the transformative period of 1989–91. 

The outcome in Iran will decide the direction our world will take for decades. 

PS. One can’t help but wonder about China’s conspicuous absence during the Middle East crisis. Could Beijing have not extended even a modest form of financial aid to Syria, which was being bombarded by sanctions and airstrikes from all sides? What is China’s strategy in allowing others—many smaller nations in particular—to be crushed by the overwhelming force of Western military, economic, and political pressure, while it sits idly by, accumulating wealth, and in dollars at that? Is Beijing waiting for the U.S. to arrive in the Taiwan Strait or the Korean Peninsula before taking action? By then, it will be too late, and the costs will be far higher.

Now Iran’s turn. The spectre of a new “1989”

Judge Napolitano – Judging

Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Dec 17 (NewsWire) – Sri Lanka has renewed its interest in joining BRICS, with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake conveying the country’s aspirations during his three-day state visit to India.

India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri during a special media briefing on President Dissanayake’s visit said that Sri Lanka’s request however will be considered only when BRICS deliberates new memberships in the future.

Currently, there are no new members being considered by BRICS in addition to the ones that were already on the list since last year. But as and when there is a consensus within BRICS to start looking at new members, we will certainly take into account the interest expressed by Sri Lanka. This was something communicated to the Prime Minister by President Dissanayake,” Misri said.

BRICS, a forum for cooperation among emerging economies, currently includes nine members: Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Russia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates.

Earlier this year, Sri Lanka formally applied for BRICS membership, signaling its interest in aligning with the bloc of rapidly developing nations.

By P.K.Balachandran Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

 Colombo, December 17: In much the same way as it wooed the pro-China Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, New Delhi is now wooing Sri Lanka’s new pro-Chinese President Anura Kumara Dissanayake with generous and timely financial grants.  

Many grants and big ticket development initiatives were announced by India during the talks between Dissanayake and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held in New Delhi on Monday.

ADVERTISEMENT

Both sides candidly stated their interests and concerns, but at the same time agreed to work around the ticklish ones to put the relationship on a mutually beneficial and durable footing.  

Dissanayake and Modi had clearly struck a chord which was evident in their body language, with Modi putting his hand over Dissanayake’s shoulder in an easy manner as an elder would do to a younger person. The two were sporting broad smiles as they engaged in their one-on-one interaction.

The bonhomie appeared to emerge from the fact that both Dissanayake and Modi came from the same political stock. Both had humble origins, and had risen to the top from the grassroots level, honing their ideas and political skills in the course of a long and arduous political journey.

Mutual empathy and accommodation were evident in the joint communique issued at the end of the talks.  Being ardently and sometimes fiercely nationalistic, Dissanayake and Modi put forward their countries’ concerns and interests in a definitive manner, even as they compromised on some issues to find middle ground that will be a basis for building a sustainable relationship.

What came through from the Delhi parleys was that India and Sri Lanka were aware that their relationship was umbilical and that there was no way that they could discard, disregard or ride rough shod over each other.  

Historic Transition 

A few years back, such a scenario could not be imagined. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), to which Dissanayake belongs, had built itself as an avowedly nationalistic force resolutely opposed to India’s Sri Lanka policy since the 1980s, seeing it as hegemonic.

But with Dissanayake’s ascendance to the leadership of the JVP and the JVP’s metamorphosis as the broad-based National Peoples’ Power (NPP), the equation with India changed almost radically.

In the guise of NPP”, the JVP acquired, within a remarkably short period, a wider social class ethnic, religious and geographic constituency. This propelled a small NPP with only three MPs, to the pinnacle of power in Sri Lanka, namely the Executive Presidency and a majority in parliament. These feats made New Delhi sit up and take notice.

The moment Dissanayake won the Presidential election against the predictions of conventional political pundits, Indian External Affairs Minister S.Jaishankar rushed to Colombo to congratulate him and made some irresistible offers to build friendship with the new kid on the block before rival China could do it. The fear in India and the West was that Dissanayake as a pro-China leftist would continue to be so.   

Dissanayake was receptive to Jaishankar, accepting most of the latter’s offers. He also assured Jaishankar that his government would not allow Sri Lanka to be used against India’s security. The allusion was to China’s bid to find a foothold in Sri Lanka with an intention to complete the encirclement of India. By assuring India on its security concerns, Dissanayake addressed New Delhi’s principal concern vis-à-vis Sri Lanka, which is its policy on China.      

Comprehensive Partnership

At the Delhi talks, Dissanayake told Modi that he deeply appreciated the unwavering support given by India during and after the unprecedented economic crisis in 2022. He added that he looked forward to India’s continued support. Prime Minister Modi, in turn, assured him of India’s full commitment in this regard.

The two leaders went further and affirmed their commitment to take the relationship to a mutually beneficial comprehensive partnership”.

An interesting new input in the joint communique was the call for increased political interactions” and the intensification of political engagements at the both the leadership and ministerial levels.” Seen against the India’s failure to foresee and forestall the recent catastrophic events in Bangladesh, where the friendly Sheikh Hasina regime was overthrown by a mass movement, the pledge to have and intensify” political dialogues with Sri Lankan parties makes sense. The joint communique said that the two leaders underscored the importance of regular parliamentary level exchanges to promote democratic values.”

Economic Assistance

Dissanayake appreciated India’s continued support for the implementation of projects despite the ongoing debt restructuring. He acknowledged India’s decision to extend grant assistance for projects that were originally undertaken through Lines of Credit, thereby reducing the debt burden of Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan President thanked Modi for India’s support in stabilizing the Sri Lankan economy through unparalleled and multi-pronged assistance including emergency financing and forex support worth USD 4 billion.” He acknowledged India’s crucial assistance in Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring process, especially as co-chair of the Official Creditors’ Committee (OCC).

The Lankan President thanked India for extending financial assistance of US$ 20.66 million to settle payments due from Sri Lanka for projects completed under existing Lines of Credit, thereby significantly reducing the debt burden at a critical time.

The Kankesanthurai harbour is to be modernized with a grant of US$ 66.5 million. The signalling system on Maho-Anuradhapura rail line is to be installed with an Indian grant. 

Investment-led Growth

Importantly, the two leaders agreed that a strategic shift from debt-driven models towards investment-led partnerships across different sectors would ensure a more sustainable path to economic recovery.

They took note of the success of the India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA) that had enhanced the trade partnership between the two countries and called for an expansion of trade ties. Both agreed that it was time to start discussions on the Economic & Technological Cooperation Agreement. (ETCA). Previous Sri Lankan governments had negotiated about ETCA but only to drop it finally, fearing Indian domination. It remains to be seen if the Dissanayake government will be any different. 

It was also agreed to take forward Indian-Rupee-Sri Lanka Rupee trade and encourage Indian investments in key sectors in Sri Lanka to enhance exports.

Connectivity

Connectivity is the new buzz word in India, perhaps motivated by China’s successes in using connectivity projects in other countries to develop its geopolitical outreach. But the argument put forward by India to push connectivity in the Delhi talks was that it would help harness the complementarities between the two economies for mutual economic development.

In this connection, only the Kankesanthurai port modernization and the ferry service between Nagapattinam and Kankesanthurai were  mentioned. The proposal for a bridge and road link between India and Colombo  was not mentioned, though it had found a place in an earlier Indian communique in another context. In the past, Sri Lankan governments have consistently refused to proceed with India’s proposal for a rail and road link across the Palk Strait. In their view, it would impinge on their security from a more populous and powerful India.

India would also install, free of cost, the signalling system on the rail line between Maho and Anurdhapra

Energy Projects

India stresses a lot on energy production and trans-national energy connectivity for ensuring energy security. Dissanayake and Modi called for the implementation and expansion of the solar power project in Sampur in Trincomalee district;  the supply of LNG from India to Sri Lanka; the establishment of a high-capacity power grid interconnection between India and Sri Lanka; and cooperation between India, Sri Lanka and the UAE to build a pipeline from India to Sri Lanka. The UAE might supply expertise and/or finance, added  Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in a press conference. 

The Indian and Lankan leaders agreed on the joint development” of offshore wind power projects in the Palk Straits in north Sri Lanka, while prioritizing environmental protection including fauna and flora.”

 Environmental protection, now agreed to by India, is an important concession to Sri Lanka because the Dissanayake government had wanted Gautam Adani’s wind power project to be reviewed citing differences over the pricing of power and environmental concerns. However, the pricing issue, which concerns the Sri Lankan government most, does not find mention in the joint communique. This prompts the question as to whether Dissanayake had agreed to the price as decided by a different regime in 2022.

The two leaders decided to support the development of Trincomalee as a regional energy and industrial hub.” But this, like many other projects mentioned in the joint communique, is an old plan yet to be implemented.  

People-Centric Digitization

Modi’s India has been an ardent proponent of people-centric digitization, which has helped improve governance, transform  service delivery, ushered transparency, and contributed to social welfare. President Dissanayake conveyed his government’s interest in exploring the establishment of similar systems in Sri Lanka with Indian assistance. This is a new Indian and Sri initiative.

India also offered to help the Information Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA), with mentorship for Sri Lankan start-ups.

Agriculture

Noting President Dissanayake’s emphasis on agricultural modernization, the two leaders agreed to establish a Joint Working Group to examine possibilities for a comprehensive development of the agricultural sector in Sri Lanka. Both leaders appreciated the ongoing collaboration in the development of the dairy sector in Sri Lanka to ensure nutritional security.

Security Assurance

Recognizing shared security interests, both leaders acknowledged the importance of a regular dialogue based on mutual trust and transparency and giving primacy to each other’s security concerns.”

Such an accommodative formulation should assuage the feelings of Sri Lankans may be apprehensive about the military asymmetry between Sri Lanka and India.

Dissanayake assuaged India’s fears about Sri Lanka’s becoming a cockpit for Chinese or Pakistani intrigue against it, when he stated that Sri Lanka will not permit its territory to be used in any manner inimical to the security of India and regional stability.

India’s fear is primarily over China’s efforts to expand its footprint in Sri Lanka and pose a threat to India’s southern flank.     

Defence Agreement

Importantly, both leaders decided to explore the possibility of concluding a framework Agreement on Defence Cooperation and  foster cooperation in hydrography.

Defence cooperation with India is welcomed in Sri Lanka in so far as it concerns training and joint exercises. But a defence treaty with mutual obligations is a different kettle of fish altogether. Sri Lankans are wary about being drawn into conflicts between other countries in which they have no direct stake. Having fought a 30-year war with the Tamil separatists and suffered economically, they dread being drawn into another war, especially not their own.  

Chinese Research Vessels

India had been raising the issue of visits by Chinese research” vessels to Sri Lankan harbours. To the Indians these are spy” vessels in disguise. In response to India’s concerns, Sri Lanka had put a year-long moratorium on visits by research vessels from all countries. But India wanted only Chinese vessels to be barred, putting Sri Lanka in an awkward situation vis-à-vis China, a major development partner and creditor.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that India raised this issue at the Delhi talks and the Sri Lankan side explained that they had some  issues that needed to be addressed (with China). India and Sri Lanka  finally agreed to continue discussions on the question.

The ball is now in Sri Lanka’s court to find a modus vivendi with China on this issue. However, it appears that India may not make it a sticking point in the relationship as Dissanayake’s had categorical assured that Sri Lanka will not allow itself to be used to harm the security of India. The underlying aim of the Delhi talks was to find common ground on various issues and build on them and not score points.                   

END

By P.K.Balachandran Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Colombo, December 17: The Anura Kumara Dissanayake government in Sri Lanka, which was sailing smoothly despite unsolved economic issues, suffered the first jolt since coming to power, when parliament Speaker Ashoka Ranwala resigned on Friday amidst accusations that his Ph.D” was fake.

Urban Development and Housing Minister Anura Karunatilake and  Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara were also assailed for falsely  claiming that they had doctoral degrees.

Ranwala maintained that he had acquired a Ph.D, and said that he had no documentary proof of the doctorate. He said he would produce it on getting it from the Waseda University-affiliated institution in Japan he was registered with. In the case of Nanayakkara, it came to be known that it was the parliament’s fault. It had appended Dr” to his name deviating from the text he had given them.  In the case of Karunatilake, he was not a doctorate and yet was using the prefix Dr”. He said that he was a Ph.D student about to complete his programme. Because of the public exposure, all three dropped Dr” from their on-line platforms.

However, the squeaking clean image which the ruling National Peoples’ Power (NPP) government had, was sullied. The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MP Namal Rajapaksa urged government MPs to resign if they failed to provide evidence of their educational qualifications. Taking to X, he criticised the NPP for misleading the people saying that they would give an honest and transparent government with people having good educational qualifications. People voted for the NPP in the Presidential and parliamentary elections this year impressed with the high” qualifications of the NPP candidates in contrast to their challengers, many of whom could have been mere high school graduates.

Root of the Problem

Fake degrees are not confined to Members of the Sri Lankan Parliament and pushy politicians trying to impress the public. It is widespread in society in Sri Lanka, South Asia and even in the UK and USA. In all these countries there are those who falsely claim they have a university degree. There are others who have a fake degree, and there are yet others who provide fake degrees for a hefty fee. There is also a tribe of ghost writers of Ph.D dissertations.   

The craze for fake degrees reflects the rarity or expensiveness of education in a society. A tight job market makes it necessary to have a degree, fake or real. Among a population of uneducated people, flaunting a university degree, whether real or fake, helps gain recognition and opens the doors to jobs when jobs are scarce.  

When politics became popular and intensely competitive in South Asian countries, politicians began to add educational qualifications, real or false, to their CVs as additional feathers in their cap. They also began to use their political clout in local universities to get honorary doctorates which they unethically deemed to be doctorates got after pursuing a rigorous doctoral programme.

The number of politicians getting such doctorates increased exponentially after universities, to curry favour with governments and politicians, starting giving doctorates to Chief Ministers, Ministers and other political bigwigs. The number of political doctorates in India ballooned with the politicization of the universities. Both state and private universities were in this racket as both needed State funds ad political patronage to conduct their educational business.”

All countries in South Asia developed economically, especially after they liberalized, but job opportunities did not grow commensurately. The new needs arising from a liberalized economy and the intense competition that the needs generated resulted in a craze for getting higher qualifications” no matter how dubious these qualifications might be.

Degree Shops

To meet the needs of these wannabes”, shops came up selling degrees from nice sounding but dubious universities, both local and foreign. In 2022, the Colombo-based Roar Media carried a story on the degree racket in Sri Lanka. It cited the case of the director of a sanitary ware company, who while scrolling through his Facebook page, saw a message from a local representative of a university based in the US.” The gent offered honorary doctorates for LKR 390,000 each.

Manav Bharti University was a private university in Himachal Pradesh state in India which had sold 36,000 degrees for US$1,362 each, South China Morning Post said. Offers of fake degrees came from the US and Nigeria also. The prices for a doctorate varied from USD 62 to USD 1400. Even convocations” were held in expensive places to impress the recipients and others, but at an extra cost of USD 626 per client.

Some of the known fake universities are: Indian Virtual University; Universal Tamil University, Chennai; Kings University, U.S.A.; International Peace University, Germany; International Tamil University; and University Asia, Kathmandu, Nepal.

The fake degree agents claim high connections. According to India Today, a Chennai man ran an International Coaching Centre under the auspices of the International Labour Organisation/United Nations Development Programme for getting Ph.Ds. MBAs and MBBS degrees from New York University and Stanton University

American fake degrees are, of course, the most sought after. The United States Education Foundation in India (USEFI), Chennai, run by the US Education Department, had said that most of the US universities” giving degrees” were fake. The list includes International University, California, Stanton University and City University of New York.

Some shops touting fake degrees really seek research work. One India-based entity gave a PhD certificate in 45 days for USD 1065 after a 250-page thesis was submitted. To help write Ph.D. dissertations there arose ghost writers.

In 2019, 11 professors at government arts and science colleges in Tamil Nadu state were suspended after their PhD certificates were found to be fake. The same year, the Education Ministry launched an investigation into six universities – including three public ones – that had been accused of selling fake degrees.

Fake Degrees in UK

In 2018, the BBC reported that one of its staff was offered a degree from the fake Nixon University for US$ 3,600. Thousands of UK nationals have bought fake degrees from a multi-million pound diploma mill” in Pakistan, a BBC Radio 4’s File on Four” programme investigation found. Buyers included National Health Service Consultants, nurses and a large defence contractor. One British buyer spent almost £500,000 on bogus documents.

Axact” which claims to be the world’s largest IT company”, operates a network of hundreds of fake online universities run by agents from a Karachi Call Centre. With names such as Brooklyn Park University and Nixon University, they feature stock images of smiling students and even fake news articles singing the institution’s praises.

In 2015, Axact sold more than 215,000 fake qualifications globally, through approximately 350 fictitious high schools and universities, making US$ 51 million that year alone.

According to documents seen by BBC Radio 4’s File on Four” programme, more than 3,000 fake Axact qualifications were sold to UK-based buyers in 2013 and 2014, including master’s degrees, doctorates and PhDs.

A trawl through the list of Axact UK buyers reveals various National Health Service clinical staff, including an ophthalmologist, nurses, a psychologist, and numerous consultants also bought fake degrees,” BBC said. Defence contractor FB Heliservices bought fake Axact degrees for seven employees, including two helicopter pilots, between 2013 and 2015

Extortion

Fake degree agents have also taken to extortion and blackmail. One could get a telephone call that looks like it’s coming from your embassy or local law enforcement, threatening to arrest or deport you unless you get some additional documents to help support the phony diploma you already have.

The BBC mentions the case of Cecil Horner, a British engineer based in Saudi Arabia, who kept getting threatening calls from Axact agents after paying nearly £500,000 for fake a fake degree. Sometimes, these fly-by-night operators would pocket the money and disappear without issuing a certificate.  

Rajib Ray, president of the Federation of Central Universities’ Teachers’ Associations, told South China Morning Post that most fake degree scams in India involved private institutions – a sector that has been booming since the 1990s following a surge in demand for IT and management courses.

END

Courtesy dd News

Sri Lanka has the potential to produce surplus energy and could export it to India and other neighbouring nations if new energy projects are initiated, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the India Foundation Programme, Herath invited Indian companies to participate in the development of Sri Lanka’s energy sector. He said that while some energy projects are already underway, discussions are ongoing for others.

On India’s role in Sri Lanka’s energy security, Herath said, We have surplus energy power, we have wind power and solar power. If we can start new energy projects, we can export to India and all other neighbouring countries because we have the ability to produce surplus energy. Therefore, we are in stand with the support of your companies (the Indian companies) to develop our energy sector.”

He further added that proposals and projects are currently being discussed for regions like Sampur, Mannar, and Jaffna. Herath said, There are so many proposals out there, and we have already started some projects. We are talking with some projects because there are some technical issues in Sampur, Mannar and Jaffna. There are so many projects and proposals. Therefore, we need to finalise within a short period, and then after that, we can start those projects. After succeeding in those projects, I think, as a country we can share our energy with our neighbouring countries also. In that scenario, those projects are very valuable.”

On bilateral ties, Herath pointed to the strong relationship between India and Sri Lanka, highlighting Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s ongoing visit to India as a reflection of their shared ties.

The current visit to India of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is his first visit and symbolizes the closely knit bilateral ties which our nations share. India-Sri Lanka relations are founded on historical, civilizational, religious and cultural bonds. These bonds go back to time immemorial, more than 2500 years the least,” Herath said.

He elaborated on the cultural and religious links between the two nations, noting the role of Buddhism and Hinduism. India had given us the gift of Buddhism, which gave rise to a flourishing Buddhist civilization in the island more than two millennia ago, and the influence of Hinduism was built into our socio-cultural fabric over the centuries of movement of people and interactions. Along with these religions, literature, languages, architecture, sculpture and agrarian economy, etc. developed in Sri Lanka.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake held a meeting at Hyderabad House in Delhi on Monday.