BY DR. DAYAN JAYATILLEKA

January 8, 2017, 9:22 pm

As it enters Year 3, the Yahapalana government’s crisis-management option seems to be a return to the worst follies of Mrs. Bandaranaike and JR Jayewardene. It is planning to restore the Criminal Justice Commission, frame the Rajapaksas (including Gotabhaya) and remove their civic rights. This is combination of a Felixian instrument, the CJC, and a JR move, the removal of civic rights.

One recalls that the two most honorable men in the 1970 parliament, Dr. SA Wickremasingha and Sarath Muttetuwegama, both Communists, crossed the floor of the House in 1972 in protest against the CJC because it was outside the existing courts system and was retroactive in character. It was the use of the CJC as a tool of victimization (one of the victims was Prof Razeen Sally’s father) that gave a vengeful edge to the UNP Opposition’s drive in 1977. Similarly, the removal of Mrs. Bandaranaike’s civic rights in 1980 left President Jayewardene scrambling for a democratic opposition figure with the national legitimacy to stabilize the situation by the mid-1980s. On the advice of the US ambassador Prof Howard Wriggins, he restored Mrs. B’s civic rights in early 1986 but it was too late to restore stability, as social discontent had overflowed the bounds of the system and of peaceful protest. The same errors are being contemplated by a far more ramshackle regime this time around, and will result in far more dramatic blowback.

In his book on Norway’s peace efforts, Mark Salter quoted a senior western diplomat as profiling the Rajapaksas and Mahinda Rajapaksa in particular, as follows:

“Mahinda is super-political: charming, cunning, funny, smart, but a complex personality in many ways. …But one should never, ever, underestimate him. If he is insulted, if someone tries to kill his brothers for example, then that’s personal. And he means it. And that’s what led him to the conclusion ‘I reached out my hand to Prabhakaran in 2005, then he tried to kill my brother. So OK, now I will show him’. That was basically the line he pursued.”

(‘An assessment of the Rajapaksa brothers from a senior western diplomat’, To End a Civil War, Mark Salter, p 283)

By this assessment, Mahinda Rajapaksa is not the kind of guy you want to back up against a wall—especially not if the economic and electoral ground, the ground of public opinion, is already shifting under you. Those who are threatening Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family with jail and/or the removal of civic rights through a CJC are making the same mistake as did Prabhakaran, while not being as strong as Prabhakaran.

The Yahapalana regime has a pro-imperialist rightwing headed by the Prime Minister and supported by an Old Boys network, a few politicians, a score of civil society ideologues, and some foreign embassies, agencies and capitals

While the rock hefting lads and ladies in the Green Goon camp at Hambantota recalled us to the authoritarian violence that has characterized the UNP from 1947 (RohanaWijeweera’s father was paralyzed by UNP violence at the ’47 election) through the 1977 regime, nothing symbolizes the contradictions of the Yahapalana regime as much as the report produced by the Task Force that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe chose to appoint on a subject of the greatest importance. That act, that choice and its output and outcome, provide the clearest evidence of the nature and dynamics of this regime, the attitude of its rightwing to the most important problem facing the country (interethnic reconciliation) as well as the most significant historical fact of our lifetimes and the island’s contemporary history (the Thirty Years War).

So we had the world’s tallest Christmas tree which wasn’t a Christmas tree. Then we had the Volkswagen factory which wasn’t a Volkswagen factory. Now, we have the Reconciliation Task Force report –in effect the Saravanamuttu report–which is not a report for reconciliation.

I say this with reason. The report itself provides the evidence and the argument. Two numbered paragraphs in the executive summary of conclusions and recommendations state that the Sri Lankan armed forces testified in favor of the government’s reconciliation initiatives while being heavily against the accountability component –the re-opening of wounds through special courts and the investigation of war crimes allegations– and staunchly defending its conduct of and in the war. The military had held that such an approach would be counterproductive and actually widen the gap between the communities. A third numbered paragraph in the executive summary of the report’s conclusions and recommendations also states that the Sinhala community was opposed to the accountability architecture and special judicial mechanisms.

So what does this mean? It means that in the teeth of strongly contrary argumentation and urging by a victorious, large Sri Lankan military as well as the Sinhala majority which constitutes almost two thirds of the Sri Lankan people, the Task Force appointed by the Prime Minister made recommendations for Special Courts and a Special Prosecutor’s office, with foreign participation as judges and prosecutors, and further urged that our laws be revised to include international law and that our military be prosecuted for crimes against international law, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, which may have been committed during the war.

The Reconciliation Task Force Report recommends, in effect, nothing less than the internationally supervised legal lynching of the Sri Lankan armed forces and its wartime political leadership. The Task Force seems to have believed that such was its sacred task! The morally grotesque recommendations of this Task Force reveal the degeneracy of the so-called civil society intelligentsia that comprises and undergirds it.

Some “reconciliation” this, which rides roughshod over the sentiments of the vast majority of the citizens of a country, as noted even by the Report itself! Some Reconciliation Task Force, which gives short shrift to the views of a popular, all-volunteer armed forces which never overthrew democracy but protected it against all totalitarian comers, South and North, Right and Left, won a war waged by the world’s only terrorist movement powerful enough to have a navy and an air arm, rid the country of the scourge of separatist terrorism, re-unified its territory and restored peace!

One might have thought that reconciliation would involve limiting oneself to those proposals that all communities agree with, or fashioning some proposals that stood at a midpoint between the contending views of communities while understanding as Lord Soulbury did that in a democracy one cannot stand at the exact midpoint between a large majority and a fairly small minority. The Reconciliation Task Force has done neither. Instead the Task Force’s idea of reconciliation between ethnic communities in Sri Lanka is to produce recommendations which virtually echoes those of Zaid al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Thus the Task Force’s idea of reconciliation is to erect Special Courts and a Special Prosecutor’s Office to try the armed forces for its conduct during the last stages of the war. The last stages are the stage of strategic counteroffensive, when after thirty years the Sri Lankan military was poised to win the war and went on to do so. This ‘last stage’ of the war and its outcome are to be celebrated for millennia, not subject to investigation.

The Reconciliation Task Force wishes to have an Office of a Special Prosecutor to prosecute a legitimate, constitutional military of a practicing democracy. It wishes to prosecute those who fought against a fascist terrorist enemy, a totalitarian enemy that eliminated all dissent within its ranks and within Tamil politics, a terrorist enemy that slaughtered women and children asleep in the so-called border villages and exploded bombs on commuter trains and buses.

Given the composition of the Task Force, it is hardly surprising that it made the recommendations it did. The Secretary is Dr. Pakiyasothy Saravanamuttu who has hardly distinguished himself by his sage-like detachment during Sri Lanka’s conflict and its aftermath. His track record is one of conspicuous lobbying in Geneva (unsuccessfully on my watch) for an international inquiry into the war and its closing stages. A few months ago he authored an article in the English–language Lankan press which argued that public opinion polls show that the Sinhala voter will divide in such a manner that they will note vote in quite the way they did on Jan 8th 2015 for the Yahapalana ticket, and that therefore the minority voters, especially the Northern and Eastern voters must be actively incentivized to turn out at least as massively as on Jan 8th 2015 to vote YES at a referendum on the Constitution, by promising them an oversize autonomy package in the new Constitution.

It is someone with these obvious minoritarian biases who was picked by the PM as the Secretary of the Task Force on Reconciliation.

What is even more of a travesty is the composition of the Reconciliation Task Force. In sharp contrast to the LLRC, not a single member has held positions of responsibility in the Sri Lankan state and distinguished himself or herself in the service of the country. Still more glaringly, of the 11 members, six, i.e. a majority, belong to the ethnic/ethno-religious minorities. In other words, recommendations of reconciliation between the constituent communities of SriLanka were sought from a task force that far from being an accurate representation of the composition of the country whose communities it seeks to reconcile, actually inverts the actual composition of our society and is comprised of a majority drawn from the minorities. Any person who did not know the demographics of Sri Lankan, would conclude, looking at the task force on reconciliation, that Sri Lanka had a (slim) majority of Tamils and Muslims and a (large) minority of Sinhalese! GG Ponnambalam called for 50:50 and it was rejected by both DS Senanayake and Lord Soulbury. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has obviously gone further than that which G.G Ponnambalam demanded for the island’s combined minorities, and appointed a committee that accords more than 50:50 to the combined minorities!

The Reconciliation Task Force was appointed by the Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and its hideous report was presented to former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga in the presence of Minister of External Affairs Mangala Samaraweera. This then is the troika that seeks to persecute and punish the Sri Lankan military for winning its war of liberation, blacken the name of the anti-fascist, anti-separatist Sinhalese community which fought to keep the country together, whitewash the Tigers by accepting allegations of war crimes, and impose the vision and perspective of minoritarianism on Sri Lanka.

2017 is the year to begin the national liberation struggle to take our country back from this clique. It has already begun, aptly enough in the Deep South, the Ruhuna, days ago.

 තිලංග ගුණවර්ධන උපුටා ගැන්ම දිවයින

විශිෂ්ට ජයග්‍රහණයකට පසුව තමන් විසින්ම දේශපාලන අස්‌ථාවරත්වයක්‌ ගොඩනඟාගත් අවස්‌ථා ලෝක ඉතිහාසයේ පවා විරල කරුණක්‌ වේ. එහෙත් එයට පූQර්වාදර්ශයක්‌ සපයමින්, ලද ජනාධිපතිවරණ ජයග්‍රහණයට පසුව පාර්ලිමේන්තු මැතිවරණයක්‌ වෙත ගොස්‌ බහුතර බලයක්‌ සහිත ආණ්‌ඩුවක්‌ පිහිටුවනවා වෙනුවට මාස 8 ක සුළුතර ආණ්‌ඩුවක්‌ පිහිටුවීම තුළ සිදුවුන අස්‌ථාවරත්වය හි බලපෑම මත කිසිදු පක්‌ෂයකට බහුතර බලය සහිතව ආණ්‌ඩු බලයක්‌ ලබාගැනීමට අවසන් මහ මැතිවරණයේ දී නොහැකි විය.

2015 වසරේ ජනවාරි මස 08 වැනි දින 62 ලක්‌ෂයක්‌ පමණ වූ ඡන්ද දායකයන්ගේ ප්‍රසාදය මත, මෛත්‍රිපාල සිරිසේන මහතා අප රටේ 6 වැනි විධායක ජනාධිපති බවට පත්වූයේ රාජ්‍ය යහපාලනය හා නීතියේ අධිපත්‍ය ඇතුළු සමස්‌ථ පද්ධතියේ වෙනසක්‌ පිළිබඳ නැවුම් බලාපොරොත්තු ජනතාව වෙත ඇති කරමිනි. ඒ අනුව, ගෙවීගිය වසර දෙකක යහපාලන ආණ්‌ඩුවේ පාලන කාලසීමාව තුළ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ඉදිරි දැක්‌ම පිළිබඳ යහපත් හා ධනාත්මක තීරණ බොහෝමයක්‌ ගනු ලැබුව ද එයට විරුද්ධ අපගේ අපේක්‌ෂාවන් අධෛර්යමත් කරන අවස්‌ථාවන් ද නිර්මාණය වීම නිරීක්‌ෂණය විය. ඒ සම්බන්ධයෙන් කරුණු කිහිපයක්‌ මේ ලිපිය තුළින් ඉදිරිපත් කරන්නෙමු.
ධනාත්මක වෙනසක්‌ ඇති කිරීම

මේ පිළිබඳව සකච්ඡා කිරීමේ දී ජාතික සමඟිය හා සහජීවනය ඇති කිරීම සඳහා රාජ්‍ය දායකත්ව නිසි පරිදි ලබාදුන් කාලයක්‌ ලෙස පසුගිය දෙවසරක කාලය දැක්‌විය හැකිය. ජගත් මානව හිමිකම් කවුන්සිලය තුළ ලංකාව වෙත එල්ල වෙමින් පැවති චෝදනා සම්බන්ධව ආවේගශීලීව හා ජනප්‍රිය තීරණ ගන්නවා වෙනුවට දූරදර්ශීව ප්‍රශ්නය වෙත පිවිසීම සිදුකරන ලදී. එතුළ පැනනැඟුණු ප්‍රශ්තුතයන් වෙත ශ්‍රී ලාංකීය පිවිසුමක්‌ ලබාගැනීමට ඉඩ ප්‍රස්‌ථා විවර කරගන්නා ලදී. එසේම පෙරදී අප කෙරෙහි ආර්ථික හෝ වෙනයම් සම්බාධක පැනවීම සඳහා සූදානමක්‌ එම කොමිසම තුළ පැවැති නමුත් එය වළක්‌වා ගැනීමට වර්තාමන රජයට හැකිවීම ජයග්‍රහණයක්‌ වේ. එසේම ජාතික සමඟිය සඳහා ජනාධිපතිතුමා හා අගමැතිතුමා විශේෂ වෙහෙසක්‌ යොදමින් රට තුළ ධනාත්මක සංවාදයක්‌ ඇති කරලීම සඳහා විශාල කාර්යභාරයක්‌ ඉටුකරන ලදී. මෙහිදී, උතුරු හා නැඟෙනහිර පළාත්වල ආරක්‌ෂක හමුදා විසින් අත්පත් කරගෙන තිබූ ඉඩම්, ආරක්‌ෂක හේතූන් මත සීමාකිරීම් සහිතව එම ජනතාව වෙත නිදහස්‌ කිරීම ඉතාම සාධනීය කටයුත්තක්‌ වේ. එම ප්‍රදේශවල පරාම්පරිකව ජීවත්වූ ජනතාව වෙත එතුළින් ලැබෙන්නා වූ ගරුත්වය හා සහජීවනය පිළිබඳ අභිප්‍රේරණය අනාගත ශ්‍රී ලාංකික ජාතිකත්වයක්‌ ගොඩනැඟීම සඳහා පෙරනිමිත්තක්‌ වන බව නොඅනුමාන වේ. එසේම ජාතික නිදහස්‌ දින උත්සවයේ දී ජාතික ගීය දෙමළ භාෂාවෙන් ගායනා කිරීම ජාතීන් අතර සහජීවනය ඇති කිරීම සඳහා නාමමාත්‍රිකව වුවද වැදගත් තීරණයක්‌ ලෙස දැක්‌විය හැක. එසේ වුවත්, වසර තිහක අමිහිරි මතකයන්ගෙන් පෑරුණු හදවත් සුවපත් කිරීම සඳහා සිදුකර ඇත්තේ ඉතාම අල්පමාත්ත්‍රයක්‌ බවත් ඉදිරියේදී කළයුතු කැපකිරීමවල ආරම්භයක්‌ බවත් අප සියලු දෙනා සිහිපත් කරගත යුතුය. ජාතික ප්‍රශ්නය පිළිබඳ රජය විසන් ගනුලැබූ අව්‍යාජ තීරණ හේතු කොටගෙන ජාත්‍යන්තරය තුළ අප කෙරෙහි වූ ආකල්පයන් හි ධනාත්මක වෙනසක්‌ ඇති කිරීමට හැකිවිය.

විදේශ ප්‍රතිපත්තීන් හා සබඳතාවන් හි ඇති වූ ධනාත්මක වෙනස්‌කම අප රට කෙරෙහි විදේශයන් තුළ යහපත් ආකල්පයක්‌ ගොඩනැඟීමට හේතුවිය. මෑතකාලීන විදේශ සංචාරයන් හිදී අප රාජ්‍ය නායකයන්හට ලැබූ විශේෂ පිළිගැනීම තුළ මේ බව වඩාත් පැහැදිළි විය. පසුගිය ආණ්‌ඩු සමයේදී පැවැති චීනය හා රුසියාව හිතවාදී විදේශ ප්‍රතිපත්තියක්‌ වේ. ඔවුන් සමඟ අපගේ සහායට ජිනීවා මානව හිමිකම් කමිටුවේ කටයුතු කළ උගන්ඩාව වැනි තුන් වැනි ලෝකයේ රටවල් සමඟ රාජතාන්ත්‍රික සම්බන්ධතා වර්ධනය කරගන්නා ලදී. එහෙත් එම ප්‍රතිපත්ති, ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ දිගුකාලීන සංවර්ධනය සඳහා ඵලදායී නොවන බවට වර්තමාන රජය අවබෝධ කරගන්නා ලදී. විශේෂයෙන්ම, යුරෝපා සංගමය අප රට සමඟ පවත්නා වෙළෙඳ ගණුදෙනු, දේශීය ආර්ථිකය වෙත වූ අතිශය වැදගත්කම අවතක්‌සේරු නොකරන ලදී. ඒ අනුව, විදේශ සබඳතාවන් නව මගකට යොමුකරමින් ඉන්දියාව, ඇමරිකානු එක්‌සත් ජනපදය හා බටහිර යුරෝපීය රටවල් සමඟ සමීප සබඳතා ගොඩනැඟුවේ, පෙර දැක්‌වූ රටවල් සමඟ පවත්නා සම්බන්ධතාවනට හානි නොකරමිනි. මෙම සාධනීය තත්ත්වයත් සමඟ ශ්‍රී ලංකාව තුළ ආර්ථික වර්ධනයක්‌ ඇති කිරීම සඳහා ඉඩ ප්‍රශ්ථා විවර වෙමින් පවතී. නමුත්, එම අවස්‌ථාවන් ග්‍රහණය කරගැනීම සඳහා අවශ්‍ය හිතකර ප්‍රතිපත්තීන් සකස්‌ කිරීම ව්‍යවස්‌ථාදායකය හා අදාළ රාජ්‍ය ආයතන සතුව තිබෙන්නා වූ ප්‍රමුඛ වගකීමක්‌ වේ.

යහපාලන ආණ්‌ඩුව විසින් සිදුකරන ලද දේශපාලන ප්‍රතිසංස්‌කරණ විශේෂ වැදගත්කමක්‌ ගනු ලැබුණි. 18 වැනි ව්‍යවස්‌ථා සංශෝධනය අවලංගු කරමින් ගෙන එනු ලැබූ 19 වැනි ආණ්‌ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්‌ථා සංශෝධනය තුළ ස්‌වාධීන කොමිෂන් සභා ස්‌ථාපනය කරනු ලැබුණි. මේ තුළ රටේ පාලනතන්ත්‍රය වෙත මානුෂික මුහුණුවරක්‌ හඳුන්වාදීම හා ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී සමාජයක පැවැත්ම සඳහා අත්‍යාවශ්‍ය වූ යාන්ත්‍රණයක්‌ සකස්‌ කරදීම සිදුවිය. බලය ඒකරාශී වන්නේ යම් තැනකට ද එම පුද්ගලයා හෝ තනතුර අන්ත දූෂිතවීම බොහෝ විට සිදුවන බවට ඉතිහාසය සාක්‌ෂි සපයයි. ඒ අනුව, විධායක ජනාධිපති ධුරයෙහි පවත්නා ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී නොවන අංගයන් ඉවත් කිරීම සඳහා අවංක උත්සහයක්‌ ගෙන තිබීම, බලය කෙරෙහි වූ නිර්ලෝභීතාවය පිළිබිඹුq කරන්නක්‌ වේ. තවද, සමස්‌ථයක්‌ ලෙස ගත්කල අධිකරණ ක්‍රියාවලින් හා කටයුතු සම්බන්ධව විධායකයේ අතපෙවීම් හෝ බාධා කිරීම් සිදුනොකිරීමට යහපාලන ආණ්‌ඩුවේ නායකයන් දෙපළ දෙනුලබන ආදර්ශය ප්‍රශංසනීය වේ.

යහපාලනයේ දුර්වලතා

ඉහත දැක්‌වූ පරිදි යහපාලනය ශක්‌තිමත් කරන්නා වූ වැඩ පිළිවෙලවල් ක්‍රියාත්මක කළ ද පියවරක්‌ ඉදිරියට ගන්නා විට නැවත පියවර දෙකක්‌ පසුපසට ගන්නා අවස්‌ථා ද බොහෝමක්‌ විය. ඒ තුළ සමාජය හමුවේ විහිළුකරුවන් වන දේශපාලකයන් නිර්මාණය වීම තවදුරටත් කනගාටුවෙන් වුවත් සිදුවිය.

නිර්පාක්‍ෂික අපේක්‌ෂකයකු ලෙස බලයට පැමිණි ජනාධිපතිතුමා කුමණ කාරුණක්‌ මත හෝ එක්‌ පක්‌ෂයක සභාපති ධුරය භාර ගැනීම සධාරණ නොවන්නේ එතුළ තම පක්‌ෂය තුළ බලය රැකගැනීම යන කරුණ වෙත යොමුවීම ස්‌වාභාවිකවම සිදුවන බැවිණි. 2015 පාර්ලිමේන්තු මැතිවරණයේදී පරාජිත අපේක්‌ෂකයන් වෙත පර්ලිමේන්තු අසුන් පිරිනැමීම ඒ සඳහා හොඳම උදාහරණය වේ. එසේම සමහර ඇමැතිවරුන් තම පාක්‌ෂිකයනට විය හැකි අනර්ථයන් මගහැරීම සඳහා රජය සමඟ එක්‌ වූ බව පැවසීම ද සාධාරණ නොවනුයේ පාක්‌ෂිකයා රටවත් රට යනු පාක්‌ෂිකයත් නොවන බැවිනි. රටට අහිතක්‌ වී පාක්‌ෂිකයාට හොඳක්‌ වීම දක්‌වා වර්තමාන දේශපාලකය මතවාදීව පසුබැසීම කනගාටුවට කරුණකි. මෑත කාලීන රාජ්‍ය නායකයන් තම දේශපාලන පක්‌ෂයෙන් ඔබ්බට වූ දැක්‌මක්‌ ඇති නොකර, යම් ප්‍රතිපත්ති රාමුවකට කොටුව සිටීම පොදුවේ නිරීක්‍ෂණය කළහැකි කරුණකි. එහිදී තම පක්‌ෂයේ බලය රැකගැනීමේ ව්‍යාපෘති තුළින්, සමස්‌ථ රටවැසියා කෙරෙහි ඇති කරනු ලැබුවේ ඉතා අහිතකර ප්‍රතිඵලයන් වේ.

“ඔබ බලයක්‌ යෙදිය නොහැකිව හෝ යෙදීමට අකමැතිව නැතහොත් ඔවුන්හට තර්ජනය කර හෝa නොකර හෝ ඔබ පසුපස ඔබගේ මහජනතාව පෙළගැස්‌විය නොහැකි නම් ඔබ නායකයකු නොවේ.” යන කියමන, සිංගප්පූරුව නිර්මාතෘ හා එහි ප්‍රථම ජනාධිපති වන ලී කුවන් යූ මහතා ප්‍රකාශ කළේ දියුණු වෙමින් පවත්නා රටවල්වල නායකයන් ගතයුතු දැඩි තීරණයන් හී අවශ්‍යතාව ඉස්‌මතු කිරීමට වේ. එම ප්‍රකාශය ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී අගයන් නොසැලකුවත්, එතුළින් ඔහු පෙන්වා දුන්නේ පසුගාමී සමාජයක්‌ ඉදිරියට ගෙන යැමට සිදුකළ යුතු කැප කිරීම නොවේ ද? විශේෂයෙන්ම, පසුගිය කාලසීමාව පුරා පැවති උද්ඝෝෂණ හා වැඩවර්ජන හමුවේ රජය විසින් අපේක්‌ෂිත වැඩසටහන් පසුපසට ගැනීම නිරන්තරව සිදුවිය. ඒ තුළ ඔවුන් සකස්‌ කරනු ලබන ඉදිරි වැඩපිළිවල් ක්‍රියාත්මක වීම පිළිබඳ කෙසේ නම් විශ්වාසය තැබිය හැකි ද යන්න රජය විසින් ස්‌වයං විවේචනයක්‌ සිදුකළ යුතුව තිබේ. 2017 අයවැය යෝජනා මඟින් ගෙන එනු ලැබූ මාර්ග නීති කඩකිරීම් සම්බන්ධව දඩ පමුණුවීම් පිළිබඳව බස්‌ හා ත්‍රීරෝද රථ රියදුරන්ගේ වැඩවර්ජනය තුළ රජය තම යෝජනා පසුපසට ගනු ලැබිණ. පවත්නා මාර්ග අනතුරු හා රියදුරන්ගේ විනය සම්බන්ධව දැඩි අප්‍රසාදයකින් බහුතර මහජනතාව සිටින විට, රජය තම සෘජු මතය තුළ සිටීම අවස්‌ථානෝචිත කටයුත්තක්‌ව තිබුණි. එවැනි අතපසු කිරීම ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදය ශක්‌තිමත් කිරීමට සිදුකරන ලද ඒවා යෑයි කිSsම මුලාවකි. මක්‌නිසාද යත් විරෝධතා හමුවේ බහුතර ජනතාවට සිදුවන යහපත වෙත පිටුපෑම ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදය නොවන නිසාය. වර්තමාන ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ක්‍රියත්මක බොහෝ දේශපාලන පක්‌ෂයන් තුළ ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රික ව්‍යqහයක සේයාවක්‌ වත් ප්‍රදර්ශනය නොවේ. එසේ නම් එම පක්‌ෂ තුළින් බිහිවූ දේශපාලකයන්ගෙන් කෙසේ නම් තරු පහේ ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදයක්‌ මහජනයා වෙත හිමි වේද? එවැනි අංගවිකල ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදයක්‌ තුළ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ අනාගත අභිවෘද්ධිය වෙනුවෙන් වර්තමාන නායකත්වය, ලී කුවන් යූ මහතා ගේ ආදර්ශය අනුගමනය කළයුතු නොවේ ද?

සොරකම් හා සොරුන් ඇල්ලීම ඡන්ද වේදිකාවේ ජපකරමින් සිට, ඉන්පසු Fක්‍ෂD හා අනෙකුත් විමර්ශන කොමිස්‌ම සභා පිහිටුවමින් මහා පරිමාණ වැරදිකරුවන් අල්ලා ගැනීමට දරණ ලද වෙහෙස මේවන තෙක්‌ ඵලදරා නොමැත. මෙම පමාව ආණ්‌ඩුවට හා මහජනතාවට පමණක්‌ නොව විපක්‍ෂයට පවා ප්‍රශ්නයකි. සෑම දිනකම පාහේ Fක්‍ෂD වෙත සාක්‌ෂි ලබාදීමට පැමිණෙන පුද්ගලයන් මෙය මාධ්‍ය සංදර්ශනයක්‌ බවට පත්කර ගෙන ඇත. මේ තුළින් පෙන්වා දෙන්නේ ආණ්‌ඩුවේ නොහැකියාව ද ? එසේ නැතහොත් වංචාවක්‌ සිදුවී නොමැති බව ද ? නොදන්නේමු.

විශිෂ්ට ජයග්‍රහණයකට පසුව තමන් විසින්ම දේශපාලන අස්‌ථාවරත්වයක්‌ ගොඩනඟාගත් අවස්‌ථා ලෝක ඉතිහාසයේ පවා විරල කරුණක්‌ වේ. එහෙත් එයට පූQර්වාදර්ශයක්‌ සපයමින්, ලද ජනාධිපතිවරණ ජයග්‍රහණයට පසුව පාර්ලිමේන්තු මැතිවරණයක්‌ වෙත ගොස්‌ බහුතර බලයක්‌ සහිත ආණ්‌ඩුවක්‌ පිහිටුවනවා වෙනුවට මාස 8 ක සුළුතර ආණ්‌ඩුවක්‌ පිහිටුවීම තුළ සිදුවුන අස්‌ථාවරත්වය හි බලපෑම මත කිසිදු පක්‌ෂයකට බහුතර බලය සහිතව ආණ්‌ඩු බලයක්‌ ලබාගැනීමට අවසන් මහ මැතිවරණයේ දී නොහැකි විය. නමුත් පර්ලිමේන්තු මැතිවරණය තුළින් 2/3 ක බලයක්‌ පාර්ලිමේන්තුව තුළ ගොඩනැඟුව ද පොදු දැක්‌මක්‌ නොමැතිව ගමන්කරනු ලබන කණ්‌ඩායම් දෙකක විවාහය දික්‌කසාදයකින් කෙළවර වීමට වැඩි කල් නොයන අයුරක්‌ පෙනෙන්ට ඇත.

රාජ්‍ය අංශය වෙත රු. 10,000/- ක වැටුප් වැඩිවීමක්‌ සිදුකරන ලද්දේ රාජ්‍ය සේවකයාගේ කාර්යක්‌ෂමතාව හෝ ඵලදායිතාව වර්ධනය කිරීමට කිසිදු වැඩපිළිවෙලක්‌ නොමැති වීම රටවැසියගේ අභාග්‍යකි. එයින් සිදුවූයේ රාජ්‍ය පුනරාවර්ථන වියදම් ඉහළ දමාගෙන රජය අයවැය වෙත අනවශ්‍ය පීඩනයක්‌ ඇති කරගැනීම පමණි. නිසි අධ්‍යයනයක්‌ හෝ අවබෝධයක්‌ රහිතව කොළඔ පෝට්‌සිටි ව්‍යාපෘතිය තාවකාලිකව නැවැත්වීම තුළ සිදුවූ පාඩුව එම ව්‍යාපෘතියට පමණක්‌ සීමා නොවීය. වෙනත් විදේශ ආයෝජකයන් හට ලංකාවේ අනාගත ආණ්‌ඩු මාරු තුළ තම ආයෝජනයන් හී සුරක්‌ෂිතභාවය පිළිබඳ සැකසංකා මතු කරන්නක්‌ බවට එය පත්විය.

අනාගතය කෙසේ වේ ද?

ඉහත සඳහන් කරන ලද දුර්වලතාවයන් මගහැර රට සංවර්ධනයේ මාවත වෙත යොමුකරමින් යහපාලන ආණ්‌ඩුව හට ශ්‍රී ලංකා භූමිය තුළ දීර්ඝ කාලීන වෙනසක්‌ සිදු කිරීමට සඳහා වූ අවස්‌ථාව තවමත් මගහැරී නොමැත.

ආර්ථික විශ්ලේෂකයන්, 2017 – 2018 වසර තුළ ශ්‍රී ලංකා ආර්ථිකය ක්‍රියාකාරීත්වය නුදුරේදීම පුපුරා යා හැකි ගිනි කන්දකට සමාන කොට අර්ථ දක්‌වා තිබේ. විශේෂයෙන්ම, ඉදිරි වසර දෙකක කාලය තුළ රාජ්‍ය ණය බැඳුම්කර විශාල ප්‍රමාණයක්‌ කල්පිරීමට නියමිත අතර ඒවායේ තැන්පත්ව තිබූ විදේශ මුදල් අදාළ රටවල් වෙත ගලායැම නොවැළැක්‌විය හැකි කරුණක්‌ වනු ඇත. එසේම ඇමරිකානු ෙµඩරල් රිසව්ස්‌ බැංකුව විසින් සිදුකරන ලද 0.25% පොලී අනුපාත ඉහළ දැමීම හමුවේ, විදේශ ආයෝජන අප වෙත යොමුවීම වෙනුවට එම රට වෙත ඇදී යැම සිදුවනු ඇත. තවද අපගේ ආර්ථික ප්‍රතිපත්ති තුළ පවත්නා දුර්වලතා හමුවේ, සෘජු විදේශ ආයෝජන නැමැති බටයේ ප්‍රමාණය ලොකු කර ගැනීම ඉතා අපහසුව ඇත. මෙම ප්‍රධාන කරුණු විසින් විදේශ සංවිත හා ගෙවුම් ශේෂය වෙත කරන්නා වූ අහිතකර බලපෑම් තුළ රුපියලේ අගය තවදුරටත් පහළ දමනුයේ, රට තුළ උද්දමනයක්‌ ඇති කිරීමට අවශ්‍ය සාධක ගොඩනඟමිණි.

මෙම තත්ත්වය, ශ්‍රී ලංකාව වෙත අභියෝගයක්‌ නොව අවස්‌ථාවක්‌ බවට පත්කර ගැනීමට රජය අවශ්‍ය පියවර ගතයුතුව ඇත. විශේෂයෙන්ම, රුපියලේ අගය පහළ යන විට අපගේ අපනයනයන්ගේ මිල ගණන් විදේශයන් වෙත ලාභදායී වනු ඇත. ඒ තුළ ඉහළ මිලක්‌ ලබාගැනීම සඳහා අපනයනකරුවන් වෙත අවස්‌ථාවක්‌ ලැබෙනු ඇත. එසේ නම් විදේශ වෙළදපොළවල් මූලික කරගන්නා වූ නිෂ්පාදනයන් වෙත ඉහළ ප්‍රමුඛත්වයක්‌ ලබාදීම අත්‍යාවශ්‍ය වනු ඇත. එබැවින්, දේශීය ආර්ථිකය සම්බන්ධයෙන් දැඩි ප්‍රතිපත්තීන් හා තීරණ ගතයුතු කාලයක්‌ බවට ඉදිරි වසර කිහිපය දැක්‌විය හැක. ශ්‍රී ලංකාව වෙත වැඩි වාසි ගෙන දෙන්නා වූ ආයෝජන අවස්‌ථා වෙත හම්බන්තොට වරාය හා මත්තල ගුවන්තොටුපළ යොමු කළයුතු වේ. එහිදී, ආර්ථික ප්‍රතිලාභ වෙනුවෙන් රාජ්‍ය ස්‌වෛරීත්වයට හානි පමුණුවා නොගැනීම අතිශය වැදගත් හා අනිවාර්ය කටයුත්තක්‌ වේ. එහිදී නිවැරදි ලෙස අභ්‍යන්තර සාධක හා බලපෑම් කණ්‌ඩායම් හඳුනාගෙන ඒවා කළමනාකරණය අත්‍යාවශ්‍ය අංගයක්‌ වේ. එම කණ්‌ඩායම් වෙත පැහැදිළි අවස්‌ථා හා විසඳුම් ලබාදී මෙන්ම ගැටලු විසඳන ක්‍රියාමර්ග වෙත සෘජුව එළඹි රජය විසින් සිදුකළ යුතු වේ. එසේ නොවුණහොත් ඒ මඟින් ලබාගැනීමට අපේක්‌ෂිත ප්‍රතිලාභ වෙනුවට එය රජය වෙත පාරාවළල්ලක්‌ වනු ඇත. විශේෂයෙන්ම හම්බන්තොට කලාපයේ ජනතාව යෝජිත සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘතීන්ගෙන් ඈත් කරවීමට විවිධ පාර්ශව කටයුතු කරමින් පවතී. එහිදී විරෝධතාකරුවන් චීන ආයෝජන පිළිබඳ විරෝධය ගොඩනැඟුවත්, මෑත කාලයේ දී සිදුකරන ලද බොහෝ මහා පරිමාණ ආයෝජන සිදුකරන ලද්දේ ඔවුන් බව අප හොඳින් දන්නා කරුණකි. තවද ඔවුන් අප මානව හිමිකම් කවුන්සිලය තුළ අසරණව සිටින විට අපගේ උපකාරයට පැමිණි මිතුරකු ද වේ. තවද, පසුගිය රජය ගමන්ගත් ආර්ථික මොඩලය කෙටිකාලීන ලාභදායීත්වයක්‌ නොමැති, එහෙත් දිගුකාලීන මූලෝපායික ආයෝජනයන් තුළ චීනය ඉදිරියෙන්ම සිටියේය. එම ව්‍යාපෘති අද වන විට සැලකිය යුතු ආදායම් ඉපයීමක්‌ සිදුනොවන නිසා ඒවා විදෙස්‌ ආයෝජන සඳහා විවර කිරීම අනිවාර්ය හා වෙනත් විකල්පයක්‌ නොමැති කටයුත්තක්‌ වේ.

අනෙක්‌ අතට විදේශ ආයෝජකයන් වෙත දේශපාලන හා රාජ්‍ය ප්‍රතිපත්ති ස්‌ථාවරත්වයක්‌ සළසා දීම ගුණාත්මක හා ඵලාදයි ආයෝජන ලංකාව වෙත අද්දවා ගැනීම සඳහා අවශ්‍ය කරුණක්‌ වේ. වර්තමානයේ වියට්‌නාමය හා මියන්මාරය වැනි රටවල් තමන් වෙත ලබාගනිමින් පවත්නා සෘජු විදේශ ආයෝජනය, අප හට කදිම පූර්වාදර්ශයක්‌ ලබා දෙයි. එම රටවල් හඳුන්වා දුන් පස්‌ අවුරුදු සංවර්ධන සැලසුම් ආදිය තුළින් තම රටේ අනාගත දැක්‌ම ආයෝජකයන් වෙත හඬනඟා පැහැදිලිව සන්නිවේදනය කොට ඇත.
නව ව්‍යවස්‌ථාවක්‌ සම්පාදනය කිරීම යහපාලන ආණ්‌ඩුව වෙත පැවරී ඇති තවත් අභියෝගයකි. අපේක්‍ෂිත නව ව්‍යවස්‌ථාව තුළ බලය බෙදීමේ සංකල්පය කොතරම් දුරකට භාවිතා කෙරේ ද යන්න අප හමුවේ පවත්නා ප්‍රශ්නගතයකි. පරිපූර්ණ සංහිඳියාවක්‌ පවත්නා අවස්‌ථාවේදී එම සංකල්පය ක්‍රියාත්මක වීම පුරවැසියා සවිබල ගන්වන්නක්‌ වන බව විෂයානුකූලව දැක්‌විය හැක. එහෙත් වර්තමාන ශ්‍රී ලංකාව තුළ ජාතික සංහිඳියාව වැඩි දියුණු කිරීමට හා දේශපාලන සහජීවනයක්‌ ඇති කිරීමට බලය බෙදීමේ සංකල්පයේ ඉහළ භාවිතයක්‌ යොදා ගැනීම හානිදායක වේ. එයට ප්‍රධාන හේතුව වී පවතින්නේ ජාතීන් අතර පවත්නා වූ දුර්වල අවබෝධය හා ඔවුගේ මතයන් හා අවශ්‍යතාවන් පිළිබඳව පවත්නා සමානතාවන් නොදැකීම වැනි කරුණු වේ. අද වන විට ලංකාව තුළ ජාතිවාදී හා ආගම්වාදී මතවාදයන් විවිධ කණ්‌ඩායම් විසින් පටු ඉලක්‌ක මත පිහිටා ක්‍රමිකව ගොඩනඟන බව දක්‌නට ලැබේ. එම කණ්‌ඩායම් මතවාදීව පරාජය කිරීම ව්‍යවස්‌ථා සම්පාදන ක්‍රියාවලිය තුළදී සිදුකළ යුතුව ඇත. එසේම, නව ව්‍යවස්‌ථාව සියලු දෙන ඒකරාශී කරන්නක්‌ මිස වෙන් කරන්නක්‌ නොවන බවට වගබලාගත යුතුවේ.

ඉදිරි වසර සඳහා කාලගුණ පුරෝකථනයන් එතරම් සුභදායී නොවේ. අපගේ ග්‍රාමීය ආර්ථිකයේ මූලිකම අංගය වන කෘෂිකර්මාන්තය වෙත එල්ලවන බලපෑමෙන් ගොවීන් රැකගැනීමට අවශ්‍ය වැඩසටහන් සටහන් සම්පාදනය දැඩි අවශ්‍යතාවකි. නිවැරදි ජල කළමනාකරණය හා අවම ජල භාවිතයක්‌ සහිත විකල්ප බෝග හඳුන්වා දීම වැනි දෑ එයට උදාහරණයකි. එසේම වසවිසෙන් තොර ගොවිතැනක්‌ යන සංකල්පය තුළ දේශීය කෘෂි ඵලදාව සමාලෝචනය කළයුතු වේ. විශේෂයෙන්ම එම සංකල්පය ඉතා ඉහළ ගුණාත්මක තත්ත්වයක්‌ සහිත කෘෂි නිෂ්පාදන ලබාදුන්න ද වර්තමාන කෘෂි ඵලදාව පෙර අවුරුදුවලට වඩා විශාල ලෙස පහළ ගොස්‌ ඇත්නම්, ඒ සඳහා විකල්ප ක්‍රියාමාර්ග ගතයුත්තේ ඉදිරි කාලගුණයට බියව පමණක්‌ නොවේ. අනාගත ජනගහණ වර්ධනය තුළ, පවත්නා ආහාර නිෂ්පාදන ධාරිතාවද ප්‍රමාණවත් නොවන තත්ත්වයක්‌ තුළ අප රට වෙත ආහාර සුරක්‌ෂිතාවය තහවුරු කොට පවත්වාගෙන යැමට වේ. කාලගුණය පිළිබඳ කරුණ තුළ මතුවන තවත් අර්බුදයක්‌ වන්නේ බලශක්‌ති අර්බුදයයි. ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ විදුලි උත්පාදනයේ දී ඉතා වැදගත් කොටසක්‌ වන ජල විදුලිය උත්පාදනය හි ඇතිවන හිඟය මත සමස්‌ථ බලශක්‌ති ඉල්ලුම සැපයීමට නොහැකිවනු ඇත. ඒ සඳහා මධ්‍යකාලීන වැඩපිළිවෙළක්‌ ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීම අවශ්‍යතාවකි.
අධ්‍යාපනය, සෞඛ්‍ය, අධිකරණය ඇතුළු අංශ ගණනාවක කඩිනම් ප්‍රතිසංස්‌කරණ ඇරඹිය යුතුව පවතී. ටැබ් පරිගණක ලබාදීම, බෙහෙත් මිල අඩුකිරීම හා අධිකරණ කොමිසම ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීම, තෘණ මට්‌ටමේ පවත්නා ගැටලු නිරාකරණය කිරීමට ප්‍රමාණවත් නොවේ. ඒ සඳහා පුළුල් ප්‍රතිසංස්‌කරණ සිදුකළ යුතුව පවතී. එම අංශ නිසිලෙස ක්‍රියාකාරීත්වය පැමිණියහොත් රටේ සමස්‌ථ සංවර්ධන යාන්ත්‍රණයම හොඳින් ක්‍රියාත්මක වනු ඇත.
අවාසන වශයෙන් 2009 වසරේ රුදුරු කොටි ත්‍රස්‌තවාදය පරාජය කරමින් ලබාගත හැකිව තිබූ අමරණීය හා පුළුල් ජයග්‍රහණය වෙනුවට කල්ලිවාදය හා ගෝත්‍රවාදය තෝරාගැනීම තුළ එම පාලකයන් ලබාදුන් නායකත්වය හා වීරත්වය කෙරෙහි විශාල කැළලක්‌ සිදුකරගන්නා ලදී. එවැනිම තීරණාත්මක කඩඉමක්‌ පසුකරමින් පවතින යහපාලන ආණ්‌ඩුවට, තම වැරදි අඩුපාඩු නිවැරදි කිරීමට ලැබෙන්නා වූQ අවසාන අවස්‌ථාව 2017 වසරේදී උදාවන අතර එසේ නොවුණහොත් අප සියලු දෙනා එයට එරෙහිව ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදීව ක්‍රියාත්මක වීම සිදුවනු ඇත. එයින් ගැලවීමට 2/3 ක පාර්ලිමේන්තු බලය ප්‍රමාණවත් නොවන බව ආණ්‌ඩු පක්‌ෂය හොඳින් සිහියේ තබාගත් කරුණක්‌ වේ.

KAMALIKA  PIERIS

The United States of America was created by the aggressive takeover of land that belonged to others. The   white   settlers killed the Native Americans and took over their territory when advancing from east coast to west. Texas and California were forcibly taken from Mexico in the Mexican-American war of 1846. US gained control of Cuba and Puerto Rico and the Philippines in the Spanish–American War of 1898. Philippines declared war on America in 1899 and gained its independence in 1904. Cuba gained independence in 1902 but U.S. retained the right to intervene in Cuban affairs and to supervise its finances and foreign relations.

The United States of America is strategically placed between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, facing Europe on one side and Asia on the other.  USA became a recognized world power after it helped to win World War II by bombing Hiroshima in Japan (1945). From the 1950s onwards, USA was engaged in a Cold War with the ‘Communist bloc’ dominated by Russia.

The Cold War came to an end in the 1980s, when Russia decided to go capitalist and the Communist bloc collapsed. Russia thereafter temporarily disappeared from the international radar and USA emerged as the ‘sole remaining superpower’. But before the US could  control the whole world, China came on the scene. A new   tactic was needed. So  USA decided that it was going to champion human rights and use this  to  gain control of the world.

Using  human rights,  USA went after countries which were important for the US, bringing down any regime which   opposed American interests, helped by the fact that USA has the mightiest military in the world, though very costly.     The main agency responsible for executing  all this, it is alleged, is the  US Central Intelligence Agency(CIA). This department has its own Facebook and Twitter pages and is blamed for everything. CIA operates inside USA as well.  CIA’s role in the Kennedy assassination has been openly discussed.

CIA concocted spurious narratives about regimes they wanted to target.  They particularly focused on rape and torture.  CIA planned to stage terrorists attack in the 1960s in USA to look as though they were done by Cuba.  A study of these show how carefully and in what detail these were planned. There was CIA infiltration in Cuba. CIA  operatives carried out many acts of sabotage against civilian targets, including a railway bridge,  molasses storage facilities, an electric power plant and the sugar harvest. Elsewhere, CIA   ran secret detention centers, and turned a blind eye to torture and illegal abductions of terror suspects.

CIA also subverted free and fair elections. They had done so 81 times between 1946 and 2000. The interference starts long before the election, analysts said. CIA orchestrated a series of street protests, to topple governments of Georgia and Ukraine.   The CIA works through agencies.  US National Endowment for Democracy (NED) it is alleged is a CIA creation. NED promoted political action and psychological warfare against states which did not support the US.  NED had supported 65 projects in the Ukraine.

The first targets of US power were the lands below USA, in Central and South America. US President Theodore Roosevelt said in 1904 that USA had the exclusive right to interfere in the countries of South America and correct their ‘mistakes.’  He said   chronic wrongdoing would require intervention by a ‘civilized nation’ and in extreme cases, the United States may be forced to act as an ‘international police power’.

Nicaragua was occupied almost continuously by USA from 1912 to 1933. Honduras was occupied seven times between 1903 and 1925.  The  main export of Honduras, banana, was completely  in the hands of two American companies. The term   ‘banana republic’ was first used for Honduras.  The US occupied Haiti from 1915–1934 and      Dominican Republic  from 1916–1924. Cuba was occupied by the U.S. four times between 1898 and 1922.

US involvement became more aggressive from the 1950s. In Haiti, the U.S. military helped “Papa Doc” Duvalier and then his son Baby Doc” Duvalier (1971-1986) to carry out a bloody reign with’ full knowledge’ of the American CIA. Over 100,000 were killed during the Duvalier period. Jean-Bertrand Aristide, elected in the 1990 Haiti election was deposed by the CIA-backed military after eight months in power. Aristide  returned in 1994 and again in 2000  but went into exile in 2004.Now there is a UN    Peace keeping Mission in Haiti.

US  supported the dictator Rafael Trujillo of  the Dominican Republic. His 31 years in power,  with over 50,000 killed , is  considered one of the ‘bloodiest eras’ ever in the region. CIA assassinated him in 1961 because Trujillo’s business interests were competing with American interests. The democratically elected government under leftist Juan Bosch was  overthrown and military rule set up.  After 19 months of military rule, in April 1965,  the public wanted Bosch back but US sent its Marines  ( navy) to uphold the military regime by force.

In 1954, the democratically elected Jacob Arbenz of  Guatemala,  in Central America , was removed by a coup engineered by the CIA. Arbenz  had attempted a series of land reforms that  affected the Rockefeller-owned United Fruit Company. Arbenz  was replaced  by a line of brutal right-wing dictators who killed over 100,000 Guatemalans in the next 40 years. Classified details of the CIA’s involvement, which included equipping rebels and paramilitary troops while the U.S. Navy blockaded the Guatemalan coast, came to light in 1999.

In the 1970s  US intervention became  even harsher.  Anastasios Samoza, the CIA-backed dictator  ruling in Nicaragua  was overthrown  in 1979, by Marxist Sandinistas  who were popular because of their commitment to land and poverty reform .The Contras, formed out of Samoza’s murderous and hated personal army, were used to fight  a CIA-backed guerilla war against the Sandinista government in the 1980s.

CIA distributed a detailed “terror manual” which  told the  Contras,  inter alia, how to blow up public buildings,  assassinate judges,  create martyrs, and to blackmail ordinary citizens.  The U.S. continued to arm and train the Contras even after the  1984 election won by Sandanistas. In addition to orchestrating the Contras, the U.S. government also blew up bridges and mined Corinto harbor, causing the sinking of several civilian Nicaraguan and foreign ships and many civilian deaths.

El Salvador   had a cruel military government  which led to a civil war, 1979-1992, with the peasants in the hills fighting against the military government. The CIA and U.S. Armed Forces supplied the government with arms. CIA-trained death squads roamed the countryside, committing atrocities like that of El Mazote in 1982, where they massacred between 700 and 1000 men, women and children. By 1992, some 63,000 Salvadorans were killed.

The U.S. invaded Panama  in 1989, to overthrow  its dictator, General Manuel Noriega. Noriega has been on the CIA’s payroll since 1966, and was  transporting drugs with the CIA’s knowledge since 1972.  But he became too independent and the US  got rid of him in 1989.

In South   America, the CIA-backed military forced the democratically elected President Jose Velasco  of Ecuador to resign in 1961.  In Brazil, fearing that the government of President Joao Goulart would make Brazil powerful in the region, the United States backed a 1964 coup led by Humberto Castello Branco, then chief of staff of the Brazilian army.  CIA encouraged street rallies against the Goulart government and provided fuel and  arms to those supporting  the military. The Brazilian military went on to govern the country until 1985.

In 1958 US intervened to bolster the pro-Western Lebanese government of President Camille Chamoun. In 1967, a CIA-backed military coup overthrew  the Greek  government two days before  elections in which liberal candidate George Papandreous was expected to win. The next six years  saw the “reign of the colonels” ,backed by the CIA with widespread use of torture and murder against political opponents.

In 1971 The CIA assassinated Salvador Allende of Chile, Latin America’s first democratically elected socialist leader. Allende  had nationalized  Chile’s copper mines. The CIA replaced Allende with General Augusto Pinochet, who installed a regime that crushed the Leftists , tortured  38,000 and murdered over 3000. Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda had been planning to leave for Mexico to lead the opposition to Pinochet, when he suddenly died. Chile still recalls the Pinochet regime with revulsion.

In Bolivia, a CIA-organized military operation captured Che Guevara in 1968.  Bolivia then underwent ‘half a decade of CIA-inspired political turmoil’ .Leftist President Juan Torres elected in 1971 was overthrown in a CIA-backed military coup. He was replaced by dictator Hugo Banzer who had people arrested without trial, then tortured, raped and executed. In Uruguay the ‘notorious CIA torturer’ Dan Mitrione took power in 1969. He used torture as a routine, widespread practice. He was greatly feared, but was kidnapped and murdered by revolutionaries a year later.

In Africa,  Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the Congo (Zaire) was assassinated in 1961  and replaced by  Mobutu Sese Seko in a   CIA-backed military coup.  CIA had first tried to kill him with a poisoned handkerchief. The hated and repressive Mobutu exploited his country. The  1975 commission of inquiry , found that the  CIA had been active in the murder of Lumumba.  CIA  had alerted Congolese troops to Lumumba’s location and noted roads to be blocked and potential escape routes. In Angola there was   a CIA-backed war in 1975, supporting the brutal leader of UNITAS, Jonas Savimbi. This ‘entirely pointless war’ killed over 300,000 Angolans.

In South east Asia, CIA overthrew  the democratically elected Sukarno  of Indonesia with a military coup in 1967.  CIA had been trying to eliminate Sukarno since 1957. US  had sent weapons for 8,000 potential revolutionaries  by ship to Sumatra. Sukarno’s successor, General Suharto,  massacred between 500,000 to 1 million civilians accused of being “communist.”   in  Cambodia, CIA removed the highly popular Prince Norodom Sihanouk  in 1970 and replaced him with CIA puppet Lon Nol.   Khmer Rouge,  came to power in 1975 and started to massacre millions  of Cambodians. US had interfered in the 1957 democratic elections of Laos. USA dropped 2 million tons of bombs on Laos from 1964- 1973. US wanted to crush the communist forces in Laos and break Vietnam’s supply line.

The best known   ‘American war’ was the protracted war fought by South Vietnam, supported by America against communist North Vietnam.  US had earlier got south Vietnam’s leader Ngo Dinh Diem   killed ( 1953)   and  a pro American government set up in South Vietnam. The Vietnam War ended in 1973 with defeat for America. The country was reunified in 1975.

The US troops engaged in chemical warfare in Vietnam. They used napalm and Agent Orange.  Napalm is a mixture of polystyrene, adhesive, diesel and petrol.  When ignited, napalm sticks to practically anything and burns up in ten minutes. The effects of napalm on the human body are unbearably painful and almost always cause death. Napalm is the most terrible pain you can ever imagine” said a survivor from a napalm bombing. Napalm generates temperatures of 1,500°F to 2,200°F.

Agent Orange is a toxic chemical herbicide. It had devastating effects on agriculture, completely destroying all plants in the area. It also affected people and animals. The Vietnam Red Cross recorded over 4.8 million deaths and 400,000 children born with birth defects due to exposure to Agent Orange.    Agent Orange was later determined to be in violation of the Geneva Conventions.

We now come to the current USA wars. Here are the best known of them. When Russia invaded Afghanistan in 1979, USA also dashed in. From 1979 to 1989 CIA secretly provided weapons and funding to any faction willing to fight Russia, like the Mujahadin. Russia left Afghanistan in 1989 but US troops did not.

The Middle East has the best quality petroleum  in the world, in easily accessible quantities. Therefore USA was interested. In 1953   CIA overthrew the democratically elected Mohammed Mossadegh of Iran, in a military coup, after he threatened to nationalize the oil industry which was in the hands of British oil companies.  The CIA replaced Mossadegh with the cruel and repressive Shah of Iran, who had a brutal secret police, Savak.

When the Shah was overthrown in 1979, USA started its present opposition to Iran, using trade embargos and objections to   Iran’s nuclear weapons capabilities.  Israel, also concerned about the highly Islamic state in Iran, put additional pressure on the US.  There are as many Jews in USA as in Israel. In 2007, there were 5.4 million Jews in Israel and 5.3 in USA. In 2015 there were     6.3 million in Israel and between   5.3 and 7 million in USA. It is said that America owes its advancement to the Jews who emigrated there and today they control the higher levels of the global economy, from America.

In Libya Gaddafi took power in 1969 through a coup.  Gaddafi nationalized the oil industry improved the living standard of the people and supported Palestine and anti-Israeli Arab governments. Gaddafi was killed in the   civil war of 2011. Observers wanted to know who provided the heavy artillery and sophisticated weapons used by the rebels. Rebel groups cannot afford such expensive weapons. USA involvement was suspected.

Critics say Libya provides an almost textbook case of the disinformation, subversion and destabilisation which precedes US directed regime change. The rebellion against Gaddafi took the guise of peaceful protests and was reported as such in the media. It was funded by ultra rightist institutes such as Freedom House, (also associated with the invasion of Iraq.)  International corporations also helped.  Today Libya is a divided country without proper government.

Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein was a ‘creature of the CIA’. CIA built up Saddam’s army, giving it sophisticated arms, intelligence, training and financial backing. This cemented Hussein’s power at home, allowing him to crush the many internal rebellions that erupted from time to time, sometimes with poison gas. Wikileaks showed that US had trained deadly sectarian para military force of 17,000 men to fight in Iraq. There was also   Pentagon backed death squads that tortured detainees for information on armed groups.   With U.S. encouragement, Hussein invaded Iran in 1980.  The west wants to see Iraq  divided into Kurdish, Sunni and Shiite enclaves  and a Kurdish homeland   carved out of Iraq, Syria and Turkey,

US is deeply involved in the Syrian war that it going on now. From 2005 the US government was funding Syrian opposition groups working to topple the Syrian government. There are doubts about the ‘Islamic state of Iraq and Syria’ (ISIS). It appears to be a   part of the western strategy. How could such a powerful organization spring up so suddenly? IS training camps In Jordan are under the supervision of the US marines. .  President Basher of Syria said that peace would only come to Syria when the west and its Middle Eastern allies stop interfering. (CONTINUED)

 By Lasanda Kurukulasuriya Courtesy The Daily Mirror

– See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/-Assistance-or-Espionage–121829.html#sthash.FWnHTUZA.dpuf

BY CHARMINDA RODRIGO Courtesy Ceylon Today

Former State Minister Priyankara Jayaratne says that he called the SLFP Committee members of his electorate for a discussion at which they unanimously urged him to resign. “I represent the interests of the voters in Anamaduwa. They insisted that I take this decision”.
Excerpts:

Q: You tendered resignation from your portfolio to President Maithripala Sirisena a week ago. What‘s the real story behind the decision?

A: I am a member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). I accepted the position only after the SLFP Central Working Committee (CWC) entered into an agreement to contribute to the unity government headed by the President. Right after the general election in August 2015, I accepted a position in the government to protect and promote the interests of the people of my electorate from evident pressures from members of the United National Party. My supporters anticipated the worst because of bitter experiences in the past. We received information about possible attempts to inconvenience the people. So, more than 400 people including clergy, provincial councillors, local government members, organizers and my supporters gathered at my residence and agreed that I should accept a portfolio in the unity government. It was a collective decision. I can remember that only one LG member disagreed with that decision.

Q: What made you to leave the government?

A: I cannot be satisfied with what I was permitted to do for the people. I wanted to be of greater service by being a State Minister. I called the SLFP Committee Members of my electorate for a meeting and they unanimously urged me to quit my portfolio. They stressed that they would resort to alternative measures if I decided to stick to my position in the unity government. They want to see a SLFP-led government in the country. In Anamaduwa, nearly 80% of them are always loyal to the SLFP. Anamaduwa is a stronghold of the SLFP with a long standing record of victory at elections. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had around 29,000 more votes in Anamaduwa than President Maitripala Sirisena at the last presidential election. Even I obtained a lead of nearly 15,000 when I won the seat at the general election last year. I represent the interests of the voters in Anamaduwa. They forced me to take this decision. I am an elected member of Parliament. Therefore, I should attach the highest importance to the interests of the people I represent.

Apart from that, I was dissatisfied with many decisions of the government. I did not vote for the Value Added Tax Amendment Bill which imposes a 15% VAT. I have personally experienced the difficulty when I had to obtain medical treatment at a private hospital. Common people cannot afford such heavy burdens. So, I did not vote for it. There are several other Bills in the pipe line to be presented before Parliament in the months to come. So, now that I am not a member of the government I can express my concerns according to my conscience like an independent member of Parliament. If I remain in the government any further I would have to agree to everything under collective Party decisions.

I have heard some UNP parliamentarians criticizing the members of the SLFP for presuming this is their government, but I must make this clear to them that this is a unity government formed with the agreement of the leaders of both parties. So, they can’t call it ‘their government’.

Q: Even though you call yourself an independent member you are still a member of the SLFP. Don‘t you think your decision to resign from the government is against the decision of the CWC of the SLFP?

A: I am a member of the SLFP. That is not going to change under any circumstance. I am the only member who represents the Puttalam district at the CWC of the SLFP. We have agreed to continue with the link-up between the SLFP and UNP for a period of two years. That leaves us only six months more to function as a collective government. I have not walked out of the party, but have only relinquished my portfolio as a State Minister.

Q: Some say that you suddenly resigned to run away from accepting the much-awaited Delimitation Commission Report at a point when the Local Government and Provincial Councils Minister Faiszer Musthapha was out of the country. Is it true?

A: There is no validity in that statement. In fact, the secretary and I were anticipating to accept the report from the members of the Committee. I met the Chairman of the Committee Asoka Peiris and the members of the committee, but however, some persisting legal and technical difficulties prevented me accepting it. The report was not translated into all three languages; there were some issues with regard to the Northern and Eastern provinces and Kurunegala district. And there was no way I could gazette the report without the necessary translations. The Chairman of the Committee requested a weeks’ time to get the documents in order. So, I directed them to submit the report to Minister Faiszer Musthapha when he returns to the country.

Minister Faiszer Musthapha or the Delimitation Commission report have nothing to do with my decision. Gazetting of the Delimitation Report is a historical thing. I would have had the privilege of gazetting the report if it was ready by 27 Dec.

Q: Now that you are not a part of the government you have the liberty to express your own thoughts. Is the government deliberately delaying the LG elections?

A: No. The government does not deliberately delay the LG polls. We have taken a decision to change the electoral system by introducing the first-past-the-post system at the upcoming election. There was an issue raised at delimitation process done by the previous government. The present had appointed a committee to look into the concerns raised by the members and from various corners. There were many complaints raised which took time to resolve. An election is a democratic right of the people. We should not delay it any further.

Q: Some say that you were penalized within the government after attempts made to bring together the former president and President Sirisena. Is it true?

A: I am no match maker. I have never been a part of such attempts. Both of them are on very good terms with me.

Q: What are your political plans for the future? Are you going to support the joint opposition?

A: As I said I’m an SLFPer. So, I will not accept any position in a government that includes members of the UNP. I have said this to President Maithripala Sirisena. I’m a senior member of the SLFP and remain as such.

Q: Is this part of a plan to establish an SLFP government?

A: We can hold the general election in 2020. There is no provision to advance the due date as specified in the Constitution. But the MPs have the right to make a majority stance with an affidavit. But I have not communicated this to any party or individuals.
I stand on the principle that we should form an SLFP government. I will support unconditionally anyone who wants to achieve this.

Q: Do you think the unity in the ‘unity government‘ is diminishing?

A: It is very clearly visible now. The cracks have begun appearing. In basic matters, just consider the differences of opinion held by the two parties on matters of revenue collection. They cannot go on like this for a long time. There is no match between the two parties. Either the UNP or SLFP should form their own government without depending on the other.

Q: Have you ever been harassed or illtreated when you were a part of the government?

A: Yes. There have been many issues. Our members have often raised this issue. For instance; many of our members are deprived of adequate funds for their projects which are submitted for Cabinet approval. My Ministry was allocated Rs 4,000 million to develop roads which are under the supervision of the Provincial Council. But now the Ministry of Higher Education has asked for these projects to be transferred to that Ministry. These are crucial issues. We do not need a separate ministry if its powers are to be clipped for political reasons. I stood up against these ill-treatments. What is the use of being a Minister without powers?

Q: Do you think the government is dragging its feet in implementing its plans?

A: It is very clear. What has the government done during the past couple of years? The whole country knows that by now.

Q:Who is actually involved in the administration of development activities in the country?

A:There are several groups. There is the Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs, Ministry of Public Enterprise Development and Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade. But they do not communicate with us on proposed development activities. We do not attend UNP group meetings either. There are practical difficulties when two parties are working within a hostile atmosphere. This ‘unity’ cannot go any further.

Q: Did you discuss these matters with President Maithripala Sirisena before resigning?

A: No. I asked my secretary to hand over everything in my possession back to the Ministry. I went to meet the President in my own vehicle. He was not happy when I broke the news to him. I told him clearly that I would extend my utmost to the party and will accept a position in a victorious SLFP government.

Q: Any plans to join the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)?

A: No. None of the SLFPers has joined the SLPP. Even former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is still a member of the SLFP. Parliamentary membership will be revoked if any member resigns from the SLFP. That’s the law.

Q: Have you been extended an invitation to campaign with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa?

A: He spoke to me a few times. We have no political differences. He entered Parliament along with my father in the 70’s. I have a good rapport with him.

Q: Judging by prevailing trends what chances are there of an SLFP government coming to power ?

A: Whatever is said and done, sovereign power lies with the people. Nobody can rise above that. The people have taken to the streets. Let’s wait and see what will unfold in the future.

Q: Do you think there are other SLFP members in the government who are disillusioned because of any ill-treatment by the UNP?

A: Yes, there are many others. In fact, I saw Minister John Seneviratna too, expressing his discontent to the President. We have discussed this among ourselves. I am an elected MP. So, it hurts more. I need to be with my people.

Q: The United Peoples‘ Freedom Alliance (UPFA) General Secretary had several rounds of discussions to restore peace within the SLFP camp. Have you discussed this with him?

A: I discussed these issues with Minister Mahinda Amaraweera too. He is a friend and a person I respect. We are happy that he is the General Secretary of the UPFA. I took this decision in line with my conscience. This is not an attempt to start a fire to topple the government.

The cost of living, cost of development and various other costs are what everyone talks about today in Sri Lanka. Basic survival has become a heavy burden on the average citizen. Eking out a meagre living in very trying circumstances in a country recovering from a close to three decade war on terror is no mean feat. And so, the politicians have decided everything will be hunky dory with a new constitution.

Left party leader from the opposition meet the President to discuss the new constitution.

Why the powers that be figure reinventing the wheel as it were, will end the struggle for all of the average citizens of this country is a mystery. Why is there a need for a new constitution? Cannot the existing one be amended, just the parts that seem to ruffle the feathers of a few and give or take executive powers from the position of presidency and hand them over to the provincial councils if that is what is really needed? Why spend money, time, energy and resources consulting experts” and all sorts of foreign specialists” who seem to want something extraordinary” for Sri Lanka, even more than what they are experiencing in their own systems? Is it out of the goodness of their hearts, one wonders.

Globalisation has lost its appeal, democracy as we know it, is on a downward spiral and nationalism under benevolent dictators is gradually becoming the norm in the world today. People in many nations have taken a stand and demanded an end to mass corruption by a few in power. There is a call for developing strict social norms, enhancing customs and traditions, enforcing less working hours and more family time, working towards establishing sustainable energy sources, establishing wholesome education systems with more playtime for children, environmental conscientiousness and developing traditional trades, arts, crafts, cuisines and all that is indigenous, preserving resources etc. in many societies across the globe.

But for Sri Lanka, the experts” promote regression, i.e. devolution of power” to the minorities, facing a national problem”, who apparently require more privileges than the majority for peace and reconciliation”. Segregation of land based on ethnicity and religion is how this objective is expected to be achieved.

The majority” is expected to share” their portion of the country with all and allow privileges to the minorities” in selected areas so as not to be deemed racists”. And the best way to go about it, according to all the experts from developed” Western countries and their local counterparts selling” this concept to our powers that be, is to have a spanking new constitution with federalism. It is apparently needed in order to enable peace and reconciliation” and alleviate the distrust which was deemed the cause for terror” during a 27 year period. However, it is noted that the people ran away from their liberator” to live amongst the racist” majority for safety or even from the country itself to get away from the wrath of the self-effacing freedom fighters” or terrorists. Therefore, how segregating people based on ethnicity brings about peace and reconciliation is beyond this writer’s comprehension.

There is a need to amend the redundant aspects of the existing constitution, i.e.

• have an electoral system of electing citizens’ representatives from the smallest administrative sections of the country in order that all segments of society are represented in parliament. Efficient, uncorrupt, independent representatives will then be voted in by the relevant constituents
• do away with many layers of elected officials of Pradeshiya Sabhas, Village Councils, Town Councils, Municipal Councils, Provincial Councils etc.
• enhance the administrative services with professionals who are knowledgeable, dedicated and efficient to carry out the required work.
• develop national policies for relevant aspects of governance and for resources with strict timelines, key process indicators, bound by law, which are strictly enforced.

The country has been running very well for almost a year without some layers of bureaucracy/elected officials and there is no reason why this cannot continue, albeit with a more structured system.
We survived spineless leadership in the face of terror which prolonged armed treason and rampant crime reigning supreme with the spoils of war shared on all sides, while the average citizen was scarred for life or dead trying to outrun the terror. We voted out the almighty power that ruled with an iron fist, in spite of threats of abductions, torture, intimidation and even death and disappearances of dissidents. We persisted for over 2,600 years and will survive beyond 2,600 years more with or without our fair weather friends” who are trying to manipulate us towards a future of instability in order to control our resilient people and this region for economic gains, our strategic location and to use our many resources to their advantage.

The whims of various Western dictates, which appear to be feeling slighted by this tiny inconsequential island eradicating terrorism when they cannot fathom how to in spite of all their pretensions, it seems, is a ransom” of a new constitution or else it is indicated that without their investments and with their sanctions, our country is expected to wither away”.

Stop wasting our precious assets on a new constitution to appease these few, as ulterior motives which will adversely affect all our citizens will never allow for successful implementation. The people of this country will rise united to make a change for the better, against all adversity. A glance back at our recent history for evidence of that probability reiterates the power of the vote, even though it only seems to have changed one set of talking heads to another set, without a lot of action to show for it, this time.

We are a unitary and sovereign state and will embrace our diversities within it with pride not leaving room for discrimination between races, religions, castes or languages. Writing in black and white to keep our people segregated based on intangible differences will not unite, but divide us by law.

There is no need to reinvent the wheel. We need a few strategic amendments to the existing constitution. Our values should remain steadfast while we continuously improve ourselves for sustainable progression. We should not allow our values to be changed to assuage those rapacious few with various ulterior motives.

හම්බන්තොට ප්‍රදේශ කිහිපයක විරෝධතා තහනම් කරමින් ලබා දුන් උසාවි නියෝගය නොතකා පිරිසක් අද විරෝධතා පැවැත්වූහ.

හම්බන්තොට ආයෝජන කලාපයට මුල් ගල තැබීමේ උත්සවය පැවැති භූමියට විරෝධතා කරුවන්ට ඇතුළු විය නොහැකි ලෙස පොලිසියේ සහ පොලිස් විශේෂ කාර්ය බළකායේ පිරිස් යොදවා තිබිණි. උද්ඝෝෂකයෝ අතුරු මාර්ග ඔස්සේ උත්සවය පැවැති භූමිය අසලටම සහභාගී වූහ.

එහි දී උත්සව භූමියේ සිටි බව කියන පිරිසක් හා උද්ඝෝෂකයන් අතර උණුසුම් තත්ත්වයක් ඇති වූ අතර ගල් මුල් පවා හුවමාරු වූ බව පොලිසිය කියයි.

ඒකාබද්ධි විපක්ෂය නියෝජනය කරමින් උදය ගම්මන්පිල, ගාමිණී ලොකුගේ ඇතුළු මන්ත්‍රීවරුන් පිරිසක් ද එම ස්ථානයට පැමිණ සිටියහ. විරෝධතාවට ස්වාමීන්වහස්සේලාද වැඩම කර සිටියහ.

පොලිසිය උද්ඝෝෂකයන්ට කඳුළු ගෑස් ගසා පලවා හැරීමට උත්තාසහ කරනු අයුරු දක්නට ලැබිණි.

තුවාල ලැබූ කිහිප දෙනෙක් රෝහල් ගත කරනු ලැබ සිටිති.

ඡායාරූප – ජයමාල් චන්ද්‍රසිරි

ධර්මසිරි සෙනෙවිරත්න 

 ස්ත්‍රියට ලිංගික තෘප්තිය ගෙන දෙන කුඩා අංගයක් වූ යෝනිය තුල පිහිටි ”භගමනි ”  කපාදමීම  මුස්ලිම් රටවල අතීතයේ සිට සිදුකෙරේ . පිරිමි චර්ම චේදනය  උත්සවාකාරයෙන් කලද මෙය දැන්  කෙරෙන්නේ රහසෙනි, .අතීත අරාබියේ මෙය නිත්‍යානුකුල වුවකි . නැගෙනහිර අප්‍රිකාව යේමනය ඕමානය  ආදී රටවල  තවමත් මෙය කෙරෙන බව 1992 දී කල සමීක්ෂණයකින් හෙළිවිය . කුරානයේ මේ ගැන සදහන් නොවේ . ඉස්ලාම් පුජකයෝ  මේ ගැන කතාකරන්නේ සුළුවෙනි . මේ ක්‍රියාව බහක් තිය නිසා කරන බව පමණක් පවසා  වැඩි දුර විවේචනයෙන් වැළකෙති .”””සිහි නැති කිරීමකින් තොරව  පිහියා තලයකින්  කරන කැපීම  වේදනාව පමණක් නොව   , සංසර්ගය , ඔසප්  දරු උපත් .ආදී හැමදෙකදීම  ප්‍රශ්න ඇති කරය් ””’යනුවෙන් 1992  ඉකොනොමිස්ට්  සඟරාවේ දැක්වේ . 1992  ඉන්ඩිපෙන්ඩන්ට්  නම් බ්‍රතාන්ය පුවත් පතේ මෙසේ දැක්වේ ”” බ්‍රතාන්යයේ සිටින  තුන්වන ලෝකයට අයත්  ජනතාව  ස්ත්‍රී ලිංගේන්ද්‍රිය පප්පාදු කිරීම ගැන   බලධාරීහු බොහෝවිට මුනිවත රකිති .අනුන්ගේ සිරිත්වලට විරුද්ධව වර්ගවාදීව කටයුතු කරන්නය  යන  චෝදනාවට ලක්වෙය ය මොවුහු බිය වෙති .මේ ක්‍රියාව එංගලන්ත නීතියට පටහැනි වුවත්  නීති ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීමට බලධාරීහු මැලිකමක් දක්වති ..සංස්කෘතියට අනුව මිනීත්යානු කුල භාවය හා  මිනිස් අයිතිවාසිකම් වලට අනුව  නිත්‍යානු කුල භාවය ගැන  පැහැදිලි  බවක්  නැති බව පෙනේ ””.                                                                                                                                                                             එහෙත් ප්‍රංශය එංගලන්තය මෙන් දෙලොවක් අතර සිරවී නැත .ප්‍රංශය 1991 දී  භාගමනී කැපීමේ වරදට 3 දෙනෙකුට  නඩු පවරන ලදී   විත්තිය තර්ක කලේ මේ ක්‍රියාව  ගව්රවනීය ආගමික ක්‍රියාවක් බවය ..ගව්රවනීයයයය්  යමෙක් සිතු තරමට  ක්‍රියාවක් ක්‍රියාවක්  යුක්ති සහගත් නොවෙයය්  පැමිණිල්ලේ තර්කය විය ..””භාගමනී කැපීම පිළිගත නොහැක  මෙයට ඉඩ දීමෙන්  සිදුවන්නේ  ප්‍රංශ භුමියේ  ආරක්ෂාව  මේ දැරිවියන්ට නොලැබීමය ”’ යන පැමිණිල්ලේ තර්කය  පිළිගත් උසාවිය ඔවුන්  වසර 5  බැගින් සිරගෙට නියම කරන ලදී .

                                                 භාගමනී කැපීම කුරානයෙන් අනුදැන නැත්නම් මෙය වැරදි ක්රියාවකය් තහනම් කිරීමට මුස්ලිම් පුජකයන්ට හැකියාව ඇත .  ආගම විවේචනයට මරණ දඬුවම් දෙන මොවුන්ට් ගැහැණියට මෙසේ වැඩ වේදනා දීම ට ඉඩදෙන්නේ  එසේ කිරීම ඔවුන්ගේ ආව්නිකආ  ෂාවක් නිසාද . පිරිමි චර්ම චෙධානයද කුරානයේ නැත . මහමත් තුමාගේ සිරිත් අතරද එවැන්නක් නැත . මුල් කාලයේ මුස්ලිම් වරු මේ ගැන එතරම් උනන්දුවක් දක්වා නැත …ඔමාර්  නම් බැතිමත් කාලිෆ් වරයා  මෙසේ කියා ඇත.  ””’ ලෝකයට මහමත් තුමා එවන ලද්දේ  ලෝකය ඉස්ලාමීකරණය කිරීමට  මිස . කොටසක් කපාදමීමට නොවේ ”’

         වේලය ,  හිජාබ් , හෙවත් බුර්කා —-

                                         මුස්ලිම් කාන්තාව ආවරණය කර තැබිය යුතුය යන්න  ඉස්ලාම් අදහසය් .අරාබි ”හිජාබ්”’යනු වෙලය අර්තයදෙය්  එහි මුලය වන ”’හජබා ”’ යනු සැ න්ගවීමය් . මේ වහල්බවේ සංකේතය විය එනිසාම ඊජිප්තුවේ  නිදහස් කාන්තා සංවිධානය  1923 දී හිජාබ ගලවා මුහුදට විසිකළහ . තුර්කිස්තානයේ හිජාබ්  ඉවතලීමේ  මෙහෙයුමක් දියට් විය .උස්බෙක් ස්ත්‍රීන් 87000 ක්  කළු හිස් වැසුම් ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කරන ලදී . මොවුන් ඉස්ලාම් විරෝධීයය් සලකු ඔවුන්ගේම පවුල්වල සමහර පිරිමි  මේ ගැහැණුන්ගෙන් 300ක් පමණ මරා දැමුහ .. 1928 දී  ඇෆ්ගනිස් තානයේ ශාරජු  .හිජාබය ඉවත දමන ලෙස තම බිසවට කී විට  මහජනයා ඊට විරුධ්ධවී ම නිසා කාන්තා නිදහස් අරගලයට  අනුබලනොදී  පසුබැසීමට රජුට සිදුවිය .ශා ඉල්ලා අස්විය. 1936 දී රෙෂා  ශාරජු හිජාබය තහනම් කළේය එයටද ජනතාව හරස්වුහ එවිටද එනීතිය අහෝසි කිරීමට රජුට සිදුවිය .

                                             මේ අන්ධ භක්තික ආගමක් නිසා සිදුවෙන වින්නහියය්. මුන් හදන්නට කාටවත් බැරිය අල්ලා කීදෙයත් මොවුහු කරති නොකීදෙයත් කරති බැතිමතුන් පාලනය වන්නේ පුජකයන් මගිනි .උස්බෙක් ස්ත්‍රීන් 300ක් මැරුවේ උන්ගේම තාතතලා  සහ සහෝදරයන්ය . හිජාබ් ආවරණය කුරානයේ  සුරා 33.53  හා 59ඳ  32 33  හා 39 න්ද  අනුමතය  සියොළඟ වසා නිවාස අඩස්සියේ සිටීමට ගැහැණියට සිදුවුයේ  ඉස්ලාම් ආගම නිසාය  .  බිරියන් 4ක් හා නිමක් නැති  අනියම් බිරියන් ලිංගික වශයෙන්   සතුටු  කිරීමට  එක පිරිමියෙකුට අපහසු හෙයින්  මේ බිරියන් අන් පහස සොයා යාම  වැලක් වීම සඳහා  ගැහැනියගේ හැඩරුව වැසෙන සේ  ආවරණය  කර නිවාස අඩස්සියේ  තැබීම ඔවුන් රක ගැනීමේ මගකි . දෙවියන්ගේ නීතියක් යය කියූ විට ක්‍රියාත මක කිරීම පහසුය         

         ප්‍රවුර්ති ——————-                                 1990 දී  පකිස්තානයේදී  පිරිමියෙකුට අතට ඇත දීමේ වරදට ස්ත්‍රියක් සේවයෙන් නෙරපන ලදී.——

”ගැහැනුන්ට මම අනතුරු අඟවනවා  ආගම විවේචනය කලොත්   කෑලි  කෑලි  වලට කපනවා —-””රාවල් පින්ඩියේ  මුල්ලා කෙනෙක්  කල ප්‍රසිද්ධ ප්‍රකාශයක් 

——-  වර්තමානයේ පකිස්තානයේ ස්ත්‍රියට ගරුත්චයක්  නැත”’සියා ගෙන් බලතල ලැබූ මුල්ලාවරු හිතන්නේ  ඔනීම තැනකදී  ගැහැනුන් කෝටුමස්  කිරීමට ඔවුන්ට හැකි බවය් ””—– ලාහෝරයේ නියෝජ්‍ය පොලිස්  අධිකාරිවරයෙක්  වන ඉක්බාල්  ගේ ප්‍රකාශයකි .

 1944 දී මොහමඩ් අලි ජින්නාගේ  ප්‍රකාශයක් ””” කාන්තාව සමග  උරෙනුර ගැටී අත්වැල් බැඳගෙන  වැඩ නොකලොත් කිසිම  රටක් දියුණු නොවේ  අපි දැන් නින්දිත සිරිත් වල වහලුන් වී ඇත . අපේ ගැහැණු බිත්ති හත රට කොටු කර  වහලුන් ලෙස තැබීම මනුෂ්‍යත්වයට  එරෙහි වීමකි

                                          සංවිධානාත්මකව සිංහල ස්ත්‍රීන් බිලීබාගන්නා  ආගමික කණ්ඩායම්  දැන් ලංකාවේ ඇති නිසා  .සිංහලයෝ අවදියෙන් සිටිය යුතුය . මේ ලිපි සිංහල කාන්තාවන්ගේ අවධානයට යොමුකරන්න . ස්ත්‍රී භාගමනී කැපීම ලංකාවේ සුලභ නොවුවත්  නැත්තටම නැතුවා නොවේ  පේරාදෙණිය සරසවියේ  සිටි එකමුස්ලිම්   සිසුවිය ක් අගේ සිංහල යෙහෙළියකට හන්දාවටෙමින් තමන්ගේ මිත්තනිය තමන්ගේ භගමනිය කු අයුරු තමන් සමග පැවසූ බව  දැන් විදේශයක සේවය කරන  ඉහල පෙලේ නිලධාරිනියක්  මෑතදී .අගේ පෙම්වතාට හෙලිකල පසු ඔහු ඒගැන මටද පැවසුවේය .. එනිසා  සිංහල කාන්තාවෝ මේවා ගැන  අවදියෙන් සිටිය යුතුය .

 ඉන්දියාව නම්වූ  ජරාජීර්ණ රටෙත්  මෙවැනි දුෂ්ට  දුර්දාන්තදෙවල් එමටය .උනුත් මුස්ලිම් වරුත් එකතු වුවිට සිංහලයාට යන එන මන් නැතිවෙනු ඇත .. අලි මදිවට හරක් කිව්වාක් මෙන් මී ලඟට  රට චීන කොලනියක් වෙනු ඇත .  . ලියන්නට දහසක් දේ ඇත . ලිව්වට කියවන කෙනෙක් නැත .  . අසුචි කන බල්ලන් රැලක් මෙන් සිංහලයන්ගෙන් වැඩිදෙනෙක්  ඉන්දියානු මෙගා ටෙලිනාට්‍ය  ම අනුභව කරමින් සිටිති .. ලියන අපටත් බැන අඩ ගහ ති   . හපාකන්නට පනිති .එකක් ලිව්වොත් අනික නොලිව්වේ මොකදය් අසති .එක ලිව්වම අරක නැත්තේ මොකදය් අසති. . හිතේ අමාරුවට  නොනැවතී ලියමි .බල්ලෝ බිරුව ට කමක් නැත

මාධ්‍ය හමුව – 2017.01.08
ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණ බත්තරමුල්ල, පැලවත්ත ජ.වි.පෙ. ප‍්‍රධාන කාර්යාලයේදී…

ආණ්ඩුවට වසර දෙකක් සම්පූර්ණ වෙනකොට හම්බන්තොට ප‍්‍රහාරය මගින් මේ ආණ්ඩුවේ යහපාලනයේ නිරුවත පෙන්නුවා…
ජ.වි.පෙ. ප‍්‍රචාරක ලේකම් විජිත හේරත් සහෝදරයා
අද ජනවාරි 08වැනිදා. මේ ආණ්ඩුව වසර දෙකක් සම්පූර්ණ වෙනවා. 2015 ජන. 08වැනිදා මේ ආණ්ඩුව පිහිටුවන කොට රටේ ආර්ථිකය, දේශපාලනය, ප‍්‍රජාතන්ත‍්‍රවාදය සම්බන්ධයෙන් ජනතාවට විශාල පොරොන්දු දුන්නා. නමුත් වසර දෙකක් ගතවනවිට ජනතාව යහපාලනය වෙනුවෙන් තැබූ සියලූ බලාපොරොත්තු සුන් වෙලා. රට ආර්ථික වශයෙන් අගාධයකට වැටිලා. ප‍්‍රජාතන්ත‍්‍රවාදය වෙනුවට ආණ්ඩුවේ මැරකම්, චණ්ඩිකම්, ජනතා මර්දනය දියත් කරලා. රටේ සම්පත් කුණුකොල්ලයට විකුණනවා. මහජනතාවට බදු පිට බදු බර පටවන පනත් සංශෝධනය කරගෙන තිබෙනවා. වසර දෙකක් ඇතුළත ජනතාවගේ බලාපොරොත්තු බොඳවෙලා ගිහින්. ජනතාවගේ බලාපොරොත්තු කිසිවක් ඉටුකරන්න මේ ආණ්ඩුව සමත් වෙලා නැහැ. ජනතාවගේ අතමිට සරු කරනවා කිව්වට එම ප‍්‍රකාශ පුස්සක් වෙලා. රටේ සම්පත් ටික කුණු කොල්ලයට විදෙස් සමාගම්වලට දෙනවා. ජනතාවගේ ඉඩම් බලහත්කාරයෙන් පවරගන්නවා. මෛතී‍්‍ර-රනිල් පාලනය ජනතාවගේ අනාගතය සංවර්ධනය කරන්න මැදිහත් වෙලා නැහැ. ඔවුන්ට ඒ වෙනුවෙන් වුවමනාවක් නැහැ. කැපවීමක් නැහැ.
ජනතාවගේ බලාපොරොත්තු කඩවුණු නිසා තමයි අද ජනතාව පාරට බැහැලා තිබෙන්නේ. පීඩාකාරී ආණ්ඩුවේ කි‍්‍රයාමාර්ගවලට එරෙහිව ශිෂ්‍යයින් පාරට බැස්සා. ගොවිජනතාව පාරට බැස්සා. රටේ ජනතාව පීඩාවට එරෙහිව වීදි බැස්සා. ආණ්ඩුව ඒ අරගල හමුදාව, පොලීසිය යොදවලා කඳුළු ගෑස් ගහලා වෙඩි ප‍්‍රහාර එල්ල කරලා මර්දනය කළා. ඊයේ හම්බන්තොට ජනතාවගේ උද්ඝෝෂණයටත් ආණ්ඩුවේ ප‍්‍රතිචාරය වුණේ ඒ මර්දනයයි. හම්බන්තොට ජනතාව තමන්ගේ පාරම්පරික ඉඩම් රැුකගැනීම වෙනුවෙන් වසර ගණනාවක් තිස්සේ කැපවීමක් කළා. එදා රාජපක්‍ෂ පාලනය තුළ හම්බන්තොට ජනතාවගේ ඉඩම් අක්කර 11,000ක් බලහත්කාරයෙන් පවරාගත්තා. ඉරිදා සති අන්ත පුවත්පතකට සම්මුඛ සාකච්ඡුාවක් දෙමින් නාමල් රාජපක්‍ෂ ඒ බව කියනවා. මිරිජ්ජවිල කර්මාන්ත ව්‍යාපෘතියට, මත්තල ගුවන්තොටුපොළට, හම්න්තොට වරායට ඒ විදිහට ජනතාවගේ ඉඩම් බලහත්කාරයෙන් පවරා ගත්තා. එදා රාජපක්‍ෂලා කරපු දේ අද රනිල්-මෛතී‍්‍ර හවුල් ආණ්ඩුව කරනවා. ඒ නිසා තමන්ගේ ඉඩම් හම්බන්තොට වරායත් කුණු කොල්ලයට විකුණා දැමීමෙන් ආරක්‍ෂා කර ගැනීමට හම්බන්තොට ජනතාවට වගකීමක් තිබෙනවා.
අපේ රටේ කර්මාන්ත හදන්න ඕනෑ බව අපි පිළිගන්නවා. නමුත් ඒ වෙනුවෙන් ජනතාවගේ ඉඩම් බලහත්කාරයෙන් පවරා ගන්න දෙන්න බැහැ. ජනතාවගේ ඉඩම් පවරාගෙන කර්මාන්තශාලා හදල වැඩක් නැහැ. ආණ්ඩුව මේ කරමින් ඉන්නේ කර්මාන්ත හදන මුවාවෙන් විදෙස් සමාගම්වලට කුණු කොල්ලයට ඉඩම් විකුණලා එදා වේල පිරිමහ ගන්නයි. අපි ආණ්ඩුවට කියනවා හම්බන්තොට ජනතාවගේ ඉඩම් බලහත්කාරයෙන් පවරා ගන්න එකත් වරාය විකුණන එකත් වහාම නතර කරන්න කියලා. එසේ නැතහොත් ඊට එරෙහිව දහස් ගණන් ජනතාව සමඟ ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණ කි‍්‍රයාමාර්ග ගන්නවා.
ඊයේ හම්බන්තොට ජනතාව පක්‍ෂ භේදයෙන් තොරව ආණ්ඩුවට එරෙහිව විරෝධතාවයක් දියත් කළා. ගමෙන් ගමට නිවසෙන් නිවසට ජනතාව මෙම උද්ඝෝෂණයට එකතු වුණා. ආණ්ඩුව හම්බන්තොට ප‍්‍රදේශයේ මහා භීෂණයක් ඇති කළා. හමුදාව පොලීසිය කැඳෙව්වා. මට්ටක්කුලි කුරුණෑගල ගාල්ල මාතර මැරයෝ, ඇමතිලාගේ ගෝලයෝ 06වැනිදා රාති‍්‍රයේ සිටම ප‍්‍රදේශවාසීන් බියවැද්දීම් කළා. පොලීසිය පාරවල් වහලා බැරියර් දැම්මා. මේ නිසා ජනතාව කෝපයට පත්වුණා. ජනතාව ප‍්‍රතිිචාර දැක්වුවා. ආණ්ඩුවේ නිල නොවන මැරයො නිල පොලීසිය හමුදාව එක්වී හම්බන්තොට ජනතාවට දියත් කළ මැර ප‍්‍රහාරය ඉතාම අමානුෂික ම්ලේච්ඡු ප‍්‍රහාරයක්. තමන්ට අයිති ඉඩම රැුකගන්න උද්ඝෝෂණය කළ හම්බන්තොට ප‍්‍රදේශයේ පාරම්පරික ඉඩම් හිමි අම්මලාට තාත්තලාට තමයි ආණ්ඩුව මේ විදිහට පහර දුන්නේ. ආණ්ඩුවේ මර්දනය දැඩි පිළිකුළෙන් යුතුව හෙළාදකිනවා. ජනතාවට පහර දීලා, තර්ජනය කරලා මේ සටන යටපත් කරන්න බැහැ. සිය දහස් ගණනක් ජනතාව සමඟ මේ ආණ්ඩුවට එරෙහිව ජනතාව නැගිටිනවා. පෙළ ගැහෙනවා.
දේශපාලන වශයෙන් බංකොළොත් වෙලා ඉන්න පිරිසක් මේ සටන පාවා දෙන්න කටයුතු කරමින් ඉන්නවා. තමන්ගේ ඇත්ත ප‍්‍රශ්නය වෙනුවෙන් සටන් කරන ජනතාව තමන්ගේ දේශපාලන වුවමනාවන් වෙනුවෙන් යොදා ගන්න එම කණ්ඩායම කටයුතු කරනවා. එදා හම්බන්තොට ජනතාවගේ ඉඩම් බලහත්කාරයෙන් පවරා ගත්තු ඔවුන් ඒවා නැහැ කියන්න උත්සාහ කරමින් ඉන්නවා. ඔවුන් මැදිහත් වෙලා ජනතාවගේ සටන දියාරු කරන්න හදනවා. සැබෑ අරගලය යටපත් කරනවා. ආණ්ඩුව ඔවුන්ගේ කි‍්‍රයාමාර්ගත් මේ සටන මර්දනය කරන්න යොදා ගන්නවා. එම නිසා බංකොළොත් කණ්ඩායම්වලට මේ සටන දියාරු කරන්න අපි ඉඩ දෙන්නේ නැහැ. ආණඩුව වසර දෙකක් ගෙවෙන මේ මොහොතේ ජනතාවට පෙන්නුවේ යහපාලනය නෙවෙයි. ආණ්ඩුව ප‍්‍රායෝගිකව පෙන්නලා තිබෙනවා යහපාලනය බොරුවක් කියලා. ප‍්‍රජාතන්ත‍්‍රවාදය වෙනුවට ජනතාවට පහර දීලා මර්දනය කරලා යහපාලනයේ ඇත්ත නිරුවත පෙන්නුවා.
දකුණු පළාත් සභා මන්තී‍්‍ර සිසිර වාහලතන්ත‍්‍රී සහෝදරයා අදහස් දක්වමින්…
හම්බන්තොට ජනතාවගේ ප‍්‍රශ්නය වෙනුවෙන් පක්‍ෂ පාට භේදයෙන් තොරව ජනතාව පාරට බැස්සා. රජ කාලේ සිට පරම්පරාවෙන් ලැබුනු ජනතාව ජීවත් වුණු ඉඩම්, වගා කරපු වගාබිම් සමඟ හම්බන්තොට වරාය ආණ්ඩුව චීනට දෙන්න යනවා. මේ ඉඩම් පවරා ගන්න කලින් ආණ්ඩුව කිසිදු පරිසර ඇගයීමක් කළේ නැහැ. පරිසර හානි තක්සේරු කළේ නැහැ. රටේ නීතියට අනුව කැලෑ ඉඩම් හෙක්ටයාර් එකක් වෙනත් කටයුත්තක් සඳහා යොදා ගන්නවා නම් ඊට අදාලව පරිසර ඇගයීමක් කළ යුතුයි. ආණ්ඩුව ඒවා කළේ නැහැ. ආණ්ඩුවේ නිලධාරීන් ඇවිත් ඉඩම් මනින්න පටන් ගත්තා. ජනතාව ඒවා ප‍්‍රශ්න කරන්න පටන් ගත්තා. පාලකයින්ට ඒ ප‍්‍රශ්නවලට උත්තර දෙන්න බැරි වුණා. අපි හම්බන්තොට ජනතා අයිතීන් සුරැුකීමේ සංවිධානය හැදුවා. සියලූ පක්‍ෂවල පිරිස්, ස්වාමින් වහන්සේලා එයට දායක වුණා. මේ පිළිබඳව පළාත් සභාවේදී, දිස්ති‍්‍රක් සංවර්ධන කමිටුවේදී ප‍්‍රශ්න කළා. හම්බන්තොට ජනතාව සමඟ එකතු වෙලා සාමකාමීව සටනක් දියත් කළා. ජනතාව පාරට බහින්නේ ඒ අනුවයි. පසුගිය දින තුනක් පුරා හමුදාව, යුද ටැංකි, මැර හමුදාව, එම ප‍්‍රදේශයට ගෙන්නුවා. තමන්ගේ ඉඩම් බලහත්කාරයෙන් පවරා ගන්න යනවා කියලා ජනතාව බියට පත්වුණා. ඒ නිසා තමයි ජනතාව උද්ඝෝෂණය කළේ. එජාපය සුපුරුදු පරිදි මැර හමුදාව එවලා පහර දුන්නා. උත්සව භූමියේ ඉඳලා තමයි ජනතාවට ගල් ගහලා තිබෙන්නේ. ආණ්ඩුවේ මැරයින් ඇති කරපු භීෂණයට තමයි ජනතාව ප‍්‍රතිචාර දැක්වුවේ. මේ වනවිට විශාල ප‍්‍රමාණයක් උද්ඝෝණයට සහභාගි වුණු ජනතාව අත් අඩංගුවට ගත්තා. විශාල පිරිසක් තුවාළ ලබලා.
ඉඩම් අහිිමිවන ජනතාවට කිසිදු විකල්පයක් නැහැ. යහපාලන ආණ්ඩුව දැන් ජනතාවගේ ඉඩම් පවරා ගනිමින් ඉන්නවා. ජනතාව දීර්ඝ කාලයක් සාමකාමීව සටනක් ගෙන යමින් ඉන්නවා. ඇතැම් අය ජනතාව ප‍්‍රකෝප කරන්න කටයුතු කරනවා. ආණ්ඩුවේ මේ කි‍්‍රයාමාර්ග නිසා හම්බන්තොට ජනතාව සමාජ දේශපාලන මෙන්ම ජීවත් වීමේ ප‍්‍රශ්නයකට මුහුණ දෙමින් ඉන්නවා. මේ වනවිට හම්බන්තොට ජනතාව ජල හිඟයකට මුහුණ දීලා. ගොවි පවුල් 15,000ක් අසරණ වෙලා. එසේ තිබියදී ආණ්ඩුව චීන සමාගම්වල ව්‍යාපෘතිවලට ජලය ලබාදෙන්න ව්‍යාපෘති දියත් කරනවා. ඉදිරියේදී තමන්ට අත්වන ඉරණම මොකක්ද කියලා ජනතාව දන්නවා. ලියන්ගහතොට, රිදියගම ව්‍යාපෘති හරහා තමයි ආණුව එම සමාගම්වල ව්‍යාපෘතිවලට ජලය ලබාදෙන්න යන්නේ. මේ නිසා හම්බන්තොට ගොවි ජනතාවට වගාවට වතුර නැතිවෙනවා. බොන්න පවා වතුර අහිමි වන තත්වයක් මතුවෙනවා. ඒ අනාගත ව්‍යසනයත් දන්න ජනතාව තමයි මේ උද්ඝෝෂණවලට එකතු වෙලා ඉන්නේ.
හම්බන්තොට ජනතා අයිතීන් සුරැුකීමේ සංවිධානයේ සුරංග සංජීව
පළමුවෙන්ම ආණ්ඩුවේ ම්ලේච්ඡු ප‍්‍රහාරය හෙළා දකිනවා. වගඋත්තරකරුවන් ජනතාව නොවෙයි. 06වැනිදා පොලිසිය හමුදාව, හමුදා ට‍්‍රක් රථ හම්බන්තොට ප‍්‍රදේශයේ ස්ථාන ගත කළා. එස්.ටී.එෆ්. යතුරු පැදි බලකාය පවරා ගැනීමට යෝජනා කර ඇති ඉඩම් තිබෙන ප‍්‍රදේශවල සැරිසැරුවා. මෙයින් ජනතාව බියට පත්වුණා. කි‍්‍රයාමාර්ගයක් ගත යුතු බවට ජනතාවට ඒත්තු ගැන්වුණා. අම්බලන්තොට නෝනාගම ප‍්‍රධාන පාරවල් වහලා, මාර්ග බාධක දැම්මා. පොදු ප‍්‍රවාහනය පවා නතර කරලා දැම්මා. එයින් ජනතාවට යම් පණිවිඩයක් ලැබුණා. ඒ නිසා ජනතාව උත්සව භූමිය අසලටත් මාර්ගවලටත් ඇවිත් විරෝධය දක්වන්න පටන් ගත්තා. එවිට ආරක්‍ෂක අංශ මගින් ජනතාවට පහර දෙන්න පටන් ගත්තා. එයින් ආරක්‍ෂා වීමට ජනතාව නිවාසවලට ඇතුල් වෙද්දී නිවාසවල සිටි රෝගීන්, කුඩා දරුවන් ගැන පවා නොසිතා කඳුළු ගෑස් ප‍්‍රහාර එල්ල කළා. උදේ 10.30ට පමණ ආරම්භ කළ ප‍්‍රහාරය සවස 6.00 පමණ වන තෙක් දියත් කළා. මොන ප‍්‍රහාරයක් එල්ල වුණත් ජනතාව ජීවත් වන භූමිය අතහැරලා අපි යන්න සූදානම් නැහැ.
හම්බන්තොට ජනතා අයිතීන් සුරැුකීමේ සංවිධානයේ ලේකම් සුමිත් කුමාර
2017 අලූත් අවුරුද්දේ ජනවාරි උදා වුණේ හම්බන්තොට ජනතාවට ආණ්ඩුව මැර ප‍්‍රහාරයක් එල්ල කිරීමත් සමග. මේ ඉඩම් පවරා ගැනීමත් වරාය විකිණීමත් පිළිබඳව හම්බන්තොට ජනතා අයිතීන් සුරැුකීමේ සංවිධානය විසින් ජනතාව දැනුවත් කිරීමේ කි‍්‍රයාමාර්ග දියත් කළා. එක ගමක ජන හමු 7-8ක් කළා. දේශපාලන වශයෙන් බංකොළොත් කණ්ඩායම් එම කි‍්‍රයාමාර්ග දියාරු කරන්න කටයුතු කළා. මේ සටන හම්බන්තොට බේරාගැනීමේ පොදු සටනක්. ආණ්ඩුව සමඟ හිටගෙන ඉන්න කුමන්ත‍්‍රණකාරී පිරිස් සටන දියාරු කරන්න කටයුතු කරනවා. මේ ආණ්ඩුව හම්බන්තොට ජනතාවට වගේම රටේ සියලූම ජනතාවට කිව්වා, ප‍්‍රජාතන්ත‍්‍රවාදී රටක් හදනවා කියලා. යහපාලනය හදනවා කිව්වා. දැන් අපි ඉන්න භූමියෙන් අපිව නෙරපන්න කටයුතු කරනවා. ජනතාව ඡුන්දය දුන්නේ පැරණි ගමන යන්න නෙවෙයි. ඒ නිසා අපි ආණ්ඩුවට කියනවා ආණ්ඩුවේ මේ ගමන හකුළා ගන්න කියලා.
ව්‍යාපෘතියට මුල් ගල තබන අවස්ථාවේදී ආණ්ඩුවේ මැරයෝ ජනතාවට ගල් ප‍්‍රහාර එල්ල කළා. හාමුදුරුවන්ට පවා ගල්වලින් ගැහුවා. නිවෙස්වලට ගිහින් හානි කළා. දේපළවලට හානිකළා. කඩ කුඩු කළා. ග‍්‍රාමසේවක කාර්යාලයක් කුඩු කළා. ඒ අසල නවත්වා තිබූ යතුරු පැදිවලට පහර දුන්නා. සවස වනවිට මැරයන් බස් රථයකින් ඇවිත් අහිසංක මිනිසුන්ට පහර දුන්නා. අපි ආණ්ඩුවට කියනවා, හම්බන්තොට ජනතාව මේ සටන ජයග‍්‍රහණය දක්වා මෙහෙයවනවා කියලා. අපේ අතපය කඩලා මේ සටන නතර කරන්න පුළුවන්කමක් නැහැ. අපි ආණ්ඩුවට කියනවා අපේ ජීවිත අරගෙන තමයි මේ වැඬේ ආණ්ඩුවට කරන්න වෙන්නේ කියලා.

මාධ්‍යවේදීන් නැගූ ප‍්‍රශ්නවලට පිළිතුරු දෙමින්…
ආණ්ඩුව පවරා ගන්න නියමිත අක්කර 15,000 ජනතාවගේ ඉඩම්. ශී‍්‍ර ලංකා, යූ.ඇන්.පී., ජේ.වී.පී. සියලූ දෙනාගේම ඉඩම් එතැන තිබෙනවා. ඒ නිසා තමයි ජනතාව පාරට බහින්නේ. විවිධ දේශපාලන කණ්ඩායම් ගිහින් විවිධ දේවල් කරනවා. එදා හම්බන්තොට ජනතාවගේ ඉඩම් විකුණපු අය අද එහෙම කළේ නැහැ වගේ වැඩ කරනවා. මහින්ද රාජපක්‍ෂ ඊයේ කිව්වා ඔහුගේ පාලන කාලයේ මිරිජ්ජවිල කර්මාන්ත පුරයට අක්කර 750ක් දුන්නා කියලා. නාමල් රාජපක්‍ෂත් කියනවා ඉඩම් අක්කර 11,000ක් ව්‍යාපෘතිවලට ගත්තා කියලා. ඒ අය තමයි අද මේ සටන ව්‍යාකූල කරන්නේ. අත් අඩංගුවට ගත් පිරිස් අතර ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණේ සාමාජිකයනුත් ඉන්නවා. හැම පක්‍ෂයේම අය ඉන්නවා.
මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් ආණ්ඩුවේ අය එක එක වෙලාවට එක එක දේවල් කියනවා. එක වෙලාවකට කියනවා හම්බන්තොටින් විතරක් නෙවෙයි ඉඩම් ගන්නේ, මොනරාගලිනුත් ගන්නවා කියගා. පවරා ගන්න පෞද්ගලික ඉඩම්වලට වන්දි දෙනවා කියලා මලික් සමරවික‍්‍රම කියනකොට මහින්ද අමරවීර කියනවා, පෞද්ගලික ඉඩම් පවරා ගන්නේ නැහැ කියලා. හම්බන්තොට මන්තී‍්‍ර නිසා මහින්ද අමරවීර එහෙම කියන කොට හම්බන්තොට ජනතාවගේ ඡුන්දය අදාල නැති මලික් සමරවික‍්‍රම පෞද්ගලික ඉඩම් පවරාගෙන වන්දි දෙන්න කතා කරනවා. අකිල විරාජ් කියනවා, ගිවිසුම අත්සන් කරලා ඉවරයි කියලා. මලික් සමරවික‍්‍රම කියනවා තවම අත්සන් කරලා නැහැ කියලා. ඒ නිසා මේ ඇමතිවරු කියන කතා විශ්වාස කරන්න බැහැ. කරන්න යන දේ ජනතාවට පැහැදිලිව කියන්න කියලා අපි ආණ්ඩුවට කියනවා. ඇත්තටම මේ ආණ්ඩුව 07වැනිදා ගිවිසුම අත්සන් කරන්නයි ගියේ. ජනතාවගේ විරෝධය නිසා අඩියක් පස්සට ගත්තා. අපි ආණ්ඩුවට කියනවා, අඩියක් පස්සට තියනවා පමණක් නොව මේ ගිවිසුම අත්සන් කරන එක සම්පූර්ණයෙන් නතර කරන්න කියලා.
මේ වනවිටත් අපේ රටේ කර්මාන්ත කලාප තිබෙනවා. කර්මාන්ත ශාලා තිබෙනවා. ඒ සඳහා රැුකියා අවස්ථා ලක්‍ෂ 3කට අධික සංඛ්‍යාවක් තිබෙන බව ආයෝජන මණ්ඩලයේ සභාපතිවරයා කියනවා. තරුණයන්ට රැුකියා දෙන්න ඇත්තටම වුවමනාවක් මේ ආන්ඩුවට තිබෙනවා නම් තරුණ තරුණියන් පුහුණු කරලා එම කර්මාන්ත ශාලාවල රැුකියා ලබාදෙන්න පුළුවන්. එම කර්මාන්තවලට අවශ්‍ය වන්නේ පුහුණු ශ‍්‍රමිකයින්. පුහුණු ශ‍්‍රමිකයින් හදන එක ආණ්ඩුවේ වගකීමක්. ඒ නිසා ආණ්ඩුව මේ කරන්න යන්නේ තරුණයින්ට රැුකියා දීම නෙවෙයි ඉඩම් ටික විකුණලා ආණ්ඩුව පවත්වාගෙන යන්න මුදල් ටිකක් හොයාගන්න එකයි. කුලියාපිටියේ වොක්ස් වැගන් කර්මාන්ත ශාලාවක් හදනවා කියලා මේ ආණ්ඩුව කයිවාරු ගැහුවා. තරුණ තරුණියන් 20,000කට රැුකියා දෙනවා කිව්වා. අන්තිමේට වුණේ වාහන එකලස් කරන කර්මාන්ත ශාලාවකට මුලගල් තියපු එකයි. දැනටත් ලංකාවේ මයික්‍රෝ සමාගම ඒ වැඬේම කරනවා. ඒ නිසා මේ ආණ්ඩුවට තරුණ තරුණියන්ට රැුකියා ලබාදෙන්න ඇත්ත වුවමනාවක් නැහැ.
මහින්ද රාජපක්‍ෂ ආණ්ඩුවත් ඉඩම් පවරා ගන්නකොට ජනතාවගේ විරෝධයක් තිබුණා. අපිත් විරුද්ධ වුණා. එදා ජනතාවට මේ විදිහට පාරට බහින්න රාජපක්‍ෂ ආණ්ඩුව ඉඩ දුන්නේ නැහැ. ජනතාවගේ පස්සේන් සුදු වෑන් එව්වා. රාජපක්‍ෂ පාලනයේ කුරිරු බව නිසා ජනතා විරෝධයයන් මේ තරමටම එළියට ආවේ නැහැ. මේ ආණ්ඩුවේ වසර දෙකක් ගතවෙනකොට හැසිරීම මෙහෙම නම් වසර 5ක් ගතවනවිට නතර වෙන්නේ කොහෙන්ද කියලා අපි දන්නේ නැහැ. රාජපක්‍ෂ පාලනයත් බලයට පත් මුල් කාලයේ මෙහෙම වුණේ නැහැ. මහින්ද රාජපක්‍ෂ බලයට පත්වුණු දෙවැනි අවස්ථාවේ තමයි පවුල් පාලනය පටන් ගත්තේ. ජනතා මර්දනය දියත් කළේ.
මහින්ද රාජපක්‍ෂ පාලන කාලයේ වරාය විකුණන්න ගිවිසුම් ගැහුවා. එදා ගිවිසුම්වල තිබුණේ සමාගමට 65%, ආණ්ඩුවට 35%යි කියලා. අද ඒක 80%ක් සමාගමට, 20%ක් ආණ්ඩුවට. එදත් රාජපක්‍ෂලා විකුණන්න කැබිනට් පති‍්‍රකා සම්මත කරගත්තා. ගිවිසුම් ගැහුවා. ඉඩම් අක්කර 11,000ක් පවරා ගත්තා. ඒ නිසා රාජපක්‍ෂ කල්ලියට මේ සටන්වලට මැදිහත් වන්න සදාචාරාත්මක අයිතියක් නැහැ. අද ඔවුන් ඒවට මැදිහත් වෙන්නේ පටු දේශපාලන අරමුණුවලටයි.
හම්බන්තොට වරායක් අවශ්‍ය බව දීර්ඝ කාලයක සිට තිබුණු මතයක්. 1912දී හම්බන්තොට දිසා ලේකම්වරයා මෙම වුවමනාව පිළිබඳව ප‍්‍රකාශ කොට තිබෙනවා. ඒ වගේම ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරජපක්‍ෂ මැදිහත් වෙලා පහර දුන්නා. අපි හම්බන්තොට වරාය චීනයට දෙනවාට විරුද්ධයි. තරුණ තරුණියන්ට රැුකියා ලැබෙන ආකාරයට රටේ ආර්ථීකයට වාසි ලැබෙන විදිහට හම්බන්තොට වරාය දියුණු කරන්න කියලයි අපි යෝජනා කරන්නේ. ආණ්ඩුව වරාය විකිණීමට ගේන තර්කය තමයි නැව් එන්නේ නැහැ කියන එක. නැව් එන්නේමුණ මේ වුවමනාව පිළිබඳව අවධාරණය කොට තිබෙනවා. 1994දී නිහාල් ගලප්පත්ති සහෝදරයා පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේදී මේ බව කියා තිබෙනවා. ඒ වගේම අපි හම්බන්තොට විශාල සටනක් දියත් කළා. දකුණු පළාත් සභාවේ මේ පිලිබඳව යෝජනාවක් සම්මත වෙලා තිබෙනවා. 1996දී හම්බන්තොට වරායක් වෙනුවෙන් සටන් කරපු අපිට චමල් රා නැති වරායක් චීනයෙන් ගන්නේ ඇයි? පැනමා ඇල මාර්ගය විවෘත කිරීමෙන් පසුව විශාල ලෙස නැව් එන්න පටන් ගන්නවා. ඒ සියලූ නැව් ගමන් කරන්නේ හම්බන්තොට වරාය හරහා. ඒ නිසයි අපි කියන්නේ වරාය අප සතුව තබාගෙන දියුණු කළ යුතුයි කියලා. මේ වරාය චීනයට ලබාදීම ජාතික ආරක්‍ෂාව සම්බන්ධයෙනුත් ප‍්‍රශ්නයක්. චීනයට විවිධ වෙනත් න්‍යාය පත‍්‍රයක් තිබෙනවා. අපි දැනගත යුතුයි අපේ දේවල් රැුකගන්න.
අද උද්ඝෝෂණ මර්දනය කරන්න පොලිස්පතිවරයාම මැදිහත් වෙනවා. ඉහළින්ම නියෝගය ලැබිලා තිබෙනවා මර්දනය කරන්න. නාවික හමුදාපතිවරයා මීට කලින් මැදිහත් වුණා. අද පොලිස්පතිවරයාම උද්ඝෝෂණය කරන තැනට ගිහින් මර්දනය කරන්න උපදෙස් දෙනවා. ජනතාව හොඳින්ම මර්දනය කරන්න තමයි පොලිස්පතිවරයාත් නාවික හමුදාපතිවරයාත් මේ විදිහට මැදිහත් කරන්නේ.
මෙම මාධ්‍ය හමුවට දකුණු පලාත් සභා මන්තී‍්‍ර සිසිර වාහලතන්තී‍්‍ර, හම්බන්තොට ජනතා අයිතීන් සුරැුකීමේ සංවිධානයේ ලේකම් සුරංග සංජීව සහ සුමිත් කුමාර යන අය සහභාගී විය.
මාධ්‍ය ඒකකය
ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණ
2017.01.08

This is based on one of many songs to celebrate Sirisena’s anniversary. As you can see it is all lies and deception. The reality is much worse. So I did more appropriate lyrics.

HORAMARA YUGAYAK THEME SONG

පල්හොරුන්ට මහ ලොබයක්
පල්හොරුන්ට මහ ලොබයක්
මැර පහර සපිරි දෙරණක්
අමනුස්සයෝ පිසා සරණ දීන භූමියක්
අපේ අවාසනාවක්
අපේ අවාසනාවක්

රට විකුණා මගඩි ගහන වංක දීපයක්
රට විකුණා මගඩි ගහන වංක දීපයක්

කැඩි-බිඳී වැටෙන දෙරණත
මර කොටා ගන්න එකිනෙක
හෙට සතර අපා විවරෙන
සුභ සිහින කඩා බිඳලන
සුභ සිහින කඩා බිඳලන

රට විකුණා මගඩි ගහන වංක දීපයක්
රට විකුණා මගඩි ගහන වංක දීපයක්

සිසු මහජන දෙනෙත් නසා මැර බලයෙන් රට කරවන
සිසු මහජන දෙනෙත් නසා මැර බලයෙන් රට කරවන
මිනිස්කම නොදත් ගුණ මකු වංචාවෙන් දන රවටන
මිනිස්කම නොදත් ගුණ මකු වංචාවෙන් දන රවටන
මරබියෙන් යුතුව දරුකැල ජල ප්‍රහාරයෙන් යටවන
මරබියෙන් යුතුව දරුකැල ජල ප්‍රහාරයෙන් යටවන

රට විකුණා මගඩි ගහන වංක දීපයක්
රට විකුණා මගඩි ගහන වංක දීපයක්

හොරකමින් නැසෙන ලක් දෙරණක් 
හොරකමින් නැසෙන ලක් දෙරණක් 

හොරමැර යුගයක්! 

වෛද්‍ය රුවන් එම් ජයතුංග

මිනිසුන් සංකේත වෙනුවෙන් මරා ගන්නේ ඇයි ? කුරුසයක්, අඩ සඳක් සහ තරුවක්, ධර්ම චක්‍රයක් , ත්‍රිශූලයක් වැනි සංකේත වෙනුවෙන් මිනිසෙකුට තවත් මිනිසෙකුට පහර දෙන්න , ලේ සොල්ලන්න , මරා දමන්න පුලුවන්. ඇයි මේ ක්‍රෑරත්වය.

සංකේතයක් වෙනුවෙන්‍ දිවි පුදන්න , මරාගෙන මැරෙන්න පුලුවන් උමතු මිනිස්සු ඉන්න ලෝකයක අපි ජීවත් වෙන්නේ. මේක මහා ව්‍යාධියක් , ව්‍යසනයක්. මේ මිනිසුන් තුල මේ වගේ තිරිසන් බවක් ඇති කලේ මේ සංකේතද ?

උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා  ස්වාධීන නිව්ස්

අන්තර් ජාතික නීතියට අනුකූලව ඇවන්ගාඩ් මැරිටයිම් සමාගමට රුපියල් මිලියන 840ක වන්දි මුදලක් ගෙවන ලෙස සිංගප්පූරු සියැක් (SIAC) බේරුම්කරණ අධිකරණය රක්නා ලංකා ආරක්ෂක සංගමයට නියෝග කර තිබේ.

නීත්‍යානුකූලව පවත්වාගෙන ගිය ව්‍යාපාරයක් කඩා කප්පල් කිරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් ඇවන්ගාඩ් මැරිටයිම් සමාගම විසින් රක්නා ලංකා ආරක්ෂක සංගමයට එරෙහිව ජත්‍යන්තර නීතිය යටතේ මෙම නඩුව පවරා තිබිණි.

මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් ඇවන්ගාඩ් මැරිටයිම් සමාගමේ සභාපති නිශ්ශංක සේනාධිපතිගෙන් කියා සිටියේ සිය සමාගම නිත්‍යානුකූලව පවත්වාගෙන ගිය ව්‍යාපාරයක් නීතයානුකූල නොවන ආකාරයෙන් පවරා ගැනීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් රුපියල් මිලියන 2300 ක වන්දියක් ඉල්ලා ශ්‍රී ලංකා නාවික හමුදාවට එරෙහිවද නඩු පවරා තිබෙන බවයි.

කෙසේවුවද, මෙසේ ලැබෙන වන්දි මුදල් බැංකු ගිනුමක තැන්පත් කර නීත්‍යානුකූල නොවන පවරා ගැනීම හේතුවෙන් රැකියා අහිමිවූ ඇවන්ගාඩ් මැරිටයිම් සමාගමේ සේවකයින්ට මාසිකව දීමනාවක් ලෙස ගෙවීමට කටයුතු කරන බවද ඔහු කියා සිටියේය.

Asoka Weerasinghe Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . Canada

6 January 2017

Honourable Maithripala Sirisena,
President of Sri Lanka
Presidential Secretariat
Galle Face, Colombo 1
Sri Lanka

CC;Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
His Grace Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith

Dear President Maithripala Sirisena:

Re: Sri Lanka’s Tallest Christmas Tree on Galle Face Green 2016-17

I hope in your daily briefing you have been informed of the latest chapter and verse of your Minister Arjuna Ranatunga’s Tallest Christmas Tree in the World saga which is on Galle Face Green in the shape of a rocket as if it is about to take off in to orbit.

This 12 million-plus rupee ill-conceived venture is now been challenged by the newly formed Catholic Movement in Sri Lanka.

 It’s President Chirantha Amarasinghe in his letter to Alistair Richards, Global President, Guinness Book of World Records in the UK, says:

As a Catholic Movement in Sri Lanka we would like to inquire as to how the builders claimed that Sri Lanka’s tallest Christmas Tree was the tallest artificial Christmas Tree in the world.

To be classified as a Artificial tree” it should have ornaments and green fir.  I also note that in the record set by China, it is clear that the tree was covered with green synthetic foliage.  However, the Sri Lankan tree does not have any such ornaments or foliage.  It has a green mesh which does not depict the natural fir requirement.  The metal structure of the tree is completely visible (evidence attached), and the shape of the tree looks like a bell (more say it looks like a rocket) rather than a Christmas Tree”. 

With all the concerns that Chirantha Amerasinghe of the Catholic Movement of Sri Lanka has pointed out here is the cake that beats it all.

Some smart Alec of your Yahapalanaya Government had the cheater’s audacity as Chirantha Amerasinghe reported to Alistair Richard of the Guinness Book of World Records thus, Also a board (photo wall) was made available at the tree for people to take pictures with Guinness World Record Logo, as if you all have already given the tree as the tallest in the world Certificate.”

Mr. President Maitripala Sirisena, this is not classy, this is embarrassing, this is cheating, and this is humbugging and it is certainly not good for your ‘Yahapalanaya Good Governance’ window-dressing which is pocked with hood-winking and scandals.  I hope you will take serious note of it, look into it, and rap the knuckles of this smart Alec, and don’t try to cover his/her behind with a Velcro taped  ‘it’s OK’  happy lungi to legitimize its insolence.

I agreed absolutely when the Archbishop of Colombo had initially objected to the construction of the Christmas tree saying it is a waste of money which could have been put to better use.  But, then, Mr. President, your Prime Minister and a Minister ignored his wisdom, twisted his arm to make him renege his earlier thinking, and continued wire meshing this Tree, and spent 12 million plus rupees constructing it.  And it has been challenged again, now by the Catholic Movement of Sri Lanka and  I being a critic of this project, I loved it.

You know what, Mr. President, the Arjuna Ranatunga’s Port’s group feeling the winds of objection blowing their way on their project quickly tried to cover their behinds by announcing that this was a project promoting Religious Harmony in the island.  All what I could say was that it was a barrel full  of Jardi, smelling up, up towards heaven.  Perhaps your Prime Minister and your Minister of Ports could explain their thesis how this wire-mesh Christmas tree could bring about Religious Harmony which incurred a colossal expenditure of 12 million -plus rupees.  Would they be kind enough to explain to us  I’d love to hear their defence of their thesis.

Surely, Mr. President, you didn’t expect your gamme minissu who count their cents to buy a loaf of bread for their night’s dinner, pay a bus fare and get over to Galle Face Green to look at this miracle Tallest Christmas Tree according to Minister Ranatinga would provide them with the magic of Religious Harmony which the majority of them haven’t experienced such religious dis-harmony any way.  For goodness sake, give these  poor gamme minissu  a break.

Mr. President if ‘Religious Harmony’ was their intention I am surprised  that your two bright-eyed smart  Cabinet colleagues couldn’t come up with a better and a creative way to spend that money for religious harmony by helping the poor and needy. And there are hundreds of them in your neck of the woods down Ganewela, Dambulla and Polonnaruwa that need help, whom I met early last year.  And you all go and blow over 12 million rupees on this project for a handful of people to get their names endorsed in the Guinness Book of World Records.  It’s pathetic, isn’t it?

Try this for size Mr. President to promote Religious Harmony.  The Yahapalanayos could have put together, thousands and thousands of Multi-faith Good Will Hampers which would include – a loaf of bread, a coconut, small packets of rice, dhal, curry powder, sugar, tea and salt, a small bottle of cooking oil and a small bottle of clean drinking water.

The hamper ?burlap bag could have been silk-screened with the symbols that represent all major faiths in the island, and perhaps a slogan on Interfaith Harmony in Sinhalese, Tamil and English and distributed the hampers at remote villages and towns.  Each distributing center should have been manned by four members of the clergy of Sri Lanka’s major religious faiths garbed in a saffron robe, a Cossack with a white collar starched towards heaven, another in a vetti and an orange wrap and three stripes of ash across the forehead and the last one in a crocheted white skull cap and a white thwab..  Mr. President, that 12 million rupees would have gone a long way to promote religious harmony in this multi-religious island . That would have been a simple, but a rewarding exercise.  But one thing is for sure, this act would not  have bloated the ego of your parliamentarians.   And I say tough tiddy!  But I am confident that you would have come up with an excellent idea to use that 12 million-plus rupees to promote Religious Harmony in the island. But you Yahapalanayos blew that opportunity having accommodated the ego of a few.  Tough!

Apparently, they are going to dance around the Christmas Tree singing a song similar to Brenda Lee’s Rocking around the Christmas Tree with new lyrics when the questionable Tallest Charismas Tree in the World will come down. No doubt you three will be asked to participate.  Here is the celebratory song with an apology to Brenda Lee –

‘Rocking around the Christmas tree
at Arjuna’s Christmas party hop,
million pine cones are hung
where you can see
and Maithri and Ranil want to stop.

They will get a sentimental feeling
when you hear voices singing,
Let’s be jolly with bottles of toddy
we spent twelve million rupees for this.

Rocking around the tallest Christmas tree
they say is for Religious Harmony,
who the hell cares that poor have food
or the Archbishop is in a foul mood.

What matters is that
we got our names in the
Guinness World Record book,
who the hell cares whether
they have clean water to drink
Arjuna has his tallest Christmas tree.  Look!

So let’s rock around the tallest Christmas Tree
at Sri Lanka’s Christmas party hop,
with a million pine cones hung
for all to see
and tourists are amazed at
this silly foolishness and
being curious they want to stop.

Sincerely,
Asoka Weerasinghe (Mr.)

ලංකා සී නිවුස්

පිවිතුරු හෙළ උරුමය මුල්ස්ථානයේ පැවති මාධ්‍ය හමුවේදී එම පක්ෂයේ ප්‍රධාන ලේකම් පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත‍්‍රී උදය ගම්මන්පිල මහතා මෙසේ අදහස් පල කලේය.

මේ ආණ්ඩුව පුන පුනා කියන්නේ ණය බර නිසා තමයි හම්බන්තොට වරාය චීනයට දෙන්න වුණේ කියලා. නමුත් මේ ගිවිසුම අත්සන් කොලොත් ණය බර අඩුවෙනවා වෙනුවට වැඩි වෙනවා.

කොහොමද ඒක වෙන්නේ? මේ ගිවිසුම අනුව ඩොලර් බිලියනයක් මුලින් ගෙවනවා ආණ්ඩුවට 80% සදහා ඒ නිසා ණය මුදලින් සත පහක්වත් අඩු වෙන්නේ නෑ. ආණ්ඩුව ඒ මුදල් ණය කපා හැරීම සඳහා නෙවෙයි ආණ්ඩුවේ වෙනත් ප්‍රශ්න වලට වියදම් කරනවා.

ගිවිසුම අනුව ලංකා ආණ්ඩුවට චීන සමාගමෙන් ලංකා ආණ්ඩුවට ඉදිරි වසර 15 සඳහා සතයක්වත් ලැබෙන්නේ නෑ. දැන් හම්බන්තොට වරායෙන් යම් ප්‍රතිශතයක් ණය ගෙවීම සඳහා අපිට හම්බවෙනවා. ඒ නිසා ණය බරේ පීඩනය අඩුවෙනවා.

නමුත් ලබන වසරේ සිට වරායෙන් සතයක්වත් ණය අපහු ගෙවන්න දායක වෙන්නේ නෑ වසර 15ක් යනතුරු. ඒ නිසා වරායෙන් ලැබුනු ආදායමත් වෙන බද්දකින් හරි වැට් බද්දෙන් හරි තමයි ආණ්ඩුවට ඒ මුදල චිනයේ ණය ආපසු ගෙවන්න වෙන්නේ.

මේ ගිවිසුම නිසා ණය බර අඩු වෙනවා වෙනුවට ණය බර විශාල වශයෙන් වැඩි වෙනවා අන්තිමට විකුණන්න වරායක් වත් නැතිවෙනවා. මාගම්පුර වරායේ ණය ගෙවීම දැනට ප්‍රශ්නයක් නෑ. ප්‍රශ්නයක් ඇතිවෙන්නේ මේ ගිවිසුම අත්සන්කර වසර 15කට වරායෙන් ලැබෙන ආදායම අහිමි කර ගත්තොත්.

– අරවින්ද අතුකෝරල

Dr. Mareena Thaha Reffai,

Srilankans are quite used to lies specially from the politicians. We keep hearing their lies year in year out, and we jolly well know they are liars, but still go on believing them, supporting them and voting for them. Of recent times  Srilankans  have become very much aware of the lies and have come to recognize them for what they are.

The politicians lie every time they want the votes, and then promptly forget them when they come into power. Not keeping the promises is just another form of lying. A person no less than a Buddhist monk lies that he never ever kindled hatred against the Muslims, nor ever spoke against the Muslims nor did any harm to the Muslims nor damaged a single one of  their mosques, not only the Muslims even the Buddhists recognized it for what they are. His friend Dilantha added fuel and surprised the nation by lying without blinking an eyelid and sang the same tune.

But Actually the heart of the people  broke when the so called Dream President, who rode the wave of popularity to come to power, not by charisma, nor by his political history – hardly anyone knew him – but by his sincere” speeches to clean up the nation of corruption, hatred and all evil and to punish all those who robbed the nation. People thought, at last, we have a true leader here, very sincere, very passionate about what he was dreaming of –a real selfless, simple and trustworthy leader. Never had the hopes of the citizens raised so much specially after the experience with successive previous leaders.

But what a huge lie it turned out to be! A small cabinet it was to be, but it kept growing and growing, shamelessly adding another one at the drop of a hat without an excuse, without batting an eye. What he scoffed at regarding his rival, he went on doing exactly the same with impunity.  All the corrupt politicians were to be punished, that’s what his election promise was,  but all were accommodated into his cabinet; none, none what so ever has been punished  up to today, two years into the so called Yahapalanaya. Politicians will be treated as servants of people, he waxed eloquent,  but the parliamentarians keep getting new perks, car permits and unwarranted salary rises, the President pretends  deaf and dumb.

Hate speech brought down the previous regime, we will not allow hate speech ever again”, thundered the presidential candidate, and today, the very person whom the whole nation rose up against as the Master of hate speech, keeps talking, instigating even the youngsters to emulate him, but nary a word against him, leave alone punishment, in spite of hundreds of police complaints; rather, the President he himself even takes his advice  on his decisions! Surprise, surprise! All will be treated equal, solemnly promised the President of the people, but today we see the step motherly treatment to the displaced  Muslims with scant respect for truth.

There is a rule of nature – as long as a Leader does good, the Providence will keep giving them higher power and keep him safe and sound. But when lying, cheating, breaking promises and being power drunk, the fall comes in most unexpected ways, and what a fall it will be! We saw this very clearly in our own history repeatedly, but then everyone when  in power,  hope that it will not happen to them.

If only President Maithripala Sirisena has kept his promises, what a heaven this blessed island would have been! What dreams, what expectations, what hopes we all had!

But then as Alexander Pope said,  Hope springs eternal in human breast, Man is always to be blessed, but never is!”

How sad!

Sent by:

Dr. Mareena Thaha Reffai,

23A, Auburn side, Dehiwela

 By NJ Thakuria

Guwahati:  Worried over one of the leading media houses in the country,  HT Media Ltd’s decision to shut down four editions of its English daily  Hindustan Times , Journalists’ Forum Assam (JFA) expressed serious concern over the development.

It may be mentioned that various bodies of journalists across the country expressed serious concern over the HT Media’s  decision to shut down Hindustan Times’ four editions. Leading scribe body Brihanmumbai Union of Journalists  (BUJ) while condemning the HT Media Ltd’s decision said that for this development, hundreds of journalist would lose their job.

The Assam based media rights body asserted that the development shows the lack of goodwill of the newspaper managements to offer due benefits to their own employees.

Mentionable is that the BUJ, in a recent statement from Mumbai, strongly condemned the decision of HT Media Ltd to shut down four editions of Hindustan Times (HT) in Kolkata, Bhopal, Indore and Ranchi and three bureaus of Kanpur, Allahabad and Varanasi with effect from 9 January 2017. The journalist union also demanded to immediately revoke the decisions, failing which it would draw the attention of the apex court in the country to these developments in the hearing slated for

10 January next.

The closing down of four editions and three bureaus at one go is an unprecedented event in the history of Indian print media and has clearly been done to circumvent the implementation of the Majithia Wage Board Award, which was upheld by the Supreme Court by its judgment dated 7 February 2014,” said the BUJ statement.

It also added that apart from closing down four editions, the HT authority  was pruning staff in various departments as well as in The Mint, a sister publication from the New Delhi based group and shut down the business bureaus in Mumbai and Delhi, besides the bureau in Kolkata. Hundreds of journalists and other media employees are likely to lose their jobs as a consequence of these malicious and illegal decisions, added the statement.

A BSE listed entity, HT Media Ltd with an annual turnover of over rupees 2000 crore has not implemented the recommendations of Majithia wage board in any of its units and forced employees to submit undertakings under clause 20(j) of the award to renounce the benefits under it. The company also failed to implement clause 9(b) that entitles even those working on contract basis to receive variable pay at the rate of 30 percent of basic scale.

It is astonishing that a hugely profitable company like HT Media Ltd (whose third quarter of Calendar 2016 earnings stood at Rs 602.23

crore) has chosen to illegally close down six editions of Hindustan Times and sack several other journalists working in various bureaus rather than implementing the statutory wage board recommendations,”

asserted the BUJ.

Also added, Furthermore, the company’s official website has projected a total revenue of Rs 662.40 crore, in Q1FY2017, which constitutes an increase of 7.5 per cent over the corresponding quarter of the previous year.  It also maintains a strong balance sheet position with net cash of Rs 823.40 crore.”

We, in Assam, witnessed the sudden closure of a mainstream Assamese daily in November last year, where the management (proprietor being a former  Congress minister) maintained serene silence over the matter.

Many journalist  friends, engaged with Janasadharan, preferred to quit the job with three months cumulative salaries, but the rest are still on warpath against the management,” said JFA president Rupam Barua.

As the heat of Majithia wage board rises, most of the newspaper managements in Guwahati have adopted many clever (also innovative) ways to deal with the situation, said a JFA statement adding that some of them preached for reappointing all of their employees in the contract system.

Some media house managements proposed to degrade all the employees including the journalists in positions with an aim to reduce the financial burden, and few have more astonishing idea to pay an employee according to the guidelines of the wage board with an inherent condition that he/she would return a major portion of the salary to the account department.

Even though The Assam Tribune group of publications set the example in implementing the Majithia wage board recommendation years back, it has not inspired the other Guwahati based newspaper managements to take similar initiatives for offering legal dues to their employees,”asserted the JFA statement questioning, ”Are they waiting to get their newspaper establishments declared as law-breaking institutions in India?”

ප‍්‍රධාන ලේකම්, ජාතික භික්‍ෂු පෙරමුණ   

හම්බන්තොට වරාය හා ජනතාවගේ ජීවිත හා සමාන ඉඩම් අක්කර 15 දහසක් චීනයට වසර 198 ට පවරාදෙමින් කරන්නට යන ද්‍රෝහී බිලිදීමට විරෝධය පෑ මහා සංඝරත්නයට හා මහජනතාවට පොලීසිය යොදවා කළ පහරදීම ඉතා පිළිකුල් සහගතව හෙළා දකින්නෙමු.
 
    සටන්කාමී එම මහජනතාවට හා මහසඟරුවනට ජාතික භික්‍ෂු පෙරමුණ ආශිර්වාදාත්මක ශක්තිය එකතුකරන අතර ප‍්‍රහාරයෙන් පීඩාවටපත්ව රෝහල්ගතවූ සැමට ඉක්මන් සුවය ප‍්‍රාර්ථනා කරන්නෙමු.

    මෙවැනි ප‍්‍රහාර වික‍්‍රසිංහ මහතා ප‍්‍රමුඛ හවුල් ආණ්ඩුවේ නායකයින්ට නුහුරු ඒවා නොවේ. වික‍්‍රමසිංහලා, චන්ද්‍රිකාලා, මහින්දලා, සිරිසේනලා ආදී සියලූ පාලකයින් ජනතාවගේ කරපිටින් බලයට පැමිණ ජනතාවට පස්ස හරවා ජනයා මර්දනය කරන්නට කටයුතු කළ අතීතය හා වර්තමානය අමතක නැති ජනතාව වීදි බැස, මර්දන හමුවේ සටන් වදින්නේ තම අයිතිය උදෙසා මිස පාලන බලය ඉල්ලා නොවේ.

    මහානායක හිමිවරුන් ඇතුළු මේ රටේ ජනතාව නැවත වරක් රැවටීමට පත්කොට අද දින ඉහත බිලිදීම සඳහා වන ගිවිසුම අත්සන් කර ඇත. එහෙත් රටේ පාලකයින් පුද පූජා රැගෙන මහනාහිමිවරුන් වන්දනා කරමින්, මාධ්‍ය ඔස්සේ පෙනී සිටිමින් රටට කීවේ එබඳු ගිවිසුම් අත්සන් නොකරන බවයි.

    දෙබිඩි, දෙමුහුන් ආණ්ඩුව මෙවැනි ප‍්‍රහාර තව කොතෙක් එලල් කළද ජනතා ප‍්‍රශ්න හමුවේ ඉදිරියට එන ජනතා බලවේග නතර කිරීමට ආණ්ඩුවට නොහැකිවනු ඇත. කපටි හා නරුම පාලකයින්ගෙන් මීට වඩා යමක් අපේක්‍ෂා කළ නොහැකි හෙයින් මෙවැනි නරුම පාලකයින් හා නරුම පාලනයන් පෙරළා ජනතාවට වගකියන සබෑ ජනතා පාලනයක් ගොඩනගන තෙක් ජනතාවගේ මේ සටන්කාමී නැගිටීම් ඉදිරියට ගෙනයායුතු බව අපි තරයේ අවධාරණය කරන්නෙමු.

මෙයට,
ප‍්‍රධාන ලේකම්,
ජාතික භික්‍ෂු පෙරමුණ       

N M Ameen President The Muslim Council of Sri Lanka

The Muslim Community in Sri Lanka is deeply saddened by the demise of one of Sri Lanka’s most eminent jurists and a globally acclaimed legal luminary, Sri Lankabhimanya Christopher Gregory Weeramantry. Justice Weeramantry was a Judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka from 1967 to 1972 and was a Judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) from 1991 to 2000, serving as its Vice-President from 1997 to 2000.

Judge Weeramantry was undoubtedly well versed in all the major religions and its laws. He successfully interpreted legal principles with the teachings of the major religions of the world- Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism in his deliberations at the International Court of Justice. He has been considered a pioneer in bringing religious jurisprudence to the international court of justice.

His biggest contribution to the Muslim community was his book, ‘Islamic Jurisprudence, An International Perspective’, which has been introduced as follows: “Islamic jurisprudence is a much misunderstood system. The misunderstanding is due to lack of information and to centuries of prejudice. This book seeks to present information, not at present available in a single work, on the pioneering efforts of Islamic jurists to develop a comprehensive body of human rights, principles and practice, as well as a corpus of international law principles. The attempt to develop such international law principles long anticipated any similar work in other legal or cultural systems. Human rights doctrine based upon the Qu’ran and the Sunna of the Prophet was expressed in terms, which will strike the reader as surprisingly modern. In international law, Islamic treatises anticipated the work of Grotius by eight centuries. It is hoped that this systematic exposition, not attempted before in such detail, will help considerably in reducing misunderstanding and the resulting tensions, as well as being of considerable value to the Islamic world. The work will be of interest not only to lawyers, but also to philosophers, historians, sociologists, political scientists and students of international affairs.”

In 1998, the city of Hague honoured him as the most outstanding Person who contributed to International Justice. A person of the caliber of Justice Weeramantry departing this world would leave a great vacuum in the hearts and minds of all Sri Lankans. The Muslim Council of Sri Lanka (MCSL) on behalf of the Muslim community conveys its deepest condolences to the bereaved family. Sri Lankabhimanya Christopher Gregory Weeramantry would not be forgotten and will live long in the hearts and minds of the Muslim community in Sri Lanka.

N M Ameen

President

The Muslim Council of Sri Lanka

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts states clearly and repeatedly that if they can’t stop him becoming president they’ll kill Trump just as they did with John Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield and William McKinley.

https://youtu.be/ZLjrzAmcCA4

Editorial Courtesy The Island

January 7, 2017, 5:08 pm

In March last year the Fortune magazine ran an article simply titled “Hoaxwagen” illustrated with a photo of a spanking new Volkswagen car spewing a cloud of noxious black smoke from its tailpipe. No explanation of what that article was all about was necessary. The whole world by then knew all about how a renowned automaker, whose legendary ‘Beetle’ held the world in thrall for several decades, had in the words of one writer “incinerated” its reputation by a massive emission fraud. Here in Sri Lanka we were awaiting the construction of a Volkswagen assembly plant at Kuliyapitiya under an agreement signed between the local project partner and the Board of Investment. Given the power of the VW brand, it was no surprise that our political leadership massively touted the coming project for which there was a ceremonial groundbreaking early in the New Year with no less that the president and prime minister in attendance.

But the people of Sri Lanka did not know until the smelly stuff hit the fan last week, with a television station quoting a spokesperson for VW saying there was no plan at present to bring their brand here, that there was going to be no Volkswagen assembly at Kuliyapitiya in the foreseeable future. It was only on Jan. 2, 2017, that an amended agreement between the local partner and the BOI was signed removing all references to Volkswagen in the original agreement reached in August 2015. In September of that year, the emissions scandal broke hitting the iconic German automaker with all kinds of trouble both over the scale of the offence and the huge penalties running into billions of dollars it would attract. It is amazing that the concerned authorities here did not follow-up whether intentions inherent in an existing agreement could be realized under the changed circumstances. Since the story broke the prime minister went on record saying that Newsfirst need not have gone to Volkswagen in Germany to find out whether they were coming here. If he had been asked, he would have said that they were not, given the circumstances they were placed in. The fact that neither the German ambassador nor a representative of VW was at the groundbreaking was an obvious pointer that there will be no VW involvement in the project that was being launched.

The opposition would undoubtedly seize the propaganda potential of this mess. We do not know whether somebody pulled the wool over somebody else’s eyes and for long pretended that nothing was amiss with the proposal that had been presented and the agreement that had been signed. If not, it behooves on those who made much of VW assembling vehicles here to have gone public with the real picture before a television station chose to rub egg on the face of the entire government. But why people who should know better did not make their own checks on the real picture in the context of the scandal that hit VW and apprise the political leadership of the existing situation is what defies comprehension. Was our mission in Berlin unaware that the much touted project was not going forward? Was Colombo not so advised? These are matters that bear examination. The local partner of the project is believed to be exploring the possible assembly of other European brands at Kuliyapitiya. Whether he would succeed or not and whether such brand owners would invest remains to be seen. The site was allocated on a basis that is no longer valid. So would possession remain?

There has been a lot of flak, rising to a crescendo last week, about government plans to rescue the Hambantota harbor ‘sinking’ under a load of debt. This port was built on borrowed capital with little or no thought given on how the massive debts incurred were going to be repaid. It has already incurred huge losses and will continue to do so unless some plan to make it economically viable is devised. The incumbent government is seeking to do so through a joint venture with a Chinese partner who will take the majority 80 percent equity in the JV with the Sri Lanka Ports Authority taking the balance. This is obviously not the best arrangement. The government would normally have liked to keep control and limit the foreign partner to at best a 49 percent minority. But this would not have been possible if the rationale for the deal – enabling Sri Lanka to meet its debt obligation over the construction cost – was to be realized.

There is also the question of the period of the lease of the harbor. Ports and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranatunga said last month that the Chinese originally wanted a 199-year lease and then came down to 99-years. He was thinking of a 50-year lease but that seems wishful. There has been a lot of airy fairy talk about Hambantota being close to major international shipping lanes along which hundreds of vessels sail every day. If a fraction of that number could be persuaded to take their bunkers there, the port could be very profitably operated, it ws said. But experts point out that ships will not make purely bunkering calls; they would want to load and discharge cargo and receive ancillary services like ship chandling and many more. The previous regime had to virtually force car carriers to do their business at Hambantota which was attracting the label of being a port at which no ships called. That port has various geographical advantages that would serve China’s strategic needs now and in the future. That is why China more than anyone else would be willing to invest there. Also, China has the will and capacity to invest in ancillary industries that would give the port business.

In this matter Sri Lanka is like somebody who is forced to make a distress sale. In such circumstances buyers will try to get the best bargain for themselves and China is no exception. But the former president who bears responsibility for landing Sri Lanka in the soup both with regard to the Hambantota port and the Mattala airport, both regarded as personal vanity projects in his home district, is the least qualified to fault his successors trying make the best of a bad situation. Rajapaksa has problems with the sale of family silver. What did he do with prime Galle Face land on which hotels are now rising? The Port City was also a deal in a hurry with no alternative proposals invited and all stops pulled off to sign the agreement while Chinese President Xi Jinping was here. What’s going on can be criticized – but not by Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Courtesy The Island

January 7, 2017, 6:37 pm
As we write this on Saturday, the Hambantota town has become a battleground with thousands of policemen on the streets with barricades and riot gear. Reports are coming in of confrontations between the police and protestors with tear gas and water cannon being used.  The signing of the final agreement for the privatisation of the Hambantota Port was to take place yesterday in Hambantota but it was cancelled by Minister Malik Samarawickrema who said last Thursday that the final agreement on the Hambantota Port would not be signed on January 8 because there are some issues that had to be ironed out and he hoped to be able to sign the agreement before the end of January. What took place in Hambantota yesterday was the laying the foundation stone for a ‘Hambantota development zone’.

A letter written by the Ports and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranatunga to the Committee of Ministry Secretaries appointed to handle the Hambantota port matter dated 27 December 2016 – i.e. ten days before the day on which the final agreement was to be signed, holds the answer to what has happened. The media had portrayed this letter mainly as a missive complaining that Arjuna had not been consulted with regard to what was being done to the Hambantota port – which would make it look like a turf war. But there was much more to it than that.    Arjuna had copied this letter to the President and Prime Minsiter, Ministers Malik Samarawickrema and Sarath Amunugama, to R.Paskaralingam,  the Secretary to the President, the Secretary to the Prime Minister the Secretary to the Treasury and three other ministry secretaries and had no less than 17 attachments.

What Arjuna had said in a nutshell was that two Chinese companies China Harbour Engineering and China Merchant Co had sent in proposals to lease the Hambantota harbour with the share division between the Ports Authority and the private Company being 35:65 in the case of China Harbour Co and 20:80 in the case of China Merchant Co respectively. The income that would accrue to the Ports Authority differed. No criteria had been provided as to how the proposals should be assessed. A committee of Ministry Secretaries had been formed on 14 September 2016 to make recommendations to the cabinet subcommittee on economic affairs on which proposal to accept. On 30 September 2016, two officials from the Ports Authority had attended the meeting of the Committee of Ministry Secretaries and Arjuna says the two officials had complained that the final report of the committee had misrepresented their views and they had not been notified of the selection of the party to whom the award would be made either.

The Committee of Ministry Secretaries had decided to accept the China Merchant bid with 20:80 share division as they were to pay 1.08 billion USD up front. However neither the Minister of Ports and Shipping nor the Ports Authority which had official control over the Hambantota harbour were consulted in arriving at this decision. The decision of the Committee of Ministry Secretaries was notified to the Ports Authority by the Secretary to the Ministry of Ports and Shipping. The Ports Authority had appointed a committee to study the project proposal and an assessment had been done of the net present value and the loss of income due to the Ports Authority due to the choice made by the Committee of Ministry Secretaries.

Invisible hand at work

While this was going on, the External Resources Department had forwarded a copy of the ‘framework agreement’ pertaining to this transaction to the Ports Authority and the latter having studied the document had informed Arjuna Ranatunga of its gravity. Thereafter the Ports Authority held discussions with the company concerned and obtained several concessions, including an increase in the up front payment from 1.08 billion to 1.12 billion USD. The lease on land would be reviewed after 15 years and once every five years thereafter. The original agreement was for 99 years followed by another 99 years but this was reduced to just 99 years and several other changes had also been successfully negotiated by the Ports Authority.

The cabinet subcommittee on economic affairs at its next meeting decided that this framework agreement should be signed by the Ports Authority and the amendments to the framework agreement which had been negotiated by the Ports Authority had been discussed in the cabinet subcommittee on economic affairs. Yet the framework agreement presented to the cabinet by Ministers Malik Samarawickrema and Sarath Amunugama was a different framework agreement to the one that had been negotiated and amended by the Ports Authority. Upon cabinet approving this framework agreement presented by Samarawickrema and Amunugama, it was signed by the Committee of Ministry Secretaries on December 8, 2016. Even though the cabinet subcommittee on economic affairs decided that Arjuna, as the line minister, should be consulted before signing the framework agreement, it was signed without any such consultation.

Arjuna had once again tried to bring this matter onto the correct track and at a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister on December 20, 2016 where it was decided that the Committee of Ministry Secretaries would hold discussions with both the Ports Authority and the Chinese company together to resolve the outstanding issues. However the Committee of Ministry Secretaries had violated this instruction and held separate discussions. Though the final agreement with the Chinese Company was to be handed over to the Ports Authority, the Committee of Ministry Secretaries had instead sent the original framework agreement to the Ports Authority. There is much more to Arjuna’s letter than just a turf war with Minister Malik Samarawickrema.

Firstly, if there is a turf war it is perfectly justified because the Hambantota Port belongs to the Ports Authority. It was the Ports Authority that had even paid the ‘local component’ of the funding arrangements to build the Hambantota port. Secondly, because of the institutional interest factor, the Ports Authority and the relevant minister is likelier to negotiate a better deal than anyone else and why the Ports Authority was not handling the negotiation is a moot point. Thirdly, that mysterious unseen hand that seems to move many thing in this government seems to be at play here with the Committee of Ministry Secretaries and Ministers Malik Samarawickrema and Sarath Amunugama acting contrary to the decisions arrived at by the cabinet subcommittee on economic affairs. It was just as well that this transaction was put on hold. The way this was handled provides an insight into the manner in which this government may be negotiating ETCA as well.

GL draws the red line

As the last year drew to a close it seemed almost as if the SLFP members of the government would resign to contest against the UNP at the upcoming local government election. Rumours were floating around that the SLFP was trying to negotaiate a deal with the Joint Opposition so that they would fight the local government election together. These were not really rumours either because every possible form of partnership between the Joint Opposition and their colleagues serving in the government have been discussed and continue to be discussed on the corridors of parliament, in private residences, over the telephone and through intermediaries on a daily basis. All it takes is for a member of the SLFP group in government and a member of the JO to come face to face for a conversation on this topic to ensue. A leader fo the Joint Opposition confirmed to this writer that the SLFP (Sirisena faction) had even mooted a no-contest pact so as to be able to face the UNP together.

However the interim leader of the Sri Lanka People’s Front stated categorically last week that the Joint Opposition would not contest together with the SLFP rump serving in the government under any circumstances, given the unsavoury experiences of the last parliamentary elections. This basically made the anti-government posturing of the SLFP group serving in the government redundant. If all that posturing and criticism of the UNP was with the intention of winning the hearts and minds of the opposition voter and somehow persuading the latter to believe that the SLFP group in the government was actually a part of the opposition, that fell by the wayside following GLP’s statement. Even if the SLFP (Sirisena faction) now contests the local government election separately and against the UNP, the Joint Opposition would still be fielding a separate list.

Last week, there was a palpable reduction in hostilities between the UNP and the SLFP (Sirisena faction) as the two sides seemed to come to the realization that their destinies are bound together inextricably.  Last week, we saw SLFP ministers including Mahinda Amaraweera, Nimal Siripala de Silva and Nishantha Mutuhettigama making categorical  statements to the effect that this unity government would last till 2020. Only Isura Devapriya, the Western Province chief minister, was heard saying and hesitantly at that, that this government may not continue for very long. This has basically ended any hopes that some members of the SLFP (Sirisena faction) may have had of safeguarding their political futures by appearing before the public in opposition clothing while remaining in the government.

All the efforts made by Dilan Perera to maintain the separate identity of the SLFP group in the government has thereby come to naught and in fact Priyankara Jayaratne’s early resignation from the government now seems justified because he obviously wanted a future in politics. The members of the SLFP serving in the government will now find it impossible to convince their constituents that the SLFP will soon form a government without the UNP. Every one of the SLFP members in parliament today was elected on an anti-UNP and anti-yahapalana platform which was why anti-UNP posturing and rhetoric was so important to these MPs. Now with it being said that this government will continue till 2020, all the SLFP members in the government will have to think of their plans for the future. The SLFP constituency that elected them to parliament this time will obviously be in no mood to vote for them again after three and a half years more of what we have at present.

There were three SLFP members who managed to get elected to parliament last time despite their identification with Sirisena – Mahinda Amaraweera, Duminda Dissanayake and Ranjith Siyambalapitiya. The next time, it is doubtful whether even these individuals will have an SLFP constituency that will vote for them especially in the context where the Joint Opposition will be fielding a separate list. So it appears that this will be a period of political realignment. Those who think they will need the opposition vote to get reelected next time will seek to align themselves with the Joint Opposition. Others who think they will be able to survive on the pro-government vote, will most probably seek an alliance with the UNP. These developments also increase the possibility of more defections by SLFP back benchers, and State and Deputy Ministers in the government because their present status is not comfortable enough for them to be able to wind up their political careers after this term in office.

Inauspicious beginning for 2017

The government got off to a very bad start in 2017. Probably for the first time in living memory, we began the year with a strike – that of sweep ticket sellers who claimed that their commission has not been increased despite the increase in the price of a sweep ticket. Their cry was that the increase in the price will reduce ticket sales and that if the prices were being increased, their commissions also had to increase proportionately in order to compensate for the diminished income due to the reduction in sales. The income coming in from sweep ticket sales is important for the government. P.G. Wilson, who was for many years the private secretary to former President D.B.Wijetunga has told this writer how in the late 1980s at the height of the JVP insurrection, the day to day cash requirements of the various government departments was met partly out of the daily collection of the development lottery.

This is an important cash cow for the government and it stands to reason that the government would want to increase their cash flow by increasing the price of sweep tickets. The sweep ticket seller’s strike ended with President Sirisena’s intervention. In any event that was a bad start to the year. Following upon this was the fiasco involving Minister Faizer Mustapha’s refusal to accept the local government delimitation report from the chairman of the committee Asoka Peiris on the grounds that two members of the five member committee had not signed the report. Of the two members who had refused to sign it, the SLFP representative had signed the report but the UNP representative had not yet signed at the time of going to press.

The much touted Volkswagen factory in Kuliyapitiya blew up in the government’s faces. It would have been better for the government to have simply left things as minister Eran Wickremaratne said – that the Volkswagen factory was not coming to Sri Lanka because the company had run into problems internationally and was not in a position to expand. The government however, had turned this Volkswagen factory into one of their main campaign slogans and probably felt compelled to deliver something. Thus on January 3, a bemused public saw the President and Prime Minister laying the foundation stones for a factory which was supposed to be an automobile assembly plant for a company called ‘Western Automobiles’ and there were banners emblazoned with the letter ‘W’ in what appeared to be an attempt to imitate the Volkswagen symbol.

Yet in no time, the social media was flashing the news around that the whole thing was an elaborate hoax and that there was no Volkswagen factory or even a factory belonging to Senok the local agents for Volkswagen but some hitherto unknown company called Western Automobiles. Sirasa TV had in fact contacted Volkswagen headquarters and ascertained that VW had no involvement in any project in Sri Lanka. When asked at a press conference about this, one UNP minister said that this factory would assemble European cars. When asked who was investing money in this project, he declined to answer. All in all, this was a painfully embarrassing fiasco for the government.

Obviously stung by the expose broadcast by Sirasa TV, the Prime Minister then took a U turn and admitted as Eran Wickremeratne had done earlier, that Volkswagen was not coming to Sri Lanka. The government’s Volkswagen fiasco brings to mind the Roman Emperor Caligula Caesar’s invasion of Britain. Because Britain was a long sought after prize, Caligula sought to win the hearts and minds of the Roman public by staging an ‘invasion’ to subjugate Britain in the following manner as recounted by some ancient historians including Suetonius Tranquillus.

“He (Caligula) drew his soldiers up in battle array upon the shore. Then he himself went into his galley and told his sailors to row him out to sea. After they had rowed him a short way he told them to return. When he had landed again he climbed into a high seat like a pulpit, which he had built on the sands. Then he sounded a trumpet and ordered his soldiers to advance as if to battle. In front of the soldiers there was nothing but the blue sea and the sandy shore covered with shells. The Britons, whom they had come to fight, were far away on the other side of the water and quite out of reach.

“So the soldiers stood and wondered what to do. Then Caligula ordered them to kneel down upon the sand and gather as many shells as they could. So now the soldiers did as their general commanded and gathered the cockle shells which lay around in hundreds. When they had gathered a great quantity, Caligula made a speech. He thanked the soldiers as if they had done him some great service. He told them that now he had conquered the ocean and the islands in it, and that these shells were the spoils of war. He praised the soldiers for their bravery, and said that the shells should be placed in the temples of Rome in remembrance of it. Then he rewarded them richly and they marched home again.”

ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ අධිනීතිඥ ගෝමින් දයාසිරි

ආණ්‌ඩුව පළාත් සභා සඳහා 13 වැනි ව්‍යවස්‌ථාවෙන් හිමිකර දී ඇති බලතල මුළුමනින් ක්‍රියාත්මක නොකළත් ව්‍යවස්‌ථාවේ එය එසේ පැවතීම අනතුරක්‌ බව ඔබ කිහිපවර ප්‍රකාශ කළ කාරණයක්‌. නමුත් යෝජිත නව ආණ්‌ඩු ක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්‌ථාවෙන් පළාත් සභා බලතළ පුළුල් කළ යුතු බවට යෝජනා වී තිබෙනවා?

සාකච්ඡා කළේ
පාලිත සේනානායක

ලංකා සී නිවුස්

ඇමති සජිත් පේ‍්‍රමදාස මහතාගේ දැඩි හිතවාදියෙකු වන එක්සත් ජාතික පක්‍ෂයේ හිටපු දකුණු පළාත් සභා මන්ත‍්‍රී මෛත‍්‍රී ගුණරත්න මහති මාධ්‍ය හමුවක් කැදවමින් අගමැති රනිල් වික‍්‍රමසිංහ මහතාට එරෙහිව දැඩි විරෝධය දැක්වීමය.

ඔහු කියා සිටියේ එජාප පාජෂිකයින් රාජපක්‍ෂලා එලවා බලාපොරොත්තු වූයේ මෙය නොවන බවයි.

අද වන විට අගමැතිවරයා ඇතුළු කුඩා පිරිසක් මුදල් හම්බ කිරීම සදහා වූ ව්‍යාපාරයක් බවට පත් කරගෙන ඇති බවද එහිදී පැවසූ ඔහු ජනාධිපතිවරයාගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටියේ දැන්වත් කසය අතට අරගෙන නිවැරදිව කටයුතු කරන ලෙසයි.

ලංකා සී නිවුස්

වොක්ස්වැගන් සමාගමට ජාත්‍යන්තර වශයෙන් ඇති වී තිබෙම නීතිමය අවහිරතා හේතුවෙන් එම සමාගමේ ආයෝජනය බාර ගැනීම ආණ්ඩුව ප‍්‍රතික්‍ෂෙප කලේ යයි අගමැති රනිල් වික‍්‍රමසිංහ මහතා විසින් කරනු ලැබූ ප‍්‍රකාශය වොක්ස්වැගන් සමාගම ප‍්‍රතික්‍ෂෙප කරයි.

සිරස රූපවාහිනිය විසින් කරන ලද විමසීමකදී සමාගමේ සන්නිවේදන අංශයේ කැතරින් හොමන් විසින් දන්වා ඇත්තේ තම සන්නායමට අදාල කිසිදු ආයෝනයක් ශ‍්‍රි ලංකාව තුල සිදු කිරීමට කිසිදු සාකච්චාවක් සිදු නොවූ බවයි.

මේ අතර සමාගම ටයිම්ස් ඔන් ලයින් වෙබ් අඩවිය වෙත දන්වා ඇත්තේ තම සමාගම නමින් වාහන එකලස් කිරීමට ශ‍්‍රී ලංකාවේ කිසිදු පුද්ගලයෙකුට හෝ සමාගමකට අවසර දී නැති බවය.

Dr Sudath Gunasekara. President Mahanuwara Sinhala Bauddha Jestha Puravesiyange Sanvidhanaya saha Udarata Urumaya Surekiime Jatika Sanvidhanaya

5. Jan 2016

This Government should immediately stop its diabolical conspiracy to enact a new Constitution that will end up the 2500 year old Sinhala Buddhist State and its Civilization in this Island.

On the other hand

The Joint Opposition should immediately withdraw from the Constitutional Council in protest against this Great Betrayal by this Government

This Government should immediately stop its diabolical conspiracy to enact a new Constitution to give Tamils and Muslims two separate autonomous regions as bribes for voting it in to power at the 2015 Presidential and Parliamentary elections, as it will first, kill the millennia old Lankan Unitary State and finally it will end up in the formation of an EELAM (for Tamils) and a Kalisthan (for Muslims) in this land of the Sinhalese and mark the end of the 2500 year old glorious Sinhala Buddhist State and it’s Civilization that had been jealously and valiantly defended and protected against all enemies and invasions, both South Indian and Western for more than 2500 years by our ancestors with their sweat, blood and lives.

The Joint Opposition should immediately withdraw from the Constitutional Council in protest against this Great Betrayal by this Government and take all possible steps immediately to defeat it, if it wants to survive and wants to have a country to come back to power, without continuing its hide and seek policy on this issue any longer.

The following map shows how Sri Lanka will look like tomorrow, if we allow the proposed new constitution of Sirisena–Rannil-Chandrika-Sambandan-Hakim-Digambaran-USA-UK and India, to see the light of the day.

This is exactly what the vicious Ranil-Chandrika-Sirisena  Trio’s so-called Govt’ is conspiring to do to this country with the new Constitution.

The report of the Task Force on Ethnic Reconcilliation prepared under the Chairmanship of Chandrika Kumaratunga to be submitted this week to the Government has already laid down the strategy for this Great betrayal. What Chandrika has planned  here now  is to get her vicious dream of destroying this country and the Sinhala Buddhist civilization, as she has openly declared many a time, which she could not do in 1997 under her famous Package (POTTANIYA- so named by JR). Those who have read the article on the recommendations of the  Task Force on Ethnic Reconcilliation by  its Secretary Pakyasothi Saravanmuttu, (a sworn EELAMist), appeared in the Daily Mirror few days back, would have realized how dangerous it is going to be, and how they are planning to get the referendum passed with Tamil and Muslim votes in a divided Sinhala electorate between the , and the two SLFP camps of MR  and MS. under the prevailing  chaotic poliotical situation in the country. What they are trying to do is to fish in troubled waters or to makehay while the sun shines.

Their forecast will definitely come true

1. a) If President Sirisena and Mahinda Rjapaksa camps continue to fight within their rank and file as they do now without bringing all SLFP voters together (who love the country more than members of any other political party in this country)
2. b) or a sizable number of UNP Sihalala voters refuse to be a party to this ongoing Ranil-Sirisena–Chandrika treacherous betrayal
3. c) or forget their party and colour (that is UNP and Green) and decide to unite with the patriotic Sinhala masses in the SLFP as a national force giving up all their political party afiliations in the broader interests of thecountry , to save this nation,

the Chandrika- Pakyasothi  conspiracy cum strategy  as given in the Daily mirror few days back by Saravanamuttu will definitely succeed.

That will mark the end of this glorious nation that was the envy of the whole world, both medievL and modern, for millenia.

The religious dignitories of the three Nikayas together should immediately get down MR and Maitri and advice them, (more particularly Maitripala Sirisena) to stop animosity towards each other and refrain from vituperative talk at least now and join hands in the broader interest of the nation. What the country badly need today is not  a mere puppet leader but a  strong patriotic and benevolent Sinhala leader to rescue this country from the abysmal depth in to which our poloiticians over the past 68 years have dump it.  Now that  MR has already extended the olive branch to MS, things should be easier for MS to adjust his stubborn attitude and form a friendly alliance. This was how feuds between rulers were settled in the ancient days in this country. I remember,  how a small man like myself once adivised Lalith and Gamini to iron out their ego differnces, respecrt each others special capabilities and join hands in the broader interest of the nation. Both being intelligent men reponded positiverly and Lalith rang me up the next morning to confirm me their happy union. Therefore I don’t know why the prelates who hold the highest positins in Sri Lankan society can’t do it and why MS and MR cannot listen to them, if summened  and adviced.

Are  all of us going to sleep and allow the aforesaid catastrophy to happen to our motherland before our own eyes and keep quiet like the proverbial Three Monkeys saying we can’t see, can’t hear or can’t smell ?. This is the million dollar question I place before  All my readers? and before the whole nation, the Mahanayaka Theras and the Sangha fraternity–the guardian Gods of the nation,  politicians who love the country than rotten foul smelling political perks (if there is any),  interlectuals and all others who matter both big and small. To you all Patrriotic Sons and Dauhgters of Sinhale, (whose priceless legacy this respledent Isle is) who have a Sinhala heart and a wee bit of love for your Mother Land, I plead you to fight tooth and nail to the bittter end to defeat this treacherous move, by this Government and save our 2500 year old motherland.

For the reasons given below in this note, the whole nation should force this clumsy government in one voice, to drop all treacherous moves and conspiracies to destroy this country  by puttting this sconstutional nooze round our neck.

1 First and foremost this Government has not got a public mandate to change the existing Constitutionm no have the people asked for a new Constituion either.

2 This is not a legally constituted government or a government. It is an illegally constituted, unconstitutional, un-ethical pack of politicians in Parliament and a classic political jumble unheard and unseen anywhere in the world in known history. It consists of a Prime Minister, a Leader of the Opposition, both of whom are unconstitutionally appointed and a bunch of national list appointees, either rejected by the people at the last election dragged in via the political back door or political stooges who have no political experience or any other outstanding qualifications. Therefore this Parliament has no legitimate power to make any law in this Parliament leaving aside a new Constitution for this country or even make an amendment to the Constitution.  I am no lawyer, but I feel, one day all proceedings of this House could be questioned in a court of law under a future Government and to see all key persons of this Government behind bars.

3 All expressed intensions of making this Constitution by stake holders are not genuine. Taking cover under words like reconciliation, devolution and human rights this so-called government is hell-bent to make a Constitution to appease minorities and to remain in power to enjoy the lavish luxuries of political office.

4 Nearly 5.9 million people have voted against  both Sirisena and Ranil at the 2015 elections.

5 A new constiution is  not an urgent priority  when there are far more serious national  issues that face the country and the people. The imminent food shortage in the near future due to cultivation failure in the country in view of the prolonged drought,  absense of good governance, the mess created by the Provincial Councils and the 13^th Amendment,  social unrest, unemploymenand, poverty and the daily deterioration economic and financial crisis etc have to be given priority over Constitution making. A government has to give food, water, and employment to its people before it tries to give a new Constitution as people cannot certainly fill their bellies and quench their thirst with a new Constitution.

6 Problem of exessive and repressive taxes and burden of unbearable cost of living

7 The jumbo Cabinet, too many politicians and wastefull political instituions like the Provincial councils.

8 Lack of law and order and lack of governace at all in the country

9 Extravagance , rampant corruption and wastage in government institutions

10 Ineficient and lethargic public service

11 Few simple amendments to the present Constitution can definitely  bring about good governance that is good enough to solve peoples problems. As such why this mighty hurry and big fuss for a new Constitution?

12 unbarable cost of living

Further more one wonders whether we need a Constitution at all if the rulers are just and honest and committed to nation building in the light of following observasions.

First, if we could achieve all the wonders that stand testimony to a great civilization in the Oriental world like the massive Dagabas, Ocean like Irrigation tanks and a fabulous network of irrigation canals that have mesmerized even modern engineers, without a Constitution from 543 BC to 1815 Ad, why can’t we do it now without a Constitution?

Second, why have we failed to make the country self-sufficient at least in our staple diet- rice-  for 68 years since 1948, up to date, (a country once exported rice under King Parakramabahu) in spite of three voluminous Constitutions 1948, 1972 and 1978 we had, the last ironically with 19 amendments within 37 years?

Third, under these circumstances how can one say (as Ranil and cohort declare) that a Constitution is the only magic wand and the cornucopia that will bring reconciliation, peace and prosperity to this country?

Fourth, if that is so, where does lies the real fault? Isn’t it the way politicians have governed or governing?

Fifth, If the United Kingdom that is hailed as the Home or mother of Modern Parliamentary system of Government and democracy could also create a World Empire where the sun never set for 150 years, why can’t we, who inherit a fabulous civilization for millennia long before Christ was born and were much richer than what the English were, do it now without such a useless bundle of papers, called a Constitution based on alien laws, traditions and practices.

Sixth, desperately looking at how our politicians have performed since 1948 with the three voluminous Constitutions, I can vouch you that even if we get the God in heaven to make a Constitution for us that will never succeed in achieving our goal in the hands as long as we have politicians like whom we have in this country.

Neverthe less still if anyone feels there is a need for a Constitution or Constitutional reforms to solve the burning problems in the country then,

 First,

1 Sack all those defeated candidates appointed through the National list

2 Send back all those who were high jacked from the Joint Opposition back to JO

And then

The President should remove Ranil or ask him to tender his resignation promptly the same way he was appointed and take steps to install a legitimate Government in office. If he still believes Ranil can deliver the goods then he may give him a second chance to show Parliament that he has the majority to form a Government so that at least he can legitimately form a government

If he fails then President should ask someone else in Parliament who can show the majority to form a Government without messing like what he did it last time.

Once a legitimate Government is formed we should demand the President to take the following steps to make good governance a reality so that we can use it as an acid test of his commitment to good governance and also his integrity and honesty in purpose and the love to the country.

In the mean time we would also like to remind him that it was he who was elected as the President by the people and not Ranil. Therefore people expect him take over the Governance in to his hands and not allow Ranil to run riots with his typical after dinner speeches in Parliament and his tyrannical behavior in office.

Thereafter he should ask the new Government to confine to the promised amendments to the Constitution. According to the 2015 election manifesto there are only three amendments this Parliament can legitimately move, of cause even that only after cleaning the Parliament by removing all illegitimate appointments made therein. They are

1) To reduce the Cabinet to Thirty (3O) in terms of election promises made to the country (Instead now there are 112 or more in it as at today)

2) To remove Presidential immunity and some of his excessive powers (but care should be taken not to touch his Executive powers as firstly, the Parliament cannot touch his Executive powers or remove him even by an impeachment without going for a referendum of the whole country as he has been elected by the people of the whole country. Furthermore this country has had a tradition of having King as the chief Executive for 2500 years. It is there in the blood of the people. This reminds me of the lament made by a monk at the Gangaramaya Temple Mahanuwara, Lewellla                             (Ane kumbiyane. Topatath Rajek inne etc) when the last king of Sinhale was dethroned and deposed to South India in 1815 by the British.

3) To effect Electoral reforms to abolish the PR system and reintroduce first-past-post system. That is all any Government in this Parliament can do and nothing more.

Additionally since he has talked so much about ‘Good Governance” before the election

he should also

4 Assign an MP for every electorate as we had under the old system to bring back meaning to representative democracy once again in this country and the people to have people’s representatives in place of the present system of their being representatives of the Party Leader only responsible and answerable to the Leader of the Party at whose will entirely their survival depends.

Thereafter

First and foremost

1 Hold local government elections as soon as possible

2 The abolish the 13 A and wind up the cancerous Provincial Councils imposed on us by force by India

3 Abolish the Provinces established by the British in 1833 to divide the country on ethnic basis to make their divide and rule policy much easier and to fulfill their avowed goal of destroying the Sinhala nation and this country with its long standing and priceless heritage

4 Scrap the JR/Rajiv Accord of 1987 that paved the first step in giving legitimacy to

Firstly, by declaring the North and East as traditional Homeland of Tamils ( a thing never existed before in the history of this country)

Secondly, providing provision for merging two or more Provinces, thereby laying the foundation for the Tamil EELAM in Sri Lanka by amalgamating the North, East and the Central Hill country and

Thirdly, proving for the establishment of Provincial Councils, the first political conspiracy for nullifying the Sri Lanka Constitution and giving a Federal structure for the first time for the Sri Lanka State paving the way for devolution of political power on an ethnic basis, again going towards the EELAM

Fourthly, making Tamil also an official language and giving citizenship to all estate Tamils outside all the legal procedures that had to be followed in awarding Sri Lankan Citizenship.

And then,

5 Ban all political communal political parties named after ethnicity like TNA, ITAK, and SLMS immediately

6 Take strict legal actions against all who violate the 6^th Amendment

7 Resettle all Sinhala and Muslim people who were chased out from the North and East by the LTTE since 1983 onwards

8 Ban all communal and racial propaganda

9 Make prior approval of Parliament compulsory for all Ministry advisers, top Govt posts like the Governor CB, Ministry Secretaries, Diplomatic appointments etc so that we can avoid appointing unsuitable persons with controversial records like Arjun Mahendrana and R Paskaralingam to such high positions

10 Immediately withdraw the decision to pay Rs 2500 per sitting for MPP and the payment of RS 200 000 pm as rent for an office and ask them to operate from their homes in their electorates Ask those who refuse to abide b it to go home as they are no longer suitable to represent their voters in Parliament

11Stop the leasing of 58 vehicles to be given to MPs.

12 Stop appointing Chairmen for non existing Pradesiya Sanvardhana Sabhas and stop setting up of such additional and overlapping political institutions as we already have a plethora of such useless institutions like the Provincial Councils that have become a big burden to the govt coffers for no service done to the country.

13Also remove all adheekshana MP and withdraw lavish facilities given to all politicians forthwith

14 Remove all political advisers appointed to Ministries for nothing

15 Recall all political appointees for diplomatic positions and replace them with career public servants

16 Stop all extravagant tamashas and politically motivated function like awarding certificates, and appointments etc All govt appointment could be sent by post with very little cost

17 Ban inviting more than one or the most two politicians or Government officials for any function and stop lining them up on the stage like film stars and getting all of them to show off when one can do the job and thus save enormous waste on transport, travelling, subsistence, fuel and ware and rare, overtime and wastage of time otherwise could have been used for public service

18 Scrap the Upcountry Tamil village and Infra structure Development Ministry immediately dissolve the 9 Provincial councils before next April and the UNDP funded special Authority to be set up for the same purpose immediately.

19 Immediately restore the Kandyan Peasantry Development Department and the Kandyan Area Development Authority abolished in Jan 2014 and implement the recommendations of the KPC Report of 1951

20 Immediately set up a Ministry for the Rehabilitation and Development of Kandyan  Peasants

21 Restore all crown lands back to reserved forest encroached by Minister Badurdeen in Wilpattu and Muslim encroachers in the eastern Province and  sack the Minister and take legal action against him for violating Fauna and Flora Acts and connected other offences committed by him

22Restore all Buddhist historical places vandalized by Tigers and Muslims in the North and East

23 Remove Arjun Mahendran and Paskaralingam as Advisors to PM and Take legal action per Cope Report against Mahendran

24 Also take action against Navy Commander for assaulting a Rivira Media man

25 Abolish the Pension scheme given to politicians under Act NO 1 0f 1987 and thereafter.

26 Stop issuing duty free vehicle permits to all politicians and selected state officers forthwith Give them loans by vehicles as it was done in the past so that wt he govt can cut down enormous public expenditure on drivers ,maintenance, salaries , repairs, subsistence and overtime etc.

27 Immediately do away with the National list which has killed the sovereignty of the people and has become an A class bribe to purchase votes in Parliament

28 Along with this also abolish the constitutional provision for 2/3 for bills and replace it with a national referendum instead so that thereafter the President or PM wan’t be able to get politically motivated legislation passed in Parliament by buying corrupt MPP. The same procedure should be followed in case of an impeachment against the President as well.

29 Stop giving allocations to MPP and Ministers and channel all Government expenditure through Ministries, Departments and Public Officials who should be made solely responsible and accountable to the Public Accounts Committee for their proper disbursement

30 Replace all political Governors of PCC and replace them with retired Professional Public servants

31 After abolishing the Provinces and Provincial Councils restore and re strengthen and completely reorganize the District Administration

32 Restore capital punishment immediately, to all those found guilty of crimes prescribed by law an all Drug offences, rape, Child abuse and theft and misuse of State property and those who vandalize ancient Buddhist sites in the North and Eastern Provinces.

33 All politicians starting from President downward should reduce attending public functions and various extravagant tamasas and should devote their time more for serious thinking, planning and expeditious action on public welfare

34 Stop blaming the last government and at least now get down to positive action

35 Ban import and telecasting of all Indian soap opera programs that destroy our culture

36Close down India Consulates in Kandy, Hambantota and Jaffna and send back the Indian Oil Co and bring its functions under CPC to save our assets draining to India.

37 Scrap the Trinco Oil tanks deal with India and vest it in the  CPC

38 Relieve the Judiciary and the Public Service from political interference and make them

Fully  independent so that the public will get an efficient and impartial service

Next I would like to suggest.

Fifteen Prerequisites for sustainable and just reconciliation in Sri Lanka to make it an everlasting,  peaceful, prosperous and righteous Land

1 Strong Government at the centre with a true Sinhala Buddhist Leader” as its head run by Govt Ministries and Departments and Gam sabhas and Nagara Sabhas

2 Abolish 13^th A and Provincial Councils & Abolish the 9 Provinces

3 Declare this Country as the Sinhala Buddhist Country. A Unitary State. To be called, the Republic of Sinhale as it existed for 2500 years and accepted by United Kingdom on 2^nd of March. One Government with 25 Districts, Divisions, Korales and Village Councils with maximum decentralization of Administrative power to the Districts’ (San Provinces and Provincial Councils)

4 Declare Buddhism as the State religion

5 Make Sinhala the Official Language of the State of Sri Lanka

6 Declare Nationality as Sinhala /Sri Lankan meaning the people of Sinhale. All minorities should accept  this as the status quo and renounce their dreams of calling themselves as separate nations or their claims for autonomous States within this tiny country. Those who decline to do so can go back to their true Mother countries.

7 Ban all ethnic or religious political parties only National Parties like SLFP

8 Have one Law for all Sri Lankans abolish Thesavalamei and Muslim Laws

9 Everybody must accept this as the Sinhala country

10 Enact a Constitution based on history, traditions, religion, customs and manners. This should be done by local experts in Law, History, Politics and traditions etc and not as foreigner want or India

11 A permanent National Advisory Council. Non political

12 Set up a powerful National Planning Council

13 Restore independence in Judiciary and Administration

14 Declare all lands above 5000 ft mean sea level as strictly protected national watershed that should never be touched for development or settlements

15 If the Government feel  smaller administrative units are necessary for easy administration then  it can go for the Tun Rata concept as Ruhunu, Pihiyti and Maya, of cause with the consent of the people with a suitable l simple and  less expensive political machinery as it had been from 327 BC to 1815 AD in this country.

Appeal to the President

Mr President this is the only way for you to prove your honesty, integrity, patriotism and your leadership to the people and the world. Hope good counsel will prevail upon you to make this a golden opportunity to absolve all black marks you have collected since you became the President, without been trapped in the illusion of your expressed obligation, responsibility and duty to solve the problems of Tamils and Muslims on the ground that 90 % of them have voted you at the election as you have publicly declared many a time. They may have voted you as a block. Please remember that Tamils and Muslims voted you not because they like you or trust you but because that is the only way they could have ousted Mahinda and put UNP Ranil at the steering, on whom they had the full trust to get their political agenda implemented.  Once they get their jobs done they will discard you and put to the dust bin in no time. Also please don’t forget that this country had been the Land of the Sinhalese for 2500 years. Neither you nor anyone else has the right to betray it. I wish wisdom will dawn upon you to mark your niche in Mahawansa. Whether you decide to go down as traitor or hero in the annals of history in this country is entirely your choice. Also please note that I have made all these observations in good faith, purely in the interest of the my country and the people, with malice towards none

.Finally, I would like to remind the President and the entire coterie of those who are trying to enact  a Constitution against the wishes of the Sinhala majority that they must remember nearly 5.9 million of Sinhala people have voted against them at the last elections. The weeping and wallowing ghosts of these people and the descendents of the nearly 4 million UNP misled and blind folded voters who will later realize their folly, together constituting the entire dispersed, displaced and destroyed nation will follow and haunt you as long as you trek through this endless Sansara. You will never be pardoned for this Great Sin and their eternal curse will be upon you forever.

We would remind that the main objectives of any Government in this country should be

1 Security of the country

2 Public good

3 Protection of the Sambuddha Sasana and protection of their culture, traditions and customs and law and order

Shenali D Waduge

When terrorism is funded and supported by external factors, when we know politicians, political parties are influenced to bring about regime change assisted by external players, when we know heads of foreign-bankrolled NGOs are foot soldiers for foreign agendas and all these players are simply carrying out the invader objectives to incrementally dilute the powers historically bestowed to the islands’ Buddhist heritage and associated history are we fools not to realize that many of the players selected to draft the new constitution are only carrying out that insidious agenda? We cannot ignore that the recommendations and proposals that have been presented fall well into place with that overall plan. It is this awareness that should make all citizens realize the plight the island is facing and the future that is at stake. Preservation & Protection of the history of Sinhale Nation & Buddhism are sine quo non in Sri Lanka’s Constitutional Reforms.

No country in the world has a 100% perfect constitution. No constitution can satisfy the demands or desires of all citizens. All the ills suffered by the developing world are also experienced by the developed world be it in lack of lawlessness, racism, discrimination, rights of women and children, sexual abuse, migrant intolerance etc. In some instances the incidents tabulated in western shores are far worse and more appalling that the same over-dramatized in the developing world.

Constitution making is part of the western system derived after colonial rule where the developed world have become what they are as a result of the murder, plunder and confiscation of lands belonging to the original inhabitants. Eastern civilization had no constitutions but had royal decrees which clearly envisaged what the law of the land was and people adhered.

Many of the new demands for self-determination have arisen as a result of colonial invaders transporting people as indentured labor across the world to work on their plantations and thereafter leaving them to beg newly decolonized nations to accept them as citizens and give them a home. That hospitality is now being manipulated.

Many of the troubles of the world find their root to the colonial invaders whose divide and rule tactics spur minorities to make un-acceptable demands. Most of the indentured labor were from South India including those in Sri Lanka who are now demanding a separate state combining 2 provinces. If anyone should be giving land and self-determination it should be the British but in their own land and not anywhere else. Rohingya problem in Myanmar is a creation of the British as is the Tamil problem in Sri Lanka.

Let us also be clear that in ancient times, people were never divided as minorities or majority or by any of the terminologies used by Western governments. The laws of today are those coined by former colonial powers derived on their terms and with their interest at heart. The first justice system following World War 1 & 2 was created to punish the victims and not put any of the victor’s crimes on the dock. Things have not changed as can be seen in the lack of accountability and justice to all the nations that the West have since illegally invaded, occupied, plundered, people murdered, governments toppled, puppets installed etc. Acknowledgement for colonial crimes and its compensation is still pending while West demands war crimes tribunals for other nations omitting trial of their own crimes. Therefore, do these countries have any moral right to be preaching what other countries should or should not do and should we be bound to listen to them when their crimes are ignored and omitted from prosecution?

In keeping these factors in the background there are other factors that cannot be ignored.

Tamils cannot prove they have evolved in our island to claim right to any homeland. There cannot be 2 homelands for the same ethnic group. Tamil Nadu self-determination began first and Sri Lanka’s was an offshoot by Tamils who descend from Tamil Nadu. Given that reality why should any political solution be reached on a fictitious homeland claim.

While the Separate Tamil Homeland quest began in Tamil Nadu, was passed on to Sri Lanka and spearheaded by Tamil leaders in Sri Lanka (forming ethnic based political parties even before independence, making bizarre demands without taking to stock the ethnic composition of Sri Lanka, the 1949 establishment of ITAK for a separate Tamil State) was hijacked by Tamil militant groups that were originally trained and supported by the Indian Government to destabalize Sri Lanka and pass the headache of separatism to Sri Lanka. Plenty of falsehoods have been included to realize India’s goal to annex Sri Lanka – the reference to North & East being traditional Tamil Homelands in the India drafted Indo-Lanka Accord is one such fictitious example. All these politically motivated lies can historically be nullified by facts.

When Portuguese arrived the majority populace in the North were Sinhalese. Given that Sinhalese had been living in the North and had been pushed southward as a result of foreign incursions and climate factors, no constitution can claim the North or the East as being the homeland of only one ethnic group while reserving the right for that ethnic group to live in all parts of the island while denying other ethnic groups to live in either the North or the East.

By 18^th century Sinhalese had dropped to third place with Tamil Nadu workers brought to work by the colonial invaders exceeding the Tamils who had migrated throughout the 17 invasions by South Indians. While the colonial invaders brought workers from South India, the LTTE is also on record to claim that over 30% of their fighters were also from South India. We do not know how many of them continue to live illegally as Sri Lankans and have been given lands and other rights.

The works of Portuguese historian Father de Queyroz clearly states that the Sinhalese were living in the North and that the Kandyan King ruled the North. Nagadipa is first mentioned in the Pali chronicles of Ceylon in connection with the story of the Buddha’s second visit to Sri Lanka in the 6th century B.C. It was at the ancient port of Jambukola, the present Sambiliturai, in the Jaffna peninsula that the envoys of king Devanampiya Tissa (250-210) embarked when leaving Ceylon on their mission to the court of Asoka (273-236). This was the same port Theri Sanghamitta and her retinue had disembarked from India with a branch of the Bodhi tree at Buddhagaya during the reign of Devanampiya Tissa. King Devanampiya Tissa built three Buddhist shrines, namely the Jambukola Vihara, the Tissamaha Vihara and the Pacina Vihara and planted a Bo sapling in the Jaffna peninsula (MV.XX.25-27). A gold plate inscription discovered at Vallipuram near point Pedro reveals that during the reign of Vasabha (67-111) the Jaffna peninsula was governed by a minister of that king and that a Buddhist Vihara named Piyaguka Tissa had been built there by that Minister. Plenty more examples prove no independent Tamil kingdom was in existence in the Jaffna peninsula during the Anuradhapura period. http://www.infolanka.com/org/srilanka/hist/hist4.html

It was the Kandyan King who sent his troops to defend his citizens when Portuguese were attacking North, clearly revealing that North Sri Lanka including East Sri Lanka came under the Kandyan King.

In terms of grievances or aspirations – we need to differentiate what the politicians want from the demands of the ordinary people. This was clearly articulated by some Tamil youth who openly claimed that they need homes and jobs and not the division of the country. To answer that what needs to be asked and answered is the simple question – what is it that the Tamils are legally and constitutionally denied that which is given to the Sinhalese or enjoyed by the Sinhalese only. While the Majority populace of the island has remained Sinhalese and it is they who built the nation on the doctrine of Buddhist philosophy and virtues.

To satisfy the cravings of a handful of minority politicians cannot transfer the powers of the majority into the hands of the minority whose political parties are formed with the explicit intent of dividing Sri Lanka and serving one group of people only. These factors are issues that directly confront those preaching about equality and peaceful coexistence.

Moreover those at the political helm are people with tainted records – their decision making have been questionable, some of those at the helm have been prohibited from holding any public office by supreme court order, their actions have been direct affronts to the national security of the country, their bleak record, associations and connections should make all citizens question their current recommendations. We cannot forget how our national army had been placed on par with a terrorist movement, how territory of a sovereign nation was virtually given to terrorists, how terrorist leader was invited to rule the nation for 10 years without election, how parties proposing and demanding clauses are accepted as terrorist proxies and have yet to be investigated and cleared of these charges. The others drafting and making proposals have been either on foreign payroll and foreign guidelines or others who have no spine to decipher what is of national interest and are working to a well calculated plan to culturally cleanse the historical heritage and weaken the periphery of the Centre to facilitate newly created regions/provinces with bigger powers easier to manipulate for foreign agendas.

What clearly remains to be said is that all those who have played no role in building the nation, making Sri Lanka a safer place, eliminating the terrorists that terrorized for 30 years, those that had no spine to even call LTTE as terrorists, those that laughed & ridiculed the heroic deeds of our armed forces, those that included LTTE as being the sole representative of the Tamils in their election manifestos. None of these players have any moral right to determine what goes in and what goes out of the present constitution.

Shenali D Waduge

KAMALIKA PIERIS

‘Regime change’ made its first appearance in Sri Lanka in September 1959 when S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike was assassinated by a Buddhist priest, Somarama, on the verandah of his home. The assassination was planned. That was obvious. But it was not difficult to execute. Bandaranaike had no security protection whatsoever.  Anyone could kill him anywhere.

The public agreed that the person responsible for the assassination was the High Priest of Kelaniya, Buddharakkhita. They readily accepted the ridiculous argument that Buddharakkhita got Bandaranaike killed because Bandaranaike had refused to give Buddharakkhita a contract to import rice and another to set up a sugar factory. Heads of state are not assassinated for such flimsy reasons.

D.B.S.Jeyaraj has openly questioned whether any ‘foreign hand’ was involved in Bandaranaike’s assassination. Did Buddharakkhita and Somarama act on their own? He points out that USA had a strong anti-communist policy at this time. It was well known, he said, that between 1959 and 1962, the CIA was involved in assassinations and assassination attempts on political leaders who were pro-Left, like Lumumba, Sukarno and Fidel Castro. In the 1990s it was found that the CIA had given money to the Dalai Lama who was opposing Communist China’s takeover of Tibet. (http://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/archives/33515)

The 1956 MEP government of Bandaranaike marked the start of genuine political independence in Sri Lanka. Bandaranaike took the country away from its darling British loyalties. He made Britain hand over its military bases, Katunayake air base and the Trincomalee naval base to the government of Sri Lanka. Diplomatic relations were established between Sri Lanka and Communist China. Chinese Premier Chou en Lai visited, Beijing Opera followed. Sri Lanka  co-sponsored the resolution to restore China’s legitimate seat at the UN. Bandaranaike’s policies were supported by the powerful ‘sangha, veda, govi,   kamkaru’ pressure group. Bandaranaike had to go.  He went.

There is an interesting religious twist to the Bandaranaike assassination. Somarama   gave up robes during the trial and weeks before his execution was converted to Christianity and was baptized in his cell by the Anglican priest Mathew Peiris. Somarama had used a revolver which had belonged to a notorious underworld figure, Ossie Corea. Ossie Corea was a Catholic. Vimala Wijewardene, another accused, converted to Catholicism and gifted her houses and land to the Catholic Church.

The participation of the sangha in this assassination was expected to be a triumph for anti-Buddhist forces and a terrible blow to the powerful Buddhist movement of the time. But that did not happen. The intended regime change did not take place either.  Bandaranaike’s wife, Sirima took his place as Prime minister in the SLFP led government of 1960 and, to the surprise of everybody, including probably, Sirima herself, ran the country better than SWRD had done.  She     took firm decisions as PM, without dithering, and was excellent in her foreign policy. She seemed set to go on forever. Another round of ‘regime change’ was necessary,

A coup d’état was planned for 27 January 1962. The coup was planned by an assortment of army and police officers.  They were almost entirely, Christian, upper class, westernized, right wing and UNP. The leaders were F. C. de Saram, Commanding Officer, Ceylon Artillery  who later made a confession assuming full responsibility, Maurice De Mel, former Chief of Staff of the Army and Royce de Mel, Captain of the navy. They were joined by  five subordinate officers  from the Ceylon Artillery, several commanding officers from the Ceylon Signals Corps, and one from Ceylon Electrical and Mechanical Engineers .The Police  was represented by C.C.Dissanayake Deputy Inspector General of Police, Sidney de Soysa, former Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) , three Superintendents of Police and two Assistant Superintendents  of Police.

The coup was to be carried out by troops from the 3rd Field Regiment, 2nd Volunteer Antiaircraft Regiment of the Ceylon Artillery, almost the entire officer corps of these regiment were involved, 2nd (V) Field/Plant Regiment of the  Ceylon Engineers, 2nd Volunteer Signals Regiment of the  Ceylon Signals Corps, the  Armored cars of the Sabre troop of the Ceylon Armoured Corps and some members  of the Police.

It was to be a swift, surgical strike, accomplished within a few hours from midnight on the 27^th.Police cars equipped with radio and loudspeakers were to go around Colombo and outskirts at midnight, announcing a 24 hour curfew. People had to remain indoors. Anyone seen outside would be shot on sight. Soldiers with vehicles and radio equipment were to be stationed at key locations in suburban Colombo and strategic junctions within Colombo city. Armoured cars and army vehicles fitted with radio equipment were to be stationed at the two Kelani bridges.

Police headquarters, Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and the Central Telephone and Telegraph exchanges would be taken over and all tele-communication suspended until further notice. A special telephone line from the Army headquarters to the Army barracks in Echelon square in Fort had been set up earlier, to be used for urgent intra-army communication. Fully armed Signals corps dispatch riders on motor cycles were to be positioned from 11 pm  at Torrington (Independence) square, to storm Radio Ceylon” and take it over when the password ‘Holdfast ‘ was given.  Lake House and Times of Ceylon were also to be taken over and newspapers were to cease publication for a few days. At Temple Trees the duty officer for the night had been replaced.

After 1956, many Sinhala-Buddhists were taken into the armed forces to counter the large number of Christians who had been recruited in British times. These soldiers it was anticipated would be loyal to the government. The coup leaders had to therefore prevent a potential counter-strike by such officers and troops.  Soldiers stationed at the Panagoda cantonment had to be prevented from entering Colombo at all costs, until the transfer of power was completed. Armoured cars and army vehicles fitted with radio equipment were to be stationed at the Kirillapone Bridge.

The Prime Minister , Cabinet Ministers,  Parliamentary Secretary for Defence and External affairs (Felix Dias Bandaranaike), Permanent secretary to the Ministry of Defence and External affairs (N. Q. Dias),  Army Commander,  acting Captain of the Navy,  Inspector General of Police as well as DIG (CID) (S A. Dissanayake) and SP (CID) (John Attygalle) were to be arrested and taken to the Army Headquarters, where they would be held as prisoners in the ammunition magazine, which was an underground bunker. Government members of Parliament and all LSSP, MEP and CP members of the opposition were to be detained en masse at e the Sravasti” MP’s hostel. Other officials, including service commanders, were to be placed under house arrest in their own homes in Colombo.

Maurice de Mel was to coordinate from Army headquarters, F.C. de Saram from Temple Trees” where the password  was to be British Grenadier” and Dissanayake from President’s House, then known as ‘Queens House”, password was Dowbiggin”. Queen’s House was the official residence of the Governor-General Sir Oliver Goonetilleke. Once the coup was successful, the coup leaders would meet Sir Oliver, request him to dissolve Parliament and take direct control. The country would then be run by a ‘junta’ of ex-Prime Ministers, Dudley Senanayake and Sir John Kotelawela.

The coup never happened. The government was alerted by P de S Kularatne, the leaders were rounded up, charged and found guilty. They got off on an appeal to Privy Council, London. This aborted coup had certain weaknesses. Stanley Senanayake, who held the key position of Superintendent of Police, Colombo was only told of the coup and invited to join it on the morning of the coup. He was also given the option of refusing! Senanayake said he would think about the matter and around noon told Dissanayake that he was not prepared to participate in a coup attempt against a democratically elected government. If a change of government was to be brought about it could only be through elections. Senanayake reported the matter to Kularatne, who alerted the government. Coup leaders should have sounded out Senanayake well before the day of the coup.

Successful military coups are either led by the head of the army, as in the case of Pakistan in 1977 or with the support of the king and army chief as in the case of Greece in 1967.  The Colombo coup was not led by the head of the army which meant that other high ups were masterminding it. It was alleged that several VVIPs were in on this. Sir Oliver Goonetilleke, who was never charged, resigned as Governor-General and went into self-imposed exile in Britain.

I cannot recall what the public thought of this coup at the time, but people are now saying, on the Internet, that western powers were probably behind it. One commentator said the coup was Plan B. Plan A was the assassination of Bandaranaike, which was easily achieved but did not bring the expected outcome. Another said he thought the CIA, MI5 and ‘other such organizations’ were trying to set up puppet governments in the emerging nations. A third commentator wondered whether ‘those guys were being groomed by the CIA to carry out their agendas. Such actions were openly carried out in other countries’.

The next attempt at ‘regime change’ came in 1971, with the JVP insurrection. This  also  was speedily crushed by the government .This insurrection took the country by surprise because it was against a popular,  people oriented  SLFP  government  which  had just one year before, won 91 seats out of 151 in the 1970 general election.  Several politicians, including N.M. Perera   thought the JVP were CIA agents. It is alleged that Rohana Wijeweera had been recruited as an American agent when he was studying in Russia! My view also is that this was a CIA project which jumped the gun.

This particular ‘regime change’ had Marxism as its theme. By 1970, Marxism’s role as a genuine social movement had come to an end and Marxism   was nestling in the arms of non-Marxists like the USA’s CIA.  Shocked readers found in 1967 that the highly regarded magazine ‘Encounter’ had been secretly funded by the CIA. Mature  students from the third world were recruited as ‘socialists ‘ in London and elsewhere  in the early 1970s  and  told to start   a revolution when they went home.

The JVP, like other destabilization movements was headed by a Politburo with district secretaries who met every two months in Colombo. Cadres were organized according to police divisions and police districts. Aliases were used, communication was by code. Training camps were held in secret places. A rudimentary form of military training was given with sketches of guns, rifle drills and karate.

The movement was still at a nascent level when the young JVPers jumped the gun and attacked police stations in April 1971.   They gained control of some areas but did not know what to do next. Instead of taking over neighboring towns and cities and marching on to other areas, they simply waited until those areas were also captured.   They also failed to set up a new government or new administration in the areas they controlled.  They were not trained for that. They were trained to await orders from a higher authority.

There is evidence to show that the JVP had western links. In the late 1980s the JVP had the money to buy three houses. Araliyawatte in Lilambe area Wariyapola, the house at Gonapola junction, Batuwita and the mansion, Katugaha walawwa in Neluwa near Attampitiya road. When an armed gang abducted eight bhikkus of the Manawa Hithawadi Organization in 1988, Somawansa  Amarasinghe phoned Amnesty international in London. Somawansa’s wife and son were sent out of Sri Lanka in 1989, to UK via Italy. Somawansa left the country in 1990, first to Italy and then Switzerland. He returned to Sri Lanka in 2001 from Paris.  In 2010 Nalin de Silva observed that the JVP was being used by the western forces.

The next attempt at ‘regime change’ was the Presidential election of 2010. This became a dress rehearsal for the 2015 election. Sarath Fonseka was persuaded to   contest Rajapakse for the post of President. Commentators noted that the ‘regime changers’ were faced with the problem of ‘how to present a coarse, humorless general as an erudite individual of some refinement and polish and dent Rajapakse unbelievable popularity.’ In one speech broadcast on television, which I listened to, Fonseka referred to one individual as ‘mey ura’ and another as ‘kalaguna salakanne nethi kalavedda’ to which the delighted opposition replied ‘kalavadda kalaguna nosalakana bava dene gatte adai.’

It was said that foreign powers were behind Fonseka’s candidature,’ UK, US and Norway were supporting Sarath Fonseka. Sunday Observer ran a headline, ‘west behind moves to regime change’ and   said that if Fonseka won there would be external interference in Sri Lanka on an unprecedented scale. (Sunday Observer 24.1.10)    Wikileaks leaked a classified US missive, dated 6.11. 2009, which showed that there was US involvement in the election. Asian Tribune said that a massive USD 140 million was pumped into the country through conduits, including NGOs that were friendly to US interests.

Many said Fonseka was a tool of the US government and western interests.  Fonseka had been given permanent residency in USA, they said, Fonseka went to the US in Sept 2008 to tour Washington, while the Sri Lanka army was fighting at Muhamalai and Killinochchi,   another, ‘highly controversial’ trip to the US was arranged in 2009 with US ambassador Blake choreographing the moves they added.  It was also rumored that USA had instructed Fonseka to give US exclusive access to the   Pulmoddai sands. (Daily News 28.1.10 p  7 .  Sunday Leader. 8.8.10 p 13.)

Fonseka won in North and East. TNA’s Sampanthan said at an election rally that Rajapakse had refused to consider TNA demands, while Fonseka said he would consider the demand for merger of North and East.  Fonseka also won in Dehiwela, Negombo, Galle and Colombo Municipality, all electorates where there were less Sinhala Buddhists. Only about 8% Sinhalese voted for Fonseka.  Fonseka lost even in his home town of Ambalangoda.   Rajapakse became the president for a second time through the Sinhalese Buddhist vote. In some electorates he got about 70%. The rural voters were strongly behind Mahinda.

After the election, there was open discussion about the impending foreign intervention in Sri Lanka. Gunadasa Amarasekera said in 2010, ‘We should now be able to see the conspiracy which had been initiated, hatched and executed meticulously going from stage to stage. This is the last stage of that conspiracy and probably the most decisive one which would determine whether we would be able to preserve our country. They would have worked on it for quite some time. In my view Fonseka has been contracted to perform three main tasks, defeat Mahinda, divide the Sinhala vote and get the Tamil vote in Fonseka’s favor. Then secondly, to garner necessary information that could be used as evidence for war crimes. Thirdly, to contest the general elections and break the power of the other parties, with JVP and breakaway sections of the UNP and SLFP. Since the UNP and JVP cannot work together there will be anarchy. And then this would help Fonseka to become a dictator to quell this ‘anarchy’.

The media warned in 2012 that protesters should be careful that they are not being manipulated by vested interests, they should check if any of the NGOs involved are funded by ultra right foundation or by proxies of foreign intelligence organisations. The Jathika Sangha Sammelanaya said, at a press conference, that international conspiracies were being hatched to undermine the sovereignty and independence of Sri Lanka.

In 2014, President Rajapakse said certain powerful nations with vested interest are trying to destabilize countries by installing puppet leaders as head of state. Foreign forces which do not wish to see a stable government in Sri Lanka are plotting with some political elements to set up a puppet government, he added.  Nalin de Silva said ‘What the west wanted is another government like that of Ranil and Chandrika, between 2002 and 2004 when the Ceasefire Agreement was signed.’

By Daya M from Australia

As a patriotic Sri Lankan living in Australia, I am writing this with the hope that the President of Sri Lanka and the Members of Parliament will get the chance to read it and think seriously about implementing my proposals given below. If the President implements my proposals, the ethnic and religious problems in our country can be solved while ensuring the unitary status of the country and in doing so, become the most respected statesman of Sri Lanka and not just another selfish and egoistic politician.

If the President implements my proposals, he will be killing not just 2 birds with one stone, but 3 or more birds with one stone. I will describe them briefly below:

1. Solve the ethnic problem, especially the Tamil problem, where they claim that the Sinhalese are discriminating against them and treating them as second class citizens.
2. Do away with the need to hold Provincial Council elections, which the SLFP will surely lose to those who oppose the Government.
3. Prevent the former President and his men from coming to power again by taking away their main arguments and the reasons for their popularity.
4. Save an enormous amount of money spent on Provincial Councils and Councillors which can be spent to develop the country at district and village levels.

Some Tamil politicians have been clamouring for a Tamil homeland amalgamating the Northern and Eastern Provinces and a federal constitution which would effectively divide the country. Their argument for this is that they are discriminated against, even though they have the same rights as the Sinhalese. Any Tamil can aspire to reach any position in government service or in the private sector as present and historical records show. There have been Tamil Commanders of the three Forces, IGPs, Attorney Generals, Chief Justices, Heads of Departments and Governors of the Central Bank etc. When asked about discrimination, the only thing my Tamil associates could come up with was the standardisation of marks for the University entrance. It applied, not only for students from Jaffna, but for all other students from major cities where the facilities were better than in rural schools and small town schools. Anyway, they overcame the problem by sitting for the exams the second time from rural schools.

Since the end of the war and even before, the Tamils have been living among the Sinhalese in harmony without any problems since Premadasa’s time as the President.

My proposals are given below:

• The Tamil ethnic problem, as well as the Muslim problem, can be solved easily by enshrining a Bill of Rights in the constitution which guarantees equal rights to every citizen of Sri Lanka irrespective of race, religion, caste, gender or sexual orientation.
• Bring in anti-discrimination legislation criminalising discrimination based on religion, race, caste or gender. Australian anti-discrimination legislation can be an example to be copied. Then the Tamil politicians will have no legs to stand on, but ordinary Tamils, especially the low caste Tamils, will like it.
• Appoint an independent and powerful commission to oversee this legislation with offices in provinces with Assistant Commissioners with judicial powers to solve any problems of discrimination.
• Get rid of the 13^th amendment and abolish the Provincial Council system, which then becomes superfluous. The demands of Tamils for devolution of power to provinces and the colossal waste of money and corruption due to provincial councils can be eliminated.
• Amend the constitution to change the preferential voting system so that the highest vote getter in each electorate is elected, which will eliminate in-fighting and minimise corruption. If you are keen to have proportional representation, restrict the number of such MPs to about 20%. This is the most important thing to eliminate corruption. This will ensure the election of educated and honest men and women.
• It is also important to ensure in the constitution that all laws are applicable equally to every citizen such as land ownership, marriage and divorce laws etc irrespective of race or religion.

If these proposals are implemented, there is no need for a new constitution which would need a referendum. You will only need a 2/3^rd majority in the parliament to amend the existing constitution. I am sure that the President will be able to convince most MPs, except some Tamil Vellala MPs, to vote for these proposals and at the same time take the wind out of the sails of former President Mahinda Rajapakse and his followers.

I have no doubt that our President would love to be remembered as the Statesman who saved the country from foreign influences and unified the country without dividing it on ethnic lines. People, especially the Sinhalese, will hail him as the saviour of our country if he repeals the 13^th amendment, which Mahinda Rajapakse could not or did not do. As everyone knows, this is the only country the Sinhalese have and we all want the President, as the Head of the State, to save the unitary status of the country and preserve it for future generations. If the President can do it, I am sure the people will hail him as the new King of Sri Lanka, just as he himself hailed the former President after he won the terrorist war. If he allows a new constitution to devolve power to the provinces or let things to go on as it is now, people will call him the lap dog of Ranil Wickremasinghe and the Western countries or a traitor of Sri Lanka. I hope and pray that our President has the backbone to implement my proposals.

Around the 20^th of January next year would be the best time to implement my proposals when Donald Trump becomes the President of the USA.  Ranil can be sent to attend the inauguration ceremony so that he is not there to oppose the new amendments to the constitution.

If the President does not implement my proposals and bring in a new constitution granting all the powers to the provinces, he will be considered as the greatest traitor we ever had, worse than Ehelepola Nilame, Chelvanayagam, JR Jayawardena and Prabakaran. I hope and pray that President Sirisena will come to his senses and see to it that it will never happen.

May the Gods bless our President and MPs and guide them to do the right thing and not bring in a new constitution to divide the country!

Note: A letter containing an extract of this article was sent to the President a few weeks ago, but I am not sure whether he got a chance to read it. Can someone please print this and hand over to him and all the MPs, if you think it is worth doing. I am not at all being critical of our former President who ended the 30 year terrorist war.

Dr Ruwan M Jayatunge 

Partly because PTSD is the most widely known impact of trauma but also for other complex reasons, trauma’s impact is often seen in terms of symptoms of psychological disorders. Dissociation, flashbacks, and nightmares that are among the diagnostic criteria of PTSD are not the only symptoms associated with experiencing violence designated by mental illness diagnoses. Diagnoses of depression, anxiety and panic disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, psychotic disorders, and eating disorders are commonly given to individuals who have experienced violence (Allen, Huntoon, & Evans, 1998; Briere & Elliott, 1994; Browne & Finkelhor, 1986; Margolin & Gordis, 2000). Living through traumatic events changes the ways the self and the world are experienced. Kemmerer & Mazelis (2006) indicate that numerous studies suggest that experiencing trauma heightens vulnerability to other traumatic events. These traumatic events transform the victims.

Although negative transformation following combat related psychological trauma have been reported throughout the world sometimes veterans use these traumatic experiences to achieve positive transformation and self-growth. The story of the Emperor Ashoka of India (273 – 232 BC) discloses the positive transformation after facing traumatic battle events. The Emperor Ashoka was devastated by the events that occurred during the Great Kalinga battle. He used these psychologically devastating events to achieve a complete positive transformation. Admiring Asoka’s character the British Historian H.G Wells wrote ” Ashoka the greatest of Kings.

The modern wars and armed conflicts have produced a number of combatants with positive transformation after facing traumatic battle events. Sergeant Alvin Cullum York (WW1), the Soviet Fighter Pilot Alexey Maresyev (Red Army WW2), First Lieutenant Audie Murphy, (US Army WW2) General Denzil Kobbekaduwa (Sri Lanka Army ), General Romeo Dallaire (Canadian Army who served in the Rwandan Peace Keeping Mission) etc. were able to turn their bad combat experiences in to positive life energy. Every combatant is capable of positive transformation despite the distressing combat events that he / she underwent. They can turn these adverse life experiences in to meaningful and productive outcomes.