හිරු බලයේ ජයකෙහෙලිය නැංවෙයි… ජාතියක කෙස් කෙලින් කරවන විනාඩි දහයක්… [Video]

July 15th, 2016

lanka C news

හිරු බලයේ ජයකෙහෙලිය නැංවෙයි… ජාතියක කෙස් කෙලින් කරවන විනාඩි දහයක්… [Video]හිරු රූපවාහිනියේ ඊයේ රාත‍්‍රියේ පැවති බලය දේශපාලන වැඩසටහනට ඒකාබද්ද විපක්‍ෂය නියෝජනය කරමින් සහභාගී වූ පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත‍්‍රී කෙහෙලිය රඹුක්වැල්ල මහතා විසින් ඉතා හරවත් අදහස් දැක්වීමක් සිදු කලේය.

මෙම අදහස් පල කිරීම රට මුහුන දි ඇති අනතුර ගැන විපක්‍ෂ දේශපාලඥයෙකු විසින් මෑතකදී කල ඉත ඉහල තත්වයේ අදහස් පල කිරීමක් යයි කිව හැක. එ

එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ වාර්තා, නිර්දේශ අකුරෙන් අකුර උපුටා දක්වමින් මන්ත‍්‍රිවරයා ගොඩනැගූ තර්කයන් හමුවේ ආණ්ඩුව පාර්ශවයෙන් තාර්කික අදහස් දැක්වීමකට වඩා සිදු වූයේ රාජපක්‍ෂ මුවහමට තඩිබෑමක් පමණක් බව ඉතා පැහැදිලිව පෙනින.

https://youtu.be/5DNOBGwGKyE

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The Long Walk from John Exter to Coomaraswamy

July 15th, 2016

 K.K.S.Perera Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Commaraswamy made the above observation in the midst of rumours circulating on setting up an authority, based on a proposal by PM, encompassing all financial and economic institutions, including CB under one umbrella organization which would be headed by ….? Arjuna seems brimming with confidence of the outcome of COPE investigations and his next move; quite obviously, it’s the PM who calls the tune. 

As per the Hindu mythological epic Mahabharata , Pashupatastra is the most powerful, irresistible, destructive weapon. In the Mahabharata war Arjuna obtained this weapon from Lord Shiva. The son of Ravana, Indrajith possesses a Pashupatastra too, also the other two ultimate weapons – Brahmanda Astra and Vaishnavastra together, the  weapons of the trinity, he becomes the only person in the whole universe to hold them and was known as a Atimaharathiwho an capable of engaging 12 Maharathis at the same time. Will there be a transfer of ‘Weapons of Trinity’ from Indrajit to Arjuna?


Ever since this country gained Independence, economy has been mixed up with politics. I don’t want to point the finger at any party but just want to emphasis that politics and economics have been mixed up by all governments. But I would like to stress that good economic policies result in good politics,”-Dr. Indrajith Coomaraswamy, Governor CBSL
Some believe the appointment of Dr Indrajith Coomaraswamy to the Governor post in the Central Bank has brought a creditable finale to a crisis that was threatening to destabilise the unity government; a win-win situation. Addressing his staff on assumption of duties, the new Governor said, The primary responsibility of the Governor is to uphold the reputation and credibility of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka; my intention is to follow President’s direction and carry out my functions according to his wishes” The President, according to Mr Coomaraswamy, had given him a carte blanch [weapons of the trinity ?]saying,‘Do your work in a straight way, and do not fear anybody in discharging your duties.’ His Excellency had pitted a Royalist against the Royalist triumvirate of Ranil-Ravi-Malik who are in control of the nations finance and economy.
I am very keen that the Central Bank does its work…..and in a technical way, and discreetly advises the government on what we think is the best way forward for those segment of policy and practice for which the Central Bank has responsibility,” the new Governor said in closing.
Arjuna Mahendran

Long Walk from John Exter to Coomaraswamy
All credit to President Sirisena— the attitude of the leaders of Joint Opposition in welcoming the appointment is laudable; they acclaimed Arjuna Mahendran’s replacement by Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy. Dinesh Gunawardena, DEW Gunasekara, Bandula Gunawardena, Vidura Wickremanayake and Vasudeva Nanayakkara has confirmed their courteousness and decency. So far only a few incorrigible elements in the Joint Opposition have condemned the appointment quoting his earlier association with Raj Rajaratnam of Galleon Group who was charged on insider trading and found guilty in US and serving a sentence of 11 years in prison.
A thief always seek cover behind an honest person, ‘Sakvithi’ employed and misused the name of highly respected senior journalist, Dr Edwin Ariyadasa; this doesn’t mean that the honest one is dishonest. Indrajit is a man undoubtedly of good credentials.
Indrajith’s straight forward statement that he has been a good friend of Rajaratnam for a long time and when Rajaratnam sought help he just offered him with research reports. That was my occupation,” he said at this first press conference a week ago.I quit approximately a year before he was first indicted of insider trading…he helped Sri Lanka and he had done a lot of positive things…lot of charity work,” his reference to LTTE financier, Rajaratnam cleared all doubts. It is sad that our leaders have become pawns in the hands of foreign powers to an extent that even in making appointments to key positions; they are seeking advice from them? The foreign powers would push poor countries with leaders who succumb to their demands; we are simply made to become prisoners to the whims of the powers.
Need Fearless Statesmen: DS and John Exter
As Prime Minister, in early 1949, Rt Hon. D S Senanayake’s patriotism was displayed abundantly in a serious issue that arose with the colonial authorities during the Commonwealth’s economic recession. In the aftermath of WW II, the financial and economic situation in the Commonwealth was in dire straits. They attempted to enforce authority over ‘Lipton’s Tea Estate’, [how Ceylon was branded in Europe], by making us a party to the ‘Sterling Assets Agreement’ and manipulate our strong Dollar Reserves. Leading a delegation to a Finance Minister’s Conference summoned by them was J R Jayewardene, the finance minister and his adviser, John Exter, (later the first governor of the Central Bank). The PM was concerned over our dollar earnings, wanted to maintain it as our foreign reserves; he advised them on what they were to do if the British government rejected their appeal, he said,

Indrajith Coomaraswamy
We are an independent nation. Our dollar earnings are our own…., if we are not allowed to act independently then obviously we must leave the ‘Sterling Area…,the UK government cannot oppose this. So go ahead and tell them you will leave unless you are permitted to keep your country’s earnings.”
– JRJ speeches: Presid. Arch. File 195-a.
We had in the past heads of state who refused to bow down to foreign powers; Apart from the Senanayakes, the father and son, the two Bandaranaikes, SWRD and Sirimavo and Rajapaksa, declined to accommodate offers made by Western or Indian counterparts. They understood that we have a tradition, culture and civilization we can look up to. Dudley Senanayake as PM threatened the British officials to take the next flight home during Queen’s Coronation ceremony when they wanted the Asian Head of State to share a horse carriage with a lady from an African country, compelling them to record profuse apologies.
SWRD ordered British Naval and Air bases out in 1957, for Sirimavo to brave American threats in nationalising oil companies in 1961. Rajapaksa’s role in the last lap in crushing terrorism is not ancient history? Leaving the two Oxford-Cambridge scholar duo of SWRD and Dudley; DS, Sirimavo and Mahinda had little expertise or familiarity of the traditional boundaries between economics, proficiency in international relations theory, and security aspects.
But they were endowed with that intuitive faculties in abundance to redefine what it is and why foreign powers take an interest in others’ conflicts—they understood how conflicts evolve over time with the entry and exit of external actors, and took decisions without much rhetoric.

– See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/112564/The-Long-Walk-from-John-Exter-to-Coomaraswamy#sthash.YCPRCKXK.dpuf

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Tony Blair A War Criminal?

July 15th, 2016

 By Jonathan Power Courtesy The Daily Mirror

The crime of aggression (planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression”) was described by the Nuremberg Tribunal that tried Nazi leaders as the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole”.
President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have been accused by many as war criminals for starting the war against Iraq and, second, for not watching carefully enough to make sure that war crimes carried out by individual soldiers were not covered up, and for the torture that Bush initiated and Blair appeared to tolerate.


Did Blair lie over the reason for going to war with Iraq – the supposed stockpile of weapons of mass destruction that Iraq possessed? It depends on how you define a lie. If you define lie as saying this cat is black when in fact it’s white he didn’t on the big issues. But what he did do was to give the impression the cat was assuredly white when in fact it was a sort of greyish one.

But as the just published government commissioned report made by a distinguished civil servant, John Chilcot, has made clear the caveats were left out of intelligence briefings and the presentation was polished by the Prime Minister’s office. We in the public didn’t have the pre-polished version but Blair did and he must have known in his mind, if not his heart, he was taking a gamble with the evidence. Why he was not prepared to persuade George Bush to wait a few more weeks until the evidence that Hans Blix, the Chief UN arms inspector, was in the midst of collecting on the ground inside Iraq, was available, was gravely irresponsible. Moreover, sanctions had Saddam Hussain boxed in. He was able to harm no one outside his country. The UN policing and inspecting, imposed after the first Gulf War, had led to ridding Iraq of all the weapons of mass destruction. The war itself had effectively wiped out Saddam’s air force and navy and broken the back of his army.

Evidence has come to light that Bush, with Blair’s knowledge and support, had given the green light for going to war long before Blix got to work. Blair covered this up.


Yes, the word lie” cannot quite be used, although it was pretty near it. The Conservative Party, then in opposition, banded the word around. But in a related matter it can. It concerns the controversy over the naming of the Ministry of Defence’s weapons’ expert, David Kelly, who shortly after he was ousted in the press as the source of reports claiming the government’s public dossier on Iraq’s weapons had been sexed up”, committed suicide. Although an inquiry exonerated Blair of any blame for precipitating the suicide, a BBC interview much later caught Blair out, lying in a way we could all understand. He told the interviewer, I don’t believe we had any option, however, but to disclose his name [to the press].”

Until that interview Blair had always maintained that it was completely untrue” that the government had done this.

A.N. Wilson, the acerbic novelist and literary critic, wrote in the Financial Times in January 2014 that the obvious lesson is that the war brought more disasters than it solved. It is not one that we’d expect many politicians to have learnt, for politicians get drunk on war; they enjoy it. Witness the obscene expression on Tony Blair’s face, to this day, when he defends the invasion of Iraq”.

The UK’s ambassador to the US during the run up to the war, Christopher Meyer, wrote a scathing attack on Blair, who he served, in his book DC Confidential”. Meyer argued that Blair could have secured a delay to start military action and thus bought time for post-conflict planning that might have avoided much of the violence now plaguing Iraq. A delay would also have made it possible for Blix to properly finish his job and prove beyond all doubt that Iraq did not possess weapons of mass destruction. Meyer wrote that Blair was seduced” by the glamour” of US power and failed to take tough negotiating positions. As a result, the Premier let himself be taken for granted” by the White House. We may have been the junior partner in the enterprise but the ace up our sleeve was that America did not want to do it alone”.

Meyer’s colleague Rodric Braithwaite, former UK ambassador to Moscow and later chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee that prepares intelligence for the prime minister, wrote in the Financial Times in August 2006, whilst Blair was still in power, saying much the same thing: Blair’s total identification with the White House has destroyed his influence in Washington, Europe and the Middle East itself. Who bothers with the monkey if he can go straight to the organ-grinder?” He then added: A spectre is stalking British television, a frayed and waxy zombie straight from Madame Tussaud’s”.
Never have I read such a vicious attack on a prime minister by a former top diplomat. Braithwaite continues: Stiff in his opinions, but often in the wrong, Blair has manipulated public opinion, sent our soldiers into distant lands for ill-conceived purposes and misused the intelligence agencies”.
Blair and Bush were responsible for starting an unnecessary war that claimed half-a-million lives. Isn’t this an evil big enough for them to be charged with war crimes?

– See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/112621/Tony-Blair-A-War-Criminal-#sthash.CoYywTPY.dpuf

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Not Shiranthi I should be taken into custody – Mahinda

July 15th, 2016

Not Shiranthi I should be taken into custody – Mahinda

මාව රිමන්ඩ් කළේ ධාර්මිෂ්ඨ ආණ්ඩුව… මගේ පුතාව අරන් ගියේ යහපාලනයෙන්… නාමල් රාජපක්ෂ මහතාගේ සුවදුක් විමසීමට පැමිණි හිටපු ජනපති මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා පවසයි.

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Govt, opposition politicians and others visit Namal at prison

July 15th, 2016

Govt, opposition politicians and others visit Namal at prison

නාමල් රාජපක්ෂ මහතාගේ සුව දුක් බැලීම සඳහා ජනතා නියෝජිතයින් රැසක් මැගසින් බන්ධනාගාරයට ගොස් තිබේ.

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STARK DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TWO UNP REGIMES

July 15th, 2016

Sarath Obeysekera (Ex -Chairman SLLRDC)

We should learn from Ranasinghe Premadasa …….

I am  in Welle Wadiya located by beach side in Kalpitiya spending two nights with the family . This is a  perfect get away- retreat where beach is not yet infested with drug pedaling beach boys” .You can relax from busy schedule in Colombo confronting  the inefficient ,bureaucratic state apparatchik ,fighting every day to achieve something to develop the  Industries in which I am supposed be an expert.

The guest house built three years back does not have three phase electricity, hence  the owners cannot install air conditioners, and frequent power interruptions in the area is affecting the sustainability of tourist business          ( we can still manage these two days without AC due to sea breeze  sweeping through the opened verandah door ,hence we did not complain )

And yet I inquired the reason for not getting three phase power supply .

I was told that the owner has paid full amount to provide power, to CEB and waiting for last three years to get connections. Minister of Industries entangled  in Wilpattu Encroachments is the MP for the area ,but he is not helping the  investors .This hotel is in the top- review list in Booking.com and Trip Advisor ,thus patronized by many foreigners ,-means we can earn foreign currency for the country

I wonder why the  Ministry of Industries and  ,and tourism help these investors by intervening to get CEB to provide power to the hotels .It is really amazing that Norrochalai power plant proving 500 mw power to the country is just a distance of a” Hoot as we say in Sinhala ,and yet CEB cannot provide power?

I recall the time of President Premadasa ( RP) holding meetings every week in Keselwatte house ,to solve the problems faced by Investors engaged in Garment Industries in problems  related to supply of power or water or construction of road access to the remote factory.

Once there was a instance when the Investor complained about lethargy of CEB to install a power transformer, and he complained about it during the coordination meeting RP was looking for the CEB chairman who was supposed to attend the meeting with other chairmen like us, and found that he was not present. He was furious and asked Mohideen to get a call to the Chairman CEB ,blasted him for not attending the meeting ,and ordered him to install the transformer in three days ,as he himself was attending the opening ceremony .Transformer was installed pronto like a lightening  !!

Our new Minster RK ( there are three R’ s even now RK ,RW and also RP   ( same R Paskerlingam who was the man pillar of RP ) is trying to emulate RP and decided to hold EODB ( ease of doing business ) where investors bring their problems to the forum .

This Forum started with a bang and we enjoyed bringing up our problems we face with Customs ,UDA and Inland Revenue . RK orders them to provide redress .

We now find that Forum has lost it’s enthusiasm and glamour  as bureaucrats who are ordered to provide support tend to ignore the minister !.

After about two or three sessions ,Chairmen or the heads of the Organization stopped attending the meeting and send some low level officer with negative attitude  to give excuses to RK.

Once I told the minister that, I come to the forum because I expect the Minister to provide redress after listening to us he swiped in a humorous vain If  do not listen to you what will happen ?”

I shot back politely and told the Hon” Minister”Sir ,If you do not listen to us you will not be sitting in the head table any more quite soon !!”

Whole forum burst in to a loud laugh and minster too .

The point I am trying to make is the new set of rulers do not have the aggressiveness and determination to achieve targets ,and the Heads of the Organizations and the bureaucrats keep telling investors that FCID is watching them hence they cannot take a bold decision.

I like the functions of FCID and the intentions may be genuine ( not for some families) ,but it has generated a fear psychosis among decisions makers

We suggest the RW become modern day RP   and stay in the country and push the decision makers like RP did.

Sarath Obeysekera (Ex -Chairman SLLRDC)

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රාජපක්ෂලාගෙන් පලිගන්න සිරගත කළ නාමල් රාජපක්ෂගෙන් ලිපියක්

July 15th, 2016

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මූලාශ්‍රය: රජයේ ලියාපදිංචි පුවත්පතක් වන රිවිර පුවත්පත 2016/07/12

මම ඉපදෙන්නෙ 1986 අප්‍රියෙල් මාසෙ 10 වෙනිද. අපේ සීය ඉස්සර හම්බන්තොටින් පාර්ලිමේන්තු ගිහිල්ලා තියෙනව කියල මං ඇහුවෙ පුංචි කාලෙමයි. ලංකාවේ වලව් වර්ග දෙකක් තියෙනවලු. මිනිස්සුන්ගෙන් බලහත්කාරයෙන් දේපල කොල්ලකාගෙන හැදිච්ච වලව් සහ තමන් සතු ඉඩකඩම් ජනතාවගේ සුභසිද්ධිය වෙනුවෙන් පරිත්‍යාගය කරපු වලව්. අපේ සීයලගෙ මැඳමුලන මහ වලව්ව අයිතිවෙන්නෙ ඔය දෙවෙනි කුලකයටලු. මාත් ඕව දන්නෙ පුංචිකාලෙ සීයලගෙ ගෙදර ගියාම මැඳමුලන ගමේ නැන්දල මාමල කියපු හින්ද. මැඳමුලන ඉස්කෝලෙ වගේම අදටත් හම්බන්තොට ජනප්‍රියම පාසල වන වීරකැටිය රාජපක්ෂ මධ්‍ය මහා විද්‍යාලයත් හදල තියෙන්නේ අපේ සීය පවරාදීපු ඉඩම්වල කියල මට කිවුවෙත් මැඳමුලන ගැමියො තමයි.

මං ඉපදෙනකොට අපේ තාත්තට ඉන්න ගෙයක්වත් තාත්ත හදාගෙන තිබුණෙ නෑ. ඔහුට ඕන්නම් අනික් අයට වගේ මාළිගා හදන්නත් තිබුණ. ඔය තංගල්ලෙ තියෙන කාල්ටන්” නිවස රාජපක්ෂ පරම්පරාවට අයිති එකක් කියල ගොඩක් අය හිතං හිටියට ඒක අයිති කාල්ටන් කියල තාත්තගෙ හිතවත් දොස්තර මහත්තයෙකුට. තාත්ත අගමැති උනාටත් පස්සෙ තමයි කාල්ටන් නිවස මිලදී ගන්නෙ හෝ පරිත්‍යාගයක් වශයෙන් අපිට ලැබෙන්නෙ. තාත්ත ඒ ගැන ලොකු විස්තරයක් කියනව මට ඇහිල නෑ.

අපේ සීය ඉස්සර හම්බන්තොට ගොවි ජනතාවත් එක්ක එකට ජීවත්වෙන ඔවුන්ගේම කොටසක් උණාලු. තාත්තත් මං බහතෝරන කාලෙ ඉදම්ම හම්බන්තොට ජනතාව එක්ක දුක සැප බෙදාගත්තු හැටි මං දැක්ක. මට මතකයි ඉස්සර ඉරිදාවක් පාසා කාල්ටන් එකට මිනිස්සු එනව එක එක දේවල් වලට. විශේෂයෙන්ම රැකියා බලාපොරොත්තු වෙන්. තාත්ත කවදාවත් සුඳුසුකම් නැති අයට රැකියා දුන්නෙ නෑ. රැකියා මුඳලට විකිණුවෙ නෑ. නැන්දල මාමල ගොඩාක් ආවම මටයි මල්ලිල දෙන්නටයි හරි සතුටුයි ඉතිං.

කාල්ටන් එකේ තියන පොකුණට අපි තුන්දෙනා උඩ ඉදල පනින පුංචිකාලෙ මට මතකයි. හරිම සුන්දර ළමා කාලයක් මට තිබුණෙ. මං ඉස්කෝල ගියේ ගල්කිස්සේ ශාන්ත තෝමස් විද්‍යලයට පුංචි කාලෙ මට කඩිකුලප්පුව. ඒක හින්දමද කොහෙද පුංචි කාලෙම රගර් ගහන්න මං යන්නත් ඇත්තෙ. වසය 9 න්, 13න්, 15න්, 17න් පහළ පාසල් කණ්ඩායම් මා නියෝජනය කරා. 2000 වසරේ 16 න් පහළ ජාතික රගර් කණ්ඩායමත් නියෝජනය කරන්න මට අවස්ථාව ලැබුණ. 2002 පාසලේ ජේෂ්ඨ රගර් කණ්ඩායමේ නායකත්වය දරන්න්නෙත් මම. නැවත 2004 වසරේ 19න් පහළ ජාතික රගර් කණ්ඩායම ත්එංගලන්තයේ නීතිය ඉගෙනගන්න කාලෙ ක්ලිෆ්‍රෙඩ් සහ සිටි විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයීය කණ්ඩායම් වලටත් ක්‍රීඩා කරා. පසුව ජාතික රගර් කණ්ඩායම නියෝජනය කරන්නටත් මට අවස්ථාව ලැබුණ. 2014 ජූලි මාසෙ මම තීරණය කරා පූර්ණ කාලීනව දේශපාලනය වෙනුවෙන් කැපවෙන්නනම් රගර් වලින් සමුගන්න ඕන කියල. ඔය තමයි මගේ ක්‍රිඩා ජීවිතය.

රගර් වලට අමතරව පුංචි කාලෙ ඉඳලම යෝගා වලට මගේ ලොකු කැමැත්තක් තිබුණ නිසාත් තාත්තගේ ආභාසය නිසාත් තමයි මම යෝගා වලට හුරුවෙන්නෙ. ඒ ඇරුණම ඉස්සර ඉඳලම ගම්දනව්වල ඇවිදින්න ගියපු වෙලාවල්වල ගමේ යාළුවොත් එක්ක ක්‍රිකට් ගහන්නත් හරිම කැමතියි. නීතිය ඉගෙනගන්න මගේ තිබුණ ආසාව මං හිතන්නෙ පුංචිකාලෙම මගෙ හිතට ආපු දෙයක්ද කොහෙද. තාත්තගෙ ආභාසයත් ඒකට ලැබෙන්න ඇති. පාසල් අධ්‍යාපනය නිමවීමත් සමගම නීතිය හදාරන්න කාර්ඩිෆ් විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයටත් ලන්ඩනයේ සිටි විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයටත් පසුව ශ්‍රී ලංකා නීති විද්‍යාලයටත් ඇතුළත් වෙනව. 2011 දෙසැම්බර් 15 මම නීතිඥයෙකු ලෙස දිවුරැම් දෙනව.

තාරුණ්‍යයට හෙටක් බිහිවෙන්නෙ 2005 වසරෙ . ඒ අපේරටේ තාරුණ්‍යය වෙනුවෙන් යමක් කරන්න තිබුණු ආශාව හින්ද. අපි මේ හරහා අපිට පුළුවන් විදියට ශක්තිප්‍රමාණයෙන් අපේ යුතුකම ඉටුකළා කියල මම හිතනව. දේශපාලනයට නම් අලුතෙන් අවතීර්ණ වෙන්න දෙයක් මට තිබිණද මන්ද.? මං ඉපදුනෙත් දේශපාලනය එක්ක. ජීවත් උණෙත් දේශපාලනය එක්ක. අපේ ජීවිතවල හැමදෙයකටම බැඳිල තිබුණෙ දේශපාලනය. කොටින්ම මං උපතින්ම දේශපාලන ජීවියෙක් 2010 පාර්ලිමේන්තු මැතිවරණට ඉදිරිපත් වෙලා හම්බන්තොටින් පාර්ලිමේන්තු ගියාට මං දේශපාලනට ගියේ උපතින්ම යි.

2015 ජනවාරි 08 වෙනිද ශ්‍රී ලාංකීය ඔබ තීරණය කරනව මගේ පියා ජනාධිපති පුටුවෙ හිටිය ඇති කියල. වසර ගණනාවක් තිස්සේ දිග හැරුණු ජාතික හා විජාතික කුමන්ත්‍රණයේ කූඨප්ප්‍රාප්තිය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ ආපසු මැඳමුලනට හරවා යවනව. මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ ට සෘජුවම කියන්න වැරදි හොයාගන්න බැරිවූ තැන, ඔවුන් අපේ පවුලේ නෑසිය පරම්පරාවට ඉස්පාසුවක් නැතුව පහර දෙනව. එකම බොරුව නැවත නැවතත් කියා ඇත්ත කිරීමේ ගොබෙල්ස් න්‍යාය ඔබව රවටන්න, මේ රට රවටන්න ඔවුන් පාවිචිචි කරනව. අවසානයේ ඔවුන්ගේ බොරුව ජයග්‍රහණය කරනව. ඔබත්,මමත් මුළු රටත් අඳුරු අගාධයකට හිටිවනම ඇඳවැටෙනව. ඔබට දැන් ඒ වෙනසේ මිහිරියාව දැනෙනව ඇතැයි මා විශ්වාස කරනව. නාමල් රාජපක්ෂ වෙනුවෙන් ගෙතුණු බොරු විශ්වාස කරපු ඔබ මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂට වෛර කරනව.

මං ගැන ගෙතුණු ලස්සන බොරු කොච්චරක් නම් තිබුණද…? මතක්වෙද්දි වෙලාවකට හිනහත් යනව. ඒව ලියල මේ ලියුම පුරවන්න ඕන්නෑ කියලයි මං හිතන්නෙ. ඇරත් මුලු ලංකාවටම ඒව කටපාඩම් ආයි මං අමුතුවෙන් පුනරුච්චාරණය කරන්න දෙයක් නෑ ඔබට ඒ සුන්දර බොරු. සමහර ඒව අරාබිනිසොල්ලාසයේ කතන්දරවගේ හරිම රසවත්. රත්තරං අස්සයො. ලස්සන කුමාරියො තව කොච්චර නම් සුන්දර කතාද.. ඔබ මදක් මෙහෙම හිතන්න. මගේ තාත්ත ට විරුද්ධව මතයක් ගොඩනගන්න ඔවුන් මාව පාවිචිචි කරා. මගේ හැකියාවන් .මගේ අධ්‍යාපනය. අඩුම තරමෙ මගේ ශරීර ස්වභාවය පවා ඔවුන් ඒ සඳහා යොදාගත්ත. ශ්‍රී ලාංකේය තාරුණ්‍යය මා කෙරෙහි ඊර්ෂ්‍යකාරයන් පිරිසක් බවට පත්කිරීම ඔවුන් වෘත්තීයමය විදියට සිදුකළා. බොහොමයක් පිරිස් එයට අහුවුණා.. රාජපක්ෂ රෙජීමයට වෛර කරා. වෙනසක් යහපාලනයක් ඉල්ලුව. ඔවුන් ඔබත් රටත් ජාතියත් රැවැට්ටුවා. දැන් අපි කාටත් වෙනස ඉතාමත්ම පැහැදිලිව පේනව.

මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ ගියාම සියල්ල නිවැරඳි මාවතට පැමිණේය සිතූ හැට දෙලක්ෂයත්, එසේ නොසිතූ පනස් අට ලක්ෂ යත් යන දෙකොට්ඨාසයටම දැන් වෙනසේ සොඳුරු මිහිරියාව දැනෙමින් පවතිනව. ඔවුන් ජනතා නැගිටීමට පිළිතුරු දීගන්න බැරිව රාජපක්ෂවරුත්, රෙජීමයයැයි ඔවුන් විසින් හඳුන්වාගන්නා අනෙකුත් ප්‍රගතිශීලී නායකයනුත් එකිනෙකා අනුපිළිවෙලට සිරගත කරනව. ඒක හරියට අපි ගමේ ඕමි ගහනකොට හොද හොද තුරුම්පු පස්සෙ ගහන්න ඉතිරි කරගන්නව වගේ වැඩක්. රටේ ලොකු ජනතා නැගිටීමක් ලගදිම වෙනබව දැනෙනකොට හොදම තුරුම්පු එළියට දානව. ඒත් මේව පුස් වෙඩි සද්දෙ විතරයි. රාජපක්ෂවරු මර්දනය ට ඔවුන් තෝරගෙන තියෙන්නෙ වැරඳි මාර්ගය. ජනතාව සත්‍ය තේරුම් අරං ඉවරයි. මටත් දැන් අවුරුදු තිහක් . ජීවිතේ වේගයෙන් ගෙවිල යනව රට ජාතිය වෙනුවෙන් කළයුතු යුතුකම් බොහෝමයි. ඔවුන් රට ලත්තැනම ලොප්කොට නැවැත්තුවා. මේ මං හිරගෙදර ඉන්න දෙවෙනි දවස. මේකත් මගේ ජිවිතේ මම ලබපු ලොකු අත්දැකීමක්. මතකඇති කාලෙකින් මෙහෙම නිවිහැනහිල්ලෙ හිටියෙ මේවගේ නිදහසක් ලැබුණෙත් ඔය අපෙන් පළිගන්න බලන් ඉන්න එක එක විදියේ ඇමතිවරු නිසා තමයි.

මම සරමත්, කලිසමත් සිංහලත්, ඉංග්‍රීසිත් ගමත්, නගරයත් ලංකාවත්, ලෝකයත් මේ හැම තැනකම හොද නරක දැකල හැදිච්ච කොල්ලෙක් මෙහෙම හිරේ දාලා මාවවත් මගේ අප්පච්චි දේශපාලනය කරන එකවත් නවත්වන්න කාටවත් බෑ. පළිගන්න පළිගන්න අපි ගමේ මිනිස්සු විදියට තව ශක්තිමත් වෙනවා කවදාවත් රාජපක්ෂලා මානසිකව වට්ටන්න ඔය පළකයොන්ට බෑ. මාව සිරගත කරන කොට ඇස්වල කදුළු පුරෝගෙන මගේ දිහා බලන් ඉදපු ආදරණිය මිනිස්සුන්ගේ හයිය අපි එක්ක තියනතුරු අපිව වට්ටන්න කාටවත් බෑ.
ඔබ සැමට තෙරුවන් සරණයි

මම ඔබේ හිතවත්
නාමල් රාජපක්ෂ

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පහත දැක්වෙන්නේ හිරු රූපවාහිනියට ඇවිත් නාමල් රාජපක්ෂ මහතා එජාපයේ මඩ වලට පිළිතුරු දුන් වැඩසටහන යි.

අනිත් අයටත් බලන්නට SHARE කරන්න.

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දැන් මේක කැදහැලියක්… අපේ හාමුදුරුවනේ

July 15th, 2016

Lankanewsweb

තවදුරටත් මේ ආණ්ඩුවට මේ විදියට යන්න බෑ හාමුදුරුවනේ…… අපි රටේ මිනිස්සු එක්ක ඉන්නේ…ඒ මිනිස්සු යන යන තැන අපිට බණිනවා…කියනවා …රටට වෙලා තියේන දේ කියලා….. අනේ මං දන්නේ නෑ හාමුදුරුවනේ අපේ ආණ්ඩුවට මොකක් වෙලාද කියලා යනුවෙන් අධිකරණ හා බුද්ධශාසන අමාත්‍ය ආචාර්ය විජයදාස රාජපක්‌ෂ මහතා පූජ්‍ය ඇල්ලේ ගුණවංශ නාහිමියන් හමුවේ අද පාපෝච්චාරණය කර තිබේ.

අද බණ්‌ඩාරනායක අනුස්‌මරණ ජාත්‍යන්තර සම්මන්ත්‍රණ ශාලා පරිශ්‍රයයේ භික්ෂුන් වහන්සේලා 1100කට චින ජාතිකයන් විසින් පිරිනැමු දානමය පිංකමට එක්වෙමින් විජයදාස රාජපක්‌ෂ අමාත්‍යවරයා ඇල්ලේ ගුණවංශ හිමියන් හමුවේ මෙම ප්‍රකාශය කල බව එහි සිටි අප විශේෂ වාර්තාකරු සදහන් කළා.

kedaheliyak

” මටනම් දැන් මේ විදියට ඇමතිකම් කරලා එපා වෙලා…..ඉස්සේලාම රට ගැන හිතන්න ඔනෑ….රටේ මිනිස්සු ගැන හිතන්න ඔනෑ…දැන් මේක කැදහැලියක් ඉස්සර වගේ උගත් බුද්ධිමතු මිනිස්සු අද අපේ පක්ෂයෙන්ත් නෑ…මේ ජරා දේශපාලනයේත් නෑ…..”

ඇල්ලේ ගුණවංශ නාහිමියන් රාජපක්ෂ මහතාගේ කතාව සාවධානව අසා සිටි අතර අපේ හාමුදුරුවෝ මොනවාද කරන්න හිතාගේන ඉන්නේ යනුවෙන් ” අමාත්‍යවරයා යොමුකල පැණයට බලමු අපේ මහත්තයෝ…” යනුවෙන් පමණක් පිළිතුරු දි තිබේ.

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What’s cooking?

July 15th, 2016

Editorial Courtesy The Island

July 14, 2016, 9:04 pm

Visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Desai Biswal appeared in a local television show preparing what looked like a broth the other day. She was assisted by no less a person than legendary Sri Lankan chef Publis, who has stirred culinary passion in many of his admirers, both local and foreign.

The culinary show and Biswal’s mission here reminded us of a story about a crafty youth who made a ‘nail soup’. On a rainy night, penniless and hungry, he approached a miserly woman living alone. He thought of outwitting her instead of resorting to coercion to dull his hunger pangs. Having introduced himself as a cook specialising in making ‘nail soup’ he succeeded in obtaining a nail and some water from her. Thereafter, he managed to persuade his curious host to give him some vegetables and meat besides salt and pepper by telling her those ingredients would make the nail soup tastier! Finally, he discarded the nail and enjoyed the soup while the poor woman was gnashing her teeth.

The resolution on Sri Lanka adopted by the UNHRC at the behest of Biswal’s bosses in Washington last year was a diplomatic nail soup of sorts. The US and its allies succeeded in obtaining what they needed from Sri Lanka to achieve their goal. Fears being expressed in some quarters that the war crimes mechanism to be set up will be anything but domestic are not unfounded. The participation of foreign judges cannot be wished away. Political leaders here may bellow rhetoric, but the fact remains that they are under pressure to do as they promised as a co-sponsor of the resolution at issue. This is exactly what British minister Hugo Swire and some UN panjandrums have reiterated recently. All of them are cranking up pressure on Colombo to honour its commitments.

Having sought to curry favour with the western bloc by co-sponsoring the UNHR resolution in question the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government finds itself in the soup politically.

True-blue rogues

SLFP General Secretary and Minister Duminda Dissanayake tells us his party won’t nominate those who have done time to contest the next local government elections. His statement may have warmed the cockles of many a heart. But, the problem is that many a pair of shoes is worn out between saying and doing where politicians are concerned.

Carefully vetting all candidates as well as weeding out bad eggs is half the battle in cleaning Sri Lankan politics. The problem of social undesirables entering politics has to be tackled at source. But, the question is whether the same rule should apply to prisoners of conscience as one of our readers argues in a letter to the editor today.

The SLFP should reveal what it is planning to do with the would-be candidates who deserve to be behind bars but are out thanks to their power and wealth. One of the main allegations against the Rajapaksa government was that it shielded anti-social elements of all sorts including rapists, especially in local government institutions. Sadly, it was reported last April that a Pradeshiya Sabha chairman who had allegedly deflowered scores of women in the South was among the organisers of the SLFP’s May Day rally in Galle! That politician remained above the law because he was in the good books of the leaders of the last government. Will the SLFP nominate such elements to contest the next LG polls?

The UNP accused a notorious politician from Kelaniya of mounting attacks on journalists and media institutions while he was a powerful minister in the Rajapaksa government. But, he has gone scot free to all intents and purposes. Thankfully, he was not allowed to contest the last parliamentary polls, but denying nominations is no substitute for bringing him to justice. The so-called good governance administration ought to explain why he has been spared. Is it because he is now pillorying his former bosses?

If the SLFP General Secretary thinks the discerning public will take his declaration seriously, he is mistaken. He represents a party which has made a mockery of people’s will by not only appointing several candidates rejected by the people to Parliament but also making them Cabinet ministers!

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Truck Bomb Ramming In Nice

July 15th, 2016

Dr. Chula Rajapakse MNZM, Spokesperson, United Sri Lanka Assn.,

Dear Editor,

Our hearts bleed for the victims of the terrorist ramming of a truck laden with explosives into  participants of Bastille day celebrations in Nice France. To Sri Lankan’s it is a grim reminder of the carnage following a similar explosive laden truck ramming   by the Tamil Tiger terrorists  into the Central Bank in Colombo in January 1996. We support the French President’s undertaking   to seek out the miscreants from wherever, for punishment  .

However, I can’t help but also recall that it was the French foreign minister along with his British counterpart that in, April 2009 unsuccessfully pressured the then Sri Lankan president to call off the offensive that ended three decades of Tiger Terrorism  in Sri Lanka barely a month later. One hopes that the folly of such pressuring is realized even now.

Even more important would be the French  and the other western leader’s realization of the folly of the continued persecution of Sri Lanka through the UNHCR, for more and more commissions to investigate  unsubstantiated Tiger diaspora  allegations of human rights violations during their defeat. Many see this as a reprisal for Sri Lanka’s insolence then and economic factors necessitated closeness to China now  .

Dr. Chula Rajapakse MNZM

Spokesperson,

United Sri Lanka Assn.,

Lower Hutt,

New Zealand

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“ආචාර්ය සුරේන් බටගොඩ වගකීම් වලින් ඉවත් කර විමර්ශන පවත්වන්න” – දූෂණ විරෝධී පෙරමුණ  

July 15th, 2016

මාධ්‍ය ඒකකය  දූෂණ විරෝධී පෙරමුණ 

ගල් අගුරු ටෙන්ඩර් වංචාව සම්බන්ධයෙන් සොයබැලීම සඳහා පත්කළ ත්‍රි පුද්ගල කමිටුවේ කටයුතු සහ විමර්ශන අවසන් වන තෙක් එම අමාත්‍යංශ ලේකස් ආචාර්ය සුරේන් බටගොඩ වගකීම් වලින් ඉවත් කරන්නැයි දූෂණ විරෝධී පෙරමුණ ඉල්ලයි. විදුලි බල හා බලශක්ති අමාත්‍යවරයා වෙත ලිපියක් යොමුකරමින් එම පෙරමුණ මෙම ඉල්ලීම කර තිබේ. 

සුරේන් බටගොඩ මහතා අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ප්‍ර‍ධාන ගණන්දීමේ නිළධාරියා ලෙස විගණනයට අහුම්කම් නොදීම හා පිළිතුරු යැවීමට උනන්දු නොවීම” යන චෝදනාවට ලක්ව ඇති බවත් ,කැබිනට් පත්‍රිකා සැකසීම, අමාත්‍යවරයා  වෙත තොරතුරු වසන් කිරීම, විගණන විමසුම් සඳහා පිළිතුරු සැපයීම පැහැර හැරීම ආදිය සිදු කර ඇති විදුලිබල හා බලශක්ති අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් වරයා   මෙම අර්බුදයේ කේන්ද්‍රීය චරිතය බවට පත්ව ඇති බවත් දුෂණ විරෝධී පෙරමුණ පෙන්වා දෙයි.  එබැවින්  තාවකාලිකව හෝ ලේකම් ධූරයේ වගකීම්වලින් ඔහු නිදහස් කොට ප්‍රශ්නයට විසදුම් සොයන ප්‍රවේශයක් කෙරෙහි  අවධානය යොමු කරන මෙන්  දූෂණ විරෝධී පෙරමුණ මෙම ලිපිය මඟින් ඉල්ලා තිබේ.

මාධ්‍ය ඒකකය 

දූෂණ විරෝධී පෙරමුණ 

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PRIVATE PUBLIC PARTNERSHIPS ( PPP) WHAT A FARCE …………….

July 15th, 2016

Sarath Obeysekera

Government is much hyped about private public partnerships to find a way to solve the problem of inefficiency  , mismanagement ,corruption  and handling unions .

Government should also have to find way to and come out of the obligation to spend government coffers to pay salaries etc.

Leaders talk about it in every public meeting and during foreign visits and give promises to world bank and the other  development agencies u and highlight importance to make the  private sector which the engine of development .

I am from private sector, and few samples below will illustrate that this is a farce and not workable due to the intervention of unions and inability of the government to take a form stand .

Few months back Ceynor which is  a Government owned Business Undertaking ( GOBU) has called RFP     ( request for proposals)  to lease out an old dilapidated ware house to private sector .Our company put forwards a bid with a proposal to join  with Ceynor with an equity and develop the premises as a Fibre Glass Boat Building Facility ( FRP) .This is the main  industry which CEYNOR is  involved in.

Ceynor is unable to develop it in Sri Lanka due to mismanagement and government intervention Chairmen ,MD and GM who have limited or no  experience in boat building have been appointed by the Ministers and they have no clue on how to develop it further.

There were other proposals from private companies to use it just a as  ware house and   pay only a monthly lease .CEYNOR refuse to entertain oue  proposal and now trying to just to lease out to may be a storage .

So we were looking for another land near Colombo to develop as a workshop for the shipyard .

State Engineering Corporation ( SEC) has issued another RFP to lease out their land in Peliyagoda was where their central workshop is based .

SEC which has been a pioneering government Construction Agency has gone bankrupt due to mismanagement and intervention by the State ,need funds to pay their salaries  hence they just wanted to lease out the land and obtain some funds .

RFP was issued and we submitted bid and offer to enter into a PPP with SEC and the able Chairman      ( by the way he is leading expert in Industry and we both worked under Premadasa and firmly believes that PPP is the best option ) entertained our offer submitted thru the RFP  offer .We almost signed an agreement and enter into a long term collaboration .

Then a leading trade union (This union is affiliate to a party who keeps losing public support an yet remain in politics by instigating young workforce to protest against any action by the state) went to the Minister and complained about the plan and the Minister has put a stop to the plan .

Minister should stand on firm grounds and let the proves go through and support privatization.Sadly he gave in and stopped the process.

In the case of Fishery Minister who suppprts privatization is facing problems with the Unions .

These days Fishery Corporation is in the news and minister is claiming that they may have to close it down and send workers home by paying some money under Voluntary Retirement Scheme ( VRS)

He suggested that corporation should look into privatization  .We offered to establish PPP to resurrect the corporation by over the dilapidated  cool rooms and build a new cool room for storage of fish and resurrect the corporation.

Again the same Union goes to the Minister and organizing public protests and picketing against the privatisation .

Now the project is abandoned. ( we expected the Minister who is the son of the President who believed in privatization and enforcement of state discipline)

Sri Lanka Ports Authority has entered into a PPP with us to establish a shipyard in Galle Harbour with a sharing of profits, It has been three years and the project cannot get off the ground due to short-sightedness of some leaders who are sighting various reasons and not allowing us to mobilize.

We have presented these issues during sessions of Ease of doing business ( EODB) ,and to other forums where ruling party leaders hold periodically to solve such problems .

Nothing happened so far  because of inability of ministers to take bold decisions .

Next example is the SAITEM issue. Among the unions ,we also have prominent medical professionals who have no clue that privatization is the best for the growth.

Most of them want it to be taken over by the state. We will lose much benefits to the country by losing the foreign currency because students have to pay to study aboard in foreign currency

Government is giving in to every protest by the Unions who has always stood on the way to go for privatization and the committees appointed to solve problems in establishing PPP .have gone terribly wrong somewhere.

What is the option?

Close down all the loss making enterprises so that the Unions look after their members and feed them for the rest   of their lives and ,give absolute powers to Megapolis ,Centre for Strategic Development and BOI to enforce loss making institution to implement PPP in every state organization .

Sarath Obeysekera

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Theresa May’s Cabinet a triumph for state education and women as new Prime Minister sweeps away Cameron favourites in ‘Day of the Long Knives’

July 14th, 2016

Courtesy The Telegraph

Theresa May on Thursday unveiled a Cabinet with more state educated ministers than any previous Conservative government.

The new Prime Minister’s Cabinet is 70 per cent state educated, with Justine Greening on Thursday becoming the first Education Secretary to have attended a comprehensive school.

It means Mrs May’s Government has the lowest proportion of privately educated ministers since Clement Attlee’s Labour post-war Government of 1945. The Prime Minister herself is state educated.

In a further sign of the sweeping changes Mrs May is making, she now also has the most women in her Cabinet of any previous Conservative administration.

Theresa May’s Cabinet | Gender split

Male MPs 31%

Female MPs 69%

Matching Tony Blair’s record of eight female MPs in top Government jobs, Mrs May promoted women including Ms Greening, Amber Rudd, the new Home Secretary, and Priti Patel, the International Development Secretary.

Backbenchers and ministers said that it shows Mrs May’s desire to make a clean break from the previous administration, led by David Cameron and George Osborne, and deliver on her pledge not to govern just for the privileged few”. One MP described it as a Cabinet of sheer talent”.

Mr Cameron’s 2015 Cabinet was 50 per cent privately educated. Just over 70 per cent of ministers in Sir John Major’s Cabinet went to independent schools and 91 per cent of Margaret Thatcher’s 1979 Cabinet were privately educated. Mrs May’s Cabinet has also fewer independently educated ministers than either those of Tony Blair or Gordon Brown.

Theresa May’s cabinet | State v Independent schools

State educated MPs 63%
Privately educated MPs 37%
During her two-day reshuffle, Mrs May sacked 10 of Mr Cameron’s closest allies. She fired Michael Gove as Justice Secretary, Oliver Letwin as Cabinet Office minister, Nicky Morgan as Education Secretary and John Whittingdale as Culture Secretary.

That came after Mrs May on Wednesday evening sacked Mr Osborne as Chancellor, telling him he was not wanted in her new Government. On Thursday five more ministers, including Theresa Villiers and Greg Hands, were removed from the Cabinet during what was described as the Day of the Long Knives”, in reference to the Night of the Long Knives” in 1962, when Harold Macmillan dismissed seven members of his Cabinet.

It was her decision to create a Cabinet of predominantly state educated ministers that was seen as the most defining aspect of Mrs May’s first reshuffle.

Robert Halfon MP, one of the prime movers behind the blue collar Tory initiative, hailed Mrs May for appointing so many of her senior team with a background in state education. He said: Her Cabinet reflects her speech on the steps of Downing Street which is to be a Britain that works for everyone and real people that reflect Britain.”

In her first speech as Prime Minister on Wednesday, Mrs May vowed to fight against burning injustice” in Britain and build a country that works for everyone”. She said that her Government will no longer entrench the advantages of the fortunate few”.

May: I will lead a ‘One Nation’ governmentPlay!05:47

 According to an analysis by the Sutton Trust, 44 per cent of Mrs May’s Cabinet were educated in comprehensive schools.

Mr Cameron’s 2015 Cabinet was 43 per cent comprehensive educated. Just 21 per cent of his 2010 coalition administration was comprehensive-school educated.

However, Cabinet ministers are still over four times more likely to have gone to a fee-paying school for all or part of their secondary education than the general population, the Sutton Trust said.

Of the 27 ministers in Mrs May’s new Cabinet, 44 per cent went to Oxford or Cambridge universities.

This compares with 32 per cent of backbench Conservative MPs in the 2015 parliament, and 26 per cent of MPs from all parties. Half of the 2010 Coalition cabinet led by Mr Cameron was Oxbridge-educated.

Robert Buckland, the solicitor general who was state educated until the age of 11, said This is a brilliant reflection of today’s Conservative party. It is yet another endorsement of her strong belief in opportunity for all and succeeding on merit.”

Nadine Dorries, the Tory MP, tweeted her endorsement of Mrs May’s appointments:

Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust, said: Anyone should be able to become a minister, regardless of social background. It is good to see so many more comprehensive and grammar educated Cabinet ministers, reflecting the schools attended by 90 per cent of children.”

The eight posts held by females in the new Cabinet include Mrs May herself. In Mr Cameron’s last Cabinet seven women held permanent positions, while a further three attended occasionally.

Ms Greening, who last month came out as a lesbian, was one of the most notable appointments, becoming Education Secretary and minister for equalities.

Greening replaces Morgan as Education SecretaryPlay!00:32

Liz Truss, the former Environment Secretary, was elevated to Justice Secretary following Mr Gove’s sacking.

Mrs May also appointed Andrea Leadsom, her former leadership rival, to Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, a significant promotion for the pro-Brexit MP.

Amid the sackings, Mrs May decided to keep Jeremy Hunt as Health Secretary despite rumours that he was going to lose his job. David Lidington, the former Europe minister who spearheaded Mr Cameron’s failed campaign to keep Britain in the European Union, was also promoted to Leader of the House of Commons in the reshuffle.

Mrs May also appointed a number of allies to senior roles. Damian Green, a contemporary of Mrs May’s at Oxford University, was made Work and Pensions Secretary.

Karen Bradley, a former minister in the Home Office under Mrs May, was made Culture Secretary.

Karen Bradley takes over as Culture SecretaryPlay!00:27

Greg Clark was appointed to the new role of Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, while his old role at the head of the Department for Communities and Local Government went to former business secretary Sajid Javid, in an effective job-swap.

David Mundell, the only Conservative MP north of the border, retained his position as Scotland Secretary. Mrs May’s new Cabinet will officially meet for the first time next week.

The Prime Minister’s official spokeswoman said the reshuffle shows her administration is hitting the ground running” and that social reform is at the heart of the Government”.

Mrs May on Thursday night unveiled details of her team of special advisers.

Two long term aides – Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy – were appointed joint chiefs of staff.  John Godfrey is the new director of policy and Katie Perrior is director of communications.

 

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Brexit opens up new opportunities for nations outside EU – Mahinda

July 14th, 2016

Adaderana

July 14, 2016  06:42 pm      

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa says that the recent experience of the European Union has demonstrated that political instability in one country can spread throughout a region and have a devastating impact on far off nations as well.

He said that though many have expressed dismay over Britain’s departure from the EU, many Commonwealth nations including Sri Lanka have already shown keen interest in negotiating trade agreements with Britain and this new situation undoubtedly opens up new opportunities for the larger body of nations outside the EU.

In a message congratulating Theresa May on her appointment as Prime Minister of Great Britain, Rajapaksa said she has been entrusted with the onerous task of steering your country through the process of leaving the European Union and charting a new course in the world.”

Given her central role in the Commonwealth, Great Britain has a major role to play in taking the lead to ensure the sovereignty, stability, territorial integrity and prosperity of Commonwealth nations,” he said.

– See more at: http://adaderana.lk/news/36072/brexit-opens-up-new-opportunities-for-nations-outside-eu-mahinda#sthash.dh6zNIZ3.dpuf

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SRI LANKA: 14 year old rape victim reveals that a woman constable beat her at the police station

July 14th, 2016

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Update: AHRC-UAU-014-2016

14 July 2016
———————————————————————
(Re: AHRC-UAC-085-2016: SRI LANKA: Suspect in rape of 14-year-old girl released without proper investigation)

———————————————————————
SRI LANKA: 14 year old rape victim reveals that a woman constable beat her at the police station

ISSUES: right to fair trial; right to remedy; due process of law
———————————————————————

Dear Friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information revealed by the young victim herself, which we wish to bring to your notice. On the 7th of July when she went to the Haputale Police station, a police woman constable, had beaten the young girl, and told her that when she is taken to the judicial medical officer, not to reveal that she had been raped by the bus driver. She had been beaten with a cane several times on her waistline and threatened her not to tell her story to the doctor – the Judicial Medical Officer (JM0). Despite such threats and being beaten by the police woman constable the young girl has revealed detailed information about her ordeal to the JMO of everything that had taken place during the abduction and rape.

The conduct of the woman police constable at the Haputhale police station needs to be thoroughly investigated and she should be dealt with for the attempted sabotage of justice.

UPDATED INFORMATION:

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information revealed by the young victim herself, which we wish to bring to your notice.

On the 7th of July when she went to the Haputale Police station, a police woman constable, had beaten the young girl, and told her that when she is taken to the judicial medical officer, not to reveal that she had been raped by the bus driver.

She had been beaten with a cane several times on her waistline and threatened her not to tell her story to the doctor – the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO). Despite such threats and being beaten by the police woman constable the young girl has revealed detailed information about her ordeal to the JMO of everything that had taken place during the abduction and rape. She has explained to the JMO that she had been raped twice on the same day by the bus driver and that she was threatened by the woman police constable not to reveal her ordeal to anyone, threatening that if she reveals anything her father and mother and everybody in the family will be killed”.

The conduct of the woman police constable at the Haputhale police station needs to be thoroughly investigated and she should be dealt with for the attempted sabotage of justice.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The a 14-year-old girl was abducted and raped by her school bus driver on 19th June 2016, she was later threatened by the police to keep quiet saying that her parents and other family members would be killed. Despite the family members filing a complaint with the Haputale Police Station, the case has not been investigated. The alleged suspect, who belongs to a wealthy family, was simply released, without him being produced before a Magistrate. The victim’s family says that as they belong to an ethnic and religious minority in the region, the police have not given them attention in their quest for justice. The case illustrates the collapse of the rule of law in the country.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

We urge you once again to request the Sri Lankan authorities to investigate and take prompt action regarding the abduction, rape and the attempted sabotage of justice by woman constable at the Haputhlae police station

To support this case, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear ………………..,

SRI LANKA: 14 year old rape victim reveals that a woman constable beat her at the police station

Name of Victim: Daughter of Ms. Violet Rose of Thotugala Estate, Haputale, Badulla District, Uva Province.
Alleged perpetrators: Officers – woman constable attached to the Haputale Police Station
Date of incident: 7 July 2016
Place of incident: Haputale Police Division

Dear Friends,

I have received updated information which have been revealed by the young victim herself about the incident of her rape by a bus driver in Haputhale, Sri Lanka.

On the 7th of July when she went to the Haputale Police station, a police woman constable, had beaten the young girl, and told her that when she is taken to the judicial medical officer, not to reveal that she had been raped by the bus driver.

She had been beaten with a cane several times on her waistline and threatened her not to tell her story to the doctor – the Judicial Medical Officer (JM0). Despite such threats and being beaten by the police woman constable the young girl has revealed detailed information about her ordeal to the JMO of everything that had taken place during the abduction and rape. She has explained to the JMO that she had been raped twice on the same day by the bus driver and that she was threatened by the woman police constable not to reveal her ordeal to anyone, threatening that if she reveals anything her father and mother and everybody in the family will be killed”.

The conduct of the woman police constable at the Haputhale police station needs to be thoroughly investigated and she should be dealt with for the attempted sabotage of justice.

The a 14-year-old girl was abducted and raped by her school bus driver on 19th June 2016, she was later threatened by the police to keep quiet saying that her parents and other family members would be killed. Despite the family members filing a complaint with the Haputale Police Station, the case has not been investigated. The alleged suspect, who belongs to a wealthy family, was simply released, without him being produced before a Magistrate. The victim’s family says that as they belong to an ethnic and religious minority in the region, the police have not given them attention in their quest for justice.

I therefore, your good offices, once again to immediately intervene in calling and ensuring that a thorough investigation is conducted and that prompt action is taken regarding the abduction, rape and the attempted sabotage of justice by woman constable at the Haputhlae police station.

I look forward to your prompt action in this matter.

Yours Sincerely,

……………….

PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. Pujith Jayasundara
Inspector General of Police
New Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 440440 / 327877
E-mail: igp@police.lk

2. Mr. Jayantha Jayasooriya PC
Attorney General
Attorney General’s Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436421
E-mail: ag@attorneygeneral.gov.lk

3. Secretary
National Police Commission
3rd Floor, Rotunda Towers
109 Galle Road
Colombo 03
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 395310
Fax: +94 11 2 395867
E-mail: npcgen@sltnet.lk or polcom@sltnet.lk

4. Secretary
Human Rights Commission
No. 36, Kynsey Road
Colombo 8
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 694 925 / 673 806
Fax: +94 11 2 694 924 / 696 470
E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk
Thank you.

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Court case delays tabling of VAT (Amendment) bill in Parliament

July 14th, 2016

Adaderana

Sri Lanka’s State Minister of Finance Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena says that the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill will not be presented to Parliament on July 20 as previously scheduled due to the ongoing court case.

The Supreme Court on Monday (July 11) issued an interim order suspending the increase of VAT from 11% to 15%, after considering a petition challenging the tax hike.

Because another case has been filed with the court as of today, it (VAT bill) cannot be brought to the Parliament while a case has been filed with the Supreme Court,” Abeywardena told reporters in Colombo on Thursday.

He said that it takes 3 weeks for the Supreme Court to take up the petition again and that they will use this time period to hold discussions and take necessary steps to prepare a suitable environment.

The State Minister said that the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) has appointed a committee to compile a set of proposals regarding the VAT amendment and that it will be presented to the President for a final discussion with the Prime Minister.

– See more at: http://adaderana.lk/news/36073/court-case-delays-tabling-of-vat-amendment-bill-in-parliament#sthash.o939rGUZ.dpuf

July 14, 2016  07:19 pm

     

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1987 JR mama kala Rata-Jatiya Indiyawata Pavadiime itiritikath Sampurnakarana Ranil Bena 1987 මාමා කල රට-ජාතිය ඉංදියාවට පාවාදීමෙ ඉතිරිටිකත් සම්පුර්නකරන රනිල් බෑනා

July 13th, 2016

Sudath Gunasekara President Mahanuwara Sinhala Jestha Puravesiyange Sanvidhanaya 13. 7.2016.

All Sri Lankans remember how JR Jayawardhana sold and betrayed this country and its 2500 year old history to India in 1987 by signing the JR-Rajeev Indo-Sri Lanka Pact of which the text is copied below.

Text of Agreement

The President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, His Excellency Mr. J.R. Jayawardene, and the Prime Minister of the Republic of India, His Excellency Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, having met at Colombo on July 29, 1987.

Attaching utmost importance to nurturing, intensifying and strengthening the traditional friendship of Sri Lanka and India, and acknowledging the imperative need of resolving the ethnic problem of Sri Lanka, and the consequent violence, and for the safety, well being, and prosperity of people belonging to all communities in Sri Lanka.

Have this day entered into the following agreement to fulfill this objective.

IN THIS CONTEXT,

1.1 Desiring to preserve the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka:

1.2 Acknowledging that Sri Lanka is a “multi-ethnic and a multi-lingual plural society” consisting, inter alia, of Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims (Moors) and Burghers:

1.3 Recognising that each ethnic group has a distinct cultural and linguistic identity which has to be carefully nurtured:

1.4 Also recognising that the Northern and the Eastern Provinces have been areas of historical habitation of Sri Lankan Tamil speaking peoples, who have at all times hitherto lived together in this territory with other ethnic groups:

1.5 Conscious of the necessity of strengthening the forces contributing to the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka, and preserving its character as a multi ethnic, multi lingual and multi religious plural society in which all citizens can live in equality, safety and harmony, and prosper and fulfil their aspirations:

  1. Resolve that

2.1 Since the government of Sri Lanka proposes to permit adjoining provinces to join to form one administrative unit and also by a referendum to separate as may be permitted to the Northern and Eastern Provinces as outlined below:

2.2 During the period, which shall be considered an interim period (i.e. from the date of the elections to the Provincial Council, as specified in para 2.B to the date of the referendum as specified in para 2.3) the Northern and Eastern Provinces as now constituted, will form one administrative unit, having one elected Provincial Council. Such a unit will have one Governor, one Chief Minister and one Board of Ministers.

2.3 There will be a referendum on or before 31st of December 1988 to enable the people of the Eastern Province to decide whether:

  1. A) The Eastern Province should remain linked with the Northern Province as one administrative unit, and continue to be governed together with the Northern Province as specified in para 2.2 or:
  2. B) The Eastern Province should constitute a separate administrative unit having its own distinct Provincial Council with a separate Governor, Chief Minister and Board of Ministers

The President may, at his discretion, decide to postpone such a referendum.

2.4 All persons who have been displaced due to ethnic violence or other reasons, will have the right to vote in such a referendum. Necessary conditions to enable them to return to areas from where they were displaced will be created.

2.5 The referendum when held will be monitored by a committee headed by the Chief Justice, a member appointed by the President, nominated by the Government of Sri Lanka, and a member appointed by the President, nominated by the representatives of the Tamil speaking people of the Eastern Province.

2.6 A simple majority will be sufficient to determine the result of the referendum.

2.7 Meetings and other forms of propaganda, permissible within the laws of the country, will be allowed before the referendum.

2.8 Elections to Provincial Councils will be held within the next three months, in any event before the 31st December 1987. Indian observers will be invited for elections to the Provincial Council in the North and East.

2.9 The Emergency will be lifted in the Eastern and Northern Provinces by August 15, 1987. A cessation of hostilities will come into effect all over the Island within 48 hours of the signing of this Agreement. All arms presently held by Militant Groups will be surrendered in accordance with an agreed procedure to authorities to be designated by the government of Sri Lanka.

Consequent to the cessation of hostilities and the surrender of arms by Militant Groups, the Army and other security personnel will be confined to barracks in camps as on 25th May 1987. The process of surrendering of arms and the confining of security personnel and moving back to barracks shall be completed within 72 hours of the cessation of hostilities coming into effect.

2.10 The government of Sri Lanka will utilise for the purpose of law enforcement and maintenance of security in the Northern and Eastern Provinces the same organisations and mechanisms of government as are used in the rest of the country.

2.11 The President of Sri Lanka will grant a general amnesty to political and other prisoners now held in custody under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and other Emergency Laws, and to Combatants, as well as to those persons accused, charged and/or convicted under these Laws. The government of Sri Lanka will make special efforts to rehabilitate militant youth with a view to bringing them back into the mainstream of national life. India will co-operate in the process.

2.12 The government of Sri Lanka will accept and abide by the above provisions and expect all others to do likewise.

2.13 If the framework for the resolutions is accepted, the government of Sri Lanka will implement the relevant proposals forthwith.

2.14 The government of India will underwrite and guarantee the resolutions, and co- operate in the implementation of these proposals.

2.15 These proposals are conditional to an acceptance of the proposals negotiated from 4.5.1986 to 19.12.86. Residual matters not finalised during the above negotiations shall be resolved between India and Sri Lanka within a period of six weeks of signing this Agreement. These proposals are also conditional to the government of India co-operating directly with the government of Sri Lanka in their implementation.

2.16 These proposals are also conditional to the government of India taking the following actions if any Militant Groups operating in Sri Lanka do not accept this frameworK of proposals for a settlement, namely,

  1. A) India will take all necessary steps to ensure that Indian territory is not used for activities prejudicial to the unity, integrity and security of Sri Lanka.
  2. B) The Indian Navy/Coastguard will co-operate with the Sri Lanka Navy in preventing Tamil Militant activities from affecting Sri Lanka.
  3. C) In the event that the government of Sri Lanka requests the government of India to afford military assistance to implement these proposals the government of India will co-operate by giving to the government of Sri Lanka such military assistance as and when requested.
  4. D) The government of India will expedite repatriation from Sri Lanka of Indian citizens to India who are resident here, concurrently with the repatriation of Sri Lankan refugees from Tamil Nadu.
  5. E) The government of Sri Lanka and India will co-operate in ensuring the physical security and safety of all communities inhabiting the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

2.17 The government of Sri Lanka shall ensure free, full and fair participation of voters from all communities in the Northern and Eastern Provinces in electoral processes envisaged in this Agreement. The government of India will extend full co-operation to the government of Sri Lanka in this regard.

2.18 The official language of Sri Lanka shall be Sinhala. Tamil and English will also be official languages.

  1. This Agreement and the Annexures thereto shall come into force upon signature

In witness whereof we have set our hands and seals hereunto.

Done in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on this the twenty ninth day of July of the year one thousand nine hundred and eighty seven, in duplicate, both texts being equally authentic.

Junius Richard Jayawardene, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister of the Republic of India

Annexure to the Indo – Sri Lanka Agreement

  1. His Excellency the President of Sri Lanka and the Prime Minister of India agree that the referendum mentioned in paragraph 2 and its sub-paragraphs of the Agreement will be observed by a representative of the Election Commission of India to be invited by His Excellency the President of Sri Lanka.
  2. Similarly, both Heads of Government agree that the elections to the Provincial Council mentioned in paragraph 2.8 of the Agreement will be observed and all para military personnel will be withdrawn from the Eastern and Northern Provinces with a view to creating conditions conducive to fair elections to the Council.
  3. The President, in his discretion, shall absorb such para military forces, which came into being due to the ethnic violence, into the regular security forces of Sri Lanka.
  4. The President of Sri Lanka and the Prime Minister of India agree that the Tamil Militantsshall surrender their arms to authorities agreed upon to be designated by the President of Sri Lanka. The surrender shall take place in the presence of one senior representative each of the Sri Lanka Red Cross and the India Red Cross.
  5. The President of Sri Lanka and the Prime Minister of India agree that a Joint Indo Sri Lankan Observer Group consisting of qualified representatives of the government of Sri Lanka and the government of India would monitor the cessation of hostilities from 31 July 1987.
  6. The President of Sri Lanka and the Prime Minister of India also agree that in terms of paragraph 2.14 and paragraph 2.16 (C) of the Agreement, an Indian Peace Keeping Contingent may be invited by the President of Sri Lanka to guarantee and enforce the cessation of hostilities, if so required.

Exchange of letters 
between the President of Sri Lanka and the Prime Minister of India

July 29, 1987

Excellency,

Please refer to your letter dated the 29th of July 1987, which reads as follows:-

Excellency,

Conscious of the friendship between out two countries stretching over two millennia and more, and recognising the importance of nurturing this traditional friendship, it is imperative that both Sri Lanka and India reaffirm the decision not to allow our respective territories to be used for activities prejudicial to each other’s unity, territorial integrity and security.

  1. In this spirit, you had, during the course of our discussion, agreed to meet some of India’s concerns as follows:-
  2. I) Your Excellency and myself will reach an early understanding about the relevance and employment of foreign military and intelligence personnel with a view to ensuring that such presences will not prejudice Indo Sri Lanka relations.
  3. II) Trincomalee or any other ports in Sri Lanka will not be made available for military use by any country in a manner prejudicial to India’s interests.

III) The work of restoring and operating the Trincomalee Oil Tank will be undertaken as a joint operation between India and Sri Lanka.

  1. IV) Sri Lanka’s agreement with foreign broadcasting organisations will be reviewed to ensure that any facilities set up by them in Sri Lanka are used solely as public broadcasting facilities and not for any military or intelligence purposes.
  2. In the same spirit, India will:
  3. I) Deport all Sri Lankan citizens who are found to be engaging in terrorist activities or advocating separatism or secessionism.
  4. II) Provide training facilities and military supplies for Sri Lanka security services.
  5. India and Sri Lanka have agreed to set up a joint consultative mechanism to continuously review matters of common concern in the light of the objectives stated in para 1 and specifically to monitor the implementation of other matters contained in this letter.
  6. Kindly confirm, Excellency, that the above correctly sets out the Agreement reached between us.

Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Yours sincerely, sgd Rajiv Gandhi

His Excellency,
Mr. J.R. Jayawardene,
President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka,
Colombo.

This is to confirm that the above correctly sets out the understanding reached between us.

Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.

sgd J.R.Jayawardene President

His Excellency, Mr.Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister of the Republic of India, New Delhi.

 

This historic betrayal is not surprising when we read his strong words he used and views he held as a member of the National Congress as reported by Michael Roberts (1977) in his ‘Documents of the Ceylon National Congress 1929-1950 Vol (11)  (Pp 2802-2803).

Where JR has said

A free Lanka , Independent of all other nations of the world, is difficult to conceive of. An Indo-Lanka Federation may have to be discussed, may even have to be planned for and may be useful for us to achieve,– our present political aspirations are out of date and must be replaced by new conceptions and a fresh outlook.

India and Lanka must be one unit for the purpose of defense. In the Federal Legislature (Indian that he proposed), Lanka must be accorded a status equivalent to the status of the Indian Provinces.

It is not possible for us ever to be again the Lanka of Old. We can only dream of the Dutugemunu and Parakramabahu and of the deeds of valour of the Sinhalese heroes against the invaders from India. I visualize a greater future for Lanka and its people, yet citizens of a greater and powerful India…”

While this pronouncement he had made more than fifty years before 1987 clearly shows his stand and misconceived notion and underestimated potentialities regarding this country and  it’s great people was it not exactly that dependent view he had put in to practice through the 1987 Indo Lanka Pact.

He completed his misconcieved mission by establishing the Provincial Councils under the 13th Amendment by making his own Constitution of 1987 virtually null and void reducing this country politically to an  Augean mess and almost to a part of Tamilnadu in South India, by declaring

  1. a) Northern and Eastern Provinces as Traditional Homelands of Tamils with provision for merging with other Provinces thereby laying the foundation for ethnic separatism
  2. b) Accepting Tamils in Sri Lanka as a separate Nation
  3. c) Legalizing Tamil also as an Official Language (only country in the world with two Official languages, when even in India with 70 million Tamils in Tamilnadu does not have that privilege)

and

  1. d) Awarding Sri Lankan Citizenship to all Indian Estate Tamils right at the centre of the country, posing a fatal threat to Kandyan Peasants and the Geographical Heartland” of this Island nation that determine and dictate the entire life system and the survival of the very civilization of the Island Nation, as it forms the source of all our rivers, by an affidavit signed on a one rupee stamp without any binding conditions to prevent them from being a threat to the natives and acting in any traitorous manner against this country and its native Sinhala people, thereby making Sri Lanka citizenship so cheap, perhaps the cheapest in the whole world.

Isn’t it the completion of that historic betrayal initiated by his uncle Thambi Mudalyanselage Junious Richard Jayawardhana, that Ranil, his nephew, is going to do now at the behest of Chandrika, India and his  Western Colonial masters of the Church, under the following agreement against all concerned patriotic Sri Lankans, both here and abroad, who are up in arms to protect their only 25,000 sq miles stretch of on this planet and their 2,500 old glorious civilization?

Ranil wants SL to grow with ETCA, though he cites the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with China and Singapore are also on the sideline?
ranilphoto

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe delivers the keynote at the Annual General Meeting of the India CEO Forum Sri Lanka at the Taj Samudra Hotel yesterday – Pic by Sameera Wijesinghe

By Nisthar Cassim

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday drove home the point that Sri Lanka’s future lies in greater trade with the world and the Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement  (ETCA) with India and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with China and Singapore are being pursued with vigour.

“Sri Lanka has always prospered in the past by trading with India. The ETCA will make Sri Lanka and the southern part of India the fastest growing subregion in the South Asia. Hence the ETCA is important and I want it to succeed,” the Premier said at the Annual General Meeting of the India CEO Forum Sri Lanka.

While there is growing optimism in India over the impending ETCA, the Prime Minister also revealed that Sri Lanka was also going for Free Trade Agreements with China and Singapore while being on course to regain GSP+ covering the European Union.

He told the India CEO Forum members that for South Asia to sustain high growth there must be structural changes in the economy and for Sri Lanka, that apart, greater international trade was necessary as it could not rely on domestic demand alone. This, he emphasised, was the basis for the ETCA with India as well as trade expansionary deals with several other countries.

“We are keen to take full advantage of the geo-economic position of Sri Lanka. We will make Sri Lanka a hub or the centre for business in South Asia,” Wickremesinghe emphasised. “Sri Lanka has to join the global value chain to boost its manufacturing and services sector,” the Premier added.

Towards achieving these goals, Wickremesinghe outlined plans and programs such as economic reforms, the doubling of investment in infrastructure, Logistics Hub, Megapolis, the International Finance Centre in Colombo Port City, the Southern Development Plan, the Kandy Development Plan and the Trincomalee Development Plan as well as a special focus on the North.

Additionally, the Government will pursue fiscal consolidation, greater Public-Private Partnerships, the digitalisation of the economy, simplified taxation and new incentives to high employment-generating businesses.

Guest of Honour, Indian High Commissioner Y.K. Sinha, said a fresh round of negotiations on ETCA would “commence soon” with a delegation from New Delhi coming over to Colombo.  A fortnight ago Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama held talks in India.

“Indo-Lanka bilateral relations are sound but we can do a lot more to make it stronger,” he said, adding that since the signing of the FTA between the two countries bilateral trade has grown exponentially by 13 times to $ 5 billion.

India CEO Forum Sri Lanka Founder President Sanjay Tiwari, who relinquished his post after serving for three years, said the 53-member professional organisation was committed to being a key part of Sri Lanka’s future development goals.  The India CEO Forum member firms’ investment in Sri Lanka is over $ 600 million, providing 18,600 jobs.

Isn’t it  a pity and a tragedy that these bunch of fools who cry for ETCA don’t realize that India has never been friendly towards Sri Lank throughout known history. All India’s actions and reactions  have been and are primarily centered around self interest. Why cant our idiots realize this fundamental truth.

 

What is more is already India has completely invaded this Island nation in all respects. Now look at the following list.

In recent history

1The1987 Constitution has been tampered and reduced it to a mere piece of waste paper with the JR-Rajeev Pact and the 13th Amendment

2 They already invaded this Island in 1987 disregarding the Sovereignty of the Island Nation

3 They trained and armed the LTTE to ousted the democratically elected Government of this country

4 They continue the dialogue with the estate Tamils and all other Tamils as people of Indian origin to destabilize the Sri Lankan Government

5They rob our fisheries resources and insist  that their fishermen be given rights to fish in our waters.

6 The Indian Government keep deaf, dumb and blind to Tamilnadu politicians all vituperative behaviour and interferences  with our sovereignty

7 continue to sent waves of illegal immigrants in thousands tot his country

8 Invade the whole economy, for example, Banking, service sector, labour market, transport inclidng monopoly in the vehicles, construction, trade, distribution of fuel, household items. Textiles( so much so there want be  a single marriage ceremony if we don’t get sarees from India).

9 In short from the simple pin and the joysticks to fighter jets and Ships we depend on India

The list is un-exhaustive. I leave it to you to make your own list for brevity)

All Sri Lankans know how India had treated us even from prehistoric times.

Starting from Rama in pre-historic times, and then from 2nd century BC downward with Sena- Guttika the horse traders, Elara. And the most devastative and destructive 12th century Magha  invasion, that completely destroyed our Anuradhapura and Polnnaruwa civilization and force us to shift to the south West wilderness. (from which we have not been able to recover up to date) there had been  continuous waves of Indian invasions by their unquenched   greed to capture this Pearl of the Indian Ocean and finally

1 the subversive invasion of the Kandyan Kingdom by Nayakkars after Vijaya Rajasingha was enthroned by conjugal conspiracy

Are these two men, JR and his nephew Ranil, the reincarnations of Don Juan Dharmapala of Kotte?

The most important question before the whole nation and all those who are supposed to represent them in Parliament is, are they all going to allow Ranil and his UNpatriotic Government to commit another irreversible historic blunder to reduce this country to a regional vassal State of India as JR dreamt in 1930s.

Are we going to remain deaf, dumb and blind again like a bunch of monkeys as they already did in 1987 while these treacherous politicians ruin our 2500 year old glorious nation?

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Is UN Human Rights Council Fair to Sri Lanka?

July 13th, 2016

by N.S.Venkataraman Courtesy Sri Lanka Guardian

( July 2, 2016, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) Presenting an oral update on Sri Lanka at the 32nd session of the U N Human Rights Council , nine months after a consensus resolution was adopted on reconciliation and accountability , the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is reported to have made several critical remarks on the present state of affairs in Sri Lanka.

While the Commissioner for Human Rights is entitled to have his own views, it is very necessary that such an important functionary should exercise high level of caution and give due consideration to the views of Sri Lankan government as well as people from various walks of life while presenting his views.

Military presence necessary :

The Human Rights Commissioner said that he has found heavy” military presence in the northern and eastern province of Sri Lanka. There is no need for him to be critical of the presence of military particularly ,when there is no information or complaints that military has indulged in any atrocities at present.

One has to keep in mind that Sri Lanka has gone through very difficult internal strife for several years and it had to fight for it’s territorial integrity. The rebels used heavy artillery and fire arms and indulged in sabotage and killings and demanded separate state by splitting Sri Lanka. No government worth it’s salt can keep idle in such circumstances. Sri Lankan government had to fight back and this was what it did. In the process, violence have taken place and innocent people have been killed and properties have been destroyed ,for which Sri Lankan government alone was not responsible.

UN-Peacekeeping

The Human Rights Commissioner said that he has found heavy” military presence in the northern and eastern province of Sri Lanka. There is no need for him to be critical of the presence of military particularly ,when there is no information or complaints that military has indulged in any atrocities at present.

The presence of military in northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka is necessary and it has to be there as a precautionary measure, particularly since the separatists who are said to be operating from abroad are still demanding separate state. It is surprising that UN Human Rights Council has not seen this ground reality while criticizing the military presence.

Fair elections proof of positive steps :

Sri Lankan government has been cooperating with U N Human Rights Council and there is no reason for any doubt or misgivings about it’s positive approach . It has repeatedly said that it is anxious to restore peace and amity in northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka and striving it’s best to do so under the circumstances

Elections have been conducted in the provinces recently in a very peaceful and civilized manner and a popular government is in place at present, which is a positive and healthy sign.

The Human Rights Council has been quite unfair in stating that the Sri Lankan government has not moved fast enough with tangible measures to build confidence amongst the victims and minority communities. The very fact that a free and fair election has taken place and natives belonging to the northern and eastern provinces are running the government only highlight the fact that confidence of the people has been restored to a considerable extent.

Slow and steady progress :

The Human Rights Council has also criticized the Sri Lankan government for what it calls as slow progress in identification and release of land still held by the military in the two provinces. The process may be slow in the view of Human Rights Council but progress is being made steadily, keeping in view the local scenario.

The fact is that number of positive measures for rehabilitation and reconstruction have taken place in the provinces in recent months with considerable support from countries like India. Railway lines have been laid and number of housing projects have been completed. Several other projects are under planning and implementation. There is absolutely no reason to think that Sri Lankan government is uninterested in restoring progress in the area, given the magnitude and complexities of the problem that the government is confronted with.

What role for Human Rights Council ?

What is the role for Human Rights Council ? By voicing criticism and concern without recognizing the positive measures, what does it hope to achieve ? It would have been more appropriate if it had provided helpful suggestions, appealed to the international community to extend greater support to Sri Lanka in rebuilding the eastern and northern provinces and enthuse the citizens with proactive observations. On the other hand, it is creating confusion and weakening the resolve of the Sri Lankan government

One cannot but get an impression that U N Human Rights Council appear to think that it’s job would be over with critical observations. It should be conscious of it’s objectives and responsibilities ,which is to work for conducive and positive conditions and not vitiate the atmosphere by negative approach.

Sri Lanka today needs support and understanding and not criticisms which help nobody.

Why view Sri Lanka differently ?

Further, one wonders why U N Human rights Council is not so harsh in commenting about some recent violent developments in the so called developed countries ,where it is conspicuous by silence. Bombing by militarily strong advanced countries in some regions in the name of fighting militancy, has resulted in killing of several innocent people. In all such cases ,U N Human rights Council has not made critical comments.

Why is it that Sri Lanka being viewed differently ?

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Theresa May’s first speech as Britain’s new Prime Minister

July 13th, 2016

Theresa May has become British Prime Minister, succeeding David Cameron after a brief audience with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. Speaking outside Number 10 Downing Street after taking office, she stressed her commitment to the union and issued a call to make Britain a country that works for everyone.”
Her government will fight against burning injustice” and will prioritize ordinary people over the interests of the wealthy, she said. One of May’s top challenges will be leading the country’s Brexit negotiations with the European Union.

Theresa May promised to fight burning injustice” in British society, govern for the poor and marginalised, and create a union between all of our citizens” in her first remarks as the UK’s prime minister.

Standing outside No 10 Downing Street after visiting the Queen in Buckingham Palace to kiss hands” and be formally anointed as Britain’s second female prime minister, May made a bold grab for the political centre ground.

The former home secretary looked directly into the waiting television cameras, and said she would make decisions based on the interests of struggling families, not the rich.

If you’re one of those families, if you’re just managing, I want to address you directly. I know you’re working around the clock. I know you’re doing your best. I know that sometimes life can be a struggle.

The government I lead will be driven not by the interests of the privileged few, but by yours. We will do everything we can to give you more control over your lives,” she said.

When we take the big calls, we’ll think not of the powerful, but you. When we pass new laws we’ll listen not to the mighty, but to you. When it comes to taxes we’ll prioritise not the wealthy but you.

When it comes to opportunity we won’t entrench the advantages of the fortunate few. We will do everything we can to help anybody, whatever your background, to go as far as your talents will take you.”

May said she would follow in David Cameron’s footsteps as a one nation” prime minister, but her emphasis on social injustice suggested a shift of tone.

She also stressed that the full name of the Conservative party was the Conservative and Unionist party, and she would safeguard the union between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — as Scotland threatens to break away after the vote to leave the EU.

 

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ඡායාවේ මායාව

July 13th, 2016

චන්ද්‍රසේන පණ්ඩිතගේ විසිනි

ඒකාබද්ධ විපක්‍ෂය, ඡායා කැබිනෙට්ටුවක් ගොඩනංවා ඇති බවට පුවතක් රට පුරා ප්‍රචලිත විය. බලවත් දේශපාලන මධ්‍යස්ථානයකින් සිදුවිය විය යුතු මෙවන් කාර්‍යයක්, ළදරු, නොමේරූ දේශපාලන ප්‍රපංචයකින් ගොඩනැංවී ඇති බව ඇසීමත් ආශ්වාදණීය සුභාරංචියක් විය. මේ ලාබාල දේශපාලන ව්‍යපාරය  තුල සිටින පලපුරුදු කෘතහස්ත දේශපාලඥයින්ට ඇවැසි නම් ඕනෑම අභියෝගයකට මුහුණ දිය හැකි බව දන්නා බැවින් මේ පුවත සත‍්‍ය පුවතක් ලෙස අපද වැළඳ ගත්තෙමු. මෙය කලහැකි හා කලයුතු ප්‍රබල දේශපාලන කර්තව්‍යකි.  එවැන්නක් ඒකාබද්ධ විපක්‍ෂය විසින්ම ගොඩනැංවූ බව පුවත් මගින් යලි යලිත් සනාථ කරන්නට විය.

අමාත්‍යධූර 51කින් සමන්විත මේ දේශපාලන ක්‍රියාවලිය එලි දැක්වීමත් සමගම වඩාත්ම වික්‍ෂිප්තභායට පත්වූයේ, ඒකාබද්ධ විපක්‍ෂට සම්බන්ධව කටයුතු කරන පිරිස්ම වීම විශේෂිතය.වික්ෂිප්තභාවයට පත් සමහරෙක් තමන්ට ලබාදුන් කැබිනට් අමාත්යධූර ප්තික්ෂේප කලහ. ඡායා කැබිනෙට්ටුව හා එම අමාත්ය තනතුරු වල ප්රබලත්වය කුමක්දැයි නොදත් අපේ දේශපාලඥයෝ අවඥා සහගත ලෙස මේ ක්රියා වලිය දෙස බලන්නට විය. ආණ්ඩුපක්ෂ හා විපක්ෂ දේශපාලඥයෝ මෙය අපහාසයට හා උපහාසයට ලක්කරමින් කථා කරනුද දක්නට ලැබිණි. සමහරෙක මෙය විකාර රූපී කාර්යයක් ලෙස දුටු අතර, තවත් සමහරෙක් මෙය නිකම්ම නිකම් දේශපාලන කෝළමක් ලෙසද හුවා දක්වන්නට වෙර දැරූහ.

ඇත්තටම මේ රට තුල රජයක් නැත. අප එසේ කියන්නේ, ඉතා බලගතු පැහැදිලි කරුණු සහිතවය. රජය යනු

  1. විධායකය,
  2. ව්යාවස්ථාධායකය
  3. අධිකරණය යන කරුණු වලින් යුක්තව රට සංවර්ධනයේ දිසාවට මෙහෙයවන යාන්ත්රණයයි.

1අ. ජනාධිපතිතුමාගේ විධායක බලතල ඉවත්කරන බව මැතිවරණ පොරොන්දුවයි. එය ව්යාවස්ථානුකූලව  ඉවත් නොකලාට, සැබෑ ලෙසම එම බලතල ඉවත්කර ඇති බවක් රටට දිස්වේ.

2අ. ව්යාවස්ථාදායකය කෝළමක් බවට පත්ව ඇත. සමහර බදු ගැසීම ආරම්භකර පසුව පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ සම්මත කර ගන්නා තත්වයේ මස්තබාල්දු පාර්ලිමේන්තුවක් නිර්මාණය කර ඇත.

3අ. මහා බැංකුව සුද්ද කරන්නේ කිසිදු බියක් හිරිකිතක් නැතිවය. ඒ මහා මුදල් වංචාවන් හමුවේ අධිකරණයට කල හැකි කිසිවක් නැත. විනිසුරුවරුන්, චූදිතයින්, සිරගත කරන්නේ කිසිදු නීතියක් නොදන්නවුන් සේය.

රට අරාජිකය, රජයක් නැත. නව රජයක් ඇවැසිව ඇත. ඒ සදහා අපට, ඡායා කැබිනෙට්ටුවක් නොව, ඡායා රජයක් අවශ්‍ය තත්වයක් තුල අඩුම තරමින් මේ ඡායා කැබිනෙට්ටුවේ ආරම්භය සම්බන්ධව සැකමුසු සියුම් සතුටක්ද ඇතිවිණි. සතුට බිද වැටී, සැකය පන ගැන්විණි. තමන් මේ සිටින්නේ රජයක් නැති අස්ථාවර රටක බව නොදත්තවුන් සේ හා තමන් කිසිදා අසා නැති දෙයක් සේ, ඡායා කැබිනෙට්ටු සංකල්පය ගලවා ඉවත් කලේ, මෙය ස්ථාපිත කිරීම තුලින් තමන් ලොකු වරදක් කලවුන්සේය. ඇත්තටම මේ ඉවත් කලේ තමන් ස්ථාපිත කරන ලද බලවත්, වටිනාම යුගයේ සිදුකල යුතුව තිබූ කාර්යයක් බව මෙය ඉවත් කල කිසිවෙකුටත් වැටහෙන්නේ නැති බව, මෙය ඉවත් කල ආකාරයෙන්ම පැහැදිලිවේ. දැන් මේ තත්වය යටතේ අප විසින් සිදුකල යුත්තේ කුමක්ද?  ජනතාව සියලූම මායම් වලින් ගලවා ගැනීමට කටයුතු කිරීමයි; ඡායා කැබිනෙට්ටුවක් නොව අවශ්යව ඇත්තේ, ඡායා රජයක් පිහිටුවා ගැනීමයි. මෙය ජනතාවට අවබෝධ කරදිය යුතුය. මෙහි ඇති වාසිදායක තත්වයන්ද ජනතාවට පැහැදිලි කරදීය යුතුය.

අප ඉගෙන ගත යුත්තේ, අප තුලින්මය.
මෙෙත්රීපාල සිරිසේන මහතා යනු කවුද?

මෙරට විධායක ජනාධිපතිවරයාය.

1.එතුමාව මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතාගෙන් ගලවා ඉවත්කර ගත්තේ කවුද?
2.එසේ ගලවා ඉවත්කරගෙන, ජනාධිපතිවරණයට ඉදිරිපත් කරන ලද්දේ කවරෙක්ද?
3.රනිල් වික්රමසිංහ මහතාව ජනාධිපතිවරණ සටන් වලින් ඉවත් කරන ලද්දේ කවරෙක්ද?
4.එක්සත් ජාතික පාක්ෂිකයින්ගේ ඡන්ද මෙෙත්රීපාල සිරිසේන මහතාට ලබාදීමට කටයුතු කලේ කවුද?
5.දෙමළ ජාතික සන්ධානයේ හා මුස්ලිම් ඡන්ද මෙෙත්රීපාල සිරිසේන මහතාට, ලබාදීමට කටයුතු කලේ කවුද?
6. සැබෑ ලෙසම උතුරු පලාතේ ජනතාව ඉහලම ප්රතිශතයන්ගෙන් ජන්දය පාවිච්චි කලාද?
7.මැතිවරණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව තුල මහින් රාජපක්ෂ මහතා පරදවීම සදහා ඉටුකල කාර්යයන් මොනවාද?
8. පරාජයට පසුව ඒ සම්බන්ධව අධිකරණ ක්රියාමාර්ගයක් නොගත්තේ ඇයි?
9.මහා‌මැතිවරණයේදී මෙෙත්රීපාල සිරිසේනගේ පිලෙන්ම මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ කණ්ඩායමට තරග කිරීමට බලකර සිටියේ කවුද?
10.අවසාන මොහොතේ සන්ධානයේ ලේකම්ව මාරු කර මෙෙත්රීපාල අතට බලය ගොනුකර ගන්න උපදෙස් දුන්නේ කවුද? 11.මහින්ද ජයගත්තත් මහින්දට අගමැති වෙන්න දෙන්නේ නැහැ යන ප්රකාශය කිරීමට මෙෙත්රීපාල සිරිසේන මහතාට සිදුවුණේ ඇයි? 12.වසරක් පුරා මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතාට මානසික වධ  බන්ධන වල නිර්මාතෘවරු කවුරුන්ද?
13.නීත්යානුකූල නොවෙන ආයතනවලින් අත් අඩංගුවට ගැනීම සදහා ඒකාබද්ධ විපක්ෂය ඉඩදී බලා සිටින්නේ ඇයි?
14.හදිසි නීතියක් නැති රටේ, උසාවියෙන් අඩ ගැසූ විට ඉදිරිපත්වෙන පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්රීලාව සිරගතකල නොහැකි පදනම කදී වුවද ඊට ඉඩදී බලා සිටින්නේ ඇයි?
15.ඒකාබද්ධ විපක්ෂය ඉදිරිපත් කල ඡායා කැබිනෙට්ටුවට එරෙහිව මෙහෙයුම දියත්කලේ කවුද?

මේ සියල්ලක් පිටුපසම සිටින්නේ තවත් ඡායා රජයක් බව මෙරට ජනතාව අවබෝධ කරගත යුතුය. ජනාධිපතිවත්, අගමැතිවත් මේ වනවිට මෙරට ජනතාව පත්කල අය ලෙස කටයුතු නොකරන්නේ ඔවුනද ඡායා රජයක ඉත්තන් වන බැවිණි. ඒකාබද්ධ විපක්ෂයට ඒ ඡායා රජයේ ඉත්තන් ලෙස කටයුතු කල නොහැක. ඒබැවින් වහාම 57 ලක්ෂයක් ජනතාවගේ ගෞරවය ආරක්ෂා කරමින් ඒ ජනතාව වෙනුවෙන් නිසි වැඩපිලි වෙලක් සහිතව, මධ්යගත ප්රජාතන්තරවාදී ලෙස චායා රජයක් මේ අවස්ථාවේදී ගොඩනංවාගෙන ජනතාව තුලට ගොස් වැඩකිරීම ආරම්භ කරන ලෙස අපද ගෞරවපූර්වකව ඉල්ලා සිටිමු. ඡායා රජයක් යනු බලවත් කටයුත්තක් මිස විගඩමක් නොවේ.

 

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සංහිඳියා හොරු ගොතන පට්ටපල් බොරු ජිනීවාවලට මරු

July 13th, 2016

මතුගම සෙනෙවිරුවන්           

රටේ දේශපාලනය බොහෝ සෙයින් ව්‍යාකූලය. පාර්ලිමේන්තුව කෝලම් මඩුවක් වැන්න. ජනතාවට හොරෙන් ජනතා ද්‍රෝහී බොහෝ දේ සම්මත කර ගැනීමට කැස කවමින් ඇත. නව ව්‍යවස්ථාව පිළිබඳව අවසාන විග්‍රහය අගමැතිවරයා සහ ව්‍යවස්ථා සම්පාදක මණ්ඩලය  සතුය. අනාගමික රාජ්‍යයක් කෙසේ වෙතත් කෑලි කීපයකට කඩා දමන රටක් සඳහා හොර ලියවිලි තැන තැන සාදමින් ඇත. ඒ අතර  යුද්ධයට සාභාගි වූ ත්‍රිවිධ හමුදා සාමාජිකයන් හට දඬුවම් දීම පිණිස ස්ථාපිත කරන දෙමුහුම් අධිකරණයට පිඹුරුපත් සැකසෙමින් පවතී. එලෙස නොකරන බවට රටේ නායකයා විසින් පැවසුවද එය කරන ආකාරය දැන ගැනීමට නම් උතුරු පලාතේ සිදු වන්නේ කුමක්දැයි සොයා බැලිය යුතුය.

අමාත්‍ය මණ්ඩල තීරණයක් අනුව සංහිඳියා ලේකම් කාර්යාලයක් පිහිටුවනු ලබන්නේ 2015 දෙසැම්බර් 18 දිනදීය.පාකියසෝති සරවනමුත්තු මහතා එහි ලේකම් වරයා වෙයි. මනෝරි මුත්තෙට්ටුවේගම මහත්මිය එහි සභාපතිනියයි. ගාමිණි වියන්ගොඩ විසාකා ධර්මදාස ශාන්තා අභිමානසිංහම් මහාචාර්ය චිත්‍රලේඛා මානගුරු කේ.ඩබ්.ජනරංජන දයා සෝමසුන්දරම් අචාර්ය ෆර්සානා හනීෆා මහාචාර්ය ශමිලා සරමරසිංහ සහ මීරාක් රහීම් එහි සෙසු සාමාජිකයන් වශයෙන් සිටිති. එහි කාර්ය භාරය වන්නේ සත්‍ය හා හුක්තිය ස්තාපනය කිරීම මානව හිමිකම් උල්ලංඝණය වගවීම් සහතික කිරීම යනාදියයි.එහි යට අරුත නම් දෙමල ජනතාව යුද්ධයේදී මුහුණ දුන් අත්දැකීම් පිළිබඳ සත්‍ය සෙවීමයි.විශේෂයෙන්ම යුද්ධය ආශ්‍රිතව මානව හිමිකම් උල්ලංඝණය පිළිබඳ සත්‍යය සෙවීම විශේෂ වෙයි. මීට ප්‍රථම පරණගම කොමිසම මගින්ද එවැනි වාර්තාවක් සකස් කලද එය පිළිගන්නට දෙමල නාකයන් කැමති වූයේ නැත. මෙම ලේකම් කාර්යාලය මේ වන විට කොළඹ රැස්වීම් වාර කීපයක් පවත්වා ඇත. ඉන් පළමුවැන්න වන්නේ ආරක්ෂක ලේකම් වරයාගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන් ආරක්ෂක අංශ දැනුවත් කිරීම උදෙසා පැවැත්වූ සම්මන්ත්‍රණයයි. හමුදා නිළධාරීන්ගෙන්ද සාක්ෂි විමසීමට නියමිත බව මෙහි සඳහන්ව තිබීම මීට හේතුවයි. මීට අමරතව ගිහි ආගමික නායකයන් දැනුවත් කිරිමටද 2016 ජූලි නව වනදා රැස්වීමක් පවත්වා තිබේ. ජමාත් ඉස්ලාම් ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජාතික ක්‍රිස්තියානි ඉවැන්ජලික සභාව ජාතික ෂූරා සභාව සමස්ත ලංකා මුස්ලිම් තරුණ සංගමය සමස්ත ලංකා හින්දු සම්මේලනය  තරුණ බෞද්ධ සංගමය ජමාත්අත්සලාමාහ් සහ ක්‍රිස්තියානි ආයතනය පමණක් මෙයට සාභාගි කරවාගෙන ඇත.

සංහිඳියා ලේකම් කාර්යාලය සිය ප්‍රවිචාරණ ක්‍රියාවලිය සාර්ථක කරගැනීම උදෙසා ප්‍රශ්ණ මාලාවක් ජනතාව වෙත ඉදිරිපත් කර තිබේ. එහි අන්තර්ජාල පෝර්මයක්ද තිබෙන අතර එහි 7ඒ වගන්තිය මගින් කියැවෙන්නේ සත්‍ය සෙවීමේ කෙමිසම සම්බන්ධ කටයුතු කුමන කාලසීමාවක් තුළ අවසාන කළ යුතුද යන්නයි. එසේම එහිම 7 බී වගන්තිය තුලින් අසන ප්‍රෂ්ණය නම් මෙම කමිටුවේ සේවය කළ යුත්තේ කවුරුන්ද යන්නයි.  7 සී මගින් අසන ප්‍රශ්ණය නම් ලැබෙන තොරතුර අනුව කුමක් සිදු කල යුතුද යන්නයි. 8 ඒ ප්‍රශ්ණය ඉතා වැදගත්ය. අධිකරණ යාන්ත්‍රණය ගැන එහිදී විමසයි. කුමන ආකාරයේ උල්ලංඝණය කිරීම් සම්බන්ධව කටයුතු කළ යුතු දැයි එහිදී විමසයි.එසේම එම අධිකරණයට සේවය කල යුත්තේ කවුරුද යන්න ඊළඟ ප්‍රශ්ණයයි. එසේම විශේෂ අධිකරණ යාන්ත්‍රණයක් අවශ්‍ය වන්නේද යන්න එහිදී විමසා තිබේ. 9 ඒ සිට 9 ඩී දක්වා අසන ප්‍රශ්ණ නම්  අතුරුදහන් වූවන් වෙනුවෙන් කාර්යාලයක් පිහිටුවිය යුතුද මෙම ගැටළු සඳහා කුමන ක්‍රියාමාර්ගයක් ගත යුතුද එහි සේවය කළ යුත්තේ කවුරුන්ද ලැබෙන තොරතුරු අනුව කුමක් සිදු කළ යුතුද යන්නයි.11 වන වගන්තිය මගින් ප්‍රකාශ වන්නේ යුද්ධයේ මූලාරම්භයට මූලික වූ හේතු ආමන්ත්‍රණය කිරීමටත් ගැටුම් නැවත ඇති වීම වැලැක්වීමටත් රජය විසින් ගන්නා ක්‍රියාමාර්ග කෙලෙසක වියයුතුද යන්නයි.එසේම විවිධකාරයෙන් ප්‍රචන්ඩත්වය වැනි සිදුවීම්  රජය විසින් පිළිගැනීම සිහි කිරීම සහ සැමරීම සිදු කළ යුත්තේ කෙසේද මෙය සිදු කල යුත්තේ ජාතික වශයෙන්ද ජාත්‍යන්තර වශයෙන්ද යන්න විමසීමයි.

මෙ ප්‍රවිචාරණ ක්‍රියාවලිය දැනටමත් ආරම්භ කර ඇත. එම ප්‍රශ්ණ කිරීම ලංකාව පුරාම සිදු කරනබව ලේකම් කාර්යාලය දැනුම් දී තිබේ.මුළු දිවයිනටම අදාලව යම් යම් තැන්වල මෙම ප්‍රශ්ණ කිරීම් සිදු වුවද  දැනට යාපනය කිලිනොච්චි මන්නාරම ත්‍රිකුණාමලය වවුනියාව  මඩකලපුව වැනි උතුරු සහ නැගෙනහිර පළාත් වල තොරතුරු ගැනීමට වඩා උනන්දුවක් දක්වන බව පෙනේ. එයට හේතුව සංහිඳියා ලේකම් කාර්යාලය සිය ශ්‍රම බලය  උපරිම වශයෙන් යොදවන්නේ එම දිස්ත්‍රික්යන්ට පමණක් වීමයි.මෙහිදී ග්‍රාම නිළධාරි මට්ටමෙන් මෙම කරුණ සැලකා බැලේ.නමුත් මේ වන තෙක් අවතැන් වූ සිංහල ජනතාව ඔවුන්ගේ දේපළ හානිවීම් අතුරුදහන් වීම මෙන්ම පළවා හැරීම ගැන කිසිවෙක් ප්‍රශ්ණ කර නොමැත.එසේම ආරක්ෂක අංශ මූලිකව දැනුවත්කර ඇති නමුත් පහළ මට්ටමේ නිළධාරීන් මේ සබන්ධයෙන් යෙදවීම උත්තර ලබා ගැනීම හිතාමතාම පැහැර ඇති බව පෙනේ.

ඉහත සඳහන් ප්‍රශ්ණ මාලාව අනුව උත්තර ලබා ගැනීමද මෙම ප්‍රවිචාරණ ක්‍රියාවලියේ අරමුණ වී ඇත. උදාහරණයක් වශයෙන් අධිකරණ යාන්ත්‍රණය ගැන අසන ප්‍රශ්ණයේදී මෙහි සේවය කල යුත්තේ කවුරුන්ද යනුවෙන් අසන විට එයට විශේෂ විනිසුරුවරුන් සභාගි කරගත යුතු යයි උත්තර ලබා දීමට ජනතාව පොළඹවනු ලබති. ඒ සඳහා මෙම ප්‍රශ්නාවලිය ජනතාව අතරට ගෙන යන නිළධාරීන්ට උපදෙස් සපයා ඇත.එසේම යුද්ධයේදී සිදුවූ අපරාධ සම්බන්ධයෙන් කුමක් කළ යුතු දැයි අසන විට. (සත්‍ය දැන ගැනීමද අපරාධ පිළිබඳ වගවීමද දඬුවම් දීමද හානිපූරණයද ) උත්තර ලබා දිය යුතු වන්නේ දඬුවම් දීම සහ හානි පූරණය යනුවෙනි. සංහිඳියා ලේකම් කාර්යාලයට සම්බන්ධ රාජ්‍ය නොවන සංවිධාන ඇරුණු කොට මෙම ප්‍රවිචාරණ ක්‍රියාවලිය සඳහා දෙමළ ගෝලීය සංසදය විසින් මෙහෙයවන රාජ්‍ය නොවන සංවිධානද ඇමරිකානු ආධාර යටතේ ක්‍රියාත්මක ක්‍රිස්තියානි කණ්ඩායම්ද දෙමල ජාතික සංවිධානයද සාභාගි වී තිබේ. කතෝලික පූජක වරයෙකු වන එලීල් නැමැත්තා මෙහි ප්‍රධානයෙකි. ඔහු ඇතුලත් සංවිධානයට දිනකට ඩොලර් දෙසීයක මුදලක්ද දුරකතන සහ පරිඝණක ඇතුලත් පහසුකම් ලබා දී ඇත. ඔවුහු මෙම ප්‍රශ්ණ මාලාව රැගෛන ගමට යන අතර තමන්ට අවශ්‍ය උත්තර දෙමළ ජනතාවගෙන් ලබාගෙන සටහන් කර ගනී.මෙම ගැටළු සම්බන්ධයෙන් අභ්‍යන්තරයේ පැවති සම්මන්ත්‍රණ කීපයකදී ප්‍රශ්ණ කර ඇති නමුත් මනෝරි මුත්තෙට්ටුවගම මහත්මිය ඊට සාධාරණ පිළිතුරක් ලබා දී නොමැති බව සැලවෙයි. එක් අවස්ථාවක මානව හිමිකම් උල්ලංඝණය වීම පිළිබඳව දේශනයක් කරගෙන ගිය ඇය සූරියකන්දේ මිනීවලේ සිද්දිය නිදර්ශනයක් වශයෙන් පෙන්වා දී ඇත.  දෙමල ජනතාව සමූල ඝාතන ක්‍රියාවලියට මෙය නිදර්ශනයක් බව මෙම කතාව දෙමලබසට පරිවර්තනය කල පුද්ගලයා මෙහිදී පවසා තිබේ. තවත් වතාවකදී සිංහල අයගේ අතුරුදහන් වීම් ඝාතනය ගැන ප්‍රශ්ණ කිරීමේදී ඇය දුන් පිළිතුර වූයේ මානව හිමිකම් කඩකල හමුදාවට දඬුවම් දීම අනිවාර්ය බවත් එලෙසම දැනට ප්‍රභාකරන් ජීවතුන් අතර නොමැති බැවින් ජීවත්ව සිටින කරුණා සහ පිල්ලෙයන් වැනි පෙර කොටි සාමාජකයන්ට ඒ සඳහා දඬුවම් දියයුතු බවය.

වර්තමාන රජයේ බෙදුම්වාදී නාටකයේ තවත් ජවනීකා කීපයක් පමණි මෙය. පාර්ලිමේන්තුවට පණත් කීපයක් එකවර ගෙනවුත් ජනතාව මංමුලා කිරීම මගින් මේ ප්‍රශ්ණය යටපත් කිරීමට රජයට උපදෙස් ලැබී ඇත. එසේම එක් පැත්තකින් ව්‍යවස්ථා ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ ගැන කතා කිරීමද අනෙක් පැත්තෙන් සත්‍ය සෙවීම සහ අධිකරණ යාන්ත්‍රණය ගැන කතා කිරීමටද තවත් පැත්තකින් පාර්ලිමේන්තුව නියෝජනය කරන මන්ත්‍රීවරුන් මේ ක්‍රියාවලියෙන් ඉවත් කිරීම පිණිස සිරගත කිරීමද අඛණ්ඩව සිදු වේ.ජනධිපතිවරයා සිය පෞද්ගලික මතයන් විහාරස්ථාන වලදී එළිදක්වන අතර දිවයින පුවත්පත විවේචනය කොට කියා ඇත්තේ මෙවැනි අසත්‍ය දේ ප්‍රකාශ කරමින් ජනතාව මංමුලා නොකරන ලෙසටයි. ප්‍රශ්ණය ඇත්තේ මෙවැනි අවස්ථාවකදී දැනුවත්ව සිටින කිසිම බෞද්ධ ආගමික නායකයෙකු නොසීටීමයි. කෙසේ වෙතත් ඉදිරි ජනමත විචාරණයකට සූදනම් වීම රජයේ අදහසබව පෙනේ. විදෙස් ගත දෙමල ප්‍රජාවට චන්දය භාවිත කිරිමට සැලැස්වීම උතුරු නැගෙනහිර දෙමල ජනතාවගෙන් එකතු කරන සාක්ෂි ජිනීවා වෙත යැවීම මගින් මේ ජනමත විචරණයේ දී ජයග්‍රහණය කිරීම රජයේ බලාපොරොත්තුව වී තිබේ. ලබන සැත්තැම්බරයේදී සත්‍ය සෙවීමේ කොමිසම ස්ථාපිත කරන බව විදේශ ඇමැතිවරයා ප්‍රකාශ කර තිබේ. ඒ වන විට ප්‍රවිචාරණ ක්‍රියාවලිය අවසන් ව වාර්තාව රජයට භාර දීමට  නියමිතය. ඒ අනුව වැඩි පිරිසක් විදෙස් විනිසුරුවන් ගෙන් සමන්විත අධිකරණයක් සහ සත්‍ය සෙවීමේ කොමිසමක් ඇති කිරීමට එකඟ බව ප්‍රකාශ කරනවා ඇත. ව්‍යවස්ථා ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණය සඳහා මහජන අදහස් විමසීමේ ක්‍රියාවලියේද සිදු වූයේ මෙයයි.මීට අමතරව යුද්ධයට අමතරව  රටතුල සිදුවූ ගැටුම් පිලිබඳව සහ මානව හිමිකම් උල්ලංඝණය වීම් ගැනද විමසීමට ජනතාවගෙන් උත්තර ලබා ගනිමින් තිබේ. ඉහත සඳහන් කල මුස්ලිම් සහ දෙමල ක්‍රිස්තියානි සංවිධාන වෙත භාර දී ඇත්තේ එයයි. ඒ අනුව රට පුරා ඉඳිකළ අනවසර යාඥා මඩු ඉවත් කරගැනීමට ජාතික බලවේග විසින් ගත් ක්‍රියාමාර්ග මෙන්ම අළුත්ගම දර්ගා නගරයේ සිදු වූ ගැටුමට අදාල සිංහල සංවිධානයන්ට විරුද්ධවද සාක්ෂි සටහන් කරනවා ඇත.මෙම සියළු කටයුතු අවසානයේ චූදිතයන්හට දඩුවම් දීම පිණිස පවතින රජය මෙහෙයවීමට මානව හිමිකම් ජාත්‍යන්තරය උත්සාහ දරනවා ඇත.මෙහිදී ඒකාබද්ධ විපක්ෂය ඇතුළු රජයට එරෙහි බලවේග කුමක් කරන්නේද යන්න ජනතාවට ප්‍රශ්ණයකි. ඔවුහු උතුර සහ නැගෙනහිර සිදුවන දේ ගැන උනන්දුවක් නොදක්වති. දෙමල සහ මුස්ලිම් ජනතාවගේ චන්දය ඉදිරියේදී අත්‍යවශ්‍ය බැවින් මේ ක්‍රියාවලිය ගැන දැනුම්වත්ව සිටියද මත ප්‍රකාශ කිරීමෙන් වැලකී සිටිති. එම නිසා මේ බෙදුම්වාදී ක්‍රියාවලිය ආපසු හැරවීම පිණිස සියළු වගකීම් අසරණ සිංහල ජනතාව වෙතට පැවරී තිබේ. ඉතිහාසයේ සිංහලයන් සිය ස්වාධීනත්වය අහිමි කරගත්තේ රැවටීමෙන් පමණකි. රැවටීමෙන් පසු නැගී සිටීමෙන් සහ බුද්ධිමත්ව කටයුතු කිරීමෙන් රටත් ජාතියත් සම්බුද්ධ ශසනයත් ආරක්ෂා කරගත් බව අප නැවත නැවත සිහිපත් කර ගත යුතු වෙයි.

මතුගම සෙනෙවිරුවන්

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විදුලිබල හා බලශක්ති අමත්‍යාංශයත් ගල් අගුරු වංචා අතීසාරයට ත්‍රිපුද්ගල කමිටු ‘අමුඩය ගසයි‘

July 13th, 2016

දුෂණ විරෝධී පෙරමුණ

ගල් අගුරු මිලදී ගැනීමේ දී වංචාවක් සිදුවී ඇති බවට ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකාරණය සහ විගණකාධිපති දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව එකිනෙකට වෙනස් අවස්ථා දෙකක දී පෙන්වා දී ඇති අවස්ථාවක විදුලිබල හා බලශක්ති අමාත්‍යාංශය එමගින් රටට පාඩුවක් සිදුව ඇතිදැයි සොයා බැලිම සදහා ‘ත්‍රීපුද්ගල කමිටුවක් පත් කළ බවට නිවේදනයක් නිකුත් කොට ඇත.

මාස හතරක් පුරා විගණන විමසුමට පිළිතුරක් ලියා ගත නොහැකිව සිටින ශ්‍රී ලංකා විදුලිබල මණ්ඩලය හා විදුලිබල හා බලශක්ති අමාත්‍යාංශය දුෂිත බැදුම්කර වංචාවේ දී සිදු කළ අයුරින්ම තවත් ඊනියා ත්‍රීපුද්ගල කමිටුවක එල්ලී තම වැරදි වසා ගැනීමට නිර්ලැජ්ජිත උත්සාහයක යෙදෙන බව ‘දුෂණ විරෝධී පෙරමුණ පෙන්වා දෙයි.

අමත්‍යාංශ නිලධාරීන් පසුගිය දා පැය දෙකකට ආසන්න කාලයක් උත්සහ කළේ චෝදනා එල්ලවී ඇති ගල් අගුරු ගනුදෙනුව මගින් රටට පාඩුවක් සිදු වී නොමැති බව අප වෙත ඒත්තු ගැන්වීම සදහා ය.  ඔවුන් අප වෙත ප්‍ර‍කාශ කළ දේ රටට ප්‍ර‍කාශ නොකරන්නේ මන්ද? යැයි අප එම සාකච්ඡාවේ දී විමසූවෙමු.

මෙම ගනුදෙණුව මගින් රටට මුල්‍ය පාඩුවක් වී නොමැති බව ඔවුන් ගණන් හදා පෙන්වන්නට උත්සහ දරන්නේ විගණකාධිපතිවරයාගේ තම ගණනය සදහා යොදා ගත් සූත්‍ර‍ය වැරදි බව පවසමිනි. දුෂණ විරෝධී පෙරමුණ අවධාරණය කරන්නේ තමන් අතින් වරදක් සිදුව නොමැති නම් මේ විගණන විමසුමට මාස හතරක් පිළිතුරු නොදෙන්නේ මන්ද?  කියාය. අධිකරණයෙන් වරදක් වී නම් ඒ සදහා සිදු කළ යුත්තේ ශේෂ්ඨාධිකරණයට කරුණු වාර්තා කිරීමය.

ත්‍රීපුද්ගල කමිටු පත් කිරීම දුෂණ වංචා වසන් කිරීමේ සරළ සුලභ භාවිතය ලෙස දේශපාලනඥයින් ද, දුෂිත රාජ්‍ය නිලධාරීන් ද පත් කොට ගෙන තිබේ.  මෙම ත්‍රීපුද්ගල කමිටුව විසින් ද උත්සහ දරනු ඇත්තේ ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණය හා විගණකාධිපති වැරදි බව කියන්නටය.

ලංකාවේ උත්තරීතර අධිකරණයත් විගණන ක්‍රියාවලියේ ව්‍යවස්ථානුකුල ආයතනයට උත්තර දෙන්නට ත්‍රීපුද්ගල කමිටුවක් පත්කිරීම ‘අතීසාරයට අමුඩ ගැසීමකි.  බැදුම්කර වංචා අතීසාරයට ගැසූ ත්‍රීපුද්ගල කමිටු අමුඩය විසින් නිරුවත් කරන ලද දේශපාලනය ගල් අගුරු වංචා සිද්ධියට ද අත්හදා බැලීමට විදුලි බල හා බල ශක්ති අමාත්‍යාංශය දරණ ලැජ්ජා සහගත උත්සාහය දුෂණ විරෝධී පෙරමුණ දැඩි පිළිකුළෙන් යුතුව හෙළා දකී.

අද දින දුෂණ විරෝධී පෙරමුණ විගණාකාධිපතිවරයාගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටියේ විගණන විමසුමට මාස 4 ක් පුරා පිළිතුරු දී ගත නොහැකි විදුලි බල මණ්ඩලයෙන් මේ පිළිබද නැවත විමසුම් සිදු කළ බවයි.   අදාළ ලිපිය මේ සමග අමුණා ඇත.

 

දුෂණ විරෝධී පෙරමුණ

2016 ජූලි මස 13 වැනිදා

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නාලන්දේ සිංදු ටීච

July 13th, 2016

වෛද්‍ය රුවන් එම් ජයතුංග

1973 වසරේ මාර්තු මාසයේ සඳුදා දිනෙක එක ඒ පන්තියේ ළමෝ දෙපේලියක් සෑදී අත් අල්ලාගෙන සිංදු කාමරය බලා යති. ඉදිරියෙන්ම සිටින්නේ සෝබිත රාජකරුණා සහ ප්‍රියදර්ශන අබේවීර ගුණවර්ධන ය. මම සිටින්නේ පේලියේ මැද හරියේය​. සමන්ත කුමාරතුංගගේ අත අල්ලාගෙන සිටින මම ඉදිරියේ සිටින ගුරුගේ ට සහ අපගේ කණ්ඩායමේ මූලිකයා වූ සුගතපාලට නොයෙකුත් අරියාදු වචන කියමි. ඔවුන් ද හැරී මට ප්‍රතිප්‍රහාර දෙති. ඒ අතර මගේ අවධානය යොමු වන්නේ අපගේ පන්තියේ කොටම සිසුවා වූ රමේෂ් සොයිසා වෙතටය​. මගේ වාග් ප්‍රහාර වලින් බේරීමට රමේෂ්  පෝලිමේ අග දෙසට යයි.

අප සෙමෙන් සෙමෙන් පිය නඟමින් සිංදු කාමරය දෙසට යන්නෙමු. අතරමගදී සුදු සාරියක් ඇඳ සිටි ෆනෑන්ඩු ටීච අපට හමුවේ. ෆනෑන්ඩු ටීච උගන්වන්නේ දෙවන පන්තියටය​. අප ෆනෑන්ඩු ටීචට  බය  නිසා නිහඞවන්නෙමු.

පිට්ටනිය නිසලය. සීසෝ සහ ඔන්චිල්ලා අප එන තෙක් සිටිති. අප කෑදර දෙනෙත් වලින් ඒවා දෙස බැලුවෙමු.

nalandasindu

සිංදු කාමරයට යන අප කාමරයේ වට රවුමට තිබෙන කුඩා පුටු වල වාඩි වෙන්නෙමු. අප ඉදිරියේ විශාල කළු පැහැති පියානෝවකි. පියානෝව වාදනය කිරීමට සූදානමෙන් සිංදු ටීච සිටින්නීය​. ඇය රූමත් ය​. අප කුඩාවුන් වූවද සිංදු ටීච ලස්සන බව වටහා ගැනීමට අපට අතිරේක දැණුමක් අවශ්‍ය නොවේ. එය අපට දැනුනේ සහජ ඉවකින් මෙනි.

සිංදු ටීච හෙවත් ළළනී නවරත්න මිය ඇයගේ හුරු බුහුටි අතැඟිලි වලින් පියානෝව වාදනය කිරීම අරඹයි. අප සියළුදෙනා එක හඞින් ගයන්නෙමු. මුලින්ම පටන් ගන්නේ ඉංග්‍රිසි ළමා කාව්‍යය ය​. ජැක් ඇන්ඩ් ජිල් වෙන්ට් අප් ද හිල් … කියා පටන් ගෙන රෝ රෝ රෝ යුවර් බෝට් ජෙන්ට්ලි ඩවුන් ද ස්ට්‍රීම් … යනාදී වශයෙන් ඉංග්‍රිසි පොයම්ස් හත අටක් අප කියන්නෙමු. අපව මෙහෙයවන්නේ සිංදු ටීචයි. ඇය පියානෝ තාලය වෙනස් කරත්ම අප ඊට අනුකූල වූ සිංදුව කියන්නෙමු.

ඉන්පසු සිංහල සිංදු වාදනය වේ. බොහෝ විට මනකල් හද විල් තලයේ පිපි නිවහල් මල් සිංදුව ඇය වාදනය කරන්නීය​. අප තාලයට ළමා ස්වරයෙන් ඒ ගීතය කියන්නෙමු.

වර්තමානයේ වූවද මට දෑස් පියාගෙන ඒ අතීතයට යා හැකිය​. සිංදු ටීච පියානෝව වාදනය කරන්නීය​. ඒ මිහිරි ඛණ්ඩය සමග මට ළමුන් රැසක් ගායනා කරන හඞ ඇසේ. එය ශ්‍රවණ මායවක් නොවේ.

ළළනී නවරත්න මිය අපට පාසල් ගීය මෙන්ම ජාතික ගීය ගායනා කරන  අන්දම ඉගැන්වූවාය​. සමහර විට වචන අප වැරදියට  උච්චාරණය  කරන අතර ඇය වහාම පියානෝ වාදනය නවතා නිවැරදි වචනය අපට කියා දුන්නාය​. සමහර විට අප වැරදියට  උච්චාරණය  කරන වචනය කළු ලෑල්ලේ ලියා අප ලවා එම වචනය කිහිප වාරයක් කියවීමට සැලසුවාය​. මේ අන්දමට අප නිවැරදිව ජාතික ගීයත් පාසල් ගීයත් ගායනා කරන අන් දම ඇයගෙන් උගත්තෙමු.

සිංදු කාමරයේදී මම , සනත් තිසේරා , අශෝක ජයවර්ධන , දීපාල් ජිනදාස , චන්දික විජේසේන සහ නිස්සංක නිතර රණ්ඩු කරන්නෙමු. ළළනී ටීච අපගේ ගෝරිද බේරුවාය​. එහෙත් කවදාවත් කෝපයට පත්වී අපට වේවැල් පාර හෝ අඩි රූල් පාර නොදුන්නාය​. ඇය ළමුන්ට ආදරය කළාය​. ළමුන්ට ආදරයත් අවධානයත් ඇයගෙන් ලැබුණු බව කිව යුතුය​. එය අද කාලයේ ගුරුවරියක ගෙන් බලාපොරොත්තු විය හැකි දැයි මම නොදනිමි.

අපට වසර අවසානයේ සංගීත විභාගයකට මුහුණ දීමට සිදු විය​. එක් එක් සිසුවා පන්තිය ඉදිරියට විත් ගීතයක් ගයයි. සිංදු ටීච ඒවාට ළකුණු දුන්නාය​. සංගීත විභාගයෙන් බී එකක් ලැබුණු මම කුල්මත් වූයෙමි.

අප දෙකේ මෙන්ම තුන හතර පන්ති වලට යන තෙක් අප ළළනී නවරත්න ටීච ගේ සෙවනේ සිංදු කීවෙමු. අප ඉහල පන්ති වලට යත්ම සිංදු කාමරය අපගෙන් ඈත්ව ගියේය​. එහෙත් ඉඳ හිට ඒ පැත්තෙන් යන විට සිංදු  ටීචගේ පියානෝ වාදනයත් එක දෙක පන්ති වල බට්ටන් ගේ ගීත ගායනයත් ඇසීමට මම ප්‍රිය කලෙමි.

අප සාමන්‍ය පෙළ , උසස් පෙළ වෙත යත්ම සිංදු කාමරයද සිංදු ටීචද අපගෙන් ඈත් විය​. එහෙත් මතකය වෙනස් වූයේ නැත​. උසස් පෙළ නිම කිරීමෙන් පසු 1985 වසරේදී මම නාලන්දාවෙන් පිටව ගියෙමි. ඉන් පසු වෛද්‍ය අධ්‍යාපනය සඳහා විදේශ ගතවී යළි 1996 වසරේදී මම නාලන්දාවට ආවෙමි. පාසල් වෙනස් වී තිබේ. දන්නා අඳුනන කිසිදු ගුරුවර ගුරුවරියක් නැත​. මම අප ඉගෙන ගත් එක ඒ පන්තියට ගියෙමි. ඉන්පසු මගේ දෙපා නිරායාසයෙන්ම සිංදු කාමරය වෙත ගෙන ගියේය​. සිංදු කාමරයේදී කුඩා හා පැටවුන් පිරිවරාගත් සිංදු ටීච මට හමු විය​. ඇය වෙනස් වී නොමැත​. එදා වාගේය​.

ඉන් පසු මට ඇය හමු වූයේ 2002 වසරේ මගේ අධ්‍යාපන ප්‍රතිකාර පොත දොරට වැඩූ දිනයේදීය​. ඒ වන විටත් ළළනී නවරත්න මිය නාලන්දාවේ සේවය කරමින් සිටියාය​.

2016 වසරේ ඇය නාලන්දාවෙන් සමු ගන්නා උත්සවය මම මුහුණු පොතෙන් දුටුවෙමි. නාලන්දාවේ පරම්පරා ගනනාවකට ඉගැන්වූ අපගේ දයාබර සිංදු ටීච අප කෙලෙස ඔබ අමතක කරන්නද ? ඔබට නිදුක් නීරෝගී භාවය අප එක සිතින් පතන්නෙමු.

වෛද්‍ය රුවන් එම් ජයතුංග

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රනිල් මල්ලී සහ චන්ද්‍රිකා අක්කා සර් ටෙස්ට් එක පාස්ද? කමත ටෙස්ට් එක

July 13th, 2016

චන්ද්‍රසිරි විජයවික්‍රම

කමත ටෙස්ට් එක

ප්‍රේමදාස මහතා ජනාධිපතිව සිටියදී ඔහු විසින් “කමත ටෙස්ට්” එකක් කලා යයි කටකතාවක් ඇත. යම් නිලධාරියෙකුට පත්‌වීමක් දීමට කලින් ඔහු ජීවිතයේ කවර දිනක හෝ කමතකට ගොඩවී ඇත්දැයි ඔහුගෙන් විමසා බැලීම මේ ටෙස්ට් එක විය. බස් ටිකට් එකේ අනිත් පැත්තේ බජට් එක හදන්න පුළුවන් යයි කී හා තමන්ට පාන්දරයාමේ නින්ද නොයන නිසාදෝ ගෙවල්වල නිදාගෙන ඉන්නා නිලධාරීන්ට කෝල්කර ඔවුන් නැඟිට්ටවූ කෙනෙකු වශයෙන් ඔහු මෙවැනි ටෙස්ට් එකක් කලා නම් එය පුදුමයට කරුණක් නොවේ. මේ රටේ ජනාධිපතිලා හා ඔවුන් යටතේ සිටි අගමැතිලා රටට බොරුකල අය නිසා මේ ටෙස්ට් එක ඇත්‌තටම කලා නම් එය බොරු ශොභනයක් පමණය කියා මට සිතෙන්නේ ඔහු විසින් පැනවූ නිලධාරීන් විසින් ටයි දැමිය යුතුය යන නියෝගය නිසාය. ලංකාව වගේ ග්‍රීෂ්ම දේශගුණයක් ඇති රටකට ටයි කුමකටද?

කෙසේ වෙතත් මේ බොරු කමත ටෙස්ට් එක වගේ නොව ඊට වඩා වැදගත් ටෙස්ට් එකක් ගැන මගේ හිතට ආවේ, සිරිසේන ජනාධිපතිතුමා රනිල් අගමැති කියනදේ කරණ කෙනෙක් යයි මේ දිනවල යන කතාව නිසාය. මහබැංකුවේ අර්ජුන මහේන්ද්‍රන්-ඉන්ද්‍රජිත් කුමාරස්වාමි කචල් එකේදී මෙය හොඳටම ඉස්මතුවී පෙණුන කාරණයක් විය. මා මෙය කචල් එකක් ලෙස හඳුන්වන්නේ මහබැංකුවේ අධිපතිකම දියයුත්තේ මහබැංකුවේම නිලධාරියෙකුට මිස පිටින් ගේනා පන්දමෙකුට නොවන නිසාය. මිසිස් චන්ද්‍රිකා 2004 දී සුනිල් මෙන්ඩිස් නම් පිටස්තර කොම්පැනි පන්දමෙක් පත්කර, 1950හේ සිටම පැවති නියමිත ක්‍රියා චරියාව වෙනුවට මහබැංකුව සමූපාකාර බැංකුවක් වගේ දේශපාලන මඩවගුරක් කලේය. ඒ අනුව යමින් මහින්ද රාජපක්‍ෂ මහතා 2006 දී කබ්‍රාල් උන්නැහේ දමාගත් විට කබ්‍රාල් මහින්ද රූපය දමා රුපියල් දාහේ නෝට්ටුවක්ද ගැසුවේය. ජීවත්‌ව සිටියදී මේවා කිරීම වස් වදිනා වැඩය. රූපයට, යටි රැවුල් දැමීම, අං දැමීම විනෝදයටත්, තරහටත් කිරීමට ඉන් ජනයාට ඉඩ ලැබේ.  හරිනම් කලයුතුව තිබුණේ හසලක වීරයාගේ රූපය දැමීමය. මිසිස් බණ්ඩාරණායකද මෙසේ ඇගේ රූපය සහිත මුද්දරයක් ගසාගෙන තැපැල් කන්තෝරුවල දේශපාලන තරහ කාරයින්ගෙන් මුද්දරයේ ඇති මුහුණ පසාරු කරගෙන යන සීල්පාර කෑවේය.

ආපසු අපි සර් ටෙස්ට් එකට ආවොත්, මට මතක් වන්නේ මහාචාර්ය හෙට්ටිාරච්චි මහතා විශ්ව විද්‍යාල ශිෂ්‍යයින් සමග ගිය ට්‍රිප් එකක් ගැනය. අතරමගදී තේ බොන්නට  කඩයකට ගොස් බිල් ගෙවන්නට කලිසම් ඇඳගත් කොල්ලෙකුත් හෙට්ටිාරච්චි මහතාත් එකවරම කවුන්ටරය ලඟට යනවිට දුර සිටි වේටර් සර් ගෙන් රුපියලයි මුදලාලිගෙන් එකයි පනහයි කියා කෑගැසුවේය. රෙද්ද හා බැනියම (ජාතික ඇඳුම?) හා කලිසම අතර වෙනස එයය. කලිසම අඳින එකාට ඉංග්‍රීසි පුළුවන්ද නැද්ද යන්නට වඩා රෙදි-බැනියම් කාරයාට නම් ඉංග්‍රීසි බැරි විය යුතුය යන පූර්‍ව නිගමනයක් සමාජයේ තිබේ. අදවුනත් සමාජයේ ඇති මේ බෙදීම ඇල්ලේ ගුණවංශ හාමුදුරුවන් ලඟදී කිව්වා වගේ මයි ගෝඩ් කියන අය හා බුදු අම්මෝ කියන අය අතර වෙනස වගේ ය.

එම් ජේ පෙරේරා දිසාපතිව සිටියදී, මෛත්‍රීපාල සේනානායක මහතා ඔහු යටතේ ඉඩම් නිලධාරියෙකු වශයෙන් සිටියේය.  පසුව ඔහු ඇමති කෙනෙක් වූ විට ඔහු දිගටම එම් ජේ පෙරේරාට සර් කිව්වේය. අනිත් අතට එම් ජේ පෙරේරා මෛත්‍රීපාල ඇමතිට සර් කිව්වේ ය. ඇමෙරිකාවේ නම් සර් කියන වචනයට සතපහකවත් වටිනාකමක් නැත.  එය, අයිසේ, ඕයි, උන්නැහේ, කියනවා වගේ හුදෙක් ඇමතීමක් පමණය. එහෙත් තමන්ගේ පරණ යාළුවෙක් තමන්ට සර් කියා අමතන්නේ නැතිබව ගැන චෝදනාකල ලංකා ජනාධිපති කෙනෙක් ගැන මම අසා ඇත්තෙමි.

ඉංග්‍රීසි කතා කරන කොළඹ කළු සුද්දන්ගෙන්, සරම අඳින සිංහල කතා කරන අයෙකුට මහජන චන්දයෙන් බලය මාරුවුණේ 2005 දීය. ඊටත් වඩා වෙනසක් 2015 දී සිදුවිය. මහින්ද රාජපක්‍ෂ මන්ත්‍රී කෙනෙකුගේ පුතෙක් විය. විද්‍යෝදය පුස්තකාලයේ සහකාරයෙකු ලෙස රක්‍ෂාවක් කලේය. මෛත්‍රීපාල සිරිසේන පොළොන්නරුවේ ගොවි ජනපදයක ගොවියෙකුගේ පුතෙක් විය. ඔහු ග්‍රාම සේවකයෙක් විය. ඔහු වැඩකලේ ඔස්ටින් ප්‍රනාන්දු දිසාපති යටතේය. ඔස්ටින්ට සිරිසේන මහතා විසින් ආණ්ඩුකාර කමක් දුන්නේය. මේ නිසා මෛත්‍රීපාල සේනානායක මෙන් මේ දෙන්නාද දැන් එකිනෙකාට සර් කියනවාදැයි මම නොදනිමි.

නමුත් සිරිසේන මහතා විසින් රනිල්ට හා මිසිස් චන්ද්‍රිකාට සර් හා මැඩම් යයි ඇමතීමේ ක්‍රියාවට ඔහු විසින්ම අනවශ්‍ය අවධානයක් පටවා ගත්තේය. අගමැති හා ජනාධිපතිධූර දරද්දී ඒ අයට සර් මැඩම් කීම දිගටම ගෙනයාම  නිහතමානි හෝ අවංක භාවයේ ගැමි ලක්‍ෂණයක් විය හැකිය. පුද්ගලික ජීවිතයේදී තනිව සිටින විට සර්-මැඩම්-මෛත්‍රී කියා මේ තුන්‌දෙනා එකිනෙකාට කියා ගන්නවා නම් එය මනෝවිද්‍යාත්‌මකව වැදගත් නැත. නමුත් දැන් මෛත්‍රී ජනාධිපති නිසා අනිත් දෙන්නාත් කැබිනට් රැස්වීම් හෝ වෙනත් රාජ්‍ය පොදු රැස්වීම් වලදී මෛත්‍රීට සර් කියනවාද යන ප්‍රශ්නය මගේ හිතට ඒ.

ඔවුන් දෙන්නා එසේ නොකරනවා නම් එය මා සළකන්නේ, මයි ගෝඩ් කියන අය, බුදු අම්මෝ කියන අයව පහතට දමා සිතන බවට එය උදාහරණයක් ලෙසය. චන්ද්‍රිකා හා රනිල් නිසා නොවේ නම් මෛත්‍රීට ජනාධිපති වීමට ඉඩක් තිබුණේ නැත. අනිත් අතට මෛත්‍රී හරහා මිසක් රනිල්ට පස්ස දොරෙන් අගමැති වීමටත්, චන්ද්‍රිකාට යටින් බලය පාවිච්චි කිරීමට ඉඩක්වත් ලැබෙන්නේද නැත. මේ නිසා කෙළෙහිගුණ සැලකීම දෙපැත්තෙන්ම සිදුවිය යුතු නිසා මහින්දගෙන් හා බැසිල්ගෙන් අපමණ හිරිහැර විඳි ගැමියෙකුවූ මෛත්‍රීට, සමානයෙකු ලෙස සැළකීම කුඩා කාලයේ සිට කුරුඳුවත්තේ එක ලඟ බංගලාවල සිට රනිල් මල්ලී-චන්ද්‍රිකා අක්කා කියමින් හැඳුන දෙන්නා විසින් කලයුතු නොවේද? මේ ලඟදී රජීව විජේසිංහ විසින් ටී වී වන් නිවුස් ලයින් එකේදී (ජූලි 5) ලස්සන කතාවක් කිව්වේය. මෛත්‍රීපාල, රනිල් කියන දේකට එකඟ නොවන විට, මම චන්ද්‍රිකාට කියනවා යයි රනිල් අඬන බව (මමී ලඟට යෑම) රජීව් එළි කළේය. බොදු බල සේනාව ගැන ඇති වැරදි මතය හැරෙන විට රජීව ඉතා අවංක පුද්ගලයෙකි.  රනිල් ඔහුගේ මාමාගේ පුතාය. බොරු ආරංචියක් එළිකිරීමට ඔහුට හේතුවක් නැත.

අපේ රටේ පාලන බලය අල්ලාගෙන ඉන්නා කොළඹ පවුල්වල නියම ස්වරූපය මේ ටෙස්ට් එකෙන් දැනගත හැකි නොවේද? ඔබත් මා මෙන් මේ ගැන සිතා බලන්න.

චන්ද්‍රසිරි විජයවික්‍රම
ජූලි 12, 2016

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SRI LANKA: Ganemulla Police illegally arrests and severely tortures innocent man based on mistaken identity

July 13th, 2016

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-085-2016

13th July 2016
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SRI LANKA: Ganemulla Police illegally arrests and severely tortures innocent man based on mistaken identity

ISSUES: torture; illegal arrest; detention; impunity; rule of law; justice
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Dear Friends,

According to the information received by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), Mr. Nihal Aruna Shantha, resident of Kirindivita, Ganemulla in the Gampaha District, was baselessly arrested on 1st July 2016. Having being misidentified as the suspect, he was severely tortured and detained by the officers attached to the Ganemulla Police Station. Later, severely injured, Nihal was admitted to the Gampaha General Hospital for treatment. He later learned that police wanted to, in fact, arrest a man named Aruna Shantha Niroshan of Bollatha, Ganemulla. As a result of this mistaken identity, the innocent victim had to undergo several surgeries in hospital, and has suffered permanent damage to his teeth. The case illustrates the lack of basic investigation skills and mentality and impunity of Sri Lankan law enforcement officers. The AHRC calls for an immediate inquiry into the conduct of the officers attached to the Ganemulla Police.

CASE NARRATIVE:

Nihal is a father of one, and is a permanent resident of Kirindivita, Ganemulla, in the Gampaha District. On 1st of July at 11:30 p.m., while he was at his residence with his family members, three police officers dressed in civilian clothes suddenly forcefully entered his home and tried to drag him away. When his wife questioned the officers, the reason for taking her husband, the officers yelled at her and said they came to arrest him following a request made to the police emergency service (119). They further said that they would take Nihal to the Ganemulla Police Station. Both Nihal and his wife told the officers that there was no reason for anyone to make any emergency call about Nihal, as he had neither dispute and nor had any incident occurred that would make cause anyone to make a complaint in the area.

Then the police officers mentioned that there is an arrest warrant against him. Both Nihal and wife vehemently questioned and refused to concede that there could be a warrant against Nihal, as he had never committed any crime, and no one had made any complaints against him as per their knowledge. Nihal asked the officers to show him the arrest warrant, or a copy of the warrant. The officers refused.

At that point, the officers started to beat Nihal by punching and kicking him. As a result, Nihal fell to the ground. The officers continuously tortured him for 15 minutes, in front of his family members. Within a few minutes he started to bleed from his mouth and chin. Then the police officers used Nihal’s shirt to try and control the bleeding.

Nihal’s wife tried to bring cool water with ice cubes to stop the bleeding. The officer, later identified as Police Constable (PC) Jayathilaka, chased her away, saying, we know how to treat him after taking him to the police station”, which implied that he would be severely tortured there.

Officers ordered Nihal’s wife to bring a trouser and shirt for Nihal. When she was bringing the same, the police officers shouted at her again. Then they asked for Nihal’s National Identity Card. She produced the same. Then they asked for the key of the car, but Nihal’s wife refused. Following this, Nihal was dragged into the police jeep parked nearby.

The police officers first brought Nihal to the Ganemulla Police Station. At the Station they took his mobile into their custody. Several minutes later, the police officers brought Nihal to the Gampaha General Hospital and admitted him to the Emergency Treatment Unit. When he was admitted to the hospital, the doctors questioned the police officers for the reason for injuries. The police officers said that Nihal had fallen from a building. But when the doctors questioned Nihal he explained how brutally he was tortured by the three police officers at his home.

Later, Nihal was brought to the operation theater of the hospital and subjected to several surgeries for his injuries. He lost hearing in his right ear. Three of his teeth have been permenently damaged. The Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) examined him and recorded all the details of the injuries that he suffered as a result of torture.

Nihal was discharged from hospital on 3rd of July and he is, to date, receiving medical treatment and cannot go about his daily chores on his own.

Days after he was arrested and tortured, several officers of Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (HRCSL) visited his house and recorded a statement; Nihal explained the entire story: how his rights were violated. But he still does not know what action has been taken by the HRCSL to investigate the incident other than recording his statement. Nihal has also learnt that several national media groups have given publicity about how he has been tortured by the police. In one report, the Superintendent of Police (SP) Gampaha promised to conduct an impartial investigation into the incident. But Nihal states that he does not know any of such investigation. He states that no authorities have yet conducted an impartial and independent investigation into the incident.

Nihal states that police illegally arrested, detained, and brutally tortured him, and that his fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution have been grossly violated by these police officers. He demands swift justice, reparation for his injuries and for his suffering, and punishment of those responsible.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the authorities listed below expressing your concern about this case and requesting an immediate investigation into the allegations of illegal arrest, detention, and torture by the police perpetrators, and the prosecution of those proven to be responsible under the criminal law of the country. The officers involved must also be subjected to internal investigations for the breach of department orders as issued by the police department.

The AHRC will also write a separate letter to the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in this regard.

To support this case, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear ________,

SRI LANKA: Ganemulla Police illegally arrests and severely tortures innocent man based on mistaken identity

Name of Victim: Mr. Nihal Aruna Shantha of Kirindivita, Ganemulla in Gampaha District.
Alleged perpetrators: Officers attached to the Ganemulla Police Station.
Date of incident: 1st of July 2016
Place of incident: Ganemulla Police Division

According to the information I have received Mr. Nihal Aruna Shantha, resident of Kirindivita, Ganemulla in the Gampaha District, was baselessly arrested on 1st July 2016. Having being misidentified as the suspect, he was severely tortured and detained by the officers attached to the Ganemulla Police Station. Later, severely injured, Nihal was admitted to the Gampaha General Hospital for treatment. He later learned that police wanted to, in fact, arrest a man named Aruna Shantha Niroshan of Bollatha, Ganemulla. As a result of this mistaken identity, the innocent victim had to undergo several surgeries in hospital, and has suffered permanent damage to his teeth.

Nihal is a father of one, and is a permanent resident of Kirindivita, Ganemulla, in the Gampaha District. On 1st of July at 11:30 p.m., while he was at his residence with his family members, three police officers dressed in civilian clothes suddenly forcefully entered his home and tried to drag him away. When his wife questioned the officers, the reason for taking her husband, the officers yelled at her and said they came to arrest him following a request made to the police emergency service (119). They further said that they would take Nihal to the Ganemulla Police Station. Both Nihal and his wife told the officers that there was no reason for anyone to make any emergency call about Nihal, as he had neither dispute and nor had any incident occurred that would make cause anyone to make a complaint in the area.

Then the police officers mentioned that there is an arrest warrant against him. Both Nihal and wife vehemently questioned and refused to concede that there could be a warrant against Nihal, as he had never committed any crime, and no one had made any complaints against him as per their knowledge. Nihal asked the officers to show him the arrest warrant, or a copy of the warrant. The officers refused.

At that point, the officers started to beat Nihal by punching and kicking him. As a result, Nihal fell to the ground. The officers continuously tortured him for 15 minutes, in front of his family members. Within a few minutes he started to bleed from his mouth and chin. Then the police officers used Nihal’s shirt to try and control the bleeding.

Nihal’s wife tried to bring cool water with ice cubes to stop the bleeding. The officer, later identified as Police Constable (PC) Jayathilaka, chased her away, saying, we know how to treat him after taking him to the police station”, which implied that he would be severely tortured there.

Officers ordered Nihal’s wife to bring a trouser and shirt for Nihal. When she was bringing the same, the police officers shouted at her again. Then they asked for Nihal’s National Identity Card. She produced the same. Then they asked for the key of the car, but Nihal’s wife refused. Following this, Nihal was dragged into the police jeep parked nearby.

The police officers first brought Nihal to the Ganemulla Police Station. At the Station they took his mobile into their custody. Several minutes later, the police officers brought Nihal to the Gampaha General Hospital and admitted him to the Emergency Treatment Unit. When he was admitted to the hospital, the doctors questioned the police officers for the reason for injuries. The police officers said that Nihal had fallen from a building. But when the doctors questioned Nihal he explained how brutally he was tortured by the three police officers at his home.

Later, Nihal was brought to the operation theater of the hospital and subjected to several surgeries for his injuries. He lost hearing in his right ear. Three of his teeth have been permenently damaged. The Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) examined him and recorded all the details of the injuries that he suffered as a result of torture.

Nihal was discharged from hospital on 3rd of July and he is, to date, receiving medical treatment and cannot go about his daily chores on his own.

Days after he was arrested and tortured, several officers of Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (HRCSL) visited his house and recorded a statement; Nihal explained the entire story: how his rights were violated. But he still does not know what action has been taken by the HRCSL to investigate the incident other than recording his statement. Nihal has also learnt that several national media groups have given publicity about how he has been tortured by the police. In one report, the Superintendent of Police (SP) Gampaha promised to conduct an impartial investigation into the incident. But Nihal states that he does not know any of such investigation. He states that no authorities have yet conducted an impartial and independent investigation into the incident.

Nihal states that police illegally arrested, detained, and brutally tortured him, and that his fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution have been grossly violated by these police officers. He demands swift justice, reparation for his injuries and for his suffering, and punishment of those responsible.

I request the intervention of your good offices to ensure that the authorities listed below instigate an immediate investigation into the allegations of illegal arrest, detention, torture by the police perpetrators. The officers involved must also be subjected to internal investigations for the breach of the department orders as issued by the police department.

Yours Sincerely,

———————
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. Pujith Jayasundara
Inspector General of Police
New Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 440440 / 327877
E-mail: igp@police.lk

2. Mr. Jayantha Jayasooriya PC
Attorney General
Attorney General’s Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436421
E-mail: ag@attorneygeneral.gov.lk

3. Secretary
National Police Commission
3rd Floor, Rotunda Towers
109 Galle Road
Colombo 03
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 395310
Fax: +94 11 2 395867
E-mail: npcgen@sltnet.lk or polcom@sltnet.lk

4. Secretary
Human Rights Commission
No. 36, Kynsey Road
Colombo 8
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 694 925 / 673 806
Fax: +94 11 2 694 924 / 696 470
E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)

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Three Islamic State suspects sneaked into Sri Lanka?

July 13th, 2016

Adaderana

At least three youths, who are suspected to have joined the Islamic State (IS), had told their relatives that they were going to a Hadees centre in Sri Lanka for religious studies, the Times of India reported.

The trio has been identified as Abdul Rahid Abdualla and Hafeesudheen from Kasaragod and Ezza from Palakkad. Intelligence agencies have not yet identified the Hadees centre or established that a group actually landed in Sri Lanka. But some of the youth had indeed called their families while they were there. Earlier, Yemen was the attraction for ultra-Salafis in Kerala. Three years ago, at least 12 people from Nilambur in Malappuram had gone to the Darul Hadees at Dammaj in Yemen, which Salafis refer to as the ‘Lighthouse of Islam’.

Back home, the ultra Salafis had ‘recreated’ a true Islamic ambience at Athikkatt near Nilambur in Malappuram.Going beyond the teaching of traditional Salafis that three generations after Prophet Muhammad had a perfect understanding of Islam, they sought to imitate life in the times of the Prophet himself. They led a reclusive life, immersed in prayers and kept aloof from society. They even tried to start a goat farm to replicate life in Arabia in the 7th century.

After the fall of Darul Hadees in Dammaj, the centre in Sri Lanka became popular with the ultra Salafis. A Sri Lankan national was detained by the intelligence agencies in the state two years ago after he was found holding religious classes in Nilambur. He ( the Sri Lankan) had arrived on a tourist visa and was holding classes on Islam. We detained him and issued a quit notice.However, no case was registered against him,” said an intelligence officer.

– See more at: http://www.adaderana.lk/news/36037/three-islamic-state-suspects-sneaked-into-sri-lanka#sthash.qa4kzq8f.dpuf

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Govt. should reimburse money if VAT remains at 11% – GL

July 13th, 2016

Adaderana

If the Value Added Tax (VAT) remains at 11%, the public should be reimbursed for the additional amount they actually spent on the tax since May 2, said former Minister G.L. Peiris.

The observation was made while speaking at a press conference held in Colombo today (12).

If the VAT remains at 11 %, until the relevant legislation is passed by the Parliament, the additionally obtained tax money should be reimbursed,” he urged.

Meanwhile, MP Bandula Gunawardena while speaking at the press conference accused the Finance Minister of attempting to go beyond the powers of the Parliament. The VAT was increased without an approval from the Parliament,” he added.

– See more at: http://www.adaderana.lk/news/36039/govt-should-reimburse-money-if-vat-remains-at-11-gl#sthash.jw0zwprq.dpuf

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Resettlement of Displaced Sinhala and Muslim People in Northern Province

July 13th, 2016

 The Global Sri Lanka Forum MEDIA RELASE

 The Global Sri Lanka Forum, GSLF welcomes the Government’s decision to appoint a task force to implement the program to resettle the Sinhala and Muslim internally displaced persons. It is hoped that the work at task force should commence as early as possible to bring justice to the displaced. However, the GSLF has concerns with regard to the nomination of the Minister Risahd Bathuddin and Faizer Mustapha as the heads of the task force. The Minister Bathuddin has acted in a very high handed manner in creating mono ethnic settlements in illegally cleared Wilpattu and Manner areas and therefore, we are of the view that he is racially biased to handle this important re-settlement task. The Minister Faizer Mustache is presently handling the de-demarcation of the districts and electorates. Hence, his functioning in the re-settlement of the IDP s is a factor which will compromise the objectives of the program. Therefore, we request the Government to consider our request to appoint acceptable personnel including a Minister of Sinhala origin as the task force is set up to re-settle also the the Sinhala IDPs.

Yours Sincerely,

Ranjith Soysa

Media Spokesman

For Global Sri Lankan Forum

7 Comments »

Rights petition challenges PM’s request to Speaker

July 13th, 2016

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

A public interest litigant today filed a fundamental rights petition against the request made by the Prime Minister for a ruling from the Speaker on the implication and/or constitutionality of the Singarasa Case”.

Petitioner N.Dharshana Weraduwage cited Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Attorney General naming him on the capacity as Attorney General as well as for the President Maithripala Sirisena.

The Supreme Court, in the Singarasa Case, made a pronouncement that The Constitution of Sri Lanka and the prevailing legal regime do not provide for release or retrial of a convicted person after his conviction is confirmed by the Highest Appellate Court. Supreme Court had ruled that therefore the State does not have the legal authority to execute the decision of the Human Right Committee to release the convict or grant a retrial.

It had noted that the government cannot be expected to act in any manner which is contrary to the Constitution. The Court had also made pronouncements denying the constitutional competence of the President to accede the Optional Protocol of the ICCCPR.

The Petitioner states the Prime Minister had said in Parliament that the government reconfirms the continued validity and applicability of the Optional Protocol to the ICCPR and is firmly committed to implement its provisions.

Petitioner also states that Prime Minister had remarked that these Supreme Court’s pronouncements denying constitutional competence of the President to accede the Optional Protocol of the ICCPR are obiter dicta (an incidental or passing remark, opinion, etc) being unnecessary for the determination of the Singarasa’s application and do not serve as binding authority on the relevant question.

Petitioner complains that in the event of such a ruling, it may trigger a Constitutional crisis. He maintains that such a ruling may be a clear violation of many Articles of the Constitution including Article 120 on Constitutional Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, Article 125 on Constitutional Jurisdiction in the interpretation of the Constitution and Article 129 on Consultative Jurisdiction as well as Article 3 on the Sovereignty of the People, Article 4 on the Separation of Powers.

He contends that the person (the President) responsible for the appointment of the Prime Minister unable to take prompt and suitable action to prevent the happening of the crisis shall be a breach of fundamental rights of the Petitioner. (S.S.Selvanayagam)

– See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/112497/Rights-petition-challenges-PM-s-request-to-Speaker#sthash.yH2lYrjx.dpuf

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Health status of the Elderly Population of Sri Lanka

July 13th, 2016

by Dr. Amara Satharasinghe, Director General, Department of Census and Statistics (Courtesy The Island)

July 12, 2016, 7:59 pm
The elderly population in Sri Lanka has grown rapidly in the past several decades. They were an unprecedented 2.5 million in 2012, and is still increasing. One in eight Sri Lankans is 60 years or over. This is in contrast to about a sparse one in twenty persons a few decades ago. Demographers project that the aged will double by 2041. Every fourth person in the country will then be an elderly. The numerical growth of the elderly has been happening almost invisibly and inaudibly, Can we turn this hitherto helpless and dependent population into a valuable resource and a people that enjoys the evening of their precious lives. It is time to pay a concerted attention to this question.

Most developed countries have accepted the chronological age of 65 years as a definition of ‘elderly’ or older persons. While this definition is somewhat arbitrary, it is many times associated with the age at which one can begin to receive pension benefits. At the moment, there is no United Nations standard numerical criterion, but the UN agreed cutoff is 60+ years to refer to the older population. Lacking an accepted and acceptable definition, in many instances the age at which a person became eligible for statutory and occupational retirement pensions has become the default definition. In Sri Lanka too, cutoff 60 years and above is used to refer to the older population. The elderly are grouped into two categories: the ‘young old’ i.e. aged 60-79 years and the ‘old old’ i.e. aged 80 years and above.

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Demographic transition is a model used to represent the transition from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates as a country develops from a pre-industrial to an industrialized economic system. While Sri Lanka was still a developing country, the population experienced a demographic transition. Age structure of the population in Sri Lanka has changed considerably over the past three decades. Decreasing child population and increasing aged population are the striking changes. For example, the child population (below 15 years) has decreased from 35.2 percent in 1981 to 25.2 percent in 2012, while elderly population (above 60 years) has increased by 6.6 percent in 1981 to 12.4 percent in 2012. The percentage of people in the working age (15 – 59 years) has also increased from 58.2 percent 1981 to 62.4 percent in 2012. These changes in dependent population and an increasing working age population is demographic dividend or a great opportunity to be wisely utilized for social and economic development.

Sri Lanka has experienced a growing trend in population aged over 60 years since the 1950s, as a result of declining mortality and fertility rates. Starting mid 1940s the death rate declined from 19.6 percent to 6.0 percent. Subsequently, the fertility rate or the average number of children born to a woman also began a downward trend declining from 5.5 to 2.4. This trend was accompanied by a fall in birth rate from 37.4 percent in 1946 to 7.5 percent in 2012. Consequently, the Life expectancy at birth increased steadily. An average man in Sri Lanka can expect to live 77.2 years, and an average women 78.6 years.

This age structure transition in Sri Lanka has produced a demographic dividend, which is conducive for an economic takeoff. In this transition, the proportion of the working age population, aged 15 – 59 years (strong and young work force), is significantly larger than the proportion of the dependents. This is called as a “window of opportunity” or a “demographic bonus”. According to demographers, this dividend will not last long since the elderly dependency is increasing rapidly. Therefore, this is an opportunity that needs to be used immediately.

The changing age structure has many and serious implications in almost all aspects of life. The disease profile has already changed from a predominance of infectious and acute disease to rising chronic, degenerative, and expensive to treat diseases. The ageing population will increasingly put pressure on health systems with the rise of chronic cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases etc;. Older people have a need for more health concern and treatment than younger people and the pattern and causes of their illness are different. They need extraordinary care and geriatrics treatment that are expensive. Therefore, the provision of long term health care is a most serious issue. Promoting healthy lifestyles and broadening the use of clinical preventative services are critical to preserving the health of older adults and reducing healthcare costs and long-term care needs.

To meet the demand for much needed data on disease prevalence, at the request of and in collaboration with the Faculty of Community Medicine of the University of Colombo, the Department of Census and Statistics conducted a year-long household survey on health in 2014 covering the whole country. The survey assessed the prevalence of chronic and acute illnesses, accidents, regular use of alcohol and tobacco etc.,. This probably is the first countrywide survey of self-reported (without medical tests or clinical examination) health status in Sri Lanka. Self reported health surveys have been demonstrated as a valid and appropriate method for estimating many health related parameters. Annual sample of 25,000 housing units were selected to give reliable estimates by district level in the year 2014.

Data collected in this survey include prevalence of illnesses: chronic and acute; place from which the treatments were received; accidents; place of accident; health screening; smoking and alcohol use; possession of health insurance etc. Some summary findings are given below.

Diabetes, high blood pressure, heart diseases, stroke, cancer, asthma, mental illness, arthritis, and epilepsy were chronic illnesses considered in this survey while acute illnesses covered diarrhea, vomiting, fever, headache, cough, stomachache, wheezing, sore throat, joint aches and skin diseases. The variations of overall disease prevalence and other indicators by sex, age, geographic location, occupation, industry and employment groups are given in the report (“National Survey on Self-reported Health in Sri Lanka 2014”) released to disseminate the findings.

According to the survey, the most prevailing (27.3%) chronic illness is high blood pressure. This is followed by diabetes (18.0%). Prevalence of arthritis and asthma are 8.0% and 5.9% respectively.

Findings of the survey on elderly population are briefly presented here. Chronic illnesses are those that persist for long time periods. Chronic illness, as can be expected, increases with age. Almost 55 percent of elderly population suffers from at least one chronic illness. That is one in two of elderly persons is living with a chronic illness. This is so with both men (55 %) and women (56 %). However, at the lowest levels of education – grade 5 or below – many more women (80%) are suffering from a chronic illness compared to men (37 %). This is a very wide gap which merits further study and action. In the population as a whole, about one in 5 persons (18 %) is affected by one or another chronic illness.

There is a clear difference in prevalence of chronic illnesses between economically active and economically inactive elderly populations. Among economically active population, the prevalence among men is 42% which is very much less than prevalence among females (61%). Among the ethnic groups, prevalence of diabetes and high blood pressure is highest among Sri Lankan Moors. Prevalence of diabetes in this group is 29% and 37% respectively. These percentages for total elderly population are 18.0% and 27.3% respectively.

This survey asked respondents whether they ever checked blood pressure, blood glucose and blood cholesterol levels. Among the elderly population 86% percent has ever checked their blood pressure. Little above 75 % has ever checked blood glucose and 58 % has checked cholesterol levels. From the elderly population not reporting high blood pressure, only one fifth has ever tested. Similarly, among those not reporting diabetes, only one in four has ever tested blood glucose. Only one third of persons not reporting heart disease has ever tested blood cholesterol levels. These findings may have implications on public screening programs for early detection and preventive care.

An acute illness is an illness that onsets very rapidly and is of short duration. Interestingly, acute illness among elderly is not different from the population as a whole. Approximately 15 % of people have experienced an acute illness over the one month prior to the survey. The elderly population is as could be expected affected much more by chronic than acute illnesses.

The elderly persons are more vulnerable to accidents. About 16 elderly person have experienced an accident compared 11 percent in the general population, and half the accidents have happened at home.

Perhaps an unexpected finding is that smoking and alcohol consumption by the elderly is very much higher relative to the whole population: smoking is three times higher (17 %) and regular alcohol consumption is nearly four times higher (16 %).

Further, from the Census of Housing and Population, 2012, it was found that one third of the elderly population is affected by functional disability: disability in vision, hearing, walking, remembering and concentration, self-care or speaking.

Despite very high levels of health problems, the elderly in our country seem to have little recourse to protective measures. For example, insurance coverage among them very low (3.2%) and which is much less than in the general population (11.3%).

Good health is a major factor in quality of life. A good quality of life of the elderly is an important aspect of the quality of life of the entire population. The implications of quality of life span wide across many areas of the life of people such as a happy and contended life at individual level, and resource allocation and utilization for growth and development at macro level.

The Table below summarizes the chronic diseases prevalence within districts and brings out the differences between men and women.

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