PARANJOY GUHA THAKURTA,ABIR DASGUPTA Courtesy Frontline The Hindu

Beyond trade-offs and extortion, the scheme goes to the very heart of the Sangh Parivar’s long-term goal of an ideological dictatorship.

Published : Mar 29, 2024 18:36 IST – 17 MINS READ
Let us start with four apparently disparate examples.

Example 1: Ajay Mishra Teni, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, is the BJP member of the Lok Sabha from the Kheri constituency in Uttar Pradesh. In October 2021, his son, Ashish Mishra Monu, allegedly drove into a crowd of protesting farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri, killing four farmers and a journalist. The junior Mishra is under trial for murder.

The government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi resisted immense pressure to dismiss Teni from the Cabinet at the time and he has now been nominated by the BJP to contest the seat in the 2024 general election. Teni Maharaj” is an archetype in Indian politics—the local strongman, whose family rules a virtual fiefdom, and who has made himself indispensable to the ruling party and the local administration. Teni apparently has no corporate backer, or entities who purchased electoral bonds before they were banned by the Supreme Court of India.

Example 2: Aurobindo Pharma is a leading manufacturer of pharmaceutical products with an annual turnover of around Rs.24,000 crore—90 per cent of its revenue comes from exports to around 150 countries. Between April 2021 and November 2023, the company, along with two of its subsidiaries with which it shares common directors, purchased electoral bonds worth Rs.77 crore, 77 per cent of which were given to the BJP, 19 per cent to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), and the rest to the Telugu Desam Party..

Aurobindo Pharma, based in Telangana, also has a business selling liquor. On November 10, 2022, the company’s non-executive director, P. Sarath Chandra Reddy, is arrested in the Delhi liquor policy case. Five days later, his company purchases electoral bonds worth Rs.5 crore for the BJP. In June 2023, a court in Delhi allows him to turn approver and extends a pardon to him.  In November 2023, it donates (along with its subsidiaries) a further Rs.50 crore worth of electoral bonds to the BJP. The Aam Admi Party (AAP) led by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is the first incumbent Chief Minister to have been arrested by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on the charge of money laundering, has alleged that Sarath Reddy’s pardon is a clear case of quid pro quo by the right-wing Hindu nationalist ruling regime.

Example 3: Of the total amount of more than Rs.12,154.51 crore worth of electoral bonds that were purchased since April 12, 2019, by buyers whose names have now been made public, the single largest buyer was Future Gaming and Hotel Services that purchased bonds worth Rs.1,368 crore between April 2019 and February 2024. The firm is controlled by Coimbatore-based Santiago Martin, who is often described as India’s lottery king” and who has, for several years, been under the scanner of the Central Bureau of Investigation and the ED.

Also Read | As ECI reveals electoral bonds data, BJP tops beneficiary list; biggest donor is little-known Future Gaming

Martin’s company hedged its donations across the political spectrum—Rs.542 crore to the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Rs.503 crore to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Rs.50 crore to the Congress, Rs.154 crore to the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress, Rs.100 crore to the BJP, and Rs.11 crore and Rs.5 crore respectively to the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha and the Sikkim Democratic Front; the firm has a flourishing paper lottery business in Sikkim.

Full Story

The totalitarian project behind the electoral bonds scheme – Frontline (thehindu.com)

By Karsten Riise Global Research, March 27, 2024

Theme: Intelligence, Terrorism

Looks like the USA has more terrorist attacks in the pipeline.

US media is now preparing the global public that more terror will emerge under the US cover of ISIS-K”.

Moscow rampage reveals ambition, deadly reach of ISIS successor groups

The Islamic State quickly claimed responsibility for Friday’s rampage through the Crocus City Hall concert venue in Krasnogorsk, a few miles west of central Moscow. U.S. counterterrorism officials believe it was ISIS-K, specifically, that recruited the four gunmen who fired automatic weapons at concertgoers before setting fire to the building, killing at least 139 in one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the history of modern Russia.

More attacks may be coming, counterterrorism officials warn. In a development that has been largely overshadowed by the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, ISIS-K and other regional groups have been expanding in size and ambition in recent years.” (Joby Warrick, Robyn Dixon and Souad Mekhennet, The Washington Post, March 25, 2024)

This is typical of US-Western security services. If their cover story and front-organizations are being revealed, they don’t fold but double down on them to keep them running.

As doubt rises in Russia and the world about the ISIS-K” as the real perpetrator behind the heinous attack on Crocus City Hall in Moscow, the CIA will organize new terror inside and outside of Russia to prove” that ISIS-K” is a real thing outside US control. At the same time, the CIA has unleashed the biggest US mainstream media like Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal to ridicule Russia and Putin that they couldn’t prevent the attacks and for pointing to the real western perpetrators behind ISIS-K”.

Read how US media enjoy Russia being attacked:

Source: The WaPo

Source: Wall Street Journal

Former UK security insider Alastair Crooke has revealed that ISIS-K” is an American creation. Listen to Alastair Crooke explaining that ISIS-K” is not real but just a US cover organization:

The US fighting terror” is a lie.

Like the US created Taliban, Al Qaeda,  Al Nusra, and other extremist groups, the US created ISIS-K” to attack US enemies. For the US, terror is really good, as long as hits US enemies and doesn’t come back to the USA itself.

At first, it seemed overwhelming to understand that the US really engages such violent extremism and terrorism – but the trail of the US on the terror path is overwhelming.

The US supported and used Nazis to gain control over Ukraine in 2014.

That was openly documented in Western media at the time, though it has later been censored. For 4 years, the US let the ISIS Khalifat” in Syria and Iraq export enormous amounts of oil via clearly visible tanker convoys through Syria to Türkiye to finance ISIS fighting Al Assad.

That ISIS also used its oil money to finance terror in Paris, Madrid, and Berlin didn’t bother the Americans.

The CIA even organized a cover story in one of the big US media was it was so difficult” for the US to stop ISIS’ enormous oil exports – pure disinformation from the CIA to whitewash the US from its support of ISIS.

Only when Russia entered Syria, was the industrial ISIS oil export bombed away. In a few weeks, Russia stopped the ISIS oil export which the US had let ISIS do for 4 years. The ISIS oil was sold in Türkiye via the highest ranking people, further indicating that the US also had a role in the further distribution of the oil financing ISIS’ deadly expansion and atrocities. At the same time, the US agreed to support Al Qaeda in Syria, also against Al Assad, just using the new name of Al Nusra. New name, same (US) thing.

And for years, the US has used Ukraine to shelter top ISIS leaders and give them genuine Ukrainian passports with false identities, even as they continued directing their international terrorism from Ukrainian soil and under the eyes of Ukraine’s security Service SBU. This was published in 2019 in the UK, when CIA-SBU ties were firmly established. See this.

The SBU, according to US media, has been built from scratch by the CIA. The predecessor of the SBU before the Nazi coup in 2014 had too many contacts with Russia, according to US opinion. So the US appointed its current leader Budanov as chief of a new SBU and led Budanov to build up and staff the new, now current, SBU from scratch.

Rest assured, that all Western security services are involved in this ring of terror involving Nazis and Islamic terrorists alike.

Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles. 

Karsten Riise is a Master of Science (Econ) from Copenhagen Business School and has a university degree in Spanish Culture and Languages from Copenhagen University. He is the former Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Mercedes-Benz in Denmark and Sweden.

He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image is from American Free Press

The original source of this article is Global Research

Copyright © Karsten Riise, Global Research, 2024

Manusha Media

President Successfully Completes Economic Recovery ‘Suicide Mission’

Labour and Foreign Employment Minister Manusha Nanayakkara emphasized today (29) that addressing the economic challenge was like a ‘suicide mission,’ highlighting the Government’s successful completion of the task of restoring the economy to normalcy.

Minister Nanayakkara noted that an uninformed group believes that bringing down inflation, improving exchange rates, and increasing salaries can be achieved during an election to gain an advantage, which clearly proves that such groups are being misled. He pointed out that recent statistics indicate the President has successfully tackled the economic challenges.

The Minister expressed these views during the inauguration of the Jayagamu Sri Lanka program at Gamini Vidyalaya’s Ground in Vavuniya.

The Minister also went on to say;

“When we talk about Jaffna, it brings to mind the Northern Province; mentioning Trincomalee evokes thoughts of the Eastern Province. However, when Vavuniya is mentioned, the sense of connection is even stronger. Let’s look at the map of Sri Lanka to pinpoint Vavuniya’s location. Vavuniya can be likened to the neck of Sri Lanka, making your city a crucial link between the south and the north.

Before King Vijaya arrived in Sri Lanka, the country was ruled by local kings. Subsequently, the Chola invasion brought these areas under their control. Later, the Pandyas ousted the Cholas and ruled over Vavuniya. It is widely acknowledged that Hemamala and Prince Dantha brought the Dalada (Tooth Relic) through this region. Historians cite the Dalada Maliga in Madukande as evidence of this historical event. 

The Vanniyars ruled this province as far back as the 13th century, before British rule began. They maintained contact with the regional rulers of Jaffna. Today, approximately 80 percent of Vavuniya’s population consists of Tamil speakers, while Sinhala speakers make up about 20 percent.

Sri Lanka is akin to an open-air museum, brimming with historical significance in every corner, representing diverse ethnicities. It is the government’s responsibility to safeguard this rich heritage. Examining Vavuniya’s history reveals a unique aspect compared to other provinces. While rulers may have changed over time, the bond among its people remained constant, symbolizing enduring relationships. Vavuniya stands as a testament to friendship and unity.

Today, President Ranil Wickramasinghe is working towards building a unified nation. Instead of repeating history’s divisive mistakes, such as imposing Sinhalese as the sole official language, which led to divisions and created rifts between races, I am committed to ensuring equitable distribution and fairness across every region of the country.

There are many lessons to be learned from the people of the north, as I have mentioned in Jaffna too. The people in the south faced a shortage of fuel and gas, which eventually turned into an ‘Aragalaya’ across the country. The people in the north endured oppression for about three decades.

Today, many leaders are stepping forward to lead the country and save the nation. However, during the economic crisis, no one came forward to take charge. There was no new Lee Kuan Yew or Mahathir Mohamad at that time. When the situation was dire, only one fearless leader took over the country. That leader is President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

As of July 2022, the country’s reserves were $1,815 million. By February of this year, we have increased foreign reserves to $4,491 million. Some argue that this increase is due to our strategy of not paying off debts. However, we have started to repay our foreign debt other than International Sovereign Bonds (ISBs). We have also opened up imports except for private vehicles. Additionally, migrant workers have been granted the opportunity to import private vehicles.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the gross domestic product was negative at minus 12.4. However, we were able to turn it into a positive value. By the fourth quarter of last year, we had managed to grow it to positive 4.2.

In the year 2022, 52 major state-owned enterprises in the country were experiencing significant losses. The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) paid the salaries of the employees using public tax money. These enterprises collectively suffered a loss of Rs 744,658 million. However, by April 2023, those institutions were turned profitable. Today, these institutions have generated a profit of Rs 144,224 million.

When we accepted the challenge, inflation had risen to 70-80 percent. By July 2022, inflation had decreased to 60 percent. As of today, we have managed to reduce it to a single-digit value, with current inflation standing at 5.9 percent.

When we took over the government, one dollar was worth 380 rupees. There were predictions that the dollar could reach 500, 600, or even 700 rupees. Economic experts doubted where the dollar would stabilize, with some suggesting extreme scenarios like needing a wheelbarrow full of money to buy a loaf of bread. However, today, we have successfully brought the dollar down to the level of 290 rupees. 

By May 2022, the amount of remittances sent by expatriate workers had dropped below $200 million per month. In the first two months of 2023, the country received $845 million. However, in just the first two months of this year, migrant workers have sent $964 million. Consequently, since we took over, the country has received $10 billion in foreign remittances.

Following remittances from expatriate workers, tourism stands as the country’s largest source of dollars. In 2022, the country welcomed 178,000 tourists. However, in the first two months of this year alone, the number of tourists has exceeded 400000. During the same period in 2023, tourism revenue rose from $332 million to $688 million.

During this period, the cabinet has made significant decisions regarding employee salaries. While government employees are receiving salary increases, the minimum wage for private sector employees has also been raised from 12,500 rupees to 17,500 rupees, representing a 40 percent raise. This increase includes the 3,500 rupees granted through budget concessions, resulting in a new minimum basic salary of 21,000 rupees. Additionally, adjustments have been made to employees’ ETF and EPF benefits as well. Plantation workers have also voiced their demands for higher wages, prompting the President’s intervention. Despite disagreements between estate unions and employers regarding salary hike proposals, the Ministry is actively working to address these concerns.

Now when we are doing these things, some people say that the election is coming. We tell them. When a vote comes, if we can reduce inflation, if we can increase the value of the rupee, if we can increase wages in this way, we say let’s always have elections, then we can give more relief to the people. I remind you that it is a group of idiots who can’t even understand basic economic principles supporting certain political movements.”

Kaarige Channel Eka | Dharmasri Kariyawasam

Karan Thapar. Hindustan Times |

The time has come for us to redefine contempt. We don’t need to protect the position or reputation of judges, writes Karan Thapar.

Are judges special or is justice special? To put it differently, can you criticise a judge without imperilling the sanctity of justice? This is the core concern at the heart of the debate whether freedom of speech should have primacy over the law on contempt.

My answer is clear and simple: justice is special; judges are only a means to that end. Therefore it follows you can criticise a judge without lowering or degrading the majesty of justice. If a judge feels wronged, he or she, like you or me, can take recourse to the law of libel. But I don’t believe there is anything in the character of the office that should protect a judge, any more than you and I, against criticism.

Hindustan Times – your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

As far back as 1968, Lord Denning, then Master of the Rolls in Britain and perhaps the greatest judge of our time, said of the law of contempt: Let me say at once that we will never use this jurisdiction as a means to uphold our own dignity. That must rest on surer foundations. Nor will we use it to suppress those who speak against us. We do not fear criticism, nor do we resent it. For there is something far more important at stake. It is no less than freedom of speech itself. It is the right of every man, in parliament or out of it, in the press or over the broadcast, to make fair comment, even outspoken comment, on matters of public interest… we must rely on our own conduct itself to be its own vindication.”

To prove he meant what he said, Lord Denning not only accepted harsh criticism but even physical abuse without recourse to contempt. In his book, ‘The Due Process of Law’, he recounts how a Miss Stone threw books at him and Lord Diplock, a fellow judge, only to be ignored. We took little notice”, he writes. She had hoped we would commit her for contempt of court – just to draw attention to herself. As we took no notice, she went towards the door. She left saying: ‘I congratulate your Lordships on your coolness under fire’.”

Our own Justice Markandey Katju, in a lecture delivered this January, has put it pithily. If a person calls me a fool”, he said, whether inside court or outside it, I for one would not take action as it does not prevent me from functioning, and I would simply ignore the comment, or else say that everyone is entitled to his opinion. After all, words break no bones.”

In the same lecture, Justice Katju explained how he would respond to criticism. Either the criticism was correct, in which case I deserved it, or it was false in which case I would ignore it… Sometimes an honest and learned judge is unjustifiably criticised. But for one such person criticising an upright judge, one hundred people will immediately rush to his defence … why then should judges get upset or be afraid of criticism, particularly when we are living in a democracy?”

So, then, is there ground for maintaining the law of contempt? There is, but it should be specifically intended to ensure the efficient administration of justice. As Justice Katju puts it: The test to determine whether an act amounts to contempt of court or not is this: does it make the functioning of judges impossible or extremely difficult? If it does not, then it does not amount to contempt of court, even if it is harsh criticism… the only situation where I would have to take some action was if my functioning as a judge was made impossible e.g. if someone jumps on to the dais of the court and runs away with the court file, or keeps shouting and screaming in court, or threatens a party or witness. After all I have to function if I wish to justify my salary.”

The time has come for us to redefine contempt. We need to guarantee the protection of justice. We don’t need to protect the position or reputation of judges. And we certainly must not shelter them from criticism.

උපුටා ගැන්ම  ලංකා ලීඩර්

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන, සය දින නිල සංචාරයකට චීනයට ගියේ චීන ආණ්ඩුවෙන් ලැබුණ ආරාධනාවක් අනුවය. ඉරිදා(24) එහි ගිය අගමැති චීන ජනාධිපති ෂී ජින්පින්, අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ලී චියැං සහ ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ අමාත්‍යවරු රැසක් හමුවූහ. එරට කතානායකවරයාද දිනේෂ්ව හමුවිය.දෙරට අතර ගිවිසුම් 9ක් අත්සන් තැබුවේද ඒ අතරතුරය.

චීන කොමියුනිස්ට් පක්ෂයේ(CPC)හි ජාතික මහජන කොංග්‍රසයේ සභාපති Zhao Leiji මහතාද මුණගැසී සාකච්ඡා කළ දිනේෂ්, Beijing හි Tiananmen චතුරස්‍රයට පැමිණ දිවිපිදූ රණවිරුවන්ට, රණවිරු ස්මාරකයේදී පුෂ්පෝපහාර දැක්විය. ඔහු පළමුවෙන් ම කළේ එරට ශ්‍රී ලංකා තානාපති කාර්යාලයේදී, ශ්‍රී ලාංකේය වෘත්තිකයන් හමුවීමය.

වත්මන් ආර්ථික සංවර්ධන ප්‍රයත්නයන්ට සහභාගී වෙලා මව්බිමට සම්පතක් වෙන්න, මේ වෙලාවේ ඒක අත්‍යවශ්‍යයි” දිනේෂ් ඉල්ලා සිටියේය.

බිජිං අගනුවර සිංහ ධජ සාගරයක් සේ දක්නට ලැබුණේ චීනයේ සියලු ප්‍රධාන නායකයන්, ශ්‍රී ලංකා අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් වෙනුවෙන් හමුවීම් සංවිධාන කර තිබූ නිසාය. චීන අගමැති Li Qiang, දිනේෂ්ව මහජන චීනයට පිළිගත්තේ විශේෂ උත්සවයක් පවත්වමිනි. ඔවුන්ට දිනේෂ් සමග විශේෂ බැඳියාවක් තිබිණි.

චීනය සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකාව අතර මිත්‍රත්වය ශක්තිමත් කිරීම සඳහා ඔබ සහ ඔබේ පවුලේ අය අඛණ්ඩව කටයුතු කළා” චීන අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය Li Qiang, කීවේ රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික නිල සාකච්ඡා අතරතුරය.

අතිශය වැදගත් වූයේ චීන ජනාධිපති ෂී ජින්පින් සමග පැවති සාකච්ඡාවයි. ෂී ජින්පින් සහ දිනේෂ් අතර සාකච්ඡාව පැයකට අධික කාලයක් පැවැත්විණි. ඒ, බීජිං අගනුවර මහජන චීන නිල මහා ශාලාව හෙවත් Great Hall හිදී ය.

ශතවර්ෂයකට ආසන්න කාලයක්, පිලිප් ගුණවර්ධන සහෝදරයා සහ පවුලේ උදවිය චීනයේ ඉතා සමීපතම මිතුරන් ලෙස අපි සලකනවා. ඔබේ පැමිණිම දීර්ඝකාලීන මිත්‍රයෙක් හමුවුණා හා සමානයි. ඒ නිසා මේ අවස්ථාවේ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට විශේෂ සහයෝගයක් අපි ලබා දෙනවා” යැයි චීන ජනාධිපතිවරයා කිවේ මහත් ලෙංගතුකමකිනි. පිලිප්ගේ මුණුපුරා වන, දිනේෂ්ගේ පුත් පා.ම.යදාමිණි ගුණවර්ධනද ඒ අවස්ථාවේ එහි සිටියේය. රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යවරු වන ෂෙහාන් සේමසිංහ හා අශෝක ප්‍රියන්තද මෙම සංචාරයට අගමැති සමග එක්වූහ.

චීන ජනපති එසේ සිහිපත් කළේ, පිලිප් ගුණවර්ධනයන් සහ කුසුමා ගුණවර්ධන ගැනය. ශ්‍රී ලංකා චීන මිත්‍රත්ව සංගමයේ මුල්ම සභාපතිනිය(1950දී) වන්නේ දිනේෂ්ගේ මව,කුසුමා ගුණවර්ධනයි. 1956 පෙරළියට පෙර 1951දී පිලිප් චීනයට ගියේ, චීන විප්ලවයෙන් පසු එරටට ගිය පළමු ශ්‍රී ලංකේය කණ්ඩායම ලෙසය. නොබැඳි පිළිවෙතට අඩිතාලම දැමුනේ එදාය. ජාතික වීරවර පිලිප් ගුණවර්ධනයන්ගේ 52 වන ගුණානුස්මරණය යෙදී තිබුණේද මාර්තු 26 වන දාය. එදින දිනේෂ් සිටියේ චිනයේය. එමනිසා 26 වනදා ඉටු කළ යුතු ම යුතුකම දිනේෂ් කලින් ම ඉටු කළේය. ඒ, අවිස්සාවේල්ල බොරළුගොඩ පිලිප් ගුණවර්ධන සමාධියට උපහාර දැක්වීමයි.

.ආදායම සාධාරණ ලෙස බෙදීයන දිළිඳුකමින් තොර ආසියාවක් ගොඩනැඟීමට කැපවන්න” අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන ආසියානු රටවලින් ඉල්ලා සිටියේ ආසියාව සඳහා වූ බොආඕ (BOAO) සංසදයේ, 2024 වාර්ෂික සම්මන්ත්‍රණය, චීනයේ හයිනාන් නුවර දී 2024.03.28 දින, අමතමිනි. දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන මහතා, චීන බෞද්ධ සංගමයේ සභාපති, අතිපූජ්‍ය Yan Jue හිමියෝ, බීජිං නුවරදී හමුවී දෙරට අතර පවතින බෞද්ධ සහයෝගීතාව වැඩිදියුණු කිරීම පිළිබඳව සාකච්ඡා පැවැත්වීය.

කොළඹ සහ ෂැංහායි අතර සහෝදර නගර ගිවිසුම අත්සන් කර බොහෝ කාලයක් ගත වී තිබේ. තම සහෝදර ප්‍රසන්න ගුණවර්ධන කොළඹ නගරාධිපති ධුරයේ සිටින කාලයේ අත්සන් කළ මෙම ගිවිසුම යටතේ තවදුරටත් විශාල වැඩ කොටසක් සිදු කළ හැකියි” චීනයේ ෂැංහායි නගරයේදී ෂැංහායි නගරාධිපති Gong Seng මහතා හමුවෙමින් දිනේෂ් කීය. චීනයේ විශාලතම ඉදිකිරීම් සමාගම වන චයිනා කොමියුනිකේෂන් කොන්ස්ට්‍රක්ෂන් සමාගම(CCCC), චයිනා හාබර් ඉංජිනියරින් සමාගම, විශාලතම තොරතුරු තාක්ෂණ සමාගම වන Huawei යන සමාගම් සමඟ බීජිං නුවරදී සාකච්ඡා පැවැත්වී ය.

චීනයේ හයිනාන් පළාතේ වෙන්චැං හි නිවර්තන විද්‍යා පිළිබඳ චීන ඇකඩමියේ නිරීක්ෂණ චාරිකාවකටද අගමැති දිනේෂ් 2024.04.28 දින එක් විය.

අගමැතිගේ චීන නිල සංචාරයේදී දෙපාර්ශවය, කාර්මික ආයෝජන, ප්‍රමිතිකරණය, ජීවනෝපාය ආධාර, කෘෂිකර්මය, මාධ්‍ය සහ වෙනත් ක්ෂේත්‍රවල සහයෝගිතා ගිවිසුම්වලට අත්සන් තැබීය.

Xinhua පුවත් සේවය වාර්තා කළේ, චීන මහජන සමුහාණ්ඩුව සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකා ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී සමාජවාදී ජනරජය 2024.03.29 දින ඒකාබද්ධ ප්‍රකාශයක්ද නිකුත් කළ බවයි.

– Media unit

Josephine Ma Courtesy The South China Morning Post

• Pledge comes in joint statement issued as Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena wraps up five-day visit to China
• Beijing also willing to ‘play a positive role’ in the IMF ‘to assist Sri Lanka in financial relief’, statement says

China has pledged to continue to support Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring, in a joint statement issued as Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena wrapped up a five-day visit to the country.

China would support Sri Lanka’s negotiations with Chinese creditors, it said in the statement released on Friday, though it did not give further details.

Beijing was willing to continue supporting its financial institutions to actively negotiate with Sri Lanka, maintain friendly communication with other creditors, and play a positive role in the International Monetary Fund to assist Sri Lanka in financial relief”, the statement said.

China is the largest bilateral creditor of Sri Lanka, which declared bankruptcy in 2022 and suspended repayments on some US$83 billion in local and foreign loans after it ran out of foreign reserves.

Debt restructuring was top of the agenda for Gunawardena’s visit to China, where he held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing before travelling south to Hainan province to address the Boao Forum.

Colombo is working to maintain an IMF bailout of US$2.9 billion, extended on the condition of debt restructuring with foreign debtors and measures taken to develop the country’s economy.

In October, Sri Lanka said it had reached an agreement with the Export-Import Bank of China to cover about US$4.2 billion of outstanding debt.

However, there was no news about talks with other major Chinese debtors, including the China Development Bank and some Chinese state enterprises.

By the end of 2022, China’s debt stock in Sri Lanka had reached nearly US$7.3 billion, constituting 19.6 per cent of the island country’s public external debt. The figure includes debts by both government-backed banks and state-owned companies, according to a paper by Chulanee Attanayake of the National University of Singapore, published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Contemporary East Asia Studies last May.

Friday’s joint statement also said China would continue to support Port City Colombo and the Hambantota Development Project, and envisioned turning them into flagship projects of the Sino-Sri Lankan joint construction of the ‘Belt and Road [Initiative]’”.

Hambantota and debts owed to China have come under international scrutiny after Colombo handed over the strategically important port to a venture led by China Merchants Port Holdings Co in return for US$1.1 billion on a 99-year lease in 2017. The move also irked regional rival India, as the port at the southern tip of Sri Lanka is a potential key maritime hub in the Indian Ocean.

China has rejected accusations by Western media and officials that its infrastructure investment projects in Sri Lanka are debt traps.

Are China-backed mega projects causing Sri Lanka to face ‘Chinese debt trap’?20 Nov 2023

The joint statement also said China would encourage more companies to invest in Sri Lanka, while Sri Lanka said it was planning to announce more preferential treatment for Chinese companies to invest in the Colombo port city and Hambantota.

President Xi highlighted China’s support for the two projects during his meeting with Gunawardena on Wednesday.

China will also increase imports from Sri Lanka including tea, according to the statement.

– ශමින්ද්‍ර ෆර්ඩිනැන්ඩෝ – (දිවයින)

පෙට්‍රල් ලීටර් 33,000 පිරවූ සිපෙට්කෝ බව්සරයක් ගිනි තැබීමට කලහකාරීන් 2022 අප්‍රේල් 19 රඹුක්කන දී උත්සහ කළ අවස්ථාවේදී එය වැළැක්වීමට වෙඩි තැබීමට නියෝග කළ එවකට කෑගල්ල පොලිස් ප්‍රධානි කේ. බී. කීර්තිරත්න අත්අ ඩංගුවට ගැනීම නිසි පරිදි විමර්ශනය නොකර ඊට පසුව රටේ උත්ගත වූ තත්ත්වය තේරුම්ගත නොහැකිය. එසේ අත්අඩංගුවට ගත් කීර්තිරත්න කලහකරුවන් 2022 ජුලි 09, වන දින ජනාධිපති ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ පලවාහැර, ජනාධිපති ලේකම් කාර්යාලය සහ අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය කාර්යාලය අත්පත් කරගෙන, අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහගේ කොල්ලුපිටිය නිවසට ගිනිතබා, පාර්ලිමේන්තුව වටලන අවස්ථාවේදීත් කීර්තිරත්න සිටියේ ඇප නොමැතිවය. ඔහුට අමතරව තවත් පොලිස් නිලධාරීන් කිහිප දෙනකු ඇප නොමැතිව සිටියේය. රඹුක්කන සිද්ධියෙන් පසුව පොලිසිය හෝ යුද හමුදාව කලහකරුවන්හට කිසිදු අවස්ථාවක වෙඩි තැබුවේ නැත.

මෙම ලිපිය හිටපු ජනාධිපති ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ මෑතකදී එළිදැක්වූ ‘ජනාධිපති ධුරයෙන් මා නෙරපීමේ කුමන්ත්‍රණය’ නම්වූ කෘතිය සම්බන්ධයෙන් කළ විචාරයක් නොවේ.

හිටපු යුද හමුදාපති සහ ආරක්ෂක මාණ්ඩලික ප්‍රධානි ජෙනරාල් ශවේන්ද්‍ර සිල්වා සහ ආරක්ෂක ලේකම් විශ්‍රාමික ජෙනරාල් කමල් ගුණරත්න සම්බන්ධයෙන් එම කෘතිය ඉදිරිපත් කර ඇති අතිශය ආන්දෝලණාත්මක අදහස් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ජිනීවා මානව හිමිකම් දඬුකඳේ හිරවී සිටීම පිළිබඳව ගැඹුරින් සාකච්ඡාවක් රට තුළ ඇතිවීමට බලපෑමක් කළ යුතුය.

ජාතික මැතිවරණයක් අභියස සිටින බංකොලොත් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ජාතික ආරක්ෂාව කුමන හේතුවක් මත හෝ දුර්වල වීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් අවධානය යොමු කළ යුතු නොවේද?

බෙදුම්වාදී ද්‍රවිඩ ත්‍රස්තවාදය පරාජය කර වසර 15 කට පසුවවත් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව මානව හිමිකම් කඩකිරීම් සහ සමූල ඝාතන චෝදනා නිෂ්ප්‍රභා කිරීමට නිසි ක්‍රියාමාර්ගයක් ගැනීමට අසමත් වීම පසුබිමේ ඇමෙරිකා එක්සත් ජනපදය ජෙනරාල් ශවේන්ද්‍ර සිල්වාට සහ ඔහුගේ පවුලේ සාමාජිකයන්ට එරෙහිව 2020 පෙබරවාරි 14 වන දින පැනවූ ගමන් තහනම ඔහුට ප්‍රබල බලපෑමක් කළ බවට හිටපු ජනාධිපතිවරයා යෝජනා කර ඇත. (රාජපක්ෂ ජනාධිපතිවරයාට එරෙහිව මිරිහානේ පැඟිරිවත්තේ ඔහුගේ පෞද්ගලික නිවාසය අසල 2022 ජුලි 31 දින රාත්‍රියේ කලහකාරී තත්ත්වය ඇතිවූ අවස්ථාවේ යුද හමුදාව එම ප්‍රදේශයට යෙදවුවාද / යෙදවූයේ නොමැතිද යන තත්ත්වය කිසිදු අපහසුවකින් තොරව තහවුරු කරගත හැකිය.)

රට ගිනිගත් 2022 මාර්තු 31, මැයි 09/10 සහ ජුලි 09 දිනවලදී යුද හමුදාවට සහ අනෙකුත් ආරක්ෂක හමුදාවන්වලට නිසි නියෝග නිකුත් නොකිරීම ජෙනරාල් සිල්වා ඇමෙරිකානු බලපෑමට යටත් වීම නිසා සිදුවූවා දැයි හිටපු ජනාධිපතිවරයා ප්‍රශ්න කර ඇත. කෙසේ වෙතත් එවකට අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහගේ කොල්ලුපිටියේ පෞද්ගලික නිවාසය ගිනිතබා ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂට ජනාධිපති මන්දිරය අතහැර දැමීමට සිදුවූ ජුලි 09 දින ජෙනරාල් සිල්වා රටේවත් සිටියේ නැත. ඒ වනවිට හමුදාපති ධූරය දැරුවේ වත්මන් හමුදාපති ලුතිනල් ජෙනරාල් විකුම් ලියනගේය. එවකට ජනාධිපතිවරයා ඔහු එම තනතුරට ජුනි 01 දින පත් කළේය.

ලුතිනල් කර්නල්වරයකු ලෙස 1991 අග විශ්‍රාම ගිය ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ මෙන්ම ජෙනරාල් සිල්වා, ජෙනරාල් ගුණරත්න සහ ලුතිනල් ජෙනරාල් ලියනගේ ද ගජබා රෙජිමේන්තුවේය.

ජනාධිපති ධුරයට අමතරව ආරක්ෂක අමාත්‍ය මෙන්ම සන්නද්ධ හමුදා ප්‍රධානි වූ හිටපු ජනාධිපතිවරයා එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය (එජාප) සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂය (ශ්‍රීලනිප) එක්වී ගොඩනැඟූ යහපාලන ආණ්ඩුව 2015 ජිනීවාහිදී කළ මහා පාවාදීම හේතුවෙන් ඇතිවූ තත්ත්වය අවධාරණය කරන්නේ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ නින්දාසහගත අසමත් වීමයි.

ජිනීවා පාවාදීම පසුබිමේ සමස්ත ආරක්ෂක ක්‍රියාදාමය බිඳ වැටීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ කතුවරයා පලකළ කෙටි අදහස් දැක්වීමට එහා තත්ත්වය වගකිවයුත්තන්ගේ අවධානයට යොමු විය යුතුය. ජිනීවා උගුල ජෙනරාල් ශවේන්ද්‍ර සිල්වාගේ පමණක් ප්‍රශ්නයක් නොවේ. ඔහුගේ දියණියකට ඇමෙරිකාවේ යෑමට අවස්ථාවක් නොලැබීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් ගැටලුවක් ද නොවේ. ජිනීවා මානව හිමිකම් අභියෝගයට නිසියාකාරව මුහුණ දීමට අසමත් වීම නිසා රට පැටලී ඇති අතිශය තීරණාත්මක සහ අර්බුදකාරී තත්ත්වය රාජපක්ෂ ජනාධිපතිවරයා පලවා හැරීමට උපාය මාර්ගික වශයෙන් යොදා ගත්තාද ?

බටහිර මෙහෙයවන ජිනීවා උපාය මාර්ගය ආපසු හැරවීමට කටයුතු කිරීමට ගෝඨාභය රජය උනන්දු කිරීමට ජාතික සංවිධාන දැරු උත්සාහය අසාර්ථක විය. ඒ යහපාලන රජය කාලය තුළ ජාතික සංවිධාන ජිනීවා ප්‍රෝඩාවට එරෙහිව ක්‍රියාත්මක කළ මෙහෙයුමේ දිගුවක් විය. ආචාර්ය ගුණදාස අමරසේකර ශූරීන්, යසස් ධර්මදාස සහ වෛද්‍ය වසන්ත බණ්ඩාර එම කණ්ඩායමේ විය.

ජාතික ආරක්ෂක කවුන්සිලය ඉදිරියේ පවා ජිනීවා තර්ජනය සම්බන්ධයෙන් කරුණු දැක්වීමට පූජ්‍ය මැදගොඩ අභයතිස්ස, වෛද්‍ය බණ්ඩාර, නීතිඥ කල්යානන්ද තිරාණගම සහ රජා ගුණරත්න අයත්විය. එම කරුණු දැක්වීම 2022 ජනවාරි 11 සිදුවිය. ඒ 2021 දෙසැම්බර් මාසයේ ඩුබායි හිදී යසස් ධර්මදාස, අජන්ත ප්‍රේමරත්න සහ සුනිල් චන්ද්‍රකුමාර ජිනීවා අභියෝගය සම්බන්ධයෙන් එවකට ජනාධිපතිවරයාට කළ කරුණු දැක්වීමට අමතරවය. ඒ කිසිදු සාකච්ඡාවක් සාධනීය ප්‍රතිපලයක් ලබා ගැනීමට පුළුවන් වූයේ නැත. මෙම ලියුම්කරුද ජනාධිපති මාධ්‍ය ප්‍රධානි මොහාන් සමරනායක සහ ප්‍රධාන උපදේශක ලලිත් වීරතුංග සමඟ රාජපක්ෂ ජනාධිපතිවරයාට එතුමාගේ රජය ජිනීවා සම්බන්ධයෙන් ගත යුතු ක්‍රියාමාර්ග පිළිබඳව සාකච්ඡාවක් විය.

යහපාලන මෙහෙයුමක්

එජාප ප්‍රමුඛ ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණද (ජවිපෙ) ඇතුළු දේශපාලන පක්ෂ කොටි ත්‍රස්තවාදීන්ගේ අතකොළුවක් වූ ද්‍රවිඩ ජාතික සන්ධානය (ද්‍රජාස/Tamil National Alliance) සමඟ 2009 අග භාගයේ සන්ධානගත විය. ඒ එවකට ජෙනරාල් සරත් ෆොන්සේකා අපේක්ෂකයා වශයෙන් 2010 ජනාධිපතිවරණයට ඉදිරිපත් කිරීමටය. පළාත් සභාවකටවත් තරග කර නොමැති හංසයා ලාංඡනය යටතේ ෆොන්සේකා ඡන්දයට ඉදිරිපත් විය. ඊට පසු 2015 (මෛත්‍රිපාල සිරිසේන) සහ 2019 (සජිත් ප්‍රේමදාස) ජනාධිපතිවරණයට ඉදිරිපත් වූයේද හංසයා ලාංඡනයෙන්ය. මේ වසරේ පැවැත්වීමට නියමිත ජනාධිපතිවරණයේදී ද නැවතත් එම ලාංඡනය කරළියට පැමිණිය හැක.

ශ්‍රී ලංකා ආරක්ෂා හමුදා ද්‍රවිඩ සාමාන්‍ය වැසියන් අවම වශයෙන් 40,000 නැගෙනහිර වන්නි පෙරමුණේ මරා දැමූ බවට ප්‍රකාශ කළ දරුස්මාන් වාර්තාව මත ජිනීවා මානව හිමිකම් කවුන්සිලයට ඉදිරිපත් කළ එම ආන්දෝලනාත්මක යෝජනාව අවම වශයෙන් කැබිනට් මණ්ඩලයේදීවත් සාකච්ඡාවට ලක් නොවූ බවට මෙම ලියුම්කරු මාධ්‍ය සාකච්ඡාවලදී නැඟූ ප්‍රශ්නවලට පිළිතුරු ලෙස ෆීල්ඩ් මාර්ෂල් සරත් ෆොන්සේකා සහ එවකට ශ්‍රීලනිප මාධ්‍ය ප්‍රකාශක සහ යහපාලන අමාත්‍ය මහින්ද සමරසිංහ (දැනට වොෂින්ටනයේ සිටින ශ්‍රී ලංකා තානාපතිවරයා) පිළිගත්තේය.

වරක් මෙම අවාසනාවන්ත තත්ත්වය සම්බන්ධයෙන් යහපාලන අමාත්‍ය දයාසිරි ජයසේකරගෙන් මාධ්‍ය හමුවකදී මෙම ලියුම්කරු ප්‍රශ්න කළ විට අමාත්‍යවරයා කෝපයට පත්විය. අනවශ්‍ය ප්‍රශ්න නඟමින් අර්බුදකාරී තත්ත්වයක් නිර්මාණය කිරීමට මෙම ලියුම්කරු උත්සහ කරන බවට අමාත්‍යවරයා චෝදනා කළේය.

ජිනීවා උගුලට ශ්‍රී ලංකාව හිර කළේ යහපාලන ආණ්ඩුව බව අවධාරණ කළ යුතුය. එම තීරණය අතිශයින් දේශපාලනිකය. ජිනීවා යෝජනාවලිය සම්බන්ධයෙන් යහපාලන ආණ්ඩුව, ඇමෙරිකාව සහ ද්‍රවිඩ ජාතික සන්ධානය අතර ඇතිවූ රහස්‍ය එකඟතාවය 2016 ජුනි මාසයේදී හෙළිදරව් කළේ එම පක්ෂයේ එම්. ඒ. සුමන්තිරන් මන්ත්‍රීවරයාය. එවකට වොෂින්ටනයේ සිටි ශ්‍රී ලංකා තානාපති ප්‍රසාද් කාරියවසම් සමඟ ඇමෙරිකාවේ ඔවුන් සහභාගිවූ රැස්වීමකදී එම හෙළිදරව්ව කළ බව අප වාර්තා කර ඇත. ඊට පසුව කාරියවසම් විදේශ ලේකම් ලෙස පත්වීම ලැබීය.

පදනම් විරහිත යුද අපරාධ චෝදනා නියමාකාරයෙන් ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කිරීමට යෝග්‍ය තත්ත්වයක් 2017 ඔක්තෝම්බර් මාසයේදී උදාවිය. හතරවන ඊළාම් යුද්ධය අවසන් කාලයේදී (2009 ජනවාරි -මැයි) කොළඹ පිහිටි බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය මහා කොමසාරිස් කාර්යාලයෙන් ලන්ඩන් නුවර විදේශ අමාත්‍යාංශයට යැවූ රහස්‍ය ලිපි එම රටේ තොරතුරු දැනගැනීමේ පනත යටතේ වසර තුනක නීතිමය ක්‍රියාමාර්ගයක් හරහා ලබාගත් බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය සාමි මණ්ඩලයේ නේස්බි සාමිවරයා 40,000 මරා දැමූ චෝදනාව නිෂ්ප්‍රභ කළේය.

වරක් නේස්බි සාමිවරයා මෙම ලියුම්කරු කොළඹදී 2019 සැප්තැම්බර් මුණගැසුන අවස්ථාවකදී (එම අවස්ථාවට මහා බ්‍රිතාන්‍යයේ ජීවත්වන අමල් අබේවර්ධන ද සහභාගි විය) තමන් වෙහෙස මහන්සි වී ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට ලබා දුන් තොරතුරු නිසියාකාරයෙන් පාවිච්චි නොකිරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් පුදුමය සහ කනගාටුව පල කළේය.

යහපාලන විදේශ අමාත්‍යාංශය එම හෙළිදරව්ව කුණු කූඩයට දැමුවේය. නමුත් මාධ්‍ය දිගින් දිගටම එවකට ආණ්ඩුවට නේස්බි හෙළිදරව්ව සම්බන්ධයෙන් ක්‍රියා නොකිරීම පෙන්වා දීම පසුබිමේ විදේශ අමාත්‍ය ජනාධිපති නීතිඥ තිලක් මාරපන ඒ පිළිබඳව දැඩි අවධානය යොමු කරන බවට පොරොන්දුවක් දීමට පසුබට නොවීය. හිටපු නීතිපතිවරයකු වූ එතුමා ජිනීවා කවුන්සිලය 2019 ආමන්ත්‍රණය කළ අවස්ථාවේදීත් නේස්බි සාමිවරයා කළ හෙළිදරව්ව සම්බන්ධයෙන් සඳහනක් කළේය. කෙසේ වෙතත් යහපාලන ආණ්ඩුව කළ එම පාවාදීම නිවැරදි කිරීමට දේශපාලන නායකත්වය කටයුතු කළේ නැත.

2019 නොවැම්බර් මාසයේදී පැවැත්වූ ජනාධිපතිවරණයට සතියකට පෙර එවකට සුව අමාත්‍ය වෛද්‍ය රාජිත සේනාරත්න ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණේ අපේක්ෂක ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂගේ නියෝග මත අත්අඩංගුවට ගත් පුද්ගලයන් කිඹුලන්ට ආහාරයට ගැනීමට මොනරාගල ජලාශයකට විසිකළ බවට මාධ්‍ය හමුවක් පවත්වා ප්‍රකාශ කළේ ජිනීවා චෝදනා පසුබිමේය. එම ප්‍රකාශය වෛද්‍ය සේනාරත්න කළ චෝදනාවකට වඩා 2019 ජනාධිපතිවරණයේදී සජිත් ප්‍රේමදාස වෙනුවෙන් ක්‍රියාත්මක කළ එජාප ප්‍රමුඛ මාධ්‍ය මෙහෙයුමේ ප්‍රධාන අංගයක් ලෙස අවධාරණය කළ යුතුය.

අවාසනාවකට ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ පිහිටුවූ ආණ්ඩුවට කිඹුල් චෝදනාව සහ කොළඹ පිහිටි ස්විස්ටර්ලන්ත තානාපති කාර්යාලයේ සේවිකාවක වන ගානියර් බැනිස්ටර් ෆ්‍රැන්සිස් පැහැර ගෙන ගොස් අතවර කිරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් ජනාධිපතිවරණයෙන් සතියක් යෑමට පෙර එල්ල කළ පට්ටපල් බොරු චෝදනාව ජනාධිපතිවරයාට සහ රටට එරෙහි ප්‍රබල මාධ්‍ය මෙහෙයුමේ කොටසක් බව සලකා කටයුතු කිරීමේ සැබෑ අවශ්‍යතාවයක් ආණ්ඩුවට නොවීය. රහස් පොලිසියේ පොලිස් පරීක්ෂක නිශාන්ත සිල්වා ද ස්විට්සර්ලන්තට තම පවුල සමඟ තානාපති සේවිකාවට පෙර ගුවන් මගින් යෑමද නිසි අවධානයට යොමු වූයේ නැත. ජනාධිපතිවරණයෙන් පසුව ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂට බටහිර බලවේග කකුල් මාට්ටුවක් දැම්මේය.

ස්විට්සර්ලන්තය ජනාධිපතිවරයාගේ අවසරය මත ෆ්‍රැන්සිස්ව ශ්‍රී ලංකාවෙන් පිට කර ගැනීමට කළ දැඩි උත්සාහය වූවානම් තත්ත්වය මීටත් වඩා අයහපත් වීමට තිබිණි.

බරපතළ වරදක්

2019 ජනාධිපතිවරණයේදී ඓ්තිහාසික ජයග්‍රහණයක් හිමිකර ගත් ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ ජිනීවා අභියෝගයට මුහුණදීමට අවශ්‍ය නිසි වැඩපිළිවෙළක් ක්‍රියාත්මක කළාද? මානව හිමිකම් පෙරමුණේ වර්ධනය වෙමින් පැවති තත්ත්වය නිසි සමාලෝචනයකට ලක් නොවීය. ඒ වනවිට කිසිදු අධිකරණ පද්ධතියක් තුළ හෝ අවම වශයෙන් නිසි පරීක්ෂණයකට භාජනය නොවූ චෝදනා මත (යම් අවස්ථාවල පුද්ගලයකුට නොව සේනාංකයකට නැතහොත් සමස්ත හමුදාවට) යම් විදේශීය ආණ්ඩු ක්‍රියාමාර්ග ගැනීම ආරම්භ කර තිබිණි.

එවකට සේවයේ නියුතු මේජර් ජෙනරාල් චාගි ගාල්ලගේ ඔස්ට්‍රේලියාවේ වෙසෙන තම සහෝදරයාව බැලීමට යෑමට කළ වීසා ඉල්ලීම 2016 දී මෙරට ඔස්ට්‍රේලියානු මහකොමසාරිස් කාර්යාලය ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කළේය. ගජබා රෙජිමේන්තුවට අයත් එම නිලධාරියා 2018 අගෝස්තු මාසයේ විශ්‍රාම යනතුරුම ආණ්ඩුව ඒ සම්බන්ධයෙන් කිසිවක් කළේ නැත. 2018. අගෝස්තු 31 දින විශ්‍රාම ගොස් සතියකට පසුව අනුරාධපුරයේ සාලියපුර ගජබා රෙජිමේන්තු මධ්‍යස්ථානයේ එම නිලධාරියා ගතවන කතාවක් කළේය. ත්‍රස්තවාදය පරාජය කළ ආරක්ෂක හමුදාව වෙනුවෙන් පෙනී නොසිටීම හේතුවෙන් තමන්ට යුද අපරාධකරුවකු ලෙස විශ්‍රාම යෑමට සිදුවූ බවට චෝදනා කළේය. අද වෙනතුරුත් කිසිදු ආණ්ඩුවක් ගාල්ලගේ ට සිදුවූ අසාධාරණය සම්බන්ධයෙන් අවධානය යොමු කළේ නැත. මෙය එක සිද්ධියක් පමණි. ගාල්ලගේ ට වීසා නොදීම ඔහුගේ පෞද්ගලික ප්‍රශ්නයක් බවට පත් විය.

ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ ආණ්ඩුව පළමුවෙන්ම අසමත් වූයේ එතැනය. එතුමා පත්කළ පළමුවැනි විදේශ අමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන 2020 ජිනීවා මානව හිමිකම් කවුන්සිලයේදී ප්‍රකාශ කළේ ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ජිනීවා ක්‍රියාමාර්ගයෙන් ඉවත් වූ බවයි. එසේ ඉවත්විය නොහැකි බව අද වනවිට අවධාරණය වන්නේ ජිනීවා කවුන්සිලය ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට එරෙහිව නොයෙකුත් රටවල ක්‍රියාත්මක නඩු කටයුතුවලට මානව හිමිකම් කොමසාරිස් පූර්ණ සහයෝගය දෙන තත්ත්වයක් තුළය.

යහපාලන සමයේදී ඇමෙරිකාව ෆීල්ඩ් මාර්ෂල් සරත් ෆොන්සේකාට වීසා දීම ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කළේය. ඒ එතුමා එවකට ජනාධිපති සිරිසේන සමඟ එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ සැසියට යෑමට උත්සහ කළ අවස්ථාවේදීය. 2010 ජනාධිපතිවරණයේදී තමන් ෆොන්සේකා වෙනුවෙන් කැපවූ බව ඇමෙරිකාවට අමතක වූවාද ?

ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ ජනාධිපති ලෙස පත්වී මාස 4 යෑමට පෙර ඇමෙරිකාව ජෙනරාල් ශවේන්ද්‍ර සිල්වා ඇතුළු ඔහුගේ පවුලේ සාමාජිකයන්ට ඇමෙරිකාවට ඇතුළු වීම තහනම් කළේය. ආණ්ඩුව ඊට එරෙහිව ප්‍රකාශ නිකුත් කළේය. නමුත් 2020 පෙබරවාරි 14 දින කළ ඇමෙරිකානු ප්‍රකාශය ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට එරෙහිව ගනු ලබන සමස්ත ක්‍රියාවලියේ කොටසක් ලෙස ආණ්ඩුව නිවැරදිව තේරුම් ගත්තේ නැත. තේරුම් ගැනීමට අවශ්‍යතාවයක් තිබුණේද නැත. ආණ්ඩුව 2022 ජුලි මාසයේ වෙනස් වෙනතුරුම ජිනීවා සම්බන්ධයෙන් කිසිදු පසු විපරමක් කළේ නැත.

නේස්බි සාමිවරයා මහත් පරිශ්‍රමයක් දරා ශ්‍රී ලංකාව වෙනුවෙන් සොයාදුන් තොරතුරු නිසි පරිදි ජිනීවා මානව හිමිකම් කොමිසමේ අද වනතුරු පාවිච්චි කළේ නැත.

කැනඩාව 2022 ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කළේ ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ද්‍රවිඩ ජනතාව සමූල ඝාතනයට ලක් කළ බවයි. ඇමෙරිකාව 2023 අප්‍රේල් මාසයේදී අද්මිරාල් ඔෆ් ද ෆ්ලිට් වසන්ත කරන්නාගොඩට ගමන් තහනමක් පැනවූ අතර ඊට මාස තුනකට පෙර කැනඩාව හිටපු ජනාධිපතිවරුන් වන මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂට සහ ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂට සම්බාධක පනවා තිබිණි.

රට මුහුණ දෙන අර්බුදය සම්බන්ධයෙන් විදේශ අමාත්‍යවරයාගෙන් මෙම ලියුම්කරු 2022 සැප්තැම්බර් නැඟූ ප්‍රශ්නයකට පිළිතුරු ලෙස ජනාධිපති නීතිඥවරයා පෙන්වා දුන්නේ නිලධාරීන් පමණක් නොව වන්නි පෙරමුණේ සටන් කළ සමස්ත සේනාංක තහනමට භාජනය වී ඇති බවයි. සබ්රි මෙම ප්‍රකාශය කරන විට ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ ජනාධිපතිකම අතහැර අවසානය. 2015 ජිනීවා යෝජනාවලියට එකඟ වූ එජාප නායක වික්‍රමසිංහ ජනාධිපතිය. ආරක්ෂක අමාත්‍ය සහ සේනාධිනායකද එතුමාමය.

ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ කතුවරයා වැඩබලන වික්‍රමසිංහ ජනාධිපතිවරයා සම්බන්ධයෙන් කර ඇති ප්‍රකාශයක් ඔහුගේම වචනයෙන් අවධාරණය කිරීමට කැමැත්තෙමි. ඊට පෙර අමාත්‍ය හරින් ප්‍රනාන්දු වැනි වික්‍රමසිංහ හිතෛෂීන් එජාප නායකයා ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ ජනාධිපතිවරයාට එරෙහි මෙහෙයුමට නායකත්වය දුන් බවට කළ ප්‍රකාශය බැහැර කළ නොහැක. කතුවරයා සිංගප්පූරුවේ සිටි අවස්ථාවේ එජාප නායකයා සම්බන්ධයෙන් මෙලෙස ප්‍රකාශ කර ඇත. ඒ වනවිට අගමැති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතාට ජනාධිපති ධුරය ලබා දීමට මම හිත හදාගෙන තිබුණේ රටේ නීතිය සහ සාමය යළි ස්ථාපිත කළ හැකි එකම පුද්ගලයා ඔහුය යන නිගමනයට මා පැමිණ සිටි නිසාය.” (පිටුව 178). රටේ එදා තිබූ තත්ත්වය අවබෝධ කර ගැනීමට එම වාක්‍ය ප්‍රමාණවත්ය.

– ශමින්ද්‍ර ෆර්ඩිනැන්ඩෝ –
(දිවයින)

Dilrook Kannangara

The last Lok Sabha election of India was held between 11 April 2019 and 19 May 2019 (and just one delayed electorate a few months later). As always it was a staggered election. Election was held over 7 days but counting votes was done after all had voted. Comparing constituencies where the election was held on April 11 and 18, and constituencies where the election was held on April 23, 29, May 6, 12 and 19 clearly shows that BJP did very well after the April 21 Easter Sunday terrorist attack.

BJP always followed a hardline anti-Muslim stance to win elections. 2024 is no exception and so was 2019. Muslim-led Easter Sunday attack galvanized support for the BJP. In 2019 BJP won 303 seats out of 543 seats in total. That is a staggering 55% of all seats. In addition, BJP allies – Shiv Sena and a few other NDA Alliance parties also won seats.

The following table shows the number of seats in total and seats won by BJP excluding the states of Tamil Nadu and Andra Pradesh where regional tribal parties dominate elections and where national parties are represented. BJP won no seats in them.

There is a clear increase in BJP’s election fortunes before and after the Easter Sunday attack. Despite a small drop on April 23 elections, it shot up to 70% and 82% in following election days before reducing once again.

The following is a summary comparing before and after situation.

One may argue that the staggered election was held in BJP strongholds after April 21 and that’s why its election fortunes increased after that date (and had nothing to do with the Easter Sunday attack). However, it only deepens the mystery. April 21 was the perfect date to take maximum advantage for the BJP at the election.

The following table shows the states where the BJP won more than a million votes. Numbers are in millions. For materiality, constituencies where BJP failed to win or failed to come second have been disregarded (and states where the total was less than a million have been disregarded).

Indeed, the constituencies where the election was held after April 21 were crucially important for the BJP as it won a lion’s share of its votes from these constituencies. That makes the date of the attack perfect for the arousal of anti-Muslim sentiments in India without harming Indians in order to drive them to vote for Hindu nationalists.

This does not prove India was behind the attack. However, it clearly proves that BJP and its Hindu nationalist allies gained from the aftermath of the attack and gave credence to its anti-Muslim slogans.

Mysteriously the 2019 Indian election was the first Lok Sabha election in India in decades where Tamil grievances didn’t feature and the fishing dispute with Sri Lanka was also absent. Was it because a bigger election trump card was ready to be played?

උපුටා ගැන්ම  ලංකා ලීඩර්

ඊළාම්වාදීන්ගේ නවතම කුමන්ත්‍රණය හා බුදුන් වහන්සේ ලංකාවේ ඉපදුනු බවට සංවිධානාත්මක පිරිසක් විසින් ප්‍රචාරය කරන මතවාදය ඊළාම්වාදී ඩයම්පෝරාවේ කොන්ත්‍රත්තුවක් බවට හෙළිකෙරෙන වීඩියෝවක් අන්තර්ජාලයේ නිකුත්ව තිබේ.

මෙම වීඩියෝවේ සඳහන් වන පරිදි අරියමග්ග නම් භික්ෂුවක් ලෙස පෙනීසිටින තැනැත්තා කොටි සංවිධානය හා සම්බන්ධ පුද්ගලයකු බවද වහරක අභයාලංකාර හා මීවනපලානේ ධම්මාලංකාර නොහොත් සිරිසේන හපුතන්ත්‍රි නමැත්තන් ද මෙම අරියමග්ග නම් චීවරධාරියාට කොටි ඩයස්පෝරාව විසින් පැවරූ කොන්තරාත්තුවේ කොටස් කාරයන් වන බවද මෙම වීඩියෝව මගින් හෙළිදරව්කර තිබේ.

නොර්වේ රාජ්‍ය කේන්ද්‍රකරගෙන බිහිවී ඇති අරිය කම්මට්ටාන නමින් හැඳින්වෙන සංවිධානයේ නිර්මාතෘවරයා  වන අරිය මග්ග නමින් පෙනීසිටින චීවරධාරියා මෙම කුමන්ත්‍රණයේ දැවැන්ත චරිතයක් බවත්, එම චීවරධාරියාගේ ඉතිහාසය ගැනත් මෙම වීඩියෝවෙන් අනාවරණය කර තිබේ.

සවිස්තරාත්මක වීඩියෝව නරඹන්න…

කීර්ති රත්නායක චමුදිත සමරවික්‍රම සමග Keerthi Ratnayake On Truth with Chamuditha

Even as the United States of America counters Russia’s claim that Ukraine might be involved in the Moscow terrorist attack while killed over 140, Washington has been contradicted by its own military ally. A member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, or NATO, has claimed that such terrorist attacks cannot be carried out without the help of another country. Watch the full video for more.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය  

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන මහතා අද (2024.03.29) චීනයේ ෂැංහායි නගරයේදී ෂැංහායි නගරාධිපති ගොන්ග් සෙන්ග් (Gong Seng) මහතා සමග දීර්ඝ සාකච්ඡාවක නිරත විය.

ලොව වරාය නගරවලින් ප්‍රථම ස්ථානයට පත්ව ඇති චීනයේ ෂැංහායි සහ ඉදිරි කාලයේදී නැගෙනහිර සහ බටහිර අතර නාවික ගමනාගමන කේන්ද්‍රස්ථානයක් වීමට සැලසුම් කර ඇති කොළඹ සහ හම්බන්තොට නගර අතර සවිමත් සම්බන්ධතාවයක් ඇතිකර ගැනීමට මෙහිදී එකඟත්වය පළ කෙරිණි.‍

කොළඹ සහ ෂැං හායි අතර සහෝදර නගර ගිවිසුම අත්සන් කර බොහෝ කාලයක් ගත වී ඇති අතර තම සහෝදර ප්‍රසන්න ගුණවර්ධන නගරාධිපති ධුරයේ සිටින කාලයේ අත්සන් කළ මෙම ගිවිසුම යටතේ  තවදුරටත් විශාල වැඩ කොටසක් සිදු කළ හැකිබව අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා මෙහිදී පෙන්වා දුන්නේය.

ෂැං හායි නගරය භාණ්ඩ ප්‍රවාහනයේදී කන්ටේනර් ප්‍රවාහනය අතින් මිලියන 49.5 ක් සම්පූර්ණ කර පසුගිය වසරේ භාණ්ඩ ප්‍රවාහන ලෝකයේ ප්‍රථම ස්ථානයට පත් වී ඇති අතර එම ක්ෂේත්‍රයෙන් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට උගත හැකි පාඩම් අතිමහත් බව මෙහිදී අවධාරණය කෙරිණි.

යුවාන් ට්‍රිලියන  4.72ක වාර්ෂික නිෂ්පාදන ආදායමක් ලබන ෂැංහායි නගරය ඊට අමතරව ලොව පළමු පෙළේ ව්‍යාපාරික මධ්‍යස්ථානයක්ද මූල්‍ය ගනුදෙනු සඳහා වූ කේන්ද්‍රස්ථානයක් වශයෙන්ද ලබා ඇති අත්දැකීම් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට ලබාදීමට ෂැංහායි නගරාධිපතිවරයා මෙහිදී සහතික විය. මිලියන 25ක ජනතාවක් සහිත ෂැං හායි නගරය සැලසුම් සහගත නාගරික සංවර්ධනයෙන් ලබා ඇති ප්‍රගතිය තුළින් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට ලබා ගත හැකි පාඩම් අති විශාල බව අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා මෙහිදී පෙන්වා දුන්නේය.

එම සෑම ක්ෂේත්‍රයක් සඳහාම ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට සහය දීමට ෂැංහායි නගරාධිපතිවරයා මෙහිදී එකඟත්වය පළ කළ අතර ඒ ඒ ක්ෂේත්‍රවල නිලධාරීන් ෂැංහායි වෙත පැමිණ එම ක්ෂේත්‍රයන් අධ්‍යයනය කරන ලෙසටද ආරාධනා කළේය.

යුනෙස්කෝ උරුම ගණනාවක් සහිත ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සංචාරය කිරීමට චීන ජනතාව දක්වන උනන්දුව වැඩි වී ඇති අතර දැනට කොළඹ සහ ෂැංහායි අතර සිදු කෙරෙන ගුවන්ගමන් වැඩි කිරීමේ හැකියාව සොයා බැලීමටද මෙහිදී එකඟත්වය පළ කෙරිණි.

මෙම අවස්ථාවට රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යවරුන් වන ශෙහාන් සේම සිංහ, අශෝක ප්‍රියන්ත, අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ලේකම් අනුර දිසානායක ඇතුළු පිරිස සහභාගී වූහ.

Manusha Media

විදේශ රැකියා ක්ෂේත්‍රය ඩිජිටල් කරණයට ලක් කිරීමේ සුබ පණිවුඩය රැගෙන මාතලේට ගිය ජයගමු ශ්‍රී ලංකා වැඩසටහන අද (29) සහ හෙට (30) යන දින දෙකේදී වව්නියාව ගාමිණී විද්‍යාලයීය ක්‍රීඩාංගනයේදී පැවැත්වෙයි. 

මාතලේ දිස්ත්‍රික්කයට ‘ස්මාට් හෙටක්’ නිර්මාණය කර දීම වෙනුවෙන් පසුගිය සතියේ මාර්තු 22 -23 දෙදින බොහෝ කලකට නොපැවුත්වුණු පන්නයේ වැඩසටහනක් සංවිධානය කරනු ලැබ තිබුණේ කම්කරු හා විදේශ රැකියා අමාත්‍යාංශය විසිනි.

මාතලේ එඩ්වඩ් ක්‍රීඩාංගණයට රැකියා අපේක්ෂිත තරුණ තරුණියන්, විදේශගත ශ්‍රමිකයින්, විදේශගත වීම අපේක්ෂාව කර ගත් උපදේශනය සහ දිරිගැන්වීම් අවැසිවූවන් මෙන්ම පාසල් දූ දරුවන් සහ රජයේ නිලධාරීහු ඉහත දෙදින තුළ බොහෝ සංඛ්‍යාවක් ආ ගියහ. සිය අපේක්ෂා සාර්ථක වූ බව සනිටුහන් කෙරුණු මුහුණු සමග බොහෝ දෙනෙක් එඩ්වඩ් ක්‍රීඩාංගණයට පැමිණ ගියහ. කම්කරු හා විදේශ රැකියා මනූෂ නානායක්කාර මහතාගේ මගපෙන්වීම ‘ජයගමු ශ්‍රී ලංකා’ සඳහා එහිදී නිබඳව ලැබී තිබිණි. 

මාතලේ දිස්ත්‍රික්කය යනු ඉතිහාසයේ පටන් රට තුළ වූ නිදහස් හා සාධාරණය සඳහා කළ කැරලිවලට නිරන්තරව දායක වූ වීරයින්ගේ භූමියකි. රටේ නිදහස් අරගලය සඳහා සේනා සංවිධානය කළ ඉතිහාසයක් ඇති මාතලේ යටත් විජිත විරෝධී අරගලවලට නායකත්වය ගත් මුතුන් මිත්තන්ගේ පරම්පරාවට අයත් පිරිසගේ දායකත්වය ශ්‍රී ලංකාව තවදුරටත් ජයග්‍රාහී රටක් බවට පත් කිරීමේ ගමනට ඉතා වැදගත් අත්වැලකි. ‘ජයගමු ශ්‍රී ලංකා’ වැඩසටහන් ගමන්මගේ මූලික ස්ථානයක් ගෙන රට දිනවීමේ කර්තව්‍යයට අත්වැල් බැඳගනු පිණිස මාතලේ දිස්ත්‍රික්කයට අමාත්‍ය මනූෂ නානායක්කාර මහතා එහිදී පොදුවේ ආරාධනා කළේය. 

මාතලේ වීර කැප්පෙටිපොළ අදිකාරම, ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ එකම නාමික ජනාධිපති විලියම් ගොපල්ලව, ලෝක ප්‍රකට ක්‍රිකට් ක්‍රීඩක කුමාර් සංගක්කාර, ජනකාන්ත නළු හේමාල් රණසිංහ මෙන්ම හිටපු හමුදාපති ශවේන්ද්‍ර සිල්වාද මාතලේට අයත් වටිනා පුරවැසියන් බව අමාත්‍යවරයා සියලු දෙනා හමුවේ සිහිපත් කළේ වැඩසටහනේ පළමු දින (22) ‘මගෙන් පටන් ගමු – ජයගමු ශ්‍රී ලංකා ස්මාට් වැඩ්ඩන්’ සමාරම්භක අදියරේදීය. එම අවස්ථාවට ක්‍රීඩා සහ තරුණ කටයුතු රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය රෝහණ දිසානායක, මාතලේ දිස්ත්‍රික් පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී එන්. නාලක බණ්ඩාර කෝට්ටේගොඩ, මාතලේ දිස්ත්‍රික් එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂ නායක ප්‍රියාන් විජේරත්න යන දේශපාලන නියෝජනය සහ කම්කරු හා විදේශ රැකියා අමාත්‍යාංශ ලේකම් ආනන්ද විමලවීර, රජයේ නිලධාරීහු සහභාගි වූහ. 

අවිධිමත් අංශයේ රැකියාවල නියුක්ත පිරිස් සඳහා සිය කුසලතා සහතික කරගැනීමට අවශ්‍ය සහතික ලබා ගැනීමට එහිදී පහසුකම් සලසා දී තිබිණි. එදින සවස්භාගයේ ‘ජයගමු ශ්‍රී ලංකා – ගරුසරු’ අදියර පැවැත්විණි. සමස්ත ශ්‍රම බලකායට සමාජ ආරක්ෂණ වැඩපිළිවෙළක් සකස් කිරීම කම්කරු හා විදේශ රැකියා අමාත්‍යාංශයේ අපේක්ෂාව ය. සිය වෘත්තීයට හිමි වැටුපේ පටන් සියල්ල අවිධිමත්ව පවතින තත්ත්වයක පසු වන අවිධිමත් අංශයේ රැකියා සඳහා නිසි වටපිටාව, ප්‍රායෝගික සුදුසුකම්, අසීරුතාව, ස්ථාවරභාවය, වෘත්තීය හිමිකම් පමණක් නොව ඒ සඳහා හිමි විය යුතු ගරුත්වයද බොහෝ විට අහිමිය. එවන් රැකියා කිරීමම අසාර්ථකත්වයක්, අවවරප්‍රසාදිත තත්ත්වයක් නිර්මාණය කරයි නම් එම රැකියාවට හිමි හැඳින්වීම වෙනස් කිරීමද ඉතා වටිනා සංකල්පයකි. අවිධිමත් අංශයේ රැකියාවල නියුතු සියලු දෙනාගේ ශ්‍රමයට ගරුත්වයක් ලබා දීම පිණිස ආරම්භ කළ ‘ගරුසරු’ වැඩසටහනද කම්කරු හා විදේශ රැකියා අමාත්‍යවරයාගේ සංකල්පයක් මත ක්‍රියාත්මක එවැනි තවත් එක් වැඩසටහනකි. 

‘ශ්‍රම වාසනා’ අරමුදල් වැඩසටහන මගින් විදේශගත ශ්‍රමිකයන්ගේ පවුල්වල පාසල් දූ දරුවන් සඳහා පාසල් උපකරණ කට්ටල ලබා දීම සිදු කෙරුණු අතර මාතලේ දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ සෑම ප්‍රාදේශීය ලේකම් කොට්ඨාසයක්ම නියෝජනය කරන අඩු ආදායම්ලාභී පවුල්වල පාසල් ළමුන් 1200ක් සඳහා පාසල් උපකරණ ප්‍රදානය කිරීම එහිදී සිදු කෙරිණි.

පළමු දින ‘ජයගමු ශ්‍රී ලංකා’ වැඩසටහන් දිනයේ රාත්‍රියේ පැවති සංගීත ප්‍රසංගයටද ප්‍රදේශයේ ජන සහභාගීත්වය ඉහළ මට්ටමේ පැවතිණි.

‘ජයගමු ශ්‍රී ලංකා’ මාතලේ වැඩසටහනේ දින දෙකෙහිදිම විදෙස් රැකියා අවස්ථා පිළිබඳව ජනතාව දැනුවත් කෙරෙන විදේශ රැකියා නියෝජිත ආයතන පනහකට අධික සංඛ්‍යාවක සේවයද වැඩසටහනට සහභාගි වූවන් සඳහා සැපයුණ අතර තරුණ ප්‍රජාව වෘත්තීමය වශයෙන් සවිබල ගැන්වෙන උපදෙස් ලබා දීම, ජනාධිපති අරමුදලේ අනුග්‍රහයෙන් සිදු වන දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ තරුණ තරුණියන්ගේ වෘත්තීය පුහුණුව සඳහා ප්‍රතිපාදන ලබා දීමට කටයුතු කිරීමට අවකාශ සලසා දීම සිදු විය. දේශීයව මෙන්ම විදේශ රැකියා අවස්ථාවලදීද වන ප්‍රධාන අසමත්කමක් වන මූල්‍යමය අසමත්කම මැඩලීමට ලබා දෙන සහාය පිළිබඳව මේ වන විට බෙහෙවින් ප්‍රශංසා ලැබිණි. එම දිනයේ ‘ජයගමු ශ්‍රී ලංකා ස්මාට් යූත් ක්ලබ්’ තරුණ ප්‍රජාව දිරිගැන්වීමේ දේශනයේදී අමාත්‍යවරයා විශේෂයෙන් අවධාරණය කළේ ‘ඊශ්‍රායලයෙන් රස්සා මල්ලක් රැගෙන තමන් එන විට කයිවාරු රතු රැළිවල විදෙස් රැකියා දීම ගැන විවේචන සිදු වන බවත් තාරුණ්‍යය වළ පල්ලට රැගෙන යාමට එම පාර්ශ්ව කටයුතු කරන’ බවත්ය. ‘ජයගමු ශ්‍රී ලංකා ස්මාට් යූත් ක්ලබ්’ තරුණ ප්‍රජාව දිරිගැන්වීමේ එම අදියරට අමාත්‍යවරයාගේ උපදේශක වශයෙන් කටයුතු කරන ශ්‍යාම් යහම්පත් මහතාද සහභාගි විය.

ජාතික ඵලදායිතා ලේකම් කාර්යාලය විසින් සපයනු ලබන සේවා පිළිබඳ දැනුවත් වීමේ වැඩසටහනක්, තරුණ තරුණියන්ට දස දහසකට ජනාධිපති අරමුදලේ ප්‍රතිපාදන යටතේ වෘත්තීය පුහුණුව ලබා දීමට සැලසුම් කර තිබීමත්, විගමණික ශ්‍රමිකයන්ගේ දරුවන් ඉගෙනුම ලබන පාසල්වල සුහුරු පන්ති කාමර පිහිටුවීමට ‘ස්මාට් බෝඩ්’ ලබා දීමත් ප්‍රශංසාව හිමි වූ තවත් කටයුතු අතර පැවතිණි.

විදේශ රැකියාවල නිරත වී මෙරටට පැමිණ සාර්ථක ලෙස ව්‍යාපාර කටයුතුවල නිරත වන පස් දෙනෙකු විශේෂ ඇගයීමකට ලක් කිරීම පිණිස එක් අයෙකුට රුපියල් පනස් දහස බැගින් වූ මුදල් තෑගි පිරිනැමීම, විගමණික ශ්‍රමිකයන් 11 දෙනෙකු හට මුදල් ආධාර ලබා දීම, විගමණික ශ්‍රමික පවුල්වල දරුවන්ට පාසල් උපකරණ ලබාදීම, එවැනි පවුල්වල පහ ශ්රේණිය ශිෂ්‍යත්ව විභාගය, අපොස සාමාන්‍ය පෙළ හා උසස් පෙළ සමත් දරුවන් 70 දෙනෙකුට ශිෂ්‍යත්ව ලබා දීමද සිදු කෙරුණු අතර මාතලේ දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ පාසල් 11ක් සඳහා සුහුරු පන්ති කාමර පිහිටුවීමට ස්මාට් බෝඩ් ලබාදීම සිදු විය. ශ්‍රී ලංකා විදේශ සේවා නියුක්ති කාර්යාංශයේ ලියාපදිංචිව, රැකියා සඳහා පිටත් වු 40 දෙනෙකු ඇගයීමට ලක් කෙරිණි.

විගමණික සේවක සේවිකාවන් ඇගයීම, විදෙස්ගත ශ්‍රමිකයන්ගේ පවුල්වල දරුවන් සඳහා ශිෂ්‍යත්ව ලබාදීම, අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ‘ගරුසරු’ වැඩසටහනට සමගාමීව අසංවිධිත වෘත්තීන්වල ජාතික මණ්ඩල පත්කිරීම, කම්කරු දෙපාර්තමේන්තු නීති වෙනස් කිරීම හා මිනිස් වෙළඳාම යනාදී කාරණා පිළිබඳව දැනුවත් කිරීම, මාධ්‍යවේදීන් දැනුවත් කිරීම, බලපත්‍රලාභී රැකියා ඒජන්සි සමග සම්බන්ධ වීමේ අවස්ථා ලබාදීමදා මෙම දෙදින තුළදී පැවැත්විණි. 

අනුරාධපුරයෙන් ආරම්භ කර අනතුරුව වැල්ලවාය, කෑගල්ල, මහනුවර, කුරුණෑගල, පොළොන්නරුව සහ මාතලේට ආ ‘ජයගමු ශ්‍රී ලංකා’ සාර්ථක වැඩසටහන්වල මීළඟ එළඹුම වන්නේ වව්නියාවය. මාර්තු 29 සහ 30 වව්නියාව ගාමිණී ක්‍රීඩාංගණයේදී පැවැත්වෙන ‘ජයගමු ශ්‍රී ලංකා’ රට පුරා යන ජංගම වැඩසටහන සඳහා දෙස් විදෙස් රැකියා අපේක්ෂිත පුරවැසියන් වෙත විවෘත ආරාධනයක් කම්කරු හා විදේශ අමාත්‍යාංශයෙන් සිදු කරයි. මෙම ස්මාට් අරගලයට වව්නියාවේ ඔබත් දායක වීම රටේ ජයග්‍රහණයක් නොඅනුමානය!!!

Russia has said that it has arrested a suspected financier” of the Moscow terror attack in which around 140 people were killed last week. The Kremlin claimed that it now has verifiable information” about Ukraine’s link to the Moscow attack. Russia’s Investigative Committee said that the perpetrators received large amounts from Kyiv including payment in cryptocurrency.

RT’s editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan has posted a video clip of the interrogation of one of the suspected terrorists behind Friday’s shooting spree at Crocus City concert hall near Moscow. Earlier on Saturday, Russia’s FSB security service confirmed that eleven suspects, including four of the alleged perpetrators, had been detained in Bryansk Region, not far from the Ukrainian border. The footage shows a bearded man lying on the ground and describing in broken Russian how he’d been paid to commit the terrorist attack.

The Islamic State has revealed how Russia caught its gunmen who went on a rampage inside a mall in Moscow on March 22. In the latest issue of its magazine, ISIS said that the terrorists were hunted down on the ground and by air by Russian forces and that they were eventually caught in a forest. Meanwhile, a Moscow court has remanded a 9th suspect in custody. Russian forces and Tajikistan security services also nabbed 9 more suspects for allegedly knowing the perpetrators of the attack. Watch for more details.

Courtesy Frontline The Hindu

Disclosure of massive donations, heavily favouring BJP, has triggered a debate on the relevance of transparency, fairness, and honesty in politics.

On March 14, the Election Commission of India (ECI) published details of crores of rupees worth of political donations, confirming the immense financial advantage of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) weeks out from the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha election.

In an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, the State Bank of India (SBI) stated that a total of 22,217 electoral bonds of varying denominations were purchased by donors between April 1, 2019, and February 15, 2024, out of which 22,030 bonds worth Rs.12,769.40 crore were redeemed by political parties.

The SBI, the nation’s top lender that was in charge of the electoral bond issuance system, was ordered by the court to furnish the details of the electoral bonds to the ECI by March 12, or possibly face contempt charges. 

Consequently, the top court had given the ECI time till 5 pm of March 15 to upload the data on its website, and the data released by the poll panel runs into hundreds of pages. The ECI released the details on Disclosure of Electoral Bonds Submitted by SBI” in two parts—one listing the buyers and the other listing the beneficiary parties—on its website a day before the court-mandated deadline.

Electoral bonds have been a key method of political funding, allowing donors to give anonymously through certificates purchased from the SBI. But on February 15, a five-judge Constitution Bench had scrapped the Centre’s electoral bonds scheme that allowed anonymous political funding, calling it unconstitutional”, saying it violated the right of voters to know who was financing parties. The court also struck down the amendments made to the Income Tax Act and the Representation of the People Act that made the donations anonymous.

Donors and beneficiaries

Data from March 14 showed that the BJP was far and away the single biggest recipient from April 2019 to January this year. The BJP had received slightly less than 48 per cent of all election bonds cashed by parties up to March 2023, amounting to around Rs.6,060 crore. The second biggest beneficiary was the Trinamool Congress, which received Rs.1,609.50 crore (12.6 per cent). The Congress, India’s main opposition party, had by contrast received around Rs.1,421 crore (11 per cent). 

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) received Rs.1,214 crore, while the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) got Rs.775 crore, followed by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) at Rs.639 crore. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) got only Rs.66 crore and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) Rs.6.05 crore. The Communist parties were a notable absence from the list of beneficiaries.

As ECI reveals electoral bonds data, BJP tops beneficiary list; biggest donor is little-known Future Gaming – Frontline (thehindu.com)

Prime Minister’s Media Unit

Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena called upon the Asian countries to rededicate themselves to building an Asia, free from poverty where prosperity is equitably shared. Addressing the BOAO Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2024 in Hainan in China, he praised China’s “miraculous success story of lifting millions of people from poverty to a higher living standard under the able leadership of President Xi Jinping,” and added that concept provides a pathway for other countries faced with the problem of poverty.
The Prime Minister called for new initiatives to ensure agricultural growth and food security, as it would not only ensure poverty eradication but also social harmony and peace. He emphasised the imperative need for harnessing renewable energy   resources.
Explaining Sri Lanka’s expansion of Colombo Port, and Hambantota Port as well as Colombo Port City, of which new Colombo Financial Center, he said it could be a major financial hub ensuring rapid progress of not only Sri Lanka but also the countries in the region.
Addressing the conference the Prime Minister commented as follows –
For us from Sri Lanka, we take this special opportunity to participate in an international event that looks to the future, an international event that accepts the reality of climate change, the wants of renewable energy, and to work together within the Asian borders but working together with all nations around the world.
Firstly, I would like to thank President Xi Jinping, who has given him tremendous strength in the strong economy that grows and the leadership that has dedicated itself to the economic growth of China. Economic growth of China is economic growth of the world. Economic growth of the world will have to be addressed as we see, as mentioned by the Distinguished speakers of a new order. The new order comes on realities of what we can achieve and what we have achieved.
Renewable energy, climate change has to be met, and other changes of a blue economy which are the important areas for the Asian countries. We have to work together in order to achieve these and succeed.
From Sri Lanka, we have been participating in these programs that have been initiated and supported by our fellow leaders, countries across Asia. I would like to take one example of a success story that we all could carry together and carry to implement in order to reach better standards of living. The experiment, though it has been called a success story of bringing millions of Chinese people from poverty to better and high living standards, we all face issues of poverty. We all have faced issues of improving our agricultural produce in order to achieve food security. The miracle rice that has been produced in China today can increase production, higher levels of income for the farmers, as well as guarantee a strong future for our food security problems.
I raise these two issues because over the years, over the decades, over the centuries, population has faced the challenges of food security, security of better environment and aspirations in order to achieve it.
Today, we all know the BOAO conference represents the countries that produce almost 50% of the new investment that has flowed into renewable energy. Mr. Chairman, it is a promise for the future. It is a great trust that has been laid by the BOAO conference, countries that have joined to take forward the responsibility of sharing the future that can be on a trusted basis and targets that we can reach. With this, I would like to thank all the delegates who carried this message from today, once again, to our areas.
Relax trade barriers, open areas for more tourism of different forms of tourism, new requirements on emissions, new plans and programs for renewable energy. These can take our planet to a future that is more secure and confident.
With these few words, on behalf of Sri Lanka, I pledge our support to continue to work together as we have committed ourselves to the maritime lanes of the Indian Ocean to keep it free for all trade to flow from West East Africa to East of Asia.
Sri Lanka’s port development has taken a new turn of an advanced port development with the assistance of China, for which we appreciate. Sri Lankan, Colombo port will become a hub of a new developed port with financial instruments that could cater to the new demands that are growing among ourselves, among our countries, for development and investment, which is essential.
This will change the present scenario from East Asia to East Africa, and the blue seas that we all could work together for the future that we face in a successful and a great joint program is what we look forward to.”
President of National People’s Congress of Chinese Communist Party, Zhao Leiji inaugurated the Conference which was attended by Presidents  of Kazakhstan, Nauru and several others and former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, who is currently the President of the Global Green Growth Institute, attended the Conference.

Kaarige Channel Eka | Dharmasri Kariyawasam

CGIAR Initiative on Fruits and Vegetables

A balanced diet rich in fruit and vegetables is key to preventing malnutrition and diseases worldwide. Yet, globally, fruit and vegetable intake remain far below recommended levels. To effectively bridge this gap, it is important to gather country-specific evidence that can inform the development of targeted interventions. 

The CGIAR Research Initiative on Fruit and Vegetables for Sustainable Healthy Diets (FRESH) is working to understand dietary intake patterns across four focal countries (Benin, Tanzania, the Philippines and Sri Lanka). Recent studies examined dietary intake among young children in Benin and adults in Sri Lanka.  

Addressing nutritional gaps in Benin 

The first two years of a child’s life are crucial for growth and development. In rural Benin, FRESH focused on the diets of young children (6-23 months). Despite diversity in the types of foods consumed, diets lacked several essential micronutrients. This could be explained in part by low F&V intake. The average daily F&V intake among young children was estimated to be about 50 grams, falling short of recommendations.  

Looking closer at micronutrient intake, FRESH researchers pinpointed gaps. Most vegetables were under-consumed, and most fruits (except for bananas) were largely missing from the diet. Identifying priority F&V in terms of contribution to micronutrient intake can help improve the diets of young children in Benin​​. This study provides a starting point for understanding dietary patterns, including F&V intake in this region, helping FRESH identify potential entry points for increasing F&V intake.  

Diversifying Sri Lankan diets 

In Sri Lanka, FRESH investigated dietary patterns and micronutrient intake in adults. The findings were equally concerning: average F&V intake was significantly below the national and global recommendations. Inadequate micronutrient intake levels were also reported, with most nutrients reported, falling below 20% of the recommended intake.  

While increasing F&V intake is an important step toward sustainably addressing micronutrient gaps in Sri Lanka, diversifying diets with nutrient-dense options like animal-sourced foods (ASF) and fortified foods is also likely necessary given the shortfalls in iron, zinc, vitamin B12 and calcium intake, for example. Additional research is needed to better understand the barriers to F&V consumption among Sri Lankan adults. 

Global impacts 

Though focused on particular regions, FRESH’s analyses in Benin and Sri Lanka hold global significance. This research is part of a broader effort to improve diets and associated nutrition and health outcomes, while mitigating environmental impacts and empowering women and youth​. The collaborative efforts of FRESH researchers and their partners demonstrate a commitment to tackling diet and nutritional challenges holistically. 

Learn more about these studies by downloading the research briefs below.

BENIN RESEARCH BRIEFSRI LANKA RESEARCH BRIEF

The FRESH Initiative is being implemented by CGIAR researchers from IFPRI, CIMMYT, the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, IWMI, and CIP in close partnership with the World Vegetable Center, Applied Horticultural Research, the University of Sydney, the Institute of Development Studies, Wageningen University & Research, the University of California, Davis, Borlaug Institute of South Asia, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Wayamba University of Sri Lanka and the Philippines Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute, along with other partners.  

We would like to thank all funders who support this research through their contributions to the CGIAR Trust Fund: www.cgiar.org/funders. 

Cover image: Woman and her child at a market in Benin. Photo by IFPRI/ M. Cooperman. 

Courtesy Sputnik

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The investigation has obtained evidence of the connection of the terrorists who carried out the attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue with Ukrainian nationalists, the Russian Investigative Committee said on Thursday.

“The initial results of the investigation fully confirm the planned nature of the terrorists’ actions, careful preparation and financial support from the organizers of the crime. As a result of working with detained terrorists, analyzing the technical devices seized from them, analyzing information about financial transactions, evidence of their connection with Ukrainian nationalists has been obtained,” the Russian Investigative Committee said on Telegram.

The investigation has information about the receipt of significant sums of money and cryptocurrency from Ukraine by the perpetrators of the terrorist attack in Crocus, reports the Russian Investigative Committee.— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) March 28, 2024

The terrorists received significant amounts of money and cryptocurrency from Ukraine, Russian investigators added.

“The investigation has confirmed data on the receipt of significant amounts of money and cryptocurrencies from Ukraine to the perpetrators of the terrorist attack, which were used in the preparation of the crime,” the report said.

A shooting occurred last Friday in the Crocus City Hall concert venue in the city of Krasnogorsk, just outside Moscow, followed by a massive fire. A Sputnik correspondent who witnessed the attack reported that a number of gunmen in camouflage broke into the music hall, shooting people point-blank and throwing incendiary bombs. The Russian Investigative Committee said that at least 143 people were killed as a result of the terrorist attack.

 By AJITH SIRIWARDANA Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Colombo, March 28 (Daily Mirror)-  Claiming that the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has no suitable Presidential candidate at the moment, Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said Namal Rajapaksa can contest for Presidency only after another five to ten years’ time.

“My stance is that we need to go for a Presidential election first and Ranil Wickremesinghe, who can take up the challenges and who revived the economy, should win,” he said.

Minister Ranatunga told reporters in Colombo that he stressed the need to go for a Presidential election first as no one will be able to form a stable government after a parliamentary election which could lead to anarchy in the country similar to that in Pakistan.

“We need to take decisions for the sake of the country. The country is first. The party is second. If we think of the country, we need to go for a Presidential election and allow the person who wins to form a government without going for a Parliamentary election and forming an unstable government. The SLPP must work for Ranil Wickremesinghe and if he wins the election, he should be allowed to form a government. If anyone else wins, he should be allowed to form a government. Then the country will not run into anarchy,” he said.

Courtesy Adaderana

The overall rate of inflation as measured by the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) on year-on-year basis has recorded a significant decrease in the month of March 2024, according to the most recent figures published by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS).

The CCPI-based inflation was calculated as 5.9% for the month of February.

According to the DCS report, the year-on-year inflation of Food Group was recorded at 3.8% in March, showing a minor increase from the 3.8% recorded in February, while the inflation of Non-Food Group decreased to -0.5% in March from 7.0% in February.

For March 2024, the contribution of inflation by food commodities was 1.19% while the contribution of Non-Food items was -0.32%. The DCS attributed this to the price decreases in groups of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, transport, health, clothing and footwear, furnishing household equipment and routine maintenance, as well as the price increases in groups of alcoholic beverages, tobacco and narcotics, education, restaurants and hotels, miscellaneous goods and services, recreation and culture and communication, compared to March 2023.

CCPI March 2024 by Adaderana Online on

https://www.scribd.com/embeds/717925647/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-gNxf66yyAmlB2DHsCYnH

Courtesy Adaderana

The world’s largest refiner, China’s Sinopec plans to start work on a refinery in Sri Lanka by June, the power minister said on Thursday, advancing a project earmarked as the biggest investment in the crisis-hit island nation.

Sri Lanka is looking to attract investment in the battle to stabilise its economy and return to growth following a financial crisis caused by a severe shortfall of dollars in 2022 that led the economy to contract 2.3% last year.

Officials of Sinopec Overseas Investment Holding are visiting Colombo for talks with Sri Lankan authorities.

The officials indicated that the management of Sinopec has decided to double the capacity of the refinery from the original proposal,” the minister, Kanchana Wijesekera, wrote on social media platform X.

They intend to sign the agreements for the project and commence work by June 2024.”

Sri Lanka’s cabinet approved the project in November, an investment that Wijesekera has earlier tagged at $4.5 billion.

China is Sri Lanka’s biggest two-way lender, with its companies building highways, sea and air ports and other infrastructure on the island off India’s southern coast.

The investment by Sinopec, one of the largest producers of petrochemicals, is part of an effort to expand beyond China, in which it has acquired refinery assets in Saudi Arabia and petrochemicals production in Russia.

Iran built Sri Lanka’s only refinery at Sapugaskanda in the western region in 1969. It can process 38,000 barrels of crude a day.

Source: Reuters

–Agencies 

Courtesy Adaderana

The Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court has ordered former President Maithripala Sirisena to make a statement in court on 04 April on his recent comments over the Easter Sunday bomb attacks.

The order was issued today (28) after the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had reported the relevant facts to the court, on the instructions of the Attorney General.

Sirisena had recorded a statement for around five-hours with the CID on Monday (05) over his recent comments regarding the Easter Sunday bomb attacks.

The CID had summoned the former President in order to record a statement over the controversial statement he recently made on the Easter Sunday attacks, after Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles had instructed the IGP to carry out an investigation into Sirisena’s remarks.

On Friday (22), former President Maithripala Sirisena had stirred controversy when he claimed he was aware of the true masterminds of the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks and that he was prepared to disclose the information to the judiciary if inquired from him or if an order is issued regarding the matter.

Speaking to the media in Kandy, Sirisena had claimed that he is ready to disclose the relevant information and that at the same time, it is the responsibility of the judges to keep the information strictly confidential.

The comments sparked controversy in the political arena with some accusing the former President of allegedly willfully concealing crucial information about the heinous bombings that claimed the lives of more than 250 people.

Amidst the controversy, however former President Sirisena had later claimed that his statement was based on certain information he had received three weeks ago.

Courtesy Adaderana

Amidst growing pressure to amend its travel advice to Sri Lanka which was deemed overly harsh”, the United Kingdom (UK) has defended its decision and said it would continue to keep the island nation’s travel advise under close review.

UK’s Minister of State for the Middle East, South Asia, Commonwealth Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon made this remark in the UK Parliament responding to a question raised on plans to update the travel advice to Sri Lanka to reflect the security situation in the country.

He defended the move, saying that the safety of British people is the main factor when determining UK’s travel advice for all countries, including Sri Lanka.

Our advice is designed to help British people make informed decisions about foreign travel and remains under constant review to ensure it reflects our latest assessment of risks when travelling abroad.

Our travel advice is based on objective assessments of the risks to British nationals. These assessments are made by drawing on expert sources of information available to the government including local knowledge from our embassies and information provided by the local authorities in each country.”

Earlier this year, leading tourism providers including the Experience Travel Group published an open letter with 35 signatories calling for FCDO advice on Sri Lanka to be amended.

It criticized the mentioning of fuel and food shortages in the country dating back to the 2022 political unrest and continued references to the 2019 terrorist attacks and said the UK the government was systematically undermining the travel industry” in Sri Lanka.

By Sena Thoradeniya

1. How the Speaker Was Pressured?

Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena deserves plaudits of all anti-imperialist, anti-fascist, anti-hegemonic, anti-anarchist Sri Lankans for the bold statement he made immediately after the No Confidence Motion of the joint opposition on 21 March 2024. He revealed for the first time foreign powers (it is obvious who they were although he has not named them), some local politicians, a prominent Buddhist priest and a Catholic religious leader have pressured him to take over the Presidency during the Galle Face Protest.

He disclosed how he received telephone calls from various anti-state forces.He said that the objective of those who made the request was not to resolve the crisis, or restore law and order and protect the country, but to aggravate the problems and make Sri Lanka another Libya or an Afghanistan. He further stated that he was determined to uphold democracy and safeguard the country.

According to his statement, among those who exerted pressure on him were leading Bhikkhus and leaders of other religions. Some prominent religious leaders – popular Buddhist priests and others had surrounded his official residence to harm him if he failed to take over the Presidency and form a new government – in other words if he refused to adhere to the conspirators’ proposal.

Both internal and external forces influenced me to take over the Presidency and form a new government even violating the Constitution.” According to his statement, he was asked to name a Prime Minister and a Cabinet of Ministers to rule the country.

The Speaker for the first time revealed how the protesters tried to march towards the Parliament to set it ablaze.

2. Who Were They?

Omalpe Sobitha and Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, the two godfathers of the Galle Face marauders, and Korean American Julie Chung, the self-appointed Viceroy of Sri Lanka are in the dock again, although the Speaker has not named names.

There were people who could not achieve what they wanted for more than 30 years”, was the most important reference he made in his accusation. Who were they? Obviously, the party that thinks that it has already won the Presidential and Parliamentary race, the Malimawa grandees who play a hide-and-seek game showing its duplicity.

3. Wimal Weerawansa’s Nine: The Hidden Story”

The Speaker’s statement confirms what Wimal Weerawansa stated in his book, Nine: TheHidden Story” published in 2023 and what this writer has stated in his book Galle Face Protest: Systems Change or Anarchy, Politics, Religion and Culture in a Time of Terror in Sri Lanka” (2023), Julie Chung’s direct intervention in the regime change. After the publication of Weerawansa’s book, many political analysts said that the Speaker had not denied or acknowledged what Weerawansa had stated. With the Speaker’s statement, the matter has been settled, although the Speaker fails to name names. He confirmed the direct intervention of Chung and other external forces. But the Speaker maintains an apologetic silence about Weerawansa’s main allegation, that Chung had visited him.

Thus, the Speaker does not reveal the visit of the unanticipated visitor” Julie Chung to his official residence, how she pressured and commanded him to accept the Presidency. It should be reminded that the JVP called for an Interim Government headed by the Speaker as the acting President. This happened immediately after Anura Kumara met Chung for the first time.  We cannot dismiss the fact that the JVP was used by Chung to carry out her plan. Lal Kantha had admitted US intervention in the Galle Face protest.

The international conspirators wanted GR to sack Ranil Wickremasinghe as the Prime Minister with the connivance of Sri Lankan envoys in New Delhi and Washington respectively. Two letters were prepared for GR’s signature, one declaring GR’s resignation and the other sacking RW. At this time, plans were set afoot to storm the Parliament, capture it and occupy Supreme Courts Complex, signifying the fall of the national state, seats of the executive, legislature and judiciary falling into the hands of anarchic elements. A separate village was set up in front of RW’s private residence with the slogan Ranil Go Home” and his private residence was torched forcing him to resign. Against this backdrop installing the Speaker as the President would have hastened the destabilization process compelling the Security Forces to be mere onlookers.

Speaker has not answered another allegation made by Weerawansa that the Army Commander asking him to request RW to step down as he opined that bringing back normalcy was an uphill task to the security forces.

Weerawansa stated that after killing Muhammad Gadhafi, Americans installed an interim government in Libya headed by Speaker. Mahinda Yapa in his statement said that the conspirators wanted to make Sri Lanka another Libya or an Afghanistan.

Weerawansarevealed a leader of a very influential religious denomination (non- Buddhist) visiting the Speaker at his official residence and having a discussion with the latter and asking him to accept the Presidency after GR’s resignation. Weerawansa does not name this religious leader, but the Speaker in his statement some prominent religious leaders – popular Buddhistpriests and others”, confirms what Weerawansa had stated.

4. GR’s Action or Inaction?

The Speaker further stated that GR called him and sought his opinion on transferring power to him (the Speaker). However, I knew that if I have accepted the position without powers vested in me by the Constitution to do so, this country would have ended in anarchy”. What the Speaker says is that he has declined the offer as he was not sure that he will be able to appoint a new President within a month. 

It is interesting to note that GR does not discuss this crucial constitutional issue in his book, The Conspiracy” (2024). He says: After reaching Singapore, I informed the Speaker of Parliament Mahindra Yapa Abeywardena that I would step down from the Presidency in the coming few days respecting the request made of me by the political parties. I had by this time, made up my mind to hand over the mantle of President to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe because I saw him as the only person capable of restoring law and order in the country” (Pp. 156-157). He has miserably failed to disclose the role Julie Chung played in his ouster. We ask why? 

At this juncture we raise few pertinent questions: (1) Why does he respect the request made of him by the political parties”? (2) What are those political parties? SJB, JVP or Pohottuwa dissident groups? (3) Does he think that these parties have given him a mandate to be elected as the President of Sri Lanka? (4) Was he aware that RW and his close confidantes were playing an active role in the Galle Face ghetto? (5) Was he convinced that the only person capable of receiving Indian and American support was Ranil Wickremasinghe?  (6) Was he pressured again by Chung & Co. to accept the Plan B of the conspiracy by handing over the Presidency to RW? (7) Can an elected President hand over the reins of power to another as he distributes his household silver?

5. Presidential Aspirants Among the Conspirators?  

The greatest accusation made by the Speaker was that he was surprised to see some of those local politicians who imposed undue influence on him to become the President were among the signatories to the no-faith motion against him and voted in favour of the motion. How can that be? A person who was fit enough to become the President of the country a few months ago becoming unsuitable to be the Speaker of the Parliament a few moons later. Although the Speaker has not named names, we know that two of them are Presidential aspirants. The Speaker should have asked whether these two conspirators are fit to become the President of Sri Lanka.

The Speaker describes how he took action to safeguard the mace; what we infer is that he had sent the mace out of the Parliament, like Kandyan Kings hid the dalada to safeguard it (the sacred relic) from foreign invaders. The Speaker was not rightly advised by his advisors; if the protesters stormed the Parliament, elected their own government and passed legislation they can do it without a mace; what legitimacy they need after storming the Parliament and conducting sessions in an occupied Parliament?  When they abrogate the Constitution who needs a mace? An arm of a broken chair is enough if they want to have some decorum.

The Speaker does not disclose what really happened at the party leaders meeting that day. The party leaders who are privy to the deliberations keep mum. Why? It’s another political game they all conveniently play. What they demanded from the Speaker was drowned in pollical deception and hypocrisy. These are the people who cast themselves as paragons of virtue, devoid of any human foibles.     

The Speaker was the only person who has remained in the Parliament that day. It is apparent that other party leaders, guardians of parliamentary democracy” have left leaving the Speaker alone. I had to see the safety of all political party leaders in the Parliamentary Complex when it was surrounded by the protesters. They surrounded the Parliament during the party leaders meeting. I sent out all party leaders safely while I had to remain. It was also decided to send the mace out of the Parliament to ensure its safety. The Speaker does not say among the party leaders were those who pressured him to take over the Presidency.

In my book Galle Face Protest: Systems Change or Anarchy, Politics, Religion and Culture in a Time of Terror in Sri Lanka” (Pp 153- 174 ), I have stated how JVP and FSP had succeeded in becoming the leading force at Galle Face and other protest sites and how they were preparing for their third upheaval.  JVP stalwart Lal Kantha’s plan was to close all roads, besiege the Parliament, demand all MPs passing a motion to dissolve the current Parliament; MPs would not be allowed to come out from the Parliament without voting for a motion to dissolve the Parliament.

According to this plan two new protest sites were established at Polduwa Junction and Diyatha Uyana respectively. Slogans changed from Aragalaya Diyawannewen obbata” to Aragalaya Diyawannawata”, Anthima satana” and Last 24 hours”.  Pathum Kerner, a self-appointed leader warned the public to get ready for the 2.0 stage of their struggle. Lal Kantha called to bring Parliament under their control and that victory over the Rajapaksa dictatorship” would not be completed without seizing the Parliament. IUSF Convener too announced that they would take over the Parliament.  

The Speaker correctly stated that if the Parliament (we add: and the Courts Complex; already the seat of the Executive occupied by the protesters) was occupied by the rioters and forming of a new administration was delayed the country would have broken into divisions, riots would erupt in every part of the Island and various forces would have taken over different areas of the country.

The readers are reminded that after May 09, 2022, the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) called for the formation of regional insurgent groups.

This is what happens in Haitinow.

6. Haiti: American Test Run Proposed for Sri Lanka?

In Haiti, former main rebel leaders in 2004’s overthrow of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide called for Haiti Prime Minister to resign. Heavily armed gang leaders have begun shooting and killing seeking to expand their territorial control as political groups in Haiti are attempting to take over from an absent government after the Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry was forced to announce his resignation, forcing deployment of an International Security Mission”. E-con E-News in its 25 February – 2 March issue reported, Increasing evidence links Julie Chung, the then US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs and her boss Victoria Nuland to the murder of Haitian President Jovenal Moise in July 2021 by Columbian gangsters. Chung had met with Moise just before his assassination, nearly one year before the almost murder of GR, just after Chung was posted from that Caribbean crime scene to a new coven here in Sri Lanka”.

After the assassination of Moise, Ariel Henry was selected as the Prime Minister by a group of diplomats called Core Group” (remember Sri Lanka also had Core Groups”) consisting of ambassadors to Haiti representing Brazil, the EU, France, Germany, Spain, Canada and of course the US. Ariel Henry was accused of having links to the killers of Moise.

Head of Delma 95 gang, Jimmy Barbeque” Cherizier’s Viv Ansanm Alliance” are fighting to take control of Haitian cities. Cherizier has threatened reprisals against politicians and their families.  Armed gangs threaten politicians who join Transitional Council. Gangs continue to pillage homes and attack state institutions. State has become disintegrated; police stations torched; courts occupied by gangs. Capital’s bases/ brigades and homes of judges, Central Bank were attacked; Business District of the capital overrun by armed groups, paralysed by gang violence; power supply disrupted; sub-stations destroyed; gangs control roads; people in their thousands fleeing the capital Port- Au- Prince to find refuge in the countryside. Gang attacks began on February 29, gunmen targeting police stations. The main international airport remains closed. Gangs stormed Haiti’s two biggest prisons and released more than 4000 inmates. State banks have stopped operations.

7. Avatars of 1988/89   

This reminds us JVP/DJV (Deshavimukthi Janatha Vyaparaya) killing spree during 1988-89) in Sri Lanka. As PRRA (Peoples’ Revolutionary Red Army) emerged in Sri Lanka to counter JVP/DJV attacks, vigilante groups have emerged in Haiti too. Vigilante groups blocking off their neighborhoods with felled trees began killing gang members; their charred bodies lying on the streets, hands cut off, metal wires wrapped around charred bodies; their houses set on fire.

If the Speaker had accepted the Presidency and protesters occupied the Parliamentary complex Warlords” of different regions would have emerged, – for example JVP/NPP Anuradhapura warlord, Badulla warlord, farmer warlord, trade union warlord, Ethera Api warlord, medical warlord, just to name a few – and run roughshod over the masses. Laurels to the Speaker for preventing such a catastrophe, for the simple reason for preventing such a blood bath as happening just now in Haiti. If not, Sri Lanka should have been the testing ground for the conspirators such as Chung, Nuland and Blinken to test a new ploy that they have invented.

8. Pied Pipers and Rats

Evidently two parties have prevailed in the protest movement, Protesters and Conspirators. The protesters were unaware of the conspirators’ agenda. We do not believe any protester wanted the Speaker to take over the Presidency. Conspirators knew if their plan succeeded total collapse and disintegration of   the State will pave the way for their military intervention.

We are not foolish enough to believe that RW, the American – Indian puppet installed by GR,  Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, when he was the External Affairs Minister under GR, who treated the Swiss Ambassador and others involved in the Garniar Barrister aka Sriyalatha Perera   fiasco with kid gloves and the present Foreign Minister, who plays a roaming role from Justice and Finance to Foreign Affairs  will initiate an inquiry, ask the Speaker to reveal the names of the foreign and local bigwigs who  pressured him, declare Julie Chung persona non grata or nominally ask the US government to recall her.

We urge the capitalist press and politicians to treat that the insinuation of foreign involvement in the ouster of GR is not merely a canard and not to dismiss it as a baseless conspiracy theory, an easy trick employed to dismiss anything and everything worthwhile as conspiracy theories, a fashion of the less informed and the prejudiced.         

By Raj Gonsalkorale

Political ethics requires leaders to meet higher standards than would be necessary for private life. They may have less of a right to privacy than ordinary citizens do, or no right to use their office for personal profit. Personal or private morality and political morality are often viewed as a conflict of interest – Andrew Stark, Conflict of Interest in American Public Life. (Harvard University Press, 2003

A senior politician said recently that he would like the SLPP, SJB, UNP and the NPP to work together. Of course working together does not necessarily mean entering into political coalitions. So far, efforts made by President Ranil Wickremasinghe for political parties to work together on a common program, especially an economic program, has not materialised and all Opposition parties have declined to work together with the government on such a program.  Working together on a common program without political coalescing requires personal sacrifices on the part of politicians as a common program has no personal political winners and losers. There can be only one winner, and that is the country.

On the other hand, political coalitions are power sharing models which are not necessarily altruistic models where the interest of the country supersedes personal interests. Politicians are interested in power and the public should not fool themselves and not allow them to be fooled by others who would like the public to believe in an imaginary world of working together for the sake of the country and the betterment of the country.

In the context of pursuit of power, and the justification of any means to achieve some political ends including engaging in corrupt activity and unethical behavior, the following three quotes by Mahatma Gandhi are of relevance today in Sri Lanka on the eve of presidential and general elections to be held in 2024 and 2025.

• When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall… think of it, always.
• It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that’s important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there’ll be any fruit. But that doesn’t mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.
• My notion of democracy is that under it the weakest shall have the same opportunities as the strongest… no country in the world today shows any but patronizing regard for the weak… Western democracy, as it functions today, is diluted fascism… true democracy cannot be worked by twenty men sitting at the center. It has to be worked from below, by the people of every village.

Mahatma Ghandi epitomised the need for leaders to adhere to core human values of honesty, decency, love and kindness and service to each other. He did his utmost to change the political culture of India for it to reach its goals within the parameters of these core values.

Many believe, genuinely in most cases, that the political culture of Sri Lanka has to change as the present political culture is so sullied and a new breed of politicians are needed to resurrect something out of the mud everyone is in. It is uncertain though whether those who vocalise the need for a change in the political culture in fact are willing or even able to change it as they are representing a public who themselves appear to have distanced themselves from these core values. Religions have become so institutionalised, the teachings of the founders of religions have been overshadowed by ritualism that has no bearing on these core values.

The culture of a country plays a significant role in shaping its political system. A culture encompasses the attitudes, beliefs, and values that individuals have and hold towards each other in a society. A political system does not evolve by itself but from these attitudes, and the quality of a political system has a direct relationship to the quality of the country’s culture, therefore the values of its people. Mahatma Gandhi and leaders like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jnr, were living embodiments of such values during their political struggles and these served to guide the destiny of their political movements.

Transfer of values and beliefs from one generation to another happens through political socialization, and this is a crucial factor in shaping the evolving political culture of a country. Various social institutions such as the family, education, religion, political parties, and media contribute to the formation and construction, and the evolution of political cultures. The development of political cultures is influenced by the changes in political consciousness and behaviour, as well as the values and attitudes prevailing in society.

In theory, political coalitions are welcome as an instrument to increase wider participation of those with diverse opinions on political governance and lessen tensions and inequities that lead to an uncompromising political culture often leading to extremism. However, if coalitions are entered into without any desire or intention of changing a political culture that is sullied with immorality, unethical behaviour, abject corruption and lack of any political standards, such coalitions will only lead to a country falling from a frying pan to a fire in respect of unjust, inequitable governance devoid of any morality and ethics.

It appears that there is unanimity in the public perception of an overwhelming number of Sri Lankans that Sri Lanka has gone beyond the point of resurrection when it comes to immorality, unethical behaviour, corruption, lack of law and order and poor governance. Paraphrasing Albert Einstein, they also appear to believe that it would be madness and suicidal for the country if the same people are elected to govern in the same way expecting different results. In such a climate, political coalitions formed for the sake of just power are bound to keep a lid on all these negatives and would be a means of perpetuating them as coalition agreements are bound to shield the corrupt and the dregs of society.

The problem for the country however is that those who are offering a new way of governance has not, as yet produced a document that outlines how they would govern differently and address the ills of the political culture and shortcomings in governance in the country. The absence of a specific, realistic plan of action to address these is a serious drawback to the country as any political combine riding the crest of a wave of popularity arising solely from the unpopularity of others, will not be any kind of panacea to address the ills facing the country. There is also the inherent consequential danger of what might happen if such a group fails to deliver on promises made on political platforms and on media interviews. Such a danger is even more acute if such a group, with a record of serious, series of violent political struggles, which they have not rejected as a possible weapon to gain power should a need arises for that, gains power simply on promises but not specific realistic solutions.

The oncoming elections, Presidential and General, poses a significant challenge for the future of the country. They will be called upon to decide between a popular group that has not presented any specific written plans as to how they would govern should they win one or both elections, and possibly a coalition of political parties opposed to the popular group, but who may coalesce just to oppose the popular group and to pursue power for themselves. It is highly unlikely that such a coalition will be able to change the sick political culture of the country as their coalition agreements will shield the many perpetrators who are in abundance in every party.

None of the Opposition parties have so far presented a realistic plan to the people as to how they would reduce the debt of the country which now exceeds the GDP of the country. The debt to GDP ratio stands at 120% now. In laymen’s terms this means that even if the entire country is sold today at its GDP value, it will still owe 20% of its value (GDP). None have presented specific alternate plans as to how the country could live within its means without resorting to more borrowings. None have spelt out the way they would settle outstanding foreign debt of some USD 52 Billion. None have spelt out a plan as to how they would change the political culture of the country and bring back morality, ethics, equitable law and order and address corruption that appears to be beyond a stage 4 cancer now. None have spelt out specific plans as to how they would reduce the ever widening gap between the haves and the have nots.

Promises made on political platforms and media interviews dot the political landscape today. One is reminded of a quote from Nikita Khrushchev, one time Soviet Union Prime Minister that politicians are the same all over. They promise to build bridges even when there are no rivers.