Vichara

At the opening of the 10^th Parliament, President AKD made a policy statement covering a wide range of issues. It was a professional presentation. This note is in elaboration on a few topics in his speech that are related to economic development.

(In this note the President’s statements are in Italics.)

1. if national wealth becomes concentrated among a few, it will not stabilize the economy or society. Our policy, therefore, is that the benefits of the economy must be fairly distributed among the people”

While appreciating the sentiments expressed so emphatically, what is not understood is why this radical change did not come earlier in a country with a literacy rate of 92 % for adults aged 15 and above, and a high income inequality where more than half the total household income of the country is enjoyed by the richest 20%, while the bottom decile (poorest 20%) gets only 5%, with the share of household income being just 1.6% for the poorest 10%. There is a clear correlation between poverty and inequality.

2. While we may hold diverse political opinions, I assure you with full responsibility that we will not allow a resurgence of divisive racist politics in our country.

The opposition points out that the LTTE war dead commemoration displaying LTTE flags and symbols is supporting the resurgence of ethnic and divisive politics.

3. We aim to strengthen these cooperative networks and position ourselves as a strong competitor in the market.

The Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) was established to cater to the cooperative sector. During the time Philip Gunawardena CWE was linked with the Multi-Purpose Cooperative scheme. It was the CWE and the cooperatives that served the nation during the 1983 riots when the private trade hardly functioned. But surprisingly during the Yahapalana regime, the wholesale function of the CWE was debarred. This unwise and irrational move gave the Pettah mafia a free run in the import trade,e particularly with India CWE should be strengthened and given the right to import and serve the cooperatives.

4. We hope to make a new leap in agriculture. Specifically, we must revive our seed research laboratories. We must develop seed farms. We must reinstate a strong agricultural extension service.

 The Department of Agriculture which was the technical department with specialist officers had a major shock when President Premadasa decided to absorb all  Krushi Viyapthi Sevakyan (KVSs)- some 2300 as Grama Niladharis. Out went the qualified officers who were working at the village level guiding the farmers. For a few years, there was no agriculture staff at the village level under the Agricultural Instructors,

 Another detrimental change was devolving Agriculture and Agrarian Services to the Provincial Councils by the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.”

The Krushi Viyapthi Sevaya should be reinstated. Agriculture which cuts across Provincial boundaries should be made a central government function.

5. We are also focusing on the fishing industry. Our nation’s sea is eight times the size of our land, yet we are only utilizing a small portion of this vast resource. The fishing industry holds great potential for boosting our economy.

The country also has a huge potential to cultivate freshwater fish.

Sri Lanka has 18 major and 18,000 small tanks. The total surface area of all reservoirs is estimated to be 175,774 hectares. These can be utilized to produce fish for the domestic and export markets. Only the total catfish farming area of Vietnam in 2023 was only 5,700 hectares, but the export value in 2022 was $2.4 billion. Catfish are farmed in mud ponds. The area under tea plantations in Sri Lanka is around 203,000 hectares, and the export value of tea in 2023 was $1.31 billion.

6. We believe that the natural resources in our country, particularly mineral resources, hold enormous potential for our economy.we aim to establish a value-added industrial system by integrating both the state and private sector to transform these mineral resources into more value-added products. We have already discussed this with local industrialists in our country.

Sri Lanka is rich in a variety of minerals that have significant potential for value addition. These minerals can be utilized for domestic industries, export, and advanced processing to enhance economic benefits.

Our graphite can be converted into graphene for electronics, medical devices, and energy storage and for manufacturing of lithium-ion battery anodes, a critical component in EVs.

Our ilmenite and rutile can be refined into titanium metal for aerospace and medical applications and for the production of ceramic-grade zircon for tiles and sanitary ware.

Our apatite can be used to manufacture of phosphoric acid and fertilizers.

Potential for the value addition of other products please see:

https://vicharasl.wordpress.com/2024/12/01/minerals-in-sri-lanka/

7. The market does not progress by offering traditional and conservative goods and services. It evolves continuously, leaving behind old products and services, creating new markets for innovative products and services”

It is true that the country has to innovate new products and services, but we cannot leave behind old products and markets. Out traditional products in the present form and in value-added forms will have to be our foundation. We have to focus on all four conventional combinations of marketing, such as old products in old markets, old products in new markets, new products in old markets, and new products in new markets. To foster creativity and innovation, the education system has to be revamped.

8.Management of the market plays a crucial role, and cooperative networks contribute significantly to this. Therefore, we aim to strengthen these cooperative networks and position ourselves as a strong competitor in the market.”

In this endeavor, the role of the CWE should receive attention. The original objective of the CWE was to cater to the cooperative sector. It was the CWE and the cooperatives that served the nation during the 1983 riots when the private trade hardly functioned. But surprisingly, during the Yahapalana regime, the wholesale function of the CWE was barred. This idiotic and irrational move gave the Pettah mafia a free run in the import trade, particularly with India. The original role of the CWE should be restored and given the funds to engage in wholesale import, storage, and distribution of essential commodities through the cooperative system.

9. We must foster a mindset of staying and thriving as small and medium-scale entrepreneurs within the country. Providing the necessary technical knowledge, capital, and access to markets is a responsibility the government takes seriously.”

Most SME entrepreneurs are not aware of the opportunities available for investment. In India and Pakistan, the State Banks and the government have established comprehensive portfolios of feasibility reports for reference and adoption by investors. In the 1980s, the EDB had a special unit responsible for the formulation and evaluation of export-oriented projects, which worked with the private sector to identify and implement pioneering projects. EDB also provided venture capital to these projects. The EDB should reestablish this function, which was abandoned. 

Small and Medium Industries sector is considered the engine of economic development. There are many concessions accorded to this sector like low-interest loans. At present, the Banks confine themselves to only the evaluation and approval of SME projects. They do not play a role in the identification of projects and developing project profiles and feasibility studies to make them available to prospective investors. This is the policy followed by established development banks in India such as the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA) of Pakistan.

We should have an institution to build a comprehensive portfolio of feasibility studies and provide venture capital and consultancy services to the SMEs..

Vide: https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2022/01/08/a-case-for-feasibility-studies-and-venture-capital.

10.We intend to overhaul our diplomatic services entirely. While maintaining our commitment to fostering international relations, we are also committed to going beyond traditional diplomacy to assist Sri Lankan industries in finding and accessing global markets. To achieve this, we are realigning the operations of our diplomatic missions”.

The President is very diplomatic. Our foreign missions are white elephants and employment exchanges for political interests. During the separatist war, the main task of our missions was to keep the countries of their assignment informed of our side of the story and respond to false propaganda against Sri Lanka. Our predicament at the UN Human Rights Council is proof that most of our missions failed even at that task.  These missions in important locations have commercial secretaries, but the diplomats nor the commercial officers play any substantial role in the promotion of exports and investments of the motherland. They need to work in close collaboration with the BOI and EDB, which can backstop them. Our missions should be given targets on trade and investment promotion and ensure that they achieve them.

They should also report on new relevant research findings in the host country.

11. We cannot benefit from an economy that excludes the people. An economy that turns people into mere spectators will not bring us any gains. In every aspect of the economy, people should become active participants according to their abilities.”

Every government has been narrating this yarn, but little was done to achieve this objective. There should be a set process and a mechanism to permit people to participate, particularly in the formulation of policy. It is proposed that a special website be created in the Ministry of Planning where proposals for new policies are published. This should be done as a concept paper/white paper by the subject Ministry. Interested citizens can blog on them and make relevant suggestions for consideration. Subject Ministries, too, should have websites on which citizens could participate.

12. We believe it is essential to rebuild a competent, people-centric public service that prioritizes the well-being of the citizens

With the 1972 Constitution powers of appointment, transfers, and disciplinary control of public servants were vested in the Cabinet of Ministers. The Public Service Commission was abolished and replaced with a State Service Advisory Board and a State Services Disciplinary Board. Public officers ceased to be ‘obedient servants’

of the public, but the minions of the Ministers. The1978 Constitutions did not change the status.

Vide: https://vicharasl.wordpress.com/2022/11/12/plight-and-prospects-of-our-public-service/

12. Providing the Necessary Economic Support to Eradicate Poverty.

Poverty needs to be eradicated.

 in the forthcoming budget, we will ensure a fair increase in wages for public sector employees ( should be linked to productivity improvement

Poverty cannot be completely eradicated but can be reduced. Abject poverty has to be eradicated. China has been very successful in reducing poverty. While safety nets are essential to take care of the poor, they can also create dependence. The better way is to create employment opportunities for the poor, provide them with the necessary support and guidance, and motivate them to become entrepreneurs. For example, when there was a demand for eggs and eggs had to be imported, a selected number of welfare applicants could have been given day-old chicks and a loan to start a small-scale poultry project. This would also support the reduction of malnutrition.

Many of the beneficiaries could be paid a wage for some productive work like tree planting and cleaning the environment. Paid work, instead of a handout, empowers individuals and enhances the dignity of labor. Give a fishing rod rather than some fish.

13. We promised the people that we would manage the economy in accordance with the parameters agreed upon by the International Monetary Fund.

Article 21 of the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies MEFP the government clearly spells out the specific policies envisaged. It states:

We will phase out the administrative measures imposed to support the balance of payments, including those introduced on an emergency basis, once conditions allow. These measures include import restrictions, exchange restrictions, multiple currency practices (MCPs), and capital flow management (CFM) measures.”

(Main CFM measures introduced or tightened in 2020-2022 and currently in force include: (i) a repatriation requirement for exports of goods and services; (ii) a surrender requirement for exporters on proceeds from exports of goods; (iii) a surrender requirement for banks on purchases of export proceeds; (iv) a surrender requirement for banks on purchases of inward worker remittances; (v) suspension of outward remittances on capital transactions; (vi) restrictions on purchases of Sri Lankan ISBs by local banks; (vii) restrictions on outward transfers of funds for emigrants)

The agreement to exempt exporters from the repatriation of export proceeds has cost us ove 50 billion US$, whereas the IMF is giving us 3 billion US$.

The bulk of the 50 billion USD would be on the export of garments on which the country has spent over 40% of that in scarce foreign exchange.

IMF Proposals The good and the bad.

14. Our economy can undergo a significant transformation is science and technology.

Sri Lanka should have a science and technology policy that takes into account the the link between technology, industrialization, and education.

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Education has to prepare individuals with the skills and knowledge needed to participate in the future demand in the labor market.

Science and Technology create new industries an drive industrial systems. All Three education, technology and industrialization have to be interrelated.

Industrialization shapes educational priorities. Technology depends on education and innovation.

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 The triad of education, technology, and industrialization together are the foundation of  sustainable development. Investing in this triad ensures a skilled workforce, continuous innovation, and the ability to adapt to evolving industrial needs. This synergy fosters economic resilience and societal progress in an increasingly interconnected world.”

15. Digitalization is crucial, especially for providing services to citizens and advancing the economy to a new level. To elevate our country from its current state to a new level, the hallmark of that future will be Digital Sri Lanka.

Digitalization enhances efficiency, reduces cost, and improves productivity and connectivity. It is a necessity and not a mere option.

The importance of digitalization cannot be overemphasized. It is noted that the subject is in safe hands.

16. While our people can bring about positive changes in political leadership and the civil service, we also need a transformation in the mindset of citizens to build a strong nation. Without this positive shift in citizenship, we will not succeed in achieving the broader goals of political transformation. Therefore, we must make a concerted effort to foster good citizenship, positive attitudes, responsible actions, and proper behavior.

In this essential endeavor the example must come from the politicians and civic leaders. These worthy behavior should be inculcated from childhood. It is suggested that the subject of Civics be reintroduced in schools.

Vide: https://vicharasl.wordpress.com/2022/12/26/civic-education-sugath-nga/

17. I am reminded of Martin Luther King Jr.’s words:

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

Over 2500 years ago, Gauthama Buddha said

Na hi verena verani
sammantidha kudacanam
averena ca sammanti
esa dhammo sanantano.¹

Vichara

KAMALIKA PIERIS

After the colonization schemes of the 1950s and 1960s,   the government started doing Development Schemes. Tamil Separatist Movement viewed these development schemes   with great alarm, because they brought Sinhalese settlers into the area they had reserved for Eelam. State-sponsored colonization would lead to a change in the demography of the Northern and Eastern Province.

The Accelerated Mahaweli Scheme was the largest development scheme in Sri Lanka .it started operations in October 1977.  It was a multi-purpose development scheme involving the construction of reservoirs, hydroelectricity plants and irrigation systems. The Mahaweli Scheme was designed to provide hydroelectricity, agriculture, irrigation and   settlements to four provinces, Northern, North Central, Central and Eastern.

The Mahaweli Scheme was divided into 13 Systems labeled A to M.  Tamil Separatist Movement complained that Systems A, B (Right Bank), I, J, K, L and M either fully or partially fell inside Eelam.

The   settlements in the Mahaweli   scheme started in 1978. Because of Mahaweli, Tamils in the Eastern province lost two-thirds of their land to the Sinhalese and became a minority population, said Oakland Institute. The number of Tamils in the Eastern province dwindled from 76 % in 1827 to 39% percent in 2015.

Tamils are no longer the majority in Trincomalee either. The only district in the Eastern Province that has more Tamil than Sinhalese residents is Batticaloa, continued Oakland in 2015. Mullaitivu District, which was mainly Tamil, has the second-highest concentration of Sinhalese in the Northern Province, said analysts in 2022. [1]  They all agreed that   Mahaweli project had successfully managed to reconfigure the ethnic ratio of the Northern and Eastern districts.[2]  

The separatist Tamils voiced their concern about Mahaweli to the authorities in India, when they went to India to discuss the ethnic conflict. They managed to get Mahaweli included in the Agreement reached between the two governments in 1983 in New Delhi. Mahaweli was included in the document known as Annexure C”, drawn up by G. Parthasarathy, special envoy of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and tabled before the All Party Conference at Thimpu in 1985.

This annexure said that the settlers in the Mahaweli System should  be selected  according to the ethnic composition of the Island,  75% Sinhala, 15% Tamil and 10% Muslim.[3] However, the Census of 1981 gave the figures as Sinhala 74.9% Tamil 11.2% Moors 9.2%.  Tamils were asking for 4% more than what they were entitled to. The Conference ended in December 1984 with nothing decided.  Annexure ‘C” was forgotten. Most people don’t even know about it.  But Tamil Separatist Movement continues to refer to it as if it is approved policy.

The senior officials in all strategic   positions at Mahaweli ministry were Tamil. These Tamil officers outmaneuvered and outflanked their complacent Sinhala counterparts, through clever stratagems, said Malinga Gunaratne, who had worked in Mahaweli. Their machinations were well calculated, well planned out and executed with clinical precision. Large tracts of land were designated as   elephant corridors, forest reserves, national parks  and no settlement was allowed in them.

Tamil Separatist Movement had studied the Mahaweli plan carefully and had marked out two strategic locations where Sinhala settlements   could puncture Eelam. They were Maduru oya and Yan oya settlements. Illegal Tamil settlements were established by 1983 in Yan Oya  and Maduru oya.

Padaviya was another critical area.  Padaviya (1958) was bursting at the seams by 1980. The area could not accommodate the 2nd and 3rd generations.  They would have had to expand into Vavuniya and Mullaitivu .Tamil Separatist Movement saw this and started installing Tamil settlements on the border of Padaviya leaving a massive buffer zone between these settlements and the Vavuniya- Mullaitivu districts.

These illegal settlements were known to the authorities who turned a blind eye. When the government was told of illegal Tamil settlements in the Accelerated Mahaweli area, the government took no action, said Malinga Gunaratne who had worked at the Mahaweli Ministry.  Those working in the Ministry, however, could see the deals made between the authorities and the Tamil separatist politicians. The Minister knows about the Tamil activities but he is helpless, the Tamil lobby is too strong, Malinga was told. [4]  (Continued)

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[1] https://countercurrents.org/2022/06/state-sponsored-sinhalese-colonization-of-tamils-traditional-homeland/

[2] https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2023/04/10/development-gone-wrong-sri-lanka-at-75/

[3] https://thuppahis.com/2022/07/28/the-mahaweli-project-the-mother-of-all-development-schemes-in-sri-lanka/

[4]  Malinga Gunaratne. For a sovereign state

Prof. Hudson McLean

President-elect Donald Trump Appointment of General Keith Kellogg with High Credibility, to Stop the Russian- Ukraine Conflict, is Positive!       A Master-Stroke!

Trump Offers the Russian Bear a Honeycomb!

Offering President Putin of Russia a 20% land area which was Ukraine and a 1000 km Buffer De-Militarised Zone is a Practical Solution to please Putin.

This is the only practical solution suggested by any leader, when all other leaders were Provoking-the-Bear” and pouring gasoline into a burning fire.

80% is Better Than Losing More Men!

Hard at it may be to swallow by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, it is better to have 80% of the cake without angry Russian soldiers breathing than having the entire cake, surrounded by Russian Troops.

De-Militarised Zone to be Monitored & Patrolled by European soldiers is a Highly Practical solution, if the Russians accept this option.  Do they have a choice?

Bring the NATO troops facing Russian Border.

This will bring United Kingdom-German-Italian-French soldiers, all NATO members, right to the Border of Russia. Diplomatically leaves Turkey Out!

This is a very clever suggestion by Trump-Kellogg!

To further pacify the Ukrainian leadership who fought a bitter war, Trump suggests the Ukrainian land given to Russians may be a Temporary Solution to be negotiated in the future.

Trump-Kellogg solution must be given credit for leaving Finland-Sweden-Poland-Estonia-Latvia-Lithuania out of this conundrum!

Diplomatically Crimea did not enter into these discussions!

And American boots off Europe!

Now the Russian maritime may have seamless access to sea-lane, which was the main reason for this conflict!

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

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

Dr Sarath Obeysekera

Politicians in this country instigate people to carry on strikeS irrespective of the nature of the problem ,and without studying the proposal –may be…

From  the government- side there  should be many public forums explaining the circumstances under which Indians have been entrusted the peacekeeping functions in the North and how Rajeev Gandhi blackmailed Sri Lankans to sign in to the Indian Pease agreement .Then Indians shrewdly included Trinco tank farm in to the agreement as a strategic  move .That was the ulterior intention ,and JR had to givein ,JVP is also responsible for this because they were creating mayhem in the South and JR could not  co-op up with both fronts. After signing JVP went on rampage again and burnt many state properties including machinery of the SLLRDC ,SDC ,SEC etc ,by way of protesting the Indian army moving in.

Indian government trained tigers under Indira Gandhi because JR ) called Yankee Dickee) alienated towards Americans ,which India and Russia did not like .Then they pushed us into peace agreement ,but it was a calculated move by Indians ,as the conspiracy was hatched long time ago .India wanted to control Sri Lanka.

They operate like CIA who ruined Iraq,Afganistan ,Middle East including Syria ,all planned many years back.

Government is now pushed again by Indians to write the deed or the rights of 48 numbers tanks because ,India is weary about Chinese taking over Hambantota and Port City .

They think they  have a right to take action if their country is in danger hence they will keep pushing to take over Trinco tranks and have an influence in Trinco Harbour .

We have a solution .

Many Sri Lankans companies like Walkers ,Laugf ,Keels .Aitken Spence,Dimo ,State Engineering Corporation .Litro .CPC  to form a Joint venture with majority shares and invite Indian Oil ( which is also with CPC) .and also  give some shares to CPC workforce .Management can be entrusted to Indian technocrats with powers to Sri Lankan companies to sanction certain decisions

As an example Colombo Dockyard was leased out for 30-60 years with option to extend to Japanese and shares were retained both Bank of Ceylon ,ETF and the Workers too .Nobody complained that it was sold despite the fact that Japanese are here for good .

We give Chinese to develop Hambantota and Port City ,and Indians have the right to ask for Trinco ,But we have to be more tactical in giving it keeping the pulse of the people in mind .

Now SLPA is also having a cabinet  approval to work with and Indian Company to hand over the whole of Galle Harbour under Swiss Challenge .What will happen .Again the country will go into flames .

Like prince Dutu Gamunu ,we will have to sleep in a crouched position ,claiming that Chinese are in South and West and Indians in East and North!!!!!!!

Let us be united and get the people’s consensus to develop Trinco ,Galle etc with PPP where locals will have some shares and contribution .

Current politicians have been wrongly advised by their consultants, who also make deals with many companies abroad.

State should create a National Dialog  ( Jathika Kathikawa) and ponder into above idea on how proceed further .

It is a crime to let the tanks rot .

Dr Sarath Obeysekera

By N Sathiya Moorthy Courtesy Ceylon Today

In a way, there isn’t much new in the book, The Rout of Prabhakaran by M.R. Narayan Swamy, who had authored an ‘unauthorised’ biography of LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran, Inside an Elusive Mind, way back in 2003, and two other books, one earlier and another latter, on the world’s most dreaded guerrilla force and its unpredictable leader, who had the uncanny knack of turning defeat into victory – and victory, or whatever remained, into sure defeat. In other ways, The Rout is an after-thought of an unemotional and impartial analysis of Narayan Swamy’s previous book, The Tiger Vanquished, published in 2010, a year after the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war, which the Government and the majority – and at times ‘majoritarian’ – Sinhala media, dubbed the nation’s ‘war on terror’, like anything elsewhere.

The Rout is all of 113 pages, minus the end-notes and Index. But what makes the compendium, including 238 pages of the Elusive Mind, a compulsive buy and read is the fact that appended to it is the author’s much-longer and equally well-researched original, Inside An Elusive Mind. For the general reader, who may want to have a quick recap of it all, and the younger generation, who want to know it all, this is the book that tells all. After all, 15 years is a fairly long time in living memory, and given the other crises the nation has been facing over the past few years, on the political, economic and also security fronts (Easter serial blasts, 2019), there is a need for recalling and remembering what may otherwise fade away but should not.

Like all other books by the author,
The Rout is both fast-paced and well-researched, minus the foot-notes and end-notes that make any book on a subject, read and sound academic – taking it away from the general reader to that extent. Again, as the author has pointed out through the book, the focus is on the LTTE’s downfall and the attendant cause that Prabhakaran was.  He has kept other aspects of the ethnic issue, including the role of the Sinhala-Buddhist majoritarianism, out of the discourse, though that was the one that had triggered Tamil youth militancy, which in turn culminated in LTTE terrorism and conventional war, both.

Conventional wisdom projects Prabhakaran as a great ‘military strategist’ and one who brooked no challenge, within and outside. The former often ignores the possible contribution made by the inexplicable surrender of a mass of weapons by the troops, every time the LTTE encircled them. When Mahinda Rajapaksa became President in 2005 and later became the LTTE’s tormentor, one of the first reported decisions of his was to appoint a committee to look into the past and fix responsibility – as if to check if some of it was an insider’s work. As was to be expected, the outcome of the study never made it to the newspapers, but possibly the gaps that were identified seemed to have been fixed before the armed forces took the war to enemy territory.

Looking back, or even during the time, it was obvious that the Prabhakaran’s increasing sense of self-importance and more of insecurity were behind his various acts of terrorism that targeted fellow militants, both within the LTTE and outside, and also moderate Tamil leaders like Amirthalingam, or, Amir annae, or elder brother, to thousands of Tamil even today. Was this inherent insecurity, which he had developed first as a survival instinct, also behind his inability or unwillingness to accept Mahinda’s offer to make him the unelected yet officially-acknowledged leader of the Tamil people, which Narayan Swamy mentions?

It was known at the time that there were enough guns waiting to take him out, and hence Prabhakaran knew that he could not walk the streets of Jaffna as a popular leader – unlike a popular autocrat that he ultimately became. That way, despite the author repeatedly quoting ex-LTTE militants to argue the multiple failures of Prabhakaran that led to ultimate disaster, there is a vocal section of the Tamils from that generation, and possibly next, who want to be seen as swearing by him – but the numbers and commitment growing thin, as yet another new generation emerges, as now.

Decisive, conclusive

Narayan Swamy also credits the Mahinda-Gota combo for the ultimate success of the armed forces. It was true, yes. As brothers, they worked in tandem, sorting out issues and taking instant decisions over breakfast or dinner almost every day, without going through processes that were time-consuming, demoralising and at times leaking at the seams – thus preparing the LTTE for facing the next big assault.  What is not much known is the fact that before Elections-2005, the armed forces command had informally briefed Candidate Mahinda, too, on the state of the war and peace, the latter imposed by the Norway-facilitated cease-fire agreement (CFA) by the former’s rival, Ranil Wickremesinghe, until recently the Prime Minister who over-ruled President Chandrika Kumaratunga and got sacked in the process.

The armed forces had a suggestion/request. Whoever won the election, if they decided to pursue the peace route, then it was fine. After all, they too did not want their ‘boys’ to die and they too did not want ‘body bags’ back home in the Sinhala heartland. ‘So, give peace a chance, yes, but if war became inevitable’ – and they were sure that the LTTE would want it once they recouped as on previous occasions – ‘then and then only, the President and the Government should not hold them back, as used to be the practice throughout.’ From Brothers Rajapaksa, they got what they wanted, starting with Mahinda urging the Norwegians to revive the peace process through the Oslo talks, even as the LTTE launched ‘Eelam War IV’ that became decisive and conclusive.

So, when Mahinda Rajapaksa became President, it was clear to an unemotional observer — and this Reviewer was possibly the only one — that if it was war, ‘this man will finish it off in three years with some help from overseas, and five years, without it’. The reason was not far to seek.  Like the LTTE, the armed forces, throughout the CFA period, was also preparing itself for the war, keeping it at a low key. Two and the most important of them all, unlike what Prabhakaran had begun with, the armed forces were not a ceremonial troop of 15,000 men in all as in the early eighties, but a much larger troop battle-hardened personnel. Their commanders did not any more come only from the Colombo elite, whose main pre-occupation used to be partying and more partying. Also, through the CFA years and afterwards, the Army check-points in capital Colombo and elsewhere came to be manned by young troops, who were both informal and jovial, thus winning over the citizenry for the Government,.

Incidentally, it is time to disabuse the belief that but for Prabhakaran’s diktat for Tamils not to vote – yes, against substantive monetary consideration, to which the author too has alluded — Ranil would have won. Looking at the possibility, had the Tamils been allowed to vote, there was more than a fair chance that more and more of Sinhala voters, going beyond the traditional ‘majoritarian, nationalist’ kind would have voted for Mahinda more than already. Yet, Prabhakaran voluntarily took the blame, thinking that he had out-smarted the Sinhala-Buddhist leadership, was what he had deserved, he had earned without much thinking and without much effort, either.

Tragic event

Where did Prabhakaran falter the most? He was so full of himself and like Narayan Swamy points out, all those new-generation second-line leaders too were full of himself. What the author points out partially but extended to the second-line leadership, like their leader, they too were living in holes in the walls in the Vanni jungles, with next-to-nil exposure to the outside world, which only Anton Balasingham had, and whose sage advice Prabhakaran began to increasingly neglect or over-look. Bala annae was possibly the only one who knew and who had the access (even if only up to a point) and courage to tell Prabhakaran that the Rajiv Gandhi assassination was much more than a ‘tragic event’ (or, thunbiyal sambavam, as they explained away at Prabhakaran’s famed Kilinochchi news conference of 2002).

Prabhakaran did not say anything new at the news conference other than to demonstrate to the outside world as to who the boss was and who controlled the Tamil areas and whose writ alone ran. It was pathetic at the time to see Balasingham refer to Prabhakaran as ‘national leader’, in the place of thambi, or younger brother, as he had always addressed the maverick killer all along, earlier. To a discerning observer of the LTTE, it became clear that the days were numbered, even if it would take seven more years. Hence, when 9/11 happened, and the global mood on terrorism changed overnight, Prabhakaran did not understand it, and Bala was in no place to convince the other man, any more. That the Kilinochchi news conference happened after 9/11 would have only irked international players, and not frightened them or encouraged them to take a positive view of the LTTE, at least not any more.

The greatest of strategic military blunders that Prabhakaran committed in context of war was his inability to notice the swift reprisal by the armed forces after an LTTE suicide-bomber had targetted Army Chief, Maj-Gen Sarath Fonseka, now a Field Marshal. Full of himself still, Prabhakaran failed to notice that when the orders for the suicide-attack had gone from his lair in the North, the SLAF attack had commenced in the East, where already the ‘Karuna rebellion’ had weakened the LTTE three years earlier. The armed forces were working to a game-plan, to clear the East first, before moving to the North, for the ‘kill’. It was a professional operation, for once, which became visible by the addition of a hundred thousand soldiers, even rookies, to meet the 10: 1 text-book ratio of soldiers to guerrillas in such unconventional wars, where the other side was not a State player.

Inevitable end

If only Prabhakaran had consulted veterans even in his camp – most of whom, he had already sacrificed as suicide-bombers, if only to celebrate their martyrdom, as a motivation for young recruits – maybe, some of them with certain text-book knowledge, if at all, would have waved the red flag at him. That was not to be. The end was inevitable, and inevitable became the end. At the end of all the human sufferings that the Tamils especially went through and are still carrying on with the remnants, and the economic reversals that the nation had suffered since, the question arises if this was all Prabhakaran’s achievements or legacy to his people – a people, whose only problem initially was being more educated and employable than their Sinhala counterparts.

Today, education is not as much a Tamil forte as it used to be, employability and employment, neither are. In their place, the Tamils who refused to learn the majority Sinhala language, have gone all across the world, learning French, Spanish and Italian, among other world languages, to make a living – as a second-class citizen, however rich they may become, in another country, and of course, not in their own. In effect, Narayan Swamy’s The Rout says less than this, yes, but makes more sense than most, triggering hopes of a comprehensive and equally unbiased account of the whole saga, from his powerful pen, one more time! 

ෂෙනාලි වඩුගේ

දෙමළ ජනතාව බෙදුම්වාදය ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කර ඇති බව දෙමළ ජාතික සන්ධානයට ලැබූ ඡන්ද වලින් හා එම සන්ධානයේ ප්‍රමුක තැනක්ලැබූ සුමන්තිරන්ව උතුරු ජනතාව ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කර බව පැහැදිලිව දක්නට ලැබුණි. දෙමල ජනතාවගේ ඡන්දය කොතරම් දුරට බාහිරබලපෑම් වලට භාජනය වූ බව පසුව අපට තේරුම් ගත හැක. 2010 ජනාධිපති ඡන්දයට ඉන්දියාවේ බලපෑම් නිසා සරත් ෆොන්සේකා හිටපුහමුදාපතිටත්, 2015 දී නැවතත් බලපෑම් නිසා මෛත්‍රීපාල සිරිසේන ජනාධිපති කිරීමටත් දෙමල ජනයා ඡන්ද දුන්හ.

කෙසේවතත්, දෙමල ජනතාවගේ බලාපොරොත්තු වෙනම රටක් බිහිකිරීම නොව එදිනෙදා ජීවත්වීමයි. එය සිංහල ජනතාවගේ හා මුස්ලිම්ජනතාවගේත් බලාපොරොත්තුවයි. ශ්‍රී ලංකාව වෙන් කරනවාට වඩා ජනතාවට ඉදිනේදා ජීවත්වීමේ කරදර විශාල සංක්‍යාවක් ඇත. එල්ටීටීඊය පරාජය කිරීමත් ප්‍රභාකරන්ගේ මරණයත් සමඟ වෙනම රාජ්‍යයක් සඳහා වූ සටන 2009 මැයි මාසයේදී  අවසන් විය. නමුත්බෙදුම්වාදයේ මතවාදය පරාජය වුයේ නැත. බෙදුම්වාදී මතවාදය යාපනය රාජ්‍ය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයේ ශාලා තුළත්, ප්‍රභාකරන්ගේමරණයෙන් පසුව නිර්මාණය වූ එල්ටීටීඊ පෙරමුණු අතරත් දිගටම පැවතුනි. ත්‍රිවිධ හමුදාව සාර්ථක වූ තැන දේශපාලකයන් බෙදුම්වාදීමතවාදය පරාජය කිරීමට අසමත් විය.

ජිනීවාහිදී ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට එරෙහිව අනවශ්‍ය යෝජනා ගෙන ඒමට සහ එතෙර සිටින එල්ටීටීඊ ආධාරකරුවන්ගේ බලය වැඩි කිරීමට හේතුවූයේ මෙයයි.

සත්‍යයට බිය විය යුතු නැත.

මහාවීරර් නාල යනු කුමක්ද යන්න තේරුම් ගැනීමට මෙය වැදගත් වේ.

වෙනම රාජ්‍යයක් බිහිකිරීමට සටන් කිරීම සඳහා දෙමළ සටන්කාමී කණ්ඩායම් 30කට අධික සංඛ්‍යාවක් පිහිටුවන ලදී. මෙම කණ්ඩායම්සියල්ල 1983 ජූලි මාසයට පෙර ඉන්දියාවේ රහසිගතව පුහුණු කර ඇත.

ප්‍රභාකරන් මහා විරු දිනය 1989 නොවැම්බර් 27 ලෙස ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කළේය.

ඒ ඔහුගේ මිතුරා වූ ශංකර් 1982 දී මියගිය දිනයයි.

ශංකර් විවාහ වූයේ එල්ටීටීඊ මුහුදු කොටි නායක සුසෙයිගේ සහෝදරිය සමඟයි.

1 වන මහාවීරර් නාලය 1989 නොවැම්බර් 27 දින පවත්වන ලදී. මහාවීරර් නාල් යනු මහා වීරයන් යන්නයි.

මහාවීරර් නාල් යනු එල්.ටී.ටී.ඊයේ මියගිය අයට පමණක් පවත්වන උත්සවයකි. අනෙකුත් දෙමළ සටන්කාමී කණ්ඩායම්වල මියගිය අයඊට ඇතුළත් නොවේ.

ත්‍රස්තවාදීන් කිසිඳු රජයක් විසින් ප්‍රසිද්ධියේ සැමරීමට ඉඩ නොතැබිය යුතු අතර එල්ටීටීඊයේ මියගිය අයපමණක් සැමරීමට රජයක් ඉඩදිය යුත්තේ ඇයි?

තම පුතා හෝ දියණිය ත්‍රස්තවාදියෙකු වීම කිසිදු මවකගේ හෝ පියෙකුගේ වරදක් නොවන බව අපි එකඟ වන අතරම, ත්‍රස්තවාදියෙකුවුවද තම දරුවා ශෝක වීමට දෙමාපියන්ට ඉඩ දිය යුතු බවට අපි එකඟ වෙමු.

කෙසේ වෙතත්, එම ශෝකය සඳහා එල්ටීටීඊ කොඩි, එල්ටීටීඊ වර්ණ, එල්ටීටීඊ මතක සටහන්, කොටි මියගිය ඡායාරූප ප්‍රදර්ශනය කිරීමඅවශ්‍ය නොවේ.

විශේෂයෙන්ම ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ, ඇමෙරිකාවේ, ඉන්දියාවේ, එක්සත් රාජධානියේ, යුරෝපයේ එල්ටීටීඊය තහනම් අවුරුදු 15ක් ගියත් තවමත්තිබෙන නිසා.

කොටි පවුල් හඳුන්වන්නේ MAAVEERAR KUDUMBANGAL යනුවෙනි. මේ මහාවීරර් නාල් සැමරුම්වලට සහභාගි වන්නේ මේපිරිසයි. වෙනත් සටන්කාමීන්ගේ පවුල්වලට අවසර නැත.

මෙම කොටි පවුල් සහ ඔවුන්ගේ ආධාරකරුවන් විසින් අනෙකුත් දෙමළ සටන්කාමීන් වීරයන්” ලෙස නොසලකයි. ගෝලීය වශයෙන් දසමරනු ලබන්නේ මියගිය එල්.ටී.ටී.ඊ පමණයි.

මහාවීරර් නාල සතිය සෑම වසරකම නොවැම්බර් 20 වැනිදා ආරම්භ වී නොවැම්බර් 27 වැනිදා අවසන් වේ.

නොවැම්බර් 26 වැනිදාට යෙදෙන ප්‍රභාකරන්ගේ උපන්දිනය සැමරීම මේ සතියේ විශේෂත්වයක්.

මහාවීරර් නාල යනු දෙමළ සිවිල් වැසියන් සිහිපත් කිරීමට පමණක් යැයි කියන්නට සමහරු උත්සාහ කරති.

• දෙමළ ඊළාම් කොඩිය පමණක්
• කොටිසැරසිලිපමණි (රතුසහකහ)
• කොටිලාංඡනපමණයි
• ප්‍රභාකරන්විසින්කොටිනිලපුෂ්පයලෙසප්‍රකාශයටපත්කළ 2003 වසරේසිටභාවිතාකරනුලබන්නේකොටිමල්සෙංකාන්තල්මල/ කාර්තිගයිපූ/ග්ලෝරියෝසාලිලී (දෙමළඊළාම්මල්) පමණි.
• පූජාවේගිනිදැල්දල්වන්න
• 2009 ටපෙරමියගියඑල්.ටී.ටී.ඊ.යටඔවුන්ගේනම්මාවීරර්තුයිලුම්ඉලංගයියනුවෙන්කොටාඇතිසොහොන්කොත්මතතබාගෞරවපුදකරයි” (මහාවිරුවන්නිදාසිටිනනිවහන)
• මාවීරර්කුඩුම්බංගල් (එල්ටීටීඊපවුල්) පමණක්මියගියතමදූපුතුන්ගැනශෝකවීමටරැස්වේ
• සෑමවිටමප.ව. 0605ටආරම්භවනඔහුගේඋපන්දිනයේදීඔහුගේවිශිෂ්ටකතාවකරන්නේප්‍රභාකරන්පමණි. ශංකර්මියගියඅවස්ථාව (පොලිස්ප්‍රකාශය)
• එල්ටීටීඊයේකොටිහඬගුවන්විදුලියපමණක්එයලොවපුරාවිකාශයකරයි
• ලොවපුරාවිකාශයවන්නේඑල්ටීටීඊටීවීනිතාර්සනම්පමණි
• ප්‍රභාකරන්විසින්ශංකර්ගේඡායාරූපයටපමණක්මල්මාලාදමාඅනෙක්අයටපහන්දල්වයි. හාස්‍යයටකරුණක්නම්නූගත්විදේශීයමන්ත්‍රීවරුන්පවාමෙමවිදේශීයඋත්සවවලටසහභාගීවනඅතරමියගියත්‍රස්තවාදීන්ටපහන්දල්වයි!

ඉහත සදහන් කරුණු  එල්.ටී.ටී.ඊ සිදුවීමක් පමණක් බව ඔප්පු කිරීමට ප්‍රමාණවත්ය.

මෙම සැමරුම්වල එල්.ටී.ටී.ඊ.ය විසින් ඝාතනය කරන ලද දෙමළ ජනතාවගේ ඡායාරූපයක් නොමැත

DHARMALINGAM – TULF MP for MANIPAI father of D. SIDDHARTHAN (PLOTE leader) killed by LTTE in 1985

AMIRTHALINGAM – MP, Secretary General of the TULF/ a Former Opposition Leader killed by LTTE in 1989

PATHMANABHA – EPRLF leader killed by LTTE in India in 1990

Uma Maheshwaran, PLOTE leader killed by LTTE in 1989

TELO Leader K Sabaratnam killed by LTTE in 1986

opalaswamy Mahendraraja (Mahaththaya) Deputy leader of LTTE killed by Prabakaran in 1994 for being a RAW agent

මෙම ලයිස්තුවේ බොහෝ දමල නම් ඇත. 

රජයට පක්ෂ බොහෝ දෙනෙක් කොටි සැමරුම් අසත්‍ය බව කියමින් සිටින නිසා .. සැමරුම් පලකරන සමාජ මාද්‍ය වල ඔවුන්ගේ ජාල වලතොරතුරු කිහිපයක් ඇත

https://x.com/JaffnaTroll/status/1861951330614730896

විශ්වවිද්‍යාල පරිශ්‍රය තුළ ත්‍රස්තවාදීන් සැමරීමට රාජ්‍ය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයකට ඉඩ දිය නොහැක. ත්‍රස්තවාදීන් සැමරීමට ඉඩ දෙනඋපකුලපතිවරයාට සහ අධ්‍යයන කාර්ය මණ්ඩලයට එරෙහිව විනය පියවර ගත යුතුය.

https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/memorial-dedicated-fallen-ltte-cadres-unveiled-jaffna

ටැමිල් ගුඅර්දිං (TAMIL GUARDIAN ) මෙසේ පලකලත්

http://srilanka.factcrescendo.com/english/a-series-of-misleading-photos-published-about-the-mahaviru-day-celebration-in-the-university-of-jaffna/ FACT CRESCENDO ප්‍රකාශයක් මගින් මෙම සැමරුම් යාපනය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයේසැමරුම් ප්‍රවෘත්තිය අසත්‍ය බව පෙන්වීමට උත්සාහ කරනවා.

නමුත් ඔවුන්ගේ ප්‍රකාශයම පක්ෂග්‍රාහී වන්නේ මහාවීරර් නාලය සමස්ත දෙමළ සැමරුමක් බව ඔවුන් ප්‍රකාශ කරන බැවිනි. මෙමFACT CRESENDO විසින් මෙය සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම වැරදි ලෙස වටහාගෙන ඇත. මෙම සිදුවීම එල්ටීටීඊයට පමණයි. ඇයි මේ තත්ත්‍වපරීක්ෂකට මේක ඇත්තක් විදියට කියන්න බැරි?

නව රජය එල්ටීටීඊ සැමරීමට ඉඩ දීමෙන් එල්ටීටීඊ නොවන දෙමල ජනතාවට ලොකු අසාධාරණයක් කරයි. මකද බොහෝ දෙනෙක්බෙදුම්වාදී අදහස්වලින් ඉවත් වී ඇති නිසා. නැවතත් බෙදුම්වාදයට ඇත දීමෙන් අනවශ්‍ය ප්‍රශ්න ඇතිකිරීමටත් ප්‍රශ්න හොයන බාහිරබලවේග වලටත් අවස්තාවක් දෙනු ලබයි.

ස්වල්ප දෙනෙකුගෙන් සැදුනු ත්‍රස්තවාදීන්ට විරුද්ධ පියවර නොගත් එවකට සිටි ආණ්ඩුව අවුරුදු 30 ක් තිස්සේ අනවශ්‍ය යුද්ධයකට රටරැගෙන දෙමල සිංහල, මුස්ලිම් හා විජාතිකයන්ගේ ජීවිත පවා අහිමි කළේය.

නැවතත් නිවැරදි දේශපාලන තීරණ නොගෙන, විවිධ අන්තවාදී කණ්ඩායම් සතුටු කිරීමට ගොස් මෙම රජය ලංකාව හා ජනතාව ලොකුප්‍රශ්න ගොඩක දැමිය හැක.

හාස්‍යයට කරුණ නම් ප්‍රභාකරන් ඝාතනය වූ විට ඔහුගේ දේහය බාර ගැනීමට කිසිවකු නොපැමිණියේය. නමුත් අද ඔවුන් ඔහුගේඋපන්දිනය සමරනවා.

ප්‍රභාකරන්ගේ දෙමාපියන් දෙමළ ජාතිකයන් විසින් සරණාගත කඳවුරෙන් එළවා දැමූ අතර සිංහල සොල්දාදුවන්ට ඔවුන්ව වෙනමස්ථානයක බලා ගැනීමට සිදු විය. වෛද්‍ය ප්‍රතිකාර ගැනීමට ඉන්දියාවට ගිය ප්‍රභාකරන්ගේ මවට ඉන්දියාවේදී ගුවන් යානයෙන් බැසීමටඉඩ නොදී නැවත ලංකාවට පැමිණීමට සිදු විය.

ප්‍රභාකරන්ගේ මවුපියන් දෙදෙනාම මිය ගිය විට ඔහුගේ සොහොයුරියන් පවා පිටරට සිට අවමංගල්‍ය කටයුතු සිදු කිරීමට පැමිණියේනැත. මෙයද සිංහල සොල්දාදුවන්ට කිරීමට සිදු විය.

දැන් පපුවට ගසමින් කොටි සමරන එක් කෙනෙක්වත් ප්‍රභාකරන්ගේ දේහය භාර ගැනීමට ඉදිරිපත් වුයේ නැත.

ෂෙනාලි වඩුගේ

Nava Thakuria

As India’s billion plus populace are watching an initiative under ‘one nation, one election’ policy by the Union  government in New Delhi proposing to go for simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha, State legislative assemblies and local government bodies across the country with an aim to reduce the electoral expenditure, the recent by-polls narrated a different story. The  special elections, conducted for 48 legislative assembly constituencies in 14 States (along with two Parliamentary constituencies in Kerala and Maharashtra) divulged an important fact that no less than 41 assembly seats needed  the by-polls as those were vacated by the respective legislators after they were elected to the lower house of Indian Parliament.

One may wonder how all these members of State legislative assemblies turned Parliamentarians became so essential for the concerned political parties to achieve electoral successes in the last general elections  that embraced over 968 million electorates. Was it not possible for the party leaderships to pick up fresh candidates with a higher percentage of winnability (and allowing the MLAs to complete their terms) for the Parliamentary polls? Should it have been a wise practice for them to help the millions of direct & indirect taxpayers in saving a huge volume of electoral expenditure to fill the space created by those newly elected members of  18th Lok Sabha !

According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), except seven assembly constituencies (two each in Rajasthan  and Sikkim, one each in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh) all other seats became vacant as their representatives shifted their working space to New Delhi after Parliamentary electoral successes. Rajasthan reported the death of two MLAs in  Salumber and Ramgarh seats, where another legislator passed away in Uttarakhand’s Kedarnath constituency. Disqualification of a legislator necessitated the by-polls in Sishamau (Uttar Pradesh). In Sikkim, by-polls became necessary as its government chief  Prem Singh Tamang vacated one seat to continue with Rhenock constituency. Amazingly, Namchi-Singhithang seat was deserted by CM’s wife Krishna Kumari Rai (reasons best known to her only) soon after taking the oath. Finally Vijaypur (Madhya Pradesh) legislator changed his party affiliation ensuring an obligatory resignation.

Out of nine assembly constituencies of Uttar Pradesh, which went to by-polls recently, eight seats were vacated by the legislators to become MPs. Samajwadi Party (SP) chief, Akhilesh Yadav marched to Lok Sabha leaving Karhal seat vacant. Another SP leader Ziaur Rehman left the Kundarki seat after successful LS elections. Katehari seat was deserted by  SP leader Lalji Verma and  Chandan Chauhan (RLD) left Meerapur seat.  Similarly,  Ghaziabad seat was abandoned by Atul Garg (Bharatiya Janata Party) whereas Vinod Kumar Bind left  Majhawan seat. BJP legislator Anoop Pradhan Balmiki vacated Khair and Praveen Patel (BJP) left the Phulpur seat.

In Rajasthan, five assembly seats were abandoned by sitting legislators to fight LS elections successfully and thus compelled  the ECI to conduct by-polls. Jhunjhunu assembly seat was vacated by Brijendra Singh Ola (Indian National Congress) after LS polls. Another Congress legislator Harish Chandra Meena  vacated the Deoli-Uniara seat  and  Murari Lal Meena left the Dausa seat. RLP chief Hanuman Beniwal left Khinwsar seat and  Raj Kumar Roat (BAP) vacated Chorasi.

By-polls in all six constituencies of  West Bengal, where the assembly elections are due within two years, became necessary as the respective legislators successfully participated in the 2024 national elections. Trinamool Congress representative Jagdish Chandra Basunia vacated Sitai seat and  Manoj Tigga (BJP) left Madarihat seat. Partha Bhowmick (TMC) vacated the Naihati seat and another TMC legislator Sk Nurul Islam abandoned Haroa seat. June Maliah (TMC) left Medinipur seat and another party man Arup Chakraborty vacated the Taldangra seat. Punjab also witnessed four sitting MLAs joining the Lok Sabha. Gidderbaha seat was vacated by Congress legislator  Raja Warring and another Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa abandoned the Dera Baba Nanak seat. Raj Kumar Chabbewal (AAP) left Chabbewal  and another AAP leader Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer vacated the Barnala seat. 

Similarly, Bihar that is awaiting assembly elections by next year  embraced by-polls to fill up four assembly seats as the legislators shifted their working space to New Delhi.  Sudama Prasad (CPI-ML-L) vacated Tarari  seat  and  Sudhakar Singh (Rashtriya Janata Dal) left  Ramgarh seat. Similarly, Imamganj seat was abandoned by Jitan Ram Manjhi (HAM-Secular) and Belganj seat was vacated by RJD’s Surendra Prasad Yadav.

Three assembly seats in Karnataka were also vacated by sitting MLAs inviting the by-polls. Basavaraj Bommai (BJP) left Shiggaon seat, whereas E Tukaram (INC) vacated Sandur seat. Channapatna seat was relinquished by HD Kumaraswamy (JD-S). Two seats in Kerala fell vacant as both the legislators participated fruitfully in LS polls. Congress leader Shafi Parambil vacated Palakkad seat and K Radhakrishnan (CPM) left  Chelakkara seat. In Madhya Pradesh, former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan (BJP) vacated Budhni seat. Raipur City South assembly constituency of Chhattisgarh was vacated by Brijmohan Agrawal (BJP).  Vav assembly seat of  Gujarat was left by Geniben Nagaji Thakor (INC).

Five  seats of Assam, where  assembly elections are due in 2026, along with one assembly constituency of Meghalaya also went for by-polls as all the legislators were elected to Lok Sabha. Samaguri seat was vacated by Congress legislator Rakibul Hussain, whereas BJP’s Parimal Suklabaidya left Dholai seat. Another BJP legislator  Ranjit Dutta abandoned the Behali seat and Sidli  seat was vacated by Jayanta Basumatary (United Peoples’ Party-Liberal). Asom Gana Parishad legislator Phani Bhusan Choudhury vacated the Bongaigaon seat. Meghalaya’s Gambegre assembly constituency was deserted by Congress leader Saleng A Sangma.

Should not these statistics indicate clearly that the recent by-polls could have been limited to less than seven assembly constituencies if the political parties (irrespective of their ideologies or position in the governments) behaved little responsively? When will the electorates of India come above their loyalty, affiliation or inclination  to any political party and raise voices for a colossal electoral reform in the largest democracy on Earth ?

CHAPA නිදහස්

La 2de Guerre Mondiale

On August 6, 1945, at 8:15 a.m., a bright flash set the sky over Hiroshima ablaze. A gigantic column of smoke rises above the city. The first nuclear bomb in history has just been dropped on the largest metropolis in western Japan. This new documentary shows this tragedy from the inside using photos taken that day.

Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Colombo, November 29: Based on information received from the Sri Lanka Navy regarding probable narcotics smuggling by Sri Lankan flagged fishing vessels in the Arabian Sea, the Indian Navy responded swiftly through a coordinated operation to localise and intercept the boats.

Extensive surveillance was undertaken by Indian Naval Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft and Remotely Piloted Aircraft, based on inputs from the Information Fusion Centre (Indian Ocean Region), Gurugram, and an Indian Naval ship was deployed to augment efforts.

Two boats were identified based on continuous inputs from the Sri Lankan Navy and aerial surveillance by IN aircraft. Subsequently, in a closely coordinated operation between the ship and the aerial assets, both boats were boarded by ship’s boarding team on 24 and 25 Nov 24, leading to the seizure of approximately 500 kg of narcotics (Crystal Meth). One more IN ship was also tasked to augment the force level for conduct of anti-narcotics operations. The two boats, along with crew and seized narcotics have been handed over to Sri Lankan Navy ship at sea for further legal action.

The operation symbolizes the combined resolve of both navies to jointly address regional maritime challenges and ensure safety and security in the Indian Ocean Region. The government of India has also provided a Dornier Maritime aircraft of Indian Navy to Sri Lanka to enhance island nation’s capability in maritime surveillance. It reaffirms India as the preferred security partner in the region and is also a testament to the benefits of closer bonds between the two countries and navies for the peoples of India and Sri Lanka. 

උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස්

ඇතැම් ‘පාර්ශව’ ආර්ථික තත්ත්වයෙන් ප්‍රයෝජන ගැනීමට උත්සාහ කරන අවස්ථාවක ශ්‍රී ලංකාව බාහිර බලපෑම්වලට හිස නොනැමිය යුතු බවත් ස්වාධීන විදේශ ප්‍රතිපත්තියක් පවත්වාගෙන යා යුතු බවත් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ චීන තානාපති Qi Zhenhong කොළඹදී මාධ්‍යවේදීන් අමතමින් පැවසීය.

චීනයේ ස්ථාවරය සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සමඟ ඇති අනාගත සබඳතා පිළිබඳ ඔහු කියා සිටියේ මෙරට ආර්ථික තත්ත්වයෙන් ගොඩ ඒමට වෙනත් රටවල සහාය අවශ්‍ය බව ඇතැම් රටවල් පෙන්වා දී ඇති බවයි. ශ්‍රී ලාංකික ජනතාව තමන් ගැන විශ්වාසයෙන් සිටිය යුතු අතර චීනය වැනි මිත්‍රශීලී හවුල්කරුවන් සමඟ සබඳතා ශක්තිමත් කර ගැනීම දෙස බැලිය යුතු බැවින් මෙම ප්‍රකාශය වැරදි බවත් Qi පැවසීය.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සම්බන්ධයෙන් චීනයට පුද්ගලික න්‍යාය පත්‍රයක් නොමැත. චීනය ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට ලබා දෙන සහය ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ස්වාධීන රාජ්‍යයක් බවට පත් කිරීමට සහ විදේශ බලපෑම්වලට ඔරොත්තු දීමට උපකාරී වනු ඇතැයි අපි තරයේ විශ්වාස කරමු. ආසන්න මැතිවරණ නව රජයේ ජයග්‍රහණයත් සමඟ ශ්‍රී ලංකාව නව පරිච්ඡේදයක් විවෘත කර ඇති අතර චීනය ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ අනාගතය පිළිබඳව විශ්වාසය තබා ඇත,”

ශ්‍රී ලංකා මුහුදු සීමාවට චීන පර්යේෂණ යාත්‍රාවක් ඇතුළු කිරීම සඳහා චීනය කළ ඉල්ලීම හිටපු රජය ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කිරීමත් සමඟ චීනය සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකාව අතර සබඳතා පළුදු වූ බව යළිත් අවධාරණය කළ Qi, ශක්තිමත් සබඳතා තිබියදීත්, හිටපු ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය එවැනි ක්‍රියාමාර්ග ගැනීම කණගාටුවට කරුණක් බව සඳහන් කළේය.

එම පර්යේෂණ යාත්‍රා මාලදිවයින සිය මුහුදේදී පිළිගත් නමුත් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව එය ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කිරීමත් සමඟ පුදුමයට හා කලකිරීමට පත් වූ බව ඔහු පැවසීය.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සුදු අලි” ව්‍යාපෘති සඳහා චීනය ආයෝජනය කර ඇති බවට ඇතැම් ‘පාර්ශ්වයන්’ දිගින් දිගටම ප්‍රකාශ කළත්, චීන ජාතිකයන් ආයෝජනය කළ සෑම ව්‍යාපෘතියක්ම පසුගිය ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජයන් කළ ඉල්ලීම මත සිදුවූවක් බව චීන තැනිපතිවරයා පැවසීය.

නෙළුම් කුළුණ උදාහරණයක් ලෙස ගෙනහැර දක්වමින් ඔහු කියා සිටියේ එය පෞද්ගලික සමාගමකට බදු දීමෙන් පසු ලාභ ලැබීමට පටන් ගෙන ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට සංකේතයක් බවට පත්ව ඇති බවයි.

හම්බන්තොට වරාය සහ කොළඹ වරාය පිළිබඳව අදහස් දක්වමින් ඔහු කියා සිටියේ මෙම වරාය දෙකම ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජයට විශාල ආදායමක් උපයා දෙන බවත් ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජයේ ඉල්ලීම පරිදි ව්‍යාපෘති ඉදිකරන විට එය ක්‍රියාත්මක කරන්නේ කෙසේදැයි රට දැනගත යුතු බවත්ය.

සමහර හිටපු පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රීවරු මේ සමහර ව්‍යාපෘති හඳුන්වන්නේ ‘සුදු අලි ව්‍යාපෘති’ ලෙසයි. නමුත් මේ චෝදනා පදනම් විරහිතයි. චීනය විසින් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ඉල්ලීම මත මෙම ව්‍යාපෘති ගොඩනැගූ අතර ශ්‍රී ලංකාව පැත්තෙන් මෙම ව්‍යාපෘතිවල දුර්වල ක්‍රියාකාරිත්වය නිසා එය ප්‍රයෝජනයට නොගැනීමට හේතු විය,”

චීනයේ ණය උගුල පිළිබඳ චෝදනා සම්බන්ධයෙන් අදහස් දක්වමින් Qi කියා සිටියේ චීනයම සංවර්ධනය වෙමින් පවතින රටක් ලෙස ප්‍රකාශ කරන ණය උගුලක් වැනි දෙයක් නොමැති නමුත් තවමත් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට ණය සහ ආයෝජන ලබා දී ඇති බවයි. දෙරට අතර පවතින දැඩි මිත්‍රත්වය සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ඉල්ලීම මත මෙය සිදු කරන ලදී.

ණය දෙන විට ණයහිමියාට දොස් නොකිය යුතුය. ඒ වෙනුවට, දොස් පැවරිය යුත්තේ ණය නිවැරදි ආකාරයෙන් භාවිතා කිරීමට නොදන්නා තැනැත්තා ය. ”

ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සමඟ සාකච්ඡා වට හතක් පැවැත්වුවද දෙරට අතර නිදහස් වෙළඳ ගිවිසුම (FTA) පිළිබඳ සාකච්ඡා තවමත් ඇනහිට ඇති බව Qi වැඩිදුරටත් පැවසීය. නිදහස් වෙළඳ ගිවිසුම අත්සන් කළහොත් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව චීන වෙළෙඳපොළ ආධිපත්‍යය දරන බවට ද මෙම කණ්ඩායම්වලින් චෝදනා එල්ල වන බව ඔහු පැවසීය. Qi පැවසුවේ එවැනි චෝදනා අසත්‍ය සහ නොමඟ යවන සුළු බවයි.

FTA අත්සන් කර ශ්‍රී ලංකා පාර්ශ්වයට චීනය ප්‍රයෝජන ගන්නා බව හැඟෙන්නේ නම්, වසරකට පසුව ඔවුන්ට ගිවිසුම සකස් කළ හැකි බව මට සහතික විය හැකිය. චීනය සමඟ නිදහස් වෙළඳ ගිවිසුමකින් ප්‍රතිලාභ ලබන තවත් බොහෝ රටවල් තිබේ. ඇයි අපි ලංකාවෙන් ප්‍රයෝජන ගන්නේ?”

ආර්ථික තත්ත්වය පිළිබඳව අදහස් දක්වමින් Qi ප්‍රකාශ කළේ, ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සිය පැරණි ණය පියවා නොගෙන සිටින්නේ නම්, රට ගන්නා ඕනෑම නව ණයක් බරක් බවට පත්වන ආකාරයටම ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සිය ණය හිමියන් සමඟ එකඟතාවකට පැමිණිය යුතු බවයි. සමහර ණය දෙන්නන් ද එය තම වාසියට යොදා ගනිමින් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවෙන් වැඩි පොලියක් ලබා ගන්නා බව ඔහු පැවසීය.

උපුටා ගැන්ම  ලංකා ලීඩර්

උතුරේ හමුදා කඳවුරු ඉවත් කිරීම සහ මහවිරු සැමරුම් හේතුවෙන් උද්ගතවී ඇති ගැටලු සම්බන්ධයෙන් රජය නිහඩ පිළිවෙතක් අනුගමනය කරන බවට රණවිරුවන් චෝදනා කරයි.

මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් කරුණු දැක්වීමට ජනාධිපති කාර්යාලයට පැමැණි රණවිරුවකු විසින් සඳහන් කරන්නේ රටේ සාමය ආරක්ෂා කිරීමට ජනාධිපතිවරයා කැපවිය යුතු බවයි.

අදාළ වීඩියෝව පහළින්…

උපුටා ගැන්ම  ලංකා ලීඩර්

බෙදුම්වාදී කොටි ත්‍රස්තවාදයට සහාය දෙන පාර්ශ්ව විසින් නැවත බෙදුමිවාදී ත්‍රස්තවාදය ප්‍රවර්ධනය කිරීමට කටයුතු කරමින් සිටින බවත්, අන්තවාදී ක්‍රියා සම්බන්ධයෙන් ආණ්ඩුවේ ලිහිල් ප්‍රතිපත්තියට විරෝධය දක්වන බවත් සඳහන් කරමින් රණවිරුවකු විසින් ජනාධිපති අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක මහතා වෙත ලිපියක් යොමුකර තිබේ.

ජනාධිපතිවරයා විසින් රාජාසන කතාවේ දී අන්තවාදය, ජාතිවාදය හිස එසවීමට නොදෙන බව පැවසූව ද බෙදුම්වාදීන් සම්බන්ධයෙන් එවැනි ස්ථාවරයක් නොදැරීම පිළිබඳව ත්‍රස්තවාදයට එරෙහි යුද්ධයේ දී කැපකිරීම් කළ වීරෝධාර රණවිරුවන්ට ගැටලුවක් වී ඇති බවත් එම ලිපියෙන් පෙන්වා දී තිබේ.

පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ නවක මන්ත්‍රීවරයකු විසින් ත්‍රස්ත නායක ප්‍රභාකරන් දෙවියකු ලෙස හුවාදක්වන ප්‍රකාශ සිදුකිරීම ද තරයේ හෙළාදකින බවත් එම ලිපියෙන් දන්වා තිබේ.

අදාළ ලිපිය පහළින්…

https://lankaleader.com/runningimages/candidate/lankaleader/media/image/1732896190.pdf

2024-11-29

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Colombo, November 29 (Daily Mirror)- Floods caused by deep depression that created havoc in many parts of the country started receding today but some areas including the Northern Province are still facing risk, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said.

As per the DMC, floods in almost all 24 districts have begun to recede. However, risks still remain in Manampitiya in the Polonnaruwa District, Peradeniya in Kandy, Horowpothana, Thanthirimale and Moragawewa areas. Landslide warnings were still effective in Badulla, Kandy, Colombo, Kegalle, Kurunegala, Matale, Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura Districts.

Water levels of major rivers including Deduru Oya, Mahaweli Ganga, Yan Oya, Nilwala and Kelani were receding. Water levels of Lakshapana, Polpitiya, Canyon and Victoria were also going down according to DMC.

The death toll from the adverse weather conditions has risen to 14 as of this evening.

Further, Some 441,373 persons belonging to 132,071 families in 24 districts have been affected by today. Some 38,594 persons were still in temporary shelters provided by the DMC. Some 115,628 persons belonging to 45,415 families who have been displaced are residing with their relatives. Most of the people have been affected and displaced due to heavy rain while people in Kandy, Nuwara- Eliya, Kegalle due to cutting failures. People in other areas have been displaced and affected by the rains that had come down in torrents which brought on floods.

Courtesy Adaderana

The overall rate of inflation, as measured by the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) on Year-on-Year basis, has decreased to -2.1% in November 2024, compared to -0.8% in October 2024, according to the latest data released by the Department of Census and Statistics.

The CCPI for all items for the month of November 2024 was 189.4 and it records a decrease of 0.5 index points or 0.25 percentage compared to the month of October 2024 for which the index was 189.9. This represents a decrease in expenditure value by Rs 427.75 in the ”Market Basket”.

The overall rate of inflation as measured by the CCPI on Y-on-Y basis is -2.1% in November 2024 and Y-on-Y inflation calculated for the month of October 2024 was -0.8%. 

The Y-on-Y inflation of Food Group decreased to 0.6% in November 2024 from 1,0% in October 2024 and the Y-on-Y inflation of Non Food Group decreased to -3.3% in November 2024 from -1.6% in October 2024.

For the month of November 2024, on Y-on-Y basis, contribution to inflation by food commodities was 0.19%.

Courtesy Adaderana

The Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe says Sri Lanka’s economy is now in a much more stable position and that the present political stability is an important factor for long-term, sustainable economic development. 

We lost both economic stability as well as political stability during last several years. We think about from that situation now. Obviously we are in a much more stable position in both fronts,” he said, speaking during the 59th Annual General Meeting of The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL).

The central bank chief said that firstly now the country has a political stability with the new president, new government and that a long period of political stability is one important necessary factor for any economic long-term, steady, sustainable economic development. 

Now we have reached that. I think that’s good thing.” Dr. Weerasinghe stressed that the new government is committed to positioning Sri Lanka as a top sustainable tourism destination in the world. 

The government recognizes tourism as a cornerstone of Sri Lanka’s economic revival. It is not only a critical short-term solution to our financial challenges but also a driver of long-term sustainable growth.” 

We are fully committed to positioning Sri Lanka as a top sustainable tourism destination, ensuring the industry becomes one of our leading foreign exchange earners,” he said.

Courtesy Adaderana

The Department of Meteorology has announced that the impact of the deep depression over the southwest Bay of Bengal on the country’s weather system is expected to diminish starting today.

Over the past few days, adverse weather conditions have claimed the lives of 15 individuals, with a total of 463,569 people reported to be affected.

The landslide warnings previously issued remain in effect; however, the ‘Red evacuation’: landslide early warnings that were issued in three phases have been lifted.

In a related development, the Department of Meteorology has forecasted that the deep depression over the southwest Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm within the next few hours and is expected to progress toward the Tamil Nadu coast in India.

Courtesy AdaDerana

The Secretary-General of Parliament, Kushani Rohanadeera stated that there will be no changes to the privileges granted to the Members of the Parliament.

Speaking to the media, she revealed that 94 MPs have already submitted requests to obtain official residences from the Madiwela Housing Complex.

The Secretary-General of Parliament explained that 25-30 houses previously returned by the former MPs are currently being renovated to provide official residences to new MPs.

Accordingly, those official residences will be later allocated to the new MPs based on the priority.

Out of a total of 108 official residences, 80 are designated for the parliamentarians of the ruling party, while 28 are reserved for the opposition members.

Kushani Rohanadeera further said that the MPs whose homes are located more than 40 kilometers away from the Parliament complex can make requests for official residences at the Madiwela Housing Complex.

Meanwhile, the first parliamentary week of the tenth Parliament’s first session is set to begin on December 03.

Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake

At Annual Meetings in Washington last month International Monetary Fund head, Kristalina Georgieva claimed Sri Lanka as a debt restructuring ‘success’ story.[i]  Left unsaid by the IMF’s Managing Director was that Sri Lanka’s debt had apparently ballooned from $26 billion to a purported whopping $100 billion during two years of reforms’ under the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF)![ii]

A month later the island’s newly elected Cabinet led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka signed off on an official bond exchange” with International Sovereign bondholders under the EFF agreement, having done a U-turn on election pledges to re-negotiate agreements with the IMF and bondholders that were widely perceived to be detrimental to the county.

Euphemistically called ‘the invitation’ printed on paper with a gold embossed letter head, the Ministry of Finance, Planning and National Development announced the launch of the bond exchange’ of outstanding international Sovereign bonds totaling approximately USD 12.55 billion as of 25 November 2024.” The bond exchange was clearly designed to bailout predatory International Sovereign Bondholders (ISB), the largest being BlackRock, in lieu of odious debt cancellation and significant haircuts sought by citizens, trade unions and 182 international economists calling for Debt Justice. [iii]

In a nutshell the bond exchange would ensure that the county would soon exit the Sovereign Default staged in 2022, in order to borrow once again from the same predatory ISB lenders, ironically, in order to pay them back under terms and conditions to be specified later, including opaque Macro-economy linked vanilla, blue, green and strawberry bonds, flavoured and sweetened to mask the odious debt restructure operation (DSA). This would of course deepen the geostrategic island’s Eurobond debt trap and extend the IMF’s bailout business. After all, ISBs were primarily responsible for Sri Lanka’s odious debt pileup in collusion with corrupt politicians that led to the geostrategic county staging a first ever Sovereign Default in the wake of two years of Covid-19 lockdowns.

Had the President done a volte-face on his promise to renegotiate IMF and ISB agreements and the fight against corruption in order to restore economic sovereignty eroded by ISB-IMF mission and mandate creep into Domestic Debt Restructure? Had President Dissanayake betrayed the people’s mandate and hopes vested in him– less than a month after his party swept to power, and if so why? Were there other debts to be paid to external actors that helped a dizzying ascent to power?

The ‘bond exchange’ agreements were signed without review by the newly appointed Cabinet despite the National People Power (NPP) party’s massive two-thirds Parliamentary majority received just two weeks earlier in a General Election. The NPP  came to power on a promise to restore economic sovereignty and fight corruption. The President had earlier reversed the privatization of the Ceylon Electricity Board and Sri Lankan Airlines that the IMF had long promoted.

Fragility and Resilience: Dual Narratives or Economic Gaslighting?

While the visiting IMF team leader Peter Breuer praised Sri Lanka’s resilience” and economic turnaround last week in Colombo, President Dissanayaka claimed that the county’s economy was too ‘fragile’ to risk displeasing the bondholders and IMF and hence the agreement must be signed immediately.

Moreover, the bond exchange agreements had been negotiated with ad hoc groups of ISBs, and the Official Creditor Committee (OCC) of the colonial Club de Paris and London Club over the past two years, by the previous Ranil Rajapakse government with a gravy train of international advisors and Economic Hitmen including Lazard and Clifford Chance with known conflicts of interest given links to ISBs! ‘

Economic hit men’, wrote John Perkins in his best-selling book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man’, are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars” in the name of Development assistance.

Hence too, the rush to’ launch the bond exchange’ sans review by the newly appointed cabinet pledged to fight corruption, despite the agreement being negotiated by the previous Ranil Rajapakse regime, accused of corruption and successive bond scams at the Central Bank. After all, a responsible new government in normal circumstances would review such agreements –especially those with long term implications for the economic security of the country.

Of course, the US Ambassador Julie Chung had done her fair share to confuse matters by spreading fear psychosis in October as the tourist season began. Chung warned that terror attacks were due in the debt-trapped county, prompting fears that tourists would stay away. This would damage the tourism-dependent economy and render the ‘resilient’ island’s economy ‘fragile’.

IMF’s Timing: Economic Hitmen and Gaslighting the Public

This explosion of debt numbers was largely due to ISB and IMF mission and mandate creep into local rupee denominate domestic debt enabling the conflation and inflation of external dollar denominated debt numbers. DDO also enabled plunder of the Employment Provident (EPF) retirement funds of working people to pay off predatory bond holders as part of the new bond exchange” operation that would last for over a decade.

Despite IMF claims to fight corruption, the new NPP government was given little time to review the bond exchange agreements drafted by the previous regime implicated in bond scams. Indeed, the IMF team led by Peter Breuer arrived in Colombo from Washington even before the new cabinet of Ministers elected to fight corruption and mismanagement was sworn on November 18!

The IMF team’s visit seemed perfectly timed to bamboozle the new Cabinet of Ministers into signing the ISB Bond Exchange agreement negotiated by a previous Ranil Rajapakse regime accused of high financial crimes and bond scams, without review. Not surprisingly the new bond exchange agreement as several economists have pointed out would extends and arguably deepens the debt setting up the country for a new default.

This raises the question: was there bi-partisan collusion between the former and newly elected governments for a brand new bond exchange scam -brokered by the IMF as part of a debt restructure agreement (DSA)?

What is increasingly apparent is that the IMF’s Debt Restructuring Agreement (DSA) and EFF agreements rather than reduce debt traps, are designed to deepen and extend them. The EFF is aptly named! This may partially explain why Sri Lanka is on its 17^th IMF program and Argentina on its 23^rd at this time. Moreover, there are 55 other countries across Africa, Asia and South America in similar post-Covid-19 ISB deb traps and the IMF’s neocolonial bailout business at this time.

Often DSA seem to enable and precipitate successive defaults, also given the IMF’s principle of ‘compatibility of treatment’ of creditors regardless of whether they charge predatory interest. This has been challenged by multi-lateral and bi-lateral lenders. So too, the practice of lending into arrears” which appears designed to enable a victim of loan sharks to once again borrow from the same loan sharks whose identities are undisclosed—in order to pay them back. This despite the IMF claiming to fight corruption and seek good governance.

In Sri Lanka’s case the IMF’ ‘Lending into arrears’ appears to have enabled predatory lenders whose identities are secret (including the Hamilton Reserve Bank presumably) to enter into bad faith negotiations with debt trapped counties with opaque macro-linked bonds, even as the county is forced to borrow from the same predatory ISBs.

Double Standards on Corruption: Bad faith and Moral Hazard

While the IMF talks up the need for governments to engage in ‘good faith’ negotiations with lenders there appears to be no concomitant requirement that predatory lenders whose names are kept secret to also negotiate in good faith.

Many of the predatory ISB lenders, BlackRock being a good example have assets that exceed the wealth of many debt trapped nations.

Moreover, under the new bond exchange agreements, the EPF pension funds of working citizens would be plundered to pay down predatory ISB which raises the question of Moral Hazard. As pointed out in an open letter signed by 182 international economists calling for debt justice for Sri Lanka; lenders who made big profits charging predatory interest rates citing risk, should not be enabled to make bigger profits when risk matures.[iv] This is particularly true of countries subject to incessant exogenous economic shocks – such as terror attacks, Covid-19 lockdowns and hybrid maritime warfare.

However, instead of debt cancellation and significant haircuts sought by national experts campaigning for debt justice, the ‘bond exchange’ agreement has been foisted on the people of Sri Lanka with the Washington Twins claim that since Sri Lanka is a Middle Income Country (MIC), it was ineligible for debt cancellation and substantial haircuts.

Rather, the IMF and ISB claim that since the purportedly ‘bankrupt’ country is actually an MIC, it must pay off the bond holders either by plundering banks and risking an economic meltdown or by plundering the Employees Provident Fund EPF!

This is of course a false choice, riven with moral hazard, bad faith and logical contradiction. Such false choice arguments often distract from the economic gas lighting, Lawfare, and pumping and dumping of countries subject to staged default, and into the waiting arms of the lender of last resort. As they say: ‘the devil is in the detail”

TO BE CONTINUED

---

[i] https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2024/10/25/sp102524-annual-meetings-plenary

[ii] https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2024/10/25/sri-lanka-met-with-bondholders-aims-to-exit-default-as-soon-as-possible-central-bank-governor-says/

[iii] https://debtjustice.org.uk/press-release/ghosh-piketty-and-varoufakis-among-182-experts-calling-for-sri-lanka-debt-cancellation

[iv] https://debtjustice.org.uk/press-release/ghosh-piketty-and-varoufakis-among-182-experts-calling-for-sri-lanka-debt-cancellation

By Garvin Karunaratne, former G.A. Matara

In view of the new leash of life Sri Lanka has just got with the election of a President of Sri Lanka avowed to bring about poverty alleviation, I beg to make some suggestions based on my real experience.

On my recent travel to Snowdonia in Wales, I happened to visit the Corris Industrial Unit. What was most interesting was a Mini Distillery using many ingredients, including an array of spices, turning out special alcoholic drinks

I kept wondering what I could have done if I had known this mini Distillery equipment when I was the Government Agent at Matara, in 1971, when we were charged with creating employment for our youth. Those were the days of the Divisional Development Councils Programme for which Dr N.M.Perera, the Minister for Finance had high hopes of developing employment for the youth. Then I as the Government Agent at Matara had the power to decide. However though living in oblivion now I portray my ideas hoping for the best for my Motherland. I hope someone in authority will pick up my idea and my Motherland will benefit.

Once I was traveling in North India and I was charged with the task of buying some perfumes from Sugandhika in Lucknow. From Lucknow we were due to proceed to Sravasti on pilgrimage and I told our driver to take us to Sugandhika. It was a small sales outlet selling a special variety of perfumes, doted on by Indian damsel living in the UK. What was most interesting was that the perfumes were all made in India itself. After buying some perfumes, I approached the staff and requested that I may be allowed to see their distillery- where the flowers will be distilled into perfumes. Out came an answer that defied me. Theirs was a mini distillery, portable which was taken to the places where flowers were available and at that time the flowers were not in bloom. India has developed its perfume making industries on a grand scale.

At Corris in Machynlleth, in Wales, I saw the two mini Distillery machines functioning in one large room. Of course they were not making perfumes which would have required more space. But that distillation equipment could have been utilized to make perfumes. It is called the DYFI Distillery, led by Pete Cameron (dyfidistillery.com- telephone 01654761551.)

I quote from a Report I wrote for the Chief Minister of the Central Province, Hon Mr P.C.Imbulana back in 1993, A Programme for Self Employment Creation & Poverty Alleviation in the Central Province of Sri Lanka”

A Perfume making Industry can only be established in the Central Province as this is the ideal climate area for planting flowers. In my stay of an year at Nuwara Eliya I got a good income from flowers that grew wild in my garden. After an identification of small scale machinery and a study of its feasibility the plans drawn for local production can also include flowers to be processed into perfumes. This can be established immediately with the flowers offered at Dalada Maligawa”( From How the IMF Ruined Sri Lanka and Alternative programs of Success, (Godages). My Report was accepted by the Chief Minister who immediately commenced implementing it at two Divisional Secretary areas, but the Programme was shelved with the United National Party losing the General Election. It is sad that development gets hijacked with political changes. Development initiatives should get full priority and never shelved due to political changes.

My find of the machinery for a small scale distillery at Corris in Wales is significant and holds a great deal of hope to establish a perfume industry in Sri Lanka. If I had known of this machinery when I was the Government Agent at Matara I would have commenced a perfume making industry based on the flowers offered at the Matara Bodhi . I could have found employment for easily twenty youths. The plan is extremely feasible and I would urge the Government to take immediate steps to get going with establishing perfume industries. in Kandy, with the flowers offered at the Dalada Maligawa (can easily find employment for fifty or more), at Anuradhapura with flowers offered at Sri Maba Bodhiya and Ruwanveliueya-( this can find employment for thirty or more).

Once the perfumes are made the second step will be to encourage people to plant flowers and for a collection arrangement to be made.

On my world wide travel since leaving the Administrative Service in 1973 I have trailed behind lorry loads of sugar cane and manioc in India and Thailand, lorry loads of flowers in Southern France. Flowers are collected and transported to perfume making factories. France has developed a massive perfume making industry.

It beats me why we cannot establish a perfume making industry with the flowers offered at various temples. It was just the other day that a Pichha mal ceremony was done at the Sri Maha Bodhiya at Anuradhapura.

Often one hears that people are caught trying to take away Sandlewood and Walapatta from Sri Lanka.

It needs to be emphatically stated that a perfume making industry cannot be established in a piecemeal manner, with a stray perfume making unit being established. There is an essential infrastructure necessary. Firstly the Government must seriously take steps to curtail the import of perfumes by charging a high tax on all imports but this has to be done after good quality perfumes are made locally. If Sugandhika can establish a perfume industry in Lucknow without a permanent distillery, working on a make shift temporary factory and develop a worldwide trade we can easily achieve it at two places, in Kandy and Anuradhapura because flowers are available in plenty.

Secondly the Government must establish a unit to attend to research and guide the factories that make perfumes in the Districts. My mind travels back to my days when I served in Kegalla in 1968 and 1969 and Matara in 1971 and 1973. The Government Agent was held in charge of the Powerlooms in the area and if I remember right there were five Powerlooms in each District and this offered employment to hundreds of youths, This was possible because the Small Industries Department had a Research and Helping Unit at Velona, at Moratuwa to provide the necessary expertise to the Powerlooms all over the island. With one master stroke, the IMF dictate of making us follow the Structural Adjustment Programme in 1977 abolished all public sector effort at employment creation. And with that one decision out went Velona and our Powerlooms. And sad to say with that a country that was self sufficient with fabric and textile manufacture became a country that imported all textiles. No one, then realized that the IMF was playing the sinister role of making all our Third World Countries indebted so that the countries to which we are indebted can call the shots and dictate to us.

Making perfumes is a far easier industry than the Crayon Factory that we established in Deniyaya in 1971. We did not know how to make crayons, but the craze in me to establish a manufacturing industry from scratch made me direct the Planning staff to conduct experiments. This commenced initially in my Residency and when we required sophisticated equipment we took over the science laboratory at Rahula College from around six P.M. to mid night when our scientists, the Planning Officer in the katcheri, Vetus Fernando, aided by the science teachers at Rahula, did a myriad of experiments for close upon three months till we finalized the art of making crayons. It was easily comparable in quality to Crayola Crayons. The only difference was that each crayon was handmade, like most industries in China. The Minister of Industries Mr Subasinghe was surprised when I showed him a crayon, and readily agreed to preside over the sales commencing ceremony. Mr T.B.Illangaratne the Minister for Trade too was mesmerized by its quality and authorized an allocation of foreign exchange to enable the industry to import essential colouring. He gave that allocation from the funds earmarked for the import of crayons. He had the capacity to understand that our making crayons meant that we can immediately reduce imports- saving valuable foreign exchange. It was a great industry run by the Morawaka Cooperatives under the leadership of Sumanapala Dahanayake, the Member of Parliament who was also the President of the Cooperative Union. This Crayon Industry became the flagship industry of the Divisional Development Councils Programme and the crayons were sold islandwide till 1977, the day when the IMF took control of our country and dictated us to abolish national planning, stop all public sector run industries, abolish the infrastructure already established for development, allow all imports and allow the free use of foreign exchange and dictated us to live on loans, which has paved the path for our country to become indebted. Making the Third World countries indebted was the method by which the Third World countries were subjugated. This is the sad story unfolded in my book: How the IMF Ruined Sri Lanka.

The history of establishing the Crayon Industry has been highlighted to show the difficulty of establishing an industry. The other day I was searching to buy a step ladder at Nawala and found that we make only a small percentage of step ladders. The rest is imported from Thailand and China. A country that cannot make its own step ladders can never establish its own perfume industry. At times I think I am wasting my time writing these ideas of mine.

If we could have successfully established the Crayon Industry I do not see how we can go wrong with establishing a perfume making industry.

We only need some foreign exchange to pay for the mini distillery equipment, which can easily be recouped from the sales that will be generated within the very first year.

Leaving development in the hands of the Private Sector, the recommendation of the IMF, means that we will never develop our industries. The Private Sector aim is to make a fast buck like venturing on establishing Supermarkets. It is the public sector that has to take on the difficult task of establishing import substitution type of industries. Let this fact be engrained into the thinking of our leaders. It is my finding that the aim of the IMF is not the development of our countries. Instead, their task is to restructure our economies to contribute to the economies of the developed countries. It is our Third World economies that run the Developed Economies by sending our foreign exchange to them in various forms like imports, funds for university education- many Universities in the UK depend on the funds charged from foreign students. Most of our experts do not have the capacity to understand how the IMF ruined our economies.

Let me hope that the ideas in this paper will be read by our President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and others who have the authority to do something to build up our lost industries and create employment alleviating poverty.

.

Garvin Karunaratne

Former Government Agent, Matara District

24 th November 2024,

garvin_karunaratne@hotmail.com

Dilrook Kannangara

LTTE commemorations once again highlighted the undeniable fact that all its organizers and essentially all Tamil Eelmists are Sri Lankan born. While Cyclone Fengal disrupted the planned large LTTE commemoration since 2009 the organizers have said they will hold it on another day. Indian born Tamils around the world are not keen in LTTE commemorations or Tamil Eelam. Similarly, Diaspora Tamils born outside Sri Lanka are also not excited by LTTE commemoration and Tamil Eelam though a few of the underaged ones are compelled by their Sri Lankan-born parents to participate in these events.

Why?

The main reason is Tamil Eelam is a Sri Lanka-born (home-grown) concept dating back to 1922 (inaugurated by a Sri Lankan national hero) and almost all major Tamil political parties in the island since then have supported it. The other reason is all LTTE leaders were Sri Lankans and born in Sri Lanka. Only a few cadres were sourced from South India for a limited period of time. Most of them didn’t even knew what they were fighting for. The third reason is caste related. Tamil Nadu Tamils consider themselves to be of higher caste than Sri Lanka’s Tamils. This is rooted in Dutch and British colonial times when Tamils transported to the island were from lower rungs of the Tamil Nadu and Kerala societies.

November 2024 parliamentary election did turn tables on Tamil political parties in two districts – Jaffna and Vanni. Batticaloa and other districts that produced Tamil Eelamist politicians continued as before. No change. Only moderate Tamils elected from national parties suffered in other districts. Not Tamil Eelamists. The reasons for the change in Jaffna and Vanni districts are temporary. One swallow doesn’t make a summer!

By the next parliamentary election, if not earlier, Tamil sectarian political parties will reclaim what they lost in the two districts. It will happen regardless of what the NPP government does or doesn’t do. TNA lost its leaders in quick succession which weakened the coalition. Its remaining leader was seen too keen to extend his support to SJB and NPP which diluted Tamil support to him. The economic crisis also temporarily suppressed nationalist politics in the Tamil community.

Thinking or hoping that these are permanent shifts is naïve. Such thinking and hoping can be equated to the hope that sprung in people’s hearts following various peace processes in the past. Yes; they did achieve limited peace and cooperation for some time but none lasted. A trend that has been established since 1924 when elections were first introduced in the island (only for the English proficient) and later in 1931 when everyone over 21 could vote, has not changed. What has happened is a temporary respite due to a few transient and trivial issues. The established trend will takeover within a few months or years.

Fueled by naïve hope and inexperience, actions have been taken to compromise national security. These will come to haunt the regime and future regimes.

However, this does not mean the old habits and suspicions must continue. No; on the contrary, people must change and government response to the change should be positive. The catch is the nature of the shift – is it genuine and foundational or is it just temporary and opportunistic. Unless the NPP can keep delivering what it promised before the election (can’t imagine how they can) and keeps promising more deliverables in the future (can’t imagine how people can be glued to false hope for long), hope will fade away exposing the hard facts underneath which rarely change. And it is not the fault of anyone or a political party. It is the ingrained fate of the island nation. Take it from history, one swallow doesn’t make a summer!

Chanaka Bandarage

In Europe, politicians including Prime Ministers cycle to work. In Japan, pretty much everyone (rich, poor) cycles. In Netherlands, bicycle is the main and most important mode of transport. In Sri Lanka, cyclists are shamed. Here, cycling is considered a symbol of poverty,

We still foolishly regard that bicycle is the poor man’s vehicle. Everyone dreams of travelling in a car – even short distances.

When we own a Maruti or a Wagon R; we are not satisfied. We strive for a Benz or a BMW. This materialistic mentality is not good, it will not take us anywhere. We should get rid of it.

The new government, which is for the first time intellectual; should take steps to condition the citizens’ mentality. Teaching right things for the Children is very important. From small age, they must be taught to think intelligently, logically, rationally and fairly.

Cycling offers fresh air. It is a hobby/sport. It is extremely good for health. It protects us from serious illnesses like stroke, heart attack, dementia, cancers, depression, diabetes, obesity and arthritis.

In our big cities (Colombo, Kandy), due to high road traffic volumes and reckless driving, cycling is no longer safe. Up to 1990 or so, it was very safe to cycle in Colombo.

We now have  a transport system that pits cyclists against cars and pedestrians. Basically, in our big city roads It is now extremely difficult to cycle. Vehicles like big buses, cars, motorcycles feel that they have the complete right of way. Pedestrians have taken the full control of the sidewalks.

The new government must encourage people to take up cycling. Prior to the recent elections, they mounted the idea that ‘Made in Sri Lanka’ bicycles will be made available. The government must initiate programs to get rid of the social stigma that associates with cycling.

We should no longer consider the bicycle as the poor man’s vehicle.

It is important to establish proper infrastructure for cycling such as bike lanes/safe routes.

Outside of big cities, cycling is possible even now. Many inhabitants of Jaffna and Batticaloa, especially women, do cycling. They are the fortunate ones.

This writer states that cycling is a fantastic way to discover Sri Lanka – a small island. Once the infrastructure is fairly  improved/in place, foreign tourists must be encouraged to cycle, everywhere.

In Australia, Malaysia, cycling is allowed even on highways (motorways).

It must be made compulsory to wear a helmet for cycling. They definitely save lives and prevent injuries.

Chanaka Bandarage

For most areas, monkeys are a relatively new problem.  In the last 30 years, lots of deforestation  happened. Some forests like Suriyawewa, Lunugamwehara are now extinct. Even the Sinharaja forest is under serious threat.

The degradation and fragmentation of the animal habitats is very real.

Owing to building walking tracks in Bellanwila, Pillawa areas the monkeys who were in those woodlands migrated to thick urban settlements in Boralesgamuwa, Piliyandala etc. Due to bad garbage dumping in these areas, monkeys have easy access to food. They play havoc in these areas.

Monkeys cause enormous crop losses. This amount to many millions of rupees a year.

The NPP government has decided to fix this problem. This is good.

Thanks to the ‘erratic, rapid developments’ by the recent past governments other wildlife like wild boar, peacock and porcupines are now considered vermin.  These innocent creatures can be seen in plenty in urban environments. They get killed on a daily basis. Some people eat their flesh.

Crows are a major problem in Colombo. They carry garbage everywhere. They leave messy droppings that are extremely unhealthy and an eyesore. Crows will not allow to keep the city clean. Singapore has zero crows.

Killing of these animals is the easy way out. Should we do that?

Today, anyone can buy an air rifle. As a result, lots of wildlife culling take place. This was not the case before. Some farmers resort to poisoning monkeys, porcupines, peacocks (and even elephants).

If an alpha monkey male in a troupe, who manages the entire clan is killed, that will be end of the whole group. All will die within a few months.

Do we want to wipe off our monkeys? They have been here much before us.

Sri Lanka is a Buddhist country – we cannot allow the culling of monkeys or any other innocent wildlife. Even the crows must be spared.

We can find humane methods to reduce their numbers.

In Himachal Pradesh, India, monkey numbers are reduced by giving them oral contraceptives.

Sterilization of them is another solution. In the last 20 years, more than 2 lakhs of monkeys have been sterilized in Himachal Pradesh.

Some of our municipal councils have the experience of sterilizing stray dogs. That expertise will be useful in sterilizing monkeys (and other vermin).

Sterilization is effective but it will take 5 -10 years to show real results.  Would the governments be happy to wait that long? Usually government like to show quick results – for vote grabbing.

Community Watch programs is a good method of minimising the monkey and other wild animal menace.

We must not forget that these innocent creatures were forced to wander in to our settlements because we encroached their habitats. Now we demand that they be culled! Let’s hope that the government will have compassion.

Courtesy Sputnik

Serial production of the Oreshnik system has begun, the Russian president announced.

Last week, the Russian leader revealed the successful testing of the new Oreshnik hypersonic missile system. Today, at the request of colleagues, he shared further details.

“Serial production of the Oreshnik has started, but ultimately, we will choose the means of destruction depending on the nature of the selected targets and the threats posed to the Russian Federation,” Putin said at a session of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Security Council.

He also revealed new specs from the missile:

The missile’s warhead reaches a temperature of 4,000 degrees Celsius, making it highly destructive.

Anything in the blast zone is broken down into elementary particles, essentially turning it into dust.

The Oreshnik can target even well-protected, deeply buried structures, making it effective against fortified sites.

While not a weapon of mass destruction, its power is still capable of causing massive destruction without a nuclear charge.

The missile is designed for extremely precise strikes, ensuring high-value targets are hit with deadly accuracy.

Military

How Fast Can Oreshnik Missile Hit US Bases Across the World?

26 November, 17:54 GMT

Putin explained to CSTO members that Russia was forced to conduct tests of the Oreshnik missile in response to long-range missile strikes on the Bryansk and Kursk regions.

“Of course, in response to the ongoing long-range missile strikes on Russian territory, as has already been stated, we will respond, including by possibly continuing the Oreshnik tests in combat conditions,” Putin said at the session of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Security Council.

He added that Russia now has several ready-to-use Oreshnik missiles.

In the case of a mass launch of Oreshnik missiles in a single strike, their power would be comparable to that of nuclear weapons, he added.

“According to military and technical specialists, in the case of a mass group launch of these missiles, that is, several Oreshniks launched in a cluster in one strike, the power of that strike would be comparable to the use of nuclear weapons,” Putin said, adding: “Everything in the epicenter of the explosion is broken down into fractions, elementary particles, and essentially turns into dust.”

However, Putin clarified that the Oreshnik is not a weapon of mass destruction, but a highly precise weapon that does not carry a nuclear payload.

Courtesy BNN Bloomberg

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Moody’s Ratings is reviewing Sri Lanka’s sovereign credit rating for an upgrade, as the nation is set to complete its debt restructuring of its dollar bonds.

The rating agency assigned the new dollar notes Sri Lanka is offering to swap for old debt a (P) Caa1 rating, according to a statement. The dollar bond maturing in 2030 rose to the highest since June 2021 on Thursday after the credit update. 

The debt swap reduces the default risk on new and future issuances,” Moody’s analysts Anushka Shah and Gene Fang said. The government’s debt restructuring and reforms are reducing external vulnerability and liquidity risk, while raising prospects for long-term fiscal and debt sustainability, they added.

The agency is the first among major peers to assign a credit rating to the notes, whose payouts are linked to economic growth. The governance linked-bond, the step-up and past-due interest (PDI) bonds are also rated as Caa1, meaning that they carry very high credit risk.

The ‘P’ assignation means the rating is provisional, as the debt restructuring is still under way. The tender offer expires Dec. 12, with the results to be announced four days later. 

Read: Sri Lanka Kicks Off $12.6 Billion Distressed Debt Exchange

The review comes on the heels of Sri Lanka launching a bond exchange offer to complete its dollar-denominated debt restructuring. The country’s new leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake has reiterated support to the International Monetary Fund program objectives, ensuring policy continuity after the closely watched elections. 

If the government delivers on IMF targets and raises more revenue, brings debt under control and manages the macro prudently,” an upgrade is possible, said Philip Fielding, co-head of emerging market debt at MacKay Shields. 

The country’s bonds, which have returned nearly 30% to investors this year, rallied on Thursday, posting the biggest gains among emerging-market peers. The nation’s 2025 dollar note rose 1 cent on the dollar, for the best performance on the Bloomberg EM Sovereign Total Return Index. Five other securities figured in the top 10.

–With assistance from Srinivasan Sivabalan.

(Updates with analyst comment in seventh paragraph)

Courtesy NDTV

Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company (IHC) is one of the largest sovereign funds and manages assets close to $100 billion.

The Tanzanian government has reaffirmed its commitment to its agreements with Adani Ports.

New Delhi: 

Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company (IHC), one of the largest sovereign funds that manages assets close to $100 billion, has reaffirmed its support to the Adani Group, saying its outlook on investments in the group remains unchanged despite the US indictment.

“Our partnership with the Adani Group reflects our confidence in their contributions to the green energy and sustainability sectors,” IHC, one of Adani group’s key foreign investors, said in a statement.

“As with all our investments, our team continues to evaluate relevant information and developments. At this time, our outlook on these investments remains unchanged.” IHC had, in April 2022, invested about $500 million each in the renewables arm Adani Green Energy and power company Adani Transmission and a further $1 billion in the group’s flagship Adani Enterprises. Later, it sold its 1.26 per cent stake in AGEL and 1.41 per cent in ATL, now called Adani Energy Solutions Ltd, but hiked its stake in Adani Enterprises Ltd to over 5 per cent.

The IHC statement comes soon after Adani group emphasised that its chairman and his aides have not been charged under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act but faced three other charges, including securities and wire fraud, that are punishable with monetary fines.

The US Department of Justice’s (US DoJ) indictment filed in a New York Court last week does not mention Gautam Adani, founder chairman of the ports-to-energy conglomerate, his nephew Sagar or Vneet Jaain in any count related to conspiracy to violate the FCPA, AGEL had said in a filing to the stock exchange.

The three, who are executives at AGEL, have only been charged with securities fraud conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and securities fraud, the company said. In general, the penalties for such charges are less severe than bribery.

The Adani Group last week termed all allegations baseless and said it would seek legal recourse to defend itself.

Meanwhile, other international partners have also expressed their continued support. The Sri Lanka Ports Authority has expressed its ongoing confidence in its partnership with Adani, as the Indian group plays a vital role in expanding the country’s port infrastructure.

With a $1 billion investment in the Colombo terminal, the project is poised to be the largest foreign direct investment in Sri Lanka’s port sector.

Sri Lanka Ports Authority chairman Admiral Sirimewan Ranasinghe (Retd) has reportedly stated that there are no discussions regarding the project’s cancellation. The project will be operational in the next couple of months.

Also, the Tanzanian government has reaffirmed its commitment to its agreements with Adani Ports, as it feels that there are no concerns regarding the ongoing projects and that all contracts fully comply with Tanzanian law.

In May 2024, Tanzania and Adani Ports finalised a 30-year concession agreement to operate Container Terminal 2 at Dar es Salaam port.

Additionally, Adani Ports acquired a 95 per cent stake in Tanzania International Container Terminal Services, a state-owned entity, for $95 million.

Sugath Kulatunga

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya has made an univocal statement that  Vocational education should be a respected choice, offering a clear pathway from school to higher education while contributing directly to the economy.” It is most encouraging to note that the government is considering ‘’ vocational education to be no longer be viewed as a secondary option but as a prestigious pathway to a bright future and economic growth.” This is an enlightened view taken on vocatinal education after over 75 years since Kannangara Educational Reforms of 1947 which recommended Practical Education”. Kannangara Report recommended practical schools, and had a separate Chapter on Technical and Vocational education (TVE) which would comprise not only professional education but also University and technological education.  During the inerim period the approach was mainly to incorporate technical education into the School Curriculum.

What the country needs is a complete overhaul of the education system like how the East Asian Tigers did with their education systems. Countries like South Korea and Taiwan revamped their education systems around1980 to meet the demands of their economies. We have not even taken notice of the advances in Education policy in our neighbor Tamil Nadu. Education was the key driver of their development.

Countries in the Far East adopted that path 30 years earlier. Education was the driving force with which these countries developed competitiveness and excellence. These high performing countries in the Far East considered education reform as the foundation of economic development and social advancement. They focused on developing human capital in science and technology and vocational skills as pivotal to economic development. Taiwan and South Korea were both agricultural economies like SL in the early 1980, with low per capita earnings. Taiwan is an Island smaller than SLwith a similar population. Before 1980s it was a predominantly an agricultural economy. Today Taiwan isa  high- tech powerhouses leading the world in a number of high tech industries. It has a per capita income of 36, 000 dollars. At the beginning of the 1980s, Taiwan increased the ratio for senior vocational schools and general high school to 7:3. By 2012 there were 155 senior vocational schools, 14 junior colleges, and 77 universities/colleges of science & technology, totaling 246. It is the education system that has sustained the significant development of this small nation making The revanue of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), the world’s largest chipmaker in 2023 was was $70.599 Billion.

In just a few decades, South Korea transformed itself from an underdeveloped nation to an industrialized country exporting high-technology products (Domjahn 2013, p. 16). Much of this development has been attributed to improvements in the country’s education system. Various South Korean and international scholars (Ellinger and Beckham 1997; Han 1994; Kim 2000) have credited the nation’s economic success to an efficient education system that provides the quality workforce.”Education is a primary driver of South Korea’s long-term development strategy and a high priority for policy makers. There is strong alignment among South Korea’s growth strategy, labor market needs, and education policies. Every 5 years, the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology updates and improves the national curriculum, taking into account changes in the economic and national conditions (Severin and Capota 2011”.

The importance given to education in Korean society is an effective way of achieving a workforce that is prepared for the twenty first century knowledge society. Education is part of South Korea’s long-term vision of preparing its population for future labor markets and closing the gaps in access to quality education. For this reason, for decades, h Korea has included technology in education”. (South Korean Soc Sci J (2014) 41:135–151 DOI 10.1007/s40483-014-00190   

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284831895

In both these countries Education policies are aligned with market needs and also geared to future needs. They go to the extent of identifying emerging technologies and adopt policies and systems to meet the human capital needs to serve those technologies.

China adopted a Law on Science and Technology in 1993 with a view to promoting science and technology, assigning priority to the development of science and technology and bringing the role of science and technology as the primary productive force into full play in socialist modernization drive .     

What is called for in SL is a complete overhaul of the education system to meet the needs of the 4^th industrial revolution. It has to go far beyond changing the curriculum in the school syllabus or multiplying Suhuru classrooms but increase the ratio of TVE intake at senior school level and establish institutions of TVE without delay. We need not wait for the generosity of India to bring an Indian Institute of Technology to the country.

In SL in 2024, 427,000 students sat for the Advance Level Examination out of which 45000 may be admitted to the State Universities. It is likely that around 20,000 join private Universities or go to foreign universities. Assuming that another 40,000 join existing technical and vocational training institutes there is still a student population of around 320,000 without the prerequisites to enter the job market. This predicament is boung to repeat every year.  In addition, a few batches of graduates whose qualifications do not match the demands of the market join the educated unemployed multitude. There is a dire need to expand TV Training to cater to at least 350,000 youth and make them fit the needs of the market. In Taiwan by 1980 they had 276 vocational and technological institutes. Tamil Nadu has 475 ITIs spread across the state providing vocational training. We should have at least one TVE institute in every district. In all these countries policie on education, indudtries and technology are intelinked. In SL there is no policy on any of them.

In addition to the TVE system followed by the Far Eastern countries Sri Lanka should learn from the Dual System of TVE in Germany. It is widely recognized as one of the most effective systems for developing skilled labor. The Dual system  combines theoretical education at vocational schools with practical, hands-on training in companies. This ensures the availability of well-trained personnel in a wide range of skills to various industries.

The task for the Prime Minister is enormous. The clientele is over 300.000 in a year and is increasing but the ifrastrucure is lacking. The country cannot afford to wait fpr new infrastructure for training of massive clientele. Meanwhile ther is idle space in exosting institutions and space available during weekends and holidays. The task must be tacled before it overcome the establishment.

Speech by Christos Marsellos, Delphi Initiative, Defend Democracy Press, Author, Greece, at the European Conference on 2 November 2024

The dual need: new geopolitical balance, new social pact

There can be no doubt: we are experiencing an acceleration of history. This could lead to the catastrophic prospect of a world war, potentially involving nuclear weapons. In times like these, the first question is always: Was all of this inevitable? The answer is a resounding no.

The war in Ukraine would not have occurred without NATO’s successive waves of expansion. While some argue that the freedom of peoples to choose their alliances is paramount, we must counter this with the principle – professed by Europe itself – that such choices should not come at the expense of others‘ security. Russia warned against NATO’s expansion into Georgia and Ukraine, yet these warnings were consistently ignored; a new European security pact was never discussed. At the same time, the United States kept unilaterally withdrawing from several treaties concerning medium-range missiles and nuclear arms.

Moreover, in a divided country like Ukraine, NATO membership necessitated forced unification and the suppression of the voices of the Russian and pro-Russian population, which is far from a small minority. The violence that erupted after the events of 2014, marked by atrocities against Russian-speaking citizens – atrocities largely overlooked by Europe – has resulted in a war that has claimed hundreds of thousands of innocent lives. Especially in Crimea and the Donbas, the principle of self-determination was at stake, albeit in a manner that contradicts Europe’s claims. Those who dismiss the legitimacy of the referendums in these regions overlook the fact that Russians and pro-Russians constitute a vast majority.

Russia might have used these regions as leverage to influence Ukraine’s direction, a move justified by the realities on the ground. In contrast, the push for forced unification requires a greater degree of manipulation, creating an artificial narrative that disregards local realities. One cannot claim that the inhabitants of Eastern Ukraine are Ukrainians while simultaneously denying them the right to shape their country’s future.

The Western camp seemed to believe that Russia would either not respond or would be overwhelmed by sanctions, which led them to discourage any thoughts of peace early in the conflict. As a result, Ukraine is now suffering from this Western hubris, which risks escalating to catastrophic levels through the deployment of ground troops or deep strikes into Russia. The line between bluffing and losing control is perilously thin, and this could ultimately lead to nuclear holocaust.

In the Middle East, October 7 has become a date etched in our memories, marking the beginning of a bloody Israeli operation that has already claimed tens of thousands of innocent civilian lives. We hear that Israel has the right to defend itself, and while that is true, such defense should not come at the expense of civilians, who are suffering unprecedented losses. By simply stating this, we are often accused of legitimizing the atrocities committed against Israeli civilians on October 7. Of course we cannot legitimize them. But it is not as if we were the judges. We are in fact responsible for them, because without our apathy, the despair of the Palestinians would not have led them to commit these atrocities. If they are not excused by what they have suffered for decades, Israel’s bloody vengeance is not to be excused either. By its disproportion it is an absolute disgrace.

I come from a country that, on a much smaller scale, has experienced similar phenomena. During the Second World War, there were numerous instances where the Nazis, in retaliation for the loss of one or two soldiers, exterminated the entire male population of a village or a significant number of individuals in cities. Do I harbor resentment towards Germans for this? I do not; there is no such thing as collective guilt.

Some Israelis might argue that there is no comparison, asserting that they are merely defending themselves and that anti-Zionism is a guise for anti-Semitism. I challenge that notion. I do not harbor negative feelings toward Jews as a collective, because, once again, there is no such thing as collective guilt. However, we must further nuance this discussion. The issue is not about Zionism per se, but rather about a policy that no human being can condone. Many Jews worldwide reject the actions of the current Israeli government, viewing them as madness that perpetuates violence for generations. Are they to be labeled as anti-Semites?

The truth is that there is no way out of this situation without negotiation and justice for both sides involved. Conversely, we face a dire outcome for everyone, especially if those seeking to provoke a broader conflict – driven by their desire for a final confrontation with Iran – are allowed to prevail. One might even question whether Israel could survive such cataclysmic waves for long. It is not Israel’s enemies but its friends who should advocate for pressure on its government to end this cycle of horror.

Now, we are concerned that these wars may escalate into total war; but we are also worried about their impact on our civil societies. Can we ensure that these conflicts will not result in social unrest, driven by suppressed living standards and intensified class struggles that could lead, either spontaneously or through manipulation, to scapegoating of the immigrant population?

We must keep in mind that, to use an old Aristotelian distinction, what is first from our perspective is not necessarily what is first in the nature of things. We observe the pressure on our economies from geopolitical tensions, yet in reality, it is the state of our economies that fuels these tensions. We are not merely spending money that could be better used elsewhere; we are making money. Or, to put it more bluntly, some in the western camp make money, and some others who do not, do not have the courage to simply tell the truth.

Geopolitical tensions arise from an imbalance in global economic realities, where the influence of Western economies is gradually diminishing. This is compounded by an unacknowledged need to maintain, by force, the exorbitant privilege of the dollar as an international currency, along with the broader global fiat money system that enables Western nations to live beyond their means.

It’s not only that Europe lacks the strength to negotiate effectively and contain opposing parties in various conflicts; the EU itself seems to prefer following the hubris of certain Western factions that seek to impose their will, rather than acknowledging that it would not hold the upper hand in negotiations – neither through force nor through justice.

This creates a vicious cycle: as internal tensions rise, our governments may increasingly turn to external enemies to deflect blame for their own shortcomings. This is the primary reason why, without a new social contract, the situation appears hopeless; yet we are far from even establishing the groundwork for it.

We should not expect states and their mechanisms – much less the empires currently at odds – to consider justice; by their very nature, they are driven by the pursuit of power. Only ordinary citizens can demand that their governments focus on justice. To advocate for justice, citizens must understand the true state of affairs. Justice is achieved through truth, especially of the kind often suppressed by mainstream media, which serve an insidiously imposed consensus. Truth is not always comfortable, and justice – both internationally and within our societies – will not be attained without sacrifices.

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Courtesy Defend Democracy

India has rejected the $300 billion global climate finance deal adopted at the COP29 Summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, expressing disappointment over the lack of commitment from developed nations.

Nov 24, 2024

Indian representative Chandni Raina criticized the agreement, calling it insufficient to address the scale of challenges faced by developing countries. Supported by nations like Nigeria, Malawi, and Bolivia, India argued that the deal falls far short of the $1.3 trillion demanded by the Global South, undermining the principles of equity and shared responsibility. Developing nations remain frustrated by the reluctance of wealthier countries to meet their climate obligations.

India Rejects COP29 Climate Finance Deal, Calls It “An Optical Illusion”