e-Con e-News

blog: eesrilanka.wordpress.com

‘Before you study the economics, study the economists!’

e-Con e-News 23-29 November 2025

The US military has been given unrestricted access to all Sri Lankan ports, including Hambantota port, & airports through an Acquisition & Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA). The Sri Lankan government is supposed to have secretly signed ACSA (7 pages) in 2007, for 10 years. The USA subsequently provided satellite intelligence that facilitated the Sri Lanka government’s defeat of the LTTE.

     To ensure theACSA would be secretly re-signed in 2017, with 10-times more concessions (83 pages), the USA engineered & funded that awkward coalition of the Yahapalanaya, mashing together a rump SLFP, UNP & JVP in 2015.  Yet they were unable to force the then-President to sign the SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement), which would have allowed US boots on Sri Lankan soil, nor finalize the MCC (Millennium Challenge Corporation) to enable deeper economic penetration (see ee Random Notes). They were also unable to prevent the election of Gotabhaya Rajapakse, though they soon engineered scarcities and an economic crisis, funding and fomenting a faux putsch, enabling his removal (but not his hanging) which ended up sending the country into the scaly arms of the IMF for a 17^th time. ‘Regime change’ indeed, yet the colonial import-export plantation fraud that has ruled the country for almost 200 years, was retained.

     ACSA is due to be extended again in 2027. The USA is plotting, to ensure another ACSA extension; watch the political, military & economic moves they have been making.

*

The NPP government has sought to ‘calm’ investors about its capacity to scale the 2028 post-IMF ‘debt-repayment cliff’. ‘There is a little bit of an unwanted fear,’ Deputy Industry & Entrepreneurship Development Minister Chathuranga Abeysinghe told an online forum last week organised by England’s Tellimer (‘an emerging markets investment banking boutique’) and Softlogic Stockbrokers. The USA will make any easing of their IMF terms for the heavy repayments to Wall Street, contingent on whether the Sri Lankan government extends the ACSA agreement and signs the SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement). Can they make Sri Lanka jump off that cliff?!

*

‘Was signing [the Montana] agreement a political condition

for the reduction in tariffs? Is this MoU a precursor

to signing a SOFA with the USA? Will Sri Lanka’s

military, naval & air force infrastructure facilities,

as well as Sri Lanka’s ports & airports, be placed at

the disposal of the US war machine? Is Sri Lanka

to be a pawn in US military aggression in Asia?’

– CPSL

*

With the USA ready to launch yet another war, in the Americas this time, instead of resolving its own drastic problems, the NPP has not answered the Communist Party of Sri Lanka’s questions: if the recent ‘hasty’ defence partnership between the Montana National Guard, US Coast Guard District 13, and the Sri Lanka Armed Forces under the US Department of War’s State Partnership Program (SPP) entailed any military agreement for boots on the ground?  & where exactly on the seabed will the boots of those unnamed experts from the USA’s National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the US Department of Commerce and the US Navy’s Meteorology & Oceanography Command (NMOC) who recently entered the country, dive off & land on?  

*

The recent terrorist attacks in both Pakistan & India, were coordinated by the US through its agents in both countries. They are said to be preludes to sabotaging the upcoming tête-à-tête between Indian PM N Modi & Russian President V Putin in December. The incendiary comments by Japan’s government leaders to inflame China is being prompted by the USA, despite their blather about promoting peace. The aim is to divide what many see as an emerging – logical though winding & protracted – attempt at uniting the world against fascism.

*

Capitalism is seeking to revive itself again through another world war – the Nobel Economics Prize was handed over to those who theorize ‘disruption’ (Hint! Hint!) to restore capitalism, and the Nobel peace Prizes to those who promote chaos & confrontation. ee continues Roy Singham’s arithmetic of ‘Who Really Defeated Fascism’, during what the whites call World War 2 (1939-45), which actually began much earlier in Asia and Africa, and witnessed the mass slaughter of 85 million human beings! While Hollywood & BBC, in movies & documentaries, like Bridge over River Kwai and Dunkirk only recall the suffering of whites, Singham calculates the real toll, including SE Asia & Africa (where WW2 actually began in 1935, when Italy invaded Ethiopia) – nearly 1 million Africans fought in that war, only to be returned to colonial servitude after. England, rather than taking on the Nazis outright, had first sought to preserve its colonial possessions, while the US manoeuvred to profit from the war, arming Japanese imperialists & the Nazis. It was the USSR & China, Asians & Africans, that took the brunt of the racialized genocides, forced-labour systems, & famines. Singham offers a forensic, meticulous recounting, never accounted before (see ee Focus).

*

‘50-80% of Sudan’s overall gold production was

being still smuggled in 2022 – mainly to the UAE –

rather than officially exported’

(see ee Sovereignty, Sudan needs peace)

The horrific role played by the Emirates in the Sudan, backed by the usual suspects (US, England, Israel, EU), requires deeper examination. ee Focus concludes Joseph Garang’s essay on ‘The Southern Sudan’. Written over 50 years ago, Garang is no longer alive, but his study still contextualizes today’s news by providing the historical and political underpinnings to the meddling that has taken place after that country’s ‘independence’ from England & Egypt in 1956. A decade later, not a single representative in their parliament was a ‘peasant’ in a country 90% populated by cultivators. So-called leaders preferred to strike deals to divide the country, rather than unite with progressive forces north & south. Published in The African Communist in 1969, the essay helps sensitize us to the present upheaval in the Sudan (just across the pond from us), and the part played by England’s racialized colonialism (all too familiar to us). One of Sudan’s foremost progressive theoreticians & member of the Sudanese Communist Party, Garang was executed in 1971 by the then Sudanese government.

*

Though criminally ignored by the English media, learning about Sudan remains very important for us. Several colonial governors and officials in Ceylon first practised their terroristic arts in Africa (and Sudan in particular). SBD de Silva, to whom this blog is dedicated, stands out as an original researcher who dared examine imperialism’s practices in Africa, and the lessons and the insights African history offered as precedent to and concomitant with, Europe’s and newer Anglo-American invasions of Sri Lanka.

*

With Sri Lanka experiencing heavy floods this week, we recall: Just like Karl Marx in his final years, SBD de Silva in his sunset moments studied more closely the nature of Sri Lanka’s ancient villages & agriculture, based on the disciplined organization of the irrigation system. SBD recorded the colonial destruction of the irrigation system to undermine the old society, and impose the plantation system (and the failure of the English & post-1948 attempts to revive the old system of waterways). The English bestowed upon us the most impoverished peasantry in Asia. SBD de Silva noted the need for monetization and commercialization – hitherto prevented – of the peasantry, as the basis for a rural home market This was vital to reviving and advancing rural industrialization in coordination with the traditional cycles of rural agriculture.

*

Comparing and contrasting countries, side by side, in southern Africa, settler-colonial and non-settler, was the subject of last week’s excerpt from Chapter 4 of SBD de Silva’s classic, The Political Economy of Underdevelopment. He examined their investment patterns, the nature of their productions, and the settlers’ determined reliance on a home market (vs the constant whining for exports & foreign investment in non-settler colonies like ours). The last excerpt specifically noted the significance of a white settler working-class presence that hot-housed modern industrial growth.

     This ee Focus continues the Chapter, this time looking at the nature of settler economies in northern Africa. Algeria had more than a million Europeans, Morocco 600,000 Europeans; and Tunisia nearly a quarter of a million, yet holding ‘aloof’ from Europe (while segregated from the native Africans whom they impoverished). Commercialized settler Maghrebin agriculture accessed modernized techniques and a national market, generating both a European bourgeoisie & a large wage proletariat. Urbanization & transportation, rail & shipping, stimulated industrial growth, with manufacturing providing another source of dynamism.

     As an example of his exacting scholarship, SBD offers 2 complex exceptions to his settler-nonsettler dichotomy – the Belgian Congo (where the entry of Europeans was officially regulated), & (in the next ee) Indochina. Though they were not specifically settler colonies, ‘they became more industrially advanced than could normally be expected’. In the mineral-rich Congo, he examined the industrialization promoted by Katanga’s Flemish settlers, where, for example, the impurities from copper refining led to other valuable metal industries and chemicals.

*

Every November the Northeast Monsoon strikes. The media, which is supposed to know better about our climate, act surprised. This year rains & winds have struck us with a distinctive fury, leaving death, destruction and despair in its wake. Some turn this annual occurrence into a conspiracy. Some blame it on the gods. Others seeking to prevent industrialization in Sri Lanka at all costs, claim ‘global-warming’ is caused by industrialization. Still others blame it on our primordial wickedness, original sin, etc. The present rulers will blame it on past administrations. Past rulers blame it on the present rulers. Foreign armies step in offering to rescue us.

     Harnessing these freak furies, into growing green gold to feed ourselves and modern attempts to transform this silver lightning to energize our future, remain just idle talk.

     Many countries revere and celebrate the changes in their seasons; a truly national media would prepare and fortify people against what the tilting of the Earth against the rotation of the Sun in the northern hemisphere portends for a country centred in the turbulent Tropic of Cancer.

     The colonial practices of destroying the irrigation systems to undermine the solidarity of ancient villages, in order to quell resistance; the sabotaging the plans to hydroelectrify the economy – have all prevented the liberation of the country through modern industrialization. The images of the flooding of the former state-owned textile plant in Thulhiriya, that was turned over to foreign interests, provide further evidence of the inability of such privatized interests to look beyond their profits, while passionately preventing a planned economy and society.

*

‘The same blind eagerness for plunder

that in the one case exhausted the soil,

had, in the other, torn up by the roots

the living force of the nation…’

– Karl Marx, Capital

*

The misuse and wastage of the country’s natural resources is paralleled by the exploitation of workers. Th media promote the day-in day-out whining by such employers as the Planters’ Association. They claim their sectors are on the verge of dying out due to unreasonable labor demands, which are supposedly preventing foreign direct investments (FDI). A simple visit to a lineroom would disabuse anyone except the delusional, of their claims to modernity or gender equity, and other virtues that their media press releases constantly signal and broadcast. While there are hourly headlines about ‘gang’ violence, and much talk of democratic rights, there is little ongoing media reportage on how employers treat people at work.

     Workplace safety is the topic of Commercial & Industrial Workers’ Union President, Swasthika Arulingam’s interview by the Daily Morning. She declares, most factory workers or blue-collar workers don’t even have the right to sick leave. Workers are being increasingly pushed to prioritize reaching targets over protecting their own health & safety. With salary structures tied directly to productivity, workers are forced to ignore basic safety measures so as to earn a living wage. The corporate & IMF buzzword about ‘flexibility’ is just an excuse to remove remaining protections. The Employers’ Federations also constantly complain labour laws favor workers, but in reality they do not. Technical education is vital and should be encouraged from an early age. Arulingam opposes the ‘push towards getting younger people, even children of 16 years, into the workforce, and to introduce part-time work for children’.

*

SBD de Silva’s work exposes, the historical and determined opposition by merchants and moneylenders to oppose and sabotage – on behalf of their multinational masters – the modern industrialization of our countries. While trade unions are primarily self-defense organizations for workers, trying to climb up an escalator constantly going down, the labor movement should also make demands for modern industrialization, that would provide the economic basis for fulfilling their demands.  Economists, too (paid to offer elixirs, which amount to being temporary panadols leading to suicidal polydols) avoid the fundamental necessity for modern industry. Their usual and daily panaceas are privatization, exports, FDI, balance of payments, etc etc ad nauseam. Their daily media demands: Public-Private Partnerships (PPP)! MSMEs! Energy transition! Decarbonization! Blended finance! Carbon-credit markets! Digitalization. Fiscal consolidation. Flexibility. Sustainability! etc, etc. On and on… Who hasn’t seen or heard these words, and who can explain to us what they actually mean?

     ee reproduces South Africa’s Gillian Schutte’s eloquent takedown of all the media fluff, in her expose of the recent G20 meeting in South Africa (see ee Focus). Schutte describes the role of influencers full of sound & fury signifying nothing, appearing like they are hip & heavy but saying zero. The ‘core function’ of the G20 is ‘the consolidation of a global financial architecture that secures Western industrial & geopolitical interests.’

*

ee’s News Compendium has gathered & gleaned over 7 years of these mountains of corporate PR garbage, which repeats certain tropes over & over again, ad nauseam. Most news is diversionary, fog-heavy, full of aspirations, anodynes, replete with infinitives, about what corporation or governments aim ‘to’ do but never do. The media brims with ‘informercials’, with promises that never see the real light of day or night. ee will continue to highlight the more valuable ‘news’ that come across our screens. But most of what is published for mass consumption, as news, is highly processed, like canned food, toxic and inedible. Most of it is produced by corporate Public Relations (PR) agencies & their employees, past & present. Politicians and economists, especially those names that appear almost daily and weekly in the news, are sponsored by foreign, mainly imperialist (called ‘Western’) governments and their corporations. The corporate media always talking about corruption, is corruption itself!

*

The entire purpose of ee serializing Gustavus Myers’ 1917 History of Tammany Hall is to show how the daily media’s babble about corruption, cannot expose their sponsors, or the private ownership of political and economic structures, which is, itself, a deadlier form of corruption. The recent Tammany chapters show how, for over a century, the exposure of corruption in the capitalist media is used to tame those who threaten, in some way, the controllers of the capitalist system, especially those moving in on their monopoly.

     The recent US war on Russia via the Ukraine shows how imperialists, with their media barking alongside, has weaponized charges of corruption to target governments & officials they don’t like.

*

‘Under Obama, the US insisted on creating a second,

completely separate legal vertical in Ukraine focused

solely corruption. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau

investigates cases of corruption especially of officials

in higher position. The Specialized Anti-Corruption

Prosecutor Office assembled cases to go to court.

The High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine is judging over them.

The vertical was designed to be independent of the Ukrainian

government & state. A special Civil Oversight Council – not the

parliament – is nominally in control of it. But the effective control

was always with the US embassy in Kiev through the various

anti-corruption NGOs & media it was financing in Ukraine.’

– Moon of Alabama

The real corruption is capitalism: the private appropriation of the workers’ surplus. Here is Myers’ ongoing tale of over 100 years ago, when monopoly capitalism was in its infancy, about the USA’s largest metropolis, home to Wall Street (whose bond vigilantes now hold Sri Lanka hostage). Here is a New York – Manhattan being the home of the largest publishers in the English world – that is constantly issuing sermons to the world, of how bad their enemies are, and how pure they are, why, even electing so-called socialist mavericks (minus a political machinery) as Mayors, etc.

*

The USA has pardoned a drug-dealing former President in Honduras, who was an agent of the USA, while falsely accusing the President of Venezuela of drug-dealing in order to grab its abundant resources.

     The US Embassy in Colombo recently celebrated the 250^th birthday of the US Marine Corps. Instead of promoting their macabre celebrations, a real media would have educated them that this is the US Marine’s 220^th anniversary. The Marines go back to 1805, and their protection of the first US purchases of opium from Smyrna in Turkey to China via the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. This lucrative drug dealing led to the first US attacks on North African and Ottoman ships, labeling the North Africans as ‘Barbary pirates’ for demanding the US pay tariffs when crossing their seas.

     A  Second Barbary War soon followed in 1815, when the US navy attacked Algiers, forcing a treaty to ban ‘piracy,’ ie, to stop attacks on US ships carrying opium. After attacking Algeria, the US ended taxes to Ottoman navies, although some European nations continued annual taxes. The US Marine Corps adopted the line ‘To the shores of Tripoli’ to open the ‘Marine Hymn’. Marines’ uniforms’ leather high collar was to protect against cutlass slashes, hence nickname Leatherneck for marines. The US traders soon became ‘consignment agents’ in Canton for ‘country’ ships carrying Bengal and Malwa opium from India. 1820s: US & English were shipping 100s of chests of Turkish opium to Southeast Asia & China. The US should invade itself. – Oh wait! It’s already planning that too!

*

________

Contents:

USA’s Boots on Sri Lanka’s Soil

Courtesy  The Daily Mirror

• Govt. shrugs concerns of debt serviceability, come 2028 

Sri Lanka’s foreign currency debt repayment per annum from 2028 onwards is estimated at between US$ 3.25 billion to US$ 3.5 billion the most, should the current level of debt remain unchanged.

Speaking at a media briefing, the Central Bank said Sri Lanka has to pay only up to US$ 2.75 billion through 2027 for settling foreign currency debt before the full debt repayments on sovereign bonds kick in from 2028.

According to the Finance Ministry, Sri Lanka has repaid US$ 1,674 million for debt servicing in 2024 and for 2025 it amounts to US$ 2,435 million, of which US$ 1,948 million for the first eight months has already been paid by September 30.

Only another US$ 487 million is set to be paid in the final three months.

The foreign debt service payments are estimated at US$ 3,259 million for 2028, up only US$ 824 million from 2025.Sri Lanka is expected to earn US$ 8.0 billion from tourism trade in 2030, which the Sri Lanka Tourism Hotel Association too endorsed subject to the industry doing more towards the target. Certain groups are spreading an unfounded opinion that an inability to pay foreign debt may arise in 2028”, the President and Finance Minister, Anura Kumara Dissanayake said.

We believe that the people of this country will not accept such false propaganda”, he added.

Sri Lanka lost nearly US$ 10.0 billion from tourism trade during 2020 and 2021 due to pandemic induced restrictions.The Central Bank last week said the government is set to receive around US$ 750 million in December 2025 from multiple multilateral sources, including US$ 347 million from the International Monetary Fund.

Courtesy Hiru News

The Sri Lanka Air Force reported that the pilot of the Air Force helicopter that met with a mishap in the Wennappuwa area succumbed to his injuries.

The Bell 212 type helicopter crashed this afternoon (30) in an area between Lunuwila and Wennappuwa while engaged in a disaster relief operation.

The five occupants aboard the helicopter at the time of the incident were swiftly rescued and hospitalised, where the pilot of the helicopter died, according to the Air Force.

Courtesy Hiru News

The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) released the latest statistics regarding the loss of life and affected people due to the severe weather conditions across the country as of 6:00 PM today (30).

According to the report, the Centre officially announced that 334 people died and 370 people are missing at this time.

In addition, a large number of families are affected by this catastrophic situation, with the number of affected families totaling 309,607.

The DMC also stated that the number of affected individuals is 1,118,929.

Courtesy:  AI Overview

https://share.google/aimode/fvX39iFaANCcs2dME

Sri Lanka has produced several highly influential Buddhist figures, but the most renowned for their lasting missionary legacy are

Arahant Mahinda (and his sister Sanghamittā Therī) in ancient times, and Anagarika Dharmapala in the modern era. 

Arahant Mahinda and Sanghamittā Therī (Ancient Era)

Arahant Mahinda, the son of the Indian Emperor Ashoka, is the pivotal figure who introduced Buddhism to Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BCE. 

• Key Accomplishment: He converted King Devanampiya Tissa and the royal household, leading to the widespread adoption of Buddhism as the national religion of the Sinhalese people. This event is considered the foundation of the Buddha Sasana (the Buddha’s message and monastic order) on the island. Article 9 of Sri Lanka’s modern Constitution is mandated to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana as a fundamental obligation of the State, a practice that has prevailed in Sri Lanka since the time of King Devanampiya Tissa (Third Century BC)
• Lasting Legacy:
  • Established the Sangha: Mahinda established the first community of monks (Bhikkhu Sangha) in Sri Lanka. The first Sinhalese monk was the nephew of King Devanampiyatissa, namely Arittha Thera.
  • Established the Bhikkhuni Order: His sister, Sanghamittā Therī, arrived later with a sapling of the sacred Bodhi Tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment, and established the order of nuns (Bhikkhuni Sangha).
  • Cultural & Architectural Impact: Their arrival spurred a wave of stupa (pagoda) and monastery construction, including the Thuparama, which became major centers of worship and the cradle of an unique Sinhala Buddhist civilization and culture that persists to this day.
  • Literary Preservation: The Buddhist scriptures (Tipitaka) were first committed to writing in Sri Lanka during the first century BCE, a monumental effort that preserved the Theravada canon for the world.

Anagarika Dharmapala (Modern Era)

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Anagarika Dharmapala was a key figure in the global Buddhist revival movement. 

• Key Accomplishment: He was a pioneer in teaching the Dhamma in Asia, North America, and Europe, becoming the first global Buddhist Missionary. He was a leading voice against colonial suppression of Buddhism and played a crucial role in re-establishing a Buddhist identity in Sri Lanka and India.  He lived from 1864 to 1933. He is remembered for his missionary work in three continents and his pioneering role in the Sri Lankan independence movement,
• Lasting Legacy:
  • Maha Bodhi Society: He founded the Maha Bodhi Society in 1891 to revive Buddhism in India and regain Buddhist control of ancient shrines like Bodh Gaya and Sarnath. This organization continues its work today.
  • Pioneered Western Missions: Dharmapala was instrumental in founding the London Buddhist Vihara in 1926, which helped introduce Theravada Buddhism to the West.
  • “Protestant Buddhism” & Social Reform: He promoted a modern, lay-oriented form of Buddhism focused on ethics, self-reliance, and social consciousness, which deeply influenced Sri Lankan society and nationalism. 

Other notable modern missionaries include Narada Maha Thera, Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero, and Asoka Weeraratna, who further propagated the Dhamma in many countries, including Europe and the United States, through teaching, writing, and establishing viharas and meditation centers. 

Narada Maha Thera, born Sumanapala Perera was a Theravada Buddhist monk, scholar, translator, educator and Buddhist missionary who was for many years the Superior of Vajiraramaya in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He was a popular figure in his native country, Sri Lanka, and beyond. Wikipedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narada_Maha_Thera)

Born: July 14, 1898,Colombo 13

Died: October 2, 1983 (age 85 years), Siri Vajirarama Temple, Colombo

Lineage: Amarapura Nikaya

Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero: A respected monk of the 20th century, he was a master of Buddhist meditation and known for reviving both samatha and vipassana meditation techniques. He also served as President of the Amarapura Sangha Sabha and was influential in propagating Buddhism both in Sri Lanka and abroad.

Asoka Weeraratna: A follower of Anagarika Dharmapala and widely renowned as the ‘Deveni Dharmapala’ (second Anagarika), he founded the German Dharmaduta Society (1952), Berlin Buddhist Vihara in Germany (1957) which is housed in Das Buddhistische Haus ( founded by Dr. Paul Dahlke in 1924) and the Mitirigala Nissarana Vanaya (1967) a highly respected forest hermitage in Sri Lanka to promote deep meditation for monks and lay people alike. 

Courtesy:  AI Overview

see also

• Buddhist Studies: Profiles of Theravadin Buddhists – BuddhaNet
• https://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/theravada/

Profiles of Theraveda Buddhists * Ananda Metteyya (Charles Henry Allan Bennett, 1872 -1923) * Ba Khin, Sayaji U Ba Khin (1899-1971)

buddhanet.net

· 

· 

· 

·  Buddhism in Sri Lanka – Wikipedia

·  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_in_Sri_Lanka

The Buddhist revival also resulted in the spreading of Buddhism in Western countries. Anagarika Dharmapala and Asoka Weeraratna pi…

By Ama H. Vanniarachchy Ceylon Today Sunday

Drawing on my lifelong effort to promote holistic, people-centred heritage discourse, Heritage Journalism is essential because it translates complex cultural knowledge into accessible public narratives, empowers communities, and ensures that heritage remains a living, shared resource in a rapidly changing world. At the same time, the media should serve as a critical watchdog—exposing human, environmental, and institutional threats, questioning inadequate legal frameworks, highlighting emerging opportunities towards sustainable development of the society, and amplifying the voices of communities whose engagement is vital for the safeguarding and present and future relevance of heritage.”
Dr. Gamini Wijesuriya (PhD), Director of Conservation, Department of Archaeology (1993-2000), Special Adviser to the Director-General of ICCROM, Rome, Italy (2018-2023); Special Adviser to the Director of WHITRAP Shanghai, China.

Rich heritage, current threats, misinformation, and the urgency of responsible media
Sri Lanka is blessed with an exceptional inheritance of natural and cultural heritage – ancient city centres, monasteries, stupas, kovils, churches, mosques to name a few, dense forests, rivers, and fauna and flora rich landscapes all form part of this living tapestry. This is not merely the legacy of a past civilisation; it is the heartbeat of a nation’s identity. Yet, despite this richness and its potential role in national development, Sri Lanka lacks a fully articulated national policy and a strong legal system dedicated to protecting and preserving these irreplaceable assets.
Today, we face mounting threats on multiple fronts. The daily reporting of brutal elephant killings, the relentless destruction of forests, and the loss of wildlife have become distressingly commonplace. Alongside this environmental crisis, we hear too often of the destruction of historical and archaeological sites — places that should anchor our collective memory not be sacrificed in the name of short term gain.
Worse still, the rise of misinformation and the politicisation of heritage pose a far more insidious danger. In recent years, social media platforms have not simply spread news; they have fanned the flames of division. False narratives, half-truths, and racially charged commentary devalue our heritage and show mistrust among communities. In this context, the role of the media must be far more than passive reportage: it must become a bulwark against cultural erosion.
Journalism has a profound responsibility to defend heritage — not as a cultural luxury, but as a moral duty. Journalists must act as watchdogs, educators, and advocates. Heritage journalism must emerge not only as a profession, but as a vital force against neglect, distortion, and exploitation. This is no longer optional; it is urgent.

Heritage under threat: Contemporary incidents

The Trincomalee temple Incident
One of the most alarming flashpoints in recent memory is the incident in Trincomalee, where a Buddhist temple came under threat. Reports described how Buddhist monks were physically and verbally abused, while a torrent of hatred circulated on social media targeting not just individuals, but the very sanctity of Buddhist heritage in the region. This was not an accident: the tension was elevated, politicised, and deeply racialised.
Politicians weighed in loudly. Figures such as Shanakiyan Ragul Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam made public remarks dismissing the temple, racist comments and claming it was a new construction — despite clear records showing the temple was founded in 1951. Within hours, political rhetoric merged with communal prejudice, and the media narrative pivoted dangerously away from heritage protection and toward identity conflict.
In this moment, media failed in its most basic responsibility: to report with context, to fact-check aggressively, and to correct misinformation. Instead, many outlets amplified inflammatory statements. The absence of courageous, heritage‑centred journalism allowed partisan actors to dominate the story, deepen divisions, and transform a site of faith into a battleground of identity.

The Kurundi controversy
In Mullaitivu District lies Kurundi (also known as Kurundavashoka monastery), an ancient Buddhist monastery that bears deep historical, religious and cultural importance. Yet the narrative around it has been repeatedly twisted. What should be recognised as an archaeological gem has become a locus of racially charged unjust accusations. Rather than being preserved and celebrated, Kurundi has seen political unrest, misinformation campaigns, and horrifying social media mockery. A particularly troubling aspect is how its very protection has become framed in political terms: local voices highlight that calls for conservation have been dismissed or ridiculed under the guise of provoking racial tension.” Instead of acknowledging this site’s value, some media commentary has reduced it to a caricature of nationalist conflict. Unfortunate outcome had been some of the excavated monuments are left unconserved for years, losing a vital part of our heritage.
These controversies are symptomatic of a deeper illness — a society that is willing to weaponise heritage. When a national monument becomes a proxy for political leverage, heritage is forced to lose its role as a unifier and becomes a tool of division.

The broken role of mainstream media
These incidents illustrate grave systemic failure in Sri Lankan media. The mainstream press — newspapers, television, radio — has rarely risen to the occasion to defend heritage with moral clarity. Reports of damage or threats to heritage sites may appear, but more often they are distorted, sensationalised, superficial or limited to a one off news item. Newspapers run sensational headlines rather than analyse underlying power dynamics. Television covers protests, but rarely digs into land titles, archaeological claims, or the responsibilities of state institutions including their limitations and inefficiencies.
This is precisely why heritage journalism must become a profession, not a side note. We need reporters and editors who understand that heritage is not entertainment — it is national legacy and assigning it serious media weight is a matter of cultural survival.

What is heritage journalism?
Heritage journalism is the practice of reporting on cultural and natural heritage in a way that educates, advocates, and holds power to account. It focuses on tangibles (historic architecture, archaeological discoveries) and intangibles (rituals, languages, practices), and also the threats – looting, environmental destruction, unauthorised construction, and political interference.

Its purpose is threefold:
1. Educator : to bring to public awareness the richness, values of heritage, and threats as well as opportunities.
2. Watchdog : to expose neglect and the misuse of heritage.
3. Policy influencer: to shape discourse, advocate for stronger legal protection, and push for sustainable management.

Globally, heritage journalism has proven impactful. In conflict zones such as Iraq and Syria, media coverage of looted artefacts and destroyed monuments sparked international outrage and contributed to the adoption of stringent heritage protection laws. Reports pressured governments, international organisations, and heritage agencies to act. In each case, journalists served as the bridge between buried pasts and the present world demanding accountability.
For Sri Lanka, heritage journalism must fulfil the same roles — but with added urgency, because our heritage is not only physically vulnerable but politically contested.

The state of heritage journalism in Sri Lanka
Despite its critical role, heritage journalism in Sri Lanka is weak, fragmented, and often complicit in distortion.

Sensationalism and misrepresentation
Far too often, heritage stories are packaged as sensational spectacles — lost temples discovered,” controversial excavations,” ancient relics revealed.” While these headlines grab eyeballs, they reduce heritage to click bait and erase nuance. False or exaggerated historical claims are circulated for ratings, overshadowing serious scholarship and reducing heritage to a performance rather than a public trust.

Pseudoarchaeology: A national challenge
Sri Lankan media often fails to challenge myths rooted in pseudoarchaeology: claims that the Buddha was born in Sri Lanka, speculative theories about Ravana’s kingdoms, and other narratives lacking credible academic underpinnings. These are not harmless legends — they are sometimes promoted in a politically motivated way, reshaping public memory and distorting history.
Without critical media scrutiny, such myths flourish unchecked. They pose a serious risk: they can mislead the public, encourage ethnic tension, and justify political agendas under the banner of heritage.”

Neglect of natural heritage
Beyond stones and relics, Sri Lanka’s natural world — its forests, rivers, wildlife — is part of its heritage. Yet media coverage rarely treats nature as part of our heritage. Reports tend to frame wildlife as a nuisance or a threat, particularly in human–animal conflict stories, instead of reflecting on how ecosystems are interwoven with spiritual and historical landscapes. This omission is profound: protecting nature is as vital to preserving heritage as protecting temples.

The social media vacuum
When mainstream media fails, social media steps in — but often without the safeguards of journalistic ethics. Platforms allow rapid spread of myths, misinformation, and deliberate distortion. Meanwhile, professional heritage journalists who can contest these falsehoods are few. The result is that narratives about heritage are increasingly shaped by desire, ideology, and misperception, rather than fact, scholarship, and responsibility.

Archaeology, identity, and politics in Sri Lanka
Heritage in Sri Lanka is not just academic — it is deeply politicalArchaeology has become a battlefield of identity. Some exploit ancient sites to assert nationalist claims; others interpret archaeological findings through the lens of ethnic rivalry. When heritage becomes a tool for political leverage, the risk is not only to physical monuments but to social cohesion.

Weak legal and institutional frameworks and enforcement
Legally, Sri Lanka has protections for antiquities. But in practice, enforcement is inconsistent. Delays, lack of capacity, bureaucratic inertia, and sometimes overt political interference undermine the law’s effectiveness. Archaeologists and heritage professionals often face pressure when they challenge powerful interests.

Responsibilities of archaeologists/ heritage professionals
Archaeologists/ Heritage professionals bear a sacred duty: to protect heritage with integrity, resist political corruption, and engage local communities. They must present evidence-based interpretations, not bow to political narratives. When operating in contested regions, archaeologists/ heritage professionals should act transparently and inclusively — viewing heritage not as a trophy, but as a shared inheritance.

How to strengthen heritage journalism in Sri Lanka
To transform heritage journalism into a powerful force for preservation, we must act deliberately. Here are concrete steps:

1. Training for journalists
Establish formal education and training programmes that combine journalism with archaeology, anthropology, and heritage studies.
Institutions such as the Department of Archaeology, the Central Cultural Fund, and the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) should organise continuous professional development, workshops, and seminars.
2. Collaboration between media and heritage experts
Encourage partnerships between journalists, heritage specialists (archaeologists, historians, conservationists), and local community leaders.
Create a national advisory panel on heritage reporting to provide expert input, fact checking, and context.
Obtain and integrate heritage specialists’ views in disseminating news and views published in media
3. Ethical guidelines for heritage reporting

Media houses should adopt a Heritage Code of Ethics” that emphasises: truth, context, respect, and responsibility.
Journalists must avoid sensationalism, challenge pseudo-narratives, and present multiple perspectives — especially when covering contested sites.
4. Investigative heritage journalism
develop investigative units or beats within newsrooms that focus exclusively on heritage issues: land disputes, illegal constructions, site degradation, encroachment, and failure of heritage policies.
Use data journalism and archival research to expose how heritage is being threatened, misused or ignored.
5. Public engagement and awareness
Produce features, documentaries, and community stories that connect ordinary citizens to heritage: festivals, architecture, oral traditions, endangered sites.
Run public campaigns (in print, radio, online) to educate people about the value and vulnerability of heritage.
6. Learning from global models
Study successful heritage journalism in other countries — how media exposed looting, influenced law making, and mobilised restoration.
Adapt these practices to the Sri Lankan context: culturally sensitive, legally informed, and socially relevant.
7. Media as guardian of cultural rights
Journalists must see themselves not only as reporters but as defenders of cultural rights.
In contested areas, media should advocate for inclusive preservation: heritage must not become a tool of exclusion.
Heritage journalism as a national imperative
Sri Lanka’s heritage is too precious to be ignored, neglected, or manipulated. The threats we face — environmental destruction, political appropriation, social fragmentation — demand more than superficial coverage. We need heritage journalism as a serious, professional field. We need reporters, editors, and media houses willing to fight for historical truth, cultural dignity, and shared memory.
Heritage journalism is not a side-line in Sri Lankan media; it must be central. It must defend sites like Kurundi and Trincomalee not just for their stones, but for their history, their communities, their meaning. It must challenge myths, resist distortion, and demand accountability.
If the media fails, heritage will continue to be lost — physically, morally, and spiritually. But if the media rises to the challenge, we have a chance: to protect our past, to heal our divisions, and to build a more inclusive, informed future.
This is not simply about preserving old buildings. It is about preserving who Sri Lanka is — and who we want to become. Heritage journalism is our line of defence. Let us take it with courage, with conviction, and with conscience.

Special thanks to Dr. Gamini Wijesuriya for his guidance.journalism HERITAGE

AI Overview

https://share.google/aimode/i9Nyq7PNhw6O3S3Hy

The Buddhist Commission Report (1956) and the Book ‘ The Revolt in the Temple’ by D.C. Wijewardene (1953), laid the ideological foundation for the S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike led Sinhala Buddhist Electoral Revolution of 1956

TheBu ddhist Commission Report and the book The Revolt in the Temple by D.C. Wijewardena are widely recognized as having laid the primary ideological and foundational groundwork for the Sinhala-Buddhist electoral revolution of 1956 in Sri Lanka. 

• The Revolt in the Temple (published in 1953) served as a foundational theoretical text, inspiring the nationalist sentiment that culminated in the 1956 election. It presented a three-part narrative intertwining the history of the Buddhist faith, the Sinhalese race, and the land of Sri Lanka, urging Sinhalese Buddhists to resist foreign influences and reaffirm their collective identity. 
•  It helped to inspire the “Buddhist revolution” by framing the political struggle as a fight for justice against the legacies of colonialism and for the preservation of ‘Rata, Jathiya, and Agama’ (Nation, Race, and Religion).
• The Buddhist Commission Report, published in February 1956 by the All-Ceylon Buddhist Congress, detailed the various injustices and grievances suffered by the Buddhist community under centuries of colonial rule and subsequent post-independence governments. It made specific recommendations for the restoration of Buddhism to its rightful place, particularly in education, and presented “Ten Commandments” (‘Dasa Panatha’) for political parties to pledge to implement. 

S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, leader of the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) coalition, publicly declared his commitment to implementing the report’s recommendations if elected, a stance that secured the overwhelming support of the Buddhist monks and the wider Sinhalese-Buddhist electorate, leading to his landslide victory and the “Ape Aanduwa” (Our Government) era. 

• 1956 – A Year of National and Religious Awakening
• https://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=6,10168,0,0,1,0

• 

·  Book Review: The Revolt in the Temple by D.C. Wijewardena

https://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=10,13156,0,0,1,0

·  

LankaWeb

· 

THE GENERAL ELECTION OF 1956 Part 2

KAMALIKA PIERIS

https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2020/04/19/the-general-election-of-1956-part-2/

·  Historic report to be re-launched – Sunday Times

·  October 06, 2006

·  https://www.sundaytimes.lk/061001/Plus/pls15.html

Fifty years ago, a Report of a Committee appointed by the All-Ceylon Buddhist Congress created a significant impact in the political, cultural and social history of Sri Lanka. It was Buddha Jayanthi year. The report outlined the grievances of Buddhists and set out a series of measures to elevate the position of Buddhism in the country. It argued that Buddhism had been neglected under colonial rule and post-independence governments had done little to rectify the damage done. Now, in the 2550th Jayanthi year, the report, which had been out of print for many years has been reprinted and is to be formally presented to the Maha Nayaka Theras of the three Nikayas and the Buddhist public at a gathering to be held at Ananda College on Tuesday, October 3. Leading Buddhist organisations including the All-Ceylon Buddhist Congress, Colombo YMBA, Sasana Sevaka Samitiya, Dharmavijaya Foundation and Old Anandians Association are planning to make the event a noteworthy one to encourage Buddhists to take stock of their position and inspire them to work towards achieving their goals. It was on a pledge given by the President of the Congress, Professor Gunapala Malalasekera at the annual sessions held in Kegalle on December 27, 1952 that the committee consisting of well-known Buddhist personalities was appointed. The committee comprised Ven Ambanwelle Sri Siddahatha Anu Nayaka Thera of the Malwatta Chapter, Ven Halyale Sumanatissa Thera – Registrar of the Asgiriya Chapter, Pandita Palannoruwe Wimaladhamma Nayaka Thera – Deputy head of the Vidyodaya Pirivena, Balangoda Ananda Maitriya Nayaka Thera – Head of Sri Dharmananda Pirivena, Pandita Sri Gnanaloka Thera – Deputy head of Balagalle Saraswathie Pirivena, Ven Dr Kotahene Pannakitti Thera of the Vidyalankara Pirivena, Madihe Pannasiha Maha Nayaka Thera, Professor G. P. Malalasekera, P. de S. Kularatne, L.H. Mettananda, D. C. Wijewardena, Professor Tennekoon Vimalananda and C. D. S. Siriwardena. T. U. de Silva and M. D. S. Abeyratne were the joint secretaries.The committee obtained the views of the public through a questionnaire with 71 questions. The committee also held public sittings throughout the country. The report was released on February 4, 1956 at a public meeting held at Ananda College. On this occasion L.H. Mettananda (former Principal of Ananda College) made a resounding speech entitled ‘ The Conspiracy against Buddhism’ that still resonates even to this day.  A week after the report was released, Parliament was dissolved and a general election was fixed for April 1956. A document titled ‘Ten Commandments’ (Dasa Panatha) including a pledge to implement the recommendations of the committee, was presented to the major political parties. Only the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna led by the leader of the SLFP, S. W. R. D. Bandarakanie accepted the ‘Ten Commandments’. The result was a landslide victory for him. As Prime Minister, he took the initiative in appointing a Buddha Sasana Commission (March 4, 1957) to make recommendations based on the committee report. The Commission submitted its report to the Governor-General on June 4,1959 but with the assassination of the Prime Minister, its implementation was stalled. Tuesday’s meeting is looked upon as a major initiative in assessing the position of the Buddhists after 50 years since the Buddha Jayanthi and to impress on the need to at least build up a society based on the Five Precepts. It will also be a symbol of recognition of the immense service by the learned monks and the laymen in preparing such an extensive report. The attractively printed new edition is a Visidunu publication.

Courtesy Hiru News

Share Post

The Department of Irrigation stated that the flood warning issued for the low-lying areas of the Deduru Oya basin is extended for an additional 48 hours.

The Department of Irrigation also noted a high flood risk for the areas in the lower Mahaweli River basin.

It advises that residents in the low-lying areas, including Dimubulagala, Thamankaduwa, Medirigiriya, Welikanda, Kinniya, Mutur, Lankapura, and Kantale, should evacuate.

courtesy Hiru News

The death toll resulting from the disasters caused by the ‘Ditwa’ cyclone in Sri Lanka has risen to 132, the National Disaster Management Center (NDMC) confirmed.

The number of people currently missing stands at 176.

The NDMC stated that 716 safe centers have been established across the country, accommodating 22,212 families, or 78,010 individuals, where relief efforts are being provided.

The Kandy District reported the highest number of fatalities, with 52 deaths confirmed. This is followed by Badulla District, which has confirmed 35 deaths.

The highest number of missing persons, 105, was also reported from the Kandy District. An additional 27 people are missing from Badulla, and 24 from Kegalle.

The NDMC further confirmed that a total of 646,567 people belonging to 17,868 families have been affected across all districts of the country.

Although the Ditwa cyclone has now moved away from the island’s landmass, the Department of Meteorology indicated that its influence would continue to bring rainfall tomorrow as well.

කන්ඩලමේ මේ කාලකන්නි හැත්ත හැම අවුරුද්දකම මේ ආතල් එක ගන්නවා.බොරදියේ මාලුබානවා කියන්නේ මේවට. අහිංසක සතුන් සහ ඇතැම් මිනුසුන් ජීවිත බේරාගැනීමට උත්සාහ දරනවිට , සතුන්ගේ ජීවිත බේරාගන්නා වෙනුවට , සතුන්ගේ මරා කෑම තරම් අශික්කිත ක්‍රියාවක් මම නොදකිමි. ස්වභාදහම මිට වඩා දරුණු උනත් පුදුම විය යුතු නැත .

VFM RADIO 107

Borella Handiya

By Raj Gonsalkorale

The plantation industry is a major source of foreign exchange for Sri Lanka, with total annual export earnings of approximately $4-5 billion USD in recent years. The sector contributes around 24% of the country’s total export earnings. In terms of direct and indirect employment, the sector probably provides such employment opportunities to more than 3 million people. This industry may not survive into the future unless the very basics like who will pluck tea, tap rubber and pluck coconuts is addressed. Value adding cannot happen unless these basics are addressed as there will be no raw materials to add value.

One of the major problems faced in the industry even today is the labour shortage related to these basics. While these are key to the survival of the industry, the labour shortage is not limited to these basics. The industry, in particular the tea and rubber industry, requires a significant ground maintenance input of the planted areas like weeding, fertilising, prevention of soil erosion, among others. It is not uncommon to see increasingly large acreages of tea and rubber plantations in neglect while some continue to argue that the more land is needed for the industry if it is to be sustained. It is the optimisation of available land that is important rather than opening up of new land for cultivation. Researchers and industry experts argue that a key strategy to revive the industry is to make the existing, viable land more productive. They rightly argue that this approach is essential because simply expanding the total area is often not feasible or desirable due to land constraints, environmental concerns (e.g., soil erosion), and adding to labour shortages. 

With increasing opportunities in education and skills development, the migration of younger persons from plantations to other employment opportunities within Sri Lanka and overseas, is something that’s happening now and contributing to labour shortages in the plantation sector. This situation is bound to aggravate as more and more such opportunities open the doors for this generation. One should wish such persons well for striving for a better life for themselves and their families compared to the far from satisfactory life in plantations they and their forefathers experienced.  Industry leaders, politicians, media in general and the general public, could act like Ostriches and bury their heads in the sand oblivious to this issue, or wake up to this significant challenge to the industry on account of the labour shortage, and therefore to the country and its reliance on earnings from the industry, and address this issue from a national perspective considering its criticality to the very survival of the country’s economy.

Data available on key export earnings from major plantation crops for the most recent periods indicate:

• Tea: Export earnings were $1.43 billion in 2024. The Sri Lanka Tea Research Institute expects revenue to hit $1.5 billion in 2025.
• Rubber: The industry earned around $930 million in 2023, with expectations to reach between $900 million and $1 billion annually. The government has an ambitious plan to boost this to $3 billion by 2025.
• Coconut: Coconut-related products earned $836 million in 2022, with similar earnings expected in subsequent years.
• Cinnamon and Spices: Earnings from cinnamon, pepper, and other minor crops were about $400 million in 2022 and increased to $600 million in 2023. 

The tea industry

A key challenge faced in tea plantations, again, based on data readily available is low worker productivity: Sri Lankan tea worker productivity (around 16-18 kg of green leaf per day) is notably lower than in countries like India (40 kg) and Kenya (60 kg). Productivity is generally different between smallholdings and large estates in the Sri Lankan tea industry, with research suggesting that the smallholder sector is often more productive. For example, a 2022 estimate noted that tea smallholders produced up to 75% of the total tea production utilising about 60 % of the tea growing land area. The focus on land optimization and increased productivity includes strategies such as replanting and infilling, adoption of Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), improving soil health, using appropriate fertilization, and implementing proper soil conservation measures, high-density cultivation, utilizing modern planting methods that can yield significantly more tea per hectare on existing land and mechanization by introducing technology and machinery for harvesting and other field activities to overcome labour shortages and reduce costs. 

The long-term viability of the industry may also be impacted by anecdotal information that some larger plantation companies inflate their administration costs and resort to retaining foreign exchange earnings overseas. This needs to be investigated in order to ascertain the truth. In general, a view does exist that plantation companies are there for short term profit rather than long term sustainability of plantations and are reticent about their intentions. The future of plantation companies needs to be looked at from the objective of long-term sustainability.

It is understood that the Sri Lankan tea industry operates under strategic planning efforts, often coordinated by the Sri Lanka Tea Board and the Tea Research Institute.

• While a formal Master Plan” title like the rubber document, there are multi-year strategic plans and roadmaps that address key challenges like declining production, increasing cost of production, low farm productivity, climate change impacts, and quality standards.
• The industry focuses on maintaining quality, exploring selective mechanization, and increasing market share through value addition.

Rubber industry

In an incisive article in the Daily FT (https://www.ft.lk/business/Declining-rubber-industry-s-skilled-tapper-shortage-set-to-receive-groundbreaking-support-through-Automated-Rubber-Harvesting-Robots-by-IHT/34-758869) points out some information very relevant to the rubber industry. It points out that the industry is facing  dire challenges, especially the drastic declining availability of skilled tappers and the lack of protection from adverse weather conditions. This shortage has led to severe under-tapping and the abandonment of plots, plummeting the rubber output in the country. From 150,000 metric tons (MT) in 2012, Sri Lanka’s rubber output sharply dropped – to below 70,000 MT in 2023. When examining yield per hectare, Sri Lanka’s performance in 2022 stands at 679 kg/ha, contrasting with other leading rubber-producing nations – Thailand achieved 1,469 kg/ha in 2018, while India reached 1,459 kg/ha in 2020. In 2021, Sri Lanka dropped to an alarmingly low 17th position globally in total rubber production. This has led to the rubber industry facing a perilous concern which has yet to be resolved. It is understood that Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure has embarked on developing strategies to address the challenges faced by the industry and identify solutions in discussion with stakeholders. Some of these key actions include:

• Developing a New Roadmap: The Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure intends to draft a new roadmap for the period of 2026 to 2035 to address current industry dynamics and future challenges.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Initial workshops involving all relevant state institutions, private sector organizations, and policymakers have already been conducted to ensure comprehensive input for the new plan.

While this is laudable, it is hoped that the new road map will include

1. An assessment of land currently under rubber, a breakdown of its productivity, by district, and reasons for variations, areas neglected and/or abandoned, and options for improvements or alternate cultivations such as coffee, cocoa and other suitable crops.
2. An assessment of labour availability for tapping, and maintenance, again by district.
3. Alternate options for more productive use of rubber land. For example, as timber industry.
4. Mechanisation options for tapping rubber

Coconut Industry

It is understood that the coconut sector has had several strategic initiatives, and a formal roadmap is in development. 

• The Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Sri Lanka is actively involved in facilitating the formulation of a comprehensive “Strategic Plan and Roadmap (SP&RM) for Sri Lanka’s coconut sector” to outline actionable initiatives for stakeholders from 2024 onwards. This is designed to guide institutions like the Coconut Development Authority (CDA) and the Coconut Research Institute (CRI).
• Past planning efforts have included a Strategic Plan for 2016-2020, which emphasized research on land rehabilitation, soil improvement, and climate mitigation.
• The current focus involves improving the productivity of existing plantations and ensuring supply meets the growing global demand for coconut products, as directed by the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure.

While challenges associated with the future of the coconut industry are being considered, including plans to grow a vast acreage (40,000 acres) in the North of the country, it is hoped that future plans will take into consideration the very fundamental challenge as to who and how coconuts will be plucked in the future.  A full-grown coconut palm typically reaches an average height of 15 to 18 meters (50 to 60 feet), though some can grow much taller, up to 30 meters (100 feet) and finding coconut plucker’s is a challenge even now. While technology-based methods (including the use of Drones) for the plucking process is considered an option for the future, introducing more dwarf varieties which facilitate easier plucking from the ground, needs to be considered.

Another increasingly widespread challenge in the coconut industry is the theft of coconuts from trees itself. While theft itself does not reduce the output available for consumption in the short term, as what is stolen also finds its way to markets, the losses incurred by the plantation owners, even small holders, will deter them from even continuing in the industry, thus affecting the long-term viability of the industry.

To the best of the writer’s knowledge, the issue of theft and measures that can and should be taken to address it are not mentioned in the various current and long-term plans or in research studies relating to the coconut industry.

Cinnamon and spice industry

As data demonstrates, this industry earns around $ 500- 600 million USD and anecdotal evidence shows that more small holders are turning to this industry from others in some geographical locations within the country. Challenges facing the industry includes a shortage of skilled labour, particularly peelers, leading to low productivity and quality issues. Other challenges are poor infrastructure (like limited transportation and warehousing), a lack of research and development (R&D) support, inadequate extension services for smallholders, and difficulties with value addition, quality control, and market access. Low productivity is another issue arising from a combination of factors, including poor plantation maintenance and the difficulty in harvesting crops on time due to labour shortages. Low quality and value addition: There is a lack of proper processing facilities and awareness of quality parameters, which can lead to a degradation of the final product. The industry also faces challenges in branding and differentiating pure Ceylon cinnamon from the less expensive cassia. A serious long-term risk for the industry is adulteration where pure Ceylon cinnamon is blended with imported cassia damaging the brand image of Ceylon cinnamon. 

Conclusion

While it is heartening that each industry is addressing current and future challenges to the industry, it is not certain whether options for addressing labour dependent activities, such as weeding, ground maintenance, fertilizing, plucking, tapping, etc, which incidentally are critical for producing the raw materials in each industry, some for immediate use or consumption, and increasingly for value adding, are being adequately addressed. If this is not done, the industry will decline as a key revenue earner for the country.

Another observation is the apparent lack of interest, even lack of knowledge amongst many ordinary folks and the younger generation about the vital economic and social role played by the industry, and the challenges associated with it.

In this context, it is very opportune for a national dialogue on the future of the plantation industry. In order to depoliticize such a dialogue, it would be ideal if it is spearheaded by the industry itself and not politicians, although the government, the Opposition and all political parties represented in Parliament should be essential participants at such a dialogue. The contribution of experts from other countries engaged in this industry, their experience and knowledge gained through lessons learnt, technological developments and all out of the box lateral thinking should be the theme of such a dialogue. Irrespective of differences between the composites in the plantation industry, what is common to all, namely, land, water, labour and technology and challenges associated with all of this from a futuristic point of view should be the focus of the dialogue. Such a dialogue should not be a one-off talkfest without any solutions being discussed and agreed upon as long-term solutions. Such a dialogue should also include a mechanism to consult with grassroots people and entities, as they are best suited to provide a realistic perspective on problems and then to offer solutions to address such problems. The initial overall plantation industry dialogue could lead to such dialogues within each industry and finally a re-convening of the national dialogue to share inputs from the industries and from the grassroots and to finalise a long term, ideally a ten-year, plan for the plantation industry and its composites.

Finally, it is important to recognize the importance of research and development relating to the basic issues highlighted at the outset such as tea plucking, rubber tapping and coconut plucking, ground maintenance, fertilizing and replanting, as well as in areas like value adding and innovations developed using technological advancements. As per available reports, research and development expenditure for the plantation industry is a composite of the overall agricultural R&D spending. The entire agricultural sector’s R&D is reported as being less than 5% of total public agriculture expenditure, and in 2022, it accounted for 27.89% of the total national R&D expenditure of approximately LKR 25.28 billion (0.10% of GDP). R & D expenditure for the plantation industry is therefore a fraction of the overall R & D expenditure for the agricultural sector. It is further reported that plantation research institutes, such as the Tea Research Institute (TRI), Rubber Research Institute (RRI), and Coconut Research Institute (CRI), have historically faced challenges, including the siphoning away of cess revenues (a tax on plantation crops meant for R&D) to other government purposes.  

In essence, while the plantation industry is a vital part of the Sri Lankan economy, R&D funding has been historically inadequate and a small fraction of overall government spending, a situation that experts note needs to be addressed for long-term sustainability and competitiveness. As a way forward option, the national dialogue  could establish a policy position that a percentage of foreign exchange earnings from the industries mentioned here, namely, the Tea, Rubber, Coconut and Cinnamon and Spices, should be allocated for research and development in these industries.

Dr Sarath Obeysekera

6.1 ගෝලීය හා කලාපීය තත්ත්වය

භාරත් උප-භූඝටයේ නැවේ සෑදීමේ මඟහැරීම්ට බලපාන ප්‍රධාන සාධක ලෙස පවතින්නේ නෞකා කණ්ඩායමේ ප්‍රමාණය හා වයස, ගෝලීය වෙළඳ ගමන් මාර්ග හා වෙළඳ ප්‍රමාණය, නියාමන හා පාරිසරික පදනම, වැඩබලන ගනුදෙනුකරුවන්ගේ වියදම්, හා ප්‍රතිස්පර්ධා මට්ටමයි. නෞකා අලුත්වැඩියා හැකියාව නියම වන්නේ වසරකට අලුත්වැඩියා කළ හැකි නෞකා ගණන සහ වැඩබලන ඩ්‍රයිඩොක් එකක වැඩ කළ හැකි උපරිම Deadweight Tonnage (DWT) මතය.

නෞකා නිෂ්පාදන ක්ෂේත්‍රය පහත කාණ්ඩ තුනකට බෙදා හැරේ:

– විශාල අන්තර්ජාතික/දේශීය වෙළඳ නෞකා

– මධ්‍ය මට්ටමේ විශේෂිත craft

– ආරක්ෂක හා Coast Guard craft

2022 දී ගෝලීය නෞකා අලුත්වැඩියා වෙළඳපොළ USD 34.60 billion විය. 2029 දක්වා CAGR 4.1%. ආසියා-පසිෆික් ප්‍රදේශය—චීනය, කොරියාව, ජපානය, සිංගප්පූරුව, ඉන්දියාව—ප්‍රමුඛයි.

6.3 ප්‍රදේශයේ නෞකා අලුත්වැඩියා ස්ථාන

Colombo Dockyard PLC ප්‍රධාන සේවා සපයුම්කරුය. ඉන්දියාවේ Goa, Cochin, Mazagon, Garden Reach පවතී. 

කොරියාව, චීනය, සිංගප්පූරුව හා මධ්‍ය පෙරදිගට Drydock facilities ඇත.

6.10 නෞකා අලුත්වැඩියා සඳහා ශ්‍රී ලංකාව වාසිගත විය යුතු හේතු

නෞකා අලුත්වැඩියා planned හා unplanned ලෙස අත්‍යවශ්‍යය. Offshore support vessels සඳහා dry-dock, floating dock, quay-side repairs අත්‍යවශ්‍යයි.

2022 → 2023: USD 33.04B → USD 36.65B (CGR 10.9%). 2027 වන විට USD 54.05B.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට වාසි:

– ඉන්දු-සමුද්‍ර මාර්ගයේ කුණුවට සමාන ස්ථානය

– India & Andaman Oil & Gas expansion

– Singapore, UAE, Oman, Bahrain monopolyට විකල්පයක්

– Trincomalee shipyard නම් annual USD 20M (0.1% Asia-Pacific share)

Colombo Dockyard 2022 දී USD 44.19M ඉපයි—ඉහත projection සාධාරණය.

අමතර වාසි:

– Trincomalee expansion

– රැකියා, දැනුම, විදේශ විනිමය වැඩිවීම

– Maritime economy uplift

Dr Sarath Obeysekera

6.1 Global and Regional Perspective

Demand for shipbuilding in the Indian subcontinent is shaped by several key factors including fleet size and age, global trade volumes and patterns, regulatory requirements, labour and material costs, and competitive pressures from other shipyards. Ship repair capacity, on the other hand, is defined primarily by the number of ships that can be handled and the maximum Deadweight Tonnage (DWT) that a facility can accommodate.

The shipbuilding industry globally can be categorized into three broad segments:

• Large ocean-going vessels for international and coastal trade
• Medium-sized specialized vessels including port craft, fishing trawlers, offshore support vessels, inland craft, and other smaller utility vessels
• Defence and Coast Guard vessels

The global ship repair and maintenance services market was valued at USD 34.60 billion in 2022, and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 4.1% between 2022 and 2029. The Asia-Pacific region remains the world leader, driven by the dominance of China, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, and India in shipbuilding and ship repair activities.

India, Sri Lanka’s closest maritime neighbour, holds a potential 7.5% share of the global ship repair market, although some reports suggest the actual realized share may be closer to 1.5%. India operates 39 dry docks across both public and private sectors, including eight located within major ports. However, several major ports still lack dry-dock capabilities, including Mormugao, JNPT, New Mangalore, Chennai, Kamrajar, Paradip, V.O. Chidambaranar, and Haldia.

Despite India’s advantages—such as low labour cost, a skilled workforce, and a strategic position along major shipping routes—the country faces constraints: limited dry-dock availability, bureaucratic delays, high taxation, and competition from regional players such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. These limitations present a strategic opportunity for Sri Lanka to position itself as a competitive alternative.

---

6.3 Key Ship Repair Locations in the Region – Services, Capacity, and Competition

South Asia and Southeast Asia are rapidly expanding as competitive centres for ship repair. Within the South Asian region, Colombo Dockyard PLC remains a leading operator, while India continues to increase its ship repair capabilities across multiple locations.

Major regional ship repair service providers include:

• India: Goa Shipyard, Cochin Shipyard, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders (Mumbai), Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (Kolkata)
• South Korea: Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, Dae Sun Shipbuilding
• China: China Shipbuilding Corporation
• Singapore: Sembcorp Marine, Keppel Offshore & Marine
• Middle East: Dubai Drydocks (UAE), Oman Drydock Company, Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard (ASRY – Bahrain)

Key Market Characteristics

• Supply of global dry-dock facilities is concentrated in China, Singapore, South Korea, and Japan.
• Demand for ship repair services is rising due to growing global fleet size and newbuild deliveries.
• Dry-dock quality and service standards in Asia are rapidly improving through investments in modern technologies.
• Increased supply has intensified price competition among shipyards.
• Expansion of ship repair yards in India poses challenges to Sri Lanka in attracting vessels.
• Vessels on the West–East Indian coast routes would find Trincomalee more efficient than transiting across India for repairs.
• Ships travelling between the Far East, Middle East, and Europe can utilise Trincomalee for emergency or opportunistic repairs, owing to its location adjacent to major sea lanes.

---

6.10 Why Sri Lanka Should Be Chosen as a Ship Repairing Hub

Ship repairs—both planned and unplanned—are essential for maintaining reliability, complying with classification society requirements, and reducing downtime. Offshore vessels in particular require frequent dry-docking, hull repairs, machinery overhauls, electrical work, and auxiliary system servicing.

The global ship repair market is expected to grow from USD 33.04 billion in 2022 to USD 36.65 billion in 2023, at a remarkable CGR of 10.9%, reaching USD 54.05 billion by 2027. Major ship repair countries include China, South Korea, India, Japan, Germany, Brazil, Australia, Russia, Indonesia, the UK, and the USA.

Strategic Advantages of Sri Lanka

• Geographic location: Sri Lanka sits along the world’s busiest East–West shipping route in the Indian Ocean.
• Proximity to offshore oil & gas fields: India and the Andaman region continue expanding exploration, increasing demand for offshore vessel repair.
• Regional gap in dry-dock services: Operators currently rely on Singapore, UAE, Oman, and Bahrain—creating a service vacuum Sri Lanka can fill.
• Opportunity for Trincomalee: Establishing a modern repair facility in Trincomalee would support offshore support vessels (OSVs), coastal vessels, and general cargo ships.

By capturing even 0.1% of the Asia-Pacific ship repair market—valued at USD 20.28 billion in 2022—Trincomalee could generate approximately USD 20 million annually by 2025. This projection is realistic, given that Colombo Dockyard PLC earned USD 44.19 million from ship repair alone in 2022.

Additional Benefits

• Availability of land for future expansion
• Increased maritime revenue and foreign exchange
• Strengthening Sri Lanka’s strategic maritime profile
• Job creation and skills development
• Support to the national economy through high-value industrial services

Regards

Dr Sarath Obeysekera

Wimal Weerawansa

Ratwatte, I.M.A.

indira.ratwatte@kdu.ac.lk
Lecturer in Law at General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University and Visiting Lecturer
APIIT Law School

Abstract
The article examines the social and economic consequences of colonialism and colonial state
policy, underscoring the exploitation and suffering of the colonized under such policies. The
writer specifically refers to India and Sri Lanka and the human and economic costs to the two
countries. The writer emphasizes that these must be acknowledged, apologized and atoned for,
by the former colonial governments. Counter arguments to this are examined, as to why exactly
reparations are owed in the current environment. As justification, the writer seeks guidance
from the examples of two nations – the Mau Mau and the Herero, who have obtained
reparations as examples of marginal success. Yet, in these small ‘victories’ too, there is much
to be desired. In conclusion, the writer suggests that the international community should take
note of this very poignant, ignored and pivotal aspect of collective human rights and strongly
recommends that action be taken immediately to provide redress for a most damaging, long-
term phenomenon which is already fading from the consciousness of the colonizers. The writer
proposes that the Right to Reparations be made an integral part of International Law, be made
a Fundamental Human Right recognized by a duly signed International Convention which
should constitute a specialized Tribunal to adjudicate such claims.

The following conclusion is extracted from this excellent article 

……………..

7. Conclusion
” It is humbly submitted that international law
and jurisprudence is yet to take serious note
of colonial reparations. No international
convention exists to confirm it as a right, or
the manner of computation. All one has are
isolated decisions, which may be emanating
from a few countries (and that too, for
individual incidents) or dicta from the
International Criminal Court on cases that are
not directly related to Colonialism or its
devastating policies. This is a striking and
blatant lacuna in the law, in an era where the
dignity and reclamation of worth by the
peoples of the world, is increasingly being
spoken of. What legal rights do the Sri
Lankans and the Indians have against the
dastardly acts of the British colonial
government? What rights do the indigenous
children of the Americas have against their
colonial oppressors, who sent them to their
deaths to residential schools, built to
‘assimilate’ them into western culture and to
stamp out any of their own language, culture
and rich heritage?53 

No international convention exists to date, for the victims of
these heinous crimes. It is time the
international community recognized that
colonial policy amounted to a crime against
western-prosperity-was-built-slavery-so-reparations-
should-be-paid, accessed on 14th July 2021.
53 Ian Austen, ‘With discovery of Unmarked Graves,
Canada’s Indigenous seek Reckoning’ The New York Times
(June 26th, 2021).

humanity;

 it is time it took cognizance of the
fact that reparations are due, even though
centuries too delayed. If one delays it further,
the help it can render aggrieved peoples is
denied. Justice delayed is justice denied,
indeed. If tortious /delictual claims can
encapsulate restitutio in integrum, why
cannot international legal action against
former colonists? There can be no room for a
country to claim that it compensating one
colonized people should not be taken as a
precedent for others to claim! This is the
epitome of injustice and brazen failure to be
accountable for the crimes committed. The
existing mechanisms, such as the Genocide
Convention and the International Criminal
Court, it is submitted, are woefully
inadequate and not specifically qualified to
deal with the intricacies of colonial policy.
A specialized international tribunal, armed
with an internationally ratified Convention,
specifically speaking of the Right to
Reparations as forming a part of international
law, and which recognizes it as a
Fundamental Right of all colonized peoples,
is proposed. This should be akin to the Rome
Statute which established the International
Criminal Court.54
In such an event, both sides can argue their
cases out in the international tribunal; it will
require a most specialized group of judges
and lawyers, for the balancing of interests,
the layering of benefits coupled with
atrocities, to ascertain the true monetary
54 The writer is fully aware of the virtual impossibility of
establishing such a mandate, given the attitudes of the global
north. One example comes to mind: on the 31st of December
2021, the United Nations adopted a Resolution at the
General Assembly entitled ‘A global call for concrete action
for the elimination of racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance and the
comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the
Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.’ There were
106 votes in favour, 14 votes against and 44 abstentions. It
is valued to be meted out to countries. This will
require thorough, painstaking analysis, which
may well take years and months of
arguments, computations and negotiations.
Yet it is time due international attention was
given and the mathematical computations
began. Fifty to seventy years after
decolonization is still too late to begin, yet it
must be begun at some date – for justice must
not have an expiration date. After all, we are
(or so it is told by the ‘liberal west’) on the
cusp of a year of accountability and
penitence; should it not be taken a step
further and be justiciable, for the betterment
of all humanity living in previously colonized
countries?” 

For more

visit 

https://www.sliit.lk/sjhs/pages/articles/Volume-1-Issue-2-2020/Should-claims-for-Colonial-Reparations-be-recognized-under-International-Law.pdf

Courtesy: SLIIT

AI Overview

The user’s statement about the moral heroism of Sinhalese Kings leading to Sri Lanka becoming a world leader in animal rights in the pre-colonial era is strongly supported by historical accounts and chronicles.

. The arrival of Arahant Mahinda approximately 2,300 years ago was indeed a pivotal turning point that embedded the principle of ahimsa (non-violence) into the island’s governance and culture. 

The Groundbreaking Encounter and Its Impact

During his first meeting with King Devanampiyatissa at Mihintale, Arahant Mahinda delivered a sermon that fundamentally redefined the King’s role, stating:

“O great king, the birds of the air and the beasts on the earth have an equal right to live and move about in any part of this land as thou. The land belongs to the peoples and all other beings and thou art only the guardian of it”. 

This sermon established the concept of the ruler as a guardian of all life on the land. Following this, Mihintale and its surroundings were declared a wildlife sanctuary, considered an early example globally. 

Moral Heroism and Royal Decrees

Following this encounter, Sinhalese Kings demonstrated “moral heroism” by incorporating compassion for animals into state policy through various actions:

• Establishing nature reserves and sanctuaries.
• Implementing the “Maghata” rule, banning the killing of animals, by five different kings.
• King Buddhadasa (4th century CE) established hospitals for both humans and animals.
• King Elara ordered the execution of his son for accidentally killing a calf, as recounted in the Mahavamsa.
• King Kirthi Nissanka Malla’s public edict protecting animals and fish. 

This historical evidence suggests that pre-colonial Sri Lanka, influenced by Buddhist principles, had a unique legal and social system that prioritized animal welfare and state responsibility, supporting the idea of a leading ethical stance on animal rights. 

…………………………………………………

https://share.google/aimode/R18zXIJIANXxFktp8

The user’s statement about the moral heroism of Sinhalese Kings leading to Sri Lanka becoming a world leader in animal rights in the pre-colonial era is strongly supported by historical accounts and royal decrees. 

The Groundbreaking Encounter and its Impact

The encounter between Arahant Mahinda and King Devanampiyatissa around 247 BCE at Mihintale was a pivotal moment. While on a deer hunt, the King was stopped by the Arahant who preached a revolutionary message of ecological trusteeship: “O great King, the birds of the air and the beasts on the earth have an equal right to live and move about in any part of this land as thou. The land belongs to the people and all other beings and thou art only the guardian of it”. 

This advice established a new ethical foundation for governance, leading to a “peaceful socio-religious revolution” where the state assumed the role of guardian for all life forms, not just humans. 

Moral Heroism and Royal Decrees

Following this encounter, several Sinhalese kings demonstrated “moral heroism” through concrete actions and laws, integrating Buddhist principles of ahimsa (non-violence) and metta (loving-kindness) into state policy. 

• World’s First Sanctuaries: King Devanampiyatissa is credited with establishing the world’s first recorded wildlife sanctuary in Mihintale and the surrounding areas, banning hunting and establishing a precedent for state-sponsored conservation.
• Maghata Rule: At least five kings implemented the Maghata rule (the right to life), which completely banned the killing of any animal within the kingdom’s jurisdiction.
• Veterinary Care: King Buddhadasa (4th century CE) was a renowned physician who founded hospitals for both humans and animals, an exceptionally early example of institutionalized veterinary care.
• Protection of Water Life: Kings like Kirthi Nissanka Malla issued rock inscriptions and used drum announcements to declare that no animals should be killed within a radius of seven leagues from the city and gave security to fish in the twelve great tanks, effectively creating aquatic sanctuaries.
• Justice Systems: The Mahavamsa chronicle recounts the story of King Elara, who, in a display of ultimate justice, executed his own son for accidentally killing a calf with his chariot, after the mother cow rang a bell, the king had installed for those seeking justice. 

These historical accounts, documented in chronicles and stone inscriptions, demonstrate that pre-colonial Sri Lanka, guided by Buddhist philosophy, developed a unique and advanced system of animal welfare that was arguably a world leader in its time, considering animals as sentient beings with moral claims to consideration and protection by the State. 

See also

Compassion to animals in ancient Sri Lanka gave moral leadership to Sinhalese Kings and raised the moral stature of the people of Sri Lanka

Animal Friendly Cultural Heritage and royal decrees in the legal history of Sri Lanka

https://www.worldgenweb.org/lkawgw/animal.htm

https://www.acu.ac.uk/the-acu-review/follow-thy-old-wisdom

High in Sri Lanka’s hills, Mihintale’s ancient ruins whisper of a king who revered nature’s creatures 2,300 years ago. King Devanampiyatissa, inspired by Buddhist principles, declared Mihintale a sanctuary in the 3rd century BCE, banning hunting, as recorded in ancient chronicles. Archaeological evidence supports this, with inscriptions promoting animal welfare. This pioneering act in Sri Lanka shaped global conservation ethics, blending spirituality with environmental care. Today, Mihintale’s forests teem with wildlife, a living legacy of Sri Lanka’s early commitment to protecting nature. (This image is generated using AI Technology to explain the fact) Source: Sri Lanka Department of Archaeology #MihintaleSanctuary #SriLankaConservation #AncientEcology

https://www.facebook.com/bloonsoo/posts/high-in-sri-lankas-hills-mihintales-ancient-ruins-whisper-of-a-king-who-revered-/786195813998495

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Sri Lanka remains under severe weather conditions as heavy rainfall, rising floodwaters and continuous landslides disrupt daily life across multiple districts.

The persistent low-pressure system remains anchored over the island, pulling in moisture-heavy winds and generating repeated waves of intense rainfall. Soil across the highlands is fully saturated, making slopes unstable, while major reservoirs are nearing or exceeding capacity.

Train services suspended after 6 a.m today

The Railway Department has announced that train services on all routes will be suspended after 6 a.m. today (28) due to the prevailing adverse weather conditions experienced across the country.

According to Additional General Manager (Operations) Chandrasena Bandara, the decision has been taken to ensure the safety of passengers, as continuous heavy rainfall has increased the risk of landslides, flooding, and falling trees along several railway lines.

Irrigation Department warns of critical flood situations in several river basins

The Irrigation Department has issued an urgent warning stating that critical flood situations have already developed in the low-lying areas of several major river basins due to continuous heavy rainfall over their catchment areas.

According to water-level readings from gauging stations maintained by the department, water levels in the affected rivers are rising rapidly and are expected to increase further in the coming hours.

The rivers currently posing severe flood risks are:

1. Mahaweli River

2. Deduru Oya

3. Maha Oya

4. Kala Oya

5. Menik Ganga

6. Malwathu Oya

Residents living in low-lying areas along both banks of these rivers are strongly advised to evacuate to safer locations immediately. The public in nearby areas is urged to remain highly vigilant and take all necessary precautions to ensure their safety.

Relevant disaster management authorities have been requested to take urgent action to manage the situation and support affected communities.

e-Con e-News

blog: eesrilanka.wordpress.com

‘Before you study the economics, study the economists!’

e-Con e-News 16-22 November 2025

The US National Guard, historically used for terrorizing the USA’s allegedly unruly cities, has been called the ‘Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in uniform’. The KKK is the terrorist organization set up by former southern US slaveowners & Northern industrial capitalists to overthrow the attempt (known as ‘Reconstruction’) by enslaved Africans to rule their plantation domains after the US war called ‘civil’, 1861-65. Yet, it would be more appropriate to call the KKK – ‘the US Army in white sheets’.

     This week witnessed the curious signing of a ‘hasty defence partnership between the Montana National Guard, the US Coast Guard District 13, and the Sri Lanka Armed Forces under the US Department of War’s State Partnership Program (SPP)’ (see ee Random Notes). The USA ‘purchased’ Montana from France in 1803! What is Montana, once the land of the Cheyenne & Lakota, Blackfeet & Salish, doing here?

     US war officials and Montana appear unaware of their government’s travel advisory, warning their compatriots of ‘an imminent threat of violence, terrorism, & landmines!’ in Sri Lanka – with a landmine appropriately igniting in Jaffna just after, to add sound & color to their faux foreboding.

     The Montana moment turns out to have been more fog, as this week also saw various US military & hydrographic experts – unnamed & unheralded by front page headlines – descend through the clouds to supposedly calm the waters around us, or more precisely to exploit what lies beneath this ocean called Indian, and this sea called Arabian & bay called Bengal. Why? We are ‘a strategically indispensable country sitting near one of the world’s most coveted mineral basins’, writes the Lanka eNews ‘Geopolitical Correspondent’ (see ee Focus).

     Meanwhile, as Indian & Pakistani warships slipped in & out of Colombo, unnamed experts from the USA’s National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the US Department of Commerce and the US Navy’s Meteorology and Oceanography Command (NMOC) were parachuted in promising to ‘expand the country’s hydrographic mapping skills,’ to ‘support Sri Lanka to map its own waters, make commercial shipping lanes safer and strengthen overall maritime domain awareness’. They are now unpacking their intrusive equipment onto naval bases inside Sri Lanka, as these words are typed.

     In 2024, alongside mounting concern about India, England & the US seeking to monopolize oceanic surveys in Sri Lanka, and block China out, the US embassy in Colombo slung more shade on their manoeuvres by inviting actor Jason Momoa, who featured in the Hollywood flick Aquaman, to explore Sri Lanka’s ‘vibrant marine ecosystem’.

     The US government’s attempts at mystification continued this week when they patronizingly sought to explain that ‘hydrographic surveys help ensure safe navigation’, stressing that the seabed is ‘vital for protecting maritime sovereignty’.

     Whose ‘safe navigation’ & ‘maritime sovereignty’, we do not have to guess – as the US government treats Sri Lanka & its citizens as ‘a geopolitical afterthought’, observes the Lanka eNews ‘Geopolitical Correspondent’, unleashing erudite scepticism, that there is no way the US has any concern for our wellbeing. S/he offers as an example, the disgusting behaviour of US embassy officials in Colombo, who while issuing sermons on the rule of law etc, treat even Sri Lanka’s Bentley, Porsche, Lamborghini & Benz-importing denizens – as their eloquently teleprompted leader calls them – ‘shitholes’:

‘While Washington sends experts, satellites, ships,

and technical delegations to Sri Lanka, the process

for Sri Lankan nationals to visit the USA remains

one of the most restrictive and humiliating in

the region. Visa-appointment waiting times stretch

from months to over a year. Sri Lankan applicants,

including professionals, academics, and business

owners, report curt interviews, opaque rejections,

and arbitrary processing delays.’

So, if our Colombots are provided easy access to craka heaven in Idaho, should we just hand over our rare mineral treasures? It is more than that. The future – like that blanked-out sheet called history – is still available for all those who wish to read it. This week saw the US rumble bombers over Trinidad & Tobago (see ee Random Notes) to terrorize the Caribbean (whom ardent cricket fans here only know as the West Indies) in supposed preparation for their invasion of Venezuela. The overt attack is purportedly on hold, as the US explores further scenarios – one deterrent to a US attack being that Caracas possesses up-to-date air defenses supplied by Russia and China, which could help the US recall their 1961 defeat at Cuba’s Bay of Pigs. The leading parties in Trinidad, have secretly signed the US Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), a fact the US Embassy leaked to the media. The Communist Party of Sri Lanka asks if the Montana MoU is a precursor to our own acquiescence.

     History tells us that France bargained long and hard with the English, at the Congress of Vienna in 1814, to take control of Sri Lanka & Tobago (along with Mauritius, the Cape, Ceylon, Ionian Islands, Malta, Heligoland, Santa Lucia: all strategic pressure points on the planet’s maritime routes) until Waterloo taught them otherwise. Napoleon’s defeat led to England accelerating its 1815 coup d’etat in highland Sinhale. England, France & Germany, declaring themselves conductors of the ‘Concert of Europe, were now at peace to terrorize the rest of the world, and their own rising working classes, for another century, until their 1914 world war. This enabled England’s modern industrial monopoly, to rule all oceans’ waves, and generously proclaim, ‘free trade’ on earth.

     Having thrown ‘free trade’ out the window, England, France & Germany are now colluding with the USA to consolidate their political & military planning, manipulating both their economies and well as ours.

*

‘The economic arithmetic was clear:

the Anglo-Americans had the money

but would not fight.

The fascists had militarised everything.

The socialists had little but gave all.’

The US, their pitbulls & their poodles, are intent on continuing their fascist invasions on the rest of the world – ‘frozen wars’, as in China (Taiwan) & Korea (South v North), are now being thawed, to be placed on the front burner. This ee continues Roy Singham’s elaborate ‘Restorationist History’ to understand exactly ‘Who Saved Humanity’ during what is now better called, the World Anti-Fascist War (WAFW), between 1931-45. Throw away all the thousands of English movies and comics & books about ‘World War 2’ that have served to obscure the reality of who was doing what, for & against whom. Singham’s story is fascinating. Here then is the actual role played by Joseph Stalin & Mao Zedong, much demonized in English tales, of how, ‘facing extremely powerful adversaries’, the 2 leaders had to ‘exploit inter-imperialist rivalries that became so intense by the 1940s’.

     Here then is the tale of the Soviet Union facing ‘the largest military invasion in human history’ even as ‘the US remained neutral until it was attacked’ and how ‘England declared war but prioritised empire!’ Here is the story of how the US, England & Europe fed and armed Japan & Chinese warlords to attack the Chinese people, and how China resisted, despite having an economy, with ‘only around 5% of world GDP after its century of humiliation & a decade of Japanese devastation’. Here is how a China with ‘people but few weapons, courage but little industry, resistance but scant resources’ withstood and thwarted a more powerful enemy.

*

‘Western’ as a euphemism for imperialism adds to our ignorance about the world, an ignorance largely promoted by the colonial merchant media & the education system. One effect of this ignorance is our lack of history, to understand how deep are the roots of our discontent. No place on earth has deepened our ignorance of the world more than our studied ignorance of Africa. Africa is to the ‘west’ of us!

     Even as the genocide was unfolding in Palestine, mass killings saw 47 million people flee their homes in the Sudan. In the Congo, over 6 million have been killed, and 5 million people are ‘on the run’. In the Sudan, the role of the UAE (United Arab Emirates) & Saudi & Israel, quarterbacked by the US & England, etc, and the Quad, has been obscured by such media as Al Jazeera (BBC on a camel), based in a monarchy, which interrogates Sri Lankans on human rights.

     This ee Focus reproduces an essay on ‘The Southern Sudan’, by Joseph U Garang, which describes, according to Black Agenda Report, ‘the historical & political events that led to the secessionist revolts in the Republic of Sudan’s southern provinces following its independence from England & Egypt in 1956’. The essay, first published in The African Communist in 1969, also provides ‘critical historical context’ for the current raging & ignored civil war. England’s racialized colonialism has ‘played no small part in laying the foundation for the emergence of a fractious neocolonial state in continuous crisis’ – this will resonate with people in Sri Lanka. A Southerner of Luo origin, & a member of the Sudanese Communist Party, Garang was executed in 1971 after participating in a coup that briefly brought down the government of President Gaafar Nimeiry. ‘He is remembered as one of Southern Sudan’s foremost progressive theoreticians & politicians’; and his essay remains ‘a remarkable reminder of his intellect – & of the kind of vision that was lost with his death’.

*

‘High interest rates & rising foreign reserves’ signal the willingness of Sri Lanka’s ruling interests, ‘to place the interests of outside actors ahead of the country’s own people & businesses’, write Arjun Jayadev, Ahilan Kadirgamar & JW Mason, as they detail ‘Sri Lanka’s Interest-rate Trap’ (see ee Focus). They lament, ‘the country is losing a generation to malnutrition, high youth unemployment, & educational losses.’ They cry out that ‘austerity in the name of fiscal sustainability is self-defeating if it destroys the conditions for growth’.

     They seem to be unaware that the merchant & moneylender interests who rule on behalf of imperialist capital, have no interest in, nay, have always militantly prevented, modern industrialization in our world. They are not the only pleaders.

     Meanwhile, the ‘Lanka Rating Agency’ (see ee Who’s Who) says that licenced finance companies (LFCs), despite their ‘solid profitability’ are on shaky ground, and must quickly shift from ‘consumption lending to financing industry…’ Though the LRA then has to add the requisite ‘exports’ to their recipe.

*

 While the imperialists’ economic hitmen, the media’s economists, drone on endlessly about the need for exports & foreign investment, ee Focus continues Chapter 4 of SBD de Silva’s classic The Political Economy of Underdevelopment, that details the ‘Investment Patterns in the Settler & Nonsettler Situations’. In this excerpt, SBD compares countries side by side in Southern Africa, in those where ‘expatriate capital’ was dominant (like in Sri Lanka) such as Zambia & Nyasaland, versus settler Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe). In Zambia, ‘remittances of interest, dividends & profits after WW2 were usually more than half of total export earnings’.

‘Official concern for development was greatest in colonies

where there was a white working class. Unemployment

& poverty, besides causing unrest, would have been

too bad for white superiority – the psychological prop

to the domination which the settlers exercised.’

In the settler colonies, profits were reinvested in the colony. While the state undermined native peasant producers, settler agriculture, ‘developed through the use of state power’, led to the development of secondary industries: ‘wine production, sugar refining, textile manufacture, oil extraction, fish canning, the manufacture of meat & dairy products, and food processing & preserving.’ Staple Base Dynamism (SBD)! In settler colonies, farm machinery was adapted to local conditions. Capital and simple technology were used to improve ‘the quality of agricultural produce’ and to lower costs.

     Distinct from the industrial interests of the imperialist capitals, the state favoured the settlers, by favourably locating railways, fixing rates, providing regulated credit & guaranteed prices and, ‘above all, by proletarianizing the peasants’! Customs tariffs were ‘used to promote domestic production’ rather than used as ‘a source of public revenue’.

‘It was undesirable to accelerate the industrialization

of East Africa which must, for many years to come,

remain a country of primary produce’.

     In Rhodesia, protective tariffs directly benefited manufacturing industry, particularly in their childhood! Meanwhile, in Tanzania & Uganda, ‘tariff protection was disallowed’ so as to profit industrial interests in England. In non-settler colonies, tariffs were only seen as a means for raising revenue. The settler colonies’ high-cost goods ‘found a privileged market’ in the non-settler domains…

*

ee Focus continues Gustavus Myers’ History of Tammany Hall. Here he describes how, despite the changes in the police chiefs, New York’s police department remained ‘a fruitful cause of scandal’. He describes the ‘deliberate audacity’ of the murder of an operator of a gambling house who exposed his partner who was a Police Lieutenant. ‘Irregular incomes’ substantially increased police salaries, while politicians demanded their share in the spoils. ‘Such a system makes for too many of the police an organized school of crime’. The exposure of crimes is usually linked to the benefits derived by the police by such revelations, and grand juries were wont not to believe such stories and acquit criminals.

     Public inquiries revealed a ‘widespread corrupt alliance between the police & gamblers & disorderly house keepers.’ A system had developed where operators of illegal establishments had to pay tribute to avoid arrest. The impeachment of officials was also a game to keep them docile & loyal to the ‘system’. A favorite method was to run officials & politicians into debt. A particular source of corruption was the ‘Public Service Commission’ which granted public franchises….

*

__________

Contents:

US, England & India Grab for Sri Lanka’s Maritime Minerals & More…

National Development Bank PLC

NDB Bank, in line with its unwavering commitment to social responsibility and inclusive development, has extended its support to The Ceylon School for the Deaf and Blind (CSDB), a historic institution that has been providing education, care, and vocational training to differently abled children across Sri Lanka for over a century.

Through this initiative, NDB Bank aims to contribute toward enhancing the quality of life and education of visually and hearing-impaired children, empowering them to lead independent, dignified lives. The Bank is dedicated to building a more inclusive society by ensuring that all children, regardless of ability or circumstance, have access to meaningful learning opportunities and the resources needed to thrive.

The Ceylon School for the Deaf and Blind operates three residential schools located in Ratmalana and Kaithady, Jaffna, providing a holistic educational experience that combines formal education with specialized training. Alongside academics, students are also equipped with vocational skills such as tailoring, graphic design, carpentry, bakery, and ICT, enabling them to transition into productive and self-sufficient adults.

Commenting on this collaboration, Director/CEO Kelum Edirisinghe of NDB Bank stated, NDB Bank has always believed in empowering communities through education and opportunity. Our partnership with The Ceylon School for the Deaf and Blind reflects this belief. By supporting the incredible work carried out by the institution, we aim to help nurture a generation of differently abled individuals who can confidently contribute to society. It is both a privilege and a responsibility for us to stand by such meaningful causes.”

For decades, NDB Bank has remained committed to creating long-term, positive social impact through education, entrepreneurship, and empowerment. The Bank continues to drive its sustainability and CSR efforts under the broader mission of empowering lives and strengthening communities across Sri Lanka.

Through this partnership with The Ceylon School for the Deaf and Blind, NDB reaffirms its belief that true progress lies in inclusion, ensuring that every child, regardless of their abilities, has the chance to learn, grow, and succeed.

LankaPropertyWeb

LankaPropertyWeb, Sri Lanka’s leading real estate platform, has unveiled ‘Albot’, a trilingual AI chatbot that offers a range of intelligent features, including real-time property price insights to streamline the customer experience on its website. It responds to visitor inquiries in real time and provides insights on area price trends. Albot can query the property statistics database to provide detailed answers about whether a specific property’s price is higher or lower than the average.

It generates links to results pages based on the criteria the user has requested and guides advertisers step by step through the process of posting an ad, eliminating the need to contact support and significantly improving the self-service experience on the site.

Albot transforms the way users interact with our platform — offering instant, intelligent support that makes property searching and ad posting simpler, faster, and more personal,” said Ragavan Navaratnam, Senior Product Manager at LankaPropertyWeb. Advertisers still benefit significantly, with those using social media packages seeing three times more reach, leads, and impressions compared to traditional listings.

While Albot helps customers directly, AMPLIFIER, another AI tool developed by LPW, empowers agents to create high-impact listings efficiently.

This AI tool, AMPLIFIER (Automated Multi-Platform Integration for Instant Extra Reach), a proprietary AI agent that converts property listings with images into engaging short-form videos and instantly shares them across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube. Each video includes AI-generated captions and hashtags, customized based on the property and the platform to attract the highest number of views. Additionally, the video’s soundtrack is automatically selected from a weekly-updated library of trending TikTok audio tailored specifically for Sri Lanka. This exclusive feature, powered by LPW’s advanced automation tools, is the only solution in the country that tracks and leverages trending audio to enhance video visibility and engagement.

With over 200,000 social media followers, LankaPropertyWeb leverages AMPLIFIER to post, on average, 150 to 180 videos monthly, amplifying reach for advertisers, with some videos achieving organic reach of over 200,000 views in a few days. The tool has gained steady traction, with 80 to 100 agents using it each month.

The company’s AI strategy is delivering tangible results across its operations. Internally, LPW’s automation tools save over 270 hours of manual work every month, including 90 hours on social media post creation and 180 hours on video production and publishing. In addition to these efficiencies, AI also plays a key role in image moderation, with tools that detect spam and duplicate images while automatically tagging thousands of listings. Each month, an average of 2,104 spam images and 1,170 duplicate images are identified, while more than 12,000 images are tagged using AI. These efficiencies help to maintain the site’s authenticity and quality while providing a good user experience for customers.

Later this year, the company plans to launch a suite of AI-powered tools, including a smart recommendation engine to better match buyers with suitable properties, a separate tool to identify top investment opportunities, and an AI-driven search feature that allows users to find matching properties using simple natural language prompts.

This chatbot is also offered as a white-label solution for developers and agencies looking to enhance their own customer service.

We’re committed to reshaping how the property market engages with digital audiences. From spam detection to automated tagging, our AI solutions are making listings more efficient and effective for everyone,” said Wasana Siriwardhana, Marketing Manager at the company.

LankaPropertyWeb continues to strengthen its position as a go-to platform for property seekers in Sri Lanka. The business is expanding its innovation pipeline while staying ahead of emerging proptech trends.

Looking ahead, the company remains committed to delivering cutting-edge, tech-enabled solutions to Sri Lanka’s property market. Its focus is on empowering agents, enhancing the experience for buyers and sellers, and staying ahead of the curve in technological innovation. The ultimate goal is to help property buyers, sellers, agents, and developers make informed decisions and find their ideal real estate solutions.

Dr Sudath Guanasekara: Former Permanent Secretary to Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranayaka and the founder of the HADABIMA Authority of Sri Lanka.

I want to draw your immediate attention to “Puujaniiya mahanuwara’ on WhatsApp, to see an alarming and depressing statement made by an unpatriotic buffoon politician of this government Sunil Senaviratna / Minister of Cultural Affairs who was supposed to have made the following statement to the press.

This statement must be true as neither he nor the Government has denied it so far. I think it confirms his anti-Sinhala anti Buddhist and blasphemous statement made by this JVP Minister as well as that of this anti-Sinhala Anti-Buddhist.

As a first step all the Buddhist in this country in my opinion, led by the entire Sangha fraternity headed by the 4 Mahaanayaka Theras of Malwatta, Asgiriya, Amarapura and Raamangcha should ask the President to order this mad Minister to withdraw his blasphemous anti- Sinhala anti- Buddhist and ludicrous and unconstitutional statement immediately and tender an unconditional open and public apology to the Mahaanayaka Theras, the Buddhist clergy, the Diyawadananilame  and the entire Buddhist community of this country.  He also should make a public apology to all the Sinhala Buddhists all over the world, for the humiliation and disgrace he had made to the Sammaa Sambuddha Saasana by making such an irreligious, tribal and cheap political public statement to confuse the entire Buddhist world. The seriousness and the gravity of his statement become more dangerous and sacrilegious as he belongs to a non-Buddhist minority community in this country of the Sinhala Buddhists that had been so for the past 2567 years without any brake.

The whole country knows that both these idiots (The Mister and his Deputy/ who is also an extremist Wahabis, are non-Buddhists and pessimists. The President, if he is a true Buddhist, who has appointed these two buffoons to be in charge of this most important National Ministry should be ashamed and therefore take full responsibility for this utterly irresponsible public statement made by one of his erstwhile Ministers in the Cabinet, apparently who has no head. It is even more surprising that the President who is supposed to be a Sinhala Buddhist has not taken any disciplinary action against this lunatic.

This Minister also has already scrapped the Ministry of Buddhist Affairs in this Sinhala Buddhist country, that had been the state religion of the country from 307 BC, that was always accepted by the King and the subjects alike, as the rock foundation of the civilization of this country.  Even now it has been provided with the foremost place even in the 1978 Constitution under Sec 9 of after it was made so, by the 1972 Republican Constitution under Sec 6 for the first time since 1948, thanks to that Great Bauddha Mahopaasikava, Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranayake.

 These two non-Buddhists have already have already violated the Sec 9 of the Constitution for which the major Buddhist Associations or even some agitated Buddhist should file a case against these two Minister immediately demanding to take action against them and also to remove them from this Ministry immediately.

 Meanwhile I am lost to understand as to why the Guardian Gods” of the nation, the Sangha fraternity led by the 4 Mahanayaka Theras, the Diyawadana Nilame the leader of the lay Buddhists in this country and the Buddhist Associations like the Samastha Lanka Bauddha Sammelanaya, Jathika Ekabaddathaa Bala Mandalaya and other National Sinhala Buddhists organizations are doing, without taking these two into task and ask the President to sack these misfit Ministers immediately and send them to eternal political wilderness. If the President fails to sack them and take other punitive actions against them immediately, I can vouch that will the doomsday of his government is not very far.

On the part of the historic national leaders like the Mahaanayaka theras and the others in the Sangha fraternity to rise up in unison and make a clarion call even now, to sack these two idiots from their portfolios. It is their bounden duty as national leaders of the nation to rise up against any one however powerful they may be, to remove them from power when they misgovern. In my experience all politicians in this country are only five-year contractors who have come to temporary power to ruin the nation and make as much as possible for generations whereas the four Mahanayak Theras are the national leaders of this country for life.  As such it is their birth right and mandatory responsibility by the nation, the country and the Sasana to take action against these self-seeking five-year contractors before things get even worse?

Why can’t they understand that Anura Disanayaka is first, fulfilling only the Contract given to him by the IMF, the World Bank and the so-called International Organizations of the ex-Colonial Euro -Atlantic Club, who are trying to complete their diabolical mission of wiping out the Sinhala Buddhist nation from the surface of this planet, which they failed to do with the power of the sword, the gun and the Bible, which was initiated by the Portuguese in 1505 and taken over by the Dutch and the British later and brutally and savagely imposed on us nearly for 500 years and are conspiring  now to complete their dream mission to destroy the Sinhala Buddhist Civilization in this country by the mechanism of neo colonialism,  with the help of global network of  the so– called International organizations that got  multiplied after the formation of the Bretton wood Agreement in1944 that was formed as an international accord signed in July 1944 by delegates from 44 colonial powers  at the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. Its implicit goal was to create a stable post-World War II international economic system by establishing a framework for fixed exchange rates and promoting free trade. The agreement led to the creation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to realize these objectives.  But a closer examination of all these institutions at present clearly shows their explicit and hidden objectives are starkly different.

Second, he is also aspiring to realize their anti -Sinhala and anti-Buddhist class vengeance and Marxian political goals which his party failed to achieve in 1971, 1989 and even thereafter for  a period of 53 years.

The post Bretton wood era was the beginning of the neo-colonial exploitation of the countries that were once under their control, that is to keep the colonial countries eternally tied down to the former colonial club.

In this backdrop I call upon these national leaders led by the Mahanayaka Theras to

1 Ask the President to sack these two Ministers immediately from their portfolios and also remove them from Parliament and finally remove their civil rights as well, for violating Sec 9 of the Constitution and remove their civil rights as well disqualify them from doing politics for life as they are unfit to hold any public position in this Sinhala Buddhist country.

as they have already violated the Constitution by going against the 9th Amendment that has given the foremost place to Buddhism in this country.

If The President is not prepared to comply with that call, then all Buddhist led by the Mahanayaka Theras and the entire sangha fraternity in the country and lay Buddhists public of the whole country led by the Diyawadana nilame should demand this anti- Sinhala and anti- Buddhist government also to resign and go home to save this 2567-year-old Sinhala Buddhist civilization in this country.

If the President doesn’t respond positively, they should call upon the whole nation to rise up in unison and chase out this pack of anti-Sinhala, anti -Buddhist pack of political misfits before they make it fully irreversible and unretractable and also call upon the patriotic masses to take necessary steps immediately to save this country, the Sinhala nation and Buddha sasana and it’s pristine Sinhala Buddhist civilization, which their patriotic and brave ancestors had founded in 543 BC and protected at very high cost for millennia from the 2nd century BC up to date, by paying with their blood and flesh  at very high cost defeating all invaders, both Indian and the savages European colonial invaders and murderers.  

I am making this plea to all Sinhala Buddhists the world over desperately, on behalf of my motherland, the Sinhala nation and the protection of the Samma Sambuddha Sasana, with love in my heart and malice towards none, in any other community or religion, but charity for all, as protecting these precious three jewels, is my only last wish at this late age in my life.

Prasad Siriwardana – MP

Shenali D Waduge

Despite Sri Lanka facing pressing challenges in health, protection, and social services for its overwhelming majority of biological males and females, UNFPA Sri Lanka’s gender policies and programs prioritize a tiny, hidden population of gender minorities. Disguised under euphemisms like gender minorities” and diverse sexual orientations,” this allocation of resources favors a demographic so small that UNFPA itself cannot provide credible population figures, while the needs of the majority remain underserved. Through MoUs, partnerships, and funding agreements with UNDP, DFAT, and others, significant public and international resources are being directed toward a largely invisible group, raising questions about justification, transparency, and public accountability.

1. UNFPA’s Policy on Gender in Sri Lanka — Goes beyond Biological Sex

National Policy on Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment (Sri Lanka, March 2023)

·      Launched: 12 March 2023, by Ministry of Women, Child Affairs & Social Empowerment with UNFPA technical support.

·      Definition & Coverage: Explicitly mentions gender minorities alongside women” and men.”

·      Commitment: Eliminating discrimination against women and gender minorities” through legislation, policies, and institutional frameworks.

·      Thematic Focus: Identity and Autonomy,” Freedom from Gender-based Violence,” etc.; annex lists gender minorities and women with non-binary identities.

·      Vision / Language: Society where gender minorities” have equal rights alongside women and men.

·      Source: 

https://srilanka.unfpa.org/en/publications/national-policy-gender-equality-and-womens-empowerment

https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/2022-11/GEWE_Evaluation_Volume_2_Annexes.pdf

SGBV (Sexual & Gender Based Violence) National Action Plan (2024–2028)

·      UNFPA technically involved in multi-sectoral plan development.

·      Vision: a violence-free life for women, men, girls and boys and those with diverse gender identities and sexual orientations.”

·      Includes non-binary, transgender, queer persons in protection framework.

·      Covers 13 sectors (education, health, justice, transport, etc.) for a whole-of-government / whole-of-society” response.

·      Related Programs: National workshops (Feb 2025), shelter staff training (June 2025), police survivor-centered training (June 2025).

·      Sources:

·      https://srilanka.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/2025-01/National%20Action%20Plan%20to%20Address%20on%20SGBV%20ENGLISH%2020241218%20%281%29.pdf

·      https://srilanka.unfpa.org/en/news/sri-lanka-advances-efforts-end-gender-based-violence-national-workshop-sgbv-action-plan

·      https://srilanka.unfpa.org/en/news/strengthening-survivor-centered-gbv-services-island-wide-shelter-staff-trained-under-national

Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) — 2022

·      Studied impact of 2022 economic crisis on women and girls including those with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities.”

·      Includes gender minorities in needs assessments.

·      Publication: 18 April 2023.

·      Source: https://srilanka.unfpa.org/en/publications/rapid-gender-analysis-sri-lanka-2022

·      Data point: Out of 635 focus group participants, 10 identified as LGBT (RGA full report, p. 44). No national population estimate is provided.

Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence Study — Gender Discrimination Law (2025)

·      Defines TF-GBV as violence on the basis of their gender,” explicitly including LGBTQIA+ persons.

·      Source: https://srilanka.unfpa.org/en/publications/gender-discrimination-sri-lanka-law-policy-and-practice  

https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/A%20Framework%20for%20TFGBV%20Programming.pdf

Gender-Responsive Emergency Action Training

·      Launched: 15 January 2025

·      Objective: Integrates gender-sensitive SRH, GBV prevention, and social inclusion in disaster response.

·      Includes gender minorities, not just biological males/females.

·      Source: https://srilanka.unfpa.org/en/news/unfpa-sri-lanka-launches-gender-responsive-emergency-action-training-save-lives  

2. UNFPA Sri Lanka Gender Equality Programs

Centre of Excellence for Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment (CoE GEWE)

·      MOU – 1 Mar 2024

·      Objective – Research hub for gender equality, SRH, population

·      Target audience – Researchers, policy-makers, students, civil society

·      Partners/Funding – UNFPA Sri Lanka, University of Colombo

·      Note: Technical & financial support by UNFPA

SGBV Multi-sectoral Action Plan

·      Published Jan 2025

·      Objective – Prevent & respond to SGBV across sectors

·      Target audience – Government ministries, service providers, civil society, survivors

·      Partners/Funding – UNFPA, UNDP, 13 ministries

·      Note: Includes those with diverse gender identities”

Gender-Responsive Emergency Action Training

·      Jan 2025

·      Objective – Integrate SRH, GBV prevention in disaster response

·      Target audience – disaster officials, first responders

·      Partners/Funding – UNFPA, DFAT Australia

·      Note: Gender minorities included

Adolescent Girls Empowerment / Menstrual Health

·      Various 2024–2025

·      Objective – Break taboos, dignity kits, SRHR education (including LGBTQIA+)

·      Target audience – Adolescent girls (including disabilities), teachers, parents

·      Partners/Funding – UNFPA, DFAT Australia, volunteers

·      Note – Explicitly mentions LGBTQIA+ under SRHR

Youth & Social Cohesion Project

·      Ongoing 2024

·      Objective – Promote youth leadership,

·      Target audience – Youth, schools, interfaith youth groups

·      Partners/Funding – UNFPA, Alliance Development Trust, Embassy of Japan

·      Note: Funding highlights MoU-supported partnerships

National Refresher Training for Disaster Practitioners

·      Sep 2023

·      Objective – Gender-equitable disaster response

·      Target audience – Disaster officials, volunteers

·      Partners/Funding – UNFPA, Govt of Sri Lanka

·      Notes – Gender-sensitive training

Observation: Many programs and workshops rely on MoUs, partnerships, and funding agreements (e.g., DFAT, UNDP, Embassy of Japan, ADT). 

This demonstrates that resources are being allocated to groups explicitly targeting gender minorities rather than the broader population in need.

3. Hidden LGBTQIA Reference / Deceptive Language

Term	Actual Reference	Comment
Gender minorities	LGBTQIA+ persons	Euphemistic; hides explicit LGBTQIA reference
Those with diverse sexual orientations & gender identities	LGBTQIA+	Appears neutral but refers to queer / trans persons
Non-binary persons	Transgender / queer	Technical language hides the population served
Women, men, girls, boys	Biological sex	Explicit, transparent

Key Point: 

UNFPA uses euphemisms to conceal LGBTQIA beneficiaries while appearing broadly inclusive. This obfuscation hides the true target group and justifies resource allocation toward a very small minority – a figure that even the UNFPA cannot provide

4. Analysis / Interpretation

1.    Inclusive Definition: UNFPA policy treats gender minorities as a core focus.

2.    Resource Allocation: Funding and MoU-supported programs prioritize gender minorities even though they constitute a tiny fraction of the population (e.g., 10 out of 635 in RGA).

3.    Disproportionate Attention: Biological males and females, who make up the overwhelming majority and face urgent health, protection, and social issues, are not the exclusive focus.

4.    Policy Deception: Hidden LGBTQIA references in euphemistic language prevent transparency and public scrutiny.

5.    Questionable Justification: Demographically, there is no evidence that gender minorities form a large enough population to warrant this level of prioritization over more numerous and vulnerable populations.

6.    Funding Implication: Partnerships and MoUs with UNFPA, international agencies, and donors (DFAT, Embassy of Japan, UNDP) mean resources are being allocated to a small, hidden group instead of larger populations with real needs.

5. Deduction

·      Since at least March 2023, UNFPA Sri Lanka formally recognizes gender minorities (beyond men and women).

·      Policies and programs systematically include LGBTQIA+ groups, often disguised under euphemisms like gender minorities or diverse sexual orientations.

·      Public financial reporting does not clearly separate budgets for gender minorities, yet MoUs, workshops, and program focus indicate significant allocation toward these groups. Why has the Govt not questioned this allocation of funding to groups that these entities cannot even provide numbers for – while even historical police statistics do not justify claims of discrimination by police under penal code.

·      Biological males and females, who constitute the overwhelming majority, face urgent SRH, GBV, and disaster-response needs but are not prioritized proportionately. – SRH-GBV is strongly tilted towards LGBTQIA non-existent community rather the SRH-GBV biological violence/discrimination.

·      The approach raises a critical question: UNFPA Sri Lanka is consuming time, funding, and resources for a demographically tiny and mostly hidden population, while larger populations with real needs are under-served.

·      The use of hidden language for LGBTQIA+ groups demonstrates a lack of transparency and a deliberate framing that could mislead policymakers and the public.

UNFPA Sri Lanka’s current policies and programs systematically favor a demographically tiny, hidden LGBTQIA+ population over the real, urgent needs of the majority. Euphemistic language conceals the true focus, while MoU-driven funding channels and workshops direct resources toward this small group. 

The Government, policymakers, and the public must question why time, funding, and efforts are consumed by a population that cannot even be reliably quantified, leaving the majority with tangible health, protection, and social challenges underserved. True gender equality should prioritize populations with the largest needs—not an invisible minority hidden behind bureaucratic terminology.

Shenali D Waduge