https://techcrunch.com/

Sanjiva Weerawarana is a Sri Lankan success story. He founded enterprise software firm WSO2 in 2005, got it close to $100 million in ARR, then sold it to private equity firm EQT for $600 million in May.

He sometimes drives for Uber, too.

Sri Lanka isn’t renowned for its startup ecosystem, but one company has been something of an outlier in the South Asian island nation these past two decades. An open source enterprise software provider with customers such as Samsung, Axa, and AT&T, WSO2 recently agreed to be acquired by private equity giant EQT, at a valuation TechCrunch reported at the time to be north of $600 million. (We can now confirm that the valuation was in fact exactly $600 million.)

The transaction, which remains subject to regulatory approvals, means that EQT will become WSO2’s sole owner, procuring all outstanding shares including those of WSO2’s investors and current and ex-WSO2 employees — 30% of the proceeds will be going to those employees.

This liquidity event could also create significant wealth among those inclined to start their own ventures.

This shows that equity is important — one of the things that we have insisted on from day one is that every employee has been a shareholder,” WSO2 co-founder and CEO Sanjiva Weerawarana told TechCrunch in an interview. That’s very important, and it’s a concept that has not been understood here before, because there haven’t been companies that exited and gave any amount of meaningful financial return. Seeing is believing, right? Talk is cheap.”

Thriving through war and unrest

Founded out of the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, in 2005, WSO2 is a middleware stack constituting tools such as API management, similar to Apigee which Google acquired for $625 million; and identity and access management (IAM), along the lines of $15 billion publicly traded Okta. The main driving force behind this has been its founding CEO Weerawarana, a computer scientist and key figure in the open source community over the past 25 years, both as a member of the Apache Software Foundation and more recently as the creator of Ballerina, a cloud-native general purpose programming language for integrating distributed systems.

Prior to WSO2, Weerawarana worked within IBM’s research and development team in the U.S., where he helped develop web service specifications such as WSDL and BPEL. And it was there that the seed for WSO2 was sown.

I actually tried inside IBM to build a new kind of middleware stack, but IBM wasn’t interested,” Weerawarana said. So the only option was either start a company, or give up on the idea.”

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So in August 2005, Weerawarana spawned WSO2 alongside two co-founders: Davanum Srinivas, who left after two years; and Weerawarana’s former IBM colleague Paul Fremantle, who would go on to serve as CTO until stepping down in 2015 (he later rejoined and then left again, but remains an advisor today).

Notably, WSO2’s center of gravity has remained in Sri Lanka, despite a longstanding civil war and external pressure to relocate to the U.S. where Weerawarana had lived previously for 16 years.

I came back [to Sri Lanka] in 2001, and two weeks before I landed in Colombo, the airport was attacked by a terrorist group — there were still pieces of planes on the ground,” he said. In 2005, the war was still going on. Sri Lanka as a country has not been able to maintain a consistent calm environment for us, but that’s okay.”

Today, 80% of WSO2’s 780 employees are in Sri Lanka, with the remainder spread across a smattering of hubs in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

I wanted to show we could build a product-oriented tech company from Sri Lanka,” Weerawarana continued. There had never been a company like this, and at that time there wasn’t even a company out of India like this. Indian companies were very services-oriented, as were Sri Lankan companies. But one of the big prices [for staying in Sri Lanka] was that at pretty much every funding round, the majority of investors would ask when I was moving back [to the U.S.]. And my answer was always the same: ‘I’m not moving back.’”

Investors weren’t the only ones who pressured WSO2 to move: Customers and competitors have also used its location against it at various junctures.

Some of our competitors fought against us, saying, ‘do you know where they are located?,’ and that becomes a challenge,” Weerawarana said. Then we’ve had customers saying ‘you’re located way over there, why are you charging us these prices?’”

On the flip side, WSO2’s geographic setting gave it the pick of technical talent, owning mostly to the fact that it was a product-based business in a sea of services.

We’ve never had a problem with engineering and technical talent — we’ve been able to hire the best people in Sri Lanka for the last 19 years,” Weerawarana said. If you are a creative engineer, would you rather work for a services company, or be in a role where you could be creative and work on top-of-the-line technology?”

Intel inside

After WSO2 raised a small round of angel funding in 2005, Intel’s VC arm emerged as its earliest backer, investing in 2006 and through several follow-on rounds in subsequent years.

Intel Capital’s initial $2 million cash injection was critical to WSO2’s early growth, and was the result of fortuitous timing. Pradeep Tagare was a senior investment manager at Intel Capital at that time, and met Weerawarana through their associations with the Apache Software Foundation. Tagare was looking to invest in an open source startup to complement a duo of other open source investments it had made — one into Java-centric application server company JBoss (which Red Hat later acquired for $350 million), and another into database company MySQL (which Sun later snapped up for $1 billion).

We were looking at a bunch of open source investments as a strategic initiative for Intel, essentially to build an alternate stack on Intel hardware,” Tagare explained to TechCrunch. We had invested in JBoss, and we invested in MySQL. So we were now looking for an open source middleware company, and WSO2 fit the bill exactly.”

Tagare’s thesis was that countries situated in Asia would not only stand to benefit from the open source movement, but would also be likely to contribute a lot. Open source software development is naturally distributed, opening up the coding and collaboration process to those who didn’t work at the big tech companies of those times.

Now they could contribute — before, it was all really controlled by the Microsofts and the Oracles of the world,” Tagare said. Its location wasn’t necessarily a requirement, but being was based in Asia just made WSO2 even more interesting.”

Much has changed in the 20 years since WSO2 arrived on the scene. With the advent of cloud computing and microservices — software built from smaller, loosely connected components that can be developed and maintained independently and which conveniently rely on APIs — WSO2 has been well-positioned as enterprises transition from legacy monolithic applications.

Now with the AI revolution in full-swing, WSO2 is also set to capitalize given that APIs and and IAM are key components of the AI stack — from integrations through authentication and beyond. Moreover, WSO2 is integrating AI into its own products, recently debuting a new API manager that allows developers to integrate an AI-powered chatbot into their APIs to allow non-coders to test APIs using natural language.

According to Crunchbase data, WSO2 had raised $133 million since its inception, however Weerawarana clarified only $70 million was primary capital. Other rounds, like the $93 million Series E round two years ago led by Goldman Sachs, consisted of equity and debt.

But however the funding is sliced and diced, there’s no ignoring the fact that WSO2 was a startup dinosaur by the time EQT came calling — most successful VC-backed companies reach an exit within 10 years.

So what gives?

We’ve had multiple people wanting to buy our company through the years, but I resisted because I always wanted to build a company that would reach an IPO — an independent business, basically,” Weerawarana said.

That all changed in May, when WSO2 accepted an offer from EQT Private Capital Asia (formerly Baring Private Equity Asia), a private equity firm EQT acquired in 2022 for more than $7 billion. The difference this time was simple — one of WSO2’s controlling shareholders wanted to get liquidity,” according to Weerawarana.

Because they had more than 50%, it becomes a control transaction,” he said.

That shareholder was San Francisco-based Toba Capital, a VC firm set up by Vinny Smith in 2012 after he sold Quest Software to Dell for more than $2 billion. Quest had previously invested in WSO2, equity that transferred to Dell through that acquisition — but Toba bought that stock back from Dell, and went on to make further investments in WSO2 including buying Intel Capital’s portion. Toba Capital partner Tyler Jewell also replaced Weerawarana as CEO for a two-year period, with Weerawarana returning to the hotseat in 2020.

Weerawarana says the company has been cash-flow positive since 2017, and profitable since around 2018,” but it hasn’t had the luxury of vast pools of capital that would allow it to look at multiple year strategies.” This is something it will be able to do under EQT — one of the world’s biggest private equity firms.

Indeed, WSO2 says it will hit $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) by Q3 this year, one of the key reasons EQT came calling.

WSO2 really has all the ingredients we look for in a software business,” EQT partner and global co-head of services Hari Gopalakrishnan told TechCrunch. Deep and long-lasting enterprise client relationships, successful product-led-growth, technically robust products, and prudent financial management. Pick a strength, WSO2 probably has it.”

From the outside, selling to private equity might not seem like the dream outcome for a founder with ambitions to go public and who values his company’s independence. But Weerawarana insists that this outcome will better enable it to do just that.

I started the company to make something that lasts — one of the reasons we didn’t sell it previously is that we knew that would be the end of it,” he said. EQT doesn’t have any other businesses in this domain, they’re trying to build around WSO2, not merge it with something else. Their goal is to build the company for five years, which aligns with what I wanted, and gives us five years to get to an IPO.”

Driving force

While running WSO2 is a time-consuming endeavor on its own, Weerawarana keeps busy with other initiatives such as a philanthropic effort called the Avinya Foundation, which he established in 2022 to support economically disadvantaged children via vocational education programs.

However, in 2017 Weerawarana also started driving for Uber, a move he says was designed to make it more socially acceptable in Sri Lanka to work in such jobs — if a successful businessman like him can do it, then anyone can.

I would be coming home from work and I would just pick somebody up along the way,” he said. The main point I was trying to get across was that somebody who does a driving job is no different to somebody who does any other job — they’re just offering a service and you pay for it. We have this mindset here that people who do certain kinds of jobs are not the same as other kinds of people. And breaking that is very important — doing Uber-driving is part of it. The Avinya Foundation is also focused on that problem, trying to support all our skilled workers, such as tradespeople.”

The pandemic, among other global events, put a temporary halt on Weerawarana’s Uber driving exploits — because people were doing it for survival, he didn’t want to take money from people who needed it.

I will do it again — things are getting much better,” he said. Tourism is almost back to normal, so the demand will be there, and it might make sense for me to drive — but I don’t want to take any business from somebody else.”

Shenali D Waduge

It is time the world wakes up & put an end to this woke” madness. How many more female athletes need to throw in their towel against biological males who are competing in women’s events simply because of some new gender” mumbo-jumbo allowing males to compete in women’s sports as transgenders” or because of a new politically correct concept that foolishly allows who identifies” as the opposite sex to compete in sports. How fair is this by the female athletes who sacrificed years of their lives for a sports activity which they end up having to give up because they cannot compete with a male’s physical power. This undoubtedly proves that males and females cannot be physically made equal and also raises the question as to why the so-called women’s activists are silent on this matter, watching biological females getting battered by biological males who claim to be females.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2024/08/01/what-to-know-about-olympics-gender-debate-after-italys-angela-carini-withdraws-from-womens-boxing-match/

The world must stand with female boxer Angela Carini & empathize with her. It took just 46 seconds to realize that she could not fight a male pretending to be female & years of hard work to become a professional boxing champion had to be forfeited to safeguard her life. What must have gone on in her mind to make such a decision.

Sadly, the world is full of so called women’s activists but none of them are protesting against the damage the biological female is having to go through with this surge in males suddenly identifying themselves as females” and bulldozing themselves into an arena that should be only for biological females.

Why are the women’s groups silent on this question? How can they accept a male as a female simply because he identifies” himself as a female? This gender orientation new concept is an absolute farce. It is destroying the females and the rights of females. The fundamental rights of 3.5billion biological females/women are at stake because of new politically correct concepts that are being shoved down governments using international funding, international loans, scholarships, diplomatic pressures and via international organizations who are using this as another destabilizing tool upon nations.

However, the safety of the biological female is at risk.

Either these males who identify themselves as females whether they call themselves transgender or whatever other new names they seem to be creating for themselves of late, they must be asked to create a new sport for themselves & they can compete with each other. They cannot be allowed to enter any field that has to remain allocated for biological males & biological females.

The biological female is being ousted from sports & biological males pretending to be females are taking over female sports. Next it will be to take over women’s quotas. What if jobs given to females are taken up by males identifying as females”. How long will these women’s activists chose to remain silent or will they only come out when males identifying themselves as females” become ‘female activists” but make their voice for males & not females!

This experiment of turning males to females & females to males must stop.

We are born as a man or a woman.

Each have their individual roles to play. Neither should be in competition with the other. Each must respect each other & realize that they exist to complement each other & not to compete with each other.

This brings us to the present bills that are being secretly passed in Sri Lanka’s parliament that are opening the floodgates to new woke virus & enabling transgenderism to enter Sri Lanka. With elections round the corner, this issue must become an election platform topic as Sri Lanka cannot afford to have a new virus engulf society. We have seen the damage this political correctness has brought the Western world & even Mr. Donald Trump openly denouncing the woke agenda while Elon Musk who has lost his own son to the woke agenda calls it a virus he is also determined to stop. We hope his investments in Sri Lanka are with precondition that no woke agenda is to be implemented.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI5uDTFbX_k&t=1s

We must take lessons from the damage taking place before our own eyes – we saw how the woke virus ruined the Olympic opening ceremony by making a mockery of the last supper, what pride” in a parade that claims to be family-friendly” but is held entirely in the nude in Canada? What a tragedy when a female athlete has no choice to give up playing for fear of her life because her opponent is a male pretending to be a female.The Mahanayaka theros & all of the traditional religions in Sri Lanka have come in unison to condemn such bills being introduced & cautioned political parties from passing such legislation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQBI1oLRqaQ Religious Leaders unite against Govt & Presidents attempt to pass LGBTQ Bills & destroy Society & the Country’s Cultural Heritage

◼️ACJU vehemently condemns the legalization of the practice of seeking sexual gratification through immoral means

🌐 https://acju.lk/en/news/acju-news/3352-acju-news

What more examples do we want to not legalize homosexuality & transgenderism in Sri Lanka?

Shenali D Waduge

By A.Abdul Aziz

Through an unprecedented report, the top international organization of the world lit a light of hope for a severely persecuted community.

Did the time of redress begin for Ahmadi Muslims? It is of course too early to say, but a good sign arrived, unexpected, on July 14, 2024, from the United Nations in Geneva. Or this is the way Ahmadis welcomed the news on the eve and during the (Ahmadiyya convention) Jalsa Salana UK, July 26–28, 2024. This is the annual gathering of prayer that the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at (jama’at” meaning community”) celebrates since 2005 on a 208-acre land, named Hadiqat-ul-Mahdi, or Oaklands Farm, it owns in the territory of the city of Alton, Surrey, some 45 miles southwest of London.

Nine independent experts openly expressed concern for the climate of violence and abuse that surrounds Ahmadis in Pakistan, where the persecution against this group, distinctively and specifically for its beliefs, is widespread, serious, and state-sponsored.

We are alarmed by ongoing reports of violence and discrimination against the Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan,” the experts write. We urge Pakistani authorities to take immediate action to address this situation. Urgent measures are necessary to respond to these violent attacks and the broader atmosphere of hatred and discrimination which feeds it.”

The proximate cause of the written statement is the extrajudicial killing of two Ahmadis in Saad Ullah Pur on July 8, 2024, and of the President of the Bahwalpur Ahmadiyya Muslim Community on March 4, 2024, but of course observers understand these were just the most recent episodes of a long history of bloody harassment of the community.

Cleverly and strategically, the statement of the nine experts salutes the resolution adopted by the Pakistan National Assembly on 23 June 2024, which urges the federal and provincial governments of the country to ensure the security of all citizens of Pakistan, implicitly including religious minorities and by default also Ahmadis.

It is the first time that the UN is so direct in its judgment on Pakistan and the Ahmadis. The objective value of this statement cannot thus be underestimated. The group of experts was composed by Matthew Gillett, serving as the Chairperson, Ganna Yudkivska as Vice-Chair on Communications, Priya Gopalan as Vice-Chair on Follow-Up, Miriam Estrada-Castillo and Mumba Malila of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief Nazila Ghanea, and Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association Gina Romero.

Nasim Malik, Secretary General of the International Human Rights Committee (IHRC) in London, the UK, cannot contain its satisfaction. Speaking to Bitter Winter” at the U.K. Convention (Jalsa Salana}, he said he is convinced this is a good starting point. The light on the suffering of the Ahmadis in Pakistan has been lit and it is quite an important light by the most important international organization,” he said. It is the product of fine-tuned advocacy: calm and firm, peaceful and strong. We will start from here: we need to start from here to favor a better future. Indeed, tis extraordinary international recognition sets a point of no-return. No one can now ignore what is happening to the Ahmadis, no one can continue remaining silent. We will build on this.”

IHRC, which is organizing new fact-finding missions in the world to ascertain the life conditions of the Ahmadis, promises to be even more vigilant than before. We are comforted by the report of the UN nine experts,” added Malik. Hope is on its way.”

Source: Nine UN Experts Warn Pakistani Government on the Fate of Ahmadis (bitterwinter.org)

චන්ද්‍රසේන පණ්ඩිතගේ විසිනි

පළමුව හිස් භාණ්ඩාගාරය පුරවමු.

කාලය ගොඩාක් වටිනවා!

ඒක නිසා අපි කෙලින්ම මාතෘකාවට බහිමු.

“මැතිවරණය හා මැතිවරණ පොරොන්දු” අපේ මාතෘකාවයි.

ජනාධිපතිවරණ පොරොන්දු දෝරෙගලාගෙන රටම යටවේගෙන යන අවස්තාවක් මේක.

මේ කිසිදු මැතිවරණ පොරොන්දුවක එම පොරොන්දු ඉටුකරන ආකාරයක් සම්බන්ධව කිසිදු සඳහනක් නැහැ.

පොරොන්දුවිම හා පොරොන්දු ඉටුකිරීම යනු කාරනා දෙකක්.

පොරොන්දුවිම ඉතා පහසු දෙයක් වෙන අතර එය ඉටුකිරීම ඉතා අපහසු දෙයක්.

පොරොන්දුවිමට අවශ්‍යවන්නේ, හොඳ වාග් විලාශයක් වන අතර පොරොන්දු ඉටුකිරීමට විශාල මුදල් කන්දරාවක් අවශ්‍ය වේ. ගැටලුව ඇත්තේ මේ මුදල් කන්දරාව සොයාගන්නේ කොහොමද? යන අභියෝගය මතයි.

අපට ඇත්තේ හිස් භාණ්ඩාගාරයකි. ඒ බව ප්‍රකාශිතය.

දැන් ගැටලුව ඇත්තේ මේ භාණ්ඩාගාරය පුරවන්නේ කෙසේද යන ක්‍රියාදාමය පදනම්වය.

අපට අවශ්‍ය වන්නේ පොරොන්දු නොව, භාණ්ඩාගාරය පුරවන ආකාරය සම්බන්ධව දේශපාලඥයින්ගේ ක්‍රමවේදයයි. එම ක්‍රමවේදය රටේ ජනතාව පිඩනයට පත්කිරීම හෝ නොකිරීම සිදුකරන බැවින් පළමුව ඒ ක්‍රමවේදය රටට ඉදිරිපත් කලයුතුය.

මේ සම්බන්ධව අපට සුපැහැදිලි ක්‍රමවේදයක් ඇත. අපේ ක්‍රම වේදය පදනම් වන්නේ,

” ජනතාව විසින් නඩත්තු කරන භාණ්ඩාගාරය වෙනුවට භාණ්ඩාගාරය විසින් නඩත්තු කරන ජනතාවක්” යන සංකල්පය මත පදනම්වය. එම ක්‍රමවේදය ඔබ තුලද තිබිය යුතුය. සිතන්න! සිතන්න! සිතන්න! ඔබත් අපිත් එකතුව ඒ සම්බන්ධව පසුව කතා කරමු.

Courtesy Adaderana

President Ranil Wickremesinghe declared the immediate initiation of the River for Jaffna” project, which is designed to provide a comprehensive solution to the water scarcity issues in the northern region of Sri Lanka.

The President made these remarks while attending the opening of the Thalaiyady Seawater Desalination Plant, part of the Jaffna-Kilinochchi Water Supply Project, this morning (02).

President Ranil Wickremesinghe further stated that it has been 15 years since the end of the civil war in the north. He emphasized the need for everyone to continue working together on development and expressed his goal to transform the north into a developed province within the next 5-10 years.

The Thalaiyady Sea Water Desalination Plant, part of the Jaffna-Kilinochchi Water Supply Project, is managed by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board under the Ministry of Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development, with financial support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Sri Lanka.

To address the drinking water needs of Jaffna and Kilinochchi, the Government of Sri Lanka launched the Jaffna-Kilinochchi District Water Supply and Sanitation Project (JKWSSP) in 2011 with support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the French Development Bank (AFD).

Currently, there are 2.5 million water connections nationwide, and the Water Supply and Sanitation Project aims to add 60,000 new connections.

The main objective of the project is to provide safe drinking water to 300,000 people and improve sanitation facilities for 80,000 people in the Jaffna and Kilinochchi districts of Sri Lanka’s Northern Province.

In 2017, the Asian Development Bank signed a contract for the construction of the desalination plant. To date, the project has completed the construction of 20 elevated water tanks, 186 km of water transmission pipelines, and 382 km of water distribution pipelines.

The contract for the desalination plant was awarded in January 2021. The total cost of the project is USD 266 million, and the Jaffna-Kilinochchi District Water Supply and Sanitation Project is expected to be completed by mid-2025, said the President’s Media Division.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe further commented,

This water purification plant will serve as the primary facility of its kind in Sri Lanka. I want to express my gratitude to the local residents who provided the land for its construction. A request has been made to establish a separate Grama Niladhari Division for this village, and I will recommend this to the governor to address this request.

The establishment of this water purification plant will significantly resolve the drinking water issues in Jaffna. We also intend to commence work on the Paliaru Reservoir to provide water to the Pooneryn area, in the future.

I have also decided to launch a River for Jaffna” program. Once both this purification plant and this program are fully implemented, the water problem in Jaffna will be completely resolved. This will help restore the Vadamarachchi area to its former lush state.

To manage the costs of this drinking water, we plan to reduce expenses through solar energy projects. Additionally, we are introducing Drip Irrigation Systems to promote modern agriculture in the area. As we invest in water, it is essential to maximize the benefits we derive from it. These initiatives aim to further strengthen the local economy.

We are also planning to renovate the port of Kankesanthurai in collaboration with India. An investment zone will be established at the site of the former cement factory. Additionally, the development of Palali will enhance tourism opportunities. This area has significant potential for producing wind and solar energy, which can generate substantial income. As a result, Jaffna is expected to become a developed area within the next 5-10 years.

The government is not focusing on establishing universities in Jaffna because the provincial council has the capability to set up two or three universities there. It has been around 20 years since the end of the war, and it is now time for us to unite in our efforts for development.

I extend my heartfelt thanks to the Asian Development Bank for their support in providing this water purification plant. Even during our financial crisis, they continued their assistance. We have now signed agreements with our Official Creditors Committee and the China Exim Bank, and we have also reached an agreement with the bondholders. With these agreements in place, we are receiving support from these nations. Japan has committed to resuming projects that were previously halted in our country, and development efforts in other countries are also progressing.

Furthermore, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and I have taken the necessary steps to implement the agreements we reached, and the signing of these agreements is currently underway. We are collaborating with Amul to enhance liquid milk production. We should focus on increasing the country’s income and continue this program. This will help improve the economy and transform Jaffna into a major economic hub.

I would like to express my gratitude to Jeevan Thondaman for his special interest and efforts in this initiative. We are collaborating with the Ministry of Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development to establish new villages in the hill country. These plantation communities are being relocated and developed into villages”.

–PMD–

Courtesy Hiru News

Chief Incumbent of the Hunupitiya Gangaramaya Temple, Ven. Galboda Gnanissara (81) Thera, also known as “Podi Hamuduruwo,” has passed away.

Galboda Gnanissara Thera, a highly esteemed Buddhist prelate, served as the chief incumbent of the Gangaramaya Temple in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He was appointed as the Sanghanayaka of the Western Province in Sri Lanka by the Malwatta Chapter in 2003. Additionally, he was once the Sanghanayaka of Sri Lankan Buddhist temples in the United States but later renounced that position. Thera was widely recognized for his various community service initiatives.

Early Life:
Galboda Gnanissara Thera was born in 1943 in the village of Galboda, Matara Municipal Council, Sri Lanka. At the age of eight, he was brought to the Gangaramaya Temple to be ordained and was given the name “Podi Hamuduruwo” (Little Monk).

Ordination & Consecration:
At the age of eight, Galboda Gnanissara Thera was ordained at the Gangaramaya Temple. Dewundara Ratanajothi (Devundara Vaccissara Thera), then the Chief Incumbent of the temple, was one of his teachers. By 1959, with Devundara Vaccissara Thera ailing, visually impaired, and disabled, the temple leadership, including Vaccissara Thera himself, requested Galboda Gnanissara Thera to assume the administration of the temple. He was just 16 years old at that time.

In 2003, Galboda Gnanissara Thera was appointed by the Malwatta Chapter as the Sanghanayaka of the Western Province in Sri Lanka. He was also the Sanghanayaka of Sri Lankan Buddhist temples in the United States but later renounced the position.

The Asgiriya Chapter awarded him the Darshana Visharada, equivalent to a doctorate degree.

Sugath Kulatunga

It is pathetic to see a majority of SLPP MPs under the delusion that President RW has performed a miracle in saving this country from the economic debacle it faced and he is the only one who can continue the recovery.  What he has done is nothing but accepting the dictates of the IMF and complying with the IMF conditions as agreed to in the Letter of Intent dated March 6, 2023, submitted to Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund. These dissidents are advised to read the IMF reports where RW has agreed to highly objectionable conditions in the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies Article 3, to phase out administrative measures imposed to support the balance of payments, such as import restrictions, exchange restrictions, multiple currency practices (MCPs), and capital flow management (CFM) measures. (CFM includes the repatriation of export proceeds held back abroad). The President has accepted every condition of the IMF including its primary objectives of trade and payments liberalization. The Central Bank has been made autonomous with power to decide on their salaries and perks.

RW has gone beyond the IFM conditions of the management of State-Owned Enterprises to privatization of even profit making SOEs and increasing the VAT from the IMF recommendation of 15 to 18 percent. While complying with every IFM condition RW has initiated a move to make the country subservient to India in his policy of Connectivity” with India.

It is regrettable that the SLPP approved and voted for these measures and only now has decided not to support RW in the Presidential election. It is rumored that a high-up in SLPP who also was influenced by the US was behind the continuous support to RW regardless of those policies were intrinsically against the policies of the SLPP. SLPP should have realized that RW is using the IMF to implement the policies of Mont Pelerin Society of neoliberalism. 

When the IMF appeared on the scene, I said that RW is the best interlocutor we have to deal with the IMF. But he has used the IMF to foist his Mont Pelerin doctrine. The President of course deserves full credit for restoring law and order without which no economic reforms could have been accomplished. He had the guts to stay and fight whereas the military man Gotabaya left the country and abdicated. For personal safety he could have moved to the Dockyard of the Navy in Trincomalee or to the Panagoda Army cantonment. It is a mystery how the Galle Face Aragalaya evaporated with the advent of RW.

 Today the talk of the town is on the number of Ministers and MPs abandoning Pohottuwa and switching to the camp of RW thus bringing the votes of their supporters. The UNP claims that so far 95 SLPP members have pledged their support to RW and expect more to follow. There is a misconception here that the votes of a consittuency automatically follow the changing politics of the sitting member.

 The term of the Presidency (of both Gota and Ranil) the country has been one of the most traumatic periods since independence. The terrorism, the pandemic, economic bankruptcy and the rocketing cost of living have radically affected the physical and mental health of the people. People are despondent and frustrated and are unlikely to follow old political loyalties and it will be irrational to equate the number of defecting MPs with the peoples votes.In addition there are other political parties in the field which could attract anti SLPP votes.

In the timing of the  withdrawal of support to Ranil at the last moment the Pohottuwa has erred. They should have done it earlier against Ranil’s policies inimical to national interest. They could have done so on the objectionable agreements in the Letter of Intent submitted to the IMF or on his proposal for the full implementation of the !3th Amendment or privatization.

SLPP dissidents believe that the IMF program negotiated by Ranil is a masterpiece and could not have been done by anybody else but RW. In a report of July 12th, 2024 by Charles Abugre, Executive Director, International Development Economics Associates, (IDEAs) and a team of eminent economists has been very critical of the Agreement with the IMF and reports that Sri Lanka must Renegotiate IMF Agreement for Sustainable Recovery from the Crisis. They said:

We do not believe that the current economic policy program defined in the 17th Agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) provides a sustainable path of recovery for Sri Lanka or a credible means of resolving its external debt crisis. This is based on our analysis of the factors leading to the economic collapse, our assessment of the agreement and the policy package that accompanies it, and our estimation of the economic, social, and political burdens of fiscal consolidation under the current program.”

They further said that:

The benchmarks for economic reform and the austerity conditionalities in the IMF program impose a large burden of adjustment on the poor and vulnerable sections of society, which have already been severely hit by the crisis. The increase in indirect taxation is regressive, as the poor pay a disproportionately higher share of incomes than the rich. The increase in energy tariffs on electricity, cooking gas, and kerosene has increased the burden on working households in both urban and rural areas. Austerity policies have already led to electricity disconnection of one million households; falling school attendance; unemployment and under-employment. The devastating impact of such measures is largely borne by women and children in these households.”

They stress that:The benchmarks for economic reform and the austerity conditionalities in the IMF program impose a large burden of adjustment on the poor and vulnerable sections of society, which have already been severely hit by the crisis. The increase in indirect taxation is regressive, as the poor pay a disproportionately higher share of incomes than the rich. The increase in energy tariffs on electricity, cooking gas, and kerosene has increased the burden on working households in both urban and rural areas. Austerity policies have already led to electricity disconnection of one million households; falling school attendance; unemployment and under-employment. The devastating impact of such measures is largely borne by women and children in these households.”https://www.networkideas.org/news-analysis/2024/06/sri-lanka-must-renegotiate-imf-agreement-for-sustainable-recovery-from-crisis/

Dissidents do not seem to be aware that RW is also responsible for the economis crisis of 2022. His government issued from 2016 to 2019, around $12 billion in International Sovereign Bonds (around 70 percent of the face value of total bonds issued in the country’s history) and in 2021. ISBs accounted for 70 percent of the government’s annual interest payments. The final trigger of the dollar crisis was due to the settlement of the ISB which matured on October 2020 and July 2021 ($1 billion each) and January 2022 ($500 million), which drained our dollar reserves to a paltry 37 million dollars and resulted in the insolvency and bankruptcy of the country.

 

 

 

 

Ministry of Defence  – Media Centre

• Interview in progress for 500 Sea Marshal vacancies while thousands more to be available in future.

Defence Secretary General Kamal Gunaratne graced the Employee Appreciation Ceremony held to felicitate retired military veterans serving in Rakna Arakshaka Lanka Limited (RALL) at the Suhurupaya Auditorium in Battaramulla last evening (Jul 31).

The RALL was founded in 2007 under the supervision of the Ministry of Defence with the aim to obtain the services of retired war heroes further towards the motherland.

This ceremony was organized to appreciate employees for their contributions and valuable service rendered to the organization.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Defence Secretary said that RALL despite facing challenges has been able to provide employment for thousands of the retired war heroes and help to uplift their livelihood standard.

He revealed that as a result of negotiations with a foreign company, interviews are underway to recruit 500 Sea Marshals for that company, and thousands of such opportunities will be made available in the future which will generate much needed foreign exchange.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of RALL Major General P Chandrawansha (Retd), Ministry of Defence Additional Secretary Saman Dissanayake, Chief Accountant of RALL Sisirakumara Samaratunga, Board Member Kanishka De Silva, distinguished guests including retired senior military officers and a large number of employees were present at the ceremony.

Ministry of Defence  – Media Centre

The Sri Lankan Government strongly advises its citizens to refrain from seeking employment in Myanmar through illegal foreign employment agents or persons and institutions involved in human trafficking. Alarming reports have revealed that a group of Sri Lankans who have illegally left for work in Myanmar are being forcibly detained for illegal activities in a camp in the cyber crime area operated by terrorist groups in Myanmar.

Despite prior warnings by the government, it has been revealed that 89 Sri Lankans have illegally traveled to Myanmar for employment. Through the dedicated efforts of officials with assistance of government of Myanmar, 40 Sri Lankans have been released from captivity. However, reports also reveal that 54 Sri Lankans still remain trapped in the cyber crime area.

The Sri Lankan government, in cooperation with the Myanmar government, is making every effort to secure the release of those still held captive.

However, despite prior warnings and ongoing efforts, it is learnt that certain individuals continue to travel to Myanmar for employment through illegal means.

Considering the status quo, the Secretary of Defence requests the public to refrain from seeking employment in Myanmar. Those having any information regarding individuals involved in human trafficking activities are urged to contact the Ministry of Defence or the Criminal Investigation Department to ensure the safety and security of all Sri Lankan citizens

by A. Abdul Aziz, Sri Lankan Correspondent, Al Hakam, London.

Ahmadiyya International Convention in U.K. concludes.

The 58^th Jalsa Salana (Annual Convention) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the United Kingdom concluded on Sunday 28 July 2024 with faith-inspiring address by the World Head the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the Fifth Khalifa (Caliph), His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad.

Before the formal session, Mr. Rafiq Ahmad Hayat, Amir Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya UK, read out a message of goodwill, sent by King Charles III for the Jalsa attendees.

It reads:

Please convey my heartfelt thanks to the Members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community U.K. for their loyal greetings sent on the occasion of this year’s Annual Convention,, which is being held at Hadeeqathul Mahdi, Oaklands Farm, in Hampshire.

I deeply appreciate your message and the Community’s continued support. The dedication shown by all involved in organizing this significant event to bring together members of the community and celebrate the values of peace, unity and fellowship is commendable. It is most heartening to hear that His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad will be present, offering his wisdom and guidance throughout the convention.

In return, I send warmest good wishes to you all for a successful event.”

His Majesty King Charles III

BUCKINGHAM PALACE.     

It was also announced by Mr. Rafiq Ahmad Hayat that Nicolo Govoni has been nominated for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Peace Prize for the year 2024.

During his concluding address, His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad initiated his address by acknowledging the depth and breadth of the topic concerning the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. He mentioned that despite the vastness of the subject, he would present key extracts illustrating the true status of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) elucidated by the Promised Messiah Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad – Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Islam.

Ahmadiyya Khalifa described the Promised Messiah’s profound love for the Holy Prophet (PBUH) stating it was characterised by complete self-effacement [fana] in the Holy Prophet’s love. He highlighted how the Promised Messiah (peace be on him) set a path for attaining true love and devotion to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), providing guidance that could enlighten even those who opposed his message.

More than 43,000 people representing 101 countries attended this three day Convention ( Jalsa Salana), which took place at Hadeeqatul Mahdi in Alton, Hampshire., United Kingdom.

Apart from the thousands of Ahmadi Muslims who participated, many non-Ahmadi and non-Muslim guests also attended.  The entire event was also broadcast live on MTA International and streamed online.

One of the highlights of the three-day Jalsa Salana (Convention) was the pledge of allegiance, known as Bai’at that took place on Sunday (28 July) afternoon, where the participants pledged allegiance to Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad as the Fifth Khalifa (Caliph) of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him).

The participants formed a human chain leading to the Khalifa as they repeated the words of the pledge in unison.

Ahmadiyya Head already informed in his second day address announced that 238561 people had joined the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community during the past year from all around the world. He also announced that the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was now established in 214 countries. Taiwan is the new country wherein seed of Ahmadiyyat sown.

On 27 July 2024: Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad,, arrived at the Lajna (Ladies) marquee for his address. He admonished to uphold highest examples of worship and modesty for their children’s reformation (tarbiyat).

On Saturday 27^th July 2024, Ahmadiyya Khalifa in his main address of the second day of the convention highlighted the continuous progress of Islam Ahmadiyyat.

The three convention was inaugurated by Ahmadiyya Khalifa on last Friday (26^th July 2024)  His Holiness hoisted the Liwa-e-Ahmadiyyat (Flag of Ahmadiyyat).

His Holiness’ inaugural address, the main topic was, Taqwa (God-fearing) is the root of all good deeds:\.

Faith and worldly affairs cannot coexist except in the case where Allah wills and makes a person’s nature so virtuous that even while engaging in worldly business, they still prioritise their faith…………”

 A significant portion of His Holiness address was dedicated to discussing taqwa, or righteousness, which he identified as the foundation of all moral and spiritual virtues. 

In his final address last Sunday, His Holiness concluded by saying:

It is the task and responsibility of Ahmadi Muslims to inform the world of the benefits of the true peaceful teachings of Islam. May Allah enable us to do so and grant sense to the world.”

The Convention (Jalsa Salana) concluded with a silent prayer led by His Holiness.

Courtesy Adaderana

The main suspect in the killing of ‘Club Wasantha’ at Athurugiriya, Sujeewa Ruwankumara alias ‘Loku Patty’ has been arrested in Belarus, according to police sources.

He has reportedly been arrested by security service personnel in Belarus, the source said.

Several accomplices of ‘Loku Patty’, who is said to be an organized criminal and a large-scale drug trafficker, were arrested on multiple occasions over attempts to commit murders and for possession of large consignments of drugs.

He is also the main suspect of the recent shooting and killing of ‘Club Wasantha’ at Athurugiriya on July 08, and is suspected to have orchestrated and funded the assassination.

The shocking shooting incident had occurred during the opening ceremony of a tattoo and piercing studio near the Clock Tower in Athurugiriya on July 08 morning.

Six people were rushed to the hospital following the incident. Police later confirmed that 55-year-old businessman Surendra Wasantha Perera, popularly known as Club Wasantha,” and a 38-year-old male had succumbed to their injuries.

Popular singer K. Sujeewa and Wasantha’s wife were reported to be among the four injured persons.

Police have arrested ten suspects including a 21-year-old female and the owner of the tattoo studio in Athurugiriya where the shooting incident took place. The other arrested individuals were suspected to have aided and abetted in the shooting incident.

During the investigations carried out thus far, it has been revealed that the owner of the tattoo studio has received an amount of Rs. 1 million over a period of time, which he claimed to have received from ‘Loku Patty’.

ASOKA WEERASINGHE

Kings Grove Crescent . Ottawa . Ontario . K1J 6G1

Hon. Helena Jaczek , Liberal MP for Markham-Stouffville, Ontario
Hon, Paul Chiang, Liberal MP for Markham -Unionville,Ontario
Cc. Hon. Mona Fortier, Liberal MP for Ottawa-Vanier
Members of Canadian Parliament
Ottawa, On.

30 July 2024

Dear Honourable Members of Parliament, Jaczek, Chiang and Fortier:

Re:  Liberal Party’s Muddled Sri Lankan Pro-Tamil Tiger Policies since July 1983:                             A Critical Study Essay for your Edification

It was October 16, 1970, when I landed at the old Ottawa airport around 4 o’clock in the evening. The sky was filled with droning army helicopters as if it was a scene  from a Permian sky filled with humongous dragonflies from almost 300 million years ago.  Wasn’t sure of this welcoming scene and that I was such a visible-minority VIP. It was confusing.

 I was arriving from London, England, to take up the job as  Head of Thematic Research Section of the newly formed Design and Display Division of Canada’s Museums Corporation, to work in creating 15 brand new exhibition Halls at the Victoria Memorial Museum , on Argyle Street in Ottawa.  That included the Dinosaur Hall (Life Through the Ages) and Children of the Raven of the West Coast Haida culture, my two favourite Halls.

The following morning I read and heard that the army helicopter-sky was in response to the  invoking of the War Measures Act to nip in the bud of the FLQ separatist terrorist movement in the Province of Quebec. Every Street corner in Ottawa  had a soldier in army fatigues and Jackboots, carrying a Kalashnikov rifle, on the ready to shoot with a finger on the trigger.

Please Note, we Canadians,  who act like a country of  Goody-two shoes, admonishing the Sri Lankan Governments for going after the Tamil Tiger terrorists who perfected the assassinating suicide body-pack and took down two heads of Governments, Rajiv Gandhi of India and President Premadasa of Sri Lanka, invoked the draconian War Measures Act to deal with FLQ terrorists who had an armoury of a grand total of 33 firearms, and 21 other offensive weapons Including 3 smoke grenades, 9 hand- knives and 1 sabre. Sri Lanka’s ceremonial army had to deal with thousands of India’s Indira Gandhi’s Army trained Tamil Tiger terrorists with an armoury of thousands of M-16s,  AK-47s, rocket launches, land mines, hand grenades, SAMs and  millions of live rifle bullets.

That is how smug yours and my Canada is.  A down-right Lilly-white Western Bully Parliament, who had the penchant to sing its deriding hymn for the benefit of Sri Lanka that was under pressure of Tamil Tiger terrorism …”We are Holier than Thou!”

Here is my response to one of your Smart-Alec’s  who was the MP for Markham-White Church-Stouffville – BILL ATTEWELL, (from Common Debates on TAMILS, in the Hansard of December 12, 1991, page 6203).

Mr. Speaker, there is still an urgent need to halt the killing of Tamils in Sri Lanka…..

The Amnesty International Report stated: Many people have been arbitrarily rounded up, and sometimes killed, on the basis of anonymous accusations of subversive  involvement”.

….We must organize a United Nations sponsored commission to investigate the killing and to bring an end to the violence and tragic abuse of human rights….

Also the Tamils in the northern province, especially the Jaffna District, are in dire need of food and medical supplies. People are starving to death.  Mr. Speaker, we must offer our assistance.”

Dear Helena, Paul and Mona, I resented that statement by your Colleague MP BILL ATTEWELL.  This guy XILL ATXXWELL to me was ILL and not WELL in his head.,

His arrogant-bombast shows that he was a Know Nothing” MP about the TAMILS in Sri Lanka, who were the Privileged minority  (12.6%) compared to the Wronged majority (74% Sinhalese.) for 131-years of British Colonial rule.

Read my response of 33-years ago which seems  more valid today with the Canadian-charge of Tamil-genocide of today than in 1991, under your leader  Prime Minister Justine Trudeau who uses his Bull-horn to tell the world with his charge that when the whole intelligent- world including the UN says that Tamil Genocide never happened.

Believe me, it will help you in your learning curve about the Tamil separatist movement in Sri Lanka, who you Liberals let them collect $2 million dollars a month  for 13 long Chretian-Martin Liberal years to stuff the Tamil warchest to buy sophisticated war weapons to kill my innocent Sinhalese people (I am a Sinhalese and a Buddhist).

_____________________________

HERE’S MY RESPONSE

2066 Kings Grove Crescent
Gloucester, Ontario
K1J 6G1

1 January 1992

Mr. William Attewell, MP
(Markham-Whitechurch-Stouffville)
House of Commons
Ottawa
K1N 0A6

Dear Mr. Attewell:

It was with astonishment that we watched you on television on 12th December expressing a righteous, passionate plea for Sri Lankan Tamils and deriding the Government of Sri Lanka for its alleged human rights violations.

Perhaps it had not occurred to you that you were speaking of an island- country whose over 2,500 year old culture is steeped in the tenets of non-violence, and of a people who respect not only humans but all forms of life.  Many of them refuse to adopt lucrative employment in aquaculture, poultry farming or rearing of animals for meat, preferring poverty to the sacrifice of their religious belief of not harming any form of life.

You may wonder how violence and brutality can survive among such people.  Could it be the circumstances in which they are placed?  It is for concerned international voices like yours to understand these circumstances prior to making public statements on Sri Lanka’s ethnic issue.

Over the past decade the Government and people of Sri Lanka have been grappling with violence, terror, and sabotage by Tamil terrorist groups fighting for a separate State Eelam.  Wars have never been squeaky clean confrontations to satisfy the human rights lobby, consequently human rights concerns are bound to arise.

It was unfortunate that you singled out the Tamils in your plea when two other ethnic communities in Sri Lanka, the Sinhalese and Muslims are equally, if not more so, affected by Tamil terrorism in the North and the East of the island.   A letter from Project  Peace” (copy enclosed) to the Whig-Standard of 25 October 1991, chronicles some atrocities by the Tamil terrorists directed towards the Muslim community.

The issue of human rights in Sri Lanka cannot be considered in isolation.  Factors such as political, economic and social imperatives have to be taken into account.

Furthermore, the vulnerability of Sri Lanka to external pressures, such as South Indian politics must also be given weight in the assessment of the human rights record. It is too simplistic in terms of international politics is to attack a soft target based on an Amnesty International Report.

We agree that AI has a critical role in the world in raising the world’s  consciousness about human rights abuses,but we should be aware of its shortcomings.  We think that it is unfair, as AI does, to focus almost entirely on the abuses by governments.  So called liberation” organizations of today, such as the Tigers” in Sri Lanka and the 

Shining Path” in Peru, commits ghastly human rights violations that AI barely talks about.  Condemnation of the government and whimpering about the ‘Tiger” leads to an understandable suspicion in Sri Lanka that AI is somehow biased..   It also angers us that Sri Lanka” is often whipped up by AI as a fundraising ploy.

In Sri Lanka, for the most part, the cause of human rights has fallen into the hands of the wrong people.  They parade it as a pseudo-religion, or as a cult of modern knights in shining armour, or, more often than not, as a cover for a shady political group.

Some Sri Lankan NGOs indeed use the cloak of ‘human rights protectors’ to gain respectability and funding from well-meaning donors abroad. Some have even set up Human rights fronts as a ploy to plug partisan politics.  Of course, not all human rights Activists fall into these categories as there are some genuine workers who have the intellectual honesty to assess situations and give guidance,  It is for you to sift through this maze of human rights lobbyists so that you will not be used by the wrong group to their advantage,  Unfortunately, Sir, you seem to have been taken in by some partisan lobbyists.

The West is very good at condemning others for transgressions of one kind or the other, but is certainly not squeaky clean itself.  

The treatment of natives during the confrontation at Oka, Quebec, and the treatment in Canada of natives generally, is hardly something that Canadians can boast about.   

At Oka, and  during the October Crisis of 1970, extraordinary measures had to be taken to meet an extraordinary situation.  That’s the point. 

 In Sri Lanka a democratically elected government is attempting to cope as best it can with violence and brutality by anti-democratic opponents.   We  pontificate from peaceful Canada –but how dare we?!  Human Rights are not necessarily the first order of business when confronted with Kalashnikovs.

Although Sri Lankan society has been taken to its foundations  by the terrorism of Tamil separatists and the nihilism of Sinhalese JVP extremists, it  is doing its best to preserve the deep-seated traditions of an orderly society and an  independent judiciary.   The report you read from Amnesty International will say nothing about such things.

If AI’s report has not provided you with the facts about the many democratic mechanisms that have been put in place by the Sri Lankan Government to deal with the alleged disappearances”, abuse of fundamental rights”, excesses by security personnel when fighting Tamil terrorism to instill law an order”, human rights violations’, 

etc., then your political analysts should have briefed you well for you to make a fair comment about SriLanka in the Canadian parliament.  These democratic measurers are:

• The Independent Commission of Inquiry to investigate reported cases of involuntary removal of persons.   This 5-member Commission is headed by a  retired Supreme Court judge; 

• A Human Rights Task Force chaired by a retired senior judge to maintain a comprehensive register of detainees, to ensure humane treatment, and the safe custody of persons at the point of release to establish the identity of persons reported to be missing;

• A Presidential Task Force to monitor alleged human rights violations and expedite investigations;

•  A Special Commission on Excesses headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court to deal with the alleged excesses committed by security personnel during the act of duty;

• The Jayalath Commission on persons taken into custody on suspicion of subversive activity, and for the release of those against whom there is no evidence of such activity, and

•  Acceptance by the Sri Lanka Cabinet, in December 1991, of 28 out of

 32 recommendations made by AI in its recent report.  This is a landmark decision that surely tells us that the Sri Lanka government is making a serious effort to improve its human rights record despite the horrific pressures from the Tigers”.   Have you heard from the Tigers”?

 You in your plea also said that – the Tamils in the Northern Province especially in the Jaffna District are in dire need of food and medical supplies.  And people are starving to death.”

This comment of yours is typical of Canada’s hypocritical-piety.

Do you not recall that food and medicines were blocked from going into the detoxification center at Oka, in an effort to force the Mohawk Warriors to surrender in the Summer of 1990?  It is a perfectly legitimate technique” said Justice Minister Kim Campbell.  How easily the political leaders of Canada, who endlessly mouth the great quotations of democracy and human rights, can forget all that stuff in the face of a serious test.  Let us not forget that Sri Lanka is facing a civil war where a group of Tamil terrorists, trained, fed, paid, and armed by India are challenging the right to govern by an elected parliament.

Your political analysts failed you again with respect to food.  The Sri Lankan Government has been very conscious of this responsibility and, with the help of the ICRC, has been transporting around 8,000 to 10,000 tons of essential foods and medicines monthly by sea in chartered ships to the Jaffna peninsula and the Eastern Province.  There are also 726 welfare centres to deal with the situation.

These factual information items prove positive that, as I told you earlier, You are a Know Nothing Canadial MP on Sri Lanka.  And you have no legitimate right to pontificate about Sri Lanka in Our Canadian parliament.

Since October,  following the onset of the north-east monsoon, the Commissioner-General of Essential Services chartered six ships to ferry food and other essentials to the war stricken areas.   

You may be interested to know that since October 20, 1991, 14,707 metric tonnes of food have been sent to Jaffna peninsula.  This supply includes 4,750 mt of rice, 7,485 mt of flour, 990 mt of sugar, 1,352 mt of pulses, 105 mt of milk foods, and 25 mt of assorted items. Besides these foods 4,300 mt of fertilizer and 39 mt of kerosene have also been sent.

This certainly questions your arrogant bombast  in Our Canadian Parliament, the veracity of your passionate plea, Also the Tamils in the northern province, especially the Jaffna district, are in dire need of food and medical supplies.  People are starving to death.  Mr. Speaker, we must offer our assistance”.  Mr. Attewell, all that doesn’t say much for the truth-seeking- smartness of you Canadian parliamentarians who are sucking up to the Tamils to plead for their votes!

I have difficulty trusting your honesty when you said, Mr.Speaker, we must offer our assistance.”  If that is indeed your conscious plea, then let us as honest Canadians be courageous enough to understand the cosmic laws of Cause and Effect”, as it applies to Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict.

Although the Cause” of the ethnic conflict is multi-dimensional, poverty, hunger and lack of employment opportunities surface dominantly in the social and political conflicts on this island nation.

If your intention is to assert your plea in the Canadian Parliament, then it would be an act of humane advocacy for you to recognize and uphold Food as a Human Right” and help Sri Lanka with aid for its development to fight poverty and hunger and provide employment to the unemployed.  These Factors have been identified as part of the reason for the ethnic conflict.

Where countries have affirmed their commitment to democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, their ”development:” in countries like Sri Lanka should not be tied to human rights.  As Minister Babara McDougall said, :”aid cannot be turned on and off like a light switch”. This would be a regressive, clumsy way to punish unfairly a country which is trying hard to function as a true democracy.

Democratic Sri Lanka is fighting a conventional war against foreign-trained Tamil terrorists who support the power of the bullet over the ballot to claim their racist,  mono-ethnic, separate Tamil State Eelam.

Canadian know, or ought to know, how difficult the job of government is in a multi-ethnic democracy.  We have the advantage of relative peace in Canada, and responsible neighbours who do not fuel armed conflict.  It is surely irresponsible to pontificate about conflicts in faraway places like Sri Lanka which is 8,524 miles away from us, jeopardising desperately needed developmental programmes and darkening reputations, without knowing all the facts. Would you not agree  with me how wrong you were – a Knowing Nothing about Sri Lanka, Canadian politician who had the audacity to pontificate about that democratic island nation!

Yours sincerely,

 Sgd. Asoka Weerasinghe (Mr.)

cc. Hon.John Fraser, M.P., P.C., Speaker, House of Commons, Canada

     Mr. Walter McLean, M.P.,Chairman Human Rights Committee, House

        of Commons, Canada

     Ms. Beryl Gaffney, M.P.,Liberal Party  Human Rights Critic

     Mr. Sven Robinsion, M.P., NDP, Human Rights Critic

     Hon. Monique Landry, M.P.,Minister for International Development

     H.E. Ranasinghe Premadasa, President of SriLanka

KAMALIKA PIERIS

The Ravana project is quite different to the Ramayana Trail. The Ramayana trail links Buddhist Sri Lanka with Hindu India.  The Ravana project goes in the opposite direction. The Ravana project aims at removing Gautama Buddha from the temples of Sri Lanka and substituting Ravana as the main idol there. Eventually, Ravana will also be removed and the Buddhist temple will be deserted. That is the plan.

The Ravana movement is not interested in developing a separate Ravana cult. There are no separate Ravana temples. The Ravana shrines are   set inside Buddhist temples. They are deliberately placed at sites where Buddhists come to worship. Ravana statues are also available for purchase for worship at home.  In this way, Ravana is placed in a Buddhist devotional framework, a Buddhist worldview and Buddhist time frame.   Ravana worship is intended to help in the elimination of Gautama Buddha and his doctrine from Sri Lanka.

The Ravana project is carried out by small groups of persons. Sri Devram Vihara in Pannipitiya appears to be taking the leading role in this. This vihara tried to introduce Ravana worship to Meemure, but it failed to catch on. There was opposition from the villagers.

A group of Ravana supporters were present at the RASSL symposium on the Ramayana Trail in 2010. I think they called themselves Ravana Brothers. When anything was said in support of Ramayana trail, this group clapped. After some time they left, smiling, cheerful, cocky. They were satisfied that their Ravana project was not under discussion.

Ravana is held in high contempt in India, but not in Sri Lanka.  The Ramayana   was recognized by the maverick Sri Rahula who lived in the time of Parakramabahu VI (1412- 1467). Sri Rahula’s sandesa poems refer to Rama, Ravana, Sita and Vibhishana. Selalihini Sandesa   refers to a   Vibhishana devale.  Vibhisana was l Ravana’s brother.  Udarata period folk poetry makes a fuss of Ravana.

The present day arguments in support of Ravana-in-Sri-Lanka are very weak and imaginary. I have listed them in a previous essay. Here are two additions to that list. At a talk I attended on evidence for the Ramayana trail, the speaker said that the letters ‘ra-ma’ or ‘ra-va-na’ were plentiful in the inscriptions. There was also a travel documentary where, among other absurdities, the Asoka flower was used to show that Ravana lived in Sri Lanka.

The flattering emphasis on Ravana continues. Tara Jayasekera, who lives in Melbourne, published a piece on Ravana in October 2020 .This was repeated in Lankaweb of July 2024 where it hit the most read” ranking. Tara is an artist by profession, also a creative writer focusing on love, mental health, and the human experience.

Every story has two sides said Tara Jayasekera. Ravana is not a Demon King to Sri Lankans. He’s the Greatest Emperor in World History and No, He’s not Evil. .Ravana was an emperor who lived about 5000 years ago in Sri Lanka.  some believe Ramayana to be a semi-fiction woven around a real King who ruled over Sri Lanka from 2554 to 2517 BC. Sri Lanka is able to show human habitation to 125,000 years and beyond, noted Tara.

Ravana usurped the Kingdom of Lanka From his stepbrother Kuvera, said Tara .Lanka was an idyllic city, created by the celestial architect Vishwakarma and was the home of Kuwera, the treasurer of the gods, when Ravana demanded Lanka from him, threatening to take it by force. Ravana’s Kingdom had mainly concentrated around the Eastern and Southern corners of the country and it is believed to have been lost to the sea, said Tara.

Although Ravana usurped Lanka, he had been a benevolent and effective ruler. Lanka flourished under his rule .it is said that Ravana ruled Lanka for several hundred years prior, to the Ramayana period, when he was killed by prince Rama for kidnapping his wife Sita, continued Tara.

Ravana was a descendant of ‘Surya Wansha’ of ‘Hela Yakka’ tribe. .He was a devout follower of the god Shiva, said Tara.  But some even go as far as to insist that Ravana was a Buddhist king and holds him to be the creator of monasteries found in Sri Lanka like Kuragala and Rahalgala. He is also believed to have authored Ravana Sanhita, an anthology of Hindu astrology.

Rama came and overthrew one of the greatest rulers of the world with the assistance of his brother Vibhishana, bringing down one of the most advanced civilizations in the history, concluded Tara.  She notes that according to ola manuscripts, rock inscriptions and folklore Ravana is still with us, he is not dead.

The government of Sri Lanka also decided to stand by Ravana. In 2020 the government ran a newspaper advertisement urging people to share documents, books, and research material regarding Ravana. Ravana was the ruler of Sri Lanka during the era of Lord Rama .The advertisement was issued by the Tourism and Aviation Ministry.  (Daily News 22.7.20 p 10)

The notice said that the government of Sri Lanka wanted to conduct in-depth research on Ravana and the aviation history of the country. The government believes that 5000 years ago Ravana had invented the first airplane and that Ravana was the first aviator in the world. The country is now eager to discover the methods used to fly in the ancient period.

Civil Aviation Authority is starting a research project on ‘King Ravana and the ancient domination of the aerial routes that is now lost’, reported the media. when asked why the Civil Aviation Authority was helming the project, CAA said We are the main aviation regulatory authority in Sri Lanka. Since there are multiple stories over the years about Ravana flying an aircraft and covering these routes, we want to study this matter.”

As a first step in the research, the Civil Aviation Authority has started collecting documents, books and other historical content related to King Ravana. Civil Aviation Authority said that the government has ‘irrefutable facts’ to prove that Ravana was the first person to fly an aircraft. King Ravana was a genius. He was the first person to fly. He was an aviator. This is not mythology; it’s a fact. There needs to be detailed research on this. In the next five years, we will prove this,” Civil Aviation Authority said.

P. Balachandran, reporting for India said When the media reported that the Sri Lankan Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation has issued a newspaper advertisement in Sinhala urging people to share documents, books, and research material on Ravana, the legendary king of Lanka, it was not a surprise for students of Sri Lankan nationalism. Far from being a villain (as portrayed in Valmiki’s Ramayana), Ravana has been celebrated by the majority Sinhalese in   Sri Lanka as a cultured and creative icon and a defender of the island against a foreign invader.     The advertisement said that the Ministry is conducting in-depth research on King Ravana and the ancient domination of the aerial routes that is now lost”. Ravana is believed to have manufactured an aircraft called Dandu Monara” (known as Pushpaka Vimana in India).  He had used the aircraft to fly to India and several other places overseas. 

The Ramayana Trail and the Ravana cult are not projects for simply destabilizing the country. They are part of a deeper, more subtle attack. They are intended to fatally spear the   main unifying element in the island, its Sinhala-Buddhism, which is also is strongest point of defence. The Ramayana Trail and Ravana cult, takes us back to the pre Buddhist and pre Sinhala era in Sri Lanka, observed Bandu de Silva.  

The series titled Buddhist Viharas and Eelam”   concludes with the following observation. A Buddhist lobby must be set up to deal with these matters. The existence of such a lobby alone will be a deterrent.

This Buddhist lobby must make sure that the Kurundi project is completed.  It must support the Buddhist temples in the north and east, convert Jaffna to Nagadipa, keep an eye on the Ramayana trail and take Ravana out of the Buddhist temple.   

The  Sinhala-Buddhist pubic must receive regular bulletins on  what it is happening to Kurundi, to Ravana and other related matters. They must be kept informed. That will be another deterrent.  (Concluded)

තිස්ස ගුණතිලක

ස්කන්ධයේ ‘උදය-වය‘ දැකීම

බුදුන්වහන්සේ ලඟට පැමිනි භික්ෂූන්වහන්සේලා කිපවාරයකදි බුදුහාමුදුරුවන්ගෙන් අහනවා ‘ස්වාමිනි, සෝවාන්වීමට, සකරදාගාමිවීමට, අනාගාමිවීමට, අර්හත්වීමට කලයුත්තේ කුමක්ද?’ බුදුන්වහන්සේ ඒ සෑම අවස්ථාවකදීම දෙන්නේ එකම පිලිතුරයි: එනම් ‘කලයුත්තේ ස්කන්ධයේ උදය–වය දැකීම පමනමයි.’ කියායි. සද්ධර්මය තුල හමුවන වැදගත්ම බුද්ධ වචනය මෙයයි.

මෙයින් ගම්‍යවන්නේ ආර්ය මාර්ගයේ යාමට එනම් මාර්ග ඵල ලැබීමට කලයුතුවන්නේ එකම දෙයක් බවයි: එනම් ස්කන්ධයේ උදය-වය දැකීම පමනමයි. සරලව ‘ස්කන්ධය හෙවත් සිත සැදෙන – දුක ඇතිවන තැන, සමුදය සිඳුවන තැන හා දුක නැති තැන නිරෝධය වන තැන’ දැකීම නිවනට මඟබවයි. මේ සංසිද්ධීන් දෙකම සිතුවිල්ල තුල පවතියි. කලයුතු වන්නේ එසේ පවතින ස්වභාවයන් දෙක දැකීම පමනයි.

දුක ඇතිවීම හා දුක නැතිවීම බුද්ධදර්ශනයේ එන මූලිකම කරුනයි. දුක ඇතිවන සැටි නැතහොත් දුක ඇතිවන සාධක හඳුනාගෙන එම සාධක වලින් මිදීම සද්ධර්මයේ මූලික ඉගැන්වීමයි. 

දුක ඇතිවන්නේ ‘මම’ හෙවත් සක්කාය-සත්වයා ඇතිවීම නිසයි (ජාති පච්චයා සොකපරිදේවදුක්ඛදෝමනස්සු පයාසාපි දුක්ඛා)

මම හෙවත් සක්කාය ගටගන්නේ භවය සකස්වීම නිසයි (භව පච්චයා ජාති)

භවය හටගන්නේ සිත හටගැනීමට විෂයවන භාහිර වස්තුවක නැති ආශ්වාදයක් ඇති සේ ග්‍රහනය කරගැනීම නිසයි (උපාදාන පච්චයා භව).

එනම් දුක ඇතිවන්නේ භාහිරයේ පවතින ආශ්වාදයක් හෝ ගැටීමක් (නන්දියක්) නැති ස්වභාවය  (වය – යථාභූත ස්වභාවය) විඤ්ඤාණමායාව හරහා ආශ්වාදයක් හෝ ගැටීමක් ඇති ස්වභාවයකට පෙරලා ගැනීම නිසයි – උදය නොහොත් සමුදය.

සබ්බේ සංකාරා අනිච්චාති: භාහිරයේ පවතින සියල්ලම අනිච්ච එනම් ආශ්වාදයක් (හෝ වෛරයක් හෝ) නැති, රාගයක් හෝ ද්වේශයක් නැති, නන්දියක් නැති, ගින්නක් නැති, ශුන්‍යත, අනිමිත්ත ස්වභාවයේ පවතියි. මෙය භාහිරයේ නැතහොත් භෞතික ලෝකයේ (reality) යථාභූත ස්වභාවයයි. ස්කන්ධයේ ‘උදය-වය දැකීම’ යනු සිත හෙවත් විඤ්ඤාණය සෑදීමට විෂයවන භාහිර වස්තුවක/රූපයක පවතින ආශ්වාදයක් නැති, ශුන්‍යත, අනිමිත්ත ස්වභාවය ඇති සැටියෙන් දැකීමයි, අවබෝධ කරගැනීමයි. භාහිරයේ යථාභූත ස්වභාවය ඉහත සඳහන් පරිදි වුවත් අප භාහිරය දකින්නේත් විඳින්නේත් විඤ්ඤාණමායාව හරහා බැවින් අපට භාහිරය ග්‍රහනයවන්නේම ආශ්වාදයක් ඇති ස්වභාවයෙනි. මෙම ස්වභාවය නැවත ආශ්වාදයක් නැති ස්වභාවයට පරිවර්තනය කරගන්නේ විපස්සනාව තුලිනි. ස්කන්ධයේ උදය හෙවත් සත්වපුද්ගල දෘශ්ඨිය ඇතිවන තැන (භව පච්චයා ජාති) දැකීම හෙවත් දැනීම සහ ස්කන්ධයේ වය හෙවත් සත්වපුද්ගල ස්වභාවය නැති තැන වන ස්වභාවධර්මය/භාහිරය/භෞතික ලෝකය/reality දැකීම හෙවත් දැනීම යනු විපස්සනාවයි.

ස්කන්ධයේ උදය-වය දැකීම යනුවෙන් බුදුන්වහන්සේ අදහස් කරන ලද්දේ විපස්සනාවමයි.

එන එන සෑම සිතුවිල්ලකම සුඛ හෝ දුඛ වේදනාවක් සේ පිලිනොගෙන ඒවා උපේක්ඛාවට (අදුක්ඛම සුඛයකට) හරවාගැනීම විපස්සනාවයි.

නිරීක්ෂකයා (Observer)

සෑම සිතක් තුලම, අරමුණක් තුලම ඉහත සංසිද්ධිය සිඳුවෙයි. සිතුවිල්ලක් තුල මෙම සංසිද්ධිය දැකීම ස්කන්ධයේ උදය-වය දැකීමයි. විඤ්ඤාණමායාවකින් භාහිර ලෝකය ග්‍රහනය කරන අපට ඉහත සංසිද්ධීන් දෙකම (උදය හා වය) දැකීම අපහසුය. අපට සෑමවිටම විඤ්ඤාණමායාව හරහා හසුවන්නේ සමුදය (උදය) සංසිද්ධිය පමනි. ස්වභාවධර්මයේ in reality පවතින ජීවියා හෙවත් නිරෝධ (වය) ස්වභාවය අපට හසුනොවෙයි. ඒ අපට කිසිදාක භාහිරය යථාභූත (reality) ස්වභාවයෙන් ග්‍රහනය නොවන නිසයි.

ඒ නිසා ප්‍රතමයෙන්ම අපි අපේම නිරීක්ෂකයෙක් (an observer) කෙනෙක්ව සකස්කරගනිමු. මෙම observerට භාහිරයේ පවතින යථාභූත ස්වභාවය දැකිය හැකි, විඳිය හැකි යයි සිතමු. දැන් ඔබ සාදාගන්නේ භාහිරය ඒය පවතින අයුරින්ම දැකිය හැකි විඳිය හැකි නිරීක්ෂකයෙකි (an observer).

දැන් මෙම observerව සිතුවිල්ල/අරමුණ තුල move/transverse  කරන්න. එනම් අසංඛතයේ (භාහිර ලෝකයේ – reality) සිට සංඛතය (මගේ ලෝකය) තුලට move කරන්න. (සිතුවිල්ලක්/අරමුණක් තුල ඔබ නොදැනුවත්වම සිඳුවන්නේ මෙම ක්‍රියාවලියයි). ප්‍රථමයෙන් භාහිරයේ ශුන්‍යත (ආශ්වාදයක් නැති) ස්වභාවයේ සිටිනා ජීවියා දකින observer එම සිතුවිල්ල ස්කන්ධ-පටිටිච්චසමුප්පාදයට ලක්වී ඒ හරහා සත්වයා සකස්වන හැටි දකි. 

භාහිරයේ සිටින ජීවියා දැකීම යනු වය හෙවත් නිරෝධ ස්වභාවය දැකීමයි. සිතුවිල්ල තුල දිවෙන observer එහි කෙලවර ‘උපදින’ සත්ව ස්වභාවයද (උදය) දකී.

Primary (raw) feeling at sensory ස්කන්ධ level. Secondary feeling or processed feeling at සලායතන level.

observer ‘මගේ ලෝකයේ’ ගටගන්නා සත්වයාදකී. එනම් මම දකී. සත්වයා, මම යනු සමුදය හෙවත් මම හටගන්නා ‘අජ්ඣත්ත කාය’ යි. Observer ස්කන්ධ-පටිච්චසමුප්පාද ක්‍රියාවලියේ පස්සට නැතිනම් reverse වනවිට භාහිර අසංඛතයේ පවතින ‘වය’ ස්වභාවයේ ඇති භාහිර රූපය දකියි. Reality යේ පවතින රූපය යනු ‘බහිද්ධා කාය’යි. මෙසේ සෑම සිතුවිල්ලකම ඉහත ස්වභාවයන් ග්‍රහනය වන ලෙස observer transverse කරන්න. එනම්‍ සෑම අරමුණකම, සිතකම පවතින බහිද්ධ කාය හා අජ්ඣත්ත කාය දකින සේ observer transverse කරන්න. ‘කායේ කායානු පස්සී විහරති‘ යනු මෙසේ භාහිරයේ පවතින යථා ස්වභාවය හෙවත් ‘වය ස්වභාවය’ හා සිත තුල (මගේ ලෝකයේ) ඇතිවන සත්ව ස්වභාවය හෙවත් සමුදය/උදය අතර observer transverse කරමින් සිටීන ක්‍රියාවලියයි. මෙය විපස්සනාවේ ආරම්භක අවස්ථාවයි. එන එන සෑම සිතකටම/සිතුවිල්ලකටම මෙම ක්‍රියාවලිය යොදමින් සිටින්න (විහරති). ‘පච්චුප්පන්නංච යො ධම්මා තත්‍ර තත්‍ර විපස්සති’ යනු මෙම ක්‍රියාවලියයි. මෙම විපස්සනාව එනම් අජ්ඣත්ත කාය (සංඛතය-සමුදය) හා බහිද්ධකාය (අසංඛතය-වය) දකිමින් දිගටම නොවෙනස්ව නොසෙල්වී කරන්න. 

අසංහීරං අසංකුප්පං තං විද්වා මනුබ්‍රෑහයේ – භද්දේකරත්න සූත්‍රය – උත්තරීතර හුදකලාව ideal seclusion.

එසේ නොවෙනස්ව නොසෙල්වී (අසංහීරං අසංකුප්පං) විපස්සනාව වඩන්නා (මනුබ්‍රෑහයේ) ප්‍රාඥයෙකැයි බුදුන්වහන්සේ වදාල සේක.

ද්වතාවය

දුක ඇතිවන එනම් සමුදයවන ක්‍රියාවන්ගෙන් මිදීම යනු ‘වයයි’, නිරෝධයයි. දුක ඇතිවන ක්‍රියා (තුන්දොර හරහා සිඳුකරන ක්‍රියා) ‘අකරණීය’ ක්‍රියාවන්ය. දුක නැතිවන ආකාරයට තුන්දොර හරහා කරන ක්‍රියා ‘කරණීය’ ක්‍රියාවන්ය. මේ දුක ඇතිවීම (භවය සකස්වීම) හා දුක නැතිවීම (භවය සකස් නොවීම) බුදුන්වහන්සේ දේශනා කල ‘ද්වතාවය’යයි. දුක ඇතිවන, භවය සකස් කරන ක්‍රියාවන් සහිත දිවිපෙවත ‘අනාර්ය අශ්ඨාංගික මාර්ගයයි’. දුක නැතිවන සේ, භවය සකස් නොවන සේ ගතකරන දිවිවෙත ‘ආර්ය අශ්ඨාංගික මාර්ගයයි’. අනාර්ය හා ආර්ය අට පිලිවෙත බුදුන්වහන්සේ දේශනාකල ‘දිවි පෙවෙතේ ද්වතාවයයි’. අනාර්ය දිවිපෙවෙත භවය සකස්කරයි එනම් භාහිරය ආශ්වාද කරයි. ආර්ය දිවිපෙවෙත භවයසකස් නොකරයි එනම් භාහිරය ආශ්වාද නොකරයි. අනාර්ය දිවිපෙවෙත භාහිරය ආශ්වාදය ඇති සේ ග්‍රහනය කරයි. ඒ නිසා සත්ව-පුද්ගල දෘශ්ඨිය, සක්කාය හෙවත්‍ ‘මම’ (ego) නැමති ජාතිය ඇතිවෙයි. එසේනම් සමුදය හෙවත් උදය ඇතිවීමට හේතුවන්නේ මෙම ‘මම’ (ego) හෙවත් සත්වයා ඇතිවන සත්ව-පුද්ගල දෘශ්ඨියයි. ‘මම’ ඇතිවන්නේ සංකාරවී සකස්වන ‘සංඛතය’ තුලයි. සංඛතය යන වචනය ඇසුන සැනින් ඒ මම හෙවත් සත්වයා ඇතිවන ‘මගේ ලෝකය’ බව සිහියට හසුවිය යුතුය.

එසේනම් මම හෙවත් සත්වයා නොපවතින්නේ භාහිරය හෙවත් ‘ස්වභාවධර්මය හෙවත් reality’ හෙවත් ‘අසංඛතය’ තුලයි.

අසංඛතයේ (in reality) පවතින භාහිර රූපයක් අදාල පංචේන්ද්‍රිය හා ස්පර්ෂවී එම රෑපයේ ප්‍රතිබිම්භය සාදන ‘රූප’ සංඤාව තැන පසුකර එම රූප සංඤාව නිසා ඇතිවන primary (raw) feeling හෙවත් වේදනාවද පසුකර වේදනාවේ නිරූපනය වන ‘සංඤා’ හෙවත් ස්කන්ධයේ ‘රූප වේදනා සංඥා’ යන තුන් අවස්තාව දක්වා විකාශනය වෙයි. අසංඛතයේ හෙවත් ස්වභාවධර්මයේ මායිම (boundary) මෙම ස්කන්ධය තුල ඇතිවන ‘සංඥා’ අවස්ථාවයි. මේ මව්කුසින් උපන් ලදරුවාට ඇතිවන ස්කන්ධ ස්වභාවය හා සමාන සීමාවයි නැතහොත් ප්‍රභාශ්වරයයි. සෑම සිතුවිල්ලක් තුලම මෙම සංදිස්ථානයේදී (සංඤා අවස්තාවේදී) කුඩා ලදරූවාට මෙන්ම වැඩිවිය පත්වූ අපටද භාහිරය දැනෙයි. එනම් භාහිරය දිට්ඨ සුත මුත වෙයි. මෙසේ දැනෙන ස්වභාවය ස්කන්ධ මට්ටමේ – sensory level feeling දැනීමයි. මෙම ස්කන්ධ මට්ටමේ දැනීම feeling ස්වභාවධර්මයේ-  in reality අසංඛතයේ සීමාවයි. මෙහිදි සත්වයෙක් ඉපදී නැත. සිටින්නේ ජීවියෙක් පමනි.

කකුල මේසයක වැදුනු සැනින් දැනෙන primary (raw) වේදනාව (වේදනාව යනු primary sensation මිස සිංහලෙන් අර්ථ ගැන්වෙන වේදනාව නොවේ) මෙයයි. ඉන්පසුව මෙම වේදනාව හා එහි නිරූපනයවන සංඥාව පෙරමතකය විමර්ශනය කර සංකාර හා විඤ්ඤාණ දැනුම සකස්කරයි.  පටිච්චසමුප්පාද ක්‍රියාවලිය හරහා දිවෙන මෙම ස්කන්ධය සලායතන හරහා ‘මගේ කකුල හා මගේ වේදනාවක්’ බවට පත්කරයි. මෙහිදී සිදුවන දැනීම හෙවත් මගේ කකුල මේසයේ වැදී දැනෙන වේදනාව බවට පත්වී ‘සලායතන මට්ටමේ දිට්ඨ සුත මුත විඤ්ඤාතය – ලෞකික හෙවත් අනාර්ය වොහාරය’ ඇතිකරයි. සත්වයා හෙවත් මම ඇතිවන්නේ මෙම සලායතන මට්ටමේ දැනීම තුලයි. සමුදය යනු මෙසේ සත්වයා ඇතිකරන සලායතන මට්ටමේ දැනීමයි.

සච්චවිභංග සූත්‍රදේශනාවේ ‘ඛන්ධානං පාතිභාවෝ අයතනානං පටිලාභො, අයං වුච්චතාවුසො ජාති’ ලෙස සඳහන්වන්නේ මෙසේ සලායතන මට්ටමේ දැනුම නිසා ‘මම’ සත්වයාගේ හෙවත් ජාතිය ඇතිවීමයි. සියළු දුකට හේතුව මෙසේ ‘සංඛතය’ තුල ඇතිවන ජාති නැමති සත්ව-පුද්ගල දෘශ්ටියයි.

මෙම ලිපියේ අඩංගු කරුනු හා එම කරුනුවල දිගුවකට ඔබට ‘ස්කන්ධයේ උදය-වය දැකීම, නිවන- අනිමිත්ත චේතෝවිමුක්තිය‘ නැමති  YouTube ධර්ම සාකච්ඡාව තුලින් සවන්දිය හැකිය. එයට පිවිසීමට පහත සඳහන් link එක භාවිතා කරන්න.

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2024 ජූලි මස 31 වනදා

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උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස්

මෙවර ජනාධිපතිවරණයට ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණෙන් රට බංකොලොත් කරපු අපේක්ෂකයෙකු තනිවම ඉදිරිපත් කිරීමට ගනු ලැබූ තීරණය ඉතාමත් හොඳ බවත් ඒ අනුව එම අපේක්ෂකයාට ජනතාව මේ මොහොතේ ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදීව සැලකිය යුතු බවත් එක්සත් ජනරජ පෙරමුණේ නායක පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී පාඨලී චම්පික රණවක මහතා පවසයි.

එමෙන්ම ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණේ මන්ත්‍රීවරුන් මේ මොහොතේ තවදුරටත් රාජපක්ෂ පවුලට ගැතිකම් කරමින් සිටිනවාද යන්න පිළිබඳවත් දෙවරක් සිතා බැලිය යුතු බව රණවක මහතා සඳහන් කරන ලදී.

ඒ මහතා මේ බව පවසා සිටියේ ඊයේ (30) දින එක්සත් ජනරජ පෙරමුණේ පන්නිපිටිය ඇරැවුවල ප්‍රදේශයේ පවත්වනු ලැබූ ජනහමුවකින් අනතුරුව මාධ්‍යට අදහස් දක්වමිනි.

එක්සත් ජනරජ පෙරමුණේ සාමාජික දිල්ශාන් මුතුකුමාරණ මහතා විසින් මෙම ජනහමුව සංවිධානය කර තිබූ අතර ඒ සඳහා එක්සත් ජනරජ පෙරමුණේ සභාපති වෛද්‍ය අජිත් අමරසිංහ, උපසභාපතිවරුන් වන මේජර් ජෙනරාල් (විශ්‍රාමික) තිලක් උභයවර්ධන හා තීක්ෂණ ගම්මන්පිල යන මහත්වරුන්ද සම්බන්ධ විය.

එහිදී මාධ්‍යවේදීන්ගේ ප්‍රශ්න හමුවේ පාඨලී චම්පික රණවක මහතා වැඩිදුරටත් දැක්වූ අදහස්;

ප්‍රශ්නය: ඔබතුමාට ප්‍රශ්නයක් තියෙන්නේ ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණේ ඉන්න මන්ත්‍රීවරුත් එක්ක ද?, එහෙම නැත්නම් අර ඔබතුමා කියන යම්කිසි කණ්ඩායමක් එක්ක විතරද?

පිළිතුර: ඇත්තටම ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණේ ඉන්න මන්ත්‍රිලත් එක්ක අපිට ලොකු ප්‍රශ්නයක් නැහැ. මොකද ඒගොල්ලෝ ජනතාවගේ නියෝජිතයෝ සහ ඒගොල්ලෝ මේ රට වෙනුවෙන් යම් වැඩ කොටසක් කරපු පිරිසක් බව. හැබැයි ඉතින් රට බංකොලොත් කිරීමට වගකිව යුතුයි කියලා ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණය විසින් නියම කරපු පිරිසක් තමයි ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණේ නායකත්වයේ ඉන්නේ. ඒ කියන්නේ මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහත්මයා, ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ මහත්තයා, බැසිල් රාජපක්ෂ මහත්තයා මූලික වශයෙන්. එතකොට ඒගොල්ලෝ විසින් නායකත්වය දෙන දේශපාලන ව්‍යාපාරය එක්ක අපි හිටගන්නවා කියන්නේ, මේ රට බංකොලොත් වීමට වගකිවයුතු පිරිසක් එක්ක අපි හිට ගන්නවා කියන එකයි. අපි හැමදාම දේශපාලනය තේරුවේ, රටේ බරපතලම ප්‍රශ්නයට සාපේක්ෂව. එතකොට ඒ බරපතලම ප්‍රශ්නයේ වගඋත්තරකරුවොත් එක්ක අපිට හිටගන්න බැහැ. නමුත් ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණේ මන්ත්‍රීවරු එක්ක අපි වැඩ කරගෙන යනවා. වැඩ කරලා තියෙනවා. අපේ පාර්ලිමේන්තු කමිටුවල වැඩ කරලා තියෙනවා. අපට ඒ අය පිළිබඳ දේශපාලන වශයෙන් විශාල ප්‍රශ්නයක් නැහැ.

ප්‍රශ්නය: දැන් මේ වනවිට ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණේ කණ්ඩායමක් රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහත්මයාට සහය දෙනවා. අනිත් කණ්ඩායම පොදුජන පෙරමුණේ ඉන්නවා. ඔබතුමා මොකක්ද මේ ගැන හිතන්නේ?

පිළිතුර: ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණ තමන් තනියෙන් අපේක්ෂකයෙක් ඉදිරිපත් කරන්න ගත්ත තීරණය අතිශය නිර්භීත වගේම ඉතාම වැදගත් තීරණයක්. රට බංකොලොත් කරන්න දායක වෙච්ච මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ, බැසිල් රාජපක්ෂගේ අපේක්ෂකයෙක් දැන් ඉන්නවා. ඒ අපේක්ෂකයාට කොහොමද ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී විදියට සලකන්නෙ කියන එක රටේ ජනතාවට තීරණය කරන්න පුළුවන්.

ප්‍රශ්නය: ඔබතුමා රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහත්මයට සහාය දෙනවද? මොකද ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණේ කණ්ඩායමකුත් එතන ඉන්නවා.?

පිළිතුර: අපි ඒ ගැන තාම තීරණයක් කරලා නෑ. අපි සමගි ජන බලවේගය එක්කත් පසුගිය පෙබරවාරි 14 වෙනිදා ඉදිරිපත් කරපු වැඩපිළිවෙලත් එක්ක සාකච්ඡා ක්‍රියාදාමයකට ගියා. ඒ වගේම ශ්‍රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂයේ පිරිස් සමඟ අපි සාකච්ඡාවකට ගියා. ඉතින් තවත් ෆීල්ඩ් මාෂල් සරත් ෆොන්සේකා මහත්තයා වගේ අයත් ඡන්දෙට ඉදිරිපත් වෙන බව ප්‍රකාශ කරලා තියෙනවා. ඒ නිසා ඉදිරි දින කිහිපය ඇතුළත අපි මේක තීරණය කරනවා. මොකද මේ රටේ මූලික ප්‍රශ්නය, රට බංකොලොත්. ඒ බංකොලොත්භාවයෙන් රට තාම මිදිලා නැහැ. මේ තියෙන්නේ තාවකාලික සහනයක්. ඒ වගේම බංකොලොත් භාවයෙන් මිදීම සඳහා ආණ්ඩුව අනුගමනය කරපු ක්‍රියාමාර්ග වල ලොකුම බර වැටිලා තියෙන්නේ මේ රටේ සාමාන්‍ය ජනතාවට. ඒ බර නිවාදැමීම සඳහා මධ්‍යකාලීන වැඩපිළිවෙලක් ඒ වගේම දිගු කාලීන වශයෙන් රටේ ණය ගෙවන්න පුළුවන් වැඩපිළිවලක් ඉදිරිපත් කරන්න ඕන. විශේෂයෙන්ම මතක තියාගන්න ඕන 2028 ඉඳන් අපට එකවර ණය ගෙවන්න තියෙනවා. බලයට පත්වෙන කවර ජනාධිපතිට වුණත් ඒ අභියෝගය තියෙනවා. අන්න ඒ ක්‍රියාවලිය කරන්න පුළුවන් විදිහේ ආණ්ඩුවක් පිළිබඳව ජනතාව දැනුවත් කරලා එවැනි ආණ්ඩුවක් පිහිටුවීම තමයි අපේ අරමුණ.

ප්‍රශ්නය: එතෙන්දි ඔබතුමා සෘජුවම කියන්නේ නැද්ද රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහත්තයාට සහාය දෙන්නේ නෑ කියන කතාව?

පිළිතුර: රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහත්මයා, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහත්තයාගේ නායකත්වයෙන් ආවා නම් අපි කිසිසේත් සහයෝගය දෙන්නේ නැහැ. නමුත් අපි දැන් ඒ සම්බන්ධයෙන් විවෘතයි. ඒක අපි දිගටම හිටපු ස්ථාවරය. රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහත්තයා පසුගිය කාලේ ගත්ත ඇතැම් පියවර පිළිබඳව අපේ කිසිම සතුටක් නැහැ. විශේෂයෙන්ම මෑතදී පොලිස්පතිවරයා සම්බන්ධයෙන් ගත්ත පියවර වුණත්. නමුත් මේ රටේ මූලික ප්‍රශ්නය වෙච්ච, රට බංකොලොත් භාවයෙන් ඉදිරියට ගෙන යාම කියන ප්‍රශ්නයේදී අපි හිතනවා ඒ පිළිබඳව සාකච්ඡා කරලා එකඟතාවයන් ඇතිකර ගත යුතුයි. විශේෂයෙන්ම රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහත්තයා එක්ක නෙවෙයි ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණේ ඉන්න මන්ත්‍රීලත් එක්ක. ඒ වගේම සමගි ජන බලවේගය එක්කත් අපි ඒ පිළිබඳව සාකච්ඡා කරගෙන යනවා. අපේ තීරණය අපි ඉදිරි දින කිහිපය තුළ කියනවා.

ප්‍රශ්නය: ඔබතුමා ජනාධිපතිවරණයට ඉදිරිපත් වෙනවද?

පිළිතුර: ඒ පිළිබඳව වුණත් තීරණය අපි ඉදිරි දින කිහිපයේදී කියනවා.

ප්‍රශ්නය: ඒ කියන්නේ එහෙම නෑ කියලා කියන්නේ?

පිළිතුර: එහෙම නෑ කියලා අපි කියන්නෑ. ඒ පිළිබඳව අපි අපේ මන්ත්‍රිතුමන්ලා සහ වෙනත් පිරිස් එක්ක සාකච්ඡාවක් කරනවා. ඒ සාකච්ඡාවල තීරණය කළොත් මට ඉදිරිපත් වෙන්න කියලා මම ඉදිරිපත් වෙනවා. එසේ නැත්නම් අදාළ සුදුසු අපේක්ෂකයෙකුට අපි අපේ සහයෝගය දෙනවා. අපි තනියෙන් තීරණ ගන්නේ නැහැ. පක්ෂයක් හැටියටත්, අපිත් එක්ක සන්ධාන ගතවෙලා ඉන්න අයත් එක්කත් ඇති කරගන්නා සාකච්ඡා සම්මුතියක ප්‍රතිඵලයක් හැටියට තමයි අපි ජනාධිපතිවරණය දකින්නේ. මොකද මේක පුද්ගල අපේක්ෂා, අභිලාෂයන් ඉෂ්ට කරගන්න අවස්ථාවක් නෙවෙයි. මේක රට වෙනුවෙන් තීරණ ගත යුතු, අපේ දරුවන් වෙනුවෙන් තීරණ ගත යුතු අවස්ථාවක්.

ප්‍රශ්නය: දැන් මේ මොහොත වෙනකොට ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණෙන් ඔබට සහාය දිය හැකි අපේක්ෂකයෙක් ඉදිරිපත් කලොත් ඔබ කැමතිද සහය වන්න?

පිළිතුර: ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණේ නායකයා මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂනේ. ඒ පක්ෂය එතුමන්ලා හිතන්නේ ඒගොල්ලන්ගේ පවුලේ බූදලයක් හැටියට. හරි කණගාටුදායකයි. ඒ නිසාම තමයි මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහත්තයාට මේ රටේ විරාජමානව ජීවත් වෙන්න තිබිච්ච තත්වය නැති කර ගත්තේ 2015 දී සහ 2019 යේදී. හැටනම ලක්ෂයක් මිනිස්සු රවට්ටලා කරපු ඒ අපරාධයේ ප්‍රතිඵලයක් හැටියටනේ අද මේ රටේ ලක්ෂ දෙසිය විස්සක් අනාථ වෙලා ඉන්නේ. ඒ නිසා ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණේ එවැනි තත්වයකට අපි එකඟ වෙන්නේ නැහැ. හැබැයි ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණට ඡන්දෙ දීපු අය හා ඒක නියෝජනය කරන මන්ත්‍රීවරු වෙනම මගක් ගන්නවා නං ඒ පිළිබඳව අපි ඒගොල්ලොත් එක්ක සාකච්ඡා කරන්න සූදානම් සහ සාකච්ඡා කරමින් ඉන්නවා.

ප්‍රශ්නය: දැන් මේ මොහොතේ ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණේ මන්ත්‍රීවරුන්ගේ හැසිරීම ගැන ඔබතුමා මොකද හිතන්නේ?

පිළිතුර: මම හිතන්නේ ඒගොල්ලෝ දැන් තීරණයක් ගත යුතුයි තවදුරටත් මේ රාජපක්ෂ පවුලට බැඳිලා ඉන්නවද? එහෙම නැත්නම් රට වෙනුවෙන් ස්වාධීන මගක යනවද කියලා. ඒක පහුගිය 2022 මැයි 09 වෙනිදා තීරණය කරන්න බැරි වුණා නම්, දැන් ඒකට ඓතිහාසික මොහොත ඒ සඳහා චිත්ත ධෛර්යය ඔවුන්ට ලැබෙන්නෙයි කියලා අපි ප්‍රර්ථනා කරනවා.

– Media unit

උපුටා ගැන්ම  ලංකා ලීඩර්

එළඹෙන අගෝස්තු මාසයේදී ඉන්දීය අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය නරේන්ද්‍ර මෝඩි මහතා ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට පැමිණ මෙරට ස්වෛරීභාවය අහිමි කරවන අවබෝධතා ගිවිසුම් දහයකට අත්සන් තැබීමට සැරසෙන බව සර්වජන බලය විධායක කමිටු සාමාජික, ජාතික නිදහස් පෙරමුණේ නායක, පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී විමල් වීරවංශ මහතා පවසයි.

ඊට ඉඩදී නිහඩව සිටියහොත් ඉන්දු-ලංකා ගිවිසුමෙන් මෙන් ඒවායින් ද ගැලවීමට ඉදිරියේදී බලයට එන කිසිදු ආණ්ඩුවකට නොහැකි වන බවත්, ඒ අවබෝධතා ගිවිසුම් දහය තැබීම වැළැක්වීම පිණිස මේ රටේ සියලු දේශපාලන ව්‍යාපාර වාදභේද පසෙක ලා එක්සත්ව එකමුතුව කටයුතු කළ යුතු බවත් ඒ මහතා අවදාරණය කර සිටියි.

ඊයේ(30) බෙරැල්ල පිහිටි සර්වජන බලය මූලස්ථානයේදී පැවැති මාධ්‍ය හමුවකට එක්වෙමින් ඒ මහතා මේ බව පැවසීය.

වීඩියෝව නරඹන්න…

Sugath Kulatunga

On the 18 th of December 18- 2022, I wrote on LBN that President Ranil Wickremesinghe was attempting to Grow More Food by statute. The President proposed to bring in new laws to ensure food security. It never happened and we are still importing eggs from India. I emphasized that what we should focus on is innovation, systems improvement, incentives, and application. A legalistic approach is not an adequate solution.

Now the President is attempting to transform the economy again by statute by the new legal package designed to provide for the National Policy on Economic Transformation and for the establishment of the Economic Commission of Sri Lanka, Investment Zones Sri Lanka, Office for International Trade, National Productivity Commission, and Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade. This no doubt is another measure to propitiate the IMF.

The Law has two key objectives. One objective is to establish a plethora of new institutions to support the economic transformation. Some of them would replace existing institutions and others will duplicate the work of existing institutions. The immediate problem would be to appoint competent persons to manage them.

The second objective is the Presidents dream or wish list to set legal targets on economic management ranging from setting  public debt to GDP below 95% by 2032,Central Govt. gross financing needs to GDP below 13% by 2032,Annual Debt Service in Foreign Exchange to GDP below 4.5 % by 2027, Net Zero on Greenhouse gas balance by 2050, Exports of Goods and Services to GDP 25% to 60% during 2025 – 2040, Net Foreign Direct Investment not less than 5 % of GDP, in 2030 to Primary Balance in the Govt. Budget to reach 2.3% of GDP etc.

A similar bill setting economic targets titled the Fiscal Management (Responsibility) Act No. 3 of 2003 was brought. by Prime Minister Wickremesinghe on what should be done in the management of public finances.It had three main objectives. By 2006, the budget gap should be five percent of the Gross Domestic Product and the Government that comes after that should maintain the budget gap below five percent. It also called for a passage of a law requiring total outstanding public debt to be reduced to 65 percent of GDP by 2013. When the Government of Sri Lanka guarantees loans, it should not be more than 4.5 percent of the GDP. If the subsequent Governments had fulfilled these three terms properly, this country would never have gone bankrupt. The tragedy is that the very governments of RW merrily violated those condition. If he had even a modicum of commitment to the essence of the Fiscal Management (Responsibility) Act No. 3 of 2003 he would not have resorted to ISBs during the Yahapalana regime.

It is doubtful whether the targets in the Economic Transformation Act (ETA) are evidence based or merely elite driven. In most countries such targets are evidence based indicative targets set in a National Development Plan (NDP). It is reported that in 2018 there were 134 countries having National Plans. Rather than a piece of legislaion NDPs are based on a participative process which gives the Plan wider ownetrship. Such plans have internal consistency and are formulated by trained professionals on planning. They are built through sectoral plana and are based on availability of resources and the capacity of the institutions involved. An NPD would not be complete without an implemention strategy and an action plan.

During the UNP government of 1977 ‘planning’ was considered a dirty word. To ambitious politicians a plan is an obstruction which deprives him of the flexibility of political and business prioritation. India made use of national planning from the time of Independence and benefitted by it. Planning and Plan Implementation units must be restored for achieving develoment results. No amount of legislation can be a substitution.

Sugath Kulatunga

KAMALIKA PIERIS

In this essay, I return to the topic of the Ramayana trail in Sri Lanka. The RASSL held a well attended seminar on the Ramayana trail in 2010, where many spoke against the Ramayana trail. They commented on the political implications of the Ramayana trail in Sri Lanka. They thought that the Ramayana trail was not    intended to lure tourists.  It was part of a bigger agenda to present Sri Lanka as a Hindu country.

Why is the Ramayana epic, which remained unacceptable in Sri Lanka for two millennia making inroads now, asked Bandu de Silva. Ramayana Trail challenges Buddhism. It takes us back to  the pre Buddhist and pre Sinhala era in Sri Lanka, Bandu said.

Gaston Perera notes that Sri Lanka is using an epic from India, an epic  foreign  to us, to attract  tourists from India. This has at least one dangerous implication. The triumph of Rama over Ravana equals India over Sri Lanka, he observed.

The local Ramayana Trail is a move to subvert  our  traditional history and major belief systems, said Oliver Abeynayake. There is no  Ramayana trail in India. Ramayana sites are not  tourist sites , they are  religious sites, to  be  worshipped   on pilgrimage. The  Indian tourists will not be ordinary tourists but Hindus obsessed with the idea of the supremacy of Rama and Sita. .

Such pilgrimages can lead to violence. A confrontational situation could be created. The Hindu population in India is highly nationalist and religious and these could be used as a pretext for war. The Tamil issue was bad enough, a Hindu intervention would be worse,   concluded Oliver Abeynayake.

Someone must look into this Ramayana trail, said the alarmed audience at the RASSL seminar in 2010. This is no laughing matter. Ravana and Rama sites are now put into places of local historical significance, such as Yudaganawa. This makes it political. We must stop the Tourist Board from continuing with this.

 Critics wanted to know on what evidence the Tourist Board is arranging Ramayana trails in Sri Lanka.  They say that before this myth gets crystallized, the validity of these sites should be examined. Sri Lanka’s past cannot be distorted merely to attract Indian tourists. Inscriptions have been defaced.

Members of a Tour Guides Association led by their President also attended the RASSL symposium. They did not speak up at the Symposium but told me later that they had serious reservation about the Ramayana trail, though they conducted Ramayana tours.

Sudath Gunasekera commented on the matter in April 2024.  He pointed out that the 21 Ramayana trail sites cover the entire island.  He provides two maps, one with the sites, second with the route.[1]

Sudath continued, I think it is very dangerous to allow this project, particularly in the context of Modi’s present plan of Indian territorial expansion. They may try to use     this project to     build up a case for amalgamation of the Island to India.                        

I strongly suggest These Ramayana tours should adhere to a strictly laid down pilgrimage tour program, the breach of which should be the discontinuation of the trail programme forth with. I suggest the following conditions should be included in the list of conditions to the tourists.

i.The Indian Government or any of their local agents should not put up any monuments of Rama or any god or Hindu religious symbols such as Lingas or any such buildings on any one of these spots in the guise of even pilgrim rests. They should use only facilities available in local tourist hotels.

ii.Neither the Indian Government or any one of their agents either Indian or local should be allowed to put up any religious monuments on these places as it will harm the historical local Sinhala Buddhist cultural landscape, concluded Sudath.

 There is considerable evidence against a Ramayana Trail in Sri Lanka. Researchers say that the present Sri Lanka is not the Lanka of Ravana. It is not the Lanka in the Ramayana. Both India and Sri Lanka agree on that. Sri Lanka was known to Indians in the ancient period as Simhala or Tamraparni, and not as Lanka.

According to Indian archaeologist, Sankalia, Lanka is a Mundari word which means an ‘island’. People of Sonpur on the Madhya Pradesh-Andhra-Orissa border traditionally regard it as ‘Pashchim Lanka’ (western Lanka).   

 Critics say that neither Hanuman nor Sita ever came here and there was no Ravana either. Sita Eliya in Nuwara Eliya district has nothing to do with the Rama and Sita story. ‘Sita’ is derived from ‘seethala’, which means cold.

However, Director General of Sri Lanka Tourist Development Authority, S. Kailselvam said in 2010 it is not our job to verify historical accuracy but to encourage tourism, which is what we are doing by promoting the Ramayana trails.  As long as people believe in these sites we will promote it.

The government of Sri Lanka    supports the Ramayana trail. . In September 2023 As part of activities to mark the 75^th anniversary of the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between India and Sri Lanka, the High Commission of Sri Lanka in New Delhi  initiated a book project on Ramayana sites titled In the Footsteps of Rama; A Cultural Journey through India and Sri Lanka”.  The book will feature the Ramayana sites both in India and Sri Lanka giving historical, archeological and mythological aspects of these sites.

There is Indian support for the Ramayana trail as well. Indian cultural Centre, Colombo had a seminar on Ramayana trail in Colombo. Swami Govind Dev Giri Maharaj, the Treasurer of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, Ayodhya, India, arrived in Sri Lanka in May 2024, accompanied by a team of delegates from Ayodhya Shri Ram Mandir to inaugurate the Ramayana trail. He was invited by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to promote religious tourism between the two countries. This brings a Hindutva link to the Ramayana Trail.

The Hindutva ideology   wishes to see Hindu hegemony in India. The BJP officially adopted Hindutva as its ideology. Hindutva believe that events in Hindu mythology are true. But, there is disagreement on Hindutva in India itself. One section of India is virulently opposed to Hindutva, and that group find themselves critiquing Hinduism and Ramayana as well.

 India is recognizing this slim Hindu component in Sri Lanka .Indian Prime Minister Modi   was to have worshipped at Nallur, but due to practical difficulties, worshiped at another Kovil, on his Jaffna visit. Princess Anne did not visit a kovil in Jaffna on her visit here, but visited a kovil in Colombo.

Sri Lanka is now becoming more Hindu than it was before. Sri Lanka now has two sets of Hindu kovils, Siva kovils worshipped by the Ceylon Tamils and Vishnu kovils worshiped only by tourists from India.  The Ramayana trail is not patronized by   local Hindus. The Hindus of Sri Lanka are Saivites and they worship in Siva temples. The Ramayana trail is connected to Vishnu worship. Rama is an incarnation of Vishnu. Therefore the Ramayana trail is for Hindus from India.

The main Ramayana temples are flourishing. The Mandalabiseka religious ceremony of the Seetha Amman Kovil of Nuwara Eliya was held in 2024 with the participation of hundreds of local and foreign devotees. The ceremonies commenced with a procession carrying the offerings and statues of Rama, Seetha, Lakshmana and Hanuman, Prior to this Mandalabiseka festival, the Kumbhabhisheka festival, which is held every eight years, was held at Seetha Amman Kovil in Nuwara Eliya on May , with the participation of Hindu devotees from many countries including India and Nepal. A special stone pillar was brought to Sri Lanka from the Rama Temple in Ayodhya to place in the Seetha Amman Kovil.  A stone plaque brought from Janakpur, Nepal, birthplace of Goddess Seetha, was placed in the Kovil.

Holy Hanuman temple at Wavendon Ramboda hills by Chinmaya missions of India. There were large crowds at its first anniversary, in 2002 with thousands of devotees drawn mainly from the plantations sector, the procession went with the statue of Holy Hanuman to Sita Amman Temple at Seetha eliya, where Hindu poojas were held.

The Ramayana trail project is sailing along nicely, with several ‘inaugurations’, many tour groups and varying itineraries. Agitation about Ramayan trail seems to have died down.  But the agitation probably helped to halt the use of the Ramayana trail for political purposes.  (Continued)

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[1] https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2024/04/30/reference-rama-trail-by-vichara-in-todays-lankaweb-4-30-2024-i-would-like-to-make-few-comments/

Shenali D Waduge

The entire country is euphoric following the Women’s Cricket Team winning the Asia Cup. It brought pride to our hearts & minds & relived the victorious memories in 1996 when the Male Cricketers lifted the World Cup. There is another pride that has yet to gain the limelight it deserves & much of it is due to the element of erisiyawa” that plagues people’s mind primarily because recognition goes to one person though as a whole the nation can take pride in it. This single person is Senaka Weeraratna who has been silently battling to be given due acknowledgement for authoring the DRS system used not only in cricket but all sports today. As a fellow classmate, the onus is on you, the Prime Minister to ensure justice & fair play be granted to your classmate Senaka Weeraratna who has brought glory to Sri Lanka by an invention that has turned the game of cricket on its head. No one in the world is more entitled to credit for the cricket revolution that DRS has achieved than its true author – Senaka Weeraratna.
The fact that no one else in the world is pressing a claim with supporting evidence reinforces Weeraratna’s singular claim.

If there is an issue over his claim of authorship, appoint a committee to appraise the evidence & give it a mandate to present findings to the ICC Board. 

Sri Lanka Cricket Board, Sri Lanka Sports Ministry and the Sports Minister have not shown the slightest interest in bringing this glory home.

The clock is ticking. We do not wish to be Waiting for Godot as Senaka Weeraratna deserves to be acknowledged for coming up with the formula originally known as  ‘player referral’ which is now used globally. What good is a song without knowing who wrote the lyrics. Thus, everyone should know who the author of the DRS is.

As a fellow classmate and fighter for Justice we hope you as PM will boldly take the initiative to cut the red tape and bring home another glory for Sri Lanka’s Cricket.

Prime Minister’s Media.

German Ambassador to Sri Lanka Dr. Felix Neumann paid called on Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at the Prime Minister’s Office in Colombo today (July 29).
The Prime Minister thanked Germany for establishing the Ceylon – German Technical Training Institute in 1959 and providing the Sri Lankan youths many benefits through the vocational courses. He stressed the need to introduce new technology to upgrade the Institute to cater to the current global requirements and requested Germany to consider providing support and expertise. The Ambassador agreed to explore possibility of providing German expertise and technological knowhow.
Premier Gunawardena and Ambassador Dr. Neumann discussed ways and means of further expanding bilateral cooperation in tourism, aviation, economic and cultural fields.
The Ambassador accepted the invitation extended by the Prime Minister to attend the Commemoration ceremony of the 100th Anniversary of the founding of ‘Das Buddhistische Haus in Berlin’ (Berlin Buddhist Centre,in Germany) to be held at the Temple Trees on August 3, 2024 where a  book titled, ‘ Das Buddhistische Haus in Berlin – Frohnau, Germany, (1924-2024)’ and a Special Cover Postage Stamp – Marking the 100th anniversary will be launched.
Parliamentarian Yadamini Gunawarena, Secretary to the Prime Minister, Anura Dissanayake and Christina Foetster, Diplomatic Officer of German Embassy were also present on this occasion.
 

 Saeed Naqvi

Dated: 30.07.2024

The brutal realism of Tarantino’s Django Unchained may well cause the weak of stomach to throw up. A white plantation owner in America’s deep south, seated on a sofa in his living room, watches two burly slaves wrestle to the grim end or atleast until one of them has gouged out the eyes of the other.

Outside, a pack of hungry dogs, larger in size than wolves, are let loose on a slave who tries in vain to clamber onto a tree.

As flies to wanton boys are we to the Gods” laments Lear in the wilderness, they kill us for their sport.” Replace Gods” with Whites” in Shakespeare line and place it in the mouth of a bleeding black slave at a climactic moment on Broadway or the Westend and the actor would probably receive multiple standing ovations.

All standing ovations would pale before what Benjamin Netanyahu coaxed out of US Congressmen on the Capitol Hill. They wouldn’t stop rising like there were nails on their seats.

This is not the first time Netanyahu has had the joint sessions of Congress riveted on him. The Congress has submitted to Netanyahu’s choreography on four occasions. He has thereby beaten Winston Churchill’s record for the number of appearances before Congress.

On one occasion President Barack Obama was opposed to his presence in Washington. Netanyahu defied the White House and addressed the joint session, one standing ovation after another. Eggs on Obama’s face were impossible to count.

What explains Israel’s extraordinary influence in Washington? I have interviewed Prime Minister, Yitzhak Shamir, Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Netanyahu. There is no doubt that Netanyahu knows his America better than all the others. For this there are simple reasons. His having studied at Harvard and MIT gave him a wide, influential network which he has assiduously cultivated. His stint as Israel’s ambassador at the UN from 1984 to 88, helped him boost and consolidate his links with the Jews in New York and California. After Tel Aviv, New York has the largest population of Jews and the world’s most influential.

Analysts casually cite the Israel lobby in the US as the body that keeps US foreign policy aligned with Israeli interest. In fact Israel Lobby And US Foreign Policy” a seminal work on the subject by Prof. John Mearscheimer of Chicago University and Prof. Stephen Walt, Harvard, explains how deep the lobby’s tentacles are in all branches of the US establishment.

Shameful is a mild word to describe representatives of the American people doing jumping jack exercises, with a mixture of military precision and uncommon obsequiousness. Do people not matter in American democracy in matters concerning Israel? Is it exclusively a circus of capital, donors and lobbies. The National Rifle Association will successfully thwart any reform even though gun violence kills 12 school children every day in the land of the free.

The Nakba or the catastrophe of 1948 when Israeli villages were emptied of Palestinians was horrible. There have been similar horrors down the line. But the endlessness of current brutalities are, quite ironically, a harbinger of better future for the Palestinians.

All previous Nakbas were a function of Israeli self confidence. Israel knew that all its tantrums would be overlooked, sometimes encouraged by the sole superpower. Defence Secretary Caspar Weinberger’s definition of Israel as the US’s unsinkable aircraft carrier in the Middle East was apt – only so long as the US was an uncontested super power.

In 2008 after Lehman Brothers came down like the Titanic, there has been no arrest of the hegemon’s decline. Many US institutions have lost their sheen – the Military Industrial Complex (MIC), for instance.

This much touted COMPLEX” has not enabled the US to win Vietnam, Iraq and we remember vividly the messy departure from Afghanistan in August 2021 after 20 years of occupation. The MIC can help destroy countries, not win wars.

One purpose of provoking Putin into the Ukrainian theatre was for the US to recover lost prestige. The opposite has happened. Joe Biden has to bow out for unfortunate reasons; Putin, holding Xi Jinping’s reliable hands, is looking plausible as a global statesman, the two navigating BRICS way beyond G7.

Against this perspective the Nakba 2024 is different. On all previous occasions Israel could take for granted absolute support from the sole superpower.

Today the hegemon, which carried Imperialism on its shoulders, is in free fall. The Israeli establishment is aware of the altered circumstance.

Meanwhile Netanyahu has placed himself in a corner. He cannot dismount the tiger because the tiger will devour him if he does. So he must fight on albeit keep bombing Palestinians. He must keep fighting for another reason: he has promised total victory over Hamas, an impossible proposition by all calculations.

Ceasefire short of total victory will be tantamount to defeat. The Palestinians will be in wild celebration (1,860 deaths according to Lancet’s calculation) notwithstanding. The US, which is staring at defeat in Ukraine also, cannot allow the Israeli aircraft carrier to sink. That will be a nail in the collective coffin of the West.

Folks forget that the US’s relations with Saudi Arabia predate the creation of Israel in 1948. It was in 1945 that President Roosevelt and Shah Saud, founder of Saudi monarchy, met on USS Quincy in the Suez Canal to ratify agreements on how Arab oil will be shared by the West in exchange for guarantees of security in the context of the Cold War.

When the Cold War ended in 1990-91, the Iranian revolution, the Shia axis, Islamic terror were brought into play to scare the Arabs – to keep the oil for security policies in place. But now scarecrows no longer scare the avions. Therefore Saudi Arabia, nudged by China, has shaken hands with Tehran. It has, effectively joined the global south. This Israel cannot do. At China’s behest again, all Palestinian groups, Hamas and Fatah included, have agreed to join hands for managing Gaza the day after the war.

Wait a minute. The other day the Ukrainian Foreign Minister was sighted in Beijing, a capital most friendly with Putin. What on earth is going on?

https://naqvijournal.blogspot.com/2024/07/is-there-israel-in-endgame.html

by A. Abdul Aziz.

According to reports reaching us indicates a member of the minority Ahmadiyya Muslim  community Dr. Zakaur Rahman of Lala Musa, District Gujrat, was targeted and killed on Saturday in his dental clinic.
Ahmadiyya community representatives have condemned the incident saying that there has been intense propaganda against Ahmadis this year where several attacks have claimed lives and also resulted in the desecration of their worship places. They expressed outrage and disappointment over lack of  government action against elements who spread hatred and incite violence against the community.

According to details, Dr. Zakaur Rahman was killed in his clinic, Zaka Dental Clinic, GT Road, Lala Musa, District Gujrat when two unknown motorcycle riders came outside his clinic. One person entered the clinic and opened fire on the doctor who was hit by three bullets on his heart, stomach and arm, as a result of which he died on the spot. The killers fled from the spot. The deceased was around 53 years of age.

Dr Zaka was a local official of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya. Those who know him say he had no dispute with anyone. Apart from his wife, he is survived by one son and three daughters.

The international community must urge the Pakistani government to safeguard the rights of Ahmadis and ensure justice for the victims. Likewise, Pakistani authorities must recognize the need to curb the culture of hate speech and promote a culture of harmony. The time to act is now; silence and inaction will only perpetuate the cycle of violence and hatredSource: https://voicepk.net/2024/07/gujrat-ahmadi-doctor-shot-dead-outside-his-clinic/

Ministry of Defence  – Media Centre

The Embassy of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to Sri Lanka hosted a reception yesterday (Jul 29) evening to celebrate the 97^th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China at the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo.

Defence Secretary General Kamal Gunaratne graced the grand occasion as the chief guest, with the invitation of the Ambassador, His Excellency Qi Zhenhong and the Defence Attaché of the PRC to Sri Lanka Senior Colonel Zhou Bo.

While taking the stage as the Chief Guest, General Gunaratne conveyed his gratitude to His Excellency the Ambassador for the long rooted strong relationship in the defence sector and assistance rendered over the years. Further conveyed warm congratulations to the celebrated occasion and the members of the Chinese PLA.

The Chinese Envoy stated that ‘China and Sri Lanka are traditional friendly neighbours and this year marks the 67th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries’. Further, he mentioned that the joint efforts by both sides and bilateral military relations will be promoted to a higher level.

The celebration was also attended by ministers, parliamentarians, members of the diplomatic corps, the Chief of Defence Staff, Army and Navy Commanders, Defence Ministry officials, retired and serving Tri-force senior officers, government officials and a group of distinguished invitees.

Courtesy  Hiru News

Ninety-two Members of Parliament have expressed their unwavering for President Ranil Wickremesinghe in the upcoming presidential election, pledging to back him to secure his victory.

This was revealed by the President’s Media Division.

The announcement was made during a meeting of the ruling party, which is currently taking place at the President’s Secretariat, chaired by President Wickremesinghe himself.

Meanwhile earlier in the day, State Minister Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon, took to “X”(formerly Twitter) to affirm his commitment to Wickremesinghe. Tennakoon emphasized his support for the President, irrespective of the SLPP Politburo’s decisions. He praised Wickremesinghe for his leadership during a critical period, stating, “Immaterial of the decision made by the political bureau of SLPP, together with the majority of parliamentary members, I will continue to support President Ranil Wickremesinghe in the upcoming presidential election, who rescued the country at the most crucial time.

State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe also voiced his endorsement on the same platform, highlighting the President’s significant achievements in navigating the country through severe crises. Semasinghe remarked, “Under President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s leadership, Sri Lanka has made significant strides in overcoming the most severe crises in history. His clear and decisive leadership has guided the nation toward stability and growth. To prevent a return to such challenging times, it is essential to continue supporting President Wickremesinghe’s vision and initiatives. We need to protect the country before our political views. Together, we can build a prosperous future for our country.

State Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Rohana Dissanayake, remarked,”The economic crisis in 2022 affected everyone, and no leader stepped forward to alleviate the suffering. However, the current President took action to help the people despite holding only one Parliamentary seat. Thanks to his measures, the country’s economy is now recovering. Just as Mahinda Rajapaksa saved the country from terrorism, President Ranil Wickremesinghe has rescued it from economic turmoil.

Therefore, anyone who prioritizes the country’s welfare over politics will support President Ranil Wickremesinghe. With the support of the people of Matale, I have decided to fulfill my duty by backing President Ranil Wickremesinghe in this election.

It should be noted that the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) is a party rooted at the village level. I am actively representing the SLPP in the Matale District. As long as I have the support of the people, I will continue to back the President. If that support wanes, I will step down.

Great leaders emerge during challenging times. President Ranil Wickremesinghe demonstrated strong leadership by guiding the country through the recent economic crisis. The country’s current progress is a result of his effective economic management policies.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who led Britain to victory in World War II in 1945, was defeated in the subsequent British General Election. Mr. Clement Attlee, who had strengthened the country economically during the war, then, became Prime Minister. A similar situation seems to be unfolding in Sri Lanka, as if history is repeating itself.

In the realm of sports, the current government has made significant strides over the past two years to develop the sport sector in Sri Lanka. An ombudsman has been appointed for sports, and arrangements have been made to provide all necessary facilities to athletes heading to this year’s Olympics. Additionally, both hockey stadiums in Sri Lanka have been renovated and are set to reopen on the 15th of next month. The President’s commitment to allocating financial resources for sports development, even during economic difficulties, is greatly appreciated.

උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස්

ශ‍්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණේ දේශපාලන මණ්ඩල සාමාජිකයන් විශාල පිරිසක් ජනාධිපති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතා සමග මේ වන විට සාකච්ඡාවක යෙදී සිටී.

හිටපු ජනාධිපති මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතාගේ විජයරාම නිල නිවසේ පැවති දේශපාලන මණ්ඩලය සාකච්ඡාවට සහභාගි වීමෙන් අනතුරුව මෙම පිරිස ජනාධිපතිවරයාගේ නිවසට ගොස් ඇත.

එම සාකච්චාවේදී ඔවුන් සහතික කර ඇත්තේ ඉදිරි ජනාධිපතිවරණයේදී පක්ෂයේ තීරණය කුමක් වුවද තමන් ජනාධිපතිවරයාට සහාය දෙන බවයි.

මෙම පිරිසට හතළිස් දෙනකු පමණ සිටින බවද වාර්තාකරුවන් කියා සිටිති.

Dr Sudath Gunasekara

Dear Saman,

 I fully agree with all what the President has said in his address under the caption 

” Sri Lanka unveils blueprint to transform outdated plantation sector to thriving agro-business ” etc that appeared in today’s Lankaweb and I would like to congratulate him for this novel approach that will give a new lease of life to the plantation sector.

This is the first visionary approach on the plantation sectorI ever came across, made by any politician or any other person, including any  expert economist or a policy maker at home or even abroad including the World Bank since the so-called Independence in 1948.

The only recorded exception, I have come across in this regard  is what John Still (1930) a planter and antiquarian has predicted in this regard, wehe he said ‘the commercial agricultural system in Ceylon would slide back in to forest quicker than the ancient tank agricultural system on the Island”  Therefore, once again my hearty congratulations to the President and whoever conceived this brilliant Idea. I only hope that all other politicians,policymakers and economic pundits will take a clue from what the President had said.

 But of course I fully disagree with the idea of creating  mono Tamil villages within the plantation areas in the Central hill country, the geographical entity that decides the destiny of the entire life system and the survival of the great civilization of this Island nation, Even the celebrated American Diplomat who wrote his classic on Sri Lankan plantation economy” Dilemma of a Nation” had not being able to see the need for such visionary change,

Therefore I shall be most grateful to you  if you could advise him on the danger of creating mono   Tamil villages  right at the center of this country. 

Further, I am attaching herewith an  article I have published in the Lankaweb News Forum that may be useful to you to convince the President  on the dangers of having such Tamil settlements on the geographical Heartland of this country.

Also I am attaching another article I published in the Lankaweb where I have outlined a way out  to solve the current political impasse that hinders our forward march as a nation for your information. After reading it, you may show it to the President as well  if you like.

With best wishes

Dr Sudath Gunasekara

ගරු ජනාධිපති තුමනි, අමාත්‍ය වරුණි, වතුකරයේ තනි දෙමළ ගම්මාන පිහිටුවීමේ අමාත්‍ය මන්ඩල යෝජනාව පහත සඳහන් හේතු නිසා වහාම හකුළාගත යුතුයි.

Mr President ban all these communal and separatist and terrorist political organizations and take legal action against these terrorist leaders and their agitators immediately or depart.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

කැස්බෑව ආසනයේ, පැලැන්වත්ත බටහිර හා මහායායවත්ත ප්‍රජාශාලා  අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන මහතා වෙත වෙන් කෙරෙන විමධ්‍යගත අරමුදලින් නවීකරණය කොට භාරදීම 2024.07.28 දින සිදු කෙරිණි.
එහිදී අදහස් දැක්වූ අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා –
හැම දෙයක්ම රජයේ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවලට පමණක් කරන්න බැහැ. යම්කිසි වැඩ කොටසක් මහජනයා හවුල් වෙලා රජයේ නිලධාරීන් සමඟ සිදු කළ යුතුයි. ලංකාවේ හැම ගමකම එවැනි ප්‍රජා කටයුතු  මහජනයාගේ සතුට වගේම ජීවිතවල දියුණුවට පරිවර්තනය කරන්න පුළුවන්. අපේ රට ඉදිරියට ගෙනයාම සඳහා එවැනි සහෝදරත්වයක් අවශ්‍යයි. ගම් මට්ටමේ සිට ඉහල දක්වා ඒ සහෝදරත්වය ඇතිවුණොත් රටට විශාල ශක්තියක්. මිනිස් බලයට මහ පෙරළී ඇති කළ හැකියි. එක්සත්කමින් රටේ දියුණුව ඇති කිරීම සඳහා වැඩකරන්න.
පසුගිය වසර වල අපේ රටේ ඇතැම් දිස්ත්‍රික්කවල කෘෂිකර්මාන්ත  ක්ෂේත්‍රයේ අතිරික්තයක් ඇතිකරන්න ගොවියෝ සමත් වුණා. එමගින් අපිට මුහුණ දෙන්න සිදුවූ  අමාරු අභියෝග රැසක් හරහා ගමන් කරන්න පුළුවන්කම ඇති වුණා.
අපිට හොඳට වතුර තියෙන රටක්. ඒ වතුර ටික රැකගෙන විදුලි බලය   නිෂ්පාදනය වැඩි කරගන්න  කටයුතු කිරිමට සෑම රජයක්ම පියවර ගත්තා. උමා ඔය ආරම්භ කළාම කොයිතරම් ප්‍රශ්න ඇති කළාද. විරෝධතා ව්‍යාපාර දියත් කළා. උද්ඝෝෂණ ව්‍යාපාර දියත් කළා. දැඩි අභියෝග මැද රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ ජනාධිපති තුමා  අපි තේ දෙන්නම්  ඒ වෙනුවට අපිට මේ උමා ඔය ව්‍යාපෘතිය ඉවර කරලා දෙන්න කියලා ඒ රටෙන් ඉල්ලීමක් කලා. අන්තිමට විරෝධතා ව්‍යාපාර වලින් කියපු අවින්ශචිත භාවයක් කොහෙත්ම තිබුණේ නැහැ.අක්කර දහස් ගණනක් අද අලුතෙන් අස්වද්දනවා. විදුලි බලය මේලවොට්120 ක්විදුලි බල පද්ධතියට එකතු වුණා.
සංවර්ධන වැඩ ගමට පවරන ක්‍රියාවලියේදී  ග්‍රාම සංවර්ධන සමිති බොහොම සක්‍රීය ආයතන. රාජ්‍ය මන්ත්‍රණ සභාව කාලේ  ඉඳලා ග්‍රාම සංවර්ධන සමිති කෙරෙහි විශ්වාසය තියලා රජයන් කටයුතු කළා. එමගින් මිනිස් ගුණධර්ම රැකගෙන මිනිස් සමාජයේ සහෝදරත්වයෙන් යුක්ත අතිරේක බලයක් නිර්මාණය කරනවා.
පසුගිය කාලේ ලෝකෙ රටවල් අපි එක්ක ගනුදෙනු නොකර නැවතුනා. අපිට අලුත් ආණ්ඩුවක් පිහිටවන්න වුණා. අද මේ වෙනකොට යළිත් ලෝකය සමඟ ගනුදෙනු කරන්න පුළුවන් රටක් බවට පත් කරල තියෙනවා. ජපානය විසින් අත්හිටුවා තිබූ ණය හා ආධාර නැවත ලබාදීමට හැකි ගිවිසුම ගිය සතියේ අත්සන් කරනු ලැබූවා. ඒ අනුව ඉදිරි කාලයේදී  නවත්වපු වැඩ පටන් ගන්න පුළුවන් වෙනවා.
පැලැන්වත්ත සත්බුදු විහාරාධිකාරී ශාස්ත්‍රපති පැලැන්වත්තේ සෝභිත හිමි, පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රීවරුන් වන ගාමිණී ලොකුගේ, යදාමිණි  ගුණවර්ධන මෙම අවස්ථාවට සහභාගී වූහ.
 
 අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

කොළඹ, බෞද්ධාලෝක මාවත, අතුළ දස්සන බෞද්ධ මධ්‍යස්ථානයේ සහ බොරැල්ල ඥාණාලංකාර භික්ෂු ගිලන් මධ්‍යස්ථාන විහාර ගණයේ ආධිපත්‍යය හොබවන ත්‍රිපිටකාචාර්ය බොරැල්ලේ අතුල ස්වාමීන් වහන්සේට  ශ්‍රී ලංකා අමරපුර මහා නිකායේ, අමරපුර සිරි සද්ධම්මවංස පාර්ශ්වයෙන් ස්ව නිකායේ අනුනායක පදවියේ අක්කපත්‍ර පිරිනැමීම අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ්  ගුණවර්ධන මහතා අතින් 2024.07.27 දින බණ්ඩාරනායක අනුස්මරණ ශාලාවේදී සිදුකෙරිණි.
1984 දී බොරැල්ලේ අතුල ස්වාමීන් වහන්සේ විසින් ආරම්භ කරන ලද වාර්ෂික නෙළුම් මල් පූජාව මෙරට විවිධ ප්‍රදේශවල ඓතිහාසික විහාරස්ථානවලදී දැනුදු සිදු කෙරේ. එමෙන්ම මැදින් මහේ පෝදා බෞද්ධාලෝක මාවත අතුල දස්සන බෞද්ධ මධ්‍යස්ථානය කේන්ද්‍ර කර ගනිමින්  පුරා හතළිස් වසක් මුළුල්ලෙහි දස පාරමිතා පෙරහර පවත්වාගෙන යාමටද උන්වහන්සේ මූලිකත්වය ගෙන කටයුතු කළහ.
පෙර අපර දෙදිග රටවල් රැසකට වැඩම කර  ධර්මදූත මෙහෙවරෙහි යෙදී ඇති බොරැල්ලේ අතුල හිමි  අමරපුර සිරිසද්ධම්මවංස පාර්ශ්වයේ සල්පිටි, හේවාගම්, රයිගම් කෝරලත්‍රයේ ප්‍රධාන සංඝනායක පදවියට තලල්ලේ ශ්‍රී ධම්මානන්ද නාහිමි යුගයේදී පත්වූහ. බළන්ගොඩ සුධම්මවංස මහා නාහිමි යුගයේදී කාරක සභික ධුරයකින් සහ කොළඹ පළාතේ ප්‍රධාන සංඝනායක ධුරයෙන්ද පිදුම් ලැබූහ.
ශ්‍රී ලංකා අමරපුර මහානිකායේ වැඩ බලන උත්තරීතර මහා සංඝනායක, අධ්‍යාපනපති,  පූජ්‍ය ආචාර්ය කරගොඩ, උයන්ගොඩ, මෛත්‍රී මූර්ති මහනාහිමි, අමරපුර සිරි සද්ධම්මවංශ මහා නිකායේ,    මහානායක පූජ්‍ය  අහුංගල්ලේ සිරි සීලවිසුද්ධි හිමි, ශ්‍රී ලංකා රාමඤ්ඤ මහානිකායේ  මහානායක, ශාස්ත්‍රපති පූජ්‍ය මකුලෑවේ ශ්‍රී විමල හිමි, සියම් මහානිකායේ ශ්‍රී කල්‍යාණී සමග්‍රී සංඟ සභාවේ මහනායක, පූජ්‍ය මල්වානේ පඤ්ඤාසාර හිමි, කොළඹ විශ්ව විද්‍යාලයේ කුලපති, පූජ්‍ය මුරුත්තෙට්ටුවේ ආනන්ද හිමි, විද්‍යෝදය පරිවෙණාධීපති, රාජකීය පණ්ඩිත, දර්ශනපති,  පූජ්‍ය බලංගොඩ සෝභිත නා හිමි, ඇතුළු මහා සංඝරත්නය සහ දායකකාරකාදීන් රැසක් මෙම අවස්ථාවට සහභාගි වූහ.
 
 

උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස්

හිටපු ජනාධිපති මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතාගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන් පැවති ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙර⁣මුණේ දේශපාලන මණ්ඩල රැස්වීමට අද (29) සහභාගී වී ඇත්තේ එම පක්ෂය නියෝජනය කරන ⁣පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රීවරුන් 16 දෙනෙකු පමණක් බව පක්ෂ ආරංචි මාර්ග පවසයි.

මෙවර ජනාධිපතිවරණයට ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණේන් අපේක්ෂකයකු ඉදිරිපත් කළයුතු බවට වන යෝජනාව දේශපාලන මණ්ඩලයට ඉදිරිපත් කර ඇත්තේ පක්ෂ ලේකම් සාගර කාරියවසම් මහතා විසිනි.

එම යෝජනාවට විරැද්ධව සහභාගී වූ මන්ත්‍රීවරුන් 11 දෙනෙකුම විරැද්ධව ඡන්දය ප්‍රකාශ කර තිබේ.

දේශපාලන ආරංචි මාර්ග පවසන්නේ පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රීවරුන් 16 දෙනා හැරැණු විට දේශපාලන මණ්ඩල රැස්වීමට සහභාගී වූ ⁣බොහෝදෙනා විවිධ සංවිධාන මට්ටමින් ගෙන්වූ අය බවයි.

ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණේ දේශපාලන මණ්ඩලයේ සාමාජිකයකු නොවන මහර ප්‍රාදේශීය සභාවේ හිටපු සභාපතිනියගේ දියණිය පවා අද පැවති දේශපාලන මණ්ඩල රැස්වීමට සහභාගී වී ඇති බව ද එම ආරංචි මාර්ග පවසයි.

කෙසේවෙතත් දේශපාලන මණ්ඩල රැස්වීමේදී පොහොට්ටුවෙ ජනාධිපති අපේක්ෂකධූරය බළාපොරොත්තුවෙන් සිටි ධම්මික පෙරේරා මහතාගේ නමක් ගැන සඳහන් නොවීම විශේෂත්වයකි.

එහිදී හිටපු ජනාධිපති මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා පවසා ඇත්තේ මෙය පක්ෂයේ තීරණය බවට එයට සියලුම දෙනා එකග විය යුතු බවත්ය.

– Repoter