දේශමාන්‍ය ආචාර්ය සුදත් ගුණසේකර

මධ්‍යම කඳුකරයේ දැනට සිදු කරණ පරිසර විනාශය සහ ඉන්දියාවට පාවාදීම වහාම නතර නොකලොත්, වසර 25ක් තුල සින්හල ජාතිය, වසර 2566 රැකගත් මේ රට ඔවුන්ට අහිමිවනු ඒකාන්තය.එසේම තවත් වසර 100 කින් සින්හල ජාතියද මේ මිහි පිටින්ම අතුරුදන් වනු ඇත.

මේ රටේ සියළුම දේශපාලනපක්ෂ ඉන්දියාව සමඟ එකතුවී  මධ්‍යම කඳුකරයේ දැනට සිදු කරණ පරිසර විනාශය සහ ඉන්දියාණු කරණය වහාම නතර නොකලොත්, වසර 25ක් තුල වසර 2566 තිස්සේ, ඉන්දියාව saha බටහිර සතුරන්ගෙන් ජීවිත පරිත්‍යාගයෙන් රැකගත්, මේ රට වසර 25 ක් තුල සින්හල ජාතියට අහිමිවනු ඒකාන්තය.එසේම ඊට අමතරව වසර 100 ක් තුල සින්හලද ජාතිය මේ මිහි පිටින් අතුරුදන් වනු නියතය.

(මෙම ලිපිය ලියන්නේ 1815 මාර් 2 වන දින උඩරට

 ගිවිසුමෙන් සුද්දන්ට මේ රට පාවාදුන් දිනය නිමිත්තෙනි))

ශ්‍රී ලන්කාවේ මධ්‍යම කඳුකරය යනු මේ රටේ සහ සින්හල ජාතියේ භූගෝලීය මෙන්ම අයිතිහාසික හදබිමද”වේ. මන්ද  ඉතිහාශය පුරාම එහි ස්වාභාවික පවැත්ම මෙන්ම ශිෂ්ඨාචාරයේ පැවැත්ම කෙරෙහිද එතරම්ම තීරනාත්මකව එය  බලපා ඇති නිසාය.

එසේම පළමුව එහි ස්වරූපය මෙන්ම දෙවණුව ක්‍රියාකාරිත්වය අනුව එය හදවතකට සමකළ හැකි බැවිනි. පහත සඳහන් රූපසටහන බලන්න.

 රුධිර සන්සරණ ක්‍රියාවලියේදී, පිලිවෙලින් ශිරා හරහා අපිරිසිදු ලේ පිටකිරීම සහ ධමනි හරහා පිරිසිදු ලේ හදවතකරා ගෙන එන්නා සේම මධ්‍යම කඳුරටේද එහි ආරම්භවන ගන්ගා දිගේ අපිරිසිදු ජලය මුහුදට ගලාගෙනගොස් සන්වහන ක්‍රියාවලිය තුලින් නැවතත් වර්ෂාව වෂයෙන් කඳු රටට පැමිණෙයි. හදවතේ ක්‍රියා කාරිත්වය නතරවු දාට සත්වයා මිය යන්නා සේම මධ්‍යම කඳුකරයේ භෞතික ස්තාවරත්වය නැතිවූදාට එහි ස්වාභාවික ක්‍රියාකාරිත්වයද නතරවි ශ්‍රී ලන්කාව නමැති ජීවියාද මියයනු ඒකාන්තය. එහි භෞතික ස්ථාවරත්වය ආරක්ෂා වනුයේ  මධ්‍යම කඳු කරයේ වනාන්තර, භූමිය සහ පසේ ආරක්ෂාව සහ නොකඩවා ජල සැපයුම යන සාධක මතය.

මධ්‍යම කඳු කරය අපේ රටේ හදවත”වන්නේ මේ අනුවය. එහි සුවිශේෂී භුවිෂමතාව සහ අක්ෂාන්ශක පිහීටිම සහ මු. ම. 2,524 මී (අ 8281) අඩී දක්වා  ඉහලට නැගීම සහ භූ විෂමතාව නිසා  මේ රටේ මධ්‍යම කඳුකරය ප්‍රධාන වර්ෂාකාරකයක් වෙයි. ඉන් ආරම්භවන ගන්ගා 103 අට දිසාවටම ගලායමින් මුළු ලක් දෙරනේම ගහකොල සතා සිව්පාවා සහ මිනිසා ඇතුලු සමස්ත ජීවී පද්ධතියටම ජීවය ලබා දෙයි. එයින් මුළු දිවයිහිනේම ශිෂ්ඨාචාරයද රැකෙයි. වනාන්තරය නිසා භුමියේ සෝදාපාලුව රැකෙන අතර වනාන්තරය අධාරයෙන් භූගතවන ජලයයෙන්  රටේ ඇති විශාලතම භූගත ජලාශයද නිර්මාණය වී ඇත. ඉන් නැගෙන උල්පත් වලින් ගන්ගා 103 ටම වසර පුරාම නොකඩවා දියවර ලබා දෙයි. ගහකොලින් භූමියට ලැබෙණ ආවරණය නිසා පස සෝදායාම වැලකී වසර පුරා ඇති සමස්ථ ජීවී පද්ධතියටම ජලය ලබාදෙයි. ඒ අනුව රටේ සමස්ථ ජීවී පද්ධතිය සහ ශිෂ්ඨාචාරයද රැකෙයි.හදවතේ ක්‍රියාකාරිත්වය නතරවූදාට ජීවියා මියයන්නා සේම කඳුරටින් ගලාබස්නා ගන්ගා නතරවූදාට ලන්කාව නමැති ජීවියාද මියයනු ඒකාන්තය.එමනිසා මධ්‍යම කඳුකරයේ භෞතික ස්ථාවරත්වය ආරක්ෂාකිරීම සකළ ලන්කාවාසි සියළු දෙනාගේම පරම යුතුකමකි. එය ඔවුන්ගේ හදවත මෙන් ආරක්ෂාකොට ගත යුතුය.

මේ රටේ පුරාණ රජදරුවන් මේ බව හොඳින් දැන සිටියා.  ඉතිහාසය පුරා මූ.ම. අඩි 3500 ට ඉහල මුළු කඳුකරයම රාජ ආඥාවලින් තහන්චි කැලයක් වෂයෙන් ආරක්ෂාකළේ ඒ නිසාය. එම ආරක්ෂාව ව්නාශකිරීම ආරම්භ වූයේ 1815 දී බ්‍රතාන්‍යයන්ගේ පැමිනීම සමඟය.

රටේ භූගෝලීය හදබිම-(මධ්‍යම කඳුකරය තුල අඩි 1000 සිට 8500 දක්වා) අතිෂයින්ම සන්වේදී කඳු මුදුන් සහ බෑවුම් වල ඉන්ග්‍රීසීන් විසින් ඉන්දියාවෙන් ගෙනවිත් 1948 දී මෙහි අතරමන්කොට දමාගිය, වතුකරයේ ඉන්දීය දෙමළ  ජනයාට දැනට ඉන්දියානු ආධාර මත සිදුකෙරෙමින් පවතින පරෙවිකූඩු නිවාස සහ වෙනත් තැනීම් මෙන්ම එම නිවාස ආශ්‍රිතව සිදුකෙරෙන වගාවන් ආදිය නිසා සිදුවන පරිසර විනාශයන් වහාම නතර නොකලොත් කඳුරටින් ගලන ගන්ගා වියලි කාලයේදි වියලීයාමෙන් හා වර්ෂා කාලයේදී ඉහල නිම්නවල සිදුවිය හැකි දරුණු නායයෑම්,අධික සෝදපාලුවීම් සහ පහල නිම්නවල  දරුණු ජලගැලීම් හා හදිසි ජලගැලීම නිසා  සිදුවිය හැකි හානි බෙහෙවින්ම වැඩි වනු ඇත.මේ අතර ඉහල කඳුකරයේ ජනාවාශ වැඩිවීමත් සමඟම සිදු වන නිවාසතැනීම්,ගොව්තැන් කටයුතු, එළුවන් සහ හරකුන් ඇතිකිර්‍රිම වැනි  ලක් රජයේ  පාලනයකින් තොරව සිදුවිය හැකි දරුණු පාන්ශු ඛාධන ක්‍රියාවලිය නිසා කඳුරටේ ඉහල ප්‍රදේශ කිසිදු වගාවකට නුසුදුසු ගල්තලා සහ මුඩුබිම් බවට පරිවර්ථනය වණු ඇත. මුළු දිවයිනේම සමස්ථ ජීවී පද්ධතියම මෙන්ම මේ සුන්දර  දිවයිනේ මානව ශිෂ්ඨාචාරායද නුදුරේ දීම මේ මිපිටින් අතුරුදන් වණු ඇත. ඒ සමඟම වසර 2566 ක් පැරණි සින්හල බෞද්ධ ශිෂ්ඨාචාරයද, මෙහි හැර වෙන කිසිම රටක නැතිනිසා, මේ මිහි පිටින් අතුරුදන් වෙනවා.  

ඉන්දීය” වතුකම්කරුවන්ට කඳුකරයේ දැනට හදන විනාශකාරී නිවාස:  උදාහහරණයක්.  බගවන්තලාව මු.ම.උ.අඩි 4,580. කඳුකරය පුරා මෙවැනි නිවාශ 60,000 කින් සිදුවනන පරිසර විනාශය ගැන මෙය කියවන ඔබට සිතාගත හැකිද?

ජාතික ගොඩනැගිලි පර්යේෂන සන්විධානය, පරිසර සන්විධාන සහ මේ පලාත්වල වගකිවයුතු රාජ්‍ය නිළධාරීන් වන  දිසාපහි වරුන් ,ප්‍රාදේශීය ලේකම්වරු වැනි රාජ්‍ය නිළධාරීන් සහ සින්හල මහජන නියෝජිතයින්  කොහෙද ඉන්නේ.මොකද කරන්නේ.මේ ජාතිකක අපරාධය ඔබලාට පෙනෙන්නෙ නැද්ද්ද?

 මධ්‍යම කඳුකරයේ සුවිශේෂ්හී භුවිෂමතාව නිසා එය මේ රටෙ ප්‍රධාන වර්ෂාකාරකයක්ද වේ.එහි ගෝලීය අක්ෂාන්සක  පිහීටිම සහ මු. ම. 2,524 මී (අ 8281) අඩී දක්වා ඉහලට නැගීමද මධ්‍යම කඳුකරය ප්‍රධාන වර්ෂාකාරකයක් වීමට හේතුවෙයි. ඉන් ආරම්භවන ගන්ගා 103 අට දිසාවටම ගලායමින් මුළු ලක් දෙරනේම ගහකොල සතා සිව්පාවා සහ මිනිසා ඇතුලු සමස්ත ජීවී පද්ධතියටම ජීවය ලබා දෙයි. එයින් ශිෂ්ඨාචාරය රැකෙයි. කඳුරට වසා සිටින වනාන්තරය නිසා භුමියේ සෝදාපාලුව රැකෙන අතර වනාන්තරය අධාරයෙන් භූගතවන ජලය  රටේ ඇති විශාලතම ස්වාභාවික භූගත ජලාශයද නිර්මාණය කොට ඇත. ඉන් නැගෙන උල්පත් වලින්  ගන්ගා 103 ටම වසර පුරාම නොකඩවා දියවර ලබා දෙයි. ඉන් රට පෝෂනය වෙයි. ගහකොල ආවරණයනිසා පස සෝදායාම වැලකී වසර පුරා ජලය ලබාදෙයි.  මධ්‍යම කඳුකරය අපේ ජාතියේ හදවත”වන්නේ මේ අනුවය.

රටේ හා ජාතියේ පැවැත්මට කඳුරටේ ඇති භෞතික වැදගත් කමට අමතරව රටේ දේශපාලන හා ආරක්ෂාවටද ඇති  එහි  ඇති වැදගත් කමද රාම රවණා යුගය දක්වා දිවෙයි.රාවනා සීතා හන්ගා සිටියේද එසේම අයිතිහාසික යුගයේ දුටුගැමුණු වළගම්ම්බා සැඟවී සතුරන්ගෙන් ආරක්ශාවී සේනා ස්න්විධානය කළේද මෙම මධ්‍ය‍යම කඳුකරයේමය.තවද ක්‍රි.ව . 1505 සිට 1815 දක්වාම සිනහ්ලේ රාජධානිය විනාශ වීමට නොදී උඩරට සින්හලයින් ආරක්ෂාකොට ගත්තේද මේ කඳුකරයේ පිහිටෙනි. ඒ අනුව ප්‍රාග් අයිතිහාශික යුගයේ සිට වසර 7500 ක කාලයක් පුරාම මේ රට සහ ජාතිය සෑම අතින්ම ආරක්ෂාකොටගෙන ඇත්හේද මේ කඳුරටය.

මුළු මහත් රටේම සමස්ථ ජීවි පද්ධතිය සහ ශිෂ්ඨාචාරය රැකදීමට අම්තරව   රාම ආවනා යුගයේ සිටම ඉතිහාශය පුරාම දුටු ගැමුනු වලගම්බා යන රජවරු වසර 10 12 මෙහි සැඟවීසිට සේනා සන්විධානාය්නය කොට ඉන්දීය සොලී ආක්‍රමණිකයින්ගෙන් මේ රට බේරාගත්තේද මේ කඳුරටේ පිහ්ටෙණි.

මෙබඳු මහාර්ග වස්තුවක් වූ ශ්‍රී ලන්කාවේ හදවත වූ කඳුරටේ දැනට සිදුකෙරෙමින් පවතින මේ මහා විනාශය නතර කීර්‍රිමට එදා මෙන් අද අපට රජවරුන් නැත. ඒ වෙනුවට අද සිටින්නේ රට හෝ ජනතාව ගැන ආදරයක් නැති තමන්ගේ රට කුමක්ද කියාවත් නොදන්නා රජමරුන්ය.

ඉතිහාශය පුරාම කඳුරටේ ජනාවාශ තිබුණේ 3 ක් පමණි.

 ඒ කොත්මලේ, වැලිමඬ සහ මන්දාරම් පුර නම්වු කුඩා ගම්මානයයි.එහෙත් මේ තුනම අඩි 3500 මට්ටමෙන් පහලය.  එදා ඉහල කඳුකරයේ වනාන්තරයට ඇතුල්වීම පවා රාජ උදහසට ලක්වන වරදකි. සින්හලේ රජවරුන් හදබිමේ වනාන්තරය ආරක්ෂාකලේ ඒ අයුර්‍රිණි.

 ශ්‍රී ලන්කා හදබිමේ විනාශය ආරම්භ වූයේ 1815 දී ඉන්ග්‍රීසීන්ගේ පැමිණීමත් සමඟය. පළමුව කෝපි වගාවටද 1875 න් පමණ පසු තේ වගාවටද කඳු රටේ අක්කර ලක්ෂ 13ක පමණ වනාන්තරය කපා.උගුල්ලා විනාෂකොට එහි තේ වැවීය. එහි ප්‍රතිඵලය වූයේ සියලුම ගන්ගාවල ජල ප්‍රමාණය 50% න් අඩුවීමය (සැමුවෙල් බේකර් 1885). ඊට අමතරව කඳුකරය වටා පහත් බිම් වල   ජලගැලීම් වලින් අප්‍රමාණ විනාශයන්ටද එසේම ගන්ගා පතුල් වැලිවලින් පිරීයාමනිසා එවායේ ඔරු පාරු යාමද නතර විය. උදාහරණයකට හන්වැල්ල දක්වා ඔරු පාරු යාත්‍රාකල හැකිව තිබුණු කැළනිගඟේ ජල ප්‍රවාහනය සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම මෙන් නතර විය.කඳුකරයේ අධික සෝදාපාලුව නිසා පොලව මුඩුබිම් බවට පත්වී කඳුකරය සිසාරා ගල්කඳු මතුවිය.වනාන්තරයේ සිටි අලි ඇතුන් ඇතුළු අනේකවිධ මේ රටම ආවේනික වූ ගහ කොල සහ ජීවීන් සියල්ලද අතුරුදන් විය.

මේ අනුව තේ වතු වගාව නිසා සමස්ත කඳුකරය පුරා සිදුවූ පරිසර විනාශය මෙතෙකැයි කිව නොහැක.ඇත්ත වශයෙව්න්ම මේ සිදුකරණලද මහා  පරිසර විනාශයට මහා බ්‍රතාන්‍ය අපට වන්දි ගෙවිය යුතුය.ඊට අමතරව මේ රටේ සාරය එන්ගලන්තයට ඇදීම සඳහා මහාමාර්ග,දුම් රිය මාර්ග,තේ කම්හල් හා වෙනත් ගොඩනැගිලි සහ ඉන්දියාවෙන් මෙහි ගෙන ආ වහල් සේවකයින් ගාල් කිරීම සඳහා තැනු සාමූහික ගවගාල් වැනි ලයින්  ආදිය නිසා ඊට පෙර කිසිම දිනක මිනිස් පා ගැටුමක් නොවූ, නොඉඳුල් මහ පොලව හඬා වැලපින.

1948 දි ඒ අධිරාජ්‍යවාදි මන්කොල්ලකරුවන් පිටව ගියද තේ කර්මාන්ත ශාලා ආශ්‍රිත සියළුම තැනීම් මෙන්ම පිදුරුතලාගල මුදුන දක්වා, මේ රටට කිසිම ආදරයක් නැති, ඉන්දියාව තම මව් රට වෂයෙන් වඳින පුදන ඉන්දීය වතු හමුදාවේ විනාශකාරී ක්‍රියාවන්ගේද අඩුවක් දක්නට නොළබින. මේ වනවිට ඉන්දියා ආධාර සහ ජාත්‍යන්තර ආධාර වලින් සම්ස්ථ කඳුකරය පුරා කිසිදු ප්‍රමිතියකින් තොරව, රජයේ නිලධාරීන්ගේ අනුමැතියක්ද නැතිව නිවාස 60,000 ක් තැනීමේ ව්‍යාපෘතියක් ක්‍රියාත්මක වෙමින් පවතී. නිවාසවලට අමතර වෙනත් විවිධ තැනීම්ද ඉදිවෙමින් පවතී. ඊට අමතරව එලුවන් සහ ගවයින් ඇතිකිරිම සහ වගා කටයුතු සඳහාද මේ කඳු බෑවුම් යොදාගනමින් භූමියේ භෞතික ස්ථාවරත්වය විනාශකරමින් පවතී. 

 වර්ෂ 1991 සිට සියළුම රජයනට මවිසින් මේ අවදානම පෙන්වාදී ඇතත් ඒ කිසිවෙකු මේ දක්වා ඒ ගැන කිසිදු අවධානයක් හෝ ප්‍රතිචාරයක් දක්වා නැත. 1956 න් පසු බලයට පැමිණි සෑම රජයක්ම වතුකරයේ ඉන්දීය දෙමළ මිනිසුන්ට සැලකුවා මිස 1505 සිට 1815 දක්වා මේ රට බටහිර ආක්‍රමනිකයින් තුන් ජාතියකින් ජීවිත පරිත්‍යාගයෙන් අනාගත පරම්පරාවට අරක්ෂකොට දුන් උඩරට සින්හලයින්ගේ දුක් ගැනවිළි ගැන ගැන අද දක්වාම ඇස් ඇර බැලුවේවත් නැත

ඊට හේතු 4  ක් මම දකිමි.ඉන් පළැමුවන්න මා කියන දේ තේරුම් ගැනිමට තරම් මොලයක් මැති පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ  ඇමතිවරුන්ට  නැතිවිමයි. දෙවැන්න එවැනි පියවරක් ගතහොත් වතුකරයේ චන්ද ටික නොලැබෙයි යන බියයි(ඒ චන්ද මොවුන්ට කිසිමදාක නොළැබෙන බවවත් මොවුන් නොදනිතී). තුන්වැන්න රට හෝ ජාතිය ගැන ඔවුන් තුල කිසිදු ආදරයක් හෝ හැඟීමක් නැති කමයි.  සිව් වණුව ඉදියාවට ඇති බියය. පස් වණුව මෙවැනි ජාතික ප්‍රශ්න දෙස විමසීමෙන් බැලීමට ඔවුන්ට කාලය නැතිකමයි.මන්ද ඔවුන්ගේ පූර්ණ කාලය ගතවන්නේ පෞද්ගලික ලාභ ප්‍රයෝජන සඳහා මිස ජනතා සේවය හෝ රට ජාතිය වෙනුවෙන් නොවන නිසාය

මැතිසබයේ සිටින සියළු දෙනාගේම කෙසේ වුවත් උඩරට ප්‍රදේශ නියෝජනය කරන 75 ක් පමණවන අය අතුරෙන්  එක මනුස්සයෙක් හෝ මේ ගැන අද දක්වාම වචනයක් කතාකොට නැති වීමෙන්ම ජනතා ප්‍රශ්න කෙරෙහි සහ රට ජාතිය ගැන මොවුන් තුල ඇති අවධානය සහ ඇප කැපවීමේ තරම පැහැදිලිවෙයි. කඳුරට පුරා ලන්කා රජයෙන්, ඉන්දිය රජයෙන් සහ  සින්හල බෞද්ධ විරෝධී බටහිර සුදු ජාතීන්ගෙන්ද   වනාන්තරයට,මහපොලවට,පසට හා ජල සම්පත්වලට සිදුකෙරෙන හානි වලට  අමතරව වසර 2566ක් තිස්සේ සින්හලයින්ට උරුමව තිබුණු මේ රන් දෙරණ අද දසක  කීපයකට පෙර දකුණු ඉන්දියාවෙන් මෙහි ගෙන ආ සුද්දන්ගේ වහල් දෙමල පිරිසකට සින්නකර කොට දීමෙන් 2566 ක භූමියේ ජන්ම උරුමකරුවන්ට තම මව් බ්මේ අයිතිය අහිමිවීමද අනෙක් අතින් මේ සින්හල රටේ හදවත බඳු උඩරට ඉන්දියාවේ ප්‍රාන්තයක් බවට පත්වීමෙන් මේ සින්හල රටේ ආරක්ෂාව, ස්වයිරී භාවය, ස්වාධීනත්වය සහ නිදහස අපට අහිමිවීම රට කරවන කාලකන්නි දේශපාලුවන්ට නොතෙරෙන්නේ ඔවුන්ගේ ඇස් ධන, බල තන්හාවෙන් අන්ධවෙලාදැයි මම නොදනිමි.

මේ නිසා මේ විනාශයෙන් රට හා සින්හල ජාතිය බේරා ගැනීමට ඉතිරිව ඇති එකම මඟ, පක්ෂ දේශපාලනය, උඩ පාත රට භේධයක් නැතිව රටට හා ජාතියට ආදර කරණ සියලුම සින්හලයින් මේ ප්‍රශ්නය තෙරුම්ගෙන ඒ විනාශයෙන් මේ රටත් සින්හල ජාතියත් බේරා ගැනීම සඳහා වහාම සන්විධානය වීමයි.

ඒ මහාජාතික උවදුරෙන් මේ සුන්දර රට හා සින්හල ජාතිය බේරා ඣ්ගැනීම සඳහා යෝජිත එකම පිළියම පහතින් දක්වමි

මේ  රටේ මධ්‍යම   කඳුකරය ආරක්ෂාකොට      ගැනීමේ වැඩපිළිවෙල

මධ්‍යම කඳුකරයේ බෞතික ස්ථාවරත්වය, රටේ සමස්ථ ජීවී පද්ධතිය සහ මේ දිවයිනේ ශිෂ්ඨාචාරය ආරක්ෂාකොට ගැනීමටනම් පහත සඳහන් වැඩපිළිවෙල වහාම අනිවාර්‍යෙන්ම ක්‍රියාත්මක කළයුතුබව මම යෝජනාකරමි.

ප්‍රථමයෙන්ම කඳුකරය පුරා  මු.ම.අඩි 3500 න් ඉහල ප්‍රදේශවල දැනට සිදුකෙරෙණ සියලුම තැනීම් සහ කැනීම් වහාම නතර කළ යුතුය. අනතුරුව තිරසාරව දිවයිනේ ඉහත සඳහන් කරුණු තුන ආරක්ෂා කොට ගැනීම සහතික කිරීමට නම් පහතින් දැක්වෙන ජාතික වැඩපිලිවෙල නොපමාව ක්‍රියාත්මක් කළ යුතුය.

1. මධ්‍යම කඳුකරයේ මු. ම. අඩි 5000 ඉහල සෑම ප්‍රදේශයක්ම. අධිරක්ශිත ප්‍රදේශ වශයෙන් ප්‍රකාශකිරීම. කිසිම වගාවක් හෝ ජනාවාශයක් මේ තුල සපුරා තහනම් කළ යුතුය.

11. අඩි 3500-5000 අතර විශාල තේ වතු තිබුණද ඒ තුළද සෑම වර්ගයේම ජනාවාශ තහනම් කළයුතුය.

111.කඳුකරයේ සියළුම ජනාවාශ අඩි 3500 යේ සීමාවෙන් පහල ප්‍රදේශ වලට සීමා කළයුතුය.

1Vකඳුකරයේ   1000-3500 අතර ප්‍රදේශය ජනාවාශ සඳහා වෙන්කළ යුතුය. කඳුකරය වටේ දිවෙන මෙම තීරුවේ අක් 2 ½ කුඩා ගොවිපල ක්‍රමය යටතේ උඩරට ඉඩම් නැති ගැමියන් සහ අඩි 3500න් ඉහල තේ වතු වලින් ඉවත් කෙරෙන ශ්‍රී ලන්කාවේ පුරවැසියන් වන දෙමල කම්කරුවන්ද සින්හල දෙමළ මිශ්‍ර ගම්මාන වශයෙන් පදින්චි කළයුතුය. ගොවි පවුල් 2,50,000 පමණ එසේ පදින්චි කිරිමට හැකිවෙතැයි සිතිය හැකි අතර එම ගොවිබිම් ශ්‍රී ලන්කා හදබිම අධිකාරියේ 1991 නිර්දේශිත ගම්මිරිස්,කරාඹු,කෝපි,එනසල්, පලතුරු වැනි මිශ්‍ර භෝග සහ, ගෘහස්ථ සත්ව පාලනය (ගව, එළු.කුකුල් සහ මීමැසි ) සහිත කුඩා ගොවිපල ව්‍යාපාර සඳහා වෙන්කළ යුතුය. මෙම තීරුව 3500 න් ඉහල තේ වතුවලට අවශ්‍ය කම්කරු ශ්‍රමයද සපයෙනු ඇත. එසේ කිරීමෙන් දැනට තේ වතුවල සේවය කරන ලන්කා රටවැසි දෙමළ ජනයාට වතුවල රැකියාව තහවුරු වන අතර මෙම තීරුවේ පදින්චි සින්හල මිනිසුන්ටද අලුතෙන් රැකියා අවස්ථා ලැබෙනු ඇත.මෙසේ කිරීමෙන් තේ වතුවල දෙම ජනයාගේ ප්‍රශ්නය මෙන්ම දිවයිනේ මධ්‍යම කඳුකරය ඉන්දියාණු කරණය වීමේ තර්ජනයෙන්ද වැලකේ.එසේම කඳුකරයේ දෙමළ ප්‍රශ්නයද සදහටම අවසන්වණු ඇත.

එහෙත් මෙම 1000-3500 තීරුවේ ඉඩම් ලබාගැනීමට සඳහා වතු දෙමළ ජනයා පළමුවෙන්ම වැදගත් කොන්දේසියකට අනිවාර්‍යෙන්ම එකඟ වියයුතුය. එනම් 1953 කොතලාවල -නේරු ගිවිසුම ප්‍රරකාර දේෂයේ රාජ්‍ය භාෂාව වන සින්හල ඉගෙනගෙන විභාගයකින් සමත්ව තමන් සියළුම ඉන්දීය ආලවන්තකම් අත්හැර සින්හල නම් ගෙන සින්හල  සමාජයට අන්තර්ග්‍රහණය වන බවට ගිවිසුම් ගත වීමය.එසේ  වූ විට කරුපයියා කලුබන්ඩාද සුප්පයියා සුදු බණ්ඩාද වනු ඇත. ඒ සමඟම නාම් 200 මලයහ ආදී කුණුහරප සන්කල්පද වහාම අතළ යුතුය. ඉන්දීය සම්භවයද මුළුමනින්ම අමතතක කර දැමිය යුතුය.

එසේ කිරීමට අකැමැති සියළු දෙනාම වහාම ආපසු ඉන්දියාවට යායුතුය. මක්නිසාදයත් මේ රට වසර 2566 ක් තිස්සේ සින්හල රාජධානියක් වෂයෙන්ද වසර 2331ක් පුරා සින්හල බෞද්ධ රාජ්‍යක් වෂයෙන්ද අඛණ්ඩව පැවැති බැවිනි. එසේම ඉතිහාසය පුරාම එය රැකගණු ලැබුයේත් සින්හලයින් විසින් බැවිණි. 

ඔබලාගේම මුතුන් මිත්තන්  ක්‍රි පූ 2වන සියවසේ සිට මේ රට ල්ලගැනීමට ආක්‍රමණ 17 ක් කොට ඇත. ආක්‍රමණය කල බවද එහෙත් ඒ කිසිවෙකුට මේ රට අල්ලගැනීමට නොහැකිවූ බවද මතක් කර ගැනීම හොඳයයි මම සිතමි.

මේ රට සින්හල අපේ රට.ඔබලාගේ මව් රට දකුණු ඉන්දියාව ඔබ සැමදම වඳින්නේ, පුදන්නේ ඉන්දියාවට,එහි නායකයන්ට සහ දෙවිවරුන්ට.  1840 සිට ඔබලාගේ මුතුන් මිත්තන් සුද්දන් මෙහි ගෙනාවේ උන්ගේ වහලුන් වෂයෙන්.ඔබලා උන්ට තුට්ටුදෙකට කැඹුරුඅමින් මේ රට විනාශකිරීමට උන්ට වහල්කම් කල අතර සුද්දන්ට විරුද්දව අපේ මුතුන් මිත්තන් 1818 සහ්1 1848 දී කල සටන්වලදීද ඔබලාගේ කුලීහේවායින් සින්හල මිනිසු මරන්ට පර සුද්දන්ට උදව් කලා මිස සින්හල අපට පක්ෂවක්‍රියා කලේ නැත. අපි බලකර සිටිමු.

එසේම විසේෂයෙන්ම මේ පලාත්වලින් මැතිසභයට ගොස් සිටින සෑම පක්ෂයකම සියළුම මැති ඇමතිවරුන් සියළු දෙනාම මේ යෝජනාව ක්‍රියාත්මක කරණ මෙන් රජයට බල කරණ මෙන්ද මම ඉල්ලා සිටිමි. එසේ නොකරන මන්ත්‍රී වරුන් තම අසුන්වලින් වහාම ඉල්ලා අස්විය යුතුය.මෙම වැඩපිළිවෙල මේ රටේත්, සින්හල ජාතියේත් මතු ඉරණම විසඳන තීරණාත්මක එකක්. එමනිසා  ඊට එරෙහි වන මැටි ඇමැති වරුන්ගේ ගෙවල් වටලා මේ අණුව ක්‍රියා කරණමෙන් බලකරන මෙන් රට ජාතියට ආදරය ඇති සියලුම   සින්හලයින්ගෙන්,විශේෂයෙන්ම       උඩරට සින්හලයින්ගෙන් මම තරයේ ඉල්ලා සිටිමි.

 ඒ සමගම වතුකරයේ දෙමළ ජනතාව වසර 200 ක් මෙහි පදිචිව සිටි බවට ජනාධිපතිවරයා ඇතුළු මැති ඇමතිවරුන් කරණ කෙප්ප ප්‍රකාශද මින්මතුවට හෝ නොකරණ මෙන්ද  වසර 2566 ක් තිස්සේ රැකගත් මේ සින්හල ජාතියේ  මාතෲ භූමිය  ඉන්දියාවට පාවාදීම වහාම නතර කරණමෙන්ද මම තරයේ බලකර සිටිමි. ඇත්ත වශයෙන්ම මේ වතුවල සිටින දෙමල කම්කරුවන්ට නීත්‍යානුකූල නොවූ රට වැසිකම් ලැබුණේ 1987 දීය. රට පාවා දීමේ එම රට්වැසිවව ජේ. ආර්. දුන්නේද  ලෝකයේ කිසිම රටක නැති සමාදාන විනිශ්චය කාරයකු ඉදිරියේ  රුපියලේ මුද්දරයක් උඩ අත්සන්කළ කඩදාසි කැබෙල්ලක් මතය. වර්තමානයේ වතුවල සිටින කම්කරුවන් කිසිවෙකු මේ රටේ අවුරුදු 200ක පරම්පරාවක් තබා අවුරුදු 60කට වඩා ස්තිර පදින්චියක් මෙහි නැත.පරම්පරා පදින්චියක් තිබුණද රටවැසිකම ඇත්තේ 1988 සිටය එයද රුපියලේ රටවැසිකමකි. එයද නීත්‍යානුකූළ එකක් නොවේ.තමන්ගේ රටට හා  ජාතියට ආදරයක් නැති  අමණ දේශ ද්‍රෝහීන්ට චන්දය දෙන මෝඩයින් සිටින ලෝකයේ එකම රට මෙය විය යුතුය.

 කඳුරට පුරා ලන්කා රජයෙන්, ඉන්දිය රජයෙන් සහ  සින්හල බෞද්ධ විරෝධී බටහිර සුදු ජාතීන්ගෙන්  වනාන්තරයට,මහපොලවට,පසට හා ජල සම්පත්වලට සිදුකෙරෙන හානි වල අමතරව වසර 2566ක් තිස්සේ සින්හලයින්ට උරුමව තිබුණු මේ රන් දෙරණ අද  එක අතකින් දසක  කීපයකට පෙර දකුණු ඉන්දියාවෙන් මෙහි ගෙන ආ වහල් දෙමල පිරිසකට සින්නකර කොට දීමෙන් 2566 ක භූමියේ ජන්ම උරුමකරුවන්ට තම මව් බ්මේ අයිතිය අහිමිවීම අනෙක් අතින් මේ සින්හල රටේ හදවත බඳු මේ රටේ කඳුරට උඩරට ඉන්දියාවේ ප්‍රාන්තයක් බවට පත්වීමෙන් මේ සින්හල රටේ ආරක්ෂාව, ස්වඉරී භාවය ස්වාධීනත්වය සහ නිදහස අපට අහිමිවන බව රට කරවන කාලකන්නි දේශපාලුවන්ට  නොතෙරෙන්නේ ඔවුන්ගේ ඇස්, ධන බල තන්හාවෙන් අන්ධවෙලාදැයි මම නොදනිමි.

මේ නිසා මේ විනාශයෙන් රට හා සින්හල ජාතිය බේරා ගැනීමට ඉතිරිව ඇති එකම මඟ  උඩ පාත රට් භේධයක් නැතිව රටට හා ජාතියට ආදරය කරණ සියලු දෙනාම  මේ ප්‍රශ්නය තෙරුම්ගෙන  ඒ විනාශයෙන් මේ රටත් සින්හල ජාතියත් බේරා ඝැනීම සඳහා වහාම සන්විධාන වීමයි.

ඒ සඳහා ඇති හොඳම පිළියම මවිසින් ඉහතින් පෙන්වාදී ඇත.           

මේ  රටේ මධ්‍යම   කඳුකරය ආරක්ෂාකොට      ගැනීමේ වැඩපිළිවෙල

මේ රටේ මධ්‍යම කඳුකරය (ශ්‍රී ලන්කාවේ භූගෝලීය හදබිම), අපේ හදවත  මෙන් රැකගත යුතුය. මක්නිසාදයත්,මිනිසෙකුට හදවතින් කෙරෙන ක්‍රියාදාමය මධ්‍යම කඳු කරයෙන් ශ්‍රී ළන්කාවට සිදුකෙරෙන නිසාසාය. යම්සේ හදවත නතරවූදාට මිනිසා හෝ වෙනත් ඔනෑම සතෙක් මිය යන්නාසේම මධ්‍යම කඳුරයේ භෞතික ස්ථාවරත්වය නැතිවූදාට ලන්කාව නැමති සත්වයාද මිය යනු ඒකාන්තය. එබැවින් ශ්‍රී ලන්කාවේ මධ්‍යම කඳුකරය අපේ හදවත රැකගන්න සේම රැකගතයුතුය.

ඒ සඳහා ඉහතින් දැක්වූ  වැඩපිළිවෙල නැවතත් පහතින් දක්වමි..

1. මධ්‍යම කඳුකරයේ මු. ම. අඩි 5000 ඉහල සෑම ප්‍රදේශයක්ම. අධිරක්ශිත ප්‍රදේශ වශයෙන් ප්‍රකාශකිරීම. කිසිම වගාවක් හෝ ජනාවාශයක් මේ තුල සපුරා තහනම් කළ යුතුය.

11. අඩි 3500-5000 අතර විශාල තේ වතු තිබුණද ඒ තුළද සෑම වර්ගයේම ජනාවාශ තහනම් කළයුතුය. දැනට එහි සිටින සියළුදෙනාම 1000 -3500 කළාපය තුළ පදින්චි කළ යුතුය.

111.කඳුකරයේ සියළුම ජනාවාශ අඩි 3500 යේ සීමාවෙන් පහල ප්‍රදේශ වලට සීමා කළයුතුය.

1Vකඳුකරයේ   1000-3500 අතර ප්‍රදේශය. මධයම කඳුකරය වටේ දිවෙන මෙම තීරුවේ උඩරට ඉඩම් නැති ගොවියන් සහ උඩරට තේ වතු වලින් ඉවත් කෙරෙන ශ්‍රී ලන්කාවේ පුරවැසියන් වන දෙමල කම්කරුවන්ද මිශ්‍ර ගම්මාන වශයෙන් පදින්චි කළයුතුය. එසේ පදින්චි කිරිමට අපේක්ෂිත ගොවි පවුල් ගණන 2,50,000 කි. මෙසේ කිරීමෙන් උඩරට දෙමළ ප්‍රශ්නයද සදහටම අවසන්වණු ඇත. ශ්‍රී ලන්කා හදබිම අධිකාරියේ නිර්දේශිත ගම්මිරිස්,කරාඹු,කෝපි,එනසල්, පලතුරු වැනි මිශ්‍ර භෝග සහ, ගෘහස්ථ සත්ව පාලනය (ගව, එළු.කුකුල් සහ මීමැසි ) සහිත කුඩා ගොවිපල ව්‍යාපාර සඳහා වෙන්කළ යුතුය.

මේ අනුව ක්‍රියාකරණමෙන් රජයට හා විශේෂයෙන්ම මේ පලාත් වලින් මැතිසභයට ගොස් සිටින මැති ඇමතිවරුන්ගේ ගෙවල් වටලා බලකරන මෙන් රට ජාතිය වෙනුවෙන් සියලුම සිනහලයින්ගෙන්.  විශේෂයෙන්ම උඩරට සින්හලයින්ගෙන් මම තරයේ ඉල්ලා සිටිමි

 ඒ සමඟම වතුකරයේ දෙමළ ජනතාව වසර 200 ක් මෙහි පදින්චිව සිටියායැයි කෙබර ඇද නොබා ඇත්ත අති සැටියේ ප්‍රකාශකොට. මේ රටේ තවදුරටත් ඉන්ට ඕනෑනම් ඉන්දීය මනසින් මුළුමනින්ම මිදී මේරටේ ජන්ම උරුම කරුවන් වන  සින්හලයින් සමඟ අන්තර්ග්‍රහණය වී තව දුරටත් ඉන්දීය දෙමළුන් වශයෙන් නොව මේ රටේ සින්හලයින් වෂයෙන් ජීවත් වන මෙන් මම ය්හෝජනා කරමි. එසේ කිරීමට නොහැකිනම් තවදුරටත් ඉන්දීය මිනිස්සුන් වෂයෙන්ම සිටීමට ඔබ අදහස් කරන්නේනම් කරුණා කර එම අදහස වහාම අත් හැර ඔබ ඔබේ මව් රට වෂයෙන් සලකන, වඳින පුදන ඉන්දියාවටම වහාම නැව් නගින මෙන්   මම ඉල්ලා සිටිමි. 

සුද්දන් විසින් 1840 සිට වහල් මෙහෙය ගෙන අවසානයේදි 1948 දී උන් යන විට අනුන්ගේ රටක අතරමන්කොට දමාගිය  ඔබලා සිහිනෙන් පවා මව් රට වශයෙන් සලකන ඊහෙත් ඉන්දියා ආපහු ය න්ට බෑ කියන නිසා  මිනිසුන් වෂයෙන් ඔබට අනුකම්පාකොට අපේ රටවැසි බව දී අපේම සහෝදරයින් වෂයෙන් අපි ඔබ භාර ගැනීමටයි, මේ දෑත් දිගු කරන්නේ.

තිස්ස ගුණතිලක

නිවන යනු ස්වභාවධර්මගත වීමයි. අප සියළුදෙනාම ණිඝංඨ ධර්මය හා සද්ධර්මය පටලවාගෙන නිවනින්‍ ඈත්වෙමින් සිටිමු.

එදා අපහට ඉස්කෝලෙ දහම්පාසලේ ගෙදර කියාදුන් කර්ම-විපාකය, නැවත නැවත ඉපදීම, ශීලය, භාවනාව, අනිත්‍යය මෙනෙහි කිරීම, සිත පාලනයෙන් නිවන් දැකීම ආදී සියල්ලම සද්ධර්මයට පටහැනි නිවන වසනා දෘෂ්ඨීන් බව දැන් ඔබට වැටහී ඇතැයි සිතමි. සියවස් ගනනාවක් තිස්සේ බෞද්ධයා සිතා සිටියේ මේ සියල්ලම තුලින් නිවන් දැකිය හැකිබවයි. නමුත් අවුරැදු 2100කින් රහතන්වහන්සේ කෙනෙක් මෙලොවට දායාද නොවුනේ මේ සද්ධර්මය දෘෂ්ඨි සහගතව වැරදි ආකාරයට ග්‍රහනය කරගැනීමකට, කියාදීමකට ලක්වූ බැවිනි. එසේනම් සද්ධර්මය දෙස නැවත නැවුම්ව (fresh) බැලීමට මේ ඔබට කාලයයි.

සරලවම නිවන්මග වැටීඇත්තේ ‘භව නිරෝධය’ (දෙයක් යමක් කෙනෙක් නැති, ගිනි නොගන්නා ස්වභාවය, ශුණ්‍යතා අවබෝධය) හරහාබව අපට කියාදෙන දේශකයින් කී දෙනෙක් අද දවසේ හමුවෙයිද? තවද භවනිරෝධය කලහැකිවන්නේ පූර්ණ ‘අතහැරීම‘ තුල පමනක්ම බව දන්නා දේශකයින් විරලය. අතහැරීම ‘පාරමිතාවක්’ බවත් පාරමිතා සම්පූර්ණ කලවහාම නිවන්දැකීම බොජ්ජංග පාලමක්වී (bridge) ඒ හරහා ආයාසයකින් තොරවම (auto) සිඳුවන බවත්, එසේ නිවන් දකිනා ක්‍රියාවලිය අනිවාර්යෙන්ම සිඳුවන අතර එය නැවතීමට කිසිම ජගතෙකුට නොහැකිබවත් අප මින්පෙර ලිපිවලින් සාකච්චා කලෙමු.

සද්ධර්මය තුල අපට හමුවන ප්‍රධාන ලෝක දෙක

සද්ධර්මය තුල හමුවන ප්‍රධාන ලෝක දෙකකි. ‘ස්වභාවධර්මය’ ලෙස පවතින/හඳුන්වන අනාත්මීය භාහිර ලෝකයත්, විඤ්ඤාණමායාවට සකස්‍කරගත් සිත තුල මැවෙන ‘මගේ ලෝකයත්’ යනුවෙනි. මෙහිදී අවබෝධකරගත යුතු ප්‍රධාන කරුනු කීපයකි:

1. අනාත්මීය (දෙයක් යමක් කෙනෙක් නැති, ඒ නිසාම වටිනාකමක් නැති, ගින්නක් නැති, බුදුන්වහන්සේ ශුණ්‍යත ලෙස හැඳින්වූ) භාහිර ලෝකය සත්‍යවශයෙන්ම පවතින බවත් නිවන් දකින ප්‍රතිපදාව හෙවත් නිරෝධ මාර්ගය යනු මෙම අනාත්මීයව පවතින ස්වභාවධර්මය හා බද්ධවන නැතහොත් එය ග්‍රහනය කරන ක්‍රමය බවත් දත යුතුය. තවද විඤ්ඤාණමායාවට සිත තුල මැවෙන මගේ ලෝකය මායාවක්ම බවත්, එවැන්නක් සත්‍යවශයෙන්ම නොපවතින බවත් දැනගත යුතුවූ සද්ධර්මයේ මූලික කරුනයි. නොපවතින ලෝකයක (මගේ ලෝකය) ජීවත්වනවා යනු රැවටීමක් (මායාවක්) පමනි. එය පවතින ලෝකයක් සේ දැනෙන්නේ පෘතග්ජනයා තුල ජංචේන්ද්‍රියන් හරහා එන භාහිර ලෝක සංඥාව ආත්මීයවී, ‘මම’ බලගැන්වී ඇති බැවිනි (විඤ්ඤාණමායාව යනු මෙසේ ‘මම’ ඇතිවන සංසිද්ධියයි).
2. සත්‍යවශයෙන්ම රහතන්වහන්සේ හා පෘතග්ජනයා යන දෙදෙනාම භෞතිකව ජීවත්වන්නේ අනාත්මීයවු ස්වභාවධර්මය තුලයි. ව්ඤ්ඤාණමායාවට හසුවූ පෘතග්ජනයා මේ බව නොදනී, නොදකී. රහතන්වහන්සේ අවබෝධයෙන්ම ස්වභාවධර්මය තුල ජීවත්වන බව දනී. මේ වෙනස චෛතසික වෙනසක් මිස භෞතික වෙනසක් නොවෙයි.

3. තචද ස්වභාවධර්මය තැමති පද්ධතිය (system) ට මෙම පෘතග්ජනයාගේ මායාකාරි රැවටීම (විඤ්ඤාණමායාව) හෝ රහතන්වහන්සේගේ රහත් භාවය හසුනොවෙයි. මක්නිසාද යත් ස්වභාවධර්මය යනු කරවන්නෙක් නැති තිලක්ෂණය (3) හා නියාමන පහ (5) තුල ක්‍රියාත්මකවන system එකක් (පද්ධතියක්ම) පමනක්ම බැවිනි. එයට (ස්වභාවධර්මය නැමති පද්ධතියට) මේ රහතන්වහන්සේය මේ පෘතග්ජනයාය යනුවෙන් හඳුනාගත නොහැක. මේ නිසා ස්වභාවධර්මය දෙදෙනාටම සලකන්නේ එකම ආකාරයටය (nature treats equally to everyone), එනම් දෙදෙනාම ස්වභාවධර්ම නියාම (3-5) තුල පවතින ජිවියෙක් ලෙස පමනි (Nature treats Arhath and non-arhath equally as a active element within the system). ස්වභාවධර්මය තුල දෙදෙනාටම මුහුන දීමට සිඳුවන්නේ එක හා සමාන සංසිද්ධීන් වලටයි. උදාහරනයක් ලෙස දෙදෙනාම ව්‍යාධියට (අසනිප) පත්වෙයි, දෙදෙනාම ජරාවට (මහඵ) පත්වෙයි, දෙදෙනාටම වේදනාව දැනෙයි, දෙදෙනාම සම්මත මරණයට පත්වෙයි. අර්හත්වූ පමනින්ම ස්වභාවධර්මය තුල preferential trearment එකක් නැත. එසේම පෘතග්ජනයාටද ස්වභාවධර්මය තුල පෘතග්ජනවූ පමනින්ම differential treatment එකක්ද නැත. මෙය මෙතෙක් නොකියවුනු නොලියවුන ධර්මතාවයයි.
4. තවත් උදාහරනයක් සැලකීමට භාජනය කලහොත්; අනුරාධ සූත්‍ර දේශනාවට අනුව දෙදෙනාගේම (රහතන්වහන්සේ හා පෘතග්ජනයා) නැවත ඉපදීමක් නැත. (හෝ කෙනෙක් ශාශ්වත වාදයට අනුව නැවත උපදින දෘෂ්ඨියේ පිහිටා සිටින්නේ නම් දෙදෙනාම නැවත නැවත උපදින අයුරෙන් ස්වභාවධර්ම පද්ධතිය (system) ක්‍රියාත්මක වෙයි. මෙහිදී නැවත උපදීම ගන්නේ උදාහරනක් ලෙස පමනක්ව බව සිහියට ගන්න. නැවත උපදීම කර්ම-විපාක දෘෂ්ඨිය තුල අඩංගු නිඝංඨ දහමකි). කෙනෙක් (රහතන්වහන්සේ) නැවත නොඉපදී අනෙකා (පෘතග්ජනයා) නැවත උපදින්නේ යයි ගැනීම නුසුදුසු වන්නේ මේ ආකාරයෙනි. එසේ දේශණාකරන්නන් (ගිහි පැවිදි දෙපිරසම) බලවත් දෘෂ්ඨියක සිරවූ ස්වභාවධර්මය හෝ සද්ධර්මය ගැන මනා අවබෝධයකින් තොරවූ අයබව දැනගැනීම සමාජයට යහපතකි.
5. පෘතග්ජන භූමි දෘෂ්ඨිය – පෘතග්ජන භූමිය යනු මගේ ලෝකයයි. එය සිතතුල මැවෙන මායාකාරි, රැවටීම් සහිත ලෝකයයි. එහි සිඳුවනවා යයි හැඟෙන සියල්ලම සත්‍ය වශයෙන් සිඳුනොවන මායාවක්ම පමනි. පෘතග්ජන භූමියේ කර්ම-විපාක පලදෙන බවත් පෘතග්ජනයා සසර ඹ්ඝයට හසුවී නැවත නැවත උපදින බවත් ‘මම‘ බලගැන්වුන මායාව තුල මවාගන්නා සංසිද්ධීන්ම මිස සත්‍යවශයෙන්ම සිඳුවන ධර්මතා නොවනබව දැන් ඔබට තේරුම් ගොස් ඇති නම් ඔබට ස්වභාවධර්මය හා මායාකාරි පෘතග්ජන මිත්‍යාව පමනක් රජයන මගේ ලෝකය අතර පරස්පරය වැටහී ඇත.

‘පෘතග්ජනයාට (පෘතග්ජන භූමියේ) කර්ම-විපාක පලදෙන බවත්,  සසර ඹ්ඝයක් ක්‍රියාත්මකවන බවත් ඒ නිසා පෘතග්ජනයා නැවත නැවත උපදිනවාය‘ යන්න දෘෂ්ඨියකි. මෙම දෘෂ්ඨිය තුල සිරවී සිටිනාතාක් කල් නිවන ඔබෙන් ඈත්වෙයි. මෙයට අපි ‘පෘතග්ජන භූමි දෘෂ්ඨිය’ යයි කියමු. 

6. එසේනම් රහතන්වහන්සේ හා පෘතග්ජනයා අතර පවතින වෙනස කුමක්ද?

මෙම වෙනස ස්වභාවධර්මයට (system) වෙනවෙනම හසුනොවුනත් ස්වභාවධර්මයේම සංරචක දෙකක්වූ දෙදෙනාට වෙනවෙනම දැනෙයි. Nature does not recognise its elements differentially but individuals feels the difference in status of themselves). කෙනෙක් මෙම වදනේ ඇති සියුම් බව හසුකර ගන්නේ නම් මැනවි. ස්වභාවධර්මය හා මගේ ලෝකයේ එකම කාසියේ දෙපැත්ත වැනිය. බලන්නා (observer) වරෙක කාසියේ ස්වභාවධර්මය පැත්‍තෙනුත් වරෙක මගේ ලෝකය පැත්‍තෙනුත් තබා observer ට දැනෙන ආකාරය හසුකරගන්න උත්‍සාහගන්න. Observer කාසියේ ස්වභාවධර්මය පැත්තේ සිට බලනාවිට එහි ක්‍රියාත්මක පද්ධතියක (system) ක්‍රියාකාරි ස්වභාවයත්, එහි අන්තර්ගත සියල්ලම එකම ආකාරයකට හැසිරෙන අයුරුත් දැකිය හැකි අතර මගේ ලෝකය පැත්තේ සිට බලනාවිට මායාකාරි රැවටීමකට හසුවී ‘මම’ බලගැන්වී (ආත්ම දෘෂ්ඨිය බලගැන්වී) සිටින පෘතග්ජනයාත් එම මායාවෙන් මිඳුනාවූ රහතන්වහන්සේත් වෙන් වෙන්ව දැකිය හැකිය.

රහතන්වහන්සේගේත් පෘතග්ජනයාගේත් එකම ස්වභාවධර්මයක් තුල ධාතු විපරිනාමයකට භාජනය වෙමින් සිටිනා ජීවින්ය. රහත්වීම හෝ රහත්භාවය වනවිට, ලබනාවිට ඊට අදාල කිසිම භෞතික විපරිනාමයකට එනම් ධාතු විපරිනාමයක් එතුමා තුල සිඳුනොවෙයි. එතුමා පෙර සිටිය විලසමය. නමුත් රහත්වනවිට සිඳුවන්නේ ‘තමා හා තමා අයත්වන අවට පරිසරය’ තුල වන ධාතු ස්වභාවය දැකීමයි. සත්වයා නැතිවීම, ස්වභාවධර්මගතවීම නැතහොත් නිවන් දැකීම යනු මෙම තමා තුලවූ (හා පිටතවූ) ධාතු ස්වභාවය අවබෝධවන, දකින චෛතසික සංසිද්ධියයි. රහත්වූ පසුව උන්වහන්සේ ඉදිරි ගමන යන්නේ ස්වභාවධර්මගත ධාතු ස්වභාවයක් ලෙසය. ‘සම්මත මරණය’ තුල සකස්වන්නේ/වෙනසකට භාජනය වන්නේ රහතන්වහන්සේගේ මෙම ධාතු ස්වභාවයයි. සම්මත මරණය යන වචනය රහතන්වහන්සේට අදාලව භාෂිතය සුදුසු නොවෙයි. ‘සම්මත මරණය’ යන සංසිද්ධියේදී එතුමාතුල සිඳුවන්නේ ධාතු විපරිනාමයකි. ඒබව රහතන්වහන්සේ දනී. ඒ නිසා රහතන්වහන්සේට ‘සම්මත යයි මරණයක්’ නැත. මෙම සංසිද්ධියටම හසුවන පෘතග්ජනයා තමාතුල වන ධාතු විපරිනාමය නොදකියි. හේ සියල්ල තමාහට (මට) සිඳුවන්නක් සේ ගනියි. ඒ නිසා පෘතග්ජනයා චෛතසිකව සම්මත මරණය හමුවේ භීතියක් තැතිගැනීමක් ඇතිව ජීවත්වෙයි.

අර්හත් හා පෘතග්ජන යන ස්වභාවයන් දෙකම තුල ඇත්තේ එකම ධාතු ස්වභාවයකි. වෙනස රහතන්වහන්සේ තමාතුල වූ ධාතු ස්වභාවය අත්විඳියි. පෘතග්ජනයා එය නොදකියි අත්නොවිඳියි. හේතුවනම් පෘතග්ජනතෙමේ භාහිර අනාත්මීය පවතින ලෝකය ආත්මීයව (දෙයක් යමක් කෙනෙක් ඇති ස්වභාවයෙන්, භාහිරය කෙරෙහි ඇලීමක් හෝ ගැටීමක් (රාග ද්වේශ) සහිතව, ගිනිගන්නා මායාකාරි, රැවටෙන ස්වභාවයෙන් ග්‍රහනය කරගැනීමයි. මේ මායාකාරි රැවටීම ස්වභාවධර්මයේ සත්‍ය අනාත්මීය ස්වභාවය වසාලන බැවින් පෘතග්ජන තෙමේ තමාතුල පවතින ධාතු ස්වභාවය නොදැක දිවිගෙවයි.

තමාතුලවූ ධාතු ස්වභාවය දැකිම තුල ඇති ප්‍රතිලාභ රාෂියකි. රහතන්වහන්සේට පමනක් හමුවන මෙම ප්‍රතිලාභ පෘතග්ජනයාට නැත. ඊලඟ ලිපියෙන් මෙම ප්‍රතිලාභ තවදුරටත් විමසමු.

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2024 මාර්තු මස 6 වනදා

මතුගම සෙනෙවිරුවන්

             මඩකලපු දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ වැලිකන්ද අසේලපුර මංහන්දියෙන් බැස කි.මී. 13 ක් පමණ ගමන් කරන විට මෑතකදී විශාල කතාබහකට ලක් වූ පූජ්‍ය ස්ථානයක් හමුවේ. කවුඩාගල යයි ජන වහරේ පවතින මෙම ස්ථානය අවට කුරුලු බැද්ද රන්සර තැන්න ආදී මහවැලි ගම්මානයන් හමුවෙයි.ගම්මානවලින් බැහරව මහ ඝන වනයෙන් ඉහළට නැගී ගිය කවුඩාගල ගල් පර්වතයට ඒ නම ලැබෙන්නේ ස්වභාවිකව එහි ගල්ලෙනක නිර්මාණය වූ කවුඩෙකුගේ ස්වරූපයයි. මෙහි මහ ගල මුදුනේ ආකාශ චෛත්‍යයක නටබුන්ද පහළ පුලුල් පමණින් අඩි 30 ක පමණ විෂ්කම්භයක් ඇති චෛත්‍යයක නටබුන්ද හමුවේ. පූජ්‍යපාද දේවගල පඤ්ඤාසීහලංකාර හිමියන් දිඹුලාගල පරපුරේ යතිවරයානන් වහන්සේ නමකි. උන්වහන්සේ 2018 දී පමණ මෙම ස්ථානයට වැඩම කොට බලවත් අධිෂ්ඨානයක් කරන ලද්දේය. සම්බුද්ධ ශාසනයට පූජා කරනු ලැබූ මෙම ඉපැරණි දාගැබ් වහන්සේ නැවත ප්‍රතිෂ්ඨාපනය කොට සමස්ත බෞද්ධ ජනතාවගේ සිත් සතන් බුද්ධාලම්බන ප්‍රීතියෙන් ඔප් නන්වන බවට උන්වහන්සේ කළ ශපථය අද සැබෑවී පවතිමින් ඇත. පුරාවිද්‍යා දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ වාස්තු විද්‍යා අංශය සහ කැණීම් අංශ එක්කාසු වී මේ චෛත්‍ය රාජයාණන් වහන්සේ පිළිසකර කිරීමට මහන්සි වෙති.

        මෑතකදී හන්තානේ හමුදුරුවෝ යයි ප්‍රසිද්ධ ගඟසිරිපුර ධම්මාලෝක හිමියන් මෙම ස්ථානයට වැඩම කොට සමාජමාධ්‍ය ඔස්සේ කරන ලද ඉල්ලීම නිසා විශාල මුදලක් මෙම චෛත්‍ය සංරක්ෂණයට එක පැහැරම එකතු විය. සිංහල බෞද්ධයන්ගේ ශ්‍රද්ධා භක්තිය එලෙසය. තැන තැන පඩංගු වල සැඟවී සිටින දුර්ජනයන් සහ නිරාගමික වන්දි බට්ටයන් විසින් පතුරුවා හරින ලද අමූලික මුසා කනකට නොගත් ශ්‍රද්ධාවත් මිනිසුන් කවුඩාගල යළි පිබිදෙනු බලා නිරාමිස ප්‍රීතියක් ලබන්නට ඇත.

          බුදුන් වහන්සේ විසින් පිහිටවූ සම්බුද්ධ ශාසනය වෙත පූජා කළ යමක් විනාශ කරනු ලබන දුදනන් මරණින් මතු බලු කපුටු වී ඉපදෙනු ඇතැයි ලියැවුණු ශාප පාඨ  මෙරට ශිලාලේඛනයන්හි දක්නට හැකිය.පැරණි සිද්ධස්ථාන තනවා මහා සංඝරත්නයට පූජා කරවන රජවරුන් එවැනි ශාප පාඨ ගල්ටැම් වල කොටවා තබන ලද්දේ එකල විසූ අසත් පුරුෂයන් විසින් කරන අනදර නිසාය.සද්ධර්මාලංකාරයේ චෝරනාග වස්තුවේ කියැවෙන්නේ රාජ්‍යය ලබා ගැන්මෙහි ලොභව වස්තු සොයමින් දාගැබ් බින්ද වූ රජෙකුට අත්වූ ඉරණම පිළිබඳවය.දාගැබ් බිඳින්නා වේතරණී නරකයේ ඉපදෙන්නේ යැයි දක්වා ඇත. මේ පිළිබඳවා දන්වන ලද කතා වස්තු පමණක් නොව බිතු සිතුවම්ද විහාරස්ථානයන්හි දක්නට හැකිය.

    සිංහල ද්වීපයේ බොහෝ තැන්වල උස්කඳු මුදුන් හමුවේ. රට මැද පමණක් නොව මුහුදු අසබඩද රමණීය කඳුවැටි දක්නට හැකිය. ඒ තන්හි දාගබ් බඳවා සුදෝසුදුවන්ව බැබළුන කල්හි ශ්‍රද්ධාව ඇති කරගත්හ.රට වටා යාත්‍රා කරන නාවිකයන් හට මේ දර්ශනය විසින්  ඇති කරන භක්තිය රටේ දියුණුවට සශ්‍රීකත්වයට උපයෝගී කර ගන්නා ආකාරය පැරණි රජ දරුවන් දැන සිටියහ.ස්ථූපයන් හි සර්වඥ ධාතු නිදන් කොරේ.බුදුන් ජීවමානව වැඩ සිටින ස්ථානයක් වහයෙන් එය හඳුනා ගැනේ.මේ පිළිබඳව දක්වා තිබෙන විවරණයන් මගින් ථූප වන්දනාවට අප යොමු කරයි.

      බුදු රජාණන් වහන්සේ පිරිනිවන් මංචකයෙහි වැඩ සිටිනා අවස්ථාවෙහි. ආනන්ද තෙරුන් වහන්සේට කළ එක් දේශානාවක චෛත්‍ය සාදා වැදුම් පිඳුම් කළ යුතු පුද්ගලයන් සතර දෙනෙකු ගැන සඳහන් වේ. තථාගත සම්බුද්ධත්වයට පත් වූ බුදුන් වහන්සේ පසේ බුදුන් වහන්සේ අරහත් භාවයට පත් රහතුන් වහන්සේ සහ පංචශීලාදි ගුණයෙන් පිරි දශරාජධර්මයෙන් රට කරවූ සක්විති රජු යන මේ සතර දෙන ථූපරහා යනුවෙන් ගාථාවෙහි සඳහන් කර ඇත.දාගැබක් ස්ථූපයක් තනවන්නා මහත් සේ පින්කමක යෙදේ.ථූපයේ පාදම ථූප ගර්භය කොත් වහන්සේ  සලපතල මළුව වැලි මළුව ආදී සියළු අංග මනාසේ සාදන්නා බුදුන් වහන්සේ  ගේ අනන්ත බුදු ගුණ බලය ගැඹුරින් දකින්නෙකි.මැටි  පෙනේරයෙන්ද හලා සියුම් කොට අතු කැබලි සත්ව කොටස් ඉවත් කර ගඩොලු සාදන උළු වඩුවා ගැනද එකල අවධානය යොමු විය. ඔවුන් විශේෂයෙන් කල කාර්ය භාරය නොවන්නට වසර පන්දහසක් කල් ස්ථූප නොපවතිනු ඇත.

         බෞද්ධයන් විසින් චෛත්‍ය වැඳිය යුත්තේ ඇයිද යන්නට නිවැරදි උත්තරයක් තිබේ. මනුෂ්‍යයා තුළ තිබෙන අකුසල් මග හරිනන්ට නම් කුසල් වැඩිය යුතුය. වීර්යය කළ යුතුයි ශ්‍රද්ධාව ඇති කර ගත යුතුයි. සියළුම පෘතග්ජන සත්වයන්ට එසේ එක පැහැර එය කළ නොහැකියි. ප්‍රතිපත්ති ගරුක වීමෙන් ශ්‍රද්ධාව වැඩීමෙන් නිර්වාන මගට පිවිසිය හැකියි. චෛත්‍ය වැඳීම යනු  ගඩොල් ගොඩකට වැඳීමක් නොවෙයි. බුදු ගුණය සිහිපත් කොට ප්‍රතිපත්ති ගරුක වීමට සූදානම් වීමක් ලෙසටයි දක්වා තිබෙන්නේ. බුද්ධ දේශනාවේ  පුලින ථූපිය තෙරුන් වහන්සේ ගේ කතා වස්තුවේ සඳහන් පරිදි වේද වේදාන්ත දත් නාරද නම් පුද්ගලයෙකු තමන්ගේ ශිෂ්‍යයන් තමන්ට වඳිනු දැක ගෞරව කරනු දැක තමන්ටද එසේ වැඳිය හැකි ගුණවත් පුද්ගලයෙකු සිටීදැයි කල්පනා කොට බැලීය. එකලද බුදුන් වහන්සේලා ගැන මති මතාන්තර විය. බුදුගුණය ගැන ගැඹුරින් සාකච්ඡා කිරීමක් විය. එසේ නම් බුදු ගුණය සිහිකර යමක් කරන්නෙමියැයි සිතා ආමරික නදිය අසල වැලි ගොඩකින් ථූපයක් කරවා මෙසේ කල්පනා කලේය.මේ ලෝකයේ යම් පුරුෂයෙක් අනන්ත ශීල සමාධි ප්‍රඥාවෙන් හා අනන්ත කරුණා මෛත්‍රියෙන් යුක්තව සියළු සත්වයන් කෙරෙහි කරුණාවෙන්ම අපමණ සසරෙහි පාරමී පුරා සකල ක්ලේශයන් ප්‍රහීන කොට සම්බුද්ධත්වයට පැමිණියේ නම් මේ වැලි චෛත්‍ය ඒ බුදු වරයන් වහන්සේ ගේ අනන්ත ගුණය උදෙසායි.. මෙසේ කල්පනා කොට වැලි ථූපයට වන්දනා කළ නාරද  මරණින් මතු ඉපිද සත් අවුරදු වියේදීම රහත් බවට පත් වූ බව පැවසෙයි.ඒ බුදු ගණය සිහි කල සංසාර පුරුද්දෙනි.

       සේරුවිල මංගල මහා චෛත්‍ය මෙන්ම රුවන් වැලි මහා  ‍චෛත්‍ය මෙන්ම අසූ හාර දහසක් දැගැබ් මෙහි පිහිටා ඇත. සැදැහැවත් බෞද්ධයන් දිනපතා එයට වන්දනා මාන කරති.සමස්ත සිංහල ද්වීපයම බෞද්ධ රාජ්‍යයක් බවට පත් වන්නේ ඒ නිසාමය.එහෙත් වරින්වර සතුරු උපද්‍රව නිසා මේ දැගබ් විනාශ වෙති. වල් වැදී ජරාවාස වෙති. එහෙත් බුදුන් වහන්සේ ගේ අපරිමිත බලයෙන් මෙන්ම සතරවරම් දෙවිවරුන් ගේ රැකවරණයෙන් යුතු  බැවින් පොළවට පස් නොවී තිබේ.කවුඩාගලද එසේමය. ක්‍රි.පූ. තුන්වන සියවසේ සිරිලක පුරා පැතිර ගිය බෞද්ධ ප්‍රබෝධය ඔස්සේ පුරාණ තමන්කඩුව ද බින්තැන්න පත්තුව යැයි අද හඳුන්වන පෙදෙස් බුදු සසුනට පූජා කරන ලද්දක් බවට පත් විය. පුරාණ තමන්කඩුව ඉංග්‍රීසි පාලන සමයේ දී පළමුව ත්‍රිකුණාමලයටත් දෙවනුව මඩකලපුවටත් එකතු කරන ලදහ.ඒ නිසාම කවුඩාගල පුරාණ රජදහන අද පවතින්නේ මඩකලපු දිස්ත්‍රික්කයට අයත්වයි.එක්පසෙකින් සශ්‍රිකත්වයෙන් පිරි මහවැලිගම්මානායන් දිස්වෙන අතර අනෙක් පසෙන් වාකරේ දක්වා දිවයන පුරාණ ජනාවාස හමුවෙයි.

     කවුඩාගල පැරණි සිද්ධස්ථානය ගොඩ නනවන ලද්දේ කුමන රජකෙනෙකුදැයි තවමත් අනාවරණය වී නැත. මෙහි පවතින ලෙන් ලිපි තුනෙහි අරුත් ගොනු කළ කල්හි දීඝවාපී ප්‍රදේශයේ අයතිශ නම් පරම්පරාවට අයත් සැදැහැවතුන් පිරිසක් විසින් මේ ලෙන් පූජාව කළ බව පැහැදිලි වේ. එසේම ක්‍රි.පූ දෙවන සියවසට පසුව කොටවන ලද ගිරි ලිපියක්ද මෙහි හමුවෙයි.මහගලක මහ විහාරය ගැන ඉන් කියැවන අතර එයට දාන ශාලාවක් හෝ පැන් ශාලාවක් සාදා පූජා කිරීමක් කළ බව දැක්වේ.මේ ආකාරයෙන් බලන කල්හි ක්‍රි.පූ. දෙවනි තුන්වන සියවස අතර මේ කවුඩාගල කෙතරම් වැදගත් ආර්ය සිද්ධස්ථානයක් වශයෙන් පැවතියා දැයි කල්පනාවට ගත හැකිය. වෙනත් ස්ථානයක නොමැති පැරණි සිතුවම් කීපයක්ම මේ ලෙන් වල හමුවීමම මේ වැදගත් ලක්ෂණ ඉස්මතු කරයි. ඒ අතර සුගලා බිසව රන්සලු මුදාහල තැන අද රන්සර තැන්න ගම්මානය තිබෙන බව ජනප්‍රවාදයේ සඳහන්ය. පොලොන්නරු සභ්‍යත්වය යටතේ කවුඩාගලට ලැබුණු රාජ්‍ය අනුග්‍රහයද මෙයින් පිළිබිඹු වේ.. ස්ථූපයට පහළින්  පොහෝ ගෙයක් යැයි සලකිය හැකි පූර්ව අනුරාධපුර යුගයට අයත් විසල් ගල්කණු පෙලකි.පූජ්‍ය දේවගල පඤ්ඤාසීහලංකාර ස්වාමීන් වහන්සේ පා තබා තිබෙන්නේ මෙවන් අසිරිමත් පුදබිමකටයි. එහි ස්ථූපය සංරක්ෂණය කල වහාම ගල් කණු සහිත ගොඩ නැගිල්ලේ කැණීම් ආරම්භ කරන බව උන්වහන්සේ පවසයි. එතෙක් මේ අගනා සද් කාර්යයට අපහාස නොකර සිටිතහොත් රැස්කරගත හැකි පුණ්‍ය මහිමයන් බොහෝය. නැතහොත් බලු කවඩු වී අවීචි මහ නරකය වේතරණී නරකය ආදී තැන් වල පැසෙන්නට කාටත් හැකියාව ලැබේ.සැම සිත් පහන් කර ගනිමින් මුලු ශ්‍රී ලංකා දීපයේම නැවතත් මෙවන් බෞද්ධ අසිරියක් උදා කරන්නට දිරිමත් වීමට අධිෂ්ඨාන කිරීමෙන් කුසල් වැඩෙන බව සහතිකය..

මතුගම සෙනෙවිරුවන්

Courtesy  Intercept

First, The Intercept reported on how the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), delivered a series of donations worth $95,000 to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson in the days after he passed $14 billion in military aid for Israel in November.

Meanwhile, AIPAC plans to spend upward of $100 million to oust progressive Democratic members of Congress who have dared challenge Israel’s brutal bombardment of Gaza.

It’s all part of a yearslong effort to purge any Democrat who dares question Israeli policy from Congress, while elevating the most radical right-wing pro-Israel Republicans.

And with 30,000 Palestinians dead and Israel readying a brutal ground assault in Rafah, it’s more important than ever for The Intercept to keep digging to expose AIPAC’s lobbying activity and how the organization leverages its deep pockets to make sure the U.S. continues funding Israel’s brutal war in Gaza.

There’s no way to fully understand why the U.S. keeps pouring guns and money into Israel’s barbaric war on Gaza without closely scrutinizing the activities and spending of AIPAC. However, far too many mainstream news outlets ignore the group’s influence — or worse, dismiss any criticism of pro-Israel groups as antisemitic.

AIPAC doesn’t just regularly shower large donations on members of Congress who carry their water; it also funds congressional junkets to Israel through its sister organization the American Israel Education Foundation. These delegations have become well known on Capitol Hill as a kind of rite of passage for newly elected members.

And in recent years, the lobbying group has made it a top priority to defeat progressive pro-Palestinian members of Congress. During the 2022 midterms, an AIPAC-affiliated super PAC was the No. 1 outside spender in the entire Democratic primary process, and it successfully ousted Michigan Rep. Andy Levin. Now, AIPAC is pledging to spend $100 million to defeat progressives including Jamaal Bowman and Summer Lee.

This is why the Biden administration continues to shovel bombs, guns, and other military aid to Israel, even as public opposition to Israel’s war grows and Democratic political analysts warn that Biden’s blank-check support for Israel could well cost him reelection.

Courtesy TomDispatch

You know we’re in an increasingly extreme world when a young American airman burns himself to death outside the Israeli embassy in Washington to protest Israel’s nightmarish war in Gaza. (Today, I am planning to engage in an extreme act of protest against the genocide of the Palestinian people,” he wrote in an email to the media before setting himself aflame.) And given that President Biden and his administration have backed just about every last murderous action taken by the Israeli government and ensured that the American-supplied weaponry Israel is using keeps on flowing, it’s small wonder that he’s finding himself in political trouble.

Honestly, when you consider how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and crew have dealt with their utter devastation of Gaza without, like so many countries that have committed striking crimes, in any way denying what they’re doing or trying to cover it up, it’s as if Hamas were running their propaganda campaign. And sadly enough, nothing seems to be improving in that largely destroyed 25-mile strip of land, whose population has been almost totally displaced. The casualties in Gaza only continue to grow as ever more of its inhabitants find themselves lacking the basics of life and in danger of dying, while the 1.4 million or so refugees now sheltering in the southern city of Rafah are to be allowed” to flee yet again (but not return to their homes) before Israel launches full-scale operations there.

And Washington, with barely a whimper of protest, has backed this nightmare to the hilt. No wonder, then, that, as TomDispatch regular Juan Cole, who also runs the must-read Informed Comment website, explains today, longtime American foe Iran has been making hay while the sun shines (but only on Iran) in the Middle East. Tom

Is Tehran Winning the Middle East?

How the Gaza Conflict Made Democracy’s Name Mud for Millions

By Juan Cole

In the midst of Israel’s ongoing devastation of Gaza, one major piece of Middle Eastern news has yet to hit the headlines. In a face-off that, in a sense, has lasted since the pro-American Shah of Iran was overthrown by theocratic clerics in 1979, Iran finally seems to be besting the United States in a significant fashion across the region. It’s a story that needs to be told.

Hit Iran now. Hit them hard” was typical advice offered by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham after a drone flown by an Iran-aligned Iraqi Shiite militia killed three American servicemen in northern Jordan on January 28th. The well-heeled Iran War Lobby in Washington has, in fact, been stridently calling for nothing short of a U.S. invasion of that country, accusing Tehran of complicity in Hamas’s October 7th terrorist attack on Israel.

No matter that the official Iranian press has vehemently denied the allegation, while American intelligence officials swiftly concluded that the attack on Israel had taken top Iranian leaders by surprise. In mid-November, Reuters reported that Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei informed a key Hamas figure, Ismail Haniya, that his country wouldn’t intervene directly in the Gaza war, since Tehran hadn’t been warned about the October 7th attack before it was launched. He actually seemed annoyed that the leadership of the Hamas paramilitary group, the Qassam Brigades, thought they could draw Tehran and its allies willy-nilly into a major conflict without the slightest consultation. Although initially caught off-guard, as the Israeli counterattack grew increasingly brutal and disproportionate, Iran’s leaders clearly began to see ways they could turn the war to their regional benefit — and they’ve done so skillfully, even as the Biden administration in its full-scale embrace of the most extreme government in Israeli history tossed democracy and international law under the bus.

The gut-wrenching Hamas attacks on civilians at a music festival and those living in left-wing, peacenik Kibbutzim near the Israeli border with Gaza on October 7th initially left Iran in an uncomfortable position. It had allegedly been slipping some $70 million a year to Hamas — though Egypt and Qatar had provided major funding to Gaza at Israel’s request through sanctioned Israeli government bank accounts. And after decades of championing the Palestinian cause, Tehran could hardly stand by and do nothing as Israel razed Gaza to the ground. On the other hand, the ayatollahs couldn’t afford to gain a reputation for being played like a fiddle by the region’s young radicals and so drawn into conventional wars their country can ill afford.

The Adults in the Room?

Despite their fiery rhetoric, their undeniable backing of fundamentalist militias in the region, and their depiction by inside-the-Beltway war hawks as the root of all evil in the Middle East, Iran’s leaders have long acted more like a status quo power than a force for genuine change. They have shored up the rule of the autocratic al-Assad family in Syria, while helping the Iraqi government that emerged after President George W. Bush’s invasion of that country fight off the terrorist threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). In truth, not Iran but the U.S. and Israel are the countries that have most strikingly tried to use their power to reshape the region in a Napoleonic manner. The disastrous U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq, and Israel’s wars on Egypt (1956, 1967), Lebanon (1982-2000, 2006), and Gaza (2008, 2012, 2014, 2024), along with its steady encouragement of large-scale squatting on the Palestinian West Bank, were clearly intended to alter the geopolitics of the region permanently through the use of military force on a massive scale.

Only recently, Ayatollah Khamenei bitterly asked, Why don’t the leaders of Islamic countries publicly cut off their relationship with the murderous Zionist regime and stop helping this regime?” Pointing to the staggering death toll in Israel’s present campaign against Gaza, he was focusing on the Arab countries — Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates — that, as part of Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner’s Abraham Accords,” had officially recognized Israel and established relations with it. (Egypt and Jordan had, of course, recognized Israel long before that.)

Given the anti-Israel sentiment in the region, had it, in fact, been rife with democracies, Iran’s position might have been widely implemented. Still, it was a distinct sign of terminal tone deafness on the part of Biden administration officials that they hoped to use the Gaza crisis to extend the Abraham Accords to Saudi Arabia, while sidelining the Palestinians and creating a joint Israeli-Arab front against Iran.

The region had already been moving in a somewhat different direction. Last March, after all, Iran and Saudi Arabia had begun forging a new relationship by restoring the diplomatic relations that had been suspended in 2016 and working to expand trade between their countries. And that relationship has only continued to improve as the nightmare in Israel and Gaza developed. In fact, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi first visited the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in November and, since the Gaza conflict began, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has met twice with his Saudi counterpart. Frustrated by a markedly polarizing American policy in the region, de facto Saudi ruler Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei resorted to the good offices of Beijing to sidestep Washington and strengthen their relations further.

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Although Iran is far more hostile to Israel than Saudi Arabia, their leaderships do agree that the days of marginalizing the Palestinians are over. In a remarkably unambiguous statement issued in early February, the Saudis offered the following: The Kingdom has communicated its firm position to the U.S. administration that there will be no diplomatic relations with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is recognized on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, and that the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip stops and all the Israeli occupation forces withdraw from the Gaza Strip.” Significantly, the Saudis even refused to join a U.S.-led naval task force created to halt attacks on Red Sea shipping by the Houthis of Yemen (no friends of theirs) in support of the Palestinians. Its leaders are clearly all too aware that the carnage still being wreaked on Gaza has infuriated most Saudis.

In late January, President Raisi also surprised regional diplomats by traveling to Ankara for talks on trade and geopolitics with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, another sign of his country’s changing role in the region. At the end of the visit, while signing various agreements to increase trade and cooperation, he announced: We agreed to support the Palestinian cause, the axis of resistance, and to give the Palestinian people their rightful rights.” That’s no small thing. Remember that Turkey is a NATO member and considered a close ally of the United States. To have Erdoğan suddenly cozy up to Iran, while denouncing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war on Gaza as a Hitlerian-style genocide, was an unmistakable slap in Washington’s face.

Meanwhile, Iran, Turkey, and Russia recently issued a joint communiqué that expressed deep concern over the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and stressed the need to end the Israeli brutal onslaught against the Palestinians, [while] sending humanitarian aid to Gaza.” From the Biden administration’s point of view, Moscow’s bombing of civilian sites in Ukraine and Iran’s role in crushing Sunni Arab rebels in Syria had been the atrocities that needed attention until Netanyahu suddenly pulled the rug out from under them by upping the ante from mere atrocities to what the International Court of Justice has ruled can plausibly be labeled a genocide. One thing was clear: Washington’s long struggle to exclude Iran from regional influence has now visibly failed.

Iran’s Rising Popularity

At the Gulf International Forum (GIF) last November, Abdullah Baaboud, a prominent Omani academic, said that there had been a very strong condemnation of Israel from Iran and Turkey, embarrassing some Arab countries that are not using the same language. My worry is that this conflict is leading to the empowerment of Turkey and Iran among the Arab public.” GIF’s executive director, Dania Thafer, concurred. Of that public, she said, Grief and anger have reached unprecedented levels,” and added, with each photo out of Gaza, Iran gains more influence across the region.” In short, at remarkably little cost, Iran is unexpectedly winning the battle for regional public opinion and its standing in the Arab world has risen strikingly. Meanwhile, the reputation of the United States has been indelibly tarnished by Washington’s full-throated support for what most in the region do indeed see as a merciless slaughter of thousands of children and other innocent civilians.

A recent opinion poll of Arabs in 16 countries, conducted jointly by the Arab Center in Washington, D.C., and the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies in Doha, Qatar, found that 94% of them considered the American position on Israel’s war bad.” In contrast, a surprising 48% of them considered the Iranian position positive. To grasp just how remarkable such a finding was, consider that a Gallup poll conducted in 2022 found that Shiite Iran’s name was mud in most Sunni Arab countries and approval of its leadership fell somewhere between 10% and 20%.

In recent months, Iran has made striking use of the weakness of Washington’s case in the region. While the State Department likes to contrast Iran’s dictatorship” with Israel’s democratic character,” only recently foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani observed, The disaster in Gaza removed the mask from the face of the so-called advocates of human rights and showed the extent of vileness, brutality, and lies hidden within the nature of the Israeli regime, whose supporters used to refer to [it] as a symbol of democracy.” Although Iran has among the world’s worst human-rights records, Netanyahu has even managed to take the focus off of that.

Losing the Middle East, Washington-Style

Iran’s allies in the region include Iraqi Shiite militias like the Party of God Brigades (Kata’ib Hizbullah), which first gained prominence in the struggle against the ISIL terrorist group from 2014 to 2018. Those were years when the regular Iraqi army had essentially collapsed and was only gradually being rebuilt. Washington was also focused on destroying ISIL then and so developed a wary de facto alliance with them in its campaign to crush that caliphate.” In January 2020, however, President Trump was responsible for the drone assassination of the group’s leader, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, along with Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, just after their arrival by plane at Baghdad International Airport in what was evidently an attempt to prevent them, through the Iraqis, from forging an agreement with Saudi Arabia to reduce tensions with Iran.

That assassination led to a long-running, low-intensity conflict between the Shiite militias of Iraq and the 2,500 remaining American troops stationed there. With the onset of the Gaza conflict last October, the Party of God Brigades began launching mortars and drones against Iraqi military bases hosting American soldiers, as well as against small forward operating bases in southeast Syria where some 900 U.S. military personnel are stationed, ostensibly to support the Syrian Kurds in mopping up operations against ISIL. After more than 150 such attacks, on January 28th one of their drones hit Tower 22, a support base where U.S. troops were stationed in northern Jordan, killing three American soldiers, while wounding dozens more.

Iran’s leaders generally back those Shiite militias, but whether they had anything to do with the attack on Tower 22 remains unknown. Officials in Tehran did, however, immediately recognize the danger of escalation once American troops had actually been killed. And indeed, the Biden administration responded with dozens of air strikes on bases and facilities of the Party of God Brigades in Iraq and Syria. Washington Post reporters were told by Iraqi and Lebanese officials that Iran had actually urged caution on the militias with clear effect. Their attacks on bases hosting U.S. troops ceased. At the same time, the Iraqi parliament and government complained bitterly about Washington’s violation of the country’s sovereignty, while heightening preparations to force the withdrawal of the last U.S. troops from their land. In other words, President Biden’s fierce backing of Israel’s war, his decision to increase weapons shipments to that country, and his bombing of pro-Palestinian militias may have led to the achievement of a longstanding Iranian aim: seeing American troops finally leave Iraq.

Meanwhile, in southern Lebanon, where the militant group Hezbollah has been exchanging occasional fire with Israeli forces in support of Gaza, according to the Post reporters, one Hezbollah figure told them that Iran’s message was: We are not keen on giving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu any reason to launch a wider war on Lebanon or anywhere else.” Wars are unpredictable, and the Lebanon-Israeli border could still erupt dramatically. Moreover, Iranian pleas for restraint appear to have had far less effect on the Houthi leadership in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, leading to an ongoing American and British bombing campaign on that city and elsewhere in that country that has so far done little to stop Houthi missile and drone attacks against ships in the Red Sea.

So far, however, despite the Republican urge to devastate Iran, that country’s leaders have taken deft advantage of the butchery in Gaza (in which the Israeli military has killed more civilian noncombatants each day than belligerents have in any other conflict in this century). The ayatollahs have significantly increased their popularity even among Arab and Muslim publics that had not previously shown them much favor. They have strengthened their relationship with the Shiites of Iraq and may be on the verge of finally achieving their goal of ending the U.S. military missions in Iraq and Syria.

They have also achieved closer ties with Turkey, while improving relations with Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf Arab oil states. In doing so, they have distinctly blunted the Biden administration’s aim of isolating Iran while tying the wealthier Arab states ever more firmly to Israel through arms and high-tech deals.

In addition, through its backing of and weaponizing of Israel in these last grim months, Washington has made a mockery of the human rights talking points that the U.S. has long deployed against Iran. In the process, Joe Biden has done more than any recent president to undermine both international humanitarian law and democratic principles globally. With 94% of Arab poll respondents viewing American policy in the region as bad,” one thing is clear: for the moment at least, Iran has won the Middle East.

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lanka and India are working on an estimated USD 1.2 billion undersea transmission line that will link the island nation’s power grind with that of India to provide energy security to this country, a top Sri Lankan official said on Tuesday.

The proposal is to link Sri Lanka’s north central town of Anuradhapura and Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu state in India through a direct power line. After a 130km overland transmission line in India, an undersea line (via a submarine cable) will emerge at Thiruketheeswaram in Mannar in northeast Sri Lanka.

Sulakshana Jayawardena, Secretary to the Ministry of Power and Energy said, This will raise our hopes on energy security.” He said this days after the fifth meeting of the India-Sri Lanka joint working group (JWG) for cooperation in the power sector was held on February 28 here. The High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha also attended the meeting.

The proposal for the power grid interconnection was discussed at this meeting,” Jayawardena said.

The 4th meeting of the JWG was held in June 2019 in India. This was the 5th meeting of the JWG.

A statement from the Indian High Commission said that during the meeting, discussions were held on the power grid interconnection between India and Sri Lanka and the Sampur Solar Power project, to be built by India in Sri Lanka’s eastern Trincomalee district.

On March 1, India and Sri Lanka signed an agreement for the development of a hybrid renewable energy system for the Delft, Analativu and Nainativu islands of the northern Jaffna peninsula.

The project, to be carried out under grant assistance from the Government of India, will comprise a 530 kW of wind power, 1,700 kW of solar power, 2,400 kWh of battery power and a 2,500 kW diesel power system for the three islands, which are not connected to Sri Lanka’s national grid.

The proposal to link Sri Lanka with the Indian power grid was proposed more than a decade ago, but it has made little progress till now. In 2023, Sri Lanka said it had hoped to get the transmission line in place within two to three years so that renewable power produced on the island/s can be sold to India.

After the February 28 meeting, Pankaj Agarwal, Secretary, India’s Ministry of Power, highlighted the benefits that could be accrued by Sri Lanka in the power sector integration with India.

It would cause significant cost reductions with Sri Lanka gaining capacity to export to India once the offshore wind capacity in Sri Lanka is harnessed. (It will) also encourage private sector investment in Sri Lanka’s power sector,” he said, according to a statement from the Indian mission in Colombo.

However, there is no formal agreement in place as yet. Jayawardena told a local news channel that earlier there was an MoU signed between the two countries to conduct necessary technical assessment.

That is the only agreement. However, it was proposed (at the meeting) that the project should be implemented within a legal framework,” he said.

Jayawardena on Tuesday said the project, which is expected to cost USD 1.2 billion, would require the establishment of a new institution where Sri Lanka would have a 50 per cent representation.

However, the proposal needs further discussions as Sri Lanka would need to source funding for it, he added.

The statement from the Indian High Commission also noted that substantial progress had been made on the Sampur Solar Power project, especially after the visit of the President of Sri Lanka to India in July 2023, during which an energy permit for 50 MW power plant was granted to the implementing agency, Trincomalee Power Corporation Limited (TPCL).

The TPCL is a joint venture between the Indian entity NTPC Ltd and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).

The Indian side also agreed to extend technical assistance to CEB in areas to be identified by the Sri Lankan side, it said.

After the March 1 agreement, local media reports have highlighted how the energy sector was identified as a priority area in the India-Sri Lanka Economic Partnership Vision document, which was adopted during the visit of President Ranil Wickremesinghe to India in July 2023.

Several landmark initiatives such as the power grid connectivity, and multi-product two-way oil pipeline are currently under discussion between India and Sri Lanka in the energy sphere. India’s overall development partnership portfolio stands at USD 5 billion with almost USD 600 million being in grants alone. 

Source: PTI
-Agencies

Courtesy Adaderana

Two Class 2 Station Masters and a Railway Guard have been suspended from service for assaulting two foreigners at the Nawalapitiya railway station.

Ada Derana

පඩි වැඩි කරගැනීම ගැන මහ බැංකු අධිපති කී දේ…” ආර්ථික අර්බුදයෙන් එළියට එනකොට හැමෝගෙම පඩි වැඩිවෙන්න ඕනේ” “පුද්ගලික සහ රාජ්‍ය අංශයට හැකි ඉක්මනින් පඩි වැඩි කරන්න” එහෙම වුණොත් විතරයි මේකෙන් ගොඩඑන්න පුළුවන්…

Prime Minister’s Media 

We have creative writers among us who can amaze the world…

• An attractive language is like a continuously flowing river…

• It is a pleasure to see a book launch with maximum participation by readers…

   – Prime Minister

Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said that we have various creative writers among us who can amaze the world  and further he stated that an attractive language is like a continuously flowing river. Actually it is a pleasure to see a book launch with the participation of maximum number of book lovers, he said.

He expressed these views at the event held at the Colombo Public Library recently (29.02.2024) on the book launch of  “Tharu Yathura” written by the Prime Minister’s Media Secretary Lalith Rohana Liyanage.

Speaking on this occasion the Prime Minister stated;

It is a pleasure to see so much readers’ participation nowadays for a work that enriches poetry. You are together today to represent our heritage, which is full of high human qualities that can revive the nation, that can make the nation live, and ensure our identity. History can be revised again and again through these events. There are many creative people among us who can surprise the world. Our language is an example for that. The natives of the country were able to nurture it as a noble language, make it more interesting and maintain it continuously. The Sinhala language is a fascinating language that never stops and continuously flowing like a river.

Our creators did not have radio and television at that time. After harvesting, the villagers performed all the rituals and went on pilgrimage. On those occasions, they enjoyed work while singing folk songs. This is how the countrymen nurtured our creations for centuries. The marvels about the rich heritages of Kala wewa  , Sigiriya, the amazing irrigation works of Yoda Canal, etc., have been bequeathed from generation to generation, which can be recollected with respect and pride even today, and today it has been preserved for the future generations.

I am happy that Rohana’s wealth of knowledge, experience and creativity have been presented to the country in this way. When we think of the “Tharu Yathura” poems, we remember the great freedom struggle that our poets evoked through poetry. The great language battle that awakened by our poets. A language does not exist in statistics. The Sinhala language survived through the continued national responsibilities of our forefathers. Mahasangha gave leadership to that great national responsibility.

A platform was created for scholarly comments on Tharu Yathura” and Ven Prof. Pathegama Gnanissara Thera, Prof. Kamal Waleboda, Prof. Gamini Ranasinghe, Literary veteran  Sunil Sarath Perera, Leader  of Hela Haula, Srinath Ganewatta, Additional Secretary Anusha Gokula, Amy Young of China Phi nix Media Group, the author K. M. I. Swarnasinghe, Lecturer Manisha Dukgannarala, gave brief comments on selected poems.

The mahasangha including, Chief Incumbent of Aukana Rajamaha Vihara, Member of Parliament Yadamini Gunawardena, Secretary  to the Prime Minister  Anura Dissanayake, government officials, journalists, artistes and a large number of people participated in this event.

Prime Minister’s Media 

උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස්

මෙරට සෑම පාසලක්ම නඩත්තු කිරීමට කිසිවකුත් නොමැති හෙයින් පාසල් ඉදි කිරීම පමණක් නොව නඩත්තුවටත් වැඩසටහනක් අවශ්‍ය බව විපක්‍ෂ නායක සජිත් පේ‍්‍රමදාස මහතා පවසයි.

ඒ සඳහා ප්‍රාදේශීය ව්‍යාපාරිකයන් හා දානපතියන්ගේ සහාය ලබා ගත හැකි බවත් ඔහු පෙන්වා දෙයි.

මොණරාගල බුත්තල ලුණුගල යෝධවැව මහා විද්‍යාලයේ පැවති උත්සවයක් අමතමින් ඔහු මේ බව පැවසීය.

අධ්‍යාපනයට අමතර මුදල් වෙන් කල නොහැකි බව රජය පැවසුවත් අධ්‍යාපන ක්ෂේත්‍රයේ දියුණුට මුදල් සෙවිය හැකි ක්‍රම රාශියක් පවතින බවත් එමගින් අධ්‍යාපන ක්‍රමය වඩාත් හොඳ ගුණාත්මකභාවයෙන් යුක්තව ලබා දිය හැකි බවත් ඔහු එහිදී පැවසීය.

2019 මෙන් වැරදි තීරණ මෙවර නොගන්නැයිද පේ‍්‍රමදාස මහතා එහිදී තව දුරටත් කියා සිටියේය.

KAMALIKA PIERIS

Sarath Weerasekera   once angrily    invited   the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL)   to visit the North and observe how the Buddhist ruins are destroyed and Chaithyas razed to the ground. The archaeological officers are threatened with death. Court cases are filed, and in the case of Kurundi, they obtained the help of Mullaitivu lawyers to delay renovations and destroy what has been already done, he told the lawyers. 

The Buddhist lobby is well aware that Buddhist places of worship have been attacked and vandalized .A Buddhist   shrine room erected by the army in its camp at Kanagarayakulam, Mankulam, was vandalized in 2016 and Buddha statue broken into pieces. This was not an isolated incident, the Buddhist lobby said.

The Buddhist lobby also knows that Buddhist ruins in the northeast are in need of protection. Panama pattu forest range is full of archaeological ruins. There is no protectionfor any of it, Ven.  Ellawela Medhananda said.

Selected Buddhist ruins in the north and east are protected by the Sri Lanka army. The army is looking after the Buddhist ruins at Kantarodai. Kalladi puda bima, in Batticaloa was discovered and protected by the armed forces during the Eelam war, reported Medhananda. A Buddha statue has come up in Sambaltheevu with police protection, complained the Tamil Separatist Movement. Delft has Buddhist ruins including a chaitya. As long as the navy is in Delft these ruins will be safe, said analysts..

Many Buddhist ruins are not registered in the Department of Archaeology as archaeological monuments. Medhananda said that most of the ruins discovered by him are not registered by the Department. Thottama, Manthottama, Pannala oya and Ambalan oya in Eastern province has archaeological remains which are not registered, he said.

The Buddhist lobby is aware of this. Surveyor General Ariyaratne Dissanayake said in February 2022 that a total of 484 requests have been received for surveying of archeological sites in the Eastern Province. Surveys of 64 sites have been completed and plans are being prepared for 22 sites.

At the Kurundi vihara demonstration, in Colombo in 2023, a member of the public accosted the demonstrators and said that issues like Kurundi would not arise, if Department of Archaeology did its job efficiently and gazetted these ruins.  His observation was a valuable one, but he was pushed aside. This was shown on television news.

The Archaeology Department holds records for the many sites it has inspected over the years. Like the ruins, the records are also in danger. They vanish.    There were 11 cave inscriptions near Kundikudichchi Aru. The Ampara Kachcheri held the file on this. This file is now missing, said Medhananda.  The records held in the Department of Archaeology of   Buddhist ruins converted to Kovils went missing.

The Buddhist lobby reacted strongly to the Tamil Separatist attacks on Buddhist ruins in the north and east. A Fundamental Rights application was lodged in 2016 challenging the vandalizing of Buddhist statues in north. The Buddhist archaeological sites in Northern Province are under threat said the petitioner.  There was specific reference to the shrine room at Mankulam but the petitioner stated that this was not an isolated instance. Over the past few months there have been constant demands for the removal of   Buddhist statues from Northern Province.  

In October 2019 Attorney-at-Law Dharshana Weraduwage filed a Fundamental Rights petition, in the Supreme Court, seeking an order directing authorities to investigate the imminent danger to the Buddhist religious sites and several archaeological sites situated in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

The petitioner states that he was shocked and dismayed to hear the news that a certain group had bulldozed an area in Maligai, Omanthai, Vavuniya, which had contained archaeological memorials and ruins that belonged to the Anuradhapura period. The petitioner further sought an order declaring that fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution under Articles 10, 11, 12 (1), 12(2), 14(1) (e) and 14(1) (f) have been violated by the respondents owing to their inaction.

In May2023 The Union of Organizations for the Protection of National Heritage handed over to Prime Minister DineshGunawardena its report on destruction of northern and eastern archaeological sites and interference with conservation activities. Ven.  Maduru oye Dhammissara , Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekara, Kalyananda Thiranagama and others participated in this event on behalf of the Union.

 In June 2023,  four Members of Parliament,  Udaya Gammanpila, Channa Jayasumana, Jayantha Samaraweera  and Sarath Weerasekera, sent a letter  to President asking him to  appoint a  Presidential committee to  study and report on the destroying of  Buddhist   ruins, now going on in the north and east.

They also  handed over a letter  to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena to appoint a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to investigate and report to Parliament on the destruction of archaeological monuments in the North and East.

  Large scale destruction of archaeological monuments is  taking place in the North and East, said Samaraweera, speaking to the press. We are requesting the PSC to investigate the matter and submit a report to Parliament within six months of the Committee’s first meeting.

The Buddhists did not tolerate intimidation. Here is one example. In 2018 five  Students of the faculty of Business studies of the University of Jaffna, four  Sinhalese,  one  Tamil, made a complaint to Supreme Court.  Five Writ applications were filed by them.

 The petitioner students said they were prevented from entering the campus premises because they had attempted to install an enclosure to house a Buddha statue in their hostel premises. They had been suspended. The authorities claimed permission had not been obtained.

The petitioners have alleged arbitrary treatment and a denial of their right to abide by the religion of their choice and asserted a violation of Article 12(1), 12(1), and 14(1) (a) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka. 

They have requested the Court to direct the VC to allow them to enter the university premises and to declare that their fundamental rights have been violated. They requested the Court to issue a writ to quash the decision of the university authorities to prevent them from attending lectures.

The Supreme Court in October 2018 issued notice on the Vice Chancellor and several other officials of the Jaffna University. In February 2020, Manohara de Silva, PC, who appeared for the students, told the Court of Appeal, that the students had been prevented from entering the university premises from April 18, 2018. It was without basis and was unlawful. Attorney General then informed the Court that the Jaffna Campus authorities would not hold a disciplinary inquiry against five undergraduates who were involved in  the matter.

Tamil Separatist Movement is desperate to stop work on Buddhist remains in the north and east. They  use various strategies. Department of Archaeology staff working on Buddhist ruins were harassed and obstructed. Chinthaka Sandaruwan, an official of the Department of Archaeology, said on You Tube We have problems all over the island over ruins. We have these problems all over not only in Kurundi.

When they find that they cannot chase the Department of Archaeology away from a site, the Tamil Separatist Movement then turns to the two law enforcement agencies, the police and the magistrate courts. Kurundi excavation was charged with disturbing the peace.

The Tamil Separatist Movement has the advantage there. The police, the lawyers and the Magistrate are all Tamil. The proceedings   in court were exclusively in Tamil with no provision for Sinhala.  The court order was also given in Tamil.

 This was accepted without protest by Kurundi   group. There was no protest about this, when they spoke to television cameras.  There   was no insistence that the Kurundi matter must be discussed in Sinhala, at Mullaitivu Magistrate court. The Magistrate knew Sinhala. The Buddhist lobby seems to have accepted that the law courts in the north and east are entitled to be Tamil only.

Their solution was to get this subject transferred to Colombo. In July 2020 it was reported that Buddhist clergy has asked that  land disputes in the North-East connected to Buddhist matters be transferred to courts in the South.

The Maha Sangha met President Gotabhaya in July 2020   and   requested the President to reassign Northern and Eastern matters involving historical sites to the law courts in Colombo. President Gotabhaya decided that the Antiquities Ordinance should be amended, so that land disputes in the North-East connected to Buddhist colonization be transferred to courts in the South, as requested by the Maha Sangha.

President Gotabhaya set up  an all-Sinhala committee comprising Maha Sangha and experts in the field to study how the amendments should take place. This amendment, which would seek to strengthen the protection of heritage sites, is seen by the Tamil Separatist Movement as a step towards Sinhalisation, Tamil Guardian said.

At the  meeting President gave orders to the Archaeology Department to punctually respond to the Maha Sangha’s wishes to protect historical and archaeology locations.” President also   looked at increasing funding to the Department of Archaeology.  Also whether to use the Civil Defense Force  to help conserve archaeological sites.  President said that proposals by the Maha Sangha on antiquities and archeological sites will be forwarded to the Presidential Task Force’.

IN  June 2020 President Gotabhaya appointed a Task Force on Archaeological Heritage Management in the Eastern Province (PTF) this  was a landmark event.

This Task Force was asked to i) Identify sites with archaeological importance in the Eastern province. ii) Identify and implement and appropriate program for the management of archaeological heritage by conserving and restoring such identified sites and antiquities.iii) Identify the extent of the land that should be allocated for such archeological sites and take necessary measures to allocate them properly and legally . iv) Preserve the culture value of sites of archaeological importance and promote the uniqueness of Sri Lanka, both locally and internationally, and make recommendations for the promotion of such heritages.

According to the statement issued by the President’s  Office, Ven. Ellawela Medhananda was appointed as the Chairperson of the Task Force. The Chief Prelate for the Northern and Eastern provinces, Chief Sanganayake of Thamankaduwa Direction, and Chief Incumbent of Arisimalai Aranya Ven. Panamure Thilakawansha Thero, Major General (Retired) Kamal Gunaratne, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Dr. Senarath Bandara Dissanayake, Director-General of Archaeology, Ms. Chandra Herath, Land Commissioner General, Ms. A.L.S.C. Perera, Surveyor General, Prof. Raj Kumar Somadeva, Senior Lecturer, University of Kelaniya, Prof. Kapila Gunawardena, Medical Faculty, University of Peradeniya, Deshabandu Thennakoon, Senior DIG, Western Province, H.E.M.W.G. Dissanayake, Provincial Land Commissioner, Eastern Province, Dilith Jayaweera, Chairman of Derana Media Network have been appointed as other members.

In 2021 two other members were appointed, lecturer Mufhisal Abubakkar and retired Northern Province Chief Secretary A. Pathinathan. Pathinathan  said that he had not given his consent and that he would not accept the appointment since  he did not know the subject.

There was strong opposition to this Task force form the Tamil Separatist Movement. An all Sinhala Buddhist task force including military personnel  has been set up, they complained. The Task Force  contains racists,  Buddhist monks and alleged war criminals  . No members from either the Tamil or Muslim community have been  included, even though they collectively make up over 70% of the Eastern Province’s population.

Tamils fear that their land  will be appropriated by the Task Force.  Tamils have  voiced fears about further appropriation of land by the state through the Task Force, as  they are empowered  to identify the extent of land that should be allocated for archaeological sites and take necessary measures to allocate them properly and legally.

Rajan Philips commented on the Task Force. The appointment of a Presidential Task Force for Archaeological Heritage Management in the Eastern Province, with its oddly mixed composition, has created political ripples not only in Sri Lanka but also outside the country, he said.  The Task Force excludes not only Tamil and Muslim archaeologists but also renowned Sinhalese archaeologists, said Philips.

There is  the question of whether a Task Force on archaeology is needed at the moment in the midst of a global pandemic and whether aPresidential Task Force is a suitable cultural mechanism for preserving cultural heritage.

The matter could have been left to the Department of Archaeology, one of the oldest and well-respected government departments. It has a professional reputation that extends beyond Sri Lanka. It has a well-established Exploration and Documentation Division that mandates Archaeological Impact Assessments to be undertaken for any development project on a parcel of land exceeding 0.25 hectares. If the Department is well funded and if   there is no interference from politicians there should not be any danger to Sri Lanka’s heritage resources, concluded Philips.

Tamil National Cultural Federation  expressed strong opposition and dissatisfaction  over this Task Force. Forming a   Presidential Task Force led by Military Officials, under the direction of Maha Sangha, by the President, will lead to expelling Tamils from these areas, under the guise of being Buddhist sites, to Buddhistize these areas, and to undertake massive Sinhala colonization, said TNCF. This should be stopped. All Tamil people should express their strong opposition to the President’s statement.

In 2021, the Tamil Separatist Movement wrote to Hindu organizations in UK saying that  the appointment of the Archeological Heritage Management Task Force has energized Sinhala nationalists and they are on spree to hurriedly fence archaeological sites . (Continued)

උපුටා ගැන්ම  ලංකා ලීඩර්

භික්ෂු ශාසනයෙන් නෙරපා හැර ඇති මීවනපලානේ සිරි ධම්මාලංකාර නමින් පෙනී සිටිමින් බුද්ධ දර්ශනය විකෘති කරමින් උතුම් බුදු දහමට නිගා කරමින් ශාසන විනාශකාරී කටයුත්තක නියැලී සිටින සිරිසේන සපුතන්ත්‍රි නැමැත්තාට එරෙහිව වහාම නීතිය ක්‍රියාත්මක කරන ලෙස ත්‍රෛයිනිකායික මහා නා හිමිවරුන්ගේ අත්සනින් යුතුව ජනාධිපතිවරයාට ලිපියක් යවා ඇත.

තිබ්බුටුවාවේ ශ්‍රී සිද්ධාර්ථ,මල්වතු පාර්ශවයේ මහා නායක, වර්කාගොඩ ශ්‍රී ඥානරතන   අස්ගිරි පාර්ශවයේ මහානායකය ,කරගොඩ උයන්ගොඩ මෛත්‍රී මූර්ති ශ්‍රී ලංකා අමරපුර මහා සංඝ සභාවේ මහානායක   ,මකුලාවේ ශ්‍රී විමලාභීන  රාමඤ්ඤ මහ නිකායේ මහානායක  මහා නා හිමිවරුන්ගේ අත්සනින් යුතුව යොමුකොට ඇති එම ලිපියේ මෙසේ සඳහන් වේ .

ථෙරවාදී පාලි ත්‍රිපිටකය සම්බන්ධයෙන් සාවද්‍ය මතවාද ප්‍රචාරය කරමින් බුද්ධ චරිතය හා ත්‍රිපිටකා ගත බෞද්ධ ඉගැන්වීම් විකෘති කරමින් බරපතළ ශාසන විනාශයක් හා සමාජ අර්බුදයක් නිර්මාණය කිරීමේ කුමන්ත්‍රණකාරී කටයුත්තක නියැලී සිටින මීවනපලානේ සිරිධම්මාලංකාර නමින් පෙනී සිටින භික්ෂු ප්‍රතිරූපකයා පිළිබඳ අවස්ථා ගණනාවකදී ජනාධිපතිවරයා ඇතුළු වගකිවයුතු අංශ දැනුවත් කර ඇති බවද උන්වහන්සේලා මෙහිදී පෙන්වා දී තිබේ.

By Veeragathy Thanabalasingham Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Anura Kumara Dissanayake with Gujarat Chief Minister

Colombo, March 3: In the aftermath of the five-day Indian visit of Anura Kumara Dissanayake(AKD) of the National Peoples’ Power (NPP) and his comrades, there has been an intense campaign against that party in South Sri Lanka. Politicians of major political parties, political observers and the mainstream media are in the forefront of this campaign.

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, who could not stomach the  official invitation given by the Indian government to the NPP leader, requested New Delhi to do the same to him also. It is not known whether Indian government has sent any such invitation to him so far.

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It is well known that the Janatha Vimukti Peramuna (JVP) (which is the lead group in the NPP) has an anti-Indian political history. Allegations are being made by hard-line Sinhala nationalist politicians like Wimal Weerawansa and Sarath Weerasekara that NPP leaders had been bought over by India.

Central to their criticism is the allegation that AKD’s team has its  willingness to support plans  to sell national assets to Indian investors. They tell the Sinhalese majority that the NPP has changed its policy towards India to the detriment of Sri Lanka’s national interests.

As for the hard-line Sinhalese nationalist forces, their political existence rests on policies that are anti-India and anti- minority communities. As they never fail to exploit any opportunity to espousing those policies, they are now taking advantage of AKD’s visit to India.

One is at a loss to understand why some politicians and observers in Sri Lanka worried about JVP’s anti-Indian past when Modi government itself is not bothered about it.

Although NPP leaders say that they too have changed like India, they are wary of the campaign intended to insulate them from the Sinhalese nationalist electorate. This is amply reflected in their comments after their visit to India.

When reporters asked about the current position of the JVP  regarding Indian investments in Sri Lanka, one of the party’s senior leaders, Vijitha Herath MP, said that they welcome investments from many countries including China and India. Until recently, they had strongly opposed many projects with Indian investment.

Although the leaders of the NPP claim that they are concerned about India’s security interests, they are very much keen not to be seen as a political force that is turning pro -India.

One cannot help but ask the politicians and observers who have repeatedly been reminding the anti -India past of the JVP as to whether they wish the latter not to change its wrong policies.

The leaders of the NPP who claim to have changed their policies and strategies to suit the current international political situation and the needs of the country,  have requested the people not to judge them based on their past policies.

It seems that the leaders of the NPP are striving very hard to counter the propaganda of their political opponents who are hell bent on creating  panic among the public about NPP’s intentions. AKD has time and again vehemently denied the propaganda that is being carried out that privately – owned properties will be taken over and the private sector throttled, if an NPP government is formed. Even last week, while addressing a group of business leaders in Colombo. AKD took pains to convince them that the JVP has changed.

Meanwhile, JVP’s past violent politics is also being heavily talked about again. Not only politicians but also the media, especially newspapers, are busy in this.  In the past few weeks, they have published editorials more than once on the killings by the JVP during the armed insurgency.

The JVP staged two failed armed insurgencies in the latter half of the last century, but later it entered democratic politics and has been contesting elections engaging  representative politics for more than three decades.

When a movement which waged an armed struggle for a political cause changes course over time and enters democratic politics and is able to gain the support of the people, campaigns by other political forces with sinister political motives only by recalling its past is akin to ignoring the positive change that has taken place for the good.

If an armed movement takes a democratic path, it should be welcomed and supported. But reminding the past for the sake of electoral political gains will have negative consequences.

At a public meeting two weeks back in Colombo in support of President Ranil Wickramasinghe, some politicians argued that even today JVP politburo comprised of seniors who were responsible for the party’s past crimes.

The current propaganda about the violent politics of the past should be viewed against the backdrop of the increasing support of NPP  among the masses. AKD is seen as a frontline candidate in the coming Presidential election due in less than eight months.

Many political observers are of the opinion that if President Wickremesinghe contests the election, the main contest will be between him and AKD.

They also say that the contest between Wickramasinghe and Anura Kumara will be very much different compared to past Presidential elections.

The NPP which had started preparing itself for the next national elections with great enthusiasm several months in advance, is carrying out a campaign among the people in an organized manner. But the mainstream political parties are in deep confusion.

Rajapaksas’ Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has split into several factions. The United National Party (UNP), which suffered a historic defeat in the last parliamentary elections failing to win even a single seat,  is particularly weak. It is evident that the party is unable to reorganize itself in an effective way at the grass roots level.

President Wickremesinghe, who has nearly half a century of political experience, is looking to other parties to form a broad coalition to support him in the Presidential election.

Some politicians who broke away from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna are now organizing rallies in support of Wickremesinghe.

Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa’s Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) is also in a quandary where its chairman former army commander Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka has been openly critical of Premadasa’s  way of doing politics. Infuriating Fonseka, Premadasa is inducting ex-service commanders who were at loggerheads in the past with the former party chairman.

Observers say that all these developments are creating a favourable political climate for NPP in the elections.

Be that as it may, the important question is whether Anura Kumara, who got just three percent of the votes in the last Presidential election, will take a massive leap to win the next Presidential election with 50 percent plus votes.

Anyway, it is a fact that the future electoral prospects of the NPP can no longer be judged on the basis of JVP’s electoral record thus far.

Whether other parties like it or not, it is the reality that not only India, but the leading powers of the international community, including the United States and the European Union, see NPP as a political force in Sri Lanka’s future politics.

The views expressed in this column  are not intended to endorse all the policies and actions of the NPP. But the intention is to point out that the campaigns being intensified against the NPP after its leader’s visit to India are indicative of the political tactics that other political forces, especially the mainstream political parties, may devise against the NPP in the days to come.

Whether AKD becomes President or not is another matter. But if he can win the presidential election, a very important question is whether the traditional political establishment and the state machinery built to serve it will allow an ‘outsider’ with a revolutionary past to come power.

By P.K.Balachandran/Sunday Observer

Snake watches as a farmer works in his field in India

Colombo, March 3: Bites of venomous snakes cause significant morbidity and mortality in the rural areas of tropical countries. Despite this, until recently, snakebites did not receive the attention they deserved as a public health problem.

The main reason for this was the paucity of robust epidemiological data on the disease burden associated with snakebite.

World-wide, an estimated 5.4 million people are bitten by snakes each year and 1.8 to 2.7 million are envenomed” or poisoned. Around 81,410 to 137, 880 persons die each year because of snake bites. Around three times as many amputations and other permanent disabilities are caused by snakebites annually. The situation is grim indeed.  

Snakebites are an enormous problem in India which records one million snakebites and 58,000 deaths due to these annually. This means that half the deaths due to snakebites in the world occur in India. Cases of disabilities created by snakebites in India are said to be four times the number of deaths.

Hospital statistics in the countries of the Global South underestimate the number of snakebites because a significant proportion of victims in these tropical countries seek traditional treatments outside hospitals. Because of this there is a gross under-estimation of deaths because of snakebites also.   

Aanya Wipulasena said in her article in Daily Express that in 2019, as per the Sri Lankan Health Ministry, there were 34,239 cases of snakebites reported to State hospitals. But according to a doctor attached to the Expert Committee on Snakebites (ECS) of the Sri Lanka Medical Association, the annual snakebite incidence was as high as 61,000. The two institutions had different statistics on deaths due to snakebite also. According to the Health Ministry, 50 had died of snakebite in 2019, but the doctor from the ECS said it was 200.

Karnataka’s Lead

It is because of the lack of data that the government of the State of Karnataka in South India, made snakebite a notifiable disease”. On February 12, the Karnataka government issued directives to all hospitals and medical colleges in the State to mandatorily record snakebite cases and deaths in the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP), which is a common Central government portal for national disease surveillance. The directive was given under the Karnataka Epidemic Diseases Act, 2020. Snakebite is of epidemic proportion.

This step will help the government not only get the numbers right but also region-wise incidence of snakebites and deaths, to enable an effective response.

Productive Age Group Affected

It’s a big first step,” said cardiologist Dr Jaideep C. Menon, who is currently leading an Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) study on snakebite incidence and mortality in India. According to Dr. Menon, 70% of snakebite victims are in the productive age group of 20-65 and is therefore a major economic problem too.

The other noteworthy feature is that 80% of the patients still depend on alternate sources of treatment before reaching a modern medical facility. Part of the reason for this scenario is that most snakebite cases occur in rural areas and many primary health centres lack the trained human resources and facilities to admit and treat patients with snakebite in India.

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Sri Lankan researcher Dileepa Senajith Ediriweera and colleagues had mapped the risk of snakebite in Sri Lanka through a national survey with geospatial analysis conducted in all the nine provinces of the country. Data relating to 165,665 individuals (0.8% of the population of Sri Lanka) living in 44,136 households in 1,118 clusters were collected.

695 snakebites, 323 envenomings (poisonings) and 5 deaths (four of them male) were reported in the sample population in the 12 months preceding the survey. The incidence of snakebites, envenoming and deaths in the complete sample population was 398, 151, and 2.3 per 100,000 population respectively.

Extrapolating this to the population of the whole of Sri Lanka, the estimated national numbers of snakebites, envenoming and deaths were 80,514, 30,543 and 464 respectively.

These figures were much more than claimed by official statistics, the researchers point out. There was variation in numbers of bites and envenomings in different parts of the country and, using the data from the survey, the researchers were able to develop snakebite risk maps to identify snakebite hotspots and cold spots in the country.

To encourage others studying the problem, the researchers used free and open source software and replicable methods, which could be adopted to other regions where snakebite is a public health problem.

Seyed Shahmy and his colleagues in their research paper (BMC Medical Education Volume 23, Article number: 390 (2023) say that  differences in rainfall have led to much diversity in the flora and fauna, and in land use in Sri Lanka, leading to differences in snakebite patterns.

A country-wide community based cross sectional survey between August 2012 and June 2013 to sample approximately 1% of the population of Sri Lanka. The researchers found that there were over 80,000 bites, 30000 envenomings, and 400 deaths per year in Sri Lanka. Hospital data underestimated deaths due to snakebite by as much as 60%.

Regional Variations

The highest rates of bites and envenoming were seen in the rural and agricultural North Central and North Eastern regions of the country.

In keeping with other parts of the world, the highest disease burden due to venomous snakebite affects areas with the population groups that are most under-served in terms of healthcare and infrastructure. This re-emphasizes the need for an equitable distribution of resources to address the problem of snakebites.

As in India, in Sri Lanka too, rural males of working age were at high risk of snakebites due to high exposure levels associated with their lifestyle and occupation, mainly farming.

The research also showed that the incidence of snakebite and envenoming gradually decreased with increasing population density. This may be due to the more densely populated areas being less suitable as habitats for sakes.

Coastal Areas Safer

Snakebite incidence increased with increasing elevation up to 160 meters and thereafter dropped with increasing elevation, likely reflecting the fact that coastal areas are not generally suitable for snake habitats.

Snakebite incidence is dramatically lower in non-agricultural communities (less than 9% involved in agriculture. The incidence of snakebite is higher in both the intermediate and wet zones than in the dry climatic zone.

However, the overall incidence of envenoming is higher in the dry zone. This is likely to reflect variation in species and again shows the importance of capturing data on the incidence of both snakebite and envenoming.

Russell’s viper is the most widely distributed snake in Sri Lanka, and can be found up to an elevation of 1800 meters. Saw-scaled vipers are largely confined to the arid dry zones of the country including Northern and Eastern Provinces extending up to eastern parts of the Southern Province. Cobras are also widely distributed in the country and are found up to 1500 meters. Common Kraits are mainly found in the dry zone. Hump-nosed vipers are found all over the country, but mostly in the wet and intermediate zones.

Need for Treatment in Primary Hospitals

Researchers have noticed that even in the case of medically minor snakebites, the majority of patients who come to the primary hospitals are subsequently transferred to hospitals at the higher level for further management. Perhaps doctors in primary care hospitals feel that their reputation will be at stake if a death occurred under their care. This adds to the cost of the treatment.  

But given the high quality of overall management in the primary hospitals in Sri Lanka, such transfers are unnecessary. As over 80% of snakebites in Sri Lanka are treated in primary hospitals, steps could be taken to discourage transfer of patients to higher hospitals, the researchers say.

Production of Anti-Venom  

The urgent necessity of safe and specific anti-venom for Sri Lankan snakes has been recognized by the Ministry of Health. Setting up a production facility in Sri Lanka itself will cost US$ 4 million.  Therefore, venom from Sri Lankan snakes are collected and sent abroad for the production of a suitable anti-venom, according to the National Research Council.

උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස්

මහබැංකුව වර්තමානයේ රට පත්ව ඇති ආර්ථික අර්බුධය සඳහා සෘජුව වගකිව යුතු බව සමගි ජනබලවේගය පක්ෂයේ පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ විපක්ෂයේ ප්‍රධාන සංවිධායක අධිනීතිඥ ලක්ෂ්මන් කිරිඇල්ල මහතා පවසයි.

ශ්‍රී ලංකා මහබැංකුව බලයට පත් සෑම ආණ්ඩුවක් සමඟම එක්ව නීති විරෝධී ක්‍රියා රැසක නිරත වූ බව අන්තර්ජාල නාලිකාවක් සමඟ සාකච්ඡාවකට එක්වෙමින් ඔහු වැඩිදුරටත් සඳහන් කර ඇත.

මෙරට ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව අනුව පාර්ලිමේන්තුවට පැවරී ඇති මුදල් බලයට පවා එරෙහිව සහ පටහැනිව වර්තමාන මහබැංකු අධිපතිවරයා පවා අවස්ථා කිහිපයකදී හිතුවක්කාරී ලෙස කටයුතු කර ඇති බවද කිරිඇල්ල මහතා සඳහන් කරයි.

මහබැංකු සේවකයින් විසින් පුද්ගලික ලෙස තම වැටුප් ඉහළ නංවා ගැනීමට අවස්ථාවාදීව සහ නීති විරෝධීව කටයුතු කර ඇති බවටත් ඔහු එහිදී චෝදනා කරයි.

Courtesy Adaderana

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has vowed to convert all schools in the country into smart-schools if he is elected as the President in the upcoming elections.

Speaking at a ceremony held at a school in Tissamaharama, the Samagai Jana Balawegaya (SJB) leader stated that if the people of Sri Lanka make the correct decision this year, the SJB will revolutionise the country’s education system.

Geopolitical Economy Report

The Western media showed extreme bias by de-politicizing the fatal protest of US airman Aaron Bushnell, who set himself on fire outside Israel’s embassy in Washington, DC while shouting “Free Palestine!” and “I will no longer be complicit in genocide!”. Ben Norton contrasts the press’ coverage of Russia, illustrating clear double standards.

MEHBOOB JEELANI Courtesy TRTWorld

Ministers from four Asian countries spoke about the necessity of steering the so-called global south away from a bipolar discourse in which the world is perceived solely through the prism of the US or China.

As panellists at the distinguished Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2024, top ministers from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Vietnam spoke in favour of a multilateral world order, emphasising the need to find a middle path with the common aim of achieving economic prosperity.

The panel, titled “Building Asia-Pacific Regional Architectures: The Challenges of Unmatching Interests,” comprised Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud, Sri Lanka’s State Minister of Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya, Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Hang, and Malaysia’s Minister of Higher Education Zambry Abd Kadir.

From the impact of climate crisis to new security challenges and economic opportunities, the ministers underscored the importance of engaging with both China and the United States without becoming pawns of either of the two players.

We should not promote China phobia in Asia. We should not let anyone impose the Cold War mentality on us,” Zambry Abd Kadir said, explaining how China has become a significant trading partner in ASEAN countries.

Sri Lankan foreign minister Balasuriya praised both China and India for their assistance to the island nation in times of crisis.

During Covid we got so many vaccines from China that saved thousands of lives in Sri Lanka. Another example is when we had an economic crisis in Sri Lanka, who helped us? It was India that helped us. Again it was India which helped us secure $2.9 billion at the International Monetary Fund after New Delhi gave financial assurances,” Balasuriya said.

The panellists spoke in line with the long-standing position of Türkiye’s, which has repeatedly argued for UN reforms, with its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stating that “effective multilateralism requires effective multilateral institutions.”

Over the years, several developing countries have invested more time and effort in strengthening alternative forums and institutions such as BRICS, the African Union, ASEAN, and SAARC, constantly seeking platforms to promote cooperation on economic and security fronts.

Balasuriya believes that in the coming years, more regional organisations will emerge to assist South Asian and Southeast Asian countries, specifically in forging alliances in various fields.

Aligning itself with these changing dynamics, Sri Lanka has made some crucial moves to ensure that all its eggs are not in one basket.

Sri Lanka is trying to open up, re-looking at the Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Accord and trying to expand it into other areas. We have just concluded signing a Free Trade Agreement with Thailand. We are negotiating with Bangladesh. We are signing a Bilateral Trade Agreement with Indonesia and also we are looking at a Free Trade Agreement with China,” Balasuriya told TRT World on the sidelines of the Forum.

UNSC reform

On the world’s financial architecture and the structural imbalance of the United Nations, Balasuriya said Sri Lanka’s position complements Türkiye’s stance.

Pitching for the UN reforms, he said at the time the organisation was formed in 1945, the United Kingdom had 10 percent of the world’s GDP share, thanks to India.

But now, the United Kingdom doesnt control that much of the GDP and in terms of the population it is not significant. [Yet] the world order at this moment is an all boys club. It’s the victors of the Second World War,” Balasuriya said.

So we certainly believe that a country like India for example, which already has the world’s largest population, doesn’t have a permanent seat in the UNSC – that’s absurd. If you look at the African nations, none of them have a permanent seat. None of the Latin American countries have a permanent seat.”

Balasuriya said that in the absence of such reforms, the regional powers are left with no choice but to find new avenues to work together outside of the traditional international institutions that are skewed in favour of the Big Five – the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China and Russia.

Giving the example of the ongoing Israeli violence in Gaza, Balasuriya took a dig at the Rules-Based Order, which is generally perceived as a US-led international order.

Whose rules are we talking about? Are these consensual rules? Or are these rules organised by certain countries and the rest of the countries have to follow?” he said, adding that the stakeholders in the Gaza war should take a cue from the Türkiye-brokered grain deal and try to bring an end to the violence and suffering Palestinians are facing.

SOURCE: TRT WORLD

Mehboob Jeelani

Mehboob Jeelani is a senior producer at TRT World.

Courtesy BorneoBulletin

COLOMBO (XINHUA) – Sri Lanka recorded its highest monthly income from tourism in four years in January, according to the latest data issued by Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

The central bank’s Economic Research Department said in a report released on Friday that in January, the South Asian country earned USD342 million from tourism, a record in the four years since January 2020 when the South Asian country was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The January figure is also compared to the USD154 million in monthly income from tourism a year earlier.

Courtesy The Sunday Times

The government’s decision to cancel a free visa facility granted to Russians and Ukrainians who have remained in Sri Lanka since February 2022 has not been reversed, Public Security Minister Tiran Alles confirmed this week.

Either they apply for a visa or they go back,” he told the Sunday Times. They will not receive free visas anymore.”

In March 2022, Sri Lanka’s cabinet approved a proposal by the Tourism Minister to permit free visa extensions to Ukrainian and Russian tourists who were holidaying in the country when the war broke out back home. At the time, there were 11,463 Russians and 3,993 Ukrainians, according to published reports.

In 2023, this facility was extended for another year—till February 22, 2024. As it was about to expire, Sri Lanka’s Department of Immigration and Emigration wrote separately to the Tourism Ministry, the Public Security Ministry, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their opinions on whether the privilege should be further extended. These letters were dated February 1, 2024.

There was no objection from the ministries for the free visas to be discontinued as, although the conflict was continuing, there were flights to and from Russia and Ukraine, with tourists from these countries entering and departing Sri Lanka regularly.

As a result, the Immigration Department wrote to the Tourism Ministry Secretary this week, requesting that he notify the relevant Ukrainian and Russian tourists about the new rule. The letter stated that it was no longer necessary to keep extending their visas without the requisite fees or penalties for overstaying.

Therefore, Russian and Ukrainian tourists belonging to the above categories have been given 14 days from 2024/02/23 to 2024/03/07 to leave this country, and it is kindly notified that this period will no longer be extended,” it said.

However, President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office reacted when the news was published in the Sunday Times by claiming there had been no official decision to cancel this facility and that the President had ordered an investigation into the notification issued to Russian and Ukrainian tourists without prior Cabinet approval, requiring them to leave within 14 days”.

Yesterday, Minister Alles said, The President didn’t say it (the free visa facility) was withdrawn. The President’s Office asked for an inquiry into why they were asked to leave in 14 days. That was wrong. We can’t tell them to leave the country in 14 days. They can either leave or apply for a visa

By Damith Wickremasekara Courtesy The Sunday Times

• Justice Minister will present a bill to Parliament, transferring financial powers to the Treasury and Parliament

Financial powers of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), including the Central Bank, will be curtailed in terms of a bill the Justice Minister will present to Parliament this month.

The move would remove the power of the Central Bank to determine its staff’s salaries, and that power would be vested with the Finance Ministry and Parliament, Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe told the Sunday Times.

He said that accordingly, the Central Bank’s recently proposed salary hike for its staff would be revoked, but a reasonable salary increase would be considered in consultation with the Finance Ministry.

Under the proposed bill, the SOEs would be given only administrative powers and financial policy decision-making powers, while the

powers to increase their salaries would not be given to the institutions, the minister said.

He said that in terms of the bill, which is to be presented this month, the SOEs would not be allowed to exceed the parliamentary financial powers.

He said one of the existing issues was that there was no proper interpretation of the financial powers of SOEs, and thereby many of them were trying to bypass parliamentary powers.

The party leaders in Parliament will be briefed about the proposed bill on Tuesday, while other ministers will also be submitting proposals on maintaining parliamentary financial powers.

Minister Rajapakshe said the move to increase the salaries of the Central Bank staff had come while issues of exporters retaining funds overseas, measures to stop illegal micro-finance company businesses, issues over leasing, and pawning centres were pending.

Meanwhile, Opposition Chief Whip Lakshman Kiriella told the Sunday Times that they would extend support for maintaining parliamentary financial powers, as they have been campaigning all along to preserve these financial powers.

He said the timing and proportion of the salary increase by the Central Bank were wrong, and therefore they were opposed to it.

Courtesy The Sunday Times

Sri Lanka has told the UN Human Rights Council that double standards, which contribute to the politicisation of human rights, cannot be condoned.

Himalee Arunatilaka, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in Geneva, addressing the 55th session of the Human Rights Council on Friday, drawing attention to the plight of the people in Gaza, questioned, Where are the resolutions and where are the accountability projects?” We cannot condone the continuing double standards of some sectors that provide no tangible relief to the grievances of people but only contribute to the politicisation of human rights.”

The Ambassador, during her statement to the Council, also responded to a string of allegations made by UN Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Türk earlier during the session.

She explained that during his address, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister, Ali Sabry, elaborated on the recent engagements with several working methods of the Council.

The government, to overcome the challenges of the recent past, prioritised economic recovery and reconciliation objectives while ensuring that the country’s democratic traditions and institutions remained stable at all times. Being sensitive to the economic hardships faced by the people, social safety nets have been strengthened to help cushion the impact of the challenges on the poor and vulnerable,” she said.

Despite severe constraints, our objectives remain steadfast and unwavering towards expediting the ongoing efforts to strengthen the foundation of national unity, post-conflict reconciliation, and human rights. Sri Lanka is committed to pursuing progress through already established domestic mechanisms,” she said.

She explained that consultations on the draft Truth, Unity and Reconciliation Commission bill were ongoing with the participation of the government, civil society, religious leaders, and legal experts. The draft bill was gazetted on January 1, 2024, and would be tabled in Parliament after providing sufficient time for the people to express their views on the draft. An interim-Secretariat, to lay the foundation for the commission, has already been established since May 2023 and continues its work.

The work of the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) is ongoing. Demonstrating significant public trust in the OMP, 5,221 out of 6,025 phase 1 complainants have met with the OMP, and inquiries held. Progress was made in tracing missing persons in 2023 as the OMP’s Tracing Unit found 16 persons alive, and confirmed three deceased. 1,313 families received Certificate of Absence (CoA) and steps have been taken to extend the validity period until 2028, she said.

During the past year, despite the financial situation in the country, the Office for Reparations (OR) had granted Rs. 41.2 million to the families of the missing. With the financial and technical assistance of the IOM, the OR continues to implement several projects to provide psychosocial support for aggrieved communities, she added.

The Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR) has been further strengthened by an Act of Parliament, whereby it now functions as an independent institution, like the OMP and OR. The ONUR conducts training programmes to promote religious coexistence and conflict transformation workshops, providing opportunities for interfaith and intercultural dialogue,” she said.

Sri Lanka reiterates its categorical rejection of Resolutions 46/1 and 51/1 and the external evidence-gathering mechanism that stems from these two divisive and intrusive resolutions. Both of these resolutions, that do not have the consent of the country concerned, have wide-ranging legal and political implications for all countries. The establishment of such unhelpful mechanisms, utilising the funds of Member States at a time when the UN is facing a liquidity crisis for dire humanitarian needs, for a purpose and end result that is vague and ambiguous, contravenes the very founding principles of this Council. Its sole purpose seems to cater to the aspirations of a few and does not in any way help the people of Sri Lanka,” she said.

She noted that the Online Safety Bill, a domestic legislation that the Government is now in the process of amending in good faith, taking into consideration the additional proposals presented by civil society and other stakeholders.

After reviewing petitions following the tabling of the revised Anti-Terrorism Bill in Parliament on January 10, 2024, the Supreme Court has provided its determination on the said Bill. The Government has taken cognizance of the Supreme Court determination, and the bill will be appropriately amended prior to being passed into law. Six rounds of consultations with civil society organisations had taken place regarding the draft NGO Act (NGO Registration and Supervision Bill) in Sri Lanka. It is emphasised that there is a necessity of incorporating provisions in the bill to tackle concerns such as terrorism financing and money laundering, while all concerns raised by civil society organisations have been considered and integrated into the draft  bill,” she said.

Notwithstanding our position on the HRC Resolutions, as a responsible member of the international community, Sri Lanka will continue to engage constructively with the UN and its agencies, in keeping with domestic priorities and policies as well as the international obligations voluntarily undertaken,” she added.

Earlier, UN Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Türk urged the Sri Lankan government to immediately undertake credible accountability measures to investigate and prosecute past and present human rights violations and economic crimes.

Sustainable peace and reconciliation will not be achieved in Sri Lanka with regressive laws and authoritarian approaches, which will only serve to perpetuate the human rights concerns of the past,” the High Commissioner said.

I urge the Government immediately reverse this trend and undertake credible accountability measures to investigate and prosecute past and present human rights violations and economic crimes. I also urge Member States to continue to reinforce these efforts, including through appropriate use of universal and extra-territorial jurisdiction and targeted measures against credibly-alleged perpetrators of serious human rights violations and abuses,” the High Commissioner added.

He said that it was through addressing the root causes of the country’s conflict and economic crisis, and ensuring accountability, that Sri Lanka would be able to enhance its prospects of achieving genuine reconciliation and sustainable peace and development.

He said there was great hope that the country would embark upon a long-overdue transformation that would benefit all its communities.

The High Commissioner expressed concern about new and proposed laws, which he said include the Online Safety Act, the Anti-Terrorism Bill, the Electronic Media Broadcasting Authority Bill, and the NGO Supervision and Registration Bill.

The High Commissioner also referred to the consequences of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis, saying it continued to bite deeply, particularly for the most marginalised.

Poverty rose further to an estimated 27.9% last year. Nearly two-thirds of households across the country have seen their monthly incomes decrease since March 2022, while food, transportation, health, and education costs continue to rise. Despite the government’s efforts, social protection remains overstretched, and the government’s largest budget expenditure this year will go towards servicing its debt,” he said.

While the government has introduced a draft legislation for a Commission for Truth, Unity and Reconciliation, the environment for a credible truth-seeking process remains absent. My Office continues to receive allegations of surveillance, harassment, and arrests by security forces of civil society representatives, journalists, and victims, as well as of people who have been involved in organising commemoration events for war victims,” the High Commissioner said.

I remain deeply concerned about recurring, credible accounts received by my Office of abductions, unlawful detention and torture, including sexual violence, by the Sri Lankan police and security forces, some of which allegedly took place in 2023, mainly in the north and east of the country. Last week, the appointment of a new Inspector General of Police was confirmed, despite the Supreme Court’s finding that he was responsible for the torture of an individual in 2010. These cases highlight the need for comprehensive security sector  reform,” he said.

He said his office continued to work to advance accountability in Sri Lanka. It is providing support to several jurisdictions undertaking criminal justice investigations, and is deepening its information and evidence based on specific incidents of human rights concern. It has also been carrying out research on enforced disappearance and conducting consultations with victims.

By  Thanzyl Thajudeen Courtesy Ceylon Today

By Thanzyl Thajudeen

Human rights have a skin colour, and the darker you are, the less human rights you have. These exact words by Swedish MP Abir Al-Sahlani, when speaking at the European Parliament on 27 February, couldn’t have put it any way better. She said this when she stood up for Gaza, expressing that the hypocrisy is obvious and that our collective humane has failed.

Enshrined as the cornerstone of contemporary civilisation, human rights aim to safeguard the inherent equality and dignity of every person. However, underneath the seeming universality is a brutal reality: skin colour clearly shapes how these fundamental rights are accessed and enjoyed. Here, we set out to disentangle the complex web of historical legacies, systematic biases and societal constructions that link skin colour to human rights. We explore the core of this complicated subject, from centuries-old hierarchy to modern prejudice, in an effort to shed light on the ongoing fight for justice and equality.

One must first face the lingering effects of racism and colonialism to comprehend the connection between skin colour and human rights. Global civilisation has been shaped by ideas of racial superiority and inferiority from the time of European conquest to the transatlantic slave trade. Ibram X. Kendi in his book titled, ‘Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America’ shows that by dehumanising indigenous peoples based only on their physical attributes, colonial powers were able to justify their exploitation and subjugation of these groups, establishing the groundwork for long-lasting oppressive institutions. The wounds from this past are still felt today, feeding the vicious cycles of injustice and inequality.

The underlying cause of the problem is structural racism and institutional inequality, which work together to maintain differences in treatment based on skin colour. People with darker skin tones face systemic marginalisation and discrimination in countries all over the world, as well as obstacles to housing, healthcare, work and education. Social and economic institutions have been profoundly impacted by centuries of discrimination, resulting in deeply ingrained systems of privilege and disadvantage that disproportionately impact marginalised populations. The effects of systemic racism are 

long-lasting and widespread, affecting everything from the criminal justice system to the healthcare industry.

The issue of colourism, which favours those with lighter complexion over those with darker skin, widens the gap among groups of colour. Colourism fosters ideas of beauty, worth and attractiveness based on skin tone. It has its roots in colonial hierarchies and is supported by media portrayals and societal standards, as described in Toni Morrison’s book, The Bluest Eye. This type of prejudice marginalises people who straddle many identities even more by intersecting with other axes of oppression including gender, class and ethnicity in addition to maintaining intragroup disparities.

Over continents, colonialism’s echoes may be heard, leaving a legacy of oppression, exploitation and dispossession in its wake. This is particularly noticeable in areas where the effects of colonial control are still felt, such as Palestine, Africa, the Congo, Asia and the Middle East. Palestinians are still being oppressed and massacred and displaced from their homes, and now worse, forced starvation and famine in Palestine by the Israeli occupation, and Western nations are complicit in this by continuing to give, and in some cases now actively involved on the grounds, in the apartheid criminal nation unflinching military and diplomatic backing. Comparably, the Continent of Africa struggles with the long-lasting effects of colonial exploitation as Western businesses continue to pillage its abundant resources, causing poverty and instability to persist. Millions of civilians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been left homeless and displaced as a result of resource-driven wars that are supported by Western interests.

Influence of the media

It is impossible to overestimate the influence of the media on stories and attitudes. Sadly, sensationalism, prejudice and misinformation too frequently overshadow the experiences of marginalised populations. Western nations reporting on wars in places like Yemen, Syria and Myanmar, and the ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestine, frequently repeat oversimplified narratives that fall short of expressing the complexities of the underlying problems, and moreover, they continue to lie, deceive and change narratives. Rather, by reinforcing preexisting assumptions and misconceptions, these narratives contribute to maintaining a narrative of superiority and further entrench inequality. Further, nations with a history of horrific human rights violations continue to have strategic relationships with Western powers, demonstrating the preference for geopolitical objectives over concerns for human rights.

Human rights certainly have a skin colour. And, sadly those in the West think that the East or the Global South has so much violence and brutalities that they need to come here to teach what human rights is. Rather, it is they who should really learn what those two words are. The universality of human dignity is undermined and inequality is perpetuated by the hypocrisy of human rights, which is highlighted by systematic racism, colonial legacies and media misinformation. It is critical that we address these differences head-on as we negotiate the complexity of a globalised society, working for justice, equality and human rights for everyone, regardless of background or skin colour.

A diversified strategy that both acknowledges historical injustices and aggressively tackles systematic inequality is needed to address the hypocrisy of human rights. Holding governments and companies responsible for their acts, amplifying the voices of the marginalised and increasing awareness are all made possible via advocacy, education and grassroots activity. Additionally, establishing intercultural communication and solidarity is crucial to tearing down long-standing oppressive structures and creating new ones. For this, the Global South or the East should rise, tall and strong. And in time, it will.

Courtesy Hiru News

A Spanish tourist has suffered a group sexual assault in the Dumka district while traveling around the world with her husband.

Seven men have raped me, recalled the Spanish woman who was gang-raped in Jharkhand’s Dumka, around 300 km from state capital Ranchi, on Friday night. The woman, with bruises all over her face, shared the horror in an Instagram post: “Something has happened to us that we would not wish on anyone. Seven men have raped me.”

“They have beaten us and robbed us although not many things because what they wanted was to rape me,” she said.

The tourist who was travelling on a motor bicycle with her husband was allegedly gang-raped overnight from 1 to 2 March in the Dumka district of India’s Jharkhand state – a well-known tourist destination.<br /><br />The victim was on a motor cycling trip with her husband to Nepal via Bhagalpur, they had stopped at Dumka when the assault took place.

According to her statement, the couple had pitched their tent in a secluded spot near Hansdiha market.

While she was asleep, several youths from the area broke into the tent and took turns to rape her. They also used physical violence, she reportedly said in her complaint to local police.

Officers arrived on the scene in the early hours of the morning and arrested three people.

Another official mentioned the involvement of seven to eight youths.

Following the assault, the woman was admitted to the Saraiyahat Community Health Centre for medical treatment.

The authorities have opened an investigation into the matter.

Officers say she is undergoing medical examinations at the Phulo Jhano Medical College Hospital in Dumka.

The Spanish embassy in India has contacted the authorities and has sent personnel to consult in the region.

As per a PTI report, Dumka Superintendent of Police Pitambar Singh Kherwar said Hansdiha police patrolling team found two people on the side of the road around 11 pm on Friday.

“The patrolling team sensed that something had happened to them. Since they were speaking in Spanish, the police could not understand what they were saying. However, the policemen brought them to a local hospital assuming they needed some treatment,” he said.

The Spanish couple told doctors about the incident of sexual assault, he said.

By Dr. Tilak S. Fernando

Despite all the consumer items going up in prices on a daily basis, so are the channeling services in private hospitals. It varies from hospital to hospital!  For example , especially in Colombo hospitals, there are rumors floating about that the Nawaloka hospital is facing the brink of bankruptcy, but once one enters the hospital , it could be seen full of patients in every corner all the time!

In Nawaloka there is a particular charge at the rate of Rs.4000.00 ( for a professor of Nephrologist  (the one who deals with  one’s kidneys) where the Hospitals charges vary from 1300 to for other specialists. This  exorbitant  amount is known as the ‘Professor’ , a distinguished title which is known for the specialists for this discipline.

 This extra charge of Rs.4000, (hospital charge for channelizing extra and a service charge a service booking for the Professor is added to my travelling. What happened to me was that I left home, Thalawathugoda, at 3.00 pm to be at the  hospital by 4.30 pm .  The receipt mentions that the session commences at ‘estimated’ time of 4.33 pm. I was waiting for nearly two more hours, but the professor  did not appear at all! I became furious and changed it to Monday 19-02-2024! I went again on the 19^th Monday, and waited for more than one hour but the nurse assigned to the Professor advised me that she could not confirm at what time the professor would come to see the patients.

What doctors should do

Basically, the doctors should be punctual and keep  up to the schedule. This is how I feel about it! It will become no sense at all, by keeping the patients  until all odd hours for the specialist to arrive!

Patients believe in a specialist, as they are being recommended by someone. The patients have implicit faith in the specialist and by delaying consultation,  in the manner displaced above will certainly  have a much more effect on the hospital itself . But on the receipt ,the hospitals  do state very craftily how to get out with grace!

Also, there is no point in getting ready  for the  nurse (allocated to the specialist) by taking blood pressure and collecting all records with patients ( in my case various tests were done by a laboratory  and was referred to, in readiness with anxiety about my Cardiologist by the  Cardiologist. Generally, from my personal experience. Until I retired from the National  Health Services  in the UK (from the MCA- Medicines Controlled Agency), it depends on Sri Lanka  by the specialist to show arrogance  by pretending to be the God?

It is also  health hazard, for instance those patients who are suffering from Angina or some kind of a heart problem to have to wait continuously until the specialist arrives, because the patient would be stressed to such an extent b and they expect be on time the as the patient has paid what is expected to pay  before seeing the specialist! The patient (her stress factor would increase tremendously about the time one has to wait) .It will be a disaster if the specialist does not appear  at all, like I have waited for the professor just not to be at the appropriate time!

In Exceptional Circumstances

There are cases where  the special the excuse is thrown at every instance. In such cases, it’s the sole responsibility of the specialist to advise the hospital nurses, rather  than keeping it to himself. Equally, the Department of Health may be able to put a ‘stop’ to specialists, who want to be ‘money earners’ in order to maintain their day-do-day activities of the so-called doctors extravagantly.

In the UK, all specialists are sincere in their attitude towards their patients and there is the possibility one (patient) could say ‘ it is my  body after all,  that you are dealing with body because they take an oath (oath of Hippocrates) to serve on all patients in a humanitarian manner!

There should be love and devotion being a doctor in the first place. That 

They tell the doctors that they are a ‘ superior lot’ just because they (doctors) generally wear a collar and a tie! It does not make them superior in their vocation but in simple terms  but it boils to be that specialists  are disrespected by the public as  they are bound by the oath they take when they qualify as doctors .

I knew of a surgeon ( Sri Lankan) ,who  was nominated several times for the ‘Golden Scalpel Award’ throughout the UK. He decided to operate on a ninety-year-old patient, as he felt  that the patient would survive the operation, despite all comments by his colleagues. After the operation he  thought he should  be successful in a better social life! 

Well! A few months later the patient (in Wales) came to see the surgeon with an ‘alarm clock’.  All he had to say was that you gave  the time  for me doctor and personally him and said I shall in return  with the same smilie– Please have much more time for operations of that nature.”

Is it not clear how humanity works in Wales in the UK?

tilakfernando@gamil.com

Dr.Tilak S Fernando

www.tilaksblog.com

by Daya Gamage Foreign Service National Political Specialist (rtd.) US Department of State Courtesy The Island

India’s security needs consolidate US manoeuvring strategy in Indo-Pacific:

Aware or unaware of the intricacies of big power play in the Indo-Pacific region to the emerging political entity in Sri Lanka, JVP-led National People’s Power (NPP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake has declared that he and his political party are (now) alive to India’s security concerns after his return from India having had discourses with External Affairs Minister and other leading Modi administration officials needs serious scrutiny.

In an interview with Sri Lanka’s Sirasa TV on February 15, Dissanayake reiterated that the ‘incoming’ National People’s Power administration will not do anything that undermines Indian security”.

If Dissanayake had been aware that ‘India’s national security’ was somewhat beyond her ‘control’ and connected to the larger Indo-Pacific or Asia-Pacific region with ‘outside forces’ deeply embedded in, he would have made a ‘measured statement’ about India’s national security.

Before examining how India is tied to ‘a foreign military and technological force’ connected to the Asia-Pacific Region and that India’s national security cannot be isolated from ‘outside forces’ engaged in the region, it should be found out how Sri Lanka is connected to the overall regional security, an issue that Dissanayake doesn’t seem to have paid much attention to. The eight-page, 2007 (disclosed) US-Sri Lanka signed Acquisition and Cross-Services Agreement (ACSA) and the 83-page, 2017 ACSA (still kept classified by both Washington and Colombo) have much relevance to the overall Indo-Pacific region.

US Code Title 10 Section 2342: Cross-Servicing Agreement, under which a long process of US government assessment takes effect, how useful a non-NATO country, such as Sri Lanka could be to the national interest of the United States is vital to the understanding of Sri Lankan policy.

The US Code declares (Quote) (a)(1) Subject to section 2343 of this title and to the availability of appropriations, and after consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense may enter into an agreement described in paragraph (2) with any of the following: (Among others)

(D) The government of a country not a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization but which is designated by the Secretary of Defense, subject to the limitations prescribed in subsection (b), as a government with which the Secretary may enter into agreements under this section. (End Quote)

Before scrutinising other Sub-Sections, Sub-Section (D) is well connected to a ‘declaration’ of a diplomatic cable that reached Washington from the American Embassy in Colombo: 20 February 2007 diplomatic cable sent under the signature of Ambassador Robert Blake made it very clear (Quote) Since this agreement primarily benefits US forces, we think there are strong arguments to proceed with the signing the agreement (End Quote) referring to the 2007 ACSA. It is not difficult to understand why the 2007 agreement was expanded to 83 pages in 2017 and why it is still kept a secret.

Now to Sub-Section (b) of the U.S. Code Title 10 Section 2342: Cross-Servicing Agreement:

(Quote) (b) (which is well connected to the signing of both the 2007 and 2017 ACSA) The Secretary of Defense may not designate a country for an agreement under this section unless –

(1) the Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary of State, determines that the designation of such country for such purpose is in the interest of the national security of the United States; and

(2) in the case of a country which is not a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Secretary submits to the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives notice of the intended designation at least 30 days before the date on which such country is designated by the Secretary under subsection (a). (End Quote)

The Pentagon, the State Department and Armed Services and International Committees of the US Senate and House of Representatives are very much involved in the process of using feed backs and assessments from the US diplomatic post in the host nation.

This writer, who was knowledgeable about this process during his engagement with the State Department for more than two decades, was aware of the manner in which the US diplomatic mission in Sri Lanka played that role.

To enter into an ACSA treaty, the designated country – in this case, Sri Lanka, which entered into the agreement in March 2007 and 2017– Washington has to determine (Quote) the designation of such country for such purpose is in the interest of the national security of the United States . (End Quote)

Sri Lanka occupies some very important real estate in the Indo-Pacific region, and it’s a country of increasing strategic importance in the Indian Ocean region”, declared Alice Wells, US State Department’s Deputy Assistant Secretary addressing the foreign media at the department’s Washington Media Center on 24 January 2020—three weeks before she was in Colombo meeting newly-elected President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.

The 2018 National Defense Strategy guides the Department of Defense to support the (US) National Security Strategy – the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 – specifically calls for expanding cooperation with democratic partners in South Asia, including Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.”

This 2018 document – declassified in January 2021 – evinces a special interest in Sri Lanka’s survival in the Indo-Pacific region, the formulation of its foreign policy, and its relations with India, the United States and China.

It should be mentioned here that the writer along with another (retired) Senior Foreign Service/Intelligence Officer (American) is currently developing a manuscript (for publication) exploring Washington’s foreign policy manipulations and discharges toward Sri Lanka and India, and the manner in which Sri Lanka and India were (and are) playing their roles in response to Washington’s excessive and (almost) hegemonic role in the Indo-Pacific region.

It is in this context that India’s national security can in no way be isolated from Washington’s military/defense and intelligence approaches and activities in the Asia-Pacific region and its foreign policy discharges that this writer and his co-author discovered through their extensive research and investigations.

Some of the salient policy determinations and projections in the now-declassified 2018 National Security Strategy – the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act document of the US government are as follows:

· A strong India, in cooperation with like-minded countries, would act as a counterbalance to China.

· India remains preeminent in South Asia and takes the leading role in maintaining Indian Ocean security, increased engagement with Southeast Asia, and expands its economic, defense, and diplomatic cooperation with other US allies and partners in the region.

· US Objective: Accelerate India’s rise and capacity to serve as a net provider of security and Major Defense Partner; solidify an enduring strategic partnership with India underpinned by a strong Indian military able to effectively collaborate with the United States and her partners in the region to address shared interests.

· US Actions: Build a stronger foundation for defense cooperation and interoperability; expand US defense trade ability to transfer defense technology to enhance India’s status as a Major Defense Partner.

· US Objective: Strengthen the capacity of emerging partners in South Asia, including the Maldives, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, to contribute to a free and open order. US Action: Establish a new initiative with South Asian partners modeled on the Maritime Security Initiative.

· National Security Challenges: How to maintain US strategic primacy in the Indo-Pacific region while preventing China from establishing new illiberal spheres of influence.

· US Action: Enhance combat-credible US military presence and posture in the Indo-Pacific region to uphold US interests and security commitments.

Now, let’s see how ‘Indian National Security’ that Anura Kumara Dissanayake has referred to, and aspires to safeguard under a JVP-led NPP government he is hoping to form, is tied to the Indo-Pacific Region that Washington is playing a dominant role in.

US-India Relationship: Critical to Indo-Pacific

A shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific bolsters the US-India relationship as the two countries continue to strengthen defense ties, a senior Pentagon official said on Sept. 19, 2023.

Siddharth Iyer, the Director for South Asia policy in the Office of (US) Secretary of Defense, said the defense partnership had experienced an incredible and unprecedented amount of momentum” as evidenced by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin twice traveling to India recently and the warmth and familiarity” between the two countries.

This relationship is one of the top priorities for the department,” Iyer said. Our belief is that getting the US and India relationship right is not just necessary, it’s essential to achieving our strategy in the Indo-Pacific.”

What he meant by our strategy” is the United States’ strategy.

I think one of the ways in which we think about the roadmap is really a manifestation of Secretary Austin’s commitment to accelerating India’s military modernization, and for him, putting the department on the hook to find targeted opportunities to propose to advance India’s indigenous defense production capabilities,” Iyer said during a discussion on furthering US-India security cooperation hosted by the Hudson Institute in Washington.

department on the hook”, meaning the United States on the hook.

India’s Minister of Defense Rajnath Singh and Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar engaged with (US) Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin for the fifth US-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in New Delhi on November 10, 2023.

They reaffirmed the importance of the US-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership in ensuring international peace and security. The Ministers also underlined their strong commitment to safeguarding a free, open, and an inclusive Indo-Pacific.

The Joint Statement released November 10, 2023 on the Fifth Annual India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue reaffirmed the US-India”commitment to further deepen the multifaceted defense partnership through wide-ranging dialogues and military exercises of increasing complexity and sophistication, accelerated joint projects initiated under the June 2023 Roadmap for US-India Defense Industrial Cooperation and expanded collaboration in emerging domains, such as space and artificial intelligence. They expressed satisfaction with the pace of cooperation in Maritime Domain Awareness and looked forward to identifying pathways to promote stronger service-to-service ties and share technologies to address an array of maritime challenges, including in the undersea domain.”

These discourses, dialogues and rapport have prompted steps to deepen and diversify” the two countries’ so-called Major Defense Partnership.

The two (US and India) militaries signed their second Master Ship Repair Agreement, with the US Navy and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd., in August 2023, recommitting themselves to advancing India’s emergence as a hub for the maintenance and repair of forward-deployed US Navy assets and other aircraft and vessels, according to the White House. The countries also made further commitments to the US companies investing more in India’s maintenance, repair and overhaul capabilities and facilities for aircraft.

In late September 2023, Ely Ratner, the US Department of Defense’s Assistant Secretary for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, Donald Lu, State Department’s assistant secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, Vani Rao, a secretary in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and Vishwesh Negi, the Joint Secretary of Indian Ministry of Defense engaged in a wide range of ambitious initiatives” dialogue between the two nations.

According to a US Defense Department statement The officials also discussed regional security developments and strategic priorities across the Indo-Pacific region. A strong US-India partnership is essential to upholding security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.”

India having entered into a military partnership with the United States, and Sri Lanka’s close proximity to India in political and economic spheres, Sri Lanka is at a crossroads surrounded by Washington, New Delhi and Beijing.

As an emerging leader, Anura Kumara Dissanayake could have made a ‘measured statement’ on the official policy of the government he is planning to form towards ‘India’s security’ as data given above show the manner in which Washington has tied up with New Delhi, and the strategy the United States has adopted to forge a strong defense ties with India; contrary to what Dissanayake believes, India is not developing an ‘isolated national security policy’. New Delhi has been formulating her national security policy in collaboration with Washington, and that security policy – to which JVP-NPP has undertaken to protect and safeguard – provides for a dominant role for Washington in the Indo-Pacific (or Asia-Pacific) region. Sri Lanka is unable to escape Washington’s machinations in the Indo-Pacific region as noted at the outset.

Isn’t Dissanayake aware of the US-India defense collaboration? If so, is he concealing that fact, or if not so, isn’t he capable of strategic thinking?

As a footnote, it is necessary to refer to Dissanayake’s pronouncement about foreign nations and their diplomatic agents’ special interest in communicating with him and his political entity, according to him in an interview with SIRASA TV on February 15 (Quote) Anyone who can think logically can understand that states engage with political actors that have power. India, China, the US, and many others are now engaging with us because they think we will win elections (Unquote).

The writer finds it very unusual for the (US) Chief of Mission to entertain the notion that she should maintain close rapport and contact with a non-ruling political party leader. The US diplomats were expected to maintain contacts with (about) two national political parties that alternately exchanged power; they established contacts with ‘non-national’ political parties and their leaders to fulfill ‘diplomatic niceties’ and obtain alternative interpretations to that of what main political leaders and their national parties express.

In the case of JVP-NPP, undoubtedly, they are emerging as a national entity, and foreign diplomats, including the American ambassador Julie Chung, have taken note of the emerging political reality to maintain relations with it. Whether Ambassador Chung believes, in a confused political atmosphere, the JVP-NPP could form the next administration is another matter.

Two questions emerge from Dissanayake’s belief that foreign nations and their diplomats ‘suddenly’ reach out to his political alliance because they strongly believe that its rise to power is imminent: (1) Is it because the reconciliation between the JVP-NPP and India and Dissanayake’s undertaking not to obstruct that nation’s national security interests suits Washington and if JVP-NPP ever captures power or reaches the level of an influential and formidable opposition power Washington (and/or Julie Chung) will have tamed the once anti-American/anti-Indian JVP? (2) Shouldn’t JVP- NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake declare his policy towards the US; the defense collaboration between Washington and New Delhi; and that Ambassador Chung is aware that JVP-NPP has conveniently ignored India’s defence collaboration with the US? Is this a diplomatic achievement of Washington?

As much as JVP-NPP owes the Sri Lankan public an explanation, elucidating its undertaking to safeguard the national security interests, Sri Lankan policymakers and lawmakers need to have a comprehensive understanding of where Sri Lanka stands in this complex foreign policy issue.

(The writer is a retired Foreign Service National Political Specialist of the U.S. Department of State accredited to the Political Section of the U.S. diplomatic mission in Sri Lanka)

DIYESA TV

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Mahinda Pathirana

The Netherlands has returned six artefacts taken by force from Sri Lanka during the colonial era. This is the first batch of treasures to be returned.

Comment

The artifacts that were stolen from Ceylon rightfully belong to Ceylon (now renamed as Sri Lanka). Additionally, Sri Lanka has a strong claim under the Law of Unjust Enrichment to part of the revenue collected by the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam by selling tickets to visitors over the last 150 years. That money must be repatriated to Sri Lanka. We are shareholders and co-owners of our artifacts illegally seized and taken abroad.

This principle of sharing profits with the victims of Western Colonialism in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean islands through repatriation of revenue collected over 200 years or more by exhibiting stolen goods taken from the Colonies, is a universal principle that is applicable in any part of the world.

I call on the Govt. of Sri Lanka to pursue this matter as a matter of urgency within the framework of Public International Law.

Senaka Weeraratna

Attorney-at-Law