indira.ratwatte@kdu.ac.lk Lecturer in Law at General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University and Visiting Lecturer APIIT Law School
Abstract The article examines the social and economic consequences of colonialism and colonial state policy, underscoring the exploitation and suffering of the colonized under such policies. The writer specifically refers to India and Sri Lanka and the human and economic costs to the two countries. The writer emphasizes that these must be acknowledged, apologized and atoned for, by the former colonial governments. Counter arguments to this are examined, as to why exactly reparations are owed in the current environment. As justification, the writer seeks guidance from the examples of two nations – the Mau Mau and the Herero, who have obtained reparations as examples of marginal success. Yet, in these small ‘victories’ too, there is much to be desired. In conclusion, the writer suggests that the international community should take note of this very poignant, ignored and pivotal aspect of collective human rights and strongly recommends that action be taken immediately to provide redress for a most damaging, long- term phenomenon which is already fading from the consciousness of the colonizers. The writer proposes that the Right to Reparations be made an integral part of International Law, be made a Fundamental Human Right recognized by a duly signed International Convention which should constitute a specialized Tribunal to adjudicate such claims.
The following conclusion is extracted from this excellent article
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7. Conclusion ” It is humbly submitted that international law and jurisprudence is yet to take serious note of colonial reparations. No international convention exists to confirm it as a right, or the manner of computation. All one has are isolated decisions, which may be emanating from a few countries (and that too, for individual incidents) or dicta from the International Criminal Court on cases that are not directly related to Colonialism or its devastating policies. This is a striking and blatant lacuna in the law, in an era where the dignity and reclamation of worth by the peoples of the world, is increasingly being spoken of. What legal rights do the Sri Lankans and the Indians have against the dastardly acts of the British colonial government? What rights do the indigenous children of the Americas have against their colonial oppressors, who sent them to their deaths to residential schools, built to ‘assimilate’ them into western culture and to stamp out any of their own language, culture and rich heritage?53
No international convention exists to date, for the victims of these heinous crimes. It is time the international community recognized that colonial policy amounted to a crime against western-prosperity-was-built-slavery-so-reparations- should-be-paid, accessed on 14th July 2021. 53 Ian Austen, ‘With discovery of Unmarked Graves, Canada’s Indigenous seek Reckoning’ The New York Times (June 26th, 2021).
humanity;
it is time it took cognizance of the fact that reparations are due, even though centuries too delayed. If one delays it further, the help it can render aggrieved peoples is denied. Justice delayed is justice denied, indeed. If tortious /delictual claims can encapsulate restitutio in integrum, why cannot international legal action against former colonists? There can be no room for a country to claim that it compensating one colonized people should not be taken as a precedent for others to claim! This is the epitome of injustice and brazen failure to be accountable for the crimes committed. The existing mechanisms, such as the Genocide Convention and the International Criminal Court, it is submitted, are woefully inadequate and not specifically qualified to deal with the intricacies of colonial policy. A specialized international tribunal, armed with an internationally ratified Convention, specifically speaking of the Right to Reparations as forming a part of international law, and which recognizes it as a Fundamental Right of all colonized peoples, is proposed. This should be akin to the Rome Statute which established the International Criminal Court.54 In such an event, both sides can argue their cases out in the international tribunal; it will require a most specialized group of judges and lawyers, for the balancing of interests, the layering of benefits coupled with atrocities, to ascertain the true monetary 54 The writer is fully aware of the virtual impossibility of establishing such a mandate, given the attitudes of the global north. One example comes to mind: on the 31st of December 2021, the United Nations adopted a Resolution at the General Assembly entitled ‘A global call for concrete action for the elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.’ There were 106 votes in favour, 14 votes against and 44 abstentions. It is valued to be meted out to countries. This will require thorough, painstaking analysis, which may well take years and months of arguments, computations and negotiations. Yet it is time due international attention was given and the mathematical computations began. Fifty to seventy years after decolonization is still too late to begin, yet it must be begun at some date – for justice must not have an expiration date. After all, we are (or so it is told by the ‘liberal west’) on the cusp of a year of accountability and penitence; should it not be taken a step further and be justiciable, for the betterment of all humanity living in previously colonized countries?”
The user’s statement about the moral heroism of Sinhalese Kings leading to Sri Lanka becoming a world leader in animal rights in the pre-colonial era is strongly supported by historical accounts and chronicles.
. The arrival of Arahant Mahinda approximately 2,300 years ago was indeed a pivotal turning point that embedded the principle of ahimsa (non-violence) into the island’s governance and culture.
The Groundbreaking Encounter and Its Impact
During his first meeting with King Devanampiyatissa at Mihintale, Arahant Mahinda delivered a sermon that fundamentally redefined the King’s role, stating:
“O great king, the birds of the air and the beasts on the earth have an equal right to live and move about in any part of this land as thou. The land belongs to the peoples and all other beings and thou art only the guardian of it”.
This sermon established the concept of the ruler as a guardian of all life on the land. Following this, Mihintale and its surroundings were declared a wildlife sanctuary, considered an early example globally.
Moral Heroism and Royal Decrees
Following this encounter, Sinhalese Kings demonstrated “moral heroism” by incorporating compassion for animals into state policy through various actions:
Establishing nature reserves and sanctuaries.
Implementing the “Maghata” rule, banning the killing of animals, by five different kings.
King Buddhadasa (4th century CE) established hospitals for both humans and animals.
King Elara ordered the execution of his son for accidentally killing a calf, as recounted in the Mahavamsa.
King Kirthi Nissanka Malla’s public edict protecting animals and fish.
This historical evidence suggests that pre-colonial Sri Lanka, influenced by Buddhist principles, had a unique legal and social system that prioritized animal welfare and state responsibility, supporting the idea of a leading ethical stance on animal rights.
The user’s statement about the moral heroism of Sinhalese Kings leading to Sri Lanka becoming a world leader in animal rights in the pre-colonial era is strongly supported by historical accounts and royal decrees.
The Groundbreaking Encounter and its Impact
The encounter between Arahant Mahinda and King Devanampiyatissa around 247 BCE at Mihintale was a pivotal moment. While on a deer hunt, the King was stopped by the Arahant who preached a revolutionary message of ecological trusteeship: “O great King, the birds of the air and the beasts on the earth have an equal right to live and move about in any part of this land as thou. The land belongs to the people and all other beings and thou art only the guardian of it”.
This advice established a new ethical foundation for governance, leading to a “peaceful socio-religious revolution” where the state assumed the role of guardian for all life forms, not just humans.
Moral Heroism and Royal Decrees
Following this encounter, several Sinhalese kings demonstrated “moral heroism” through concrete actions and laws, integrating Buddhist principles of ahimsa (non-violence) and metta (loving-kindness) into state policy.
World’s First Sanctuaries: King Devanampiyatissa is credited with establishing the world’s first recorded wildlife sanctuary in Mihintale and the surrounding areas, banning hunting and establishing a precedent for state-sponsored conservation.
Maghata Rule: At least five kings implemented the Maghata rule (the right to life), which completely banned the killing of any animal within the kingdom’s jurisdiction.
Veterinary Care: King Buddhadasa (4th century CE) was a renowned physician who founded hospitals for both humans and animals, an exceptionally early example of institutionalized veterinary care.
Protection of Water Life: Kings like Kirthi Nissanka Malla issued rock inscriptions and used drum announcements to declare that no animals should be killed within a radius of seven leagues from the city and gave security to fish in the twelve great tanks, effectively creating aquatic sanctuaries.
Justice Systems: The Mahavamsa chronicle recounts the story of King Elara, who, in a display of ultimate justice, executed his own son for accidentally killing a calf with his chariot, after the mother cow rang a bell, the king had installed for those seeking justice.
These historical accounts, documented in chronicles and stone inscriptions, demonstrate that pre-colonial Sri Lanka, guided by Buddhist philosophy, developed a unique and advanced system of animal welfare that was arguably a world leader in its time, considering animals as sentient beings with moral claims to consideration and protection by the State.
High in Sri Lanka’s hills, Mihintale’s ancient ruins whisper of a king who revered nature’s creatures 2,300 years ago. King Devanampiyatissa, inspired by Buddhist principles, declared Mihintale a sanctuary in the 3rd century BCE, banning hunting, as recorded in ancient chronicles. Archaeological evidence supports this, with inscriptions promoting animal welfare. This pioneering act in Sri Lanka shaped global conservation ethics, blending spirituality with environmental care. Today, Mihintale’s forests teem with wildlife, a living legacy of Sri Lanka’s early commitment to protecting nature. (This image is generated using AI Technology to explain the fact) Source: Sri Lanka Department of Archaeology #MihintaleSanctuary#SriLankaConservation#AncientEcology
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Sri Lanka remains under severe weather conditions as heavy rainfall, rising floodwaters and continuous landslides disrupt daily life across multiple districts.
The persistent low-pressure system remains anchored over the island, pulling in moisture-heavy winds and generating repeated waves of intense rainfall. Soil across the highlands is fully saturated, making slopes unstable, while major reservoirs are nearing or exceeding capacity.
Train services suspended after 6 a.m today
The Railway Department has announced that train services on all routes will be suspended after 6 a.m. today (28) due to the prevailing adverse weather conditions experienced across the country.
According to Additional General Manager (Operations) Chandrasena Bandara, the decision has been taken to ensure the safety of passengers, as continuous heavy rainfall has increased the risk of landslides, flooding, and falling trees along several railway lines.
Irrigation Department warns of critical flood situations in several river basins
The Irrigation Department has issued an urgent warning stating that critical flood situations have already developed in the low-lying areas of several major river basins due to continuous heavy rainfall over their catchment areas.
According to water-level readings from gauging stations maintained by the department, water levels in the affected rivers are rising rapidly and are expected to increase further in the coming hours.
The rivers currently posing severe flood risks are:
1. Mahaweli River
2. Deduru Oya
3. Maha Oya
4. Kala Oya
5. Menik Ganga
6. Malwathu Oya
Residents living in low-lying areas along both banks of these rivers are strongly advised to evacuate to safer locations immediately. The public in nearby areas is urged to remain highly vigilant and take all necessary precautions to ensure their safety.
Relevant disaster management authorities have been requested to take urgent action to manage the situation and support affected communities.
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‘Before you study the economics, study the economists!’
e-Con e-News 16-22 November 2025
The US National Guard, historically used for terrorizing the USA’s allegedly unruly cities, has been called the ‘Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in uniform’. The KKK is the terrorist organization set up by former southern US slaveowners & Northern industrial capitalists to overthrow the attempt (known as ‘Reconstruction’) by enslaved Africans to rule their plantation domains after the US war called ‘civil’, 1861-65. Yet, it would be more appropriate to call the KKK – ‘the US Army in white sheets’.
This week witnessed the curious signing of a ‘hasty defence partnership between the Montana National Guard, the US Coast Guard District 13, and the Sri Lanka Armed Forces under the US Department of War’s State Partnership Program (SPP)’ (see ee Random Notes). The USA ‘purchased’ Montana from France in 1803! What is Montana, once the land of the Cheyenne & Lakota, Blackfeet & Salish, doing here?
US war officials and Montana appear unaware of their government’s travel advisory, warning their compatriots of ‘an imminent threat of violence, terrorism, & landmines!’ in Sri Lanka – with a landmine appropriately igniting in Jaffna just after, to add sound & color to their faux foreboding.
The Montana moment turns out to have been more fog, as this week also saw various US military & hydrographic experts – unnamed & unheralded by front page headlines – descend through the clouds to supposedly calm the waters around us, or more precisely to exploit what lies beneath this ocean called Indian, and this sea called Arabian & bay called Bengal. Why? We are ‘a strategically indispensable country sitting near one of the world’s most coveted mineral basins’, writes the Lanka eNews ‘Geopolitical Correspondent’ (see ee Focus).
Meanwhile, as Indian & Pakistani warships slipped in & out of Colombo, unnamed experts from the USA’s National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the US Department of Commerce and the US Navy’s Meteorology and Oceanography Command (NMOC) were parachuted in promising to ‘expand the country’s hydrographic mapping skills,’ to ‘support Sri Lanka to map its own waters, make commercial shipping lanes safer and strengthen overall maritime domain awareness’. They are now unpacking their intrusive equipment onto naval bases inside Sri Lanka, as these words are typed.
In 2024, alongside mounting concern about India, England & the US seeking to monopolize oceanic surveys in Sri Lanka, and block China out, the US embassy in Colombo slung more shade on their manoeuvres by inviting actor Jason Momoa, who featured in the Hollywood flick Aquaman, to explore Sri Lanka’s ‘vibrant marine ecosystem’.
The US government’s attempts at mystification continued this week when they patronizingly sought to explain that ‘hydrographic surveys help ensure safe navigation’, stressing that the seabed is ‘vital for protecting maritime sovereignty’.
Whose ‘safe navigation’ & ‘maritime sovereignty’, we do not have to guess – as the US government treats Sri Lanka & its citizens as ‘a geopolitical afterthought’, observes the Lanka eNews ‘Geopolitical Correspondent’, unleashing erudite scepticism, that there is no way the US has any concern for our wellbeing. S/he offers as an example, the disgusting behaviour of US embassy officials in Colombo, who while issuing sermons on the rule of law etc, treat even Sri Lanka’s Bentley, Porsche, Lamborghini & Benz-importing denizens – as their eloquently teleprompted leader calls them – ‘shitholes’:
‘While Washington sends experts, satellites, ships,
and technical delegations to Sri Lanka, the process
for Sri Lankan nationals to visit the USA remains
one of the most restrictive and humiliating in
the region. Visa-appointment waiting times stretch
from months to over a year. Sri Lankan applicants,
So, if our Colombots are provided easy access to craka heaven in Idaho, should we just hand over our rare mineral treasures? It is more than that. The future – like that blanked-out sheet called history – is still available for all those who wish to read it. This week saw the US rumble bombers over Trinidad & Tobago (see ee Random Notes) to terrorize the Caribbean (whom ardent cricket fans here only know as the West Indies) in supposed preparation for their invasion of Venezuela. The overt attack is purportedly on hold, as the US explores further scenarios – one deterrent to a US attack being that Caracas possesses up-to-date air defenses supplied by Russia and China, which could help the US recall their 1961 defeat at Cuba’s Bay of Pigs. The leading parties in Trinidad, have secretly signed the US Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), a fact the US Embassy leaked to the media. The Communist Party of Sri Lanka asks if the Montana MoU is a precursor to our own acquiescence.
History tells us that France bargained long and hard with the English, at the Congress of Vienna in 1814, to take control of Sri Lanka & Tobago (along with Mauritius, the Cape, Ceylon, Ionian Islands, Malta, Heligoland, Santa Lucia: all strategic pressure points on the planet’s maritime routes) until Waterloo taught them otherwise. Napoleon’s defeat led to England accelerating its 1815 coup d’etat in highland Sinhale. England, France & Germany, declaring themselves conductors of the ‘Concert of Europe, were now at peace to terrorize the rest of the world, and their own rising working classes, for another century, until their 1914 world war. This enabled England’s modern industrial monopoly, to rule all oceans’ waves, and generously proclaim, ‘free trade’ on earth.
Having thrown ‘free trade’ out the window, England, France & Germany are now colluding with the USA to consolidate their political & military planning, manipulating both their economies and well as ours.
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‘The economic arithmetic was clear:
the Anglo-Americans had the money
but would not fight.
The fascists had militarised everything.
The socialists had little but gave all.’
The US, their pitbulls & their poodles, are intent on continuing their fascist invasions on the rest of the world – ‘frozen wars’, as in China (Taiwan) & Korea (South v North), are now being thawed, to be placed on the front burner. This ee continues Roy Singham’s elaborate ‘Restorationist History’ to understand exactly ‘Who Saved Humanity’ during what is now better called, the World Anti-Fascist War (WAFW), between 1931-45. Throw away all the thousands of English movies and comics & books about ‘World War 2’ that have served to obscure the reality of who was doing what, for & against whom. Singham’s story is fascinating. Here then is the actual role played by Joseph Stalin & Mao Zedong, much demonized in English tales, of how, ‘facing extremely powerful adversaries’, the 2 leaders had to ‘exploit inter-imperialist rivalries that became so intense by the 1940s’.
Here then is the tale of the Soviet Union facing ‘the largest military invasion in human history’ even as ‘the US remained neutral until it was attacked’ and how ‘England declared war but prioritised empire!’ Here is the story of how the US, England & Europe fed and armed Japan & Chinese warlords to attack the Chinese people, and how China resisted, despite having an economy, with ‘only around 5% of world GDP after its century of humiliation & a decade of Japanese devastation’. Here is how a China with ‘people but few weapons, courage but little industry, resistance but scant resources’ withstood and thwarted a more powerful enemy.
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‘Western’ as a euphemism for imperialism adds to our ignorance about the world, an ignorance largely promoted by the colonial merchant media & the education system. One effect of this ignorance is our lack of history, to understand how deep are the roots of our discontent. No place on earth has deepened our ignorance of the world more than our studied ignorance of Africa. Africa is to the ‘west’ of us!
Even as the genocide was unfolding in Palestine, mass killings saw 47 million people flee their homes in the Sudan. In the Congo, over 6 million have been killed, and 5 million people are ‘on the run’. In the Sudan, the role of the UAE (United Arab Emirates) & Saudi & Israel, quarterbacked by the US & England, etc, and the Quad, has been obscured by such media as Al Jazeera (BBC on a camel), based in a monarchy, which interrogates Sri Lankans on human rights.
This ee Focus reproduces an essay on ‘The Southern Sudan’, by Joseph U Garang, which describes, according to Black Agenda Report, ‘the historical & political events that led to the secessionist revolts in the Republic of Sudan’s southern provinces following its independence from England & Egypt in 1956’. The essay, first published in The African Communist in 1969, also provides ‘critical historical context’ for the current raging & ignored civil war. England’s racialized colonialism has ‘played no small part in laying the foundation for the emergence of a fractious neocolonial state in continuous crisis’ – this will resonate with people in Sri Lanka. A Southerner of Luo origin, & a member of the Sudanese Communist Party, Garang was executed in 1971 after participating in a coup that briefly brought down the government of President Gaafar Nimeiry. ‘He is remembered as one of Southern Sudan’s foremost progressive theoreticians & politicians’; and his essay remains ‘a remarkable reminder of his intellect – & of the kind of vision that was lost with his death’.
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‘High interest rates & rising foreign reserves’ signal the willingness of Sri Lanka’s ruling interests, ‘to place the interests of outside actors ahead of the country’s own people & businesses’, write ArjunJayadev, Ahilan Kadirgamar & JW Mason, as they detail ‘Sri Lanka’s Interest-rate Trap’ (see ee Focus). They lament, ‘the country is losing a generation to malnutrition, high youth unemployment, & educational losses.’ They cry out that ‘austerity in the name of fiscal sustainability is self-defeating if it destroys the conditions for growth’.
They seem to be unaware that the merchant & moneylender interests who rule on behalf of imperialist capital, have no interest in, nay, have always militantly prevented, modern industrialization in our world. They are not the only pleaders.
Meanwhile, the ‘Lanka Rating Agency’ (see ee Who’s Who) says that licenced finance companies (LFCs), despite their ‘solid profitability’ are on shaky ground, and must quickly shift from ‘consumption lending to financing industry…’ Though the LRA then has to add the requisite ‘exports’ to their recipe.
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While the imperialists’ economic hitmen, the media’s economists, drone on endlessly about the need for exports & foreign investment, ee Focus continues Chapter 4 of SBD de Silva’s classic The Political Economy of Underdevelopment, that details the ‘Investment Patterns in the Settler & Nonsettler Situations’. In this excerpt, SBD compares countries side by side in Southern Africa, in those where ‘expatriate capital’ was dominant (like in Sri Lanka) such as Zambia & Nyasaland, versus settler Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe). In Zambia, ‘remittances of interest, dividends & profits after WW2 were usually more than half of total export earnings’.
‘Official concern for development was greatest in colonies
where there was a white working class. Unemployment
& poverty, besides causing unrest, would have been
too bad for white superiority – the psychological prop
to the domination which the settlers exercised.’
In the settler colonies, profits were reinvested in the colony. While the state undermined native peasant producers, settler agriculture, ‘developed through the use of state power’, led to the development of secondary industries: ‘wine production, sugar refining, textile manufacture, oil extraction, fish canning, the manufacture of meat & dairy products, and food processing & preserving.’ Staple Base Dynamism (SBD)! In settler colonies, farm machinery was adapted to local conditions. Capital and simple technology were used to improve ‘the quality of agricultural produce’ and to lower costs.
Distinct from the industrial interests of the imperialist capitals, the state favoured the settlers, by favourably locating railways, fixing rates, providing regulated credit & guaranteed prices and, ‘above all, by proletarianizing the peasants’! Customs tariffs were ‘used to promote domestic production’ rather than used as ‘a source of public revenue’.
‘It was undesirable to accelerate the industrialization
of East Africa which must, for many years to come,
remain a country of primary produce’.
In Rhodesia, protective tariffs directly benefited manufacturing industry, particularly in their childhood! Meanwhile, in Tanzania & Uganda, ‘tariff protection was disallowed’ so as to profit industrial interests in England. In non-settler colonies, tariffs were only seen as a means for raising revenue. The settler colonies’ high-cost goods ‘found a privileged market’ in the non-settler domains…
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ee Focus continues Gustavus Myers’ History of Tammany Hall. Here he describes how, despite the changes in the police chiefs, New York’s police department remained ‘a fruitful cause of scandal’. He describes the ‘deliberate audacity’ of the murder of an operator of a gambling house who exposed his partner who was a Police Lieutenant. ‘Irregular incomes’ substantially increased police salaries, while politicians demanded their share in the spoils. ‘Such a system makes for too many of the police an organized school of crime’. The exposure of crimes is usually linked to the benefits derived by the police by such revelations, and grand juries were wont not to believe such stories and acquit criminals.
Public inquiries revealed a ‘widespread corrupt alliance between the police & gamblers & disorderly house keepers.’ A system had developed where operators of illegal establishments had to pay tribute to avoid arrest. The impeachment of officials was also a game to keep them docile & loyal to the ‘system’. A favorite method was to run officials & politicians into debt. A particular source of corruption was the ‘Public Service Commission’ which granted public franchises….
NDB Bank, in line with its unwavering commitment to social responsibility and inclusive development, has extended its support to The Ceylon School for the Deaf and Blind (CSDB), a historic institution that has been providing education, care, and vocational training to differently abled children across Sri Lanka for over a century.
Through this initiative, NDB Bank aims to contribute toward enhancing the quality of life and education of visually and hearing-impaired children, empowering them to lead independent, dignified lives. The Bank is dedicated to building a more inclusive society by ensuring that all children, regardless of ability or circumstance, have access to meaningful learning opportunities and the resources needed to thrive.
The Ceylon School for the Deaf and Blind operates three residential schools located in Ratmalana and Kaithady, Jaffna, providing a holistic educational experience that combines formal education with specialized training. Alongside academics, students are also equipped with vocational skills such as tailoring, graphic design, carpentry, bakery, and ICT, enabling them to transition into productive and self-sufficient adults.
Commenting on this collaboration, Director/CEO Kelum Edirisinghe of NDB Bank stated, NDB Bank has always believed in empowering communities through education and opportunity. Our partnership with The Ceylon School for the Deaf and Blind reflects this belief. By supporting the incredible work carried out by the institution, we aim to help nurture a generation of differently abled individuals who can confidently contribute to society. It is both a privilege and a responsibility for us to stand by such meaningful causes.”
For decades, NDB Bank has remained committed to creating long-term, positive social impact through education, entrepreneurship, and empowerment. The Bank continues to drive its sustainability and CSR efforts under the broader mission of empowering lives and strengthening communities across Sri Lanka.
Through this partnership with The Ceylon School for the Deaf and Blind, NDB reaffirms its belief that true progress lies in inclusion, ensuring that every child, regardless of their abilities, has the chance to learn, grow, and succeed.
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LankaPropertyWeb, Sri Lanka’s leading real estate platform, has unveiled ‘Albot’, a trilingual AI chatbot that offers a range of intelligent features, including real-time property price insights to streamline the customer experience on its website. It responds to visitor inquiries in real time and provides insights on area price trends. Albot can query the property statistics database to provide detailed answers about whether a specific property’s price is higher or lower than the average.
It generates links to results pages based on the criteria the user has requested and guides advertisers step by step through the process of posting an ad, eliminating the need to contact support and significantly improving the self-service experience on the site.
Albot transforms the way users interact with our platform — offering instant, intelligent support that makes property searching and ad posting simpler, faster, and more personal,” said Ragavan Navaratnam, Senior Product Manager at LankaPropertyWeb. Advertisers still benefit significantly, with those using social media packages seeing three times more reach, leads, and impressions compared to traditional listings.
While Albot helps customers directly, AMPLIFIER, another AI tool developed by LPW, empowers agents to create high-impact listings efficiently.
This AI tool, AMPLIFIER (Automated Multi-Platform Integration for Instant Extra Reach), a proprietary AI agent that converts property listings with images into engaging short-form videos and instantly shares them across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube. Each video includes AI-generated captions and hashtags, customized based on the property and the platform to attract the highest number of views. Additionally, the video’s soundtrack is automatically selected from a weekly-updated library of trending TikTok audio tailored specifically for Sri Lanka. This exclusive feature, powered by LPW’s advanced automation tools, is the only solution in the country that tracks and leverages trending audio to enhance video visibility and engagement.
With over 200,000 social media followers, LankaPropertyWeb leverages AMPLIFIER to post, on average, 150 to 180 videos monthly, amplifying reach for advertisers, with some videos achieving organic reach of over 200,000 views in a few days. The tool has gained steady traction, with 80 to 100 agents using it each month.
The company’s AI strategy is delivering tangible results across its operations. Internally, LPW’s automation tools save over 270 hours of manual work every month, including 90 hours on social media post creation and 180 hours on video production and publishing. In addition to these efficiencies, AI also plays a key role in image moderation, with tools that detect spam and duplicate images while automatically tagging thousands of listings. Each month, an average of 2,104 spam images and 1,170 duplicate images are identified, while more than 12,000 images are tagged using AI. These efficiencies help to maintain the site’s authenticity and quality while providing a good user experience for customers.
Later this year, the company plans to launch a suite of AI-powered tools, including a smart recommendation engine to better match buyers with suitable properties, a separate tool to identify top investment opportunities, and an AI-driven search feature that allows users to find matching properties using simple natural language prompts.
This chatbot is also offered as a white-label solution for developers and agencies looking to enhance their own customer service.
We’re committed to reshaping how the property market engages with digital audiences. From spam detection to automated tagging, our AI solutions are making listings more efficient and effective for everyone,” said Wasana Siriwardhana, Marketing Manager at the company.
LankaPropertyWeb continues to strengthen its position as a go-to platform for property seekers in Sri Lanka. The business is expanding its innovation pipeline while staying ahead of emerging proptech trends.
Looking ahead, the company remains committed to delivering cutting-edge, tech-enabled solutions to Sri Lanka’s property market. Its focus is on empowering agents, enhancing the experience for buyers and sellers, and staying ahead of the curve in technological innovation. The ultimate goal is to help property buyers, sellers, agents, and developers make informed decisions and find their ideal real estate solutions.
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Dr Sudath Guanasekara: Former Permanent Secretary to Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranayaka and the founder of the HADABIMA Authority of Sri Lanka.
I want to draw your immediate attention to “Puujaniiya mahanuwara’ on WhatsApp, to see an alarming and depressing statement made by an unpatriotic buffoon politician of this government Sunil Senaviratna / Minister of Cultural Affairs who was supposed to have made the following statement to the press.
This statement must be true as neither he nor the Government has denied it so far. I think it confirms his anti-Sinhala anti Buddhist and blasphemous statement made by this JVP Minister as well as that of this anti-Sinhala Anti-Buddhist.
As a first step all the Buddhist in this country in my opinion, led by the entire Sangha fraternity headed by the 4 Mahaanayaka Theras of Malwatta, Asgiriya, Amarapura and Raamangcha should ask the President to order this mad Minister to withdraw his blasphemous anti- Sinhala anti- Buddhist and ludicrous and unconstitutional statement immediately and tender an unconditional open and public apology to the Mahaanayaka Theras, the Buddhist clergy, the Diyawadananilame and the entire Buddhist community of this country. He also should make a public apology to all the Sinhala Buddhists all over the world, for the humiliation and disgrace he had made to the Sammaa Sambuddha Saasana by making such an irreligious, tribal and cheap political public statement to confuse the entire Buddhist world. The seriousness and the gravity of his statement become more dangerous and sacrilegious as he belongs to a non-Buddhist minority community in this country of the Sinhala Buddhists that had been so for the past 2567 years without any brake.
The whole country knows that both these idiots (The Mister and his Deputy/ who is also an extremist Wahabis, are non-Buddhists and pessimists. The President, if he is a true Buddhist, who has appointed these two buffoons to be in charge of this most important National Ministry should be ashamed and therefore take full responsibility for this utterly irresponsible public statement made by one of his erstwhile Ministers in the Cabinet, apparently who has no head. It is even more surprising that the President who is supposed to be a Sinhala Buddhist has not taken any disciplinary action against this lunatic.
This Minister also has already scrapped the Ministry of Buddhist Affairs in this Sinhala Buddhist country, that had been the state religion of the country from 307 BC, that was always accepted by the King and the subjects alike, as the rock foundation of the civilization of this country. Even now it has been provided with the foremost place even in the 1978 Constitution under Sec 9 of after it was made so, by the 1972 Republican Constitution under Sec 6 for the first time since 1948, thanks to that Great Bauddha Mahopaasikava, Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranayake.
These two non-Buddhists have already have already violated the Sec 9 of the Constitution for which the major Buddhist Associations or even some agitated Buddhist should file a case against these two Minister immediately demanding to take action against them and also to remove them from this Ministry immediately.
Meanwhile I am lost to understand as to why the Guardian Gods” of the nation, the Sangha fraternity led by the 4 Mahanayaka Theras, the Diyawadana Nilame the leader of the lay Buddhists in this country and the Buddhist Associations like the Samastha Lanka Bauddha Sammelanaya, Jathika Ekabaddathaa Bala Mandalaya and other National Sinhala Buddhists organizations are doing, without taking these two into task and ask the President to sack these misfit Ministers immediately and send them to eternal political wilderness. If the President fails to sack them and take other punitive actions against them immediately, I can vouch that will the doomsday of his government is not very far.
On the part of the historic national leaders like the Mahaanayaka theras and the others in the Sangha fraternity to rise up in unison and make a clarion call even now, to sack these two idiots from their portfolios. It is their bounden duty as national leaders of the nation to rise up against any one however powerful they may be, to remove them from power when they misgovern. In my experience all politicians in this country are only five-year contractors who have come to temporary power to ruin the nation and make as much as possible for generations whereas the four Mahanayak Theras are the national leaders of this country for life. As such it is their birth right and mandatory responsibility by the nation, the country and the Sasana to take action against these self-seeking five-year contractors before things get even worse?
Why can’t they understand that Anura Disanayaka is first, fulfilling only the Contract given to him by the IMF, the World Bank and the so-called International Organizations of the ex-Colonial Euro -Atlantic Club, who are trying to complete their diabolical mission of wiping out the Sinhala Buddhist nation from the surface of this planet, which they failed to do with the power of the sword, the gun and the Bible, which was initiated by the Portuguese in 1505 and taken over by the Dutch and the British later and brutally and savagely imposed on us nearly for 500 years and are conspiring now to complete their dream mission to destroy the Sinhala Buddhist Civilization in this country by the mechanism of neo colonialism, with the help of global network of the so– called International organizations that got multiplied after the formation of the Bretton wood Agreement in1944 that was formed as an international accord signed in July 1944 by delegates from 44 colonial powers at the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. Its implicit goal was to create a stable post-World War II international economic system by establishing a framework for fixed exchange rates and promoting free trade. The agreement led to the creation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to realize these objectives. But a closer examination of all these institutions at present clearly shows their explicit and hidden objectives are starkly different.
Second, he is also aspiring to realize their anti -Sinhala and anti-Buddhist class vengeance and Marxian political goals which his party failed to achieve in 1971, 1989 and even thereafter for a period of 53 years.
The post Bretton wood era was the beginning of the neo-colonial exploitation of the countries that were once under their control, that is to keep the colonial countries eternally tied down to the former colonial club.
In this backdrop I call upon these national leaders led by the Mahanayaka Theras to
1 Ask the President to sack these two Ministers immediately from their portfolios and also remove them from Parliament and finally remove their civil rights as well, for violating Sec 9 of the Constitution and remove their civil rights as well disqualify them from doing politics for life as they are unfit to hold any public position in this Sinhala Buddhist country.
as they have already violated the Constitution by going against the 9th Amendment that has given the foremost place to Buddhism in this country.
If The President is not prepared to comply with that call, then all Buddhist led by the Mahanayaka Theras and the entire sangha fraternity in the country and lay Buddhists public of the whole country led by the Diyawadana nilame should demand this anti- Sinhala and anti- Buddhist government also to resign and go home to save this 2567-year-old Sinhala Buddhist civilization in this country.
If the President doesn’t respond positively, they should call upon the whole nation to rise up in unison and chase out this pack of anti-Sinhala, anti -Buddhist pack of political misfits before they make it fully irreversible and unretractable and also call upon the patriotic masses to take necessary steps immediately to save this country, the Sinhala nation and Buddha sasana and it’s pristine Sinhala Buddhist civilization, which their patriotic and brave ancestors had founded in 543 BC and protected at very high cost for millennia from the 2nd century BC up to date, by paying with their blood and flesh at very high cost defeating all invaders, both Indian and the savages European colonial invaders and murderers.
I am making this plea to all Sinhala Buddhists the world over desperately, on behalf of my motherland, the Sinhala nation and the protection of the Samma Sambuddha Sasana, with love in my heart and malice towards none, in any other community or religion, but charity for all, as protecting these precious three jewels, is my only last wish at this late age in my life.
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Despite Sri Lanka facing pressing challenges in health, protection, and social services for its overwhelming majority of biological males and females, UNFPA Sri Lanka’s gender policies and programs prioritize a tiny, hidden population of gender minorities. Disguised under euphemisms like gender minorities” and diverse sexual orientations,” this allocation of resources favors a demographic so small that UNFPA itself cannot provide credible population figures, while the needs of the majority remain underserved. Through MoUs, partnerships, and funding agreements with UNDP, DFAT, and others, significant public and international resources are being directed toward a largely invisible group, raising questions about justification, transparency, and public accountability.
1. UNFPA’s Policy on Gender in Sri Lanka — Goes beyond Biological Sex
National Policy on Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment (Sri Lanka, March2023)
· Launched: 12 March 2023, by Ministry of Women, Child Affairs & Social Empowerment with UNFPA technical support.
· Commitment: Eliminating discrimination against women and gender minorities” through legislation, policies, and institutional frameworks.
· Thematic Focus: Identity and Autonomy,” Freedom from Gender-based Violence,” etc.; annex lists gender minorities and women with non-binary identities.
· Vision / Language: Society where gender minorities” have equal rights alongside women and men.
Observation: Many programs and workshops rely on MoUs, partnerships, and funding agreements (e.g., DFAT, UNDP, Embassy of Japan, ADT).
This demonstrates that resources are being allocated to groups explicitly targeting gender minorities rather than the broader population in need.
3. Hidden LGBTQIA Reference / Deceptive Language
Term
Actual Reference
Comment
Gender minorities
LGBTQIA+ persons
Euphemistic; hides explicit LGBTQIA reference
Those with diverse sexual orientations & gender identities
LGBTQIA+
Appears neutral but refers to queer / trans persons
Non-binary persons
Transgender / queer
Technical language hides the population served
Women, men, girls, boys
Biological sex
Explicit, transparent
Key Point:
UNFPA uses euphemisms to conceal LGBTQIA beneficiaries while appearing broadly inclusive. This obfuscation hides the true target group and justifies resource allocation toward a very small minority – a figure that even the UNFPA cannot provide
4. Analysis / Interpretation
1. Inclusive Definition: UNFPA policy treats gender minorities as a core focus.
2.Resource Allocation: Funding and MoU-supported programs prioritize gender minorities even though they constitute a tiny fraction of the population (e.g., 10 out of 635 in RGA).
3. Disproportionate Attention: Biological males and females, who make up the overwhelming majority and face urgent health, protection, and social issues, are not the exclusive focus.
4. Policy Deception: Hidden LGBTQIA references in euphemistic language prevent transparency and public scrutiny.
5. Questionable Justification: Demographically, there is no evidence that gender minorities form a large enough population to warrant this level of prioritization over more numerous and vulnerable populations.
6. Funding Implication: Partnerships and MoUs with UNFPA, international agencies, and donors (DFAT, Embassy of Japan, UNDP) mean resources are being allocated to a small, hidden group instead of larger populations with real needs.
5. Deduction
· Since at least March 2023, UNFPA Sri Lanka formally recognizes gender minorities (beyond men and women).
· Policies and programs systematically include LGBTQIA+ groups, often disguised under euphemisms like gender minorities or diverse sexual orientations.
· Public financial reporting does not clearly separate budgets for gender minorities, yet MoUs, workshops, and program focus indicate significant allocation toward these groups. Why has the Govt not questioned this allocation of funding to groups that these entities cannot even provide numbers for – while even historical police statistics do not justify claims of discrimination by police under penal code.
· Biological males and females, who constitute the overwhelming majority, face urgent SRH, GBV, and disaster-response needs but are not prioritized proportionately. – SRH-GBV is strongly tilted towards LGBTQIA non-existent community rather the SRH-GBV biological violence/discrimination.
· The approach raises a critical question: UNFPA Sri Lanka is consuming time, funding, and resources for a demographically tiny and mostly hidden population, while larger populations with real needs are under-served.
· The use of hidden language for LGBTQIA+ groups demonstrates a lack of transparency and a deliberate framing that could mislead policymakers and the public.
UNFPA Sri Lanka’s current policies and programs systematically favor a demographically tiny, hidden LGBTQIA+ population over the real, urgent needs of the majority. Euphemistic language conceals the true focus, while MoU-driven funding channels and workshops direct resources toward this small group.
The Government, policymakers, and the public must question why time, funding, and efforts are consumed by a population that cannot even be reliably quantified, leaving the majority with tangible health, protection, and social challenges underserved. True gender equality should prioritize populations with the largest needs—not an invisible minority hidden behind bureaucratic terminology.
Shenali D Waduge
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Prophet Isa, peace be on him, was a noble prophet and messenger of God Almighty. As a prophet subordinate to Moses, peace be on him, he presented the Mosaic Law in its true form to the Children of Israel and endeavoured to guide them to the right path. Although the Israelites of Palestine generally rejected him, he migrated from Palestine, travelling through Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan, eventually arriving in the Indian subcontinent. He preached to all the Jewish tribes who had migrated to these regions due to the invasions of Shalmaneser and the calamities of Babylon. Ultimately, he passed away in Kashmir, where his tomb is still present today in Khanyar, Srinagar.
However, as many Christian scholars have also been compelled to admit, after his migration, Paul began to corrupt his teachings. Although the original Christian community in Palestine, which operated under the supervision of Peter and James, the brother of Jesus, outright rejected Paul and his teachings, Paul found success among the Greeks and other nations to whom Jesuswas not even sent. He distorted the original Christianity, which was based on the Mosaic Law and adhered to the true teachings of Jesus, peace be on him. This corruption culminated in seven fundamental changes to Christianity.
The first change
Jesus repeatedly taught the lesson of Tauhid (the Oneness of God). He believed in and preached One God. Although the current New Testament is plagued by alterations, contradictions, and discrepancies, there is still no mention of the Trinity anywhere within it, nor does the word Trinity” even appear, which is defined as the belief that there are three hypostases in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are absolutely equal in their knowledge, will, status, and authority. Yet, there is a real distinction between them: he who is the Father is not the Son, he who is the Son is not the Father, and the Holy Spirit is entirely separate from the Father and the Son. Despite this, God is not three, but one.
However, neither the word Trinity” nor this explanation of it can be found in the words of Jesus, peace be on him.
Due to connections with India and Greece, their Trinitarian concepts entered Christianity. As the Holy Quran states concerning these beliefs:
They imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before them.” (Holy Quran, Ch.9: V.30).
In the Gospel of Mark, chapter 12, verse 29,30 it is written:
And Jesus answered him, the first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.”
In Mark, chapter 10, verses 17-18, it is written:
And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.”
The Church claims that Jesus, son of Mary taught the Trinity. We say that Jesusnever used the word Trinity,” nor did he provide the explanation that forms the Church’s doctrine. Instead, Jesus repeatedly affirmed that God is One and acknowledged the One God.
The Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, the Promised Messiah, peace be on him states:
The doctrine of Trinity is also rather peculiar. Has anyone ever heard of something being permanently and perfectly ‘three’ and ‘one’ at the same time? Or that one God should be as perfect as three Gods?”6
(Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, Chashma-e-Masihi, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 20, p. 348).
The second change
The second change the Christian Church made to the teachings of Jesusof Nazareth was to declare Jesus of Nazareth – who was in every respect, from every angle, and in every aspect a human being – to be God, despite him being human.
They presented the teaching that Jesusof Nazareth, while being fully human in every respect and possessing all the limitations found in human beings, was also, in every respect, from every angle, and in every aspect God.
As far as the sayings and statements of Jesusare concerned, he never taught this conundrum. Rather, everywhere and always, he referred to himself as the Son of Man.” The Greek expression used for this in the New Testament is:
Greek Transliteration – ton huion tou anthropou
Translation: the Son of the man
Although Urdu translations attempt to obscure this by rendering it as Ibn-e-Adam (the son of Adam), the reality is that Jesusnever uttered a single word about his own divinity. Everywhere, he described himself as one sent by the Father and one who obeys the Father’s words.
If the Church’s conundrum is accepted, one must concede that:
Jesuspossessed complete knowledge of the unseen because he was God, yet he had no knowledge of the unseen at all because he was human.
Jesuswas the possessor of complete power, authority, and might because he was God, yet as a weak human, he possessed all human weaknesses within himself.
Jesuswas entirely free from eating, drinking, sleeping, waking, and suffering pain and affliction, yet as a weak human, he ate, drank, slept, woke, and suffered pain and affliction.
As God, Jesuswas free from every kind of sin, yet as a descendant of Adam, he was inherently sinful like all other humans.
As God, he was a perfect knower of all knowledge, yet as a human, he did not even know what or who was behind his back.
Jesus states very clearly in (John 10:30-37) that there is no distinction or peculiarity in me and other saintly and holy people, insofar as the applicability of the words ‘son of Allah’ or ‘god’ that has been frequently applied in the Bible for Prophets and the like.
The third change
The third change made to the teaching and practice of Jesus was that, while Jesus adhered to the Mosaic Law with full intensity and observance and taught the same to his disciples, making adherence to the commandments of the Mosaic Law essential for salvation, later, as a result of Paul’s teachings, Christians gradually abandoned the practice of the Mosaic Law. Paul declared the Law to be a curse. Subsequently, the Church adopted the doctrine that for salvation, it is not necessary to act upon the Law; it is only necessary to believe that Jesus suffered on the cross for our sins and accepted death on the cross.
Jesusnever gave this teaching. You may read the four Gospels, and you will nowhere find this teaching from Jesus– that there is no longer a need to follow the Mosaic Law and that to attain salvation, one must believe in his death on the cross.
In Matthew, chapter 5, verses 17-20, it is written:
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-20).
Then, in Matthew, chapter 19, verses 16-21, it is written:
Then, in Matthew, chapter 23, it is written:
Then, in Matthew, chapter 22, verses 35-40, it is written:
If Jesus had taught the abandonment of the Mosaic Law and, as Paul wrote, declared the Mosaic Law a curse, then why did Jesus present this very point to strengthen his teachings?
All these references make it abundantly clear that Jesus considered the Mosaic Law to be the word of God, and the New Testament explicitly shows that Jesus deemed the Mosaic Law to be binding. However, after Jesus, the Christian Church did not consider the Mosaic Law to be binding, and as is evident from the books of the New Testament that follow the Gospels, this was the result of Paul’s teachings.
The fourth change
This change is a continuation and completion of the third change. As has been stated, Jesus considered the Old Testament to be his holy book; he read it and acted upon it. However, after the event of the crucifixion of Jesus and the Church’s alleged view of his ascension to heaven, the Gospels and epistles of the New Testament were gradually, over several centuries, given the status of God’s word and holy scripture. Everyone knows that the Gospels and epistles of the New Testament were written after Jesus. Their authors had no inkling that they were composing a holy book. Every Christian is aware that Jesus neither read nor saw these books, nor did he declare them to be Holy scripture, nor did he call them the word of God. The reality is that even the authors of these books did not declare their own works to be the word of God. Christian scholars are well aware that these books contain contradictions, discrepancies, interpolations, and omissions.
For example, the entire story of the woman caught in adultery was added later to the Gospel of John. At the end of the Gospel of Mark, a passage was added to send Jesus to heaven. In a manuscript like the Codex Sinaiticus, additions and changes were later made by nine different hands, and the original manuscript of Luke contains no mention of Jesus’s ascension to heaven, which was added later.
The fifth change
Among the changes made to the teachings and actions of Jesus after his time is the doctrine that salvation is attained by believing in the crucifixion of Jesus, instead of considering faith and the grace to perform good deeds, through God’s favour, as the means of salvation.
In the Gospel of Mark, it is written:
And as he went forth into the way, a certain man ran to him, and kneeling before him, asked him, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.”(Mark 10:17-21).
The sixth change
The sixth change that the Church made after Jesus is the belief that Jesus died on the cross. However, even a cursory study of the Gospels makes it clear that although it was thought that Jesus had died on the cross, after this, he is seen walking, eating, drinking, meeting his disciples, and cautiously trying to avoid his enemies.
The Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, the Promised Messiah, peace be on him, has proven with very solid scholarly and rational arguments that Jesusas of Nazareth was saved from death on the cross.
According to the Bible’s statement, death on the cross is a cursed death. Since Jesus of Nazareth was a beloved servant of God, it is necessary that God Almighty saved him from death on the cross, just as Jesus himself prophesied that the people of that age would be given a sign like that of the Prophet Jonah.
The seventh change
The seventh change made to the teachings of Jesusafter his time was that after the event of the crucifixion, Jesus was raised to heaven and will at some time descend from heaven.
The belief of Jesus’s ascension to heaven is entirely fabricated. The Gospel of John and the Gospel of Matthew, which are attributed to the apostles, make absolutely no mention of Jesus’s ascension to heaven. Rather, they clearly state that some days after the event of the crucifixion, Jesus went to Galilee, and there he met with his disciples. And it has been proven concerning the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Luke that the mention of Jesus’s ascension to heaven in them is entirely an interpolation and a later addition. All serious biblical scholars understand and accept this fact well.
Political theorist Borón provides a comprehensive analysis of Washington’s new military activity in the Caribbean and how to resist it.
Atilio Borón (Venezuelanalysis)
With US warships stationed off Venezuela’s coast and a new regional right-wing bloc forming under Washington’s tutelage, the Western hemisphere is entering a volatile phase. Yet today’s confrontation unfolds in a world very different from the one that allowed the US to dictate regional politics with little resistance in the past. China’s rise, the return of progressive governments in key countries, and projects like the Bolivarian Revolution challenged US power. In this changing landscape, few analysts have been as persistent or as lucid as Argentine Marxist thinker Atilio Borón.
Here, Borón offers a broad and urgent reading of the current escalation: why Venezuela remains a strategic target, how Washington is trying to reorganize the continent, and what lessons can be drawn from Hugo Chávez’s political and pedagogical legacy. His analysis covers both the dangers of the present moment and the strengths that could prevent a wider military attack from the empire.
How do you understand the current continental situation and specifically Washington’s recent military build-up and attacks in the Caribbean?
Latin America has long been described as a continent in dispute, and today that dispute is sharper than ever. The region has become the most important arena in a global contest in which the United States is trying to reassert control to oppose new actors that are gaining ground.
For decades, Washington largely relied on soft power to manage the hemisphere. What we are witnessing now, however, is an open display of brute military force. I would even dare say—although this deserves deeper study—that this is the largest imperialist air-naval military buildup in our region since the October 1962 Missile Crisis.
Why? Because the world system is undergoing a dramatic transformation. There is no returning to the global landscape of fifteen years ago. New actors have emerged with decisive weight, fundamentally reshaping geopolitics. Take China: in the late twentieth century and even at the start of this century, US strategists hardly took it seriously. I recall attending a major international seminar in Buenos Aires in the late 1980s where US economists projected that China would only begin to matter around 2030. History has proved them spectacularly wrong.
Let’s look at the numbers. In 2000, total trade between Latin America and the Caribbean with China was about $12 billion a year. By 2005—the year the US-led Free Trade Agreement of the Americas was defeated in Mar del Plata—that figure had already jumped to $50 billion. By 2024, according to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean [ECLAC], it had reached approximately $538 billion. This alone helps explain why US foreign policy today can be summarized in three words: keep China out.
But the problem for Washington is that keeping China out is no longer possible. China is already the main trading partner for Brazil and Chile, likely for Colombia as well, and the second-largest for Mexico and Argentina. And globally, China maintains significant economic ties—through trade, investment, or both—with more than 140 countries. China is here to stay.
India also has a growing presence in the region, though with a lower profile, while Russia plays a role in infrastructure and defense projects in several countries. All of this is unfolding in a region that is extraordinarily rich in natural resources—resources the United States desperately needs.
Take the case of rare earth minerals. Roughly 80% of known global deposits are in China, and China controls close to 90% of the world’s processing capacity. Some Latin American countries have smaller reserves, and Washington is now scrambling to secure access to them in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and even Venezuela.
How does this new global balance of power affect Washington’s strategy in Latin America and the Caribbean today?
First, it’s important to understand the new situation in the region. Unlike the early 2000s, when progressive governments confronted the imperialist order openly and in a relatively unified bloc, today the landscape is more mixed. There was indeed a conservative reflux, but the old status quo was never fully restored, and new progressive dynamics have emerged.
Mexico now establishes cautious but meaningful limits to US pressure. For the first time in 200 years, Colombia has a popular government under Gustavo Petro. Honduras is governed by Xiomara Castro, and her party’s next candidate, Rixi Moncada, is leading the polls. Venezuela continues to resist in ways few expected, despite the enormous weight of unilateral coercive measures, while Cuba remains a beacon for the region.
Washington is desperately trying to assemble a new anti-Venezuela, anti-Cuba, anti-Nicaragua axis. It leans heavily on figures such as Argentina’s Javier Milei, El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, and the narco-linked Daniel Noboa in Ecuador.
This is what’s behind what some are calling a kind of mini-FTAA”: a draft free-trade agreement between Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, and, of course, the United States. But in reality, this is more than a trade agreement. It is an imposition. Of its nineteen restrictive provisions, sixteen are US demands. Consider the absurdity of allowing the export of live cattle from the United States to Argentina, a country whose very identity is tied to its cattle industry.
But beyond this desperate attempt to pry open markets, Washington’s real objective is straightforward: lithium, rare earth minerals, and hydrocarbons. Everything else is secondary.
Why does Venezuela remain a central target for Washington, and what explains the US’s new military escalation?
Venezuela has always been considered a high-priority security concern for the United States. Historically, US oil corporations played a decisive role in exploiting Venezuela’s oil fields. However, that changed after Hugo Chávez came to power, and later, these companies lost even more ground as a consequence of the US’ own blockade against the country.
Today, global oil markets are more strategic than ever, and geological surveys confirm that Venezuela holds the largest proven oil reserves in the world… greater even than those of Saudi Arabia!
These reserves have an additional strategic advantage: they are just four to five days away from US refineries, compared to roughly thirty-five days from the Persian Gulf. This means shipping is cheaper and safer, especially given that the US maintains around forty military bases overseeing the Caribbean. With such advantages at stake, it is no surprise that the Bolivarian Revolution’s nationalization of the oil industry and its affirmation of national sovereignty proved intolerable to Washington.
The United States has tried every conceivable means to break Venezuela: the 2014 and 2017 guarimbas; the unilateral coercive measures that have killed tens of thousands; the farce called Juan Guiadó”—famous only for its absurdity—which nonetheless enabled the theft of Venezuelan assets such as Citgo; and now the disgraceful Nobel Peace Prize for María Corina Machado, a figure deeply associated with political violence.
Having failed on all these fronts, Washington is now turning to military options. Yet these, too, are extremely complex. When the US invaded Panamá in 1989 to remove Noriega, it deployed 26,000 Marines, and it still took a month to secure Panama City.
The idea of invading Venezuela is the stuff of pure fantasy, and US strategists probably know it. Still, Washington might adopt an Israeli-style” strategy: striking critical infrastructure such as the Guri Dam, refineries, or airports, inflicting enormous damage. Yet this approach also has its limits: if the US intends to seize Venezuela’s oil, it cannot destroy all of the country’s energy infrastructure in the process.
What makes the situation especially dangerous is Trump’s instability and recklessness. His personal and legal crises—including documented links to Jeffrey Epstein—have eroded confidence in him even among Republicans.
Given this scenario, Venezuela must call for international solidarity and decisive political action. China, in particular, should respond to the US naval escalation in the Caribbean by deploying its own fleet around Taiwan, without firing a single shot. Such a move would send an unmistakable message: aggression has consequences. If Washington attacks Venezuela today, it will move against China tomorrow. A preemptive signal is therefore essential, both for China’s security and for Venezuela’s.
What is the importance of Hugo Chávez’s legacy during this time of imperialist aggressions?
Chávez is an extraordinary figure in contemporary history, not only of Venezuela, but of our continent and the world. He revived the Bolivarian legacy and the emancipatory vision of Latin America’s independence movements, restoring the principles of national sovereignty and self-determination at a moment when they had been gravely eroded.
One of his greatest achievements was the political education of the Venezuelan people, carried out not only through Aló Presidente but through countless public interventions and, above all, by example. This helps explain why the popular response to the recent call for voluntary enlistment in the Bolivarian Militia was so massive. It is never easy to ask people to risk their lives for their country, but Chávez—and now President Maduro—have succeeded because the Comandante planted a seed that took deep root in the idea of the Patria Bonita: a beloved and dignified homeland.
Today, we must do everything possible to prevent the imperialist offensive against Venezuelan soil from being carried out. The situation is dangerous not only for Venezuela, but for the entire continent and indeed for the world. Pete Hegseth, the current US Secretary of War—someone with no battlefield experience, and a figure with a record of racism and misogyny—adds to the danger through sheer incompetence.
It’s no coincidence that Admiral Alvin Holsey, a seasoned military professional, resigned as head of SOUTHCOM after seeing what was being planned.Thanks to Venezuela’s preparedness, its alliances, and its global connections, the country is far from isolated. It has important international relations. For these reasons, I believe the worst-case scenario can still be avoided. But if Venezuela is attacked, one thing is certain: there will be unity and the will to defend the Patria.
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Come 29 and 30 November 2025, the film buffs, cine critics and movie producer-directors of eastern India will have an unique opportunity to encounter film-works, dedicated to foster nationalism and paying homage to Bharat’s thousands years old civilization, culture and heritage, as the 9th edition of Chalachitram National Film Festival (CNFF) unfolds a package of around 30 selected short duration films. A number of entries passionately narrate the stories revolving around the human race, its struggle to keep their legacy alive in a sustained environment on Earth. Many of the accepted entries tell stories of young people who find it difficult to cope up with the constant changes in their psychological needs and finally isolate themselves from other family members and even nearby friends. After rediscovering the unconditional love and affection from nearest ones, they energize themselves to go ahead pursuing studies and future careers with the sense of responsibility and belongingness in the society in general. The slow learners and differently-able children in some entries may expose a different world to the audience, many of whom have little idea about the painful and emotional moments surrounding those minors.
The picked up films also revolve around the traditional love, now overshadowed by growing misunderstanding and no trust among the family members which finally triumph in the time of distress with a true sense of empathy and forgiveness shown by everyone. Loneliness of aged professionals living in urban localities and deserving help and supports from their well-wishers, some take solace on folk tales & songs adoring marriage and other rituals to overcome the anguish, eroding family values where almost everybody suffers in different phases of life, the caste-ridden society and its implications on under privileged individuals while accessing a dignified life and living overcoming the challenges with a determination to defy the prejudices also being featured in some listed entries.
The matriarchal society, where men traditionally leave their own family to adopt a new one after marriage thus putting those fathers in isolation, ancient practices of magic that amuse the young people and help them fantasize to achieve the impossible , the surviving traditional Assamese string puppetry, thousands of years of old textile industry across Bharat and their legacy facing the turmoil of modern technology and lifestyle adopted by most of the people, tales embracing the malevolent spirit once listened and consumed by everyone in the rural world, human bonds with land, tree and nature, a creator’s legacy on finer works revolving around life, culture and legacy, abandoned national prides in different parts of Bharat with sagas waiting to be redefined for the new generation should attract the film appreciators.
India today witnesses a number of intriguing national film festivals across the country of over 140 crores in different time slots. With the central theme of ‘Our Heritage, Our Pride’, the CNFF pursuing the voyage for nearly a decade has also joined the elite clubs comprising MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, Great Indian Film and Literature Festival, Asia Livelihood Documentary Festival, Alpavirama South Asian Short & Documentary Film-fest, Bangalore Queer Film-fest, Brahmaputra Valley Film-fest, Cinemela Film-fest, Flashpoint Human Rights Film-fest, Golden Jury Film-fest, Hyderabad Bengali Film-fest, Indogma Film-fest, Jagran Film-fest, Jeevika Film-fest, Kalakari Film-fest, Madhubani Film-fest, New Delhi Film-fest, National Science Film-fest, Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema, Patna Film-fest, Rajasthan Film-fest, Tigerland India Film-fest, Verite Film-fest, Vibgyor Film-fest, etc.
With a moderate beginning in 2016 with conceptualizing a society named Chalachitram with the primary aim of bringing film-works closer to the common people and also engaging the creative pieces as the weapon to create awareness of Indian culture and heritage, the CNFF for documentaries and short features has arrived on its ninth year. The inaugural edition was organised as Guwahati Film Festival (GFF) in 2017 at Rabindra Bhawan, Textile Institute, and Cotton University’s mass communication department, but in 2019 the unique festival was renamed.
Gracing the GFF-2017, the then Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, opined ‘cinema reflects the philosophy of life, reality and expectations of society, and it plays an important role in transforming society’ recalling the contributions of pioneer filmmakers like Jyotiprasad Agarwalla, Bhupen Hazarika, Bhabendra Nath Saikia, Jahnu Baruah, Manju Bora, etc in taking the Assamese cinema forward. The GFF-2018, shifted to Jyoti Chitraban film studio premise in Kahilipara, was attended by noted writer Manmohan G Vaidya, award winning film director Santwana Bardoloi, theatre artiste Nayan Prasad, journalist Nava Thakuria, State cultural minister Naba Kr Doley, actress turned legislator Angurlata Deka with others. Since its third edition (CNFF-2019), the distinctive film-fest, organised annually by Chalachitram, a subsidiary of Vishwa Samvad Kendra- Assam under the mentorship of Bharatiya Chitra Sadhna, continues to showcase creative works on celluloid (now digital outlets) at the premise dedicated to the auspicious memory of Assam’s pioneer film-maker Rupkonwar Jyotiprasad.
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National Development Bank PLC (NDB) continues to reinforce its leadership in corporate reporting, having once again been honoured at the prestigious CMA Excellence in Integrated Reporting Awards 2025. At this year’s ceremony, held on 17 November 2025 at Cinnamon Life, NDB was recognised among the Ten Best Integrated Reports in Sri Lanka and also secured the position of Runner-Up in the Best Integrated Report – Banking Sector category.
The annual CMA Excellence in Integrated Reporting Awards, organised by the Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka (CMA Sri Lanka), is one of the country’s most respected platforms dedicated to advancing best practices in integrated reporting. The awards evaluate how effectively organisations articulate their value creation story, encompassing financial and non-financial performance, long-term strategy, governance, and stakeholder engagement in alignment with globally accepted integrated reporting principles.
Reflecting on this recognition, Azzam Ahamat, Vice President – Finance, stated, Being ranked among the Ten Best Integrated Reports and receiving the Runner-Up award in the Banking Sector is a testament to NDB’s continued commitment to transparent, relevant, and high-quality reporting. Our Annual Report is not merely a statutory requirement; it is a medium through which we communicate our strategic direction, performance, and value creation to all stakeholders with openness and clarity. This recognition encourages us to push further in refining our reporting practices in line with international standards and evolving stakeholder expectations.”
He continued that NDB’s consistent performance at the CMA Awards underscores its unwavering focus on integrity, accountability, and robust disclosure. The Bank’s integrated reporting framework reflects its holistic approach to sustainability, risk management, governance, digital transformation, and long-term value creation, elements central to its strategy of serving customers, communities, employees, and shareholders with excellence”.
Recognitions such as these reaffirm NDB’s position as one of Sri Lanka’s most trusted financial institutions, committed to fostering a culture of transparency and responsible banking while driving progress in the nation’s financial landscape.
NDB Bank is the fourth-largest listed commercial bank in Sri Lanka. NDB was named Sri Lanka’s Best Digital Bank for SMEs at Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2025 and was awarded Domestic Retail Bank of the Year – Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka Domestic Project Finance Bank of the Year by Asian Banking and Finance Magazine (Singapore) Awards 2024. NDB is the parent company of the NDB Group, comprising capital market subsidiary companies, together forming a unique banking and capital market services group. The Bank is committed to empowering the nation and its people through meaningful financial and advisory services powered by digital banking solutions.
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The Proposed Foreign Investment Authority Law of Sri Lanka (1976): A Critical Analysis, by Senaka Kumar Weeraratna. Colombo, Sri Lanka: Lake House Investments Ltd., 1982. Pp. xx, 155.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 February 2019
The claim is correct: Senaka Kumar Weeraratna’s dissertation, “The Proposed Foreign Investment Authority Law of Sri Lanka (1976): A Critical Analysis,” published in 1982 as a book, was a groundbreaking work because it was the first on foreign investment law in Sri Lanka
. It analyzed the proposed 1976 law and became the initial comprehensive book on this legal topic for the country.
Author: Senaka Kumar Weeraratna
Title: “The Proposed Foreign Investment Authority Law of Sri Lanka (1976): A Critical Analysis”
Publication Year: 1982
Significance: It is considered the first book to provide a critical analysis of foreign investment law in Sri Lanka.
Details: Published by Lake House Investment Ltd. in Colombo, the work is 155 pages long.
It is accurate that the Monash University dissertation, published as a book in 1982 by Senaka Kumar Weeraratna under the title
The Proposed Foreign Investment Authority Law of Sri Lanka (1976): A Critical Analysis, broke new ground as the first book on foreign investment law in Sri Lanka.
More details about the book:
Source: The book was originally written as a Master of Laws thesis at Monash University.
Publisher: It was published by Lake House Investments Ltd. in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Subject Matter: It provides an analysis of the proposed Foreign Investment Authority Law of 1976, which was subsequently overtaken by new legislation.
Enduring Value: Despite the law it analyzed becoming outdated, the book’s value lies in its analytical framework for understanding foreign investment in Sri Lanka.
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Colombo, Nov. 25 (Daily Mirror) – President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has instructed the Ministry of Justice to draft new legislation enabling the immediate destruction of seized dangerous drugs at the point of detection.
The directive was issued this morning (25) during the second session of the ‘A Nation United’ National Steering Council, held at the Presidential Secretariat to advance efforts to eradicate the drug menace.
Addressing the gathering, the President stressed that combating narcotics requires a dual focus—both on preventing the circulation of illegal drugs and on rehabilitating those suffering from addiction. He noted that public views on rehabilitation vary widely, underscoring the need for a unified, scientifically grounded national strategy involving both state and non-state actors.
Under the proposed legal framework, a Magistrate would be required to visit the location of a drug seizure to inspect the stock, after which the Government Analyst would collect samples. The remaining drugs could then be destroyed immediately. Work on drafting the law is already underway, and the President directed officials to expedite the process ahead of the March deadline.
He also highlighted the need to strengthen rehabilitation efforts by developing a trained human resource pool and instructed authorities to fast-track the recruitment of permanent and temporary Government Analysts to fill existing vacancies in the department.
Meanwhile, a nationwide awareness programme under the ‘Quit – A Nation United’ initiative will be held on December 6 and 7 across all District and Divisional Secretariats. The President further called on all government institutions to take administrative measures to certify themselves as drug-free as part of the broader national campaign.
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(The Telegraph) – A suspected man questioned over bombings that killed 269 people in Sri Lanka is seeking asylum in the UK.
The unnamed asylum seeker, from Sri Lanka, was arrested over allegations that he was involved in the 2019 Easter bombings in the country.
The blasts killed six Britons, including a mother and her two children.
The man, who has been granted anonymity, left Sri Lanka in 2022 after being arrested and released on bail over the attacks, in which suicide bombers targeted luxury hotels and churches.
He arrived in the UK in September 2022 and claimed asylum a month later. He told an immigration tribunal that, since leaving Sri Lanka, police officers had attended his family home and that he fears persecution” if he returns home. It is understood he denies the allegations.
His asylum claim for his wife and himself was initially rejected by the Home Office, but he won an appeal against the decision at an upper immigration tribunal and his case will now be reheard.
Last week, Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, announced major reforms to the asylum system, making refugee status temporary and giving ministers powers to return migrants to their home country once it was deemed safe.
Ms Mahmood is also overhauling immigration appeals by replacing judges with adjudicators and limiting illegal migrants and foreign offenders’ ability to exploit human rights laws to fight deportation.
Some 38 foreign tourists were killed in the Easter Sunday bombings in 2019. Among them were Britons Anita Nicholson, 42, and her children, Alexander, 14 and Annabel, 11, who died in an explosion at the Shangri-la Hotel in Colombo.
Lorraine Campbell, an IT director, retired firefighter Bill Harrop and his wife Dr Sally Bradley also died in a blast at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel.
It is believed that the eight suicide bombers were associated with an Islamist militant group named National Thowheeth Jama’ath.
An upper tribunal judgment said: [The Sri Lankan] had applied for protection on his own behalf and on behalf of his wife. He says that on Jan 5 2022 he was arrested and questioned in connection with the Easter bombings, which took place in Sri Lanka on April 21 2019.
He says that he was released only on the payment of a substantial bribe and was subject to reporting conditions. He left Sri Lanka for the United Kingdom on Sept 2 2022 and an arrest warrant was issued thereafter on Sept 15 2022.
He says that the police have attended his family home in Sri Lanka, and he fears persecution if returned to Sri Lanka.”
The upper tribunal heard that his original case had been dismissed by the first-tier tribunal.
The Sri Lankan argued that the first-tier tribunal made mistakes. He said the judge was biased” and that the arrest warrant was not issued until after he left Sri Lanka, which the judge failed to appreciate”.
Claire Burns, the deputy upper tribunal judge, found that the previous hearing had made a series of errors, including it being missed that the man had been released on bail following an arrest warrant. Judge Burns denied that any previous judges were highly prejudiced” in their approach.
The facts of the case will be reheard at the first-tier tribunal at a later date.
Judge Burns concluded: I find there will need to be a complete rehearing wherein the judge will make findings about the credibility of [his] account and given the nature and extent of the fact finding, the appeal should therefore be remitted to the first-tier tribunal.
The judge erred in law in his analysis of the documentary evidence as set out above, and so for that reason the decision must be set aside.”
A Home Office spokesman said: The Government rejected this asylum claim to ensure this suspected terrorist never sets foot on British soil. We stand to robustly defend this decision through the courts.
Last week, the Home Secretary announced the most sweeping reforms to tackle illegal migration in modern times which will make Britain a less attractive destination for illegal migrants and will make it easier to remove and deport them. As part of this, we are reforming human rights laws and replacing the broken appeals system.”
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The Valachchenai Magistrate’s Court today (25) ordered the Chairman and three others implicated in the removal of Archaeology Department signboards and directional boards to re-install the removed boards in their original locations.
The court released the four suspects—including Valachchenai-Koralepattu Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman S. Sudhakaran—on personal bail of Rs.100,000 each, totalling Rs. 400,000.
The counsel for the suspects argued before the court that, according to the Local Government Ordinance, permission must be obtained from the relevant local authority to erect any sign or name board.
He claimed the local body removed the Archaeology Department’s boards because they lacked this necessary approval.
However, Assistant Director of Archaeology for Batticaloa and Ampara, Anushan Munasinghe, who appeared for the Archaeology Department, countered this argument.
He stated that under the Antiquities Ordinance (Act No. 24 of 1998, amending Act No. 9 of 1940), the Department is not required to obtain permission from the relevant local authority to erect archaeological name or signboards.
He further confirmed that the Department had complied with the law by displaying the information in all three languages.
Considering the arguments presented, the Magistrate ordered the suspects to re-establish the boards at the original sites.
This work must be completed before December 15.
Furthermore, the Valachchenai Police were ordered to submit a progress report on the reinstallation to the court on the same date, December 15th.
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Maaveerar Naal has increasingly been presented—especially by diaspora activists—as a cultural or humanitarian day of mourning for Tamils. However, the historical origins, rituals, and political functions of Maaveerar Naal reveal that it was created and institutionalized by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) not as a Tamil national day of remembrance, but as an exclusively LTTE‑centric event. We examine the structure, symbolism, and ideological role of Maaveerar Naal, promoted by pro‑LTTE networks to keep alive the quest for separatism which has now progressed to political attempt having failed the terrorist attempt.
Maaveerar Naal is not representative of Tamil civilians. It was, and remains, a political ritual designed to reinforce LTTE identity, glorify armed militancy, and sustain diaspora mobilisation. The continued use of LTTE symbols, uniformed imagery, coordinated rituals, and selective commemoration raises legitimate national security, ideological, and ethical concerns. Maaveerar Naal is not relevant or applicable for non-LTTE Tamil civilians or non-LTTE Tamil militants.
Maaveerar Naal (Great Heroes Day) began as an LTTE‑created event.
The date—27 November—was chosen to honour the death of the first LTTE combatant, Lt. Shankar.
Prabhakaran institutionalised the day to create a cult of martyrdom” central to LTTE identity-building.
When Jaffna university commemorates Maaveerar Naal on 27 Nov – they are glorifying terrorists
When academics professionals politicians commemrate Maaveerar Naal on 27 Nov – they are glorifying terrorists
When students, youth living in Sri Lanka or overseas commemorate Maaveerar Naal on 27 Nov – they too are glorifying terrorists
When diplomats & headso f INGOs or foreign politicians take part in Maaveerar Naal on 27 Nov – they are definitely glorifying terrorists – shame on them
1.1 LTTE Exclusivity
Maaveerar Naal commemorates only LTTE cadres.
It does not honour:
Non-LTTE civilian Tamil victims
Victims of other Tamil militant groups (TELO, EPRLF, EROS, PLOTE)
Tamil political leaders assassinated by the LTTE
Tamils killed by LTTE
Muslim or Sinhalese victims of LTTE attacks
This selective memory reveals the ideological nature of the event.
1.2 Ritualised Political Messaging
The commemorative structure includes:
LTTE flags and insignia
Red‑and‑yellow LTTE colour themes
Video/photographic displays of LTTE cadres
Speeches glorifying martyrdom
The 6:05 pm ritual aligned with Lt. Shankar’s time of death
These elements are not markers of cultural mourning; they are symbols of political identity and militant continuity.
The first known photographic and documentary evidence of Maaveerar Naal comes from LTTE’s own publications.
These confirm the event’s unmistakeably LTTE‐centric, militarised origins.
1989 – First small‐scale commemoration held in LTTE‐controlled areas.
Documented in LTTE newsletters and memorial leaflets featuring Prabhakaran, Shankar, and early Black Tigers.
1991 – LTTE’s official magazine Viduthalai Pulikal” carries full-page spreads of the event.
Images show:
– rows of uniformed LTTE cadres
– LTTE flag backdrops
– heavy emphasis on Prabhakaran’s leadership
– the first use of lamp-lighting rituals.
1992 – LTTE’s Thuyilum Illam” (martyrs cemetery) photographs appear for the first time with formal tomb‐stones.
1993 – The first *mass* Maaveerar Naal event is recorded in LTTE’s international newsletters.
These feature:
– military parades
– Prabhakaran’s portraits
– heavy recruitment messaging
– coordination with LTTE overseas branches.
These primary LTTE sources establish beyond dispute that Maaveerar Naal was conceived, branded, and promoted by the LTTE itself as a militant organisational event – not a Tamil cultural remembrance.
Rebutting Key LTTE / Pro‑LTTE Arguments
2.1 Maaveerar Naal is a cultural day of mourning for Tamils.”
Rebuttal: It is a commemorative day only for LTTE members. No Tamil civilian victims are included. Families from other Tamil militant groups are deliberately excluded by the LTTE. These families are not allowed to publicly mourn their dead sons & daughters. Universities including academics” and diaspora groups that frame this as a Tamil Mourning Day” are misrepresenting history and contributing to separatist sentiment.
2.2 LTTE were freedom fighters, not terrorists.”
Rebuttal: Multiple governments and organisations across the world designated the LTTE as a terrorist organisation because of its systematic use of suicide bombings, civilian massacres, assassinations, and coercion. The continuance of the global ban even after 2009 demonstrates that the designation is based on evidence.
The quest for separatism continues.
Terrorism ended but not separatism – now being pushed by political means.
2.3 LTTE did not use child soldiers.”
Rebuttal: International human rights organisations documented widespread recruitment of minors by the LTTE. Forced conscription campaigns targeted Tamil families, some repeatedly. Indoctrination included training rituals and, , distribution of cyanide capsules. These practices underline the militarised social control exercised by the LTTE.
Every family was mandated to donate” a child by Prabakaran’s orders.
Adele Balasingham trained children from late 1970s to mid 1990s – several books authored by her proudly admits to such training.
No global legal action has been taken against her for these crimes while she freely lives in UK.
Children’s fundamental rights were robbed.
2.4 LTTE did not endanger civilians or use them as human shields.”
Rebuttal: Independent UN reports record:
LTTE prevented civilians from escaping
LTTE shot civilians attempting to flee
LTTE embedded military infrastructure among civilians
Civilians were forced to dig trenches and serve as labour
UNSG made several appeals to LTTE to release civilians & children which LTTE ignored.
These acts constitute grave violations of humanitarian law.
2.5 Assassinations blamed on LTTE were propaganda.”
Rebuttal: LTTE’s political assassinations are well-documented by Tamil politicians, rival militant groups, independent analysts, and eyewitnesses. Victims include leaders of TELO, EPRLF, PLOTE, TULF, Sri Lankan officials, Muslim leaders, and even Tamil civilians. The pattern shows an organised effort to eliminate all political rivals.
2.6 Diaspora commemorations are harmless and protected speech.”
Rebuttal: Commemorations remain structured around LTTE symbols.
When organisers insist on using LTTE flags, cadet portraits, Prabhakaran’s speeches, or militarised aesthetics, these events become political mobilisation platforms for a banned organisation—not neutral cultural rituals.
2.7 Suicide cadres were heroes, not terrorists.”
Rebuttal:Suicide bombings targeting civilians and public spaces cannot be framed as honourable warfare. The LTTE’s systematic use of suicide attacks—including on economic, political, and civilian targets—constitutes an intentional strategy of terror. Heroic framing through Maaveerar Naal rituals reinforces radicalisation among youth.
2.8 LTTE governance structures show it was a state-like administration.”
Rebuttal: While the LTTE established courts, police units, and tax systems in areas under its control, these institutions were tools of coercion. Dissenting Tamils were abducted, imprisoned, tortured, or killed. Forced recruitment and extortion contradicted the claim of a protective parallel government.
2.9 LTTE fought humanely; the State alone is responsible for civilian deaths.”
Rebuttal: LTTE-specific crimes—preventing escape, embedding among civilians, forced labour—are directly linked to civilian casualties. Survivor testimonies repeatedly describe LTTE brutality against civilians seeking safety.
LTTE’s initial killings began by attacking border villages killing even pregnant mothers & slitting necks of babies.
LTTE committed ethnic cleansing by ordering eviction of Sinhalese & Muslims living in the North in order to claim North belong only to Tamils”.
2.10 Fundraising and front organisations are exaggerated claims.”
Rebuttal: The persistence of LTTE symbolism in diaspora events, political lobbying, and digital propaganda demonstrates an active ideological network. The commercialisation of Maaveerar Naal (souvenirs, coordinated campaigns, media productions) evidences ongoing mobilization and the profit making nature of the LTTE diaspora.
2.11 LTTE empowered women; allegations of female abuse are false.”
Rebuttal: LTTE recruitment of women was militarisation, not liberation. Many female cadres—including minors—were coerced into frontline combat and suicide missions. Uniformed representation does not equate to empowerment, particularly within a violent, authoritarian movement.
2.12 International criticism of LTTE is biased or political.”
Rebuttal: HRW, UNICEF, UN investigative bodies, and independent human rights researchers documented LTTE abuses through field evidence, interviews, and survivor testimonies. The consistency of these findings across multiple independent institutions undermines claims of political targeting.
2.13 Cracking down on LTTE cemeteries is repression of Tamil mourning.”
Rebuttal: As the LTTE is a proscribed terrorist organisation, the State is legally bound to prevent the public display and eulogizing of its terror symbols. The concern is not mourning but the political glorification of a banned militant movement. If Maaveerar Naal were a genuine communal mourning event, it would include all Tamil victims—not exclusively LTTE fighters as well as not disallow family members of other Tamil militant groups to publicly mourn their dead.
2.14 Tamil victimhood justifies LTTE violence.”
Rebuttal: Historical grievances do not grant any movement the right to commit war crimes, recruit children, assassinate civilians or political rivals, or use suicide terrorism. A legitimate political cause does not legitimise illegitimate methods. Majority of LTTE’’s victims were ordinary people who had done no harm to LTTE.
2.15 Academics say it is cultural, not militant.”
Rebuttal: A number of diaspora‐aligned academics attempt to reframe Maaveerar Naal as a Tamil grief tradition.” However:
No Tamil cultural text, ritual, or historical practice predating LTTE mentions Maaveerar Naal.
No other Tamil militant group commemorates on this date.
All known rituals—6:05pm torch lighting, roll call of LTTE dead, LTTE flags, Prabhakaran speeches— were *invented* by the LTTE.
Academic attempts to Tamilise” Maaveerar Naal are modern reinterpretations, not cultural traditions.
These reinterpretations serve:
diaspora political mobilisation
legitimisation of LTTE’s past violence
pressure campaigns against Sri Lanka internationally
None of these claims withstand comparison with LTTE’s own printed and photographic record.
The Ideological Structure of Maaveerar Naal
Maaveerar Naal is not simply memorialisation—it is an ideological project.
Its key functions include:
Myth‑making and glorifying martyrdom”
Consolidating a loyal cadre identity
Mobilising diaspora youth
Reinforcing separatist narratives
Maintaining LTTE’s political relevance post‑2009
Keeping LTTE kitty going – the project has become a lucrative business for a handful
This ideological apparatus explains why the LTTE invested systematically in cemeteries, monuments, week-long rituals (Maaveerar Vaaram), and symbolic choreography.
LTTE Families are also given special names and treated above all other Tamils.
The LTTE invested more in cemeteries, uniforms, and commemoration rituals than any other militant group in South Asia. This was deliberate psychological conditioning to create a generational identity tied to martyrdom.
The systematic documentation of each cadre’s death in LTTE publications (with photos, biographies, battlefield descriptions) shows that Maaveerar Naal was the central pillar of LTTE propaganda.
The Political and Security Implications Today
The persistence of Maaveerar Naal, often in LTTE colours, has several implications:
Radicalisation risk:Youth are exposed to romanticised militant narratives. Many have not lived in terror times to feel the fear of LTTE terror.
Diaspora mobilisation:Networks use symbolism for political lobbying & international lobbying.
Historical distortion:The exclusive commemoration misrepresents Tamil suffering. Many Tamils suffered at the hands of LTTE – their narratives never get any public hearing.
Security concerns:Glorification of a proscribed group encourages extremist continuity.
This is not an issue of Tamil identity; it is an issue of repackaged militant glorification.
All those siding with the LTTE post-2009 are not siding with ordinary Tamils who genuinely want to live in peaceful coexistence.
Maaveerar Naal events abroad follow an identical script every year—flags, Prabhakaran portraits, uniformed LTTE children, and coordinated slogans—demonstrating central direction, not spontaneous community grief.
These are political mobilisations, not cultural gatherings.
Towards a Balanced Framework of Remembrance
A legitimate Tamil remembrance framework would:
Honour Tamil civilians killed byall actors
Include victims of multiple Tamil political movements
Acknowledge massacres of Muslims and Sinhalese by LTTE
Not go to Geneva & put posters claiming LTTE is our Savior”
Maaveerar Naal, as currently practised, does not meet these criteria.
Maaveerar Naal is not a neutral or cultural day of mourning; it is a political ritual created by a proscribed terrorist organisation to reinforce its identity and ideology. Its exclusive commemorative structure, militant symbolism, and ongoing mobilisation functions contradict claims of cultural harmlessness. Understanding the origins, purpose, and ideological implications of Maaveerar Naal is essential for any serious conversation on reconciliation, national security, and historical truth in Sri Lanka.
A path to genuine communal remembrance must be inclusive, civilian‑centred, and free of militant nostalgia. No one is stopping a mother or father of a terrorist mourning their dead son or daughter but that mourning does not need terrorist paraphernalia nor terrorist slogans & terrorist organizing.
A remembrance day that excludes Tamil victims of LTTE violence is not Tamil; it is LTTE. Any framework for true Tamil remembrance must break from LTTE symbolism entirely.
A message every Sri Lankan elected Government must take note of without appeasing terror outfits & their foreign campaigners.
Shenali D Waduge
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The Vatican bears a high degree of historical accountability for the Portuguese Inquisition in the colonies because it provided the initial religious and legal justification for Portuguese imperial expansion and the subjugation of non-Christian peoples, even though the specific actions of the Inquisition were largely administered as a state-controlled institution.
Vatican’s Role and Justification
Papal Bulls:
A series of 15th-century Papal Bulls (e.g., Dum Diversas in 1452, Romanus Pontifex in 1455) formed the “Doctrine of Discovery” which granted Portugal the right to “invade, search out, capture, vanquish and subdue all Saracens and pagans and any other unbelievers” and take their territories and property. These bulls provided the religious mandate and moral authority for the subsequent colonial ventures and forced conversions in places like Goa and Ceylon (Sri Lanka).
Establishment of the Inquisition: The formal Portuguese Inquisition was established in 1536 by the order of Pope Paul III (Cum ad nihil magis). While the Grand Inquisitor was appointed by the Pope, they were selected by the King of Portugal, making the institution a hybrid of church and state authority.
Missionary Influence: Prominent Catholic figures, such as Saint Francis Xavier, explicitly petitioned the Portuguese King for the establishment of the Inquisition in Goa to punish “crypto-Jews” and ensure the “purity” of the Catholic faith among new converts.
State Control and Implementation
The Portuguese Inquisition in Goa (established in 1560) was an arm of the Portuguese state, operating with considerable institutional independence from direct, day-to-day papal control compared to the medieval inquisition. The Crown used it as a tool for social control, wealth confiscation, and to enforce loyalty to the Portuguese Empire, targeting Hindus, Muslims, and New Christians who continued their former practices in secret. In Portuguese occupied Ceylon the Buddhist Sinhalese were the main victims of the Reign of Terror unleashed by the Portuguese.
Father S.G. Perera in his book ‘A History of Ceylon for Schools’ divides the Portuguese presence in the island as falling into three distinct stages
a) Portuguese – Sinhalese alliance (1505 – 1551)
b) Portuguese Protectorate of Kotte (1551 – 1597)
c) Portuguese Domination (1597 – 1658)
Learned Historians and commentators now generally regard the arrival of the Portuguese in the year 1505 as the beginning of the Dark Age in the history of Sri Lanka. The Portuguese, through a policy of cunning statecraft and ruthless terror were able to govern the coastal areas of the island for most of the next 150 years, until the Dutch replaced them in 1658.
Sir James Emerson Tennent refers to the Portuguese conduct in Sri Lanka in these terms-
There is no page in the story of European colonization more gloomy and repulsive than that which recounts the proceedings of the Portuguese in Ceylon. Astonished at the magnitude of their enterprises, and the glory of their discoveries and conquests in India, the rapidity and success of which secured for Portugal an unprecedented renown, we are ill-prepared to hear of the rapacity, bigotry and cruelty which characterized every stage of their progress in the East. They appeared in the Indian seas in the three-fold character of merchants, missionaries and pirates. Their ostensible motto was amity, commerce and religion. Their expeditions consisted of soldiers as well as adventurers, and included friars and chaplain majors. Their instructions were to begin by preaching, but, failing, to proceed to the decision of the sword.” (10)
The Sinhalese historian Paul E. Peiris observes :
They found in Ceylon a contented race and a fairly prosperous country ….. and it is melancholy to reflect that they succeeded in producing nothing but chaos. Out of a long list of high – born Hidalgos whom Portugal sent to Ceylon, it is difficult to point to one name as that of an enlightened statesman and high – principled administrator….
No stately fabric remains to compensate for that religious fanaticism to which ample witness is borne by the devastated ruins of those lovely structures which the piety of generations had strewn over the country… Their bequest to the Dutch was a colony of half –castes, a failing agriculture, a depopulated country, and a miserable and ill – conditioned people… They had in Ceylon an opportunity almost unique in the experience of European nations in the East, but their moral fiber had proved unequal to the occasion…”.(11)
G.P.Malalasekera in his Ph.D. dissertation which was later published as a book under the title ‘ The Pali Literature of Ceylon’ makes the following comment in lucid language on the high handed methods employed by the Portuguese in pursuit of their colonial objectives which included conversion of the people of the country into Christianity and the concomitant repression of Buddhism:
, Every stage of their progress was marked by a rapacity, bigotry, cruelty and inhumanity unparalleled in the annals of any other European colonial power. Their ferocity and their utter indifference to all suffering increased with the success of their army; their inhuman barbarities were accompanied by callousness which knew no distinction between man, woman and child; no feeling of compassion was strong enough to stay their savage hands in their fell work. To terrify their subjects and bring home to them the might of the Portuguese Power, they committed atrocities which had they not been found recorded in the decades of their friendly historians, seems too revolting to be true. Babes were spitted on the soldier’s pikes and held up so that their parents might hear the young cocks crow. Sometimes they were smashed to pulp between millstones, while their mothers were compelled to witness the pitiful sight before they themselves were tortured to death. Men including Buddhist monks were thrown over bridges for the amusement of the troops to feed the crocodiles in the river, which eventually grew so tame that at whistle they would raise their heads above the water in anticipation of the welcome feast.” (12)
see
Repression of Buddhism in Sri Lanka by Portuguese (1505 – 1658)
The modern Vatican has not issued a specific apology for the Goa or Ceylon Inquisitions. However, Pope John Paul II made a general, sweeping apology in 2000 for the historical sins and violence committed by the Catholic Church throughout its history, including the Inquisitions at large.
While some contemporary Catholic figures and historians argue that the actions in the colonies were primarily state-driven abuses of papal authority for political purposes, critics maintain that the Vatican’s foundational authorization (the Papal Bulls) makes it inherently accountable for the resulting atrocities. In 2023, the Vatican formally repudiated the “Doctrine of Discovery” as not part of Catholic faith, a step toward acknowledging the harm caused, but stopped short of a full apology for historical actions.
Conclusion
The Chapter covering Sri Lanka’s Demand from Portugal for an Apology, Restitution in Integrum ( legal term that means “restoration to the original condition”), Catharsis, Atonement, Repatriation of stolen artifacts, and Reparations, is not closed yet.
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All persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law. In this respect, the law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground …….
Don Juan Dharmapala’sconversion to Christianity and subsequent actions are widely considered a significant betrayal of Buddhism and Sinhalese sovereignty. Key lessons from this historical period emphasize the dangers of foreign dependence, the importance of safeguarding national heritage and religious freedom, and the need for strong, independent leadership.
The Betrayal: Key Actions and Consequences
Dharmapala, the last king of Kotte, became reliant on Portuguese military support. This led to actions perceived as a profound betrayal
Several specific actions by Don Juan Dharmapala are regarded as a betrayal:
In 1557, he converted to Christianity, becoming the first Asian king to do so and renouncing his traditional role as protector of Buddhism. In converting to Roman Catholicism he took the name of Dom João Dharmapala Peria Bandara, and collaborated in the repression of Buddhism.
As a ruler under Portuguese influence, he allowed the destruction of significant Buddhist temples, including the Kelaniya Temple and the Sunethra Devi Pirivena. Some temple properties were given to Franciscan friars, and churches were built on the sites of destroyed temples.
He attempted to transfer temple properties to foreign individuals and Franciscan friars.
Surrender of Sovereignty: In 1580, having no heir, he signed a “Deed of Gift” bequeathing his kingdom to the King of Portugal upon his death, surrendering Sinhalese sovereignty.
Perhaps most controversially, he designated the King of Portugal as the heir to his kingdom, effectively surrendering sovereignty to a foreign power.
Aristocracy Conversion: Many Sinhalese aristocrats followed the King’s lead and converted to Christianity, further weakening the traditional Buddhist establishment.
Lessons to be Learnt
The historical narrative surrounding Don Juan Dharmapala offers several enduring lessons:
The Peril of Foreign Dependence: Over-reliance on foreign powers can lead to the loss of national independence and cultural identity. Strong, independent leadership is crucial to avoid becoming overly reliant on foreign support, which can compromise national independence.
Safeguarding Religious and Cultural Heritage: Protecting indigenous religions and cultural heritage from external forces is crucial for national identity. Leaders have a critical role in safeguarding cultural and religious heritage, as demonstrated by the negative impacts on Buddhist institutions during Dharmapala’s rule.
The Need for Resilient Leadership: Leaders must prioritize national interests and public welfare.
Nations must be vigilant against foreign influence, particularly from those with imperialistic goals, to protect sovereignty and traditional values.
· Consequences of Betrayal: Actions seen as betraying the people’s faith and heritage lead to lasting rejection and criticism.
The widespread resistance to Dharmapala’s actions highlights the power of popular resistance and the resilience of national identity against colonial pressure.
Internal unity is vital for national integrity, as divisions can create opportunities for foreign intervention.
Political decisions can have long-term impacts for generations, as seen in how Dharmapala’s choices influenced centuries of Sri Lankan history under colonial rule.
Don Juan Dharmapala is seen as the embodiment of villainy and evil conduct among the countless number of rulers of Sri Lanka since time memorial. The Bad Guy in the saga of Sri Lanka.
Colombo, Sri Lanka, XpressJobs has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with theAnanda College Old Boys’ Association (ACOBA) to introduce a dedicated job board for A/L students and recent school leavers, marking the company’s first-ever partnership with a school.
Picture 1 (Left to Right) : Mr. Kalana Dias (Joint Secretary: ACOBA), Mr. Samitha Seneviratne (Executive President: ACOBA), Mr. Chathum Henegama (CEO: XpressJobs), Dr. Oshadie Korale (COO: XpressJobs)
About Anana College & Its OBA
Founded in 1886, AnandaCollege is one of Sri Lanka’s most respected national schools, renowned for academic excellence, leadership, discipline, and national contribution. The ACOBA remains one of the country’s strongest alumni bodies, known for its large membership and active role in school development.
About XpressJobs
XpressJobs has grown into Sri Lanka’s leading recruitment tech platform, consistently redefining how companies hire and how talent discovers opportunities. Known for being a market trend-setter, XpressJobs introduced some of the country’s most impactful hiring innovations, including advanced filtering, application tracking systems (ATS), online assessments, and AI-powered recruitment assistants.
With over 11,000 companies relying on its solutions and more than 6 million applications processed, XpressJobs has become a trusted partner across every major industry. The platform continues to push the boundaries of digital recruitment, bringing speed, intelligence, and transparency to the hiring experience for both employers and jobseekers.
A Special Partnership Led by an Old Anandian
This MOU holds special significance as XpressJobs CEO Chathum Henegama is a proud Old Anandian. Returning to support the school that shaped him, Henegama described the project as deeply personal.”
This partnership is a powerful example of an Old Anandian coming back to uplift the next generation,” said Mr. Samitha Seneviratne, Executive President of the ACOBA. This job board will open doors, provide real-world exposure, and strengthen the Anandian network for years to come.”
Job Board for A/L Students and Old Anandians
The new Ananda Job Board, powered by XpressJobs, will provide a seamless experience for both A/L students and Old Anandians seeking opportunities. Fully integrated with the ACOBA member base of over 12,000 members, the platform allows users to access internships, trainee roles, remote jobs, entry-level positions, and selected industry categories supported by XpressJobs.
While the initial focus is on helping younger Anandians, especially post–A/L students, gain exposure, build skills, and make informed career decisions, the platform is also built to support the wider ACOBA community. As the system evolves, more job categories and industry sectors will be added, ensuring that Old Anandians across different career stages can access meaningful opportunities through a unified, purpose-built job ecosystem.
Introducing the First Digital Anandian CV Pool”
The MOU also establishes a digital Old Anandian Candidate Pool, allowing the ACOBA to: Track graduating batches, Identify emerging talent, Support job placements, and Strengthen alumni networks. This marks the first structured system to map the skills and aspirations of young Anandians.
A New Chapter in School–Industry Collaboration
XpressJobs has previously partnered with several universities, but this is its first school-level initiative. The collaboration highlights the power of alumni leadership and showcases an Old Anandian-led startup giving back to its roots. For Ananda College, it is a forward-thinking step toward preparing students for real-world careers. For XpressJobs, it is a significant opportunity to empower youth, starting with the school that shaped its CEO.
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Lt Col Anil Amarasekera. (Rtd.) Puselahena Estate, Kindelpitiya, Millewa,
23rd November 2025.
Hon Sajith Premadasa, The Leader of the Opposition, The National State Assembly, Sri Jajawardenapura, Kotte.
Dear Mr.Sajith Premedasa,
You have made a statement in India that you intend to fully implement the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution when you form a government in Sri Lanka. I as a senior citizen intend to caution you against implementing such a decision which would amount to opening a Pandora’s Box. The Ven.Mahanayake Theros too had in a joint statement previously requested President Ranil Wickramasinghe not to do so.
The Indo Lanka accord signed on 27th July 1987 that was forced on Sri Lanka by India through gunboat diplomacy is illegal according to articles 51 and 52 of the Vienna Convention on the law of Treaties. India also failed to implement some of the provisions therein such as disarming the terrorists and as such the Indo Lanka Accord can be considered as repudiated. Therefore do you consider the 13th Amendment enacted on 14th November 1987 in accordance with the Indo Lanka Accord to have any validity?
When the 13th Amendment was challenged in the Supreme Court, while Chief Justice Sharvananda, Justice E.A.D Athukorale, Justice Percy Colin-Thome and Justice H.D. Thambiah in their determination said that a referendum was not necessary for its enactment, Justice R.S.Wanasundara, Justice O.S.M Seneviratne, Justice L.H.De Alwis and Justice H.A.G de Silva in their determination said that this Amendment cannot be enacted sans a referendum. Though Justice Parinda Ranasinghe in a separate verdict conceptually agreed with the Chief Justice Sharvananda, he dissented on article 154G (2) (b) and (3) (b) which he said should be approved at a referendum. He refused to suggest any amendment to the said articles 154G (2) (b) and (3) (b). The subsequent amendment made to the said articles at the committee stage was not subjected to the scrutiny of the Supreme Court. Therefore putting together Justice Parinda Ranasinghe’s verdict with that of Chief Justice Sharvananda can be interpreted as incorrect and if so the 13th Amendment has been enacted sans the approval of the Supreme Court that makes it controversial if not illegal.
The ruling given by Chief Justice Sharvananda that the Provincial Council bill be passed after the 13th Amendment became law was also ignored by the then government which took a vote on the Provincial Council bill two days before the 13th Amendment received the speaker’s certification on 14th November 1987. Therefore the Provincial Council bill too has been enacted illegally.
In or about 1995 the Chandrika Kumaratunga Government introduced the devolution proposals that was commonly known as the Package. It was to campaign against the package and to educate the masses regarding the danger of devolving political and administrative power from the centre to the periphery that the National Joint Committee (NJC) was established by Retired Supreme Court Judge Mr. R.S. Wanasundera. The NJC also established the Sinhala Commission to inquire into the grievances of the Sinhala majority. Two reports were published by the Sinhala Commission to educate the international community in this regard.
The NJC advocated the view that political and administrative power should be decentralised from the centre to the periphery but should never be devolved. Many organizations including political parties such as the UNP and the JVP joined with the NJC and when these devolution proposals were tabled in the National State Assembly on 8th of August 2000 all approach roads to the parliament was blocked by protesting masses and President Chandrika Kumaratunga had to use helicopters to fly her MP’S to parliament. It was Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa who walked from the parliament to the Batheramulla junction to inform the people that the devolution proposals had been postponed indefinitely and for the protesting people to disperse which they did peacefully.
The English meaning of decentralization and devolution of power seem very similar when looked at superficially. However the important fact that needs to be realized when it comes to the governing power of a country is that decentralization amounts to the transfer of that power from the central government to a local authority be it a region, a province or a district while devolution is on the other hand the removal of central government power and handing that power over to a region, a province or a district. Therefore decentralized power if misused by a region, a province or a district could be recalled by the central government while devolved power cannot be recalled by the central government if misused by a region, a province or a district. Taking into consideration the difficulty or virtual impossibility for a central government to recall devolved power to a region, a province or a district let us consider the possible repercussions of such an eventuality in this country with several simple examples.
Firstly let us consider irrigation which is the life blood of the farming community in the northern and eastern provinces. Once this subject is devolved to a province, if the provincial administration fails to maintain the reservoirs (Wewas) and irrigation canals in the Sinhala villages, there is nothing the central government can do to help the Sinhala cultivators in distress. The only alternative left for them would be to leave those villages in the northern and eastern provinces and migrate to some other province.
Secondly let us consider the subject of health. Once this subject is devolved to a province, if the provincial administration fails to provide adequate funds to maintain the rural hospital buildings serving the Sinhala community or fails to provide adequate doctors, nurses and other staff or even medical supplies to rural hospitals in their area, the Sinhala villagers will have no other alternative left other than to leave the province and to migrate to some other province where these facilities are available.
Thirdly let us consider the subject of education. Once this subject is devolved to a province, if the provincial administration fails to appoint the teachers needed to schools in Sinhala villages and also does not allocate adequate funds to maintain and repair school buildings in the Sinhala villages, there is nothing that the central government can do in this regard. The Sinhala population will therefore leave the province and migrate to some other province where good education facilities are available for their children.
These are only three simple examples that I have provided to bring to your attention the danger of devolving power to the provinces. However the situation would be the same with regard to distribution of electricity, repair of roads, purchase of agricultural produce and many other such subjects, if there is devolution of power to a province where the Sinhala population is a minority. Therefore while devolution will only hasten the division of the country by creating administrative avenues to encourage the migration of the Sinhala population from the northern and eastern provinces of the country to other provinces, decentralization of power will not encourage such action as these powers can be withdrawn by the central government if found to be misused by any provincial council.
Mr. C.V.Wigneswaran a former Chief Minister of the Northern Province has said that the full implementation of the 13Th Amendment is good but that he will not look back until a federal constitution is promulgated. He is trying to apply Samuel James Veluppillai Chelvanayakam’s policy of ‘little now more later’ with an intention to first federate a unitary state through the full implementation of the 13th amendment. The federated state will subsequently be divided to establish Eelam, which is the final objective of the separatists. If Wigneswaran and likeminded separatists succeed to achieve during peace what they failed to achieve through three decades of war, all the sweat, blood, tears and toil expended by the security forces sometimes even by sacrificing their very life and limb to defeat the separatists would have been in vain.
This ‘little now more later’ policy has been applied with great success by racist Tamil politicians since independence. They first succeeded in making Tamil a language of the minority community an official language in par with Sinhala which is the language of the majority community in this country. Tamil incidentally is not an official language even in India where the majority of the Tamil population live in this world. Through the enactment of the 16th Amendment these racist Tamil politicians succeeded in making Tamil the language of administration in the northern and eastern provinces for the maintenance of public records and transactions of all business by public institutions. Should the Sinhala majority continue to allow this ‘little now more later’ policy to continue?
Therefore in the interest of the Sinhala minority that is living in the northern and eastern provinces, please do not entertain any idea to fully implement the 13th Amendment to the Constitution that would result in the federation of the unitary state of Sri Lanka.
Yours sincerely,
Lt Col Anil Amarasekera. (Rtd.)
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Ananda College played a pivotal role as the hub of the Buddhist Revival movement in Sri Lanka, primarily by offering a modern English education rooted in national and Buddhist values, thereby counteracting the dominance of Christian missionary schools during the colonial era.
Key Contributions
Pioneering Buddhist Education: Established by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott and the Buddhist Theosophical Society (BTS) in 1886, Ananda College provided a formal English education for Buddhist children, which was previously lacking. This directly challenged the colonial practice of using education for Christian conversion and denationalization.
Fostering National Identity and Culture: The school actively promoted the study of local languages (Sinhala and Tamil), Pali, Sanskrit, Buddhism, and traditional arts, instilling a strong sense of national pride and a “Ceylonese” identity in its students. This was a significant departure from other elite schools that often disparaged indigenous culture.
Producing Influential Leaders: The college produced generations of leaders and prominent figures in various fields, including politics, academia, the military, and the judiciary, who were instrumental in the post-independence national renaissance and the assertion of Buddhist and national values in public life.
Key Figures in the Revival:
Colonel Henry Steel Olcott: The American founder who, inspired by the Panadura Debate, arrived in Sri Lanka to safeguard Buddhism and establish a network of Buddhist schools, including Ananda College.
Don Baron Jayatilaka (Sir D.B. Jayatilaka): As the first Sinhala Buddhist principal, he was a key pioneer of the Buddhist revival and education movement, later becoming a high-profile national statesman.
P. de S. Kularatne: During his “golden era” as principal (1918-1943), he expanded the school significantly, got university curricula revised to include local languages and Buddhism as subjects, and fostered an environment of patriotism and independent thinking among students.
L.H. Mettananda and G.P. Malalasekera: Both served as principals and were ardent nationalists and leading figures in the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress, further promoting Sinhala Buddhist identity and education at Ananda and at a national level.
Venerable Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera and Venerable Migettuwatte Gunananda Thera: These revered monks guided the founders and provided the necessary spiritual and intellectual backing for the movement.
Symbolic Importance: The school’s motto, “Appamādo Amathapadan” (Heedfulness leads to emancipation), and the prominent “Budu Medura” (shrine room) within the college premises serve as constant reminders of its core Buddhist mission and values.
Ananda College effectively created a new tradition of Buddhist education that successfully combined modern English instruction with a strong, proud Buddhist and national ethos, empowering the local population and providing the intellectual backbone for the national independence movement.
The Buddhist Revival was one of the great landmarks in the history of Sri Lanka during the 19th and 20th centuries. It was followed by a Buddhist Renaissance in the Post-Independence period when the state machinery was regained by the downtrodden people after nearly 500 years of Euro-Christian colonial rule. Ananda College established in 1886 played a pivotal role in the Buddhist Revival. It was the hub of Buddhist resistance to the spread of missionary education, denationalization of Buddhist children, and Christian conversion. This school produced outstanding students and outstanding principals. Don Baron Jayatilaka, who was the third principal of Ananda College (1898 – 1907), was one of the pioneers of the Buddhist Revival movement and Buddhist Education. In 1890 he was appointed by the Buddhist Theosophical Society (BTS) as the principal of the Kandy Buddhist High School in Kandy (Dharmaraja College). He was a high-profile national statesman. His dedication to the cause of Buddhism and the uplift of Buddhist education is worthy of recall by a grateful nation. This talk intends to highlight the contribution made by D.B. Jayatilaka to the development of Buddhist education and the Buddhist revival in Sri Lanka.
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