Courtesy Adaderana

Five civil society activists have been arrested while staging a ‘Satyagraha’ campaign in front of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) today (31 Jan.) demanding the arrest of former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella.

Unions and civil society organisations staged a ‘Satyagraha’ campaign today, demanding that the former Health Minister be arrested over his alleged involvement in the controversial import of substandard medicines.

Rambukwella was due to appear before the CID today, however had failed to do so on account of having to appear before the Colombo High Court over another case. Thus, the Minister had requested the CID for a different date, Ada Derana learns.

Meanwhile, Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Health Dr. Saman Ratnakaye was also summoned before the CID today to record a statement. He was subsequently arrested and produced before the Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court.

By Sena Thoradeniya

A dog is smarter than its tail, but if the tail were smarter, then it would wag the dog”.

1. Relationship Between NPP and JVP

Even for the political analyst it is problematic to comprehend the concrete and organic relationship that exists between the Jathika Jana Balavegaya (National Peoples’ Power – NPP) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP).  The relationship between the two entities, JVP and NPP or in other words the organizational structure or the hierarchical relationship of the two cannot be ascertained following their public meetings, press conferences or social media snippets. Is it the tale of the tail wagging the dog? Has the tail become smarter? Or is it something like tail shedding (docking) in the future?

Everything is being done under the auspices of NPP now. JVP occupies a bank bench, never heard of it or it has gone into oblivion. The rhetoric is Malimawa Presidential candidate is destined to win the Presidential Elections, Malimawa will form the next government and Malimawa will definitely punish all those who ruined Sri Lanka. No mention about the JVP. Malimawa has conveniently dumped the JVP or JVP has gone into hibernation. What are the reasons for this metamorphosis? Is it to obliterate their murderous past, its politics, ideology, strategy and tactics and come forward as paragons of virtue to deceive the gullible electorate, to attract a wider segment of the society, to reenact Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?  Or is it something like tail shedding, a defense mechanism enabling to escape the clutches of a predator (as in lizards)?

2. United Front

To prepare this article we consulted the official website of the NPP. Our thoughts that the NPP is the broad United Front formed by the JVP under its leadership was proved wrong within a few seconds and it confirmed our knowledge of JVP politics from its inception in 1965 that JVP is averse to the formation of a broad United Front. Readers are reminded that by United Front we do not mean coalitions of a plethora of political parties formed for winning parliamentary or presidential elections.

This aspect would be investigated bringing teachings of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Mao to the discussion. Basically, a United Front is a front of all oppressed classes, strata and social groups formed in different countries and different periods of history in a given country.

Thus, a United Front is not a coalition of heads of political parties, a coalition of different political parties or civil society” organisations.

Under capitalism those who suffer include not only workers, peasants and petty- bourgeoisie; even the sections of bourgeoisie, small and medium producers and traders suffer. This condition calls for a wider democratic front.

Basic characteristic of the United Front is, it draws people – revolutionary or non-revolutionary- in common struggle; it presents a set of demands acceptable to revolutionary and non-revolutionary people; the forces or segments involved in it remain independent; there are intense battles between ideas, tactics and strategies among various factions in the United Front.

It should be reiterated that the concept of people varies in different historical epochs and times. In the struggle against the slavery the emerging landlord class played a progressive role. In the struggle against the landlord gentry the role of the emerging bourgeoisie was progressive. Mao adds to this that it varies in content in different countries and different periods of history in a given country.

Marx and Engels in Manifesto of the Communist Party”, say that The Communists do not form a separate party opposed to other working-class parties”. Its Section IV discusses how the Communists ally themselves with different segments in different countries.

Marx and Engels founded The International Workingmen’s Association or the First International, that united a variety of different Communist, Radical, Socialist, Social Democratic, and Anarchist groups and trade unions. It was the result of years of hard work by Marx and Engels to establish a revolutionary working-class party.

It was Leninin his book, What the ‘Friends of the People’ Are and How They Fight the Social-Democrats”, (1894) for the first time advanced the idea of a revolutionary alliance of the workers and peasants in overthrowing tsardom, the landlords and the bourgeoisie. In Lenin’s opinion the first duty of the Russian Marxists was to unite the Marxist circles into a united Socialist Workers’ Party. Lenin’s work was a magnificent reply to articles published in the organ of the Narodniks, who advocated reconciliation with the tsarist government and waged a bitter struggle against Marxism and the Russian Marxists.

Lenin’s Two Tactics of Social-Democracy in the Democratic Revolution” (1905) is a major work in this regard. The complete unanimity of international revolutionary Social-Democracy on all major questions of programme and tactics is a most incontrovertible fact”, said Lenin.

In his ’Left-Wing Communism’ an infantile Disorder” (1920) Lenin describes the diseases of those who refused any united action with other parties, those refused to seek out allies in the name of independence, total purity” and opposition to any compromise. Lenin pointed out that compromises are essential, helped the party and class to gain strength and weaken the opponent’s effort to divide the movement and break its unity.

He said Russian Bolsheviks never refused to support the bourgeoisie against the Tsarism. He further said that Russian Bolsheviks found out allies even in most vacillating and undependable. Those who do not understand this reveal a failure to understand the smallest grain of Marxism”. 

Lenin was the genius who conceptualized the idea of United Front and implemented it successfully. He was the architect of the party of the most advanced revolutionary workers- the Bolshevik Party. But at the high tide of October, the United Front remained crucial. Bolsheviks forged an alliance with non-Bolshevik workers, poor peasants, soldiers and sailors and established the power of the Soviets.  

NPP bigwigs should study Mao’s seminal work, On Tactics Against Japanese Imperialism” written in 1935 to learn United Front tactics and understand the necessity of organizing a broad National United Front.

What it does now is aiming at a variety of targets and as Mao said their bullets hit not the principal enemies but lesser enemies and allies. It had failed to single out the principal enemy and failed to draw to its side those who would become its friends. We cannot say that the NPP wants to follow what we say because it is not a Marxist-Leninist front. 

Mao said a fine thing which befits Anura Kumara and his fellow travelers: Three year- olds have many ideas which are right, but they cannot be entrusted with serious national or world affairs because they do not understand them yet.”  This may be the reason why Anura Kumara avoided IMF Head of Mission when he visited NPP headquarters at Pelawatta. It was a serious national issue!

What Anura Kumara and his ilk do is as Mao stated, driving the fish into deep waters and the sparrows into the thickets”. Men and women who throng into NPP meetings do not constitute a broad United Front.

Mao said united front tactics are the only Marxist-Leninist tactics” that win the masses in their millions” (1937).

Mao advised to maintain both the United Front and Independence of the Communist Party and guard infiltration by enemy agents (1938). Every party and group in the United Front must preserve its ideological, political and organizational independence.  He said (A)all political parties and groups in the united front must help each other and make mutual concessions for the sake of long-term cooperation”. Such help and concessions should be positive, not negative or one-sided. As Mao stated we must not split the united front, but neither should we allow ourselves to be bound hand and foot”.

These theories and practical experiences do not apply to NPP as all groups affiliated to it are JVP’s proxies and bound hand and foot to JVP. NPP assures its adherents that they are good guys” and others are bad.

United Fronts are formed internationally also. Best example for this is the international United Front against fascist aggression. With the emergence of fascism in Germany, Italy and Japan to meet the challenge a broad international United Front was needed.

As Mao put forward in 1941, (T) the Soviet Union’s sacred war of resistance against fascist aggression is being waged not only in its own defence but in defence of all nations struggling to liberate themselves from fascist enslavement”. It was Stalin who forged an alliance between Soviet Union, Britain, United States and other countries who were opposed to the fascist rulers of Germany, Italy and Japan. During this period Communist Party of China persevered Kuomintang-Communist cooperation to drive the Japanese imperialists out of China.  The world revolutionary united front with the Soviet Union at its helm defeated fascist Germany, Italy and Japan. This gave a tremendous impetus to national liberation struggles in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

In the colonies excluding the comprador- bourgeoisie, national bourgeoisie and other democratic forces participated in the national liberation movements.    

In cultural work too, a broad United Front is indispensable. Mao’s essay The United Front in Cultural Work” (1944) is a must read for the NPP cultural activists if it has such a set instead of a set of pop artists, soap opera actors, actors and actresses of Sinhala erotic films and stuntmen.  Mao’s Talks at the Yenan Forum on Literature and Art” (1942) may be annoying and burdensome to people like Lal Kantha who proposes a pageant of bare-breasted and scantily dressed women from Matara to Colombo to attract tourists and his penchant for erotica.  Mao’s political report presented to the Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China (1945) titled On Coalition Government” may be tough even to Anura Kumara and other NPP academics! 

3. NPP Website

Official website of the NPP says; NPP is a political movement made up of 21 different groups, including political parties, youth groups, women’s groups, trade unions and other civil society organisations”. It was established in 2009 as a result of a series of conversations (?) about the need for a progressive political platform”.  The drafters are careful not to describe it as a political party.  For them it is only a political movement, a progressive political platform”.

Instead of providing definitions to movement and political party respectively suffice to give some examples to movement in Sri Lankan context, such as Cooperative Movement, Suriyamal Movement, Mahila Samithi, Village Reawakening Movement, Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement, Movement for Interracial Justice (MIRJ), Movement for Defense of Democratic Rights (MDDR), Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) etc.

JVP heads the list of Partner organisations and political parties of the NPP”. Other than the JVP, only other political groupings (we don’t call them parties) in this list are, Sri Lanka Communist Party- Alternative Group”, Eksath Vamansika Balavegaya” (United Left Power) and a rump of 1971, 71 Sahodarathwaya Sansadaya” (71 Brotherhood).

Of this the former group supported Maithripala Sirisena at the 2015 Presidential elections. According to Asian Mirror” this group include 21 members of the CPSL. (One of them was the head of a Typists’ Union). It was the Communist Party of Ceylon that was instrumental in denying Don Nandasiri Wijeweera a re-entry visa when he visited Ceylon for a short holiday from Moscow, dubbed JVP as a CIA Kemana” (CIA fish trap) in 1965. JVP/DJV killed several Communist Party stalwarts including L. W. Panditha, its Trade Unions Federation leader and George Ratnayake, Lanka Jathika Guru Sangamaya, the Teachers’ Union President.

A fine example of JVP’s underhand political maneuvers can be seen in what happened to the 71 Sahodarathwaya Sansadaya” (71 Brotherhood). This group consisted of the rump of Janatha Sangamaya, a breakaway group of JVP formed after the 1971 insurrection.  Some of its leading cadres such as T. B. Wijesuriya and Jamis Ethugala were brutally butchered by the JVP in 1988-89. Notwithstanding, its ideologue Wasantha Dissanayake contested last general elections in NPP ticket. True to JVP’s underhand political maneuvers, 71 Comrades” were ousted and the grouping’s leadership was seized by those agent provocateurs sent by the JVP, alarmingly not even born in 1971! So 71 Sahodarathwaya Sansadaya” (71 Brotherhood) cannot be taken as an independent entity now.

This was the same modus operandi adapted by Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) President, the late H. N. Fernando, Wijeweera’s brother-in-law and CTU’s General Secretary Chitral Perera, in ousting non-JVP leaders from the CTU. National level office-bearers were elected at the Union Place Headquarters in Colombo, before the arrival of non-JVP district leaders from far away corners of the island (who were the majority) who had voting rights.

All political leaders are mortal; their underhand political maneuvers are immortal!

Our efforts in finding any information of the so-called Eksath Vamansika Balavegaya” (United Left Power) drew a blank as nobody of my associates were able to provide any clue. My guess is that it is a nameboard of a former Trotskyite group now under the control of JVP like the 71 Sahodarathwaya Sansadaya”.

Other organisations mentioned in the list except Dabindu Saamoohikaya” (Dabindu Collective) are trade unions, organisations of women, public servants, doctors, expatriate workers, intellectuals”, university teachers, estate workers, youth, Bhikkhus, cultural activists, all front organisations of JVP. All these front organisations played an active role at the Galle Face Carnival. Many of these groups mushroomed during Galle Face Days and afterwards. Dabindu Saamoohikaya” was in existence for about two decades, now devoured by JVP.

Sri Lankans domiciled in foreign countries and who live in clover and those working overseas (Ethera Api” clan) send millions to NPP/JVP reserves with no knowledge of the ground realities and the impending catastrophe. During the Galle Face protest Sunil Handunnetti demanded Ethera Api” members not to send remittances to Sri Lanka.

4. NPP/JVP, As the Biggest NGO in Sri Lanka  

All organisations mentioned above are NGOs; NPP-JVP combine has become the largest and highly funded, cash-rich NGO in Sri Lanka. Will the voters in Sri Lanka strive to bring into power an NGO is the biggest question.

To understand this, one would carefully study NPP’s official website under the title Prosperity Redefined: NPP’s Vision for Tomorrow”. Question is why an NPP when there is a JVP which has a long history to Redefine Prosperity”? Hasn’t it redefined prosperity”? Or it has redefined destruction and death only?

This document spells out again what the so-called developmental NGOs” funded by SIDA (Swiss), CIDA (Canadian), NORAD (Norway) FINIDA (Finland) and World Vision International (the largest Christian NGO), parroted a long time ago to bring forth development and prosperity. Now these catchy phrases are possessed by the so-called civil society” grandees and environmental lobbyists. A united future”, environmental sustainability”, empower individuals”, strengthen communities”, champion innovation”, prosperous tomorrow”, reshaping the future”, new standards for success”, equal opportunities”, equal  and greater participation”, equitable distribution of opportunities, resources and privileges through advocacy”, forging a society of true inclusivity and justice”, resilient economy”, accountable and transparent political culture” are the loan words borrowed from the NGO cartel operating in Sri Lanka.

Julie Chung in her daily sermons (X messages) harps on virtues of inclusivity, advocacy, resilience, transparency, accountability etc. 

NPP’s Rapid Response to Overcome Current Challenge” is nothing more than a replica of an NGO document which does not need any further examination.

Under Why Us” it discusses social justice, economic democracy, solidarity and cooperation, sustainability and corruption free governance, all NGO crap. There are NGOs like CPA, NPC and Transparency International and many more upholding these visions” and missions”, all rubbish associated with Corporate Planning, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) etc. 

No word about Marxism-Leninism or socialism or a classless society. It is only the capitalist English press in Sri Lanka including one or two bourgeois theoreticians and a few who are domiciled in foreign countries still call the JVPers Rathu Sahodarayas” and JVP/NPP as Marxist-Leninist. They call it Marxist-Leninist because of their narrow understanding.

Lenin had replied to them: When I speak of a narrow understanding of Marxism, I have the Marxists themselves in mind. One cannot help remarking in this connection that Marxism is most atrociously narrowed and garbled when our liberals and radicals undertake to expound it in the pages of the legal press.” And if our liberals and radicals knew Marxism properly (if only from German works) they would be ashamed thus to distort it in the pages of censored press”.This applies to our columnists of the English press who provide theory to NPP/JVP.

WimalWeerawansa correctly identified Anura Kumara as the Rathu Alipetiya” diagnosing his dealings with the yahapalana government of Maithripala and Ranil.

At NPP public rallies no speaker speaks of Marxism-Leninism, socialism, its strategies and economic, political and cultural resurgence they bring forward or its statecraft.

5. Old Left  

Old Left political parties had a strong trade union base. Hundreds of trade unions covering almost all sectors of the economy and trades came under the trade union federations affiliated to the Left parties, such as Ceylon Trade Union Federation (CTUF- affiliated to Peking Wing”), Ceylon Federation of Trade Unions (CFTU- affiliated to Moscow Wing”), Ceylon Federation of Labour (CFL- affiliated to LSSP) and Ceylon Mercantile Union (CMU of Bala Tampoe- LSSP until 1964; after 1971 Tampoe became Wijeweera’s political mentor). They also, except CMU, had students’, women’s and to a certain extent literary and cultural organisations. None of these parties formed a double” aiming elections.

6.  NPP and JVP: The Façade: NPP is a Malleable Object of JVP  

Now let us examine numbers constituting the Central Committee of JVP and Executive Committee of NPP respectively. Official website of JVP mentions 26 names as members of its Central Committee. NPP website mentions 61 Executive Committee members of which 19 are JVP Central Committee members. Only 7 Central Committee members are left behind. My informants say that they are either purged or left owing to differences of opinion. I don’t call it an ideological struggle as no ideology remains with JVP except winning Presidential and Parliamentary elections.

This is ample testimony that NPP is controlled by JVP. What the JVP has done is rebranding and repositioning it. Remember that Harini Amarasuriya, their meteorite is not a member of the JVP Central Committee. We have discussed earlier why she was given the solitary lot JVP got to nominate a nominated MP bypassing all their seniors and ex-MPs, even ex-ministers like that rustic, small- scale chicken farmer, Lal Kantha who creates more and more news to the detriment of JVP/NPP. 

In our earlier articles titled, Janus-faced JVP: False Conceptions and Harini Amarasuriya Factor” posted on 14 December 2023 and ’Helplessness and Confusion’ in the Coming Year” posted on 31 December 2023 respectively, we have discussed about the Executive Committee members of the NPP other than the JVP Central Committee members. We don’t want to repeat what we had stated.

But we would say something about the intellectuals” again. Among the NPP Executive Committee members there are some professors and Ph.Ds. Except for an academic brainwashed and planted by the United States at Peradeniya and a plagiarist at Sabaragamuwa, we are not aware of the others or the contributions they have made to the existing body of knowledge in general or to their chosen field of study in particular.

What we see in NPP is a hotchpotch of liberal ideas ranging from uttering casual, arbitrary and illogical statements, ultra-democracy, lack of organizational discipline, subjectivism and individualism, close-doorism, maintaining a self-perceived purity”, to adventurism, commandism and military viewpoint.

Our sub-title of this essay, Vulgar Representation of Marxist United Front Politics” is fitting to JVP and NPP as neither the JVP nor NPP are Marxist organisations.

7. Why an NPP? 

Reasons are many.

1. To erase the past history of 1971 and 1988-1989. In 1971 some of them removed the intestines of Grama Sevakas simply using manna knives. In 1988-89 they imposed unofficial curfews and killed scores of innocents who did not follow the instructions given in their chits”; killed even petty-traders who kept open their shops despite JVP/DJV curfews; forcibly collected national identity cards; beheaded and gunned down scores of people and did not allow to remove their bodies; funerals were conducted according to their instructions, not allowing the dead body (coffins were not allowed) to raise up to shoulder level;  gunned down the first persons who went to cast their votes; set on fire banks, tea and rubber factories, busses, transformers, agrarian service stations; the list is too long. More than the capitalists and those who belonged to upper middle class it was the lower middle class, peasants and workers who suffered a lot from JVP/DJV atrocities. 

Majority of the NPP supporters do not know the heinous crimes committed by the JVP/DJV as many of them were not born in that period.

2. JVP knows the stigma of the crimes they have committed especially in 1988-1899 although they have not admitted those crimes making a self-criticism. Its official website does not say anything about what they have done during this period and inner-party struggles.

3. To paint themselves that they are faultless, uncorrupt, totally innocent, impeccable and upright, they wanted a sheep’s clothing and created the NPP. Jesus Christ said, beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly they are ravening wolves”. Buddhist canonical literature refers to a myriad of such false prophets. But Lal Kantha’s (JVP Central Committee member/NPP Executive Committee member) psychopathic utterances expose the wolf’s true features. His recent utterances reveal what type of arts, literature and culture the NPP front- liners profess and propagate.

4. True to JVP’s tactics since 1965 JVP disowned themselves what they did in the name of revolution”. Wijeweera betrayed his own comrades testifying at the Criminal Justice Commission (CJC) that the 1971 insurrection was a plan of Loku Athula (Nimalasiri Jayasinghe who later joined Chandrika and UNP) to capture power. Before the insurrection, while in police custody he wrote the names of other political activists of rival groups on the reverse side of the photographs shown to him by the CID facilitating their arrest.  One of my colleagues was arrested, tortured and incarcerated as Wijeweera had told the police officers of a deformity in his right hand, easing his identification.  

5. Now Anura Kumara and his gang believe that the next president elect will be Anura Kumara and the next government will be formed by the NPP. I have discussed in my earlier pieces that it is a herculean task reaching 51% from the present 3% and attaining 113 from the present 3 in the parliament is a miracle respectively.

6. When the elections results will be declared NPP will create havoc in the country saying that they cannot accept as true the election results, as Trump and Bolsarano did in the US and Brazil respectively. NPP followers, sympathizers and fanatics will be the cannon fodder that will be used by the JVP for these protests and agitations. JVP leadershipwill hide as they did in 1971!

7. Nalinda Jayatissa did not rule out an armed struggle if Anura Kumara was not leading the poll.

8. The role of the ex-servicemen who had joined the ranks of NPP will be crucial in a time like this. A respected retired General told the writer, one of these ex-servicemen hopes to become the next Defense Minister. He has assured those who are close to him top government jobs, ambassador posts and promotions for those who were cashiered for misdeeds.

Still NPP or the ex-servicemen who joined the ranks of NPP have not replied to the allegation made by One Who Knows” (Sunday Island of December 24, 2023), about the Deputy Commander of Sri Lanka troops in the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti, in which about 114 Sri Lankan troops including 3 officers were involved in sex exploitation of hundreds of children.    

9. A colleague told the writer that NPP is the neo-liberal arm of the JVP funded to be the rabble-rousers and ground campaign contractors propped up by the US and India. When the NPP men and women come to the streets”, American and Indian forces will land here to bring normalcy” and install a puppet government.  

JVP/NPP know that they cannot come to power. They are funded not to take over power but to create havoc, mayhem and instability. Their recent stupid, muddleheaded and thoughtless statements (for example legalizing prostitution, a pageant of bare-breasted damsels) and damage control acts by some ill-equipped interlocutors such as Harini Amarasuriya and Nalinda Jayatissa show in what type of a chaotic internal environment the NPP/JVP operate.

When Lal Kantha says that his party is even ready for an armed struggle if the need arises and he will not shy away from such action as he was involved in the armed struggle in 1988/1989, (he has not told the journalist how he saved his own skin), Jayatissa says that they believe in capturing power through electoral politics. Lal Kantha bellows that they will definitely unleash repression once they capture state power (Rajya balaya aawoth api anivaryayenma mardanaya karanawa”).  Whenhe comes to the rescue of his comrade who advocated legalizing of prostitution, he should be asked to glance through the pages of Engels’ The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State”. (There was a Sinhala translation of this classic; the original Sinhala translation was destroyed by the translator himself when he joined the Hath Hawula” of Dudley Senanayake in 1965).

Next step after legalizing prostitution is opening up Red Light Districts” and legalizing same-sex marriage. In the NPP Executive Committee there are several men and women who advocate LGBTIQ rights, who publicly pronounce their sexual orientation and who have produced such drama and films. The woman NPP cum JVP Executive Committee member who championed the rights of sex workers should be taught that in Western countries producing adult films is not legally prohibited and protected as free speech. According to Federal Law in the US, no performers under the age of 18 are allowed to perform as pornstars. Production companies keep Custodian of Records that record the age of the stars and provide a certificate that all pornstars are above the age of 18.

This again shows us some powerful hidden hands are behind the NPP/JVP.   

by Wimal Patabandige – Academician, Lawyer, Retired Solicitor

Before 1833, the nearest land between Yapapatuna (Jaffna Peninsula*) and the Eastern Province was the land belonging to Kurundugamurata Disavani (Mulativ District*). It is necessary to look into the historical information & archaeological facts related to this piece of land says the author Wimal Patabandige. 

Reporting on this area was Portuguese Captain Ribeiro who was in Sri Lanka from 1640 for 18 years. He mentions that the land between a river in the southern jurisdiction of Yapapatuna and a river in the northern jurisdiction of Trincomalee was an area inhabited by the Vedi people.

The report also mentions that it was a densely forested area with a broad belt of ten leagues, extending more than eight leagues into the country, and that the population was very sparse.

(The two rivers are not named. According to him, it is probably the area between the Kanakarayanaru, which flows into the Kilali Lagoon, and the Ma Oya, which flows into the North Sea). 

As per his record, even in the 17^th century, this area was a forest area inhabited by Vedi people.

During the time of the Dutch, in the French map published in 1722, this area is indicated as “Vedirata” (Country of Bedas). (* This area and the area inhabited by the Vedds indicated by Ribeiro are almost identical in size)

The area comprising present-day Kilinochchi District, Mullaitivu District and part of Vavuniya District is referred to as the land inhabited by Forestmen*.

That is the land where the Vanni people lived. This area is designated as Robert Knox Vanneen’s Land. That area is slightly larger than the above territory.

Valentine mentions that the Vedi people lived in the dense forest to the north of Trincomalee. (* And J. P. Lewis mentions that even in the 19th century, except for a few miles from the coast, this area was covered with dense forest.

As per the 1722 French map, the Vanni people lived in the dense forest between Yapapatuna and Trincomalee and was referred to as Forestmen”. The possessed physical features similar to the Portuguese and spoke a language different to Indian was how Portuguese captain Ribeiro described the Vanni people. 

Franciscois Valentine says that the people who lived in the area spoke Sinhala.

Thus, these foreign reports further strengthens the argument that the area that belonged to the Kurundugamura District was under the Sinhala State.

More importantly, it ascertains that Dravidian/Tamils DID NOT live in this area before the 19^th century.

Those promoting the bogus theory of Tamil homeland must be able to prove that a permanent Dravidian/Tamil settlement existed in the Eastern Province from 13^th century onwards. 

However, The data reported by Ribeiro, Sear, Robert Knox, Valentine, and Lewis confirm that this is not the case.

Yapapatuna was under Sinhalese rule until the end of the Polonnaru Kingdom period. It is speculated that in 1255 Kalinga Magha fled to the Jaffna Peninsula and was its ruler. Six years later in 1262, there is evidence that the Javaka Chandrabhanu invader who fled after losing the battle against King Parakramabahu II stayed in Nagadeep (Yapapatune*).

There is no confirmed information that Kalinga Magha was present Nagadeepe (Yapapatune*)

There is no information about Magha when Chandrabhanu fled to Yapapatuna. Did Magha really die as the chronicles say? If not, did you run away – this is uncertain.

For the invasion, Kalinga Magha had brought Kerala soldiers. Chandrabhanu had brought at first a Ja army and second Ja army in addition to Dravidian mercenaries.

(* Kalinga Magha (not Tamil*) and Chandrabhanu who invaded Kerala during the 13th century used Dravidian mercenaries.

However, if the Jaffna Peninsula had been an independent Tamil kingdom or state at that time, Magha and Chandrabhanu would not have been able to freely enter or stay there and become a ruler. There is no such information even in Tamil poetry.

That Chandrabhanu was a member of the ruling Buddhist dynasty of the Java country, receiving the support of the Buddhist Ja troops and Sinhala Buddhist people in Kurundi, Padi, Manawatu, Gokanna, etc. is available even in the 18^th century as there were a number of important Buddhist shrines in Yapapatuna. There is no doubt that he may have ruled according to the Buddhist political and social philosophy as per his custom.

The remains of ancient Buddhist shrines still exist today. Marco Polo (* mentions that the ruler of Yapapatune at the end of the 13th century was a man named “Sendamen” (Chandrabhanu*). It is confirmed by the place names “Javankotte” and “Chavakachcheri” which are still in use today.

That Chandrabhanu lineage members were the rulers of Jaffna until the end of the 14th century is explained by Dr. P.A.T Gunasinghe.

Around 11^th century in Northern Indian, constant Muslim invasions led by the Delhi Sultan on the Northern Route downwards from Vindhya Range and the Narmada River, Southern India (Southern Path=Deccan*) was unable to defend itself.

By 1310, even the city of Madura in the Pandya kingdom was a seat of Muslim Sultanate rule.

At that time Tanjore was also ruled by a Muslim Sultan.

Ibn Battuta reveals that by the year 1344, the South Indian (Malabar and Coromandel* ocean region) was the domain of Muslim and Hindu pirates.

It also reveals that Arisakar (Ariyasakvithi*), referred to as Sultan, who was a friend of the Muslim pirate leader of Malabar, was overseeing the pearl harvest in Mannar and was a power in the Koromandala region of India.

Also, Ibn Battuta referred to the Sinhalese king as “Emperor”. It is shown that the Portuguese came to Sri Lanka by chance in pursuit of pirates in the region.

It means that King Vijayabahu III (1232-1236 AD) who started the Dambadeni kingdom era was a Vanni ruler during the Magha rule of terror.

After Chandrabhanu invader defeat in 1262, the Vanni rulers at Anuradhapura received authority, flags, and images to rule their respective territories on behalf of King Parakramabahu II (1236-1270 CE).

Since then, the engagement with the state administration organization at the state headquarters resumed. At this time, Minister Devapathiraja has been engaged in the development and religious activities of the West (including the North-West) coastal area and has also been engaged in worship at the Devinuwara Upulvan temple.

The relationship between the Vanni rulers and the state may have been loosened due to the struggle between court members for leadership and privileges during the Gampola kingdom period, especially the power struggle of the Sinhala royal family led by the Senalankadhikara and Alakeswara dynasties.

In addition, During the 14th century Raigama power unit and Jayawardanapura (Kotte*) can also be seen.

The Chola, Pandya and Chera territories under the rule of the Muslim sultans who used Madura and Tanjore as their headquarters were able to preserve Hinduism following the renaissance of Hinduism after 1335 – 1565 when the Muslim sultans power began to decline. 

The rulers of Vijayanagara have stationed a commander named Aryachakravarti in Jaffna to fight pirates. Although freed from Vijayanagara rule at the end of the 14th century, the Pandyas and Cholas were not dominant.

As a representative of Vijayanagara, Aryachakravarti was powerful in Jaffna with the support of a Vijayanagara Karnataka (Kannada* army*). He lost Vijayanagara support and patronage due to the division in the Vijayanagara empire from 1447 onwards.

Since the beginning of the 16th century, South India and Ceylon have been the prey of the Portuguese, Dutch, French, British and other European invaders.

Yapapatuna, which belonged to the Kotte kingdom from around 1449 (* for King Parakramabahu VI, Prince Sapumal established a royal council like the Kotte Raja Sabha and ruled until 1470 AD

(* Kandaswamy of Nallur, which is the main temple of Jaffna, built the temple (Kandadevyan*) It is stated that a prince named Vijayabahu ruled after he ascended the throne of Kotte under the royal title of Bhuvanekabahu VI (1470-1478 BC).

In addition, there is no historical evidence that its rule changed until the early 16th century. After this information about Yapapatuna comes from the time of the Portuguese invaders.

The political situation in the island and the historical information recorded by Queiroz, Baldeus, Valentine and Trinidad confirms that till the end of the 18th century, the Jaffna Peninsula was under the rule of Kotte and then Senkadagala (Nuwara)* Sinhalese state.

However, during the period of the Kotte Kingdom, from the second quarter of the 15th century, Vannia and Yapapatuna (Jaffna Peninsula*) were also under King Parakramabahu VI.

During the reign of King Bhuvanekabahu VI (1470-1478 AD* until Senasammatta Vikramabahu (1470-1511 AD*) created the Senkadagala Regional State*, the title held in the Kurundugamurata District, Kurundi and Gonagamthota (Tirikunamalaya*, Bukhara, Eravururata ( Batticaloa* and Samanthurae were territories belonging to the Kotte kingdom.

At the time of the Portuguese invasion, even in the 16th century, Yapapatuna was ruled under the rule of King Kotte, Queiros, Baldeus, Valentine, Trinidad clearly stated. King Don Juan Dharmapala of Kotte (1551-1597*) gave Yapapatuna to the Portuguese King in his dying will.

According to historical information and archeological factors from the 13th century BC. There is no evidence of permanent Dravidian/Tamil settlement or rule even in Yapapatuna, Jaffna Peninsula, during the early 16th century.

උතුර සහ නැගෙනහිර බැඳීම-2

by Garvin Karunaratne.

In the Fifth Century we built the Yodha Ela at a gradient of six inches in a mile- so miniscule a gradient that defies the irrigation engineers of today. By 1970, we became self sufficient in producing rice- then we had no poverty as we provided rice free to all on a ration scheme. Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake  took charge of paddy production and Sri Lanka produced all the rice it needed. . As the Additional Government Agent of the Kegalla District it was my task every Saturday and Sunday to accompany the Prime Minister to a host of meetings and inspections in his electorate. There was no poverty and no one who had to live on two meals a day. On the other five days in the week I toured the other electorates and Yatiyantota was the electorate of Dr NM and there too I had to see that everyone was not living in poverty. We had definitely avoided poverty and deprivation then. Otherwise Dr NM would have raised the matter in Parliament and I would not know where to run. Then Sri Lanka was not a country in debt to anyone. We had development programmes that effectively alleviated poverty. But in 1978 at the instance of the IMF President Jayawardena abolished all those development programmes, confined the administrators to the barracks and today we are begging for dollars in the streets of the World. As a member of the Administrative Service, I was privy to play a role with Premier Dudley and also in the DDCP of Sirimavo, thus I speak of what we actually did, not learned surmises and projections on a chalk board.

Today we are living with a foreign debt of $ 54 billion- reduced from the debt of $ 56 b. of the Gotabhaya days. However it is time to call it all a day, muster ourselves and forge ahead.

Let us not talk of possibilities, plans hatched in air conditioned rooms by experts who have never spoiled their fingers in action, . Let us talk of what we really did once and can do it again.

We administrators were then charged with the task of creating production, alleviating poverty and we have real stories of what we did to tell-not fiction.

The Divisional Secretary at Kotmale, charged with creating employment and also making something useful , collected all the waste paper he could find, rolled up his sleeves and worked with the youth to wet and churn the waste paper, spread it out to dry and out came saleable paper and cardboard. This year 2024, commenced with the gift of a Desk Diary made from Mana by the Divisional Secretary at Dumbara, sent to me by the Hon. Prime Minister. . That shows what we have to do today. President Jayawardena in 1978 put a stop to Kotmale Paper to please the IMF in order to obtain loans and live on loans and thereby created the problem of today- a foreign debt of $ 54 billion. It is important to note that we waste all the used paper today.

Since 1978, the biggest industry one can find in Colombo is the collection of waste cardboard- we ship some 8000 tonnes to India every month and collect a few coppers and buy the cardboard that India makes out of it paying fat dollars. Mind you we have been doing it for the past four decades. We do deserve to be called lunatics for doing this for forty five long years from 1978 to this day. I saw a lorry being loaded with used cardboard last week. That is the prosperity that President Jayawardena brought to us and mind you we should call it a day even now.

In the Youth Self Employment Programme I established in Bangladesh in the two years I worked there-1983-1984 we had to address hundreds of youths on training workshops and we provided the youths with lunch packets. The lunch came in cardboard packs and there were some youth entrepreneurs collecting the discarded cardboard covers and packing them– back at home their sustenance came from churning it to cardboard. Our Divisional Secretary at Kotmale was a great man to make paper out of waste paper. Let us find him and get going instead of wasting money for the imports of paper. I hope he is kicking and alive. I am sorry I do not know his name.

In the DDCP of the Sirimavo days as the GA at Matara I established the Matara Mechanized Boatyard that made seagoing fishery boats- some forty a year. That was a great industry fixed by me in some two months. My giants, the DivSec Ran Ariyadasa and his Development Assistant did that task within two months and our youths made 40 seaworthy boats a year, a feather in the DDCP cap. The boats were sold to fishery cooperatives and ran on the high seas bringing a catch of fish. Ran is no more but his work stands out as something that can be done fast. However President Jayawardena to please the IMF closed that Boatyard in 1978. Imagine what the trained youths thought when they were thrown into the heap of the unemployed. Mind you they were fully trained entrepreneurs.

I got sick of the Ministry of Plan Implementation that ran the DDCP as they failed to allow more industries for me to establish-and I took charge without their knowledge. I had a Planning Officer , Vetus Fernando a raw chemistry grad from the University of Colombo. One day I persuaded him to find the method of making crayons. Once I had worked as Deputy Director of Small Industries and had a background in running powerlooms, handlooms, ceramic and furniture industries. Then I authorized the purchase of a few items that were required and started experiments in the night at my Residency at Matara. My wife a science teacher was also helpful but they never got anywhere due to the lack of equipment. A science lab was needed and we sought the assistance of the Principal of Rahula College the leading secondary school. Mr Ariyawamsa readily agreed for our use of the science lab after school hours. Vetus aided by us- the GA, the AGA and Development Assistant Paliakkara were at it experimenting every night from six to midnight. It went on for two months and the crayons made were really useless. Then Vetus sought the help of his professors at the University of Colombo, beseeching help on three days on bended knees and was chased away. We were not going to take that lying down and again undertook the daily experiments every night with vehement force. In around a month we did make a real crayon and I sat with Vitus experimenting again and again till the quality of our crayon was as good as Reeves, the best of the day.

We had won but how could we start an industry without money. Though I had money at the katcheri they were all tied up with rules that I could not vary. I was gazetted a Deputy Director of Cooperatives for the purpose of agriculture development. The Coops had money and it so happened that Sumanapala Dahanayake, the member of parliament was the President of the Morawaka Cooperatives. I summoned Sumane and showed him the crayon and he was ready to make it using cooperative funds if only I approved it. I was certain of his sincerity and ability. Though I had no authority I did approve it and Sumane got cracking. He and the Divisional Secretary at Morawaka found twenty unemployed youths, Sumane purchased the utensils and equipment and cleared two rooms at Morawaka Cooperatives and Vetus and five or six of us moved in to train the youths to make crayons. It had to be a dare devil job as we had to be successful and all of us broke rest for two weeks making crayons. It was hand made and thus every crayon had to be handcrafted. In the second week labels were printed and packets of crayons filled two large rooms. All this was done with unauthorized cooperative funds and I had no business to set up an industry without Ministry approval. We got over that in a smart manner by tying in other Ministers. Sumane and I took the crayons we made and showed them to Mr Subasinghe the Minister for Industries. He was taken aback at the quality and agreed to open sales and with that we came into legitimacy. We faced the problem of having to purchase dyes in the open market at high cost and the Ministry of Industries said that their funds were not for cooperatives. We got to know when the Ministry for Imports was about to authorize the import of crayons and both of us moved in. We showed the crayons we made to the Controller of Imports and he was satisfied with the quality but he wanted us to obtain the approval of his master the Minister for Imports, Mr Illangaratne as such a cross allocation had never been done earlier. . Sumane and I met the Minister and the moment we showed him the crayons he started scribbling them on paper and testing the quality and shouted for the Controller of Imports to stop all imports and gave us a fat allocation of foreign exchange to import dyes. He had a hard look at me and said, I want you to set up a branch in Kolonnawa my electorate.’ I gave him that assurance.

Coop Crayon, made crayons equal to the Crayola crayons of today. Sumane developed the sales to become islandwide. Coop crayon was very successful. It was easily the best industry that the DDCP ever made. Sumanapala excelled and developed the venture to have islandwide sales. But not for long- the Government changed and President Jayawardena won the elections. Coop Crayon was the best industry established in the DDCP and it had to get discredited. Sumane had to be sent to the gallows to discredit the industry so President Jayawardena hatched a masterplan . He summoned the Deputy Director of Cooperatives, Ariyaraatne and entrusted to him the task of taking a posse of auditors to do a forensic audit of Coop Crayon. Ariyaratne when I met him in 1982 told me of this and that he had subjected all the books to an audit for four full days and found everything in order. Ariyaratne was not an officer to fabricate facts to put Sumane in the soup. Sumane was saved a stint in the gallows. But the IMF stepped in 1978 and decided that if Sri Lanka was to be given loans the government has to accept that the private sector was the engine of growth all development work had to be stopped and the administrators who had manned all development departments had to be sent to the barracks. The IMF effectively ensured that all development activities were closed down

Since 1978, not a single industry was approved and all development activities were stopped and this stoppage continues to today- that is the barrier we have to surmount to create production and alleviate poverty within us.

I got sick of doing little work and decided to proceed to the UK to do further studies and sent in papers for retirement. I was entitled to retire but Minister Felix Dias decided that circular 28 should have retrospective effect. I lost my pension and resigned.

That ended my development tasks in Sri Lanka. I bagged the M Ed in Community Development from the University of Manchester and the Ph.D. from Michigan State. I moved to theUK and the Bahamas and toEdinburgh, when Bangladesh somehow wanted me for Youth Development and the Military Government that took over the country when I was there was determined to close youth development altogether. Identifying me as a foreigner, Minister Aminul Islam, the Air Vice Marshal ordered me: What can you do for Bangladesh.”

‘You should approve a new programme to create employment for the youth, the unemployed who have to scrape the barrel for life.”

The Secretary to the Treasury, the highest officer in the land, objected: The ILO tried hard to create employment on a special programme for three long years at Tangail, bringing experts from all over the World, but miserably failed. The Treasury had to face a huge loss. We cannot face a loss again.”

I do not need funds. All I need is the approval to start and approval to divert approved funds for training workshops”

The ILO are the experts and they did fail.” The battle between me and the Secretary to the Treasury took two long hours and the Minister Aminul Islam who was patiently listening got sick of our arguments and stopped the battle. He said: I approve a new Self Employment Programme for the Youth”.

The Secretary to the Treasury surmounted that order by saying:”I have no funds to get into a wastebin.”

I replied: I do not need any funds. I will work finding savings in approved budgets. I need authority to move approved funds and to vary the remits of officers.

We got cracking the very next day-training officers and guiding youths. I worked pell mell for two years and trained the staff including members of the elite BCS- Bangladesh Civil Service. They did continue what I commenced and Bangladesh has seen over three million youths in sustainable employment. It is an ongoing programme that can be seen by anyone.

It is left to our Prime Minister our elected head to spring into a process of action, fast and swift before our people rebel and have to be put down with the gun.

Garvin Karunaratne

former GA Matara, 30012924

Sugath Kulatunga

The ripple effect of the increase in the VAT rate from 15 to 18 percent has led to another hike in the cost of living causing wide spread agitation against the measure and has rattled the government. It has given another opportunity to traders to inflict one more exorbitant hike in the price of goods. The government expects the people to believe that it was forced by the IMF. The restoration of VAT from the absurd level of 8 % to 12% was an IMF condition. What the IMF insisted was to increase the revenue but did not suggest the last increase in the VAT rate from 15 to 18. On the contrary IMF recommended the broadening of the tax base and  ensure larger contributions from high-income earners while avoiding overburdening the poor who are already suffering.   

IMF Staff emphasised the need for broadening the tax base citing the experience of Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam – While Sri Lanka’s VAT rate is now below the average across Asian emerging market and developing economies of around 12 percent, the low standard rate alone cannot explain the low level of VAT revenues. As a share of GDP, VAT revenues in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam have exceeded that in Sri Lanka, despite relatively low standard VAT rates.” (IMF Staff Report March 6 2023)

In the Letter of Intent summitted by the President and the Governor of of the Central Bank to the IMF they said The adverse distributional impacts of the VAT rate hikes were mitigated by maintaining VAT exemptions on basic food items. To bring the tax to GDP ratio to at least 14 percent by 2025.The authorities commit to revamping the VAT system before 2024, by removing almost all product-specific VAT exemptions.”

Article-6.

We aim to raise the ratio to at least 14 percent by 2026, by implementing a sequenced package of tax measures including contributions from high-income earners while avoiding overburdening the poor.

Article 46.

One important priority of the program is to protect the vulnerable from the impact of crisis and policy adjustments. The authorities are committed to strengthen SSN by ensuring minimum SSN spending and improving the coverage and targeting of the SSN. The tax reform package under the program are also designed to be progressive and promote equity.

Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, IMF in her statement following the Executive Board discussion on Sri Lanka said:,

In this regard, the momentum of ongoing progressive tax reforms should be maintained, and social safety nets should be strengthened and better targeted to the poor.”

At the IMF Press Briefing on the EFF Program after the first review, Peter Breuer, Senior Mission Chief and  Masahiro Nozaki mission chief for Sri Lanka said that Tax reforms under the program are designed to be progressive ensuring greater contributions from higher income earners. Efforts to increase tax revenues should be pursued in a growth friendly manner while protecting the poor and most vulnerable.

It is important that those who can afford it make commensurate contributions to the financing of necessary government expenditures.”

The message from the IMF which was repeated by every level of the agency is unequivocal that the tax policy must be progressive and the high income earners must make a greater contribution to government revenue. They did not demand an increase in VAT rate beyond 15% instead they proposed the broadening of the Tax base. In the letter of Intent Sri Lanka the target for a VAT rate was only 14 % and that too designed to be progressive and promote equity.

The million-dollar question is why has the government on their own ‘Suo moto’ implemented the current regressive tax, increasing the cost of even essential food items and all services making life unbearable to the vast majority of the people. When President Gotabaya reduced the VAT rate, he expected the high-income earners to increase investments. It did not happen. The speculation is that RW spared the rich ,expecting their contributions of funds for the forthcoming elections. Gota paid for his mistake. Will RW suffer the same fate?

Meanwhile the VAT increase has resulted in a DAT increase for doctors. That in turn has made other health workers demand the same allowance which demand is now joined by teachers. Nobody will believe that they are not aware that DAT is a specific allowance based on special services and they are not entitled to it and no government can afford such bounty. In the old villages there was a belief that when a big ‘pideni” is offered to the ‘Riri Yaka” the Mahasona and Gara yaka’ will demand the same or more. The ripple could well end up in a Tsunami.

Sugath Kulatunga

by A. Abdul Aziz

The situation in Gaza has escalated exponentially since 7 October 2023 on a day-to-day basis. The extensive and explicit media (and social media) coverage can, at times, inadvertently cause us to fall prey to compassion fatigue. We may even become desensitized to facts and figures, but it is crucial now more than ever to continue to cut through biases in an attempt to understand and feel the dire conditions facing the Palestinian people – the pain of our Muslim brothers and sisters. Beyond the staggering numbers and statistics lies a humanitarian crisis that demands our compassion and unity.

There is one accessible shower for every 4,500 people and one toilet for every 220 – this is the reality in Palestine. (Lethal combination of hunger and disease to lead to more deaths in Gaza”, www.who.int) Gaza’s Ministry of Health reports that the bombardment of Gaza has now killed more than 25,000 Palestinians, with an additional 59,000 injured. Shockingly, around 70% of these casualties were women and children. Innocent, civilian, non-combatant women and children.

The daily death toll is just under 250 people a day. This is a much faster rate than in other broadly comparable recent conflicts. The US-led coalition fighting Islamic State in Raqqa killed 20 civilians a day during a four-month offensive, the BBC reported, while the nine-month battle for Mosul between US-backed Iraqi forces and IS killed fewer than 40 civilians a day.” (The numbers that reveal the extent of the destruction in Gaza”, www.theguardian.com)

The Israeli military has carried out 22,000 strikes in Gaza in less than three months. The scale of destruction is unprecedented, leaving countless homes, schools and hospitals in ruins. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 23 out of 37 hospitals are now inoperable. 104 schools have been destroyed and 70% of all school buildings have been affected in one way or another. (Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #83 [EN/AR/HE]”, https://reliefweb.int)

85% of Gaza’s entire population has been displaced – a harrowing 1.9 million people, as estimated by the UNRWA (UN Palestinian Relief Agency). (UNRWA SITUATION REPORT #60”, www.unrwa.org) With 65,000 housing units destroyed and a further 290,000 made uninhabitable, half a million citizens have no homes to return to. The region also faces a dire sanitation crisis. The sheer lack of shower and toilet facilities paved the way for the rapid spread of the disease, with over 100,000 cases of diarrhoea reported since mid-October – a rate 25 times higher than the pre-conflict levels. This has primarily affected and continues to affect children under the tender age of five. (Lethal combination of hunger and disease to lead to more deaths in Gaza”, www.who.int/news)

The situation in Gaza requires a united global effort to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people. Beyond the statistics, it is a plea for humanity, and most importantly, Muslims around the world, to come together and work towards a solution that ensures justice and peace in the region and brings an end to the indiscriminate, barbaric and disproportionate violence and bloodshed. There seems to be, however, no sign of the Muslim world uniting anytime soon; in fact, they have never been as disunited as they are now.

In the last week, fresh waves of violence swept through the Middle East. This has sparked fear of further conflict and unrest spreading in a region that is already marked by extreme instability. Iran launched a surprise missile and drone attack on Pakistan, claiming to target the Jaish al-Adl militant group. To this, Pakistan quickly retaliated by bombing and launching missiles at Pakistani terrorist hideouts” on Iran’s side of the border. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged both countries to exercise maximum restraint to avoid further escalation of tensions”. (Secretary-General Urges Iran, Pakistan to Exercise Restraint, following Exchange of Military Strikes”, https://press.un.org) 

Alongside Pakistan, Iran also unleashed a barrage of ballistic missiles and drones targeting sites in Syria and Iraq, which they claim are linked to Israeli intelligence and anti-regime groups. The strikes were in response to a suicide bombing in Kerman earlier this month, which killed at least 84 Iranians. Iran’s choice of retaliation was designed to send a clear message to its enemies, and to Israel and the United States in particular: Any aggression against Iran will be met with quick and severe retaliation”. (Iran’s Missile Strikes Reveal Its Weakness”, https://foreignpolicy.com)

In conclusion, the dire situation in Gaza signifies not only an immediate humanitarian crisis but also highlights the increasing fragmentation in the Muslim world. Recent hostilities in the Middle East, such as Iran’s attacks on Pakistan and other nations, highlight deep-seated geopolitical and religious rifts among Muslim nations. Politically, the Muslim world is fractured, and sectarian divisions further compound the challenges. Whether it’s the Sunni-Shia schism or internal factions within Sunni Islam, like various sects, unity remains elusive.

Amid this disarray, the concept of spiritual leadership – a caliphate – emerges as the only avenue for unity. A unified Muslim Community (ummah) is essential to address the challenges faced by the Palestinians and the broader Muslim world. Such catastrophes should serve as a wake-up call. Uniting under a spiritual caliphate is the only solution – without this, the future of the Muslim world appears very bleak. It is only when this universal caliphate is recognised, that the resilience and enduring strength of the Muslim Community (ummah) can be realised, offering a beacon of hope in the current shadows of turmoil and distress.

(Source: Al Hakam – London).

Ministry of Defence  – Media Centre

State Minister of Defence Hon. Premitha Bandara Tennakoon, visited the Royal Navy ship HMS Spey last evening (Jan. 29). HMS Spey arrived in Sri Lanka on Sunday (Jan. 28) on an official visit.

The Commanding Officer of the ship, Commander Paul Caddy received the State Minister on his arrival on board the ship. The British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, His Excellency Andrew Patrick was also present at the occasion.

Making a brief speech, Minister Tennakoon recalled the long standing historical and cultural ties between Sri Lanka and the UK. He also appreciated the unwavering support of the British government in times of need and its shared dedication to upholding global peace and security.

Further, the State Minister reaffirmed Sri Lanka’s commitment to collaboration, joint exercises and information sharing which strengthen the regional partnership and the resilience of diplomatic ties.

Dignitaries including Ambassador to the Republic of Italy H.E. Damiano Francovigh, High Commissioner of the Maldives H.E. Fathima Ghina, High Commissioner (Actg) of Pakistan H.E. Wajid Hassan Hashmi, High Commissioner of Bangladesh H.E. Tareq MD Ariful Islam, the Delegation of the European Union to Sri Lanka and the Maldives H.E. Carmen Moreno, Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany H.E. Felix Neumann, High Commissioner (Actg) of New Zealand H.E. Patrick Rata, High Commissioner of Australia H.E. Paul Stephens, the Commander of the Navy Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera and the Director Media and Spokesman of the Ministry of Defence and overlooking Director General and Acting Director (Research) of the Institute of National Security Studies Colonel Nalin Herath also joined the reception on board the ship.

Courtesy Unz Review

This long article explain the origin of the Jews. The Zionists are European (Ashkenazi Jews) whereas the original biblical Jews are still spread around the middle east and even suggests that the Palestinians are original biblical Jews who have been converted to the Muslim religion.

John Beaty and The Iron Curtain Over America

EPub Format

Although his name has been almost totally forgotten for more than two generations, during the early 1950s Prof. John Beaty was a figure of some prominence, at least within conservative circles.

A West Virginian born in 1890, Beaty earned his B.A. and M.A. at the University of Virginia, then completed his doctorate in Philosophy at Columbia University in 1921. Beginning in 1919 he spent his entire academic career teaching English at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, becoming a full professor in 1922 and finally retiring in 1957. For much of that time, he served as department chairman, and was a successful novelist and scholar, being the author or co-author of a dozen books, eventually used at over 700 American colleges and universities. During that long career, he enjoyed a number of academic honors and distinctions, even serving as president of the Conference of College Teachers of English, and prior to 1951 seems to have never attracted any significant controversy.

But Beaty was a patriotic individual who held a commission in the military reserves and as America moved towards involvement in World War II, his status was activated in 1941 and he joined our Military Intelligence as a captain, serving until 1947 when he left the army with the rank of full colonel and resumed his academic teaching career. During those war years, his government role had been an important one, serving as Chief of the Historical Section while also being responsible for summarizing all available American intelligence and producing the daily briefing report distributed to the White House and all of our other top political and military leaders. Later in the war, he was also required to interview and debrief thousands of our returning military servicemen, including very senior ones, summarizing their information and experiences for government files. Given such crucial activities, there were probably few Americans more familiar with nearly all aspects of our wartime information than Beaty when he returned to civilian life in 1947.

Beaty had always had a strong interest in broader political events. During the mid-1920s, he had been awarded an Alfred Kahn traveling fellowship to Europe, and subsequently drew upon the knowledge he had acquired to publish articles analyzing the continent’s geostrategic situation and the possible risks of a future war. As a strong conservative with traditional cultural values, he had published Image of Life in 1940, a book strongly critical of what he regarded as the ideological distortions often promoted by our mainstream media and publishing industry. And then in the postwar years, he became outraged over the total contrast between the true facts of the conflict that he had discovered from his central role in Military Intelligence and the extremely distorted and dishonest portrayal of those events provided by most of the mainstream media to our severely misinformed citizenry.

Many world developments greatly alarmed him. Stalin’s Soviet Union had seized half of Europe, while his subservient Communist parties held enormous influence in much of the rest, including France, Italy, and Greece. Beaty regarded the 1949 Communist victory in China as a gigantic strategic defeat for the West, and the sudden outbreak of the Korean War the following year had now drawn American forces into direct military conflict, with our inexperienced and under-equipped troops suffering serious early defeats at the hands of a large Chinese army.

During these years Beaty had been working on a book aimed at describing the root causes of our recent disasters and providing a candid account of the world war against Germany that we had recently fought. He believed that unless the American people learned these facts and mobilized themselves politically, they might both lose their traditional freedoms and be driven into a ruinous third world war against the powerful Communist bloc. So in December 1951 he published The Iron Curtain Over America.

https://www.unz.com/runz/prof-john-beaty-and-the-true-origin-of-the-jews/

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse Samagi Jana Bala Wegaya (SJB) protestors near the public library in Colombo a short while ago.

SJB leader Sajith Premadasa was at the protest.

Will defy all laws and begin another Aragalaya tomorrow: SJB

Colombo, Jan 29 (Daily Mirror) –  The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) will not take notice of any restrictions but will take to the streets tomorrow and fire the first shot towards overthrowing the present government, SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara said today.

The IGP or anyone else can impose any restriction but we will defy all laws and bring 50,000 people to Colombo tomorrow,” Madduma Bandara told a media briefing.

It was the SJB which pioneered the uprising in 2022 and we intend to do the same this time as well,” Madduma Banadara added.

We will not disclose where we will march towards now, but we will reveal it at the correct time tomorrow,” he added.

Former MP Hirunika Premachandra who also participated in the briefing said the protest will be against suppressive legislations such as the Anti-Terrorism Bill, Online Safety Bill and increased taxes. 

We will disclose where we are going  to surround at the right time,” she also said

Court issues order on SJB protest

Colombo, Jan 30 (Daily Mirror) – The Colombo Magistrate’s Court issued an order prohibiting Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) leader Sajith Premadasa and several others from conducting protests that inconvenience the public and disrupt traffic by blocking roads in Maligawatta today.

The Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Maligawatta Police informed court on plans by a group associated with a political party to initiate a protest march near the Muslim cemetery in Maligawatta and requested an order to prevent the protest.

In response, the magistrate ordered SJB leader Sajith Premadasa, SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara, SJB Chief Organizer of Colombo Central Mujibur Rahman, Apsara Amarasinghe, members of the Samagi Jana Balawega and women’s organizations to refrain from obstructing traffic along the route from the Maligawatta Muslim Cemetery to Sangaraja Mawatha via Pradeepa Mawatha, Saddharma Mawatha, Jayantha Weerasekara Mawatha, Milton Perera Mawatha, and Jumma Masjid Junction around the Sangaraja roundabout.

Policemen and protesters injured during SJB protest

 By YOHAN PERERA

---

Colombo, Jan. 30 (Daily Mirror)- Police Spokesman Nihal Thalduwa today confirmed that few policemen were injured in today’s protest while Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) also said some of its partymen were also injured and hospitalized.

There were some policemen injured in the commotion but I am still to receive a report in protest,” Mr. Thalduwa said.

SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara said around five party supporters including former MP Mujibur Rahaman was injured and hospitalized. However sources at the Accident Ward of the Colombo National Hospital said no politician was admitted to the hospital.

• Hot News
• Biz
• Sports
• Entertainment
• Tech
• Videos
• Archive
• Contact us
• About us

• TV
• FM
• Cinema
• Pulse

Former MP Mujibur Rahman hospitalised during SJB protest

Courtesy Adaderana

Former Parliamentarian Mujibur Rahman was reportedly rushed to the Colombo National Hospital after falling ill during the protest march staged by the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) this afternoon (30 Jan.).

SJB MP Harsha de Silva stated that Rahman has been rushed to the Emergency Unit of the hospital.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), MP de Silva stated that Rahman had suffered breathing difficulties caused by strong tear gas attack”.

Earlier today, the SJB held a protest march against the conduct of the government, with the participation of Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and other leaders and allies of the political party.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Colombo, Jan 30 (Daily Mirror) – An air ambulance service between the Maldives and the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) will start on March 1 this year as part of Phase I of the programme, Ports, Shipping and Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said.

The announcement was made following a special meeting between the Maldives Transport and Aviation Services Minister Capt. Mohamed Ameen and Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva at the Ministry office today with the aim of initiating an air ambulance service between the two countries.

The service will enable Maldivian citizens to arrive promptly in Sri Lanka for urgent medical treatment in cases of accidents, illnesses and other health emergencies. Previously, Maldivian citizens were transported to India for emergency medical care.

“However, considering the quality of emergency treatment in Sri Lanka, the Maldivian government has decided to direct such patients to Sri Lankan hospitals in the future,” the Maldivian Transport and Aviation Services Minister said.

The Minister has granted all necessary approvals to the airport officials and the Civil Aviation Authority for this and instructed the Ministry Secretary, K.D.S. Ruwanchandra, to establish a dedicated unit at the airport and ensure that it is equipped with all essential facilities

Courtesy Adaderana

The police have fired tear gas and used water cannons to disperse the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) protesters in Colombo this afternoon (Jan.30).

Joined by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, SJB MPs and supporters, it was organized by the main opposition in protest of the conduct of the government.

Earlier today, three court orders were issued ahead of the SJB’s protest march, barring the demonstrators from entering certain locations in Colombo including the Finance Ministry, the Presidential Secretariat, the President’s House and Galle Face Green.

They are also banned from causing inconveniences to motorists and pedestrians travelling along Dean’s Road, Lipton Roundabout, Maradana Junction, T.B. Jayah Mawatha, Olcott Mawatha, the Technical Junction and other areas in Colombo this evening.

A court order further read that the protesters are, however, allowed to use the P.D. Sirisena Ground and Hyde Park to stage their demonstration.

Courtesy Adaderana

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the world’s largest charitable foundations, has agreed to establish a Program Support Unit to support the Office of the President of Sri Lanka.

Accordingly, Global Health Strategies, an international organization established by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and its local partner Connect to Care Organization, have agreed to establish a Program Support Unit to support the President’s Office in relation to these programs and to act as partners providing active contributions to the Government of Sri Lanka. 

As such, an Executive Committee consisting of senior officials will be appointed to ensure proper coordination for the proper implementation of the various programs being implemented by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. 

Upon consideration of the matters presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe regarding the policy support proposed to be provided by the Foundation to the Presidential Secretariat, the Cabinet of Ministers on Monday (29 Jan.) approved for the necessary measures to be taken in this regard.

The Office of the President plays an important role in the ongoing reform programs by providing guidance on policy issues and monitoring government programs, the statement said. 

For this purpose, the President’s Office maintains coordination with a number of multi-stakeholder organizations such as International Monetary Fund’s Comprehensive Funding Facility, World Bank’s Development Policy Operational Program, Asian Development Bank’s Policy Assistance Programs, etc. and interacts with various public and private sector stakeholders, it said.

by Wimal Patabandige – Academician, Lawyer, Retired Solicitor translated by Shenali D Waduge

There is no difference in not knowing one’s mother tongue or history or choosing to forget one’s history or ridiculing one’s heritage & not wishing to know one’s parents & their ancestor’s history & heritage. So says, Wimal Patabandige. This aptly fits the cap to a rising number of youth & adults who shy from even speaking in their mother tongue.  History was dropped from the school syllabus in 1965. The students who studied Ceylon history, Indian history and European history as three broad subjects, from then on had one subject called Ceylon history and Indian history or Ceylon history and European history. After 1970, history became plugged into social studies”. From the time, Sri Lanka’s politicians began to declare ‘can we eat history’, the country’s history began to be eaten! 

The plan to create a separate state based on communal divide has been happening since 1948. Both North-East face claims for mono-ethnic territory. A fake history is being created because the citizens are unaware of the true history of the island & in particular the 2 provinces.

There is little doubt & historians too admit that there was no permanent Tamil settlement in the island before the 13th century when Tamil Dravidians arrived from South India to settle down in Sri Lanka. These facts are well known and taught by scholars & history professors.

Historical data reveals how & when Dravidian/Tamils settled in Eastern province. Students of history must examine historical facts & their opinions must be based on facts. If an opinion is not based on facts it is only a figment of one’s imagination. 

The facts needed are:

1.    Whether a permanent Tamil settlement existed  

2.    That the majority of the people living in the North East were ethnic Tamils. 

3.    That there was a Tamil polity which united these regions

4.    Whether Northern and Eastern provinces were united as a prominent Tamil land as some are trying to project  - did such a situation exist since the 13th century.

Since no specific area is named, first we have to identify what is the "area very close to the north".

The Northern Province, was created in 1833 by including the Nuwarakalavia District of the Sinhalese Kingdom (present-day Anuradhapura District* and the present-day Mullaitivu District, which included a large portion of land belonging to the Kurundugamurata District between the eastern boundary of the Vanni District and the coastal boundary). An area that belonged to the Kurundugamuruta District in the North-East and the Tamankaduwa District (currently Polonnaru District*) were included in the Eastern Province.

Accordingly, the British created southern boundary of the northern province remained until 1873 and part of northern boundary of the present Matale District and the northern boundary of the Eastern Province.

Also, Tamankaduwa District (present-day Polonnaru District* belonged to the Eastern Province.

In 1873, Anuradhapura District (Nuwarakalavia*) was removed from the Northern Province and the boundaries were changed and the Northern Province was re-created.

Polonnaru District (Tamankaduwa*) was removed from the Eastern Province and Anuradhapura District (Nuwarakalavia*) was added to form the North Central Province.

After 1873, the southern boundary of the Northern Province became the southern boundary of the Vanni region. That is the northern limit of the North Central Province and the northern limit of the Eastern Province. What is important to note is that there was no such provincial division in the island before the British partition in 1833.

According to the provincial boundaries created by the British, it is not possible to conclude precisely what is the "area very close to the north" referred to as homeland”!

The idea given was about 5 centuries before the creation of the provinces, i.e. 13th century, "North" probably refered to the northern boundary of the Vanniyya adjacent to Yapapatuna (the Jaffna Peninsula* and Kilali Lagoon).

The British colonial rulers created the Northern and Eastern Provinces in 1873, though not "predominant", but at least the area between Yapapatuna (Jaffna Peninsula* southern border, the southern border of the Kilali Lagoon and the northern border of the present Eastern Province (Kurundugamurata) to have been connected as a common Dravidian region Permanent settlement of Dravidian/Tamil people in the district* and the southern border of the Eastern Province (up to Kumbuk Oya*).

Historical information and archaeological evidence relating to these areas from the beginning of the 13th century (1201-1300 AD*) will certainly reveal this.

The idea presented that the Dravidian/Tamil people left their homeland, the Dravidian land of South India, with the specific aim of settling permanently in the area which was a constant battlefield until the last few decades of the 13th century, cannot be one that has carefully considered the historical facts.

Since the 13th century, only the native Sinhalese Buddhists stood up against the foreign and foreign threats to this area. There is no mention of a section of Tamil people who stood up against the invaders.

There is plenty of archaeological evidence to confirm this area was under control of the Sinhalese during the Anuradhapura, Polonnaru, Dambadeni, Gampola, Seethawaka, Kotte and Sengkadagala kingdom era until 1815 and was the birthplace of traditional Sinhala Buddhists. The official records and reports of the British themselves admit to colonizing these areas with Tamils from South India. After the Sinhalese rebelled against the British in 1848, British Governor Torrington wrote just as the Malabar Dravidians were settled in Jaffna, they are ready to settle the Malabar Dravidians in the Eastern Province”.

Let it not be forgotten that the North-East territory and a large part of the South-East* territory was also the territory of the Eastern Province. (We cannot look at present demarcation to envisage the historical territory in the past) Eastern Province included a large area from the ancient Kurundugamurata District (a large area belonging to present-day Mullaitivu District*), the Tamankaduwa District (Pollonnaru District*) and the Kumbuk Oya (Kumbukkan Aru*) which included the ancient Digamadulla. This area including Mullaitivu area was under the control of the Sinhalese state before 1833.

The British colonialists created the provinces and administrative districts we currently use, not based on historical, geographical or sociological factors. 

This is why, it is essential to consider the land between Yapapatune (Jaffna Peninsula* southern boundary and the northern boundary of the present Eastern Province) which existed until 1833.

a small strip of land in the north-east  is connected to  the mainland of the southern border of the Jaffna Peninsula by the Kilali Lagoon. The area adjacent to the southern boundary is the Vanni area.

Mullaitivu District (Kurudugamurata District*), which is located in the north-eastern part of the island, was included in the Vanni area during the division of the provinces.

That area is adjacent to the Tirikunamala district of the Eastern Province. The terrain of this area. Prior to the year 1833, the nearest land between Yapapatuna (Jaffna Peninsula*) and the Eastern Province was the land belonging to Kurundugamurata District (Mulathivu District*). The historical information and archeological factors related to this idea should also be considered.

https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/08/08/උතුර-සහ-නැගෙනහිර-බැඳීම-1/ 

Part 1 – translated by Shenali D Waduge 

KAMALIKA PIERIS

Ven. Galgamuwe Santhabodhi, who was responsible for the revitalization of Kurundi vihara in Mullaitivu, has also successfully conserved another monastery, Sapumalgaskada at Vavuniya. Like Kurundi, Sapumalgaskada monastery was excavated and conserved, due to the efforts of Ven. Santhabodhi.

Sapumalgaskada archaeological site is situated in the Periyakattikulam forest reserve in Vavuniya District. Sapumalgaskada is the current name given to this site. The original name is unknown.  

Santhabodhi said that after Kurundi, I got known as a person trying to save our heritage. A group built around me who   informed me when they   heard that Buddhist ruins were getting destroyed.

in 2018, when I was at Welioya I got a message from an intelligence officer of the army, who was based in Nedunkerni that  Tamil leaders   based at Marathodi were planning to build a kovil at Sapumalgaskada and the paddy field adjacent was to be taken over by Tamils  . Santhabodhi was also told that new    Tamil villages were to be set up at Nedunkerni, using Tamils brought in from outside.

Santhabodhi recalled I went in search of Sapumalgaskada. I found it with difficulty, after walking for 4 kilometers.    The site was in dense forest. I saw at once that this was an important site and decided that this too should be conserved. I informed the Department of Archaeology that I was prepared to take up the work on Sapumalgaskada, they agreed and ‘I took over.’

Santhabodhi then decided to   move permanently to Sapumalgaskada. On January 1, 2018 he took up residence there, arriving with a sleeping sheet, mobile and a young helper.  They slept in the open air for the first few days as there was no shelter. There was no road to Sapumalgaskada. I made the road, Santhabodhi said.

Santhabodhi was supported in his task by the chief priest of Bogaswewa forest monastery, Ven.Tapowanaye Ariyakitthi. He also   received help from the villagers of Bogaswewa. Sapumalgaskada was 5 kilometers away from the Bogaswewa Sinhala village. It is also 5 km away on the other side, from a Tamil village.

Excavation started on January 1, 2019. Sapumalgaskada was the first stupa to be conserved in Vavuniya. Excavation and restoration was done by the Department of Archaeology with the help of the armed forces. Army provided the bricks and labor for the temples I renovated, said Santhabodhi. A brick making machine was donated and the clay from the nearby ancient wewa was used to manufacture the bricks.

A permit for the forest land area was given to the temple by the Department of Forest Conservation. Gazette of 16 August 2013 declared that the hillock covering the dagoba, the image house, bodhighara, pohoyage, boundary wall and the access road and the complex of ruins in Sapumalgaskada village in the Grama Niladhari Division of Wedivattukallu in Vavuniya North Divisional Secretary’s Division are protected monuments.

However, Santhabodhi recalled that he faced many obstacles in getting the project off the ground. He said that he had to go to Colombo seven, eight times to get something done.

The office at Nedunkerni delayed registering Sapumalgaskada as a Raja Maha vihara, for several months, giving various excuses.  Then Saman Bandusena was appointed as District Secretary, by President Gotabhaya. Bandusena gave the order to register Sapumalgaskada immediately. Santhabodhi recalled that the officer was waiting outside for Santhabodhi to arrive and immediately registered Sapumalgaskada monastery with the Department of Buddha Sasana. 

Sapumalgaskada   ruins were those of a Buddhist monastery belonging to the Anuradhapura period. The ruins are dated to 7^th AD.  It is in Pabbatarama style which was popular during the mid Anuradhapura era.  Archaeologists working at Sapumalgaskada said that there was evidence of metal manufacture and that the monastery has been the centre of a large settlement.

An Attani pillar of the 9-10 A.D was found on the site. The pillar carries a royal order prohibiting tax collectors, local administrators and village officials from entering the site. The inscription is badly worn and the names of the king and temple are not visible. But the existence of an attain pillar shows that this has been a temple of some importance.

The   monastic lay out was easily visible at Sapumalgaskada.  The stupa, pathimaghara , uposathaghara, and bodhighara were readily   indentified.  The stupa was an early one, with chatra, yupa gala and plain moon stone without ornamentation.

  A moat about 25 feet broad had  surrounded the main monastic area of stupa, Bodhighara, image house, and Pohoyageya.  This  moat also shows that  Sapumalgaskada was a temple of  some importance. Sapumalgaskada must have been one of the major temples of its time, in the area said analysts.

Four statues were found during excavation. A Samadhi Buddha statue, 6 ½  feet in height, two bodhisattva statues and one of  Tara. In most ancient Buddha statues, the siras pata is  missing. But In this case, the siras pata was found, broken in two, but complete when put together. The  Buddha statue has the  end of the robe falling in curly folds in front.

Archaeologists dated the Bodhisattva statues to approximately  8 century AD  Tara, a female Bodhisattva was popular in Sri Lanka during the mid to late Anuradhapura Period when the Mahayana influence was at its peak in Sri Lanka, said Ama  Vanniarachchy, writing on Sapumalgaskada .

The ruins extended to about 100 acres.  Kuti used by monks are found all over the forest, also pieces of pottery from cooking pots. There is a wewa  with a biskotuwa. The bund  was in the shape of  butterfly wings and on the map, this  location was named Chamalankulam. Chamalankulam means Samanala wewa .This is  yet another  example of the Tamilisation of Sinhala names.

There was an impressive pada yatra from Anuradhapura to Sapumalgaskada in July 2023 for the enshrining of relics. At a time when you cannot get even 30 monks together, nearly 100 monks attended this pada yatra in response to a small message.” said Santhabodhi.  

Buddhists lined the road to worship the relics.  Devotees provided water, pavada, gilanpasa at the site. We received over 1000 items to place in the relic chamber. We enshrined the relics and closed the dhatu chamber. The stupa was completed by October 2023.  https://youtu.be/WZBB8PGJ29Q and  https://youtu.be/P3qnHj4OdM4

Unlike Kurundi, Sapumalgaskada did not have a main sponsor.The work was funded by  donations from individuals and organizations, such as Civil Defence Force, Vavuniya. These monies were given to the Department of Archaeology    for   Sapumalgaskada

SPUR  from Australia gave  one million. Helabima Oganization  based in the Middle East  donated  another million  and a brick making machine . Mahaweli Authority helped with equipment. There was a limited amount of shramadana too.  A You Tube clip showed devotees forming a chain and passing   bricks to the stupa.

Santhabodhi is emphatic that he received no support from  the government . Santhabodhi had  requested the government to start the excavations. There was no response.  No help from the Yahapalana government at all, he said.  In September  2023  the 24 hour protection provided by the army had been reduced to protection at night. But staff in government offices had  been supportive.  They helped  secretly and  did not want their names mentioned.

Sapumalgaskada monastery did not receive the publicity that Kurundi received since it was not a contested site. But the Buddha statues found at Sapumalgaskada received much   publicity and through this the  public came to know of Sapumalgaskada.. Sapumalgaskada  created its own  website, and issued very informative videos. E.g. https://youtu.be/Y4CRQAMkxho.

You Tube  channels were used to advertise Sapumalgaskada . They were used to persuade  viewers to visit Sapumalgaskada. Directions to get to Sapumalgaskada were given in all  You Tube presentations, also phone number  and bank account. Pilgrims visiting Anuradhapura were asked to come to Sapumalgaskada on the same  journey.

Lankadeepa Online ran an interview where the interviewer praised the scenery as well as the  ruins  and invited devotees to come    to Sapumalgaskada . The You  Tube channel  24 Sri Lanka ” said this is  our heritage, come and see.

The  Anuruddha Ekanayake channel  featured a group who had come from Kuliyapitiya and Negombo, they told Santhabodhi  we have  looked around and observed the work done, please tell us about it. Then they asked, why are you  here. To show that this is our Buddhist civilization replied Santhabodhi . That can be done only through tangible evidence. What we can do to help, the visitors asked. Please visit regularly, said Santhabodhi . This is an unsafe place, if you visit  frequently, this place will become safe. Also please  help with shramadana  and money.

Tamil Separatist Movement opposed  Sapumalgaskada. In November 2020, media reported that TNA  politicians are protesting against the construction of a Buddhist temple at Sapumalgaskada. They claim that the area traditionally belongs to the Tamil people.

TNA’s T. Raviharan says that the area belongs to Tamil people traditionally and it was known as Kachchcalsamalankulam. Tamil people have been given paddy fields and they are cultivating them with water from the Kachchalsamalankulam tank. It is wrong for Buddhist monks to come there to construct a temple in an area which is predominantly Tamil. His party will raise objection in Parliament, he said.

 The chief incumbent of the temple had secured the help of the security forces to make bricks using clay from the shrub jungle area and trees were being felled in nearby jungle to fire the bricks, added  Raviharan.  

In reply,   bhikkhus said Sapumalgaskada area had been identified as a site of archaeological importance and there were ruins of Buddhist shrines, which were some thousands of years old and it was wrong to claim it was not a Buddhist site. The bhikkhus had only revived a temple inside the archaeological site.

Santhabodhi  said that  Tamil Separatist Movement came several times,  kada bindagena ava,  and said that they  have rights to  Sapumalgaskada .  We did not give in to them. We handled it carefully . I did not want this to go to courts like at Kurundi. I worked fast, and  completed  the work. I got the road done and Buddhists started to visit. Now the Tamil Separatists leave us alone.

Santhabodhi stated that he was active at Sapumalgaskada as he wanted to conserve the Buddhist ruins in Vavuniya and Mullaitivu to show that  there was   a Buddhist heritage there. This  area was once Buddhist. To show that, we must dig out the hidden Buddhist heritage. Once Sapumalgaskada is conserved, no one can say  that Vavuniya was not Buddhist.

Sapumalgaskada  must thereafter  become a living temple.  We must bring  Buddhism back to the north, continued Santhabodhi . We must re-introduce Buddhism. It is   ‘yatapath wela’ at the moment. He urged  Buddhists to work towards resuscitating Buddhism in north and east. We must move soon, without delay  in this matter . Buddhists are ready to help, but they need direction. We need a  national  strategy, concluded Santhabodhi .   (continued)

උපුටා ගැන්ම  හිරු පුවත්

පොලිස් නිලධාරියෙකුට පරුෂ වචනයෙන් බැනවැදී පොලිස් නිලධාරිනියකට පහරදීමේ චෝදනාව යටතේ කාන්තාවක් ගන්දර පොලිසිය විසින් අත්අඩංගුවට ගෙන තිබෙනවා.

අප කළ විමසීමකදී ගන්දර පොලිසිය සඳහන් කළේ මෙලෙස අත්අඩංගුවට ගෙන ඇත්තේ ඔස්ට්‍රේලියාවේ පදිංචිව සිටින ශ්‍රී ලාංකික කාන්තාවක් බවයි.

පොලිසිය සඳහන් කළ පරිදි මාතර, දෙවිනුවර ඔරලෝසු කනුව ආසන්නයේදී ත්‍රිරෝද රථයක ගමන්කරමින් සිටි පොලිස් නිලධාරීන් පිරිසක් සිය රථයේ ගමන්මගට බාධා කළ බව පවසමින් එම කාන්තාව ඇය ගමන්ගත් වාහනය නවතා පොලිස් නිලධාරියෙකුට පරුෂ වචනයෙන් බැනවැදී තිබෙනවා.

එහිදී අදාල නිලධාරියා විසින් කළ දැනුම්දීමකට අනුව ගන්දර පොලිස් ස්ථානය ආසන්නයේදී අදාළ කාන්තාව ගමන්කරමින් තිබූ සුඛෝපභෝගී ජීප් රථය පොලිස් නිලධාරීන් විසින් නවත්වාගෙන තිබෙනවා.

එහිදී ඇතිවූ බහින්බස් වීමක් අතරතුරදී අදාළ සැකකාර කාන්තාව විසින් පොලිස් නිලධාරිනියකගේ පපු ප්‍රදේශයට සිය වැළමිටෙන් සිදුකළ පහරදීමක් හේතුවෙන් අදාළ නිලධාරිනිය රෝහල්ගතකර තිබෙනවා.

ඉන් අනතුරුව ගන්දර පොලිසිය විසින් සැකකාර කාන්තාව අත්අඩංගුවට ගෙන අදාළ ජීප් රථය ද පොලිස් භාරයට ගෙන තිබෙනවා.

KAMALIKA PIERIS

New Buddhist temples were erected in the north, during the Eelam war and after. Admiral Daya Sandagiri, then Commander Northern naval area   built Dambakola Patuna Sangamitta Vihara   at Sambilturai, in Jaffna District. The foundation   was laid in 1997, work was completed in 2005.

Several temples were built in the north after 2009. Sri Raja Maha Vihara was built at Vadduvaakal Bridge, Mullaitivu. Nayaru Rajamaha Vihara was built by 19th Gemunu Watch Battalion opposite its military camp. 643 Brigade built a large vihara visible from the outside at its base at Oddusuddan. Mankulam Sri Sugatha Viharaya, a new Buddhist temple was built in Kilinochchi adjacent to a military camp In October 2013.   Kilinochchi Security Force Headquarters helped to construct it.

Tamil Separatist Movement has angrily added to this list. Buddha viharas are coming up at Omanthai, Semmadu, Kanakarayankulam, Kilinochchi, Mankulam, Paranthan and Pooneryn, they said in 2016.

There are nine Buddha Viharas being built in Mullaitivu district alone, these Buddhist viharas were constructed after the armed conflict ended. Mullaitivu District has witnessed the military’s construction of Buddhist structures on both state and private Tamil lands, said Adaalayam Centre  in 2017.

Tamil Separatist Movement strenuously opposed the construction of Buddhist temples in the north and east. Buddhist temples have sprung up all over the North where there are NO Buddhists, complained the Tamil Separatist Movement. They are built on state land and in many instances by the army.

Tamil Peoples’ Council, headed by Northern Province Chief Minister C.V.Wigneswaran said, in 2016    that Buddha viharas are sprouting like mushrooms in areas where there are no Buddhists. The British Tamil Forum launched in 2017, a book titled Proliferation of Buddhist structures in Tamil Homeland-sowing the seeds of disharmony.”

There were 131 sites of Buddhist religious worship in the North, of which 67 were in Mullaitivu said P. Raviharan in 2018. . These were ‘unlawful’ as there were no Sinhalese living in those areas. They must be removed immediately.  

There is a tug of war going on in the north between the Buddhist and non-Buddhists regarding the new Buddhist temples built in the north. Buddhist temples in the north and east are facing   formidable opposition from the Tamil Separatist Movement. Neither side is prepared to give in.

Boralukanda Rajamaha Viharaya is located at Illuppaikulam, Trincomalee. Ancient artifacts had been found there and the chief priest had obtained permission from the Department of Buddhist Affairs to develop the site. 27 perches of land has been requested for Boralukanda Rajamaha Vihara to develop it as a sacred area.

There was Tamil opposition to this temple.  TNA leader Sampanthan wrote to President Ranil Wickremesinghe in September 2023 regarding Boralukanda.  He said that building a temple in a region where 99% of the residents are Tamil has led to unrest amongst people of the area and this could lead to undesirable consequences and unpleasant developments. In 2015, efforts were made to change the extent of land   held by the vihara, by ordering a fresh survey of the area.

Eastern Province Governor Sendhil Thondaman issued an order on August 26 2023 to Viharadhikari of Boralukanda Vihara, Ven. Sukhitha Wansatissa, to halt the construction and clearing activities going on at the temple.  He had received a phone call from a Trincomalee District MP to do so. Buddha Sasana Minister squashed the order. He said that the government did not accept the order and that the Chief priest can move back to the temple.

A group of Buddhist monks reacted strongly to the order. They marched to the District Secretariat, Trincomalee on August 28^th. They told the police, we will lie on the road if we cannot meet the Secretary and then actually lay down on the road.  We have come to meet the governor, not to kill him, they said. This was shown on television news on 28.8.23 .

They waited for two hours till the DCC meeting ended. Then they forcibly entered the meeting hall. Buddhists    on the platform stood up. Ven. Wansatissa confronted the Secretary, and said, wagging a finger, this can go far, one monk is getting ready set himself on fire. He demanded that the order be withdrawn, declared that they will not leave till then and sat down firmly on the edge of the platform, to the delight of those  inside the hall.This  also was shown on evening televisions news.

The District Secretary withdrew the order. The bhikkhus then went outside and announced that they had won. DCC meeting  ekak navathawela thamai me livuma gatthe, they said.  They read the letter out to the television  camera..

But the Tamil protests against Boralukanda continued. A protest was held in Iluppaikulam, in the same month, condemning the construction of a new Buddhist temple at Boralukanda in an area predominantly inhabited by Tamil people. The protestors wanted to know the necessity and purpose of building a Buddhist temple in a locality where there are no Sinhalese residents. This construction will spark tensions among the various communities residing in the area, they said.

 Nilaveli Police submitted a petition to the Nilaveli Magistrate court, and court issued an injunction against 14 individuals, banning them from protesting near Boralukanda Buddhist temple in Illuppaikulam. Among those barred from protesting were R. Jerome and R. Nichols from Tamil Parvai described as a ‘fundamentalist civil organization’. Krishnapillai Prasad of the Tamil People’s National Front (TNPF) Youth Wing, MPs Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, Selvaraja Gajendran, and Rasamanickam Shanakiyan, as well as former Kuchchiveli Divisional Secretariat Ponniah Waithiyalingam were also named in the injunction as those banned from protesting against the Buddhist temple.

This group  then  relocated from Sambaltivu Bridge to the opposite side of the road, and continued to demonstrate. They said that 540 families, comprising 2,202 Tamils resided in Iluppaikulam and surrounding villages of Periyakulam, Aththimotai, Sambaltivu, and Salli. None of these communities have Sinhalese residents. Why was a Buddhist temple being constructed there?  One poster said North east is  our homeland .Another poster said stop Sinhala Buddhistization immediately,”

There is a Tissa Maha Viharaya   in Kankesanthurai.  It is located in the Valikamam North Government Agent Division known as Thaiyiddi  South ,also known as Sinhala Kaladdi or Uluthan Kaladdi. In the 1940s two bhikkhus, Kalutara Sheeladharatissa  and Kalutara Pannanada  had visited the Jaffna peninsula in search of ruins of the ancient Tissa Viharaya, discovered the site and built a shelter there, said Amazing.lanka.com . [1]

Tissa vihara has a deed written in 1946’,said Daily News . Galagama Arachchige Abrahim Perera of Udahamulle, Nugegoda had donated 1.25 acres of the land  owned by him at  Kaladdi to Tissa temple on 18 December 1946. Ven. Brahmanawaththe Damma Kiththi   of Nagadeepa and  Ven. Kalutara Pandithaseela Dharmatissa  of Kankesanturai were named as the purchasers of the land as well as the trustees of the Tissa temple’, said Amazing.lanka.com.

This temple land has been clearly marked in both the English and the Tamil versions in the  revised 1959 Jaffna one inch map (1:63,360) published by the Survey Department, continued  Amazing.lanka.com.  According to this map the temple  owned an area of approximately 15 acres.

The last Wesak festival celebrated there was in 1954 said Daily News . The temple was damaged during the Eelam war  and the bhikkhus chased away. When Eelam war ended Ven.  Pathakada Wimalagnana , a student of Ven. Pannanada , tried to locateTissa Vihara.  He found that the Tissa Vihara established inside the Kankesanthurai Naval Base in 1973 was not  the site of the ancient Tissa Viharaya . The correct location was at Thaiyidd,. said Amazing.lanka.com

Ven. Wimalagnana met the Tellippalai Divisional Secretary and asked for the Sinhala Kalladi land mentioned in the maps, but was told that the land would be given only to those who submitted deeds. In 1958, due to the riots, Sinhalese living around the Tissa Vihara  had  left  Jaffna  andTamils ​​are been settled in these lands with fraudulent deeds. It was reported that the temple has now less than 1 acre of the land from the original 15 acres shown on the maps, said Amazing.lanka.com 

However some of the temple land was given back and the temple was rebuilt. Ven. Bintota Nandarama  was appointed as chief priest. Tissa Vihara  was placed under the protection of the   Army  Commander, Jaffna   and the army supported the temple. Tissa vihara was repaired in 2018 with plans to construct a sanghawasa and a dharmasala, said Daily News .  ‘Katina Pooja’ was held in 2019,after absence of nearly 67 years.

The construction of a new dagoba started in 2021. The stupa was designed by the Faculty of Architecture, University of Moratuwa.  The work was done with the assistance of Jaffna Security Force HQ, Navy, Air Force and  Police.  The  corner-stone laying ceremony was in January 2021.

Relics were enshrined by General Shavendra Silva, Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army in the presence of  members of Tissa Temple Development Foundation, members of the armed forces, devotees and  invitees.

Tamil Separatist Movement protested. Protesters in Thaiyiddy,  have been demonstrating continuously since May 3rd,2023 calling for the removal of the Tissa Rajamaha Vihara temple, reported Tamil Guardian. The demonstrators are demanding that the temple be removed and the land surrounding the temple be returned to the 14 families who own it.

MPs M.A. Sumanthiran, S. Sritharan, T. Sitharthan, and Angajan Ramanathan joined the protest in front of the temple  They said that the temple has been constructed without permission, illegally  on occupied land. Sumanthiran  condemned the actions of Sri Lanka’s security force in protecting the Buddhist vihara which was erected without permission and encroached on the land of locals.

Many locals have joined the protest despite the continued intimidation by the Police and the Military personnel  said Tamil Guardian. protesters marched to the temple’s entrance, and  five people, including one woman, were arrested by the Palaly Police. Since then, the police have erected barricades around the temple, preventing the public from entering the area. ( CONTINUED)

---

[1] https://amazinglanka.com/wp/thissa-maha-viharaya/

e-Con e-News

blog: eesrilanka.wordpress.com

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

e-Con e-News 21-27 January 2024

‘The similarities between Haiti & Sri Lanka are phenomenal’, notes national scribe Shenali Waduge. One such parallel is the plan to destroy rice production and make the country dependent on food imports. How has this come to pass in this our famed ‘Granary of the East’, and ‘Mediatrix’ – central node for over 2,500 years in the global naval traffic of this ocean (which we now hesitate to name as Indian, see ee Quotes)? The US, French & Canadian kidnapping of Haiti’s President, then the driving away of a Sri Lanka President who received the largest electoral mandate in history… is a tale that bears pondering over & over, even as it shapeshifts (see ee Focus, Will IMF/WB ruin rice production in Sri Lanka as it did in Haiti?)

• ‘If the country was turned into one giant tourist hotel, we would not need universities anymore,’ declared SBD de Silva. Tourism is yet another ‘rentier’ (making money off unproductive assets) game, that does not demand any new technological skills, but only making beds & serving tea, and trying to rip off the world’s greatest rip-off artistes – white people – who know well the real game in tourism. All the inputs are imported (airplanes, buses, furniture, utensils, equipment), most of the profits are ‘retained’ abroad, and all we really sell is the ‘scenery’ – a view! ee continues reproducing the Communist Party’s Way Forward program, this time on ‘Tourism’, pointing to its control by yet another mafia – ‘an oligopoly of the largest resort owners’. However, if anyone can give any proof of any country, town or village, dependent on tourism, able to ‘advance’ to modernity, while not being destroyed by drugs & prostitution, please do tell us, pronto! Meanwhile, the latest scam to ‘balance payments’ or import & export bills, has an expert suggesting we could depend on the escalating wars in Europe for more tourists with their persnickety foreign exchanges!

     And another classic story from this week, is the plan to privatize Peru’s Wonder of the World – Machu Picchu, about whose ‘heights’ Pablo Neruda once sang: ‘I scaled the ladder of the earth…/ up to you, Macchu Picchu, High citadel of terraced stones…’ This week also saw lost-Korean yankee-collaborator Julie Chung scale ‘Adam’s Peak’: ‘appreciating… interfaith reverence at the summit’. Peru, too, saw the US threaten to murder, then jailed their popularly elected president. If English fools can call Sri Padha, ‘Adam’s Peak’, ee was wondering if we could rename Canterbury Cathedral, or Jerusalem or Mecca, with Sinhala names, and get them to repeat it? So, so, so, any bets on a Greenpeace Debt-for-Nature-Swap for Samanalakanda?

• 2022 saw ‘independent’ Sri Lanka’s first successful coup d’état. Will it continue its ‘successes’ for the next 75 years, let alone 6 months? Like a stunted ‘independence’ was ‘successful’ for the last 75?  1948 did not see any Englishmen (or women) & their collaborators put on criminal trial, but they were instead welcomed to continue their domination through their colonial import-export economy. So was 1948 a coup too to install the USA as the latest colonial power in Sri Lanka? The intermittent mass murder is perhaps another testimony to its ‘success’? The next few months takes aim to tell us where this 2022 coup is going. This coup has had no (in 1962, mostly Christian & Tamil) military & police officials, leading the charge of the lite brigade, this time. They were told to ‘hold their horses’, for the moment.

‘War? No, not war but something more tremendous than war… 

an absolute isolation…that brings a nation to its senses

 just as suffocation removes from the individual all inclinations to fight… 

Apply this economic, peaceful, silent, deadly remedy & there will be no need for force.’

– US President Woodrow Wilson, 1919

     So-called ‘soft power’ (not a new tactic, as Wilson reminds us) was allowed to take the stage at Galle Face. This week in Galle & Matara, under the abstract guise of an unscientific & a-technological ‘art’ (the German word for art is techno, but denying us our right to make technology is indeed THE art!), the 2022 coup takes one more probing dance-step, displaying their concern for ‘freedom of speech’ while bombing West Asia & East Africa to prevent Asia’s need for energy to fuel its modern industrialization. This ee Focus therefore looks at the romanticized link between ‘art’ & colonialism (see Yaka and the Bloody Bankers), and also on the ‘soft power’ of US foreign policy wonk Joseph Nye, who advocated Obama use cruise missiles on Syrian President Assad (see ee Economists, ‘The USA can [also] coerce by economic means’ )

     Again, South Africa has further lessons for us and the world. An heir to the Anglo Vaal mining empire built on stolen land in Africa, and owned by Zionist Jews, Rob Hersov, signals their own impending not-so-soft coup in South Africa. The whites are now even demanding a separate state in the Cape. Sri Lanka is intimately connected with this Cape, as King Rajasinghe II executed the father of the first Dutch settler there (after whom many a stolen South African landmark is named! (see ee Random Notes)

     Zionist Hersov recommends allying with the white countries, opposing South Africa’s links with Russia & China, and promoting the standard ‘color revolution’ playbook used in Sri Lanka and elsewhere, deploying ‘activists’, politicians, ‘civil society’, entertainers & influencers, and businessmen, bewailing ‘corruption’, lack of ‘rule of law’ ‘human rights’, etc, while telling his allies to target 18-25-year-old Africans as voters, for they know little of South Africa’s history (see ee Sovereignty, Rob Hersov ‘Reserves a Special Place in Hell’). This week we also found out that Ghana’s textbooks have erased all mention of Kwame Nkrumah (see ee Sovereignty, The Most Dangerous African). So, was the temporary accession to Mandela, yet another staged ‘revolution of color’? (see ee Quotes, Zionists in the ANC)

*

• Imperialism’s strategy in Sri Lanka becomes eminently clearer every day, not just in a new London Financial Times interview (see ee Focus, ), as the US & their neutered European pitbulls escalate terror in West Asia. And while bombing Palestine to smithereens (talk about, 10,000 children in 100 days! Save-the-Children indeed!), the US & England are happily funding ‘freedom’ at art festivals in Galle & Matara, etc.

     And since we cannot eat this art, we must not forget that real food is the cash of cash! This week’s media-diversion about the Online Safety Bill (ironically led by the US’ Facebook, Google, etc, calling themselves the Asia Internet Coalition!) like December’s media-amplified opposition to VAT, diverted from even greater issues, such as the wholesale selloff of the country’s national assets, and more particularly, the destruction of local rice production, by making cultivator access to its main inputs unaffordable: water, seeds, fertilizer, pesticide etc & fuel. US thinktank Advocata, as pointed out, will then declare it cheaper to import rice, ‘freedom-fries’ & other ‘sophisticated’ GM foods, given such US-IMF policies! (see ee Focus, Rice)

     Imperialism’s sabotage of health & education (led by the US’ World Bank) accompanies the overall attack on Sri Lanka’s economy, especially agriculture & industry (led by the US’ IMF) and just as importantly, on its sovereignty.

     This week it was revealed, not very widely, that the fake medicine scam is linked to the accelerated demands of the ‘Indian Credit Line (ICL)’. The revelation does not add that such ‘credit lines’ come sotto-sotto with commands about which foreign companies to buy from. This week also saw further undermining of the health system by allowing hospitals to buy their own drugs & equipment! Such moves are all part of the attack to divide Sri Lanka, and at its root lies the subversion of central state power. We will now be subject to the ‘Western Despotism’ of their multinational corporations (MNCs). Tamil Eelam in the north, and Muslim Arabistan in the east, are the default threats (see ee Quotes).

*

‘The international order is dying in Gaza’

– Mohamed ElBaradei, International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA Director General Emeritus

(who received 2005 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with International Atomic Energy Agency)

*

• Note this nuclear Nobel man’s English – ‘is dying’, since he can’t tell us that it’s the white man led by the US that is killing it! The English media in Sri Lanka (it’s by no means a ‘Sri Lankan media’) obliges the US in their ‘hard power’ wars, by claiming it’s somehow the West Asians who are creating trouble in the Red Sea, when by international law of the oceans & seas (which the US claims to uphold, unlike many other international laws & courts like the ICJ and ICC, it refuses to join), it is up to the neighbouring countries to decide such ‘freedom’.

     Recall that the US Marines (with their high-leather collars to protect their necks from scimitars!)  were first set up to wage war on North Africa to ensure the US’ illegal trafficking of opium from Turkey via the Mediterranean – we can say the US was only exercising their armed right to ‘free&open trade’ by ‘competing’ with what was to became their older English brother’s most-lucrative ‘commerce’ 19^th century – in opium, after their horrific 16-19^th trade in chattel slavery.

*

‘• English as a Covert language – the use of the passive voice & infinitive, continue to dominate headlines. Not just dominate but extend their influence. Palestine comes to mind. From the President to his family’s newspapers, they all avoid naming the USA & England & Europe (in shorthand, the whites & their kneegrows) for organizing the horror in West Asia, from Yemen to Palestine. Whereas every story about the Houthis or Hezbollah never forgets to adjective it with ‘Iran-backed’, while US-bankrolled-&-armed Israel never get such modifiers. The infinitively tiny word, ‘to’ – gets to headline grand intentions and promises never fulfilled – from the US-backed World Bank, etc., to run-of-the-mill politicians. ‘To independence’ (meaning, to postpone) – is yet to make it as a verb, even as the noun ‘disappear’ was promoted as a verb during those brief postcolonial moments post-1973 – ‘to disappear’.

Contents:

A1. Reader Comments –

Haiti’s Lethal Lessons for Sri Lanka & the World

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා මේ බව සඳහන් කළේ  ආහාර සුරක්ෂිතතාවය හා පෝෂණය සහතික කිරීම සඳහා  ග්‍රාමීය ආර්ථික පුනර්ජීවන කේන්ද්‍ර සවිබල ගැන්වීමේ බහු ආංශික ඒකාබද්ධ යාන්ත්‍රණය, ‟අලුත් ගමක් – අලුත් රටක්″ ජාතික ඒකාබද්ධ සංවර්ධන වැඩසටහන, පොළොන්නරුව දිස්ත්‍රික් ප්‍රගති සමාලෝචන රැස්වීම පොළොන්නරුව දිස්ත්‍රික් ලේකම් කාර්යාලීය ශ්‍රවණාගාරයේදී අද (2024.01.29) පැවති අවස්ථාවේදීය.

එහිදී අදහස් දැක් වූ අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා –

අපි දැවැන්ත විශ්වාසයකින් රට ගොඩගත්තා. කවුරු මොනවා කිව්වත් ඔබ ඒ විශ්වාසය තැබූවා.  අපි වැටුණු බරපතළ පසුබෑමෙන් අද රට හිස ඔසවා තිබෙනවා. ලෝකයේ රටවල් අපිත් එක්ක ගණුදෙනු නැවැත්වූවා. බැංකු පද්ධතිය ගණුදෙනු නැවැත්වුවා. අමාරු අවස්ථාවල යළි විශ්වාසය දිනාගෙන ඒ අවස්ථා සමඟ ගණුදෙනු කරමින් රට පුළුල් තත්ත්වයකට, යහපත් තත්ත්වයකට ගෙනාවා. පුංචි පුංචි ගැටළු තිබුණාට අපි ප්‍රධාන වැටීමෙන් රට ගොඩ ගත්තා.

රජයේ සේවකයන්ගේ විශ්වාසය මතක් කරන්න ඕනේ. ඔබ උගත් බුද්ධිමත් තොරතුරු දන්න පිරිසක්.  ග්‍රීසියට මොකද වුණේ. ආර්ථික පසුබෑමට ලක්වුණා. රජයේ සේවකයින් අඩු කළා. අපි එහෙම කළේ නැහැ.  අපි  විශ්‍රාම වැටුප්  ගෙවීම් කළා. කිසිම දවසක වැටුප නැවැත්වූවේ නැහැ.

රටේ නිෂ්පාදනය වැඩි කරලා අතිරික්තයක් උපයන්න තරම්  ගොවීන් අපට විශාල ශක්තියක් වුණා.  මේ රට, ඒ වගේම ලෝකය අපිව විශ්වාස කළා. ඒ විශ්වාසය මත  රටට ගොඩ යන්න පුළුවන් කියලා අද අපි දන්නවා. අපි ඒ දුෂ්කර කාලය පසු කරල ඔබේ ජනතාවට දරුවන්ට අනාගතය සකස් කළා. දේශපාලන මතභේද වාදයට පමණක් සීමා කළ යුතුයි. අපි ක්‍රියාත්මක කරන සංවර්ධන වැඩසටහන් ඉලක්ක ගත වැඩපිළිවෙළ  ඉටු කිරීමට රාජ්‍ය නිලධාරියාට වගකීමක් යුතුකමක් තිබෙනවා.

ඒ නිසා රාජ්‍ය සේවකයින් විදියට විශාල හැකියාවක් වගකීමක්, යුතුකමක් තිබෙනවා. රාජ්‍ය සේවය දැනට කරගෙන යන සංවර්ධන ක්‍රියාවලියට සහ ඉදිරියේදී ඉලක්කගත සංවර්ධනයන් වලට දායක වෙන්න. මම සියලු දෙනාගෙන්ම ඉල්ලා සිටිනවා දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ දේශපාලන නායකත්වයට රාජ්‍ය සේවකයින්ගේ සහයෝගය ලබා දෙන්න කියලා.

රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය  සිරිපාල ගම්ලත් සහ පොළොන්නරුව දිස්ත්‍රික් සම්බන්ධීකරණ  කමිටු  සභාපති පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී ජගත් සමරවික්‍රම යන මහත්වරුන් මෙහිදී අදහස් දැක් වූ අතර උතුරු මැද පළාත් ආණ්ඩුකාර මහීපාල හේරත්, රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය ජානක වක්කුඹුර,  පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රීවරුන් වන, කීන්ස් නෙල්සන්, යදාමිණි ගුණවර්ධන, රාජ්‍ය පරිපාලන අමාත්‍යාංශ ලේකම් ප්‍රදීප් යසරත්න,  පොළොන්නරුව දිස්ත්‍රික් ලේකම් සුජන්ත ඒකනායක ඇතුළු ප්‍රාදේශීය ලේකම්වරු සහ නිලධාරීන් මෙම අවස්ථාවට සහභාගී වූහ.

Ven. Ampitiye Sumanarathana Thero

චානක බණ්ඩාරගේ

අද දකුණේ සෑම දේශපාලන වේදිකාවකම පාහේ පක්ෂ නායකයෝ ජනතාවට කියන්නේ ‘ශ්‍රී ලාංකික වෙන්න, ජාතිය, ජන්මය, ආගම, ඉතිහාසය අදාළ නොවේ’ යන්නයි.

නමුත්, උතුරට  සහ නැගෙනහිරට ගොස් ඔවුහු මේ දේශනාව නොකරත්.

පැරණි සිංහල බෞද්ධ ශිෂ්ටාචාරයේ නටඹුන් වැඩිපුරම ඇත්තේ උතුරේ, නැගෙනහිර,  උතුරු මැද සහ වයභ පළාත්වලයි. එවැනි තත්ත්වයක් යටතේයි JR 1987 ඉන්දු – ලංකා ගිවුසුමේ සඳහන් කළේ උතුර සහ නැගෙනහිර වනාහි පාරම්පරික ද්‍රවිඩ වාස භුමි බව. වාසනාවකට මේ බොරුව ඔහු 1987 ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ 13වෙනි සංශෝධනයට අඩංගු නොකළේය.

මෑතක ප්‍රබල ජවිපෙ දේශපාලන නායකයෙක් (ද්‍රවිඩ) සිංහල සමාජ ජාලා මාධ්‍යකට කීවේ උප්පැන්න සහතිකයේ ජාතිය ලෙස සැවෝටම ශ්‍රී ලාංකික යනුවෙන් සඳහන් කිරීම ප්‍රමාණවත් බව වැන්නකි (සිංහල/දෙමළ/ මුස්ලිම්/බර්ගර්, බුද්ධාගම/හින්දු/ ඉස්ලාම්/ක්‍රිස්තියානි  ආදිය අත්හැර). මේ පුද්ගලයාම වැඩි දුරටත් කීවේ එහෙත් කඳුරට ද්‍රවිඩයනගේ අනන්‍යතාවය සහ අයිතිවාසිකම් සුරැකිය යුතු බවයි, ඒ සඳහා සටන් කළ යුතු බවයි.

මොවුන්ගේ දර්ශනයේ සාධාරණයක් තිබේද?

මොවුන් මේ එන්නේ කුමකටද?

උප්පැන්න සහතිකයේ ජාතිය, ආගම ඉවත් කිරීමෙන් මේ අයට අවශ්‍ය වන්නේ තමන් කවුරුදැයි  නොදන්නා ඉදිරි පුරවැසියන් බිහි කිරීමයි.

සිංහල බෞද්ධ යන වචන 2ට බොහෝ අය අකමැති සහ ඊර්ශ්‍යා කරන බව අප පිළිගත යුතු සත්‍යයකි.

මේවා දැන් තහනම් වචන වීද?

මේ රටේ සිංහල ජාතියේ සංඛ්‍යාව සීග්‍රයෙන් අඩුවෙමින් පවතින නිසා ඒ බව අසුවේය යන කරුණ නිසාත් ඔවුන් මේ ඉල්ලීම කරණවා විය හැක.

සිංහලයෝ තවම සිතන්නේ ඔවුන් මේ රටේ ජනගහනයෙන් 70% – 75% බවයි. ජන විකාශන සංඛ්‍යාලේඛන පෙන්වන්නේ සිංහලයාට අවාසි සහගත වෙනස් වූ චිත්‍රයකි. මෙම ලියුම්කරුගේ මතය නම් මේ රටේ අද සිංහලයන් ගණන (බෞද්ධ + ක්‍රිස්තියානි) 65% පමණ සීමාවේ විය යුතු බවයි. මේ උපකල්පනයට පැමිණෙන්නේ මෙහි සිටින දෙමළ (20%), මුස්ලිම් (13%), ඉතිරි 2% –  මැලේ/බර්ගර්, විශාල චීන./ඉන්දියන්/රුසියන්/වෙනත්  ජනගහන ගැන සිතා බලාය.

ඔවුන්ගේ තර්කය සාක්ෂාත් කර ගැනීම සඳහා ජවිපෙ වැනි සහෝදරයන් පවසනුයේ ඇමරිකාව, ඕස්ත්‍රේලියාව, කැනඩාව වැනි දියුණු රටවලට විවිධ රටවලින් ජනයා පැමිණ ජීවත්වෙන බවත් (උදා: ශ්‍රී ලාංකිකයන්, ඉන්දියානුවන්, ඉතාලියන්) ඒ අයගේ ජාතිය/ආගම ගැන එම රටවල් කිසිසේත් උනන්දු නැති බවත්ය.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ තත්ත්වය එකී දියුණු රටවලට වඩා හාත්පසින්ම වෙනස්ය. මේ රට කඩා වෙන් කර ගැනීමට කණ්ඩායමක් දැඩිව මාන බලමින් සිටී. යුද්ධයෙන් පරාජය වුවත් ඔවුනගේ එම විෂම උවමනාව අදත් එලෙසින්ම පවතී. ඒ රටවල එවැනි රාජ්‍යාරක්ෂක තත්ත්වයක් නැත.

අනෙක, ඇමරිකාව, ඕස්ත්‍රේලියාව, කැනඩාව විවිධ රටවලින් එහි පැමිණෙන ජනයා ගැන උනන්දු නැති බව අපේ අය පැවසීම අතිශෝක්තියකි. විසා අයැදුම් පත් වලින් ඒ රටට පැමිණෙන සියළු දෙනා ගැන සියළු දත්ත එම රටවල් ලබා ගනී. ඒවා ඔවුන් සාදා කල් ගබඩා කර තබා ගනිත්. තවද, වසර 5ට වරක් වාගේ එම රටවල මහා ජන/නිවාස සංගණනයක් පැවැත්වේ. ඒවාට එම රටවල ජීවත්වන සෑම පුද්ගලයෙක්ම සහභාගී වීම අනිවාර්යයයි. එම සංගණනයන් මඟින් රටේ ජීවත්වන සෑම පුද්ගලයෙකුගේම තනි පෞද්ගලික විස්තර පමණක් නොව ඔවුනගේ දෙමව්පියන්, මුත්තන්, කිරිකිත්තන්ගේ විස්තරද අසා දැනගෙන ඒවා ප්‍රවේශමෙන් ගබඩා කර තබාගනු ලැබේ.

කළින් සඳහන් කලාක් මෙන්, සියළු දේශපාලන පක්ෂ මේ දේශනාව කරන්නේ දකුණේ සිංහලයාටය.  

සෑම ජාතියක්ම (සිංහල, දෙමළ, මුස්ලිම්) එක ලෙසින් එම ‘ශ්‍රී ලාංකික’ අනන්‍යතාව වැළඳ ගන්නේ නම් කමක් නැත. නමුත් රජයන්හි සංහිඳියා යාන්ත්‍රණය යටතේ එවැන්නක් සිදු වූයේ නැත.

පසුගිය වසර 30 මුළුල්ලේ දකුණේ සිංහලයෝ සිය සිංහල බෞද්ධකම දෙවනුවට මෙන් තබා මෙම නව ‘ශ්‍රී ලාංකික’ අනන්‍යතාව ඉමහත් භක්ත්‍යාධරයෙන් වැළඳ ගත්හ.

සංහිඳියාව යටතේ මහ ජාතිය වූ සිංහලයෝ තම සිංහල බෞද්ධ සංස්කෘතිය වර්ධනය කරනවා වෙනුවට ‘ශ්‍රී ලාංකික’ සංස්කෘතිය (‘ශ්‍රී ලාංකික’ අනන්‍යතාව) ප්‍රගුණ කිරීම වෙනුවෙන් ඇප කැපව වැඩ කළහ.

බොහෝ දෙනෙක් දෙමළ ඉගෙන ගත්හ. කෝවිල් ගියහ, දෙමළ චිත්‍රපටි, සින්දු රස විඳින්නට වඩාත් යොමු වූහ. දෙමළ ක්‍රමයට ඇඳුම් (සරම්, සාරි, කලිසම්, පොට්ටු, කරාබු) ඇන්ඳහ/පැලඳූහ, දෙමළ/මුස්ලිම් කෑම සෑදීමට/අනුභවයට, දෙමළ නෘත්‍යයන් ඉගෙනුමට වඩාත් යොමු වූහ (දෙමළ නෘත්‍යය/ගායනා ඉගෙන ගැනීම යනු සිංහල නෘත්‍යය/ගායනා ඉගෙනුමට ඇති කාලය අවහිර කර ගැනීමයි).

දෙමළ/ මුස්ලිම් අය තම සමීප මිතුරන්/අසල්වැසියන් බවට පත් කර ගත්හ. තම විවාහ සහකරු/සහකාරිය ලෙස පෙර නොවූ විරූ ලෙස සිංහල නොවන ද්‍රවිඩ/ මුස්ලිම් අයව තෝරා ගත්හ.

කිසිදා දෙමළ චිත්‍රපටයක් නොබැලු සිංහලයෝ (ඔවුන් කළින් බැලුවේ ඉන්දීය හින්දි චිත්‍රපටය) 1995 මැද භාගයෙන් පසු සිංහල උප සිරැසි සහිත ඉන්දීය දෙමළ චිත්‍රපට දිවා ආහාරයෙන් පසු විවේකයේදී පමණක් නොව රාත්‍රී ආහාරයෙන් පසුවත් (peaktime) මුළු පවුලම සමඟ එක්ව රූපවාහිනී නාලිකාවල බැලුහ. අදත් බලති. මේවා බොහෝ විටම ඒ කාලයේ රට බෙදීමට සූක්ෂමව වැඩ කළාය යයි චෝදනා ලද, දෙමළ ආධිපත්‍යය ඇති පුද්ගලික රුපවාහිනි නාලිකාය. ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ වැඩිපුර ඇත්තේ මෙවැනි රූපවාහිනී (සහ FM රේඩියෝ) නාලිකාය.

අපට නුපුරුදු – නවා දන හිසට උස් කරගත් සරම් හැඳි තරුණයන්ගේ විදී නැටුම්, වර්ණවත් විවිධාකාර පොට්ටු පළදින පිරිමි සහ ගැහැණු, නාභිය පෙනෙන සේ සාරි ඇඳි කතුන්, මහ පාරවල කරන ත්‍රාසජනක/බිහිසුණු සටන්,  භායනක මිනීමැරුම් (මරා සූට්කේස් තුල දමා ගෙන යන මල කඳන් වැනි) මෙම චිත්‍රපට මඟින් අපට සාමාන්‍ය දේ ලෙස පෙන්වීය.  අදද ඒවා පෙන්වයි.

මේ චිත්‍රපට නිසා වෙනදා නොතිබූ තමිල්නාඩු සංස්කෘතියක් (එහි හොඳ සහ නරක), නොදැනුවත්ව, මේ රටේ ආරෝපණය විය. ඒ සංස්කෘතියට අප යොමු වීමු, ක්‍රමයෙන් අපේම කර ගතිමු.

අද සිංහලයෝ හින්දි චිත්‍රපට නළුවනට වඩා දෙමළ චිත්‍රපට නළුවෝ සිය වීරයන් කරගෙන සිටිත්.

මේ දේවල් විවේචනය කරනවා නොවේ.

මේවා පිළිබඳව කථිකාවක් අවශ්‍යය.

ජාතික සමගිය වර්ධනය කරන දේ රජයන් කිරීම හොඳය. නමුත්, රජයේ සංහිඳියා ක්‍රියාදාමය දෙපැත්තටම ක්‍රියාත්මක විය යුතුයි.  සිදු වුයේ බොහෝ දුරට සිංහලයන්ට පමණක් වෙනස් වෙන්න යයි කීමය. මෙය අසාධාරණය.

සියළු කුණු බේරුවල් බොක්කට කීවාක් මෙන් සිංහලයන් පමණක් වැරදිය, ඔවුන්ය පමණි ජාතිවාදීන් වුයේ යන හංවඩු ගැසීමක් මේ ක්‍රියාදාමයේදී සිදු විය. උසස් පෙළ දේශපාලන විද්‍යාව හදාරන පාසැල් දරුවන්ගේ විෂය නිර්දේශ තුලින් ඔවුනට මෙවැනි ඉගැන්වීම් කාවැද්දීමට උත්සාහ දරා තිබේ.   

ජාත්‍යාන්තරය සහ NGO මුල්‍ය සහ වෙනත් ආධාර දුන්නේ සිංහලයා වෙනස් කරන වැඩසටහන් මුල් කරගෙනය.

ප්‍රධානතම කරුණ නම් රජයේ පූර්ණ අනුබලය සහ මුල්‍ය දායකත්වය යටතේ, දකුණේ සිංහලයෝ ද්‍රවිඩ/මුස්ලිම් සංස්කෘතින් හා සමීප වීමට උත්සාහ කරද්දී,  උතුරේ හා නැගෙනහිර අය (දෙමළ, මුස්ලිම් – විශේෂයෙන්ම උතුරේ දෙමළ) සිංහල කථා කිරීම, බෞද්ධාගම, සිංහල සිරිත් විරිත් ඉගෙනුම ගැන සුවිශේෂ උනන්දුවක් නොදැක්වීමයි. මේ ප්‍රදේශවල සංහිඳියා ක්‍රියාදාමය ප්‍රචලිත කිරීමට රජයන් දැක්වුයේ උකටලී භාවයකි.

උතුරේ සහ නැගෙනහිර රුපවාහිනි චැනල් වල දෙමළ උප සිරැසි සහිත සිංහල චිත්‍රපට පෙන්වූවාද? දකුණේ පාසැල් සිසුන්ට දෙමළ භාෂාව ඉගැන්වීම, ඔවුන් වෙත දෙමළ සංස්කෘතිය ආරෝපණය කිරීම සඳහා රජයන්/NGO විසින් කල වැඩ උතුරේ සහ නැගෙනහිර පාසැල් සිසුන්ට සිංහල භාෂාව ඉගැන්වීම, සිංහල සංස්කෘතිය ආරෝපණය කිරීම සඳහා සිදු කලාද?  මෙයට උත්තරය නැත යන්නයි.

දෙමළ කථා කරන සුළු ජාතීන් – උතුරු නැගෙනහිර වෙසෙන ද්‍රවිඩ, මුස්ලිම් (වැඩියෙන්ම උතුරේ දෙමළ) ‘ශ්‍රී ලාංකික’ අනන්‍යතාව ප්‍රගුණ කිරීම/වැළඳ ගැනීමට වඩා ඔවුන්ටම ආවේණික වූ ජාතිකත්වය තවත් වර්ධනය කිරීමට අවධානය යොමු කළහ. එය වඩා වැදගත්ව සලකා ඒ අනුව ඔවුහු කටයුතු කළහ. නිදහස් දිනය දා ජාතික කොඩිය ප්‍රදර්ශනය කිරීම කෙසේ වෙතත් නොවැම්බර් 26 වෙනිදා මහාවීර දිනය කෙසේ හෝ සැමරීමට ඔවුහු යුහුසුළු වූහ. ද්‍රවිඩ බෙදුම්වාදීන් සිය ඊළාම් රාජ්‍ය සංකල්පය අත්හලේ නැත.

2010- 2019  සංහිඳියා කාලයේ කිසිදා නොතිබුණු මුස්ලිම් අන්තවාදයක් ද මේ රටේ බිහි විය. දැන් එය අඩුය. එකළ මුස්ලිමානුවන් නිරපරාදේ ප්‍රකෝප කල සිංහල බෞද්ධයෝ වුහ. ඒ කෙසේ වෙතත්, 2019 අප්‍රේල් 21 වෙනි පාස්කු ඉරිදා රටේ වැදගත් ස්ථානවල බෝම්බ පිපිරී ගියේය; 270 පමණ අහිංසකයෝ මිය ගියහ.

සිංහලයන් ශ්‍රී ලාංකික අනන්‍යතාව ආශාවෙන් වැළඳ ගැනීමට යාමෙන් සහ සුළු ජාතීන් එය ඒ තරමින් වැළඳ නොගැනීමෙන් සිංහලයෝ තමනට ආවේණික වූ ජාතිකත්වය (‘සිංහල බෞද්ධකම’) මොට කර ගත්හ. මෙහි අවාසනාවන්ත ප්‍රථිපල දැනටමත් දක්නට ලැබෙතත් වඩා බරපතල ප්‍රථිඵල විද්‍යමාන වනුයේ තවත් වසර 25ට පමණ පසුව යැයි මේ ලියුම්කරු විශ්වාස කරයි. මෙවන් සංස්කෘතිමය වෙනස්වීම්වල ප්‍රථිපල දක්නට ලැබෙන්නේ සෙමිනි.

රජයන් සංහිදියා ක්‍රියාදාමය සිංහලයාගේ උගුරෙන් පහළට පමණක් තල්ලු කිරීමට තදින්ම උත්සහ කළේය. එය බෙහෙවින් සාර්ථක විය.

උතුරේ, නැගෙනහිර සහ කඳුකරයේ දෙමළ බසින් සංහිදියා ක්‍රියාදාමය ප්‍රවර්ධනය කිරීමට රජයන්/NGO ගත් උත්සාහයන් ඌනය. යහපාලන රජයේ සංහිදියා ඇමතිවරයා ජාතිවාදී ලෙස (සිංහලයාට ආසාධාරණ ලෙස) ක්‍රියා කළ බවට සාක්ෂි තිබේ.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාව, සිංහල බෞද්ධ රටක් නොවේය යන සංකල්පය රට තුළ ඇතිකළේ  බෙදුම්වාදීන්ට අමතරව ඇතැම් සිංහල බෞද්ධ යයි කියා ගන්නා දේශපාලනඥයන් විසින්මය. මෙයින් එක් අයෙක් කොරෝනා සමයේ අපෙන් සමු ගත්තේය. ඔහුට නිවන් සුව පතමු.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ 9 වෙනි වගන්තියෙන් රජයන් විසින් බෞද්ධාගමට ප්‍රමුඛස්ථානය ලබාදී බෞද්ධාගම ආරක්ෂා කිරීමට සහ රැකගැනීමට ලබාදී ඇති ප්‍රතිඥාව ඉවත් කිරීමට ඇතැම් ආණ්ඩු සලකා බැලූ බව නොරහසකි. යහපාලන රජය 2016 දී පමණ මේ ගැන ඇති හැකියාව උරගා බැලිය (දෙමළ දේශපාලන පක්ෂවල දැඩි බලපෑම මත). මේ තැතට දැඩි විරෝධයක් සිංහල බෞද්ධයන්ගෙන් නොපැමිණිනි. අපේ ප්‍රධාන නාහිමිවරුන් පවා එයට විරෝධය පෑම කෙරෙහි දැක්වුයේ උකටලී භාවයක් බව කණගාටුවෙන් වුවද කිව යුතුය.

ගරු කාදීනල්තුමා තම මත ප්‍රකාශ කිරීමෙන් අනතුරුව ආණ්ඩු කිහිපවරක් නිහඬ වූ බව පිළිගත යුතු සත්‍යයකි.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සිංහල බෞද්ධ රටක් යයි  රජයට නිර්භීතව පැවසීමට  අපේ ප්‍රධාන නාහිමිවරුන් වරුන් පවා බියපත්ව සිටියදී එය එසේ යයි නිර්භව පැවසුවේ කාදිනල් තුමාය. ‘අපේ ආගම් රැකෙන්නෙත් බෞද්ධාගම රැකුනොත් පමණයි’ යයි උන්වහන්සේ එඩිතරව කීහ.

උන්වහන්සේ නැති දිනක රජයනට දැනෙන ලෙස  සිංහල බෞද්ධ අයිතීන් ගැන කථා කිරීමට කිනම් නායකත්වයක්ද?

මේ රට ගොඩ නැගුනේ ප්‍රබල සිංහල බෞද්ධ අත්තිවාරමක් උඩය – දෙවන පෑ තිස් රජ සහ මිහිඳු  හිමි සුසංයෝගයෙන්. ඇතැම් මුස්ලිම් මව්ලවි තුමන්ලා බිය නැතිව මෙය සිංහල බෞද්ධ රටක් යයි  ප්‍රකාශ කල බව ස්තුති පූර්වකව සිහිපත් කළ යුතුය.

මෙය සිංහල බෞද්ධ සම්භවය ඇති රටක් යන සත්‍යය ප්‍රකාශ කිරීම සෙසු ජාතීන් මෙහි අඩු අයිතිවාසිකම් මත ජීවත් විය යුතු යයි කිසිසේත් කීමක් නොවේ. අපි සැවොම මේ රටේ සමානය. නමුත්, සැවොම සත්‍ය ඉතිහාසය පිළිගත යුතුය, එයට ගරු කළ යුතුය.

2019 රැල්ලෙන් 69 ලක්ෂයක් ජන්ද ගෙන ගෝටා ජනාධිපති වූවාක් මෙන් 2024 රැල්ලෙන් අනුර විශාල ජනවරමක් සහිතව ජනාධිපති වන ලකුණු ඉතා තදින් දැන් පෙනෙන්නට තිබේ. ඔවුනට සුභ පතමු.

එවන් වාතාවරණයක් තුළ ජවිපෙ පහත සඳහන් කරුණු ගැන පැහැදිලි කිරීමක් කිරීම ඉතා අවශ්‍යය:

• ආන්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ 9 වෙනි වගන්තියෙන් බුද්ධාගමට ලබා දී ඇති ප්‍රමුඛත්වය ජවිපෙ ජනාධිපතිවරයෙක් විසින් සුරක්ෂා කරනු ලබයිද?

• දෙමළ අගමැතිවරයෙක් තවම ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ බිහි නොවූ බවට ජවිපෙ නිතර නඟන කෙඳිරිය අනුව ඔවුනගේ රජයක අගමැතිවරයා ද්‍රවිඩ ජාතිකයෙක්ද? ද්‍රවිඩ සහෝදරයෙක්/සහෝදරියක් මේ රටේ අගමැති නොව ජනාධිපති වුවාට වුවද කමක් නැත; නමුත් ඔවුන් පත්විය යුත්තේ සුදුසුකම් මතයි. හුදු කෝටා ක්‍රමයට ජාතිය, ලිංගය බලා උසස් තනතුරු දීම සුදුස්සාට සුදුසු තැන අහිමි කිරීමක් බව ජවිපෙ පිළිගනීද?

• ජවිපෙ පැමිණි විගස 13 පූර්ණ ලෙස බලාත්මක කරනු ඇද්ද (ඉඩම් සහ පොලිස් බලතල දීම)? ජවිපෙ කිසිදා මෙම ප්‍රශ්ණයට ඍජු පිළිතුරක් දී නොමැත.

• ජවිපෙ රජයක මූළික/පළමු ක්‍රියාවලීන් අතර ගණිකා වෘත්තිය/සමලිංගික විවාහ නිතීගත කිරීම ආදිය අඩංගුවේද? මෙය අසනුයේ ඔවුනගේ ප්‍රවීනයන් මේ පිළිබඳව එවැනි අදහස් පළ කර ඇති නිසායි. කෙනෙක් ගණිකාවක් හෝ සමලිංගිකයෙක් වීම නිසා කිසිම ලෙසකින් අසාධාරණයට ලක් විය යුතු නොවේ; එහෙත් මේ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවයි. විශේෂයෙන්ම සමලිංගික විවාහ කරුණ ගැන – ඇමරිකාවේ, ඕස්ත්‍රේලියාවේ, කැනඩාවේ කරන දේ මේ රටේ කළ නොහැකියි. එම රටවලට ඇත්තේ වසර 300 නොඉක්මවන ඉතිහාසයකි. අප වූ කලී ප්‍රෞඩ ඉතිහාසයකට, සංස්කෘතියකට, සභ්‍යත්වයකට උරුමකම් කියන රටකි/ජාතියකි. බටහිර රටවල් මෙන් සංකර, විනයෙන් ඌන සංස්කෘතියක් මේ රටේ බිහි කර ගැනීමට අපට අවශ්‍ය නැත.

• ජවිපෙ පැමිණි විගස අපේ කතුන් පියයුරු එළියට දා, අඩ නිරුවතින්, ගාල්ලේ සිට කොළඹ දක්වා නටමින්, සංචාරක ප්‍රවර්ධන වැඩසටහන් වෙනුවෙන්, පෙරහරේ පැමිණේවීද?

• උඩරට සියලු තේ වතු ගලවා දමා කිරි ගව ව්‍යාපෘති උදෙසා ඒවායේ තෘණ වගා කල යුතු බව විජේවීර 1980 මුළ ගණන්වල කීවේය.  අනුර ජවිපෙ රජයක් යටතේ මෙවැනි  විකාර දේ සිදු නොවේ යයි පතමු.

• ගතානුගතිකත්වයට පහර ගසමින් එය අනවශ්‍ය යයි අද ජවිපෙ නායකත්වය කියයි.  මෙයින් අදහස් කරන්නේ වසර 2,500 වඩා පැරණි අපේ සිංහල බෞද්ධ සංස්කෘතිය ඔවුන් විසින් නොසැලකීමද?

• ගතානුගතිකත්වය, සම්ප්‍රදාය ඔවුන් බැහැර කරන්නේ නම්, ඒවාට ගරු කරමින් ඒ අනුව ජීවත් වන අය/ආයතනවල තත්ත්වය ජවිපෙ පාලනයක් යටතේ කුමක් වේද?

• ජවිපෙට දැන් ඇත්තේ යම් තරමින් දක්ෂිණාංශික රැඩිකල්, නියෝ-ලිබරල් ප්‍රතිපත්ති බව පෙනී යයි. මෙය ඔවුනගේ පක්ෂයේ නිර්මාර්තෘ රෝහණ විජේවීර සහෝදරයාගේ 1971 සහ 1988 දර්ශනයනට හාත්පසින්ම වෙනස්ය. සෝමවංශ සහෝදරයා ඔවුන්ගෙන් වෙන් වුයේ මේ නිසා විය හැක. ජවිපෙ දැන් ප්‍රතිපත්ති ’80 මැද භාගයේදී ජවිපෙන් කැඩී  වෙන්වුණු ලයනල් බෝපගේ, ඔහුගේ මිතුරු විලී සේනානායක වැන්නන්, අද අන්තරේ , අති දරුණු බවින් තරමක් අඩු දෙමළ ඩයස්පොරා (උදා: බ්‍රිතාන්‍යයේ එමාණුවල් පියතුමාගේ ගෝලීය සංසදය) ප්‍රතිපත්ති හා සමාන බව පෙනේ. මේ පිළිබඳව ජවිපෙන් පැහැදිලි කිරීමක් අවශ්‍යයි.

• ජවිපෙ රජයක් තනි ජනාධිපති කෙනෙක් විසින් නොව දේශපාලන මණ්ඩලයක් විසින් මෙහෙයවන බව කිහිප වරක් එහි නායකත්වය විසින් සඳහන් කර ඇත. මෙය මීට වඩා පැහැදිළි කල යුතුයි. අප රටේ ඇත්තේ අසීමිත බලතල ඇති විධායක ජනාධිපතිත්වයකි. එවන් වාතාවරණයක, ජවිපෙ දැන් එම පක්ෂය කටයුතු කරනවා මෙන් තනි ජනාධිපති කෙනෙක් නොව කණ්ඩායමක් විසින් රජය මෙහෙයවීම කෙරෙන්නේ නම් එය ව්‍යවස්ථා විරෝධී නොවන්නේද?

• තනි කෙනෙක් නැතිව කණ්ඩායමක් විසින් රට මෙහයවන්නේ තනි පුද්ගලයෙකුට ඒ සඳහා ආත්ම ශක්තිය නොමැති නිසාවත්ද?

• ජවිපෙ බලයට පැමිණ සෑම අමාත්‍යාංශයකටම උගතුන් උපදේශකයන් ලෙස පත් කරන බව පවසයි. මේ උපදේශකයන් දැනටමත් තෝරා අවසන් බව එක් ජවිපෙ පැරැනණේක් සමාජ මාධ්‍ය වැඩසටහනකදී පැවසීය. එසේ නම්, ජවිපෙද රට කරවනුයේ පැරණි ක්‍රමයට නොවේද? මේ උපදේශකයන් සුදු අලීන් රංචුවක් නොවන්නේ කෙසේද?  ජවිපෙ රජයක ජනාධිපති, අගමැති සහ ඇමති මණ්ඩලය ඇත්තේ (ජනතාව විසින් පත් කරනු ලබන) රට කිරීමටය; එසේ නම් අනවශ්‍ය  ලෙස මහජන මුදල් නාස්ති කර ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍ර විරෝධී වූ උපදේශක ස්ථරයක් බිහි කරන්නේ කීම?

• මේ උපදේශකයනට පක්ෂයේ නාමයෝජනා දී පාර්ලිමේන්තුවට ගෙන ඒම නොවේද සිදු විය යුත්තේ?

• ජවිපෙ පාලනයක් යටතේ ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදයට අභියෝග කරන සමානුපාතික නියෝජන/මනාප/ජාතික ලැයිස්තු වෙනුවට ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍ර හිතවාදී වෙස්ට්මිනිස්ටර් පාර්ලිමේන්තු කොට්ටාශ ක්‍රමයෙන් මන්ත්‍රීවරුන් තේරීම – ජනතාව ආසන මට්ටමින් තමන් කැමති මන්ත්‍රීවරුන්/ස්වාධීන මන්ත්‍රීන් පත් කිරීම, අතුරු මැතිවරණ පැවැත්වීම  ආදිය සිදුවේද?

• ජවිපෙ පාලනයක් යටතේ ‘ව්‍යවස්ථාදායක සභා’ වැනි අට මගල් අහෝසි වේද? , විවිධ කොමසම් – පොලිස්, මැතිවරණ, මහජන උපයෝගීතා ආදියට ජවිපෙ රජයක්  විසින්ම නිලධාරීන්, එවැන්න ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදයට අනුකූල බැවින්, පත් කරනු ඇද්ද?

• මේ රටේ සිංහලයාට අද උතුරේ සහ නැගෙනහිර වාසය අකැපයි. ජවිපෙ රජයක් යටතේ මෙය වෙනස් වේද? එසේ නම් ඒ කෙසේද?

• සිංහලයෙකුට අවශ්‍ය නම් කිලිනොච්චියේ, පේදුරු තුඩුවේ, මඩකලපුවේ, අක්කරෙයිපත්තුවේ ඉඩමක් මිලදී ගෙන එහි නිවසක් තනා සිය පවුල සමඟ නිදහසේ ජීවත්වීමේ හැකියාවක් ජවිපෙ රජයක් යටතේවත් ලැබේද? ඔව් නම් මේ ගැන ස්ථිරසාර සහතිකයක් ජවිපෙට දැන් දිය හැකිද?

• ජවිපෙ පැමිණි විගස නොබෝදා සම්මත කරගත් ඔන්ලයින් සමාජ මාධ්‍ය පනත හකුලා ගනු ලබයිද?

• ජවිපෙ බලයට පැමිණී විගස හොරුන් අල්ලා දඬුවම් දෙන බවත්, හොරකම් කල මුදල් රාජ්‍ය භාණ්ඩාගාරයට පවරා ගන්නා බවත්, මන්ත්‍රීවරුන්ගේ විශ්‍රාම වැටුප අහෝසි කරන බවත්, හිටපු ජනාධිපතිවරුන්ගේ සහ ඔවුනගේ බිරියන්ගේ වරප්‍රසාද කපා දමන බවත් පවසයි. මේවා ඉතා හොඳ වැඩය, ජනතාව ඔවුනට ජන්දය දෙන්නේ ඒවා කිරීමටය. නමුත් රට හදන ජවිපෙ සතු වැඩ පිළිවෙල නිවැරදිවම කුමක්ද? දේශීය නිෂ්පාදන වැඩි කිරීම, අපනයන වැඩි කිරීම, රටට ඩොලර් ගෙන ඒම, IMF  ආදිය පිළිබඳව ජවිපෙ මීට වඩා සිය ස්ථාවරය පැහැදිළි කිරීම් කළ යුතු නොවේද?

අති විශාල ජනවරමක් ලැබූ ගෝටා වසර 2ක් ඉක්මවා යාමේදී දැඩි ජන අප්‍රසාදයට ලක්වී සිය පදවියද හැරදා ගියේය. එවැනි දෙයක් රටම අද ආදරය කරන අනුර සහෝදරයාට සිදුවනු දැක්මට අප කිසිසේත් අකමැතිය. ඒ නිසා, මේ ප්‍රශ්ණ තිත්ත වුවත් ඒවා පිලිබඳව ගැඹුරින් අධ්‍යනය කර ජවිපෙ විසින් (රට පිළිගත් අනුර, ටිල්වින්, විජිත, බිමල් වැනි විද්වත් නායකයන්) කරුණු පැහැදිළි කිරීම ඉතා මනෝඥය.

මතුගම සෙනෙවිරුවන්

1912 දී ව්‍යවස්ථාදායක මණ්ඩලයේදී මහවැලිය උතුරට හැරවීමේ වැදගත්කම ගැන කතා කලේ දෙමළ මන්ත්‍රී වරයෙකු වූ ඒ. කනක සබේ මහතාය. එයට ප්‍රධාන හේතුව වූයේ දෙමළ ඊළාම් සිහිනය එදත්  තිබුණු බැවිනි.ව්‍යාජ දෙමළ ඉතිහිසයක් මත පදනම්ව උතුරේ දෙමළ පාලනයක් තිබුණේ යැයි ඇති කළ මතය අනුව ඊළාම් රාජය්‍යට ජලය සපායා ගැනීම ඔවුන්ගේ අරමුණක්ව තිබුණි.වසර සියයකට පමණ පසු මොරගහකන්ද ජලාශය හරහා උතුරු මැද කොන්ක්‍රීට් ඇළ කපා ඒ සිහිනය ඉටු කර දෙන්නට වර්තමාන දේශපාලනඥයන් උත්සාහ කරමින් සිටින සමයක මහවැලියේ වර්තමාන මෝඩකම් සහ කුරිරුකම් පිළිබඳ සැකෙවින් දැක්වීම මැනවි යයි සිතමි.

       චෝල ආක්‍රමණ වලදී සිංහලයන්ගෙන් කොල්ලකන ලද උතුරු දිග තැනිතලාවේ ඉඩම් සංවර්ධනය කොට ගෙන දෙමළ ජනතාව පදිංචි කර සිංහල ජනතාව අභිබවා යෑමේ වුවමනාවක් මේ දෙමළ ජාතිවාදීන් තුළ එදා පටන්ම තිබුණි. සමස්ත මහවැලි සංවර්ධන සැලැස්මේ ජේ. කේ. එල්.එම්. යන පළාත් සංවර්ධනය කරන්නට හැකි වූවා නම් තම නිජ භූමිය අහිමි වූ සිහලයන්ට පමණක් නොව දෙමළ මුස්ලිම් ජනතාවට පවා සාධාරණයක් ඉටු වන්ට තිබුණි. නමුත් මහවැලි ව්‍යාපාරය මුලසිටම ක්‍රියාත්මක කරන ලද්දේ විදේශ අදිසි හස්තයන්ගේ වුවමනාව පිටය. මහවැලි මහ සංවර්ධන සැලැස්මේ සඳහන්ව තිබෙන පරිදි ප්‍රධාන ඇළ මාර්ග වලින් පමණක් සමස්ත ප්‍රදේශ වලට ජලය සැපයිය යුතුව තිබුණි. ඇතැම් ගම් බිම් මෙම ඇළ මාර්ගයන්හි ජල පිරවුම් ස්ථාන ලෙසට භාවිතා කළ යුතුව තිබුණි.එසේම අනෙකුත් සියළුම ගම්වැව් කපාදැමීම කළ යුතුව තිබුණි. ජනපදිකයන්ට ඉඩම් භාරදීමට පළමු සියලුම් වගා බිම් සුද්ද කළ යුතු අතර සමතලා කොට මට්ටම් කළ යුතුය.(all crop land will be cleared and leveled prior to hand over to the settlers ) මෙහි යෝජනා කරන ලද අනෙකුත් ක්‍රියාකාරකම් අතර වෙසෙසි දෙයක් විය. ඒ නම් ගුරුත්ව බලයෙන් යුතු ජල සම්පාදනය වෙනුවට පිරිසෙයින් දියයෙදුම ( sprinkler Irigation ) ක්‍රමය යෝජනා කිරීමයි. මේ සඳහා විදේශීය ආයෝජන රැසක් යෙදිය යුතුව තිබෙන බැවින් තාවකාලිකව අත් හැරියද අනාගතයේදී එම ක්‍රමය සලකා බැලිය යුතු යයි නිර්දේශ කර තිබුණි.

        ලංකාවේ දිගම ගංගාව වූ මහවැලිය මූලික කරගෙන අතීතයේ සිටම පුරාණ රජ දරුවන් විසින් විශේෂ වාර්මාර්ග සකස් කොට ගොවි ජනතාවට දියවර සැපයූහ.ඔවුන් ඒ සඳහා අනුගමනය කරන ලද්දේ ඉතාම සරල තාක්ෂණයකි. විදෙස් ආධාර කිසිවක් නොමැතිව දේශීය හිල්පීන් ගේ උසස් ඥාණයෙන් මේ වාර්මාර්ග ව්‍යාපෘති සකස් කළ බව දැකිය හැකිය. හොඳමඋදාහරණය කලාවැවේ සිට ගලන යෝධ ඇළ නොහොත් මීමත කඳුරයි.අනෙක නම් මහවැලිය හරස් කොට ලූ මිණිබේ යෝධ ඇළයි.මහවැලි ගඟ වක් වූ ස්ථානයක උස්බිමකට ගිය දිය අත්තක් සාර්ථක ලෙසට සරළ බැම්මක් යොදා හරස් කර මිණිබේ කඳු වැටි වල සමෝච්ච වැටි ඔස්සේ පොළොන්නරුව දක්වා ජලය ගෙන ගිය හැටි අපූරුය.කලාවැවේ යෝධ ඇළත් එයට දෙවනි නැත.සැතපුම් පනස් හතරක් මේ යෝධ ඇළ අනුරාධපුර නුවර වැව දක්වා ගමන් කරනුයේ නිසොල්මනේ තමන්ගේ ජලයට ප්‍රවේගයක්ද එක් කර දෙමිනි. ඒ ගමනේදී කුඩා වැව් රැසක් පෝෂණය කරමින් කෙත් වලට ජලය ලබා දුන් හැටි මවිත කරය.හුරුලු වැවෙන් නිදහස් කරන ජලය යාන් ඔයට වැටුණු කල්හි.තැන් කීපයකින් කුඩා බැමි යොදා යෝධ ඇළවල් නිර්මාණය කර පදවිය සහ වාහල්කඩටත් අනතුරුව උතුරේ ඉරනමඩු වැව දක්වාත් වැව් පෝෂණය කරමින් ඇදුණු හැටි බ්‍රොහියර්  මහතා සිය ග්‍රන්ථ වල සඳහන් කර ඇත.

      නව තාක්ෂණය නව යන්ත්‍ර උපකරණ මහවැලියට ලැබුණි.අධිකාරිමය බලතල ලැබුණි. නිදහස් අධ්‍යාපනයෙන් ඉගෙනුම ලද දරුවන් ඉංජිනේරුවන් බවට පත් වී මහවැලි උසස් නිලතල වලට පත්වූහ.කඩිනම් මහවැලිය යටතේ වසර පහකින් එය නිම කිරීමට සැලසුම් කෙරිණ. අනතුරුව සිදු වූයේ කුමක්ද එලිච්චියකගේ ගමන අනුව සමෝච්ච වැටි දිගේ ගලා ගිය කලාවැව යෝධ ඇළ කෙළින් කර ගැඹුරු කළහ.පැරැන්නන්ගේ තාක්ෂණය නොදත් මහවැලි දරුවන් කුඩාවැව් එකින් එක කපා දැමූහ. ව්දේශිකයයන් කියාදෙන අයුරින් සිය ඉංජිනේරු ශිල්පය මෙහයවූ එක් මහවැලි ඉංජිනේරුවරයෙකු වන මහින්ද පනාපිටිය මහතා මේ කළ විනාශය පිළිබඳ වසර ගණනාවකට පසු සිය පාපෝච්චාරණය ඉදිරිපත් කළේමෙසේය.

     ‘හැත්තෑ ගණන් වලදී පැරණි යෝධ ඇළ යටතේ තිබූ ඉඩම් සංවර්ධනය කිරීමේ අප නියැලී සිටි අතර ප්‍රදේශයේ තිබුණු වැව් බොහොමෙයක් නවීන සැලසුමට අනුව අවශ්‍ය වූ පරිදි විනාශ කිරීමට අපට සිදු විය. ප්‍රදේශයේ සාම්ප්‍රදායික ගම්වල මුල් පදිංචිකරුවන්ගෙන් එල්ල වූ බලපෑම් හේතු කොට ගෙන වඩා විශාල වැව් කීපයක් එසේ විනාශ නොකොට ඉතිරි කිරීමට ද සිදු විය මහවැලි අධිකාරිය විසින් වැව් කඩා බිඳ දැමීම වැළැක්වීමට මහජනතාව විසින් එවකට සිටි ජනාධිපති ජේ.ආර්. ජයවර්ධන මහතාද කැඳවන ලදී. අප තවදුරටත් නිරීක්ෂණය කලේ කපා එළි කොට ගොවි බිම් බවට පත් කිරීමට නියමිතව තිබූ කැලෑ ප්‍රදේශ වල නිම්න හරහා කුඩා වේලි රාශියක් තනා තිබූ බවය. අපේ සැලසුම් නිර්ණායක අනුව එම වේලි අපට පෙනුණේ කිසිසේතම් නොවටිනා දේවල් හැටියටය.ඉඩම් සංවර්ධන මුල් අවදියේ ව්‍යාපෘති ඉංජිනේරුවරයෙකු  ලෙස මා කටයුතු කළ ප්‍රදේශයේ ම පුනරුත්ථාපන වැඩ සටහනකට සාභාගි වීමට වසර 30 කට පසු 2003 දී මට අවස්ථාව සැලසුණි. පෙරදින වල සිට මේ ප්‍රදේශයේ සිට ගෙදර යන විට මී පැණි මී කිරි සහ කුරක්කන් මුං ඇට වැනි ධාන්‍ය වර්ග බොහොමයක් මිලදී ගෙන රැගෙන යෑමට පුරුදු වී සිටියෙමි. වර්තමානයේ මේ ප්‍රදේශ වල මී පැණි නැත.මක් නිසාද යත් රසායනික වස විස  යෙදූ ඉඩම් ආශ්‍රිතව  මී මැස්සන් වද නොබදින බැවිනි.  දේශීයව පහසුවෙන් වගා කළ හැකි ධාන්‍ය වෙනුවට ඔවුන් ආනයනය කළ පරිප්පු සහ පාන් පිටි මත යැපෙති. මෙහි මුල් පදිංචි කරුවන් හැම කෙනෙකුම පාහේ ගෙවත්තේ ගවයන් සිටි අතර මේ ගවපට්ටි වලට සිදු වූයේ කුමක්ද ජනතාව තමන්ගේ උදෑසන තේ පානය සඳහා  ආනයනය කළ කිරිපිටි මත යැපෙති.’

          තමන් අතින් සිදු වූයේ මහා අපරාධයක් බව ඔහු පිලිගැනීමම සැබවින්ම කෙතරම් අගනේද. රජරට පාරම්පරික සිංහල ගැමියන් කමන්ගේ වැව් ටික ඩෝසර්යට කපා හෙළනවා දැක දැක ඉවසුවේ නැත ඔවුහු ඩෝසරය ඉදිරියේ බමි වැතිර විරොධය පළ කළහ.     මහවැලි ජලය මගින් රජරට ගම්බිම් තෙත් කිරීමෙන් අත්වුනු ආර්ථික භෝග ප්‍රතිඵලද  බොහෝ වෙයි යයි කියති. මිරිස් කව්පී වර්ග පමණක් නොව අර්තපල්ද මහවැලි ගොවි බිම් වලින් එළියට පැමිණ තිබුණි. නමුත් මුදල් අතමිට ගැවසුණ ඔවුන්ගේ ජීවිත දුක්මුසු විය.කුඩා වැව් නොතිබීම නිසා ජලය නැති කමින් පීඩා විඳින ජනපදිකයන් ගැන අසන්නට ලැබුණි.වී විකුණා ගන්නට බැරිව වස බිව් පොලොන්නරු ගොවීහු ගැන එදා පත්තර පුන පුනා කතා කළහ.කුඹුරු වලට ජලය දීමට වඩා විදුලිබල නිෂ්පාදනයට මුල් තැනක් ලැබුණි.සමනල වැවෙන් පෝෂණය ලැබූ උඩවලවේ ගොවීන්ට අත් වූ ඉරණම මෙයට උදාහරණයකි.මහවැලිය නිසා උතුරේ සිංහල ජනපද බහිවූහ. කාලාන්තරයක් තිස්සේ වල් බිහිව තිබූ රජරට යළි මිනිසුන් ගෙන් පිරී ගියේය.ඒ සෑම බිමකම සිංහල පමණක් නොව දෙමළ මුස්ලිම් අයද පදිංචි කරවන ලද්දේ ජන අනුපාතයට සරිලන ලෙසටයි. නමුත් මේ ජනපද කරණයට උතුරේ දෙමල අන්තවාදීන් විරුද්ධ වූහ.වර්තමානය වන විට මහවැලි සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපාරයේ අවසාන සංවර්ධන බල ප්‍රදේශය වන බී කාලපෙයේ මාදුරු ඔය දකුණු ඉවුර පිළිබඳ අවධානය යොමු වී තිබේ.

      මහවැලියේ ආරම්භක ඉංජිනේරුවරයෙකුව සිටි මහින්ද පනාපිටිය මහතා මතු කරන සත්‍යය වර්තමාන ඉංජිනේරුවන් නොසලකා හරින බව පෙනේ. උගත් පාඩම් අමතක කර ඔවුහු යළිත් පැරණි පාරේම යන්නට උත්සාහ දරති. මාදුරු ඔය දකුණු ඉවුරේ කැඩී බිඳී ගිය කුඩා වැව් රාශියක් වෙයි.පුරාවිද්‍යෘ හානි අගැයුම් වාර්තාවේ ද  මේ කුඩා වැව් වල තිබෙන පුරාවි ද්‍යා වටිනාකම් හුවා දක්වා ඇත..තොප්පිගල නරක මුල්ල සිට නෙලුගල පර්වතය දක්වා වූ බිම්කඩේ දැනට අම්පාර සහ මඩකලපු දිස්ත්‍රික්යන්හි පවතින මේ සාරවත් භූමිය තුළ වැව් තුනක් පමණක් ඉතිරි කරවා ඉතිරි සියලු වැව් කපා හැර ආයෝජන කලාපයක් ඇති කිරීම මහවැලියේ සැලැස්මයි. ඒ අතර දිවුල්පතාන බෝගමුයාය වැනි ගම්මානයන්හි දැනට සිටින අනවසර කරුවන් යැයි හඳුන්වන ජනතාව ඉන් පළවා හැර පළතුරු සහ වෙනත් ආර්ථික භෝග වැවීමට දේශීය සහ විදෙස් සමාගම් වෙත ලබා දීමට මේ වන විට සැලසුම් සකස් කොට අවසන්ය. ඒ අතර මඩකලපු දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ දෙමළ සහ මුස්ලිම් මන්ත්‍රීවරුන්ගේ ඉල්ලීම පරිදි විශාල ගව පට්ටි ඇති කරන්නට හෙහක්ටයාර් 3025 ක් වෙන් කර තිබේ. පෙර දී සෑම ජනපද ව්‍යාපාරයකම ජාතික ජන අනුපාතය අනුව ජනතාව පදිංචි කළහ. මේ ව්‍යාපාරයේ දී ඒ තත්වය වෙනස් වී ඇත. මඩකලපුවේ ඉඩම් දෙමළ මුස්ලිම් ජනතාවට පමණක්ය. ආයෝජකයන් සඳහා ලබා දෙන ඉඩම් ද ඉන්දීය අනුමැතිය හිමිවන සමාගම් වලට පමණක් ලබා දීමේ පිඹුරු පත් සැකසෙමින් පවතී. වැව් කපා හැර අතීත ශිෂ්ඨාචාරය සමතලා කල කාලිංග මාඝටත් වැඩියෙන් වර්තමාන පාලකයන් ඉදිරියෙන් සිටින්නේ විදෙස් මනදොල පුරවා දීමටයි. ඔවුන්ට පරිසර පද්ධතියක වටිනාකමක් නැත. එල්ලංගා පද්ධිතයක වටිනා කමක් නැත. පළමුවත් ඉඩම් දෙවනුවත් ඉඩම් තුන්වනුවත් ඉඩම් පමණකි. මාදුරු ඔය ජලාශයෙන් ජලය නිකුත් වන කල්හි ආයෝජකයන් විසින් යහමින් ජලය පරිභෝජනය කරන කල්හි. හෙක්ටයාර් 2700 පමණ සුලු ඉඩම් ප්‍රමාණයක වී වගාවේ නියකුත් ව සිටින ගොවි ජනතාවට ජල හිඟයෙන් පීඩා විඳීමට අනිවාර්යයෙන්ම සිදු වන නියතය. මෙම සැලසුම් සකස් කිරීමට උපදෙස් දෙන්නේ දෙශපාලඥයන් නමුත් නිර්මාණය මහවැලි ඉංජිනේරුවන්ගේය.නිදහස් අධ්‍යාපනයෙන් පන්නරය ලබා ඔවුහු රට වෙනුවෙන් සේවය කරනවාට වඩා සිදු කරනුයේ රටේ සම්පත් කාබාසිනියා කිරීමට අවශ්‍ය සැලසුම් සකස් කිරීමය. මාදුරු ඔය දකුණ ඉවුරේ සංවර්ධන සැලසුම් වලින් අප දකින කටුක යථාර්තය එයයි.

මතුගම සෙනෙවිරුවන්

Courtesy Al Hakam

Ayesha Naseem, UK

On Friday 26 January 2024, the International Court of Justice delivered a provisional ruling in South Africa’s case, submitted to the court in December last year, in which it accused Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. 

The International Court of Justice concluded that South Africa has standing to submit to it the dispute with Israel concerning alleged violations of obligations under the Genocide Convention.” (APPLICATION OF THE CONVENTION ON THE PREVENTION AND PUNISHMENT OF THE CRIME OF GENOCIDE IN THE GAZA STRIP”, www.icj-cij.org)

Given how historic this whole development is, it is imperative to highlight South African solidarity with the Palestinian people and the nation’s practical display of learning from one’s history. For South Africa to have taken this stand when the silence of the Western world couldn’t have been louder, the importance of taking calculated steps to try and bring an end to oppression comes to light. Islam also encourages solidarity, which can create a means to stop oppression. 

azrat Anas^ra narrated, Allah’s Messenger^sa said, ‘Help your brother, be he the oppressor or the oppressed.’ The companions said, ‘O Allah’s Messenger^sa, we understand that we should help him when he is the aggrieved party, but how should we help him when he is the wrongdoer?’ He said: ‘Hold his hand [i.e., stop him from oppressing.]’” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-mazalim, Bab a‘in akhaka zaliman aw mazluman, Hadith 2444)

Hazrat Chaudhry Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan^ra, a pioneer Ahmadi Muslim diplomat and jurist who was also the President of the International Court of Justice between 1954 and 1961, has written extensively on Islam and its principles on human rights.

In his book, Islam and Human Rights, Hazrat Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan^ra explains how the values and principles established in the UN Charter of Human Rights were revealed and inculcated within Islamic teachings by Allah the Almighty over 1400 years ago. 

Article 3 of the UN Human Rights Charter speaks of the right to life, liberty and security of person.” (Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights)

Historic provisional ruling: ICJ orders protection of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip from ‘acts of genocide’ (alhakam.org)

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Colombo, Jan 29 (daily Mirror) – The Seychelles Coast Guard (SCG) has rescued six Sri Lankan fishermen who were captured by Somali pirates along with their multi-day fishing trawler, said Navy spokesman Capt. Gayan Wickramasinghe.

By YOHAN PERERA Courtesy The Daily Mirror

 

---

Colombo, Jan 29 (Daily Mirror) –  The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) will not take notice of any restrictions but will take to the streets tomorrow and fire the first shot towards overthrowing the present government, SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara said today.

The IGP or anyone else can impose any restriction but we will defy all laws and bring 50,000 people to Colombo tomorrow,” Madduma Bandara told a media briefing.

It was the SJB which pioneered the uprising in 2022 and we intend to do the same this time as well,” Madduma Banadara added.

We will not disclose where we will march towards now, but we will reveal it at the correct time tomorrow,” he added.

Former MP Hirunika Premachandra who also participated in the briefing said the protest will be against suppressive legislations such as the Anti-Terrorism Bill, Online Safety Bill and increased taxes. 

We will disclose where we are going  to surround at the right time,” she also said

Courtesy Adaderana

A total of 836 more suspects have been arrested by Sri Lanka’s police and security forces personnel within a 24-hour window ending at 12.30 a.m. today (Jan. 29) as part of the ongoing countrywide anti-drug operation ‘Yukthiya’.

Meanwhile, detention orders have been secured against six of the arrested individuals, while another person has been referred for rehabilitation, the Ministry of Public Security said.

According to the Ministry of Public Security, the narcotics taken into custody during this period include 142 grams of heroin, 95 grams of crystal methamphetamine (Ice) and 1,650 narcotic pills.

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lanka’s Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva has stated that the recent increase in the number of ship arrivals at the Colombo Port is likely due to the Red Sea crisis.

Accordingly, the Minister revealed that the number of ships docking at the Colombo Port has increased by 35% within the month of January, while container operations at the port have also increased by 72%.

Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva made these remarks while attending a special inspection of the Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA).

Commenting on the increase in ship arrivals recorded at the Colombo Port, however, State Minister of Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya claimed that he remains dissatisfied that this increase is likely attributed to the Red Sea crisis.

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lanka’s total exports for the year 2023 reached USD 14.49 billion, the Export Development Bank (ED) reported, adding that it is only a minor decline of 0.39% compared to 2022.

In a report issued in this regard, the EDB revealed that Sri Lanka had recorded a total of USD 14.99 billion in exports for the year 2022, USD 3.08 billion higher than that earned last year.

As per the report, the estimated value of services exports for the period of January to December 2023 was USD 3,080.9 million, increasing 63.1 % over the corresponding period in 2022, while cumulative merchandise exports during the period of January to December 2023 decreased by 9.54 % to USD 11,856.3 million compared to the corresponding period in 2022. 

Attached below is the full report:

Export Performance 2023 by Adaderana Online on Scribd

Courtesy Adaderana

The Prime Minister of Thailand, Srettha Thavisin will undertake a two-day official visit to Sri Lanka from 03 – 04 February 2024 at the invitation of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The Thai Prime Minister will participate in the ceremony to mark the 76th Anniversary of the Independence of Sri Lanka as Guest of Honour.

During the visit, the Thai Prime Minister is scheduled to have official discussions with President Wickremesinghe, and witness the signing of the historic Sri Lanka – Thailand Free Trade Agreement (SLTFTA), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs added.

The Free Trade Agreement will be signed by Phumtham Wechayachai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce of Thailand and Nalin Fernando, Minister of Trade, Commerce and Food Security of Sri Lanka. The SLTFTA is expected to boost trade and investment ties between the two countries and promote deeper integration with ASEAN economies, the statement said. 

Additionally, the two sides are expected to renew the Air Services Agreement and conclude a Memorandum of Understanding between the Gem and Jewellery Research and Training Institute of Sri Lanka and The Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand, it added.

A Sri Lanka-Thailand Business Forum organized by the Department of International Trade Promotion and Department of Trade Negotiations of the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand and the Department of Commerce and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka will also take place at the Kingsbury Hotel during the visit.

The Thai Prime Minister will be accompanied by a 39 member delegation including Phumtham Wechayachai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce, Jakkapong Sangmanee, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand and a top-level business delegation, according to the ministry.

Insight By Sunil Kumar

Jan 26th 2024

There is an unwritten law that suggests:” Religious leaders should never dabble in politics” as it is not their call. Yes! there is that case of a certain Archbishop Desmond Tutu in S Africa where he too was accused of dabbling in politics with no right to do so! but in relatively different and exceptional circumstances. However, if the case involves religious persecution it seems only correct for a leader whose religious faction as well as those of others is affected to speak up. When the Archbishop of Colombo His Eminence Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith speaks out against the Anti Terrorism Bill which he has done in no uncertain terms, it seems quite out of order and a far cry from keeping the faith and leading his flock. Perhaps a guideline for all other Religious groups to follow as well.

Protect the flock using the tenets of religious teaching and the goodness therein.

His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has filed a petition with the Supreme Court challenging the proposed Anti-Terrorism Bill, recently presented to the parliament by the Sri Lankan government as a replacement for the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

The petition, which names the Attorney General as the respondent, contends that various provisions within the Anti-Terrorism Bill are incompatible with the Constitution. Cardinal Ranjith has called upon the Supreme Court to rescind it where it seems a mere matter of interpretation on his part causing some trepidation.

Given the consideration that the Administrative Leadership including the President is well equipped with their command of the Constitution of the country, it seems an affront to their knowledge and cognizance of the same for a religious leader to challenge and question its viability in a country rife with many needs that require even more than what the new Anti Terrorism Bill entails as it is a means to control criminality and the subversive element of Sri Lanka which are rife and on an ongoing basis there are subversives planning covert upending and overthrowing the rule of law so it would be a means to protect the country and boosting her National Security which logically is a felt need for Sri Lanka given all the happenings of the not too distant past.

Perhaps there could be amendments to the bill to suppress the abuse of power as the Cardinal contends and as far as the freedom of expression goes it seems a misconception that it does not exist in the very fabric of the Constitution which of course if necessary needs to be further emphasized although there are factions which take advantage if it to cause mayhem and disorder so there needs to be an even balance about how it is laid down by law and the related law enforcement advised to relate accordingly within the metes and bounds of the law under the duress of punitive action if necessary.

Among the Cardinal’s primary concerns is the apprehension that, if enacted in its current form, the Anti-Terrorism Bill would grant extensive powers to the Tri-Forces, Police, and Coast Guard, enabling them to make arrests without reasonable suspicion which seems unmitigated paranoia where Sri Lanka has not exceeded this power beyond any norm by comparison to ‘most’ countries other than to defend her Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity which Sri Lanka has every right to do, the arguments in his petition that it would be a direct violation of fundamental rights, including the constitutionally protected freedom of expression seems unnecessarily apprehensive and a matter of definition and interpretation.

Cardinal Ranjith may be probably within his contention as a religious leader in his plea to surmise the Supreme Court which has urged the highest judicial authority to mandate a parliamentary vote with a two-thirds majority and a subsequent referendum for the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Bill but it is not for him to demand it. When the Cardinal contends that such a measure is crucial to ensure that the legislation aligns with constitutional principles and safeguards citizens’ rights it appears to be mere conjecture. Is he acting as a legislator one wonders?

It could also be an incentive for the enemies of the State to heighten their demands to cause further unrest within Sri Lanka, something which has been effectively quelled in the past, and the New Bill perhaps a mere booster towards securing and fortifying legislation imperatively essential for the country with a burgeoning population.

The Anti-Terrorism Bill, presented to the parliament on January 10, has sparked significant debate and concerns among various sections of society but overall seems to be a felt need given all the related dynamics.