Courtesy Adaderana

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been re-elected as the leader of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna.

MP Gamini Lokuge proposed the former president’s name while MP Johnston Fernando seconded it.

SLPP’s 2nd National Convention got underway at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium this afternoon (Dec.15), under the aegis of Mahinda Rajapaksa and the party’s national organizer and founder Basil Rajapaksa.

By Sena Thoradeniya

Hitherto men have constantly made up for themselves false conceptions about themselves, about what they are and what they ought to be. ……They the creators have bowed down before their creations. Let us liberate them from the chimeras, the ideas, dogmas, imaginary beings under the yoke of which they are pinning away”. (Karl Marx & Frederick Engels: The German Ideology”)

(1) Dual Face of JVP-The NPP (Malimawa”) and Strange Bedfellows

Janus is also described as god of duality, depicted as having two faces, who presides over beginning and ending of conflict. With the creation of NPP, JVP got its double face hitherto uncovered since its beginning in the sixties. Only the other revolutionary groups active from mid 1960s who were observant of JVP tactics and behaviours of JVP leadership since its formation are privy to its dual nature and above all else its betrayals which are legion.

NPP is not an independent grouping, a partner in a JVP-led United Front. It is the dual face of the JVP, a receptacle to hold few artists, writers, academics, so-called professionals, ex-leftist elements, retired revolutionaries, Revisionist and Trotskyite ideologues, foreign -funded so-called civil society activists and now some ex-servicemen.  

We wrote in September 2020 an article titled, Forward, Not Backward”, Under Whose Command? A Story of Strange Bedfellows” to now defunct Sri Lanka Times” about a Fresh Civil Society Project, ‘Forward, Not Backward’” launched ahead of August 2020 Polls. Having failed to derail GR’s campaign for presidency, a hurriedly formed offshoot of the so-called civil society had started a campaign to prevent the SLPP obtaining a two-third majority at the July General Elections (postponed due to Corona pandemic) appealing to the followers of the UNP, SJB, JVP and TNA to fall in line with them. They must have thought that the masses are idiots, short of memory to perceive the UNP, SJB, JVP and TNA constitute the pro-democracy camp” in Sri Lanka.  It was not unusual for the civil society paragons of virtue looking for another straw after failing to clutch on to Fonseka in 2010 and Sirisena-Wickremesinghe in 2015 respectively.  

During election times strange things happen. Earlier it was the formation of different coalitions of warring parties and factions for political expediency. We cannot blame those party men because their motive is coming into power striking the right note.

People have fresh memories about the statement made by the then US Secretary of State John Kerry that the US providing US $ 585 million to Sri Lanka, Nigeria and Myanmar to stabilise democracy” (read as to destabilise the country).  Looking at the strategic importance of Sri Lanka to US interests rather than Nigeria and Myanmar, we can surmise that Sri Lanka’s civil society groupings getting the lion’s share of it, not an equally apportioned one third. People know that the Civil Society worthies themselves contributed to the downfall of the Yahapalana regime with their anti-national programmes which are beyond description. But they as the boogeymen of US succeeded in ousting the popularly elected President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in 2022.

Now a section of these worthies has found a haven in NPP. Other than the civil society Brahmins some other segments have joined the NPP bandwagon.

But how can we explain old Trotskyite ideologues, old Revisionists of the Gorbachev and Yeltsin eras, previous yahapalana campaigners, architects of failed federal constitutions joining the NPP forgetting all what they have said about the JVP beginning from early nineteen sixties? Various types of Trotskyists were in the forefront criticising JVP ideology and its stand on Tamil question. They were not interested in its strategy and tactics of capturing power in a one day revolution” for obvious reasons. Some of these strange bedfellows were included in the JVP national list. They had forgotten the fate of ex-Auditor General Mayadunne. He had the privilege of attending only the inaugural session of the last 2015 Parliament. As any other party did JVP too appointed two defeated candidates to their national list slots. Some academics who cannot bag a handful of votes and some unknown personalities were also included in the JVP national list.

These Trotskyites and Revisionists have completely forgotten how they had criticised the JVP and its leaders prior to 1971 and afterwards. During 1988-89 several Communist Party leaders and Samasamajists, trade union leaders, card holders, members of the rank and file and sympathisers were gunned down in broad daylight by the DJV, the armed wing of the JVP. Many who survived were in their hit list. Some hid in the plantations and among the rebels in the North. Some fled to India whilst some others left shores seeking greener pastures and came to roost when the dust has been settled.

JVP gonibillas” (in short billas”) who were in the service of the security forces identified leftist cadres and sympathisers, also their own folks and assisted to intensify the suppression of left forces. Later some of these old gonibillas” have entered mainstream politics, even Parliament. In Kenya in the 1950’s during the Mau Mau uprising Kenyan villagers were brought before betrayers, those who took the Mau Mau oath with the jungle fighters to identify the fighters remaining in the hamlets. They were dressed in huge hoods with eye-holes who became known as Little Sacks” or Gahunia”, the precursors of our own billas!

Some other leftists also joined in the killing spree. They formed the most notorious PRRA (Peoples’ Revolutionary Red army) as against the atrocities of DJV. Whoever was first to pull the trigger was the ultimate winner. The members of the civil society condoned these killings and suppression of JVP. Later some of these men were in the higher echelons of the Yahapalana regime as ministers and parliamentarians which included a person who cheated at University examinations, who was debarred to sit any examination conducted by that particular university.

Members of the so-called civil society condoned these killings and suppression of JVP.  These men and women do not have any shame as they have also joined the NPP. How can one embrace his own killers?  This applies to armed forces also. In 1971 JVP’s few Navy supporters were entrusted with mixing ‘japala’ (Croton tiglium L.) seed to water tanks making the naval ratings to purge (japala is a purgative) and immobilize them until JVP captures power. In 1988 Katunayaka Airbase was penetrated and arms taken away; Police Field Force Headquarters was attacked. JVP/DJV issued an order to members of the armed forces to leave the forces, if not their family members will be killed. True to its nature JVP/DJV killed many such family members. Army like the JVP/DJV put up posters everywhere and began mopping up operations. Did the ex-servicemen who address meetings, act as mobilisers and attend JVP/NPP rallies ask for an explanation why JVP issued such an order to kill their family members?   

After the 1971 insurrection thousands of youth were taken into custody. For those who joined the JVP without any understanding of Marxism-Leninism, revolutionary path befitting an Asian country, prisons and rehabilitation camps became political schools. Some of the leading cadres who fought against the State were disillusioned about JVP policies and its leadership formed their own political group Janatha Sangamaya” when they were released. The best books criticising the JVP were written by these breakaway groups.

JVP began killing their erstwhile comrades with the killing of Nandana Marasinghe, the person who led a group of aficionados to storm the Jaffna prisons and rescue Wijeweera in 1971 and founder of JVP’s Vimukthi Gee”.   In 1988-89 several leading figures of Janatha Sangamaya” were killed by the JVP labelling them as traitors. Deva Bandara Senaratne, T. B. Wijesuriya, Jamis Ethugala were among them.  It’s incomprehensible to state that some of the leading men of this group cum Diyasa” editors entering the fray finding slots in the JVP district lists. People owed an explanation from them, what extraordinary qualities they saw in the present JVP leadership, what Wijeweera and the old leadership of the JVP lacked.

Wedid notknowwhether to laugh or cry when we saw the names of some Trotskyite and Communist” academics who fought against colossal like NM, Colvin, S. A. Wickremasinghe and Peiter Keuneman, castigating them as reformists, who have drowned the left movement in the quagmire of bourgeois parliamentary politics and bourgeois coalitions, economism, revisionism, opportunism and alleging that they have betrayed revolutionary ideals and the working class in NPP National List. They who formed their own splinter groups to carry out the revolution in Sri Lanka, after taking a full circle finding national list slots in the party they hated more than the Democratic or Republican or Conservative parties, sitting in a common rostrum in their senile lives was indeed deplorable.

(2) Enter Harini Amarasuriya

After the 2020 General Elections for the JVP’s solitary national list slot an outsider, Harini Amarasuriya was selected dumping all these ideologues and civil society” worthies. Even their party stalwarts, defeated candidates or former JVP Ministers or Deputy Ministers (under CBK) were not selected.

What was the reason?  Reason was the NGO factor within the JVP/NPP becoming predominant. JVP is the largest and organised NGO in Sri Lanka (not the party of the proletariat) getting enormous funds from undisclosed sources.

Later some NGO academics including an history teacher in the NPP voiced their opinion that Amarasuriya should lead the JVP/NPP and she should be its Presidential candidate). Reason cited was that Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, the present leader of JVP/NPP cannot sustain a dialogue in English. They must have thought that a ‘leader’ of a former English colony should be conversant in English to discuss world affairs with former colonial masters!

More than that, it is evident that Harini Amarasuriya’s class origins and class affiliations and class allegiances had played a significant role (to match Rajapaksas and Wickremasinghe?). In her many interviews she is very careful not to divulge her ancestral roots. She simply says that her father was a planter without naming him. She may have heard JVP/DJV killing a number of plantation managers and setting ablaze more than a dozen tea factories.  

It is not unfounded to guess that Harini Amarasuriya belongs to a clan which represented comprador- bourgeoisie consisting of colonial plantation interests, bankers and MNCs. We did not have such representatives of comprador- bourgeoisie and MNCs in the leadership of Old Left. We refrain here to add the part played by Amarasuriyas in local politics as it is well-known to oldtimers. They claimed that they descend from the Kshatriya warrior royalty of India.

Entrepreneur proprietor given a Muhandiramship by British government;  buying estates from British planters leaving Ceylon when many plantations were set on sale gave opportunities to local land owning gentry; pioneers of low country tea, extending  a plantation empire up to Morawak Korale; owners of tea and rubber factories, owners of Monrovia, Citrus Group,  Kurulugalla Group, Morawaka Korale, Diyadawa Group, Mahendra Group, Olympus Group; moved to upcountry higher elevations in Ambagamuwa, Dickoya and Dimbula tea districts;  Members of State Council;  Members of Parliament; Cabinet Ministers (through some of them links to business magnates like Dilmas); General Secretaries of UNP; Deputy Speakers; OBE recipients; Presidents of Senate; first Ceylonese Chairman of the Planters’ Association; occupying top echelons of MNCs and banks; Crown Counsels, President’s Counsels, and top doctors; Cabinet Secretaries, diplomats, Ministry Secretaries (of Felix Dias), Public Prosecutors (who prosecuted JVPers at the Criminal Justice Commission (CJC), Law Professors and vice-Chancellors (like G. L. Peiris: we mentioned only G.L.’s name as it is necessary because he is in a political ‘gandabba’ state and we do not know where his ‘helicopter’ lands after a General Election!) are in the Amarasuriya clan. Does Anura Kumara’s flock know these?  

Not long-agoRoar Media Sinhala (which played an active part at Galle Face), funded by IREX (International Research & Exchange Board – funded by USAID, US State Department, Ford Foundation and Millennium Challenge Corporation and Google), carried an article about Amarasuriya clan, with its genealogical records. Nobody can doubt that Harini Amarasuriya was selected by the JVP/NPP because of the connections she has to landed gentry, comprador-bourgeoisie and multi-national business conglomerates. Caste had played a decisive role in this selection as in 1971.  JVP was a group of a particular caste fighting for its own emancipation.  

It is a supreme irony that the JVPers and dissidents of old Trotskyist groups who were critical about class origins and class characteristics of old left leaders who became an appendage of NPP, having one of them in their fief.

Who is Harini Amarasuriya? Wikipedia says she is ideologically on the Centre-left of the NPP” and she considers herself to be a liberal”. JVP, if it is a party of the proletariat cannot accommodate Centre-lefts and liberals. What is liberalism? In his essay titled Combat Liberalism” (1937), Mao identifying  11 main manifestations of liberalism says, ‘‘liberalism is extremely harmful in a revolutionary collective”; liberalism stems from petty-bourgeois selfishness”; liberals look upon the principles of Marxism as abstract dogma”; liberalism is a manifestation of opportunism”; it is negative and objectively has the effect of helping the enemy; that is why the enemy welcomes its preservation in our midst”; no place for it in the ranks of the revolution”. All loyal, active, honest and upright communists must unite to oppose the liberal tendencies shown by certain people among us and set them on the right path. This is one of the tasks on our ideological front.” So, it is all bunkum calling JVPers as Marxists and Maoists.

This is clear-cut evidence to show that JVP no longer upholds Marxism. It is the capitalist press and Sri Lankans domiciled abroad paint them as Marxists. (Even some incorrigible Sinhala youtubers are Marxists for them). Calling them Rathu Sahodarayas” and Socialists” is the worst thing they do to Communists and Socialists all over the world. Kowtowing at Julie Chung as her parlor boy, addressing meetings at venues in US adorned with American flags, JVP leader Anura Kumara knows how to butter both sides of the bread.  

According to various interviews of Amarasuriya which are in the public domain, (Gossip Lanka News on 19/8/2020, E- International Relations 25/6/2220, Daily Mirror on 10/3/2021; One to One Video) her father is a planter; young days spent in a plantation bungalow; she proudly says that she was born in McCarthy private hospital and educated at Bishops College;  did English, Greek and Roman Civilisation, French and History for her A/Ls (those days at Peradeniya the combination of kultur lot, except History); an avid reader, she was spoon-fed while reading; English was the language spoken at home; had American connections from her school days; goes to California on a Student Exchange Programme.

When I was exploring options for higher education my interest was in English. My father wanted meet a friend of his – a rather eccentric former diplomat for me to discuss my ‘future’ with him. When I announced that I wanted to study English Literature this was immediately scoffed at as a typical, elitist, bourgeois Sri Lankan thing” (says she did not know the meaning of what bourgeois was). I don’t know whether the ‘eccentric’ was right, as he had recommended her to read a godfather of Sinhala academics of the NPP. So, she selects Sociology. 

She obtains a degree from Hindu College, Delhi University; joins an NGO doing Community Mental Health” by  an organization called Nest” and work in mental institutions such as  Mulleriyawa, IDH and in a psychosocial support programme as a child protection and psychosocial support practitioner in  the north and east war-torn areas, Batticaloa and Mannar; Tsunami work with UNICEF; not a product of a Sri Lankan university she obtains a doctorate from Scotland; joins the Open University and immediately participates in a  FUTA (2021) struggle demanding higher wages for  the academics under the guise of increasing the vote to education to 6% of the GDP. It is farcical to mention the names of the academics she mentions who had influenced her and mentored her (Sundara Minissu) at this juncture, all members of the so-called National Intellectuals Organisation” (NIO) affiliated to JVP/NPP. It is a meteoric rise to be elevated as a nominated MP.

NPP had 29 names in its national list. The first in the list was Bimal Ratnayaka who was a Deputy Minister under CBK. Everybody thought that the choice was Ratnayake. Sunil Handunnetti, Nalinda Jayatissa, Nihal Galappatti who were in the last Parliament was not appointed. It was decided to give it to NPP, (a decision made by Anura and Tilwin Ayya, according to Amarasuriya). There were Trotskyite ideologues and yahapalana constitution makers.  How and why Harini Amarasuriya becoming more suitable than these worthies to fill the solitary national list slot?  Bringing defeated candidates to Parliament via National List is constitutional as the constitution provides for such appointments. All political parties have made use of this provision as it was the practice; JVP dumped its National List MP former Auditor General Mayadunne soon after him taking oaths and appointed Handunnetti, a defeated candidate in his place.

This is a case of JVP turning into NGO politics from its traditional vote base; I do not say it is working class politics; using village and subaltern votes it has polled the JVP has  nominated a Colombo upper class NGO activist, a political part timer; dumping rural politics or rural women it has embraced Colombo’s posh politics; a Bishopian waiting to meet a Thomian prince charming  (she says in an interview that Bishops College as a finishing schoolprovides wives to Thomians) to represent the masses!

JVP knows that it gets votes or seats from urban areas; it has metamorphosized into a party of urban and semi-urban lower middle class and middle class; that was the reason for AKD shifting to Colombo district from Kurunegala district, mainly an agricultural area (paddy and coconut). He knows that his seat is secure; Vijitha Herath born in Badulla found a secure place in Gampaha district. Although Sunil Handunnetti was thrown out from Colombo, he could not secure a place in Galle district. Lal Kantha can remain as a rabble-rouser, but cannot get elected from Anuradhapura district.  Wasantha Samarasinghe and Namal Karunaratna are more comfortable as JVP’s trade union aristocrat and lord of the peasants respectively rather than entering Parliament. Others have lucrative careers either as medicine men or attorneys.

In a newspaper interview Amarasuriya replies to a story shared in social media about Bimal Ratnayake and his wife’s BMW as follows: I wish he had a BMW. It would have made our lives much easier. I work very closely with her and we could have swung around in the BMW”.  This shows the mentality not only of the national list MP Amarasuriya, but also of her party stalwarts who send their children to foreign universities and private universities in Sri Lanka who are famous for their sartorial elegance.     

Our sorrows are with the young Sinhala-educated academics, artists and writers and men and women who do not know the class and caste structure, history of the left movement in Sri Lanka in general and JVP politics in particular. But the senile academics should know that getting themselves elected even as a national list member has become a distant dream.

People owe an explanation from them, what extraordinary qualities they saw in AKD, what old Left leaders such as NM, Colvin, SA, Pieter lacked. All rights, welfare and services the working class in particular and the masses in general enjoy are the fruits of struggles waged by old Left. What indelible effect or influence the JVP had made except renaming Bombay onions (‘Bombai loonu’ or ‘B’ loonu) as ‘loku loonu’ (big onions) and Masoor dhal (‘Mysoor parippu’) as ‘rathu parippu’, the crude way they defied Indian expansionists during 1988-1989.   

If the senile academics think that the JVP/NPP is a different from the Old Left Movement in Sri Lanka, the conspicuous difference between the two is that the old left leaders wore white/satin drill or tussore suits whereas present day so-called revolutionaries wear high end products; their press conferences show glimpses of fashion parades.

Let us briefly examine Harini Amarasuriya’s American connexons after her US student exchange programme, what we gather from public domain. She along with US Ambassador Julie Chung met Samantha Power, the Administrator (Head) of USAID in September 2022 (see the timing; just one month after deposing GR). The other Sri Lankan politicians Power met with Amarasuriya were, Sajith Premadasa, Dayasiri Jayasekera (then SLFP General Secretary), Rishard Bathiuddin, Abraham Sumanthiran, Rauf Hakeem and Mano Ganeshan. We do not know what Power and Chung discussed with an anti-Rajapaksa group.

She joined a Sri Lankan women parliamentary caucus study tour to New Zealand funded by USAID along with Seetha Arambepola, GR’s ‘Viyathmaga’ ‘political bombast’ who shredded ACSA and SOFA into pieces at ‘Viyathmaga’ and ‘Eliya’ meetings.

Amarasuriya bombarded the JVP Headquarters and revealed the true nature of the JVP (making the leadership to hide as ostriches) uttering that she supports 13 th Amendment to the Constitution.

Harini Amarasuriya was not the first one to join JVP ranks from the elite class. In 1971 we saw the late Susil Siriwardena, Oxford educated Administrative Officer (of Bandaranaike-Obeysekera clan) and Viraj Fernando, British educated Marine Engineer joining JVP.  Susil Siriwardena became the trusted lieutenant of Ranasinghe Premadasa, managing his housing and poverty alleviation (Janasaviya) programmes. After 1971 Sunila Abeysekera, daughter of a top Civil Servant marrying a JVP front liner joined its ranks. Soon after she became a topnotch NGO activist, heading a foreign-funded NGO called INFORM” (Inform Human Rights Documentation Centre), monitoringand documenting Human Rights situation in Sri Lanka in the context of ethnic conflict and civil war”. The Catholic nun who sang songs in JVP’s ‘Vimumthi Gee’ recital ended her political career after marrying a 1971 JVP leader (who participated in the decisive discussion at University Sangharamaya to begin the armed struggle on April 5, 1971, attacking police stations, who hid in a Buddhist temple donning a saffron robe when thousands of unsuspecting village girls and boys were dying in the name of revolution), now living a luxurious life Down Under earning a Ph.D.

Similarly, Harini Amarasuriya’s truck with the JVP/NPP can be short-lived unless JVP nominates her to a Cabinet post in a future coalition government. 

(3) Cockeyed Predictions – AKD and His NPP Well-pointed to Win”   

YouTube is full of talk shows given by JVP front liners. They all say that JVP is winning and AKD will be the next President of Sri Lanka. They make very optimistic statements that they will capture power and take decisions against saboteurs; 32 more Sundays (why 32 Sundays? Mahinda calculated the decisive day according to number of poya days. Why Sunday or the Sabbath? Is it Julie Chung’s Calendar?); what would happen during Malima’s (Compass -symbol of NPP) first week after coming to power; ex-servicemen joining the NPP for the second War; determination of tri-forces; our coming is definite; we will punish the rogues; an operation to prevent AKD becoming President; what game  Ranil plays  next October will usher a new administration. They have already come to power!

JVP astrologers reading AKD’s horoscope and seeing rajayoga is the biggest farce. Some brainy chaps had joined the fray in making predictions. One such predictor is a pseudo -theoretician who gave/gives dead ropes to Premadasa, Mahinda and Gotabhaya and now to Junior Premadasa.

The other one who predicts that AKD will poll 50%+ at a Presidential Election and JVP/NPP getting 113 seats at a Parliamentary Election, is the man who claims that he did all behind the scene work with Atureliye Ratana in bringing Sirisena in 2005, an acolyte of Janatha Mithuro, Sihala Urumaya and Jathika Hela Urumaya.  (In 2005 he wrote a book titled Yuga Peraliya” just to tell us that he singlehandedly changed the regime. He completely ignores the part played by the imperialists headed by US, RAW, UNP, NGO cabal and other anti MR groups. With the blessings of Sirisena this person became the chairman of a very important statutory body). In the first section of this essay we have stated that the then US Secretary of State John Kerry saying that the US providing US $ 585 million to Sri Lanka, Nigeria and Myanmar to stabilise democracy”.  It is an irony of history to state that this forecaster is the son of one time Communist Party General Secretary and a Member of Parliament, who led a struggle of plantation workers at Gasnawa rubber estate in Kegalle district to capture” the estate  (Gasnawe Weeraya – Hero of Gasnawa), much to the consternation of Communist Party hierarchy that led to his ouster as the General Secretary of the Party!  

Who reports these predictions that AKD crosses 50 +%? One is EconomyNext, owned by Capital Media (also publishes Echelon” and Cosmopolitan” for fearless women”- in partnership with Hearst Magazines International”. Hearst Communications” is an American mass media conglomerate), whose bigwigs linked to Sarvodaya Development Fund” and many more.

Who are the opinion trackers”? USAID funded Institute for Health Policy” (IHP). Its latest Sri Lanka Opinion Tracker Survey” (SLOTS) MRP estimates of Presidential Election voting intent for October 2023 show support for AKD reaching half of the likely electorate (51%)”. What is their sample size? Just 567! If their Survey Team goes to a JVP/NPP meeting and conducts an on-field Survey they can achieve the miracle number 99.99%. These foreign-funded researchers who live in ivory towers should be taught that the electorate does not behave according to their statistical techniques! We ask why they have gone outside their designated research areas to election predictions.

An unknown body, this Institute gained media coverage during Covid pandemic giving false interpretations about the crisis and criticizing government initiatives.

We bring this information to the readers because knowing the messenger is important to assess the validity of the message. We should know who brings us gifts before accepting their gifts. Fear the Greeks even when they bear gifts” as warned by the Trojan priest Laocoon.  

In our article in Lankaweb News posted on November 1, 2023 we have clearly stated that JVP cannot poll 50% and 1 vote at a Presidential election and get 113 seats at a parliamentary election respectively giving reasons for coming into that conclusion. Increasing current 3% to 51% and 3 seats to 113 is a herculean task never witnessed in a Presidential or Parliamentary election. Our assessment stands as it was without any change. Then why all this fuss of coming into power?  

Oldtimers will recall that there was a popular belief (no forecasting at that time) that Philip Gunawardene’s Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) will sweep the polls in March 1960 General Elections. One of the popular slogans during the elections was, Sangha-Veda- Guru- Govi- Kamkaru=Rekumata A Pilip Kumaru”.  For a 143- seat Parliament, MEP fielded candidates for 87 constituencies but got only 10 seats, including three won by Rajapaksas from Hambantota district. (D.A. Rajapaksa was defeated at Beliatta electorate, coming second). Gunawardena’s wife Kusumsiri Gunawardena became fourth at Kiriella electorate polls. Although not hyped LSSP won an equal number of seats. In July 1960 elections MEP was able to field only 51 candidates and got only 3 members elected.  Some who were elected in March 1960 in MEP ticket switched over to SLFP and were elected again in July 1960 as SLFPers.

Philip, the architect of the Paddy Lands Act which made a genuine effort to free the peasants from feudalistic economic relations and unequitable patron-client relations, who introduced multi-purpose cooperatives, a far reaching measure for the benefit of rural farmers as Minister of Agriculture and Lands and his able lieutenant William Silva as Minister of Fisheries who introduced wide ranging reforms in the fisheries sector were unable to secure a mandate from the people. What had happened to Philip in 1965 was a different story. How can JVP/NPP or AKD for the sake of argument match such a colossus who is coming forward without any meaningful track record?

This writer’ s contention is that Sri Lanka’s ‘Left movement’ began as a Trotskyite Movement (Lanka Sama Samaja Party- LSSP) headed by some London-educated Trotskyists. It was not a Marxist Movement in true sense of Marxism.  It was an irony of history never seen in any other country. LSSP was the strongest Trotskyite group in the world at one time. Although in 1943, Marxists-Leninists of the LSSP broke away and formed the United Socialist Party, later renaming it as Communist Party of Ceylon (CPC), after Nikita Khrushchev became the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Soviet Union (CPSU) it degenerated into a Revisionist Party. This led to the formation of Ceylon Communist Party (dubbed asthe Peking Wing by the capitalist press). This gave birth to various splinter groups of which JVP was one. Don Nandasiri Wijeweera (later baptized as Rohana Wijeweera) was expelled from the Party as he was engaged in conspiratorial work to grab the reins of its youth league.

Had some Communist Party (Moscow Wing) bigwigs allowed Don Nandasiri Wijeweera who visited Ceylon on a short holiday to go back to Moscow and continue his medical studies and qualify as medical practitioner without blocking his visa, Sri Lanka’s recent political history would have been changed avoiding many catastrophes.

Election forecasters should be warned that at the 1977 General Elections nobody in his wildest dreams had thought that the Left being wiped out without winning a single seat. Giant pillars in the Left Movement were crumbled down by minions, never to rise again. As a result, what remained as ‘Left’ is a group which degenerated within a very short time than the ‘Old Left’ which has no illustrious history, an appendage of dubious elements. The presence of this group is essential for the protection of the capitalist class. Its presence is not a threat to the capitalist class. Although dubbed as Marxist-Leninists”, Socialists” and Rathu Sahodarayas” by the media, reasons for the existence of such a group and attributes and characteristics of such a group are found in the world Marxist- Leninist history.

Did not JVP participate in governmental affairs? We can give two instances. Firstly, we still remember how the JVP managed the affairs of the key Ministries assigned to them by CBK. These key Ministries Agriculture (Anura Kumara), Fisheries (Piyasiri Wijenayaka), Rural Industries (Lal Kantha) and Culture and National Heritages (Vijitha Herath), taken together were like the heart and soul of the peasantry, fishermen, rural artificers and craftsmen and cultural activists respectively good enough to capture power waging an ideological campaign as the above stakeholders consisted of more than 90% of the total population of Sri Lanka. In a time of plain sailing in tranquil waters undisturbed by any natural calamity all four Ministers failed miserably without keeping any lasting footprint. This is enough for their future governance. 

Secondly, in Sirisena-Ranil yahapalana government AKD had a separate office at the Temple Trees. He was entrusted with catching rogues of the previous government. But in the midst of the Galle Face protest AKD staged a drama at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI) presenting a set of files as documentary evidence of corruption of Rajapaksas and some other politicians, already exposed in detail by political commentators of Sunday newspapers many years ago and their own Dooshana Viroddhee Peramuna” (Anti-graft Front) during Yahapalana regime.   This was queried by a government parliamentarian during the recent budget debate. His answer was if I had power, I know what I would be doing”. This statement is enough to be construed as a threat if the JVP/NPP come into power.             

 (4) Lal Kantha’s Readiness for an Armed Struggle

If the JVP/NPP and its godfathers and forecasters are certain of victory at a Presidential Election and a Parliamentary Election why does Lal Kantha JVP’s political bureau member and self-styled regime changer, uttering that he is ready for an armed struggle if required as the reincarnation of Keerthi Wijebhahu of DJV during 1988-1989? Daily FT on 8, November and EconomyNext on 20 November reported his readiness to participate in an armed struggle if the need arises. At a meeting held at Kandy he has said: I am also ready to join an armed struggle at any time; sacrifices are essential; we cannot succeed without sacrifice, without passion, without acts of heroism”.

He, at various public rallies gives warning signals: We come to power to make the final judgement for saboteurs”; Ranaviruwas join the Malimawa for the second battle”; Determination of the tri-forces”; Our coming is certain; we give maximum punishment to rogues”.

Is JVP/NPP mobilizing ex-servicemen for the third armed struggle? Have they heard what Lenin said about armed forces of a capitalist state as, instruments for the exploitation of the oppressed class”; instruments of state power”; ruling class strives to restore the special bodies of armed men which serve it”? Lal Kantha and AKD should read just the first few pages of The State and Revolution”!

OnMay 09, 2022, Helmet Brigades” turned the Island into an inferno. Arson took place with the aid of drones and Molotov cocktails. Nearly hundred private residences of government politicians were set ablaze. Lal Kantha at the height of the Galle Face protest, addressing a meeting at Thambuttegama in May 2022 threatened to lay siege to Parliament until the present Parliament was dissolved. Lal Kantha, and a few other JVP leaders were seen inciting demonstrators to storm and occupy the Parliament – ‘the final battle’- culmination of his Revolution” – in July 2022, at Polduwa Junction. But atthe crucialmoment when the military crackdown began, true to the form of JVP leaders they all slipped away.

What type of an armed struggle he is going to wage?

World history is replete with various types of armed struggles. During The CivilWar in France (Paris Commune) (1870-71), there were Monarchists, Communards (revolutionaries and supporters of Paris Commune), Capitulards (capitulationists ), Blanquists and  the petty-bourgeois democrats Jacobinists (two leading sections of the insurrection). 

In pre-revolutionary Russia there were Anarchists, God Builders’ (who advocated the founding of a new socialist” religion),Narodniks (who considered the peasants and petty-proprietors as the chief revolutionary force in Russia; formed terrorist groups which considered terrorism to be the main means of fighting tsarism (JVP of 1971); denied the leading role of the working class; later compromised with tsarism and voiced  the interests of Kulaks against Marxists); Cadets (Constitutional Democratic Party- hiding behind democratic slogans who betrayed peoples’ interests), Black Hundreds (gangs set up by the tsarist police to murder revolutionaries); Socialist Revolutionaries (a petty-bourgeois party who refused to recognize the proletariat’s leadership in the Revolution; later with the Mensheviks and Cadets became counter-revolutionists),  Legal Marxists” (a set of liberal- bourgeois intellectuals who distorted Marxism in the interests of the bourgeoisie) and Decembrists .

It is evident that JVP/NPP have all the components of these groups.

In China, during its two-stage Revolution, New Democratic Revolution and Socialist revolution respectively, various types of deviationists, Left” deviationists and Right” deviationists, Left” and Right” opportunists, Ultra” revolutionists, Putchists and Roving Rebels”, pure” militarists emerged. It was the Communist Party of China that resolved all these problems and won the final victory.

JVP also had two armed insurrections in 1971 and 1988-89. Lal Kantha’s utterings show that JVP is having an armed wing and arming themselves, conducting military training; We may ask is that the role of ex-servicemen who join NPP?

Looking at the JVP/NPP we conclude that it is a hotchpotch of bourgeois, petty-bourgeois elements, anarchists, duplicates of old Russian Narodniks and Social-Revolutionaries.  Now NPP has become the receptacle of all elements including ex-servicemen.

The JVP revolutionaries” should be taught that Engels wrote, that no revolution could break out there (in Paris) without assuming a proletarian character, that is to say without the proletariat”. Where are Lal Kantha’s proletarian forces? Ex-servicemen? Does he think that the Sri Lankan tri-forces would stand at the gates” as they did on July 9, 2022? 

(5) AKD’s Infantile Disorder”  

What is JVP’s programme to capture power? What AKD utters at Parliament and public meetings are just rhetoric. If we take the current Budget Debate for an example, JVP could have exploited it to its advantage informing the masses their programmes in resuscitating the economy, their fiscal and monetary policies, policies in agriculture, industry, health, education and culture, foreign relations, investment and so on and so forth, if they are certain in winning Presidential and Parliamentary Elections. Sadly, we heard nothing, except exchanging verbal abuse as usual.

Addressing a meeting at Uda Dumbara, AKD had nonsensically stated the paucity of our music industry comparing it with that of South Korea.  Why he has chosen South Korea as an example when there is a long list of countries which produce best music including Russia and China? He says that we are still reciting ‘Pel Kavi’ (a genre of folk poetry recited by peasants from their watch huts in the night in good old days!).

He said supermarkets world over do not sell Sri Lankan products, (he may have visited Costco, Target, Walmart, Tesco, Myers, David Jones or Chadstone in his foreign junkets, flying business class, wearing haut couture dresses- exclusive custom fitted clothing) and Netflix does not have any Sri Lankan film!  (Why sudden craze for Netflix, the American video-on-demand over -the-top streaming service? Was he briefed by his Californian fans about Netflix while visiting California recently? Does AKD know Netflix does not serve Russia, China and North Korea?)

Since he has in his fold (A) several music men, some who judge Derana” Dream Star Reality Shows (one man is an NGO artist of German-funded FLICT (Facilitating Local Initiatives for Conflict Transformation, which was actively operational during the Eelam War; their stage play Ratnavalli’ defames the character of Vihara Devi, an epitome of bravery and self-sacrifice and an inspirational power in opposing foreign domination) and the other the JVP stage performer (accompanied by his vocalist spouse), (B) a film actor who shoved Sajith Premadasa at Galle Face Carnival, (C) a soap opera actor who carried a wooden cross from Katuwapitiya church to Galle Face Green, (D) Sinhala lyricists,  (E) film producers who produce films with foreign collaborators to screen at international film festivals, depicting Sri Lanka as a Sinhala-Buddhist Majoritarian” country which victimizes ethnic and religious minorities; our village folk with incestuous sexual orientations unable to free themselves from tribal traits and who distort our history; (some of them won premier awards at the recently concluded Derana -Lux Film Awards” judged by NGO affiliated film critics, film producers and journalists) and (F) some Youtubers who livestream JVP/NPP activities, Sri Lanka can be rest assured that its music and film industry going  global when AKD comes to power!

Above categories show the type of artists who are attracted to JVP/NPP in a nutshell.

Teenage sex, extramarital activities, problems of gays, lesbians, gender neutrals and transgender people, frigid women (or women suffering from vaginismus), Sinhala supremacy and ethnic discrimination provide themes to literature propagated by writers who represent JVP/NPP.  

One mediocre writer who was seen among these Colombo-based NPP groupings, once interviewed by US-funded ROAR media, portrayed Princess Yasodara, who had earned much reverence from the Buddhists all over the world, cherished as an epitome of chastity, womanhood and motherhood in classical Sinhala literature, having a clandestine affair with Prince Siddhartha’s Minister Channa. Accordingly, Prince Rahula was Channa’s illegitimate child. When this person was charged for this sacrilege the NGO cabal wept buckets of tears in the name of freedom of expression.  Have we ever heard a Western writer or a Catholic writer in Sri Lanka, writing a blasphemous short story about Virgin Mary?

AKD has not yet stated that Sri Lanka has failed to produce a Nobel laureate in Literature!

See the venue AKD has chosen to showcase his ‘knowledge’ of music industry, global supermarkets and Netflix; Uda Dumbara, a sleepy mountainous area inhabited by impoverished paddy, vegetable and highland cultivators!   

AKD should be taught about the speech given by Premier Zhou-en Lai at a forum on literary and artistic creations and screenplay writing in 1961, how Zhou delineated physical and intellectual production and discussed class struggle and united front, to whom art and literature serve, development laws, heritage, creation and leadership in art and literature.

Before uttering unscientific nonsense AKD should learn ideas expressed by Marx, Engels and Lenin on art and literature and Mao’s treatises on art and literature which have a profound relevance to countries in the East respectively.

Has AKD written any theoretical essay? If the JVP claims that it is a Marxist party what extraordinary profound knowledge of Marx they have, the ability to apply Marxism -Leninism   to the economic andpolitical situation of Sri Lanka? Is it able to unite Marxist parties and circles into a single unit giving it political leadership?

It is an affront to Lenin if we try to describe what Lenin did before the Great October. 

What ideological struggle AKD and JVP/NPP wage against SLPP, UNP, SJB and other splinter groups except calling all of them horas? Is he criticizing their political and economic programmes? What work they did to unite Marxist groups and circles when it is not banned in a time of enjoying democratic rights without any police persecution?

What change – if JVP is not using the term Revolution- JVP is going to bring about? Is it a bourgeois-democratic revolution as Lenin put forward in his Two Tactics of Social Democracy in the Democratic Revolution” or a phase of New Democracy” as expounded by Mao? But both leaders said proletariat- working class- Communist Party must be the leader. Is JVP or NPP such a party becoming the leader of the bourgeois democratic or new democratic revolution?

Giving an interview to a Sunday Weekly AKD had stated that his party’s aim will be a Pohosath Janathawak- Pohosath Ratak” (Rich People- Rich Country). All are hackneyed phrases (like engine of economic growth”), nothing new in what he says; we have heard these from all people who sought a mandate from people since Independence. These so-called engines” are like the different types of locomotives Ceylon Government Railways (CGR) had from its inception, still could not provide an efficient and effective service to the commuters! What kind of economic democracy” AKD imagines we do not know.

How AKD is going to make people rich” is the biggest question. Rich” in what? We are rich” in rhetoric. By words not deeds. It seems that AKD is thinking statecraft, with apologies to Mao, as a dinner party or writing an essay or painting a picture or doing embroidery”. 

If the JVP/NPP assumes that they will come to power very soon, in preparation to hold power we advise them to read and understand Lenin’s essays Impending Catastrophe and How to Combat It” and One of the Fundamental Questions of Revolution” (Collected Works-Volume25).

(6) Why No Opposition to JVP/NPP?

It is intriguing why nobody in the opposition or media criticize JVP/NPP and give a plausible interpretation why it cannot come into power except some pohottuwa parliamentarians. Reason is their uncertainty and political expediency keeping options open for a coalition government after a General Election.  

The other reason is fear psychosis! Reminiscences of 1988-89 haunting everywhere.

The people in the nationalist camp who criticize RW’s policies and who advocate that this government should be chased out do not say HOW? WITH WHOM? and UNDER WHOSE LEADERSHIP?    

(7) Dual Tactics of Western Embassies

It is interesting to assess the role of Western Embassies, especially the US Embassy, how they have evinced a greater interest in JVP/NPP? Do they think that the JVP/NPP has shed its anti-imperialist” stance by embracing the stars and stripes flag? What are the reasons for this delusion? Are they igniting a Third” insurrection giving JVP/NPP a false consciousness that the Western countries are willing to recognize and prepared to work with JVP/NPP, ensuing its total annihilation? Or have they thought that they have found a fangless ally to foster their geopolitical strategies and counter China?

Recently JVP/NPP have released photographs of their frontrunners, may be the members of the Central Committee, (or Military Commission!), a group of middle class and upper middle-class parasites. Among them we were able to identify (i) An old Trotskyite, who was involved in yahapalana constitution-making under Sirisena-RW (ii) An American specter haunting at Peradeniya who teaches Sinhala literature,  advocating counter-culture and other euro-centric rubbish; who wrote an open letter to Julie Chung that he has American connections and he was supporting Galle Face protest (iii) A Sabaragamuwa Sinhala lecturer who plagiarized Ms. Padma Edirisinghe’s Sinhala translation of R. L. Brohier’s Changing Face of Colombo” as Kolamba Komaliya”, who made a public apology on its exposure, was forced to remove the books issued to booksellers (iv) A person who worked at MR’s office at Temple Trees and who decamped on account of MR not arranging funds for his son’s education in America (v) An LGBTQ+ activist who openly admits his sexual orientation and who made films portraying gays and lesbians (vi) A lawyer who represented Garnier Barrister aka Sriyalatha Perera of Swiss Embassy local recruit, who was chosen as the scapegoat by local and international conspirators to tarnish the image of Sri Lanka (the first step in the ouster of GR) (vii) A lawyer who fought against ‘Upadhi Kada’ calling their closure,who celebrated his son’s graduation from a private university offering him floral tributes, when JVP students’ wing  of the state universities molest female undergraduates, ordering them to attendlectures wearing bathroom slippers” and cheap dresses  without underwear, who forcibly take other students for street demonstrations against private universities, (viii) Some members ofthe electricity mafia, who oppose solar, wind and other renewable energy sources representing the interests of agents  of fossil fuel, coal power and thermal power generation.  

In 1971 Wijeweera was conscious at least to enlist some workers cum trade union leaders from Land Development Department, DI leather factory and Wellawatta Weaving Mills.

(8) A Few Questions That Need Answers

(I) Why AKD’s trip to America was planned just a few months ahead of an election? (2) Did he meet any personnel of US State Department at least through proxies? (3) Can we forget that Sirisena visited US prior to 2015 on the pretext of receiving an ‘award’ and his sojourns in Singapore? (4) Why does Lal Kantha ask the people to come to the streets and demonstrate if the government does not give an election knowing very well that any election will be conducted next year?  (5) Is it a ploy to mobilize people to come to the streets, if the election result is not favourable to them, questioning its validity, refusing to concede defeat as Trump and Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil did? JVP cried computer jilmart” after the defeat of Sarath Fonseka, the Presidential candidate they supported with UNP, TNA, SLMC and a host of NGOs. How Somawansa Amarasinghe, the then JVP leader wearing a three-piece suit shamelessly embraced Ranil and Fonseka at a Presidential election meeting!  

(9) AKD As American Protégé? Or Modern-day Icarus?

RW government’s budgetary proposals increased taxes at the behest of IMF to get the second tranche of IMF loan. VAT will be increased from 15% to 18% in certain items and from 0% to 18% in some other items burdening all segments of the society. This provides an excellent spawning grounds for future agitations and open revolt. US and IMF are doing this deliberately expecting future riots for them to intervene. Already Julie Chung has released an X message on 13 December 2023, on account of the release of IMF second tranche as she did at the release of first tranche. We welcome the positive news from the IMF Board about the completion of the first Extended Fund Facility review with Sri Lanka providing access to about US dollars 337 million for Sri Lanka to support its economic reforms and policies”. Although she says while safeguarding the most vulnerable” in her message, she hides how Ranil’s VAT affects the most vulnerable”.

In the midst of such a turmoil and open revolt, Americans may install AKD or Harini Amarasuriya as their protégé to govern Sri Lanka as they installed Nguyen Cao-ky deposing Ngo Dinh Diem their own protégé in South Vietnam and Lon Nol in Cambodia respectively. Looking at this scenario it is wishful thinking that if someone comes to the conclusion that the Western Embassies are deluded by JVP/NPP.

What is the other interpretation? Is AKD the modern-day Icarus? Icarus was warned not to fly too low nor too high, lest the sea’s dampness clog his wings or the sun’s heat melt them. He ignored instructions not to fly close to the sun causing beeswax in his wings to melt. He felt from the sky, plunged into the sea, was drowned and doomed.

ප්‍ර සමරසිංහ

https://youtu.be/tC8WDLKLsXQ

my adapted lyrics for the song ‘ රැජිණට ඇන්දා ‘ sung by  Amandya Uthpalie. 

කන්දෙට ඇන්නා  

කයින්දටත් ඇන්නා…//

අජ්ජපනේට ළමොංට ඇන්නා

මිලේ නියං සිටි යට ඇන්නා..//

ඇයි වස්සනෙ දංනෙ නැද්ද  

ලක බෙදන්ට සුම්මකිරට නැතුවම බැරි

මං රන්නා..

ඇමති කාලේ මාමා මට

දුන්නා මඟ පෙන්නා..

කැම රූන්ලා බුලි බුලංලා..//

උඹ පුටුගත කොරේ මං

දෙනව උඹට රන්නා

අනෙ පල යන්න සුම්මා

ඒ මං හන්දා…

ලක බෙදන්ට සුම්මකිරට නැතුවම බැරි

මං රන්නා අනෙ..

ලක්වැසියට උංගේ බඩට

කෙලියලු මං පන්නා

කෙස් පැහුනත් ගජරාමෙට

නල්ල කෙරුං පුළුහං මට

ඇයිදෝ මන්දා..

ලක බෙදන්ට සුම්මකිරට නැතුවම බැරි රන්නා..

බුරියානිත් කොකාකොලත්

අනලා කැවු රන්නා

තාමත් ඔයි පුටුවෙ ඉන්නේ

ණය නොගෙවන හංදා  

මං රන්නා..

කන්දෙට ඇන්නා..//

Kaarige Channel Eka | Dharmasri Kariyawasam

We discuss President Joe Biden’s “full support for a scorched-earth campaign” in Gaza with _The Intercept_’s Jeremy Scahill, who says the U.S. is providing “political cover and rushing weapons there and giving support to the most pernicious lies that Israel [is] telling.” Despite the Biden administration’s recent assertions that it is helping to restrain Israel, Israel’s military and intelligence operation is significantly propped up by resources from the United States State and Defense departments, explains Scahill. “This is a joint U.S. operation militarily and politically.” Meanwhile, he says, Biden continues to repeat debunked falsehoods about pictures of beheaded babies from the October 7 Hamas attack.

Ministry of Defence  – Media Centre

The relics unearthed from the Deegawapiya site during the excavations and the Crest-Gem which are in exposition around the island to provide the devotees with an opportunity to pay their homage, are expected to be placed at Kahawaththa Purana Rajamaha Viharaya on Saturday morning ( Dec 16).

The Sacred Relics and the Crest Gem will remain at the Kahawaththa Purana Rajamaha Viharaya on December 16 and 17 for public veneration. Subsequently, the revered articles will be displayed at several Buddhist shrines covering the Rathnapura area for public veneration to provide the devotees with an opportunity to pay their homage during the rare exposition.

The Deegawapiya Stupa and the premises have been damaged due to various invasions in the past and therefore, restoration works are currently underway to bring it back to its former glory. Hence, the devotees have the opportunity to support this meritorious act by making financial contributions to the restoration project while worshiping the Sacred Omniscient Relics and Crest Gem of the Deegawapiya Stupa.

Arrangements have been made for the exposition of these revered articles at Ganegama Rajamaha Viharaya premises, Pelmadulla from December 18 to 20 morning, at Nivithigala Kshethrarama Viharaya from 20 to 22 morning and at Weragama Sri Pushparamaya, Palawela from 22 to 24. Afterwards, the revered articles will move in a religious procession to Rathnapura Sri Sumana Saman Devalaya.

Prime Minister’s Media Division

Danish Ambassador Freddy Svane called on Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at the Temple Trees today (December 14) to exchange views on bilateral ties and development cooperation between Sri Lanka and Denmark.

The New Delhi-based Ambassador said that yesterday he took part at the opening of electronics production factory of major Danish company, GPV Group A/S of Copenhagen that would provide over 1,000 employment opportunities. He said many investors in Denmark are willing to invest in power sector, deep sea fishing, mechanized boat production and other projects.

The Prime Minister briefed him on the current economic development in the country, including the progress made on IMF package. He thanked Denmark for the trust and confidence placed by Denmark by encouraging investments and for the support given as a member of the Paris Club to assist in Sri Lanka’s efforts in reviving its economy.

They also discussed on the initiative of expanding SAGT with MAERSK activities in Sri Lanka for logistics hub/consolidation. MERSK is in the process of developing the consortium with possible Japanese funding.

The Prime Minister also urged Denmark to facilitate to increase cinnamon and other spices imports from Sri Lanka.

Secretary to the Prime Minister, Anura Dissanayake and Consular Officer of Danish Consul General Office, Ruchi de Silva also attended the meeting.

Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Dec 14 (NewsWire/ Sputnik) – Russia has emerged as one of the strongest contenders to build nuclear power plants in Sri Lanka, according to a media report published on Tuesday.

According to Russia’s Sputnik News, Sri Lanka currently imports most of its energy needs, including oil, coal and hydrocarbons. To ease the economic burden, the island nation aims to generate 70% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

According to the media report, a high-level delegation from Russia recently visited the island nation and discussed proposed cooperation in the nuclear energy sector with the Sri Lankan authorities.

We can implement this project only if the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) is signed between Sri Lanka and Russia. That is now pending,” the Russian delegation added.

Many countries, including the US, Denmark and China, have expressed interest in investing in nuclear power plants in the island nation after the SLAEA gave the green light to nuclear power.

Why Russia Is Foremost Contender

Russia has taken a leading position in building nuclear power plants in South Asian countries. It has demonstrated its efficiency and understanding of the region by building plants in countries such as Bangladesh, China and India.

In addition, recently, Russia signed a memorandum with Burkina Faso, a country in West Africa, to construct a nuclear power plant.

Meanwhile, earlier speaking with Sputnik, Sergey Pikin, director of the Energy Development Fund, a Moscow-based think tank, said Russia can support them as it is also a supplier of technology, help them (Sri Lanka) while constructing the station, and with other requirements, including finances.

I think the choice of Sri Lanka is obvious,” Pikin said, adding, Russia is a global leader, and Colombo should move forward with Russia”.

In July, media reports quoted Sri Lanka’s Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera saying that Sri Lanka is assessing nuclear power plant offers from Russia and other countries.

Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people, secured a $2.9 billion bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund to end its worst economic crisis since the end of colonial rule in 1948.

According to media reports, Sri Lanka’s electricity generation in 2020 was heavily reliant on fossil fuels (10 TWh) and hydropower (5 TWh), with small contributions from wind and solar. The CEB’s long-term energy plans include nuclear power from 2030.

In 2022, a team of IAEA experts assessed Sri Lanka’s readiness for a nuclear power programme through an Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review. This review was part of the IAEA’s Milestones Approach, designed for countries introducing nuclear energy.

උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස්

තමන් වහන්සේ විසින් ජාතික ජන බලවේගය නායක අනුර දිසානායක මහතාගේ අතේ බඳින ලද පිරිත් නූල පන්සලෙන් එළියට බහින විටම ගලවා විසි කළ බව මිහින්තලා රජමහා විහාරාධිපති පූජ්‍ය වලවාහැංගුනවැවේ ධම්මරතන හිමියෝ කියා සිටිති.

අනුර දිසානායක මහතා පක්ෂයේ නායකත්වයට පත්වූ දිනවල මිහින්තලේ විහාරස්ථානයට පැමිණි අවස්ථාවේ මෙම සිදුවීම වූ බවද උන්වහන්සේ කියා සිටිති.

ආවාසයෙන් එළියට බහින ගමන්ම පිරිත් නූල ගලවා විසි කරනු එහි සිටි පිරිස් දැක තමන් වහන්සේට දැනුම් දුන් බවද උන්වහන්සේ පැවසූහ.

‘ඔ්කුන්ගේ හැටි ඔහොම තමයි. ඔ්කුන් මිත්‍යා දෘෂ්ටිකයෝ. ඕකුන්ට අාගමක් දහමක් නෑ. එච්චර ගණන් ගන්න එපා’ යැයි තමන් වහන්සේ ඔවුන්ට පැවසු බවද එහිමියෝ කියා සිටියහ.

උන්වහන්සේ මෙම අදහස් පළ කරන ලද්දේ අන්තර්ජාල නාලිකාවක සාකච්ඡාවකට එක්වෙමිනි.

උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස්

ක්‍රිකට් ක‍්‍රීඩාවේදී වැඩිපුර මුදල් ලැබෙන්නේ ක්‍රීඩා කරන තරග වලින් නොව ක්‍රිකට් තරග විකාශන අයිතිය හරහා බව ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණේ හිටපු පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී සුනිල් හඳුන්නෙත්ති මහතා පවසයි.

තරගාවලිය දිනුවද පැරදුනද විකාශන අයිතියට අදාළ සියලු මුදල් ලබාදෙන බවද ඒ මහතා පැවසීය.

ඒ ආකාරයෙන් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට පැමිණිය යුතුව තිබූ මුදල්වලින් ඩොලර් මිලියන 11,000ක මුදලක් විදේශ ගිණුම්වල තැන්පත් කර ඇති බවද ඔහු පැවසීය.

ඒවා ශ්‍රී ලාංකික පුද්ගලයන්ට අයත් විදේශ ගිණුම් බවද හෙතෙම පැවසීය.

කෝප් කමිටුව මේ පිළිබඳව වෝහාරික විගණනයක් පැවැත් වූ බවත් එය අවසාන වීමට පෙර පාර්ලිමේන්තුව විසුරුවා හැරීමෙන් කෝප් කමිටුවද අහෝසි වූ බවත් අදටත් එම පර්ීක්‍ෂණ විවෘත බවත් හෙතෙම කියා සිටියේය.

ඒ මහතා මේ බව කියා සිටියේ හිරු රූපවාහිනිය සමඟ පැවති සාකච්ඡාවකට එක්ක අතරතුරදීය.

මීළඟ ජනාධිපති අනුර දිසානායක මහතා යටතේ මේ පිළිබඳව පූර්ණ පරීක්ෂණයක් සිදු කරනු ඇති බවද හෙතෙම තවදුරටත් එහිදී කියා සිටියේය.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Colombo, Dec.15 (Daily Mirror) – The minority allies of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) – Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) – remain disappointed after its leader Sajith Premadasa said in Parliament that he would not patch up with President Ranil Wickremesinghe in view of future elections, an informed source said.

These two allies backed by some SJB MPs have tried hard to form an alliance between the SJB and the United National Party (UNP) led by the President to face the elections pending next year. An informed source familiar with the process told Daily Mirror yesterday that these parties and some SJB seniors believe in the need for such unity to contest the elections as a formidable force against the JVP-led National Peoples’ Power (NPP) and Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).

However, Mr. Premadasa’s open remarks against it resulted in their attempt a futile exercise.

The mainstream political forces have begun to evolve strategies in view of the presidential election scheduled for next year. A group of SJB seniors and the party’s minority allies prefer the President to ditch the SLPP and form an alliance with them.

According to the Constitution, the election has to be conducted before October, next year. Mr. Premadasa has already expressed interest in contesting the election. NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake is another prospective candidate expected to be in the fray.

Courtesy Adaderana

Her Royal Highness Princess Anne, the Princess Royal of the United Kingdom will visit Sri Lanka from January 10 to 13, 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.

She will be accompanied by her spouse Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the statement said.

Her Royal Highness has been invited by the Government of Sri Lanka to participate in events connected with the 75th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and the UK, according to the Foreign Ministry.

Princess Anne is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of King Charles III.

Courtesy Adaderana

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has branded the government’s decision to engage in a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with an Australia-based firm as an act of corruption.

Delivering a special statement today (14 Dec.), the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Leader accused the government of endorsing a proposal to engage in a PPA with the Australian firm United Solar Group (USG) without following the proper tender process.

Meanwhile, speaking in Parliament in this regard recently, the leader of the National People’s Power (NPP) Anura Kumara Dissanayake also charged that the move would only result in consumers having to pay higher electricity tariffs.

On 12 December, the Cabinet of Ministers has green-lighted a proposal seeking to enter into a Power Purchase Agreement with the Australia-based company United Solar Group.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Power & Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said through this deal, plans are afoot to invest in a 700MW Solar Power Project with a 1,500MW Battery Energy Storage System.

The Solar power project will be installed on the surface of the Poonakary Tank in the Killinochchi District, with a Foreign Direct Investment of USD 1,727 Million,” Wijesekera added.

Earlier this year, the Cabinet of Ministers gave the nod to call for Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from prospective investors to develop renewable energy projects with a capacity of 50MW or more in order to support the implementation of expeditious renewable energy development programs in the country.

As such, United Solar Energy Sri Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd., the local subsidiary of United Solar Group, had submitted a proposal to develop a solar power plant of 700MW with a battery energy storage system, at Poonakary Tank, Kilinochchi enabling to provide a power supply of 134MW.

Courtesy Adaderana

State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe declared that work on more than 200 development projects, initiated with foreign aid but halted midway, is set to recommence in the first quarter of the next year. 

State Minister Semasinghe made this announcement in light of the bolstering of the country’s economy with the second tranche of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Speaking at a news conference held at the Presidential Media Centre (PMC) under the theme Collective path to a Stable Country,’ today (14 Dec.) the State Minister emphasized the significance of political stability reflected in the passage of the 2024 budget proposal. He underscored that this year’s budget provides the necessary groundwork for effective management of state income and expenditures.

Addressing the economic challenges faced by the country, Semasinghe pointed out that slogans alone are insufficient, advocating the necessity of the IMF program. He highlighted the successful passing of the 2024 state budget and the anticipated release of USD 337 million from the IMF as a positive development. He expressed hope for similar cooperation from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

Pointing out that the country’s economy is not at a level where popular political slogans can be used to find solutions, the State Minister emphasized that there was no other option but the program with the IMF.

State Minister Shehan Semasinghe further stated that it was possible to pass the 2024 state budget, reflecting the political stability of the parliament. 

Highlighting the IMF’s decision to release the second installment of USD 337 million to Sri Lanka, Semasinghe noted that hopes are high for the release of the previously agreed installments from the World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank(ADB).

The opposition created anxiety among the people by suggesting that the government would not succeed in the debt restructuring process, creating a very unfortunate situation. If the debt restructuring process fails, we will be unable to achieve our desired economic goals. The success of these efforts will contribute significantly to improving the economic condition of the country, the President’s Media Division )PMD) reported.

The State Minister also said that just a few months ago, the country faced a challenging economic situation. Comparing the economic conditions then and now, it becomes evident that the International Monetary Fund played a crucial role in facilitating this success. Apart from that program, there had no other means to uplift the economy as a country

State Minister Semasinghe emphasized that during the implementation of the program with the IMF, the operational procedures of the country’s creditors and other multilateral financial facilities played a crucial role. Within the financial framework of the IMF, Sri Lanka’s efficiency and commitments held significant importance.

As a responsible government, it was not inclined to underestimate the difficulties faced by the people. However, the government acknowledged that if such decisions were not made, the country might find itself in a worse situation than the last economic crisis in the future.

He stated that it is noteworthy that the leadership provided by President Ranil Wickremesinghe in this brief period was crucial for managing these situations. Gratitude must be extended to the people for their involvement in the government’s reform process, despite its challenges.

In addition to the approval of the budget document in the parliament, there is a need to concentrate on increasing state income. The problematic situation arises from the fact that government revenue has not been adjusted to match the expenditure.

The agreement with the IMF has faced strong criticism in Parliament. However, it must be acknowledged that the country’s economy is not at a level where political solutions can be found. Criticizing and blaming the past are not effective in solving the crisis. Opposition groups have opposed government decisions solely for the sake of popularity, requiring a decision on whether to continue as a bankrupt country or strengthen the gained momentum.

He also pointed out that without a change in the country’s tax policy, the government will struggle to achieve the desired state revenue. The previous governments neglected the tax system, contributing to the current predicament.

The President proposed strengthening the tax network through last year’s interim budget. As it did not yield the expected results, the necessary conditions for expanding the tax network were established in this year’s budget. Therefore, increasing government revenue and managing expenditures are crucial.

Furthermore, work on over 200 projects, initially halted due to foreign loan challenges, will resume in the first quarter of next year. Despite the economic challenges, the country is optimistic and exhibits signs of recovery.

‘Building the country’s economy cannot be solely approached from a political angle, as suggested by the opposition. Criticizing groups that didn’t shoulder responsibility during challenging times is unfair. Survey institutes should responsibly express their opinions on the country’s economy, especially considering the critical juncture. The press release from the IMF emphasizes that misinformation is being disseminated for political purposes’, the PMD reported.

Courtesy Adaderana

The Maligakanda Magistrate Lochani Abeywickrama has emphasized that the court finds the actions of the former Secretary of the Ministry of Health Janaka Chandragupta with regard to the process of purchasing the batch of ‘substandard’ human intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), as suspicious.

Therefore, the Magistrate has ordered that all responsible parties must be arrested and produced before the court irrespective of their positions, for the administration of justice over the providing of substandard medicine to the public.

The case related to the purchase and release of the batch of substandard human intravenous immunoglobulin within the country’s hospital system was taken up before the Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday (13).

There, the owner of the company responsible for supplying the batch of medicine in question, the Director of the Medical Supplies Division of the Ministry of Health Dr. Kapila Wickramanayake, and four other officials, who were arrested in relation to the case, were produced before the court.

Deputy Solicitor General Lakmini Girihagama, who reported the progress of the investigations related to the matter to the court, on behalf of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), stated that she will submit to the court the investigation report of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) pertaining to the quality of the relevant immunoglobulin vials.

Furthermore, the Deputy Solicitor General revealed that the relevant batch of medicine had failed the Microbiological test and that the solutions injected into the patients’ bodies had contained microorganisms, as per the report.

She also highlighted that thereby, the microbiology experts are of the opinion that those drugs would have caused fatal allergies in patients.

In addition, the Deputy Solicitor General expressed that investigations have been launched regarding 04 other types of drugs apart from the IVIG vials in question and ‘Rituximab’, which have currently been found to be substandard.

The relevant investigations were launched into a type of drug given for Colorectal cancer (cancers associated with the rectum and large intestine), a drug given for cancers associated with the lungs and stomach, a drug used in eye surgery and another type of drug used for treating disorders related with blood clotting, according to the Deputy Solicitor General.

Accordingly, she requested the court to issue an order suspending the use of relevant medicines in treating the patients for now, and to re-import the drugs in question.

The magistrate, who took the request into consideration, has ordered the Medical Supplies Division to immediately suspend the use of those 04 types of drugs and to store them safely for further investigations.

Furthermore, the Deputy Solicitor General also presented facts at length regarding the investigations.
Later, the lawyers representing the suspects had submitted bail requests for their clients.

However, the Maligakanda Magistrate once again rejected the relevant bail requests, after considering the facts presented.

Accordingly, the court has also ordered the five suspects including the four officials of the Health Ministry’s Medical Supplies Division who were arrested and remanded in custody in relation to the case, to be remanded further until December 27, 2023.

Courtesy Hiru News

The Kurunegala High Court has convicted five individuals, including the former Mayor of Kurunegala, Thushara Sanjeewa Vitharana, for their role in the destruction and removal of the ancient ‘King’s Court’ (Raja Sabha Mandapaya). The court handed down a three-year sentence of rigorous imprisonment to each of the five suspects.

The case revolved around the deliberate destruction of the historical site, raising concerns about the preservation of Sri Lanka’s rich cultural heritage. The court’s decision underscores the importance of safeguarding ancient sites and sends a strong message regarding accountability for those involved in their destruction.

KAMALIKA PIERIS

Kurundi Vihara has led to a lot of talk about how to conserve a Buddhist monument in Sri Lanka. Until Kurundi, there was no discussion on the subject.  The Department of Archaeology selected certain Buddhist monuments and renovated them.  There was no fuss.

But when the Kurundi vihara issue came up, the public was alerted by the Tamil Separatist Movement that there were restrictions on conserving Kurundi. The Buddhist public and the Department of Archaeology could not do as they liked. They had to take into account UNESCO’s Heritage policy. That was the modern way of doing archaeological work.

According to UNESCO’s Heritage policy, all aspects must be considered when managing an archaeological site, such as a stupa. The archaeological value of a site is only one of the many values to be considered.  Conservation should involve local communities and local authorities not just the central government. Preference cannot be given to one particular group, either.

There is also another obstruction, the Venice Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). The Venice Charter is a set of guidelines, drawn up in 1964 by a group of conservation professionals mainly from the west. It provides an international framework for the conservation and restoration of historic buildings including religious ones.

The Venice guidelines, which are actually stentorian orders,   say that conservation must not be simply conservation; it must also have a socially useful purpose.   It must help the nearby settlements. Also there must be no new additions to   the structure.  Venice charter’s relevance and applicability of the Asian context has been debated. The one size fits all approach of western conservation does not suit, critics said.

What this means for Kurundi, is that we are no longer free to renovate our   ruined Buddhist structures the way we want.  It must be done the way the Venice Charter wants.   As far as I know, Venice Charter has been invoked in Sri Lanka only for two places of Buddhist worship, Dalada Maligawa after the LTTE attack and now, Kurundi.

In the case of Dalada Maligawa bomb restoration, it was necessary to put aside Venice Charter and listen instead to the monks, said Gamini Wijesuriya who did the conservation. The later historic phase was selected to protect the layers underneath. In keeping with Venice Charter the walls had to be white, but the monks wanted the walls painted in color, because white   was difficult to maintain.

Buddhists laugh at the idea that conservation is something that has come to us from the west, via UNESCO and ICOMOS .Conservation practices have existed in Asia for centuries, they said. When Asian communities built monuments they were aware of the conservation needs and these were built into the process.  

Several speakers in the IAHS You Tube talks brushed aside the Heritage policy.   The important issue, for them, was the fact that Kurundi was a Buddhist vihara and Buddhism was a living tradition in Sri Lanka. .Buddhist heritage cannot be compared with other heritages, they said. We have looked after our heritage for thousands of years before UNESCO brought in its notion of Heritage. Those traditional methods of Buddhist heritage management are also a part of our heritage.

We need to change these Heritage laws,    participants said.  We need to start another dialogue  on Buddhist heritage and heritage management. We need to rethink heritage management, we are having a problem with it, they said.

Buddhists in Sri Lanka are not interested in Heritage policy or the   Vienna Charter. They say that Kurundi is an ancient Buddhist stupa. And a stupa is part of the living tradition of Buddhist worship.  That is the end of the matter.

All stupas function as sacred places of worship. A stupa is treated as a living Buddha and the respect paid to the Buddha should be paid to the stupa as well, said Ven. Walpola Rahula. A stupa is a sacred place, it contains relics. We have to respect this when   managing stupas, said Gamini Wijesuriya. (Conservation and management of heritage: Alternative theoretical reflections” published in   Ancient Ceylon” no 26. (2020).

The   Department of Archaeology has found that for stupas the only acceptable approach from the point of view of public was complete restoration. Those who criticized this do not  recognize the centuries old tradition of renewal and continuity, said Gamini Wijesuriya.

Conservation of Buddhist heritage in Sri Lanka requires the acceptance of the fact that  Buddhism is a living religion . The Buddhist heritage in Sri Lanka is a living heritage with its own values. These values have remained constant over time. That is not found in other types   of heritage, observed   Gamini Wijesuriya.  The modern approach has not taken into account this living heritage. This   quality is ignored in modern conservation policy, which is influenced by the secular ideas of the west.

The Buddhist approach towards conservation has been expressed in the Buddhist teachings as well. There is also the doctrine of impermanence in Buddhism and the natural acceptance of decay. This is also relevant to conservation.

UNESCO’s Heritage policy refers to ‘values’ . The original values of these heritage places remain intact and have been inherited by the present generation of Buddhists, replied Gamini. Present generation acts as guardians of the heritage. They also have the right to use this heritage to accomplish their religious needs.

analysts have drawn attention to a  statement in Supreme Court Determination 1/94 ( 1994) where Supreme Court said  The expression ‘Buddha Sasana’ is wider than ‘Buddhism’ and includes the entireestablishment together with objects and places of religious practices and worship of Buddhists”. Hence the term Buddha Sasana could be further extended to include Maha Sangha, archaeological sites, villages, lands and properties feeding Buddhist temples and Viharas. Therefore the Buddha Sasana includes both tangible and intangible features. 

Buddhist temples were regularly conserved   in the ancient and medieval period in Sri Lanka. Continuous renewal of temples was a part of the Buddhist tradition.  Records show that in  Sri Lanka  Buddhist   temples were renewed constantly. There are many ancient sites with a long record of historical continuity.

Mahavamsa has hundreds of references to the continuous repair of religious buildings by kings, monks, and public. Thuparama was improved or repaired, by 16 Sinhala kings starting with   Lajjatissa (119-110BC) and ending with Parakrama bahu I (1153-86).

 Parakrama bahu I had sent a minister to carry out restoration of monasteries, Nissanka Malla (1187-96) did the same. Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe (1747-82) repaired many temples in the Udarata kingdom.

In Sri Lanka when a stupa was built it was the practice to endow it also with land for repairs and maintenance. Kings provided endowments of lands that monks could use to generate income for the upkeep of the monastery. Sometimes grants were made exclusively for repairs. Such endowments were protected by law and exempt from all taxes. Supervision of the renovation was delegated to   Minister or high ranking official. The term ‘Loke Arakmena’ in Nissanka Malla inscriptions has been translated as ‘chief conservator of monuments ‘.

A  Sanskrit inscription dated to 9th century    found at Jetavana talks about a village which held a skilled workforce of stone cutters and carpenters, entirely dedicated to temple conservation work.  

The inscription said that skilled craftsmen shall be given land for their services. Land was also to be given to the officer who superintends the work.  Craftsman’s ability be first checked, his name, duties, recorded in the register. Craftsmen are fully responsible for the work they do. Time limit is two months and five days. Those who do not complete the work shall not be given their entitlement, the inscription said. (Epigraphica Zeylanica Vol 1: 8-9).

According to the Vinaya monks can carry out repairs to the religious buildings.  The construction of monastic buildings and doing repairs to them are meritorious acts  and  both lay Buddhist s and monks readily carried out these tasks . Records show that Bhikkhus and laymen donated stone steps and bricks to Buddhist  structures in ancient times.

During British rule, Buddhist  monks  started to  explore, find and  restore isolated ruined  temples, entirely   on their own. One example is Tantirimale. They knew that unless they took over these ruined temples ,the temples would disappear. Wijesuriya argued that their work was justified, it was  influenced by Buddhist teachings.

 Restoration societies also started, at  this time  to repair abandoned stupas. Monks and  lay Buddhist participated. This movement was also linked to  the national struggle for independence, observed analysts.

In 1930, Dr Victor Goloubew ,( 1878-1945) a  well known archaeologist  of the  Ecole Francaise  d’Extreme Orient,located in  French Indo China, spoke to the Royal Asiatic Society Ceylon branch . Goloubew  criticized both the  individual monks and the restoration  societies for meddling. He said the  monks   doing restoring were pious and that Buddhists were starting to view with the alarm the work of these restoration committees. Gamini Wijesuriya, writing in 2020, defended the pious vandals” and said that was part of the traditional social process.

Goloubew  also  said  the Buddhists of Ceylon seem to have an amazing lack of regard towards the proper conservation of their sacred buildings. It is wrong to place a new structure on an old ruin, that is not conservation. You must conserve what it left but not add new material. The Archaeology Department of British Ceylon will not  carry out  grandiose schemes to restore Anuradhapura   to  its former glory. It will remain a city of ruins, he said. That was in 1930.Things are different today.

One inch maps of the Survey Dept set up under British rule, act as the base document for identifying monuments and sites today, said Senerath Dissanayake,  Director of  Archaeology, writing in 1996.  Surveyors had identified a large number of monuments and located them in these maps. A large number have been marked as archaeology  reserve in the maps. There is now a massive collection of maps. Some of the monuments that have disappeared can still be identified with the help of these maps, he  said.

To conclude, here are Siran Deraniyagala’s views on our archaeological heritage. Siran Deraniyagala  said in  Monuments and sites Sri Lanka”  (ICOMOS 1996 ) that Sri Lanka’s archaeological heritage is divisible into Prehistoric (Stone Age) Protohistoric (Iron Age) and historical periods. This covers an estimated 1 million years, or more. The Iron Age appearing at about 1000 BC and the historic a period at about 500 BC.

There is a high degree of awareness   of  the historical period.   The ancient chronicles sets out Sri Lanka history in considerable detail since the 2 century BC and less reliably back to the 6 century BC. These chronicles are supplemented by over 4000 inscriptions on stone from the 3 century BC.

This historical awareness is a concomitant of Sri Lanka almost total immersion in the Buddhist tradition, notably Theravada from the 3 century BC down to the present. This unbroken intellectual heritage manifests itself materially in an extremely rich archaeological heritage. This is very much a living entity and many of the monuments continue to function as places of worship. In managing this heritage the concept of it being a living entity must necessarily take paramount position.  For the past 2000 year rulers have conserved and restored the more important monuments.  archaeologists cannot  intervene in the management of these sites  without due consideration  being paid to the country’s strong historical consciousness. This is fundamental   in the preservation of the archaeological heritage of Sri Lanka, concluded  Deraniyagala. ( Continued)

චානක බණ්ඩාරගේ

පසුගිය කාලයේ සිටී රාජ්‍ය නායකයෝ විවිධාකාර ආගමික සිද්ධඨාන වෙත ගොස් ඉමහත් භක්තියෙන් පුද පුජා වලට සහභාගී වන රුපවාහිනී රාමු අප දැක ඇත්තෙමු.

සිරිමා බන්ඩාරණායක මැතිණිය සැබෑ බෞධාගමිකයෙකු ලෙස අවංක ලෙස හැසිරීය.

මෙම මැතිණිය පල්ලි, කෝවිල් වලට ගොස් කෙනෙකුට ආගම් 2ක් හෝ 3ක් ඇදහිය හැකි බවට වූ  බොරු ප්‍රදර්ශනයේ නොයෙදුනාය.

R ප්‍රේමදාස මහතා මුස්ලිම් පල්ලිවලට පවා ගොස් වන්දනා මාන කළේයයි ඇතැම්හු පවසත්. මෙය සත්‍යද?

සමහර ජනාධිපතිවරු ඉන්දියාව බලා ගොස් සිය බරට රත්තරන් දී ආහ.

(මේවා LTTE රත්තරන්ද?).

මෙතරම් බලගතු, අපේම වන කතරගම දෙවිඳුන් සිටියදී (හෙළ, මහසෙන්ගේ පුනරුප්පත්තිය), මේ අය අන්ද්‍රා ප්‍රදේශ් ප්‍රාන්තයේ පිහිටි තිරුපති කෝවිලේ සරණ යන්නේ මන්ද? ‘නුඹලාට ලං වීමට නොහැකි දෙවිවරු තමා මා වන්දනා මාන කරන්නේ’ කියා රටවැසියනට බොරු උසස් තත්වයක් මවා පෙන්වීමටද?

මොවුන් තව අතකින් කරන්නේ රඟපැමැකී – චන්ද කඩා ගැනීමට  කරන උප්පරවැට්ටියකි. මේවා කිරීමෙන් දෙමළ, මුස්ලිම් චන්ද ලැබේවි යයි ඔවුහු සිතත්. එසේ ලැබෙනවාද ඇත. නමුත් කෙනෙක් සිය ආත්ම ගරුත්වය පාවා නොදිය යුතුය.

මේ රටේ විධායක ජනාධිපතිධුරය අහෝසි කල යුතු යයි අප කියනුයේ මෙවැනි දේ නිසායි.

තවත් බොහෝ හේතු තිබේ.

මේ තනතුර සිංහලයාට, විශේෂයෙන්ම සිංහල බෞද්ධයාට ඉතාම අහිතකරයි.

ජනාධිපතිවරණයක් දිනීමට අවම වශයෙන්  51% ක්වූ චන්ද සංඛ්‍යාවක් ලබා ගත යුතුය. සිංහල ජනගහනය අඩුවී ගෙන යන මේ කාලයේ සුළු ජාතික චන්ද නොමැතිව මෙය කිසිවෙකුට ලබාගැනීම ඉතා අපහසුය. ඒ සුළු ජාතිකයන් උපරිමවම සතුටු කිරීමට සියළු ප්‍රධාන ජනාධිපති අපේක්ෂකයන්ට  අනිවාර්යයෙන්ම සිදුවේ (සිංහලයා සිය ජාතිය පාවා දුන්නත් ගණන් නොගන්නා බව මේ ජනාධිපති අපේක්ෂකයන් හොඳටම දනිත්. නැත්නම්, නියතව රට දෙකඩ කරන පළාත් සභා 1987 ගෙන ඒමට ඒ රජයට හැකි වන්නේ කෙසේද?).

සුළු ජාතිකයන් සතුටු නොකර ජනාධිපතිවරණයක් ඉදිරියේදී ජය ගත නොහැකි බව දැන් ඉතා පැහැදිළිය.

පසුගිය වසර 45 තුල මේ රටට අහිතකර බොහෝ දේ මෙරට සිටී විධායක ජනාධිපතිවරුන් විසින් සිදුකර ඇත.  රටේ පසු බෑමට මූළිකම  හේතුව මෙයයි.

දැවැන්ත පරිසර විනාශය, වන අලි මරණ, වංචා, දුෂණ බෝ කිරීම, නාස්තිය, අකාර්යක්ෂමතාව, අනවශ්‍ය ලෙස රාජ්‍ය සේවය වැඩි කිරීම, අනවශ්‍ය ලෙස රජයේ ආයතන පෞද්ගලිකරණය කිරීම සහ කුණු කොල්ලයට ඒවා විදේශිකයනට විකිණීම  (යහපත් විදෙස් ආයෝජන නොවේ), රට ණය භරිත කිරීම, පවුල්වාදය, ගජ මිතුරු සත්කාර, රට බංකොලොත් කිරීම වැනි දේට  මේ ජනාධිපතිවරු ඍජුව වග කිව යුතුය.

2009 යුද්ධය ජය ගැනීම වෙනම කථාවකි.

යුද්ධය ආරම්භ වීම සහ LTTE ත්‍රස්තවාදය ව්‍යාප්තව යාමට හේතුව වුයේද විධායක ජනාධිපති තනතුරයි.

1953 හර්තාලය තුලින් ඩඩ්ලි සේනානායක අගමැති ධුරයෙන් ඉවත්ව සර් ජෝන් කොතලාවල නව අගමැතිවරයා බවට පත්වීම, 1962 කුමන්ත්‍රණය සහ 1971 ජවිපෙ ත්‍රස්තවාදී අරගලය සිරිමා බණ්ඩාරණායක විසින් ඉතාම කෙටි කාලයක් තුල සාර්ථක ලෙස මර්ධනය කිරීම වැනි දේ කළ හැකි වුයේ එකළ පැවතී සෝල්බරි ව්‍යවස්ථාව යටතේය. මේ අගමැති වරුන් එම ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව අකුරටම පිළිපදිමින්, සිය කැබිනට් මණ්ඩල සමඟ, මේ දැවැන්ත ප්‍රශ්ණ සංකීර්ණ ඒවා බවට පත් නොකර, සාර්ථක ලෙස විසඳා ගත්හ.

ඉතාම අධි බලයක් තනි පුද්ගලයෙක් සතු වීම ශ්‍රී ලංකාව වැනි රටට ආදරය නොකරන සහ ආත්මාර්ථකාමීත්වයෙන් පිරී වැඩි ජනතාවක් දැන් සිටින (කළින් එසේ නොවේ) රටකට උචිත නොවේ.

සිංහලයාට යමක් (දේශපාලනමය) මතක සති දෙකකට පමණ යයි කීවේ ප්‍රභාකරන්ය.

දරුණුව යුද්ධය පවතිද්දී LTTE සමඟ පවා ඩීල් දැමු දකුණේ දේශපාලඥයෝ, උතුරේ හමුදා නිලධාරින් සිටීහ.

රටට අහිතකර පුර්ණ 13 හෝ  13+ ලබා දීමට සියළු ජනාධිපති අපේක්ෂකයන් පොරොන්දුව සිටිත් (ජවිපෙ ඇතුළු).

පූර්ණ13 හෝ 13+ නුදුරු අනාගතයේදී දීම, සහ ඒ මඟින් සිදුවන රටේ කැඩීයාම නොවැලැක්විය හැක්කකි. කපටි/ශූර TNA ගෙන යන්නේ චෙල්වනායගම්ගේ ‘අද ටිකක්, හෙට ඉතුරු ටික’ න්‍යායයි.

මේ න්‍යායට අනුව දැන් ඔවුන් බොහෝ දුර ඉතා සාර්ථකව පැමිණ ඇත. තව යාමට ඇත්තේ ටික දුරකි. දැන් පවත්නා විධායක ජනාධිපති ධුරය තුලින් එය නුදුරේදී පහසුවෙන් ලබා ගත හැකි බව ඔවුහු හොඳාකාරවම දනිති.

අගමැති විසින් රට කරන ව්‍යවස්ථාවක් මඟින් ඒ දේ පහසුවෙන් කර ගත නොහැක. දැන් පවත්නා ජනාධිපති මෙන්  අගමැතිට විධායක තලයේ අසීමිත බලතල නොමැත.

විධායක ජනාධිපති තනතුර හඳුන්වා දෙන විට ආචාර්ය NM පෙරේරා මහතා ඒ ගැන බිය වුනේ එය සතු අසීමිත වූ බලතල නිසාය.

1972 – 1978 දක්වා වූ ව්‍යවස්ථාව (ජනරජ) මේ රටට ඉතා හොඳ සේවයක් කළේය. භෞතිකමය (substantial) නොව, සුළු ව්‍යුහාත්මක (procedural) වෙනස්කම් කිහිපයක් මඟින් පමණි මෙය කළින් පැවතී සෝල්බරි ව්‍යවස්ථාවට වඩා වෙනස් වුයේ.

විධායක ජනාධිපතිත්වය ප්‍රවර්ධනය කරන වත්මන් ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව අහෝසි කර, එම ජනරජ ව්‍යවස්ථාව වෙත නැවත අප යා යුතුයි.

පළාත් සභා අත්‍යාවශ්‍යම බව ද්‍රවිඩ දේශපාලඥයින් දැඩිව හඬ නගනු ඇත. මෙය 1987දී රජීව් ගාන්ධි මහතාගේ නොතේරුන්කමත්, කේරළයේ  උපන් JN ඩික්සිත්ගේ (එවකට ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සිටී ඉන්දීය මහ කොමසාරිස්) තනි බලවත් අවශ්‍යතාව මතත්, JRගේ බියසුළු කමත් නිසා බිහිවුවකි.

TNA වැනි ද්‍රවිඩ දේශපාලඥයින් නිහඬ කරවන ලෙසින් ඉන්දියාවෙන් සාර්ථක ලෙස ඉල්ලීමේ හැකියාවක් දැන් සිටින ජනාධිපතිතුමාට ඇත (ඔහු රට වෙනුවෙන් එම කාර්යයට අත ගසනවානම්).

වෙනත් කිසිදු විකල්පයක් නොමැති නම්, මෙම ලියුම්කරු ඉතාම විරුද්ධ පළාත් සභා සමඟ වුවද, ’72 ව්‍යවස්ථාට යා යුතුය.

එය දැන් තිබෙන ව්‍යවස්ථාවට වඩා සිංහලයාට/රටට ඉතාමත්ම ගුණදායකයි.

‘72 ව්‍යවස්ථාව 1979 දී තිබුනේ නම් බෙදුම්වාදී දෙමළ ත්‍රස්තවාදය එදා විනාශ කිරීමට හැකියාව තිබුණි (’71 දී මැතිණිය ජවිපෙ ත්‍රස්තවාදය ඉතා කඩිනමින් මැඩ පැවැත් වුවාය).

LTTEය වසර 30ක් සාර්ථක ලෙස යුධ කලේ ඔවුනගේ තිබු දක්ෂතාවයට වඩා අපේ පාලකයන්ගේ තිබු අදක්ෂතාවය  නිසාය.

’72 ව්‍යවස්ථාව වඩා හොඳ වනුයේ එය යටතේ රටේ නායකයා වනුයේ විධායක ජනාධිපතිවරයෙක් නොව කැබිනට් මණ්ඩලයේ ප්‍රධානියා වන අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයාය. දැන්, පාර්ලිමේන්තුවට වග නොකීවත් කැබිනට් මණ්ඩලයේ ප්‍රධානියාද ජනාධිපතිය, ඔහු රටේ සේනාධි නායකයාය.

මේ සේනාධිනායකත්වය මත, යුද්ධයෙන් පසු, අප උතුරේ තිබු හමුදා කඳවුරු බොහොමයක් වසා ගතිමු. පවත්නා හමුදා කඳවුරු සතු ඉඩම් අහිමි කර ගතිමු. සැමදා හමුදාව සතුව තිබු පළාලි ගුවන් තොටුපොළ අහිමි කර ගතිමු. සිංහලයාට උතුරේ සහ නැගෙනහිර බොහෝ පළාත් වල ජීවත්වීමේ නොහැකියාව ඇති කර ගතිමු. එම ප්‍රද්ශවල රජයේ කාර්යාලවල සිංහලෙන් කිසිම රාජකාරියක් නොවන තත්වයක් උද්ගත කර ගතිමු. එම ප්‍රදේශවල තිබෙන බෞද්ධාගමික සිද්ධස්ථානවල/පුරා වස්තු වල අයිතිය අහිමි කර ගතිමු. එම ප්‍රදේශවල ආණ්ඩුකාරයන් ලෙස පවා (මෑතක සිට) සිංහල නොවන අය පත් කර ගතිමු. පූර්ණ 13 හෝ 13+ දීමට යන්නෙමු. ඉදීරියෙදි තවත් බොහෝ දේ අහිමි කර ගන්නෙමු. ඊළම බිහිවීම සඳහා පාර කපා දෙන්නෙමු.

පවත්නා 1978 ව්‍යවස්ථාව මඟින් අති බලසම්ප.න්න බලයක් ඔහුට/ඇයට ලබාදී ඇත. ඒ බලයන් නිසා සිංහලයා ලබා ඇති පසුබෑම් විශාලය.

වත්මන් ජනාධිපති තනතුර මෙන් සුළු ජාතික පක්ෂ වලට මෙම අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා ‘කොනකට තල්ලු කර’ දැඩි බලපෑම්වලට යට කිරීමට නොහැකි වන්නේ මොහු/ඇය එසේ පත්වන්නේ පාර්ලිමේන්තු මැතිවරණයේදී වැඩිම ආසන ගණනක් දිනන පක්ෂයේ (සිංහල) නායකයා වීම නිසාය. ඒ අය පොහොට්ටු, සජබ, එජාප, ජවිපෙ විය හැක.

’72 ව්‍යවස්ථාව අනුව, නාමික ජනාධිපතිවරයෙක් පාර්ලිමේන්තුව විසින් තෝරා පත් කර ගන්නවා ඇත (ඉන්දියාවේ මෙන්).

1980 ගණන් වල දෙමළ/ජවිපෙ ත්‍රස්තවාද ව්‍යාප්ත වුයේ JRගේ දුර්වල, බියසුළු සහ අමනෝඥ  විධායක ජනාධිපති පාලනය නිසාය. අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය බණ්ඩාරණායක මැතිණිය 1977දී JR ට භාර දුන්නේ දැහැමි, සාමකාමී, ණය නැති රටකි. JR  1980/90 ගණන් වල මෙය එකම ගිණි ගොඩක් සහ දුප්පත් වෙමින් යන රටක් බවට පත් කළේය.

’83 දෙමළ කළබල, IPKF, පළාත් සභා හඳුන්වා දීම, 1983න් පසු ප්‍රභාකරන් දියත් කල අති දරුණු යුද්ධය, ඉන්දියාව තරහ කර ගැනීම, 1980/90 දශකවල දරුණු ජවිපෙ සන්නද්ධ අරගලය JR අපට අත් කර දුන් සමහර දායාදය.

ඔහු රට අවුලෙන් අවුලට පත් කළේය. දක්ෂ, කෘතහස්ත උසස් නිළ දැරූ හමුදා නායකයන් සිටියදී තරුණ බ්‍රිගේඩියර් කෙනෙක් වූ සිය බෑණනුවෙක් හමුදාපති ලෙස පත් කළේය. LTTE ප්‍රබල යුධ ජයග්‍රහණ ලබා ගතී.

වඩමාරච්චි සටනින් ජය ලබා ප්‍රභාකරන්ව කොටු කර ගනිද්දී එය පුදුමාකාර ලෙස නතර කර දැම්මේය.

තමනට නොකළ හැක්කේ පිරිමියෙක් ගැහැණියක් කිරීම පමණය යයි යනුවෙන් JR වහසි බස් දොඩද්දී ප්‍රභාකරන් බිම් බෝම්බ, මරාගෙන මැරෙන කොටි මඟින් දකුණේ සිංහලයන්ව, මායිම් ගම් වාසින්ව, මහා සංඝරත්නය  අමානුෂික ඝාතනයට ලක් කළේය.

JR මහවැළිය කඩිනම් කර, ඒ මඟින් මහා පරිමාණ අල්ලස් දුෂණ, වංචා සිදු කරන අයුරු මේ රටට ප්‍රථම වරට හඳුන්වා දුන්නේය.

අතිශය සුන්දර තෙල්දෙණිය නගරයේ විනාශය ගැන මිතුරෙක් මෙම ලියුම්කරු සමඟ පැවසුවේ මෙයයි:

අපේ සුන්දර, අති සශ්‍රීක දුම්බර මිටියාවතම මේ අය එකතුවෙලා කෑවා. ඒක විකුණලා ඇමති ඕස්ත්‍රේලියාවේ ඇපල් වතු ගත්තා. බහුබූත රිපෝර්ට් හදලා එංගලන්තයට යවලා මෙතන සුරපරයක් මවල ඉන්දියාවටත් ලයිට් දෙනවා කීවා, දුන්න තමයි. ටර්බයින් 2ක් තියෙනවා. දෙකම ඇරපු දාට ඔය වික්ටෝරියාව පිරිලා තිබුනට ඒ තියෙන වතුර ටික ඉකමනටම බැහැලා රන්දෙනිගල හරහා මුහුදට තමයි.

බඹරගල පන්සලේ හාමුදුරුවන්වත් ඇන්දුවා. උන්නාන්සේ පුදුම මහන්සියක් අරං ඒ කාලේ දේශපාලකයන්ට වැන්දේ නැතිව විතරයි, බැම්මේ උස ටිකක් අඩු කරලා තෙල්දෙණිය නගරය බේරා දෙන්න කියල. කොහෙද ඉතිං ඒවා ඇහුවේ නැහැ.

තෙල්දෙණිය නගරය වික්ටෝරියා ජලාශයට යටවෙන්න කලින් තෙල්දෙණිය ලොකු, විශාල ටවුන් එකක්. ලොකුම හෝටලය (තෙල්දෙණිය හෝටලය) සහ සිල්ලර බඩු  කඩේ (තෙල්දෙණිය ස්ටෝර්ස්) – කොඩිතුවක්කුආරච්චි මහත්තයාගේ. දොස්තර සෙනෙවිරත්න මහත්තයාගේ සර්ජරිය – එතුමාගේ මුහුණ බැලුවත් ලෙඩ සනීපයි.

තෙල්දෙණිය පොලිසිය, CTB බස් ස්ටෑන්ඩ් සහ ඩිපෝව, රජයේ රෝහල, සේනානායක ස්ටෝර්ස්, රාණි , සමනළ, සිංහ ෆිල්ම් හෝල්ස්, ඓය්තිහාසික තෙල්දෙණිය අම්බලම, මඩවල – නුවර පාර, තෙල්දෙණිය – තැන්නේකුඹුර පාර, ඒ අවට තිබු නත්තරම්පොත පැරණි ගල් පල්ලිය, චොක්ලට් ෆැක්ටරිය – මේ සේරම වික්ටෝරියා රකුසා ගිල ගත්තා.

අපිව බලෙන්ම මහියංගණේට ගිහිං දැම්මා. හැමෝම පිට වුනේ කඳුළු පිරි දෑසින්”.   

සිරිමා බණ්ඩාරණයක සමයේ ඉතා බලගතුව තිබු අල්ලස් කොමිසම JR අවශේෂ එකක් බවට පත් කළේය. ඔහු යටතේ පුරවැසියන් පෙළන රාජ්‍ය ත්‍රස්තවාදයක් හට ගතී. තරුණයන් ටයර් සෑය වල යැවීම 1989දී JR හඳුන්වා දුන්නේය.

JR සිරිමා – ශාස්ත්‍රී ගිවුසුම අවලංගු කළේය.

1977දී පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ 5/6  බලය ලැබුනත්, කිසි හේතුවක් නැතිව, නුවරඑළිය/මස්කෙළිය 3වෙනි මන්ත්‍රී ලෙස පත්ව සිටී CWC නායක S තොන්ඩමන් සිය ‘තුරුලට’ ගත්තේය. 1947 සිට පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ සිටී තොන්ඩමන්ව ප්‍රථම වරට ඇමතිවරයෙක් කලේ JRය. තොන්ඩමන් ජාතික කිරි මණ්ඩලය, පශු සම්පත් මණ්ඩලය වැනි ආයතන කෑය.  කෘෂිකර්ම දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව යටතේ වූ සත්ව පාලන අංශය ඉන් ඉවත් කර වෙනම දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවක් බිහි කළේය, එයට ඔහුගේ හෙන්ච්චයියන් ප්‍රධානීන් ලෙස පත් කළේය.

JR කාලයේ රටේ සිටී බලවත්ම පුද්ගලයන් දෙදෙනා වූයේ කේරලයෙන් බිහි වූ ඩික්සිත් සහ තමිල්නාඩුවේ උපන් S තොන්ඩමන් බව දන්නෝ දනිති. JR සිටියේ මේ දෙදෙනාට ‘සර්’ කියන වැනි මට්ටමෙනි. ඒ තත්ත්වය හදා ගත්තේ JR විසින්මය.

’72 ව්‍යවස්ථාව යටතේ කිසිම සිංහල දේශපාලන පක්ෂයකට වැඩි ආසන බලයක් නොලැබුනත්, වැඩිම ආසන දිනු සිංහල පක්ෂයට සෙසු පක්ෂ (සිංහල එසේත් නැත්නම් දෙමළ හෝ මුස්ලිම්) සමඟ එකතුවී හවුල් ආණ්ඩුවක් සෑදිමේ හැකියාව ඇත.

දැන් සිටින විධායක ජනාධිපති ක්‍රමය යටතේත් මේ දේම  සිදුවේ – පාර්ලිමේන්තුව තුල රජය කරන ආණ්ඩුව සැදීම.  

’72 ව්‍යවස්ථාව වඩා හොඳ වනුයේ ජනාධිපතිවරයා වෙනම චන්දයකින් තෝරනවා මෙන් අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයාව තේරීම සඳහා අමතර චන්දයක් අනවශ්‍ය වීමයි. එක් පාර්ලිමේන්තු චන්දයකින් ක්‍රියා 2ම සිදුවේ.

මේ නිසා අද ජනාධිපති තනතුරට පත්වීම සඳහා අත්‍යාවශ්‍ය නිරන්තර උතුරේ සුළු ජාතික නායකයන්, මන්ත්‍රීවරුන්න්  සතුටු කිරීම  අනවශ්‍ය වනු ඇත.

උදා: 1965 ඩඩ්ලි සේනානනයක ‘7 හවුල්’ ආණ්ඩුවේ දෙමළ නායකයන් වූ චෙල්වනායගම, GG පොන්නම්බලම්, M තිරුචෙල්වම්, S තොන්ඩමන් වැන්නන් සිටියත් (ඇතැම්හු දැඩි ජාතිවාදින්) ඩඩ්ලි සේනානනයක ඇමති පදවියක් ප්‍රධානය කලේ තිරුචේල්වම්ට පමණි (එයද ඉතා සුළු බලැති).  එම රජය යටතේ මේ කිසිවෙකුට සිය ජාතිවාදී/බෙදුම්වාදී  ප්‍රතිපත්ති මුදුන් පමුණුවා ගැනීමට ඩඩ්ලි සේනානායක ඉඩ නොදීය. සිංහල සංවර්ධන කටයුතු වල හැකි සෑම විටම ඩඩ්ලි සේනානායක යෙදීය (උද: ගල්ඔය, පදවිය නව ගොවි ජනපද බිහි කිරීම).

මේ ගොවි ජනපද ව්‍යාපෘති රාජ්‍ය ප්‍රතිපත්තිය නතර කලේ 1956 බලයට ආ SWRD බණ්ඩාරණායකයි.

19වන සියවසේ දී තමිල්නාඩුවෙන් (කොරමැන්ඩල් තීරයෙන්) මෙරටට ගොඩ බට, ලන්දේසින් සහ ඉංග්‍රීසින් සමඟ එක්ව මෙරටට විශාල ලෙස වින කලා වූ තම්බි මුදියන්සේ පරම්පරාවට අයත්වන JRට වඩා බෙලිගල් කෝරළේ (සතර කෝරළේ) මුළාරම්භය ඇති, ජාතියේ පියා වූ DS සේනානායකගේ පුත්, ඩඩ්ලි සේනානායක රටට බෙහෙවින් ආදරය කල  දේශප්‍රේමියෙක් විය. කිසිම රට කැඩීමේ ක්‍රියාවකට ඔහු ඉඩ නොදීය (රට ෆෙඩරල් කිරීමට චෙල්වනයාගම් සමඟ මුළින්ම හොර ගිවුසුම් ගැසුවේ (1956 බණ්ඩා/චෙල්වා පැක්ට්) තමිල්නාඩුවේ නීල පෙරුමාල් පරම්පරාවෙන් පැවත එන්නේ යයි කියන SWRD බණ්ඩාරණායකයි).

1995 පසු විධායක ජනාධිපතිත්වය මේ රටේ ජනතා මුදල් ගිලින දැවැන්ත සුදු අලියෙක් බවට පත්වී තිබේ.

ඇත්තවශයෙන්ම, විධායක ජනාධිපතිත්වය ආණ්ඩුව තුල තවත් ආණ්ඩුවකි.

අයවැයෙන් ඉතාම වැඩිම මුදලක් ජනාධිපති වෙන් කර ගනී. අද ජනාධිපතිගේ කාර්ය මණ්ඩලය (ආරක්ෂකයන්ද ඇතුළුව)  දහස් ගණනකි.  චන්දයෙන් පත් නොවුණු ජනාධිපති උපදේශකයෝ රොත්තකි. මේ ඇතැමුන් ඇමැතිවරුනට, අමාත්‍යාංශ ස්ථිර ලේකම්වරුනට වඩා බලවත්ය. මේ පත්වීම් ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍ර වාදයට විරුද්ධය.

ජවිපෙ ජනාධිපතිවරයෙක් යටතේ මෙවැනි උපදේශක වරුන් සෑම අමාත්‍යාංශයකටම පත් කරන බව ඔවුහු කියත්. දැනටමත් මේ අය (නොනිළ ලෙස) පත් කර ඇතැයි පැරණි ජවිපෙ සාමාජිකයෙක් කියයි.

තමන් බලයට පැමිණි විට විධායක ජනාධිපතිත්වය මණ්ඩලයක් මඟින් පවත්වා ගෙන යන වැනි කථාවක් ජවිපෙ කියයි (දැන් පක්ෂය ගෙන යන අයුරෙන්?). තමනට තමන් ගැන ආත්ම විශ්වාසයක් නැති බවද මේ පෙන්වන්නේ?

මණ්ඩලයක් මඟින් දැන් පවත්නා  විධායක ජනාධිපතිත්වය පවත්නා ගෙන යාම ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවට  පටහැණිය.  දැන් පවත්නේ තනි, අසීමිත බලතල ඇති විධායක ජනාධිපති ක්‍රමයකි. මණ්ඩල මඟින්/වටමේස හරහා  කරන පාලනයක් ගැන වත්මන් ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව නොපවසයි.

අද ජනාධිපති කාර්යාලයට අයත් වාහන සංඛ්‍යාව සිය/දහස් ගණනකි. ජනාධිපති අරමුදල විගණනයෙන් තොරයි. ඔහුට/ඇයට විරුද්ධව සිවිල් නඩුවක් වත් පුරවැසියෙකුට පැවරිය නොහැකි ලෙසින් ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව සකස් කරගෙන ඇත. එක් ජනාධිපතිවරයෙක් UN ඇමතීම සඳහා නිව් යෝර්ක් ගිය සංචාරයට 350ක් එකතු කරගෙන ගිය බව පැවසේ (මෙහි සත්‍ය/අසත්‍යතාවය මෙම ලියුම්කරු නොදනී).

ගාලුමුවදොර ජනාධිපති සංකීර්ණයට අමතරව කොටුවේ බොහෝ වටිනා ගොඩනැගිලි (චැතම් විදීයේ/ මුදලිගේ මාවතේ, ජනාධිපති මාවතේ – කලින් චාර්ටඩ් බෑන්ක්/තැපෑලට අයත් GPO විශාල ගොඩනැගිලි,) ජනාධිපති කාර්යාලය විසින් අල්ලා ගෙන ඇත.

වත්මන් ජනාධිපති එහි ජීවත් නොවෙතත් ජනාධිපති මන්දීරය පිහිටා ඇති ජනාධිපති මාවතේ කොටසක්ද ජනාධිපති  කාර්යාලය විසින් වසා අල්ලා ගෙනය. මේ නිසා කොටුවේ වාහන තදබදය වැඩිවේ.

විශ්‍රාමික ජනාධිපතිවරුන් (දැනටමත් 4 දෙනෙක්) පමණක් නොව ඔවුනගේ බිරියන් මැරෙනතුරු මුළුමනින්  නඩත්තු කිරීමට සිදුව ඇත්තේ මේ රටේ දුප්පත් ජනතාවටයි.

ඉදින්, මේ 2023 වසරේත් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව 3වෙනි ලෝකයේ දුප්පත්ම රටක් (දැන් බංකොලොත් ද වේ) ලෙස පැවතීම අරුමයක් නොවේ.

සෑම පාර්ලිමේන්තු සැසියකටම සහභාගී වී, අසන ප්‍රශ්ණ වලට උත්තර දෙන , හීට්ලර් පන්නයේ විධායක බලතල නොමැති, මුක්තියට යටත් නොවුණු, රාජ්‍ය නායකයෙක් තමා මේ මේ රටට අවශ්‍ය.

රටේ නායකයා රටේ පාර්ලිමේන්තුවට ඍජුව වගනොකියන්නේ නම්, ඔහු/ඇය කෙළින්ම පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේදී අසන රටේ ප්‍රශ්ණවලට පිළිතුරු නොදෙන්නේ නම් එය ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍ර විරෝධී පාලන ක්‍රමයකි.  

කැනඩා, මහ බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය, ඕස්ත්‍රේලියා, නවසීලන්ත පාලන ක්‍රම දෙස බලන්න – පාර්ලිමේන්තු සැසිවාරයේ සෑම දිනයකදීම පාහේ අගමැතිවරයාගෙන් ප්‍රශ්ණ ඇසීමට පැයක,  2ක පමණ කාලයක් මෙම පාර්ලිමේන්තුවල වෙන් කර ඇත. එම කාලය අගමැති සහ විපක්ෂ නායක අතර ඇතිවන්නේ  ‘ද්වන්ධ යුද්ධයකි’. රට වැසියා එය සජීවීව රුපවාහිනියෙන් නරඹා තම නායකයන්ගේ දක්ෂතා පිළිබඳව ස්ථාවරයකට පැමිණෙත්. චන්දය දෙන දා ඔවුහු නිවැරදිව චන්දය පාවිච්චි කරත්. ඒ රටවල් දියුණු ඒ හෙයිනි.

නියම ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍ර වාදය යනු එයයි. 

යලට, මහට ජනාධිපතිවරයා පාර්ලිමේන්තුවට පැමිණ (මාස 3ට වරක් – ඔහුට/ඇයට සිතුණු වෙලාවට); එසේ පැමිණ ප්‍රශ්ණ ඇසු කල්හී ඒවා අමාරු නම් ඒවාට උත්තර නොදී එතුමෝ/එතුමිය නැගිට සභා ගැබින් නික්ම යන්නේ නම් ඒ  රටට දෙයියන්ගේම පිහිටය.

රටේ ප්‍රශ්ණ ගැන රටේ නායකයා දරන මත සහ ඒවාට ඔහුට/ඇයට ඇති විසඳුම් රටේ ජනයා දැන ගත යුතුය. ඒ සඳහා ඔහු/ඇය නිතිපතා, සෙසු මන්ත්‍රීවරුන් මෙන්, පාර්ලිමේන්තුවට ආ යුතුමය.

මෙවැන්නක් නොමැති පාර්ලිමේන්තු ක්‍රමයෙන් මේ රටට ඇති පළය කුමක්ද?

‘72 ව්‍යවස්ථාව වඩාත් හොඳ වන්නේ ‘ව්‍යවස්ථාදායක සභා’ වැනි අටමගල එහි නැති වීමයි.

ජනතාව විසින් චන්දය දී තෝරා පත් නොකරන ලද ජාතික ලැයිස්තු මන්ත්‍රීවරු (චිට්), ප්‍රධාන ජාති 3 නියෝජනය වන ලෙස  සිවිල් සංවිධාන නියෝජියතයෝ 3ක් දැන් ව්‍යවස්ථාදායක සභාවේ සාමාජිකයන්ය හෝ කලින් එසේ වී තිබේ. මෙය ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍ර විරෝධීය.

ජනතාව චන්දය දී රජයක් පත් කරන්නේ ඔවුන් චන්දය දුන් අය විසින් රට කරවීමටය. පවත්නා අය හොඳ නැත්නම් චන්දයක් මඟින් වෙනත් රජයක් ඔවුන් පත් කර ගනු ඇත. ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍ර වාදයේ මුළීක හරය මෙයයි. ව්‍යවස්ථාදායක සභාව එයට පටහැණිය.

විපක්ෂයේ අයත් සහභාගී වන මේ සභාවේ සමහරුන් රජයේ ඉදිරි ගමනට (රහසිගතව හෝ) කකුලෙන් ඇදීම නොවැලෑක්විය හැකි කරුණකි. මෙය අද පවත්නා රජයටත්, ඉදිරියේ එන රජයනටත් මුහුණ දීමට සිදුවන ප්‍රශ්ණයකි. මේ කරදරය මෙවර ඉල්ලා  හදා ගත්තේ මේ රජයයි – 21 වන සංශෝධනයෙන්.

ඊනියා ව්‍යවස්ථා බුද්ධිමතුන් විසින් හඳුන්වා දෙනු ලැබූ පොලිස් කොමිසම, මැතිවරණ කොමිසම, මහජන උපයෝගීතා කොමිසම සහ අනෙක් කොමිසම් ඇත්තටම අපක්ෂපාතීද?

මේවාද සුදු අලිය.

ව්‍යවස්ථාදායක සභාව, මේ කොමිෂන් – නාසය කෙළින්ම අතින් ඇල්ලීමට හැකියාව තිබියදී ඔළුව වටෙන් අත දමා අල්ලනවා වැනි වැඩකි.

ඒවායේ ඇතැම් සභාපතිවරුන්/සාමාජිකයන් පක්ෂග්‍රාහීව කටයුතු කර තිබු බවට වාර්ථා පලවී තිබුණි.

පොලිස් කොමිසම නොතකා පොලිසියේ ඉහළ මාරු වීම් වෙනත් අය විසින් කර තිබු බවට පුවත් වාර්ථා වී තිබුණි.

පාර්ලිමේන්තු චන්දයක් අත ළඟ තිබියදී විදේශගත තම විශ්ව විද්‍යාල දරුවා වෙනුවෙන් විශේෂ උපකාරයක් හිටපු මැතිවරණ කොමසාරිස් වරයෙකු විසින්  එවකට සිටී ජනාධිපතිවරයාගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටියේය යන ප්‍රබල චෝදනාවක් පැණ නැගී තිබුණි.

මෙවැන්නන් රජයන කොමිෂන් සඳහා කෝටි ගණන් ජනතා මුදල් වියදම් කරන්නේ ඇයි?

සිංහලයාට පෙර මේ රටේ දෙමළ මිනිසුන් සිටීය (‘ආදී ඊනියා දෙමළ බෞද්ධයන්’) කියා බලගතු ජාතිවාදී තර්කයන්  ගෙනෙන TNA මන්ත්‍රීවරයෙක්ද  මේ ව්‍යවස්ථා සභාවේ නුදුරේදී හිඳ ගැනීමට නියමිතය.

තමන් ජනාධිපති වූ විගස ජනාධිපති ධුරය අහෝසි කරන බව කිවූ ජනාධිපතිවරුන් 5 දෙනෙක් වත් ඇත. ඒ කිසිවෙක් ජනතාවට දෙන ලද එම පොරොන්දුව ඉෂ්ට කිරීමට ක්‍රියා නොකළහ. එනම්, මේ අය ජනතාවට බොරු පොරොන්දු දුන් අයය.

රටේ ජනාධිපති තනතුර බිහි කරන්නේ අසත්‍ය කථා කරන්නන් නම්, එවැන්නන්ගේ පාලනයකින් ජනතාවගේ අභිවෘද්දිය කිසිදා බලාපොරොත්තු විය නොහැක. මේ අය තමන් විසින් රටේ ජනතාවට, විශේෂයෙන්ම කුඩා දරුවනට, බොරු කීම යන නරක පුරුද්ද පුරුදු කර ඇති බව පිළිගත යුතුයි.

සිංහල ජනාධිපතිවරයෙක් යටතේ දෙමළ අගමැතිවරයෙක් මේ රටේ බිහි නොවුනේ අයිදැයි ජවිපෙ දුකින් අසයි. ඔවුන් ජනාධිපති වී එවැන්නක් සිදු කරන බවට ඉඟි තදින් පළ කරයි. අද ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ තිබෙන ප්‍රධාන ප්‍රශ්ණය මෙයද?

මෙවැනි දේ බලෙන් සිදු නොකළ යුතුය. ඒවා සිදු වන්නේ නම් සිදු වනු ඇත (ඔබාමා, සුනක් වැන්නන් එම රටවල මතු වුයේ නිරායාසයෙණි, බලෙන් නොවේ).

කෝටා ක්‍රමයට නොව සුදුසුකම් මත පමණක් සියළු පත්වීම් විය යුතුයි. 85%ට අධික හුටුන් සිටින රුවන්ඩාව පාලනය කරන කගාමේ සුළු ජාතික ටුට්සියෙකි.  සුනි ජාතික සදාම් හුසේන් 70% ඉක්මවා ෂියා වරුන් සිටින ඉරාකය වසර ගණනාවක් පාලනය කළේය. ඒ අය බලයට ආවේ ජවිපෙ අදහන කෝටා ක්‍රමයට නොවේ; දක්ෂකම් ප්‍රදර්ශණය කිරීමෙනි.

 (අපේ මුදලින්) 225 දෙනා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව තුල කෑ කෝ ගසන්නේ තමන්ගේ ප්‍රශ්ණ, තමන්ගේ  පුද්ගලික අයිතිවාසිකම් පිලිබඳවය. ‘මගේ වරප්‍රසාද කැඩුනා’ කියා කෑ ගසා ඔවුන් ගෙදර යති.

රටේ ජනතාවගේ ප්‍රශ්ණ, රාජ්‍ය ප්‍රතිපත්ති ගැන තාර්ථික විවාද එහි අඩුය. ඕස්ත්‍රේලියානු පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ වසරකට නව පනත් 200ක් වත් සම්මත වේ. අපේ?

පාර්ලිමේන්තු කැන්ටිමෙන් මේ අයට ඉතාම අඩු මුදලට දෙන සුපිරි කෑම වේල වල අඩුපාඩු පිළිබඳව පවා සභා ගැබේදී ඔවුන් මතු කර ඇත. ජවිපෙ ස්ථාවරය මේ සම්බන්ධව සුභාදායකය.

නමුත්, ඔවුන්ගේ සිටින්නේ 3 දෙනෙක් පමණි. වැඩි දෙනෙක් සිටියා නම් සෙසු අය අයුරින් ඔවුන්ද හැසිරේද?

පාර්ලිමේන්තු වරප්‍රසාද වලට මුවාවී අනුන්ට පහරදෙන මේ සමහර අය සමාජයේ කෙනෙක් ඔවුන්ව විවේචනය කල හොත් ඔවුන් විසින්ම සාදා ගත් ‘වරප්‍රසාද කොමිටියක්’ ඉදිරියට කැඳවීමේ බලයක් සාදා ගෙන ඇත. එයට පුරවැසියනට විරුද්ධව දඬුවම් නියම කිරීමේ පවා බලයක් ඇතැයි පැවසේ.

මේ අය සුවිශේෂී පුද්ගලයන් නොවේ. කෙනෙක් අපහාසයක් කර ඇත්නම් ඔවුන් කල යුත්තේ සාමාන්‍ය ජනතාව මෙන් ගරු අධිකරණය ඉදිරියේ නඩු පැවරීමය.

27/11/23 දින පැවති වනජීවී අමාත්‍යාංශය පිලිබඳ පාර්ලිමෙන්තු විවාදයේදී කිසිවෙක් රටේ නැතිවන අලි සම්පත සහ අලි මුහුණ දෙන නියම  ප්‍රශ්ණ ගැන කථා කලේ නැත. ‘තිරසාර සංවර්ධනයක්  අවශ්‍යය පමණක්  කියා වන අලින් මුහුණ දී ඇති මූළික ප්‍රශ්ණ ඔවුන් මඟ හැරියහ. අප උසස් කථා බලාපොරොත්තුව සිටියෙමු.  

වන අලි සුරක්ෂණය පිළිබඳව දීර්ඝ, පරිපූර්ණ ලිපියක් 26/11/23 දින මෙම වෙබ්අඩවියේ  අප පළ කළෙමු; අලි මැරෙණ විදියට අද රටේ වන අලින් 1500ක් වත් ඇද්දැයි අප ප්‍රශ්ණ කළෙමු.

මේ දැවැන්ත ප්‍රශ්ණය ගැන අප දන්නා පරිදි කිසිම සාධාරණ විවරණයක් (අලින්ගේ පැත්තෙන්) කිසි කෙනෙක් පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේදී  27/11/23 දින සිදු කලේ නැත.

චන්ද ලබාගැනීමේ අවශ්‍යතාව නිසා දේශපාලඥයෝ සැමදාම ගන්නේ අලින්ගේ පැත්ත නොව ජනතාවගේ පැත්ත බව අප පෙන්වා දී ඇත.

1995 සිට මේ දක්වා ජනාධිපතිවරුන්ගේ කල් ක්‍රියා ගැන නම් අටුවා අවශ්‍ය නැත,  JR පරයන වැඩ මොවුන් කර ඇත. ඒවා ජනතාව ඉතා හොඳින් දනී.

ඉදින්, සුමට, අසංකීර්ණ, විනිවිද පෙනෙන පාලන ව්‍යුහයක් තිබියදී (’72 ව්‍යවස්ථාව), මෙවැනි අසාර්ථක රට අඝාධයට ගෙන යන තනතුරක් සහ විශේෂයෙන්ම දැවැන්ත සුදු අලියෙක් (78  ව්‍යවස්ථාව – සංශෝධන සහිත), තවදුරටත් අප තබා ගත යුතුද?

Chomsky’s Philosophy

Free Will

කතරගම රූමතිය ගැන ලගින්ම දන්නා හිතවතුන් කියන ඇත්තම කතාව

Ministry of Defence  – Media Centre

The outgoing High Commissioner of Pakistan in Sri Lanka, Major General Umar Farooq Burki (Retd) made a farewell call on to Defence Secretary General Kamal Gunaratne at the Defence Headquarters Complex in Sri Jayewardenepura, Kotte today (Dec 13).

During the meeting, the Defence Secretary expressed his appreciation for the service rendered by the outgoing Pakistani High Commissioner in enhancing existing bilateral ties between the two regional countries.

While admiring the culture, beauty and splendour of the host country, Major General Farooq greatly appreciated the hospitality of its people. He also highlighted the shared commitment of both countries to fostering peace and stability in their respective regions.

The Defence Secretary presented a memento to the outgoing Pakistani High Commissioner as a token of appreciation. Defence Ministry’s Military Liaison Officer Maj. Gen. Dhammika Welagedara and the Defence Attaché of the Pakistan High Commission Colonel Muhammad Farooq were also present at the occasion.

පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී යදාමිණි ගුණවර්ධන

පරාටේ නීතිය ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීමට පෙර සමථකරණයකට යාම සඳහා මුල්‍ය නීති රෙගුලාසි සංශෝධනය කළ හැකි නම්, මුල්‍ය ආයතනවලින් ණය ගෙන ගෙවාගත නොහැකි බොහෝ පිරිසක් ආරක්ෂා කරගත හැකි බව, පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී යදාමිණි ගුණවර්ධන මහතා පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේදී කියා සිටියේය. බැංකු ක්ෂේත්‍රයේ විශ්‍රාම ගිය පිරිසකට පුහුණුවක් දී එම කාර්යය සඳහා යෙදවිය හැකි බවද මන්ත්‍රීවරයා සඳහන් කළේය. තැන්පත්කරුවන් සඳහා රක්ෂණ ක්‍රමයක් සැකසීම සඳහා යෝජනාවක්ද තමන් නියෝජනය කරන බැංකුකරණය සහ මූල්‍ය සේවා පිළිබඳ කාරක සභාව හමුවේ ඉදිරිපත් වූ බවද ඔහු පැවසීය. බැංකුකරුවන්ගේ සංගමයද එම කමිටුව ඉදිරියට පැමිණ කරුණු ඉදිරිපත් කළ බවද ඔහු අනාවරණ කළේය. මේ නිසා එම කමිටුව ඔස්සේ ඒ සම්බන්ධයෙන් වාර්තාවක් ඉදිරිපත් කිරීමට බලාපොරොත්තු වන බවද, මූල්‍ය නීති සංශෝධනය පිළිබඳ විෂය භාර අමාත්‍යවරුන්ගේ අවධානය යොමුකරන බවද ඔහු ප්‍රකාශ කළේය.

යදාමිණි ගුණවර්ධන මන්ත්‍රීවරයා මෙම අදහස් පළ කළේ, අය-වැය කාරක සභා අවස්ථාවේ අවසන් දින විවාදයට 2023.12.13 දින එක්වෙමිනි.

ජාතික බැංකු මෙන්ම පෞද්ගලික බැංකුවල ඉතිරිකිරීම්හි වැඩිම දායකත්වය දක්වන්නේ කාන්තාවන් බව කී ඔහු, එම ආයතනවල අධ්‍යක්ෂ මණ්ඩලවල අඩුම ගණනේ ආසන දෙකක්වත් කාන්තාවන්ට අයත්වන ලෙස නීති සංශෝධනය කළ හැකි නම් එය වැදගත් බවද කියා සිටියේය.

මෙරට සාමාන්‍ය වයස අවුරුදු 30ක් පමණ වන බවද නුදුරේදී එය අවුරුදු 40 ක් වන බවද, ඒ අනුව මෙරට වයස්ගත ජනගහණයක් ඇතිවන බවද, මුල්‍ය සාක්ෂරතාවය අවම මට්ටමක පවතින නිසා එය වර්ධනය කිරීමට කටයුතු කළ යුතු බවද ඔහු සඳහන් කළේය.

තාක්ෂණය ඔස්සේ තරුණ පරපුර යොමුවී ඇති ක්‍රිප්ටොකරන්සි (Cryptocurrency) වැනි සහ ඔට්ටු සීට්ටු ආදී ඔස්සේ ඇති ක්ෂුද්‍ර මුල්‍ය වැනි අවිධිමත් අංශ සඳහා රෙගුලාසි ඇතිවිය යුතු බව ඔහු පැවසීය.

වාර්තා අනුව දිවයින පුරා ක්ෂුද්‍ර මූල්‍ය හා කාන්තා සමූපකාර අංශවල අයකරගත නොහැකි මුදල රුපියල් බිලියන 20ක් පමණ වන බව ප්‍රකාශ කළ ඔහු, මේ සඳහා නව තාක්ෂණය ඔස්සේ ප්‍රවේශයක් අවශ්‍ය බවද කියා සිටියේය.

ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදලේ දෙවන වාරිකය ලැබී ඇති අතර  රට වර්ධනය කරා යොමුවී ඇති බවද යදාමිණි ගුණවර්ධන මන්ත්‍රීවරයා පැවසීය.

Ministry of Defence  – Media Centre

Public awareness, education, and training initiatives are the building blocks of resilience. Our collaboration with SAARC countries is not just a diplomatic formality; it’s a bond forged in the crucible of shared experiences. Together with ADPC, BMGF, USAID, and other stakeholders, we’ve not only fortified our disaster management capabilities but also fostered a spirit of regional resilience, said Defence Secretary General Kamal Gunaratne gracing the Sustainable National Anticipatory Action through Preparedness initiative in South Asia workshop at the Courtyard by Marriot Hotel in Colombo, today (Dec. 13).

Making the opening remarks at the two-day Regional Launch and Policy Dialogue workshop Gen. Gunaratne said that Sri Lanka’s commitment to disaster risk management has evolved into a comprehensive roadmap encapsulated in our Disaster Risk Management (DRM) framework. This framework is not just a set of guidelines; it is a proof to our collective determination to forge a safer future, he added.

Organized by USAID, SNAP and ADPC, the workshop is attended by many senior government officials from SAARC countries and representatives from international stakeholder organizations.

Director General of the Disaster Management Centre Maj. Gen. Sudantha Ranasinghe (Retd), Director of Preparedness for Response and Recovery ADPC Dr Sisira Madurapperuma, BMGF Deputy Director for Emergency Response, Global Development Dr. Valerie Bemo, Director South and Central Asia USADI-BHA Dustin Shiau and Technical Lead APDC John Abo also were present at the opening session.

Ministry of Defence  – Media Centre

Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Sri Lanka, H.E. Maged Mosleh met the State Minister of Defence Hon. Premitha Bandara Tennakoon at his office in Colombo today         (Dec 13).

Following a warm reception, the State Minister held a cordial discussion with the Egyptian envoy.

During the interaction, they exchanged views on enhancing collaboration in various domains, including defence, security and strategic partnerships. Ambassador Mosleh commended Sri Lanka’s efforts in maintaining longstanding ties between the two nations.

This meeting between the Egyptian Envoy and State Minister underscores their shared commitment to advancing bilateral relations and cooperation.

Ministry of Defence  – Media Centre

A delegation led by Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, H.E. Paul Stephens met Defence Secretary General Kamal Gunaratne at the Defence Headquarters Complex, Sri Jayewardenepura, Kotte today (Dec 12) and had a cordial  discussion.

The outgoing Commander, Joint AgencyTask Force (JATF) of Operation Sovereign Borders (OSB) Rear Admiral Justin Jones, newly appointed JATF Commander Rear Admiral Brett Sontor and the Australian Defence Advisor Captain Ian Cain also joined the Australian High Commissioner for the discussion.

Extending a warm reception to the Australian envoy, Gen. Gunaratne expressed his sincere gratitude for Australia’s assistance in multiple spheres while specially thanking for the support rendered in mitigating the crisis of illegal migrants.

Further, the meeting exemplified the mutual commitment of Australia and Sri Lanka in enhancing ‘Gold Standard’ cooperation of both countries on disrupting irregular maritime people smuggling and other transnational crimes.

The High Commissioner highly appreciated the efforts initiated by the Sri Lankan government on the prevention of illegal immigration as well as on-going assistance to the JATF-OSB on military-led border security operations.

The meeting concluded with the exchange of souvenirs to mark the occasion. Chief of National Intelligence Maj. Gen. Ruwan Kulatunga and Military Liaison Officer Maj. Gen. Dhammika Welagedara were also present at the occasion.

by Arundathie Abeysinghe Courtesy PIME Asia News

Corruption and labour shortages are among the causes, but the latest challenge comes from President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s budget proposal to increase VAT by 18 per cent. For some observers, the sector is on the verge of collapse.

Colombo (AsiaNews) – Sri Lanka’s coconut industry is facing a major crisis due to several factors: corruption, high taxes, problems related to fertilisers, and disease, as well as the lack of government assistance in reaching the global market.

Once a thriving industry according to experts, it is facing a decline in production and productivity in part for lack of state subsidies, but also labour shortages. As a result, smallholders, who make up 69 per cent of crop production, are giving up.

The latest in a series of blows came with President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s 2024 budget proposal to increase VAT by 18 per cent on coconut products,” farmers Mayantha Sirimanne and Nilushika Ratnayaka told AsiaNews.

This would further increase prices by making the product less and less competitive. Many farmers are dividing up their land to put it up for sale, and some say the collapse of the sector is imminent.”

We recently participated in an auction by the Coconut Development Authority,” the farmers explained. “Instead of the hectic atmosphere typical of an auction, we saw a handful of brokers and sellers bidding amid normal chatter. There was no real call for bidding.”

Some brokers note that “auction prices are not a real reflection of the available stock, because only about 1 per cent of the coconuts produced are sold at auction. This indicates that the industry is controlled by middlemen, who determine wholesale prices, which are currently down to about 45 rupees, about ten less than retail.”

At a recent hearing of the Committee on Public Enterprises, it was revealed that the online auction system introduced to demolish ‘mafia’ monopolies was opposed and hindered by brokers who wanted to maintain their interests,” said economic analyst Navin Punchihewa speaking to AsiaNews.

CDA officials have long kept the system inactive by colluding with intermediaries, despite the law requiring state-owned enterprises to sell their products at a public auction,” Punchihewa explained.

However, during the tenure of a former plantation minister accused of tampering with prices, corruption flourished. This minister allegedly sold the harvest of the Chilaw plantations through a private auction, bypassing the CDA.”

With demand for coconuts up both at home and abroad, the country is facing production challenges, this according to Desiccated Coconut Millers’ Association Chairman Neomal Perera. The lack of coconuts is the main issue and there is an issue with the research, as well as exports to the US and the EU,” noted Perera, who is also involved in exporting coconuts.

The Coconut Research Institute and the Coconut Cultivation Board have given wrong information at the beginning of the year to the Central Bank, saying there is a crop of around 3.3 billion coconuts, when there is only a crop of 2.6-2.7 billion,” Neomal explained. Thus, This year the industry suffered because we were unable to get a proper price from overseas buyers.”

Courtesy The Hindu

They have been taken to the Kankesanthurai naval base for interrogation, say sources

Six fishermen from Pudukottai district were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on Wednesday on the charge of trespassing into the territorial waters of the island nation. Coastal Security Group sources said the six fishermen set sail on board a mechanised boat from Jegathapattinam fishing harbour on Wednesday morning. They were fishing near Neduntheevu around 6. 30 p.m. when they were arrested. They were identified as Naresh, 27; Anandbabu, 25; Ajay, 24; Nandhakumar, 28; Ajit, 26; and Kumar, all belonging to Jegathapattinam. They were taken to the Kankesanthurai naval base for interrogation, the sources said.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Colombo, Dec 13 (Daily Mirror) – The Court of Appeal in its majority decision today affirmed the convictions and the sentences imposed on three accused in connection with South Asia’s largest VAT scam. 

The Colombo High Court had convicted and sentenced these three accused for committing criminal misappropriation of nearly Rs. 3.9 billion of Treasury money.

With Justice R. Gurusinghe agreeing, Justice Sampath Abeykoon in his judgment held that there is no reason to interfere with the conviction and the sentence of the High Court Judge of Colombo and dismissed the three appeals accordingly.

However, President of the Court of Appeal Justice Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne decided to acquit the three accused from all charges in the indictment while ordering to set aside the conviction and sentence dated September 26, 2014.

The High Court had sentenced the three accused-appellants to 20 years rigorous imprisonment with fines.
In the original case before the Colombo High Court, 14 accused were indicted on 34 charges including misappropriation of public funds amounting to Rs. 3.9 billion belonging to the Inland Revenue Department.
While the appeal was pending before the Court of Appeal, the 3rd accused passed away, and the 7th accused decided to withdraw his appeal.

Accordingly, the Court of Appeal delivered its judgment in respect of three accused, namely Mohammed Subair Fauzool Avami, Mohammed Moujool Ameer Irshad alias Mohammed Nazeer Cader and Mohammed Kamil Kuthubdeen.

These three accused were absent from the trial before the High Court, and the trial went ahead against them in absentia in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure Act. However, all three accused were represented by their Counsel throughout the trial.

The offences were said to have been committed between 15 November 2002 and 15 December 2004.

Senior Deputy Solicitor General Shanil Kularatne appeared for the Attorney General while Rienzie Arsecularatne PC, Kapila Waidyaratne PC, Zuhair PC and Counsel Mahendra Kumarasinghe appeared for the accused-appellants.