The Netherlands, which colonised Sri Lanka from 1658-1796, returned the artefacts stolen in 1756
The artefacts include a cannon inlaid with gold, silver, and bronze, known as Lewke’s cannon,” according to the NewsFirst.lk news portal – image credit: museum.gov.lk website
Six Sri Lankan artefacts taken by the Dutch over 200 years ago during the colonial era were repatriated to the island nation on Wednesday (29).
The Netherlands, which colonised Sri Lanka from 1658-1796, returned the artefacts stolen in 1756.
A Sri Lankan Airlines flight from Frankfurt arrived on Wednesday with the six artefacts, officials said.
During a high-level state visit in August, Dutch State Secretary Hon. Gunay Uslu formally signed an ownership transfer of six Sri Lankan artefacts that were stolen by the Dutch,” a Netherlands embassy press release said.
A golden and a silver kasthãné or sabre, a golden knife, two maha thuwakku or wall guns and Lewke Disave’s cannon-all belonging to the Kandyan kingdom, now found in the Rijksmuseum collection were confirmed to be war booty, obtained by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) during the siege of the palace of Kandy in 1765 – image credit: museum.gov.lk website
Now, after more than 200 years abroad, six Sri Lankan artefacts will be physically returned to Sri Lanka during a two-day event at the Colombo National Museum on December 5 and 6.”
The artefacts include a cannon inlaid with gold, silver, and bronze, known as Lewke’s cannon,” according to the NewsFirst.lk news portal.
The Dutch Ambassador for International Cultural Cooperation, Dewi van de Weerd, will lead a mission overseeing the handover on behalf of the Netherlands.
With the restitution, the Netherlands aims to strengthen the bilateral ties with Sri Lanka while also coming to terms with its colonial past, the press release said.
As a part of this, the ambassador hopes to discuss possibilities for further strengthening the cultural cooperation between the Netherlands and Sri Lanka, the embassy said.
SLPP leader Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday (28) hit back at critics, claiming that a robust economy had been built under his presidency. He said the UNP-SLFP government which ruled the country during the 2015-2019 period should be held responsible for the current economic crisis.
The following is the text of a statement, titled ‘the origins of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis’ issued by former President Rajapaksa: A heated discussion is now taking place about those responsible for the present economic crisis. The Central Bank reports will show that during my nine years as President, economic growth averaged 6% a year during the four war years, from 2006 to 2009, and it increased to 6.8% in the five post-war years, from 2010 to 2014. Hence Sri Lanka’s per capita GDP increased threefold from USD 1,242, at the end of 2005, to USD 3,819 by the end of 2014. The contribution that my government made to Sri Lanka’s per capita GDP was well over twice that of all other post-independence governments, from 1948 to 2005, put together. Though the per capita GDP came down to USD 3,474 in 2022 as the pandemic caused the economy to contract, that statement remains valid to this day.
The debt to GDP ratio was a very healthy 69% at the end of 2014 having being brought down from 90% at the end of 2005. The All Share Price Index rose from 1,922, at the end of 2005, to 7,299 by the end of 2014. This economic boom was achieved despite the war, the global food crisis of 2007, the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 and the highest crude oil prices in world history. Crude oil cost an average of USD 74 per barrel throughout the entire period from 2006 to 2009 and an average of USD 103 from 2010 to 2014. The IMF Country Report No. 14/285 of September 2014 stated firstly that Sri Lanka’s Macroeconomic performance has generally exceeded expectations”. Secondly that Sri Lanka has made notable advances in recent years, and appears to be on its way to joining the ranks of upper middle income countries”. Thirdly that Sri Lanka’s economic growth has been among the fastest in Asia’s frontier and developing economies in recent years”.
Hence the fact that I left behind a very robust economy in January 2015 is well documented. After I was voted out, the economic growth rate dropped to 4.2% in 2015 and ended up in the negative range at 0.2% below zero by 2019. Sri Lanka’s total outstanding external debt had increased by nearly 28% from USD 42,914 million at the end of 2014, to USD 54,811 million by the end of 2019. The debt to GDP ratio which had been brought down to 69% by the end of 2014, had increased to nearly 82% by the end of 2019. The All Share Price Index declined from 7,299 at the end of 2014 to 5,990 by the end of October 2019. Yet during the entire five-year period from 2015 to 2019 the average price of crude oil was USD 60 per barrel – the lowest in recent history.
There were no external reasons for Sri Lanka’s economic decline between 2015 and 2019. India and Bangladesh experienced average growth rates in excess of 7% and the Maldives over 6% during this period. Even developed countries like the USA and Germany experienced robust economic performance during those years. However, Sri Lanka’s average growth rate between 2015 and 2019 was just 3.5%, equal to the growth rate recorded in 2021 at the height of the pandemic. The accumulation of foreign commercial debt between 2015 and 2019 particularly in the form of International Sovereign Bonds (ISBs) was by far the worst disaster to befall us during that period.
When I was defeated in January 2015, outstanding ISBs amounted to USD 5,000 million and it was amply covered by our foreign reserves of USD 8,208 million. However, between 2015 and 2019 outstanding ISBs increased threefold to USD 15,050 with borrowings of USD 2,150 million in 2015, USD 1,500 million in 2016, USD 1,500 million in 2017, 2,500 million USD in 2018 and USD 4,400 million in 2019. Of this, USD 2,000 million was used to rollover ISB’s taken during my tenure, thus the total amount in new ISB’s issued between 2015 and 2019 is USD 10,050 million. Despite the build-up of the stock of outstanding ISBs to USD 15,050, Sri Lanka’s total foreign reserves was just USD 7,642 million at the end of 2019.
Thus, when I became Prime Minister again in November 2019, our government inherited an economy that was already on its last legs. It was in this weak and vulnerable situation that the Covid-19 pandemic hit Sri Lanka in early 2020 – the consequences of which needs further discussion. In any discussion of the economy, it is vital to note that the per capita GDP is the most fundamental economic indicator used to judge the economic situation of a country and the contribution of my 2006-2014 government to increasing Sri Lanka’s per capita GDP is more than double that of all other post- independence governments put together. The people of this country should base their decisions on proper data and facts and not on noise, lies and propaganda. Sri Lanka cannot afford another political mistake like that of January 2015.
Member of Parliament Dr. Nalaka Godahewa says that even in this budget, the President’s plan to break a part of the opposition has failed. He said so at a recent press conference held at the Nawala office of the Freedom Janata Sabha on the budget and the current political situation.
We are in temporary relief like a debtor who hides until the police catch him for not paying back the debt to the creditors. To tell the truth, we are on top of a volcano. Even if the future is not planned properly, even if it happens in early 2022, this crisis is going to explode in a more terrifying way.
Therefore, basically, what we expected from the budget was:
* How can the government reactivate the economy and push for growth?
* How can the government bail us out of the debt trap?
Here are the answers to these problems.
But instead of a budget that will reduce the debt burden of the country and reactivate our economy, the President presented a budget that will increase the country’s expenses further. Instead of reducing the debt burden of the country, which consists of some kind of election gundu (handout) to please the people, it will greatly increase the debt burden. In short, this was presented not as a budget but as a series of loans.
The estimated expenditure of next year is 6978 billion rupees. Let’s say roughly Rs 7000 billion.
It was during the last year before we faced the crisis that is 2021. The actual annual expenditure was 3851 billion rupees. Let’s say approximately 4000 billion rupees.
So, the government is waiting to spend 3000 billion more than before the crisis. The cost increases by 75%.
But the country’s economy has not developed during this time. It has continuously contracted in these three years. We said that we increased taxes and increased government revenue, but we got that tax revenue by robbing the people and businesses of the country.
According to the government’s estimates, the income that can be earned this year is only 4000 billion. In that case, another 3000 billion will be added to our debt burden.
So in such a situation, can the government’s economic differentiation be justified?
That is why we voted against the budget.
During the presentation of the budget and afterwards, the President said several times that 2024 is an election year. He hinted that not only the presidential election but also the general election is likely to be held. I believe that when Chanda Gundu prepared the budget, he might have been waiting to do so. But the final result of the budget was not what the President was waiting for.
He waited and waited to see if a certain group of the opposition would be able to join the government during the budget poll. He also hoped that a large number of the opposition would be abstain from the vote. We have heard that some members of the opposition had discussed this with his agents. But in the end, the government received fewer votes than it received during the previous domestic debt restructuring. Many MPs from the opposition who did not participate at earlier votes came that day and voted against the budget.
This is a kind of personal defeat for the President. He hoped that this time SJB would split. In order to go to the polls without the Rajapakses in the future, it is essential for him to gather a certain group of MPs from opposition. But this final vote proved that it is still just a dream.
Now he cannot bear this. He can see that the SJB team is very strongly with the opposition leader today. He thinks that is because of the influence of the independent groups in the opposition. He thinks that the main opposition, which abstained from voting against the IMF agreement when it was first brought to parliament, is now continuously voting against his economic program because of our influence. That is why yesterday he insulted me and Mr. G.L. Peiris by name in the Parliament. As the opposition leader said, we understand the President’s mental discomfort. He is in a difficult situation. But we have nothing to do with it. We continue to advocate for the economic philosophy we believe in. Fortunately, it seems that the leader of the opposition also stands for the social democratic economy that we believe in. That is why his group has taken a strong stand against the budget without falling into the trap set by the President.
Recently, the President came and spoke twice in Parliament. The first time he got into an argument with the leader of the opposition and left the debate midway. He came to Parliament again yesterday and got into a long argument with the leader of the opposition. In my opinion, the President suffered a defeat on both occasions. So I wonder why this President comes to the parliament in this way and gets involved in debates demeaning his position.
Perhaps as the person who has continuously represented the Parliament for the longest time, he is bored without coming to the House. But I think that he misses a lot of work that needs his attention. As the President is also the Finance Minister and Defense Minister of the country, he has a lot of work to do on a daily basis. But what he is doing is enjoying himself like the retired presidents of America by giving lectures on all necessary and unnecessary topics inside and outside the parliament, traveling all over the world. If this is what he wants to do, then he must appoint a full-time finance minister.
The problem of this government is its inability to implement the policies, more than the fault of the policies.
On the one hand, the government is talking about the need to develop industries, while on the other hand, by increasing the electricity bills, it is making it difficult for industries to function.
On the one hand, the government is talking about the development of small and medium enterprises, while importing even eggs from abroad.
The people are not able to bear the cost of health, and at some time they are preparing to introduce the 18% VAT which will affect the health sector as well.
The left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. Look at the cricket board dispute. The minister says one thing, the president says another.
Now, this country needs an honest agenda.
What we need now is an integrated economic development plan. This country cannot be rebuilt with unrelated proposals like throwing stones at the mango tree, thinking that a mango will fall by some luck.
This country needs proper leadership. It is not a government that depends on a single person, but a unity of a group of skilled leaders is needed. We need an honest, skilled, and experienced group dedicated to rebuilding the country.
We need a team with an understanding of economics. We need a team that understands the ground reality. We need a team that understands the strengths and weaknesses of the government as well as the private sector.
Sacking of Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe will go down in history as an instance where a President who does not have a direct mandate from the people removed a minister who had got elected to Parliament, Opposition and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa told Parliament yesterday.
Raising a privilege issue, Premadasa said that the incumbent President had entered Parliament through the National List and the latter had been able to obtain only 30,000 votes contesting from the UNP from Colombo District. Preferential votes for him were not even counted. Roshan Ranasinghe contested the same election from the Polonnaruwa District and obtained 90,615 preferential votes. So, this is the first time a president without a popular mandate has sacked a minister with a mandate from the people,” Premadasa said.
This President was appointed by 134 MPs. He is today being handled by an invisible hand. Today, all 225 MPs are under the jackboot of dictatorship.
The sacking of Minister Ranasinghe is a warning to the Prime Minister and other ministers in the Cabinet. They will be safe as long as they do not protest against corruption and the theft of public funds.
Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said that the Cabinet of Ministers must respect discipline. There are many previous instances where ministers were removed. Gamini Dissanayake and Lalith Athulathmudali were stalwart leaders of the UNP. They were stripped of their ministerial posts by former President Ranasinghe Premadasa. We must uphold parliamentary democracy. In order to that there has to be respect for fundamentals of democracy,” the Premier said.
By Dr. Sasika Palathiratnem BAMS (Hons.) – FIM, UoC Courtesy The Island
Ayurveda is a holistic system of medicine with Vedic roots that originated in India about 5,000 years ago. Ayurveda is not only a complete system of medicine but also a scientific philosophy of life, with the two main objectives of prevention and curing of diseases and disorders. Ayurveda is believed to be of a divine origin and passed down to humans via the great sages. Ayurveda mostly utilises herbal based medicines and it has survived the test of time for many millennia; even today it is one of the most popular systems of alternative or complementary medicine throughout the globe. Ayurveda encompasses traditional wisdom, oriental philosophy as well as Vedic science.
The concept of immunology is well-established and elaborated in Ayurveda but in a different name. In Ayurveda, immunity is known as Vyadhikshamatva and defined as the power or ability that prevents the future occurrence of diseases and acts against existent diseases. Furthermore, Vyadhikshamatva is associated with Trividha Bala namely; Sahaja, Kalaja and Yuktikruta. The Trividha Bala can be interpreted as domains of immunity as congenital or hereditary, seasonal or chronological and acquired or specific respectively. Sahaja Bala is the immunity present from birth and it is due to genetic predisposition and good maternal prenatal health. Kalaja Bala is the particular power of immunity that manifests itself in certain episodes of age as well as seasons. Yuktikruta Bala is the power of immunity that a person can acquire through certain medications, healthy foods and proper lifestyle.
Good immunity or Vyadhikshamatva is invariably present in a healthy person and according to Ayurveda; for this proper functioning of the entities Ojas and Kapha are essential. Kapha is one among the Tridosha of Ayurveda, which represents fluid and earthly nature as well as the physical growth of the body. Ojas on the other hand is considered as the utmost essence of the seven body tissues and its presence is said to be extremely essential for life. Furthermore, the clinical features described in abnormalities of Ojas are also seen in most immune-compromised patients. In addition, Ayurveda has clearly described instances where the Vyadhikshamatva Bala is increased or decreased. Specifically, persons having extremes of heights and body statures such as very obesity and emaciation are said to possess a relatively low power of immunity. On the contrary, a higher power of immunity is said to be manifested in persons who are born out of good paternal and maternal gametes [reproductive cells] at a suitable geography, time and climate and of cheerful dispositions, consume good food, engage in physical exercises.
Ayurveda is a complete medical system, where each and every major disease is well-described with causative factors, symptoms and most importantly therapeutics. The system of Ayurveda medicine has a major focus on curtailing the causative factors and reversing the pathogenesis of the disease, as opposed to symptomatic treatments. Thus, the principle of prevention is better than cure, has been a core policy of Ayurveda since its inception. Sushruta Samhita, which is one among the two main compendiums or textbooks of Ayurveda, explains in a separate chapter named Anagata Abadha Pratishedaniya Adhyaya, the ways and means of prevention of future emergence of diseases. The particular chapter explains the importance of proper food, bathing, exercises and medicated oil anointments for maintenance of proper immunity power and sound health, thereby preventing future occurrence of numerous diseases. Ayurveda has also proclaimed different treatment modalities for improvement of power of immunity, notably the Rasayana and Balya treatments that rejuvenate and energize the body, respectively.
The concept of auto-immunity can be correlated with the Rakta Doshaja Vikara mentioned in Ayurveda. According to Charaka Samhita, which is one among the two main compendiums of Ayurveda, if a disease does not get cured by proper orthodox treatments it should be considered as Rakta Doshaja Vikara and atypical treatments should be administered. Rakta Doshaja Vikara are diseases occurring due to abnormalities of blood and even as per modern medicine the antibodies and other immune components mediating the auto-immune process are predominantly located in the blood or its plasma. Furthermore, the Dushi Vishaja Roga, a particular type of Rakta Doshaja Vikara; clearly explains how such chronic diseases gradually occur with time when immunity weakens due to improper geographical, seasonal or dietary factors. Conditions associated with Dushi Visha such as skin diseases, edematous conditions, sub-fertility and certain heart diseases can also occur due to auto-immune pathology, according to modern medicine. According to Ayurveda the main causative factor for such auto-immune conditions is regarded as Ama, which can be considered as the improperly digested dietary matter that gets absorbed into the blood plasma and thereby acts as a root cause for all diseases. Even according to textbooks of modern immunology, some percentage of undigested dietary protein can remain antigenically intact in the blood plasma. Certain conditions of Ama are regarded similar to the action of toxin and are said to be cured with difficulty.
Ayurveda also explains treatments for such Rakta Doshaja Vikara with comparable auto-immune pathology. The Vamana Karma (emetic therapy) and the Virechana Karma (purgative therapy) are regarded as best treatment modalities for Rakta Doshaja Vikara, where expulsion of all undigested matters and impurities of blood are postulated. In addition, the Rakta Mokshana or the bloodletting therapy allows direct elimination of blood impurities by means of medicinal leeches or other suitable methodology. Upavasa or fasting is also mentioned as a treatment modality in such cases, which facilitates the digestion of any Ama and the importance of curtailing heavy protein intake in auto-antibody mediated diseases is thus, indirectly mentioned in Ayurveda. Besides, there are many specific herbs beneficial in such cases of auto-immunity such as Giloy, Licorice, Turmeric, Neem, etc., which are designated as immune-modulators even according to modern research.
In conclusion, with reference to all these facts it is evident that the concept of immunity was well understood and properly elucidated in the ancient divine medical science of life—Ayurveda.
This cricket-mad nation was appalled by the pathetic and blatantly disgraceful performance of its National Cricket Team at the premier event of the game, the World Cup. Even before the event ended, heads rolled over here on the cricket board. Such action should have been taken long ago but what we need now is an honest analysis of the debacle and the remedial measures that need to be taken.
One of the root causes of the problem is that there is far too much money in the game at present. Even in the face of the current economic crisis the money that has been remorselessly thrown around cricket is totally unbelievable. The amount of money that has been paid out to the so-called ‘support staff’ is absolutely mind-boggling. For what, pray we ask? To repeatedly lick the sporting wounds inflicted even by lesser mortals? Shame on the Cricket Board that seems to have completely wasted all that money for years in the past. In recent years we have not gained even an iota of returns for all the money spent on locals and foreigners to supposedly elevate the performance levels.
What we are not told are the most likely princely sums paid out to the players by the Cricket Board. If we are to judge that by the amounts paid to the support staff, the amounts paid to the players must be in a celestial planetary orbit. Those amounts are most likely to be astronomical. It is also a certainty that the Cricket Board Staff too have been at the receiving end of even cosmological amounts. The beneficiaries in the Cricket Board also include various types of managers and other assorted executives and supervisors. Then for good measure, add overriding perpetual corruption and you have the recipe for the disaster that it was. The current situation is nothing new., it has been there for quite a while.
So, for a start, trim down the expenses and most definitely the amounts paid to all and sundry through the Cricket Board. We do not need all kinds of suddhas in the supporting staff brigade to resurrect the game. We have locals who could do even a better job for much less payment. Just take a chapter from the book of India, the nation that is flying sky-high in cricket at present. They do not have foreign managers, foreign coaches, or any other foreign white-skinned ‘experts’ to guide their players. What they have is a home-grown well-knit team of local experts who work behind the scenes to produce the results that they consistently provide. They also have a local medical team that can hold its own against the very best in the world. Their players will interact beautifully with the local experts quite unlike our players who would even venerate the ground those so-called foreign experts walk on, but look down practically murderously at local experts. Our players might even refuse to play if a local expert is put in charge of guiding them.
A good start for enhancing performance up to the highest levels is to have a reasonable monthly retainer for players contracted to the Cricket Administration and to that add appearance fees for matches and substantial rewards for good performance in the field. These could be payments for individual achievements as well as stellar successes by the team to be shared equally amongst the players. There is no harm in paying dearly for proven successes.
Our cricket team is so very poor in adjusting to various situations mentally. In any sport, there are ups and downs. It is only the mentally strong who will be able to come through the setbacks and shine. A sportsperson should first learn to handle defeat before he or she can savour the joys of victory. A winner is just the one who can convert fear into confidence, setbacks into comebacks, excuses into firm decisions and mistakes into learnings. Any sporting person or team needs to adjust to the mental strains of intense competition. A person who can help in such situations is a Sports Psychologist. We have never had a dedicated Sports Psychologist for our cricket team. Apparently, the players are totally against using the services of a Sports Psychologist. They are probably of the mistaken belief that psychologists are needed only by the mentally deranged. The end result is that they become perpetual losers who continue to earn loads of dough. Little do they realise that Sports Psychologists are part and parcel of top-class teams of any sport and even individual high-flying performers.
To add salt to the wounds of our cricket team, many and varied injuries are a real bane for consistent performance at the highest levels by our cricketers. Our players get all the possible injuries in the book., some getting the same injury repeatedly. It has been very clearly demonstrated that in any sport, including those that do not involve muscular exertion, physical fitness is of the utmost importance for stellar performance. It is not necessary to delve too deeply into this as far as our cricket team is concerned. They are probably the most unfit team in the flock of teams playing international cricket. They have only to look at the training programme of 35-year-old Virat Kohli to see what needs to be done. He works extremely hard at his physical fitness and the results are there for all to see. In addition to being a classy batsman, his running between the wickets, together with his fielding and catching are the greatest hallmarks of the cricketer.
There is no proper medical team led by a qualified Sports Team Physician who is in charge of all medical matters related to training, diagnosis of injuries and appropriate management. Unfortunately, it is the physiotherapists and physical trainers who seem to be doing all of that in our cricket team and running the show. When a player gets injured on the field, it is a physiotherapist or a trainer who runs onto the field. It should be a properly qualified sports doctor who should be doing that with the other ancillary service providers following behind him or her. Our players have come to a stage where they trust the ancillary service providers rather than properly qualified sports doctors. Those providers speak a kind of high-flown language that impresses the players. However, those words would fail them miserably if they were to be confronted by properly qualified medical personnel.
The woes of our national cricket scenario are multifactorial. Yet for all that people who are selected to represent our country in cricket should realise what an honour and a privilege it is to represent our country. They should take tremendous pride in that. Then they should try always to give of their best to our beautiful country. There are no simple solutions to the problems of Sri Lankan cricket. The talent is there for all to see. It just needs to be properly nurtured and harnessed. It would be pertinent here to echo the words of the 36-year-old champion tennis player Novak Djokovic after winning the most recent Paris Masters Tournament: Either you let the circumstances and the feelings that you have at that moment master you or you try to master them in a way. There is no in-between. You either fold, retire, or simply give away the match, or you try to draw the energy from the adrenaline that you are feeling from the crowd, from the momentum that you are feeling on the field.”
Need we say more? With proper guidance and classy management, our cricketers need not be the perpetual losers.
Colombo (Daily Mirror) – The judiciary is yet to respond formally to the request by Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana as the head of the Constitution Council to submit the details related to the performance of judges nominated to be picked for key positions.
Earlier, the Speaker wrote to Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya requesting him to submit such details such as the performance of the Judge concerned in terms of the number of Judgments delivered and pending delivery for the last few years, the number of Judgments overruled by the Supreme Court and any observations by the Superior Court in respect of same and the conduct of the Judge concerned, and any notable contribution for the development of the legal jurisprudence.
The Constitutional Council considers its mandate to grant approval for the appointment of judges of the Superior Courts under Article 41C of the Constitution as a matter of great responsibility and is of the view that it needs necessary information to carry out its duty in an effective and efficient manner. The Constitutional Council, having taken into cognizance that Article 41C (4) provides for the seeking of views of the appointment of Judges of the Supreme Court, and the President and Judges of the Court of Appeal, decided to ask from you whether it would be possible to provide information in relation to the following aspects of the Judges nominated, when your views are requested by the Constitutional Council,” he wrote.
He made the request when President Ranil Wickremesinghe recommended the appointment of Court of Appeal President Justice Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne to the Supreme Court and Justice Sobitha Rajakaruna as the President of the Court of Appeal. However, an informed source said the Speaker’s letter has not yet been responded to.
Asked about the next course of action, the source said the CC had nothing to do against it.
Madurai, Dec 2, (New Indian Express) – Though half a century has lapsed since India signed the Indo-Sri Lankan agreements (Sirimavo-Shastri Pact of 1964 and Sirima-Gandhi Pact of 1974) to resolve the status of Indian Origin Tamils (IOT) in Sri Lanka, the Indian government has still not fulfilled its treaty obligations, observed the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Thursday.
“While India was obliged to repatriate and grant citizenship to not less than six lakh IOTs from Sri Lanka, as of date only 4,61,639 IOTs have been conferred with Indian citizenship,” said Justice GR Swaminathan.
Pointing out that Article 51 of the Indian Constitution mandates that the State should endeavour to foster respect for treaty obligations in the dealings of organized people with one another, the judge opined that India will have to confer citizenship on not less than 1,37,000 IOTs to fulfill the above agreements.
The judge made the observations while passing orders on a petition filed by one T Ganesan seeking Indian Citizenship. After 33 years of being called a ‘refugee’ in his own land, the 70-year-old repatriate from Sri Lanka finally gets a new lease of life, thanks to the judge, who directed the Indian government to recognise Ganesan’s status as an ‘Indian Citizen’ and ordered rehabilitation of him and his family.
Speaking to TNIE, Ganesan’s advocate Romeo Roy Alfred said the order is an important milestone that sheds light on the Indian Origin Tamils who are living in the tag of refugees in their motherland.
“There are 104 refugee camps in Tamil Nadu, with over 57,000 Sri Lankan. Besides them, 34,000 refugees live outside the camps. Atleast half of the refugees inside the camp and 80% of the refugees living outside the camps could be Indian Origin Tamils,” Alfred claims. Even if all these people were given Indian Citizenship, it would still be short of the figure which was agreed upon and left unfulfilled by the Indian Government in the 1964 and 1974 agreements, he added.
He further stated that recently, a preliminary survey was conducted by the government in the refugee camps to identify IOTs and even as per the preliminary data, nearly 5,130 inmates were found to belong to IOT category. He urged the Central and State governments to conduct a full-fledged survey to identify IOTs and confer Indian Citizenship on them. Only then, people like Ganesan who got abandoned by the Indian government’s suspension of the repatriation attempts due to the Black July genocide and were forced to spend decades of their life in refugee camps in their own soil, would get justice, he added. He also expressed hope that the present order will strengthen the pathways for Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who are longing for decades to attain Indian Citizenship.
Ganesan was born in 1954 to an Indian-origin Tamil family which was engaged in tea plantation work in Sri Lanka. He had applied for a passport in 1970 when he was 16 years old. However, the Attache/Assistant High Commission of India, Kandy issued a passport to him only on August 22, 1982. Since the Indian government had temporarily stopped the repatriation mission in 1984, Ganesan and his family had to flee to India on their own efforts in 1990.
However, the Indian government refused to acknowledge Ganesan’s status as ‘Indian Citizen’. Though they accepted that his passport was genuine, they stated that the photograph on the passport was of a far younger person (a photo submitted by Ganesan at the time of applying) and told him to bring conclusive evidence to prove that the document was issued to him. Due to this, Ganesan was unable to prove his citizenship and has been living in the refugee camp in Karur with his family, including grandchildren, for the past 33 years.
Justice Swaminathan observed, “Issuance of passport is a sovereign act. When the genuineness of the passport is not in doubt, the exercise of matching the photograph found therein with the claimant has to be undertaken only by the authority concerned. This burden cannot be shifted to the applicant.” He directed the government to recognise Ganesan and his family members as Indian Citizens and provide them with the relief and rehabilitation measures announced by the government for repatriates like him.
Parliament, Dec. 2 (Daily Mirror)- The monthly income of the Excise Department has increased by Rs. 1 billion after checking fake stickers on liquor bottles, a Parliamentary committee revealed.
This was revealed by the officials of the Excise Department to the Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Economic and Physical Plans.
The Excise Department, Inland Revenue Department and Sri Lanka Customs were summoned before the committee to discuss the matters mentioned in the report given to the President by the Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Economic and Physical Plans.
The committee inquired about the amendment of the Excise Ordinance Act. The committee also pointed out the need to maintain the revenue that the Excise Department has increased so far and the continuation of random raids will further reduce the fixing of fake stickers on liquor bottles.
The officials present before the committee mentioned that the RAMIS system will be made functional by January 2024 by avoiding the existing deficiencies. The Inland Revenue Department said that the number of tax files is currently around 7 lakhs and it is expected to increase up to 10 lakhs in the future.
Apart from this, the committee also advised the officials to focus on preparing a system for evaluating the parties who pay income tax correctly.
Inconceivable, unbelievable, incomprehensible, unfathomable, unaccountable, perplexing and plain shocking are the terms that came to Cassandra’s mind as she read the stunning news that the President of Sri Lanka sacked the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs on Monday 27 November, 2023, who was on the trail of allegedly corrupt SLC office bearers.
The President was not voted in but selected by the SLPP, when its leader President Gotabaya Rajapaksa stole away to Male and elsewhere in a blue funk for his life. Before that, his elder brother, Mahinda resigned as Prime Minister after sending goons to attack defenseless protesters at Gotagogama protest site.
Ranil W is becoming more and more dictatorial and intractable. He has now done the unthinkable and in most Sri Lankans’ opinion, the unwise act of sacking a Cabinet Minister for trying to reduce or if possible, wipe out corruption in cricket. This really is unbelievable and incomprehensible to Cass and most Sri Lankans, she believes.
The Island Editor on Tuesday 28 titled his editorial ‘Victory for the corrupt’ and noted emphatically that President Ranil W by sacking Minster Roshan Ranasinghe derailed his campaign against corruption in cricket. The final indictment we all shout out in unison echoing the Editor’s justified comment: The SLPP–UNP regime has demonstrated once again that it is a government of the corrupt by the corrupt for the corrupt.” So very true and evident.
The Editor’s lead article carries a justified ominous warning: ‘Under the shadow of dictatorship’. Herein he deals with the inexplicable act of the President in appointing a Parliamentary Select Committee to probe the affairs of the Constitutional Council. Unrestrained in language, Cass pronounces How dare he?” This is the way the wind blows and brings new woes to this already woeful country that can be so prosperous with contented people living within its surrounding shores.
The Cricket debacle
Cass never fails to read The Island Sports Editor Rex Clementine’s articles as he writes very well and reveals the truth the ordinary person is not privy to. Cass admits she is no cricket fan but she definitely is a fan of Rex’s writing on Sri Lankan cricket, exposing warts of the SLC – Board, managers of teams, etc., and players themselves.
Rex C’s article on Tuesday Nov., 28, is titled ‘Shooting the Messenger’, the messenger here being Minister Roshan Ranasinghe, who recently was accepted by the entire country as honest, brave, minister attempting to set things right in cricket and also tackle the prime menace of corruption. Rex C writes The suspension imposed by the International Cricket Council on Sri Lanka and shifting next year’s Under 19 World Cup from Colombo to Johannesburg may have gone against the Polonnaruwa District MP.” Then he reveals …
it was the SLC’s Executive Committee that asked the ICC Board to authorise the suspension.” Another stunning shock. Like looking up and spitting, and the saliva hit the Minister of Sports. However, someday their evil actions will boomerang on them. Roshan Ranasingha, rich in his own right, was considered to be one of the few honest Pohottu chappies. Now, the fact is proven. Rex C warns at the end of his article; again, correcting and echoing what many Sri Lankans feel: The government is also toying with public anger.”
Yes, we Ordinaries while being perplexed by the President’s rulings, some definitely dictatorial are losing patience and getting very angered. Mass anger is worse than a tsunami. It goes right across the land unlike the sea flooding the shore and proceeding inwards to lengths according to certain givens.
Mass anger is as rapid and devastating as a raging storm. Leaders must never gamble on people’s subservience, foolishness, tolerance, sheep like natures. When they rise, they RISE to wreak destruction. The very peaceful Aragalaya with its disciplined masses congregating on Galle Face Green in Colombo and in many towns, started off with slogans and demands and then stripped the power off mynas, kaputas and even the die-hard, hard-hearted ex-soldier. The storming of the presidential residence and old Parliament were below-the-belt violent acts of the infiltrators. And then came the sudden quelling, nay the crushing of the Aragalaya – ordered by the new Head of State.
Dashing of hopes
A given of the times is that with the onset of hopes, there inevitably is a dashing of them. SL has been going through the worst times since independence, the very worst with the country descending to bankruptcy – sent to that state by its leaders and top bureaucrats. We say it is Kuveni’s curse working on us, the supposedly descendants of Prince Vijaya, who did the dirty on her. So, her curse soon after independence included the curse of Heads of State who acted unwisely, deliberately sending us down to the depths of poverty and widening the chasm between Haves and Havenots, inclusive of the middle class.
We built up hopes with the defeat of the insurrecting JVP (1990s) and later the most vicious LTTE (2009). We hoped and expected peace and amity accompanied by prosperity. Mahinda R was hailed as a hero. He and brethren got a most significant agent of defeating the LTTE imprisoned, that is Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka. The war was won but peace was lost.
Hopes were renewed with the election of a common candidate and a coalition government in 2015. Hopes were dashed and almost 300 killed on an Easter Sunday due to negligence, or as some say, deliberate manoeuvers. Then came an outsider who most thought would be a statesman. He came with a band of so-called intellectuals. Hopes were high. Dashed within weeks. He, with inside and outside advisors, ruined the economy, agriculture and the country. The success of the Aragalaya resurrected hope and optimism. Dashed, shattered, crushed.
Hopes rose again with the economy being tackled with a good CB Governor and Ranil Wickremesinghe at the helm. He soon was given the second surname of Rajapaksa. He seems to continue his loyalty. When he returned from his official visit to the Maldives, he reportedly went direct from the airport to Namal Rajapaksa’s residence to wish Mahinda R on his birthday. Many watched on TV the cutting of the elaborate birthday cake. Maybe he sang the birthday song and then he ‘feeds’ Mahinda R a piece of cake. Cass did not see this on TV but was shocked speechless.
The headline in the newspaper on Wednesday, November 29 went thus: MR blames economic crisis on Yahapalana leaders” – the second leader being the cake feeder.
SSW Test in Construction Field commences in Sri Lanka A new skills test in the field of construction was introduced today in Sri Lanka for working in Japan as specified skilled workers. Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakka announcing the initiative said talented Sri Lankans will now have the opportunity to work in Japan and master skills in the construction sector that will contribute not only to Japan’s construction sector but also to the future development of Sri Lanka. Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka MIZUKOSHI Hideaki, Chief Representative JICA Sri Lanka Office AMADA Tetsuya and the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment, A. A. M. Hilmi, joined the Minister to announce the launch of the initiative to the media at the SLBFE office in Battaramulla. Together with the skills tests in Nursing Care, Food Service and Agriculture, which have been in place since last year, SSW skills tests in four fields will now be available in Sri Lanka. Speaking at the occasion Minister Nanayakkara said that Japan has been supporting Sri Lanka over many decades. Especially when we faced a severe economic crisis and the country became bankrupt, Japan gave leadership to Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring talks and made a significant contribution to make it a reality. We would like to express our gratitude to the people of Japan, including the Prime Minister of Japan, for the support Japan has given us” he added. The Minister went onto say that job opportunities in Japan for foreign nationals will increase exponentially within the next five years and in this backdrop Japan has opened doors for Sri Lankan’s with new job opportunities and the Sri Lankan youth should avail of such opportunities by developing necessary skills. The friendship between Japan and Sri Lanka is very strong. So we are making arrangements to get a large numbers job opportunities for Sri Lankan’s in Japan in the future”. Describing new measures to empower Sri Lankan’s to work in Japan the Minister said cabinet approval has been obtained for including Japanese language in the school curriculum targeting Japanese jobs, the SLBFE has started an island wide programme to teach Japanese language and the SLBFE has also taken measures to reimburse the money spent by individuals on Japanese language learning when they get selected for a job in Japan. The Minister further explained that jobs under the Specified Skilled Worker System (SSW)in Japan are currently available only in the fields of Nursing Care, Food Service and Agriculture for Sri Lankan’s and a request had been made to consider granting jobs under the SSW system in the Construction, Building Cleaning and Automobiles sector as well for Sri Lankan’s. Accordingly, in the past, we have met all the ministers related to these subjects, including the Ministers of Agriculture, Health, and Justice of Japan and made requests. As a result starting from today, Sri Lankan youth will have the opportunity to go to Japan under the SSW category for the construction sector as well” he said. People who have Japanese language skills and are involved in the construction industry will be able to pass this exam and go to Japan through the SSW category for employment” the Minister added.
Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss is an activist and spokesperson for Neturei Karta, which vocally opposes Zionism and the state of Israel. Irrespective of whether or not the Palestinian people was affected or the land was uninhabited, Neturei Karta say the Jewish people didn’t have a right to self-determination. The establishment of the state of Israel prior to the coming of the Messiah is sinful and an act of rebellion against God. Weiss says Jews yearn to return to the Holy Land and pray to God to bring about that end day, but in the meantime, they are tasked with patiently waiting, serving God, being loyal citizens and upholding the Torah in every land in which they live. This interview was conducted by Dr. Safiyyah Ally at Reviving the Islamic Spirit convention in Toronto in December 2022.
President Muizzu met Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on the sidelines of COP28
Discussions at the meeting revolved around the long and historic bond between the two countries
The two leaders explored ways to strengthen cooperation in people-to-people relations
President Muizzu met Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on the sidelines of COP28
president office
President Muizzu in Dubai
Discussions have been held on strengthening the historic relationship between Maldives and Sri Lanka.
The discussions were held during a meeting held between President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu and President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday.
The meeting was held as part of President Muizzu’s ongoing trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to take part in the 28th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28).
Discussions at the meeting revolved around the long and historic bond between the two countries as well as ways to strengthen the relationship based on mutual respect and shared values.
As such, the two leaders explored ways to strengthen cooperation in people-to-people relations, tourism cooperation, and education sector among others.
President Muizzu and the Sri Lankan president also talked about the climate change policies and adaptation efforts of their respective countries.
The two leaders expressed confidence in addressing challenges and seizing opportunities through collaborative efforts.
Gautam Adani, a long-time ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is emerging as a key figure in the U.S.-India partnership to counter China. (Image Credit: White House, Chirag200201)
Earlier this month, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) announced a commitment to provide $553 million in financing for constructing a new container terminal in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The facility, known as the West Container Terminal, will be operated by a consortium led by the Adani Ports & Special Economic Zones Ltd. — a subsidiary of the Adani Group, owned by Gautam Adani, India’s second-richest man.
The move by the DFC — a federal government agency — is part of a broader effort by the United States to join hands with India to compete with China’s Belt and Road Initiative and deny Beijing unfettered access to strategic infrastructure in Eurasia and the Indian Ocean region.
Adani, a long-time ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is emerging as a key figure in this partnership.
At first glance, such an entente makes sense. As a major player in India’s infrastructure sector, the Adani Group can help the West compete with China’s armada of state-owned port operators.
But the Adani Group has been hit with serious accusations of fraud and stock manipulation this year. Washington’s partnership with Adani is fraught with financial, reputational, and geopolitical risk.
Sri Lanka and the Game of Ports
Sri Lanka occupies a strategic location in the Indian Ocean region. It’s just 18 nautical miles off India’s southern tip and sits right along the critical oil shipping routes between the Middle East and East Asia.
Sri Lanka is a key node along the Indian Ocean shipping lanes connecting the Persian Gulf with South and East Asia. (Image Credit: Marine Traffic)
That central location is one reason why Sri Lanka’s main port, Colombo, ranks among the world’s top 30 container ports and serves as a major transshipment hub for South Asia. It’s also why foreign companies and international powers seek a foothold in this island country.
Chinese companies have had a head start in this race. Shunned by India and the West for the brutal means with which he brought an end to Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war, President Mahinda Rajapaksa turned to Beijing for economic support. Chinese companies moved quickly.
In 2010, the state-owned China Merchants Port Holding Company won a concession for an international container terminal at the Colombo port. That same year, China Merchants opened a greenfield port in Hambantota. A subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC) also launched the Port City Colombo project, an ambitious urban development project to be built on reclaimed land.
China’s involvement in Sri Lanka has been controversial. The Hambantota port — a vanity project conceived by President Mahinda Rajapaksa — has struggled. Many have called it a white elephant. In 2014, Sri Lanka sold a majority stake in the port project to China Merchants for $1.12 billion, granting it an unusually long 99-year lease.
Hambantota serves as a poster child for what some observers allege is Beijing’s debt-trap diplomacy” — a purported strategy of drowning countries in loans to extract strategic concessions in exchange for debt relief. Visits by Chinese military vessels to the Colombo and Hambantota ports add to those perceptions.
So too do Sri Lanka’s economic woes. In 2022, Sri Lanka defaulted on its foreign debt. Protestors stormed the office of the prime minister. The president fled the country. Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring talks with its foreign creditors — of which China is the largest — have taken more than a year to conclude, partly because of disagreement between China and other creditors.
A container ship being loaded at the port of Colombo in Sri Lanka. (Image Credit: jgmorard)
Despite Sri Lanka’s tumult, China remains a major player in this country that India has long seen as its backyard. Indian cultural and political influence in Sri Lanka is deep. For example, in 1987, Indian troops intervened in Sri Lanka’s civil war, deploying troops to the island country.
But for well over a decade, India has struggled to stave off Chinese advances into its sphere of influence. One major reason: developing countries in India’s near-periphery and far beyond need to build to grow, and India alone simply can’t match China’s ability to build, finance, and operate infrastructure.
China is an infrastructure superpower. Home to seven of the world’s largest container ports, it owns or operates 92 overseas ports, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. It’s all part of China’s going out” policy, which dates back to the early 2000s and has since been rebranded as the Belt and Road Initiative.
Beijing has also marketed a port-park-city” model — the idea that undeveloped areas can be transformed, like Shenzhen, first into export-oriented powerhouses and then into megacities. For most countries, this dream has or will prove to be a mirage.
What is probable, however, is for some of Beijing’s overseas commercial outposts to serve military purposes in the future. Some Chinese analysts refer to ports operated overseas by Chinese state-owned companies as potential strategic strongpoints” or dual-use facilities.
A commercial port, for example, could serve to refuel Chinese military vessels during peacetime, expanding its blue-water capabilities. A People’s Liberation Army Navy listening post or full-fledged naval base could be constructed near a Chinese-operated port. These discussions are not merely theoretical. China has been in talks with the United Arab Emirates to construct a military facility at the Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi, operated by a Chinese state-owned company.
So for India and the West, China’s foothold in Sri Lanka isn’t just about economic competition. This game of ports is ultimately about control of the seas. And to thwart China’s ambitions, the U.S. is now turning to a state-aligned Indian oligarch: Gautam Adani.
The Adani-Modi Nexus
Gautam Adani and the Reliance Group’s Mukesh Ambani are the two faces of crony capitalism under Modi.
The Modi-Adani relationship goes back to the early 2000s. Both men hail from the state of Gujarat. In 2002, as the state’s chief minister, Modi presided over deadly anti-Muslim pogroms. Within India and outside the country, Modi was a pariah, denied entry into countries like the U.S. But Adani, along with Ambani, stood by the Hindu nationalist demagogue. They helped rebrand Modi as a business-friendly leader, taking center stage at his Vibrant Gujarat” annual events.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2017. Billionaire Gautam Adani is seated on the stage. (Image Credit: Office of Paul Kagame)
Adani’s bet on Modi has been profitable. In 2014, an Adani private jet jettisoned Modi on the campaign trail and to his inauguration as prime minister. Since then, Adani’s net worth has taken off.
The Gujarati businessman saw his net worth rise from $7.1 billion in 2014 when Modi took over as prime minister to $150 billion in 2022 — a staggering 20-fold rise over eight years.
Today, the Adani Group includes India’s largest private port operator, electric power producer, and coal and green energy companies. An Adani firm is also one of India’s top cement companies. The rise of the Adani Group is tied to large-scale infrastructure development, extractives, and, more broadly, state policy.
Indeed, numerous reports by India’s central auditor have assessed that the Adani Group received undue benefits” from Gujarat and other Indian state governments. The Modi government in New Delhi has also given extraordinary concessions to Adani’s coal business, which has caused great ecological damage.
The controversy surrounding Adani, however, goes beyond favoritism. There are serious allegations of corruption from credible governmental and non-governmental investigative entities.
In January, Hindenburg Research — a short-selling investment research company — issued a damning report accusing the Adani Group of brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades.”
Hindenburg says the Adani Group was engaged in the largest con in corporate history,” creating an elaborate network of shell companies linked to Adani or his family members to artificially boost his companies’ stock prices and ability to raise capital.
These accusations were affirmed in a separate investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project published in August.
Then, in October, a Financial Times investigation revealed that the Adani Group used offshore companies owned by Adani stockholders to import coal at prices that were at times more than double the market price.”
This scheme, in particular, displays how the Adani empire owes its fortunes to rent-seeking activities. The coal identified by the FT as over-invoiced was imported by an Adani company to an Adani port and then used by an Adani electric power company to generate power sold to the Indian state distributor on a cost-plus basis. Indian consumers foot the bill for the inflated electricity costs.
America and Adani’s String of Pearls
Now, U.S. taxpayers are financing Adani’s latest venture, the West Container Terminal project in Colombo.
Washington’s choice to move forward with financing the project is curious, given the credible allegations made against the Adani Group. In August, Deloitte quit as auditor of Adani Ports, expressing concern about some of the company’s transactions. But the Biden administration, in contrast, is sticking with Adani as he looks to assemble a string of pearls across the Indian Ocean region and the Mediterranean.
Adani Ports owns and operates India’s largest container port, the Mundra Port, located in Gujarat. It has also constructed a new deepwater port in Vizhinjam, backed by subsidies from the center and the cash-strapped Kerala state government. Adani hopes this port can eventually supplant Colombo as a regional transshipment hub.
In 2022, Adani Ports purchased Israel’s Haifa Port — its first overseas acquisition. A year earlier, the state-owned Shanghai Ports International opened a new, high-tech container terminal — the Haifa Bayport.
The Adani Group may also play a role in the India-Middle-East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), a connectivity project announced by the Biden administration in September that aims to link Indian ports with Europe via the Arab Gulf and Israel. Adani’s Mundra and Haifa ports are likely to be key nodes along this network, should it eventually emerge.
There’s speculation that the Adani Group could expand to southern Europe and grab a port in Greece, whose Chinese-operated Pireaus port has catapulted over the past decade into one of the world’s most active. That move would fit into a pattern of the Adani Group, swooping in after China, balancing its presence in strategic ports, as it has done in Israel and Sri Lanka.
The strategic benefits for the U.S. are clear. But is the Adani Group a suitable partner for the United States?
Washington has said China’s Belt and Road Initiative is tainted by corruption and opaque contracts. It touts itself as a clean and transparent economic partner for developing countries. But the Adani Group embodies what Washington claims to oppose. At its helm is a corruption-accused, rent-seeking oligarch who has thrived in an increasingly authoritarian and chauvinist country due to political connections.
The reputational risks to the DFC — and, more broadly, Washington — are severe, particularly if a new scandal emerges or the Adani Group faces criminal investigation by a Western government. (The odds of that happening in India are close to nil.)
A former employee of a London investment fund told Hindenburg that the Adani Group is “a house of cards” that is “all fueled on debt.” And Fitch Ratings, citing governance issues, says “all Adani group-related companies” face “higher contagion risks than previously considered.”
Washington’s bet on Adani may end up being one it will regret.
Parliament, Dec.1 (Daily Mirror) – The Customs Department is currently conducting an investigation into the under-invoicing of values of three LED screens imported by the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) at three international cricket stadiums in Sri Lanka, State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe told Parliament today.
State Minister Semasinghe said this when Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa revealed that the invoiced value of the three screens bought for Premadasa, Dambulla and Pallakele stadiums have been valued at Rs 6.5 million though the real value has been Rs. 360,000.
The Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court on Friday (01 Dec.) ordered for former Sri Lankan cricketer Sachithra Senanayake to assist in the ongoing investigations concerning his match-fixing allegations.
Accordingly, Senanayake was ordered to assist the Government Analyst, when requested by the police to do so.
The order was issued when a complaint filed by the Special Investigations Unit of the Sports Ministry was taken up in court today.
The court also ordered for the relevant case to be heard again on 17 May, 2024.
Former Sri Lankan cricketer Sachithra Senanayake was released on bail on 25 September over the charges of match-fixing, on orders of the Colombo Magistrate’s Court after the court found that facts have not been uncovered that the accused had influenced any of the witnesses during the investigation period.
However, the overseas travel ban imposed on him continues to remain in effect, on the orders of the Colombo Magistrate’s Court.
Senanayake was arrested on 06 September, after he reportedly surrendered to the Special Investigations Unit of the Sports Ministry, over match-fixing allegations levelled against him.
The 38-year-old had allegedly approached two cricketers participating in the first edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) in 2020 via phone calls from Dubai, instigating them to ‘fix’ matches during the tournament.
The Lanka Premier League was held from November 27 to December 17, 2020 in Hambantota, Sri Lanka.
In 2020, a media report had alleged that the 38-year-old had contacted two cricketers participating in the first edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) in 2020 instigating them into corrupt practices in the inaugural LPL tournament, through phone calls made from Dubai.
The former Sri Lanka off-spinner however had refuted the allegations while claiming that they were attempts to defame and slander him. He vehemently denied any connection to him over the allegations.
Pastor Jerome Fernando has been remanded until December 13 over his controversial remarks on several religions.
The self-styled ‘prophet’ was produced before the Colombo Fort Magistrate this afternoon following his arrest by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), a few hours after he arrived at the premises to record a statement for the second consecutive day.
Fernando made his first appearance at the CID last morning (30 Nov.) and provided a statement for around 08 hours.
He found himself in hot water after a video of one of his sermons went viral on social media, due to allegations that it included derogatory statements related to Lord Buddha and other religious figures.
Fernando then flew out to Singapore on 14 May, two days before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court banned his foreign travels.
After months of controversy over his remarks, Fernando returned to the island on Wednesday morning (Nov.29). He had arrived from Singapore on board a Qatar Airlines flight and left the airport through the Gold Route at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake.
As per a court directive, the CID’s Cyber Crime Investigation Division obtained a statement from the pastor within 48 hours of his arrival on the island.
On November 17, the Court of Appeal ordered the CID not to arrest Pastor Fernando upon his arrival in the country. The ruling also mentioned Pastor Jerome should record a statement with the CID’s Cyber Crime Investigation Division within 48 hours of his arrival. This interim order was issued in respect of the petition filed by Pastor Fernando, seeking to prevent the CID from arresting him.
When confronted with a difficult question from a member of the public it is the standard ploy of a bureaucrat to throw the book of rules at him. FRs and ARs are safe havens of the unwilling bureaucrat. Recently a similar situation was witnessed in Parliament.
When the opposition asked for information on the 10 biggest defaulters on loans from the two State Banks the government response was that the Banks operate on the principle of confidentiality and there is a strict procedure in the Banks in revealing information on their customers. It was further said that the Constitution allows at Article 148 for Parliament to have full control over public finance and not private finance and added that it may be necessary to bring new laws to secure the information called for.
The tragedy is that both the opposition and the government forgot that there is a special agency the Credit Information Bureau of Sri Lanka (CRIB) established u
under an Act of Parliament (Amendment No 8 of 1995) which is specifically created to:
a) to maintain a data bank on borrowers,
b) to collect and collate trade, credit and financial information on borrowers,
d) to furnish credit information on request to shareholders,
The information is already there in the data bank of the CRIB which can be accessed through a shareholder State Bank. The annual Audit Reports submitted to the Parliament on CRIB should have this information. Parliament could also request the Auditor General to submit a special report on the errant privileged borrowers.
In fact this information should be released to the public to expose these big time defaulters who are protected by politicians and Directors and Managers of Banks who may be on their pay. It is only the non-political borrower who is subject to Parate Execution when he fails to pay back the loan.
When the dust settles on the Israel-Gaza war, Israel will be confronted with an existential question: should it redesign itself to harmonize with the region and beyond? Or continue in old, exceptional ways?
The exclusive Israeli-style vengeance witnessed in the 51 days of bombardment, a jaw for a tooth, was possible only with the US hegemon standing four square behind all of Israel’s actions.
The situation today is this: BRICS are standing firm while G7 are falling apart even the issue of the Israel-Gaza conflict. A target must quickly swim into their ken to keep the G7 in anxious huddle.
What might this target be? Who knows Islamic terror may well spiral upwards from the ashes of Gaza. This is a plausible line of speculation. An initiative to resurrect Islamic menace has already been taken by Noor Gilon, the Israeli Ambassador to New Delhi. With considerable alacrity, he has sought to enlist India’s support for the project by fulfilling his end of the bargain: Israel has recognized Lashkar-e-Taiba as a terrorist organization. It has thereby poked two fingers in Pakistan’s eye. This, the Israelis assume will please New Delhi so much that it may be moved, by way of reciprocation, to proscribe HAMAS as a terrorist organization.
In other words, Israel proscribes Pakistan based LET as terrorist but India shirks from casting HAMAS in similar terms. Some may not spot the non sequitur. The media, particularly in the West, in its current form must not be expected to insert the umpteen arguments New Delhi may have for its equivocation. Israeli ambassador’s initiative falls far short of the florid imagery employed by the Ukraine ambassador to describe Russian troops in Ukraine: Like Moghul massacre of Rajputs.”
The Israeli initiative came at a time when HAMAS was more in the news than ever before but so was Gaza, with optics so horrible as to make the Israeli sales pitch unbelievably insensitive. Across the globe, television viewers in countless millions, see HAMAS and Palestinian resistance as one. It must all be extremely embarrassing for Mahmoud Abbas, the notional leader of the Palestinian authority whom US and Israel hope to foist as leader, quite incongruously, of men holding wounded babies in their arm, women carrying their meagre belongings to few know where, bombed hospitals and scenes of horror like Dresden in the movies. Those bearing the pain don’t know Abbas.
The idea to resurrect Islamic terror as the last ditch effort to patch up a crumbing world order has many takers but credit for its earliest authorship goes to former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair. He was fiercely opposed to picking quarrels with Russia because that would divide Europe, he argued. Islamic extremism attracts a wider coalition which, according to him would include Russia and China. After all, the last two countries had their own Muslim” problems in the Caucasus and Xinxiang.
In disgrace for having fudged an official document to go to war in Iraq, Blair persisted nevertheless: the West will pay a heavy price for not entering the war in Syria, he warned.
Blair was a holdover from the George W. Bush era, the Sole Superpower moment. In fact the Anglo-saxon trio of Bush, Blair and Australian Prime Minister John Howard were in the vanguard promoting post 9/11 Islamic terror as a suitable substitute for the vanished Soviet Union cast as the enemy to sustain Western cohesion. AUKUS has the same three in concert. The concept seemed valid until the fall of Lehman Brothers in 2008. Francis Fukuyama’s End of History proved wrong.
Antecedents to the post 9/11 Islamophobia could be traced to 1973 Yom Kippur war when the Arabs did so well as to give the Gulf States the self confidence to quadruple the price of oil. Pockets bulging with petro-dollars, the Shaikhs of Araby turned up in London to see the rain. Savoy and Dorchester hotels had full occupancy” notices hanging in the lobby, all booked by the Shaikhs. Marks and Spencer had signs in Arabic. Savile Row oversold. Anti Christ had entered the citadel. To get even, publishers gave hefty advances to V.S. Naipaul and Salman Rushdie for Among the Believers and Satanic Verses.
The booming economies of the Gulf States attracted Indian labour primarily from Kerala. The State’s neat, austere skyline began to be dotted with garish Dubai houses”. Resentment at Muslims (mostly) acquiring new prosperity spilt over into communalism. This coincided with Gen. Zia ul Haq beaming Nizam e Mustafa from Pakistan, tremors from the Meenakshipuram conversions – all boosting communalism locally which was, in due course, to tie up with global Islamophobia, one reinforcing the other.
It was thick saffron on which Narendra Modi climbed to power in Gujarat in October 2001. On October 18 that year began US fireworks over Afghanistan. The media space was saturated with rocket attacks on Kabul, boosting Islamophobia sky high. Under this canopy, the Gujarat pogrom of February 2002 appeared to have international endorsement. Hindutva basked in the thought that the war on terror would help it prosper. But it was soon noticed that war on terror created more terror.
Egged on by the neo-cons seeking comprehensive global dominance, Washington’s lightening war on terrorism began with Afghanistan. It ended ignominiously with the messiest departure from a country the US had occupied for 20 years.
By now the decline of the US, rise of China, emergence of a multipolar world, weakening G7 and an expanding BRICS were all causing anxiety. After the Afghan debacle, westward expansion of NATO upto the Ukraine-Russia border became the provocation for another war. Russia would be brought down on its knees, Putin’s nose would be rubbed in the dust and, willy nilly, a victory would be manufactured to resurrect the hegemon. Alas, victory eluded the US once again.
All of this imbues the current round between Israel and Gaza with consequences way beyond the immediate. Either a beginning towards a two-state solution softens the Arab view of Israel. Or Israel continues looking for support for all its tantrums by a hegemon which is in retreat.
Embark on a historical journey through the heart of the Jewish experience—from the ancient call to Abraham to the establishment of modern-day Israel. This deep dive explores pivotal moments that have shaped the nation’s destiny and the unyielding spirit of a people in pursuit of a place to call home. Witness the trials and triumphs, the conflicts and the resolutions, that mark the epic saga of the Jewish people. From their origins in the Fertile Crescent to the bustling streets of Jerusalem, discover how historical events have led to the current complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Uncover the stories of biblical patriarchs, the wisdom of prophets, and the bravery of kings. Revisit the rise and fall of ancient kingdoms, the scattering of a nation, and the relentless hope that fueled a return to a land promised. This video is not just a chronicle of history; it’s a narrative woven with the threads of faith, resilience, and identity. Join us as we trace the footsteps of a people who have faced adversity with perseverance and who continue to influence the world.
Sri Lanka’s overall rate of inflation as measured by the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) on year-on-year (y-o-y) basis has increased to 3.4% in November, from 1.5% in October.
The Department of Census and Statistics (DCS), in its latest report, said the year-on-year inflation of the food group increased to -3.6% in November from -5.2% in October.
Meanwhile, the year-on-year inflation of the non-food group rose to 6.8% in November from 4.9% in October.
For the month of November, the contribution to inflation by food commodities was -1.20%, while the contribution of non-food items was 4.5%. The DCS said this was mainly due to the increases in value change in groups of housing, water, electricity, gas & other fuels, education, clothing & footwear, alcoholic beverages, tobacco & narcotic, recreation & culture, health and miscellaneous goods & services.
A decrease in value change was reported for the groups of furnishing household equipment and routine household maintenance, restaurants and hotels and transport. Further, a very slight price increase was reported in group communication during the month.
The CCPI is an economic indicator constructed to measure inflation which is defined in percentage change in the CCPI over the year. There are two measures of inflation in general use. One measure is the year-on-year base or point-to-point inflation (the percentage change in the CPI during the last 12 months). The other measure is ‘moving average inflation’ (the percentage difference between the average price index of the last 12 months and the average price index of previous 12 months).
Speaker of the Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena has declared that Members of Parliament (MPs) are protected by parliamentary privilege and cannot be sued for the statements they make within the House.
The announcement came in response to a question raised by Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa during a parliamentary session.
The clarification follows a recent case filed before the Court of Appeal against former Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe. The petition, filed by Attorney-at-Law Dimitri Shiraz Augustus Pietrangeli, alleges contempt of court over a statement made by the Sports Minister,in parliament. The petitioner claims that the statement was prejudicial to the President of the Appeals Court, and that such remarks about judges should not be made as per parliamentary tradition.
The Speaker’s assertion reinforces the principle of parliamentary privilege, protecting MPs from legal action related to their statements made during parliamentary proceedings.
Mehjabin Bhanu- Bangladeshi culuminst, security and strategic affairs analyst, teacher.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) encourages governments to work together to regulate shipping involved in international trade and to adopt the highest standards that are practical in terms of maritime safety, navigation efficiency, and the prevention and control of marine pollution from ships. The International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations agency tasked with creating and approving policies to enhance maritime safety and security and to stop ship pollution, is crucial to achieving the objectives outlined in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 of the UN: Seas, oceans, and marine resources should be preserved and used responsibly for sustainable development.
In this context, Bangladesh was chosen to serve as the 33rd Assembly of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) First Vice-President. Saida Muna Tasnim is Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the IMO and High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. By the votes of the representatives of the member states present at the meeting on November 27, she was chosen to the significant position of Vice-President of the Assembly. This is the first time Bangladesh has ever been voted to one of the highest positions of the prestigious IMO General Assembly of 175 member states that meets biennially in London to adopt all regulatory, financial, legal, and technical co-operation decisions of the global maritime industry and government.
The top-level specialized agency of the United Nations is called the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The IMO was founded by a treaty that was approved in Geneva on March 6, 1948, and went into effect on March 17, 1958. Originally known as the International Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO), the organization was founded in 1948. It became a specialized agency of the United Nations on January 13, 1959. In 1982, it changed its name to the International Maritime Organization. Bangladesh joined the IMO in 1976. It is in charge of ensuring that shipping is safe and secure as well as preventing ship-related air and marine pollution globally. The activity of the IMO advances the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN. Bangladesh has never before been elected to the second-highest position in the IMO, First Vice-President. The IMO General Assembly, which meets in London and is attended by 175 member states, makes decisions regarding all legal, financial, regulatory, and technical cooperation issues pertaining to the international maritime industry and government. The Saudi Arabian Permanent Representative to the IMO, Prince Khalid bin Bandar Al Saud, assumed the role of President.
It is noteworthy that Bangladesh has won an IMO election for the first time in recent memory. Bangladesh was not elected to the IMO Executive Council in 2021. It is in charge of ensuring that shipping is safe and secure as well as preventing ship-related air and marine pollution globally. The activity of the IMO advances the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN.
For Bangladesh to make the transition to a green marine sector, the IMO and other important maritime partners must provide financial, technical, and knowledge assistance. It is admirable that Bangladesh has committed to ratifying the Hong Kong Convention by 2023. Bangladesh has already significantly contributed to global decarbonization by reducing, reusing, and recycling steel, making it the world’s top ship recycling country. Bangladesh is presently cooperating with the IMO’s SENSREC Project Phase-III for safe and ecologically responsible ship recycling.
But the Bangladeshi government’s timely international acknowledgment for its effective management of its maritime resources comes in the form of the vice-presidentship of the IMO. It also demonstrates Bangladesh’s government’s commitment to assisting the nation in developing a sustainable marine industry. The goal of the climate-friendly government of Bangladesh is to decarbonize the nation’s maritime industry. For the most part, this is in line with the IMO’s 2050 GHG reduction plan. Citing many studies, including a UNCTAD study, one large ship recycling nation, by itself, contributes considerably to the decarbonization of the marine sector by reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 2,000 kg every metric ton of recycled steel. In order to promote innovative technology for green shipping to Bangladesh’s public and commercial shipping sectors, the IMO should launch a pilot project in that nation. The administration of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is commended for raising environmental, safety, and ship recycling requirements in Bangladesh. IMOs need to keep encouraging Bangladesh to develop a green shipping sector. For Bangladesh to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it must prioritize other matters. Bangladesh will therefore find it simple to take advantage of the situation. Bangladesh has a fantastic chance in front of it. Bangladesh may use the ocean economy as a vehicle for national development that is sustainable. The country will become a developing nation as a result of its ocean economy.
The term “blue economy” refers to a marine resource-based economy, the fundamental idea of which is to ensure that seawater and a nation’s organic and inorganic resources are used to the greatest extent possible at the lowest possible cost to the economy. For a very long time, the Sunil economy has made contributions to the global economy.
The blue economy in Bangladesh has a lot of promise. Following the resolution of the maritime boundary dispute between Bangladesh, Myanmar, and India between 2012 and 2014, the outcome favored Bangladesh. Bangladesh’s marine area grew by thirty percent as a consequence. The outcome is an additional 1 lakh 18 thousand 813 square kilometers of marine space for the nation. This significantly raises its maritime potential. Bangladesh’s tourism, marine fishing, commerce, exploration of natural resources, and energy potential all grow as a consequence.
There is no other way to concentrate on preventing environmental pollution, combating climate change, and protecting biodiversity but to take use of the enormous potential of the Bay of Bengal. From an environmental perspective, places that are in critical condition should be the focus of monitoring systems that are established. Both private monitoring and international collaboration are necessary to protect the ecosystem in the coastal area of the Bay of Bengal. Bangladesh’s commitment to assisting the nation in achieving a sustainable marine economy is therefore shown by its vice presidency of the IMO.
From the US to UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, China and Saudia, no country allows any immigrant to stay there without official documentation. Recently when Pakistan announced a strict action plan against all illegal immigrants, a very strange and illogical wave of resentment simply ‘haunted’ the attention of some specific human rights organizations all over the world. It seems that Pakistan has done something illegal and unethical by planning against the illegal immigrants in the country. It is something very strange that none of these human rights organizations liked to raise a voice against the recent shocking increase in the number of attacks on Pakistan’s security forces, military installations and lives and properties of innocent citizens. Particularly in the month of October and November 2023, a very mysterious type of increase has been noticed in terrorist activities in Pakistan which shows that ‘forcefully imposed’ war on terror has yet not come to an end in Pakistan.
This recent increase in terrorist activities in Pakistan seems result of some specific security measures taken by the government of Pakistan; say experts on regional security affairs, the decision of sending back all illegal immigrants to their respective countries is also one of those measures. A large number of such illegal immigrants includes immigrants from Afghanistan. Specifically speaking of the Afghan refugees, more than three decades back, Pakistan provided a shelter to millions from the war-stricken Afghanistan simply on humanitarian grounds. Providing shelter to the refugees from some war-stricken area is neither an illegal nor an uncommon act; all over the world it happens so many time but the case with the Afghan refugees is somewhat different. Under the garb of the Afghan refugees countless illegal immigrants from other countries also succeeded in seeking shelter in Pakistan. These illegal immigrants included a large number of criminals and terrorists too.
The illegal immigrants are creating a lot of law and order problems for Pakistan. Moreover they are adding a lot to already overburdened financial structure of Pakistan. At present there are more than 4 million Afghan migrants and refugees in Pakistan; says an official report issued by the Pakistani authorities. About 1.7 million of them are staying here undocumented. A huge addition to the total number of Afghan immigrants already living in Pakistan was noticed in 2021 when the Taliban took over the country; this number mounts to more than 600,000. Certainly such a large number is proving a huge burden on Pakistan’s already shattering economy. When the warlike situation ended there in Afghanistan a few years back and the Taliban took over control of the country, it was being expected that most of the refugees would love going back to their homeland because there were no more any foreign forces ruling over their country but situation proved altogether otherwise; none of the Afghan refugees desired to go back home, though now things are far better there under the Taliban control. It is because of that peace and prosperity in Afghanistan that today the Afghanistan Cricket Team has become a challenge to many of the recognized and well-placed cricket teams of the world.
To save the country from financial burden and to secure the law and order situation in the country, the government of Pakistan chalked out a plan of sending back all Afghan citizens back to their country but initially only the illegal immigrants were focused. In the first week of October 2023, in a meeting of the apex committee on the National Action Plan, it was decided that no illegal Afghan immigrant would be allowed to stay anymore in Pakistan after 30th October 2023. After that date they would be forcibly deported to Afghanistan by the law enforcement agencies of Pakistan. It was a very high-profiled meeting and was attended by the army chief, federal ministers, provincial chief ministers and heads of all civil and military security agencies. It was also decided in the meeting that initially the main focus would be on repatriation of at least 1.7 million illegal Afghan nationals to their homeland. Moreover it was also clarified that the decided screening plan is not only for the Afghan immigrants; it is for all those living in Pakistan without proper documentation. The decisions were officially conveyed to the media by the caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti, in a press-conference. In the beginning the announcement made by the government spokesman was not taken seriously by the illegal immigrants but when on 1st November, the government of Pakistan started taking strict action against them, the situation began to change in flickering of an eye.
Some ‘worried for nothing’ type of pseudo human rights’ caretakers are expressing their resentment on Pakistan’s strict implementation on expulsion plan of illegal immigrants. Such ‘philosophers’ are ignoring the fact that in spite of repeated warnings, only about 200000 refugees have yet voluntarily returned to their homeland Afghanistan. This number includes at least 5,085 Afghans who were having no legal documentation for their stay in Pakistan. Same is the behavior of most of the Afghan illegal immigrants as they are portraying Pakistan’s screening out plan for illegal immigrants as ‘callous and unjust’. The fact of the matter is that there is nothing illegal, immoral or anything against international ethics in Pakistan’s plan of screening out all illegal immigrants including the immigrants from Afghanistan. Approaching different media outlets and social media forums for defaming and slandering Pakistan in itself is something unethical and immoral. Pakistan’s decision of sending back the illegal immigrants is in no way violation of basic human rights. It is something very strange that these self-claimed human rights ‘protectors’ never raise their voices against the atrocities committed against innocent Kashmiris in Illegally Indian Occupied valley of Kashmir.
Written and Compiled by Ruwan M Jayatunge M.D. PhD (in progress)
In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same., Albert Einstein
For treatment, procedures for PTSD in Sri Lanka medications and psychotherapy are widely used. Some prefer to use indigenous treatment measures.
The victims of PTSD have psychological as well as physical (somatic) symptoms. Since there is no magic bullet for PTSD, the treatment measures generally take fairly a long time. Connecting with the patient is highly important and the therapeutic relationship plays a vital role. Therapeutic relationships with the patients the often the foundation of effective treatment. Therefore, therapists should maintain a good rapport with the patients.
Phases of Treatment for PTSD
1) Support and stabilization
2) Trauma Education
3) Stress management
4) Trauma focus- confronting the memories
5) Relapse prevention
6) Follow-up and maintenance
Medication
Drug therapy is an essential component of PTSD treatment. Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors like fluoxetine paroxetine are often used to combat depression and anxiety. These drugs provide symptomatic relief. Sometimes Antipsychotics ( typical and atypical) are prescribed to relieve severe anxiety, agitation, delusions, hallucinations, and disordered thought. Drug therapy combined with psychological therapies gives effective results.
Psychotherapy
According to Stedman’s Medical Dictionary psychotherapy psychotherapy is a treatment of emotional, behavioral, personality, and psychiatric disorders based primarily upon verbal or nonverbal communication with the patient, in contrast to treatments utilizing chemical and physical measures. There are a number of psychotherapies that can be used to treat PTSD.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy
CBT or Cognitive Behavior Therapy is an approach that focuses on improving mood by modifying dysfunctional thinking and behaviour. The goal of CBT is to guide the person’s thoughts in a more rational direction and help the person stop avoiding situations that once caused anxiety. It teaches people to react differently to the situations that trigger their anxiety symptoms. Therapy may include systematic desensitization or real-life exposure to the fired situation.
CBT for PTSD typically begins with an introduction to how thoughts affect emotions and behavior. Early treatment, new skills to identify and clarify patterns of thinking are taught using techniques such as recording thoughts about significant events, identifying distressing trauma-related thoughts, and converting such dysfunctional thought patterns into more accurate thoughts.
CBT generally includes directly discussing the traumatic event (exposure), anxiety management techniques such as relaxation and assertiveness training, and correction of inaccurate or distorted trauma-related thoughts. CBT is often accompanied by psycho-education or education about PTSD symptoms and their effects. CBT helps victims restructure their thoughts and feelings. Through CBT the victims can live without feeling threatened.
Exposure Therapy
Exposure Therapy is one form of cognitive behavior therapy unique to trauma. Treatment, which uses careful repeated, detailed imaging of the trauma (exposure) in a safe controlled context, to help the survivor face and gain, control of fear and distress that was overwhelmed by the trauma. Intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, and avoidances are best treated by exposure therapy.
Anger Management
Anger and rage are widespread emotions in individuals experiencing combat trauma. Combat veterans experience more anger and hostility than their civilian counterparts. Treatment of the anger component is a necessary ingredient in trauma recuperation work. In anger management combatants learn constructive ways to manage their anger.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a non-drug, psychotherapy procedure. EMDR was discovered (in 1987) and developed by Francine Shapiro, Ph.D. – Clinical Psychologist and a senior research fellow at the Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto, California USA.
EMDR is one of the most researched methods of psychotherapy used in the treatment of trauma. The Department of Veterans Affairs Practice Guidelines has placed EMDR in the highest category, recommended for all trauma populations at all times. In addition, the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies current treatment guidelines have designated EMDR as an effective treatment for PTSD (Chemtob, Tolin, van der Kolk & Pitman, 2000)
EMDR is a complex treatment approach that combines salient elements of the major therapeutic schools such as cognitive, behavioral, psychodynamic, and interactional. It is a specific treatment approach, which helps a person quickly resolve the emotional aftermath of traumatic experiences. EMDR is an information-processing therapy and uses an eight-phase approach. EMDR is helpful in the treatment of PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder), unresolved grief, phobias, sexual abuse, combat trauma, depression, eating disorders, and substance abuse. It can also be used to enhance emotional resources such as confidence and self-esteem. Recent studies lend empirical support for the use of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and EMDR in treating combatants with PTSD. EMDR
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) has been reported to dramatically increase efficiency in the treatment of traumatic memories (Shapiro, 1989a, 1991a). In a controlled study, Shapiro (1989a) reported very successful brief EMDR treatment of Vietnam veterans and rape victims suffering from PTSD, with gains maintained at a three-year follow-up (Shapiro, 1991a). EMDR has been given the same status as CBT as an effective treatment for ameliorating symptoms of both acute and chronic PTSD (APA 2004). In the practice guidelines of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies EMDR was listed as an efficacious treatment for PTSD.(FoaE.B Kene T.M & Friedman M.J 2000).
The expression of trauma may differ from culture to culture. Every culture has its own way of dealing with traumatic experiences. EMDR is considered to be an effective treatment for PTSD despite cultural differences. A recent study on Sri Lankan combat veterans diagnosed with combat-related PTSD showed significant improvements from pre- to post-treatment following EMDR. (Jayatunge, 2008)
Client-Centered Therapy
Client-centered therapy or Rogerian therapy is one of the effective talk therapies. By retelling the traumatic event to a calm, empathic, compassionate, and nonjudgmental therapist the client achieves a greater sense of self-esteem, develops effective ways of thinking, and coping, and more successfully deals with the intense emotions that emerge during therapy.
Carl Rogers emphasized that through client-centered therapy, the process of client self-discovery and actualization occurs in response to the therapist supplying a consistent empathic understanding of the client’s experience, based on the attitude of acceptance and respect. Client-centered therapy is centered upon the expansion of self-awareness, the enhancement of self-esteem, and greater self-reliance. Rogers once stated that individuals have within themselves vast resources for self-understanding and for altering their self-concepts, basic attitudes, and self-directed behavior; these resources can be tapped if a definable climate of facilitative psychological attitudes can be provided.
Rogers’ theory provides the conceptual underpinnings to the client-centered and experiential ways of working with traumatized people. Furthermore, Rogers’ theory provides an understanding of post-traumatic growth processes and encourages therapists to adopt a more positive psychological perspective to their understanding of how people adjust to traumatic events (Joseph, 2004). However, in extreme trauma (in C PTSD) Client-Centered Therapy was found to be not effective.
Trauma Focus Group Therapy
Trauma focus therapy groups are typically smaller and more structured involving 5-10 patients. Group composition is controlled in some treatment settings with patients grouped according to the type of trauma they experienced. Traumatic memories are actively re-engaged and patients openly discuss traumatic experiences with a co-facilitator. Group therapy deals with isolation, alienation, and diminished feelings Also it helps the survivor” feelings in participants. In group settings, the combatants are able to discuss their pent-up feelings and able to realize that they are not isolated and that others have similar experiences and problems.
Rational Emotive Therapy
The American Psychologist Albert Ellis comes to regard irrational beliefs and illogical thinking as the major cause of most emotional disturbances. In his view, negative events do not by themselves cause depression or anxiety. Rather emotional disorders result when a person perceives the event in an irrational way. So despite the client’s irrational beliefs and long-lasting assumptions rational emotive behavior therapists often use confrontation techniques. Most of the people suffering from PTSD have unresolved grief, survival guilt, and irrational beliefs which lead to depression and anxiety. Rational Emotive Therapy can be used to break their illogical thinking pattern through friendly mediation.
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
Psychoanalytic or psychodynamic psychotherapy draws on theories and practices of analytical psychology and psychoanalysis. It is a therapeutic process that helps patients understand and resolve their problems by increasing awareness of their inner world and its influence over relationships both past and present. It differs from most other therapies in aiming for deep-seated change in personality and emotional development. (British Psychoanalytic Council)
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy had been used during the WW1. Some of Freud’s patients like the soldier of Darden Hill and the officer Norman White were successfully treated with Psychoanalysis. Some of the Sri Lankan combatants who have developed dissociative phenomena were treated with Psychoanalytic therapies.
Existential Therapy
Existential Therapy focuses on free will, responsibility for choices, and the search for meaning and purpose through suffering, love, and work. Existential psychotherapy deals with basic issues of existence that may be present within a person. Existential Therapy avoids restrictive models that categorize or label people. Instead, they look for the universals that can be observed trans-culturally. Existential psychotherapy aims at enabling clients to find constructive ways of coming to terms with the challenges of everyday living. (Reichenberg & Seligman ( 2010) point out that the creation of meaning and purpose is an attempt to deal with the four existential concerns, of death, freedom, isolation, and meaninglessness.
The Psychiatrist and the NAZI Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl expressed that death is a primary concern because it is inevitable and inescapable. According to Frankl freedom is an existential concern because insinuates that there is no master plan for the universe; therefore, each person is, responsible for creating who he or she is and what he or she does in life. Frankl developed Logotherapy that tries to find for the patient the aim and meaning of his own life as a human being and does not stress the medical aspect of mental health.
According to Viktor Frankl Logotherapy stems from Existential Psychotherapy, which espouses that humans are driven by the need to create meaning and purpose in their lives. Logotherapy uses three primary techniques Paradoxical Intention, Dereflection, and Socratic Dialogue. Frankl believed that people can find meaning in readjusting their attitudes and, perceptions of potentially adverse situations into developmental opportunities. Psychological trauma could cause transformation and growth potential by finding meaning and defending against the primary existential concerns.
People with severe emotional traumas are struck by the Tragic Triad.” which consists of pain, guilt, and suffering. Frankl suggests that people can deal with this triad of existential, angst through changing their attitudes towards how they perceive and ultimately deal with them. Logotherapy helps PTSD sufferers deal with survivor, guilt, depression, affect dysregulation, and an altered worldview following trauma.
Family and Marital Therapy
Many sufferers of PTSD have disrupted family relations, Spouse abuse, cruelty to children and sexual dysfunctions are evident among the affected personnel. Emotional numbing and constricted affect associated with PTSD interfere with successful marital relationships and parenting. In family and marital therapy, the therapist applies therapeutic principles while engaging the participation of family members. Constructive aspects of the family’s relationships are reinforced, while destructive elements are identified and altered. Family members are taught better communication skills and ways of positive coping.
Cognitive Processing Therapy
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) has been recognized as one of the effective methods that can be used to treat PTSD. Cognitive processing therapy was developed by Dr Patricia Resick – a renowned Psychologist in 1988 and she did a lot of single cases until its first publication in 1992. Many studies have shown the efficacy of Cognitive processing therapy.
Dr Resick defines (CPT) as a manualized therapy that includes common elements from general cognitive-behavioral treatments. It’s developed with both cognitive therapy and written trauma accounts.
CPT is an evidence-based approach to combat psychological trauma. CPT is recommended for clients with:, PTSD and comorbid diagnoses such as depression and substance abuse. It is generally not recommended for clients with active suicidal behavior, current Psychosis, or victims with severe dissociation with loss of memory of the traumatic event.
This therapeutic mode is primarily based on Social Cognitive Theory. When a traumatic event occurs it can dramatically alter basic beliefs about the world, the self, and others. In addition, 5 major dimensions that may be disrupted by traumatic events: safety, trust, power and control, esteem, and intimacy. The CPT focuses on how trauma survivors integrate traumatic events into their overall belief system through assimilation or accommodation.
The CPT goals are to process natural emotions (other than fear) in clients with PTSD, address the content of the meaning derived from the traumatic memory., accommodation – accepting that the traumatic event occurred, and discover ways to successfully integrate the experience into one’s life.
Resick et al. (2002) indicate that the therapy focuses initially on assimilated–distorted beliefs such as denial and self-blame. Then the focus shifts to overgeneralized beliefs about oneself and the world. Beliefs and assumptions held before the trauma are also considered. Clients are taught to challenge their beliefs and assumptions, through Socratic questioning and the use of daily worksheets.
Once dysfunctional beliefs are deconstructed, more balanced self-statements, are generated and practiced. The exposure component consists of having clients write detailed accounts of the most traumatic incident(s) that they read to themselves and to the therapists. Clients are encouraged to experience their emotions while writing and reading, and the accounts are then used to determine “stuck points”: areas of conflicting beliefs, leaps of, logic, or blind assumptions.
Dr Resick hypothesizes that when individuals are confronted with new information that is inconsistent with preexisting schemas (i.e., stored bodies of knowledge), one of two processes occurs: assimilation or accommodation. Accommodation is the modification of existing schemas to incorporate new events and information. In trauma survivors, these processes often involve the themes of agency, safety, trust, power, esteem, and intimacy. Sobel et al.(2009) suggest that accommodation is necessary to integrate a new event, traumatized individuals sometimes over-accommodate trauma-relevant information. They noted that over-accommodation occurs when schema changes are inaccurate and over-generalized.
CPT is a highly structured protocol in, which the client learns the skill of recognizing and challenging, dysfunctional cognitions, first about the worst traumatic event and, then later with regard to the meaning of the events for current, beliefs about self and others.
Foreword Treatment in Combat-Related PTSD
In war situations, the psychological management of war casualties is highly important. Management of Combat Stress is often a decisive factor in mental health well-being. Experts unanimously agree that treatment of combat stress should begin as soon as possible. The first organized military system for psychological treatment of combat fatigue occurred during the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1906) when physicians were put as close to the front as possible to allow them to perform evaluations of traumatized soldiers. This forward treatment” recognized the value of caring for psychological casualties as quickly and as close to the action as possible. The point was to keep the traumatized GI near his unit, as it was observed that the farther from the point of battle that a soldier traveled, the less successful doctors were in getting him back in the fight.
CISD (Critical Incident Stress Debriefing)
Debriefings take place on the battlefield as soon as possible after the action. Colonel S.L.A. Marshall of the US Army developed the method of conducting interviews with the surviving members of small units in the field soon after the battles. Marshall regarded this finding as one of his two most important contributions to the Army. Several factors affect an individual’s response to a critical incident. Advance warning allows the person time to develop coping strategies. The more intimate the person’s role, involvement, and proximity to the event, the more potential impact. The severity of the event and any loss are also contributing issues. Currently, there is controversy regarding CISD. Some forms of debriefing may actually make people worse (Mayou & Ehlers, 2006), while other types of treatment have demonstrated good success in helping people get through trauma.
CyberTherapy
Cyber therapy is a powerful medium that is effective in treating PTSD. Through Cyber therapy the traumatic events can be simulated (under a controlled environment) for desensitization purposes. Cpl. SXDX29 – a known PTSD patient who had an intense fear of witnessing artillery attacks and had frequent nightmares and intrusions. When he was shown simulated artillery attacks with explosions and gunshot sounds in a safe environment he was able to observe it with moderate distress. After that, he was encouraged to do relaxation exercises. The second time, he was able to watch the screen with a lesser amount of distress. Repeating this cyber simulation several times over 2-4 weeks, reduced his fear and distressful physiological reaction. Every time Cpl. SXDX29 watched the simulation he was encouraged and praised for his bravery by the therapist. While watching he was encouraged to repeat (self-talk) ” I am a soldier and I have no fear” By the 4th week Cpl. SXDX29 reported that his nightmares were lesser and he was able to sleep longer periods.
Art Therapy
Art therapy is an aesthetic way of achieving catharsis and giving psychological tranquility to the patient. Artistic endeavors have also been a way for many trauma survivors to express their feelings in a positive creative way. This can improve the mood and minimize PTSD-related nightmares.
Josée Leclerc a prominent creative art therapist expresses that art therapy can engage the creative potential of individuals especially those suffering from PTSD. According to Josée Leclerc art therapy is a form of mind-body intervention that can influence physiological and psychological symptoms. He further says that the experience of expressing oneself creatively can reawaken positive emotions and address symptoms of emotional numbing in individuals with PTSD.
Meditation
Meditation is a synchronized mind-body technique. It is a technique, defined as, ‘the maintained focus of attention on a single object, through which the mind is calmed and distracting influences of other internal and external events are reduced. Meditation enhances cognitive functions strengthening attention span. It helps to achieve optimal growth towards a state of total brain functioning. Mediation augments the psycho-physiological functioning of the body and helps to achieve full mental potential.
Relaxation training is one of the major techniques proposed by the Psychotherapists to combat anxiety. Simple relaxation or mindfulness breathing (Ananapanasathi Meditation) helps to reduce anxiolytic feelings. Physiologically, breathing is important to the human body. Breathing nourishes the body and its various organs with the supply of oxygen, which is vital for survival. Oxygen is essential for the integrity of the brain, nerves, glands, internal organs, and healthy skin. Breathing plays an important role in cleansing the body of toxins and waste products. Hence systematic and mindful breathing helps to gather more oxygen concentration in the system and reduce anxiety.
Metta ‘Meditation (Meditation of ‘loving-kindness ) projects a profound wish for the happiness of others. It is a universal feeling without any self-interest or egoistic feelings. The systematic practice of Metta ‘Meditation helps to reduce deep-rooted angry feelings, self-loathing, and the urge to seek revenge.
Some PTSD patients have morbid fear and fear of dying. Marananusmathi Meditation or progressively and logically thinking about death ( the concept of death and death as a universal phenomenon ) gives the client to move away from fixation and fear of dying. Marananusmathi Meditation helps the client to understand the concept of impermanence and that suffering is not permanent. This meditation is done under an instructor and needs assessment before practicing and prolific training.
Generally, meditation helps to have exceptional control over thoughts and facilitates to reduction of dysfunctional patterns of thought and perceptions that generate anxiety. In addition, it gives a greater ability to manage negative emotions and helps to gain a greater sense of stability.
Personal communications
1) Personal communication with Dr. Patricia A. Resick- Women’s Health Sciences Division of the National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System and Boston University, Boston, MA.
2) Personal communication with Professor James Alcock -Department of Psychology, Glendon College, York University. Canada
3) Personal communication with Nancy Pingel: Program Instructor – Psychosocial Rehabilitation Humber Lakeshore Campus Canada
4) Personal communication with Professor Daya Somasundaram -University of Adelaide Australia
5) Personal communication with Dr Mahasen De Silva – Board Certified Psychiatrist: Colmary-O’Neil Veterans Affairs Medical Center Kansas USA.
6) Personal communication with Professor Ari Zaretsky MD FRCPC, Psychiatrist-in-Chief, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto.
7) Personal communication with Donna Sabella, M.Ed, MSN, Ph.D., RN, Assistant Academic Dean – Health Sciences, The College of Global Studies, Arcadia University.
