චානක බණ්ඩාරගේ

යුද්ධය අවසානයේ චැනල් 4 විශාල බොරු තොගයක් ඇද බෑය. ශ්‍රී ලංකා හමුදාව තරම් මානව හිතවාදීව යුද්ධ කල තවත් යුද හමුදාවක් මෑත අතීතයේ ලොව කොහේවත් නොවීය. නමුත් අපේ රණවිරුවන් අහිංසක දෙමළ වැසියන් 40,000 යුද්ධය අවසාන සමයේ කෲර ලෙස මරා දමනු ලැබිය යන බොරු බේගලය ලොව පුරා ව්‍යාප්ත කර හැරීමට මුළීක වුයේ චැනල් 4 නාලිකාවයි (ඒ සංඛ්‍යාව 70,000ක් යයි පසුව සුමන්තිරන් පාරම් බෑය).

ඒ වෙනුවෙන් චැනල් 4 වාර්ථා වැඩසටහන් කිහිපයක් ප්‍රචාරණය කළහ. ඒවා බොරු බව දේශප්‍රේමින් කිහිප දෙනෙක් උදාහරණ ගෙන හැර පාමීන් ලිපි ආදිය මඟින් කරුණු පැහැදිලි කළහ. නමුත් බටහිර ලෝකයේ බොහෝ දෙනෙක් අදත් විශ්වාස කරන්නේ එම චැනල් 4 බොරු වැඩසටහන් ඇත්ත කියාය  – ශ්‍රී ලංකාව විසින් අහිංසක දෙමළ වැසියන් 40,000ක් මරා දැමීය කියාය.

මෙයට ප්‍රධාන හේතුව එවකට තිබු රජයේ උකටලී භාවයයි. චැනල් 4ට එරෙහිව තදින්ම ජාත්‍යන්තරයට සත්‍යය හෙළිදරව් කිරීම, නිතී මඟින් බ්‍රිතාන්‍යයේ ඔවුනට එරෙහිව නඩු පවරා ජය ගනු වෙනුවට එවකට තිබු රජය ඔවුනට ඔනෑම බොරුවක් කීමට ඉඩ සලසා බලා සිටියහ. කොටින්ම 2013 වසරේ පැවතී ශෝගම් සමුළුවට සහභාගී වීම සඳහා චැනල් 4 මාධ්‍යවේදීන්ට ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට පැමිණීමට විසා නිකුත් කිරීමට තරම් එවකට වූ රජය දීන විය.

චැනල් 4 කලේ දැවැන්ත බොරුවක් බව සෙසු ලෝකය කෙසේ වෙතත් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ වාසය කරන අප හොඳටම දනිමු. චැනල් 4 හරි යයි කියන මාධ්‍යවේදීන් බොහෝ දෙනෙක්ද මෙහි වෙත්, විශේෂයෙන්ම සමාජ  මාධ්‍යවේදීන්.  

LTTE සමඟ පවා ‘ඩීල්’ දැමු ප්‍රබල දේශපාලනඥයන් සිටින මේ රටේ පෞද්ගලික ලාභ ප්‍රයෝජන සහ රටට ද්‍රෝහී වීම සඳහා වැඩ කරන අය සිටීම අප රටේ අවාසනාවකි.  ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ජාත්‍යාන්තරය හමුවේ ‘කුජීත’ වනු දැකීමට කැමති ශ්‍රී ලාංකිකයෝ වෙත්.

සමාජමාධ්‍ය ක්‍රියාකාරීන් නිසා (විශේෂයෙන්ම යු ටියුබ්) රටට අනාදරය කරන සංඛ්‍යාව බෙහවින් ඉහළ යමින් සිටී. දරුවන්, තරුණ පෙළ රටට විරසකව සිතීමට පෙලභීම/ඉගැන්වීම ඉතා කණගාටුවට කරුණකි. අප හැදෙන කාලයේ අපට පාසැලෙන් සහ නිවසින් උගන්වනු ලැබුවේ ජාත්‍යානුරාග දේ පමණි. අප අද  දේශප්‍රේමින්ව ජීවත් වන්නේ ඒ නිසාය.

දැන් සමාජ මාධ්‍ය අපේ ගරුතර මහා සංඝරත්නය හඳුන්වන්නේ ‘යෙලෝ පෙට්ස් හෝ පෙස්ට්ස්’ යන නම් වලිනි. ඉදින් අනාගත දරුවන් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ බුදු සසුණ නොරකිවී කියා සිතීම වැරදි නොවේ.

නවතම චැනල් 4 බොරුව (සැප්තැම්බර් 2023) මේ අය ඉතා තදින් ප්‍රචලිත කරත්. 

එක් වරක් දැවැන්ත බොරු ඇද බා අසුවූ පසු සාධාරණ ලෙස සිතන අය කරන්නේ එවැනි බොරු කාරයන්ව මුලුමනින්ම ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කිරීමයි. ඔවුන් කියන දෙයක් කිසි ලෙසකින් විශ්වාස නොකිරීමයි.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාව පිළිබඳව කලින් බොරු කිවූ චැනල් 4 නාළිකාව අප රට ගැන තවත් බොරු වීඩියෝවක් ඉදිරිපත් කිරීමට යන බව දැන ගත් කල්හිම (ඔවුන්ගේ පුර්ව වැඩසටහනක් ප්‍රචාරය කෙරිණි)  චැනල් 4හි නරක විශ්වාසනීයත්වය (bad credibility) පිළිබඳව අප විසින් ජාත්‍යාන්තරය දැනුවත් කළ යුතුව තිබුණි. චැනල් 4 වාර්ථා වැඩසටහන ප්‍රචාරය කරන දින දේශප්‍රේමි සංවිධානයක් විසින් බ්‍රිතාන්‍යයේ ප්‍රධාන පුවත්පතක චැනල් 4 නිරුවත හෙළිදරව් කරන සම්පුර්ණ පිටුවක (වෙළඳ) දන්වීමක් ප්‍රචාරය කළ යුතුව තිබුණි.  ද්‍රවිඩ ඩයස්පෝරා වැඩ කරන්නේ ඒ ලෙසිණි.

එවිට ඔවුන් බියවේ.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාව පිළිබඳව ඕනෑම බොරුවක් ප්‍රචාරය කිරීමට චැනල් 4 බිය නැත. මන්ද, අප රජයන් කටයුතු කරන්නේ දත් රහිත කොටින් ලෙස බව ඔවුන් දන්නා හෙයිනි.

මෙම චැනල් 4 නවතම වීඩියෝව භාවිතා කර අප පිළිබඳව ලොව සනිටුහන් වී ඇති නරක විශ්වාසනීයත්වය හරි මඟට දමා ගැනීමට දැන්වත් අප කටයුතු කල යුතුයි. මේ සඳහා රජය (විදේශ අමාත්‍යාංශය) සහ දේශප්‍රේමින් කැපවීමෙන් වැඩ කළයුතුයි.  

චැනල් 4 යනු ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ එක් ප්‍රසිද්ධ දේශපාලන පවුලකට පහර ගැසීමට සැදී පැහැදී සිටින රුපවාහිනි නාලිකාවක් යයි කීම අසත්‍යයකි. චැනල් 4 වැඩ කරන්නේ දෙමළ බෙදුම්වාදයට ඉඩ දීමටය.

මේ නවතම වීඩියෝවෙන්ද ඔවුන් පහර දෙන්නේ රටේ වැඩිතරය වූ  සිංහල බෞද්ධයාටය. පාස්කු ඝාතන පිලිබඳ ව ඔවුනගේ වීඩියෝවෙන් 1983 දෙමළ ‘කළු’ ජුලීය, යුද්ධය අවසන් කාලයේ ද්‍රවිඩයන් සමුලඝාතනය පිලිබඳව ඉතා දැඩිව උලුප්පවා කරුණු දක්වයි. මේ පසුගිය සිද්ධීන්/ලසන්ත ඝාතනය පාස්කු ඝාතනයට සම්බන්ධ කිරීමට මොවුන් දරන අධික වෑයමෙන්ම  ඔවුන්ගේ ද්වේශසහගත බව විද්‍යාමාන වේ.

ද්‍රවිඩයනට මේ රටේ අසාධාරණ   සිදුවේය, ඒ නිසා ඔවුනට ඊළම ලබා දිය යුතුය යන ද්‍රවිඩ ඩයස්පෝරාවේ හඬයි චැනල් 4 නියෝජනය කරනුයේ.

අසාඩ් මව්ලානා නමැති කිසිදු විශ්වාසනීයත්වයක් නොමැති අයෙක් යොදවා පාස්කු ප්‍රහාරය ගැන වෙන කිසිදා නොනැගු කථාවක් චැනල් 4 එම ඛේධවාචකයෙන් වසර 4 1/2 ට පසු දැන් ගෙන හැර පායි. චැනල් 4 පාස්කු වාර්ථා වැඩසටහන මුළුමනින්ම ගොඩ නැගී ඇත්තේ අසාඩ් මවුලානා චැනල් 4 ඉදිරියේ (ඔහුගේ ප්‍රථම වරට) කරන පාපෝච්චාරණය මතය.

අසාඩ් මව්ලානා යනු පිල්ළේයාන්ගේ දීර්ඝ, ඉතාම කිට්ටු  සහචරයෙක් බව චැනල් 4 පැවසුවත්, පිල්ළේයාන් යනු අති දරුණු LTTE ත්‍රස්තවාදියෙක්ව සිටී බව චැනල් 4 තම ප්‍රේක්ෂකයන්ගෙන් සඟවයි. චැනල් 4 පුන පුනා පවසන්නේ පිල්ළේයාන් යනු ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ පිළිගත් දේශපාලනඥයෙක් බවයි. ඔහු ද්‍රවිඩ බවක්ද නොකියයි.  

අසාඩ් මව්ලානා වැන්නෙක් දැන් ඔවුන් ඉදිරියට පැමිණ ලබා දෙන සාක්ෂිය ලොව පිළිගත යුත්තේ මන්දැයි චැනල් 4 කියා නොසිටීයි. යුරෝපීය මානව හිමිකම් සංවිධානයකට දිවුරුම් ප්‍රකාශයක් දුන් පමණින් අසාඩ් මව්ලානාගේ ‘සාක්ෂ්‍යය’ සත්‍යය එකක් වන්නේ කෙසේද?

ඒ රටවල සරණාගතභාවය ලබා ගැනීම/මුදල් සඳහා මිනිසුන් ඔනෑම බොරුවක් කියන බව චැනල් 4 දන්නා කරුණකි.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ උසස් රාජ්‍ය නිලධාරියෙකු කියා, මුහුණ නොපෙන්වා, යමෙක් වෙනස් කල කටහඬකින් ඉංග්‍රීසි බසින් පාස්කු ප්‍රහාරය ගැන (බොරු) පවසයි. මේ අයුරින් වාර්ථා චිත්‍රපට නිපදවීමට ඔනෑම කෙනෙකුට පුළුවන.

චැනල් 4 දැනුවත්ව කරන මේ අසත්‍ය ප්‍රචාරය  සහ ඒවා ලොව පුරා ඉමහත් ලෙස ප්‍රචාරය වීම පිළිබඳව රටට සැබවින්ම ආදරය කරන සැබෑ දේශප්‍රේමින් ශෝක /ලැජ්ජා වෙද්දී, අපේම සමහර ශ්‍රී ලාංකිකයෝ සිටින්නේ ඒ ගැන  මහත් ඉහළ සතුටකිනි.  

පාස්කු ඛේධවාචකය ගැන සත්‍ය හෙළිදරව් කරගැනීම අත්‍යාවශ්‍යය. දැනටද බොහෝ දෙනෙක් අත්අඩංගුවේ පසුවේ. කාදිනල් තුමා පවසන්ණේ ජාත්‍යාන්තර මැදිහත් වීමක් මඟින් නව විමර්ශනයක් සිදු විය යුතු බවයි. එය පිළිගත හැකි ඉල්ලීමකි. නව විමර්ශනය මඟින් චැනල් 4 බොරුව හෙළි වුවහොත් රජය නිතී මඟින් චැනල් 4ට එරෙහිව කටයුතු කිරීමට පියවර ගත යුතුය.  

පාස්කු ප්‍රහාරය ජාත්‍යාන්තරකුමන්ත්‍රණයක් යයි හිටපු නිතීපති වරයා සිය සේවා කාලයේ අවසාන භාගයේ කිවා මතකය. ඔහු තරම් පාස්කු ප්‍රහාරය ගැන කරුණු දන්නා වෙනත් කෙනෙක් එකළ නොසිටියා විය හැක. නව විමර්ශනයට බඳුන් විය යුත්තේ මේවායි. ඔහුගෙන් දැනට කට උත්තරයක් ලබා ගෙන නොතිබේ?

සහරාන්ගේ බිරිඳ අදත් ජීවතුන් අතර සිටී, ඇය බොහෝ දේ දනු ඇත. නව විමර්ශනය ඉදිරියට ඇය කැඳ විය යුතුයි.

සාරා ජැස්මින් ඇත්තටම මැරීද?  නැතහොත් අදත් ජීවතුන් අතර ඉන්දියාවේද? එසේනම් ඉන්දියාව සමඟ සාකච්චා කර ඇයගෙන් මුළීක කටඋත්තරයක් ගැනීමට කටයුතු කල යුතුය.

පාස්කු සිද්ධියෙන් පසු ජාත්‍යාන්තර ISIS සංවිධානය එය තමන් විසින් මෙහෙයවන ලද්දක් බව (නැසීගිය අල් බග් ඩාඩි නායකයා) පවසන ලදී. එහි සත්‍යයක් තිබේද? ඒ පිළිබඳව සම්පුර්ණ විමර්ශනයක් කළේද?

2019 පාස්කු ඉරිදා රාත්‍රියේ කාත්තන්කුඩි හෝ ඒ අවට තරු පන්තියේ හෝටලයක රටේ ප්‍රසිද්ධ මුස්ලිම් දේශපාලනඥයෙක් සමඟ කථා බස් කර එදාම රටින් (රහසිගතව?) පිටව ගිය දිග ලෝගු හැඳි ඒ මැද පෙරදිග ජාතිකයන් කවුද? මේ ගැන කිසිවෙක් කථා නොකරන්නේ ඇයි?

මේ දේශපාලනඥයා නිදොස් කොට නිදහස්ද?

පාස්කු ප්‍රහාරයට පෙර කෝටි ගණන් විදෙස් මුදල් නැගෙනහිර මුස්ලිම් ප්‍රදේශ සංවර්ධනයට මැද පෙරදිග විදෙස් රටකින් ලබා දුණි. එහි නායකයන් පවා පුද්ගලික ගුවන් යානා මඟින් මේ ප්‍රදේශයට නිතර නිතර පැමිණ ගිය බව එකළ ආරංචි විය.

නැගෙනහිර ශරියා විශ්ව විද්‍යාලයක් ඉදිකිරීම, එහි පාරවල දෙපස රට ඉඳි ගස් පවා වැවීමට ඉඩ දුන් මැදපෙරදිග ධනවත් කණ්ඩායම් වෙත්.

අද, පාස්කු ප්‍රහාරයෙන් පසු එවැනි කිසිදු වැඩක් නැගෙනහිර සිදු නොවේ. එකවර, ඒ මන්ද?

මේ රටේ එකතරා භික්ෂුවක් විසින් මුස්ලිමානුවන්ට විරුද්ධව දැඩි වාග් ප්‍රහාර එල්ල කල බව අප දන්නා සත්‍යයකි.   

ඒවා නිසාද අලුත්ගම, ගිංතොට, දිගන, පුජාපිටිය වැනි ප්‍රදේශවළ අහිංසක මුස්ලිමානුවනට නොකඩවා ජාති වාදී ප්‍රහාර වලට ලක් වීමට සිදු විය.එවන් පසුබිමක් තුල සහරාන් වැනි ත්‍රස්තවාදීන් බිහිවීම අරුමයක් නොවේ. මහ මොලකරු සහරාන්ම වී, ඔහුට මුදලින්/ද්‍රව්‍යමය ආධාර කල අය ඔහු අසලින් සිටියාද විය හැක. මනා, විධිමත්  විමර්ශනයක් අවශ්‍ය වන්නේ ඒ නිසාය. පාර්ලිමේන්තු කාරක සභාවකින් මේ දෙය කිසිසේත් කළ නොහැක.

අපට අවශ්‍ය පරම සත්‍ය දැන ගැනීමටය.

එදා ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ මුස්ලිමානුවනට එදිරිව කරන ලද ජාතිවාදී ප්‍රහාර පිළිබඳව මුළු ඊස්ලාම් ලෝකයම සිටියේ ඉතා  නොසතුටිනි.

පාස්කු ප්‍රහාරයේ මහ මොළ කරුවෙකු සොයන්නේ නම් එකී කරුණට අදාළ සියළුම කරුණු පදනම් කර එය සිදු කල යුතුය. මෙය හොර/බොරු/වංචා, බිය/සැකයෙන් තොරව එඩිතරව කල යුතු විමර්ශනයකි. එයට Scotland Yard හෝ/සහ තවත් ජාත්‍යාන්තර අපරාධ විමර්ෂණ කණ්යම්වල සහාය ලබා ගැනීම, එකතු කර ගැනීමේ වරදක් නැත.  

යම් මහ මොලකරුවෙක්/මොළකරුවන් හෙළිවුවහොත් ඔවුනගේ තරාතිරම කුමක් වුවත්, ලෝකයේ කොහේ සිටියත් ඒ පිළිබඳව ලොවම දැනුවත් කළ යුතුය. ශ්‍රී ලංකා නිතීය යටතට ඔවුන් හසුවන්නේ නම් නඩු පවරා ගරු අධිකරණයන් මඟින් වැරදි කරුවනට දැඩි දඬුවම් පැමිණ විය යුතුය.

අවසානයට – 1994 බලයට පැමිණි ජනාධිපතිනිය  තම සැමියා මරා දමන ලද්දේ 88/89 ජවිපෙ ත්‍රස්තවාදීන් විසින් බව දැන දැනත් එය R ප්‍රේමදාස මහතා නමින් ලගු කිරීමට උත්සාහයක නිරත විය. තමන් විශේෂ කොම්ෂන් සභාවක් පත් කලේ ඒ නිසා යයි ඇය එවකට පැවසීය. තමන්ගේ සැමියා මරා දමන ලද්දේ 88/89 ජවිපෙ ත්‍රස්තවාදීන් විසින් යයි  දැන් දේශපාලනය නොකරන ඇය පවසයි.

යමක් බොරුවක් බව දැන දැනත් එය, තම පුද්ගලික ප්‍රයෝජනයට, ආත්මලාභයට සහ පලිගැනීම උදෙසා  ප්‍රචලිත කරන අය නැත්තේ නොවේ. ද්‍රවිඩ බෙදුම්වාදී උවමනා මත රට දෙකඩ කිරීමට සුක්ෂමව වැඩ කරන චැනල් 4 වැනි වැනි ජාත්‍යාන්තර මාධ්‍ය ආයතන බලා සිටින්නේ ශ්‍රී ලංකා මාතාවට කෙළෙසින් හෝ පහර ගැසීමටය. මොවුනට ආවඩන බටහිර රටවල්/NGO, ඔවුන්ගේ මෙහි බළල් අත්, බෙදුම්වාදීන්, දේශද්‍රෝහීන් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව තුල අඩු නැතුව ඇත. ඒ බව දැන ගෙන වැඩ කිරීම, රටට ආදරය කරන අප සැමගේ වගකීමයි/කාර්ය භාරයයි.

Courtesy Newsin.Asia

Hanoi, September 12 (BBC):  US President Joe Biden has said that he raised issues of human rights in India and the importance of a free press with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi.

Mr Biden made the remark at a press conference in Hanoi, where he said he had substantial discussions” with Mr Modi about continuing to strengthen the India-US relationship.

India’s statement issued after the meeting said that the two leaders pledged co-operation on a number of issues, and did not mention a conversation about human rights.

Mr Biden travelled to India on Friday for the G20 summit. After his arrival, he and Mr Modi held bilateral talks which was then followed by a dinner at Mr Modi’s official residence.

Mr Modi has not held a solo press conference since he became prime minister, and journalists were not invited to ask questions to the leaders after the talks or the dinner.

Activists and rights groups have questioned India’s deteriorating human rights track record under Mr Modi.

His government has denied allegations that attacks on minorities, especially Muslims, have risen since his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2014.

And, as I always do, I raised the important [subject] of respecting human rights and the vital role that civil society and a free press have in building a strong and prosperous country with Mr Modi,” he added.

According to the latest World Press Freedom index released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in May, India’s spot has dropped 11 places from last year to 161 out of 180 countries.

Campaigners have often called on Western leaders including Mr Biden to raise these issues with Mr Modi. But experts say the US will tread carefully as India is seen as a crucial ally in attempts to stem China’s rise.

In May, the US laid out the red carpet for Mr Modi, who travelled there on a state visit. Before the visit, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that while the US would make its views known” when it sees challenges to freedoms, we do so in a way where we don’t seek to lecture or assert that we don’t have challenges ourselves”.

Mr Biden was in the Indian capital to attend the G20 summit. He also held a bilateral meeting with Mr Modi.

The US president left India on Sunday before the summit ended to travel to Vietnam.

In Hanoi, Mr Biden also spoke about the India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor deal which was announced during the summit and called it a ground-breaking partnership”.

The corridor aims at linking countries in the Middle East by rail and connecting them to India by port and analysts see it as a counter to China’s Belt and Road project.

Courtesy The Daily News

Three renowned Bollywood film producers have selected Sri Lanka to shoot eight of their films soon giving a tremendous destination mileage for Sri Lanka.

Film Producer and Head of Film Content at Jio Studios of Reliance Group, Shobha Sant revealed that 8 scripts are already in hand to begin work in Sri Lanka and emphasized that she was amazed by the beauty of Sri Lanka and touched by the hospitality, the warmth and personal attention of the people.

She further said the food, culture and the environment is very similar to India and with the right support from the local film industry and government, they will be able to build a mutually sustainable industry.

I will make a very sincere effort for a film shoot here very soon” added Sant.

She said this to the local media last Saturday when for the first time Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) invited these three renowned Bollywood film producers: Shobha Sant was joined by Angad Dev Singh, Film Producer and CEO of Tiger Baby Production House and Karan Joshi, Film Producer and CEO of Emmy Entertainment to Sri Lanka.

The trio was accompanied by Sri Lankan film legend Chandran Rathnam, Chairman Film Location Services. The trio subsequently visited film locations in Colombo, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Ella, Hambantota and Kalutara. Chalaka Gajabahu, Chairman SLTPB said one of their new key focus areas is to project Sri Lanka as a film location venue to the Indian movie market as it could generate high foreign revenue as an average budget for a Bollywood film is about INR 35Crores (over one billion Lankan rupees).

When shooting a movie in Sri Lanka, the country could get a considerable portion of that revenue via providing food, accommodation, transport and many other logistics.”

Gajabahu pointed out that in addition to gaining foreign exchange, when such Bollywood films are screened world over Sri Lankan locations too get the world’s attention particularly among the Indians. This will help us to further attract them more visitors to Sri Lanka.”

Courtesy AdaDerana

Responding to the oral report on Sri Lanka at the first meeting of the 54th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, Sri Lanka has rejected the report and its recommendations, claiming that is does not reflect the actual situation in Sri Lanka, and instead gravely distorted and misinterpreted the ground situation within the country.

Speaking further in this regard, the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in Geneva, Himalee Arunatilaka noted that it is regrettable” that the Office of the Human Commissioner of Human Rights (OCHCR) has chosen to ignore the democratic resilience of the country and its institutions demonstrated in the past year”.

She stated that Sri Lanka remains deeply concerned about the ever-increasing mandate of the OCHCR, in making sweeping and intrusive comments on all aspects of economic, financial, political, electoral, domestic, budgetary and development policies, adding that the nation strongly objects to pronouncements on policy matters that are essentially domestic for any sovereign country and are outside the framework of this council”.

Albeit the UN report’s claims that Sri Lanka’s economic recovery is yet to materialize one year after the country’s turbulent anti-government protests and its most severe economic crisis, Arunatilaka highlighted that those who are mandated and possess the required expertise, both domestically and internationally, remain confident in Sri Lanka’s prospects.

Commenting on the report’s references to targeted sanctions, the diplomat stated that Sri Lanka rejects all such references, which are based on incorrect and unsubstantiated sources, contravening the process of natural justice of universality, impartiality objectivity and non-selectivity”, emphasising Sri Lanka’s commitment towards pursuing tangible mechanisms on human rights through our domestic institutions, having made significant progress in this regard.

Speaking further on these said mechanisms, she pointed out that certain independent domestic mechanisms have made tangible progress, citing the Office on Missing Persons, Office for Repatriations and the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation as examples of this said progress.

Moreover, the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka highlighted other such examples, including the Anti-Corruption Act which strengthened the financial and functional independence of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Corruption or Bribery (CIABOC), and the ongoing deliberations pertaining to the Anti-Terrorism Bill with the aim of bringing it in line with international standards. 

Thus, rejecting all recommendations and conclusions put forward by the UN report in concern, Sri Lanka urged that the written observations submitted countering the report also be given equal visibility” as the OHCHR report.

Meanwhile, commenting on UN Resolutions 46/1 and 51/1, which have repeatedly been rejected by Sri Lanka, Arunatilaka asserted that the nation vehemently refuses to cooperate with the resolution in question, deeming them ‘intrusive and polarising’.

We recall that the majority of member states either opposed or abstained from voting on these resolutions in fundamental disagreement with their unacceptable content, in particular the so-called evidence gathering mechanism, the establishment of which remains unprecedented”, the diplomat said in this regard.

Speaking further on Resolutions 46/1 and 51/1, Arunatilaka characterized them to be ‘intrusive and polarizing’, adding that they are upheld only by a handful of countries for reasons unrelated to human rights and based on their vote-bank domestic politics”.

Highlighting that Sri Lanka has repeatedly pointed out that this is an unproductive and unhelpful drain on the resources of the council and its member,” she stated that Sri Lanka will not cooperate with it.

Arunatilaka noted, however, that the nation will continue to engage constructively with other mechanisms of the council which have proved productive to the people of Sri Lanka, such as the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process.

By Sena Thoradeniya

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has become a celebrity newsmaker, a prominent object of media attention, like a Cardinal Superstar! (No comparison with 1973- American film Jesus Christ Superstar”). Oftentimes he gets an opportunity to create news and get media attention. These opportunities are made for him by either local politicians and bureaucrats or foreign media channels, this time by the notorious Channel 4.

There are many unanswered questions, only Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith could answer. 

On 13, September 2007 at the height of the Ealam War (then) Bishop Malcolm Ranjith had a meeting with LTTE political head Thamil Chelvan. What have they discussed? We remember how another Bishop cried on behalf of Velupillai Prabhakaran that he was a human being” and he kills because of his love to his people”; it is a fact that when fighting for liberation of his people invariably atrocities take place”, and he ( Prabhakaran) regrets for the killings and destruction”, what he wants is peace”.

During the peace honeymoon with the Tamil Tigers who uttered the following statements in favour of Tamil Tigers? Police force of the Tamil Ealam, their courts, taxation and extortion have been recognised even by the international community.  We decide what Prabhakaran wants; that is the crux of the whole problem which is wrong; we have preconceived ideas of what he wants which is wrong again; the regions which remained hitherto as parts of a separate state need courts, a police force and an administrative structure; it is not a Tiger Police; it is a Tamil Police. That administration was established as an outcome of war; to administer liberated areas an administrative structure is required; what we should consider now is how this police force, courts and administrative structure could absorb into ISGA or Interim Self Governing Authority of North and East and how that structure adjusted with the national structure; while adjusting if there are weaknesses in the national structure, national structure should be changed.

Saying so these paragons of virtue gave credence to LTTE – proposed ISGA (in 2023) covering eight districts of Sri Lanka and advocated changing the national structure to suit the demands of the Ealamists.

Government should lift the ban imposed on LTTE; we must pray, invoke the blessings of the Almighty and His intervention for this was their call.  

Why did the Cardinal play the Godfather role to Galle Face Protesters ganging up with Omalpe Sobitha and sending hundreds of Catholic priests and nuns to remain in the protest site? Did he know that the LTTE rump provided Rs. 500 million rupees to the protesters and drug barons operating from overseas sent millions through Muslim Undiyal and Havala systems?  

Now he believes Hamsa Azad Moulana’s (alias M. Mohammed Hanzeer Azad Moulana) allegations, the newest Channel 4 star, against Major General Suresh Sallay. Before coming into conclusions has the Cardinal checked the integrity of Hanzeer Azad Moulana when there is ample literature regarding his nefarious activities? It was alleged that in 2008 Maulana with Pillaiyan and another had met some top-level Indian experts at the Indian High commission. It is believed that Maulana first went to India in 2021 and then to France. The biggest question is why he fled Sri Lanka in 2021 two years after the Easter Sunday massacre?

Does the Cardinal know that a close associate of Pillaiyan, President of Pillaiyan’s   TMVP (Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal) and Media Secretary, Kumaraswamy Nandagopan alias Raghu was assassinated at Oruwala, Athurugiriya in November 2008 when he was travelling in his Volvo? He was succeeded by Azad Moulana as Pillaiyan’s Media Secretary. When Pillaiyan was incarcerated in Batticaloa prison Azad Moulana had full authority to utilise TMVP funds. Conflicts arose when Pillaiyan came out of prison. Moulana did not have any alternative except fleeing the country, first to India and then to France. But he failed to enter UK. Now he will get permanent residence in UK with many more rewards. It is astonishing that the Cardinal believing Azad Moulana’s untruths as the new found Gospel Truth.

There are many reasons for the so-called international community and foreign-funded NGOs to fabricate stories against Major General Sallay. One major reason was the splendid role he played as the Director of Military Intelligence. International players know very well about his prowess as an intel officer which contributed immensely to the elimination of Tamil Tiger terrorists. That is the reason for selecting him as the sacrificial lamb this time. I was told by an expert that he was a master in tactical intelligence, strategic intelligence and above all else in operational intelligence, all combined in one, a feat rare in other intelligence officers. This had helped to debilitate LTTE operations in land, sea and in urban cells.   

Does the Cardinal believe that a Muslim can persuade 8 other Muslims to blow themselves up for a Buddhist to become the President of Sri Lanka and for him to flee the country in less than 3 years after his ascendency in fear of Biriyani eating protesters?

Does the Cardinal believe that the Local Government Elections held on 10 February 2018, in which 15.7 million voters voted to elect 8327 Pohottuwa councilors to 340 local bodies, a manipulation by Maulana and Salley?

Why GR had contracted a new Islamic outfit to carry out the bombing?

Why does the Cardinal call to remove security officers like the Final Judgement of the God? If the government accedes to all his calls the government will have to remove all officers creating another anarchic period in Sri Lanka (what he created at the Galle Face in early 2022). Is his intention to destabilise Sri Lanka, paving way for a foreign intervention? Does the Cardinal know that Salley was removed by Yahapalana Government in 2016 and his intel units were disbanded making an easy passage to Easter Sunday bombing?

If the Cardinal had studied the personal histories of Azad Moulana, Nisantha Silva Candappa (in January 2020 this writer wrote an article to The Island” demanding to take stern action against the then ambassador of Norway Hans Peter Mock, to declare him persona non grata, and demand extradition of Nishantha Silva Candappa who sought asylum in Norway with his wife and family, fleeing the country with vital government documents which were in his custody: but the weak President and equally weak the then Foreign Relations Minister did not take any action), Frederica Janz (who invented the story that at the final stages of the war army shot at those civilians who came with white flags),  Ambkika Sathgunathasan (the LTTE propagandist), Lasantha Wickrematunga’s brother, Kongahage (who benefitted from the generosity of MR and Sirisena), the main cast of the newest Channel 4 video, he will never issue his Press Release’ dated 6 September 2023.

Unashamedly he expresses his gratitude to Channel 4”. His concern is not to find fault with this Channel on its past relationship with this country”. This country”! Not his country! He is not concerned about tarnishing the image of the country by producing videos such as Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields” (2011), Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields: War Crimes Unpunished” (2012) and No fire Zone: In the Killing Fields of Sri Lanka (2013), by this channel in the past. He calls for an independent international investigation team”, again to internationalise domestic affairs. He calls for suspension of all officers named in the video, to ensure the independence of the inquiry”.

The Cardinal cannot deny that investigators from CIA, FBI, Scotland Yard and many more intel officers from several other countries carried out investigations soon after the bomb blasts.

The Cardinal and his fellow agitator Father Cyril Gamini now should be happy that they were able to take the Easter Sunday attack to the international arena; soon after the telecast of the video UNHRC head responded to it positively. No doubtthatthis will feature prominently at the oncoming 54^th UNHRC sessions.

The Carinal repeats what Sajith Premadasa stated making a special statement in Parliament on 6 September, 2023. Premadasa renewed his call for an international probe into Easter Sunday bombing. The Cardinal should not forget that his fellow chorister (member of the same choir or chorus) Premadasa was a Cabinet Minister under yahapalana government when the Easter Sunday attacks took place.

All are attempting to internationalise domestic issues. Not to be outdone by others and under the cover of Parliamentary privileges, Sarath Fonseka also called for an international probe; going further he alleged that Major General Sallay with Boniface Perera was engaged in countrywide bomb explosions in 2010. As the former Army Commander, he is well aware that bomb explosions never took place after the successful conclusion of the Ealam war until Easter Sunday attacks. Then why does Fonseka engage in a malicious campaign against senior officers in the army? He swims inside a cesspool saying that Sallay cleaned toilets of Rajapaksas. Fonseka was referring to a one-time General Officer Commander of Batticaloa, and Vanni Commander, a retired Major General, battle-hardened gentleman officer whom Fonseka hated like a venomous viper, the very first army officer who earned a Ph.D. by examination.

Did the Cardinal make any attempt to focus attention worldwide” for Truth and justice through a clear and transparent investigation” into Anuradhapura Sri Maha Bodhi massacre, Arantalawa massacre, bombing and destruction of Dalada Maligawa, massacres at Palliyagodella, Kathankudi, Eravur and killings of unarmed peasants, infants and pregnant mothers in the so-called border villages by LTTE? Is he aware that no legal action was instituted in favour of these poor victims even after more than a decade after the successful conclusion of the war? Why doesn’t he come out with the invention that Rajapaksas did not allow such a legal process as they were in league with the perpetrators of those heinous crimes?

Can the Cardinal deny that trading all sorts of allegations is tantamount to playing politics with Easter Sunday massacre?

Can the Cardinal answer at least a single question posed to him by Shenali Waduge in her post Questions for Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith” dated 2^nd August 2022? There are 47 questions, each question begins addressing Cardinal Malcom”. These questions are shocking, painful, dreadful, alarming and frightful, no divine power can save the person who is in the dock. 

Can the Cardinal Ranjith remember his own words that on July 21, 2019 he said at Katuwapitiya that Easter Sunday attack was an international conspiracy and not merely the work of Islamic extremists” to destabilise Sri Lanka, to weaken and demoralize the intelligence services to please international partners and international NGOs?” He declared that the suicide bombers were misguided Muslim youth” used by international conspirators” and head of the IS group is being sheltered by US. He did not forget to attack the UN representatives too. Why he is playing a different tune now?

Why does the Cardinal have no qualm with Ibrahim, JVP funding agent and its national list nominee, father of two suicide bombers? Can the Cardinal remember that Nalin Jayatissa, JVP MP sat in the Parliamentary Select Committee probing Easter Sunday massacre?

Yahapalana Minister Rajitha Senaratne at a Api UNP” press conference said that Sirisena’s Media Director Bharatha Tennakone (now domiciled in France and  carrying out a malicious social media campaign) who was a very close ally of the then Secretary Defense Hemasiri Fernando had posted a post on April 16 th April that something horrible (hada kakiyawana, mayil kelin wana, thrasthawadee kriyawak”) was going to happen and soon after the Easter Sunday attack he not only removed the said post but closed his FB account. Did the Cardinal pay attention to this press conference and take appropriate action?

When former Bishop of Mannar Rayappu Joseph openly supporting LTTE terrorists stating that I became a Tamil before becoming a Catholic” this Cardinal kept mum. 

Our Catholic friends are perturbed by RW’s political speech made at the Madu shrine on 15 August; more than his political speech they are shocked and distressed by the speech made by the Papal Nuncio. The latter’s speech based on 13^th amendment supportive of Tamil secessionists was deplored by them.  The Papal Nuncio blessed RW’s attempts of reconciliation. These Catholics are of the opinion that it was an attempt of intervening in the internal affairs of the country by the Pope’s representative in Sri Lanka as done by Julie Chung. Papal Nuncio in his speech did not mention about Easter Sunday victims. But he had enough words to praise RW’s attempt to full implementation of 13A.

They are unhappy about commemorations held every year in memory of Easter Sunday victims spending a lot of money. They allege that monthly commemorations were held only by Negombians (at Katuwapitiya). No commemorations are being held at either in Kochchikade or Batticaloa; the reason is that they are Tamils or non-Catholics.

Bishop of Mannar was independent enough to invite RW, a person who is despised by the Cardinal, who refuses to give him an audience. RW in front of two other Bishops from the South was allowed by the Bishop of Mannar to make a speech at the altar of the main shrine of the Catholics. This was seen by our Catholic friends as an attempt to harm the brotherhood of Catholic Bishops’ Conference. The Cardinal addressing the Catholic patients at Tewatta, Ragama, vehemently criticised RW’s speech at Madu shrine. Gnanrtha Pradeepaya” the Sinhala organ of the Catholic Church too attacked RW’s Madu speech. The present custodian of Kithudana Pubuduwa” joined the crusade in attacking the Bishop of Mannar for giving RW a speech.

Catholics opine that RW is trying to divide Catholics into two segments as North and South as he divided the country into two by signing a CFA. Against this backdrop Bishops of Northern and Eastern Provinces had demanded the Pope to appoint a separate Cardinal to North and East. Father Joseph Pathinather Jebaratnum has said in a public meeting that they are making this demand because they feel that the Tamil Catholic minority is being betrayed by Catholic Bishops’ Conference. He alleged that the Catholic Bishops’ Conference did nothing for the victims of war in the North and East.

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith should dowse the flames inside his House – his House of Prayer before going international.

On September 7, 2023 former President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa issued a media release, first of its kind after relinquishing his duties as the President of Sri Lanka, on latest Channel 4 video. All Sri Lankans are aware that the government of 2015-2019 persecuted the intelligence and particularly the Military Intelligence and that a quite a few of its members spent months and years in remand and in police custody during that period. Hence any claim that the Military Intelligence could sabotage police work during the 2015-2019 government is plain nonsense.” The first few paragraphs of this media release are a clear indictment of the incumbent President, the man chosen to succeed him by GR himself.

A new question arises: why GR handed over State power to such a person?

GR’s comment on former Director of the CID Shani Abeysekera is very forceful. Leaked telephone recordings had revealed that he had conspired with a politician to influence the outcome of an ongoing criminal case in the High Court and he could not be kept in a position of responsibility in the CID under any circumstances by any government”.

Had GR shown this courage when dealing with corrupt officials, MPs and Ministers of his government and protesters he would have remained as the President.  

GR’s assertions that he had instructed Ambassador Mahinda Samarasinghe in Washington to explore the possibility of obtaining FBI/CIA assistance in investigations into the Easter Sunday bombings” and the reply the ambassador received from Christopher A. Landsberg of the Bureau of Counterterrorism, US Department of State on 7 April 2022 should have made public long before, not now. The response was dated 7 days after March 31, 2022. There was no wonder US who was engineering a coup to oust GR responding in such a manner that it would not make sense for the United States to conduct an additional investigation into the attacks” describing all what they have done with regard to the bombings.

The media release of US Department of Justice issued on 8 January 2021 quoted by GR should be an eye opener to the Cardinal. It says that the men were part of a group of ISIS supporters which called itself ‘ISIS in Sri Lanka’. That group responsible for the 2019 Easter attacks in the South Asian nation of Sri Lanka… …Two days after the attacks ISIS claimed credit for the terrorist acts.”

Earlier there were allegations that the FBI/CIA who came to Sri Lanka to assist local investigators had removed all the forensic evidence. Now how the Cardinal and his fellow travelers ask for a fresh international probe? In this context Landsberg of the Bureau of Counterterrorism, US Department of State has stated that it would not make sense for the United States to conduct an additional investigation into the attacks”. Does the Cardinal and his hurrah boys consisting of opposition MPs think that any other international team would initiate a fresh probe? It is only wishful thinking.

We will not be surprised if the Cardinal and Cyril Gamini cook up another story now that GR had released the report of Landsberg after the telecast of newest Channel 4 video just to avoid an international probe. Another interesting aspect of this whole episode good for conspiracy theorists is whether Mahinda Samarasinghe, GR’s nominee as the Ambassador to Washington had truly conveyed Landsberg’s observations to GR when the country was in turmoil.

But one thing is clear. GR has awakened from a deep slumber. Why he awoke at this juncture? We have to wait and see whether this herald his second coming”?  In a way, if that happens it is good for the country, rather than elevating a Basil, Namal, Premadasa, Ranil, Sirisena, Anura Kumara, Alahapperuma, Fonska, Ranawaka or any other aspirant for the top post.

By Raj Gonsalkorale

On the night of April 14, 1912, though, only a few days into the Titanic’s maiden voyage, its Achilles’ heel was exposed. The ship wasn’t nimble enough to avoid an iceberg that lookouts spotted (the only way to detect icebergs at the time) at the last minute in the darkness. As the ice bumped along its starboard side, it punched holes in the ship’s steel plates, flooding six compartments. In a little over two hours, the Titanic filled with water and sank- The Secret of How the Titanic Sank by Justin Ewers

Although the mystery surrounding the sinking of the Titanic is yet to be fully unraveled, logically, the fact that the extent of the iceberg below the water and which was not visible, compared to what was above the surface, and the underestimation of the extent below the surface was the primary cause for the sinking cannot be denied or disputed. 

This article attempts to present a point of view that the current drug shortages arising from possible shortfalls in funding maybe likened to the tip of an iceberg, where in fact underlying medical supply chain issues, the part of the iceberg below the surface, could be a very significant contributor to the shortages.

Health outcomes will get affected whenever critical drugs are out of stock or in short supply. However, even prior to the COVID invasion and the global economic and health destabilization it caused, medicine and medical supply shortages have been a common occurrence in most developing countries. Sri Lanka was no exception and no doubt experienced this although such situations did not attract headlines in the media and politicians did not raise this as a critical issue that affects health outcomes, except when it suited them do so for political gain.

International agencies including the WHO, ADB, Global Fund, World Bank, and development entities like USAID, UK AID, Australian AID, spend considerable amounts of funds to address this issue in developing countries.  The emphasis of such donor funded programs is to strengthen health systems while in some instances, material assistance is provided for some commodities to overcome acute situations that would otherwise exacerbate health outcomes.

For example, the Global Fund is a leading international entity that supports health systems strengthening while providing financial assistance for procuring drugs needed for Malaria, TB and HIV AIDS patients. Other agencies also provide similar support to a lesser or greater degree and based on country needs and their willingness to address common reasons that result in drug and medical supply shortages.  Such reasons are manyfold. Systemic, structural, shortfalls in funding and capacity issues are commonplace in many countries, and the lack of a strategic approach arising from SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) is often not considered as a necessity as it is not understood or misunderstood or ignored in favour of short term stop gap measures.

A common thread also weaves around the system and its shortcomings, that being the corruption element prevalent in these countries. Perversely, the opportunities” component in a SWOT analysis becomes the opportunity that a systemic failure provides for corrupt activity. In this context, one does not have to be an Einstein to understand that corruption feeds on systemic shortcomings and therefore addressing such shortcomings would be counterproductive and detrimental to those engaged in corruption. This is one of the reasons why some influential figures within many dysfunctional country systems do not want shortcomings addressed as they benefit personally within such dysfunctional systems through corrupt activity.

Fundamentally, shortages are often the creation of those who stand to benefit from them, such as emergency procurement at exorbitant prices by doing away with standard procurement procedures on account of the emergency”.  Contrary to the belief that these activities are in the domain of relative small timers in the system, the long arm of corruption extends very far, and to senior officials and ministers or even more highly placed politicians.

Development partners naturally would not go into these areas and to act as spies or policemen and policewomen to expose corruption.  Their task would be to carry out SWOT analysis of existing systems, structures, capacity issues, resource issues, and to submit their assessments and findings and submit recommendations as to how gaps identified may be addressed.

No doubt such assessments may have been carried out in Sri Lanka, and efforts taken to address gaps that may have been identified. However, some doubts exist whether adequate attention has been given to the overall systemic, structural, and capacity issues considering the misconception that the current headline grabbing publicity about drugs and medical supply shortages have all been entirely consequential to the current economic crisis and the resulting lack of funds to procure these items. 

Sri Lanka has a mixed system of public and private sector stakeholder participation in the drugs and medical supplies importation and local manufacture to serve the needs of the public.

Going back in history, in 1972, the government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike entrusted the task of reforming the pharmaceutical policy of Sri Lanka to Pharmacologist Professor Senaka Bibile and Parliamentarian Dr S A Wickremasinghe, and consequently, far reaching reforms were introduced including the rationalization of the drug formulary from some 3000 plus items (many brands of the same item) to less than 700, introduction of the ABC classification to identify essential items (lifesaving and mostly without alternatives), important items (with availability of at least a few alternatives) and less important drugs (with several alternative formulations), the formation of the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) and assigning the task of undertaking all imports of pharmaceuticals, both for the State and private sector, to the SPC and a quality assurance process under an institution for all imports of drugs.  A State sponsored local manufacturing program was commenced by the SPC, and this was the precursor to the State Pharmaceuticals Manufacturing Corporation in (SPMC) in later years.

Professor Bibile died under mysterious circumstances in 1977 while on a mission to introduce his policies in the Caribbean through UNCTAD. Despite this setback, his policies however internationalized and over the years, and institutions like the WHO have adopted many of his policies.

In Sri Lanka much of Professor Bibile’s policies have been reversed or diluted since the advent of the open economy policies of the government elected in 1977, and once again, the private sector has become a large scale of importer of drugs today with questionable drug quality assurance processes, and a proliferation of brands of the same generic drug. Although the State sector is supplied primarily by the SPC and the SPMC, it is no secret that it has had funding issues to procure its requirements, and it has, time and again, resorted to directing patients who patronize public hospitals to obtain their drug requirements from the private sector.

Clearly, besides policy dilution over the years, structural issues, logistics issues, capacity issues, forecasting & quantification issues and of course corrupt activities have impacted on the overall system. While the economic factor has contributed significantly to the shortages being experienced now, underlying factors that were there prior to the economic downturn and which are still there, contributes to shortages of drugs and medical supplies. This is particularly so in the public sector.

While urgent funding is required to source drugs, particularly the A and B types of items, pouring more money into a system that is dysfunctional to lesser or greater extents in different State institutions, will not address a recurrence of shortages, and an avoidance of shortages, in a consistent manner.

Globally, the pharmaceutical industry (or as some refer to it, the pharmaceutical mafia”), is a very powerful industry and a very powerful lobby group. Internationally, the pharmaceutical industry is rated as the second biggest one in the world next to the arms industry, and it wields considerable power and influence over governance issues. (Note; as per the link noted here, the world pharmaceutical market was worth an estimated $1.2 trillion at ex-factory prices in 2020 (https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220314005621/en/Global-Pharmaceuticals-Industry-2021-2022-and-Beyond—Huge-Opportunities-in-Precision-and-Genomic-Medicine—ResearchAndMarkets.com)

Sri Lanka is not immune to the power of this industry considering the reversal of far-reaching policy and process reforms introduced during the time of Professor Senaka Bibile.

Essential drug shortages will have an impact on health outcomes, and it is therefore important to address such shortages with an adequate supply of such items. However, this could be just a short-term band aid solution unless a thorough assessment is done of the medical supply chain in Sri Lanka to identify gaps in it, and then find effective and efficient mechanisms to address any such gaps.

Firstly, as a structural issue, pharmaceutical policy settings related to rational use, importation and manufacture will have to be reviewed. While health outcomes of the public should be key objective in determining policy settings, the efficacy and efficiency of the existing policy in the context of Sri Lanka’s economy also needs to be a priority consideration in any assessment of the medical supply chain.   

One of the factors that drove Professor Bibile’s policy perspective on drug rationalization would have been the questionable need for a plethora of brands of the same drug, and the need for several pharmacologically similar drugs to be in the drug formulary in relation to the objective of health outcomes.

Perhaps a relook at drug rationalization and the drug formulary maybe timely to assess the efficacy of the current policy in a general sense, and specifically on account of the economic challenges faced by the country. Considering that some 9 million people are reportedly in poverty now, with more likely on the edge of poverty, coupled with an increasing malnutrition rate, it is very likely that health outcomes will get adversely affected if those in poverty or at the edge of it are unable to obtain their drug requirements from public hospitals, and they are forced go to private pharmacies where they may either forego buying the drugs prescribed or buy half or one third of a prescription due to the very high prices of drugs and medical supplies.

Secondly, a study will have to assess the accuracy of the quantification and forecasting of demand for drugs as this one single factor that perhaps maybe identified as the commencement point of a medical supply chain although such a point does not exist in a chain. Quantification requires reliable usage data that should be supported by morbidity data. Accurate quantification is a major factor for a medical supply chain to function without interruption.

Thirdly, the methodology used to assess the quality of drugs imported, and the credentials of the suppliers will have to be assessed as substandard drugs could have adverse effects on health outcomes. It is not certain how the private sector as well as the public sector assesses the quality of drugs imported and what quality assurance processes are in place.

Fourthly, the prices paid for drugs imported, and raw materials imported for the local manufacture of drugs, are also key factors that effect the budgets allocated for imports. Whether procurement procedures are adequately competitive in the State sector, and whether large scale emergency procurement has been done at high prices are factors that will have to be investigated. It is unclear whether private sector imports are subject to a pricing mechanism such as a pricing formula or whether they are free to determine their market prices. The high retail prices of many drugs are perhaps indicative of the latter.

Last but not least, the environmental impact on drugs during transportation and storage is a key area that needs to be looked at as adverse environmental conditions could affect the efficacy of drugs and therefore health outcomes.

In some countries, waste that occurs due to some of the above-mentioned factors has amounted to anything between 20-30 % of the annual expenditure on drugs. Hopefully, this has been minimal in Sri Lanka. However, this and all above mentioned areas should be investigated as the immediate drug shortage issue and possible impact on health outcomes could be just the tip of an iceberg and underlying factors mentioned above could be the hidden part of the iceberg that has been creating shortages and an impact on health outcomes for a long time.

Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake

We have what’s called over-the-horizon capabilities, which means we can strike terrorists and targets without American boots on the ground – Joe Biden[i]

Disinformation is ramping up in preparation for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) visit this month to review Sri Lanka’s progress on ‘debt restructuring’ ahead of the required Firesale of coastal and highland lands in the strategic island so that interested parties may monitor and surveil the Indian Ocean trade and Submarine Data Cable Routes.

Sri Lanka was once called ‘valuable real estate’ by Alice G. Wells, former US Under Secretary for South Asia, and has long been described as an unsinkable aircraft carrier’ at the center of the Indian Ocean.

Remarkably, the IMF assets sale of Sri Lanka also to benefit major bondholders like BlackRock and partner Adani, targets the same sectors that Washington’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), Compact program did back in 2019 when the Easter attacks happened– Energy, Telecom, Transport Infrastructure, in addition to land, land, land.

The MCC compact was however rejected by the people of Lanka and so too will the IMF agenda eventually be rejected in Sri Lanka in the Asian 21st Century as the world de-dollarizes in order to de-colonize.

Right now, it’s Déjà vu with Channel 4 ‘whistleblowers” and the Minister of Parliament, Harin Fernando’s story about ‘Sonic-Sonic’, the hedgehog Chat Bot Mastermind of the Easter Sunday 2019 carnage curtsey the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), to lead us up the garden path. What is clear that that the Easter Sunday carnage was an Over the Horizon (OTH), that combined remote cyber non-kinetic and kinetic operations and foreign and local intelligence and investigative agencies.

A Religious Smokescreen Masks Geopolitical Economic Interests

The Easter Attacks that were claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), are back in the news at this time and echoing in the global and local corporate and social media echo chamber for several reasons: 

The release of the British Channel 4 story based on accounts of ‘whistleblowers’ who were seeking asylum in UK, has been well timed to flay the Sri Lanka at the Human Rights show in Geneva and to distract and weaken its defenses against the IMF debt restructuring onslaught.

Another submerged dimension of the return of Easter Sunday 2019 at this time, is China’s Shi Yan 6, Ocean and weather Research vessel that is due to visit Sri Lanka in October.

Previously, in 2019 when the Shi Yan 3 was docked in the Colombo Port for Oceanic Research, with National Aquatic Research Agency (NARA) researchers, the Easter Attacks were staged.

Suicide bombers killed 4 Chinese Ocean research scientists among other guests who were staying at the Kingsbury Hotel prior to embarking on the research expedition. The Kingbury overlooks the Colombo harbor – the busiest port of South Asia which has been targeted in other hybrid war operations like the M.V Pearl ship that burnt and sank spewing pollution and impacting livelihoods of fishers.

Remarkably, the leader of the Easter suicide bombers, Zaharan, died at another, luxury hotel – the Shangri La– along with a second suicide bomber, which tells us that Chinese-owned Shangri La was an important target, second only to Kingsbury where the Chinese researches were killed.

What the Channel 4 and other smokescreen narratives about Easter Sunday 2019 ignore is the fact that the leader Zaharan died at a luxury hotel and NOT at a church or religious site.

This begs the question: was religion used as a smokescreen for a hybrid cyber economic war operation? Moreover, are the Geopolitical Economic interests evident in the selected targets including the Shangri La hotel where the Leader of the NTJ Zaharan died and the killing of the Chinese ocean researchers in the Easter attacks being covered over?

Since neither Shangri La Hotel or the Kingbury Hotel are religious sites fundamental questions arise: Were the Easter attacks part of a hybrid economic and cyber war operation against Sri Lanka’s already Eurobond debt trapped tourism-dependent economy that used religion as a smokescreen?

The fisheries harbours of the country were also locked down for months after the attacks destroying the livelihoods of coastal communities and further debilitating the economy, while Sri Lankan’s valuable fisheries resources were plundered by Distant Water Fishing States (DWFS); France, EU, Japan, Taiwan Republic of China. There are good arguments for a ban  on DWFS from fishing in the Indian Ocean at this time to enable impoverished littoral communities to harvest their resources.

All of this of course begs the questions: Who were the MASTERMINDS of the attacks claimed by ISIS, which were funded by Saudi Arabia, the embassy of which had advanced notice of the attacks, and why did Israel’s Whitestream News Agency make the absurd claim that Bitcoin had funded Zaharan et al.?

History Repeats, both as farce and tragedy as Marx said

At this time, the smoke screen around the Easter attacks that have been endlessly investigated by local and foreign intelligence’ agencies, experts, and commissions of inquiry with reports and chapters about the external actors who were involved being redacted is thickening– around Minister of Parliament Harin Fernando.

Two years after the attacks Fernando, whose father co-incidentally had advanced warning of the attacks, claimed in Parliament that a Hedgehog Chat Bot code named Sonic Sonic’ (alias Suresh Salley?), was the mastermind of the Easter attacks.

Fernando had sourced the story about Sonic Sonic from the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), that had removed the cell phones of the Easter bombers either to retrieve of delete incriminating information. Now the question remains who were the Over the Horizon Masterminds behind Sonic-Sonic and the ISIS video claiming the attacks? Or, is it turtles all the way down in cyber world infinite regress?

Was SS who is now the head of the Sri Lanka State Intelligence Services (SIS), working for other foreign Intelligence services that often conduct ‘training programs’ for the Sri Lankan armed forces and intelligence agencies, particularly, those with a deep interest in the Eastern Province and getting the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), signed along with the MCC compact?

The Eastern Province as a Theater of OTH operations

The Eastern Province of Sri Lanka has long been a theater of foreign intelligence and counter-terrorism operations: These include India’s Research and Analysis Wing, the British Keenie Meenie KMS-RAF Mercenaries group who trained and set up the Special Task Force there an provided security to J.R. Jayawardena after the 1983 Pogrom, and later the Israel’s Mossad operated there, in the eighties and nineties, while working out of the US embassy in Colombo to break the bonds among Tamil and Muslim communities and weaken the Indian-backed Tamil militancy, when the Kathankudi Mosque massacre was staged..

Was ‘Sonic Sonic’ set up by the same remote Over the Horizon Deep State operators who manipulated the deluded band of Zaharan’s National Thowheed Jamat (NTJ) suicide bombers also headquatered in Kathankudi with ties to M.L.M Hizbulla who was building a Sharia University and had been both with the SLFP and UNP governments?

After all, various Disinformation experts have claimed that the ISIS planned to set up a Caliphate in tropical Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province somewhere between Kathankudi and the much coverted deep sea natural habour, Trinocmallee.

M.P Harin Fernando and US Ambassador Julie Chung

The Blue, Green, Pink Bond scams: Hybrid economic war to make the economy scream”

The British Channel 4 Smokescreen seems designed to distract from the same Cold War Geopolitical Economic interests evident in the Easter attacks and the current IMF-colonial Club de Paris debt restructuring operations to Make the Economy Scream”, as President Nixon famously instructed the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to do in Chile in 1973 prior to the ouster of leftist President Dr. Salvador Allende.

Meanwhile in preparation for the IMF and Eagle to Land in Lanka this month, the Transport Minister, Bandulla Gunawardena has become a salesman of expensive Electric Buses, EV Cars and EV tuk-tuks, which need electric service station etc. This expensive ‘green transition’ would certainly further deepen the US dollar Eurobond debt trap using the Green Transition theme song that Sri Lanka does not need and cannot afford and benefit Green technology corporations.

The island’s Carbon footprint is minute to non-existent and the country should not be paying for the G7 NATO Global War machine’s greenhouse pollution. The Debt trap rush to EVs will also ensure PRIVATIZATION of the Ceylon Transport Board (CTB ) also Sri Lanka Railways (SLR), as trains are sabotaged with various mysterious accidents on a daily basis.

History Repeats as Farce & Tragedy: OF BONDS, BOMBS and Predators

While civil society activists are calling for a BAN on BOND TRADING which is the primary source of ODIOUS Debt accumulated by corrupt politicians in league with predatory bond traders who caused the Default, President Ranil Rajapakse is promoting Green and Blue Bond scams now GREEN-WASHED and called ‘Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), Bonds or Debt for Nature Swaps (DFNS). 

This is an Environmental Greenwash of corrupt bond trading. Meanwhile, attempts are also ongoing to ‘Pinkwash’ bondscams with a Social credits component. This would ensure hand-outs and dependency for women and children victims of the Rupee depreciation against the exorbitantly privileged US dollar which is the source of all the misery and impoverishment in this otherwise well-endowed land.

Recall that Ranil Rajapakse was the Bondscam Prime Minister with Singaporean Arjuna Mahendran as Fovernor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) in 2015. Mahendran was beloved of IMF’s Christine BlackGuard, and  was followed by Indrajith Coomaraswamy, another Economic Hit Man at the CBSL who buried the Forensic Audit reports of the Ranil Rajapakse Bondscams that debilitated the reputation of the CBSL and announced to predatory hedge funds that Sri Lanka was open for any and all bondscams.

Dinesh Shaffter who knew all of this and was a primary witness in the Bondscam Court Case against Ranil  Rajapakse and his bond mafia, was assassinated last December in broad daylight in Colombo.

History will be repeating itself at the IMF and colonial Club de Paris will be marketing Green, Blue and Pinkwash Green Bonds also called Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), Bonds or Debt for Nature Swaps (DFNS), again to BONDTRAP Sri Lanka and deepen the debt. 

This is a part of the quantification, datafication and financialization of Mother Nature through dubious and opaque Carbon Credit and Social Credit calculations with Net Zero Jargon by various experts” in Big Data Games.

Mother Nature Fights Back

It has been raining heavily for the past week in Sri Lanka, where the models indicate that country stands to benefit from climate change, but the Anthropocene climate crisis chorus refuse to release the maps of climate warming hotspots, COLDSPOTS and SWEETSPOTS!

Rather, there was a lot of hot air in the corporate media echo chamber about drought a week ago to ramp up the climate emergency fear psychosis and smoothen the path of the up-coming Green Blue ESG Bond scam to placate BlackRock and other predatory bond holders in IMF’s External Debt Restructuring operation. But we know that August, which is my birthday month, has always been a dry month except at the end when the sky opens up as the South West Monsoon blasts off.

Thus, it has been pouring lately in Mother Lanka where Mother Nature is fighting back against those who want to stage an ‘Anthropocene Climate Catastrophe’ to ensure Famine, and 15-hour power-cuts, as President Ranil Rajapakse promised on taking office last year to spread fear and enable a smooth IMF Firesale of assets claiming that Sri Lanka was banckrupt because it lacked US dollars. This was also the case when economically devastating Covid-19 panicdemic lockdowns were staged in order to hack supply chains and stymie the rise of the BRICS economies that have now surpassed the G7.

Finally, you don’t need to be a Rocket Scientist to figure out the ‘Over the Horizon’ (OTH), Masterminds behind the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage staged in Sri Lanka and claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).  You just need to know some history and have some lateral and critical thinking skills a la the hermeneutics of suspicion”.

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ALSO NOTE

Graham Watson: Time to rethink how the World bank operates,” 20 February 2023, https://www.tutor2u.net/economics/blog/time-to-rethink-how-the-world-bank-operates#:~:text=Critics%20argue%20that%20the%20Bank,ecosystems%2C%20and%20human%20rights%20violations.

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[i] https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/08/31/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-end-of-the-war-in-afghanistan/

Dialogue works

Richard D. Wolff is Professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst where he taught economics from 1973 to 2008. He is currently a Visiting Professor in the Graduate Program in International Affairs of the New School University, New York City. Earlier he taught economics at Yale University (1967-1969) and at the City College of the City University of New York (1969-1973). In 1994, he was a Visiting Professor of Economics at the University of Paris (France), I (Sorbonne). Wolff was also a regular lecturer at the Brecht Forum in New York City.

e-Con e-News

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

e-Con e-News September 2023 Part 2

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‘Without concrete, copper & fibre optics

there would be no data centres, no electricity, no internet…

The world would not end if Twitter or Instagram suddenly

ceased to exist; if we suddenly ran out of steel or natural gas,

however, that would be a very different story.

In 2019, the world mined, dug & blasted

more than everything extracted from the dawn

of humanity all the way through to 1950…

For every ton of fossil fuels, the world mines 6 tons of other materials

– mostly sand & stone, but also metals, salts & chemicals…

6 key materials… drive the world economy in the 21^st century:

sand, salt, iron, copper, oil & lithium.

They are the most widely used & the very hardest to replace…’

– see ee Focus, Stuff Matters

Midst all the hip & hype of the virtual & the artificial – the human & the material still rule. The proletariat & its promise still real. 50 years ago, the USA with several million dollars from the International Telephone & Telegraph Corporation (ITT) launched a coup d’état to prevent the nationalization of the copper mines of Chile (world’s largest producer of raw copper), and massacre 10,000s of supporters. Ironically, that popularly elected government was a pioneer in the socialization of an early internet to plan the national economy – Project Cybersyn.

     This September 2023 also marks ee’s oncoming 6^th year of weekly collection & analysis of the English news, seeking to keep our eyes on what is called ‘the real economy’. Sand & steel is the basis of concrete & glass, and industry, so it is no surprise that all eyes turn to that delta of the great sands of the River Mahaveli – Trincomalee.

     Three years ago, ee wrote: ‘An economic tsunami (blamed on – but more insidious than – the pandemic) thunders towards us from the horizon, already swirling around our feet. The crying need of the hour is for a cultural revolution to mobilize all the people to defeat all imperialist conspiracies being sprung as we write.’

     That was in the flush of a national election ‘landslide’, which ee hoped signaled ‘another moment for a national renaissance’. ee urged: ‘Not a second should be wasted.’ And ee evoked ‘The Ghost of Philip Gunawardena & the Cry for a Cultural Revolution’ (ee 08 August 2020). A real ‘cultural revolution’ turns out to be not just about culture, as machine-brain ChatGPT inadvertently admits (see ee Focus):

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‘Gifford Pinchot, a eugenicist, first coined the term ‘conservation’, deriving it from a term used by the English in their colonial management of India! The eugenicists sought not only to ‘scientifically prove’ the superiority of the Anglo-Saxon race, and thus its right & responsibility to rule the Earth, but also the incapacity of the ‘lesser races’ to utilize technology or govern themselves.

   The English were in full agreement with Hitler on most issues, including the threat posed by Asian development. When Hitler met with Lord Lothian on Jan 29, 1935, Lothian had recently completed a term as Undersecretary of State for India, directing the repression of India’s nationalist leaders, Gandhi & Nehru, just after Lothian’s close collaborator Lord Halifax had been Viceroy. Hitler knew he was speaking to a member of the inner circle of the Empire when he suggested to Lothian: ‘Germany, England, France, Italy, America & Scandinavia… should arrive at some agreement whereby they would prevent their nationals from assisting in the industrializing of countries such as China, and India. It is suicidal to promote the establishment in the agricultural countries of Asia of manufacturing industries’.’ (Sir James RM Butler, Lord Lothian) – ee Sovereignty, Cecil Rhodes, the Roundtable Movement & Eugenics

The US & India, ‘taking over’ as it were, threatening to invade & carve up the land (what else is new?) – this tsunami threatens to knock us off our feet. They will of course be defeated. It is therefore fitting to recall the lessons from the turn to this 21^st century, and what we are up against:

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‘The USA is the dominant capitalist power in the world

and they want to dominate the world’s resources & finances.

If they cannot do it through peaceful means & bribes, they will do it through war.

And that’s what they’ve been doing since they were founded in 1776.

The attack on Yugoslavia was to deliberately break it up. Why?

Because Yugoslav leader Milosevich refused to accept the diktats given to him

in Rambouillet, France, a few months before.

US Foreign Secretary Madeleine Albright gave him a list of 40 demands:

Yugoslavia had to be converted from a socialist into a capitalist society.

Instantly. They had to agree to its occupation by NATO troops, etc… Basically:

‘You surrender & we will occupy you. He refused. That is when they began bombing…

My 1^st question to my client (Milosevich) was why the US wished to go after him.

He replied, ‘I am a communist, and I told the Americans to go fuck themselves.’

Milosevich warned the Russians he was being poisoned.

They eventually murdered him in the Hague’s International Criminal Court jail.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, they wanted to break up the last socialist state in Europe,

the capitalists didn’t want it there as an example. And there were economic reasons:

They wanted to destroy Yugoslav industries. They used to produce their own cars.

The Zastava car manufacturing plant was bombed 4 times.

So now they don’t make cars anymore. They have to buy Peugeots and

Mercedes Benzes & Volkswagens from Germany & France, who make their own vehicles.

So like mafioso you go & destroy their stuff and tell them you have to buy our stuff.

With the breakup of the USSR, they began moving into the Balkans

and the Great Lakes in Africa (Rwanda, Congo), to control the world.

They said, ‘We don’t have the Russians intervening to help anybody,

so we’re going to move…’ That is what they keep doing.

They keep getting defeated, but they create a lot of pain & suffering…’

– Chris Black, Threatened by the CIA, Are You a Lawyer or a Devil?

‘There is always something new out of Africa’ – early learners of Latin are taught – ‘Semper aliquid novi Africam adferre’ – so records Pliny the Elder (AD 23-79) in his Historia Naturalis. By the way, this is the same Pliny who recorded the ‘first trade mission’ from Taprobane of 4 Buddhist monks to the Roman court. Pliny interviewed one Lankan Ambassador, noting the envoy’s father had been ambassador to China. Lanka’s Roman trade soon increased. As did Rome’s trade with Nanjing, China. Rome had deciphered the monsoons. So what else is new? Yet our relations with Africa are much older than with Rome.

     These days all the new things out of Africa appear to be the latest imperialist strategies (or so this ‘global’ media makes out) arising out of the spread of US military bases in Africa – accelerated under that white man with a tan, B Obama.

     Eritreans living in Europe & Europe’s settler states (US, Canada; Israel, now threatening to deport all Africans!) have been subjected to violent attacks in recent weeks. These ‘incidents’ are coordinated by English & US ‘conflict entrepreneurs’, NGOS, etc, who make a living off creating turmoil, cliques bearing great similarity to Sri Lanka, and how ‘diasporas’ & ‘refugees’ etc, are manipulated. In 2018, Eritrea, Ethiopia & Somalia pledged unity & peace. This upset US & EU plans for the Horn of Africa & the Nile Basin (see ee Sovereignty, Eritrean Festivals under Attack & Integrating the Horn of Africa).

     This ee carries excerpts about what recently transpired in Rwanda (gateway to the Congo), and before that in Yugoslavia (‘the last socialist state in Europe’). In Serbia, how one of the oldest automobile factories in Europe was bombed 4 times by NATO. As for Rwanda, it is ruled by a minority, and the English call it a ‘model democracy’:

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• ‘The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Tutsi militia from Uganda, invaded Rwanda in 1990. All these ‘rebel’ RPF forces were part of the Uganda National Army.

     Under the pressure of RPF invasion in 1992, the Rwandan government at that time was forced by the US & France to give up their one-party semi-socialist state (ruled by MRND: National Revolutionary Movement for Development) and turn the country into a multiparty state in 1992. The government now became a mixed government of the minority Tutsi & majority Hutu people, with top Tutsi ministers linked to the invading forces….

     The French left Rwanda in 1993. The RPF did not like the French. In 1993 there was a ceasefire. The UN sent in forces to protect that ceasefire. They then had elections. But the invading forces, and the US, Canadian & Belgian forces, knew the RPF could never win the elections. So they decided to attack.

     In April 1994, the RPF shot down the planes of 2 Presidents, of Rwanda & Burundi. The English media blamed the Hutu. Yet, the RPF had the help of the Belgians, and the Canadian General Romeo Dallaire, who helped them shoot down the planes. The missiles were assembled in a hangar rented out by the CIA. All these NATO countries were involved: To make the government look bad, they broadcast that Hutu extremists shot down their own Presidents. It was a false-flag operation. The day after the planes were shot down, Paul Kagame, leader of RPF, sent out a broadcast in Swahili to his forces in the field saying, ‘We killed the president, we are going to win the war. We have the help of the Belgians & the Canadians.’ Kagame, who led the RPF invasion, was Deputy Head of Intelligence for the Ugandan National Army (later installed as Rwanda President in 2000).

     The trial had investigators like Australian lawyer Michael Hourigan, an investigator for the Canadian prosecutor Louise Arbour to investigate the shootdown. He found out it was the RPF. He spoke to the people involved. He had documents, had proof. He told Louise Arbour it was the RPF. She invited him to the Hague to deliver the information. It was on a disk. He was told to kill the investigation. Louise Arbour covered up that the RPF shot down that plane. She is an accomplice to mass murder. 25 people: the first massacre of 1994.

     That same night the planes were shot down there were attacks across the country. US C130 Hercules dropped men & supplies to the RPF. The Belgians & other units had taken control of the hills around Kigali, and now gave them over to the RPF (as well as water, medicine, logistics, supplies, ammunition) to dominate the city from above. They walked away, then the RPF walked in. The Rwandan army had simply run out of ammunition and had to surrender.

     Paul Kagame took over as Rwanda President. Kagame told their troops they had the help of the English, US & Belgian intelligence services, who will help enable an invasion of the Congo. Two months later, they attacked the Congo. Rwanda is the doorway to the Congo. The US wants to break up the Congo into 3 pieces. They wanted to take Katanga, full of minerals, away from the Congo. Get their mining companies in & minerals out without paying royalties. Mobotu had been put in by the US after the assassination of Lumumba. In the few years preceding this, Mobotu had begun making deals with China. The US did not like that. So they wanted him gone. They wanted to use Rwanda as a base to kick Mobutu out. The Hutu Rwanda government said no… It was a war for the Congo’s immense wealth (used for all the latest modern gadgetry) which has not been allowed to enrich the 50 million Congo people, though could be done easily. The war was also a war between the US & France for the control of Central Africa. The US succeeded in kicking the French out of Central Africa. Belgium was the colonial power in Rwanda. Most of those killed were Hutu. But the world was told the opposite…’ (Continued in ee Quotes, Chris Black, lawyer who represented Hutu officials accused of ‘genocide’, & Milosevic. Above excerpts from 2017 video, see ee Sovereignty)

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• A gaggle of Dutch ladies led by a Dutch Minister, also a lady, arrived in Sri Lanka, carrying an ornate Sinhala cannon, and some swords & knives. They said the Dutch had stolen them. They call it an ‘involuntary loss of objects’ – in 1765. ee checked on 1765 and – o mijn god (OMG) – they sure stole a lot that year! And not just in 1765… So what brings these penitent Burgher grand dames here at this hour? (see Random Notes). The Hague is where Black criminals who fail to follow IMF (Washington) & UNHRC (Geneva) diktat, are tried, and murdered.

     By the way, ee asked ChatGPT: How much have the Dutch stolen from Sri Lanka?

     & replying in their best yankee double-de-gook of apologia – ChatGPT replied: ‘The interaction between the Dutch colonial presence in Sri Lanka and the concept of ‘stealing’ is a complex historical matter. During the period of Dutch colonial rule in Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon), which lasted from 1640-1796, there were undoubtedly economic & resource-related exchanges… However, it’s essential to understand that the dynamics of colonialism encompass a range of interactions beyond a simple notion of theft.

     Assessing the exact value of what might be considered ‘stolen’ can be challenging due to the historical context, the passage of time, and varying perspectives… attributing a specific monetary value to what was taken or gained is a complex endeavor.’

     ee: But we wish to know how much wealth they extracted from Sri Lanka?

     ChatGPT: ‘Determining an exact figure for the wealth extracted by the Dutch colonial administration from Sri Lanka is a challenging task… Lack of Comprehensive Records… Complex Economic Activities…Changing Values over Time…Varying Perspectives…Local & Colonial Factors…’

     ee: OK, tell us how much they extracted in value in just trade alone.

     ChatGPT: ‘Pinpointing an exact value for the wealth extracted from Sri Lanka through trade during the Dutch colonial period is a difficult task…’

     So you get the drift? ChatGPT is a stinky running dog… bowwow GPT!

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This ee continues our battle with fake AI – humans dressed up as machines – transborgs. An avid ee critic asked ee to do battle with AI, and reveal its ideological underpinnings as a capitalist (chat-i-palist? chapati-list?) running dog. We therefore began with Sri Lanka’s need to capture our home market from Unilever, etc.

Export-oriented industrialization (EOI) remains the capitalist gospel of the day. While imperialist countries are closing their markets down, reshoring & friend-shoring, etc, the gospel for EOI screeches even higher. And AI is no different. Yet no matter the AI hype, no matter the ups & down, China & Russia & other socialist countries have lessons to offer us, teach us of how to really rebuild a country. What matters. All other development ‘narratives’ are pure white lies.

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Contents:

චන්ද්‍රසේන පණ්ඩිතගේ විසිනි

පාස්කු ප්‍රහාරය සම්බන්ධව නන්දොඩවමින් රටේ හා ජනතාවගේ කාලය විනාශ කරන්න එපා. එය පාස්කු ප්‍රහාරයෙන් මියගිය මිනිසුන්ට සිදුකරන නිගාවකි. මේ නිගාකිරීමට අගරදගුරු තුමාද සම්බන්ධවී ජාත්‍යන්තර දේශපාලනයේදී උන්ට අවශ්‍ය ගොදුරක් වූ ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂයන් ඉලක්ක කරගෙන ඔවුන්ගේ සටන දියත්කිරීමට ඉඩදිම කතෝලික ප්‍රජාවට සිදුකරන අගෞරවයකි..

පාස්කු ප්‍රහාරය සිදුවෙන විට මෛත්‍රිපාල සිරිසේන ජනාධිපතිව, රාජපක්ෂලාව පාරක් පාරක් ගානේ ඇවිද්දවනවායයි නන්දොඩවමින්, රාජපක්ෂලාට නඩු පිට නඩු පවරමින්,ඔවුන්ව බන්ධනාගත කරමින් සතුටුවූ යුගයකි. ඒ. ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂයන්ව සිරගත කිරීමට එදා මෛත්‍රිපාලයන්ට දැඩි අවශ්‍යතාවයක් තිබුන අතර, ගෝඨාභයන්  ඒ නඩුවලින් ගැලවීම සඳහා දැඩි වෙහෙසකර ව්‍යායාමයක යෙදෙන්න සිදුව තිබු යුගයකි ඒ.

ජනාධිපති යටතේ රාජයේ සියලුම ආරක්ෂාවන් සඳහා වූ බලතල තිබු පසුබිමක යුද්ධයෙන් පසු මෙරට සිදුවූ පළමු ප්‍රහාරය සිදුවූ අතර, එය රාජ්‍යයේ ආරක්ෂාව භාර ජනාධිපතිවරයාගේ සහයෙන් තොරව සිදුවිය නොහැක. සහය යනු, ජනාධිපතිවරයාගේ නොසැලකිලිමත් බාවයද ඇතුලත් බව වටහා ගන්න.

ප්‍රහාරයේ ඉලක්කය රටතුල ජාතිවාදී අරගලයක් නිර්මාණය කිරීම වුවද, අගරදගුරු රන්ජිත් මැල්කම් පියතුමා ප්‍රමුඛ කතෝලික ප්‍රජාවගේ, දුරදර්ශී බාවය හේතුකොටගෙන මෙරට වර්ගවාදී ගැටුමක් ඇතිවීමට තිබු සියලු ඉඩකඩ ඈහුරුනි.

එදා එලෙස කටයුතුකළ රංජිත් මැල්කම් අගරදගුරුතුමා පරීක්ෂණයක් ඉල්ලා සිටි අතර, එතුමා ඇඟිලි දිගු කෙරුවේ, එවකට ජනාධිපතිව සිටි මෛත්‍රිපාල සිරිසේනයන් වෙතය. එය සාධාරනය. මුස්ලිම් අන්තවාදයට හොඳ සරුබිමක් මෙරට නිර්මාණය වුයේ, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂයන්ගේ අගබාගය ආරම්භවූ විල්පත්තු සංහාරයෙන් හා මෛත්රිපාලයන්ගේ මුළු පාලන කාලයම තුලදීය,

ප්‍රහාරයෙන පසු අගරජගුරුතුමා ස්වාධින පරීක්ෂණයක් ඉල්ලා සිටි අතර එම ඉල්ලීම ඉටුවිය. පරීක්ෂණය, මෛත්‍රිපාල සිරිසේන පාලන සමයේ සිට ගෝඨාභය පාලන සාමය දක්වාම සිදුවිය. ගෝඨාභය සිරිසඟබෝ රජමෙන්ම වූ අසරණ පාලකයෙක් විය. ඔහුට මුහුණ දීමට සිදුවුයේ බැමිණිටියා සායට නොව කොරෝනා වසංගතයටය  ඒ අතර පාස්කු ප්‍රහාරයේ පරීක්ෂණද සිදුවූ අතර, එහි වාර්තාව, ගෝඨාභය ජනාධිපති අතට බාරදුනි.

සිදුවිය යුතුව තිබුනේ, තමන් අතට ලැබුන ඒ වාර්තාව විගසම රටට ප්‍රකාශ කිරීමය. එය සිදු නොවිණි. පසුව එහි පිටු කීපයක් අඩුකොට පාර්ලිමේන්තුවට ඉදිරිපත් කල බවක්ද කියැවිණි. එය එතුමා විසින් සිදුකල බරපතල වරදකි. එයට හේතුව තමන් කියවා සම්පුර්ණ නොකළ වාර්තාවක් පිටු කඩා ඉවත්කර පාර්ලිමේන්තුවට භාරදුන්නේ නම් එය එතුමා කල වරදක් බව කිවයුතුමය. මේවා එදා එතුමාට එරෙහිව පලවූ වාර්තාවන්ය.

රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහයන් බලය ලබාගත් විට සම්පුර වාර්තාවම කතෝලික සභාවට ලබාදීමට පියවර ගත්හ. ඒ මිට වසරක ආසන්න කාලයකදීය. මෙය ඉල්ලා මහා සටනක් කල කතෝලික සභාවට මේ වාතාව සම්පුර්ණයෙන්ම කියවා එහි ඇති අඩුපාඩු පෙන්වා දීමට පමණක් නොව ඒ වාර්තාව මෙරට ජනතාව අතරට පත්කිරීමටද අවකාශ තිබුණි. නමුත් මෑතකදි කතොලික සභාවෙන් කියවුනේ එම සභාව තවමත් එය කියවමින් අධ්‍යනය කරමින් සිටින බවය. එය අධ්‍යනය කරමින් සිටින කතෝලික සභාවට චැනල්  4 නාලිකාව පලකල වාර්තාව සම්බන්ධව ජාත්‍යන්තර කොමිසමක් පත්කරන ලෙස ඉල්ලීමට අයිතියක් නැත. පළමුව තමන් අත ඇති කොමිසම් වාර්තාව කියවා, ඒ සම්බන්ධව තම ස්ථාවරය පලකල යුතුය. එසේ නොකොට අනම් මනම් පසු පස හඹා යාමෙන් මියගිය සියල්ලන්ටම සිදුකරන්නේ මහත්වූ අපහාසයකි. කතෝලික සභාව කාගේවත් දේශපාලන පඹයෙක් නොවී සිය යුතුකම් ඉටුකළ යුතු කාලය පැමිණ ඇත.

By Kit Klarenberg

We are reproducing here an article published in mintpressnews.com regarding CIA plans for Indonesia. According to infromation from a friend of DDP from Indonesia the US Embassy in Jakarta had approached the PKS (islamist political party, opponent of Indonesian government)

Documents passed anonymously to MintPress News reveal the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a notorious CIA front, is laying the foundations for a color revolution in Indonesia.

In February 2024, citizens will elect their President, Vice President, and both legislative chambers. Current maverick leader Joko Widodo, widely beloved by Indonesians, is ineligible for a third term, and NED is preparing to seize power in the wake of his departure. This operation is conducted despite the leaks indicating Jakarta’s foremost intelligence agency has expressly warned U.S. officials to stay put.

The paper trail is a stunning insight into how NED operates behind the scenes, from which obvious inferences can be drawn about its activities elsewhere, past and present. By the organization’s own reckoning, it operates in over 100 countries and disperses in excess of 2,000 grants every year. In Indonesia, these sums have helped extend the Endowment’s tendrils into various NGOs, civil society groups, and, most crucially, political parties and candidates across the ideological spectrum.

This broad spread bet goes some way to ensuring U.S. assets, one way or another, will emerge victorious next February. However, a veritable army of NED operatives on the ground is also primed to challenge, if not overturn, the results should the wrong people win. Personal grants – in other words, bribes – from the Endowment have already secretly been distributed to Indonesians for staging anti-government protests.

What skullduggery NED has in store for election day isn’t certain, although sparks are assured to fly. At the very least, these documents amply reinforce what Endowment cofounder Allen Weinstein openly admitted in 1991:

A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA.”

‘The Jokowi Effect’

Joko Widodo – popularly known as Jokowi – is something of a rockstar. The first Indonesian leader not drawn from the country’s established political or military elite since its hard-won independence from the Dutch in 1949, he was born and raised in a riverside slum in Surakarta. From there, he fought to become mayor of his hometown in 2005, then governor of Jakarta in 2012, then President two years later.

Every step of the way, Widodo has battled bureaucracy and corruption while pursuing programs to deliver universal healthcare, economic growth, radical infrastructure development, and material improvements to the lives of average citizens. Such is his domestic popularity that analysts routinely speak of the Jokowi Effect.” After the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle named him their presidential candidate in 2014, their vote share leaped 30% in that year’s legislative election.

Widodo’s candidacy also reportedly stimulated Indonesia’s stock market and Rupiah currency due to his sparkling political and economic record. One might think burnishing the country’s finances to such a degree through sheer force of personality would make him an ideal leader from Washington’s perspective. Yet, the President has also prioritized protecting Indonesia’s sovereignty” and limiting overseas influence in Jakarta. Moreover, he pursues an intensely independent foreign policy, much to the U.S. Empire’s chagrin.

Widodo has encouraged leaders of Muslim states to reconcile and pushed for Palestinian independence. His Foreign Minister visits Palestine but refuses to establish diplomatic relations with Israel. He has also distributed sizable aid to oppressed Muslims abroad. Most egregiously, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he flew to both countries and urged their leaders to seek peace. When Jakarta hosted the G20 Summit that year, he invited not only Zelensky but Putin to attend despite fierce Western criticism

In many ways, Widodo emulates the rule of Sukarno, Indonesia’s first President, from 1945 to 1967. His policies, domestically and internationally, were explicitly anti-imperialist. At home, he prevented Western exploitation of his country’s vast resource wealth while maintaining cordial relations with both East and West and personally championing the Non-Aligned Movement, members of which eschewed both power blocs to pursue an independent path.

Sukarno’s bold refusal to bow to imperial interests made him a thoroughly marked man. In 1965, he was ousted in a blood-spattered military coup sponsored by the CIA and MI6, ushering in 30 years of an iron-fisted military dictatorship led by General Suharto. Over one million people were killed through politically motivated massacres, executions, arbitrary imprisonment, and savage repression. Even the CIA describes his purge of leftists as one of the worst mass murders of the 20th century.”

Widodo is now preparing to leave office, his constitutionally-mandated terms over, and personal approval ratings at all-time highs. His departure creates a clean political slate, which NED is eager to fill. Mercifully, a repeat of the intelligence agency-orchestrated slaughter that brought Suharto to power decades ago appears unlikely. But the leaked documents obtained by MintPress News make clear the U.S. Empire is preparing to pull off another coup in Jakarta under the aegis of democracy promotion.”

This has been NED’s raison d’etre since inception, in 1983. The organization was explicitly founded by senior CIA spooks and U.S. foreign policy apparatchiks to serve as a public mechanism for the Agency’s traditional clandestine support for opposition groups, activist movements and media outlets overseas, which engage in propaganda and political activism to disrupt, destabilize, and displace ‘enemy’ regimes.

NED’s malign meddling over the years is too lengthy to list here. But recently, this has included sponsoring a failed uprising in Cuba, funneling money to separatist protesters in Hong Kong, and attempting to topple the Belarusian government. Having floundered in these insurrectionary adventures is evidently no deterrent to trying again in Indonesia now.

‘Personal Branding Development’

The leaked files are weekly briefings dispatched from the Indonesian office of the International Republican Institute (IRI) back to headquarters in Washington during June, July and August 2023. IRI is a core component of NED, which typically works with another, the National Democratic Institute, on regime change operations abroad. The pair are innately linked to their respective namesake political parties at home.

These briefings provide updates on administrative issues, local political developments, staff activities, press clippings, and IRI’s progress on fulfilling the objectives of its NED grant in Indonesia to improve the capacity of emerging political party leaders to assume leadership positions within the parties and act as agents of change in support of increased internal party democracy, transparency, and responsiveness to citizens.” The last available Endowment grant records, from 2022, show the Institute was given $700,000 for this.

Every week, IRI reported its outreach” to emerging leaders” in the country – graduates of NED training programs, now prominent members of dozens of political parties, and local NGOs and civil society organizations. Many are running as candidates in 2024, having been taught campaigning and voter engagement strategies and to challenge results by the Endowment.

One of IRI’s emerging leaders” was recorded as carrying out internal party reform in his party” and always appearing” prominently in its ranks. He was recently trained in launching legal disputes over the forthcoming election’s results, which resulted in his being trusted as a candidate” by the party.

Another boasted to his IRI handlers that he continues to socialize himself to the public regarding his candidacy either in person or through social media” and had recently appeared on popular radio and T.V. shows. He credited training provided by the NED-funded Association for Election and Democracy (Perludem) for his personal branding development in politics” and ability to serve as public speaker and engage with media.”

Perludem publishes regular US AID-financed journals, which provide recommendations and references for improving electoral governance and democratic and political processes in the Asia and Pacific region.” It also convenes regular Emerging Leader Academy (ELA) events, where the individuals named in the IRI documents are groomed and learn message development,” among other electioneering skills.

One graduate told IRI she had started to share and disseminate information regarding her plans to run as a legislative candidate” and was now increasingly active on social media.” With tools she received from ELA, she hopes to attract more young voters, especially first-time voters.” Another was reported to have again strengthened his role in the party’s internal body” and be personally training prospective witnesses at polling stations” to monitor proceedings on election day.

Right down to the school level, youth political engagement was of evident significance to IRI and its cadre of political operatives. Accordingly, on July 1, Perdulem hosted an event, Make Election Great Again!, where attendees were taught the fine art of identifying the strategic role of students in the 2024 election.”

IRI’s vote-meddling capabilities were significantly enhanced on July 12, when its operatives attended an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and Google. A panel featured two opposition politicians, journalists, and researchers, who warned dis/misinformation” could affect the 2024 election and, terrifyingly, result in a similar figure to Widodo becoming President. A local polling expert presented data from a recent survey conducted by his firm on how trust in political parties impacts voter preferences.

‘Achieved Milestone’

One of the leak’s most tantalizing excerpts is in a briefing note from June 28 this year. It records how IRI representatives met with high-ranking members of the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, including its Political Officer, Ted Meinhover. He conveyed U.S. concerns” about the 2024 elections, in particular how Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto’s electability” had increased dramatically,” meaning he stood the highest according to the polls.” Meanwhile, former Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan’s ratings were on the decline.”

Meinhover lamented how Indonesian law restricts parties with less than 20% of seats in parliament from fielding Presidential candidates. If that threshold” were removed, there will be more candidates in the election, and the U.S. will have more options,” he declared. Still, Washington needs to maintain friendly relations with all parties to safeguard U.S. interests in Indonesia, no matter how the election plays out.”

Meinhover added the Embassy had been active in outreaching” leaders of the local Labor party and Indonesia’s Trade Union Confederation to know about their plans to protest” a law on job creation recently signed by Widodo. Fearing the legislation will dampen foreign investor enthusiasm” in the country, the U.S. firmly supports activities opposed to it.”

Accordingly, the Embassy secretly suggested to Labor party chiefs they could exploit the opportunity” of Indonesia’s Independence Day on August 17 to launch protests” against the job creation law and Meinhover’s hated Presidential Threshold.” Strikingly, a U.S. diplomatic apparatchik present mentioned Jakarta’s State Intelligence Agency (BIN) had recently warned” the Embassy not to interfere” in the 2024 elections.

Meinhover said this had motivated the Embassy to continuously support” IRI’s cloak-and-dagger activities to further implement U.S. policies while avoiding Indonesian regulations.” So it was, a July 8 – 14 briefing noted, the Institute contacted Labor party leaders and a welter of Indonesian labor organizations – to which IRI continuously provide small grants” – and discussed plans to organize protests” against the job creation and Presidential threshold laws in late July or early August.”

Those protests went ahead on August 9 at Jakarta’s Constitutional Court and State Palace. Local media coverage of the events was duly recorded in an IRI briefing, which also noted that the Institute provided a third grant” of 1,000,000 Rupiah to the Pandeglang Labor party’s executive chair for the effort. They reportedly appreciated IRI’s support for their activities.” The briefing added, The protests went well and [were] brought to a successful close.”

A week later, Institute staffers again provided support” to the Labor Party’s Pandeglang chapter to successfully” protest against the two laws. The executive chair received a further personal grant of 5,000,000 Rupiahs for this achieved milestone.” While this amounts to $330, it can hardly be considered an insubstantial sum in local terms, given that 50% of Indonesia’s population earns less than $800 monthly.

Other briefings indicate several Indonesian organizations and individuals receive direct payments from IRI for achieving specific milestones,” Perludem among them. In a perverse irony, the February 2021 edition of the organization’s journal featured essays on topics including political financing and its impact on the quality of democracy,”; the urgency of preventing illicit political party fundraising,”; a disproportionately unequal playing field: challenges to and prospects for campaign finance law”; and accountability and transparency of political party financing” across Asia Pacific.

Eighteen months later, Perludem launched an app helping Indonesians understand how electoral boundaries are drawn” and allowing users to create their own versions of boundary delimitation or drawing/redrawing of electoral districts as they deem appropriate by universal standards and principles.” Who or what funded this seditious venture wasn’t stated.

‘Budgets are Tight’

One can only imagine the righteous furor that would erupt if documents revealing Chinese or Russian government agents, including Embassy staff, were secretly grooming politicians and civil society actors in foreign countries while covertly encouraging and bankrolling the activism of opposition parties and trade unions in conscious, deliberate contravention of national regulations.” However, such activity is par for the course for U.S. diplomatic missions everywhere – and indeed, NED.

It’s also worth noting that the Endowment’s outlay in Indonesia is relatively modest. One weekly briefing even mentions how budgets across IRI’s three projects” in the country are tight for the foreseeable future.” The Institute’s Indonesian party leader training operation aside, the nature of the two other ventures is unclear from the leaked documents. But, according to figures published on NED’s website, the organization spends less than $2 million in Jakarta annually.

Usually, the sums involved are vastly higher. For example, over the 12 months leading up to Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan Revolution, NED pumped around $20 million into the country. Still, Western journalists, politicians, and pundits aggressively rubbished all suggestions that insurrectionary upheaval was anything other than an expression of popular will, resulting from surging yearning for liberalism and democracy by the overwhelming majority of citizens. They have done so ever since.

This is despite contemporary polls never showing majority Ukrainian support for Maidan, or E.U. and NATO membership; President Viktor Yanukovych remaining the most popular politician in the country until his last day in office; every actor at the forefront of the protests, including the individual who started them, receiving NED or USAID funding; leaders of U.S.-financed organizations in the country openly declaring their desire to overthrow the government in the years prior; the Maidan demonstrations being riddled with hardcore nationalists.

One might still argue many Maidan protesters were animated by legitimate grievances. Yet, the leaked trove raises serious questions about the agency” of anyone in direct or even indirect receipt of NED funding. The papers amply show individuals and organizations on the ground anywhere can be stirred to activism at the local U.S. Embassy or Endowment chapter’s express behest at any time in return for even a small grant.”

It is wholly inconceivable Indonesian labor groups would otherwise have protested Widodo’s job creation law or restrictions on how many Presidential candidates can run were it not for the former potentially harming Western investors and financial interests in Jakarta and the latter limiting Washington’s choice of puppets in the country. How many other anti-government agitators around the world, be they protesters, trade unionists, journalists, or otherwise, are similarly acting to achieve milestones” agreed in secret with NED is anyone’s guess.

From Washington’s perspective, the importance of ensuring a pliant government is installed in Indonesia cannot be understated. With U.S. military chiefs openly discussing war with China in the very near future, the region must be populated with client states that can aid and abet that world-threatening effort. Similar initiatives are undoubtedly underway across the entire Asia Pacific. As such, it has never been more critical that NED’s activities everywhere are scrutinized, if not outright banned.

Feature photo | Illustration by MintPress News

Leaked: CIA Front Preparing Color Revolution in Indonesia

* Kit Klarenberg is an investigative journalist and MintPress News contributor exploring the role of intelligence services in shaping politics and perceptions. His work has previously appeared in The Cradle, Declassified U.K., and Grayzone. Follow him on Twitter @KitKlarenberg.

චන්ද්‍රසිරි විජයවික්‍රම, LL.B., Ph.D

(544) සමහර පැරණි JVP සාමාජිකයෝ ඉදිමිලා-ඉදිමුවට තෙල් සාත්තුවක් දෙන්න වෙනවා – YouTube

මෙම වීඩියෝවේ පානදුරේ ලාල් විසින් කියන්නේ ඥානසාර හිමියන් වුනත් රවටාගෙන JVP එක ඩබල්ගේම් ගැසිය යුතු බවය. 1977 දී JRJ බෞද්ධ දර්ශන මහාචාර්ය W. S. කරුණාරත්න යොදවා ධර්මිෂ්ඨ සමාජයක් නම් ඩබල්ගේම් එක ගසා සිංහල බෞද්ධ ජනයා මුලාකල පරිදිමය.

ගාන්ධිත් ඩබල්ගේම්කාරයෙක්ද?

මෙම ලිපියේ 1 කොටසේ හඳුනාගත් ප්‍රවාහ (මුර දේවතා හා මාක්ස්වාදී/ක්‍රිස්තියානි යන) දෙකේම <ඩබල් ගේම්කාරයින්> සිටියේය, සිටින්නේය. මින් අදහස් කරන්නේ මහජන සේවය සඳහා යයි ඉදිරියට පැමිණ, වංක හා ආත්මාර්ථකාමී  ලෙස හැසිරෙන පංචස්කන්ධ ය. ඒ මිසක් ඔවුන්ගේ පුද්ගලික දින චර්යාවන් නොවේ. ලංකාවේ යූටියුබ් මුදලාලිලා වනාහි යම් සමාජ සේවයක් කරණා ගමන්ම යූටියුබ් නිදහස කෙළෙසමින් පාවෙන ඔරුය. සත්‍යය අර්ධ සත්‍යයෙන් වසන්නේය. මෙවැනි ඩබල්ගේම් වියහැකි උදාහරණයක් වශයෙන්, ජෙනරාල් කොබ්බෑකඩුවගේ ආදාහනයට කනත්තට ආ ගංඟාරාමයේ ගලබොඩ ඤානිස්සර හාමුදුරුවන්ගේ සිවුර මිනිසුන් විසින් බලෙන් ගැලවූ විට ඔහුගේ ඉණේ පිස්තෝලයක් තිබුණා යයි යූටියුබ්  ප්‍රවෘතිය සඳහන් කල හැකිය.

කාගම සිරිනන්ද හාමුදුරුවන් කියන අන්දමට, <පුතේ සිවුර කියන්නේ කැළයක්> නම්, ඕනෑම හොරෙකුට එහි සැඟවීමට හැකිය. මෙවැනි හොරුන් 40 කට වඩා BBS නායක ඥානසාර හිමියන් විසින් සිවුරු ගලවා පලවා හැර ඇති බව දන්නේ රටේ කී දෙනාද? දුස්සීල භික්ෂූන් පුද්ගලිකව, පන්සලේදී සිවුර රැවටුවත්, සිවුරෙන් ගම-රට රැවටිය යුතු නැත. සේපාල්ලා, සුදත්තලා හා නාගානන්ද කොඩිතුවක්කු පවා, සංඝ සමාජයට පොදුවේ පහර දෙන්නේ මේ හේතුව නිසාය. ඒ අස්සේ අලි මදිවාට හරක් මෙන්, 500 ක් පමණ පිරිසක් සිවුරු පොරවා බුද්ධාගමට නිග්‍රහ කිරීම සඳහා යොදා ගැනීමේ ප්‍රොජෙක්ට් එකක් ගැන බුද්ධි අංශ  විමර්ශනය කරනවා යයි වාර්තාවක් නොබෝදා පලවිය.

යමෙකුගේ සමාජ සේවා ජීවිතය සම්බන්ධයෙන් මා අන්ද මන්ද වූයේ ගාන්ධිගේ ඩබල් ගේම් එක ගැන අම්බෙඩ්කාර් 1955 දී කල එලිදරව්වක් ලඟදී දුටු විටය. ඔහුට අනුව ගාන්ධිගේ ගුජරාති භාෂා පත්තරේ වර්ණාශ්‍රම ධර්මය (කුල භේදය) ගැන කියන ගමන් ඉංග්‍රීසි පත්තරේ මිනිසුන්ගේ සමානකම ගැන ලිව්වේය. මෙම ඉංග්‍රීසි පත්තරේ ගැන පමණක් දැනසිටි බටහිර වාර්තාකාරයෝ ගාන්ධිව ඉහලට ඉස්සුවේය. අවුරුදුපතා කරණ ගුණ සැමරුම නිසා නොවේ නම් ගාන්ධිව අමතකව යන බව ඔහු 1955 දීම කියයි!

(541) Bhimrao Ambedkar’s iconic interview from 1955 | Archives | BBC News India – YouTube

හාමුදුරුවරු මාක්ස්වාදීන්ට <බෞද්ධ කල්කයක් > (කෂායක්?) පෙවීමට ගත් උත්සාහ

Ven. Saranankara – BUDDHIST – MARXISM ALLIANCE (UK) (weebly.com)

Buddha, Marx & Matter – BUDDHIST – MARXISM ALLIANCE (UK) (weebly.com)

ධර්මපාලතුමාගේ ආභාෂයට වැටුණ උඩකැන්ඳවෙල සිරි සරණංකර සාමනේර හිමි ඔහුවත් බුද්ධගයාවට ගෙනයන ලෙස ඇවිටිලි කලේය. ඉන්දියාවට ගිය පසු තාගෝර්ගේ ශාන්ති නිකේතනයට සම්බන්ධවූ එතුමා, ක්‍රමයෙන් ඉන්දියාවේ අධිරාජ්‍යවිරෝධී නිදහස් අරගල සටනේ පෙරමුණට තල්ලුවී ගියේය. කීප වරක්ම හිරගතවීමටද සිදුවිය. ඔහු ලංකාවට ආවේ විප්ලවකාරයෙක් වශයෙනි. කොමියුනිස්ට් පක්ෂයේ ආරම්භක සාමාජිකයෙක් (සභාපති?) විය. මෛත්‍රීය වෙනුවට පන්ති සටන වැදගත් විය.

සතුරා මිතුරා කර ගන්නා ක්‍රම හා විධි ඕනෑතරම් සූත්‍ර පිටකයේ නැද්ද? බඹරැන්දේ සිරි සීවලී, මාපලගම විපුලසාර වැනි හාමුදුරුවරුද වාමාංශික දේශපාලන නැඹුරුවක් තිබු අයය කියා මා අසා ඇත. වඩාත් මෑත කාලයේදී, රුහුණු විශ්ව විද්‍යාලයේ සේවයකල, විලේගොඩ අරියදේව (අම්බලන්ගොඩ ශ්‍රී විජයරාම විහාරය) හිමියන්ද කූඩැල්ලන් මෙට්ටය උඩ තැබීමේ උත්සාහයක නියැළුනාසේ පෙනීගියේය. හෙදි වෘත්තීය සමිතිය භාරගත් මුරුත්තෙවට්ටුවේ ආනන්ද හිමියන් පවා ආරම්භයේදී JVP සපෝටර් කෙනෙක් විය.  මෙහි පහලින් ඇති වාරණ ආනන්ද ජයකොඩි සමඟ සේපාල් කරන වීඩියෝව බලන්න.

(558) ” ගෝනවල සුනිල්ලාට අපි දුවනකං ගැහැව්වා…” – YouTube

බුදු සසුන හා මාක්ස්වාදය තෙල් හා වතුර කරගෙන තමනුත් රටත් විනාශ කල ලංකාවේ වාමාංශික ප්‍රවාහයේ වත්මන්­­­­ ස්වරූපය වටහා ගැනීමට ඇති කදිම නිදසුන් දෙකක් සේපාල් හා ලාල් කාන්ත  යන දෙන්නා විසින් රටට සපයා දුන්නේය. අනිකුත් ඥානසාර විරෝධී යූටියුබ් කට්ටි  (DBS ජෙයරාජ්, Colombo Telegraph, සේපාල්, සුදත්ත, සන්නස්ගල, බෲනෝ දිවාකර- හසලක තුෂාර-අභිෂේකා කෙළී slvlog ත්‍රිත්වය, ප්‍රංශයේ භාරත තෙන්නකෝන්, උඩුවරගෙදර ඉළන්දාරියා, පානදුරේ ලාල්, කල්ප ගුණරත්න) ලාල් කාන්තගේ පිරිත් නුල ඉදිරියේ ගලේ පැහරූ බළලුන් මෙන් තුෂ්නිම්භූතව සිටියේය. එහෙත්  සේපාල්ට ඔහුට ඇති ඓතිහාසික <ඥානසාර මචං> වෛරය ගිලගෙන සිටීමට නොහැකිවිය. මේ මඟින් <ඥානසාර දමණයක්> වෙනුවට ඔවුන් දෙන්නාගේම නිරුවත් එලිවිය.

මෙහි ඛේදජනක කතාව නම් මේ අසාධාරණ කතා වලට පිළිතුරුදීමට ඥානසාර හිමියන්ට අවස්ථාවක් නැතිවීමය. යුටියුබ්, ට්විටර් හෝ මුහුණු පොත් ලෝක මට්ටමින්ම උන්වහන්සේට තහනම් කර ඇත. ව්‍යාජ නමකින් එය කිරීමට උන්වහන්සේ සූදානම් නැත. පානදුරේ ලාල් නමැත්තා දිගින් දිගටම ගිරවෙක් මෙන් ඥානසාර හිමියන්ට කරණ අභූත චෝදනා වලට විරුද්ධව ඔහුගෙන් වන්දි ඉල්ලා නඩුවක් පැවරිය යුතුයයි මම සිතමි.

වාමාංශික කළු සුද්දෝ

පන්සලේ ඉතිහාස කතාවේ අවධි  සමඟ ලංකාවේ මාක්ස්වාදී  ව්‍යාපාරයේ ඉතිහාසය සසඳන විට එය බංගවේවා කතාවකි. බ්‍රේස්ගෙඩල් කතාවෙන්, සූරියමල් ව්‍යාපාරයෙන්, හිරගෙදරින් පැන යෑමෙන් (ජේලර්ගේ අනුදැණුමෙන්). මැලේරියා කාලයේ ලොරිවලින් බඩු ගෙන ගොස් බෙදාහැරීමේ හෝ ලෙස්ලි ගුණවර්ධන හාමුදුරුකෙනෙක් මෙන් වෙස්වලාගෙන දාන ගෙදරකදී D. B. ජයතිලක ඇමතිට රහසින් ලියුමක් දුන්නා වැනි සුරංගනා කතා ප්‍රචලිත වුවත් මොවුන්ගේ ස්වයංහීලෑවීමක් සිදු නොවීය. ධම්මපදය හෝ පන්සිය පනස් ජාතක පොත තබා ලෝවැඩ සඟරාවවත් ඔවුන්ට අරහංවිය.

1930 ස් ගණන්වල නොව 1960 ගණන්වලදීවත් ලංකාවේ හෝවිමින්ලා වීමට NM ලාට ඉඩ තිබුණි.  පිලිප් මීට වෙනස් වුනත් <රදළ අම්මන්ඩි> සමඟ වෛරය නිසා 1964 දී UNP-Lake House උගුලට අසුව අසරණ විය. දෛවෝපගතව මෙන් මේ වන විට දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධනද මෙසේ අතරමංව සිටී. 1940 දශකයේ කළුකොඳයාවේ නාහිමියන්ගේ අපරාධ මර්දන හා ග්‍රාම ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ දීප ව්‍යාප්ත වැඩ සටහනට සමසමාජකාරයින්ට හවුල්වීමට හොඳටම අවස්ථාවක් තිබුණේය. තමන් හෝටල්වල විස්කි බොමින්, කෙස් පැලෙන තර්ක කරමින් සිටිමින්, මයි දිනය පාරේ කඩ සාප්පුවලට ගල් ගසන සටන් පෙලපාලියක් විය. අන්තිමේදී විරුද්ධ පාක්ෂිකයින් ගමේ රබර් ගස් වලට මුවාවී රැට බස්වලින් ගම් බලා එන මේ සටන් කරුවන්ට ගල් ගැසුවේය.

සාදුකින් පෙළීම බුද්ධ ධර්මයේ හඳුනාගෙන ඇත. බණකියන්නට පෙර දායකයාගේ කුස ගින්න නිවන්නට කියන්නේ ඒ නිසාය. දුප්පත්කම ලෝකයේ හැමදාම තිබෙන නිසා ඔවුන් ගැන පසුවට සළකන්නට හකි බවත් ඒ නිසා ගෝලයින්ට තමන්ගේ අවසාන භෝජනයට සහභාගිවීම් මිස්කර නොගන්නා ලෙසත් ජේසුතුමා කිව්වේය! ලංකාවේ වාමාංශික ව්‍යාපාරයට ඔක්ෂිජන් සැපයුවේ සුද්දන්/කළුසුද්දන්ගේ සම්පත් හා ශ්‍රමය සූරාකෑමේ ක්‍රමය නිසාය. මේ නිසා ඔවුන්ට නිරන්තරයෙන්ම <සටනට> සුදානම් පංචස්කන්ධ ගොඩවල්, තේ-රබර් වතුවලින් හෝ වරායෙන් හෝ පාරෙන් හෝ යනාදී වශයෙන් සැපයුනේය. දැන් 2023 අගදී අවුරුදු 75 ක් පුරා සිදුවූ අවපාලන ක්‍රමය (system of exploitation-corruption-mismanagement) නිසා JVP එකට උඩ පැන පැන තඩිබාන්නට සිංහල බෞද්ධ සංස්කෘතිය නමැති මුව හමක් ලැබී ඇත.

බංගවේවා සංස්කෘතිය දේශපාලන හතුරා ඝාතනය දක්වා උඩුදිවීම

UNP Land Army 1965à à JVP 1971

කම්කරුවන්ගේ වෘත්තීමය සේවා අවශ්‍යතා රැක ගැනීම හා දිනාගැනීම සඳහා  උදෙසා පැවති වැඩවර්ජනය කිරීමේ අයිතිය පක්ෂ දේශපාලන උපකරණයක් ලෙස යොදා ගැනීම 1956 න් පසු  ආරම්භවිය. 1959 බණ්ඩාරනායක ඝාතනයට කලින් ඔහුට වසදීමේ උත්සාහය වැරදී ගියේ වස සහිත කිරිවීදුරුව කැබිනට් ඇමති CPde සිල්වා විසින් බීම නිසාය. 1962 දී පොලිස්-නේවි ක්‍රිස්තියානි කුමන්ත්‍රණය අවිහිංසාවාදී එකක් යයි එහි නායක CC දිසානායකගේ පුතා ලියූ පොතක සඳහන් කර ඇත. 1965 UNP-FP ආණ්ඩුවේ ඉඩම් උප ඇමතිවූ මහියංගන මන්ත්‍රී CPJ සෙනෙවිරත්න හමුදා නිලධාරියා විසින් සංවිධානය කල ගොවි භට හමුදාව (land army) සිවිල් නාමයකින් මිලිටරි පුහුණුවක් ලබාදීමක් විය. මේ නිසා මීට ප්‍රතික්‍රියාවක් වශයෙන් සිය චන්ද කොට්ඨාශ තුල තරුණයින් පෙලගැස්වීමට SLFP-LSSP විරුද්ධ පක්ෂයේ මන්ත්‍රීවරු ක්‍රියාකලේය.

මෙම තරුණයින්ට <සිස්ටම් චේන්ජ් කිරීම> පිළිඹදව නොයෙක් පොරොන්දු දුන්නත් 1970 බලයට ආ වහාම, උදාහරණයක් වශයෙන්,  පානදුරේ ලෙස්ලි ගුණවර්ධනත්, කෝට්ටේ ස්ටැන්ලි තිලකරත්නත් මෙම තරුණයින් විප්ලවකාරයින් ලෙස හඳුන්වා කොන් කිරීමට ක්‍රියාකලේය. 1971 දී ජාතික විමුක්ති පෙරමුණට (JVP) බැඳුනේ මේ තරුණ පිරිස්ය.  ඉඩම් බෙදා දෙනවා කියා ලෙස්ලි දුන් පොරොන්දුව උඩ චන්දය දිණූ වහාම පානදුරේ පොල්වත්තක් අල්ලාගත් පිරිස පොලිසිය යොදවා ඉවත් කරන්නට ලෙස්ලි ක්ෂණිකව ක්‍රියාකලේය.

ස්ටැන්ලිගේ චන්ද රැස්වීම් වලට වේදිකා හදන්නට පුවක් කඳන් කර ගැසු අපිව විප්ලවකාරයින් කියා හංවඩු ගසන්නට ඔහු ක්‍රියාකලායයි මට 1971 දෙසැම්බර් මාසයේදී වැලිකඩ හිරගෙදරදී පැවසුවේ මහරගම ගුරු විද්‍යාලයේ  අයට පන්ති පහ ඉගැන්වීම භාරව සිටි JVP නායකයාය (මා JVP රැඳවියන්ගේ කට උත්තර සටහන් කර ගැනීම සඳහා රජයෙන් පත්කල සිවිල් නිලධාරීන් 200 දෙනාගෙන් කෙනෙකි).

වික්ටර් අයිවන්ලාගේ ඩබල්ගේම්

1971 කැරැල්ල මෝඩ වැඩක් යයි 2022/3 දී වික්ටර් අයිවන් කරණ ප්‍රකාශය කිරා මැන බැලිය යුතු ඉහත ජේද සමඟ ගලපමින්ය. දහස් ගණන් අවංක අහිංසක තරුණ තරුණියන් පන්ති සටනකට ගෙන ගොස් විනාශකල නායකයින් අතර වික්ටර්, ලයනල් බෝපගේ, ජයදේව උයන්ගොඩ, (ගාමිණී වියන්ගොඩ?) වැන්නන් සිටියේය. ඒ නායකයින් හැමදෙනාම වගේ නැවත ඉපදී සුඛෝපභෝගී ජිවිත ගතකරමින් සිටී.

විජේවීර සමඟ එක කාමරයේ නිදාගත් අයෙකු මට කිව්වේ පන්ති පහ ඉගැන්වීමට සිටි අය දැන සිටි අණ්ඩර දෙමළයක් නැති බවය. තේවතු නැවත කැලෑ කිරීම ගැන තේ කොමිෂන් වාර්තාවෙන්ද නිර්දේශ කර ඇති බව ඉහල නායකයින්වත් ගම්වල නායකයින්වත් දැන සිටි බවක් සටහන් වූයේ නැත. දුප්පත් පොලිස්කාරයින් මරනවා වෙනුවට කල යුතුව තිබුණේ ASP ලාව කිඩ්නැප් කරගෙන ගොස් සඟවා තැබීම නොවේද?

කුල භේදය හා පන්ති සටන ගැන නිතරම කියමින් වික්ටර් අයිවන් පොත් ලිව්වේය. ඇතැම් කුල හා JVP අතර සම්බන්ධයක් පෙන්වමින් A.C. අලස් විසින් ලියු පොතක (1990)  සටහන් කර ඇත. ගොවිගම  නොවන කුලවල ජනයා වැඩියෙන් සිටින ප්‍රදේශ වල JVP සටන් උග්‍රවූ බව  බර්නාඩ් ස්වෝන් නම් භූගෝල විද්‍යාඥයා විසින් ලියන ලද Sri Lankan Mosaic  (1987) යන පොතේ ඇති සිතියමෙන් පෙනී යයි (325 පිටුව). 1971 කැරැල්ලේදී අකුරැස්සේ කඩ කඩා ඒවායේ බඩු හකුරු කුලයේ ජනයාගේ ගෙවල් වලට ගෙනගිය බව මගේ සහෝදරයා මට කිව්වේය. මෙය විනයකින් තොරව, සංවිධානාත්මකව නොකල හදිසි අසහනයක ප්‍රතිඵලයය. තම පියා කොමියුනිස්ට් පක්ෂයට දර දිය ඇද අසරණව සිටිනවා දුටු විජේවීර ඒ නිසාම ඔහුට ලබුණ රුසියාවේ ශිෂ්‍යත්වයෙන් නිසි ප්‍රයෝජනයක් නොගෙන නොමේරු හෝ චිමින් කෙනෙක් වීමට සිතුවේය. මෙය සැසඳිය යුතු රුසියාවට ගිය ඔහුගේ පුත් උවිඳු ගේ ප්‍රඥාවන්ත වත්මන් ක්‍රියා කලාපය සමඟය.

LSSP-CP පක්ෂ දෙක SLFP සමඟ සන්ධානගතවී පාර්ලිමේන්තු පාර තෝරා ගත් විට, 1964 දී N. ෂන්මුගදාසන්ගේ නායකත්වයෙන් බිහිවූ විප්ලවකාරී කොමියුනිට්ස් පක්ෂය (Revolutionary Communist Party), යාපනේ කුල පීඩනයට විරුද්ධව බලවත් සටනක් 1966 ඔක්තෝබර් 21 දා ආරම්භ කලේය.  මෙය 1957 දී MEP මහජන ආණ්ඩුව පැනවූ Prevention of social disabilities Act,  නීතිය නිසිලෙස ක්‍රියාත්මක නොකිරීමේ ප්‍රතිඵලයකි.

ND23.doc (marxists.org)

සිය මාක්ස්වාදී අඥාන දේශපාලනය නිසා 1977 දී සිට LSSP හා CP පක්ෂ දෙක දියවී ගියේය. ඔවුන්ට 1964 දී රාජ්‍ය පාලනයට සහභාගී වීමට අවස්ථාවක් ලැබීමත් සමඟ සිය ප්‍රතිපත්ති සිංහල බෞද්ධ සංස්කෘතිය හා බද්ධ කර ගැනීමට  ඉඩක් තිබුණත් එය මාක්ස්වාදී හැවට යටවී ගියේය. උදාහරණයක් වශයෙන් රජයේ රැකියා සඳහා චන්ද කොට්ඨාශයේ මන්ත්‍රීගෙන් නිල වශයෙන් ලියුමක්  ගෙන ඒම ආරම්භකලේ ඔවුන්ය. ජනතා සභා (people’s committees) සංකල්පය නුසුදුසු පක්ෂ දේශපාලක ඉත්තන් දමා විනාශකර ගත්තේ ඔවුන්ද හවුල්වීය.

JR හා R ප්‍රේමදාස JVP එක විනාශ කිරීම

JR විසින් JVP හිරකරුවන්ට අභයදානය දුන්නේ විදේශ විනිමය වංචා නිසා රටට ඒමට නොහැකිව සිටි සර් ඔලිවර් ඇතුළු පිරිසට නිදහස දීම උදෙසාය. ඒ මිසක් ධර්මිෂ්ට ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදයක් උදෙසා නොවේ. මිසිස් බී ගැන නොතිබූ අනුකම්පාවක් ඔහුට JVP එක ගැන තිබිය හැකිද? මෙම නියම කතාව තේරුම් නොගත් විජේවීරලා පරණ පාරේම යමින් විප්ලවයක් කරන්නට සිතුවේය. ඒ වෙනුවට මහජන බලවේගයක් ගොඩනඟන්නට ඔවුන්ට අවකාශයක් තිබුණේය. මේ සඳහා ආකල්පමය වෙනසක් නොකෙරුණේ රටේ සිංහල බෞද්ධ සංස්කෘතියට අනුගතවීමට තිබූ  නොහැකියාවය. මේ නිසා අන්තිමේදී අවිගත්තෝ අවියෙන්ම නසී යන චක්‍රයට ඔවුන් අසුවිය.

තමන් එකම සමාජ පන්තියේ අය වශයෙන් ප්‍රභාකරන් හා විජේවීර සමඟ ගනුදෙණු කල හැකියයි ප්‍රේමදාස සිතුවා විය හැකිය. ඔහු ඉන්ටර්ෆේත් ජරමරය කරට ගත් හිට්ලර්වාදියෙක්ද විය. කෙසේ වෙතත් ඔහු විජේවීරට දිගුකල අත ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කිරීම මෝඩ තීරණයකි. මේ නිසා JR කාලයේ සිට ඇතිවූ ක්‍රියා-ප්‍රතික්‍රියා යන්ත්‍රය රටේ විශාල තරුණ පිරිස් ඝාතනයක්, බිහිසුනු සමාජයක් බිහිකලේය. බෞද්ධ හැදියාවක් තිබුණා නම් ප්‍රේමදාස සමඟ එකතුව තම අරමුණකරා යෑමට අඩිතාලමක් දමා ගන්නට විජේවීරට ඉඩක් තිබුණේය. සමහරවිට ඒ වනවිට ඔහුට පාලනය කර ගත නොහැකි ලෙස පක්ෂය විසිරී ගිය කොටස් විසින් හසුරුවන කලබගෑනියක්වී තිබුණා විය හැකිය. විජේවීරගේ බංගලාව යුදහමුදාව විසින් වටකරන අවස්ථාවේ ඔහු හමුවීමට ඒ අසලටම පැමිණ සිටි සෝමවංශ අමරසිංහ ආපසු හැරී ගිය බවත් පසුව ඔහුගේ ඥාතී සිරිසේන කුරේ මඟින් ඔහු ඉන්දියාවට පලාගොස් ලන්ඩන් වලට ගිය බවත් යන (කට) කතාවට පිළිතුරක් දීමට සෝමවංශ අපොහොසත් විය. ඔහුගේ අවසාන කාලයේදී ඔහු ලන්ඩන් සිට බේරාදුන් පක්ෂයේ තරුණ නායකයින් විජේවීරගේ පවුල මෙන් සෝමවංශවද අසරණ කලේය. ඔහුගේ අවසාන දුක්බර කාලයේදී සෝමවංශ ඇල්ලේ ගුණවංශ හිමියන්ට කිට්ටුවිය. මේ සිද්ධිය පැහැදිලි කරණ ලෙස ඉල්ලා මා ලංකාවෙබ් වෙබ් අඩවිය හරහා ඔහුගෙන් ඒකාලයේ ඉල්ලීමක්ද කලේ සත්‍යයේ නාමයෙනි.

දැන් 2023 සැප්තැම්බර් මුල් සතිය වනවිට නාගානන්ද කියන්නේ සජිත් හා අනුරකුමාර හෘදය ශාක්ෂිය, සද්භාවය නැති මිථ්‍යාදෘෂ්ටිකයින් හෙවත් අබෞද්ධ පංචස්කන්ධ බවය.

මීලඟ කොටස- රටට එපාවූ පක්ෂ දේශපාලකයින්ගේ ජනාධිපති හීන හා බෞද්ධ පිස්සුව

Senaka Weeraratna

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke new ground at the opening Day of the G20 Conference in Delhi yesterday when he greeted world leaders with a ‘Namaste’ and shook hands with them in front of a giant-sized Dharmachakra (also called Asoka Chakra) at the newly opened Bharat Mandapam.

It was a huge boost for Buddhism internationally, a theme constantly mooted by Modi and an idea close to his heart, as the Dharmachakra (also called the Dharma wheel) is the most potent symbol of Buddhism.  It is a foundational concept in Buddhism that represents the “Wheel of Dharma” or the path to enlightenment.  

It appears on a number of the Edicts of Ashoka the most prominent among which is the Lion Capital Pillar of Ashoka at Sarnath. The most visible use of the Ashoka Chakra today is at the center of the Flag of India (adopted on 22 July 1947).

India’s National Emblem is another version of Emperor Asoka’s Lion Capital Pillar (situated in Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh), and accepted as the National Emblem on 26th January 1950, the day the Indian Constitution came into force.

The Dharmachakra is represented in the form of a wheel to display the completeness of the Dharma. The eight spokes in the wheel are also Buddhist symbols showing how the steps of the Noble Eight-Fold Path are connected to each other as are the three jewels at the center.

Asoka was a Mauryan King. Hailed as a Chakrawarty King (Universal Monarch), according to Buddhist legend i.e., the greatest King among world rulers. Chakrawartin means in Sanskrit ‘ Wheel Turner’ i.e., one who upholds the Dharma and ‘he who turns the wheel (of Dharma)’. He is the secular representation of the Buddha.

The Buddha is renowned for having set the “wheel of dharma” in motion when he delivered his first sermon at Varnasi, which is named as the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. This “turning of the wheel” portrays a great and revolutionary change with universal consequences, instituted by an exceptional human being – Gautama the Buddha.

Senaka Weeraratna

Prof. Hudson McLean

Despite the difficult language, and drastic severe winter freezing weather, Sri Lankans in Finland, as Students or Workers enjoy a decent life.

Finland Needs Nurses – Care Workers – IT staff!

Finland was voted six (6) times – The Happiest Country in the World.

Honest – From the President to Average Citizen!

Education is 100% FREE to citizens.

Safe – Hardly any crime.

Healthcare – One of the Best in the World.

Húnger – No Citizen complains of Hunger.

Homeless – No homelessness.

Beggars – No Beggars.

Tax – Every worker pays Tax at Source.

Here are the main reasons.

                        Global Index

Happiest – Uncorrupted – Democracies

Top 5 Happiest Countries in the World for 2023

1.Finland

2.Denmark

3.Iceland

4.Israel

5.The Netherlands

Corruption Index Top 5 Uncorrupted Countries

90  Denmark         1

87  Finland            2

87New Zealand     2

84 Norway             4

83 Singapore          5

Top 5 Countries by Quality of Democracy

1:       Denmark               0.958

2:       Norway                 0.956

3:       Finland                  0.946

4:      Sweden                  0.946

5:       Germany               0.944

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Dilrook Kannangara

Representative democracy is all about government through elected representatives. This is the only form of democracy in the world. Sadly, the top two elected representatives have been removed from their positions (and many other top vote winners too). The president and the prime minister currently serving have no mandate to rule the country. Elections must be called immediately.

Gotabaya was elected president with a large mandate in 2019 but is no more in politics. Incumbent president did not contest for the presidential election and did not win his seat at the parliamentary election either. He has absolutely no mandate to be the executive president.

Despite the lack of a mandate, he not only rules the island nation with executive powers but also makes irreversible and irresponsible decisions.

The parliament was elected in 2020. People’s preference can be reliably measured by the number of preference votes won by parliamentarians. 47 of them won over 100,000 preference votes. However, out of the 47 only 18 hold some form of minister post. The remaining 29 have been disregarded for shaping the policy of ministries despite public preference.

Therefore, the office of the president and the parliament do not represent voters.

It gets worse from there. Terms of Provincial Councils and Local Government bodies have long lapsed. They too have no mandate today.

All this means none of the governing bodies of Sri Lanka has any mandate to rule over the people but they still do so. This is not democracy.

Elections must be called, for all these starting from the very top (presidential election) as that is the most out-of-mandate governing body. It should be followed by parliamentary elections, provincial council elections and local government elections.

LANKA LEAD News

මුලතිව් ඔට්ටිසුඩාන් වාවෙට්ටි කදුකර ප්‍රදේශයේ කැළෑවකින් පුරාණයේ මිනිසුන් විසින් වන්දනාමාන කරණ ලද නටබුන් සහිත ස්ථානයක් හමු වී ඇති බව වාර්තා වේ.
ඔට්ටිසුඩාන් තානේස්වරී ප්‍රදේශයේ හින්දු ජනයා විසින් කෝවිලක් ඉදිකරගෙන ඊට වන්දනාමාන කරන අතර එම ස්ථානයට කිලෝ මීටර් පහක් පමණ ඈතීන් වාවෙට්ටි කදුකර ප්‍රදේශයෙන් මෙම නටබුන් සහිත ස්ථනය හමු වී ඇත්තේ කෝවිලේ කිරිබත් පිසීමට මීපැණි එකතු කිරීමට ගිය වැසියන් පිරිසකටයි.

ඔවුන් මේ පිළිබදව පළාතේ ග්‍රාම නිලධාරීවරයාට තොරතුරු දැනුම් දීමෙන් පසුව ඔහු ඒ සම්බන්ධයෙන් විස්තර පුරාවිද්‍යා නිලධාරීන්ට, මුලතිව් දිසාපති කාර්යාලයට හා යාපනය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයේ පුරා විද්‍යා අංශයට දැණුම් දී තිබේ.
යාපනය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයේ පුරාවිද්‍යා අංශයේ දෙදෙනෙකු එම ස්ථනයට පැමිණ ඇති අතර ඔවුන් පවසා ඇත්තේ එම නව නටබුන් වලින් එකක් ශ්‍රී පතුලක් විය හැකි බවයි.

කෙසේ වෙතත් මේ පළාතේ වසර ගණනාවකට ඉහතදී ජනාවාස තිබූ බවට සාධක මේ තුලින් ප්‍රකාශිත වන නමුත් ස්ථානය තහවුරු කොට කැණීම් සිදු කිරීමෙන් පසුව මිස ඒ ගැන වැඩිදුර තොරතුරක් ප්‍රකාශ කළ නොහැකි බව යාපනය විශ්ව විද්‍යාලයේ පුරාවිද්‍යා අංශයේ පිරිස පවසා තිබේ.ඔට්ටුසුට්ටාන් සිට මාන්කුලම් පාර හරහා ගමන් කරන විට 14 වැනි සැතපුම් කණුවේදී වම් පසින් ගැටිති සහිත මාර්ගයක් හමුවන අතර එම මාර්ගයේ කිලෝ මීටර් 11 ක් පමණ ගමන් කරන විට අළුතින් නටබුන් හමු වූ සහිත ස්ථානයට ප්‍රවේශවිය හැකියි.

කෙසේ වෙතත් අළුතින්ම නටඹුන් හමු වූ මේ ස්ථානයට හින්දු බැතිමතුන් මල් පහන් පූජා කොට ආපසු පැමිණ ඇති බවයි පැවසෙන්නේ.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

• That is a move to distract attention from main threat to national security
• Opposition utters rubbish in Parliament
• Not ready to listen to narratives of Tamil leadership in north
• Eastern Province should not be merged with north

In the wake of Channel 4 Dispatches, State Minister of Rural Road Development Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan, who faces allegations, responds to questions from Daily Mirror about his alleged involvement in atrocious acts. As one time Chief Minister of the Eastern Province, he also shares his views on the 13th Amendment. Excerpts:  

Q   Azad Maulana, who worked as your party’s media spokesman, makes a whole lot of allegations regarding the Easter Sunday attacks. What is your response?

Azad Maulana was with us. He worked for us mainly when I was the Chief Minister of the Eastern Province. One and half years back, he had some family issues. He cited various other hardships and wanted to leave. That happened more than one year ago. Now, he is out of the country. What can one do to become rich overnight? The easy way out is to make false allegations in this manner. Unlike us, he was not with the LTTE. He only joined our party Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulihal (TMVP). He cannot talk about anything related to the LTTE. So, he has chosen to talk about the Easter Sunday attacks which is a controversial topic. What he now does is a work of drama. He plays the role of a drama actor nicely.   

Q   Yet, we cannot disregard these allegations because they reignite controversy. The Rajapaksas are implicated as those who worked out such a plot to get back to power. What is your response?

You are well aware of how political machinations, engineered by the Western world, work. Who is behind the expulsion of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa from power? The West is responsible for it. Nobody can say Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa came to power only because of the ground situation that turned favourable to him after the Easter Sunday attacks. His party Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) won the 2018 local government elections. That is way before the Eastern Sunday attacks. It means the ground situation in the Sinhala majority areas was in anyway in favour of him even before the Easter Sunday bombings. The foregone conclusion of the local elections was that the SLPP was bound to win the elections to follow. The West always wants its favourites installed in power here, though.   

Such dramas like Channel 4 films are often staged ahead of the sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). I think the Tamil Diaspora scattered around the world, along with other extremists, backed Channel 4 to produce this film. Such extremist elements approached Azad Maulana and used him.   
I feel sad about one thing. There are a number of youths brainwashed by Zahran Hashim who led the suicide bombings on 2019 Easter Sunday. There are many such people who pledged allegiance to his extremist movement. Today, no one talks about them. What is happening now is a distraction of attention from the main problem posing a threat to national security.   
Today, global ISIS terrorism is confined to small pockets in Syria and Iraq. It has almost been vanquished. What is now happening in Afghanistan and some parts of Africa?   

The opposition politicians should not play politics. They should talk about the development and national security of this country. Instead, they utter rubbish in Parliament. They pinpointed me. At the time of the attack, I remained incarcerated. How can I plot a destructive attack like this from behind the bars? This is a joke. ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was alive during the time of the Easter Sunday attacks. He claimed responsibility for the attack. ISIS news agency Amaq announced it. Still, some MPs talk like madmen. Theirs is an attempt to protect these banned religious extremist organizations. In Parliament, we should discuss how to protect our country from international terrorism. Channel 4 is funded by the Diaspora elements who despise the Rajapaksas. We should deal with extremist elements through legal means.   

In a war, everyone – be it Sinhala, Tamil or Muslims- is affected. War is war. It is true that the members of the military, the LTTE and civilians died. If there are allegations, they should be cleared. That is what the government is doing now.” 

Q   You are a politician based in the Eastern Province. Did you notice religious extremism emerging there?

I know what Tamil history is. I know what Muslims are doing. I know what they do in terms of development. However, I never imagined acts of terrorism.   

Q   What is your position, as one time Chief Minister of the Eastern Province, on President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s move for the implementation of the 13th Amendment?

 Ours is a sovereign country. We introduced the 13th Amendment at the behest of India, consequent to the advent of Tamil militancy in the north and the east. It is normal that people living in our province should be allowed to look after their own affairs. When I was in the LTTE, I fought for a separate state. Yet I realized that it is impossible. The 13th Amendment is part of our constitution. That is to give powers to the Provincial Councils. That is a normal thing. That is not for the partition of the country. There is no need to partition this country.   

Q   Will you contest to become the Chief Minister if there is an election to the Provincial Councils?

Let’s cross the bridge when we get to it! There are no such elections at the moment. There will be elections next year. As the leader of TMVP, I am ready to face any election.   

Q   Still, some people believe in separatist ideology. What is your response to them?

It is wrong. Who is talking about such separatism? They are the ones living luxurious lives. We should not leave room for them to interfere in our matters. We, as people living in this country, should take our decisions. There are extremist elements both within the Sinhala and Tamil communities. We should not allow any of them to gain the upper hand. Today, you see how Singapore has developed. We have to think of ways and means to achieve such prosperity.   

Q   What is your response to allegations of genocide being made in countries such as Canada?

Only our people have made way for it. We should share powers in our country and govern properly while protecting the national sovereignty. Canada is a country with a huge Tamil population. There are key businessmen among them. They are all at work. In Canada, we find vote bank politics being played out.   

You are well aware of how political machinations, engineered by the Western world, work. Who is behind the expulsion of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa from power? The West is responsible for it.” 

Q   In the UNHRC resolution, there is a call for an investigation into the alleged human rights violation and accountability issues. You were also involved in the war. What is your response to allegations about such wartime happenings?

In a war, everyone – be it Sinhala, Tamil or Muslims- is affected. War is war. It is true that the members of the military, the LTTE and civilians died. If there are allegations, they should be cleared. That is what the government is doing now. The government has established various committees such as the Office of Missing Persons (OMP). Efforts are underway to set up the truth-seeking commission. These bodies should take decisions. If there are wrongdoers, they should be punished in terms of the law of the country.   
What is needed is a local reconciliation mechanism. It cannot be done from abroad.   

Q   Some political party leaders in the north call for the merger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces. You are a politician based in the East. What is your response?

Like some Sinhala leaders behaved in the past, certain Tamil leaders in the north also did wrongful things. In Jaffna, they tell people that it is difficult to cohabitate with the Sinhala people. Yet, the very same Tamil leaders live among Sinhala people in Colombo 7 in a luxurious way, keeping spacious gardens. How can they own such large lands in Colombo 7 area? Who are the children of Tamil leaders such as C.V. Wigneswaran and M.A. Sumanthiran married to? One should examine the parental background of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam.   
These leaders have a different narrative to the ordinary Tamil people. We don’t listen to the narrative of the northern Tamil leadership. We have our own province. Ours is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka. Most of our people are Tamil-speaking. Religion-wise, there are Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Buddhists. I am for co-existence among all.   

Q   There are disputes over some Buddhist archaeological sites in the east. What is the solution to address them in your view?

This issue cannot be addressed through a politically motivated approach. Any high-handed approach is also not advisable. If there are archaeological sites, all should be united to protect them. Otherwise, people get scared when there is a sudden presence of Buddhist monks along with large fleets of vehicles near these sites. Ordinary people get panicked then. Instead, ordinary people should be convinced to look after archaeological sites on their own. They should have a sense of ownership of these sites as their heritage.   
Without doing that, it is difficult to solve problems through rhetorical acts by some Sinhala politicians. 

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

President Ranil Wickremesinghe will visit China on October 16, 17 and 17 and hold talks with Chinese leaders including President Xi Jinping, Daily Mirror learns.

The visit comes at a time when Sri Lanka remains engaged with China on the restructuring of its bilateral debts. China is the largest bilateral creditor to Sri Lanka. Debt restructuring is part of the programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to tide over the economic crisis.

This is the first time the President has undertaken a tour of China after he assumed office last year. The President has already visited countries such as Japan and India on official levels.

Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said earlier that Sri Lanka hopes that China will assist the country in its bid to restructure the external debt in the ongoing negotiations on Monday.

Sabry said negotiations have been progressing well with the Chinese, as they are believed to hold over 50 per cent of Sri Lanka’s external debt.

Sri Lanka has had several rounds of talks with the Chinese authorities.

The Chinese are taking part as observers in the platform created by the Paris Club of Creditors along with India and Japan. (Kelum Bandara)

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

On behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Defence has categorically refuted the allegations by the UK’s Chanel 4 over the Easter Sunday attacks and reiterates the government’s unwavering commitment to the truth, justice, and the well-being of the nation, said a statement by Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defence.

While respecting the freedom of expression and investigative journalism, the Ministry of Defence in a statement has asserted that Channel 4 will be held unequivocally accountable for any unforeseen actions or repercussions stemming from their unfounded, malevolent and poorly substantiated claims made in the documentary.

The Ministry’s statement underscores that Channel 4’s documentary, with its myopic and malevolent conduct, not only threatens the social fabric of Sri Lanka but also endangers the reputation and safety of those who have upheld their integrity and responsibility.

Full statement 

In the face of a heinous and merciless assault that shook the world – the Easter Sunday Attack of 2019 – which claimed the lives of nearly 270 innocent souls, including children and foreigners, Sri Lanka and the International Community watched in horror. In the wake of this catastrophe, the Sri Lankan Government, its Law Enforcement Agencies, Security Forces and international investigation agencies launched exhaustive investigations. Over the years, these investigations, both local and international, have consistently pointed to ISIS-affiliated group members led by Zahran Hashim as the architects of this horrifying tragedy.

However, it is with unwavering resolution and an unyielding commitment to the truth that the Ministry of Defence wishes to respond to the recent documentary produced by British Channel 4 television cooperation on 5th September 2023. This documentary audaciously shifts the blame of the Easter Sunday Attack onto Military Intelligence and Major General Suresh Sallay, the present Director General of the State Intelligence Service of Sri Lanka.

The Ministry of Defence vehemently denounces the accusation of orchestrating the attack and assisting the bombers against a dedicated senior military officer who has served the nation for 36 years. Major General Suresh Sallay served at the Sri Lanka High Commission in Malaysia as Minister-Counsellor from December 2016 until December 2018. He left for India on 3rd January 2019 and returned to Sri Lanka on 30th November 2019 after completing the National Defence College Course in Delhi.

This officer was never in Sri Lanka during the period mentioned in the Channel 4 video documentary. Furthermore, during the said period (December 2016 to November 2019), this officer was not employed in the Intelligence and Security Apparatus of the country, nor did he hold any official responsibilities in those fields.

The Ministry of Defence also reiterates that no terrorists involved in the Easter Sunday attack have ever been on the government payroll. Therefore, the Ministry of Defence categorically refutes these outrageous allegations and expresses profound dismay at Channel 4 for promulgating such a malicious and unsubstantiated narrative. In the wake of the Easter Sunday Attack, successive Sri Lankan governments have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to uncovering the truth. They have done so by facilitating transparent investigations conducted by both local and international professional agencies.

These investigations including the meticulous work of the Criminal Investigation Department, Counter Terrorist Investigation Division and the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI), have consistently corroborated the responsibility of the radical extremist group for the attack. Additionally, the Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Security has played a pivotal role in proposing measures to bolster national security.

Moreover, it is imperative to underline that the comprehensive investigation conducted by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States, along with the subsequent verdict rendered by the US Department of Justice, have reaffirmed the findings of local investigations. This resounding endorsement from an international investigative agency further substantiates the accuracy and integrity of the investigation. Despite unwavering and magnanimous endeavours, Channel 4’s myopic and malevolent conduct not only imperils the very fabric of Sri Lankan society by sowing seeds of discord but also shamelessly jeopardizes the reputation and safety of those who have resolutely upheld their integrity and responsibility.

While the Ministry of Defence respects the freedom of expression and upholds the significance of investigative journalism, the Ministry of Defence emphatically asserts that Channel 4 will be held unequivocally accountable for any unforeseen actions or repercussions stemming from their unfounded, malevolent, and poorly substantiated claims made in the video documentary. On behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Defence hereby categorically refutes these false allegations and reiterates the government’s unwavering commitment to the truth, justice and the well-being of the Nation.

K.K.S.Perera Courtesy The Daily Mirror

While there’s no denying that the Rajapaksas gained politically from the atmosphere of fear following the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, it’s crucial to emphasize that benefiting from such circumstances doesn’t automatically implicate them in planning or executing those attacks

The Channel 4 episode presents itself as an intricately created work of fiction, seemingly built upon the foundations of a poorly fabricated script

Sirisena, Wickremesinghe, and the Rajapaksas are seasoned, shrewd, and occasionally unscrupulous political figures, much like ALL other leaders in the political arena.
They are well-informed through their official and private intelligence networks about the events unfolding around them. It is highly probable that all three above leaders were aware of the looming threat. In a somewhat ironic turn of events, reminiscent of the proverbial three monkeys who neither hear, see, nor speak of evil, these individuals adopted a conspicuously self-serving approach. They allowed the unfolding of events, seemingly calculating the potential advantages that each party could accrue over the others in the aftermath of such disasters.

The writer of this perspective holds deep reservations and expresses substantial concerns about the integrity and the questionable governance of the Rajapaksas. Questions have been raised about their handling of key issues, including human rights, freedom of the press, and the rule of law and corruption.

Nevertheless, it is vital to approach these allegations with caution and a discerning mindset, rather than accepting them unquestioningly. It is indeed baffling to hastily assume that nine Muslims, regardless of their beliefs, would willingly sacrifice their lives to support a figure like Gotabaya Rajapaksa, given his well-documented stance as an advocate of Sinhala Buddhist nationalism, which has at times been perceived as antagonistic towards the Muslim community.

President Sirisena, was alleged to have offered the retiring Inspector General of Police (IGP) a bribe in the form of a foreign assignment after retirement. The aim was to persuade IGP Pujitha to take responsibility for negligence, possibly to protect Sirisena’s reputation or avoid consequences for himself. Indeed, if the three parties were aware of the numerous intelligence warnings [90 odd] from both local and Indian agents and chose not to act, it would raise serious questions about their integrity and responsibility. Admitting the above fact could paint them as unscrupulous individuals. On the other hand, if they deny knowledge of these warnings, it would call into question their competence in even managing a village Local Government Council, let alone the larger responsibilities they hold.

Utilization of Machiavellian Tactics to Sustain Political Power

The Number One,” who at the time had a personality clash with his number two, and former partner in a political conspiracy to oust Rajapaksa, took charge of Internal Law Enforcement in addition to the Defense portfolio. Following this, he embarked on a trip to Singapore under the pretext of a ‘Health’ excursion, which also included some family shopping. When questioned at the Presidential Commission about whether his family had accompanied him, the former Head of State conveniently answered a blatant lie, I cannot remember.” Sirisena, who was a former Health Minister continued his stay following the disaster under the excuse that he needed medical treatment at Mount Elizabeth. However, we can’t blame him for this; it’s worth noting that the then-incumbent Health Minister, [who severely criticized the current health services during a recent No-Confidence Motion in Parliament, also lacked confidence in his hospitals,] sought treatment at Mount Elizabeth, at the expense of poor taxpayers. 

The Supreme Court has issued a ruling, directing former President Sirisena to provide compensation in the amount of Rs 100 million to the victims of the Attacks and the families of the deceased. This verdict is a consequence of his failure to prevent the attacks, despite having received advance intelligence information.
In light of intelligence reports, it became apparent that the second-in-command, in conflict with the ‘boss,’ may have decided to stay quiet. This decision likely stemmed from the fact that the ‘number one’ had already removed him from his Law and Order responsibilities. As for the third party, the Rajapaksas, this situation presented a hidden opportunity. They saw it as a welcome turn of events, especially with a significant election on the horizon just months away. This unexpected development seemed to align with their political interests, and they were poised to capitalize on it.

Channel 4 episodes often raise doubts; they’ve done it before, and they’re still doing it. For some, it looks like a made-up story with a poorly written script that lacks evidence and is full of fabricated accusations. The notion of Pillayan organizing a Muslim suicide squad seems laughable and improbable. It’s evident that these individuals driven by extreme religious beliefs took drastic actions, making a solemn oath before Allah, and their act was captured in a widely circulated video. These individuals can be described as religious fanatics who were strongly motivated by their extreme beliefs, ultimately leading them to carry out this solemn pledge. The fact that Asad Moulana is seeking refuge raises suspicions on its own. His credibility is questionable, and it’s reasonable to suspect that he may have been motivated by other favours. Additionally, there are references to an undisclosed former public official and other individuals who may have their own hidden agendas in this situation.

Suresh Salay is a well-respected military officer who has shown unwavering dedication to serving our nation. His colleagues hold him in the highest regard, considering him an exemplary individual. On the other hand, Sarath Fonseka has a track record of making defamatory remarks, which casts doubt on the credibility of his recent statements. It becomes challenging to take his recent comments seriously in light of this history. While it is vital to approach any claim with scrutiny, it becomes particularly crucial when dealing with unsubstantiated allegations. While there’s no denying that the Rajapaksas gained politically from the atmosphere of fear following the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, it’s crucial to emphasize that benefiting from such circumstances doesn’t automatically implicate them in planning or executing those attacks. Some individuals might have believed that the nation required a ‘war hero’ like Gotabaya Rajapaksa in response to what they feared could become an extended period of ‘Muslim terrorism,’ reminiscent of the challenges posed by the LTTE in the past. This perspective suggests that their political advantage could be a result of the perception of providing strong leadership in troubled times rather than direct involvement in the events themselves.

The idea of someone like Pillayan orchestrating a Muslim suicide squad verges on the preposterous and seems exceedingly improbable. The evidence strongly suggests that these individuals acted out of religious extremism, driven by a fervent commitment to their beliefs. The Channel 4 episode presents itself as an intricately created work of fiction, seemingly built upon the foundations of a poorly fabricated script. This script seems to be devoid of substantive evidence, and it is heavily loaded with claims and accusations that, at first glance, appear to lack a solid basis.

Lanka Lead News

බ්‍රිතාන්‍යයේ ‍චැනල් 4 නාලිකාව මීට පෙරත් ලංකාව පිළිබඳව සාවද්‍ය වීඩියෝ පට නිකුත් කර ඇති බවත්, එම නාලිකාව පිළිබඳව විශ්වාසයක් තැබිය නොහැකි බවත් චැනල් 4 නාලිකාවේ පාස්කු ප්‍රහාරය පිළිබද වාර්තා වැඩසටහනේ සාක්ෂි ලබාදුන් පුද්ගලයන් පිළිබදව විශේෂ හෙළිදරව්වක් සිදුකරමින් යාපනය සිවිල් සංවිධාන කේන්ද්‍රයේ කැඳවුම්කරු අරුන් සිද්ධාර්ථ මහතා පවසයි.

අවසාන යුද සටනේ දී LTTE ත්‍රස්තයන් විසින් මහා පරිමාණයෙන් යුද අපරාධ සිදු කළ බවත්, චැනල් 4 නාලිකාව ඒවා පිළිබඳව කිසිදා කතා කර නැති බවත් ඒ මහතා පවසයි.

සවිස්තරාත්මක වීඩියෝව නරඹන්න…

https://www.lankaleadnews.com/?p=134594

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

The Sri Lankan Parliament should decide on the nature of the probe into the allegations by the recent Channel 4 video on the Easter Sunday attacks, Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapaksha said today.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe proposed an international probe on the Easter Sunday attacks as soon as he was sworn in as the President of Sri Lanka last year. However, he had not received any favourable response from any party on this matter. Therefore, it is up to Parliament to decide on the nature of the probe,” the Minister who made a statement in Parliament said.

I predicted an extremist attack in Sri Lanka 29 weeks before the Easter Sunday attacks and I was heavily criticised by the Ministers and MPs of the government whom I belong to. The entire nation became a victim of the Easter Sunday attacks as a result of negligence,” he added.

The Minister then referred to a remark by TNA MP Shanakiyan Rasamanikkam who played an audio clip in the House on Thursday whilst alleging that there has been a manipulation of justice in releasing TMVP Leader Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan who was in prison.  Rasamanikam claimed that the clip was given to him by Asath Mawlana whom Channel 4 identified as their whistle-blower.

MP Rasamanikkam seems to have more clips and information given to him by Mowlana. If so, he should produce them to the CID,” Minister Rajapaksha also stressed. (Yohan Perera and Ajith Sirwardana)

Courtesy Adaderana

Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella has reportedly given approval for the commencement of operations of three private medical universities.

Speaking in this regard at a media briefing held in Kandy today (10 Sep.), Rambukwella stated that the relevant universities have already commenced operations.

Commenting on the recent controversies surrounding the provision of medial degrees at private universities, the Minister stated there are many children who are eligible to study medicine, but we have only 11 universities in our country, which is insufficient”.

Moreover, he emphasised on the global recognition medical degrees obtained from Sri Lankan universities hold, further explaining that the island nation should capitalize on this opportunity and produce more such students.

Instead of hindering this global recognition medical degrees from Sri Lanka receive, we need to maintain the same standards at both private and state universities. If we are able to produce outstanding students who would be of service to the world, we need to implement a system that would work parallel with this goal”, he said in this regard.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has decided to appoint a committee, chaired by a retired Supreme Court judge, to investigate the allegations made by the UK’s Channel 4 regarding the Easter Sunday bombings.

The President’s Media Division said that the government plans to establish a Parliamentary Select Committee to investigate the allegations made by a former Attorney General, who claims that there is a mastermind behind the Easter attack.

President Wickremesinghe has emphasized that once the two investigations into the Easter attacks are concluded, the reports from the Parliamentary Select Committee and the Presidential Commission on the Easter bomb attack will be presented to parliament before any final decisions are made.

Courtesy AdaDerana

The reports pertaining to the two investigations into the Easter Sunday terror attacks in 2019 will be presented to the parliament before any final decisions are made, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said.

Accordingly, upon completion of the two investigations into the series of bombings, the reports from the Parliamentary Select Committee and the Presidential Commission of Inquiry will be presented to parliament before any final decisions are made, the President’s Media Division (PMD) reported.

Meanwhile, the Head of State has decided to appoint a committee chaired by a retired Supreme Court judge to inquire into the recent allegations made by UK’s Channel 4 in their recent exposé on the Easter Sunday bombings.

The PMD further noted that the government also intends to appoint a Parliamentary Select Committee to investigate the allegation levelled by a former Attorney General, claiming that there is a mastermind behind the attacks.

Shenali D Waduge

Easter Sunday murders took place on 21 April 2019. 269 innocent people died & over 500 were left injured. Immediately following the attacks at least 6 countries came forward to assist Sri Lanka in investigations. Their foreign intel agencies arrived to help carry out investigations. The FBI, Australian Federal Police, UK’s Scotland Yard, New Zealand police, Danish Police Dutch Police, Japan police & Interpol. More than 23,000 charges have been filed against the suspects & 1215 witnesses have been called to testify. Those ignorantly calling for “international investigations” are either clueless that numerous foreign intel agencies landed to help investigations & have already concluded their reports & have concluded that the culprits were ISIS. Therefore, if Cardinal or anyone else wishes to believe anything to the contrary, they must write to these intel agencies and challenge their findings & produce counter evidence instead of paying an agency that airs paid documentaries & witnesses willing to say anyting to gain asylum.

INTERPOL even congratuatled former President Sirisena in August 2019

https://www.defence.lk/Article/view_article/480 – 27 Aug 2019

INTERPOL Secretary General Jurgen Stock praised steps taken by President Sirisena, the Minister of Defense, Sri Lanka Police, Intel services to apprehend the criminals responsible for Easter Sunday & presented President Sirisena an INTERPOL Medal at the President’s Office.  In 2023, former President Sirisena had to pay Rs.100m compensation to the victims of Easter Sunday.

FBI confirmed Maulavi Naufar masterminded Sri Lanka Easter attacks: Minister

In May 2021, America’s FBI confirmed Maulavi Mohamed Naufer as mastermind of Sri Lanka’s 2019 Easter Sunday bombings claimed then Minister of Public Security Sarath Weerasekera in Parliament.

Scotland Yard assistance sought to review reports on Easter attack

In September 2022 – Interim President Ranil sought assistance of Scotland Yard to review reports on the Easter Sunday to look into hidden hands in the killings.

https://www.adaderana.lk/news.php?nid=55868

The Australian Federal Police sent over 20 officers to Sri Lanka after the Easter Sunday bombings in what was said to be one of the largest overseas deployments. These officers included intelligence officers, technical specialists, forensic teams. AFP Deputy Commissioner National Security Leanne Close said during the course of their investigation the Sri Lankan National Police acquired about 70TB of data, the equivalent of hundreds of millions of photos.

“(We used) some of our technical expertise in how we uncover data, work with calls, who’s made calls to whom, looking at some of the financial transactions, linking people of interest who may have been integral to the conspiracy around the bomb-making and subsequently, and ultimately, the actual actions on the day,” Ms Close told The Australian.

https://www.dailymirror.lk/plus/What-will-the-US-FBI-and-Australian-Federal-Police-investigate-in-Sri-Lanka/352-214578  in June 2021 the Daily Mirror asked a poignant question – What will the US FBI and Australian Federal Police investigate in Sri Lanka?

When Sri Lankan lawyers, officers of the Court do not have access to police investigations except when police files reports of investigations in Courts, how can foreign police personnel look into files with police?

The legality of international investigators in local investigations emerged. Under Sri Lankan law it was illegal as foreign personnel are not accountable & not subject to the jurisdiction of Sri Lankan Courts. One of the reasons for the draft Counter Terrorism Act to be opposed was the provision for foreign interventions in local criminal investigations.

https://www.transparency.gov.au/annual-reports/australian-federal-police/reporting-year/2018-2019-20 – synopsis of Australia’s Police report.

https://www.southasiamonitor.org/sri-lanka/fbi-confirms-sri-lankan-findings-maulavi-naufar-was-mastermind-easter-bombings

In May 2021, the FBI confirmed Maulavi Naufer as mastermind of Easter bombings.

https://www.state.gov/reports/country-reports-on-terrorism-2019/sri-lanka/ The US Country Report on Terrorism in Sri Lanka 2019 states “ISIS-inspired terrorists conducted a series of suicide attacks against churches and hotels across Sri Lanka on Easter Day, resulting in hundreds of casualties.  Then ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi publicly praised the attacks”

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/three-foreign-nationals-charged-conspiring-provide-material-support-isis

On 8 January 2021, FBI charged 3 Sri Lankans with conspiring to provide material support to ISIS.

“The men were part of a group of ISIS supporters which called itself “ISIS in Sri Lanka.”  That group is responsible for the 2019 Easter attacks in the South Asian nation of Sri Lanka, which killed 268 people, including five U.S. citizens”

“Two days after the attacks, ISIS claimed credit for the terrorist acts, attributing the murders to “Islamic State fighters.”  In late April 2019, the then-leader of ISIS praised the attackers for what he called a retaliation against “the West” for defeating ISIS the prior month in Baghuz, Syria”

“ISIS’s Easter attacks in Sri Lanka killed 268 people, including five Americans, many while they worshiped,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers.  “Today, we charge these defendants with bearing their share of the responsibility for these deaths.”  

The three defendants named in the criminal complaint, all of whom pledged allegiance to ISIS, are:

• Mohamed Naufar, the “second emir” for the group of ISIS supporters that called itself “ISIS in Sri Lanka,” who allegedly led the group’s propaganda efforts, recruited others to join ISIS, and led a series of multi-day military-type trainings;
• Mohamed Anwar Mohamed Riskan, who allegedly helped manufacture the IEDs used in the Easter Attacks; and
• Ahamed Milhan Hayathu Moahmed, who allegedly executed a police officer in order to obtain the officer’s firearm, shot a suspected informant, and scouted a location for a separate terrorist attack.

So what is Cardinal & the Church upto in annually changing their slogans from international conspiracy, to political conspiracy, to great plot to grand plot. Clearly, international investigations have been done and reports already issued. If the Cardinal has anything else to produce he must present these as facts and not as bogus asylum seekers attempting breaking news through paid documentaries. Before that Cardinal must first present FBI and other intel reports as false.

The Sri Lankan Govt should not be foolish to dance to Cardinals tantrums and also realize that international intel agencies were present they were given or took vital evidence and they compiled their reports. If these reports do not fit into the version Cardinal wants to believe, too bad, he has to come up with facts not fiction.

Shenali D Waduge

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Express Your Opinion – Read What Others Say!
The Independent Interactive Voice of Sri Lanka on the Internet.

Please visit -: http://www.lankaweb.com/

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

The Sri Lankan Parliament should decide on the nature of the probe into the allegations by the recent Channel 4 video on the Easter Sunday attacks, Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapaksha said today.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe proposed an international probe on the Easter Sunday attacks as soon as he was sworn in as the President of Sri Lanka last year. However, he had not received any favourable response from any party on this matter. Therefore, it is up to Parliament to decide on the nature of the probe,” the Minister who made a statement in Parliament said.

I predicted an extremist attack in Sri Lanka 29 weeks before the Easter Sunday attacks and I was heavily criticised by the Ministers and MPs of the government whom I belong to. The entire nation became a victim of the Easter Sunday attacks as a result of negligence,” he added.

The Minister then referred to a remark by TNA MP Shanakiyan Rasamanikkam who played an audio clip in the House on Thursday whilst alleging that there has been a manipulation of justice in releasing TMVP Leader Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan who was in prison.  Rasamanikam claimed that the clip was given to him by Asath Mawlana whom Channel 4 identified as their whistle-blower.

MP Rasamanikkam seems to have more clips and information given to him by Mowlana. If so, he should produce them to the CID,” Minister Rajapaksha also stressed. (Yohan Perera and Ajith Sirwardana)

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

සමුපකාරය ශක්තිමත් කිරීම ආර්ථික අර්බුදයට විසදුමක්…

·       ග්‍රාමීය නිෂ්පාදන නැංවීමට සමුපකාරයේ මැදිහත් වීම අවශ්‍යයි…

·       රට පුරා එකම සමුපකාර නිතියක් බලගන්වමු…

                                                                          – අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන මහතා

අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා මේ බව සඳහන් කළේ  2023.09.08 දින කොල්ලුපිටිය          මන්දිරයේ පැවැති, නීති නියෝජිත හා ලේකම් පරිචය පිළිබද ඩිප්ලෝමා ප්‍රධානෝත්සවය අමතමිනි.

ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජාතික සමුපකාර මණ්ඩලය ක්ෂේත්‍රයේ විධායක ශ්‍රේණියේ නිලධාරීන් වෙනුවෙන් හදුන්වා දුන් නීති නියෝජිත පාඨමාලාව හැදෑරූ ඩිප්ලෝමාධාරින්ට සහ ලේකම් පරිචය ඩිප්ලෝමාව හැදෑරූ ඩිප්ලෝමාධාරීන්ට මෙහිදී ඩිප්ලෝමා සහතිකපත්‍ර ප්‍රදානය කෙරිණි. සමුපකාර සංවර්ධන දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව හා සමුපකාර කොමිසන් සභාවේ නියාමනයෙන් මෙම වැඩසටහන ක්‍රියාත්මක කෙරේ.

එහිදී අදහස් දැක්වූ අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා –

සමුපකාර ව්‍යාපාරය ආරම්භ කර වසර සියයක්.  විවිධ ගැටළු මැද කාලයෙන් කාලයට ලෝකයත්, අපේ රටේ ආර්ථිකයත් වෙනස් වුණා. ඒ සියල්ල මැද සමුපකාර ව්‍යාපාරය අදත් සුවිසල් කාර්ය භාරයක නිරතව සිටිනවා. සමුපකාර ව්‍යාපාරය කියන්නේ විවිධ සේවා සමුපකාර සමිති, සමුපකාර සමිති සංගම් හරහා ජාතික සමුපකාර මණ්ඩලය හා බැඳි ඒකාබද්ධ වැඩපිළිවෙලක්. මේ සියල්ලට මඟ කියන සමුපකාර නීතියක් අපේ රටේ තිබෙනවා.

නමුත්, එක එක පලාත්වල ක්‍රියාත්මක වෙන්නේ එකිනෙකට වෙනස් නීතී. මේ නීති නියෝජිත ඩිප්ලෝමාධාරීන්ගෙන් ඒ පිළිබඳව සුවිශේෂ නීතිමය මැදිහත්වීමක් බලාපොරොත්තු වෙනවා. එකම සමුපකාර නීතියක් ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීමේ වැදගත්කම පිළිබදව ජනාධිපතිතුමා සමඟ සාකච්ඡා ආරම්භ කර තිබෙනවා.

සමුපකාර ව්‍යාපාරයේ පැවැත්ම හා අනාගතය අභියෝගාත්මක වුවත්, සමුපකාරය ආර්ථික දියුණුවේ හවුල්කාරීත්වය සමග එක්කර ගැනීම අවශ්‍යයි. අද මේ සහතිකපත්‍ර ලාභීන් ලබා තිබෙන සුවිශේෂ දැනුම හා අත්දැකීම් සම්භාරය ඒ අභියෝගයට මුහුණ දෙන්න අවශ්‍යයි. ශක්තිමත් ආර්ථිකයක් බිහිකිරීමේදී වෙළඳපොළ ආර්ථික තරඟයට මුහුණ දෙන්න වෙනවා. සමුපකාර ව්‍යාපාරය මේ වෙනසට දායක විය යුතුයි.

අපි වත්මන් ආර්ථික අර්බුදයෙන් කෙමෙන් ගොඩ එමින් සිටිනවා. මේ අවස්ථාවේ ග්‍රාමීය නිෂ්පාදන ප්‍රධාන කරගත් ආදායම් මාර්ගවලට ගමේ ජනතාව යොමු වෙමින් තිබෙන හෙයින් ඒ සදහා දායකත්වය දක්වන්න සමුපකාර ව්‍යාපාරයට සුවිශේෂී අවස්ථාවක් ලැබී තිබෙනවා.  ඊට ශක්තිය දෙන්න රජයක් හා අමාත්‍යංශය විදියට අපි කටයුතු කළ යුතුයි. සියලු පළාත් සභා එකලෙස කටයුතු නොකිරීම නිසා සමුපකාරය විශාල අර්බුදයකට මුහුණ දි තිබෙනවා.   

මහජන බැංකුව ඇතිකළේ  ලංකාවේ කෘෂිකර්ම සැලැස්ම ඉලක්ක කරගෙන. එදා පිලිප් ගුණවර්ධන මහතාගේ දස අවුරුදු කෘෂිකර්ම සැලැස්ම මගින් සෑම ගමක්ම අහරින් ස්වයංපෝෂිත කර, ණය ගැතිභාවය තුරන් කිරීමටත්, අධික පොලියෙන් ගොවීන්, නිෂ්පාදකයන් ආරක්ෂා කර ගැනීමටත් අවශ්‍ය පියවර ගනු ලැබුවා.  

මේ නිසා මුල් පනතින් සමුපකාර සංවර්ධන බැංකු, මහජන බැංකුවට අනුබද්ධ කළා. බැංකුවක් වැරදි විදිහට පාලනය කළොත් එහි බරපතළකම ආර්ථිකයටත්, දේශපාලනයටත්, කළමනාකාරයටත් තදින් බලපානවා. ඒ බව සඳහන් කරලයි එදා ටී.බී ඉලංගරත්න මහතා පනත ඉදිරිපත් කලේ. මේ නිසා ආණ්ඩුව දෙදරුම් කෑවා. සමුපකාර කටයුතු සඳහා ප්‍රමුඛත්වයක් දියයුතු බව අදත් මහජන බැංකුවේ අරමුණු හා පරමාර්ථ වල ගැබ්වී තිබෙනවා

පැහැදිලි නොවන නීති රීති, චක්‍රලේඛන යළි සකස් කරගැනීමට අප යොමු විය යුතුයි. ඒ වෙනුවෙන් මේ ඩිප්ලෝමාධාරීන් ජාතික සමුපකාර මණ්ඩලය සමඟ සංවාදයකට එක් වෙයි කියලා බලාපොරොත්තු වෙනවා. ඒ වගේම නවීන තොරතුරු තාක්ෂණය අතින් සමුපකාර ව්‍යාපාරය සෑහෙන්න පසුගාමීයි.  ඒ පිළිබද අවධානය යොමු කොට සමුපකාරය තාක්ෂණයෙන් දියුණුවකට පරිවර්තනය කර ගැනීමට පියවර ගන්න. සමුපකාර ව්‍යාපාරය ආර්ථිකයට වැදගත් කාර්යයක් ඉටු කරන ක්ෂේත්‍රයක් බවට පත්කළ යුතුයි.  

නිතියට අනුව සමුපකාර සේවක කොමිෂන් සභාව නීති හදලා, නඩු අහලා නඩුව ඉවර කරන්නට ඕනේ. නමුත් දැන් අපේ සේවකයෝ කම්කරු උසාවියට යනවා. නීතිමය දෘෂ්ටියෙන් බැලීමත්, සමුපකාර අරමුණු දෘෂ්ටියෙන් ගමන් කිරීමත් කියන්නේ දෙකක්. ඒ නිසා නීතිය පිළිබඳ හදාරන ඔබ, නීති පොතේ තිබෙන දේ පමණක් නොව සමුපකාරය සම්බන්ධව තිබෙන අත්දැකීම් සම්භාරය, පරමාර්ථ හා දර්ශනය ගැන වගේම අලුතින් එකතු කළ යුතු දේ පිළිබඳවත් අධ්‍යයනය කරයි කියලා බලාපොරොත්තු වෙනවා. එහෙම නොකලොත් ඔබ සියලු දෙනා යොමු වෙන්නේ සමාගම් පනතට. සමාගම පනත කියන්නේ වෙනත් දෙයක්. එය සරලයි. සමුපකාරය කියන්නේ ඊට වඩා සුවිශේෂී දෙයක්.

රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යවරුන් වන ශාන්ත බණ්ඩාර, එස්. වියලේන්ද්‍රන්, සමූපකාර සභාපති සරත් වීරසිරි සමූපකාර ප්‍රධානීන්,සාමාජිකයින් රැසක් මෙම අවස්ථාවට සහභාගී වූහ.

  

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සහ එක්සත් රාජධානිය අතර ද්විපාර්ශ්වික සබඳතා සහ සංවර්ධන සහයෝගීතාව පිළිබඳ අදහස් හුවමාරු කර ගැනීමට බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය මහ කොමසාරිස් ඇන්ඩෲ පැට්‍රික් මහතා 2023.09.07  දින අරලියගහ මන්දිරයේදී අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන මහතා හමුවිය.

එහිදී දෙරට අතර ද්විපාර්ශ්වික සබඳතා සහ සංවර්ධන සහයෝගීතාව තවදුරටත් වැඩිදියුණු කිරීම සඳහා ඇති සිය දැඩි කැපවීම මහ කොමසාරිස්වරයා සනාථ කළේය.

පුද්ගලික අංශයේ සහභාගීත්වයෙන් නව ආයෝජන ව්‍යාපෘති ආරම්භ කිරීමේ හැකියාව සොයා බලන ලෙස අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා එක්සත් රාජධානියෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටියේය. එමෙන්ම  ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ අධ්‍යාපනය, බැංකු සහ මූල්‍ය සේවා, ඖෂධ, හෝටල් කර්මාන්ත සහ සංචාරක ව්‍යාපාරය වැනි ක්ෂේත්‍රවල එක්සත් රාජධානියේ ආයෝජන දිරිමත් කරන බවද අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා පැවසීය.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ අධ්‍යාපන ක්ෂේත්‍රයේ බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය විශ්වවිද්‍යාල සහ අධ්‍යාපන ආයතනවල සහභාගීත්වය වර්ධනය කිරීම පිළිබඳව මහ කොමසාරිස් ඇන්ඩෲ පැට්‍රික් මහතා ප්‍රසාදය පළ කළේය. බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය කවුන්සිලය සමඟ එක්ව ඉංග්‍රීසි භාෂා ඉගැන්වීමේ පහසුකම් පුළුල් කිරීමේ හැකියාව සොයා බැලීමටද ඔහු එකඟ විය.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ලේකම් අනුර දිසානායක සහ බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය මහ කොමසාරිස් කාර්යාලයේ දෙවන ලේකම් සිඕභාන් ලාතම් (Siobhan Latham) ද මෙම හමුවට එක්ව සිටියහ.