Tilottama Rani Charulata.

Although there are many human rights violations and ethnic violence in the USA, it is advising on human rights situations in other countries in any event. The US ambassadors in different countries of the world, including Bangladesh, are busy with the idea of saving humanity or preaching human rights to developing countries. But the guardian of global human rights appears to be struggling lately at home. There are incidents of repetitive domestic gun violence in the United States. It seems in the national sphere, the USA itself has questionable actions that go against human rights and tends to bypass the existing international laws and norms when it comes to its interests. The time has come for the United States to stop caring about other countries’ protection of democracy and human rights and instead concentrate on enhancing its domestic law and order.

In a modern civilized country, no one wants incidents like murder, gun violence, or human rights violations to happen again and again. But gun deaths are rising horribly in the USA and expatriates from different states are becoming major targets of this hate crime. Less than six months after the murder of a 20-year-old American citizen of Bangladeshi origin Syed Faisal Arif, 42-year-old Abul Hasim, and 22-year-old Yaz Ahmed Ramim died in terrorist attacks in the United States. On July 18, a group of terrorists broke the window of Yaz’s car parked outside during work hours and tried to enter inside. When Yaz stopped them, a gunman fired at him, which took his young life. On July 23, another Bangladeshi individual lost his life in the United States, marking the second fatal shooting in five days. The victim, Abul Hashim, was shot during a robbery at his grocery store in the Casa Grande area near Phoenix, Arizona.

According to the information of the international media CNN, there have been 407 gun attacks until July 24, 2023, which has increased several times over the previous period. Their report says that the number of gun attacks in the first six months (January-July) of any time in the past has exceeded the record. In 2021, there were nearly 400 gun violence incidents in the first six months, and the pace is only increasing. Advising others about human rights shows the United States’ failure to protect the lives of people on its own soil. Every day someone is losing their life to gun violence. According to the information of Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit organization based in Washington, more than 24,000 people have faced gun deaths in the United States since the beginning of this year. Among them, 10,787 people were killed and 13,596 people committed suicide using guns. Out of which 163 children aged 0-11 years, 858 young teenagers aged 12-17 years were killed.

It is clear from these statistics from the Gun Violence Archive that gun violence in the United States has taken a terrible form. However, this huge number of deaths includes not only gun attacks but also gun suicides. Data from the Gun Violence Archive shows that most of the deaths during this period were suicides. 5 percent of the world’s population lives in the United States, but 46 percent of the guns in the hands of the common man are in the hands of American citizens. The United States tops the list for both privately owned guns and mass shootings. According to one statistic, more than 1,000 people die each year in the United States at the hands of law enforcement agencies alone. Bangladeshi expatriates are not left out of these attacks. White police have not started investigating the killer of Bangladeshi youth Faisal who was shot dead by the police in January this year, but he is still employed on the job. And the terrorist who killed Ramim ran away from the police in handcuffs. This is the human rights situation of the country that gave all human rights lectures to the world.

Martin Luther King’s lifelong dream was that the United States would be a nation without racism. For this he has fought all his life. It is said that George Washington brought freedom to America, Abraham Lincoln gave democracy, but Martin Luther King civilized the United States. Under his leadership, black people got the same rights as white people and white citizens got rid of the curse of racism! Then again why do thousands of people die from gun violence every year because of racism? Why incidents like gun violence are happening continuously in schools, supermarkets, petrol pumps, restaurants, parks, or places of worship. Why do people take to the streets under the slogan ‘Stop Police Brutality’ in the US? Why are people repeatedly accusing the police of racist behavior? Why do human rights only take a dual form on the walls of white and black?

Even though these questions are on everyone’s mind now, the United States, maddened by the addition of new imperialism, is busy contracting human rights in other countries. Which country will have the Arab Spring, and which country’s natural resources will be seized by the new trap? After the futile Afghan war, when will Russia be able to open a successful store of its weapons and ammunition in Ukraine? But who will understand that thousands of people are being killed extrajudicially in their own country!

One gunshot after another has shattered the American Dream that all men are endowed with the unalienable rights to life and liberty and led people to reflect deeply on where the US-style human rights are. Some US politicians have long treated the American people’s right to life with indifference. Faced with growing gun proliferation, they have done nothing more than indulge in empty talk and prolonged debates, while pointing fingers at the human rights conditions of other countries.

It goes without saying that Bangladesh’s human rights situation is much better than theirs. There are logical reasons to question the right of the United States to speak on human rights issues. The United States invaded Iraq in 2003 under the pretext that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. It killed millions of civilians. According to Brown University in America, at least 184,000 to 2,700,000 civilians died due to the American attack. The US later admitted that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction. According to the research titled “Cost of War” by the American Brown University, 1,74,000 people were killed directly in the Afghan war. 47,000 of them were civilians. In the United States itself, the way black people are shot dead by the police without trial, strangled with boots on their necks, human rights itself cry out: we can’t breathe. Notwithstanding, America’s hands are full of blood and the stain of human rights violations cannot be removed even if one pours all the perfumes of Arabia on those hands. Therefore, it is the demand of the time to avoid the human rights blabbering of protecting the interests of the United States in other country and pay more attention to the protection of the human rights of children, teenagers, and foreign citizens in their own countries.

Prime Minister’s Media Division

Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, (and Foreign Minister) vowed that China will help Sri Lanka effectively address the challenges of financial debt on Wednesday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks during a meeting with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at the sidelines of the seventh China-South Asian Expo in Kunming, southwest China’s Yunnan Province.

China is always Sri Lanka’s reliable strategic partner and appreciates that Sri Lanka has always been friendly to China and has stood by China on issues related to its core interests, he said.

China also firmly supports Sri Lanka in safeguarding its sovereign independence and national dignity, and is willing to strengthen exchanges of experience in governance as well as cooperation in various fields with Sri Lanka, he said.

Wang vowed that China will help Sri Lanka improve its capacity for independent development, get rid of the “poverty trap” and the “trap of non-development,” accelerate its industrialization process and agricultural modernization.

He expressed belief that Sri Lanka will overcome its temporary difficulties, find a development path in line with its national conditions, and realize revitalization and prosperity.

Noting that Sri Lanka is an important participant and beneficiary of the China-South Asia Expo, he welcomed the Sri Lankan side to continue to make good use of this important platform to further explore the Chinese market.

For his part, Gunawardena thanked China for its firm support for Sri Lanka in safeguarding its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and for its timely and effective assistance to Sri Lanka in times of difficulty.

The forward-looking flagship cooperation projects between the two sides such as the Colombo Port City and the Hambantota Port will bring benefits to the Sri Lankan people and play a key role in regional connectivity and sustainable development, he said.

Sri Lanka will work with China to expand cooperation in economy, trade and investment, agriculture, tourism, energy and innovation to help Sri Lanka achieve food self-sufficiency and accelerate the development of key industries, he added.

C. Wijeyawickrema

I received a copy of the above report as a PDF document (original Sinhala version). I think it is of national importance that you consider giving publicity to this report because so many local and foreign agents have tried (successfully?) to hide this report from the people in Sri Lanka.

When a Presidential Task Force was appointed for this purpose by the ex-president Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, even his justice minister Ali Sabri expressed doubts about it, not trying to understand its purpose and mandate! He and other anti-Sinhala Buddhist elements questioned the suitability of Ven. Galabodaatte Gnanasaara as the chairperson of this Task Force. In this regard I need to record that I suggested the need for such committee and the assignment of that task to Ven. G, months before the Task Force was appointed by the president GR.

Once it was appointed, all kinds of enemies expected that the Task Force would become a failed experiment, with Tamil and Muslim agents boycotting or protesting and sabotaging its public hearings. However, to their surprise both Tamil and Muslim people in North and East welcomed Ven. G, in some cases with celebrations and loyal appreciation of the monk’s genuine desire to serve the country. The Task Force held public meetings in all the districts in the island except a few.

There is no doubt that it is one of the best reports prepared by a presidential commission in our recent history and the President GR directed that it be published for the benefit of the general readership. President Ranil, agreed to implement at least some of its recommendations but due to pressure from people like Rauf Hakeem took and about turn to forget about it.”

With the country now in a 13-A mess” created deliberately by President Ranil, it is now crystal clear the country could come out of this Modi-Ranil crisis” only by giving effect to the many reasonable, justifiable, and rational, recommendations made by the Gnansaara Committee. Kurundi Vihara and Tissa Vihara  crises the country is witnessing today are symptoms of Ranil Administration’s unwise behavior in this regard.

As the oldest and the only website open for the viewpoints of the Sinhala Buddhist people all over the world, I hope you would consider favorably printing this letter with the PDF copy as an attachment. If it could be added as a feature of your left column, so that readers could see it daily, it could nullify attempts by local and foreign NGOs and racist elements to suppress it unfairly.

PHILIP GIRALDI  courtesy  The UNZ Review

Washington’s interventionism and its disregard for its own highly promoted rules based international order” is outrageous

Which are the governments generally regarded as rogue” by an overwhelming majority of the world’s nations? If you answered either Russia or China you would be wrong, even though many countries have condemned Russia’s attack on Ukraine on grounds that no government has an intrinsic right to invade another unless there is an imminent serious threat that would excuse such an intervention. I would however expect that most readers of this review would have made the right choice, which is that the United States is probably number one based on its ability to destabilize whole regions with a military reach that spans the globe. And indeed, it is important to note that the Russian special military operation” directed against Ukraine would not have happened at all if the Joe Biden Administration had simply indicated clearly and non-ambiguously to the Russian government that there was no intention of allowing Ukraine to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance. Ironically, the White House knew very well that inviting Kiev to enter into the alliance was a legitimate red-line, existential issue for the Kremlin, but opted to push hard on the issue instead. Instead of opting for a negotiated peaceful settlement, Biden and his clown show foreign and national security policy team opted to kill possibly hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians and Russians to somehow weaken” Russia, an intention that has borne no fruit even after more than a year and a half of fighting.

So yes, by the world’s reckoning the United States of American is both exceptional” and number one,” which a series of White House inhabitants have aspired to, though perhaps not in the same way as buffoons like Senators Tom Cotton and Ted Cruz refer to it. Most non-Americans see the US as the greatest threat to world peace. And then there is America’s closest ally and best friend in the whole world” Israel in second place, a government which commits crimes against humanity and even war crimes on a nearly daily basis with absolute impunity as it is protected and defended by the very same United States, where the Jewish state runs the foremost and most powerful foreign policy lobby. It is a lobby that has inserted itself in all levels of government and which has corrupted huge majorities of politicians and both major political parties while also controlling the message” on the Middle East promoted by the media.

Even as I write this, 41 Democratic Party politicians are spending their recess on a Lobby sponsored trip to Israel. Their leaders include the inimitable traitor 80 year old Congressman Steny Hoyer of Maryland, who is on his twenty-third trip to the country that he loves and admires beyond all others, and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Jeffries is on his second trip to Israel this year. He should be ashamed but, of course, isn’t. It is the largest-ever delegation of Democratic lawmakers on a tour of Israel, sponsored in this case by the American Israel Education Foundation, an affiliate of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Not to be outdone House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is leading 31 Republican Congressmen on the same mission though the groups will not mingle and the speaker will be careful to render his own obeisance separately to the Israeli leadership.

The Democrats and Republicans, will as always be unable to enunciate any good reasons for American bondage to Israel beyond bromides like Israel has a right to defend itself,” which will be repeated over and over before the Solons head back to Washington to send billions more of US taxpayer dollars to the Jewish state. While in Israel they will be fed a special diet of all Arabs are terrorists” and good old Steny will be nodding his head in time with the song. That is before he and his colleagues engage in crawling on their bellies before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a sign of their total submission to his will.

If one is seeking a single example of the failure of the United States and its ally Israel to abide by the clearly mythical rules based international order” one might well examine what is going on in Syria, where both the US and the Jewish state have been punishing the country through lethal sanctions and direct military intervention for many years with no sign that the interaction will be ending any time soon. The activity is rarely reported in the US and European media, which somehow has decided that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is some kind of tyrant who deserves whatever he gets, even if it is dished out by apartheid” Israel and the clueless US, which has been illegally militarily occupying roughly one third of Syria since 2015, including the areas that have producing oil facilities and good agricultural land, both of which are being exploited or stolen. Israel meanwhile has annexed the Syrian Golan Heights, which it occupied in 1967. Donald Trump gave his blessing to the illegal annexation and also gave his consent to whatever the Jewish state decides to do both with the Syrians and the Palestinians while also conniving at the nearly daily air attacks carried out by Israel against targets in both Palestine-Gaza and Syria, killing scores of local soldiers and civilians.

The US military occupation has been supplemented by an increasingly harsh series of sanctions that have effectively cut off food, medicines and other basic commodities to the Syrian people while also denying access to international banking services. Russia, which is assisting Syria at the invitation of the country’s government, has made up for some of the shortages but there is considerable suffering among the ordinary people, not the country’s leaders. The claim by Washington is that Syria has to be protected from its own totalitarian” government and the US is there to fight terrorists, most particularly ISIS. Ironically perhaps, but Tel Aviv and Washington actually support some of the groups that many would consider to be themselves terrorists, including providing direct US aid to al-Qaeda clone Hayat Tahrir al Sham and Israeli support for ISIS to include treating wounded terrorists in Israel’s hospitals. The US air base at Al-Tanf, near the border with Iraq and Jordan, has, in fact, become a support hub for terrorist groups opposing the al-Assad government.

Sanctions on energy imports were temporarily lifted by the US and EU after the disastrous earthquakes the shook the region in February, but in June, US lawmakers introduced the Assad Regime Anti-Normalization Act of 2023 which would use secondary sanctions to penalize those countries that might be tempted to help restore services to the areas of Syria affected by both war and the impact of the quakes. Israel reportedly has exploited the opportunity provided by the natural disaster to increase its air attacks on Syrian infrastructure.

Indeed, recent history tells us that both Israel and the United States are particularly fond of occupying someone else’s land and are capable of coming up with excuses for doing so at the drop of a hat. The reasons generally sound like saying Hey! We are the good guys who support democracy!” Repeat as necessary until the audience either goes to sleep or wanders off. The western media reporting on what is taking place in Syria can be regarded as being in the wanders off” category.

I certainly am not the only one who has noted that the United States tends to do everything ass-backwards in its conduct of foreign policy since the time of the Clintons. That has certainly been the case in dealing with nations like Syria and Russia, where ambassadors Robert Ford and Michael McFaul were openly hostile to the respective local governments and openly sought to empower declared opponents of the countries’ leaders. Syria presumably was demonized to please Israel, beginning with the seeking to destabilize Syria through the passage of the Syria Accountability Act in 2003, even though Damascus posed no threat whatsoever to American interests. The current sanctions come at a time when Syria is continuing to struggle to rebuild after a still active twelve year civil war that destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure. US sanctions are making more difficult ongoing reconstruction efforts and are de facto largely punishing the Syrian people, with only minor impact on its government.

And sanctioning to punish Syria is bipartisan, perhaps reflecting a desire to satisfy Israeli demands. Donald Trump, who ran for president pledging to end America’s pointless wars overseas, on June 17^th 2020 nevertheless initiated new sanctions against Syria and its government. US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft informed the Security Council that the Trump Administration would implement the measures to prevent the Assad regime from securing a military victory. Our aim is to deprive the Assad regime of the revenue and the support it has used to commit the large-scale atrocities and human rights violations that prevent a political resolution and severely diminish the prospects for peace.”

Subsequently, the most recent block of sanctions was imposed through the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, signed by President Trump in December 2020 after he was due to leave office, with the objective of stopping bad actors who continue to aid and finance the Assad regime’s atrocities against the Syrian people while simply enriching themselves.” At that time, the existing US sanctions on Syria had already frozen all government assets and had also targeted companies and even individuals. The new sanctions gave the White House and Treasury the power to apply so-called secondary sanctions” to freeze the assets of any entity or even individual, regardless of nationality, for doing any business in Syria. The threat of secondary sanctions have in fact had a major negative impact on Damascus’s remaining trading partners, to include Lebanon and Iran. Russia might also be impacted as it is involved in Syrian reconstruction.

The United States and Israel clearly hope that punitive sanctions will eventually force the starving Syrian people to rise up against the government, as some sought to do during the so-called Arab Spring in 2011. That means that a sanctions routine, much favored by both the Trump and Biden Administrations, never succeeds in compelling rogue governments to behave better because the way it works it is always really about regime change no matter how it is packaged. In the case of Syria, and contrary to the claims made by Ambassador Craft at the United Nations, the Bashar al-Assad government has already won the war in spite of US and Turkish intervention on behalf of the largely terrorist group supported insurgency. And the evidence for Syria’s having carried out large scale atrocities and human rights violations” has mostly been manufactured by enemies of the government, to include the Hollywood and Washington think tank favorite, the White Helmets, a terrorist front group funded at least in part by western intelligence agencies, which was featured in a self-generated documentary that won a Hollywood Motion Pictures Academy Award in 2017. The film was effusively praised by the usual celebrity brain-deads including Hillary Clinton and George Clooney. It is indeed overall a very impressive piece of propaganda. The National Holocaust Museum even gave the coveted 2019 Elie Wiesel Award to the group. The White Helmets are still active in Syria in areas that are still held by the so-called rebels and they featured in a film clip just last week. They are still being funded by western governments and Israel to destabilize the government of Bashar al-Assad.

One might well ask what the US objective in continuing to promote the carnage and suffering in a Syria that poses no threat to Americans or to any vital security interests. It is similar to a question that might well be raised regarding Ukraine, which is confronting an unneeded escalation of 3,000 US military reservists to reinforce the 20,000 American soldiers that have arrived in theater since February 2022. And then there is Iran, which responded to its oil tankers being hijacked in international waters under the unilaterally imposed authority granted by US sanctions. Iran has sought to respond in kind and now the US will dispatch Marines to the Persian Gulf to ride shotgun on foreign tankers and other commercial vessels traversing the Straits of Hormuz. If Iranian vessels come too close, they will shoot to kill. It is another escalation that is asking for trouble. Why can’t the United States leave the rest of the world alone? That is perhaps the fundamental question for our times.

Philip M. Giraldi, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest, a 501(c)3 tax deductible educational foundation (Federal ID Number #52-1739023) that seeks a more interests-based U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Website is councilforthenationalinterest.org, address is P.O. Box 2157, Purcellville VA 20134 and its email is inform@cnionline.org.

Courtesy Livemint

China assures Sri Lanka of help with debt challenges ahead of IMF bailout plan

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka is likely to get help from its largest bilateral creditor China ahead of IMF’s bailout plan. According to the PTI agency report, China has assured the island nation it will address the debt challenges before it finalises the external and domestic debt restructuring of $41 billion by September before the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The IMF is set to conduct its first review of the $2.9 billion bailout granted to Sri Lanka in March this year from 11-19 September.

“China is always Sri Lanka’s reliable strategic partner and appreciates that Sri Lanka has always been friendly to China and has stood by China on issues related to its core interests,” China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

Crisis-ridden Sri Lanka is negotiating with its external creditors in order to meet the IMF’s condition for its first review. The Washington-based lender approved a nearly $3 billion bailout for crisis-hit Sri Lanka in March this year.

The island county should agree with all its external creditors by next month on the programme to restructure the debt of $41 billion.

The first review will consider the programme’s performance until end-June, and if approved by both the staff and the executive board, would allow a disbursement of around $338 million to Sri Lanka.

Last year, Sri Lanka was hit by the most severe economic crisis in its history when the country defaulted on its $46 billion external debt after running out of foreign exchange to finance essential food, fuel and medicines. As a result the public came out on the streets to protest the fuel, fertilisers, and essential commodities shortage.

India too helped Sri Lanka in line with its ‘Neighbourhood First’ Policy. India extended multi-pronged assistance of about $4 billion to it last year through multiple credit lines and currency support.

 Lanka Lead News

1987දී ඉන්දු ලංකා ගිවිසුම බලහත්කාරයෙන් අස්සන් කරන විට ඉන්දියාව ගැන ජවිපෙ අද කියන ‘හොඳ හැඟීම’ තිබුණා නම් හැටදාහක ජීවිත ප්‍රමාණයක් බේරාගන්න තිබූ බවත්, 13 වන සංශෝධණය පූර්ණ ලෙස බලාත්මක කිරීමට ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණ ද අකමැත්තක් නැති බව අනුර දිසානායක මහතාගෙන් මෑතකාලීන අදහස් දැක්වීම් වලින් පෙනී යන බවත් පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී මොහොමඩ් මුසම්මිල් මහතා සඳහන් කරයි.

ඔහු මේ බව කියා සිටියේ කොළඹ පැවති මාධ්‍ය හමුවක් අමතමිනි.

අපි දැක්කා මේ ළඟදි අනුර දිසානායක මහත්තයා කියනවා, ‘අපි ඉන්දියාව පිළිබඳ මේ වන විට බොහොම හොඳ හැඟීමක ඉන්නවා’ කියලා. එදා 1987දී ඉන්දු ලංකා ගිවිසුම බලහත්කාරයෙන් අස්සන් කරන කොටත් ඉන්දියාව ගැන ඔය ‘හොඳ හැඟීම’ තිබුණා නම් හැටදාහක ජීවිත ප්‍රමාණයක් බේරාගන්න තිබුණානේ. ඉන්දු ලංකා ගිවිසුමට එරෙහිව සටන් කරලා මේ රටේ හොඳම වෛද්‍යවරුන්, ඉංජිනේරුවන් ඇතුළු වෘත්තිකයන්, විශ්වවිද්‍යාල සිසුන් ජීවිත පූජා කළා. ඉන්දියාව ගැන ‘බොහොම හොඳ හැඟීමක්’ තිබුණා නම් දේශප්‍රේමීන්ගේ හා හමුදා පිරිස්වල ජීවිත රැක ගන්න තිබුණානේ. මේ වක්‍රාකාරයෙන් අනුර දිසානායක කියන්නේ කුමක්ද? ’13 පූර්ණ වශයෙන් බලාත්මක කරන්න’ කියලා අපට බලපෑම් කරන්නේ ඉන්දියාවයි. දැන් අනුර දිසානායක ඉන්දියාවට ආලය පෑමෙන් පෙනෙන්නේ තමුන් 13 පූර්ණ ලෙස බලාත්මක කිරීමට එකඟයි, කියන එක නොවෙයිද? අපි අනුර දිසානායක මහත්තයාට කියනවා, ‘ඔය වහෙන් ඔරෝ භාෂාවෙන් දේශපාලනය කරන එක තවදුරටත් වලංගු නැහැ. කෙලින් තමන්ගේ ස්ථාවරය රටට ප්‍රකාශ කරන්න’ කියා.

13 ‘අත්බෝම්බයක්’

සියලු ප්‍රශ්න යට ගහන්න ජනාධිපතිවරයා දැන් 13 වැනි ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථා සංශෝධනය පූර්ණ ලෙස බලාත්මක කිරීම ගැන කතා කරනවා. 13 වැනි ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථා සංශෝධනය ‘අත්බෝම්බයක්’ වගෙයි. 13 වැනි සංශෝධනය පූර්ණ වශයෙන් බලාත්මක කරනවා කියන්නේ ඒ අත්බෝම්බයේ ‘පින් එක’ ගලවනවා වගේ වැඩක්. එතකොට බෝම්බය පිපිරෙනවා. ඒක තමයි හිටපු ජනාධිපතිවරුන් කිසි කෙනෙක් 13 පූර්ණ වශයෙන් බලාත්මක කරලා, පළාත් සභාවලට පූර්ණ බලතල දෙන්න නොගියේ.

ගොළු න්‍යාය එපා!

දැන් රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ ජනාධිපතිවරයා, ’13 පූර්ණ වශයෙන් බලාත්මක කරනවා’ කියලයි කියන්නේ. පසුගිය සතියේ දිනෙක ජනාධිපතිවරයා පාර්ලිමේන්තුවට පැමිණ මේ පිළිබඳව විශේෂ ප්‍රකාශයක් සිදු කළා. මේ පිළිබඳව පක්ෂ විපක්ෂ පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රීවරු ජනාධිපතිවරයාගෙන් ප්‍රශ්න කළා, ඇතමුන් තම අදහස් දැක්වූවා. නමුත් අපි දැක්කා සමහර දේශප්‍රේමි – ජාතිකවාදී සළු පොරවා ගත් පිරිස් ජනාධිපතිවරයාගේ කතාව මැද්දෙ හෙමිහිට මාරු වෙලා යනවා. මේ වෙලාවේ කිසිවකුත් ගොළු න්‍යායෙන් උත්තර දිය යුතු නැහැ. ’13 පූර්ණ වශයෙන් බලාත්මක කරලා රට බෙදනවාට පක්ෂද? විරුද්ධද?’ කියලා කෙලින් රට ඉදිරියේ කිව යුතුයි.

Lanka Lead News

ආණ්ඩුවේ අභ්‍යන්තර ආරංචිමාර්ග වලට අනුව ජනාධිපතිවරයා විසින් දෙමළ පක්ෂවලට ලබාදී ඇති පොරොන්දුව අනුව 13 වැනි සංශෝධනය පූර්ණ වශයෙන් බලාත්මක කිරීම අදියර 3කින් ක්‍රියාත්මක කෙරෙන බව තහවුරු වේ.

ඒ අනුව පළමුවැන්න දැන්ට ආරම්භකර ඇති පරිදි පරිපාලන ක්‍රියාමාර්ග ගැනීමය. පුරාවිද්‍යා ආඥා පනත නිශ්ක්‍රීය කිරීම සහ නව ඉඩම් ප්‍රතිපත්ති පනත, සත්‍ය සෙවීමේ කොමිසමේ පනත ආදිය ඊට අයත් වේ.

දෙවැන්න ව්‍යවස්ථා සංශෝධනයක අඩංගු විය යුතු පැතිකඩ සංකල්පීය යෝජනාවක් ලෙස පාර්ලිමේන්තුවට ඉදිරිපත් කර සම්මත කිරීමය. තුන්වැන්න ව්‍යවස්ථා සංශෝධන කෙටුම්පත පාර්ලිමේන්තුවට ඉදිරිපත් කිරීමය.

Lanka Lead News

ඊළඟ මැතිවරණයෙන්ද ජයග්‍රහණය නොකළහොත් වෙනම දුපතක් හොයාගෙන යන්නට සිදුවන බව ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණේ හිටපු පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී සුනිල් හඳුන්නෙත්ති මහතා පවසයි.

පැරණි මිතුරු පෙරටුගාමීන් ද ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණ මඩ ගහන තැනට පත්ව ඇති බවත්, අනුර දිසානායක මහතාට කොහේදෝ දූපතක් ඇතැයි පවසන බවත් ඔහු සඳහන් කරයි.

ජාතික ජනබලවේගයේ ආසන බලමන්ඩල හමුවක් අමතමින් ඔහු සඳහන් කරන්නේ තම පක්ෂයට ගසන මඩ ආශිර්වාදයක් කරගෙන ඒවායෙන් ගෙයක් හදන බවයි.

විමල් පටබැඳිගේ – ශාස්ත‍්‍රවේදී, නීතිඥ, විශ‍්‍රාමික සොලිසිටර්

4 වෙනි කොටසෙන්

…. ස්ථිර පදිංචිය සහිත දෙමළ ජනයා වාසය කළේ නම් ”දෙමළ කොලනි” පිහිටුවීම සඳහා දකුණු ඉන්දියාවෙන් ආනයනය කිරීමට සහ ”නිදහස් සහ ලිහිල් කොන්දේසි” ප‍්‍රදානය කිරීමට අවශ්‍ය නොවෙනු ඇත. දෙමළ පදිංචියක් තිබූ බවට ”නිශ්චිත ශාක්‍ෂි ලැබී නැති” බව ආචාර්ය කාර්තිගේසු ඉන්ද්‍රපාල ද නිශ්චිතව ප‍්‍රකාශ කොට ඇත.(*

5 වෙනි කොටස

ව්‍ය.ව. 1910 දී ආණ්ඩුකාර සර් හෙන්රි මැකලම්ගේ (1907-1912* යාපනේ දෙවෙනි සංචාරයේ දී ඔහුගේ මූලාසනයෙන් පැවැත් වූ යාපනේ දෙමළ ප‍්‍රධානීන්ගේ රජදැක්මේ (ද දුර්බාර් ඔෆ් ටැමිල් චීෆ්ස්* දී කළ සාකච්ඡුාව මෙහිලා වැදගත් ය. (පොන්නම්බලම් රාමනාදන්, හෙන්රි ප‍්‍රැන්සිස් මුත්තුකිස්ට්නා, කි‍්‍රස්ටෝපර් බි‍්‍රටෝ ආදීන් ද සහභාගී වෙන්නට ඇත.* සාකච්ඡුා කළ කරුණු අතර එක් ප‍්‍රධාන කරුණක් වූයේ ”වන්නියේ කොලනි” (”Colonization of the Wanny”* පිහිටුවීම ය.* ඒ වෙන විට වන්නියේ දෙමළ කොලනිකරණයට ආණ්ඩුකාරයාගේ ඍජු මැදිහත් වීම අවශ්‍ය ලෙස යාපනේ දෙමළ ප‍්‍රධානීන් සලකා ඇත. වන්නියේ දෙමළ කොලනි පිහිටුවීම ඉහළ සිට පහළට විධිමත් ලෙස වේගවත් වූ බව නිසැක ය. වන්නියේ ස්ථිර දෙමළ පදිංචියක් වූයේ නම් කොලනි පිහිටුවීමට සහ ඒ සඳහා ආණ්ඩුකාරයා  ඍජුව මැදිහත් කරගැනීමට අවශ්‍යතාවයක් නැත. 

ව්‍ය.ව. 1833 න් පසු මිළට ගත් බිම් කොටස්වල වැඩට කුලීකරුවන් සපයාගැනීම ඔවුන්ගේ වගකීමක් විය. යාපනේ දෙමළ ප‍්‍රධානීන් සහ ආණ්ඩුවේ ඒජන්තයන් සංවිධානාත්මකව ඉංගිරිසි ආණ්ඩුකාරයාගේ පූර්ණ අනුග‍්‍රහය ඇතිව ව්‍ය.ව. විසිවෙනි සියවසේ මුල් කාලයේ සිට වන්නිය සහ නැගෙනහිර පළාත පුරා දෙමළ කොලනි පිහිටුවන ලද බව ඉංගිරිසි පාලක නිල වාර්තා සනාථ කරයි. ක‍්‍රවුන් ලෑන්ඞ් (එන්ක්‍රෝච්මන්ට්*  ඕඩිනන්ස්, සිලෝන් වේස්ට් ලෑන්ඞ්  ඕඩිනන්ස් නීති මගින් වන්නිය ඇතුළු මේ ප‍්‍රදේශයේ සිංහල ගම්මානවලින් පලවාහැර තමන්ගේ ම මවුබිමේ අනාථයන් බවට පත් කරන ලද සිංහල පවුල් නැවත පදිංචි කරවීමේ වගකීම ඉවත දමා ”නිදහස් සහ ලිහිල් කොන්දේසි” ප‍්‍රදානය කරමින් දකුණු ඉන්දීය ද්‍රවිඩ වාර්ගිකයන් පදිංචි කරවමින් දෙමළ කොලනි පිහිටුවීම කොලනි ලේකම් (ක්‍දකදබස්ක ීැජරුඑදරහ*, ඉංගිරිසි පාර්ලිමේන්තුව අනුමත කිරීම සහිත ව කළ බව නිසැක ය.  

දිවයින අත්පත් කරගත් නොබෝ කලෙකින් ඉංගිරිසීන් විසින් සිංහල රාජ්‍ය පාලනය තුළ පැවති ඉහළ ම පදවියක් වූ ‘අදිකාරම්’ තනතුර අහෝසි කරන ලදී. රජුට දෙවෙනි ව රාජ්‍ය පාලනයේ නිරත වී සිටි ප‍්‍රධානියා වූයේ අදිකාරම් ය. ව්‍ය.ව. 1909 දී කොළඹ රජගෙදර පැවති යාපනේ දෙමළ ප‍්‍රධානීන්ගේ රජදැක්මේ දී කළ සාකච්ඡුා අනුව ආණ්ඩුකාර සර් හෙන්රි මැකලම් දෙමළ ජනයා අතර ඉතා උසස් බව දැක්වීමට අදිකාරම් (්ාසට්ර* පදවි නාමය දීම යළි ආරම්භ කිරීමට තීරණය කළේය.* යාපනේ සහ වන්නි ප‍්‍රදේශවල දෙමළ කොලනි පාලනය තුළ ‘අදිගාර්ලා’ මුල් තැනක් ලබා ඇත. වෙල්ලාල කුලයේ නොවෙන අයෙකුට කිසිදු තනතුරක් ලැබුනේ නැත. 

ව්‍ය.ව. 1917 දී රාජකීය උපන් දින සැමරුම් උත්සවයේ දී ආණ්ඩුකාර සර් ජෝන් ඇන්ඩර්සන් වන්නිය සම්බන්ධ කටයුතුවල මූලිකව නිරත වූ, වයස අවුරුදු අසූ ගණනක් වූ යාපනේ දෙමළ ව්‍යාපාරිකයෙකුට ”වන්නිඅර්නාර්” යන අළුත් නම්බුනාමයක් ප‍්‍රදානය කළේය.55 දිවයින් ඉතිහාසයේ පළමුවරට සඳහන් වෙන, ව්‍ය.ව. 13 වෙනි සියවසේ පැවති අරාජික කාලයේ වනගත පාලන ඒකකවල (වන්නි* ප‍්‍රධානීන් සඳහා භාවිත වූ ”වන්නියා” පදවි නාමය දෙමළකරණය කොට ව්‍යාපාරිකයෙකුට ප‍්‍රදානය කොට ඇත. 
ඉංගිරිසි කොලනිවාදී පාලකයන් විසිවෙනි සියවසේ මුල් කාලයේ උතුරු සහ නැගෙනහිර පළාත්වල දෙමළ කොලනි පිහිටුවීමට දැඩි සේ උනන්දු වී ඇත. යාපනේ මිෂනාරි පාසල්වල ඉඩම් මැනීමේ සහායකයන් ලෙස සාමාන්‍ය පුහුණුව ලද දෙමළ තරුණයන් යොදාගත් අතර පිඹුරුපත් (බිම් සැලසුම්* නැතිව ඉඩම් විශාල ප‍්‍රමාණයක් විකුණනු ලැබීය.* ඉංගිරිසි පාලනයට සහාය වූ අති බහුතරය දෙමළ නිලධාරීන් බව නිල වාර්තාවල දැක්වෙයි. ඉංගිරිසීන් මුහුදුබඩ ප‍්‍රදේශය පැහැරගත් විගස ම ආදායම් එකතු කිරීම ආදී කටයුතු සඳහා මදුරාසි (මැඞ්රාස්* පාලනයෙන් අවශ්‍ය සේවකයන් ගෙන්වා ගනු ලැබීය. අඳුනාගැනීමට නොහැකි තරමට පුරාණ ස්ථාන නාම, ගම්වල නම්, වැව්වල නම් දෙමළකරණය වීම වඩ වඩාත් සිදු වීය. එපමණක් නොව යන එන මං නැතිව ඉංගිරිසි පාලන නිලධාරීන්ට දුක්ගැනවිලි ඉදිරිපත් කරමින් සිටි උතුරු සහ නැගෙනහිර ප‍්‍රදේශවල සිංහල ජනයා දෙමළකරණයට පත් කළ ආකාරය ඉංගිරිසි නිල වාර්තා හෙළි කරයි.* සිංහල උපත් ලියාපදිංචි කිරීමේදී නම දෙමළ ස්වරූපයෙන් සහ සිංහල ජනයාගේ පාරම්පරික පෙළපත් නම් වෙනුවට දෙමළ ක‍්‍රමයට පියාගේ නම නිල ලේඛනවල සටහන් කිරීම සිදු විය. විසිවෙනි සියවසේ පවා තිරිකුණාමල සහ මඩකලපුව දිස්ති‍්‍රක්කවල (අම්පාර=දිගාමඬුල්ල* සිංහල බෞද්ධ ජනයා මේ ඛෙදජනක තත්වයට පත් වූ බව නිලවාර්තා එළිදරවු කරයි. 

ව්‍ය.ව. 13 වෙනි සියවසේ සිට ස්ථිර ද්‍රවිඩ/දෙමළ පදිංචියක් පැවති බවට අදහසක්* ඉදිරිපත් කොට ඇතත් සිංහල රාජ්‍යය ආරම්භ වූ කල සිට ව්‍ය.ව. 16 වෙනි සියවසේ යුරෝපීය ආක‍්‍රමණිකයන් මැදිහත් වෙන කාලය දක්වා වසර දෙදහසකට වැඩි කාලයක ඓතිහාසික තොරතුරු සහ පුරාවිද්‍යා සාධක අනුව උතුරු සහ නැගෙනහිර පළාත්වල ද්‍රවිඩ /දෙමළ ආධිපත්‍යයක් හෝ ස්ථිර පදිංචියක් තිබූ බවට හෝ ජන බහුතරය දෙමළ වූ බවට සාධක කිසිවක් නැත. දිවයිනේ අභ්‍යන්තර කටයුතුවලට යුරෝපීය ආක‍්‍රමණිකයන් මැදිහත් වෙන කාලය වෙන තෙක් ද්‍රවිඩ/දෙමළ කොලනි නොපැවති බව ඓතිහාසික තොරතුරු සහ පුරාවිද්‍යා සාධක තුළින් තහවුරු වෙයි. එමෙන් ම, ලංකාවේ දෙමළ ජනයා පිළිබඳ පර්යේෂණයේ නිරත වූ ආචාර්ය කාර්තිගේසු ඉන්ද්‍රපාල තමන්ගේ ආචාර්ය උපාධි නිිබන්ධයේ ලංකාවේ දෙමළ පදිංචිය පිළිබඳ සඳහන් කරමින් නැගෙනහිර පළාතේ, ”මඩකලපුව දිස්ති‍්‍රක්කයේ හෝ දකුණු ලංකාවේ අනෙක් ප‍්‍රදේශවල හෝ සඳහන් කිරීමට තරම් දෙමළ ජනයාගේ පදිංචියක් පැවති බවට නිශ්චිත සාක්‍ෂි කිසිවක් ලැබී නැත.” යනුවෙන් කරන ලද නිගමනය* මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් බැහැර කළ නොහැකි ය.

ලැබී ඇති ඓතිහාසික තොරතුරු සහ පුරාවිද්‍යා සාධක යාපන අර්ධද්වීපය සහ නැගෙනහිර පළාතේ උතුරු සීමාව අතර පිහිටි භූමි ප‍්‍රදේශය, වන්නිය, සහ නැගෙනහිර පළාත දෙමළකරණය කිරීම විසිවෙනි සියවසේ ඉංගිරිසි කොලනිවාදී පාලන කාලයේ සිදු කළ බව සහ ඉන් පෙර උතුරු සහ නැගෙනහිර පළාත්වල ස්ථිර දෙමළ පදිංචියක් නොතිබූ බව ඉතා පැහැදිළිව පෙන්වා දෙයි. එමෙන් ම ව්‍ය.ව. 13 වෙනි සියවසේ සිට සිංහල රාජ්‍ය පාලනයෙන් වෙන් වූ සහ වෙනස් වූ දෙමළ දේශපාලනයක් මේ පළාත්වල පැවති බවට සාධක කිසිවක් නැත. ව්‍ය.ව. 19 වෙනි සියවසේ ආරම්භ වූ ඉංගිරිසි කොලනිවාදී පාලන කාලයට පෙර වන්නිය සහ නැගෙනහිර පළාත එකට බැඳුනු අසිංහල සහ අබෞද්ධ හෝ විජාතික දේශපාලනයක් නොපැවති බව සහ අවම වශයෙන් ඊට අවශ්‍ය සාධක කිසිවක් නොපැවති බව ඓතිහාසික තොරතුරු සහ පුරාවිද්‍යා සාධක සනාථ කරයි.

නැගෙනහිර පළාත, තිරිකුණාමල සහ මඩකලපුව (1961 පිහිටුවන ලද අම්පාර=දිගාමඬුල්ල ද ඇතුළත් වූ* දිස්ති‍්‍රක්ක දෙක දෙමළකරණය කිරීම, ද්‍රවිඩ/දෙමළ කොලනි පිහිටුවීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් නිල වාර්තා ඉදිරිපත් කරන ලද ඓතිහාසික තොරතුරු සහ පුරාවිද්‍යා සාධක පිළිබඳ වෙනම ම සාකච්ඡුා කිරීම ඉතාමත් සුදුසු ය. 

ව්‍ය.ව. 13 වෙනි සියවස සහ ව්‍ය.ව. 1815 අතර කාලයට අදාල ඓතිහාසික තොරතුරු නිශ්චිත ලෙස නැගෙනහිර පළාතේ සිංහල රාජ්‍ය පාලනය කි‍්‍රයාත්මකව පැවති බව සහ ස්ථිර ද්‍රවිඩ/දෙමළ පදිංචියක් නොවූ බව සනාථ කරයි. එමෙන් ම පුරාණ කඩඉම්පොත් ඉදිරිපත් කරන තොරතුරුවලින් ද තහවුරු වෙයි. එපමණක් නොව මේ කාල පරිච්ෙඡ්දය තුළ, විශේෂයෙන් ම ව්‍ය.ව. 16 වෙනි සියවසේ සිට සිදු වූ යුරෝපීය ආක‍්‍රමණික තර්ජනවලට එරෙහිව සහ ව්‍ය.ව. 1917-1918 සහ 1848 නිදහස් සටන්වල දී දෙමළ ජනයා සහ මුස්ලිම් ලබ්දිකයන් සිංහලයන් සමග බද්ධ වූ බවට තොරතුරු නැත. යුරෝපීය ආක‍්‍රමණිකයන් විසින් ගෙනෙන ලද, ඉන්දියානු මලබාර්, ද්‍රවිඩ/දෙමළ වාර්ගිකයන් කුලීකරුවන් සහ ඔත්තුකරුවන් ලෙස සිංහල නිදහස් සටන් මැඩලීම සඳහා ඉංගිරිසි ආක‍්‍රමණික හමුදා සහායකයන් වී ඇත. නිදහස් සටන් මර්ධනයට ඉංගිරිසි කොලනිවාදීන්ට සහාය වූ දෙමළ අයට ප‍්‍රසාද දීමට ටොරිංටන් සාමි කොලනි ලේකම්ගෙන් (Colonial Secretory අවසර ඉල්ලීමෙන් සනාථ වෙයි.(* 

….. 6 වෙනි කොටසට

MOD  Media Centre

The Defence Advisor to the High Commission of Pakistan in Sri Lanka, Colonel Muhammad Farooq made his maiden call on the Defence Secretary General Kamal Gunaratne at the Defence Ministry, today (Aug 16).

The Defence Secretary accorded a warm welcome to the new Pakistani Defence Advisor and had a cordial discussion with him.

During the discussion, Col. Farooq expressed gratitude to the support to his country during times of need by Sri Lanka and said that he wishes to work towards strengthening the existing bilateral defence ties. He also spoke on holding of the upcoming Defence Dialogue.

Reciprocating the DA’s gratitude Gen. Gunaratne also recalled the cooperation and assistance that Pakistan had extended to Sri Lanka in the past. While wishing him success in the new post Defence Secretary also said that he looks forward to continue the existing mutual ties. Military Liaison Officer Brigadier Dhammika Welagedara was also present at the occasion

Prime Minister’s Media Division

The Prime Minister stated this today (2023.08.16) in Kunming, China, while participating as the chief guest at the 7th China-South Asia Exhibition jointly organized by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the Yunnan State Government.

60 countries are participating in this huge trade exhibition, including all South and Southeast Asian countries as well as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Cooperation (RCEP) member countries.

The exhibition includes 15 exhibition halls, including a biomedical and healthcare pavilion, a resource economic pavilion and a regional cooperation pavilion, with a total area of 150,000 square meters. This exhibition is scheduled to be held until the 20th of August under the theme of ‘cooperation and coordination for development’.

State Ministers Taraka Balasuriya, Janaka Vakkambura, Kanaka Herath, Member of Parliament Yadamini Gunawardena, Secretary to the Prime Minister Anura Dissanayake, Foreign Ministers and businessmen are participating in this visit.

Speaking on this occasion Prime Minister stated that

Mr Chairman of Expo, Firstly, I wish to convey my appreciation for the invitation to the beautiful city of Kunming in Yunan and for the excellent hospitality extended to my delegation from Sri Lanka. It is an honour to attend as the Chief Guest at the 7th China – South Asia Exposition and at the 27th Kunming Import and Export Fair.  This occasion will mark another historical milestone in our bilateral relations, as we come together to further strengthen centuries of warm friendship and cooperation between our two countries.

At the very outset let me congratulate and extend fraternal warm wishes to His Excellency President Xi Jinping, the Communist Party of China, and to the People of China for the tremendous leadership given to People across the World in delivering the impossible and achieving unprecedented landmarks in human civilization. Especially, the alleviation of hundreds of millions of Poor People out of Poverty, and showing continuous economic growth.
Last year too, I was invited by Yunan Government to electronically address the South Asia Expo. It was the time when China was opening after the post-covid era for economic recovery. And I wish to recall how scientifically advanced Miracle Rice variety was introduced at that platform.

At the same time on behalf of the Government of His Excellency Ranil Wickramasinghe and People of Sri Lanka, I take this opportunity to convey warm best wishes to our friends in China, especially in Yunnan Province for the success of China – South Asia Exposition, brining a larger segment of Asian countries in participation. This proudly speaks achievements in the backdrop of the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Friends, let me recollect the warm friendship shared between China and Sri Lanka dating back to many centuries, pioneered by Buddhist Priest Fa Hien. I would also like to note that Admiral Zheng Ha, who was born in Kunming, the city where we are here today celebrating this important event, came to Sri Lanka in early 15th century, and placed an inscription marking his visit to Sri Lanka.
These historical relations were fostered by thriving trade exchanges along the Maritime Silk Route and far reaching cooperation in culture and knowledge. Yapahuwa is a historical Kingdom in Sri Lanka which boasts the largest collection of Chinese coins and Chinese porcelain found in Sri Lanka.
Your Excellencies, the People’s Republic of China was promulgated after the long successful victory march towards 1949 Revolution, with a long and arduous journey led by the Communist Party of China with Great Leader Mao Tse Tung along with other leaders.
Soon after our two countries have enjoyed 66 years of excellent diplomatic relations. Even prior to establishing formal diplomatic ties, China and Sri Lanka entered to Rubber-Rice Pact”, which marked the 70th anniversary last year, and marked a new chapter in international trade.
Since then, China and Sri Lanka regarded each other as good friends and a special relationship has existed between our two countries.
I wish to acknowledge with gratitude the unwavering support of the People’s Republic of China to Sri Lanka for national sovereignty and integrity and for continuing to stand by us during challenging times.
I would like to reiterate that Sri Lanka continues to uphold the ‘One China Policy’ in all spheres including bilateral and multilateral fora and I wish to affirm our commitment in this regard.
At a time when Sri Lanka was faced with difficult economic hardships, the Hon Governor of Yunnan Province visited Sri Lanka, in May 2023, and committed to multifaceted areas of cooperation.
During the devastating global covid pandemic and Sri Lanka’s recent economic crisis, China helped Sri Lanka through various humanitarian assistance, including RMB 500 Mn for fuel to farmers and fishermen, staple diet of rice to school students, and 70% of school uniform requirement for the year 2023.

We acknowledge with appreciation that China has extended much-needed support in debt restructuring process, which was essential to secure international support. We are confident that China will extend continued cooperation in the future towards Sri Lanka’s broader economic recovery.
The most significant recent Chinese development projects in Sri Lanka include the Hambantota Port, Hambantota Industrial Zone, Mattala Airport, and Colombo Port City project and all other major sectors.
Colombo Port City project is Sri Lanka’s flagship project on achieving a financial and commercial hub in the region, with clear strategic advantage of being located at the very centre of the East-West Maritime Trade Lanes.
Therefore, investments from China are critical to propel Sri Lanka’s economy, and also, I kindly request all friends present here today to encourage more Government and Private sector investment, trade, cooperation, and ventures into Sri Lanka.

Chinese tourist arrivals have been one of the key strengths of the Sri Lankan tourism industry. Mainly thanks to an announcement made in February this year by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism, placing Sri Lanka among the Top 20 countries for tourism.
I take this opportunity to call for a joint effort between our countries to enhance tourism among us, as collectively we have much more to offer. let us not forget that This Century Belongs to Asia. This is Asia’s Century.
I wish to refer to the words of President Xi Jinping’s steadfast commitment to share achievements of China towards the future betterment of mankind.”

Continuous leadership of the CPC has guided China to emerge in the path of Socialism with Chinese characteristics as a true decisive global giant with a grand new era of development, especially in Asia, Africa, & Latin America, and towards prosperity of all Nations.  

Dear Friends, in conclusion I wish to emphasize that in Buddhism the importance of cultivating Kalyana Mitras is taught. Kalyana Mitra is the best of friendships that sees through times of good and through times of difficulty. Sri Lanka sees the friendship cultivated with China to be one of the true best Kalayana Mitras, amidst times of good and difficulty, China stood by Sri Lanka.
Vice Presidents of Indonesia,Mianmar,Nepal,Vice Prime Minister of Vietnam,minister of commerce Maldives,Sri Lanka State Ministers Tharaka Baalasooriya,Janaka Wakkumbura,Kanaka Herath,member of parliament Yadamini Gunawardena,Secretary to the Prime Minister Anura Dissanayaka,Government officials of many countries,representatives participated for this occasion.

සිවිල් ආරක්‍ෂක දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව අධ්‍යක්‍ෂ  මාධ්‍ය කාර්යාලය ජය මාවත, කටුබැද්ද, මොරටුව

සිවිල් ආරක්‍ෂක දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ 10 වන අධ්‍යක්‍ෂ ජනරාල් ලෙස පත්වීම් ලැබූ එයාර් වයිස් මාර්ෂල් ආර්එස් බියන්විල වීඑස්වී, යූඑස්පී, එම්බීඒ (එක්සත් රාජධානිය), එන්ඩීසී (ඉන්දියාව), පීඑස්සී ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ නිලධාරි 2023 අගෝස්තු මස 16 වන දින සිවිල් ආරක්‍ෂක දෙපාර්තමේන්තු මූලස්ථාන පරිශ්‍රයේදී සුභ මොහොතින් නව තනතුරේ රාජකාරී භාර ගන්නා ලදි.

           1968 සැප්තැම්බර් මස 14 වන දින උපත ලද එයාර් වයිස් මාර්ෂල් රොෂාන් සේනක බියන්විල කොළඹ ශාන්ත පීතර් විද්‍යාලයෙන් ප්‍රාථමික හා ද්විතීයික අධ්‍යාපනය අවසන් කර ශ්‍රී ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාවේ කැඩෙට් නිලධාරියෙකු වශයෙන් 19 වන කැඩෙට් පාඨමාලාව සඳහා  1988 මැයි මස 17 ශ්‍රී ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාවට එක්විය. දියතලාව සටන් පුහුණු පාසලන් මූලික සටන් පුහුණු පාඨමාලාව අවසන් කර, ඉන් අනතුරුව මූලික පරිපාලන පාඨමාලාව සහ උසස් පරිපාලන පාඨමාලාව ශ්‍රී ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදා විද්‍යා පීඨය චීනවරායේ දී සම්පූර්ණ කර 1990 මැයි මස 26 වන දින ශ්‍රී ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාවේ පියාසර නිලධාරියකු වශයෙන් අධිකාරියට පත්වී 2020 අප්‍රේල් 15 වන දින එයාර් වයිස් මාර්ෂල් නිලයට උසස් කරන ලදී.

           එයාර් වයිස් මාර්ෂල් රොෂාන් බියන්විල තම සේවා කාලය තුළ දී දිවයිනේ ක්‍රියාන්විත හා ක්‍රියාන්විත නොවන ප්‍රදේශවල විවිධ රාජකාරින් ඉටු කර ඇති අතර, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාවේ විවිධ තනතුරුවල රාජකාරි කටයුතු සිදුකරන ලදි. සිවිල් ආරක්‍ෂක දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ නව අධ්‍යක්‍ෂ ජනරාල් ධූරය දැරීමට පෙර ශ්‍රී ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාවේ නියෝජ්‍ය  මාණ්ඩලික ප්‍රධානී ලෙස සේවය කරන ලදී.

           දක්‍ෂ ක්‍රීඩා කෞෂල්‍යතාවයකින් හෙබි එයාර් වයිස් මාර්ෂල් රොෂාන් බියන්විල ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට් පාලක මණ්ඩලයේ ලේකම්, ශ්‍රී ලංකා පාපැදි සම්මේලනයේ ලේකම්,  ආරක්‍ෂක සේවා ක්‍රීඩා මණ්ඩලයේ හා ශ්‍රී ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදා ක්‍රීඩා කවුන්සිලයේ ජාතික මට්මමේ ක්‍රීඩා කළමණාකරණ පත්වීම් රැසක් හෙබවූ ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ නිලධාරියෙකි. ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ හා විදේශයන්හිදී විශේෂ පාඨමාලා හදාරා ඇති එයාර් වයිස් මාර්ෂල් රොෂාන් බියන්විල විශිෂ්ඨ හා ආදාර්ශමත් නිලධාරියෙකු ලෙස තම රාජකාරි ඉටුකිරීම වෙනුවෙන් ශ්‍රී ලංකා සන්නද්ධ සේවා දීර්ඝ සේවා පදක්කම, දීර්ඝ සේවා කණ්ඩය, විශිෂ්ඨ සේවා විභූෂණ සහ උත්තම සේවා පදක්කම් වලින් පිදුම් ලැබූ ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ නිලධාරියෙකි.

           නව  අධ්‍යක්‍ෂ ජනරාල් ධුරයේ වැඩ භාරගත් එයාර් වයිස් මාර්ෂල් රොෂාන් බියන්විල සිවිල් ආරක්‍ෂක දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව මේ දක්වා සිදු කරනු ලැබූ සේවය ඇගයීමට ලක් කළ අතර, තව දුරටත් ඔවුන්ගේ සේවාවන් නිසි පරිදි ලබා ගැනීම සඳහා සිවිල් ආරක්‍ෂක දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව ප්‍රතිව්‍යුහගත කර විධිමත් වෘත්තීය පුහුණුවක් ලබා දී වෘත්තීය හැකියාවන් වැඩි දියුණුකර විනිවිධ භාවයකින් යුතුව රටේ ආර්ථික සංවර්ධනය වෙනුවෙන් යෙදවීමට කටයුතු කරන බවට ප්‍රකාශ කරන ලදී.

Courtesy Pravda

The United States and Great Britain thwarted three attempts to negotiate peace, to avoid the destruction of Ukraine and the death of the people.

Photo: “Ukrainian Soldier cleans weapon” by U.S. Army Europe is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.

This was stated by The American Conservative columnist Ted Snyder.

On February 27, 2022, in Minsk, the parties announced their readiness for the second round, but the negotiations were blocked by the United States through the mouth of a State Department spokesman who said that “negotiations at gunpoint are not diplomacy.”

The second attempt to stop the war was made by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. But “the West has decided to continue to strike at Putin.” And the most aggressive position was taken by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Finally, there was a chance to end the conflict for the third time in Istanbul in the spring of 2022. The Turkish negotiations were the most fruitful, but after the Russian Federation withdrew its troops from near Kyiv, all obligations were violated.

The columnist summed up that the White House refused to negotiate with Kyiv, and forced it to continue fighting in the name of US goals.
Читайте больше на https://www.pravda.ru/news/world/1874065-ssha_i_britanija_sorvali_tri_popytki/

Courtesy Independent (UK)

Ukraine had earlier pushed for the president’s participation in summit that will be held in Delhi.

Volodymyr Zelensky will not attend the main G20 conference as invites for the summit this year were sent out only to the members of the Group of 20, host country India has confirmed.

The confirmation by Delhi has put an end to speculation and expectations that Mr Zelensky would participate in the event that will bring together world leaders of major economies in Delhi.

Mr Zelensky had recently met Indian prime minister Narendra Modi in Hiroshima, Japan on the sidelines of the G7 summit.

Speaking during a special press conference marking nine years of the foreign policy of the Narendra Modi government, foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said invitations were being sent out to G20 members only.

Mr Jaishankar said the topic of extending an invitation to Mr Zelensky was not even discussed after a final list was announced at the start of India’s G20 presidency this year.

G20 participation is for members of G20,” Mr Jaishankar told reporters on Thursday. And for countries and organisations who we have invited and that list we had declared as soon as we assumed presidency of the G20.”

by Daya Gamage Courtesy The Island

US State Department

President Ranil Wickremesinghe is currently endeavouring to implement the 13th Amendment of the Constitution, which could lead to the establishment of a federal structure, much to the delight of Washington policymakers.

US policy towards Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict has long been guided by the comforting notion that Tamil self-government within a decentralised Sri Lankan state would satisfy the legitimate needs of that minority community and shield it from ‘Sinhalese oppression’.

Washington policymakers projected onto Sri Lanka their panacea for ethnic discord—federalism—without prescribing mechanisms to protect democracy in devolved jurisdictions and prevent them from being used as bases for renewed militancy.

Washington – advocating federalism since the early 1980s – concealed the fact that federalism can perpetuate inequality and inconsistent legal protections across the country. Most notoriously, U.S. federalism sanctioned systems of law and law enforcement that protected slavery, racial segregation, and minority disenfranchisement for nearly two centuries. Federalism also contributed to a separatist civil war that killed 750,000 combatants plus an estimated 50,000 civilians. The U.S. Civil War became inevitable when the federal government insisted that preserving the Union took priority over Southern states’ right to continue practicing slavery and that separatism was not a right under the political contract that created the nation.

Sri Lanka never engaged in a debate within itself to find out that in the US the sharing of governmental authority between the centre and the states still poses serious problems. In recent years, for example, more than a dozen Republican-led states refused to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, denying health-care coverage to many low- income families. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the national public health response was hobbled by disjointed and sometimes counterproductive policies followed by state governments, costing tens of thousands of avoidable deaths. Much to the detriment of American democracy, in the wake of the 2020 presidential election, some state governments devised policies to constrain voting and even to override the popular vote. Such abuses have led some scholars to conclude that American federalism is dysfunctional. And, those in Sri Lanka who advocate federal structure need to comprehend these factors.

Activating the 13th Amendment fully and devolution of power seems to have returned to the national agenda with President Wickremesinghe taking a lead role. He undertook a similar endeavour as the prime minister in 2001-2004 during the Bush Administration with its Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell and his deputy Richard Armitage playing a significant role during the Norwegian-initiated peace talks.

Washington believed that the Tamil community (accounting for 12% of the Sri Lankan population) had fewer economic and employment opportunities when compared to the ‘advantaged’ 74% Sinhalese majority and it would benefit from a federal system.

Washington policymakers arrived at this determination way back in the 1980s, long before the signing of the infamous Indo-Sri Lanka Accord. That determination governed the mindset of the policymakers and lawmakers in the U.S. through 2009 and to date.

Classified 1984/1986 US Documents Advocating Federalism

In June 1984, the Directorate of Intelligence (CIA) and the State Department’s Near East and South Asia Bureau (NEA) jointly prepared a document called ‘Failure to Share Political Power with Minority Groups’. Declaring President Jayewardene’s commitment to his Sinhalese-Buddhist constituency at the height of the July 1983 communal riots, it said by the general election of 1956 Sinhalese-dominated parties had gained control of the government and driven the small Tamil parties out of the mainstream political life.”

Another document dated September 02, 1986 and authored jointly by the CIA and the NEA noted that ‘northern insurgency’ had politicised Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese and Tamil communities. The ethnic rivalry is at the heart of the conflict, the document says, adding that the Tamils believe – with some adjustments – they need some devolution of power to their districts and that they are victims of political and economic discrimination, suggesting that Washington refrain from providing military assistance to the Sri Lanka administration, as it noted even in another document that Washington shouldn’t get involved in a battle between two ethnic communities.

These three documents laid the foundation for the subsequent structure of Washington’s foreign policy toward Sri Lanka all the way until the end of the separatist Eelam War IV in May 2009 and well beyond.

Washington sentiments

Washington sentiments were amply reflected in this 1984 (once) classified document. This June 1984 document had the most revealing sentiments that played a major role in subsequent years during Washington’s intervention in Sri Lanka’s national issues, one of which was the proposal for a federal system in Sri Lanka solely and exclusively focusing on minority Tamil issues.

Washington’s initial (1984) understanding was that a federal structure would extensively satisfy the Tamil demands. The document states, Tamil demands probably would be satisfied by a federal structure that would guarantee Tamils control over security and economic development where they comprise the majority of the population”. This belief was notably expressed by State Department Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) at frequent intervals in subsequent years when Washington intervened in Sri Lankan national affairs; in keeping with this agenda the USAID in 2005, with active participation of top officials of the US Embassy in Colombo, continuously for three months, convened nationwide public seminars with the assistance of civil society groups underscoring the merits of federalism.

The June 1984 classified ‘intelligence assessment’ expressed fear that if Washington was seen associating with a regime that battles a minority group it could damage the U.S. prestige in the region and in parts of the Third World and that highly politicised Tamil minority in Sri Lanka might even turn to the Soviet Union for support.” (It is with this rationale that Washington deeply engaged during the 2002-2004 peace talks that it believed could bring favourable acceptance in the international community). In 2023, President Wickremasinghe seems to be bringing back the scenario to which he was engaged in as prime minister in advocating the implementation of the 13th Amendment.

The June 1984 ‘Intelligence Assessment’ further declares Tamil demands probably would be satisfied by a federal structure that would guarantee Tamils control over security and economic development where they comprise the majority of the population” – meaning the North-East region of Sri Lanka.

The document opined that Washington believed the Tamils have become convinced that they should have an autonomous homeland with economic and security control.”

What the June 1984 document says about the United States refusal to extend military assistance to the (American-friendly) Jayewardene regime’s request to combat the LTTE terrorism and its total blocking of the supply of military gear to the subsequent Rajapaksa regime during (2006-2009) its military offensive against the separatist movement led to Washington’s strict belief that such military equipment could be used for repressive measures against the Tamils.”, and that other avenues need to be found such as devolution of power and setting up a federal structure.

The following are from ‘Sri Lanka: The Challenge of Communal Violence’, a joint intelligence assessment by the Directorate of Intelligence (CIA) Office of Near Eastern and South Asia Bureau of the State Department. June 1984 Secret document subsequently declassified:

1.  President Jayewardene’s failure to deal with the demands of Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority – 18 percent of the population – has brought the Tamils to the brink of open insurrection. In our judgment, Jayewardene, through his political maneuvering since his election in 1977, has contributed to the deterioration of communal relations by failing to share political power with minority groups

2. Tamil demands probably would be satisfied by a federal structure that would guarantee Tamils control over security and economic development where they comprise the majority of the population.

3. The Tamils, according to Embassy and scholarly reports, have become convinced that they should have both an autonomous homeland and control over security forces and access to more economic development projects.

4. We believe the frustrations of the last year have convinced even moderate Tamils they must press for a separate homeland with the hope of achieving at least a federal relationship with Colombo.

Subsequent US Manipulation for a Federal System

In early 2012, under the auspices of the Office of the Under Secretary-General of the United Nations (Political Affairs) B. Lynn Pascoe, attended by many professionals that included President Barack Obama’s close confidante and information czar Prof. Cass Sustein and his wife Dr. Samantha Power, the U.S. President’s human rights-war crimes-genocide crusader in the National Security Council, to start a process of restructuring several developing Third World nations’ constitutional arrangements to promulgate federalism as an answer to ethnic minority grievances.

The Under-Secretary-General (Political) B. Lynn Pascoe was a retired career diplomat from the US State Department.

Since the early 2012-process commenced a number of closed-door meetings and seminars at which the partition of UN member states has been discussed. Most of the meetings have been held under the direction of the UN Interagency Framework for Coordination on Preventive Action (the Framework Team or FT). The control of the FT fell into the domain of the under-secretary-general of Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, who took over from Pascoe in June 2012.The UN slot in the Department of Political Affairs, for decades, has always been assigned to a retired American Foreign Service officer (FSO), and it is the second most influential position next to the Secretary-General.

When a former American FSO occupies the Number Two slot of the UN, the State Department has extensive leverage over the operation of the United Nations, and it has been seen that both branches – the Department of Political Affairs and the US State Department – work together to achieve common objectives. As much as the state department and its representative – US ambassador to UN- maintain jurisdiction over the Human Rights Commission in Geneva under internal UN arrangement, during this period, the Under-Secretary (Political) Jeffrey Feltman oversaw the functioning of UNHRC.

When the process commenced in 2012, Sri Lanka, apart from Nepal, was also a target for the identity federalism engineers. To promote a ‘serious devolution to the peripheral regions’ – whether one calls it federal structure or otherwise – Dr. Samantha Power, who initially attended the Framework Team in early 2012 with the UN Department of Political Affairs, travelled to Sri Lanka in November 2015. UN Under-Secretary-General (Political) Jeffrey Feltman travelled to Sri Lanka for talks in July 2017, during the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration.

Illegality of the Indo-Lanka Accord and 13th Amendment

First, there is a reasonable argument to be made that the bilateral accord – the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord of 1987 – that mandated the devolutionary restructuring of the Sri Lankan government was illegal from the very inception.

But the 13th Amendment was imposed on the country under duress rather than being legislated through democratic debate.

What is less debatable is that the Indian airdrop and intimidatory diplomatic communications from New Delhi to Colombo prior to the IPKF were violative of at least the spirit of Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter. That UN Article enjoins all member states to refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State.” Both the Security Council and the General Assembly have adopted numerous resolutions that contain implicit or explicit references to Article 2(4), condemning, deploring or expressing concern about acts of aggression or the launching of armed intervention. A number of resolutions have included calls for withdrawing troops from foreign territories.

In addition, Article 51 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties states that an expression of a state’s consent to be bound by [a] treaty which has been procured by coercion of its representative through acts or threats directed against him shall be without legal effect.” Similarly, Article 52 of the same Convention provides that a treaty is void if its conclusion has been procured by the threat or use of force in violation of the principles of international law embodied in the Charter of the United Nations.”

Some Indian commentators have argued that Sri Lanka cannot withdraw from the 1987 Accord—and by extension the Amendment—by reason of the Vienna Convention because neither Sri Lanka nor India are signatories to the Convention. The United States has never ratified the Vienna Convention, but its Department of State as early as 1971 acknowledged that the Convention constituted the authoritative guide to current treaty law and practice,” even for non-parties. Despite being a non-signatory, the U.S. Government has frequently brought cases before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) based on alleged violations of the Vienna Convention. In short, neither India nor the USG has standing under international law to press Sri Lanka to honour commitments imposed on it illegally.

The Thirteenth Amendment was enacted in the Sri Lanka Constitution as a result of this illegal Indo-Sri Lanka Accord of 1987.

What has been outlined above is that Washington policymakers and lawmakers endeavoured from early 1980s to impose a federal structure on Sri Lanka, and current Ranil Wickremesinghe presidency is succumbing to US pressure. Further, Sri Lankan lawmakers need to be apprised of the illegal entry of the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord and its by-product the 13th Amendment.

(The writer is a retired Foreign Service National Political Specialist of the U.S. Department

of State once accredited to the Political Section of the American Embassy in Colombo)

By Saman Indrajith Courtesy The Island

Foreign Minister Ali Sabry told Parliament yesterday that his ministry had received no information about CIA Chief William J. Burns’ alleged visit to Sri Lanka on Feb 14.

Making a ministerial statement in response to a series of questions raised by SLPP dissident MP Ven. Aturaliye Ratana Thera on June 22, the minister said that his ministry only provided necessary diplomatic clearances for the aircraft to fly to Sri Lanka.

Minister Sabry said that he had been aware that two aircraft of the United States Air Force had arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport on Feb. 14 and according to the information provided by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Aviation and Airport and Aviation Services Lanka Ltd, a number of US officials had officially entered the country.

The Minister’s response to Ven Ratana’s queries: This is my answer after consulting all the relevant agencies. While the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the link between the foreign countries, entities, institutions and ministries departments and institutions in Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not the focal point for the subject area that comes under the purview of the MCC. It is noted as an expert committee was appointed by the Cabinet in December, 2019 to review the MCC agreement and the final report was handed over to the former President in June, 2020. The proposed SOFA is an agreement between the US and Sri Lanka, according to the line ministry in this regard also the Ministry of Defence and information required in this regard could be obtained from the Ministry of Defence. ACSA is also an agreement that comes under the Defence Ministry. Relevant line ministry in this regard is the Defence Ministry and further information may be obtained from the Ministry of Defence.

Therefore, it is appropriate to ask the relevant line ministry – the ministry of Defence regarding the reimplementation of these agreements and its current status and the purposes. I am aware that two aircraft belonging to the American Air Force arrived at the Katunayake BIA in the afternoon of Feb 14, 2023. According to the information provided by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Aviation and Airport and Aviation Services Lanka Limited, they have officially entered into the country.

The two planes that had arrived at the Katunayake International Airport under No RCH 23/992142A and RCH 231/00215A. I further mention that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had done only the necessary diplomatic clearances for the aircraft to fly to Sri Lanka. The chairman of the Airport and Aviation Services Lanka Limited has informed that the names, passport numbers and Visa number of the persons who came in the two aircrafts could be obtained from the Department of Immigration and Emigration.

Further the Airport and Aviation Services Pvt Ltd has informed this ministry that they are not aware of the fact to which organisation in the United States the said group belongs to and responsible for and have met with the parties or organizations in Sri Lanka bearing what responsibilities and what matters to the agreement were discussed in this meeting. And therefore, some of these questions seem to be referred to the wrong ministry. So, based on the evidence that we gathered, and the information which we acquired from different agencies, this is the information which I can provide to the question raised by Ven Aturaliye Ratana Thera on June 22, 2023.”

By Shamindra Ferdinando Courtesy The Island

The ruling SLPP parliamentary group should intervene to make President Ranil Wickremesinghe examine the draft Constitution formulated by the nine-member committee appointed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Cabinet-of-Ministers, rebel SLPP List MP Gevindu Cumaratunga said yesterday (15).

President’s Counsel Romesh de Silva headed the committee.

Having elected UNP leader Wickremesinghe in July last year as the President to complete the remainder of the then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s five-year term, the SLPP couldn’t remain silent on their own initiative, Cumaratunga said.

Responding to a query raised by The Island, the leader of civil society group Yuthukama stressed that the SLPP received two mandates at the Nov. 2019 presidential and Aug. 2020 parliamentary polls to introduce a new Constitution.

President Wickremesinghe should under no circumstances implement the 13th Amendment to the Constitution or contemplate going beyond that particular amendment, the first time entrant to Parliament said.

Questioning the President’s Office’s request for political parties to submit their recommendations, regarding the 13th Amendment, by 15th August, MP Cumaratunga said that the SLPP owed an explanation regarding its failure to take up the issue at hand with the President.

The committee announced by the then Justice Minister Ali Sabry, PC, comprised Gamini Marapana P.C., Manohara de Silva P.C., Sanjeewa Jayawardena P.C., Samantha Ratwatte P.C., Prof. Naazima Kamardeen, Prof. A. Sarveswaran, Prof. Wasantha Seneviratne and Prof. G.H. Peiris.

According to the committee, the draft that had been finalized in March 2022 was handed over to the then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in April though it was never subject to public discussion. Both Sinhala and English copies were handed over to the President while the Legal Draftsman was requested to translate it to Tamil.

Of the political parties represented in Parliament, the main Opposition SJB and President Wickremesinghe’s party the UNP haven’t made representations to Romesh de Silva’s Committee. In spite of the Joint Legal Secretaries of the SJB meeting the Chairman of the Committee to work out modalities, the anticipated meeting didn’t take place, sources said.

The Committee received representations from delegations led by Basil Rajapaksa (SLPP), R. Sampathan (TNA), Dinesh Gunawardena (MEP), Udaya Gammanpila (PHU), Wimal Weerawansa (JNP), Tiran Alles (UPP), Vasudeva Nanayakkara (DLF), Anura Kumara Dissanayake (JJB), Raja Collure (Socialist Alliance), Dew Gunasekera (CP), Nimal Siripala de Silva (SLFP), Rushdi Habeeb (ACMC), Douglas Devananda (EPDP), Bandula Chandrasekera (JHU), Mano Ganesan (TPA), V. Radhakrishnan (UPF), Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan (TMVP), Senthil Thondaman (CWC), Prof. Tissa Vitharana (LSSP), C.V. Wigneswaran (TMTK) and Asanka Navaratne (SLMP).

About a week before President Rajapaksa fled the country, amidst violent protests, the Committee planned to address the media regarding the new Constitution at the Presidential Secretariat. However, the media briefing was cancelled at the eleventh hour.

The committee has been divided over the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, enacted in 1988, in the wake of the Indo-Lanka Accord, signed in the year before.

The majority of Romesh de Silva’s Committee has not endorsed the Provincial Council, introduced in terms of the 13th Amendment, whereas Prof. A. Sarveswaran disagreed with the relevant Chapter (XXII) that he asserted deprived Provincial Council the powers enjoyed under the present Constitution, thereby affected reconciliation efforts.

Those who opposed asserted that the 13th Amendment undermined the unitary character thereby threatened the security of the State.

One member declared his opposition to the Provincial Council system and was not in favour of the provisions incorporated in Chapter XXII. That particular member has explained the grave danger in continuing with the existing system and the intensification of that threat in case of further devolution of power.

But two members supported the proposed Chapter XXII on the basis that

(i) No separate elections are held to constitute Provincial Councils,

(ii) Provincial Councils to consist of representatives of Local Authorities elected at the Local Authority Elections,

(iii) Provincial Councils to exercise executive power subject to the executive powers of the President and the Cabinet of Ministers

(iv) Power of the National State Assembly is not restricted in any manner with regard to any subject on which a Provincial Council has the power to make statutes.

The draft contained a full chapter on Provincial Councils. The Committee has suggested election of members to Provincial Councils and Local Authorities will be held on the same day in one election with each elector having two votes to elect a member for his electoral unit [ward] and a member for the Provincial Council from any one of the candidates in his local government area.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, vowed that China will help Sri Lanka effectively address the challenges of financial debt on Wednesday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks during a meeting with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at the sidelines of the seventh China-South Asian Expo in Kunming, southwest China’s Yunnan Province.

China is always Sri Lanka’s reliable strategic partner and appreciates that Sri Lanka has always been friendly to China and has stood by China on issues related to its core interests, he said.

China also firmly supports Sri Lanka in safeguarding its sovereign independence and national dignity, and is willing to strengthen exchanges of experience in governance as well as cooperation in various fields with Sri Lanka, he said.

Wang vowed that China will help Sri Lanka improve its capacity for independent development, get rid of the “poverty trap” and the “trap of non-development,” accelerate its industrialization process and agricultural modernization.

He expressed belief that Sri Lanka will overcome its temporary difficulties, find a development path in line with its national conditions, and realize revitalization and prosperity.

Noting that Sri Lanka is an important participant and beneficiary of the China-South Asia Expo, he welcomed the Sri Lankan side to continue to make good use of this important platform to further explore the Chinese market.

For his part, Gunawardena thanked China for its firm support for Sri Lanka in safeguarding its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and for its timely and effective assistance to Sri Lanka in times of difficulty.

The forward-looking flagship cooperation projects between the two sides such as the Colombo Port City and the Hambantota Port will bring benefits to the Sri Lankan people and play a key role in regional connectivity and sustainable development, he said.

Sri Lanka will work with China to expand cooperation in economy, trade and investment, agriculture, tourism, energy and innovation to help Sri Lanka achieve food self-sufficiency and accelerate the development of key industries, he added. (CGTN)

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

• Sri Lanka’s programme is planned to deliver 71 outcomes by the end of September. Presently, as of the end of July, 35 are met” and 14 are unknown”. There are 8 more that are not met” 
• That means the ratio of unknowns to knowns is about 33% — rather high for a critical economic recovery programme 
• These unknowns” primarily encompass quantitative commitments, such as tax revenue and primary balance targets. These are not mere numbers but essential indicators of the improvement in Sri Lanka’s fiscal position

It has been five months since Sri Lanka entered the board-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on its 17th programme. Month-to-month progress has been tracked in the public domain by the IMF Tracker (https://manthri.lk/en/imf_tracker ), a platform maintained by Verité Research.
The IMF Tracker identifies programme commitments that have been met” and unmet” on verifiable criteria. Those achievements for which no data has been made available to make a reasonable assessment are marked as unknown”.

Persistence of known unknown

Sri Lanka’s programme is planned to deliver 71 outcomes by the end of September. Presently, as of the end of July, 35 are met” and 14 are unknown”. There are 8 more that are not met”. That means the ratio of unknowns to knowns is about 33% — rather high for a critical economic recovery programme. These unknowns” primarily encompass quantitative commitments, such as tax revenue and primary balance targets. These are not mere numbers but essential indicators of the improvement in Sri Lanka’s fiscal position.
Two explanations for known unknowns
There are two ways to try and make sense of why there are such a significant number of known commitments, on which the achievement is unknown. One is that the government has failed to meet these commitments and is not making the information public to delay the recognition of failure. The second is that the government does not see the Sri Lankan public – or even its parliament – as an important stakeholder in the implementation of the programme agreed with the IMF. Therefore, it lacks interest in providing these stakeholders with critical information.
The second explanation may sound strange, but it is not implausible. Achieving the committed actions on Sri Lanka’s IMF programme plans has always lacked internal interest and accountability. Strange as it may seem, this is just business as usual.
Can business as usual” yield different results?
Sri Lanka has been in 16 IMF programmes since 1966 and failed to complete almost half of them (7 of 16). Even past programmes that were completed saw huge departures from the original plans, which were excused by the IMF to move the programme forward. The parliament or the public have rarely (if ever) questioned the adequacy of the government’s progress on those plans. This might explain why Sri Lanka’s IMF plans have not achieved more than temporary patchwork repairs in the past.
A person is admitted to the hospital when there is a serious health condition, which requires constant care and observation to ensure recovery. You would expect that proper diagnosis and treatment in the hospital and the patient following through with good behaviour would prevent further hospitalisation for the most part. But imagine a person who spends 15 days each month in the hospital throughout the year, every single year of that person’s life. There is, you would think, something incurably wrong with the person or something quite inadequate about the hospital.
A country going to the IMF signals a serious emergency condition, much like a person going into a hospital. Sri Lankans who were born in 1965 had an average life expectancy of 63 years. Those who are still alive today have seen their country functioning like that patient, spending exactly half of their lives in the IMF hospital (28+ years up to now). 58 years on in this cycle, it will need a strong optimistic temperament to think This time we will be cured”, without any evidence of the country being transformed from business as usual”.
Sri Lanka is now, sadly, not on course to achieve even 90% of the 71 actions targeted for completion by September 2023. Some of the actions that are not met” are easy actions to accomplish. For example, the establishment of a fiscal transparency platform that makes public all the tax holidays given by the government is overdue since March 2023. Additionally, concealing the lack of achievement on 14 commitments or not caring to make the appropriate information public to the most important stakeholders, is very much business as usual”.
The ”unknowns” in the IMF Tracker are a barometer to be watched.
It is not uncommon for the government to see the economic recovery plan (agreed with the IMF) as an external facing agreement by Sri Lanka to appease the IMF. This might explain why it can sometimes be claimed that the IMF will be provided the required information about implementation, while the Sri Lankan public is not.
This is a seriously flawed perspective. The plan should be one to recover Sri Lanka’s economy, and it is for the sake of the people in Sri Lanka. It is therefore a plan that has to be genuinely owned by the government and the people in the country. The fundamental accountability of the government, to have a good plan and to implement it properly, is to all the people who live in Sri Lanka – not to an international bureaucracy located in Washington DC.
Sri Lanka has, in the past, geared the delivery of IMF programmes in a shortsighted way to appease and mislead the IMF — easily done, given its justifiably limited ability to understand local dynamics. This might be the reason Sri Lanka has been one of the worst cases in the world in regularly turning up at the IMF hospital, with its public finance health in crisis.
If there is anything to learn from the past, it is that repeating those past patterns is not a recipe for sustained economic recovery. If the government and the IMF believe it is enough for only the IMF to know about the progress of the economic recovery plan, and that the public and parliament can be kept in the dark, it would suggest that neither is learning from past mistakes.
The number of known unknowns in the IMF Tracker, therefore, is an important barometer. It is a constant signal of how much the government understands the true stakeholders of Sri Lanka’s economic recovery plan, and for whose sake the government thinks the plan is being implemented.
Dr Nishan de Mel is the executive director at Verité Research 

BY EDWARD THEOPHILUS

The economic development of Sri Lanka is negatively afflicted by attitudes of policymakers and planners and the behaviour of them concerned with many practical aspects in the policy planning process. Negative attitudes of policy planners have a direct relationship with countrywide economic problems, and neither the government policy development process nor the political direction for changing attitude problems have not been successfully addressed by the political direction in the country since independence in 1948.

Attitudes mean the way people are thinking, which is disciplined and sophisticated by education. People gain education on various subject areas from schools and high education from universities and TVET institutions. Education in a variety of subject areas trains people to look at many subjective matters with different perspectives. Education could change a person’s thinking pattern by providing more accurate knowledge on various matters and learning process on diversified matters needs to be properly coordinated and provide to citizens. This means the knowledge gained from education, irrespective of the place it gained, would be useful to shape the attitudes, and support to advance the understanding of many issues in subject areas. Basic knowledge gaining process could not be fluctuated according to the place where the knowledge has been gained and from a person or institution from where did anyone gained education as the quality of education in Sri Lanka differs from rural to urban not because the government policy but because of the personnel associated with offering education. Despite this situation the ethical behaviour is that if the knowledge gained considers accurate, it should be recognised as standard disregarding the place of knowledge was gained.

However, in Sri Lanka, those who gained education from Colombo Schools and other major private schools in regional areas attempt to show that the knowledge gained from urban schools and private schools was superior to the knowledge gained from village schools. This is the mythical attitude of Sri Lankan. This should be decided by educational experts, but not by personnel who have no expertise on the matter. The view may have been a considerably debatable opinion. A teacher who recently retired from a school in Sri Lanka told me that schools are informally divided by people as excellent and not good. And this classification may not be based on the available supportive statistics, it is an allegorical classification by certain people in the country. I told her this type of classification has no justice for education, which is the basic right of all citizens.

When considering education, it relates to various subject areas, the basic education of kids is equal to whichever schools they attended to and the knowledge given by the school is equal compared to any other schools.  Many people who gained education from urban schools attempt to insult poor people who gained education from rural schools, insulting the knowledge is not an acceptable judgement. Poor people also like to gain education from comprehensive schools in towns if they are admitted by the administration. There is no justice in this type of classification. If anyone investigates the background of tertiary students, it could be revealed that the bulk of students are from rural schools, but many policymakers are not ready to accept this point and they want promoting urban schools.  

It is a divisive attitude that had been purposely fabricated and spread by Christian churches with dishonest motives. The quality of education is divided by the name of the school that has been expanded by vicious people. This was the reason to keep school name using the names of saints and attempt at education is better than other schools.  It was to keep people supportive of imperialists and to spread Christianity in Sri Lanka using education as a strategic way. Neither St. Augustine nor Thomas Aquinas advised such a dismemberment and an abusive education policy, the Christian decrepitude attitudes should be removed from the minds of kids to make an equal society by directing them to progressive and productive education. Therefore, attitude problems of people have become the major constraint for economic development is essential. The gaining the participation of rural communities in development projects reflects the justice of education quality and for recognition. A positive contribution from rural people to development tasks will be a vital area and the way the country needs approaching throughout of current economic and social problems.  

Policymakers and planners require developing economic programs to attract the support and participation of rural people who represent an enormous volume and a higher rate of the population. Rural people are the spirit of the country as they had been contributed a higher share to the economy since the beginning of humans in the country, however, the contribution of rural people has not been valued by the government authority since the independence because of the attitude problems of the government administrators. The contribution of rural people has undermined many instances and highlighted the small contribution of urban people as valuable to the country.

Rural people, to make a higher contribution to the economy, need the positive motivation of them and value the knowledge and skills they have acknowledging the contribution to the economy. The government authority in Sri Lanka seems to be silent on the contributions of rural people and sometimes rejects the contribution of rural people when they associate with development programs. This type of negative attitude does not appear in many other countries, where the obvious nature is appreciating the contribution without separating participants as rural educated and urban educated in development projects. When kings and Queens managed the country in history, the labour for development was not divided as rural and urban.  

When I was working in Sri Lanka, I observed this situation as a significant constraint to development, policymakers did not consider removing this negative aspect in the past, and they are willing continuing to negative attitudes to the future. It seems the problem is continuing, irrespective of the political party in power, the problem is continuing negative attitudes in society, and the modern nature of the problem is using rural poor women sending the Middle East to make dollars and use such earned exchange for urban wealthy people and politicians to spend for selfish purposes.

Rural people have a strong association with the agricultural sector that is needed a higher participative contribution, which means about 40% of the contribution of the Gross National Product should be from agriculture that generates higher productivity. The historical information further confirms that since the era of early humans, the best nature of the rural population was hardworking in various tasks given to them with achieving goals and to see the outcomes of the plans. This aspect of the contribution of the rural community has revealed from the writing of foreign visitors, and the policymakers who gained education and training from so-called high schools in urban areas have been jealous towards rural educated people and attempt to dis-motivate rural community by various ways such as coverup and other type of negative responses.    

When implementing policy plans aimed at balanced growth, the focus and objectives of policy plans should be stressed on gaining the support of rural people. They can contribute a lofty share of the production and give justice to the entire community without discrimination. The capitalist class was a major constraint for rapid development since the Kandyan Kingdom of history and aristocrats used rural labour, exploiting them for the construction of large houses called noble houses (Walaus) that display the patriciate picture now in Sri Lanka.

The major negative picture of the aristocrats themselves was disunity and jealousy for each other and some historians expressed that the major reason to under the country the western imperial power was the disunity of aristocrats and the king. Houses of aristocratic nobles clearly showed how they lived as well as their attitude towards society. Another significant point ignored was all these large houses were built using the labour of rural poor people without making a reasonable payment for them and nobody gave appreciation to the rural poor.  

Policymakers of Sri Lanka, after the political independence in 1948, were lack of understanding the social fabric which has been developed in the past and were not interested in contributory value when they were setting objectives of the plans. They wanted to let down rural people. Before the European invasion, society could not see such a negative behaviour in the society because ancient kings and queens were against the division of society and understood the value of the contribution of rural people. The lack of support from the rural community could be considered as a cardinal reason for the economic backwardness and betraying the rural community. Caste dictions were brought into society to discredit rural people in villages for exploitation of rural people.

However, in many Asian countries, policy planners are concerned with the rural community that contributes a positive support to the economy. In the Japanese environment since the Tokugawa period, rural participation was vital and Meiji restoration gained the contribution of the rural community. If it investigates the economic history of other Asian countries such as China, Korea and India, this point could be proven. Attitudes of Sri Lankan have not comparatively deviated from the practical experience of other Asian countries, but aristocrats in Si Lanka purposely created divisive practices.

The consequences of Christian education in Sri Lanka, which was supposed to be based on the philosophy of Jesus Christ, had a negative conduct and dis-motivated attitudes, letting down rural people insulting Christianity. Christian churches supported rural people who contributed to churches through assets and building. Rural people were poor and had difficulty contributing to the church. This was a reason to disregard rural people for development activities, but the outcome of Christian leaders in development work was attempting to deviate persons educated in Christian schools from cooperative work. Education administrators in Christian schools are preferred to train kids to deviate from rural communities. Why this type of negative choice when the country needs unity and cooperative development? I feel it is a secret strategy of Christian education in Sri Lanka. The Christian education policies were against the teaching of Jesus Christ, and when the then government nationalise the schools which were gaining government support for developing a national education policy, the policymakers of Christian education encouraged to agitate violently against the government policy. It is seen that Christian schools in Sri Lanka do not admit poor Christians to their schools and charges, adding to the government support, such as payments for teachers and other capital tasks.  

Many development plans from the four-year development program introduced by then prime minister, Sir John Kotelawala in 1954, and other programs such as the ten-year plan, six-year plan, five-year plan and four-year plan, have been implemented in Sri Lanka without attracting the support of rural people and such programs were not monitored and activated remedial management process by the planners who educated in so-called big schools in urban areas. When critically evaluating such plans, they seemed like desk plans, like writing the thesis for higher degree programs, and they were designed by bureaucrats, developing a mental picture to mislead ruling governments. There was a famous story that certain bureaucrats misled Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake, showing water-filled a small land area expressing the success of the rural cultivation program begun by the 1965 government.    

The four-year development program in 1954 aimed at the successful engagement of rural people in regional areas, giving new meaning to the privatization concept appropriate to Sri Lanka. The investment direction given by the plan was the right way to go forward, but political misbeliefs were directed to go imprudent way and rural people were misguided to follow an unknown philosophy and collective march using rural people for political advantages.

Political independence in 1948 was gained without letting the blood of radical political supporters. The traditional literature books explain the strategic policy of kings and queens to gain the support of rural people. For example, The Sthupavamsa detailed how the king, Dutugamunu, used the countenance of modern management theories to defeat invaders and increase the productivity of the agriculture sector.    

However, the policy attitude of Sri Lanka has been radically changed to give priority to the metro-centred population despite the views of SWRD Bandaranaike, the political independence because the education in independent Sri Lanka attempted to neglect rural people promoting misguided attitudes among the urban population who gained educated from Christian schools. It aligned to give a message that English medium education for metro people and Sinhala and Tamil medium education for rural kids. When Buddhist base education attempted to provide facilities for the participation of rural people without a religious difference, urban-based Christian education providers attempted to push English-based education to rich people while insulting the teaching of Jesus Christ.  Christianity is based on the concern of the poor. Jesus Christ explained how it is difficult for a rich person to enter heaven.

Although Sri Lanka needed a participative democratic style in development projects without contrast between rural areas and metro people, development activities purposely were distanced the attracting the participation of rural people. The major reason was key figures in rural planning were from educated figures in based on non-Christian schools in many districts in Lanka.  They attempted to reject poor rural people and forced rural people out of development activities since the 1960s. Anti-Christian attitude was considered as a fundamental mistake of Christian education. Despite the attempt of the government officers to disregard rural people, the SLFP government in the early 1960s decided to taking over schools which were receiving government funds. The Christian education policy was a significant barrier to get participation of rural Non-Christians in the balance growth.

The outcomes of government investments should distribute among all citizens of the country and such a balance growth policy is needed to be implemented by all governments that were ruled the country after the political independence in 1948. After the independence, the development policies of Sri Lanka have changed, aiming at the balance growth concept, and it was in the first place in the Asian region.

However, during the colonial administration and independent control after the 1948, investment distributed in urban areas and during the colonial administration a considerable volume of investment distributed in upcountry regions. The direct results of investment distribution limiting to certain area, prevented rural people gaining education, health, highways, electricity, and water facilities which were distributed to investment zones. 

Dilrook Kannangara

13 Plus has the best chance of passing parliament this time as all parties desperately try to win minority support. However, since all parties support 13 Plus, no party can gain political mileage over others using it. Ranil won most Tamil and Muslim votes whenever he contested for president (1999 and 2005), however, he cannot win minority votes this time as Rajapaksas are aligned to him.

Tamils, Muslims and Christians have no faith in Rajapaksas, to say the very least, and would reject anyone who is perceived to be aligned with them. If Rajapaksas don’t contest against Ranil, minorities will assume they are in the same boat and will reject both, 13 Plus or even full federal. All parties other than the SJB rely on Buddhist votes to go past the 50% required to win the presidential election or come as close to it as possible. All minority votes (30%) will be a SJB block vote at the next presidential election.

Sinhala moderate voters are also divided between the three main political camps, SJB, SLPP/Ranil and JVP. However, if the JVP fields Dr Harini Amarasuriya for the presidential election, SLPP/Ranil camp will lose Sinhala moderate voters almost entirely. This forces the SLPP/Ranil camp to focus solely on Sinhala Buddhist hardline voters to see them through. Sadly, Sinhala Buddhist hardliners will also reject them if they grant 13 Plus to minorities. It is a lose-lose situation for Ranil and Rajapaksas. This is why they must not touch 13A, 13P or power devolution heading into an election.

Understanding minority voter mentality is key to control the damage. Since no minority voter will be voting for Ranil or anyone aligned to Rajapaksas, the only sensible thing for them to do is to retain Sinhala Buddhist hardline voters. Trying to woo minority voters is like running after a mirage looking for water. It only exhausts the hapless victim.

Rajapaksas need a Plan B if Ranil fails to win. Otherwise, they go out of business with Ranil. They should be able to quickly position themselves as the party of choice for Buddhist hardliners for the next parliamentary election if Ranil loses. This cannot be done if SLPP factions vote for 13 Plus. After bad experience following the Nugegoda resurrection of Mahinda, even the patriotic camp of the SLPP is now unwilling and incapable of repeating it.

On the other hand, if Ranil cannot get enough votes to pass 13 Plus, he will dissolve the parliament, or cause it to get dissolved (by allowing the budget to be defeated) which means a parliamentary election. A parliamentary election first, gives the JVP the best opportunity to get the highest possible number of seats it can win (at the expense of the SLPP). The JVP will win a smaller number of seats if the presidential election is held first, as the JVP has no chance of winning the presidential election. Ranil knows this and uses it as a bargaining tool with the SLPP.

Drop 13A, 13P and devolution, or suffer an unprecedented election defeat from which many old political clans will not recover.

BY EDWARD THEOPHILUS 

Restructuring of domestic debt has become a vital focus of news in Sri Lanka and many ordinary people are lack of understanding the process, which is expressing jargon and ordinary people have an idea that they are not concerned about the process. The act of rehabilitation of public enterprises, which was certified on 12^th November 1996, gave sophisticated instructions for restructuring of public enterprises.  Disregarding of instruction of the act, the governments elected continuing the management of public enterprises which has become a dogma at current Sri Lanka.

All governments elected after 1990 should take the responsibility for accountability and JVP also should share the responsibility as the irresponsible actions of JVP contributed to an increase in debt in public enterprises and appointing weak personnel for management of such enterprises.

Public enterprises should manage like private enterprises to give reasonable returns to owner government and showing the accountability to public. 

Members of the parliament must read the act again and work to re-invent the rehabilitation process.      

Sasanka De Silva Pannipitiya

Driverless cars, also known as autonomous vehicles or self-driving cars, have the potential to revolutionize transportation and reshape various industries.

Their future holds numerous possibilities and challenges.

Here are some key points about the future of driverless cars:

1.   Advantages:

·         Safety: One of the primary promises of autonomous vehicles is improved safety. Human errors are responsible for the majority of accidents, and autonomous vehicles could significantly reduce these accidents by eliminating driver errors.

·         Efficiency: Autonomous vehicles could optimize traffic flow, reducing congestion and improving overall transportation efficiency.

·         Accessibility: Self-driving cars could increase accessibility for people who are unable to drive due to age, disabilities, or other reasons.

·         Productivity: Passengers can use travel time for work, leisure, or relaxation instead of focusing on driving.

2.   Challenges:

·         Technological Hurdles: Developing fully autonomous systems that can handle complex and unpredictable driving scenarios in various environments remains a challenge.

·         Regulation and Legislation: The legal framework for autonomous vehicles is still being developed. Governments need to establish rules and regulations to ensure the safe operation of these vehicles on public roads.

·         Ethical and Moral Decisions: Autonomous vehicles may encounter situations where ethical decisions need to be made, such as choosing between minimizing harm to occupants or pedestrians in case of an unavoidable accident.

·         Data Security and Privacy: Driverless cars rely heavily on data collection and communication systems, raising concerns about cybersecurity and the privacy of passengers’ information.

·         Infrastructure Adaptation: Roads and transportation systems may need to be adapted to accommodate autonomous vehicles effectively.

3.   Levels of Autonomy: Autonomous vehicles are often classified into levels of autonomy, ranging from Level 0 (no automation) to Level 5 (full automation, no human intervention required). Most current efforts are focused on achieving Levels 3 and 4, where the car can handle most driving tasks but might still require human intervention in certain situations.

4.   Implementation and Adoption:

·         Gradual Adoption: The transition to a fully autonomous vehicle ecosystem is expected to be gradual, with initial deployments in controlled environments (e.g., specific geographic areas, closed campuses) before widespread adoption on public roads.

·         Fleet Services: Autonomous vehicles might first find success in fleet services like ridesharing and delivery, where the controlled environment and predictable routes make implementation easier.

·         Integration with Public Transportation: Driverless cars could be integrated with public transportation systems to provide seamless and efficient multi-modal transportation solutions.

5.   Impact on Industries:

·         Automotive Industry: Traditional automakers are shifting their focus to autonomous technology, while tech companies are also entering the automotive sector.

·         Urban Planning: The need for parking spaces might reduce as autonomous vehicles can drop off passengers and park themselves efficiently.

·         Insurance and Liability: The shift towards autonomous vehicles might reshape the insurance industry as liability shifts from drivers to manufacturers and software developers.

6.   Public Perception: Public acceptance and trust in autonomous vehicles are crucial for their successful adoption. High-profile accidents involving autonomous vehicles can impact public perception and slow down adoption.

In conclusion, while the future of driverless cars holds immense potential for safety, efficiency, and accessibility, several challenges must be addressed before they become a common sight on the roads.

The collaboration of various stakeholders, including technology developers, governments, and the public, will shape the trajectory of autonomous vehicles in the coming years.

Sasanka De Silva

Pannipitiya.

Prime Minister’s Media Division

Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena arrived at Kunming International Airport this morning (Aug 15) to commence 4-day visit to Yunnan Province in China. He was warmly received at the airport by Vice Chairman of the CPPCC Yunnan Provincial Committee Zhao Jin, Protocol Chief and other senior officials and Charge D’ Affairs at Sri Lanka Embassy K K. Yoganadan and other officials of the mission.

The Prime Minister will be the Chief Guest at the 7th China-South Asia Expo, jointly hosted by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the Yunnan provincial government, will be held from August 16 to 20 in Kunming, China.

According to Expo organizers, 60 countries will participate in this gigantic trade display. They include all South and Southeast Asian countries, and RECP member countries.

The 7th China-South Asia Expo is considered to be the most important economic and trade exchange events between China and South Asian countries. The 15 large pavilions will focus on promoting economic and trade cooperation and cultural exchanges with South Asia, as well as devote nine pavilions for regional cooperation, resource, industrial park, port, biopharmaceuticals and health, cultural tourism, modern agriculture, digital economy, and advanced manufacturing.

Covering an exhibition area of 150,000 square meters, the expo will also be displayed online.

As an important platform of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits between China and South and Southeast Asian countries, the expo will also stage a series of sideline events, in addition to three special events. There will be eight professional forums, such as the 4th China-South Asia Cooperation Forum (CSACF).

In addition to holding discussions with Chinese leaders on bilateral relations, economic cooperation, trade and investments, the Prime Minister is scheduled to Visit Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Science, Yunnan Provincial Energy Investment Group Co. Ltd. or Sinohydro Bureau and Photovoltaic Power Station of Yunnan Provincial Energy Investment Group Co. Ltd in Kunming and Gusheng Village and Experimental paddy field of Yunnan State Farms Group, Erhai Ecological Corridor, Exhibition and Experience center of Xiaguan Compressed Tea in Dali.

The Prime Minister is accompanied by State Ministers Tharaka Balasuriya, Janaka Wakkumbura and Kanaka Herath, MP Yadamini Gunawardena and Secretary to the Prime Minister Anura Dissanayake.

Prime Minister’s Media Division

Media Release Sri Lankan High Commission in India

India’s top podcast ‘The Ranveer Show’ interviewed Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda in Mumbai. 

Hosted by social media entrepreneur, YouTuber, motivational speaker and leadership coach Ranveer Allahbadia, ‘The Ranveer Show’ features eminent people from different walks of life talking about issues that impact the people and society at large. The show brings important voices from the field of politics, diplomacy, sports, entertainment, lifestyle and also spiritual leaders.

‘The Ranveer Show’ has previously featured a number of prominent personalities, including the External Affairs Minister of India Dr. S. Jaishankar, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Priyanka Chopra, Glenn McGrath and spiritual leader Sadhguru. In March 2020, ‘The Ranveer Show’ became India’s top ranked podcast on Spotify and continues to retain that position. High Commissioner Moragoda is the first diplomatic Head of Mission to be interviewed in the show. Ranveer Allahbadia is the founder of BeerBiceps Pvt Ltd, a company that creates self-improvement content in various formats through six YouTube channels with more than seven million online followers and subscribers

MOD  Media Centre

The Ranaviru Seva Authority (RVSA) awarded Rs. 2.76 million worth scholarships to 23 children belongs to war veteran families, those have excelled at the G.C.E. (Ordinary Level) Examination while obtaining 9 Distinctions, today (Aug 15).

This specially organized event was held under the patronage of RVSA Chairperson Major General Nandana Senadeera (Retd).

Lally Kobbekaduwa, Manel Wimalaratne, Apsara Gunawardena and Rekha Senadeera joined the scholarship awarding program organized with the aim of empowering these children through education.

Italy-based Sri Lankan donors led by Priyantha Munasinghe extended financial support for the program.

Accordingly, a war hero child receives financial assistance of Rs. 5,000 per month for two years (a total of Rs. 120,000.00).

Chief of Naval Staff Rear Admiral Jayantha Kularatne, Chief of Air Staff Air Vice Marshal Sampath Wickramarathne, RVSA Deputy Chairperson Mrs Sonia Kottegoda, RVSA Director Brig. Chandra Abeykoon, Secretary to the President Brig. Nalin Madhiwaka and RVSA staffers, donors and parents were present at the occasion.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන මහතා චීනයේ සිව්දින නිල සංචාරයක් සඳහා අද (අගෝස්තු 14) සවස කොළඹින් පිටත් විය.

චීන වාණිජ අමාත්‍යාංශය සහ යුනාන් ප්‍රාන්ත රජය එක්ව පවත්වනු ලබන 7 වැනි චීන – දකුණු ආසියානු ප්‍රදර්ශනයේ සහ 27 වැනි චයිනා කුන්මිං ආනයන හා අපනයන ප්‍රදර්ශනයේ ප්‍රධාන ආරාධිතයා ලෙස අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා  සහභාගි වීමට නියමිතය.

ප්‍රදර්ශනය අගෝස්තු 16 සිට 20 දක්වා චීනයේ කුන්මිං හිදී පැවැත්වේ.

එක්ස්පෝ සංවිධායකයින් පවසන පරිදි මෙම අති විශාල වෙළඳ ප්‍රදර්ශනය සඳහා රටවල් 60 ක් සහභාගී වන අතර සියලුම දකුණු සහ අග්නිදිග ආසියානු රටවල් සහ (RECP) කලාපීය පුළුල් ආර්ථික සහයෝගීතා සාමාජික රටවල් ඊට ඇතුළත් වේ. ‘පොදු සංවර්ධනය සඳහා සහයෝගීතාවය සහ සම්බන්ධීකරණය’ යන තේමාව යටතේ මෙම ප්‍රදර්ශනය පැවැත්වේ.

රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යවරුන් වන තාරක බාලසූරිය, ජානක වක්කුඹුර, කනක හේරත්, පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී යදාමිණි ගුණවර්ධන, අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ලේකම් අනුර දිසානායක යන මහත්වරු ද මෙම සංචාරයට එක්ව සිටිති.

KAMALIKA PIERIS

The ‘Races’ of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) were invented by the British when they ruled our country. Until the British came, there were no races or ethnic divisions in Sri Lanka, as we know them today. The ‘ethnic groups’ we are saddled with today, are bogus ones created by the British rulers. The British invented three bogus races,   ‘Sinhala’, ‘Ceylon Tamil’ and ‘Ceylon Moor’. The word ‘Sinhala’ which denoted the whole population was now reduced to the status of a ‘race’.  

Before British rule, the island was known as Sinhaladeepa’, the citizens were known as ‘Sinhala’ and the unique language developed in the island was also named ‘Sinhala’. The word ‘Sinhala’ denotes a nationality, not a race. The Sinhala sovereign state was an assimilative one that absorbed immigrants who came to the island.

The Sinhala language has no separate word for ‘race’. Historian RALH Gunawardana said he found it difficult to find a satisfactory equivalent for the word ‘race’ n Sinhala.  The Sinhala term “jati/jatiya” was adopted for ‘nation,’ ‘caste’ and ‘race’ depending on the context.  

‘Race ‘is a concept invented in Europe and heavily used by the west in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. Colonial rulers introduced the idea to the colonies. In Sri Lanka the British   introduced the notion of race into its    Census of 1871. This was the first complete population census   of Ceylon. Race appeared for the first time in this census.  Race was included in every Census thereafter including the last one in 2012.

The Sinhala, Tamil and Moor races were officially recognized for the first time in 1871.  The proportions in the Census of 1871 were Sinhalese 69.40%, Tamils 22.21% and Moor 6.79%.  By 1881, the   races listed were Low country Sinhalese, Kandyan Sinhalese, Ceylon Tamils, Indian Tamils, Ceylon Moor, Indian Moor, Malay, Veddah and Burgher. These became the census categories from 1881 onwards. (Denham Census of Ceylon of 1911 p 195)

The idea of race became further entrenched when In 1886 R Virchow and the brothers CF and PB Sarasin identified three physical types in Sri Lanka, Sinhala, Tamil, and Veddah.

These race categories were imposed on the population. In the 1871 Census, the Census official left the form   with the head of the house to fill in, with a list of races to choose from.

These three bogus races, Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim (Moor) violate the main principle of classification, which is to classify by one single criterion. You classify according to one attribute at a time such as age, weight, or height.  You do not say A weighs 6 kilos, B is 6 feet tall and C is 6 years old. That is known as cross classification.

Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim,( Moor) groups are based on cross classification., Tamils are classified according to language,  Moors according to religion,  Sinhalese according to origin. This is a ridiculous, absurd classification. It should be discarded.

the criteria  used for these races have been questioned. In 1945, Jennings had pointed out that the Sinhalese and Tamils were  language groups and not races. Muslims are not a race  either, observed analysts. They are a religious group, If we recognize them as a political category, then we must recognize Buddhists, Hindus and  Christian also  as political categories.

I do not know how legal these categories are. I do not think they have ever been tested in a court of law. But when a birth is registered, ‘Race’ is included. The present day Birth Certificate, has a cage for ‘Race’ and  it is compulsory to fill it in. There is an official list to select from. The Registrar General’s Department  can make alterations in name and marital status, but they cannot make changes in race. 

 In 1975 or so, Registrar  General’s office was given a list of  approved races”  as well as a list of  the  terms which cannot be  included for ‘race’ such as ‘brahmin’.   In 1990 there was a discussion in Parliament, to delete the category of Race” and replace it with the nationality , Sri Lankan”  but this did not become law.

The ‘Ceylon Tamil’ and ‘Ceylon Moor’ are descendants of Tamil immigrants from India .The ‘Ceylon Tamil’  consisted of the Tamil speaking, low caste, landless, agricultural labor arriving in Dutch and British  times from Tamilnadu. The ‘Ceylon Moor’ or Muslims were  also from India.  Low caste Indians had  converted to Islam during  the period of Muslim rule in India. the Ceylon Moor probably came from Tamilnadu, since they speak Tamil today.

Isolated Muslim grave stones were  found in Sri Lanka  in the pre-colonial period. This is greeted with enthusiasm as evidence of Muslim influence. That is not so. A  Muslim settlement would be accompanied by a Muslim burial ground with lots of burials in it. Isolated burial stones indicate that  that there were no  permanent, sizeable Muslim settlements in the island at that time. These Muslims were probably a migrant group engaged in the carrying trade, with residential bases on the coast,  such as Beruwela and Galle.

When the Portuguese expelled the Muslim traders from the south, they went to King Senerat (1604-35) in Udarata kingdom and told him that they had nowhere to go, which means they were not a settled population in the island even then. Senerat sent them to settle in the Eastern province. This is the first known permanent settlement of Muslims. 

The British  also  gave a new set of provinces to the island.  In 1833 They  t created five large provinces in north, east, west, south and centre. these became the present day Northern, Eastern, Western, Southern and Central provinces. Northwestern province was created from these in 1845, North central in 1873, Uva in 1886 and Sabaragamuwa in 1889.

The British then allocated their invented ‘races’ into the invented ‘provinces’. Every province and district was enumerated in            terms of ‘race’. Majority communities were declared for each an administration division.  In 1911, the Sinhalese were  allocated the Central province, the Tamil were given the north and east and the Moors got the Puttalam district. (Denham p 195)

In 1950, the UNESCO statement, “The Race Question“, signed by some of the internationally renowned scholars of the time (including Ashley Montagu, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Gunnar Myrdal, Julian Huxley, etc.), suggested that: it would be better when speaking of human races to drop the term ‘race’ altogether and speak of ‘ethnic groups’.”

An ‘ethnicgroup’ was defined as a group that shared a distinct culture, religion or language, which differed from the other groups living close by.  Critics point out  that the ethnic groups that appear in the national census of former colonies are the same old categories invented by their European rulers earlier.   ( continued)

MOD  Media Centre

• Says coordination among state and non-state institutions crucial for a holistic response to human trafficking
• Plans to incorporate awareness on human trafficking into education sector
• A wakeup call to all stakeholder institutions from the NAHTTF

The landscape of human trafficking is evolving, transforming into a ruthless business that preys on the vulnerable and exploits their desperation. This dark reality presents a complex challenge that threatens not just individual lives but our national security as well, stressed Defence Secretary General Kamal Gunaratne delivering the keynote address at the opening session of the  Awareness Workshop organized for the Divisional Secretaries on Human Trafficking at the Radisson Hotel, Colombo today (Aug 14).

The three-day workshop is organized by the National Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force (NAHTTF) in collaboration with the Safe Foundation under ‘Empowering Civil Society Organizations to Combat Human Trafficking’, a project funded by the USAID.   

This workshop is held under the supervision of the Defence Secretary, with the purview of the Chief of National Intelligence Major General Ruwan Kulathunga, while 36 Divisional Secretaries and Assistant Divisional Secretaries are attending the programme.  

‘Recognizing the gravity of this threat, we have formulated the National Strategic Action Plan to monitor and combat human trafficking for the years 2021-2025’ the Defence Secretary stated adding our approach is based on four pillars: Prevention, Protection, Prosecution, and Partnership”.

Highlighting the gaining ground over collective effort he went on emphasising the necessity of coordination between governmental and non-governmental organizations, which is crucial for a holistic response to human trafficking.

At present, we collaborate with twenty stakeholders under the NAHTTF, demonstrating the power of unity in our fight against this crime”, he added.

On this note focusing the importance of the Divisional Secretaries role that stands as a cornerstone he remarked that this multi-disciplinary collaboration will enable them to actively contribute to the NAHTTF’s endeavours.

The upgrading to ‘Tier-2’ from ‘Tier-2 Watch List’ in the Trafficking in Persons Report submitted annually to the US Department of State showcases our progress he reasoned while explaining positive outcomes of this collective effort.

Revealingly future plans that are afoot to work with inter-governmental institutions and connect field development officers with the taskforce and further aim to incorporate awareness of Human Trafficking into the education system, he said.

In closing he remarked that human trafficking is a crime against humanity, and affirmed we, as the NAHTTF of Sri Lanka, are determined to fight against it with all our might.

Senior officials of Safe Foundation, Attorney General’s Department, Immigration and Emigration Department, Human Trafficking, Smuggling, Maritime Crimes Investigation Division, Institute of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, Bureau for the Prevention of Abuse of Children and Women, National Child Protection Authority, Department of Labour, National Authority for the Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses, SLBFE, IOM, ILO and legal officers representing the Defence Ministry are contributing as resource personnel at the three-day long workshop. 

MOD  Media Centre

Air Vice Marshal Roshan Senaka Biyanvila has been appointed as the new Director General of the Civil Security Department.

AVM Biyanvila received his letter of appointment from Defence Secretary General Kamal Gunaratne at the Defence Ministry today (Aug 14).

He will be replacing Major General Ranjan Lamahewage as the new Director General.