Sasanka De Silva Pannipitiya

Most Get-rich-quick scams often prey on people’s desires, for quick and easy wealth, promising substantial returns with minimal effort.

While the tactics used by scammers can vary, here are some telltale signs to watch out for:

Unrealistic Promises:

Scammers often promise unbelievably high returns in an unrealistically short period.

If an opportunity sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Pressure to Act Quickly:

Scammers create a sense of urgency to prevent you from thinking things through or conducting proper research.

They might say the opportunity is available for a limited time or that you must act immediately.

Lack of Transparency:

Legitimate investment opportunities provide clear information about the investment, the risks involved, and how your money will be used. Scammers avoid providing detailed information and often use vague or complex terms to confuse potential victims.

No Track Record or History:

Legitimate investment opportunities can often be researched online to verify their credibility.

Scammers, on the other hand, may lack a legitimate online presence or history.

Secret or Proprietary Information:

Scammers might claim to have access to secret or exclusive information that they’re willing to share with you for a fee.

Be cautious if someone is asking for payment upfront for such information.

Unsolicited Offers:

Be wary of unsolicited emails, messages, or phone calls that promise quick riches.

Scammers often cold-call or contact people out of the blue.

Request for Personal Information:

Scammers might ask for sensitive personal information like your Social Security number, bank account details, or credit card information. Never provide this information to unsolicited contacts.

High Fees:

Scammers might ask for significant upfront fees, claiming they’re necessary to unlock the promised riches.

Legitimate investments typically have lower fees or fees that are clearly outlined.

Pyramid or Ponzi Structure:

Some scams involve recruiting others to invest in the scheme, with the promise of earning commissions from their investments.

These schemes rely on constant recruitment and often collapse when new recruits become scarce.

No Genuine Product or Service:

In many cases, the focus of the scam is on recruiting new investors rather than selling a genuine product or service.

Legitimate businesses have clear offerings beyond just recruiting.

Guaranteed Returns:

Be cautious of anyone who guarantees that you’ll make a specific amount of money from your investment.

All investments carry some level of risk, and no one can guarantee returns.

Lack of Regulation or Registration:

Genuine investment opportunities and financial professionals are usually registered with relevant regulatory bodies.

Scammers may avoid registration to evade oversight.

Overly Complex Strategies:

Scammers often present convoluted investments. strategies that are difficult to understand.

They do this to discourage questions and create an aura of expertise.

Refusal to Provide Documentation:

Legitimate investments provide prospectuses, legal documents, and detailed information.

Scammers might be hesitant to provide any documentation for their scheme.

Always remember that due diligence and Research is essential before making any financial decisions.

If something feels off or too good to be true, it’s best to walk away and consult with a trusted financial advisor or do your own research to verify the legitimacy of the opportunity.

Sasanka De Silva

Pannipitya.

Auslanka TV – Ausලංකා TV

https://youtu.be/_pw1I-oYYaY

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

ශ්‍රී ලංකාව, ඉන්දියාව සහ නේපාලයේ ත්‍රිවිධ හමුදාවන් සහ තරුණ තරුණියන්ගේ සහභාගිත්වයෙන් බුදුන් උපන් ලුම්බිණියේ සිට කොළඹ දක්වා පැවැත්වීමට නියමිත ප්‍රදර්ශනාත්මක යතුරුපැදි  සවාරිය පිළීබඳ මූලික සාකච්ඡාවක් අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන මහතාගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන් 2023.09.01 දින අරලියගහ මන්දිරයේදී පැවැත්විණී.

නේපාලයේ ලුම්බිණියේ සිට ඉන්දීය දේශසීමාවට ඇතුල් වී බුද්ධගයාව, නාලන්දාව, කුසිනාරා, ශාවස්ත්‍රී, සාරානාත් සංකස්ස යන ප්‍රදේශ හරහා පැමිණෙන යතුරුපැදි සවාරිය දකුණු ඉන්දියාවට පැමිණ රාමේෂ්වරම් හරහා කංකසන්තුරයෙන් මෙරටට ඇතුල්වීමට නියමිතය. ජනවාරි මස 15 වන දින මෙරට දී ආරම්භ කෙරෙන යතුරුපැදි සවාරිය කංකසන්තුරයේ සිට අනුරාධපුර, දඹුල්ල, මාතලේ, මහියංගනය, බදුල්ල, ඇල්ල, කතරගම, මාතර යන ප්‍රදේශවල බෞද්ධ සිද්ධස්ථාන සහ සංචාරක ආකර්ශනීය ස්ථාන ආවරණය කරමින් කොළඹට පැමිණීමට නියමිතව තිබේ. ඊට සමගාමීව කොළඹ දී රටවල් තුනේ කළාකරුවන්ගේ සහභාගීත්වයෙන් සංස්කෘතික සංදර්ශනයක් පැවැත්වීමටද නියමිතව තිබේ. 

ශ්‍රී ලංකාව, නේපාලය, ඉන්දියාව යන රටවල් තුන අතර ආගමික හා සංස්කෘතික සම්බන්ධතා අගය කළ අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා යතුරුපැදි සවාරිය සඳහා රජයේ පූර්ණ සහයෝගය ලබාදෙන බවට සහතික විය. ලුම්බිණියේ සිට ශ්‍රී ලංකාව දක්වා යෝජිත  දිගු  යතරු පැදි සවාරිය  අපගේ රටවල් අතර සබඳතාව සහ සමීප සහයෝගීතාවය ශක්තිමත් කිරීමට අවස්ථාවක් උදාකරනු ඇති අතර මෙම යතරු පැදි සවාරියේදී ස්ත්‍රී පුරුෂ භේදයකින් තොරව සමාන අවස්ථා ලබාදිය යුතු බව අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා මෙහිදී සඳහන් කළේය. 

අමාත්‍ය  රොෂාන් රණසිංහ, රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යවරුන් වන රෝහණ දිසානායක, ශෙහාන් සේමසිංහ, ශාන්ත බණ්ඩාර, ඩයනා ගමගේ, ජානක වක්කුඹුර  පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී යදාමිණී ගුණවර්ධන මෙහිදී අදහස් දැක් වූ අතර ඒ ඒ අමාත්‍යාංශ වලින් යතුරුපැදි සවාරියට අවශ්‍ය සහයෝගය ලබාදෙන බවට සහතික විය.

නේපාල ඉන්දීය තානාපති නිළධාරීන් සහ සම්බන්දීකාරක රාහුල් පටේල්, අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ලේකම් අනුර දිසානායක ඇතුළු අමාත්‍යාංශ ලේකම්වරුන්, ත්‍රිවිධහමුදා නිළධාරීන්, ඒකීය විශ්ව සංවිධානයේ (One universe organization ) පියල් දර්ශන ඇතුළු පිරිසක් මෙම සාකච්ඡාවට සහභාගී වූහ. 

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

ජපානය සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකාව අතර ද්විපාර්ශ්වික සහයෝගීතාව සහ ජනතාව අතර සබඳතා තවදුරටත් ශක්තිමත් කිරීම පිළිබඳව සාකච්ඡා කිරීම සඳහා ජපානයේ පාර්ලිමේන්තු නියෝජිත පිරිසක් අද (2023.09.01) අරලියගහ මන්දිරයේදී අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන හමුවිය.

දූත පිරිස පිළිගත් අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා ප්‍රකාශ කළේ යටිතල පහසුකම් සංවර්ධනය, බලශක්තිය, දුම්රිය, සෞඛ්‍ය, අධ්‍යාපනය සහ තරුණ නිපුණතා සංවර්ධනය වැනි ක්ෂේත්‍ර රැසකට ජපානය නිරතුරුව ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට සහය ලබාදී ඇති බවයි.

නිල සංවර්ධන සහය පිළිබඳ විශේෂ පාර්ලිමේන්තු කමිටුවේ සාමාජික පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී නකානිෂි යුසුකේ ප්‍රකාශ කළේ ජපානය ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සමීපතම මිතුරෙකු වන අතර කඩිනම් සංවර්ධනය සඳහා තවදුරටත් ආධාර ලබාදෙන බවයි. ජපානයේ රැකියා සඳහා ශ්‍රී ලාංකික තරුණ තරුණියන්ට ඇති හැකියාව ගැන සඳහන් කරමින් ඔහු කියා සිටියේ ජපානයට තරුණ නිපුණතා සංවර්ධන සහ අධ්‍යාපන ක්ෂේත්‍ර සඳහා සහය විය හැකි බවයි.

ශ්‍රී ලාංකික තරුණ තරුණියන් වැඩි වශයෙන් ජපන් භාෂාව හදාරන බව අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා මෙහිදී පෙන්වා දුන්නේය.

දූත පිරිසට ජපාන පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රීවරුන් වන Imai Eriko සහ Ozawa Masahito, ජපාන තානාපති Mizukoshi Hideaki සහ පාර්ලිමේන්තු  ස්ථාවර කමිටුවේ ප්‍රධාන පර්යේෂණ නිලධාරී, Mingawa Kenichi ඇතුළත් විය.

රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යවරුන් වන ජානක වක්කුඹුර සහ රෝහණ දිසානායක, පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී යදාමිණි ගුණවර්ධන, අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ලේකම් අනුර දිසානායක යන මහත්වරු ද මෙම අවස්ථාවට සහභාගි වූහ.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

 Lanka Lead News

රට දෙකඩ වීම නවතා දැමීමට, 30 වසරක යුද්ධයේ දී ජීවිත පරිත්‍යාගයෙන් කටයුතු කළ වීරෝධාර රණවිරුවන්ගේ හා ජාතිමාමක ජනතාවගේ සියලු උත්සාහයන් විනාශ කරමින් ජනාධිපති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතා සහ දෙමළ බෙදුම්වාදී නායකයන් එක්ව 13 වැනි ව්‍යවස්ථා සංශෝධනය පූර්ණ ලෙස බලාත්මක කිරීමට දරන උත්සාහය පරාජය කිරීම සඳහා ජනතාව දැනුවත් කිරීමේ ව්‍යාපාරයක් ඊයේ (31) සවස මහරගම දී පැවැත්විණි.

එය සංවිධානය කර තිබුනේ දේශප්‍රේමී ජාතික පෙරමුණේ මධ්‍යම මණ්ඩල සභික, ගෝලීය සංසදයේ මෙරට නිත්‍ය නියෝජිත නීතිඥ නුවන් බැල්ලන්තුඩාව මහතා ප්‍රමුඛ පිරිසක් විසිනි.

එහිදී ජනතාව දැනුවත් කිරීම සඳහා අත්පත්‍රිකා බෙදාහැරීම ද සිදුවිය.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Since Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malclom Ranjith had slammed the government authorities to name the group which supported the Easter Sunday bombers, Minister of Public security Tiran Allas invited him and the Church to go through the investigations and outline any shortcomings.

We have already informed the Church authorities to go through the investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks. The Church is welcome to show any shortcomings with regard to the investigations which are almost completed. The Church should cooperate with us and should go through the investigations and show us if there are any shortcomings,” he said.

“Let us finish this ongoing confrontation over the Easter Sunday attacks,” he added.

Cardinal Ranjith who was speaking during a service at the Katuwapitiya Church said the present government had failed to reveal the truth on the Easter Sunday attacks.

The present government has not kept its promise to reveal the truth on the Easter Sunday attacks. Neither the President nor the Attorney General or any Member of Parliament had done their duty. No member of Parliament had called for an impartial investigation into the Easter Sunday attacks,” the Cardinal said.

We want the government to name the group which had supported the Easter Sunday bombers,” he added. (Yohan Perera)

Prime Minister’s Media Division

Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena called upon all policy-makers, as well as the private sector and civil society, to use the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) and the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) formulated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to understand and implement measures to help move Sri Lanka away from vulnerability and poverty in the future.
He said this when UNDP Resident Representative Azusa Kubota called on him at the Temple Trees today (Aug 31) together with the members of the UNDP experts team Dr Sabina Alkire, Director, Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), University of Oxford and Prof Siri Hettige,  Professor in Sociology to hand over the UNDP MVI MPI Reports.
The Prime Minister thanked the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, the UNDP SURGE Data Hub, and the Citra Social Innovation Lab, which is anchored within the Prime Minister’s Office in Sri Lanka for the preparation of the data base which will be of extremely useful to effectively design national policies for these vulnerable groups.
Ms Kubota explained that the data for the report was collected from a national level survey capturing insights from 25,000 households covering the issues related to nutrition, education, household debt or risks of disasters.
Dr Alkire said the MVI MPI offer a robust evidence base to better understand the challenges faced by vulnerable groups and to assist policymakers in formulating targeted and effective policies.
Prof Hettige said the data base on poverty and vulnerability will be useful for the government to effectively plan its policy programmes to bring Sri Lanka back on track and onto a more sustainable development pathway.
Secretary to the Prime Minister Anura Dissanayake, Advisor (Media) Sugeeswara Senadhira and UNDP Team Leader Fadhil Bakeer Markar were also present on this occasion.

KAMALIKA PIERIS

With the rise of the Tamil Separatist Movement, the Buddhist realized that the Buddhist sites in the north and east were in danger.  The Tamil Separatist Movement intended to ruthlessly eliminate all evidence of a Sinhala Buddhist civilization in the north and east.

Therefore, the Sinhala Buddhist lobby wanted the ancient Buddhist monuments in the north and east identified, given a map location and, where possible, gazetted as protected areas. 

M. H. Sirisoma, Asst. Archaeological Commissioner prepared a map of Buddhist sites in 1962. This was much valued and greatly used. It is   still cited as a pioneer contribution.  His map lists 21 places   in Jaffna, 4 in Mannar, 105 in Vavuniya and Mullaitivu, 81 in Trincomalee, 22 in Batticaloa, 64 in Ampara.

In 1983, Cyril Mathew prepared a 167 page document, titled An appeal to UNESCO to safeguard and preserve the cultural property in Sri Lanka endangered by racial prejudice, unlawful occupation or willful destruction.”  It is a valuable historical document which should be made available in research collections.

It is a privately published monograph, carrying the address. Barnes Place, Colombo 7.” Cyril Mathew acknowledged the support of several others in preparing this document. He speaks of the support and cooperation he received from colleagues, friends and well wishers. (See last page)

The book starts with Sirisoma’s map, greatly enlarged. The book also contains information on 24 selected sites, with supporting documents, showing the damage done to the monuments on these sites.

 Mathew provides supporting documents   to show that these Buddhist monuments had been damaged. They include   reports from the GA and surveys by the Department of Archaeology. Some are facsimiles of handwritten reports.  The handwritten report on   Nelukkulam in Vavuniya runs to 7 pages and contains many drawing and measurements.   The relevant Gazette notices are also included.

The 24 sites are:  Ettama-Pottuvil,  Gokanna,   Kanchikudichchi, Kavudugala,Kiliveddy,   Kirimetti aru,  Kottadicholai,  Kuchchaveli,  Kurundanmalai,Mohantankulam,Nedunkerni, Nelugala, Nelukkalam, Nilaveli,  Pulukunawa,  Samalankulam, Samudragiri, Sangamankanda, Santimalai, Sembimalai,  Sunethrawewa, Tadikulam,   Taravakulam, Vilankulam.

Among the monuments destroyed he lists Kurundanmalai where in 1981 there was an attempt to turn the image house into a Hindu kovil. A siripatula found there was used as a base to light camphor.

Mathew also stated that the stupa at Nellikulam in Vavuniya had been leveled and cemented and a trident placed there.  A Hindu kovil has been constructed in the vihara premises at Mohantankulam in Vavuniya. The entire area, including ruins has been fenced in and turned into a large cattle shed, said Cyril Mathew.  A Hindu kovil was to be set up at Samalankulam in Vavuniya said Mathew in his book.

Cyril Mathew’s book ends with a set of photographs showing the damage caused to several Buddhist monuments in the north and east. The photographs include a wantonly damaged Buddha image from Etambagaskada.

Cyril Mathews appeal to UNESCO was forgotten, until the Kurundi issue came up. When discussion started in 2023 on social media about Kurundi vihara, commentators started to recall Mathew’s contribution and made reference to the UNESCO document.

Cyril Mathew and E.L.B. Hurulle took an active interest in controlling the damage done to Buddhist monuments. ..Their role in the matter should not be forgotten, said commentators.  Cyril Mathew was Minister of Industry and Scientific Affairs  (1977–1986).Hurulle was Minister of Cultural affairs at that time.

Cyril Mathew set up Buddhist societies in the industrial corporations and Boards under his Ministry and brought them together as the State Corporations Buddhist Congress.

This Congress passed 5 resolutions at the first meeting.

1.  That the ruins now under forest cover b e discovered and protected through Gazette orders. Buddhists should settle there and also the Maha sangha.

2. Renovations should maintain the original style of the building.

3. There should be an increase in the staff of the Department of Archaeology. There should be more trained archaeologists. An Assistant Commissioner of archaeology should be assigned to each Kachcheri. Priority should be given to archaeological restoration in all districts.

4. The work done at present to identify and label sacred areas is commended. 

 5. Station the Maha sangha in sensitive areas.

 This Congress appears to have commenced work enthusiastically. Mathew reported that they had found some 239 Buddhist ruins and conserved 70. Five puja nagara were planned, one was Kurundi.  Each religious site was assigned to a specific corporation, which set up a samiti for the work. Kurundi was assigned to the   Ceramic Corporation.   

Cyril Mathew understood the importance of the Eastern province .He focused on three sites in the east,   Kurundi, Tiriyaya, Seruwila.  State Corporations Buddhist Congress started excavation at Kurundi in 1980.

In 1981, the Congress wrote to the Department of Archaeology and other relevant bodies, saying that they had set up an avasa for a monk there, having obtained permission to do so. They reported that the padmasana and statue in the pilimage have been broken, the pieces are lying there.

The Tamils have set up a kovil on the pilimage. They have made a concrete platform and set up a trisula on it. They have set up a second trisula elsewhere on Kurundi. Get these items out of Kurundi, requested the Congress.

Mathew found that there was no police station to protect Kurundi. He got a police station set up at Oddusuddan for the purpose. The archaeological conservation project of the State Corporations Buddhist Congress ended in 1982, with the start of LTTE      activity.

E.T. Kannangara published Jaffna and the Sinhala heritage” in 1984. In this book he provided a list of the places in the Jaffna peninsula where Buddhist remains have been found in the 1980s.

Several Buddha images were found at Puttur. Some were in Dhiyana mudra, one was eight ft tall.

Remains of a dagoba and Buddha statue were found at Mahiyapiti. Buddha images, shrine and yantra gala were found at Mallakam Buddha image, moonstone, door frame, pillars and three mounds of earth were found at Vavunikulam. A Buddha image and dagoba was found at Koddiyawattai, a hamlet in Chunnakam. Buddha image was found in the village of Navakiri at Nilavarai.

A Buddha footprint was found at Puloli, two miles from Point Pedro. Remains of dagobas have been found at Nilavarai, Tellipali, Uduvil and Uruthirupuram. There is evidence of a Buddhist vihara in Keerimalai. Vallipuram contained old bricks, foundations of buildings, damaged Buddha images, ruins of a Buddhist vihara and a place named ‘sakkawattai’.  Buddhist ruins were also found at Anakottai, Chulipuram, Uruthirupuram and at Delft.

 Kannangara has   drawn attention to Buddhist remains outside the Jaffna peninsula. A standing Buddha statue 7 ½ feet in height was found at Mannar.  The Kurundi vihara built by Aggabodhi I in Mullativu ((Muladipa) is now in ruins. He noted that report of the Commissioner of Archaeology 1982, refers to Buddhist ruins in the Vanni.

Kannangara says that there were Buddhist temples on the sites of some present day kovils. Kandasamy kovil at Nallur, built by Sapumal Kumaraya, was earlier a Buddhist shrine with an altar for Skanda. Buddha images were found quarter mile from this kovil. The Hindu kovil at Mawatupuram, a village near Kankesanturai, was earlier Mawatupura vihara. An ancient Buddhist vihara near the 9th mile post along Jaffna-Karaingar road across Manipay is now a Hindu kovil.

Kannangara stated that place names also showed that Jaffna had been Buddhist. There is ‘Pinwatte’ and ‘Buddhawattai’ close to Kantarodai. . Places named Sakkavattai (sangha watta) are found at Kankesanturai, Mawatapuram and the adjacent villages. Until the 1980s a hamlet close to Tellippalai was known as ‘Buddha Walauwwa’. Puttur is ‘Budugama’. ‘Ur’ means village in Tamil. There is ‘Gothamaluwawatta’ about a quarter mile from Ponnalai. (continued)

Dr Ruwan M Jayatunge M.D.

71 කැරැල්ල ආරම්භයේ සිට අවසානය දක්වා පුර්ණ සමාලෝචනයක් – කර්තෘ වෛද්‍ය රුවන් එම්. ජයතුංග

(මේ පොත දැන් මිලදී ගත හැකියි ; දුශෙයින් පොත් හළ 271 A හයිලෙවල් පාර නුගේගොඩ)

වෛද්‍ය රුවන් එම්. ජයතුංග විසින් 71 කැරැල්ල පිළිබඳව අධ්‍යයනයක් කොට කැරළිකරුවන් සම්මුඛ සාකච්ඡාවලට ලක් කරමින් ඉතිහාසයේ සැඟව පැවති සාධකයන් ඉස්මතු කරමින් ඉතා අගනා සමාජ විද්‍යාත්මක හා ඓතිහාසික වශයෙන් වටිනා කෘතියක් පාඨකයාට ලබා දීම ප්‍රශස්ත කරුණක් ලෙස මම දකිමි. – ආචාර්ය ලීල් ගුණසේකර 71 කැරැල්ලේ පුනරුත්ථාපනය පිළිබඳ අතිරේක ලේකම්

71 කැරැල්ලේ ඉතිහාසයෙන් වැළළී ගිය සිද්ධීන් වෛද්‍ය රුවන් එම් ජයතුංග විසින් මෙම කෘතිය හරහා හෙළිදරව් කරයි – මහාචාර්‍ය කාලෝ ෆොන්සේකා

1971 කැරැල්ල සුවිශේෂිව සලකා බලනවිට, ඒ පිළිබඳව මේ වන විට සැලකිය යුතු ලිඛිත සාහිත්‍යයක් දැකිය හැකිය. වෛද්‍ය රුවන් ජයතුංග විසින් රචිත මෙම ග්‍රන්ථය ඊට එක්කළ තවත් සැලකිය යුතු ප්‍රකාශනයක් වන අතර, 1971 කැරැල්ල පිළබඳව පාඨකයාට ඒ මගින් සැලකිය යුතු අවබෝධයක් ලබා දෙනවාට සැක නැත. -මහාචාර්ය සිරි හෙට්ටිගේ සමාජ විද්‍යාව පිළිබද සම්මානිත මහාචාර්ය කොළඹ විශ්ව විද්‍යාලය

1971 තරුණ නැගී සිටීම (කැරැල්ල?) නිදහස් ලංකාවේ සමාජ අසමමිතියන් හා විසමතා පුපුරා ගිය පළමු අවස්ථාවයි. එය ලක් සමාජය දැඩි කම්පනයකට පත් කළත් එයින් නිසි පාඩම් නූගත් නිසා තවත් තරුණ ප්‍රචණ්ඩත්වයන් දෙකක් මතු විය. විනිශ්චයකින් තොරව 1971 සිදුවීම් හා විපාක ගැන වෛද්‍ය රුවන් එම් ජයතුංග මෙනෙහි කරන්නේ උපේක්‍ෂා සහගතවය. –නාලක ගුනවර්ධන – ජේෂ්ඨ මාධ්‍යවේදී

By Dr. S. I. Keethaponcalan  Courtesy Eurasia Review

One of the highlights of President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s India visit last month was the agreement to establish land connectivity between Sri Lanka and India.” Land connectivity between India and Sri Lanka means building a bridge from the Ramanathapuram region to Mannar, a modern Ramsethu. The parties are also discussing a tunnel. The two countries agreed to undertake a feasibility study” for land connectivity at an early date.” 

This is not the only agreement reached between the two countries during the president’s visit. For example, the leaders agreed to resume flights between Jaffna and Chennai, resume passenger ferry service between Nagapattinam and Kankesanthurai, and establish a high-capacity power grid between the two countries. The decision to develop land connectivity is controversial compared to the other agreements. This article argues that the envisioned modern Ramsethu would not be built for political reasons. 

Premature Enthusiasm 

President Wickremesinghe’s visit and the agreements reached created a lot of enthusiasm in India about an intensified partnership between the two countries. For example, an official of the Center for Social and Economic Progress declared that the outcome of the visit shows that India will be the most important partner for Sri Lanka to reset its economy, its bureaucracy, its decision-making system for future economic partnerships” (Aljazeera, July 21, 2023). 

A notable factor is that Wickremesingh’s visit to New Delhi and the agreements reached did not generate the same enthusiasm in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan commentators have approached the possible close partnership idea with either caution or from a critical perspective. 

The Indian hope of becoming the most significant partner of Sri Lanka is premature, and it fails to appreciate Sri Lanka’s domestic and regional realities. During the last phase of the war with the LTTE, India offered considerable assistance to Sri Lanka. For example, based on intelligence provided by India, the (Sri Lanka) navy destroyed several LTTE ships, curtailing arms supplies to the Tamil rebels. India joined the troika,” a three-person committee formed to speed up war-related decisions. In other words, India extensively helped Sri Lanka finish the LTTE, believing that Sri Lanka would cater to its national interest and security needs in a post-LTTE environment. India was disappointed. 

The Rajapaksa government sidelined India as it leaned drastically towards China. China became the darling of Sri Lanka. Consequently, India lost the battle with China in Sri Lanka after the end of the war. It was the economic crisis of 2022 that (temporarily) halted China’s buildup in Sri Lanka and allowed India to reenter the competition. India returned by providing about four billion dollars in financial and humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka during the crisis. Therefore, India is back in the game but has not won the battle as some Indians presume. Therefore, the Indian enthusiasm about forging the most important partnership with Sri Lanka is premature. It could be sidelined again.  

One of the reasons why India was almost wholly sidelined was China’s economic capabilities. It is a twenty trillion-dollar economy and the world’s largest by purchasing power parity. Although substantial, the Indian economy is worth only about four trillion dollars. Therefore, India could not compete with China in terms of catering to Sri Lanka’s post-war needs and ambitions. However, the most significant reason India was sidelined was fears of the Sinhala people in general and the Rajapaksa government in particular. These two factors would once again make the envisioned bridge an unlikely project.    

The Bridge 

Indian media reports suggested that Ranil Wickremesinghe proposed the land bridge project. For example, according to Nikkei Asian Online (July 21, 2023), Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra claimed that the land connectivity idea was proposed by the Sri Lankan president and both leaders agreed to take this forward.” I doubt that Ranil Wickremesinghe proposed the idea because he had never enthusiastically discussed the bridge project. He also knows there is no enthusiasm about the bridge on this side of the Palk Strait. 

On the other hand, Indians are very excited about the bridge (or a tunnel), especially the Narendra Modi government, which is keen to build the bridge as a greater South Asian integration project. For example, in a 2015 (December 16) report, The Economic Times stated, keen on promoting connectivity in the South Asian region, India is set to build a sea bridge and tunnel connecting Sri Lanka.” The report also quoted India’s Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari saying that the land connection project was also discussed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his counterpart during the latter’s recent visit.” The bridge is an Indian idea. 

The vision statement issued after Wickremesinghe’s visit claimed that the land connectivity is proposed to propel economic growth and prosperity in both Sri Lanka and India.” However, the reality is different. India is keen to build the bridge because it would easily bring the small island nation into India’s sphere of influence. India could also send its military and reinforcement to Sri Lanka easily in a crisis. For example, when foreign powers try to station their military in Sri Lanka. One cannot rule out the possibility of full or semi-stationing of Chinese or the U.S. forces in Sri Lanka. Therefore, from an Indian perspective, the proposed bridge is more of a strategic military instrument than an economic propeller.  

An Indian Dream? 

As I have already pointed out, the bridge cannot be built in the near future. Three significant factors could halt this project. They are (1) the Southern, especially Sinhala fears, (2) Ranil Wickremesinghe’s realities, and (3) China. The Sri Lankan fear of a land connection with India could be divided into three categories: (1) fear of Indian dominance, (2) fear of Eelam, and (3) concerns about the possible economic impact. 

Sinhala nationalists, not without reason, believe that a land connection with India would undermine Sri Lanka’s freedom and independence. It is possible that Sri Lanka remained an independent state partly due to its isolation from the Indian Subcontinent. Currently, the parties have only agreed to undertake a feasibility study. No concrete steps have been taken. Sinhala nationalist critics are already out with condemnation. For example, Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith recently accused the government of selling the country to India by agreeing to the bridge idea. According to a recent news report, the bishop claimed that by selling parts of our nation, Sri Lanka is bowing to other nations. The authorities are making various stupid decisions leading the country towards destruction. Having gained freedom, we now have to lose freedom” (Newswire, August 28, 2023). The bishop insisted on a national referendum to decide on the proposed bridge. Bishop Ranjith is an intelligent activist. He insists on a referendum because he knows well that the bridge project will not pass the referendum test.  

Some Sinhala commentators also believe the bridge could promote separatism in Sri Lanka. Dayan Jayatilleka, calling the proposed land connection a danger to Sri Lanka’s collective existence,” argued that it should not be built because the North and East of the island of Sri Lanka will always be predominantly Tamil-speaking” (The Island, August 6, 2023). The proposed bridge also creates economic anxiety, especially in the North and East. Some Tamils believe that they will not be able to compete with the enormous and dynamic Indian economy. Similar economic anxieties may also exist in the South. Therefore, the Sri Lankan government will have to deal with severe resistance if and when concrete actions are introduced to build the bridge. The Southern resistance will have the power to shut down the proposed project. 

President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s political realities will also operate as a hindrance. First, I do not believe he likes the land connectivity idea. He is no less nationalist than J. R. Jayewardene. I believe that the agreement to undertake a feasibility study is a delaying tactic. He knows that he cannot antagonize India. Moreover, Wickremesinghe does not have a government of his own. He heads a government of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP). Like many Sinhala nationalists, Mahinda Rajapaksa also has concerns about Indian hegemony and control. As a young politician, he believed India was coming to take the Sinhala land. Therefore, a political party headed by Mahinda Rajapaksa would not support a land bridge from India. The Sinhala resistance to the proposed land bridge can also potentially destroy Wickremesinghe’s electoral political ambitions. Therefore, as an astute politician, he will be cautious about the proposed bridge. 

A significant player in this whole scenario is China. Despite Indian pressure, China had always maintained cordial relations with Sri Lanka and had invested heavily to bring Sri Lanka into its domain. It succeeded in this endeavor. The economic crisis weakened China’s image and its grip on Sri Lanka to a certain degree. However, the Asian giant remains a powerful player in Sri Lanka. China also knows that the proposed land bridge would strengthen India’s control while weakening China’s influence in Sri Lanka. Therefore, China will use its power and influence to halt the land connection project. A recent case in point was the Colombo Port’s East Terminal project. The India (and Japan) funded project was believed to be canceled in 2021 due to Chinese pressure. The canceled project was transferred to China’s state-run China Harbor Engineering Corporation. Therefore, the modern Ramsethu bridge would remain a mere dream. The bridge will not happen without fundamental shifts in regional geopolitics.  

Courtesy AdaDeran

මෙරට අමෙරිකානු තානාපතිනිය වන ජූලි චංග් මහත්මිය විසින් හැසිරෙනු ලබන්නේ විදේශ තානාපතිවරියක් ලෙස නොවන බවත්, ඇය මෙරට ස්වෛරීභාවට දැඩි තර්ජනයක් එල්ල කරන බවත් පෙන්වා දෙමින් ජාතික සංවිධාන එකමුතුව අද(31) විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍යවරයාට ඇය පිළිබඳව චෝදනා සහිත ලිපියක් භාර දීමට විදේශකටයුතු අමාත්‍යංශයට පැමිණියහ.

එහිදී එම සංවිධාන එකමුතුව වෙනුවෙන් අදහස් දැක්වූ වෛද්‍ය වසන්ත බණ්ඩාර මහතා මාධ්‍යවේදීන් හමුවේ පැවසුවේ ගෝල්ෆේස් අරගල සමයේ සිටම ඇමරිකානු තානාපතිනිය මෙරට අභ්‍යන්තර කටයුතුවලට බරපතළ ලෙස බලපෑම් කළ බවත්, ඇය විසින් වියානා සම්මුතිය අමු අමුවේ උල්ලංඝණය කර ඇති බවත් ය.

ඇයට එරෙහිව චෝදනා විශාල ප්‍රමාණයක් තිබුණ ද විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍යංශය හා විදේශ ඇමැතිවරයා ඇයට එරෙහිව කිසිඳු පියවරක් ගෙන නොමැති බවද ඒ මහතා මෙහිදී පැවසීය.

ඇමරිකානු තානාපතිනිය කටයුතු කරන්නේ මෙරට යටත් විජිත ලේකම්වරිය ලෙසින් බවත්, ජනාධිපතිවරයා කටයුතු කරන්නේ ආණ්ඩුකාරවරයා ලෙසින් බවත් පවසන වෛද්‍ය වසන්ත බණ්ඩාර මහතා, වහාම ඇයව කැඳවා මේ පිළිබඳව ක්‍රියාමාර්ග ගැනීමට විදේශ ඇමැති අලි සබ්රි මහතා කටයුතු කළ යුතුව ඇති බවත් සඳහන් කළේය.

මෙම අවස්ථාව නියෝජනය කරමින් ආචාර්ය ගුණදාස අමරසේකර, වෛද්‍ය අනුලා විජේසුන්දර, නීතිඥ නුවන් බැල්ලන්තුඩාව, අනුරාධ තෙන්නකෝන් යන මහත්ම මහත්මීහු මාධ්‍යවේදීන් හමුවේ අදහස් පළ කරන ලදී.

සවිස්තරාත්මක වීඩියෝව නරඹන්න…

Courtesy AdaDerana

Sinopec, a Beijing-based leading international petroleum company, has officially kicked off its business operations in Sri Lanka, by supplying fuel at its first filing station on the island established in Mattegoda, Colombo.

Sinopec Fuel Oil Lanka, the local subsidiary of the Chinese petroleum giant began its retail operations on Wednesday (Aug. 30), with a market promotion campaign. Accordingly, petrol and diesel are pumped at a discount of Rs. 3.00 per liter.

Last year, the Sri Lankan government decided to open up Sri Lanka’s fuel import and retail sales market to companies from oil-producing nations in a bid to address the foreign exchange crisis. The Petroleum Products (Special Provisions) Bill also received the approval of ministerial consultative committee on power & energy, paving way for the new suppliers to enter the local fuel market as importers, distributers, and retail operators for petroleum products.

In March 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers gave the nod to award licenses to China’s Sinopec, Australia’s United Petroleum and RM Parks of the USA, in collaboration with multinational oil and gas company – Shell PLC, to enter the fuel retail market in Sri Lanka.

Subsequently, negotiations were completed with Sinopec Fuel Oil Lanka and its parent company for a long-term contract on the importation, storage, distribution and sale of petroleum products across the island nation. 

Later in May 2023, a contract agreement was inked between Sri Lankan and Sinopec representatives, marking a crucial step in ensuring a steady and uninterrupted fuel supply in the country.

Under this deal, Sinopec is granted a 20-year license to operate 150 filling stations in Sri Lanka, and will also be able to invest in 50 new filling stations.

Sri Lanka’s fuel retail market remained a state monopoly under the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) until 2003 when the Indian Company (IOC) commenced operations here.

Courtesy AdaDerana

Sri Lanka’s Department of Census and Statistics says that headline inflation based on the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) has further reduced to 4% in August, compared to 6.3% in July 2023. 

According to its latest report, Colombo’s food Inflation has decreased to -4.8% in August, from -1.4% in July 2023.

The CCPI for all items for the month of August 2023 was 190.1 and it records a decrease of 0.1 in index points. Meanwhile the overall rate of inflation as measured by CCPI on Y-on-Y basis is 4.0% in August 2023. 

The CCPI for all items for the month of August 2023 was 190.1 and it records a decrease of 0.1 index points that is 0.02 percentage change compared to the month of July 2023 on an expenditure value basis for which the index was 190.2. This represents a decrease of expenditure value by Rs 39.08 in the Market Basket”. 

The month-on-month change was contributed by decrease in Food items by 0.41% and increase in Non Food items by 0.39%.

The overall rate of inflation as measured by the CCPI on Y-on-Y basis is 4.0% in August 2023 and Y-on-Y inflation calculated for the month of July 2023 was 6.396. 

The Y-on-Y inflation of Food Group decreased to 4.8% in August 2023 from -1.4% in July 2023 and the Y-on-Y inflation of Non Food Group decreased to 8.7% in August 2023 from 10.5% in July 2023.

Courtesy AdaDerana

Sri Lanka saw a notable increase in workers’ remittances and a boost in tourist arrivals in July 2023, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) says.

In its latest report on the external sector performance, the CBSL said the workers’ remittances recorded in July 2023 climbed to USD 541 million from USD 279 million in the corresponding month in 2022.

Meanwhile, tourist arrivals amounted to 143,039 as opposed to the figure recorded in June 2023, which stood at 100,388.

The cumulative tourist arrivals during January-July 2023 reached 767,913, compared to 458,670 arrivals recorded during the corresponding period in 2022.

Earnings from tourism in July 2023 were estimated at USD 219 million, in comparison to USD 123 million in June 2023 and USD 85 million in the corresponding month in the previous year.

Consequently, earnings from tourism during January-July 2023 amounted to USD 1,094 million, compared to USD 765 million in the corresponding period in 2022. India, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France were the main source countries for tourist arrivals during this period.

The report also said the merchandise trade deficit widened in July 2023 due to the combined impact of relatively low export earnings and high import expenditure, compared to July 2022. The deficit in the merchandise trade account increased in July 2023 to USD 367 million from USD 122 million in July 2022.

However, the cumulative trade deficit during January-July 2023 remained significantly low at USD 2,657 million, compared to the corresponding period in 2022 which stood at USD 3,628 million.

Courtesy AdaDerana

A fundamental rights (FR) petition was filed before the Supreme Court today (Aug. 31) seeking the appointment of a five-member committee of specialist doctors led by the Director-General of Health Services (DGHS) to conduct a transparent probe into the deaths of patients and complications caused by ‘substandard’ drugs imported to Sri Lanka.

Main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MPs Kavinda Jayawardhana and Harshana Rajakaruna put forward the petition, naming Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, DGHS Dr. Asela Gunawardena, National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) and its chairman Prof. S.D. Jayaratne and several others as its respondents.

Noting that the NMRA is responsible for registration, cancellation of registration, granting permission for manufacture, ensuring the quality, stipulating the prices and granting permission for storage of medicinal drugs used in the country, the petitioners pointed out that the use of two imported anesthetic drugs and an eye drop resulted in complications and even the deaths of some patients.

Although the use of these drugs was suspended, a comprehensive investigation into these incidents is yet to be conducted, the petitioners emphasized.

The SJB MPs, in their petition, further said that reports are rife that the proper procedure has not been followed when importing these drugs into the country.

The petitioners also sought a Supreme Court order ruling that the complications and the deaths of patients caused by these imported ‘substandard’ drugs are a violation of fundamental rights.

They also requested the Supreme Court to appoint a committee of specialist doctors headed by the DGHS to probe the matter impartially.

KAMALIKA PIERIS

The North and East of Sri Lanka was Sinhala and Buddhist   till the British took power in 1815. The North and East of Sri Lanka was never the area of historical habitation of the Tamil speaking peoples”.  The North and East of Sri Lanka never was the homeland” of the Tamil people”.

The North and East of Sri Lanka was a part of the Sinhala kingdom from Anuradhapura period to Udarata period. The North and East was a part of the Rajarata of the Anuradhapura kingdom. The Raja rata was divided into uttara passa (north) dakkhina, (south) pacina, (east) and pajjima (west). Uttara passa consisted of today’s Vavuniya, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Mannar, and Jaffna. The pacina passa consisted of the east, probably ending somewhere between Trincomalee and Batticaloa. That is my guess .Each quarter was ruled by an officer appointed by king.  

 Jaffna was an island named Nagadipa. In Vasabha’s time ((67-111 AD) Jaffna was ruled by Vasabha’s minister Isigiri. Nelugala inscription indicated that a minister, also named, Isigiri administered the north under Bhatiya Tissa II   (143-167) and Kanitta Tissa (167-186).  Inscription of Kassapa IV ((898-914) at Kadurugoda said Kassapa was the ruler of the south as well as the north. Jaffna was joined to the mainland during British rule.

Rajarata had important ports on the east and the west. There were many ports in the east to choose from and the west had the double moated port of Mantota. Dennis. N. Fernando said that ports on the north western coast, particularly Mantota, would have been used to unload goods which were then transferred through Anuradhapura to the ports at Jambukola and Seruwila in the east. It is possible that Anuradhapura became a capital due to its central position between the dominant ports on the north western and north eastern seaboard, he said. 

 Dennis N Fernando, a surveyor by profession, stated that in his view, Jambukola patuna was not in the north, it was on the east. He suggests a location close to Tiriyaya and Kuchchaveli.  Sanghamitta would have arrived at a harbor in the east he said. She woud not have disembarked at Jaffna and trudged all the way to Anuradhapura.

 Anuradhapura is only 60 miles from Jambukola (also known at Palavakki in ancient times) which is five days travel time, walking both morning and   evening.  Jaffna peninsula on the other hand is nearly 200 kms away from Anuradhapura. The journey would have taken three times longer and would have included crossing the lagoon and walking through uninhabited terrain as well.

The north and east continued to remain under the Sinhala king after the Polonnaruwa period. The capital city moved from place to place and finally came to roost at Kotte. Kokila Sandesaya (15^th century) gives a route from Kotte to Jaffna via   Mannar.   Mannar was a part of the Sitawaka kingdom.  During the time of Rajasinha I, (1581-93) Manamperi Mohottala administered Mannar.  

The Sinhala kingdom then moved to the central hills. Baldeus (1632-72) writing during the Dutch occupation, gave a list of places under the Udarata king. It included Trincomalee, Mannar, Batticaloa, and Jaffna.   

Another way of showing that the North was ruled by the Sinhala king was by comparing the language and script in northern inscription and those elsewhere. Ven. Ellawela Medhananda found that the language and script were the same in the Mailagastota,    Kallampattuva and Tunukai inscriptions.  Mailagastota was in the   south, Kallampattuva in the east and Tunukai in the north. 

 Medhananda said that inscriptions of Kassapa IV were found in south, east and northwest of the island. The script and language was the same.   He found 2 inscriptions dated to 2 century AD at Kandakudichchi Aru ruins (Eastern province). The script and language resembled inscriptions at Ritigala, Vessagiriya, and Mihintale.  

The Sinhala Buddhist environment of the North and East was recognized by researchers of the British period. Horsburgh declared in 1916 that there is ample evidence carved in stone all over the Mannar and Mullaitivu Districts to show that the Sinhalese occupied the Northern portion of the mainland, which is now Tamil country.

S.0. Canagaretnam stated in 1921 that at one time Batticaloa district had flourishing and populous Sinhala villages as evidenced by the ruins and remains dotted about there. Batticaloa district had very old stone inscriptions. One was the Nuwaragala inscription dated 4 BC found in Bintenne.

The north and east became Tamil and Hindu, after the Dutch arrived in   Sri Lanka in the 17^th century.  The history of the present day Tamils does not go beyond 1650, observed Nalin de Silva.  Tamil labourers were brought in by the Dutch to      work on their tobacco plantations. The Dutch had also taken Tamil agricultural labourers to Natal in South Africa.

The present day Tamils in the north are descendants of the low caste, landless, agriculture laborers who were brought in by the Dutch to work on the tobacco plantations in the north. The Dutch wished to expand their tobacco cultivation, said historian Bandu de Silva. The immigrant Tamils were Sudra, the lowest of the four caste groups.

In the eighteenth century, there was an active tobacco trade between Jaffna and Kerala. The tobacco which thrived in Jaffna was in great demand in Travancore.  Tobacco was paid for in gold by the ruler of Travancore who held the monopoly. The Tamils used the ‘Jaffna gold ‘brought in from Travancore tobacco market to entrench themselves in Jaffna said Bandu.

However, according to Bandu de Silva, there has also been another migration of Tamils into the north. He said The Dutch encouraged through the sale of vacant and other lands the immigration of large number of Tamils from south India.  The original owners became a landless class of serfs under these Tamils who become the new landowning class.They also introduced their own landholding system which the Dutch codified as Thesaawalami later on. (Bandu de Silva.   Tobacco gold that made Jaffna assertive. Island Sat Mag. 1.4.2006 p 1)

These Tamil arrivals were initially considered foreigners. Robert Knox met them when he was escaping to England via Mannar in 1679 and   spoke of them as the Malabars, who came from another country.’ R.Percival in his book ‘Account of the island of Ceylon” (1803) spoke of the Tamils in the Jaffna peninsula as foreigners”.

Tamil historians said that the Tamils were in the north and east from the beginning of time. They also say that there was a Kingdom of Jaffna in the 15th century .That is not so.There never was a Kingdom of Jaffna. There is no evidence of such a kingdom, such as inscriptions, monuments and historical references.

Instead, when the Pandya rulers of Tamilnadu, left Sri Lanka in 1323 after the last Pandya invasion, they left a military outpost in Jaffna, with an officer known as Ariyachakravarti in charge. Ariyachakravarti managed to annexe some of the adjoining lands and made periodic incursions into Sinhala territory. He was always defeated and sent back to Jaffna.

This Pandya outpost was taken over by the Vijayanagara kingdom of Karnataka in the 14th century as a part of Vijayanagara’s annexation of   the Tamil kingdom in south India. So there could not have been any Kingdom of Jaffna. After that, the Jaffna peninsula went under the Portuguese, (1591) Dutch (1658)   British (1795) and back to government of Ceylon in 1948. (Continued)

RANJITH SOYSA

With reference to the reports published in many news sources  and Sunday Island, The US ambassador had met a senior Army Officer and discussed “the need to build trust with the minorities to ensure lasting peace”. US ambassador’s blatant interference in domestic issues and her audacity to convey her proposal how to ensure lasting peace is an attempt to twist a person around one’s small finger. The proper forum for US Ambassador is to express her wishes should be with the President or the Prime Minister who executes policy for the country. Army Officers and other senior officials are there to conduct the policy decisions of the Government and should never be told by foreign personnel how to run the security establishment. US Ambassador who encouraging the Aragalya participants to resort to violence and rise against the establishment is now seen extending her hand to selected  minority groups discussing their issues. The President and the PM should make note of the overtures made by her as she can motivate the extreme factions among the minorities to cause another Aragalya

The Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, article 41 says.

Article 41 1. Without prejudice to their privileges and immunities, it is the duty of all persons enjoying such privileges and immunities to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving State. They also have a duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of that State. 2.All official business with the receiving State entrusted to the mission by the sending State shall be conducted with or through the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the receiving State or such other ministry as may be agreed. 3.The premises of the mission must not be used in any manner incompatible with the functions of the mission as laid down in the present Convention ….

The US Ambassador’s discussion with the senior army officer and with the minority groups or Aragalaya representatives vitiate the article 41 .1 of the Vienna Convention as she MUST conduct her activities preferably with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or such other Ministry.

Let me also draw the attention of the Ambassador to the marginalized minorities in the USA who were revolting against the US Govt’s policies as we can remember the activities of Black Lives Matter and recent demonstrations staged to commemorate 60^th anniversary of late Martin Luther King. The horrible treatment of the Latin American migrants held in Florida too is another sore factor. As they say, Charity begins at home. So, Dear Ambassador, try to devise methods to help the minorities in the USA before shedding crocodile tears for Sri Lanka.

RANJITH SOYSA

by Professor Daya Somasundaram and Dr. Ruwan M Jayatunge 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wC8a6cHRHuW-uRfoE6ZJ1uSwv5RxiJEZ/view?ts=64eb310e&pli=1

 Lanka Lead News

පොතුවිල් ප්‍රාදේශීය ලේකම් කාර්යාලය විසින් මුදල් වලට තමන්ගේ ඉඩම් අනීතික ලෙස වෙනත් පාර්ශව වලට පවරාදෙන බව පවසමින් පොතුවිල් කනගර් ප්‍රදේශයේ  සිංහල, දෙමළ ජනතාව උද්ඝෝෂණයක නිරත විය.

එම ජනතාව පවසන්නේ 1980 ගණන් වල සිට තමන් මෙම ඉඩම්වල පදිංචි වී සිටි බවත්, යුද්ධයෙන් අවතැන්වී අනාත කඳවුරුවල සිටිය දී නැවත මෙම ප්‍රදේශයේ පදිංචි කළ බවත්, ප්‍රාදේශීය ලේකම් කාර්යාලයට පැමිණි බොහෝ නිලධාරීන් තමන්ට මෙම ස්ථානයේ ජීවත් වීමට ඉඩ නොදෙන බවත්ය.

මෙම මහා ඉඩම් මංකොල්ලය පිටුපස ඉඩම් විකුණන කොන්ත්‍රාත්කරුවන් පිරිසක් ද සිටින බවත්, අදාළ නිලධාරීන් මුදල්වලට ඔවුන් සමග එක්වී කටයුතු කරන බවත් ජනතාව පවසති.

Prime Minister’s Media Division

Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said the need for a national transport policy was always emphasized by Anil Moonesinghe. He said this at the book launch of “The Golden Mark of Honest Politics, Philanthropist Anil Moonesinghe” written by Mahinda Ariyawansa held at the Matugama Pradeshiya Sabha Auditorium on August 27.

Speaking on the occasion the Prime Minister stated that;

Anil Moonesinghe saw the need for a national transport policy integrated with railways, buses, passengers and services related to transportation. He stood for it as the Chairman of Ceylon Transport Board (CTB) and as the Minister of Transport.

There was a time when CTB was no longer a government agency. At that time Mr. Anil Moonesinghe was abroad serving as an ambassador. As the Minister of Transport, I requested him to return Sri Lanka for a week to discuss the ensuing steps on the transport sector. At that time, he assisted in preparing the second draft of the CTB Act, which was presenting to the parliament and passed.

Why was there a need for such a second Act for the CTB? If the economy collapses completely, the country and the people will not be able to endure it. When transportation is disrupted, the entire economy is influenced with its impact. In those days, people brought their harvest to the market through CTB. This bus service never stopped even at night.

Anil Moonesinghe tried several times to manufacture vehicles in this country. Even though the vehicles were manufactured and displayed, that procedure was later stopped. Mr. Anil Moonesinghe pointed out the need to choose a goal that the country needs and take serious economic decisions for it.

Most capable individuals are sent diplomatic postings to perform a unique role on behalf of the country. Anil Moonasinghe was appointed as Deputy Speaker without making him a minister. When it was done, I expressed my protest to Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike.

We should have the ability to identify the good things that make a nation great and the bad things that destroy a nation. Anil Moonesinghe was a person who was capable of contributing to the greatness of the country. He was a politician of the left camp who represented the lineage of Anagarika Dharmapala the National Hero. He was an unforgettable politician who always protected the rights of the people and fulfilled his duty.

Professor Induragare Dhammarathana Thera said;

Children need to have contemporary characters to choose as role models for future. The biographies are essential for disciplinary based education. A child who goes to sleep after reading and listening  to a biography of an ideal character, wakes up in  the next day as an ideal child.

Any country should have a dream to move forward. A country will move forward if it dreams of tomorrow. Anil Moonesinghe is someone who has seen such dreams of tomorrow.

State Minister Mr. Piyal Nishantha said;

If history and the present match together, Anil Moonasinghe was a unique political figure that the country has lost. An honest and humble political figure who developed the transport sector as a renowned transport minister of the country.

Member of Parliament Vasudeva Nanayakkara;

Anil Moonesinghe was an intelligent figure in the same social movement that started under the leadership of Philip Gunawardena. A politician with such a conscience, as an anti-imperialist national movement in this country, he managed to address the people by using sensitive words to touch people’s hearts in a better way.

Member of Parliament Mr. Kumara Welgama;

Anil Moonasinghe was a very calm person who could face anything. He fought with aristocrats. Contemporary young politicians can take him as an example.

Member of Parliament, Dr. Tissa Witharana;

Anil Moonesinghe was a giant in the left-wing political movement. An exemplary character who shined positions without being shining in positions.

The General Secretary of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka, Mr. D E W Gunasekara;

He used to enter the parliament early in the morning and leaves the parliament only at the end of the session. Today, at a time of crisis in national leadership, the character of Anil Moonesinghe is highlighted.

State Minister  Anupama Pascual, MP Yadamini Gunawardena, Deputy Secretary of the People’s United Front, MP Channa Jayasumana, public representatives, Anil Moonesinghe’s son Vinod Moonesinghe and family members and the public attended the event.

Prime Minister’s Media Division

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සහ නෙදර්ලන්තය අතර හවුල් අතීතයක් ඇති බවත්, කෞතුකාගාර එකතු කළමණාකරණය, පර්යේෂණ දැනුම හා විශේෂඥ දැනුම හුවමාරු කර ගැනීම යන ක්ෂේත්‍රවල සමීප සහයෝගීතාවයෙන් පොදු අනාගතයක් ගොඩනගා ගැනීමට එය ඉවහල් වනු ඇති බවත් නෙදර්ලන්ත සංස්කෘතික හා මාධ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය ගුනේ උස්ලු (Gunay Uslu ) පැවසීය.

ඇය මේ බව පැවසුවේ අද (2023.08.29) අරලියගහ මන්දිරයේදී අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන මහතා හමුවූ අවස්ථාවේදීය.

නෙදර්ලන්ත අමාත්‍ය ගුනේ උස්ලු සහ සංස්කෘතික අමාත්‍ය විදුර වික්‍රමනායක 2023.08.28 දින ශතවර්ෂ දෙකහමාරකට පෙර ලන්දේසි පාලන සමයේදී ශ්‍රී ලංකාවෙන් ලබාගත් වටිනා කෞතුක වස්තු හුවමාරු කිරීම සඳහා පුරාවස්තු හුවමාරු ගිවිසුමකට අත්සන් කරන   ලදී. නිදහස් සටන්කාමී ලෙව්කේ දිසාවේගේ සුප්‍රසිද්ධ කාලතුවක්කුව, රන් කස්තාන දෙකක් (උත්සාහක කඩුව), සිංහල පිහි, රිදී කස්තාන් සහ තුවක්කු දෙකක් මෙලෙස හුවමාරු කෙරෙන වස්තූන් අතර වේ.

කෞතුක වස්තු හුවමාරු කිරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා අමාත්‍ය ගුනේ උස්ලු මහත්මියට ස්තූතිය පළ කළ අතර  ලන්දේසි ගෘහ නිර්මාණ ශිල්පය, ඇළ මාර්ග පද්ධතිය, බලකොටු සහ අනෙකුත් ස්මාරක පිළිබඳ පර්යේෂණ සඳහා දෙරට සහයෝගීතාවයෙන් කටයුතු කළ යුතු බව පැවසීය.

ලෙව්කේ දිසාවට අයත්ව තිබූ කාලතුවක්කුව ගැන සඳහන් කළ අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා මෙම වටිනා නිධානය ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට යළි හිමිවීම පිළිබඳව සතුටට පත්වන බවත් ලෙව්කේ තම උපන් ගම වන සීතාවකට ආසන්න ස්ථානයක් බවත් මුළු රටම වීර ලෙව්කේ දිසාවට  ජාතික ගෞරවය පුද කරන බවත් නෙදර්ලන්ත නියෝජිත පිරිසට ප්‍රකාශ කළේය.

ජාතික කෞතුකාගාරයේ අලුතින් ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණය කරන ලද කුටියක කෞතුක වස්තු සංරක්ෂණය කිරීම සඳහා සංස්කෘතික අමාත්‍යාංශය සහ ජාතික කෞතුකාගාර දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව විසින් සිදු කරනු ලබන කාර්යයට පහසුකම් සැලසීමට නෙදර්ලන්තයෙන් මූල්‍ය  ප්‍රදානයක් ලබා දෙන බව අමාත්‍ය ගුනේ උස්ලු සඳහන් කළාය. ඇය 1751 දී බල්ටස් ජාක්වාස් වැන් ලියර් (Baltus Jaquaez Van Lier) විසින් අඳින ලද පැරණි ලංකා සිතියමක් අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයාට  ඉදිරිපත් කළාය.

නෙදර්ලන්ත තානාපති Bonnie Horbach, නෙදර්ලන්තයේ සංස්කෘතික හා මාධ්‍ය අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජනරාල් Barbera Wolfensberger, Dutch Colonial Collections කමිටු සභාපති Lilian Gonçalves-Ho Kang You සහ කමිටු සාමාජික ආචාර්ය Alicia Schrikker, පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී යදාමිණී ගුණවර්ධන, අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ලේකම් අනුර දිසානායක මෙම අවස්ථාවට එක්ව සිටියහ. 

An Article by the Asian Human Rights Commission

This story is about Junious. Please do not think that I made a mistake in naming the hero and misspelling Junious for genius. I quite understand some people’s misunderstanding of that sort because an impression has been created and kept for a long time that Junious was in fact the genius. That is far from the truth. A Junious is rightly called Junious, as you will see when you read this story.

The Junious was a practical “trickster”. And, being a successful trickster far beyond what the people of that trade has achieved, he even created the impression of being a great statesman, a great politician and you can add whatever other titles to his acclaimed greatness.

A “Junious” belongs to a generation of people who came by big fortune, which they could have never expected or even in the latter time, grasp. They were overwhelmed by the enormous fortunes that fell on them. That such people will lose their minds in such a process, is quite normal. They should not be blamed for imagining themselves to be what they never were and never could be. 

A good parable about how fortunate they were could be explained from an example from a different place. That place is known as Cambodia. From about 1975 – 1978, a big fortune fell on a man who was mostly unknown and could never have achieved anything worthwhile due to some political leaders in the United States taking to their heads to bomb Cambodia, and to bomb most mercilessly. To put it shortly, hundreds and thousands of people who were killed due to these bombings also produced another vast population, which fled their villages and rushed to the only place which could be called a City in their country, called Phnom Penh. All of a sudden, the whole City became filled with a far far bigger population than it could ever accommodate, and the result of such a situation is unrest of all sorts. 

This brought a great fortune to a group of people who were in the jungles, living miserable lives and even afraid of some big massacre, which may all destroy them, like millions of people were destroyed just few years earlier in Indonesia when due to a great misconception that Indonesia may become Communist and add to the strength of Communism in the region. The American establishment, with the help of the some military leaders who were looking for some big fortune to come their way, massacred millions of people who had any sort of connection to the Indonesian Communist Party. The people who went underground in Cambodia were expecting a similar catastrophe to fall on them, and that was one of the reasons why they have left their cities where they were earlier working as social democrats and are now working as militant guerrillas in the forest. 

But, when an old upsurge of people was taking place in the Capital of their City, they saw that the fortune was beckoning them. They walked to their Capital from their hiding places and as they expected, they were received with overwhelming enthusiasm by the people who were wholly desperate and were looking for some form of hope. They thought that this significant group of guerrillas emerging from the jungles to be much more mightier than they ever were and embraced them with great enthusiasm.

Suddenly, a ruling “elite” was formed just overnight. They had the control or their hope for the entire country. And, they did what many who go crazy would do and try to realise the wildest dreams they had about achieving what they thought was a new world of new Cambodian people, without the intelligentsia who would tell them what to do and without any King to give them orders. So, there began to be unleashed the fortune of this small group of people which brought about the greatest misfortune that is ever known, in the history, not only of their country, but also one of the greatest misfortunes, that a humanity has experienced in the world. 

Three years went by this way, and during that time, over one seventh of the population of Cambodia vanished, which meant that they were killed due to starvation and other physical misfortunes, as well as political misfortunes of being suspected and killed as possible spies or traitors. 

In order to make the story short, we may tell the next stage when the whole country collapsed under the weight of such a huge misfortune. And when with the invasion led by foreign powers with the people from Cambodia itself who had fled for security to the neighbouring country, the Pol Pot Regime fell and whoever that remained of that regime fled into the jungle. And people, for their part, not realising that the worst nightmare of their lives is over, and still fearing for their lives, fled as refuges to neighbouring countries such as Thailand. Whatever and whoever, that remained out of the more educated classes, also fled to other countries which welcomed them, like for example, the United States and also many countries in Europe. 

As for the main cities of Cambodia, they remained completely abandoned and as one well known journalist described, “Cambodian cities look like places which had been hit by a nuclear bomb.”  Everything had come to a standstill. If a car was left somewhere in 1975, it was there at the same place even by the early 1980s. That was the situation of all buildings, including all houses in these cities of Cambodia, particularly to the only really worthwhile place to be called a livable place, Phnom Penh.

People who have fled their villages and whatever place they stayed, and also had lost many of their family members, still did not have the will to return.  However, as it always happens, few adventurous ones migrated slowly to the city, and found the empty houses and empty spaces everywhere. Some of them just stayed for a short rest, but then they found that there was nobody to object to their presence and gradually they realised that these houses had no occupants, and that therefore, they could occupy them. So they began a period of slow migration, from refugee centres to the country, which had no organised way of life, but had empty spaces where they could settle and remain undisturbed. 

This part of the Cambodian story is merely told in order to illustrate how great misfortunes bring about sub-fortunes for some people at certain times. 

That was the situation of a small group of people that began to emerge from out of the depth of the miseries,which was a part of the Sri Lankan way of life (we call it the “Sri Lankan way” only in terms of present day references). Out of the colonial takeover of Cambodia, gradually there emerges a small number of people who having leant to be providing services to the new colonial power, were able to get certain advantages which were far beyond what the rest of the population could aspire for. They became landlords of large lands and there emerges a few families which would dominate whole areas. The only significant people of a particular area will be the particular dominant family, while the rest were nobodies and knew that they were nobodies.

The colonial power that came, did not stay for a very long time. They stayed only for about 130 years or so, and by the latter part, they had begun to realise that they have to leave. That provided the fortunes for those small groups of families, which had built the links with the colonial power. However, the fortunes were far bigger than what they expected, if they had any expectations at all thatcould be achieved within a short time. The colonial power was not merely giving them properties and other benefits. They were in fact giving the whole country to the charge of “these people.” Political power itself was given to them. They became Jupiter, Apollo and Zeus, just overnight. And this sense of enormous wonder of a big fortune that has fallen on them, that conditioned the mind, soul and all expectations of this small group of people.

In short, they went mad.  They went mad with the kind of fortunes that they had begin to enjoy and to collect fortunes for their families.

The mind and the soul of Junious was formed within the framework of those fortunes that came from their colonial patrons, who could not keep these fortunes for themselves, any more. Essentially, from the very beginning, it carried the elements of madness.

It is natural for mad people to make a mess of things. That is what the country has been experiencing all this time. The fall of the economy and everything else is merely the result of such madness, that for all purposes seems incurable.

Sasanka De Silva Pannipitiya.

Analog forestry is a sustainable land management approach that draws inspiration from natural forests to design and manage diverse and productive ecosystems.

The concept was developed by the Mesoamerican Forests in Peril project (known by its Spanish acronym, MAAP) in the 1980s.

Analog forestry seeks to mimic the structure, composition, and function of natural forests, taking into consideration the specific ecological conditions of a given area, while also integrating local social and economic needs.

The main goals of analog forestry include:

Biodiversity Conservation:

Analog forestry aims to create diverse ecosystems that support a wide variety of plant and animal species.

By emulating the complexity of natural forests, these systems can provide habitat for numerous species and help conserve biodiversity.

Ecosystem Restoration:

Analog forestry is often used to restore degraded lands, such as abandoned agricultural fields or logged areas. By establishing self-sustaining ecosystems that closely resemble natural forests, analog forestry can aid in soil restoration, water retention, and other ecological functions.

Sustainable Livelihoods:

The approach also considers the needs of local communities.

By promoting the cultivation of a diverse array of native plants and potentially incorporating food crops, analog forestry can provide a sustainable source of income and nutrition for local people.

Climate Change Mitigation:

The Analog forestry can contribute to climate change mitigation by sequestering carbon dioxide through the growth of trees and vegetation.

Well-designed analog forestry systems can act as carbon sinks, helping to offset greenhouse gas emissions.

Analog forestry involves careful planning and management, including selecting appropriate trees and plant species, considering their interactions, and mimicking the natural succession and ecological processes found in natural forests.

It can be adapted to different climatic and soil conditions, making it applicable in a variety of regions around the world.

Overall, analog forestry offers an integrative approach to land management that strives to balance ecological, social, and economic considerations while promoting sustainability and resilience.

Analog forestry has been successfully implemented in various countries around the world, particularly in regions where there is a need for ecological restoration, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable livelihoods.

Some of the countries where analog forestry practices have been adopted and achieved positive results include:

Costa Rica:

Analog forestry originated in Mesoamerica, and Costa Rica has been a pioneer in implementing and promoting this approach.

Various projects and organizations in Costa Rica have successfully utilized analog forestry principles to restore degraded lands, conserve biodiversity, and support local communities.

Sri Lanka:

Analog forestry has gained traction in Sri Lanka as a way to restore deforested and degraded areas.

It has been used to establish productive and biodiverse agroforestry systems that contribute to local livelihoods and ecosystem health.

India:

In India, analog forestry has been employed to restore degraded landscapes and provide sustainable livelihood opportunities for local communities.

Projects have been undertaken in different states to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach.

Dominican Republic:

Analog forestry has been applied in the Dominican Republic to restore degraded lands, improve water management, and provide habitat for wildlife and has contributed to local communities’ resilience and livelihoods.

Ecuador:

The method has been used in Ecuador to restore abandoned farmlands and degraded areas in the Andes and Amazon regions and has helped to rehabilitate soil, increase biodiversity, and provide alternative income sources for local people.

Jamaica:

It has been adopted in Jamaica as a method to combat deforestation, enhance ecosystem services, and improve land use practices and is highly successful in promoting sustainable land management in smallholder farming systems.

Ghana:

Once more, it has been employed in Ghana to restore degraded forests and provide opportunities for sustainable livelihoods for local communities and used to address issues related to deforestation and land degradation.

Honduras:

The Analog forestry practices have been integrated into reforestation and restoration efforts in Honduras, contributing to ecological rehabilitation and community development.

These are just a few examples of countries where analog forestry has been used successfully.

The approach’s adaptability to different ecological and socio-economic contexts makes it applicable in various parts of the world, where it can contribute to the restoration of ecosystems, conservation of biodiversity, and improvement of local livelihoods.

While analog forestry is primarily focused on land-based ecosystems and mimicking natural forest systems, there are similar approaches and concepts that have been developed to improve and restore marine and aquatic ecosystems.

These approaches are designed to emulate natural processes and promote the health and biodiversity of marine life.

Some of these concepts include:

Marine Permaculture:

Marine permaculture involves the cultivation of underwater ecosystems in a way that mimics the principles of land-based permaculture.

This approach aims to restore and enhance marine habitats by creating artificial structures that provide substrates for marine life to attach and grow, which can in turn support larger marine ecosystems.

Artificial Reefs:

Artificial reefs are human-made structures placed in the ocean to provide habitat and substrate for marine organisms.

These structures can be created from a variety of materials, such as concrete, steel, or even sunken ships. They serve as gathering points for various marine species, helping to boost local biodiversity and potentially support fisheries.

Seagrass Restoration:

Seagrass meadows are important marine ecosystems that provide habitat for various marine species, contribute to nutrient cycling, and help stabilize coastlines.

Restoration efforts involve planting seagrass seeds or transplanting seagrass plants to areas where they have been depleted due to human activities.

Coral Reef Restoration:

Coral reefs are highly diverse marine ecosystems that are under threat from factors like coral bleaching and pollution.

Restoration efforts involve techniques such as coral gardening, where fragments of healthy coral are grown and then transplanted onto degraded reefs to help them recover.

Aquaculture and Mariculture:

While not exactly analogous to analog forestry, aquaculture and mariculture involve the cultivation of aquatic organisms for food, conservation, or research purposes.

These practices aim to mimic natural ecosystems while also providing sustainable sources of seafood and supporting local economies.

Mimicking Marine Protected Areas (MPAs):

Marine Protected Areas are designated areas in the ocean where human activity is restricted to protect marine ecosystems and species.

By emulating the protection and management strategies used in Marine Protected Areas, conservation efforts can help restore and improve marine life. 

Restorative Aquatic Farming:

This approach combines aquaculture with habitat restoration.

It involves farming aquatic organisms in ways that mimic natural ecological processes, creating conditions that support both commercial production and the recovery of native species and ecosystems.

While these approaches are not identical to analog forestry, they share the common principle of emulating natural processes and structures to restore and improve ecosystems.

Each approach is tailored to the specific characteristics of marine environments and aims to promote the health and biodiversity of marine life in different ways.

Sasanka De Silva

Pannipitiya.

Sugath kulatunga.

A few days back the media reported that the Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Paul Stephens revealed that the Australian government has put forward a new proposal to establish Sri Lanka as a key international education center. He had stated that by launching of Sri Lanka as an international educational center, the country will be able to attract a large number of foreign students from many neighbouring countries including India, Maldives, Indonesia, Nepal and Bangladesh. We are not aware the role of Australia will play in this project. However, Sri Lanka is grateful to Australia for taking an initiative in this most welcome venture. The authorities here should feel ashamed for not initiating such a project for so many years in the past at least for the benefit of Sri Lankan students going abroad for education.
The dire need for international universities to be invited to the country had been keenly felt and discussed by policy makers for so many decades. It was December last year when this sensitive subject was discussed in Parliament that State Minister of Higher Education Dr.Raghavan said that nearly 11,000 Sri Lankan students go to foreign universities for studies every year. President Wickremasinghe claimed that US$ 3 billion goes out of Sri Lanka annually to other countries because Sri Lankan students go abroad for higher education. 
A leading entrepreneur Dhammika Perera estimated that at a given time there are over 100,000 of our students in foreign universities following higher studies. The President said that by setting up foreign university branches in Sri Lanka, the country could earn US$ 10 billion in foreign exchange annually by attracting international students. This would be in addition to saving valuable foreign exchange going out. Most opposition members hailed the Government’s plans to set up branches of foreign universities in Sri Lanka.
There seems to be two distinct issues under discussion which should receive different focus. The immediate problem is saving the funds remitted out of the country on higher studies abroad by Sri Lankan children. This involves not only the foreign exchange issue but also social issues. Some of these children are unlikely to return and serve the country. In Sri Lanka where families are closely knit separating a child from the family can create psychological problems for both parents and the children. Sending a child abroad for higher studies would cost the family a colossal cost which they can hardly bear. But the traditional high value given to education and the expected benefits drive the parents to make intolerable sacrifices. Neither the state minister nor the President gave any indication of the fields of higher studies that these children go abroad for. A reasonable guess is that the majority seek medical studies. The solution to that is to encourage private medical colleges. There should be some rethinking of the healthcare staffing. It has been suggested that the previous Assistant Medical Officers service be restored. The new cadre could be staffed with a Diploma level task related training given to graduates from the biology stream. A detailed article with links to relevant research appears on the website of LBN -at https://www.lankaweb.com/…/02/revamp-the-health-service/
The other issue of making Sri Lanka an education hub is a more ambitious but pragmatic proposal. Sri Lanka enjoys a number of competitive advantages such as a strategic location for travel, acceptable socio-cultural background, a conducive climate and ease of communication. The major advantage is that we should be able to compete on cost. The fact that while the per capita GDP is about 3500 USD its PPP value on an average has been around 8400 USD indicates that the Dollar goes a long way in Sri Lanka, and it is advantageous for foreign students to study in Sri Lanka.
Previous attempts to establish a private medical university in Colombo North was aborted due to political pressure. The opposition to the Nevil Fernando Teaching Hospital established in collaboration with Russia Friendship Teaching Hospital of Moscow Medical institution was from both the medical profession and bankrupt political parties.
Whatever the cost of foreign education estimated by the President is somewhat exaggerated (it cannot be as high as 20% of our export earnings),  the cost funds taken out of the country for education has been enormous. The sad situation is that this and allied cost advantages of establishing international universities in the country did not drive the Sri Lanka governments to make a positive decision on this crucial issue.
The pathetic excuse has been the opposition from extremist parties that it is a commercialization of Free Education. The truth is that politicians did not care as their children had access to foreign education.
Our policy makers should hide their faces in shame (if they have any sense of shame) that a foreign country had to initiate this laudable proposal.

It is hoped that our authorities have the cojones to implement it. 

Sugath kulatunga.

Press Release 2023.08.30 Pathfinder Foundation

The Eighth Research Institute for Indian Ocean (RIIO) International Conference, which focused on the Challenges and Prospectus for Blue Economy Cooperation in the Indian Ocean, was held in Kunming, China.  The event held from the perspective of security and development was attended by policymakers and academia representing think tanks in South Asia and Southeast Asia, including Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand etc.  

The discussions were held under four main themes, namely Strategic Competition and Cooperation among Great Powers in the IOR, Geopolitical Changes and Challenges for Maritime Security in the IOR, Cooperative Mechanism and Building Blue Economy Partnership in the IOR, and the Problems, Challenges, and Prospects for Cooperation in the IOR.

The deliberations on the above themes are important to Sri Lanka to enable the country to exploit numerous blue economic development opportunities. In particular, building blue economic partnerships within the region will be a key subject area of discussion, as Sri Lanka assumes Chairmanship of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) in the latter half of this year and develops a deeper understanding of geopolitical sensitivities in developing national policies for the country.  

During the discussion on ‘Strategic Competition and Cooperation among Great Powers in the IOR’, Bernard Goonetilleke, Chairman Pathfinder Foundation, addressed the conference on the topic of ‘Indian Ocean power rivalry and the dilemma of small states’.  In his presentation, he focused on” the resurgence of great power rivalry in the 21^st century and the plight of the small states, which are forced to take sides or face consequences.

A significant highlight of the event was signing several Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) by participating think tanks to establish a network for cooperation and undertake independent research work.  During the MOU signing ceremony, Pathfinder renewed its bilateral MOU with RIIO and signed a Letter of Intent to enter into the MOU to establish a network of think tanks.

Bernard Goonetilleke, Chairman, and Dr. Dayaratna Silva, Executive Director of Pathfinder Foundation, participated at the Eighth RIIO International Conference on Common Development of China and Indian Ocean region’.

Picture 1  (Left to Right)  Khalid Rahman, Chairman, Institute of Policy Studies, Islamabad, Pakistan Bernard Goonetilleke, Chairman, Pathfinder Foundation  and Fu Xiaoqiang, Vice President of China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations

2. Bernard Goonetilleke, Chairman of Pathfinder Foundation, addressed the conference on the topic of ‘Indian Ocean power rivalry and the dilemma of small states’.

3. Paricepent of the Eighth Research Institute of Indian Ocean, which focused on the Challenges and Prospectus for Blue Economy Cooperation

4 (Left to Right) Fahmida Khatun, Executive Director of Centre for Policy Dialogue, Bangladesh, Khalid Rahman, Chairman, Institute of Policy Studies, Islamabad, Pakistan, Zhu Cuiping, Director, Research Institute for Indian Ocean Economies. Srikanth Kondapalli, Dean, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University  U Zaw Oo, Executive Director of Center for Economic and Social Development,  Dr. Dayaratna Silva, Executive Director, Pathfinder Foundation  

5 . Zhu Cuiping, Director, of the Research Institute for Indian Ocean Economies, and Dr. Dayaratna Silva, Executive Director, of Pathfinder Foundation,  establish a network for cooperation and undertake independent research work.

Sasanka De Silva Pannipitiya

A binary option contract is a type of financial derivative that offers two possible outcomes: a fixed payout or nothing at all.

It is called a “binary” option because there are only two possible outcomes.

Traders or investors speculate on whether an underlying asset’s price will be above or below a predetermined strike price at a specific expiration time.

Here’s how it works:

Outcome Number One

In the Money:

If the trader’s prediction about the price movement of the underlying asset is correct at the time of expiration, they receive a fixed payout.

This payout is predetermined when the binary option contract is created.

Outcome Number Two

Out of the Money:

If the trader’s prediction is incorrect at the time of expiration, they receive nothing.

They lose the initial investment made to purchase the binary option.

The classification of binary options as either an investment or gambling is a topic of debate and often depends on local regulations, the trader’s approach, and the specific context.

Investment Perspective:

Some proponents argue that binary options can be seen as a form of investment because they involve analyzing market trends, making predictions, and managing risk.

Traders who use research, analysis, and well-thought-out strategies might consider themselves as investors, seeking to profit from their expertise.

Gambling Perspective:

On the other hand, binary options have been criticized for their similarities to gambling.

The outcome is based on chance, as the price of the underlying asset can be influenced by various unpredictable factors.

Additionally, the fixed payout structure resembles a bet more than a traditional investment.

In some cases, binary options have been associated with unregulated or fraudulent schemes, which further blurs the line between investment and gambling.

Regulators in various jurisdictions have taken different stances on how to classify binary options.

Some countries consider them as legitimate financial instruments, subjecting them to financial regulations.

Others view them as a form of gambling and have restricted or prohibited their trading due to concerns about consumer protection and fraud.

It’s important for individuals interested in binary options to understand the risks involved and to be aware of the regulatory environment in their country.

If you’re considering trading binary options, it’s advisable to do thorough research, understand the potential outcomes and risks, and only use reputable and regulated platforms.

Submitted by,

Sasanka De Silva

Pannipitiya.

lanka C news

හිටපු ජනාධිපති ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ මහතා ජනාධිපති ධුරයෙන් ඉවත් කරවීම සඳහා ‘ගෝඨා හෝම් අරගලය’ ආරම්භ කරන ලද්දේ රාජපක්ෂ පවුල තුලින්ම බව ජාතික සංවිධාන එකමුතුවේ ලේකම් වෛද්‍ය වසන්ත බණ්ඩාර මහතා සඳහන් කරයි.

හිටපු ඇමති බැසිල් රාජපක්ෂ මහතාද ඒ සඳහා තීරණාත්මක කාර්යභාරයක් ඉටු කරන ලද බවද ඔහු පෙන්වා

ඔහු මේ බව සඳහන් කරන්නේ අන්තර්ජාල නාලිකාවක සාකච්ඡාවකට එක්වෙමිනි.

මෙරට මීළඟ අරගලය පන්ති සටනක් ලෙස ආහාර අර්බුදය සමග ඇතිවන බවද හෙතෙම පවසයි.

එහිදී දරුවන්ට ආහාර දීගත නොහැකිව සැබෑවටම පීඩාවට පත්වුණු මිනිස්සු එම අරගලය සඳහා එක්වනු ඇති බවද හෙතෙම සඳහන් කළේය.

පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ පක්ෂ විපක්ෂ සියළු දෙනාම ඇමෙරිකානු තානාපතිගේ පදයට නටන බව ද ඔහු චෝදනා කරයි.

හිටපු හමුදාපති සරත් ෆොන්සේකා මහතාද මේ පිටුපස සිටින බවත් ඔහුට යුද අපරාධ චෝදනා නැත්තේ ඔහු ඇමරිකානු රූකඩයක් නිසා බවත් ඒ මහතා එහිදී කියා සිටියි.

BY Sahan Tennekoon and Buddhika Samaraweera Courtesy The Morning

The Asgiri Chapter of the Siam Sect wants the relevant authorities to continue the ongoing investigations into the alleged defamatory actions against Buddhism and the Buddha Sasana by various parties, despite those parties making apologies after the incidents.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (30), the Asgiri Temple Supreme Sangha Council Secretary Ven. Dr. Medagama Dhammananda Thera said that it is not sufficient to make apologies to the Mahanayakas (Chief Prelates) but that justice must be done for those incidents with no interruptions.

When he was queried about the recent incident where the parents of pastor Jerome Fernando apologised for the controversial remarks made by their son, Dhammananda Thera said that the particular incident was only one of a series of similar events, and that therefore, the law enforcement authorities have to continue the ongoing investigations into all of these. However, he said that they were ready to – according to Buddhist principles – forgive those who made such statements, yet that action must be taken according to the country’s law, and that no one who makes remarks violating the constitution must be forgiven by the law. Recently, the parents of Fernando called on Ven. Omalpe Sobhitha Thera at the headquarters of the Ramanna Sect and made apologies on behalf of their son.

Fernando landed himself in hot water in May 2023, after a video of him making certain allegedly derogatory” statements on religious figures during one of his sermons was widely circulated on social media, stirring controversy in the country.

Later, the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) initiated an investigation into the matter on the directives of President Ranil Wickremesinghe. On 16 May, the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court issued an overseas travel ban on the pastor, who had left the island for Singapore two days prior. During the probe, the CID uncovered transaction records to the tune of Rs. 12.2 billion upon examining 11 bank accounts held by Fernando.

BY UDITHA JAYASINGHE Courtesy Japan Times

ANAMADUWA, SRI LANKA – 

H.J.M Seneviratne, 63, slices through yellowed paddy stems dried out by a drought that has destroyed over 95% of his crop and is threatening crisis-hit Sri Lanka’s summer rice harvest.

The island’s economy was crushed last year by its worst financial crisis in over seven decades, caused by a severe shortage of foreign exchange reserves that triggered widespread unrest and ousted its former president.

Helped by a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Sri Lanka has slowly stabilized its economy since March, rebuilding its decimated reserves, moderating inflation and strengthening its currency.

But even before the country’s agriculture sector could recover from sky-rocketing prices of inputs from fertilizer to power, the rains failed.

“I’ve been a farmer for forty years but I’ve never experienced a harder time than this,” Seneviratne said, standing in the middle of a dusty field near Anamaduwa, a town in north western Sri Lanka, clutching a fistful of straw-like paddy stems with hollow rice kernels.

“We haven’t had enough rain since May. The harvest is so bad we don’t even have seed paddy for the next season.”

A dog walks on the dried up bed of a lake near a paddy field in Anamaduwa, Sri Lanka. | REUTERS

The southwest monsoon farmers rely on for the yala or summer harvest was scant this year because of the El Nino weather pattern, and the weather department estimates there will be no rains until October.

Typically, Seneviratne’s 1.6 hectares yield about 4.5 to 6 tons of paddy for the summer harvest but this time he predicts he will get only about 150 kilogram. All but one of eight water tanks — large ponds in which rainwater is collected for irrigation — in the area have dried out, destroying about 80 hectares of paddy.

The paddy loss could be as much as 30,350 hectares, according to Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, while other experts say full losses could be even higher as estimates are yet to be completed. Sri Lanka planted 526,000 hectares for the summer harvest, according to the Agriculture Ministry.

“We have lost at least 80,000 metric tons of paddy as per the latest data and it could be more,” said Buddhi Marambe, a professor of crop science at Sri Lanka’s Peradeniya University. Last year, when the crop was decimated by a lack of fertilizer because of the economic crisis, the season produced 1.5 million tons of paddy.

The drought could reverse a recent trend of falling food prices, which dipped an annual 2.5% in July after rising 94% year-on-year last September.

A dried-up lake, used for collecting water for farming, amid drought in Anamaduwa, Sri Lanka | REUTERS

Sri Lanka’s central bank warned last week that the dry weather coupled with higher global oil and commodity prices could also “weigh on expected growth in the near term,” as the island struggles to limit economic contraction to 2% this year after shrinking 7.8% in 2022.

Sri Lanka’s northern neighbor India is also expected to have the driest August in more than a century, prompting it to restrict exports of certain categories of rice. Sri Lanka has previously imported rice from India to bridge production shortfalls.

Sri Lanka has so far ruled out rice imports this year, a statement from the president’s office said, as regions that have escaped the drought have produced higher yields.

Rice prices have remained largely unchanged at retail, edging up about 10 Sri Lankan rupees (about 3 U.S. cents) to 220 rupees per kg from last month. So far, rice stocks have staved off any impact but prices could tick up in coming months with a scant harvest.

Experts say they are worried that if Sri Lanka doesn’t receive the rains it needs next March because of the continuing El Nino, the country will be left with such limited reserve stocks it will have to resort to large-scale, expensive imports.

H.J.M Seneviratne, 63, cuts yellow paddy stems that dried out following a drought, at his paddy field in Anamaduwa, Sri Lanka. | REUTERS

El Nino, a warming of water surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean, is linked to extreme weather conditions from tropical cyclones and heavy rainfall to severe droughts.

During the last El Nino in 2016-17, Sri Lanka suffered its worst drought in 40 years and rice output fell by nearly 50% year-on-year to 2.4 million metric tons over both its harvests.

Rice is the staple food of the country’s 22 million people and its biggest crop. According to government data, 2 million people in the country are rice farmers out of 8.1 million people engaged in fishing and agriculture in the largely rural economy.

To limit the El Nino impact, Marambe says farmers will have to plant early during the maha paddy season that starts in October, as rains next March and mid-year are uncertain.

“If rains fail in March it will impact our main paddy season and we could have a very, very dry second season as well in the middle of 2024.”

The drought has also wiped out the small chile, peanut and banana plants Seneviratne’s wife, W.M. Makamma, 62, grows to feed her family.

“Before the crisis we used to cook for all three meals but now it’s only two,” she said. “We’ve stopped buying eggs, chicken or fresh fish. Lunch is a cup of black tea.

“I feel like we have fallen completely and its very hard to get back up.”

Courtesy RechargeNews

Sri Lanka has the potential for 56GW of offshore wind, according to a new World Bank report, which says the crisis-stricken country could use this natural advantage to rebuild its economy.

The report, issued last week, found that Sri Lanka has the capacity for 27GW of fixed offshore wind in shallow waters, defined as less than 50 meters, and for 29GW of floating offshore wind in deeper waters.

There are three broad areas suitable for offshore wind development, but the western and southern coasts have the most energetic wind speeds and suitable technical conditions,” it said.

The report excluded areas with the highest environmental or social sensitivities” from consideration to avoid unacceptable adverse impacts”.

The report stated that Sri Lanka’s complete reliance on imported hydrocarbon fuels places a large risk on the security of supply and affordability of the majority of the country’s electricity generation”.

That risk materialised in catastrophic fashion last year when Sri Lanka was plunged into its worst economic crisis since its independence in 1948.

The country had been running a trade deficit for years and as such ran short of foreign currency reserves. This meant that the country could no longer buy hydrocarbon fuels from abroad, leading to crippling and prolonged power cuts, while there were also shortages of other basic commodities.

This energy crisis culminated in massive protests and the ransacking of the presidential palace in July last year, forcing ex-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee to Singapore on a private jet, before resigning.

Crisis-hit Sri Lanka eyes offshore wind to boost energy security: ministerRead more

Following bailouts from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, the country is said to be making a gradual recovery, although it is still laden with debt, including $7bn of loans from China.

Transitioning to renewable energy and thereby reducing fuel imports is expected to be an important action in the country’s recovery,” said the World Bank report.

The World Bank report argued that Sri Lanka’s offshore wind resources offer an abundant domestic supply of energy and could help improve the country’s energy security.”

The report even suggested Sri Lanka could aspire to selling energy to India, with an electrical interconnector between the neighbours potentially benefitting both countries.

It stated: With the addition of large-scale offshore wind, Sri Lanka could become an energy exporter.”

Sri Lanka energy minister Kanchana Wijesekera had already said in May that the country was eyeing offshore wind as a key plank of its renewable energy targets.