Sasanka De Silva Pannipitiya

A bomb calorimeter is a specialized device used to measure the heat of combustion of a substance. It is primarily employed to determine the energy content (calorific value) of various solid and liquid fuels, as well as other organic materials. The measurement of heat released during combustion is crucial for understanding the energy efficiency and potential applications of these substances.

How is a bomb calorimeter used?

1.     Sample Preparation: The substance to be analyzed is first prepared and placed in a small container, typically a metal capsule. This capsule acts as a bomb, hence the name “bomb calorimeter.”

2.     Oxygen Filling: Pure oxygen is introduced into the calorimeter to ensure complete combustion of the sample.

3.     Ignition: The sample is ignited using a small electric current or a spark. As it burns, the substance releases heat due to the exothermic combustion reaction.

4.     Heat Transfer: The heat produced by the combustion reaction is absorbed by the surrounding water in the calorimeter.

5.     Temperature Measurement: Highly sensitive thermometers are used to measure the temperature change in the water caused by the heat released from the combustion process.

6.     Data Analysis: The rise in water temperature is correlated to the energy released during combustion. The heat transfer is quantified using the equation Q = mcΔT, where Q is the heat transfer, m is the mass of water, c is the specific heat capacity of water, and ΔT is the change in temperature.

7.     Calorific Value Calculation: Based on the heat transfer measurement, the calorific value of the substance is determined. It represents the amount of energy released per unit mass of the substance during combustion and is usually expressed in units like joules per gram (J/g) or British thermal units per pound (BTU/lb).

Why is a bomb calorimeter used?

1.     Calorific Value Determination: The primary purpose of a bomb calorimeter is to calculate the calorific value of fuels and other organic substances. This value is crucial for various applications, such as evaluating the energy efficiency of fuels, predicting their performance in power generation or heating applications, and comparing different fuels for specific uses.

2.     Standardization and Regulation: The calorific value is an essential parameter for the standardization and regulation of fuels and materials. It helps ensure that consumers receive products with consistent energy content, and it allows for fair trade and pricing in the energy market.

3.     Research and Development: Scientists and researchers use bomb calorimeters to study the combustion behavior of new materials, biofuels, or alternative energy sources. By understanding the energy content and combustion characteristics, they can optimize processes, design better fuels, and develop more efficient energy systems.

4.     Quality Control: Industries involved in fuel production and distribution use bomb calorimeters for quality control purposes. By regularly testing fuel samples, they can ensure compliance with energy content standards and identify any discrepancies in the fuel composition. In summary, a bomb calorimeter is used to accurately measure the heat of combustion of substances, providing valuable information for energy-related applications, research, and quality control in various industries

By Sunil Kumar for LankaWeb

Aug3rd. 2023

There seems to be no rationality relative to Sri Lanka’s security and sovereignty considered when Land connectivity is essential for the growth of ties between India and its neighbouring country where in the past explosive situations have resulted, yet Sri Lanka High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda has said somewhat misguidedly in an interview with The Hindu posted online on July 31, pitching for connectivity projects resembling the Channel tunnel” from the U.K. to Europe as a possible future initiative if environmental concerns are cleared.

There can be no analogies drawn between Sri Lanka and  India with respect to the UK and France as the situations are completely different as in the case of Sri Lanka it could open dangerous floodgates relative to the security of Sri Lanka which could prove regrettable in the long run where economy  and development are not the precursors of benefit to Sri Lanka considering all the issues relative to security and it would be handing on a platter many openings to India that have been sought after for a long time and kept under lock and key through prudent administrations of the past where lessons should have been learned.

Relative to  President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s visit to India in July, where the two countries unveiled an Economic Partnership Vision”

statement that includes maritime, air, energy, trade and people-to-people connectivity, High Commissioner Milinda Moragoda playing an unexpected role as pseudo advisor has said Sri Lanka’s hopes of benefiting from India’s economic growth and coming out of its current economic crisis hinged on being able to build causeways, bridges, pipelines, electricity transmission lines and landing infrastructure so as to increase travel to and from India.But has he also considered the many and vast negative issues that could result vis a vis the many internal issues India faces on a daily basis as well as a burgeoning population that could easilly flood into Sri Lanka as a result of this somewhat obtuse proposal which eventually could overwhelm Sri Lanka from many perspectives and to all intents and purposes become disastrous for Sri Lanka.

The most obtuse statement Mr. Moragoda has made and  perhaps also a precursor to what the President of Sri Lanka has also alluded to, which resonates in the minds of security analysts and guardians of the country’s unitary state  suggest that” building any causeway or highway across the streets will require environmental impact assessments,  If Sri Lanka is looking at this idea of ‘piggybacking’

on India’s growth story we have to have land connectivity but does ‘piggybacking’ mean bending over backwards and being walked all over by India in the long run where Sri Lanka becomes an annexation of Indian territory which is bound to happen and very careful consideration needs to be given to the serious implications for Sri Lanka in such an eventuality.

By his statement “When you talk of timelines for initiatives like this in democracies, it’s more complicated. One understanding between the two leaders(Sri Lanka and India) is to try to encourage the private sector to be more engaged on both sides, which could be more time-sensitive and successful,” he explained. He added that the purpose of the Sri Lankan President’s visit, the first to India since he took over in June 2022, was to chart the way forward” for Sri Lanka’s economic recovery, as the economic vision statement had done, and to thank Mr. Modi and India for the support to Sri Lanka during its debt crisis” does he mean repaying India’s support during the debt crisis by handing over the Nation to India for Indian objectives endorsed verbally by the Indian President not considering the mayhem which could follow from many perspectives and throw the country into turmoil knowing the ever watchful menace of Tamil Nadu in the shadows and what their objective are and always have been?

Has Mr. Moragoda as well as the President considered the ramifications and reprisals for Sri Lanka that  could wipe out Sri Lanka’s existence and functioning as a Sovereign Nation in one of the most myopic concepts formulated ever which seems hard to fathom where overstepping metes and bounds in an administrative capacity in an unprecedented manner seems to be the order of the day!

Are these the ideologies of pundits and visionaries who could disrupt Sri Lanka’s smooth functioning towards progress into the future and annihilate a land of vast beauty and a prehistoric culture which has embellished Sri Lanka for time millenia?

Hopefully not!

By Sena Thoradeniya

The first part of this article was published on May 13, 2023 in LankaWeb three months ago. As we were engrossed in a major work in the last few months, we did not have time to see its conclusion.

(1) Debunking Myths

The main objective of the second part of our article is to debunk the myth  invented and spread by some columnists who write to English dailies (1) that the British Colonialists have backed a so-called secondary layer” for higher positions in regional and local administration  and (2) that these chieftains subverted the policies of the British in their regions” and repudiated colonial authority”. A person who has even a rudimentary knowledge of Kandyan Chieftains under the British would not dare to propagate such falsehoods.  

What we discuss in the succeeding parts are:

(a) Not based on village gossip invented by the adversaries of these office holders or their families;

(b) Not family lore or anecdotes prevalent in ancient villages;  

(c) Not satire invented by victimised villagers to show their bitterness;

(d) Not modern myth making;

(e) Not figments of our imagination or absurd theorising; as in the case of arriving at absurd conclusions looking at a floor tile in a manorial house.

What we discuss are well documented. For these essays we use sources generated by British Colonial administrators themselves. We know that it is cumbersome and arduous to go to the sources rather than pressing a computer key seated inside an ivory tower. 

(1.1) During the reign of Kandyan Kings most of the high office holders were selected from either Udunuwara, Yatinuwara, Dumbara (including Patha and Uda), Harispattuwa and Matale. They were posted even to faraway places such as Uva, Sabaragamuwa, Nuwara Kalaviya, Tamankaduwa, Puttalama, Madakalapuwa, Wellassa etc. British Colonial Government at certain times selected high office holders from the respective provinces, divisions and korales. This gave the impression to some modern historians that a second tier” of Kandyan aristocracy was created by the Britishers.

 (1.2) We should not ignore the fact that most of the high” caste Kandyans were related through intermarriages and the noteworthy distinction between these so-called tiers” was in land ownership and holding high office. Some disadvantaged relatives of the office holders worked as domestic aids or supervisors at manorial houses.

(1.3) Under the British administration many new positions were created such as[U1]  Presidents of Village Tribunals, Assessors, Unofficial Police Magistrates, Kachcheri Muhandirams, Interpreter Muhandirams etc. providing with opportunities for the lesser known” who did not hold positions in palace, revenue, military and regional administration under Kandyan kings.  

(1.4) In 1818 from among the top rank Kandyans a very few were either beheaded or exiled to the Isle of France or Mauritius. Notables among them were Keppetipola, Madugalle and Ellepola and Ehelepola and Pilimatalawwe respectively. It is interesting to note that close relatives of Pilimatalawwe, Keppetipola, Madugalle and some other leaders were appointed to high office soon after the 1818 freedom struggle. Later, descendants of Keppetipola and Madugalle held high office as Rate Mahattayas and Dissavas under the British Colonial Government. Some other families whose notable members were either transported or executed became extinct.

(1.5) A few years after 1818 old offices in palace establishment, revenue administration and military establishment were abolished by the British retaining only offices in regional, divisional and village administration andtemporalities administration. This deprived many families of holding high office and gave rise to the false conception that a second tier” taking roots.

(1.6) Non-participation in 1848 uprising and aiding the British troops in its suppression by the top Kandyan office holders should be studied with the ruthless suppression of 1818 freedom struggle and the avenues created by the colonialists to the people in the higher echelon of the society. Theorists who therorise that the leadership in 1848 struggle changed to plebeians forget that the motive force of 1818 Freedom Struggle was common people and village level functionaries. They wanted an icon to lead the struggle and they found that icon in Keppetipola. Some Kandyan chieftains who supported the struggle at the initial stages later decamped and showed their allegiance to the British Crown calculating the impending danger and the opening of avenues to high office. They were highly compensated and exempted from tax, mainly Uva and Matale chiefs.

(1.7) These junior rankers such as various Mohottalas of Uva, not fit to be a Vidane Arachchi as stated by Keppitipola, later elevated to high positions. Another fallacy created by some historians and pseudo-Marxists is that after the decimation of higher echelon of Kandyan aristocracy in 1818, there were none to provide leadership in 1848. 

(1.8) Alliance between Madugalle and Pilimatalawwe opposing Keppitipola and the King (Pretender to Britishers and our historians) and subsequent imprisonment of them at Pitawela in Uda Dumbara was the beginning of the end of the freedom struggle. Espionage work conducted by the ace conspirator John D’Oyly succeeded in creating a rift between the top-level leaders quickening the final defeat. D’Oyly sent Udugama  Unnanse to meet Keppitipola and his plan was to bring Keppetipola to Matara. It was he who spread the news that the King was none other than a disrobed monk called Wilbawe.

(1.9) In my award-winning novel Madaran” (2020) which discusses how Kandyan peasantry suffered due to Grain Tax,  I reenacted these chapters in our history giving it a new interpretation that Wilbawe, a highly qualified monk well-versed in Pali, Sanskrit and Elu was crowned according to a grand strategy strategised by Ihagama Unnanse and he was made a layperson following Buddhist practice to the core.

(1.10) Another myth created by these columnists is that the Chieftains showed to the rural people that they followed an anti-British stance.  But when they acted as assessors at the times of assessing paddy fields to levy Grain Tax, prosecuting defaulters of Grain Tax and Poll Tax, prosecuting villagers for opening up chena cultivation in crown” lands and parents and guardians of children who  failed to attend schools and owners of unlicensed dogs  they did not show any mercy to peasants, following colonial Ordinances to the letter.

(2) Resistance” or Acquiescence? Repudiation” or Espousal?

From the third part of this essay we give hundreds of examples to illustrate the unholy alliance that existed between the British colonialists and Kandyan office holders perpetuating colonial administration in Ceylon. It will be a journey to a hitherto unknown territory: many will be shocked that we are concocting stories!

From then onwards our title will be changed to Kandyan Chieftains Under the British”.

Expressing resistance to British colonialism”, repudiating colonial authority” are just mere sloganeering of those pundits who do not understand Kandyan Affairs and who have a shallow and superficial knowledge about it based on what they have gathered from lop-sided theories of NGO-Marxists and America -based Anthropologists without going deeper and deeper into the primary sources. 

END OF PART II

 [U1]

BY EDWARD THEOPHILUS

Achieving economic stability is a complicated and compact process for Sri Lanka as it requires recovering the negative outcomes gained during the covid restriction period. The results of recent policy performance show enjoyable results such as reducing inflation, which reflect in many countries. However, it would not provide concrete evidence to express the economy is stabilising. It is required to show signs of stability in all areas of the economy, which may be called macroeconomic stability. The way of ascertaining economic stability is based on a comprehensive study of real outcomes of the growth and development in all sectors of the economy compared to the previous period, such a comparison may be shown a misleading picture that might show a stable growth in a limited area. When there was negative growth in previous years, the ascertainment of stability would be misleading, and the determination of stability needs to consider the many areas of the economy. The statements of politicians who are interested in short-term results may not be vital for consideration because the stability of an economy is a dynamic reflection than short-term consideration.

The growth of an economy is an integral process that is related to wide areas. An economy has links with many areas and it is called dynamic nature. The current statements of politicians seem to pedestal on political purposes that might not be an accurate picture. Sri Lanka requires stability in all variables of the economic growth function, which is a broader and multidimensional process. During 2023, it shows that many who were unemployed during the covid restriction period gained work and such visibility is not concrete evidence to state the economy has been stabilised. Economic stability is a theoretical aspect, but popular opinion divulges a picture, which reflects the visibility that major areas of the economy. 

Politicians in Sri Lanka talk about economic stability by looking at the visible picture than the experience of people and real outcomes. It is useful to the public, and it could not visibly evaluate, but is a mental picture that is possible to use for the enjoyment of the public.  During the current uncertain period, many politicians in other countries are also interested in talking about the economy and considering the factors related to development and growth. Giving a strong feeling to voters about the prosperity and the stability of the economy which are convincing voters they have done the right thing to gain stability in the economy attracting votes in the next election would be the aim of politicians.

It is a vital point for politicians to mislead people expressing about the economy and its stability. People can engage in their work without lamenting about future economic repercussions. In Sri Lanka, many people are not concerned about economic stability if they gain sufficient money for survival. That is what they want and the aim of politicians to show the public.

Many Sri Lankan politicians talk about economic stability without understanding the complicated process of the economy and an uncertain process that is associated with the dynamism in the modern era. The economy is a function of entire factors and it is like a living organism that is contributed by multidimensional process of production and services. Many factors or areas are especially vital for economic stability for convincing the public and the business people to gain support for the government. Many consider that the rapid growth of tourism is displaying a sign of economic stability. It is acceptable at the level about 10% and a half truth, and for economic stability needs an aggregate stable growth of all areas in the input-output function. It must be immutable, in such a situation if the tourism business stabilises then it supports to economic stabilisation of the country by influencing entire areas of the economy. 

Large contributing factors such as agriculture, industry, construction and services should be stabilised at a certain level to consider for stable economic development. Tourism is a small area, but macroeconomic factors directly associated with the service industry and it may be involved with other areas of input-output role, such as agriculture, industry, construction, and services. Macro-economically, government policies need to provide positive support through policy development and innovative actions. The reality in Sri Lanka shows that all factors of the Input-output function have not been stabilised by a sudden increase in tourist arrivals. Tourist arrivals directly related to service area, if they purchase productions of the country, it might considerably support for the economic stabilization.

To achieve economic stability, Sri Lanka needs higher growth in major areas such as agriculture, industry, construction, and services. If it considers the agricultural sector, it has been recorded that subsistence agriculture has a declining trend as young people getting away from engaging in direct subsistence agricultural production activities in farms and related ago-based industries. Industrial investment is lower than expected because the industry sector in the modern era needs innovation and productivity concerning consumer preference, however, such advanced technology is not related to the knowledge, skills and research of the country. For example, mobile phone production and related technology development are concerned with innovations to attract consumers and such advanced technology is not a production and research area of the country. The construction sector strongly associates with foreign investment and although it could see an increasing trend as tourist arrivals that are supported to construct more hotels and related buildings. As visible in the country, other sectors such as services are improving slowly.

When considering the above factors, achieving economic stability is not a simple task as the way expressed by politicians. How could culture be influenced in achieving economic stability in Sri Lanka is also a vital question because in many developed countries, culture supported to economic development and growth. In Sri Lanka many cultural aspects such as rules, regulation and behaviour of religious personnel have concerned activities despite economic development and motives of religious clergy against the teaching of religious leaders. This situation is constraint to economic development and stabilisation of the economy.    Culture is a vital area that needs to discuss and the government needs beginning of open debate on how could culture supports stimulating development tasks.

Culture means rule and regulation and the influence of religion and related institutions should extend the support for economic development, however, conflicts among religions have created violence against development work by spreading useless views affecting development work. The anti-social behaviour of some religious institutions shows that they have no mercy for development tasks which bring or empower the society.

Combine revenue of people in Asian society denote the development and the distribution of the combine revenue has very inequalities, countries like India it can observe that few billionaires and millions of people are in below the poverty line. In Sri Lanka this situation shows quite different.

For stabilisation of economy, policy planners need to consider broader aspects rather than looking at temporary changes.             

By Neville Ladduwahetty Courtesy The Island

This is not the first time that Indian Leaders have called on Sri Lankan Governments to Ensure life of dignity and respect for Tamils”. This was repeated during the recent visit of Sri Lanka’s President to India. India’s Prime Minister Modi stated: We hope that Sri Lanka’s government will fulfill the aspirations of the Tamil people. We expect that Colombo will take forward the process of reconstruction for ensuring equality, justice and peace. We hope that Sri Lanka will fulfill its commitment to implement the 13th Amendment and to hold provincial elections” (The Island, 23 July, 2023).

It is necessary to recognize that all the comments made by the Prime Minister exclusively addresses the concerns of the Tamil people. Furthermore, except for implementing the 13A, and holding provincial elections, all other issues relating to the Tamil people are intangible and unquantifiable notions that are influenced by perceptions. Consequently, the call to the Governments of Sri Lanka to ensure dignity and respect for Tamil people presents opportunities for India to exploit it to its advantage, at its choosing. As for the rest of Sri Lanka, it was all about tangible infrastructure projects to further connectivity and integration as incorporated in the five MOUs.

All the intangible notions are interrelated. For instance, IF Tamil aspirations for the separate State, that had led to a 30-year armed conflict, had become a reality, a life of dignity and respect for Tamils would follow, and the need for reconstruction to ensure equality, justice and peace would not have arisen. On the other hand, if the aspiration of the Tamil people had been limited to a Federal State with the right of self-determination, dignity and respect for Tamils would have been ensured, albeit not to the same degree, and the need for reconstruction to ensure equality, justice and peace would also be to a lesser degree. Therefore, the degree to which the intangible notions become relevant depend on what constitutes acceptable aspirations.

The irony is that because the aspirations of the Tamil people as hitherto articulated come at a cost to both India’s and Sri Lanka’s interests, mutual security and territorial integrity, the aspirations of the Tamil people as hitherto expressed cannot be fulfilled. This is an enigma for both India and Sri Lanka; if either aspiration of the Tamil people expressed thus far was to manifest itself in Sri Lanka, the inevitable reverberations in India would be a threat to India’s security and its territorial integrity, without which India would not be able to fulfill its aspiration of becoming a global power.

What is evident from this existential reality is that India’s and Sri Lanka’s security, territorial integrity, and its political arrangements in the form of 13A are already interlinked to a degree that makes Sri Lanka apprehensive and insecure arising from the denial of Sri Lanka’s right of self-determination. Against such a background, it is imperative that its economic connectivity conveyed in the five MOUs be handled with extreme caution if Sri Lanka is not to become even more dependent and at the mercy of India.

Under the circumstances, the most that India can accept without compromising its own interests and aspirations is devolution under the 13th Amendment, which clearly is not the aspiration of the Tamil people. The same goes for Sri Lanka’s aspiration, too, unless its form and scope is reformulated from the form and scope imposed by India in 1987 into an arrangement that better serves all Sri Lankans without exception. Taking into account these hard realities, India’s PM would be doing a great service to the Peoples of both India and Sri Lanka if he was to call on the Tamil leadership to get real” and scale back their aspirations, because of its impact on the interrelated and interdependent interests of both India and Sri Lanka.

FIVE MOUs BETWEEN INDIA and SRI LANKA

As far as India is concerned, 13A is the most India can accept if it is to protect its national interests and its global aspirations. In such a context, 13A in Sri Lanka is being used to enhance India’s connectivity with Sri Lanka and thus bring Sri Lanka within India’s sphere of control with economic projects that on paper appear attractive, would not be in Sri Lanka’s interest in their operations. The five (05), yet unpublished MOUs signed with India during the visit of Sri Lanka’s President is all about connectivity to the point of integration and eventual dependence. These MOUs have little to do with dignity and respect for Tamils or their aspirations. On the other hand, it has everything to do with India’s policy of Neighbourhood First and Security and Growth for all in the Region (SAGAR), thereby furthering India’s interests.

Although the five MOUs signed do not have a legal status, they clearly outline specific points of understanding. In particular, they describe the projects on which India and Sri Lanka have agreed to explore areas of mutual interest. However, it is of vital importance to recognize that while some projects would be mutually beneficial, others would compromise the self-reliance and independence of Sri Lanka, and in the process further the dependence of Sri Lanka on India through these physical connections.

For instance:

The construction of a multi-product petroleum pipeline from Southern part of India to Sri Lanka.

To establish high capacity power grid between India and Sri Lanka.

The decision to designate INR as currency for trade between the two countries.

To establish land connectivity between India and Sri Lanka for developing access to ports of Trincomalee and Colombo.

Establishing physical connections in respect of a pipeline for petroleum products and a power grid between India and Sri Lanka could be disrupted at any time as experienced by Europe, when the pipelines that had delivered natural gas and petroleum products from Russia were sabotaged by interested parties. On 26 September, 2022, a series of clandestine bombings and subsequent underwater gas leaks occurred on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipelines. Following the sabotage, the European Commission has unveiled an ambitious and far-reaching plan, aptly coined REPower EU”, to achieve full energy independence from Russia by 2027″ (euronews). Earlier, the pipeline had delivered 45% of natural gas from Russia to Europe; a dependence that the US had perceived as being hostage to Russia. Since similar acts of terrorism cannot be ruled out in the case of any underwater pipeline from India to Sri Lanka, the lesson to be learnt from Europe is to develop independent sources of energy and not rely on external sources that could exploit such dependence to advance the interests of others.

Similar vulnerabilities exist with power grids, too. Whether the cables are over-water or submarine cables, cyber hackers have exploited the vulnerabilities of power grids in Europe and in the US. Since such hackers could be induced by geopolitically motivated interests, the vulnerability associated with trans-national grids are greater than with national grids. Therefore, confining power grids within national boarders is more prudent.

The land access to ports of Trincomalee and Colombo presents multidimensional threats. Access to ports would mostly be by road. This means the routes they traverse and their surroundings would be subjected to serious environmental hazards arising from vehicular emissions. Furthermore, since road access would encourage human traffic, Sri Lanka would be forced to deal not only with unfamiliar health issues but also equip itself to deal with increased drug traffic, both by land and sea.

The decision to designate INR as currency for trade between India and Sri Lanka appears favourable to Sri Lanka, at first glance, given the fact that Imports from India to Sri Lanka in 2022 were around $4.5 Billion while Exports from Sri Lanka to India were only $ 850 Million. Under these circumstances, Sri Lanka would be able to save follars because currently the US Dollar is the currency of trade with India.

However, the very fact that using INR for trade may be an advantage to Sri Lanka, there is a strong possibility that imports from India would not only increase but also be at a cost to quality, as experienced with the pharmaceutical products that are imported from India on a Line of Credit. The net effect would be for Sri Lanka to become more and more indebted to India.

CONCLUSION

After having issued the usual platitudes, such as fulfilling aspirations of the Tamil people, ensuring dignity and respect for Tamils” and equality, justice and peace for them, Sri Lanka was admonished for its lack of commitment for implementing the 13th Amendment by Prime Minister Modi during the recent visit of the President of Sri Lanka to India. India wrapped up the visit by securing agreements conveyed in five MOUs to engage in infrastructure projects that consolidate India’s connectivity with Sri Lanka thereby ensuring the dependence through its policy of neighbourhood first. In short, Sri Lanka came home with the short end of the stick.

No serious attempt was made by Sri Lanka to explain to India that the reason for not fulfilling Tamil aspirations is simply not a lack of commitment or the unwillingness, but because the aspirations of the Tamil people run counter to the aspirations of the rest in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, no attempt was made to explain that the 13A imposed by India was from the beginning drafted and crafted from the outset ONLY to meet Tamil aspirations, and not as a mechanism to improve the lives of ALL Sri Lankans through effective devolution. Consequently, 13A has turned out to be a trap where the choice boils down to aspirations of Tamil people or improved livelihoods for all. No attempt was made by Sri Lanka to explore ways and means of getting out of this trap. This should have been Sri Lanka’s focus. Instead, what turned out was control of Sri Lanka by India through connectivity and integration.

It has to be granted that some issues contained in the MOUs are mutually beneficial. However, issues such as connectivity of land access to ports of Trincomalee and Colombo, power grids, under sea pipelines to convey petroleum products and trade in INR have vulnerabilities that are influenced by geopolitics as experienced by Europe when the Russian pipelines were sabotaged; a dependence that was described as being a hostage to Russia according to the US. The very quick lesson, learnt by Europe, was to be free of connectivity. This should be Sri Lanka’s lesson too. Therefore, extreme caution will have to be exercised when issues contained in these MOUs, are transformed for implementation.

Eileen Weintraub

Founding Director Help Animals India Seattle, WA  USA

“This Anti-Animal Welfare Act of 2022, IF passed AS IS is all that Sri Lanka needs now to damn it Internationally as the first Buddhist country in the world to grant “State-Sanctioned Animal Cruelty sans legal redress  to the voiceless  via a supposed “Welfare” Act. 

The trade profts envisaged  by removing protectIon from this Act for animals used in the meat and egg industries, denying these sentient beings modern, ethical, and humane mothods in slaughter, will be eclipsed by the loss of economic gains which are accrued to the country by keeping intact its gentle image as a Leading Buddhist Country in the world, philosophically and legally providing protection to All Living Beings. 

Performing ethically unsanctioned “futile” live animal research (futile as none of such research will qualify to be  published internationally or even locally ) will tarnish and damn the high academic esteem with which Sri Lanka’s academia is held internationally. “

Eileen Weintraub

Founding Director

Help Animals India

Seattle, WA  USA

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Dr. Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake

EU vessels — most of them French or Spanish — catch up to a third of high value tuna in the Indian Ocean Region, where many littoral countries are impoverished. Many Indian Ocean countries are in a Eurobond USD Debt trap operated by predatory Sovereign Bond traders represented by the Paris Club and Washington Consensus (IMF and World Bank).

In the context the Solution to overfishing is to BAN Distant Water Fishing States (DWFS), like French, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Taiwan, Republic of China and their Industrialized fishing fleets from fishing the Indian Ocean. After all many of these DWFS do not have borders in the Indian Ocean, although France uses its Colonial islands to claim access.

These DWFS countries have massive industrialized fleets that are looting and overfishing the world’s fisheries resources and impoverishing small island countries.

A ban on DWFS would enable Impoverished Small Indian Ocean countries to sustainably harvest, use, and profit from their Indian Ocean Fisheries resources, and enable Indian Ocean Fish stock to recover. Instead Macron’s Summit for a New Global Financial Pact has attempted to repackage Corruption as Green and Blue Bonds to further debt trap impoverished countries.

 Fishy business: EU flashes green money to support Indian Ocean tuna grab

By Antoaneta Roussi and Louise Guillot

From : https://www.politico.eu/article/environmental-cash-for-fish-eu-flashes-green-money-to-support-indian-ocean-tuna-grab/

ritics say the bloc is leveraging sustainability aid to block a ban on practices that cause overfishing.

BY ANTOANETA ROUSSI AND LOUISE GUILLOT

The EU’s sustainable fishing funds are intended to save the environment. In the Indian Ocean, critics say they’re being used as leverage to allow Europe’s fishing fleets to keep fishing vast amounts of tuna.

EU vessels — most of them French or Spanish — catch up to a third of tuna in those waters, according to data from the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), an international body tasked with managing the fisheries. To do so, they deploy so-called fish aggregating devices — floating objects made of plastic or wood used to attract fish — that scientists say lead to overfishing and cause plastic pollution.

Concerned by the EU’s practices, a group of 11 IOTC member countries are calling to limit the use of floating devices to allow fish to recover and ensure the species’ survival. Their proposal calls for a 72-day moratorium on the practice every year, and a limit on how many devices can be used.

The EU has launched a campaign to ensure that doesn’t happen.

Through so-called sustainable fisheries partnership agreements” with countries, the EU is funneling millions of euros in developmental aid to countries that are also members of the IOTC and can help the EU block the proposal.

The EU doesn’t want to be restricted [in the Indian Ocean],” said a member of a country delegation pushing for the regulation of the floating devices, who requested anonymity to speak freely. They want to maintain their amount of catches, which are very big.” 

Marco Valletta, head of the EU delegation, insists the proposal to limit floating devices clearly violated the playing field” and was dictated more by the commercial interests of a group of countries … than by serious and sincere conservation objectives.”

The proposal includes a condition that if the IOTC’s scientific committee is unable to provide advice, the proposed 72-day ban would come into force as a precautionary approach.” The EU says it should only come into effect if there is enough strong scientific evidence in favor.

We were really stunned to see the stiff opposition from the EU,” as the bloc usually champions a precautionary approach in other settings, said Hussain Sinan, a Maldivian post-doctoral researcher.

Bartering

The EU’s delegation at the IOTC is by far the heftiest, with 40 delegates; the second largest is Indonesia with 20. Of its 40 representatives, at least 24 are industry lobbyists, according to ocean conservation NGO Bloom.

The bloc’s delegates stand out in their smartly pressed suits, open shirt collars and air of bravado, recalled a delegate who attended the IOTC Commission meetings as an observer for over a decade.

Together with representatives from the European Commission, the delegates have been lobbying hard against a ban on floating devices.

The EU currently has two active fisheries agreements with IOTC member countries: a €5.3 million deal with the Seychelles, which docks most of the EU’s tuna-fishing fleet, and a €7 million agreement with Madagascar.

It also has a separate blue economy” partnership with the government of Kenya worth €24 million, and one with Tanzania for €166 million. 

The EU has always suffered from a violent duality between its development aid policies and its commercial strategy,” said Bloom in a January report. On one hand, it provides financial aid to help countries — a lot of which are former European States’ colonies — to develop. On the other, its own delegations impede economic development and oppose environmental protection measures.”

These fisheries partnerships allow the EU to buy access to countries’ waters so that its vessels can fish surplus stocks. Critics see them as a source of leverage for the EU to increase its influence in the region, but the Commission says they “focus on resource conservation and environmental sustainability” and are “a benchmark for good fisheries governance.”

Accusations that the agreements are being used as leverage are “totally unfounded,” a Commission spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “The EU respects the position of other countries and does not use agreements it has … to influence their position or force them to support in multilateral fora.”

Change of direction

The most dramatic moment in the talks so far came in February, when Kenya — until then the proposal’s key backer — suddenly dropped its support.

During a meeting at the Pride Inn Hotel in Mombasa, Kenya’s blue economy minister, Salim Mvurya, stood up in front of the delegates and announced that his country was withdrawing its proposal for a ban, which national delegations had been debating for more than a year.

There was an audible gasp in the room, according to five people who attended the meeting.

It was really a big surprise for all of us and immediately we called for a time out,” said a delegate from a country east of the Indian Ocean that supported the ban. The situation was chaos.” The Kenyan delegation looked as surprised as everyone else, according to the people who were present.

After more than five hours of talks, Indonesia — with the backing of Somalia, India, Australia and South Africa, among others — took over as lead country and suggested a secret ballot on the proposal, a highly unusual move that speaks to how contentious talks had become.

While more than two-thirds of countries voted in favor of the proposal, the Seychelles objected, along with Comoros, Oman, Kenya and the Philippines.

The proposal passed, meaning it should be adopted by IOTC members. But according to the organization’s rules, any country that objects within 120 days does not have to apply the measure. Since the EU is the greatest user of floating devices, and objected, environmentalists say it would do little in helping the fish stock replenish.

Counterproposal

At a meeting starting May 8, the IOTC will discuss an EU counterproposal pushing back against the Indonesian-led initiative.

The proposal would jettison the 72-day ban and offer a way to increase the number of the floating devices allowed at sea. It also calls on the IOTC scientific committee to assess whether using these devices contributes to a higher mortality of juvenile tuna and to provide recommendations on the management of this gear by the end of the year.

The Commission spokesperson said the EU is “clearly in favor” of a stronger management of fish aggregating devices and that its counterproposal would “allow for better control” and better implementation. It also wants scientific input to find “the best moment, area and modality where a closure on [the devices] could be the most beneficial for the tuna stock.”

Industry association Europêche’s tuna director, Anne-France Mattlet, said European tuna fishers weren’t against a temporary ban but want the scientific committee to make that judgment. “Maybe it will turn out that the [ban] is not necessary at all at this time of the year, or it can be at another time,” she said.

The 72-day ban is seen by its proponents as a last-ditch attempt to prevent the species from extinction. Other tropical waters around the world have already instituted bans on fish aggregating devices over concerns about overfishing — boosting the case for one in the Indian Ocean.

Yellowfin tuna was designated as overfished in 2015; IOTC members have since tried to find ways to help its stock repopulate, including by implementing catch limits.

Those efforts ultimately failed, because countries did not respect the catch limits.

The goal is to ensure that the ecological impacts are reduced,” said WWF Indian Ocean tuna manager, Umair Shahid. It would give a chance for juveniles to grow, especially during the peak season to allow for stock recruitment.” 

For some countries, the proposal is also about ensuring all states have an equal right to fish the stocks; the EU currently scoops up the majority thanks to its use of floating devices.

Mohamoud Badrudiin, director-general of Somalia’s fisheries ministry and head of the Somali IOTC delegation, said the war-torn country voted in favor of the proposal as it can’t afford to see tuna stocks dwindle any further.

Five consecutive failed rainy seasons have caused a prolonged drought with millions of livestock deaths, child malnutrition and mass migration — increasing Somalia’s reliance on fishing.

Those people who are already suffering from drought, they have only seafood left,” he said. Industrial fisheries are trying to exploit the fact that we have a low enforcement capacity, and to do that to these people is inhumane.”

Dilrook Kannangara

What is termed as the ethnic problem (started in 1911) was never about problems faced by an ethnic group. It was always about profiting from sympathy and bankrupting the nation and its majority. By holding hostage the majority’s desire for one-nation-in-the-island, shrewd tribal politicians skimmed them to the maximum until the national economy collapsed. Little that the majority realizes that their desire is costing them dearly and it is a cost they can’t afford anymore. However, there have been willing and unwilling fellow travelers of these tribal politicians both locally and internationally. They too are working with tribal politicians to advance their economic strategy against Sri Lanka.

Devolution of power under 13A and language rights under 13A, 14A, 15A and other subsequent Constitutional amendments and laws have benefitted only selected ethnic groups at the expense of the majority. As a result, the economic situation of the majority collapsed since these were introduced.

Today the majority is totally barred from economic activity in 6 districts (all districts in the northern province and Batticaloa district); mostly shut out from economic activity in 3 more districts (Trincomalee, Ampara and Nuwara Eliya) and significantly restricted in the economic hub of another district (Colombo district). All in all, only 15.5 out of 25 districts are open for the majority for their economic survival. This is just 62% of the island for the 75% of the people which is a factor of 0.83.

Muslims are barred from economic activity in all northern districts and restricted in Batticaloa and Nuwara Eliya district. In essence Muslims have only 19 out of 25 districts for their economic activity. As Muslims are 10% of the population, their economic access factor is 7.6 (19/25/0.1).

Tamils face no such restrictions and exploit economic resources and opportunities in all districts. Their economic access factor is 6.25 (25/25/0.16).

In summary, Muslims have the highest economic access factor of 7.6 followed by Tamils with 6.25 and Sinhalas have been restricted to a meagre 0.83.

This is the true state of economic opportunities in the island.

As the majority’s economy has been thus bankrupted, the nation is also bankrupted. When most people are well off, the nation is well off. When most people are poor the nation becomes poor.

Despite diversity and devolution of power, India has not fallen into this sorry state because India is demarcated by ethnicity. This ensures all major ethnic groups have their equitable economic opportunities protected. Tamils are approximately 6% of India’s population and are enjoying approximately 6% of India’s economic opportunities. That is an economic access factor of 1. All others are the same. Though there are differences between states, there is no such wide disparity as in Sri Lanka.

The majority must decide if they want to survive as a community (which requires equitable economic opportunities – a community dies when its economy is restricted) or they want to eternally sacrifice and share their economic opportunities to keep the nation in one piece. A very hard choice for some. Decades of appeasement and economic disregard painted them into this corner. Further economic restriction of the majority will surely split the nation so their sacrifices will be worthless anyway.

මතුගම සෙනෙවිරුවන්

 තරාදියක් අතේ එල්ලාගෙන ඇස්බැඳගෙන සිටින නීතියේ දෙවඟන වූ කලි අධිකරණයේ ස්වාධීනත්වයේ සංකේතයයි.අධිකරණ විනිසුරුවන් ඉදිරයේ දී සෑම පුරවැසියෙකුම එක සමාන වෙයි.යුක්තිය පසිඳලීම පිණිස විත්තිකරුවන් සහ පැමිණිලිකරුවන් ඉදිරයේ පෙනී සිටින විනිසුරවන් සාධාරණ අපක්ෂපාතී විය යුතු යැයි තිබෙන මතය කෙතරම් දුරට ආරක්ෂා කර ඇත්දැයි අප සිතා බැලිය යුතුය.සිවිල් නඩු අපරාධ නඩු ආදියේ දී විත්තිකරුවෙකුට හෝ පැමිනිලිකරුවෙකුට සිදුවන යම් අසාධාරණයක් වෙත් නම් ඒ ඒ පුද්ගලයන්ට ඒවා අදාල වේ. නමුත් රටේ පූලික නීතිය සම්බන්ධව අසාධාරණයක් වෙත් නම් එය මුලු රටටම බලාපායි.වැරදි දේ යළි යළිත් සිදුවන විට එම වැරදි යලි හරිගැස්සීමටද නොහැකි වෙයි.

           පාර්ලිමෙන්තුව යනු නීති සම්පාදනය කරන ආයතනයයි. ජනතා පරමාධිපත්‍ය නියෝජනය කිරීම සඳහා තේරී පත්වූ නියෝජිත මන්ත්‍රීවරුන් ගේ කාර්ය භාරය විය යුත්තේ නීති සම්පාදනයේ දී එය රටට ජාතියට සහ ආගමට බලපාන්නේ කෙසේද යන්න සලකා බැලීමයි.නමුත් පාර්ලිමේනුතව නියොජ්නය කරනු ලබන බොහෝ මන්ත්‍රීවරුන් සභාගත කරන ලද පනත් කෙටුම්පත් අධ්‍යනය කරනුනේ නැත. ඇතිම් විට නොයෙකුත් අරමුණු ඔස්සේ ගෙනෙන සංශෝධන රැසක් එකවර කියවා තේරුම් ගැනීමේ අපහසුව නිසාද විය හැකිය. අනෙක් කරුණ නම් බොහෝ පනත් කෙටුම්පත් ඉංග්‍රීසි බසින් පළව තිබේමයි.විශේසයෙන්ම අමාතය මණ්ඩල සංදෙශ ආදිය සකස් කරනු ලබන්නේ ඉංග්‍රීසි භාෂාවෙනි. මේ සියලු කාරණා නිසා පනතක නීත්‍යානුකූල බව සලකා බැලීමට ඔවුනට අවස්තාව හිමි නොවේ. ඒයට තවත් ප්‍රධාන හේතුවක් වනුයේ නීතිපති දෙපාර්තමෙන්තුව විසින් මෙම කෙටුම්පත් අනුමත කර එවීමේ දී ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවට අනූකූලදැයි සලකා නොබැලිමයි. පසුගියදා ඉදිරිපත කළ මහ බැංකු පනත එක උදාහරණයකි. එහි සංශෝධන 80 කට වඩා ඇතුළත් වූ බව ැක්වෙයි. 2023 මැයි 15 දින ගැසට් කරන ලද ආයුර්වේද සංශේදන පනතද මෙලෙස කඩිමුඩියේ හෝ වෙනත් අරමුණකින් හෝ ඉදිරිපත් කරන ලද්දකි.එම පනතට විරුද්ධව පාරම්පරික වෛද්‍යවරුන් පිරිසක් අධිකරයට පෙත්සම් ඉදිරිපත් කළහ.ත්‍රිපුද්ගල විනිසුරු මඩුල්ලක් ඉදිරයේ  සිවු දිනක් තිස්සේ විභාගයට  ගත් මෙම නඩුකරය තුළ සාක්ච්ඡා කරන ලද ප්‍රධාන කරුණු අතර පාරම්පරික කර්මය ශූන්‍ය කිරීමට ගත් තැත මුල් තැනේ තිබේ.ඊට අමතරව සමගාමී ලැයිස්තුවට ඇතුලත් විෂයක් වන දේශීය වෙදකම පිළිබඳ පනත් කෙටුම්පත් සංශොධනයකදී පළාත් සභා විමසිය යුතු බවද ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ දක්වා තිබේ.මෙයද සලකා බලා නැත. මෙහිදී ඉදිරිපත් වූ  වැදගත්ම තර්කය විස්න් මතු කරනු ලබන්නේ මෙම ලිපියේ මුලින් සඳහන් කරන ලද පසුබිමයි. නීති ක්ෂේත්‍රය සහ පාර්ලිමෙන්තුව මෙතෙක් කල් මේ රටේ ජනතාවගේඇස්වසා ආණුඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවසථාවට පටහැනිව පනත් කෙටුම්පත් සංශොෟදනය කර ඇති බව මෙම තර්කයෙන් පැහැදිලි වේ තිබේ.

          1972 ජනරජ ආණුඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව ඇති කිරීමට ප්‍රථම මේ රටේ ක්‍රියාත්මක වූයේ සොල්බිරි ව්‍යවස්තාවයි. සෙල් බරි ව්‍යව්ෂාතව යටතේ ඉදිරපත් කළ ආඥ පනත් සහ පනත් බොහෝ විට ඉංග්‍රීසි බාෂාවෙන් ගැසට් පත්‍රයේ පළ විය. ඇතැම් විට සිංහල පර්වර්තනයක්ද රජයේ මුද්‍රණාලයෙන් පිට කරනු ලැබිණ.නමුත් එය නීතිමය ලියවිල්ලක් නොවේ.1961 ආයුර්වේද පනතද එසේමය.එය ඉදිරිපත් කර තිබෙන්නේ ඉංග්‍රීසි භාෂාවෙනි.පෙර කීපරදි රජයේ මුද්‍රණාලයෙන් පළ කරන ලද පරිවරත්නයක්ද විය.2023 ආය්රුවේද සංශෝධන පනත් කෙටුම්පත් විභාගය අවස්තාවේ දී මෙම නඩුවට ඉදිරිපත් වූ නීතඥ මහ්මයෙකු නගන ලද එක් තර්කයක් වූයේ ආයුර්වේදම් නම් වචනයක් දෙමළ බසේ නැති බවයි. එවිට මෙම වචනය මුල් ලියැවිල්ලේ එනම් 1961 ආය්රුවේද පනතේ දෙමළ භාෂාමය පිටපත හා සසඳා බැලිය යුතුය. නමුත් සසදා බැලීමට එවැනි පටපක් නැත. සිංහල භාෂාමය වැරදැද්ද සලකා බැලීමට එනම් සංශොෟදනයේ දී ඉදිරිපත් වූ ආයුර්වේද සංග්‍රහ නමැති වචනය සකා බැලීහමට මුල් සිංහල ගැසට්ටුවක්ද නැත. අධිකරණය ගොලුවන්නේ මෙවැනි අවස්තාවකදීය.

     1972 ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ 10.(1) හා 1978ව්‍යවස්තාවේ 23(4 ) අනුව ආණුඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යව්ෂථාවෙ ක්‍රියාත්මක වීම ආරමභ වීමට පෙරාතුව බලාත්මක  වූ සියලු නීති සහ අනු නිති හැකිතාක් ඉක්මනින් සිංහල සහ දෙමළ භාෂාවලින් ගැසට් පත්‍රයේ පළ කරනු ලැබිය යුත්තේය යනුවෙන් (දාසය වන සංශොෟදනයෙන් අනතුරුව ) දක්වා ඇති බව මෙහිදී සඳහන් කළ යුතුය.

“නීතියේ සිංහල නුගමුල” ෆීනික්ස් නීති සාර සංග්‍රහය වෛද්‍ය තිලක පද්මා සුබසිංහ අනුස්මරණ නීති අධ්‍යාපන වැඩසටහන

1978 සිට මේ දක්වා වසර 45 ක්ම ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම  ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ 23.2 (16වන ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථා සංශෝධනයට පෙර) සහ දැන් 23.4 (16වන ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථා සංශෝධනයට පසු) අනුව්‍යවස්ථාවට අනුකූලව නීති පැනවී ඇත්ද යන්න සළකා නොබැලුවේ ඇයි සහ තවමත් හිතා ඉන්නේ රටේ ක්‍රියාත්මක වන්නේ සෝල්බරි ව්‍යවස්ථාව රටේ ක්‍රියාත්මක වන බවද යන්න ජනතාව හමුවේ ඇති ප්‍රශ්නයකි.

1978 ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ 23.4 අනුව්‍යවස්ථාව අනුව 1978 ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව පැනවීමට පෙර පැවති සියලු නීති සහ අනු නීති සිංහල සහ දෙමළ භාෂාවෙන් ගැසට් පත්‍රයේ පළකල යුතු වෙයි.

එවැනි විධිවිධානයක් 1978 ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථා සම්පාදකයන් විසින් ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවට ඇතුළත් කළේ ඇයි?

මෙරට ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථා කිහිපයක්ම 1972ට පෙර පැවතිණි. සෝල්බරි ව්‍යවස්ථාව ඉන් එකකි. ඒ යටතේ පනත් පැනවී තිබුණි. ඊට පෙර ආඥාපනත් පැනවී තිබුණි. ඒවා කිසිවක් වර්තමාන ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවට අනුකූලද යන්න හෝ අනනුකූලද යන්න දන්නේ නැත.

එහෙත් එවැනි පනත් හෝ ආඥාපනත් සංශෝධනය කිරීමට වර්තමාන 1978 ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව යටතේ සංශෝධන කෙටුම්පත් ඉදිරිපත් වෙයි.

උදා..දණ්ඩනීති සංග්‍රහය, විෂවර්ග අබිං සහ අන්තරායකර ඖෂධ ආඥා පනත, නගර සහ ගෘහ නිර්මාණ ආඥාපනත වැනි පැරණි නීති සංශෝධන….

එවැනි අවස්ථාවක එවැනි නීති සංශෝධන කෙටුම්පත් සිංහල සහ දෙමළ භාෂාවෙන් සහ ඉංග්‍රීසි භාෂාවෙන් පරිවර්තන සහිතව ඉදිරිපත් කිරීම 1978 ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ නියමයකි. එසේ නියමයක් පැවතියද මුල් නීතිය හෝ ආඥාපනත ඉංග්‍රිසියෙන් පමණක් තිබීම ප්‍රශ්නගත හෙයින් එය නිරාකරණය කර විසදුමක් ලබා දීමට 1978 ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ 23.4 අනුව්‍යවස්ථාව දක්වා ඇත.

එකී නීතිමය තර්කය 1961 අංක 31 දරන ආයුර්වේද පනත සංශෝධනය කිරීමට 2023 ආයුර්වේද සංශෝධනය ගෙනා අවස්ථාවේදී එය අභියෝග කරමින් ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණට SC/ SD 52/23 පෙත්සමක් ඉදිරිපත් කළ වෛද්‍ය කමල් බන්දුල වීරප්පෙරුම සහ වෛද්‍ය වොෂින්ටන් ගල්හේනහේ නානායක්කාර වෙනුවෙන් පෙනී සිටි නීතීඥ අරුණ ලක්සිරි උණවටුන විසින් එස්. තුරෙයිරාජා, යසන්ත කෝදාගොඩ සහ ජනක් ද සිල්වා යන ත්‍රී පුද්ගල විනිසුරු මඬුල්ල හමුවේ ඉදිරිපත් කරන ලදී.

එකී නීතිමය තර්කය පිළිබඳව ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණ විනිසුරු මඬුල්ල දීර්ඝ ලෙස නීතීඥවරයාගෙන් ප්‍රශ්න කළ අතර එකී නීතිමය කරුණු ඇතුලු පෙත්සම්කරුවන් සහ නීතිපතිවරයා ඉදිරිපත් කළ කරුණු සළකා බලා 1961 අංක 31 දරන ආයුර්වේද පනත සංශෝධනය කිරීමට 2023 ආයුර්වේද සංශෝධනයට අදාල ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණය තීරණය කතානායකවරයා විසින් පාර්ලිමේන්තුවට ඉදිරිපත් කරනු ඇත.

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“නීතියේ සිංහල නුගමුල”
ෆීනික්ස් නීති සාර සංග්‍රහය
වෛද්‍ය තිලක පද්මා සුබසිංහ අනුස්මරණ නීති අධ්‍යාපන වැඩසටහන
දුරකථන 0342256066, 0712063394

Shenali D Waduge

The international community has been gulping half-baked stories not because they are unaware of the true story, but because the true story does not fit into their scheme of things. Knowing this ground reality, the crafty Tamil leaders were happy to bat according to how the West was prepared to bowl. TNA comprises elite Jaffna-centric Vellala Tamils who do not represent the Tamils, neither are they bothered about uplifting low-caste Tamils. They simply want to be kings ruling Tamils. Devolution in fact is going to make matters worse for 90% of Tamils who are not Vellalas. 

Politics and Politicians are happy to fish in any social issue & fine-tune it to their political advantage. In reality the cause of most problems are actually politicians. Now the public sector and private sector are also joining in for their own advantage too. Therefore, the people face problems from multiple fronts.

Tamil leaders do not want to solve the Tamil caste problem while Tamil leaders & others are making use of the Tamil caste problem. This is a greater problem than the falsely drummed ethnic” problem.

The Tamil ethnic” problem began by a Tamil 

1. Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam in 1911 changed Malabar Tamils to Ceylon Tamils for the census. He created an artificial new group called Ceylon Tamils
2. Then 20 years later in 1931 G G Ponnambalam demanded 50-50 representation when Tamils were hardly 30% (including Tamils imported from South India)
3. Then in 1949 (months after nominal independence) the Illankai Thamil Arasu Kachchi (Lanka Tamil Kingdom Party) was formed by Christian import Chelvanayagam. ITAK camouflages itself as Federal Party.

The Official Language Act was passed in 1956 making Sinhala the official language. Anyone taking offence must first respond with evidence to show if Tamil was an official language before 1505, was Tamil an official language under Portuguese, Dutch or even under the British after 1815 & till 1948? If not, what is the grievance that the Tamils claim? Did Tamils oppose English being used as official language instead of Tamil? Why oppose only Sinhala when they are well aware that Sinhala was the official language before 1505.

The other noteworthy point everyone is conveniently ignoring is that when the Official Language Act was passed there were no violent acts, no satyagrahas, no large demonstrations or protests – only a small protest without mass people’s participation.

What is also ignored is that even the Sinhalese who had been studying in English had to also learn Sinhala.

More importantly, hardly 1% of the population were fluent in English. It was impossible to govern a country when the majority did not know English. Therefore, a transition to the majority language required to take place. Even Tamils were more fluent in Sinhala than English. 

However, it was a different situation when the Prevention of Social Disabilities Act 21 was passed in 1957. 

This act enabled Tamil lower castes to attend school. This meant that Tamil lower castes were not allowed to attend schools. Why does no one question the Tamil high castes about why their own people were denied to attend schools? 

This act also enabled Tamil lower castes to enter kovils alongside high castes. This meant that Tamil lower castes had not been allowed to enter kovils. Why does no one question Tamil high castes regarding this?

Tamil leaders even sailed the rough seas to travel to UK to appeal to repeal this Act. Why didn’t they set said against the Official Language Act?

This proves that the Tamil leaders considered the 1957 Prevention of Social Disabilities Act giving low castes to enter schools & kovils as a bigger threat to them than the Official Language Act making Sinhala the official language.

That the 1956 Official Language Act was not a big issue at that time for Tamil elite is further showcased when in 1965 the government introduced laws to use Sinhalese in government offices & no large scale protests were seen.

This is what present day commentators must realize.

Tamil elite/high castes could not openly oppose giving low castes better privileges. So what did they decide to do? They followed their colonial masters & turned to the most successful form of division – RACISM & RACIAL ISSUE.

They began racial slogans – drummed up racial hate campaigns that enabled foolish low castes to align with the crafty Tamil high castes.

While there were little protests against the Official language act and no public protest against the prevention of social disabilities act, massive demonstrations were organized by Tamil high caste leaders in 1957 (since they could not oppose the Prevention of Social Disabilities Act openly – the best alternative was to get ALL TAMILS TO HATE THE SINHALESE)

• Ministers were mobbed
• Sinhala letters were tarred on vehicle registrations)
• Civil disobedience campaigns were launched by ITAK & Tamil Congress

All these incidents did not take place in 1956 but in 1957. This is important to note. It was the 1957 Act that triggered Tamil resistance & not the 1956 Act.

It is also noteworthy that the 1957 Prevention of Social Disabilities Act was amended in 1971 to enable low caste Tamils to make complaint to police regarding caste discrimination & for police to take necessary action. This further infuriated the high caste Tamils & was the reason for renewed protests and campaigns against the Government.

One of the biggest mistakes made by Sinhalese who foolishly fell for the antics of Tamil elite leaders was when SWRD Bandaranaike agreed to sign a pact with Chelvanayagam (who was instrumental in starting the protests) It did not have legal binding as it was kept from Parliament & the Cabinet. It was only a political gimmick.

The BC Pact did not mention anything about language & only about devolving powers – the reason behind this demand was to enable Tamil elite to retain control over their people & deny them the provisions that SWRD proposed to give under the Prevention of Social Disabilities Act.

So in reality, the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayagam Pact demanding devolution was aimed at REVERSING the provision given in 1957 to allow low caste Tamils to enter schools & kovils. Tamil low castes must wake up to this reality.

The caste issue is well documented by Dr. Sebastian Rasalingam

• 1847 – Arumuga Navalar left teaching at Jaffna Central College because a low caste Tamil (Nalavar Caste) was admitted to the school
• 1877 – During a famine in Jaffna peninsula – Arumuga Navalar provided food & medicine ONLY to the Jaffna Vellalas.
• 1871 – caste clashes between Vellala, dhoby & barber castes in Maviththapuram because the dhoby caste people refused to wash clothes of the barber caste people – Vellalas were blamed for inciting the violence (1^st caste riot)
• 1923 – Sutumalai village – Vellalas attack Paramba caste because they hired drummers for a funeral. Vellalas claimed Paramba’s had no right to employ drummers for funerals as they were low caste (2^ndcaste riot) – only high castes can hire drummers & ‘professional mourners’ for funerals.
• 1929 – riots due to govt ‘equal seating directive’ in grant-aided schools where low-caste students could sit on benches. Before 1929, low-caste children had to sit on the floor or outside the classroom. This riot resulted in large number of houses belonging to low castes getting burnt & children were stopped from attending schools. Vellala’s made repeated petitions to cancel the directive.
• Late 1920s Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan led 2 delegations to the Colonial Office in London to encode Caste into legislative enactments of Ceylon (Communal politics under the Donoughmore Constitution 1931-1947 by Jane Russell)
• 1931 – Canganai village – Pallar caste attacked by Vellalas for hiring drummers for a funeral. (3^rd caste riot)
• Vellalas are kovil patrols & maintain Brahmin priests who manage the kovils.

What is interesting is that the Vellala’s discriminated their own low caste Tamils but did not treat the Sinhalese differently. This shows that the Vellala’s hated low caste Tamils more than the Sinhalese!

Having understood this background, the ties to colonial Britain ended in 1972 after the island became a republic. By this time the low castes who were given admission to schools were ready to enter university.

While elite Tamils protested against allowing low caste Tamils to enter schools, their next protest came in 1973 when the government introduced university standardization for equitable distribution. To understand the true scenario for these protests it is important to understand that during colonial rule and years after only an elite group of Sinhalese, Tamils & Muslims were enjoying the best of education, employment & social privileges. 99% of the population were in virtual enslavement.

What university standardization did was to allow students from all districts to enter university, a privilege enjoyed previously only by the high castes/class among Sinhalese, Tamils & Muslims. It was natural that they would oppose sharing their privileges & dividing their admission quotas amongst lesser privileged students.

What readers need to understand is that the percentage of Tamils gaining admission to universities didn’t change – but the number of high caste/class Tamils gaining admission reduced as the quota included low caste Tamils too. This natural angered high caste Tamils. It was the same scenario for Sinhalese high castes.

The secret BC Pact in 1958 with devolution was meant to reverse the 1957 Social Disabilities Act & disallow low castes the privilege given to study & enter kovils, when devolution would mean high caste Tamils will once again rule over low castes.

The 1976 Vaddukoddai Resolution which came 3 years after the 1974 Standardization was another means to rope in low castes to a bogus war & steer them away from educating themselves. This crafty plan too succeeded as 99% of all LTTE cadres were low caste & poor Tamils. The elite high castes artfully covered their caste bias under schemes that fooled the low castes & not only deprived them the right to grow but also put them to their graves.

The majority of Tamils who are low castes need to realize the true enemy – not the Sinhalese but the high caste Vellala’s from India.

Shenali D Waduge

Sasanka De Silva

Echo chambers in social media platforms refer to virtual spaces where like-minded individuals gather and engage with content that reinforces their existing beliefs, opinions, and worldviews.

These chambers create an environment where people are exposed predominantly to information that aligns with their own perspectives while dissenting views and diverse opinions are often filtered out or actively discouraged.

As a result, users become isolated from alternative viewpoints, leading to the reinforcement and amplification of their preexisting beliefs, which can further entrench polarization and hinder constructive dialogue.

Several factors contribute to the formation and perpetuation of echo chambers in social media:

1.   Algorithmic Personalization: Social media platforms use complex algorithms to curate content for individual users based on their previous interactions, engagement patterns, and preferences. These algorithms prioritize showing users the content they are likely to interact with, leading to a self-reinforcing loop of exposure to similar content over time.

2.   Selective Exposure: Users tend to seek out information that aligns with their existing beliefs, avoiding or dismissing information that challenges their viewpoints. This behavior, known as selective exposure, can intensify within echo chambers, where like-minded individuals validate and support each other’s beliefs.

3.   Confirmation Bias: Echo chambers cater to confirmation bias, a cognitive tendency where people give more weight to information that confirms their preexisting beliefs and dismiss or downplay contradictory information. This bias further reinforces the homogeneity of beliefs within these chambers.

4.   Social Validation: Within echo chambers, individuals receive social validation and positive reinforcement for their shared beliefs. This validation fosters a sense of belonging and identity, encouraging users to remain in these spaces and engage further with like-minded peers.

5.   Information Overload: The vast amount of information available on social media can be overwhelming, leading users to rely on shortcuts, such as choosing content from familiar sources or those that align with their beliefs, rather than critically evaluating new perspectives.

The consequences of echo chambers can be significant:

1.   Polarization: Echo chambers exacerbate ideological divisions and contribute to the polarization of societies. When individuals are only exposed to one side of an issue, they may become less empathetic to opposing viewpoints and more entrenched in their own beliefs.

2.   Misinformation and Disinformation: Echo chambers can become breeding grounds for the spread of misinformation and disinformation. When information is shared and reinforced within a like-minded community, false or misleading content can rapidly gain traction without proper fact-checking.

3.   Reduced Critical Thinking: Exposure to a diverse range of opinions fosters critical thinking and encourages individuals to challenge their own beliefs. However, echo chambers stifle this critical thinking process, making it challenging for individuals to engage in thoughtful, open-minded discussions.

4.   Decreased Social Cohesion: The proliferation of echo chambers can lead to increased hostility between different ideological groups, hindering social cohesion and making it difficult for societies to find common ground on important issues.

To address the issue of echo chambers, social media platforms can take proactive steps to diversify users’ content exposure, encourage civil discourse, and promote critical thinking.

Users can also play a part by seeking out diverse perspectives and being open to engaging in respectful discussions with those who hold different beliefs.

Breaking free from echo chambers and promoting open dialogue are crucial steps towards fostering a more inclusive and informed online community.

Sasanka De Silva

Pannipitiya.

By Dr Tilak S. Fernando

Following a meeting former Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama had with his counterpart Bernard Brice Kouchner in Paris, in 2009, with other senior French officials, on a three-day tour to Paris, it was agreed to accommodate job opportunities for migrants from Sri Lanka in France. It mainly dealt with professionals, skilled workers, and IT and natural science students.

It was also proposed that a protocol be signed between the Governments of Sri Lanka and France in this connection, as per Dhamith de Silva in Paris, attached to IMO (the International Organisation for Migration and part of the United Nations), the IMO has connections with 175 member states at in over 100 countries.

Luncheon at the cost of IOM.

A working lunch was organised for the Sri Lankan delegation and IOM on Monday, 16 March 2009. The IOM France had been working with the Sri Lankan panels from the beginning when they visited France. Mrs Himali Arunatilake (Ambassador at the time to Geneva) represented the Sri Lankan delegation that visited France.

Sunil Sirisena led the Sri Lanka panel. They were informed to prepare an agreement in Colombo, and the French Minister would accompany them to sign it. It was followed up with another email confirming that IOM would give a working lunch on 16 March 2009 at the restaurant l’Européen.

They also mentioned that they had worked hard to see this project efficaciously. IOM hosted a working luncheon on March 2009 (by IOM France). This meeting was crucial for the panel as they met the French officials the next day. The email was copied to Forster Florian and Seye Maraki, Envoyé le Vendrand, and it contained, As discussed on the phone a few days ago, the booking was under IOM’s name. Apart from being a Sri Lankan delegation member, Dhamith De Silva would also be present at lunch.”

Dhamith de Silva visited Sri Lanka on 7 March 2023. He emailed the Ambassador’s secretary informing her that ‘he would like to meet the Ambassador and brief him about the Agreement to be signed with France on Sri Lanka (bilateral Agreement) on the ‘re-admission agreement’ by the EU and Sri Lanka.’ He also mentioned that he previously reported to the former French Ambassadors in Sri Lanka and a few Sri Lankan Ambassadors in Paris. He has also briefed the former Ambassadors of France Madam Christine Robichon, Mr Jean Marin Schuh and the Deputy Ambassadors Mark Lamy and Isabelle Miscot. On the verge of leaving Sri Lanka, he said he could not meet with the Ambassador because he left Sri Lanka suddenly on 8 March 2023. 

18 February 2023.

 However, EU-Sri Lanka Joint Readmission Committee met in Colombo. It revealed that Sri Lanka could still go for a bilateral agreement with France to help the labour migration to France and the Sri Lankan students to study in France free of charge.

Unfortunate situation.

It was unfortunate when an EU country (France) extended its arm to give a helping hand to Sri Lankans, including those who are illegally resident in France, and students to get free education. It has been abandoned by the bureaucratic bungling of those in power for the past 12 years.

To this end, four Ministers had to work together – the Foreign Minister, the Minister of Public Security, the Minister of Foreign Employment and the Ministry of Education.

The Foreign Ministry’s legal department apparently restricted it by neglecting to prepare the Agreement when the French were ready to sign. It was also understood that to execute an order should come from the President in Sri Lanka.

It was alleged that restrictions had come up by the Foreign Ministry’s legal department, where they needed help to prepare an agreement when the French were ready to sign. If more facts are required, please don’t hesitate to contact Damith Silva at +33. 870. 815. 615. 946 or email is him, <dhamithdesilva@yahoo.com>.

Regarding illegal Sri Lankan immigrants in France, Foreign Minister Bogollagama said in 2009 that it was estimated that about 120,000 Sri Lankans lived in France (mainly Tamil), and many enjoy refugee status. He said it has also been suggested that up to 30,000 of those would fall into the illegal category in 2009.

It is a question of why this agreement had to be signed in 2009. Mr Damith de Silva, who has been involved with this agreement, says he holds French and Sri Lankan dual nationality, has lived in France for the last 41 years, and has committed to the agreement.

EC ACT

European Council Decision (2005/372/EC) of 3 March 2005 concerning the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Community and the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka on the re-admission of persons residing without authorisation is approved by the decision. The Agreement applies to the territory where the Treaty establishing the European Community is applicable (except the Kingdom of Denmark) and Sri Lanka. The Contracting Parties will ratify or approve the Agreement under their respective procedures.

It is hoped that even after French President Emmanuel Macron visits Sri Lanka, President Ranil Wickremesinghe will take the matter up as to why for so long the agreement has not been signed and for the sake of illegal immigrants and as per EU-Sri Lanka Joint Readmission Committee meeting, it was revealed that Colombo, Lanka could still go for a bilateral agreement with France to help the labour migration to France and the Sri Lankan students to study in France free of charge.

tilakfernnado@gmail.com

“නීතියේ සිංහල නුගමුල” ෆීනික්ස් නීති සාර සංග්‍රහය වෛද්‍ය තිලක පද්මා සුබසිංහ අනුස්මරණ නීති අධ්‍යාපන වැඩසටහන

1. ජාතික ගීය, පදමාලාව සහ සංගීතය නියම කර ඇත්තේ ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව මගින් ය.

2. ජාතික ගීය, පදමාලාව සහ සංගීතය ජනතාවගේ පරමාධිපත්‍යයේ අංගයක් වන අතර පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ 2/3 ඡන්දයෙන් සහ ජනමතවිචාරණයක් මගින් මිස විකෘති කිරීම/ වෙනස් කිරීම කළ නොහැකිය.

3. එමෙන්ම ජාතික ගීය, පදමාලාව සහ සංගීතය ජාතිය සතු බුද්ධිමය දේපලකි.

4. ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව, නීතිය ආරක්ෂාකොට අනුගමනය කිරීම සෑම පුරවැසියෙකු සතු ව්‍යවස්ථාපිත යුතුකමකි.

5. ජාතික ගීය පදමාලාව සහ සංගීතය වෙනස් කිරීම, එය විකෘති කර පුද්ගලික සන්තකයේ තබා ගැනීම ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව, දණ්ඩ නීති සංග්‍රහයේ 289 වගන්තිය සහ බුද්ධිමය දේපල පනත උල්ලංඝනය කිරීමක් වෙයි.

6. ඒ අනුව ජාතික ගීය නියමිත පටිපාටියෙන් බැහැරව විකෘති කිරීම/ වෙනස් කිරීම අපරාධ වරදක් මෙන්ම ප්‍රජාඅයිතිය අහෝසිවන ක්‍රියාවක්ද/ වරදක්ද වෙයි.

http://neethiyalk.blogspot.com/2023/07/blog-post_31.html?m=1

“නීතියේ සිංහල නුගමුල”
ෆීනික්ස් නීති සාර සංග්‍රහය
වෛද්‍ය තිලක පද්මා සුබසිංහ අනුස්මරණ නීති අධ්‍යාපන වැඩසටහන
දුරකථන 0342256066, 0712063394

by A. Abdul Aziz, Press Secretary – AMJSL.

Britain Largest Islamic Convention concludes. 217168 people had joined the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community during the past year from around the world.

The Jalsa Salana (Annual Convention) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the United Kingdom concluded on Sunday 30^th July 2023 in which five speeches by the World Head the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the Fifth Khalifa (Caliph), His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad. 

The Convention began on Friday (28 July 2023) with the traditional Friday Sermon and the raising of the black and white flag of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community alongside the Union Flag. He delivered the inaugural address in which, he explained the purpose of this convention by quoting the writings of Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, the Promised Messiah and Imam-al-Mahdi (peace be on him). Promised Messiah explained that a grand purpose of convention – Jalsa Salana is that the attendees are able to attain taqwa (God-fearing and righteousness, after which they will attain closeness to Allah, traverse His path, and ultimately be diligent in His worship. The Promised Messiah did not merely tell his Community members to attain taqwa (God-fearing); with great fervor and pain, he showed them the paths of attaining taqwa in accordance with the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet (PBUH). The Promised Messiah would always say that if the root of taqwa (God-fearing) was present in someone, they had everything, Ahmadiyya Khalifa added. He went on to say, that, Ahmadiyya Founder also said that one is not a God-fearing if they merely stay away from the very basics, such as stealing or looting. Staying away from these ills is not a great feat; rather, true goodness is that one helps Allah’s creation and is ready to give his life in the cause of Allah. 

On Saturday (29^th July, the second day of the event), the Caliph conducted proceedings from the ladies marquee. Names of women for academic achievements were read out.

In the event, His Holiness delivered a speech in which he urged Ahmadi women to emulate Prophet Muhammad’s female companions from which the Ahmadi women could attain great examples. Ahmadiyya Khalifa put some incidents on the life of female companions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and said these examples show the love these female companions had for Allah, Islam, and the Holy Prophet (PBUH) as well as their great examples of sacrifice, charity, and even the upbringing of their children.

On the second day of the event, Ahmadiyya Khalifa delivered address reflecting on Allah’s blessings upon the Community during the past one year.

One of the highlights of the three-day Convention was the pledge of allegiance, known as Bai’at that took place on Sunday afternoon (30 July 2023), where the participants pledged allegiance to Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad as the Fifth Khalifa (Caliph) of Promised Messiah Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. This is the 30^th International Bai’at Ceremony in the United Kingdom.

The participants formed a human chain leading to the Khalifa as they repeated the words of the pledge in unison.

Prior to the ceremony, His Holiness announced that 217168 people had joined the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community during the past year from around the world.

During the concluding Session on Sunday (30^th July 2023) it was read out the names of Ahmadi students who had achieved academic excellence over the year. Mr. Rafiq Ahmad Hayat, Amir, Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at UK, introduced the recipient of the 2023 Ahmadiyya Muslim Prize for the Advancement of Peace: David Spurdle.

Joel Turenne, Advocate and Director, Judiciary Affairs at the Religious Ministry in Haiti, presented a plaque to Ahmadiyya Head Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (may Allah Strengthen his hands).

Short speeches were delivered by Distinguished Guests. Greetings on Video Messages shown and text messages were read out.

A special message from King Charles to the attendees of the Convention) Jalsa Salana UK 2023 was then read out by Mr. Rafiq Ahmad Hayat, Amir, Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at UK. It reads:

BUCKINGHAM PALACE.

Please convey my warmest thanks to the Members of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community U.K. for their loyal greetings sent on the occasion of this year’s Annual Convention, which is being held today, 28^th July until 30^th July, at Hadeeqatul Mahdi, Oaklands Farm, Hampshire.

I much appreciate your message and value your continued support.

The forthcoming conference is an event of considerable significance, being the first of its kind    in some time. I was interested to learn that His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad is scheduled to attend and address the convention each day during this three-day event.

In return, I send my warmest good wishes to you all for a memorable and enjoyable event”

Charles R.

28^th July, 2023.  

In his concluding address on Sunday evening (30 July 2023) Ahmadiyya Khalifa explained in depth how Islam empowers poor and needy.

41,654 people from 118 countries including Sri Lanka attended this three day Convention (Jalsa Salana), which took place at Hadeeqatul Mahdi in Alton, Hampshire, United Kingdom.

Apart from the thousands of Ahmadi Muslims who participated, many non-Ahmadi and non-Muslim guests also attended.  The entire event was also broadcast live on MTA International and streamed online.

වෛද්‍ය රුවන් එම්. ජයතුංග 

නීට්ෂේ මිනිස් ජීවිතයේ සාරධර්මවල මූලාරම්භය සහ ක්‍රියාකාරිත්වය කෙරෙහි අවධානය යොමු කළේය.  සාම්ප්‍රදායික සදාචාරය පිළිබඳ නීට්ෂේගේ විවේචනය කේන්ද්‍රගත වූයේ “ස්වාමියා” සහ “වහල්” සදාචාරයේ ගතිකයන් මතය. නීට්ෂේට අනුව, ස්වාමියා සහ වහල් සදාචාරය අතර අරගලය ඓතිහාසිකව පුනරාවර්තනය වේ. 

ආගම, දර්ශනය සහ සදාචාරය පිළිබඳ ඔහුගේ විවේචන බලවත්  විය. නීට්‍ෂේ කියා සිටින්නේ ‘සෑම සෞඛ්‍ය සම්පන්න සදාචාරයක්ම සහජ බුද්ධියකින් පාලනය වන’ බවයි. නීට්ෂේ බොහෝ විට ජීවිතය හඳුනාගත්තේ බලයට ඇති කැමැත්ත” එනම් වර්ධනය සහ කල්පැවැත්ම සඳහා සහජ බුද්ධියක් සමඟිනි.  එහිදී ව්‍යාජ සදාචාරය වැදගත් නොවේ. 

ෂොපෙන්හෝවර්ව විවේචනය කල නීට්‍ෂේ ෂොපෙන්හෝවර් තපස්  සදාචාරයක් (ascetic morality) වෙනුවෙන් පෙනී සිටි බව කීවේය. ෂොපන්හෝවර්ගේ ආචාර ධර්ම පිළිබඳ ප්‍රධාන කෘතිවලින් එකක් වූ On the Basis of Morality සදාචාරය අනුකම්පාවෙන් හටගන්නා බව පැවසෙයි. ෂෝපන්හෝවර් තම තර්කයන් ආරම්භ කරන්නේ කාන්ට්ගේ සදාචාරයේ පාරභෞතිකය පිළිබඳ කාන්ට්ගේ පදනම විවේචනය කිරීමෙනි.  කාන්ට්ට අනුව, සදාචාරය ගොඩනඟා ඇත්තේ ස්ථාපිත නීති හා අපගේ ක්‍රියාවන්හි ප්‍රතිවිපාක සමඟ සැලකිල්ලක් දැක්වීම වටා ය. ෂෝපන්හෝවර් තර්ක කරන්නේ සැබෑ ආචාරධර්ම අනුකම්පාව මත පදනම් වී ඇති බවයි. එසේම ඔහු ස්වභාවධර්මය ගැන ගැඹුරින් සැලකිලිමත් වන්නේ එය සදාචාරයේ පදනම යටපත් කරන බව ඔහු සිතන බැවිනි.  

හෙරක්ලිටස් පර්සියානු ප්‍රාග් සොක්‍රටික් දාර්ශනිකයෙකි. ස්වභාවධර්මයේ යටින් පවතින නීතිය මිනිසුන් සඳහා සදාචාරාත්මක නීතියක් ලෙස ප්‍රකාශ වේ යන බව ඔහු කීවේය. හෙරක්ලිටියානු ආදර්ශ පාඨය අනුව “සියල්ල ඇතිවන්නේ ගැටුම හරහාය”  Heraclitean motto all things come into being through conflict මිනිසා සෑම විටම තම ආශාව සංසිඳුවා ගැනීමට නිරන්තර අරගලයක යෙදී සිටින බව ඔහු දකී. නීට්‍ෂේ හෙරක්ලිටස් ගැන ප්‍රසාදයෙන් ලියයි.  සොක්‍රටීස් සදාචාරය මිනිස් හැසිරීම්වලට සම්බන්ධ කළේය. සදාචාරය යනු මිනිසුන්ගේ ක්‍රියාවන්හි ප්‍රතිඵලයක් ලෙස ලැබෙන දායාදයකි. සොක්‍රටීස්, සදාචාරය චින්තනය සමඟ සම්බන්ධ කරයි. සොක්‍රටීස්ට  අනුව  මුදල් සහ බලය සදාචාරය අඩපණ කළ හැක.  එම නිසා  සදාචාරය පවත්වා ගැනීමට මුදල් සහ බලය කළමනාකරණය කළ යුතුය.සොක්‍රටීස් ලෝකය තාර්කික බව කීමෙන් මනුෂ්‍ය වර්ගයා දූෂිත කරන බව නීට්‍ෂේ පැවසීය. සදාචාරය සාපේක්‍ෂ බව නීට්‍ෂේ තර්ක කරයි. එසේම සම්ප්‍රදායික සදාචාරයට යටත් වීම මිනිසුන්ගේ වහල්භාවය ස්ථිර කිරීමක් කරන බව ඔහු කීවේය. 

නීට්‍ෂේ ගේ “On the Genealogy of Morality”, “Beyond Good and Evil.”  යන නිබන්ධන හරහා ඔහු සදාචාරයන් පිලිබඳව කථිකාව අරඹයි. නීට්‍ෂේ සියලු “සදාචාරය” විවේචනය කරන්නෙකු නොවේ. එහෙත් සදාචාරාත්මක සාරධර්ම නීට්‍ෂේ හඳුන්වන්නේ ‘සදාචාරාත්මක අගතීන්’ ලෙසටය. සදාචාරය සැමවිටම අර්ථකථනයක් පමණක් බව නීට්ෂේ පැහැදිලි කරයි. නීට්ෂේගේ සදාචාරාත්මක විශ්වය තුළ, නපුර යනු අත්‍යවශ්‍ය දෙයක් වන අතර එය ජයගත යුතු දෙයකි  ඔහු සිතන්නේ චිත්තවේගයන් ස්වභාවික බවයි. එහි මර්දනය හෝ මර්දනය මානසික වශයෙන් විනාශකාරී ය. මෙයට ලිංගිකත්වය ද ඇතුළත් ය.

නීට්‍ෂේ තර්ක කරන්නේ සදාචාරයේ මූලික වර්ග දෙකක් ඇති බවයි: “ප්‍රධාන (ස්වාමි ) සදාචාරය”   Master morality  සහ “වහල් නොහොත් දුර්වළ සදාචාරය (Slave morality). නීට්‍ෂේ  ඔහුගේ සදාචාර න්‍යාය පදනම් කර ගත්තේ “ස්වාමිවරුන්” සහ “වහල්” යන පන්ති දෙකක පැරණි සමාජයක් මතය. ඔහු විස්තර කරන්නේ ස්වාමිවරුන් සහ වහලුන් ලෙස පන්ති දෙකක් සහිත පැරණි සමාජයක තිබූ ගතිකත්වයයි.  (හේගල් සහ නීට්‍ෂේ යන දෙදෙනාම ඔවුන්ගේ දාර්ශනික අදහස් සම්බන්ධ කිරීම සඳහා “වහල්” සහ “ස්වාමියා” යන පොදු රූපකයක් බෙදා ගනී. හේගල් තර්ක කරන්නේ මිනිස් ආත්මය “අපෝහකය” නම් ක්‍රියාවලියක් හරහා ඉදිරියට යන බවයි- human spirit progresses through a process called “dialectics”). 

නීට්‍ෂේ ප්‍රධාන සදාචාරය නිර්වචනය කළේ ශක්තිමත් කැමැත්ත ඇති පාර්ශවයේ  සදාචාරයයි. ප්‍රධාන සදාචාරය උඩඟුකම, ධනය, කීර්තිය සහ බලය අගය කරන අතර වහල් සදාචාරය කරුණාව, සංවේදනය , අනුකම්පාව නිහතමානිකම, උදාසීනත්වය සහ පරාර්ථකාමිත්වය අගය කරයි. වහල් ජනතාව තම ස්වාමිවරුන් අතින් පීඩාවට පත් වූ අතර දරිද්‍රතාවයේ ජීවත් වන විට අමනාපය හෝ නිහතමානිකම වැනි ගති ලක්‍ෂණ ලබාගෙන ඇත.  වහල් සදාචාරය  සෘණාත්මක සහ ප්‍රතික්‍රියාශීලී වෙයි.

නීට්ෂේට අනුව  දේවධර්මීය අර්ථයෙන් “ඔබේ අසල්වැසියාට ප්‍රේම කරන්න” යන්න සැමවිටම වහල් සදාචාරය වේ, මන්ද එය දුර්වලකමේ ව්‍යාජ පරමාදර්ශීකරණය මත පදනම් වේ. වහලුන් ස්වාමි සදාචාරයට ප්‍රතිචාර දක්වන්නේ ඔවුන්ගේ වහල් සදාචාරය සමඟය. වහල් සදාචාරය කීකරුකම, මාරාන්තිකවාදය, අශුභවාදය සහ නරුමත්වය මගින් සංලක්‍ෂිත වේ. වහලුන් නිහතමානී, කාරුණික සහ සහයෝගයෙන් කටයුතු කිරීමට තීරණය කළ බැවින්, ස්වාමිවරුන් ධනවත්, බලසම්පන්න සහ අධික ලෙස සිටීමට තීරණය කළ බව ඔහුගේ න්‍යායේ සඳහන් වේ. ස්වාමියා සහ වහල් සදාචාරය සෑම විටම එකිනෙකා සමඟ ගැටුම් ඇති කරයි.  මෙම පැරණි සමාජය තුළ “වහල් කැරැල්ලක්” ඇති විය.  සදාචාරයේ වහල් කැරැල්ල” ආරම්භ වන්නේ අමනාපය හෝ අමනාපය නිර්මාණාත්මක බලවේගයක් බවට පත් වූ විට බව නීට්‍ෂේ පෙන්වා දෙයි. එය භෞතික කැරැල්ලකට වඩා ආත්මීය කැරැල්ලක් විය. වහල් සදාචාරය විසින් ස්වාමියා සතු දේ වහලා සතුව නොමැති නිසා ඒවා අවප්‍රමාණය කරනු ඇත. 

ප්‍රධාන හෙවත් ස්වාමි සදාචාරයට හැකියාව, උදාරත්වය, ශක්තිය,  බලය,  විශ්වාසය,  නිදහස,  අභිමානය යන අංග අයත් වෙයි. ඔවුන් තුල මනසේ සහ ශරීරයේ ශක්තිය ඇත. ඔවුන් ඉහළ ආත්ම අභිමානය හෝ මමත්වයෙන් අනූනය. ඔවුන් තුල ධනය, අභිලාෂය, මහිමය සහ විශිෂ්ටත්වයේ වටිනාකම් තිබේ. ස්වයං-සාක්‍ෂාත් කර ගැනීම සඳහා වෙහෙස මහන්සි වී වැඩ කිරීම ඔවුන් අනුමත කරති. ඔවුන් බලය නිර්මාණය කරති. නීට්ෂේට අනුව, ප්‍රධාන සදාචාරය නිර්වචනය කරනු ලබන්නේ ශක්තිය, හැකියාව, නිර්භීතකම, සත්‍යවාදී බව, අභිලාෂය, විශ්වාසවන්ත බව සහ විවෘත මනසෙනි. 

ස්වාමි සදාචාරය ජීවිතය තේජාන්විත ලෙස දකින අතර වහල් සදාචාරය මිනිසුන් දුර්වල හා අසරණ ලෙස ද ජීවිතය දුක් වේදනා ලෙස ද දකී. වහල් සදාචාරය කරුණාව, ඉවසීම, නිහතමානීකම, සාධාරණත්වය, ත්‍යාගශීලී බව වැනි ගුණාංග ප්‍රවර්ධනය කරයි. 

වහල් සදාචාරය යනු ස්වාමි සදාචාරයේ ප්‍රතිචාරාත්මක ප්‍රතිවිරුද්ධයයි. නීට්ෂේ වහල් සදාචාරයට වඩා ස්වාමි සදාචාරය අගය කළේය. නීට්ෂේට අනුව, ස්වාමිවරුන් සදාචාරයේ නිර්මාතෘවරුන් වේ. එබැවින් වහලුන් තම වහල් සදාචාරයෙන් ප්‍රධාන සදාචාරයට ප්‍රතිචාර දැක්විය යුතුය. ස්වාමි සදාචාරයේ හරය වංශවත් බව වන අතර වහල් සදාචාරයේ හරය උපයෝගීතාවය සහ දුක්ඛිත සහනයයි. වහල් සදාචාරයේ පිරිසිදුම ස්වරූපය ක්‍රිස්තුස් වහන්සේගේ ඉගැන්වීම් තුළ පවතින බව නීට්‍ෂේ විශ්වාස කළ අතර ආචාර ධර්ම මගින් සදාචාරයේ මූලික අදහස් වඩාත් හොඳින් ප්‍රකාශ කරන බව පැහැදිලි කළේය.  නීට්ෂේට අනුව, වහල් සදාචාරය යනු නූතන “ධනේශ්වර” (වාණිජ්‍යය මත පදනම් වූ) සමාජයේ සදාචාරය වන අතර, “ප්‍රධාන සදාචාරය” යනු පුරාණ කුලය පදනම් වූ සමාජවල සදාචාරයයි.  

නීට්‍ෂේ පෙන්වා දෙන පරිදි සියලුම උසස් ශිෂ්ටාචාරයන් පැන නැගුනේ බලය සඳහා ඇති ආශාවෙනි. බලයට ඇති කැමැත්ත නොමැතිව සමාජය දියුණු කළ නොහැක. සෞඛ්‍ය සම්පන්න සමාජයක් පවතින්නේ උසස් වර්ගයේ පුද්ගලයන් වෙනුවෙනි. මෙහිදී උසස් වර්ගයේ පුද්ගලයන් යනු  නිර්මාණ ශක්තියෙන් හෙබි සුපිරි මිනිසුන් ය.   සාමාන්‍ය මිනිසුන්ගේ සදාචාරයට සුපිරි මිනිසා යටත් නොවේ. ඔහු රංචුවේ සදාචාරයටද යටත් නොවේ.  ඔහු මෙලෙස ලියයි. ; කිසිසේත් සදාචාරාත්මක සංසිද්ධි නැත, ඇත්තේ සංසිද්ධි පිළිබඳ සදාචාරාත්මක අර්ථකථන පමණි.  ප්‍රධාන සදාචාරය තුළ බොහෝ විට අගය කරනු ලබන අනෙකුත් ගුණාංග වන්නේ විවෘත මනස, ධෛර්‍යය, සත්‍යවාදී බව, විශ්වාසවන්ත භාවය සහ පුද්ගලයාගේ ආත්ම-වටිනාකම පිළිබඳ නිවැරදි හැඟීමයි.   

ප්‍රධාන සදාචාරය තුළ, මිනිසුන් යහපත නිර්වචනය කරන්නේ එය ඔවුන්ට ප්‍රයෝජනයක් වේද යන්න සහ ඔවුන් විසින්ම නිර්වචනය කරන ලද පුද්ගලික විශිෂ්ටත්වය ලුහුබැඳීම මත පදනම්වය.  නීට්‍ෂේට අනුව, ස්වාමිවරුන් සදාචාරය නිර්මාණය කරයි. වහලුන් ඔවුන්ගේ වහල් සදාචාරය සමඟ ස්වාමි සදාචාරයට ප්‍රතිචාර දක්වයි. ස්වාමියාගේ සදාචාරය මෙන් නොව , වහල් සදාචාරය පදනම් වන්නේ අමනාපය මත ය. ප්‍රධාන සදාචාරය ප්‍රබලයා තුළ ඇති වන්නා සේම, වහල් සදාචාරය ආරම්භ වන්නේ දුර්වලයන් තුළිනි.  වහල් සදාචාරය යනු ස්වාමි සදාචාරයේ ප්‍රතිවිරුද්ධයයි. එනිසා එය අශුභවාදය සහ නරුමත්වය මගින් සංලක්‍ෂිත වේ. වහල් සදාචාරය අරමුණු කරන්නේ කෙනෙකුගේ කැමැත්ත ශක්තියෙන් ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීම නොව, ප්‍රවේශමෙන් යටපත් කිරීමෙනි. එය උත්සාහ කරන්නේ ස්වාමිවරුන් ඉක්මවා යාමට නොව, ඔවුන් ද වහලුන් කිරීමට ය. නිහතමානිකම, පරිත්‍යාගය සහ අනුකම්පාව පිළිබඳ බයිබලානුකුල මූලධර්ම, වහලාගේ දුක්ඛිත තත්වය මුළු මිනිස් සංහතියටම විශ්වීයකරණය කිරීමේ ප්‍රතිඵලයක් වන අතර එමඟින් ස්වාමිවරුන්ද වහල්භාවයට පත් කරයි.

අනාගතවක්තෘ සරතුස්ට්‍රා නූතන ශිෂ්ටාචාරයේ නටබුන් අතර සිටගෙන නව සදාචාරාත්මක අර්ථකථනයක් ප්‍රකාශ කලේය. එමගින් නීට්ෂේ දෙවියන් ගේ මරණයද නිවේදනය කලේය. දෙවියන් රහිත ලොවක සීමා මයිම් නොමැත. ව්‍යාජ සදාචාරයන් ගේ  ප්‍රශ්න  කිරීම් නොමැත. නීට්‍ෂේ ක්‍රිස්තියානි සදාචාරය විස්තර කරන්නේ රංචු සදාචාරයක් (herd morality) ලෙසටය. එසේම ක්‍රිස්තියානි ධර්මය සදාචාරයේ ස්වාභාවික සම්භවය ප්‍රතික්‍ෂේප කරයි. නීට්‍ෂේගේ සුපිරි මිනිසා ඔහුගේම සදාචාරය නිර්මාණය කරයි.  නීට්‍ෂේට සදාචාරය යනු අර්ථ නිරූපණය පිළිබඳ ප්‍රශ්නයක් මිස නිරපේක්‍ෂ මූලධර්මයක් නොවේ.  සදාචාරාත්මක සංසිද්ධි නැත, ඒ වෙනුවට, ඇතැම් සංසිද්ධිවල සදාචාරාත්මක අර්ථකථනයන් පමණක් තිබේ. ඔහු ‘හොඳ සහ’ යන ද්විකෝටිකයෙන් ඔබ්බට සිතීමේ නව ක්‍රමයක් නියෝජනය කරයි. ඔහු සමානාත්මතාවය පිළිබඳ සංකල්පය ප්‍රතික්‍ෂේප කළේය. මිනිසුන් සියළු දෙනාම දෙවියන් ඉදිරියේ එක සමානය යන අදහස ඔහු විවේචනය කලේය. මිනිසුන් කිසි ලෙසකින් එකිනෙකාට සමාන නොවන බවත් එකිනෙකා තුල විවිධ ආකාරයේ දක්‍ෂතා මෙන්ම දුබළතා තිබෙන බව ඔහු කීවේය. නීට්‍ෂේ කියා සිටියේ ආදර්ශවත් මනුෂ්‍යයා ස්වයං අවබෝධය තුළින් තමාගේ අනන්‍යතාවය ගොඩනගා ගත යුතු බවයි. නූතන මිනිසා අවසානයේ තම ගමනාන්තය සොයාගනු ඇත්තේ නීත්‍යානුකූලව සහ සදාචාරාත්මකව සංවිධිත සමාජයක එකමුතුව තුළ බව ඔහු කීවේය. 

References: 

Huddleston, A.( 2015). What is Enshrined in Morality? Understanding the Grounds for Nietzsche’s Critique. An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy 58 (3):281-307.

Murray, P.(2007). Nietzsche and the ‘Problem’ of Morality.New Nietzsche Studies 7 (3-4):173-176.

Nietzsche, F.(2006). Ecce homo: How to become what you are (EH) (trans: Norman, J.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Philip, J. K.(1996). Nietzschean Genealogy and Hegelian History in The Genealogy of Morals. Canadian Journal of Philosophy 26 (1):123-147.

Prinz,J.(2016).  Genealogies of Morals: Nietzsche’s Method Compared. Journal of Nietzsche Studies 47 (2):180-201.

Insight By Sunil Kumar for LankaWeb

The realities and perils of a Land Bridge are explained for the benefit of Sri Lanka’s President and her people who can ill afford any situation as posted here. This dangerous and frightening proposal needs to be discontinued permanently.

ROAD LINK BETWEEN INDIA AND SRI LANKA A BRIDGE TOO FAR AND TOO DANGEROUS.

Courtesy of Don Manu

Sunday Punch

Lanka can and must have more trade bridges, financial bridges, investment bridges, diplomatic bridges and cultural bridges with our Big Brother India. In fact, the more intangible but solid bridges we build with our closest neighbour, the better it will be economically and diplomatically for the two sovereign countries.  But isn’t the plan to build a direct road between the massive Indian subcontinent and this small tiny island of Lanka, going a bridge too far for comfort?

When Ranil Wickremesinghe returned home last Friday after his maiden trip to New Delhi as President, among the many Indian gifts found in his bag was the special Modi project proposal to build a bridge between Lanka and India that would transcend the watery divide and bring the two countries physically closer. It would end Lanka’s long isolation from peninsular India, and the appendix which had broken off would be reunited with India’s corpus.

It was not the first time the proposal had been made. The last time India’s proposal to build a bridge over the Palk Strait to physically link the island to the Indian mainland was raised was during Modi’s second visit to Lanka in 2017. Then Modi expressed the poetic aspirations of an Indian nationalist poet to convey India’s emotional longing for reunion with her breakaway child.

Modi had said: ‘I recall the lines of a famous song ‘Sindu Nadiyin Isai’ composed by the great nationalist poet Subramanian Bharati in the early 20th century: ‘Singalatheevukkinor paalam ameippom’ – we shall construct a bridge to Sri Lanka’.

Modi said, ‘I have come with the hope of building this bridge’.

But fearing India’s dream may become an island’s nightmare, Lanka had soft peddled the plan and it had remained on the draft boards. The seven-year itch has, it seems, begun to scratch again.

Of course, the primordial fears the islanders still bore seem justified. Thousands of years ago, India’s recurring dream had been built in rock and limestone by the monkey brigade led by Hanuman for Rama’s mighty army to invade Lanka on horse, foot and chariot to rescue Rama’s wife Seetha from Ravana’s captivity. The bridge paved the way for easy conquest.

Lanka’s surrounding sea had been her best defesce but the monkey bridge had breached Ravana’s defensive moat. With the bridge a catwalk for troops, the island lay exposed to easy conquest. The virgin island was ravaged, hostage Seetha was saved, Ravana lay vanquished, his brother Vibhishana was installed as Rama’s puppet king, and, in the trail of the triumphant army’s withdrawal, Hanuman’s tail followed a scorch earth policy and set vital installations aflame.

The legendary tale has been chronicled 2800 years ago in Valmiki’s 24,000-verse epic poem the Ramayana – Rama’s journey – and held as India’s greatest classic, next to her Song of Songs, the Mahabharata.

But though held as a legend, photographic evidence taken from above by NASA satellites, show fragments of a 30-mile-long limestone bridge — now known as Rama Sethu bridge — existing in the Palk Strait’s shallow depths.

And its significance may not be lost on Lanka yet.

No doubt, the optimists will pooh-pooh the worst fears, while top economists may hail it as a bridge of opportunity for the local economy to grow faster. Lankan importers and exporters will also praise the reduction in transport costs with a 1.5 billion Indian market just a hop, step and jump away. The tourism sector will rub their hands in glee and drool with delight at the prospect of a tourist invasion of Lanka.

But will India’s gateway to Lanka hold hidden dangers to the island’s wellbeing? With more than a billion people physically on our doorstep, will we risk being swallowed out of existence?

Already plans are afoot to make the Indian rupee a valid currency in Sri Lanka, with anticipated arrangements to facilitate seamless business transactions for Indian tourists whose arrivals are limited to the seating capacity of landing aircraft.  But with the bridge throwing open the doors to an endless influx of Indians and with the world’s fifth largest economy, India, operating as if this island was another of its Pranths, the rupee will come to lose its significance and eventually disappear.

With a road bridge, Lanka’s treasured island status will be lost forever and we islanders will no longer be but citizens of a country whose northern border will be the Indian bridge.

Take the logistics. Can Lanka’s infrastructure cope with an avalanche of Indians swamping the Lankan roads? Do our hotels have sufficient rooms to offer even if just 0.01 percent of India’s population amounting to 1,500,000,000 people used their road pass to drive or ride into Lanka for a sleepover to enjoy Diana Gamage’s dusk to dawn nightlife?

What about customs and immigration at the entry point? Can the officials check each and every car or bus, lorry or juggernaut for contraband, drugs or arms? Can health officials keep Indian disease at bay, can the environment be kept free of pollution?

If the entire Lankan population should descend on vast India, they will still be only a community whose presence among 1.5bn Indians will hardly be felt. But if just 0.1 percent of the population came here, they will be a colony.

And what of ground invasions that are still in fashion as Russia’s overnight thrust into Ukraine has shown? An aerial and sea invasion alone on an island oft runs into delays since tanks and heavy armour have to be airlifted or sea freighted and safely landed at the hot spot. But with a road bridge to Lanka, the Indian army can be right in the nation’s capital within a few hours complete with tanks and heavy equipment. It’s wiser to keep the relationship at a Palk Strait length than be engaged in a physical embrace. And remain as islanders to the last. WHAT THE GODS HAVE PUT ASUNDER LET NO MAN PUT TOGETHER AGAIN!!

VFM RADIO 107

උමාරට අමතක වුණු නමෝ ..නමෝ..මාතා මේ ජපානයේ යුවතියන් දෙදෙනෙක් අපේ රටේ ජාතික ගීතය ගායනා කල අපුරුව.. “නමෝ නමෝ මාතා…” මේක අහලා ඉගෙන ගන්න

Delegation of the European Union to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

As part of the European Union’s (EU) response to support the revitalisation of the Tourism Industry in Sri Lanka, two Train the Trainer workshops were held in March to prepare for the launch of new wellness tourism courses followed by a certification ceremony on 24 March with representatives from the Delegation of the European Union, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, and the Sri Lanka Wellness Tourism Association in attendance. This initiative is a part of the EU-funded project ‘Capacity Development for the Wellness Tourism Industry of Sri Lanka’ that aims to raise the quality standards of the wellness tourism will aid in better positioning Sri Lanka as the preferred destination for wellbeing.

Following a national call for applications, over 50 people from hotels, resorts, Ayurveda centres, colleges and universities received a comprehensive training covering both theoretical and practical aspects on implementation of the new curriculum. The trainers were given a hands-on training on how to coach and the mentor therapists and spa/wellness centre managers were thought key techniques, know-how and skills to upgrade and strengthen the efficiency and quality of their services.

Speaking at the event, Ms. Beatrice Bussi, Head of Cooperation, EU Delegation to Sri Lanka stated, Wellness tourism is about responding to the growing wish that vacation is used to revitalise oneself. Sri Lanka offers a unique experience for wellness by combining rich biodiversity, healthy and tasty food, as well as spiritual practice rooted in cultural heritage. The EU has set up this training programme to support Sri Lanka’s efforts to become part of the global wellness map”.

The project supported by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and the Sri Lanka Wellness Tourism Association is part of the broader EU support of 2,8 billion rupees extended to the tourism sector. Moreover, recognising the importance of promoting Sri Lanka as tourist destination, the EU is launching a special campaign building on the work carried out through the 8 ongoing EU-funded projects to help revive the tourism sector.

The EU has provided around Euro 1 billion (approximately LKR 390 billion) of assistance to Sri Lanka so far, through a variety of bilateral, regional, and global programmes in different sectors. Financial support is based on the country’s policies and priorities, as well as EU strategic interests and values.

Ruchir Desai Courtesy Nikkei Asia

Stocks and rupee are top performers as economic rebound takes hold.

Tourists at Gangaramaya Temple in Colombo in July: The tourism rebound will be key to rebuilding Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves.   © Reuters

Ruchir Desai is co-fund manager of Asia Frontier Capital’s AFC Asia Frontier Fund.

Rising interest rates and falling export demand are blunting the post-COVID economic resurgence of many Asian economies.

But for Sri Lanka, the only country in the region to default on its official debt amid the economic squeeze caused by the pandemic and the Ukraine war, these are sunny days.

Tourism revenue and remittances from Sri Lankan workers overseas have come roaring back. Inflation, which reached 70% last September, was back down to 6.3% in July. As a result, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has cut its benchmark interest rate by 4.5 percentage points since June.

Last year’s default was the result of a confluence of factors depleting Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange reserves.

Receipts from tourism, an industry that previously brought in close to $5 billion a year in foreign exchange earnings, plunged after the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings of three churches and three luxury hotels; visitors did not return amid COVID-19. Heavy external borrowings, populist moves to cut taxes and political infighting took their toll on investor confidence and the country’s macroeconomic position.

The outbreak of the Ukraine war last year then delivered an unbearable blow. With foreign reserves running low, the country had to deal with soaring costs for imported food and fuel. The government could not turn to international capital markets to shore up its reserves given the lack of confidence in its ability to repay in addition to rising global interest rates.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka was forced to print money to finance the government’s deficit. This led to a collapse in the value of the Sri Lankan rupee, accelerating inflation. With the government unable to provide or pay for the daily necessities and prices skyrocketing, it was little surprise that popular sentiment against the government boiled over and then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was forced to flee the country in July 2022.

A man covers his ears as supporters of President Ranil Wickermesinghe celebrate after the IMF approved a $3 billion bailout package for Sri Lanka in March.    © Reuters

Ranil Wickremesinghe, his successor, quickly took measures to stabilize the situation by opening talks with the International Monetary Fund on a loan and getting interim support from regional neighbors like India.

To win the IMF’s support, Colombo took hard but much-needed steps to increase fuel and electricity prices as well as raise tax rates and extend the tax net. A new central bank governor raised benchmark interest rates by 8 percentage points over the course of 2022 to try to put a lid on inflation and bring a degree of macroeconomic stability.

When I visited Sri Lanka in November, the situation on the ground remained tough, with high inflation and interest rates keeping a lid on corporate and consumer sentiment. However, it was also quite clear that both had peaked and that the economic cycle had begun to turn as a result of the hard decisions made over the previous few months.

When I returned in June, there were clear signs of change. Both my flight in and hotel were full, even though it was the low season for visitors.

In the first half of the year, tourism revenues reached almost $1 billion while inbound remittances reached $3 billion. Both are expected to at least match these performances in the second half of the year.

Though that would still be below pre-COVID levels, the country can easily get back to its previous level of $4.4 billion in tourism receipts and $7 billion in worker remittances. This would go a long way toward helping Sri Lanka manage its current-account deficit and add to macroeconomic stability and growth. Companies, meanwhile, are benefiting from greater dollar availability and stable power supplies.

The IMF, which approved support for Colombo in March, estimates Sri Lanka’s current-account deficit will be around 1.5% of gross domestic product from this year onward. This would be a manageable and normal level for any developing country that is a net importer of fuel and food.

A government domestic debt restructuring program has removed a lot of uncertainty, especially within the Sri Lankan banking sector. Colombo is in discussions with external creditors on restructuring the country’s external debt. The government also continues to follow through on its reform program by initiating the privatization of state-owned assets like SriLankan Airlines and Sri Lanka Telecom.

The rupee and the country’s stock market have reacted positively to recent macroeconomic developments; both have been among the world’s best performers so far this year.

The decline in inflation and interest rates, the rebound in tourism and the commitment of the government to reform bode well for Sri Lanka’s outlook. In the near term, as inflation comes down further, I would not be surprised to see benchmark interest rates come down another 3 or 4 percentage points. This would further bolster the economic recovery and investor sentiment.

In the medium to long term, Sri Lanka must fully leverage its excellent geographic location to further build up its tourism and logistics industries. These can help the country to significantly increase its foreign exchange reserves. Policymakers should not miss the boat on this and fully support both industries by executing policies aimed at improving tourism and logistics infrastructure like airport and port facilities.

Execution has not been the strongest area for Sri Lankan policymakers. But with the support of the IMF, neighboring countries and investors, Sri Lanka cannot ask for a better platform to generate sustainable and all-around economic growth.

Dr Sudath Gunasekara

I reproduce here your statement as it appeared in the Lankaweb, for my readers to see what you have really said and where you have said that.

Mr. Walsh told a media conference organized by the Canadian Tamil Congress to announce its assistance to Sri Lanka.

 There was genocide in Canada: Canadian envoy

Posted on July 29th, 2023

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Canadian High Commissioner Eric Walsh yesterday said that there was genocide in Canada and its now trying to bring about reconciliation with its indigenous people, and Sri Lanka also has potential for the same.

Sri Lanka can achieve much like Canada, which has presented itself as a bilingual nation both domestically and internationally. Canadian life is in bilingual nature with English and French and Tamil to some extent. This is how Canada has presented itself domestically and internationally. this is what we are focusing on when it comes to our relationship with Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka can also do it with its positive aspects and advantages,”

Mr. Walsh told a media conference organized by the Canadian Tamil Congress to announce its assistance to Sri Lanka.

Canada is trying to bring about reconciliation with its indigenous people. It has been acknowledged that there has been genocide in Canada. It is a long process and dif­ficult, ” he added.

Mr. Walsh praised the Sri Lankan Tamils in Canada stating that they have played a great contribution to the well-being of that nation. We have a large number of Canadian professionals such as doctors and others. There are also two Tamil origin Cabinet members in Canada, ” he said in this regard.

He said there were a number of Canadian organizations working in Sri Lanka undertaking many projects such as setting up a Thalassemia Centre in Kurunegala. He also praised the Canadian Tamil Congress, which has raised Rs 250 million through the recent project Canadian Tamil Walk.

said Canada has been a long-standing friend of Sri Lanka. He recalled that Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake had gained recognition as an international airport with Canadian assistance.it was Canada which assisted Sri Lanka to construct a 11,000 feet runway at the Katunayake Airport during the 1960s,” he said. (Yohan Perera)

Yes Mr. High Commissioner, the whole world knows that there was large-scale genocide done by your ancestors of Europe during the period 1400 -1850, not only in Canada but all over the world in continents like NA, SA, and Australia where your ancestors have annihilated the natives and concord those lands in the process of those dark Western colonial invasions in world history and also committed large scale genocide in Islands like Sri Lanka and other Asian countries like India but failed to annihilate the natives in those countries completely, unlike in the other continents, due to their bravery and deep rooted  civilizations.

 Coming back to your meeting with the the Canadian Tamil Congress” in Colombo. First of all, Mr. Ambassador I must point out to you that you have violated the basic ethics of your appointment as Ambassador to the sovereign Government of Sri Lanka by patronizing a meeting held within its sovereign territory by an antigovernment organization called the Canadian Tamil Congress”. Even if you had made a similar statement in Canada in your capacity as Ambassador to Sri Lanka that amounts to a gross violation of diplomatic ethics. The situation is made worse when that gathering was attended by the leader of the Tamil Progressive Alliance and Member of Parliament Mano Ganesan who represents a vocal Tamil leader of an antigovernment ethic group who fight for a separate state within this country. This action on your part, I think is a gross violation as the representative of the Government of Canada in Sri Lanka. Because it amounts to directly getting involved with local politics, which is highly unbecoming of a diplomatic officer.

I am sorry that I had to address this note to you, as the Government has failed in its duty by the country and the people of a sovereign state. I suggest, though late, the government at least now summon the Ambassador to the foreign Ministry and seek an explanation from him.

However, I am thankful to you for honestly admitting the fact that your ancestors had committed genocide long before in history you before you preach us not to repeat, what your ancestors did. Also, for your information, I must tell you that we Sinhala Buddhists of Sri Lanka had never committed genocide from the inception of history, as you know it in known history, besides reconquering others’ lands like your European ancestors who had devastated vast continents throughout the world with impunity by way of massive genocidal operations.

 It is true that our Kings have chased out all invaders and killed some of them in war from South India starting from the 2nd Century BC up to 12th century AD and all your barbaric colonial ancestors from 1505-1948 in defense of our motherland, following the first duty of a ruler as laid down by Kautilya, that is Raksha. Of course, in the process, many people have died. But that is not genocide. Even in recent history, many have died when the LTTE Tamil terrorists waged a war against the democratically elected government in the country. But that is also not genocide as you people interpret and see it for political convenience at home in your own countries.  

Mr Ambassador,

Could you please read the following article by Nandita Roy on Bangladesh case: And learn the ABCD of Diplomatic ethics if you don’t know it. before you go on your next assignment at least. Also, you should be dam happy to be fortunate to be an ambassador here in Sri Lanka, where there is not a single patriotic stateman who has the guts to tell you this, starting from the President and Foreign Minister down to a Pradhesiya Sabaha member in the village, thanks to the clever brain washing done by your colonial invader ancestors of the Catholic Church from 1505 up to date.

As a patriotic Sinhala Buddhist Ratavesiya of this country, I strongly protest against your colonial approach and mentality and condemn your Master -dependent approach towards Mother Lanka. Meanwhile I would like to suggest that all future Ambassadors designate to Sri Lanka be given a copy of the Mahawamsa to be conversant with the true history of this Island nation. The government of Sri Lanka also have a system of screening the Ambassadors so designated before accepting them to as ambassadors to ascertain their acceptability to this country.

I now give the Statement made by the Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Allam of Bangladesh to the Foreign diplomats in Dakka.

I raise my hat to congratulate the Bangladesh State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Allam for the bravery and patriotism he displayed.

What is the need for diplomatic channels if ambassadors become critical in the media or in public on all minor matters?

Posted on July 28th, 2023

Nandita Roy

Foreign diplomats poking their noses at the country’s internal affairs does not fall within the Vienna Convention. Although the government has repeatedly expressed its enthusiasm on this matter, the foreign ambassadors are not stopping talking. The government warned the ambassadors and heads of missions of 13 countries including the United States for talking about the internal affairs of Bangladesh. The ambassadors of the countries have been called and informed about the displeasure of the government regarding a joint statement centered on Ashraful Alam, an independent candidate for Dhaka-17 seat. Foreign diplomats are becoming active day by day about the upcoming parliamentary elections. Elections are internal affairs of the country. The interference of foreign envoys in the internal affairs of our country is unfortunate.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam held a meeting with the diplomats of 13 countries of the European Union including the United States at the Rashtriya Guest House Padma on Wednesday and expressed the government’s displeasure. He says that the joint statement given by them has been prepared very quickly. It did not mention the steps taken by the government. So there are questions about its objectivity and objectivity. Diplomats present at the meeting were urged to follow the Geneva Conventions and refrain from unethical conduct. The election commission and the government have taken legal measures as soon as they learned about the untoward incident. But the two were arrested long before the diplomats gave their statements on July 19. On July 18, it was also published in the media. But even after taking legal action, these diplomats have called for taking legal action, which is unwarranted. We are also in favor of fair and peaceful polls. A new independent and impartial Election Commission has already been formed. Everyone needs to have confidence in that impartial Election Commission. There is no opportunity to bother with foreign envoys’ comments in advance. Foreign interference in the politics of Bangladesh is an old phenomenon, especially after the assassination of Bangabandhu, when the military forces started participating in the politics of this country, what to do and how to do Bangladesh, all the instructions kept coming from abroad. Even though money was provided for politics from Pakistan and the Middle East countries, politics was controlled mainly on the basis of the United States and its intelligence activities. Although the picture of such interventions has changed somewhat, it cannot be said to be decreasing. It appears that the foreign ambassadors are commenting on the election management, fairness and neutrality of the elections ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections. According to political analysts, we are responsible for such a situation. We are giving opportunities to foreigners to speak. Whenever the politicians of this country are out of government, they appear to foreigners with ‘complaints’. This is the political reality here. Interference in internal politics by ambassadors is unethical. But just as diplomats are responsible for conducting unethical activities, the lack of coexistence between the conflicting political parties in Bangladesh is equally responsible. Bangladesh has progressed a lot now, there has been a lot of progress in economic and social fields. So we need to respect ourselves. There will be problems and they have to be solved through discussion and protest among themselves. All political parties and groups need to get out of the political system of defaming or complaining about the internal affairs of the country. So that foreigners cannot interfere in our internal affairs. Several foreign diplomatic missions in Bangladesh have repeatedly provided fodder for discussions. They are giving many speeches on political issues. The Government of Bangladesh and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are in close contact with friendly countries. Development and commercial partners may need to know or communicate different things. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was the competent authority to issue those messages. Not so, the foreign minister and deputy foreign minister of Bangladesh are not friends. But if the ambassadors become critical in the media or in the public sphere, what is the need for diplomatic channels?

  In November last year, Japanese ambassador to Dhaka Ito Naoki drew public attention and criticized the government and related parties by commenting on the voting process in the 2018 elections. This year it is seen that some diplomatic missions could not learn any lesson from that incident.

  This incident reminds us of the limits of foreign diplomatic activity in an independent-sovereign country. Etiquette was the main theme of the discussion about the diplomats’ speeches. Being a foreigner, the native country cannot be admonished or reprimanded. In this regard we may remind them of the principles of the Vienna Convention of 1961. In that convention, states agree on the principles of diplomacy. Article 41 of the agreement states that all persons who enjoy the status and privileges of diplomats in another country shall be bound to abide by the laws and policies of that country. After this, it is said that the urgent instruction is that they cannot interfere in any internal affairs of that country. If this is the limit of diplomacy, then the diplomats of the 13 countries have already crossed it.

Bangladesh is a country of flexible foreign policy and has not yet behaved in any unpleasant way. In consideration of mutual trust, diplomats should reciprocate this behavior with good behavior.

  All the foreign officials, including the United States, who have visited Bangladesh, are doing and will do, have said what they have to say to the government. They did not embarrass the government or themselves by making speeches or statements.

Diplomats in talks are urged to remember the Vienna Convention’s milestones.

The activities of political parties in carrying out election programs are increasing in view of the National Parliament elections. The parties are giving counter programs to increase public participation. At the same time, as the elections are approaching, the activities of foreign diplomats are also increasing. They are making various comments about the election. Not only elections, foreign diplomats are seen to be active whenever there is any political crisis in Bangladesh.

Although the government party sometimes ignores the various comments of the diplomats, the opposition parties always support their comments with ‘importance’. In such a situation, the section of the Vienna Convention that is spoken about by the government is the section 41 of the agreement. It is stated in subsection 1 of this article – Those who enjoy the status and privileges of diplomats in any other country shall be bound to comply with the laws and policies of that country.” Apart from this, they cannot interfere in any internal affairs of that country.” Nevertheless, diplomats are seen to act on various issues of the country, which is practically a violation of the Vienna Convention. Finally, on July 17, independent candidate Ashraful Alam alias Hero Alam was attacked at a center in Banani of the capital during the by-election polling for Dhaka-17 constituencies. The statement called for a full investigation into the attack on independent candidate Hero Alam and accountability of the culprits. The joint statement was signed by the embassies and high commissions of Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States, and the European Union (EU).

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has warned the ambassadors and heads of missions of those 13 countries for talking about the internal issues of Bangladesh. Ambassadors were called to the Foreign Service Academy for a briefing on Wednesday (July 26). Later, the State Minister of Foreign Affairs spoke to the journalists. Shahriar Alam. He said, I called the embassies of Dhaka which broke diplomatic norms and gave a joint statement to the media in the context of an unwanted incident centered on Ashraful Hossain alias Hero Alam, an independent candidate of Dhaka-17 constituency, on Wednesday. We expressed our displeasure at their undiplomatic behavior. We have said, this is an isolated incident, which cannot be used to judge the peaceful, fair and free elections of the whole day.’

One or two minor isolated incidents can and do happen in any election center. It happens even in developing countries. The entire electoral system cannot be questioned for that. Just a few days ago, there was widespread violence during the municipal elections in West Bengal, India. There were many casualties. No one was seen to make a statement about those incidents. We think that Bangladesh has the power to take any decision on its own internal matters. We do not think there is any need for foreign intervention here. We would like, in the future, such an undesirable situation will not be created. It’s better for everyone not to be.

Mr. Ambassador,

Also please remember that Sri Lanka is not Canada. We are two different countries with entirely two different Histories and two different cultures which are poles apart from yours.

Also, we shall be thankful to you people if you confine your duties to your jobs as Ambassadors representing your countries only in terms of the Geneva Convention without unnecessarily trying to meddle with our domestic affairs at least in the future. Also please remember that our civilizations are much older than yours. Hope you know that your Canadian dominion was founded only on July 1, 1867, whereas ours goes back at least to the 6th Century BC, long before some of your European ancestors knew what civilization is. As such I don’t think I need further elaborations, apart from saying that this   article  should be an eye opener not only to you but to all others with similar attitudes, including particularly to those like the Ambassadors of the USA, UK, and India to correct and control their mistakes both in their arrogant actions and their words at least in future, in the event of any breach, we the patriotic countrymen of this country  command the government to take appropriate and immediate action without hiding their heads under sand like an Australian Ostrich

Please note that I am addressing this note to you as a vocal diplomat on behalf of the entire Diplomatic community, as a duty-bound countryman of Mother Lanka as there is no politician who has the guts to say so, unfortunately.

I hope at least now, the Foreign Ministry will call the Canadian Ambassador and ask for his explanation.

KAMALIKA PIERIS

One strategy used to suppress Buddhism in the north and east, is to plant a Hindu kovil amidst   the Buddhist ruins. These brand new ‘kovils’ were set up in carefully selected Buddhist sites which were of strategic importance.

Unknown to the Sinhala Buddhists, the Tamil Separatist Movement was busy identifying critical Buddhist ruins in the north and east, damaging them, destroying the Buddha statues, placing a trident and a lingam in its place and then calling them ancient kovils where Tamil have been worshipping for several generations.

These ‘ancient kovils’ are not ancient at all, they are brand new. It seems that anyone can create a kovil by planting a trident.  Kovils it appears need not be created by an official body and consecrated by them.

Sri Malai Kovil, Sivapuram was built amidst Buddhist ruins.  Department of Archaeology, Administration report, 1950 stated that that a small kovil had been started in Sivapuram,   in a location where Buddhist ruins,    could be seen. When the archaeology team went there in      2010, they found the kovil greatly enlarged.  Buddhist pillars  were seen beside the Kovil

When the Archaeological Department went to Jaffna peninsula in the 1960s remains of the Buddhist sites that were cited in the 16^th Nam pota could still be seen. These have been gradually built over with Hindu Kovils, observed Susantha Goonetilleke.

 Ven Ellawala Medhananda said 90% of the Hindu kovils he had seen have been built over Buddhist shrines.  He specifically named Kanagarayam kovil, Vavunikulam kovil, Maranayagam kovil, Koneswaram kovil. LTTE had put up a Hindu kovil at Oddusuddan. Materials from Buddhist ruins were used for the Oddusuddan kovil.  

Archaeological officers in Vavuniya complained to the Omanthai police about a kovil being built in Maligai, Omanthai in an area which has ruins dated to the Anuradhapura period. Buddhist ruins including ancient ‘stupa’ bases, siripatul, bases of buildings, stone pillars, bricks and tiles had been bulldozed and replaced by statues of Hindu gods. The area, seven acres in extent, has been enclosed as private land and arrangements have been made to build a Kovil there, the report concluded, said Kamal Rajapaksa sinhale.news1815@gmail.com.

Cyril Mathew in his statement to UNESCO, (1983) listed many Buddhist sites that had been turned into Kovils. The Buddhist ruins had been damaged and a new kovil built at Samanalankulam.At Nelugala Hindu symbols had been placed in one of the caves. 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.

 Kurundi vihara was also given the same treatment. Cyril Mathew listed Kurundi among the Buddhist sites which had been meddled with. 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.

Ellawala Medhananda said that when he went to Kurundi during the Eelam war he found that some areas of the site, which had been overgrown, had been cleared. This proves that the Tamil Separatist Movement was active in the Kurundi site during the Eelam war. The pilimage had been intruded into, the Buddha statue smashed and a trident placed there. A broken yupa gala was made an object of worship.   In June 2023, a large group of Tamils went there wanting to celebrate Pongal. They shouted out Hindu chants, smashed coconuts and went away.

Tamil Separatist Movement   likes to place Hindu Kovils next to major Buddhist monuments in the north. The best example is at Nagadipa. There is now an impressive large Hindu kovil at Nagadipa. A story had been woven around it and fed to Wikipedia.

Wikipedia states that theNainativu Nagapoosani Amman Temple is a historic temple. It has been mentioned in ancient Tamil literature, such as Manimekalai and Kundalakesi. It is one of the prominent 64 Shakti Peethams of Hinduism and was identified as such in the 9th century by Adi Shankaracharya, a Hindu philosopher of Tamilnadu .The present structure was built during 1720 to 1790, concluded Wikipedia. 

This is all nonsense. This kovil was not there in the 1950s when I visited Nagadipa as a schoolgirl. This new kovil is strategically located at the tip of the island. It has four tall gopurams ranging from 20–25 feet in height, the tallest being the eastern gopuram soaring at 108 feet high.  The kovil is clearly visible   from miles away and gives the impression that Nagadipa is a Hindu island.  Buddhists eagerly visit the kovil and praise it.

Tamil Separatist Movement charged that the Department of Archaeology was preventing Tamils from worshipping at kovils sited in archaeology reserves. There is increased activity of Sri Lanka’s Department of Archaeology in the Tamil-majority north and east. Authorities have restricted public access to some temples, citing ongoing archaeological research”   there, stated Morning News. Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam of the Tamil National People’s Front   saw this as part of a larger, persistent assault on Tamils’ rights, including to worship.

Global Tamil News reported that Archaeology Department has imposed ban on people visiting the ancient Tamil temples such as Vedukkunari malai in Olumadu. The people of this area have been worshipping this place for five generations, the report complained.

This ban was been  temporarily lifted by the Nedunkerny Police with the cooperation of the Archaeology Department and the people have  been allowed to go this place to worship but  the Department has refused to allow them to renovate the exiting temple and build new buildings for this temple, continued Global Tamil News. 

A massive protest was  staged in front of the Vavuniya North Divisional Secretariat in August .2018 condemning the Archaeology Department’s attempts to deny the Tamil’s right to worship at Vedukkunari malai in Olumadu and demanding the retrieval of this particular Vedukkunarimalai from the Archaeology Department’s control,  reported  Global Tamil News.

The demonstrators at this protest were village people, public organizations, members of All Ceylon Saiva Maha Sabha , Vanni district parliamentarians Sivasakthi Aananthan and Shanthy Sriskandarajah, NPC members Mayilvakanam Thiyakarajah, G.T.Linganathan and Pathmanathan Sathiyalingam, ex-parliamentarians Suresh Premachandran and Vinotharalingam, ex-NPC member Senthilnathan Mayuran, and Pradeshya Sabha members, said  Global Tamil News. A memorandum addressed to the President has been handed over by the protestors to the Vavuniya North Divisional Secretary, concluded Global Tamil News.

 The Tamil Separatist Movement claimed that Buddhists were destroying Hindu kovils in the north. Illankai Tamil Sangam has given a list of the Hindu temples destroyed.  It says the total number of Hindu temples destroyed in the north east is 2076. A list of 1342 damaged temples is provided as at August 11, 2014. this list can be found at https://sangam.org/destruction-hindu-temples-sri-lanka/

Tamils in Sri Lanka have witnessed an escalation in the attack on Hindu temples in recent weeks; a trend that they note is part of the State’s ongoing Sinhalisation project” in the island’s north, reported Morning News in April 2023.  Sumanthiran said that there were escalating instances of attacks and vandalism on Hindu temple deities across the north. Multiple incidents of vandalism at temples, where Hindu deities were found missing or damaged.

There is also the charge that Buddhist broke down kovils and built Buddhist temples over them. Tensions flared in September 2017 over the President’s proposed attendance at an illegally constructed vihara on the premises of a Hindu temple in Mannar said Adaalyan Centre. A local Hindu priest reported that the military destroyed a Hindu temple in order to construct a Buddhist temple, said Adaalayan.  

The statements that Buddhist destroyed Hindu kovils has no evidence to sustain it. It is an empty charge made by the Tamil Separatist Movement as part of its anti-Buddhist propaganda.  Buddhist are indifferent to other religions. They do not feel threatened by them and are not intolerant.  Religions which depend on blind faith feel threatened by those that do not agree with their beliefs. . It is those religions that destroy rival churches.

It is possible to show with evidence that the opposite has occurred. That Tamils have destroyed Buddhist sites. .In 1983 Cyril Mathew listed for UNESCO, many Buddhist sites that had been destroyed   by the Tamil Separatist Movement in the north and east. Statues earlier noted are now missing, he noted.   At Sebimalai statue was destroyed and ruins at the site disturbed. 

Ven. Ellawala Medhananda writing about his explorations has drawn attention to the damage done by ‘non-Buddhists’ (Hindus and Muslims), to the Buddhist monasteries, hermitages and ancient ruins in the north and east. Medhananda says that more than five hundred sites with ancient Buddhist ruins are either destroyed or are being destroyed in the north and east.  Lavatories have been built amidst Buddhist ruins in north, he said.

In 2010 that Medhananda had   told Daily Mirror that  more than 50 sites of archeological importance in the Mullaitivu district have been desecrated by the LTTE and used as bunkers and fortifications. A total of 1633 sites have been desecrated in the Anuradhapura, Vavuniya and Mullaitivu districts, he said.

  In November 2010, Sri Lanka Archeological Society presented a talk by Muditha Karunamuni on exploration and conservation of archaeology sites in north and eastern provinces.  North and east is packed with Sinhala Buddhist monuments, he said .Muditha observed that some Buddhist remains were deliberately destroyed. These included Etambagaskanda, and Kandikulam in Vavuniya. Delft had Buddhist ruins including a chaitya. As long as navy was at Delft these ruins would be safe, Muditha observed.

The   team sent from the Department of Archaeology to the north in 2010   found much damage done in the places they visited. There is clear evidence that the LTTE had vandalized the Buddhist ruins.  The Buddhist site at Kokilai was destroyed. The ruins at Sapumalgaskada were destroyed after the army left its camp.

The team found that most Hindu kovils were erected on Buddhist ruins, such as Karnatukeni kovil. Puravasakulam Badrakali kovil had used the korawakgala and the siripatul   for worship. At kovil was built over Akkaramayan kulam stupa . At  Mallavi Sri Puram kovil they were crushing the old bricks to make the new statues..Kanniar kovil was Buddhist temple,  used as bunker by LTTE . Ambakamun stupa  was also  used as a bunker.

The vandalizing continued after the Eelam war ended. A Buddhist   shrine room erected by the army in its camp at Kanagaarayakulam, Mankulam, was vandalized in 2016 and Buddha statue broken into pieces. There is no camp there at present, said the media.

A Fundamental Rights application was lodged in September  2016 by Attorney Dharshana Weraduwage seeking an order to investigate the recent incidents in the North where Buddha statues were vandalized.  There was specific reference to the shrine room at Mankulam but the petitioner stated that this was not an isolated instance. Several Buddha statues including one in Mankulam was vandalized on August 29.

  The petitioner stated  that  in the past few months there have been constant demands for the removal of   Buddhist statues from Northern Province.    As well as to stop constructing new shrine rooms in the province..  The Buddhist archaeological sites in Northern Province are  under threat, said the petitioner.   Weraduwage has also through the petition called on the Buddha Sasana Minister to rebuild and restore all statues which has been damaged.

Another Fundamental Rights petition was filed in the Supreme Court in 2019 by Weraduwage seeking an order directing the authorities to take immediate action to investigate the imminent danger to the Buddhist religious sites and archaeological sites situated in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.  The petitioner states that he was shocked and dismayed to hear the news that a certain group had bulldozed an area in Maligai, Omanthai, Vavuniya, which had contained archaeological items  and ruins that belonged to the Anuradhapura period.  (continued)

MEDIA RELEASE GLOBAL SRI LANKAN FORUM – LONDON INITIATIVE.

The Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights for Sri Lanka (SPUR), Victoria Australia, along with like-minded organizations in Australia, England and the Middle East, write to register our protest with regards to the decision of President Ranil Wickramasinghe of Sri Lanka, to offer pardon to the former LTTE cadres who participated in killing 91  innocent civilians and injuring over 1400 people in the 1996 Central Bank bombing.  This dastardly act also resulted in over 100 victims losing their eye sight, when a 440 pound bomb was detonated by LTTE terrorists. After a lengthy court hearing, the offenders were sentenced to 200 years of imprisonment for the heinous crimes they committed.

In addition, the blow to the country’s economy was substantial with the crippling of functions at the Central Bank. The tourism industry too which sustained colossal damage took many years to recover.

Eleven LTTE members were charged with the bombing of the Central Bank, ten of them were indicted on a total of 712 counts, including intention to cause death and committing murder and the destruction of state property. In 2002,  Judge Sarath Ambepitiya issued an open warrant to arrest LTTE’s illusive leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran in connection with the 1996 Central Bank Bombing. The judge found the terrorist leader guilty on 51 counts and sentenced him in absentia to 200 years in prison.

We are aware that the Presidential pardoning arrangements in Sri Lanka have been misused on many occasions and we unreservedly condemned all those decisions. To use the executive powers and offer pardon to criminals who were found guilty of causing the death of 91 persons cannot be justified by any rational Sri Lankan.

We call upon all patriotic Sri Lankan legislators and organizations, both local and global to register their protests and request the President with respect to revoke this irrational and tainted political decision, soon after returning from his visit to India.

It is believed that this poor decision has been made primarily  to appease India and the SrI Lankan Tamil political leaders, totally disregarding the impact it has on the kith and kin of those that lost their lives or the hurt it would cause to those maimed in perpetuity.

We urge the President not to proceed with the decision to release LTTE murderers who are serving prison sentences for their crimes..

RANJITH SOYSA

SPOKESPERSON

SPUR –  Victoria

SPUR –  N.S.W.

SPUR –  QUEENSLAND

GLOBAL SRI LANKAN FORUM -EX.COMITTEE

LONDON INITIATIVE.

C. Wijeyawickrema, LL.B., Ph.D.

මෝඩි මෝඩද? අපි හරි මෝඩයි-වික්ටර් අයිවන්

මෝඩි විසින් ලංකාවේ දෙමළ ජනයාගේ dignity  හා respect ගැන රනිල් ජනාධිපතිට දෙහි කපද්දී, කවුරුන්හෝ මෝඩිටත්, රනිල්ලාටත්, රට වැසි සිංහල කතාකරණ ජනයාටත් ලංකාවේ ඉතිහාසය හා භූගෝල විද්‍යාව කියා දියයුතුව තිබෙනවා නොවේද යනුවෙන් සිතමින් සිටින විට, ක්‍රිස්තියානි, මාක්ස්වාදී වික්ටර් අයිවන් විසින් <අපි හරි මෝඩයි> යනුවෙන් කල යූ ටියුබ් කතාව දැක  මෙම ලිපි මාලාව ලිවිය යුතුයයි මම තීරණය කලෙමි. මර්වින් සිල්වා පවා දර්ශන් හඳුන්ගොඩ ඉදිරියේ < මට මොළේ නෑ> යයි කියයි!

ගුජරාත් මහ ඇමති වශයෙන්  ඇමෙරිකාවට ඒමට විසා එකක්වත් නොදුන් මෝඩි දැන් ඇමෙරිකාව හා එකතුවී චීනය දමණය කරන්නට ක්‍රියාකරන්නේ විශාල බලාපොරොත්තු ඇතිවය. ඉන්දියාව බෙදාවෙන්කර සුද්දා විසින් කල විනාශය ඉදිරියේ, <හින්දියාවක්> යළි ගොඩනඟා ගන්නට ඔහු කැපවීමෙන් ක්‍රියාකරමින් සිටී. විශාල මධ්‍යම පන්තියක් ඉන්දියාවේ (චීනයේ මෙන්ම) වර්ධනය වෙමින් පවතී. එහෙත් මිලියන තුන් හාරසීයක ජනතාවක් අන්තදුගී භාවයේ සිටිනා බව (තාමත් පාරේ කැතකරණ, සාංචි විහාර බිම් ප්‍රදේශය අවට පවා කැතකරණ) අමතක කල යුතු නැත. මෙම ජන කොටස යුරෝපයේ මුළු ජනගහනයට (රුසියාව හැර) සමානය කියා මා අසා ඇත.

මෝඩි මෝඩද, වික්ටර් අයිවන් මෝඩද, රනිල් කපටි මෝඩයෙක්ද නැද්ද යන්න ගැන කතා කිරීමට කලින් දෙමළ බෙදුම් වාදීන් විසින් ගේනා අළුත්ම තුරුම්පුව ගැන ලිවිය යුතුය. 1923 සිටම ඉන්දියාවේ ද්‍රවිඩස්ථාන් රටක් යන ව්‍යාපාරය හා සම්බන්ධ ක්‍රියා පොන්නම්බලම් අරුණාචලම් විසින් ආරම්භ කලත්, දෙමළ ක්‍රිස්තියානී චෙල්වනායගම් 1948 සිට අනුගමණය කලේ, දැන් චුට්ටක්, පසුව ගොඩක්, යන උපක්‍රමයය (little now and more later).

ඔල්මාදයෙන් පෙලෙන විග්නේශ්වරන්

SJV චෙල්වනායගම් ඔල්මාදයෙන් පෙලෙන, තමන් අවට සිටින ජනයාද ඔල්මාදකාරයින් කරවන අයෙක් යයි අගමැති SWRD පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේදී ප්‍රකාශකලේය (1958?). අන්තිමෙදී SJVC සිය ගාන්ධි හැව ගලවා දමා මිනිමරුවෙකුගේ පිළිරුවකට (සිවරාම්?) මල්මාලයක් දමා, ප්‍රභාකරන්ට සටන භාරදී  මිය ගියේය (1977). ඔහු දෙමළ මෝසස් යයි කුරුණාගල බිෂොප් ලක්ෂ්මන් වික්‍රමසිංහ (ජනාධිපති රනිල්ගේ ඥාති) ගුණ ගැයුවේය.

දකුණේ, කොළඹ ජීවත්වෙමින් සිංහල ජනයාට නොලැබෙන නොයෙක් පහසුකම්, වරදාන ලබාගනිමින්, සමසමාජකාරයෙක් යයි  සම්බන්ධතා සදාගත් විග්නේශ්වරන්, ප්‍රභාකරන් මළාට පසුව නොයෙක් ආකාරයේ කතා මවමින් ලංකාවේ දෙමළ නිජබිම් මිථ්‍යාවට කර ගසමින් සිටියේය. සිංහල ආණ්ඩු දෙමළ ජන සංහාරයක් කරනවා යයි මොහු කිව්වේ තමන්ගේ පුත්තු දෙන්නාම සිංහල ස්ත්‍රීන් දෙන්නෙක් විසින් රවටා ගත්තායයි සිතා ඒ ගැන ඇති හිත්වේදනාව නිසාද කියාත් සිතේ. මේ රැවටිල්ලට සුමන්තිරන්ගේ පුතාත් අහුවීම පුදුමයට කරුණක් වන්නේ ලස්සන දෙමළ කෙල්ලන්/ළමිස්සියන් ඇතිතරම් රටේ ඉන්නා නිසාය.

මිහිඳු හිමිඳුන්ට පෙර ලංකාවේ දෙමළ බෞද්ධයින් සිටියාය, මුළු දිවයිනම ශිව ලිංග පහකින් බ්ලෙස්කරලාය (blessed), දේවානම් පියතිස්සගේ නම දේවානම් තීසන්ය, යන මනස්ගාත දෙඩවූ මොහු නුවර මහානායක හිමිවරුන්ට ඉතිහාස පාඩම් දෙන්නට පවා ගියේ දන්නා හැම දහංගැටයක්ම ගසා සුමන්තිරන්-පොන්නම්බලම්-රාසමානික්කම් කොල්ලා යනාදීන් අභිභවා ඊළම් සටනේ ඉදිරියෙන් සිටීමටය. මේ සියල්ලම ඔහුගේ මරණයට පෙර කරගත නොහැකි බව දැනගත් විග්නේශ් දැන් අළුත්ම කතාවක් රනිල්ට ඉදිරිපත් කරයි. චෙල්වා ප්‍රභාකරන්ට භාරදී ගියා මෙන් විග්නේශ් රනිල් ජනාධිපතිට හා මෝඩි අගමැතිට මේ කොටිවලිගය භාර දෙන්නට සිතන්නේ රනිල් හදිසියේම පුදුම අන්දමේ 13-A++ කැසිල්ලක් හැදී දඟලන නිසා ඒ මඟින් ගොඩ ඒමට පුළුවන් යයි සිතාගෙනය.

නීලන් තිරුචෙල්වම්ගේ පොන්ඩිචේරි පරණ කතාව

මේ වේලාවේ හොඳම ඊළම් තුරුම්පුව පොන්ඩිචේරි පොලිස් පොල්ල යයි පොන්නම්බලම් හැර අනිත් දෙමළ බෙදුම්වාදීන් සිතයි. කොළඹින් චන්දය ඉල්ලන මනෝ ගනේෂන් පවා මේ වලිගය අල්ලාගෙන සිටින්නේ එය නියම පොලිස් නොව බොරු පොලිස් යයි දකුණේ සිංහල ජනයා රැවටේවිය කියා සිතාය. තැටිය රත්වූ වෙලාවේ රොටිය පුච්චා ගන්නට ගොස් මාදුළුවාවේ සෝභිත හිමියන් අකාලයේ පරලොව ගියා මෙන් මේ රට විපතට පත්වී සිටින අවස්ථාවේ විග්නේශ් හදන්නේ ඔහු විසින් රටට අළුත් විසඳුමක් හොයාගත්තා යයි මුදුනෙක් වීමටය. මෙම පොන්ඩිචේරි කතාව මීට කලින් නීලන් තිරුචෙල්වම් විසින් චන්ද්‍රිකාගේ නීලන්-GL පැකේජ් ඩීල් කාලයේදී  (1995-2000) නීලන් විසින් ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කරණ ලද්දකි.

චන්ද්‍රිකා විසින් නීලන්, GL, ජයම්පති වික්‍රමරත්න යන අයවළුන් සමඟ රට කෑලි 12 කට පමණ කැබලි කරන්නට ගත්  උත්සාහය බකල්වූයේ ඊට පක්ෂව සිටි රනිල් අන්තිම මොහොතේ පාර්ලිමේන්තුව තුල එම අළුත් ව්‍යවස්ථා කෙටුම්පත ගිනි තැබීම නිසාය. චන්ද්‍රිකා දිගටම අළුත් විධායක අගමැති ලෙස සිටීමට තීරණය කල නිසා එය තමන්ට නොලැබෙන බව දැනගත් විට රනිල් ඊට විරුද්ධවිය.

දැන් උපාසක බළලෙක් මෙන් හැසිරෙන G. L. පීරිස් ඒ කාලයේ (ව්‍යවස්ථා ඇමති) මේ union of regions කුමන්ත්‍රණයේ නායකයෙක් විය. මෙම ප්ලෑනේ අරමුණ වුයේ රට කැබලි කරණ ගමන්, උතුර හා නැඟෙනහිර තනිකර දෙමළ  යෝධ රීජන් එකක් සාදා දීමය. ඒ අවස්ථාවේ පොන්ඩිචේරි මොඩල් එකක් ගැන කතාවුනත් තම දෙමළ ප්‍රදේශයේ කාවුන් කාවා වැනි පොන්ඩිචේරි ඒකක බිහිවෙනවාට තිරුචෙල්වම් විරුද්ධවිය. මෙම කතාව පැහැදිළි කරමින් මා ලියූ ලිපියක් 2006 ඔක්තෝබර් 24 දින අයිලන්ඩ් පත්‍රයේ පලවිය. එහි මුල් පිටුවේ ඇති සිතියම්වල චායා කොපියක් මෙහි පහතින් ඇත.

රාවුෆ් හකිම් හා ආනන්ද සංගාරී

දෙමළ නිජබිමක් සඳහා නීලන්ට හා ආනන්ද සංගාරීට අවශ්‍යවුයේ ඉන්දියන් මොඩලය වුවත්, එම මොඩලයේම කොටසක් වන පොන්ඩිචේරි කොටසට ඔවුන් එකඟ වූයේ නැත. එහෙත් 2006 ඔක්තෝබර් මාසයේදී  මෙම පොන්ඩිචේරි මොඩල් කොටස ඉල්ලා සිටියේ මුස්ලිම් පක්ෂයේ රාවුෆ් හකීම් විසින්ය. මෙහි ඇති සිතියම (අංක 2) රතු තිත් වලින් පෙන්වන්නේ ඉන්දියාවේ ඇති පොන්ඩිචේරි ඒකක හතරය. ඒවා නම්, P-1 පොන්ඩිචෙරි නගරය, P-2 කරයිකාල්, P-3 යනම් හා P-4 මහේ යනුය. ඒවා තිබෙන්නේ ටැමිල්නාඩ්, කේරල හා ආන්ද්‍ර ප්‍රදේශ් යන ජනපදවලය.

සිතියම් අංක 3 ටැමිල්නාඩ් වල ඇති පොන්ඩිචේරි ප්‍රදේශයේ පැතිරීම පෙන්වයි. නීලන් තිරුචෙල්වම් කාවුන් කෑවා වැනි යයි කියන්නේ මෙවැනි භූමි ව්‍යප්තියකටය. හකීම්ගේ බලාපොරොත්තුව වූයේ නැඟෙනහිර පලාතේත්, බේරුවල, අකුරණ, පුත්තලම , මන්නාරම යන බිම් කොටසුත් සහිත පොන්ඩිචේරි මොඩලයක් වියයුතුය.

විග්නේශ්වරන්ගේ කූට උපාය

මෙම ඉතිහාස කතාව නොදන්නා පිරිසට විග්නේෂ් විසින් රිංග වන්නේ අමුතු විජ්ජාවකි. පොලිස් බලතල ලබාගැනීම ඔහුගේ අරමුණය. මේ සඳහා ඔහු කියන්නේ පොන්ඩිචෙරි ප්‍රදේශ හතරේ පොලිසිවලට දී තිබෙන්නේ බැටන් පොලු පමණක් බවය. මුළු ඉන්දියාව පුරාම අපි දකින්නේ පොලු වලින් මිනිසුන්ට තඩිබාන පොලිස්කාරයින්ය. එංගලන්තයේ ලන්ඩන් වල පවා පොලිසිය ඇවිදින්නේ තුවක්කු නැතිවය. කොමියුනිටි පොලිස් සංකල්පය හා පිස්තෝල අතර සම්න්බන්ධයක් නැත. එය පොලිස් නිලධාරියා හා ජනයා අතර ඇතිවන මානසික බැඳීමකි. උදාහරණයක් වශයෙන් යුද හමුදාව හා උතුරේ ජනතාව අතර ඇතිවූ බැඳීම පිස්තෝල ඇති-නැති කාරණය හා සම්බන්ධ නැත. කර්නල් රත්නප්‍රිය මාරුවී යන විට දෙමළ ජනයා වැළපුණේ ඔහු පිස්තෝලයක් නැතිව සිටියාද නැද්ද යනු සළකා බලා නොවේ.

ඉන්දියාවේ භාෂා අනුව ප්‍රාන්ත බෙදීම සමඟ පොන්ඩිචෙරි මොඩලයක්ද අවශ්‍ය වූයේ ඉන්දියාවේ තිබු ප්‍රංශ පාලන ප්‍රදේශ හා ඉංග්‍රීසි පාලන ප්‍රදේශ අතර තිබූ  වෙනස්කම් නිසාය. එහිදී අවශ්‍යවූයේ පරිපාලන ප්‍රශ්ණයකට විසඳුමක් දීමය.  ඒ මිසක් පොන්ඩිචෙරි ප්‍රදේශ වෙනම රටක්, ඊළමක් සඳහා නිජබිම් සටනක් ගෙන යන ඒකක නොවීය. ඉන්දියාව පෘතුගීසීන්ගෙන් බලෙන් ගෝව අල්ලාගත්තා වැනි ප්‍රශ්ණයක් ප්‍රංශ ප්‍රදේශවල නොවීය.

මේ නිසා මෙම පොන්ඩිචෙරි බැටන් පොලු කතාව දෙමළ බෙදුම්වාදීන් විසින් උඩයවන අළුත්ම බැළුමක් පමණය. මනෝ ගනේෂ්ලා පවා බුරන්නේ මෙලෝ හසරක් නොදැන ඒ කාලයේ උතුරට ගොස් ප්‍රභාකරන්ගේ පිහිනුම් තටාකයේ පීනලා කොළඹට ආවා මෙන්ය.

මෙවැනි ඔල්මාද කතා වෙනුවට ගතයුතු සරල විසඳුම් මොනවාද?

1. උතුරු නැඟෙනහිර  සේවයට  යන සිංහල පොලිස් නිලධාරීන්ට දෙමළ ඉගැන්වීම

2.පාසැල්වල සිංහල හා දෙමළ භාෂා ඉගැන්වීම අනිවාර්ය කිරීම

3. අරුන් සිද්ධාර්ථන් වැනි වෙල්ලාල නොවන කුලවලට සිදුවන පීඩනය ගැන  ක්‍රියාකරණ තරුණයින් ඉන්දියන් රෝ ඔත්තු සේවයෙන් බේරා ගෙන සමාජයේ යහපත සඳහා යොදා ගැනීම.

ඔහු දැනටමත් සිංහල-දෙමළ ඉගැන්වීමේ පන්ති ආරම්භකර ඇත.

4. මේ වනවිට යුද හමුදාව හා පොලිසිය වසී (දපණය?) කරගෙන ඉන්නා බ්‍රදර් චාල්ස් සිංහල පොලිස් නිලධාරීන්ට දෙමළ ඉගැන්වීමට තම හැකියාව යෙදවීම

5. යාපනේ ඉන්දියන් තානාපති කාර්යාලය යාපනේ ජනයාට හින්දි ඉගැන්වීමට ක්‍රියාකිරීම වෙනුවට ඊට කලින් යාපනේ සිංහල-දෙමළ ඉගැන්වීමේ ව්‍යපෘතියක් සඳහා මුදල් ආධාර සැපයීම.

6. පලාත් සභා මර උඟුල වෙනුවට ජන සභා සංකල්පය හරහා ජනතාව බලවත් කිරීම (empowerment of people not separatist politicians).

සෙනාලි වඩුගේ විසින් දීර්ග වශයෙන් පෙන්වා දී ඇති අයුරු ප්‍රභාකරන් දශක දෙකකටත් වඩා පොලිස් බලතල සහිතව සිටියේය. එහෙත් උතුරේ පහත්කුලවලයයි කියන ජනයාට මේ නිසා ලැබුණ සෙතක් නැති බව අරුන් සිද්ධාර්ථන් හෙවත් යාපනේ දෙමළ චේගුවේරා විසින් පෙන්වා දී ඇත.

බැටන් පොලු පොලිස් හෙවත් බොරු පොලිස් කතාවෙන් විග්නේශ්වරන්ලා බලාපොරොත්තු වන්නේ නියම පොලිස් වලට පාර කපා ගැනීමය. නියම පොලිස් සහිතව සිටින ඉන්දියාවේ ටැමිල්නාඩ් ප්‍රාන්තයේ පොලිස් කෙරුවාව ගැන මීට පෙර ලියූ ලිපියකින් උපුටා ගත් කරුණු, එසේ පොලිස් බලතල දීමේ භායනක කම ගැන, මීලඟ ලිපියෙන් වාර්තා කරමි.

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13 වන සංශොධනයේ පොලිස් බලතල: ඉන්‌දියාවෙන් අපූරු පාඩමක්!
Posted on November 7th, 2020

චන්ද්‍රසිරි විජයවික්‍රම, LL.B., Ph.D.

LankaWeb – 13 වන සංශොධනයේ පොලිස් බලතල: ඉන්‌දියාවෙන් අපූරු පාඩමක්!

මහජන ආරක්ෂක අමාත්‍යාංශය

පොලිස් නිලධාරීන් හා සිවිල් පුද්ගලයන් විසින් සිදු කරන ලද යහපත් ක්‍රියාවන් අගයමින් ඔවුනට ත්‍යාග හා ප්‍රශංසා පිරිනැමීම අද (31) දින මහජන ආරක්ෂක අමාත්‍ය ටිරාන් අලස් මැතිතුමාගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන් මහජන ආරක්ෂක අමාත්‍යාංශයේදී පැවැත්විණි.

මෙහිදී අදහස් දක්වමින් මහජන ආරක්ෂක අමාත්‍ය ටිරාන් අලස් මහතා, අල්ලස් නොගෙන රාජකාරිය අකුරටම ඉටු කරන මෙවැනි පොලිස් නිළධාරීන් ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොලිසියට ආදර්ශයක් බව ප්‍රකාශ කළේය.

මෙම අවස්ථාවේදී මහජන ආරක්ෂක අමාත්‍ය ටිරාන් අලස් මහතා සිවිල් පුරවැසියන් දෙදෙනාට ත්‍යාග මුදල් සහා ප්‍රශංසා පිරිනැමීය.තවද අපරාධ මැඩලීමට මහජනතාවගේ සහායෝගය ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොලිස් දෙපාර්තුමේන්තුව අඛණ්ඩව බලාපොරොත්තු වන බවද පැවසීය.

මහමග යතුරු පැදිවලින් පැමිණ වෙඩිතැබීම් සිද්ධීන් පිළිබඳව මාධ්‍යවේදියෙකු නැගූ ප්‍රශ්නයකට පිළිතුරු වශයෙන් ටිරාන් අලස් මහතා,පසුගිය කාලයේ විශේෂයෙන්  දකුණු පළාතේ දිනපතා මෙවැනි සිද්ධීන් වාර්තා වූ බවත් ගනු ලැබූ යම් ක්‍රියාමාර්ග නිසා අපරාධවල අඩුවක් වී ඇති බවත් මෙවැනි අපරාධ මැඩපැවැත්වීමට තවදුරටත් ක්‍රියාමාර්ග ගෙන ඇති බවත් වැඩි විස්තර මාධ්‍ය හමුවේ ප්‍රකාශ කළ නොහැකි බවද පැවසීය.

ඇගයීමට ලක් වූ පොලිස් නිළධාරීන් දෙදෙනා සහ සිවිල් පුද්ගලයින් දෙදෙනා පිළිබඳ තොරතුරු පහත සඳහන් වේ.

2023.07.17 වන දින දොරටියාව පොලිස් ස්ථානයේ නිලධාරීන් දෙදෙනෙකු විසින් දඹුල්ල දෙස සිට කුරුණෑගල දෙසට සත්ව හිංසාව ඇති වන ආකාරයට ලොරි රථයකින් ගවයින් 10 දෙනෙකු ප්‍රවාහනය කරන ලද සැකකරුවන් අත්අඩංගුවට ගැනීමට යාමේදී ඔවුන් විසින් නිලධාරීන් වෙත ලබා දීමට උත්සාහ කල රු.100,000/= ක අල්ලස් මුදලක් ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කර නිසි පරිදි රාජකාරී ඉටු කිරීම 

01. පො.සැ.39301 ඩී.එම්.එස්.කේ. දිසානායක 

02. පො.සැ.72248 එල්.ඒ.අයි.ජී.එච්.ලියනආරච්චි 

2023.07.23 වන දින දිවුලපිටිය පොලිස් වසමේ කාන්තාවකගේ ගෙල බැඳි රන් මාලයක් කොල්ලකා යතුරුපැදියකින් පලා යමින් සිටි සැකකරුවෙකු, මෝටර් රථයකින් පැමිණි සිවිල් පුද්ගලයින් දෙදෙනෙකු විසින් යතුරුපැදියේ මග හරස්කර සැකකරු අල්ලා පොලිස් නිලධාරීන් වෙත භාර දීමට කටයුතු ක ිරීම. 

01. එච්.ඒ.දිලීප් සමන්කුමාර 

02. ආර්.ඒ.සීලර

 Lanka Lead News

Referring to the brouhaha over the video circulating on social media in which a popular singer Umara Sinhawansa was mispronouncing a key lyric whilst performing the National Anthem at the 2023 LPL opening ceremony, Buddha Sasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Minister Vidura Wickramanayake warned legal action against the incident.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, the Minister said, No one can distort the National Anthem of any country as it represents the county’s identity and culture. Therefore, such incidents where the National Anthem is distorted can’t be condoned. 

A national anthem can’t be remixed or performed as a rap music. Hence, the Ministry is contemplating taking action against the recent incident. In addition, we will also take steps to inform the relevant parties in this regard,” he said.    

There is a standard way of singing the National Anthem and the standard version is available on YouTube. With this trend, I am not surprised if the National Anthem is performed while being naked in the future,” the Minister added.

Popular singer, Umara Sinhawansa ruffled feathers on social media after mispronouncing a key lyric whilst singing the National Anthem at the 2023 LPL opening ceremony. 

In the video she is repeatedly heard singing the anthem as ‘Namo Namo Mahatha’ instead of ‘Namo Namo Matha’ thus sparking a controversy amongst netizens online, which has also resulted in the current trending hashtag Mahatha across all social media platforms. (Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama)

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Referring to the brouhaha over the video circulating on social media in which a popular singer Umara Sinhawansa was mispronouncing a key lyric whilst performing the National Anthem at the 2023 LPL opening ceremony, Buddha Sasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Minister Vidura Wickramanayake warned legal action against the incident.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, the Minister said, No one can distort the National Anthem of any country as it represents the county’s identity and culture. Therefore, such incidents where the National Anthem is distorted can’t be condoned. 

A national anthem can’t be remixed or performed as a rap music. Hence, the Ministry is contemplating taking action against the recent incident. In addition, we will also take steps to inform the relevant parties in this regard,” he said.    

There is a standard way of singing the National Anthem and the standard version is available on YouTube. With this trend, I am not surprised if the National Anthem is performed while being naked in the future,” the Minister added.

Popular singer, Umara Sinhawansa ruffled feathers on social media after mispronouncing a key lyric whilst singing the National Anthem at the 2023 LPL opening ceremony. 

In the video she is repeatedly heard singing the anthem as ‘Namo Namo Mahatha’ instead of ‘Namo Namo Matha’ thus sparking a controversy amongst netizens online, which has also resulted in the current trending hashtag Mahatha across all social media platforms. (Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama)

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lanka’s headline inflation, as measured by the change in the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI), has further decreased to 6.3% in July, compared to the previous month. 

The CCPI-based inflation was calculated as 12.0% for the month of June 2023.

According to the latest report issued by the Department of Census & Statistics (DCS), the inflation of Food Group dropped to -1.4% in July from 4.1% in June 2023.

The CCPI for all items for the month of July 2023 was 190.2 and it records a decrease of 2.1 index points that is -1.12 percentage change compared to the month of June 2023 on an expenditure value basis for which the index was 192.3. 

This represents a decrease of expenditure value by Rs 1973.38 in the Market Basket”.

The overall rate of inflation as measured by the CCPI on Y-on-Y basis is 6.396 in July 2023 and Y-on-Y inflation calculated for the month of June 2023 was 12.0%. 

The Y-on-Y inflation of Food Group decreased to -1.4% in July 2023 from 4.1% in June 2023 and the Y-on-Y inflation of Non Food Group decreased to 10.5% in July 2023 from 16.2% in June 2023.

The CCPI is an economic indicator constructed to measure inflation which is defined as percentage change in CCPI over the year. There are two measures of inflation in general use. One measure is Year on Year base or Point to Point inflation (The percentage change in the CPI during the last 12 months). The other measure is Moving Average Inflation (The percentage difference between the average Price Index of last 12 months & the average Price Index of previous 12 months).

Dr Sudath Gunasekara Secretary of former Prime MInister Mrs Sirimavo Bandaranayaka

To The Canadian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Eric Walsh

Yes Mr. High Commissioner, the whole world knows that there was large-scale genocide done by your ancestors of Europe during the period 1400 -1850, not only in Canada but all over the world in continents like NA, SA, and Australia where your ancestors have annihilated the natives and concord those lands in the process of those dark Western colonial invasions in world history and also committed large scale genocide in Islands like Sri Lanka and other Asian countries like India but failed to annihilate the natives completely due to their bravery and deeper civilizations.

However, I am thankful to you for honestly admitting the fact that your ancestors had committed genocide long before you try to preach to us not od repeat what your ancestors did. Also for your information, I must tell you that we Sinhala Buddhists of Sri Lanka had never committed genocide as you know it in known history, besides reconquering others’ land like your ancestors. It is true that our Kings have chased out all invaders from South India from the 2nd Century BC  upto 12th century Ad and all your barbaric colonial ancestors from 1505-1948 in defense of our motherland following the first duty of a ruler as laid down by Kautilya, that is Raksha. Of course, in the process, many people have died. But that is not genocide. Even in recent history, many have died when the LTTE Tamil terrorists waged a war against the democratically elected government in the country. But that is also not genocide as you people interpret and see it for political convenience at home in your own countries..   

Could you please read the following article in the Lankaweb before you try to advise us?

Also please remember that Sri Lanka is not Canada. We are two different countries with entirely two different Histories and two different cultures which are poles apart from yours.

Also, we shall be thankful to you people if you confine your duties to your jobs as Ambassadors representing your countries only in terms of the Geneva Convention without unnecessarily trying to meddle with our domestic affairs at least in the future. Also please remember that our civilizations are much older than yours. Hope you know that your Canadian dominion was founded only on July 1, 1867, whereas ours goes back at least to the 6th Century BC. As such I don’t think I need further elaborations, apart from saying the following article will be an eye opener not only to you but to all others with similar attitudes, including particularly to those like the Ambassadors of the USA, UK, and India to correct and control their mistakes both in their arrogant actions and their words at least in future.

Please note that I am addressing this note to you as a vocal diplomat on behalf of the entire Diplomatic community, as a duty-bound citizen of Mother Lanka as there is no politician who has the guts to say so. unfortunately.

Dr Atle Pearson

Every day, our mentality becomes more convoluted and twisted. We are all like exact copies of one another. toast with fruit mash. Put a lovely veil over the biting bitterness. It is the pinnacle of civilization’s crisis. It is incorporating morals. The venomous sting of this dualism is biting our society and state. Our values, ethics, and ideals are moving in the wrong direction. People from a variety of professions, besides politicians, social reformers, educators, writers, doctors, and cultural workers, are developing dualistic ethical standards.

Many actors had doubts about their sincerity. Many philosophers did not act upon the ideas they held. That inclination is shared by many scientists. With time, this pattern has become increasingly evident. We have reached the pinnacle of civilization. Our lifestyle has been lavish. Consumption has risen. Compared to abandonment, competition for adoption has increased. At all costs, we want nothing to give except what we can receive.

The double standard treatment is one of our biggest issues. I don’t act or speak as I would like to. I never again consider what I say or do. They are neither stupid nor cunning opportunists who shamelessly ignore my presence for their own convenience, but rather people who live in this dualism. This advantage comes in many forms. government, social, political, and financial. We have long been utilizing these advantages. doing still.

The rights of the individual are considered to be the most significant human rights in the eyes of Western supporters. Freedom of expression and the right to vote are frequently presented as the safeguards that protect the individual from the tyranny of the State.

Let’s say I pass a family of hungry street people clothed in rags and I ask them, “What do you need most?” What will they say in response? Everybody with a sense of logic understands that they will respond with, “We need a roof over our heads. We are covered with clothing. On the table is food. The phrase “We need political rights — freedom of speech and the right to choose our leader” won’t be used by them.

Advocates of Western human rights will rapidly lose sight of the value of the individual when faced with this conundrum. They will say, “This analogy is oversimplified.” Only by exercising collective political rights can a huge number of individuals effect social change.

Housing, clothing, and food can only be provided for the masses once their political rights have been secured. That or an equivalent phrase.

It is simple to show that this is also a fallacious argument. Millions of people live in vast cardboard slumdog shanty communities that surround many of India’s main cities. They don’t all have decent homes. They are hungry and many of them are clad in tatters. Since India is a Western-style democracy and these individuals have Western-style political rights, Western logic dictates that they must enjoy living in these circumstances. So, if they didn’t like living in this way, they could merely “vote for something else” with their votes.

A harsh truth lies beneath this thinking. Numerous issues are up for election, but prosperity is not one of them. Marking an X in a box won’t bring you wealth. Behind this fact, however, lies a far more sobering reality—one that is usually disregarded by Western proponents of liberty, democracy, and human rights. In the entire history of the world, there has never been a single instance of a developing nation that became a democracy in the Western tradition and then went on to experience prosperity and success.

For example, the US suddenly became aware that human rights were being abused in some developing countries like Bangladesh and that democracy was not operating as it should.

If the answer is no, and the US was fully aware that there were indeed violations occurring in this nation from the beginning, why did the US authorities choose to turn a blind eye and refrain from warning the Bangladeshi government earlier that continued disregard or violations of these rights would result in consequences? On the other side, the US could be charged with involvement if they were aware of these events and did nothing about them. The question of why this diplomatic snub suddenly arises is only natural. Is it truly intended to help Bangladesh achieve democracy and human rights, or is there another purpose at play?

Dr Atle Pearson is a Norwegian professor at South Asian Studies in the University of Toronto, Canada. This writer is a senior Norwegian analyst with experience in South Asian affairs research, diplomacy, and geopolitics.