Courtesy Adaderana

President Ranil Wickremesinghe says that the plans are underway to start the construction of 2,000 housing units for low-income families in conjunction with the 75th Independence Day.

he stated that it has been more than half a century since Sri Lanka gained independence and that many other countries in the region and the world that had a lower socio-economic status than Sri Lanka have already passed the island nation by. 

It is a challenging task to develop a country without long-term national policies that help to achieve sustainable development from an export-led innovative economy, he said in a message for World Habitat Day 2022.

With the upcoming 75th independence celebration, in our next 25-year plan, we all hope to build a society that will lead us to live happily in our own home with our beloved family,” the president said.

We as a government are already working for make this wish a reality. Plans are underway to start construction of 2,000 housing units for low-income families in conjunction with the 75th Independence Day.” 

He said this project will not only benefit the urban areas but will also benefit the semi-urban area populations. 

The government’s goal is to solve the housing needs of low-income families living in rural and urban areas in an efficient and humane manner. Irrespective of personal agendas, we will introduce a proper method when vesting them to the public.”  

Courtesy Adaderana

Steps have been taken to provide medicines and medical supplies worth over Rs. 4,600 million (USD 12 million) with the intervention of the Sri Lankan Embassy in Washington DC, the President’s Media Division said.

One consignment of medicines and medical supplies provided by the Sri Lankan Embassy in Washington DC working closely with the renowned American humanitarian donor organizations is scheduled to be presented to the Sri Lankan government today (02).

Mr. Mahinda Samarasinghe, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Washington DC, said that he would continue to work with humanitarian organizations and agencies to get assistance for the vulnerable people in Sri Lanka and expressed his gratitude to the institutes, Heart to Heart International, Hope Worldwide, and Americares for their generosity extended at this occasion.

Heart to Heart International had sent a shipment of drugs worth of USD 9.131 million last July as well. The value of the aid sent by Americares in September was over USD 773,000. The value of the aid to be sent to Sri Lanka in the first week of October by the Hope Worldwide is over USD 1.74 million.

The Ministry of Health which takes charge of the shipments will provide detailed distribution reports to the donors specifying the recipients and local destinations for these medicines and medical supplies.

Shenali D Waduge

It is sad that western diplomats and the UN/UNHRC take pains to insist that the GoSL allow pro-LTTE groups to commemorate LTTE Dead as ‘civilian’ dead’ but totally ignore to even issue a single statement about the children LTTE kidnapped, turned into child soldiers and even trained to commit suicide. Why has these western forces & in particular the local NGOs/civil society & so-called human rights groups chosen to evade making reference to these children kidnapped from homes & turned into gruesome killers?

LTTE began kidnapping children as far back as the 1980s. These Tamil children were used immediately after LTTE attacked villages to rummage through dead bodies and pick whatever possessions of value. They later were taken inside thick jungles and given gruesome training. The head trainer was none other than an Australian nurse. She even wrote books boating about how she trained these kidnapped children. The West nor the human rights organizations that love to run to file cases thought of filing a case against Aunty Adele.

The LTTE and Tamil political leaders claim to represent Tamils but what about the Tamil children?

Exactly how many Tamil children did LTTE kidnap from Tamil homes since early 1980s to 2009. Has the UN/UNHRC/Western Diplomats or Sri Lanka’s NGOs/civil society organizations & HR organizations bothered to find out?

Where are the writers counting the LTTE child soldier dead?

Why are they shy to reveal the numbers?

Does the LTTE & its supporters want to hide how many Tamil children they kidnapped?

Does the LTTE & its supporters not want to share how many Tamil children they killed?

Exactly how many Tamil children died during unbearable training inside LTTE camps?

Exactly how many Tamil children were shot dead trying to flee LTTE?

How many Tamil children were taken from Church-run schools & bogus orphanages in the thick jungles!

How many Tamil children did LTTE train to commit suicide?

How many Tamil children were trained to bite the cyanide capsule & how many died?

Is it not true that all of the Tamil children LTTE kidnapped were LOW CASTE & from poverty stricken homes. They were just a number for Tamil politicians and LTTE to use against the GoSL and Sri Lankan Forces internationally?

Did LTTE/LTTE Diaspora even look after these poverty stricken low caste families?

These low caste Tamils were just a tool to advance the agendas of the Tamil elite. It is about time the Tamil low castes realize this and come to terms with who their real enemy is.

Have they released reports? Human Rights Watch released a report in 2004. https://www.hrw.org/news/2004/11/11/sri-lanka-tamil-tigers-forcibly-recruit-child-soldiers

https://www.hrw.org/report/2004/11/10/living-fear/child-soldiers-and-tamil-tigers-sri-lanka

The other entities like University Teachers Human Rights of Jaffna make reference to child soldiers simply to put on record that they have spoken on the subject but none of these entities championed any cause to stop LTTE child soldier recruitment.

Let us also point out that many UN organizations and international INGOs were operating in the North most often in offices adjoining the LTTE and none of them cared to highlight the fundamental rights that LTTE were denying children forced into uniforms, forced to carry guns and forced to kill. These children were simply statistics for them & they used these to blame the GoSL and not the perpetrators. It was always the Govts fault and nothing was said against the LTTE and their official positions were never used to stop child soldier recruitment. The subject was only important for their livelihood vis a vis the reports they got paid to do.

https://thinkworth.wordpress.com/2019/05/26/snatched-the-children-the-tigers-took-away/ – no one thought of making a documentary or film!

Thankfully the Sri Lanka armed forces militarily ended LTTE in May 2009.

The happiest of all must have been the low caste and poor Tamil families. They no longer had to fear their children being kidnapped and turned into child soldiers.

Now that low caste/poor Tamil children are no longer of use as there is no LTTE ground force, the baton is being passed on to the new generation of Tamil students with foreign-accents emerging from over 350 LTTE madrassas” operating across Europe, Canada indoctrinating the minds of children to hate and using that for the advantage of their elders. So the lying machine continues to yarn lies and we can see how eloquently from foreign shores they speak about situation in Sri Lanka when they have not stepped into visit a single town or village.

Truth wins they say. We are waiting patiently for that day. In the meanwhile, the lies continue unabated. The baton is now with the LTTE Diaspora. Understandably they want to keep that kitty going. They have now got used to a lifestyle and are enjoying publicity from their memorials, commemorations, and many other profit making ventures. They say once you tell a lie you have to keep on telling lies to continue the lie & this looks to be a classic case.

This Children’s Day we can be happy that in over 12 years Tamil children have been saved from becoming a child soldier. Sri Lanka can be happy that we have turned child soldiers into singing sensations and brought out the talents of former child soldiers whereas the LTTE diaspora has not even provided a single scholarship scheme for them from their LTTE kitty.

Tamil low caste/poor parents & children do not need to fear – the Sri Lankan soldiers have ensured LTTE can no longer kidnap and turn them into child soldiers!

Shenali D Waduge

KAMALIKA PIERIS

Sarath Amunugama in his book Dreams of Change” has provided additional information on Wijeweera and the JVP. Wijeweera was involved in anti- state activity long before 1971. Wijeweera was the mysterious Doctor” who had participated in the    coup aimed at toppling the Dudley Senanayake government in 1966. Investigations revealed a link to a “Dr Tissa” who was identified as Rohana Wijeweera, said Wikipedia.

Wijeweera had to learn Russian to do higher studies in Russia. Wijeweera when he came back to Sri Lanka could speak Russian and   knew something about the political thinking in Russia.   Wijeweera did manual work in the fields in Moldavia during his vacation and saw at first hand the poor living conditions of ordinary Russians and the corruption of the Russian elite. Back in Sri Lanka, Wijeweera strongly criticized Soviet degeneration, said Amunugama.

Wijeweera started his political career with a spectacular rise in the China wing of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka, said Amunugama.  China wing was led by N Shanmugathasan. This wing was not large, but provided Wijeweera with a network of likeminded activists and a cover for his own ambitions.

Wijeweera linked with   Premalal Kumarasiri, who was a leader in the China wing. Wijeweera thereafter abandoned Kumarasiri and set up his own party, with Kumarasiri’s men. These pro-China communists were the first members of Wijeweera’s JVP, said Amunugama. The group included his first deputy leader, Wijesena Vithana who went by the name Sanath Boraluketiya. He was a teacher and the District secretary for Anuradhapura in the CP (China wing). He was from Ambalangoda.

The others in this group were WT Karunaratne and SVA Piyatilleke both from Communist Party (China wing). H Milton an unemployed youth from Colombo North,   Delgoda Raja Perera, a technician in the Port Commission, Siripala Abeygunawardene, a CTB driver, DP Wimalagune, employee of Collettes, TG Walter, a motor car technician at CWE, AE Jamis, electrical technician at CWE, Piyasiri Gunaratna, a clerk, Nihal Dias, undergraduate and secretary of China Wing branch, Panadura, Mahinda Palihawadana, a bank clerk, Piyadasa Yalagala ,an employed youth, Muthumala, a clerk and TBC Fernando, an unemployed youth.

Wijeweera also absorbed the district groups of the CP China wing, who were with Shanmuganathan. Wijeweera got them easily into the JVP as feeder groups. The first to come in was the Panadura branch, followed by Kotte, Kalutara and Ambalangoda branches, said Amunugama.

Wijeweera established contact with two influential young leftists, Nimalasiri Jayasinghe, later known as Loku Athula and Cyril Dahanayake known as Diyonis. Loku Athula belonged to the Vahumpura (Bathgama) caste which was dominant in the Kelaniya –Mahara area and this helped to recruit members of this caste to the party.

Cyril Dahanayake was   in the Land Development Department Trade union. Dahanayake brought in the President of the Union, LY Danoris and Secretary HG Amarasena as well as two committee members, into the JVP. This trade union was an important addition to the fledgling JVP. Its newspaper ‘Voice of Development ‘became a propaganda vehicle for JVP. Dahanayake was able to provide support services such as office space and transport as well.

Sarath Amunugama draws attention to the role played by village school teachers in giving strength to the JVP.  He stated that Jayasinghe a graduate teacher at Elpitiya, openly held JVP classes for his students.  Jayasinghe not only converted his pupils but made their hometown a JVP controlled territory which held out the longest. Elpitiya, which was a small town in the hinterland of the Galle district, became a   JVP fortress which saw the killing of police officers, looting of police armory, and holding out by JVP militants for a long time.   

Wijeweera also   created a strong support base in the university sector.  At Peradeniya he had Sarath Wijesinghe a charismatic leader who had built up an independent base in the University for Himself and Lionel Bopage who later became Wijeweera’s right hand man. Peradeniya became a JVP bastion. Bopage and his group had stored weapons and gelignite in the university halls of residence in 1971.

Wijeweera also turned to Vidyodaya and Vidyalankara campuses. Vidyalankara proved to be difficult as it was controlled by Dharmasekera who had his own following.    Wijeweera therefore turned to Vidyodaya where the student council was led by Mahinda Weerasekera. He recruited Weerasekera and Vidyodaya became a bastion of the JVP.   Vidyodaya with its mass of young Buddhist monks also later became a convenient safe zone for JVP leaders when they were hunted by the police.

Amunugama draws attention to the manner in which Wijeweera used the Buddhist monks for politics. Wijeweera raised their role to a new intensity, observed Amunugama.  Monks were   made active members of the JVP .Several JVP front rankers were former monks who had disrobed. JVP monks, Narambedde Piyadassi (later Jagath Narambedde) and Kotawila Devasiri (later Dharmasena) were popular speakers at SLFP meetings at the 1970 General election.

 JVP’s Sangha organization was the first group of monks to participate in a May Day parade. About a 1000 young monks clad in saffron red robes paraded under the banner of the Socialist Bhikkhu Front. They were positioned immediately behind the JVP top leadership.

Wijeweera first used monks as spear carriers    then as foot soldiers in the      struggle. Hundreds of monks took part in the JVP insurgencies   and participated in violence. One of the achievements of JVP was harnessing the potential of young Buddhist monks as soldiers of this revolution, said JVP proudly.

In the 1970s, Buddhist temples were used to keep arms and ammunitions, as hiding places and as outposts for JVP. Members were posted to abandoned Buddhist temples to do propaganda work among villagers.  JVPers who committed crimes such as robbing banks were taken into the Tempe and robed as a monk.

The Sangaramaya for young monks located in Peradeniya and Vidyodaya were command centers for the party during the 1971 insurgency. High level discussions were held.  The decision to attack on April 5 was taken at Vidyodaya Gangaramaya.

Pro-JVP monks took over the management of important temples and monasteries. They became centers of propaganda and refuge for JVP activists. These monks ran their own front organizations and published a magazine.

In 1980, JVP had three special fronts, university, women and monks. The monks organization was under DM Ananda, who was one of the top JVP leaders. He was no 3 in the hierarchy. He was a monk who had given up robes in his final year in University.

Each JVP territorial division zone, district, sub district had a branch of JVP bhikkhu organization. It was the most comprehensive non formal Sangha grouping outside the traditional one based on nikaya, observed Amunugama.   JVP had cut across the nikayas, and established itself as a tri nikaya organization. Monks form all sects were free to join.   

In my view, this was not Sangha reform, no way. The reason was practical.  JVP was in no position to recruit monks by nikaya. The number of monks who joined the JVP was too small .

Unknown to the public JVP monks, were exerting pressure on senior monks, continued Amunugama. Mahanayakes were intimidated by young monks supporting JVP.. Leading Buddhist monks got threatening letters and some left the island.  Others drastically curtailed their religious and social activities. 

JVP monks criticized senior monks who did not support JVP.  They said that the senior monks should retire if they cannot carry out their responsibilities.  Kumbalgamuwe Dhammananda writing to, ‘Vinivida’ criticized the nayake monks, saying they are busy litigating without attending to their duties and protecting Buddhism.

JVP assassinated senior monks who were UNP or Leftist. Senior monks assassinated included Pohaddaramulle Pemloka, Thambugala Sumanasiri, Vellatota Pannadassi and Kotikawatte Saddhatisssa. Many other leading priests were also killed.

When JVP lost in 1989, JVP monks were heavily  criticized and these criticisms were given wide publicity in newspapers.  Some JVP monks gave up robes, other fled abroad. Some joined JVP guerillas who had retreated to the jungles camps. There were many reports of disappearance of monks, sightings of laymen with shaven heads, and discovery of discarded robes in public places.

Sarath Amunugama says changes in bhikku education  , particularly pirivena and university education  and the changing pattern of recruitments to the Sangha  created  a new strata of radical, socially committed monks, who however had to  live within  the  traditional Sangha  organization .JVP support came from this strata.  JVP offered a welcome escape.

When they joined the JVP the monks were introduced to an intellectual world which does not have the moral certainties of the Dhamma. Thus the monk faced a culture shock which predisposed him to radicalism, said Amunugama. However,  Marxism created a world of moral superiority like his familiar Buddhism.

The intrusion of monks into the arena of revolutionary politics has resulted in a loss of charisma,   said Amunugama. Monks have been arrested, stripped of their robes, and   killed in conflicts. When demonstrating, monks are teargassed and assaulted. They are forced to run with their robes tucked up. Will the public who see this, show religious devotion to them, asked Amunugama. This dwindling of social esteem may have long term implications for recruitment, education, influence and religious vocation of the Sinahla Sangha, concluded Amunugama  

I would add that one of the silent aims of the JVP, though not discussed here, is to   damage the Sinhala Buddhist civilization of Sri Lanka.  Reducing the image of the Sangha by making  monks behave in an undignified  manner  and making them carry out criminal  acts fits neatly into this purpose. The inclusion of JVP Buddhist clergy and other clergy is also aimed at using the religious robe either to embarrass it or to use it as a leverage whenever required  said Shenali Waduge.

Dr Priyanka Bandara

Dear patriots,

I have been trying to warn Sri Lankans for the last 2.5 years that there is a secret evil agenda of the world’s elite to destroy sovereign nations and establish a One World Government. This agenda is called the New World Order which has been operating through the World Economic Forum (WEF), WB, IMF and all UN agencies (including the WHO!) and many Western governments where they have planted their puppets for full compliance.

The engineered SL financial crisis, the induced Aragalaya of the people and the resultant regime change are all part of this agenda.  Now they have got their top puppet to control the country. The MCC etc are many facets of the Western neocolonialism – for the NWO agenda. The nation is in a perilous state.

These Western agendists seeking full control of the world, set up and fund terrorist organisations to keep countries in turmoil. There is no doubt about Western support for the Eelamists being part of this agenda. It is all about Divide & Rule. I could see how the plan put forward in the 2010 May Philadelphia meeting of the LTTE progressed meticulously through the Yahapalana govt and recent events. How do these separatists advance so well? It is because they are backed by the powerful West and power bases such as the Vatican. You can hear about this evil agenda from the former General Secretary of the Vatican and the former US National Security Advisor here (both Archbishop Carlo Mario Vigano and Gen Michael Flynn are modern heroes of human society that we must be collaborating with- they are good Westerners who are trying to save people from the NWO agenda) : https://rumble.com/v10evo5-archbishop-carlo-maria-vigan-exposing-the-global-great-reset-and-the-biden-.html

Using fraudulent International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), the top guys such as George Soros of who spearhead the NWO agenda, came up with the Pandora Papers to convince Sri Lankans that the Rajapaksas robbed the country’s money to the extent of not being able to buy fuel. Did anyone actually look at the analysis of the Pandora claims that I shared before that proved that ICIJ claims were false ? Instead, people were quick to jump to the conclusion that I must be a Rajapaksa supporter (I have never met them, talked to them or had any dealings with them but I appreciate the fact that they gave a nationalist leadership to protect the country from the LTTE terrorists). The West identifies SL as a very important place for several reasons and they had to crush the nationalist government of the R brothers that challenged them. The West. led by the US mission in SL completely manipulated the regime change.  GR was not strong enough to resist the threat from the West when most of the influential people (professionals like the Bar Association) fell for the stealth agenda.

What happened in 2022 is a repeat of our history – the end of the Sinhale kingdom in 1815 was carefully crafted by the British in the same way.

Why do we keep repeating the same mistake of falling for Western claims?

Why don’t our people analyse claims by various parties objectively?

It is never too late to regroup and strengthen the nation. If we don’t, the consequences are dire.

The same elites engineered the Covid pandemic too – and our medical system fully fell for it by believing everything the WHO and Western agencies said. Now they are trying to use the pandemic to give powers to the WHO to operate above the laws of sovereign countries. Putin is actually fighting the NWO- hope he can defeat that evil agenda. The key operators of the NWO including Hilary Clinton, Obama, Bill Gates, Klaus Schwab, King Charles the III and most Western power players are working with the the top manipulators – Rothschild family and a small group of wealthiest people.

Everything is now happening under the control of Western puppets for the NWO agenda. They wanted to destroy the government service (the State) and convinced people that private entities would lead the country to economic prosperity. This is a serious threat.

Organisations like Tax Payer’s Assn appear to be the products of such manipulations – please don’t fall for these new groups looking very appealing with new proposals, buzz words (globalisation, international collaboration, sustainable development etc).

Please, please UNITE and save the nation leaving petty differences aside!

Pri

P.S. If you didn’t see this:

Dr Priyanka Bandara’s Message to Sri Lankan leaders- Feb 2022:

https://rumble.com/vz0qc8-march-30-2022.html

Seema Guha Courtesy Outlook India

The epic tale says that Ram with the help of Hanuman and Sugriv rescued Sita from Ravan. The epic also mentions that a bridge was constructed by the Vanaras to help Ram and his army cross the ocean.

The Ramayan continues to evoke passions in the faithful on both sides of the religious and cultural divide. Ram is worshipped by millions of Hindus as the embodiment of light while Ravan symbolises darkness and evil. But this version of Ravan is as contested in Sri Lanka as in several parts of south India. Ravan is a heroic figure in Lanka, a great warrior and a compassionate monarch endowed with superior intelligence.

There are also people who claim that Ravan was the first to fly a plane centuries before the Wright brothers did. His Pushpak Vimana was the world’s first aircraft. In fact, the Sri Lankan government 2020 funded a project to be taken up by the nation’s civil aviation authority to search for evidence of Ravan’s aircraft and aerial routes. 

King Ravan was a genius. He was the first person to fly. He was an aviator. It’s not mythology; it’s a fact. There needs to be detailed research on this. In the next five years, we will prove this,” Shashi Danatunge, the former vice-chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority, was earlier quoted by local reports. He said that the government had irrefutable facts to prove that Ravan was the first person to fly an aircraft.

In the Buddhist-majority nation, Ravan is more of a cultural than a religious or political issue.  Sri Lankan expert S Sathya Moorthy says: “Hindu Tamils of Jaffna are mainly Shaivites and are not followers of Ram, though among the Indian origin Tamils living in the central highlands there are temples dedicated to Sita.’’

The British took several residents of Tamil Nadu as indentured labourers to work in tea plantations. It is said that the temple in Sita Eliya, where Indian Tamils are concentrated, marks the place where she was kept by Ravan during her captivity. 

Sita Eliya is a favourite destination for Indian tourists visiting the island state.  In fact, a stone from Sita Eliya will be used in the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. 

Also Read: How Ramnami Sect In Chhattisgarh Fights India’s Brutal Caste System By Tattooing Ram’s Name

Enters Ram Setu 

The epic tale says that Ram with the help of Hanuman and Sugriv rescued Sita from Ravan. The epic also mentions that a bridge was constructed by the Vanaras to help Ram and his army cross the ocean.

Many Hindus believe that the evidence of the bridge called Ram Setu still exists. They point to the 48-km long chain of natural limestone shoals that runs between Rameswaram, a coastal town in Tamil Nadu, to Mannar, an island in Sri Lanka’s northern province. The view from Talaimannar clearly shows the limestone chain which looks like a pathway to India through the ocean. While Hindus call it Ram Setu, in Sri Lanka it is called Adam’s Bridge.

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According to some geologists, the limestone shoals are the remnants of a natural bridge that was formed after Sri Lanka broke away from the Indian land mass. Other geologists say the line of shoals was a result of geological changes that led to the rising of the sea bed. 

Adam’s Bridge also has an interesting myth attached to its name. There is a hilltop in Sri Lanka known as Adam’s Peak. Some Muslim scholars say that this is the exact location where the Biblical Adam fell on the earth after being expelled from the Garden of Eden. These sources describe Adam as crossing into India from Sri Lanka across the bridge, which is now known as Adam’s Bridge. This version was popularized by Al-Biruni in b.c.1030. 

An English cartographer in 1804 prepared a map that referred to the shoal pathway as Adam’s Bridge. The British continued to refer to the pathway as Adam’s Bridge.

Also Read: How Ramnami Sect In Chhattisgarh Fights India’s Brutal Caste System By Tattooing Ram’s Name

In India, the Ram Setu became an issue when the union government came up with the idea of the Sethusamudram project. As the seawater near the coral reef around Ram Setu is shallow and not navigable by ship, the vessels have to take a roundabout route to reach Sri Lanka. The government proposed to reduce the navigation time by building an 83-km deep-water channel to link Mannar to the Palk Strait by dredging and removing some of the limestone shoals that are part of the Ram Setu. The channel would have brought down shipping costs considerably. Tamil Nadu politicians had made this demand to both the AB Vajpayee government and the Manmohan Singh government. When TR Balu was the Shipping minister in the UPA, he pushed for the project and work began.

However, there was a massive uproar at the proposal, both from the BJP as well as various Hindu religious groups as they believed that it would destroy the bridge built by Ram.

Joining the debate, the late DMK chief M Karunanidhi had retorted: “Which is the college from where Ram got his engineering degree?” His remark further outraged many Hindu groups, with a Sri Lankan Tamil from Jaffna threatening to cut off the DMK leader’s tongue.

The Sri Lankan government was not too keen on the project, for purely economic considerations. The government feared that it would reduce the cargo traffic of Colombo port.

The issue went to Indian courts on several grounds, including environmental concerns, but mostly for hurting the religious belief of Hindus. Despite assurance by the government that the Ram Setu would be preserved, the project is at a standstill. The Save Ram Setu campaign was launched on Ram Navami 2007. Subramaniyam Swamy wants the Prime Minister to declare Ram Setu a national monument.

https://www.outlookindia.com/culture-society/-ravan-was-the-first-aviator-how-sri-lanka-sees-the-ramayan-news-227104

Courtesy News18

Wickremesinghe’s U-turn came amid sustained pressure from the principal Opposition, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) party, which filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the order

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe issued an extraordinary gazette on Saturday, revoking last week’s order that declared several key locations in Colombo as high-security zones, after sustained pressure from the Opposition and the country’s human rights watchdog condemning his move. On September 23, Wickremesinghe declared the Parliament, Supreme Court complex, and the President’s Secretariat among others as high-security zones, and banned any kind of protest or agitation near its premises.

The move, which many see as a throwback to the restrictions imposed during the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) days that saw suicide explosions at such key locations, prevents even the parking of cars near the vicinity of key government buildings. 2299/71 dated today, President Wickremesinghe states that he was revoking the said order, according to an extraordinary gazette notification issued by the Presidential Secretariat on Saturday.

In a notification issued on September 23, the President’s Secretariat declared key government installation localities as high-security zones. Areas around Parliament, Supreme Court Complex, High Court Complex in Colombo, Magistrate Court Complex in Colombo and Attorney General’s Department, Presidential Secretariat, President’s House, Sri Lanka Navy Headquarters, and Police Headquarters have been declared as high-security zones, the notification said.

It also includes the Ministry of Defence and Sri Lanka Army headquarters located near parliament, the Sri Lanka Air Force headquarters, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Temple Trees prime minister’s residence, and the Official Residences of the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and the Commanders of the Tri Forces, it added. According to the notification, protests and public gatherings in the areas declared as High-Security Zones are banned while vehicle parking won’t be allowed in the vicinity of any of the designated locations.

Wickremesinghe’s U-turn came amid sustained pressure from the principal Opposition, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) party, which filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the order. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka also condemned the move and called it illegal.

Significantly, some of the designated locations were the sites for large public agitations against the Rajapaksas for their mishandling of the country’s economy. Anti-government protesters are now getting arrested for unlawful entry to these key areas and the government’s use of the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act to keep them under detention has also come under criticism from several international rights groups.

Saman Gunadasa Courtesy WSWS

A new resolution on Sri Lanka has been presented to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) 51st session that began in mid-September. Voting on the resolution, titled Promoting reconciliation, accountability, and human rights in Sri Lanka,” is scheduled for October 6.

The resolution, which was sponsored by the US, UK, Canada and Germany, as well as Malawi, Montenegro and North Macedonia, is based on a UNHRC resolution passed in March 2021, with some additional points. These include an investigation into the impact of corruption” on Sri Lanka’s economic crisis and the repression of the protest movement.”

The resolution has nothing do with investigating war crimes or defending human rights in Sri Lanka. It cynically opposes the anti-democratic measures of Colombo governments, but only in order to increase pressure on the cash-strapped Colombo government and block its relations with Beijing. The US wants Sri Lanka to fully back its escalating geo-strategic confrontation with China.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe is a longtime stooge of US imperialism. However, Washington is concerned that he was elevated into this position by former president Gotabhaya Rajapakse and his Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna MPs who have maintained ties with China.

New Delhi, a key strategic ally of Washington, provided considerable financial assistance to Sri Lanka when the economy plunged into crisis this year in a bid to strengthen relations with Colombo and marginalise Chinese influence. Several senior Biden administration officials, including USAID chief Samantha Power, have also visited Sri Lanka, following Wickremesinghe’s appointment as president for the same reason.

Last year’s 16-point UNHRC resolution called for the devolution of power, protection of human rights and human rights defenders, a review” of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, accountability and respect for religious freedoms. It also expressed concerns about the militarisation of the civilian administration.

US interventions at the UNHRC on Sri Lanka go back to its support for a June 2009 resolution, following Colombo’s bloody defeat of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The term accountability” in the resolution refers to crimes committed by the Sri Lankan military during the final months of the communalist war. These included the killing of at least 40,000 Tamil civilians and the cold-blooded murder of surrendering LTTE leaders.

The US and other major powers backed Colombo’s war and are responsible for supporting these crimes. The Obama administration, however, opposed then President Mahinda Rajapakse’s turn to China, which became a major arms provider and supplier of financial assistance. Washington’s concerns were bound up with its pivot to Asia”—the diplomatic isolation and military encirclement of China in preparation for war.

After failing to pressure Colombo to distance itself from China, Washington orchestrated a regime-change operation in 2015 to oust Mahinda Rajapakse as president, replacing him with Maithripala Sirisena. Wickremesinghe, who was later installed as his prime minister, and former president Chandrika Kumaratunga supported the back-room operation.

The incoming Sirisena and Wickremesinghe administration shifted Sri Lankan foreign policy sharply in favour of the US, which then diluted its human rights” campaign against Colombo. Washington, however, resumed its diplomatic pressure after President Gotabhaya Rajapakse came to power in 2019 and his brother Mahinda won the general election in August 2020 to become prime minister.

In line with the latest UNHRC resolution, US Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Bob Menendez and Senators Dick Durbin, Patrick Leahy, and Cory Booker have moved a resolution in the Senate. It calls for a comprehensive international approach to address Sri Lanka’s current political and economic crisis, including challenges related to poor governance and economic policy under the Rajapakse family’s rule.” The Foreign Relations Committee resolution claims that the Sri Lankan economic crisis was exacerbated by predatory loans” from China as part of its debt trap diplomacy.”

The latest UNHRC resolution notes that the severe economic crisis” in Sri Lanka has aggravated food insecurity, caused severe shortages of medicines and fuel, and reduced household income. Corruption can have a serious negative impact on the enjoyment of human rights,” it states, and calls for the investigation and prosecution of corruption by public and former public officials.”

The corruption allegations, which are mainly directed at the Rajapakse family and its cronies, are aimed at preventing them from returning to power.

By contrast, the resolution recognises” Wickremesinghe’s efforts to address the ongoing economic crisis” and welcomes” Colombo’s recently concluded bail-out loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Notwithstanding their cynical concerns about the suffering Sri Lankan masses, the major powers sponsoring the UNHRC resolution know that the IMF austerity measures will involve even more savage economic attacks on workers and the poor.

While corruption by successive governments, including those led by the Rajapakse family, is well-known, Sri Lanka’s economic collapse is part of the global crisis of capitalism, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the US-NATO war against Russia.

The UNHRC resolution also voices its concern over the repression of the protest movement” and the mass arrest of demonstrators. Since April, the government has arrested around 4,000 people and detained over 1,500 in prisons, alleging they damaged state property and the homes of ruling party MPs.

[P]articipation in peaceful protests can be an important form of exercising the rights to freedoms of peaceful assembly, of expression, and of association and to participation in the conduct of public affairs,” the resolution states.

The concerns of the US and other imperialist powers are not about democratic rights but Wickremesinghe’s ability to contain widespread opposition among working people to the country’s immense social crisis. Facing rising social tensions in their own countries, ruling elites everywhere are acutely nervous about the mass protests and strikes in Sri Lanka that forced President Rajapakse to flee the country and his government to collapse in July.

The resolution notes the lack of progress in addressing the longstanding grievances and demands of Tamil and Muslim populations,” and voices concern about the ongoing surveillance, intimidation and harassment of journalists, human rights defenders, families of the disappeared.” It proposes to re-energise” the Office on Missing Persons and the Office for Reparations, toothless bodies established by the pro-US Sirisena regime, which did nothing and were used to hoodwink the families of war victims.

Addressing the UNHRC, Sri Lanka Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry opposed the resolution, saying that the government policy was for a domestic mechanism” to address any human rights violations. Successive Colombo governments have rejected all war crimes allegations and strenuously defended the military and political leaders responsible.

Seeking to advance its own influence in Colombo, Beijing opposed the UNHRC resolution on Sri Lanka. Chen Xu, its representative to the UN body said, China opposes any country taking advantage of the current difficult situation in Sri Lanka to seek self-interest” and urged the UN to respect the human rights development path that Sri Lanka has independently chosen.”

The opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) party is backing the resolution, calling for an investigation into corruption in Sri Lanka and blaming Rajapakse governments. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has said nothing about the resolution but is developing close relations with US diplomats and other major powers as part of its back-room efforts to come to power.

The SJB and the pseudo-left Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) sent representatives to the UNHRC, claiming it could be used to defend democratic rights in Sri Lanka. In fact, the SJB, JVP and FSP all maintain a guilty silence about the anti-China geo-strategic agenda behind the US and other imperialist concerns” about human rights in Sri Lanka.

As the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) has always insisted, the struggle for a genuine investigation into war crimes and the defence of democratic rights in Sri Lanka can only be advanced as part of the independent mobilisation of the working class against capitalist rule. Sri Lankan workers must turn to international working class as its ally in this struggle.

The new US-sponsored resolution points to the advanced stage of global war tensions. The US and NATO war against Russia in Ukraine and the escalating military provocations against China pose the danger of nuclear war. US imperialism and its international allies want nothing less than a totally obedient pro-Washington regime in Sri Lanka. World War III can only be prevented by building an anti-war movement of the international working class and in the struggle for international socialism.

This analysis, and the struggle for a global antiwar movement of the working class, will be discussed in detail at the forthcoming October 16 meeting called by the SEP and the International Youth and Students for Social Equality. We urge workers, students and youth to register here and attend this crucial event.

Susantha Hewa

In Sri Lanka, there are two enduring issues that annoy all those who detest blatant use of ‘institutionalised’ repression, as it were. The first is the torturing of the new entrants to universities, which is customarily called ragging”, which conveniently camouflages its perverseness behind a mask of pseudo-intellectuality. The other is the abuse of power by our so-called representatives to amass fabulous wealth, engaging in every form of corruption with impunity and resorting to strong-arm tactics when the public come to the streets to voice their discontent- all behind a façade of democracy.

For the raggers, the confines of the campus provide immunity to harass the hapless newcomers at will. Our politicians rattle off the mantra of law and order!” to make any of their excesses appear legitimate and get the people to toe the line. Now, the raggers have taken their cue from our politicians and chant human rights!” to defend ragging! They are now asserting their right to rag without being videoed! Believe it or not, they are scandalised by anyone who dares film their harassing the freshers. How dare you do it without our permission? Do you know you are violating our ‘Human Rights’?”

Tigers might as well talk about their right to kill deer. All tigers unequivocally agree that they have that right; their claws have made the Deer’s Rights”, i.e. to live unharmed, to enjoy freedom of movement, not to be killed, totally irrelevant. So the rights of the new entrants to start their academic life happily in a pleasant and peaceful environment without being persecuted by a depraved gang of so called ‘human rights warriors’, go the same as the rights of deer to live without being mauled by the ‘rights conscious’ tigers in the jungle.

Here, we have the Aragalaya– a union of many sections of society including the Inter University Students’ Federation (IUSF). The IUSF itself is said to be composed of students with different political affiliations. They seem to have shed their differences to be a vibrant part of the Aragalaya– fighting tooth and nail against the excesses of a regime bent on using strong-arm tactics to stifle dissent- which has been facing stiff resistance from the police and the armed forces, in addition to being the victims of goon attacks as it happened on May 9, at two agitation sites in Colombo. The point is, aren’t the raggers in universities, who are bullying the hapless new entrants, aware of the thousands of their colleagues participating in the Aragalaya against state repression are seriously undermining the authenticity of the latter, by their acts of barbarity? Can they be so loutish as to act as if they are living on another planet?

Let’s come to the more hilarious part of the raggers’ concern for their own ‘human right’ to rag without the inconvenience of being filmed by concerned onlookers. They not only protest against their being videoed without their permission but they also display their brilliance by asking some profoundly disturbing questions like- whether the ‘busybody’ had ever bothered to film how they had suffered in life, how they had managed to make ends meet, under what taxing conditions they had studied, how much their parents had sacrificed to educate them, etc. No, the nonplussed voluntary-cameraman had not lived up to their expectations! Having successfully snubbed him for failing in his ‘duty as a concerned citizen’, they demand that the ‘busybody’ delete what he has recorded.

What defies comprehension is the total lack of empathy of these self-proclaimed ‘human rights activists’ with the pitiful condition of their victims. Haven’t the new entrants come from the same land of woes? Haven’t they experienced the same deprivations which the raggers claim they had experienced? Do they expect to exorcise the consequences of inept politics by terrifying the newcomers? What kind of perversity drives them to traumatise their own younger brothers and sisters, who had already been equally victimized by an unjust system against which thousands of their own colleagues fight on the streets?

Aragalaya

activists, including the IUSF, have never protested against the numerous instances of their being harassed- being teargased, pounded by water cannons and manhandled by law-enforcement officers and also wanton attacks by thugs. In fact, using cellphones to capture any instance of harassment or even any intervention by the police, for instance, for traffic offences, has become an established practice. After all, it is strong evidence that can be used by the ‘victim’ when resorting to legal action.

Usually, it is not the victims- it is the tormentors who are worried about being captured by cameras and cellphones. The video footage on the now famous Mihintale Sermon showed some government VIPs, caught in an unexpected tragicomic misadventure, making valiant efforts to appear nonchalant- even affable, but squirming in their seats all the while. Today, cellphone has become the sworn enemy of those who feel guilty of what they are doing. If the raggers are so pious, they should encourage their being videoed instead of crying foul.

All these years the raggers have had no reason to pretend to be serious about human rights because they had been so well-organized to make them irrelevant. However, now cellphones have become the most useful companion of the vulnerable in society, in its potential role of being an eyewitness” of any excesses. In a twist of irony, today raggers, who have thus far managed to thwart all efforts to neutralise this barbaric practice, have been outraged by being videoed in action. After all, the cellphone is becoming a liberating agent in our troubled paradise. Ragging should be condemned as a shameful relic of a barbaric civilisation. It can have no justification in a society fighting against all forms of depravity, injustice and suppression. The raggers must be sternly told that all that nonsense about building fellowship, ‘guiding’ the ‘novices’ and the rest can only expose their lack of rudimentary civility and sophistication.

Susantha Hewa

Chaturanga Samarawickraman Courtesy The Daily Mirror

The Social Security Contribution Tax will come into force from today on importers, manufacturers, service providers, wholesalers, and retailers whose total turnover exceeds Rs. 120 million per annum.

The expected revenue from this tax per annum is Rs. 140 billion. However, economic experts pointed out that with the imposition of this tax, the prices of goods and services would go up further.

They also pointed out that these types of taxes should be introduced on a temporary measure.

The Social Security Contribution Tax was introduced as a measure to raise the government’s revenue and rebuild the economy hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, several items, such as medicine, petrol, diesel or kerosene, LP gas, fresh milk procured from local manufacturer or seller, also cinnamon, rubber etc., will be exempt from this tax.

Moreover, electricity generation, medical services, water supply, goods and passenger transport, garment services, tourist services, life insurance companies, cinemas, services obtained from online services, and several more other services will be exempted from this tax.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Measures have been taken to provide a balanced meal at the expense of the government and as an initial step, a nutritious meal for 1,080,000 schoolchildren prior to the reopening of schools, is already in progress, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said.

While issuing a message relating to the World Children and Elder’s Day, he said, the programme is being carried out to provide a balanced meal with the approval of Health Ministry Nutritionists.

Further, in addition to the allowance paid to pregnant mothers, the government has focused its attention on allowing an additional monthly allowance for families affected by food insecurity, the President said in the statement.

It is our duty to take care of the elderly community who have made great sacrifices to preserve children’s pleasant childhood and the country’s benefit. It is interconnected with our culture.

Food, education, sports, recreation, rest, sleep, mental and health wellbeing are only a few of children’s requirements.

We are both culturally and legally bound to ensure these facilities.

It is my view that it is the responsibility of all parents, teachers and civil society representatives, apart from the government, to fulfil these needs. The contemporary world that adults live in is not the world children see. It is very simple and delicate.

They thirst for curiosity. As adults, we should understand this wisely and make sure to create a unique world for them. If you looks at the past few years, it is evident that the present society is very different from the social background in which the children lived a few years ago.

There are many disclosures made by the media on this. In such a background, it is my duty as the head of state, to ensure that all the children of the country receive a balanced and nutritious diet containing the right amount of calories.

My mission at this moment is to create a developed country for the future generations of this land.

Based on the policy statement presented by me, the required measures for the care of those in poverty and under privileged groups are being carried out in a systematic manner. Let us all join hands in committing ourselves to ushering an era where all children and elders will be taken care of compassionately.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

An Extraordinary Gazette has been issued by President Ranil Wickremesinghe revoking the order issued declaring the High Security Zones.

On September 23, an Extraordinary Gazette notification was issued by the President declaring several areas in Colombo as High-Security Zones.

Courtesy Adaderana

Courtesy Adaderana

The special audit report by National Audit Office on the controversial procurement of 96,000 metric tons of organic fertilizer from a Chinese supplier reveals that the Sri Lankan government has incurred a lost to the tune of Rs. 1,382 million in the process.

The report, issued in August 2022, also notes that all officials responsible for causing a loss to the government by releasing the funds required for the procurement of the Chinese fertilizer shipment in question should be prosecuted.

In 2021, then-government granted approval to import organic fertilizer from Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co., Ltd. in China as its attempts to transform the island’s agriculture into entirely organic were unsuccessful.

The audit report revealed that Sri Lanka’s National Plant Quarantine Services (NPQS) had observed the destructive bacteria Erwinia and Bacillus which causes diseases and that the fertilizer samples had not been sterilised.

Against the backdrop of such report, the special technical evaluation committee appointed by then-Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture had given recommendations to import the relevant organic fertilizer shipment. Based on these recommendations, Ceylon Fertilizer Company and the Colombo Commercial Fertilizer Company Limited had opened Letters of Credit (LOCs) to facilitate the importation of this fertilizer shipment, the report added.

Senaka Weeraratna

The Great Fire of Lisbon of 1755 shattered the myth of a loving God and set Europe on the path to modern Atheism.

Voltaire’s book Candide espoused public disillusionment with ‘God’  and it led to later-day books like ‘ God Delusion by Richard Dawkins.

At the end of the Second World War in 1945 with misery and hardship staring down on Europeans, there began another disillusionment in Europe – on the validity of traditional belief systems and religions rooted in Abrahamic monotheistic thought.  Europeans led by Germans began to look East toward Asia for an eternal answer to achieving Peace – a stable peace. A stream of German scholars embraced Buddhism and some took to monkhood such as Ven. Nyanatiloka Maha Thera, Ven, Nyanaponika, and  Ven. Nyanawimala all resident at Polgasduwa. In turn, Asians responded to the growing interest in Buddhism in European circles by sending Buddhist missions from Asia to Europe. Anagarika Dharmapala, the world’s first Global Buddhist Missionary, established the London Buddhist Vihara in 1926. 

Almost 30 years later another visionary Buddhist Missionary from Sri Lanka, the Sinhalese Asoka Weeraratna under the auspices of the German Dharmaduta Society which he founded in Colombo in 1952, led a Buddhist Mission to Germany with three Buddhist monks drawn from the Vajiraramaya in Colombo in 1957 and established the first Theravada Buddhist Vihara in Europe. He transformed Das Buddhistische Haus in Berlin – Frohnau, founded in 1924 by Dr. Paul Dahlke, into a Buddhist Vihara by stationing there on a long-term footing with Buddhist monks sent from Sri Lanka.

The current crisis in Europe regarding a lack of Gas and Heat to meet the coming winter has given rise to another widespread public disillusionment in Europe i.e. – on the farsightedness and capability of the European Union (EU).

 Has the EU done more harm than good to Europe by its stubborn obstinacy toward Russia? 

It is a question worthy of public debate and serious reflection.

Senaka Weeraratna

Courtesy Adaderana

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has proposed the establishment of an International University on Climate Change in Sri Lanka in order to enable students from any country in the world to engage in educational activities.

He made this remark during his meeting with the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Masatsugu Asakawa at the ADB Headquarters in Manila, this morning (Sep 30).

President Wickremesinghe, who expressed his gratitude to the President of the Asian Development Bank for the emergency assistance provided to Sri Lanka in the past, discussed the further strengthening of the long-standing relationship between Sri Lanka and the ADB.

The ADB President assured President Ranil Wickremesinghe that he would continue to cooperate with Sri Lanka.

President Wickremesinghe also briefed the President of the Asian Development Bank on Sri Lanka’s engagement with the International Monetary Fund.

Meanwhile, President Ranil Wickremesinghe also engaged in a discussion with professionals working at the Asian Development Bank.

Courtesy Adaderana

Headline inflation of Sri Lanka, as measured by the year-on-year (Y-o-Y) change in the Colombo Consumer Price Index has increased to 69.8% in September 2022 from 64.3% in August 2022.

According to the Department of Census and Statistics, this increase in Y-o-Y inflation was driven by the monthly increases of both Food and Non-Food categories.

Accordingly, Food inflation (Y-o-Y) increased to 94.9% in September from 93.7% in August, while Non-Food inflation (Y-o-Y) increased to 57.6% in September from 50.2% in August.

Courtesy Adaderana

The Red Cross Society of China has decided to provide more food packs to the neediest families living in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka.

The donation worth USD 150,000 is made through the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society, the Embassy of China in Colombo said in a statement.

In May & July, the Chinese organization gifted dry rations to nearly 10,000 families in Homagama and Nuwara-Eliya.

Prof. N.A.de S. Amaratunga DSc

When goons attacked Aragalaya” at GFG one woman activist, an actress I think, shouted at her comrades Polu bima damanda. Passata yanda, bithiyata hettu wenakan yanda” (Drop your sticks. Retreat back up to the wall). That depicts the peacefull face of the Aragalaya”. On another day when a crowd surrounded the Navy base in Trincomalee where the former Prime Minister was hiding from the crowds a woman in the forefront was shouting Kapapiyaw, pethi gahapiyaw” (Cut them to pieces). That is the violent face of the Aragalaya”.

At the begining the Aragalaya” was very peaceful, disarming and even endearing in appearence. Apolitical ordinary people were attracted to this new phenomenon and they started visiting the site after work in the night and even participated in the cultural activities. The spokespersons claimed they were not affiliated to any political party. Nobody came forward as its leaders. Ordinary people were highly impressed by all this and thought that this movement could bring in meaningful change and solutions to the problems they faced. There were excellent scholarly articles in the media about the movement written by top political analysts.

However the peaceful facade fell apart with the dreadful happenings in the night of 9^th June. In a preplanned well organized arson attack 90 houses belonging to politicians and their relatives were razed to the ground. The violent faction of the Aragalaya” had surfaced transcending the peace loving faction. They later torched the PM’s private house, attacked the parliament and took over the Rupavahini control rooms. They illegally occupied the president’s and prime minister’s official residences and the presidential secretariate. These acts may not have been in the original script of the peaceful faction of the Aragalaya”. Therefore all this violence do not mean Aragalaya” is not peaceful and has no place in peaceful politics in Sri Lanka. If carefully managed it would have a significant salutary impact on future politics. In the least it could give guidance to voters on how to elect suitable politicians and even force the political parties to give nominations to honest capable candidates. 

It is imperative that the peaceful Aragalaya” is rescued from the clutches of the militant, rebellious insurgents who mingle with the peaceful protesters to blur the distictions. The peaceful Aragalaya” was reasonable, justifiable, deserving empathy and could have developed into a peaceful country wide political movement had it not been hijacked by the violent faction. The movement appeared to have the potential of being creative, though it lacked leaders it had demonstrated leadership qualities. Unfortunately the movement has been pushed aside by a more powerful militant movement.

This is similar to the picture one observes in the state universities. The student unions in the universities are controlled by groups who are politically aligned with the same political parties that have hijacked the peaceful Aragalaya”. These militant groups control innocent students by violent means. They call it ragging but its human torture. Students who do not tow their line are subjected to verbal, physical and psychological abuse. Computers have been driven into the heads of students, huge container tyres have been rolled down the stairs aimed at anti-rag students, some have been forced to jump out of upper floor windows. Loss of life and limb have happened due to ragging. Girls are not spared and the raggers are senior girls. These are the girls who shamelessly displayed their underwear and hung them on police barricades recently as part of their protesting act.

Ragging in the universities is largely a political movement. Innocent students, particularly the less affluent,  are made to feel that they are alone and helpless and are at the mercy of the raggers. If they don’t comply they are harassed and made to feel outcast. Studying is made difficult and extra-curricular activities almost impossible. Rag leaders seldom do well in studies as they are busy doing politics.  Ragging seems to be the driving force of the student movement in this country. How tragic! These students who undergo such a brain-washing process are ready to get on to the streets when ordered and march to topple governments or chase away presidents. Thousands of them came marching to Colombo and were a party to the seige on the president’s and prime minister’s residences. If they are not allowed to break the barricades and go to their selected target which could be the president’s house they shout that their fundamental right to protest is being denied!

Present President while talking to a group from the Aragalaya” recently said that the main reason for the decline of standards in the state universities is ragging. He has hit the nail on the head. Saving the peaceful Aragalaya” from the insurgents is as important as saving the poor students from murderous raggers. Militant Aragalaya” and ragging in universities are related phenomena. Ragging has developed into an intractable problem in the university and it has political relevance as it effectively provides a large army of young men and women who could be mobilized to join anarchic political forces.

The militant Aragalaya” also has the potential to develop into an intractable socio-political problem. The political parties associated with the Aragalaya”  now has the opportunity to reach out to the people and win them over to their side thanks to the bungling and corrupt politicians. It is up to the mature political leaders of the country to solve the problems of the people and stamp out corruption and other evil that pervade Sri Lankan politics if these insurgents are to be kept at bay. Unless the political system that seems to ensure the repeated election of the same corrupt lot into parliament is changed to enable the voters to elect decent, honest, capable people it will not be possible to prevent raggers and insurgents grabbing state power. Our non-violent people will have no moral scrupple in joining even with the devil when driven to despondency by the evil activities of depraved rulers. This was the clear message our non-violent people had sent to our politicians when they joined the Aragalaya” disregarding the fact that their politics is driven by violence. It could happen again unless the system is changed.

Prof. N.A.de S. Amaratunga DSc

Sugath Kulatunga

Sri Lanka tends to decline the advice of local professionals but accept unreservedly opinions and recommendations of particularly organizations like the World Bank and IMF. But there are instances when even credible and convincing opinions from them have been ignored by our obdurate policy makers. The IBRD report in 1951 had made a few cogent observations, on product diversification and skills development which if we had followed, the country would not be in the present dismal plight and would have progressed to a developed country status. Instead, we concentrated exclusively on paddy cultivation where even after 7 decades we are not self-sufficient in food and depend on the import of wheat flour for food self-sufficiency. Extracts from the report with this writes comments are given below:
• Ceylon is in the vulnerable position of having to import most of its primary necessities while its ability to pay for them rests largely on exports of three agricultural commodities the world supplies and prices of which are subject to considerable fluctuations.
• The report indicates known reserves of about 6 million tons of iron ore are located in the southwest part of the island but are not exploited in the absence of cheap electric power
Comment:(This implied that SL must diversify its supply base which we did not do until the quotas on apparel made us to go into garments. The report indicates exploitation of iron ores as an area we should focus on.) .
• Number ‘of small private industries were established after the war including’the production of pharmaceuticals, tea chests, soap, glass ware,paint and bricks. Like the Government enterprises they have had difficulty competing with imported goods and have been hampered by the lack of technical skills as well as a shortage of venture capital.
•Comment: (Venture Capital:: Government of Sri Lanka had established the National Development Bank for the purpose of promotion of industrial, agricultural, commercial and other development of the economy of Sri Lanka having regard inter alia to the development of the rural sector. One of the objectives of the NDB was to undertake development projects, including pilot projects, in order to achieve the purposes of the Bank. Unfortunately, the NDB acted like any other commercial bank and was finally privatized by CBK who was on a selling spree. It is no more national but continues to call itself national.
• In view of the absence of any other financial institution to provide funds for innovative investments with risk, the EDB Act provided for investments in selected export projects. A special Division was created in the EDB to evaluate projects and participate as a Venture Capital provider in innovative pioneering projects. Through this facility a number of pioneering projects were established. But a subsequent Board of Management not only abandoned the concept of venture capital but disbanded the EDB division with its trained staff.)

. Perhaps the most important limiting factor in Ceylonf s development at present, both in the formulation of a coordinated programn and in its im;plementation, is the shortage of, treained and oualified personnel at all levels – suwerintendents, foremen and srkilled rorkers as well as technical, professional, and higher administrative personnel. This shortege is among the most important reasons for hea,vy losses in existing Govenrnient enterprises and delays in startinz new industrial projects.

•Comment: (Taiwan is an Island smaller than Sri Lanka with a similar population. It was a predominantly an agricultural economy. Today it is a high tech powerhouse leading the world in a number of high tech industries. It has a per capita income of 36, 000 dollars. At the beginning of the 1980s, Taiwan increased the ratio for senior vocational schools and general high school to 7:3. By 2012 there were 155 senior vocational schools, 14 junior colleges, and 77 universities/colleges of science & technology, totaling 246. It is the education system that has sustained the significant development of this small nation. Our education policy must be revamped if we are to progress in technology and expand high valued exports. Far back in 1944, the Kannangara education reforms proposed practical schools (vocational) but this aspect of reform has not been implemented seriously.  Our education system must be revamped if we are to progress in technology and expand into high valued exports and create productive employment. It cannot be left to the University Grants Commission or the FUTA.)

KAMALIKA PIERIS

 Weeramunda made the perceptive observation that JVP has made use of the laxities and weaknesses of the university system   to get a foothold in the university.  JVP’s methods were founded on the principle of making the most out of laxities and weaknesses of the university system, he said.

 The weaknesses of the university systems are well known. The Vice Chancellor is appointed by the President and can be removed by him. He is therefore vulnerable. JVP has exploited this. Some VCs have taken a strong stand on ragging. Vice Chancellor, University of Ruhuna forcibly opened the rooms used by student unions for ragging and installed CCTV cameras.

But other VCs have given into JVP demands or followed a policy of appeasement. When undergrads are to be punished about 1000 students come and surround the VC office and the VC will give in. Anti ragging groups get demotivated and demoralized while the raggers/harassers are motivated by this, commented analysts.   In Kelaniya, a student had been hit with a bicycle chain.  The offender was caught. The student counselors made a complaint and his classes were stopped. The Students Union wanted the sentence removed.

An academic who was also a Proctor in University of Peradeniya stated that in 2016 he had been called to settle a ragging related incident at the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences. It had  turned into a brawl. I took down the curtains to the students common room to curtail future such incidents since that is where the student union does organized ragging.

 The Student Union had complained to the VC about my intervention. A JVP parliamentarian had also inquired about this incident from the VC. Without consulting me, the VC announced to the media that my services would be terminated and had told the same to the students.  A preliminary inquiry barred me for four years from any administrative posts and examination work. In 2020, a formal inquiry exonerated me from all charges.

This event shows that politicians also interfere. They tend to take the side of the JVP. In the University of Colombo the VC had installed the fingerprinting machine to mark attendance. The Minister had objected and a JVP MP wanted to talk about the issue in Parliament, informants said.

There have been instances where the academic staff supported the JVP against the VC. The staff   does not want to upset the JVP forces in the campus, said critics. When the VC insisted that Students Council show their financial accounts and did not allow JVP posters to be displayed   in the university, the staff and students opposed him.  When the VC wanted the university to organize the batch photo some lecturers were opposed to it.  

JVP has interfered with the university administration. JVP was behind the work stoppage by non-academic staff in the University of Colombo. They will create issues out of anything, said an academic, even mosquitoes on the university premises.  

JVP demands are not about student facilities but weaknesses or deficiencies in the administration such as corruption in building contracts   or the reinstatement of employees who have been suspended  from work. These issues have nothing to do with  the students.

Student political groups have become the watchdogs of university administration whereas legitimate authorities such as the UGC or the office of the Auditor General’s Department should perform this function, complained academics.,

JVP makes implacable demands regarding students, reported Weeramunda. Concessions obtained by the JVP include favored treatment for students in police custody for crimes committed, silence on the issue of whether police should be kept out of the university premises, and pressure on the VC to release students in detention.  

In Kelaniya, on one occasion, students had occupied part of administration building and refused to leave unless their demands are met. Administration is playing a waiting game without resorting to forced eviction, said an impatient academic on that occasion.

Media says that the university authorities are scared of the JVP and do not inquire into the atrocities committed by the JVP in the university.  All governments since 1971 were dead scared of the JVP and did not properly investigate any of these incidents properly. No action was taken against the culprits, media said.

A female undergraduate had committed suicide after the ordeal of ragging. She left a letter with full names, addresses, and all the other details of all those who had ragged her. The list of murderers was there in the letter for any full investigation, but nothing was done. Two small bankrupt political parties with a very dark history cannot dominate all state universities, concluded a Daily News editorial.

University ragging” is part of the long term disruptive policy of the JVP said analysts. Student activism is part of a political agenda and projected by interested political parties. It is a master plan to destroy the universities. We are sitting on top of a volcano   said various academics.

In my opinion, ragging in Sri Lanka will continue as long as there are politically motivated parties exploiting vulnerable students, particularly, from deprived backgrounds. Giving solutions to the student problems is not going to stop the unrest, academics added.

However, reforms have been suggested. Here are some of them. The official welcome given to new entrants is only held at the end of the semester, after they have gone through the indoctrination of the JVP. It should instead be held at the start of the semester.

University should not allow the JVP to conduct the orientation programmes for newcomers’. The university should handle this.  There should be a well planned induction program organized by the administration   where the students are told of  the services available at the university.  Seniors have not been authorized to hold ‘discussions’ in the canteen or exert their influence over freshers, UGC said when interviewed. 

Hostels and canteen are the most used venues for inhuman ragging. It is advisable to re-think   university hostels. Their residential facilities have been regularly misused. By contrast, non-residential educational institutions such as the Open University of Sri Lanka and government-run vocational training institutes have virtually no incidences of violence and indiscipline, observed Weeramunda.

The JVP raggers in the university come mainly from the Arts Faculty. in Kelaniya  out of a total of 9000 students, only 25 or 30 are directly involved in violence  .All are Arts students with 1 or 2 from commerce, said an informant in 2007. Arts also has the most number of students from impoverished backgrounds.

Daily News editorial of September 2022 drew attention to this. It is no coincidence that the students belonging to the pro-ragging group and responsible for the mayhem at Peradeniya were products of the Arts stream, the editorial said. It is the undergraduates in the Arts Stream who are behind most of the unrest in universities. They hail from far-flung villages and carry a chip on their shoulders. They carry with them baggage derived from their depressed social backgrounds and economic deprivation.  

The solution is obvious. The Arts intake must be entirely on merit with no district quota. This is will immediately reduce the number in the Arts faculty, improve the quality of those coming in, make teaching easier and send out a far superior Arts graduate.

Universities are not allowed to select their own students,   students are allocated to university by the UGC on a complicated system marks and districts. But a rank order is now emerging. This is taking place informally through the  z-score  cut off marks. The z-score needed to enter Colombo, Peradeniya and Moratuwa are greater than for other universities.

It is suggested that the  University undergrad is a special protected species that should be treated indulgently and be allowed to do whatever it wanted .similarly, University was a special place  which the police cannot enter. Calling in the police and prosecuting offenders through the use of the civil or criminal law go against the spirit of university education, said an academic.

That is not so. The university is an institute of higher education and research, and like all other institutions,  it   is subject to the laws of the land. Further, a university is located within a police division  .The police are legally  entitled to enter a university when summoned and take suitable action. Lastly, sexual harassment is a Penal Code offence regarding which police can take action, with or without university permission.

Daily News editorial  commented on this aspect recently. It spoke of implementing the country’s existing relevant laws against all culprits without considering them as ‘special citizens’ just because they are undergraduates.  Academics agree. Undergrads should also obey the law of the land and should be taken into custody if they violate the law. They should not be allowed to put up posters all over the place, said academics.

Sri Lanka seems to treat criminal ragging in a university as unavoidable. Sri Lanka has enacted a law on ragging in university, , the Prohibition of Ragging and All Forms of Violence in Education Institutions Act No 20 of 1998. Sri Lanka seems very proud of this law. Sri Lanka should be ashamed of the fact that it had to bring in  such a law. Do other countries also have such laws?

In a normal university, there  are no regular programmes of criminal ragging taking place year after year in university owned locations such as canteen and hostels. This appears to be something unique to the  Sri Lanka  university .

Respondents to the Weeramunda survey   advised as follows. Among factors contributing to the incidence of student violence and indiscipline are the lack of proper guidelines for university administrators when confronted with such situations with the result that each vice-chancellor is left to his or her own strategies or devices to cope with them. Counselors are full-time academics who are not professionally trained to enforce law and order .The university does not have a proper system for enforcing law and order,  respondents concluded

The last sentence in the paragraph given above is relevant to university administration, the rest is not. A university  is associated with scholarship, not  violence and criminal activity. Vice chancellors and     counselors   are  expected to  do teaching and research, not learn how to control criminal ragging. Criminal activity, if it occurs  in a university ,would be dealt with by the security department of the university, which is trained to handle such matters.

The university should stop violations from happening rather than taking decisions after something happens said academics. Instead of dealing with the problem at its root, university only deals with the results. There is no indication of this happening.

In September 2022 four students of the Peradeniya University’s Law Faculty have been hospitalized after a clash between pro-raggers and anti-raggers. A group of Arts Faculty students at University of Peradeniya had attacked a group of Law students   who were having their meals in the university’s Gemba Canteen. Students who are against ragging have been banned from eating in the canteen. The law students were against ragging and the Arts group was in favor of it.

Three pro-ragging students have been suspended by the university authorities, which sparked a protest by the pro-ragging students who are refusing to leave the campus premises and continue to remain in the university hostel.

Comments from UGC on the recent fighting in the Peradeniya canteen  ignores the key issue which is ragging versus non-ragging. We are told that the arts faculty is closed and teaching will be done on line.    Criticism focuses on what the police did wrong,  not what the raggers did  wrong.

 A new deterrent is proposed. Undergraduates involved in ragging in universities will be blacklisted. These undergraduates will not be able to enter public service even if they complete their degree courses, announced UGC, ignoring  the fact that employment is outside the scope of the UGC. Ragging will continue. the University system has no intention of controlling  inhuman ragging at its rootS.   JVP will be happy.

Malinda Seneviratne

One of the most thorny problems for self-styled liberals in Sri Lanka is that they use the liberal label as though it’s some kind of impenetrable shield, hiding behind which they take on specific enemies in accordance with preferred outcomes. Scratch them and you find some grotesque creatures.

You would find colonial remnants, elitists who anything said or written in any language other than English has to be inferior, religious zealots rabidly anti-Buddhist, ardent lovers of much discredited neoliberal economic policies and echoers of Washington-speak who swear by Reuters, BBC, AP etc. They would swoon if Julie Chung said ‘hi machang’ and probably lamented the death of Elizabeth, a woman who benefited from and was the unmistakable symbol of genocide, ethnic cleansing and outright plunder. Then of course there are the wannabes with chips on their shoulders who mimic Colombots, Candlelight Ladies, Funded Voices, Rent-a-Protest Agitators in the mistaken belief it will get them automatic citizenship in Kolombia.  

The positions taken (or not taken) on a wide range of issues mark them and indeed question their liberal credentials. Nothing dissolves the liberal shield, however, as the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act.

The Committee for Muslim Law Reforms (CMLR) has proposed that the polygamy law applicable to Muslim be retained albeit with minor adjustments but nevertheless reaffirming inequality before the law and celebrating the subjugation of Muslim women. That’s a double whammy for liberals. We’ll get to that soon.
CMLR Chairman Shabry Haleemdeen is reported to have said, ‘We are deliberating on polygamy since it is a sensitive issue for the Muslim community, for the reason that it is derived from the Quran. It is a religious tenet and people take it very seriously.’

Now, if you really want to take the Quran seriously and use the sensitivity caveat, all manner of atrocities against non-believers would have to be sanctioned (the same with certain tenets of the Bible of course).

Haleemdeen makes much of allowing brides to sign the marriage registration form. Cheers! Well, trivial, really. Let’s get to the more serious stuff. Haleemdeen’s apologies are hilarious. Apparently permission from a ‘Conciliator’ would have to be obtained when a Muslim man wishes to marry again (and again). If the MMDA remains with CMLR recommendations incorporated, some researcher studying patriarchy, discrimination etc., is likely to exclaim, ‘all conciliators happen to be men, oh wow!’ That’s going by how these ‘sensitive issues of the Muslim community’ have played out over time. Let’s put that aside.

The conciliator, Haleemdeen says, ‘will have to mainly consider the equal treatment of the wives, financially, physically, and mentally.’ I suppose financial issues could, in part, be sorted with assets being legally divided between the first and second wives. However, the principle of equality would be wrecked if the man takes a third or fourth wife. In any case, how on earth can anyone ensure ‘equal physical and mental treatment’ of all wives prior to the second or subsequent marriage? The CMLR also insists, ‘the person who is proposing to marry again should have sufficient financial means to support all their wives and children.’ Polygamy for the rich, then? 

Haleemdeen says that a Muslim man wanting a second marriage should have a compelling reason, for example, if the first wife has a terminal illness or an incurable disease or cannot perform in bed (who judges that, though?). Let’s flip it. What if a Muslim man is impotent? What if a Muslim man is terminally ill or has some incurable disease? Why shouldn’t the same principle be applied? What does Haleemdeen and the CMLR have to say? What do liberals have to say? What do feminists have to say? Why aren’t they going for Haleemdeen’s jugular? Why aren’t they launching a protest? #CMLRgetlost, anyone? Haleemdeen hasn’t uttered a word about divorce. That’s also interesting given that the MMDA renders the bride vulnerable vis-a-vis the bridegroom from Day One.

It boils down to a couple of things. First, men from one community enjoys polygamy while men of other communities end up in jail for the same act. Secondly, it is sexist. Liberals who just cannot stand Article 9 of the Constitution (never mind its negation by Articles 10 and 14) and rant and rave about separating religion from the state, are silent on all this. Why?

Haleemdeen is a sham artist, one has to conclude. The CMLR is a sham show. Liberals who are silent on the MMDA and the CMLR recommendations are ostriches and need to wave a banner with the following legend, ‘#I-left. And shut up thereafter.

Enough. Consider the following. On February 19, 2020, i.e. days before Parliament was dissolved and probably in full cognizance of impending General Elections, a report was released by ‘The Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Security,’ appointed following the Easter Sunday attacks almost a year before.

This report contained recommendations on the following areas: 1. Education, 2. Banning face coverings which hinder identification, 3. National Defence Policy, 4. Amending the Immigration and Emigration Law in line with new developments, national and international, 5. Electronic, print and social media, 6. Amending the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Law, 7. Empowering Muslim civil society, 8. Empowerment and legalization of the NGO Secretariat, 9. Amendment of the Wakf Act, 10. Suspension of registration of political parties on ethnic and religious basis, 11. Issuing birth certificates with Sri Lankan Identity Number, 12. Establishment of a ministry of religious affairs that combines all religions, 13. Building and maintaining Dhamma schools and religious centers to ensure inter-religious cohabitation, and 14. Halal certification process.

Now this is as comprehensive a report as we’ve seen on a number of key and interrelated issues. The most important recommendations are related to Muslim marriages and divorces that require amendment of Acts Nos. l3 of l951, 31 of 1954, 22 of 1955, 1 of 1965, 5 of 1965, 32 of 1969,  and Law No. 41 of 1975. These correct the horrendous gender inequalities in that community with respect to marriages and divorce.  

But why even bother amending the MMDA, my liberal friends? Shouldn’t the principle of equality supersede customary law? Indeed, shouldn’t you be pushing for the repeal of all such parochial pieces of legislation? But they nothing but Religious Freedom Nazis who have a bone to pick with certain religions (but not their own) and/or whose faiths have no history or numbers of the faithful of any significance (which is why, ‘equality of the ‘one-religion, one-vote’ kind is advocated even though in countries where THOSE religious communities are the majority, such generosity is hardly seen). That’s their problem. It’s a quintessential Sri Lankan ‘liberal’ dilemma. A disease and a curse, one might add.

Malinda Seneviratne is a freelance columnist who can be reached at malindadocs@gmail.com. www.malindawords.blogspot.com

Sasanka De Silva Pannipitiya

Every time a serious crime is reported in the country, the subsequent revelation that there is a politician or someone close to him or her is involved is a common thing to hear these days.

Interestingly, it is only one political party that participates in such incidents, which is worth noting.

One incident was a group of robbers trying to snatch a hefty sum of money being brought to be deposited in a bank by a businessman, and the other was a group of hooligans savagely beating some students attending a tuition class.

In both cases, the direct involvement of the politician and/or one of his/her close relatives is evident.

If the public feels that the law and the apparatus there to enforce it are either inactive or not taking an impartial stand, taking the law into their own hands will be inevitable soon.

History is littered with atrocities committed by lynch mobs in other parts of the world, but luckily, nothing of that nature has ever been reported in Sri Lanka.

The formation of lynch mobs will be more dangerous than having a lawless society.

Therefore, forcing good governance is a better option than allowing the country to descend into a lynch mob culture society.

Sasanka De Silva

Pannipitiya.

Malinda Seneviratne

Sri Lanka is a resilient nation. That’s almost a given. A constant. All talk of peace, human rights, democracy, good governance, reparations  and other such goodies emanating from Washington, London and other empiric capitals are disingenuous and laughable. Constant. Meddling, self-righteous and downright obnoxious North American and European diplomats: well, almost par for the course, with the US and UK specimens ensuring an above average score on such attributes.

Sessions of the UNHRC. The USA and others in the global thugs club bad-mouthing Sri Lanka while Russia and China lauding the restraint shown in dealing with brigands, highway robbers, arsonist and murderers operating under the, yes, legitimate banner of agitation. Yes, the kind of restraint that the USA never exercised when dealing with protests and not just the Capitol Hill theatrics of Trumpites. Constants, all.

And India! The country that reneged on the very agreement her leaders penned and stuffed down a pliant, unimaginative and clueless J R Jayewardene demanded that Sri Lanka implement in full the illegal 13th Amendment. This is what the Indian delegate told the UNHRC: ‘India seeks full implementation of the 13th Amendment of the Constitution, delegation of powers to Provincial Councils and holding of Provincial Council elections at the earliest.’ No one, not even the diehard federalists and separatists either operating as pawns of India and the rogue nations of North America and Western Europe or are downright communalists have uttered one word calling for PC elections. Not a word about democracy being challenged by elections not being held. And yet, India wants Sri Lanka to inhabit India’s version of Sri Lankan reality. Constant.

To nutshell-capture, North America, Western Europe and India closed ranks against Sri Lanka while Russia and China, despite being snubbed no end by leaders without backbone defended Sri Lanka resolutely. Constants.   

We could add to that Colombots, Candle-light Ladies, Rent-a-Protest Agitators, Funded Voices and other Kolombian sects. They’ll cheer most things that carry a Western/White token. They’ll wax eloquent about colonial rule, praising ‘accomplishments’ such as  roads and railways, never mind that these were the yield of taxes paid and labor provided by Sri Lankans. They mourn the death of a woman who was the beneficiary and symbol of genocide and plunder. Constant.

So why bother talking about such things, one may ask. Well, certain things need to be reiterated and placed on record simply because we can forget to remember history. Simply because we can be fooled by sweet-talk. Simply because true citizenship requires us to observe, understand, share and agitate, one way or another.   

A single example would do, actually. A two syllable name, actually. China. Now we know that China, a country which along with Japan owns US and Western European debt, is the No 1 target for Washington’s spin doctors. In fact US foreign policy in 2022 seems to be framed by a desperate need to vilify that country. So it should not come as a surprise that an outfit outrageously named Freedom House (it is primarily funded by USAID and the US State Department!) has ‘found’ that ‘Pro-Beijing influencers have increased their activities in the social media space—particularly their outreach to younger Sri Lankans—and new agreements with elites, including in the think tank space, have shaped conversations in the media.’

This is not outrageous, it is hilarious.  When have US influencers ever held back their activities, in social and mainstream media? Washington, directly (through the Embassy) and indirectly through the latest avatar of the CIA, the notorious National Endowment for Democracy (NED) has its proverbial fingers thick in the Sri Lankan media space. Verite Research and Advocata, if they are honest, can do some insightful research on the subject.

When have US influencers ever neglected younger Sri Lankans (and young people in other countries similarly targeted)? Just the other day Julie Chang, now quite adept at putting her feet in her mouth, confusing ‘danger’ with ‘dangerous’ when tweeting about peacocks, was bragging about young people in the strangely named ‘American Corner Matara.’ What Canada, Central America and South America would have to say about pernicious appropriation of the proper noun ‘America’ we do not know, but while it is bullish to mark territory in that manner, it is not the case that US influencers have limited operations to getting a foothold in the Southern Province. They are as thick as thieves with think tanks, politicians, so-called civil society organizations and media personnel, especially outfits and individuals who believe they are at the epicenter of social change in Sri Lanka. Social change, mind you, is but an easy proxy for ‘change sought by US paymasters.’

Freedom House (sic) is upset by China’s alleged close ties with elites. I suppose they believe the US gives local elites a wide berth. They whine about ‘aggressive diplomatic push on social media.’  Maybe they’ve not heard of Julie Chang and the local foot soldiers hired to do US propaganda. They are also worried about China Radio International reaching out to Sri Lankan audiences in Sinhala. Well, all it means is that the Chinese, if not less vile than the USA, are way smarter. Anyway, it is not that the US has no footprint in Sinhala media or no social  media operatives either engaged in China-bashing or genuflecting before Uncle Sam. In Sinhala.  

There’s more of course, but it’s all about the US being annoyed that China has cut in on their action. George Carlin, the US comedian once said that wars are mostly about white people killing brown people and the only reason that white nations fought Hitler (a white man who killed white people) was that he had cut in on their action. Same same.

And when Samantha Power, currently attached to USAID, says ‘USA wants countries to be independent, she’s being comic beyond belief. How many countries does the USA have military bases in, Samantha? How many countries have the USA invaded over the last two centuries, or let’s say the last two decades? How many proxy wars has the USA funded? How many terrorists has the US supplied arms to, do you know? How many elections in how many countries has the USA interfered in? How about arm-twisting in multilateral agencies? How about the operations of the CIA and more recently, the NED? And you want countries to be independent? Well, lady, it’s simple. Just leave the room.

All this, pretty consistent with the way the world has been for decades. One difference. The USA is jittery. Now that’s a good sign, not just for Sri Lanka but the entire world. And India, if it wants to do better than the USA, would do well to learn. Things pass. Regimes change. Thugs are ousted. World powers of other eras have been brought to their feet. Such things happen.

Sri Lanka is resilient. That’s a constant that’s not boring. It gives us hope.

[Malinda Seneviratne is a freelance writer who can be contacted at malindadocs@gmail.com]

උපුටාගැණීම  මව්බිම

කොවිඩ් වසංගතය මෙන් ම යුක්‍රේන යුද්ධය හේතුවෙන් නිර්මාණය කරන ලද ගෝලීය ආර්ථික අස්ථාවරත්වයේ අහිතකර ප්‍රතිවිපාක වන ආහාර, ඉන්ධන සහ පොහොර මිල අධික ලෙස ඉහළ නැගීම දරාගත නොහැකි තත්ත්වයක් නිර්මාණය කළ බව ජනාධිපති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ පෙන්වා දෙයි.

ගෝලීය දේශපාලන ප්‍රවණතා එම ආර්ථික අර්බුදය තවදුරටත් උග්‍ර කර ඇති බව ද ජනාධිපතිවරයා පැවසීය.

ජනාධිපති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මේ බව සඳහන් කළේ පිලිපීනයේ, මැනිලා නුවර ආසියානු සංවර්ධන බැංකු මූලස්ථානයේදී අද (සැප්. 29) පෙරවරුවේ පැවැත්වුණු ආසියානු සංවර්ධන බැංකු අධිපතිවරුන්ගේ 55 වන වාර්ෂික රැස්වීමේ ප්‍රධාන සැසිය අමතමිනි.

එහි මුලසුන ජනාධිපති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ විසින් හොඹවනු ලැබීය.

පිලිපීන ජනාධිපති ෆර්ඩිනෑන්ඩ් ආර්. මාකෝස්, කණිෂ්ඨ (Ferdinand R.Marcos, Jr.) සහ ආසියානු සංවර්ධන බැංකුවේ සභාපති සත්සුගු අසකාවාගේ (Masatsugu Asakawa) සහභාගිත්වයෙන් පැවැත්වුණු මෙම රැස්වීමට සාමාජික රටවල මහ බැංකු අධිපතිවරු එක්ව සිටියහ.

ආසියානු සංවර්ධන බැංකු අධිපතිවරුන්ගේ 55 වන වාර්ෂික රැස්වීම සැප්තැම්බර් 26 වන දා ආසියනු සංවර්ධන බැංකු මුලස්ථානයේදී ආරම්භ කෙරුණු අතර එය සැප්තැම්බර් 30 වන දා දක්වා පැවැත්වෙයි.

මෙහිදී තවදුරටත් අදහස් දැක්වූ ජනාධිපති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මෙසේ ද කීය.

ආසියානු සංවර්ධන බැංකුවේ අධිපතිවරුන්ගේ 55 වන වාර්ෂික රැස්වීමේ සභාපතිවරයා ලෙස අද ඔබ ඇමතීමට ලැබීම මගේ භාග්‍යයක්. අද, ආසියානු සංවර්ධන බැංකුවෙහි සාමාජික රටවල්, වසර තුනකට පසු, ආසියානු සංවර්ධන බැංකුවේ අධිපතිවරුන්ගේ වාර්ෂික රැස්වීමේ දෙවන අදියර සඳහා මෙම ක්‍රියාශීලී නගරය වන මැනිලාහිදී, රැස්වී සිටිනවා.

පළමුවෙන් ම, මෙම ගෞරවනීය උත්සවය සංවිධානය කිරීම පිළිබඳව ආසියානු සංවර්ධන බැංකුවට (ADB) සහ පිලිපීන රජයට මගේ අවංක කෘතඥතාව පළ කරනවා. ශ්‍රී ලංකාව මේ වන විට මුහුණ දී සිටින පෙර නොවූ විරූ ආර්ථික අර්බුදයක් මධ්‍යයේ, වාර්ෂික රැස්වීමේ දෙවන අදියර කොළඹදී පැවැත්වීමේ අවස්ථාව අපට මගහැරී ගියා. කෙසේ වෙතත්, නුදුරු අනාගතයේදී ඔබ සැම කොළඹට පිළිගැනීමට අපි නොඉවසිල්ලෙන් බලා සිටිනවා.

ආසියානු සංවර්ධන බැංකුව ඉතා ධනාත්මක බලපෑමක් ඇති කර ඇති අතර, එය මුළු කලාපයට ම ගැඹුරින් දැනෙනවා. 2021 වසරේදී ආසියානු සංවර්ධන බැංකුව සාමාජික රටවලට ඩොලර් බිලියන 22.8ක් ලබා දී ඇති අතර, තව ත් අනෙකුත් ප්‍රභවයන් සමග හවුල්කාරිත්වය හරහා සම-මූල්‍යකරණය සඳහා අතිරේක ඩොලර් බිලියන 12.9ක් ලබා දී තිබෙනවා.

ආසියානු සංවර්ධන බැංකුවෙහි උපායමාර්ගය 2030” මගින් දේශගුණික විපර්යාස සහ ස්වාභාවික විපත්, ආහාර සහ බලශක්ති අනාරක්ෂිතභාවය ඇතුළු ගෝලීය අභියෝගවලට ප්‍රතිචාර දැක්වීමට උත්සාහ දරන අතරම ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථිකයේ අවස්ථා වැළඳ ගැනීම, තිරසාර බලශක්තිය සහ අධ්‍යාපනය සහ සෞඛ්‍ය ආරක්ෂණය සඳහා තාක්ෂණය උපයෝගි කර ගැනීමට උත්තේජනය කරයි.

මේ අනුව, ආසියා සහ පැසිෆික් කලාපය පුරා සිටින ජනතාවගේ ජීවිත සහ ජීවනෝපායන් වැඩිදියුණු කරන ප්‍රතිපත්ති හැඩගැස්වීමට සහ මූල්‍යකරණයට උපකාර කිරීමේදී ආසියානු සංවර්ධන බැංකුවට තීරණාත්මක කාර්යභාරයක් ඇත.

කොවිඩ් වසංගතය විසින් නිර්මාණය කරන ලද සැපයුම්දාම දෙදෙරා ගියා සේ ම යුක්‍රේන යුද්ධය හේතුවෙන් ගෝලීය භාණ්ඩ ප්‍රධාන වශයෙන් ආහාර, ඉන්ධන සහ පොහොර මිල අහස උසට නැගීම දරාගත නොහැකි තත්ත්වයක් නිර්මාණය කළේ ය. ඉහළ ගිය ආහාර සහ බලශක්ති මිල ගණන් මධ්‍යම පන්තියේ වර්ධනය හැකිලීමට තුඩු දෙන අතර ඉන්දියන් සාගර කලාපයේ අවදානමට ලක්විය හැකි ප්‍රජාව අතර තවදුරටත් අනාරක්ෂිතභාවයට හේතු වී තිබෙනවා.

මෙම කම්පනවල ප්‍රතිඵලයක් වශයෙන්, නැගී එන වෙළෙඳපොළ හරහා ස්වෛරී ණය බරතාවයෙහි ඉහළ යාමක් සිදුවී ඇත. නැගෙනහිර ආසියාවේ සහ දකුණු ආසියාවේ වර්ධන ඉලක්ක පහළට වැටී තිබෙනවා. මෙය වහා විසඳා නොගත හොත්, එය සියලු ආර්ථිකයන් හරහා වර්ධනයට සහ මූල්‍ය ස්ථාවරත්වයට තර්ජනයක් වන ණය බර තවදුරටත් වර්ධනය කිරීමේ අවදානමක් ඇති කරනවා.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ඇතුළුව පෙර පැවති ආර්ථික අවදානම් සහිත රටවල් වඩා ත් බලපෑමට ලක්ව තිබෙනවා. එබැවින්, කලාපය පුරා සහ ඇත්ත වශයෙන් ම ලෝකය පුරා ආර්ථික හා මූල්‍ය ස්ථාවරත්වය සහතික කිරීම සඳහා ණය හිමියන් සහ ණයගැති ජාතීන් සමානාත්මතාවයෙන් සාමූහිකව කටයුතු කළ යුතුයි.

ගෝලීය වේදිකාවේ වර්ධනය ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ස්වයං-ප්‍රේරක ආර්ථික අර්බුදය තවදුරටත් උග්‍ර කර ඇති අතර එහි ප්‍රතිඵලයක් ලෙස ආණ්ඩු වෙනසක් ඇති කිරීමට තුඩු දුන් දේශපාලන පිපිරීමක් ද සිදු වුණා. අද අපි ආර්ථිකය ස්ථාවර කර ඇති අතර බොහෝ රටවල් සහ පාර්ශ්වකරුවන් මෙම අර්බුදය විසඳා ගන්නේ කෙසේ ද යන්න දැඩි ලෙස නිරීක්ෂණය කරනවා. මෙම අර්බුදය විසඳීම සඳහා අප සියලු පාර්ශ්වකරුවන් සමග කටයුතු කරන්නේ කෙසේදැයි බැලීමට බොහෝ ජාතීන් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ වර්ධනයන් දැඩි උනන්දුවකින් නිරීක්ෂණය කරනවා. ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ආර්ථික අර්බුදයේ විකාශනයට දේශීය ප්‍රතිපත්තිමය අංග මෙන් ම බාහිර අර්බුදකාරී තත්ත්වයන් ද ඇතුළත් බව අපි හොඳින් දන්නවා. ඒ කියන්නේ, අර්බුදය විසඳීම සඳහා දේශීය උත්සාහයන් සහ බාහිර හවුල්කරුවන්ගේ සහයෝගය ද අවශ්‍ය බවයි.

සහයෝගිතා සහ සද්භාවයෙන් ක්‍රියාකිරීමේ ප්‍රතිඵලයක් ලෙස ස්වෛරී ණය ප්‍රශ්න සඳහා තිරසර සහ සාධාරණ විසඳුම් ලබා ගත හැකි ආකාරය පිළිබඳ ආදර්ශයක් තැබීම ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සහ අපගේ ණයහිමියන්, හවුල්කරුවන් වෙත පැවරී තිබෙනවා.

මේ සඳහා අප දැනටමත් ප්‍රධාන සාර්ව ආර්ථික ප්‍රතිපත්ති ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ දියත් කර තිබෙනවා. විස්තීරණ අරමුදල් පහසුකම මගින් අනුග්‍රහය දක්වන සිව් අවුරුදු වැඩසටහනක් සඳහා අප දැන් ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදල සමග කාර්ය මණ්ඩල මට්ටමේ ගිවිසුමකට එළඹ ඇති බව ඔබට මම සතුටින් දන්වා සිටිමට කැමැතියි. මෙම වැඩසටහන පෙළගැසී තිබෙන්නේ, ආණ්ඩුවේ කැපවීම සමග අපගේ රාජ්‍ය මූල්‍යවල තිරසරභාවය යථා තත්ත්වයට පත් කිරීමට, බාහිර අසමතුලිතතා ආමන්ත්‍රණය කිරීමට විස්තීර්ණ ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ පැකේජයක් ක්‍රියාවට නැංවීමටයි.

විශාල ආර්ථික පීඩනයක් මධ්‍යයේ, ශ්‍රී ලංකාව රටේ ණය තිරසාරභාවය ප්‍රතිෂ්ඨාපනය කිරීමේ අපගේ කැපවීමේ කොටසක් ලෙස පෙර නොවූ විරූ මූල්‍ය ප්‍රයත්නයක් දරනවා. අපගේ ණය තිරසරභාවය ප්‍රතිෂ්ඨාපනය කිරීමේ මෙම ප්‍රයත්න සඳහා ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ණය හිමියන් සහ සියලු පාර්ශ්වකරුවන් අපට සහය දක්වනු ඇති බව අපගේ බලාපොරොත්තුව සහ අපේක්ෂාවයි.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාව මෙම ගැඹුරු සහ බොහෝ විට දරාගත නොහැකි පීඩාකාරී ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණයන් සිදු කරන අතර ම, ඉහළ යන විරැකියාව සහ පාරිභෝගිකයින්ගේ මිල දී ගැනීමේ හැකියාව අඩුවීම අපි අත්විඳිමින් සිටිනවා. සමාජයේ වඩාත් ම අවදානමට ලක්විය හැකි සාමාජිකයින්ට සිදුවන අහිතකර බලපෑම් පිළිබඳ රජය දැනුවත්.

ඒ අනුව, සමාජ ආරක්ෂණය සඳහා ඉලක්කගත සහාය සඳහා වැඩි මූල්‍ය ප්‍රතිපාදන සහ සම්පත් වෙන් කිරීමට සෑම උත්සාහයක් ම ගෙන තිබෙනවා. මේ සඳහා අප දැනටමත් ප්‍රධාන සාර්ව ආර්ථික ප්‍රතිපත්ති ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ පියවර ගෙන තිබෙනවා.

වත්මන් ගෝලීය ආර්ථික අර්බුදය ජය ගැනීමට ආසියාවට තවමත් හැකියාව තිබෙනවා. 2008 මූල්‍ය අර්බුදය මෙන් නොව, මෙම අවස්ථාවෙහිදී, ගෝලීය ආර්ථිකය යථාවත් කර ගැනීම උත්තේජනය කිරීමට ආර්ථික ලීවර පමණක් ප්‍රමාණවත් වන්නේ නැහැ. ප්‍රධාන අර්බුදය අවධාරණය කරන සාධක ආර්ථික සම්භවය පමණක් නොව විකාශනය වන භූ දේශපාලනයේ ප්‍රතිවිපාක ද තිබෙනවා. එහි ප්‍රතිඵලය වන්නේ පෙර පැවති අර්බුදය මෙන් නොව G20 අතර සහයෝගීතාවක් නොමැති වීමයි.

එක් පැත්තකින් යුක්‍රේන යුද්ධය සහ අනෙක් පැත්තෙන් මිලිටරි, වෙළෙඳ හා දේශපාලන මතභේද මගින් අවුලුවාලූ එක්සත් ජනපද-චීන එදිරිවාදිකම්, සහයෝගිතාවයේ මෙම බිඳවැටීමට ප්‍රධාන වශයෙන් ම දායක වී තිබෙනවා. ආසියාවේ තවමත් පවතින නියඟ, ගංවතුර සහ වසංගත මෙම භූ දේශපාලනික එදිරිවාදිකම්වලට තාමත් බලපෑම් කරනවා. මේ සියලු අභියෝග ගෝලීය නායකත්වයක් නොමැතිකම නිසා සංකීර්ණ වී තිබෙනවා. මෙම ගෝලීය එදිරිවාදිකම් 2050 වන විට නව ගෝලීය බල තුලනයක් තීරණය කරන නව සීතල යුද්ධයක් දක්වා තීව්‍ර විය හැකි අතර, අර්බුදය අවම කිරීම සඳහා නායකත්වය දීමට ප්‍රධාන රටවලට ඇති නොහැකියාව වඩාත් පැහැදිලිව ඉස්මතු විය හැකියි.

සංවර්ධනය වෙමින් පවතින ආසියාව අඳුරු අනාගතයකට මුහුණ දී සිටිනවා. උද්ධමනය වැඩිවීම, දැඩි මූල්‍ය ප්‍රතිපත්ති, යුරෝපීය නිමැවුමේ පහත වැටීම, අපනයන දුර්වල වීම අපගේ ‘Asia Development Outlook 2022’ හි ඉස්මතු කර ඇති පරිදි දකුණු ආසියාවේ සහ නැගෙනහිර ආසියාවේ දුර්වල ආර්ථිකයට හේතු වෙනවා. තවද, භූ දේශපාලනික එදිරිවාදිකම්වලට ප්‍රතිචාර දැක්වීම සඳහා නව සන්ධාන දකින්නට ලැබෙනවා.

අපගේ පැවැත්මට අත්‍යවශ්‍ය වන ගෝලීය දේශගුණික විපර්යාස අවම කිරීම සඳහා පොදු ප්‍රවේශයක් නොමැතිකම තවදුරටත් ඉස්මතු වෙනවා.

ශතවර්ෂයේ මැද භාගය වන විට ආසියානු බල තුලනයේ සමෝච්ඡයන් තීරණය කිරීමට ඇති භූ දේශපාලනික එදිරිවාදිකම් මේ කලාපයේ සමෘද්ධියට තර්ජනයක් වනවා. එම අර්බුද ජය ගැනීමට නායකත්වය දීමට ප්‍රධාන රටවලට නොහැකි වී තිබෙනවා.

මෙම ප්‍රධාන ආර්ථික හා පාරිසරික ගැටලු විසඳීම අවාසනාවන්ත ලෙස ගෝලීය භූ දේශපාලන අර්බුදය සමඟ බැඳී තිබෙනවා. කියමනක් තිබෙනවා අලි රණ්ඩු වන විට තැළෙන්නේ තණකොළ කියලා. මෙය අපේ සාමාජික රටවල් බොහොමයක ඇති අර්බුදකාරී තත්ත්වයයි. එබැවින්, අපගේ පැවැත්මට ඇති ප්‍රධාන තර්ජන ආමන්ත්‍රණය කිරීම සඳහා භූ දේශපාලන එදිරිවාදිකම් ජය ගත යුතුයි.

එසේ නොවුහොත්, පළමු ලෝක සංග්‍රාමයෙන් පසු යුරෝපය වුවා සේ අපගේ කලාපයත් අස්ථාවර වී අසාර්ථක වනු ඇත. අනෙක් අතට, මෙම අභියෝගවලට සාර්ථකව මුහුණ දීමට අපට ඇති හැකියාව, අපගේ සාමාජික රටවල ආර්ථිකයේ වර්ධනය සහ අපගේ ජනතාවගේ ජීවන තත්ත්වය ඉහළ නැංවීමේ කැපී පෙනෙන දායකත්වයක් සපයනු ඇත.

මගේ කතාව අවසන් කිරීමට පෙර, ආසියානු සංවර්ධන බැංකුවේ වාර්ෂික රැස්වීම සංවිධානය කිරීමේදී ඉහළ ආගන්තුක සත්කාරයක් පිරිනැමීම වෙනුවෙන් පිලිපීනයේ ජනාධිපති මාකෝස් සහ එරට ජනතාවට මාගේ අවංක කෘතඥතාව පළ කරමි.”

Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Colombo, September 29 (newsin.asia): Addressing the 55th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank’s Board of Governors in the Philippines on Thursday, the Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that apart from domestic factors, geopolitical developments have also contributed to the economic crisis being faced by Sri Lanka.  

Wickremesinghe noted that as this global rivalry intensifies into a new cold war by 2050, the inability of the major countries to give leadership to the mitigation of the global climate change crisis will become more apparent.

 As they say in many of our countries, when the elephants fight, it is the grass that is crushed. This is the predicament of many of our member countries. Therefore, we must overcome geopolitical rivalries to address the major threats to our existence, otherwise we will all fail leading to instability in our region reminiscent of Europe after World War I. On the other hand, our ability to successfully meet these challenges will lead to remarkable progress in raising the living standards of our people through the rise of the economies of our member countries,” the Lankan President said.

The ADB’s Strategy 2030 seeks to respond to global challenges, including climate change and natural disasters, food and energy insecurity, whilst also embracing opportunities in the digital economy, sustainable energy, and leveraging technology for inclusive education and healthcare, the President noted.

The ADB has a crucial role in helping to shape and finance policies that improve people’s lives and livelihoods across Asia and the Pacific.”

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

● Govt. to brief Supreme Court over Highsecurity Zones

● Investigations have revealed that some groups had aimed to take over Parliament to prevent MPS from voting for a new President

The police have launched extensive investigations over the involvement of some politicians who had encouraged some ‘protester’ groups to overthrow the government by forcefully occupying Parliament and preventing a vote to elect a new President following the resignation of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July.

Highly placed sources told Daily Mirror that these politicians had even brokered talks with the parties involved and investigations are being carried out into their actions.

The Daily Mirror learns that despite reports that last week’s gazette declaring high-security zones in Colombo will be reversed,the government will brief the Supreme Court in the coming days over the purpose of why the HSZ’S are required and why the sites listed need to be protected.

Sources said that according to information received by the investigators which will be communicated to the Supreme Court is the second phase of the ‘operation’ following the July 9 public protest.

This was by a group posing themselves as protesters, and that was to surround and take over Parliament to prevent the MPS from electing a new President following the forceful exit of Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Investigators were informed that the group had also planned to surround the Supreme Court.

It was based on this information that the security authorities had recommended the setting up of HSZS in several key areas including the Supreme Court.

However as the Supreme Court had not been consulted in the process, the relevant authorities will now consult the Supreme Court and seek its advice over the establishment of these HSZS to ensure an unhindered administration, sources said.

Some of the areas declared as HSZS by President Ranil Wickremesinghe include the Parliament Complex, Supreme Court Complex, High Court Complex – Colombo, Magistrate Court Complex – Colombo and Attorney General’s Department, Temple Trees, Presidential Secretariat, the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Army Headquarters. (JAMILA HUSAIN)

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lanka’s government appears increasingly upbeat about its chances of receiving International Monetary Fund (IMF) board approval for a USD 2.9 billion bailout by December, but the multilateral lender has cautioned that the time frame remains uncertain, and much depends on discussions with the heavily indebted country’s creditors.

Peter Breuer, senior mission chief for Sri Lanka, and Masahiro Nozaki, mission chief for Sri Lanka, in written comments to Nikkei Asia, said, It is difficult to predict the timeline, as the process of debt relief discussions takes time. All parties who are involved in the process should move expeditiously, so that Sri Lanka can emerge from the crisis as quickly as possible.”

On Sept. 1, Sri Lanka reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF to obtain the $2.9 billion, a crucial lifeline for a country wrestling with the worst economic crisis in its history. The country’s year-on-year inflation topped 70% in August, and the public continues to face severe shortages of essentials.

Earlier this year, Sri Lanka defaulted on a foreign bond for the first time, after its foreign reserves dwindled to next to nothing. We announced that we are not in a position to pay,” central bank Gov. Nandalal Weerasinghe said in May, confirming the pre-emptive default.”

Our position is very clear. Until [the lenders] come and restructure, we can’t pay,” Weerasinghe said.

Last Friday, Sri Lanka’s Finance Ministry held an online presentation for external creditors to explain the situation and discuss the next steps toward restructuring. A handout cited some past policy mistakes” along with the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting crisis as key factors that crippled the economy, depleted reserves and forced the country to stop debt repayments.

The day before, President Ranil Wickremesinghe chaired a meeting with ambassadors from 23 Paris Club and non-Paris Club countries, including Japan, France and India, to discuss related matters.

Wickremesinghe appealed to all creditor countries to offer the financing assurances” on debt sustainability the IMF has said are essential for the board to give the final green light.

The Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka, for its part, expressed support even before the creditor briefings. On Sept. 20 it said that it had started discussions on restructuring Sri Lanka’s official debt to India. A spokesman told Nikkei Asia that the cordial atmosphere” of the talks reflected New Delhi’s support for an early conclusion and approval of a suitable IMF program.”

Noting the need for other creditors to work on ensuring Sri Lanka’s debt is manageable, he added that India would remain closely engaged” with relevant stakeholders.

During last Friday’s presentation, Weerasinghe and Mahinda Siriwardana, secretary to the Treasury and Ministry of Finance, noted that as of the end of June, Sri Lanka’s public debt stood at 122% of gross domestic product. A figure equivalent to 70% of GDP was denominated in foreign currency.

According to the presentation by the Ministry of Finance and the central bank, China, Japan and India were the country’s top three bilateral creditors, with China accounting for 52% in total, followed by Japan at 19.5% and India at 12%.

The Sri Lankan officials also pushed for the formation of an ad-hoc coordination group to expedite the process of obtaining financing assurances from multiple creditors. They explained that such a group would allow official bilateral creditors to give such assurances to the IMF collectively, after discussing the matter among themselves.

The Japanese Embassy in Colombo agreed that it is essential for all creditors to come to the table for debt restructuring discussions to ensure that the process is transparent and fair. If all the creditor countries will participate in a coordination platform proposed by President Wickremesinghe, the government of Japan is ready to contribute to the discussion in a constructive way,” the embassy told Nikkei Asia.

But all eyes are on top creditor China, known for its preference for refinancing loans or deferring repayments rather than restructuring and settling for loss-making haircuts.”

On the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly last week, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry met his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, who pledged China’s support for a Sri Lankan economic recovery.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry readout of the meeting said that Wang promised China is ready to work with Sri Lanka to carry forward the traditional friendship, consolidate strategic mutual trust and deepen and expand pragmatic cooperation.” He also said that China would continue to offer assistance within our capacity to help Sri Lanka overcome temporary difficulties.”

Still, a highly placed Sri Lankan diplomatic source said that although debt discussions have started with some countries, it is impossible” to say how long they will take and when a final decision will be made.

Source: Nikkei Asia

Courtesy Adaderana

A Gazette Extraordinary has been published specifying the regulations pertaining to the Colombo Port City Economic Commission.

The regulations, issued by President Ranil Wickremesinghe in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilization & National Policies, are made under Section 71(1) read with Section 27(1), 41(3)(f), 41)9) of the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Act, No. 11 of 2021.

The second reading of the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill was passed in the parliament with majority votes in May 2021. Subsequently, Speaker of the Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena placed his signature on the Bill.

Later, then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa established seven-member Colombo Port City Economic Commission, headed by President’s Counsel Gamini Marapana.

The gazette notification mentions the regulations of registration and licencing of Authorized Person (Fees) and other services related to the commission.

According to the communiqué, the application fee for an Authorized Person stands at USD 2,500 while the annual fee is USD 2,000.

Courtesy Adaderana

Senior BJP leader Dr Subramanian Swamy on Thursday met former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Colombo, becoming the first foreign visitor to call on the ousted Sri Lankan president, following his return to Sri Lanka after leaving the country amidst unprecedented protests against his government.

Swamy, a close friend of the Rajapaksa family who is in Sri Lanka to attend a conference of the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University on national security, also met with former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday evening and attended the Navratri pooja at his residence, sources said on Thursday.

Swamy, a close friend of the Rajapaksa brothers attended the Navaratri pooja held at Mahinda Rajapaksa’s official residence last night before calling on Gotabaya Rajapaksa this morning,” the source was quoted as saying by PTI.

Swamy has become the first foreign visitor to call on former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa since he returned early this month after his self-imposed exile after facing a violent nationwide protest for mishandling the country’s economy and causing an acute shortage of basic necessities.

Rajapaksa fled the country on July 13 to the Maldives. He then left for Singapore and then to Thailand. Currently, he is staying in Colombo under heavy security.

Swamy, who is accompanied by a delegation including a battery of lawyers, is due to call on Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena on Saturday.

Source: PTI

–Agencies