by A. Abdul Aziz.

(Given below is an excerpt of the Eid-ul-Fitr Sermon delivered by Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Supreme Head of the world-wide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Islam, on 22 April 2023, at ‘Masjid Mubarak’, Islamabad, Tilford, U.K. gave a discourse on  Serve humanity to attain Islam’s true Eid: 

His Holiness, after led congregation in Eid-ul-Fitr prayer the Eid-ul-Fitr prayer, recited the tashahud, ta‘awuz, Surah al-Fatihah and verse 37 of Surah an-Nisa in the Holy Qur’an – the translation of which:

 And worship Allah and associate naught with Him, and show kindness to parents, and to kindred, and orphans, and the needy, and to the neighbour that is a kinsman and the neighbour that is a stranger, and the companion by your side, and the wayfarer, and those whom your right hands possess. Surely, Allah loves not the proud and the boastful,”

Ahmadiyya Khalifa (may Allah strengthen his hands) said that it is Allah’s grace that He enabled us to pass through another Ramadan. There would be plenty of people whom Allah granted the opportunity to worship Him and who saw the graces of Allah. Therefore, it is a great mercy of Allah that he enabled lots of us to fulfil the rights of Allah and His creation in a better man in these 30 days.”

While celebrating Eid, we should vow to continue the goodness of Ramadan for the rest of the year as well. We should try to establish our standards of worship as Allah wants us to and as Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad – Promised Messiah^, peace be on him, described.

While fulfilling Allah’s rights we should also fulfil the rights of humanity as Allah has instructed us. A society that fulfils the rights of Allah’s creation along with His rights is a society which is heavenly and that brings true happiness. Thus, everyone should try to establish this so that Eid’s true happiness reaches us throughout the year

Ahmadiyya Supreme Head said he would focus his Eid sermon on fulfilling the rights of Allah’s creation. The happiness of Eid and its celebration should not make us forget the rights we owe to Allah – we must keep our Hereafter in mind. This worldly life is not our ultimate purpose. When we act upon this, we will be granted the life which is a true life and from which we will gain Allah’s pleasure.

Concerning the rights we owe to Allah’s creation, the Quran says that if one does not fulfil these rights they are arrogant. 

Allah says in the Holy Qur’an verse recited in the beginning, that after abstaining from shirk (associate partner with Allah) and after fulfilling the rights of Allah’s worship, the most important right we must fulfil is that towards our parents. We should not think our service to our parents is some kind of repayment to them. No matter what, we must not even express our annoyance towards our parents. We are in debt to our parents. We must treat them with kindness and obey them, however, with regard to religion if they differ then we can part ways in terms of religion. 

Allah taught us this supplication for our parents:

‘My Lord, have mercy on them even as they nourished me in my childhood.’” (Holy Qur’an: Ch.17: V.25)

When one keeps this prayer in mind, one will be able to recall all the services our parents gave us. 

Ahmadiyya Khalifa said some men may stop their wives from serving their parents and some women may believe that after marriage their responsibilities towards their parents have diminished. However, it is incumbent upon women to serve their parents even after marriage. Where they help their in-laws they should also continue helping their parents and serving them. We should help and serve all our familial relations. 

Ahmadiyya Khalifa emphasized  I would like to make it clear to those husbands who stop their wives from serving their parents – lots of complaints come in this regard – and those wives who stop their husbands serving their parents, that both should rectify their ways.” 

Allah instructs us in the Quran to be kind and considerate towards our family relations. The Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said that the one who desires worldly wealth sustenance, or wants to have a long life, or desires others to remember him in a positive manner, should take care of family relations. Thus, this secret to worldly blessings is given to us by the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Prophet of Islam (PBUH) said that even if our family does not respond in a good manner to our good dealing with them, we will still have the upper hand if we continue our good manners and morals towards them despite their reaction.

The Holy Prophet(PBUH) said we should take great care of orphans and include them within our society. The Prophet said the one who takes care of an orphan will be as close to me as these two fingers” and the prophet displayed his fingers together. By Allah’s grace, we have a special fund for orphans called the Yatama Fund. His Holiness said people give to orphans during Ramadan but we should also spend for orphans on Eid as well. 

The Prophet (pbuh) said If you desire for your heart to be softened then give food to the needy and put your hand upon the head of the orphans.” 

Ahmadiyya Head said that for our spiritual progress, we must take care of the orphans and the needy – this certainly did require hard work and spending even out of the little we have. By reducing our spending and using that money to spend on the needy and the orphans we will certainly gain Allah’s grace. Those who are financially able and affluent should give more. 

Allah says true believers are those who spend on the needy and the orphans by sacrificing their own wealth and with a great desire to serve them. 

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Founder of the Ahmadiyya Community n Islam –  The Promised Messiah, peace be on him, said that Ahmadis should show compassion to everyone, no matter their religion. This service to humanity should be without any blemish of arrogance. It should be solely for Allah’s pleasure and for His sake. The Quran says true believers ask for no reward from the poor (after giving to them) and neither do they ask for their names to be promoted. 

Ahmadiyya Head said, Allah states we should be kind to our neighbours, whether we know them or not. 

 Thus, on the day of Eid, giving gifts to neighbours – or even meeting them in a cordial manner – creates such a society that is full of peace. And in a non-Muslim society, if we have such good relationships with our neighbours, then the propagation of Islam will be carried out as well” and people will see the true picture of Islam. This deed will be a goodness that affects the wider society and is of great merit. 

Ahmadiyya Khalifa said we must create a beautiful society amongst ourselves too – in business, in family and in all other aspects of our lives. For Allah’s sake, we must continue our family relationships and be good neighbours to all. 

Allah says we must also take care of those who work under us. No injustice or display of arrogance should be shown towards them. 

Ahmadiyya Supreme Head said: True worshipers are those who fulfil the rights of humanity along with the rights of Allah. They should not only fight for their own rights but have a passion to fight for the rights of others too.”

If we understand this teaching of Allah the Almighty then we will give true happiness to our existence. Our Eids will not be fleeting – rather, every day will be an Eid for us. If we do not fulfil the rights of humanity then we should keep in mind that Allah calls such people arrogant and boastful and Allah despises such people. 

Ahmadiyya Khalifa prayed that may Allah always enable us to always rectify ourselves, may we always fulfil the rights of each other according to the teaching of Allah, may we overlook all our internal disputes and move towards peace, may we make every second of our life according to the true Eid. May Allah make this Eid a great blessing for everyone.

His Holiness Ahmadiyya Khalifa led a silent prayer at the end.

Source: www.alislam.org

Courtesy Hiru News

Launching the Colombo North Port Thirty Year Development Plan in Colombo, President Ranil Wickremesinghe says that Sri Lanka should be made into one of the best aviation and naval hubs in Asia.

The President also stated that all projects slated in the Sri Lanka Ports Authority’s main national development plan are expected to be completed by 2030.

It was also noted that the Hambantota Port, which is currently not operating at its full capacity will be developed in the next 10 to 15 years.

Meanwhile, the contract for the construction of South Asia’s largest commercial and logistics center done with the involvement with the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Aviation and China Merchant Port Holdings has been signed.

Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake

‘The Owl of Minerva takes flight only at Dusk’ –Walter Benjamin

We have met the enemy, and he is us” — Pogo Comics quoted in the IS is US: The Shocking Truth Behind the Army of Terror.”

April is the cruelest month: Four years ago as the Fahrenheit rose on a beautiful Easter Sunday morning in April 21, bombs exploded simultaneously at seven different locations, luxury hotels and churches, on the east and west coasts of Sri Lanka. It was a complex logistics operation designed Over the Horizon (OTH), hybrid-war-style, to cripple the tourist-dependent economy and multi-religious society in the strategic Indian Ocean island that is perpetually in the cross-hairs of big power rivalry.

After the attacks droves of foreign intelligence agents and experts arrived in the country which was kept in economically-devastating lockdowns, including fisheries harbours, for almost three months. This appeared to be a dry run for the Covid-19 lockdowns that followed a year later.

Last week, as citizens remembered the victims of the attacks 4 years ago, Cardinal Malcom Ranjith renewed his call for justice and accountability for the victims and the truth about the hidden hand behind the attacks.

Clearly, the Mastermind behind the carnage must be identified to ensure non-recurrence of the crime. While the attacks were mysteriously claimed by the Islamic State (IS), which had no previous history in Sri Lanka, a virtual smoke-screen of local investigations and a party-political blame-game ensured. There were also claims that local intelligence agencies and police sleuths had links to the suicide bombers. Disinformation covered up traces of the external actors and networks whose fingerprints were evident in the design of the crime, the selected targets, and cover-up operation.

The Missing Mastermind

Last week, the Former Attorney General, Dappula De Livera, was summoned to the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID), purportedly to explain his quite reasonable statement on the existence of a ‘Mastermind’ (mahamolakaru), or conspiracy behind the blasts that killed more than 280 people four years ago.

While harassing the former AG for having spoken out on the need for accountability of the Mastermind, the Ranil Rajapakse regime had also scheduled a New Year celebration, ‘Wasantha Siriya’, for April 22, the day after attacks. This despite the fact that the Sinhala and Tamil population had already celebrated the New Year two weeks earlier! Was Wasantha Siriya to distract from calls for justice for the victims and accountability and erase national memory and the history regarding the puzzling details in the Easter 2019 crime when Muslim suicide bombers attacked sea-front luxury hotels and churches in a Buddhist and Hindu dominated multi-religious country where Christians and Muslims had co-existed amicably for centuries?

Remarkably, the World Bank upgraded” Sri Lanka to an Upper Middle Income Country (MIC) in 2019 although the Easter attacks were a huge Exogenous Economic Shock to the tourist dependent economy.  MIC status disables a country’s access to concessionary borrowing at low interest rates, reserved for Less Develop Counties (LDC), in the global financial system dominated by the Washington Twins. This compounded Sri Lanka’s Debt trap leading to last April’s first ever Sovereign Default on Sri Lanka.

April is indeed the cruelest month in Sri Lanka.

The Mastermind: External Actors and an Over the Horizon Operation (OTH)

International intelligence experts who studied the Easter bombings noted that a leader of a terror group would never kill himself in the first attack. After all, a leader of a group would have a broader goal; and to accomplish his goals he would wish to remain alive if only to conduct further operations to achieve his Goal, which again begs the question: Who was the Mastermind behind bombers led by Zaharan who was clearly was a bit player funded and manipulated by external networks?

While the April 21 Easter attacks were mysteriously claimed by the Islamic State or (IS), which had NO history ex ante (or ex post), of operating in Sri Lanka, the local leader of the group responsible for the attacks, Zaharan from Kathankudi, had exploded his suicide bomb remarkably at the brand new Chinese owned Shangri La Hotel, rather than at a religious site although the crime was claimed to be religiously motivated, compounding the puzzle about the motive.

Shangri La faced the Colombo Port and Chinese-built Port city. The blast there and at St Anthony’s Church that overlooked the busiest port in South Asia, where a Chinese research vessel Yang Wang 3 was berthed at the time, were reminiscent of the blasts at Lebanon’s Beirut Port.

To add to the mystery, the Saudi and Indian embassies had advanced notice of the attacks. The Saudis had also funded the National Thowheed Jamat (NTJ) network through local politician M.L.M Hizbullah of Kathankudi to Zaharan also of Kathankudi. Hizbullah was famous for switching sides between the main political parties– a practice that promotes the bi-partisan corruption racket, also with foreign funding in the Sri Lanka Parliament.

Meanwhile an Israeli new agency, Whitestream, claimed that Bitcoin had funded the suicide bombers, but dropped the narrative when Bitcoin threatened to sue! There were clearly a lot of foreign intelligence agencies fishing in Sri Lanka’s troubled waters after the Easter attacks and gaming the narrative and investigation.

As calls to identify the Master-mind behind the attacks refused to die down, subsequently, parliamentarian, Harin Fernando, whose father also had also received advanced notice of the attacks, claimed that the American Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA), which had removed the cell phones of the Easter suicide bombers during ‘investigations’ had informed him that an entity named ‘Sonic-Sonic’ was the Mastermind behind the attacks. As Sonic pertains to sound waves, this begs the question was Sonic-Sonic an internet Bot in an Over the Horizon Operation whereby religion and a real or purported Islamic network– was weaponized and if so, who has the technology, capability, expertise and experience of using Mullahs on the Mainframe” to stage IS terror attacks around the world?

The book by a group of US and EU intelligence experts titled The ISIS is US: the shocking truth behind the Army of Terror” on the history of the IS provides some clues here

Game of Thrones amid Cover up investigations

After the Easter attacks of 2019 a virtual ‘Game of Thrones’ unfolded between Ranil Wickramasinghe and the Rajapakse brothers, who controlled the two main political parties – UNP  and SLFP/PP. They traded places with one another- between President and Prime Minister – with the support and participation of their and other political parties–to greater or lesser extent funded and used by the external actors claiming to ‘aid’ the people of the strategic island.

Are democracy and the parliament a political puppet show, replete with horse-trading, increasingly gamed in Over the Horizon Operations for Full Spectrum Dominance with official development assistance for Lawfare, while investigations morph into smoke-screens for Disinformation with redacted reports that a embargoed from public scrutiny?

Investigations into the Easter Sunday 2019 crime quite early on morphed into a smoke-screen of disinformation, with a party-political blame game to cover up the external actors, geopolitical interests and the master-mind behind the crime. Thus, a real time television show, in the form of the Parliamentary Select Committee hearings promoted a blame game among local actors, intelligence agencies, and Defense officials. This effectively distracted from the external actors, networks and geopolitical interests evident in the design, detail and targets of the crime.

Meanwhile as droves of foreign intelligence agents, agencies and experts arrived in Sri Lanka, the CIA removed crucial evidence from the crime scene and country– the cell phones of the suicide bombers, and subsequently claimed that the Master-Mind of the attack was called ‘Sonic-Sonic” –code for sound waves. Was the mastermind of the Easter Attacks an internet BOT or an intelligence agent? Who gave remote OTH directions to the suicide bombers?

The Weaponization of Religion and AI

Four years after the Easter Sunday attacks, new developments and debates about the use and abuse of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the call by Elon Musk and other AI experts for a pause in research to assess possibly dangerous impacts of AI technologies to human society may provide insight into the Mastermind and technologies behind the staging of the Easter attacks in Sri Lanka, as well as, the cover up operations.

Also relevant here are the more recent cover-up investigations into the mysterious chilling killing last December (2022), of Mr. Dinesh Shaffter, a primary material Witness in the Court Case on the 2015 Central Bank bondscam in which the current Washington backed- President Ranil Rajapakse and his network are implicated.

It is perhaps not a co-incidence that at this time Ranil Rajaakse who was implicated in the CBSL bondscam is planning another bondscam this time officially on IMF watch; having recently promised to borrow USD 1.4 billion from Eurobond traders this year alone (2023), in exchange for a loan of a mere $2.9 billion over four year from the IMF as a bailout! These bond traders, the largest of which is BlackRock forced Sri Lanka’s first ever Sovereign Debt Default last year in April 2022!

Mr. Shaffter, primary witness in the Bond scam court case, was found dead in his car after a mysterious phone call lured him to the Colombo cemetery in an era of Artificial Intelligence (AI), enabled Voice Cloning, phone data hacks and wipes, and high financial and cyber-crime, by networks of international actors who have the technology and local networks to stage cybercrimes, virtual reality shows and hybrid proxy wars around the world.

AI also enables ex-post data editing, manipulation, and data wipes, and gaming the narrative including of Debt and climate crisis. Cell phones provide the clues as to who was behind the crimes but data are wiped and manipulated also through VOICE CLONING.

Even as CHATGPT and other such AI platforms may enable access to large amounts of certain kinds of data, information, knowledge and narratives the algorithm enables gaming the archive as these systems mediate access to information and thus how knowledge and history comes to be constituted. Indeed, reverse engineering of Debt data, as well as, weather and climate numbers appear ongoing in Sri Lanka where data security is non-existent at this time.

In the context, questions arise as to whether Easter Sunday was an OTH operation? So too, the chilling killing of Mr. Shaffter as bond scams and high financial crimes unfold via global-local networks amid phone hacks and other forms of cybercrime at this time, as the government prepares to borrow another USS 1.4 billion from private markets that charge predatory interest rates once again on the watch of the IMF and World Bank in 2023, as part of its so-called bailout agreement with Ranil Wickramasinghe who is implicated in the 2015 bond scam.

Perhaps this too is why Elon Musk and other AI experts have called for study of the potential use and abuse of Artificial (AI), particularly impacts on democracy and election gaming, and a pause in certain areas of AI research to assess possibly dangerous impacts to human society and security.

Disinformation and Data Security

Connecting the dots in the use and abuse of AI technology, the weaponization of religion and transnational religious networks increasingly ubiquitous in Social media platforms on the internet may provide retrospective insight into the OTH Mastermind, as well as, the Cover-up investigations by local intelligence agencies, police and military, often trained, funded and reliant on the technical assistance including AI of external intelligence agencies of ‘donor countries’ that were also involved in the investigations of the Easter Sunday crime in 2019.

Patterns of Disinformation and cyber operations to manipulate Data and game narratives, also by erasing them are visible at this time in a country where Data Security is non-existent. During the Covid-19 panicdemic there was a cyber-hack and data wipe of the National Medicines Regulatory authority (NMRA), as the Ministry of Health spent huge sums to purchase Corvid injections.

However, Countries hit by as stream of compounding crises and staged exogenous economic disasters piling up like the IS terror attack, Covid-19 bio war lockdowns, or climate shocks like the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004, or the Debt crisis and rapid currency depreciation, or the MV Pearl and MT Diamond sea of Sri Lanka disasters have little time for reflection, research and study of patterns in the endless disasters staged to Make the Economy Scream” as the debt compounds due to these Exogenous Economic Shocks.

In the final analysis it is clear that the Disinformation campaign to cover up the externalities in the Easer Sunday was much like the crime and cover up operation with regard to the mysterious killing of Mr. Dinesh Shafter, Primary Witness in the Court Case on the 2015 Central Bank Bond scam in which the current President Ranil Rajapakse is implicated.

Finally, the official aversion to acknowledging the truth about the external masterminds, foreign hands, and geopolitical interests evident in the design of the Easter attacks has been echoed among various civil society, research think tanks, and NGOs, seeking to craft social memory, history, archives, museums, and reconciliation with foreign, mainly EU and USAID funding.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

The highly controversial Antiterrorism Bill is subject to amendments and changes in Parliament and as such no one should have any fear or feeling of threat from the proposed Bill, Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said.

The government is aware of concerns raised by the global and local community on certain provisions contained in the draft of the Anti-terrorism Bill and the Government is ready to alleviate them by discussion, compromise and flexibility, he added.

Addressing a news conference at the Information Department auditorium, Minister Rajapakshe said the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) passed in 1979 under President J.R. Jayewardene’s rule as a temporary measure to counter the emerging separatist insurgency. The PTA has been misused and exploited by successive Governments since then for their personal and political advantage.

That is why we expect to replace the PTA which had been branded as a draconian piece of legislation with the ATA.

If there are any provisions that restrict the rights of the people, their freedom and democracy, the Government is more than happy to address them. Besides, any citizen, political party or organization is free to challenge the Bill in the Supreme Court once I table it in Parliament,” Minister Rajapakshe emphasized.

Responding to Daily Mirror, Minister Rajapakshe said the ATA had been drafted in accordance with international conventions and covenants dealing with fundamental, human and political rights with the main objective of preventing attempts of terrorism in future.

The Government is cognizant of the concerns raised by the local and global community and does the needful to address them, Minister Dr. Rajapakshe assured.

Most of the provisions found in the PTA such as the acceptance of confessions as evidence against a suspect have been removed in the new Bill.

If a suspect is taken in under the new law and wants to confess, he or she can do it to a Magistrate voluntarily. The provision that has given the power to DIGS to issue Detention Orders (DOS) on a terrorist suspect is subject to change and retains it only with the Minister of Defence.

The government expects to use the ATA to promote reconciliation and inter-communal harmony in Sri Lanka which was also the wish of the UNHRC, EU and the UNHRC. Minister Rajapakshe stressed.

I prefer if the power to issue DOS reserved only under the Defense Minister. These laws can be used by any future government and will be counter-productive against any opposition if we introduce draconian laws for short-term exploitation,” Minister Dr. Rajapakshe noted. (Sandun A. Jayasekera)

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Stern action would be taken against the organisers who organise indecent events at New Year festivals, Buddhist and Cultural Affairs Minister Vidura Wickramanayake said.

He said a special team is enaged in collecting information on such New Year festival celebration events.

The Buddhist and Cultural Affairs Ministry had received information that New Year festivals that had included indecent events had been held in several places.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

A 21-year-old Moulavi who was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for making two false calls to the 118 emergency call centre about an attack on a mosque in Akurana and an area with a majority of Muslim community, was remanded till May 4 by the Hultsdorf Magistrate’s Court today.

The suspect was arrested by the Cyber Crimes Division in the Harispattuwa area today.

Police said the suspect, a resident of Harispattuwa had told the police that the information he had given was fake.

The suspect made two false calls on April 18 and 19th. The security in the Akurana area was beefed up following the false alerts.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

The Sri Lanka Mission in Thailand has noticed recently that Sri Lankan nationals are being lured for employment in Thailand particularly for the positions in the Information Technology (IT) sector by dubious IT firms involved in call-centre scams and crypto currency fraud, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said.

According to the statement, victims are illegally taken across the border from Thailand mostly into Myanmar and held captive to work under harsh restrictive conditions. Some of the victims have also been apprehended by authorities for illegal entry. 

All these victimized Sri Lankans have arrived to Thailand on tourist visas, with the promise of converting the same to work visa after arrival, which has not been successful. 

Sri Lankan nationals are therefore advised not to get enticed and entrapped in such fraudulent job offers and are requested to exercise extreme caution and verify the background of recruiting agents as well as any company before taking up any job offer,” the statement said.

It is advised to obtain Thai visa details from the Thai Immigration Bureau Website. www.immigration.go.th

Courtesy Adaderana

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO, together with the European Union (EU), today (22 April) officially launched a new programme to strengthen food security in Sri Lanka by boosting the productivity and sustainability of the paddy cultivation sector.

The four million Euro (approximately Rs. 1.5 billion) initiative funded by the EU was initiated at an event held at the Bataatha Agro Technology park in Hambanthota under the auspices of the Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera, EU Ambassador to Sri Lanka Denis Chaibi and FAO Representative in Sri Lanka Vimlendra Sharan.

Implemented by FAO with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Mahaweli Authority, the programme targets 71,000 smallholder paddy farmers and 1,200 paddy seed farmers across seven districts including Polonnaruwa, Badulla, Ampara, Matale, Puttalam, Kurunegala and Hambantota districts who were severely impacted by the recent economic crisis.

Speaking at the event, which saw the official start of the farmer field schools EU Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Denis Chaibi said, With this new action, we want to help farmers not only to grow more, but most importantly to grow better so that they can increase their production and incomes, but also protect the environment around them. We hope that together with FAO and the Government of Sri Lanka we can gradually promote a transition towards greener and climate-smart agriculture. Transition that produces sufficient amount of food, while protecting the planet and its people.”

The recipient farmers will receive material and technical support to transition from traditional cultivation methods into climate-smart, modern farming techniques. 

Accordingly, the eligible paddy farmers cultivating up to 0.5 hectares of land will receive 50 kilograms of urea fertilizer and the necessary tools to enhance efficiency of fertilizer use. 

A total of 3,820 tonnes of urea fertilizer procured by the programme were already handed over to the Ministry of Agriculture to be distributed among selected smallholder paddy farmers and paddy seed farmers.

Paddy seed farmers supported through the programme will also receive locally produced, high quality paddy seeds alongside material support such as parachute trays to improve efficiency and profitability of cultivation methods. 

Furthermore, all recipients will be enrolled in farmer-field schools to improve knowledge sharing on modern techniques such as the Integrated Plant Nutrient Management (IPNM) strategy to boost efficiency and reduce dependency on the use of chemical fertilizer.

Minister Amaraweera expressed his appreciation to the FAO and the EU for the implementation of a holistic programme aimed at improving the sustainability of Sri Lanka’s paddy sector. 

Our paddy farmers underwent significant challenges over the past few years. This support we received from FAO and the EU is a testament to their perseverance during the tough times, for which we are thankful. These inputs and knowledge sharing will no doubt elevate the quality of rice production and the livelihoods of Sri Lankan paddy farmers”, he said.

This programme marks an important milestone in FAO’s work in Sri Lanka over the past year – the shift back into development from the emergency response. We are grateful for the support we have received from the EU to implement this programme, which aims to address some of the longstanding concerns in the local paddy sector, to reach better production, leading to better nutrition, a better environment and improve food security for all Sri Lankans,” FAO Representative in Sri Lanka, Vimlendra Sharan said.

The EU and FAO have assured their continued support to work closely with the government of Sri Lanka and key partners to support the recovery of the agriculture sector, while also building resilience and sustainability into the sector to increase yield and profit for smallholder farmers as the sector recovers.

Courtesy Adaderana

The games at Sinhala & Tamil New Year festivals organized in the future will be regulated, Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Vidura Wickremanayake says.

Speaking further on the matter, the lawmaker rebuked organizing games that are deemed ‘inappropriate’ for the country’s culture and traditions.

Wickremanayake said such events should be nipped in the bud without allowing them to be carried forward.

It is better to practice some self-censorship before these events are regulated by law, the minister stressed.

Courtesy Adaderana

The youth, who was arrested for giving an anonymous false tip-off to the police about a possible bomb threat to Akurana area recently, was remanded until May 04.

The 21-year-old was produced before the Hulftsdorp Police earlier today (April 22).

On April 19, he had called the 118 online emergency complaint system and falsely claimed that there was an impending bomb attack on mosques in Akurana during Muslim devotees’ prayers in the holy month of Ramadan.

Following the bomb scare, special police teams were deployed to Akurana to beef up security in the area while the police cyber crimes unit initiated an investigation into the matter.

The arrest was made this morning in the area of Harispattuwa after confirming the suspect’s identity, according to the police.

The youth in question is reportedly a Mawlawi named Issadeen Mohamed Sajid.

Speaking on the matter on Friday (April 21), Police Spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa clarified recent reports circulated on the increased security in the Akurana area.

Thalduwa said the move was a precautionary measure in response to the call received via the emergency hotline claiming that a bomb attack was being planned in the said area.

Courtesy Adaderana

The High Commission of India in Colombo has issued an advisory for travellers to Sri Lanka on fraudulent visa websites.

The Controller General of Immigration & Emigration of Sri Lanka has warned travellers to Sri Lanka about misleading websites that charge exorbitant fees for Sri Lanka ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization) visas.

The high commission noted that the Immigration & Emigration Department is the ‘issuing authority’ of Sri Lanka ETA visa and the correct link for its website is as follows: https://www.immigration.gov.lk/

Thereby, the travellers are advised to use only the official Sri Lankan government website for ETA visa: http://www.eta.gov.lk

උපුටා ගැන්ම  හිරු පුවත්

තමන්ට තීන්දුවක් ගත හැකි, නියෝගයක් නිකුත් කළ හැකි, බලයක් සහිත කාල වකවානුවේ දී කිසිවක් නොපවසා, විශ්‍රාම යන මොහොතේ කුමන්ත්‍රණකාරී සිදුවීමක් සම්බන්ධයෙන් හිටපු නීතිපති දප්පුල ද ලිවේරා සිදු කළ ප්‍රකාශය සම්බන්ධයෙන් අධිකරණ අමාත්‍ය ජනාධිපති නීතිඥ විජේදාස රාජපක්ෂගෙන් විවේචනාත්මක ප්‍රකාශයක් නිකුත් වී තිබෙනවා.

අද (22) පෙරවරුවේ මහනුවර අස්ගිරි විහාරස්ථානයට ත්‍රස්ත විරෝධී පනත සම්බන්ධයෙන් හා පවතින දේශපාලනික ව්‍යාකූල තත්ත්වය සහ ඉදිරියට ගන්නා ක්‍රියාමාර්ග සම්බන්ධයෙන් මහා සංඝරත්නය දැනුවත් කිරීමට ගිය අවස්ථාවේදියි අධිකරණ අමාත්‍යවරයා මාධ්‍යවේදීන් නැගූ ප්‍රශ්නයට පිළිතුරු වශයෙන් එම ප්‍රකාශය සිදු කලේ.

මීට සිව් වසරකට ඉහත දී සිදු වූ පාස්කු ත්‍රස්ත ප්‍රහාරය සම්බන්ධයෙන් හිටපු නීතිපති දප්පුල ද ලිවේරා සිදු කළ ආන්දෝලනාත්මක ප්‍රකාශය සම්බන්ධයෙන් අදහස් දක්වමින් අමාත්‍යවරයා සඳහන් කළේ, බලය ඇති දා කිව යුතු දෑ බලය නැති දා පැවසීම ගැටලුකාරී බවයි.

වසර 04ක් ගත වුණ ද කිසිදු මොළකරුවෙකු අල්ලා ගැනීමට හෝ ඔවුන් වෙත දඬුවම් පැමිණවීමට නොහැකි වූ බවයි මාධ්‍යවේදීන් විසින් අමාත්‍යවරයාට අවධාරණය කරනු ලැබුවේ.

ඊට පිළිතුරු ලෙස අමාත්‍ය විජේදාස රාජපක්ෂ පැවසුවේ මෙවැන්නක්..,’දැන් පොලිසිය මේ පිළිබඳ ව පරීක්ෂණ කරලා නඩු 42ක් මහාධිකරණයේ පවරලා තියෙනවා.ඒ 42 ඉන්නවා චූදිතයෝ 79 දෙනෙක්.හිටපු නීතිපතිතුමාට එවකට තිබුණා සම්පූර්ණ බලතල ඕනෑම කෙනෙක් අත් අඩංගුවට ගන්න, ඕනෑම පරීක්ෂණයක් කරන්න,කියලා පොලිස්පතිතුමාට නියෝගයක් නිකුත් කරන්න..එතුමාට තමයි බලය තිබුණේ මහේස්ත්‍රාත්තුමාට ගිහිල්ලා කරුණු ඉදිරිපත් කරලා අවශ්‍ය නම්,අධිකරණ නියෝගයක් ලබාගන්න.. අහවල් අහවල් අයගෙන් ප්‍රශ්න කරලා තොරතුරු හොයන්න කියලා..එතුමා ඒක කරන්නෙ නැතිව විශ්‍රාම යන දවසේ තමයි කිව්වේ මේකෙ මහා කුමන්ත්‍රණයක් තියෙනවා කියලා…’යනුවෙන්.

පාස්කු ප්‍රහාරයේ පසුපස තවත් කුමන්ත්‍රණකාරීන් සිටින බව විශ්‍රාම යන දා හිටපු නීතිපති විසින් ඇඟවූ බවත්, මේ හේතුවෙන් පැමිණ කට උත්තරයක් ලබාදෙන ලෙස දප්පුල ද ලිවේරා වෙත පොලිසියෙන් දැනුම්දී ඇති බවත් විජේදාස රාජපක්ෂ වැඩිදුරටත් සඳහන් කළා.

ඔහු කළ බරපතළ ප්‍රකාශය හේතුවෙන් ඔහු දන්නා යම්කිසි දෙයක් වේ නම් කල් නොමරා වහා ගොස් ඒ බව පොලිසිය වෙත ලබාදීම සිදු කළ යුතු පළමු කාර්‍යය බවත් අධිකරණ අමාත්‍යවරයා මෙහිදී මාධ්‍යවේදීන් වෙත කියා සිටියා.

කෙසේවෙතත් ඊයේ (21) දිනයේ දී ද හිටපු නීතිපතිවරයා වෙත ත්‍රස්ත විමර්ශන කොට්ඨාසය හමුවේ පෙනී සිටින ලෙස දැනුම්දී තිබුණ ද ඔහුගේ පැමිණීම සිදු වූයේ නැහැ.

නමුත් එළඹෙන සඳුදා (24) තවදුරටත් හිටපු නීතිපතිවරයාගේ පැමිණීම සිදු නොවුණහොත් නීතිමය ක්‍රියාමාර්ග ගැනීමට සිදුවන බව ද පොලිස් මූලස්ථානය නිවේදනය කළා.

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

ලංකාවෙබ් වෙබ් අඩවියේ මගේ නමින් පලවන ලිපි රටේ අගමැති, ජනාධිපති වැනි අයගේ ඊමේල් ලිපින වලටද යැවීම මගේ පුරුද්දය. යාපනේ නැඟී එන දෙමළ චේ ගුවේරා කෙනෙක් පිළිඹඳව එසේ යැවූ ලිපියකට, LankaWeb – දෙමළ චේ ගුවේරා? (Tamil Che Guvera)  දයාන් ද සිල්වා (aka දයාන් ජයතිලක) විසින් දැක්වූ  ඊමේල්  ප්‍රතිචාරය මෙසේය

..This can only be said by someone who knows jack-shit about Che Guevara. If you want to learn about him, try reading this. Che’s Visage On The Shroud Of Time – Colombo Telegraph…”

ක්‍රිස්තියානි කළු සුද්දන්

දොන් ජුවන් ධර්මපාල, ලංකාවේ ප්‍රථම හා එකම කතෝලික රජු සමඟ 1551 සිට ලංකාවේ බෝවූ ක්‍රිස්තියානි පරම්පරවලින් පැවත එන, රටේ සිංහල බෞද්ධ ශිෂ්ටාචාරය විනාශ කිරීමට ක්‍රියාකරණ රෝසි බර්නැඩීන් සේනානායක, මිසිස් චන්ද්‍රිකා වැනි කල්ලියට වැටෙන  ක්‍රිස්තියානී-මාක්ස්වාදී කළුසුද්දෙක් වන දයාන් ඔහුගේ පොල්පරාල ඉන්ගිරිස් වලින් ගෙන එන මත හා තර්ක-විතර්ක වලට ඉංග්‍රීසියෙන් හා සිංහලෙන් අභියෝග කල කීප දෙනාගෙන් එක් අයෙක් වශයෙන් මෙම පිළිතුර ඔහුට දීම මගේ යුතුකම හා වගකීමය.

දයාන් විසින් අපට කියවන්නට කියන පොල්පරාල ලිපියට 2007 දීම කලම්බු ටෙලිග්‍රාෆ් සමහර පාඨකයින් දක්වා ඇති ප්‍රතිචාර දයාන්ට ඒ සම්බන්ධයෙන් මට දිය හැකි උත්තරයය. කියුබාවේ බොහෝ අයට නොතේරෙන එම ලිපිය නිසා කියුබාවට යෑමට නොමිලේ ටිකට් එකක්ද දයාන්ට එව්වා නිසැකය. දයාන්ගේ පොල්පරාල ඉන්ගිරිස් පිස්සුව ඔහු විසින් සිය <ශිෂ්‍ය> සජිත් ප්‍රේමදාසටද බෝකර අවසාන බව සජිත් ඉන්ගිරිස් කතාකර ඩොලර් ගේන බවට කරණ කතා වලින් එලිවේ.

ජෝෂප් ස්ටාලින් හා ජේසුස්

තමන් චේ ගුවේරාගේ අයිතිකාරයා නැත්නම් පොඩි මස්සිනා යයි සිතමින් ලියන දයාන් චේ ව ජේසුතුමාට සමානකරන්නේ මුහුණේ හැඩරුව පමණක් නිසා නොවේ. එහෙත් ඒ සමඟම චේ මිනීමරු ස්ටාලින් ඇදහූ අයෙක් බවද පවසයි! මෙවැනි අවුල් දයාන්ගේ ප්‍රසිද්ධ දේශපාලන ගේම් එකේ අංගයකි. කොටින්ම කියනවා නම් ඔහු ඩබල්, ට්‍රිබල් ගේම් කාරයෙකි. පාට වෙනස් කරණ කටුස්සෙක් මෙන් ඔහුගේ දේශපාලන හැසිරීමේ මට මතක ඉතිහාසය මෙසේය:

[…. සුදත්ත තිලකසිරි නමින් සිය මිතුරු මාක්ස්වාදී තිසරනී වෙනුවෙන් ලිපි ලියමින්- උතුරු නැඟෙනහිර පලාත් සභාවේ ඇමතිවරයෙක්ව සිටිමින්- වර්ධරාජා පෙරුමාල්ට කලින් ප්‍රේමදාසගෙන් ගැලවී ඉන්දියාවට පැන යමින්- ප්‍රේමදාසගෙන් අභය දානය ලබා ආපසු කොළඹට පැමිණ ඔහුට දාසයෙක් මෙන් සේවය කරමින්- අන්තිමේදී කැරකී කැරකී මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂට ඉංගිරිස් උගන්නන්නට පාත්වී 2009 යුද ජයග්‍රණයෙන් සුමාන දෙක තුනක් ඇතුලත 13-A+ පොරොන්දුවී ජීනීවා වලදී රට ජාතිය හා හසළක වීරයා වැන්නන් පාවාදෙමින්- ඒ නිසාම රක්ෂාවෙන් වහාම ඉවත් කිරීමකට මුහුණ දෙමින්- ඉන්පසු ගොටාගේ වියත් මඟට රිංගා ගැනීමට ගත් වෑයම වැරදී කොට උඩ යමින්-දැන් සජිත් ගේ දේශපාලන පුරෝහිතයා වෙමින් කල්මරමින් සිටින (විදේශ ඇමතිකම ගැන සිතමින් ඉන්නා) දයාන් ඔහුගේ නම වෙනස් කිරීමේ සිටම අවංකභාවයක් නැති පංචස්කන්ධයකි. රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ නම් පංචස්කන්ධයට මේ දයාන්ව අරහංය…..]

ලංකාවේ හැරල්ඩ් ලැස්කි

ලංකාවේ නමගිය කළුසුද්දෙක්වූ මියගිය කාලෝ ෆොන්සේකා ඔහුගේ මේ දයාන් බෑණාව හැඳින්වූයේ මොඩර්න් හැරල්ඩ් ලැස්කි කියාය (ඔහුගේ අනිත් බෑණා වූයේ කාඩ්බෝඩ් වීරයෙකුවූ සංඝසමාජයට පහර දුන් රංජන් රාමනායකය). මර්වින් සිල්වාගේ පුතා වශයෙන් කළු සුද්දන්ට ලබාගත හැකි උපරිම වාසි උඩ හැඳුන-වැඩුන දයාන් පොත් පත් කියවා ලබාගත් විශාල දැණුම් සම්භාරයක් ඇති පංචස්කන්ධයකි. එහෙත් ඔහු හැසිරෙන උද්දච්ච (arrogance) ආකාරය ඔහු ලබාගත් දැණුමට නිග්‍රහයකි. ඔහු විසින් කලයුතුව තිබුණේ අරුන් සිද්ධාර්ථ්ට චේ ගුවේරා කෙනෙක් විය නොහැකි කෙසේදැයි තර්කාණුකූලව පෙන්වාදීම මිස මාක්ස්වාදය නමැති ආගම ගැන දේශනාවක් කියවන්නට යයි දන්වා එවීම නොවේ.

සරදියෙල් හා චේ ගුවේරා

චේ ගුවේරා තවත් ජේසු කෙනෙක් යයි සළකණ දයාන් මෙන් වහල් මනසක් මට නැත. චේ ගුවේරා කවුදැයි ලංකාවේ ජනයා දැන ගන්නේ 1971 JVP කැරැල්ල කාලයේ සිටය. මේ වනවිට ලංකාවේ පොදු ජනයා චේව සළකන්නේ හිතට එකඟව, පීඩිත ජනතාව වෙනුවෙන් ක්‍රියකර සිය ජීවිතය එය වෙනුවෙන් කැපකල අයෙක් වශයෙනි. ලංකාවේ මාක්ස්වාදි පක්ෂ දේශපාලකයින්ගේ වංචා සහගත ක්‍රියාකලාපය ඉදිරියේ චේ ගුවේරා ගැන ජනයාට සිතෙන්නේ ඔහු රොබින් හුඩ් කෙනෙක් සරදියෙල් කෙනෙක් වැනිය කියාය. බෞද්ධ ධර්මයට අනුව චේ ගුවේරාත් දුර්වලකම්වලින් පිරි පංචස්කන්ධයක් පමණය. මෙවන් පසුබිමක් යටතේ යාපනේ අරුන් සිද්ධාර්ත් චේ ගුවේරාට සමාන කලේ පසුගිය දශක තුනක් තුල සිය වාසිය ගැන නොසිතා පීඩිත දුගී දෙමළ ජනයා වෙනුවෙන් ඔහු කරගෙන යන කැපවීම නිසාය. අරුන් යනු දයාන් මෙන් චපල, අවස්ථාවාදී චරිතයක් නොව, ඉතිහාසයෙන්, අත්දැකීමෙන් පාඩම් ඉගෙනගෙන, දුක් විඳ හිස ඔසවන ක්‍රමයෙන් වර්ධනයවන චරිතයකි. චේගේ ජීවිතයද මෙවැනි පරිණාමයකට ලක්වූවායයි මම සිතමි. සරදියෙල් ගැන සිංහල ජනයාට සිහියට නැඟෙන චිත්‍රය මෙන් දෙමළ චේ ගුවේරා යයි කීමෙන් අරුන්ගේ කැපවීම ගැන යම් චිත්‍රයක් ජනයාට මැවෙන්නේය.

සයිමන් බොලිවාර්-කැප්පෙට්ටිපොල මහ දිසාව- අනාගාරික ධර්මපාල-හසලක වීරයා

උදාහරණයක් වශයෙන් අරුන්, සයිමන් බොලිවාර්-කැප්පෙට්ටිපොල මහ දිසාව- අනාගාරික ධර්මපාල කෙනෙක් හෝ හසලක වීරයා වැන්නෙක් යයි කීමට මට නොහැකිය. මගේ සීමිත දැනුම අනුව අරුන්ට ගැලපෙන්නේ චේ ගුවේරාගේ නමය. දයාන්ගේ මිත්‍ර විග්නේශ්වරන් ප්‍රභාකරන් දෙමළ කැප්පෙට්ටිපොල යයි කියන්නේත්, ලක්ෂ්මන් වික්‍රමසිංහ බිෂොප්වරයා චෙල්වනායගම්ට දෙමළ මෝසස් යයි කියන්නේත් කැප්පෙට්ටිපොල දිසාව හා මෝසස් ගැන ඔවුන් දෙන්නාට තිබූ ආකල්ප නිසාය. යාපනේ ගාන්ධි යයි සැළකුණ චෙල්වනායගම් අන්තිමේදී ශිවකුමාර් නම් මිනීමරුවාගේ රූපයට මල් මාලයක් දමා ගාන්ධිව පාවා දුන්නේය. යාපනේ චේ ගුවේරා ලෙස අරුන් සිද්ධාර්ථ් නම් කිරීමට පෙඩරල්-ඊළම්කාරයින්, ඉන්දියාව, බටහිර රටවල දේශපාලකයින්, NGO මුදලාලිලා ප්‍රමුඛ රටේ සියළුම කළු සුද්දන් පිරිස් විරුද්ධ  වන්නේ ඇයි? දකුණේ සිංහලයින් (ආණ්ඩු) සමඟ සහයෝගයෙන් ක්‍රියාකිරීමට ගිය/යන අනිත් හැම දෙමළ පංචස්කන්ධයකටම ටැමිල් ට්‍රේටර් යයි හංවඩු ගැසු දෙමළ පෙඩරල් ඊළම් කාරයින් අරුන්ට එසේ අතනොගසන්නේ ඇයි?

Balkanization of Lanka

පොල්පරාල ඉන්ගිරිස් වලින් ලියමින් සජිත් සමඟ ඔහේ පාවෙමින් සිටිනවා හැර දෙයක් මේ දිනවල දයාන්ට නැත. රට කැඩීමේ ව්‍යාපාරයේ එක් පිළිකාවක් නම් මේ දයාන්ය. රට කැඩීමේ ව්‍යාපාරය යනු සිංහල බෞද්ධ ශිෂ්ටාචාරය, සිංහල ජාතිය, භාෂාව ලෝක සිතියමෙන් අතුගා දැමීමේ උත්සාහයමය. මාක්ස්වාදීන්, චන්ද්‍රිකා, රනිල්, සජිත්, ඩලස් හා කොළඹ තරුණ බෞද්ධ සංගමයේ (YMBA) සභාපති පවා දැන හෝ නොදැන මෙම උගුලට අසුවී සිටී. හාමුදුරුවරුන්ට බුද්ධාගම කියා දෙන බ්‍රදර් චාල්ස් තෝමස්, තමන් දෙමළ බෞද්ධයෙක් යයි කියාගන්නා සුරේන් රඝුවාන් වැනි ගේම්කාරයින් ඉදිරියේ අරුන් සිද්ධාර්ථ් ජනප්‍රිය වෙමින් සිටී. දයාන්ගේ දෙවියන්ගේ නම අරුන්ට ආරුඪ කිරීම ගැන දයාන් පරලවී සිටින්නේ ඒ නිසාය.

මෙම උගුලට, මෙම ව්‍යාපාරයට විරුද්ධව තනියෙන් බිම් මට්ටමින් දැනට සටන් කරණ එකම ද්‍රවිඩයා අරුන්ය. බොදු බල සේනාවේ ඥානසාර හිමියන් මෙන් අරුන්ද පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ සිටිය යුතුය. දයාන් විසින් කල යුතු අරුන්ගේ මතවාදය සිය <හැරල්ඩ් ලැස්කි> මොළයෙන් පරාදය කිරීමය. නැතහොත් මගේ මුල් ලිපියට සාධාරණ පිළිතුරක් සැපයීමය. ඔහුට එවන් ආත්ම ශක්තියක් තිබේද?

PRESS RELEASE Muslim Council of Sri Lanak

The Muslims of Sri Lanka stand in solidarity and brotherhood with the thousands of Christians
and Catholics who were affected by the dastardly terrorist attack on April 21st 2019. The
suspected terrorists were Muslims by name but Islam forbids suicide and killing innocent
civilians, hence Islam does not condone such acts of violence.

Overnight on April 21st 2019, the 2.1 Million Muslims in this country were considered as
terrorist suspects or their sympathisers. The Muslims have stood by the Catholic church in
demanding an independent inquiry to the Easter Sunday attacks in 2019, which many believe
is a politically motivated violence. We call upon H E President Ranil Wickramasinghe to release
all volumes of the PCOI report on the Easter Sunday attack to the general public. We also
demand the immediate arrest and bring to justice all who have been named in the PCOI report.
The arbitrary arrest of Muslim youth under PTA and ICCPR and the detention of some of them
continues to this day. No one has been found guilty after 4 years of investigation. The selective
use of PTA and ICCPR on innocent Muslim youth should be condemned by all civic conscious
citizens.

President Wickremesinghe in a special statement made on 18th July 2022 as Acting
President said he plans to obtain the assistance of the police and intelligence
services of the UK in order to complete the investigation into the Easter Sunday terror
attacks, as the lack of a proper investigation has meant that this issue is yet to be fully
resolved.” He had further said We must ensure that this is brought to an end, and there
should be a full scale impartial review of the material that is available.”

It is regrettable that nine months have lapsed since the above statement and we are yet to see
any meaningful effort by the Government to bring to justice the perpetrators of one of the
darkest days inSri Lankan history where over 350 were killed and over 500 were injured.
The Muslim Council of Sri Lanka calls upon the Government to: –
a. Immediately honour the statement made by President Wickramasinghe on 18th July
2022 to complete the investigation into the Easter Sunday terror attacks with the
assistance of Scotland Yard.
b. Immediate justice to be dispensed and compensation to be paid to the families of those
killed and injured in the Easter Sunday attacks irrespective of their race or religion.
c. Muslims arrested on suspicion under the PTA languishing in remand be investigated
immediately and released or granted bail.
d. A thorough investigation be carried out and arrest of those responsible for the wanton
destruction of Muslim property and compensation paid immediately in the aftermath of
the Easter Sunday attacks.

Hilmy Ahamed
Acting President
21/4/2023

Courtesy Adaderana

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has requested the private sector to submit proposals for becoming the engines of Sri Lanka’s economic growth. 

During his address at the Business Today Top 40 Awards Ceremony at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo on Thursday (April 20), the Head of State highlighted the need for a strong, export-oriented economy.

He emphasized the importance of engaging in comprehensive economic and technological collaborations with India and negotiating entry into the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), while maintaining RCEP standards and remaining open to possibilities.

The President further emphasized the need for modernizing and updating traditional sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, logistics, and tourism.

Wickremesinghe also discussed the challenges that Sri Lanka faces this year and called for private-sector involvement in tackling these challenges.

He revealed that the government has set aside LKR 1 billion for Artificial Intelligence (AI) next year, with a focus on green energy technologies and renewable energy.

Wickremesinghe went on to outline the government’s plans to pursue the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) after RCEP, for which the government has already established criteria.

The event was attended by Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka Thero, Deputy Minister Diana Gamage, Members of Parliament Vajira Abeywardena, Dayasiri Jayasekara, Udaya Gammanpila, Sarath Weerasekera, Premanath .C. Dolawatta, Senior Advisor to the President on National Security and Chief of Staff to the President Sagala Ratnayake, President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake, Southern Province Governor Willie Gamage, Former Ministers John Amaratunga, Arjuna Ranatunga and Veteran Businessmen including Mathi Parthipan and Glenda Parthipan.

Courtesy Adaderana

Former Attorney General Dappula de Livera has been once again issued a summons to appear before the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID).

He was initially informed to make an appearance at the TID on April 19 to record a statement pertaining to his controversial comment on a massive conspiracy behind the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks.

However, the former Attorney General’s lawyer appeared before the TID on that day and submitted a seven-page legal objection on his behalf.

De Livera was then asked to report to the TID today (April 21), but he failed to comply with the summons.

It has been decided to notify the court if the former Attorney General fails to appear before the TID once again on April 24.
 
On 18 May, then-Attorney General Dappula de Livera claimed that there had been a conspiracy behind the series of bomb attacks that took place on 21 April 2019, killing 269 persons and injuring over 500 others.

Livera infamously handled the Easter Sunday inquiry right from the beginning while he served as the Solicitor General before being appointed as Attorney General on 29 April 2019, just eight days after the Easter Sunday attacks. 

He later retired on 25 May 2021, while acting AG Sanjaya Rajaratnam was appointed as his successor.

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lanka has launched the project to build the largest commercial and logistics complex in South Asia in the Port of Colombo with an investment of USD 392 million.

Agreements for the construction and operation of the South Asia Commercial and Logistics Hub (SACL) as a 50-year Build Operate-Transfer (BOT) project were formally signed in Colombo by the representatives of the three investing entities.

Accordingly, China Merchants Port Holdings (CMPort) holds a 70% stake while Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) and Access Engineering PLC (Access) each hold a 15% stake in the venture/

A Public Private Partnership (PPP) project, the South Asia Commercial and Logistics will be built in the centre of the Colombo Port and will have 530,000 CBM of storage capacity via an eight-floor building.

The investment in the project is expected to bring in much-needed foreign investment into Sri Lanka.

The construction of the complex is expected to begin in the second half of 2023 with a target of completion by the end of 2025.

Adjacent to Port City and the CBD, it will be directly linked with the airport via the Port Access Elevated Highway.

The five million square foot complex will offer the full gamut of logistics related facilities and services such as Less than Container Load (LCL), Multi-Country Consolidation (MCC), Container Freight Station (CFS), general warehousing and various other value-added services.

A Spokesperson for CMPort said the project will result in an infusion of US$ 126 million in addition to an upfront payment of US$ 26 million after the agreement is signed.

The project is also expected to provide direct employment to a minimum of 1,800 people and create 10,500 other indirect job opportunities.

The project aligns with Sri Lanka’s national development strategy to transform the country into a major logistics centre, identified as a key sector and a driving force for economic development in the National Policy Framework (NPF) 2019. It will provide better logistics and warehousing facilities and services, enhancing the Port’s competitive advantage and consequently strengthening its Hub status.

The project will also improve the operational efficiency of the Port of Colombo and introduce leading-edge technology and innovation.

The Port of Colombo is currently ranked among the top 13 ports in the world in terms of shipping network connectivity.

Despite its ideal location on the international trading route, the Port still lacks a modern, state-of-the-art logistics facility, the Spokesperson said. At present, mainly loading and discharging of cargo is done at the Port of Colombo, with little value-added services being offered. SACL will change this landscape.

Additionally, since the Port of Colombo was declared as a Freeport by the Government of Sri Lanka, the project will enjoy the associated Freeport advantages in its operations, such as no customs clearance for transshipment and MCC cargo, resulting in reduced paperwork and associated costs.

The project also provides an ideal platform for the registration of hub companies – which will enjoy tax concessions in CIT, WHT, VAT, etc.

The project is expected to help the Port of Colombo to strengthen its competitiveness against other competing ports in the region.

Furthermore, the improved services and cost benefits provided by the project are expected to attract more business and container volumes to the Port of Colombo, benefitting all its terminals and generating higher revenues for the Port and port-related companies in Sri Lanka.

CMPort, the major shareholder in the South Asia Commercial and Logistics Hub, is the parent company of Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT) which manages the South Terminal of the Port of Colombo.

CMPort is the largest and a globally-competitive public port developer, investor and operator in China with investments in Mainland China, Hong Kong and overseas. CMPort has a port network portfolio spanning SO ports in 26 countries and regions.

Guided by the vision To be a world class comprehensive port service provider” and supported by its domestic, overseas and innovation strategies, CMPort strives to strengthen its core competencies in global throughput, port service and management.

KAMALIKA PIERIS

The College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka celebrated its 50 anniversary, by publishing, History of surgical services in Sri Lanka from the earliest times to 2021.”  The title itself shows that the College recognizes the existence of   a surgical service in the island, before the arrival of modern surgery.

 The book does not go straight into the medical systems of ancient times. It first looks at the political history of the island.   The reader is quickly directed to the most important historical discovery in modern times, the new dates for the Anuradhapura civilization. The book said, ‘Recently between Thuparama and the twin ponds, in the old city of Anuradhapura,      an area of about 250 acres 30 to 35 feet deep revealed a city dated to have been in existence around 900-500 BC. The pottery excavated showed brahmi script. This confirms the existence of a culture that dates to a period before what was believed previously.

Two historians, K.M. de Silva and W.I. Siriweera   were invited to   write the political and social history chapters of this book.  K.M de Silva’s chapter on the political history of ancient and medieval Sri Lanka was written specially for the book. The historical information he gives is, of course, well known, but this chapter has three items which I have not seen anywhere else.

Firstly, there is a pie chart of the royal capitals of Sri Lanka, indicating the period of time for each capital, starting with Anuradhapura and ending with Kandy. I have not seen such a pie chart before. It is original and very instructive. Secondly this chapter has two maps which I have not seen before. One is a map of the route taken by Dutugemunu, when he advanced from Magama to Anuradhapura to oust Elara. The other is a map of Vijayabahu I   campaign, to oust the Cholas, illustrating the pincer movement used. Both seem to be original to this book.

The presentation by WI Siriweera on sanitation and health in ancient Sri Lanka is probably the most recent information on the subject. Siriweera says there were four kinds of hospitals in the Rajarata kingdom, monastic, lay, maternity and outdoor.

According to the Mahavamsa there were 18 hospitals in existence during the time of King Dutugemunu, stated Siriweera. The chronicles continuously record the building of hospitals up to 1186 AD. For instance, Kukurumahandamana pillar inscription at Vavuniya dated to Kassapa IV   refers to   hospitals. Kassapa V had built a royal hospital Rajavedahala”   on the ‘ceremonial street’.  There is a complete Vedasala or hospital complex at Mihintale.  Arankele monastery   had a large hospital for outdoor patients, dated tentatively to the late Anuradhapura period. Remains of hospitals belonging to the late Anuradhapura period were found in Mihintale, Anuradhapura, Medirigiriya, Dighavapi, and Dombegoda.  In Polonnaruwa, the Alahana complex   is dated to 12 century.   .A special category of servants were appointed to hospitals to prepare drugs and food.

There were other medical centers. Pandukabhaya built a hall for the sick, sothisala” and a lying in home, sivikasala” in Anuradhapura. Kiribatvehera inscription of Kassapa IV records a behetge named Bamunu Kumbura. .Vessagiri slab inscription of Dappula IV also talks of a behetge.

There was a state health service. During the time of king Sirisangabodhi (247-249) a physician was appointed to every ten villages. There were vedas (physicians) and a maha Veda (chief physician). The disorders that were recognized for which evidence is available are paralysis, eye ailments, insanity, indigestion, pregnancy complications, and children’s diseases. Sinhala physicians had used leeches before the Europeans. Physicians who specialized in treatment with leeches are mentioned in the inscriptions.

Siriweera summarized the knowledge on hygiene. There was a high standard of town hygiene, he said. Pandukabhaya set up a settlement of 500 scavengers outside Anuradhapura to clean the sewers of the city, remove dead bodies and maintain graveyards.

There was emphasis on personal hygiene as well. Rules of hygiene prescribed for monks in Mahavagga, Samantapasadika, and Sikkhavalanda vinisa would have been applicable to lay society too.They include regular bathing, brushing teeth,   cutting finger nails, cleaning and sweeping the habitat, and surroundings. Kandavuruda sirita (Dambadeniya period)   said the king should take exercise and that monks should perambulate.

Numerous old wells are found in the ruined cities of Sri Lanka .they have their sides built either of brick, rubble or slabs of granite. Well carved basins of stone for washing purposes are seen among the ruins of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, continued Siriweera.

Technique of building toilets developed in stages. At Abhayagiri the toilets and baths were constructed away from the residence of the monks.  At Baddaseema pasada in Alahana Pirivena, Polonnaruwa they have been built adjoining the residence. Extra toilets were built with ring well pits in the periphery of the hospital at Alahana, most likely for staff and visitors.

The urinary pits show the attention paid by the construction engineers to sanitary care. Water and urine have been diverted from toilet of Badddhasima Pasada at Polonnaruwa through terracotta pipes into a separate septic pit while excreta was diverted to anther septic pit. A stone seat with a central hole with four short legs probably used as a commode is seen in the quadrangle of the Dalada Maligawa in Polonnaruwa.

 The colour photographs in this section call for special comment. I have not seen such a profusion of photographs in any history book. They are a varied, interesting collection.  The earliest  potsherd with writing, a  pillar edict,  a copper plate ,a sannasa,  a  restored Samadhi Buddha, Lankarama  temple , a moonstone,  the Vatadage, a  stone bridge,   map of ancient irrigation works,  Jaya ganga, the ancient sluice discovered at Maduru oya and   a beautiful panoramic shot of Kalawewa taking up the full width  of the page.

The History of Surgery has three chapters on surgery in ancient Sri Lanka. The first is ‘Surgical anecdotes from the Culawamsa’. This chapter starts with King Buddhadasa (337-365 AD). King Buddhadasa has practiced operative surgery. According to the Mahavamsa he had treated a snake that had a tumor in its belly.  King slit open the belly of the snake, took out the tumor, applied medicine to the wound and cured the snake.

Buddhadasa is also credited with impossible operations. Buddhadasa had performed an operation for correction of a mal position of a foetus. He had split the cranium of a patient and removed a toad who had grown inside it, then reconstructed the bisected cranium.  Surgeons did not think these operations were likely. 

The chapter then drew attention to Parakramabahu I (1153-1186) who it appears, knew medicine, a fact which is rarely mentioned in accounts of this king.  Mahavamsa says Parakramabahu I   had done a ‘ward round’ surrounded by physicians. He had checked on the medicine given to patients, instructed on mistakes made and by his own hand skillfully showed the use of instruments.

Parakrama Bahu had encouraged the medical service .To those discerning and skilful physicians who were quick at identifying illness and were well versed in textbooks of medicine Parakrama Bahu gave a stipend according to their expertise and made them practice their art day and night.

When Parakramabahu sent a military expedition to Burma, he also sent physicians and nurses. Different kinds of medicine were preserved in cow horns for healing of venomous wounds caused by poisoned arrows. Iron pincers were used to extract arrowheads which had pierced deeply. He also sent remedies for curing disease caused by infected water in swamps, said the Mahavamsa.

The second essay written by archaeologist Leelananda Prematilleke and surgeon Arjuna Aluwihare is on Alahana Pirivena, Polonnaruwa. This essay adds to the information already known about ancient hospitals.  Alahana was more elaborate than the hospital ruins found in Anuradhapura, said the authors. It was well landscaped, with medicinal trees. The hospital was cordoned off with a wall.  Building was designed   for maximum ventilation and free circulation of air within it. This was achieved by two open courts and windows.

At Alahana they found medicine grinders and a micro balance.   The micro balance indicated that strong medicines had been used. Medicine troughs were also found. The writers had much to say on the medicine troughs. These unique granite medicine bath tubs standing on a granite base have not been found in any other ancient civilization, they said.  They had human shaped hollows. 

The granite is carved to repeat the shape of the head, expand at shoulder and slightly tapering at the place where the hands end, thereby showing the perfect proportions of the human body. There is much scientific merit in this design as the patient could be immersed in it with the minimum amount of fluid.  These troughs were intended for immersion therapy.

But the most important find at Alahana were the surgical instruments unearthed there.  They include probes, forceps, scissors, scalpels and lances. Probes were of different sizes. Forceps were made out of bronze or iron with a small percentage of steel. Forceps with short, strong jaws were found, perhaps for arrow head removal. Fine jawed forceps were not found. 

The third chapter in the book was on Surgery and surgical training in ancient Sri Lanka”. For the first time ever, scattered references available in the ancient literature on operative surgery were gathered together   and placed on record. This is a significant addition to the knowledge of medicine in ancient   Sri Lanka.

The authors looked for information on the surgical techniques of ancient times. One statement on surgical training was found. In Visuddhimagga, Buddhagosa had made an observation on how surgeons were trained. Pupils are trained in the use of the scalpel by learning to make an incision on a lotus leaf placed in a dish of water, he said. They must make the incision without cutting the leaf in two or pushing the leaf into the water.

Several books on the art of healing have been written, said the History. The Bessajja Manjusa written in 13th century refers to   surgical topics such as   fistula,       carbuncle, bladder stone, fractures, goiter and surgical treatment for intestinal obstruction.

Kankavitarani referred to 8 kinds of surgical operations and provides a list of instruments for each type. They are use in excision, rubbing and scarification, in opening blood vessels and flesh, in incision and drainage of body fluid, in removing, scaling and probing. There was mention of small drilling needles   and needles used in puncturing. There was also mention of scissors, thorn removers and an axe like instrument used for splitting.

Sararta sangrahaya carried diagrams of instruments available at the time for specific procedures. Yogarnavaya and Prayoga –ratnavaliya referred to almost 20 surgical instruments. Lastly, Historical Manuscripts Commission, 1933 found dozens of medical manuscripts in personal collections and temples. Purana vihara Pelmadulla had a manuscript dealing with surgical operations, copied in Sinhala, in 1862

The book then looked at the health service during Portuguese and Dutch rule. In addition to the Dutch Hospital in Colombo which everybody knows about, this book also carried an account of the lesser known Dutch Hospital for Leprosy in Hendala, with a photograph attached.This hospital was started by the Dutch in 1708, because the daughter of Dutch governor Van Imhoff was a victim of the disease.

The book has looked in great detail at the provision of operative surgery in the state hospitals. The book does not discuss the emerging private  sector which is also providing valuable services in operative surgery today, in Colombo, and in the outstations,  notably Kandy and  Galle..the private sector is also manned by    locally trained, PGIM qualified  surgeons. While some  are  employed full time in these hospitals, state sector surgeons also operate in these hospitals. The private sector  helps to ease the burden on the state hospital sector and is entitled to recognition.

The History of Surgery  published by the College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka  is the   definitive history of modern surgery in Sri Lanka . It is a book that the College of Surgeons can be very proud of. It  is very accurate .  I tested it using some facts  which I knew first hand.

 It has been well researched and each chapter has a long list of references at the end. It is well produced, on  high quality paper, and at the grossly under priced rate of Rs 7,500 a very  worthwhile purchase. The book ends with the hope that in the future we will  be able to both innovate and lead the world in the management of  the common surgical disorders  we see in Sri Lanka .

History of Surgery  published  by the College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka, priced at Rs   7,500. is available at the College of Surgeons  office , No    6, Independence Avenue, Colombo 7. ( CONCLUDED)

Dilrook Kannangara

Major problems, ailments and disasters brew slowly. There are unmissable signs of impending danger that are often disregarded for convenience. At other times humans simply do not want to hear them as they have enough on their plate. They wish the problems will go away or find an easy scapegoat. These are the very reasons why problems grow larger and more dangerous, to the extent they cannot be fixed.

The conditions that led to 4/21 terrorist attacks have not changed. It is impossible to prevent every such attack as that would require a mammoth size and omnipresent military which no nation has. Extremism has to be contained and reversed. Nothing has been done to do so in the island. For good reasons. Extremists both local and foreign don’t allow it. They threaten violence and economic trouble. The others of the same faith want it pushed under the carpet as their moderate stance will be exposed within their community which threatens them. When the dust settles, the victims are blamed for the crime! Interestingly it is also part of the extremist plan.

Peaceful means of diffusing extremism, keeping those elements under constant check and reversal of religious extremism are essential steps in overcoming this problem that is very real. If it is allowed to grow, the nation is headed to another long war or worse.  

Senaka Weeraratna

Today a Global Buddhist Summit was inaugurated in New Delhi by the Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

While the News is heart warming especially to Buddhists a content analysis of the Agenda of this Summit Conference is not. 

International Buddhist Conferences usually fail to address the problems of Buddhist minorities in the rest of the World. In fact these issues are deliberately avoided. 

While all Buddhist Countries officially grant recognition to the three major Monotheistic religions i. e., Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, there is no proper reciprocating. 

In Europe, only three Countries recognize Buddhism officially as a Religion, namely, Russia, Austria and Italy.

Not Britain. Not France. Not Germany.

In fact, both Buddhism and Hinduism are unrecognized officially as Religions in most parts of the world especially in the Western and West Asian countries.

These Buddhist Summit Conferences will lose their credibility before long if they show that they lack the spine and backbone to fight and champion  Buddhist Rights and give  voice to true Grievances of Buddhist Minorities in various parts of the world.

It is time to go beyond Buddhist Fellowship. There are other issues of equal importance that deserve close attention. 

Buddhist voices must be heard at Global level and in UN affiliated institutions, and the formation of a League of Buddhist Nations is long overdue.

Senaka Weeraratna

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය.

·        රජයෙන් වැටුප ගන්න සමහර නිලධාරීන් දුප්පතුන්ට  ආධාර දෙන සුබසාධක සමීක්ෂණ කටයුතු මග ඇරියා.   – අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන මහතා.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා මේ බව ප්‍රකාශ කළේ අලුත් ගමක්- අලුත් රටක් ජාතික ඒකාබද්ධ සහභාගිත්ව සංවර්ධන වැඩසටහනේ බදුල්ල දිස්ත්‍රික් ප්‍රගති සමාලෝචන රැස්වීම 2023.04.20  දින බදුල්ල දිස්ත්‍රීක් ලේකම් කාර්යාලයේ පැවති අවස්ථාවේදීය.  

එහිදී අදහස් දැක්වූ අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා –

″රටක් හැටියට පසුගිය කාල පරිච්ඡේදයේ විවිධ ගැටලු වලට අපි මුහුණ දුන්නා. රාජ්‍ය සේවයේ සියලු දෙනා වගේම ගොවි ජනතාවත් ඊට ලබාදුන් සහයෝගය ඉමහත්. අද රට යළි හිස ඔසවා තිබෙනවා. නමුත් අභියෝග රාශියක් ජය ගැනීමටත් තිබෙනවා.

ඒ සඳහා දිස්ත්‍රික් සම්බන්ධීකරණ කමිටුව සුවිශේෂී මැදිහත් කරුවෙක් බවට පත්වෙනවා.

කේන්ද්‍රස්ථානය ලෙස ගෙන  එය පළාත් සභාවේ තිබෙන රාජ්‍ය අංශය සමග ඒකාබද්ධව මෙම කටයුතු සාර්ථක කරගැනීමටත් නාස්තිය අඩු කරගෙන ඵලදායිකත්වයට ප්‍රමුඛත්වය ලබාදීමටත් පියවර යුතුයි. ප්‍රාදේශීය සංවර්ධන කමිටු මහජන නියෝජිතයින්ගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන් ක්‍රියාත්මක කෙරෙනවා. මේ වෙනකොට  ලංකාවේ පළාත් පාලන ආයතන සියල්ල විසිරී ගියා. ඡන්දය පවත්වන තුරු  ඒ කටයුතු වල ක්‍රියාකාරීත්වය  ඒකාබද්ධ විය යුතුයි.

නිලධාරීන් කවුරු වගකීම් දැරුවා දැරුවත් එය ඉෂ්ට කළ යුතුයි. කිසිම   නිලධාරියෙකුට එය ඉටු කරන්න බැහැ කියලා ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කරන්න බැහැ. කණගාටුයි කියන්න. මෑත දවස් වල සමහර නිලධාරීන් සුබසාධක සමීක්ෂණ කටයුතු මග ඇරියා.

රටේ පළාතේ  ගමේ ඉන්න දුප්පත්ම කෙනාට ආධාර දෙන්න තොරතුරු ටික අරන් දෙන්න බැහැ කියනවා. මේ අයත් රජයෙන් වැටුප ගන්නවා. අඩු ආදායම්ලාභීන්ට ලබාදෙන්න ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදල ඉදිරියට ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට විශාල ආධාරයක් දෙන්න බලාපොරොත්තු වෙනවා. බොහොම කණගාටුයි. එවැනි තත්ත්වයකින් කටයුතු කරන්න එපා. ගොවි ජනතාවට ගැටලූවක් තිබුණා. පොහොර ටික ගෙනල්ලා දීලා ගොවි ජනතාවට අවශ්‍ය සහන දුන්නා. ගොවි ජනතාව  ඒ අභියෝගය  බාරගෙන ඔබට අපට සතුටු විය හැකි සහලින්  ස්වයංපෝෂිත  අවස්ථාවකට රට පැමිණ තිබෙනවා. වී නිෂ්පාදනයෙන් සහ අතිරේක බෝග වගාවෙන් එක දිස්ත්‍රික්කයකට වැඩි අතිරික්තයක් තව දිස්ත්‍රික්කයකට තියෙනවා.  

මේ මහපොළොව මහා පෝසත් මහ පොළොවක්. මේක දුප්පත් මහ පොළොවක් නෙවෙයි. විශේෂයෙන් බදුල්ල දිස්ත්‍රික්කය. මේ මහ පොළොවේ ප්‍රාතිහාරයක් වගේ ගොවිතැන් කරන්න පුළුවන්. මේ හැම රාජ්‍ය නිලධාරියෙක්ම එකට උදව්කළ යුතුයි.   

වතුකරයේ තිබෙන ගැටළු විශේෂයෙන් මැදිහත් වී  විසඳීම සඳහා  කඩිනම් වැඩ පිළිවෙළක් අවශ්‍යයි. තරුණ තරුණියන්ගේ අනාගතය ගැන විශ්වාසය ලබා දෙන්න පුළුවන් සැලැස්මක් සකස් කර ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීම ඉතාම අත්‍යවශ්‍යයි.

සියලු දේ රජයෙන් කරන්නට බැරි නම් ඒ මහා සම්පත සක්‍රීය කරන්නට පෞද්ගලික අංශය සහභාගී කර ගත්තට කමක් නැහැ.  රජය බොහෝ විට ආධාර දෙනවා. බැංකුවලින් ණය දෙනවා. රජය ඒ ණය බර කරට ගන්නවා. ගොවීන් කරන නිෂ්පාදනයෙන් සියයට 35ක් අපතේ යනවා නම් ඒ පිළිබඳ ගැඹුරින් තේරුම් අරගෙන කටයුතු කරන්න ඕන.

මේ රට ඔළුව උස්සන්න පුළුවන් රටක්.   මෙවැනි අර්බුදයට පත් වෙනත් රටවල් වලට වඩා ඉක්මනින් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට අර්බුදයෙන් ගොඩ එන්න පුළුවන් කියලා ජාත්‍යන්තර සහයෝගය පළ කරා. මේ රටේ පුරවැසියන් හැටියට ඒ පිළිබඳ ආඩම්බර විය යුතුයි. විවිධ අඩුපාඩුකම් පිළිබඳ වාද විවාද විවේචන තියෙන්න පුළුවන්.  අපි එකඟවුණු ප්‍රධාන කරුණු සාර්ථක කර ගැනීම සඳහා අත්වැල් බැඳගෙන කැපවීමෙන් වැඩ කරමු.

අමාත්‍ය නිමල් සිරිපාල ද සිල්වා, ඌව පළාත් ආණ්ඩුකාර ඒ.ජේ. එම්. මුසම්මිල්, බදුල්ල දිස්ත්‍රික් සම්බන්ධීකරණ කමිටු සභාපති සුදර්ශන දෙනිපිටිය, රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යවරුන් වන තේණුක විදානගමගේ, චාමර සම්පත් දසනායක, අරවින්ද් කුමාර්, ජානක වක්කුඹුර, අශෝක ප්‍රියන්ත, රාජ්‍ය පරිපාලන අමාත්‍යාංශ ලේකම් රන්ජිත් අශෝක, බදුල්ල දිස්ත්‍රික් ලේකම්,  ජනාධිපති උපදේශක ආචාර්ය බී. එම්. එස්. බටගොඩ, ඌව පළාත් සභා සභාපති ඒ.එම්. බුද්ධදාස ඇතුළු රාජ්‍ය නිලධාරීන් සහ ප්‍රජා නියෝජිතයින් මෙම අවස්ථාවට එක්වූහ.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය.

Sri Lankan High Commission in India

High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India, Milinda Moragoda, met with the Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Conrad Kongal Sangma.

The meeting took place at the Chief Minister’s office in Shillong, in the northeastern state of Meghalaya. Moragoda was in Shillong as a guest of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Government of Meghalaya. The discussion focussed on establishing a mutually beneficial framework for collaboration between Sri Lanka and Meghalaya in the spheres of tourism and value-added agriculture. The meeting was part of High Commissioner Moragoda’s ongoing programme to establish contacts with leaders at the state level for Sri Lanka. At the meeting, High Commissioner had invited Chief Minister Sangma to visit Sri Lanka at a mutually convenient time.

Meghalaya state under the leadership of Chief Minister Sangma has made great strides in protecting the environment by developing eco-tourism, and sustaining indigenous cultural practices and livelihoods. In addition, he has prioritized policies that support the development of local communities, particularly women. One of his initiatives included the securing of GI (geographical indicator) status for Lakadong turmeric which has a curcumin content of  9%, making it one of the finest varieties of turmeric available in the global market.  His launch of the up-market ‘Meghalayan Age’ sales outlet in Delhi is a public-private venture which has successfully helped create a wider market for Meghalayan products beyond the borders of the state, and established the Meghalaya brand, while supporting local community traditional practices and agricultural products.  His smart villages programme which is being supported by the University of California, Berkeley is another example of his forward-thinking policies.

උපුටා ගැන්ම Lanka Lead News

දැනට පවතින 365, 365 (a) නීති රාමුවන්ට සංශෝධනයන් එකතු කිරීමේදී 1995 අංක 22 පනත යටතේ හඳුන්වාදුන් සංශෝධනයන් ස්වයංක්‍රීයව අහෝසි වන බවත්, ඒ අනුව ළමා අපයෝජන, අපරාධ ආවරණය ස්වයංක්‍රීයව අහෝසි වන බවත් සමාජ ක්‍රියාකාරිනීයක හා නාගරික මන්ත්‍රීවරියක වන ශර්මිලා ගෝනවෙල මහත්මිය පවසයි.

මේ පිළිබඳව ඇය පළකර ඇති අදහස් පහළින් දැක්වේ.

දැනට පවතින 365 ,365 (a) නීති රාමුවන්ට සංශෝධනයන් එකතු කිරීමේදී 1995 අංක 22 පනත යටතේ හඳුන්වාදුන් සංශෝධනයන් ස්වයංක්‍රීයව අහෝසි වනු ඇත. මෙම සංශෝධනයන් පිළිබඳ මනා දැනුමක් ඇති විද්වතුන්ගේ මතයට අනුව ළමා අපයෝජන, අපරාධ ආවරණය ස්වයංක්‍රීයව අහෝසි කරයි.

දැනට පවතින නීති වලට අනුව වයස අවුරුදු 18 ට වැඩි ඕනෑම පුද්ගලයෙකු වයස අවුරුදු 16 අඩු වූ දරුවකුට පවතින 365 අනුව අස්වාභාවික ක්‍රියාවන්” සිදු කරන්නේ නම් එය බරපතළ අපරාධයක් වන අතර දඬුවම් ලැබිය හැකි වරදකි. තවද 1995 අංක 22 දරණ දණ්ඩනීති සංග්‍රහය සංශෝධන පනත මගින් දඬුවම් වැඩි කරන ලද අතර ඊට අමතරව ළමා අපචාර සහ අපරාධ නඩු විධාන සංග්‍රහයේ දෙවැනි වගන්තිය ලෙස අර්ථ දක්වා ඇත.

කිසිදු විටක කෙනකුගේ වෙනස් වෙනස්” අභිමතයන් හෝ වෙනස් වෙනස්” ලක්ෂණයන් ඇති ප්‍රජාවකට ඇති එම වෙනස අභියෝගයක් වීමට හෝ අත් විඳීමට ඇති අයිතිය ඇහිරීමට මා කිසිවිටෙක දායක වන්නේ නැත.

අවශ්‍යතාවයන් හා අභිමතයන් සුරැකීමට නීති රාමු සම්පාදනය කිරීමේදී තවත් යහපත් අරමුණකින් රැකගත යුතු කොටසකගේ අයිතීන් හා ආරක්ෂාව අභියෝගයට ලක් වන්නේ නම් ඒ ගැන අවධානය යොමු නොකිරීමට හෝ පෙනි නොසිටීමට මාහට කිසිසේත්ම නොහැක.

එය තවත් අයෙකුගේ ප්‍රකාශන අයිතියක් යැයි අන් අය විසින් පිළිගැනීමට තරම් සංවේදී වනු ඇතැයි මා විශ්වාස කරමි.

තවද මා 2022 , මාර්තු මස සිට කිසිදු පක්ෂයක් සමග සම්බන්ද නොවු බව බහුතරයක් දන්නා කරුනක් වුවද මාගේ අදස් පළකිරිම පක්ෂක් සමග සම්බන්ද කර හුවා දැක්විමට ගන්නා බාල ක්‍රියාව හෝ උත්සහය පිලිබදව දරුවන් වෙනුවෙන් පෙනිසිටිමේ අයිතියක් ඇත්තේ තමන්ටම පමණක්යයි සිතනා ඇතැමුන් පිලිබදව ඇත්තේ කණගාටුවටක් පමණි.

මා පෞද්ගලිකව හෝ මා නියෝජනය කරන සංවිධානය විසින් දරුවන් වෙනුවෙන් ලබාදී ඇති දායකත්වය/ මැදිහත්වීම ප්‍රශ්න කර තිබුනත් මේ ඒ සදහා ප්‍රතිචාර දැක්විමට සුදුසු අවස්ථාවක් යැයි නොසිතුවත්, නැවුම්ව නගන හඩක් වුවද යහපත් දෙයක් වෙනුවෙන්නම් එය පිළිගැනිමට තරම් අපි නිහතමානී විය යුතුය.

පවතින නීතියක් මඟින් දරුවන්ට ලැබිය යුතුම වූ ආරක්ෂාව හා ආවරණය ගිලිහී යනවා නම් එය අනාගතයේ ලබාගැනිමට තැත් කරන දේට වඩා වැඩි දෙයක් අපිට අහිමි කරනවා ඇති බව මාගේ මතයයි.

මා විශ්වාස කරන්නේ දරුවන්ගේ අයිතිය රැකෙන මෙම නීති ආරක්ෂා කරමින් තවත් සුවිශේෂී ප්‍රජාවකගේ ආරක්ෂාව හා නිදහස තහවුරු කිරීම කළ යුතු බවයි. මේ උත්සාහය, මේ හඬ, ඒ වෙනුවෙන්!!

— ශර්මිලා ගෝනවෙල —

Courtesy Adaderana

The Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Gunadasa Samarasinghe, has confirmed China’s request to import 100,000 toque macaque monkeys from the cash-strapped island nation amidst protests from several environmentalists against the deal.

Speaking to Indian media, Samarasinghe said that a privately-owned animal breeding Chinese company, connected to zoological gardens, had made the request to his ministry.

We will not send the whole 100,000 in one lot. But we considered the request due to crop damages caused by the monkeys in several parts of the country. They will not be taken from conserved areas. The focus will be only in the cultivation areas,” Samarasinghe was quoted as saying by PTI.

Samaraisnghe’s statements come at a time where several environmental organisations and animal rights groups have raised deep concerns about the Sri Lankan’s government decision to export the endangered species to China.

The toque macaque monkey is endemic to Sri Lanka and classified as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list, after they were recently removed from the list of protected species on the island.

Sri Lanka removed several species including all three monkey species in the country – namely tufted gray langur, purple-faced leaf monkey and toque macaque – from the protected list, taking into account the fact that monkeys have become a menace as they constantly damage the crops and forage the villages for food. This allows farmers to kill the animals which are not listed as protected.

However, conservationists took issue with the decision to export toque macaques, saying that they are sceptical that these animals are planned to be used for experiments in China as toque macaques show high genetic similarity to humans.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy in Colombo said on Wednesday (19 April) that China’s wildlife authorities have clarified that they are not aware of any such request to export 100,000 toque macaque monkeys from Sri Lanka to a Chinese private company, adding that no such application has been received from any side.

– With input from agencies 

Courtesy Adaderana

Leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) MP Rauff Hakeem says that there was a request by the political party leaders with regard to making paper-marking activities of examinations an essential service.

Speaking to the media following the party leaders’ meeting held today (April 20), the former minister mentioned that during the meeting, the decision of university lecturers to boycott the answer sheet evaluation activities of the 2022 G.C.E. Advanced Level Examination was also taken up.

 A question arose as to whether the President would perhaps make it an essential service. There was also a request among the party leaders to do so”, he said.

However, the MP further expressed that if necessary, the education service should be made an essential service and the paper-marking activities should be completed as soon as possible.

There was also strong criticism during the meeting of the attempts by university lecturers to win over their demands by holding students as hostages”, he added.

KAMALIKA PIERIS

The History of Surgery published by the College of Surgeon of Sri Lanka (2022) has   provided a very positive picture of the role of our general surgeons. The first surgeons in the island were General Surgeons” who were expected to   deal with all surgical cases that came their way.  All surgical operations were done by them till the end of the 1950s when specialist surgeons started to appear. But some general surgeons had to carry on even after specialist surgeons made their appearance. As late as 1970, the general surgeon in Anuradhapura said he had to do a craniotomy for a head injury and had to deal with orthopedic complaints as well.

The College of Surgeons pointed out that the general surgeon was particularly skilled in assessing surgical patients on admission, and deciding on who needed urgent treatment, also the treatment required (triage). They also dealt skillfully with any surgical problems that arose in the hospital wards.   

In the early period, when there were no specialist surgeons, the general surgeons had voluntarily engaged in specialist surgery.  They did it as a service. This is not well known. The pediatric surgical service at Lady Ridgway Children’s Hospital in Colombo was for a long time run by general surgeons who agreed to operate there.

While serving at the Ratnapura Hospital in 1992 Dr. Wijaya Godakumbura had seen many patients who had serious burn injuries due to unsafe kerosene bottle lamps.He invented a safe bottle lamp where the kerosene did not leak out when toppled. He received the Rolex award for this in 1998. He used his Rolex award and other contributions to distribute one million of these safe low cost lamps to families in Sri Lanka.  Godakumbura received inquiries from all around the world for the lamp design which he shared freely.  He has given presentations on injury prevention at international conferences in many countries.  

The surgical service expanded during the seven decades after independence and   surgical treatment is within reach of even the poorest patient today, said the College of Surgeons, proudly. From 60 general surgeons in 1986 the state service had expanded to 176 general surgeons in 2019. 

The number of surgical units in hospitals had   also increased, over the years. The general surgical units in National Hospital Colombo were increased to 7 in 1958.  The quota of two general surgeons per provincial hospital was increased to   three general surgical units in the 1960s.  Base hospitals had only one surgeon till 2004,  this increased to two, but with only one operating theatre.

However, the figures given in the History of Surgery do not show a spectacular expansion. There is no huge leap in bed strength or surgeons. In 30 years, the number of surgeons in the Western Province only rose from 35 to 53     Beds in the surgical wards only increased from5627 in 1991 to 11,734 in 2019 for the whole island.  There has always been a shortage of surgeons, noted the History of Surgery.   

Initially doctors had to go abroad at their own expense and qualify as surgeons. The cost was prohibitive and only those who could afford it were able to do so. They usually sat the exams of the Royal College of Surgeons, London, (FRCS) or the exams of Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh or Glasgow.

From 1947, the Primary FRCS exam was conducted in Ceylon. This was due to the   efforts of Sir Nicholas Attygalle who had successfully negotiated with the Royal College of Surgeons, London to obtain this. The exam was held at the Medical Faculty of the University of Ceylon. Candidates were examined jointly by the professors of the Colombo Medical College and examiners from London.  In 1960, the government   started to bear the cost of holding this exam in Sri Lanka, and the examinees did to have to pay anything.

Local training for surgeons, instead of London, came up for discussion in the 1970s. The desirability of locally trained surgeons, which had been tentatively suggested much earlier, now came into the open.

Dr Shelton Cabraal in his Presidential address to Sri Lanka Medical Association in 1974 said that specialist training in the west was unsuitable for two reasons, the disease patterns in the west were different to ours and their   theatre facilities were superior to what we had here. Therefore our doctors when they return find it difficult to work with the limited facilities in the provincial hospitals.  . Doctors should be trained in the environment in which they will be working and there is a clear need for local Post graduate medical training I advocated this when I was President of GMOA in 1958 but the younger doctors were against it,” Cabraal said.

In 1973, the Advisory Committee on Postgraduate Medical Education recommended to    the government that it should start to train medical specialists locally.The Postgraduate Institute of Medicine (PGIM) was set up for the purpose at the University of Colombo. In 1980 the government decided that the specialist qualifications given by the PGIM would be the only qualification recognized in the state health sector. The degree of Master of Surgery from the University of Colombo would be the sole qualification recognized for a surgeon in Sri Lanka. 

The Primary FRCS exam in Colombo was stopped    but those already possessing the FRCS continued to be recognized as surgeons. The transition took place smoothly observed the History of Surgery.   My own view was that the two qualifications should have run parallel for a few years, to give the local qualification time to develop.

The Board of Surgery of the PGIM was responsible for training surgeons.  There were nine specialties, offered by this Board, general surgery, gastro intestinal, oncology, urology, pediatric, plastic, cardiothoracic, vascular and neuro surgery.  General surgery had seven special interest areas which included breast surgery and trauma surgery. Trainees had to select one of these as a special interest.This gave the trainees a far better exposure to the specialties than they received in London, said the editors of the History of Surgery.  

The trainees were from the state sector and they continued to be paid while in training.  They only had to pay nominal amounts for registration, tuition and exams. Those who were successful at the first attempt had their exam fees refunded.

The training was carried out by the teaching staff of the universities and by consultants in the Ministry of Health. College of Surgeons has contributed to the PGIM training in various ways, including mock exams.  There had been continuous evolution of the exam structure and in 2015, the Board of Surgery   started to evaluate both the exam and   also its individual examiners.

The ready support given by the medical profession to this sudden transfer of qualifications from London to Colombo has not, in my view, received the appreciation it deserves. This venture, where the legislation preceded the training, instead of the other way round, would not have succeeded if not for the whole hearted support of the specialists who were already in service in Sri Lanka.

The examinations were   conducted at the Medical Faculty, Colombo jointly with examiners from the Royal College of Surgeons, London.     The written papers for the first MS Part 1 was held, under police guard at a neutral venue, the Agrarian Research and Training Institute, in Colombo as the GMOA was opposed to local post graduate qualifications. 

 There was also a period of compulsory training aboard. The initial preference was for training in UK, but later trainees went to Australia, Germany, Hong Kong and Singapore as well.  Placement was not easy and Sri Lankan doctors working abroad were extremely helpful in obtaining placements in their hospitals. Some of these doctors are mentioned by name in the book.

Local postgraduate training in surgery was an important factor in the development of surgery in Sri Lanka said the History of Surgery.  The general and specialized services expanded over the last four decades specifically due to the PGIM.  The brain drain of surgeons slowed down after the PGIM came in, because, among other factors, they could now practice the surgery that interested them.By 2019 PGIM had trained 269 surgeons in general surgery and 95 in orthopedics.  

The PGIM training in surgery is much in demand in the region and there are more than a dozen foreign students in the progamme. The PGIM could be an important regional   center in the future, said the History of Surgery. (Continued)

KAMALIKA PIERIS

Surgical specialties were introduced to the state health sector in the late 1950s. The General Hospital Colombo was the first to get permanent special units, such as a thoracic unit, observed History of Surgery. But some specialties were started in the provincial hospitals as well.  Doctors who had trained in specialized surgery abroad introduced these specialties to the provincial hospitals they were sent to.

 A cancer unit was started in Maharagama in 1958, thoracic unit in Ratnapura in 1958, plastic surgery unit in Kurunegala in 1971, Urology at Nawalapitiya in 1974 and gastro intestinal surgery at Base Hospital, Kuliyapitiya. General hospital, Kandy had an orthopedic unit in 1961, urology in 1968, neuro-surgery in 1972 and vascular surgery in 1974.

Specialist surgeons did not find it easy to establish their specialties in a hospital. The Ministry of Health sent them for training, appointed them as specialists on their return, got them the surgical instruments they asked for and then forget about them. The rest was up to the personal initiative of the surgeon. Urology is a good example.

Urology was established as a specialty in Sri Lanka in 1954 in the General Hospital, Colombo. Dr GN Perera was the sole urologist for the whole country at that time. He had just 10 beds, no house officers and had to share operating time with others. He faced resistance from the general surgeons at the beginning. Some even sought legal action against him for using general surgery procedures in his work.

 Dr. Lakshman Attygalle   who was appointed as urologist in Colombo in 1971 was also the sole urologist until he was joined by Dr Lalith Perera. Attygalle worked with only XRays to guide him, said the History of Surgery and his operation list sometimes had 30 patients. He had worked 3 operating tables at the same time.

Dr. AML Beligaswatte related the trials and tribulations he had to undergo to develop the urology unit in Kandy. The urology unit in Kandy was without a doctor till Beligaswatte returned in 1978. As usual, he was appointed without the infrastructure and facilities he needed, including supporting staff. He had to start from scratch.

Dr. Beligaswatte arranged with a colleague to share his clinic room in the OPD to set up a urology clinic but he had no operating theater facilities. A VVIP with a urological condition had been sent to him one day, and Dr.Beligaswatte had explained that he could not carry out the necessary surgery as he did not have the facilities. Within two months he had all the equipment he needed. Dr Beligaswatte found an empty ward occupied by bats. The Matron, male nurse and the administration officer had urged the Medical Superintendant of the hospital to release the ward for urology. Dr Mark Amerasinghe the Orthopedic surgeon gave him an afternoon session in the operating theatre.  

Until the PGIM came on the scene, there were only these three urological surgeons in the country, the two in Colombo and the one in Kandy and patients came from all over the island to these units.

Then In 1980, PGIM   started to train urologists.   Over 25 Urologists went on to open up urology units throughout the country.  Urology gained strength as a specialty and Sri Lanka Association of Urological surgeons was set up in 1999. It received the membership of Urological Association of Asia in 2003. 

But the surgeons continued to face the same difficulties and found solutions on their own.  In Kurunegala the urologist only had a single afternoon operating session a week but with the support of the anesthetist and nurses, he operated from 2 pm to 7 pm. The nursing staff were sent to Kandy for training in urology. The Inner Wheel club had helped to develop the urology ward and clinic in Kurunegala.

 At Karapitiya, Dr Himashi Kularatne was appointed Neuro surgeon in 1997. He had no beds, instruments or theatre facilities.  An American ship en route via Sri Lanka to US after the Gulf War in 1991 had donated some   hospital beds and other equipment. These had been dumped in stores and Himashi was able to find ‘some beds, mattresses, blood pressure apparatus, ophthalmoscope and some minor surgical instruments from this collection’.

The Ministry said it had no funds to develop the unit, but the Minister and the Director General of Health had helped   to get the rest of the       equipment needed. Karapitiya finally had a well equipped neurosurgery unit along with an intensive care unit and a new theatre. Himashi said he was the only neurosurgeon in the hospital and he had to work day and night through the year” to treat patients. All patients with head injury due to the Tsunami were treated in his unit, he recalled with much satisfaction.

Young trainees are now returning with skills   and the equipment to handle complex surgical problems observed History of Surgery.  the fibreoptic gastro duodenoscope, an instrument used to look into the duodenum, was introduced to Sri Lanka by DFDS Goonewardene who had trained in its use in Japan.

Dr K.L. Fernando performed the first laparoscopic   removal of the gall bladder, at Ragama using equipment purchased by him in Germany when training there. When I planned to return to Sri Lanka in 1992, I managed to buy most of the necessary equipment. A German surgeon helped me to buy hand instruments at a relatively cheap price.  I hand carried them back, he said.

 For the first operation everything was planned well ahead. Certain instruments I fabricated myself by altering old instruments. Crocodile forceps were fabricated by me. I could not bring back carbon dioxide insufflators which were costly.  I used the old hand operated ones which were available in Gynecology. I had brought two empty gas cylinders from UK which I used for this procedure and during the initial period I had to go to Ceylon Oxygen Company to fill them as the hospital did not have carbon dioxide.”

I made two big trays with aluminum sheet to sterilize the instruments, continued Fernando.  The video camera was inserted into a sterilized sheath made out of cloth by the operating theater sister.  I trained a few experienced   theatre nurses in what to expect and a final year medical student was taught how to hold the telescope during the procedure. The instruments were brought to hospital in my car and final year medical students helped to carry them to the operation theatre. After the first successful operation, Dr Fernando went on to train surgeons in both state and private sector in this procedure.

Dr Waruna Karunaratne, thoracic surgeon, trained in Germany.    On his return, in 2004, he was appointed to Welisara where he set up a thoracic unit.  His German contacts sent him equipment and also visited him to advice on the unit. Some of the equipment they sent was not allowed in by Sri Lanka Customs even after they were shown documents.

Similarly, Klinik Lowenstein had sent 80 electrically controlled beds free of charge to replace the beds at Welisara, but the Ministry had refused to pay the freight charges which were 1.2 million rupees and the beds went back. Each bed was worth two million and the beds were up to date, said Waruna.  It took a long time to persuade the Ministry to buy the thorascopic   instruments needed for Welisara, and Waruna was able to perform the first thorascopic surgery only in 2007.

One of the earliest surgical specialties available in Sri Lanka was heart surgery.  A T S Paul was sent for special training in thoracic surgery in UK. On his return he established a thoracic surgery unit at the General Hospital, Colombo in 1952,  the first such unit in Sri Lanka. For many years this was the only cardiothoracic unit in the island. Dr Paul also later designed a portable heart-lung machine and kidney dialysis machine

The first  closed heart surgery operations were done in 1953 in Colombo by Prof  Ric Husfeld, Professor of thoracic surgery in Copenhagen, Denmark, who was  visiting Sri Lanka  as part of a medical team sponsored by WHO. Open heart surgery followed thereafter, in the 1950s. it was reported that   between 1954 and 1975 625 cases of hole in the heart, were corrected. In 1968, the first intensive care unit in Ceylon was established by anesthetist Dr Thistle Jayawardene for taking care of these cardiac surgical patients.

 In 1961 Britain had offered Sri Lanka a heart-lung machine, but had decided to send a team to Sri Lanka first.The team had reported that there was friction between the two cardiac units in Colombo and suggested that the machine be offered to Singapore. The first heart lung machine came in 1966, donated by Lions Club. But this was not what the local surgeons wanted, so a machine was designed and built locally.

Heart surgery in Sri Lanka has received much praise. In 2008 US Cardiac Surgeon Dr J.R.Torstveit stated in an interview with the Daily News that Sri Lanka was on par with the best when it came to open heart surgery on children.  The success rate at Lady Ridgway Hospital had gone beyond 95 % which places it on par with the very best in countries like US and UK. This was attributed to the selfless dedication and commitment by both local doctors and authorities.

 In 2014 Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon Dr. Mahendra Munasinghe told Sunday Times, that Heart surgery in Sri Lanka has developed in leaps and bounds and now we are on par with any country, the country has the expertise and the technology to bring about satisfactory results in a variety of cases. He said that heart surgery has reached a high standard in the five Government cardiac- surgical units at the National Hospital in Colombo, the Kandy and Karapitiya Teaching Hospitals, the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children in Colombo and the Sri Jayewardenepura General Hospital.

 India did a survey of heart surgery inBangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and this was reported in Indian Heart Journal in 2017. It said that the approximate number of cardiac operations performed in Sri Lanka in 2016 is 5500. The number of operating surgeons is 24. The number of cardiac anesthetists and perfusionists is 21 and 48 respectively. There are 11 centers offering cardiac surgery in Sri Lanka. These centers are located in Colombo, Kandy, Galle and Jaffna. In 2016 the estimated Sri Lankan population is 21 million. That makes the number of cardiac operations around 265/million population, which is by far better than that of any other South Asian nation, including India. 

Sri Lanka has developed a   capacity for transplant surgery for kidney, liver and heart. This was probably a late development but it is available now, within limits. The start was at National Hospital, Colombo, but later transplant units were set up in Sri Jayewardenepura, Kandy, Peradeniya, Karapitiya and several private hospitals, reported the History of Surgery. 

Transplant surgery started due to the dedication of three doctors, H. Sheriffdeen, Rizvi Sherif and Geri Jayasekera. These three have not, in my view, received the recognition due to them for their successful introduction of transplant surgery in Sri Lanka.

In 1978, these three doctors, H.  Sheriffdeen, Riziv Sherif and Geri Jayasekera observed that patients were going to India for renal transplants. They discussed the possibility of setting up a renal transplantation programme in Sri Lanka. The aim was   to provide a service to patients,but   also raise the level of surgical expertise in the country and bring it in line with global standards.

This first venture into transplant surgery was carefully planned over a period of time. Sheriffdeen used his sabbatical leave to undergo training in renal transplantation in the UK and USA. Rizvi Sheriff set up the necessary dialysis unit in 1980-1985,   in the private sector at Lanka Medicare hospital first and later in the National Hospital, Colombo. Geri Jayasekera attended to his function in the matter.

 Sheriffdeen returned after training in 1981 and preparatory work for kidney transplant started. Several meetings and workshops were conducted to create awareness and train the support staff. A high level team was assembled for the first operation. This consisted not only of the  operating theatre team, but also specialists in pathology, hematology, microbiology and physiology.  A specialist on dialysis and technicians from a private lab were brought in. Nurses  were specially trained. The team also had an adviser on medico- legal issues.

  In 1985 the first living donor kidney transplant operation was successfully carried out by this team at Rutnams Private Hospital, Colombo as permission to carry out this operation in the National Hospital was denied. 

Two years later, National Hospital (NHSL) had its first kidney transplantation operation, done by the same team. First pediatric transplantation was also done at the NHSL by them in 1987. The NHSL continued to strengthen its transplant programme and in 1997 the first transplant using organs from brain dead person (cadaveric) was carried out there.

There were legal issues involved in transplant surgery.  The Sheriffdeen team lobbied the Minster of Health and obtained the Transplantation of Human tissues Act no   48 of 1987. With the development of transplant surgery, there was also the need to find donors, and doctors Island wide were   alerted about the need to obtain organs from brain dead persons.

The next hospital to move into renal transplant was predictably Kandy Teaching Hospital. Kandy has had a successful renal transplant programme said History of Surgery. The first live donor kidney transplant was done in Kandy in 2000. As at 2021 1286 live donor kidney transplants and 189 deceased donor kidney transplants have been performed   in Kandy.  The first 50 cadaveric cases when reviewed were found to be similar to other international series.The first  successful heart transplant was in July 2017 at  Kandy.  The first kidney pancreas transplant was also attempted in 2017 in Kandy.

 The first pediatric renal transplant program in the island was developed at Peradeniya Teaching Hospital    in 2004. And the first transplant was performed in the same year, said History of Surgery. As at 2021, the hospital had done 134 operations. There is a separate transplant ward in the hospital. Peradeniya teaching Hospital is recognized as the only unit that provides Pediatric kidney transplant service in Sri Lanka. 

The   Peradeniya surgeons said they developed this capability amidst many obstacles and difficulties, working without the necessary supporting facilities.  Patients were underprepared for the operation due to lack of facilities and their nutritional status was low.

The surgical team that pioneered this consisted of Oswald Fernando, MD Lamawansa and Chula Gunasekera. Oswald Fernando was the transplant surgeon at Royal Free Hospital London. He had been instrumental in getting our surgeons to London for training in transplant surgery. Dr Fernando led the  Peradeniya pediatric transplant operation. Dr Lamawansa had trained in pediatric transplant  at the Royal Free.  Dr Chula Gunasekera had seen to the pre-operative aspect. The Medical Faculty at Peradeniya greatly supported this venture. The History of Surgery mentions by name the academics who helped. The Faculty was very proud of its achievement in pediatric transplant surgery.

But not everybody was pleased. The Surgeon in charge of the Kandy adult transplantation programme, used his influence as President of the local branch of the GMOA to  persuade Peradeniya authorities and  the Ministry to order a  halt to the Peradeniya programme,  after the first successful transplant operation.

The Minster for Health, Nimal Siripala de Silva arrived to settle the matter. After listening to all parties at a “not so pleasant meeting” he decided to divide the   27 children who were awaiting operations, among the three hospitals  Lady Ridgway, Kandy and  Peradeniya which claimed that they  were capable of  doing transplants on children. Each hospital was allocated nine children each. But all 27 operations were performed at Peradeniya since the parents were not prepared to send their children to hospitals they were not familiar with.

Lastly, we come to liver transplants. The University of Colombo Transplantation unit performed the first successful liver transplant at NHSL in 2010.  One unique feature in this operation was that the surgical team had managed all aspects of patient care from pre –op to post –op, because there was nobody else who could undertake this.

University of Kelaniya Faculty of Medicine had established a dedicated liver unit which moved on to liver transplants. They did the first successful live donor liver transplant (LDLT) at Nawaloka Hospital in 2013.   In 2017, this team also did the first liver transplant for acute liver failure.  This was challenging surgery to perform in a starting programme said History of Surgery. In 2020 the team went on to perform 50 liver transplants, the highest in the island.  This included the first pediatric liver transplant in the country. The center then went on to train surgeons in liver transplant.   (Continued)

Prof.  N.A.de S. Amaratunga 

The purpose of this article is to show how and why man created religion and how man himself is destroying it. Religion was created by man in his search for solutions to the human predicament, full of defilement, insatiable greed, uncontrolable hatred, ignorence, self-ego which caused immense mental dissatisfaction and sorrow. This problem was made worse by various physical and mental illnesses and natural evil. Early man was amazed, baffled and terrified by natural phenomena and evil. His inherent inquisitiveness and evolved intelect made him pry into nature and its mysteries and thus developed his science. His incessant feeling of dissatisfaction and suffering made him seek solace and thus devoloped religion. He worshipped natural phenomena like the Sun, trees, rocks and later he created deity. Several gods were worshiped in Mesopotamia including Anu the god of Heaven. In ancient Egypt a deity named Sobek with a crocodile head was created. Seals discovered in Indus Valley civilisation ruins show objects of worship like Pasupathi, fig tree, linga etc.

As the civilisations evolved the objects of worship also became more civilized so to speak. Greeks developed twelve gods, Zeus etc, to oversee different subjects. Vedic religion in India developed three gods responsible for the creation and destruction of the world. Pantheism which is the doctrine that propounds several gods and also the concept of identification of god with the universe developed in these cultures. In line with these thoughts arose the  Book of Genesis in  Palestine ascribed to Moses, the first book of the Hebrew religion which described the creation of the world and life in it. It also mentions Abraham who had the first humanity’s relationship with god and who is considered the founder of Judaism. Three religions Christianity, Judaism and Islam, with a common god, evolved from Abrahamic thought. Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohamed the founders of Christianity and Islam respectively are also humanity’s connections with god. Vedic culture in India also paved the way for the development of three religions Brahmanism which developed into Hinduism continuing the doctrinal essence of the Veda, Buddhism and Jainism which took different paths.

However, religions have not been able to subdue these defilement as religions broke up and fragmented. This fragmentation reflects the inherent defilement of man, his ego-centric nature, vileness, hatred, greed, and ignorence. Religious wars like the Islamic invasions, Crusades, in the name of religion stand in testimony to this evil nature of man. Entry of transcendentalism, substantialism and absolutism, which were rejected by Buddha,into Buddhism led to the develoment of Mahayana and Vajrayana and other esoteric schools with dubious doctrines. Hinduism broke up into four main branches and several sects due to difference of opinion on the deity. Islam also has two major branches and several sects. Christianity is divided based on Eastern and Western theology and within these divisions there are six branches. These branches are also broken up into several sects, Protestantism for example has seven sects and cults.

History is replete with conflict and violence among different sects of the same religion. Most destructive had been the European religious wars in the 16^th, 17^th and 18^th Centuries after the Protestant Reformation in 1517 which disrupted the religious and political structure in Europe. The violence in Ireland is a more recent eruption of these conflicts.  Sectarian conflict and violence have been the bane of the Islamic world which still continues in the Middle East.

Cults such as Evangelism and Born Again Christianity are considered as showing a tendency to take its adherents towards the Dark Ages of the 500 CE to 1000 CE in Europe when there was no freedom of thought and as a result science was stagnant. Born-again practitioners believe they have a closer and intimate relationship with god through Jesus Christ. The potential danger of such beliefs is that it may foster a sense of moral superiority and exclusivity. Those who have had an intense conversion experience may believe they have an intimate connection with God that sets them apart from those without such experiences. That could lead to judgmental attitudes toward those who don’t share their beliefs.This attitude can be especially harmful when rejecting those who differ from oneself, such as members of different religious or cultural groups. Further Born-again Christianity can lead to a disconnection from the realities of our world. This disconnect from reality can lead to rejecting science, reason, and critical thinking, as these are seen as threats to one’s faith.

The danger of permitting religious cults to operate has been evident in many instances. For example Jonestown incident in 1978 where 918 people died due to the instruction of cult leader Jim Jones. The Solar Temple incident that resulted in mass suicide and homicide in France in 1994.  A Buddhist and Hindu cult Aum Shinrikyo led by Shoko Asahara used sarin to kill people in Tokyo in 1995. Sri Lanka had the horrible experience of Easter Sunday bombings perpetrated by an Islamic cult.

The activities of the cult churches may have contributed to the decline of Christianity in Europe. According to the most recent Pew poll, only 71 percent of Europeans still identify as Christian, though 81 percent were raised in the faith. Most are non-practicing. Among the young, the situation is worse. About 60% to 70% percent of young Europeans aged 16–29 identify with no religion, according to a St. Mary University study.

Currently in Europe a cold war is brewing between the main stream Christian church and other sects which are seen as unwelcome intrusion. In the last few years, animosity against evangelicals in Europe seems to be growing in the wake of the  suicides and homicides perpetrated by the Order of the Solar Temple, a new religious movement based on a mixture of esoteric ideas and apocalyptic expectations. Consequently the French government passed an “anti-cult” law in 1999 officially labeling evangelical groups as cults and sects. In October 2002, Belarus passed a strict new law targeting evangelicals and other minority faiths. Other European countries where anti-cult laws are being drafted, include: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, Romania, Portugal, Spain and a few others. In most of these countries, there are efforts to categorize evangelical churches as “cults” (Griffith, 2023)

Importantly, considering the dangers of cults, what is happening in the US may be relevant. White evangelical Christians have declined by 37 percent, compared with 8 percent for White nonevangelical Protestants and 27 percent for White Catholics (Public Religion Research Institute). Though there is a general reduction in religiosity in the US there seems to be a trend of moving away from cults and towards conventional Christianity. Sri Lankans of all religions would do well to take cognizance of what is happening in the world in response to cults.

Prof.  N.A.de S. Amaratunga 

Sasanka De Silva Pannipitiya

Vermicomposting is a process of composting organic waste materials using earthworms. In this process, earthworms consume organic waste, such as food scraps, paper, and other plant-based materials, and then excrete it in the form of vermicompost, a nutrient-rich fertilizer that is beneficial for plants.

During the process of vermiculture, the earthworms consume the organic matter and break it down into smaller particles, which are then further decomposed by microbes in the worm’s digestive tract. The result is a nutrient-rich material that is beneficial for plants and soil health.

Vermicomposting can be done on a small scale, such as in a backyard composting bin, or on a larger scale, such as in a commercial composting operation. It is an environmentally friendly way to manage organic waste, and it produces a valuable resource that can be used to fertilize plants and improve soil health.

Vermicomposting has many benefits, including:

1.    Diverts organic waste from landfills: Vermicomposting is a way to manage organic waste and divert it from landfills. This reduces the amount of waste that ends up in landfills, where it can contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.

2.    Produces a nutrient-rich fertilizer: It is a nutrient-rich fertilizer that benefits plants. It contains high levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, as well as beneficial microorganisms that can improve soil health.

3.    Improves soil health: The process can help improve soil structure, water-holding capacity, and nutrient availability. It can also increase soil microbial activity and biodiversity, which can lead to healthier plants.

4.    Reduces the need for chemical fertilizers: Because vermicompost is a natural fertilizer, it can reduce the need for chemical fertilizers, which can be harmful to the environment and human health.

5.    Lowers carbon footprint: By diverting organic waste from landfills and reducing the need for chemical fertilizers, vermicomposting can help lower the carbon footprint of agriculture and waste management.

Overall, vermicomposting is a sustainable and environmentally friendly way to manage organic waste and improve soil health.

There are a few potential disadvantages of vermicomposting that should be considered:

1.    Temperature and moisture requirements: Earthworms require a specific range of temperature and moisture conditions to thrive, and these conditions may not be easy to maintain in all environments. If the composting bin becomes too dry or too wet, or if the temperature is too hot or too cold, the worms may not survive or may stop processing the organic waste.

2.    Slow process: Vermicomposting is generally slower than other forms of composting, and it may take several months to produce a significant amount of vermicompost. This can be a disadvantage if there is a need for a large amount of compost in a short time.

3.    Requires careful management: It requires careful management to ensure that the worms are healthy and process the organic waste efficiently. This includes monitoring the temperature, moisture, and pH levels of the compost, as well as feeding the worms a balanced diet of organic matter.

4.    Potential odour and pest problems: If the composting bin is not properly managed, it can attract pests such as flies or rodents and produce unpleasant odours.

Despite these potential disadvantages, vermicomposting can still be a highly effective and sustainable way to manage organic waste and produce nutrient-rich compost. With proper management and care, these challenges can be minimized.

Vermicomposting යනු පස් පණුවන් යොදා ගනිමින් කාබනික අපද්‍රව්‍ය කොම්පෝස්ට් කිරීමේ ක්‍රියාවලියකි. මෙම ක්‍රියාවලියේදී, පස් පණුවන් කාබනික අපද්‍රව්‍ය, එනම් ආහාර කැබලි, කඩදාසි සහ අනෙකුත් ශාක පදනම් වූ ද්‍රව්‍ය පරිභෝජනය කරයි, පසුව එය ශාක සඳහා ප්‍රයෝජනවත් වන පෝෂක පොහොසත් පොහොරක් වන vermicompost ආකාරයෙන් බැහැර කරයි.

වර්මිකල්චර් ක්‍රියාවලියේදී, පස් පණුවන් කාබනික ද්‍රව්‍ය පරිභෝජනය කර කුඩා අංශු බවට බිඳ දමයි, පසුව පණුවාගේ ආහාර ජීර්ණ පත්‍රයේ ක්ෂුද්‍ර ජීවීන් විසින් ඒවා තවදුරටත් දිරාපත් වේ. ප්රතිඵලය වන්නේ ශාක හා පාංශු සෞඛ්යයට ප්රයෝජනවත් වන පෝෂක පොහොසත් ද්රව්යයකි.

වර්මිකොම්පෝස්ට් කිරීම ගෙවතු කොම්පෝස්ට් බඳුනක වැනි කුඩා පරිමාණයකින් හෝ වාණිජ කොම්පෝස්ට් මෙහෙයුමක් වැනි විශාල පරිමාණයකින් සිදු කළ හැකිය. එය කාබනික අපද්‍රව්‍ය කළමනාකරණය කිරීමට පරිසර හිතකාමී ක්‍රමයක් වන අතර, එය ශාක සාරවත් කිරීමට සහ පාංශු සෞඛ්‍යය වැඩි දියුණු කිරීමට භාවිතා කළ හැකි වටිනා සම්පතක් නිෂ්පාදනය කරයි.

වර්මිකොම්පෝස්ට් කිරීම ඇතුළුව බොහෝ ප්‍රතිලාභ ඇත:

1. කාබනික අපද්‍රව්‍ය කසළ ගොඩකිරීම්වලින් ඉවතට හරවයි: වර්මිකොම්පෝස්ට් කිරීම කාබනික අපද්‍රව්‍ය කළමනාකරණය කිරීමට සහ ගොඩකිරීම්වලින් බැහැර කිරීමට ක්‍රමයකි. මෙය හරිතාගාර වායු විමෝචනයට දායක විය හැකි කසළ ගොඩකිරීම්වලින් අවසන් වන අපද්‍රව්‍ය ප්‍රමාණය අඩු කරයි.

2. පෝෂක පොහොසත් පොහොර නිෂ්පාදනය කරයි: Vermicompost යනු ශාක සඳහා ප්රයෝජනවත් වන පෝෂක පොහොසත් පොහොරකි. එහි ඉහළ නයිට්‍රජන්, පොස්පරස් සහ පොටෑසියම් මෙන්ම පාංශු සෞඛ්‍යය වැඩි දියුණු කළ හැකි ප්‍රයෝජනවත් ක්ෂුද්‍ර ජීවීන් ද අඩංගු වේ.

3. පාංශු සෞඛ්‍යය වැඩි දියුණු කරයි: පාංශු ව්‍යුහය, ජලය රඳවා ගැනීමේ හැකියාව සහ පෝෂක ලබා ගැනීමේ හැකියාව වැඩිදියුණු කිරීමට වර්මිකොම්පෝස්ට් උපකාරී වේ. එමගින් පාංශු ක්ෂුද්‍රජීවී ක්‍රියාකාරිත්වය සහ ජෛව විවිධත්වය වැඩි කළ හැකි අතර එමඟින් සෞඛ්‍ය සම්පන්න ශාක ඇති කළ හැකිය.

4. රසායනික පොහොරවල අවශ්‍යතාවය අඩු කරයි: වර්මිකොම්පෝස්ට් ස්වභාවික පොහොරක් නිසා පරිසරයට හා මිනිස් සෞඛ්‍යයට අහිතකර රසායනික පොහොර අවශ්‍යතාවය අවම කර ගත හැක.

5. කාබන් පියසටහන අඩු කරයි: කසළ ගොඩකිරීම්වලින් කාබනික අපද්‍රව්‍ය හරවා යැවීමෙන් සහ රසායනික පොහොරවල අවශ්‍යතාවය අඩු කිරීමෙන්, වර්මිකොම්පෝස්ට් කෘෂිකර්මාන්තයේ සහ අපද්‍රව්‍ය කළමනාකරණයේ කාබන් පියසටහන අඩු කිරීමට උපකාරී වේ.

සමස්තයක් වශයෙන්, වර්මිකොම්පෝස්ට් කිරීම කාබනික අපද්‍රව්‍ය කළමනාකරණය කිරීමට සහ පාංශු සෞඛ්‍යය වැඩි දියුණු කිරීමට තිරසාර හා පරිසර හිතකාමී ක්‍රමයකි.

vermicomposting හි ඇති විය හැකි අවාසි කිහිපයක් සලකා බැලිය යුතුය:

1. උෂ්ණත්වය සහ තෙතමනය අවශ්‍යතා: : පස් පණුවන්ට වර්ධනය වීමට නිශ්චිත පරාසයක උෂ්ණත්ව හා තෙතමන තත්වයන් අවශ්‍ය වන අතර, මෙම තත්ත්වයන් සෑම පරිසරයකම නඩත්තු කිරීම පහසු නොවිය හැක. කොම්පෝස්ට් බඳුන අධික ලෙස වියළී ගියහොත් හෝ අධික ලෙස තෙත් වුවහොත් හෝ උෂ්ණත්වය ඉතා උණුසුම් හෝ අධික ශීතල නම්, පණුවන් නොනැසී පවතිනු ඇත හෝ කාබනික අපද්‍රව්‍ය සැකසීම නැවැත්විය හැකිය.

2. මන්දගාමී ක්‍රියාවලිය: වර්මිකොම්පෝස්ට් කිරීම සාමාන්‍යයෙන් අනෙකුත් කොම්පෝස්ට් වර්ග වලට වඩා මන්දගාමී වන අතර සැලකිය යුතු වර්මිකොම්පෝස්ට් ප්‍රමාණයක් නිපදවීමට මාස කිහිපයක් ගත විය හැක. කෙටි කාලයක් තුළ විශාල කොම්පෝස්ට් ප්‍රමාණයක් අවශ්‍ය නම් මෙය අවාසියක් විය හැකිය.

3. ප්‍රවේශමෙන් කළමණාකරණය අවශ්‍ය වේ: පණුවන් සෞඛ්‍ය සම්පන්න බව සහතික කිරීමට සහ කාබනික අපද්‍රව්‍ය කාර්යක්ෂමව සැකසීමට වර්මිකොම්පෝස්ට් සඳහා ප්‍රවේශමෙන් කළමනාකරණය අවශ්‍ය වේ. කොම්පෝස්ට් වල උෂ්ණත්වය, තෙතමනය සහ pH මට්ටම නිරීක්ෂණය කිරීම මෙන්ම පණුවන්ට කාබනික ද්‍රව්‍ය සමබර ආහාර වේලක් ලබා දීම මෙයට ඇතුළත් වේ.

4. විභව දුගඳ සහ පළිබෝධ ගැටළු: කොම්පෝස්ට් බඳුන නිසි ලෙස කළමනාකරණය නොකළහොත්, එය මැස්සන් හෝ මීයන් වැනි පළිබෝධකයන් ආකර්ෂණය කර ගත හැකි අතර, අප්රසන්න ගන්ධයන් ඇති විය හැක.

මෙම විභව අවාසි තිබියදීත්, කාබනික අපද්‍රව්‍ය කළමනාකරණය කිරීමට සහ පෝෂ්‍ය පදාර්ථවලින් පොහොසත් කොම්පෝස්ට් නිෂ්පාදනය කිරීමට වර්මිකොම්පෝස්ට් තවමත් ඉතා ඵලදායී හා තිරසාර ක්‍රමයක් විය හැකිය. නිසි කළමනාකාරීත්වය සහ සැලකිල්ලෙන් මෙම අභියෝග අවම කර ගත හැක.

Sasanka De Silva

Pannipitiya

Manusha Media

ඒත් සමහරු කලබල වෙලා තියෙන්නේ ජනතාව රවටන පටු දේශපාලනය තවදුරටත් කරන්න බැරි වෙන නිසා- අමාත්‍ය මනුෂ නානායක්කාර

මිනිස්සු ජීවත් කරවීමට, සිස්ටම් එක චේන්ජ් කිරීමට අපිට කලබලයක් තිබූ බවත්, ජනතාව රවටන පටු දේශපාලනය තවදුරටත් ඉදිරියට ගෙන යාමට නොහැකිවීම නිසා තවත් පිරිසක් කලබල වී ඇති බවත් කම්කරු හා විදේශ රැකියා අමාත්‍ය මනුෂ නානායක්කාර මහතා පැවසුවේය.

කලබලේ ඇයි දැන් රට පුරාත්, ලෝකය පුරාත් ගොස් කෑ ගසන්නේ රට එදා තිබුණ තත්වයෙන් අද තිබෙන තත්වයට ගොඩ නැගීම නිසා කලබල වී සිටින පිරිස් බවත් අද (19) උදෑසන පැවති ප්‍රවෘත්ති සාකච්ඡාවකදී අමාත්‍යවරයා පැවසුවේය

එහිදී වැඩිදුරටත් අදහස් දැක්වූ අමාත්‍යවරයා මෙසේද කීවේය.

ගිය අවුරුද්දේ මැයි මාසය වන විට රට තිබුණ තැන අපිට මතයිනේ. තෙල් නැති, ගෑස් නැති, පෝලිම්වල ගහගනිපු, සංචිත බිංදුවට වැටුන රටක ජීවත් වුන අපිට ඒ තැන ඉදලා රට අද තිබෙන තැනට අරගෙන එන්න අපිට කලබලයක් තිබුණා. මිනිස්සු ජීවත් කරවන්න අපිට කලබලයක් තිබුණා. මිනිස්සු පෝලිම්වල මිනිස්සු මැරෙන්නේ නැති තැනට අරගෙන එන්න අපිට කලබලයක් තිබුණා. වහලා දාලා තිබුණ පාසල් ටික විවෘත කරන්න අපිට කලබලයක් තිබුණා. නැවත අධ්‍යාපනය පටන් ගන්න අපිට කලබලයක් තිබුණා. වහලා තිබුණ විශ්ව විද්‍යාල යළිත් විවෘත කරන්න අපිට කලබලයක් තිබුණා. වහලා තිබුන සංචාරක හෝටල් යළි විවෘත කරන්න අපිට කලබලයක් තිබුණා. නීතිය හා සාමය ස්ථාපිත වූ රටක් නිර්මාණය කරන්න අපිට කලබලයක් තිබුණා.

දැන් මේ ගොඩක් අයට කලබලයක් ඇතිවෙලා තියෙන්නේ ඇයි?

විදේශ සංචිත ඩොලර් මිලියන 50ට විතර පහළ වැටිලා තිබුණේ. අපිට තිබුණේ රත්තරං ටික විතරයි. අද වන විට විදේශ සංචිත ඩොලර් බිලියන 2.3 දක්වා ඉහළ නංවාගැනීමට හැකියාව ලැබුණා. විදේශ ගත ශ්‍රමිකයා වගේම අපනයන කර්මාන්තකරුවා මෙසේ විදේශ සංචිත ඉහළ නංවා ගැනීමට උදව් කළා. රට රටවලට ගිහින් සල්ලි එවන්න එපා කියලා විදේශ ගත ශ්‍රමිකයින්ට කියද්දීත් විදේශ ගත ශ්‍රමිකයින් පසුගිය මාසයේදී විතරක් ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් මිලියන 580ක් මේ රටට එව්වා. මේ මාස ගණනාව පුරා බිලියන ගණනක මුදලක් රටට එව්වා. අපේ රටේ මිනිස්සුන්ට බෙහෙත් ටික ගන්න පුලුවන් වුනා. අපේ රටේ මිනිස්සුන්ට බෙහෙත් ටික ගන්න පුලුවන් වුනා. අපේ රටේ දරුවන්ට නැවත පාසල් යන්න පුලුවන්කම ලැබුණා. අවුරුදු තුනකට පස්සේ අවුරුදු කන්න පුලුවන්කම ලැබුණා. මිනිස්සු ගම් බිම්වලට ගියා. සංචාරකයෝ ලංකාවට ආවා. අවුරුදු උත්සව නැවත පටන් ගත්තා. ලංකා බැංකුවේ ඒ.ටී.එම්. යන්ත්‍රවලින් විතරක් රුපියල් බිලියන 45ක් අවුරුදු සුමානයේදී විතරක් අරගෙන තිබුණා.

මේවා වන විට සමහරු බය වෙලා. ඒ නිසා තමයි කලබල වෙලා තියෙන්නේ.  අවුරුද්දට ඇති තරම් තෙල් ලැබුණා. ජනවාරි දෙවැනිදා ඩීසල් රුපියල් 15කින්, භුමිතෙල් රුපියල් 10කින් අඩු කළා. මාර්තු 29 වැනිදා පෙට්‍රල් රුපියල් 60කින්, ඩීසල් රුපියල් 80කින්, භූමිතෙල් රුපියල් 10කින් යළිත් පහළ දැමුවා. ලෝක වෙළදපොලේ තෙල් මිලත් එක්ක සමපාත වෙන්න තෙල් මිල අඩු කළා. ගෑස් මිල රුපියල් 1000කින් අඩු කළා. ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදලේ සහනය අපිට ලැබුණා. බංකොලොත් රටක් කියන තැනින් අපි මුදා ගැනීමට හැකියාව ලැබුණා. අයෝජකයෝ දැන් රටට එන්න පටන් අරගෙන තිබෙනවා. ආසියානු සංවර්ධන බැංකුව, පැරිස් සමාජය ලංකාවට උදව් කරන හැටි ගැන සාකච්ඡා කරනවා. අපේ කණ්ඩායම් ලෝක බැංකු කණ්ඩායම සමග සාකච්ඡා කරලා විශාල සහන රාශියක් ලබාගැනීමට කටයුතු කරනවා. ජපානය අපේ රට ඇතුළේ සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘති ආරම්භ කිරීමට කටයුතු කරමින් තිබෙනවා.

කාබනික වගාවට ගිහින් ගොවීන් අමාරුවේ වැටිලා හිටියේ. පොහොර නැතිව හිටියේ. දැන් ගොවීන්ට පොහොර ලැබෙනවා. පොහොර ගන්න සල්ලි දෙනවා. පොහොර සහනාධාරය දෙනවා. ඒ විතරක් නෙමෙයි, පසුගිය මාස කිහිපය පුරා කරගෙන ගිය වැඩපිළිවෙලත් එක්ක සහල් අතිරික්තයක් රටේ ඇතිව තිබෙනවා. අද ගොවියට නියමිත මිල ලැබෙනවා. ජනතාවටත් අවශ්‍ය සහනය ලැබෙනවා. දුප්පත් ජනතාව සහල් කිලෝ 20 බැගින් ලැබෙනවා. සහනාධාර ලැබිය යුතු පුද්ගලයින් තෝරාගෙන සහන ලබාදෙනවා. අඩු ආදායම්ලාභීන් හදුනාගෙන බැංකු ගිණුම්වලට මුදල් ලබාදෙනවා

දරුවන්ට කිරිපිටි ටික ලැබෙනවා. කිරිපිටිමිලත් වේගයෙන් පහළ වැටෙනවා. දරුවන්ට පාසල් පෙළ පොත් ලැබෙනවා. පාසල් නිල ඇදුම් ලැබෙනවා. මේවා වන විට කලබල වෙනවා. මෙච්චර කල් ජනතාව ඉල්ලපු සිස්ටම් චේන්ජ් එක අපි දැන් කරනවා. රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ ජනාධිපතිතුමා පක්ෂ දේශපාලනය පැත්කට තියලා රට වෙනස් කරනවා. බදු ගන්න ඕන අයගෙන් බදු ගන්නවා. ලක්ෂයකට වඩා වැඩියෙන් ආදායම් ලබන අයගෙන් විතරයි බදු අය කරන්නේ. මේ රටේ අතලොස්සකගෙන් විතරයි බදු අය කරන්නේ. එහෙම තිබියදී වරායේ වැඩ නතර කරලා අපි බිලියන ගානක් රටට පාඩු කළා කියලා කියනවා. රට කඩාකප්පල් කරනවා. පාරට බැහැපු අයගේ පඩි කැපනෙවාද? උපයන විට බදු ගැපෙනවාද? රට සාමාන්‍යකරණයට ලක් වන විට සටන් පාඨ නැති වෙනවා. මේ සියලු දේවල් යථා තත්වයට පත් වන විට පාරට බැහැලා කෑ ගහන්න බැරි තත්වයක් ඇතිවෙලා තිබෙනවා.

පාසල් විවෘත කරලා අධ්‍යාපනය යථා තත්වයට පත් වන විට උත්තර පත්‍ර ඇගයීම් නතර කරලා රට තුළ නොසන්සුන්තාවයක් නිර්මාණය කරන්න හදනවා. විශ්ව විද්‍යාල ඇතුලේ අර්බුද හදනවා. දරුවන් තුළ, තරුණයින් තුළ අසහනයක් ඇති කරලා 88-89 කාලයේවගේම තරුණයින් එළියට ගන්න පුලුවන්ද බලනවා. හැම වෙලාවේම වෛරය, ක්‍රෝදය වපුරන කඩප්පුලි වැඩේ කරන්න හදනවා. නැවත අර්බුදයක් හැදීමේ කලබලය තමයි මේ ඇතිවෙලා තියෙන්නේ.

මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂට ඡන්දය දෙන්න කියන පොස්ටරේ ගහගෙන ආපු අය දැන් රට රටවල ගිහින් කතා කරනවා. ඒ අය තමයි දැන් කලබලයට පත් වෙලා තියෙන්නේ. වාමාංශික ව්‍යාපාරය කඩාගෙන වැටීම නිසා කඩප්පුලි වැඩ කරන තැනකට යන්න හදනවා. රාජපක්ෂලාට පෝස්ටර් ගහලා, ඒ අය ගෙනාපු, අවුරුදු 74න් බාගයක කාලයක් පාර්ලිමේන්තුව නියෝජනය කරන, පාර්ලිමේන්තුවෙන් පඩි අරගෙන, ඇමැතිකම් ගනිපු අය දැන් චෝදනා කරනවා. විශ්‍රාම වැටුප් ගන්න ගමන් චෝදනා කරනවා.

මේ රටේ ශ්‍රමයට ගැලපෙන වැටුපක් ගන්න පුලුවන්, සමාජ ආරක්ෂණ ක්‍රමවේදයක් හදන්න උත්සාහ ගනිපු හැම වෙලාවකම ඒවා කඩාකප්පල් කලේ මේ අය තමයි. රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මේ රටේ ජනාධිපති වුනා නම් මේ සිස්ටම් එක චේන්ජ් වෙන්නේ මීට කලින්. රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ ජනාධිපති වුනානම්, දේශපාලනිකව ඔවුන්ට වන හානිය නිසා තමයි හැම වෙලාවකම ඔහුට විරුද්ධ පිලේ හිටගත්තේ. මේ සිස්ටම් එක චේන්ජ් වුනාම, අපේ රට දියුණු තත්වයකට පත් වුනාම ඇයි මේ කලබලේ කියලා ලෝක වටේ යන්න බැරි වෙන නිසා තමයි මේ අය කලබල වෙලා තියෙන්නේ. වැඩ කරන මිනිස්සුන්ට මිස බොරු කියමින් යන අයට, පච කියන අයට දැන් ඉඩක් නැතිවෙමින් යනවා. ඒ නිසා තමයි මේ අය කලබල වෙමින් තිබෙන්නේ.

මේ අය කප්පම් නොදෙන විට කර්මාන්ත ශාලා විනාශ කළා. රටේ ආර්ථිකය විනාශ කළා. රටේ යම් සංවර්ධනයක් කරන්න හදන විට, මිනිස්සු පාරට බස්සලා අර්බුද නිර්මාණය කළා. ලංකාවේ වාමාංශිකයෝ වර්ජනය කරන තාක් කල් සිංගප්පූරුවට දියුණු වෙන්න පුලුවන් කියලා ලි ක්වාන් යූ කිව්වේ මේ නිසා. ආර්ථික ගොඩ නැගීමට තිබුණ හැම වෙලාවකම ඒක නැති කළේ වෛරය ක්‍රෝදය වපුරලා. දැන් දුප්පත් මිනිස්සුත් බලාගන්න නිසා මේ අය කලබල වෙලා. තමන්ගේ දේශපාලනය මෙතැනින් එහාට කරන්න බැරි වෙන නිසා තමයි මේ අය කලබල වෙලා තියෙන්නේ.

අපිට මිනිස්සු ජීවත් කරන්න කලබලයක් තිබුණා. සිස්සටම් එක චේන්ජ් කරන්න අපිට කලබලයක් තිබුණා. ඇයි මේ කලබලේ කියලා අපිත් අහනවා. තමන්ගේ දේශපාලන අනාගතය මෙතැනින් ඉවර නිසා තමයි මේ අය කලබල වෙලා තියෙන්නේ. කැලෑ වලට ගිහින් උත්තර දීගන්න බැරිව ඉන්නේත් රට හදන මතයට, රට ගොඩ නගන මතයට බොහෝ දෙනා එකතු වෙන නිසා. මේවාට මුහුණ දෙන්න බැරිව තනිවෙලා ඉන්න අයත් කලබල වෙලා තියෙනවා. ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණේ අය, පෙරටුගාමී අය තමයි කලබල වෙලා තියෙන්. මිනිස්සු අන්දන දේශපාලනය කරන්න බැරි වෙන නිසා තමයි මෙ අය කලබල වෙලා තියෙන්න්.