ධරිණි රාජසිංහම් සේනානායක

සතියක කාලයක් කොළඹ ගතකීරීමෙන් පසුව සැප්තැම්බර් මාසයේ පළමු සතියේදී ජාත්‍යන්තර මුල්‍ය අරමුදලේ නියෝජිත කණ්ඩායම ආපසු යාම සඳහා වොෂින්ටනය බලා පිටත්වන ගුවන්යානයට ගොඩවනවිට ඉන්දීය සාගරයේ පිහිටි උපායමාර්ගික වැදගත්කමකින් යුතු මේ දිවයිනේ බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපලේ කැරකෙන දොරින් ඇතුළු වූයේ පැරිස් කලබ්(Paris Club -PC),හෙවත් පැරිස් කණ්ඩායමයි.

ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදලේ නියෝජිත කණ්ඩායම රටින් බැහැරවීමට ප්‍රථම නිවේදනය කළේ රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ ආණ්ඩුව සමග තමන් නිලධාරි මට්ටමේ ගිවිසුමක් අත්සන් කළ බවය. රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ ආණ්ඩුව ජනතාව අතර අප්‍රසාදයට පත්ව ඇත්තේ ආර්ථික අපරාධකරුවෙකු ලෙසය. කෙසේ වුවද ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදල විසින් සකස් කරන ලද ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ණය දරාගැනීමේ හැකියාව පිළිබඳ විශ්ලේෂණ වාර්තාව (Debt Sustainability Analysis Report on Sri Lanka) මෙන්ම ඉහත නිලධාරි මට්ටමින් ඇති කරගන්නා ලද ගිවිසුමේ අන්තර්ගතයද රහසක්ව පවතී. මේ සම්බන්ධව නිරාවරණය වූ එකම තොරතුර වසර 4ක කාලයක් පුරා ඩොලර් බිලියන 2.9ක් ලබා දීමට එකඟවීම පිළිබඳ පුවත පමණි. ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදලේ නියෝජිතයන් පිටත්වනවාත් සමගම ලංකාවට පැමිණි පැරිස් කණ්ඩායම විසින් නිවේදනයක් නිකුත් කරමින් පවසා සිටියේ තමන් ලංකාවේ ණය ප්‍රතිව්‍යුහගතකරණ ක්‍රියාවලියට සම්බන්ධ වීමට සුදානම් බවය. මෙය සිදුවන්නේ ඉන්දියානු සාගර කලාපය තුළ සීතල යුද්ධය උත්සන්න වෙමින් පවතින අතරතුර සහ ඉතිහාසයේ පළමුවරට ලංකාව බංකොලොත් බව ප්‍රකාශ කරමින් පසුගිය අප්‍රේලයේදී වේදිකාගත කරන ලද නාඩගම සිදුවී කෙටි කලක් තුළය.

ණය අඩුකිරීමේ හෙයාර්කට් එකක් ලෙස ඩොලර් බිලියන 2.9ක් ලැබීම සඳහා ශ්‍රි ලංකාව විසින් එහි සියලුම ණය හිමි පාර්ශ්වයන්ගේ, විශේෂයෙන්ම ද්විපාර්ශ්වික ණය දෙන්නන් වන චීනයේ සහ ඉන්දියාවේද ආසියාවේ අනෙකුත් සංවර්ධන පාර්ශ්වකරුවන්ගේද එකඟතාව ලබාගත යුතුය යන ජාත්‍යන්තර මුල්‍ය අරමුදලේ උපදේශය මෙහිදී පැරිස් කණ්ඩායම විසින් ද ප්‍රතිරාවය කර තිබේ.

සැබැවින්ම පැරිස් කණ්ඩායම යනු කුමක්ද? මෙය පිළිබඳව අසා ඇති ශ්‍රී ලාංකිකයන් කීපදෙනෙකුන් හෝ සිටීද? මෙම පැරිස් කණ්ඩායම ටවුමට පැමිණ ඇත්තේ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට ණය ලබාදී ඇති විවිධ වර්ගවල ණය හිමියන් සම්බන්ධීකරණය කිරීම සඳහාය. මක්නිසාද යත් ප්‍රශ්නයේ බර බෙදා හදාගැනීම සහ සියළු ණය හිමියන් අතර විනිවිද පෙනෙන සුළු බව ඇති කිරීම කවර වර්ගයක හෝ ණය ප්‍රතිව්‍යුහගත කිරීමකට පෙර පූර්ව අවශ්‍යතාවක් බව ජාත්‍යන්තර මුල්‍ය අරමුදල පවසන නිසාය.

කෙසේ වුවද බොහෝ සිවිල් සමාජ සංවිධාන රටේ පාලක කල්ලිය විසින් නීති විරෝධී සහ නින්දිත ලෙස ගෙන ඇති සියළු ණය අවලංගු කර දමන ලෙස විසින් ඉල්ලීමක් කර තිබේ. ඔවුන් පෙන්වා දෙන්නේ, ලංකාවේ ණයවලින් විශාල කොටසක් ලබාගෙන ඇත්තේ අපැහැදිලි ගුප්ත හෙජ් අරමුදල්(Hedge Funds) හෝ ජාත්‍යන්තර ස්වෛරී ණය බැඳුම්කර ( International Sovereign Bond -ISB) විකිණුම්කරුවන් මෙන්ම ඇතැම් අවස්ථාවලදී ද්විපාශ්වික ණය ලබාදෙන්නන් සහ දූෂිත දේශපාලනඥයන් අතර සිදුව ඇති වංචා සහගත ගනුදෙනු බවත් එම ණය දැන් ජනතාව වෙත පටවා ඇති බවත්ය.

ඉතා පැහැදිලි දෙය නම් දේශීය සහ ජාත්‍යන්තර මාධ්‍යයන් විසින්, මෙම ණයගැති බව සහ බංකොළොත් බවට වගකිව යුත්තේ කවුරුන්ද යන්න පිළිබඳව එකිනෙකා වෙත චෝදනා කරමින් පවත්වාගෙන යන ලද ආඛ්‍යානය කුමක් වුවද ඩොලර් උගුල විසින් ආර්ථික සහ වෙළඳ ප්‍රතිපත්ති පිළිබඳ ස්වාධීනත්වයද, ස්වෛරීත්වයද? නිදහසද විශාල වශයෙන් අහිමි කරනු ලැබ ඇති ශ්‍රි ලංකාවේ පුරවැසියන්ට මෙම ජාත්‍යන්තර ණය හිමියන්ගේ ණය ගෙවීමට සිදුව ඇති බව පැහැදිලිය.

ගෝලීය දකුණේ බොහෝ රටවල් මෙන්ම ශ්‍රි ලංකාවද කොවිඩ්-19 ලොක්ඩවුන් ක්‍රියාමාර්ග විසින් ප්‍රේරණය කරන ලද ණය උගුලට හසු වෙද්දි, ආර්ජන්ටිනාව, සැම්බියාව, ලෙබනනය වැනි සිය ජාත්‍යන්තර කටයුතුවලදී ඩොලර් භාවිතයෙන් ඉවත්වෙමින් අඩුමිලට රුසියාවෙන් ඉන්ධන ගැනීමට අපේක්ෂා කළ  රටවල් එක්සත් ජනපදය සහ බටහිර රටවල් විසින් රුසියාවට එරෙහිව පනවන ලද සම්බාධකවලින් පහර වැදිණි. කෙසේ වුවද ඉන්ධන සහ ගෑස් හිඟය විසින් ආර්ථිකය දුර්වල කෙරෙමින් පැවතුන ද එය කළ නොහැකි වූයේ අසාමාන්‍ය ලෙස වරප්‍රසාදිත ඇමෙරිකන් ඩොලර් ලබාගැනීම සඳහා එම රටවලට බටහිර මූල්‍ය ක්‍රමය සහ පාරිභෝජක වෙළෙඳපොළ මත රඳා පැවතීමට සිදු වූ බැවිනි.

මේ මොහොතේදී ඩොලර් උගුල් රාජ්‍යතන්ත්‍රවාදය ගැනත් සම්පත් කොල්ලයකට ගොදුරු වෙමින් පවතින ශ්‍රි ලංකාව නැවතත් සෘජු යටත් විජිතවාදයකට නතුවීම ගැනත් අපි කතා කරන්නේ එහෙයිනි. ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදල සහ පැරිස් කණ්ඩායම විසින් පැවැත්වීමට නියමිත ණය ප්‍රතිව්‍යුහගතකරණ ක්‍රියාවලියේ ප්‍රතිඵලයක් ලෙස ජාතික බලශක්ති ක්ෂේත්‍රයද, ජාතික ප්‍රවාහන පද්ධතිය සහ එහි යටිතල ව්‍යුහයන්ද බන්දේසියක තබා පිරිනමනු ඇත. ශ්‍රි ලංකාවේ බලශක්ති සුරක්ෂිතතාව සහ ස්වෛරීත්වය මුළුමණින්ම අහෝසි වනු ඇත. ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදල,ලෝක බැංකුව සහ පැරිස් කණ්ඩායම හරහා වොෂින්ටනය විසින් මෙහෙයවන ඩොලර් උගුලේ රාජ්‍යතන්ත්‍රවාදය විසින් සහතික කර ඇත්තේ බටහිර විසින් නැවත වතාවක් උපායමාර්ගික වැදගත්කමකින් යුතු මේ දිවයිනේ ආර්ථික සහ වෙළඳ ප්‍රතිපත්තිය සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම සියතට ගනිමින් සිටින බවය. ඉන්දියානු සාගරය මැද පිහිටා ඇති ශ්‍රි ලංකාව සෑම විටෙකම එකිනෙකට පසමිතුරු ලෝක බලවතුන්ගේ ඉලක්කයක්ව පවතී

ණයගැතිබව: ඉලක්කම් සෙල්ලම සහ යටත්විජිතවාදි බලය, දැනුමේ ධූරාවලිය

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ විදේශ ණය පිළිබඳව නිවැරදි ප්‍රමාණය පිළිබඳව තවමත් පවතින්නේ ගැටළුවකි. මේ වසරේ අප්‍රේලයේදී රට බංකොළොත් බව ප්‍රකාශ කරන විට ශ්‍රි ලංකාව ඩොලර්වලින් ගෙන ඇති විදේශ ණය පිලිබඳව ඩොලර් බිලියන 51 සිට බිලියන 26 දක්වා පරාසයක විවිධ සංඛ්‍යාවන් ඉදිරිපත් කර තිබුණ අතර එයින් පෙන්නුම් කෙරුනේ මෙම ඉලක්ක සෙල්ලම රඳා පැවතියේ ණය ප්‍රමාණය පිළිබඳව ගණනය කරන්නේ කවුරුන්ද යන්න මත බවය.කවර හේතුවක් මත හෝ ශ්‍රි ලංකා මහබැංකුව (Central Bank of Sri Lanka – CBSL) සහ ජාත්‍යන්තර මුල්‍ය අරමුදල අතර යම් යම් මතබේද පවතින බව දැකිය හැකිය. මහබැංකුවේ ප්‍රධානියා අවධාරණය කර ඇත්තේ ශ්‍රි ලංකා රජය විසින් අභ්‍යන්තර රුපියල් මූල්‍ය වෙළඳපලෙන් ගෙන ඇති ණය සැලකිල්ලට ගෙන නැති බවය.

ණය පිළිබඳ ඉලක්කම් සෙල්ලමද බොහෝ දුරට කොවිඩ්-19 මරණ, සහ ආසාදිත සංඛ්‍යාවන් පිළිබඳව දැක්වීමේදී සිදු කරන ලද ඉලක්කම් සෙල්ලමටම සමානය. එහිදී අතිශයෝක්තියෙන් විශාලනය කර පෙන්වන ලද ව්‍යාජ සංඛ්‍යාලේඛන මගින් සමාජය පුරා භීතිය වපුරන ලද අතර ලෝක සෞඛ්‍ය සංවිධානය විසින් නිර්දේශ කරන ලද ආර්ථිකමය වශයෙන් විනාශකාරි ලොක්ඩවුන් සහ නිරෝධානය ඇඳිරි නීති ක්‍රියාමාර්ගද, ඖෂධ සමාගම්වලට අතිවිශාල ලාභ ලබා දෙමින් රටේ ණය බර ඉහළ දැමීමටද හේතු වූ මිලිටරීකරණය කරන ලද කොවිඩ්-19 එන්නත් ව්‍යාපාරයද පදනම්වූයේ මේ ඉලක්කම් සෙල්ලම මතය.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ණය හිමියන් අතර විශාලතම ණයහිමියන් වන්නේ එක්සත් ජනපදය සහ යුරෝපය පදනම් කරගෙන ක්‍රියාත්මක වන අපැහැදිලි ජාත්‍යන්තර ස්වෛරී ණය බැඳුම්කර හිමියන්ය. ශ්‍රි ලංකාවේ ණයවලින් 50%ක් අයිතිවන්නේ ඔවුන්ටය. මීට අමතරව ඉන්දියාව, ජපානය, චීනය සහ වෙනත් රටවල් වෙතින්ද ද්විපාර්ශ්වික ගිවිසුම් යටතේ ණය ලබාගෙන ඇත. එමෙන්ම බහු පාර්ශ්වික අන්තර් රාජ්‍ය සංවිධාන වන ආසියානු සංවර්ධන බැංකුව (Asian Development Bank – ADB) , ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදල (IMF) සහ ලෝක බැංකුවද (WB) වෙතින්ද ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය ණය ලබාගෙන තිබේ.

මේ අවස්ථාවේදී කොළඹ රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ රජය විසින් තමන් නියෝජනය කිරීම සඳහා පැරිස් කණ්ඩායම සහ ලසාර්, ක්ලිෆර්ඩ් ඇන්ඩ් චාන්ස් කුලියට ගැනීම මගින් පෙන්නුම් කරන්නේ ශ්‍රි ලංකාවේ ණය සහ ප්‍රතිව්‍යුහගත කිරීම් පිළිබඳ ගණනය කිරීම් රොකට් විද්‍යාඥයන්ගේ සහාය පැතිය යුතු තරම් අතිශය දුෂ්කර කාර්යයක් බවත්, ඒ නිසා ණය පිළිබඳ සාකච්ඡාවලදී ලංකාවේ ජනතාව, රජය හෝ අඩු තරමින් තමන්වමවත් නියෝජනය කිරීමට අවශ්‍ය විශේෂඥ බව හෝ අත්දැකීම් ද මානසික හැකියාවන්ද දේශිය සහ ශ්‍රී ලාංකික ගිණුම් සමාගම් සහ නීති ආයතන වලට නොමැති බවට රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ රජය විසින් නිගමනය කර ඇති බව පෙනී යයි.

දැන් පැහැදිලි වෙමින් පවතින දෙය නම් පැරිස් කණ්ඩායම විසින් නියෝජනය කරනු ලබන්නේ එක්සත් ජනපදය සහ යුරෝපා සංගමය මත පදනම් වූ ජාත්‍යන්තර ස්වෛරී ණය බැඳුම්කර විකුණන මූල්‍ය සමාගම් (International Sovereign Bond – ISB) සහ ධනවත් රටවල් විසින් පිහිටුවා ඇති සංවිධානයක් වන ආර්ථික සහයෝගිතාව සහ සංවර්ධනය පිළිබඳ සංවිධානයට ( Organization for Economic Corporation and Development – OECD)අයත් හෙජ් අරමුදල් බවයි. ලංකාවේ ණයවලින් විශාල ප්‍රතිශතයක් එනම් 50%ක් අයත් වන්නේ ඉහත දෙපාර්ශ්වයටයි. මෙය ඔවුන් ආසියාවේත් අප්‍රිකාවේත් ලතින් ඇමෙරිකාවේත් සියලු පශ්චාත් යටත් විජිත රටවල් තුළ සිදු කරන දෙයකි. ලෝකය පුරා කොවිඩ්-19 ලොක්ඩවුන් මගින් බංකොලොත් කරන ලද ආර්ථිකයන් සහිත රටවල සම්පත් මිලදී ගැනීම සඳහා 2020 දී එක්සත් ජනපද ආණ්ඩුවේ කොවිඩ්-19 ඇප අරමුදල්වලින් (bailout funds) විශාල කුට්ටියක් හිමිකරගත් බ්ලැක්රොක් මූල්‍ය සමාගම වනාහි ලංකාවේ ස්වෛරී ණය වලින් විශාලතම ප්‍රතිශතය අයත් පාර්ශ්වයයි. මේ අතර බ්‍රිතාන්‍යයේ පළමු යටත් විජිතවලින් එකක් ලෙස සැළකෙන ලෝකයේ බදු වංචනිකයන්ගේ ප්‍රියතම මූල්‍ය තිප්පලක් වන කැරිබියන් දූපත්වල සෙන්ට් කිට්ස් ඇන්ඩ් නෙවිස් (St. Kitts and Nevis) හි හැමිල්ටන් රිසර්ව් බැංකුව විසින් ණය සහ වාරික ගෙවීම අත්හිටුවීම පිලිබඳව ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජයට එරෙහිව නඩු පවරා ඇත.

යටත්විජිතවාදි පැරිස් කණ්ඩායමට එරෙහිව නව ආසියානු සංවර්ධන හවුල්කරුවෝ

පැරිස් කණ්ඩායම හඳුන්වනු ලබන්නේ ආර්ථික සහයෝගිතාව සහ සංවර්ධනය පිළිබඳ සංවිධානයට (OECD) අයත් රටවල ණය ලබා දෙන්නන් අතර අතිශය බලගතුම මූල්‍ය කාටලයක් ලෙසය. ලෝකයේ ධනවත්ම ජාතින් 19ක් සාමාජිකත්වය දරන පැරිස් කණ්ඩායමේ මූලස්ථානය පිහිටා ඇත්තේ ප්‍රංශයේය. එම රටවල් තමන්ගේ සාමූහික ණය ආයෝජනයන් කළමණාකරණය කිරීම සඳහා එය පිහිටුවන ලද්දේ 1956 දී ණය ලබාදෙන රටවල අවිධිමත් කණ්ඩායමක් ලෙසය. පැරිස් කණ්ඩායම ණය නැවත ලබාගැනීමේ බලසම්පන්න එක්සත් පෙරමුණක් වූ හෙයින් මෑතක් වනතුරුම එහි නිර්දේශ විධිමත් ලෙස අනුගමනය කරනු ලැබිණි.

නීතිවිරෝධී ණය අවලංගු කිරීම සඳහා වන කමිටුව ( Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt – CADTM)විසින් පෙන්වා දී ඇති පරිදි, පැරිස් කණ්ඩායම පරිණාමය වී තිබේ. කලක් යටත්විජිතවාදි අධිරාජ්‍යයන් පවත්වාගෙන ගිය බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය සහ ප්‍රංශය වැනි රටවල විදේශ ප්‍රතිපත්ති ක්‍රියාවට නැංවෙන ආයුධයක් බවට පත්ව තිබේ. එමෙන් ම එක්සත් ජනපදය වැනි නව යටත්විජිතවාදි රටවල් විසින් ණයගැතිභාවය ආයුධයක් ලෙස යොදාගෙන ඇත්තේ දුප්පත් රටවල් මත සිය බලපෑම තහවුරු කිරීමටත් ඒවායේ සම්පත් කොල්ලකෑමටත්ය.

ඩොලර්-ණය යටත්විජිතවාදී මෙහෙයුමක් ලෙස ද හැඳින්විය හැකි පැරිස් කණ්ඩායමේ ණය ප්‍රතිව්‍යුහගත කිරීමේ මෙහෙයුමට ජපානයද ඇතුළත් කර ඇති අතර ඒ අනුව වොෂින්ටනයේ උපදෙස් පරිදි ශ්‍රි ලංකාවේ ණයහිමියන්ගේ රැස්වීමක් සංවිධානය කිරීම සඳහා ජනාධිපති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහගේ රජය ජපානයටද ආරාධනා කර තිබේ.

ණය සහ යටත් විජිතවාදය:ගෝලීය දකුණේ ජනතාවගේ හඬ

ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදල-පැරිස් කණ්ඩායම-ලසාර්ඩ් යන ආයතන විසින් කිසිදු පාරදෘෂ්‍යභාවයකින් තොරව මෙහෙයවනු ලබන ලංකාවේ ණය ප්‍රතිව්‍යුහගතකරණ මෙහෙයුමේ තුළ යටත් විජිතවාදි බලය සහ දැනුම පිළිබඳ ධූරාවලින් ආදි සියල්ල භාවිතාවේ යෙදෙන බවට සාක්ෂි තිබේ. එහෙයින් සිවිල් සමාජ කණ්ඩායම් ඉල්ලා සිටින්නේ ශ්‍රි ලංකාවේ නීතිවීරෝධී සහ පිළිකුල් සහගත ජාත්‍යන්තර ස්වෛරී ණය බැඳුම්කර වහාම අවලංගු කර දමන ලෙසත්, ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදලේ ශ්‍රි ලංකාව පිළිබඳ ණය සාධ්‍යතා විශ්ලේෂණ වාර්තාව ( IMF Debt Sustainability Analysis Report on Sri Lanka) සහ ලසාර්ඩ් වාර්තාව( Lazard Report), ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදල සමග ඇති කරගත් නිලධාරි මට්ටමේ එකඟතා ගිවිසුම ( IMF Staff Level Agreement) යන ලියවිලි වල අන්තර්ගතය වහාම ජනතාවට හෙළිදරවු කරන ලෙසත් ය. එමෙන්ම අනාගතයේදී බ්ලැක්රොක් වැනි ගිජුලිහිණි මූල්‍ය සමාගම් වලින් ණය ගැනීම වහාම තහනම් කරන ලෙසත් ඔවුහු ඉල්ලා සිටිති.

මේ අතර මූලික වශයෙන් බටහිර රටවල් වලින් සැදුම්ලත් ආර්ථික සහයෝගිතාව සහ සංවර්ධනය පිළිබඳ සංවිධානය (OECD) විසින් ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය සහ සංවර්ධන සහයෝගිතාව පිළිබඳ පවත්වාගෙන යන ආධිපත්‍යයට සහ පාලනය වෙත කලින් එම බටහිර රටවල් විසින් සිය යටත් විජිත ලෙස පවත්වාගෙන යන ලද චීනය, ඉන්දියාව, ඉන්දුනීසියාව, ඉරානය, මැලේසියාව සවුදි අරාබිය, වියට්නාමයයන රටවලින්ද, බ්‍රසීලය,රුසියාව,ඉන්දියාව,චීනය සහ දකුණු අප්‍රිකාව වැනි රටවලින් සැදුම් ලත් BRICS ආර්ථික සහයෝගිතාව මගින්ද, නව සංවර්ධන බැංකුව මගින් (New Development Bank -NDB), ආසියානු යටිතල සංවර්ධන බැංකුව (Asia Infrastructure Bank – AIIB) මගින්ද දැඩි අභියෝගයක් එල්ලවෙමින් පවතී. මෙම තත්ත්වය විසින් ධනවත් බටහිර සහ සෙසු ලෝකය අතර සීතල යුද්ධය උත්සන්න කෙරී ඇත.

නව සීතල යුද්ධය සහ යටත්විජිතවාදයේ දෙවන අදියර විසින් රුසියාව සහ චීනය සිය ඉලක්කය බවට පත් කරගෙන අතර ප්‍රතිවිරුද්ධ භූ දේශපාලනික බල කඳවුරු ගොඩ නැගෙමින් පවති. යුක්‍රේන යුද්ධය සහ රුසියාවට එරෙහි බටහිර රටවල සම්බාධක පනවා ඇති සංදර්භය තුළ සහ ණය යටත් විජිතවාදය විසින් නැවත ආසියාවත් අප්‍රිකාවත්, දකුණු ඇමෙරිකාවත් යටත් කෙරෙමින් පවතින අතර ගෝලීය දකුණ එක්සත් ජනපද ඩොලරය අත්හැර දැමීමේ දුෂ්කර ව්‍යායාමයක නිරතව සිටී. ඉන්දියාව සහ රුසියාව විසින් සිය රටවල් අතර වෙළඳාම රුපියල් සහ රූබල්වලින් සිදු කිරීමට එකඟවී තිබේ.

දීර්ඝකාලයක් තිස්සේ බටහිර ආධිපත්‍යයට යටත්ව ඇති ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය සහ සංවර්ධන සහයෝගිතා ආකෘතියේ ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ සිදු කළයුතු යැයි ද ණය උගුලේ සිරවුණු රටවල් එක්සත් වී දූෂිත දේශපාලනඥයන් සහ ගිජුලිහිණින් බඳු ජාත්‍යන්තර ණය බැඳුම්කර වෙළෙන්දන් සහ මූල්‍ය අරමුදල්ද විසින් ගොඩගසන ලද නීති විරෝධී සහ පිළිකුල් සහගත ණය අවලංගු කළයුතු යැයි ද නගන හඬ දිනපතා වර්ධනය වෙමින් පවතී.

ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදල සහ ලෝක බැංකුව තුළ යුරෝ- ඇමෙරිකන් ආධිපත්‍ය පැහැදිලිව දිස්වන එක් සාක්ෂියක් නම් ලෝක බැංකුවේ ප්‍රධානියා සෑම විටෙකම එක්සත් ජනපදයේ ප්‍රධානියෙකු වන අතර ජාත්‍යන්තර මුල්‍ය අරමුදලේ ප්‍රධානියා සෑම විටෙකම යුරෝපීය ජාතිකයෙකු වේ. මෙම ගෝලීය මුල්‍ය ආයතනවල ඉහළම නායකත්වයට ප්‍රවේශ වීමට ලෝකයේ සෙසු රටවලට කිසිදු ඉඩක් යුරෝපය හෝ ඇමෙරිකාව ලබා දී නැත.

මේ නිසා ණය ගැති රටවල් තුළින් මතුවන එක් ඉල්ලීමක් නම් පැරිස් කණ්ඩායම සහ ජාත්‍යන්තර මුල්‍ය අරමුදල වැනි බටහිර ආධිපත්‍ය දරන මූල්‍ය කාටලයන් සමග ණය යුක්තිය සහ පාරිසරික යුක්තිය පිළිබඳව කේවල් කිරීම සඳහා කලින් යටත් විජිත ලෙස පැවැති අප්‍රිකාවේත් ආසියාවේත් දකුණු ඇමෙරිකාවේත් රටවල් විසින් තමන්ගේම දකුණේ කණ්ඩායමක් ගොඩ නැගිය යුතුව ඇති බවයි.

මේ සංදර්භය යටතේ වොෂින්ටනයේ එකඟතාවන්ගේද පැරිස් කණ්ඩායම සහ සියලු ණය හිමියන්ගේ නියෝගවලට නිහඬව යටත්වනවාට වඩා ලංකා රජය සහ සිවිල් සමාජ සංවිධාන සටන් කළ යුත්තේ ලාංකික ජනතාවගේ මස් රාත්තලම ඉල්ලා සිටින ෂයිලොක් වර්ගයේ ණය හිමියන්ට එරෙහිව සිය ආර්ථික ප්‍රතිපත්ති තීරණය කිරීමෙහිලා උපරිම ස්වාධීනත්වය, ස්වෛරීත්වය සහ නිදහස දිනාගැනීම සඳහායි. එනම් ණය උගුලට හසුව ඇති ශ්‍රි ලංකාවේ පුර වැසියන්ගේ උවමනාවන් ඉටු කළ හැකි හොඳම ආකාරය ද්විපාර්ශ්වික සහ බහුපාර්ශ්වික ණය ප්‍රතිව්‍යුහගතකරණයේදී ජාත්‍යන්තර ස්වෛරී ණය බැඳුම්කර, එම ණය ලබාදුන්නවුන්ගේ අනන්‍යතාව පිළිබඳ පාරදෘෂ්‍ය භාවයක් රහිත වීම සහ එම ක්‍රියාදාමයේ දූෂිත ස්වභාවය පෙන්වා දෙමින් ඒවා සහමුළින්ම අවලංගු කර දැමීම මගිනි.

යටත්විජිතවාදය, දූෂණ සහ විනාශකාරි ණය : ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදල සහ ආර්ථික අපරාධ

ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදලේ නියෝජිත කණ්ඩායම ලංකාවෙන් පිටත්වීමට පෙර සිදු කළ නිවේදනයේ දූෂණය යන වචනය සඳහන්ව තිබුණද 2015 මහ බැංකු බැඳුම්කර වංචාවට සම්බන්ධ ජනාධිපතිවරයෙක් විසින් මෙහෙයවනු ලබන සහ දූෂිත ඇමැතිවරුන්ගෙන් පිරුණු කැබිනට් මණ්ඩලයකින් සමන්විත කොළඹ රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ රජය සමග ගිවිසුම් අත්සන් කිරීමට ඔවුන් තුළ කිසිදු පිළිකුලක් නොවිණි.
ඉහත බැඳුම්කර වංචාවන් විසින් ලංකාව වර්තමාන ණය උගුලේ සිර කිරීම සඳහා ද මෙම වසරේ අප්‍රේලයේදී ණය ආපසු ගෙවීම නතර කිරීමට ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කිරීම කෙරෙහි ද විශාල වශයෙන් දායක වී තිබේ. එහි ප්‍රතිඵලයක් ලෙස එක්සත් ජනපද ඩොලරයට එරෙහිව රුපියලේ වටිනාකම අඩුවීමද ජනතාව අතර දුප්පත්කම ඉහළ යාමද සිදු වී තිබේ.

මානව සහ සමාජ සංවර්ධන දර්ශකයන්ට අනුව කලක් දකුණු ආසියාවේ ධනවත්ම රටවල් අතරින් එකක් ලෙස සලකන ලද ශ්‍රි ලංකාව දරුණු ඩොලර් ණය අගුලක කොටු වීම හේතුවෙන් රුපියලේ අගය විශාල වශයෙන් කඩාවැටීමත් උපාය මාර්ගික වශයෙන් වැදගත් ස්ථානයක පිහිටා ඇති මෙම දිවයිනේ ඉන්ධන සහ ආහාර සැපයුම් මාර්ග අවහිර කිරීමත් සිදුව තිබේ.මේ අතර උද්ධමනය පිළිබඳ ඉලක්කම්ද ණය පිළිබඳ සංඛ්‍යා ලේඛන මෙන්ම දත්ත, දර්ශක සහ සමීකරණ විකෘති කෙරෙමින් පවත්වාගෙන යන ඉලක්කම් සෙල්ලමක් බවට පත්වී තිබේ.

වඩ වඩාත් පැහැදිලිවෙමින් පවතින කරුණ නම් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සිර වී ඇති ඩොලර් ණය උගුලේ ප්‍රතිපලයක් ලෙස දැනටමත් එයට ආර්ථික ප්‍රතිපත්ති තීරණය කිරීමෙහිලා ස්වාධීනත්වය සහ ස්වෛරීත්වය අහිමි වී ඇති බවය. ඒ නිසා අන්තර් ජාතික වෙළඳාමේදී ඩොලරය භාවිතයෙන් ඉවත්වීමට එයට නොහැකි වී ඇති බවත් ඒ හේතුවෙන් සිය ඉන්ධන අර්බුදයට විසඳුමක් ලෙස ඇමෙරිකාව සහ යුරෝපා සංගමය විසින් පනවන ලද සම්බාධකවල ඉලක්කයක් වී ඇති රුසියාවෙන් රුපියල් – රූබල් හුවමාරුව මගින් ඉතා අඩු මිලකට තෙල් සහ ගෑස් මිලදී ගැනීම අවහිර කෙරී ඇති බවත් පැහැදිලි ය.

සත්තකින්ම රටේ අපනයන ආදායම බටහිර වෙළඳපොළ මත රඳා පවතින අතිරේක සාධකයක් වී ඇත්තේ රටේ යටත් විජිත පරාධීන ආර්ථික ව්‍යුහයයි. එය විසින් පෙන්නුම් කරන්නේ රටේ අපනයන නිෂ්පාදනය විවිධාංගීකරණයට (ඛනිජ සහ ධීවර වැනි ක්ෂේත්‍රයන් තුළ ) අසමත්වූ රටේ ව්‍යාපාරික ප්‍රජාවේත්, දේශපාලන ප්‍රභූ පැළැන්තියේත්, අදාළ ඊනියා විශේෂඥයන්ගේත් අසමර්ථභාවයයි. යටත්විජිතගැති මානසිකත්වය ද ස්වාධීන සහ ස්වෛරී ජාතික ආර්ථිකයක් සහ වෙළෙඳ ප්‍රතිපත්තියක් නිර්මාණය කිරීමෙහිලා බාධාවක්ව පවතී. එවැනි ස්වාධීන සහ ස්වෛරී ආර්ථික සහ වෙළඳ ප්‍රතිපත්තියක් ගොඩනගා ගැනීමට සමත් වූයේ නම් ඩොලර් ණය උගුලට හසු වී දුක් විඳින ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ජනතාව ඉන් මුදවා ගැනීමට පහසුවෙන් ඉඩ තිබිණි.

යටත්විජිතවාදි ගැති බව පවත්වාගෙන යාමට යොදාගෙන ඇති ජීඑස්පී ප්ලස් සහ මයිනස් වෙළෙඳ සහන හා සම්බන්ධිත යුරෝපා සංගමයේ විවෘත තර්ජන විසින් වුවද ප්‍රතිපත්ති සම්පාදනයෙහි ලා ස්වාධීනත්වය සහ ස්වෛරීත්වයද ආර්ථික සහ වෙළඳ නිදහසද ආරක්ෂා කර ගැනීම හරහා ජනතාවගේ උවමනාවන් වෙනුවෙන් කටයුතු කරන ලෙස ලංකාවේ කිසිදු අකාර්යක්ෂ්ම හෝ දූෂිත ආණ්ඩුවක් පෙළඹවීමට සමත්ව නැත.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ණය ඔප්පු

ජාත්‍යන්තර මුල්‍ය අරමුදලේ නියෝජිතයන්ගේ සංචාරය සිදුවන අතර තුර සිවිල් සමාජ කණ්ඩායම්වලින් ණය අවලංගු කරන ලෙසත්, ණය පිිළිබඳ යුක්තිය ඉටු කරන ලෙසත්,ණය ඔප්පු ලියවිලි ඉදිරිපත් කරන ලෙසත්, ණයගෙවීමේ සහන කාලයක් (Moratorium) ලබා දෙන ලෙසත්, රජය විසින් මිනී කන පොලී අනුපාත සහිත පුද්ගලික මුල්‍ය වෙළෙඳපොළෙන් සහ ජාත්‍යන්තර ස්වෛරී ණයබැඳුම්කර මගින් ණය ලබාගැනීම තහනම් කරන ලෙසත් ඉල්ලා සිටිති.ලංකාව ණය උගුලකට හිරවීමටත් බංකොළොත් වීමටත් ප්‍රධාන හේතුව පුද්ගලික මූල්‍ය ආයතන සහ ජාත්‍යන්තර ස්වෛරී ණය බැඳුම්කර මගින් ලංකා රජය ලබාගත් ණයයි.ඒවායින් ශ්‍රි ලංකාව ලබාගත් ණය ප්‍රමාණය 50%කට ආසන්නය.

නමුත් ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදල මෙන්ම පැරිස් කණ්ඩායම ද ලංකාවට පැමිණ ඇත්තේ ජාත්‍යන්තර ස්වෛරී ණය බැඳුම්කර ණය ශ්‍රී ලංකා ආණ්ඩුව විසින් නැවත ගෙවනු ලබන බවට ඇප වීම සඳහාත්, දිගින් දිගටම මෙම පුද්ගලික මූල්‍ය අරමුදල් සහ ස්වෛරී ණය බැඳුම්කරවලින් ශ්‍රී ලංකා ආණ්ඩුව ණය ගන්නා බවට තහවුරු කරගැනීම සඳහාත්ය.

මීට වසර 20කට පමණ පෙර මෙම බටහිරට අයත් සංවර්ධන කර්මාන්තය කෙරෙහි දැඩි සැකසහිත අවධානයක් යොමු වූ අතර එහි ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ සිදු කරන ලෙස ඉල්ලීම් ඉදිරිපත් විය.බටහිර OECD සන්ධානයට අයත් රටවල් විසින් මෙහෙයවන මූල්‍ය ආධිපත්‍යයට කලින් යටත් විජිතව පැවැති ගෝලීය දකුණේ රටවලින් එනම් චීනය, ඉන්දියාව, වැනි රටවල් වෙතින්ද බ්‍රසීලය, රුසියාව, ඉන්දියාව,චීනය , සහ දකුනු අප්‍රිකාව වැනි රටවලින් සැදුම්ලත් BRICS ආර්ථික සහයෝගීතා සන්ධානයද, නව සංවර්ධන බැංකුවද වෙතින් දැඩි අභියෝගයක් එල්ල වී ඇත. මෙම රටවල් සහ ආයතන විසින් සංවර්ධන ආධාර ලබාදීමට අදාළ විකල්ප යටිතල ව්‍යුහයන් ගොඩනගමින් සිටිති.

නව ආසියානු සංවර්ධන හවුල්කරුවන් විසින් යුරෝ-ඇමෙරිකන් ඩොලර් ආධිපත්‍යය විසින් මෙහෙයවෙන ගෝලීය මූල්‍ය ක්‍රමයට දැඩි අභියෝගයක් එල්ලකරමින් ඇත.ප්‍රශ්නය වන්නේ ශ්‍රී ලාංකිකයන්ට භූ දේශපාලනික බලක්‍රීඩාවට ගොදුරුවීමට අවශ්‍යතාවක් තිබේද යන්නයි. ද්විපාර්ශ්වික(එනම් අන්තර් රාජ්‍ය ණය ගනුදෙනු) ණය දෙන්නන් වන චීනය සහ ඉන්දියාව ප්‍රකාශ කර ඇත්තේ තමන් ණය ප්‍රතිව්‍යුහගත කිරීමට ශ්‍රි ලංකා රජය සමග එක්ව කටයුතු කිරීමට සුදානම් නමුත් පැරිස් කණ්ඩායම හෝ ජාත්‍යන්තර මුල්‍ය අරමුදලේ ක්‍රියාදාමයට එක් නොවන බවය. මෙම ස්ථාවරය විසින් ශ්‍රි ලංකා රජය බලකඳවුරු අතර අරගලය තුළ දුෂ්කර තත්ත්වයකට පත් කර තිබේ. එමෙන්ම ශ්‍රි ලංකා ජනතාව තවදුරටත් දූෂිත ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය ජාලයන්ගේ ගොදුරක් බවට පත් වී සිටිති.

සිවිල් සමාජ කණ්ඩායම් ඉල්ලා සිටින්නේ තොරතුරු දැනගැනීමේ අයිතිය යටතේ වැඩිදුරටත් ඉල්ලා සිටින්නේ
ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ණය දරාගැනීමේ හැකියාව පිළිබඳ විශ්ලේෂණ වාර්තාව (Debt Sustainability Analysis Report on Sri Lanka) ලසාර්ඩ් ක්ලිෆර්ඩ් ඇන්ඩ් චාන්ස් වාර්තාව සහ ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදල සමග ඇතිකරගත් නිලධාරි මට්ටමේ එකඟතාවන් පිළිබඳ වාර්තාව මෙන්ම මෙම විදේශ උපදේශකයන්ට සහ විශේෂඥයන්ට ගෙවන ලද මුදල් පිළිබඳවය.

සටහන්

හෙයාකට්   Hair Cut

මූල්‍ය කටයුතුවලදී හෙයාකට් එකක් නැතහොත් කොණ්ඩය කැපීමක් ලෙස හඳුන්වන්නේ යම් වත්කමක පවත්නා වෙළෙඳ පොළ වටිනාකම සහ නියාමක වත්කම් හෝ ණය අවදානම ගණනය කිරීමේ අවශ්‍යතාව මත එම වත්කම වෙත ආරෝපනය කරනු ලබන වටිනාකම් අතර වෙනසයි. මෙහිදී හෙයාකට් එකක ප්‍රමාණය තීරණය කරනු ලබන්නේ යම් කිසි වත්කමක් සඳහා හදිසි විකිණීමක් හෝ ඈවර කිරීමක් සිදුවන විට වටිනාකම පහළ වැටීමට ඉඩ ඇති ප්‍රමාණය අනුවය. වත්කමක මිලෙහි අවදානම හෝ වාෂ්පශීලතාව විශාලවන තරමට හෙයාකට් එකද විශාල වේ

ණය ඔප්පුව  Proof of debt

ණය ඔප්පු කිරීම යනු ණය හිමියා විසින් බංකොළොත්ව ඇති ණයගැති පාර්ශ්වයට එරෙහිව ඔහුගේ අයිතිවාසිකම් ඔප්පු කිරීමට යොදාගනු ලබන ක්‍රියාදාමයකි. ණය ඔප්පුවක් යනු ණය ලබා දෙන්නා විසින් සිය අයිතිවාසිකම් පිළිබඳව ඉදිරිපත්කරන සවිස්තරාත්මක ලියවිල්ලකි.
ණය ඔප්පුවක් ඉදිරිපත්කරනු ලබන්නේ අවශ්‍යතා දෙකක් සඳහාය.
1.බංකොලොත් බව ප්‍රකාශ කෙරෙන ක්‍රියාදාමය පිළිබඳ ගැටලුවලදී ණය හිමියාට ඡන්ද අයිිතිය ලබාගැනීම සඳහා
2.බංකොළොත් පාර්ශ්වයට අයත් දේපොළවල බෙදාගැනීමේදී තමන්ගේ පංගුවට අයිතිවාසිකම් කීම සඳහා

Manusha Media

Japan’s GTN – Global Trust Network has assured the Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara that it will facilitate measures to provide more than 1000  Caregiver jobs in Japan for Sri Lankan workers.

Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara who is visiting Japan in a bid to secure more job opportunities for Sri Lankan youth in Japan held discussions with GTN – Global Trust Network Chairman Hiroyuki Goto, Manager of Skilled Labour Division Yuka Kuwahara, and top officials of the frontline management in the organisation. During discussions the Japanese officials agreed to provide jobs for 150 Caregiver workers this year itself and recruit another 1000 workers next year.

GTN – Global Trust Network, one of the leading foreign employment agencies in Japan, has provided job opportunities in Japan to more than 350,000 foreign workers.

 Minister Manusha Nanayakkara who commented in this regard said that it is a great achievement to be able to garner job opportunities for the workers of Sri Lanka in association with such a reputed organisation.

The minister further stated that Sri Lanka plans to work closely with the organisation in the future with the intention of increasing the annual job opportunities offered to Sri Lankan’s in Japan.

The meeting was organized by Professor Ashu Marasinghe.  Mr. Senarath Yapa, Deputy General Manager (Training) of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment and Mr. Shan Yahampath, International Relations Advisor were also present on this occasion.

—

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera hinted today that fuel prices would be further reduced within the next two weeks in line with the fuel price reduction in the world market.

Responding to a question by SJB MP Kins Nelson as to why diesel prices were not reduced, the Minister told Parliament that price of petrol was reduced by Rs. 40 as there was a profit of Rs. 70 from petrol sales.

He said however, prices of diesel could not be reduced during the latest price revision as there was a loss of Rs. 30 from diesel sales and that there was one rupee profit from diesel sales now.

He said it is not possible to reduce fuel prices in line with crude oil price reduction at the global market as only 30 percent of the total fuel requirement in Sri Lanka was produced in local refineries from imported crude oil.

The Minister said however, fuel prices would be further reduced within next 14 or 15 days. (Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera)

Courtesy Adaderana

President of the European Commission, Ms. Ursula von der Leyen congratulating Ranil Wickremesinghe on his election as the President of the Democratic of Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka has assured its support to the government of Sri Lanka for the efforts to overcome the crisis successfully.

Issuing a statement, Ms. Ursula noted that at a time of unprecedented challenges faced by the people of Sri Lanka, the European Union remains committed to support Sri Lanka’s efforts to overcome the crisis successfully, including the necessary reforms that will bring the country back to a path of inclusive prosperity and lasting national reconciliation.

Ms. Ursula further stated that in this process, freedom of expression and assembly, dialogue among all stakeholders, as well as respect for the rule of law and fundamental rights will remain essential.

She has also made a reference to the assessment by the European Union on the progress made by Sri Lanka on GSP+ commitments. Accordingly, the European Union will assess the progress made on Sri Lanka’s GSP+ commitments very soon.

The report is scheduled to be released towards the latter part of this year or early 2023.

She also commended the success in the efforts to introduce and steer policies that will ensure the short and long-term interests of all Sri Lankans and address the devastating efforts of the unprecedented economic downturn as well as the negotiations with international financial institutions and creditors.

Ms. Ursula von der Leyen expressed her interest in working closely to strengthen further the ties and cooperation, based on commitments to shared values and common interests.

Source: PMD

Courtesy Adaderana

State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe says the government’s initiative to revive the economy of the country was appreciated by the World Bank during a special discussion held with Mr. Faris Hadad-Zervos, the World Bank’s Country Director for Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

The WB Country Director stated that the government is demonstrating its commitment by taking various measures to restore the collapsed economy, and encouraged them to continue on their path of further governance reforms, a comprehensive debt restructuring and progress on an IMF programme.

He emphasized that the World Bank is closely monitoring the situation in Sri Lanka, a statement said.  

State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe, Secretary to the Treasury, Mr. Mahinda Siriwardena, Director General / Department of External Resources, Mr. Ajith Abeysekera, Director General / Department of Fiscal Policy, Dr. Kapila Senanayake and other officials participated in this event.

BY EDWARD THEOPHILUS

The government of Sri Lanka has imposed a social security tax that aims to charge a 2.5% tax on those with a turnover of more than Rs 120 million. According to the tax details, it seems an indirect tax and people aren’t clear about the tax details. Can this tax shift to business consumers or the business person direct payments made to the government need details? My understanding is this tax should be a way of reasonable income distribution that a small portion of revenue get from higher income earners and distribute the tax revenue to poor people as a way of social security payment. Theoretically, it is a strategy of the government for a reasonable distribution of revenue.

I read news reports about some beggars and prostitutes who made millions of revenues and receive various subsidies. The government must have a practical auditing system to identify qualified people to gain social security payments.   

When Dr NM Perera was discharging the duties of the Minister of Finance, he rules BTT and WT. BTT (Business Turnover Tax) could be shifted to consumers in a way of increasing the price of goods and services but WT (Wealth Tax) could not shift to consumers like a direct tax.

There are no arguments against the social security tax. It is needed since independence and the government should have used the revenue to pay a social security payment to low-income earners. Many countries have social security payments to lower-income earners and the system reflects justice in many countries. 

The government expects additional tax revenue of Rs 140 billion from the new tax and whether the tax revenue collected from the social security tax is sufficient to make a liveable payment to low-income earners might be a question.   It is a good tax that reflects the real socialism in Sri Lanka than bogus Marxist political parties.

The other important point that needs to consider making social security payments is the condition that needs to insist upon. The lower income earners must take action to increase income and they should declare the actual revenue. If they become lower-income earners because of unemployed they must get action to find a job in a way education, skill training and any other way.

Many people in Sri Lanka use dishonest methods to gain social security payments and the payment system should have proper controls. 

KAMALIKA PIERIS

One result of the JVP violence was that it helped strengthen the army. Prior to 1971 Sri Lanka army was a small force.  After the 1971 insurgency the government saw the need for a larger army. They increased the officer cadet cadre. They took in 30 trainees of which 17 graduated. The training which was usually 18 months was reduced to one year. Since JVP activity was in the jungle, special jungle training was given at Lahugala, said Kamal Gunaratne.

The police stations and police officers were a permanent target of the JVP, despite the fact that police constables belonged, salary wise, to the social class that JVPers came from. The police were hit by the JVP in both insurgencies 1971 and 1987. They were an easy target. The police were not trained in protecting themselves or detecting enemy activity, observed Kamal Guneratne.

The police stations attacked n 1988 and 1989, included, Gothatuwa, Moratumulla, Kirulapona, Mattakkuliya, Ragama, Bambalapitiya, Pitigala, Moratuwa.   In July 1988 fifty JVPers attacked Madulsima police station and took away a large haul of arms. Padukka police station was attacked in 1988 and weapons removed. Bentota police station was raided in 1989. JVP had attacked Kahawatte police station and taken away much ammunition, also police uniforms, typewriters, gun powder, caps with insignia and explosives’. 

The public did not support JVP.  Well before the 1971 insurgency took place, police received reports by principals of schools and the grama sevaka about secret meetings. In 1971 JVP couldn’t hold on to the areas they had captured, such as parts of Kegalle, because they lacked popular support, said Government Agent Wijedasa. “The people did not like the violence. They were not happy about the destruction of public property, with buses and government buildings being set ablaze and the disruption of essential services.

The people at Morontota, in Kegalle, were happy to see the army arrive and readily fed them information. A retired school master on the outskirts of Mawanella when asked to hand over his gun, by two JVPers, had instead shot them dead. The schoolmaster and his family had thereafter taken their belongings, got into a lorry and immediately left the area.

At Batapola, in Galle district, the villagers helped the army to attack the JVP camp there and defeat the JVP.  In Hiniduma in Morawaka, villagers captured retreating rebels and either handed them over to the army or killed them.  Withana alias Sarath Boralukatiya     was captured at Hiniduma on his way to Sinharaja forest. Hiniduma villagers forced him to dig his own grave and then killed him.

When the government   crushed the insurgents in University of Peradeniya,  bus after bus transported students out of the campus in 1989. As they went past Meewatura, the  villagers hooted, some shouted don’t come back.” The Bheeshanaya was blamed on University students and the surrounding villages were relieved to see the student evicted from campus, said Sarath Edirisinghe.

JVP strongly opposed the Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987. JVP launched a murderous attack on all those who supported the accord, particularly LSSP, CP, NLSSP, said Sarath Amunugama. The Communist Party was active in the south and was a rival to the JVP. It was decimated. These Marxist parties were ill prepared for   violence on this massive scale observed Amunugama.

JVP unleashed its killer squad on all who supported 13^th Amendment. UNP party officials were killed en masse and also some UNP MPs such as de Silva of Habaraduwa and Tikiri Banda of Galagedara, said Amunugama. LW Pandita a much respected leftist labor leader was killed.  JVP also killed those who participated in the Provincial   Council elections, they killed both candidates and voters. 

Despite its murderous  tendencies, JVP was wooed by    the government. JR  Jayewardene had  negotiated with JVP in the 1980s and offered them three portfolios. JVP  asked for defense. Nothing came of this.

When the second   insurgency failed in 1989 ,  JVPers went underground to avoid being captured and killed by the state. Many JVP fled to Europe. Some JVPers,  including Somawansa Amarasinghe,  went to France . The  French branch  of the JVP was very active and supported the Sri Lanka  JVP with funds and propaganda, said Sarath Amunugama  Many JVPers found employment in Paris.  JVP had infiltrated the Buddhist temple in Paris and used it to smuggle their militant monks out of Sri Lanka. The monks were later dispersed to different countries. It was a quite effective ‘rat line’ said Amunugama.

JVP sees itself  as heroes, not killers. JVP celebrated the 50th anniversary of its 1971 insurrection in 2021.   JVP never fails to celebrate its first armed uprising, while keeping quiet about its second uprising in 1987, observed the media.

The 50th anniversary was commemorated at events in Hambantota, Gampaha, Polonnaruwa and Kurunegala. Many of our members who took part in the insurrection are still living in  these areas.

We honor and celebrate those who took part in the 71 insurrection for if they had succeeded then, we would have built a far more prosperous country than what we are today. We would have created a country where the people were more content and one where democracy and human rights were protected. This generation of our youths took up arms and fought for these ideals,JVP Leader Anura KumaraDissanayake said.

I’m not sure if today’s youth can fully grasp the enormity of the risks that the youths of 71 took. Dissanayake said. They cast aside their own selfish and narrow objectives and fought, risking their very lives with the aim of creating a better tomorrow for the wider society. How is such a feat anything but honorable, Dissanayake asked. Besides being the country’s first armed revolt, the 1971 insurrection was significant in that it was led by both rural youth and  urban youth, Dissanayake concluded.

JVP has its  memorials. This is not well known. Every year, the JVP holds a commemoration for fallen comrades”. 60 students at  Sri Jayewardenepura University,  including two female students were killedin the  1987-89 insurgency. An exhibition and a musical program were held to commemorate them in 1992 and in 2008. A memorial too was erected. The chief guest at the event was the mother of one of the victims, medical student Wenura Edirisinghe.  While the JVP are romanticized as heroes, no collective commemoration of JVP victims is held. Instead, their families mourn these victims in private grief, observed a critic.

KAMALIKA PIERIS

The third eruption of JVP violence was in May, 2022 when they burned down houses of politicians. This was the first time that JVP had engaged in arson on this scale, but this was not the first time JVP had burnt houses. They did it during the 1971 insurgency too.

Neville Jayaweera reported that in 1971, JVP controlled Madukanda, a village   in Vavuniya. From there, JVP made regular incursions into town and torched school buildings and buses.  In 1988 JVP burned down JR Jayewardene’s holiday home in Mirissa, “Red cliffs”, with all the antique furniture in it.

JVP hotly denied in Parliament that they were responsible for the arson attacks on houses in May 2022.  Anura Kumara Dissanayake told the House, that after returning to democratic politics in 1994, the JVP had never responded with violence. None of the arrested in connection to the attacks so far are from the JVP, he said.

MPs obstructed Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s speech. MPs started shouting various allegations at Dissanayake. A tense situation arose in Parliament  Some Parliamentarians began calling Dissanayake a murderer and blaming him for the violence.

MP Arundika Fernando said that the IGP had said that out of the some 400 arrested over the recent violence, around 150 of them were JVP members. JVP wrote to the IGP requesting a clarification on this allegation. JVP also asked for an appointment with the IGP to find out the truth behind the allegations against the JVP.

However, most people are certain that it is the JVP. The general opinion is that the JVP were behind the all island arson. The group I was watching television with, including domestics, promptly exclaimed, ‘this is JVP’, when television news showed the houses burning. That is what everybody is saying, said a   friend who rang me later.

Sunday Times spoke to several MPs whose properties were attacked. Many said it was  JVP and  Frontline Socialist Party (FSP), together with personal and political enemies who were out to settle scores.  Island reported that MPs said that the JVP and its offshoot the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) carried out organized attacks on houses of MPs.  JVP and FSP denied this.

SLPP Digamadulla District MP W.G. Weerasinghe accused local JVP activists of being behind the attack that destroyed his house in Ampara. Weerasinghe claimed the attackers were mainly JVP activists and came from the Gota Go Gama” branch set up in Ampara town. Some even broadcast the attack on Face book Live. A JVP organizer and a JVP Pradeshiya Sabha contestant have been arrested in connection with the burning of his house.

MP Shantha Bandara said that among the mob that had attacked his house there was a prominent JVP activist.  Keheliya Rambukwella said he suspected JVP, FLSP and Inter University Students’ Federation (IUSF).  The attackers were wearing helmets and carrying petrol bombs and had come from protest site at Galle Face.

Those who took part in the attack on the residence of Bandula Gunawardena at Nugegoda have been identified through the CCTV footage, police said. Among those identified were a JVP activist and an Inter-University Student Federation member.

Dinesh Gunawardena said in Parliament that his Boralugoda house, as well as other residences of SLPP lawmakers had been ‘mapped out’ earlier. His property had come under aerial surveillance, a few days before the incident. These so-called spontaneous retaliatory attacks were carried out with military precision.Ordinary people could not have carried out countrywide attacks in such an organized manner.  The need to examine the possibility of external conspiracy couldn’t be ruled out.

Most of those whose houses were burnt down were first time parliamentarians or ordinary MPs without ministerial responsibilities, said Dinesh Gunawardena. Nalaka Godahewa said the project was meant to discourage new entrants. Professionals would now think twice before entering politics at any level in the future.

 MP Wimal Weerawansa asked how ordinary people could trace all the properties owned by leading SLPP politician/businessman Johnston Fernando across the country and destroy them overnight. Those living close by to one such property, situated on the exclusive Lake Road Pelawatte, had not known whose house it was till it was attacked, looted and torched. While it was being torched by one set of attackers, people from surrounding areas who converged there had shouted that there were several dogs inside the residence. A helmet clad group who were apparently overseeing the drama from outside had told them that they had already chased away the dogs.

The attackers were very selective when it came to burning houses, observed Shenali Waduge. Houses of SJB and UNP parliamentarians were not touched. The houses of some leading Pohottu MPs, such as Ali Sabry and GL Pieris were also not targeted.

The residences of Mahinda Rajapakse in Tangalle, Medamulana, Carlton House and Kurunegala were burnt down as well as the monument to his father, but President’s residence in Mirihana was not.

In the case of Tamil politicians, only offices were attacked not homes. The office of Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) MP, Angajan Ramanathan’s office in Sandilipai, Jaffna, was destroyed. The residences of Douglas Devananda, Cader Masthan and Angajan Ramanathan, as well as those of Batticaloa District Parliamentarians Sathasivam, Viyalendran and Sivanesadurai Chandrakanthan  were given   protection.

However, Batticaloa District Parliamentarian and former Minister Habiz Nazeer Ahamed’s office, shop, garment factory and residence in Eravur town, Batticaloa, were destroyed and set on fire on May 10.

The photographs of the President and the Prime Minister were brought out to the road and set on fire at Podujana Peramuna Batticaloa District Organizer P. Chandrakumar’s office at Kaluwanchikudy and Iruthayapuram.

An organized group has succeeded in brainwashing youths into resorting to violence, said Nimal Lansa. Today’s youth do not know anything of the 71 riots by the JVP, or 88/89 riots by the JVP and have been misled by the JVP again, said W.G Weerasinghe.

These arsons attacks show that JVP has succeeded in   using three separate generations, to destabilize the country. They are the youth of 1971, 1988 and now 2022. The 1970 and 1980 lots were trained to kill. The 2022 lot have been taught to burn and destroy property but without killing people.

They have been taught how to burn down  large, solid, newly built,  spacious multi storey buildings using   petrol bombs.,  This means that Sri Lanka now has a   set of young arsonists, controlled by  a single authority,  poised to strike anywhere in the island  when ordered to do so. This is a new, very dangerous political development.

Sasanka De Silva,Pannipitiya.

In today’s politics, not only in Sri Lanka but also in other areas of the world, it is difficult to avoid this.

It is the act of making a legal effort to sway the decisions, policies, or actions of public servants, most frequently politicians or employees of regulatory bodies.

People who want to get into politics should be aware that, unless they already have a lot of money to support their campaign, a full-time career politician needs financial support to continue.

Today, there is no such thing as free coffee, as the saying goes. For at least 30 minutes, one must endure a tedious lecture before receiving a free cup of coffee.

Politicians should be conscious of this reality and use considerable caution when choosing what is presented to them, as opposed to accepting everything and afterwards regretting it.

Each person is responsible for providing that protection, but to prevent misuse of the facility, legislative assistance is also necessary.

The first is to mandate the submission of an income and expense statement by everyone over the age of 18, as well as the requirement that all elected officials declare all lobbying support they get in the same manner as they do their personal income tax returns.

This approach is not flawless, but having a system is far preferable to having none at all.

Many young bloods are expected to enter politics in the very near future, and the above recommendations are not to discourage them but to give an extra layer of support to them as well as to the country as a whole.

Sasanka De Silva

Pannipitiya.

By P.K.Balachandran Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Colombo, October 3 (Counterpoint): It was not very long ago that many thought that India had totally abandoned its traditional non-aligned foreign policy and was squarely in the US camp. The 2008 Indo-US nuclear deal which gave Indian critical waivers, the increased purchase of arms from the US in preference to Russian makes after the collapse of the Soviet Union; and burgeoning Indo-US trade (now worth US$ 157 billion); were thought to have sealed a relationship based on shared democratic values.”

The glamorous September 2019 ‘Howdy Modi’ event in Texas attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, was also cited as proof that India was in the US camp.  

But there is a marked departure from that now. Perhaps due to the consolidation of the nationalistic Narendra Modi regime in India; the emergence of a belligerent Russia as manifested in the brazen attack on Ukraine to stem the advance of NATO; and the deleterious effects on the Global South of US sanctions on Russia, India has been reassessing its world view including its relations with the US.

Under Foreign Minister S.Jaishankar, India is now a proponent of a multipolar world, knit together by individual national interests, in place of a world based on large blocs led by one or the other of the great powers. As in the ‘non-alignment era’ (from the 1950s to the 1980s) India is now seeking independence designated as strategic autonomy”. It seeks to establish relations based on its national interest on a case-by-case basis. It is buying arms from Russia as well as the US. It maintains a political standoff vis-a vis China but puts no barriers on bilateral trade which has crossed US$ 125 billion. It is telling Russia to find a diplomatic way out of the Ukraine crisis while abstaining from US-sponsored resolutions against Russia at the UN.    

Raymond Vickery writing in The Diplomat on April 28, 2022, says that  India is very sensitive to questioning on any issue from outsiders because such criticism reminds it of the country’s subjugation by the British for 150 years. When asked about Russia’s alignment with India’s rival, China, an irritated Jaishankar said: We draw our conclusions and make our assessments. And believe me, we have a decent sense of what is in our interest and know how to protect it and advance it.”

India’s strategic autonomy was in evidence even at the Samarkand summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) this September. The West made much of Modi’s telling Vladimir Putin that this is not an era of war” and that the  Ukraine issue should be settled by diplomacy. But, as Noam Chomsky pointed in an interview to Truthout, the West had conveniently blackout what the Indian Prime Minister added to his appeal. Modi had said: The relationship between India and Russia has deepened manifold. We also value this relationship because we have been such friends who have been with each other every moment for the last several decades and the whole world also knows how Russia’s relationship with India has been and how India’s relationship with Russia has been and therefore the world also knows that it is an unbreakable friendship.”

In a recent joint conference, while the US Secretary of State Blinken castigated Russia and pledged all help to Ukraine, the Indian  Foreign Minister did not utter a word against Russia. On the contrary, he highlighted the sufferings heaped on the Global South by the war and the US sanctions. While the US wanted India to join it in a combined front against Russia, Jaishankar announced that India might have a mediatory role to play in resolving the Ukraine crisis and that many countries wanted India to play that role. But an Indian bid to mediate ill fits the US plan, which is to overthrow the Putin regime and replace it by a pliant one.     

On September 30, Russia took over the captured areas of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine after a referendum that the West denounced as illegal”. The US took the issue to the UN Security Council, but India abstained when a vote was taken, as indeed it did  on previous occasions when the Ukraine issue was taken to the UN. China, America’s global rival, had done likewise.

India’s permanent representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj, reiterated New Delhi’s position in favor of peace, diplomacy and dialogue. India’s position, she explained, has been clear and consistent from the very beginning of this conflict. The global order is anchored in the principles of the UN charter, international law, and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states. Escalation of rhetoric or tension is in no one’s interest. It is important that pathways are found for a return to the negotiating table. But Keeping in view the totality of the situation, India decided to abstain on the resolution.”  

This was disappointing to the US, but should not have come as a surprise. Jaishankar has been sending enough signals for a long time that India will not toe the US line like a camp follower or a faithful. He had taken on the US liberal Establishment even on the human rights situation in India. Brushing the violations under the carpet he said that India has its own concerns about the human rights situation in the US. He told a press conference in April 2022: Look, people are entitled to have views about us. But we are also equally entitled to have views about their views and about the interests, and the lobbies and the vote banks which drive that. So, whenever there is a discussion, I can tell you that we will not be reticent about speaking out.”   

US Retaliates

On its part, the US has been giving pinpricks to recalcitrant India. In April 2021, a US Guided Missile Destroyer USS John Paul Jones sailed through India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) without intimating India, in violation of an Indian law. A statement released by the US Navy’s 7th Fleet said, On April 7, 2021 (local time) USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) asserted navigational rights and freedoms approximately 130 nautical miles west of the Lakshadweep Islands, inside India’s exclusive economic zone, without requesting India’s prior consent, consistent with international law.” It said India’s requirement that ships should seek prior consent for military exercises or maneuvers in its EEZ or continental shelf, was inconsistent with international law.”

We conduct routine and regular Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs), as we have done in the past and will continue to in the future. FONOPs are not about one country, nor are they about making political statements,” the US Fleet said.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs, however, raised concerns” through diplomatic channels, noting the country’s adherence to the 1982 United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). But the US has not ratified UNCLOS. 

More recently, an Indian company was sanctioned by the US for trading in Iranian petroleum products with China violating US sanctions against Iran. On September 29, the US Treasury listed the sanctioned companies which included the Mumbai-based Indian firm, Tibalaji Petrochem Private Limited. The US treasury said that Tibalaji has purchased millions of dollars’ worth of Triliance-brokered petrochemical products, including methanol and base oil, for onward shipment to China.” The Iranian company Triliance had been sanctioned by the US earlier. Tibalaji Petroelum is the first Indian company to be sanctioned by the US.

Earlier in September, the US agreed to give Pakistan spare parts for its F-16 fighters (which will be used only against India). The Hindu said that India was miffed and chose not to comment on US official Donald Lu’s statement expressing doubts about China’s sincerity on the Sino-Indian border issue. Donald Lu’s bid to mollify India failed.

අනුරුද්ධ බණ්ඩාර රණවාරණ මාධ්‍ය ලේකම්, ජාතික නිදහස් පෙරමුණ

කවුරුන් කැමැති වුවත්, අකමැති වුවත් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව යළි ගොඩනැගිය හැක්කේ බිඳවැටෙමින් පවතින බටහිර බලය වෙනුවට ශීඝ්‍රයෙන් වැඩෙමින් පවතින ආසියාතික බලය කෙරෙහි විශ්වාසය තබා ගමනක් යෑමට සූදානම් පාලනයකට පමණක් බවත් එහෙත් වත්මන් පාලකයන් ඇමරිකා එක්සත් ජනපදය ප්‍රමුඛ බටහිර බලවතුන්ගේ උවමනාව අනුව යමින්, චීනය සහ රුසියාව ප්‍රමුඛ ආසියාතික රටවල් මතින් ගොඩනැගෙන එම බල කේන්ද්‍රයට පිටුපාමින්, එම රටවල් සමග රාජ්‍යතාන්ත්‍රික ගැටලු පවා ඇති කරගන්නා තත්ත්වයකට පත්ව ඇති බවත් එරෝප්ලොට් ගුවන් යානය පිළිබඳ ගැටලුව සහ චීන සන්නිවේදන තාක්ෂණ නෞකාව පිළිබඳ ගැටලුව ඊට නිදසුන් බවත් ජානිපෙ නියෝජ්‍ය ලේකම්, පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී නිමල් පියතිස්ස මහතා පෙන්වා දෙයි.

පිටකෝට්ටේ පිහිටි ජාතික නිදහස් පෙරමුණේ ප්‍රධාන කාර්යාලයේදී පැවැති මාධ්‍ය හමුවකට එක්වෙමින් ඒ මහතා මෙසේ පෙන්වා දුන්නේය.

එහිදී වැඩිදුරටත් අදහස් දැක්වූ ඒ මහතා මෙසේ ද සඳහන් කළේය.

‘ඩීසල් මිල අඩු නොකිරීම’

ලෝක වෙළඳපොලේ බොරතෙල් මිල සියයට 40කින් පමණ අඩු වී තිබෙනවා. ඒ වාසිය පරිපූර්ණව රටේ ජනතාවට ලබාදීමට මේ ආණ්ඩුවට හැකියාවක්, උවමනාවක් ඇති බවක් පෙනෙන්නේ නැහැ. මේ ආකාරයට හෝ පෙට්‍රල් මිල අඩු කිරීම හොඳයි. නමුත් මේ ආණ්ඩුව පරිණත එකක් නම් කළ යුතුව තිබුණේ කෘෂිකර්මාන්තයේ, ධීවර කර්මාන්තයේ හා සෙසු කර්මාන්තවල යෙදෙන පිරිසට මෙන්ම පොදු ප්‍රවාහනයට ද බරපතළ ලෙස බලපාන ඩීසල් මිල අඩු කිරීමට පියවර ගැනීමයි. ආණ්ඩුව ‘එදා වේල ටුවර්ස්’ ගමනක් යනවා විනා ප්‍රමුඛතා ලේඛනයකට අනුව වැඩ නොකරන බව මෙමඟින් තවදුරටත් තහවුරු වෙනවා.

යළි ඇරඹුණු ‘ගැසට් රිවස්’

ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ පාලනය තුළ දිගින් දිගටම දක්නට ලැබුණු දෙයක් තමයි නිකුත් කරනු ලබන ගැසට් නිවේදන යළි හකුළා ගැනීම. මෙරට මූලික නීතියට හා සෙසු අණපනත්වලට අනුකූලව, බුද්ධිමත් සංවාදයකින් පසුව ගැසට් නිකුත් කළාම එවැනි ගැසට් රිවස් කිරීමක් අවශ්‍ය වන්නේ නැහැ. නමුත් එම කාලයේ දී ‘ගැසට් ගහනවා – රිවස් කරනවා’ බලමින් ඉන්නයි ජනතාවට සිදු වුණේ. ඒ දෙය දැන් රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ ජනාධිපතිවරයා ද පටන්ගෙන තිබෙනවා. එයාටත් අධිආරක්ෂිත කලාප සම්බන්ධයෙන් ගහපු කැසට් එක රිවස් කිරීමට සිදුව තිබෙනවා. රටත් ජනතාවත් සුරැකෙන පරිදි, කඩාකප්පල්කාරී ක්‍රියාවන්ට වැට බැඳෙන පරිදි කටයුතු කිරීමේ අවශ්‍යතාවක් තිබෙනවා. පවතින නීති රාමුව යටතේ එසේ නොකොට මේ අර්බුදකාරි අවස්ථාවේදී යළි ගැසට් රිවසි කිරීමේ තැනකට තල්ලු වීම කනගාටුවට කරුණක්.

සජිත් – දමිතා නාටකය

අපි දැක්කා තමන්ගේ ආණ්ඩුවක් පිහිටුවීමට දත – කට මැදගෙන ඉන්න, සජිත් ප්‍රේමදාස මහත්තයාගේ වේදිකාවට, ‘මම නිර්පාක්ෂිකයි’ කියමින් ‘අරගල භූමියේ’ සැරිසරපු, ඩොලර්වලට මේ රට අරාජික කිරීමේ බලමුළුවේ ප්‍රබල සාමාජිකාවක් වුණු දමිතා නෝනා නගිනවා. හොරෙන්, හොරෙන් වෙස් බැන්දත් කවදා හෝ එළියෙ නටන බව, අපි නම් දැනගෙන හිටියා. ඒකයි අපි දිගින් දිගටම මේ ‘නිර්පාක්ෂික අරගලකරුවන්ගේ, ඔවුන්ට සහයෝගය දැක්වූවන්ගේ පැටිකිරිය’ ජනතාව ඉදිරියේ තැබුවේ.

සජිත් මහත්තයාට දමිතා නෝනාගෙන් චරිත සහතික එහෙම ලැබෙන ආකාරයත් අපි දුටුවා. ඒ නිසා විගණකාධිපතිතුමන් සිය නවතම විගණන විමසුමකින් සජිත් ප්‍රේමදාස මහත්තයාට ලබාදී ඇති චරිත සහතිකයත් අපි මේ රටේ සබුද්ධික ජනතාව ඉදිරියේ කියවීමට සූදානම්. විගණකාධිපතිතුමන් පෙන්වා දී තිබෙනවා, සජිත් ප්‍රේමදාස සංස්කෘතික කටයුතු අමාත්‍ය ධුරය දැරූ සමයේදී මධ්‍යම සංස්කෘතික අරමුදලේ මුදල් බිලියන ගණනින් අවභාවිතා කළ ආකාරය. රජයේ මුදල් කෝටි, ප්‍රකෝටි ගණනින් පිල්ලි ගැසූ අයෙක් කියන්නේ කම්බා හොරෙක්. හොරු ගැන කතා කරන්න ඕනේ. නමුත් සජිත් කියන්නේ හොරු ගැන කතා කරන කම්බ හොරෙක් බව ජනතාව දැන්වත් වටහාගත යුතුයි.

‘ගෝල්ෆේස් බයිස්කෝප්’

ඇමරිකා එක්සත් ජනපදය ඇතුළු බටහිර බලවතුන් නිෂ්පාදනය කළ බයිස්කෝප් එකක් තමයි ‘ගෝල්ෆේස් අරගලය’ කියන්නේ. සරත් ෆොන්සේකා, දමිතා අබේරත්න, පෙරටුගාමී සමාජවාදී පක්ෂය ඇතුළු අනෙක් අනෙකුත් පක්ෂ, ශ්‍රී ලංකා නීතිඥ සංගමය මේ සියලුදෙනා මේ බයිස්කෝප් එකේ විවිධ චරිත රඟපෑවා. මේක මේ රටට එරෙහිව රඟ දක්වපු බයිස්කෝප් එකක්. මෙහි සම නිෂ්පාදකවරු ද සිටියා. දෙමළ ඩයස්පෝරාව, මේ රටේ කිලකස්ථානයක් හදන්න උවමනා අන්තවාදී සංවිධාන, ඒ අතර වෙනවා. ඒ නිෂ්පාදකයෝ, සම නිෂ්පාදකයෝ මෙහි චරිත රඟපාලා, ජනතාව ඇන්දූ තරමට හොඳට ගෙව්වා. ඒ නිසා අපි ජනතාවගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටිනවා, ‘මේ රාජ්‍යය බිඳවට්ටලා, මේ රට තවත් හයිටියක් බවට පත් කරන්න බලාගෙන ඉන්න පිරිස්වලට තවදුරටත් රැවටෙන්න එපා! තමන් ඉදිරියේ තිබෙන අනතුර හොඳින් වටහා ගන්න’ කියලා.

‘සාගත කැරලි සහ ඇමති කටු සූප්පුව’

මුළුමහත් ලෝකයම ආහාර අහේනියකට මුහුණපෑමේ අවදානමක් මතුව තිබෙනවා. මේ ආර්ථික අර්බුදය දෙගුණ, තෙගුණ කරමින් එයත් අපට බලපාවි. මේ තත්ත්වයෙන් ගැලවීමට කෘෂිකර්ම අමාත්‍යාංශයට ජාතික සැලසුමක් තිබෙනවා ද? ඒ බවක් පෙනෙන්නේ නැහැ. ජනතාව වෙනුවෙන් කියමින් ඇමැතිකම් ගත්තු අය අද මොකද කරන්නේ? ඔවුන් ලැබුණු ඇමති කට්ට සූප්පු කරනවා මිසක් වෙන දෙයක් කරන්නේ නැහැ. ඒ නිසා ඉදිරියේදී සාගත කැරලි හරහා රටම අරාජික කරන දෙවන අරගලයක් ඇතිවීමේ අවදානමක් ද මතුව තිබෙනවා. ඒ නිසා වත්මන් පාලකයන් අඩුම වශයෙන් ඒ කෙරෙහිවත් අවධානය යොමු කළ යුතුව තිබෙනවා.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සමාගමක් වෙයිද?

කවුරුන් කෙසේ කීවත් ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදලෙන් රටට ලැබෙන දෙයක් නැහැ. රාජ්‍ය සේවයට මුද්‍රා තබලා, රාජ්‍ය ව්‍යවසායන් විකුණා දමලා, ‘ශ්‍රී ලංකා රාජ්‍යය’ වෙනුවට ‘ශ්‍රී ලංකාව නැමැති පෞද්ගලික සමාගමක්’ හදලා, ඒ සමාගමේ කොටස් ටික ඇමරිකා එක්සත් ජනපදය ප්‍රමුඛ බටහිර බලවතුන්ට විකුණා දමන්නයි ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදලට උවමනා. ඒකයි ඔවුන්ට පැවරී ඇති වගකීම. මේ සියල්ලටම එරෙහිව යන ගමනක්, ආසියාතික බලය සමඟ සිටගන්නා පාලනයක් මේ රටට අවශ්‍යයි. ඒ වෙනුවෙන්ම පිහිටුවා ඇති උත්තර ලංකා සභාගය සමඟ අත්වැල් බැඳගන්නා ලෙස රටට හිතැති සියලු ජන බලවේග වෙතින් ඉල්ලා සිටිනවා.”

(අනුරුද්ධ බණ්ඩාර රණවාරණ)
මාධ්‍ය ලේකම්,
ජාතික නිදහස් පෙරමුණ

Courtesy RFI

Colombo (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government on Sunday cut taxes on female sanitary products in a bid to help women and girls unable to afford them because of the country’s economic crisis.

Even before the downturn last year, many schoolgirls and women in Sri Lanka, like in other poor countries, would stay home when menstruating because they couldn’t afford sanitary products.

A study this year by policy advocacy group Advocata said “period poverty” — being unable to afford sanitary products — among Sri Lanka’s 5.3 million women of reproductive age was about 50 percent.

Campaigners believe the situation has worsened with Sri Lanka suffering severe shortages of essential goods and inflation rates in excess of 70 percent.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office said Sunday that customs duties, airport levies and other local taxes on raw materials imported to make female hygiene products was waived with immediate effect.

Imported pads and tampons will also cost 20 percent less due to a reduction in import duties, Wickremesinghe’s office said in a statement.

The tax cut was to “make hygiene products more affordable in view of ensuring hygiene among women and school girls,” the statement said.

Months of protests over economic hardships led to the resignation of president Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July.

The country defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt in April and is in talks with the International Monetary Fund to secure a $2.9 billion bailout.

The new government of Wickremesinghe on Sunday began implementing a new turnover tax of 2.5 percent on all goods and services in a bid to raise state revenue.

However, the government marginally reduced the price of petrol in line with global prices, but kept the price of diesel, commonly used in public transport, unchanged.

Courtesy Adaderana

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Courtesy Adaderana

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

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

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

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

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

Shenali D Waduge

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

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

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

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

Where are the writers counting the LTTE child soldier dead?

Why are they shy to reveal the numbers?

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

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

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

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

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

How many Tamil children did LTTE train to commit suicide?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shenali D Waduge

KAMALIKA PIERIS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dr Priyanka Bandara

Dear patriots,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pri

P.S. If you didn’t see this:

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

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

Seema Guha Courtesy Outlook India

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Enters Ram Setu 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Courtesy News18

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Saman Gunadasa Courtesy WSWS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Susantha Hewa

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

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

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

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

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

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

Aragalaya

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

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

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

Susantha Hewa

Chaturanga Samarawickraman Courtesy The Daily Mirror

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

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

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

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

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

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

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

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

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

Courtesy Adaderana

Courtesy Adaderana

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

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

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

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

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

Senaka Weeraratna

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Senaka Weeraratna

Courtesy Adaderana

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

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

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

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

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

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

Courtesy Adaderana

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

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

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

Courtesy Adaderana

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

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

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