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The Director General of Health Services has confirmed 05 coronavirus related deaths for yesterday (28), the Department of Government Information reported today (29).
The new Covid-19 deaths include two males and three females while one of the patients is between the ages 30-59 years. The rest are aged 60 years and above.
China has a history of over 3500 years. India’s history dates back to the Indus Valley civilization. India was given its name by the British in 1947. Asia’s population is 4.5billion of which 2.7billion are Chinese or Indian. Both China and India are key players in Asia. Asian continent can be strengthened by the unity of India & China. Unity means power and power means the ability to meet challenges & threats. This is why divide & rule colonial policies were rolled out to divide invaded nations & people. It was colonial division that led to the Indo-Sino war in 1962. An artificial line drawn by a pencil keeps China & India from rebuilding ties. The situation is made worse as neocolonials have tasked local neoliberals to continue divide & rule policies and these locals create tensions to prevent cordial ties between India & China. India is powerful so is China. India is not going to become more powerful by trying to destroy China or by joining with enemies of China. If at all, the enemies of China will use India not only to balkanize China but eventually they will balkanize India. What cost is India’s bogus friendship with countries India cannot truly trust? When neighboring nations are made weak, will it not impact one’s own country? Who seeks to weaken neighboring countries & why? When countries are made weak – who benefits in the end? The one’s who planned it all! It’s been 60 years since Indo-Sino war and that shows how caution has played a key role. Caution must now escalate to 60 more years of collaboration between India & China.
Is what makes China powerful, that threatens nations that thought they would remain powerful?
China has more vessels than Germany, India, Spain & UK navies. This makes China possess the ability to control the oceans. With this comes bases and logistics hubs. It is to prevent these that the anti-China camps are making alliances. Including India to alliance has been the icing on the cake. All their dirty work is now outsourced to India. But what is India gaining eventually? Does India think that India truly belongs to ‘their club’. India may like to watch the fate of Rishi Sunak to realize its own fate. At what cost is India’s allegiance to West joining with Japan who really had no choice given its subservient role post-World War where even Japans constitution was drafted by West. Japan’s inability to remove US troops from Okinawa shows how ‘independent’ Japan is.
Has it occurred to India, that the West’s use of the Church, LTTE Diaspora, UNHRC and the ‘Tamil minority’ card is a stepping towards this ultimate goal? The West has not minced its options about balkanizing India as it did to the Soviet Union & Yugoslavia. Already many of the UN goalposts and programs are in line with creating micro states while promoting corporate civil society governance abandoning the Westphalia system of governance. Much propaganda is being steered towards this end.
India has to way the threats. Who is a bigger threat to India realistically. India & China are key trading partners. Both have the worlds largest populations. People are power. Both have nuclear powers.
The world may think US abhors China – but isn’t it all a hoax? If US hated China so much, why does US encourage Chinese to study in US?
Indian comprise 18.3% of international students in US
4million Indians live in US
Chinese Americans number 5.4million.
Together Indians & Chinese make up almost 10milion out of Americas 329.5million population. Many Indian-Chinese Americans are also holding top level Govt positions. Though they are from native-India or China, they think & act and function more than Americans.
Americans studying abroad for 2019-2020 numbered 162,633 choosing European countries.
Would US stop trading with China? Take a list of the US companies relocated to China – http://www.jiesworld.com/international_corporations_in_china.htm
Did you also know that
There are many more such Chinese investors in US.
Similarly, though many think India-China relations are cold – it is quite contrary.
China has become one of the top 10 education destinations for Indian students.
23,000 Indians were studying in China in 2021 out of 11.3 lakh students.
China offers Indian students scholarships in a variety of subjects & cost of living is far lower that US, UK & Europe. China is also offering jobs.
Politics end up dampening good relations as Indian authorities refused to accept degrees awarded by Pakistan no different to India banned Chinese apps.
In 2016 there were more Indian students in China than in UK (Times of India) 18,171 Indians in China against 18.015 to UK.
Indian students make up the 5th largest group of international students in China after South Korea / USA/Thailand & Pakistan
India-China trade bilateral trade was $125.66billion in 2021.
To whose advantage is it when India & China are at odds?
Where is the source of tension?
On 20 October 1962 Indo-Sino war started when Chinese army invaded Ladakh & crossed McMahon Line. The war ended a month later. India became a republic in 1947 and People’s Republic of China was formed in 1949. Tibet became the contentious subject denting ties and leading to the eventual war.
India & China may recall how India did not attend a conference because China was not invited. India even took pains to speak on behalf of China who had been isolated. Both countries cannot forget the 1954 Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence when India acknowledged Chinese rule in Tibet.
Thereafter came a steady flow of contentious incidents – issues with maps, reception given to Dalai Lama after fleeing Tibet by India in 1959, China attributing Lhasa rebellion to India and the most recent altercation in Galwan.
Sir Henry McMahon the foreign secretary of British India decided the 890km line dividing India & China after the 1914 Shimla Treaty between India & Tibet. China does not accept the line as China was not privy to the agreement & China is not bound by it.
India & China has been squabbling for 108 years over a line drawn by colonial Britain. Then British Foreign Secretary David Miliband apologized to China on 29 October 2008.
India carried all of the British territorial agreements after gaining independence in 1947. PM Nehru refused China’s proposal to negotiate a settlement in 1954 simply accepting British version.
It is now time for India to ask if it wishes to continue to adopt British colonial legacy or work out an amicable settlement with China. So long as issues prevail – external forces will be preying to stir the pot of conflict. This is what teams from India & China must realize.
It is in the interest of both nations to not allow third parties come between them.
Enemy initiatives in Asia is not going to take any Asian nation anywhere. India China & Japan are powerful in their own right – they do not require to be propped up by western alliances. It is time Asia and Asians realize their power and build themselves up on their terms and not those cunningly imported & articulated by forked tongues.
The news is given below
It will happen as per a request by Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) which is the main party that backs President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
The SLPP MPs who served as state ministers in the previous government met the president recently to discuss the appointment of state ministers of the new government.
The SLPP has asked for the appointment of 40 of them. However, the president is keen to appoint only 30.
According to informed sources, the appointment of state ministers will take place either next week or during the first week of September.
A SLPP MP who attended the meeting said his party discussed the appointment of heads of district development coordinating committees. (Kelum Bandara)”
My Comments on the above crazy descision
By Dr Sudath Gunasekara Mhanuwara, from the last capital of the 2500 year old Sinhale Kingdom
28.8.2022.
First of all, before I respond to this crazy decision of the President, I must, categorically remind him, as my good friend, that appointing more Ministers (to appease SLPP MPP) is not the priority number 1 problem the country is facing today. There are many more burning issues that should be urgently prioritized and solved before you appoint another set of Ministers, whether they are Cabinet or State, popularly known as blood suckers” or the Boring worms” (kandha panuwo) of the nation, if the nations taken as a tree. Therefore, as an experienced officer of the SLAS coming from the country side, I strongly advise him to first solve the far more serious problems, the country is facing today before he is also ousted by the revolting mobs in no time. [S1]
Just to mention few of the more serious problems the country is facing today.
*Daily sky rocketing cost of living
*Mass hunger and starving due to shortage of food
* complete brake down of the mainstay of the agricultural sector the mainstay of the economy due the ban of chemical fertilizer and other inputs such as insecticides and pesticides and support services like a vibrant extension service and marketing etc.
*Shortage of medicine healthcare facilities
*Shortage of fuel and even kerosine that has hampered transport and every aspect of people’s day to day life
*Complete brake down in law and order and the failure to eradicate drugs and narcotic menace
*Excessive public expenditure arising from too many politicians, state officers, extravagance, wastage and pilferages
*Brake down in State enterprises due to overall poor and mismanagement, over staffing, (highest in the world:1 public servant for every 16 people) unbearable number of politicians (again highest in the world approximately 1 politician for every 3200 people) lack of strict administrative and financial management and careful business-oriented management and finally, political interference everywhere and in everything.
*Corruption, bribery, overspending, extravagance and wastage in the entire public sector
*Absence of discipline all over the entire society
*Above all absence of a strong and people friendly government of patriotic land honest statemen as leaders, who know their motherland, its civilization and culture and absence of patriotism in the hearts and heads of all from the president to the beggar in the street coupled with the absence of national and spiritual leaders who can guide the politicians.
President has already agreed to appoint 30 State Ministers.
According to the above news item the President has already agreed to appoint 30 State Ministers. Since the 3o Cabinet Ministers already appointed are also Ministers of the State, I don’t think you need to have another category of Ministers as State Ministers in addition to the 30 Cabinet Ministers already we have. Few people will know that there are already 48 people, who hold Cabinet rank status and enjoy all those privileges in the country. This includes the 9 Governors and 9 chief Ministers as they are also paid the same salary and given all the privileges of Cabinet Ministers. In addition, you also have another 36 provincial Council Ministers who are also called Ministers who enjoy more or less equal benefits if not more, for no work done at all. This adds up to a total of 84. If Ranil agrees to appoint another 40 Deputies or State ministers the total number of Ministers in the country will go up to 124.
I boldly say that none of these Ministers (with few rare exceptions in the whole history since 1948) has done his/her duty by the country, for the money tax payers spend on them and for the privileges they have enjoyed. That is why this country, the second richest country in per-capita in 1948 in asia has now become even worse than Ethiopia. As such why do we need all these pinpadikarayo whosyphon national resourceswithout any concern for the people or the country. Now that the Provincial councils have been not functioning nearly for 5 years without any brake down in governance, that alone justifies my call for the abolition of this system.
The concept of State Ministers in Sri Lanka
The concept of State Ministers was first introduced by JR Jayawardhana in 1977 to accommodate his chum Ananda Tissa De Alwis in the Cabinet as the Constitution has laid down the maximum number of Cabinet Ministers. Later starting from Premadasa all heads followed this practice and it was abused and misused to the maximum by Gotabhaya just to satisfy the vociferous backbenchers, eating in to the meager resources of the country for which he had to pay a very high price by fleeing in the mid night from the country and resigning in asylum, now looking for a place for permanent political asylum on earth. Therefore, it is high time that Ranil Wickramasinha should also realize that his predicament would be even worse than that of Gotabhaya, if he also commits the same mistakes.
What the country needs today is a small Cabinet of new blood, who are honest, capable and efficient and who can deliver the services to the people.
What the country needs today is a small Cabinet of new blood, who are honest, capable and efficient and who can deliver the services for the people at these difficult times. President must also take care not to appoint those who have miserably failed in their jobs in the past.
He also has to be extra careful not to appoint his old friends discarded by the people. If you find it difficult to find the required talent from within you can get few suitable men and women from outside the Parliament through the so-called national list which has never served the purpose for which, it was set up, other than accommodating close friends of the party leaders for them to enjoy the luxuries of Parliamentary life for five years without facing the hassles of elections.
Meanwhile, if you can abolish the Provincial Councils also then you will have a Cabinet of 17 only. If you start with this bold decision without giving in to these crazy dirty politicians when you form the new Cabinet (it should not be a container any more) without appointing State Ministers just to appease another set of expensive creatures just to maintain the majority in Parliament. If you do that billions of rupees wasted at Provincial Council level to maintain a useless system for nothing will be saved as revenue for the central government
You will go down in history as a people’s President
Mr. President since most of the MPP in Parliament and the people in the country are against you. The talk in the paddy field, village well or the spout or the village grocery stores or the street corner in towns and in the bus and train and in offices and factories is that you will allow asymmetric devolution to the North and East and might end up in signing the MMC and SOPA and betray and destroy this country and the Sinhala nation as your erstwhile uncle JR did by signing the Indo Sri Lanka Accord of 29 July 1987 as a revenge from the nation for not making him the leader of this country early in his life after Senanayakas were gone.
Therefore, this is the best time to introduce changes that benefit the people and that is not so and prove that you are a patriotic leader- stateman. Definitely you can do this if you change the current corrupt and dirty political culture that has plagued and destroyed the country, by adopting a completely different people centered and people friendly approach of governance that is radically different from the politician centered corrupt and what is called The government by the politicians, for the politicians and of the politicians” model of government we have had in this country particularly since 1977 you will go down in history as a people’s President who resurrected a dead nation in the year 2022 of the Christian era.
If you do the right thing at the right time, you need not be scared of the SLPP who elected you as the President, or any other in the parliament as none will touch you, I repeat if you do the correct thing at the correct time”
In this backdrop, I lodge my strongest protest on behalf of all the starving and suffering people in my motherland on the above proposal to appoint 30 non- Cabinet Ministers at this critical moment. I also request the President not to appoint a single State Minister in the new Government.
Also, I strongly request him to limit the cabinet to a maximum of 17, as I have already requested him in my first letter sent to him immediately after his appointment as the President as given below.
I also strongly condemn the silly and untimely requests made by the SLPP MPP as reported above as if they have forgotten why Gotabahya had to resign and even to leave the country. I put the blame for that unfortunate episode squarely on these so-called Ministers and the State Ministers of the Gotabhaya regime who took that poor man, a novice to politics, for a ride and paved the way for him to flee the country seeking political asylum in fear of even death, as a fable one finds in fairy tales.
I am confident that they want be able to play the fool with Ranil Wickramasinha the same way they did with Gota who was surrounded by kewatta advisors, who ruined his entire political career and still quarrel for portfolios.
Ranil will also have to face the same consequences of hiding in unknown lands
On the other hand, if Ranil also gives in to these selfish requests together with them and his own acolytes, Ranil will also have to face the same consequences of hiding in unknown lands.
Therefore, Mr. President, as an elderly man first, I would like to request you not to give in for such pressures and to warn all these politicians suffering from Ministerial fever to get back to their senses before asking for ministries. You selfish politicians, first, think about the present economic situation in the country and the tens of thousands starving men, women and children and the future of at least your own children. If you have no brain to understand the sufferings of 22 million and the uncertain future of their children. I don’t think I need to elaborate any further.
Stop appointing raw politicians as Chairmen of District Development[S2] Coordinating committees
The present practice of appointing raw politicians as Chairmen of District Development Coordinating committees as the SLPP MPP requested should also be stopped forth with. I have found in many districts, in experienced Mpp who have entered for the first time also have been appointed as Chairmen of these Committees This has not only disgraced and demoralized the GAA the Heads of the Districts but also the entire district public service making district administration and development a bick mockery.
Appointing ruling party politicians only make it utterly undemocratic. On the other hand, such inexperienced politicians fail in their jobs as they cannot win the regard and respect of the senior officers in the district
Only GAA as Heads of district Administration should be appointed as Chairmen of DACC and DCC
Only GAA should be appointed as Chairmen of DACC and DCC in order to make these Committees effective and successful in administration and development the government should get back to the 1965- 77 practice of appointing selected senior people who have wide experience not only in Divisional and District Administration but also at National level experience at least two years of Experience as heads of Departments then only the District Committee can sustain an effective job.
Mr. President, this is the biggest challenge you face in your life. But the whole nation will stand behind you and admire you forgetting all your past failures, if you implement the above plan.
Message for the MPP who fight for Ministries
This is not the way you should behave, at a time when you people should be prepared to serve the people at your own expense even without a salary, at least for one year until the country’s situation come back to normal. Being politicians, you must first set an example for others. It is a shame you people behave irresponsibly like this when the people are starving and some dying on the road. If you continue to behave like this any further the day when the people will come and drag you out of the Parliament is not that far.
Taking the present economic situation and social unrest into account, I make the following suggestions to the President and the Prime minister
1 Appoint only 17 Ministers selected from all the Political parties in the Parliament. Ministries should be allocated according to the ratio of each party has in the House. If the Party leaders are not willing to accept portfolios let them nominate their members to accept them.
All these Ministers should work without a salary for one year Their facilities should be reduced to the bare minimum. But each one should be given a target and their performance must be evaluated weekly
2. Don’t appoint a single State Minister as they have been square pegs in round holes.
All these Ministers should work without a salary for one year as stated above.
3 All the MPP should be appointed to 17 Committees under the Ministries and they have to actively take part in deliberating and implementing the programmes of the respective Ministries Attending Parliament and these Committees must be made compulsory.
Anyone who cannot fit in to this arrangement should immediately resign from his seat and go home and say good bye to politics.
The philosophy behind this proposal is sacrifice by all
The philosophy behind this proposal is sacrifice by all, from the President down to the beggar on the street, to take the country out of the present abyss in to which it has been put by none other than the policy makers and the so-called public servants who are responsible for their implementation. for which they alone are responsible.
Proposed Amaatya mandalaya in the new Government
1අග්රාමාත්ය, රාජ්ය ආරක්ශක, බුද්ධසාශන හා සන්ස්කෘතික කටයුතු
2 මුදල් හා ක්රම සම්පාදන හා රජයේ වැඩ
3 ඉඩම්, වාරිමාර්ග සහ පරිසර සන්රක්ශන
4 කෘෂිකර්මාන්ත, වැවිලිකර්මාන්ත සහ කුළුබඩු
5 කර්මාන්ත, බලශක්ති හා තාක්ශන
6 අධ්යාපන සහ ක්රීඩා
7 අධිකරණ, නිතිය හා සාමය
8 සෞඛ්ය, ආයුර්වේද සහ සමාජසේවා
9 නිවාස, පලාත්පාලන හා ජලසම්පාදන
10 වෙළඳ හා නාවික කටයුතු
11 විදේශ සහ ජාත්යන්තර කටයුතු (මෙම ඇමති ධුරයට නිතරම පත්කළ යුත්තේ ශ්රි.ලන්.වි.සේ විශිෂ්ඨතම නිලධාරියෙකි- ජාතික ළැයිස්තුවෙන්)
12 ධීවර සහ සමුද්ර සම්පත් –
13 කම්කරු හා රැකිරක්ශා –
14 ගමනාගමන, මහාමාර්ග හා ගුවන්සේවා
15 ප්රවෘර්ති, ගුවන්විදුලි, රූපවාහිනී සහ ජන මාධ්ය
16`උඩරට ගැමි පුනරුත්ථාපන සහ කන්ද උඩරට (ජාතියේ හදබිම ) සන් රක්ශනය
17 ස්වදේශ කටයුතු රාජ්ය පරිපාලන හා ග්රාම සන්වර්ධන (මෙම ඇමති ධුරයට නිතරම පත්කල යුත්තේ ශ්රි.ලන්.ප.සේ විශිෂ්ඨතම නිලධාරියෙකි- ජාතික ළැයිස්තුවෙන්)
(ස්වදේශ කටයුතු, රාජ්ය පරිපාලන හා ග්රාම සන්වර්ධන අමාත්යාන්ශය මට භාර දෙන්නේනම් 1948 සිට නොකෙරුණු මේ රටට ගැලපෙන දිස්ත්රික්ක, ප්රාදේෂීය සහ ග්රාම පාලන ක්රමයක් 6 මසක් අතුලත මට මේරටට නිර්මාණය කොට දිය හැකි බව්ද ප්රකාශකරමි).
දැනට තිබෙන අමාත්යාශ, දෙපාර්තමේන්තු සහ අනෙකුත් රාජ්ය ආයතන සියල්ල (අනවශ්ය ඒවා වසාදැමීමෙන් පසු ඉතිරිවන) මෙම අමාත්යාශ යටතට විධිමත්ව අන්තග්රහණය කළ යුතුය
ජාතික ලැයිස්තුවෙන් ඇමතිමන්ඩලයට ගත යුතු කීපදනෙක්
සරත් නන්ද ද සිල්වා හිටපු අග්රවිනිශ්චයකාර ආචාර්ය
ආචාර්ය ගාර්වින් කරුනාරත්න
ගාමිනි විජේසින්හ හිටපු විඝණනාධිපති
නීතිඥ නාගානන්ද කොඩිතුවක්කු
ප්රභාත් මහනාම
වන්නියෑලෑ ඇත්තො
ආචාර්ය චන්ද්රේ ධර්මවර්ධන.
මෙම ළැයිස්තුවට ලක්ෂ්මන් කදිරගාම වැනි දෙමල නියෝජිතයෙක්ද ඇතුලත් කරගත යුතුය
(මොවුන් ඇමති තණතුරු භාරගැනීමට අසතුටුනම් යටත් පිරිසෙයින් ජාතික සැලසුම් මන්ඩලයේ උපදේශක වරුන් වශයෙන් හෝ පත්කොට ගතයුතුයයි මම යෝජනා කරමි)
The Government has already met a few of the anticipated conditionalities of the IMF. Rupee has been devalued, subsidies reduced in essential services like electricity and water and cost reflective pricing has been imposed and interest rates increased. The next thing the IMF would insist is privatization of SOEs. We now hear the baying of the wolf pack of of many politicians and economic pundits urging the government to get on the job and privatize State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to make them efficient and profitable and ease the burden of losses to the state. Majority of them think that a wave of the majic wand of privatization will turn the white elephants to cash cows. Historically in Sri Lanka, SOEs have made a significant contribution to industrial development, employment creation and providing essential services. Before 1977 many SOEs came into existence out of a nationalization wave born out of compulsions of state control or to fill a gap in the production of essential goods or services. Other than Corporations established under specific Acts, SOEs were formed underthe Government Sponsored Corporations Act No. 19 of 1955 and the State Industrial Corporations Act No. 49 of 1957. As of now it is estimated that there are 527 SOEs.
Economic analysts presently take a more balanced view of its effectiveness (of privatization). Few dispute the positive results of privatization of firms operating in competitive, or potentially competitive markets, but experience has yielded a deeper understanding of the complexities of implementing the policy, especially in infrastructure sectors such as electricity, railways or water and sewerage, and particularly in lower-income, less developed economies. There is a greater recognition that privatization needs to take place in a supportive institutional and policy framework if it is to live up to its potential; and there is a better realization of the socio-political challenges that inevitably accompany this always contentious activity. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1999098
Privatization should not lead to monopolies, and if it leads beyond the institutional and professional capacity of the private sector it will be counterproductive.
If some of the many SOEs which do not make an elemental contribution to the economy or provide an essential service, a selective and judicious privatization is justified. But when one looks at the past privatization episodes in Sri Lanka one shudder to think of the consequences. Privatization became a fetish during the JR regime on political grounds and more as an opportunity to enrich themselves and their henchman. A reputed economist and the head of the prestigious Institute of Policy Studies, late Dr. Saman Kelegama 2001 cites a case where in Sri Lanka an SOE valued at US $100 million was sold at only US $7 million on the ground that the government only wanted to get the privatization policy itself moving.” In many episodes the buyer of SOEs did not continue operating the SOE but sold the machinery for scrap like in the case of Kantale Sugar. A similar tragedy happened with the Werehara workshop of the CTB which was considered one of the best equipped and efficient workshops in South Asia. One cannot recall a single privatized SOE during this period operating more efficiently and profitably. Most of them are nonexistent.
During the regime of Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumaratunga (CBK) selling of the family silver in the way of selling off SOEs was the easy way to balance the budget. Fortunately, the Supreme Court found that some of those deals in the sale of valuable national assets were illegal and restored them back to the State. In addition,CBK was fined and her accomplish the Secretary of Finance was banned from the public service. The bigger crime of the pair was the selling back to Prima Flour Mill for a pittance an asset that was to be handed over to Sri Lanka on the terms of the BOT agreement. As a result, the country has lost its grip on food security.
It cannot be denied that behind the economic rationale on privatization is a lurking ideological pollical obsessionwhich prevents these advocates to examine the issue in depth and consider alternate strategies. Firstly, it must be accepted that it is not the ownership but the management of an institution which is of paramount importance for its success. Secondly all SOEs cannot be put into one basket. Some deal with the ‘commanding heights’ of the economy and are of strategic importance, some are purely commercial and others noncommercial. It is also important to gain from the lessons of past experience of Sri Lanka and the knowledge of international insights in privatization.
Even after several episodes of privatization it is reported that Sri Lanka as of now has 527 state-owned enterprises which could be categorized under: 55 Strategic SOEs, 287 SOEs with commercial interests, and 185 SOEs with non-commercial interests. (advocata)
The typical criticism of SOEs is that they are not profitable as they are not free to determine the price of their products or services. While it is important to maintain a cost reflective pricing mechanism in SOEs it has to be conceded that SOEs have to strike a fine balance between helping the Government achieve its socioeconomic objectives while ensuring the enterprise’s financial viability. This challenge stems from the engagement of SOEs in the provisioning of essential products and services, which are sometimes not commercially viable; for instance, the provision of public transport to rural communities or electricity in geographically challenging areas such as in mountainous regions.” CBSL.
Without rushing into a frenzied bout of privatization it would be useful to learn from the experience of privatization in Sri Lanka and abroad. Before resorting to surgery, it is essential to diagnose the malady. The problems of SOEs arise from three sources i.e., political interference, poor systems, and bad management. Political interference can be curtailed by law that the Minister is made to issue instruction only on policy and that too made in writing through the secretary of the ministry who is the chief accounting officer. All other interventions should be considered as illegal. Political interference occurs mainly on recruitment where Ministers insist on their list of candidates. It would be necessary to introduce an institution parallel to the Public Service Commission vested with similar powers and functions. Even Provincial Councils have their independent Public Service Commissions.
With regard to systems, we need not invent new systems when we have a functional system in our public service tested over at least 74 years since independence. The Financial Regulations and Establishment code of the public service are updated only on rare occasions when necessary. Export Development Board at its first Board Meeting decided that the EDB will follow the Financial and Establishment rules of the government and any deviations necessary will be dealt with by the Board. The EDB deals with significant amount of funds in grants and financial assistance schemes and has had no deviations necessary and has had no audit queries. The critics of government rules are those who neglect forward planning or create emergencies with dishonest intentions. Deviations from FRs are allowed when reasons are adduced justifying the need for such deviation. In government departments even with ‘profit and loss’ accounts, annual accounts are finalized unfailingly on the 31st of December. But in the case of SOEs most of them do not even submit their accounts for several years.
Efficient management is the key to success of any enterprise in the public sector or in the private sector. A good management can set up a new organization and introduce an untested system effectively. A good example is the CTB where with nationalization a brand-new system had to be set up to operate a massive island wide organization. This was accomplished by a handful of administrators seconded from the civil service. Until the CTB became the employment exchange of politicians it was run efficiently providing an essential service and making profit. In fact, in 1964 the CTB paid a significant dividend to the Treasury.
Before privatization of an SOE it would be useful to examine the original objectives of establishing the particular entity. For instance, the CWE was for wholesale trade and to serve the cooperative sector. Now CWE is focusing on retail trade. CWE should compete with the import trade mafia controlling the price of major commodities like sugar. State Trading Company was mainly to deal with restricted imports. STC could become a center for information on import trade serving the private sector. There are small SOEs which can be merged. There are others which only act as middlemen or conduits. They can be eliminated.
Counting a chairman and a managing director for each SOE, the 573 SOEs would consist of over 1100 personnel. At present these individuals are picked on an ad hoc basis where political loyalty becomes the dominant criterion. Most of these henchmen have no long-term interest in the success of the enterprise and would only be keen to please the minister and would stoop to corrupt practices. With over 550 SOEs there is a need for a special cadre of around 1000 top managers to run these entities. This number exceeds the cadre in SLAS Special Class and Class 1 which at present is around 700. This cadre should be professionals seconded from the management cadres of the Public Service or selected out of present holders in the SOEs. Both officers on secondment and inservice personal should be absorbed through an examination and interview by the proposed SOE Service Commission. SOE service may be structured in two or three grades. All holders of SOE posts should be given a high-level training in business management. Their salaries should not exceed the salaries of the parallel SLAS grades but they should be entitled to profit sharing. The posting of individuals into specific posts should be based on the needs of the job description of each post.
The feasibility of a forming a holding company for the say 10 of the most strategic SOEs on the model of Temasek of Singapore and SASAC of China should be considered. This should have the independence of business policy and operations similar to what is already enjoyed by the Port City.
Privatization decisions are of national importance and should be done carefully. All such decisions must be approved by the parliament to avoid CBK type scams.
The IUSF starts its process of controlling the freshers, long before they arrive in the University. IUSF made use of the one year gap between A Level and University to gain control over the future first year undergrad. IUSF does the work, but there is a political party behind this which provides the money, said analysts.
Once the intake into University was decided and the successful applicants are informed, the IUSF contacted those students over the phone and through social media. IUSF clearly has contacts in the administration, who are prepared to release this list to the JVP. The names and addresses of selected applicants are known only to the administration.
Weeramunda (2008) in his 2007 survey of student violence in university confirmed that the IUSF got addresses of all new recruits from the university. The officer in charge refused to give the list to the IUSF in 2007, said a respondent from Kelaniya, but they were given this information when X was the Chancellor.
IUSF then conducted unofficial meetings in each district, and invited the future undergrads to join classes arranged by the IUSF, which conveniently took place in the nearest town.Weeramunda confirmed that IUSF contacted new entrants privately at the district level and ran an awareness programme for them.
These ‘kuppi’ sessions took place every weekend, in their hometowns, in temples and in tuition classes. They were the first source of University information for these freshers, said Hettiarachchi. These classes initially took the form of providing genuine assistance in teaching the difficult subject modules students would meet in the first year. Students with weak scores would have responded eagerly to this.
These sessions then gradually converted in to brainwashing sessions identified as ‘thela gaseeme’. Participants were sent for political classes, for 5 day classes, two week classes and also camps, added Hettiarachchi.
Then came University. After our Advanced Level Examination we entered university with high hopes, said one undergrad who had entered in 2011. We were soon disillusioned. We were subject to inhuman ragging by the seniors.
IUSF is very welcoming when the freshers arrive. They meet the parents and undergrads and speak very encouragingly and comfortingly. They assure parents that they will look after their children. Parents leave happily, thinking that their children will be safe in the hands of the IUSF seniors.
In 2017, at Rajarata parents had been told by the Student Council at a meeting that there was no ragging in the university. They had later learned that this was far from the truth. When we started university, the seniors spoke to us in a very loving manner and even our parents were surprised. But things changed thereafter, said one undergrad.
For the first week, the freshers are treated very kindly and well. The seniors first used decent language. Then they started to call us, not nangi, malli but tho, thopi, yako, mehe varen. Thereafter they started scolding us using foul language. The freshers were then given a protracted ragging, which went on for three months, and in some places extended over the whole of the first year. It was not a one-or-two-week event.
The ragging was master minded by the Student Union, which in turn was led by the Inter University Federation of Students (IUFS). The Students Union is permitted by university regulations to address the welfare needs of students. Using this, the Union obtains approval for a familiarization programme for freshers.
They prepare a progamme and get University approval. This programme does not contain ragging; it consists of musical shows and other such activities..That is why we can’t catch them observed undergrads. They get their overt plan approved by the university. But the purpose underneath these activities is ragging, observed Hettiarachchi.
The description given by students in different universities and different years of study all corroborate each other and a pattern of systematic well planned ragging, common to all the Universities emerges . It is an organized rag, we only realized this later, saidRuhuna undergrad Dharsha Udayanga. This is a well organized scheme, agreed the authorities
There are several teams involved in the ragging operation. The actual ragging was done by the second year students under instruction from the third year students. In addition, there is a first aid team to look after those who become injured during the ragging. There is also a ‘security’ team, which stays on the stairs to each floor of the hostel, while the ragging is going on.
Security was also positioned outside as look out, they are stationed about half a kilometer away. Using Whatsapp they will inform those inside that a car is approaching. That is why it is difficult to catch them in the act, said undergrads. Also freshers had to switch off their mobile phones while the rag was on.
Before ragging starts, the IUSF acquires detailed information on each fresher. The freshers have to fill in a form given by the raggers. This form includes address, financial position of family, political affiliation, likes and dislikes, boy friend, girl friend, health issues , also caste. Those with medical ailments are not ragged. Some seniors pretended to be freshers to get information on the freshers, said informants.
Each fresher was given a card”, meaning a nickname unique to each student. He was known by that name for the rest of his stay at university. This helped to hide the true identity of the undergrad from the university administration. This is part of the JVP strategy of concealment, said authorities.
The real names of students are not known to us. They use nicknames and they do not have their ID with them on campus, authorities said. At Kelaniya it took the university authorities more than one month to get the real name of a student involved in an act of violence and that too by accident.
There was a dress code for the first three months. The men could not wear watches. Denims were forbidden. Girls had to wear long cotton dresses, rubber slippers and had to plait their hair. Analysts observed that the freshers knewthis beforehand and girls arrived wearing long dresses. Girls could not wear necklaces.
Freshers could not laugh or smile and had to speak in pure Sinhala. Freshers were forbidden to cry when spoken to roughly. Girls were not allowed to go anywhere alone. Freshers had to carry a particular colored file wherever they went during the first year. In one university it was yellow for arts and green for science faculty. ( CONTINUED)
(Note: Editor@ft.lk – This essay is an explanation regarding Victor Ivan’s guest column. If you are unable to print it in your newspaper, kindly forward it to him.)
Who wants a ‘state religion’?
The Buddhists wish—and quite rightly—that in this country where they form 70 percent of the population, Buddhism should be recognized as the predominant religion of the people. In the rest of the world, Ceylon is regarded as essentially a Buddhist country, and they want this claim established here as well…They will not be content to remain in the position of inferiority to which they have been reduced by 450 years of foreign occupation… They have no desire to make Buddhism the State religion—in spite of the cry raised by self-seeking politicians— but they want the State to help them rehabilitate themselves and undo some, at least, of the injustices perpetrated against them during the days of their subjection.”
(quoted from a speech by Professor Gunapala Malalasekera, President of ACBC reproduced in Times of Ceylon, January 15, 1956, and referenced on page 196 of the book, Ceylon: Dilemmas of a New Nation, by W. H. Wriggins, Princeton Univ. Press,1960)
Map above shows the seven major river basins in Sri Lanka identified by geography professor M. C. Madduma Bandara. Thick red line delineates the Eelam boundary of the ‘Tamil homeland’. Short red lines in basin no. 4 indicates its potential MALAYANADU component, espoused more recently by ex-CM of NP, C. V. Vigneswaran and Indian PM Modi. It is currently buried by a 50-billion-dollar ISGA/P-TOM type trap.
1.Yalpanam, 2. Raja Rata, 3. Dambadeni, 4. Mahaveli, 5. Deegavaapi, 6. Kelani, 7. Ruhunu,
Introduction
In part 1of this discussion covered several matters: (1) the death of GF Aragalaya, a conspiracy against the Sinhala Buddhists resurgence in 2019 (like SWRD in 1956, Gotabhaya was its midwife, not owner). (2) failure of previous attempts for system change (3) Victor Ivan’s caste and Marxist approach to Sri Lankan mismanagement crises (4) Victor’s bias against the Buddhist Middle Path and the Jana Sabha concept, which must be followed to effect a change in an individual’s mind and his/her societal behavior and (5) Buddhists’ wish for a system change by evolution, not r-evolution, the difference between the approaches of Gandhi and Mao.
Victor Ivan and Dayan Jayatilaka are twin ‘theoreticians’ living in a Judo Christian-Marxist world with an anti-Mahavamsa agenda. Accepting Sinhala Buddhist civilizational norms, like what Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith did in 2018, a long lapse of time from 1551 (when Don Juan Dharmapala was the one and only Christian king in the island), young Uvidu Wijeweera rejects this ideology, perhaps a direct result of his father’s last wish when the army captured him. He asked his wife not to baptize the children. Thus, they grew up knowing what Buddhism is. Uvidu’s mother could confirm or deny this story we hear. However, Elle Gunawansa Thero once said that Somawansa Amarasinghe wished to follow Buddhist way of living, including giving a පාංශකූල after his death.
In countries such as Korea, Vietnam there are dog farms for dog meat. Chinese eat cats. But Sinhala Buddhists eat meat with much reluctance. Most of them face a dilemma. New generations run for KFC/MacDonald’s not knowing that in the USA new generations avoid beef. Besides, for them selling the cow that nourished them with milk as meat when the animal is old is not an easy business deal the way Victor Ivan sees it. For Victor, God created animals for the benefit of man/woman to kill and eat them. For a Buddhist an animal is part of his/her environment and Buddhist compassion extends to all beings, including trees and rocks. The science of how human body functions discourage excessive consumption of animal products. When Victor says that only 10% of animal should be allowed to live it conflicts with Victor’s other correct view that Sri Lankan society is so uncivilized that they have foul mouths. In no other country politicians and people insult presidents/PMs violating Samma Vacha (correct speech) of the Noble Eight-Fold Path as in Sri Lanka today.
As mouthpieces of black-whites, these two souls (පංචස්කන්ධ), Victor and Dayan, twist western ideas such as rule of law, interfaith fraud, pluralism/multi-ethnicity, non-majoritarian solutions, and R2P/IMF as tools to promote their target of balkanization of Sri Lanka. In this part of the essay, both are challenged to come and examine (not believe- එව අදහව නොව, එව බලව -ඒහි පස්සිකෝ) the Jana Sabha world, peoples’ councils (මහජන සභා), demanded by the more reasonable and pragmatic factions of the buried (but not dead) Aragalaya. Instead of the slogan Gota go home, if they demanded Gota to implement his own election manifesto of Jana muula Sabha, Aragalaya would have become a successful reform movement. Sadly, they did not receive wiser guidance. Jayadeva Uyangoda and Nirmal Ranjith Devasiri misled them by placating them stating they came to learn from the (bearded) boys!
If Ranil+225 do not act wisely, Libyan- Lebanon type anarchy is in store for the country. Instead of the 13-A+ path, politicians must go back to pre-1978 local government system strongly recommended by the Abhayawardena local government reforms commission report in 1999. If Ranil is genuine he could act swiftly to take simple steps which will make major changes. There are so many simple, straightforward, system-killing solutions proposed by so many other citizens such as ex-AG Gamini Wijesinghe, ex-civil servant Garvin Karunaratne, environmentalist Thilak Kandegama etc. before trying to please the minority MPs or the Geneva agency. Ranil needs to appoint a team to collect all these suggestions and examine them.
Victor’s Euro-centric world
In his lifetime of writing, Victor never tried to understand the internal decadence and external threats faced by Sri Lanka, especially the Sinhala Buddhists. Why he avoids or ignore them must be a strategy he follows copying the late Mangala Samaraweera. This kind of perspective is possible when one escapes from a Euro-centric, black-white mindset of looking at Sri Lankan history as periods of Portuguese, Dutch, English and independent (or Colombo Paradigm). As a Sinhala Buddhist following the Buddhist Middle Path, free of Judo-Christian influence, I was contemplating why Buddhist monks faced such harsh treatment in the hands of Sinhala politicians, after 1995, especially during the yahapalana days of 2015-19. Anyone taking this out of the box approach could see country’s history after 1802 as a story of an unending conflict between white/ black-white rulers and the temple. There is clearly identifiable pattern of ideological conflict zones. I was able to identify 13 overlapping phases of this history. I emailed this list to Pathum Kerner of Aragalaya on May 28th expecting him to come down from his utopian world of London to the real world of mismanaged in Sri Lanka. Listed below are interconnected phases with the names of the leading monks:
*1. Buddhism is falsehood (1798-1873) – Variyapola Sumangala/Migettuwatte Gunananda
*2. Buddhism on deathbed (1840 —–à ) – Valane Siri Siddhartha
*3. Olcott-Anagarika Dharmapala (1880-1915) – Hikkaduwe Sumangala
*4. Donoughmore Era (1931-1948) -Vidyodaya social service (Kalukondayawe Pragnasekera)
*5. Vidyalankara national service (1946—à) – Vidyalankara Declaration, Heritage of the Bhikku – Yakkaduwe Pragnasara/Walpola Rahula
*6. Pancha Maha Balavegaya (1956-59) – Henapitagedara Gnanaseeha/Baddegama Wimalawansa/Kotagama Vachissara/Kalalelle Ananda Sagara
*7. The Dark period (1960-78) rise of federal/Eelam demand, destruction of country by Sinhala political parties
*8. The Unjust Society (1978-2005) -Maduliwave Sobhitha/ The Gatambe (Peradeniya) monk
*9. Ven. Gangodavila Soma phenomenon (2000-2003)
*10. Pirith nuul ropes on wrists period begins (2004 —à) – Elle Gunawansa/Athureliye Rathana, JHU
*11. Meteoric rise of the Bodu Bala Sena (May 2012—à) Galaboda-atte Gnanasara
*12. Asgiri Declaration and Notice (June 20 & July 4, 2017
*13. Rise and fall of Sinhala Buddhist awakening (2019 presidential Election)
Some salient features gleaned from the historical stages mentioned above.
Each stage had a monk or several monks who played a catalytic role.
*1. Such monks faced threat of assassination (Ven. Velivita Sri Saranankara Sangha Raja [1698-1778] was the first target in this era).
*2. Buddhist monks did not oppose Christian missionary work; instead, they facilitated these pastors by hosting them (Juse Vaas was protected by temples from the Dutch).
*3. 1815 Convention was a fraud. Brownrigg had no intention of following it. The ruler secretly supported anti-Buddhist attacks by Christian pastors and sabotaged the temple education system then in vogue.
*4. The black-white class was an invention of McCaulay (Indian Education Minute of 1835). Governor North supported this idea of educating sons of local blck whites to serve as spies. This was officially implemented after Colebrooke’s recommendations in 1832, and Royal college, St Thomas college etc. started. When this was taking place Ven. Valane Siddhartha moved from Panadura to Ratmalana and started Parama Dhammachethiya Pirivena in 1842. Pupils of this pirivena established Vidyodaya and Vidyalankara. The learned monks of these institutions saved Sri Lanka from relentless white and black-white assault.
*5. Olcott came in 1880 and he was considered a Bodhisatva. But whether the school education system he created helped the country in the long run is now in doubt. It was a copy of Christian education. Leadbetter was a Christian priest before he came to Ananda college, he left it and lived as a Christian priest.
*6. The role played by monks in national affairs ended after Olcott’s interlude and the Buddhist Theosophical Society with English-speaking laymen eclipsed them. By 1911, the two-family model that the British used to facilitate civil control (Obeysekara- de Saram and Kumarasuriyar) had to be replaced by a new foreign educated sons of local black-whites.
*7. The 1915 Muslim-Sinhala clash paved way of a new crowd of nobodies to become somebodies in black-white politics. Anagarika Dharmapala understood this black-white phenomenon, but he was mercilessly attacked by new black-whites including D.B. Jayatilaka and D.S. Senanayaka aided and abetted by the white masters. What is happening to the monk Galabodaatte Gnanasara of BBS and to the Asgiriya monks today is reminiscent of what the establishment did then to Dharmapala.
*8. From 1910 to 1956 mostly Christian Sinhala black-whites and Christian Tamil black-whites handled and messed up affairs of the country. There was no place for monks in the system of politics. Instead, the role played by the Vidyalankara monks in the 1940s was branded as work of political monks by the Sinhala black-whites.
*9. From 1933 onwards Vidyodaya monks led by Ven. Kalukondayawe Pragnasekara implemented a national plan for crime control and rural reconstruction in Ceylon, which became a successful model for the country but it was sabotaged by the white and black-white ruling class. To destroy this movement, black-whites tried to bring in religious factor and went to the extent of throwing mud balls at the young ASP supporting it, digging into his private life. He later married the daughter of the IGP. This sabotage was like what government ministers did to kill the Gami Diriya, villager-centered rural development program, operated free from partisan politics. Instead, a Divi Neguma monster was imposed.
*10. By 1956, the Olcott-influenced Sinhala Buddhist laymen were in such helpless situation, they went begging to Dudley Senanayaka to come to their rescue who in turn told them to go to SWRD. Previously, DSSenanayaka with the Section 29 of the constitution, sarcastically rebuked them stating there is no Fourth Refuge called Anduwa Saranam Gachchami.
*11. From 1956-2002, what we saw was governments internally controlled by black-white Christians, projecting to outside world a picture of implementation of a program of Sinhala Buddhist affirmative action. Removing Sunday weekend, making the two pirivenas universities, making Buddhism government’s foster child, creating a Buddhist ministry while removing history and geography from school curriculum, these were all fake, un-Buddhist action to cheat the masses, generating fodder for anti-Buddhist forces.
*12. The silencing of Anagarika Dharmapala, sabotage of Vidyodaya monk Ven. Kalukondayawe’s program and branding of patriotic Vidyalankara monks as political monks, the use of robe in a coup to murder SWRD, all these had their negative affects until the rise of the Ven. Soma phenomenon in 2000. Then, in May 2012, Bodu Bala Sena came to point out how Sinhala Buddhist black-white politicians treat Sinhala Buddhists just the way some men treat kind-hearted women.
*13. From 2012-2017 Bodu Bala Sena monk Ven. Gnanasara became a target of attack for his Dharmapala method of exposing politicians’ game, and the government’s sinister attempts to kill the messenger came to an end with the Asgiriya Declaration in July 2017.
*14. The subject of this essay, the clash between black-whites and the temple has now come to a climax with Wigeswaran asking <federal> before the Asgiriya monks, Christian Marxist Dayan Jayatilaka promoting 13-A, and two ardent half-Christian Marxists Lal Wijenayaka and Jayampathi Wickremaratne re-submitting the 1995-2000 CBK Sri Lanka balkanization plan with titbits taken from the Tissa Vitharana APRC majority report of 2006. Asgiriya monks informed the government that there is no need for a new constitution at this time, but the government is not listening, most probably because of American pressure. Only clear voice against this propaganda comes from Nagananda Kodituwakku, who says he will abolish 13-A if he becomes the president.
(Reference: LankaWeb – අස්ගිරි විප්ලවය (July 30, 2017)
Some aspects of the Internal Crisis that Victor ignores
*1. Divide and Rule of Sinhala people based on red, blue, yellow, and green colors by black-white party politicians. They did it better than the white masters.
*2. Assault on the village creating a society of beggars with inferiority complex. Voter became a slave of local politician.
*3. JRJ and RP giving birth to (මත්ස්ය න්යාය), big fish swallowing the small fish all in the name of free market, liberal economics. Money Is God’s younger brother (සල්ලි දෙයියන්ගෙ මල්ලි).
*4. Fear of death silently absorbed by people due to a 30-year war resulted in creating an atmosphere of men/women nakedly selfish and unashamed of their openly immoral conduct (හිරි-ඔත්තප්ප හිඳීයාම/වාෂ්පවී යෑම).
*5. The corrupt system of exploiting women by sending them to Arab homes to be used like slave labor. This often resulted in disrupted local families, children neglected and men going after other women. Dollars remitted after cleaning toilets etc. used to import chicken from Holland and export stupid children for overseas degrees.
*6. Garment factories, which provide no industrial base for a country’s development robbed village girls’ youth for a useless manual labour. Often, they became sex objects of cunning supervisors.
*7. Creation of a three-wheeled generation, lazy to learn any other vocation except dreaming to escape to Korea, Arabia etc. not knowing the hard life awaiting them.
*8. Use of university students as slaves/robots by Marxist politicians
*9. Unprofessional conduct of university teachers, lawyers, and doctors to name a few.
10* Ruination of young lives’ natural right to play and grow by competitive 5th grade scholarship race, OL-AL competition, and a country-wide tuition system
Victor is blind to External Threats
*1. World Christianization Movement (in SL-unethical religious conversion)
*2, World Islam Expansion Project (in SL- Arabianization, sharia-wahhabism, ගර්භාෂ යුද්ධය (promoted by Yasser Arafat & Gadhafi-when a Muslim child is taken out of the womb Dr. Shafi holds it up and thanks Allah!)
*3. Tamil country with a UN flag (Eelam Project)
*4. Multinational-Corporate invasion (creating conflicts and financing them)
*5. INGO-NGO agents (unlike in India, inability to monitor/regulate them)
*6. Foreign intelligence agents and dollar-paid local field agents
*7. Open interference in local affairs by foreign embassies
*8. Interfaith invasion (monk eating with Islam Lebbes at the same table)
*9. Path Finder & MCC Trojan Horse.
*10. World Trade Organization and piracy of plant rights.
*11. Geneva HRC as an agent of new imperialism
Dayan’s Eurocentric mind = 13-A + Formula
Dayan is popularly known as the father of 13th Amendment plus formula, political advisor to Sajith P, is not exactly a replica of Victor. Instead, his Anti Mahavamsa logic is more in line with Tamil-Christian-Marxist Kumar David’s. They oppose monks doing politics. But Kumar David influenced the American Ambassador Sisson to visit Ven. Maduluwawe Sobhita with atapirikara!
DayanJ still believes that 13-A+ would end the hunger and anger for a Tamil Eelam. He thought there are Tamil moderates. His prime choice for the NP-CM post therefore, was Vigneswaran, who disappointed and betrayed him with many Tamil genocide resolutions passed by Vigs as CM. Previously Dayan was with Vartharaja Perumal, an affair ended with Dayan escaping to TamilNad when RPremadasa wanted to catch him. Later RP pardoned him, and Dayan became a loyal disciple of RP. That was long before he crept into MahindaR’s politics, until he was fired from UN Geneva job for betraying MR on the issue of 13-A+ which MR did not support. His attempt to get on to Gotabhaya’s Viyathmaga bandwagon failed, and the next move was touting Dinesh as presidential candidate. For some reason Ranil hates him, but Sajith adores him. Readers need to know this kind of chameleon-like gymnastics of souls.
Dayan blindly believes western game of solving ethnic disputes with what is called non-majoritarian solutions. His godfathers in this case are Donald Horowitz (Ethnic groups in conflict, 1985/2001) and Joseph Nye (Soft Power, 1990, two American professors. Nye popularized the term Soft Power in his book, Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power stating, “when one country gets other countries to want what it wants [it] might be called co-optive or soft power in contrast with the hard or command power of ordering others to do what it wants”. It is this <smart power> USAID deploys by giving dollars to the Sri Lanka Bar Association for genuine-looking projects or to nefarious NGOs to do the field assignments. In Pakistan even army generals are on dollar pay.
Thus, a combination of Horowitz-Nye formulas is a deadly cocktail that black-white types living in former colonies drink with mesmerizing effect. For example, SajithP once talk about this non-majoritarian path in the parliament as if it is a panacea for all ills the country is faced with, tutored without doubt, by his trusted advisor Dayan! 13-A is one such method where minority politicians, not minority people, are empowered. For the peace and good governess of their colonies white rulers adapted a policy of divide and rule. Now white professors want to unravel the mess these masters created in the past by giving the divided people separate countries via the R2P path. 13A is one such example. The end is Eelam whether by way of land and police powers or new ISGAs by way dollar bills after RanilW became the president.
Make majority, minority
White man after capturing Sinhale in 1815, followed a policy of favoring Tamils. In 1832 he made Sinhalese and Tamils equal in the Legislative Council. By 1921, when increasing voting rights made it unnatural or ludicrous to follow this undemocratic policy, Governor Manning in 1924 introduced a new plan to balance the Sinhala majority with a combined minority, stating that no one community should be allowed to impose its will on the other communities.
Our heritage
Sinhala Buddhist civilization survived in this island for over 2,500 years with an ecological model, a Trinity of village-tank-temple. Over 40,000 village names we find today is evidence of this Trinity with collections of such villages/hamlets. Gamsabhava from the times of king Pandukabhaya was this political unit. Unfortunately, American professors like Donald Horowitz, who write about nonmajoritarian solutions to minority human rights, never mention about the Gamsabha institution in Sri Lanka or the Panchyathi Raj in India. Even the new book, why nations Fail Instead, those who implement western proposals soon end up splitting into separate countries at war. Best example is Sudan from which a South Sudan sprang up, now in total ruin and starving with no white expert to help. 13-A path will take Sri Lanka on this Sudan trap. Suffice it to say that so far, no country treated with this medicine escaped from the separation trap that Horwitz advocated.
The idea of two Tamil and Muslim Vice Presidents is in line with the new game called meaningful devolution” by way of unmajoritarian institutions.” This became so popular during GL-Neelan package deal days and CBK’s several versions of such deals. This method promoted by white Eurocentric writers like Donald Horowitz creates regional ethnic minority elites and slowly weakens the central governments in former colonies (it may take a decade or two or more), until a new Kosovo or South Sudan (or even a separate country of Scotland) is established splitting countries. Thus, the new policy of creating unmajoritarian institutions” is a sanitized” version of the old divide and rule policy, providing ladders to separatist monkeys to carve out separate countries at each other’s throat. Already, South Sudan started an internal war. Rohan Gunaratne from Singapore University used to promote a quota system for different ethnic groups in the army, police, government jobs etc. These are sure methods of breaking up of Sri Lanka.
This portion of the essay is giving Victor a sufficient dose of facts to think anew free of the late MangalaS’ ghost. Next essay expects to take Victor and Dayan on a Jana Sabha trip, the Buddhist Middle Path.
!. JVP එකට විෂන් එකක් නෑ-
2. සිස්ටම් චේන්ජ් ඉල්ලන අය අවශ්ය සිස්ටම් එක කුමක්දැයි ඉදිරිපත් කල යුතුය- රසික ජයකොඩි
Source: Lines and Beyond August 26, 2022
Speaker of the Sri Lanka Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena unveiled a portrait of Sir D.B. Jayatilaka, Sri Lanka’s first representative to India, today (28) at the High Commission of Sri Lanka in New Delhi, coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the establishment of modern Indo-Lanka relations.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) sending Sir D.B. Jayatilaka as its first Representative to India in 1942. Unveiling the portrait of Sir D.B. Jayatilaka at the Chancery Building comes as one of a series of activities organized by the High Commission of Sri Lanka in New Delhi this year to mark the important anniversary. Earlier, in February, the High Commission named its Chancery Building after Sir D.B. Jayatilaka.
Parliamentarians C.B. Rathnayake, Rohini Kumari Wijeratne and Secretary General of Parliament Dhammika Dasanayake also attended the simple ceremony organized to unveil the portrait. The Sri Lankan Parliamentary delegation led by the Speaker were in transit in Delhi on their way back to Sri Lanka from an international conference.
High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India Milinda Moragoda and the staff of the High Commission were present on this occasion.
Sir Don Baron Jayatilaka, Statesman, Buddhist Educationalist, Barrister, pioneering literary figure of his era and one time Home Minister of Ceylon, had graduated from the Universities of Calcutta and Oxford. Sir Baron had first come to India to negotiate food shipments to Ceylon by the Government of India, and was later appointed as the first Representative of the Government of Ceylon to New Delhi.
The appointment of Sir D.B. Jayatilaka as Ceylon’s Representative to India, which pre-dates the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between independent India and Sri Lanka in 1948, stands testimony to the very special bond and close relationship that the two countries have been enjoying since time immemorial.
The Print is reproducing Qi Zhenhong’s article on the docking of Yuan Wang 5, which the Indian high commission in Colombo slammed as lacking ‘basic diplomatic etiquette’.
In recent days, two pieces of news related to China have widely caught the eyes in Sri Lanka. Early this month, after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s sneaky visit to China’s Taiwan region, the Chinese side responded with firm countermeasures immediately. Over 170 countries around the world have all expressed their firm support for the One-China Principle and strong objection against the US provocation. I’m grateful to see that H.E. President Ranil Wickremesinghe, many Sri Lanka’s political parties and social groups have also openly spoken up for justice in support of China.
Meanwhile, in the middle of this month, with China and Sri Lanka having altogether resisted the rude and unreasonable interference from third parties, the Chinese scientific research vessel Yuan Wang 5” has successfully docked at the Hambantota Port for replenishment after receiving the latest approval from the Sri Lankan government. Those two matters may seem irrelevant and thousands of miles apart, but both share a same great significance between China and Sri Lanka, that is to jointly safeguard each other’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity. The two matters, both the process and results, have also fully shown a fine tradition in our bilateral relations, that is since the diplomatic ties was established 65 years ago, China and Sri Lanka have always been mutually understanding, respecting and supporting each other on issues of core interests and major concerns.
In October 1971, UN Resolution 2758, co-sponsored by Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) and 22 other countries, was adopted with an overwhelming majority of votes in the 26th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. The Resolution officially acknowledges the One-China Principle and the position that There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. It also recognizes PRC as the only legitimate representative of China to the United Nations. Since then, the One-China Principle has become a common understanding of the international society and a basic norm of international relations, and upon that principle, 181 countries including the US have established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China.
Nancy Pelosi’s visit is a serious violation of the One-China Principle and the provisions of the three China-U.S. joint communiqués. It seriously infringes on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity gravely undermines peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and sends a seriously wrong signal to the Taiwan independence” separatist forces. However, I noticed that some local newspapers have forwarded voices from western media, falsely claiming that China overreacts, escalates the tension and changes the Taiwan Strait status quo”, which are just their habitual tactics of standing facts on the heads and of a thief crying stop thief”. It is the US and the Taiwan separatists that committed irresponsible acts, and change and escalate the Taiwan Strait situation, not China. China has every reason to respond unhesitantly to the severe impacts caused by the Taiwan visit of Speaker Pelosi, second in line to the US presidency and the No. 3 official of the US government.
Upholding the One-China Principle is not only about safeguarding China’s core interests, but also about safeguarding the UN Charter and the basic norms of international relations. If China and the international society had not resisted such extremely irresponsible and irrational acts by the US side, the general principle of Non-Interference, National Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity in international relations would have just become a mere scrap of paper. More seriously, the world might slide back to jungle rules and barbarian times. With separatists and extremists being encouraged, national sovereignty and territorial integrity of medium and small countries might be severely challenged. The peace and stability in the region and the world enjoyed by countries including Sri Lanka would also suffer serious damage.
Looking back at the great history of the island, Sri Lanka overcome aggression from its northern neighbour 17 times, colonization by the west for 450 years, and an anti-terrorism war for nearly 3 decades, is now still standing in the world bravely and proudly. Any infringement on the national sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka shall not be tolerated. Approving a foreign vessel’s port call at Hambantota or any other port for replenishment is a decision made by the Sri Lankan government completely within its sovereignty, not to mention all the scientific research activities of Yuan Wang 5” comply with the international law and common international practice. External obstruction based on so-called security concerns” but without any evidence from certain forces is de facto a thorough interference into Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and independence. Fortunately, with China and Sri Lanka’s joint efforts, the incident was resolved properly, which not only safeguards Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and independence but also defends international fairness and justice once again.
Just like Sri Lanka, China had suffered a hundred years of humiliation from 1840 to 1949. Because of a similar dark experience, China has always been supporting Sri Lanka in the international for protecting its sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity. We will continue to do that. In contrast, some countries, far or near, always make various groundless excuses to bully Sri Lanka and trample on Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and independence repeatedly. Next month, the the 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council will be held in Geneva where human rights issues in Sri Lanka might probably be stirred up again. As the Sri Lankan people are still grappling with severe economic and humanitarian difficulties, many might wonder what those countries who have been always preaching about human rights will actually do. Will they help Sri Lanka to ease its human rights crisis by providing concrete support? Or will they again use human rights as a cover-up tool to interfere into the island nation’s internal affairs and continue to rub salt into the wound of Sri Lankan people? Just let’s wait and see.
Twenty-four companies from UAE, Saudi Arabia, USA, China, India, Russia, UK, Malaysia, Norway and Philippines have submitted proposals for the Expressions of Interest (EOI)s to engage in the petroleum business in Sri Lanka, Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said.
He said the committee appointed by the ministry will evaluate proposals, issue Request for proposal (RFP)s and finalize the process in 6 weeks.
The Minister earlier said that they have called for Expressions of Interest for oil companies to import, distribute and sell petroleum products in Sri Lanka.(DSB)
While urging the public that they should not receive and/or pay foreign remittances through informal methods such as ‘Hawala’ or ‘Undial’ sytems’, the police said it would expand its investigations on illegal foreign currency traders.
Police said the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has observed that the significant decrease in the amount of foreign exchange received by the country is a major factor for the intensification of the economic crisis that Sri Lanka is facing.
The CBSL has also learnt that exchanging foreign currency is taking place outside the legal banking system, such as ‘Hawala’ or ‘Undial sytems’.
In addition, foreign currency transactions to import various essential and non-essential goods by expat workers are taking place through informal channels.
Accordingly, the IGP has appointed a separate unit of the Police Illegal Assets and Property Investigation Division to conduct investigations regarding the above matters following the request by the CBSL Governor.
Police said the investigations into the matter will be further expanded and intensified while they would also coordinate with the officials of the Central Bank to conduct investigations to identify the source and the manner of acquisition of foreign currency, in order to curb illegal foreign exchange transactions.(Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya)
The Director General of Health Services has confirmed another two Covid-19 related deaths for yesterday (Aug. 27).
Both deceased are males above the age of 60 years, according to the Government Information Department.
Meanwhile 56 new cases of coronavirus have been detected within today (28), increasing the total number of confirmed cases reported in the country to 669,749.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry awarded letters of appointment to a group of Sri Lankan trained nurses who are scheduled to begin their employment at hospitals in the United Kingdom at a ceremony held on 25 August, 2022 at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute.
This was the first batch of trained nurses under the programme implemented by the International Institute of Health Sciences (IIHS), Welisara, Sri Lanka, with the facilitation of the Sri Lanka High Commission in London.
Sri Lanka Police has sought public assistance in identifying several more suspects who are accused of forcibly entering the premises of the Presidential Secretariat and damaging its properties.
In a communiqué, the Police Media Division stated that the relevant persons were identified from the videos and photographs taken during the investigations regarding the incident that took place on July 9.
As their identity has not yet been confirmed, the police also request the public to contact the following phone numbers or WhatsApp if they have any information about the suspects.
– 0112 083 049
– 0756 371 563
– 1997 (hotline)
The photographs of the 72 suspects, as released by Sri Lanka Police, are below:
GCE (A/L) 2021 – Island’s First ranked students
Biological Science stream- Thamilvannan Thuwaragesh of St. Michael’s College, Batticaloa
Maths stream- Sahan Samarakoon from Royal College Colombo – 7
Engineering Technology – Neranda Dilhara Kumarasinghe of Narammala Mayurapada Central
Commerce stream-Isini Neha Amararatne of Gampaha Rathnavali Balika Vidyalaya
Arts stream- Ishara Lakmal Heenkenda of Kendagolla Maha Vidyalaya, Badulla
Recent essays by Sudath Gunasekera and Garvin Karunaratna raise the old question again about getting rid of the curse called 13-A. Some time back, SPUR in Australia devoted lot of time and energy to demonstrate how cancerous this 13-A to the island of Sinhale. After that only the Lankaweb printed articles written against 13-A. Other media, newspapers, and websites did not print anything against 13-A. Lankaweb has archived hundreds of essays explaining why 13-A is a bad idea from all kinds of different angles.
Just yesterday Gajendra Kumar Ponnambalam said that Tamils (he) wanted Federal system not 13-A. Anandasangari, father of Canadian Eelam agent Gary Sangarai, was talking those days about the Indian FP system instead of 13-A. Dayan Jayatilaka came to know as the father of 13-A Plus. He wanted to give police and land powers to PCs. He thought Tamil moderates like Vigneswaran would end separatism with a 13-A+ solution. But Vignes after becoming CM-NP started passing resolution after resolution about Tamil genocide by the Colombo government.
It looks like the end-result of Galle Face Aragalaya is paving the path for balkanization of Sinhale into 10 or more pieces, first proposed under the Neelan-GL package deals by Mrs. Chandrika during 1995-2000. It narrowly lost as a constitution because of personal greed between President CBK and PM Ranil. Her draft was burnt inside the main chamber of the parliament. In 2018, it came back as Sumanthiran-Jayampathy-Ranil Orumitthanadu plan but met with an accidental death due to the marital dispute between President Sirisena and PM Ranil. Prior to that CBK was very happy that her 2000 plan was back again in 2018!
It is now clear Aragalaya was a conspiracy by local black whites and foreign hands not to make system change, but a regime change, and the ultimate target is creating anarchy and bring in UN forces under R2P to implement MCC kind of division of the island or an Eelam. Some genuine, brave but poor in experience or knowledge youth became cat’s paws of an anti-Mahawamsa project. Otherwise, how could they not demand people’s councils after they got Gotabhaya out? JVP, Peratugaami and Anthare, all wanted people’s councils (Jana Sabhas) but, instead of it they want an election! Elections must be under a new election law, otherwise old crowd will come back as new set of 225, old wine in old bottles.
These politicians, these black whites, do not want a system change such as abolishing 13-A and Pradeshiiya Sabhas and create a system of Jana Sabhas. We must get rid of partisan politics and begin to develop consensus politics at grass roots level as recommended by the LLRC report.
I am tired of writing about this subject. So far, I wrote more than 20 essays in Sinhala and English. Senali Waduge wrote more than that. I have a suggestion yo those reading this essay: we should write a small book on this matter in Sinhala and distribute it to Sinhala voters so that they would get a better idea about this 13-A cancer and the misguided behavior of the Aragalaya crowd.
An essay printed in the Lankaweb is copied below.
============================
The Vitharana proposal and the separatist paradigm (1918-2007) Part 2
Posted on January 6th, 2021
C. Wijeyawickrema USA
After two atapirikara-presenting meetings with the Asgiriya and Malwatta Mahanayakas minister Vitharana, Chairman of APRC, says the words federal and unitary have lost their meaning over the passage of time” (Daily News, 3/30/2007).
He gives two safeguards to prevent a secessionist move in Sri Lanka: (1) the president can deploy the army and (2) if that is inadequate president can dissolve the Province and take over administration.
Just like his uncles of LSSP preached parity of status” from 1935-1964, blindly following international Marxist dogmas of Trotsky and Stalin, the nephew, minister Vitharana, who is an appointed politician (not elected by people) is now trying to placate the IC, American ambassador and Tony Blair, thinking only of the next ten years or so of his political life. Colvin in 1972 prepared a constitution to please the Colombo crowd symbolized by Felix Dias, and JRJ in 1978 got A. J. Wilson to prepare a bahubootha vyawastawa.” Minister V, who is presently on a crusade has put the cart before the horse, thus endangering the 2500-year-old Sinhala-Buddhist heritage of Sri Lanka.
The following are a set of questions for minister V, based on his interview with the Daily News reporter.
1.Does he (minister V) reject the concept of a traditional Tamil homeland in the Eastern Province? If he rejects it then will he make that rejection the foundation stone of his proposals? Erection of a Vitharana constitution scheme, leaving the re-merger of N and P Provinces to a future date is placing the cart before the horse or closing the stable after the horses gotten out. Because, you cannot unscramble a scrambled egg. Once you take the path toward F”, there is no point of no return!
2.Does he know that the separatist paradigm in Sri Lanka began in 1918 (in Tamil Nad in 1917) and has continued in different faces and shapes to 2007?
3.Why is that there is a deadening silence by APRC with regard to the separatist movement in Tamil Nad which began in 1917, had a lull after 1963 Indian Constitutional Amendment prohibiting secession talks, revived again with official support in the 1980s, died down after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 and back again in full force with the era of coalition governments in Delhi? Does he know that the world Tamil federation has the goal of a Tamil state not possible in either the Fiji Islands or Malaysia? Does he know that in the Fiji Islands, the army removed the Indian-backed government just a month or so ago?
4.Why did he not think the PC system based on the 13th Amendment is a white elephant which has created a second tier of corrupt politicians? Was it a scientific way of applying science to administrative affairs? Was not the only purpose behind it to give support to the myth of Tamil homeland in the E Province?
5.Could you elaborate your statement that there are 27 states veered away from unitary status to F” states to prevent separation?” Do you not think Sri Lanka’s situation is unique because (1) Tamil politicians wanted a second homeland next to their Tamil homeland in Tamil Nad (2) Since 1917 the idea had been to united Ravana land with Tamil Nad (3) the border between the two areas is porous and difficult to monitor (Jaffna Tamils go by boat in the evening to see movies in Tamil Nad and return home in the night!) (4) in Tamil Nad itself the separatist agenda is a hot cake (the easy solution to economic and social problems is talk about separatism) (5) If F” is the way to stop separation then what about Indian Tamil and Muslim demands?
6.Why do you not think that the Prabakaran episode is no different from the 1971 and 1988 Wijeweera rebellions? The IC must be told that other than the ethnic twist given the problem in Sri Lanka is a problem of mismanagement by a group of Colombo families. Just like the Sinhala politicians tried to exploit the Sinhala youth during 1965-70, Colombo-living Tamil politicians (plus Indira Gandhi) tried to use the Tamil boys.” Why should you try to punish the country with your hurried V proposals because of the blunders of your Colombo class?
7.Are you telling us that your V proposals will solve Sri Lanka’s present mess? Why don’t you take a holistic approach to this mess rather than giving and F” proposal? This means the recognition of the following mismanagement topics which made the average Tamil, Sinhala and Muslim man (woman) to suffer.
a.Colombo ruling families of UNP, SLFP, PA, UNF, LSSP, CP, FP and TULF destroyed structural democracy of Sri Lanka introduced in 1931. The destruction of the separation of powers doctrine (independence of the judiciary/rule of law) that began in 1802 when North was the governor was the worst.
b.JRJ destroyed the territorial democracy in Sri Lanka introduced by the British in 1931. With his electoral systems and removal of VC, TC local governments the janayas lost what we call the representative democracy. The voter has no representative to go to.
c.In the 1980s civil administration was ruined or politicalized by increasing the number of GSNs from 4,000 to mind-boggling number of 14,000. Each GSN unit has a GSN, a samurdhi niladharee and a midwife!
d.Each AGA units (there are 319 of them) has 100-150 government servants excluding teachers. A corruption trinity of AGA-local politician-NGO agent (evangelists/peace mudalalis/professors) has an iron control over the janayas.
Do you think your proposal of Jana Sabha unit of 100 families workable? What could happen with your Jana Sabha-based pyramid is that at the top those politicians who want F” will get it at the expense of the average Sinhala and Tamil janayas just like the 2002 CFA helped the terrorist leaders and not the average Tamil. Did you know that your plan is so similar to what Ayub Khan enacted for Pakistan in
Why is that you do not want to consider the New Zealand method? That small country follows a river basin-based administrative system of regions. This method is race and language blind and empowers the janayas, ecologically sound and solves lot of man-made environmental hazards such as floods, droughts and land slides.
Would you postpone the IC-driven deadline date of within 60 days” and study the 800 or so proposals sent by the janayas if you are really concerned with empowering people?
Would obtain the help of geographers, historians and ecologists in the country to study how the trinity of gama-wewa-dagaba (kovil/mosque/church) functioned in Sri Lanka for thousands of years which is so similar to the Panchayathi Raj Institutions in India or the New Zealand approach? Rather than the unworkable Jana Sabha idea, is it not a simple step to get the Village Council system which the British governors resurrected in the 1860s, given its due place to empower the janayas and to let them achieve their aspirations that way? The 14,006 GSN units could be rearraged to fit in with the VC boundaries. Read Abeyawardena report
The two maps are not aimed at creating fear against devolution. Devolution is different from the merchandize called Indian federal formula of NGO and INGO agents. Real, as opposed to fake devolution from the concentration of power in the Colombo crowd of politicians (and officers) is what people are waiting for. The political and economic power must be decentralized and given to the people. The PC system and the new election law did not create devolution. It created a new layer of corrupt politicians. After 1980 Colombo rulers destroyed the VC, TC, UC-based local government system. Rather than fostering a healthy local government system, each UNP and SLFP local govt. minister abused his powers and weakened local democracy and self-governance. The Abhayewardhana Report on Local Government Reforms (1999) provided in detail why the country needed to go back to the pre-1980 system to overcome the mess we are now in, especially the white elephant called PCs.
A. T. Ariyaratne of Sarvodaya proposed a system of national governance structure based on local building blocks in 1988 in his booklet, The Power Pyramid and the Dharmic Cycle.” From time to time Arjuna Hulugalle presents his CIMOGG proposal of devolution at the district level with a base which is similar to the Sarvodaya proposal (Island, July 31, 2006). Actually all these are so similar to what was presented by president of Pakistan Ayub Khan on October 26, 1959 as Pakistan’s new constitution. Under it the whole country was divided into very small constituencies of between 800 and 1000 people. This novel type of constituency was called the basic democracy.” There were 80,000 such elected units as the first tier of the constitutional structure (Pakistan: old country/new nation by Ian Stephens (1964, page 315).
The geographer Madduma Bandara proposed a river basin-based Provincial Division of seven units in 1987 (Chapter 4 in Fifty years of Sri Lanka’s Independence: a socio economic review, edited by A.V. de S. Indraratna (1998, p.83). Actually this is the best scientific approach for a united” Sri Lanka where the term united really means unity. The AGA divisions and even the Grama Sevaka divisions should ideally be based on River-Oya-Ela basins. This way we will not have a mind-boggling number of 14,000 GS divisions in the island.
The Vitharana proposal and the separatist paradigm (1918-2007)
After two atapirikara-carrying trips to Malwatta and Asgiriya, minister Vitharana, Chairman, APRC, has given an outline of his power sharing mechanism” to a Daily News reporter (Daily News, 3/30/2007).
Lawyers and Janayas”
APRC center of gravity has now moved from, husband and wife lawyers, to a microbiology Marxist who is an appointed (not elected by people) politician. Just like his parity of status” Marxist uncles of the 1935-1964 era, who blindly followed the international dogmas of Trotsky and Stalin, minister Vitharana is on a hurried mission to placate the IC, American Ambassador, and Tony Blair. Colombo politicians gave us the 1987 Indo-SL agreement, 13th Amendment and the 2002 CFA. The Vitharana outline will give us an egg scrambled. Unlike the two previous blunders which resulted in loss of thousands of lives, the Vitharana path, if entered, will have no point of return. This was what G.L. Peiris, the legal eagle, said then. It is a one-way street to separatism. Janayas” (of the Jana Sabhas) could achieve their aspirations without APRC erecting, intentionally or unintentionally, a separatism ladder.
Upatissa Damanaya
Why did APRC ignore 800 or so people’s proposals? What is the reason for a hurried solution? Where is the home-grown solution? Does minister V believe in Buddhist economics discussed in Schumacher’s Small Is Beautiful (1973) or in Buddhist politics? One example was Buddha’s advice to Ajathashatru, the king of Magadha, when the latter had a war plan to capture the Lichchavi kingdom of Koshala. It was Buddhist democracy in 500 B.C. After all, the reasonableness doctrine, compromise in modern democracy, is the Middle Path in Buddhism. Why cannot V use either the Nalagiri or Angulimala damanaya in dealing with Tony Blair, TNA or Prabakaran?
The Mahinda Chintanaya is nothing but an application of our 2500-year-old traditions of living in harmony with other human beings (be they Helanic or Roman or Muslim traders, Tamil invaders or plantation coolies, Malay soldiers or Portuguese who came with Bible and sword, Burghers and NGO evangelists), which got twisted in the hands of Colombo black whites (since 1833) and Marxist preachers (since 1935).
Those who studied Shakespeare or Chaucer, and never heard of the Ummagga Jathakaya, could call this letter is from a Sinhala Buddhist Chauvinist or from a Sinhala extremist. But that mud ball cannot hide from any objective standard the fact that minister V is taking a suicidal path putting the cart before the horse. He has a duty to explain to his Janaya” why the following questions/statements are incorrect.
White man’s burden theory (1905)
1.Why is minister V in a hurry? Is it because more and more time means less and less time for the Prabakaran episode? The IC does not want a total removal of the cancer of terrorism. They want a second Vadamarachchi in 2007. They want him in a three-piece suit flanked by his western-educated children. Why? Is there any connection to the theory of the White man’s burden of 1905? Is there any influence from White evangelism of Blair or Bush as outlined by the Polish Pope John Paul II when he visited India in 1999 (evangelization of Asia)? Pope’s propaganda cabinet minister with a giant budget has his office located in Ratnapura. Or was it the clash of civilization” thesis of the Harvard professor Huntington (1993)? Balkanization of Sri Lanka is a short cut to India. The world federation of Tamils wants a separate state and Tamil Nad opposes Hindia’s intrusions. In the Trincomalee harbor even the submarines could be hidden in deep under sea troughs. Thus, there is great temptation that minister V probably cannot see.
India is a myth” theory and the Indian National Congress (1885)
2.What does V know about the separatist paradigm in Tamil Nad and Sri Lanka? It began in Tamil Nad in 1917 and one year later in 1918 it came to Ceylon. In India the colonial master openly promoted separatism stating that India is a myth.” They promoted a Pakistan. In Tamil Nad separatism grew to the extent that even the Ramayanaya story was changed stating that Ravana was a Tamil king who fought against the evil doers of Rama and Seetha (Adam and Eve?)! Prabakaran is thus a Ravana prince more than a new Chola king with a cyanide pill. In the past it was Sivaji Ganeshan or MG Ramachandran (born in Kandy) who acted as Ravana in popular Tamil Nad movies. Jaffna Tamil boys would go to Tamil Nad to see the opening show by boat in the afternoon and return home in the night!
Despite the total silence of Colombo NGO peace mudalalis with western Ph.Ds, and the Marga Institute not producing papers” on the impact of the Tamil Nad separatist agenda on Sri Lanka, from 1917 to 2007, there had been a continuous flowing of two parallel streams of separatism poisoning each other. Thus in 1949 SJV Chelvanayagam benefited from Tamil Nad’s Dravidasthan movement.” In the late 1950s it was the anti-Hindi movement.” When separatism was proscribed by the 1963 constitutional amendment, it came to the Kandyan areas as DMK and a Kallathoni problem (Tennakoon Vimalananda, Dravida Munethra Kasagam Movement and the future of the Sinhalayas, Anula Press, Colombo, 1970). In the 1980s separatism went back to India, officially, with MGR and Indira Gandhi sponsoring it. After the murder of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 there was a set back but in the coalition government era of India, Tamil Nad voting block in Delhi has become more powerful than the power of Delhi, the power to use the presidential rule to discipline unruly regional states.
Tamil Nad is in such volatile state that Delhi is now surviving by capitalizing the rival demands of its present or former chief ministers to arrest or impose the presidential rule. At least two major caste groups are demanding two separate states within Tamil Nad. It is only a matter of time a future Prabakaran takes control of Tamil Nad politics which is driven by sex scandals and family affairs. The common criminal Veerappan incident (Saradeal or Robinson Crusoe) demonstrated how easily and quickly separatist sentiments could be utilized to overthrow the corrupt and inefficient political establishment in Tamil Nad. The Janatha Party leader Subramaniumswamy’s recent book (Sri Lanka in crisis: India’s options, 2006; (Island, 3/21/2007) should be an eye-opener to minister V.
Indian states as tiny parts before the Goliath Indian Goliath army
Does V provide an adequate mechanism to prevent secessionist attempts under the geopolitical conditions mentioned above? He says there are two safeguards: (1) the president can deploy the army and (2) he can dissolve the province and take over the administration. Minister V must be kidding. Even under the 13th amendment conditions chief minister declared UDI and fled to India. Where would be the IC if it happens again? Once V allowed the province to do everything it needed to take the separatist path, the province will appeal to IC for help or justice. It will say the president is not allocating sufficient volume of water from the Mahaveli River and the IC and UNO will intervene. Minister V would be no more there to answer. This is why, the next question is so important.
Myth of a traditional Tamil homeland in the Eastern Province
Does V reject the proposition that there is a traditional Tamil homeland in the Eastern Province? Is he willing to make that rejection the foundation stone of his proposal? V cannot first give his scheme and say that re-merger will be discussed later. Re-merger means acceptance of a homeland. Homeland theory is a colonial western idea. This was what the Neelan-GL package wanted. Neelan went even further and refused to accept the Pondicherry sub-model of the Indian F” model because the homeland would then look like a moth-eaten patch of land with Muslim and Sinhala Pondicherry units like in the Tamil Nad. V will be putting the cart before the horse if he does not clearly understand this issue. If V’s constitution is silent on homelands now and if later it comes up making a giant N-E unit, then the Trincomalee state will be as big as the Colombo state. With Malayanadu in between Colombo army will be no match to Trinco power. This is not a daydream. V should read what the retired geography professor G. H. Peiris and the Englishman Paul Harris has written on the subjects of Malayandu youth unrest and Oluvil Muslim radicals. If V accepts FP, TULF, TNA and Anandasangaree versions of a homeland then V cannot stop homelands for Muslims, Indian Tamils or even Christians in Negombo or Tmils in Wellawatta.
F” is a marriage contract
How can V say that F” and U” have lost their meaning? Did V tell this to the Mahanayakes? F” is a political marriage. U” is Buddhist politics such as the King allowing persecuted coastal Catholics or Muslims to live in his kingdom or temple priest in remote areas giving food and lodging to Christian priests from Colombo or Galle who went on head hunting trips. Could V think of any example from anywhere in the world on the co-habitation of Sinhala, Tamil, Buddhist, Hindu, Christian and Muslim people living in harmony that took place in pre-colonial Ceylon? It was the Colombo ruling families who ruined this harmony after 1931.
An F” marriage cannot work when one of the partners has a paramour. The IC solution to Sri Lanka is unique in that two parties living in one house is asked to go to two houses for the happiness of both. Unfortunately, a marriage cannot be saved that way. Therefore, even Lakshman Kadiragamar was wrong in proposing an F” solution. An F” solution based on language differences (as in India since 1956) is a slippery path with no end in sight. Indian F” model is the best example. Indian army is fighting against it all over India.
An F” creates two or more units which have some powers that cannot be taken back from them permanently for ever. The egg is scrambled. This is grade 9 civics lesson.
Discrimination against the majority (1505-1931)
V says there are about 27 other countries which have veered away from U status towards F states to prevent separation. Without a list of these countries, one cannot comment on this point. In the Fiji Islands or in Malaysia there were attempts of separation. In the Fiji case the army arrested the Indian-backed prime minister for anti-national work against the native Fijians. In Sri Lanka Tamils and Muslims enjoy more rights than any where else in the world. In Colombo, the richest are the Tamils and Muslims. Thus, when Karuna says in 2007 or when the JVP said in 1971 or 1988 give us what Colombo gets” (kolambata kiri apita kakiri –Youth Commission Report, March,1990, p. xvii)) there is/was no ethnic discrimination. Instead, the truth is that the Colombo class has been controlling 95% of people, which became worse under the globalization game and the 1978 Dharmista samajaya.
Section 29(4) of the Soulbury Constitution did not allow the removal of five centuries discrimination against the majority community.
Colombo ruling families versus the Janayas
Do we need a hurried devolution package, based on the same Neelan-GL formula? Or should we take a holistic approach to handle our antho-jata-bahi-jatas meta-problems? V proposal in its present form will deliver an F” to a group of Tamil politicians but will not solve the mismanagement problems of the average person Sinhala or Tamil. This is the aspiration issue that V should think of. Not the aspirations of IC or Tony Blair.
In India under the language-based state reorganization, a new tier of local/regional politician class developed who began to challenge the Delhi political class. That brought an end to Congress control and a sick Delhi center dependent on over 20 coalition partners. Indian poverty is still a major problem and politicians at all levels are thriving. Is this not happening in Sri Lanka after 1978?
Colebrook was not a bioscience graduate (1832)
Ayub Khan’s plan of October 26, 1959
Trinity of gama-vawa –dagaba
Make a trip to New Zealand
Move the capital city to Raja Rata
For more factual content please read:
LankaWeb – The Geneva game and the 13th Amendment: a geographical analysis -Part- I
LankaWeb – The Geneva game and the 13th Amendment: a geographical analysis -Part- II-To: Expert Committee to draft a new constitutionLankaWeb – The Geneva game and the 13th Amendment: a geographical analysis -Part- III To: Expert Committee to draft a new constitution
An Australian-based premium company in healthcare named AusCeylon and PhytoMedica Pvt Ltd want to develop an Eco Resort and a medicinal Plant Garden at Agbopura 227/C in the Kanthale district. Kanthale is one of the most famous travel destinations worldwide for centuries due to its unique and pristine biodiversity and culture.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Sri Lanka remained the fourth most popular destination for tourism in 2020. The company believes vigour and health are vitally important to human beings as much as their culture and food. They believe that healthiness can be promoted through Natural Medicines found in Sri Lanka.
The Australian-based company commenced operations in mid-January 2021 in Ratnapura and initiated its second project in Pasikudah and third at Royal Beach Villas in Mankadawala, Anuradhapura. These were eco-resort and medicinal gardens. Their fourth project in Sri Lanka would also be an eco-resort and a medicinal plant garden in Kanthale.
Kanthale
Kanthale goes back to the era of King Agbo II. It is situated in the Trincomalee District, lies 38 km Southwest of Trincomalee, and the city is surrounded by the Kanthale reservoir (Wewa), which attracts travellers. Kanthale City is full of history and lies a few miles from Trincomalee with other attractive tourist sites such as Kaudulla National Park.
The new project will be implemented at the banks of Kanthale Wewa. The reservoir is majestic with a beautiful scenic view and covers an area of 23 square km and has a capacity of 140.6 million cubic metres. The dam is 16.75 metres high and 2.5 km long. Apart from the view, the reservoir provides a rich water resource for the growth of many valuable medicinal plants. The area is covered with green thickets of trees and shrubs, providing a promising natural beauty. The Kanthale Wewa can flood the area during monsoon rains, therefore, the risk is minimal since the land elevation for the project is above the overflow level. Crops will be strategically located to minimise the impact of potential floods. The project will be carefully designed with minimal disturbance to this rich ecosystem.
Eco-tourism and natural medicines
The project is a combination of eco-tourism and natural medicines. Eco-tourism can promote mental well-being and makes a soothing impact on the increasingly stressed lifestyle of the urban population. It blends with nature and simultaneously acts as prophylactic healthcare that augments the people. Eco-tourism will open up the heritage of natural medicines to the world, hence, the proposed project in Kanthale aims to take maximum advantage of the two world-class strengths thereby creating a direct and in-direct socio-economic opportunity for the local population as much as the tourists.
Ecotourism focuses on development and sustainability in the rich lands of Kanthale with carefully constructed conservation agreements and the cultivation of medicinal plants to be used as raw materials for Phytomedica Pvt Ltd. The project will engage in research, development, production and marketing of exports of varieties of natural plant extracts (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API)) used in herbal medicines and nutraceuticals. Further, eco-friendly residences will be constructed by the company to create an attractive ecotourism destination for tourists. It will provide a highly effective plan to minimize the impact on nature. Thus, the company strategy will be to follow the main intentions of the National Tourism Plan to gain an enhanced profit, while simultaneously sustaining the integrity and value of the natural, cultural, social and economic resources of Sri Lanka. The project will, directly and indirectly, create a variety of opportunities to improve the livelihood of local communities.
The collaborative project by AusCeylon Pty Ltd & PhytoMedica Pvt Ltd intends to develop eco-tourism and medicinal plant cultivation at Kanthale holds many valuable religious, cultural, historical and natural sites, which are vastly visited by many local and foreign tourists around the world.
AusCeylon & PhytoMedica Pvt Ltd believes that Sri Lanka holds a promising future for eco-tourism. The concept has the potential to attract both local and foreign travellers, including the millennials who seek a sustainable living and also traditional tourists who seek experiences to appreciate and enjoy nature. It is a highly strategic source of revenue to protect natural areas and boost the Sri Lankan economy. According to the mid-term strategic plan for Sri Lanka tourism, only 1% of eco-tourist visits or sites are due to the misuse of the concept. Thus, it is vital to reconsider the concept and put it into action to acquire important socio-economic goals.
The following are the strategic advancements toward eco-tourism at the Kanthale site:
• By cultivating valuable medicinal plants to be used as authentic raw materials to manufacture patented products innovated by Phytomedica Pvt Ltd.
• Enabling Sri Lankan indigenous medicines as a world-class premium healthcare management among locals and international tourists.
• Provision of direct and indirect socio-economic benefits to the local community by creating direct and indirect opportunities for the maximum use of local human and material resources.
• Product development and operation, including efficient waste management, thereby creating a minimal negative impact on the environment.
• Quality and efficacy are to be maintained by establishing the herbal raw materialsupply chain by maintenance.
• Reaching out to the local communities to advance their knowledge and skills in ecotourism.
• Creating and enforcing a fair revenue model to allocate revenue to all stakeholders.
The AusCeylon project will provide an authentic, interactive, and educational nature-based experience with the historical value of Kanthale to create tours that will appeal to the target segments.
The financial feasibility of the project has a few considerations. AusCeylon expects a low revenue in the initial year due to the current situation in the country, and the time taken for the crops to grow. To mitigate such risks, short-harvest crops will be introduced and long-term crops would generate adequate revenue for continuous operations. Further, special packages will be offered to popularise the destination among local tourists.
Local community
Direct employment opportunities at the resort will enable the skill development of the local community. Rapid revenue generation for small businesses – particularly for housewives will be implemented. Cultivate medicinal plants within every household garden space on a small scale will be introduced, and sell them to the raw material collection centre established at the project site. Increased opportunities will be created to sell handcrafts and crops to local and foreign tourists and local tour guides. The company intends to introduce employment opportunities for the local community through tourism, which has plummeted since 2019 since the Easter bombing and the COVID-19 pandemic. The initial investment is estimated approximately at Rs. 20 million based on the outcome of phase one of the projects, further investment will be done to increase the number of lodges and facilities.
Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . K1J 6G1
25 August 2022
Hon,. Pierre Poilievre MP
Conservative Party Leadership Candidate -2022
Dear Pierre.
I note that you are galloping to victory to lead the Conservative Party, the Party that put me through emotional waves of highs and lows when you all dealt with Sri Lanka’s Tamil Eelam War and supporting the Tamil Tiger terrorist cause. The end result was my decision to abandon your lot, give up my card carrying membership (Sustaining Donor-1544311255047), and not vote for the Conservatives ever, not even holding my nostrils closed keeping away the Conservative stench of hypocrisy.
Alliance, who was, quite rightly, going after the Liberal Minister of Finance, Paul
Martin, who together with Maria Minna, the Minister of CIDA, and nine other
Liberal Party back-benchers, patronized the $60-a-plate Fundraising lunch
in Toronto by FACT in May 2000, to collect funds for the most ruthless Terrorists
in the world the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) aka, Tamil Tigers, and Stockwell lambasted them during the Question Period in Parliament..
And Paul Martin called your boss, Stockwell Day a Racist” during Question Period in Parliament. I watched it on CPAC.
You phoned me asking me to support Stockwell on his stance against Canada
supporting the most ruthless terrorist group in the world, the LTTE.
And I did. Two days later, early morning you phoned me and said –” Asoka,
your letter is in, in The Ottawa Citizen, and Thanks Asoka for supporting
Minister Stockwell Day.”;
as promised us in May 2005, when the two of them gave us the assurance that all legal measures would be taken against the LTTE and its front organizations soon after your party assumes power.
5. Pierre, this is what I wrote to Conservative Foreign Minister, Lawrence
Cannon on May 20, 2009, a day after the Tamil Tigers were annihilated by
the Sri Lankan Armed Forces, after reading his pathetic Press Release, the
worst that ever came out of Canada’s Foreign Ministry Office.
A war that every country including Canada said it was an unwinnable war, and
wanted Sri Lanka to hand over to the Eelamists the land that they claimed were
theirs.
And the separatist Tamils had been spoiling for a fight, and finally they did for 30
bloody years until Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his armed forces
of brave, heroic men and women got the Tamil Tiger leader, Velupillai
Prabhakaran with a bullet through his forehead on the sands of the Nandikadal
Lagoon, on 18 May, 2009. And, of course, Pierre, we Canadians didn’t like it.
Shucks! That was too bad.
But here is what is so despicable about it, and that includes you. No Canadian
parliamentarian has given credit to Gotabaya’s heroic men and women in khaki
and surge, for their Classic Textbook, Human Rights Act for giving back the
Right-to-Life to 20.5 million of their people which had been hijacked by the
Tamil Tigers for 30-bloodying- years.
So much for the hypocritical-bleeding hearts of the world that was so concerned
about Human Rights violations during the Eelam terrorist war. Pierre, what
Bull…what Hogwash…. what a crotch full of cods-wallop…what strings of
baloney hanging in a stall at the Byward Market…what decorative strings of
Masala wade hanging at the entrance of a Haro Hara Eelam Curry Hut!
Pierre, here is one more despicable act of insolence by yours and my Canada.
Who failed to acknowledge the amazing Classic Textbook example of a
Human Rights Act, when 295,873 Tamil refugees who were marched from
the west coast to the east coast of Sri Lanka for 60-months, like a herd of
unwashed cattle as a Human Shield by the Tamil Tigers under a scorching
Jaffna-Killinochchi sun.
It was Gotabaya’s heroic men and women in khaki and serge. that
rescued them’, and absolutely no one, including you talks about this amazing
Human Rights Act. Pierre, and that is down right being ‘sick’. Explain
Pierre…explain. Why? Do I smell a nasty rat here?
Dear Minister Lawrence Cannon:
You have failed me, a Sri Lankan-Canadian, and Sri Lanka with your Statement on Sri Lanka expressing your concern on civilian casualties and not recognizing the Sri Lanka Government defeating the most ruthless terrorist group in the world which you all banned on 10 April, 2006. You ignored the euphoria among all Sri Lankans, including some Tamils,and the relief they shared having had the Tamil Tigers eliminated which gave 20.5 million peoples their Right-to-Life which had been hijacked by the Tamil Tigers for 30-blood spilling years.
Your statement is proof positive that the Conservatives have now begun to pander to the Tamil Diaspora and have forgotten that there were other communities, especially the majority Sinhalese who were affected by this unnecessary brutal, war with killings, assassinations and ethnic cleansing in the thousands of individuals by the Tamil Tigers………….”
6. By then Pierre, you certainly knew that Canada was supporting this Tamil
terrorist group, and were aiding and abetting the terrorist war in Sri Lanka, by
letting theTamil separatist diaspora collect $2 million a month for 13 long Liberal
years to stuff the Tamil Tigers war chest, to buy sophisticated military weapons
to kill my Sinhalese people together with my Muslim brothers and sisters for the
want of their Mono-ethnic, separate, racist Tamil state of Eelam, carved out of
33% of the sovereign Land of the island in the North and East of Sri Lanka,
bordered by 66% of the coastline for 12.6% of the Tamil population (then). The
Tamil population may have dwindled to about 6% now, as almost all of them flew
out of their Cuckoo’s-nests, thumbing their noses at their Mother India, searching
for roads paved with gold and the lands over their fences that were greener than
theirs.
7. Pierre, you certainly knew that the Tamils cut a cheque from a Bank account of
B. Thambirajah, in Vancouver, for 7.5 million dollars on September 22, 1993, to purchase 60 tonnes of RDX and 10 tonnes of TNT from the Rubezone Chemical
Factory in the Ukraine.
It were these high explosives that were used in a truck bomb to bring down
the Central Bank Building in Colombo’s Financial District, on 31 January 1996, killing 114 and maiming for life 1338 others. Among them was a Director of the Bank, who had a Masters from Waterloo U, and a PhD in Statistics from Ottawa U.
A few minutes before the truck bomb went off, he had gone to the Library a few floors up. Two stacks of books had fallen on his legs and both were amputated.
Pierre, turn your hands and look at your two palms. That slight red stain on your palms are of the Sinhlese blood that we Canadians were responsible with the money that a Tamil cut a cheque from a Bank in Vancouver, to purchase those high explosives. So we, Canada, aided and abetted the most ruthless Tamil Tiger terrorists to kill my people. How do you feel now Pierre. Do you admit that you are one helluva -sinner supporting the Tamil separatist cause. Would you?
8. Canada’s support for the Tamil Tiger terrorists, the most ruthless terrorists
in the world according to the UN:
i. Ian Cotler, the Minister of Justice for the Liberal Government admitted to the
Editorial Board of the National Post, that the Liberals were not willing to
antagonize the Tamil community, and thus not willing to ban the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam aka Tamil Tigers, the killer terrorists’. The Liberals did
not want to lose their votes. But didn’t mind sacrificing the lives of my
Innocent Sinhalese people. That is how the Liberals selfish cookie crumbled,
And I a Sinhalaee-Canadian will never, ever forget this nasty Canadian horror
story.
ii. Pierre, the evening of November 5, 2007, was dark, cold, shivering and wet
and nine Liberal MPs, stood in vigil with thousands of Tamils at Markham Fair
Ground in memory of S.P. ThamilChelvan, the leader of the Political Wing of
the Tamil Tigers who was killed by a bomb dropped on the building in
Kilinochchi where he was in a palaver with four other combatant Tamil Tiger
Terrorists.. That evening all the Liberal MPs lambasted the Sri Lanka
Government for that killing.
One of the Liberal Parliamentary jokers, Borys Wrzesnewskyj (Etobicoke
Center), having lambasted the Sri Lanka Government christened the
Tamil Tigers as Doves of Peace”.
That was a sick joke, Pierre, hoping to pick up every Tamil vote of the
thousands who stood in vigil with them.
Holy Moses, Pierre, a few weeks later these Liberal parliamentary
Crap-shooters couldn’t find a place to hide their faces, not even in their kitchen
sinks, as their Doves of Peace” mutated at a steady pace and turned into
brutal ”Killer Doves” and went on killing the unarmed innocent Sinhalese,
with sophisticated war- weapons bought out of funds collected in Canada.
What a hoot! What nine sick Liberal jokers. All for the want of the Tamil
votes. Haro..Hara!
Pierre, at 8:05 in the morning of Wednesday, November 28, one of the Liberal
women Doves of Peace, a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber with a bomb hidden in
her bra blew herself trying to assassinate Douglas Devananda, a Tamil, the
Minister of Social Services, killing his Coordinating Secretary, and seriously
injuring 10 others of the Public Relations Office, and a Sub-Inspector of
Police, a personal bodyguard to the Minister.
Pierre, this was the 279th suicide bombing by the Liberals ‘Doves of Peace’
that you foolishly seem to be sucking up to. Shame on you, grovelling at their
feet for their Tamil votes. Well. Pierre, such is the Canadian Federal
Government Politics and their shameless politicians who have sold their souls
for the Tamil separatist cause, If such action by you is going to hurt
and destroy my dignity and others of my Sinhalese community. I tell you
quite candidly. Don’t . Stop it, right now! I have already struck you off my list
of well wishers who will be getting my Christmas card this December.
9. Dear Pierre, so that you know. In your Dear Friend” communication of
August 7, 2022, you said…”I will work hand in glove with our allies to
provide an economic partnership – prioritizing those most impacted by
these difficult times and by opening permanent consulate services in
Jaffna”
I only hope you won’t emulate the Judy Sgro, Liberal Minister of Immigation’s
arrogance, who just after the Tsunami of Boxing Day of 2004, exposed her
arrogant shenanigan, when she told in parliament, that it was not necessary
for Canada to get permission from the Sri Lanka Government to open a
Consulate Office in Jaffna.
Pierre, this is what I told this foolish Canadian Cabinet Minister in a letter.
‘Judy, it Is time you get back to College and audit a course in Diplomacy
101, so that You don’t try your belligerent arrogance, and get kicked out of
Sri Lanka. Be taken by your hand by a police officer, in case you slip away
and hide in the Canadian High Commissioner’s residence, and put you on
the first plane out of Colombo to bring you back to Ottawa. Hope you
won’t embarrass yourself, your political party and the Country you
represent. Just cut it, Judy. Just cut it!
10. Pierre, in that same Dear Friend” friendly note you say, I would restore
Canadian leadership by standing with the human rights advocates, support
the war crimes investigations they demand ….”
For Pete’s sake Pierre, give me a break! There is a tinge of arrogance in that
Conservative stupidity.
The Godfather of Tamil Tiger terrorism, Canada, falls flat on its face.
Canada who had a penchant to paint itself lilly-white, and at the bat of its
eyelids point its finger at other world cultures to say, Hey, baby…We are
holier than Thou!
Pierre, first look at the beam in your own eyes before you come to poke your
finger at the mote of Sri Lanka’s eyes.
Whoopee doo Pierre! Sweet Mother of Jesus! I knew all along this wasn’t
true the way that Canada’s ‘Whitemen’ shot and killed the native First
Nation peoples, like the Newfoundland Beothuks.
Pierre, this what the last Beothuck, Shanawdithit (Nancy April), who died on
6th June 1829, said to our White-Canadians’ then:
‘Coughing Beothuk syllables
I try to make you understand
as I am part of you and affable
wanting to be understood
and be alive,
as I am Shanawdithit.
You have hurt me enough
having shot me twice
by Noel Boss a Mi’kmaq
hunter and a rough
trapper to paint
the earth red with my blood,
killed my people for the fun of it,
stole our furs and slyly crept
to burn the mamateeks when we slept.
And I still want to be understood and be alive
For I am Shanawdithit.
We tore our cassocks
to reveal our bogmoots (breasts) to prove
we were women begging for your mercy.
Shooting and cutting our throats
Killing the nits from lice,
and I still want to be understood
And be alive
for I am Shanawdithit….”
(from Canadian Stories, Vol.23 No.131, 2020)
Pierre Poilievre, that is your heritage, being maestros of Genocide”. Unfortunately it’s mine too now, although I am not ‘white’, I am of the colour
of the best of the 50 shades of brown, which is the colour of the crown of hair
on your head, since I have adopted Canada as my home. I will happily sing her National Anthem with You saying
O Canada….I will stand on guard for thee..” with a lot of absolute honesty,
truth and pride.
11 Pierre, whether you like it or not, you are part of Canada’s Genocidal heritage”.
Here’s the despicable story well related on a wall at the Wabano Centre on
Montreal Road in East Ottawa, serving the Indigenous and First Nation peoples.
Pierre, if you haven’t been there, then go.. That wall will be the litmus test to know
whether you have an honest and a compassionate heart, as you will come out
with tears welled in your eyes, the way the ‘white-Canadians treated the First
Nation peoples. Not like the present ‘white’ crap-shooters who are lying their way
to win recent Asian immigrant votes. I cried!
12. Pierre, your ‘Dear Friend” note said …For decades, we have demanded
reparations for war widows….”.
Shish! Pierre, don’t be so damn cocky and demanding, as I Asoka Weerasinghe
who has poured his heart with sympathy for the Canadian First Nation Peoples,
having interpreted their rich and sometimes painful cultures in the early 1970s
while creating Ottawa’s Victoria Memorial Museum Halls of People of the Long
House (Iroquois), The Buffalo Hunters (Plains Indians), Children of the Raven
(West Coast Culture), and the Inuit (Inuit/Eskimo), tell you bluntly and with some
crass authority. Hey, Pierre, you are now being a cunning joker. Surly what
was good for the Goose surely should be good for Gander. Here is what did
happen in recent Canadian history, and you have nothing to complain about poking
your Conservative blue-finger in Sri Lanka’s internal affairs. It is none of your
Business. Here is a Canadian Truth……
Survivors of St. Anne’s residential school have spent decades in court,
fighting for compensation for the years of abuse and torture they experienced
as children. The Canadian federal government has spent over $3.2 million in
legal fees Fighting them,”
This bit of news gives me the incentive to ask you Pierre don’t be a fool to rush
in where angels fear to tread” Be careful as your honesty” in your credibility as
a Good politician” is on pretty shaky grounds. All this arrogant stupidity just to
garner Tamil votes. What bullish, foolishness!. Is it worth it?
13. Pierre, now I gather that at age 43, you have promoted yourself as the Saviour of
the Sri Lankan Tamils, who you believed were persecuted.
Persecuted” you say. Pierre, I am sorry to say that with that accusation of guilt,
I have come to the conclusion that you know sweet-nothing of the ground situation
in Sri Lanka. The Tamils have massaged your mind and brain to make you look an
absolute Dunce-capped fool. They have figured out your vulnerability, ready to kiss
their feet for the promise of 1000 Tamil votes. What a way to be a politician. When
the Tamils ask you to jump, so you jump; in case you lose 500 Tamil votes if you
Don’t. This is a belly-aching Hoot!
,
Here is what it was on the ground,when July 1983 riots took place.
The predominantly Tamil Jaffna District had 555 government schools for the
Tamil student population of 207,524, and the capital City of Colombo had
only 251 such schools for 231,609 students. This is not a tricky question as even
a Grade 5 student will come up with the right answer. Pierre, with this TRUTH
were the Tamils persecuted?;
Jaffna Tamil District had 41% of their schools equipped with government
approved science laboratories, compared to the all island average of 19.6%
Government approved Science laboratories. Pierre, with this TRUTH were the
Tamils persecuted? ‘
c . When the Black July riots happened on 24 July of 1983, the Chief Justice of the
The Supreme Court was a Tamil (Justice S. Sharvadanda); The Inspector
General of Police was a Tamil (Rudra Rajasingham); and the Attorney General
was a Tamil (S. Pasupati). Pierre, with this TRUTH were the Tamils
persecuted? You can be Judge and Jury in this Canadian-Tamil-Conservative
Blarney Gong Show.
d. When Sri Lanka’s Black July riots happened on 24 July, 1983, the Sri Lankan
Diplomats serving as the High Commissioner in Britain, and Ambassadors in
China, France and Germany were Tamils. Pierre, with this TRUTH were the
Tamils Persecuted? Be truthful. Do you feel that you have been taken
down a Tamil Tiger garden path with treacherous slippery slopes with
numbing rose bushes with idiot-thorns!
14. In your Dear Friend” epistle of August 7, 2022, you said, You don’t
need a soldier every five meters on the streets of Toronto – and yet the
peaceful Sri Lankan northeast now constitutes one of the most militarized
non-conflict regions in the world.”
Pierre, that statement shows that you are a naive politician, nor are you a leader
of a country, trying to save your country and its peoples from terrorists who
want to take over, who are been provided with cylinders of oxygen to survive by
Foreign Do-gooder desk-mercenaries whose Kalashnikovs are government
supplied pens and computers. These desk-mercenaries have no business to
aid and abet to revive the Eelam War by extending their Voices in support
of the Tamil separatist cause.
.
Pierre, have you not come across such incidents where Leaders of countries
adapt extraordinary measures to deal with extraordinary situations. If you
haven’t Pierre, look no further. Roll back 52-years of Canada’s modern-history
until you come across the words Canada’s 1970 October Crisis,” For Pete’s
sake Pierre, what is Good for the goose surely should be Good for the
gander.
You were certainly not sharp in your mind were you when you made that snarky
comment : You don’t need a soldier every five meters on the streets of
Toronto – and yet the peaceful Sri Lankan northeast now constitutes one of
the most militarized non-conflict regions in the world.”
Pierre, so that you know this is what happened. The October Crisis took place
in Quebec in the autumn of 1970.. The Crisis was the culmination of terrorist
attacks perpetrated by the Front de Liberation du Quebec (FLQ), a Quebec
Independence Movement.
On 5 October 1970, the FLQ kidnapped the British Trade Commissioner
James Cross in Montreal. Within the next two weeks the FLQ also kidnapped
and killed Quebec’s Minister of Immigration and Labour Pierre Laporte.
Quebec’s Premier Robert Boroussa and Montreal’s Mayor Jean Drapeau
asked for Federal Government help.
Pierre, this is how the Liberal Party Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau ‘s Federal
Government helped.
For one kidnapping and one killing of a Provincial Government Minister, Prime
Minister Pierre Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act to nip in the bud of the
FLQ terrorist movement. That decision flooded the Ottawa Streets with army
fatigued soldiers cradling assault-rifles like babies. And at every street corner
there were soldiers with assault rifles with a finger on the trigger ready to shoot.
Pierre, you were still not born then, but I witnessed it all as I was landing at
Ottawa’s old airport around 4:00 in the afternoon on October 16.
I witnessed from the plane’s window, at least 50 helicopters buzzing in the sky
like monster mosquitoes. That was my introduction and welcome to Canada.
The following day I learnt that it was a real Military drill and not a film set for a
Walt Disney film Aliens coming to take Canadians away.
And you, Mister Piere Poilievre, had the gall and the temerity to make that
snarky comment about Sri Lanka – You don’t need a soldier every five meters
on the streets of Toronto – and yet the peaceful Sri Lankan northeast now
constitutes one of the most militarized non-conflict regions in the world.”
Pierre, the more you try to win the Tamill votes, the more You are getting
entangled badly in the Canadian Political Web of Deceit. My humble advice
to you Pierre, is to snip your umbilical cord which is still attached to the
Separatist-Tamils and get down from your High Horse and renew your faith
in Honesty and Truth which will take you a long way as a politician.
15Pierre, under such a background where Canada aided and abetted the most
ruthless terrorist outfit in the world,, the Tamil Tigers, and prolonged that war
in Sri Lanka, to carry on for 30-bloody years, I felt a bit distraught that you had demanded the arrest of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the former President of Sri Lanka who also was the Defense Secretary, who kicked the butts of yours and India’s prodigies , the Tamil Tiger terrorists, who were annhilated on 19 May 2009,
by Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s team of heroic men and women soldiers still living
and dead.
I see that the penalty for annihilating the Tamil Tigers, and giving back the most paramount Human Rights the Right-to-Life to 20.5 million of their peoples, which includes the Tamils too; to having rescued 295,873 Tamil refugees from the clutches of the Tamill Tigers who were used as a Human Shield for 6 months; and sustaining them in a temporary tent city preparing 1 (one) million breakfasts, lunches and dinners every day, you want the leader to be arrested and brought to an International Human Rights Court. What sordid crap…not worth two dead capelin washed on the shores of Newfoundland’s Middle Cove, or two prairie straws waving in desperation in the chilling cold wind… what ratty tosh!
Are you insane Pierre. You are too young to suffer from dementia., I see that you are also Hallucinating that you will be the first Viceroy of the Tamil sovereign Kingdom of Ellam-Makkam in Canada, been sponsored by these Canadian separtist Tamils, Dream on, Mr. Pierre Poilievre, MP…dream on!
Get off that train to the dreamland of yours, and cut your umbilical cord with the Canadian Tamil separatists who have made a fool of you, are certainly not doing you any good.
16. In Conclusion, you have been lucky that you heard from three top veteran
Sinhala-Canadian activists, Mahinda Gunasekera, Ira de Silva and Jaliya
Wickramarachchi, who have been working on this file since 24 July 1983, who
had advised you, who had questions for you on your involvement in
lambasting the Sri Lanka Government in support of the Tamil separatists, as a
favour to gain their votes at a federal election. The choice is yours to heed to
what they said, and shut your gob on this file without getting entangled in the
Canadian Political web of deceit any further., Failing you will remain at the
bottom of my heap of the arrogant and foolish Canadian Conservatives, and
twinned with Brampton’s Mayor Patrick Brown, who thinks he is God and wants
to change what is Sri Lanka today, and hand it over to the Tamils. What a clown!
Let me repeat what one veteran activist told you. Ira de Silva said – I suggest
that you get Your facts correct and not merely parrot what you are told by
the very people who funded and supported terrorism in Sri Lanka. It is
obvious that you are ignorant of the situation in Sri Lanka both past and
present. Please educate yourself and not merely repeat the inaccurate
biased information given to you by your LTTE constituents in Canada who
are the very people who for decades funded terrorism in Sri Lanka.
Canadian politicians who just want Votes in Canada and have no concern
for the people who live in Sri Lanka are willing to say and do whatever it
takes hoping that they will get votes in Canada. That is a damning
indictment on you. Have you any confirmation that they will vote for you
after you debase yourself?
The people of Sri Lanka do not know you nor do they care to know you and
should not have to suffer because of your myopic action.”
Hallelujah! You have heard from one veteran on the issue . She is the best there
was since July 24, 1983…the Best there is Today…and the Best there ever will be
after today, to take on the dumb Canadian politicians who have sold their souls to
the proxy- Tamil Tigers to garner their votes.
Pierre Poilievre, before you go to the closest mirror and ask – Mirror…mirror..
on the Wall, who is the liar of them all,”. have a cloth with you to wipe your face,
as You have got rotten eggs all over it..
It is your call Pierre to get off that high horse of yours and stop being so arrogant
and foolish. All I will say is …Good luck Pierre. I know and my Crystal Ball
reading says that one day Pierre Poilievre will say under his breath I wish I
listened to Asoka Weerasinghe on the 27th of August, 2022. He was so
damn right!” Pierre, my Crystal Ball has never failed me.
Be well.
Asoka (Weerasinghe)
අපගේ මාතෘ භූමියේ සියලු අයිතීන් දිනෙන් දින විදේශිකයන් අතට පත්වෙමින් තිබේ. මෙතෙක් කලක් විකුණනු ලැබුවේ භූමිය පමණි. දැන් එම තත්ත්වය වෙනස් කරමින් අපගේ හිරු එළිය, සුළඟ, මුහුද පවා විදේශිකයන්ට විකිණීමට පටන් ගෙන තිබේ. එහි එක් පියවරක් ලෙස පසුගියදා මෙරට සුළං විදුලි බලාගාර දෙකක් ඉදිකිරීමට අදානි ග්රීන් එනර්ජි සමූහයට තාවකාලික අනුමැතිය ලබා දෙනු ලැබීය. මේ ආකාරයෙන් නොරටුන්ට විකුණනු ලබන්නේ ලක් මවගේ ප්රාණ වායුවයි. මෙරට අනාගත පරපුරේ උරුමයයි.
මෙම බලාගාර දෙක ඉදිකරනු ලබන්නේ මන්නාරමේ හා පුනරීන්වලය. මන්නාරමේ ඉදිකරන බලාගාරය මෙගාවොට් 286 ක්ද, පුනරීන් බලාගාරය මෙගාවොට් 234 ක්ද වශයෙන් ඉදිකිරීමට නියමිතය. මෙම ව්යාපෘතිය සඳහා ආයෝජනය කරන මුදල ඇමෙරිකන් ඩොලර් මිලියන 500 ඉක්මවයි. රටට විදේශ ආයෝජන පැමිණීම හොඳ දෙයකි. අඩු මිලට විදුලිය ලැබිය හැකිනම් එයද හොඳ දෙයකි. නමුත් මෙරට සම්පත් නිසි ඇගයීමකින්, ටෙන්ඩර් කැඳවීමකින් තොරව ඒ සඳහා ඉදිරිපත් විය හැකි මෙරට ආයතන තිබියදී විදේශිකයන්ට විකිණීම නම් කිසිසේත් අනුමත කළ නොහැක.
රට තුළ ආන්දෝලනයක් ඇතිවීම
මෙම සුළං බලාගාර සම්බන්ධයෙන් පසුගිය කාලයේ රට තුළ මහත් ආන්දෝලනයක් ඇතිවිය. ඒ විදුලිබල මණ්ඩල හිටපු සභාපතිවරයා සිදුකළ ප්රකාශයක් නිසාය. එහිදී ඔහු පැවසුවේ ජනාධිපතිවරයා (ගෝඨාභය) සාකච්ඡාවකින් පසු ඔහුව ගෙන්වා පුනර්ජනනීය සුළං බලශක්ති ව්යාපෘති දෙක අදානි සමාගමට දෙන ලෙස පැවසීමයි. ඒ සඳහා ඉන්දීය අගමැති මෝදි මහතා බලපෑම් කළ බවද පැවසීය. එහිදී ඔහු බොහොම සිනාමුසු මුහුණින් එය පැවසුවද පසුව පැවසුවේ එම ප්රකාශය ඉල්ලා අස්කර ගන්නා බවත්, ඒ අවස්ථාවේ තමා ආතතියෙන් එම කරුණු පැවසූ බවත්ය. එමෙන්ම විදුලිබල පනත් කෙටුම්පත පාර්ලිමේන්තුවට ඉදිරිපත් කිරීමේ කාර්යබහුලත්වය නිසා එසේ ප්රකාශ කළ බවද පැවසීය.
වෘත්තිය සමිති විරෝධය
මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් අදහස් දැක්වූ සමගි ඒකාබද්ධ වෘත්තීය සමිති සන්ධානයේ කැඳවුම්කරු ආනන්ද පාලිත මහතා පැවසුවේ ආණ්ඩුව ලහි ලහියේ මෙම පනත සම්මත කර ගත්තේ ටෙන්ඩර් පටිපාටියෙන් තොරව මෙම ව්යාපෘති දෙක අදානි සමූහයට දීමට බවය. ටෙන්ඩර් පටිපාටියට අනුව ගැනුම්කරුවන් සොයා ගන්නවා වෙනුවට ඇමැතිවරයාට අභිමත පරිදි ඊට අනුමැතිය දීමට හැකි පරිසරය මෙම පනත සම්මත කිරීමෙන් ලැබෙන බවත් මෙම ව්යාපෘතිය අදානි සමූහයට ලබාදුන් ගිවිසුම හරහා වෙනත් සමාගමකට නැවත සුළං විදුලි බලාගාර හැදීමට නොහැකි ලෙස තනි අයිතිය එම සමාගමට හිමිවන බවත් පවසයි. එහිදී ඔහු වැඩිදුරටත් පැවසුවේ දැන් අපට නොමිලේ ලැබෙන සුළඟත් නෑ, හිරු එළියත් නැහැ, භූමියත් නැහැ යනුවෙනි. පසුගිය දිනක ලංකාවට පැමිණි ඉන්දීය නියෝජිතයන් පිරිස අලුත් යෝජනා කීපයක් දුන් බවත් ඉන් මෙරට ඛනිජ තෙල්, හිරු එළිය, සුළං ආදී සෑම ක්ෂේත්රයකම අයිතිය ඔවුන් සතුකර ගැනීමට පිඹුරුපත් සකසා ඇති බවත් ඔහු පවසයි.
මෙම පුනර්ජනනීය බලශක්ති සුළං විදුලි බලාගාර හැදීමෙන් බලාපොරොත්තු වන්නේ අඩු මිලට ජනතාවට විදුලිය ලබාදීමයි. නමුත් මේ වන විට ලැබෙන තොරතුරු අනුව එම බලාපොරොත්තුව ඉෂ්ට වේ දැයි සැක සහිතය. එයට හේතුව මෙයින් නිපදවන විදුලිය මණ්ඩලයට ලැබෙනුයේ ඩොලර් ශත 0.75 කටය. නමුත් දැනට පවතින තම්බපවනි බලාගාරයෙන් විදුලිය ලබා දෙනුයේ ඩොලර් ශත 0.4 කටය.
මේ සම්බන්ධව අදහස් දැක්වූ විදුලිබල මණ්ඩල ඉංජිනේරු සංගමයේ සභාපති අනිල් රංජිත් මහතා පවසා තිබුණේ මුලින් අදානි සමාගම විදුලි ඒකකයක් ඩොලර් ශත 0.65 කට දීමට එකඟ වී සිටි බවත් පසුව එය වෙනස් වීම සැක සහිත බවත්ය.
ටෙන්ඩර් කැඳවීම්වලින් තොරව මේ ආකාරයෙන් විදුලිය මිලට ගැනීමෙන් පාඩුව සිදුවන්නේ මෙරට විදුලි පාරිභෝගිකයන්ටය. මෙවන් සැකමුසු තැන් කීපයක් සමග ආරම්භ වන මෙම බලාගාර පිළිබඳ පාර්ලිමේන්තුව තුළද පක්ෂ විපක්ෂ මන්ත්රීවරු රැසක්ම අදහස් දක්වා තිබිණි. පසුගියදා අතුරලියේ රතන හිමියන් මේ පිළිබඳව මෙසේ අදහස් දැක්වීය.
පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේත් විවාද
විදේශීය සමාගම්වලින් විදුලිය නිපදවීමට තමන් වහන්සේ විරුද්ධ නොවන නමුත් එය සිදුවන්නේ කුමන ආකාරයෙන් දැයි ගැටලුවක් පවතිනවා. අවසානයේ අපගේ සුළඟත්, එහි අධිකාරයත් කොම්පැණිවලට ලැබෙන බැවින් ගිවිසුම්වලට එළඹීමේදී අප ගන්නා හුස්ම ටිකේ අයිතියවත් අපට තිබිය යුතුයි. අපට ස්වභාවධර්මයෙන් ලැබෙන හිරු එළියට, සුළං ටිකට ඩොලර්වලින් ගෙවීම් කළ නොහැකියි.”
මීට පිළිතුරු වශයෙන් කංචන විජේසේකර ඇමැතිවරයා පැවසුවේ නිකන් ලැබෙන සුළඟ යැයි, නිකන් ලැබෙන හිරු එළිය යැයි පවසමින් අව්වේ පිච්චෙමින් සුළං වැදෙමින් සිටිය හැකි බවත්, නමුත් මේවා පාවිච්චි කළ හැකි වන්නේ මේ සඳහා ආයෝජනය කළ හැකි, දැනුම ඇති පුද්ගලයන් පැමිණියහොත් පමණක් බවයි. එලෙස ආයෝජකයන් පැමිණියහොත් පමණක් දේශීය ආයතන සඳහාද අවස්ථාව ලබාදිය හැකි බව වැඩිදුරටත් පැවසීය.
මෙරට සතු තාක්ෂණය
මෙරට අතීත මුතුන් මිත්තන් සතු ශිල්පීය ඥානයට අභියෝග කිරීමට ලොව මෙතෙක් රටක් බිහිව නොමැති තරම්ය. සුද්දා කැලේ සිටින කාලයේ අපේ මුතුන් මිත්තන් උඩින් ගියහ. දියුණු වාරි ශිල්පීය ක්රම භාවිත කළහ. සෑම ක්ෂේත්රයකින්ම එය ඔප්පු වේ. සුළං බලය සම්බන්ධයෙන්ද ඒ ආකාරයෙනි. සුළං බලය යොදාගෙන කර්මාන්ත ශාලාවක කටයුතු කළ ලොව පළමු රට ශ්රී ලංකාවයි. ඒ කිස්තු පූර්ව 3 වන සියවසේදී යකඩ උණුකරන උදුන් ක්රියාත්මක කිරීම හරහාය.
අපගේ පම්බපවනී සුළං බලාගාරය විවෘත කිරීමේ උත්සවයට එක්වූ එවකට විදුලිබල ඇමැති ඩලස් අලහප්පෙරුම මහතා පැවසුවේ මෙම ව්යාපෘතියේ සැලසුම, ඉංජිනේරු තාක්ෂණය, ශක්යතා අධ්යයන ආදී සියල්ල ශ්රී ලංකා විදුලිබල මණ්ඩලය සතු බවයි. මෙවන් බලාගාර හැදීමට අවශ්ය දැනුම මෙරට සතු නම් ඉන්දියාව දෙසින් නිදහසේ හමා එන සුළඟ නැවත ඉන්දියාවේ සමාගමකින්ම ඩොලර්වලට මිලට ගත යුතු නැත. මේ ඇදී යන්නේ මෙරට විදෙස් සංචිතයි. මෙරට බලශක්ති ඒකාධිකාරයයි.
එසේම පම්බපවනී බලාගාරය විවෘත කිරීමේ උත්සවයේදී දුමින්ද දිසානායක මහතා පැවසුවේ එම බලාගාරය සඳහා වැයවන මුදල අවුරුදු 3 ක් තුළ උපයා ගැනීමට හැකි බවයි. එසේනම් අදානි සමාගම මෙම බලාගාර දෙකින් මොනතරම් ලාභයක් ලබයිද. අප මුළු ජීවිත කාලය තුළම ඉන්දියාවට ඉහළ මිලක් ගෙවා ඔවුන් කියන ගණන්වලට විදුලිය මිලට ගත යුතු නොවේද?. මේ ආකාරයට අඩු මිලට විදුලිය නිපදවිය හැකි බලශක්ති ප්රභවයන් විදේශිකයන් අතට පත්කිරීම නිසා අවසානයේ සිදුවන්නේ විදුලි පාරිභෝගිකයන් විදෙස් සමාගම්වල අඩන්තේට්ටම්වලට ලක්වීමටයි. දැන් සිටින පාලකයන් සිදුකරනුයේ ලක් මවගේ දේහයේ කොටස් එකිනෙක විකිණීමයි. විදේශීය වෙළෙඳපොළේ ප්රසිද්ධ වෙන්දේසියේ මේ දිනවල අලෙවි කරන්නේ මෙරට ප්රාණ වායුවයි. ඒවා විකුණා ලැබෙන මුදලින් කා බී විනෝද වෙති. අවසානයේ ලක්මව මියැදුණු පසු හත් දවසක් නොව දින 14 ක්ම ලක්මව තබාගෙන බූරු ගැසීමට සූදානම් පිරිසක් අදවන විට පාර්ලිමේන්තුව තුළ සිටී. ඊට අනුබල දෙන තවත් පිරිසක් නිලධාරි පැළැන්තියේ සිටී. මේ කිසිවකුට ලක්මව සුවපත් කර ගැනීමට යළි දෙපයින් නඟාසිටුවීමට කිසිදු වුවමනාවක් නැත. ඔවුන්ට අමතකව ගිය දෙයක් වන්නේ මේ සියල්ල නැති වූ කල ඔවුන්ටද මෙරට සිටීමට සිදුවනුයේ වහල්ලුන් ලෙස බවය.
සමීර කන්නන්ගර
Responding to Sri Lanka’s request for China to change its tune on debt relief, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy said the ball is in Sri Lanka’s court, not China’s.
The spokesman told Daily Mirror China communicated to the Sri Lankan Finance Ministry three months ago about its readiness to discuss how to address the debt issue with the Chinese banks.
He said China encouraged its banks to discuss it. The Chinese position was also communicated during the telephone conversation between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and then Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.
We sent proposals to the Finance Ministry. But, there was no response from them. Also, Sri Lanka insisted that it should complete the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) first. The ball is in Sri Lanka’s court,” the spokesman said.
Sri Lanka’s total bilateral debt was estimated at $6.2 billion at the end of 2020 by the IMF.
Japan and China hold the largest shares. India has provided around $4 billion to help keep Sri Lanka’s economy afloat, mainly through credit lines and swaps this year. Sri Lanka also has $14 billion of international sovereign bond debt. (Kelum Bandara)
Minister of Power & Energy Kanchana Wijesekera says that all state-owned enterprises (SOEs) need to be restructured.
In a Twitter message the minister said political decisions, political appointments, mismanagement and incompetence have led to the downfall of the public service.
He points out that the majority of the public workforce would not be able to survive in the private sector or be recruited at all. “Performance-based salary is a must,” he added.
While stating that there are capable and efficient employees at the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and the Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Limited (CPSTL), he said that the majority are inefficient and incompetent.
A good 500 workforce instead of the 4200 could do the job efficiently at CPC- CPSTL & half of the 26,000 workforce at CEB. Trade Unions thrive on inefficient members.”<br /><br />Minster’s tweet;
1) All SOEs need restructuring. Political decisions, political appointments, misadministration & incompetence has led to the downfall. I don’t think majority of the public workforce will survive in the private sector or be recruited at all. Performance based salaries is a must.
2) While there are capable & efficient workers at CEB, CPC CPSTL, the majority are inefficient & incompetence. A good 500 workforce instead of the 4200 could do the job efficiently at CPC- CPSTL half of the 26000 workforce at CEB. Trade Unions thrive on inefficient members.
Did JVP naturally emerge or was it created in response to the then governments nationalization programs? Who formulated the 5 Lectures” that indoctrinated Sinhala youth to become members. Who advised JVP to expand in universities and attempt to win sympathy of the armed forces? Who wanted JVP to attack police posts? Who funded the ‘education camps’ in remote areas of the South & southwestern coasts? Who helped JVP create secret cells? Who christened the name Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna? What is the real objective of JVP & now JJB
JVP began recruiting & training its members in camps across Kurunegala, Akmeemana, Tissamaharama, Epitiya & Anuradhapura. Lectures were in cemetaries. By 1971 the JVP had 10,000 members.
The 5 lectures covered
iii. Indian expansionism
How much of these 5 elements are part of JVP ideology today.
JVP movement was based on a cell system (was this a creation of their own or copied)
Each cell had 5 members with a leader.
Cells were created in every area with a police station. Every police area had a leader. Area leaders selected district leaders. District leaders became the Central Committee. The Polit bureau was above the Central Committee & was made up on 12 including Wijeweera.
JVP communicated by code & by couriers messages issued by Polit Bureau.
Cells were given shotguns. Each member had a gun with 10 cartridges. Each member had uniforms, military boots & haversacks. Cell members made home-made bombs. Victor Ivan (Podi Athula) lost his left hand when a grenade exploded while testing. On 5 March 1971 explosion in JVP bomb factory resulted in 5 deaths.
The JVP had its own paper.
The JVP carried out robberies to raise funds – the same methodology adopted by LTTE.
Were the tuition teachers of LTTE & JVP the same?
Wijeweera was arrested on 13 March in Ampara & transferred to Jaffna prison. On 16 March the GoSL declared emergency. JVP leadership decided on 2 April to dispatch 500 cadres to storm the Jaffna prison & on 5 April all police stations were to be attacked to cripple the govt.
The 1st attack was at 0520 on 5 April 1971 at the Wellawaya police station killing 5 constables. 92 police stations were attacked over 50 police stations were damaged. By 10th April JVP had taken control of Matara and Ambalangoda. The goal was to kill PM Sirimavo Bandaranaike at her residence.
The then commander of the armed forces was Gen. Sepala Attygalle.
Mrs. Bandaranaike sought assistance from friendly nations – Pakistan was first to respond sending troops and helicopters. Indian troops too arrived. Indian Navy guarded the naval coasts as SL Navy was deployed on the ground. It was a rare event to see Pakistan, Indian & Sri Lankan forces jointly attempt to handle the JVP. Ironically, the same Indian army ended up training LTTE against the Sri Lankan Army.
JVP insurrection was quelled after 3 weeks and amnesties were offered in June 1971 over 20,000 were given 3 months rehabilitation & released.
Detained rebels were prosecuted after setting Criminal Justice Commission comprising Chief Justice H N G Fernando (Chairman), Justice A C Alles, Justice V T Thamotheran, Justice H Dheragoda & Justice T W Rajaratnam.
Wijeweera was given lifetime imprisonment in 1975 later amended to 20 years rigorous imprisonment. JVP leaders faced prison sentences. Emergency rule continued. 1977 UNP won the elections and released Wijeweera & lifted ban on JVP. Wijeweera contested Presidential Election in 1982 & scored 273,428 finishing fourth.
What made Wijeweera & JVP begin 2nd insurrection in 1987 when it clearly had created a political path for itself?
Thousands of Sinhalese JVP youth were killed. JVP killed politicians, academics, artists, public servants, Buddhist clery and their end came when they began attacking armed forces & families.
Presuming to be anti-capitalist, how can JVP profane to fool its followers but be partners of neo-liberals. The current JJB party was created in August 2020 to peddle neoliberal agendas under the façade of socialism. This conflicts with what JVP advocates.
Tapping and manipulating the youthful vigor and energy of youth, JVP has ruined young adults inside the universities with their unions, ragging and other pressure groups. The JVP ideology has physically and psychologically impact university going youth and has affected their employment and attitude to life and socio-politics as well. It is only later years in life, that they have realized they had been misled but a little too late.
JVP’s role as deal maker to political parties providing campaign ground support leaves us to wonder how many of JVP followers approve JVP’s role in helping bring other parties to power.
How long do JVP followers plan to protest when demanded, become violent when demanded, campaign for others when demanded, defend others when demanded. Is this why JVP followers joined JVP. Don’t JVP followers question what their leaders are up to?
Given the obscure path JVP leaders are taking, is it not a crime that thousands of youth perished, gave up their lives for the JVP denying their families the joy of seeing them become somebody’s in life.
The JVP misguided youth in 1970s and 1980s and are continuing to do so. JVP must be held accountable not only by the Govt but by the JVP youth themselves & their families too.
JVP youth perished in 1970s for no reason.
JVP youth perished in 1980s for no reason.
JVP are continuing to target youth even now.
It is only a matter of time more youth will meet their waterloo as a result of JVP brainwashing.
Sri Lanka cannot afford to lose any more youth.
LTTE did the same to Tamil youth & JVP are doing same to Sinhalese youth.
Together LTTE & JVP ruined the brains of Sri Lanka. How many Sinhala & Tamil youth who joined the LTTE & JVP perished when they could have made a name for themselves and made their parents proud?
JVP is not what it professed to be just like LTTE.
Shenali D Waduge
The South African Truth & Reconciliation Commission that was bragged & boasted despite its failure, recommended compensation to victims though it was given no mandate to award such. Leaving aside awarding – where do they get the funds to award such compensation? Sri Lanka’s Parliament passed the Office for Reparations Act in 2018 (59-43 vote) insisted by US & allies. No terrorist group or their families can be compensated from STATE FUNDS prior to the victims of these terrorists being given compensation first. LTTE fronts must be asked to use their funds to compensate victims of LTTE before they are allowed to invest in Sri Lanka.
The LTTE comprised a ground force led by Prabakaran and an international network that raised funds. LTTE’s international headquarters was in London while LTTE had offices in Canada, US, EU, South Africa, Australia and operated from India & other nations of Asia. All of the entities operating outside Sri Lanka functioned discretely probably due to fear of Prabakaran. Most of the entities known as LTTE fronts were created after Prabakaran’s death & elimination of LTTE ground force along with its top leaders. Combatants of the LTTE managed to flee overseas as refugees, some were helped to leave the country with assistance of foreign-funded NGOs on pretext of training etc. Others applied as refugees or asylum seekers.
In May 2009 – Sri Lanka’s National Army ended 30 years of terrorism in a non-international armed conflict by LTTE that remains banned by Sri Lanka & 32 countries.
Successive resolutions at the UNHRC aims to bring restorative justice to LTTE terrorists while applying retributive justice to Sri Lanka’s National Army using isolated incidents which have not been found guilty in any court of law.
Sri Lanka was never given any breathing space to recover from 30 years of terror by the very countries & international agencies that did nothing to stop LTTE terror but came forward with all sorts of templates and guidelines to handle post-war Sri Lanka, simply because they wanted to have some reason to influence Sri Lanka.
Victims of LTTE included Sinhalese, Muslims, Burghers even Tamils & foreigners.
It is these victims that should be given compensation not LTTE terrorists.
LTTE blurred distinction and denied civilian status to Tamils in view of LTTE having a civilian armed force. Any LTTE member of this civilian armed force dying in combat cannot be categorized as a civilian and international bodies cannot count them as civilian dead. Civilians who voluntarily or forcibly engaged in hostilities & died too cannot claim civilian status. How far can UNHRC prove actual civilian deaths remain questionable.
LTTE combatants comprised only Tamils though LTTE was supported by non-Tamils including foreigners & the Church covertly & overtly. The GoSL failed to launch investigation into TNA and other political parties & politicians for their links to LTTE as well. The logic is anyone is accepted into the political system so long as they cease to separate Sri Lanka or involve themselves in acts of terror.
Victims must be compensated but who are the victims needs to be first defined.
Compensation must go to only civilians who were not involved in any LTTE terror act at the time of their death & to every person LTTE killed & any persons who died from military cross-fire.
Next question is – who is paying compensation?
Is it the countries that prevented Sri Lanka from ending terror when it could have decades earlier (India stopped the SL Army from capturing Prabakaran in 1987)
66 UNPers did not attend Parliament to vote for the Reparations Bill.
In other words they did not wish to vote to give compensation to LTTE..
43 UNP MPs voted to compensate LTTE (highlighted are some of the noteworthy MPs)
The Office of Missing Persons has no right to force Sri Lankan tax payers to give money to combatants of a terrorist movement that remains banned in Sri Lanka.
The taxpayers have already funded their rehabilitation and resettlement as well as given State jobs.
If anyone feels that former combatants & their families should be compensated – they are welcome to channel these funds to the GoSL to be disbursed to them.
No terrorist group or their families can be compensated from state funds prior to the victims of these terrorists being given compensation first.
Ideally, the LTTE Diaspora who collected funds for LTTE across 3 decades and continue to do so must be held accountable. The LTTE Diaspora kitty must have enlarged as a result of savings. They no longer have to spend for LTTE fighting combatants arms or ammunition or other logistics. Thus LTTE Diaspora kitty should be used to fund former LTTE combatants & their families as well as families of Tamils who were killed by LTTE before being used for ‘investments’.
A govt is doing injustice to the real civilian victims that LTTE killed. Claims of Sri Lanka National Army killing ‘civilians’ cannot be proved in either numbers or facts. So far UN has failed to differentiate
So long as UNHRC has failed to differentiate numbers and names all above cannot be given status quo as civilians and compensated with public funds.
LTTE cannot use their kitty to invest while putting the Sri Lankan tax payer in further debt to compensate LTTE & their families prior to compensating the victims of LTTE terrorism.
If LTTE Diaspora are willing to send from their international kitty – it should go to a National Fund that compensates the victims of LTTE first including Tamils killed by LTTE.
No country in the world compensates terrorists!
A country must compensate VICTIMS OF TERROR not the PERPETRATORS OF TERROR
Shenali D Waduge
I write in support of Sudath Gunasekera’s Paper re completely disbanding the 13 th Amendment.
Sections from Two of my earlier Papers that prove the fact that the 13 th Amendment should be totally abolished are enclosed to remind patriots.
I have in several of my Papers detailed as to Why the 13 th Amendment should be abolished. I have detailed my experiences in my eighteen years’ service in the Administrative Service implementing development programmes islandwide. To state briefly if I were to work in either the agricultural marketing sector, the agrarian extension sector or the small industries sector I will not be able to achieve any target purely because the subjects are devolved(not decentralized) and the implementation of any policy determined by the Minister working at the Centre, on policies laid down by the Houses of Parliament will depend on the whims and fancies of the Provincial Ministers. Officers in the provinces takes orders from him.
The full effect of the 13 th Amendment even without devolving land and police powers has not yet been felt because the Provincial Ministers have not asserted their full rights.
I am most thankful to Cecil Dharmasena of the Department of Agriculture, for his insightful article that appeared in The Island of 22/4/2013. Let me quote a few of his words, which fully support my above statement:
Referring to agricultural extension today he states:
The lack of an organized and coordinated extension and advisory system today as we had in the past(prior to the Provincial Administration System) where the Department of Agriculture through its comprehensive islandwide extension Division provided an efficient service appears to be the biggest drawback in agriculture at present.”
The situation today he says is that all types of agencies of the Provincial Councils and private sector offer confusing services”.
He details what happened to the Department of Agriculture after the implementation of the 13 th Amendment. The Department was broken up, the research division broken into independent institutes, the extension service given to the Provincial Councils and the seed farms sold to the private sector.
Harking back to my days up to 1973, the Department of Agriculture had a full control over the technical side of Agriculture. At the divisional level there was an Agricultural Instructor, an officer who had two years’s study at the Agricultural School. Under him were several Overseers- Krushi Vyapti Sevakas at the village level. They had an year’s training in agriculture. This was an effective service. In addition, after the Paddy Lands Act was enforced in came the Agrarian Services Department with cultivation committees at the grass roots level. This Department had Divisional Officers at the Divisional level and Overseers at the village level. The Overseers had an years’ training in agriculture. The Cultivation Committees took over grass roots level planning. Today the Paddy Lands Act is no more and the cultivation committees do not exist.
Another important change that took place is that the Overseers of the Agriculture Department- the Krushi Vyapti Sevakas were all promoted as Grama Sevakas( now Grama Niladharis) during the time of President Premadasa. No official trained in agriculture took their place. After a few years’ lapse when the Agricultural Instructor at the Divisional Level did not have a single Overseer Assistant, during the days of President Kumaranatunge , O Level qualified youths were appointed as Niyamakas.
This was the extension system that was bequeathed to the Provincial Councils. Cecil Dharmasena has stated that the efficiency of the extension system depended entirely in the hands of the Provincial Minister of Agriculture.
My own experience with the agricultural extension system under the Provincial Council administration is detailed in my book: How the IMF Ruined Sri Lanka.& Alternate Programs of Success”.(Godages: 2006):
The entire agriculture department has to get a bone shake which I hope can get done. In about 1997, running my small family farm I had the occasion to visit the extension centers at Kadawata and Delgoda. The officers there did not know the exact amount of fertilizer that I should use and when. At my insistence they raked their files and provided me with details. The circular advised the use of ammonium sulphate and urea at the basal stage and no mention was made of the top dressing. I reported this to the Ministry of Agriculture and received a letter that the details provided by the Extension Unit was out of date by several years. ¦ About a year later I dropped into one of these Centers and to my amazement I found that even then the top dressing had not been incorporated into the advice. . In our inefficiency we are wasting fertilizer.”. This fully supports Cecil Dharmasena’s statement that the extension system is in shambles. My comments pertain to the late Nineties while Dharmasena speaks of the extension service of today.
Sri Lanka is a small country which is smaller than a State in India and there is no necessity to devolve any subject in administration. Under the 13 th Amendment we have devolved many subjects and accordingly the extension sections of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Agrarian Services has been handed over to the Provincial Councils.
In my days in the Agrarian Services, I was once in charge of fertilizer distribution and we sent out the first circular on fertilizer use for the entire island and this was immediately enforced through the cultivation committees. Not so any more. The futility of devolution is easily realized when one realizes that the Kegalla and Ratnapura Districts which come under the Sabaragamuwa Province is only some 50 miles away from the City of Colombo. It is inimical for Provinces situated in close proximity to have an extension service that is not coordinated. In my days if a circular left the main department signed by the Commissioner or his Deputy it had to be effective. Not so now because one will have to contact the Provincial Ministers and cajole them. In my days as a Senior Assistant Commissioner any communication from me was acted on in the entire island on the next day. Not so now my paper will sit on the Provincial Minister’s desk and mind you there are a number of them.
It is also well known and not disputed by anyone that the 13 th Amendment was drafted by India and imposed on our country under duress by Rajiv Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India. Though President Jayawardena shivered in his boots and gave in and forced his Members of Parliament to vote for it. The fact remains that President Jayawardena held all his members of parliament incarcerated in a Five Star Hotel and they were all marched to parliament to vote. What Democracy! This fact is proved because the Finance Minister Ronnie de Mel shouted and stated that he was not among the incarcerated. Though the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, also under duress (judges quarters were stoned),gave legitimacy to it, the 13 th Amendment remains a foreign appendage onto our Constitution.
I am certain that if any Provincial Council asserts itself, the working of all Government Departments will totally cease from the Centre and the implementation of the policies laid down by Acts of Parliament can no longer be a reality.
This will be the situation once a TNA which is pro Tamil Nadu and also following the LTTE agenda of separation is elected. The Government will be faced with a crisis of severe dimension, a situation that will eventually lead to the formation of a separate State.
All this is not surmise. As an experienced administrator with four decades’ experience, I can sense what will happen.
The abolition of the 13 th Amendment is the only option if we are to remain a sovereign country.
The International Community, India and the LTTE Diaspora whom we are trying to please by retaining the 13 th Amendment and implementing it are having their act cut and dry. Their one aim is to enable a separate State in the North and the East of Sri Lanka and it is hoped that our leaders will realize this fact before it is too late.
It is upto our leaders to decide for our sovereignty.
Garvin Karunaratne, Ph.D
former GA Matara, International Consultant
4/3/2021
I am of the opinion that the 13 th Amendment was imposed on us by India to make it impossible for any development to take place so that we will for ever fail in developing our resources. This is a fact because after the 13 th Amendment was passed I see no development in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has fallen into deep debt and we now provide employment for people in India and other countries.
‚
This takes us to the point as to how and when the 13 th Amendment was made to our Constitution. That happened during the time of President Jayawardena, when India sent sorties of fighter planes to roar over Colombo, made an Indian destroyer appear off the coast of Colombo and India did actually drop parippu in Jaffna merely to tell President Jayaewardena as to who was in charge. By that time the …”Democrat” he was, President Jayawardena had obtained under duress undated letters of resignation from every Member of Parliament(other than Ronnie de Mel, the Finance Minister). This was to tell the Members of Parliament that they will lose their seats if they disagreed with him. Further‚ President Jayawardena took over a Five Star Hotel and incarcerated all Members of Parliament there. When he wanted them to vote for him in Parliament he would personally go the Five Star Hotel and accompany the Members of Parliament and get them to vote as he wished. That was how the 13 th Amendment was passed in Parliament. There was disagreement among the people. President Jayawardena silenced this by getting the Supreme Court to approve the 13 th Amendment. That happened when the residences of the Judges were repeatedly stoned and when even a peaceful‚ protest‚ could not be held. My guru Professor Sarathchandra was pulled out of the stage and attacked by a mob when he dared to speak out. That was the birth of the 13 th Amendment. It is totally an Indian creation imposed on our Constitution and every Sri Lankan should be ashamed of it.
It is therefore high time that we got rid of this anachronism.
Garvin Karunaratne, former SLAS- G.A.Matara 1971-1973
ගෝල් ෆේස් අරගලයේ ප්රභල ක්රියාකාරිකයෙකු වූ රතිඳු සේනාරත්න හෙවත් රැට්ටා සිය සමාජාලා ගිණුමේ සටහනක් තබමින් වක්රාකාරයෙන් රනිල් වික්රමසිංහ මහතා වෙත දරුණු අනතුරු ඇඟවීමක් කර තිබේ.
ඔහු,
‘පරණ එකාට රටිං පනින්න හරි පුලුවං උනා. මූට නං රටිං පනින්නත් බැරි වෙනවා.” මර්ධනය නවතනු යනුවෙන් සටහන තබා තිබේ.
Helping Sri Lanka in its hour of need, even as a first responder, does not automatically give India the right to dictate terms or call for punishment” or lessons” should things not go New Delhi’s way.
From the ramparts of Red Fort, the prime minister has given a call for India to become a developed nation by 2047, but what does it mean to become developed”? Are development, growth, and composite national power enough, or should there be a commensurate change in attitude? A nation with great power ambitions needs to be confident in its actions and choices. It cannot afford to wallow in self-doubt and anxiety at every step.
To quote C Raja Mohan, the fears of a ‘developing nation’ can’t be the guiding principles for the diplomacy of a ‘developed nation’.
And yet India’s chronic insecurities were all on display over the recent incident of a Chinese spy ship docking at Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port. Yuan Wang 5, a tracking vessel capable of surveillance and monitoring of satellite, rocket and intercontinental ballistic missile launches, has left Sri Lankan shores after a brief docking for replenishment” from 16-22 August, but it leaves behind a debate that portrays India as insecure, too thin-skinned for its own good, lacking in patience, forbearance and confidence.
Worse, the shaming and blaming of Sri Lanka in popular and even strategic discourse — that may well reflect the mood in power corridors of New Delhi — indicate that we have learnt nothing when it comes to neighbourhood diplomacy despite our past experiences and are still bent on living up to the image of a ‘big brother’ to smaller neighbours.
The narrative went that Sri Lanka is ungrateful”, that it betrayed us despite our generous support” in its hour of crisis, that it cannot be trusted”. Its decision to allow the Chinese spy ship to dock at its port was even called a diplomatic slap” to New Delhi.
There could be legitimate concerns over the powerful snooping capabilities of the Chinese spy ship — chock-full of state-of-the-art surveillance equipment and tracking devices — and the dangers it poses to India’s military installations by docking at our near seas. Blaming Sri Lanka for it, however, is insensitive, futile, and counterproductive.
In this piece, I shall explore three broad talking points. Whether Sri Lanka could have done anything else than it did, if there is a case for India’s strategic altruism, and how New Delhi may deal with China’s evolving Indian Ocean strategy.
A close look at the reports surrounding the docking of Yuan Wang 5, one among a class of seven tracking ships that operate throughout the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic oceans, indicate that Sri Lanka could have done precious little once China placed a ‘request’ for replenishment”.
Colombo took on board India’s concerns, tried to reason with China, got threatened in Xi Jinping regime’s signature style, and tried to arrive at an amicable solution because the crisis-ridden country needs help from both sides and cannot afford to choose or antagonise one in favour of another. As a vocal proponent of a multipolar world, India shouldn’t have trouble in grasping this.
Reports indicate that acting on security concerns raised by India, Sri Lanka did impose some restrictions on the vessel. Yuan Wang 5 was granted access a few days after it was originally supposed to dock (on 11 August), and permission for berthing at the Chinese-owned deep-sea port came on conditions that the ship’s Automatic Identification System (AIS) will remain switched on and no ‘scientific research’ can be carried out in Sri Lankan waters. Rotation of personnel was also disallowed during the port call.
Whether or not China adhered to these conditions is an open question, but it doesn’t seem as if Colombo ‘blatantly ignored’ New Delhi’s concerns, rather it attempted to strike a negotiated balance crucial to its well-being and interest. It isn’t clear why Sri Lanka should be blamed for looking to secure own interests.
Worth noting here that while majority of Sri Lanka’s external debt is owed to private creditors, China still holds a sizeable share of the pie, and remains Sri Lanka’s single-largest bilateral creditor. Though figures vary due to methods of calculation, some estimates say about 26% of Lanka’s foreign debt to be restructured are owed to Chinese creditors.”
So far, Beijing has stalled all requests from Colombo for debt restructuring, has put on hold a currency swap deal because Sri Lanka lacks forex liquidity, has refused to negotiate relief and has turned a deaf ear to appeals for bridge financing to the tune of $4 billion. Sri Lanka is critically dependent on China. Unless Beijing agrees to write off or restructure loans, the IMF won’t provide the funds that Lanka’s struggling economy desperately needs.
As The Diplomat quotes an IMF official, as saying, Sri Lanka should engage proactively with China on a debt restructuring” because it is essential for the country’s economic recovery.
That puts enormous leverage in China’s hands, one that the Xi regime isn’t shy of using. Once Colombo asked China to postpone the ship’s visit apparently owing to India’s apprehensions, China was reportedly furious”.
Nikkei Asia reports, quoting highly placed sources” in Lanka’s foreign ministry, that Lanka’s August 6 request for a delay in the vessel’s docking resulted in several high-level meetings in both Beijing and Colombo” where the Chinese expressed dissatisfaction” and were especially angry because approval was granted and then withdrawn.” The report goes on to the cite the official, as saying, that Beijing warned of possible ramifications in relation to restructuring of Sri Lanka’s debt, as well as ongoing negotiations for a $4 billion aid package and a free trade agreement with China.”
Beijing’s tactic in South Asia of ensnaring nations on India’s periphery — that professor Srikanth Kondapalli calls hexiao kongda (cooperate with the small to counter the big)” — through a mix of debt trap and coercive diplomacy should raise concerns in India but those concerns cannot be addressed and relevant solution cannot be found by blaming the smaller nations who have no wish to become a pawn in South Asia’s great geopolitical rivalry. Sri Lanka can hardly be blamed for attempting to balance between the two Asian giants.
At a bigger scale, India also faces coercive pressure in choosing between the West and Russia — a choice that has become starker since Russian invasion of Ukraine, and New Delhi has steadfastly refused to allow other powers to dictate its choices driven by its notion of strategic autonomy. It wouldn’t be acceptable for India, for instance, if tomorrow Washington asks New Delhi not to participate in the upcoming Russia-hosted military exercise, Vostok, where China is also taking part.
Helping Sri Lanka in its hour of need, even as a first responder, does not automatically give India the right to dictate terms or call for punishment” or lessons” should things not go New Delhi’s way. An indignant discourse dominated by such calls is a stunning example of short-sightedness. It is precisely this sort of myopic attitude that triggers resentment in India’s neighbourhood and ultimately harms India’s own security interests.
Besides, as knowledgeable voices have averred, China, in this instance, might be on firm legal ground.
Former Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Arun Prakash (retired) points out in Indian Express that the 1982 UNCLOS agreement permits unfettered freedom of navigation on the high seas and a foreign warship has as much right to be in the Indian Ocean as a similar Indian vessel would in the South China Sea.” Vessels enjoy right of innocent passage” even on territorial waters of another state and docking in foreign ports with prior consent is allowed.
Admiral Prakash also points to the 1907 Hague Convention that permits entry for warships of belligerents into neutral ports for limited durations” even during wartime.” Therefore, he surmises, given its cordial diplomatic relations, and its economic dependence on China, there could be no plausible reason for Sri Lanka to deny entry for Yuan Wang 5.”
Outlook reports that Yuan Wang 5 was one among the nearly 60 foreign naval ships” that visit Sri Lankan ports each month, including vessels from France, Japan, Germany and Bangladesh this year alone. Evidently, it would have been difficult for Sri Lanka to refuse Yuan Wang 5 a berth under normal circumstances — absolutely impossible when it is bankrupt and wants China’s help to revive its economy.
Given the formidable surveillance capabilities of a spy ship as powerful as Yuan Wang class — that reportedly monitors space, satellites, and ICBMs — it wouldn’t require geographic proximity for electronic snooping, which has now anyway become commonplace.
India had declared that it was closely monitoring” the movement of the ship, so, presumably it had precautionary measures in place. As Admiral Prakash writes, One can also be sure that the position and movements of Yuan Wang 5, as long as she is in our waters, will be closely followed by the Indian Navy’s maritime domain awareness matrix.”
A stronger Sri Lanka is in India’s interest. It is for India to ensure that Sri Lanka doesn’t collapse and remains capable of contributing towards the security of Indian Ocean region. India has already given Sri Lanka assistance of around $4 billion in loans, credit lines and currency swaps since January 2002, apart from around $1.5 billion for fuel, food, medicines and fertilizers. However, New Delhi lacks the economic wherewithal to save the collapsing economy alone and must help Colombo in its efforts to get the relief that it seeks from Beijing and the IMF.
India’s security is inextricably tied to Sri Lanka’s — both countries along with Maldives and Mauritius are members of Colombo Security Conclave, a collective maritime security framework — and therefore it is also in India’s interest to show patience and adopt a Sri Lanka policy based on strategic altruism.
A lot has been written and said about India’s decision to hand over a Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft to Colombo, ironically just a day ahead of the docking of the Chinese ship, but I would argue that the Narendra Modi government has done the right thing by taking a long view of bilateral ties.
Sri Lanka has acknowledged that India is the only country to have provided it with a credit line for fuel. On 24 August, amid the raging debate over the Chinese ship, New Delhi handed over a fresh consignment of fertilizer to Colombo amounting to 21000 tonnes in time for the forthcoming paddy season. This is in addition to the 44000 tonnes sent last month.
India has promised that it will assist Sri Lanka further following the island nation’s talks with the IMF for emergency funding.
By giving struggling Sri Lanka the benefit of strategic altruism, at a time when Lanka’s actions have raised concern at home, New Delhi may release bilateral ties from the cycle of expectations and disappointment and nullify to a certain extent the negative image of India that still prevails in some quarters. Those wondering about the prevalence of anti-India lobby” in Sri Lanka despite the help that India has extended to its neighbour” would do well to note that legacy issues tied to the Tamil minority question still cut deep.
Though India’s contribution during the latest crisis has been well received in Sri Lanka, the wounds of past are yet to completely heal. While domestic compulsions prevented India from extending help to Colombo when it was involved in a raging battle against the LTTE — the Tamil separatist movement — it was China that offered help. The China-Sri Lanka friendship, that began in the 1950s with the ‘Ceylon-China-Rubber-Rice pact’, thus gained renewed steam.
Conversely, India’s role remained a sore point. MR Narayan Swamy writes in The Wire that Sri Lankans are not anti-India per se but there are historical reasons why an anti-India strand prevails in the country or why China is at times viewed as a friend. The dominant Sinhalese community remains deeply upset with India for training, arming and harbouring Tamil militants in the 1980s.”
Trust issues, whose roots lie in the past, are slowly being addressed as new generation of Lankans see the contrasting roles played by the two sides. Swamy further notes in the piece that avowed leftist groups in the country such as Janatha Vimukti Peramuna (JVP), that has for decades riled against ‘Indian expansionism’… perhaps for the first time (this year), made India-friendly statements publicly and pledged not to overlook Indian interests.”
The current economic meltdown, therefore, is a seminal moment in bilateral ties. It presents India with an opportunity to address legacy trust issues and start afresh as a sympathetic neighbour whose help doesn’t come with strings attached or who is disinterested in using the assistance as a leverage for foreign policy objectives.
On the other hand, China, that has played a role in triggering the crisis, now not only seems unwilling to bail Sri Lanka out but is keen on weaponising its financial debt. Beijing is seen to be arm-twisting and blackmailing Colombo to further its military interests while being parsimonious on aid.
This, as Rupert Stone argues in The Interpreter, reinforces China’s image as a predatory imperial power that is trying to exploit Sri Lanka for its own purposes.”
Juxtaposing these two behaviours does give India some soft power advantage over China, but New Delhi could extend the goodwill even more through a proactive neighbourhood policy focused on identifying what Sri Lanka needs, ensuring timely delivery and ironing out creases where they exist.
That could include a pact on fishing that remains a thorn in bilateral ties with both sides blaming . It is a complicated legacy that continues to generate ill will. Just this week, Sri Lankan Navy has reportedly arrested 10 Indian fishermen and seized their trawlers.
India could also see to it that projects initiated by it are finished on time. The Jaffna Cultural Centre, for instance, built at an Indian grant of $11 million in 2020 as a public space to ‘promote, preserve and foster the cultural heritage of Jaffna’, and serve as ‘a hub of cultural activities’ in Sri Lanka” still awaits inauguration, notes The Hindu in a report filed in November last year.
The MEA has a division, inaugurated in January 2020, dedicated towards dealing with heritage restoration projects undertaken by the Indian Government across the globe” but it isn’t clear if rebuilding work includes several temples, as Swamy points out in his piece for The Wire, in Sri Lanka in the north and east destroyed during the years of war.”
India could also lend a hand in developing Sri Lanka’s food processing and dairy sectors and urge private players to take part. Demand for this exists and Sri Lanka is keen on India’s cooperation.
Bottomline remains that India must allow Colombo the space to make its own choices and shape its preferences instead of forcing it to choose while adopting a policy centred on strategic altruism and focused on delivering more.
That said, the question of Yuan Wang 5’s arrival in Sri Lanka also has serious security ramifications for India. The Yuan Wang class is categorized as a research vessel and not a military ship, per se, but no one in India, at least, buys the argument that a spy ship class run by the PLA’s Strategic Support Force had benign intentions in docking at Hambantota.
Evidently, Chinese naval activity in India’s regional waters is slated to grow. China already has the world’s largest fleet at 355 warships, according to latest US defence department data, and aims to build 460 vessels by 2030. It stands to reason that as a maritime great power, China would look to project power and dominate the near and far seas.
In Indian Ocean, Beijing seems to be employing a ‘pushing the envelope’ strategy aimed at establishing and normalizing its naval presence. As Abhijit Singh of ORF, a retired Indian naval officer, writes in Indian Express, In the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, China has been sending not warships, but survey and research vessels, as a way of marking presence in the region. Beijing’s gameplan is to demonstrate to India and other Bay states that Chinese activities in the littoral are in keeping with China’s rising global heft.”
Calling the developments cataclysmic”, professor Kondapalli of JNU writes that the space activities of Yuan Wang 5 — that may find permanent deployment in India’s near waters — are likely to support forthcoming ‘fourth dimensional warfare’ in space, with implications for the Quad members.”
India has cause for alarm, but not panic, and certainly nothing could be achieved by bullying smaller neighbours. What India needs to focus on, as former chief of naval staff Admiral Prakash tells Hindustan Times, is building its own capabilities and making more friends in the neighbourhood. You will see more and more Chinese naval activity in the region. How long can we keep protesting?”
To thwart China’s end state — normalizing its quasi-military presence in South Asian and Indian Ocean littorals — and mitigate the security concerns arising out of a rampaging Beijing’s hegemonic moves, India must find a way to reduce the power gap with China, invest in strategic tie-ups (such as space collaboration with ASEAN nations), and focus on strengthening delivery of public goods to smaller states on its periphery so that collective security imperatives become tighter.
A Gloucestershire school has praised a Sri Lankan student who has been in the UK for less than a year for her ‘amazing’ GCSE grades. Udarna Jayawardena, of Stroud High School (SHS), achieved nine grade 9s – some of which in subjects that she had never studied before.
Udarna relocated from Sri Lanka with her family last September. She puts her success down to the support of her teachers at SHS, which included extra individual study sessions.
In a statement, the school said: “We are very proud of Udarna and her hard work. Udarna is moving on to study History, Geography, Economics and French A Levels at Stroud High Sixth Form.”
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Over 97 per cent of all grades at SHS were grade 9-5, with over half of all grades either 9 or 8. Around a third of all students achieved 9 grades between 9-7, while just short of two thirds achieved 7 or more grades 7-9.
Mark McShane, Headteacher at Stroud High School, added that other than the outstanding academic results, the year group has excelled in sport, music and drama, and STEM projects. Many students also completed the Duke of Edinburgh Award, taking part in volunteering and expeditions.
Mr McShane said: “The mixture of nervousness and excitement was palpable this morning as students came to collect their GCSE grades. After the most bizarre two years, we have all made it through with completed courses and super grades..
He added: “They have managed all of this despite bubbles and home learning, masks and testing. They had achieved so much before they even opened their envelopes this morning.”
The Headteacher went on to thank the staff at Stroud High School. He applauded their work throughout the difficulties of the pandemic.
Ranjan Ramanayake waves to supporters outside prison after his release
An outspoken Sri Lankan politician imprisoned last year for accusing the island nation’s judges of corruption was released Friday after a presidential pardon.
Ranjan Ramanayake, 59, was serving as a deputy minister in 2017 when he told reporters that most of the judiciary were dishonest and “work for money”.
He was convicted of contempt of court and jailed for four years in January 2021 but walked free after a reprieve from President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
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“I will continue my campaign against corruption,” Ramanayake told a press pack outside the prison in the capital Colombo. “I want to contest elections and work for my people.”
The president granted the pardon after Ramanayake apologised to courts, a government official said.
Ramanayake had claimed he was targeted for speaking out against corruption.
He was also arrested in 2020 and charged for allegedly recording more than 100,000 personal phone calls.
The sometimes lewd and compromising contents were leaked on social media, causing a major scandal.
In some of the tapes, Ramanayake is heard discussing court cases with judges, police, politicians and local celebrities.
Police seized hard drives from his home and announced a probe into whether the recordings had been used for blackmail or other criminal activity.
The investigation remains open.
Weeks ahead of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session in Geneva, where a resolution on Sri Lanka is expected to be tabled, China has said it will continue to support” Sri Lanka in international fora while slamming countries far or near” for bullying” the island nation.
China has always been supporting Sri Lanka in the international fora for protecting its sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity. We will continue to do that. In contrast, some countries, far or near, always make various groundless excuses to bully Sri Lanka and trample on Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and independence repeatedly,” Ambassador Qi Zhenhong said in an article for the local portal Sri Lanka Guardian, published subsequently on the Chinese Embassy’s website on Friday.
His remarks come even as Sri Lanka awaits China’s response to its request for bridge loans to tide over the country’s enduring economic crisis. While Beijing announced a $74 million grant in May, it is yet to respond to Colombo’s appeal for urgent help reportedly to the tune of $4 billion. Further, Colombo is anxiously seeking China’s cooperation to restructure its foreign debt, a process that could impact its chances of securing crucial assistance from the International Monetary Fund.
Drawing attention to two recent China-related news developments, the top Chinese diplomat referenced US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s sneaky visit” to China’s Taiwan region, and the support from over 170 countries”, including Sri Lanka, to the ‘One-China Principle’.
He also highlighted the successful” docking of the Chinese military vessel Yuan Wang 5 at Sri Lanka’s southern Hambantota Port after China and Sri Lanka altogether resisted the rude and unreasonable interference from third parties”. The ship deferred its arrival by a few days on Sri Lanka’s request, after India and US raised concern over its visit, and left on August 22 after a week in Hambantota.
Linking developments in Taiwan with the Chinese vessel’s visit to Sri Lanka, the Ambassador said though they may seem irrelevant and thousands of miles apart”, both share a same great significance” between China and Sri Lanka, that is to jointly safeguard each other’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity”.
Referring to the coming session — the 51st — of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Qi said human rights issues in Sri Lanka might probably be stirred up again”. Pointing to Sri Lankans grappling with severe economic and humanitarian difficulties”, many might wonder what those countries who have been always preaching” about human rights will actually do.
Will they help Sri Lanka to ease its human rights crisis by providing concrete support? Or will they again use human rights as a cover-up tool to interfere into the island nation’s internal affairs and continue to rub salt into the wound of the Sri Lankan people? Just let’s wait and see,” he said.
In March 2021, the Human Rights Council adopted a resolution titled ‘Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka’ with 22 of its 47 members voting for the resolution. China voted against it, backing Sri Lanka, while India abstained.
In the March 2022 session, the ‘Core Group’ on Sri Lanka, comprising the UK, the US, Canada, Germany, North Macedonia, Malawi, and Montenegro, noted in a statement that surveillance and intimidation of civil society persist, and detentions, threats, and intimidation of journalists and human rights defenders continue”.
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