Sugath Kulatunga

In January I wrote on FB that I would take up the genesis of the EDB. But other than in bits of anecdotes where I dealt with a few salient developments of the institutional history I had not attempted a comprehensive cover of the fascinating story which is given below.

When the Additional Director General of the Export Promotion Secretariat (EPS) Shelton Fernando joined the ITC as a consultant, I who held the post of Director Trade Information was promoted to that post. One of the first suggestions that I made to Dr.Ratwatthe was that we should propose a separate Ministry of export development. He endorsed the idea strongly and we carried out a SWOT exercise on the EPS and prepared a report justifying the proposal. In the EPS itself there was some reservation on the notion of a national and an inter-the Ministerial endeavor which was considered the function of national planning, and should be under the Ministry Of Planning. Fortunately, my research done in the TIS was useful in overcoming internal misgivings and I prepared a comprehensive proposal for a Ministry of Export Development. This proposal became the underpinning for the subsequent proposal for the Export Development Bill. EPS had sponsored a team to visit Shannon in Ireland to study their free trade zone and has already prepared a report for a free trade Zone. On the eve of the Parliamentary elections of 1977, Dr.Ratwatthe presented the two reports to both Mrs. Bandaranayake and J.R.Jayawardene.

In the 1977 General Election the UNP won with an overwhelming majority. The UNP had before them the two proposals on Trade and Investment both initiated by the Export Promotion Secretariat. The UNP had more confidence in FDI and introduced the Greater Colombo Economic Commission (GCEC) to give access to robber barons”. Director General of the EPS Sivali Ratwatte was appointed as the Director Investment in the GCEC and the EPS acted as the nucleus of the GCEC. I was promoted to take the place of Dr Ratwatte as the Director General of the EPS. A few of my contributions to the GCEC were the identification of functions and the development of an organizational structure, identifying the land for acquisition for both Katunayake and Biyagama zones, conducting the first Trade and Investment promotion in New York and inviting the UNIDO to provide technical assistance.

When JR Jayawardhane became the President of the country the EPS was attached to the Presidential Secretariat. I had the opportunity to develop a close relationship with the Secretary to the President genial Mr.Menikdevela. In fact, he and General Sepala Atygala, Lakshman Hewawasam and I made a regular foursome at lunch at the Senate restaurant.

Meanwhile my friend Gaya Cumaratunga who was the Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Trade has proposed to the new inister that the EPS should be brought under the Ministry of Trade. One day I had a surprise telephone call from the Minister Athulathmudali. When I answered the call, he asked me whether I remembered what I told him when he came canvasing to which I answered of course Sir, I remember the event well and said, I am more convinced now of that statement” He then invited me to come and see him in the office and gave me a time the next morning. What I told him that day when he came canvasing was a very frank and impromptu statement. It was a hot and humid day when I was seated bare bodied in the Verandah of our house in Sirimal Uyana Ratmalana. To my embarrassment a noisy group of about 20 people entered our garden led by a well-built person. He introduced himself as Lalith Athulathmudali who was contesting the Ratmalana seat. I had not met him before but I knew his background and qualifications as I had planned to invite him as a guest lecturer to the Academy of Administrative Studies where I was working at that time. But my boss Shelton wanted me to think twice as the then Minister Felix Dias may not have been happy with that. I was keen to get rid of the milling crowd of supporters and told Lalith very tersely that he need not waste his time in our place as my father-in-law had voted against the UNP only once and that was to Colvin as he thought he should be in the Parliament. I then said that I had never voted for the UNP and I was working with the brother of Mrs. Bandaranayake but I and my wife have decided to vote for him for the same reason and also because he was a presidential prospective. He was somewhat surprised with my blunt statement and left after thanking me.

Next morning, I went to meet the Minister when I saw about 10 people waiting to see him. But the moment I announced my arrival he called me in and we had a very informal chat for over one hour. I asked him why he took to politics he said that he was impressed with the vision of JR for the country. I mentioned my experience with politicians and said that it is not a pleasant a career and one tends to make enemies. To that the Minister replied that he was determined to engage only in clean politics and would not criticize opponents personally but attack their policies. I gave him the paper we had prepared on a Ministry of Export Development. He glanced it and asked me to explain the rationale which I did. He said that he agrees with the proposal, but it was too late now, but we could propose an independent authority like the GCEC. He then laughed and said he will sponsor it provided the EPS is part of the Ministry of Trade. I then suggested that we invite Victor Santiapllai of the ITC to advise us. He not only agreed to that he said he will invite Victor to head the new organization. I excused myself after the long chat as there were so many people to see him.

I came back and reported to Mr.Menikdiwela the conversation I had with Lalith. He was not happy of the EPS moving to the Ministry of Trade. He said that if EPS remains with the President there was no need for a large organization and all that the EPS could be achieved better under the President. I had to make a critical decision. Remaining with the President I could have personally gained many perks like an official vehicle which Sivali enjoyed. But I looked at the issue from an organizational theory point of view which was one of my favorite teaching subjects at the Academy. The country needed a permanent institution with the responsibility and the capacity to address the problem of export development. It could not be done with and ad hoc agency like the EPS with spartan human and financial resources. As the former Director of Trade Information, I had access to information on the developments in other countries and also the literature on the subject of agencies like the World Bank. More than anything else I had confidence in the ability and the dynamism of Lalith. I knew that he was to speak to the President on assigning the EPS to the Ministry of Trade but not to support Secretary to the President objecting to it.

I spoke to Victor in Geneva and briefed him on the developments and invited him to visit SL as soon as possible. He was aware of our proposal for a Ministry and was delighted with the new development. Within a few days he came to Colombo with his new Deputy Alexander who was the former Secretary Trade and Commerce in Indian Central government. Alexander was tasked to prepare the cabinet paper for approval. He did not look at our proposal for an export development ministry. Nor did he consult me or Sivali. He made a proposal which had the traditional Trade Promotion approach. Once the Cabinet approved the proposal, The Minister wanted me to draft the framework of a bill to be presented to the Legal Draughtman. I told him that I would like to go beyond the proposals in the Cabinet Paper and gave him the reasons. I insisted that what we require is not trade promotion but export development. He agreed that we need not confine ourselves on what is in the Cabinet Paper which is only an approval in principle. He laughed and said that when the Bill was presented, he will explain to the Cabinet that was his new thinking. I requested him to permit me to communicate directly with the Legal Draughtman on behalf of the Ministry. He agreed readily and said he will speak to Secretary Lakshman de Mel. After that I set aside the Alexander Cabinet paper and went back to the original EPS proposal where we had identified the key elements which should be in an export development institution. These were cleared in one-to-one discussions with the Minister who was most receptive.

I explained to the Minister that if the task before the country trade promotion was as envisaged in the Cabinet paper that could be done by the Department of Commerce with its representative in the key markets. I explained that 75% of our exports consist of the 3 commodities of Tea, Rubber and Coconut which are also exported in primary form. Export Development would encompass supply development and diversification and adding value to the present products. The argument which was also in the Cabinet paper that it should be a national effort with pollical backing was concretized with a specific proposal to form a Council of Export Development Ministers presided over by the President. The management Board (the term Board was the preference of Victor) was to consist of all the Ministries responsible for the production or servicing of exports and the private sector representatives.

I was very keen that the EDB should be financially sound and independent. As the Secretary to the Treasury was to be a Board Member further dependence on the Treasury was uncalled for. I followed the example of the Tea Board and included a provision for a Cess which was a major deviation from the Alexander proposal.

One serious lacuna in the investment capital portfolio of the country was the absence of a venture capital capacity. In many countries pioneering industries have been funded with either direct grants from the state or with venture capital. This too was not in the cabinet paper. There were few other details which were included anew in the new proposals such as the power to create subsidiary organizations, to acquire shares in export ventures and invest in export ventures, to undertake feasibility studies in export projects, to register exporters, and to establish Advisory Committees on products and functions.

This was a time that planning was considered a useless function especially by the Ministry of Finance and took some convincing to include as a key responsibility of the EDB to formulate a National Export Development plan. Once the new paper was finalized, I formatted it into the standard format of a Bill.

The next task was to get the Bill drawn up by the Legal Draughtman (LD). The standard procedure was to present the approved cabinet paper to the LD and request him to frame it into the legal format. Our new proposal was very different from the Alexzander proposal approved by the cabinet. When I pointed out the discrepancy the Minister told me not to send the Cabinet approved proposal but to send my draft Bill and mention that it has been drawn up in accordance with the approved Cabinet paper in principle with a a few amplifications approved by him. He also asked me to request the LD to speak to him if necessary.

I did not go to the LD but met the Additional LD, G.de. Silva who was a colleague of mine at Arunachalam Hall in Peradeniya. He also knew my wife who was an Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Justice. I had no problem of sharing my anxieties and the urgency in getting the Bill approved in Parliament. His response was that his department cannot have an argument with Minister Athulathmudali who was a distinguished lawyer. He looked at my draft and said that it makes life easier for his officers and assigned an experienced but more amenable officer (Mr. X) to take charge. At my request he also instructed him to deal directly with me and in case of any problem to consult him. X and I sat together and completed the task within a few weeks. When there was any issue where he had any doubt, I used to suggest that we speak to my The Minister which made him refrain from asking for further clarification.

Moot point- provision on secondment

Once the task was completed, I thanked my friend the ADLD. He congratulated me and Mr.X and said that was one of the fastest drafting of a Bill by the Dept. I said it was because he agreed for me to communicate directly with the LD department without the intermediation of the Ministry of Trade. In fact, if the Minister did not agree to my working directly with the LD there would have been a long delay and some of the provisions in the Bill would have been different. The lesson was that if one is keen to get a job done one has to stand one’s ground.

When the Bill was sent for observations there were no worthwhile comments. I was nervous on the Ministry of Finance position on the Cess. I had to debate the issue with the Secretary of Finance, who was fortunately a friend of mine when we were a team under Anil during the good old days of the CTB. I said if the EDB did not have independent and adequate funds it will be ineffective.

The Bill was tabled in Parliament and the Minister an early date to debate the EDB Bill and the Bill on Intellectual Property. I was surprised when he called me and asked me to draft his speech in Parliament on the Bill. When I showed some reluctance he said, you better defend your Bill”. I prepared his speech making reference to the historical importance of international trade in Sri Lanka and the current poor performance when compared with other Asian countries and making a strong case for export development. The Minister was impressed, and he said that he had nothing more to add but would only read my draft in Parliament.

 On the day of the debate, I had the privilege of occupying the official box in the House with Lakshman Kadirgamar who had come from Geneva to witness the Intellectual Property Law introduced in Sri Lanka. At the time he was the Deputy Head of WIPRO. The Bill on IP law was taken up first and was passed without any division. (Frankly I was skeptical on introducing a strict IP law in the country at our stage of development. I told the Minister that the developing countries have exploited us with impunity so far and we should make use of their intellectual achievements without obstruction. His answer was we cannot expect any FDI without IP protection.) Then it was teatime and the Minister invited me to have tea with him where he asked me whether there was any thing more to add. I said that we should have included the development of Rural Exports as a function of the EDB. He was very enthusiastic on my suggestion and said that he would ensure that it is included at the Committee Stage.

But what happened in Parliament thereafter was in bad taste. Before presenting the EDB BILL he referred casually to an accusation made by Anura Bandaranayake about an individual recruited to the Port who did not have any qualifications and was only a henchman. The Minister retorted that the individual had all the qualifications required and in a lighter vein said that the member must be careful as he was a good shot. I noticed distinctly that Premadasa who was sitting next prompting Lalith as he was finishing his comments and the Minister ended up saying and not an offshot”. This was a malicious slander spread by Anura’s fraternity by his mean enemies. As the Minister sat down the House went into a howl of laughter. The Minister’s speech introducing the Bill was dignified and consummate. Many members spoke in acclamation and supporting the proposal.  But with the excitement of the offshot comment the Minister forgot to add the rural export development as a function of the EDB at the committee stage which much later I pushed through export production villages. I happened to see the Minister next morning. He said that he was very sorry about the remark made in Parliament which was in the spur-of-the-moment and prompted by Premadasa. I told him that I saw what happened. He reminded me of what he told me at my fist meeting with him that he would not attack opponent on policy and never personally. He also said he would apologize to Anura. I said he should be careful with Premadasa who could be nasty.

A third party had insisted on Victor the Chairman designate, that he should be both Chairman and CEO. He had spoken to the Minister who had agreed. I had followed the proven example in the Tea Board and Tourist Board of separating the functions of the CEO and the Chairman of the Board and making the DG the CEO. I also believed a Chairman like Victor Santiapllai should not be burdened with the management functions of a CEO. The experience and the ability of such a chairman should be on Policies and external relations with the Ministers and private sector leaders. My main argument was that a DG would have both the technical and management expertise but on a future date a chairman appointed on a political basis would not have both. I also told the Minister that I have seen the General Manager of the CTB seated outside the Board room waiting to be called inside only when he was needed. I went on to say that I believe that I could contribute more than any appointed member to the Board, and I would not like to undergo the indignity of sitting outside the Board room and would prefer to go back to the SLAS. The Minister did not expect this blunt response from me and was silent for a few minutes. Then he said he will make me both DG and Secretary to the Board and with a mischievous grin he added that a smart secretary could make Board decisions nuanced to his thinking. I had no options but to agree with him. But this arrangement made me work in two distinctly separate posts without additional remuneration which I could have insisted on. Anyhow I was willing to be in the EDB and work with Victor in any capacity.

Although I argued with the Minister on a matter of principle, I did not have serious objection to the Chairman being the CEO as well, as I had included in the ACT in article 9 for the Board to form committees which could be delegated all the powers of the Board. The main committee thus established named the FAC was empowered to decide on all financial and administrative matters. This was enshrined in the ACT with my experience in the CTB and of Oils and Fats Corporation where Board members were happy to spend their time on trivial establishment an administrative matter presented to the Board, I was convinced that EDB Board should only deal with export development policies. This was more valid for a stellar Chairman.

FAC was a novel feature where all decisions were taken on FAC papers where the approval had to be  justified. This gave all staff members who wanted a decision made the discipline of justifying the request. This also kept a record of the background to the decision for future reference.

All FAC minutes were submitted to the Board for information. Once a Secretary of a Ministry who had an axe to grind demanded that all FAC papers should be submitted to the Board for approval. At the next meeting I submitted about 50 FAC papers together with around 10 regular Board papers. All the members including the member who wanted FAC papers to be submitted to the Board was quite embarrassed and decided that the Board did not want to deal with FAC papers.

In making pivotal decisions my rapport with the Secretary Finance (Tikka) was very helpful. He was one who read the Board papers thoroughly before attending the meeting. Tikka used to come at least half an hour before the meeting and ask for clarifications and point out the negatives. As he was the Secretary Finance his standpoint was always accepted. Once there was a radical decision taken by the Board which conflicted with the policy of the previous government. Additional Secretary who represented the Ministry of Industries who was the Director National Planning of the previous government dissented with the rest of the Board. We never had stenographers taking notes at board meetings. I used to make a few notes on the Board Paper itself and dictated the minutes immediately after the meeting when everything was fresh in my mind. While I was dictating the minutes, I received an angry call from the dissenting member saying that he was not given the time to defend his stand. Victor was good at managing meetings, and he had politely changed the subject. He wanted what he said, and what he wanted to say which he imagined he had said, be fully recorded. This member Sarath was a good friend of mine, and I explained that I record only the reasons for a decision and the decision only. He then sent a two page note to be included in the minutes. As it was a written request from a Board member, I included it in the minutes and warned Sarath to expect serious objections from some members. Tikka came late for the next meeting but still a few minutes before others. He spoke to me and said that he was going to blast me at the meeting. I guessed what it was about. As the meeting started, he looked at me and said that the Board meeting is not there to read reams of history and the policies of previous regimes and pointed out to the bulky set of papers and addressed Sarath and said ‘Sarath we are here not to read your thesis on your political policies. We want only the reasons for a decision and the decision and no more.

After a few months of operation, a practical division of work developed between the Chairman and the Director General. Victor was not comfortable spending time at meetings at the Ministry and the Minister. The prevalent practice at the time was that all recruitments must have the approval of the minister. In anticipation of the problem of undue interference by the Minister I mentioned to him that the EDB should be a center of excellence and we should try to build a team of competent professionals. He agreed with my proposition but said that he wishes to meet the candidates before appointment. He suggested that at the staff levels I should make my own selection and send before him at least twice the number of candidates selected where he would give his own opinion of the best. This was not a problem at all and on a few occasions his choice was better than ours. One example was in the selection of a director finance. I insisted on a candidate who was a graduate with professional qualifications in accountancy. He yielded but told me that the candidate will not last too long as he was unstable. After a couple of months this person left, and we had to advertise again and after our selection presented two candidates to the minister. One candidate was a young man with both cost and chartered accountancy qualifications. The other was a middle-aged spinster with government accountancy qualifications and experience. Minister took some time chatting with them. After sending them away he said that he knew that I would press for the young man. He then asked me to take the lady and said, ‘she will be a battle axe and stay with you”. He was good at judging people. The lady was a real strength to the EDB. Unfortunately, she died from cancer and worked until a couple of days before her death. I asked her to go on leave but she told me that she can bear the pain when she is at her job.

For non-staff posts we had examinations conducted by the examinations department. For labor grades I had no objection to recommendations from the minister. There was one case the minister wanted me to accommodate his neighbor who was a retired scientist with experience as head of CSIR and RRI. This person was interested in the post of Director Projects Division for which we had already appointed a dynamic former IDP official. I explained to the minister that it would be very unfortunate if that appointment is changed. Then the minister suggested that the scientist Doctor be assigned the services division. When I gave the name of the then holder and explained that the job entails working very closely with other government agencies and the then holder from the SLAS was eminently suitable for that. Before the minister suggested other posts, I offered to take the Doctor as a consultant on which the Minister agreed. Later I found that this man was dishonest and had to insist that he be sacked. I had to take a strong stand that if he was not sacked, I would resign from the EDB. He was discontinued. I do not wish to repeat the sordid details of his sacking as I may have written about that earlier. The two officials I had protected were assets to the EDB and one even held the post of Director General in later years.

We lost the invaluable patronage of the Minister Athulathmudali when he was assigned the Ministry of National Security. I offered my services to him as the Secretary of that Ministry. He wanted me to join the Ministry of Trade and hold the post of DG EDB concurrently. All the senior heads of agencies advised the Minister not to accept the new ministry.  I believe as he was very competitive and wanted to deliver and demonstrate his superiority over his fellow ministers in the Prime Minister stake, he did not want to reject the opportunity. But once when I saw a grave danger to the EDB in losing the cess funds where our people had been persuaded by the Finance ministry to annul it with the glib promise of liberal Treasury grants whenever required. This was tried many times before when I had challenged them to change the law. This time they had made the move in my absence on a consultancy abroad. On my return the moment I heard about this betrayal I met Lalith and told him that is the death of the EDB. He was furious and protested to the President and requested the Chairman EDB to rescind the agreement to drop the CESS fund. Thanks to Lalith the Cess is still there but no Chairman of the EDB has had the guts to ensure that the cess funds are is directed to the EDB without sending it to the Treasury which is taking the Lion’s share of the Cess collections. EDB is starved of funds for export development. There is no wonder that the trade gap has expanded, and we are faced with a foreign exchange crisis.

ආචාර්ය දසරත් ජයසූරිය සභාපති, ස්පර් සoවිධානය ( ඕස්ට්‍රේලියාව )

ශ්‍රී ලoකාවේ සාමය, ඒකීය භාවය සහ මානව අයිතීන් රැකීම උදෙසා, දැනට දශක දෙකකට අධික කාලයක් ඕස්ට්‍රේලියාවේ  සිට අඛණ්ඩව කටයුතු කරනු ලබන, දේශහිතේශී ශ්‍රී ලාoකිකයින්ගෙන් සැදුම්ලත්  ‘ස්පර්’ නමින් හදුන්වන අප සoවිධානය, ඕස්ට්‍රේලියාව තුල ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික නියෝජනය සිදු කෙරන ආකාරය පිළිබඳව සිය කණගාටුව සහ කනස්සල්ල ප්‍රකාශ කරයි.

• බොහෝ ඕස්ට්‍රේලියානු ශ්‍රී ලාංකිකයන් විසින් නැවත නැවත ඉල්ලීම් කළද, ඔස්ට්‍රේලියාවේ සහ නවසීලන්තයේ ශ්‍රී ලංකා මහ කොමසාරිස් ධූරය දැනට වසර දෙකහමාරකට වැඩි කාලයක් පුරප්පාඩුව පවතී. එබැවින් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට, ඉන්දියන් සාගර කලාපයට පොදු වූ අවශ්‍යතාවන් මෙන්ම දිගුකාලීන සබඳතාවක් ඇති ඔස්ට්‍රේලියාව තුළ, තම විදේශ ප්‍රතිපත්තිය ප්‍රකාශ කිරීමට සහ ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීමට ඇති හැකියාව සීමාවී ඇත.

•  2022 අප්‍රේල් මාසයේදී සිඩ්නි නුවර ශ්‍රී ලංකා කොන්සල් ජනරාල් කාර්යාලය සහ වෙළඳ කොමිසම වසාදමා එම ආයතනවල සේවාවන්, කිලෝමීටර් 300ක් දුරින් පිහිටි කැන්බරා මහ කොමසාරිස් කාර්යාලය වෙත යොමු කිරීම මගින් ශ්‍රී ලාංකික ප්‍රජාවේ සාමාජිකයින්ට (විශේෂයෙන්ම, වැඩිහිටි සහ විදේශගත ලාoකික සිසුන්ට) මහත් අපහසුතාවයක් ඇතිව තිබේ. ශ්‍රී ලංකා මහ කොමසාරිස් කාර්යාලයෙන් සහ කොන්සල් කාර්යාලවලින් සේවාවන් අවශ්‍ය වන්නේ ඕස්ට්‍රේලියාවේ වෙසෙන ශ්‍රී ලාංකිකයින්ට වන අතර ඔවුන්ගෙන් බොහෝ දෙනෙකුට තම මාතෘ භූමියට ආධාර උපකාර මගින් කිසියම් දායකත්වයක් ලබාදීම දීමට අවශ්‍ය වේ.

• ව්‍යාජ සරණාගතයින්, එල්.ටී.ටී.ඊ හිතවාදී බෙදුම්වාදී සංවිධාන සහ තමන් විසින්ම අටවා ගත් ඊනියා මානව හිමිකම් ලොබියන් ඇතැම් මාධ්‍ය කොටස් සමඟ සමීපවී සිදුකරන ශ්‍රී ලංකා විරෝධී ප්‍රචාරවලට විධිමත් ලෙස ප්‍රතිප්‍රහාර එල්ල කිරීම ඕස්ට්‍රේලියාව තුළින් සිදු කරනු ලබන්නේ ඉතාමත් අල්ප වශයෙනි. ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ පශ්චාත්-ගැටුම් ප්‍රගතිය, සoහිඳියාව, වත්මන් දේශපාලන තත්ත්වය මෙන්ම මානව හිමිකම් සම්බන්ධයෙන් එහි ආරක්‍ෂිත ස්ථාවරය ප්‍රකාශ කිරීමට ඇති නොහැකියාව මෙයට ඇතුළත් වේ.

• රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික මාර්ග හරහා ගවේෂණය නොකළ තවත් ක්ෂේත්‍රයක් වන්නේ නිපුණතා හිඟයකට මුහුණ දී සිටින  ඕස්ට්‍රේලියානු ගොවිතැන්, අත්කම්, වෙළෙඳ, සෞඛ්‍ය සහ වෙනත් ක්ෂේත්‍රවල තාවකාලිකව රැකියාවන්, විවිධ දක්ෂතාවන් ඇති ශ්‍රී ලාංකිකයන්ට ලබාගැනීම වේ..

• අවම වශයෙන් කිවහොත්, ඕස්ට්‍රේලියාව සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකාව අතර ව්‍යාපාරික අවශ්‍යතා ලබාදීම (සංචාරක කර්මාන්තයට පෙළඹවීම  ඇතුළුව) ඉතා දුර්වල තත්වයක පවතී. විදේශ විනිමය ඉපැයීමේ ව්‍යාපාර සමඟ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට සහාය වීම සඳහා තම ව්‍යාපාරික ඥානය උපයෝගී කරගැනීමට කැමති ශ්‍රී ලාංකික පුරවැසියන් බොහෝ දෙනෙක් සිටිති.

මෙම වත්මන් තත්ත්වය හිටපු මහ කොමසාරිස්වරුන්, කොන්සල් ජනරාල්වරුන් සහ වෙනත් රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික නිලධාරීන් කිහිප දෙනෙකු විසින් සිදු කරන ලද යහපත් වැඩවලට වඩා වෙනස් ය. ඕස්ට්‍රේලියානු – ශ්‍රී ලංකා පාර්ලිමේන්තු මිත්‍රත්ව කණ්ඩායම පිහිටුවීම, මාධ්‍ය වෙත ලබා දෙන නිරන්තර සම්මුඛ සාකච්ඡා සහ ප්‍රකාශ මෙන්ම ශ්‍රී ලාංකික විදේශගත සංවිධාන සමඟ ස්ථාවර සබඳතා පවත්වා ගැනීම ද ඊට ඇතුළත් ය.

ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජයේ ලිහිල් ආකල්ප තිබියදීත්, ඕස්ට්‍රේලියාව ඩොලර් මිලියන ගණනක් වටිනා ආහාර සහ ඖෂධ සඳහා මූල්‍ය  ආධාර අඛණ්ඩව ලබා දීම,   මුර යාත්‍රා  දෙකක් පිරිනැමීම, ගුවන් ඩ්‍රෝන නිරීක්ෂණ හැකියාවක් ස්ථාපිත කිරීමට නාවික හමුදාව සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොලිසියට සහාය වීම ඇතුළු තවත් බොහෝ ආකාරවලින් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට සහාය වීම අපි විශේෂයෙන් අගය කරමු.

එබැවින් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සහ ඕස්ට්‍රේලියාවේ වෙසෙන ශ්‍රී ලංකා පුරවැසියන්ගේ අත්‍යවශ්‍ය අවශ්‍යතා සඳහා කාර්යක්ෂම දේශප්‍රේමී මහ කොමසාරිස්වරයෙකු කැන්බරා වෙත පත්කර සිඩ්නි නුවරට කොන්සියුලර් සේවාවන් සපයන ලෙස අපි අතිගරු ජනාධිපති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ, ගරු අග්‍රාමාත්‍යය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන සහ ගරු විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍යය අලි සබ්රි යන මහත්වරුන්ගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටිමු.

ඔබට ස්තුතියි

ආචාර්ය දසරත් ජයසූරිය

සභාපති, ස්පර් සoවිධානය ( ඕස්ට්‍රේලියාව )

By A. Abdul Aziz, Press Secretary.

CONVENTION CALLS FOR JUSTICE AND WORKING FOR THE GREATER GOOD TO ATTAIN LASTING PEACE

 The 56^th Jalsa Salana (Annual Convention) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the United Kingdom concluded on Sunday 7^th August 2022 in which five speeches delivered by the World Head the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the Fifth Khalifa (Caliph), His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad. 

The Convention began on Friday (5^th August) with the traditional Friday Sermon and the opening session by raising of the black and white flag of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community alongside the Union Flag. In his inaugural address His Holiness said that the purpose everyone had convened at the Convention (Jalsa Salana) was to increase religious conditions, to improve our understanding of Allah, increase in taqwa (righteousness), expand and improve brotherhood, pay attention to the rights of Allah and mankind and to prepare ourselves to be able to spread Islam. These were the high goals for which the Convention (Jalsa Salana) was held and for which everyone gathered. The Khalifa emphasized to honour your bai‘at (oath of allegiance) through a spiritual and moral revolution. 

On Saturday (the second day of the event), the Caliph conducted proceedings from the ladies marquee where 11,000 Muslim women witnessed. Then it was announced the names of women who had achieved academic excellence in their respective fields of education in the year 2021-22 – the awards would be given at a later date. and His Holiness delivered a speech highlighting Exemplary women in Islamic history – True models for Ahmadi ladies.

His Holiness addressed on third session of the Convention on Saturday detailed God’s blessings on the Community since the Convention 2021 and detailed that:

By the grace of Allah, aside from Pakistan, in 355 new places Ahmadiyya Community (Jama’at) were established. The top three countries where the most jamaats had been established were Congo Kinshasa (40 new jamaats), Tanzania (36) and Sierra Leone (31).

In terms of the establishment of new mosques, which includes mosques that the Jamaat constructed as well as those that came into the possession of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community during the year, their number is 209; 147 were newly constructed, while 62 were acquired. The top three African countries with new Ahmadiyya mosques are Ghana, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Founder Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, peace be on him, once said that if the truth has not reached a certain area, then build a mosque and automatically the message of truth would reach that place, and this is proving to be true. 

During the year, 123 new mission houses were established, the highest figure being in Sierra Leone and Tanzania, then Benin, and then Ghana, followed by many other countries which His Holiness listed. 

In the last year, according to reports from 95 countries, a total of 6.7 million leaflets, pamphlets, folders, etc. were printed worldwide in 46 languages. Germany in the first place.

The Raqeem Press in Farnham, UK printed more than 229,000 books, magazines, leaflets, etc this year. The English translation of the Quran with the Khat-e-Manzoor” font has been made available through the Raqeem Press. This Quran was very popular at the London Book Fair and many non-Ahmadi Muslims appreciated it and remarked the price was remarkably low. The Ahmadiyya printing presses in the seven countries in Africa have printed over 500,000 books, magazines, leaflets, etc. Recently, a new modern press was established in The Gambia.

In 102 countries, more than 7.6 million leaflets were distributed with an approximate reach of 11.69 million people, among which Germany is first, then the UK and then Austria, followed by various other countries. 

There are 120 magazines and journals in 24 languages being published around the world. 

The Ahmadiyya Press & Media desk has contributed to many news pieces on various outlets. 

Alislam.org is also contributing towards publicising publications of the Community, especially audiobooks.

Ahmadiyya Khalifa also relayed the following blessings that Allah bestowed upon the Ahmadiyya Community:

More than 1200 translations of the Holy Quran were handed out to members of the public, worldwide, by the Community.

Ahmadiyya Khalifa’s Friday Sermon audios are now available in 20 languages.

The Arabic Desk prepared and printed 166 different leaflets. 

3,519 new children entered the Waqf-e-Nau scheme (The Waqf-e-Nau scheme was initiated on 3^rd April 1987 by Fourth Khalifa of Ahmadiyya Community Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad. The literal meaning of Waqf is dedication and the purpose of the Waqf-e-Nau scheme is for the parents to dedicate their children for the propagation of Islam before their birth). There is currently a total of 78,000 waqifeen-e-nau out of which 45,832 are boys and 32,168 are girls.

MTA (Muslim TV Ahmadiyya International) has 8 channels that run 24 hours. MTA International is broadcast in 23 languages. 

There are 25 Ahmadiyya radio stations operating across the world including Voice of Islam Radio which was further expanded this year.

Local TV and radio stations, in 74 countries, gave time for Jamaat programmes to air – out of these, on TV alone, we were given 2519 hours of airtime. These programmes reached 34 million people. 

 It was announced that, this year the 14^th winner of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Peace Prize is Dr Tada Toshi Akaba, former mayor of the city of Hiroshima and known for being a strong advocate for global nuclear disarmament. The prize would be handed to him at the next Ahmadiyya Peace Symposium in United Kingdom. (The Ahmadiyya Muslim Peace Prize is awarded annually in recognition of an individual’s or an organisation’s contribution for the advancement of the cause of peace. The prize was first launched in 2009.The Prize includes a monetary sum, which is normally set at 10,000 pounds sterling.).

About 25000 people attended this three day Convention (Jalsa Salana), which took place at Hadeeqatul Mahdi in Alton, Hampshire.

The entire event was broadcast live on MTA International and streamed online.

One of the highlights of the three-day Convention was the pledge of allegiance, known as Bai’at that took place on Sunday afternoon, where the participants pledged allegiance to Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad as the Fifth Khalifa (Caliph) of the Promised Messiah – Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (peace be upon him).

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

Prior to the ceremony, His Holiness announced that 176836 people from 109 countries had joined the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community during the past year. He also announced that the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was now established in 213 countries.

The three day event concluded with silent prayer led by His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad.

Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Colombo, August 9: On Tuesday, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe paid his first official visit to the Army HQ in the outskirts of Colombo and addressed the troops even as protesters were planning to renew the agitation to oust him from the Presidency.  

As it turned out, the function at the Army HQ went off without a hitch and calm prevailed in the island with no sign of the planned stir.

But it did appear as if Wickremesinghe had deliberately chosen August 9 to make a ceremonial first visit to the Army HQ. It symbolically challenged the protestors’ bid to launch another wave of their agitation to bring down his government and force fresh elections.

In his address at the Army HQ, the President praised the troops for the sagacious way in which they protected parliament from a group determined to storm and seize it. By preventing the seizure, the troops had saved the constitution of Sri Lanka, he said. If the violent crowd had barged into parliament, government would have fallen and the course of Sri Lanka’s history would have been different, he noted. But the troops on duty managed to prevent the catastrophe, and he was grateful to them for that.

Many people do not know the significance of this. Therefore, I wish to dwell in it. There are three pillars on which the constitution of the country rests – the Executive, the Judiciary and Parliament. If these are disabled, the country will go out of control, the constitution will be in tatters and democracy will be destroyed,” Wickremesinghe said.

He recalled that on July 9, the President’s’ official residence and the Presidential Secretariat were occupied. Therefore, the Executive could not function. In the evening, the Prime Minister’s office was occupied. Then, fearing that I could take over the Presidency, violent elements set fire to my residence. Only the Prime Minister’s office at Earnest de Silva Mawatha was left. But on July 13 that too was stormed and taken over. There was no place for me to function from. In the evening, they tried to surround parliament. If parliament had been disabled, there could be no government.”

A party leaders’ meeting was on in parliament at the time. Sensing the gravity of the situation, the Speaker suspended the meeting and there was a realization that if parliament was disabled, the constitution too would go. I called a meeting of the Security Council and spoke to Gen. Shavendra Silva and Army Commander Lt. Gen.Liyanage. Aware of the consequences of a disabled parliament, they acted. Without opening fire, the troops quelled those who were attempting to seize parliament. For that I express my gratitude. Just as you saved the country from terrorism, you saved the constitution of the country,” Wickremesinghe told the men.

It is now up to the 225 members of parliament to unite and find solutions to the problems facing the country,” the President added.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Security forces have saved the day by safeguarding the legislature and thus avoided further anarchy, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said today.

President Wickremesinghe during his visit to the Defence Secretariat in Akuregoda said a very few understand the important operation in which security forces were involved in July this year. Protesters were trying to take over Parliament. If they succeeded, legislature of the country would have come to a standstill. There will not be a government if the legislature comes to a standstill,” the President said.

There was a party leaders meeting on the day protestors surrounded Parliament. Speaker had to call off that meeting. It is easy to take over the judiciary and stop all court cases. Legislature is the most important out of the three branches of government. There was no place for the acting President to function, the Temple Trees was also taken over by the protesters and also the Prime Minister’s office. If they took over Parliament under these circumstances the country would have been without a government. Therefore I ordered the security forces to safeguard Parliament. They were able to do it without shooting at any of the protesters. I thank the security forces for this job,” he added.

Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardene, heads of the security forces and Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardene participated in the event. (Yohan Perera)

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Actress and GotaGoGama activist Damitha Abeyratne said today that they have decided to vacate from the Galle Face protest site.

However, speaking to the media she said that the Aragalaya was not over.

“Though we have physically left the Galle Face, the Aragalaya is very organized. Remember that we are ready to rise again against any corrupt politicians,” she said.

Today marks 123 days to the Galle Face protest site and some activits were seen removing the tents from the site.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Six new coronavirus-related deaths were confirmed for yesterday by the Director-General of Health Services bringing the country’s death toll to 16,594.

Also, 214 persons tested positive for COVID-19 today.

Accordingly, Covid-19 cases reported in the country since the pandemic began rose to to 6667,158

Courtesy Adaderana

The Attorney General informed the Supreme Court today (09), that he has strong objections with regard to the Fundamental Rights (FR) petition filed by Rev. Fr. Jeewantha Peiris.

Rev. Fr. Jeewantha Peiris, who is an activist of the ‘Aragalaya’ protest movement, had previously filed an FR petition with the Supreme Court seeking an order to prevent his arrest.

Senior State Counsel Mr. Shaveendra Wickrema, appearing for the Attorney General, stated before the court that the submission to seek relief in abbreviated methods without following the proper judicial procedure cannot be approved.

The petition was called before three-member Supreme Court bench consisting of Justices S.T.B. Dehideniya, S. Thurairaja and Yasantha Kodagoda.

The Senior State Counsel who mentioned that the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court had issued a restraining order barring entry to York Street and also pointed out that Fort Police had informed this to the petitioner on May 27.

The Senior State Counsel further emphasized to the court that the police have reported the facts before Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court against the petitioner on the charges of being a member of an unlawful assembly, contempt of court, obstructing the duties of a public employee, criminal assault and causing injuries to public employees, adding that the petitioner had acted in violation of the court order.

In addition, the Senior State Counsel stated that the other suspects concerning the incident have already been arrested and released on bail through the court, and that the petitioner has not appeared before the court per the notifications made by the police.

President’s Counsel Rienzie Arsekularatne, who appeared on behalf of the petitioner, Rev. Fr. Jeewantha Peiris informed the court that his client has not received any notification to appear before the court.

After taking into consideration the facts presented by both parties, the Supreme Court ordered them to submit any limited objections, if any, in relation to the case.

Further, the court also ordered the petition to be called on September 01.

Courtesy Adaderana

A suspect has been arrested in connection with the forcible entry into the President’s House in Colombo and obstructing the duties of police officers.

The 32-year-old suspect, who is residing in the Koswatte area, was arrested on charges of engaging in a demonstration by being a member of an unlawful assembly at Bank of Ceylon Mawatha in Colombo Fort, damaging public property and criminal coercion by obstructing the duties of police officers on July 09.

The relevant suspect was handed over to the Slave Island Police after he surrendered to the Colombo Central Division crimes unit, yesterday (08).

Colombo-Central Divisional crimes unit is conducting further investigations regarding the incident.

Meanwhile, another suspect has been arrested with regard to the forcible entry to the Temple Trees and damaging its properties.

The arrestee is a 53-year-old resident of the Colombo 03 area.

Courtesy Adaderana

Two individuals who had stolen three gold rings worn by former MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala when he was assaulted and killed by a mob have been arrested.

The parliamentarian and a police sergeant attached to his security detail were killed in a mob attack in Nittambuwa amidst the nationwide unrest on the 9th of May this year.

According to the police, the two suspects were traced through pawn tickets.

They have been remanded until the 22nd of August after being produced before Attanagalla Magistrate’s Court today.

One of the suspects, who stole two rings from the slain parliamentarian, was taken into custody in the area of Ranpokunagama in Nittambuwa early this morning.

He is also accused of stealing the mobile phone of Meegahakiula Pradeshiya Sabha chairman, the police said further. The stolen mobile phone has been found on him, the police said further.

Meanwhile, the second suspect who stole the other gold ring was placed under arrest in the area of Nittambuwa in Gampaha.

The duo, aged 30 and 38 years, are reportedly residents of Nittambuwa and Ranpokunugama areas.

According to the police reports, a total of 38 suspects are currently in remand custody over the killing of MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala.

The officers of homicide and orgnaized crimes unit of the CID is probing the incident further.

BY EDWARD THEOPHILUS

The concept of a people’s congress has been related to political administration in socialist countries and they functioned to consider the ideas of people regarding any work. Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, many socialist countries had a people’s congress that was a similar constitutional institution to a parliament which is elected by the votes of citizens. The system of Sri Lanka has three institutions a legislature, the executive and the judiciary, the major criticism about the three institutions is they are subject to corruption and they are not functioning for the needs of the public. This is an idea of people associated with ARAGALAYA.  During the ARAGALAYA in Sri Lanka, it was a talking point about establishing a people congress and whether could it regard as an institute free of corruption when there is a trend in corrupt practices by selected people in an institution.

There was no clear idea of how it should be established, the role of the proposed congress and the functions of the congress. Nobody knows who presented the idea and it needs to understand that the current parliament is not performing the role expected by people who want an institution that works for the wishes of the people and scrutinize the work of the current parliament. Honestly speaking any council or congress is a material device and after establishing the proposed congress may be relegated to a corrupt institution.  

My feeling is this idea came because young people related to ARAGALAYA had a feeling that the parliament of Sri Lanka consist of representatives, who do not know the role they should play and they associated with irrelevant motives. People of the country may support the proposal because representatives of the parliament don’t know the role of the parliament, in addition, they have no required qualifications and experience to represent the parliament and legally take decisions. When examining the role of current representatives of the parliament it appears that they are playing a selfish role than the functions expected by elected people from them. The establishment of a political authority after 1970 contributed to the feeling that parliament is not doing the role supposed to perform and it worked for politically motivated people. For example, when I completed my university education, I was independently selected for a job, nevertheless, my appointment was expunged as I was not a supporter of the ruling party and even I had not the eligibility to vote in an election.  

Establishing a People’s Congress is a complex role within the existing constitutional framework and a debate should establish to gain views from the public. The best constitutional reform is to limit the elected members of the parliament to 100 and another 100 for the people’s congress. The members of the parliament are appointed by electors and the people’s congress should be appointed from various areas like the cabinet subjects but the role of the people’s congress is to advise the government as an honorary service without pay and other payments such as telephone, travelling and many others. Another point that should think about is leaders of Aragalaya had an idea to abolish the current parliament and legalize the proposed people’s congress.

The proposed peoples’ congress may function like an upper house or senate in the parliamentary system and if the members of the people’s congress perform a similar role what is the use of the proposed institution? One thing that needed to understand in Sri Lanka is that since the British invasion Sri Lankans talk about constitutional reforms and many changes in the administration system nothing could be achieved for the benefit of the country. 

A people’s congress may be suitable to secure the right of minorities but will it be useful to the Sinhala community is a question when critically evaluating the role and functions of a people’s congress. 

KAMALIKA PIERIS

JVP had two levels of activity, open and secret. They had two parallel political agendas, one for the public and another for the insiders in the party, said analysts. JVP functioned openly as an agitation group, whilst, at the same time recruiting combatants into a clandestine military organization, said Jayantha Somasunderam.

JVP‘s public agenda said the JVP wanted to create a socialist revolution which would benefit the masses.  This bogus agenda was put forward to win the popular support    JVP needed in order to capture political power.  The public were enticed into the movement by the idea of an instant, perfect, socialist society.

The Party evolved its own Marxist ideology which was a hybrid. It drew on Trotsky’s criticism of Stalinism and the ‘popular front.’ From Mao it asserted the primacy of the peasantry as the backbone of the revolution. And from Castro it learnt armed insurrection. The JVP training for its cadres emphasized neo-colonialism, attacked parliamentarianism and rejected the mainstream left parties, said Jayantha Somasunderam.

Former JVPer, Indrawansa de Silva recalls, the fifth of the now legendary five classes” was fully devoted to the game plan of Lankan revolution. That class was aptly titled The path Lankan revolution should take.” It summed up all the Marxist revolutions that had taken place since the Bolsheviks toppled the Czar in 1917 and convincingly argued to its ignorant audiences why none of these past revolutions suited the unique conditions” of the motherland. How original, we thought. So it was our Dear Leader who dreamed up what the Lankan revolution would be a simultaneous attack on the police stations and strategically selected army camps. The entire attack would take a single night”.

The secret agenda, which was the real one, was armed seizure of power by a trained cadre of young men. JVP while holding meetings for the public was secretly arming.  They were getting ready to kill. Emphasis was on weapons and training. It was to be a Fascist type putsch, said Wiswa Warnapala. The entire organization was conspiratorial, he observed. Whenever a party cadre showed any uncertainty over the dual strategy, the answer was eka upakramayak, sahodaraya”.

Had we succeeded it is more than likely that Sri Lanka would have ended up worse than Cambodia under Pol Pot, said Indrawansa de Silva. I am not being just speculative here. The JVP has shown time after time its violent and authoritarian tendencies whenever and wherever it got even a small taste of power.

Just take some early signs. If someone with an opposing view tried to sell a newspaper or distribute a pamphlet at our rallies they were promptly beaten up and kicked out. We did not hesitate to use power of the fist when met with opposition even within the organization. Honest and sincere questioning of ideas and theories we espoused in our classes and camps was seen as a threat to the movement and branded as reactionary, counter-revolutionary, or petit bourgeois tendencies.

Another account of how the JVP would have governed was given in Ranjith Hennayake Arachchi (Bertie) in his memoir, Bak Maha Kandulu. He described the way JVP ran Hammenheil Prison in Jaffna, where hundreds of JVP cadres were held in the 1971 insurgency. 

A revolutionary army” was established to safeguard the proletariat dictatorship” in Hammenheil. This army took care of the class-enemies” and traitors” in the only way known to JVP––physical force. Anyone who questioned anything the JVP was up to at Hammenheil was branded as the class enemy. Kangaroo courts were held in Hammenheil to try reactionaries” and counter-revolutionaries” that the JVP always found guilty. They were brutally beaten in broad daylight.

Everything that took place in Hammenheil had the blessings of Wijeweera himself as there was an effective line of communication between Hammenheil and Jaffna prison where he was held. ‘The Socialist Republic of Hammenheil’ was a microcosm of what the country would have become had the JVP ever grabbed power.

JVP was a hard headed cynical organization under a ruthless leadership, said critics. Noble sentiments were lacking. There was a lack of heroism and moral uprightness in the JVP, said Chandraprema. The JVP leaders were never idealistic.  Rank and file may have had idealistic views’but not the leadership.

JVP had boasted of their simple life style. Then in September 1989 Rupavahini showed the public the mansions, cars, and personal luxuries including foreign aphrodisiacs used by the top JVP leadership.

For the JVP high command, self protection came first. When they ordered villagers out on a demonstration, JVP got those they disliked to march first so they were the first to get killed. JVP leaders stayed in the rear, they never went in the front.  They were safe from fire. They had followed this from the time they started forced demonstrations, said Chandraprema. An enterprising officer had once got a helicopter to fire at the rear of the procession.

 In 1989 JVP did not display much bravery in captivity. Top leadership told all within 24 hours. They were captured within less than 24 hours of each other. JVP was only willing to kill for a cause but not to die for it.   Analysts noted that the junior cadres were much better, they did not sing even under torture.  I do not think this was due to courage and loyalty, they probably knew very little about the organization.

Wiswa Warnapala   heard Wijeweera address students at Peradeniya In 1971. Wijeweera was all revolutionary rhetoric, gestures, and gesticulations, said Wiswa. Wijeweera traversed the entire course of the history of revolution and referred to all revolutionary ideologies in the world. Wijeweera‘s own revolutionary ideology was a hotchpotch of all these ideologies without a clear cut strategy. His ideology was, in Marxian terms, not ideology at all, said Wiswa. My assessment was that this man, with neither ideology nor political strategy would put the youth of the country into serious trouble, concluded Wiswa.

Rohana Wijeweera was not the great leader he was made out to be. Wasantha Bandara   had maintained secret contact with Rohana Wijeweera in the 1984-1989 period. During regular secret meetings with Rohana Wijeweera, Bandara said he realized Wijeweera was not in full control of the operations undertaken by the JVP. Wijeweera was a puppet leader, carrying out orders. 

Godahewa said Wijeweera was ‘a person easy to control,’ though his speeches sounded fiery.   Facing the camera for a video statement when arrested, the expression on his face was one of disappointment and dismay, said Indradasa. He had spoken in a shattered voice, with emotion.

When he was captured in 1971, Wijeweera was very docile, unlike his public image, said Chandraprema. He had told everything about everybody while trying to hide his own liability for the insurgence. His 1971 statement went to 400 pages, in 1989 he was brief, said Chandraprema.

හිරන් කුරේ

විමල් වීරවංශ පසුගියදා රූපවාහිනී වැඩසටහනකට එකතු වෙමින් අනාවරණය කළේ, අරගලය හමුවේ ඉල්ලා අස්වීමට සූදානම් වූ ජනාධිපති ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂට එවක අගමැති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ ද ඉවත් කර ඉල්ලා අස්වන ලෙස ඇමරිකානු තානාපතිනී ජූලි චන්ග් බල කළ බවය.

විමල් ඊට පෙර ප්‍රකාශ කළේ ජනාධිපති ගෝඨාභය අවු. 05ක ධූර කාලය නිමාකර සිය දරු මුනුබුරන් සමග ජීවත් වන්නට ඇමරිකාව බලා යාමේ අපේක්ෂාවෙන් ඇමරිකාව අසතුටු නොවන ආකාරයට කටයුතු කළ බවයි. එහෙත් ජනාධිපති ධූරය පමණක් නොව සිය ජීවිතය ද බරපතළ අවධානමක පවතින අවස්ථාවක ඇමරිකාවේ නැතහොත් ජූලි චන්ග්ගේ උවමනාව අනුව කටයුතු කර ඇමරිකාව අසතුටු නොකර ඉන්නට ගෝඨාභය කටයුතු කර නැති බව විමල්ගේ ඉහත ප්‍රකාශයෙන් සනාථ වෙයි. එපමණක් නොව විමල් එක ම වැඩසටහනේ කරන ප්‍රකාශයක් ඔහු විසින් ම අනතුරුව නිෂේධනය කරයි.

අනෙක් අතට විමල් ප්‍රකාශ කරන ආකාරයේ දෙයක් සිදුවී නම් තමන්ට ඇමරිකානු සරණාගතභාවය ලබා දෙන්නේ නම් රනිල් ඉවත් කරන බවට කොන්දේසියක් දමා ගෝඨාභයට ඇමරිකාවට යාමට අවස්ථාවක් ලබා ගැනීමට ද එහි අවස්ථාවක් තිබිණි. එහෙත් තමා යාමට අපේක්ෂා කළ සියලු ම රටවල් තමා ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කරන පසුබිමක පවා ගෝඨාභය ජූලි චන්ග්ගේ ඉල්ලීමට පිටුපා ඇත.

කොටින් ම සිය ද්විත්ව පුරවැසිභාවය ද අහිමි කරගෙන මේ රටට සේවය කිරීමේ අවංක අභිලාෂයෙන් කටයුතු කළ ගෝඨාභය අවසාන මොහොතේ පවා ඇමරිකානු අපේක්ෂාව අනුව රනිල් ඉවත් කිරීමට කටයුතු කර නැත.

විමල් අනාවරණය කළ මෙම කරුණ මගින් හෙළි වන වඩාත් වැදගත් කාරණය ඇමරිකාව හෝ බටහිර රනිල් තව දුරටත් සිය නියෝජිතයා ලෙස නොසලකන බවය. නොඑසේ නම් රනිල් ඉවත් කර ඉල්ලා අස්වන්නැයි ඇමරිකාව ගෝඨාභයගෙන් ඉල්ලන්නේ නැත. ගෝඨා ඉවත් වූ වහා ජනාධිපති වන්නේ රනිල් බව ඔවුන් නොදැන සිටියා නොවේ.

ඇමරිකානු ඉල්ලීම අනුව රනිල් ඉවත් කළේ නම් එකල අරාජිකව පැවැති රට නැවත යථා තත්ත්වය⁣ට ගෙන ඒම සිහිනයක් වනු ඇත. කතානායක මහින්ද යාපා ජනාධිපති ධූරයට පත්ව පිස්සු කෙළින අතර රට තුළ සිවිල් යුධ තත්ත්වයක් නිර්මාණය කිරීම ඇමරිකාවේ ඊළඟ සැලසුම වන්නට ඇත.

ඔවුන්ගේ අරමුණ එමගින් අපේ රට අස්ථාවර කිරීම පමණක් නොව එම අර්බුදයට හේතුව චීන ආයෝජන බවට ප්‍රවාදයක් ගොඩනඟමින් චීනයට පහර දීම ද බව අප අමතක කළ යුතු නැත. එහෙත් ගෝඨාභය නිසා එය වැළකිනි. ඊට හිමි ගෞරවය ඔහුට ලබා දීමට අප කෘතඥ විය යුතුය.

අනතුරුව පැවැති අනුප්‍රාප්තික ජනාධිපතිවරණය සඳහා ඩලස් අලහප්පෙරුම ඉදිරිපත් වූ අතර සුමන්දිරන්, සම්බන්ධන්, මනෝ ගනේෂන්, රවූෆ් හකීම්, රිෂාඩ් බදියුදීන්, තානාපති කාර්යාල, පෙරටුගාමී ඇතුළු අරගල නායකයින්, රාජ්‍ය නොවන සංවිධාන, සජබ ආදී සියලු පාර්ශ්ව ඩලස් දිනවීමට පෙරමුණ ගත්තේය.

ජවිපෙ 2015 මහින්දට දෙන්න එපා කියමින් මෛත්‍රීට කැම්පේන් කළ විදිහට ම මෙදා රනිල්ට දෙන්න එපා කියමින් ඩලස්ට කැම්පේන් කළේය. රනිල්⁣ට ඡන්දය දී ගමට එන්න එපා යැයි පෙරටුගාමී මැරයින් වෙනම බියගැන්වීමේ මානසික මෙහෙයුමක් දියත් කළේය.

රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ ඉවත් කිරීමට මෙලෙස බටහිර සිය උපරිම බලය යොදන බව දැන දැන ම විමල් වීරංශ ද ඩලස් ජනාධිපති කරලීමට දරදිය ඇද්දේය. එය කැලණි වැන්දා සේ සියලු පව් කමා කරවන මහානිශංස පිංකමක් බව ද පැවසුවේය.

ඒ අනුව බලන විට විමල් උත්සාහ කර ඇත්තේ ද රනිල් පන්නා ඩලස් නම් රූකඩය ජනපති කොට, ඇමරිකාව සිදුකළ ⁣රෙජිම් චේන්ග් එක පරිසමාප්ත කරලීමටය. එහි අවසාන කොටස තරණය කිරීමට මුක්කු ගැසීමටය. එය මට නම් සුළුපටු වරදක් නොවේ.

එදා සියලු බලවේග එක මිටට ගොනු වී කළ කුමන්ත්‍රණය පරාජය කිරීමට පොහොට්ටු මන්ත්‍රී පිරිස මහා අවධානමක් ගෙන කටයුතු නොකළේ නම් අද රට සම්පූර්ණයෙන් මෙහෙය වන්නේ බටහිර විසින් තෝරාපත් කළ ඩලස් විසිනි.

එසේ නම් අපේ රට සියලු බටහිර අවශ්‍යතා ඉටුකරගන්නා ගොදුරු බිම් බවට පත්වනු නොඅනුමානය. විමල් දැන හෝ නොදැන ඒ අවස්ථාවේ ඉටු කළේ ඇමරිකානු අවශ්‍යතාව හැර වෙන යමක් දැයි ඔහුගේ ම මෙම ප්‍රකාශ දෙක ඇසුරින් නුවණින් විමසා බැලීම වටී.

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Sugath Kulatunga

Since the devaluation of the rupee in early March, five months have lapsed without any positive plan of action to address the problem of the dearth of dollars. People have died in queues; severe scarcities have arisen in essential goods and inflation has galloped over 70 percent. In brief the country has undergone and continues to be in an unprecedented economic and social crisis. But our parliamentarians have behaved as if there is no dollar crisis and are splitting hairs on a political solution through ad hoc Constitutional gymnastics which is a clever diversion. Now the magic formula has appeared in the form of the proposal for a 22^nd Amendment to the Constitution. It is noted that one has to search the web for the document as it is not there in the list of Extraordinary Gazettes published by the Government Printer.

 There are a few provisions like the Audit Commission which are of value. But the main thrust of the Constitutional Council replacing the present Parliamentary Council is not very different from the provisions in the 20^th Amendment which was criticized as leading to a Dictatorship. The official members remain the same except providing for a representative of the President. One is reminded of the Ministry representative in departmental and corporation selection boards where the Ministry representative ensures that the Minister’s nominees are selected. This post is superfluous and counterproductive. Of the three outsiders replacing the former distinguished citizens who were only onlookers, co-opting representatives from the academic and business world is good. But it would have been better if in both OPA and Chambers the Presidents of the organizations rather than nominees are brought in. They are responsible directly to their membership. The President of the Federation of Chambers is more representative than a nominee of the SL Chamber of Commerce.

The quorum of the meeting of the proposed council is five and at least five members must vote to make a decision valid. However, it is noted that the three outsiders with the leader of the opposition and his nominee can make a valid majority decision. It is the same with the Prime Minister, his nominee combining with the three outsiders. This is hypothetical but is a situation to be avoided by vesting a veto power in the Speaker.

It is also suggested to make the 3 outsiders responsible to the people whose names should be vetted by a relevant sectoral committee of the Parliament. it would be useful if the proposed relevant sectoral committees interview the candidates as is done by Senate Committees in the USA.

Historically we have had no serious problems in the appointments made by the President on his own  or on the recommendations made by a Constitutional Council except in the case of a former IGP. I believe anticipating a wrong decision in that case the distinguished citizens absented themselves. The real damage caused by the incumbents of high-level posts do not come from holders of posts considered under the Constitutional Council but from the holders of many more posts where the power of appointment is with the Cabinet or the subject Minister. Even in appointments approved by the cabinet it is only in very rare cases the Cabinet does not agree with a Minister as these decisions are made on the back scratching principle.

The colossal damage caused by the chairmen and Boards of State Corporation by blatant corruption and poor management of some of these agencies has been a severe burden on the economy. Corporations like the CEB, CEPET, and Port have become untouchable and are in the habit of dictating terms to the government. There are about 420 State owned enterprises. Only a few make any return on the investment or provide a satisfactory service. The problem with them is not the ownership but the management which is either corrupt or inefficient or often both. Politicians are keen on the Constitutional Council appointments but are not interested in cleaning up the feet of clay. Most time they wallow in the same muck.

Is the solution privatization? May be- but not sellouts like what has happened before.

Sugath Kulatunga

ජයන්ත හේරත්

පාර්ලිමේන්තු

අයියලාගේ

බඩගෙඩිවල   

සයිස්

එක දැක්කාම

හරිම දුකක් දැනෙන්නේය,

කොහොම ඔය

ඉදිරියට නෙරා ආ බඩගෙඩි

උස්සා ගෙන ඉන්නේදැයි සිතේය.

මුළු මේන්තුවේම

ඉන්නේ අසාධ්ය බඩගෙඩි ලෙඩ්ඩුය,

සැත්කම් කර ගන්නට

නිතර නිතර දුවන්නේ

සිංගප්පුරුවටය,

ඉන්දියාවටය

තයිලන්තයටය 

වැය කරන්නේ

මහජන බදු මුදල්ය

කිසි ලජ්ජාවක් නැත.

මේන්තුවෝ

මුලින්ම කල යුත්තේ

ඉදිරියට නෙරා ආ බඩගෙඩි

අඩු කර ගැනීමය,

සුද්ද කර ගැනීමය.

එසේ කිරීමෙන්

සිරුරේ බර අඩු වේය,

කඩිසරකම ඇතිවේය,

ඉවරයක් නැතුව කරන ගොන් කථා

අඩු කර ගන්නට හිතෙන්නට පුළුවන

රට වෙනුවෙන් වැඩ කිරීමට

උද්යෝගයක් වුනත්  ඇති වන්නට  බැරි නැත.

ගිල දමන

මස් ප්රමානය හා

තෙල් බැඳුම්

අඩු කර ගන්නේ නම්

ඔයාකාරව තෙල් තට්ටු

තට්ටු පිටින් බැදෙන්නේ නැත.

එළවලු පලතුරු කෑම

ඔය බඩ ගෙඩි අඩු වෙන්නට උදව් වේය,

එළවලු සුප් බීම රෙකමදාරුය,

රාත්රී ආහාර වේල කපා දැමිය යුතුය,

වේල් දෙකක් කෑම

හොඳටම ප්රමාණවත්ය,

මත්පැන් බීම ද නවතා දැමිය යුතුය,

ඔවුනට විශේෂයෙන් පොළොව කෙටිම

පැල සිටුවීම, වතුර දැමීම, කාණු සුද්ධ කිරීම වැනි දේ

අනිවාර්ය කල යුතුය,

එසේ කිරීමෙන්

අනිවාර්යයෙන් බඩගෙඩි අඩු වන්නේය.

එහෙම නැතුව

ව්යායාමයට කියා

කාර් එකෙන් ගොස්

පැයක් හමාරක් ව්යායාම කර

රෙස්ටෝරන්ට් එකකින් 

අඩියක් ගසා

මේධය අධික ආහාර වේලක් භුක්ති විඳ

ආයෙමත් කාර් එකට නැග ගෙදර ඇවිත්

රූපවාහිණිය ඉස්සරහ වාඩි වී සිටියාට

බඩගෙඩි මේ සම්ම ජාතියට

බහින්නේ නැත.

හරක් කිරි නිෂ්පාදන ආහාරයට නොගෙන 

කැකුළු බත්

හෝ

දුඹුරු පාන්,

සමග කොළ එළවලු,

ශාක ප්රෝටීන

හා

විටමින් B12 දිනකට මයික්රෝ-ග්රෑම් 1.5ක් ගැනීමෙන්

බොහෝ NCD වලින් මිදී,

ලේ වල සීනි HbA1C

අඩු කර ගන්නට පුළුවන්ය.

සුදු පාන්,

සුදු හාල්,

හරක් කිරි නිෂ්පාදන, මත්පැන් 

ආනයනය අඩු කිරීමෙන්

ඩොලර් ටිකක් ලේසියෙන්

ඉතිරි කර ගන්නටත් පුළුවන්ය.

අපේ අන්තරේ

ළමයින්ගේ

බෙල්ලේ නිතර බැඳ ගත්

යන්තරයක් ඇත,

ඉතා බලසම්පන්නය

මිල අධික යන්තරයක්ය.

වරින් වර නව යන්තර එන්නේය,

පරණ එකට වඩා හොඳය කියා වෙළෙන්දෝ

කියන නිසා ඒ යන්තරය මිලට ගන්නට

ඕනෑම මගඩියක් කරන්නටද

අම්මා අප්පා උනත්

විකුණන් කන්නටද

මේ ළමයින් කැමතිය.

මේ යන්තරේට

තත්පරයකට

ඔපරේෂන්

බිලියන් 7-8 ක්

කල හැකිය,

ඒ වුනාට මේ ළමයින්

මේ යන්තරය පාවිච්චි කරන්නේ

ඉහලින් එන නියෝග

අකුරටම පිලිපදින්නටය.

ගිනි තියපියව්

කියා අණ ලැබුණු සැනෙන්

පෙනුමට තිබෙන ගෙවල් දොරවල්

දේපල ගිනි ලන්නේය,

අලුත් වාහන පේන්නට බැරිය

ගිණි තියන්නේය.

නැති ඉන්ධන ඉබේ මතු වෙන්නේය-

පුදුම හිතේය.

ගිණි තැබීමෙන් පසුව

ආදරය වපුරන කථාය,

එය නම් එසේ මෙසේ ආදරයක් හෙම නොවේය.

හරියට

අර ගිනි තැබූ ගෙවල් දොරවල් හා වාහන

නැවත තිබු තත්වයට ගන්නට

ඒ වැපිරීමෙන් පුළුවන් යයි හිතන

තරමට මේ ළමයින්ගේ

මොළ සෝදා හැර ඇත.

තමන්ගේ මොළයෙන්

ලෝකය දිහා බලන්නට බැරි,

ලෝකයේ දැනට ඇති ප්රශ්න අඳුනා ගන්නට බැරි,

ඒ අනුසාරයෙන්

තමන්ගේ රටට විය හැකි දුර්විපාක නොතේරෙන

විසඳුම් වෙනුවට තවත් ප්රශ්න මැවීමට උර දෙන

ළමයින් පිරිසක් සිටීම

ශෝකජනකය.

බඩගෙඩි වර්ධනයට වඩා

අන්තරේ මල්ලිලාගේ

මොළගෙඩි

වර්ධනයට

මේ යන්තර

සූත්තර

පාවිච්චි කිරීමට

මේන්තුවේ අයියල

වැඩ කලයුතුය.

අවුරුදු 50ක් විතර වයස

අන්තරේ

තහනම් කර

මල්ලිලාගේ

ඔළු ගෙඩි සුද්ද කිරීමට 

කාලය එළඹ ඇත.

මාධ්‍ය අංශය, වෛද්‍ය තිලක පද්මා සුබසිංහ අනුස්මරණ නීති අධ්‍යයන වැඩසටහන

ඉංග්‍රීසි අන්තවාදීන්ගේ ලක්ෂණ 7…!

1) නීතිය නොදන්නා ජනාධිපතිවරු පත් කරගැනීමට සහාය දෙයි.

2) ඉන්ධන වැඩි වශයෙන් දහනයවන වාහන භාවිතා කරයි.

3) පාපැදි භාවිතා කිරීමට ජනතාවට උනන්දුව ඇති නොකර පාපැදි අධික මිලට අලෙවි කිරීමට දිරි දෙයි.

4) රුසියාව සහ චීනය සමඟ රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික සම්බන්ධතා පැවැත්වීමට බාධා කරයි.

5) දේශීය නිෂ්පාදකයන්, ගොවිතැන අධෛරයට පත් කර විදේශීය නිෂ්පාදන සහ විදේශීය් ආහාර ආනයනය කරන්නන්ට දිරි දෙයි.

6) අධිකරණ භාෂාවෙන් නඩු විභාග කිරීම, නීති අධ්‍යාපනය ලබා දීම වළක්වයි.

7) රජයේ දේපල උකස්කර විදෙස් රටවලින් ණය ලබා ගැනීමට උපදෙස් දෙයි.

මාධ්‍ය අංශය, වෛද්‍ය තිලක පද්මා සුබසිංහ අනුස්මරණ නීති අධ්‍යයන වැඩසටහන. දුර 0712063394

(2022.08.07)

By P.K.Balachandran Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Colombo, August 8: The Chinese Foreign Ministry told the media in Beijing on Monday, that it is senseless” to invoke security concerns” to pressure” Sri Lanka to deny entry to Chinese ships that are carrying out legitimate tasks.

Without naming India (referring to it as a third-party”) the Chinese Foreign Ministry readout said that as a sovereign country, Sri Lanka has the right to conduct its foreign relations without interference from third parties.

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Here is the readout of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) statement at the presser:

The MOFA thinks that Sri Lanka is a transport hub in the Indian ocean. Many scientific exploration ships including those from China have stopped at the ports of Sri Lanka for resupplies. China has always exercised freedom of navigation in the high seas and fully respects the jurisdiction of coastal states in respect of scientific exploration activities within their jurisdictional waters.”

Sri Lanka is a sovereign state. It can develop relations with other countries, in light of its own development interest. Cooperation between Sri Lanka and China are independently chosen by the two countries based on common interests. It doesn’t target a third party. Citing security concerns is senseless, to pressure Sri Lanka.”

China urges the relevant parties to see China’s scientific exploration in a reasonable and sensible way and stop disturbing normal exchange of cooperation between China and Sri Lanka.”

China Determined to dock Yuan Wang 5

Thus, it is now clear that China will make it a point to see that Yuan Wang 5 berths as planned at the Hambantota harbor in South Sri Lanka on August 11, and stay for replenishment till August 17, as per the original schedule.

India had objected to the Chinese vessel’s visit because, in its view, the vessel’s primary purpose was to dock in Hambantota for as long as a week, not to replenish, but to spy on sensitive installations in South India. India’s grievance was also that even as Sri Lanka and India were part of an institution called Security and Growth for All in the Region” or SAGAR, meant to build an inclusive and cooperative approach to regional security, Sri Lanka did not inform India about its decision to allow the Chinese vessel to dock at Hambantota.

India delivered a demarche to Sri Lanka on the issue. Subsequently, its Foreign Minister S.Jaishankar reportedly took up the matter in his meeting with his Sri Lankan counterpart, Ali Sabry, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ conference in Cambodia.

Under Indian pressure, the Sri Lankan government requested the Chinese Ambassador in Colombo to defer” the visit of the vessel to enable consultations”. The Chinese Ambassador reportedly said that he would refer the matter to Beijing. Beijing rejected the request for postponing the visit saying that it had no basis in normal international relations.

The latest communique from the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it wishes to reaffirm the enduring friendship and excellent relations between Sri Lanka and China which remain on a solid foundation, as reiterated most recently by the two Foreign Ministers Ali Sabry and Wang Yi at a bilateral meeting in Phonm Penh, Cambodia on 4 August 2022.”

At this first meeting between the two Foreign Ministers, Minister Sabry referred to Sri Lanka’s firm commitment to the one-China policy which has been a consistent principle in the country’s foreign affairs”.

What will Sri Lanka Do?

From the above statement it appears that Sri Lanka may be trying to get China’s cooperation on the ship issue in return for firm support to China on the Taiwan or the One-China issue. This could be based on the assessment that for China, the One China issue is far more important than docking a vessel in Hambantota port.

Sri Lanka needs both India and China for economic support at this critical juncture when its finances are in a shambles. It is heavily dependent on a bailout by the IMF, which is a Western institution and in which both the US and India have clout, although China is also a member with influence.

Sri Lanka cannot alienate India because it now owes New Delhi US$ 3.8 billion, borrowed to procure essential supplies such as fuel, food and medicines.

China is also a key contributor to the Sri Lankan economy as it has funded infrastructure development to the tune of US$ 6.5 billion since 2010. Sri Lanka is also depending on China to agree to a haircut” in the money due to it as repayment of its loans. If China does not take a haircut, the IMF would not be able to persuade other creditors to take a haircut”. This year, the repayment due to creditors is to the tune of US$ 7 billion. In April this year, Sri Lanka declared that it is defaulting on repayments pending an IMF bailout.

Political Instability

The spat over the Chinese ship could not have come at a worse time. The Ranil Wickremesinghe government is facing domestic political instability of a high order. The process of forming an all-party government is getting into knots because of political wrangling and unceasing efforts by the opposition to overthrow President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Trade unions and protesters under the Aragalaya” umbrella are planning a massive agitation on Tuesday seeking the ouster of the Rajapaksa-backed Ranil Wickremesinghe government.

Backed by the media, the Aragalaya is hoping to see a replay of the mid-July success when it had forced the previous President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to flee to Singapore through a mix of peaceful and violent action.   

Colombo would now be hoping and praying that either China or India would back off and let it attend to the more pressing task of providing essentials to the people, restoring political stability and getting an IMF bailout.

But geopolitical powers are hard and unforgiving hegemons. And, as in politics, in the world of international relations too, there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies, only permanent interests. 

 lanka C news

ලබන එකොළොස් වැනි දා හම්බන්තොට වරායට පැමිණීමට සැලසුම්කර තිබූ චීනයේ ‘යුවාන් වැන් 05’ සන්නිවේදන නෞකාව පැමිණීම නවත්වන ලෙස ජනාධිපතිවරයාට බලපෑම් කර ඇත්තේ බැසිල් රාජපක්ෂ මහතා සහ ඇමරිකානු නියෝජිතයෙකු විසින් බවට තොරතුරු ඇතැයි පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී වාසුදේව නානායක්කාර මහතා සඳහන් කරයි.

නෞකාව නැවත්වුයේ නැතිනම් ජනාධිපතිධූරය අවසන් කරන බවට ඔවුන් දැනුම් දී ඇති බවද මන්ත්‍රීවරයා පැවසීය.

ජනාධිපතිට කල එම තර්ජනය ඉදිරියේ මෙම නෞකාව නවත්වා ඇති බවද හෙතෙම පැවසීය.

ඕනෑම රටක යුද නෞකාවනට මෙරට වරායනට පැමිණීමට ඉඩ දෙන්නේ නම් චීන නෞකාව පැමිණීමේ වරද කුමක්දැයි හෙතෙම ප්‍රශ්න කළේය.

කොළඹදී මාධ්‍ය අමතමින් ඒ මහතා මෙම අදහස් පල කරන ලදී.

Lanka Lead News

චීනයේ යුවාන් වැන් 05 සන්නිවේදන නෞකාවට හම්බන්තොට වරායට ඉන්ධන පිරවීම සඳහා ඇතුල්වීමට ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය ඉඩ දීම කල් දැමීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් ජාතික නිදහස් පෙරමුණේ පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී විමල් වීරවංශ මහතා මාධ්‍යය නිවේදනයක් නිකුත් කර තිබේ. එම නිවේදනය මගින් ඔහු පවසන්නේ ඉන්දු පැසිෆික් උවමනාවට චීනයට දොර වැසීම නොබැඳි පිළිවෙත නොවන බවයි.

ඉන්දු- පැසිෆික් වුවමනාවට චීනයට දොර වැසීම නොබැඳි පිළිවෙත නොවේ!

ලබන එකොළොස්වැනි දා හම්බන්තොට වරායට පැමිණීමට නියමිතව තිබූ චීනයේ යුවාන් වැන් 05 සන්නිවේදන නෞකාවට එදින පැමිණීමෙන් වළකින ලෙස ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය චීන තානාපති කාර්යාලය වෙත දැනුම් දී ඇති බව වාර්තා වේ. එසේ දැනුම් දී ඇත්තේ එම සන්නිවේදන නෞකාවට අවශ්‍ය ඉන්ධන ඇතුළු අනිකුත් පහසුකම් ලබා ගැනීම පිණිස හම්බන්තොට වරායට පැමිණීම පිණිස ලබාදී තිබූ අවසරය තාවකාලිකව අත්හිටුවීමට ගත් තීරණය අනුව ය.
මෙම නෞකාව ඔත්තු බැලීමේ නෞකාවක් ලෙස සලකමින් ඉන්දීය රජය එය හම්බන්තොට වරායට පැමිණීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් දැඩි විරෝධය දැක්වීමත් සමඟ ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය මෙම තීරණය ගෙන ඇත. ඉන්දු- පැසිෆික් වුවමනාවට චීනයට දොර වැසීම නොබැඳි පිළිවෙත ද ? අප අනුගමනය කළ යුතු වන්නේ නොබැඳි විදේශ පිළිවෙත මිස අනෙකක් නොවේ. මෙමගින් පෙනී යන්නේ තවමත් පවතින අර්බුදය, පුනරුදයේ මොහොත බවට පත් කර නොගනිමින්, එය ඉන්දු- පැසිෆික් ආධිපත්‍යයට අපේ රට සම්පූර්ණයෙන් යටත් කිරීම සඳහා යොදා ගනිමින් තිබෙන බවය. එසේම අපේ රට ඉන්දු පැසිෆික් මෙහෙයුමේ ගොදුරක් බවට පත් කිරීම පිණිස යුහුසුළුව ක්‍රියාත්මක වූ බැසිල් රාජපක්ෂ ප්‍රමුඛ නඩයේ බලපෑමෙන් වත්මන් පාලනය ද මිදී නොමැති බවය.
එවැනි රට වළපල්ලට ඇද දැමූ විනාශකාරී නඩයක බලපෑම්වලට නතු වෙමින් ගන්නා මෙවැනි තීරණ මගින් සිදු වන්නේ අනාදිමත් කාලයක සිට සෑම දුෂ්කර මොහොතකම ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට මිත්‍රත්වයේ හස්තය දිගු කළ කල්‍යාණ මිත්‍රයකු වන චීනය සමඟ ද රාජ්‍යතාන්ත්‍රික ගැටළුවක් පැන නැගීම පමණි.
විමල් වීරවංශ,(පා.ම.)
නායක,
ජාතික නිදහස් පෙරමුණ,
2022-08-07

By Shivanthi ranasinghe Courtesy The Ceylon Today

The US State Department owes Sri Lanka an explanation for disallowing former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa from returning to the US. He had been living in the States since 1998. For 16 years, he was a US citizen and only renounced his citizenship to contest at the 2019 presidential campaign. 

This was a straightforward process, as he lived as an exemplary US citizen. He contributed to the US economy and paid all taxes and other dues to the US Government. He is without any record of criminal offences. 

While residing in America, he regularly volunteered at the community’s soup kitchens and was deeply disturbed to meet many US veterans coming into the shelter for a hot meal. They are without the level of support needed to combat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)and other injuries sustained during combat. As such, these veterans have difficulties retaining employment, even if most are educated. Hence, many are rendered homeless. 

According to studies conducted by the leading review journal in public health Epidemiologic Reviews, most recent estimates report that veterans are slightly overrepresented in the US homeless population with veterans constituting 12.3% of all homeless adults in the United States but only 9.7% of the total US population…. since at least the late 1980s.”

Gotabaya always rendered his full support within his capacity to the soldier-Sri Lankan or American, veteran or in-service. After the conclusion of the war against terrorism in Sri Lanka, as the Defence Secretary, he ensured that the Sri Lankan soldier received the best possible care within Sri Lanka’s means. The 14,500 ex-LTTEcadres too received the same care as they were rehabilitated and returned to the society with the necessary skill and education to live with dignity. 

When he visited the US as the Executive President of Sri Lanka in September 2021, he attended the special commemorative event at the Manhattan Memorial to mark the 20^th Anniversary of the 9/11. He thus signified his empathy towards ordinary American citizens. 

It was always his plan after serving as the Sri Lankan President to return to the US to live with his son, who is an engineer at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Therefore, Mr Gotabaya is not seeking entry into the US to live in some rabbit hole, under the radar. He has no reason to do so, for he did not leave Sri Lanka as a fugitive. 

Here lies the interesting question: exactly why did the then President of Sri Lanka, with executive powers and the Commander-in-Chief of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces leave Sri Lanka and resign from position before the conclusion of his term?

Peaceful Protesters or Unruly Mob? 

Throughout these four to five months, those who had been protesting against the Gotabaya Administration have been marketed as peaceful” by powerful factions like a section of the media, the West and West influenced civil societies, and certain political, social and religious leaders. In the same breath, it is being gloated that President Gotabaya fled” the country to escape from the protestors. 

Here lies the confusion.If the protesters were peaceful,” then why should the President of the country flee”? If the President resigned respecting the demand of peaceful protesters, then President Gotabaya is a true champion of democracy. Then, the US State Department is without a justifiable cause or reason to deny Gotabaya his visa. 

President Gotabaya was not without options. He could have, like President Chandrika Kumaratunga did, blocked all entry points to Colombo. Instead, he allowed people to come right up to his doorstep. He could have used fire power, even brought out the tanks as China did to curtail the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.

Even the then Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi in 1989 parked his naval vessels with his military right outside the Galle Face to rescue and evacuate then President J.R.Jayewardene if public protests against the Indo-Lanka Accord turned violent and physically threatened the President.

It is noteworthy that Gotabaya left the Island in a military aircraft. He could do so as he was not fleeing from the law. Even though he was the Commander-in-Chief of the Tri-Forces, the military is beholden to its own military laws. As such, not even the seniormost or highest-ranking officer can break the law without being Court-martialled. 

Therefore, if the then President fled,”then obviously he did so to escape physical harm from a violent mob. Thus, it is obvious that the protesters were not peaceful” but a violent mob who would have unhesitatingly harmed him grievously as they did to young MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala from the Polonnaruwa District. 

It was this same crowd that killed an innocent dog,that posed harm to none as it was beaten to death while tethered with a leash and a harness. The poor creature met its gruesome death because its owner was the then Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was also under pressure from the agitators to resign from Office. If this crowd could not spare even a dog, then even the most unobtrusive First Lady Ioma Rajapaksa’s life was in danger, simply for being President Gotabaya’s wife. 

Protesters’ character certificate

These mobsters’ violent record includes, 

31 March 2022: President Gotabaya’s private residence was attacked as mobsters tried to force their way in, armed with sticks and sharp objects. Afterwards, the neighbourhood resembled a war zone; 

19 April 2022: several junctions in various parts of the Island were almost simultaneously blocked by protesters demanding fuel. The situation in Rambukkana, despite the Police’s efforts went awry even after 15 hours of grappling with the situation to bring it under control. The rioters pelted the Police with rocks, causing 20 Police personnel to sustain injuries, with 14 requiring hospitalisation. Two bowsers carrying fuel were damaged with its tires and engine removed. There was an attempt to set one on fire. When tear gas proved ineffective, the Police were compelled to shoot, resulting in the death of one;

9 May 2022: provoked by the then PM Mahinda Rajapaksa’s supporters’ attack, hunted down the supporters, the violent reprisals included beating with poles, stripping some naked, and keeping others dunked in the Beira Lake the whole day, also assaulted a senior DIG, flogged young MP Athukorala to death, and destroyed numerous vehicles and properties of 73 government MPs. 

9 July 2022: looted and destroyed Wickremesinghe’s rare collection of manuscripts and paintings, mercilessly killed his dog, and set his home on fire. 

These mobsters’ deliberate actions are making the country ungovernable. Not only did they force democratically and legitimately elected President and Premier to resign from Office under duress, they are rejecting the present powers. Yet, they are without an alternate, viable proposal either. Their actions thus are leading the country into anarchy. 

The Hate Campaign against Sri Lanka 

President Gotabaya was foolish not to recognise the threat they posed to democracy. According to dissident MP Wimal Weerawansa, he did so as he did not want to jeopardise his chance to return to the States. This innocent but utterly self-serving wish was exploited by US Ambassador Julie Chung, charges Weerawansa. The US Embassy has not denied or clarified this accusation. 

This silence has accentuated the possible motive for marketing the anarchists as peaceful protestors” and criticising the Government for its countermeasures by Western envoys, civil societies and Colombo elite under their influence. The Government’s efforts to bring these violent elements under control and establish normalcy has been deliberately misconstrued. 

According to Human Rights Watch,The Sri Lankan Government is using emergency regulations to harass and arbitrarily detain activists seeking political reform and accountability for the country’s economic crisis.”None in the aforementioned group admit to the ground realities that include the destruction to State property or threats to the legislators’ lives. This then amounts to a wilful hate campaign against Sri Lanka. 

President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s efforts to direct the envoys to verify social media threads from proper authorities has also been misconstrued as berating” the diplomats. However, President Wickremesinghe was correct to air his concerns over these lopsided commentary for it damages our country’s reputation. The general consensus is that as diplomats and entities as the HRW are independent they do not have an agenda outside their mandate. Hence, their words carry an inherent credibility and more weight than a President’s press statement. 

However, justifying criminal behaviour can have dangerous repercussions, for it can easily boomerang on the promoters. Such warnings should not be taken as any form of instigating violence against those who insist the anarchists as peaceful protesters.”

Peaceful protests should not entail brutal killings of lawmakers, innocent pets, or even misled youth. peaceful protesters would disallow the destruction of State and private properties and allowed a democratically elected President’s fate to be decided democratically. Mob rule cannot be accommodated at any point in the democratic spectrum. 

Likewise, ardent advocates of democracy as the US cannot but uphold the US Constitution’s First Amendment-the freedom of expression.Yet, freedom is not a free commodity. It must be exercised with responsibility for the consequences. If one does not appreciate a Go Gama” project on them,then they should not endorse it on another. Therefore, those who defend Go Gama” and related projects on the basis of a democratic right must also uphold the law and the right for both sides of the divide to live in peace. 

President Gotabaya did not allow any harm to befall on his detractors. Instead, he chose to resign from Office. Right up to the last moment, his efforts were to restore the supply lines for essentials. Hence, irrespective of one’s opinion on President Gotabaya’s governance or politics,all must uphold former President Gotabaya’s wish to return to his family. 

ranasingheshivanthi@gmail.com 

(The views and opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Ceylon Today)

By Shivanthi Ranasinghe

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

The Finance Ministry has lifted the import ban on the popular weedicide glyphosate with effect from August 5 while allowing glyphosate imports into the country subject to import control license requirement.

According to the Gazette Extraordinary No 2291/44 signed by President Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilisation and National Policies, N-(phosphonomethyl) Glycine and its salts and derivatives (Glyphosate) has been removed from the ban list of goods specified in schedule four in the Gazette Extraordinary No.2044140 published on November 09, 2017, as amended.

Earlier, glyphosate use was allowed for tea and rubber cultivations for a period of three years following the blanket import ban on the weedicide in 2015. 

In 2019, restricted quantities of glyphosate were permitted to be imported for devitalisation in the floriculture industry and removal of diseased sugarcane plants (White Leaf Disease) and coconut palms (Weligama Coconut Leaf Wilt Disease).

In 2019, it was yet again banned along with another agrochemical in 2021 as the government made a policy decision to move to 100 percent organic agriculture. However, the blanket ban on agrochemicals was removed several months later.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Sri Lanka has allowed permission to the Chinese built-Pakistani guided missile frigate PNS Taimur to make a port call at Colombo while on its way to join the Pakistan Navy in Karachi. Build by Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard in Shanghai, the warship is on its maiden voyage to Pakistan while exercising en-route with Cambodian and Malaysian navies. The ship is expected to be at Colombo port from August 12-15, 2022.

While Sri Lanka gave permission to the Pakistani guided missile frigate to make a port call at Colombo, it is understood that the ship was denied a permission to make a port call at Chattogram port by the Sheikh Hasina government from August 7-10 after making a port call at Lumut port in Malaysia.

According to diplomatic sources, India’s close ally Bangladesh denied permission to PNS Taimur as August is a month of mourning for Sheikh Hasina as her father, Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rehman also fondly called Bangabandhu, was assassinated by Pak instigated and Jamait-e-Islami inspired radical Islamist forces on August 15, 1975.

The Sheikh Hasina government is close to Narendra Modi government with the Bangladesh Prime Minister clear that her father and family was done to death at the behest of Pakistan. The radical Islamist forces also made an assassination attempt on Sheikh Hasina in 2000 as Prime Minister and in 2004 as the Awami League President.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to make a trip to India in the first week of September and along with PM Modi will launch the jointly developed 1320 Mega Watt Maitree Super Thermal Power Project at Rampal in Khulna sub-division.

PNS Taimur, the second of the four Type 054 A/P frigates build in China, was commissioned on June 23, 2022. The lead ship of this class is PMNS Tughril and was commissioned on January 24, 2022. China is also building eight Yuan class -041 diesel attack submarines for Pakistan by 2028 with the objective to militarily flank India on high seas.

Courtesy Adaderana

In the wake of Sri Lanka’s request to defer the planned docking of a high-tech Chinese research vessel at the strategic Hambantota Port, China on Monday took a dig at India, saying it was senseless to pressure” Colombo by citing the issue of security concerns.

According to reports from Colombo, Sri Lanka has asked Beijing to defer the arrival of the Chinese space and satellite tracking research vessel ‘Yuan Wang 5’ which was scheduled to dock at the Hambantota Port from August 11 to 17 due to security concerns expressed by India.

Responding to the reports, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing in Beijing that China has taken note of the reports and asserted that the cooperation between China and Sri Lanka is independently chosen by the two countries and meets common interests. It does not target any third party”.

It is senseless to pressure Sri Lanka” by citing the issue of security concerns, he said, in reference to the reports that Sri Lanka’s move was attributed to concerns expressed by India.

Sri Lanka is a sovereign state. It can develop relations with other countries in the light of its own development interests,” he said.

China urges relevant parties to see China’s scientific explorations in a reasonable and sensible way and stop disturbing the normal exchange between China and Sri Lanka,” Mr Wang said.

Sri Lanka is a transport hub in the Indian Ocean. Many scientific exploration ships including those from China have stopped at the port of Sri Lanka for resupplies, he said. China has always exercised the freedom of navigation in the high seas and fully respects the jurisdiction of coastal states for the scientific exploration activities within their waters,” he said.

According to media reports, India informed Sri Lanka that the docking of the high-tech Chinese research vessel could pose a threat to its national security.

Sri Lanka received strong messages of protests from India as the ship was said to have the capability to track satellites and intercontinental ballistic missiles, the reports said.

India has said it carefully monitors any development having a bearing on its security and economic interests.

We are aware of reports of a proposed visit by this vessel to Hambantota in August,” India’s External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in New Delhi when asked about the reports of a proposed visit by the Chinese vessel.

The government carefully monitors any development having a bearing on India’s security and economic interests and takes all necessary measures to safeguard them,” he said last month.

Reports from Colombo on Sunday said China’s embassy in the country sought an urgent meeting with senior Sri Lankan authorities after Colombo sought deferment in the planned docking of the research vessel.

Some Sri Lankan news portals also reported that the country’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe held a closed-door meeting with China’s Ambassador Qi Zhenhong after Colombo sought the deferment of the planned docking.

On July 12, amidst the political turmoil in Sri Lanka, the previous government approved the Chinese vessel’s docking at the Hambantota port.

The Chinese vessel was expected to dock at the Sri Lankan port for refuelling and replenishment” and to conduct satellite control and research tracking in the northwestern part of the Indian Ocean region through August and September.

Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena recently said Sri Lanka was looking forward to settling the issue of the vessel’s visit with an approach of friendship”.

Source: PTI

–Agencies

Courtesy Adaderana

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) says it will not participate in the discussion which was scheduled to be held tomorrow with President Ranil Wickremesinghe regarding an all-party government. 

Accordingly, the party has decided to submit its relevant proposals to the President in writing, former JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti told Ada Derana.

A meeting between the President and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) was initially scheduled to be held tomorrow (09) to discuss the proposed all-party government.

The JVP had previously said that although they would attend the talks with the President, the party will not support the formation of an all-party government.

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lanka Police today sought public assistance to identify the persons who forcibly entered the President’s House in Colombo on 09 July and cause damages to property. 

Issuing a press release, the Police Media Division said that the Colombo Central Division criminal investigations unit is carrying out investigations to arrest suspects in connection with the incident of a large group of protesters forcibly entering the President’s House and damaging its property on July 09.

Accordingly, investigators are seeking public assistance to identify 32 suspects wanted in connection with the incident based on social media posts and CCTV footage. 

Police said that any information regarding these individuals can be conveyed via the following phone numbers: 0718591559, 0718085585, 01122391358 or 1997 (hotline) 

Photographs of the suspects have been attached below:

Courtesy Adaderana

Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) Kesbewa electorate organiser Gayan De Mel has been arrested by police on suspicion of his involvement in six separate incidents of violence that had taken place on May 09th.

According to a notification made by Piliyandala Police, the suspect had surrendered to the police through an attorney today (08).

The suspect, who was subsequently taken into custody, is scheduled to produce before Kesbewa Magistrate’s Court later today.

Meanwhile, another person who was involved in the protest at Galle Face Green has decided to surrender to the Slave Island Police.

KAMALIKA PIERIS

The University student was a very important component of the JVP.  Undergrads were active in the two insurgencies of 1971 and 1987. In 1971 the army had found large quantities of explosive, weapons, bombs and a transmitter at University of Peradeniya. Uniforms were being stitched in women’s hall of residence, reported General Cyril Ranatunge.

G.R.Morrel recalls, at Kelaniya Campus, where he taught as an instructor in the late 70’s, the Students’ Council was in the hands of the JVP.  Mainly through intimidation, they ran the campus. New students were ragged mercilessly, and staff members who opposed the ragging threatened.

Once, passing the Vice Chancellor’s office, I saw that it was crowded with JVP goons, some even standing on his desk and shouting at the VC, who was seated, obviously terrified. A grandfatherly professor, he was no match for the thugs, concluded Morrel.

University of Peradeniya was a vital base in the 1987-1989 insurgency.  JVP had set up  Action Committees in the University .The frightened University authorities gave recognition to the Action Committee, in order to avoid open confrontation and prevent destruction of life and property, said Wiswa Warnapala.

The Action Committee   turned itself into a parallel administration making use of the University administration and issuing orders to University officials.  The subordinate staff who joined the JVP also enjoyed giving orders to their superiors, to the fury of the academic staff. There was sporadic stoppage and boycott of lectures. No Department could function steadily. Academic programmes came to a standstill. ‘Palamuwa mawbima devenuva upadhiya’ said the slogan.  

The    violence inside the University of   Peradeniya   was such that the University could not control it, said Wiswa. Action Committees were behind the violence. Wiswa was teaching political science at University of Peradeniya, during this Bheeshanaya period. Wiswa was a strong critic of the JVP. He got a threat on his life.

Violence, threats and killings were the order of the day inside Peradeniya campus. No one was safe inside the campus. Any trivial matter was enough for the students to indulge in violence and they were armed with lethal weapons. Peradeniya undergrads were armed with lethal weapons, observed Wiswa. Where did they get these guns, Peradeniya academics asked.

There is evidence to show that the JVP undergrads  received support from some lecturers of the University , at least at the start.  When the crackdown came,  in 1989  and helicopters swooped down on the insurgents ,male undergrads at Hilda Obeyesekera Hall were heard calling out  names of lecturers and asking them to come to their rescue.

Wiswa observed that the  JVP  student leaders in the University  did not come from   the Arts faculty, but from science, engineering and medicine. These young persons were sure of getting well paid jobs so  the explanation was not unemployment.

.Wiswa said the undergrad community of the 80s was entirely different to that of the 50s.  They were more militant and aggressive. Undergrads entering University in the 1990s,  made  a similar observation. They said some of their fellow undergrads  should not be in the University at all. They were referring to  attitude, not ability.

No one seems to have interviewed these  graduates  after the insurgency was over to find out what motivated them towards the JVP. One possibility was the district quota system of University admissions. Before the  district quota  was introduced, all  entrants to University ,  from all schools and  all districts,  sat the same competitive exam and   obtained the  same required  pass marks. They entered University   the proper way and they knew it.

From 1972, undergrads entered University under a district quota system. it was  considered a politically motivated system .Under this system, the cut off point for admission  , differed very widely from district to district, though they all   sat the same exam.  A low cut off point meant low marks. A large number of competent  students  were denied university entrance, due to  this   system ,while  lesser qualified  students came in.

The students who came  into Peradeniya  from districts with  low cut off points  , knew  very well ,that they were  not equal in knowledge to those who came in on higher cut off points,  (though they may be equally intelligent  and may have blossomed in a better school or different district ) .They would have been on the defensive.

What the JVP offered them,  in 1987 to soothe this chip on the shoulder was the prospect of  instant   power, including  the power to  kill. JVP also gave them the heady power to give orders to their teachers, instead of the other way round. They would have liked  this very much.

All this came to an end in 1989, but the JVP hold on the University continued. Universities were a fertile ground for new recruits. As long as the district quota system, which decides university entrance not on  merit , but on geographic location  remains intact, the JVP would find enough supporters in universities, declared critics.  

After 1971,JVP had abandoned plans to work with  school children, servant boys, unemployed persons and   such like. The undergrad became JVP’s main  source for youth. The University contained the sort of energetic young adults the  JVP needed for its deadly purposes.

  JVP set up JVP controlled  student unions such as the  General Students Union of University of Sri Jayawardanepura (Progressive Front). Rival  organizations were  crushed. Daya Pathirana,  leader of the Colombo University Independent Students’ Union, was killed in 1987 when he formed an alternative to the JVP-affiliated Socialist Students Union.

Pro-JVP student factions emerged as the sole representative of student politics, not because there were no alternatives, but because by using thuggery they crushed all  dissent and alternative opinion   at the very start. The  Inter University Student Federation became the main organ of the JVP in the University.

Inter University Student Federation was established in 1969, in Peradeniya by the Vice Chancellor,  Prof E.O.E  Pereira.  Today IUSF represents  the  student councils and action committees of 15 higher education institutes including all the major universities and technical colleges in Sri Lanka. The  Inter University Bhikku Federation was  an affiliated organization.

The IUSF was  recognized by the government in July  1988, and had its first discussion with the Minister of  Higher Education in the same month. .IUSF has just one official, the Convener, who carries out all administrative and legal work on behalf of the union.

IUSF   soon came under the control of  the political  parties operating in the University .From 1972, IUSF was controlled by the Ceylon National Students’ Union of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka.  In 1976, JVP  gained control of the IUSF    . Most JVP MPs cut their teeth in politics as activists of the IUSF,  observed analysts.  IUSF Conveners  usually  came from the  JVP .  They later held high rank in the main  JVP.

IUSF was not popular. There were complaints about their activities. In 2009, Prof. Nalin de Silva – Dean of the faculty of Science at the University of Kelaniya – complained that pro-JVP IUSF students had threatened him with death for not agreeing to their political ideologies.

University of Jaffna banned IUSF from entering to the university premises in June 2010. That is not surprising, Jaffna has a matching  organization of its own. University of Colombo and University of Moratuwa had   also  banned the IUSF, according  Wikipedia.

The most explosive comment on the IUSF  comes from Gamini Samaranayake, then Chairman  UGC.He made  special mention of  IUSF. He said that anybody who wants to study political violence and terrorism in Sri Lanka   must start from the JVP controlled IUSF. This name is only a cover, he said. The IUSF is a ‘terrorist movement’.

UK Friends of Galle

The Srilankan schools that were closed for two weeks due to fuel and other shortages have reopened on the 25^th July 2022 and  UKFG has resumed their  Free Lunch For Children programme .   The situation in Srilanka is still critical. Prices  of essential food have gone up by 300% aince April and the fuel shortage has brought many services to halt.   Out of 170,0000 low income families 900,000  could afford only one meal a day now . Most of the children come to school with no dinner and  breakfast. Naturally , starving children could not concentrate on the lessons

Realising this tragedy, this week we have expanded our programme to cover  fed 1500 children in five  schools at Kamburupitya. They are Mapalana, Godawa, Sapugoda, Thumbe and Gathara schools

We are very grateful to our friends in UK, Mr  Neil & Mrs Helen  Carson, Mr Michael , Mr Alan & Mrs Della  Keen, Mr Alan Huchison , Mr Tom Blackwell ,  Dr Uditha & Mrs Kumari Bopitiya, Mrs Nicky Pharaoh, Mr Mark Miller, Mr Ananda Wijesingha and Mrs Sujani Wijethunga in Canada  and Johnson Matthey Limited in London who have generously donated funds for this humanitarian project.  The cost of feeding  300 children in a school is around Rupees 35000 (about £80 ) . £1000  ( Rs 420,000) would feed 1800  children for a week.

If you too would kindly like to save a group of  school children  from starvation, please get in touch with us via this website or email devsiri@hotmail.com. Also please forward to this mail to any philanthropist friend of yours

Thank you

Sirisena Gamage

Chairman

UK Friends of Galle

තෙල් හිඟය නිසා සති  තුනක් තිස්සේ හදිසියේ වසා දැමුනු ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ පාසල් 2022 ජූලි 25 වැනිදා නැවත පටන් ගන්නා ලදී.  ඒ සමගම පාසල් දරුවන්ට දිවා ආහාරය  දීමේ අපේ ව්‍යාපෘතිය ද  නැවත ආරම්භ කෙරුණි.   ඒ සඳහා අපට මුදලින් ආධාර කළ එංගලන්තයේ සියලුම දානපතීන් වෙත අපගේ බලවත් ස්තුතිය මෙයින් පුද කරමු.    කඹුරුපිටියේ සපුගොඩ රතනපාල, මාපලාන, තුඹේ ගෝදාව  හා ගතාර යන විදුහල් පාසලේ දූ දරුවන් 1200ක් ඉතා සතුටින් දිවා ආහාරය ගන්නා පින්තූරයි මේ.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ බොහෝ දෙමව්පියන්ට තුතුන්වේලක් තියා එක වේලකටවත්  තම දරුවන්ට ආහාර  ලබාදීම අති කර දුෂ්කර කටයුත්තක් වී ඇත. එවැනි ඉතා කණගාටු දායක සමයක තම දරුවන්ට මෙසේ  නොමිලයේ දිවා ආහාරය ලබාදීම  ගැන බලවත් ලෙස ස්තුති කරමින්  හා මෙම උපකාරය නොනවත්වා ඉදිරියට ගෙන යන ලෙසත ඉල්ලමින් විදුහල්පතිවරුන් හා බොහෝ දෙමව්පියන් විසින් අප වෙත ලිපි එවා ඇත. 

එනිසා මෙම සත්කාරය තව මාස ගණනක් පවත්වාගෙන යාම සඳහා අපට තවත් දානපතිවරුන්ගේ  නොමසුරු ආධාර අවශ්‍යය. ලමුන් 350ක් සිටින පාසැලකට පෝෂ්‍යදායි රසවත් දිවා ආහාර වේලක් සැපයීමට දිනකට රුපියල් හතළිස් දහසක් පමණ  මුදලක් වැයවේ   බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය  මුදලින්  බැලූවිට එය පවුම් 90 ක් වැනි සුළු ප්‍රමාණයකි. බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය පවුම් 1000කින්  ( රු ලක්ශ 4.25කින්) ගම්බද පාසල් තුන හතරක සිසුන් එක්දහස් අටසීයකට සතියක්ම දිවා ආහාරය සැපයිය හැකිය. ඔබත් මෙම දානමය පුණ්‍ය කර්මයට සහභාගී  වීමට කැමති නම්  අපගේ වෙබ් අඩවිය තුලින් විස්තර කියවා devsiri@hotmail.com  යන විද්‍යුත් ලිපිනයෙන් අප හා එක්වන්න  . ඔබගේ දානපති  මිතුරන්ටද  කරුණාකර මේ ලිපිය  යොමු කරන්න. ඔවුන්ගෙන් එක් අයකු හෝ මෙම සත්කාරයට මුදලින් සහභාගි  වීමට කැමති වුවහොත් එය මේ ඔබ දකින ගම්බද පාසල් දරුවන්ගේ     මහත් භාග්‍යක් වනු ඇත

 බොහොම ස්තූතියි

සිරිසේන ගමගේ

ගරු සභාපති

එක්සත් රාජධානියේ  ගාලු මිතුරු පදනම

By P.K.Balachandran Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Colombo, August 7 (Counterpoint): The proposed docking of the Chinese survey and tracking vessel Yuan Wang 5 at Hambantota port from August 11 to 17, has touched off a low-intensity conflict between India and China putting Sri Lanka in a cleft stick.

Sri Lanka is desperately in need of financial help from both India and China to tide over an unprecedented financial crisis. Therefore, any standoff between the two giants will exacerbate the island nation’s bid to emerge from the economic quagmire.

After India verbally protested to Sri Lanka against the vessel’s visit (suspecting that it could spy on India’s southern and eastern coasts from Hambantota port) Sri Lanka requested China to postpone the visit to enable consultations. By doing so, Sri Lanka was trying to buy time to resolve the issue in a way that will not alienate it from either New Delhi or Beijing.

But given India’s tough stand on the issue (for more reasons than one), the powers-that-be in New Delhi are unlikely to take no” for an answer from Colombo. As for China, it is currently in an exceptionally   belligerent mood, given the challenge it is facing from the US over Taiwan. And being the single-largest bilateral creditor in Sri Lanka, with power to stall the latter’s debt restructuring efforts, China could throttle the island nation if the latter did not allow the ship to dock under rival India’s influence.

Besides, the geopolitical dimension of the problem, Sri Lanka is also facing a psychological issue: Right from the 1980s, its formal status as a sovereign State, legally free to take any decision it wants, has been constantly eroded by regional and global powers on various issues, such as security, human rights and constitutional arrangements. The proposed visit of Yuan Wang 5 is but the latest challenge to Sri Lanka’s sovereignty in a long series of challnges.

However, both India and China have their arguments to back their respective demands. To take India’s case first, New Delhi considers neighbor Sri Lanka as being part of its sphere of influence and within its defense perimeter. India also sees Lanka as a natural ally with deep historical and contemporary cultural and religious links. New Delhi, therefore, demands a special relationship, which to it means Sri Lanka’s keeping at bay, India’s rivals or any force inimical to it.

Further, India has been assiduously trying to bring Sri Lanka under its political, economic and security umbrella through its Neighborhood First” policy and maritime security agreements. Under one such security arrangement, Sri Lanka, India and the Maldives are to cooperate in creating. maintaining and operating a mutual Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) scheme. Under the MDA scheme, Sri Lanka should have informed India in advance about the visit of Yuan Wang 5.   Gotabaya Rajapaksa was Sri Lanka’s President when the vessel was given diplomatic permission to dock. The obligation to inform India as per the MDA scheme was ignored.

The problem was compounded by the fact the successor government under President Ranil Wickremesinghe had not reviewed it keeping the MDA and India’s sensitivity in mind. New Delhi had expected Colombo not to repeat the mistake it made in 2014, when a Chinese nuclear submarine had secretly docked at Colombo port almost coinciding with the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to the city. That docking was seen in New Delhi as a hostile act and relations between New Delhi and Colombo soured gravely.

India’s case on the visit of Yuan Wang 5 is further buttressed by the fact that unlike China or any other country for that matter, India has always been the First Responder” every time Sri Lanka faced a problem, whether it was a natural, economic or a political disaster. New Delhi came to Colombo’s help to curb a leftist insurrection in 1971 and also during the 1988-89 leftist insurrection. To end Tamil separatist militancy in 1987, it sent a Peace Keeping Force to implement the India-Sri Lanka Accord. And during the current economic crisis, India has helped with a US$ 3.8 billion credit line and has actually shipped vital supplies, a contribution not matched by any other country.  

In contrast, China’s contribution during the on-going crisis has been negligible. China has been playing hard to get, saying it has no system of taking haircuts on loan repayments. It has offered another loan to pay off a part of its previous loans to Sri Lanka. It has asked Sri Lanka to be financially prudent, avoid taking loans and invite Chinese investments instead. It has also insisted that Sri Lanka sign an FTA with it that had been pending since 2015 due to Lanka’s reservations.

As regards the use of Hambantota port, China sees it as a Chinese port to the extent that it had taken it on lease for 99 years in 2017. It feels  that China should have legitimate access to it particularly because Yuan Wang 5 is coming only for replenishments”. Furthermore, a Chinese military vessel could not be denied berthing when military vessels from other countries, including the US, had berthed there. A US military vessel had even conducted an exercise there.    

Be that as it may, Sri Lanka cannot disengage from China. With deep pockets, China is the single-largest bilateral creditor and investor in Sri Lanka with investments totaling over US$ 6.5 billion in the vital infrastructure sector. And its financial aid cannot be matched by any country including India though the latter is eager to help.   China also has influence in the IMF from which Sri Lanka is expecting a bailout. A miffed China is unlikely to help Sri Lanka at the IMF.            

Sri Lanka is hoping that China will call off the Yuan Wang 5’s visit in view of the very serious reservations expressed by India. If China does it, overcoming its belligerent move, it will bring great relief to Sri Lanka.

However, as a precautionary measure, Sri Lanka has manifestly moved closer to India. In his first formal address to the Sri Lankan parliament as President, President Ranil Wickremesinghe praised India sky high and did not even mention China.  I wish to specially mention the assistance provided by India, our closest neighbor, in our efforts of economic revitalization. The Government of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given us a breath of life. On behalf of my people and that of my own, I convey gratitude to Prime Minister Modi, the government and the people of India,” Wickremesinghe said.

Even in his speech at the Advocata Institute, the President spoke about bilateral economic ties with India in the energy structure and did not mention China at all.

And on its part, India, whether at the Prime Ministerial level or the Foreign Minister’s level, has described itself as a dependable and reliable” friend of Sri Lanka’s, based on its millennia-old civilizational ties”.

Therefore, it appears that, at least at the present juncture, India is on a better wicket than China in Sri Lanka. However, much would depend on Beijing’s response to Colombo’s request for a deferment of Yuan Wang 5’s visit to Hambantota.  It could save or sour Sri Lanka’s ties with India and China.

විමල් වීරවංශ,(පා.ම.) නායක, ජාතික නිදහස් පෙරමුණ,

ජාතික නිදහස් පෙරමුණේ නායක පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී විමල් වීරවංශ මහතා විසින් නිකුත් කර ඇති මාධ්‍ය නිවේදනයක් මෙහි දැක්වේ.

ඉන්දු- පැසිෆික් වුවමනාවට චීනයට දොර වැසීම නොබැඳි පිළිවෙත නොවේ!

ලබන එකොළොස්වැනි දා හම්බන්තොට වරායට පැමිණීමට නියමිතව තිබූ චීනයේ යුවාන් වැන් 05 සන්නිවේදන නෞකාවට එදින පැමිණීමෙන් වළකින ලෙස ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය චීන තානාපති කාර්යාලය වෙත දැනුම් දී ඇති බව වාර්තා වේ. එසේ දැනුම් දී ඇත්තේ එම සන්නිවේදන නෞකාවට අවශ්‍ය ඉන්ධන ඇතුළු අනිකුත් පහසුකම් ලබා ගැනීම පිණිස හම්බන්තොට වරායට පැමිණීම පිණිස ලබාදී තිබූ අවසරය තාවකාලිකව අත්හිටුවීමට ගත් තීරණය අනුව ය.

මෙම නෞකාව ඔත්තු බැලීමේ නෞකාවක් ලෙස සලකමින් ඉන්දීය රජය එය හම්බන්තොට වරායට පැමිණීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් දැඩි විරෝධය දැක්වීමත් සමඟ ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය මෙම තීරණය ගෙන ඇත. ඉන්දු- පැසිෆික් වුවමනාවට චීනයට දොර වැසීම නොබැඳි පිළිවෙත ද ? අප අනුගමනය කළ යුතු වන්නේ නොබැඳි විදේශ පිළිවෙත මිස අනෙකක් නොවේ.

මෙමගින් පෙනී යන්නේ තවමත් පවතින අර්බුදය, පුනරුදයේ මොහොත බවට පත් කර නොගනිමින්, එය ඉන්දු- පැසිෆික් ආධිපත්‍යයට අපේ රට සම්පූර්ණයෙන් යටත් කිරීම සඳහා යොදා ගනිමින් තිබෙන බවය. එසේම අපේ රට ඉන්දු පැසිෆික් මෙහෙයුමේ ගොදුරක් බවට පත් කිරීම පිණිස යුහුසුළුව ක්‍රියාත්මක වූ බැසිල් රාජපක්ෂ ප්‍රමුඛ නඩයේ බලපෑමෙන් වත්මන් පාලනය ද මිදී නොමැති බවය.

එවැනි රට වළපල්ලට ඇද දැමූ විනාශකාරී නඩයක බලපෑම්වලට නතු වෙමින් ගන්නා මෙවැනි තීරණ මගින් සිදු වන්නේ අනාදිමත් කාලයක සිට සෑම දුෂ්කර මොහොතකම ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට මිත්‍රත්වයේ හස්තය දිගු කළ කල්‍යාණ මිත්‍රයකු වන චීනය සමඟ ද රාජ්‍යතාන්ත්‍රික ගැටළුවක් පැන නැගීම පමණි.

විමල් වීරවංශ,(පා.ම.)
නායක,
ජාතික නිදහස් පෙරමුණ,