Sri Lanka News

US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung has condemned the situation today (09) by posting a message on her Twitter account.

The message says “We condemn the violence against peaceful protestors today, and call on the government to conduct a full investigation, including the arrest prosecution of anyone who incited violence. Our sympathies are with those injured today and we urge calm and restraint across the island.

Meanwhile, the so called peaceful protestors are accused of perpetration of following violences against the parliamtarians reported in the local news papers.

MP Kumara Welgama assaulted – Hiru News

It is reported that MP Kumara Welgama has been assaulted.

He was injured in the attack and is currently receiving treatment at a hospita

Ancestral home of Rajapaksas set on fire in Medamulana (Daily Mirror)

The ancestral home of the Rajapaksas in Medamulana in Hambantota has been set on fire by a group of protestors a short while ago.

Video footage showed the entire house burning away as protestors hooted away. 

Mahinda Rajapaksa’s house in Kurunegala set on fire (Video) – Hiru News

People have set fire to a house belonging to Mahinda Rajapaksa in Kurunegala.<br /><br />It is reported that a large fire has spread in the house.

Shooting at the Weeraketiya Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman’s residence – Hiru News

It is reported that a person has been shot dead at the house of the Chairman of the Weeraketiya Pradeshiya Sabha.

Eight others were injured in the incident, police said.<br /><br />Further details about the deceased and the incident have not been reported yet.

Medamulana monuments destroyed (Video) – Hiru News

The two monuments erected at the Medamulana Walawuwa in memory of D.A. Rajapaksa and Dona Dandina Rajapaksa have been smashed and destroyed.

According to reports 33.9 million rupees of Sri Lankan citizens’ tax money was wasted on these monuments.

Tear gas fired at protesters trying to enter Temple Trees (Adaderana)

The police have fired tear gas to disperse a group of anti-government protesters who attempted to forcibly enter the Temple Trees this evening (May 09).

Protestors trying to forcibly enter Temple Trees, tear gas fired (Daily Mirror)

A group of anti-government protestors who were forcibly trying to enter Temple Trees have been tear-gassed by the police a short while ago. 

Despite the tear gas, the protestors are attempting to forcibly enter the premises.

MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala found dead amidst unrest in Nittambuwa (Adaderana)

Polonnaruwa District MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala and his personal security officer are reported dead amidst the unrest in Nittambuwa today.

A shooting incident was reported in the area this evening, following which a total of six injured people were rushed to the Wathupitiwala Base Hospital.

Hospital sources confirmed that three of them have sustained gunshot wounds. A 27-year-old who was in critical condition later succumbed to injuries.

According to reports, the parliamentarian and his assistant had opened fire at the protesters and critically injured two people blocking his vehicle. He was later found dead while hiding inside a nearby building.

Footage secured from a nearby CCTV camera showed MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala fleeing the scene with his assistant, who was armed with a gun.

https://youtu.be/PiY-AwapvUk

Thisakutti Arachchi’s house attacked (Video) – Hiru News

People have attacked the house of Badulla District Parliamentarian Tissa Kuttiarachchi.<br /><br />Protesters reportedly set fire to the MP’s house after the attack.

Meanwhile, several houses of parliamentarians were attacked while the house of Puttalam MP Santha Nishantha was completely damaged due to an arson attack.

MP Sanath Nishantha’s house set on fire (Video) – Hiru News

Puttalam District Parliamentarian Sanath Nishantha’s house has been set on fire

MP Johnston Fernando’s house damaged – protesters surround residence – Hiru News

It is reported that the house of Kurunegala District Parliamentarian Johnston Fernando has also been surrounded by protesters.

Protesters have also set fire to his house and smashed equipment according to reports.

SLPP MPs houses under attack, vehicles burnt (Daily Mirror)

he houses of several SLPP MPs have come under attack by the protestors and some have been set ablaze.

Some SLPP offices have also been set on fire, the Daily Mirror area correspondents have reported.

Some of the MPs whose houses have been attacked are Johnston Fernando, Kanchana Wijesekara, Sanath Nishantha, Ramesh Pathirana and Nimal Lanza.

Security has been heightened outside all ruling party MP’s houses. 

Moratuwa Mayor’s residence set on fire (Courtesy NewsIn.Asia)

A group of individuals has set fire to the residence of Moratuwa Mayor Saman Lal Fernando, located in the area of Willorawatte.

According to Ada Derana correspondent, the situation has been brought under control.

Courtesy Hiru News

Police Media Spokesman SP Nihal Thalduwa stated that an ALL ISLAND police curfew has been imposed indefinitely&nbsp;with immediate effect.<br /><br />The police spokesman said in a statement that strict action would be taken against those who damage public property, mobilizing public assembly and committing acts of violence during the curfew.

Courtesy Adaderana

At least 141 people have been admitted to the Colombo National Hospital following the violent situation that erupted near Temple Trees and spread out to the Galle Face Green protest site and other parts of the country.

An unruly group of SLPP supporters today (May 09) attacked the GotaGoGama anti-government protest site set up at the Galle Face Green.

They caused havoc, assaulting the peaceful protesters at the site while destroying their tents and other properties in the area. 

The SLPP supporters had staged a demonstration near the Temple Trees this morning urging Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa not to resign from his position.

Following an audience with the prime minister, they also assaulted the anti-government protesters engaged in a peaceful protest near Temple Trees.

However, PM Rajapaksa announced his resignation hours after the eruption of the tensions.

Courtesy Adaderana

Polonnaruwa District MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala and his personal security officer are reported dead amidst the unrest in Nittambuwa today.

A shooting incident was reported in the area this evening, following which a total of six injured people were rushed to the Wathupitiwala Base Hospital.

Hospital sources confirmed that three of them have sustained gunshot wounds. A 27-year-old who was in critical condition later succumbed to injuries.

According to reports, the parliamentarian and his assistant had opened fire at the protesters and critically injured two people blocking his vehicle. He was later found dead while hiding inside a nearby building.

Footage secured from a nearby CCTV camera showed MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala fleeing the scene with his assistant, who was armed with a gun.

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has stepped down from his position, amidst the ongoing protests against the government across the country.

He has tendered his letter of resignation to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a short while ago, the PM’s Office confirmed.

Rajapaksa’s resignation comes amid ongoing anti-government protests across the island over the worst economic crisis in the country since its independence.

Earlier today, police imposed a nationwide curfew and Army troops were deployed in Colombo as supporters of the ruling party attacked anti-government demonstrators outside the President’s office, leaving at least 23 people injured. 

Supporters of the SLPP rallied inside Mahinda Rajapaksa’s office earlier on Monday, urging him to ignore the protesters’ demand to step down and requesting he remains in office. 

After the meeting, they went to the front of the office where peaceful protesters have been demonstrating for several days while video footage showed the pro-government supporters attacking protesters with clubs and iron bars, demolishing and later burning down their tents.

The citizens of the island country have been showing this discontentment with the present government as they continue to struggle in long queues to meet their basic necessities, including food and medicines. 

It was reported last week that the Sri Lankan President and several ministers had also requested for the Prime Minister to resign allowing to form a government of national unity, an interim arrangement till the present economic crisis could be dealt with. 

Rajapaksa’s resignation as PM comes after rounds of discussions among the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Party (SLPP) and its constituent parties. The PM’s departure also results in the dissolution of the Cabinet. 

The government is currently struggling to meet basic requirements for its population of 22 million citizens amid an unprecedented economic crisis caused by mishandling of finances and ill-timed tax cuts. 

The island nation is also currently facing a foreign exchange deficit, which has resulted in food, fuel, power, and gas shortages, and has sought economic assistance from friendly countries. 

Meanwhile, people in the country have been protesting for nearly a month demanding for the government, led by the Rajapaksa family, to resign. 

Shenali D Waduge

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka has presented a list of proposals claiming they will ‘restore political & economic stability’ in the country. While these are a set of ‘aspired’ goals, there is no pressing necessity to be implementing any one of the proposals unless they provide immediate solutions, which are the call of the hour.

The Executive Presidency is not the failure of the crisis but the blame can be pinned on the sitting Executive President if BASL presents points on where the sitting President has failed.

If BASL claims 20^th amendment is the reason for the current crisis – BASL may like to provide reasons for other economic crisis we have had in the past without 20^th amendment.

What is the ‘system change’ that can provide equitable governance?

The 19^th amendment re-established independent commissions. Instead of seeing unbiased actions, we saw an independent commission member run to Supreme Court to file FR showcasing his political bias. What is the assurance that BASL can provide that similar situations will not arise?

Can BASL explain what it means by a ‘common Sri Lankan identity’ respecting the ‘diversity of its People’. This looks like terms taken from western-backed NGO jargon.

There is nowhere that says Government MPs cannot function independently – in fact prior to 1978 constitution, a Government MP crossing led to a by-election and another MP getting elected. Ideally, the current proportional representation should change & first past the post system of electing MPs should be brought back. This will certainly end deal makers entering parliament.

Sri Lanka has been following parliamentary democracy & as such governments get elected and rejected through the ballot only. People’s protests are their fundamental right, but a precedence cannot be created by overthrowing a government by placards and protests. Their demands must be pressurized into implementation so long as they are valid and relevant to all citizens.

It is strange that the BASL are taking pains to promote only one western monetary institute for economic recovery & emergency financial assistance. Has BASL looked at the long term repercussions for the people from the conditions that Sri Lanka has to agree to obtain this loan facility? Is this the sole solution for Sri Lanka to gain economic stability? Is this loan to improve credit ratings so that Sri Lanka can entrap itself further by securing more loans?

Given that the BASL is also in agreement that ‘appointment of new Ministers will not’ resolve the present political instability, will a bi-partisan consensus without appointments happen in the current Parliament?

Will BASL proposal bring down the value of the Sri Lankan rupee & the queues or make available gas, petrol, medicines, essential goods & reduce power cuts.

The BASL has given 5 objectives in its proposal

1. Create political, economic & social stability
2. Create environment to address fundamental problems that led to the crisis & provide future reforms
3. Restructure external debt by entering multi-lateral institutions including IMF (BASL’s favored option) – appoint financial & legal advisors (opportunity for BASL)
4. Obtain bridging finance & using savings from debt standstill to procure uninterrupted supply of essentials until IMF program is in place.
5. Create environment to combat corruption & ensure accountability & strengthening independent institutions.

– None of the proposals provide an immediate solution except perhaps item 4.

BASL further presents a list of 8 proposals as Overarching Requirements” for a stable government – once again the BASL mentions IMF.

1. Actions to be consistent with Constitution & relevant legal instruments & the transitional provisions are purely to address the exigency of the situation & not a precedent – BASL says.

This first proposal and its message nullifies all of the proposals that have been made thereafter as the BASL says that what they are proposing are only ‘transitional provisions’ and are meant solely to ‘address the exigency of the situation’ and are not a ‘precedent’. Therefore, why go to pains to make out a list of proposals with so many major changes?

1. BASL proposes introduction of 21^st amendment & repealing of 20^thamendment & restoring 19^th BASL requests to maintain the present number of Judges of the Court of Appeal & Supreme Court. BASL says the Constitutional Council should be re-established as well as Independent Commissions. BASL is also proposing that the CC and IC are given ‘enhanced financial independence’ transparency & accountability.

If BASL proposals are only to address the exigency of the situation why propose 21^st a, repealing 20^th a, restoring 19^th a and even include number of judges and demand another additional expense in re-establishing Constitutional Council & Independent Commissions? With the current currency crunch why should CC & IC be given ‘enhanced financial independence’ – what is BASL implying? Should they be allowed to get external financial assistance directly? Will this not create conflict of interest?

1. BASL says that in addition to the provisions of the 19^tha, the 21^st a should give CC to approve the appointments of the Governor of CBSL and Monetary Board/ – appointments of Secretaries to Ministries/Governors/Ambassadors/Heads of Missions to be done on advice of PM in consultation with Cabinet – Presidential Pardon on recommendation by a body established by law appointed on recommendation of the CC.

On what grounds is BASL suggesting that CC choose the above positions, given that this very document constitutes BASL’s 21^st amendment proposals?

1. BASL proposes that after enacting 21^st a – all Secretaries to Ministries to be appointed & all independent Commissions other than Judicial Service Commission be reconstituted.
2. BASL says the President should not hold any portfolio (as per 19^th a)

If the President is Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, why should he not hold position of Minister of Defense, when he is the one who has the right to declare war?

1. BASL says the Executive Presidency should be abolished in 15 months by Parliament on 30^th Nov 2022 (what about referendum asking the people) Executive Presidency to be replaced by a Parliamentary form of government, PM is head & Cabinet accountable to Parliament.

On what grounds is the BASL giving to abolish the executive presidency? When the people are the one’s that directly elect the President, why should that right be hijacked from the people without a referendum?

1. BASL is proposing to create an Interim Government of National Unity” consisting 15 Cabinet Ministers – PM to be a MP with a consensus of all political parties. If such does not arise, BASL is proposing that a National List MP resigns to bring an individual to be appointed as PM even if such an individual is not named in the list sent to the National Elections Commission.

We saw how the ‘Unity’ government under yahapalana functioned. The present proposal is attempting to parachute individuals outside of the parliamentary system and place them as PM. Who is the national list MP that will agree to resign? From which party is this national list MP to resign? How can an outsider be allowed to become PM of a country?

1. BASL wishes that this newly created ‘interim government’ consults with independent, apolitical professional/trade/civil society & appoints an independent Advisory Council of 15 qualified professionals for the 15 Ministries. BASL requires the Government to consult the Advisory Council on all ‘major policy decisions’.

 If the BASL proposals are only as transitional provisions and not precedents – why should BASL recommend that an a team of ‘civil society’ be appointed & the government has to consult them on ‘all major policy decisions’? Is this an attempt to plug civil society into politics?

1. BASL is next proposing to ‘rescind the Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry appointed by Gazette (Extraordinary) No. 2212/53 of 29^th January 2021 to implement recommendations & decisions of the Presidential CoI to investigate allegations of political victimization during commencing 8 January 2015 ending 16^thNovember 2019 appointed by Gazette (Extraordnary) No 2157/44 of 9^th January 2020.

With this – BASL has self-exposed itself. Why should BASL presenting a set of proposals to bring economic & political stability to Sri Lanka nit pick this particular gazette covering only period from 2015-2019 & propose that the Presidential CoI recommendations should be annulled? This is a very strange proposal from BASL.

1. BASL is proposing that the Cabinet of National Unity” prepare a Common Minimum Program (CMP) consulting the civil society” Advisory Council & have it tabled in Parliament. The CMP is to focus on – debt restructuring, negotiating IMF (BASL has already decided on who Sri Lanka should go to) & obtain bridging finance from bi-lateral partners / shortages of essential goods & services / divesture & privatization of state assets & awarding tenders / uphold Rule of Law / adopt foreign policy that supports national interests / enact legislation on crime, recovery of state assets, law on anti-corruption, regulation of political parties, campaign finance, amendments to Declaration of Assets & Liabilities law / amendments to Monetary Law & new legislation to strengthen independence of Central Bank of Sri Lanka / enact inputs of professional organizations & trade associations / strengthen Consultative Committees of Parliament & Sectoral Oversight Committees & invite professional organizations to attend meetings / complete reforms on conduct of elections

• IMF is mentioned 8 times
• 19^th amendment is mentioned 5 times
• 20^th amendment is mentioned 3 times
• 21^st amendment is mentioned 3 times
• A civil society Advisory Council” is mentioned 3 times
• power, fuel, gas, medicines, food etc is mentioned only TWICE.

What warrants hurrahs for the BASL proposals requires explanation given that it has not provided any solution apart from going to IMF and a string of constitutional changes that are meant to only weaken Parliament and subtly transfer powers to civil society with financial independence. What is shocking is the 9^th proposal to annul the Gazette that created a Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the victimization during 2015-2019 with recommendations by the Commission. Why would BASL take pains to nitpick only this Commission and propose it to be annulled?

This highlights the political bias of the BASL and its proposals

Shenali D Waduge

Jubeda Chowdhury  in Dhaka city

Myanmar-Bangladesh must have mutual strategic engagement as they share common border. Myanmar-Bangladesh have some common problems which need to be resolved bilaterally as soon as possible. Myanmar, Bangladesh need defense diplomacy for cementing their ties with neighbourly spirit. Myanmar must understand that Bangladesh is a good neighbor for Myanmar. The neighbourly friendship needs to be bolstered through defense diplomacy. Defense diplomacy has long been regarded as an important component of international diplomacy and an effective tool for fostering bilateral and regional relations.

Military training cooperation is an important part of military diplomacy and aids in the development of close relationships with other countries.

This type of collaboration also aids in the strengthening of strategic security ties and the resolution of common security challenges.

Bangladesh and Myanmar are two neighboring countries that share a border of 271 kilometers.

Bangladesh gained independence in 1971.

Myanmar recognized Bangladesh as an independent state on January 13, 1972.

Bangladesh and Burma signed a broad trade agreement on August 13, 1973.

On June 1, 1989, three memorandums of understanding were signed to begin border commerce and economic cooperation.

The bilateral partnership between the Myanmar military and the Bangladesh military has a lot of potential. There are a lot of areas where the two countries may collaborate and work together, with the enhancement of relations being the most important.

Myanmar’s military-to-military ties with other countries are crucial for Myanmar, which has been governed by the military for decades. The military of Bangladesh should likewise enhance its links with the Tatmadaw. Myanmar’s military (Tatmadaw) should strengthen ties with Bangladesh’s military to safeguard common bilateral interests.

Myanmar’s military can collaborate with Bangladesh’s military to broaden the scope of their relationship and explore deeper cooperation in areas such as counter-insurgency, counter-terrorism, Bangla-language skills, Burmese-language skills, joint naval and air exercises, and intelligence sharing in the Bay of Bengal region. In order to combat trans-border crimes such as illegal arms trade, drug trafficking, and human trafficking, the two military forces can increase mutual cooperation through training exchanges, intelligence sharing, and joint patrolling along the Myanmar-Bangladesh border.

The exchange of military delegations between Bangladesh and Myanmar could open the way for the two countries to resolve their bilateral concerns. Both sides can cooperate and exchange their knowledge and expertise in order to address certain common bilateral issues. Military training exchanges between the two-armed forces can help both sides improve their operational skills. Some examples of sectors of cooperation include combined military exercises, UN peacekeeping operation (UNPKO) training, and disaster management cooperation, as well as exchanging programs, senior-level visits, and medical cooperation, sports events, adventure activities, military tourism, joint cycling expeditions, and adventure training.

In 2019, Bangladesh’s then-Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Aziz Ahmed, embarked on a four-day tour to Myanmar. The goal of the tour was to strengthen both countries’ current military connections and determine the breadth of potential cooperation. General Aziz’s visit to Myanmar was Bangladesh’s first high-profile military visit to Myanmar in over five years. Gen. Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan, the former Chief of the Bangladesh Army, visited Myanmar in 2014 to discuss topics such as trans-border crime and human trafficking. Air Marshal Muhammad Enamul Bari, the Chief of Air Staff, and his five subordinates departed Dhaka for Myanmar in 2019. U Ne Win, President of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma (Myanmar), arrived in Dhaka for a four-day official visit on April 26, 1974. Bangladesh President Mr. Muhammadullah and Prime Minister Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman greeted him at the airport. In 2011, Lt. General Myat Hein, the then-Commandant in Chief of the Myanmar Air Force, arrived in Dhaka for a six-day visit to Bangladesh. These types of high-level visits, on the other hand, are critical for both Myanmar and Bangladesh to strengthen ties and improve mutual understanding.

In the past, Myanmar defense officers attended Bangladeshi training schools such as the National Defense College and the Defense Service Command and Staff College (DSCSC). However, in order to maintain a higher level of interest, these training exchanges must be resumed. As a result, Bangladesh and Myanmar should work together to provide additional training opportunities.

The two forces’ joint endeavors may pave the way for stronger ties between the two neighbors. Improved military connections between Bangladesh and Myanmar can help to smooth out ties and resolve long-standing concerns including the Rakhine displaced persons crisis in Bangladesh, maritime disputes, and border-related trans-border crimes.

In general, members of Myanmar’s and Bangladesh’s armed services should exchange visits, training, and joint exercises on a regular basis. These will help to eliminate mistrust and increase trust and understanding. This may also aid in the resolution of the region’s long-standing Rohingya refugee dilemma.

On the environmental front, both Bangladesh and Myanmar should guarantee that global climate conferences do not merely focus on climate issues, but also set actual steps and a constructive framework, with the genuine purpose of reducing environmental degradation.

The only thing that matters for Bangladesh is that there is enormous economic potential for Bangladesh within Myanmar. Bangladesh should have no concerns about the military in Myanmar ruling the show. Regardless of who is in power in Myanmar, Bangladesh must fight for tighter connections. Myanmar’s Constituent Assembly still has a strong military presence. Bangladesh has discovered new opportunities to earn billions by exporting to and investing in Myanmar. As one of Myanmar’s five neighbors, Bangladesh should endeavor to seize such possibilities, strengthen its connections with Myanmar, and take advantage of Myanmar’s economic potential through military diplomacy between the two countries.

Countries like Bangladesh and Myanmar, which are among the worst-affected by climate change, with the worst yet to come, may band together to solve concerns related to global environmental degradation. Aside from the obvious issues of poverty and illiteracy, Bangladesh and Myanmar’s environmental vulnerability is particularly concerning. Basically, through collaborative disaster management systems, operations, and initiatives, the Tatmadaw and Bangladesh military may work together to reduce the risk of regional environmental degradation. The finest example to grasp it was Cyclone Nargis in 2008. This natural disaster impacted both coastline countries. Both Myanmar and Bangladesh have numerous potentials to collaborate in order to reduce the danger and loss of environmental deterioration.

The relations between the two countries are the cross-border communication of general people from the two sides of Bangladesh and Myanmar. The people-to-people connection between two sovereign countries must be made the most effective way to progress together and to keep a peaceful relationship between the concerned countries. This factor is particularly important when the concerned countries are neighbors. There must be a smooth and vibrant relationship between the people of both Bangladesh and Myanmar. Basically, both militaries can promote Trade and Commerce with each other.

Being one of the closest neighbours of Myanmar, both countries should maintain a friendly relationship with each other. Bangladesh armed forces must take effective steps to improve the relations with Myanmar armed forces assuring the zero-tolerance policy of the Bangladesh government against terrorists, human traffickers, illegal drug traders criminals.  

Myanmar’s military should take effective steps to foster the ties. It must understand that Bangladesh is a peace-loving country and friendly neighbours. Bangladesh believes in peaceful coexistence. Thus, engagement with Bangladesh would be beneficial for Myanmar also. Military ties between the two neighbouring countries can assure peace, harmony, regional stability, regional greater interest, etc. in the whole regions (South Asia and Southeast Asia)

John Rozario, Karnataka, India

The transition from an aid seeker to a donor country is a matter of great pride for the people of Bangladesh. Now, Bangladesh has achieved the status of being a donor country. It is the combined efforts of all Bangladeshi people and leadership who have made it possible to achieve this milestone.

Bangladesh’s medical and monetary help to Sri Lanka will increase its picture and status. As soon as upon a time, Bangladesh was a ‘bottomless pit’ and a donation seeker within the worldwide area. Now it’s a donor and lending nation. It exhibits all-South Asian nations find out how to revive from ashes. Bangladesh establishes an instance in South Asia how to make sure financial development amidst numerous socio-political points. Debt-ridden Bangladesh a couple of years in the past is now a rustic of unprecedented success in debt aid. The world as we speak appears at Bangladesh in amazement.

As a good friend and shut neighbour, it is usually Bangladesh’s privilege to face by Sri Lanka in no matter approach it might, throughout instances of disaster. Bangladesh has donated emergency medication value 2.3 million USD to crisis-hit Sri Lanka.

This medical help by the government of Bangladesh to the pleasant individuals of Sri Lanka is an expression of solidarity and friendship between the 2 nations when they’re celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations this year.

In this regard, a programme was held on May 04 on the State Visitor Home Padma the place Overseas Minister Dr A.Okay. Abdul Momen and Wellbeing Minister Zahid Maleque handed over a couple of packing containers of medication as a token to the Sri Lankan Excessive Commissioner to Bangladesh Professor Sudharshan D.S. Seneviratne.

Overseas Secretary Ambassador Mr Masud Bin Momen, MD & CEO of EDCL and DG (Medication), President of Bangladesh Affiliation of Prescribed drugs Industries (BAPI) Nazmul Hassan, we’re additionally current within the programme.

In his quick remarks, Bangladesh Overseas Minister, D. Momen termed the provide of medication, as an expression of solidarity and friendship between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, at a time when the 2 nations are celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations.

Nonetheless, what occurred that Bangladesh is creating one shock after one other? Economists say there are some causes behind this: exports, social progress and financial foresight. There are three extra causes apart from financial functionality viz. sympathy, financial diplomacy and political will.

When this was the case, the sudden information got here that Bangladesh had supplied 200 million in monetary help to Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan media has raised the query if Bangladesh could be self-sufficient, why can’t we? In June, the finance ministry of Bangladesh gave extra startling information. It has been mentioned that Bangladesh stands by Sudan, the poorest nation in Africa. 65 crores Bangladeshi Taka has been supplied to scale back the debt burden of the IMF. The nation borrowed Rs 510,000 crore, Taka, from the IMF. The financial disaster was so extreme that the nation couldn’t repay the debt. Bangladesh has come ahead after sending messages asking for assist from nation to nation.

Bangladesh’s finance ministry says Sudan is closely indebted and poor. The federal government hopes the funding will strengthen Sudan’s combat in opposition to poverty. At one time Sudan was a British colony. The nation gained independence on January 1, 1956, below a treaty. It could be recalled that final 12 months, Bangladesh additionally supplied greater than Tk 80 million to Somalia, one other African nation. That was additionally in repaying the IMF mortgage. Sudan, a member of the Group of Islamic Cooperation, or OIC, has been crippled by debt and poverty, and monetary help is anticipated to assist overcome the disaster.

Final 12 months, Bangladesh additionally handed Tk 80 million to assist Somalia fight poverty as a part of the IMF initiative. Everyone seems to be fascinated by the event of Bangladesh.

The picture of Bangladesh and the respect for the individuals of this nation has elevated as a result of help to Sri Lanka and Sudan from overseas alternate reserves. Bangladesh is now a lending nation! If Bangladesh could be self-sufficient, a lender and a financial miracle in South Asia, why can’t others do this?

He added that below the in a position management of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh by no means hesitates to increase help to any nation in difficulties, particularly, to its neighbours for guaranteeing shared peace and prosperity within the South Asian area. He ensured that Bangladesh stands able to assist Sri Lanka in all potential methods.

The Sri Lankan Excessive Commissioner, whereas making his remarks expressed his gratitude to the federal government of Sri Lanka Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the federal government of Bangladesh for this pleasant gesture of supplying medication to the individuals of Sri Lanka.

He famous that Sri Lanka values the pleasant relationship with Bangladesh and is dedicated to additional strengthening it within the coming days.

He termed the gifting of the medicines, which was one other demonstration that the trajectory of the bilateral relations was transferring in the proper route.

Each EDCL and BAPI have contributed medication of BD taka 10 crores every, Taka 20 Crores in complete as items to Sri Lanka.

The medication is anticipated to succeed in Sri Lanka inside a couple of days’ time.

The provide of medication would definitely manifest the potential of the prescription drugs industries by way of its capacity in producing high-quality medication, and monetary capability and it additionally demonstrates Bangladesh’s overseas coverage resolve of sustaining pleasant and cooperative relations along with her neighbours.

Earlier, Bangladesh supported Sri Lanka by offering $ 200 million via a forex swapping association. Everyone around the world is praising the sustainable development of Bangladesh. Bangladesh is being recognized as a rising star in South Asia. Bangladesh is improving so much today, said an economist in Pakistan. Abid Hassan said in an article in a Pakistani newspaper, that Pakistan may seek financial assistance from Bangladesh by 2030. The former World Bank economist has just predicted the future. If Bangladesh can pay 20 million US dollars to Sri Lanka, waive the IMF’s Bangladeshi share of money from Somalia and Sudan, help India and Indonesia with Covid-19 medical equipment, shelter a large number of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, it can also help Pakistan financially. Bangladesh is a humanitarian state in South Asia.

The picture of Bangladesh and the respect for the individuals of this nation has elevated as a result of monetary help to Sri Lanka and Sudan from its overseas alternate reserves. Bangladesh additionally agreed to supply medical support to Afghanistan. Bangladesh in December, 2021, introduced humanitarian assist for the Afghan individuals whereas expressing deep concern over the financial and humanitarian disaster looming in Afghanistan. The nation introduced a humanitarian support bundle within the type of meals and medicinal help, the Overseas Ministry mentioned following the seventeenth extraordinary session of the Group of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Overseas Ministers on the Afghanistan state of affairs held in Islamabad, Pakistan. Now, Bangladesh gave medical help to disaster hit Sri Lanka. It proves that it’s a actual humanitarian state in South Asia. 

From a humanitarian perspective, the short response of Bangladesh was lauded by many, nationally and globally.

Biggest humanitarian instance?

Bangladesh has already portrayed its picture firmly as a humanitarian nation, when she warmly welcomed about 1.1 million forcibly displaced Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. Regardless of many diplomatic efforts, the repatriation of Rohingya individuals has been lingering for fairly lengthy. The exodus of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar to Bangladesh launched into quite a few strategic, financial and environmental points as Bangladesh is already an over populated nation. Nonetheless, Bangladesh continues to generously host the world’s largest and rising refugee settlement regardless of enormous burden on financial system, meals administration, restricted assets and different circumstances. Even Bangladesh deliberate to relocate a few of the Rohingyas to Bhashanchar to make sure higher residing customary for them via Ashrayan 3 Challenge by itself financing. Moreover, Bangladesh has been monitoring a powerful report in improvement and development since final decade which is able to make it extra able to providing assist to different nations in disaster.

1000’s of extra examples could be drawn the place Bangladesh was among the many quickest nations to face beside others. By way of quantity, medical support to be supplied by Bangladesh to Sri Lanka may be small in scale of the required fund however its immediate response is definitely praiseworthy.

Now the query is legitimate. Bangladesh is now a donor and lending nation! If Bangladesh could be a self-sufficient, donor, lender, a financial miracle in South Asia, why can’t others do this? Why does South Asia not take lessons from Bangladesh? After all, South Asia can study so much from Bangladesh.

Courtesy Ceylon Today

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has asked the Prime Minister-led Cabinet to resign and pave the way to form a national programme to stabilise the country ending the current crises, Mass Media Minister,
Dr. Nalaka Godahewa told the media yesterday.

He also said, the Prime Minister’s decision to resign would either be made today or in the coming few days.

Once the Prime Minister resigns the Cabinet stands automatically dissolved. The President requested us to resign to end this political stalemate,” he added.

Meanwhile, President Rajapaksa has phoned Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and invited him to form a Government. The latter on Saturday told a group of youth that he was not in favour to follow the request.

However, following the meeting with the Bar Association of Sri Lanka last morning, Premadasa said the party too had a national responsibility in the public interest and therefore was willing to consider the invitation to form an All-Party Government.

The BASL, on the other hand, met President Rajapaksa last morning and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksain the afternoon.

Discussions went smoothly and both responded favourably,” the BASL spokesman said.

President Rajapaksa had informed the BASL that action to be taken constitutionally on the proposals presented by the Association will be taken into account.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa was in for a surprise when he was hooted at by a group of protestors during a visit to Anuradhapura today morning. 

The protestors who had gathered close to the Temple since morning, hooted at the Prime Minister when his motorcade was leaving the premises. 

The protestors had called on the Prime Minister and his family to step down and even went to the extent of asking if the Prime Minister was wearing his clothes. 
The protestors were prevented from going close to the motorcade by the police who were deployed outside. 

Rajapaksa is likely to step down from his post this week after he was asked to leave by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa last Friday. 

It is still unsure what the political developments will be thereafter if Mahinda Rajapaksa steps down.

Courtesy Adaderana

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa says the decision on supporting the establishment of an all-party government will be based on the response of the President after his audience with the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL).

He made these remarks following a meeting with the BASL members this morning (April 08).

Speaking further, Premadasa stressed that executive presidency and the 21st constitutional amendment must be revoked in order for the country to move forward. The main reason for the ongoing crisis is the dictatorial executive presidency,” he added.

He also noted that the proposals presented by the BASL with regard to forming an interim government and the constitutional amendments proposed by the Opposition contain many similarities.

The BASL recently proposed the establishment of an interim government of national unity consisting of 15 Cabinet Ministers.

The association also suggested that the Prime Minister should be a Member of Parliament who is able to establish a consensus among all political parties recognized by the Speaker in Parliament on the national economy and to enact necessary reforms.

Sri Lanka News

The following vialations of peace reported by the Sri Lankan press today 8th May 2022

Protest blocks traffic at Slave Island Junction (adaderan)

A protest is obstructing vehicular movement at the Slave Island Junction in Colombo.

As per reports, the demonstration is staged by a group of people demanding domestic gas.

Part of High Level Road blocked by protesters reopened for traffic (adaderana)

The part of High Level Road which was blocked by protesters in Nawinna area has been reopened for vehicular movement after nine long hours, says Ada Derana correspondent.

Earlier today (May 08), people who queued up at the Nawinna filling station to purchase LP gas had staged a protest on the High Level Road blocking the traffic at Nawinna.

A tense situation ensued after a group of individuals who identified themselves as residents of the area clashed with the protesters and attempted to reopen the blocked road.

However, the protesters managed to carry on their demonstration after closing off the stretch of the road again.

Later, the demonstration was called off this evening after the police assured the protesters that they would be delivered LP gas cylinders.

Protest on High-Level Road demanding LP gas (adaderan)

The residents of Nawainna area staged a demonstration this morning (May 08) on the High-Level Road demanding liquefied petroleum gas.

According to Ada Derana correspondent, the vehicular movement on the 138 bus route has been blocked at Nawinna as a result.

Gas crisis : Tense situation in Colombo -02 (Video) – Hiru News

Two persons have been arrested for stealing gas from a lorry at Armor Street, Colombo.<br /><br />This resulted in a tense situation in the area.

Courtesy Adaderana

Cabinet Spokesperson Dr. Nalaka Godahewa says Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, at the meeting of Cabinet of Ministers, agreed to step down from his position.

He stated this during ‘Mokada Wune’ programme on TV Derana on Sunday (May 08).

Speaking further, Dr. Godahewa pointed out that the President and the Prime Minister are of the same opinion that the country should be saved.

On Saturday (May 07), political sources revealed that PM Rajapaksa has decided to resign from his post during a special Cabinet meeting held at the President’s House on the day before.

According to political sources, President had stated that the Prime Minister and the government should resign because it is no longer possible to act in the face of the crisis that has arisen.

Courtesy Adaderana

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has told the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) that he would take into account acting constitutionally with regard to the proposals put forward by the BASL.

This was conveyed during a discussion held between the President and BASL member earlier today (May 08).

The management committee of the BASL called on President Rajapaksa at the President’s House this morning, at the association’s secretariat at their request to discuss the proposals of the BASL to restore political and economic stability in the country.

The committee also met Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa at his invitation at Temple Trees this afternoon.

The BASL has drawn the attention of the President and the Prime Minister to the urgency in establishing political stability in the country and explained its proposals including the formation of a government of national unity.

The President of the BASL also informed the President that the association is concerned about the declaration of the State of Emergency in Sri Lanka.

Courtesy Adaderana

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has stated that it is considering the granting of USD 100 million to Sri Lanka in principle, the Ministry of Finance says.

This was mentioned by the AIIB President Mr. Jin Liqun during a virtual meeting between the senior management of AIIB and Finance Minister Ali Sabry yesterday.

Sri Lanka’s ambassador to the People’s Republic of China Dr. Palitha Kohona and Secretary to the Treasury Mr. Mahinda Siriwardena along with Finance Ministry officials also took part in the meeting.

A discussion was held on the current areas of cooperation and also the managing of the present situation.

At the outset, Mr. Liqun reiterated AIIB’s commitment to support Sri Lanka and stated that he was confident Sri Lanka will overcome the current issues that it is facing.

A discussion was held regarding immediate emergency support to Sri Lanka. Mr. Liqun has stated that in AIIB was considering the granting of USD 100 million to Sri Lanka in principle and that he would discuss it further with the Board.

A discussion was also held regarding medium- to long-term support to Sri Lanka. Minister Ali Sabry discussed the need for forex liquidity support for state banks of Sri Lanka and requested if such can be provided by AIIB. 

Mr. Liqun assured that AIIB will continue to work with Sri Lanka and support Sri Lanka in overcoming its present issues.

Courtesy Hiru News

Protests were organized in various areas against the state of emergency.&nbsp;The State of Emergency was declared in the country effective from midnight on May 06

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense has issued a statement clarifying matters regarding the state of emergency.

The Ministry of Defence has urged the general public to act as responsible citizens with utmost intelligence and patience during this difficult period to maintain law and order in the country stating that&nbsp;the government respects the democratic right of the people of Sri Lanka to peacefully express their agitations and protests within the democratic framework.

The Defence Ministry, calling for the assistance of the general public in managing the current economic and social crisis and unrest, requested them to extend their support to the armed forces and the police department who are committed to the safety of the people in such emergencies.

Hiru News

Courtesy Hiru News

circulating on social media recently stated that a doctor at a private hospital in Colombo had refused to treat&nbsp; Minister Prasanna Ranatunga who had come to him for treatment.

Several parties expressed their views regarding the refusal of a doctor to attend to the Minister.

The Sri Lanka Medical Association says this should not be a precedent at all.

A news item circulating on social media recently stated that a doctor at a private hospital in Colombo had refused to treat&nbsp; Minister Prasanna Ranatunga who had come to him for treatment.

An audio recording of Dr. Ranil Jayawardena explaining the incident is circulating on social media.

Shenali D Waduge

On one side of the spectrum protests are calling for the stepping down of entire Parliament, amidst this are a bevy of piggy-bank protestors while the more important question should be where do we go from where we are now – an economic & political crisis. Is there light at the end of the tunnel.

What led to the protests?

No Gas – No Petrol – No Milk Powder – Power cuts & rising cost of living were the triggers that built the mental framework to garner support of people against the government. How come the government did not fathom what was unfolding before their eyes?

If it was downright ignorance, the government does not deserve to be in power. If government & officials were part of a bigger plot to suppress the nation for their political survival, then too they do not deserve to be in power. It is important to dissect what led to the debacle to understand what the next plan is.

Always ask

• who benefits
• what are their targets

The protests were meant to simply send a message plus sub-messages.

There is little point now in identifying the who’s who at Galle Face Green.

What is more important is where these protests are leading to.

Even the Opposition are now worried.

Economic collapse peddling collapse of political system –

The key target was the PM who is able to command the majority votes. Sending him home sends entire vote base astray with no alternate options. 

The next message was to blame the politicians & justify need to get rid of the entire political system. The flip-side of the jungi-brigade was to make people accept that the protestors” were also not the alternate option.

Who are they” planning to put on the throne?

The architects of the economic & political collapse has made Sri Lanka vulnerable & disabled Sri Lankans to make choices or have a say in any of the decisions to be soon announced.

The enemies have encircled the nation. The local faces outsourced for this exercise are only a smokescreen. No local will self-destruct his/her own nation unless there were benefits for them. They will be rewarded for turning their people to slave hood.

Though we may think the bail out coterie are the solution, they were essentially part of the problem. It is unfortunate that the intelligentsia in Sri Lanka have failed to decipher the situation.

Who serves to benefit from the situation?

Sri Lanka is virtually bankrupt.

Who benefits if Sri Lanka is economically bankrupt

Who benefits if Sri Lanka is politically in doldrums?

Who brought us to this stage – was it only the politicians?

Who forced economic policies on Sri Lanka

Who drafted the budgets that we thought were locally made?

What has happened to Sri Lanka is a carry forward of a well-planned socio-economic collapse aligned to the ulterior & ultimate objective of securing Sri Lanka as a geopolitical & trade hotspot.

But who is controlling this?

The scenario was choreographed to affirm notion that Parliamentarians are unable to ‘develop’ Sri Lanka – anymore.

Colonial Britain always viewed Sri Lanka as the best nation to use as guinea pigs for its initiatives. We have to now wonder what this next experiment is.

A pro-IMF team is now making the decisions. Just count the pro-IMF parties now tasked to turn Sri Lanka’s economy around – turn around to whose benefit? Certainly not the people of Sri Lanka. The people are yet to feel the pinch. The bourgeois class will always get their piece of cake – as they have done under every government (colonial & post-colonial).

Delivering us out of bankruptcy means printing money & giving to Sri Lanka on interest while taking over our resources & assets though we have to payback that money taken with interest but we have lost the resources & assets.

People do not think. They have been programmed to be busy screaming hora hora. They think their problems are solved by sending the horu to prison or chasing them all out of Parliament. The doors are now wide open.

Does this mean we are saying cherio to representative parliamentary system?

Notice the rise in calls for people to take back power from the politicians – where is this power to be transferred to? They are also giving the answers – to civil-society” (foreign controlled & funded) to NGOs also foreign controlled & funded to CBSL Governor & team (also under US/IMF control) or under corporate control (citing Sri Lanka has to be Singapore) – how representative is this?

Will people have a say as they are able to do now if corporates govern the country?

Are we going full circle to return to the days of the Dutch East India Company rule?

Sri Lanka does not need to be like Singapore. Sri Lanka has all the ability to be Sri Lanka if patriotic people are allowed to roll out an indigenous development plan. Will this ever be allowed to happen? Every attempt to do so is swiftly suppressed by those that continue to want Sri Lanka to be reliant on external/foreign control/agenda. Who actually controls decisions in the CBSL, Foreign Ministry, Finance Ministry & other key areas? Every area of importance is under foreign domination. They have strategically placed pawns from top to bottom who have been following strategic & tactical actions that have led to where Sri Lanka is right now. This has been a well-planned and well-choreographed program happening since bogus ‘independence’.

What has happened to Sri Lanka is a ducks-in-a-row strategy outsourced to agents & penetrated every likely threat & neutralized them playing on their weaknesses.

This should show that those that are in control of these entities do not wish Sri Lanka to develop on national terms but as per international political agenda & to suit them.

If we are returning to the days of corporate control sans the political system – it would mean returning to the manner Dutch-East-India-Company ruled the world. Acquisition of Sri Lanka as a client-state. US government is controlled by Corporate America. Congressmen are inducted to corporate roles no sooner their terms are over. Sri Lanka’s former CJ is now Chairman of a corporate bank.

If Sri Lankans, thought Politicians were bad – when reality hits them it would be too late. State of Emergency will start ball rolling.

Shenali D Waduge

Senaka Weeraratna

The British decimated the elephants and their habitats to plant cash crops and made resounding profits at the expense of the local Kandyan Sinhalese and the wild animals.

The wild animals especially the Elephants who were well protected by the Sinhalese Rulers in their natural habitat in the hill country of Ceylon, were hunted down as game by Professional hunters like Samuel Baker, and the British Settlers. More than 10, 000 wild elephants were killed and their natural habitat destroyed by the British. 

Today the dwindling elephant population in shrinking reserves invade human settlements. Every year more than 400 elephants die in the human elephant conflict. There will come a time sooner than later that only elephants in the Zoo or Replicas of Elephants in the Museum will be there to remind visitors how elephants in Sri Lanka looked like.

The British Govt. must also take responsibility for making destitute the Kandyan Sinhala peasantry whose lands were grabbed under unjust waste lands laws (based on Enclosure laws in England) and denied employment by the import of thousands of Indentured labour from South India to work in tea and coffee plantations of the British.

Many of the Kandyan Sinhalese died out of hunger when their traditional lands used for Chena cultivation were unlawfully appropriated by the British for Coffee and later Tea planting, without payment of adequate compensation.

The British Govt. must address this issue as a matter of moral obligation, with funds to sustain the remaining elephant population of Sri Lanka.

Without accounting for its wrongdoing during colonial rule in British occupied Ceylon and paying compensation, it is sad to see the British Govt. adopting a vicious policy to hound Sri Lanka and table Motions against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC in Geneva. 

There must be a Catharsis and a sincere effort to help save the Elephants in Sri Lanka which are dying at a rapid rate.

Posterity will hold Britain responsible for the destruction of the natural habitat of the Elephants that has led to the sad plight of the Elephants with no homeland to freely roam in modern day Sri Lanka.

Senaka Weeraratna

චන්ද්‍රසිරි විජයවික්‍රම, LL.B., Ph.D.

ගෝල්පේස් අරගලකරුවන්ගෙන් පැහැදිලි කරගත යුතුවූ කාරණා/ගැටළු කීපයක් මෙම ලිපි පෙලේදී මුල සිටම මතුවිය.

1. මෙම <අරගලය> 2019 දී තාප්පවල චිත්‍ර ඇන්ඳ හා පුරන් කුඹුරු වගාවට ගිය ගම් වල සිංහල බෞද්ධ 69 ලක්ෂයට අයත් තරුණයින්ගේම අහිංසක අදහසක්ද?

2. එසේ නැත්නම් එය, රාසමාණික්කම් කොල්ලා විසින් පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේදී ඉල්ලා සිටි පරිදි, කොළඹ ජනතාව විසින් හයිජැක්කල, රට කැඩීමේ ව්‍යාපාරයේ සැඟවුණු ඇමක්ද?

3. යම් පොදු කටයුත්තකදී ඊට නායකයෙක් නැතිවීමත්, බොහෝ නායකයින් සිටීමත් යන දෙකම අයෝග්‍ය බව බුදුහාමුදුරුවන් විසින්ද සඳහන් කර ඇත. මෙම අරගලයේ නායකයෙක් හෝ නායක මණ්ඩලයක් සිටිනවාද? මෙහි ඇති වදගත්කම නම් සංවිධානයක ක්‍රියාවලට වගකිව යුතු කෙනෙකුගේ අවශ්‍යතාවයය. එකඟවූ එක අරමුණක් නැතිව, නොයෙක් අරමුණු ඇති අය නොයෙක් වැඩ කරමින් වැඩේ අවුල් කිරීම සමාන කල හැක්කේ රුවලක්, හබලක් නැති ඔරුවක් ඔහේ මුහුදේ පාවෙනවා වැනි ක්‍රියාවකටය. ඉහල අහසින් දුර ගමන් යන කුරුළු රංචු වල ඉදිරියෙන් පියාඹන කුරුල්ලෙක් හා කුරුල්ලන් කීපදෙනෙක් සිටින්නේය, ත්‍රිකෝණයක උලක් මෙන්ය.

4. තවත් වැදගත් ප්‍රශ්ණයක්වූයේ ගොටාගෝහෝම් වැඩේ හරිගියොත් අරගලය විසින් ඉන්පසු කරන්නේ කුමක්ද යන්න රටට ඉදිරිපත්කල යුතුව තිබීමය. සජිත් විසින් <මට රට භාර දෙන්න> හා අනුර කුමාර විසින් <මම රට භාරගන්න සූදානම්> යයි කරණ ප්‍රකාශ දෙන්නම් කාසි ගනයට වැටේ. රට භාරගෙන කරණ දේ කීමට මේ දෙන්නාම අසමත්වී සිටී. එය පුස්ස බින්ඳා වැනි නිෂ්ඵල ප්‍රකාශයකි. අරගලයත් මේ ගනයට වැටීම අරගලය කෙරෙහි මහජන විශ්වාශය බංගවීමට හේතුවේ.

ගෝල්පේස් මහමොලකරු

සේපාල් අමරසිංහ, සන්නස්ගල, brother charles Thomas, දර්ශන් හඳුන්ගොඩ හා ඔහුගේ ගෝල අභිශේකා ප්‍රනාන්දු කෙළී, සුදත්ත තිලකසිරි හා නාගානන්ද කොඩිතුවක්කු යන මේ පංචකන්ධ ගෝල්පේස් නිල නොලත් න්‍යායාචාරීන්ද නැත්නම් එඬේරුන්ද? සුදත්ත නම් මේ වනවිට ලවුඩ්ස්පීකර් දෙකක්ද සමඟ කෙළින්ම අරගලයට එකතුවී සිටී. නායකයෙක් හෝ නායක මණ්ඩලයක් හෝ නැතිව සිටින ගෝල්පේස් පිරිසට මැදිහත් වීමට එන <මහමොලකාරයෙක්> ගැන සේපාල් අනතුරු අඟවන්නේ සුදත් ගැන සිතාද? එසේ නැත්නම් සන්නස්ගල ගැනද? පසුගිය අප්‍රේල් 25 දා  කිත්සිරි ආනන්ද නම් පුද්ගලයා විසින් සන්නස්ගලට කල දෙහිකැපීම අවසානවූයේ සන්නස්ගල ඔහුට අමු තිත්ත කුනුහරපයෙන් බැණ ටෙලිෆෝනය විසන්ධි කිරීමෙනි (ඔහු විසින් ඩෑන් ප්‍රසාද් නම් තැනැත්තාටද මෙවැනිම දෙකැපීමක් කලත් ඩෑන්, සන්නස්ගල මෙන් කුණුහරුප නොකියා ටික වේලාවකින් පසු  දුරකතනය විසන්ධි කලේය). මෙවැනි අයෙකුට <අරගලයට> උපදෙස් දිය හැකිද? නාගානන්දට නම් සිදුවී තිබෙන්නේ ගිණිපෙල්ලෙන් බැටකෑ මිනිහා කණා මැදිරි එලියටත් බය වගේ වැඩක්ය. ඒ නිසා ඔහු නිවසේ සිට නිව්ස් බුලටින් නිකුත් කරයි. වැටෙන් පිට සිට ජේවීපී මොළකරුවෙකුවන හඳුන්නෙත්ති කෙඳිරිගාන්නේ ගෝටගෝ කිව්වාට විතරක් වැඩක් නෑනේද කියමිනි. පිටිය තුල යාමට ආරාධනාවක් නැතිකම ඔවුන්ට ඇති ලොකුම මදිකම නොහොත් පරාජයය.

නාගානන්ද සිය වියදමින් දූෂිත ක්‍රියාවලට විරුද්ධව දිගින් දිගටම පෙනී සිට නඩුකාරයින්ගෙන් හිරිහැරයට ලක්වූ කෙනෙකි. එහෙත් ඔහු නායකයෙක් හෝ උපදේශකයෙක් ලෙස අරගලකරුවන් විසින් මෙතෙක් ප්‍රකාශකර නැත. දැන් නොමිලයේ ඉදිරිපත්වන දුසිම් ගණන් බාර් ඇසෝසියේෂන් නීතීඥ පිරිස් නාගානන්දගේ පොදු සටන්වලට උදව් කරණවා තබා උසාවියේදී ඔහු ලඟින් මේසයේ ඉඳගැනීමටවත් ආවේ නැත. ඒ නිසා දැන් අරගලයට නොමිලේ උසාවියට යන මේ අය ඉදිරියේදී මෙතෙක් කලා මෙන් තම සේවාදායකයින් සූරාගෙන නොකෑමට සිතනවා යයි රට බලාපොරොත්තුවීම සාධාරණය (ඉහතින් නම් සඳහන් කල පංචස්කන්ධ විසින් කරණ  කියන සමහර කතාවල, ක්‍රියාවල යම් රටට පිළිගත හැකි අදහස් ඇති බව නිහතමානීව පිළිගත යුතුය).

අරගලයේ හඬ සේ පෙනී සිටින පංචස්කන්ධ

ලිපි මාලාවේ මෙම කොටස ලියන අතරතුර අරගලය හා සම්බන්ධ පංචස්කන්ධ කීපයක් ගැනම දැනගැනීමට ලැබුණි. පැතුම් කර්නර් හා යොහාන් සෙනෙවිරත්න යන දෙන්නා අතරින් යොහාන් යනු බොරුකාරයෙකි. ඔහු බෝන් අගේන්කාරයෙක් මිස ඔහු කියන අයුරු බොදු බල සේනාවට ඔහුගේ සම්බන්ධයක් නැත. කලින් චතුර අල්විස්ගේ සාකච්චාවට සහභාගීවු ලාබාල තරුණයින් තුන් දෙනා හා තරුණියට වඩා බලවත් ලෙස රතිඳු සේනාරත්න, නුවන් බෝපගේ හා දුලීකා මාරපන යන තුන් දෙනා අරගලය වෙනුවෙන් දෙරණ සළකුණ වැඩසටහනට (මැයි 5 දා, EP335) සහභාගී විය. මේ තුන් දෙනාටම අරගලය විසින් වහාම හෝ දිගුකාලීන වශයෙන් යෝජනාකරණ විසඳුම් හෝ සැලැස්මක් ගැන හෝඩුවාවක් වත් දීමට නොහැකිවිය. ඔවුන්ගේ හැසිරීම ඉඟිකලේ ඔවුන් වෙනත් කාගේ හෝ න්‍යාය පත්‍රයකට අනුව පාවෙන රූකඩය යන්නය. හැමෝම අරගලයේ මහමොළකරයා යයි සිතන රැට්ටා උත්තර දුන්නේ බලවත් අපහසුතාවයෙනි.

සිස්ටම්ස් ඇප්‍රෝච් නැතිව සිස්ටම් චේන්ජ් කිරිමේ හීනය

මොවුන් තිදෙනා රටේ ඉතිහාසය හා භූගෝල විද්‍යාව (ඉතිහාසය කියන්නේ රටේ අතීත භූගෝල විද්‍යාවටය) නොදන්නා බව පැහැදිලිවම ප්‍රදර්ශණය විය. හෙලිකොප්ටරයකින් උඩට නැග්ගවිට එකිනෙකට සාපේක්ෂ්ව පහල පොලොවේ සිදුවනදේ පෙනෙන අයුරු, මෙවැනි බරෑරුම් අරගලවලට හොට දමන අයට සමස්තය ගැන දැණුමක්, අවභෝධයක් තිබිය යුතුය. (holistic/systems approach) ගසුත්, කැලයත් යන දෙකම දැකිය යුතුය. සිස්ටම් එක චේන්ජ් කරන්නට සිස්ටම්ස් ඇප්‍රෝච් එකක් අවශ්‍යය. ඔවුන් ගෝටාගෝහෝම් යන මන්ත්‍රයම ජපකරන්නේ මෙම දැනුමේ අඩුව නිසාය.

දැන හෝ නොදැන ඔවුන්ගෙන් සමහරෙක්වත් හිරවී සිටින, මේ ගෝල්පේස් අරගලයේ යටි අරමුණ විදේශ බලවේග විසින් මෙහයවන රෙජීම් චෙන්ජ් (යුද්ධය දිනූ ගෝටාගේ මස් රාත්තලම ඉල්ලීම ) එක නොවේ නම්,  සිස්ටම් චෙන්ජ් එකට අදාල බොහෝ පියවරවල් ගෝටා සිටියදීම ශාක්ෂාත් කරගත හැකිය. උදාහරණයක් වශයෙන්, උමංදාවේ සමන්තභද්‍ර හිමියන් විසින් මල්වතු මහනාහිමියන්ට සංඝ ආඥාවක් නිකුත් කරණ ලෙස ඉල්ලා සරල යෝජනා තුනක් ඉදිරිපත් කලේය. ඒවා නම්: (1) රටේ ලොකු කුඩා සියළුම දේශපාලකයින් හා නිලධාරීන්ගේ වත්කම් විගණනය කීරීම (2) බලයට එන ආණ්ඩුවලට වෙනස්කල නොහැකි ජාතික සංවර්ධන වැඩපිලිවෙලක් (සැලස්මක්) ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීම හා (3) දේශපාලකයින්ට ලබාදී ඇති සියළුම දීමනා, වරප්‍රසාද, ඉවත් කිරීම (මන්ත්‍රීලා ඇත්තවශයෙන්ම මහජන සේවකයින් කිරීම).

පෙරටුගාමීන් හා අන්තරේ වහළුන්

මෙම යෝජනාව සැසඳිය යුත්තේ කුමාර් ගුණරත්නම්ගේ බලාපොරොත්තුව සමඟය. කලින් ජේවීපීකාරයිනුත්, දැන් පෙරටුගාමීකාරයිනුත් විශ්ව විද්‍යාලවලට ගම්වලින් එන දුප්පත් ශිෂ්‍යයින් මානසික වහළුන් බවට පත්කලේය. යම් තරුණියකට තමන් කැමති සායක්, ගවුමක් අඳින්නට නොහැකි අන්තරේ බල්ලට දැමිය යුතුය. මේ නිසා පාරේ ජලය හා කඳුළුගෑස් නාන කොණ්ඩ වවාගත් හාමුදුරුවරුන් විශ්ව විද්‍යාලයෙන් නෙරපිය යුතුය. රජයේ වියදමින් හා මහපොල දීමනාව දෙන්නේ මෙසේ පිස්සු නටන්නද? අධ්‍යාපනය සඳහා බැංකු ණයක් දී ටියුෂන් ගාස්තුවක් අයකල යුතුය. එවිට පාරට එන්නේ රටේ ටැක්ස් ගෙවන්නාගේ මුදලින් නොව තමන්ගේම මුදලිනි.

යම් තරුණයින් පිරිසක් විසින් අහිංසක ලෙස ඇරඹූ අරගලයක් දැන් පෙරටුගාමීන් විසින් උදුරා ගෙන තිබේ. මෙය කෙළවර වන්නේ විශාල ජීවිත හානියකිනි. කුමාර් ගුනරත්නම් කියන්නේ නියම විසඳුම නම් <ජනතාව බලගන්වන> ක්‍රමයක් බවය. ජන සභා සංකල්පය යටතේ මෙය කිරීමට යෝජනාවී මේ වනවිට දශක ගණනක්ම ගත්වී ඇත. ගෝටාගේ සෞභාග්‍යයේ දැක්මේ පවා මෙම අදහස ජනමූල සභා වශයෙන් සටහන් කර ඇත. එසේ නම් කුමාර් ගුනරත්නම් අන්තරේ නායකයින් පිස්සන් ලෙස යොදවනවා වෙනුවට කල යුතු  ගෝටාට මෙම ජනමූල සභා පිහිටුවන ලෙස බල කිරීමය. අනිත් කාරණය නම් අන්තරේ  පොලිස්බරියර් කැඩීමේ ව්යායාමය ඉදිරියේ සිටිය යුතු ව්‍යායාමය ඉදිරියේ සිටිය යුතු කුමාර් හා දුමින්ද නාගමුව යන දෙන්නා යන්නය. චේ ගුවේරා කලේ එයය.

සිස්ටම් චේන්ජ් ප්‍රමුඛතා/ප්‍රායෝගික ලැයිස්තුව කෝ?

නායකයෙක් හෝ නායක කමිටුවක් හෝ තවමත් රටට ඉදිරිපත්කර නැතත්, සිස්ටම් චෙන්ජ් එක යටතේ ඔවුන් බලාපොරොත්තුවන කාරණා වල ලැයිස්තුවක් සදා රටට ප්‍රසිද්ධ කිරීමට දැන්වත් <අරගලයට> ශක්තියක්, දැණුමක් හෝ දැකුමක් තිබිය යුතුය. එවැනි ලැයිස්තුවක් ජනාධිපතිට ඉදිරිපත් නොකිරීම, ඔවුන් පිටුපස සැඟවී ඉන්නා ප්‍රොපෙසර්ලාට, වෘත්තිකයින්ට හා අරගලයට ජයවේවා කියන දේශපාලක ඉත්තන්ටද එල්ල වන අභියෝගයකි. ජේවීපී මෙන් දෙන්නන් කාසි උඩ සිටීමෙන් වෙන්නේ අරගලය පුස්ස බින්ඳා වගේ වී දියාරුවී යාමය.

දැන් දැන් එලිදරව් වෙමින් යන්නේ පෙරටුගාමීන් හා ජේවීපිකාරයින් අරගලයට රිංගා ගෙන විශාල ලේ වැගිරීමක් සඳහා කැසකවමින් ඉන්නා බවය. පැතුම් කර්නර්ලා අතරමංවී සිටිනා ආකාරයක්ය. මෙහි මීට ඉහතින්ද පෙන්වා දුන් අයුරු රට අරාජික නොකර, සිස්ටම් චෙන්ජ් එක පියවරෙන් පියවරට බෞද්ධ ප්‍රතිපත්ති අනුව ලබාගන්නට ඇති අවස්ථාව පාවා දෙන්නේ ඇයි?  ජේවීපී-පෙරටුගාමි-සජිත්-ටී.එන්.ඒ- පිරිස්, මේ අස්සේ හර්තාල් හා ස්ට්‍රයික් කිරීම අනුමත නොකරණ බව, අරගලයේ නායකයින් විසින් ප්‍රකාශ කිරීම අරගලයේ පිරිසිදු චෙතනාව රටට පෙන්වා දීමක් හා අරගලයේ දිගු ගමනට රුකුලක් වන්නේය

එවැනි ලැයිස්තුවක් ප්‍රමාදවන දවසක් පාසා ඔප්පු වන්නේ 1995 සිට චන්ද්‍රිකා- නීලන්-ජී ඇල්- රනිල්-දැන් ජීනීවා වල සඟවී සිටින ජයම්පති- සජිත් හා ඔහුගේ නායාචාරී දයාන් ජයතිලක- සුමන්තිරන්ලාගේ රට කැබලි කිරීමේ ව්‍යාපාරය මෙම <අරගලය> යටින් දුවන බවය. එවැනි පසුබිමක් යටතේ තම අරගලය <නිර්පාක්ෂික> යයි පුන පුනා කීම, මේ තරුණයින් විසින් තම තමන්වම දැන හෝ නොදැන රවටා ගැනීමකි. එයට හේතුව ගෝටාගෝ කතාව හරිගියොත් ඉන් වන්නේ අරාජිකවූ වියවුල්වූ රටකට U.N. සාම හමුදා පැමිණ mcc ට්‍රෝජන් අශ්වයා පිටේ නැග රට කඩා දැමීම වීමය. එවැනි දෙයකට දිල්ලියේ සිට මිලින්ද මොරගොඩගේ පාත් ෆයින්ඩර්කාරයින් තලුමරමින් සිටී. ඒ මිසක් තෙල්, බෙහෙත් හෝ ආහාර ප්‍රශ්ණයවත් ගෝටාගෝ හරහා විසඳෙන්නේ නැත.

පාන් ගෙඩිය රුපියල් 500 වීම ශක්‍රයාගේ පුතා වයිමාටවත් නවත්තන්නට  නොහැකිය. 1978 ට පෙර සිටම සිදුවූ ණයට කෑමේ, කැවීමේ රඟ එසේය. මිනිසුන් අල බතල වලට ආපසු යායුතුය. දර ලිප, කෘමීන් ගෙන් තොරව වියළි ආහාරද්‍රව්‍ය රැකදෙන ඊට උඩින් ඇති දුම් මැස්ස හා වත්තේ ලිඳ, යළි මතක් කරගත යුතුය. රටෙන් සියේට 60 කට එය කල හැකිය. අමාරුවේ වැටෙන්නේ ගෝල්පේස් එන කොළඹ ජනයාය.

සිස්ටම් එක යටතේ දුක් විඳින ස්ත්‍රීන් තුන් කොටස

*(1) ලංකාවේ ඈත ගම්වල අන්ත අසරණ ස්ත්‍රීන් අරාබිකරයට ගොස් වැසිකිළි සෝදා රටට එවන ඩොලර් වලින් කළුසුද්දෝ ජොලිකලේය. ඔවුන් සඳහා විශ්‍රාම වැටුප් ක්‍රමයක් හෝ වෙනත් ශුභ සාධන ක්‍රමයක්  ඇතිකලේ නැත. දැන් ඔවුන් පස්සේ හිඟන්නන් මෙන් පාලක හොරු හඬා වැටේ. (2) ගාමන්ට් බොරුව ගමේ කෙල්ලන් විනාශකලේය. පිටරටින් සියළුම අමුද්‍රව්‍ය ගෙන්නා, ජංගි මසා යවා රටට ලැබෙන ශුද්ධ ඩොලර් ප්‍රමාණය කීයද? සිදුවන්නේ ගමේ අහිංසක කෙල්ලන්ගේ ශ්‍රමය සූරාකා ගාමන්ට් අයිතිකාරයින් ලාභ ලැබීමය. සුපවයිසර්ලා අනංගයින්සේ හැසිරීමය. ඔවුන් ප්‍රේමදාසට සදා ණය ගැතිය! තම තරුණ ජීවිතය අනාථ කර ගන්නා මේ සේවිකාවන් සඳහා යම් ශුභසාධන ක්‍රමයක් තිබේද? මොවුන් විඳින දුක සිහිකරන්නේ එංගල්ස් විස්තර කල මැන්චෙස්ටර් වැනි නගරවල 1840 ස් ගණන් වල පැවති රෙදි පැක්ටරි නමැති මරු කටවල්ය. දරු ප්‍රසූති අවස්ථාව දක්වාම වැඩට ආ ගෑණු, දරු ප්‍රසූතියෙන් පසු  සතියකින් පමණ ආපසු වැඩට ගියේ රක්ෂාව නැතිවේය යන භිය නිසාය. ඒ වෙනුවට, අවුරුදු පහකින් මන්ත්‍රීලාට, ඔවුන්ගේ ලේකම්වන බිරිඳට පෙන්ෂන් දෙන රටකට දේවසාපයක් කවදාහෝ ලැබිය යුතු නැද්ද? අරගලකරුවන්ගේ ඉල්ලිම් ලැයිස්තුවට මේවාද ඇතුලත් විය යුතුය. (3) තලාක්, තලාක්, තලාක් යනුවෙන් කියා කසාදය කටුගෑම, කාති උසාවි හා ගෑණු හතරක් තබා ගැනීමේ මුස්ලිම් ක්‍රමය යටතේ වහළුන්වී සිටින කාන්තාවන් ඉන් මුදවා ගැනීම අරගලයේ ලැයිස්තුවට දැමිය යුතුය. තලාක් කීමේ අයිතිය මුස්ලිම් කසාදයේ ස්ත්‍රී පාර්ශවයටද තිබිය යුතුය.

ගෝල්පේස් අරගල කරුවන් විසින් එක රටක් එක නීතියක් බලකායේ වැඩ පිළිවෙල අගය කල යුතු මේ නිසාය. ඊට විරුද්ධනම් ඒ බව රටට ප්‍රකාශ කල යුතුය.

<සිස්ටම් චේන්ජ්>, <රෙජීම් චේන්ජ්> පටලැවිල්ල

2019 දී පාරේ තාප්පවලවල චිත්‍ර ඇන්ඳ, පුරන් කුඹුරු යළි අස්වද්දන්ට වෙලට බැස්ස තරුණයින් බලාපොරොත්තු වූයේ සිස්ටම් චේන්ජ් එකක්ය. සිස්ටම් චේන්ජ් එකකට විරුද්ධවන කිසිවෙක් නැත. 1967 දී පේරාදෙණියෙන් පිටවූ කාලයටත් පෙර සිටම රටට සිස්ටම් චේන්ජ් එකක් අවශ්‍යබව මට ප්‍රත්‍යක්ෂ විය 1971 දෙසැම්බර් මස ජේවීපී රැඳවියන්ගේ ශාක්ෂි ලියාගත් සිවිල් නිලධාරීන් 200 දෙනාගෙන් එක් අයෙක් වශයෙන් මේ සිස්ටම් චේන්ජ් එක සඳහා අවංකව කැපවී මිය ගිය තරුණ තරුණියන් ගැන මට දැන ගැනීමට ලැබුණේය.

1971 දී රටේ සිංහල තරුණ-තරුණියන් විනාශ වුනේත්, 1988/89 දී එය නැවතත් සිදුවුනේත්, රෙජීම් චේන්ජ් කිරීම හා සිස්ටම් චේන්ජ් කිරීම අතර ඇති සම්බන්ධය හා වෙනස යන කාරණා දෙක, ඒකාලයේදීත්, දෑන් 2022 දීත්, රට වැසියන්ටත්, චන්දදායකයින්ටත්, දැන් අරගලකාරයින්ටත් (විප්ලවකාරයින්ටත්?) හරිහමං ලෙස අවභෝධ වී නොතිබීමය. වංක දේශපාලකයාට අනුව බලයේ සිටි පක්ෂය පරදවා බලය ලබාගැනීම  සිස්ටම් චේන්ජ් නොව රෙජීම් චෙන්ජ් විය. එහෙත් චන්දදායකයා සිතුවේ යම් තරමකින් හෝ සිස්ටම් චේන්ජ් (පවතින පරිපලන- පරිපාලන-සමාජීය-දේශපාලන සංස්කෘතිය වෙනස් කිරීමක්) එකක් සිදුවේවිය යනුය. සුද්දාගේ බෙදා පාලනය කිරීමේ උපක්‍රමය සුද්දාටත් වඩා දක්ෂ ලෙස කළු සුද්දා පාවිච්චි කලේය.  කොල, නිල්, රතු වශයෙන් බෙදී,  ගම, ලඟ ඥාතීන්, පවුල, නිවස, මට්ටමටම මරා ගන්නා  තරමට චන්දදායකයා අන්ධවූ අතර, දේශපාලකයා රහසින් හා එලිපිටම කරේ අතදාගෙන වැජඹුණේය.  අන්ධ චන්ද දායකයාට එය නොවැටහුණේ, පොදු යහපත වෙනුවට පුද්ගලික වාසිය තකා සිය චන්දය භාවිතා කිරීම නිසාය.

මෙම පටලැවිල්ලේ ඉතිහාසයක් ඇත. සිස්ටම් චේන්ජ් එක <පොදු යහපත> උදෙසා ලඟාකර ගන්නට සිතන යහපත් අරමුණක් වන අතර, රෙජීම් චේන්ජ් යනු පුද්ගලික ලාභ ප්‍රයෝජන තකා පක්ෂ දේශපාලක හොරුන් විසින් බොහෝ විට විදේශ බලවේග එහි පිටුපසින් සිට මෙහයවන චන්ද දායකයා රවටන

සුද්දගෙ සිස්ටම් එක හා කළු සුද්දගෙ සිස්ටම් එක

1815 දී සුද්දා මුළු රටම අල්ලාගත් පසුව 1948 දක්වා පැවතියේ සුද්දාගෙ සිස්ටම් එකය. එම සිස්ටම් එක යුදෙව්-ක්‍රිස්තියානි චින්තනය උඩ ගොඩ නැඟුණකි. ඊට ඉහළින් තිබුණු පැරඩයිම් එකක්වූයේ පෘතුවිය වටේ ඉර කැරකෙනවා යන ඇදහීමය. සූර්යා වටේ අපේ ග්‍රහයා කැරකෙනවා යයි එය වෙනස්වූයේ දැඩි ක්‍රිස්තියානි විරෝධයක් පරදවාය.  සුද්දාගේ සිස්ටම් එකට අනුව බුද්ධාගම යනු බොරුවක්ය. රටේ හාමුදුරුවරු හා වැසියා අතර ඇති ගහට පොත්ත වැනි බැඳීම කඩා දැමිය යුතු විය. බෙදා පාලනය කිරීමේ උපක්‍රමය යටතේ රටේ මහජාතියට විරුද්ධව සුළු ජන වර්ග වලට තැනක් ලබා දිය යුතුය.

මේ අනුව සුද්දගෙ සිස්ටම් එක යටතේ සිංහල බෞද්ධයාට බලවත් අසාධාරණකම්,  සමූල ඝාතනවලට ලක්වීමට පවා සිදුවිය. 1947 නිදහස ලැබුණා යන්නේ අර්ථය විය යුත්තේ මෙම සුද්දගෙ සිස්ටම් එක වෙනස් කිරීමය. එහෙත් කළු සුද්දන් එය දිගටම ගෙන ගියේය. 1956 දී සිංහල ජනයා සිතුවේ මෙම සිස්ටම් චේන්ජ් එක සිදුවේය කියාය. එහෙත් ඇත්තටම සිදුවූයේ රෙජිම් චෙන්ජ් එකක් හා පවතින සිස්ටම් එක  දෙදරුම් කෑම පමණය. සිස්ටම් චේන්ජ් එකක් සඳහා ඉදිරිපත්වූ SWර්‍RDB අගමැතිට වසදීමට තැත්කර පසුව 1959 දී ඔහුව මරා දැම්මේත්, 1962 කුමණ්ත්‍රනය කලේත් සිස්ටම් චෙන්ජ් එකකට විරුද්ධවූ කළු සුද්දන් පිරිසය.

වරද පිළිගත් එකම ජනාධිපති

<අරගලයේ> අරමුණ තාප්පවල චිත්‍ර වලින් සංකේතවත්ව අභිලාෂ ඉටුකර ගැනීම නම්, එය ලබාගත හැක්කේ, <ගොටාගෝහෝම්> කියමින් අශෝභන ප්ලැකාඩ් උස්සාගෙන ජනාධිපති, අගමැති යන රටේ උත්තර්‍රිතර ධූර වලට නිග්‍රහ කිරීමෙන් නොව, තමන් කල වැරදි ප්‍රමාදවී හෝ පිළිගෙන, තමන්ව නොමඟ යැවූ නෑයින් හා යර්ස් මෑන්ලා ගෙන් නිදහස් වීමට, ගැලවීමට, ක්‍රියාකරමින් සිටිනා බව පෙනෙන, ගෝඨභය හරහාම නොවේද යන්න පහදා දෙන කිසිවෙක් ගෝල්පේස් රඟහලේ නැත්තේ ඇයිද යන්නය.

අගමැති ඉවත්කරණ ලෙස පහසුවෙන් ලබාගත හැකි ඉලක්කය වෙනුවට ගෝටාගෝ කියා රාජ්‍යය අරාජික කිරීම, අත්තේ අග සිට ගහ ලඟින් අත්ත කැපීමක් වැනිය. සබන් වතුර බේසම සමඟ බබාවද විසිකිරීමය. ඉල්ලිම් ලැයිස්තුවක් දීමේ උපක්‍රමය නම් ලේසියෙන් ලබාගත හැකිදේ මුලින් සඳහන් කිරීමය.

ගෝඨාභයගේ මස් රාත්තලම ඉල්ලමින් කරණ මෙම අදූරදර්ශී හා උපක්‍රමශීලි නොවන <අරගලය> යටින් දුවන්නේ රට අරාජික කර U.N. සාම හමුදා ගොඩබස්සවා ගෙන mcc ට්‍රෝජන් අශ්වයා හරහා රට දෙකට තුනට කැඩීමේ චන්ද්‍රිකා-රනිල්-සජිත් ප්ලෑනය. එසේ නොවේ නම් මෙම <තරුණ> පිරිස් කල යුතු දියවන්නා හෝටලයේ පාරවල් තුන අවහිරකර 225 හිර අඩස්සියට ගැනීමය. එසේ කර අගමැති කෙනෙක් පිටින් පින් ලැයිස්තුව හරහා ගෙන ඒමය. ඔහු ලංකාව සිංහල බෞද්ධයින්ගේ රට බව පිළිගන්න අයෙක් විය යුතුය. ඒබ්‍රහම් ලින්කන් ජනාධිපති චන්දය ඉල්ලුවේ පවතින වහල් ක්‍රමයට පක්ෂවය. එහෙත් පසුව ඔහු වහල් ක්‍රමයට විරුද්ධව යුද්ධ කලේය. 1958 කුඹුරු පණත ගෙනා වේලේ මිසිස් බී ඊට විරුද්ධව කුස්සියේ සිට අරගලයක් දියත් කලේය. නමුත් ඇය පසු කලෙක ඇමෙරිකන් හා බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය තෙල් සමාගම් ජනසතු කිරීමට එඩිතර පියවරක් ගත්තා පමණක් නොව තමන් සතු ඉඩම් අක්කර 2500 ක් පමණ ඉඩම් ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ පණත යටතේ රජයට දුන්නේය.

කුඹුරු පණත සිස්ටම් චේන්ජ් කිරීමේලා ගත් එක් පියවරක් වුවත්, ගොවියාගේ ප්‍රශ්ණ හෝ ගොවියා දරිද්‍රභාවයෙන් මුදා ගැනීමට අදාල අනිත් සිස්ටම් චේන්ජ් සිදුවූයේ නැත. නිෂ්පාදනයට සාධාරණ මිලක්, නිෂ්පාදන  වෙළදපොලට ගෙනයාමේ ක්‍රම හා විධි ඒ සමඟ සිදුවූයේ නැත. පෝර ප්‍රශ්ණයෙන් ජනාධිපති අමාරුවේ වැටී අද පවතින උද්ඝෝෂණ වලට හේතුවූයේද මෙසේ සිස්ටම් පද්ධතියක්  පෝර භාවිතය සමඟ ඇති බව වටහා නොගෙන, එය තනි සිද්ධියක්සේ සැළකීමය.

තෙල්, ගෑස් හා විදුලිය නැතිවීමෙන් AC, Fan හා කාර් නැතිව දාඩිය දාගෙන ඉන්නට සිදුවී තිබෙන්නේ කොළඹ ක්‍රවුඩ් එකටය. පරණ හා අළුත් UNP බලකොටුවද කොළඹය.  සිංහල බෞද්ධ ජනයා අඩුමද කොළඹ ප්‍රදේශයේය. රාසමාණික්කම් කොළුවා අරගලය දිගටම ගෙන යන ලෙස පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේදී  ඉල්ලා සිටියේ කොළඹ මනො ගනේෂන්, මරික්කාර්ලා ගෙන්දය. සිස්ටම් චේන්ජ් ඉල්ලීම දේශීය හා රටේ ඉතිහාසය හා භූගෝල විද්‍යාව දන්නා ඇත්ත වශයෙන්ම ගමේ අයගේ ඉල්ලීමක් නම්  ලංකාවේ අගනුවර රජ රටට ගෙන යායුතුයයි 1940 ස් ගණන්වල සිට ආ යෝජනාවේ වටිනාකම දැන් 2022 දී කෙතරම් කාලෝචිතදැයි සළකා බැලිය යුතුව ඇත. මේ පිළිඹඳව මා ලියූ දීර්ග ලිපියක් අප්‍රියෙල් — අයිලන්ඩ් පුටත් පතේ පලවිය.

මේ ගෝල්පේස් පිටියට එන අයට 1978 දී ජේ.ආර්. විසින් රටට ගෙන ආ විනාශය ගැන යම් තරමක හෝ දැණුමක් තිබිය යුතුය. එම විනාශයෙන් ගොඩ ඒමට මා වැනි රටෙන් පිටව සිටි බොහෝ අය නොයෙක් යෝජනා 2005 දී සිට ඉදිරිපත් කලේය. මෙම යෝජනා අද තරුණයින් ඉල්ලා සිටින් සිස්ටම් චේන්ජ් එකට අදාල විය. මේ නිසා සැබෑ තරුණ අරගලයකට විරුද්ධවන්නේ කළු සුද්දන් පිරිස් පමණය.

මෙම ලිපි පෙලේ මාතෘකාවේ සඳහන් බෞද්ධ විසඳුම ලිවීමට තවත් කොටසක් ලිවිය යුතුව ඇත. අරගල කරුවන් විසින් සළකා බැලිය යුතු යයි සිතන ඉල්ලිම් ලැයිස්තුවක්ද එයට ඇතුලත් කිරීමට අදහස් කරමි. මෙහි පහතින් ඇත්තේ <ලංකාවේ කළු සුද්දන්ගේ පාලන සමය-1948-2020> යනුවෙන් මා එකතුකල කෘතියේ පටුනය. සිස්ටම් චේන්ජ් ගැන සිතන අයෙකු කියවිය යුතුම එය pdf කර අරගලයේ නිලලත්, නිල නොලත් යනාදී පුදගලයින්ට දැන ගැනීමට මීලඟ ලිපියෙන් පැතුම් කර්නර් ගේ ඊමේල් ලිපිනයට යවමි. මීට අමතරව, < සුද්දගෙ නීතිය අපිට එපා> යනුවෙන් දැනට මාස කීපයකට පෙර එකතුකර කුඩා පොතක් ලෙස මුදාහල ලිපි රැසක් මෙම ලිපියට අමුණා ඇත. 

ලංකාව: කළු සුද්දන්ගේ පාලන සමය-1948-2020

පටුන

2. කළුසුද්දන්ගේසම්භවයහාආධිපත්‍යය

1.බමුණු කුලය බිඳ වැටීම                               

2.වළාකුළක් ලණුවකින් බැඳගත හැකිද?

3.විදේශ අමාත්‍යාංශයට අබසරණයි

4.බුද්ධාගම කොට උඩ යවන්න හිතන තිසරණී

5.හින්දු-බෞද්ධ මිත්‍රත්වය

6.දොස්තර මහත්තයා හා වෙද මහත්තයා

7.රෙදි ගැලවීම නිසා යට ගවුමෙන් ඉන්නා කඳු

8.හාමුදුරුවරුන්ට 13 සංශෝධනය අමතකවීම

9.සිවුරු පොරවා ගත් කළුසුද්දෝ

3. ප්‍රජා–තන්ත්‍රවාදයනමැතිනාස්ලණුවෙන්ගැලවෙමු

1.ලිප්බොක්කේ හිරවුණු බෝධිසත්ව නාගයා

2.බුදු දහම හා ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදය

3.කොරෝනා-තන්ත්‍රවාදය

4.ඕ මයිගෝඩ් ලංකාව හා බුදු අම්මෝ ලංකාව

5.වැව් බැඳි රාජ්‍යය

4. කළු සුද්දන් නැටූ නාඩගම් හා ඒවාට මුහුණ දීම

          1. ඒකීය ශිරි ලංකාව මොන බම්බුවටද?

          2.දෙමළ බෙදුම්වාදය මතවාදයෙන් පැරදවීම

3. ලංකාවේ මුස්ලිම් වෙළෙන්ඳන් අරාබි ශාරියා මිණීමරුවන් කිරීම

4.මැකියාවේලි ශාස්ත්‍රය අනුගමනය කල මුවර් නායකයින්

5. ශාරියා/ඉකුවාන් ආක්‍රමණය –අගමැතිලා ජනාධිපතිලා නාස්ලණු දමා ගැනීම

6.සිංහලයා ශ්‍රී ලාංකික කිරීමේ ව්‍යාපාරය හා ගර්‌භාශ යුද්‌ධය

7. කළු සුද්දන්ගේ රට කැබලිකිරීමේ රහස් ප්ලෑන

8.ඉංග්‍රිස් පාරුව කරට ගැනීම

9.බල්ලට ගිය නීතිය– සුප්‍රීම් උසාවිය හා පක්ෂ දේශපාලනය

10.ලංකාවේ දුෂ්ඨ ත්‍රිකෝණය

5.  අපට මඟක් ඇත – බුදු දහම හා තිරසර සංවර්ධනය

          1. ධර්මපාලතුමා ලොවට දුන් දායාදය: Why nations fail?

2.ඉතිහාසඥ මයිකල් රොබට්ස්ට අනාගාරික ධර්මපාලතුමා මුණගැසීම

3.පොසොන් ආක්‍රමණය

4.පන්සල් අතරමංකල ලංකාවේ හා දකුණු ඉන්දියාවේ දෙමළ බෞද්‌ධයා

5. බෞද්ධයින් ප්‍රචන්ඩත්වයට ඇයි මෙච්චර ලොල්!

6.පරසුද්දා–පර කළු සුද්දා-පර මන්ත්‍රී

7. රට ගොඩගන්නට වෙහෙසුණු කළුකොඳයාවේ මහනාහිමි

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

උක්ත කරුණ සම්බන්ධයෙන් අධිකරණ සේවා සංවිධානය විසින් කර ඇති සන්නිවේදනය හා මේ පිළිබඳව යුක්තිය උදෙසා නීතිඥයෝ සංවිධානයේ නීතිඥවරුන් විසින් ගරු අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමාගේ අවධානය අද දින (2022.05.07) යොමු කිරීමෙන් පසු ඒ ගැන වහාම ක්‍රියාත්මක වූ ගරු අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්‍ෂ මැතිතුමා කඩුවෙල මහේස්ත්‍රාත් තුමියගේ ආරක්‍ෂාව මෙන්ම රට පුරා සියළු අධිකරණ වල විනිශ්චයකාරතුමන්ලාගේ ආරක්‍ෂාව වහාම තර කරන ලෙස පොලිස්පතිවරයාට උපදෙස් ලබාදී ඇත.  

Courtesy Hiru News

By PTI  Courtesy The Week

Govt faces criticism from Oppn parties and foreign envoys

Sri Lankans block an intersection demanding cooking gas cylinders in Colombo | PTI

The Sri Lankan government on Saturday defended imposing a state of emergency, saying it was required to tackle the unprecedented economic crisis plaguing the country, even as President Gotabaya Rajapaksa faced flak from the Opposition and foreign envoys for his decision which gives security forces power to crack down on peaceful protests.

In a special Cabinet meeting on Friday, the embattled president declared the state of emergency with effect from Friday midnight. This is the second emergency declared in just over a month.

The announcement came as student activists kept the Parliament under siege since Thursday night.

The students blocked the main entrance to the complex demanding the resignation of the government for its inability to handle the ongoing economic crisis marked by shortages of essentials.

In a statement on Saturday, the Government Information Department said, “Sri Lanka is currently facing the worst economic crisis and political instability ever after Independence due to manifold reasons both short and long-term. The common perception is that several reforms in the sectors of political, economic and social fabric should be carried out in-depth to escape from this grave situation.”

“Priority among them is to manage the shortage of foreign exchange within the shortest possible time and restore the supply of goods and services, the statement added.

The government said discussions are ongoing with the multi-lateral institutions, including the International Monetary Fund, to obtain financial assistance and restructure outstanding debt.

“Political stability and peace in society are two major conditions that are demanded in building confidence and strength to make such programs a success,” the statement said, explaining the need for the emergency.

Sri Lanka is currently in the throes of unprecedented economic turmoil since its independence from Britain in 1948. The crisis is caused in part by a lack of foreign currency, which has meant that the country cannot afford to pay for imports of staple foods and fuel, leading to acute shortages and very high prices.

Thousands of demonstrators have hit the streets across Sri Lanka since April 9, as the government ran out of money for vital imports; prices of essential commodities have skyrocketed and there are acute shortages in fuel, medicines and electricity supply.

Despite mounting pressure, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his elder brother and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa have refused to quit office.

Commenting on the ongoing negotiations, the IMF’s Colombo mission chief Masahiro Nozaki said, “The IMF team will engage with the economic team of Sri Lankan authorities from May 9 to May 23 in a virtual mission and continue discussions on the authorities’ request for an IMF-supported programme.”

According to IMF assessment, Sri Lanka’s debt is unsustainable. Therefore, approval for IMF financing, including through a Rapid Financing Instrument, would require adequate assurances that debt sustainability will be restored.

Last month, the Sri Lankan government said it would temporarily default on USD 35.5 billion in foreign debt as the pandemic and the war in Ukraine made it impossible to make payments to overseas creditors.

The present state of emergency gives the police and the security forces sweeping power to arbitrarily arrest and detain people.

The country’s human rights body, the main lawyers’ body, the Opposition and even some members of the diplomatic community criticised the government for its move.

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka said it was deeply concerned about the promulgation of an emergency. We urge the government to explain to the public the reasons for this proclamation since protests have been largely peaceful and within the ambit of normal police operations, it said in a statement.

We hope that freedom of speech and assembly, the rights associated with arrest and detention as well as other fundamental rights and freedoms will not be affected or derogated from during the period of the emergency, said the statement.

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) in a statement issued said it was “gravely concerned” about the declaration of a State of Emergency by the President.

Courtesy The Hindu

40,000 tonnes of rice and other essential commodities to be shipped to Sri Lanka, says Sakkarapani

Minister for Food and Civil Supplies R. Sakkarapani on Saturday warned of legal action against those who disseminate misleading information on social media about the initiatives to ship essential commodities such as rice to Sri Lanka.

According to a press release, the State government will ship 40,000 tonnes of rice and other essential commodities to Sri lanka. Fifty-one rice mills have been identified for packing and supplying the rice in 10 kg bags. Good quality rice varieties that have been exported to Sri Lanka have been procured by the State government at ₹33.50 a kg, which includes transport cost to ports such as Thoothukudi and Chennai. However, a few individuals have shared misleading information on social media, claiming that the rice should have been procured at ₹20 from the Food Corporation of India.

Pointing to the challenges in sending rice meant for the public distribution system from the Food Corporation of India to other countries, the Minister said the social media posts comparing the rice procured by the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation with the product in the public distribution system was misleading.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

A protest broke out, outside UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe’s house in 5th Lane in Colombo this morning, with protestors calling on the former prime minister to ‘Go Home’ and ‘Stay Home’.

The protestors gathered outside after a statement made by TNA MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam in Parliament this week, saying that Ranil was seen persuading opposition MPs to vote for SLFP’s Ranjith Siyambalapitiya in the Deputy Speaker election. 

The protestors gathered outside Ranil’s house and carried out a peaceful protest calling on Ranil to allegedly stop his ‘deals’. 

Security was deployed outside the former prime minister’s house.

An hour into the protest, a group of Ranil’s supporters also gathered at the site and began a protest saying the only solution to the ongoing crisis was to appoint Ranil as a leader. An argument then erupted between the pro and anti Ranil protestors and the police had to calm the situation.

A message was later sent to the protestors by the former prime minister saying if they wished to meet him, they should come to the Sirikotha on Monday where he will discuss their concerns with them. The protestors eventually dispersed. (Jamila Husain)

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lanka’s main opposition, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) says it has decided to extend support to the proposals brought forward by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka to restore political and economic stability in Sri Lanka, which includes the abolishment of the Executive Presidency.

The party said in a statement that it would support a national program based on a series of proposals put forward by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka to resolve the serious national crisis in the country.

The statement said that the SJB considers the program proposed by the Bar Association to abolish the Executive Presidency as a primary need to resolve the existing national crisis.

Accordingly, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya said it has decided to support a national program to resolve the existing crisis, based on the set of proposals presented by the Bar Association to find immediate solutions to the serious issued faced by the people and bring stability to the country.

The brief statement was read out by SJB parliamentarian Harin Fernando during a press briefing held in Colombo today (07).

The Bar Association proposes the establishment of an Interim Government of National Unity consisting of 15 Cabinet Ministers. 

The Prime Minister to be a Member of Parliament who is able to establish a consensus among all political parties recognized by the Speaker in Parliament on the national economy and to enact necessary reforms, the BASL proposes. 

If there is no Member of Parliament who meets this criteria due to the exigencies of the situation a vacancy created by the resignation of a National List MP may be used to facilitate the entry into Parliament of an individual who meets this criteria where there is bi-partisan consensus to appoint a person who is not presently a Member of Parliament as the Prime Minister, even if such individual’s name did not appear in the original List submitted to the National Elections Commission.”

It further says the Government of National Unity will be for a maximum period of eighteen (18) months and a further 6 weeks as a caretaker Government to oversee elections. 

At the conclusion of eighteen (18) months Parliament will be dissolved and a General Election will be held at the expiry of 6 weeks. The Government of National Unity will cease to exist at the conclusion of the General Election.”

The Bar Association’s proposal also includes the abolition of the executive presidency, the introduction of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution to remove the provisions of the 20th Amendment and reinstate the 19th Amendment.

Proposals of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka to restore political and economic stability in the country:https://www.scribd.com/embeds/573167538/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-UXZJBh1DbgeOExCCRaCY

Proposals of the Bar Associ… by Adaderana Online

Courtesy Adaderana

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has decided to resign from his post during the special cabinet meeting held yesterday (06), according to political sources.

The source claimed that the resignation of the Prime Minister is scheduled to take place next Monday.

A special cabinet meeting chaired by President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was held at the President’s House yesterday.

The President had pointed out that in the face of the economic and political crisis that has arisen in the country and the continuous strong opposition from the people, a serious problem has arisen in maintaining the economy.

The President also pointed out that the current crisis has led to a decline in tourist arrivals and the closure of factories, which has led to a serious economic crisis.

Political sources say that the President had stated that the Prime Minister and the government should resign because it is no longer possible to act in the face of the crisis that has arisen.

The Prime Minister has stated that the resignation of the government is not a solution to the problem.

Ministers Dinesh Gunawardena and Wimalaweera Dissanayake had reportedly endorsed the Prime Minister’s view.

Ministers Prasanna Ranatunga, Ramesh Pathirana and Prof. Channa Jayasumana have explained that the government should be handed over to those who can find a solution to the current crisis and that they should all resign.

Afterwards, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa had allegedly stated that if the solution to the current crisis is his resignation, he is ready to step down as Prime Minister and sit in the opposition.

Political sources said that with the resignation of the Prime Minister, the current cabinet will also be dissolved automatically and the process of resignation will likely take place next Monday.

Courtesy Hiru News

පෞද්ගලික මන්ත්‍රී යෝජනා ලෙස ඉදිරිපත් කර ඇති 21 වන සහ 22 වැනි ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථා සංශෝධන පනත් කෙටුම්පත් ඇතුළත් ගැසට් අතිරේකයක් නිකුත් කර තිබෙනවා.

ඒ සමගි ජන බලවේගයේ මහලේකම් මන්ත්‍රී රංජිත් මද්දුම බණ්ඩාර සහ ජනාධිපති නීතිඥ ආචාර්ය විජයදාස රාජපක්ෂ යන අය විසින්.

මෙම පනත් ප්‍රකාශය පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ දී ඉදිරිපත් කිරීම පිණිසයි නිකුත් කර ඇත්තේ.

ඒ අනුව 20 වැනි ව්‍යවස්ථාව සංශෝධනය කරමින්, 21 වැනි ව්‍යවස්ථා සංශෝධනය සිදු කිරීම අරමුණු කරගනිමින් 05 (02) යටතේ ‘අ’ කොටසේ මෙසේ සඳහන් කර තිබෙනවා.

4 වන ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ (ආ) ඡේදයේ ”ජනතාව විසි තෝරා පත්කරගනු ලබන ජනරජයේ ජනාධිපති විසින් ක්‍රියාත්මක කළ යුත්තේය.” යන වචන වෙනුවට ”ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ විධිවිධාන සලස්වා ඇති ආකාරයට ජනාධිපතිවරයා සහ කැබිනට් මණ්ඩලය විසින් ක්‍රියාත්මක කළ යුත්තේය.” යන වචන එයට ආදේශ කර තිබෙනවා.

මේ අතර ආචාර්ය විජයදාස රාජපක්ෂ විසින් ඉදිරිපත් කරන ලද සංශෝධනයේ පළමුකොට පුරවැසි නිදහස තහවුරු කර තිබෙන අයුරු දැකිය හැකියි.

වර්ෂ 1972 පළමු ජනරජ ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවෙහි හිමිකර දී ඇති ජීවත් වීමේ අයිතිය 1978 දෙවැනි ජනරජ ව්‍යවස්ථාවෙන් ගිලිහී යාමේ ප්‍රතිවිපාක යළි ඇති නොවීම වස්, මන්ත්‍රී විජයදාස රාජපක්ෂ විසින් ගෙනහැර දක්වන පළමු සංශෝධනය අතිශය වැදගත් යැයි පෙන්වාදීම උචිත වෙනවා.

ඒ අනුව 5 (2) ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ 12 වැනි ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ (1) වන අනුව්‍යවස්ථාවට පසුව ‘අ’ යටතේ ” සෑම තැනැත්තෙකුටම ජීවත් වීමේ සහ පුද්ගලික නිදහසේ අයිතිය ඇත්තේය.” යනුවෙන් හිමිගන්වා තිබෙනවා.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/14UqsjPwoT1w3FyiWhh5oqLUJo1nPu03m/view

Sugath Kulatunga 

It was a pleasure to see Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka defending the post of President against the popular will of the party of which he is the Chairman. His argument was based on the significance of the post in national security on which his expertise cannot be questioned. The demand for the abolition of the President has come mainly from parties, which miserably failed in the attempt to capture the post. The present cry of Gotago appears to be more againster the holder than on the post of the President.

The presidential system (PS) is the dominant form of government in the mainland Americas, with 19 of its 22 sovereign states being presidential republics. In the world approximately 5 out of 8 billion people are ruled by presidential or semi presidential systems. The most recent much researched and unhurried and universally acclaimed Constitution of South Africa, under Nelson Mandela opted for a Presidential system. India the largest democracy in the world is moving towards a Presidential system which Shashi Tharoor says ‘ Never has the separation of powers between executive and legislative organs been more necessary than today.  Only a truly presidential system could keep the excesses India has been subjected to in check.” 

In the 1980s and 1990s, all the new aspirant democracies in Latin America and Asia (Korea and the Philippines) have chosen pure presidentialism and out of approximately twenty-five countries that now constitute Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, only three- Hungary, the new Czech Republic, and Slovakia-have chosen pure parliamentarianism. Most countries which have retained parliamentary systems are Kingdoms or remnants of the British colonial regime.

It is noted that no country which had adopted a presidential system has opted out of the presidential system

 If at all the fault is not in the system but in the holders of the powerful post..

1. PS ensures the Sovereignty of the People and their right of Franchise. It is the best measure of the popular will of a nation. Sovereignty of the people implies the sovereignty of all the people of the nation. It cannot be fragmented. A President is elected by all the people of the country whereas a Prime Minister is elected as a member of Parliament from  a particular constituency and then chosen as the Prime Minister by a majority of the elected members of the Parliament. The election of a President is the only test of the popular will. For example a Prime Minister elected from an urban constituency cannot claim to represent the popular will of the nation. The selection process of a President is more rigorous than the selection process of a Prime Minister or Cabinet Ministers. He or She has to be of a person of exceptional skills with a national appeal. A President has to be conscious of the needs of the minorities and minorities can become the deciding factor as experienced in Sri Lanka in the past. The probability of a President being a more effective leader is higher than that of a Prime Minister.

2. PS Guarantees Stability:Presidential elections are held on a fixed date whereas in the Parliamentary system elections are held at the will of the Prime Minister and the party in power. A fixed period of governance ensures the stability of the state. Fringe parties, which dictate terms to governments, have less destabilizing space in a Presidential system. In a Parliamentary system the Prime Minister is only primus inter pares. Especially in coalition governments, like what we have had in Sri Lanka the Prime Minister has to yield to minority demands that are not in the interest of the nation. This could lead to conflicting and destabilizing outcomes. A President has to watch only major political trends whereas a Prime Minister in a coalition government has to appease fringe parties in order to hold power. This is a typical feature in Sri Lanka politics. A President who is elected by all of the People can prevent special interest groups or ideologues from diverting public policy into immoderate or non-public-interested directions.   

3. PS ensures Separation of Powers.:The Montesquieu principle of separation of power asserts that, to most effectively promote liberty, executive, legislative and Judicial powers must be separate and act independently. Separation of powers prevent the concentration of power in one branch of government by providing for “checks” and “balances” to avoid, over-reaching by one branch over another, and governing by one actor without regard to the others.

In the Constitution of Sri Lanka the principle of separation of power is recognized and the separate powers are assigned to the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary. A weakness in the SL scheme is that the executive cabinet is formed with members of the legislature. This also prevents the best talent in the country to be harnessed for the development of the country.

In the Parliamentary system the executive is selected by the legislature and acts closely with the legislature. There are hardly any checks and balances between the two powers.

4. Legitimacy: The Prime Minister as mentioned earlier, a Prime Minister is elected by a single constituency which may not reflect the interests of the wider population. This is a very significant issue where Prime Ministers represent urban constituencies. A Prime Minister who is normally the leader of his party has only to exercise his party leader position to be accepted as the prime ministerial candidate. This requires manipulative skills more than national leadership qualities. There is a legitimacy deficit in the selection of a Prime Minister. Direct election by the people is vital for legitimacy. Even the strongest parliamentary regimes lack this prerequisite.

5. Two Party Systems and Presidential Government

A presidential system tends to engender a two party system reinforcing stability and enhancing democracy. The advantage of a two party system is that it results in a high degree of moderation in a political system. When there are only two political they are inclined to be usually moderately left of center and moderately right of center. When there are many small parties as we have in Sri Lanka the small parties, based mainly on ethnicity they exploit racial, ethnic, linguistic, and religious differences to try to gain popularity and power.

The presidential system tends to bipolarize elections, so that the system is one that has “two principal poles, each composed of several separate parties forced to cooperate with each other in order to win the presidential election and to govern with a parliamentary majority which reflects that cooperation.” We can observe this development in the many Sandanayas formed to contest the forthcoming Presidential elections.

6. Speed and Proficiency in decision-making: A strong Presidency is capable of making prompt and radical decisions than a cabinet led by a Prime Minister. It is doubtful if the open market policy, poverty alleviation and more importantly the successful war effort against the Tamil separatists could have been made other than a strong Presidency. A President is more effective in a crisis situations, which demand swift and decisive action. The role played by the President in Corvid pandemic control is a good example.

In Sri Lanka the President plays an indispensable role in the devolution of powers to the Provinces. Presidency becomes the anchor which firmly holds the link between the Provinces and the Center. This unique status of the President was clearly stated in the following wording in the Supreme Court determination on the 13^th Amendment to the Constitution.”

The Governor is appointed by the President and holds office in accordance with Article 4(b) which provides that the executive power of the People shall be exercised by the President of the Republic, during the pleasure of the President (Article 154B(2)). The Governor derived his authority from the President and exercises the executive power vested in him as a delegate of the President. It is open to the President therefore by virtue of Article 4(b) of the Constitution to give directions and monitor the Governor’s exercise of this executive power vested in him. Although he is required by Article 154F(1) to exercise his functions in accordance with the advice of the Board of Ministers, shall be on the President’s directions and that the decision of the Governor as to what is in his discretion shall be final So long as the President retains, the power to give directions to the Governor regarding the exercise of his executive functions, and the Governor is bound by such directions superseding the advice of the Board of Ministers and where the failure of the Governor or Provincial Council to comply with or give effect to any directions given to the Governor or such Council by the President under Chapter XVII of the Constitution.”

The Yahapalana government did its utmost to whittle down the powers of the President and transfer most executive powers to the Prime Minister. To their dismay the Supreme Court held that it cannot be done without a referendum on the argument that transfer, relinquishment or removal of power attributed from one organ to another organ or body would be inconsistent with Article 3 of the constitution read with Article 4 of the Constitution . However on the same grounds the SC did not consider the reduction of powers given in the Constitution to the President a violation of the Sovereignty of the People.

Presidency is not without criticisms. But most of the criticism  apply to Prime ministerial governments as well. A major complain is that presidency produces authoritarian governments. This has been the chief objection to the former Presidents of Sri Lanka as well. In Asia Indira Gandhi of India and Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore were considered highly dictatorial. Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Hun Sen of Cambodia were considered despots. Margaret Thatcher of the mother of parliaments was an autocrat.

1.     When the President is from a different party from that of the Prime Minister there can be friction similar to what has happened during the tenure of the present government in Sri Lanka. This would not take place if the President is an independent candidate or the President after elections leaves his party.

2.     While an errant Prime Minister can be removed with a vote of no confidence (in Sri Lanka even by suspending standing orders) a President cannot be removed from his post without following the exact practice laid down in the Constitution, including an inquiry by the Supreme Court. While this may not be meet desperate situations (like the no confidence motion on Premadasa) this practice provides stability to the post of President. As  he/she is elected by the people his/her removal should rightly be approved at a referendum.

3.     An accusation frequently levelled is that a President enjoys immunity from prosecution. The provision that the President is responsible to the Parliament is not supported by modes of execution. 19 th Amendment to the Constitution has corrected the anomaly of immunity of non-prosecution. In addition to his responsibility to the Parliament the President should be made directly responsible to the people who elected him. It can be done through a national referendum, but it is an expensive device for use in specific instances.  In Sri Lanka there are close to 9000 members in 340 local authorities and 275 Pradeshiya Sabha. This 9000 members who are elected representative of the people can be the constituency for the conduct of a referendum to decide on the will of the people on important decisions. The approval for a decision by a referendum should be on a majority vote of the Parliament. The voting should be under the direction of Election Commission and the counting of votes should be done at the district level. A referendum could also be called by a majority vote by the same constituency.

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The success of a President depends largely on the quality of the holder. He/she should be of high intellect, ethical, professional and gifted with a high degree of emotional intelligence.  Let Sri Lanka not be a country which has backpedaled to a Parliamentary system from a Presidential system. We are good at backpedaling or not pedaling at all.

‘For forms of Government let fools contest. Whate’er is best administered is best.’ Alexander Pope.

Sugath Kulatunga