The Health Ministry says that another 583 persons have tested positive for Covid-19 today, as the daily count of new cases continues to rise in the country.
This brings the tally of Covid-19 cases registered in the country thus far to 648,993.
According to official figures, 609,680 positive cases have recovered.
Following the new development, the number of virus-infected people who are undergoing treatment moved to 23,006.
Meanwhile, the Director-General of Health Services confirmed another 20 coronavirus-related deaths for March 03, pushing the country’s death toll from the pandemic to 16,307.
The deaths reported today include 08 males and 12 females, according to the figures released by the Department of Govt. Information.
One of the victims is between the ages of 30-59 years. The remaining 19 are in the age group of 60 years and above.
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Mark Weisbrot Center for Economic and Policy Research
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, September 8, 1999
Knight-Ridder/Tribune Media Services, September 1, 1999 Charleston Post and Courier, September 3, 1999
What were they thinking? When executives at the Bank of New York saw billions of dollars floating in from the home computer of a Russian businessman with ties to organized crime there, did they really believe that these were just ordinary profits?
The biggest money-laundering scandal in history has prompted calls for a fresh look at the role of American and IMF funds in Russia. To say this is long overdue would be an understatement.
The corruption is certainly mind-numbing in scale and scope, with some of the West’s favorite reformers”– including Konstantin Kagalovsky, the former Russian representative at the IMF– at the center of the investigation. But the tribute that the Russian mafia skims off the top is just one part of the looting of Russia.
The other part has been scripted by Washington and its most powerful financial institution: the International Monetary Fund. It is a different form of pillage, to be sure. The robber barons who have taken over the Russian economy since the fall of the Soviet Union have adopted the practice of the Medici family of fifteenth century Florence: money to get power, power to protect the money.
Washington’s money mandarins, on the other hand, descended upon Russia with enormous wealth and power already in their possession. They have used both to colonize Russia, turning a once developed economy into a Third World country.
The results have been devastating. Over the last eight years, the economy has shrunk by more than half. Russian men can now expect to die in their fifties. The chief economist of the World Bank, Joseph Stiglitz, has noted that the number of Russians living in poverty climbed from two million to sixty million in just a few years.
Stiglitz, who is one of America’s most accomplished and respected economists, has recently argued that these results are not just due to sound policies being poorly implemented.” Rather, they are based on a misunderstanding of the very foundations of a market economy, as well as an excessive reliance on textbook models of economics.”
The experience of the last year shows just how 180-degree wrong the foreign experts can be. August 17th marked the first anniversary of the collapse of the ruble, which fell from its fixed rate of about 6 to the dollar one year ago to 25 today. The IMF poured in billions of dollars to prop up the overvalued currency, and Washington predicted disaster for the Russians if they did not maintain the fixed exchange rate. There would be hyperinflation, they said, and sources of foreign capital would dry up. The economy would fall apart.
A year later, it is clear that the sky did not fall with the ruble. The threatened hyperinflation did not occur– inflation is running at about 45% for the year. The currency’s collapse made imports much more expensive, and gave Russian industry a chance to get back on its feet. Industrial production in July was up 12.8% over last year, and Russia’s trade surplus has risen more than tenfold.
Even Russia’s default on $40 billion of foreign debt, almost unthinkable until it happened, has not really hurt the economy. True, foreign capital inflows have fallen off sharply over the last year. But since these funds did little more than inflate a speculative bubble in the financial sector–encouraged by the IMF’s high interest rate, fixed exchange rate policy– the productive sectors were not greatly affected when the bubble burst.
It has been one debacle after another since the IMF introduced its shock therapy” program in 1992. Like a battered spouse who sees no alternative but to return to her abuser, Russia comes back to the IMF for more credits. But the hundreds of billions that have fled the country in the 1990’s have cancelled out this aid,” as well as the meager foreign direct investment, many times over. At the same time Russia has accumulated more than $150 billion in foreign debt, with the burden of debt service now reaching a crushing 29% of export earnings.
At some point any rational, non-corrupt political leader in Russia has to question whether the country’s friendly relations with Washington are worth the price of continued impoverishment. That time may be approaching, as Russia elects first a Parliament and then a President over the next 10 months. There will be calls from across the political spectrum to break, or at least loosen, the chains that bind Russia to its Western tormentors.
The American press will mostly dismiss these demands as nationalist finger-pointing, and attribute Russia’s demise to its failure to hew more closely to the IMF’s prescriptions. And Washington will pour in money, as it did in the 1996 elections, to support its friends.
But the Russians might well be better off cutting this toxic umbilical cord, which could give them at least a fighting chance against the powerful domestic criminal class that our own government– and private sector– has helped to create.
People stand in a queue to buy diesel fuel at a petrol station in Sri Lanka, which is currently in the throes of an energy crisis
The International Monetary Fund warned crisis-hit Sri Lanka on Thursday that its foreign debt was “unsustainable”, and called for devaluation and higher taxes to revive the almost bankrupt economy.
The pandemic pushed the South Asian island’s tourism sector — a key foreign-exchange earner — off a cliff, and the government in March 2020 imposed a broad import ban to try to shore up foreign currency.
But more than two years on, Sri Lanka is grappling with food and fuel shortages, which this week saw its public transport crippled as buses ran out of diesel and the state imposed blackouts.
Following its annual review of the cash-strapped country, the IMF said its fast-dwindling foreign reserves were inadequate to service the country’s current foreign debt of $51 billion.
Official data shows Sri Lanka needs nearly $7 billion to service its foreign debt this year, but the country’s external reserves at the end of January were only $2.07 billion — just enough to finance one month’s imports.
The IMF stressed “the urgency of implementing a credible and coherent strategy to restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability”, recommending a return to a “market-determined and flexible exchange rate” — meaning a devaluation of the Sri Lankan rupee.
While the central bank’s set rate is 197 rupees to the dollar, a thriving black market offers 260 rupees for US currency notes.
This disparity has led to a more than 50 percent decline in foreign remittances through official banking channels.
But the IMF noted the country’s economic woes began pre-pandemic.
Soon after taking office in November 2019, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa cut several taxes nearly in half, the IMF said, driving down government revenues and forcing it to borrow more.
Among recommendations to address the crisis was to raise income taxes and VAT, “complemented with revenue administration reform”, the IMF said.
The lack of dollars to import fuel has led to a serious energy crisis.
Besides bringing public transport to a halt on Wednesday, the state’s electricity company also imposed a daily seven-and-a-half-hour electricity blackout — the longest scheduled power rationing in over a quarter of a century.
Without dollars to finance essential imports, rice, milk powder, sugar and wheat flour are in short supply, while local industries are unable to bring in raw materials and machinery.
The shortages pushed inflation to 16.8 percent in January — the fourth consecutive record rise — and the IMF said it expected it to remain in the double digits.
International rating agencies have downgraded Sri Lanka over expectations it may not be able to service its foreign debt, though the government insists it can meet its obligations.
On Thursday, Russia’s Defence Ministry spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, said that the West has increased the dispatch to Ukraine of contract soldiers from private military companies and several European countries are sending mercenaries.The military operation in Ukraine is going according to plan, and all tasks are being implemented “successfully”, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his address to the Russian Security Council.”Our soldiers fight steadfastly, with a full understanding of the justice of their cause, even after being wounded, they remain in formation, sacrifice themselves […] in order to save comrades and civilians,” Putin said, noting that Russian troops are striving to prevent civilian casualties in Ukraine.Putin also said that nationalists and foreign mercenaries in Ukraine are using civilians as human shields. They have not kept their promise to remove heavy military equipment from residential areas, he continued.
“Instead of fulfilling promises to remove this equipment from residential areas, from kindergartens, hospitals, on the contrary, tanks, artillery, mortars are being additionally deployed there,” he said.
Foreigners Held Hostage
The Russian president also said that foreign citizens are being held hostage in Ukraine: particularly, among them are some 3,179 citizens of India.
“Neo-Nazis also opened fire on Chinese students who were trying to leave Kharkov. Two of them were injured. I repeat: hundreds of foreigners are trying to leave the war zone, but they are not being allowed to do so,” Putin stressed.But the way “neo-nazis treat their own citizens” is even worse, according to him, as Russian soldiers have witnessed residents of apartment buildings being “herded into the middle floors of buildings”, while in the lower floors “they break through windows and walls, put up heavy equipment there”. On the roofs and on the upper floors, machine guns and snipers are placed, the president said.Still, the Russian troops “have provided corridors in all collision zones without exception, provided transport so that civilians, foreign citizens have the opportunity to go to a safe place” – something that “nationalists do not allow to be done”, Putin outlined.US Military Intel Launched Large-Scale Campaign to Recruit PMC Contractors for Ukraine – Russian MoD11 hours agoPutin’s address came shortly after Russia’s Defence Ministry spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, said that the West has increased the dispatch to Ukraine of contract soldiers from private military companies, with the US military intelligence launching a massive campaign to recruit PMC contractors for Ukraine.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his turn, stated that Ukraine expects some 16,000 foreign mercenaries to come and fight for the country.According to estimations from the Russian Defence Ministry, 200 Croatian mercenaries have already arrived in Ukraine, with the UK, Denmark, Latvia, and Poland also giving the green light to sending mercenaries there. Konashenkov said that foreign soldiers who are already in Ukraine “commit sabotage and raids on Russian convoys of equipment and material supplies, as well as aircraft covering them.”
Previously, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky threatened to withdraw Ukraine from the Budapest Agreement, under which the newly independent Ukraine gave up the nuclear arsenal that it inherited from the USSR in exchange for security guarantees.The head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Sergei Naryshkin, has stated that the SVR had obtained intelligence showing that Ukraine was working on building its own nuclear weapons. Naryshkin stressed that President Volodymyr Zelensky’s threats to abandon the Budapest Agreement were “not an empty promise”.Naryshkin noted that Ukraine has preserved technical potential to create nuclear armaments and that this is higher than those of Iran and North Korea.“Not only did [Russia] know about this, but the Americans also did. At the same time, not only did they not interfere in their plans, but [they] were also ready, as they say, to lend a helping hand to the Ukrainians, apparently hoping that Ukrainian nukes would be aimed not to the west, but to the east”.The Russian intelligence chief further slammed the inaction of EU countries, who failed to take any action following Zelensky’s threats at the Munich Security Conference to withdraw his country from the Budapest Agreement – a 1994 accord under which newly independent Ukraine gave up the nuclear arsenal that it had inherited from the USSR and vowed to stay non-nuclear.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier said that Moscow could not allow weapons that would threaten Russia to be deployed on Ukrainian territory. President Vladimir Putin on 24 February ordered to launch a special operation of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine to demilitarise and “denazify” the country.
The walkout raises serious questions about the future viability of the UNHRC because it suggests that the Council has degenerated into theater, pantomime and farce. In these circumstances, it is incumbent on the General Assembly to immediately launch a thorough assessment of the work of the Council since 2006 to find out whether the UNHRC is worth the enormous cost that goes into maintaining it and what reforms if any can be implemented in order to ensure that the institution or any successor to it really conforms to and abides by the principles that are embodied in their founding statutes.
On 01 March 2022, an extraordinary scene unfolded at the UNHRC when nearly 100 diplomats from Western countries including the US, U.K, Canada, Germany and others walked out when Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was addressing the Council via a video-link. According to reports, the gesture was in protest over Russia’s ongoing military action in Ukraine. Two questions arise, first, whether this sort of conduct is proper and second, what does it entail for the future of the UNHRC?
In my opinion, the walkout was completely improper because, first, according to the UNHRC’s founding statute (UN General Assembly resolution 60/251) a fundamental principle that must guide the Council in its work is constructive international dialogue.” Obviously, if diplomats simply walk out when the other side is speaking then no dialogue, constructive or otherwise, is possible.
Secondly, the countries whose delegates walked out are heirs to two of the most illustrious legal traditions in history, the Roman Law in the case of the European countries and the Common Law in the case of the US, the U.K, Canada and others. An indispensable component of both those traditions is respect for natural justice and one of the pillars of natural justice is the injunction to hear the other side.” Therefore, the nations that walked out during Mr. Lavrov’s speech have repudiated their own historical traditions.
This is unfortunate because, regardless of how Westerners today might view their historical traditions, many people especially in developing countries including Sri Lanka which were once colonies of Western countries may still believe in concepts such as natural justice and the walkout sends the wrong message to such people because it suggests that the related concepts have no real meaning or force in the lands of their birth.
To turn next to the question of what the walkout means for the future of the UNHRC, in my opinion it represents the absolute nadir of the UNHRC as an institution. The General Assembly created the UNHRC in 2006 to replace the U.N. Commission on Human Rights because the
General Assembly was persuaded that the latter institution had become too politicised. Accordingly, in setting out the principles that were to guide the new institution, the General Assembly stated:
The work of the Council shall be guided by the principles of universality, impartiality, objectivity, non-selectivity, constructive international dialogue and cooperation.” (Paragraph 4, resolution 60/251, 3rd April 2006)
To turn to the walkout, according to the participants the reason for it was to show their outrage at what the Russians had done and also to show solidarity with the Ukrainians. Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, one of the diplomats who walked out, is reported as saying:
Minister Lavrov was giving his version, which is false, about what is happening in Ukraine and so we wanted to show a very strong stance together.” (1st March 2022.)
Certainly, each of the delegates in question has an inherent right to show his or her outrage at what the Russians had done especially if they consider that the reasons given by the Russians for their actions are wrong or false. However, given the principles that are supposed to guide the UNHRC set out inter alia in paragraph 4 of the founding statute, if a delegate considers that what the Russian Foreign Minister or anyone else is saying is false they have an obligation to objectively demonstrate it both for the benefit of the Council as well as the rest of the world.
A walkout does not demonstrate in any way the truth or falsity of the Russian Foreign Minister’s assertions. It simply makes a political point, namely, that one disagrees with the said assertions. It gives the impression that the Western nations consider that the UNHRC is a forum for people to discuss only ideas or matters with which they (i.e. the Western nations) agree.
However, the UNHRC has a mandate to promote and protect human rights worldwide and reason and common sense suggest that this would require a consideration of contrary or opposing viewpoints, that is, viewpoints with which one may disagree. If the UNHRC could not provide a forum for such discussions, then of what use is the institution? In sum, the walkout negates the very purpose behind the UNHRC as envisioned by the General Assembly when it created the institution.
Conclusion
The walkout raises serious questions about the future viability of the UNHRC because it suggests that the Council has degenerated into theater, pantomime and farce. In these circumstances, it is incumbent on the General Assembly to immediately launch a thorough assessment of the work of the Council since 2006 to find out whether the UNHRC is worth the enormous cost that goes into maintaining it and what reforms if any can be implemented in order to ensure that the institution or any successor to it really conforms to and abides by the principles that are embodied in their founding statutes.
The writer is an Attorney-at-Law and also consultant to the Strategic Communications Unit (Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute)
Sri Lanka continues to be in the grips of many high profile crises of recent origin such as the COVID–19 pandemic, chronic difficulties in servicing foreign debts, shortages of essential items such as food and fuel, skyrocketing cost of living, and crop failures due to the ban of chemical fertilisers, to name a few . However, the national question, which has tormented the country for decades, continues to be one of her biggest problems, if not the greatest.
Sinhala Buddhist nationalism features prominently in any discourse on Sri Lanka’s national question. Its detractors often derogatorily call it by terms such as Sinhala Buddhist imperialism, Sinhala Buddhist chauvinism, and Sinhala Buddhist racism, whilst its protagonists call it Sinhala Buddhist patriotism or simply patriotism. Meanwhile, somewhat esoteric and ephemeral terms such as Sinhala Buddhist majoritarianism, kinguistic nationalism, and ethnocracy are used for it in learned discourse. Further, Sinhala Buddhist nationalism is very often discussed with reference to personages of Sri Lanka’s ancient history such as Dutugemunu and Elara. Hence, it is useful to trace the genesis and early phases of development of Sinhala Buddhist nationalism during Sri Lanka’s ancient past, in order to enhance our understanding of the subject.
Sri Lanka’s ancient agrarian revolution powered by irrigation engineering
As in our own age, in the distant past too, various races migrated from one land to another for various reasons such as the search for greener pastures and the forced eviction by intruding tribes. From about the sixth century BC, Sri Lanka too, which until then was thinly populated by primitive hunter gatherers, experienced an influx of migrants from overseas. Some of them, who had a knack for agriculture, settled in the arid north central plains of the island, which were covered with wooded forests and shrub jungles, as those one could still see in places such as Wilpattu. As direct rain water was often inadequate and undependable for growing paddy, these pioneer settlers cultivated the art of conserving water by building small artificial reservoirs called tanks, and convert the hostile arid terrain into paddy fields with the water thus conserved. Thereby they were able to establish a firm foothold in pre-historic Sri Lanka. These rough, tough, and enterprising pioneer settlers came to be known as ‘Sihala’ or Sinhalese, whose founding fathers were, according to legends, Vijaya and his band of seven hundred followers, who came to Sri Lanka from northern India. Other migrant tribes, either perished in this hostile physical environment, like the traders devoured by Kuveni, or got suppressed and assimilated by the dominant Sinhalese. This was a social process, which had some affinity to the process of natural selection in the biological world – a case of social Darwinism, so to speak. The Sinhalese went on to build progressively bigger tanks, weirs, canals, and complex irrigation systems connecting all such innovative creations with rivers which flowed from the distant wet mountains. As a result, the erstwhile wild and hostile terrain of Sri Lanka’s north central plains were converted into a vast blue and green tapestry of thousands of artificial lakes and lush paddy fields studded with dagobas of immaculate white. The formidable physical challenges posed by the nature were surmounted with an audacious human response. This monumental transformation, which took place more than thousand years ago, inspired many people of modern times. A notable person amongst them was the British planter, archaeologist, and author John Still ( 1880 – 1941 ) of Jungle Tide fame, who in turn drew the insightful attention of Arnold Toynbee, the eminent scholar of comparative history and civilizations ( Arnold J Toynbee; A study of history ; abridgement by D C Somervell ). The agrarian revolution powered by advanced irrigation systems was the bedrock, the backbone, and the material basis of the fully-fledged hydraulic civilization of ancient Sri Lanka. The elaborate social, political, cultural and religious institutions of that civilisation constituted, as Marx would say, its superstructure.
The birth of the ancient agrarian revolution based on irrigation engineering pre-dates the arrival of Buddhism in the island in the third century BC. The medium sized tank ‘Abhaya Wewa’, which is also known as Basawak Kulama, in Anuradhapura, built in the fourth century BC by king Pandukabhaya, proves the point. The next important tank, Tissa Wewa, was built in Anuradhapura during the reign of Devanampiyatissa ( 250 BC – 210 BC ). Irrigation engineering witnessed a quantum leap during the reign of the great Vasabha ( 67 AD – 111 AD ). During his reign, in addition to many large tanks, the Elahera canal was built. This canal diverted the waters of the Ambanganga, a tributary of the Mahaweli river originating from the Matale hills, to the tanks in the arid north central plains. The next great period of tank building was the reign of Mahasena ( 274 AD – 301 AD ), during which many tanks including the giant Minneriya Wewa was constructed. Mahasena’s achievements were equaled or surpassed during the reign of Dhatusena ( 455 AD – 473 AD ), during which huge tanks such as the Kalawewa and the Yoda Wewa were constructed, damming the Kala Oya and the Malwathu Oya respectively. However, the greatest irrigation engineering feat during the reign of Dhatusena was the construction of the Yoda Ela, also known as Jayaganga, a fifty four mile long canal which carried water from the Kalawewa to the Tissawewa in Anuradhapura. Further significant additions to the irrigation infrastructure were made during the reigns of Moggallana II ( 531 AD – 551 AD ) and Aggabodhi II ( AD 604 – AD 614 ). The former constructed the huge Nachchaduwa Wewa near Anuradhapura, augmented the Nuwara Wewa in Anuradhapura ( History of Ceylon, University of Ceylon: editor; S. Paranavitana ) and built the Padaviya tank by damming the Ma Oya (K M De Silva; A History of Sri Lanka ), whist the latter constructed the Kantale, Giritale, and Kaudulla tanks. Thereafter, the expansion of the irrigation systems seems to have subsided for several centuries till the time of Parakramabahu the Great ( 1153 – 1186 ). This king is considered to be the greatest tank builder of Sri Lanka (ibid ). The massive Parakrama Samudraya in Polonnaruwa, which was created by combining three tanks including the Topawewa, is undoubtedly his finest achievement in the field of tank building. It has to be been noted no other king after him built major tanks.
The ancient agrarian revolution powered by irrigation engineering had many important economic, social, political, religious, and cultural implications and outcome. On the economic sphere, it phenomenally increased the extent of arable land by making it possible to bring vast swathes of erstwhile arid forest land under the plough through irrigation. Further, it would have, most probably, facilitated a significant migration from small scale peasant subsistence farming to more productive large scale farming. Anyway, the obvious economic outcome of the ancient agrarian revolution was the generation of ever increasing agricultural surpluses over and about what was needed to feed the peasants and other agricultural labourers. These massive economic surpluses enabled the kings and their ruling elites to invest enormous resources in the expansion of the irrigation infrastructure, in maintaining the irrigation technocracy and the royal bureaucracy, in building impressive Buddhist monuments such as the great stupas, in patronizing outstanding Buddhist scholarship of international repute, and in constructing awe inspiring secular monuments such as Kasyapa’s Sigiriya rock fortress and royal palace.
On the social and political spheres, the elaborate irrigation systems stretching across vast swathes of farmlands, inexorably led to centralized control of agriculture through irrigation management. The technocrat who controlled the spills and the sluices of the tanks and weirs came to dominate the peasant who ploughed the fields, sowed the seeds, and harvested the crops. This entailed the ascendency of the state bureaucracy including the irrigation engineering technocracy, which in turn called for a unified and highly centralized state.
Pandukabhaya and birth of Sinhala state
It was mentioned earlier that the first significant tank was built by Pandukabhaya in the fourth century BC. It is interesting to note that he was also the first ruler of the Anuradhapura kingdom. Prior to him, the main Sinhala presence in Sri Lanka constituted a conglomerate of Sinhala settlements situated between the Kala Oya and the Malvattu Oya, loosely connected by tribal and family ties. It is evident that Pandukabhaya forcefully subjugated these semi-autonomous settlements and united them under his leadership. Thus the first Sinhala state was born. No doubt, this was in response to a historical necessity of the agrarian revolution, which called for an efficient centralized state. Certainly, this nascent state had nothing to do with Sinhala Buddhist nationalism or patriotism. In the first place, Buddhism was yet to be introduced to Sri Lanka. Further, the Sinhala state was yet to perceive a real threat from non – Sinhalese. It was young, vibrant and self- confident. It was, in modern parlance, an absolute monarchy.
Devamanpiyatissa and the birth of the Sinhala- Buddhist state
Buddhism was introduced to Sri Lanka by the great Mauryan emperor Asoka during the reign of Devamanpiyatissa ( 250 – 210 ) at a time when the ancient agrarian revolution was in full swing. As already mentioned, it was during this period that the Tissa Wewa was built. The peaceful conversion of the country to Buddhism received unreserved royal patronage. The nascent Sinhala state became a Sinhala Buddhist state. Numerous lands and viharas were gifted to the Maha Sanga. These included the Thuparama dagoba, and the spacious Mahamegha park in Anuradhapura, in which the sacred Bodhi tree Sri Maha Bodhi was planted. This signaled the establishment of the Mahaviharaya, the centre of Theravada Buddhist Church in Sri Lanka. No doubt, the doctrine of the Buddha, which laid down a well –structured spiritual path to freedom from existential suffering through the taming of the senses, struck a chord with the well-structured thinking of the Sinhalese irrigation engineers, which provided a path to freedom from material want by taming wild and hostile nature, with technological innovations.
Like Pandukabhaya’s Sinhala state, the nascent Sinhala Buddhist state during Devanampiyatissa’s had nothing to do with Sinhala Buddhist nationalism or patriotism. It did not perceive a real threat from non – Sinhalese or non-Buddhists. Like Pandukabhaya’s state, it was young, vibrant and self- confident.
The Sinhala Buddhist state under siege
Devanampiyatissa’s Sinhala Buddhist kingdom was in state of blissful harmony, arguably unparalled in Sri Lanka’s long history. However, this state of affairs was to be dramatically disrupted after a short period of time due to game-changing external and internal interventions. The major external challenge came from Tamil adventurers from south India bent on plundering the growing wealth of Sri Lanka’s hydraulic civilization. The main internal challenge came from the growing Mahayana tendencies amongst sections Sri Lanka’s Maha Sangha, which had traditionally been the custodian and standard bearer of Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka and abroad. Sinhala Buddhist Nationalism was born as a response to these challenges from within and without.
The first major challenge to the young Sinhala Buddhist state emerged thirty years after the death of Devanampiyatissa. Sena and Guttika, two Tamil brothers engaged in horse trading, captured the Anuradhapura kingdom and reigned for twenty two years. A few years after the Sinhalese regained the kingdom, the second successful invasion from South India was launched. This was led by the Chola prince Elara, who reigned in Anuradhapura for forty four years. The Sinhalese under Dutugemunu vanquished Elara and regained the kingdom. Dutugemunu’s reign ( 161 BC – 137 BC ) was a watershed in the Sri Lanka’s history. The island, which hitherto consisted of several kingdoms, was unified under his leadership. The Sinhala Buddhist state became, in present day parlance, a unitary state. However, less than four decades after Dutugemunu’s death, Anuradhapura was captured and occupied again by south Indian Tamils from 103 BC to 89 BC. They were expelled by Vattagamini ( Valagamba ) , who reigned from 89 BC to 77 BC. Thereafter, for more than five hundred years, Sri Lanka was free from foreign occupation. It was during this period that her ancient irrigation witnessed its first great flowering. However, it was during this period that the serious internal threats to the Sinhala Buddhist state emerged. They came in the form of Mahayana challenges to the uncontested supremacy of the Mahavihara led Theravada Buddhist Church, which was a main pillar of the Sinhala Buddhist state. The initial threat came in the first century BC with the establishment of the rival Abhayagiri monastery by Valagamba, which harboured dissenters. The immediate response of the Theravada Buddhist Church to this was the writing down of the Tripitaka at Aluvihara during that king’s reign. The next threat, which was of a much greater magnitude, was the intrusion of Mahayana thinking in the form of Vaitulyavada in the third century AD, during the reign of Mahasena ( 274 AD – 301 AD ), with the fanatical support of that monarch. This was somewhat contemporaneous with the rise of Mahayana in south India under the guidance of great masters such as Nagarjuna. Anyway, the Theravada Buddhist Church eventually prevailed by winning back the king to its side with great difficulty.
The long peace of half a millennium, which commenced with the reign of Valagamba, ended with the invasion from south India in 429 AD. This resulted in the reign of six Tamils kings in Anuradhapura for twenty seven years, until Dhatusena liberated the country from the foreign yoke. Thereafter, the country did not experience invasions from abroad for about four centuries. Ancient Sri Lankan irrigation witnessed its second great flowering. However, during ninth and tenth centuries, Sri Lanka got caught up in the geo-political rivalries amongst south Indian Tamil kingdoms of Pallavas, Pandyas and Cholas. At that time the Hindu Tamil civilization of south India was in its ascendency, whilst the aging Sinhala Buddhist civilization was in a state of stagnation, if not decay. The end result was the conquest of Anuradhapura and the north central plains of Sri Lanka by the Cholas in the closing decade of the tenth century. This dealt a crippling blow to Sri Lanka’s ancient hydraulic civilization. The Sinhalese were, under Vijayabahu I, able to expel the Cholas from the Island in 1070, and under Parakramabahu the Great, revive the ancient hydraulic civilization. Sri Lanka’s ancient irrigation witnessed its third and last flowering. However, the revival was short lived. The invasion by the marauding Kerala army of Magha of Kalinga in 1215 dealt the death blow to the ancient hydraulic civilization. The Sinhalese, who had populated the north central plains since sixth century BC, migrated en masse to the south west and the central hills. The irrigation works were abandoned and went into disrepair. The hostile arid jungles, which were banished by Sinhalese pioneers, returned to the north central plains with a vengeance. The ancient hydraulic civilization of the Sinhalese, which had flourished for more than one thousand five hundred years, came to an end.
The ancient hydraulic civilization and Sinhala Buddhist Nationalism
Sinhala Buddhist Nationalism, like many other –isms, constitute an ideology; an outlook. As already mentioned, it was born as a response to the external and internal challenges to the ancient Sinhala Buddhist state, which was an integrate part of the ancient hydraulic civilization. But, how do we conceptualise this ideology of Sri Lanka’s distant past? Fortunately, the ancient chronicles – Dipavamsa, Mahavamsa, and Chulavamsa, and the last two chapters of the Pujavaliya, come to our assistance. However, it should be cautioned that the ideologies contained in these ancient documents represent , more likely, the views held by their respective authors and their contemporary societies than by the personages of their narratives.
It seems that the internal threat to the Theravada Buddhism by Mahasena’s aggressive promotion of Vaitulyavada prompted the writing of the two oldest exiting chronicles of Sri Lanka – the Dipavamsa, written in the fourth century AD, and the Mahavamsa, composed in the sixth century AD. The fact that the narratives of both works end with the death of Mahasena points in that direction. Anyway, both emphasize that the island was freed from the Yakkas by the Buddha to make way for the Sinhalese settlers and the establishment of the Buddhist doctrine. This amounts to an imprimatur for Sinhala Buddhist exclusivity in Sri Lanka, which goes back, at least, as far as the fourth and sixth centuries. However, the treatment of the Sinhala king Dutugemunu and the Tamil king Elara by the two authors differ significantly. For instance, whilst the Dipavamsa devotes a mere twelve verses to Dutugemunu, the Mahavansa devotes eleven out of its thirty two chapters to him. Clearly, Dutugemunu is the favourite king of the author of the Mahavamsa. Further, whilst both chronicles admire Elara as an incomparably just king, the Dipavamsa, unlike the Mahavamsa, takes note of his outstanding spiritual qualities. More strikingly, the Mahavamsa, in chapter twenty five seeks to lend a Buddhist imprimatur to Dutugemunu’s war with Elara. This is certainly inconsistent with the letter and spirit of the Metta Sutta, as much as the crusades of medieval Christendom authorized by the papacy was inconsistent with the letter and spirit of Jesus’ utterance ” Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword” ( Matthew 26; 52 ). In fact, the Mahavamsa’s stance on the Dutugemunu- Elara war is reminiscent of the ideas on ‘just war’ advocated by St. Augustine and the Bhagavad Gita. Most probably, the south Indian invasions of the fifth century prompted the sixth century author of Mahavamsa to take a more militant Sinhala Buddhist stance than the fourth century author of the Dipavamsa.
The first part of the Chulavamsa, which was most probably composed in the early part of the thirteenth century, provides useful information about the period from the death of Mahasena to the end of the ancient hydraulic civilization. The last two chapters ( chapters 33 and 34 ) of the Pujavaliya briefly covers this period in addition to history up to the death of Mahasena. The Pujavaliya was composed in the mid thirteenth century, shortly after the collapse of the hydraulic civilization. Whilst the three chronicles were composed in Pali, the Pujavaliya was written in Sinhala.
The Chulavamsa and the Pujavaliya, in comparison with the Dipavamsa and the Mahavamsa, take a more hostile approach towards non – Sinhala Buddhist actors. For instance, unlike the Dipavamsa and the Mahavamsa, the Pujavaliya perceives Elara merely as a malevolent personage bent on destroying the Buddhist Church. The more virulent Tamil invasions from the ninth century onwards, would have contributed towards this more aggressive Sinhala Buddhist nationalism.
We have seen how the dynamics of the ancient hydraulic civilization gave birth Sinhala Buddhist Nationalism. The hydraulic civilization itself perished as a result of the devastating invasion of Magha of Kalinga. However, Sinhala Buddhist Nationalism did not perish with that civilization. On the contrary, it has continued to live as a potent ideology of Sri Lanka, right up to the present day.
A document on the United States Indo-Pacific Strategy issued by the White House, in February 2022 states: The United States will pursue five objectives in the Indo-Pacific – each in concert with our allies and partners, as well as with regional institutions”. We will:
* ADVANCE A FREE AND OPEN INDO-PACIFIC
* BUILD CONNECTIONS WITHIN AND BEYOND THE REGION.
* DRIVE REGIONAL PROSPERITY.
* BOLSTER INDO-PACIFIC SECURITY
* BUILD REGIONAL RESILIENCE TO TRANSNATIONAL THREATS”.
Continuing, the document states Our collective efforts over the next decade will determine whether the PRC (Peoples Republic of China) succeeds in transforming the rules and norms that have benefitted the Indo-Pacific and the world. For our part, the United States is investing in the foundations of our strengths at home, aligning our approach with those of our allies and partners abroad, and competing with the PRC (Peoples Republic of China) to defend the interests and vision for the future that we share with others … Our objective is not to change the PRC but to shape the strategic environment in which it operates, building a balance of influence in the world that is maximally favourable to the United States our allies and partners, and the interests and values we share”.
As far as the Pacific is concerned, with the conclusion of World War II the US has been developing, what the document describes as ironclad treaty alliances with Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines and Thailand”. Treaty arrangements of a similar order do not exist with countries in and around the Indian Ocean. Consequently, it is in the interest of the US to support a strong India as a partner” to Bolster Indo-Pacific stability”. In such a context the US strategy is to strengthen the Quad as a premier regional grouping and ensure it delivers on issues that matter to the Indo-Pacific”. With the US, India, Japan and Australia making up the Quad and Japan and Australia being in the Pacific, it remains for India to be the premier” member of the Quad to deliver on matters of interest to the Quad in and around the Indian Ocean.
IMPLICATIONS of ‘A STRONG
INDIA’ on SRI LANKA
Since the stated strategy of the US is to build influences that would be ‘maximally favourable to the US, and if India is to be the ‘premier’ partner in the equation there is no doubt that Sri Lanka would not be able to escape unscathed. It is in such a background that the report in The Island titled India, SL close to sealing three defence-related pacts to boost maritime security” (February 25, 2022), should be treated with extreme caution. Continuing the HT report cited in The Island states: While a USD 1 billion line of credit to be provided by India to Sri Lanka to purchase food, medicine and essential items will be the focus of Minister Rajapaksa’s visit, the two sides are close to finalising three defence-related agreements and arrangements that will bolster the capabilities the capabilities of Sri Lanka’s armed forces and boost corporation for maritime security”.
In addition to arrangements for the purchase of two Dornier aircraft and the acquisition of a 4,000 tonne naval floating dock by Sri Lanka, Colombo has agreed to post a naval liaison officer at the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) in Gurugram … The centre tracks merchant shipping and monitors threats such as maritime terrorism and piracy in regional waters. The Sri Lankan liaison officer will join counterparts from 10 of India’s partner nations, including Australia, France, Japan the Maldives, Singapore, the UK and the US. The naval floating dock is a facility equipped with automated systems for the quality and swift repairs of warships. Such docks have the capability to lift large ships such as frigates and destroyers, and are designed to be berthed alongside a jetty or moored in calm waters to carryout planned or emergency repairs of ships”.
Another potential area for defence corporation is the expansion of training for Sri Lankan military personnel in Indian facilities and institutions. Along with the erstwhile Afghan national security forces, Sri Lanka has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of military training programmes offered by India”.
Over the past few months, India has extended financial assistance to Sri Lanka as part of a four pillar package decided during Minister Rajapaksa’s las visit to New Delhi in December. The Indian side has provided a USD 500 million line of credit for purchasing fuel and a currency swap of USD 400 million under Saarc facility. It has also deferred the payment of USD 515 million due to the Asian Clearing Union”.
The finalization of the long-gestating project to refurbish and develop the British era Trincomalee oil farm, and 850-acre storage facility with a capacity of almost one million tonnes, has also given a boost to bilateral corporation”.
MEASURES ADOPTED TO MAKE A STRONG INDIA”
The Trinco Oil Tank Farm deal that was signed on 06 January 2022 is claimed as a major achievement by Energy Minister Minister Gammanpila. Such a claim could be justified considering that all 99 tanks had been leased for 99 years according to the agreement signed in 2017 by the former government, and the current agreement reclaims 24 tanks to be developed and operated exclusively be Sri Lanka, and the remaining 61 tanks are to be developed and operated jointly by India and Sri Lanka.
However, it cannot be overlooked that the timing for the deal is such that it favours India’s strategic interests as the premier’ member of the Quad in and around the Indian Ocean, more than Sri Lanka’s economic interests. Since the scope of the three defence-related agreements are not in the public domain, it is not possible to ascertain the extent to which these defence-related agreements would favour India’s strategic interests and whether they are at the expense of Sri Lanka’s interests or not.
A clear example of this is in the HT report cited above that refers to agreements for the purchase of two Donier aircraft and the acquisition of a 4,000 tonne naval floating dock by Sri Lanka”. The question is, whose interests would be served by these assets? Since Sri Lanka already handles all repairs to naval vessels in existing dry dock facilities at the Colombo Port, why should Sri Lanka acquire a floating dock?
The strangest aspect of this arrangement would be if Sri Lanka acquires these assets through the Lines of Credit generously offered by India. Under such circumstances, why should Sri Lanka be grateful because Sri Lanka would be acquiring assets beneficial to India’s interests with money that has to be paid back to India by Sri Lanka. On the other hand, are these Lines of Credit in exchange for the West Container Terminal, in which case should Sri Lanka be grateful because it is a case of pure balancing. Instead, if Sri Lanka acquires the aircraft and floating dock and grants the West Container Terminal to India as well, Sri Lanka would be a big-time loser and it will be a win-win for India.
As far as Lines of Credit (LoC) arrangements go, a reported experience with India was the delivery of items for the Sri Lanka Railway. According to media reports the carriages were not only made of inferior material but also that they cannot run on the existing tracks. This means Sri Lanka has decided to accept substandard goods from India without a murmur unlike its response to China for the delivery of sub-standard fertilizer.
LoCs are essentially arrangements where a loan is advanced to a country to facilitate the sale of goods of the lender that cannot face competition in the open market. In short, it is a loan given to advance the lender’s products and self-interest. In such a context, acquisition of a floating dock by Sri Lanka and mooring it the Trinco harbour to service the ships that serve the restored oil tank farm would serve the interests not only of India but also the wider interests of the Quad – all provided by the Credit Line offered to Sri Lanka by India.
Although the Oil Tanks at Trincomalee by themselves do not have a utilitarian value, they are transformed into a valuable asset when they are coupled with a functioning harbour. Since it is the harbour coupled with the tanks that make the Tanks a vital asset, assigning 49% shares to an Indian Oil Company is totally disproportionate. This makes the agreement of 06 January 2022 unacceptable and therefore grounds for rejection. The tanks should operate under the full control of Sri Lanka and servicing any naval vessels would then be a commercial undertaking without any strategic overtones.
If instead, the tanks and the harbour operate under the terms of the current agreement, where an Indian Company owns 49% of the shares, Sri Lanka would inadvertently be sucked into the vortex of India’s role as a premier” partner of the Quad. How such a perception would be viewed by China is an unknown. Whatever it may be, such a perception would compromise Sri Lanka’s stated position of neutrality, because the measures that must necessarily be adopted under these agreements and arrangements would be seen as leaning towards India and away from relationships that exist between China and Sri Lanka.
Notwithstanding the exuberance of Minister Gammanpila, if he understands that the utilitarian value of the Tanks depends on the services that the Trinco Harbour is able to offer, not only in terms of direct costs associated with them but also with the cost to relations with China, he as a nationalist, should explore a different track so that the tanks could be developed without having to balance the strategic interests of major powers. That track would be to cancel the agreement of 06 January 2022 and retake all 99 tanks and develop a few tanks at a time as a national venture in keeping with the pace of development to improve the service at the Trinco harbour.
CONCLUSION
The intent of the US, declared in a document issued by the White House dated February 2022 titled Indo-Pacific Strategy states: Our collective effort over the next decade … is not to change the PRC (People’s Republic of China) but to shape the strategic environment in which it operates, building a balance of influence in a world that is maximally favorable to the United States”. To achieve this objective, the US is prepared to support a strong India as a partner in this positive regional vision” as a premier partner of the Quad, the others being the US, Australian and Japan. The Maldives has already signed defence-related agreements with the US and India. According to a report in The Hindustan Times cited by The Island of February 25, 2022, India and Sri Lanka are close to finalizing three defence-related agreements and arrangements that are expected to boost corporation for maritime security”. The scope of these agreements is not known to the public. The public is also not aware whether there are similar defence-related agreements with the US and China. The concern of the public however is what kind of impact these and other agreements would have on Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and independence, and to what degree all of this would compromise its stated policy of neutrality.
If the purchase of aircraft and the acquisition of a 4000 tonne floating dock is to support a strong India and assigning the West Container Terminal also to India is an attempt at strategic balancing, China is likely to perceive such developments as leaning towards India and the Quad. Such perceptions would have serious consequences on China-Sri Lanka relations. Furthermore, while China’s relations with Sri Lanka are mainly driven by strategic issues relating to its Belt and Road Initiative, in the case of India, the relationship goes beyond strategic issues because it is compounded by Sri Lanka’s nagging national question that impacts on India’s internal stability. Therefore, there cannot be strategic balancing as far as Sri Lanka’s relations are concerned with India and China. Consequently, Sri Lanka has no alternative but to stay free of being dragged into the vortex of a strong India supported by the Quad. One clear signal of staying free is to disengage from the agreements signed on January 6, 2022, and restore a few of the tanks at a time as a national venture and rent them for the storage of petroleum products.
The understanding under the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord was that the tanks should be developed and operated jointly with India. However, with Quad supporting a strong India the strategic environment has changed substantially from what existed at the time of the Accord. Consequently, in today’s context agreements that favour India would be perceived as leaning towards India and the Quad. Such a perception is not in the interest of Sri Lanka because it contradicts its policy of Neutrality. Therefore, Sri Lanka should stay clear of defence-related agreements with any power block, as it did with the MCC, if Sri Lanka is to be independent and to stay true to its principles and protect the sovereign rights of its people.
Ministers Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila have been removed from their respective ministerial portfolios by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The President’s Media Division said that under the powers vested in him by the Constitution, the President has removed the two MPs from their Cabinet minister posts with effect from this evening (03).
This was followed by the reshuffling of several ministerial positions.
Gamini Lokuge was sworn in as the Minister of Energy while Pavithra Wanniarachchi was sworn in as the Minister of Power before the President this evening at the Presidential Secretariat, the PMD said.
Secretary to the President Gamni Senarath was also present on this occasion.
Meanwhile SLPP Member of Parliament S.B. Dissanayake has been sworn in as the new Minister of Industries, the position held by MP Wimal Weerawansa.
PHU leader Udaya Gammanpila has served as the Minister of Energy while NFF leader Wimal Weerawansa served as Minister of Industries.
It was reported earlier today that the President has decided to reshuffle several key Cabinet positions.
Minister Gamini Lokuge had confirmed that he was sworn in as the new Minister of Energy, the position previously held by MP Udaya Gammanpila.
The minister revealed this while speaking to reporters outside the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo his evening, following the sudden Cabinet reshuffle.
Minister Lokuge also said that Pavithra Wanniarachchi, who was serving as the Transport Minister, was sworn in as the new Minister of Power, the post previously held by him
SLPP Member of Parliament S.B. Dissanayake has been sworn in as the new Minister of Industries before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat this evening (03).
Secretary to the President Gamni Senarath was also present on this occasion, the PMD said.
This comes after Ministers Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila were removed from their respective ministerial portfolios by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The President’s Media Division said that under the powers vested in him by the Constitution, the President had removed the two MPs from their Cabinet minister posts with effect from today (03).
This was followed by the reshuffling of several key ministerial positions.
Gamini Lokuge was sworn in as the Minister of Energy while Pavithra Wanniarachchi was sworn in as the Minister of Power before the President this evening at the Presidential Secretariat, the PMD said.
PHU leader Udaya Gammanpila has served as the Minister of Energy while NFF leader Wimal Weerawansa served as Minister of Industries.
The Director General of Health Services has confirmed another 20 coronavirus related deaths for March 02, increasing the official Covid-19 death toll in Sri Lanka to 16,287.
This figure includes 09 males and 11 female patients, according to the Government Information Department.
Two of the victims are between the ages 30-59 years while the remaining 18 are persons over the age of 60 years.
Yet again, after the comprehensive defeat of the armed struggle in Nandikadal, in 2009 to create a separate racist enclave, seven Tamil leaders and their political parties have written to the Prime Minister of India that the Tamils do not enjoy equal rights , they are discriminated and marginalized and therefore India should intervene practically to restore the traditional homeland of Tamils in the North and the East”.
Their claims to the North and the East have been discussed many a times and the history and the archaeological evidence have proved beyond any doubt that the North and the East had been an integral part of the land of Sri Lanka and the indigenous people of Sri Lanka – Yakkas, Nagas , Devas and Rakkahs -were living in the hill country and in the southern plains from about 45,000 BC as per archaeological evidenced discovered in Fa Hein and Bata-dombe caves, There is archaeological and historical evidence of Sinhala people living in the whole island for more than 2500 years while it is believed as per strong evidence that Yakkas and Nagas were assimilated into the Sinhala who wielded the political power of the Island. It is also a well- known fact that the Tamil people too were living in the North for about 2000 years, first as a few invaders from South India and then as migrants from about 16th century, But, they were originally restricted to the North and there is hardly any evidence that they have contributed any appreciable input to the island’s civilization other than adopting South Indian value systems.. Therefore, the erroneous fact mentioned in the Tamil parties’ letter that ‘ the Tamil antiquity from pre -Buddhist times has to be recognized’ should be treated with a pinch of salt as there is no historical evidence to prove such a proposition.
But, as Sri Lankans today. Sinhalese, Tamils , Muslims and other minorities are recognized as citizens of Sri Lanka with equal rights, They have to share the land they live and enjoy the benefits as well as vicissitudes they encounter, as a community, To go with a begging bowl to seek rights from another country is a traitorous act against the country one lives, especially begging interference to create division and balkanizing the country as proposed by the Tamil leaders.
The letter outlines various discussions , concept papers and proposals submitted and discussed with the political leaders to satisfy the demands of some of the Tamil leaders from 1944 to 2010 and had purposely omitted the demands finalized through discussions. Among the matters finalized were the Tamil being recognized as an official language, recognition of Tamil ethnicity in the national flag. Further, one can recognize the following to show that the Tamils as a community enjoys equal an equal opportunity to live and progress themselves.
More than half of the Tamil population live outside of the north and east and among the Sinhalese (why would they live if they are discriminated)
Sinhala and Tamil are official language (this is for just less than 10% of the population)
Tamils enjoy right to study in their language up to university with Tamil medium schools in all 25 districts of Sri Lanka. There are 3000 Tamil medium schools
Tamils enjoy health facilities (health and education are free services by the State)
All Government documents, circulars, emblems, logos, forms etc are in Sinhala & Tamil including passports, currency and notes, postal stamps, road signboards (street names).
Tamils are elected to parliament and local government institutions
Tamils can register political parties and there are nearly 15 are Tamil political parties.
Tamils have a right to live anywhere in Sri Lanka, to do business and own property and work anywhere in Sri Lanka (however Tamil parliamentarians continue to deny the right of Sinhalese to own property, live and claim that these are Tamil areas. (In the Tamil leaders letter to the Indian PM they have outlined their exclusive racist demand under the section on Demography, Land Grabbing, Delimitation and Gerrymandering” The narrow minded racist approach of the Tamil leaders have expressed their views by rejecting the principles of demarcating the electorates based on the Constitution. the principle of preserving the places of importance to the archaeology and the history of the country and the utilization of the land for the development of the country and the nation. For Tamil leaders any attempts to build the nation and the nation’s history will have to be brought to a stand sill ‘if it affects the myth of traditional homelands of Tamils. The Indian policy makers should attempt to recognized this mythical dreams of the racist Tamil leaders and venture to educate them of their reactionary attitude as in India too there are similar groups who are creating barriers to the wholesome development” (from an article by Shenali Waduge)
The demands outlined in the letter reminds one of the Battakotte -Vadukoddai -Resolution which legitimized the violence of Vellalar claims and dreams of disguising same as Tamil claims to continue their domination and ride into power. Unfortunately , it was Prabhakaran that came out of the Vellalar gun” (HLD Mahindapala)
In the letter of the Tamil Leaders, following controversial and factually absurd matters too have been included, may be to twist the addressee’s finger. Here , the Tamil leaders invite that attention to the a) Citizenship and equality b) Prisoners under PTA Act c) Electoral reform and One Country one Law concept.
While under the Citizenship and Equality of Tamils of Indian origin the facts mentioned are false , if at all if there are issues relating to this community, there are recognized representatives who will continue their discussions with the Sri Lankan governments democratically without dragging this subject with the political leader of another country.
PTA is being reviewed from a long time. But, the LTTE war and the Easter bomb incident are reminders to that fact that a blood thirsty group can create havoc among the unarmed civilians and the state should have the power to meet such challenges. How can one demand that PTA should be repealed and all suspects should be released UNCONDITINALLY. Can the Tamil leaders assure the Sri Lankan public that the terrorism will not raise its head and kill and cause bodily injuries to the unarmed civilians.?
The electoral reforms should continue based on the population growth and the land development as accepted under the constitution and its’ provision for delimitation. How can a group of political leaders appeal to a foreign leader to intervene in such a procedure to protect two ethnic groups?
Tamil political leaders as usually continue their claims by including demand for more meaningful power sharing, Tamil’s legitimate aspirations and their majority in the North and the Eastern provinces. The rights the Tamils enjoy under a nation state constituting only 11.9% of the total population have to be assessed in comparatively to the rights of the other minority groups in most of the other countries and as an issue how to prevent the balkanization of the sovereign territory of this small country, if the racist aspirations of a minority group has to be given recognition. The solutions” to the issue offered and discussed as mentioned in the Tamil political leaders’ letters from 13th A proposed in 1987, Mangala Munasinghe report, Oslo recommendations, APRC etc which were rejected by the majority Sri Lankans as they were of the view that it will only lead to the establishment of two countries.
Another issue pointed out in the letter is their concerns about the one law , one country” and they are of the view that such a proposition will prevent practising their customary laws preserving their culture, …and will do away with their distinct identity” If all who live in this Island are called Sri Lankans and their rights are upheld under the Constitution of the country, isn’t it unreasonable to evaluate special laws applicable to different ethnic and religious groups to enable adoption of some laws which are found to be fair under the general legislation and on the other hand if some set of laws are unfair and provide special treatment to a given group to take out such laws from the accepted legislation. Their point of view again favours separatist concept instead living under one flag.
While the Tamil leaders clamour for more and more ‘powers’ to Tamil people the stark reality of the ridiculous behaviour of the Vellalars , vis a vis the so called low caste Tamils proves that their demands are only a pretext to protect their privileges in a divided land.
The suffering of the Panchama’s is vividly depicted. The details are well researched. What was the impact of Vellarism on the post-independent political landscape? Out of the 700 years of Vellalarism, the elected democratic state ruled only for 74 years. Even out of that, Vellupillai Prabhakaran ruled his quasi state for 33 years – (1976 – 2009). Nevertheless, isn’t the 74 years, with all its infirmities, the best years that gave dignity, equality and justice to all the citizens?
Compare that period to the taboos that ruled Jaffna. Thiruchandran gives a sample of the taboos:
* Taboo on wearing a shirt or covering the upper part of their bodies, the shawl having to be lowered in the presence of Vellalar.
* Taboos on tying the tali, and having a wedding procession or musical accompaniment during weddings.
* Taboo on naming their children with high caste names and using common ponds and common wells.
* Taboo on cremating dead bodies. (They have to be buried, but in their special cemeteries not in the Vellalar cemeteries.)
* Taboo on equal seating and equal dining in schools and churches.
* Taboo on temple entry and on worshipping Gods of the high caste.
* Taboo on entry into cafes, restaurants and equal seating in public transport.
* Taboo on wearing slippers or any kind of foot-wear and holding umbrellas. (pp. 57 -58 – Ibid)
So, in what period of the 700 years of Vellalarism did the Tamils get any dignity, equality and justice? The Panchamars had to leave Jaffna and come down South to get a fair ride in a bus! On balance, won’t a fair and objective assessment of the two periods lead to the conclusion that Tamil who could get a ride in a bus without being forced to sit on the floor boards had a better deal among the Sinhalese than their arrogant and nasty fellow-Tamils? (HLD Mahindapala)
Our request to the policy makers of Sri Lanka is to IGNORE the letter of Tamil Leaders and to advise the Indian PM and their foreign office that the majority Sri Lankans do not agree with the ‘Tamil’ leaders’ proposition, expose the dubious Vellalar racist plot and also point out the benefits of Sri Lanka remaining as a unitary sovereign state in the region amidst new developments in and around the Indian ocean. Further, the fact that nearly 75% of the Sri Lankans do not agree with the gerrymandering of the local administration. Another, important fact which should be remembered by all is that any further nourishing of Tamil” demands can only reignite the separatist cry in the country and in India
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse informs Foreign Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris and Sri Lankan Embassy in Moscow to take precautionary measures to safeguard Sri Lankan students following higher studies in Belarus in the wake of the escalation of the Ukraine- Russia war.
The Prime Minister made this remark in immediate response to a request made by a group of parents representing nearly 1,500 students following higher studies in Belarusian Universities and higher education institutes.
Accordingly, necessary measures are being taken regarding 1,600 Sri Lankans including students in Belarus through the Sri Lankan Embassy in Moscow which is in the closest proximity to Belarus.
The Prime Minister has informed the embassy to negotiate with the relevant universities to postpone courses for a couple of weeks and to facilitate the students to come back to Sri Lanka by taking visas to enter Russia.
The Embassy of Sri Lanka is in the process of updating the database of Overseas Sri Lankans in the US. Please find below the link to fill out your contact information and also we would be grateful if you could kindly share this information among other Overseas Sri Lankans in the US asking them to fill it out.
The Rohingya and Afghan refugee issues are also currently important international issues. More than 1.1 million Rohingyas have taken refuge in Bangladesh since August 2017 due to genocide and ethnic cleansing in Myanmar. About 50,000 newborn Rohingya children are added to it every year. Earlier, the Rohingya had been subjected to systematic discrimination, deprivation of the right to vote, and regular targeting of violence in Myanmar for decades.
In the last four and a half years, despite various initiatives, no real progress has been made in resolving the Rohingya crisis. Under pressure from the international community, the Myanmar government signed an agreement on Rohingya repatriation, but to no avail. According to the agreement, the Rohingyas were to be repatriated in stages. The repatriation process has not started for a long time. The Myanmar government has failed to repatriate the displaced Rohingya and resolve the crisis. Bangladesh has repeatedly urged various international forums to take effective steps to resolve the Rohingya crisis.
The proposal is based on the human rights situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in the context of the state of emergency in Myanmar. Top politicians were arrested after a military coup overthrew a democratic government in the country on February 1 and declared a state of emergency. Political unrest, protests and clashes are going on in the country. Thousands of people have lost their lives in the repression of the army. Whatever the context, the unanimous resolution adopted by the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly is very important for Bangladesh. 108 countries have supported it. The proposal calls for finding out the root cause of the Rohingya problem. The resolution, with a number of guidelines for the introduction of democratic governance, called on all human rights organizations, including the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy to Myanmar, to cooperate.
A resolution presented by the OIC and the EU on the protection of the Rohingya was unanimously adopted by the United Nations in 2021. Observers say the UN recognition is a reflection of the international community’s strong commitment to resolving the crisis. In addition to the EU and OIC, the resolution is supported and co-sponsored by a large number of countries in various geographical regions, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Japan, and South Korea.
The world community has been expressing solidarity with Bangladesh for the shelter of Rohingyas for humanitarian reasons and urging for repatriation of Rohingyas. Myanmar authorities have agreed to repatriate Rohingya in the face of international pressure. They did not take back the Rohingyas even after two rounds of time. In this situation, as part of regular diplomacy, Bangladesh has raised the issue of the Rohingya crisis in various forums of the world, but everyone is listening quietly, no response or action is seen. Citizens of neighboring Myanmar have been given asylum in Bangladesh for humanitarian reasons. The extra responsibility of this huge number of people is definitely a big burden for Bangladesh. The frustration of the Rohingya is intensifying due to the lack of progress on repatriation, which is creating various security concerns and instability in the region.
The International Criminal Court (ICJ) continued hearing the case of genocide against the Rohingya people in Myanmar from February 21 to February 28. According to Human Rights Watch and the Global Justice Center, the hearing is a crucial step in bringing justice to Myanmar’s military’s crackdown on the Rohingya people. The Gambia filed a lawsuit against Myanmar in the ICJ in November 2019 for failing to stop the genocide against the Rohingya or punish the perpetrators.
The case, filed by Gambia, alleges that the Rohingya in Myanmar violated various anti-genocide memoranda and agreements by torturing the Rohingya. This case is not a criminal case against any individual, but an entire nation has been blamed for the genocide.
Earlier, at the request of Gambia, the ICJ issued an interim order on January 23, 2020 to The Hague in the Netherlands to take emergency measures to protect the Rohingya in Myanmar. Originally, the order was issued for the safety of the remaining 6 lakh Rohingyas in the country.
Specifically, the ICJ asked the Myanmar government to take four temporary measures. These include preventing genocide, ensuring that military and police forces do not commit genocide, preserving evidence of genocide, and reporting on compliance with these orders within 4 months. This report should be reviewed every 6 months. The ICJ issued the order on the basis of hearing the case.
However, Human Rights Watch has accused Myanmar’s military junta of committing genocide, torture, violence, harassing arrests and other human rights abuses since the military coup in 2021. They allege that security forces killed about 1,500 people, including 100 children, and detained more than 11,000 people for harassment. Detainees include human rights activists, politicians, journalists and others. Those who tried to flee the Rakhine state were severely punished.
In 2019, the Myanmar government appointed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi to represent the country in the ICJ delegation. But during the 2021 coup, she was detained by the military. She was later sentenced to 150 years in prison in various cases. A panel consisting of six senior members of the military junta was then formed to represent the court.
Representatives from Myanmar and Gambia argued whether the ICJ has the authority to investigate and prosecute genocide allegations against Myanmar at the hearing. The hearing was held in a hybrid format in the wake of the ongoing coronavirus epidemic.
Earlier, Myanmar security forces cracked down on Rohingyas on several occasions. Bangladesh is still a shelter. Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar became the largest shelter in the world. Bangladesh has held several talks with the Myanmar government on Rohingya repatriation. Although an agreement was reached between the two countries in December 2016, the result was zero. In this situation, after the army coup in February last year, it also fell into disrepair.
Despite repeated repression of the Rohingya, Western countries, including the United States, have been limited to condemnation. The United Nations has not taken any action, citing reports of genocide after an investigation by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission in Rakhine. That is why millions of Rohingya are now waiting for the verdict of the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
We hope thxat this crisis will be resolved soon. A political solution to the Rohingya issue is essential for lasting peace, stability, and security in the region. The regional crisis is also growing. The locals are suffering from various problems due to Rohingyas. The only way to resolve the crisis is to send the Rohingya back to Myanmar as soon as possible.
Last Thursday (February 24), Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the attack on Ukraine. In response, the United States and its Western allies have imposed a series of sanctions on Russia. Eventually a full-fledged war broke out between Russia and Ukraine. Moscow on Thursday launched an attack on neighboring Ukraine, which is seen as a new crisis in the world. which has been devastated by the quake. Observers say it is the largest attack in any European country since World War II. Although traditional media constantly focuses on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it should be remembered that the world is trying to balance many refugee crises internationally. Each conflict, each culture, each crisis, and each refugee count in the international arena of our world.
MEP, EPDP opt out of the grouping; Sirisena expected to attend launch
SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekera says the reaction of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) to the deteriorating financial crisis and a spate of other contentious issues have compelled some members of the ruling coalition to make a set of alternative proposals dubbed a national declaration.
Commenting on the proposals to be launched at the Imperial Hall, Monarch Hotel, Sri Jayewardenepura, Kotte, on 02 March, State Minister Jayasekera yesterday (27) alleged that the government seemed incapable of addressing the issues at hand.
Responding to questions, the former Minister said they had initially planned to present a short-term plan stressing the need for the government to make a course correction. We really didn’t have any other option as the SLPP doesn’t believe in consultations among the partners,” lawmaker Jayasekera said.
The Kurunegala District lawmaker said of the 145-member government parliamentary group about 30 MPs represented their group. Of the dissident group, 14 are SLFPers, and the second largest group represents the National Freedom Front (NFF) led by Wimal Weerawansa. The group included some SLPP National List members and Ven. Atureliye Rathana thera, NL member of the Ape Jana Bala Party.
MP Jayasekera said that SLFP leader Maithripala Sirisena, MP, would attend the launch of the alternative proposals on 02 March. Asked whether they would place themselves on a collision course with the government, the SLFP General Secretary referred to the SLPP’s recent public rally in Anuradhapura. Those who now questioned the motives of other parties conveniently remained silent over the fact that the SLPP had not invited any of its coalition partners to the rally.
State Minister Jayasekera said that they could have addressed the issues differently if the government leaders had consulted other political parties over matters of national importance. Had there been proper consultations among partners, the government wouldn’t have had to face unprecedented protests over the banning of fertilizer and agrochemical imports, MP Jayasekera said.
The SLFP has held District Conventions in many areas including Jaffna. State Minister Jayasekera said that they wouldn’t back down under any circumstances and were ready to face challenges at any level.
Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila told The Island on Saturday (26) that unveiling of national declaration should be examined against the backdrop of their controversial decision to oppose the Yugadanavi deal. Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader Gammanpila said that it wouldn’t have ended up in the Supreme Court if the government had followed proper procedure in adopting a cabinet decision. According to the minister, the financial crisis is so severe that consequences can be devastating. Minister Gammanpila recently told PHU gathering at Avissawella that he along with Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena on July 17, 2021 at the Janadhipathi Mandiraya explained to the SLPP parliamentary group how the financial crisis could affect Sri Lanka till 2030.
Minister Gammanpila and State Minister Jayasekera alleged that the SLPP hadn’t responded to their concerns at all. Therefore, they had no option but to present a set of alternative proposals to the people, the lawmakers said.
On behalf of the Organising Committee State Minister Jayantha Samaraweera said that the Democratic Left Front, the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, the SLFP, the Communist Party of Sri Lanka, the NFF, the National Congress, the PHU, the Sri Lanka Mahajana Pakshaya, the Vijaya Dharani Jathika Sabhawa, the Eksath Mahajana Pakshaya and Yuthukama civil society organisation would attend the launch of the new initiative on 02 March.
SLPP Chairman Prof. G.L. Peiris, who is also the Foreign Minister, couldn’t be contacted yesterday as he was in Geneva to attend UNHRC sessions scheduled to commence today (28). After concluding an official visit to France several days ago, Prof. Peiris has arrived in Geneva where Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet is to present an oral statement on Sri Lanka today.
The Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) led by Education Minister Dinesh Gunawardena has opted out of the dissident grouping. The MEP group in Parliament consists of three lawmakers, namely Dinesh Gunawardena, his son Yadamini accommodated on the SLPP National List and Gampaha District MP Sisira Jayakody. The Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), too, has refrained from joining the alliance.
The Health Ministry says that another 751 persons have tested positive for Covid-19 today, as the daily count of new cases continues to rise in the country.
This brings the tally of Covid-19 cases registered in the country thus far to 647,699.
According to official figures, 609,292 positive cases have recovered.
Following the new development, the number of virus-infected people who are undergoing treatment moved to 22,140. Meanwhile, the death toll stands at 16,267.
The Director General of Health Services has confirmed another 23 coronavirus related deaths for March 01, pushing the country’s Covid-19 death toll to 16,267.
The deaths confirmed today include 15 males and 08 females while one of the victims is a youth below the age of 30 years.
Six patients are between the ages 30-59 years while the remaining 16 are in the age group of 60 years and above.
Sans political colours, the policy of One Country One Law was looked forward to being implemented without favour or bias by all citizens of Sri Lanka. This meant that in front of the law civil and criminal laws would be one & applicable to all. It was also accepted that while personal laws deriving from cultures/traditions could exist, these could not overrule the country’s national law applied to all whatever their ethnicity. In such a scenario, it is puzzling why the country’s justice minister should push for the continuance of polygamy camouflaging this quest with ‘amendments’. If there is a One Country One Law Policy there cannot be variance and in front of the law all must face the same law – marriage included.
Given that the Justice Minister is promoting polygamy, he may like to provide statistics as to how many (what percentage) of the less than 10% Muslims in Sri Lanka actually practice polygamy in its true format, to justify polygamy to the President & the Government. Can we have numbers please.
When questions are raised, the general response is that polygamy is part & parcel of Islam. Not so, polygamy existed far before Islam was founded but this practice was abandoned.
In Islam too, polygamy is NOT MANDATORY. In Islam monogamy is a must but polygamy is allowed in exceptional cases, the primary of which is during wars where casualties and orphans arise. Such a scenario is not applicable for Sri Lanka’s Muslims. There is no war, there are no casualties & there are no orphans from wars.
Thus, polygamy is not a general rule for all Muslims to follow and polygamy is not obligatory of any Muslims and Islam does not encourage or promote polygamy.
Thus, it is questionable why Sri Lanka’s justice minister supposed to be appearing for all ethnic and religions across Sri Lanka should be canvassing for only the religion he belongs to or rather to satisfy a miniature number of Muslim elite practicing polygamy probably not for the reasons Islam allows.
It is unfair by the majority ethnic Sinhalese & the Tamils to legally allow polygamy which means that the state is bound to look after the health & education etc of 4 or more spouses & their children while the state only allows Sinhalese & Tamils to legally have one spouse & those that marry multiple times are accused of bigamy & liable to land up in jail. There are plenty of examples of Sinhalese & Tamils charged with bigamy. Therefore, One Law for all must mean that any national law pertaining to the citizens of Sri Lanka must be applied to all with no exceptions.
The favorite automatic response for this is – what about the foremost place for Buddhism, while this is certainly given in the constitution & there is valid reason to continue this even in any new constitution, in terms of applying the law & Buddhists facing the law (whether laymen or clergy) there is no favouritism because they are Sinhalese or because they are Buddhists. Just count the numbers in prison!
There are many more arguments that addresses the issue of polygamy but these become irrelevant as the citizens of Sri Lanka were assured the policy of One Law One Country, which means that civil and criminal laws in Sri Lanka must be one & applicable to all & any laws existing from tradition/culture can exist but cannot take precedence or overrule the application of the national law.
It is prudent to remind all that One Country One Law did exist under the Sinhale kings & the personal laws for Tamils & Muslims were only permitted after the arrival of colonial invaders.
Thesavalami applicable to ONLY The Malabar inhabitants of the Province of Jaffna” (Malabars were from India) was only codified by the Dutch in 1707. Muslim personal laws did not exist pre-colonial rule.
India’s Supreme Court in February 2015 completely banned polygamy in India ruling that polygamy was not part of Muslim fundamental right. The logic was that the Indian Constitution is bound to protect the Muslim faith but not practices that only a handful practice. Only 5% Muslims of the 150m Muslims in India practiced polygamy. This is why Sri Lanka’s justice minister must produce statistics on how many Muslims practice polygamy to demand its continuance.
One Country One Law essentially means that a parallel justice, judicial system, parallel laws cannot prevail if citizens are to be treated equal and given equal rights. Therefore, demands for equal rights cannot include exclusive rights for a handful.
At a moral level if a man cannot bear to see his wife with another man, same applies to a woman who would not like to share her man with another woman.
At a financial level too – in times of economic hardships how can a man look after 4 wives & their children equally?
At a political level, polygamy will cause major demographic change where Sinhalese & Tamils are asked to practice planned parenting while Muslims are encouraged to bear more children.
There is also the issue of non-Muslims converting to Islam simply to keep 4 women legally!
One Country One Law must be applied – it clearly means there has to be one law for all – no parallel legal systems as per religious practices.
Radical groups of Tamil youth started operating in the north in the 1970s. ‘Standardization’ radicalized the student population, and organizations such as Tamil Maanavar Peravai (Tamil Students Federation) and Tamil Ilaingar Peravai (Tamil Youth Federation) were formed. At one time there were nearly 34 groups, big and small, engaged in acts of violence, said DBS Jeyaraj .
there was a proliferation of underground groups, for the most part centered in the Jaffna Peninsula, but also involving networks in Mannar District and the Eastern Province, observed Michael Roberts These militant groups were in competition with each other from 1970s to 1990s.Most of them had support from the Indian government and from Tamilnadu.
In 1970 R Suntheralingam, Superintendent of Police Jaffna range, had written to IGP saying there is now a political aspect to illicit trade between Valvettiturai and South India. Subversive literature was coming in. In 1976, customs officers at Valvettiturai had caught a Tamil youth who was smuggling in books promoting Tamil separatism and Eelam.
Valvettithurai had a legitimate trade with India which was stopped early in the Second World War. The legitimate activity then gave way to a smuggling industry. Valvettiturai became a well known centre of smuggling. It was notorious for this. There were links between the smugglers, the fishermen and the community. Houses were built by the sea to facilitate smuggling. In 1942 Philip Goonewardene, NM Perera, Colvin R de Silva escaped to India in a ‘vallam” from Valvettiturai.
The most notorious smuggler was Vishnusundaram, who it is believed had links to Prabhakaran. There was also Kuttimani, a big time criminal and gangster who was a great help to the Sri Lanka- India clandestine operation. In 1973 the navy had intercepted a consignment of 20,000 detonators sent to Kuttimani, in Valvettiturai.
The Valvettiturai opium and gold smugglers were the first to try to bring in radio transmitters to intercept messages exchanged among the Sri Lanka security forces and police as well as to establish connections between Valvettiturai and Tamilnadu, said Janaka Perera. Valvettiturai had persons who were in league with the DMK politicians of Tamilnadu.
Security camps were set up in Valvettiturai from the 1950s to control the smuggling. There was much friction as a result of this hostile, alien” presence. Prabhakaran and a host of other Valvettiturai youth grew up in this environment. Kittu and Mahattaya had told DBS Jeyaraj, that many youths of their generation, born in the 1950s, in Valvettiturai grew up with anger and resentment towards the armed forces and the government of Sri Lanka.
Valvettiturai was a close knit community, where visitors were not welcome in certain places. It had a sub-culture of its own which recognized no other authority and harbored a criminal element. This element was in evidence at local sports matches between schools, where strong arm methods were in evidence when their side was losing, said Rajan Hoole. The Eelam movement used this criminal element. Further, men from Valvettiturai married women from Tamilnadu. Their children grew up with dual loyalties, to Jaffna and Tamilnadu.
Tamil youth were travelling to India in the 1970s for training in armed combat. The CID reported in 1977 that there was a military buildup of Tamil youth in Jaffna peninsula. The report stated that they were led by Amirthalingam and Yogaratnam of the TULF. These two persons had warned Tamil police not to interfere. (Cyril Ranatunga From peace to war” p 59-61)
The first major Tamil Separatist organization was TELO. TELO was founded in 1969. It was led by Thangathurai and Kuttimani. TELO was a small well knit outfit. EPRLF (1980) was more intellectual than military said analysts.
Thangathurai had told the army that the creation of the LTTE was first discussed in a reading room in Valvettiturai. Thangathurai and Kuttimani were there. However, according to DBS Jeyaraj the LTTE was based on an earlier organization. Some ‘old timers’ such as Rajaratnam of Nunavil had in the early 1960s formed a Tiger group to fight for Tamil rights. This never got off the ground.
Prabhakaran revived the group as Tamil New Tigers (TNT). This was led by Thanabalasingham alias Chetty of Kalviyankaadu. This group assassinated Alfred Duraiappah in 1975. Prabhakaran was one of the four youths who took part in the assassination.
The TNT became Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on May 5th 1976. Nine days later on May 14th 1976 Tamil United Liberation Front held its famous Vaddukoddai Convention with its demand for Tamil Eelam. Uma Maheswaran was the first Chairman of the LTTE. Prabhakaran was the military commander. Both were on the central committee. In 1981 after the departure of Uma Maheswaran, the LTTE re-grouped under the absolute leadership of Prabhakaran.
The seafaring ability and smuggling networks of the Karaiyar caste network of the LTTE helped to bring it to power observed Michael Roberts. Their seafaring ability was superior to that of the other groups. Unilever excess products were sent to Soosai and Prabhakaran in Valvettiturai for smuggling to India.
Nalin Suwaris had his own take on the subject. He said many of the LTTE leaders are Christian. Prabha is a Karavar Christian. His wife and children attended church in London. Majority of the LTTE leaders are low caste, he added. Jaffna residents say that Thamil selvam is ‘just a bloody barber’ from Chavakachcheri. His father used to come to the back gardens of Vellala homes to provide this service, said Suwaris. (Island Mid week rev.18.4.2007 p 3.)
LTTE moved in and out of Tamilnadu easily. When the Police cracked down and began arresting prominent youth activists, Prabhakaran crossed over by sea to Tamil Nadu. He was to shuttle back and forth frequently in the 1970s. Some undergraduates were on a death fast at the Jaffna University in 1983. When the condition of the girls deteriorated the LTTE sent them to Tamilnadu. Prabhakaran met and married his wife there.
Uma Maheswaran broke away from LTTE and formed PLOTE (Peoples Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) in 1980 PLOTE had a central core trained by the PLO. Initially, LTTE was powerful in Jaffna, and Mullaitivu PLOTE was powerful in Vavuniya.
PLOTE was one of the Indian trained groups working on the ground under direct Indian army supervision. PLOTE had 80 men originally trained by Indian instructors to engage Sri Lanka forces observed Shamindra Ferdinando. PLOTE tried to assassinate Maldivian President Gayoom and let Colombo based businessman Luthufee take over the government. This failed.
By 1985/86, LTTE had crushed the other groups. TELO leaders were eliminated in 1985. Uma Maheswaran was assassinated in 1989; EPRLF’s Central Committee was killed as they held a meeting in Chennai in 1990.
Dixit had told DB Jeyaraj that of all the top Tamil militant leaders, only Prabhakaran had fire” in him. Velupillai Prabhakaran came from Valvettiturai. Prabhakaran’s family was of respected lineage in Valvettiturai. He belonged to Thirumeni family. Prabhakaran’s ancestors constructed the famous Sivan temple of Valvettiturai. His father should have been the chief trustee but declined to be so as he was in government service, said DBS Jeyaraj.
His father joined the Government clerical service and eventually became a district lands officer. The father was a duty conscientious mild-mannered gentleman well respected and well-liked. Father disapproved of the son’s path and was not on speaking terms with Prabhakaran for years and years said DBS.
Prabhakaran studied at schools in Jaffna, Vavuniya and Batticaloa because his father was constantly transferred. He was not a model student and did not even pass his GCE O’levels, said DBS.This does not mean that he was unintelligent or did not possess a thirst for knowledge. Prabhakaran was interested in other things rather than in formal education said Jeyaraj.
He liked to read and watch action films. Another pursuit in boyhood was the targeting of squirrels, lizards. Chameleons and small birds with a catapult. As a kid Prabhakaran would prowl about areas of dense vegetation searching for his quarry.
DBS Jeyaraj said that former Kayts MP. V. Navaratnam broke away from ITAK and formed the Thamilar Suyaatchi Kazhagham”, Tamil Self-Rule party in 1968. Navaratnam wanted a separate state not federalism. A teacher named Venugopal became an active supporter of Navaratnam. Several students including Prabhakaran were influenced by Venugopal and turned into ardent devotees of Tamil self-rule.
LTTE subscribed to Time” and Newsweek” .Prabhakaran would ask friends knowledgeable in English to translate and explain articles in them. In later years when the LTTE developed into a full-fledged outfit, important articles from magazines and newspapers were translated into Tamil for Prabhakaran. Books on military affairs and warfare were also translated into Tamil, said DBS.
Prabhakaran removed and destroyed every single photograph in the house with his picture. When the Police caught up with him they could not get a proper picture of him and had to use only the postal identity card used by Prabhakaran to sit for examinations. Prabhakaran’s memory power was legendary. Prabhakaran would remember faces, names and the last time he had seen someone years ago. He had a photogenic memory.
Prabhakaran died on May 19, 2009, at around 9.30 in the morning. He died during an operation by 4th Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment. ‘We did not know he was hiding in the mangroves. We shot the terrorists in the mangroves. We found his body afterwards’, the army said. He was not captured alive.
Once the army killed Prabhakaran they made sure that he stayed dead. His body and all items connected with him were burned. Prabhakaran had his Eelam identity card in his shirt pocket. It gave his occupation as Leader of the LTTE. (Continued)
Continuing its efforts to enhance dialogue with all major religions in India, the High Commission of Sri Lanka in New Delhi presented a Sinhala translation of the Holy Quran to the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (Council of Muslim Theologians of India).
Founded in 1919, the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind is one of the leading organizations of Islamic scholars belonging to the Deobandi school of thought. It has a membership of 12 million across India.
During the event, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner Milinda Moragoda and Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Secretary General Niaz Ahmed Farooqui discussed on the enhancement of Islamic ties between Sri Lanka and India. Several senior officials of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind and officials of the High Commission were also present at the presentation.
The Sinhala translation of the Holy Quran, published by the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) of Sri Lanka, was presented to the Secretary General of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, Advocate Niaz Ahmed Farooqui by Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda.
The copy of the Holy Quran, fixed inside a transparent display box, will be displayed in the 500-year-old mosque of the Council until next Friday and thereafter moved to its museum as a permanent exhibit.
Following the presentation of the Sinhala translation of the Holy Quran, the High Commissioner and the delegation visited the museum of the Council, and the library where about 12,000 books on Islam and other related subjects are kept.
This was the second time that the High Commission presented a Sinhala translation of the Holy Quran to a key Islamic institution in India. Last November, High Commissioner Milinda Moragoda presented a Sinhala translation of the Holy Quran to the Chief Imam of India and Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid of Delhi Syed Ahmed Bukhari. That copy of the Holy Quran is now in permanent display at the historical mosque built by legendary Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.
In keeping with the “Integrated Country Strategy for Sri Lanka Diplomatic Missions in India”, the policy roadmap of High Commissioner Moragoda, the High Commission of Sri Lanka in New Delhi has been promoting dialogue with all major religions in India.
It has been reported in the media that the SL Government has decided to take a neutral stand in regard to the Ukraine issue.
Since the year 1948 Russia is maintaining the super power balance against the USA and it should be that way because if the USA were given a monopoly of the super power status in regard to the nuclear weapons, America would ruin many countries politically & economically.
When the Soviet Union tried to station Nuclear Missiles in Cuba close to the USA, the USA took a firm stand and the USA was right at that time and Russia was wrong because that would have affected the Super power balance at that time. The same argument is valid for the Ukraine issue and President Putine has given sufficient time for the Ukrainian President to make a decision not to join the NATO.
Ukrainians have almost everything in common with the Russians as we outsiders see it. The race factor, the language, the culture etc. It was absolutely foolish for the Ukrainian President’s decision to join the NATO. Ukraine could have maintained good economic ties with the USA because Russia too is cooperating with the USA in many spheres such as space explorations.
The American politicians have an inherent desire to interfere politically & economically in other countries. Further, it is the USA that supports Tamil separatism by trying to punish Sinhala military officers for defeating the LTTE terrorists and by way of resolutions against Sri Lanka. Russia always supported Sri Lanka in Geneva.
Therefore, the SL government should support Russia regardless of the consequences because Russia is an honest friend of Sri Lanka while USA that supports Tamil separatists is an enemy.
As a political party, we fully support President Putine’s decision to enter the Ukrainian territory to safeguard the super power balance. We see that SL government’s decision to stay neutral is a selfish and a cowardice stand.Also, we express our sorrow for the Russian & Ukrainian soldier’s families for the loss of their loved ones and for the Ukrainian civilians who are undergoing immense suffering. Ukrainian President is totally to be blamed for the present situation
The news broke from Chennai in south India as a senior photojournalist killed himself on 13 February 2022 in his office itself. Initially it was assumed T. Kumar’s suicide as a personal affair, but soon the harsh reality surfaced. The victim did not receive full salaries for nearly five years and he was in desperate need of money. His wife (Kavitha) underwent medical treatments and only daughter Pavithra’s engagement ceremony was also approaching. Kumar (56) might have exhausted the borrowing space from family members and well-wishers! Hence, it was his last undesirable action.
After the incident, I could realise Kumar was known to me as he worked in Guwahati as a representative of the United News of India (UNI) for some months. Kumar had a very amiable nature to nurture friendship and even tried to help everyone according to his capacity. We had a number of chatting over the media as a whole. Kumar was a passionate listener to my ‘lectures unending’, which often crossed the limit. At the end of my discourse, he always concluded the session saying- Nava-da you have to come to my place soon. Reactions to Kumar’s demise was little slow as everybody understood it as a self-killing matter, but when the real cause came out, the Indian media fraternity got a real jerk. A responsible journalist, who was with the UNI for more than three decades, had to end his life as was being denied his dues. Kumar was not waiting for any lottery or other funds to support his family in distress. He was only expecting his salaries, unpaid fully for over 50 months, and it was the commitment of UNI management authorities while engaging him in work. Should not it be treated as a crime against the insensitive UNI management for slowly putting Kumar on the verge of self-destruction?
Lately various media rights bodies have come forward condoling Kumar’s unacceptable death and also raising some finds for the bereaved family. There are over 200 UNI employees across the country, who are also waiting for their dues for years. Need not to deny that the Indian media fraternity has been suffering heavily since the Covid-19 hit the country two years back. Morning newspapers lost their circulation drastically, so their business, influence and visibility. Satellite news channels also start missing valued audiences. And as a dependent agency on the mainstream media outlets (also some government organs), the UNI also faced a humiliating downfall. The largest democracy on Earth with a billion-plus population today supports around 82,000 registered publications with more than 15,000 in the newspaper category. Published in various languages like English, Hindi, Urdu, Sanskrit, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, Gujarati, Punjabi, Odia, Assamese, etc the daily newspapers have a cumulative circulation of around 110 million. But following the corona-crisis, these physical newspapers have lost almost one-third of their actual circulation figures because of the prolonged nationwide lockdown and various aftereffects. Similarly, India has around 1,600 satellite television channels where more than 400 are news related outlets. As most satellite news channels are free-to-air (FTA) in nature, they heavily depend on commercial advertisements for survival. These news channels cannot ask money from their viewers (subscribers) and the proprietors have to manage all expenditures from running offices to staff salaries to productions to flawless distributions from their resources. More amazingly, the FTA channel owners have to pay a huge amount of money to cable operators and direct-to-home (DTH) agencies. However, there is no clarity on how much money a cable operator or a private DTH agency can demand from an FTA channel. The logic behind the financial transactions narrates that those cable operator/DTH agencies can charge the amount of money for providing space into their respective packages which are distributed to viewers. On the other hand, they collect money from the consumers as well as the freight charges for downloading the signal from the satellite and distributing it to the households. Nobody knows if these financial transactions fall under the government financial tax network or not!
With the advent of internet services, which are drastically cheaper in India, millions of digital news platforms are coming up to feed the population where the literacy rate is growing above 75 per cent in recent years. One can say, today’s media family has increased its outlets significantly. The digital platforms have cleverly blended the flavours of daily newspapers, news channels and also radio outlets, where the audience can get text messages as well as audio-visual inputs. In the long run, taking advantage of the expanded space of smartphones, the digital media may ruin the combined market of traditional outlets by slowly grabbing advertisement revenues.
The fall of mainstream media outlets have affected the business of news agencies as they generate revenues mostly from the morning dailies, news channels and private radio outlets. Initially the Indian news agencies (including UNI) played an important role as a trusted bridge between the international news providers and local media outlets. But with the change of government policies and invasion of the internet service, the agencies start losing their space. The last blow to the UNI came in 2017 as Prasar Bharati decided to withdraw its subscription for All India Radio and Doordarshan. The agency had to incur a huge loss after the move.
But for any reason the UNI management cannot escape the blame for Kumar’s tragic end. The board of directors with its faulty policies started destroying the agency long back (at least before the corona-disaster). When it was in a sound financial position, the management launched a multi-lingual television news agency (UNI TV), but soon it failed to generate adequate subscriptions seemingly because of its unprofessional news intakes. So, for the unprofessionalism on part of the management, employees must not suffer. The UNI management should promptly pay all the outstanding dues to the Kumar’s family, if not any compensatory amount at this moment.
The author is a northeast India-based media commentator
