Colombo, Nov 21 (NewsWire) – The Government has decided to obtain an emergency loan of US$ 500 million from India to import fuel, which has become a serious crisis at the moment, Lankadeepa Newspaper reports.
A senior government minister has told Lankadeepa that top government leaders have already begun discussions with the Indian government on this regard.
The Petroleum Corporation is facing a crisis due to the shortage of foreign reserves and are reportedly having a difficult time finding the required amount of US dollars for fuel imports.
The Sapugaskanda oil refinery was shut down last week due to the lack of dollars for crude oil imports, and a date for its reopening has not yet been announced yet.
Meanwhile, Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila has stated at the cabinet meeting last Monday that monthly US$ 350 million is needed to import fuel and it has become a real issue to find money for this purpose.
Considering this situation, the government has decided to obtain an emergency loan of US$ 500 million from India for fuel imports, Lankadeepa added.
People queueing up near a Sathosa outlet to buy daily essentials
Sri Lanka is mired in multiple crises. The country continues to be devastated by the pandemic, crippled by balance of payment problems that are only the surface of a long economic depression, and rising cost of living contributing to food insecurity.
Significantly, the Minister of Finance in his Budget Speech recognises the severity of the economic situation: We are living through the history’s most challenging period in terms of people’s lives, livelihoods, sources of income, and job security.” Furthermore, he identifies the systemic character of this crisis and the structural problems of the economy reaching back over the decades. While the diagnosis of the macroeconomic crisis is for the most part correct, the priorities are wrong and the solutions are flawed.
During these times of great social and economic suffering, the citizenry should be vigilant. Where the budget has failed to correct course of the sinking Sri Lankan economy, it is public protests that can ensure we don’t completely drown with the most severe crisis affecting the country over the last century.
Diagnosis of problems
This is how the Budget Speech sets out the economic problems in Sri Lanka, from the global character of the crisis to the everyday challenges facing people. It states: Disruption to food production chains, climate change, natural catastrophes, energy crises, and fluctuations in international commodity prices over which we have no control, have become common. These cannot be solved only through domestic measures. These require collaborations internationally.”
Then it goes onto accept the Government’s inability to address the much-talked about rising cost of living as follows: We have to accept that the increase in prices is due to a shortage of goods, the imposition of import restrictions, the overreliance on imports, the depreciation of the rupee together with the failure to adequately encourage manufacturers. Given the aforementioned, it must be understood that the solutions available to control the behaviour of the goods and services market are both medium to long term.” Next, the structural problems of the economy are identified as relating to a tilt towards the trading sector: For a long time now, imports have been double of exports. This is not sustainable and it is challenging.”
So we have it finally from the horse’s mouth after two years wasted in denial with the horse shit about prosperity and splendour! That is valuable time lost to provide relief to the people. And sadly, even as the Government recognises the situation for what it is after being ridiculed in public and challenged by powerful protests, it lacks the vision and the political will to even chart a credible path out of this crisis.
Revenues and investment
Government revenues over the last decade have been relatively low on the order of 12% to 14% of GDP. Furthermore, since the tax cuts soon after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa came to power, revenues in 2020 and 2021 are abysmally low and on the order of 9% of GDP. For a country that should eventually target revenues above 25% of GDP, the budget measures to raise revenues to even 12.3% of GDP next year are unconvincing. This begs the question whether the proposed budget proposals will be implemented. Measures such as wealth taxes targeting the stock of wealth, rather than income taxes difficult to raise with falling income, are needed during a time of crisis. But the Government beholden to the wealthier classes lacks interest and the political will for such redistribution.
Much of the Government spending is focused on infrastructure build-out and populist measures of hand outs to rural constituencies. Neither are going to get the country out of the crisis. A country like Sri Lanka cannot stimulate itself out of the economic crisis through infrastructure spending. And there are no measures to mobilise the rural economy with appropriate investment and programmes.
“Sadly, even as the Government recognises the situation for what it is after being ridiculed in public and challenged by powerful protests, it lacks the vision and the political will to even chart a credible path out of this crisis”
Budgets set the direction for the economy mainly through capital expenditure; where recurrent expenditure mainly goes for maintaining state services through salaries and social welfare. The Budget Estimates and Proposals show that highways and roads receive the largest development allocations amounting to Rs. 270 billion, which is 29% of the total allocated public investment of Rs. 931 billion. The question asked by working people in these dire times is, can we eat roads?
Compare this with the crucial sectors of fisheries – the major source of animal protein for our people – and livestock – important for milk production – have only been allocated Rs. 1 billion each. In recent years, imports of seafood have been Rs. 40 billion (US$ 200 million) and of milk powder Rs. 60 billion (US$ 300 million); which is foreign exchange the country cannot afford today, leading to shortages and price hikes. While the Budget Speech mentions import substitution in many places, these meagre allocations betray the Government’s disregard for food security and meaningful solutions of self-sufficiency.
The other major set of proposals in the Budget are for populist measures such as allocations for the village level GS and electoral divisions claiming to allow for local level development. The reality seems more akin to an election budget with hand outs, particularly at a time when provincial elections are on the cards.
Protests and resistance
One of the few meaningful allocations in the Budget is the Rs. 30 billion to address the school teachers’ salary anomalies. While that amount is not enough, it is a first step thanks to the strikes and protests sustained over months by the teachers. It is also a valuable lesson that unless there are continued protests by the public the Government cannot be held in check.
As the crises deepen, and the public and even the bureaucracy resists the Government’s policies, the President may rely even more on the military further damaging public institutions. With the deteriorating situation of state coffers, the Government may run to the IMF and even consider privatising public services including education and healthcare, as hinted at the end of the Budget Speech claiming we have an obsession with ownership”. Indeed, we should eschew such an obsession with ownership, but not of public ownership, rather private ownership and property. During these times of multiple crises it is protests and demands for redistribution that may ensure even survival including the very basics of life such as food.
Sri Lanka has abandoned its quest to become the world’s first completely organic farming nation
Sri Lanka abandoned its quest to become the world’s first completely organic farming nation on Sunday, announcing it would immediately lift an import ban on pesticides and other agricultural inputs.
The island country has been in the grips of a severe economic crisis, with a lack of foreign exchange triggering shortages of food, crude oil and other essential goods.
Authorities had already walked back restrictions on fertiliser imports last month for tea, the country’s main export earner.
But ahead of planned farmer protests in the capital, Sri Lanka’s agricultural ministry said it would end a broader ban on all agrochemicals including herbicides and pesticides.
“We will now allow chemical inputs that are urgently needed,” ministry secretary Udith Jayasinghe told the private News First TV network.
“Considering the need to ensure food security, we have taken this decision.”
Vast tracts of farmland were abandoned after the import ban, first introduced in May.
Shortages have worsened in the past week, with prices for rice, vegetables and other market staples having doubled across Sri Lanka.
Supermarkets have also rationed rice sales, allowing only five kilograms (11 pounds) per customer.
Farmers’ organisations had planned to march on the national parliament in Colombo on Friday to demand the import of essential chemicals to protect their crops.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had justified the import ban by saying he wanted to make Sri Lankan farming 100 percent organic.
The policy was introduced after a massive hit to the cash-strapped island’s economy in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, with tourism earnings and foreign worker remittances drastically falling.
Authorities attempted to save foreign exchange by last year banning a host of imported goods, including some food and spices.
Sri Lanka also shut its only oil refinery last month after running out of dollars to import crude.
Last week, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa quietly celebrated completing two years in Office. He was elected as president with an overwhelming majority, and shortly thereafter won a rare two-third parliamentary majority. However, it is obvious that the honeymoon is clearly over.
The President is being troubled by not only an unprecedented global pandemic or an Opposition hell-bent on behaving like brats, but also by those who supported him into presidency. The fact that this is not a seven-year itch compels us to study the root causes for the general sense of disappointment and dissatisfaction.
The facts standing as they currently are:
– A strong government with a two third majority;
– A government elected on the sole strength of the people unlike the Yahapalana Government that was supported by powerful nations such as the US and India;
– A man of integrity with proven track record elected as the Executive President. Throughout these two years he has worked diligently and with responsibility towards clearly defined goals. He works without seeking political glorification. He is noted for his thriftiness, which is a welcome change;
– The most successful president of our times, with brother Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Prime Minister;
– As controversial as it is, a considerable number of family members in key government positions is a strength to the President. This gives him a support system that he can trust to carry out his policies. During the war against terrorism, President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s main strength was that his Defense Secretary was his own brother. When we suffered defeat in battles, President Mahinda was able to trust his brother’s advice to continue. This trust President Mahinda could not have placed as easily on another – especially when political and geopolitical pressures were mounting on him to abandon the war effort.
The Seven Year Itch in Two Years
Therefore, even with this kind of power and support, the reason for the disunity within the Government is an interesting question. The first fracture appeared with the proposed 20th Amendment to the Constitution. The main Opposition that arose against it originated from those closest to the President.
They worked tirelessly to topple the Yahapalana Government. Some of them such as present Cabinet Ministers Udaya Gammanpila and Wimal Weerawansa even had to endure months of detention in remand prison. Yet, they never gave up their fight. Today however, they are at the forefront with other national list MPs like Vasudeva Nanayakkara and Gevindu Cumaratunga challenging the President’s decisions.
The only reason those opposed to the 20th Amendment eventually agreed to support it was after the President promised to redress it in the new Constitution. They also opposed honouring the move to give the East container terminal in the Colombo Port to India’s management. They are currently opposing the US-based New Fortress Energy contract to acquire a 40% ownership stake in West Coast Power Limited, the owner of the 310 MW Yugadanavi Power Plant and build an offshore liquefied natural gas system.
It was also after they sent a very public letter urging the President to lockdown the country, the third lockdown took place. From the very beginning the President was not in favour of lockdowns. Yet, he always heeded the advice of the experts.
When the first lockdown took place, we had no other alternative. However, by August 2021, the country had already embarked on vaccinating the population against the virus. Still, on the very day this letter was issued, the President imposed a lockdown. However, he allowed as much as possible the wheels of economy to spin as the country’s finances were equally in trouble. This includes allowing certain sectors of tourism as surfing to continue, despite making those who advocated for a lockdown unhappy.
The financial situation inherited from the Yahapalana Government was deeply troubling. The raging pandemic had effectively closed all revenues that was bringing in foreign revenue. The resulting expenses continue to rise. Furthermore, lockdowns only offer temporary relief. While the lockdowns are in effect, the numbers of new infected and COVID-19 related deaths drop but again increases once the lockdown is lifted. Therefore, President’s reservations are understandable.
Gammanpila, as Energy Minister, stated on 15.11.2021 that the Sapugaskanda oil refinery was closed for 50 days to manage the limited foreign reserves to import essential items to the country. Though he assured an uninterrupted supply of fuel, it naturally caused a scare. The resulting run in petrol stations as everyone tried to top up their vehicle tanks and even keep spare cans ready led to stations running out of fuel. The more pertinent point here is the decision Gammanpila et al pushed the President to take in August and its consequences.
Without a proper survey it is impossible to judge the people’s take on the incumbent Government. When the next presidential or parliamentary elections roll, it is highly doubtful that the present Administration will secure the similar majority as it did in years 2019 and 2020 respectively. That however is not a gauge on the incumbent Government’s performance.
2019 was an extraordinary year and hopefully one never to be experienced again. People were keenly feeling the effects of the foreign interference and manipulations that marked the Yahapalana Government.
– The economic sabotage that included the Central Bank bond scams and of losing strategic national assets, unprecedented binge on foreign loans and the inability to attract investors left the country in dire straits. Even without a pandemic, war or any other constraints, nearly half a million lost their livelihoods as the country’s GDP fell to almost that of Afghanistan.
– The systematic detention of military intelligence men and officers whilst releasing hardcore LTTE terrorists into society deeply troubled the nation’s conscience.
n People drew a parallel between the Norwegian drafted Ceasefire Agreement Ranil Wickremesinghe signed with the LTTE in 2002 and the US drafted UNHRC Resolution 30/1 his Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera co-sponsored in 2015. Both were signed without the knowledge of the then President or Cabinet much less debate in Parliament or mandate from the people. Both agreements were detrimental to the sovereignty and integrity of the country.
– The Easter Attack bombs shattered the peace the country enjoyed for 10 years.
– The MCCC agreement that Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera was keen to sign alarmed Sri Lankans as it threatened our economic freedom. Interestingly, while as a Cabinet Minister Sajith Premadasa never protested over the MCCC. However, as the Opposition Leader he was howling to have the proposed Compact binned as President Gotabaya was tactfully trying to get it off the table without offending the US. Though Cardinal Ranjith is under the impression that it was on the wave of the Easter Attack that the present Government rode to power, it was really the proposed MCCC that scared the people. Even forest monks disengaged from public life and concerns and Sri Lankan expatriates came to vote for President Gotabaya in protest against the MCCC. As presidential candidate Gotabaya had to pledge in writing that he would not allow the MCCC.
– The nation will not be grappling over such fears and concerns at the next presidential and parliamentary elections. Therefore, the need to vote will not be felt by all. The issues then will be quite tame compared to the concerns that prevailed in year 2019.
President Gotabaya’s Challenges
Without argument, the kind of challenges Gotabaya Rajapaksa faced were not experienced by any other president of Sri Lanka. Shortly after President Gotabaya took office an abduction story was concocted by the Opposition in which the Swiss Embassy played a major role. Fortunately, technical evidence proved the allegation to be fabricated and the Swiss Government was left red faced. They however never apologized to Sri Lanka. Never in history had there been such an attempt to embarrass a leader of a country.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a global calamity. Overall, President Gotabaya’s and his task force’s performance have been outstanding. Many developed countries like Australia learnt lessons from Sri Lanka on how to manage the pandemic.
While responding to the virus, taking timely and prudent measures to keep people safe and well, it is unfortunate that this Government dropped the ball on the youth. When the virus first hit the country, the response from the youth was amazing. They displayed their innovative skills as they invented various forms of armor to protect against the virus as well as save the country’s dollar reserves.
However, by the second wave there was only silence from the youth. When the third wave hit, many were trying to get out of the country in search of overseas jobs. Whether they will find jobs outside Sri Lanka at a time when all countries are adversely affected and economies have collapsed, remains to be seen.
The Government’s failure is not in managing the economy. It is not due to lack of employment opportunities the youth are leaving. The reason being is the lack of recognition they received when they first started to innovate. Though PM Mahinda inaugurated a youth center for such innovations, it was insufficient.
A recognition is only when it has a direct impact on one’s life. The Education Ministry should have jumped at the opportunity and have translated such innovation into education qualifications. When a 14-year-old builds a sensory motion water tap, he should not have to sit for Ordinary Levels. A promotion to either Advanced Level classes or at least a diploma from a University would have encouraged other youth also to innovate and this would have been the trend instead of the silence.
The country would not have been as affected by the third wave if not for the teachers’ protests. The teachers’ grievance was almost a quarter century issue. Then, for them to violate the health regulations and push the Government to the wall for an immediate solution at a time when the country was in a desperate situation cannot be without a hidden agenda. These protests of unprecedented ferocity take place at a time vaccination drive was bringing the country to normalcy.
Many blame trade unionists such as Joseph Stalin. However, teachers cannot be equated to puppets. Those who did not personally agree with the protests also discontinued from their teaching engagements for fear of being shamed on social media. An important question before us is not the protest or its agenda but the moral fiber of our teachers. If they cannot withstand peer pressure, we cannot expect them to build the character of our children.
It is an open secret that foreign influences play a significant role at these protests – whether it may involve teachers or farmers. It is common knowledge that these trade unionists as well as other NGO actors are handsomely paid by their foreign handlers.
Security is a priority on this Government’s agenda. Ensuring democracy and fundamental rights is one thing. Allowing that freedom to misguide people with the agenda of toppling a government to meet a geopolitical agenda is quite another. Without addressing these underlying causes it is futile trying to rectify teachers’ salary anomalies. The problem will only manifest elsewhere in another format. State sector trade unions demanding a salary hike to meet rise in cost of living is a case in point.
Both Mahinda and Gotabaya are good leaders. They have rendered an enormous service to the country. They are both patriotic and pragmatic but they do drop the ball.
One area that they always mess up is their PR. Both work on the assumption that actions will speak louder than words. This strategy does not work or President Mahinda would not have been ousted in year 2015. Unfortunately, this Administration too has not realised that a mere statement on the manifesto is insufficient to change a mindset.
For example, on the fertiliser issue, the Government ought to have first embarked on an awareness campaign on the ill effects and the recourse for it. Without that national conscience it is difficult to make that commitment. Experience should tell this Government that any change in this country is met with protests. A simple example would be the protests mounted by the plant sales associations when the previous Rajapaksa Government shifted the plant sale venue from Vihara Maha Devi Park to Battaramulla.
We hardly hear of the Colombo Port City. This is to be the largest investment project of our times and expected to generate at least 80,000 jobs within the first two years. The Government must embark on an aggressive campaign to train and educate our youth to grab the best jobs. Had there been an awareness campaign on the Port City there would not be so much new applications for passports.
Another point where both Rajapaksa Administrations dropped the ball was in trying to protect unpopular figures. Today, many are disenchanted with this Government over its foreign relations management.
Though this Government withdrew from co-sponsoring the inimical Geneva 30/1 Resolution, we are still stuck with the Resolution itself. While there is some effort to negotiate terms less detrimental, the shaming of the country by the LTTE international network and its hangers on continues. Negotiating the Resolution and putting the truth out to the world are two very different operations.
As there is no effort on our part to correct the falsehoods regarding alleged war crimes, our top military officers remain under an international cloud. Using these falsehoods our economy is being threatened. The recent visit by an EU delegation is a case in point.
However, both the current Foreign Minister Professor G.L. Peiris and High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda were at the forefront in signing the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement. Professor G.L. Peries was also the Foreign Minister in President Mahinda’s Government. It was our failure to stop the anti-Sri Lankan project that manifested into the UNHRC Resolution 30/1.
In their defense of course they may have learnt from their experiences and mistakes. However, their appointments trouble the expectations of those who believed this Government will appoint officers with proven record and expected better performance.
The current Opposition, taking its role literally continues to endanger the people by embarking on protests without any regard to the health regulations. Due to their carelessness, during the second wave both Premadasa and his wife contracted the virus. It is feared that their current actions will generate a fourth wave. The discerning voter is quite disgusted by these actions. Compared to this Opposition, the incumbent Government is million times better. However, they too have much to improve if the country is to develop into the aspiring nation in the next three years.
Top economist Dr. W.A. Wijewardena stresses the need for revisiting all public policies that have been made without due appraisal.
The former deputy governor of the Central Bank took to twitter welcoming the reversal of the chemical fertilizer ban.
…though it’s welcome, it shows a grave deficiency in democratic economic policy governance; missing are consulting, flexibility, proper cost-benefit assessment, humility & humbleness…,” he noted.
Wijewardena said this is only one and there are many other blunders that have been committed with huge costs to society.
He hoped other policy blunders too, will be reversed.
by Ifham Nizam and Prabhath Withana Courtesy The Island
An investigation by the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) into a complaint of fraud, which caused a loss of over USD 18 million to the government coffers, has been stalled by a minister, according to police sources.
The CCD commenced the investigation, several weeks ago, following a complaint against a Singaporean, of Sri Lankan origin, and a Sri Lankan, for using forged documents to cheat a Sri Lankan company out of Rs 35 million.
Investigators uncovered a customs fraud, amounting to USD 18 million using a Power Purchasing Agreement (PPA) between the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and a Hongkong-based company. The Customs Department’s Compliance and Facilitation Division commenced a separate investigation.
The Customs investigation found that the suspects had deprived Sri Lanka of USD 18 million by using the PPA, which had been cancelled by the CEB. As per the PPA, the V Power Holdings could import to Sri Lanka power generators, duty free, to supply 34 MW to the national gri, for a six-month period. As per the PPA, after six months the company is required to re-ship those generators and is also requested pay a 10 percent tax on revenue from the generators. That tax could have been around one million USD. They brought down 350 generators. The duty for the generators would have been around 14 million USD. The company obtained a duty waiver to the tune of around three million USD. However, the PPA had been cancelled by that time by the CEB because V Power Holdings failed to deliver 34 MW, within the stipulated one-month period,” a senior CCD officer said.
The company has to pay over 18 million USD to Sri Lanka. It did not re-export the generators. In addition, the suspects have also been charged with defrauding Rs 35 million from the Green Win Holdings Lanka Ltd., the local agent company of the Hong Kong-based Listed Company, V Power Holdings.
The CCD investigation has been halted due to political interference, sources said, adding that the suspects had approached a Cabinet minister.
Asked for comment, senior CEB officials said that there had been a PPA with V Power Holdings but it had been cancelled by the CEB. With the cancellation of the agreement, the company loses their rights for duty concessions, a top management level officer of the CEB told The Island.
Customs Media Spokesman and Deputy Director (Legal) Sudattha Silva said that the Compliance and Facilitation Division of the Department was conducting an investigation. He said he was not in a position to comment more as the investigation was in progress.
The V Power Holdings was accused of violating the Section 50 (A) (1) (a) (b) of the Customs Ordinance.
When contacted for comment, Chairman of Green Win Holdings Lanka Ltd, Vajira Wickramasinghe said. That there were two investigations into the aforementioned incidents.
We signed the PPA with CEB as the Sri Lankan representative of the V Power Holdings of Hong Kong. The V Power Holdings’ Chief Commercial Officer sent a Singaporean of Lankan origin to work with us. Later, it was found that Singaporean with the help of a former director of our company, carried out the fraud. They have misused the canceled PPA to clear the consignment from the harbour. Now, the CCD says that they cannot find the Singaporean and the Lankan who have gone into hiding. I hope that the investigations will resume and the culprits will be caught so that justice will be done.”
TNA Parliamentarians M.A Sumanthiran and Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, who are presently in Canada, were driven away from a meeting held with a group of Tamil diaspora, who branded them as ‘traitors’ alleging the diaspora wanted a separate Tamil state in Sri Lanka.
Both Sumanthiran and Rasamanickam came under heavy criticism while the meeting was on, with the group alleging that the MPs had severely failed in their duties towards the Tamil community, especially in north-east Sri Lanka, the Daily Mirror learns.
The Police had to intervene to safely lead the two Parliamentarians out. Sources said when Sumanthiran participated in similar meetings in Australia and in Switzerland earlier, he had faced a similar issue and was forced to leave the meeting due to heavy criticism by these diaspora groups.
Rasamanickam in a Twitter post today said the protestors claimed they did not want a political settlement and insisted that a separate state of Tamil Eelam was the only solution to the Tamil national question in Sri Lanka.
The Health Ministry says another 189 persons have tested positive for Covid-19, pushing the daily count of new cases to 697.
Earlier today, the ministry had confirmed 508 new cases of the virus.
This increases the total number of coronavirus cases confirmed in the country to 556,626.
Over 15,000 infected patients are currently undergoing treatment island-wide.
The Director General of Health Services has confirmed another 19 coronavirus related deaths for November 20, increasing the death toll in the country due to the virus pandemic to 14,127.
The deaths confirmed today includes 12 males and 07 females while eight of the victims are between the ages 30-59 years while the rest are aged 60 and above.
Rev. Father Cyril Gamini Fernando has been informed to appear before the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) tomorrow morning, the Police Spokesman said.
SSP Nihal Thalduwa said that Father Cyril Gamini has been notified to appear at the CID at 9.30 a.m. tomorrow (22).
He had previously appeared before the CID on two occasions to record a statement in connection with a complaint filed by the country’s intelligence chief.
Father Cyril Gamini was questioned by the CID for around 8 hours on November 15 and 16.
On October 25, the Director of the State Intelligence Service (SIS), Major General Suresh Sallay had filed a complaint with the CID pertaining to the allegations made by Fr. Gamini and several other individuals during an online forum held on October 23 to brief Sri Lankan community living overseas on the Easter Sunday attacks.
The complaint referred to comments made by Rev. Fr. Cyril Gamini, who is a member of the National Catholic Committee for Justice to Easter Sunday Attack Victims, during the online forum alleging that the country’s intelligence units had provided financial and other assistance to Zahran Hashim, the leader of the National Thowheed Jamaath (NTJ) who was behind the suicide bombings.
The complaint stated that it was also alleged, during the webinar, that the then-Brigadier Suresh Sallay had played an active role in nurturing Zahran Hashim and his followers.
Major General Sallay had strongly denied the allegations leveled by Father Cyril Gamini and others during the webinar while also charging that the allegations were made with the intention of discrediting him” and are completely false.
Trade Union representatives state that stocks of vegetables grown in Nuwara Eliya did not reach the Manning Market or the Dambulla Economic Centre.
All Ceylon Dedicated Economic Centres’ Association Chairperson Aruna Shantha stated that the Nuwara Eliya Economic Centre was also closed considering the farmers’ refusal to supply vegetable stocks in protest for the reduction in yields due to the non-provision of chemical fertilizers to vegetable growers in Nuwara Eliya.
The prices of vegetables are seeing a sharp increase following the decline in vegetable supply to economic centres.
It is reported that wholesale and retail prices of vegetables have recorded a price hike and that the retail price of some vegetables is over Rs. 250 per 100 grams.
Farmers in Nuwara Eliya have decided to close all shops in Nuwara Eliya and Kandapola towns today (21) and hold a black flag protest demanding a solution to the issued faced due to the fertilizer crisis.
The daily supply of vegetables to the Katugastota Economic Center has also been reduced by 90 percent, stated President of the Economic Center Wholesale Traders Association, D.N. Silva.
The Dambulla Economic Center Management Trust stated that the prices of vegetables could go up further due to the non-availability of vegetables in the Nuwara Eliya area from tomorrow.
Our correspondent stated that there was a shortage of farmers and traders visiting the Thambuththegama Economic Center today.
The utter failure of
our intellectuals to grasp the turbulent historical and political under
currents that destroyed all possibilities of peaceful co-existence has been one
of the main contributory factors that prolonged and sustained the
33-year-old war launched officially by the Tamil leadership on May 14th,
1976 at Vadukoddai. It ended on May 19, 2009 in the murky water of Nandikadal.
The Vadukoddai Resolution began by outlining its own historical and political
reasons for declaring war and concluded by calling upon the Tamil nation” and
the Tamil youth to take up arms against the democratically elected state. The
ageing Tamil leadership, some of whom were ensconced in the parliamentary
seats, including S. J. V. Chelvanayakam, the leader of the TNA, deliberately
decided to commit the crime against peace in the Vadukoddai Resolution by
legitimising violence officially as a political instrument of the Tamil
community to achieve their political goal of Eelam, a separate state
exclusively for the Tamils. Declaring war was the biggest gamble of the Tamil
leadership. There was no guarantee that their violence could win. Violence
could go either way. Despite investing their best political, intellectual and
financial resources, it didn’t go their way. It ended in Nandikadal. It was a
futile war that boomeranged on the Tamil aggressors. The failure of the Tamil
leadership to recognise the new realities is a major obstacle to
reconciliation. Even after Nandikadal they are flatly refusing to accept
responsibility for their miscalculated political gambit. They declared war.
They waged war. They financed it. They directed it. They legitimised it. They
internationalised it. They theorised to justify their violence. They glorified
every massacre and destruction as a victory for the creation of Eelam. They
manufactured excuses to justify the killings of the Tamils by the Tamils and
other civilian non-combatants. They hailed the forcible recruitment of
under-aged Tamil children into the futile war as heroic sacrifices of the
committed Tamil youth. They backed to the hilt the Tamil Pol Pot who led the
war on their behalf. They even elevated him to the divine status of Surya
Devan”. And when they failed they blamed the Sinhala-Buddhist, as usual, for
the war they declared and lost.
The reaction of the state to combat the
aggressive separatist forces was inevitable. Separatism and violence are
inseparable. Besides, the seasoned Tamil leadership knew the consequences of
going to war with the state. Rightly or wrongly, no democratically elected
state would agree to divide a nation to gratify the political aspirations of an
aggressive minority, sacrificing the interests and aspirations of the other
communities which formed the majority. By 1976 Tamil politics had come to the end
of their tether and was determined to declare war – the last remaining
political weapon available to them to achieve Eelam. The calculated declaration
of war by the Tamil leadership was a challenge that no elected state could
accept lying down. So, at the end of the Vadukoddai Resolution the Tamil
leadership, declared war, urging the Tamil nation” and the Tamil youth to take
up arms. The Resolution said : This Convention directs the Action Committee
of the TAMIL UNITED LIBERATION FRONT to formulate a plan of action and launch
without undue delay the struggle for winning the sovereignty and freedom of the
Tamil Nation;
And this Convention calls
upon the Tamil Nation in general and the Tamil youth in particular to come
forward to throw themselves fully into the sacred fight for freedom and to
flinch not till the goal of a sovereign state of TAMIL EELAM is reached.”
Considering the internal political
pressures pushing the Tamil leadership during this time the declaration of war
(throw themselves into the sacred fight for freedom and flinch not”)
was, in a sense, inevitable. The Tamils had come to the end of the road of
Tamil extremist politics. The declaration of war to achieve a separate state
was the last option available to them in their desperate pursuit of Elam. Their
long journey on the road to Nandikadal, the futile end of Tamil extremism,
began in the early 20th century. It began in the 1920s with the
Tamil leadership demanding one extra seat in the Western Province. This was in
addition to the seats allocated by the British administration to the Northern
Tamils in the Legislative Council. The Oliver Twistian craving for more
and more power in the administration, legislature and the economy has been a
pathological condition with the Tamils. Driven by the Vellalas it has been a
chronic and incurable condition that dominated Tamil politics.
The two communities went apart with the
Tamil leadership escalating their demands each step of the way, from decade to
decade. From the base of demanding one extra seat in the twenties the Tamil
leaderhip led by G. G. Ponnamabalam jumped to demand 50% of power for 11% of
Tamils in the thirties, crying discrimination” when, mark you, the
British were ruling Ceylon, as it was known then. The British were the first to
dismiss the accusation of discrimination” as unsubstantiated fiction. In the
forties, Tamil demands escalated from 50 – 50 to federalism with S. J. V.
Chelvanayakam breaking away from Ponnambalam and forming his Illankai Tamil
Arasu Kachchi ( Federal Party) in 1949. From federalism the Tamil
leadership leapt to separatism in the fifties onwards. In the fifties it became
increasingly clear that federalism” meant separatism in Tamil. The Tamil
leadership marketed their increased demands as federalism” in English but in
Tamil the phrase Arasu Kachchi” was used to convey the concept of a separate
state”. It culminated in declaring war in the Vadukoddai Resolution.
After declaring war to achieve a separate state there was no other higher political
goal left for them to negotiate. Separatism was, of course, non-negotiable.
However, what is significant is the
Southern reaction to the escalating demands of the Tamils of the North. When
the Tamils demanded an extra seat in the South in addition to seats given to
them in the North the Sinhala leadership agreed, after controversial disputes,
to grant the seat to Sir. Ponnambalam Arunachalam. But, as revealed in the
magisterial monographs on the break-up of the Ceylon National Congress and the
rise of Tamil separatism Prof. K. M. de Silva, Sri Lanka’s foremost historian,
revealed that Sir. Ponnambalam rejected the offer. The Northern Tamils then
blamed the Sinhalese for not keeping their word given to Sir. Ponnambalam. That
is the first time that the Tamils arrogantly rejected the offer to heal
the North-South conflict. Second, when G. G. Ponnambalam demanded 50-50
he was offered 45%. He rejected that and insisted on 50 -50. As pointed out by
political scientist Prof. A. J. Wilson and historian Prof. Sinnappah
Arasaratnam, it was a colossal blunder. These two major events prove that there
was always willingness on the part of the South to accommodate the North. The
final proof came when Chelvanayakam, the father of separatism, discovered that
there was ample room for peaceful co-existence through cooperative politics.
The best period for inter-ethnic relations was when the Tamils worked jointly
with the Sinhalese. Prof. Wilson wrote: Yet for all this (unfulfilled
promises) the period of Dudley Senanayake’s ‘National government”, 1965 -1970,
marked the golden years of Sinhala-Tamil reconciliation. The President of the
FP, S. M. Rasamanickam, in his presidential address to the annual convention of
1969, spoke of the rewarding relationship: During the last four years we
were able to gain some rights, if not all of what we expected, through the
method of cooperation.” FP parliamentarians for once had the opportunity of
participating in government and of benefiting from belonging to the
government parliamentary group. They had endured a period of tribulation when
the Bandaranaikes were in office in 1956 – 1965 and the 1965 – 1970 phase had
been the much-needed breathing spell.” (p.111 – S.J.V. Chelvanayakam and
the Crisis of Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism, 1947-1977, A Political Biography, A.
Jeyaratnam Wilson.}
This is a telling piece of evidence,
coming from the highest Tamil political sources, which debunks the
political myth that the Sinhala-Tamil relations were irretrievably
irreconcilable because of the intransigence of the Sinhala governments” to
negotiate with the Tamils and accommodate the Tamil needs. Clearly, there were
golden” opportunities for both sides to negotiate within the non-violent
democratic framework, despite the sporadic ethnic explosions and complaints of
discriminations etc. As stated by Rasamanickam there were always means of
achieving political goals through the method of cooperation”, though
dilatory. But the Tamils opted for Vadukoddai formula which meant war.
Each mishap was exploited by the Tamil
leadership to crank up hate politics and demonise the Sinhala-Buddhist South as
the enemy of the Tamils that had to be defeated. Tamil extremism was
escalating hate politics to a violent pitch. The Sansoni Commission
report documents how the Tamil leadership spoke of non-violence in Parliament
and stoked violence in Jaffna. For instance, it records the evidence of how two
Tamil leaders, A. Amirthalingam and T. Sivasithamparam, openly condoned the
killings of the boys”. Quite brazenly, without any moral compunction,
they encouraged the killings of the boys” promising to defend them in courts.
That is the fundamental difference in the politics of the North and the South:
the South had no organised militant units based on hate culture to launch
racist attacks targeting those perceived to be the enemies of the state,
including dissidents. In the South the sporadic violence fizzled out almost
soon after the outburst. The North, however, had numerous militant units organised
specifically to pursue politics of hate to the extreme end. According to
Taraki”, (pseudonym of Dharmeratnam Sivaram) a leading Tamil journalist, there
were 37 militant units in 1983, the largest and the most effective being the
LTTE and PLOTE. There were no such killing machines organised at the grass root
level to target the perceived enemy systematically in the South. On the
contrary, the ‘Sinhala state” provided protection to the Tamils persecuted by
Prabhakaran. The South had sporadic mob violence which invariably were
knee-jerk reactions to Tamil provocative violence. But the sporadic
mob violence was not run by institutionalised militant groups organised
to hunt and terrorise or kill the opponents/dissidents.
The ruthlessness of Tamil violence
exhibited its brutal face when the LTTE assassinated Amirthalingam and Neeelan
Tiruchelvam – two of the leading intellectuals who manufactured legal and
theoretical excuses for the violence of the Iyakkum” (movement). It was the
lethal ideological bullets manufactured by them that ricocheted and hit them.
The Sinhala state”, on the contrary, protected the Tamil Parliamentarians who
had sworn allegiance to Prabhakaran, the enemy of the state. In short, the
Sinhala state” was giving protection to the enemies of the state. The
Sinhala state” was also commended by the UNICEF for being the only state that
provided essentials – food, medicine, welfare facilities etc., — to a
rebel-held territory. If by any chance there was a short supply of the
essentials or delay in delivering due to bureaucratic bungling there was a huge
cry by the intellectuals, particularly in the NGOs, accusing the Sinhala
state” of the using food and medicine as weapons of war. The role played by the
Tamil MPs was like that of other peaceniks : both used their accusations,
theories and cries for peace to tie the hands of the Sinhala state” and
strengthen the hands of Prabhakaran to wage his war. Every mishap, misstep,
misstatement, was used by them to justify the refusals of Prabhakaran to
negotiate. The intellectuals failed to recognise that it was their excuses that
emboldened Prabhakaran to prolong the war. He knew that the intellectuals were
there behind him to justify his war-mongering tactics.
A glaring example is that of the three
intellectuals — Prof. Jayadeva Uyangoda, Charles Abeysekera, an NGO
apparatchik, and, most of all, Bishop Kenneth Fernando — who sat at the feet
of Velupiallai Prabhakaran, drank his Orange Barley, (a fizzy drink),
chewed his biscuits and came back to Colombo from Vanni, to glorify him. With
his two fellow-travellers sitting on both sides, Bishop Kenneth Fernando, told
a press conference that Prabhakaran is humane”. By no stretch of
imagination could an indiscriminate killer of non-combatant civilians and
dissident Tamils be considered humane”. Prabhakaran demanded total obedience
to his one-man regime and had no reservations about liquidating anyone that
crossed his path. It is incredible that a Bishop of the Anglican Church would
justify the indiscriminate massacres of non-combatant civilians as humane”.
The other two intellectuals who flanked him gave their consent with their
silence. The mendacity of our leading intellectual is execrable. It is
our intellectual who gave oxygen for Prabhakaran to pursue violence with a
vengeance. He knew that there are professors, Churchmen at the highest level,
and intellectuals in organised centres of research, who were willing to suck
his toes just for a glass of Orange Barley served at this table.
Among partisan intellectuals it was a
common practice to lie on behalf of Prabhakaran and his regime. Take the
case of Jehan Perera, the head of the National Peace Council. He referred to
Anton Balasingham, the theoretician of the LTTE, as Dr.” Balasingham, knowing
that he never had a doctorate. When I asked him why he conferred a doctorate on
Balasingham knowing very well that he had not earned one his reply was that
others too do the same. Our conversation didn’t stop at that. In the end he
promised not to use it. But he never kept his
word. He continued to lie misleading the
public. Why did our intellectual deliberately lie? Answer: Simple. They
were batting for Prabhakaran. They were out to justify, and sometimes even glorify Tamil
violence. Lies were told to cover up the
crimes and the only way crimes can be covered is by lying. Furthermore, lies
are told because the truth hurts your cause.
Lies were told by our intellectuals to elevate the criminals to a higher level of respectability. Jehan Perera conferred a
doctorate on his idol Balasingham even though he knew he had not earned it. Our intellectuals went all out to glorify
criminals. It ws their mean of financing and maintaining their expensive
life-style. In short, they were complicit in the
crimes committed by the Tamils. Uyangoda and Jehan are two intellectual scavengers who were ever ready to clean up the blood spilt by
the Tamil killers.
The scales of their pretentious
political morality were always weighted in favour of Tamil violence. The
worst offenders were the Tamil intellectuals. The common morality of the Tamil
intellectuals was to defend Prabhakaranism as a liberating force. As the
success of Prabhakaranism depended on pure violence – it never relied on
diplomacy, negotiations or compromises — their intellectual energies were
focused on defending Tamil violence. Justifying and/or glorifying Tamil
violence was an indispensable political strategy for their success. The success of
Prabhakaran, for instance, was measured by the corpses he buried. His war chest
increased in proportion to the new widows he left behind. It was his power to
kill that elevated his status to Surya Devan”. His early military
success raised the hopes of the Tamil intellectuals. Rationalising violence
became a specialised intellectual activity among the Tamil intelligentsia. A
high water-mark in Tamil society, particularly in the Tamil diaspora, was to
receive public recognition from Prabhakaran. Tamil intellectuals were craving
to receive honours from Prabhakaran. Prof. Jeyam Eliezer, the leader of the
Australian Iyakkum”, for instance, thought it was a great honour
to be awarded the title of Mahamanithar (Distinguished Person) by
Prabhakaran, the worst killer of Tamils banned by the international community.
He celebrated this honour in January 1998. It was a time when Tamil violence
had reached divine status: Prabhakaran was worshipped as Surya Devan”.
By 1976 the anti-Sinhala-Buddhist
politics of the North had reached a point of no return. On one foot they were demanding a separate
state or else……….? At this point the Tamil leadership was stuck. There was
nothing to aspire to beyond the demand of setting up a separate state. The next
step was to declare war to achieve it. Separatism had led them to violence. In
passing the Vadukoddai Resolution they had painted themselves into an
ineluctable corner. Declaring war was the only option left to fight their way
out of the corner. So, separatism led to the declaration of war in the
Vadukoddai Resolution which dragged them all the way to Nandikadal. The
incremental Tamil extremism, driving Tamil politics all the way from demanding
one seat in the Western Province in the 20s to Vadukoddai declaration of war in
1976, determined the ill-fated and short-sighted politics of the North.
They dug their own grave by pursuing extremist politics that escalated
incrementally from one seat in the Legislative Council to separatism in
Vadukoddai. The rest, as they say, is history.
This incontrovertible sequence of events
that unravelled incrementally, driving the North to the end of mono-ethnic
extremism in Vadukoddai, is recorded in history. But it is precisely this
sequence that has been brushed aside by the intellectuals in surveying the
North-South conflict. The partisan intellectuals invariably begin their history
from 1956 – the critical year in which the anti-Sinhala-Buddhist hate politics
stoked in the North clashed head-on with the nationalist forces of the south.
Starting from 1956 also is advantageous to Tamil politics because it leaves out
a whole chunk of history that had gathered momentum in the North from the
twenties. Northern politics was throbbing and waiting for an opening to come
sweeping down to the South like a juggernaut destroying everything in its wake.
It is at this point that the
intellectuals stepped in forcefully to demonise S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike. Tamil
attempts to block the nationalist movement to gain independence had failed. On
November 20, 1947 G. G. Ponnambalam, the then acknowledged leader of the Tamils,
cabled Whitehall asking for the right of self-determination for the
Tamils”. (p. 30 – Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism: Its origins and
Development in the 19th and 20th centuries, A. J.
Wilson). This was the year in which Ponnambalam and Chelvanayakam were fighting
each other for leadership in Jaffna. Chelvanayakan had called for a plebiscite
on self-determination for Tamils. Besides, the low-castes were also getting
restive. The threat of Jaffna fragmenting on caste lines was a possibility.
Vellala casteism which ruled Jaffna had lost its power to retain its supremacy.
There was no ideology for the Vellalas to hold Jaffna together under their
hegemony except Tamil language. As a last resort, they latched on to the
language issue to save their skin. The Sinhala Only Act was the gift that
Bandaranaike gave Chelvanayakam to overthrow Ponnambalam and take over the
leadership of Jaffna.
In the South, the English-speaking elite
of all three communities too ganged up against Bandaranaike. They were the
ruling elite of the nation. They also constituted the intellectual elite. The
1956 wave” busted the supremacy of the minority (6%) English-speaking rulers.
The hostility to linguistic democratisation was essentially an elitist
resistance. Forced by the new realities the Marxists began to talk about
language as a class issue. With great foresight Bandaranaike had redressed the
historical imbalances. He was not anti-Tamil. Nor did he overthrow Tamil.
Sinhala Only Act overthrew only English and the English-speaking elite who
never forgave him. They too joined the Tamils in demonising him as a
reactionary racist.
Not surprisingly, the English-speaking
intellectuals joined them and distorted history to demean and ridicule the
Sinhala-Buddhists. This, in brief, is the history that brought us to
where we are today.
What is Maaveerar Naal? Who originated it, when & why are
fundamental questions anyone commenting on the subject should know to answer.
Maaveerar Naal translated means ‘Great Heroes Day’ but it is not a Tamil
civilian, Hindu or traditional event. Commenced first on 27 November 1989 by
LTTE, it is a LTTE event to commemorate LTTE dead. Not Tamil dead but LTTE
dead. It essentially means that Maaveerar Naal omits non-LTTE dead. Maaveerar
Naal is certainly not commemorating Alfred Duraiappah (Mayor Jaffna), A.
Amirthalingam, Sarojini Yogeswaran (Mayor Jaffna), Neelan Thiruchelvan, Sam
Thambimuttu or even Lakshman Kadiragamar. Maaveerar Naal is a commemoration
ONLY for LTTE dead – it is not for Tamil civilians & certainly not for
Tamils (politicians, academics, public servants, clergy, children) killed by
LTTE.
More importantly the Great Heroes imply only LTTE & does not
include any of the dead from other Tamil militant groups – PLOTE, EPRLF, these
families were forbidden from mourning the loss of their loved one’s publicly.
Maaveerar Naal is NOT
commemorating these dead Tamils
V. DHARMALINGAM – TULF MP for MANIPAI
father of D. SIDDHARTHAN (PLOTE leader) killed by LTTE in 1985
A. AMIRTHALINGAM – MP,
Secretary General of the TULF/ a Former Opposition Leader killed by LTTE in
1989
K. PATHMANABHA – EPRLF leader
killed by LTTE in India in 1990
TELO Leader K Sabaratnam killed
by LTTE in 1986
Uma Maheshwaran, PLOTE leader
killed by LTTE in 1989
Gopalaswamy Mahendraraja
(Mahaththaya) Deputy leader of LTTE killed by Prabakaran in 1994
Wigneswaran, TNA or Diaspora or even the Western leaders & NGOs
commenting on allowing the commemoration of this event are speaking of mourning
for the Tamils, that LTTE has killed. The commemorations are ONLY for LTTE dead
& no one else so who is Wigneswaran & TNA really fooling?
The LTTE Great Heroes Week to honor dead LTTE commences on
21November & ends on 27 November while Prabakaran’s birthday falls on 26th
November. It was during one such event that Prabakaran announced that if he
betrays the Tamil Eelam cause he should be killed. The annual event turned into
a type of cult martyrdom. Another noteworthy aspect is that Hindus do not bury
their dead. Committing suicide is considered a crime – burial is more of an
Abrahamic faith & martyrdom was also part of brainwashing LTTE to think
they were going to heaven for the cause of Eelam.
Yes, there is mass participation with civilian members – but
these are family members of dead LTTE. They are known as Maaveerar
Kudumbangal”(Great hero families).
What it means is that Maaveerar Naal is for dead LTTE by LTTE
families. All LTTE families take part in these events in Sri Lanka &
overseas… so everyone attending the events are linked to LTTE. During LTTE
heyday only these families were given preferential treatment. Non-LTTE Tamil
civilians or non-LTTE other Tamil Groups or their families did not get any
preferential treatment.
Non-LTTE Tamils civilians do not attend & these public
mourning’s are not for non-LTTE dead – neither Tamil civilians nor Tamil
militants from other armed groups.
None of the family members of the dead in other Tamil militant
groups attended or were even invited. In fact families of these dead were not
even allowed to mourn their loss publicly. Their families are not known as
Maaveerar Kudumbangal”(Great hero families)
Part of the Maaveerar Naal commemorations are the Maaveerar
Thuyilum Illangal” LTTE cemeteries. Each dead LTTEr had a tomb allocated though
the actual body was not buried inside.
Maaveerar Naal ceremonies were in red & yellow the colours
of the LTTE, LTTE flag is hoisted, Eelam map is prominently displayed, a
garland is placed first for Shankar the 1st great LTTE hero.
As D B S Jeyraj says Maaveerar Naal is an event ‘of the Tigers,
for the Tigers & by the Tigers’ – It is not a day or week of mourning for
all Tamils killed but ONLY for LTTE dead & ONLY LTTE dead.
Therefore, while Maaveerar Naal is only for commemorating LTTE
by LTTE supporting Tamils, the hype of ‘war widows’ are also relevant to only
spouses of LTTE dead & is a term that should be immediately disallowed from
use. LTTE being a non-state actor are legally not entitled to the use of the
terms political prisoners nor POWs & the term war widows specifically
applies to only wives of soldiers of a national army & not armed
terrorists.
It is time these abused phrases & terms are corrected
locally & internationally as even international experts, media & UN are
using these terms inspite of knowing their connotations & inapplicability
to the LTTE.
If LTTE commemorated only their dead even going so far as to
disallow families of other Tamil militant groups to mourn their dead publicly,
we demand to know why Wigneswaran & TNA should be allowed to mourn LTTE
dead only & it is now long overdue to take action against the University of
Jaffna, its academic staff & students who are commemorating these dead LTTE
unabashedly with LTTE flags, emblems, garlanding portraits of dead LTTE but
completely ignoring the other Tamils killed by LTTE or even other Tamil
militant dead.
The Government has recognised crabs, octopus and lobsters as sentient beings
A report for ministers confirmed evidence of sentience in decapod crustaceans
It recommended that they should be included in animal protection legislation
A ban on boiling lobsters alive came closer yesterday after the Government recognised crabs, octopus and lobsters as sentient beings.
An amendment to the Animal Welfare Bill currently going through Parliament was tabled which makes it illegal to cause needless harm and suffering to invertebrate animals.
It came after a report for ministers by the London School of Economics confirmed there is strong scientific evidence of sentience in decapod crustaceans, such as crab and lobster, and cephalopod molluscs, octopus and squid.
Stunning lobsters with an electric gun or by chilling them in cold air or ice before boiling is a more humane method, according to animal welfare charities
It recommended that they should be included in animal protection legislation.
There had previously been much debate over whether lobsters and crabs have feelings similar to vertebrates – animals that have a backbone – as they have different nervous systems.
The amendment published on the Government’s website read: ‘This amendment adds cephalopod molluscs and decapod crustaceans to the definition of animal” for the purposes of the Bill.’
This would make it an offence for any person who is responsible for a kept animal – including crabs and lobsters – to cause it unnecessary suffering or to fail to provide for the animal’s welfare needs.
Though the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) insists this will have no impact on restaurant kitchens, campaigners could use the new law to argue in court for a ban on boiling the animals alive in eateries as they say there are less painful ways to kill them.
An amendment to the Animal Welfare Bill currently going through Parliament was tabled which makes it illegal to cause needless harm and suffering to invertebrate animals
It is currently illegal to do this in Switzerland, Norway and New Zealand.
Stunning lobsters with an electric gun or by chilling them in cold air or ice before boiling is a more humane method, according to animal welfare charities.
But restaurateurs are unlikely to be impressed by the new law, which may make them subject to checks by Defra and, if a ban does come into effect, could criminalise those who kill the lobsters in a traditional way.
The move has been pushed for by animal welfare minister Lord Goldsmith and the Prime Minister’s wife Carrie Johnson – who are patrons of the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation (CAWF).
Lord Goldsmith said: ‘The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill provides a crucial assurance that animal wellbeing is rightly considered when developing new laws.
‘The science is now clear that crustaceans and molluscs can feel pain and therefore it is only right they are covered by this vital piece of legislation.’
Build your wealth on right living and not through causing
injury or destruction to the lives of innocent animals.
Remember that kill and eat is not a Buddhist tenet.
Snuffing out the life of a defenseless animal is not
sporting conduct.
It is contrary to all tests of fairness. The animal has
absolutely no chance.
Our national cricketers must strive to be good role models.
Compassion for living beings is part of Sri Lanka’s
Heritage.
These principles are worthy of being borne in mind when our
top national cricketers venture into investing in private enterprise. The moral
sensitivities of their cricket fans deserve to be taken into account when
investment choices are made.
There is an entirely new field called ‘Ethical or Social
Conscious Investment’ which encourage investors to choose to invest in
activities that are morally and ethically defensible, are run ethically,
provide social benefits and are sensitive to the natural environment and the
living creatures that inhabit it.
The story with a photo in Sunday Times (Dec. 4, 2011)
entitled ‘ Crabs for Grabs’ showing two former cricket captains looking
gleefully at a giant crab in a crab shop they had set up at a new food court
opened in the Fort yesterday, took me aback.
These crabs are not there for decoration. Very soon the legs
of these live crabs can be expected to be ripped apart and both the legs and
the torso thrown into the boiling pot.
Recent studies show that both Lobsters and crabs i.e.
crustaceans, feel pain and stress. These findings add to growing evidence that
virtually all animals can suffer.
In the Vyagghapajja-Sutta (AN) the Buddha gave some sensible
advice. The Buddha said that before one acts, one should consider the possible
effects or consequences thus: whether the action will be harmful to oneself or
others. If it is damaging to oneself, others or both, such an action should be
abandoned. Conversely, if it is beneficial to oneself and others, it ought to
be committed.
In Buddhist phraseology one’s “neighbour or others’
includes other living beings ( Siyalu Sathwayo). The moral community in
Buddhism encompasses all living beings.
The Buddha’s advice on Right Livelihood
Significance of the Vyagghapajja-Sutta (AN)
The Vyagghapajja-sutta (A.N) is the Buddha’s discourse on
the Conditions of Welfare expounded for the material or financial and spiritual
development of the lay Buddhists. The Buddha admonishes his followers to
preserve a balanced development between material dimension and the spiritual
dimension and to construct personal ethical ideal so as to help realize the
social ideal.
As long as a lay Buddhist amasses and expands his or her
material or financial wealth ethically or righteously through Right Livelihood
(Sammā Ajīva)1 , the Moral Law of Action and Reaction (Kamma-Vipāka Dhamma)
will reward the ethical or righteous individual correspondingly.
Right and wrong livelihood
Right Livelihhod are occupations which do not transgress the
Five Precepts (Pañcasīlas) and Ten Wholesome Courses of Actions (Dasasīlas)
According to the Buddha the five [types of business] to be
refrained from are:
1. selling weapons,
2. selling human beings [slavery],
3. selling animals to be killed for food, or the flesh of
animals that one has killed oneself,
4. selling intoxicants,
5. selling poison.
In the Suttanipata: 2:7:27-30 it is said that Kshatriyas and
self-styled Brahmins and others protected by rank destroyed the repute of their
caste and lost their own high status in society because of their involvement in
the sin of causing injury to living beings and falling off their virtues.
Sri
Lanka and Bangladesh should set up a Free Trade Agreement as soon as possible
for ensuring their own business interest. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as
South Asian Countries share some common economic platforms. Sri Lanka and
Bangladesh were parties to the SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA),
South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA). The two countries were also parties of
Global System of Trade Preference (GSTP), Asia – Pacific Trade Agreement
(APTA), and Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic
Cooperation (BIMSTEC).
But
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh both need a bilateral Preferential Trade Agreement
(PTA) to boost up trade and connectivity for ensuring greater mutual interest.
This will be big bilateral progress towards trade and investment between the
countries
Bangladesh
has always expressed its keen interest to sign a free trade agreement (FTA)
with Colombo to exploit the huge potential of bilateral trade between
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. If signing the FTA takes a long time, the two nations
will sign a preferential trade agreement (PTA). The PTA will begin with a
shortlist of products that could open up opportunities for expanded trade,
investment, and tourism in the future. But at first Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
can sign a preferential trade agreement initially to tap the untapped
potentials. Bangladesh and Bhutan signed a PTA on December 06, 2020. Now Bhutan
and Bangladesh both are benefitting from the PTA.
The
two Countries should emphasize utilizing the huge trade potential between the
two countries by signing a bilateral trade agreement. Both parties can increase
cooperation in various fields including pharmaceuticals, IT, agriculture,
maritime security, and disaster management. Bangladesh has already expressed
keen interest to provide training to Sri Lankan nationals in the field of paddy
production, climate adaption, disaster management, and information technology
and urged Colombo to extend training programs for Bangladeshis on marine
fisheries and nursing.
According to 2019 data of the Export
Promotion Bureau, the annual trade volume between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka is
about $13 crore. Of this, Sri Lanka exports goods worth $9.86 crore while
Bangladesh’s exports amount to about $3.7 crore. This trade volume could be
increased easily if Sri Lanka and Bangladesh sign a trade agreement as soon as
possible. Sri Lankan investors can invest more in our special economic zones,
industrial parks, and high-tech parks.
Bangladesh can share with Sri Lanka its experiences in
agriculture, particularly in rice farming and freshwater fisheries, its
experiences in emergency response, disaster management, climate adaptation, and
mitigation. Bangladesh can obtain technical know-how from Sri Lanka in coastal,
aquaculture, marine culture, and deep-sea fishing. In the education sector,
both countries should have more institutionalized cooperation in capacity
building, vocational training, and skill development.
In the case of the health sector,
Bangladesh can put emphasis on core training of Bangladeshi nurses and other
health professionals in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka may benefit immensely by importing
our world-class pharmaceutical products and medical devices in greater
quantities. Basically, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka both would benefit from sharing
experiences in the fields of agriculture, health, and education for mutual
benefit.
Bangladesh is moving forward on the
path of rapid development. Sri Lanka should sign a trade agreement for ensuring
its maximum business interest. Bangladesh produces garments, pharmaceuticals,
cement, paper, electrical items, and jute goods, which are high in demand in
Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka should
identify potential investment sectors, including the areas of information
technology, agriculture, health, education, tourism, and services to tap the
untapped potentials. The investors of the two countries should come forward to
exchange experiences of the development trend in the respective countries in
the days to come.
FTA negotiations with Bangladesh
have been in the works since 2013 and signing an FTA would mean successful
completion of this discussion. It is expected that the FTA will enable both
countries to overcome tariff and non-tariff barriers that exist and therefore
hamper trade between the two countries.
Signing
PTAs and FTAs (free trade agreements) would help both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
to address the challenges in the trade sectors. The preferential trade deals
will help boost exports significantly. Bangladesh also needs to sign several
PTAs and FTAs before (Bangladesh’s) graduation, to reap benefits of the
least-developed country category. Earlier, Both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
already agreed to sign the deal.
In
2017, both the countries had finished the required preparations to sign a free
trade agreement (FTA) – but the initiatives did not see the light of the day
due to internal issues. Currently, both should give priority to PTAs. To some
extent, the FTA deal is very difficult. Some issues, including revenue losses,
have been involved with FTAs as all products of both the countries under FTAs
enjoy duty-free facilities. Bangladesh and Sri Lank signed the 06 Memorandum of
Understandings (MoUs) to increase bilateral cooperation between the two South
Asian countries. Now it is high for Sri Lanka and Bangladesh should sign a PTA
as soon as possible to tap the potentials. Then Bangladesh and Sri Lanka can
move the path of FTA.
Sri Lanka is in an advantageous position
in the value-added apparel industry, shipping lines and deep-sea port,
financial services, ICT, and skilled technical people in different sectors. On
the other hand, Bangladesh enjoys advantages in the apparel sector, skilled
workforce in the garment sector, agricultural products, processed foods, and
migrant workers. Bangladesh would be immensely benefited if the FTA is signed
with Sri Lanka, as a portion of its exports and imports of goods are done
through the Colombo ports. Sri Lanka also would benefit from signing the trade
agreement. Although there are some complexities in the case of signing the
‘FTA’ deal, an effective diplomatic negotiation through dialogue can remove the
obstacles. Thus, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh should sign PTA as soon as possible
to tap the untapped potential to move forward the issue of ‘FTA’. Sri Lanka and
Bangladesh could benefit from signing PTA.
‘Bangladeshis shot dead by BSF near Lalmonirhat border:
Families still waiting for bodies’ This was the headline of Bangladesh’s leading
daily ‘Daily Star’ on September 26, 2021. BSF shoots Bangladeshi youth dead
along Satkhira border (July 12, 2021, Dhaka Tribune)
A horrible picture was found in Dhaka’s leading
daily ‘Dhaka Tribune’s article titled ‘Bangladesh sees highest border deaths in
10 years’ on December 22, 2020.
‘Unlawful
killings’ along India border: Bangladeshi families seek justice. Over 1,200 Bangladeshis killed across the border by Indian
forces for the past 2 decades, according to a local human rights group
In a major
international border-related move, India has increased the jurisdiction of the
Border Security Force (BSF) empowering its officers to make arrests, search and
seizures up to an area of 50 km in its states that share borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Although India
claims that the
move is meant to improve BSF’s operational efficiency” and crackdown on
smuggling rackets”, drawing sharp criticism from West Bengal and Punjab
ministers. But I think, amidst these, the Indian government has given
license to BSF to kill more in the name of National Security.
For example, let’s
talk about Bangladesh. A Bangladeshi man was shot dead by the
Indian Border Security Force (BSF) at the Dantbhanga border in Roumari Upazila
of Kurigram. The murder took place last month. A few days ago, BSF shot dead
two Bangladeshi youths at the Burimari border in Patgram Upazila of
Lalmonirhat. On July 14, another Bangladeshi was shot dead by BSF at the
Lohakuchi border in the same district. The killing of Bangladeshis by firing
for no reason and for negligent reasons has become a habit of the BSF. The
Bangladesh-India border is considered to be the most dangerous border in the
world. This is because of the reckless behavior and role of the BSF. There have
also been comments in the international media that BSF members are using
Bangladeshis as targets for their target practice.
The
BSF’s offensive activities do not provide much security to the lives, property
and dignity of the Bangladeshi citizens on the border. They are always
terrified of the BSF’s terror. The issue of non-use of deadly weapons on the
border and reduction of killings to zero has been discussed at various levels
apart from the border guards of the two countries. India has repeatedly
promised that no deadly weapons will be used at the border and that killings
will be reduced to zero. But India did not show any goodwill in keeping these
promises. Statistics show that 1,238 Bangladeshis have been killed by the BSF
in the last two decades. In 2020, the BSF killed 46 Bangladeshis as a human
rights organization, the Law and Arbitration Center. At the same time, 48 people
were picked up, but no trace of them was found. In the previous year, 2019, 43
people were killed by the BSF. Is the life of Bangladeshis so cheap that BSF
will take it whenever it wants?
It
goes without saying that India’s promise has turned out to be a deception. Many
claims that Bangladesh-India relations are a role model in the world in terms
of bilateral relations. Not only that, but it is also claimed that the
relations between the two countries are the most developed, the most cordial so
far. Yet why this fragile situation on the border, this aggression, this
relentless killing? Indian authorities should think and consider this
cordially. According to some observers, the reason lies in the mindset of
Indian security agencies to Bangladesh. They should respect the sovereignty of
Bangladesh and the Bangladeshi people.
India
has fulfilled all its demands from Bangladesh. Whatever India wants, Bangladesh
has given it unconditionally. But India doesn’t want to give in exchange.
Bangladesh has a border with India, not just that. Apart from Bangladesh,
several other countries have borders with India. However, the borders of those
countries are calm and stable. The Indian border guards do not shoot at those
borders, do not kill people, do not infiltrate, and do not loot. One of the
reasons why Bangladesh is an exception may be that India and the BSF do not
have due respect for the sovereignty and citizens of Bangladesh. Occasional
tensions, shootings, and even casualties are reported on the Pakistan border or
the China border. Of course, it is never one-sided. The Indian border guards
respect and fear the Pakistani or Chinese border guards. That is why he is
always restrained and avoids conflict. There is no question of quarreling. In
the case of Bangladesh, the Indian policy of not valuing or weakening
Bangladesh is behind the BSF’s chauvinism. As the saying goes, cats scratch
their feet on soft soil.
The
killing of Bangladeshis on the border is an attack on the sovereignty of Bangladesh.
Had India had so much respect for Bangladesh’s independence and sovereignty,
the BSF would never have dared to shoot at Bangladesh. In this regard, the
International community should give utmost importance to the issue. The border
must be made peaceful and secure, that is the last word. No more concessions
can be made in this regard.
Minister Udaya Gammanpila has to be roundly congratulated
and thanked for promptly accessing media
to explain the truth to the world and demolish the well organised & well funded propagation of
misrerepresentations, deliberate lies and myths when ever they arise. This is a
desperate requirement in SL where baseless Rumour and Myth rules the roost
where the truth is often relegated to the bottom of a heap of these lies, a
consequence of this organised and well funded misuse of the democratic freedom
of speech, which was meant to be exercised with responsibility and not
deliberately and wrongly exploited as in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lankan’s should rise up big time against this deliberate misuse and wrong exploitation of
the sacred democratic freedom of speech.
On the Big Focus program on Derana TV on 19/11/21
Minister Gammanpila was at his brilliant best demolishing the claims made in
Parliament, by one who had been challenged by his own cabinet colleagues to
show some of his educational credentials . This member based his claims on a
deliberately misleading analysis of the government’s handling of the current challenges on
acquisition of it’s fuel requirements by one known at school as Pacha Upali” . The minister explained that
as the govt was often obtaining fuel on credit for several months at a time ,
they would need to source petroleum products from those prepared to do this and
not necessarily from the lowest spot price that would require prompt payment. .
This is not possible on account of the destroyers economy left by Yahapalana
now compounded by Covid. Not buying the
cheapest was suggested in parliament by the Pacha Upali” mislead member
as fraudulent.! The real reason for this is as above.
The Minister also explained why they chose to close Sapugaskanda
refinery for 50 days, a planned closure already announced in September during
which time it’s service needs would be addressed, .Imported refined products accounts for 70%
of Sri Lanka’s requirements , while the old technology based Iran manufactured
Sapugaskanda only provided 30% of the oil requirement. Most of this was the
type used for firing oil powered electricity generation, which has a low need
now with overflowing hydroelectricity reservoirs and completely full storage
capacity for these petroleum products.Hence the planned closure.
This is the response to the triumphant question raised by
the member with questionable educational credentials, of how the govt had
money to buy refined oil and not crude”. This was based on the current
requirement.
The current need was to maintain the requirement of the
importation of the 70% refined oil, of which there was their current usual back
up fo 10-15days, as has been the
practice for years.base on SL’s low levels Forex availability These reserves have not been challenged at
all in the past years and the plans to maintain this level for the foreseeable
future are well established and no cause for concern at all. As we write
several ships with refined oil are in the
Colombo Harbour.
Against this back ground , despite government’s repeated
reassurances of no shortage of fuel, panic buying was created by these
deliberately misleading mischievous
claims of fuel shortage, orchestrated by media , some deliberately, some in
their ignorance , that led to the shortages at the pumps where their usual
stores for 3 days was exhausted in a
day through panic buying and
replenishing the stocks at the pump takes a few days . Despite the Minister
reassuring the public, the false and misleading alternative was so pervasive ,
leading to the above results..
Thank you again Minister
and congratulations for your
brilliant work, keep doing the same, encourage more of your colleagues to do
the same & please don’t fail to deliver on your promise of making
commercially available , the first gushes of Natural Gas from the Mannar Basin
within 3 years.
The 22nd of October 1902, was a busy day for Muhandiram Dionysius Sepala Panditha Dahanayake. The Dayaka Sabha of the Wijayananda Viharaya at Weliwatta, Galle, of which the Muhandiram was the Pesident, was holding a special pooja. Suddenly in the middle of the ceremonies, Muhandriam Dahanayaka got an urgent message from his home. His face wreathed in smiles, the Muhandiram hurried to his walauwwa. Yes! He had just become the father of twin boys.
He named the elder of them Wijayananda after the Wijayananda Viharaya. As the happy news was heard when performing a meritorious act while in convivial company, the other twin was named Kalyanapriya.
Of historical interest;
(I) It was at this Viharaya that Colonel Henry Steele Olcott and Madame Blavatsky observed Pansil” for the first time and embraced Buddhism, on the 19th of May 1880.
(ii) the Sunday Dhamma School in this Viharaya is the oldest in Sri Lanka. It was started in 1895.
For the first time in Sri Lanka, Jayamangala Gathas were recited at a wedding, by a bevy of girls from this sunday school in 1897.
(iii) The Ramanya Nikaya (Sect) originated at this temple in 1864, under Ven. Ambagahawatte Indra Sabhowara Gnanasami.
(iv) A relic of the three relcs of Buddha, gifted to Sri Lanka from the kapilawastupura relic discovery and offered to the Ramanaya sect, is enshrined at this temple.
A personal note:
Weliwatta is the native village of Ruhunu Puthra. He personally knew the Nayaka Theros Ven. Mawelle Sri Dharmarama Ariyakeerthi (Alinkiththe Hamuduruwo) and Ven. Galle Gnanabasha, of this temple.
The mother of W and K, Caroline Dahanayake lulled the twins. They cried together, fell ill together, felt the pangs of hunger and the other wants together.
There were no pre-schools at the time. So, their father sent them to the Rippon Girls School, which was close to their home, with a domestic aide. They both were playful mischievous boys. Before the last bell for the day at school, they would scoot down the hill. One day at a function at this girls’ school, W then a Cabinet Minister said amidst loud laughter, that He and his twin brother were old girls of the school”.
Although they attended the Sunday school at the Galketiya Temple close to their home, they hardly learnt any dhamma from it, not due to any lapse of the school but due to their misbehavior and playing truant.
Thereafter they both attended Richmond College, which was also close to their home. They studied together and also played together and it was a difficult task to identify them when they were together, as they were identical twins.
While in the 5th standard they were given a double promotion. At the Cambridge Junior Examination held in 1917, K beat W obtaining an upper 2nd class o W’s 3rd class pass. Their names appear in the distinguished students’ name board in the college hall.
In 1927, when Mahatma Gandhi visited Galle, they both went to greet him. W also presented him an English poem written by him about Gandhi.
After the death of Baanu Ransi, one of their elder brothers, who was a law student, their elders suggested that they become lawyers as they both were endowed with the gift of the gab.
We don’t want to be barefaced liers” they chorused spontaneously.
To hell with both of you then! And have your own way”, the elders told them with a feeling of disgust.
After they passed the Cambridge Junior Exam at Richmond, they both were sent to S. Thomas’ College, Mount. Lavinia.
They concentrated mainly on studies, lest other extra activities would interfere with their studies. However K was in the college debating team. They were both fond of seeing dramas.
Eventually, the duo entered the Training College at Thurstan Road in Colombo. The vice-principal G.A. Hard who had heard of their barefaced liar story” called them the heavenly twins”. The trainees were given small rooms. Though living in them was not comfortable, what was uppermost in their minds was to study.
Their meals were served at the dining hall. Sinhala food (rice and curry) was served and nobody complained about them. One day the Warden found fault with W and K for using their fingers instead of fork and spoon, to partake of murunga (drum sticks).
The following day, they were hauled up before the authorities who warned them not to do so in the future. They both protested and said that eating with the fingers was in keeping with the Sinhala custom, adding that even Maha Mudliyar Bandaranaike ate murunga with using fingers.
Another day when murunga curry was served again, they started eating with their fingers keeping away the folk and the spoon, when the trainee leader asked them not to do so, as, it contravened the rules of conduct. Both of them then left the dining table in protest.
The following day, Principal A. F. Harrison asked them to leave the boarding house forthwith. However, he magnanimously gestured to pay their food and lodging scholarship allowance. Also, he saw to it that they were not discriminated against.
One day W and K were seated in the garden of the Training College, when W wrote this poem. He stoops to conquer.”
The poem was on the famous romance of Prince Saliya, son of warrior- King Dutugemunu. and the Chandala girl, the beautiful Asokamala; a romance that shook the Royal Court and the entire country and has been told and re-told, sung and re-sung down the centuries.
In palm- thatched hut, alone she sat
And breathed the jasmine – scented air,
Whilst woodland bird so blithely chirped
To greet this maiden wonderous fair,
An outcast born, unloved, unknown, What passing phantom greets, her sight: ‘Tis stately Sal, King Gemunu’s sort: Her bosom heaved with mad delight, Whilst Sal, with magic dreams a -lit, Beheld this sprite of Heavenly beauty, No darksome rift his thought did sift, For lingering love had conquered duty! This pangs lingering love was far above,
The harrowing pangs of princely pride; By the Gods he swore. I thee. adore!” And lost a kingdom fora bride!”
The poem was on the famous romance of Prince Saliya, son of warrior- King Dutugemunu. and the Chandala girl, the beautiful Asokamala; a romance that shook the Royal Court and the entire country and has been told and re-told, sung and re-sung down the centuries.
In palm- thatched hut, alone she sat
And breathed the jasmine – scented air,
Whilst woodland bird so blithely chirped
To greet this maiden wonderous fair,
An outcast born, unloved, unknown,
What passing phantom greets, her sight:
‘Tis stately Sal, King Gemunu’s son-
Her bosom heaved with mad delight,
Whilst Sal, with magic dreams a -lit,
Beheld this sprite of Heavenly beauty,
No darksome rift his thought did sift,
For lingering love had conquered duty!
This lingering love was far above,
The harrowing pangs of princely pride;
By the Gods he swore. I thee adore!”
And lost a kingdom for a bride!”
It appeared in the Training College magazine.
At the final exam held after 2 years, K came first among the trainees with W the second.
Once when one Dahanayake was teaching the children in a classroom at St. Aloysius College, Galle another Dahanayake was on the C.W.W. Kannangara’s election stage. Actually, the one on the stage was W who should have been in the classroom a the time. But it was K who was there.
The beginning of November is known for its Remembrance Events — All Souls, Poppy Days and in our political past the Suriyamal Day too.
But as we move to mid-November it marks the highlights of Political Power. Who could forget the election of Gotabaya Rajapaksa as President of Sri Lanka, by 69 lakhs of voters! Just two days after that is the birthday of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa – reaching 76, with a political record of much success.
But Gotabaya’s second election anniversary was certainly not one with much celebration. Why did anyone think of closing down the Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery at a time of such important celebration? Is this a Weerawansa, Gammanpila, Vasudeva play of loud-mouthed and spineless politics? The oil should have flowed freely in the country, with no queues seen at any petrol shed. Even the flow of crude oil is the stuff of a political celebration for Gotabaya, Mahinda and Basil, and the other Rajapaksas, too.
As these two Rajapaksa events were celebrated with the vesting of the ‘Sandahiru Seya” to the Maha Sangha, and the offering of Kiri Amma’ alms at the Abayarama Vihara, Narahenpita, to bring mothers’ milk blessings to Mahinda Rajapaksa, there was also the Opposition leader, Sajith Premadasa, having one’s own celebrations. On the round-about at Galle Face, with certainly a large gathering of supporters, and thousands more kept away by the police from all parts of the country.
Basil will certainly celebrate the passage of his first Budget, with his ministerial and dual-citizen absence from the bulk of its debate in parliament. He must be enjoying the people celebrating his cut off of just five litres from the petrol for MPs cars, and the delay of the MPs pension till ten years in parliament. What else could the people celebrate, with the cost of living reaching unachievable heights, and queues becoming the stuff of urban display, and a new tourist attraction with the Sand Dune racing of Namal Rajapaksa.
Amidst all these celebrations, the Public Health Inspectors, and the well manipulated Health Authorities, are talking of another wave of the Covid pandemic. The Health Authorities should often go before a mirror, and see themselves as the promoters of the next wave, supporting the political movers – on where no health guidelines should be followed. Not at any crowded Katina Pinkama, any annual celebration of the Pohottuva Party, and where political leaders of the government can get some hundreds, or thousands to gather around them; though not so easy today.
For nearly two years we have been talking about a virus – that came from China. What we see today is much more than a China Virus. It is the Chinese direction of the political leadership of this country. From the Port City of Colombo and all the sway China has at Hambantota, as well as many other parts of the country, we are now certainly trapped and bound by this Virus of Non-diplomacy.
We are now also caught in the wider Political Virus – Deshapalana Virasaya – which has no vaccination against it. The speeches by government MPs in the Budget Debate, the regular headlines about the government’s so-called achievements, the many Task Forces that do very little other than echo the Gotabaya Thinking (not very smart), and the new rise of some yellow robes for Constitutional Thinking – One Country, One Law, and Chancellors of Universities, with more cheap yellow stuff to follow — let’s cherish our memories of the great monks of the past — is the pervading threat to this country and people.
Two Years of Pohottuva Power have taken us to the edge of a political cliff, the fall from which will be disastrous. How can the people recede even to a slope of democratic safety, and escape the further spread of the Rajapaksa Power Virus?
Many are talking about how our politicians have brought us to this near disaster from the time of independence. Surely, not all those leaders were as bad as what we have today. Many of them had shortcomings in governance. Some were swayed by ethnic and religious divisions, to please their politics and greed for power. But we are now led by the worst of them all, a shameful pack of Family Power Dominance.
The COPA disclosed that foreign direct financial aid has been spent on four projects without informing the External Resources Department of the General Treasury.
The revelation came as officials of the Ministry of Environment were summoned to the Committee on Public Accounts to examine the Auditor General’s report for the financial years 2017, 2018 and 2019 and their current performance.
The Committee on Public Accounts was held in Parliament yesterday (Nov. 19) under the chairmanship of Prof. Tissa Vitarana, Member of Parliament.
It was identified that three projects worth USD 9.96 million and one project worth Euro 1.86 million were being implemented with such direct financial assistance without notifying the Department of External Resources. Hence, the COPA instructed the officials to inform the Treasury when receiving and spending such assistance in the future.
Furthermore, COPA emphasized that the attention paid to the pollution caused by the mixing of chemical wastes and hazardous wastes by government hospitals is at a minimum. The officials present at the Committee meeting stated that a systematic program has been initiated in this regard.
In addition, discussions were also held on how systematic electronic waste management should be carried out, as well as regarding the compensation payments on land acquired by the government for the development of the Uma Oya Multipurpose Project, and the current status of the Surakimu Ganga National Environmental Program.
State Ministers Dayasiri Jayasekara, Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle and Hon. Members of Parliament Ashok Abeysinghe, Niroshan Perera, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Dr. Upul Galappaththi, Mohomad Muzammil and Prof. Ranjith Bandara were present at this committee meeting.
Necessary measures have been taken to import stocks of fertilizer required for tea cultivation, says Plantation Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana.
Responding to a question raised in the parliament today (November 20), the minister stated that Sri Lanka is currently receiving the fertilizer shipments previously ordered by the government.
We had given a very clear guarantee, and in keeping with it, we have imported fertilizer needed for tea cultivation,” the minister added.
According to him, the yield from last year’s tea harvest was 280 million kilograms and this year’s production has already surpassed 280 million kilograms. A yield of nearly 310 million kilograms is expected this year. So, there is no issue pertaining to fertilizer.”
He also noted that the government has decided to provide the fertilizer required for other crops such as rubber and coconut.
The minister also pointed out, the highest export revenue in coconut will be collected this year, with USD 1 billion. Meanwhile, the highest ever export revenue in rubber too will be received this year, at over USD 1 billion. The highest ever revenue from export crops will be reaped this year with USD 800 million. Although the revenue from tea hasn’t increased, it is stable.”
Speaking further he said: Sri Lanka is set to reap its biggest-ever export revenue from minor crops in 2021. The total export revenue in minor crops including cinnamon and pepper in 2020 was Rs. 72 billion. By September this year, we had already achieved Rs. 72 billion. We will get the highest ever export revenue in this sector this year at around Rs. 100 billion. The largest-ever monetary allocation for the plantation sector of this country is made in the Budget 2022. The finance minister allotted Rs. 15 billion for tea, rubber, coconut, cinnamon, pepper and all other crops.”
The daily count of COVID-19 cases confirmed in Sri Lanka moved to 725 today (November 20) as 229 more people were tested positive for the virus, the Epidemiology Unit said.
This brings the total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus reported in the country to 555,929.
As many as 526,353 recoveries and 14,108 deaths have been confirmed in Sri Lanka since the COVID-19 outbreak.
More than 15,400 active cases in total are currently under medical care, official figures showed.
he Director-General of Health Services has confirmed another 22 coronavirus-related deaths for November 19, increasing the death toll in the country due to the virus to 14,108.
According to the figures released by the Govt. Information Department, the deaths reported today include 13 males and 09 female patients.
Five of the victims are between the ages of 30-59 years and another is aged below 30 years. The remaining 16 are in the age group of 60 years and above.
With the policy decision taken by the government to expand the use of organic fertilizers by restricting the use of chemical fertilizers, a serious crisis situation has arisen regarding fertilizers in the country.
Against such a backdrop, the Hiru CIA today (20) revealed about a new racket in the Kurunegala area that is distributing substandard compost manure island wide.
This center which produces and distributes fertilizer on a large scale throughout the country is located in the Giribawa area in Kurunegala.
A well known fertilizer company in the country has placed an order to supply 60,000 kilograms of fertilizer per week with this center.
Hiru CIA investigation revealed that in addition to supplying the fertilizer, the factory also packs the fertilizer under a different name and releases it to the market on a large scale.
Hiru CIA team arrived at the scene to uncover how the compost fertilizer racket is being carried out.
A stock of high explosives smuggled from India has been seized by the Police Special Task Force (STF) following a intelligence information received by the Navy.
The STF arrested a person with a stock of illegal high explosives during a search operation conducted in the Shanthipuram beach area in Mannar today (20).
The total weight of the explosives was 998 kilograms and 750 grams.
The security forces are conducting further investigations into the purpose for which the explosives were smuggled into the country.
The arrested suspect is a 55 year old resident of Shanthipuram, Mannar.
It has been reported that a draft constitution has felicitously
been completed by the constitutional committee, which was appointed by the
president. The draft constitution was written by lawyers who were capable of
legal drafting and critically looking at legal issues in the document. When
drafting a constitution, the legal aspect is not only the area that people are
concerned but also many aspects that are related to people. Especially in Sri
Lanka, ethnic, cultural, and religious issues are vital aspects to consider by
the drafting committee. If these issues are ignored, the peace that needs for
the progress of people wouldn’t be achieved. The legal aspect of a constitution
is too difficult to decide just by looking at the draft because the later
law-making process would be subjected to refer the contents of the new constitution
to the court, which will review the legality of the content and how the
contents are applied in the future environment and it may need rewording and
reforming.
People do not know many points referred to in the
draft constitution that they may in disagreement with the rights of ethnic and
religious groups. Since 1947, several constitutions had been drafted, and
limited numbers of drafted constitutions were approved by the parliament and
ethnic and religious minority groups had been in disagreement with several
aspects of the completed drafts as they are questioning some areas of the
current constitution. It needs debating at least two years by people and
finally, a refined draft should be approved by the legislature.
The economic struggle of people does not encourage
debate points in the draft document and the draft presented by the previous
government also commented only a small group of people motivated by politicians
and Buddhist monks. The actual situation is many people do not know about the
constitution and related requirements. The knowledge of how the proposed
constitution affects various affairs of people would be a matter that would
arise in the future.
The focus of this article is the requirement of
combining anti-discrimination laws with the new constitution and treating
people in the country as one country one nation. All groups in Sri Lanka like
in many other countries antidiscrimination laws becoming a part of the
constitution, despite the current practice of different ethnic and religious
groups which are highly bias toward the practices of certain groups. The
fundamental truth is, despite the identity of various ethnic groups in Sri
Lanka, all are anthropologically Indian human groups.
Sri Lanka has a major issue that is related to
providing economic opportunities and the elimination of economic disparities
related to people because of legal or constitutional hindrances that might or
might not relate to the major issue of people. This means that although the
country could give equal opportunities to engage in economic activities, equity
in economic status cannot give everyone because of the disparity in the social
system and the ownership of capital to invest in economic activities. The
ability to take part in economic activities would be a hindrance resulting the capital
ownership.
However, ethnic and religious problems have been a
significant barrier to giving equity and justice from an economic sense rather
than pursuing unimportant issues. Ethnic and religious issues in the country
have become a barrier to engaging in economic activities as global level Sri
Lanka’s products and services are subject to the effect of regulation and
preference of overseas countries consuming goods and services of Sri
Lanka.
The anti-discrimination laws in the country are
escalated in various areas and it is a hard task to identify and combine them.
Many people have questioned whether Sri Lanka respects laws against
discrimination and as an answer to this issue it needs to combine all
anti-discrimination laws in the new constitution. Discrimination is not a
familiar term in Sri Lanka’s society as people have been using discrimination
as a right in history. Although many people are reluctant to state publicly that
discrimination works as a right in society such disgraceful acts should have
been eliminated since the introduction of the Donomore constitution in history.
For example, I can remember I had been subjected to
discrimination in the workplace using various countenances, and managers also
associated with discriminators for enjoyment and jealousy. Discrimination is a
broader term that could happen by words of mouth as well as direct or indirect
actions. The other significant experience in Sri Lanka is discrimination cogent
within relatives, ethnic groups, single
religious groups, and within brothers
and sisters. The lack of education about the possible mental feeling of
discrimination or mental harms of the subject relegated to discrimination may
be the major reason for continuing discrimination in Sri Lanka. I observed the ragging in universities was
subject to discrimination, especially Tamil students were ragged by Sinhala
students based on ethnicity.
Sri
Lanka had been suffering from an ethnic-based civil war for a long time and the
attempts of the military have successfully eliminated the war. Many
policymakers in the country did not think about the root cause of the ethnic
and religious problems. The main reason for
the armed struggle was that the minority ethnic and religious groups in the
country had a reasonable feeling of discrimination being done to them by the
major ethnic and religious groups (Sinhala Buddhists).
Many
writings in history made supportive narratives for discriminatory aspects,
though it was not a practical behavior of people in society to reflect
outsiders. Very rarely ethnical based physical conflicts emerge in the country
and they initiate with a motivation of hidden organized groups with financial
supports. There had been evidence for discrimination and the current problem
could consider a result of the long-term dilemma. Neither Sinhala nor Tamil,
nor Muslim people in modern society practice such discrimination may not
willing intention to harm anyone and the caste diction of individual ethnic
groups are in all three ethnic groups, but caste dictions cannot disengage from
society, I have seen marriage proposals of Sri Lankans living in developed
countries searching for partners related to same castes. Thamil and Muslim
people although they are not associated with Sinhala caste dictions they are
not willing to marry so-called lower caste girls in the Sinhala community. The
nature of the culture in the Indian sub-continent seems to hate other ethnic
groups or personnel abominates in social engagements and it could have been
observed since the era before Christ. Therefore, quickly giving a solution to
this long-term problem is an arduous task.
The
basis for ethnic problems in the world appears to be no other reason than minority
ethnic communities feel they are discriminated against by ethnic or religious
differences by the majority. The government doesn’t purposely discriminate
against people providing education, employment, various economic benefits, and
many things as they relate to different ethnic or religious groups. Human being
has feelings, and when compared to animals, humans are always provoked by
discrimination feelings, which motivates people to act against discrimination.
The nature of minorities to react against discrimination may be peaceful or
violent or in both forms. In many countries, it shows that conflicts are based
on complicated reasons and burdensome in finding a proper solution for the
ethnic and religious problems. When there are economic, social, cultural, and
ethnic differences in society, discrimination feelings have an upward trend and
religious discrimination could not be eradicated unless making a society that
has no religions and ethnic groups.
In
modern society, discrimination feelings are vigorously influenced by colour
bars, language differences, religious differences, provincial differences,
caste dictions, and many others. Since the manifestation of the human being to
this world, diversity has been a part of our world. Diversity exists not only among
humans but also in other areas such as animals. Weather, soil structure; water,
forest, and many other areas in our world. The diversity in the environment is
being treated as an asset to humans. However, the diversity among humans shows
a negative factor. Violence in the world is bred by a diversity that promotes
provocation against other ethnic or religious groups. In this situation, the
major question is how can diversity become an asset as interpreted by
academics? The answer to this question would be an assortment of skills that
will be helpful to individuals and the country.
Many
economists are of opinion that Japan has achieved rapid economic progress after
World War 2, and the major contributing factor for the progress in Japan was
existing a single ethnic group in the country. A single ethnic base motivated
people to live together. A single ethnic group supports developing trust among
people and did not support promoting discrimination feelings among citizens. One
language and one ethnic base maintained harmony among the Japanese nation. This
truth also can be seen to a reasonable extent in Korean, Vietnam, and Chinese
societies. The rapid economic growth in those Asian societies was supported by
the uniformity of the ethnic base of citizens.
In
Western societies, the uniformity in skin colour of people has contributed to
economic and social progress because it was a factor to a reasonable extent in
maintaining ethnic harmony. This may be a critical point because there were
serious wars such as the Norman invasion and Nazism between white people in the
Western society, so the uniformity in skin colour would have not contributed to
avoiding wars or social problems. Even in the modern world, there are conflicts
between the West and the Middle East despite both groups having the same skin
colour. However, when there was a shortage of labour for economic development,
Western society allowed black or brown-skinned people to enter their countries
as the white majority needed the black and brown skin’s labour for their
economic growth and prosperity. Because of promoting ethnic mix in Western
society, discrimination mentality in the Western society was supported growing
discrimination feelings, but the government policy process supported to control
such negative feelings.
In
such a situation, Western countries introduced anti-discrimination laws to
tackle the problem rather than dividing their countries by power-sharing by
constitutional reforms. White people positively tolerated ethnic entrance as it
supported their economic well-being. The Western example proves that, when
people are economically in a better position, they are ready to ignore ethnic
or religious differences and intolerance for justice. The best examples from
Asia for this argument are Singapore and Malaysia, where most Chinese and
Malays tolerate the entrance of other ethnic people such policy created jobs
and business for them.
Why
Sri Lanka didn’t develop a homegrown solution to ethnic and religious problems
rather than listen to the ill advice of Western countries? The Sri Lankan
government needs to analyse the historical background of ethnic and religious
issues without bias. Written historical evidence of Sri Lankan society provides
information that, in spite of Sinhala, Tamil, and Muslim names they have a
uniform ethnic base and three differences are not related to biological or
anthropological factors but they are based on languages or religions, which
were created as a result of adaption to the environment after the birth.
In
history, Sinhala people were discriminated against and abused by invaders such
as Indian and Western. That is how discrimination and hate began between the
communities. Regrettably, many Sri Lankans believe that religious differences,
social discrimination, and physical abuses of South Indian invaders massively
contributed to ethnic problems in the country. It is a belief; we have not seen
such abuses or discrimination. According to historical evidence, administrators
in history were dictators who haven’t had mental abilities or lateral thinking
power to manipulate effective solutions and a positive approach for
problem-solving. They tried to control the society in iron pits. Religious
leaders and administrators in history fuelled the issue and ignorance of them
without skills for problem-solving, ethnic and religious issues expanded from
generation to generation.
Although
Mahavamsa attempted to interpret those ethnic issues in Sri Lanka began with
South Indian invaders, before the embarkation of Vijaya, Sri Lanka’s society
was divided as an ethnic or religious basis as Yakka, Naga, and Devas in the
history before Vijaya embarked on the country. The differences in that society
were based on religious or ethnic reasons, which were unknown to the present. We
have no written historical evidence on the society before Vijaya, but the story
of Lord Buddha’s visit to Sri Lanka reasonably proves that Sri Lanka had
violence between communities and got outside mediation before the embarkation
of Vijaya.
The
other significant point concerning history is that Sri Lanka was under Western
rules for about 500 years and the western rulers did not challenge the
country’s unitary status and Portuguese supported King Senerat to crush
so-called the Jaffna Kingdom and unite Sri Lanka in a unitary status. They never allowed annexing Sri Lanka to
India. In Sri Lanka 75% of people are
Sinhala and only 25% consist of all other ethnic groups. The responsibility of the government is to
protect all ethnic groups not only minority groups looking for their votes to
be in power.
In
this historical background, Sri Lanka’s government requires to identifying root
causes for ethnic problems. Many
independent thinkers look at this problem from the point of view of
discriminatory feelings of people among minority and lack of economic
opportunities to them in the current society.
Usually, the government’s analytical point of view is based on policies
of political parties, which are quite biased towards the majority because their
existence is determined by the votes of the majority. The government should
look at the independent point of view because the ethnic issue is not like
short-term politics; it is an issue that is moving forward from generation to generation,
making massive destruction to the country.
Why does the minority have discriminatory
feelings? In the past, political administrators introduced laws discouraging
discrimination of minorities for purely own political advantages. When compared
to Western society, Sri Lanka’s political system always was not concerned about
the discrimination of minorities. The laws and religious leaders always fuelled
the issue supporting discrimination, which is against their religious
philosophy. For example, Buddhism is against the discrimination of minority and
Lord Buddha stated that nobody gains the status of highness or lowness by
birth. Politicians wanted to create power bases rather than build ethnic harmony.
Religious leaders wanted to take revenge rather than achieve Nirvana by the
practice of good things. Tamil and Muslim political parties in Sri Lanka are
equally racists like Sinhala people and they are promoting racism to attract votes.
Therefore, racism-related problems, especially current problems, are created
with the participation of the minority.
When
analyzing Sri Lanka’s ethnic problem, nobody can ignore that the problem is
fuelled by outside elements, which might be identified as Western forces
including America, Britain, and others, however, Indian and Chinese
intelligence services may involve with it because they have an interest using
Sri Lanka for political purposes, The Western forces want to use countries like
Sri Lanka and Myanmar to control Muslim expansion in Asia and finally making
markets for their products and services these countries have a contribution and
in history, it observed that creating problems in underdeveloped Asian
countries is a way of tactics used. India and America want to protest against
Chinese influence in the Indian sub-continent and the best strategy is to use
the inherent issues. It is a part of international politics than a real problem
of ethnic and religious unity in Sri Lanka.
Regarding
the recorded Kandy incident between Sinhala and the Muslim community, the emergency law and Police curfew highly
supported to control the situation, and the constitutional provisions that
making illegal for discrimination would further support controlling ethnic-based
violence. However, America, India, and the UN may want to quickly remove such
measures and ordinary people of Sri Lanka doubts whether these countries wanted
to push the problem to a serious situation. The drafting constitution should consider
this situation with a positive approach.
To
resolve the problem now, it is needed to forget the past and introduce
anti-discrimination laws rather than a divisive new constitution. Under the
anti-discrimination laws, each citizen in the country is equal irrespective of
any ethnic and religious differences. Racial verification law in Australia
applied to every citizen in the country and nobody can even talk about race.
Sri Lanka’s situation is completely different, it is allowed discriminating
minorities by words of mouth because the constitution does not indicate it is
illegal. Why the government cannot stop this discriminatory environment by
encouraging a strong united Sri Lanka without differences. For the minority to
accept Sri Lanka’s government action, it needs government decisions on ethnic
issues, which are transparent to everybody.
If the government plays a double game with the issue, it would not be
successful. The drafted constitution should not allow the government to play double
games and the government should prosecute either Buddhist monks or any other religious
clergy to prosecute if they discriminate against others.
The
government needs to especially address religious leaders and tell them directly
and sincerely that they are supposed to prepare people to achieve haven or
nirvana rather than working against achieving it through preaching for
hate.
Lord
Buddha clearly stated that hate will not be removed by hate, but not hating and
promoting love will remove hate. In this situation what Western countries introduced
anti-discrimination laws will be useful to Sri Lanka. B. F. Skinner, a famous psychologist,
expressed that the concept of human nature and moral society through a cultural
design are the foundations of human behaviour.
Sri Lanka’s ethnic problem was created by human behaviour which has been
influenced by the environment that is supporting to discriminatory feelings of
the minority. Human beings are both controllers and controlled. When the
government creates a suitable environment through a good cultural design,
ethnic and religious problems could be eliminated forever and ever. The
constitution must be an instrument creating good behaviour
Politicians
in Sri Lanka are corrupt irrespective of whether they are in government or
opposition, whether they are socialist or capitalists. Tamil politicians are
more corrupt than Sinhala politicians and they discriminate against their own
Tamils based on various factors such as caste, regions, family backgrounds,
educated place, and many other factors using. Sinha and Muslim people use
educated schools to discriminate against using educated schools. I had experience in Sri Lanka when I was
working and writing in English they discriminated against me. When I published articles in English they
discriminated against me and a chief executive threatened to sack me from the
job if I publish articles in the English language. When the current government
was elected soon it wanted to introduce anti-discrimination law but it was
withdrawn without giving any reasons. It
seems that the government does not want to solve the problem but wants to
continue the problem like a beggar’s wound.
How
to create a good society or good environment in the country without
discriminatory elements, B.F Skinner indicated that a good society could be
created by a cultural design, so the society should introduce laws, rules, and
regulations. For this purpose, the constitution of the country should provide a
foundation. Controls are essential to make people more
sensitive to the consequences of human conduct. In Sri Lanka’s society, human
behaviour is too open regarding sensitive matters, such as religion, race,
caste, and many other things. Cultural design means rules, regulations, and
procedures in society. Sri Lanka needs to introduce anti-discrimination laws
and a variety of rules and regulations like in Western society to control human
behaviour and eliminate discrimination feelings of minority ethnic and
religious groups in the country.
The division of Sri Lanka’s land, creating
ethnic-based provinces would not support change the human behaviour or
discriminatory feelings of people. Sri
Lanka’s political parties are still not considered a cultural design for
uniting the country. It has already experienced that so-called ethnic solution
under the provincial government, but it was not successful, it has created
serious financial problems for the country increasing spending and creating a
huge budget deficit and pressure to spending process of the country. So far, we can observe that ethnic solutions
coming from the West are too divisive and they have in mind that a federal
system would be a solution to the problem but it is a mirage, a small country
needs a unitary administration system with well-designed laws, rules, and
regulations. If any ethnic solution
would be a long-term economic burden to the country, such solutions would need
rejection because the economy is the fundamental base of existing all the
communities of the country.
Many
Western countries, India, and Tamil politicians do not talk about cultural
design for uniting Sri Lankan communities.
They talk and support for dividing Sri Lanka for increasing hate and
strategies for extravagant problems in the future. Leaders of Sri Lanka must have a base of thinking
that any solution, which is a challenge to the economic progress of the country
that should be rejected, and the unitary status of the country should be an
essential condition because it would help successful implementation of economic
projects of the central government.
