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.
Please
permit me some reflections on what has led to some of SL’s present challenges
and the need of the hour to overcome them.
At
one stage Sri Lana’s trajectory was conditioned by confidence and self belief .
This was epitomised by it’s then President famously telling the foreign
ministers of UK and France Please remember that we r no longer your colony. I
was voted in by my people to end this war and I will not go home till that is
done”
His post war economic vision was a government led infrastructure
development epitomised by among others building up the motor ways &
roading network and provision of nation wide , electricity and pipe born
water supply. For development of Manufacturing industry he
coopted local and foreign investment . This was epitomised by the
building of the Hambantota Harbour a few nautical miles off the busiest
sea lanes along with a neighbouring Export Promotion Tax Free Investment Zone
for manufacturing industry. He also added an Air Port to facilitate potential
investor visits and tourism. The Yahapalana govt criminally sold
these off just when it was starting to show a return with starting of
ships bunkering.
He also visioned an IT Hub with the Colombo Port City Project” ,
as another pinnacle for foreign investment in technology , IT and banking. This
again the Y administration criminally delayed claiming adverse impact on
environment” and ended up by renegotiating the same on worse terms with several
years delay. If not for that by now the CPC would be showing significant
economic return.
If not for these criminal acts of this hastily put up visionless and policyless
idiologically opposed combination labelled by those who were later were
responsible for the Easter Sunday Massacre , as Yahapalana, which in reality
was any thing but that, SL would now be reaping the returns of these
investments and would have been far better cushioned to face the adverse impact
of Covid.
Our current President and his administration has been continuing the trajectory
of his brothers administration, hammering home the message, come
and invest in SL. We r making investment easier and easier with changing the
process to a one stop shop” .
This message is being echoed through repeated IT based investment promotion
fora . It is being echoed with every one of his overseas visits. Been
echoed with the bilateral contacts at UN & at the Glasgow
climate change summit,. Been echoed with dialogues with overseas heads on
these visits . Been echoed with oververses heads on the net . Been echoed with
overseas visitors, to the country. Every embassy has been
instructed to spread the message .
His
administration five decades after the first discovery, is for the first time
making a well organized and structured attempt to access the considerable
off shore natural gas resources of SL.
His administration is making every attempt to work SL out of the economic
mess caused by the economic collapse left by Yahapalana compounded by COVID .
This has left SL short of $4 billon from tourism and $3 billion from foreign
remittances. He has successfully vaccinating SL back to these
resources . Criminally SL political opposition is again doing it’s
damnest to derail this covid recovery with their screaming uthgoshanists”
spewing millions of Delta viruses with each of their screaming chants”
The sad and diabolically hypocritical and treasonal reality is that the
political opposition encouraged and sustained by inimical forces headed
by well endowed sections of the Tiger Diaspora , ISIS forces, &
International Evangelic organisations ,misrepresent every effort of the
govt at recovery and progress through orchestrated misrepresentation and
baseless,blatent and diabolical lies. With these they are attempting to destroy
the confidence of Sri Lankans & their self belief . They are
attempting to baselessly raising a spectre of despair ,despondency, hoping to
lead to chaos so that they can achieve their dream of seizing power. What
one remembers of the period when they were in power were two
unprecedented Bank Robberies and the Easter Sunday bombing!
Many
sections of the media similarly Internationally encouraged and sustained
are prepared to orchestrate these myths . They would rather orchestrate
myths than the reality.
Today,
gossip TV and rumour” rules the roost” and most I’ll informed citizens are
left believing this as rumour as it lis so pervasive and they unwittingly
contribute to this by passing on the same false views.
A most important need for SL now to work itself back to prosperity is to stop
paying heed to gossip , rumour especially spread through social
media. The responsibility of the main stream media is to act
responsibly discouraging propagation of rumour and myth. The govt for it’s part
has to do it’s bit by promptly, repeatedly and frequently updating the
country of their plans and actions and reasons behind them leaving no room for
gossip and myth” to pervade.
Dr. Chua Rajapakse MNZM Wellington NZ
The dip in numbers in June coincided with effect of first phase of vaccination in May. The rise after Juy 10th coincided with the Guru Uthgoshanas” starting in July12th. Time will tell whether there will be another spike after the SLB Uthgoshan’s starting from 16.11.21 Sent from my iPhone
As Covid-19 makes a comeback in Europe, one study offers a reminder that simple measures like mask-wearing and hand-washing help to ward off the disease.
Donning a face mask more than halves the risk of getting Covid, according to a review of eight studies published in the British Medical Journal. So does hand-washing. Physical distancing, meantime, cuts the risk by a quarter.
The findings come amid evidence that vaccination efforts weren’t enough to prevent a resurgence as temperatures drop and people crowd indoors, forcing countries including Austria and the Netherlands to introduce curbs.
It is likely that further control of the Covid-19 pandemic depends not only on high vaccination coverage and its effectiveness but also on ongoing adherence to effective and sustainable public-health measures,” authors including Stella Talic, the study’s lead researcher and an epidemiologist at Monash University in Melbourne, said in the paper.
The scientists struggled to evaluate the public-health measures and said they couldn’t assess other efforts such as quarantines, lockdowns and school closures because studies were too disparate. They called for more research, saying their findings were limited by a lack of reliable and comparable data.
An accompanying editorial in the BMJ said funding on public-health measures accounts for just 4% of global Covid research.
Considering the central importance of public health and social measures for pandemic control, the uncertainties and controversies around their effects, and the immense research effort being put into vaccine and drug development, this lack of investment in public health measures is puzzling,” Paul Glasziou, the director of the Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare at Australia’s Bond University, wrote in the editorial with scientists from the U.K. and Norway.
Glasziou and his colleagues also sought to explain the researchers’ hand-washing finding — a surprising conclusion considering coronavirus transmission in mostly airborne. The results may reflect how people who wash hands frequently tend to take other steps as well.
It is likely that hand-washing is a marker for several protective behaviors such as avoiding crowds, distancing, and mask wearing,” they said.
A Fundamental Rights (FR) petition has been filed with the Supreme Court challenging the appointment of current Cabinet of Ministers.
The petition was put forward by the Secretary of Professionals’ National Front, Kapila Renuka Perera who is an engineer by profession.
A total of 82 respondents including the Attorney General on behalf of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and the other members of the Cabinet, all State Ministers, Secretary to the President, Secretary to the Finance Ministry and several others have been named in the petition.
In his petition filed through Attorney-at-Law Dharshana Weraduwage, Perera pointed out that the appointment of the incumbent Cabinet of Ministers is in violation of Article 47(1) (a) and (b) of the Constitution.
Two Cabinet Ministers and four State Ministers have been appointed in excess to the number specified in the Constitution, the petitioner alleged.
He went on to point out that the activities of the Cabinet of Ministers following June 07 are completely unconstitutional.
The daily count of COVID-19 cases confirmed in Sri Lanka moved to 745 today (November 19) as 236 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 555,204.
As many as 525,911 recoveries and 14,086 deaths have been confirmed in Sri Lanka since the COVID-19 outbreak.
More than 15,200 active cases in total are currently under medical care, official figures showed.
Meanwhile, the Director-General of Health Services has confirmed 14 new coronavirus-related deaths for November 18, pushing the death toll in the country due to the virus infection to 14,086.
The deaths confirmed today include 11 males and 03 females, according to the Department of Government Information.
Three of the victims are between the ages 30-59 years and the remaining 11 are in the age group of 60 years and above.
Concerns about the non-availability of chemical fertiliser are widespread. Agricultural communities and farmers are venting their anger at the minister and the government. Farmers have even threatened to abandon their Maha paddy cultivation, and such action will have a devastating effect on our food security. This will severely affect the self-sufficiency of rice we have achieved through the dedicated efforts of our rice breeder scientists in the Agriculture Department. The earlier contention of going fully organic with compost was an ill-advised decision taken by the Government. Recently, European Union countries decided to go for 25 percent organic by 2030, understanding what is possible and what is impossible. I have dealt with the futility of moving towards 100 percent compost in my article in The Island on 01 May, 2021, since compost does not provide the required nutrients in sufficient amounts for healthy plant growth.
The authorities have finally decided to import ‘nano nitrogen’ liquid fertiliser from India where it is undergoing field trials right now. Although the authorities have arbitrarily called this nano nitrogen, it is really a product best classified as nano urea. The manufacturer itself has labelled the product nano urea and our Agriculture Ministry officials have ‘invented’ a new label calling the liquid fertiliser nano nitrogen. Our Minister of Agriculture has been misled by the officials who painted the story that we are importing nano nitrogen and not nano urea. He appears so sure of the name of this product that he went on to complain to the CID against MP Patali Champika Ranawake who pointed out, quite correctly, that it is not nano nitrogen but nano urea. Further, MP Ranawaka has publicly accused Government politicians of bloating the price from $ 7.74 per litre at the manufacturer to $25 per litre in Sri Lanka requesting an explanation for such a huge price difference.
It remains to be seen whether this fertiliser is effective for our agriculture, encompassing all sectors in addition to rice. There are several misconceptions among our learned authorities about whether nano nitrogen imported from India is chemical or organic, meaning a natural product. It is important for the general public to know about the nature of this nano nitrogen fertiliser. Some important facts are: The meaning of nano, and how the so-called nano nitrogen liquid is made and the results of field trials in India.
Nanoparticles are extremely small particles defined as those having diameters in the range of one to 100 nanometres. A nanometre (nm) is one billionth of a metre and they cannot be seen with the naked eye. Milk, for example, is an emulsion with casein micelles of sizes between 50 to 600 nm. Nano nitrogen liquid imported from India is prepared by first mixing conventional urea with hydroquinone. This mixture is then sprayed onto calcium cyanamide powder and finally dispersed into nanosized particles. The final product carries one percent hydroquinone, 10 percent calcium cyanamide and close to 90 percent urea. The resultant nanoparticles are reported to possess sizes ranging from 20 to 50 nm. Calcium cyanamide eventually reacts with water giving ammonia and it is one of the oldest nitrogen fertilisers used.
Nano nitrogen was discovered by Dr. Ramish Ralia while working in an American laboratory. He joined the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), one of India’s biggest cooperative societies which has now supplied nano urea to Sri Lanka. According to field trials conducted by IFFCO, they claim that a 500 millilitre bottle of nano urea can replace a 45 kg bag of urea. This is hard to believe since this bottle adds only about 20 g of urea because it contains only four percent nitrogen while a 45 kg bag of urea provides 21 kg of nitrogen. Even if 40 percent of the conventional urea added is absorbed by plants it works out to 8.4 kg of nitrogen taken up by the plants which is over 400 times provided by nano urea. Unlike urea which is applied to soil, nano urea liquid is sprayed directly on to leaves where it gets absorbed through the stomatal openings of leaves.
In spite of the projected advantage of nano urea over conventional urea, it cannot supply the initial nitrogen requirements for growing rice, vegetables and other crops. Urea is needed at the initial stage of planting. Nano urea is useful only at a later stage of plant growth where the plants have developed leaves. Application of nano urea at the initial stage is scientifically meaningless and a wasteful exercise. Based on the requirement of urea stipulated by the Agriculture Department, the urea requirement is 225 kg per hectare for the dry zone. At the current price of urea which is Rs 3,430 per 50 kg (without subsidy), what a farmer has to incur is Rs. 15,435, for the dry zone. For the wet zone where the requirement of urea is only 140 kg per hectare, the expenditure would be Rs. 9,604. To provide the same nitrogen requirement to one hectare of paddy fields a farmer has to spray 1250 litres of nano urea. According to Government estimates with each litre of nano urea costing Rs. 1,250, the total cost comes to around Rs. 156,250 per hectare. However, the Government is distributing only 2.5 litres of nano urea per hectare which is totally insufficient and will severely reduce rice production. Even if the Government distributes the imported nano urea free of charge, ultimately the money comes from public funds which is an utter waste of taxpayers’ money. Why the Agriculture Ministry officials do not see this simple arithmetic is astonishing and unpardonable. Moreover, field trials carried out in India are not sufficient for a critical assessment of the efficacy of nano urea and further field trials are necessary in Sri Lanka to determine the accuracy of the Indian claims.
We should also consider the health effects due to exposure to nanoparticles such as those in nano urea. The world has yet to understand the health effects of nanofertilisers and inhalation of such small particles into the lung can have adverse health effects. Air pollution studies have revealed that the most dangerous of all air pollutants are fine particles which go right into the alveoli of lungs and cause bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart diseases and even cancer.
Sri Lankan scientists have reported a different form of nano urea way back in 2012. The work of Prof. Nilwala Kottegoda and her team at the Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology revealed that when urea is adsorbed on hydroxyapatite nanoparticles and applied to paddy fields, it acts as a slow release nitrogen fertiliser resulting in the gradual release of urea to the plant compared to direct application of conventional urea which gets leached out to an extent of about 60 to 70 percent. In this manner the amount of urea required to be applied to soil can be conveniently reduced to around half of what is applied now. The hydroxyapatite can be readily prepared from the Eppawala phosphate deposit. Furthermore, the apatite also decomposes slowly yielding much needed phosphorus nutrients for the healthy growth of plants. Unfortunately, our Government did not use this valuable discovery by Sri Lankan scientists which is often the case with local inventions and discoveries. Politicians take the risk of fast tracking things for short term political gains; scientists come out with suggestions after careful weighing of benefits and disadvantages. Obviously the 10-year agriculture plan of ‘Vistas of Prosperity’ suffered the same fate in the hands of politicians, over the ‘Wiyathun’ who planned it.
While the government is talking about nitrogen and has even imported potash, there is a missing link in the NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) formula of fertilisers and what is missing is phosphorus. Traditionally, phosphorus nutrient has been supplied through imported triple superphosphate. Successive governments have talked about making phosphate fertiliser using our own Eppawela rock phosphate deposit. This is restricted to NATO (no action, talk only) since some unseen hands are preventing this from being implemented. This writer along with other experts submitted a comprehensive proposal for the manufacture of single superphosphate (SSP) fertiliser from Eppawala phosphate to the Minister of Agriculture in 2018. There are at least two cabinet decisions empowering Lanka Phosphate Limited to undertake this project but no action has been taken to commence the local manufacture of phosphate fertiliser.
It is not clear what the Government is planning, regarding the supply of the essential triple superphosphate. Initial fertiliser (‘Mada pohora’) requires urea, triple superphosphate and potash. In the same way babies require calcium and phosphorus for the development of bones, supplied through milk, plants too need phosphates for healthy growth. Phosphorus deficiency causes stunted growth and hence poorer yields. Unlike urea, which decomposes giving oxides of nitrogen after a few days, phosphate binds to the soil and remains in the soil for a much longer period and hence farmers may not immediately need phosphate during one season.
It is of no use to supply nano urea now at the planting stage. This will only promote weed growth and farmers have no way of controlling them in the absence of weedicides. It will only be useful at a later stage as ‘Bandi Pohora’ when the leaves have fully developed. Even the manufacturer claims that it is used as a supplementary fertiliser and will not replace the initial requirement of nitrogen fertiliser. Hence the farmers, their agitation fuelled by extensive experience, will most likely continue to suffer with their livelihoods destroyed. At the end the agricultural productivity of the country would be severely affected.
There is an upward trend in COVID positive cases among school children including primary schools after re-opening schools for educational activities, the Public Health Inspectors (PHI) Union said.
PHI Union President Upul Rohana told the Daily Mirror that many school children, especially teachers and academic staff members had tested positive for the Covid virus.
Most of the schools in the Southern, Western and Central Province, including many districts, found many positive cases, he said.
So far, no serious cases have been reported among the infected children, Rohana said.
“There are many positive cases in the community, and most of them don’t know that they have been infected with the virus. Children from such families could spread the virus among other children after attending school,” he said.
Every schoolchild has a best friend or several friends, and they used to have close activities like having lunch together and so on. On such occasions, the virus could spread faster,” he said.
Therefore, parents and teachers should advise their children to always wear face masks and to wash or sanitise their hands frequently, Rohana added. (ChaturangaSamarawickrama)
The Director General of Health Services has confirmed another 15 coronavirus related deaths for November 17, increasing the death toll in Sri Lanka due to the virus to 14,072.
The deaths confirmed today includes 10 males and 05 females while just one of the victims is between the age of 30-59 years.
The remaining 14 patients are in the age group of 60 years and above.
The Health Ministry says that another 219 persons have tested positive for the novel coronavirus today, pushing the daily count of new cases to 737.
Sri Lanka’s tally of Covid-19 cases climbs to 554,459 with this while 14,827 patients infected with the virus are currently undergoing treatment across the island.
