The government decided, all of a sudden, to implement organic farming in place of chemical agriculture which Sri Lankan farmers are accustomed to for nearly 60 years. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is pledge-bound to introduce eco-friendly agriculture in steps over a decade according to his manifesto ‘Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour’. Despite the policy envisaged in the manifesto, the government took a hasty move to ban chemical farming ahead of four months for the Maha season (main cultivation season). The decision triggered a crisis of epic proportion in the farming sector with rice growers agitating in the main agricultural districts. Today, in some areas, the fields which should normally look lush with rice paddy remain abandoned since farmers fear cultivation of them due to uncertainty over lack of fertilizer.
The government airlifted a stock of Nano liquid fertilizer from India to be sprayed on crop plants in the absence of Urea chemicals as a source of nitrogen for plant growth. But, things are yet to settle in the farming community. It is all too obvious that farmers ‘unrest is fueled by the opposition – Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and Janatha Vimukthi Peranuna (JVP) which seek to seize the political momentum for their electoral ends. That is a natural phenomenon in a multi-party democracy. In such a setup, be it whatever party, the opposition always tries to outdo the governing party. As such, there is no point in laying blame on the opposition over farmers’ agitation. Tension is common. The opposition can only fuel and take it to new heights, maybe, through media stunts.
The government only paved the way for it by initiation of action overnight for the introduction of organic farming, a process that requires meticulous planning and long term for implementation otherwise. It involves education of farmers, training of them in the use of organic fertilizer. It is a transformation to be achieved in the span of at least three to five years. Secretary to the Agriculture Ministry Prof. Udith K. Jayasinghe himself admitted that the cancellation of the import of chemical agro inputs was an ill-advised move.
In addition to tension among farmers against the government, a commercial dispute is likely to crop up with China in the rush for the import of organic fertilizer.
Subsequent to the adoption of green agriculture policy by the government in May, this year, the government selected Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Company Ltd., after a bidding process.
Sri Lanka plant quarantine authorities which tested samples provided by the company detected Erwinia, a harmful bacteria. Detection made headlines in mainstream and social media leading to the call for termination of the deal with the Chinese company. However, the Chinese company has now disputed findings by the Sri Lankan plant quarantine authorities saying that testing done here was not up to the mark in terms of international standards.
The company, through the Chinese embassy in Colombo, issued a statement on Tuesday (October 26) asking for reference of samples to be tested by an independent third party.
The statement says, It was officially listed as a qualified supplier for Tender No. IFB No. SMOF/OFPR/2021/1 on August 11, to supply 99,000 tons of organic fertilizer to Sri Lanka. Course of this event after awarded the tender, Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group signed contracts with the buyers through a local biding agent in Sri Lanka, and strictly fulfilled the contract. It overcame many difficulties, such as busy international and domestic orders, soaring global raw material prices, tight shipping schedules and berthing slot, high sea freight cost and so on, and gave priority to ensure the production and delivery of the tender contract for Sri Lanka. After the buyer issued Letter of Credit (L/C), Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group shipped the organic fertilizer which comply with the quality requirements on September 23 according to the time schedule required by L/C (before September 25). While the goods were on the way by sea, CFC informed that the import permit has not been obtained” and the goods will be rejected”. However, according to international trade practices, it is the buyer’s obligation to obtain the import permit. The failure to obtain the import permit is caused by the buyer’s mistakes and negative inaction. On September 23, Sri Lanka NPQ received the seller’s product samples. On September 27, the seller received an oral notice from the buyer and was informed that Sri Lanka Plant Quarantine Center (NPQ) issued a conclusion of suspecting that the samples contain Erwinia”, but did not provide the test report, test method and standards.
According to ISPM27 rule in IPPC (International Plant Protection Convention), it will take more than six days to identify Erwinia, but NPQ only takes three days to draw a suspicious” conclusion. After the supplier raised doubts, NPQ Sri Lanka updated the report on October 11. Seven days was used to test, but it still did not indicate the test standards and methods. Testing temperature of Erwinia shown in the report is 37, and carrot slices at 37 are used for pathogenicity test. According to the relevant agreement of IPPC, the testing temperature of Erwinia is 25, and healthy plants should be used for pathogenicity test. At least 13~14 days should be used to confirm Erwinia through pathogenicity. The unscientific detection method and conclusion of NPQ in Sri Lanka obviously do not comply with international animal and plant quarantine convention,”
In the same statement, the company insisted that the product samples passed the test of Schutter Group, a third-party international testing organization designated by the buyer (SLSI) and passed the export plant sustainable development of green agriculture.
Nevertheless, the Sri Lankan side vows for accuracy of their test reports. The issue has also been politicized in Sri Lanka with the parties in the opposition – SJB and JVP protesting against the delivery of shipment into the country. Now the Chinese side has called for reference of the matter to another third party testing organization- Swiss SGS group) in this instance.
According to the tone and tenor of the language used in this press release, the Chinese side has taken a hard and fast position. The embassy’s involvement shows how serious they are in this matter. The Foreign Ministries of the two countries are not involved in this dispute. Sri Lankan embassy is kept informed of what is happening, but it is not involved in the problem, according to informed sources. According to all indications, it will lead in the direction of a commercial dispute with the Chinese company unless Sri Lanka agrees to certification of fertilizer samples by a third party.
Again, the problem emerged because of the lack of professionalism in dealing with international transactions.
Farmers in various parts of the country protested today as well, claiming that they are unable to cultivate due to the lack of fertilizer.
During a protest in Hambantota the protesters handed over a letter to the Hambantota District Secretary requesting fertilizer.
Representatives of 41 farmers’ organizations in the Bakamuna area have continued their fast for the fifth day of the hunger strike. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa also arrived at the scene in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, Governor of the North Central Province Mahipala Herath inspected an organic fertilizer factory in Habarawatta, Anuradhapura which is successfully operating by distributing organic fertilizer to farmers in the Anuradhapura District.
Many crops including banana, papaya, long beans and chillies have been successfully cultivated in 4 acres of land using organic fertilizer.
State Minister Duminda Dissanayake stated that steps have been taken to release 5,000 metric tons of urea previously imported to Sri Lanka for maize farmers in the Anuradhapura District.
Steps have been taken to provide a stock of urea fertilizer to the Anuradhapura district against the backdrop of the government initiating the promotion of organic farming in the country by suspending the import of chemical fertilizers.
Meanwhile, the Eravur Fertilizer Depot in the Batticaloa District has received stocks of fertilizer required for paddy cultivation during the Maha season using organic fertilizer.
The district has stored 7,275 liters of liquid fertilizer, 612 metric tons of potassium chloride, and 3,300 liters of nano nitrogen liquid fertilizer for the fertilizer requirement, and they will be released to the farms from next Monday.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage addressing a media briefing held at the Presidential Media Center today through online technology stated that some ministries are following a silent policy in encouraging the cultivation of organic fertilizer instead of chemical fertilizer.
Accordingly, the Minister made an allegation against the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Environment.
The Minister also stated that attention has been paid to import a stock of pesticides and fungicides to combat a pest menace.
State Minister Shashindra Rajapaksa was also present at the media briefing and the two Ministers answered questions raised by journalists.
Ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s”) has today downgraded the Government of Sri Lanka’s long-term foreign currency issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to Caa2 from Caa1 under review for downgrade. The outlook is stable.
This concludes the review for downgrade initiated on 19 July 2021.
The decision to downgrade the ratings is driven by Moody’s assessment that the absence of comprehensive financing to meet the government’s forthcoming significant maturities, in the context of very low foreign exchange reserves, raises default risks.”
In turn, this assessment reflects governance weaknesses in the ability of the country’s institutions to take measures that decisively mitigate significant and urgent risks to the balance of payments, the statement said.
External liquidity risks remain heightened. A large financing envelope that Moody’s considers to be secure remains elusive and the sovereign continues to rely on piecemeal funding such as swap lines and bilateral loans, although prospects for non-debt generating inflows have improved somewhat since Moody’s placed Sri Lanka’s rating under review for downgrade.”
Persistently wide fiscal deficits due to the government’s very narrow revenue base compound this challenge by keeping gross borrowing needs high and removing fiscal flexibility, the ratings agency stated.
The statement further said:
The stable outlook reflects Moody’s view that the pressures that Sri Lanka’s government faces are consistent with a Caa2 rating level. Downside risks to foreign exchange reserves adequacy remain without comprehensive financing and narrow funding options. Should foreign exchange inflows disappoint, default risk would rise further. However, non-debt generating inflows particularly from tourism and foreign direct investment (FDI) may accelerate beyond Moody’s current expectations, which, coupled with the track record of the authorities to put together continued, albeit partial, financing, may support the government’s commitment and ability to repay its debt for some time.”
Sri Lanka’s local and foreign currency country ceilings have been lowered to B2 and Caa2 from B1 and Caa1, respectively. The three-notch gap between the local currency ceiling and the sovereign rating balances relatively predictable institutions and government actions against the very low foreign exchange reserves adequacy that raises macroeconomic risks, as well as the challenging domestic political environment that weighs on policymaking. The three-notch gap between the foreign currency ceiling and local currency ceiling takes into consideration the high level of external indebtedness and the risk of transfer and convertibility restrictions being imposed given low foreign exchange reserves adequacy, with some capital flow management measures already imposed.”
Father Cyril Gamini, who had been summoned by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) today to record a statement in connection with the complaint filed by the Director of the State Intelligence Service (SIS), has requested for one week’s time to provide the statement.
This was informed by three Catholics priests who appeared before the CID on behalf of Father Cyril Gamini today (28).
Speaking to reports afterwards, Fr. Shanthi Kumar Welivita stated that they handed over a letter from Father Cyril Gamini to the CID seeking a week’s time to prepare and come give his statement. He said that the CID gave permission for that request.
The SIS chief on Monday (25) filed a complaint with the CID regarding the allegations made by Father Cyril 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 Fernando, 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 states 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.
Accordingly, the CID yesterday informed the Colombo Magistrate’s Court that investigations have commenced regarding the complaint filed by the Major General Suresh Sallay.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has reportedly called for a meeting with the leaders of the government’s allied political parties.
The meeting, chaired by President Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, will be at 5.30 p.m. today (October 28) at the Temple Trees.
According to reports, the focus of the discussion is expected to fall on the Yugadanavi Power Plant deal with the United States-based New Fortress Energy Inc. and other related issues.
New Fortress Energy, in a recent statement, revealed that an agreement was executed with the Sri Lankan government for its investment in West Coast Power Limited (WCP) – the owner of 310 MW Yugadanavi Power Plant in Kerawalapitiya.
The firm said it will acquire a 40% ownership stake in the WCP and plans to develop a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving, storage and regasification terminal located off the coast of Colombo.
The leaders of allied parties had previously sought additional discussions regarding the power plant deal with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. In their request, the representatives said the agreement needs to be revisited and discussed and also that it should be implemented following proper tender procedure after a formal study.
However, President Rajapaksa responded that it would be more appropriate to discuss the matter with the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister first.
Later, at a meeting held on September 23, PM Mahinda Rajapaksa briefed the political party leaders of the potential consumer benefits from the operation of the Yugadanavi Power Plant.
In the meantime, the trade unions, signaling a red light to the government, have warned that they would resort to large-scale strike action if the agreement with the New Fortress Energy is not scrapped.
The convener of Joint Trade Union Alliance of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), Ranjan Jayalal said plans are already afoot to launch a series of protests on November 03 that would ‘leave the country in darkness.’
The Director General of Health Services has confirmed another 22 coronavirus related deaths for October 27, increasing the country’s death toll due to the virus to 13,696.
According to the figures released by the Govt. Information Department, the deaths reported today includes 09 males and 13 females while one of the victims is a youth below the age of 30.
Six of the deceased are between the ages 30-59 and the remaining fifteen and aged 60 and above.
The Health Ministry says that 142 more persons have tested positive for Covid-19 today, pushing the daily count of new cases to 540.
This brings Sri Lanka’s total coronavirus case count to 538,860 while the number of infected patinets currently being treated island-wide is 13,301.
Total recoveries has also risen to 511,863 and the death toll due to the pandemic is 13,696.
(The
following is only a layman’s personal opinion for what it is worth. It is hoped
that it will be read not as an attack on the intrepid and intelligent young
Minister of Justice Ali Sabry, but as a due appreciation of the difficulties of
the daunting challenge that he has undertaken on behalf of the nation.)
Justice
Minister Ali Sabry was reported to have stated: The traditional brand of
Islamism which has been practiced by Muslims in Sri Lanka for centuries has to
be preserved while the religion should not be practiced according to the likes
of one group” (‘Islamism practiced over centuries has to be preserved – Ali
Sabry’/Daily Mirror Online/October 20, 2021/Yohan Perera). According to the
Daily Mirror correspondent, he made this remark after taking part in a
religious ceremony at the Dewatagaha Mosque, Colombo. (This architecturally
impressive place of Islamic worship is a proud national monument situated at
the heart of the commercial capital; it is a symbol of the peaceful coexistence
of Muslims with Sri Lankans of other faiths.) The minister was reported to have
added: Unity among Muslims in Sri Lanka should also be preserved just like
preserving unity among various religious and ethnic groups.” Sri Lankans of all
beliefs interested in the early restoration of the externally disturbed
customary religious and communal harmony subscribe to that laudable view with
the necessary alterations. But will his equation of Islam with Islamism work in
the current context.
(CAVEAT:
There is no way to check the authenticity of the news report, unless Minister
Ali Sabry confirms or denies what is claimed in it about him. It has not been
indicated in which language he expressed these ideas. Did he actually use the
words Islam and Islamism speaking in English or their equivalents speaking in
another language, or has the DM reporter arbitrarily translated into English
using those two terms what the speaker said in another language?)
But
for the purpose of this essay, I assume that the news portal mentioned above
has reported the Minister’s words correctly, subject to later correction. I
don’t know whether Muslims in Sri Lanka have started using the words Islam
and Islamism interchangeably, which, of course, I’d have thought, is a
near impossibility, given the universally recognized difference in meaning
between the two terms. Google.com defines Islam as ‘the
religion of the Muslims, a monotheistic faith regarded as revealed through
Muhammad as the Prophet of Allah’. Islamism on the other hand, is generally
taken to mean Islamist fundamentalism associated with violent militancy, which
is purely a religio-political movement. The Wikipedia defines Islamism thus:
Islamism (also often called political Islam or Islamic fundamentalism) is a
political ideology which posits that modern states and regions should be
reconstituted in constitutional, economic and judicial terms, in accordance
with what is conceived as a revival or a return to authentic Islamic practice
in its totality”.
Explaining
the relation between Islam and Islamism, the Wikipedia says:
QUOTE
The
relationship between the notions of Islam and Islamism has been subject to
disagreement. Hayri Abaza argues that the failure to distinguish between Islam
and Islamism leads many in the West to support illiberal Islamic regimes, to
the detriment of progressive moderates who seek to separate religion from
politics. A writer for the International Crisis Group maintains that the
conception of ‘political Islam’” is a creation of Americans to explain the
Iranian Islamic Revolution and (that) apolitical Islam was a historical
fluke of the short-lived era of the heyday of secular Arab nationalism between
1945 and 1970”, and it is quietist-political Islam, not Islamism, that requires
explanation.
Another
source distinguishes Islamist from Islamic by the fact that the latter refers
to a religion and culture in existence over a millennium, whereas the first is
a political/religious phenomenon linked to the great events of the 20th
century”. Islamists have, at least at times, defined themselves as
Islamiyyoun/Islamists” to differentiate themselves from Muslimun/Muslims.
Daniel Pipes describes Islamism as a modern ideology that owes more to European
utopian ideologies and isms” than to traditional Islamic religion.”
END OF QUOTE
(By
the way, the Wikipedia is no longer regarded as an easily available smart tool
– once praised as such even by Noam Chomsky – for the amateur researcher for
the reason that the entries are made by voluntary editors at various levels of
scholarship and academic authority and authenticity. The Wikipedia user must be
sufficiently educated and well informed to be able to separate the wheat from
the chaff. In this case, the definitions given are sound enough, to my
understanding.)
When
Ali Sabry made the particular remark, if he actually did so, he probably had in
mind what the Wiki quote refers to as ‘quietist or political Islam’ (which, in
common parlance, is called ‘moderate Islam’). Moderate Islam is
not regarded as a problem, but Islamism definitely is. It need not be
reiterated that the problem of Islamism affects the whole world. As far as Sri
Lanka is concerned, Islamic/Islamist fundamentalism came to prominence
relatively recently, although it has been smoldering since the mid-20th century
as some commentators have pointed out. Given this background, responsible
speakers do not use the two words (Islam and Islamism) as alternatives. I
believe that minister Ali Sabry speaks as a responsible person. That is why I
am sceptical about the Daily Mirror report. But these are strange times. Anything is
possible.
However,
it is somewhat inconceivable that Ali Sabry, who has been entrusted by the
President with such a great responsibility or an array of
responsibilities as he bears in a government that sought election on the main
platform of One Law, One Country” and that is poised to bring in a new
constitution, made this thoughtless identification of Islam with Islamism. The
President seemed to ignore the well expressed opposition of some of his trusted
supporters (particularly the monks) to his selection of Ali Sabry to the
justice portfolio. The President appointed him (only a national list MP) as
Justice Minister, overlooking such eligible candidates for the post as the SLPP
elected MPs Susil Premjayanth, a professionally qualified lawyer with more than
thirty-five years of experience at the bar and in constitution making, Dr
Wijedasa Rajapaksa, a former minister of justice who served under yahapalanaya
and later fell out with that regime. The President did so with a purpose. He
wanted to assure the Muslim community that they are safe and will not be
subjected to discrimination under his rule, particularly in the face of
incursions into Sri Lanka of rampant Islamist extremism, although most Muslims
did not vote for him at the presidential election in November 2019. It is
conceivable that the President’s more important aim in appointing Ali Sabry to
that key post was to enlist the participation of the Muslim community in
governance despite their implicit initial refusal of his goodwill. It is
unlikely that Ali Sabry has forgotten this.
Perhaps, it is
too early to call Ali Sabry’s apparent verbal faux pas a case of letting the
cat out of the bag. But those who have been suspicious of him from the
beginning will say ‘Thank you for the information’. Is he running with the hare
and hunting with the hounds? Or is he trying to sweep the Wahhabist menace
under the carpet? Anyway, let’s hope that he will say something to reassure the
over 90% non-Muslim majority + the many ordinary Muslims who do not
accept and oppose (some openly, many surreptitiously) the Wahhabi
ideology and who are being persecuted by it; they expect him not to allow any
pro-Islamist bias or politically expedient duplicity to cloud his judgement and
betray the trust that the President has reposed in him. From the beginning, Ali
Sabry has acted as or like a pious Muslim who will stand up and speak up for
his community, while performing his duty. There is nothing wrong with that. But
the fact remains that there is only one Minister of Justice for the whole of
Sri Lanka. The person who occupies that position is required to serve the whole
nation without practicing overt or covert discrimination against any community.
Attitudes implied by his apparent readiness (though this has not been
confirmed, to be fair by him) to see an equivalence between traditional Islam
practiced in Sri Lanka and the problematic Islamism that is relatively of more
recent origin at least in Sri Lanka could be seen as incongruent with that
vital national obligation in a less intellectually gifted politician.
A group of university professors, lecturers, and senior officials in the field of agriculture
25th October, 2021
Prof. Udith K. Jayasinghe-Mudalige Secretary Ministry of Agriculture
Dear Sir,
Overcoming
the Current Agriculture Crisis
We, as a senior group of agricultural
researchers and academia, would be pleased to propose a course of action, which
should be consistent with the Government’s vision for a healthy and green
agriculture. We willingly became signatories to this letter to propose solutions acceptable to all
parties including the farmers, the majority of whom are relentlessly and
adamantly demanding to continue with conventional agriculture as they know it.
You will appreciate that pursuing a
goal of converting the country’s agriculture to 100% organic within a season or
two is impossible as evident from the recent happenings and farmers’ revolt
demanding for fertilizer and pesticides. We must note that the situation has
been aggravated owing to the delays to meet the demand by way of organic and/or
synthetic chemical inputs in the requisite
quantities.
While accepting the fact that His
Excellency the President is not an expert in agriculture, but his vision for a
toxin-free nation should be appreciated. Unfortunately, however, his advisors
have not only failed to succinctly provide the requisite advice but also a
strategy and a viable action plan at the ground level towards a ’healthy
agriculture’.
It is also evident from recent discourses that
some of his close advisors are highly biased and ignorant of vital facts
relating to our agriculture. At the same time, many senior officers appear to
be non-committal and adopting a ‘save the skin’ attitude, virtually saying yes
to everything to please the President.
Taking into account
experiences of other countries’ achievements in promoting organic farming and
the intrinsic potential of organic farming with the related current
technologies, we would like to propose a course of action in agriculture that
is consistent with the vision of the government and at the same time acceptable
to farmers.
In this regard we seek an audience with HE the President, and
shall be pleased if you could arrange it.
Anticipating a favourable response
from you,
Yours
truly,
–
Name
Designation
University
Prof. D.K. N.G.
Pushpakumara
Senior
Professor
University of
Peradeniya
Prof. W.A.J.M. De
Costa
Senior
Professor
University of
Peradeniya
Prof. Devika M.
De Costa
Professor
University of
Peradeniya
Prof. Buddhi
Marambe
Senior
Professor
University of
Peradeniya
Prof. Saman
Dharmakeerthi
Professor
University of
Peradeniya
Prof. K.K.I.U.
Arunakumara
Senior
Professor
University of
Ruhuna
Prof. Nalika
Ranathunge
Professor
University of
Ruhuna
Prof. Nilantha
Lakshman
Professor
University of
Ruhuna
Prof. R.M.C.P.
Rajapaksha
Professor
University of
Peradeniya
Dr. Warshi Dandeniya
Senior Lecturer
University of
Peradeniya
Dr. Mojith
Ariyarathna
Senior Lecturer
University of
Peradeniya
Dr. Pradeep
Gajanayake
Senior Lecturer
University of
Sri Jayewardenepura
Prof. Guttila
Yugantha Jayasinghe
Professor
University of
Ruhuna
Prof. Ganganee
Chandima Samaraweera
Professor
University of
Ruhuna
Prof. G.
Thirukkumaran
Professor
University of
Jaffna
Dr. W.M.W.
Weerakoon
Former DG of
Agriculture
Department of
Agriculture
Prof. Jeevika Weerahewa
Senior
Professor
University of
Peradeniya
Dr. H.M. Gunatillake
Former
Director, Environment And Safeguards Division
Asian
Development Bank, Philippines
Dr. Anurudda
Karunarathna
Senior Lecturer
University of
Peradeniya
Dr. Chammi Attanayake
Senior Lecturer
University of
Peradeniya
Prof. B.C.
Walpola
Professor
University of
Ruhuna
Prof. W.A.U.
Vitharana
Professor
University of
Peradeniya
Dr. Parakrama
Waidyanatha
Former Chairman
Coconut
Research Board
Mr. Ajith Silva
Former
Additional Secretary
Ministry of
Environment
Dr. E.R.J.
Samarakoon
Lecturer
University of
Peradeniya
Dr. Samantha
Dissanayaka
Senior Lecturer
University of
Peradeniya
Dr. Nuwan De
Silva
Senior Lecturer
University of
Peradeniya
Dr. Pradeepa
Korale-Gedara
Senior Lecturer
University of
Peradeniya
Dr. Prasad
Neelawala
Senior Lecturer
Uva Wellassa
University
Mr. W.M.M.P.
Hulugalla
Lecturer
University of
Peradeniya
Ms. P.R.M.K.
Fernando
Lecturer
University of Peradeniya
Dr. J.M.
Seneviratne
Former Director
Export
Agricultural Research Station
Prof. Sarath P.
Nissanka
Professor
University of
Peradeniya
Mr. S. A.
Arunapriya
Former Addl.
Secretary
Ministry of
Agriculture
Prof. Venura
Herath
Professor
University of
Peradeniya
Prof. Pradeepa
Silva
Senior
Professor
University of
Peradeniya
Dr. Avanthi
Igalavithana
Senior Lecturer
University of
Peradeniya
Prof. S.
Wijetunga
Professor
University of
Ruhuna
Ms. E. M. G. P.
Hemachandra
Lecturer
University of
Peradeniya
Prof. Indunil
Pathirana
Professor
University of
Ruhuna
Dr. H.B.P. Sandani
Lecturer
The Open
University of Sri Lanka
Dr. V. N. S.
Sirimalwatta
Senior Lecturer
University of
Peradeniya
Dr. W.N.U.
Perera
Lecturer
University of
Peradeniya
Mr. Sandaruwan
Subasinghe
Lecturer
University of
Peradeniya
Dr. Jinendra S
Balasuriya
Senior Lecturer
University of
Ruhuna
Prof. WGD
Lakmini
Professor
University of
Ruhuna
Prof.
Deshapriya Rathnayaka
Professor
University of
Peradeniya
Dr. Gayathri
Beligala
Senior Lecturer
Gampaha
Wickramarachchi University of Indigenous Medicine
Mr. P.P.
Ruwanpathirana
Lecturer
University of
Ruhuna
Dr. A.A.M. Subodinee
Senior Lecturer
University of
Ruhuna
Prof. A.L.
Sandika
Professor
University of
Ruhuna
Ms. A. M. Y. W.
Alahakoon
Lecturer
University of
Peradeniya
Dr. Suranga
Kodithuwakku
Senior Lecturer
University of
Peradeniya
Ms. W.C.S. M. Abeysekara
Lecturer
University of
Ruhuna
Ms. W.T.V.
Thathsaranee
Lecturer
University of
Ruhuna
Dr. Sarath
Weerasena
Former DGA
Department of
Agriculture
Ms. L.M.J.N.K. Disanayaka
Lecturer
University of
Peradeniya
Mr. P.V.S. Harshana
Lecturer
University of
Ruhuna
Prof. A.R.S.B.
Athauda
Professor
University of
Peradeniya
Prof. R.M.
Fonseka
Professor
University of
Peradeniya
Mr. U. I.
Samarawickrama
Lecturer
University of
Ruhuna
Prof. S.S.
Kodithuwakku
Senior
Professor
University of
Peradeniya
Prof. J.K.
Vidanarachchi
Professor
University of
Peradeniya
Prof. L.M.
Abeywickrama
Senior Professor
University of
Ruhuna
Prof. G.W.A.R.
Fernando
Senior
Professor
The Open
University of Sri Lanka
Mr. R.A.A.S. Rathnayaka
Lecturer
Rajarata
University
Dr. N.S.
Abeysingha
Senior Lecturer
Rajarata
University
Ms. Sanduni
Rathnayake
Lecturer
University of
Peradeniya
Prof. Lanka
Ranawake
Professor
University of
Ruhuna
Dr. K.P.P.
Kopiyawattage
Senior Lecturer
Rajarata
University
Dr. D.N. Vidana
Gamage
Senior Lecturer
University of
Peradeniya
Mr. M.B.P. Kumara Mahipala
Senior Lecturer
University of
Paredeniya
Dr. N.T.B.
Madusankha
Senior Lecturer
Gampaha
Wickramarachchi University of Indigenous Medicine
Prof. S.
Subasinghe
Senior
Professor
University of
Ruhuna
Mr. P. C.
Arampath
Senior Lecturer
University of
Peradeniya
Dr. Priyantha
Weerasinghe
Former
Principal Scientist
Horticulture
Crops Research and Development Institute, Department of Agriculture
Prof. G.
Thirukkumaran
Professor
University of
Jaffna
Dr. Sumith
Abeysiriwardena
Former director
Rice Research
and Development Institute of the Dept. of Agriculture
Have
we learnt any lessons from 73 years of so-called ‘independence’? Have we learnt
lessons from 42 elections held since 1931? Have we learnt lessons from
Parliamentary & Presidential forms of governance? Have we studied the
hidden hands behind every revolt, rebellion, insurgency & even terrorism?
Have we identified these entities who are also responsible for dispatching
others in disguise to carry out same destabilizing agenda? Have we a team of
dedicated people who not only study these trends but devise ways to mitigate
same? Is there any point in having such a team if their warnings fall on deaf
ears? Do our leaders know the scale of the threats at hand or are they simply
riding to survive their period of governance & pass on the mantle to the
next but with each turn the country’s sovereignty gets diminished &
diluted. With these thoughts let us move on to the topic.
Regime Change is
the modern form of ‘invasion’ without boots by securing local lackeys to carry
out the task on behalf of their pay masters and sit in prominent positions
& carry out the desired changes. These are generally targeting laws,
legislative documents, reversal of circulars, extraordinary new gazette
notifications and changing anything that legally prevents the paymasters from
securing what they want. Therefore, when local lackeys bring about sudden and
surprising legislative changes – you should know they are only carrying out their
orders.
For
an example during the regime change in 2002 that resulted in terrorists given
territory and confining the national army to barracks while the armed
terrorists went wherever they liked, the US made a proposal to waive off all
loans given to Sri Lanka in lieu of handing over our entire forest cover to US.
If not for environmentalists and patriots objecting, the government would have
happily given into this request.
Colonial Legacies
What
no one can put aside is the colonial legacy we have failed to discard. We are
continuing to embrace 443years of colonial brainwashing totally disregarding
the centuries of traditional rule which saw no constitution, no ethnic strife,
no animosities, no terrorism and was an animal-friendly environment following
the dasa-raja dhamma rule. No politician has seen fit to ask the UN or
diplomats questioning Sri Lanka about ethnic divisions, to produce a single
example of such divisions before 1505. No politician has been brave enough to
tell the UN & the Western diplomats that it was they who divided people as
majority & minority, it was they who coloured the caste system which was
only used to identify the profession of people, it was they who created system
of favorites and promoted those that carried tales to them, it was they who
created a system of education that purposely denied the majority education
& provided education & jobs to minorities to raise their stature above
the majority. That education system completely reversed the education system that
existed. The colonial education system was to denationalize the people and
distance them from their proud history to not defend the nation. This system
continues still as even current curricular is decided by international monetary
agencies who use the carrot of ‘funding’ to decide what type of curriculum is
taught and provide scholarships to the curriculum creators who will never
promote anything of national value. This subtle influence exists in other
sectors of the country’s governance systems as well. When colonial crimes are
not placed on any tribunal- what justice are these former colonial invaders
trying to preach!
Euro-centric laws
When
the colonial invaders realized they could no longer continue to hold power in
the territories they occupied, they handed governance to the local lackeys but
kept power via euro-centric laws that they dictate even to this day. All of the
laws that exist are rooted in the colonial rule where advantage comes to a
handful of nations who form a bloc even inside the UN.
44 countries in Europe, US,
Canada, Australia & New Zealand demand 147 countries function to its
dictates & command. How fair is this?
They
are completely ignoring that these countries existed before them & they had
their own indigenous laws, cultures and traditions which have been completely
dropped out of international legal systems. It is time to review this and the
non-Western countries in the UN must demand a revisit to the indigenous laws
& customs that existed in ancient times to be given their due place. The
current euro-centric laws that exist with neo-liberal policies advantageous to
a handful are never meant to bring ‘EQUALITY’ except to fool masses with
slogans and well-funded dead-end initiatives.
Weakening the Nation & its
People
We have had 2 insurgencies and 3 decades of terror – what is
important is that Sri Lanka lost some promising youth. The external goal was to indoctrinate youth & pit them against
their own with ultimate goal of ‘killing off’ promising youth who would have
become powerful future leaders. These were great losses to
the nation because these youth (for right or wrong) came forward with courage
to fulfil what they were indoctrinated to do. Imagine if that zest was diverted
to build the nation. We would have had very powerful leaders. To prevent
powerful leaders emerging the foreign hands have a knack to create issues to
get our own to eliminate them. Congo lost a promising leader when the US &
UK assassinated Patrice Lumumba. Myanmar’s national leader Aung Sang was also
killed but his daughter was happy to be a neo-liberal pawn.
We
cannot ignore the foreign hands that played a role in each of these devastating
periods of our past. The countries involved, the constitutional changes they
forced upon us, the agreements they forced us to sign, their missionaries sent
(in robes & civil) – these entities still prevail under a different
disguise. But their objective has not changed. Only their modus operandi. We
cannot foolishly think they have mended their ways simply because they extend a
handshake and push new agreements via different players. Have we not learnt
lessons to take stock of the risks and dangers of our actions? Are we not able
to devise alternative ways or in the least come up with out of the box methods
to surprise our historical enemies? Have we failed to identify the gifts &
what is hidden inside?
Regime Change & Constitutions
In
the recent past we have seen numerous West-infused regime change taking place –
the general slogans have been to ‘deliver democracy’ ‘liberate the people’
usher ‘freedoms & rights” etc. With every regime change has been a new
constitution primarily to change the impediments that block the regime changers
getting what they want from the country that they have subtly taken over via their
lackeys. Kosovo had a new constitution but over 10 years after ‘independence’
even entire EU has not recognized Kosovo. South Sudan’s new constitution is
seeing meddling by West too.
The best example Sri Lanka can learn from is looking at Nepal
whose new constitution resulted even in an economic blockade with India
demanding changes to Nepals constitutional clauses which Nepal was not
agreeable to. This resulted in India blocking its borders preventing food,
medicines and fuel entering Nepal via India’s borders. China had to airlift
provisions for the people. Why have we forgotten the parippu drop of 1987 by
the same nation which is now getting a part of Colombo Port- a Port where Sri
Lanka’s imports come through. Imagine a similar scenario when Sri Lanka pursues
with a new constitution if Sri Lanka includes anything disagreeable to
India? When Sri Lanka’s leaders fail
to tell India that the people do not want 13a and even when the country had 2/3
majority if the government in power failed to remove the 13a – can we expect
them to remove 13a in a new constitution?
Ironically,
the country that mothered the constitution does not have a written constitution
but UK and EU & US have a knack of insisting legislative changes to Sri
Lanka which are slowly being rolled out in Sri Lanka & additional pressure
is being exerted using bogus resolutions via UNHRC insisting on further
constitutional changes. Thus, it is all a ploy and part of their bigger plot to
weaken Sri Lanka. Local lackeys are used to come up with fancy reasons to why
changes are needed & dramas are choreographed to use social media to
promote their goals. We must all look at the bigger picture.
Presently,
a key pillar is being targeted with the aim of diminishing the national
security and intelligence apparatus with the UNHRC head threatening to get
witness statements against the army commanders who helped defeat LTTE. Again,
no politician has seen fit to ask the western diplomats or the UN/UNHRC why
restorative justice is being applied to LTTE terrorists and retributive justice
to the world’s only army that defeated an internationally banned terrorist
group. The politicians will soon meet their waterloo in their role for
weakening the nation legislatively, constitutionally & legally – the very
pillars that our enemies are trying to weaken via new constitutional changes
while continuing their infamous divide & rule theatrics funded from abroad.
The
1789 US Constitution has 27 amendments while India’s 1950 constitution has 104
Amendments, the last in 2020.
How dangerous is it to tamper
with a constitution in volatile times?Learn from Africa. None of
these amendments are of any benefit to the People except to centralize power
away from the People. The People presume they are invited to be involved but it
is only a cosmetic façade as the real draft changes happen unknown to the
People. With the People believing changes are for their benefit, they
eventually find out too late that they have been disappointed again and again
& again. Africa’s amendments have been
to tighten the power over the people with feigned ‘freedom’ & ‘security
safeguard’ promises.
Do we really need to change the
constitution when the country is economically & politically unstable & socially
vulnerable!
The 1978 Constitution has seen 20 amendments. 16 out of the 20
by the very architects of the constitution & changed between 1978 &
1988 while the 17a came
only in 2001, 18a in 2010. 19a
showed that constitutions should not be done in a hurry and with
ill-intent.
Representatives
of Sri Lanka should have allegiance to only one country and they must pledge to
only protect the dignity & sovereignty of that country. Anyone must be
allowed to contest – rejecting is left to the People by vote. Will
constitutional changes ever see a pruned Cabinet/Parliament? NO. The National
Unity Government showed politicians greed for power. Will crossovers be banned
in a new constitution? Hardly! Will President/Parliament/Judiciary be willing
to be bound to uphold the constitution as they only hold ‘delegated’ powers
given by the People? No Constitutional Council can have members who are not
answerable to the People.
None of the Governments since 1987 even with a majority in
Parliament took action to remove 13a – however, adverse as it may look, within
the existing constitution, detrimental clause can either be removed or weakened
with additional amendments. There
is no requirement for a new constitution.Land & Police
powers must return to the Centre – national assets and resources belong to the
Centre not to provinces, archaeological and historical sites must remain under
the Centre. We don’t need a new
constitution – a few new amendments can address grey areas.
What
we need more than a constitution is a completely new electoral system for
people to elect people in proportionate to the population that they contest
from & the ability of these people to remove anyone not functioning to
their wishes. It is shocking that a party getting 250,000 votes can send 10 MPs
to parliament because of the current PR system. The entry requirement to
Parliament must be returned to 12.5% instead of the current 5% which will stop
ethnic-king makers from holding governments to ransom.
We must take a holistic look at what is unfolding in Sri
Lanka. Our enemies are laughing
pulling the strings of various people and parties they control to fight each
other and create the necessary coloured revolution for their entry on the
argument that Sri Lanka is incapable of running its own country. A
team of lackeys is deployed to prepare the mental mindset of the people – a
bunch of Sri Lanka haters 24×7 complaining about the country. While they are choreographing
the social change the notion of a new constitution is only to erase the
obstacles that prevent these elements grabbing what should belong to not only
us but future generations.
A
terrorist and a terror attack whatever justification for their killings must be
abhorred by all. Sri Lanka is no stranger to killings since independence. We
have seen JVP killings, UNP mass killings in 1980s/early 1990s, 3 decades of
LTTE killings and when we thought that ended with May 2009, we were surprised
with the Easter Sunday mass murder. None of these murders are more important
than the other. All these heinous crimes were aimed at innocent people and were
calculated murder. What is the justice that the dead and their families have
got? While we have demanded justice from LTTE & all those who were part of
LTTE nexus, the international community demands release of LTTE combatants. The
Church now demands justice for the Easter Sunday dead, demanding the exposure
of the masterminds behind the attack, but the Church is conveniently forgetting
that the Church did nothing against Church priests who were openly and
abashedly helping LTTE including scores of faith-based NGOs with funding. Can
we ask the Church why it is selective in its demand for justice? Innocent
people were killed by LTTE just as innocent people were killed by pro-ISIS
Islamic terrorists. Why didn’t the Church take action against the likes of
Rayappu Joseph et al?
Father S. J. Emmanuel: Former
Vicar-General of Jaffnacalled Prabakaran‘Jesus Christ’, the LTTE ‘soldiers of Christ’, the suicide bombers
‘martyrs of the Catholic Church’ to whom the Church provided a Catholic burial,
and proclaimed himself as ‘the Moses’ who would lead the Tamil nation from the
bondage of Sinhalese-Buddhists to the land chosen for them by God:
Eelam. He now leads the Global Tamil Forum and entity banned by the GoSL
Why
would the Church allow a separate congregation for Tamils and non-Tamils inside
the Church – in a religion preaching to all equally and when all are supposed
to be God’s children?
Fr. Jegath Gasper Rajmain
link for Tigers in India Tamil Tigers and the Church consider Fr. Gaspar Raj
as their latest pop priest.”
LTTE Voice of Tigers tied
up with Radio Veritas, a Catholic broadcasting station run by the Asian Catholic
Bishops Conferencebased in The Philippines. The Tamil Service of the Radio Veritas is
run by the Tamil Catholics of Tamil Nadu.
Voice of Tigers had a coordinating office” inside St. Sebastian’s Church in
Mallavi, Wanni; ran LTTE’s Voice of Tigers withRadio Veritas(run by Asian Catholic Bishops Conference) which reached an
audience of 850,000 people.
the office was opened by the
pro-LTTE Bishop of Mannar Fr. Rayappu Joseph.
Incidentally, Jaffna Mayor and
MP of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, Alfred Duraiappa, Prabhakaran’s first
assassination, had got off at the Madhu Church before proceeding to Jaffna.
Many believe it was a tip off from the Church that informed Prabhakaran of
Duraiappah’s arrival in Jaffna, leading to his death.
18 February 2013 – Rev. Rajappu
Joseph with 132 Catholic priestswrote to the President and
members of the 22rd UNHRC session appealing for a resolution on accountability,
reconciliation, human rights in Sri Lanka. The letter starts ‘As a group of
concerned Christians’ and requested that the UN ‘acknowledge the international self-determination of the Tamil people’–
this directly depicts his guilt in openly canvassing for the balkanization of
Sri Lanka politically if not through the LTTE as was seen in his association
with the LTTE leader.
World Council of Churches has been
promoting the concept of traditional homeland theory in 1994 at the UNHRC in
Geneva. www.sangam.org
January 2014 – Rev. Rayappu
Joseph and Rev. Thomas Savundaranayagam alleged that
cluster bombs were used by the Sri Lankan army to Stephen Rapp, and to look into deliberate
attacks on hospitals, places of worship and the blockade of food and medicine
for the civilians trapped in the fighting.
3rd March 2014 – Rev. Rajappu
Joseph joined 204 Tamil Christian priestsin writing to the
UNHRC Members to call for an international investigation on Sri Lanka
5th March 2014 – Rev. Rajappu
Joseph joined 34 othersignatories including Desmond Tutu, C.
V. Wigneswaran, R. Sambandan, Yasmin Sooka (Member of UN Panel of
Experts) in a petition demanding UNHRC to set up a Commission of Inquiry on Sri
Lanka
the World
Council of Churches that sponsored the LTTE office in LondonEelam
House” which commenced its operation from 1984 officially opened by Father
Reyappu Joseph denigrating the SL Government in general and the Sinhalese
Buddhist in particular.
LTTE abducts 16 children from
Catholic Church run orphanage –Dharmapuram
A cultural event held at
Thirumalai pavilion on 16 December 2012 staged 3 dramas enacted by children
from Jaffna Central College, Hindu College and Vembadi Girls College
highlighting torture and harassment by the GOSL and SL Army, that Eelam cause
was not over even though LTTE cadres were dead(Nilavinai Kurudakka Mudiyathu)
and children acting as rehabilitated cadres claiming they had been brainwashed
(Kannadiyin Peyum Malai).
On 27 July 2013 another drama
was staged and shown to over 1000 on the 13th amendment, the Katchchativu
issue– these were all efforts to build resentment against the Government.
Clergy involved: M. V. E.
Ravichandran (In Charge), Justin Gnanaprakasham (Committee Coordinator), Anton
Jeyamsnadan (Pullopalai East Church)
27 August 2013 – Catholic
clergy from Vavuniya, Mannar, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Jaffna together with
TNA and TNPF politicians conducted anti-Government protests in front of the UN
officeduring visit of Navi Pillay. Also participating were Rev. Sebbamalai and
Rev. Francis Cruz (Neru) of the Mannar Citizen Committee.
Navi Pillayvisiting Trincomalee had an hour-long discussion with Fr.
Yogeshwaran, a human rights activist of the Jesuit Novitiate, She did not meet
a single victim of LTTE terrorism.
Responsibility of the Church
Just as the Church is demanding accountability for Easter
Sunday, perhaps the same Church
can explain their silence about taking action against Church clergy openly
promoting and linked to LTTE terrorists.
Jebanesan, Bishop of Church of South India was
thrown out of the Church of South Indiafor using the Church for
LTTE activities and this is a good moral lesson the Church in Sri Lanka should
follow.
The
LTTE killed more people than we care to count. To know that Church priests were
associated with such an entity while the Church took no action against them is
shocking to say the least. However, the same Church is demanding justice and
accountability and exposure of all masterminds linked to the Easter Sunday
suicides.
Will
the Church take action against all of the Church clergy linked to the LTTE?
Will
the Church take action against all Catholic/Christian laymen linked to and
associated with the LTTE?
Will
the Church take action against all Catholic/Christian NGOs that helped LTTE?
Will
the Church care to respond to the role of its clergy in LTTE terror since
1970s. When will the Church take action or will the Church take action?
A special letter has been sent to the Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture by a group of university professors, lecturers, and senior officials in the field of agriculture.
The letter has been sent seeking an opportunity to propose an efficient and effective program combining the real potential of organic farming in the country and the latest technologies related to it.
With the signatures of 141 people, they have stated that they intend to propose to the government a program that can be implemented to resolve the crisis in the agricultural sector facing the country and to implement it in line with the Green Agriculture Vision.
Meanwhile, farmers in various parts of the country staged protests today, claiming that they were unable to cultivate due to the lack of fertilizers and agrochemicals.
Representatives of 41 farmers’ organizations in the Bakamuna area in Polonnaruwa have started a hunger strike three days ago to demand fertilizer for their crops.
Meanwhile, Hiru News team inspected the farming lands in the Ampara District, which are cultivated using organic fertilizer
Colombo October 27: The Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday appointed a Presidential Task Force (PTF) to study the implementation of the One Country, One Law” concept and prepare a draft Act to bring about one law for all Sri Lankans, irrespective of religion or ethnicity.
The move to get everybody to obey the same laws is laudable. The concept One Country, One Law” is a hallmark of modern democracies. But the appointment of the militant anti-Muslim monk, Venerable Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, as the Chairman of the Task Force, has made many liberals and human rights workers in Sri Lanka wonder if the PTF will be even-handed, render justice to all communities, and respect their distinct cultures and sentiments.
Apart from Ven.Gnanasara Thero, the PTF comprises Prof. Dayananda Banda, Prof. Shanthinandana Wijesinghe, Prof. Sumedha Siriwardana, N.G. Sujeewa Panditharathna, Attorney-at-Law Iresh Senevirathne, Attorney-at-Law Sanjaya Marambe, Eranda Navarathna, Pani Wewala,, Moulavi Mohamed of Ulama Council in Galle, Lecturer Mohamed Inthikab, Kaleel Rahuman and Azeez Nizardeen.
The tasks assigned to the PTF are: (1) Formulation and implementation of laws that are fair by all, as set out in the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.” (2) Ensure that no citizen is discriminated against in the eyes of the law and that no special treatment on grounds of nationality, religion, caste or any other consideration is given to anyone. (3) Ensure that the laws made under the One Country, One Law” concept are in accordance with nationally and internationally recognized humanitarian values.
The PTF is tasked with studying the draft Acts and amendments that had already been prepared by the Ministry of Justice in relation to this subject, examining their appropriateness and making suggestions.
Concerns
While the objectives stated in the gazette reflect a universal yearning for equality before the law, there are major concerns given the ground reality in Sri Lanka. Firstly, there is no Tamil in the PTF. In other words, the PTF has no representative of the island’s second largest ethnic and religious community. Secondly, the Cabinet has already decided to ban the Muslim Qazi courts and amend the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act, a decision Muslim leaders oppose tooth and nail. Thirdly, doing away with community-specific laws could be deemed a human rights violation by the UN Human Rights Council and the European Union.
Based on the government’s action, the EU could withdraw the GSP-Plus tariff concession to Sri Lanka which is coming up for review shortly. Withdrawal of the EU GSP-Plus trade concession will adversely affect Sri Lankan exports to Europe and impact the working population in Sri Lanka.
Ven.Gnanasara Thero’s Appointment
Lastly, and most importantly, the Chairman of the PTF is the Ven.Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, an extremely anti-Muslim Buddhist monk who is the General Secretary of the militant Buddhist organization, the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS). Ven. Gananasara Thero has been very close to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. He is also close to the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) leader and former Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena. If fact, when Ven.Gnanasara Thero was sentenced for six years in a contempt of court case, the then President, Maithripala Sirisena, pardoned and released him.
The pardoned given to the monk on May 23, 2019, evoked protests from human rights activists because it violated all legal norms and procedures and was in direct contradiction with the concept of equality before law” and a common law for every Sri Lankan.”
The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) pointed out that the monk was convicted by the Court of Appeal on 8th August 2018 and sentenced to 6 years in prison. The Supreme Court rejected his appeal. The CPA stressed that Presidential pardons exist to correct miscarriages of justice. But in the monk’s case, there was no miscarriage of justice as both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court had duly dismissed his appeals.
As such, the pardon itself amounts to an undue interference with the legal process,” the CPA said in a statement. It further said: The pardon legitimized the view that it is possible to act with contempt for the judiciary, be punished through a legitimate judicial process, and then enjoy impunity through a pardon granted on political considerations.”
The CPA pointed out that the pardon specifically signaled that some categories of citizens, such as the Buddhist clergy, could expect to enjoy preferential treatment when it comes to obeying the law.
The pardon came at a time when extremist Buddhist mobs instigated anti-Muslim riots across North Western Sri Lanka, resulting in the death of one Muslim man and the damage to a large number of Muslim residences, businesses and places of worship, the CPA said. Ven. Gnanasara Thero had played a documented role” in the past as Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena in spreading hate speech and inciting violence towards minority communities, particularly Muslims.
The pardon represented a worrying endorsement of such anti-minority sentiment, and could only heighten the anxiety and fear being felt by Muslim Sri Lankans,” the CPA said.
In 2014, Ven.Gnanasara Thero had instigated mobs to attack Muslim houses and business estabishments in Aluthgama town, south of Colombo. Prior to that he had campaigned against the wearing of the face covering by Muslim women in public on security grounds, and had agitated for the abolition of Halal certification for food products.
Ven.Gnanasara’s has a fixation about Islamic terrorism and propagated the notion that Sri Lankan Muslims tolerate extremists in the community. On September 13, 2021 he told Hiru TV’s Salakuna program that there could be another attack similar to the Easter Sunday bombings on April 21, 2019 in which more than 260 died. He further said that the bombs were ready to be detonated at any time; that he knew the groups involved; and that the President had also been informed.
This spread deep concern among Catholics. The Catholic church, which has been bitterly complaining about the government’s tardiness in getting to the bottom of the Easter Sunday attacks, demanded an urgent inquiry to ascertain the truth.
MUNZA MUSHTAQ, Contributing Writer Courtesy Nikkei Asia
Central Bank has been printing money as tax take falls and prices soar
COLOMBO — Sri Lanka’s COVID-stricken economy is being likened to a ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment as foreign reserves plummet, the cost of living rises and the central bank carries on printing money.
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka printed over 130 billion rupees ($640 million) in October alone, but that is just the iceberg’s tip. From December 2019 to August 2021, Sri Lanka’s money supply increased by 2.8 trillion rupees — a massive 42%.
Much of the money went to pay the salaries of 1.2 million state sector employees, and to cover pensions that each year cost the government a thumping one trillion rupees. Unlike the private sector, which suffered salary cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic, state employees carried on at full pay despite the empty public coffers. Money was also printed with a view to keeping interest rates low.
Though it has generally been characterized as printing money, most of the increase in the overall money stock — or “broad money” as it is termed — since the end of 2019 is made up of government borrowings from the central bank and commercial banks.
Addressing a press conference earlier this month, Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal defended the decision to print money on the grounds that it was needed to maintain stability.
“If you read the monetary law, one of the responsibilities of the central bank is price stability as well as financial system stability,” he said. “Sometimes, in the interest of financial system stability — as well as economic and price stability — there can be instances where additional treasury bills could be issued to the government.”
Cabraal said similar money supply increases have been seen in about 120 countries “as a result of the pandemic.
This view is not acceptable to W. A. Wijewardena, a former central bank deputy governor. He has warned that the 42% increase will pump severe inflation, possibly to over 40% in the next few years.
“Normally a central bank can allow this money stock to increase without causing inflation if the increase is equivalent to the real growth of the economy,” Wijewardena told Nikkei Asia. Since growth in 2020 was -3.6% and is expected to be around 4.5% in 2021, real net growth for the two years will be “about 1%,” he said.
It was Wijewardena who used the economic time bomb analogy: “It is now ticking and can go off at any time,” he told Nikkei.
Sirimal Abeyratne, an economics professor at the University of Colombo, is more supportive of the current monetary policy because of the fiscal damage the pandemic has caused. The extra money has helped fund government spending and kept interest rates down for private credit.
But he thinks the approach should be “only temporary,” and notes that the central bank actually tightened monetary policy in September when inflationary signals were detected. He told Nikkei that a price has also been paid “in terms of exchange rate pressure.”
Sergi Lanau, deputy chief economist at the Washington-based Institute of International Finance, has taken a similar view. Sri Lanka’s central bank was compelled to finance the government’s significant expenditure during the pandemic, “which was not unusual.” The central banks of the Philippines and of Indonesia did much the same. But he cautioned that “if money printing continues, we can expect pressure on inflation and on the exchange rate, which does not help resolve the ongoing crisis.”
Cabraal told the press conference that higher inflation is a concern. “We are conscious of that and we will manage it,” he said. “We don’t want to see a situation where inflation could rise unduly.” He predicted “a slight dip” in December, and said the central bank intended to ensure price rises do not accelerate into double digits.
In mid-October, Colombo lifted price controls on essential food items, including household gas. That saw the the price of a 12.5 kilogram cylinder of cooking gas jump from 1,400 rupees to 2,675 rupees in the space of a week. A 400 gram pack of milk powder, a staple in almost every Sri Lankan home, increased to 480 rupees from 380 rupees, and wheat flour went up by 10 rupees a kilo causing a domino effect in bread and other flour-based products.
Last week, the Lanka Indian Oil Company, which competes with the state-run fuel distributor Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), announced a 5-rupee increase per liter of fuel with effect from Oct. 21. CPC has since been seeking approval to increase fuel prices after suffering a loss of 70 billion rupees this year up to August.
Sri Lanka’s inflation rate has increased this year from around 4% to about 7%, but fell back slightly in September. The September food index was meanwhile up 22% compared to two years earlier.
Abeyratne said the price increases were in large part due to ad hoc and piecemeal policy decisions.
In 2019, soon after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected president, sweeping tax cuts were announced to make good on an election pledge. The bonanza included cutting value-added tax to 8% from 15%, and abolishing the 2% nation-building tax on domestic goods and services.
Whilst the government blames the pandemic for the economic reversal, Eran Wickramaratne, a former state minister of finance, considers the tax cuts to be one of the main causes.
“The financial crisis was brought on soon after President Rajapaksa did away with taxes, and following their removal government revenue fell by nearly 30% in 2020,” he told Nikkei. “The government created the financial crisis itself, but certainly the pandemic made it more complicated, resulting in total mismanagement of the economy.”
In 2020, government revenue in Sri Lanka amounted to approximately 9.6% of the nation’s gross domestic product, down from 12.6% in 2019 ahead of the tax cuts.
Both local and international economic experts, including Lanau and Wijewardena, insist that the only way out now is for Sri Lanka to turn to the International Monetary Fund.
Wijewardena said that an IMF special drawing rights loan facility of about SDR 2 billion ($2.8 billion) at a rate of 3.55% repayable over 4.5 to 10 years would help Sri Lanka recover foreign investor confidence and buttress foreign exchange flows. That would provide a breathing space to introduce necessary long-term economic reforms to return the country to growth.
The consignment of nano urea, much spoken about produced by Indian Farmer Fertiliser Corporation (IFFCO}, had just arrived! Locally it is named Nitro Raja!” Can the imported Raja settle our fertiliser woes, where the ‘local Raja’ has hitherto failed?
What is nano urea, many people ask! For the layman it may best be described as something akin to Seeni- polkohu” or Bombai-motai”, where sugar particles are attached to a fibrous material. Similarly, in nano urea, the urea molecules are attached to oligosaccharide (examples, starch and sugar) molecules. This greatly enhances the efficacy of the applied urea to crops.
The advantage is that, whereas urea when applied to the soil, often much of it is wasted through leaching, run-off in rain water and vaporisation, losses are very small with the nano formulation. Even normal urea if applied to plants as a leaf spray in good weather, the losses are far less than application to the soil. Up to a maximum of 5% of chemical nutrients can be applied as foliar spray, and in fact urea is, for example, routinely applied in tea plantations usually mixed with zinc sulphate, which research has reported, to boost crop yields substantially.
Regrettably the imported consignment apparently is exclusively for rice cultivation. Is it because the tea growers were not as vociferous and violent as the rice farmers in their demonstrations and ministerial effigy-burning? Ideally, for the tea growers, too, urea is critically important. As most would have applied all nutrients over the years, the soil reserves of nutrients should suffice to tide over an year or more except for nitrogen, the most yield determining nutrient; and the current huge tea crop losses could have been saved, if at least urea in whichever form were supplied to the tea industry.
The critical issue is, however, whether at the recommended rate, the imported nano urea could effectively meet the crop nitrogen demand. It is imported in 500 ml bottles and each bottle content, the advertisement says, is equivalent to a 50 kilo bag of normal fertiliser urea. Nevertheless, it is further stated in the advertisement that the contents has a nitrogen(N) concentration of only 4%, whereas normal urea has 46%.
Meeting Demand?
Let us see whether the supplied nano urea can meet the crop nitrogen demand at the prescribed application rate. The national average yield of rice is now 5 tons /hectare. Therefore, an average rice crop by way of grain and straw removes about 80 kg/ha, and the normal rate of application of nitrogen for a good rice crop is 100kg/ha . So, in whatever way the crop is fertilised (with nano urea or normal urea) a 5 ton rice crop/ha should remove a minimum of 80 kg of nitrogen. Theoretically, however, the recommended nano-urea formulation imported can only provide 20 grams of nitrogen per 500 ml bottle, and to provide the requisite nitrogen of 80kg/ha to the crop, therefore, 4000 such bottles should be applied! The cost of a 500 ml bottle is reported to be Indian Rs 240, which is about local Rs 500. Theoretically then, the nano fertiliser per crop to provide the entire crop nitrogen requirement should cost two million rupees! Can this nano urea then practically meet the total crop nitrogen demand ?
The crux of the matter is that, in India, where nano urea is used, usually a basal application of conventional urea is made to the crop, and nano urea is only sprayed at mid- maturity as a foliar spray for boosting the crop.
The other serious concern is that when nano urea is spayed as the crop is growing, the emerging weed growth in the absence, now, of the two standard herbicides used in rice, one before crop emergence (usually Propanil) and the other ( MCPA )when the crop is in early growth(post emergent), could be substantial. Nearly 95% of the rice growers broadcast seed, and hand weeding is difficult in such crops. Row seeding is highly labour demanding and row seeders are costly. Much of these weeds are highly competitive C4 grasses and sedges, which too will benefit from the foliar nano urea spray and increase the competitiveness, reducing the crop yield!
One of the growing concerns today, globally, in the fertiliser scenario is, not whether it is organic or chemical, but with the grain production anticipated to increase by at least 40% in the next decade and 60% of the nitrogenous fertiliser used for it, the devastating environmental AND pollution issue . Many argue the answer is in cutting down meat consumption as bulk of the grain in the developed world is used as animal feed!
However, there is already technology generated for improving N management practices at the farm level, and nitrogen uptake efficiency (NUE) increases of 36% and 32% have been achieved in the U.S and Japan respectively in the last few decades; one of them being nano fertilisers. With novel plant breeding and fertisier technologies many scientists envision reaching 90-100% NUE in the near future.
