Iraj Show

Shenali D Waduge

As Western nations begin reversing aggressive LGBTQIA+ policies—especially those targeting children and youth—evidence reveals a wave of institutional regret, legal turmoil, and personal trauma. Countries that once pioneered youth gender transitions are now shutting down clinics, halting puberty blockers, and urging psychotherapy over irreversible treatments. Former advocates, medical experts, and detransitioners themselves are exposing the emotional, physical, and social harm caused by fast-tracked, ideology-driven policies.

Sri Lanka must take serious note.

What is being pushed as progress” or inclusivity” has shown devastating results abroad. Rather than blindly importing failed models, we must protect our youth, uphold cultural and religious values, and resist foreign pressure. Sri Lanka must avoid repeating irreversible mistakes committed by the West.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාව  සැලකිල්ලට ගත යුතු වන්නේ

ප්‍රගතිය” හෝ ඇතුළත් කිරීම” ලෙස තල්ලු කරනු ලබන දෙය විදේශයන්හි විනාශකාරී ප්‍රතිඵල පෙන්වා ඇත. අසාර්ථක ආකෘති අන්ධ ලෙස ආනයනය කිරීමට වඩා, අපි අපේ තරුණයන් ආරක්ෂා කළ යුතුය, සංස්කෘතික හා ආගමික වටිනාකම් ආරක්ෂා කළ යුතු අතර විදේශීය පීඩනයට එරෙහි විය යුතුය.

බටහිර රටවල් සිදු කළ ආපසු හැරවිය නොහැකි වැරදි කිරීමෙන් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව වැළකී සිටිය යුතුය.

1. Major Institutions ending Youth Transition Care
2. Children’s National Hospital (Washington, D.C.)announced it will stop all prescription-based transgender care for minors by August 2025, opting instead to only offer mental health and supportive services, due to rising legal risks and federal scrutiny.
3. Similar transitions are happening in states like Connecticut and California, where lawsuits and federal subpoenas have constrained gender-care providers, forcing closures despite prior state protections.

2025 අගෝස්තු වන විට, වොශින්ග්ටෝන් ළමා රෝහලයේ බාලවයස්කරුවන් සඳහා සංක්‍රාන්ති ලිංගික බෙහෙත් නවත්වනු ඇත. නීතිමය පීඩනය හේතුවෙන් කැලිෆෝනියාවේ සහ කනෙක්ටිකට්හි සායන වසා දැමීමට ද බල කෙරෙමින් පවතී.

මානසික සෞඛ්‍ය සේවා පමණක් සපයනු ලැබේ.

• Global Policy Pullbacks across Europe, Australia, and the U.S.
• Italyhas proposed new legislation restricting puberty blockers and hormones for minors, mandating oversight by ethics committees and medical registries. Young patients would only receive treatment under tightly controlled protocols.
• Sweden, Finland, the UK, and Australiahave reversed earlier gender-affirming care policies, citing insufficient scientific evidence” and recommending a shift to psychotherapy and exploratory therapies.”

ඉතාලිය තරුණ ලිංග සත්කාර සඳහා දැඩි පාලනයක් සැලසුම් කරයි, හෝමෝන සහ අවහිර කරන්නන් සීමා කරයි.

ස්වීඩනය, ෆින්ලන්තය, එක්සත් රාජධානිය සහ ඕස්ට්‍රේලියාව අතීත ප්‍රතිපත්ති ආපසු හරවා ඇති අතර, දැන් වෛද්‍ය සංක්‍රාන්තියට වඩා මනෝචිකිත්සාවට කැමැත්තක් දක්වයි.

• Personal Regret, Detransition Traumas, and Social Fallout
• In a widely shared Reddit AMA, a former U.S. Navy SEAL named Chris Beckstated he lived in hell” for nearly a decade after transitioning and later detransitioned. He now warns young people—particularly those under 25—against rushing into transition.
• More candid stories from Reddit users highlight emotional breakdowns, isolation, and identity confusion among individuals who detransitioned after years of medical intervention.
• In a moving account, one individual expressed that the years of trying to live as the wrong gender led to profound mental health struggles and suicidal thoughts before finally re-transitioning to live authentically.

එක්සත් ජනපද නාවික හමුදා සීල් නිලධාරි ක්‍රිස් බෙක් සහ තවත් අය දැන් පශ්චාත්-සංක්‍රාන්ති කනගාටුව ගැන කතා කරති, කඩිමුඩියේ තීරණ ගැන තරුණයින්ට අනතුරු අඟවති. සංක්‍රාන්තියෙන් ඉවත් වන්නන් අනන්‍යතා ව්‍යාකූලත්වය, හුදකලාව සහ දැඩි මානසික සෞඛ්‍ය අරගල වාර්තා කරයි.

• Evidence & Institutional Alarm over Inadequate Protocols
• According to a Medscape report, mental health experts describe current youth gender-care protocols as akin to an unregulated experiment,” often lacking rigorous evaluation or long-term follow-up.
• A study group led by organizations like Kairos in Chileissued warnings about ROGD (Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria), reflecting parental concern over ideological medicalization and insufficient consent processes.
• The UK’s Cass Review (2024)concluded that hormone-blocking treatments lack sufficient evidence and recommended prioritizing therapy and mental health care.

බටහිර විශේෂඥයින් දැන් අනතුරු අඟවන්නේ තරුණ ස්ත්‍රී පුරුෂ භාවය පිළිබඳ රැකවරණයට සාක්ෂි, අධීක්ෂණය සහ දිගුකාලීන ආරක්ෂාව නොමැති බවයි. එක්සත් රාජධානියේ කැස් වාර්තාව වැනි සමාලෝචන මගින් මානසික සෞඛ්‍ය සේවාවට නැවත පැමිණීමට බල කෙරේ. මෙම ඔප්පු නොකළ, අධි අවදානම් පිළිවෙත් ආනයනය කිරීමෙන් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව වැළකී සිටිය යුතුය.

Outcome from Western Reversals

1. Medical Reversals

Several Western countries and U.S. states that once pioneered youth gender-transition services are now shutting them down or severely restricting access. These include public hospitals and private clinics that no longer provide puberty blockers, hormone therapy, or surgeries for minors. This reversal stems from mounting legal pressure, growing public concern, and professional medical re-evaluation of the evidence supporting such treatments.

නීතිමය අවදානම්, මහජන සැලකිල්ල සහ දුර්වල වෛද්‍ය සාක්ෂි හේතුවෙන් බටහිර ජාතීන් දැන් තරුණ ලිංග-සංක්‍රාන්ති සේවා ආපසු හැරවීමට පටන් ගෙන තිබේ.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට පාඩම: කඩිමුඩියේ බටහිර ආකෘතීන් අනුගමනය නොකරන්න – ළමා ආරක්ෂාව, සාක්ෂි මත පදනම් වූ රැකවරණය සහ දිගුකාලීන සමාජ යහපැවැත්මට ප්‍රමුඛත්වය දෙන්න.

• Mental Health Fallout

A significant number of young people who underwent early gender transition are now reporting psychological distress, identity confusion, and feelings of betrayal. Detransitioners—those who attempt to reverse their medical transitions—speak openly about depression, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and being isolated from peers and family. These mental health outcomes are now prompting a re-examination of whether early transition actually helps—or harms—vulnerable youth.

බොහෝ තරුණ සංක්‍රාන්තිකයින් මුල් ලිංගික සංක්‍රාන්තියෙන් පසු ගැඹුරු මානසික හානියක් – මානසික අවපීඩනය, ව්‍යාකූලත්වය සහ සමාජ හුදකලාව – වාර්තා කරයි.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට පාඩම: ආපසු හැරවිය නොහැකි ප්‍රතිකාර වලින් වැළකී සිටීමෙන් තරුණයින් ආරක්ෂා කරන්න; මානසික සෞඛ්‍යය, පවුල් සහයෝගය සහ දෘෂ්ටිවාදයට වඩා ප්‍රවේශම් සහගත, සාක්ෂි මත පදනම් වූ ප්‍රවේශයන්ට ප්‍රමුඛත්වය දෙන්න.

• Legal & Financial Turbulence

Gender clinics across the U.S., Canada, and Europe are increasingly under investigation. They face lawsuits from patients and parents who allege they were misled or rushed into irreversible decisions. Some institutions have lost funding, faced public scandal, or shut down entirely due to failure to uphold ethical standards, informed consent, and long-term patient follow-up.

බටහිර රටවල ස්ත්‍රී පුරුෂ සමාජභාවය පිළිබඳ සායන නඩු, අරමුදල් පාඩු සහ කඩිමුඩියේ, සදාචාර විරෝධී සත්කාර සහ දුර්වල කැමැත්ත හේතුවෙන් වසා දැමීම් වලට මුහුණ දෙයි.

ලිංගික දෘෂ්ටිවාදය පැතිරී අපේ තරුණ පරපුර විනාශ නොකිරීමට ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සහතික විය යුතුය.

• Policy Change

Governments that once aggressively pushed affirmative” gender policies are now retreating toward more cautious approaches. Countries like Sweden, Finland, and the UK are now recommending psychotherapy as the first-line treatment for gender dysphoria in youth, instead of medical intervention. This shows a dramatic policy shift based on updated reviews of scientific evidence and ethical concerns.

ස්වීඩනය, ෆින්ලන්තය සහ එක්සත් රාජධානිය වැනි රටවල් වෛද්‍යමය මැදිහත්වීම් වලින් තරුණ ස්ත්‍රී පුරුෂ භාවය පිළිබඳ ගැටළු සඳහා පළමුව මනෝචිකිත්සාව වෙත මාරු වෙමින් සිටින අතර, එය නව සාක්ෂි සහ සදාචාරාත්මක ගැටළු පිළිබිඹු කරයි.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට පාඩම: පාසල්වලට ස්ත්‍රී පුරුෂ භාවය පිළිබඳ දෘෂ්ටිවාදය හඳුන්වා දීමට විරුද්ධ වන්න; මානසික සෞඛ්‍ය සහාය සහ දරුවන්ගේ යහපැවැත්ම ආරක්ෂා කිරීම සඳහා ප්‍රවේශම් සහගත, විද්‍යාව පදනම් කරගත් ප්‍රවේශයන් කෙරෙහි අවධානය යොමු කරන්න.

• Institutional Regret

Several medical authorities, child health associations, and religious institutions have publicly acknowledged that their initial support for fast-tracked gender transitions was premature. Some now admit that political and activist pressure overtook clinical judgment, leading to harm rather than help. These public acknowledgments reflect a growing global movement to re-balance LGBTQIA+ rights with long-term wellbeing, especially for children.

වේගවත් ස්ත්‍රී පුරුෂ සංක්‍රාන්තිය සඳහා මුල් කාලීන සහාය නොමේරූ සහ හානිකර බව බොහෝ වෛද්‍ය සහ ආගමික ආයතන දැන් පිළිගනී.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට පාඩම: දිගුකාලීන යහපැවැත්ම ආරක්ෂා කිරීම සඳහා දේශපාලන හෝ ක්‍රියාකාරී පීඩනයට වඩා සායනික විනිශ්චය සහ ළමා සුභසාධනයට ප්‍රමුඛත්වය දෙන්න.

Why This Matters to Sri Lanka – මෙය ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට වැදගත් වන්නේ ඇයි?

1. Risk of rapid adoption without safeguards: Sri Lanka could face long-term consequences if it implements medical or legal frameworks before proper study and public consensus.

සමලිංගිකත්වය නීතිගත කිරීම සහ ආරක්ෂිත ක්‍රම නොමැතිව සම්බන්ධිත ස්ත්‍රී පුරුෂ භාවය පිළිබඳ දෘෂ්ටිවාදය වේගයෙන් සම්මත කර ගැනීමේ අවදානම: නිසි අධ්‍යයනයක් සහ මහජන එකඟතාවයකට පෙර වෛද්‍ය හෝ නීතිමය රාමු ක්‍රියාත්මක කළහොත් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව දිගුකාලීන ප්‍රතිවිපාකවලට මුහුණ දිය හැකිය.

• Youth vulnerability: Without deep-structured mental health evaluations, young people may face irreversible decisions with lifelong regret.

තරුණ අවදානම: ගැඹුරු ව්‍යුහගත මානසික සෞඛ්‍ය ඇගයීම් නොමැතිව, තරුණයින්ට ජීවිත කාලය පුරාම කනගාටුවක් ඇතිව ආපසු හැරවිය නොහැකි තීරණවලට මුහුණ දීමට සිදුවිය හැකිය.

• Cultural integrity: The Western model relies on identity-based rights that may conflict with collective family and community-oriented Sri Lankan values.

සංස්කෘතික අඛණ්ඩතාව: බටහිර ආකෘතිය පදනම් වී ඇත්තේ පවුල සහ ප්‍රජාව පිළිබඳ ශ්‍රී ලාංකික වටිනාකම්වලට පටහැනිව පුද්ගල අයිතිවාසිකම් මත ය.

• Lesson on evidence: Countries are steadily moving from ideology-driven practices to data-driven, cautious models emphasizing therapy over irreversible medical interventions.

රටවල් ක්‍රමානුකූලව දෘෂ්ටිවාදය මත පදනම් වූ භාවිතයන්ගෙන් දත්ත මත පදනම් වූ, ප්‍රවේශම් සහගත ආකෘති වෙත මාරු වෙමින් පවතින අතර, ආපසු හැරවිය නොහැකි වෛද්‍ය මැදිහත්වීම්වලට වඩා චිකිත්සාව අවධාරණය කරයි.

Recommendations for Local Caution – දේශීය අවවාදය සඳහා නිර්දේශ

• Prevent any medical or legal reforms related to LGBTQIA+ identity for minors

LGBTQIA+ අනන්‍යතාවයට අදාළ වෛද්‍ය හෝ නීතිමය ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ වැළැක්වීම

• Prioritize psychological support, educational resilience, and holistic developmentfor confused teens—over medical or hormonal interventions.

ව්‍යාකූල යෞවනයන් සඳහා වෛද්‍ය හෝ හෝමෝන මැදිහත්වීම් වලට වඩා මානසික සහයෝගය, අධ්‍යාපනික ඔරොත්තු දීමේ හැකියාව සහ සමස්ත සංවර්ධනයට ප්‍රමුඛත්වය දෙන්න.

• Create public awareness campaigns about Western de-transitions and the harm LGBTQIA promotion has done to youth. Sri Lankan culture, morality, and youth must be protected.

බටහිර සංක්‍රාන්ති විසංයෝජන සහ LGBTQIA ප්‍රවර්ධනය තරුණයින්ට කර ඇති හානිය පිළිබඳව මහජන දැනුවත් කිරීමේ ව්‍යාපාර ඇති කිරීම. ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සංස්කෘතිය, සදාචාරය සහ තරුණයින් ආරක්ෂා කළ යුතුය.

• Take legal action against entities indoctrinating children & youth about LGBTQIA

ළමයින්ට සහ තරුණයින්ට ඉගැන්වීම් සිදු කරන ආයතනවලට එරෙහිව නීතිමය පියවර ගැනීම

LGBTQIA surge is engineered, not organic — Victims are rising, not thriving

The sharp rise in LGBTQIA identification across the world is not a natural evolution of identity — it is the result of deliberate indoctrination through social media, biased education systems, activist-driven curricula, and peer contagion. This trend, especially among youth, is being falsely framed as liberation,” when in reality, it often leads to confusion, regret, medical harm, and emotional trauma.

Victims of this agenda are real — young girls pushed into irreversible hormone treatments, boys socially pressured into rejecting their bodies, and vulnerable youth isolated from families under the illusion of authenticity.”

• Many nowdetransition in silence, abandoned by the very systems that rushed them into life-altering choices.
• Mental health falloutis on the rise: anxiety, depression, and suicidality plague those sold a false promise of happiness through identity change.
• Medical systemsthat once promoted affirmative care” are now pulling back due to lawsuits, scientific reevaluation, and irreversible harm to minors.

This is not inclusion — it is exploitation.

Let Sri Lanka learn from the West’s mistakes before we walk the same path:

• Protect children from gender ideology in schools.
• Ban foreign-funded activist interference in national policy.
• Restore family and cultural values that have preserved harmony for generations.

We must speak not against individuals, but against a global machine that commodifies identity for power, politics, and profit — leaving behind broken lives and silent victims.

නිගමනය: ශ්‍රී ලංකාව අවධානය යොමු කළ යුතු අනතුරු ඇඟවීමක්

LGBTQIA අනන්‍යතාවන්හි ගෝලීය වැඩිවීම ස්වාභාවික මාරුවක් නොවේ – එය මාධ්‍ය, අධ්‍යාපනය සහ ක්‍රියාකාරීත්වය හරහා විශේෂයෙන් තරුණයින් අතර ඉලක්කගත දෘෂ්ටිවාදාත්මක ඉගැන්වීම්වල ප්‍රතිඵලයකි. බටහිර රටවල් දැන් පුළුල් කණගාටුව, වෛද්‍යමය ආපසු හැරවීම්, මානසික සෞඛ්‍ය අර්බුද සහ නීතිමය ප්‍රතිවිපාකවලට මුහුණ දී සිටී.

Lessons for Sri Lanka:

• Protect children: Keep schools free of gender ideology and activist-driven sex education.

දරුවන් ආරක්ෂා කරන්න: ලිංගික අධ්‍යාපනයේ කොටසක් ලෙස පාසල්වල ස්ත්‍රී පුරුෂ භාවය පිළිබඳ දෘෂ්ටිවාදය ඉගැන්වීමට ඉඩ නොදෙන්න. ගැටලුවක් ඇති ඕනෑම දරුවෙකුට වෛද්‍ය ප්‍රතිකාර ලබා ගත හැකිය. පාසල් අධ්‍යාපනයේ කොටසක් නොවන දෙයක් සියලුම දරුවන්ට ඉගැන්වීමට අවශ්‍ය නොවේ.

• Strengthen cultural and religious values: These have long upheld family, mental health, and social cohesion.

සංස්කෘතික හා ආගමික වටිනාකම් ශක්තිමත් කිරීම: මේවා දිගු කලක් තිස්සේ පවුල, මානසික සෞඛ්‍යය සහ සමාජ සහජීවනය ආරක්ෂා කර ඇත.

• Resist foreign pressure: Do not follow failed Western models under the guise of inclusivity” or progress.”

විදේශීය පීඩනයට එරෙහි වන්න: ඇතුළත් වීම” හෝ ප්‍රගතිය” යන මුවාවෙන් අසාර්ථක බටහිර ආකෘතීන් අනුගමනය නොකරන්න.

• Uphold national sovereignty: Public policy must reflect Sri Lankan values — not imported agendas.

ජාතික ස්වෛරීභාවය තහවුරු කිරීම: රාජ්‍ය ප්‍රතිපත්තිය ආනයනික න්‍යාය පත්‍ර නොව ශ්‍රී ලාංකික වටිනාකම් පිළිබිඹු කළ යුතුය.

Let Sri Lanka preserve what the West is now trying to repair.

බටහිර රටවල් දැන් උත්සාහ කරන්නේ හානිය ඉවත් කිරීමටයි – ප්‍රතිඵලය දැන දැනම ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ව්‍යසනයකට නොයැවීමට වග බලාගත යුතුයි.

Shenali D Waduge

චානක බණ්ඩාරගේ

ලෝකයේ ප්‍රධානම  භාෂාව ඉංග්‍රීසිය. සෑම කෙනෙක්ම එය ඉගෙන ගත යුතුය, විශේෂයෙන්ම  විදේශගත වීමට අදහස් කරන අය.

ඉංග්‍රීසි ඉගෙනීමට වයස් සීමාවක් නොමැත. රාත්‍රී පාසලක වුවද ඉංග්‍රීසි ඉගෙන ගත හැකිය. අන්තර්ජාලය භාවිතයෙන් බොහෝ මාර්ග තිබේ.

බොහෝ දෙනෙක් ඉංග්‍රීසි කතා කිරීමට ලැජ්ජා වෙති. එහෙත්, කතා නොකර සිටියොත්, ඔවුන් කිසි විටෙකත් එය ඉගෙන නොගනිති. වැරදි සහිතව වුවද ඉංග්‍රීසි කථා කිරීම හරි බව අප තේරුම් ගත යුතුය. එසේ නොමැති නම්, අප කිසි විටෙකත් ඉංග්‍රීසි ඉගෙන නොගනු ඇත.  

ඉංග්‍රීසි ඉගෙන ගැනීම ඔබේ පරම හීනය නම් දවසකට අඩු තරමින් පැය 2ක් වත් ඒ වෙනුවෙන් වැය කලයුතු වේ.

හැකි තරම් තම සිතුවිලි/අදහස් කොලයක ඉංග්‍රීසියෙන් ලියන්න, ඉන්පසු එය නැවත නැවතත් කියවා  වැරදි නිවැරදි කරගන්න. ඉංග්‍රීසි දැනුම ඇති යහළුවන්, පවුලේ සාමාජිකයන් සමඟ ඉංග්‍රීසියෙන් කථා කරන්න, ඔවුන්ට වැරදි නිවැරදි කරන්න කියන්න.

හැකි තරම් ඉංග්‍රීසි පොත් පත් සඟරා බලන්න/කියවන්න, ඉංග්‍රීසියෙන් ප්‍රවෘත්ති අහන්න, BBC වැනි. ඉංග්‍රීසි වාර්ථා වැඩසටහන් බලන්න. නිවේදකයා වචන උච්චාරු කරන හැටි බලන්න.

ඉංග්‍රීසි (- සිංහල) ශබ්ධ කෝෂයක් භාවිතා කරන්න, අලුතින් ඉගෙන ගන්නා වචන එහි පෑනෙන්/පන්සලෙන් සටහන් කරගන්න. නිතර නිතර ශබ්ධ කෝෂය පෙරලා ඒ වචන බලන්න.

ඉංග්‍රීසි යනු භාෂාවක් පමණි; සිංහල ද එසේමය.

කිසිම භාෂාවක් වෙනත් භාෂාවකට වඩා උසස් හෝ පහත් නොවේ.

නමුත්, අපි ඉංග්‍රීසි භාෂාවට විශාල ප්‍රමුඛත්වයක් ලබා දෙන්නේ ඇයි?

ජපානය, කොරියාව, චීනය, ජර්මනිය, ප්‍රංශය, ස්පාඥ්ය, ඉතාලිය වැනි ධනවත් රටවල බොහෝ දෙනෙක් හොඳ ඉංග්‍රීසි කථා නොකරති. එම රටවල කිසිවෙකු ඔවුන්ට සිනාසෙන්නේ නැත. ඔවුනට ඉංග්‍රීසි බැරි හෝ වැරදි කරනවා කියා සිංහල  අපද ඔවුන්ට සිනාසෙන්නේ නැත.

නමුත්, අපගෙන් කෙනෙකු වැරැද්දක් කළ විට, අපි එය විශාල ප්‍රශ්නයක් බවට පත් කරමු. අප එම පුද්ගලයාට සිනාසෙන අතර ඔහුව/ඇයව සමච්චලයට හා නින්දාවට පත් කරමු.  මේ පෙන්වන්නේ අප තුල තියෙන කුහකත්වයද?

මෙම රජයේ ඇමතිවරුන් දෙදෙනෙක් වැරදියට ඉංග්‍රීසි කථා කර රටට අපකීර්තිය රැගෙන ආවේය කියා ඇතැම් යු ටියුබ් මාධ්‍ය කරුවන් එම ඇමතිවරුන් දෙදෙනාට නොනැවතී පහර දෙත්. මෙය එම යු ටියුබ් කරුවන් ද්වේශ සහගතව කරන වැඩකි.

අපහසුවෙන් හෝ ඉංග්‍රීසී බසින් රට  නියෝජයනය කර රටට ප්‍රගතියක් ලඟා කිරීමට උත්සහවන්ත වීම ගැන අප ඔවුනට ස්තුති කළ යුතුය. තවත් දිරි ගැන්විය යුතුය. රටට අවංකව ආදරය කරන්නා, රටේ ඉදිරි දියුණුව අපේක්ෂා කරන්නේ, හැසිරෙන්නේ එළේසයි.

මෑතකදී, හිටපු රාජ්‍ය නායකයෙක්ව එක්තරා ජාත්‍යාන්තර මාධ්‍යක් විසින් ‘බිත්තියට හෙත්තු වෙන්නම’ දමා ගසනු ලැබීය. ‘සුපිරි’ ඉංග්‍රීසී දන්නවා යයි ප්‍රකට ඔහු එදා කැඩුණු ඉංග්‍රීසියෙන්ද වචන මිමුනුවේය. ඒ සිද්ධිය ගැන මෙම යු ටියුබ් කරුවන් ‘මික්’ කීවේ නැත.

ප්‍රශ්නය ඇත්තේ ඉංග්‍රීසි උච්චාරණය (pronunciation) හෝ ව්‍යාකරණයට (grammar) වඩා කථා වස්තු බීජයේය. කෙතරම් හොඳින් ඉංග්‍රීසි කථා කලත් එම කතාවේ හරයක් (substance) නොමැති නම් එය අසාර්ථකය.

සමහරුන් ඉංග්‍රීසි ‘ස්’ ශබ්ධය උච්චාරණය කරන්නේ ‘ඉස්’ වශයෙනි (ස්කුල් වෙනුවට ඉස්කුල් කියති – අපි සිංහලෙන් ඉස්කෝලේ කියන නිසා).  සමහර අයට කිසිම ලෙසකින් ඒ වැරැද්ද හදා ගැනීමට අපහසුය.  අපි මේවා අල්ලා බොහෝ සිනාසෙන්නෙමු, ඒ පුද්ගලයාගේ මුහුණට හෝ ඔහු නැති නැති තැනදී අපි ඔහුට සිනාසෙමු.  එම පුද්ගලයාව ‘පහත්’ කොට සැලකීමක් අප කරන්නෙමු. නමුත් සුදු ජාතික විදේශිකයෙක්, උදාහරනයක් වශයෙන් නෝර්වේ/ස්පාඥ්ය් ජාතිකයෙක්,  මේ වැරැද්දම කළහොත් අප ඔහුට සිනාසෙනවාද? නැත. මේ අනුව, ප්‍රශ්ණය/අඩුපාඩුව තිබෙන්නේ ‘වැරැද්ද’ කල කෙනා තුල නොව සිනාසෙන අප තුල නොවේද?

අප එංගලන්තයේ, ඇමරිකා එක්සත් ජනපදයේ හෝ ඕස්ත්‍රේලියාවේ සිටින විට (ශ්‍රී ලංකාකිකයන්), ඉංග්‍රීසි  වැරදියට භාවිතා කරන්නේ නම් – ව්‍යාකරණ වැරැද්දක් කළහොත්, එම පුද්ගලයින් කිසි විටෙකත් අපට සිනාසෙන්නේ නැත. නමුත්, ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේදී  අප අපගේම කෙනාට එදිරිව සිනාසෙන්නෙමු.

වියට්නාම්  ජාතිකයින් දෙදෙනෙකු, පාකිස්තානුවන්, කොරියානුවන්, ශ්‍රී ලාංකික ද්‍රවිඩයන් දෙදෙනෙක්, බංග්ලාදේශ්වරු  මුලින්ම හමු වූ විට ඔවුන් කතා කරන්නේ ඔවුන්ගේ මව් බසින් ය. නමුත් අප සිංහලයන්, බොහෝ විට ඉංග්‍රීසියෙන් කථා කරමු (සිංහල භාෂාවෙන් නොවේ). සිංහලට ‘වැටෙන්නේ’ ටිකක් පසුවයි.

සිංහල යනු ලෝකයේ වර්ධනය වූ භාෂාවලින් එකකි. සිංහල භාෂාවෙන් පුද්ගලයෙකු කථා කරන දේ ඒ ආකාරයෙන්ම ලිවීමට හැකිය. සිංහලෙන් බොහොමයක්ම ශබ්ධ ලියන්න පුළුවන. මෙය දුර්ලභත්වයකි. මෙයට හේතුව අපේ භාෂාවේ  වැඩි ස්වර ප්‍රමාණයක් තිබීමේ වටිනාකමයි. ඉංග්‍රීසි වල ඇත්තේ ස්වර පහක් පමණි – A, E, I, O, U.

කණගාටුවට කරුණ නම් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ අප අපේම භාෂාව වූ සිංහල ගැන ‘පහත්’ ලෙස සිතීමට නැඹුරු වී සිටීමයි.

සමහර වැදගත් රාජ්‍ය ආයතන, සමහර රජයේ/පෞද්ගලික රෝහල්, උසාවි පවා ඉංග්‍රීසි වලට ප්‍රමුඛත්වය දෙන බව පෙනේ. මෙය ඉංග්‍රීසි නොදන්නා අයට (සේවා අපේක්ෂා කරන කාර්යාලවලට පැමිණෙන අයට) සිදුකරන  විශාල අසාධාරණයකි.

සෑම ගුවන් සමාගම් වලම  පළමු තැන දෙන්නේ ඔවුන්ගේ මවු බසට/බස් වලට.  නමුත් අපේ රටේ?

බ්‍රිතාන්‍යයන් අපව මොළ සෝදා පාළුවට ලක් කර, ඉංග්‍රීසි කථා  කිරීමට හා බටහිර සංස්කෘතිය අනුකරණය කළ හැකි අය අන් අයට වඩා ‘උසස්’ යන මතයක් රට තුල ගොඩ නැගුහ.  චතුර ලෙස ඉංග්‍රීසි කථා කල හැකි, බටහිරකරනය වූ  අය වෙනම ‘උසස්වූ’ පන්තියකට ආදේශ කළහ. (පෘතුගීසින් සහ ලන්දේසි පාලකයන් මෙවැන්නක් ඔවුන්ගේ භාෂා සහ සංස්කෘතින් සම්බන්ධව අපට ඒතරම් සිදු නොකළහ).

පෘතුගීසින්, ලන්දේසින් සහ ඉංග්‍රීසින් ක්‍රිස්තියානි ආගම වැළඳ ගත් අයට, ඔවුන්ගේ නම් ගත් අයට සමාජයේ උසස් තැන් පිරිනැමුහ.

ඉංග්‍රීසි භාෂාව සහ සංස්කෘතිය පිළිබඳව අපට හීනමානයක් ඇති බව දැන ගත් මෙහි සිටී බ්‍රිතාන්‍යයන් ඉංග්‍රීසි කථා කිරීමට නොහැකි අය දෙස පහත්  ලෙස බැලිය යුතු බවට අපට ධර්මතාවක් මෙන් ඉගැන්වුහ. ඔවුන් පිටත්ව ගොස් දැන් වසර ගණනාවක් ගත වී ඇතත්, අපි තවමත් ඔවුන්ගේ එම වැරදි ‘මන්ත්‍රය’ බොහෝ සෙයින් අනුගමනය කරන්නෙමු.

ගම් වලින් පැමිණි ‘ගොඩයෝ’ සිටිනවා ඉංග්‍රීසි දන්නවා කියා ලොකු කම් පෙන්වන අයට වඩා ඉතා හොඳින් ඉංග්‍රීසි කථා කිරීමට සහ ලිවීමට දන්න. වෙනස – ඒ අය ඉංගිරිසි ‘කඩුවක්’ ලෙස භාවිතා නොකිරීමයි.

උදාහරණයක් වශයෙන් ගමේ වෛද්‍යවරුන් (ආයුර්වේද වෛද්‍යවරු), සිංහල ගුරුවරුන්, බෞද්ධ භික්ෂූන් වහන්සේලා සහ සාමාන්‍ය ලිපිකරු/කම්කරුවන් අතර ඉතා චතුර ලෙස ඉංග්‍රීසි කථා කිරීමට හා ලිවීමට හැකි අය ඕනෑතරම් ඇත. අපේ නාගරිකරණය වූ  ‘සුපිරි ’ සහෝදර සහෝදරියන් මෙන් නොව ඔවුන් මේ ගැන අහංකාර නොවෙත්. මෙයට හේතුව ඔවුන් ඉංග්‍රීසි ආයුධයක් ලෙස නොව පලිහක් ලෙස භාවිතා කිරීමයි.

අප දන්නා කෙනෙක්  සේවය කළේ  කොළඹ පාර්සන්ස් පාරේ මහජන බැංකුවේ ආරක්ෂක නිලධාරියෙක් හැටියටයි. ඔහු නිතරම කියා සිටියේ එම රැකියාවට එන්නට  පෙර නැව්වල සේවය කළ නිසා ඔහුට ඉංග්‍රීසි භාෂාව ‘වතුර වගේ’ කතා කරන්න හැකි බවයි. ඔහු හැමදෙනාටම නිතර කිවේ ‘විවේක වෙලාවක එන්න මම ඉංග්‍රීසියෙන් කථා කරන්නම්, ඕගොල්ල නිකම්ම පුරුදු වේවි’ කියාය. ඔහුගෙන් ඉංග්‍රීසි ඉගෙනගෙන අද චතුර ලෙස ඉංග්‍රීසි කථා කරන අය සිය ගණනක්.

දුර්වල ඉංග්‍රීසි කුසලතා හේතුවෙන් ඉහළ තනතුරු/උසස්වීම් ප්‍රතික්ෂේප වෙන ඉතා බුද්ධිමත්/ දක්ෂ වෘත්තිකයන් බොහෝ වෙත්. ඉංග්‍රීසි අඩුව හේතුවෙන් සමහර ඉහළ පෙළේ නීතිඥවරුන්ට ඉහල  උසාවි කටයුතු පිලිබඳ නඩු නිමිති භාර ගැනීමට නොහැකි තත්වයන් ඇත.

බොහෝ සිංහල FM ගුවන් විදුලි මධ්‍යස්ථානවල සිංහල වෙනුවට ඔවුන් ‘සිංග්ලිෂ්’ කතා කරති. ඔවුන් කතා කරන සෑම වාක්‍යයක්ම ඉංග්‍රීසි වචන 2 ක් හෝ 3 ක් ඇත. බොහෝ ඇමතුම් මධ්‍යස්ථාන ක්‍රියාකරුවන්ද ඒ හා සමානයි, යමෙක් හොඳ සිංහල භාෂාවෙන් කතා කරන්නේ නම් ඔවුන්ට රළු ප්‍රතිචාර ලැබේ. මේ අයගේ වැඩසටහන් බලන්නන්/අසන්නන් හිසේ අමාරුව නොසාදා ගන්නවා පුදුමයි.

සිංහල කෙනෙක් සිංහල බැරි විදියට කථා කරන කොට එය ඉතා අප්‍රසන්නයි.

තමන්ගේ භාෂාවට ලැජ්ජා වෙන කෙනා තමන්ගේ දෙමවිපියන් ගැනත් ලැජ්ජා වෙන්න පුළුවන්. ඔවුන් ආත්මයක් නැති අය නොවේද?

අපේ සිංහල බෞද්ධ සංස්කෘතිය වසර දෙදහස් පන්සියයකට වඩා පැරණිය. නමුත් මීට වසර 200 කට වඩා එපිට දී මේ රටට හඳුන්වා දුන් ඉංග්‍රීසි භාෂාව අපේම සිංහලට වඩා ඉහළ ස්ථානයක් මේ රටේ භුක්ති විඳී.

ඕස්ත්‍රේලියාවේ සහ කැනඩාවේ සමහර සිංහලයන් ‘අපේ දරුවන්ට සිංහල කථා කළ නොහැකි නිසා ඔවුන් නිවසේ සිංහල කථා නොකරන බව’ කියයි.  මේ දෙමව්පියන් තම දරුවන්  ගැන මෙසේ කියන්නේ හරියට එය ආඩම්බර විය යුතු දෙයක් ලෙසයි.

තම දරුවන්ට ඉංග්‍රීසි බසින් කතා කිරීමට/ඉගෙනගැනීමට අවශ්‍ය නිසා ඔවුනට සිංහල කථා කිරීමට ඉඩ නොදෙන සමහර සිංහල දෙමව්පියන් ගැන මෙම ලේඛකයා දනී. එහි කිසිදු වරදක් නැත. නමුත් විදේශ රටවල හැදෙන අපේ සිංහල දරුවන් අනිවාර්යයෙන්ම සිංහල බසද ඉගෙන ගත යුතුය. දෙමව්පියන් මෙය නොකරන්නේ නම්, මෙම දරුවන් කවදා හෝ ඔවුනට  දොස් පවරනු ඇත.

දරුවන්ට සිංහල කථා කරන්න එපා කියා ඔවුන් සමඟින් ඉංග්‍රීසියෙන් පමණක් කථා කරන නව සීලන්තයේ ජීවත්වෙන දෙමව්පියෙක් එසේ කිරීමට හේතුව කිවේ අපි දෙන්නටත් ඕන ඉංග්‍රීසි ඉගෙනගන්න, අපේ දරුවන්ගෙන්’ කියාය.  ඔවුන් බුද්ධිමත් දෙමව්පියන්.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාව තුලද තම දරුවන්ට සිංහල කථා කරන්න ඉඩ නොදී ඉංග්‍රීසි පමණක් කථා කිරීමට දරුවන් මෙහෙයවන දෙමව්පියෝ වෙත්. මේ දරුවන් කෙසේ හෝ සිංහල කථා කරන්න ඉගෙන ගන්න බව ඔවුන් දනී (බාහිර සමාජයෙන්).

සමහර අය  උවමනාවෙන්ම ඉංග්‍රීසියෙන් කථා කර, ඒ පිටින් පුහු තත්වයක් ආරෝපණය කර ගන්න උත්සහා කරති. සමහර ජ්‍යෙෂ්ට මන්ත්‍රීවරු පාර්ලිමේන්තුදී ඒ ආකාරයෙන්  හැසිරෙන සැටි පෙනේ. මෙය රටට දෙන හොඳ ආදර්ශයක් නොවේ.

මෑතකදී මෙම ලේඛකයා යම් වැඩක් සඳහා පෞද්ගලික බැංකුවකට ගොස් කාන්තා නිලධාරිනියක්  සමඟ සිංහල බසින් කතා කළේය. ඇය රළු ලෙස ඔහු දෙස බලා උඩඟු ලෙස කතා කළාය. ගණුදෙනුකරුවකු ලෙස මෙම ලේඛකයා බැංකුවට කෙතරම් වැදගත් දැයි ඇය සැලකිලිමත් වුයේ නැත. සති දෙකකට පසු මා එම බැංකුවට  ගොස් එම කාන්තාවම  සමඟ ඉංග්‍රීසියෙන් කතා කලෙමි.  එදින ඇය මා හට ප්‍රභූ සේවාවක් ලබා දුන්නාය. මා පිටත්ව යාමට පුටුවෙන් නැගිටින විට ඇයද නැගිට්ටාය  – ගෞරවය පෙන්වීමට.

ඕස්ත්‍රේලියාවේ සිට නිවාඩුවකට ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට ආ වෙලාවක දවසක් මා එක්තරා රජයේ කාර්යාලයකට ගියේ පොඩි වැඩකටය. මම එහි උන් උසස් නිලධාරිනියකට ඉංග්‍රීසි බසින් මා ආ කාරණය පැහැදිලි කලෙමි.  සාකච්චාව අවසානයේ මා යාමට හදන විට ඇය මගෙන්  ඉංග්‍රීසියෙන් ඇසුවේ ‘ඔයා ලංකාවෙද, පිටරට එක්කෙනෙක්ද කියලා’. මට තදබල ලැජ්ජාවක් පැමිණීය. 

(නම්, ස්ථාන, රටවල් ප්‍රබන්ධනාත්මක විය හැක)

Nava Thakuria

Bangladesh is going for national elections by mid-February 2026, as declared by its caretaker government head Dr Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday evening while addressing the nation on live television. Meanwhile, the trial of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is taking a temporary shelter in India, began and seemingly her party Awami League will get an opportunity to participate in the forthcoming  polls (as its party activities were banned in the south  Asian nation). One can remember, the daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman  left Dhaka on 5 August 2024 after a mass uprising across the Muslim dominated country of 170 million people. The lone Bangladeshi  Nobel laureate Professor Yunus, who earned global fame for micro-finance and social business initiatives, was appointed as the head of interim government in Dhaka on 8 August last year. With many agendas in front of the interim administration, the primary objective was to pave the way for Jatiya Sansad polls conducted in a free, fair and comprehensive manner.

Prof Yunus began his speech by reminding how 5 August last year witnessed the culmination of July People’s Uprising Day that helped the ‘beloved homeland’ to escape from a long period of fascist rule. While narrating in his native Bengali language, the soft-spoken gentleman stated how a court verdict (in June 2024) reinstated the quota system in government jobs, which angered the students and young people of Bangladesh. An  erupted outrage turned into a wildfire, fueled by the tyranny, repression, indiscriminate shootings, and brutal killings carried out by the regime. But in the face of this state-sponsored massacre, carried out at the command of a despotic ruler, the students, workers, and masses of this nation stood firm and fearless. At the forefront of this movement, the indomitable Bangladeshi women selflessly gave their lives to free the country from tyranny, he added.

On this day, I solemnly remember the martyrs of July, the shining sons and daughters of our nation. To those who were injured, permanently disabled, or lost their vision in July, I extend my deepest respect and gratitude on behalf of the entire nation. Over the past year, we have passed through many crises and possibilities. Several incidents and tragedies have deeply saddened us. Most recently, the heartbreaking plane crash at Milestone College claimed the lives of many people, including our innocent children. Many were injured in the resulting fire. This tragedy has left the entire nation in shock. I pray for the peace of the souls who lost their lives in this incident and wish a swift recovery to those still under medical care. Following this horrific accident, doctors and nurses from countries including Singapore, China, and India have worked tirelessly to help the injured. I extend my sincere gratitude to them,” said Prof Yunus.

Claiming that since the July Uprising, Bangladesh has come a long way. Peace and order have returned to national life, the economy has regained momentum, and many crises have been resolved. A year ago while  the interim government took over, the country aced an devastated economy following  sixteen years of continuous destruction and plundering. But within a year, the country has made progress beyond what anyone could have imagined, asserted the economist of international repute, adding the economy has turned around and now it’s time to move forward. The caretaker government now plans to hand over the reins of governance to an elected one. However, Prof Yunus reiterated, before the election, several essential tasks need to be  completed.

We had three primary responsibilities namely Reform, Justice, and Election. The students, workers, and people who led the July Uprising wrote their demands and expectations on walls across the country. A key focus of those demands was the democratic reform of the state system. In line with that goal, we formed several reform commissions. Among the recommendations submitted by the main commissions, we have already implemented many short-term and urgently needed reforms. These reforms will bring dynamism to the economic sector, the justice system, and public administration; transparency and accountability will increase significantly; corruption, irregularities, and harassment will be reduced. To implement long-term reforms, we established the National Consensus Commission. Over 30 political parties and alliances participated enthusiastically and shared their views,” he explained.

Prof Yunus was very clear while stating that the countrymen  must ensure that no future government can ever become fascist again. The state must be restructured in such a way that any sign of fascism, wherever it appears, can be immediately eradicated right there, so the people do not need to wait 16 years (read Hasina’s rule in Dhaka from 2008 till her departure last year) and never again lose so many lives. Bangladesh must never again require another mass uprising. Mentioning about the trial of crimes against humanity committed in July & August 2024 has been  progressing firmly as the formal hearing phase has also begun. Those involved in the horrific massacres of history will be brought to justice on the soil of this country, declared Prof Yunus, adding that the trial process and its outcomes would  be revealed to the public step by step and the entire process of justice is being kept transparent.

Please pray that the election (held before the month of Ramadan) is held peacefully and smoothly, and that every citizen can contribute to building a ‘New Bangladesh’ successfully. On behalf of the government, we will provide all possible support and cooperation to ensure that the election is free, fair, peaceful, and festive. Let this election be remembered in the country’s history for its celebratory spirit, peaceful conduct, voter turnout, harmony, and sincerity,” affirmed Prof Yunus, adding that the women voters across the country can vote freely and enthusiastically, where the responsible authorities will make all necessary arrangements to ensure a wave of women voters at the polling centers.

He did not forget to remind tyrannies of the Hasina regime, when the citizens were deprived of their right to vote. Many electorates would be voting for the first time in their lives, and they are expected to exercise their franchises amidst festivities to make the day memorable. Among them will be new women voters, new male voters, where some who were eligible to vote 15 years ago, but never got the opportunity. Some who were eligible 10 years ago, 5 years ago, but never voted, and they all will participate in the electoral processes. The celebrated personality, whom Hasina wanted to put in jails under fictitious allegations, vowed  to make the election day feel like Eid, where the joy of voting will be shared by all in the presence of family members.

One of the key conditions of a thriving democracy is freedom of the press. Looking at our past, it becomes clear that the biggest and earliest obstacle to free journalism was the government itself. The interim government has taken several steps to remove these obstacles. We have opened the space for criticism. Now, anyone, whether through mainstream or social media, can freely criticize the government. Even state-run media can now openly criticize the authorities, something that was unthinkable in the recent past. To ensure accountability among journalists, the government has restructured the Press Council,” revealed Prof Yunus, adding that one of the greatest threats to journalism during the autocratic regime was the Digital (Cyber) Security Act, which has been repealed. And hence, all cases filed against journalists under this law were already withdrawn.

උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස්

ආප්ප කඩ හදන්නා සේ කැසිනෝ ශාලාවල් පිහිටුවීම හරහා ශ්‍රී ලංකාව මුල්‍ය විශුද්ධිකරණයට අත්තටු දීමක් සිදුකර ඇතැයි හිටපු අමාත්‍ය චම්පික රණවක මහතා පවසයි.

මෙවර දේශීය ව්‍යාපාරිකයන්ට වඩා සෘජුවම විදේශික ව්‍යාපාරිකයන්ට මෙය විවෘත කරදී ඇති බවද හෙතෙම පෙන්වා දෙයි.

දැන් පාතාල කල්ලිවල කළු සල්ලි සුදු කිරීමට ඩුබායි යෑමේ උවමනාවක් නැති බවත් ලංකාව ඇතුලේ සිටම එය පහසුවෙන් සිදුකර ගත හැකි බවත් හෙතෙම සඳහන් කළේය.

කොළඹ පැවති මාධ්‍ය හමුවකදී ඒ මහතා මෙම අදහස් පළ කරන ලදී.

By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana Courtesy The Daily Mirror

The satellite launched by Supreme SAT Ltd. in 2012 with an investment of USD 300 million has paid dividends to the Sri Lankan government totalling an average sum of Rs. 20 billion annually, Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya said, contradicting earlier statements by Leader of the House Bimal Ratnayake. 

Responding to a question raised by SLPP MP D.V. Chanaka, the Prime Minister said the company, which launched the satellite famously known as ‘Chichi’s rocket’, after the project was spearheaded by Rohitha Rajapaksa, the youngest son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, had provided telecommunications services since then. 

MP Chanaka said Leader of the House Bimal Ratnayake has given false information that the entity does not exist anymore when he raised a question earlier.  

“This project was known as ‘Chichi’s rocket and the Leader of the House said it has gone astray. The information which the Premier came out today confirms that the Leader of the House has given false information,” the MP said.

Shenali D Waduge

A tribute to the world’s most misunderstood mass murderer and his liberation-through-terror campaign.

They say greatness demands sacrifice—and Velupillai Prabakaran understood this better than most. He wasn’t content with speeches; he offered the world a blueprint: to build a homeland, first destroy the present; to claim justice, first silence every voice—especially your own people’s; to prove your worth, leave no witness behind. For over three decades, he led with unmatched precision: dismantling democracy, eliminating dissent, recruiting children, and bleeding civilians dry—all while demanding the world call it liberation. Some build nations through unity; he built his with bunkers, landmines, cyanide, and the bones of the innocent. And still, they light candles for him. They hold commemorations in universities. UN officials attend. Foreign parliamentarians give speeches. So, in the spirit of glorifying terror, let’s not just mourn Velupillai Prabakaran—let’s celebrate the man who redefined cruelty and called it Eelam, by honoring every child stolen, every right violated, and every drop of blood shed in his name.

1. Child Soldiers: Prabakaran’s Youngest Martyrs

He gave Tamil children a future… in cemeteries.

Thousands were abducted from schools and homes, trained in jungle camps, fed war chants, indoctrinated with hatred for the Sinhalese whom they had never met and handed AK-47s instead of textbooks.

Let’s cheer for the man who turned school children into suicide squads!

2. Indoctrination that would make any Cult Jealous

Cyanide capsules became jewelry worn with pride but without choice.

Blind obedience became faith.

Tamils were ‘liberated’ — by having their minds hijacked to serve one man’s fantasy of dictatorship.

Let’s raise a glass to the brainwashing of a generation!

Move over, Heaven’s Gate – this is Eelam’s cult classic!

3. Champion of Tamil-on-Tamil Violence

·      TELO: Wiped out

·      EPRLF: Crushed

·      PLOTE, EROS, TULF: Silenced

·      Tamil Civilians who disagreed? Shot, disappeared, or butchered – hello Chemmani mass graves! 

He didn’t represent Tamils. He repressed them — better than any colonial master ever did.

And for that, he gets the Best in Ethnic Self-Sabotage” award.

4. In Its 30 Years of Gruesome Crimes, Let’s Celebrate Over 300 LTTE Attacks on the Innocent

Why settle for one massacre when you can have over 300?
From buses to temples, mosques to markets — the LTTE gave Sri Lanka the gift of daily terror.

For three decades, the LTTE’s path to liberation” was paved with landmines, car bombs, suicide vests, and blood —that of innocent civilians.

Here are just a few entries from his blood-splattered resume — each worthy of a posthumous peace prize (if irony were a category)

Deserving Terror Oscars, for sure!

·      1984 – Kent & Dollar Farm Massacre: 82+ Sinhalese villagers — including pregnant women and infants — butchered like animals.

·      1985 – Sri Maha Bodhiya Massacre: 149 Buddhists and monks murdered inside a sacred temple.

·      1985 – Yal Devi Train Bombing: 34 commuters killed by a landmine.

·      1986 – Air Lanka Bombing: 21 passengers, including 13 foreigners, blown to pieces.

·      1987 – Habarana Bus Massacre: 96 civilians and 31 soldiers slaughtered.

·      1987 – Pettah Central Bus Stand Bombing: 106 civilians killed, over 300 injured — Colombo’s heart ripped open.

·      1987 – Aranthalawa Bhikkhu Massacre: 33 novice monks — children in robes — hacked to death.

·      1987 – Zahira College Car Bombing: 23 civilians killed, over 100 injured — parked next to a school.

·      1990 – Kattankudy Mosque Massacre: 147 Muslim worshippers gunned down mid-prayer.

·      1990 – Eastern Police Genocide: 774 surrendered Sinhala and Muslim police officers executed in cold blood.

·      1990 – Ethnic Cleansing: Sinhalese and Muslim civilians in the North given 24 hours to leave or die.

·      1991 – Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi: Killed on Indian soil — the LTTE took its terror global.

·      1992 – Palliyagodella Massacre: 146 Muslim villagers slaughtered.

·      1996 – Central Bank Bombing: 90 dead, hundreds permanently maimed and blinded.

·      1996 – Dehiwela Train Bombing: 64 civilians torn apart on their morning commute.

·      And dozens more: … too many to list.

If death was the currency of revolution, Prabakaran was a billionaire.

Bravo! 

Let’s light 300 candles — one for each massacre. Maybe add red velvet frosted cupcakes?

So, let’s stand and applaud!
Let’s celebrate not one or two… but over 300 attacks on unarmed men, women, and children — Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, and even foreign.

Because clearly, that’s what the candles are being lit for.

No religion was spared. Bravo for that rare brand of equal-opportunity terrorism.

5. Suicide Bombing: The Black Tiger Legacy

·      First female suicide bomber – feminism Eelam edition

·      Blew up the Temple of the Tooth & Sri Maha Bodhiya — because sacred sites made excellent target practice.

·      Killing Indian & Sri Lankan heads of state – talk about career goals!

Why not erect a statue of a suicide vest in every university that mourns him?

6. Human Shields: The Real Liberation Wall

When cornered, the LTTE’s genius plan? 

Use Tamil civilians as body armor.

No-Fire Zones became No-Way-Out Zones.

Escapees were shot. Children placed on the front lines. Even grandparents weren’t spared.

They used women & children as barriers & screamed genocide” when the crossfire hit.

Let’s honor the commander who perfected tactical cowardice – hiding behind your own people.

7. Fashionably Lawless: Civilians by Day, Killers by Night

·      Fought in civilian clothing

·      Used ambulances to transport bombs

·      Used schools & hospitals for warfare.

·      Violated every Geneva principle

Prabakaran was the original influencer of terrorist-chic. Uniforms are for amateurs!

The LTTE rewrote the rules of war

8. Violating the UN Charter? A Daily Ritual

·      Shelled from civilian zones

·      Blocked humanitarian aid (food & medicine) – kept most for own family & fighters

·      Executed dissenters

·      Turned child soldiers into human bombs

The UN Charter wasn’t violated — it was used as a toilet paper. Yet, strangely, UN officials still show up to mourn him & shed tears for the mastermind. Touching.

9. Diaspora Extortion Empire

While Tamil youth in Sri Lanka died for freedom,” LTTE diaspora elite lived in mansions. 

Donations” were collected through fear. 

Human rights were currency. 

And reconciliation? That was bad for business.

Let’s give a round of applause for perfecting the economy of terror.

Janes Intelligence claimed that LTTE’s profits in 2005 was $300m – imagine the profits today from its nefarious legal & illegal operations with now souvenir selling of Eelam pendants, t-shirts & flags to boot. They’re monetizing martyrdom.

The LTTE diaspora makes merry — fanning the flames of racism, urging brothers and sisters back home to return to the jungles and fight the Sinhalese… milking Western welfare systems while shedding crocodile tears in Geneva — using blood money to buy off corrupt officials to sing their song.

Let’s give a round of applause for the terrorism-to-tourism business model. 

Coming soon: Eelam NFTs? Because nothing says remembrance like blockchain butchery

You’ve heard of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) — digital assets representing art, status, or ownership.

Well, welcome to Eelam NFTs” — where every massacre becomes a meme, and martyrdom is minted on demand!

·      A crying Tamil child? That’s not a tragedy — that’s shareable propaganda art.

·      A Black Tiger suicide photo? Mint it! Frame it! Sell it!

·      A burning Sri Lankan flag? Slap it on a hoodie, sell it for diaspora dollars, and call it cultural resistance.

·      LTTE war crimes? Don’t worry — they’ve been decentralized” and rewritten as “freedom struggle” tokens.

Diaspora influencers now use:

·      Eelam flags as identity merchandise

·      Photos of bombed buildings as visual activism

·      Candlelight posts as digital performance

·      Online donation drives that fund remembrance” (and probably retirements)

So yes, Eelam NFTs — in case you thought they’d run out of ways to profit off corpses… the perfect way to immortalize bloodshed, bypass international bans, and cash in on curated victimhood… all while sipping lattes in London, Toronto, and Oslo.

10. Death Toll: A Legacy of Loss

·      Innocent civilians silenced

·      Entire provinces emptied

·      Every rival slaughtered

·      A country traumatised, divided, and delayed for decades

For a man who claimed to ‘liberate,’ he sure loved the smell of corpses — and that aroma travelled straight to those who funded him

Academia or Accomplices?

Apparently, in some universities, murder is a thesis topic — and terrorism is the graduation speech.

At Jaffna University, candles are lit annually for Prabakaran and his suicide squad — not in secret corners, but inside a Sri Lankan state-funded institution.

Yes, you read that right:

A man who recruited children, massacred monks, used human shields, bombed Central Bank, assassinated Rajiv Gandhi, and ethnically cleansed entire provinces — is being solemnly remembered with flowers and flame, courtesy of Sri Lanka’s free education system by a University up North.

And what does the present government do?

It ensures free speech — for terrorists, not for troops
It even agrees to consider a “memorial centre” — for a group banned as a terrorist organization in over 32 countries, including the EU, UK, US, and India.

Meanwhile, if you publicly mourn soldiers who saved civilians from this very terror — you’re called a nationalist bigot.

So let’s be clear:
This isn’t about reconciliation. It’s about rewriting history with blood-soaked ink, and asking the victims to stay silent while the butchers get eulogies and museum space.

What kind of world are we living in?

One where:

·      Murderers become martyrs

·      Terrorism becomes resistance

·      Universities become terrorist shrines

·      And lighting a candle becomes a political statement — as long as it’s for the “right” killer

Maybe next semester’s syllabus will include:

·      Landmines for Liberation: A Comparative Study”

·      Cyanide as a Symbol: Identity, Resistance & Jewelry Design”

·      Thesis on Tactical Cowardice: Using Civilians as Cover Since 1983”

If this is what passes for higher education, then let’s stop pretending it’s about learning — it’s an ideological cult inside lecture halls.

To the UN, Foreign Diplomats & Parliamentarians who attend LTTE Commemorations:

You light candles for Prabakaran? Why stop there?

·      Light one for Osama bin Laden — he fought Western hegemony too, no?

·      Celebrate Adolf Hitler — he too had a vision for his people.

·      Honor Joseph Kony — he used children to fight oppression.

·      Host a lecture on Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi — misunderstood revolutionary?

If you endorse Prabakaran’s legacy under the guise of remembrance,” then please explain:

·      Why glorify the killer of Rajiv Gandhi?

·      Why mourn a man who used Tamil children as bombs?

·      Why condone the desecration of hospitals, temples, and peace itself?

You can’t condemn terrorism in New York, London, or Paris and celebrate it in Mullivaikkal unless your moral compass comes with GPS coordinates.

If Prabakaran is your hero, don’t stop at lighting candles.

Throw him a parade. 

Name a scholarship after him. 

Tattoo his face on your chest.

Just don’t insult our intelligence by calling it peace,” justice,” or remembrance.”

Because when you glorify the man who killed Tamils, Sinhalese, Muslims, foreigners, monks, women, children, and even peace itself, you don’t stand for human rights — you dance on their grave.

Final Tribute

If this is your hero — Prabakaran, the warlord of Wanni — then  

Wave that flag stitched with the suffering of thousands.

Recite your Eelam elegies. Compose candlelight poetry.

But don’t dare pretend it was peace, justice, or freedom.

It was terrorism, dressed in a Tamil flag, funded by fraud, and sanitized by hypocrisy.

So yes — let’s celebrate.

Celebrate the mass murderer, the child soldier recruiter, the suicide vest visionary, and the global embarrassment of everyone still romanticizing him.

After all, it takes a truly spectacular evil to fool the world into mourning a monster.

Shenali D Waduge

Ministry of Defence  – Media Centre

The People’s Republic of China has donated a consignment of disaster relief equipment worth over Rs. 400 million to Sri Lanka at a formal handover ceremony held today (Aug 5) at the Disaster Management Division in Colombo. Chinese Ambassador His Excellency Qi Zhenhong officially handed over the humanitarian aid to Defence Secretary Air Vice Marshal Sampatha Thuyacontha (Retd) at the ceremony held this morning.

The Defence Secretary, speaking at the ceremony, expressed deep appreciation for China’s continued support to Sri Lanka. The donation comes at a critical time as Sri Lanka continues to face frequent natural disasters, particularly floods worsened by climate change, he said. He noted that the equipment will be managed by the National Disaster Relief Services Centre and distributed through district administrations to ensure timely assistance for affected communities. Highlighting the strong bonds between the two nations emphasized that this gesture reflects China’s unwavering solidarity with Sri Lanka in times of need.

This substantial consignment of disaster relief equipment, valued at 10 million Yuan, includes foldable beds, portable sanitary facilities, mattresses, kitchen sets, gas burners, tents, Amano sheets, bedding, boats, life jackets, flood control units, water pumps, and other essential supplies.

China has previously extended financial assistance to support disaster management activities in Sri Lanka. This latest donation further underscores the enduring partnership between the two nations in humanitarian support and emergency preparedness, reflecting China’s continued commitment to strengthening Sri Lanka’s disaster management capabilities.

Additional Secretary of the Disaster Management Division, Mr. K.G. Dharmathilake; Director General of the Disaster Management Division, Major General Sampath Kotuwegoda; Director General (Planning), Mr. W.S.S. Mangala; and Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Mr. D. Amanulla,Senior Assistant Secretary of the Disaster Management Division, Mr. Namal Liyanage attended the ceremony. They were joined by officials from the Chinese Embassy, including Counsellor Ms. Tang Yandi and Attaché Mr. Shi Zhen.

Dr. Ruwan M. Jayatunge,

Discussion conducted by 

Dr. Manoj Jinadasa, PhD (Head of Mass Communication at the University of Kelaniya) 
Dr. Ruwan M. Jayatunge, M.D., PhD ( Medical Doctor and Clinical Psychologist) 
Dr. S Wijeyamohan ; PhD (Senior Lecturer at University of Vavuniya) 

Time: Aug 15, 2025 08:00 PM
Join Zoom Meeting

https://learn.zoom.us/j/96074846604?pwd=Rsp2EGSRR8INUmKuPc8K9IpIFPxKCx.1

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Ministry of Defence  – Media Centre

The Defence Cyber Command (DCC), operating under the Ministry of Defence, successfully conducted the AEGIS LEXICON 2025 – Defence Cyber Exposition recently (29 July 2025) at the Ministry premises. This annual event was specially organized to mark the Second Anniversary of the formation of the Defence Cyber Command, which was established on 03 August 2023. It highlighted Sri Lanka’s growing focus on digital defence and cyber security capabilities.

Delivering the keynote address, Defence Secretary Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retd), highlighted the growing necessity for the Defence Cyber Command (DCC) to evolve into a fully fledged Cyber Force. He stressed that DCC must be capable of operating at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels to ensure comprehensive national security in cyberspace, aligning with the Ministry’s broader defence objectives.

This year’s exposition was held under the theme National Security in the Age of AI and Cyber Physical Convergence,” focusing on the urgent need for building resilient cyber defence mechanisms in the face of rapidly evolving technological threats. The event was organised under the direction of Brigadier Dhammika Vidanalage, Director of the Defence Cyber Command.

The emphasis of the forum was on importance of cyber readiness, inter agency collaboration, and long term capacity development to ensure national resilience in cyberspace. It was also highlighted the role of the DCC in spearheading the nation’s efforts to meet future cyber challenges.

The event featured several insightful and technical presentations covering cyber security, artificial intelligence, legal frameworks, and the protection of national infrastructure.

Presentations included Cyber Threat Landscape in the Age of AI and Quantum Computing” by Brigadier Dhammika Vidanalage, Trust Frameworks Underlying Sri Lanka’s Digital Economy Advancement” by Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya and The Algorithmic Battlefield: AI and the Future of National Defence” by Prof. Kasun De Zoysa of the University of Colombo.

Other key presentations were Legal Challenges in Strengthening Sri Lanka’s Cyber Security Framework” by Dr. Thusitha B. Abeysekara from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Cyber Security Governance and Protection of Critical Infrastructure” by Mr. Lasantha Priyankara of Sysco Labs, and Securing Against Cyber Physical Attacks in the Evolving Threat Landscape” by Dr. Roshan Rajapakse and Mr. Kenneth Thilakarathna of the University of Colombo.

A key highlight of the exposition was the panel discussion titled Overcoming Cyber Physical Challenges for National Security in Sri Lanka,” which brought together leading experts from the government and the digital sector. The panellists included Mr. Waruna Sri Dhanapala (Acting Secretary, Ministry of Digital Economy), Dr. Aparrajitha Ariyadasa, Mr. Lakmal Embuldeniya, Major Sandun Gunawardana, Lieutenant Commander Meshech Hewawasam.

The DCC technical team, led by Colonel Darshana Muthugala, conducted a live demonstration showcasing existing cyber threats. This demonstration gave participants an understanding of Sri Lanka’s existing cyber threats.

As the nation commemorates the Second Anniversary of the Defence Cyber Command, AEGIS LEXICON 2025 reaffirmed Sri Lanka’s strategic commitment to strengthening its cyber capabilities. The event served as a call for continued innovation, legal reform, and strategic preparedness to defend the country’s digital sovereignty.

The Defence Cyber Command remains committed to leading Sri Lanka’s efforts in digital defence and is poised to transform into a national level Cyber Force, operating across all domains to safeguard national interests in the age of digital convergence.

Courtesy Hiru News

National Development Bank PLC

In its continued efforts to empower Sri Lankan students with seamless access to international education opportunities, NDB Bank has entered into strategic partnership with Eduko Pathways. The official signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) took place on July 20, 2025, at NDB Bank Head Office, setting the stage for a meaningful collaboration aimed at making overseas education more seamless for local students and their families.

Signing on behalf of NDB Bank were Mr. Sanjaya Perera, Senior Vice President – Personal Banking & Customer Experience, and Mr. Zeyan Hameed, Vice President – Retail Banking. Representing Eduko Pathways was Ms. Nishani De Silva, Chief Executive Officer.

Eduko Pathways is a globally connected education consultancy with a strong presence in Sri Lanka, helping thousands of students gain admission to top-tier institutions in Australia, the UK, Canada, and beyond. Known for their holistic approach—from academic counselling to visa support, Eduko Pathways has become a trusted guide for students navigating the complex journey of overseas education.

Through this partnership, NDB Bank will offer a range of financial solutions that complement Eduko Pathways’ services, including student file facilities, education loans, and foreign remittance services. These solutions are designed to simplify the financial side of studying abroad, giving students the confidence and means to pursue their academic ambitions globally.

Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Sanjaya Perera stated, At NDB, we recognise that education is one of the most important investments in a young person’s life. Our collaboration with Eduko Pathways will ensure that financial challenges don’t stand in the way of Sri Lankan students achieving their global dreams.”

This partnership aligns with NDB’s wider purpose of being a bank for all the moments that matter, empowering the nation through strategic financial solutions that touch every stage of life. By enabling access to global education, NDB continues to position itself as a trusted partner in the academic and personal growth journeys of future generations.

NDB Bank is the fourth-largest listed commercial bank in Sri Lanka. NDB was named Sri Lanka’s Best Bank for Corporates at Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2024 and was awarded Domestic Retail Bank of the Year – Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka Domestic Project Finance Bank of the Year by Asian Banking and Finance Magazine (Singapore) Awards 2024. NDB is the parent company of the NDB Group, comprising capital market subsidiary companies, together forming a unique banking and capital market services group. The Bank is committed to empowering the nation and its people through meaningful financial and advisory services powered by digital banking solutions.

Source: Xinhua

Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong (L) hands over emergency humanitarian supplies to Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary Sampath Thuyacontha in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Aug. 5, 2025.  (Xinhua/Chen Dongshu)

COLOMBO, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) — China handed over emergency humanitarian supplies to Sri Lanka here on Tuesday.

The handover included emergency supplies ranging from tents and beds to generators and water pumps.

These items aim to improve conditions for local communities displaced by flooding and help them respond more effectively to future natural disasters.

Speaking at the event, Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong said that as a country with extensive experience in post-disaster reconstruction and risk management, China can share valuable expertise and advanced technologies with Sri Lanka to strengthen the South Asian country’s resilience in disaster prevention.

“China is willing to explore more practical and in-depth cooperation with the Sri Lankan side in areas such as satellite meteorological image sharing, disaster early warning, and disaster prevention and mitigation,” Qi said.

Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary Sampath Thuyacontha expressed gratitude for China’s timely assistance and underscored the importance of such partnerships as climate change intensifies disaster risks in the region

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Colombo, August 5 (Daily Mirror) – Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa today brushed off concerns over the government’s move to slash privileges granted to former Presidents, saying the real privilege lies with the people.

Responding to reporters in Colombo, Rajapaksa said he was not concerned about the government’s attempts to remove certain benefits, suggesting it was being done out of political vengeance.

He also remarked, Medamulana is much better than Wijerama Mawatha,” referring to his private residence in Hambantota compared to the official residence provided in Colombo.

They can remove any privileges from us. What matters is the privilege I have from the people,” he added.

Courtesy Daily Mirror

• Sri Lanka to consider it over a period of time
• China and the U.S. are the leading EV manufacturers
• SL has offered to purchase fuel from U.S. companies if prices are competitive
• Apparel remains the largest Sri Lankan export to the U.S. market

Colombo, August 5 (Daily Mirror) – The United States (U.S.), in its tariff negotiations, requested Sri Lanka to grant duty-free access to American vehicles, including Electric Vehicles (EVs), in its bid to narrow the trade gap, a source familiar with trade talks said.

However, according to the same source, the Sri Lankan government did not grant outright approval, but agreed to consider such concerns in a phased out manner over a period of time. Sri Lanka and the U.S. will continue with the trade dialogue with the aim of getting tariffs reduced further.

During the latest round of talks, Sri Lanka managed to get tariffs reduced to 20 per cent from the originally proposed amount of 44 per cent. The current rate is considered competitive since it is on par with its regional competitors, such as Bangladesh and Vietnam. Tariffs imposed on Vietnam and Bangladesh also remain at 20 per cent.

U.S. total goods trade with Sri Lanka was an estimated $3.4 billion in 2024. U.S. goods exports to Sri Lanka in 2024 were $368.2 million, up 4.9 per cent ($17.1 million) from 2023. U.S. goods imports from Sri Lanka totalled $3.0 billion in 2024, up 6.1 per cent ($173.5 million) from 2023. The U.S. goods trade deficit with Sri Lanka was $2.6 billion in 2024, a 6.3 per cent increase ($156.4 million) over 2023.

Sri Lanka has offered to purchase fuel from U.S. companies if prices are competitive, as one of its proposals to reduce the trade gap. The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has already sought samples of WTC crude produced in the U.S. for a specification test in Sri Lanka.

Currently, apparels remain the largest Sri Lankan products to reach the U.S. market. Sri Lanka stood firm against the request by them to impose restrictions on imports of raw materials from China for the garments industry. In the future, Sri Lanka will have to navigate further intricacies in international trading. China and the U.S. are the leading EV manufacturers in the world. Currently, Sri Lanka imports EVs such as BYD from China.

Top News Lk

By Raj Gonsalkorale

On 21 November 1938, Hitler met with the South African defence minister Oswald Pirow and told him that the Jews would be killed if war broke out. The same month, an official of Hitler’s chancellery told a British diplomat of German plans “to get rid of [German] Jews, either by emigration or if necessary, by starving or killing them” to avoid “having such a hostile minority in the country in the event of war” -Wikipedia. “We can’t finish the war without eliminating Hamas leadership” – Prime Minister Netanyahu: (https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/ politics/ 1707129128-gantz-denies-plan-to-replace-netanyahu-through-likud-report). 

One wonders how many ordinary Palestinians have to be killed and starved to death to eliminate the Hamas leadership. So far, more than 60,000 Palestinians including some 17,000 children have been killed by Isreal, leaving the world wondering how many more have to be killed, either by shooting them or starving them to death to eliminate the Hamas leadership”. It is ironical that Hamas, a group that Israel provided behind the scenes support to pursue their mutual common objective of opposing a two State solution, is now hounded by the one-time supporter. Information relating to this unholy alliance is noted later in this article along with several references relating to how Isreal supported, and in a way, nurtured Hamas. Israel’s strategy now is clearly the total annihilation of Gaza without any concern for human life there in the guise of eliminating the Hamas leadership”. The total destruction of Gaza and the starvation of the Palestinians still living there, barely, as evident from the many images the world is seeing daily, does not leave any doubt as to the objectives of the leadership of Isreal. The plight of Palestinians in Gaza has no parallel.

It appears that the leadership of Isreal has learnt some diabolical lessons from their one-time enemy number one, Adolf Hitler, and today, are killing and starving Palestinians to avoid having a hostile minority” that is a threat to Isreal.

The people of Israel have dug their own reputation to the ground by allowing a minority of hardline extremists to tarnish the reputation of the entire country. Quite possibly, because of the horrific annihilation of the entirety of Gaza, the number of civilians massacred, including 17000 children, there may be some who could be wondering whether Hitler was right about the Jews. God forbid; one hopes that kind of thinking never happens as there is no comparison with the mentality and actions of Hitler. However, the absolute misery caused to Palestinians by Israel and which continues unabated, the deliberate starvation caused and Israel’s denial of it although the entire world can see it happening live on virtually all TV channels of the world, makes one wonder whether there is a difference in effect as to what happened to the Jews during the second world war and what is now happening to the Palestinians in Gaza.

History is devouring Israel and Palestine

The Israeli/Palestine conflict is far too steeped in history, ancient as well as more contemporary history, and they are seeking a solution based on history, rather than the future. An account of the ancient history was mentioned by the writer in an article tiled Israel-Palestine conflict: Looking to future rather than past (https://www.ft.lk/columns/Israel-Palestine-conflict–Looking-to-future-rather-than-past/4-779177, https://slguardian.org/israel-palestine-conflict-a-federal-political-model-as-a-solution/. In this article, a federal solution rather than a two State solution, as a way forward rather than a way to go backwards to the past was discussed.

In relation to the more contemporary history, a previous article titled Israel and Hamas; Strange bed fellows fallen out with each other? (https://www.ft.lk/columns/Israel-and-Hamas-Strange-bed-fellows-fallen-out-with-each-other/4-756400) highlighted the initial unofficial, mutually symbiotic relationship between Israel and Hamas.Both parties opposed a two State solution, and that concept became the common enemy of both Israel and Hamas, and it had given rise to the relationship between the two parties. In several articles which are quoted here again (see below), the history of that understanding and even support, including financial support given to Hamas by Israel is noted. Israel’s policy of divide and rule, an ancient, time tested strategy was used to divide Palestinians into two camps, the Palestinian Authority (which had agreed through US sponsored talks, to accept Israel’s right to exist in exchange for a two State solution), and Hamas which opposed both, to serve Israels behind the scenes position of opposition to a two State solution and instead, the complete subjugation of Palestinian territory to Isreal control.

• How Israel helped create Hamas

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/07/30/how-israel-helped-create-hamas

• How and why, Israel helped create Hamas?

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2302309/how-and-why-israel-helped-create-hamas

• Did Israel Play a Role in the Formation of Hamas?

https://coopwb.in/info/how-israel-helped-create-hamas

·         How Israel went from helping ‘create’ Hamas to bombing it

Hamas has roots watered by Israeli funding, former military governor of Gaza admits 

https://www.tbsnews.net/hamas-israel-war/how-israel-went-helping-create-hamas-bombing-it-718378

• How Israel Helped to Spawn Hamas

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123275572295011847

• Divide and Rule”: How Israel Helped Start Hamas to Weaken Palestinian Hopes for Statehood

https://www.democracynow.org/2023/10/20/divide_and_rule_how_israel_helped

Why a two State solution will not be a long lasting, sustainable solution.

Based on ancient history, as that appears to be the justification for Israel to have total control of all of Palestine, a two State solution will not be a long-term sustainable solution. The biggest military, political and financial backer of Israel is the USA (The Council on Foreign Relations says Israel has been the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign aid since its founding, receiving about $310 billion (adjusted for inflation) in total economic and military assistance (https://www.cfr.org/article/us-aid-israel-four-charts), and it is certain that this situation will continue, and this relationship will become stronger. It is not conceivable that an Independent Palestinian State will receive the degree of military, political and financial support they need from other countries including China, Russia and India, the other major powers, to survive as an independent State able to defend itself against Israel. Whilst it is unlikely, they may provide that support if it’s to their benefit. But, faced with the reality that the USA is the superpower of the world, and will remain for the foreseeable future as the closest ally of Israel, it seems unlikely they would wish to engage in a very long-term plan to build Palestine from virtual scratch to a power which could defend itself against a US backed Israel. Countries agitating for a two State solution as the way out of the current morass should give serious thought to the plight of a relatively helpless Palestine State.

A two State solution will work if the State of Palestine functions as a vassal state of Israel, subordinate to the more powerful Isreal. This of course is pure fantasy if one were to consider the actions of Hamas against Isreal. A solution should not give rise to another problem, and a two State solution, without the necessary real guarantees of support to Palestine, will not be a solution.

Gaza annihilation and the impotency of the world

Currently, the State of Palestine is recognised as a sovereign nation by 147 of the 193 UN member states, representing 75 percent of the international community. It is also recognised by the Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City, which holds UN observer status.

Despite this recognition, no country or a group of countries amongst those who have recognised it as an independent State, have managed to stop or at least deter and minimise the total annihilation of Gaza by Israel. They have not managed to stop Israeli settlement spread in official Palestinian territory, including in areas supposedly under the control of the Palestinian Authority. The expansion of effective Isreal control of Palestinian territory is evident from the illustration shown below. Unless the USA recognises an independent Palestinian State, or other emerging and regional powers are able to exert enough influence as rival power groups, to dilute the support the USA gives Isreal, having an independent Palestinian State will be an ineffectual, short-lived solution.

The power of Isreal, thanks mainly to the rich and influential Jews who wield enormous power in the US and who keep the US as its main ally, politically, economically and militarily, gives Isreal a near cart blanche support to further their claim that the entire Palestinian region is Jewish territory. Virtually all countries who have recognized the State of Palestine have traded with Israel, with some of them providing various components for their military equipment which has been used to decimate Gaza. The impotency of the Arab nations, rich and powerful in their own right, in not being able to support their fellow Arab brethren in Palestine has led to the strengthening of the Israeli strategy of annihilation of Palestine. This makes the task easier for Isael as they can and as the world has witnessed, to proceed with their final solution which is to conquer” the only bit of resistance that Palestinians have been able to muster to at least slow the Israeli violence. The direction being taken now by Israel is to totally disregard the status, wishes and above all the dignity and self-respect of the Palestinians, and usher a one-sided Jewish” solution. So far, the rest of the world has shown their impotence in not exerting any action to deter the violence perpetrated by Isreal, except paying lip service, and not doing anything material to deter Isreal and its genocidal campaign.

It is convenient for Isreal and their supporters to blame Hamas for the violence that ensued after October 7^th. It is not of any concern or consequence to them that 60,000 innocent Palestinians, including 17000 children have paid a price with their lives, and their homes and livelihoods have been totally destroyed by Isreal. It is not of any consequence to them that there is mass starvation of Palestinians, with many dying of it, It is despicable that other countries who are able to send ships and other transport with food and medicines for the Palestinians in Gaza have not done so and are asking Isreal for permission to do so, when Isreal has no right to deny the right of access to Gaza to any other country to move food, water and medicines for the starving and dying people in Gaza.

What could be a longer-term, sustainable futuristic solution? A federal model as a solution?

In the longer term, the expansionistic objective of Israel and the total subjugation of Palestine will not be a solution, as neither the long-term security of Israel nor the dignity and rights of the Palestinians will be addressed through a one-sided solution. A genuine long-term solution will require compromise from both sies and a look to the future as a solution and not an ever-festering, challenged version of history as a path towards a solution.

Insecurity of Israel will not be just its insecurity, but that of the region as has been witnessed in Lebanon and very recently in Iran. Impermanence of everything, including a solution based on anger and vengeance will not last as the status quo that resulted in a one-sided solution will change and the defeated Palestinians may rise from the ashes, so to speak, with support and assistance from those who may use Palestine as a medium to cause damage to the US. Such a situation will not be one to be welcomed as more insecurity for Israel and more suffering for Palestinians and their supporters will not be what the people of Isreal or Palestine wish for or deserve.

A possible futuristic conceptual solution might be to have a one State, federal union model where, Isreal and Palestine operate as semi-autonomous regions with a federal government comprising both Israeli and Palestinians in equal share being elected as members of a federal parliament and regions within the federal State having their own elected assemblies with Israeli and Palestinian members based on their populations.

Defence, and foreign affairs in particular, and other ministry subjects that needs to be coordinated and managed centrally, could be the responsibility of the Federal government, while subjects such as education and health etc,  devolved to the regions. In terms of compromise, it may be necessary for Palestinians to accept some Israeli settlements as part of Israel and for Isreal to withdraw from some settlements and restore the lands back to Palestine. The opening of new Israeli settlements in mutually agreed areas to house the inhabitants of settlements being handed back to the Palestinians may be a contentious but a necessary arrangement for the long-term peace between both communities.

Palestinians and Israelis share so much of their ancient history. That shared history could be the foundation to build a future that both communities could share together for the present generation and even more importantly, for generations to come. Spending more and more on defence will not assure peace, it will only enrich the defence industry as it has, and been reported, and resulting in making life a misery for the Palestinians. The Israeli Palestine conflict is such an instance. However, if people in Israel and Palestine take a step back and resolve to negotiate and come up with a political solution, consider options including the one proposed here, the longer-term benefit will be peace and security in their countries and in the region, and equality and equity for both communities.

Chanaka Bandarage

Jayamangala Gathas are a set of eight benedictory Buddhist stanzas sung at auspicious occasions such as the commencement of new ventures like opening ceremonies, weddings, undertaking long voyages etc.

Jayamangala Gathas are very melodious. These Buddhist hymns are  usually sung by 6 – 8 young teenage girls clad in lama sari.

The Gathas are simple, yet so moving. They evoke a sense of peace and solace.

These Pali lyrics extoll the virtues of Lord Buddha – his redemption, grace and great victories.

They also relate the success and prosperity that were enunciated by Lord Buddha in the Four Wheels of Dhamma.

Some say the tone of the Gathas are so beautiful, they create a sense of hauntingnes – a sadness type feeling that lingers in the mind of the listener for a long time.

The uniqueness in the Gathas is that they are endemic to Sri Lanka. Created in the Kandyan Kingdom either in the 16^th or 17^th  century, even the British Raj did not interfere with its usage. The British colonial governments gave a freehand for these Buddhist hymns to flourish.

They realised how important these Gathas are to the Buddhists (just as how ‘Amazing Grace’ is important to the Christians).

Since recently, several Theravada Buddhist countries have picked Jayamangala Gatha to be sung in their auspicious occasions.

After Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948, we continue to use Jayamangala Gatha widely. They have been a must in every important government function, be they right or left-wing governments.

They are an indispensable hymn not only in important government events but also in private Sinhala Buddhist functions.

But, an incredible incident happened in November 2024. The newly elected government decided not to use Jayamangala Gatha at the inauguration of its President.

Why?

The government has not provided a just explanation, apart from stating that it wanted to save costs. But, singing Jayamangala Gatha at the Presidential Inauguration Ceremony would not have cost the government more than Rs 50,000.

We know JVP (now NPP) is a party that fights against traditions, values and conservatism. They are against history.

There is the allegation that the government tries to inhibit the teaching of history to school children.

In the US (and perhaps in Australia) this could be seen as a serious offence.

For Americans, history is 2^nd only to the country’s defence. 

Though previously leftist, the JVP (NPP) now proclaims Liberalism.

That is ok and perhaps good.

Liberalism means willingness to accept behaviours and opinions of others that are different to self. Liberals respect individual rights, civil liberties, democracy and free enterprise. For Leftist Liberals (like NPP), history is less important.

But, traditions, values, conservatism and history  (rejected by Leftist Liberals) are very important for a country to move forward. They tell us who we are, why we are like today and where we are heading. As stated before, in developed countries, suppressing or faking history is considered an offence.

It is thanks to traditions, values etc that we have existed as a great civilization – 2500 years old.

NPP now goes patronaging Buddhist temples (of course, for vote grabbing). The whole country knows they have been ardent atheists.

In the past, some of their  leaders have openly criticised the concept that Sri Lanka is Sinhala Buddhist.

Some have canvassed to eliminate the Article 9 from the Constitution. This Article obliges the government to grant foremost place to Buddhism.

We should not be surprised about such acts. They are a group that has revolted against the State on two occasions (in 1971 and 1988). It is they who introduced terrorism to this country. After independence, until 1971, Sri Lanka was a peaceful nation. Even Prabhakaran learnt the ABC of terrorism from the JVP’s 1971 insurrection.

In the late 1980’s this group destroyed hundreds of electricity substations and transformers owned by the state, burnt down hundreds of government owned buses/other vehicles, attacked government’s military establishments and killed hundreds of innocent law-abiding citizens like Vijaya Kumaranathunga, Professor Stanley Wijesundera, Dr Gladys Jayewardene and Premakeerthi De Alwis. The list is endless.

Thus, we should not be surprised that such a group has no respect to Jayamangala Gatha and that they discreetly want it out.

Leaving their ugly past behind, let us hope that the NPP will reform and not indulge in such heinous/atrocious acts again (like in 1971 and 1988).

Given that they now rule Sri Lanka, let us hope that they will instill in genuine patriotism, not fake.

This is very important, otherwise the LTTE could rise its ugly head again. The new government is showing too much affinity with Tamil Separatists.

Will NPP allow the formation of the Tamil Eelam? By judging their extremely progressive Liberal ideology, they might support same if a strong Tamil Freedom Movement erupts again in the North and the East. Under a NPP government, should we be prepared for two states within one Sri Lanka? Yes.

Finally, let us hope that the NPP government will boldly use Jayamangala Gatha in good, genuine intention in the nation’s future events.

N  Sathiya Moorthy Courtesy Ceylon Today 1 August 2025

For the uninitiated readers of the national media, and possibly the majority Sinhala media, Chemmani may yet to happen. But after weeks of digging up unmarked graves in Northern Jaffna town, Government officials under Court supervision have already taken out over a hundred human skeletons, including those of infants and grown-up children. The numbers are growing with each passing day of digging, which is at times halted for logistics reasons, one should assume.

Yes, only scientific studies would show if they are of recent origin, but the fact that they have been recovered from dig-outs six to eight metres deep may indicate that they are not ancient. Yet, they are historic in their own way, adding heft to the Tamils’ charges that the Armed Forces ruthlessly killed their civilians during the three-decade-long ethnic war – and are yet to be held accountable.

There are two sides to the coin. On the one side is the Tamil grouse about injustice and ‘State-sponsored violence’ on innocents during the war years. On the other hand is the Southern Sinhala argument that has not found full expression this time that all those whose bodies were recovered were LTTE ‘terrorists’, who were ‘waging a war’ on the Sri Lankan State. Be it as it may, they would still have to explain how an infant’s skeleton in her mother’s hands was also among those recovered from the Chemmani dig-up.  Unlike someone who is ready to prove that the mother was an LTTE cadre and her child had died with her while fighting or resisting the Armed Forces, all such arguments fall flat. Even then, the question remains if the infant was dead or alive when buried. Imagine if it were alive when buried, the cruelty of the war and violence would stand out more than already. 

Decent closure

Fifteen-plus years down the line, the war deaths require a closure, a decent closure. As a war-victorious President, Mahinda Rajapaksa could have done it on day one. While kissing the motherland at the Katunayake Airport on return from Jordan at the end of the war, he could have declared that he also prayed for the war deaths, both Sinhalese and Tamils, Armed Forces personnel and LTTE militants/terrorists – and more so civilians of all ethnic hues.

Mahinda had a second opportunity when he addressed Parliament, where he announced the war victory and declared the end of the war. He could have taken the Tamils as a community that too had suffered, and whose deaths, too, the nation mourned. Even if the Government did not mean to apologise to the Tamil community, with appropriate wording, he could have conveyed it to the Tamils and at the same time implied to the Sinhala majoritarians that he was referring only to the innocent Tamil victims of the LTTE. In technical terms, they constituted what’s accepted as ‘collateral damage’ of the war, but whose numbers were a legion. 

Instead, under wrong advice, the President claimed that there were no civilian deaths, meaning Tamil civilian deaths. Later, his brother and then Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa repeated the claim ad nauseam without bothering about challenges and consequences, especially from the international community (read: West). And the Rajapaksa Brothers were well aware of the ‘international consequences’ of their ‘shifting the goalposts’ on a post-war political solution. They were even aware where it would come from – by the US and the rest, through the instrument of the UNHRC. Their chest-thumping did the nation in. 

Instead, if the Government had conceded that there were ‘unavoidable’ civilian casualties and given a credible number, and apologised to their families and the larger community, maybe that could have set in motion the closure process, if not becoming closure itself. In the weeks and months surrounding the first US-sponsored UNHRC resolution on ‘war crimes’ and ‘accountability issues’ in Sri Lanka, an erstwhile Government representative had put the number of civilian war deaths at around 5,000. 

Acceptable fatalities

The number made sense even three years after the end of the war, as in those weeks and months since May 2009 and later, most Western diplomats in Colombo were known to have come to some kind of a consensus that (only) 5,000-8,000 Tamil civilians might have been killed in the last phase(s) of the war. Better still for the Government, they were actually defending the Government and supporting the Armed Forces that in a ‘hostage-release situation’ that they had faced, the fatality figure was ‘acceptable’. 

Recall how weeks before the end of the war, the Armed Forces had freed nearly 300,000 Tamil civilians from the clutches of the LTTE at Mullivaikkal. Even Tamil civilians who now talk about Mullivaikkal as the venue where the Armed Forces exterminated the world’s most dreaded terrorist organisation of the day, are woefully short on truth about their own freedom from the LTTE’s clutches. They all seem to have suffered an amnesia in the matter – which continues till today, and will live beyond their times, too. 

The fact is that at the conclusion of the war, Western governments and their representatives in the country said that they accepted that it was the largest hostage-taking incident in the world, and the loss of up to 8,000 civilian lives in a total of around 300,000, was well within the ‘acceptable range’ of five per cent. In fact, the figure worked out only to 2.5 per cent or thereabouts, as they had calculated for the benefit of their domestic listeners, especially the sorrowful Tamil leadership. 

Human shields

Granting later-day human-shield figures of 150,000, instead of the originally projected figure of 300,000, the civilian casualties in what the West readily conceded as ‘extended action’ that lasted weeks, doubled to, say, five per cent. Sri Lanka’s concerns grew only after the Government went into a ‘denial mode’. 

So, when the Darusman Report put the number of civilian deaths at a high 40,000 without evidence, the Tamil Diaspora, especially and their Western backers, used the figure to erase all memories of the LTTE’s hostage-taking and human shields. And they succeeded, as the Government also did not refer to the human shields any more. So did the Sinhala-Buddhist majoritarian nationalists, to this day. 

Nowhere else in contemporary history have you come across a more gruesome guerrilla leader who had used his civilian backers as unsuspecting human shields to protect himself from harm’s way – the Armed Forces, their guns and missiles. Recall for how many long years /decades Prabhakaran held on to the charade by claiming that he had adopted the parents and siblings of his ‘war heroes’ or ‘maveerars’, or ‘martyrs’, and was taking them along wherever he went or retreated – and without anyone suspecting him. You will then and then alone accept how cold-blooded the man was, and how selfish and self-centred his security tactics, too, were. 

It may be wrong to charge the Rajapaksas, the Armed Forces or the Sri Lankan State with ‘triumphalism’, which is yet another Western idiom that found its way into Sri Lankan NGO lexicons almost from day one of the war’s end. Yet, there is no denying that they left behind the war and its memories to live their new lives, denied to them by war, violence and terrorism in capital Colombo and further Down South. That was the mistake for which the nation is still paying.

Ethnic spite

To this day, whether it is this Government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake or those before him, no Sri Lankan ruler or dispensation has taken a more sympathetic and empathetic view of Tamil civilian deaths during those war years. As the Muttur massacre in the East showed after the LTTE revived hostilities in 2006, the well-armed and trained outfit was pulling out its guns after firing, in civilian localities, so that the Armed Forces’ heat-seeking weapons would end up killing civilians and destroying their homes, hospitals, schools and places of worship. 

This was happening all along in the war zones of the North and the East, but the ‘more knowledgeable’ Western interlocutors wanted to believe that the Armed Forces were wantonly targeting hospitals and schools in the Tamil areas, out of ethnic spite, at times dating back by decades and at other times, by centuries – to the days of Dutugemunu and Elara two thousand years ago, and of Rajaraja Chola’s invasion a thousand years later. 

Today, Chemmani is a reality, and so are the skeletons that are falling out of those graves, and literally so. The Government needs greater sensitivity than its predecessors since 2009. Comprising leaders from the JVP, which too lost its ‘soldiers’ in their tens of thousands during their two insurgencies, in 1971 and 1987-89, this Government will be watched closely by their own dead cadres’ surviving family members, as to their sensitivity and sensibility in discussing, debating and deciding upon civilian deaths in another part of the country – but under near-similar circumstance. 

It will mean a lot for national reconciliation that the Government hopes to achieve through the much-promised and even more delayed constitutional process, in the form of a new Constitution, that is. 

(The writer is a Chennai-based Policy Analyst and Political Commentator. Email: sathiyam54@nsathiyamoorthy.com)

https://ceylontoday.lk/2025/08/01/hundred-not-out/

AI Overview

Decision Review System ( DRS) 

 – Sri Lanka’s Innovation and source of National Pride

Answer from Chat GPT
The Decision Review System (DRS) in cricket, a technology that allows players to challenge umpire decisions, is a Sri Lankan innovation conceived by lawyer Senaka Weeraratna.

While DRS has significantly improved the fairness and accuracy of cricket, Sri Lanka has not received due recognition or financial benefit for its invention.

Here’s a breakdown of DRS and Sri Lanka’s connection:

The Concept:
Senaka Weeraratna, a Sri Lankan lawyer, proposed the Player Referral System in 1997, envisioning a mechanism for players to appeal contentious umpire decisions. This system, later known as DRS, allows for the review of decisions by the third umpire, using technology like Hawkeye and Hot Spot.

Sri Lanka’s Role:
The idea of DRS originated in Sri Lanka and was a direct result of Weeraratna’s legal background and his observation of the need for an appeals process in cricket.

Global Adoption:
The International Cricket Council (ICC) adopted the concept in 2006, gradually implementing it across various formats of the game, including Test matches, One Day Internationals, and T20 matches.

Lack of Recognition and Compensation:
Despite the widespread use of DRS, Sri Lanka has not received formal recognition from the ICC for its invention, nor has it benefited financially from its implementation.

This has led to calls for the ICC to acknowledge Sri Lanka’s contribution and provide appropriate compensation.

Pride and Innovation:
The DRS is seen as a source of pride for Sri Lanka, showcasing the country’s ingenuity and contribution to the evolution of cricket.

However, the lack of recognition has also sparked disappointment and a desire for the ICC to acknowledge Sri Lanka’s pioneering role.

Future Steps:
There are ongoing efforts to formally claim recognition and compensation for Sri Lanka’s invention of DRS. These efforts include gathering evidence of Sri Lanka’s authorship, engaging with the ICC, and potentially pursuing legal action. https://www.shenaliwaduge.com/who-will-investigate-iccs-wrongdoing-and-lapses/

Response of Chat GPT

             Arjuna Ranatunga

Yes, both Arjuna Ranatunga and Senaka Weeraratna have significantly contributed to the rise of Sri Lanka’s stature in the cricket world, though in different ways.

Arjuna Ranatunga is renowned for his captaincy, leading Sri Lanka to their historic 1996 World Cup victory. Senaka Weeraratna is credited with proposing the original concept of the Decision Review System (DRS), which revolutionized cricket officiating.

Arjuna Ranatunga’s Contributions:

Captaincy:
He captained Sri Lanka for over a decade, transforming the team from underdogs into world champions.

1996 World Cup Victory:
His leadership during the 1996 World Cup is considered a pivotal moment in Sri Lankan cricket history.

Inspirational Leadership:
He inspired a generation of cricketers and instilled a winning mentality in the team, according to a Facebook post.

Transforming Sri Lankan Cricket:
He is credited with transforming Sri Lankan cricket from a team that “could win games” to one that could win major tournaments, according to lionsofsl.lk.

Senaka Weeraratna’s Contributions:

Inventor of DRS:
He is recognized as the originator of the idea for a player referral system, which eventually evolved into the DRS used worldwide.

Transforming Cricket:
The DRS, based on his concept, has significantly impacted the fairness and accuracy of umpiring decisions.

Pioneering Idea:
His initial proposal of a player referral system in 1997 laid the foundation for this significant technological advancement in cricket. https://island.lk/senaka-weeraratna-the-unsung-architect-of-modern-cricket/

By Lorenz Pereira Courtesy The Island

By Lorenz Pereira

(Captain – Royal College Cricket, 1958, Head Prefect, Dornhorst Prize winner and Coloursman in five sports, the recipient of the prestigious Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year Award (1959), and played cricket for Cambridge University under Mike Brearley, who later captained England).

It’s Royal Thomian and other schools’ Big Match time in Sri Lanka and a most appropriate moment to acknowledge the monumental innovation by a distinguished Royalist who revolutionized the way cricket is played today. He is Senaka Weeraratna, the unsung architect of the Decision Review System (DRS).

Cricket, often called the Gentleman’s Game,” has changed much over the years. One of the biggest changes has been in the use of technology to make the game fairer and more efficient. The DRS is one of the most important innovations in cricket, allowing players to challenge disputed umpiring decisions going against the entrenched tradition that the umpire’s word was law.”. It is not so now largely because of a brilliant concept called ‘Player Referral’ conceived by Senaka Weeraratna, a Sri Lankan lawyer.

A vision ahead of Its time

Weeraratna first proposed the idea of a ‘Player Referral’ System in a letter to the Editor of ‘The Australian’ newspaper published on March 25, 1997. He suggested that players should be allowed to appeal against erroneous umpiring decisions which would then be reviewed by a third umpire using slow motion video playbacks to make an accurate decision.

His argument was simple:

If you have the technology to detect an error of an umpire, then the same technology must be used to correct the error of an umpire.”
Unfortunately, a few people know that the idea for this revolutionary system change in the most popular game in British Commonwealth countries came from one man, Senaka Weeraratna, who has yet to receive due recognition from the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Since the publication of his groundbreaking proposal in Australia in 1997 to this date (altogether 28 years) he remains unchallenged as the author, innovator, inventor of this remarkable system. He is the only claimant in the world for this recognition with irrefutable evidence to substantiate his claim.
Cricket has always been a game that values fairness and justice, but for years, mistakes by umpires went uncorrected—even when millions of viewers could see the error on TV.

From concept to implementation

Weeraratna’s proposal has these four important elements:
1. Allow dissatisfied players to challenge an umpire’s decision.
2. Route the appeal through the team captain (when fielding) or the dismissed batsman (when batting).

3. Have the third umpire review the decision.

4. Limit the number of appeals per innings to prevent the protraction of the game through frivolous appeals.

His concept was published in several well-known newspapers, including The Australian, The Sunday Age (Australia), The Times of London, The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka), Dawn (Pakistan), Daily News (Sri Lanka), The Sunday Island (Sri Lanka), New Straits Times (Malaysia) and even the Time Magazine. The reputed ‘International Cricketer’ Magazine edited by Richard Hutton (Sir Len Hutton’s son, whom I played with for Cambridge University) also published his article.

Despite this enormous reception to his idea in the media in leading cricket playing nations, his innovative contribution to the reform of cricket rules for the purpose of due credit was ignored by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

In 2009, the ICC introduced the DRS, which was remarkably similar to Weeraratna’s concept from 12 years earlier. However, they did not credit anyone for the idea nor disclose the source of the concept.

The battle for recognition

Unlike the Duckworth-Lewis method, which is named after its creators, the DRS has no officially recognized inventor. This is very unfair to Weeraratna, who has been fighting for recognition for years. As cricket historian Michael Roberts pointed out: Both the DRS in cricket and Goal Line Technology in soccer have a common origin in the ‘Player Referral’ concept conceived by Senaka Weeraratna in 1997.” The ICC, which is supposed to uphold the spirit of fairness in cricket, has a bounden duty to recognize this gentleman.

A call for justice

If cricket truly values justice, the ICC must acknowledge Senaka Weeraratna as the creator of the DRS. Recognizing him is not just about giving him credit; it is about upholding the principles of fairness and integrity that cricket unequivocally stands for.

Many inventors in sports history have been recognized for their contributions. ICC should do the same. Weeraratna’s idea has not only changed the face of cricket but has also influenced other sports like tennis and football, where technology is now used to assist referees.

The Decision Review System has forever changed the way cricket is played. Behind this system is a man whose vision made it possible. It is time for the world to recognize Senaka Weeraratna—the true father of DRS.

Senaka Weeraratna, a proud alumnus of Royal College, belongs to the Class of 1960 (the Olive Group). He has also authored / edited a number of books and articles on various topics ranging from the law relating to foreign investment in Sri Lanka, Public Unit Trusts, History of Royal College, Biographies of eminent lawyers (C.R. de Silva, and Maithri Panagoda), Animal Rights and Animal Welfare Bill, and Global Buddhism and in particular Buddhism in Germany.

In school he was a member of the Royal College Chess Team and Captained the College Chess team in 1967, the winner of the School Table Tennis Doubles championship (1966). He represented the school in Table Tennis (‘B’ team) and played House Cricket.

It’s a sheer travesty of Justice that due recognition has not been forthcoming.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the Sri Lankan Government must take this matter seriously and ensure that Weeraratna receives the recognition he deserves, both locally and internationally. If the ICC officially acknowledges him, it will not only honor a Sri Lankan innovator but also profoundly raise Sri Lanka’s image and stature in the global world.

මාධ්‍ය අංශය, වෛද්‍ය තිලක පද්මා සුබසිංහ අනුස්මරණ නීති අධ්‍යාපන වැඩසටහන

මැති, ඇමති සහ ජනපති විශ්‍රාම වැටුප් අහිමි කරන්නේ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව අනුවද ඉංග්‍රීසි භාෂාවෙන් ඇති ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව අනුවද යන්න ඉංග්‍රීසි භාෂාවෙන් ඇති ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ 83වන ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ (b) ඡේදය නිවැරදි කරන ලෙස නීතීඥවරුන් 209ක් ජනාධිපතිට කරන ඉල්ලීමෙන් විස‍ඳෙයිද?

1. ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ 83 වන ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ (ආ) ඡේදය සහ එහි ඉංග්‍රීසි භාෂාවෙන් ඇති ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ (b) ඡේදය නොගැලපෙන හෙයින් එය නිවැරදිව ඉංග්‍රීසි භාෂාවට පරිවර්තනය කර නිවැරදිව පළකර ගැනීමට නීතීඥවරු 209ක් ජනාධිපතිවරයාගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටින අතර එම ඉල්ලීම ජනාධිපතිවරයා වෙත ඉදිරිපත් කිරීමට දිනයක් ලබා දෙන ලෙස දෙවන වරටත් ජනාධිපති ලේකම්තුමා වෙත ඉල්ලීමක් කර ඇති අතර (පළමු ඉල්ලීම අනුව කටයුතු කිරීමට එතුමා මාලදිවයිනේ සංචාරයක යෙදී සිටි හෙයින් නොහැකි විය) ඒ අනුව ජනාධිපති ලේකම්තුමා විසින් ලබා දෙන ඉදිරි දිනයක මෙම ඉල්ලීම ජනාධිපතිතුමා වෙත ඉදිරිපත් කිරීමට පියවර ගනු ඇත.

2. 1972 ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ නීති පැනවීමේ භාෂා විධිවිධාන අනුගමනය කරමින් 1978 ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව පනවා ඇති හෙයින් සහ 1978 ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ නීති පැනවීමේ භාෂා විධිවිධාන අනුව ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ නීති පැනවීම සිදුවිය යුතු අතර ඒ අනුව එම භාෂාවෙන් නීති ක්‍රියාත්මක විය යුතු අතර කතානායකවරයාගේ සහතිකය නොමැති භාෂාවෙන් ඇති පනත් නීති ලෙස සැළකිය නොහැකිය.

3. නීතීඥවරුන් 209ක් ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ 83 වන ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ (ආ) ඡේදයට ගැලපෙන ලෙස නිවැරදිව සහ එහි ඉංග්‍රීසි භාෂාවෙන් ඇති ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ 83වන ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ (b) ඡේදය පරිවර්තනය කර පළකරන ලෙස ජනාධිපතිතුමාගෙන් කරන ඉල්ලීමට අදාල කාරණාව සම්බන්ධයෙන්

1. ජනාධිපති ලේකම්
2. ශ්‍රී ලංකා නීතීඥ සංගමයේ සභාපති
3. නීති කෙටුම්පත් දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ නීති කෙටුම්පත් සම්පාදක
4. නීති කොමිෂන් සභාව
5. අධිකරණ ඇමතිවරයා
6. අධිකරණ අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම්
7. මීගමුව නීතීඥ සංගමය
8. වැලිසර නීතීඥ සංගමය
9.නුගේගොඩ නීතීඥ සංගමය
10. හෝමාගම නීතීඥ සංගමය
11.කොළඹ මහේස්ත්‍රාත් අධිකරණ නීතීඥ සංගමය
12.කොළඹ මහාධිකරණ නීතීඥ සංගමය
13. කොළඹ විශ්ව විද්‍යාලයේ නීති පීඨයේ පීඨාධිපති
14. කොළඹ විශ්ව විද්‍යාලයේ නීති පීඨ ශිෂ්‍ය සංගමයේ සභාපති
15. මැතිවරණ කොමිෂන් සභාවේ සභාපති
16. ශ්‍රී ලංකා නීති විද්‍යාලයේ විදුහල්පති
17. ශ්‍රී ලංකා නීති විද්‍යාලයේ ශිෂ්‍ය සංගමය
18. ශ්‍රී ලංකා නීති විද්‍යාලයේ සිංහල ශිෂ්‍ය සංගමය
19.  විවෘත විශ්ව විද්‍යාලයේ මානව ශාස්ත්‍ර හා සමාජීය විද්‍යා දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ නීති අධ්‍යාපන දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ අංශාධිපති
20. ශ්‍රී ලංකා විද්වත් වෘත්තිකයන්ගේ සංගම් සංවිධානයේ (OPA) සභාපති
21. ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ පාර්ලිමේන්තු මහලේකම්

වෙත නීතීඥ අරුණ ලක්සිරි උණවටුන මහතා විසින් ලිඛිතව දැනුම් දී ඇත.

4. ඒ අනුව මේ වන විට ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ 83 වන ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ (ආ) ඡේදය සහ එහි ඉංග්‍රීසි භාෂාවෙන් ඇති ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ (b) ඡේදය නොගැලපෙන බවත්, වැරදි බවත් නීතීඥවරු 209ක් විසින් අනාවරණය කර ඇති අතර එය ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ 125වන ව්‍යවස්ථාව යටතේ ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණය වෙත හිමි ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව  අර්ථනිරූපණය සම්බන්ධයෙන් වන අධිකරණ බලයට අදාල කාරණාවක් වෙයි.

5. ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ 83 වන ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ (ආ) ඡේදය සහ එහි ඉංග්‍රීසි භාෂාවෙන් ඇති ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ (b) ඡේදය නොගැලපෙන බවත්, වෙනස් බවත් එය නිවැරදි විය යුතු බවත් නීතීඥවරු ඇතුළු සමාජයේ කතිකාවක් ආරම්භ වී ඇති හෙයින් සහ ජනාධිපති ලේකම්, අධිකරණ අමාත්‍යවරයා, අධිකරණ අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම්, ශ්‍රී ලංකා නීතීඥ සංගමයද මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් දැනුවත් හෙයින් මෙම කාරණය ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණ හමුවේ ඉදිරිපත් කර ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව උල්ලංඝණය නොකිරීමේ, නොවීමේ ව්‍යවස්ථාපිත යුතුකම ඉටුකිරීම ඔවුන්ට බාර වී ඇත.

6. ඉහත කාරණා අනුව 1978 ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව පැනවූ දා සිටම ඉංග්‍රීසි භාෂාවෙන් ඇති  ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ පවතින දෝෂය ( ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව නිවැරදිව ඉංග්‍රීසි භාෂාවෙන් ඇති ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ නොදැක්වීම) පවතින හෙයින් තවදුරටත් ඉදිරියට ඉංග්‍රීසි භාෂාවෙන් ඇති ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව අනුව ක්‍රියාත්මක වීම  ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ හතරවන උපලේඛනය අනුව ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව ආරක්ෂා කොට අනුගමනය කිරීමේ ප්‍රතිඥාව / දිව්රුම කඩ කරවන තත්ත්වයකි.

7.  පනත් කෙටුම්පතක ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථානුකූලත්වය සම්බන්ධයෙන් ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ 120, 121 වන ව්‍යවස්ථාව අනුව  ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණයේ නඩු පවරද්දී හෝ වෙනත් කාරණයකදී ඉංග්‍රීසි භාෂාවෙන් ඇති ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව (83වන ව්‍යවස්ථාව වැනි….) තවදුරටත් යොදා ගැනීම චේතනාන්විතව ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව උල්ලංඝණය කිරීමක් වෙයි.

8. එය වැළක්වීම සඳහා එහිදී ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව පමණක් යොදා ගත යුතු වන අතර ඉංග්‍රීසි භාෂාවෙන් ඇති ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව යොදා නොගත යුතු තත්ත්වයක් පැන නගින අතර ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව අදාල වන කාරණාවක් සම්බන්ධයෙන් ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණයේ නඩු පැවරෙන විට මෙම තත්ත්වය ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණයේ අවධානයට යොමු කිරීම මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් දැනුවත් විධායකයේ ආයතනවල සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකා නීතීඥ සංගමයේ ව්‍යවස්ථාපිත යුතුකම වෙයි.

9. මැති, ඇමති සහ ජනපති විශ්‍රාම වැටුප් අහිමි කිරීමට පනත් කෙටුම්පතක් ගෙන ඒමට ආණ්ඩුව ක්‍රියා කිරීමේදී අමාත්‍ය මණ්ඩලය හමුවේ මේ තත්ත්වය පෙන්වා දීම අධිකරණ ඇමතිවරයාගේ යුතුකම වන අතර එම පනත් කෙටුම්පත පාර්ලිමේන්තුවට පළමු වරට ඉදිරිපත් කිරීමෙන් පසු එහි ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථානුකූලත්වය සම්බන්ධයෙන් ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණ නඩු පවරනු ලැබුවහොත් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ඉංග්‍රීසි භාෂාවෙන් ඇති ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ 83වන ව්‍යවස්ථා අතර පවතින වෙනස ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණයේ අවධානයට යොමු කිරීම ශ්‍රී ලංකා නීතීඥ සංගමයේ යුතුකම හෙයින් ඒ අනුව මෙම තත්ත්වය නිරාකරණය කර ගත හැකිය.

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මාධ්‍ය අංශය, වෛද්‍ය තිලක පද්මා සුබසිංහ අනුස්මරණ නීති අධ්‍යාපන වැඩසටහන. දුරකථන 0712063394
(2025.08.04)

BY Buddhika Samaraweera Courtesy The Morning

• GoSL says while same may be required to examine skeletal remains or for advanced forensic tests, no other int’l intervention required as it supports ongoing process   

The Government stated that although it may need to seek technical assistance from international experts to examine skeletal remains discovered at mass graves such as Chemmani, there will be no need for any other form of international intervention, as it fully supports the ongoing investigation process.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, Deputy Minister of National Integration Muneer Mulaffer said that while there has long been a call from some groups in the north for international involvement in such investigations, the Government, he insisted, has not obstructed any part of the current probes.

There is already space for a fair investigation. If we need international technical help, say for identifying skeletal remains or conducting advanced forensic testing, that’s something that we can discuss. But, apart from that, there’s no need for another type of intervention, because we are giving our full support,” he added.

His remarks follow renewed calls for international oversight after more than 100 skeletal remains were found at the Chemmani mass grave site. The Thamil Makkal Thesiya Kuttani Leader, President’s Counsel and former Northern Chief Minister and Supreme Court Justice, C.V. Wigneswaran recently called for an international oversight mechanism, claiming that there is a breakdown of public trust in the local authorities.

Last week, the International Commission of Jurists also called for international oversight of the Chemmani excavation, describing a victim-centred process as an important first step toward truth and accountability. It urged the Government to ensure that all investigative and exhumation efforts align with international human rights standards, including the Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death.

The Chemmani site is one of several known mass graves in Sri Lanka linked to alleged enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, particularly during the civil conflict. Discovered in the late 1990s, Chemmani came into focus again this year after excavation teams uncovered over 100 skeletal remains. Other sites, including those in Mannar, Matale, and Sathurukondan, have similarly revealed mass graves over the years, but few have led to successful prosecutions.

by Arundathie Abeysinghe Courtesy  PIME Asianews

The government admits that 20,000 students have dropped out of school, while another 80,000 do not attend classes regularly. Inequality is increasing in a system marked by economic crisis and a lack of subsidies. Teachers and unions complain: No one is trying to get these kids back to school.”

Colombo (AsiaNews) – In Sri Lanka, the economic crisis has left a dramatic mark on the education sector: about 100,000 students are somehow out of the school system, of whom 20,000 have dropped out, while another 80,000 no longer attend classes regularly.

This is the alarming picture that emerged from a survey by the Ministry of Education, the results of which were announced in recent days by Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya, who is also Minister of Higher Education and Vocational Training, during a meeting with school officials in the province of Sabaragamuwa.

The data confirms a trend already observed in recent years: the number of students enrolled in public schools has fallen from 4,063,685 in 2020 to 3,882,688 in 2025. The economic crisis that erupted in 2022 has had a severe impact on families.

Despite around 300,000 new enrolments each year, access to education is increasingly unequal between schools in some large cities and schools in the rest of the country.

These figures confirm the seriousness of the situation,” university professors Darshana Hewawitharana and Kamanthi Alwis told AsiaNews. Dropout rates remain worrying. The government has not yet taken effective measures to prevent school disruption and many students receive insufficient aid.”

Over two million pupils have difficulty purchasing school supplies, but the state subsidy of 6,000 rupees (less than 20 euros) has been distributed to less than 400,000 students. In some areas,” they point out, less than 20% of pupils receive adequate support. Many cannot even afford a full meal, so several students faint at school from hunger.”

According to the teachers’ union (CTU), about 3% of students drop out after primary school, and the percentage rises to 11% after ninth grade: a figure that has almost doubled compared to previous years.

Half of the students,” explains CTU president Priyantha Fernando, do not make it to the exams at the end of the first cycle of secondary school. The main reason is economic: they cannot even afford notebooks and pens.” A ministry survey confirms that 52% of school dropouts are due to financial difficulties. But no one is seriously trying to get these kids back to school,” Fernando added.

Even in urban areas, such as the capital Colombo, there has been a decline in enrollment. CTU Secretary General Joseph Stalin warns that the increase in social inequality is a direct consequence of school dropouts. The authorities must take responsibility for this crisis and focus their attention not only on elite schools, but above all on the poorest students.”

The Sri Lankan government has announced a comprehensive reform of the school system starting in 2026. But according to teachers, activists, and scholars, the right to education for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable students cannot wait another two years.

Former school principals such as Nishantha Ranaweera and Kumari Wijepala report that many students have dropped out of school to help their families by working as laborers or domestic workers. Some local benefactors try to provide meals and school supplies, but they cannot meet the needs of entire communities on their own.”

By Gambling Insider

Melco and JKH launch South Asia’s first integrated resort, highlighting Sri Lanka’s regulatory reforms and regional potential.

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Key points:

– $1.2bn investment by John Keells Holdings and Melco Resorts

– Sri Lanka aims to become a regional gaming and tourism hub

– New gaming legislation enabled formal licensing and international entry

Sri Lanka has officially opened its largest private sector development on 2 August with the launch of City of Dreams Sri Lanka, a project valued at over $1.2bn.

Located in Colombo, the resort is a joint venture between local conglomerate John Keells Holdings and international casino operator Melco Resorts & Entertainment. It is being described as South Asia’s first integrated resort.

The complex includes two luxury hotels, Cinnamon Life with 687 rooms and NÜWA with 113 ultra-luxury rooms, as well as a Melco-operated casino, 17 dining venues, a high-end retail promenade, event spaces and residences. The resort was designed as a complete lifestyle and tourism hub positioned to attract travellers from India, China, Russia and the Middle East.

At the opening event, Melco Chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho said Sri Lanka had the opportunity to serve the Indian market in a similar way to how Macau serves ChinaAs, as quoted by The Island.

He noted that the country’s proximity and stability made it an attractive destination for high-value tourism, particularly as the region lacked comparable integrated resorts.

Good to know: Sri Lanka passed formal gaming legislation earlier, establishing a regulatory framework that was a key requirement for international operators like Melco

JKH Chairperson Krishan Balendra said the project’s development spanned over a decade and involved more than 500 local contributors. He added that the formal legal structure gave international investors confidence and allowed the partnership with Melco to materialise.

Balendra described the project as a strategic move to position Colombo as a premier location for entertainment, meetings and business travel.

උපුටා ගැන්ම  ලංකා ලීඩර්

නීතිය සහ ව්‍යාතිරේකය බිඳවැටීම ආරම්භ වූයේ 2015 යහපාලන රජය පවතිද්දී බවත්, ජිනීවා මානව හිමිකම් කොමිසමේ දී රණවිරුවන්ට එල්ල වූ යුද අපරාධ චෝදනා ප්‍රතික්ෂේප නොකර එම රජය විසින් එම චෝදනා පිළිගත් බවත් ශ්‍රී ලාංකික සංසදයේ විධායක ලේකම් යසස් ධර්මදාස මහතා පවසයි.

ජාතික සංවිධාන එකමුතුව මගින් පැවැත්වූ ප්‍රවෘත්ති සාකච්ඡාවකට එක් වෙමින් ඒ මහතා මේ බව පැවසීය.

මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ ජනාධිපතිවරයාව සිටියදී රණවිරුවන්ට මෙම චෝදනා එල්ලවීමේ දී ඒ සඳහා පිළිතුරු ලබාදීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් ලොකු ප්‍රශ්නයක් තිබුන බවත්, දරුස්මාන් වාර්තාවේ කරුණු සත්‍යදැයි සොයන්නට සිදුවූයේ මහ බැංකු අධිපතිව සිටි අජිත් නිවාඩ් කබ්රාල් මහතාට බවත් ඒ මහතා සඳහන් කරයි.

ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ ජනාධිපති සමයේ දෙමළ ඩයස්පෝරාව විසින් තමන්ගේ සූක්ෂම වැඩපිළිවෙල ක්‍රියාත්මක කළ ආකාරය ගැනද ඒ මහතා මෙහිදී හෙළිදරව් කළේය.

සවිස්තරාත්මක වීඩියෝව නරඹන්න..

Wimal Weerawansa

Wimal Weerawansa

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