අතීතයේ තිබූ සාමූහික හැඟීම වර්තමානයට ගෙන ආවොත් අපට නැවත ලෝක කුසලාන ජයක් ලබන්න පුළුවන් – ගරු අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා

March 17th, 2021

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

අතීතයේ තිබූ සාමූහික හැඟීම වර්තමානයට ගෙන ආවොත් අපට නැවත වතාවක් ලෝක කුසලාන ජයග්‍රහණයක් ලබන්න පුළුවන් යැයි ගරු අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා අද 2021.03.17 පෙරවරුවේ ප්‍රකාශ කළේය.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ක්‍රිකට් ලෝක කුසලානය දිනා වසර 25ක් සපිරීම නිමිත්තෙන් ක්‍රිකට් විරුවන් ඇගයීම සඳහා අරලියගහ මන්දිරයේ දී පැවති ලෝක කුසලාන විජයග්‍රහණයේ 25 වැනි ජාතික සැමරුමට එක්වෙමින් අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා මේ බව අවධාරණය කළේය.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය කාර්යාලය, තරුණ හා ක්‍රීඩා අමාත්‍යංශය,  ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට් ආයතනය එක්ව මෙම ජාතික සැමරුම් උත්සවය සංවිධානය කර තිබිණි.

1996 ලෝක කුසලානය දිනාගත් අවස්ථාවේ අන්තර් ජාතික ක්‍රිකට් කවුන්සලය (ICC) ක්‍රිකට් ශූරයන්ට පිරිනැමූ පදක්කම් මෙතරම් කලක් ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට් ආයතනයේ තබා තිබූ අතර ඒවා ක්‍රිකට් ශූරයන් අතට පත්කරමින් අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමාගේ සුරතින්ම එම පදක්කම් ඔවුන්ට ප්‍රදානය කිරීම මෙම ජාතික සැමරුම් උත්සවයේ විශේෂත්වයක් විය.

ලෝක කුසලාන විජයග්‍රහණයේ 25වන සංවත්සර සැමරුම වෙනුවෙන් QR කේතය සහිත පළමු සැමරුම් මුුද්දරය හා විශේෂ සමරු කවරය තැපැල්පති රංජිත් ආරියරත්න මහතා විසින් ජනමාධ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය කෙහෙළිය රඹුක්වැල්ල මහතාට පිරිනමන ලද අතර එතුමා විසින් අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමාට සහ 1996 ලෝක කුසලානය දිනූ කණ්ඩායමේ නායක අර්ජුණ රණතුංග මහතාට එය පිළිගැන්වූහ.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා එහිදී කළ සම්පූර්ණ කතාව මෙසේය.

අද වෙනකොට ලෝක ක්‍රිකට් කුසලානය දිනාගෙන වසර 25ක් සම්පූර්ණ වෙනවා. ඒ ජයග්‍රහණය අද ඊයේ වගේ තවමත් අපිට මතකයි.

දැන් අපේ ක්‍රිකට් පිට්ටනියේ සිද්ධ වෙන දේවල් නිසා අපේ මේ ජයග්‍රහණය ක්‍රිකට්ලෝලීන් නිතර නිතර මතක් කරන බව මම කියන්න ඕන.

මිත්‍රවරුණි,

අතීතය වැදගත් වෙන්නේ වර්තමානය හදාගන්න. මට මතකයි එදා පිට්ටනියේ සෙල්ලම් කළේ නිකම්ම ක්‍රිකට් ක්‍රීඩකයෝ නෙමෙයි. රට දිනවන්න ඕනෑ කියන හැඟීමෙන් යුතු තරුණ පිරිසක්. අපේ ජයග්‍රහණය එදා ආසියාවේ රටවලුත් සැළකුවේ තමන් ලබාගත්ත ජයග්‍රහණයක් හැටියට.

ඕස්ට්‍රේලියාව, දකුණු අප්‍රිකාව, බටහිර ඉන්දීය කොදෙව් දූපත්, එංගලන්තය ආදී රටවල් එදා අපේ රටේ පැවැත්වෙන ලෝක කුසලාන තරග වලට සෙල්ලම් කරන්න බැහැ කිව්වා. ලංකාවේ ඒ වෙලාවේ තිබුණ ත්‍රස්තවාදය, එදා කොළඹ බෝම්බ පිපිරීම් වැනි කරුණු ලංකාවට නොඑන්න හේතු හැටියට කිව්වා. ඒක ඉදිරියට දාලා ලංකාව මඟඇරීම ගැන පුදුම වෙන්න දේකුත් නැහැ. 

අපේ ගුවන්තොටුපළ වගේම අපේ වරායත් ලෝකයේ තියෙන අනාරක්ෂිතම ස්ථාන හැටියට කීප වතාවක් නම් කරලා තිබුණේ. එදා අපේ රටේ සංචාරය කරන අයට අනාරක්ෂිත ප්‍රදේශ පවා නම් කරලා තිබුණා. එබඳු තත්ත්වයක් යටතේ මම ඉහතින් සඳහන් කරපු රටවල් ලෝක කුසලානයට ලංකාවට එන්න බැහැයි කිව්වා.

මට මතකයි එදා අපේ හිටපු ක්‍රීඩා ඇමතිතුමා කිව්වා සංචාරක කණ්ඩායම් ලංකාවට එනවා නම් ඒගොල්ලෝ නතර වෙලා ඉන්න කාමරය ඉස්සරහා ක්‍රීඩා ඇමති හැටියට මම නිදාගන්නම්, ඔබ ඇවිල්ලා ලංකාවේ ක්‍රිකට් ගහන්න කියලා. ප්‍රසිද්ධියේ මාධ්‍යට එහෙම කිව්වත් ලංකාවේ ක්‍රිකට් ගහන්න එන්න එම රටවල් කැමති වුණේ නැහැ.

ඒ වෙලාවේ ඉන්දියාව, පාකිස්ථානය ඇතුළු ආසියාතික රටවල් වලට තේරුණා ලංකාව දිනනවට තියෙන අකමැත්ත මේ නොපැමිණීමට එක හේතුවක් කියලා. එතකොට ඉන්දියාව පකිස්ථානය ඇතුළු ආසියාතික රටවල් අපේ රටට තම සහෝදරත්වයේ දෑත දිගු කළා. ඒ අය ලංකාවට ඇවිල්ලා ප්‍රදර්ශනාත්මක ක්‍රිකට් තරගවල යෙදිලා අපිට ධෛර්ය දුන්නා.

අපි ලෝක කුසලානය දිනූ තරඟය පැවැත්වුණේ පාකිස්ථානයේ. ඒ වෙලාවේ පාකිස්ථානය  අපිට දුන්න චියර් එක අනුව අපිට පේනවා ඒක ආසියාවේ ජයග්‍රහණයක් හැටියටයි ඒ අය සැළකුවේ. එදා තමයි ලංකාවේ ජාතික ධජය ඔසවාගෙන වෙනත් රටවල්වල අය ජය කෙහෙලි නංවපු දවස.

මිත්‍රවරුණි,

ඒ විතරක් නොවෙයි මට මතකයි මුරලිදරන් වැනි දක්ෂ දඟ පන්දු යවන්නෙක්ව පිටියෙන් ඉවත් කරන්න ලොකු උත්සහයක් තිබුණා. ඉතාම අසාධාරණ තීන්දු මේ ක්‍රීඩකයාට විරුද්ධව දුන්නා. නමුත් ඒ වෙලාවේ හිටපු නායකත්වය මුරලිදරන්ව රැකගන්න ලොකු සේවයක් කළා. මේවා නිසා අපේ ක්‍රිකට් ක්‍රීඩකයින්ගේ කණ්ඩායම් හැඟීම ඉතාම ඉහළ ගියා. ඒ සිද්ධීන් අද ලෝකයේ විශිෂ්ටතම ක්‍රීඩකයෙක් වෙන්න මුරලිට බලපාපු බව මම විශ්වාස කරනවා.

මේ ලෝක කුසලාන තරගාවලිය ගැන අහපු එක කතාවක් මට මතක් වෙනවා. 1996 ලෝක කුසලාන තරගාවලියේ,ශ්‍රී ලංකා-ඉන්දියා අවසන් පූර්ව වටයේ තරගය පැවැත්වුණේ ඉන්දියාවේ ක්‍රීඩාංගණයක. තරගාවලියේ අවසන් භාගය කිට්ටු වෙනකොට ඉන්දියානු ක්‍රීඩා ලෝලීන් කලබල වෙලා ක්‍රීඩාපිටියට දිගටම ගල්, බෝතල් එවන්න පටන් ගත්තා. ඒ දර්ශන එවලේ මුළු ලෝකයම දැක්කා. ඒ වෙලාවේ ක්‍රීඩාපිටියේ හතරේ සීමාව ආසන්නයේ පන්දු රකිමින් සිටියේ කණ්ඩායමේ උපනායක අරවින්ද ද සිල්වා. අපේ අතිරේක ක්‍රීඩකයෙක් හැටියට හිටපු උපුල් චන්දන ගිහිල්ලා හතරේ සීමාවේ හිටපු අරවින්දට කිව්වලු අරවින්ද ඇතුළට යන්න මම හතරේ සීමාවේ සෙල්ලම් කරන්නම් ,ගල්-වැලි-බෝතල් වැදුණොත් අවසන් තරඟය සෙල්ලම් කරන්න ඔයාට බැරි වෙනවා.

එහෙම වුණොත් අපි අමාරුවේ වැටෙනවා කියලා. තමන්ගේ ජීවිතය කැපකරන්න තරම් රට ගැන විශාල හැඟීමක්  ඒ වෙලාවේ කණ්ඩායමට තිබුණ බව මම කියන්න ඕන. ඒ නිසා මේක මනුෂ්‍යත්වයේ කථාවක්.

මිත්‍රවරුණි,

මට මතකයි ලෝක කුසලානය දිනාගෙන මේ කණ්ඩායම ලංකාවට ආව දවස.එදා තිබුණේ චන්ද්‍රිකා බණ්ඩාරනායක කුමාරතුංග මැතිණිය ජනාධිපති ධූරය දැරූ අපේ ආණ්ඩුවක්. අර්ජුන රණතුංගගේ පියා ඒ ආණ්ඩුවේ ඇමතිවරයෙක් හැටියටත් හිටියා. නමුත් අර්ජුන රණතුංග ලෝක කුසලානය අරගෙන ගියේ එල්.ටී.ටී.ඊ මරාගෙන මැරෙන ත්‍රස්තවාදී ප්‍රහාරයකින් අභවප්‍රාප්ත වුණ ගාමිණි දිසානායක මහත්තයාගේ ගෙදරට.

එහෙම යන්න හේතු වුණේ ලෝක කුසලානය දිනාගන්න ගාමිණී දිසානායක මහතාගේ පාලන කාලයේ දාපු පදනමට ගෞරවයක් වශයෙන්. ඒ නිසා අද අපි මේ සමරන්නේ මනුෂ්‍යත්වයේ කථාවක්. ක්‍රිකට් පිටියේ මනුෂ්‍යත්වයේ කථාවට වසර 25ක් පිරෙන්නේ අද. එදා ක්‍රිකට් ගහපු ප්‍රවීණයන්ගේ (ලෙජන්ඩ්ස්-LEGENDS)  ක්‍රිකට් තරඟ මේ දිනවල පැවැත්වෙනවා.

ඒ අය පිට පිට ජයග්‍රහණය කරන බවත් පේනවා. ඒ ජයග්‍රහණයේ රහස ක්‍රිකට් ක්‍රීඩාවේ පහසුකම්වත්, මුදල්වත් නෙමෙයි. අතීතයේ විනයානුකූලව ක්‍රීඩා කිරිමෙන් ලබාගත් පුහුණුව. අතීතයේ ක්‍රීඩකයින් තුළ තිබුණු සාමුහිකත්ව හැඟීම. ඒ සාමූහිකත්වය නිසා තමයි ඒ අය ලෙජන්ඩ්ස්ලා වෙලා තියෙන්නේ. ඒකෙන් තමයි අපිට ලෝක කුසලානය ගේන්න පුළුවන්කම ලැබුණේ.

මිත්‍රවරුණි,

අපිට අතීතය තියෙන්නේ වර්තමානය හොඳින් ගොඩනගා ගන්න. අද අපිට ක්‍රිකට් ක්‍රීඩාව ගොඩනගා ගන්න හොඳම පාඩමකට තියෙන්නේ ඒ අතීතයයි. ඒ අතීතය වර්තමානයට ගෙනාවොත් අද අපි ඉන්න දුර්භාග්‍ය සම්පන්න තත්ත්වයෙන් මිදෙන්න පුළුවන් කියලා මම විශ්වාස කරනවා. අතීතයේ තිබුණ සාමූහික හැඟීම, මනුෂ්‍යත්වයේ කථාව වර්තමානයට ගෙනාවොත් අපිට නැවත වතාවක් ඒ වගේ ජයග්‍රහණයක් ලබන්න පුළුවන් කියලා  විශ්වාස කරනවා. ඔබ සැමට තෙරුවන්සරණයි ! යැයි අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා පැවසීය.

තරුණ හා ක්‍රීඩා අමාත්‍ය නාමල් රාජපක්ෂ මහතා වීඩියෝ තාක්ෂණයෙන් මෙම උත්සවය ඇමතුවේය.

1996 ලෝක කුසලාන ජයග්‍රහණය කරලා අදට අවුරුදු 25 ක් වෙනවා. මම විශ්වාස කරන විදියට එදා අපි කුඩා පාසල් දරුවෝ විදිහට මේ ලෝක කුසලාන ජයග්‍රහණය කරනවා නැරඹුවා.

එදා අපි විශ්වාස කළා මේ රටේ ක්‍රීඩක ක්‍රීඩිකාවන්ට ජාත්‍යන්තරය ජයග්‍රහණය කිරීම  සඳහා හැකියාව සහ අවකාශය තිබෙනවා කියලා.

1996  ලෝක කුසලාන ජයග්‍රහණය අපේ රටේ ක්‍රීඩාවේ හැරවුම් ලක්ෂය  ලෙස හැඳින්වුවහොත්  නිවැරදියි.

ඒ ආපු ගමන තුළ පසුකාලීනව අපි ජයග්‍රහණ බොහොමයකට මුහුණ දෙන්න අපට හැකියාව ලැබිලා තියෙනවා. ඒ වගේම තමයි 1996 පටන් ගත්තම පන්දුවාර පනහේ ලෝක කුසලාන දෙකකට අපි අවසාන මහා තරගයට ඇවිල්ලා තියනවා.

ඒ වගේම විස්සයි විස්ස ලෝක කුසලාන තරගාවලිවල ඒ ආකාරයෙන්ම අපි අවසාන තරග වලට ඇවිල්ල තියෙනවා. ඒ වගේම 2014 විස්සයි විස්ස ලෝක කුසලාන තරගාවලියේ ජයග්‍රහණය කරන්නත් අපට හැකියාව ලැබුණා.

මේ සියල්ලටම අඩිතාලම ලැබුණේ එදා 1996 ලෝක කුසලාන ජයග්‍රහණය. ඒ වගේම තමයි ඒ ජයග්‍රහණය කරපු  කණ්ඩායම දිහා බැලුවම අපි ලෝක කුසලානයක් ජයග්‍රහණය කරලා රටේ ක්‍රිකට් ක්‍රීඩාව නංවාගන්න දායකත්වයක් ලැබුණා.

අද කුමාර් ධර්මසේන, රොෂාන් මහනාම වැනි අය ICC විනිසුරුවන් විදියට ලෝක ක්‍රිකට් ක්‍රීඩාව සඳහා ලෝකයේ ක්‍රිකට් ක්‍රීඩාව ප්‍රවර්ධනය සඳහා විශාල දායකත්වයක් ලබා දී තියෙනවා. ඒ වගේම අද මේ 1996 කණ්ඩායම තුළත් ජාතික සහ ජාත්‍යන්තර තලයේ පුහුණුකරුවන් බොහොමයක් බිහි වෙලා තියෙනවා.

මේ අවස්ථාවේ ඩේව් වට්මෝර් පුහුණුකාරතුමා මතක් කළ යුතුයි.  එවකට සිටි පුහුණුකරු වගේම එවකට ක්‍රිකට් පාලක මණ්ඩලයේ කළමනාකරු, ගරු සභාපතිතුමා ඇතුළු ඒ සියලුම කළමනාකරුවන් වගේම මේ ජයග්‍රහණ සඳහා උර දුන් කැපවුණු සියලු දෙනාම විසි පස් අවුරුද්දක් සමරන මේ අවස්ථාවේ අපි සිහිපත් කරනවා.

අපි දන්නවා අපේ රටේ ක්‍රීඩාව ගැන කතා කරනකොට අපේ ක්‍රිකට් ක්‍රීඩාව තමයි  ප්‍රමුඛතම ක්‍රීඩාව විදිහට කතා කරන්නෙ. ක්‍රිකට් වල අපේ නැගිටීම් තියෙනවා වැටීම් තියෙනවා. මේ හැම අවස්ථාවකම මං හිතන්නේ රටක් ජාතියක් විදිහට අපි එකතුවෙලා මේ ක්‍රීඩාව ජයග්‍රහණය කිරීම සඳහා අපි පෙළ ගැසිය යුතුයි.

1996 ලෝක කුසලාන ජයග්‍රහණය කරපු කණ්ඩායමේ සාමාජිකයන් ඉතාමත් ක්‍රියාශීලීව මැදිහත්වෙලා ක්‍රිකට් වැටිච්ච හැම අවස්ථාවකදිම ක්‍රිකට් නංවන්න දායකත්වය දී තියෙනවා.

මම හිතන්නේ ඉදිරි කාල සීමාව තුළ නවක ක්‍රීඩකයන්ට ආදර්ශයක් වෙමින් නවක ක්‍රීඩකයන් ව ඉදිරියට ගෙන එන්නත් ඉදිරි අනාගතය තුළ  නැවත වතාවක් ලෝක කුසලාන ජයග්‍රහණය කරන්න පුළුවන් කණ්ඩායමක් අපේ රටෙන් බිහි කරන්නත් මේ පිරිසගේ දායකත්වය ලැබෙයි කියලා අපි දැඩි සේ විශ්වාස කරනවා.

පරාජය සහ ජය කියන දේ ක්‍රීඩාවේ  කොටසක් හැබැයි කණ්ඩායම් හැඟීම ජාතිකත්වය රට වෙනුවෙන් ක්‍රීඩා කරනවා කියන කාරණය තමයි අප සියලු දෙනාම බලාපොරොත්තු වෙන්නේ.

එසේ ක්‍රීඩා කෙරුවොත්  ඔබ ජයග්‍රහණය කරා වගේ ඉදිරි කාල සීමාව තුළත් අපට ලෝක කුසලාන ජයග්‍රහණය කරන්න පුළුවන් කණ්ඩායම් අපේ රටේ නිර්මාණය වෙයි.

අවසාන වශයෙන් පෞද්ගලිකව මට අද මේ උත්සවයට සහ සම්බන්ධ වීමට නොහැකිවුණත් ගරු අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමාට අපි ස්තුතිවන්ත වෙනවා එතුමාගේ මැදිහත්වීම සහ ක්‍රිකට් ක්‍රීඩාවට ආදරය කරපු නායකයෙක් විදිහට සහ ක්‍රීඩාවට ආදරේ කරපු නායකයෙක් විදිහට අද  ක්‍රිකට් ලෝක කුසලාන ජයග්‍රහණයේ අවුරුදු 25 ක් සමරන මේ අවස්ථාව සඳහා අපට අවකාශය ලබා දීම පිළිබඳව යැයි අමාත්‍ය නාමල් රාජපක්ෂ මහතා පැවසීය.

ලෝක ක්‍රිකට් කුසලානය දිනූ කණ්ඩායමේ නායක අර්ජුන රණතුංග මහතා.

අගමැතිතුමනි අපිට මතකයි ජාත්‍යන්තරයේ අපි එතරම් ප්‍රසිද්ධ නැති කාලෙත් ඔබතුමා ක්‍රිකට් කණ්ඩායම වෙනුවෙන් ඉදිරිපත් වුණා. අපි වාර්ෂිකව හමුවන හැම අවස්ථාවකම විශාල දායකත්වයක් දුන්නා.

අපි කණ්ඩායමක් ලෙස ඔබතුමාට ස්තුතිවන්ත වෙනවා. වසර 25ක් ගිහිල්ලත් මේ රටට අපිව අමතක වෙලා නැහැ. මට වාසනාව ලැබුනා පෞද්ගලික පරමාර්ථ, මුදල් පසුපස නොයන රටට කැපවීමෙන් ක්‍රීඩා කළ කණ්ඩායමකට නායකත්වය දෙන්න.

පරිපාලන ගැටලු කෙනෙහිලිකම් අපිට තිබුණත් අපි ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ ක්‍රීඩකයින් ලෙස තරුණ ක්‍රීඩකයින්ට එහි පීඩනය දුන්නේ නැහැ.

මම ඉල්ලීමක් කරනවා පසුගිය කාලේ ක්‍රිකට් වලට වෙච්ච දේ ගැන හොයලා බලන්න, ක්‍රීඩා අමාත්‍යතුමාගේ නායකත්වයෙන් නිවැරදි පරිපාලනයකින් මේ රටේ ක්‍රිකට් ක්‍රීඩාව නංවන්න කටයුතු කරන්න කියලා යැයි අර්ජුන රණතුංග මහතා පැවසීය.

මෙම අවස්ථාවට අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ආර්යා ශිරන්ති රාජපක්ෂ මහත්මිය, අමාත්‍ය කෙහෙළිය රඹුක්වැල්ල, 1996 ක්‍රිකට් ලෝක ශූරතාව දිනා ගන්නා අවස්ථාවේ ක්‍රීඩා අමාත්‍ය පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී එස්.බී දිසානායක, එවකට ක්‍රීඩා නියෝජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය ජීවන් කුමාරතුංග, අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ලේකම් ගාමිණි සෙනරත්, අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය කාර්ය මණ්ඩල ප්‍රධානී යෝෂිත රාජපක්ෂ, තරුණ හා ක්‍රීඩා අමාත්‍යංශයේ ලේකම් අනුරාධ විජේකෝන්, යුද හමුදාපති ජනරාල් ශවේන්ද්‍ර සිල්වා,  ක්‍රිකට් සභාපති (1996) ආනා පුංචිහේවා, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට් හිටපු සභාපති තිලංග සුමතිපාල, තැපල්පති රංජිත් ආරියරත්න, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රිකට් ආයතන නිලධාරින්, ලෝක ශූර කණ්ඩායමේ සාමාජිකයකන් හා ඔවුන්ගේ පවුලේ සාමාජිකයෝ ඇතුළු පිරිසක් එක්ව සිටියහ.

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to Undertake State Visit to Bangladesh

March 17th, 2021

Prime Minister’s Media Unit

March 17, 2021

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will make a state visit to Bangladesh from March 19-20, 2021, on an invitation extended by the Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina. The visit will coincide with the celebration of the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Golden Jubilee of the Independence of Bangladesh.

Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Health has granted approval to undertake the state visit to Bangladesh as a Bio Secure Travel Bubble adhering to strict COVID-19 preventive measures.

Prime Minister Rajapaksa will be delivering a speech Friday evening at the event to mark the conclusion of the Mujib Year,” declared to celebrate the 100th birth anniversary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Bangladesh’s independence.

During the visit, Prime Minister Rajapaksa will hold high-level bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, President of Bangladesh Mohammad Abdul Hamid, the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh and the Governor of the Bangladesh Bank.

The special invitation and the high-level bilateral discussions are expected to enhance the strong relations the two countries have enjoyed for a very long time. Bilateral discussions will touch upon a variety of sectors including agriculture, trade and investment, defense, maritime connectivity, education, health and tourism, among others.

The visit will also see the two countries sign a number of Memoranda of Understanding in various sectors such as agriculture, technical education, health and cultural cooperation.

Among other engagements, Prime Minister Rajapaksa will visit the National Martyrs’ Memorial where he will lay a wreath to pay his respects to those who died in the Bangladesh War of Independence and plant a sapling. Later, the Sri Lankan Prime Minister will also visit the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum.

Bangladesh became a nation in 1971 and established formal diplomatic relations with Sri Lanka the following year. Both countries will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2022.

Lanka to sign MoUs with Bangladesh on agriculture, health and education during Rajapaksa visit

March 17th, 2021

Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Colombo, March 17: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has expressed optimism about his upcoming Dhaka visit which will enable him to join celebration of birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Lanka to sign MoUs with Bangladesh on agriculture, health and education during Rajapaksa visit

During the visit, which begins on March 19, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will sign MoUs on education, health and agriculture.

Sri Lanka PM Mahinda Rajapaksa Tweeted: Looking forward to my visit to #Bangladesh from 19-20 March, on the invitation of PM Sheikh Hasina to participate in the celebration of the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Golden Jubilee of the Independence of Bangladesh. A number of #MoUs will be signed during the visit, pertaining to sectors such as agriculture, technical edu, health & cultural coop. @MoH_SriLanka has approved the state visit to #Bangladesh as a Bio Secure Travel Bubble adhering to strict #Covid_19 preventive measures.”

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said there is no chance for Bangladesh to look back as it is time to march forward.

Overcoming all the obstacles, we shall establish this country as Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s exploitation-deprivation-free, hunger-poverty-illiteracy-free, non-communal Golden Bangladesh,” she said.

The Prime Minister was delivering her speech as the chair of Inauguration Ceremony of 10-day long Mujib Year and Golden Jubilee of Independence at the National Parade Square.

It is not so easy to lower the position that Bangladesh has reached, Sheikh Hasina said, adding that an excellent example of this is that the country has been able to successfully calm down the destructive waves of coronavirus pandemic. But we have to be very careful.”

The Prime Minister cautioned that anti-Bangladesh forces are still active at home and abroad and they want to disparage this achievement through various malpractices.

On this happy birthday of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, let’s unitedly resist all the evil-sprouts and take the beloved motherland towards the path of development and progress,” she said.

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Sheikh Hasina

Hasina said the wait for the economic emancipation of the people of Bangladesh is coming to an end when the country is going to celebrate the Birth Centenary of the Father of the Nation and the Golden Jubilee of Independence at a particular time when Bangladesh has received the final recommendation to join the dignified group of Developing Nations from the list of the Least Developed Countries in the world.

She mentioned that the per capita income in Bangladesh has exceeded the respectable limit of US$2000, while the poverty rate has declined below 20.5 percent, and the country has become self-sufficient in food grain production. The average life expectancy has increased to 73 years.

Bangladesh has made tremendous strides in the socio-economic index. Today’s achievement is the result of the relentless efforts of the last 12 years of the Bangladesh Awami League in government and the tireless labor of people,” she said.

Recalling the long struggle of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for the Independent Bangladesh, the Prime Minister said, Our freedom is the fruit of the success of the continuous struggle for the status of mother language started by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib on March 11, 1948 with the ultimate target of political-economic and cultural emancipation of the Bangali.”

She said it was a war-ravaged country, which was under the hundreds of years of subjugation. In just three and a half years, he carried out the mammoth task of building a full-fledged sovereign state where people had been suffering from exploitation, deprivation, hunger, and poverty.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had done everything from the impossible,” Hasina said.

She expressed her gratitude to all the friendly countries and leaders who extended necessary help during the great liberation war, the struggles for freedom, and the post-war reconstruction of the country.

Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had so many dreams. He envisioned building Bangladesh as a developed and prosperous ‘Golden Bangladesh’. But the cruel bullets of the killers snatched him from us on 15 August 1975,” she said.

The Prime Minister said Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was born in Tungipara on March 17, 1920. He illuminated the life of the Bangali community and brought freedom for them.

She said Bangladesh celebrate March 17 every year as National Children’s Day.

On the other hand,” she said, March 26 is our Independence Day. This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of our independence. We’re celebrating Mujib Year and the Golden Jubilee of independence simultaneously.”

With the theme ‘Mujib Chirantan’ in mind, Sheikh Hasina said, We’ve undertaken special programmes at home and abroad from March 17 to March 26 this year.”

Today is its inauguration. However, we’ll continue to celebrate the festival till December 16, 2021 as it is our Great Victory Day. Colourful arrangements have been made for various programs.”

She paid deep homage to the memory of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the four national leaders of the liberation war, 3 million martyrs, and 200 thousand dishonoured mothers-sisters and saluted the valiant freedom fighters.

She remembered with deep grief her mother Begum Fazilatun Nesa Mujib, three brothers — freedom fighter Captain Sheikh Kamal, freedom fighter Lieutenant Sheikh Jamal and ten-year-old Sheikh Russell, who was brutally assassinated by the killers on August 15, 1975 including two sisters-in-law Sultana Kamal and Rosie Jamal, uncle Sheikh Abu Nasser and all the martyrs of that night.

She expressed her sincere gratitude to President of the Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Salih for attending the inaugural programme.

Sheikh Hasina, on behalf of the people of Bangladesh and herself, expressed gratitude and thanks to Chinese President China Xi Jinping, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga for sending greetings to the people of Bangladesh on this occasion.

Indian High Commissioner speaks in Sinhala at a public function

March 17th, 2021

Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Colombo, March 17: Reflecting the deep and enduring links between India and Sri Lanka, the Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, Gopal Baglay on Wednesday delivered a speech in Sinhala at the launch of the Kapilawasupura Sri Sarvagna Dhathu Puranaya ha Rajaguru Waskaduwe Sri Subhuti Thero” in the august presence of the Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The launching ceremony of a book titled Kapilavasthupura sacred relics and Rajaguru Waskaduwe Sri Subhuti Thera”, an academic research work on Kapilavasthupura sacred relics and Rajaguru Waskaduwe Sri Subhuti Thera, was held under the patronage of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) this evening (17).

The book was compiled by W.A Padmin Sameera under the supervision of Most Ven. Waskaduwe Mahindawansa Mahanayake Thero.

The President, on his arrival to the BMICH premises, paid floral tribute to the portrait of Most Ven. Rajaguru Waskaduwe Sri Subhuthi Mahanayake Thero.

Ven. Waskaduwe Mahindawansa Thero presented the book to the President.

A memento was also presented to the President.

The official website of the Sri Subhuti Maha Vihara in Waskaduwa was also launched by the President.

The Maha Sangha including the Acting Supreme Leader of the Sri Lanka Amarapura Maha Nikaya Most Ven. Ganthune Assaji Thero, Chief Prelate of Sri Lanka Ramanna Maha Nikaya Aggamaha Panditha Most Venerable Makulewe Wimala Mahanayake Thero, Chief Prelate of the Sri Sambuddha Sasanodaya Maha Sangha Sabha of the Amarapura Maha Nikaya Most Venerable Waskaduwe Mahindawansa Maha Nayaka Thero and Kotte Sri Kalyani Samagri Dharma Maha Sangha Sabha Anunayake Prof. Most Ven. Kotapitiye Rahula Thero, Minister Dinesh Gunewardena, State Ministers Vidura Wickramanayake, Piyal Nishantha, Jayantha Samaraweera and  Former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay, Myanmar’s Ambassador Han Thu, dignitaries, Members of the Sri Lanka Amarapura Nikayarakshaka Dayaka Sabha including its President Ajita de Zoysa participated on this occasion.

පාස්කු කොමිසම පරීක්ෂණයක් පැවැත්වීමට නිර්දේශ කල මරාගෙන මැරුණු ජමීල්ගේ මාමාව ඇමති කෙහෙළිය ගුවන් විදුලි සංස්ථාට පත්කරලා.

March 17th, 2021

උපුටා ගැන්ම Colombotoday

දෙහිවල ට්‍රොපිකල් ඉන් හෝටලයේ මරාගෙන මැරෙන ප්‍රහාරය එල්ල කල ජමීල් නැමැත්තාගේ සහෝදරියට තම පුත්‍රයා විවාහකර දුන් අහමඩ් මුනව්වර් නැමැත්තා ශ්‍රී ලංකා ගුවන් විදුලි සංස්ථාවේ මුස්ලිම් සේවයේ උපදේශක සභාවට අමාත්‍ය කෙහෙළිය රඹුක්වැල්ල විසින් මීට මාස කිහිපයකට පෙර පත්කර ඇත.

පස් දෙනෙකුගෙන් යුත් උපදේශක මණ්ඩලයට මුස්ලිම් සලාහුදීන්, අහමඩ් මුනව්වර්, ෆස්ලුල් රහ්මාන්, ෆසාල් මරික්කාර් සහ රාසික් සරුක් පත්කර තිබුණි. ඔවුන් විසින් ගුවන් විදුලි සංස්ථාවේ සභාපති විශාරද ජගත් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතා විසින් අන්තවාදී දේශනා සිදුකරන බවට සාම්ප්‍රධායික මුස්ලිම් සමාජය විසින් ලැබුණු පැමිණිලි මත වාරණය කල පුජකයින්ට නැවතත් මුස්ලිම් සේවයේ අවස්ථාව ලබාදීම සඳහා උත්සහ කර ඇත. සභාපතිවරයා වාරණය කල පුජකයන් වන්නේ යුසුෆ් මුෆ්ති, ෆලීල් නලීමි, අබ්දුල් හාලික්, මුර්සිඩ් මුලෆ්ෆර් යන පුද්ගලයින්ය.

මේ පිළිබඳව අප මීට ඉහතදී වාර්තා කල පුවත…

අන්තවාදීන් ගුවන්විදුලියේ මුස්ලිම් සේවය ග්‍රහණයට ගැනීමේ දැඩි උත්සාහයක.

අහමඩ් මුනව්වර් පිළිබඳව පාස්කු ප්‍රහාරය පිළිබඳව සොයා බැලීමට පත්කළ ජනාධිපති පරීක්ෂණ කොමිෂන් සභාවේ අවසන් වාර්තාවේ සිංහල පිටපතේ 59 වන පිටුවේ මෙලෙස සඳහන් වේ.

අහමඩ් මුනව්වර් පත්වීම ලබාගත් අයුරු

වහබ්වාදී වැඩසටහන් ශ්‍රී ලංකා ගුවන් විදුලි සංස්ථාව හරහා යම් කාලයක් පුරා විකාශය කළ බවට සාක්ෂි ද කොමිෂන් සභාව වෙත අසන්නට ලැබුණි. IS සහ වහබ්වාදයට එරෙහිව කතා කළ කෙනකුට ගුවන් කාලයක් ලබා නොදුනි. සාක්ෂිවලින් පෙනී යන්නේ අහමඩ් මුනව්වර් මේ සඳහා වගකිව යුතු බවත් ඔහුගෙන් ප්‍රශ්න කළ විට SLJI විසින් එම පුද්ගලයාට කිසිදු ගුවන් කාලයක් ලබා දීමට අකමැති බැවින් එය සිදුකළ බවත්ය. අහමඩ් මුනව්වර්ගේ පුතා විවාහ වී සිටින්නේ ජමීල් ගේ සහෝදරිය සමඟයි. කාල සීමාව නිසා අහමඩ් මුනව්වර්ට එරෙහිව කොමිෂන් සභාව කිසිදු සොයාගැනීමක් නොකරන නමුත්රී ශ්‍රී ලංකා ගුවන් විදුලි සංස්ථාවේ ඔහුගේ ක්‍රියාකාරකම් පිළිබඳව පරීක්ෂණයක් පවත්වන ලෙස නිර්දේශ කරයි.

ශ්‍රී ලංකා ගුවන් විදුලි සංස්ථාවේ ගුවන් කාලය NIDA පදනම විසින් වෙනත් ආගම් වලට අයත් පුද්ගලයින් ඉස්ලාම් ආගමට හරවා ගැනීම සඳහා යොදා ගත් බවට සාක්ෂි ද අසන්නට ලැබුණි.”

මෙවැනි වාතාවරණයක් තුල ගුවන් විදුලි සංස්ථාවේ සභාපති විශාරද ජගත් වික්‍රමසිංහ ඉවත් කිරීමට සියුම් සැලසුම් ක්‍රියාත්මක වී තිබිණ. දැන් දිග හැරෙන්නේ එම සැලසුම්වල දිගුවක් දැයි ප්‍රශ්නාර්ථයක් ජනතාව හමුවේ ඇත.

ජනමාධ්‍ය ඇමති කෙහෙළිය රඹුක්වැල්ල දැන හෝ නොදැන උගුලකට හසුවී සිදුකල පත්වීම අවලංගු කර අන්තවාදීන්ගේ තෝතැන්නක් බවට ගුවන් විදුලි සංස්ථාව පත්වීම වැලක්වීමට පියවර ගැනීමට තවමත් පරක්කු මන්ද? තවදුරටත් එලෙස ප්‍රමාද වන්නේනම් මුනව්වර් මෙන් අනික් පුද්ගලයින් පිළිබඳවද ජනතාව දැනුවත් කිරීමට අපට සිදුවන අතර එය දේශපාලනිකව අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයාටත් අමාත්‍යවරයාටත් චෝදනා එල්ලවිය හැකි බව පමණක් මතක් කර තබන්නෙමු.

සබැදි පුවත්…

Pakistan’s hypocrisy on Sri Lanka’s burqa ban

March 17th, 2021

Michael Rubin courtesy AEI

Just weeks after Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Sri Lanka to advocate on behalf of the island nation’s Muslim community, the Sri Lankan government has signaled its plans to ban the burqa, the all-encompassing covering that conservative Muslim women increasingly wear.

Sarath Weerasekara, Sri Lankan minister of public security, explained the government’s logic: The burqa has a direct impact on national security. In our early days, we had a lot of Muslim friends, but Muslim women and girls never wore the burqa. It is a sign of religious extremism that came about recently. We will definitely ban it.”

The Sri Lankan government had previously suspended burqa use after Islamist terrorists struck three hotels and three churches on Easter Sunday, 2019. While the perpetrators in those attacks did not wear burqas, suicide bombers in AfghanistanCameroonChadIraqPakistan, and Saudi Arabia have all used the burqa as cover.

Should Sri Lanka push forward with its plans to ban the burqa, it will join a long list of countriesmany in the Islamic world itself—which ban or severely restrict the burqa or niqab.

It is fair for proponents of religious freedom to criticize Sri Lanka’s latest proposal, though to do so without acknowledging the post-traumatic stress that, as a society, Sri Lanka suffered due to its 1983-2009 civil war and concurrent suicide bombing campaign is dishonest even if Islam was not an issue that conflict and Muslims not generally combatants.

Pakistan, however, has decided to make Sri Lankan domestic policies a diplomatic priority. Saad Khattak, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, warned that the move would not only insult local Muslims but would negatively affect all Muslims. Such divisive steps in the name of security, besides accentuating economic difficulties, will only serve as fillip to further strengthen wider apprehensions about fundamental human rights of minorities in the country,” he addedDawn, the oldest English-language newspaper in Pakistan, blasted the ban as Islamophobia in a masthead editorial entitled, Muslims targeted.” In recent years, Khan himself has tweeted his opposition to alleged Islamophobia numerous times.

Pakistan’s criticism is stunning in its hypocrisy. Put aside Pakistan’s own treatment of its minority population. Where Pakistani officials once embraced Christians and even local Hindus, now these minorities and local Ahmadis as well live in fear. Banning a veil as Sri Lanka proposes versus murdering minorities with impunity as Khan’s government allows are not equivalent.

Beyond that, however, the idea that Pakistan has any authority to criticize Sri Lanka on its proposed burqa while not simply ignoring but actually endorsing China’s genocide of its Uighur population is amazing in its gall. Uighur-inspired terrorism in China has been minimal, but Khan explicitly used counterterrorism and security to justify Beijing’s incarceration of millions. Given Khan’s endorsement of the largest genocide of Muslims to date, it is fair to say that Israel has a better record countering Islamophobia than Imran Khan’s Pakistan. The same hypocrisy also shows that Pakistan’s criticism of Sri Lanka has more to do with Pakistan treating Sri Lanka with almost colonial disdain than with any sincere effort to preserve, protect, and advocate for the rights of Sri Lankan Muslims.

If Imran Khan wants to be a global leader in the effort to combat Islamophobia, he must confront China. It is time for Imran Khan to be a leader rather than a concubine who talks big only when her suitor is away.

Salley arrested under PTA

March 17th, 2021

By Norman Palihawadane Courtesy The Island

Over alleged intervention to secure release of terror suspects

A team consisting of an ASP of the CID yesterday evening arrested National Unity Front leader and former Western Province Governor, Azath Salley. Police Media Spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana said Salley had been taken into custody near his residence in Colpetty under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

The arrest had been made on the advice of the Attorney General, his coordinating officer State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne said.

Public Security Minister Rear Admiral (Retd) Sarath Weerasekera said that the Attorney General had instructed the police to arrest Salley over his intervention to protect Islamic extremists following attacks on some Buddha statues in Mawanella. Salley also allegedly intervened to secure the release of two key suspects who arrested with explosives at the Wanathawilluwa Jihadist training camp. Salley has denied the allegation.

A separate investigation was launched by the CID two days ago into a recent statement made by Salley that he would accept only sharia law.

DIG Rohana said that several parties had lodged complaints with the CID against a controversial statement made by Azath Salley, and investigations are being carried out into his statement and the statements made in social media.

Salley, who has been the subject of much controversy due to his statement that Muslim law in the country can never be changed, gave a statement to Cinnamon Gardens police station on Saturday night. Speaking to the media after leaving the Cinnamon Gardens police station, Salley said that he had come to give a statement voluntarily.

Russian top billionaire Andrey Melnichenko visits Port City Colombo

March 17th, 2021

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Prominent Russian business tycoon Andrey Melnichenko visited Port City Colombo today. 

He was accompanied by Sri Lankan-born British Politician and former EU Parliamentarian Niranjan Deva Aditya, a statement said.

The statement said  Melnichenko is a self-made billionaire with major investments in Switzerland based fertilizer giant EuroChem Group and Russia based coal energy company SUEK.

He was warmly welcomed by Port City Colombo Assistant Managing 

Directors Yue Yeqing and Thulci Aluwihare together with Director Sales and Marketing Yamuna Jayaratne.

The delegation was briefed on Port City Colombo project, its construction progress and future developments by Radhika Ellepola, Country Manager Sales and Investor Relations. 

Melnichenko expressed positive remarks about the project and he was impressed about the strategic planning of the new city in the making. 

Board of Investment Chairman, Sanjaya Mohottala, Director General Pasan Wanigasekara and corporate sector veteran Rajan Brito were also present at the occasion.

From the beginning of this year, Port City Colombo continued to attract several world leading business personalities, keeping Sri Lanka back in the map as a potential hub for future investment. 

Port City Colombo now awaits the introduction of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) law by the Government which will further enhance FDIs to Sri Lanka.

Port City Colombo is a brand-new city development built as an extension of the existing Colombo CBD, with an initial investment of $ 1.4 billion and an expected $ 15 billion overall investment when completed. Spanning 269 hectares, it is a sea reclamation project connected to the current central business district. Port City Colombo is made up of five precincts – a financial district, central park living, an international island, the marina and island living. When completed, Port City Colombo is estimated to have 5.7 million square metres of built space, boasting some of the best in design in terms of grade-A offices, medical facilities, educational facilities, an integrated resort, a marina, retail destinations, hotels and other lifestyle developments. Using the latest sustainable city design and smart city concepts, Port City Colombo will be the hub of South Asia.

Azath Salley arrested for alleged links to Easter Sunday attack: Minister

March 17th, 2021

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekera said, former Western Province Governor Azath Salley was arrested by CID as is alleged to have had links to the Easter Sunday suicide attack.

Speaking to media after the Kolonnawa Regional Development meeting, he alleged that according to initial investigation it was revealed that Salley had overt or covert link to  vandalizing of the Buddha statues in Mawanella and to the attack.

He said the CID conducting further investigation on Azath Salley under detection order.

“Also, Salley made a statement recently over Shari’a law and that he does not want to honour the law of the land. Such statement would lead to religious extremism,” he said.

He said the arrest was made by the CID following the instructions of the Attorney General.

The minister said further questioning by CID could reveal whether Azath Salley has had a hand in the Easter Sunday mayhem.(DSB)

Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 caseload up by 322 more infections

March 17th, 2021

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lanka has registered 140 more positive cases of Covid-19 today (March 17), the Ministry of Health confirmed.

Thereby, Sri Lanka has detected 322 new positive cases of COVID-19 within the day.

As per statistics, the total number of Covid-19 infections confirmed so far in the country now stands at 88,862.

Recoveries from the virus meanwhile climbed to 85,725 earlier today, as 354 more patients regained health.

However, 2,600 active cases are still under medical care at selected hospitals and treatment centers located across the island.

Total lives claimed by the pandemic outbreak sits at 537 at present.

Three more COVID-19 deaths push tally to 537

March 17th, 2021

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lanka has reported 03 more coronavirus-related deaths, the Director-General of Health Services confirmed today (March 17).

As per the Department of Government Information, one female patient and two male patients are among the victims.

The new deaths bring the number of COVID-19 related deaths witnessed in Sri Lanka to 537 in total.

01. The deceased is a 72-year-old male resident from Medirigiriya. He was diagnosed as infected with the Covid-19 virus while undergoing treatments at a private hospital Kandy and transferred to Base Hospital Theldeniya. He died on 16.03.2021 and the cause of death is Covid-19 pneumonia, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

02. The deceased is a 72-year-old female resident from Polgasowita. She was diagnosed as infected with Covid-19 while undergoing treatments at Sri Jayawardenepura Hospital and transferred to IDH Hospital where she died on 17.03.2021. The cause of death is mentioned as liver failure and Covid-19 pneumonia.

03. The deceased is a 70-year-old male resident from Andigama. He was diagnosed as infected with Covid-19 while undergoing treatments at District Hospital Chilaw and transferred to Base Hospital Homagama where he died 16.03.2021. The cause of death is mentioned as liver failure, kidney disease, and Covid-19 pneumonia.

Ravi Karunanayake remanded over Bond Scam.

March 17th, 2021

Courtesy Adaderana

UPDATE (07.47 pm): Former Minister Ravi Karunanayake and 07 others who were ordered to be remanded over the 2016 Bond Scam have been brought to the Welikada Prison a short while ago.

The eight suspects have been directed to the quarantine center of the prison.


Former Minister Ravi Karunanayake has been remanded over the Central Bank Bond Scam issue in 2016.

Another 07 suspects have also been remanded along with the former United National Party (UNP) Minister.

They have been placed under remand custody until March 23.

The Attorney General, this morning (17), filed indictments against the suspects before the two Trials-at-Bar hearing the legal matters on Central Bank Treasury Bond auctions held between March 29 and March 31, 2016.

Former directors of Swarnamahal Jewellers remanded

March 17th, 2021

Courtesy Adaderana

Arrested former directors of Swarnamahal Jewellers Pvt Ltd have been remanded until March 30.

Earlier this evening (March 17), they were produced before the Fort Magistrate.

The arrest was made on Tuesday (March 16) upon the directions of Attorney General Dappula de Livera.

Jeewaka Edirisinghe, Anjalee Edirisinghe Asanka Edirisinghe, and Nalaka Edirisinghe were accordingly arrested on the charges of money laundering.

Ex-Swarnamahal Jewellers directors produced before court

March 17th, 2021

Courtesy Adaderana

Arrested former directors of Swarnamahal Jewellers Pvt Ltd have been produced before Fort Magistrate this evening (March 17), says the Police Spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana.

The arrest was made on Tuesday (March 16) upon the directions of Attorney General Dappula de Livera.

Jeewaka Edirisinghe, Anjalee Edirisinghe Asanka Edirisinghe & Nalaka Edirisinghe were accordingly arrested on the charges of money laundering.

AG files indictments before Trial-at-Bars hearing bond scam cases

March 17th, 2021

Courtesy Adaderana

The Attorney General has filed indictments against the suspects of the Central Bank bond scam, says the AG’s Coordinating Officer State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne.

The indictments were lodged before the two Trial-at-Bars hearing the legal matters on Central Bank Treasury Bond auctions held between March 29 and March 31, 2016.

The Chief Justice appointed two Trial-at Bars for the hearing of the Bond Scam cases involving the said two bond auctions.

The Attorney General requested for a Trial at Bar for the case on February 11, 2021, to try former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, former Governor of Central Bank Arjuna Mahendran, Arjun Aloysius, and 07 others with regard to the relevant trial.

Subsequently, on February 15, he had made a request for another Trial-at-Bar to hear the relevant case.

GOOD OFFICE OF SRI LANKA TO RESOLVE MYANMAR ISSUE USING BMISTIC CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS BONDS AS A VEHICLE

March 16th, 2021

Sarath Wijesinghe President’s Counsel, former Ambassador to UAE and Israel and the President Ambassador’s forum

Friendship with Sri Lanka and Myanmar

Friendship with Sri Lanka and Myanmar goes back to generations with friendly and cultural bonds on religion culture and long lasting friendships we had for generations. The cultural religious and political prelateship between Myanmar and Sri Lanka spans a period of around thousand years. The relationship has been mutually beneficial for both countries on many fronts. It serves as a good foundation, to strengthen the friendship between the two countries. With the rise of Asia as the central political and economic forces of the world we can make together Buddhism again the unifying force in Asia as well as the new globalized world at a time when Buddhism is widely spread in the western world. We can together make Buddhist thought and Buddhist way of life a collective reality so that the world at large could gain long lasting solutions. Sinhala ‘’Bikkues’’ resolved conflicts between Sri Lanka and Myanmar on trade during King Parakramabahu (1153-1186) and Alanungsitha (1113-1165) and it was Sinhala Bikkues who came to rescue the relations, according to ‘Chulawansa’. A settlement was thus brought about through the mediations of Sinhala Bikkues.- see Sirisena 1978pp33- Myanmer Sanjaraja seeks Refuge in Sri Lanka in 1167, when king Narathu  left Myanmar in disgust  and sought refuge in Sri Lanka( 1167-1170)- The Sanjaraja stayed in Sri Lanka for six years. Sanjaraja Uttarajiva after return to Myanmar was hailed the first Pilgrim of Sri Lanka and was indicates that Sri Lanka was considered as the foundation head of Tharavad Buddhism. Chapata returned to Myanmar along with four other minks so that they could perform ecclesiastical acts separately. According to the Burmese chronicle Hmanan Yasawinkly (1112-1167CE) King of Burma visited Sri Lanka married a daughter of the Sinhalese King and returned with the image of Maha Kassapa tether who as highly venerated at the time in Sri Lanka.

Tradition and cultural ties

These are the traditional religious and cultural ties apart from trade and business thriving then in the friendly nations bonded together in many ways with excellent relations with kings and the people to people contacts that continues to date with diplomatic relations as members of the United Nations. In the field international relations Myanmar is a member of BIMSTIC and ASIAN both of which are sub regional international organizations which are powerful with 1.5 billion people and 3.5 trillion dollars in BMISTEC and 640 million people and 86%world population in ASIAN when Myanmar is a nation with normal potential situated in a naval strategic route with so many natural resources which attracts world powers to make friendship with.

Difficult Patch

Currently Myanmar is going through a difficult patch again with the Army rule which is not attractive to the west mainly on the human rights front. She had a series of breaks on democratic governments with the most recent break on after the democratic rule of ‘Aung San Kyi’ the leader of National League of democracy that commenced on 1990and ended on 2011 with an army coup again by army leader ‘Min Aung Hlaing’ which is running with a great resistance form the people and the world as before. Army rule has not been alien to Myanmar and the democracy have her rejuvenation and a recognition and past glory of the time of Na win and U Tang one time UN secretary General who brought Burma to fame in the international arena. Myanmar was popular and liked by all members of BMISTIC, ASIAN, SAARC and most UN member nations and international organizations except for the diminishing process of democratization due to army rule reactivating intermittently. She has enormous wealth on the ground and hidden the world is aware and awaiting to explore and cannot rule out discreet involvements with hidden agendas. She needs genuine and good friends and the best friend to use the good office may be Sri Lanka with historic, religious and cultural bonds running back to thousands of years. We have a proud history of negotiating on our behalf and others previously on many crisis situations in the world. When India and China had issues Madam Bandaraneike offered her good office as leader of the NAM and Sri Lanka and a respected leader respected by others. She used her personal goodwill and charm with Indira Gandhi in the resolution of the ‘Kaththive’ issue and the Indian labour which was brewing for generations unresolved. On the other hand Army rule is not alien to our region Bangladesh, and Pakistan had iron fist army rules but gradually reverted back to functioning democracy. Army rule I Myanmar is pressurized by the world and it may be difficult to sustain with corona and the downtown on the economy worldwide with great strain to the world economy, making negotiations easier now. Though there were precedents in Commonwealth on undemocratic countries such as Pakistan then, Asian attitude is different from that of the western patterns of steps on such issues.

BIMSTIC, ASIAN, SAARC AND EU

BIMSTIC has five members from South Asia and two from South East Asia with 1.5 billion people, with 22% world population, and 1.5 billion income with 2.8 trillion GDP being a powerful but a friendly group with no rifts or differences who will be meeting indifferences such as SAARC. India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan Sri Lanka Myanmar and Thailand are like minded friends who will be meeting in Sri Lanka to discuss the matters of mutual interest mainly on economic front with no politics in agenda. The group is meeting in Sri Lanka under a friendly atmosphere in order to discuss only the economic issues and the best opportunity to discuss the mutual issues to be resolved amicably. It is also advisable to use the good office of the ‘Bikkues’ who are always in the forefront in advising the Kings and governance from time immoral. ASEAN and SAARC are regional organizations based in Asia where as defund EU has been once the most developed regional organization SAARC was aspiring to follow to be.

Ground Situation

Ground situation is different from the outward appearance in that the Military has substantial power from the 2008 constitution still in force with ¼ of the parliament and powers over oil gas and sources of income and important portfolios with the military. Out of 476 MP’s 396 belongs to the Democratic Party and has an overwhelming supper but 400 sitting MP’s democratically elected are under house arrest. Protests are all over and 184 people have already dead with 18000 in detention. There is resentment all over the country with professionals and academies to have come to the forefront in support of the pro-democracy movement with the result that the use of good office and a settlement is now an easy matter.

Good office of the State and the ‘Maha Sanga’

Maha Sanga in Sri Lanka has played a pivot role in matters of good office and propagation and enhancement of Buddhism and are the best ambassadors to initiate actions better than the state intervention. This is something new experience to both countries and if both parties use the historic bonds with the religious and cultural bonds it may be a good start to have a working relationship. There are leading businessmen who have started business in Myanmar with lot of hopes on the open and hidden potentials available untapped. One must think in terms of economic diplomacy and the other areas such as tourism with tremendous potentials to both countries. All these together will have a collective effort and a new bond trend and hopes with friendship that creates hopes and good will. Media too will have a major part to play in these innovative propositions which may attract the Military government and the people of Myanmar

Good Office of Professionals Academics and Business community – a way out

It is a good idea for the Bar Association to offer a new Constitution and the Organization of Professionals to communicate with the counterparts and the two Ambassador in Sri Lanka and Myanmar with concrete proposals. Do it in good faith and trust with the intention of helping our friendly nation and of course ourselves as if and when they do well we too will be benefited and the good will we created  with go far and beyond Geneva Process. May everybody be peaceful extend and we extend loving kindness to all Human and other beings. Sarath7@hotmail.co.uk

“PERFIDIOUS ALBION”

March 16th, 2021

Gamini Seneviratne

            That is a term that historians of colonization are familiar with as a descriptive of the duplicity, treachery and the breach of treaties that marked England’s relations with the peoples it sought to colonize / loot particularly in the 19th century.

            What this note addresses are the manifestations of trickery and the purveyance of falsehoods by and on behalf of the family that some people in Britain and some in former British colonies, directly and indirectly, support financially and otherwise. That applies in varying degree to its ancillary branches – few of them ‘blood relatives as, for example, Camilla Shand, Kate Middleton, Megan Markle are not – as well.

            What we have witnessed following Megan and Harry’s statements in an open interview is a series of cover-up tries by Royal Family Specialists”, by sleazy tabloids, by purveyors of fake news via radio and TV and other scandal mongers.

            The Specialists roused sympathy, aged old gals and old chaps struggling with their dentures, wishing this horrible lockdown was done, the pub open and ‘what was the word we were looking for?

Some tried to blame Megan and Harry for 99 year old Phillip’s health problems and asserted too that M & H were heartless to upset people despite a pandemic that has killed thousands of fine people who have always been behind the Royals and so remain. And will always do, amen.

One of them, the ‘This Morning’ interviewer pushed a close friend of Meghan, Janina Gavankar, for the desired answers and she said, I speak for myself. You speak for them!”

That more or less shut him up but then, surprise, the media mentioned above, went into Janina’s ‘bio-history’ finding, oh no wonder, her Asian roots.

            A more objective report, which is yet to be challenged by ‘the Palace’ or their ‘Press’ had the following: In an interview stuffed with quotable lines, it was among the most resonant: the invisible contract”, as the Duke of Sussex called it, that has bound the royal family and reporters together for years.

In this telling, it is not that the royals enjoy their media duties, or view them as a responsibility, but that the only way to survive the press is to strike a deal with it.

There’s a reason that these tabloids have holiday parties at the palace,” Meghan said. They’re hosted by the palace, the tabloids are. You know, there is a construct that’s at play there.”

How’s that for perfidy – which includes ‘their’ handling of the NHS, of vaccines and a multitude of related crimes against humanity?

And of ‘their’ view of ‘war crimes’ and the UNHCR?

            By the way, ‘Albion’is said to have been derived from a Roman term for ‘white’ –

But that had to do not with the skin colour of any of its inhabitants: ‘it referred to the white chalk cliffs along the south-east coast of England’.

Albion is the original name of England which the land was known as by the Romans, probably from the Latin albus meaning white, and referring to the chalk cliffs along the south-east coast of England. … Albion was replaced by the Latin ‘Britannia’, and the Romans called the natives of England the Britons.

“Perfidious Albion” is a pejorative phrase used within the context of international relations diplomacy to refer to acts of diplomatic sleights, duplicity, treachery and hence infidelity (with respect to perceived promises made to or alliances formed with other nation states) by monarchs or governments of the UK

In an interview stuffed with quotable lines, it was among the most resonant: the invisible contract”, as the Duke of Sussex called it, that has bound the royal family and reporters together for years.

In this telling, it is not that the royals enjoy their media duties, or view them as a responsibility, but that the only way to survive the press is to strike a deal with it.

There’s a reason that these tabloids have holiday parties at the palace,” Meghan said. They’re hosted by the palace, the tabloids are. You know, there is a construct that’s at play there.”

If the royal family’s dislike for the press was in any doubt, perhaps the most memorable confirmation came in Prince Charles’s remarks to his sons, caught by an unnoticed microphone, during a photoshoot in Klosters, Switzerland, on a skiing holiday in 2005.

I hate doing this. Bloody people,” he said through visibly gritted teeth, before focusing on the BBC’s Nicholas Witchell. I can’t bear that man anyway. He’s so awful, he really is. I hate these people.” They sat for the photos all the same.

The Prince of Wales with his sons during the Klosters photoshoot in 2005.

The Prince of Wales with his sons during the Klosters photoshoot in 2005 where he made comments on his views of the press.
Photograph: Arno Balzarini/AP

Now that Harry and Meghan have so explicitly identified that contract, it is hard to see them, at least, ever having a way back into it. But a seasoned royal communications operative says they have a point – and the deal still exists for the rest of the family.

They compared the relationship to that endured by politicians who seek positive headlines. This is the same battle every prime minister has. There is a quid pro quo relationship – there’s a reason senior officials try to build relationships with editors. It’s about negotiating for favourable coverage.”

It isn’t explicit stuff,” the former Buckingham Palace senior official argued. But often in times of a rough period of coverage, there’d be meetings arranged and you might find, for example, that an editor has a pet project that’s important to them on a personal basis.”

In a week that claims of media racism became a central part of the debate over the treatment of Harry and Meghan, Marcus Ryder, a visiting professor in media diversity at Birmingham City University, argued that a mixed-race woman’s arrival in the family fatally disrupted that cosy – if compromised – relationship.

The whole point of a culture like this is that it survives on the basis of unwritten rules,” he said. And so when somebody comes into that culture from outside, it forces you to address those rules, or even make them explicit, and in doing so reexamine them. It’s often the person from the margins who might make us reassess something like this.”

The final nature of that rupture was further reinforced when it emerged that the couple had complained to Ofcom about Piers Morgan’s discussion on Good Morning Britain of their interview, having already complained to ITV. It came as Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail, wrote to the US broadcaster Viacom CBS over what it said was the indefensible” use of images during Oprah Winfrey’s interview with the Sussexes that had been doctored or presented as headlines when they were not” to suggest racist coverage.

What Piers Morgan’s exit tells us about the future of impartial broadcasting in the UKJane Martinson

Jane Martinson

Jane Martinson

Read more

What Piers Morgan’s exit tells us about the future of impartial broadcas… The presenter is unlikely to be jobless for long with Andrew Neil and Rupert Murdoch launching US-style news cha…

While Harry and Meghan did not comment further themselves, they made their view on whether the media has a diversity problem even clearer on Friday when they made a launch donation to a new charity, the PressPad Charitable Foundation, which exists to improve socio-economic diversity within the media” – and announced Ryder as a trustee.

Three former royal reporters declined to comment on whether the old relationship was based on quid pro quos. But Priyanka Raval, an early-career journalist at the Bristol Cable – one of the outlets to withdraw from consideration for the Society of Editors’ Press Awards after it released a statement saying that there was no racism in the British media – said that as a journalist of colour she had long been sceptical of the mix of national newspapers and the monarchy. It’s the old establishment and the biased establishment, it’s a toxic combination,” she said. Meghan came in with naive fresh eyes and she might have accidentally disrupted this whole way of being.”

Raval said she was proud of the Bristol Cable, which is run as a cooperative, for taking a principled stance” on the subject and suggested that the crumbling of the previous consensus on coverage of the royals and racism alike should be used to make way for something better.

I really disagree with the insinuation that we have to close ranks,” she said. We’re doing journalism in a completely different way.”

අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමාගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන් “ප්‍රඥාබන්‍දු” ශිෂ්‍යත්ව අරමුදල ඇරඹෙයි

March 16th, 2021

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

ප්‍රඥාබන්‍දු” ශිෂ්‍යත්ව අරමුදල ගරු අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතාගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන් අද 2021.03.16 දින පස්වරුවේ දී බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්‍යන්තර අනුස්මරණ සම්මන්ත්‍රණ ශාලාවේ දී ආරම්භ විය.

සාමාන්‍ය පෙළ විභාගය විශිෂ්ට ලෙස සමත්වන අඩු ආදායම් ලාභී පවුල්වල දරුවන් වෙනුවෙන් අමාත්‍ය බන්දුල ගුණවර්ධන මහතාගේ සංකල්පයකට අනුව උසස් පෙළ හැදෑරීමට ප්‍රඥාබන්‍දු” ශිෂ්‍යත්වය පිරිනැමෙයි.

ප්‍රඥාබන්‍දු” ශිෂ්‍යත්ව භාරයට අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා සමඟ වෙළඳ අමාත්‍ය ආචාර්ය බන්දුල ගුණවර්ධන මහතා හා අධ්‍යාපන අමාත්‍ය මහාචාර්ය ජී.එල් පීරිස් මහතා අත්සන් තැබූහ.

අනතුරුව වෙළඳ අමාත්‍ය බන්දුල ගුණවර්ධන මහතා විසින් ප්‍රඥාබන්‍දු” ශිෂ්‍යත්වභාරය විශ්වවිද්‍යාල ප්‍රතිපාදන කොමිෂන් සභාවේ සභාපති ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ මහාචාර්ය සම්පත් අමරතුංග මහතාට පිරිනැමුවේය.

වෙළඳ අමාත්‍ය බන්දුල ගුණවර්ධන මහතා රුපියල් මිලියන 10ක මුදලක් යොදා ප්‍රඥාබන්‍දු” ශිෂ්‍යත්ව අරමුදල ආරම්භ කර ඇත. එතුමාගේ ජන්ම දිනයට (16) සමඟාමීව මෙම ශිෂ්‍යත්ව අරමුදල සමාරම්භ කිරීම විශේෂත්වයකි.

පෞද්ගලිකව ඕනෑම අයෙකුට දායක විය හැකි මෙම අරමුදලට සමාරම්භක අවස්ථාවේ දීම පෞද්ගලික ආයතන සහ දානපතීන්ගෙන් රුපියල් ලක්ෂ 150ක මුදලක් ලැබී තිබේ.

මෙම අරමුදලේ සමාරම්භය‍ට වැඩම කළ මහා සංඝරත්න‍‍යේ ආශිර්වාදය හිමි වූහ.

මෙම අවස්ථාවට හිටපු ජනාධිපති මෛත්‍රිපාල සිරිසේන, හිටපු අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ, අමාත්‍යවරුන්වන මහාචාර්ය ජී.එල් පීරිස්,දිනේශ් ගුණවර්ධන,මහින්දානන්ද අලුත්ගමගේ,නිමල් සිරිපාල ද සිල්වා,විමල් වීරවංශ, උදය ගම්මන්පිල, රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යවරුන්වන සුසිල් ප්‍රේමජයන්ත, සිසිර ජයකොඩි, පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී මහාචාර්ය රංජිත් බණ්ඩාර, විශ්වවිද්‍යාල ප්‍රතිපාදන කොමිෂන් සභාවේ සභාපති ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ මහාචාර්ය සම්පත් අමරතුංග මහත්වරු ඇතුළු මහජන නියෝජිතයන්, විද්වතුන්, විශ්ව විද්‍යාල ආදි විද්‍යාර්ථයින්, අමාත්‍යංශ නිලධාරින් සහ ව්‍යාපාරිකයෝ ඇතුළු පිරිසක් එක්ව සිටියහ.

“මේඩ් ඉන් ශ්‍රී ලංකා” (Made in Sri Lanka) ලොව ඉස්තරම්ම සන්නාමය කරමු – ගරු අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා

March 16th, 2021

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

මේඩ් ඉන් ශ්‍රී ලංකා” (Made in Sri Lanka) ලොව ඉස්තරම්ම සන්නාමය ලෙස ලොවට ගෙන යෑමට රටක් හැටියට අපි අත්වැල් බැඳ ගමු යැයි ගරු අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා ඊයේ 2021.03.15 රාත්‍රියේ ප්‍රකාශ කළේය.

වාහන නිෂ්පාදනය, එකලස් කිරීම සහ වාහන උපාංග නිපදවීම සඳහා වූ සම්මත මෙහෙයුම් පටිපාටියක් (Standard Operating Procedures) එළිදැක්වීම කොළඹ ෂැන්ග්‍රිලා හෝටලයේ දී පැවති අවස්ථාවේ අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා මේ බව සඳහන් කළේය.

කර්මාන්ත අමාත්‍ය විමල් වීරවංශ මහතා විසින් අදාළ මෙහෙයුම් පටිපාටිය (SOP) ඇතුළත් ලේඛනය අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා වෙත පිළිගැන්නුවේය.

මෙසේ එළිදැක්වූ ශ්‍රී ලංකා මෝටර් රථ හා මෝටර් රථ අමතර කොටස් නිෂ්පාදනය කිරිමේ කර්මාන්තය සඳහා වන සම්මත මෙහෙයුම් පටිපාටිය කර්මාන්ත අමාත්‍යංශ වෙබ් අඩවියෙන් ලබා ගත හැකිය.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා මෙම උත්සව අවස්ථාවේ දී කළ සම්පූර්ණ කතාව මෙසේය.

කාලයක් තිස්සේ අපේ රටට අවශ්‍යවෙලා තිබුණු ක්ෂේත්‍රයකට අද ආරම්භයක් ලැබිලා තියෙනවා. ඒ පිළිබඳව මාගේ සතුට පළකරනවා.

මිත්‍රවරුනි,

කොවිඩ් වසංගතයට කලින් අපි වාහන ගෙන්වන්න වාර්ෂිකව විශාල විදේශ විනිමය ප්‍රමාණයක් වැය කළ බව ඔබ දන්නවා. අමෙරිකානු ඩොලර් මිලියන 1000ත් -1500ත් අතර මුදලක් ඒ විධියට අපි වාහන ගෙන්වන්න වාර්ෂිකව වැය කරලා තිබෙනවා.

ඒ නිසා කොවිඩ් සමඟ ආපු ආර්ථික බලපෑම අවම කරගන්න අපි වාහන ආනයනය නතර කළා. එහෙම කළේ කවුරුත් පීඩාවට පත්කරන්න හිතාගෙන නෙමෙයි.

ඒ වෙනකොටත් අවුරුදු දෙකකට විතර ඇතිවෙන්න ගෙනාපු වාහන රට ඇතුළෙ තිබුණා.

මිත්‍රවරුනි,

විශේෂයෙන් ගෝලීය වසංගතයක් ආපු මේ වෙලාවේ තමයි දේශීය ආර්ථිකයේ වැදගත්කම වඩා හොඳින් තේරුම් යන්නෙ. ඒ විතරක් නෙමෙයි අපේ ආර්ථික ක්‍රමයෙ හෝ ඒවායේ අඩුපාඩු හදාගන්නත් මෙය හොඳම අවස්ථාවක්.

ක්‍රමයක් වෙනස් කරන්න හදන කොට විවිධ බාධක එනවා. සමහර අය කැමතියි. තව අය අකමැතියි. හැබැයි සාර්ථක ක්‍රමයක් අපි හඳුන්වලා දුන්නම ඒ හැමෝම ඒ වැඩපිළිවෙල එක්ක එකතුවෙනවා.

වාහන නිෂ්පාදනය, එකලස් කිරීම සහ වාහන උපාංග නිපදවීම පිළිබඳ සම්මත මෙහෙයුම් පටිපාටියක් (Standard Operating Procedures) මෙයට පෙර තිබුණෙ නැහැ.

එවැනි ක්‍රමවේද හදන්න බොහෝ යෝජනා ඉදිරිපත් වුණත් ක්‍රියාත්මක කරන්න කවුරුත් ඉදිරිපත් වුණේ නැහැ.

මම දන්නවා කර්මාන්ත අමාත්‍ය අපේ විමල් වීරවංශ මැතිතුමා මේ ගැන බොහෝ සංවාද කළා. කැබිනට් මණ්ඩලයට ඇවිත් අපට ඒ ගැන පැහැදිලි කළා.

හැබැයි මේ කාර්යය මෙතරම් කඩිනමින් කරන්න පුළුවන් වෙයි කියලා අපි කවුරුත් විශ්වාස කළේ නැහැ.

මෙය අපේ රටේ කර්මාන්ත ක්ෂේත්‍රයේ හැරවුම් ලක්ෂයක් වනු ඇතැයි මම විශ්වාස කරනවා.

රටේ සම්මත මෙහෙයුම් පටිපාටියක්(SOP) තිබෙන විට දේශීය හා විදේශීය ඕනෑම ආයෝජකයකුට එය පහසුවක්.

ඒ වගේම ඔවුන්ට කිසිදු පැකිලීමකින් තොරව අපේ රටේ වාහන නිෂ්පාදන ක්ෂේත්‍රයට පිවිසීමට මාවතක්ද නිර්මාණය වෙනවා.

වාහන එකලස් කිරීම දේශීය වශයෙන් ආරම්භ කළාම ඔවුන්ට බදු සහන ලබාගන්නත් පුළුවන්.  ඒ විතරක් නෙමෙයි වාහන උපාංග නිපදවීමේ කර්මාන්තයත් ඒ එක්කම වේගයෙන් දියුණ වෙනවා.

මිත්‍රවරුනි,

ලෝහ හා ලෝහ නොවන නිෂ්පාදන, ඉලෙක්ට්‍රොනික නිෂ්පාදන, ටයර් හා රබර් නිෂ්පාදන කර්මාන්ත මේ පහසුකම ඔස්සේ දියුණු වෙනවා.

තවත් පැත්තකින් නවෝත්පාදන සඳහා රට තුළ විශාල ඉල්ලුමක් ඇතිකරන්නත් ඒ සම්බන්ධ උනන්දුව ඉහළ දමන්නත් මෙවැනි සම්මත මෙහෙයුම් පටිපාටියක් (SOP) තිබීම ඉතා වැදගත්.

ඒ වගේම කර්මාන්ත ක්ෂේත්‍රයේ තාක්ෂණික උපාධිධාරීන්, ඉංජිනේරුවන් ඇතුළු වෘත්තිකයන් විසි දහසකට පමණ මේ වැඩපිළිවෙළින් සෘජු රැකියා අවස්ථාද හිමිවෙනවා.

මිත්‍රවරුනි,

අපි තරග කරන්නෙ දියුණු ලෝකයක් සමඟ. මොනතරම් බාධක තිබුණත් මේ තරගයෙන් අපි ඉවත්විය යුතු නැහැ. විදේශ විනිමය විදෙස් රටවලට ගලා යාම අවම කරමින් ජාතික ආර්ථික අභියෝගය ජය ගැනීමේ හැකියාව අපට තිබෙනවා.

මෙම වැඩපිලිවෙල සාර්ථක කරගැනීමට විමල් ඇමතිතුමා සහ අමාත්‍යංශ ලේකම් අනූෂ පැල්පිට ඇතුළු සියලුදෙනාට හැකියාව තිබෙන බව මම දන්නවා.

ඒ වගේම ඔබ සියලු දෙනාගේම කැපවීම මත සෞභාග්‍යමත් දේශයක් උදා කරගැනීමේ හැකියාව සහ විශ්වාසය අපට තිබෙනවා.

ඒ නිසා මේඩ් ඉන් ශ්‍රී ලංකා”(Made In Sri Lanka) ලොව ඉස්තරම්ම සන්නාමය ලෙස ලොවට ගෙනයන්න රටක් හැටියට අපි අත්වැල් බැඳ ගමු.

ඔබ සැමට සුබ අනාගතයක් වේවා ! යැයි අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා පැවසීය.

කර්මාන්ත අමාත්‍ය විමල් වීරවංශ මහතා

වාල්මිකී කියන විදිහට රාවණා යන්නේ දඬුමොණරෙන් ඒ කතාව සත්‍ය උනත් අසත්‍ය උනත් අපි එවැනි ඉතිහාසයකට උරුමකම් කියන ජාතියක්.

ඒ නිසාම වාහන නිෂ්පාදන හා එකලස් කිරීමේ ප්‍රතිපත්තිය එළිදැක්  වීමට ලැබීම ගැන සතුටු වෙනවා.

තාක්ෂණ විෂයන්ගෙන් උපාධිය ලබන දරුවන්ට ඉංජිනේරු උපාධිය ලබන දරුවන්ට ලංකාව තුළම රුකියා බිහිවීමෙි අවස්ථා මෙමඟින් ප්‍රසාරණය වෙනවා.

ඇතැම් ආනයනයන් සීමාකිරීමට හේතු වුණේ රුපියලේ අවප්‍රමානයම නෙවෙයි. නිෂ්පාදන අවකාශය සකස් කර ගැනීමට. අද ලාංකික නිෂ්පාදකයින් ඒ අවකාෂය හොදින් නතුකරගනිමින් ඉන්නවා යැයි අමාත්‍ය විමල් වීරවංශ මහතා පැවසීය.

මෙම අවස්ථාවට කර්මාන්ත අමාත්‍ය විමල් වීරවංශ, ප්‍රවාහන අමාත්‍ය ගාමිණි ලොකුගේ, රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය දිලුම් අමුණුගම, කර්මාන්ත අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් අනූෂ පැල්පිට, මෝටර් රථ එකලස් කරන්නන්ගේ සංගමයේ සභාපති අසේල ලිහිනිකඩුව මහත්වරු ඇතුළු රාජ්‍ය හා පෞද්ගලික අංශය නියෝජනය කරමින් කර්මාන්තක්ෂේත්‍රයේ විශාල පිරිසක් සහභාගි වූහ.

ආණ්ඩුවේ ගමන සුබවාදී නෑ.. වෙන්න යන දේ හොද දෙයක් නිසා හෙලි කරන්නේ නෑ…- විජේදාස

March 16th, 2021

උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස්

ආණ්ඩුව යන ගමන සුබවාදී නැතැයි ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණේ පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී හිටපු අමාත්‍ය විජයදාස රාජපක්ෂ මහතා සඳහන් කරයි.

ආණ්ඩුවට ඉදිරියේදී වීමට නියමිත දේ තමන් දන්නා නමුත් එය වළක්වා ගත යුතු නැති නිසා හෙළි කරන්නේ නැති බවද ඔහු කියා සිටියේය.

හිරු රූපවාහිනියේ පැවති සලකුණ වැඩසටහන සමග එක්වෙමින් ඔහු මෙම අදහස් පල කලේය.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=740988849948677&t=9

Police find nexus between drug dealers and extremists

March 16th, 2021

By Hemantha Randunu Courtesy The Island

The Terrorist Investigation Division has commenced an investigation into Rs. 980 million in an account maintained by an extremist group at a bank in Trincomalee.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that several drug dealers in Sri Lanka too have made financial contributions to the extremist outfit.

This was revealed when a resident of Kehelwatta, Panadura, arrested in connection with drug dealing, said that he had donated money to an Islamic extremist organization, Police spokesman, DIG Ajith Rohana said yesterday. The suspect was arrested by the Peliyagoda Crimes Branch and during questioning he revealed that a part of his earnings went to the extremist group.

The bank account was opened in 2013. The suspect was handed over to the TID yesterday for further investigations.

Cabinet nod to convert paddy stocks into rice and distribute via Sathosa

March 16th, 2021

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

The cabinet approval was granted to convert the stocks of paddy purchased from farmers by the Paddy Marketing Board into rice and distribute them continuously through Sathosa branch network.

The decision was taken after the Cabinet meeting today.

New laws to stop felling coconut trees without permission: Minister

March 16th, 2021

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

New laws will be introduced to stop the felling of coconut trees without permission in the future, Plantation Industries and Export Agriculture Minister Ramesh Pathirana said.

While addressing a coordinating meeting at Gampaha District recently, the Minister pointed out that there is a huge demand for local coconut harvest in the international market and therefore, the coconut cultivation in the country should be increased.

“It is essential to increase coconut cultivation in the country. We need to restrict the allotment of coconut cultivation lands and we will be doing it in a very systematic manner,” he said.

“At present, permission is required for coconut land allotment in parts for more than 10 acres, but the Ministry is hoping to reduce it to 1 hectare in the future,” the Minister added. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)

CID arrests Azath Salley

March 16th, 2021

Courtesy Adaderana

Former Governor of Western Province Azath Salley has been arrested this evening (March 16) by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

The arrest was made on the advice of the Attorney General, his coordinating officer State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne said.

Police Spokesperson DIG Ajith Rohana noted that Salley will be detained and interrogated under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism (PTA). 

Convening a media briefing recently, Leader of the National Unity Front (NUF) Azath Salley made controversial statements with regard to the law of the country.

His disputed remarks came as a response to the plans by Justice Minister Ali Sabry to revise Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act by November.

Salley had stated that he will only respect the Quran, the Hadiths and Shariah but not the laws of the government.

This later triggered several complaints to the CID. Accordingly, a team of CID officers led by an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) was appointed to inquire into Salley’s statements.

The Attorney General instructed the CID to arrest the former governor as sufficient evidence has revealed that he had committed an offence under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and violated the International Covenant on Civil and Political. Rights (ICCPR) Act, No. 56 of 2007.

Coronavirus: 274 new infections in total detected today

March 16th, 2021

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lanka registered 120 more positive cases of COVID-19 today (March 16) as total novel coronavirus infections reported within the day reached 274.

Department of Government Information says 250 of today’s cases are close contacts of earlier cases linked to the Peliyagoda cluster. The remaining 24 were detected from the prison cluster.

New development has pushed the country’s confirmed COVID-19 cases count to 88,512.

Two new COVID deaths take total to 534

March 16th, 2021

Courtesy Adaderana

Director-General of Health Services today (March 16) confirmed 02 more COVID-related fatalities in Sri Lanka.

One of them is a 75-year-old woman from Kandy who died on March 15. She was transferred from Kandy National Hospital to Theldeniya Base Hospital after testing positive for the virus. The cause of death was recorded as acute COVID pneumonia.

The second victim is a 59-year-old man from Negombo who died due to heart disease, COVID pneumonia, high blood pressure, acute diabetes and kidney disease. He tested positive for the virus while he was under medical care at a private hospital in Colombo. He was then moved to University Hospital of General Sir John Kotelawala Defense University where he passed away today (March 16).

Following the new development, the death toll from the pandemic outbreak in the country now sits at 534.

Former directors of Swarnamahal Jewellers arrested

March 16th, 2021

Courtesy Adaderana

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested the former directors of the Swarnamahal Jewellers Private Limited – Jeewaka Edirisinghe, Anjalee Edirisinghe, Asanka Edirisinghe, and Nalaka Edirisinghe.

The arrest has been made upon the directions of Attorney General Dappula de Livera.

They have been arrested on the charges of money laundering, the Coordinating Officer of the Attorney, State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne said.

Adani gets govt nod to develop Colombo port terminal

March 16th, 2021

Courtesy Adaderana

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. will work with Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings Plc to develop a port terminal in the island nation, Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s first such standalone overseas project.

India’s biggest private port operator got a letter of intent from Sri Lankan authorities to build and operate the West Container Terminal of Colombo Port for 35 years, Adani Ports said in an exchange filing Monday. The project cost is estimated to be around $750 million, according to Daya Ratnayake, chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority.

This marks the latest addition in the expanding portfolio of the Indian firm that already operates a dozen ports in India, commands 30% market share locally and recently secured an investment from Warburg Pincus LLC. Its tie-up with John Keells — Sri Lanka’s largest listed conglomerate — also bolsters India’s engagement with its neighboring nation that has in recent years relied heavily on China for building its infrastructure.

Shares of Adani Ports rose as much as 2.3% in Mumbai on Tuesday, pushing this year’s climb to almost 50%. John Keells’s shares advanced as much as 1.4% in Colombo.

The overseas project is part of tycoon Adani’s rapidly diversifying empire as he adds assets from ports to airports, coal mines and data centers, underscoring the rising heft of this first-generation entrepreneur.

The port terminal will have a quay length of 1,400 meters and depth of 20 meters, making it a prime trans-shipment cargo destination to handle ultra large container carriers, according to the filing from Adani Ports.

It will be the first ever Indian port operator in Sri Lanka and hold 51% in the joint venture.

Source: Bloomberg 

-Agencies

Myanmar coup and Western impotence; Death of freedom and justice

March 15th, 2021

By Raj Gonsalkorale

The UN deputy human rights chief and the independent expert on Myanmar have called for targeted sanctions against the leaders of what they both described as the coup that took place in the country last week, as the Human Rights Council met in special session on Friday to discuss the ongoing crisis

While the US and its allies gang against Sri Lanka, which incidentally is run by a President, a Prime Minister and a cabinet of ministers, elected by the people, a Parliament elected by the people,  overwhelmingly one might add in all the elections, and a Parliamentary Opposition elected by the people, these countries led by the US, and the UN Security Council, are uttering meaningless words without backing their so called condemnation of the brazen Military Coup in Myanmar with something tangible than empty words. It clearly demonstrates their impotence and sense of priorities.

More than 80 people have been killed so far in riots against the Military and scores of people have been detained for taking a stand on democracy, freedom and liberty. The human rights champion, the UNHRC is yet to say anything about the deprivations imposed on a free people, and the human right taken away from them by the Military.

A freely elected political party, an election supervised by the Military no doubt, was ousted because the Military claimed the election was not fair and was rigged. If this were true, then it is the Military that failed because they controlled the conduct of the election. It is a reflection on them that they did not do their job.

The ardent and vociferous democratic citadels led by the US are all aware why the Military did what they did. It is because their own plan to rig the election in favour of the puppet political party they created to win enough seats to form the next government along with the 25% of the seats that are allocated to the Military anyway, failed and backfired on them. The puppets only needed another 25% of the seats, and the Military was banking on fraud and rigging to get them past that point.

Despite this fraud and rigging, the people of Myanmar saw through this and decided to increase the party position of the NLD led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

So, now the Military has coined together a Goebbellian version of their own, and promising the world they will have free and fair” elections within a year. If the world does not have the guts to call the military’s bluff now, would they ever have any power over the military to make sure there is a free and fair election”? One can bet all their wealth and take a safe punt on this. That is, the result of the free and fair election” will be the election of the military backed puppets, and them forming a government with the Military. That will be the outcome.

That will be the end of democracy and the short lived breath of fresh air Myanmar enjoyed for a brief period. Unfortunately for Myanmar and for Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, their treatment of the Rohingya’s will not help the cause of democracy in the country. The shabby and disgraceful treatment of human beings by human beings, all of whom did not have any identity at the time of their birth but acquired society’s labels, where, someone of the stature of Aung San Suu Kyi did not offer any sympathy or concern or empathy for a group of people so horribly being treated, sadly removed the glowing lustre that Aung San Suu Kyi had till then.

It is well known that it is the Military that forced her hand to comply with what they were doing to the Rohingya’s, and her own safety, and the security of her government may have been compromised had she said anything in empathy of the Rohingya’s.

Who are the Rohingya People?

In a well-researched commentary in the Wikipedia, it says the Rohingya people are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnic group who predominantly follow Islam and reside in Rakhine StateMyanmar.  Before the displacement crisis in 2017, when over 740,000 fled to Bangladesh, an estimated 1.4 million Rohingya lived in Myanmar. Described by journalists and news outlets as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world, the Rohingya population is denied citizenship under the 1982 Myanmar nationality law. They are also restricted from freedom of movement, state education and civil service jobs.The legal conditions faced by the Rohingya in Myanmar have been compared to apartheid by some academics, analysts and political figures, including Nobel laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu. The most recent mass displacement of Rohingya in 2017 led the International Criminal Court investigating crimes against humanity, and led to the International Court of Justice investigating genocide.

The Rohingya maintain they are indigenous to western Myanmar with a heritage of over a millennium and influence from the ArabsMughals and Portuguese. The community claims it is descended from people in precolonial Arakan and colonial Arakan; historically, the region was an independent kingdom between Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent

The Myanmar government considers the Rohingya as colonial and postcolonial migrants from neighbouring Chittagong/East Bengal respectively Bangladesh. It argues that a distinct precolonial Muslim population is recognized as Kaman, and that the Rohingya conflate their history with the history of Arakan Muslims in general to advance a separatist agenda. In addition, Myanmar’s government does not recognise the term “Rohingya” and prefers to refer to the community as “Bangali“. This account in the Wikipedia outlines the sad state that history and interpretations of it have placed some half a million Rohingya people in abject poverty, stateless, and dehumanised by the Military in Myanmar.

What is the future of Myanmar?

The Buddhist establishment and a vast majority of Buddhists in Myanmar, have practiced anything but Buddhism in the way they treated the Rohingya people. There was no Metta, Karuna, Muditha nor Upeksha extended to the Rohingya people, and sadly Aung San Suu Kyi did not either.

Now, unfortunately, she is no longer on the high pedestal she was in when she became the defacto leader of Myanmar in 2016. She cannot rally the world to come to the defence of democracy and freedom in her country as she would have been able to if not for the Rohingya crisis.

However, it is not Aung San Suu Kyi who is an issue here. It is what she represented, the future of Myanmar, its democracy and its freedom. It is bigger than her and it is bigger than the unfortunate blotch on her arising from the Rohingya people crisis. If for a moment, one gives some thought to who benefited most from that crisis, it is impossible to say Aung San Suu Kyi did. In fact, the reality is the opposite.

Who then did? If one extends this thought to the possibility that the entity that benefited most orchestrated the crisis to trap her and lesson her influence internationally, then that entity certainly achieved that.

If hypothetically, the Military was indeed that entity and they achieved the latter, the next step would have been to form the next government with their puppet party. But, knowing the popularity of Aung San Suu Kyi, they would have had to plan to win it in whatever way, including by rigging the election in their favour and not in a genuinely free and fair election.

What probably disrupted such a plan would have been their inability to have rigged the election sufficiently and the overwhelming vote of confidence that Aung San Suu Kyi got from the people who not only voted for her and her party, but also safeguarded the voting process.

The option planned by the Military, not their preferred option, as that would have been to form a government with their puppet party, would have been to stage a Coup on the pretext of the election not being free and fair” and that they would conduct such an election. That is what has happened and the jig saw is complete now. It’s no longer a puzzle.

Of course they have to eliminate Aung San Suu Kyi from the electoral process as a diminished standing internationally, has had a reverse effect in Myanmar with her popularity going up even further. Trumped up charges against her are unfolding before the world, and her personal safety is at serious risk. The Military is capable of doing anything to make sure their plan succeeds and they take formal, democratic” control after the planned free and fair” election.

Unfortunately, the Military might still prevail as there is no kudos to be gained for the US and its allies by restoring Aung San Suu Kyi’s weakened international position. The democratic citadels playing just lip service and showing feigned outrage at the Military and taking token positions rather than any decisive action to make the Military back down will not happen. They will not send any strong messages to China, urging them to get the Military to restore democracy without pre conditions. Instead, they will work towards the free and fair” election that the Military has promised, and they will then announce they will accept the people’s verdict at that free and fair” election in which the Military puppets will win the election by means anything but free and fair.

Democracy and freedom will be extinguished in Myanmar until the next Aung San Suu Kyi emerges at some distant date. The US, and its allies perhaps do not realise that their impotence would have delivered Myanmar lock, stock and barrel to China. 

We categorically deplore and condemn Interference by the Indian Ambassador in Sri Lanka’s internal matters

March 15th, 2021

 Dr. Sudath Gunasekara Mahanuwara.

While we categorically deplore and condemn Interference by the Indian Ambassador in Sri Lanka’s internal matters we call upon the Government to take stern action against all ambassadors who behave in this manner and deport them as soon as possible (as Premadasa once did to British Ambassador) and discontinue diplomatic relations with all such enemy countries

Dear Patriots,

Please seriously look at the following news item.

 Indian Envoy tours North, East to meet political heads & assess India-funded projects

11 March 2021 08:17 pm – 0     – 983

Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay has undertaken a four-day tour of the Northern and Eastern Provinces to interact with a cross section of society there including political leaders and inspect the projects  funded by India which are in various stages of implementation, sources said.

The High Commissioner also would visit the places of religious worship. This is his first such visit to the two provinces after he was appointed Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi renewed his country’s call for the implementation of 13th Amendment in full. It was repeated by India even during the ongoing session of the UNHRC.

Moreover, the Jaffna cultural centre and the Palali airport development are the two key projects financed by India. (Kelum Bandara)”

After reading this news item it gives me the Impression that the North and East of this country have already ceased to be a part of Sri Lanka.

Otherwise why the Government keep silent on this type of undiplomatic, undemocratic and highhanded action by the Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay. Has he already ceased to be the High Com of India to Sri Lanka and openly assumed the role of the Indian viceroy reigning over the Indian suzerainty in that part of our country. Otherwise why should he makes a 4 day tour to meet Tamil political Heads in that part of the country and interact with the Tamil people there. What business he has to inspect development projects in that part of this country funded by India. We categorically deplore this  high handed undiplomatic interference with the internal affairs of this country by Indian High Commissioner. This in my opinion amounts to a violation of all accepted international diplomatic covenants as if he has completely forgotten that he is only another Ambassador representing his country in this country and neither he nor his country has any legitimate authority to behave and act in this manner. This is naked interference in another sovereign country’s self -respect and dignity. I think he is acting on the assumption that the defunct Rajive/JR Accor of July 29th 1987 has already accorded North and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka as the Traditional Tamil homeland. For his information, I must categorically state the Tamil Homeland is in South India although the Indian Government has denied it to them at Home in spite of the fact 70 million Tamils live there. They have not even recognized Tamil as a national language or an official Language in India. Not only Ambassador Gopal but also the entire Indian Government should be ashamed of this hypocrisy and duplicity.

 It is common sense that India adopts the same attitude with regard to the Tamils in the plantation sector as well. It is high time that India should understand these Tamils living in Sri Lanka are no longer Indian citizens. True they may be of Indian Origin. But looking after them is our business as long as they accept this country as their country. Why are these Indian politicians and bureaucrats concerned so much about the welfare of Tamils in Sri Lanka, when millions are suffering at home even without a lavatory in their own country?

While deploring his unethical, undiplomatic and high handed action, the Government should I think, call upon this arrogant ambassador to explain for interfering with our domestic affairs this country. In the event he fails to do so he should be deported immediately for violating International diplomatic covenants and this should, I think, apply to all other Ambassadors as well who interfere with our internal matters and violate diplomatic norms and act against our interests. We want only friends and not enemies who stab from behind.

Isn’t it a big tragedy that some of these Diplomats are more concerned about minorities living in this country than the native Sinhalese to whom this country belong and who have shaped its civilization for two and half millennia, discriminating the natives as their enemies.

Looking at the way how our own politicians discriminate against the Sinhala majority by curry favouring the Muslims and Tamils, traitorously at the expense of their own nation, in a way it is not surprising that these foreign diplomats also behave in this manner.


Copyright © 2026 LankaWeb.com. All Rights Reserved. Powered by Wordpress