By Raj Gonsalkorale

55 largest SOEs delivered net Return on Assets (ROA) of only 0.64% in 2017. The combined losses among the loss-making entities reached Rs.87bn in 2017 compared to Rs.42bn in 2016. Some are in deep trouble. The Petroleum Corporation carries a negative equity. Sheer incompetence and corruption have pushed Sri Lankan Airlines close to financial collapse. Central budget support to SOEs amounted to Rs.41bn in 2017. The reports of COPE and the Auditor General highlight repeated instances of fraud, mismanagement, corruption and negligence. The issues no longer appear to be isolated incidents of opportunistic behaviour by individuals or occasional lapses in control but point to deeper, structural weaknesses – Advocata Institute

The government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will present its first budget on the 17^th of November. Its challenges are many, and they have been compounded by the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic. Recent events have shown that even the best managed COVID responses can have drastic reversals and it has shown that Sri Lanka, and for that matter all countries in the world are not yet out of the woods when it comes to COVID. This makes it extremely difficult to govern and plan governance options. Besides the budget, the government of President Rajapaksa will have to work with the people of the country to look towards the future and what policy settings, based on behavioural changes that must underpin the country’s future direction, should be introduced. Life cannot be what it was before this Pandemic. There is no return to a normal”, as there was never a sustainable normal. Among other things, a more sustainable new normal has to take into account other challenges like deforestation, climate change, rising temperature levels, vastly disproportionate disparities between the superrich and the lower income groups, social inequities, and dwindling natural resources due to unbridled exploitation  

In this context, something that can be done and must be done, is to chart a better economic governance model. An area that needs immediate attention, much like a stopping a person bleeding to death, is the equivalent of that in commercial terms. This is the intense haemorrhaging of people’s money that has been going on in State Owned Enterprises (SOEs). The Advocate Institute report referred to above states that Sri Lanka has a total of 527 State Owned Enterprises out of which regular information is only available for 55. These SOE’s accumulate billions of losses annually due to sheer mismanagement. The precedence of corruption in the highly bureaucratic systems that govern SOEs are also a case for alarm says the report.

Based on the information in this report, the accumulated losses of the 55 State enterprises amounting to Rs 87 billion is 25% of the education budget allocation in 2019 and 37.5% of the Health budget allocation in that same year. The central budget support for SOEs in 2017 amounting to Rs 41 Billion is 11.9% and 17.6% respectively of the Education and Health budgets. This is money that could have been deployed to improve health and educational opportunities and standards for the people of the country.

It is reported that Sri Lanka’s national carrier Sri Lankan Airlines, the epitome of mismanagement amongst SOE’s, is expected to lose 130 million US dollars (about 26 billion rupees) in the year to March 2020, taking total losses under full state ownership and management to 232 billion rupees. This loss is 67% of the Education budget allocation for 2019 and 100% of the allocation for Health in 2019!!

To add insult to injury, Sri Lankan Airline says it would also need a 300 million US dollars (approximately Rs 60 Billion) capital injection to reduce a spiral of debt. It defies logic as to why the people of the country have allowed and are continuing to allow this large scale misappropriation of their money to go on unabated. In the aftermath of the COVID pandemic, no profitable airline will be able to get back to their normal” in the foreseeable future, and loss making airlines are bound to crash down the precipices they are already at the edge of.  In this scenario, the Sri Lankan government will have to give very serious thought to innovative solutions that can save Sri Lankan Airlines.

SOE haemorrhaging is a stark fact. Precious money that would have been available for key areas such as health and education have been deprived as a consequence of this dizzying scale of mismanagement and misappropriation. The decease is known. The medicine for it is also known. What is needed is the guts to apply the medicine.

In an in-depth and intelligent article, Mr Prasanna Athukorale, an investment specialist who has managed Global Equities portfolios in Sydney and in New York for large institutional investors since 1995, has offered some proposals as to how this haemorrhaging could be stopped and a new life  injected into these SOEs (see SOEs reform in Sri Lanka: An enhancement proposal, Sunday Times 27^th September – http://www.sundaytimes.lk/200927/business-times/soes-reform-in-sri-lanka-an-enhancement-proposal-417442.html

Mr Athukoralehas very succinctly identified the two key issues that constitute the problem, quote First, let us separate the operational problems of the SOEs from their symptoms. Financial underperformance is often seen as the primary problem of the SOEs. It is not. Financial underperformance is a symptom of the problem. The underlying problem is the lack of robust and responsible corporate governance. Just like a competent physician would try to cure an illness rather than the symptom, the government must address the lack of good corporate governance practices in SOEs rather than trying to fix the symptoms. This distinction is critical to recognise before we formulate solutions. Lack of transparency in senior appointments and terminations, empowerment, disclosure standards, procedures to manage conflicts of interest and corruption, are just a few corporate governance shortcomings that are obvious. Secondly, successive governments have not seen their ownership interest in SOEs through investment lenses. Boards and senior management of SOEs have not operated within an investment culture and mindset that continually requires the generation of returns that exceed cost of capital. There have been no mechanisms to incentivise senior management nor to penalise underperformance.

To underpin the above, one could say very logically that people have not given heed to the fact that it is their money that has been squandered by successive governments and the squanderers have given scant regard to whose money they have been squandering.

Mr Athukorale proposes the following solutions to address SOE reform. The writer wishes to reiterate here that the key ingredient required to implement these or any other innovative solution is genuine determination, and while previous government leaders have not displayed this, the current government with its 2/3 majority has the ability to institute serious reforms to transform these SOEs into entities that will provide a reasonable return for the people of the country for the huge amount of their money that have been invested in these SOEs.

The following are based on extracts of the proposed solutions identified by Mr Athukorale in his article. The writer suggests that readers acquaint themselves with these as extracts from it which are used here will not do justice to the comprehensiveness of Mr Athukorale’s proposals.

First, repeal all Acts of Parliament that established the SOEs and be re-incorporated under the Companies Act. This would place the SOEs under a new governance regime immediately. For example, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation should be transferred from the Ceylon Petroleum Corporations Act (No.28 of 1961) and be incorporated under the Companies Act with a suitable legal name. The defining characteristic of this proposal is to establish a distinct legal structure where the government can retain ownership through a sovereign share class while ensuring a minimum level of good governance required under the Companies Act. Leaving SOEs to operate under Acts of Parliament is the ideal recipe for the continuation of direct political interference and consequent financial underperformance.

The writer would like to add here that in regard to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, while it is acknowledged that the actual cost of fuel cannot be passed onto consumers as it could result in higher prices for goods and services such as transport, innovative solutions could address this situation. For example, cost of fuel used by Sri Lankan Airlines could be passed onto those who travel on it, and alternate bus and train services, in addition to subsidised services, could be introduced where cost recovery could be done by providing additional benefits to consumers. Besides this, introduction of a more efficient public transport system using buses and trains could reduce the consumption of fuel by motors vehicles. The COVID pandemic also provides opportunities for continuing with working and studying from home options, which has a consequential impact on not just fuel consumption, but on the environment. Fast tracking renewable energy sources, using such energy for train electrification are other options that could be considered.

Second, if the government wants to free State Enterprises from political interference” (as promised in the manifesto), then it is proposed that the responsibility for managing all SOEs be transferred out of the various ministries to a newly established Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), wholly owned by the government. The new holding company, the Sovereign Wealth Fund, must be established under the Companies Act with full state ownership and a constitutional amendment as described below. The SWF will become the holding company of SOEs and be responsible for introducing an investment culture and mindset and overseeing SOE performance.

Thus, the SWF would set the objectives, identify constraints, have the authority to appoint and replace the senior management teams of each SOE. Each SOE would then be answerable to a single professionally run entity and effectively quarantine themselves from direct political interference. Minimising indirect political interference will require multiple other measures, which are outside the scope of this article.

The writer wishes to add here that this proposal may be regarded as the most politically difficult but necessary reform if political interference is to be stopped and if Parliamentarians are to shift their attention to policy issues rather than process management. Mr Athukorale states the excellence of the senior appointments to the SWF, will signal the government’s intentions and be reflective of its credibility. The 225 MPs, ministers, donors, friends, family and so on will not be able to appoint, terminate nor directly influence the senior management of SOEs nor lobby to gain an unfair advantage in awarding contracts. This is how Singapore transformed their SOEs nearly 45 years ago. As happened in Singapore, this transfer would relieve ministries of the task of managing business enterprises and allow them to focus on policy formulation, regulation and the provision of services”.

Third, Mr Athukorale contends that if the government wants to make the reforms permanent and provide policy stability, then it should amend the Constitution of Sri Lanka similar to amendments adopted in the Constitution of Singapore in 1974. Temasek Holdings Pvt Ltd is a Singaporean holding company, wholly owned by the Singapore Minister for Finance Incorporation Act (Chapter 183). Please see https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/MFIA1959. Incorporated in June 1974 as a commercial investment company by Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yew, Temasek owns and manages Singapore’s SOEs under the key theme of transforming the Singaporean economy. Subsidiaries of Temasek include Singapore Airlines, Development Bank of Singapore, Singapore Telecomm, ST Engineering and Capita Land etc.

Fourth, if the government wants to achieve Singapore-like performance outcomes, then, the  appointments to the Board of Directors and the senior management team of the SWF should be made in such a manner that the Board represents the interests of the government on behalf of the people of the country and also includes members who are of proven business acumen and performance. No doubt, the Sri Lankan public, the investment and lender communities, sovereign rating agencies, the World Bank, IMF and the ADB and other international lending agencies will keenly await the signals the government sends.

Fifth, a major shift in SOE corporate governance as articulated by Mr Athukorale is in the ownership of the SOEs. If one may try to understand the distinction between what is there now and what is proposed, it is that under the proposal, the government will own the equity but the SWF will own the SOEs from a governance point of view. It will be the responsibility of the SWF to return a solid return for the government’s 100% equity. This approach then leads to other consequential approaches.

For example, Mr Athukorale states that there must be a strong separation of duties between the owners and the management of an SOE. The chairman and the board of directors of an SOE should represent the interests of the owners, i.e., the Sovereign Wealth Fund, SWF (not the government under this proposal). The SWF as the new owner would now delegate authority to the SOE board.

As such, the SOE Board should consist of non-executive directors, (with the obvious exception of the CEO should he/she be a director) in that, their role is one of oversight and governance, not carrying out day to day management or implementation. The management team of each SOE should be led by a chief executive officer (CEO) and a suite of executives responsible for setting the direction of the SOE, implementation, finances, human resources and such day to day activities. Incorporation under the Companies Act will require this separation. Under current Acts of Parliament, the chairman has usually functioned as the de-facto CEO making a mockery of corporate governance.

Sixth, to ensure checks and balances, parliamentary oversight of the SWF should be through a body similar to the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) with representation from the government, the Opposition as well as eminent non-parliamentarians with subject expertise nominated by the political parties depending on the industry of the SOE. The scope and objectives of COPE should be revisited in light of this proposal. The primary focus should be on overseeing the governance, financial performance of the key SOEs and the aggregate financial performance of the SWF.

Lastly, in the medium to long term, if the government wishes to broaden and deepen local capital markets, newly issued common class stock stakes can be sold to the long-term institutional investors like the Employees Trust Fund and to SOE employees, while retaining but diluting sovereign class ownership. A listing on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) will help take SOE transparency to an even higher level through compliance with the CSE’s disclosure requirements.

The writer hopes that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and Minister Nivard Cabraal, will consider these proposals in order to deliver on the political pledges made to achieve SOE reforms that will be effective and permanent. It is hoped that their silence so far on a SOE reform agenda is indicative of a deep rooted examination of options, including the ones articulated by Mr Athukorale, rather than an evasive slumber of political expediency and more of the same in the end.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

විදෙස් සේවයට පත් වූ නව රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික නිලධාරීන් සිව් දෙනෙක් අද 2020.10.16 පස්වරුවේ අරලියගහ මන්දිරයේදී ගරු අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමා හමු වූහ.

නිව්යෝර්ක් හි එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ සංවිධානයේ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ නිත්‍ය නියෝජිත ලෙස පත් කළ මොහාන් පීරිස් මහතා, චීනයේ නව තානාපති ආචාර්ය පාලිත කොහොන මහතා, ජපානයේ නව තානාපති සාජිව් ගුණසේකර මහතා හා ජිනීවා හි ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ නිත්‍ය නියෝජිත සී. ඒ. චන්ද්‍රපේම මහතා මෙසේ අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා හමුවූහ.

විදෙස් තානාපති සේවයට යන රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික නියෝජිතයින්ට අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා මෙහිදී සුබ පැතුම් එක් කළේය.

නව පත්වීම් ලද මෙම  රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික නිලධාරීන් නොබෝ දිනකින් සිය තානාපති සේවය සඳහා විදෙස්ගතවීමට නියමිතය.

Prime Minister’s Media Unit

Permanent Representative-designate of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in New York Mr. Mohan Peiris paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa this afternoon at Temple Trees. 

Ambassador-designate to China Dr. Palitha Kohona paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa this afternoon at Temple Trees.

Permanent Representative-designate of Sri Lanka to Geneva Mr. C.A. Chandraprema paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa this afternoon at Temple Trees.

Ambassador-designate to Japan Mr. Sajiv Gunasekara paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa this afternoon at Temple Trees.

Courtesy RT

India’s vaccines regulator has given the green light for a clinical study of the Russia-developed Covid-19 vaccine. Similar trials of the formulation are underway in Russia itself and in some other nations.

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), a department in India’s drug regulator that is responsible for licensing vaccines, has given its approval for a domestic clinical study of the Russian candidate vaccine dubbed Sputnik V,” Indian and Russian partners have announced in a joint statement. The multi-center and randomized controlled study” will be conducted by Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, a Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical giant.

In September, Dr Reddy’s signed a partnership agreement with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which funded the development of the drug. After Sputnik V is cleared for Indian customers, RDIF will supply 100 million doses of the vaccine, according to the deal.

The Russian partner also pledged to supply data from the clinical trial of Sputnik V conducted in Russia, saying it will help further strengthen the clinical development” of the vaccine in India.

Russia registered the new vaccine in August, before a large-scale Phase-3 clinical trial was conducted. The developer managed to convince the Russian drug licensing agency that its product, which is based on a time-tested platform, was safe to use. A proper efficacy study, involving 40,000 volunteers, is currently coming to an end in the country.

The novel drug was also supplied to several other countries, including Belarus, Venezuela and the UAE, where separate Phase-3 trials of the Russian vaccine are underway.

Courtesy RT

With most of the world facing a deep recession due to the coronavirus pandemic, China will be the only major economy to climb back from the depths of the historic crisis in 2020, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Despite the reopening of economies, global growth is projected to contract by 4.4 percent, the IMF said in its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) report published earlier this week. While the outlook signals an upward revision of 0.8 percent compared to the body’s previous forecast, this year still marks the worst crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.ALSO ON RT.COMMarket value of Chinese companies reaches record high

This upgrade owes to somewhat less dire outcomes in the second quarter, as well as signs of a stronger recovery in the third quarter, offset partly by downgrades in some emerging and developing economies,” the report reads. 

Most countries are not expected to rebound before next year, when global output is set to grow by 5.2 percent. This is a downward revision of 0.2 percent compared to the IMF’s June projection.READ MOREChina’s exports & imports hit record highs as economy recovers from Covid-19

China is set to be the only exception in this gloomy forecast because it can avoid recession and even expand its economy, though not as much as during previous years. The IMF anticipates that China’s gross domestic product (GDP) will jump 1.9 percent in 2020, while other emerging and advanced economies are set to plunge 5.7 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively.

Except for China, where output is expected to exceed 2019 levels this year, output in both advanced economies and emerging market and developing economies is projected to remain below 2019 levels even next year,” the report, compiled by IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath, said.

China was the first country to face the Covid-19 outbreak and was also the first to contain the spread of the virus domestically, while the number of infections continues to rise across the globe.

China’s faster-than-expected recovery is also based on strong demand for medical equipment and electronics needed to work from home, Gopinath noted. This eventually boosted the country’s exports, which have been on the rise for several consecutive months.

The IMF economist told Xihuia that China’s performance can have a positive impact on other countries, especially its neighbors. However, the global economy’s long ascent back to pre-pandemic levels of activity remains prone to setbacks,” the body warned in its recent outlook.ALSO ON RT.COMChina’s yuan to become world’s third-largest reserve currency behind dollar & euro – Morgan Stanley

The virus is resurging with localized lockdowns being re-instituted. If this worsens and prospects for treatments and vaccines deteriorate, the toll on economic activity would be severe, and likely amplified by severe financial market turmoil,” Gopinath wrote, adding that restrictions on trade and rising geopolitical uncertainty could further harm the recovery.

N.A.de S. AMARATUNGA Courtesy The Island

Epithets like Trojan Horse” and Greeks bearing gifts” have been used to refer to offers of assistance by foreign countries to Sri Lanka, when the country is battling a Covid second wave and an economic crisis (The Island 12.10.2020). Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth” is an apt repartee that comes to mind at this hour of need. A friend in need is a friend indeed. But there is nothing called a free lunch. Beggars can’t be choosers may be too harsh for us. Poor Sri Lanka has asked for international assistance in the way of a debt moratorium and adjustment in the repayment schemes for its debts. Some countries, like India and China, have responded.

China has given a gift of Rs.16.5 Billion, which is a god sent at these hard times, when Covid threatens to go on a rampage. India also has given a substantial amount. The USA is offering the MCC, this is the difference, the latter is an instrument of imperialism, while Chinese assistance has no visible strings attached. Of course, they would want Sri Lanka to help them with their Road & Belt project, which may be mutually beneficial.

Indeed Sri Lanka has to be careful when accepting gifts. Its strategic location, in the Indian Ocean, attracts a lot of friends” who come with gifts. The Indian Ocean is the bone of contention between several global powers. Leading contenders are the US, China and India. When accepting aid from these countries, Sri Lanka has to be careful as all of them have a vested interest. But we cannot do without aid, particularly at a time when Corona is threatening to destroy our economy. However, we cannot accept aid that involves entering into agreements that jeopardize our independence and sovereignty. China has never compelled us to sign such agreements, whereas the US is doing that all the time.

China’s history reveals that exploitation of poor countries has not been their policy. Up to the 15th Century AD they were ahead of Europe in science and technology. They had not invaded any of its neighbours or any other country, though they had the capability as they were the first to invent gunpowder and navigation technology and they had a fleet of ships. Spain borrowed this knowledge from Arab, where it had flourished after being transmitted from China and India. Europe made use of the knowledge to invade other countries and establish their colonies in Africa and Asia. Thus Europe has the inherent urge to colonise, hegemonise and dominate poor countries.

Europe and the US made use of the situation in Sri Lanka, created by the LTTE, for their benefit. They helped the latter to wage war against Sri Lanka, but did not support Sri Lanka’s legitimate effort to defeat terrorism. China helped us materially as well as politically in the UN. After helping to defeat the Rajapaksa government, these Western countries started to interfere in Sri Lanka’s internal affairs. They had a resolution against Sri Lanka passed at the UNHRC, and interfered in the constitution making also. They did all this while a government partial to them was in power. Friends do not do such evil deeds. China is a true friend in this context. If we are to choose from whom to borrow, we would choose a genuine friend, wouldn’t we.

Further, China has the financial capacity to help us, which the others don’t. It also has a grand plan to involve everybody in a massive project that may benefit everybody, including its adversary, which it may not mind on account of their broad view for the whole world. Being located right in the middle of the path, the Chinese have chartered for this project, Sri Lanka is in a position to greatly benefit from it. Accepting their gifts is the best diplomatic action Sri Lanka could take at this hour of need.

N.A.de S. AMARATUNGA

Ceylon Diary – Official Channel

ඇහෙලේ පොළ කුමාරිහාමි මාවත දැන් කෝ | වීදි හා රටේ නොයෙකුත් ස්ථාන හා නම් වෙනස් කිරීමෙන් අයුක්තිය නිවැරදි කළ නොහැකිද ? ”වීදි නම් නගරයක භාෂාවේ හෝ අතීත සංස්කෘතියේ කොටසක් බවට පත්විය යුතුය. එවිට එය ජනතාවගේ මනෝභාවයේ කොටසක් බවට පත්වී දේශානුරාගය ද ඉන් වැඩිවේ” -පාලිත ආරියරත්න 1: Picture Courtesy: Sinhala epic historical film directed by Sugath Samarakoon and produced by Gayan Ranadheera for Rupun Filmsi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahelepo… 2:ඇහැළේපොළ කුමාරිහාමිගේ අවතාරය. මට දෙතුන් සැරයක් ත‍්‍රීවිල් එක එලවද්දී මුණ ගැහිලා තියෙනවා – ත්‍රිරෝද රථ රියදුරා කියු ඇඟ කිළි පොළා යන කතාව: shorturl.at/bcnN9 ‘‘මට මතක විදිහට මම තුන්පාරක් ඇහැළේපොළ කුමාරිහාමිගේ අවතාරය දැකලා තියෙනවා. ඒ හරියට ඇය හිස ගසා දාපු දවසේ කියලා තමා මිනිස්සු කියන්නේ. උස මහත ඉතා ලස්සන සුදු ඇඳගත්ත කාන්තාවක් කොණ්ඬේ කඩාගෙන අත්දෙකෙන් හිසට ගසා ගනිමින් ගස්වැල් මැද්දෙන් පාරට එනවා. ඒ උසස් බාලිකා විදුහල අසලින් ගහකොළ මැදින් ගුඞ්ෂෙඞ් බස් නැවතුමට යන පාරෙන් සාමාන්‍ය කාන්තා රූපය ඉන්පසු ටිකෙන් ටික උස යනවා. අඬනවා විලාප දෙනවා. හිසකෙස් අවුල් කරමින් අත් දෙක අහසට දික් කරනවා. පොදු වෙළෙඳපොළ ඉස්සරහින් ඔරලෝසු කණුව දිහාවට එයා ගමන් කරනවා. මම එක දවසක් කිසිම බයක් නැතිව ඒ පිටුපසින්ම ගියා. කොඩිතුවක්කු බිල්ඩිමේ ඈ ගිල්ලවපු ස්ථානය ඉස්සරහා හු`ගාක් වෙලා අඬ අඬා ශාප කරනවා. ඊට පස්සේ මාලිගාව කිට්ටුවට ගිහින් පත්තිනි දේවාලය ඉස්සරහින් පරණ ඇහැළේපොළ වලව්ව පැත්තට ගමන් කරනවා. එදා කුමාරිහාමිගේ වලව්ව තමා ඒ. ඇහැළේපොළ වලව්වේ ඉස්සරහා දෙතුන් වතාවක් ඇවිදලා උස් රූපය ටිකෙන් ටික මිටි වෙනවා. ඊට පස්සේ ඇහැළේපොළ වලව්ව මිදුලෙන් රූපය අතුරුදහන් වෙනවා. 3: ඇහැලේපොළ කුමාරිහාමිගේ දේහය මතු වූ බෝගම්බර: shorturl.at/opuzO 4: ඇහැලේපොළ කුමාරිහාමි තම පතිභක්තිය පණ මෙන් රැුක ගත් එඩිතර කුල කතකි. මරණය හමුවේ වුවද තම ආත්මය පාවා නොදුන් ඇය ශ‍්‍රී ලාංකීය කාන්තාවන් හට මහඟු ආදර්ශයක් සපයයි. shorturl.at/wHIL8 Please Comment below….Thank you in Advance… නිවැරදි දේ අගය කරන්නත් වැරදි දේ හෙළිදරවු කර නිර්භයව එයට පහර දෙන්නත් හෘදය සා‍ක්ෂියක් මාධ්‍යවේදියෙකුට තියෙන්න ඕනෑ බව සිංහලේ දිනපොත විශ්වාසයයි ! පර්යේෂණාත්මක පුවත් පත් කලාව ! මෙහයවීම දේශාභිමානී සුර්ය වංශ රත්න විභූෂණ පාලිත ආරියරත්න විසින්…

By Suryamithra Vishwa/DailyFT-Harmony Page Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Sri Lankan development specialists have not concentrated enough on the indigenous hydraulic civilization which had been the envy of the world.

One of the problems of modernity could be that we have approached the concept of development totally forgetting or denouncing and being apathetic to our ancient wisdom, indigenous culture and traditional knowledge.

We thereby have a kind of life that we have built for ourselves that gathers vast information separated from a holistic core as our ancestors had. We have discarded the salient truth that governed all pre-colonial philosophy and policy rooted in the awareness that we are first and foremost connected to the soil.

Everything in life in this country had revolved on respecting the earth, without whose benevolence we will not be able to survive and the nectar of the earth; water, was respected, protected and conserved. Thereby the pre-colonial models of holistic human wellbeing/development in Sri Lanka was centred upon a strong water and cultivation linked policy extending back to the time of Sri Lankan kings.

The concept of wewa (Sinhala name for the water resource bases of Lanka) which has been categorised under ‘irrigation’ in modern Western parlance is something unique to this nation. It is indeed a pity that modern focus on development by Sri Lankan development specialists have not concentrated enough on the Sri Lankan hydraulic civilisation which had been the envy of the world.

If we had concentrated consistently on this we should have made the emulation of these ancient initiatives our current day lived in/practised reality. The feats of our ancients still nourish the earth and us through the gigantic reservoirs that have lasted the test of time. There are around 100,000 or more of small-scale village water bases for which the word ‘tank’ is used in English although this term is not accurate. The basic structure of these wewa that still exist are from ancient times and are abjectly neglected and forgotten about.

Gallage Punyawardhana, a retired school teacher who has been helping villagers renovate around 163 village-based small-scale water tanks since 1978 to date reiterates that we have well over 100,000 small-scale wewa which were previously built under the Rajakariya system operative under the ancient Lankan kings. He points out that the current day national malaise of dependency began with the outlawing of the Rajakariya system by the British where it was interpreted as slavery

The non-governmental organisation initiated by Punyawardhana; the Swarna Hansa Foundation which focuses on village self-sufficiency through traditional knowledge, over four decades ago took upon itself to boost non-poisonous village agriculture. It has been one of the earliest Lankan campaigners against chemical agriculture with the justification that we historically never needed such inputs even though we had large populations.

(There is a Lankan saying that a rooster on a roof in one district will disembark in another district, indicating how populated this country was.)

It is while working as a school teacher in the remotest of areas of this country that I realised the extent to which the rural farmer was helpless,” says Punyawardhana.

It is this that had made him focus on renovating ancient village water bases and examine minutely the concept of self-sufficiency and development.

We are at the moment in the process of renovating two more village tanks but work is slightly held up due to the current health-based situation,” says Punyawardhana.

He has extensively discussed matters pertaining to Sri Lanka’s traditional water resource management with those such as Eng. D. L. O Mendis and Eng. Somasundaram who have done painstaking research into the ancient water resource harnessing methods of ancient Sri Lanka.

To understand some points on how we became so alienated from our water resource-based agrarian culture, I below quote brief excerpts from the first edition of the booklet titled ‘Agriculture in Sri Lanka – A Deep Rooted Malaise,’ authored by Gallage Punyawardhana and printed and published by the Swarna Hansa Foundation in 1989 and 1994 respectively.

A cultivation pattern was developed in such a way so as to last till the sun and moon lasts. This unique system of agriculture in today’s parlance is known as sustainable agriculture. This was not only organic farming but also an organic community that was developed.

However, this position of self-sufficiency in Sri Lanka was not granted its due place. For the British wanted the Sri Lankan farmers to produce what they wanted so that the British could supply Ceylon what they needed.

In 1818 they took the first opportunity to put the farmer into peril. It was in 1818 that the British ordered to destroy all tanks, all fruit-bearing trees, all harvests and all cattle and kill all males over 18 years of age.”

The above is quoted in context of revisiting history in connection with some previous writings on sustainability in this page where it was mentioned that we today use the word ‘sustainability’ in a manner that is totally divorced from our past and often rely on foreign experts to advise us as to what this word should mean. It is a calamity that neither our education system nor our entrepreneurship reflect the core of sustainability that was an integral part of the history and psyche of Sri Lankans.

An education policy as well as a strong entrepreneurship policy that is geared towards sustainability designed in a manner to truly merit that term is a crying need at the moment, especially in the backdrop of this global pandemic era, where for the first time we have been jolted to the fact that our national health is indeed connected with our national economic reality. To be economically alive in a virus impeded world we have to be ahead of our game and the only way to be that is to use current innovation based on our past.

This means that to keep our head above a dubious and unpredictable pandemic entwined future we have to depend on ourselves for revisiting our past in order to strengthen our future.

Almost all eateries in Sri Lanka mainly sell bread and bread-based products; an entity that has no roots in our culture and is extremely detrimental to health as it has gluten unless it is made with flour of traditional rice varieties/innovated with other traditional foods/the innovation of jack seed flour, etc.,. This is the time like no other when we should simultaneously encourage and promote traditional water resource management, traditional agricultural methods and traditional food-based entrepreneurship/industries.

We should wake from our non-caring stupor and conserve traditional seed varieties before the surviving few are also totally extinct. The above will help us develop a food industry founded upon our indigenous knowledge of wellness to help us stay healthy and immune to viruses that have no cure. We thereby have the potential of developing a food industry that helps not only us but the world at large, using our produce, including herbs. To totally depend on any country for any produce including herbs that used to grow amply on this soil is pathetic but the need is not just talk but action. We need to motivate every individual to come up with the needed steps to change the status quo.

Our vaccine is our food that grows on this soil and our medicine is our food that grows on this soil and although we are nation that has blindly followed the West into the pit of chemical agriculture at least now it is time to turn the tide. The first step is to begin focusing on our long neglected village water resources. One of the key steps for this is community mobilisation which should commence with motivating every child and adult on the ancient philosophy of the Rajakariya system.

The Rajakariya system is one which represented the duty of the citizen to themselves (to take consistent effort at village development which included the creation and maintaining of water resources, in accordance with the national policy). The Rajakariya system also represented the macro duty of the citizen to the country (to keep the health of the nation intact by producing wholesome food). Today, masked and quaking in fear of viruses we probably need to remove the mask in our brains that fail to see the above.

If we motivate schools and universities to interweave into the current subject curricula, as appropriate, scheduled visits to areas where abandoned ancient village water bases are located, and develop school and university projects to rebuild them, this would indeed be giving an honourable meaning to the concept of ‘education.’ This will help deviate from the memorising phenomena that education has fallen to.

To have hundreds of dilapidated and neglected water tanks in the country while we talk about ‘sustainability’ is indeed comical. As before the responsibility for the renovation and maintaining of these should be ours, the people, and not just the Government. As citizens it is our Rajakariya, our salient duty to our country.

(The picture at the top shows a village wewa being built by the Swara Hansa Foundation)

Courtesy Hiru News

Another 42 from Minuwangoda Brandix cluster tested positive for Covid-19; Among them 22 are from quarantine centres & 20 are close contacts.

Therefore, with 115 new cases being reported from the Brandix Corona cluster in Minuwangoda today, the number of cases reported from that cluster has crossed the 2000 mark.

At present the number of infected cases reported from Minuwangoda Covid cluster is 2014.<br /><br />The total number of coronavirus infections reported in the country is currently 5,475.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Sri Lankan born Vanushi Walters of New Zealand’s Labour Party has won the race to be Upper Harbour MP in northwest Auckland, taking over from retiring National MP Paula Bennett, Stuff. CO. NZ reported today.

She claimed a narrow victory over National candidate Jake Bezzant, a former tech company chief executive and cricketer for Hamilton, receiving 14,142 votes to Bezzant’s 12,727.

During the campaign, Walters, a board member of Amnesty International, said she was passionate about the electorate because of its diverse” and warm” communities. Upper Harbour covers the north-western reaches of Waitematā Harbour. It stretches from Massey in the west, through Hobsonville, and across to Greenhithe and on to Glenfield and Unsworth Heights on the North Shore.

Karen Chhour was the ACT nominee, and said she wanted to empower mental health patients by setting up a mental health and addiction agency. Ryan Nicholls was the Green Party nominee and Catherine Giorza ran for the NZ Outdoors Party.

Bernadette Soares was the New Conservative Party candidate and Winson Tan ran on the TEA Party ticket.

Sheain Fernandopulle Courtesy The Daily Mirror

The Covid-19 cases, reported at present are not random cases but in someway linked to the Minuwangoda factory cluster, Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said yesterday.

She said it was true that cases were reported from several areas in the country but each case had either direct or indirect links to some of the positive cases of the Minuwangoda cluster.

Therefore, reports that cases are reported here and there randomly, are not just and correct,” she stressed.

Minister Wanniarachchi also said they were doing their best to contain the virus with the support of relevant officials.

The service rendered by health officers is immense and they are prompt to attend whenever there is a Covid-19 related incident,” she said.

We are confident that the virus can be successfully contained soon,’ she added.

Meanwhile, Minister Wanniarachchi said the number of hospitals, designated to treat Covid-19 patients has been increased to 21 by expanding laboratories and other facilities. 

Courtesy Adaderana

The Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) looking into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks heard that the ringleader of the carnage Zahran Hashim had planned to launch the attack using 20 suicide bombers.

This was revealed by a police officer attached to the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID)’s team probing the Easter Sunday attacks.

Testifying before the panel yesterday (16), the police officer in question has stated that the relevant piece of information came to light while interrogating a member of Zahran’s group who was arrested after the coordinated bomb blasts last year.

The PCoI was told that Zahran Hashim had orchestrated more two more series of attacks following the first attack.

Testifying further, the witness said that a rift between the National Thowheed Jamaath (NTJ) leader and Naufer Maulvi had erupted by March 2019 over the leadership of the group.

Courtesy Adaderana

A special probe has been launched with the State Intelligence Service (SIS) officers to uncover the origin of the Covid-19 cluster linked to the Brandix apparel factory in Minuwangoda, says Police Spokesperson DIG Ajith Rohana.

He commented that the all of the recently-identified novel coronavirus cases were traced to the Minuwangoda cluster, however, it is still a question as to how the Brandix employees contracted the virus.

Hence, an investigation, assisted by health authorities and Sri Lanka Police, is being carried out to trace the root of the cluster, DIG Rohana said further.

He made these remarks speaking to the media today (17).

Courtesy Adaderana

It has been made mandatory for all air passengers to undergo a PCR test before departing from Sri Lanka, stated the Airport & Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd (AASL).

The company states that passengers must undergo the test within 72 hours of their departure time.

This decision will be in effect from 6.00 pm this evening (17), AASL said.

H. L. D. Mahindapala

The Indian Government has repeatedly intervened in the domestic affairs of Sri Lanka based on the assumption that the policies of Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) needs correction by the Big Brother, using the cane if necessary. This interventionist policy continues to prevail  even though the overall Indian experience as a regional power has proved that it is not  the best policy for building up trust and easing tensions and confrontations among neighbours. In the latest summit between the two heads of statesPrime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse the usual interventionist exhortations were reiterated with neither party shifting from their standard positions, or benefiting from it. It is now a predictable  ritual at Indo-Sri Lanka meetings for  India to chant the usual mantra in  which India calls on the GOSL to address the aspirations of the Tamil people for equality, justice, peace and respect ……” 

Pushing the political claims of Tamils of the North has been primarily India’s entry point to intervene in the domestic politics of Sri Lanka. In a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural society where there are rival claims  of competing communities, India has taken only the side of the Tamils of the  North. For instance, India has not backed  the claims of  the Muslims stated in the Oluvil Declaration of January 29, 2003. It has, however, backed the Vadkoddai Resolution (May 14, 1976) and actively intervened to extract concessions from the Sri Lankan government to consolidate the mono-ethnic extremism of the Northern Tamils.

This intervention on behalf of the Tamils of the North alone, which, of course, can come only at the expense of other communities, happens to be the main bone  of contention. The rationale for the intervention too is based on the litany of complaints listed in the Vadukoddai Resolution. Exhorting the GOSL to address the aspirations of the Tamil people for equality, justice, peace and respect ……” comes directly from the political agenda of the Vadukoddai Resolution.

It is this premise that gives the leverage India  needs to intervene, assuming the role of the highly moral Big Brother ever willing to bring the little brother into line. Whether the blaming of only the GOSL (aka ‘the Sinhala state”) for  the inevitable clashes of multi-factorial socio-economic forces competing in rival fields of multi-ethnic conditions is valid or not has not been examined critically, either to understand the problem  in all its dimensions or to work out a viable solution. In hindsight, it can be argued that it is the blind-sided acceptance of a mono-causal theory, blaming only the Sinhala-Buddhists in a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and, hence, multi-dimensional political environment, that distorted the rational perspectives necessary to generate conditions for peaceful coexistence.

Particularly in the post-Donoughmore period when the Tamil Vellala elite that dominated Jaffna politics realised that they were losing  their dominance in the entrenched colonial administrative and legislative seats, they laboured incessantly to manufacture a history to boost their claim to be the founders and the  masters of nation from the dawn of time”. (Vadukoddai Resolution). Their tactic was to rewrite yesterday’s history to fill in the yawning gaps to boost today’s politics. Above all, in the absence of a substantial history, they felt the  need to pose as a superior breed, standing heads and shoulders above the rest, including  the regional and Tamil-speaking Muslims. It is the self-serving conclusions derived from distorted historical realities that led to the worsening of North-South  relations – a tragic logic that ran all the way to Nandikadal.

The Tamil Vellala elite had nothing to offer by way of a political program except their claim  to be superior human beings because (1) they speak Tamil, one  of the  oldest languages in the world  (2) they were in Sri Lanka from the dawn  of time” and (3) they are the God-anointed caste, in the absence of the Brahmins in Jaffna, chosen to rule Jaffna, as defined by Saivite  casteist guru, Arumuka Navalar ( 1822 – 1879 ). It is Arumuka Navalar who played the decisive role of defining the superior status of the Vellalas. He is the most revered religious guru of Jaffna mainly because he has been the patron saint of the Vellalas, the dominant majority in the peninsula. It was his revisionist Hinduism that elevated the Vellalas to the highest caste in Jaffna hierarchy. Though he attained the status of a demi-God in the eyes of Vellalas the low-caste stoned his statue when it was taken round Jaffna by V. Navaratnam in the sixties. The Sinhala state” had to send Police from the South to protect the right of the Vellalas to honour their guru.

The arrogant sense of Vellala supremacy was taken to extreme ends. They went to the obnoxious extreme of restricting the membership of the Tamil community only to the Vellalas. They denied the low-caste Nalavar and Pallar slaves as being Tamils. They were excluded from the Tamil community.

Prof. Bryan Pfaffenberger, a leading authority on the Jaffna caste system, wrote: To maintain the social boundary between Vellalars and untouchables, Vellalas employ ritual to sustain a belief that Minority Tamils (low-castes) are a non-Tamilian, “aboriginal” people of a despicably low status…. According to extreme Vellalar thinking, this stigma denies Minority Tamils full membership in the Tamil community. The Nalavars’ and Pallars’ recent historical origins in Dutch-sponsored immigrations from South India and their putatively darker skin serve to deepen the Vellalar sense that the Minority Tamils are a people apart from the mainstream….

If Vellalars deny that Nalavars and Pallalars are Tamils, as some indeed did in the early 1970s, where are the grounds for unifying the Tamil community? The Minority Tamils have long laid claim to full membership in the Tamil community, but in a way that could not fail to alarm Vellalars and stimulate a defensive reaction. As Kenneth David has noted, the Pallars of Jaffna expressly conceive themselves to be descended from one of two Vellalar brothers; after the older brother’s death, the widow-a “bad woman,” according to the tale-made the younger one into a landless slave (David 1976: 189-90). Thus, Minority Tamils’ claim to full membership in the Tamil community is also a claim to Vellalar status-which is precisely why Vellalars have fought their mobility campaigns with such vehemence.” (Bryan Pfaffenberger: Political Construction of Defensive Nationalism: The 1968 Temple-Entry Crisis in Northern Sri Lanka).

Religion, casteism intertwined inextricably with religion, and the Tamil language borrowed from S. India, were the three main strands that were rolled into one ideology– three inter-meshing forces that went to make the Tamil identity in the twentieth century. The identity politics of Jaffna was based primarily on this ideology. In the twentieth century when the Vellalas were turning  into a class from being dominant caste in feudal and colonial times they had no progressive ideology – liberalism, socialism, democratic pluralism etc — to justify their supremacy. Every one of those  ideologies would have undermined their casteist supremacy. So the Vellalas manufactured Tamil identitarian  politics as a vital for their own survival.

Their initial struggle to preserve their supremacy was based on casteist Saivism of Arumuka Navalar which they did with extra-legal force against the low-castes when necessary. But invading market forces, democratisation of the political system and modernity were undermining their casteist supremacy. It was when the outdated Vellala feudal fortress was crumbling that they took to the Tamil identitarian politics to unite Jaffna fragmented on casteist faultlines. It was also the last defence available to  them to retain their supremacy. Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan’s last mission to the Colonial Secretary in the late twenties was to persuade the colonial masters on the necessity of maintaining the caste system for the preservation  of law and order. Every aspect of Jaffna society, everything from the womb to the tomb, was determined and enforced by the Vellala norms, ranks and gangs.

Any threat to the universe of the Vellala supremacists was seen as chaos. To maintain their supremacy they did not hesitate to reduce the low-caste slaves to subhuman conditions. In Jaffna,” wrote Pfaffenberger, in the 1940s and 1950s, for instance, Minority Tamils were forbidden to enter or live near temples; to draw water from the wells of high-caste families; to enter laundries, barber shops, cafes, or taxis; to keep women in seclusion and protect them by enacting domestic rituals; to wear shoes; to sit on bus seats; to register their names properly so that social benefits could be obtained; to attend school; to cover the upper part of the body; to wear gold earrings; if male, to cut their hair; to use umbrellas; to own bicycles or cars; to cremate the dead; or to convert to Christianity or Buddhism (Holmes1980:232-34). To enforce these restrictions extralegally, Vellalars have fielded gangs of thugs to punish upwardly mobile Pallars or Nalavars. These gangs pollute untouchable wells with dead dogs, fecal matter, or garbage; burn down untouchable fences or houses; physically assault and beat Minority Tamils, and sometimes kill them. Preceding the Maviddapuram crisis there had been several altercations in which Minority Tamils died (Times of Ceylon, Feb. 17, 1968, p. 1).” (Ibid).

One more critical issue that reveals the inhuman way in which the Tamil leadership treated their own people down the ages. It was demonstrated in 1968 when the low-castes staged a non-violent protest at the Maviddipuram Temple to gain admittance. Here’s the description  of the events that followed by Prof. Pfaffenberger: After days of tense but peaceful confrontation, the demonstration turned violent as dozens of self-styled “Defenders of Saivism,” Hindus of high-caste rank (Vellalars and their domestic servants, the Koviyars), beat back the Minority Tamils with iron rods and sand-filled bottles. Feelings ran very high throughout the peninsula, and there were many incidents of violence, some lethal.” (Ibid).

The obscene record of Tamils massacring Tamils, of Tamil oppressing Tamils, of Tamils dehumanising Tamils is the darkest chapter in Sri Lankan history. No other community was  treated with utter contempt by their leaders as the Tamils. No other community was persecuted, tortured, oppressed and reduced to subhuman slaves as the Tamils of Jaffna. It was a haven for the Vellala supremacists who ran Jaffna with an iron-fist. It was also a glorious regime for the  Tamil Tigers who turned the peninsula into a fascist gulag. But to the victims of these fascist leaders it was a hell-hole.

It is against this background that the accusation of blaming the Sinhala state” should be judged. Any judgement or accusation levelled against the GOSL must be compared  with the treatment meted out to the Tamils by the Tamil leaders. Before pointing the accusing finger at the Sinhala state” isn’t it only fair that there should be a fair and objective assessment of the manner in which the Tamil leaders treated the Tamils? After all, the Sinhala state” had  been there  only for the last 72 years. The Tamils of the North were ruled by their Tamils leaders during the feudal and colonial periods. Besides, the Tamils also  came under the rule of a Tamil leader from around 1976, after the Declaration of War by the Tamil leaders at Vadukoddai,  when the North and the East were occupied by the de facto state run by the Tamil Tigers. What kind of treatment  did the Tamils get under Velupillai Prabhakaran, their Surya Devan”? How does the treatment meted out to the Tamils by the Tamil leaders compare with the treatment they received under the Sinhala state?

So, when the Indian panjandrums pressure Sri Lanka to address the aspirations of the Tamil people for equality, justice, peace and respect ……” have they ever paused to ask what degree of equality, justice, peace and respect was given to  the Tamils by the Tamil regimes / leaders throughout their history? In comparison, the historical record proves that the Tamils never had it so good as under the Sinhala states”. For instance, no Tamil residing in other  parts of the world, including India, their one and only homeland, has had the privilege of being represented in  the national flag – the highest symbol of recognition and respect given to any community. The Tamils fly high among  the 193 flags at the UN because the Sinhala state” has given them their due respect and place.  Their language and their equal status have  been recognised and honoured in  the currency, the stamps and all official records of the Sinhala state”. No Tamil regime in  the past or in contemporary times  have delivered justice, however, flawed it may be, as the Sinhala state”. In fact, the best of Tamil lawyers practiced law in the courts of the Sinhala state” and not in the  Tamil courts of the de facto state of Prabhakaran. What justice was given to the low-castes Tamils protesting non-violently at the Maviddipuram Temple by the Vellalas? What equality did the Vellalas grant to the Tamil protestors when they cracked their heads with  iron rod and bottles filled with sand merely because they asked for permission to pray to the same God/s in the same  temple?

It is the Vellala leadership which dehumanised their fellow-Tamils and treated them as outcasts. It is the same leaderrship that is going behind India to put pressure on the GOSL to address the aspirations of the Tamil people for equality, justice, peace and respect.” The Tamil community will agree, if they are honest enough, that the record of their leaders treating their fellow-Tamils stinks to high heaven. Again, they will agree, if they are honest enough, that on balance the Sinhala state” has applied the principles of equality, justice and peace in dealing with all communities. There are, of course, instances of deviating from this norm. But any judgment on an historical scale will confirm that the  Sinhala state” have been far fairer and just to the Tamils than the Tamils have been to the Tamils.

So, where does this leave the Indians who are asking the Sinhala state” to address the aspirations of the Tamil people for equality, justice, peace and respect”? What justification is there for India to lecture to GOSL in dealing with only the Tamil minority who, tragically,  has been the perennial victims of their fascist leaders? The GOSL which has been in search of peaceful coexistence has gone a long distance to ameliorate the conditions of the Tamils. For instance, the first ever legal step to dismantle the fascist  caste structure was taken by S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike who passed the Prevention of Social Disabilities Act of 1957. In 2009 it was Mahinda Rajapakse who  liberated the Tamils from the fascist tyranny of the Tamil Pol Pot.

The Tamil leaders of Jaffna, of course, have been shedding  crocodile tears for the oppressed Tamils. Their humbuggery in blaming the Sinhala state” for their failure to deliver  their  people from the systemic evils of casteism is unforgiveable. Jaffna political class has survived by passing the buck to the Sinhala state. They never took responsibility for the consequences of the decadent and evil caste system that enslaved the Tamil people from the Dutch period to modern times. What is worse is the Indian morality that goes along with the Tamil humbuggery. They know what is happening under their noses. And yet they opt to go along  with Tamil humbuggery.

Tamil leaders of Jaffna are the last whingers who are entitled to complain about the denial of  equality, justice, peace and respect” to the Tamil people. Would Prabhakaran ever have invited R. Sampanthan to be his  leader of the Opposition? Would India  have allowed Muthiah Muralidharan to step into any part of Indian territory if he was throwing hand grenades for Prabhakaran? Wasn’t it because Murali was given respect and  treated equally that he became a famous Tamilian? India, on the contrary, trained Prabhakaran to throw hand grenades in Sirumalai, near Madurai and paid for it dearly.

So, when India accepts the humbuggery of the Tamil oppressors and  lectures to the GOSL on how to deal with its most privileged minority it degrades its claim to be a moral leader. It deviates from  the Gandhi-Nehruvian morality that made it a shining star, pointing the way to peace and security in a troubled world. Following the Tamil accusations blindly has given  India a moral veneer in the past to (1) violate international law (air space), (2) train Tamil terrorists to subvert and destabilise a  democratically elected neighbour, (3) send its military forces in the guise of disarming  the Tamil terrorists it trained, financed and exported to Sri Lanka and (4) generally twist the arm of GOSL to thrust the 13th Amendment down the throat  of Sri Lanka devolving power to the Tamils – its main objective – and (5) leave Sri Lanka achieving nothing to resolve the problem after beating Sri Lanka with its Big  Brother stick.

After throwing in  all its resources, after mobilising all its diplomatic, military and economic power India is still stuck in the place where it began. Besides, Sri Lanka too has gone the distance it could to accommodate the Indian solution”. Sri Lanka even opened its gates and  invited the Indian forces to come  and  fix the problem. It accepted the Indian political formula it imposed in the form of the 13^th Amendment. Sri Lanka has been bending over backwards not  to offend India. And yet, after going along with India’s solutions” s far as it could, India  is refusing to take any responsibility for the failure of its interventionist policy. It is still exhorting Sri Lanka to address equality, justice, peace and respect” as claimed by the Tamils of the North. Didn’t India come in to do that job saying that Indian Big Brother can do what Sri Lankan younger brother can’t do? So why is India pointing a finger at Sri Lanka after failing in its mission?

The fourth largest army in the world couldn’t even disarm, as promised in the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement, the terrorists it trained in Indian  soil. Indian meddling in Sri Lanka has not brought a satisfactory solution to the Tamils, the Sri Lankans and, least of all,  to the Indians. The issue continues to simmer with the Tamil tail twisting  the Indian head in Delhi. Consequently, isn’t its India’s duty to revisit the problem and examine critically where it went wrong and ask: why has India gone nowhere so far? Could it be  that India has got its fundamentals wrong? Isn’t it clear that India has failed, even after exhausting all its options,  because it has not come to grips with the historical and political realities that fuelled the North-South crisis? Can India  provide a solution if it can’t get its basics right?

With all its accumulated experience that adds up to a failure so far, it is obvious that India  must go for a mid-course correction. If so from where should India begin? The most appropriate place would be to test the Indian premise on which India has acted so far to intervene in Sri Lankan affairs. Accepting the usual litany of complaints made by the Tamils of the North as its official line for intervention questions India’s judgemental capacity to evaluate critical issues relevant to its national and regional interests. So where should India begin since it has failed in achieving a solution by follow slavishly the political line sold by the Tamils to India.?

It is common knowledge that if you begin with the wrong premise you end up with the wrong conclusions. No logical, rational or acceptable solution can come if you start from a wrong premise. For instance, if a new critical analysis establishes that it is the Tamil leadership that  has been guilty of denying the oppressed Tamils their rights and their due place in the sun  will not the conclusion lead to different solutions? Why did the Tamil leadership fail to redeem their own people who were suffering under the yoke of Vellala casteism? Why did they go along with Prabhakaranist fascism and blame GOSL for not giving  into his demands? Why did they pass the buck to the Sinhala bogeyman and still continue to mislead the world with their self-serving narrative?

Since India has adopted the usual litany of complaints made by the Tamils of the North as its official line for intervention it is imperative that India should, even at this  late stage, revisit its premise and evaluate how far it can go down the failed path with the Tamils. The success of foreign policies depends on objective and critical analysis, particularly if  it is stuck in a rut. No foreign policy can survive for long on myths and  fiction.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

විදේශගත ශ්‍රී ලාංකේයන්ට ඡන්ද අයිතිය ලබාදීම ඇතුළු මැතිවරණ නීති සංශෝධනයට අවශ්‍ය තේරීම් කාරක සභාවක් ඉදිරියේදී යෝජනා කරන බව ගරු අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමා අද 2020.10.16 දින පැවැසීය.

මැතිවරණ කොමිෂන් සභාවේ උපාය මාර්ගික සැලසුම් පිළිබඳ සාකච්ඡාවක් අරලියගහ මන්දිරයේ පැවැති අවස්ථාවේ අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමා මේ බව සඳහන් කළේය.

මෙම හමුවේදී කරුණු පැහැදිලි කළ මැතිවරණ කොමිෂන් සභාවේ සභාපති මහින්ද දේශප්‍රිය මහතා 2020-2024  මැතිවරණ කොමිෂන් සභාවේ උපාය මාර්ගික සැලසුමට අදාළව මැතිවරණ නීති සංශෝධනය වීම අත්‍යවශ්‍ය කරුණක් බව පෙන්වා දුන්නේය.

මැතිවරණයට අදාළ ඇප මුදල් සංශෝධනය කිරීම, මැතිවරණය පැවැත්වෙන දිනයේ ඡන්දය දැමීමට නොහැකි පුද්ගලයන් වෙනුවෙන් ඊට පෙර වෙනම දිනයක් ලබාදීම, වයස අවුරුදු 18 සම්පූර්ණ වූ විගස ඡන්ද අයිතිය ලැබෙන සේ ඡන්ද හිමි නාම ලේඛනය මාස තුනකට වතාවක් යාවත්කාලීන කිරීම, විදේශගත ශ්‍රී ලාංකිකයන්ට ඡන්ද අයිතිය ලබාදීම, මැතිවරණ වියදම් පාලනය, අබාධිත පුද්ගලයන්ට පහසුකම් සපිරි ඡන්ද මධ්‍යස්ථාන සකස්වීම සහ විශේෂ ව්‍යාපෘති යටතේ ඊ-ඡන්ද ක්‍රමය ඇතුළු කරුණු රැසක් පිළිබඳව මැතිවරණ කොමිෂන් සභාවේ නිලධාරීහු මෙහිදී අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා දැනුවත් කළහ.

මෙම අවස්ථාවට ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණේ ලේකම් පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී නීතිඥ සාගර කාරියවසම්, අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය අතිරේක ලේකම්වරුන් වන චමින්ද කුලරත්න, ගනේෂ් ධර්මවර්ධන (නීති), මැතිවරණ කොමිෂන් සභාවේ සභාපති මහින්ද දේශප්‍රිය, මැතිවරණ කොමසාරිස් ජනරාල් සමන් ශ්‍රී රත්නායක, කොමිෂන් සභාවේ ලේකම් එච්.එම්.ටී.ඩී. හේරත්, නියෝජ්‍ය මැතිවරණ කොමසාරිස් එස්.අච්චුදන්, පර්යේෂණ හා සැලසුම් අධ්‍යක්ෂ චන්න පී. ද සිල්වා, ශ්‍රි ලංකා පොදු ජන පෙරමුණේ පාලන ලේකම් හා ජාතික නිවාස සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියේ සභාපති  රේණුක පෙරේරා මහත්වරු එක්ව සිටියහ.

මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ ශ්‍රී ලංකා ප්‍රජාතාන්ත්‍රික සමාජවාදී ජනරජයේ අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය

සංවර්ධනයට අනුව දරිද්‍රතා රේඛාවට පහළින් ජීවත් වන ජනතාවගේ ගැටලු කෙරෙහි අවධානය යොමු කිරීමේ අරමුණින් දරිද්‍රතාව තුරන් කිරීම සඳහා වූ ජාත්‍යන්තර දිනය ඔක්තෝබර් 17 වන දින ලෝකය පුරා සමරනු ලබයි.

1987 ඔක්තෝබර් 17 දා දරිද්‍රතාවයට එරෙහි ලෝක කම්කරු දිනයක් පැරීසියේ සමරනු ලැබීය. එහිදී ලෝක ජනගහනයෙන් දිළිඳුබවක් දක්වන, දිළිඳුබවට ගොඳුරු වී ඇති හා අනෙකුත් දරිද්‍රතා ගැටළු පිළිබඳව අවධානය යොමු වූ අතර දරිද්‍රතාවයේ ගැටලු පිළිබඳව සිහිපත් කරමින්  සෑම වසරකම එම රැස්වීම පැවැත්විණි.

දරිද්‍රතාවය යනු මානව අයිතිවාසිකම් උල්ලංඝනය කිරීමක් බව එහිදී ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කළ අතර එතැන් පටන් දරිද්‍රතාවයේ රැළිය සිහිවීම පිණිස ස්මාරකයක් ද ගොඩනැගුණි. පසුකාලීකව විවිධ රටවල ඊට සමාන ස්මාරක ගොඩනැගුණු අතර ඒවා කේන්ද්‍ර කර ගනිමින් සෑම වසරකම දරිද්‍රතාවය තුරන් කිරීමේ අරගලය සඳහා දිනයක් වෙන්විය. පසුව එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ මහා මණ්ඩලය විසින් දරිද්‍රතාවය තුරන් කිරීම සඳහා ජාත්‍යන්තර දිනය 1992 ඔක්තෝබර් මස 22 වන දින නිල වශයෙන් ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කරන ලදී.

ආර්ථික විද්‍යාත්මක විග්‍රහයට අනුව, බොහෝවිට දිළිඳුකම වටහාගන්නේ ආදායම් අඩුකම නිසා ජිවන මාර්ගයක් නොමැති වීමෙන් ඇති වූ ප්‍රතිඵලයක් වශයෙනි. එනම් ජනතාවගේ ද්‍රව්‍යාත්මක යහපැවැත්ම සහතික වන අයුරින් ඔවුන්ගේ මූලික අවශ්‍යතා වන ආහාරපාන, ඇදුම්පැළඳුම්, බේත්හේත්, අධ්‍යාපනය වැනි දෑ මිලදී ගත හැකි ආකාරයට ආදායමක් උපයා ගැනීමට හැකියාවක් නොමැතිවීමයි.

රටේ දරිද්‍රතාවය අඩුවන පරිදි  අප රජය සියලුම අංශයන්හි සංවර්ධන පැතිකඩයන් නව මාවතක් ඔස්සේ රැගෙන එමින් රට තුළ බිහි කළ අධිවේගී මාර්ගයන්, මං මාවත්, දේශීයකර්මාන්තකරුවා  හා දේශීය ගොවියා පණගැන්වීම තුළ ගම සහ නගරය අතර තුලනය සමනය විය. සෞභාග්‍යයේ දැක්ම ප්‍රතිපත්ති ප්‍රකාශය ඔස්සේද අප පණ ගන්වනු ලබන්නේ දේශීයත්වයයි. දේශීය නිෂ්පාදන නඟා සිටුවීම, රැකියා ලක්ෂයේ වැඩපිළිවෙළ හා  කර්මාන්ත හා සේවා අංශයේ නඟාසිටුවීම තුළින් රටේ ඵලදායිතාව ඉහළ යනු ඇත.

කොවිඩ්-19 වසංගත තත්ත්වය හේතුවෙන් ඇති වූ අහිතකර ආර්ථික ප්‍රතිඵල හේතුවෙන් ගෝලීය දරිද්‍රතාව ඉහළ යෑම 2030 වන විට දරිද්‍රතාවය තුරන් කිරීමේ එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ තිරසර සංවර්ධන ඉලක්කයට සැබෑ අභියෝගයකි. ලොවපුරා ව්‍යාප්ත කොරෝනා වසංගතය හමුවේ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ උද්ගත ආර්ථික හා සමාජයීය අභියෝග සහ ඉඩප්‍රස්ථා කෙරෙහි සුවිශේෂ අවධානය යොමු කරමින් ආර්ථික පුනර්ජීවනය සැලසීමෙන්ද දරිද්‍රතාවය තුරන් කිරීමේ වගකීම අපසතුය.

අනාගත සෞභාග්‍යය  උදාකර ගැනීමට නම් ආදායම් හිඟයට විසදුම් ලබා දිය හැකි වඩාත් තරගකාරී හා සියලු දෙනා ඇතුළත් ආර්ථිකයක් සකස්කර ගැනීම අතවශ්‍යය. ඒ සඳහා රජයක් ලෙස ගත යුතු ක්‍රියාමාර්ගයන් අප රජය යටතේ ගන්නා බව දරිද්‍රතාව තුරන් කිරීම පිළිබඳ ජාත්‍යන්තර දිනය සමරනු ලබන අද දිනයේ අවධාරණය කරමි.

මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ

ශ්‍රී ලංකා ප්‍රජාතාන්ත්‍රික සමාජවාදී ජනරජයේ

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය

සුර්ය වංශ රත්න විභූෂණ පාලිත ආරියරත්න සෙන්කඩගල සිංහ ද්වාරයේ සිට

මගේ අවධාරනයට යොමුවූ දිවයින පත්‍රයේ උපුටා ගත් ලිපිය :

ජාතීන් අනුව ඉඩම් මායිම් වෙන් කිරීම වත්මන් රජයේ මෙන්ම තමාගේ ද ප‍්‍රතිපත්තිය නොවන බව නැෙඟනහිර පළාත් ආණ්ඩුකාර අනුරාධා යහම්පත් මහත්මිය ඊයේ (14 දා* දෙමළ සන්ධාන පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත‍්‍රීවරුන් හමුවේ අවධාරණය කළාය.
 
 සිංහල දමිළ හෝ මුස්ලිම් යනුවෙන් ඉඩම් වෙන් කිරීමක් සිදුව නොමැති බව පෙන්වා දුන් ආණ්ඩුකාරවරිය දේශපාලන අරමුණු වෙනුවෙන් එවැනි වෙන් කිරීම් සිදු කිරීමට උත්සාහ නොකරන බව ද මෙහිදී අවධාරණය කළාය.
 
 මඩකලපුවල අම්පාර දිස්ත‍්‍රික් දෙක මායිම්ව පිහිටි දිවුලපතාන ප‍්‍රදේශයේ ඉඩම් කෘෂිකර්මාන්තය සඳහා ජනතාවට ලබාදීම පිළිබඳව සාකච්ඡුා කිරීම සඳහා මෙම පිරිස ඊයේ (14 දා* පෙරවරුවේ ආණ්ඩුකාර ලේකම් කාර්යාලයට පැමිණ සිටියහ.
 
 එහිදී මෙම පිරිස අවධාරණය කර සිටියේ අදාළ ප‍්‍රදේශය මඩකලපුවේ ජනතාව ඇති කරන ගවයන්ගේ තෘණභුමි බැවින් එම ඉඩම් කෘෂිකර්මාන්තය සඳහා ලබාදීමට ගෙන ඇති තීරණය වහාම නතර කරන ලෙසය.
 
 එම ඉල්ලීම ප‍්‍රතික්ෂේප කළ ආණ්ඩුකාරවරිය පෙන්වා දුන්නේ කෘෂිකාර්මික කටයුතු සඳහා මෙම ඉඩම් ලබාදීමේ අරමුණ රට ස්වයංපෝෂිත කිරීම සහ පිටරටින් ආහාර භෝග ගෙන ඒම අවම කිරීම සඳහා වන රජයේ ප‍්‍රතිපත්තිය නිසා බවය.
 
 මෙහිදී මෙම පිරිස දිගින් දිගටම ආණ්ඩුකාරවරියට බලකර සිටියේ මෙම ඉඩම් කෘෂිකර්මාන්තය සඳහා ලබාදීමේදී ජනවර්ග අතර ගැටලූ ඇති වන බවය.
 
 එය ප‍්‍රතික්ෂේප කළ ආණ්ඩුකාරවරිය කියා සිටියේ 2015 වසරට පෙර එම භූමිවල
 
 වගාකළ ජනතාවට මෙම ඉඩම් ලබා දෙන්නේ කාෂිකර්මාන්තය සඳහාම පමණක් බවත් එසේ නොමැතිව මෙම කිසිදු ඉඩමක් සින්නක්කරව ලබා නොදුන් බවද ඇය සඳහන් කළාය.
 
 එසේම මෙම ඉඩම් පවරාදීම හෝ අත්පත් කර ගැනීම තමාගේ වගකීමක් නොවන බව ද ඇය ප‍්‍රකාශ කළාය.
 
 මෙම පිරිස දිගින් දිගටම දැඩි ආවේගශීලීව ආණ්ඩුකාරවරියට අවධාරණය කළේ තම වැසියන් ඇති කරන ගවයන්ගේ තෘණභූමි සඳහා භාවිතා කරන ඉඩම් කෘෂිකර්මාන්තය සඳහා ලබාදීමට එරෙහිව අධිකරණ ක‍්‍රියාමාර්ග ගන්නා බවය.
 
 ජාතීන් ඉලක්ක කර ගනිමින් තමන් කිසිම අවස්ථාවක ගැටලූ විසඳීමට කටයුතු නොකර බවත් පළාතේ සිටින සියලූ පුරවැසියන්ට එක හා සමානව සේවය කිරීමට තමන් බැඳී සිටින බවත් ආණ්ඩුකාරවරිය එම අවස්ථාවේ දැඩිව අවධාරණය කරමින් කියා සිටියේ මෙම ගැටලූව නිරාකරණය කිරීම සඳහා සියලූ පාර්ශව කැඳවා විශේෂ සාකච්ඡුාවක් පැවැත්වීමට තමන් කටයුතු යොදන බවය.
 
 තමුන්නාන්සේලා ලැජ්ජා වෙන්න ඕනේ මේ වගේ වෙලාවක මෙවැනි ඉල්ලීමක් කිරීම ගැන මොකද කොවිඞ් – 19 නිසා අපි පිටරටින් ආහාරපාන ගෙන්වීම අවම කරලා රට කෘෂිකර්මාන්තයෙන් ස්වයංපෝෂිත කරන්නයි අපේ රජය කටයුතු කරන්නේ.
 
 ජනාධිපතිතුමා අගමැතිතුමා ඇතුළු අපේ රජයේ අරමුණ ඒක. ජනතාව වෙනුවෙන් ඒ ක‍්‍රියාමාර්ගවලට සහය දෙන එකයි ඔබතුමාලා කළ යුත්තේ යැයි ආණ්ඩුකාරවරිය මෙහිදී වැඩිදුරටත් පිරිස හමුවේ අවධාරණය කළාය.
 
 මේ සාකච්ඡාව සඳහා පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත‍්‍රීවරුන් වන රාසමානක්කම් සානකියන්, ගෝවින්දන් කරුණාකරන්, හිටපු පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත‍්‍රී සෙල්වරාජ්, මඩකලපුව නගරාධිපති ටී. සරවනබවන් ඇතුළු පිරිසක් එක්ව සිටියහ.

එම ලිපිය සම්බන්ධයෙන් අප දැක්කම :

සමහර මිනිසුන් මේ රටට ඇතුල්වූ දා සිට අපේ හෙළ හරකා  පවා මරමින්  ‘ආහාරය ගැනීමට ලක්කරති හා ලක්වෙමින් පවතී’.  මේ ගෙරි බලල්න්ට අනුව ‘ හරකා යනු අදායම් ඉපයීමේදී ‘ලයිව් ස්ටොක් ‘ එකකි. හරකා මරා  විකිණීම තුලින් දැඩි අදායමක් ‘ගෙරි බල්ලන් උපාය ගත හැකිය. ඒ අනුව අප සංකෘතික උරුමයන් අනුව අනවසර ගව ඝාතනය වහා අප මේ ධර්ම දීපය තුල නැවැත්විමට ඉල්ලීමට ,කටයුතු කිරීමට නිතැතින්ම ඉඩ තිබේ .එය අපේ සිහල බොදු උරුමයකි. අප සතු යුතු කාර්යකි.

රජයට හෝ නොරටුන් හට අපේ තිරිසන් සතුන් මෙසේ නිකරුනේ  අපහරණයට ගොදුරු කරගැනීමට ඉඩ දීමට නොහැකිය. (තාම සත්ව ඝාතන පනත නිසියාකාරව පනවා නැත.)  අපේ කිරි හරක් සම්පත විනාශ කිරීමට ඉඩ දිය නොහැක. එසේම බලෙන් ලබාගත් කැලැ ඉඩම් තුල නිදහසේ හරකුන් බෝ කරගෙන පසුව ඔවුන්ව ක්‍රම්නුකුලව බුදීමට ද  ඉඩ දිය නොහැක. හරකුන්ගේ මස් බුදිම වෙනත් සංස්කෘතීන් තුල කෙනෙකුට  සාමාන්‍ය වුවත් අපට නම් එය තිර්සන් වැඩක් වෙන අතර. විශේෂයෙන් සිංහල බොදු අපට එය ඉවසා දරාගත නොහැකි වන්නේ රහසේ තිරිසනාට කරන දුක් ගිනි සදා කල් පලදෙන හා පාප කර්මයක් හැටියට අප සලකන බැවිනි.

ඉතින් මේ මිට ඉහතින් තිබෙන පුවත අනුව. මසට හෝ එවන් ගනයේ වෙළදාමක් ඇතිවිය හැකි හොර හරක් හැදීමට  දැන් දැන් රහස් ව්‍යාපාරිකයන් උන්ට පිට්ටනි සෙවීමට රජයට විරිද්ධව කටයුතු කිරීම සාධාරණ ලෙස (සිංහල ,දෙමළ ,මුස්ලිම් හෝ හින්දුන් ) සිතනවානම් බොදු අප එවන් ගණයේ මන්ත්‍රී උන්ගෙන් අසා සිටින්නේ සිංහලයන් සතු නිත්‍ය උරුමකම් ඇති මෙම පිට්ටනි සොයන ප්‍රදේශයන් තුල තිබු නමුත් කාලය තුලින් අහිමි ගිය ඉඩම් සංගණනයකට ලක්කොට. නැවත සිංහලයන් හට භාරදී තම හරකුන්ට (ඉදිරියේදී බුදිමට නියමිත සතුන් ) පමණක් පිට්ටනි නොසයා රටේ ඉතිහාසය සොයා හා හෙළයන්ගේ පදිංචිය පළමුව උතුරු නැගෙනහිර සිදු කොට නැවත තම තමන්ගේ පදිංචිය කළමනාකරණයට ලක් කර ගත යුතු බවයි.

එසේ නොසිදුවුවහොත් තම සතුනට පිට්ටනි සොයන ‘ මිනිසුන් ඉදිරියේ ‘ ”ලයිව් ස්ටොක් මස් කඩයට” අපේ ඉදිරි පරම් පරා අයිතීන් ක්‍රමක් ක්‍රමයෙන් ගොදුරුවී ‘ විදෙශ් අසිපතයන් ඉදිරියේ ‘ ගෙල සිඳ ගැනීමට අප  ලංවෙමින් පවතින බව රජයට පවසා සිටීමට සිංහල බොදුන්වන් වශයෙන් අප නොකැපිලි වෙනබවයි

මේ වනතුරු හුදු මහත්  ජනතාව වෙනුවෙන් රජය ගන්නා  ක‍්‍රියාමාර්ගවලට සහය දෙන නොරටෙක් ,විජාතිකයෙක් අප පෞද්ගලික දුටු නොමැති අතර, කොරෝනා උවදුර හමුවේද ඉන් ඔබ්බට අතීතයේද ඔය කියන පිරිස් විසින් රඟපු රංගනයන් අපට හොඳින් මතකය.දින 365 පුරාවටම  හුදෙක් ගෝත්‍රවාදී මානසිකත්වයෙන් අපරට බෙදා වෙන්කර ගැනීමට (දැන් මිනිසුන් හට පමණක් නොවේ තම හරකුන්ටත්  පිට්ටනි සෙවීම සිදුවෙමින් පවතී ) සිහිනය තුල කිමිද කිමිද ඉන්න පිරිසක් අපරට තුල ඉන්නා බව අප දනී.

රජය හා ගරු නායක ස්වාමින්වහන්සවරු මේ  ‘වරදකාරී ඉල්ලීම් ගැන අවධානයට යොමු කර ”අපේ හෙළ හරකා” මෙන්ම නිසියාකාර රාජ්ජ්‍ය කටයුතක් ලිපියේ  සඳහන් කල පළාත්වල කරගැනීමට, දැඟලීමට සිදු වූ සියළු රාජ්ජ්‍ය නිලධාරීන් මෙන්ම, ‘මේවා සම්බන්දයෙන් නිහඬව, නිශ්ශබ්ද සිට තම පරම්පරා අයිතීන් හා නිදහසේ රට තුල ජීවත්වීමේ අයිතිය රැක ගැනීමට වෙර නොදරන ‘ සිංහල ‘ගොන් හරකුන්ගේ ‘ ජිවිත හා පාරම්පරික නිත්‍ය ජන්ම භුමි අයිතීන්ද රැක දියයුතු බවට හා මෙම අශුද්‍ර ඉල්ලීම් කල පිරිස හමුවේ නැවතත් අවධාරණය කරන මෙන්ය.

අවධාරණයට : තම හරකුන් උදෙසා තෘණ  භුමි ඉල්ලන්නන් පිටුපස වාණිජ අරමුණු තිබේනම් එම භූමින් වෙත තම හරකුන් නිදහස් කිරීමට පෙර අයබදු එකතු කිරීමක් වහා සිදුකළ යුතුය. ඊට ප්‍රධාන හේතුව නගර ආසන්නයේ පවා ‘ ගව සම්පත තුලින් කිරි ලබාගැනීමට උපයෝගී කරගන්නා  ගව හිමියන්‘ නගර හා පළත් සභාවන් වල නීති රීති වලට ගරු කරමින්  දුකසේ තම උපන් දා සිට ” මයේ අම්මා” කියමින් තම ගවයාට සලකන සිංහල බොදුනුවන් වල් මිටක් කපා ගන්නට නිදහස් භූමියක් නැතිව ‘ ඔවුන් සදාකල් උපදින මාතෘ භුමිය තුලම වෙනත් වතුවල අයිති කරුවන්ට වල් කපා ගැනීමට දන ඇණ යදිමින් ‘ තම එකම රැකියාවක් වූ ගව සම්පත රැකගැනීම සිදු කරගනිමින් සිටින නිසාය.

නැගෙනහිර හා උතුරු ප්‍රදේශයන්හි සිංහලයන්ට අහිමි වූ භුමි ප්‍රමාණය මනාකොට මෙම ලිපිය ලියන අවස්ථාවේදී කතෘ වන මාහට නිසියාකාරව මතක නැති බැවින් මිට පසු ලිපයක එය සඳහන්  කරන්නෙමි. මතකයේ හැටියට නැගෙනහිරින් පමණක් අක්කර 28000 ක් හෝ ඊට වැඩි ප්‍රමාණයක් සිංහලයන්ට නැවත පවරා දියයුතුය.

ඉතින් නැගෙනහිර දී සිදුවන මේ නව තෘන භුමි ඉල්ලීම් පිටුපස ඇති වල  සුල මුල කල් තියා සොයා සොයා ගැනීම වටි. ජනවර්ග අතර ගැටලූ ඇති වන බව කීම  ප්‍රසිද්ධ ‘ කෙප්පයකි ‘ රාජ්ජ්‍ය නිලධාරීන් මෙන්ම සිංහල ඔබ මේ කේප්පයට නොරැවටෙන්න.

කතෘ : නීති සෑම විටම රටක පවතී නමුත් මෙම අහිංසක ජීවීන්ගේ ජීවිත බේරා ගැනීමට එම නීති රීති තාමත් අපොහොසත් වී තිබේ. එබැවින් ගෙරි මස් බුදින්නන් ‘ එනම් සිංහලයෙන් කිවහොත් ‘ ගෙරි බල්ලන් ‘  සෑම විටම තම ගෝත්‍ර දේශපාලන අභිමතය පරිදි හැසිරි තම නිතියානු කුල නොවන අයිතීන් අප රට තුල ගොඩ නගා ගනිති. අපි ජාත භුමිය වෙන්දේසි බදුනක තබා පුජා කිරීමට හෝ  එය බලයෙන් නඩු දමා ඉල්ලීමට විරුද්ධ වන්නෙමු.

ඔබ සැමට සම්මා සම්බුදුසරණයි !

සුර්ය වංශ රත්න විභූෂණ පාලිත ආරියරත්න

සෙන්කඩගල සිංහ ද්වාරයේ සිට

දිවයින පත්‍රයේ ලිපිය: https://divaina.com/daily/index.php/puwath-2/49026-2020-10-15-13-07-30

මාධ්‍ය නිවේදනය – නිපුණතා සංවර්ධන, වෘත්තීය අධ්‍යාපන, තාක්ෂණ හා නව නිපැයුම් රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යංශය

නිපුණතා සංවර්ධන, වෘත්තීය අධ්‍යාපන, තාක්ෂණ හා නව නිපැයුම් රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යංශය යටතේ පවතින ශ්‍රී ලංකා නව නිපැයුම්කරුවන්ගේ කොමිසමේ මග පෙන්වීම යටතේ කොවිඩ් -19 රෝගය පැතිරවීම අවම කිරීම සදහා සහ ඔවුන්ගේ ප්‍රතිකාර වෙනුවෙන් දේශිය නව නිර්මාණකරැවන් විසින් නිෂ්පාදනය කල නව නිර්මාණ රාශියක් අද දින  නාරාහේන්පිට පිහිටි නිපුණතා සංවර්ධන, වෘත්තීය පුහුණු අමාත්‍යංශයේදී  හදුන්වාදෙන ලදි.

            නිපුණතා සංවර්ධන, වෘත්තීය අධ්‍යාපන, තාක්ෂණ හා නව නිපැයුම් රාජ්‍ය ඇමතිනී සීතා අරඹේපොල මහත්මිය මෙම නව නිෂ්පාදන පරීක්ෂා කිරීමෙන් අනතුරුව ගම්පහ දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ කොවිඩ් – 19 මර්ධන සටනට සෘජුවම දායක වන වැලිසර පිහිටා ඇති ස්වසන රෝග පිළිබද ජාතික රෝහල සහ ගම්පහ මහ රෝහල වෙත ප්‍රධානය කරන ලදි.  මෙම උපකරණ අතරට ස්වයංක්‍රීය රෝබෝ යන්ත්‍ර, දැඩි සත්කාර ඒකක සඳහා ඇදන්,රෝගීන් පරික්ෂාකිරීමේ කුටි, අඩු වියදම් සංවාතක යන්ත්‍ර ( VENTILATORS) සහ ස්වයංක්‍රීය සෞඛ්‍ය ආරක්ෂිත ජල කරාම පද්ධති මේ අතර සුවිශේෂි වේ.

            මෙම අවස්ථාවට නව නිපැයුම් ඉදිරිපත් සහන් රණසිංහ, කේ.කේ.ඩබ්ලිව්. එස්. පී. කේ ජයසුන්දර, ගීතාන්ජන උදයසිරි යන මහත්වරුන් සහ ජාතික නව නිපැයුම්කරුවන්ගේ කොමිසමේ කොමසාරිස් මහාචාර්ය රංගික හල්වතුර, ගම්පහ දිස්ත්‍රික් මහරෝහල් අධ්‍යක්ෂ වෛද්‍ය සමන් පතිරණ, ස්වසන රෝග පිළීබද ජාතික රොහල් අධ්‍යක්ෂ වෛද්‍ය ඒ.ආර්.තවුෆික්, නිපුණතා සංවර්ධන, වෘත්තීය අධ්‍යාපන, තාක්ෂණ හා නව නිපැයුම් රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යංශ අතිරේක ලේකම් දීපා ලියනගේ යන මහත්ම මහත්මීන් සහභාගි වුහ.

මාධ්‍ය ඒකකය නිපුණතා සංවර්ධන, වෘත්තීය අධ්‍යාපන, තාක්ෂණ හා නව නිපැයුම් රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යංශය

මාධ්‍ය ප්‍රකාශය: තොරතුරු තාක්ෂණ වෘත්තීයවේදීන්ගේ සංසදය

Courtesy  SPEAR’S

Sri Lanka has recovered before, from colonial rule and civil war. As the country’s vital tourism industry prepares to leap back into life, Andrew Harris recalls his pre-lockdown adventure in the land of serendipity 

Oblivious to the pandemic that was on the way, I had only a darting mongoose, a parading peacock and an Olympic-sized pool for company. In such surroundings, surrender to an off-grid tropical afternoon is inevitable.

Eschewing Sri Lanka’s famous sinews of sand, I’d headed straight for the hills. The mongoose and peacock were waiting inside Ulagalla, an ethereally beautiful property near Anuradhapura, the former 4th-century BC capital in the north of the island.

Time, if not standing still, was definitely dragging its feet. Ulagalla is one of several exceptional properties buried in the verdant, undulating folds of Sri Lanka’s interior. Conceived around a tastefully restored 150-year-old village chieftain’s mansion, 58 acres of luxury are interwoven into rurality with 25 secluded villas scattered around working rice paddies: back to nature without getting back to basics. In the middle of the paddies, a hut is converted into a rustic restaurant, presided over by women from local villages.

They have no English, but behind non-stop smiles they do have extraordinary culinary skills, which translate into a blissfully bucolic dining experience.

The principal restaurant, whose open sides invite open warfare with the monkeys, gazes out towards the lake and lost afternoons kayaking through the lily pads of its lost world landscape.

There are horses and bikes to explore surrounding villages, and tours curated to the many cultural landmarks, from the incredible Sigiriya fortress to Unesco-listed Anuradhapura which, after a thousand years as capital, disappeared into creeper clad obscurity for another millennium. National parks occupy 12 per cent of Sri Lanka’s surface area.

The busiest, Yala in the south, where Ulagalla has an equally stylish sister property, Chena Huts, boasts the highest density of leopards in the world. It might also have the highest density of safari jeeps, all seemingly driven by Lewis Hamilton wannabes.

Leopards, though, can be spotted in less frenetic parks such as Minneriya, accessible to Ulagalla, where we also marvelled at ‘the gathering’, the largest congregation of Asian elephants on the continent. As we emerged on to a huge expanse of wetland, suddenly there they all were. Hundreds of them, totally unperturbed by our presence. A magnificent spectacle. Sri Lanka’s abundance of riches, from secret surf spots to tranquil tea estates, the colonial streetscapes of Galle Fort and a plethora of palm-fringed beaches, is intoxicating.

One way of absorbing as much or as little as you choose is by car and driver: enter Terence, who, once conditioned to avoid jewellery showrooms, disports an encyclopaedic knowledge of his island. Setting out from the Dambulla Caves and their stunning centuries-old Buddhist imagery, we’re soon ruminating on the differences between Sri Lanka and its lugubrious neighbour, India, which he’s learned all about from Discovery Channel, rather than making the trip across the Palk Strait.

***

As we launched back into the kaleidoscope of colour and noise, with women in saris, diesel-choked highways, pungent spices wafting through a relentlessly tropical landscape, we could be in South India. But the illogical, endearing chaos that often defines the Indian experience is absent.

Scratch that multi-coloured Sri Lankan surface and an image of ordered calm emerges: it might look like India, but it feels more like Thailand. With Terence explaining how ordinary Buddhists don’t become monks, as in Thailand (again, he credits his own teacher, the Discovery Channel), we glide sedately into the drive of Nine Skies, a stunningly situated 1920s tea planter’s bungalow.

After a recent makeover rendering it more PG Wodehouse than PG Tips, Nine Skies is close by the colonial town of Ella, currently recolonised by backpackers. They pour off the little train built to transport tea to the coast, Instagramming away, as it chugs through timeless misty hidden hills of improbable perfection.

Named after the famous nearby Nine Arch bridge, Nine Skies looks down on to the Demodara Loop – not a Bulgarian gymnastic manoeuvre but another marvel of colonial engineering, where the track loops around a hill and back under itself, with tiny Demodara station in the middle.

Nearby, a bright yellow butterfly the size of a sparrow flutters aimlessly around the gorgeous gardens. Nine Skies is a picture of sleek sophistication, with an Art Deco bar and working fireplace. The five bedrooms might benefit from a more demonstrative design statement, perhaps, but the property remains an elegant escape route for seekers of solace.

Cruising through Ella, whose new-age visitors look disturbingly like the old ones I remember from Bali half a lifetime ago, (isn’t it time those tie-dye trousers just stopped now?), we’re suddenly plunging down the twists and turns of a valley draped in stunning Game of Thrones-type biodiversity; the Ella Gap.

The cascade from temperate cloud forest to stifling sea level surely ranks the Ella Gap among the world’s great drives. It definitely focuses Terence’s attention – he doesn’t mention the Discovery Channel once.

Television has nothing on these views. Smothered in sunshine, the late afternoon has us meandering trance-like around the back roads of low tea country, close to Kandy, the second city and final redoubt of Sinhalese culture, which surrendered to the British only in 1815.

Originally part of a larger estate belonging to Aollin Ondaatje, great-uncle of Booker Prize winner Michael Ondaatje, Rosyth Estate House blends imperceptibly into the hillside, from which several staff members are heading purposefully toward us.

At the heart of 62 picturesque acres, with its little tea factory teleported out of the 1940s, Farzana and Neil Dobbs, who divide their time between Sri Lanka and London, have crafted a rural retreat of immense charm.

A lack of pretension melds with attentive service from an army of staff. There are 11 rooms of varying standards: the best is the imposing Rock Villa, opened in 2019. Perched on a huge boulder away from the main building, it commands 360° views across a spectacular slice of central Sri Lanka.

***

he gastronomic goings-on in Rosyth’s glass-sided dining room, suspended dramatically amid tropical flora, soon exude an allure. Especially if Farzana is around. From the ubiquitous egg hoppers to subtly structured curries capable of administering shock and awe to unsuspecting taste buds, she remains passionate about her native cuisine.

Cookery classes with head chef Dhanushka are actively encouraged – as are estate tours with Subramanium, into his fifth decade with Farzana’s family at Rosyth. Amid spears of sunlight darting through the king coconuts and huge jackfruit bending their branches like great green dumbbells, he expertly demonstrates how to tap a rubber tree before eventually depositing us at the tea factory.

There has, of course, been trouble in paradise. A 26-year civil war was brutally concluded in 2009 and the Islamist attacks of Easter 2019 delivered a death blow not just to 270 victims, but also to a tourist industry responsible for 11 per cent of GDP.

Covid-19 has been managed in a predictably competent manner, however: the official death toll at the time of writing, in contrast to the alarming statistics emanating from India, stands at just 11, and the FCO removed Sri Lanka from its list of countries ‘posing an unacceptably high risk’ in late July. While the country remained closed to foreign travel, a reopening is planned for the earliest opportunity.

As the island known as Serendib to Arab traders (from which Horace Walpole derived serendipity) picks itself off the canvas yet again, the lush landscapes of the interior appear as ripe as ever for a voyage of discovery. And where Discovery’s concerned, I might have just the man for you.

Spear’s was a guest of Ulagalla by Uga Escapes (ugaescapes.com); Nine Skies (teardrop-hotels.com); Rosyth Estate House (rosyth.lk); bespoke journeys by Sri Lanka specialist travel-gallery.co.uk

by Stephanie Takyi London courtesy https://www.standard.co.uk/

Planning a long haul escape for when things (finally) open up again? Stephanie Takyi gets lost in the lush landscapes of this unique South Asian island 

Sri Lanka has long been a destination for travellers seeking escapism. This small beautiful island, situated south of India, is larger than life with idyllic beaches, sprawling tea plantations and exquisite properties that have the luxury credentials to rival any major city in the world.

There are plenty of towns hidden away from the well-trodden tourist paths of Sri Lanka. One is Piliyandala, where you’ll find Bolgoda Lake – which at a staggering 342 square kilometres is the country’s only natural and largest fresh water lake.

Just 45 minutes away from the capital of Colombo, it’s a secluded gem for those looking for a serene lakeside break.

For those who want to stay as close to the water as possible, local and international visitors can stay on board Flow by The Amber collection – a luxury river cruise aboard two floating houseboats docked on a secluded inlet on Bolgoda Lake.

Flow 1 and Flow 2, which were originally two steamers, channel old school elegance and luxury, with cosy four-poster colonial beds, antique furnishings and in-room standing bath tubs.

This is a boutique experience, with just five bedrooms in addition to a living area and dining space, all only accessible via Flow’s private marina. The crew on the vessels include an ex-Navy Captain, engineer, chefs, steward and deckhand.

Flow, as I discovered, is a haven for naturalists and also promotes well-thought out sustainability. The Flow ‘steamers’ are fitted with bio-tanks, which dispose of fuel waste in an earth-friendly way causing no harm to the very lake and ecosystem they sit in.

Every day on Flow immerses you in the lake safari experience. On my first day, at the crack of dawn, the captain set sail for Flow’s nature-watching cruise with naturalist Ajantha, who shared his knowledge on the rich and diverse flora and fauna of Bolgoda Lake.

As we cruise through unspoiled mangroves, we spot eagles, parrots and kingfishers. The Sri Lankan Monkeys also make an appearance leaping from palm tree to palm tree, calling to each other. In distant shores you can also spot the holiday homes of some of Sri Lanka’s wealthy elite.

Breakfast is served on the upper deck’s floating lawn and is a banquet of traditional Sri Lankan dishes: string hoppers, dhal curry, coconut sambol, fish curry, coconut roti and spiced chickpeas – all served up on a banana leaf.

The relaxing mornings are followed by fun-packed afternoons curated by The Marina – an exclusive water sports private members club, which arranges outdoor activities and excursions for Flow’s guests on a complimentary basis.

I opted to hop onto the back of a jet ski to enjoy an adrenaline-fuelled escapade speeding downstream the Bolgoda river to the south to the mouth of the Indian ocean at Panadura.

On the right day you may even spot the salt-water crocodiles, who are known to circulate the area mostly unnoticed.

A more relaxing excursion is fishing on an ‘Oruwa’ – a traditional Sri Lankan fishing boat made entirely from wood, held in place with bamboo poles. They are hard to miss as the sight of local fishermen steering the rudders and casting their nets are very much a part of everyday life on the lake.

Even for beginners like me, Bolgoda Lake is a fishing paradise with over 40 species of fish in this lake – if you’re lucky, your catch of the day will be on the menu for dinner.

On-board, guests are also encouraged to take part in cookery classes with Flow chefs who can lift the lid on many of Sri Lanka’s delicacies.

While I pride myself on being able to handle spicy foods, my taste buds were put to the test when I tried my hand at a traditional dish of beef curry and devil’s potato using a fiery concoction of spices and seasonings.

Flow is located near enough to Colombo for guests to also dip into the hustle and bustle of city life. There is an abundance of attractions to explore, many of which are easy to get to using Sri Lanka’s most popular mode of transport – a Tuk Tuk.

A personal highlight of visiting Colombo was learning about Sri Lanka’s Buddhist culture. This included a visit to Gangaramaya Temple, one of the most well-known and elaborate Buddhist temples in the country.

Barefoot visitors can marvel at the gigantic Buddha statues, all lined in formation to tell a story. The high ceilings also tell tales, with wall paintings that depict Buddha’s triumphs. In the background devotees can be heard chanting Buddhist prayers. Gangaramaya also boasts a museum that houses a robust collection of Buddhist artefacts.

For eating and drinking in Colombo, you’re never too far from a bounty of places to dine. Sri Lanka is a tropical island known for its great seafood and more uniquely its celebrated speciality of the lagoon mud crab.

I headed to grounds of the old 400-year-old Dutch Hospital in Colombo, where you’ll find The Ministry of Crab restaurant. This well-regarded eatery was set up by chef-restaurateur Dharshan Munidasa together with Sri Lankan cricket legends Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara.

The menu includes a variety of crab dishes freshly prepared on the day – thanks to the restaurant’s no freezer policy. Do visit on an empty stomach as the crabs’ weigh from 500g ‘1/2 Kilo’ up to a 2KG ‘Crabzilla’ and are plated up in a variety of ways from fiery Pepper Crab to Garlic Chilli Crab and the succulent Baked Crab. Other seafood choices are available including jumbo prawns, cuttlefish, clams and oysters.

Post-lunch drinks can be toasted nearby at Rooftop bar Botanik, where you can try your hand at a cocktail making class using Aarak – a traditional Sri Lankan spirit, which be warned is 47% ABV.

After a short adventure in Colombo it’s a nice feeling to retreat back to Flow, where you can watch the spellbinding pinkish-purplish sunset during a sunset dinner cruise. The moonlight of nightfall on the marina is just as enchanting with the added bonus of enjoying an alfresco film screening and, of, course more food.

Sri Lanka’s relatively small size makes it easy to town hop.

After leaving Flow I took a three-hour car journey to Kitulgala – which is also known as the adventure capital of Sri Lanka. Tucked away in a 10-acre rainforest jungle near the town is the Palmstone Retreat, a five-star boutique hotel which lives up to its ‘retreat’ name.

Compromising three chalets and two suites hidden amidst the rainforest, Palmstone blends Mother Nature with the unique artistic craftmanship of Sri Lankan architecture.

I stayed in the super deluxe Aarliya suite, which boasts a king-size bed, a 40” Flat screen TV with Satellite TV, an en-suite bathroom with shower, a sauna and a private outdoor heated plunge pool.

Outside the suite is a natural landscape to soothe mind, body and spirit. There was no better start to my day then with breakfast looking out at a stream steadily flowing past from a nearby waterfall.

While you can lounge at Palmstone all day long, there are adventures to be had nearby too, from a mountain cycling tour to white water rafting on the infamous rapids of the Kelani Ganga.

I enjoyed a hike up to Belilena Cave, one of Sri Lanka’s hidden wonders. Waiting to be found in the thick of Kitgula’s luscious rainforest jungle, the caves are one of the most important historic and cultural heritage sites of Sri Lanka.

Evidence of human occupants from 16,000 years ago has been found in the caves. On the walls you’ll find scrawlings from former inhabitants, including monks who have used the cave as a retreat for meditation. It’s easy to see why they picked this spot, beautifully secluded and surrounded by nature.

Nearby is a secret cascading waterfall, which can only be reached through a short but arduous hike. Every step is worth it as the endless vistas of green hills swoop all the way down to the gushing waters of the Kelani River. I long to go back there.

For prices and availability at Palmstone Retreat and Flow by the Amber Collection head to palmstoneretreat.com or theambercollection.com/flow.

Both Palmstone and Flow by Amber Collection have adopted the Safe& Sound initiatie, an all-round Covid-19 safety and hygiene program.

Yoshitha Perera Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs) linked to the LTTE assisted the investigations conducted by former CID IP Nishantha Silva, who fled the country last year, former President Maithripala Sirisena informed the PCoI probing Easter Sunday attacks.

Testifying before the Commission on Wednesday, the former President said that several Buddhist monks, military and intelligence officers had complained against IP Nishantha Silva’s investigations.

“As the President, I had to decide whether I’m allowing IP Silva to carry out those investigations. Most of the people complained that the investigations led by him were biased,” he said.

The former President made the above statement while responding to a question raised by the representative of the Attorney General’s (AG) department whether the witness had instructed the former IGP to transfer IP Silva at an NSC meeting.

The witness further added that former IGP Jayasundara had sent a letter to the National Police Commission regarding the transfer of IP Silva indicating facts presented at the NSC and it was a serious mistake done by a responsible higher official.

“This was also one of the reasons for not inviting the IGP to NSC meetings,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Commission again questioned the witness why he had re-appointed IP Silva to the CID after transferring him to Negombo Police division.

The former President said that former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, various other ministers and several NGOs had strongly objected to the transfer of IP Silva to Negombo Police division and he was recalled to the CID due to those issues. 

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

India’s federal counter-terrorist force NSG has trained a select group of personnel who protect Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the chief of the commando force said on Friday. 

According to Economic Times, NSG director general (additional charge) S S Deswal said this in his address on the occasion of the force’s 36th Raising Day.

He said the force has acquired the most modern weapons and equipment to distinguish itself as a “world class zero-error force”.

“The NSG close protection force has trained 21 personnel of Sri Lanka’s PM security division in close protection skills. The honourable Prime Minister of Sri Lanka wrote to the honourable Indian PM and praised the training,” Deswal said.

He, however, did not mention the time period when these personnel were trained by the NSG.

The National Security Guard, also known as the ‘black cat’ commandos, was raised as a federal contingency force in 1984 to undertake specialist counter-terrorist, counter-hijack and hostage rescue operations.

It has a special component called the CPF (close protection force) that provides security to high-risk VIPs under the top category Z+ cover.

It has about 13 protectees under its charge at present, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah.

Courtesy Adaderana

The Minuwangoda Covid-19 cluster has confirmed 49 more positive cases this evening (16), says the Commander of Sri Lanka Army, Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva. 

Thirty-five of them have been identified as apparel factory workers and contacts who are in quarantine centers.

The remaining 14 are contacts of Covid-19 positive patients from the cluster, according to reports.

Sri Lanka registered 110 novel coronavirus infections so far within the day.

Thereby, the total number of Covid-19 cases reported from the Minuwangoda cluster has soared to 1,899.

Courtesy Adaderana

Three days have passed since the Attorney General directed the Police to arrest MP Rishad Bathiudeen, however the investigation officers are yet to locate him.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) meanwhile recorded statements from Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and MP Rauff Hakeem with regard to the phone conversations they have had with the parliamentarian.

They also recorded a statement from MP Bathiudeen’s wife at their residence in Colombo last evening (15). However, she has told the investigating officers that the parliamentarian had not kept in touch with her since October 12 and that she is unaware of his whereabouts.

In the meantime, an attorney-at-law representing MP Bathiudeen filed a writ application yesterday, seeking an order from the Court of Appeal to prevent his arrest.

The writ application has been fixed for support on the 20th of October before Appeals Court justices Kumudini Wickramasinghe and Sobhitha Rajakaruna.

Acting Inspector General of Police C.D. Wickramaratne, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) S.P. Ranasinghe, Sub Inspector Gamini and four others have been named as its respondents.

Then-Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen, the director of the project Mohamed Yaseen Samsudeen and the project accountant Alagarathnam Manoranjan are accused of violating Article 82(1) of Presidential Elections Act, No. 15 of 1981 by misappropriating public funds to the tune of Rs. 9.5 million.

They have allegedly misused 222 buses belonging to the state-owned Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) for transporting IDPs from Puttalam to polling stations in Silavathurai, Mannar during the 2019 Presidential Election.

The CID, upon the direction of the Attorney General, had sought the Colombo Fort Magistrate to issue a warrant to arrest MP Rishad Bathiudeen and the other two suspects on charges of criminal misappropriation of public funds and violation of election laws.

However, the magistrate ruled that the Police can proceed to arrest the suspects without a warrant.

Thereby, Attorney General Dappula de Livera directed the Police to arrest the three suspects according to the law.

Alagarathnam Manoranjan was taken into custody by the CID on Tuesday (13) in the area of Kirulapone. He was remanded until the October 26 after being produced before the Fort Magistrate’s Court.

In the meantime, a constable attached to MP Bathiudeen’s security detail was also taken into custody the following day, for allegedly aiding the parliamentarian to evade the arrest. He was apprehended in Wellawatte area, along with two cars and two firearms.

On October 14, the Fort Magistrate issued a travel ban on MP Bathiudeen upon a request by the CID.

Courtesy Adaderana

Notorious underworld figure Janith Madushanka, operating under the alias ‘Podi Lassie’, who was arrested and remanded for threatening the VIPs, has been granted bail.

However, he will continue to be held by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on detention orders.

The Galle Magistrate delivered the order when the suspect was produced before court today (16).

During the proceeding, it was revealed in open court that ‘Podi Lassie’ had used cosmetic products which weighed up to 5kg in total, while in remand custody at the high-security prison in Boossa. The focus of the judicial members fell on how the products were smuggled into a maximum-security jail.

It is further reported that an overseas travel ban was imposed on the infamous criminal figure.

‘Podi Lassie’ was named as the second suspect in the case filed over the death threats made in public at the Boossa Prison, against the President, the Defence Secretary and certain high-ranking officers of the Prisons Department.

What is this ‘creative balance & equilibrium in Sri Lanka’s favor’ that the Moragoda Doctrine espouses to achieve? Exactly how many votes would the Moragoda Doctrine have delivered to Gotabaya Rajapakse or the SLPP had that been the basis of their election manifestos & election campaigns?While Moragoda is the head of Pathfinder, the very organization that is promoting the implementation of the MCC, advocated via its Post-Covid Economic Proposal, MCC actually demands changes to the constitution and land policy and land laws prior to signing of the agreement. If so, how can Moragoda claim to ‘protect Sri Lanka’s interests and safeguard her sovereignty’? This is in direct contrast to the election manifesto that won the Presidency for H.E. Gotabaya Rajapakse & helped SLPP win a 2/3 in Parliament.

Understanding the Moragoda Doctrine – http://www.ft.lk/opinion/Understanding-the-Moragoda-Doctrine-A-historical-context/14-707270

‘nationalist isolationist strategy’ Moragoda claims is counter-productive, however it was the nationalist strategy that placed this Government in power. It is nationalist strategy that has been the winning streak in all of the powerful mandates leaders have secured across the world. Ask Narendra Modi how he came to power!

A nationalist policy and strategy is what inspired the ancient leaders to use diplomacy to win friends that came to Sri Lanka’s aid during adverse periods. Fast forward to present context, it is these friends that came forward to help Sri Lanka eliminate a terrorist organization banned by 32 nations while those promoting chit chats with tigers were attempting to whisk off the tigers to safety via sea. It is these alliances and friends that stand up for Sri Lanka on international forums. Does Sri Lanka need friends who shake hands and plot to stab Sri Lanka?

Moragoda high-commissioner designate is claiming that the model strategy was during the ‘international cooperation formulated & implemented during 2002-2004’ under his former hero Ranil Wickremasinghe.

This period saw some of the worst treacheries take place. A Norwegian brokered ceasefire agreement was signed keeping the document secret from the country’s President. A foreign monitoring mission was brought in simply to do clerical work & record violations. Over 3000 violations committed by LTTE remained just confined to paper. The highest number of child soldier recruitment took place during this period. The National Army was confined to barracks while the terrorists were allowed to roam the country with arms. Terrorists for the first time in history were officially given territory in a sovereign country. In addition to the treacherous Cease Fire Agreement two more detrimental agreements were in queue for signature – the PTOMs and ISGA. Terrorists were sent sophisticated communication and satellite systems, passed by Sri Lanka Customs with officials even waiving duties & taxes and helping transport items to the terrorists! So this was the ‘model strategy’ that Moragoda emulates!

In this age of social media and alternate news – it is natural that targeted parties escape is to shout ‘fake news’ ‘false news’ and attempt to hide their guilt. Who decides what is fake news anyway? Who decides the truth? Who can verify if anything is fact or fiction? To some the 2002 Cease Fire Agreement was Sri Lanka’s golden era but is this true? Is this fake news? Isn’t it up to the people to decide what they deem is correct or wrong? No one can and should force people to believe anything they do not wish to believe by branding it false news.

It is interesting that Moragoda brings up the ICC statute which was also a component of the Ranil-Moragoda ‘golden era of international cooperation’. The Rome Statute/International Criminal Court was established in 1998 to prosecute and adjudicate individuals, not states accused of genocide, war crimes & crimes against humanity.

In 2000 President Bill Clinton signed the Rome Statute. On May 6, 2002, the Bush Administration announced that the United States does not intend to become a party to the Rome Statute which went into force in 2002 July.  SrI Lanka has not signed or ratified the Treaty. If so what is the boasting of Moragoda to stop any Sri Lankans from being extradited? But Sri Lanka signed with US in November 2002 agreeing not to transfer a person of the other Party to a third country without the consent of each other. There is also reference to the US gift of a ship claiming it helped defeat LTTE, but then it completely contradicts the fact that US wanted to save Prabakaran & whisk him off to safety. It is also to be noted that RanilW & UNP wished IMF not to provide aid & even suggested sanctions when it became clear LTTE was on their way to defeat. The 2002-2004 period also saw the defection of Karuna from the LTTE and Moragoda claims to be the mastermind of the ‘international safety net’ trapping LTTE. Invariably, it is more than possible that for Plan B of the international geopolitical game in Sri Lanka, Prabakaran needed to be out of the way and removing Karuna would deliver a major dent to LTTE & Karuna. While, West pretended to be LTTE’s friend, it was clear, they were merely using them for their own advantage. The leaders of the 2002-2004 were playing their role in this bigger game.

Who are the like-minded group Moragoda has been assigned to establish and what is their modus operandi or objectives? Moreover, if the Ranil W administration had been so gaga, why did it face electoral defeat and why did Moragoda himself jump to the Opposition? Two years of giving and giving to the LTTE eventually resulted in the assassination of Sri Lanka’s most loved foreign minister Mr. Lakshman Kadiragamar.

Why is Moragoda plucking out the 2002 Extradition Treaty between Sri Lanka & US?

https://www.congress.gov/106/cdoc/tdoc34/CDOC-106tdoc34.pdf

Is this to convey a message to members of the Government & key heads of the armed forces on behalf of the US?

It is curious that there is reference to Sri Lanka depending on the ‘intelligence provided by the West particularly the CIA’ because even the US envoy claims to have had no intelligence of the Easter Sunday attack when India had sent Sri Lanka 97 security intel alerts! Also to date the FBI who took away the telephone records of the suicide attackers have still to provide the results to Sri Lanka and it’s been over 1 ½ years since the mass murder!

Yet, its good ot know that there had been very ‘close cooperation’ with US intel during the presidency of Mahinda Rajapakse – if so, it explains why US envoy Blake claimed to the US Congressional Committee of 40,000 deaths though he cannot produce any names or details of the deceased as yet!

Contrary to the claim that Sri Lankans have forgotten the wretched-three decade conflict – is the fact that, Sri Lankans very well remember every person who colluded with the enemy, propped them up and made use of the LTTE for their personal gain and who today are pointing fingers at the people. The people made sacrifices – those in power didn’t. The armed forces made sacrifices and sadly it was even at the cost of bad judgements.

The CFA did not turn any tide against the LTTE. The CFA only strengthened the LTTE. It was the will of the President to take the decision to military defeat the LTTE and the LTTE’s error in refusing to return to guerilla tactics that caused their eventual defeat.

No support of India or US can overpower the support that came from China & Pakistan. We cannot forget the number of trips and cost of those trips that the leaders had to make to India simply to keep the Indians happy. Sri Lanka had to play the bogus part of India’s role in claiming ‘India’s concern for Tamils’. If the West and in particular the US are so supportive of ending LTTE Terror, why do they not take action against the LTTE fronts operating from their shores and continuing the illegal international nexus which US admitted in 2015. LTTE fronts operated and continue to operate a campaign of fundraising & lies on western shores. Why are Western governments continuing to allow this if they are on the wave length that LTTE terrorism should be defeated and will help Sri Lanka do so? Why did US knowing the illegality of the Ban Ki Moon personal report, use it as a basis for 3 UNHRC resolutions based on LTTE heresay against Sri Lanka? Why are the West not going after the runaway LTTE combatants who are living on western shores as refugees/asylum seekers? Why is the same emphasis on the accountability of armed forces personnel being targeted at LTTE, when everyone knows LTTE was harming peace for all citizens of Sri Lanka. In a just war why should the armed forces be subject to retributive justice while the LTTE are to get restorative justice? Why are the armed forces vilified and ridiculed why LTTE are presented as innocent lambs? Is this the doctrine of the like-minded coalition that Sri Lanka has to accept?

As ambassador designate to India with ministerial powers – we hope the policy adopted will be nation-centric Gotabaya doctrine only!

Shenali D Waduge

Backed by an overwhelming majority at the Presidential & General Elections, the Government in power rightly has decided to work towards a closure of the successive UNHRC Resolutions against Sri Lanka by initially withdrawing from the co-sponsorship of 30/1 & 34/1 Resolutions. UNHRC has every provision to take up human rights issues at the Universal Periodic Review. Four of Sri Lanka’s dearest friends are members of the UNHRC – China, Pakistan, Russia & Cuba and Sri Lanka must initiate their cooperation to bring all of the former legally questionable procedural error resolutions to a grand finale. 

Sri Lanka must re-write the narrative and present a dossier to the UNHRC Membership of Sri Lanka during LTTE reign of terror and post-LTTE defeat. The decision to militarily defeat LTTE came after enduring 30 years of terror and failed peace talks, negotiations and even foreign-backed cease fires including foreign monitoring missions and foreign peace keepers. Sri Lanka was up against a terrorist movement banned by 32 countries which continue to maintain that ban even 10 years after LTTE defeat owing to the international illegal nexus that operates overseas. Sri Lanka must initiate action against the international LTTE fronts together with the diplomatic community. The world must know that all of LTTE’s victims included every ethnic denomination in Sri Lanka even foreigners. 

Sri Lanka must showcase what LTTE denied their own during their defacto reign and what Sri Lanka afforded to the people in the areas where LTTE ruled with gun. No reconciliation is required to take place with terrorists, while Sri Lanka acknowledges how Tamils also suffered under LTTE. This must be highlighted to the world once more. The false claim of discrimination must be nullified by producing examples of how minorities are represented in both public and private polity & the positions they hold. Every fabrication that has gained momentum via bogus propaganda channels must be nullified with facts & figures. The manner that 3 successive UNHRC resolutions were artificially birthed must also be shown. A privately commission 3-member panel report made available to the UNSG became the foundation for successive resolutions quoted even by UNHRC head now parroting for the LTTE in her retirement. The Ban-Ki-Moon Report was never tabled in the UNSC, UNGA or UNHRC for Sri Lanka to officially respond. Instead intrusive allegations went for vote in a political witch hunt against a UN member state, going so far as to even suggest constitutional amendments and annulling of even penal codes. That Sri Lanka brought peace, eliminating terror to the 21million people were ignored and those voting against Sri Lanka had no explanation for why they could not stop LTTE terror killings though questioning how LTTE were killed. The dossier of questions that those alleging needs to be prepared and endorsed by our friends in UNHRC together with the closure resolution. Sri Lanka has been unfairly treated in the manner the UNHRC has been used by lobby groups as a result of the power of international funding & lobbying. 

Nevertheless, the country & its people must move forward and should move forward. If we are going to continue with the question of accountability then we have plenty of accountability questions for those who joined the witch hunt against Sri Lanka. 

Today, these countries are facing their nemesis. 

Sri Lanka has backing of 33 non-aligned member nations against a handful of Commonwealth member states of which UK heads. It is also a good time with UK now isolated as a result of Brexit for Sri Lanka to even consider leaving the Commonwealth as Sri Lanka has had no support other than sipping tea inspite of being a member. 

15 New Seats expiring in 2023

Asia-Pacific – Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Nepal, China

Africa – Ivory Coast, Malawi, Gabon, Senegal

Latin America/Caribbean – Mexico, Cuba, Bolivia, 

Western Europe – Britain, France

Eastern Europe – Russia, Ukraine

Members expiring in 2021

Argentina, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Czechia, Denmark, Eritrea, Fiji, India, Italy, Philippines, Somalia, Togo, Uruguay, 

Members expiring in 2022

Armenia, Brazil, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Libya, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Namibia, Netherlands, Poland, Korea, Sudan, Venezuela

Of the 47 UNHRC Members 26 countries are non-aligned movement members while 7 are Observe Member states of the Non-Aligned Movement (33 countries are NAM Members)

Cuba, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Eritrea, Fiji, Gabon, India, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Libya, Malawi, Mauritania, Namibia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Uzbekistan, Venezuela

Observer Members 7

China, Argentina, Armenia, Brazil, Mexico, Ukraine, Uruguay, 

Of the 47 UNHRC Members – 14 countries are not members of Non-Aligned Movement  

Austria, Britain, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Marshall Islands, Netherlands, Poland, Russia

Of the 47 UNHRC Members – only 10 countries are members of the Commonwealth of Nations

Bahamas, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Fiji, India, Malawi, Namibia, Pakistan, Togo & Britain 

Resolutions against Sri Lanka in 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014

Italy has voted 4 times against Sri Lanka 

Voting Once Against Sri Lanka

Netherlands (2009)

Korea (2013) – but abstained in 2009

Cameroon ((2012) – but voted for Sri Lanka in 2009

Uruguay (2012) – but voted for Sri Lanka in 2009

Twice voting against Sri Lanka

India (2012-2013) – but voted for Sri Lanka in 2009 and abstained in 2014

Argentina (2013-2014) – but abstained in 2009

Bahamas (2013-2014) – but abstained in 2009

Brazil (2013-2014) – but voted for Sri Lanka in 2009

Libya (2012-2013)

Poland (2012-2013)

Thrice voting against Sri Lanka

Mexico (2009-12-13)

Germany (2009-2013-2014)

Austria (2012-2013-2014)

Thrice abstaining 

Japan (2009, 2013, 2014)

Burkina Faso (2012, 2013, 2014) – but voted for Sri Lanka in 2009

Thrice voting Pro-Sri Lanka

Indonesia (2009-2012-2013) – but abstained in 2014

Philippines (2009-2012-2013) – but abstained in 2014

Pakistan (2009-2013-2014)

Twice voting for Sri Lanka

Bangladesh (2009, 2012)

Mauritania (2012, 2013)

Venezuela (2013, 2014)

Once voting for Sri Lanka

Senegal (2009) but abstained in 2012

Algeria 2014

Abstaining 

Ukraine (2009)

Namibia (2014)

UNHRC Resolution 2009-2012-2013-2014

Italy has been the only country to have voted against Sri Lanka in all 4 UNHRC Resolutions

Sri Lanka’s diplomats have their work cut out for them. 

·     Why Italy voted against Sri Lanka in all of the 4 resolutions against Sri Lanka

·     Why Korea abstained voting against Sri Lanka in 2009 but voted against Sri Lanka in 2013.

·     Why Cameroon & Uruguay voted for Sri Lanka in 2009 but voted against in 2012

·     Why India voted for Sri Lanka in 2009 but voted against Sri Lankan in 2012-2013 and abstained in 2014

·     Why Argentina & Bahamas abstained in 2009 but voted against Sri Lanka in 2013 & 2014

·     Why Brazil who voted for Sri Lanka in 2009 voted against Sri Lanka in 2013 & 2014

·     Why Libya and Poland voted against Sri Lanka in 2012 & 2013

·     Why Mexico voted against Sri Lanka in 2009, 2012 & 2013

·     Why Germany voted against Sri Lanka in 2009, 2013, & 2014

·     Why Austria voted against Sri Lanka in 2012, 2013, & 2014

·     Why Libya & Poland voted against Sri Lanka in 2012 & 2013

·     Why Japan did not vote for Sri Lanka but abstained in 2009, 2013 & 2014

·     Why Gabon abstained in 2009 & 2014

·     Why Burkina Faso voted for Sri Lanka in 2009 but abstained in 2012, 2013 & 2014

·     Why Indonesia & Philippines voted for Sri Lanka in 2009, 2012 & 2013 but abstained in 2014

·     Why Ivory Coast voted against Sri Lanka in 2013 & 2014

·     Why Senegal voted for Sri Lanka in 2009 but abstained in 2012

·     Why Ukraine abstained voting in 2009

·     Why Namibia abstained voting in 2014

Bangladesh voted for Sri Lanka in 2009 & 2012

Bolivia & Brazil voted for Sri Lanka in 2009

Mauritania voted for Sri Lanka in 2012 & 2013

Venezuela voted for Sri Lanka in 2013 & 2014

Pakistan voted for Sri Lanka in 2009, 2013, & 2014

China, Cuba & Russia voted for Sri Lanka in 2009, 2012, & 2014

Sri Lanka cannot forget the nations that defend Sri Lanka on international forums. That amity must always prevail. At the same time, Sri Lanka must also canvass among the other nations who may have a wrong notion of the conflict in Sri Lanka & correct the narrative using the best of diplomatic channels available. 

Shenali D Waduge

Ratanapala

15 Oct 20

The nation is being entertained by some circus artistes at the CID. Who are the directors and producer of  this grand illusion?

First it was Rajitha and Ravi K. Then it was Sampayo. These are people who were only a day earlier in the view of the public. When warrants are issued for their arrest they disappear from their palaces – sometimes two three or more around the island. Today it is Rishard Baithudeen’s case. He seems to have disappeared while being protected by a ‘government issue’ police guard. They have ‘arrested’ his cars complete with a haul of illegal firearms. 

As Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thero has mentioned the ‘little boy who came carrying a ‘silly silly’ bag to Putlam’ now owns thousands of acres of land, several palaces around the island and businesses. Is there any score of how this ‘innocent youth’ of yesteryear came to own so much wealth? The warrants on issue are for a simple crime of transporting voters using public transport – damage to the public a mere Rs 9.5 Million! 

This is only rat shit compared to what he had been doing deforesting WiIlpattu, handling the Muslim displaced, and all of his handling of several government ministries / institutions. All this is now unravelling before the Presidential Commissions of Inquiry that such benevolence towards him happened only in the garb of placating the all powerful minorities, in this case the Muslims and their benefactors in the Middle East. It will be a whole different picture if the whole dung heap is properly unearthed!

What a fiasco, sleight of hand and a magic show all this is complete with smoke, mirrors and screens! Are all this for them to appear a few days later in the company of powerful lawyers who will make them appear as day old innocent babes in diapers! 

As all these are educated people of standing, and presently standing parliamentarians now before the public being investigated for various charges ranging from fraud, moneylaundering, aiding and abetting terrorism they are duty bound to give themselves up to the law enforcing authorities voluntarily. This is not happening. Even when they are caught there doesn’t seem to be any retribution for their absconding. Today Rajitha S, Ravi K goes about as if nothing happened although the cases against them are still being investigated. Sampayo was given a hug and a kiss when he ‘surrendered himself’ to the ‘law enforcing friends’!

What irks the public is that the cases against them are taking for ever and a day. Ordinary simple Simeon gets arrested and put behind the bars with little time lost. In the instance of Ravi K’s money laundering case, he was not discharged after being absolved of all charges against him. It was a mere technicality of a wrong date in a document. The case should have been prosecuted to its conclusion. Even after 5 years now there is no justice to this money laundering case involving LTTE and Tamil Diaspora funds. 

It is only the other day an innocent villager came out after spending years behind bars for travelling without a ticket! The Lord Almighty Judges dole out judgements even if a person sneezes in their cobweb covered seemingly dirty palaces of justice smelling of many years old illicit liquor! They even hand out death sentences for getting a much wanted promotion before retiring! 

We implore the justice system in Sri Lanka to prosecute at least one case serially and get one of these big wigs behind bars so that the public can be confident that the wheels of law enforcing is seen to be turning to the benefit of the people who are supposed to be sovereign and not the Judiciary! Every time the hearing of a case is postponed it happens by several months! Eventually cases gets dragged for several years and away from public interest. This is not so for the average Simeon! 

Otherwise it will be just mirrors, smoke and screens and a disappointing circus of appearing and disappearing monsters and ghosts for the citizens of Sri Lanka. The Law Enforcement should not only appear but also actually seen to be delivering Justice!