Shenali D Waduge

On 21^stApril 2019 – 10 years of peace without a single bombing incident since defeat of LTTE was shattered. The multiple attacks that took place on Easter Sunday has put even LTTE to shame. LTTE at no time in its 30 years of terror was able to carry out multiple attacks with such precision as what took place on 21/4. A lot of planning, a lot of training & a lot of people had to have been involved either directly or indirectly in this mass murder. While all attention has been focused primarily on the state apparatus and its loopholes that could not prevent these acts of murder, we are yet to be told who are the real kingpins in this plot are, we do not care whether those involved are ministers, former ministers, lawyers, religious leaders – we want to know why this mass murder was planned and by whom. This to us is more important than the yahapalana dimwits who had no courage to take action despite warnings given and foolishly believed some small fracas was being planned instead of multiple mass murders.

The venues for the attacks were Churches and Hotels. 

Why specific churches? Why specific hotels? Who decided these targets? How did Indian intel know so much information?

Why Easter Sunday?

Who decided this? Was it a single person’s decision or multiple people? We want to know who were involved.

Are they all Sri Lankans? Are they foreigners or are they a mix? We want their names.

The attackers were all Muslims

Who led them to extremism? Why?

What were their objective and is this project still alive? This is the most important question!

Who were they liaising with and for how many years has this been planned?

Were there any foreign elements involved (individuals, agencies, governments etc)

Who were the locals roped in & were they involved because of money given to them or did they too share the same objectives?

Who funded them – indoctrination, families etc – what is the story behind the Muslim family nexus involved in this mass murder – so many families appear to be involved.

Were madrassas involved? 

If so which ones and where and have these been closed down and all linked to them investigated?

Have the banks that held deposits of the monies channeled to these terrorists and their helpers been investigated?

Banks must be told to have a better network to question large funds of money deposited to accounts.

Banks are not shy to question ordinary people for even Rs.5000 deposits, why are they not questioning sudden large deposits?

Who are the lawyers involved in the Easter Sunday attack and why? 

Who are the influential players who tried to and continue to try to free these arrested lawyers linked to a mass murder? Why would they want to align with terrorists? How many lawyers or persons in the legal industry are camouflaging their objectives which are similar to these Islamic mass killers? Are they waiting for special orders?

Who are the media personnel, academics, professionals & even police, politicians & public officials linked to this nexus?

Have the authorities combed the area of Sainnamaridu and evaluated the radicalism in these areas – why is this happening, how is it happening and who is allowing such to happen and how can it be stopped and why is it not being stopped?

How did so many swords end up across mosques and in Muslim homes. 

Who planted them and what was the reason behind this?

Are mosques under radar too. Are preachers also under intel radar. All of the suicide bombers visited mosques and drew strength from fulfilling their mission for a greater good which is what some hateful group of people had drilled into their minds. Who are these people teaching others to hate and take that hate to the level of killing people in the name of their religion? All these people must be identified and action taken against them.

How did so much of money end up in homes of people barely able to earn a living?

How is so much black money floating around a segment of people?

Why are witnesses suddenly been targeted?

Has the state investigated the expose by Risham Marush?

https://runews.lk/news/item/8574-hezbollah-is-leading-a-terrorist-group-in-kanthankudy-risham-marush-new

Who attacked Risham Marush with iron rods (10 Feb 2021)?

https://emanisa.lk/උඹ–අපේ–නායකයින්ට–විරුද්ධ/?fbclid=IwAR04hYZzhHOGTmzDD0nfreKZ0XMkx5bK-uUJOyIaLuwAHmIS-GGkbZFpwH0 – he is now in Dambulla hospital 

https://english.gossiplankanews.com/2019/09/revelation-about-45-personnel-of-army.html

Is the army intel covering this

how free is police and armed forces from creeping radicalism of not only Islamic fundamentalism but new faith-cults too!

If these are linked to global destabilizing projects and those roped in are to be served as brainwashed foot soldiers, we are sitting on a volcano that might erupt until a secret and subtle investigation is done identifying the Islamic & faith-cults trying to indoctrinate or penetrate into our police & armed forces and the players tasked to do the job. It is wiser to act with caution given that we have the example of Easter Sunday to prevent another mass murder taking place.

The yahapalana coterie of inept leaders and their police stooges had all the information necessary to take action, but they did not primarily due to communication errors an simply a don’t-care attitude for others. While, they are certainly to be faulted and held to account, this bunch were not the evil players that had been plotting and planning the mass murder. The focus of attention on yahapalana failures to prevent should not hide or divert the People’s demand to know who were the Muslims & even Non-Muslims involved in the planning and execution of the mass murder and those involved in trying to safeguard and release the one’s arrested for it. We believe this bunch of people to be far more dangerous than the negligent yahapalana coterie.

The inability to identify the one’s who plotted and planned Easter Sunday holds the fear that another similar attack can and will happen. We know that there is one Sara suddenly gone missing. We also know that a large number of purchases of white clothes were being made. This clearly identifies a future attack to be on a Buddhist place of worship.

Therefore, money and influence should not hide the evil minds at large, many who are pretending to be moderates, pretend to be what they are not, positioning themselves and their stooges for the waiting game! Until such time that the state can provide us the answers, the people have every right to look upon people with caution for no one wants to have to experience the agony of what took place on Easter Sunday. Simply camouflaging that by showing a stigma story to divert attention away from focusing on going after the real culprits is not done.

It’s almost 2 years now and we are yet to know or be told who planned Easter Sunday, why and every evil person involved in this mass murder.

Shenali D Waduge

By P.K.Balachandran/newsin.asia

Colombo, February 10: The Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa told parliament on Wednesday, that government would allow the burial of those who had died of COVID, thus ending a 10-month long controversy over the disposal of the bodies of those who had died of COVID-19.

Responding to a question posed by opposition Samagi Jana Balwegaya (SJB) MP, S.M Marikkar, the Prime Minister said that burials would be permitted.” But he gave no idea as to when the ban will be formally lifted.

Marikkar had pointed to an earlier statement made by Minister Sudharshini Fernandopulle that Covid-19 could not be transmitted via ground water and asked why, in the light of that statement, burials were not being allowed.

Muslims, for whom cremation is haram” (forbidden or sinful), were distressed over the ban and were agitating to get the order reversed. The government’s contention was that burial of COVID 19 dead would contaminate ground water. The Muslims’ refutation of this with scientific arguments fell on deaf ears.

UNHRC Session

The sudden change in government’s policy now has led to speculation that the March session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and the visit of the Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on February 22 and 23, have brought it about.

With a hostile resolution against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC looking increasingly likely, despite on-going talks on a consensual” resolution, the Lankan government could have thought it prudent to give in on the Muslims’ demand at least.

Pakistan PM’s Visit

Secondly, it would have been considered appropriate to concede this demand ahead of the visit by the Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan due on February 22 and 23. Sri Lanka needs Pakistan’s help to get enough votes in the 47-member UNHRC to defeat the West-led Core Group’s hostile resolution against the country. Sri Lanka could count on Pakistan’s support at the UNHRC if it made this concession to the Muslims.          

Stinging UN Experts’ Report  

In January, UN human rights experts had urged the Sri Lankan government to end its policy of forced cremation of COVID-19 victims, saying it ran contrary to the beliefs of Muslims and other minorities in the country and could foment existing prejudices, intolerance and violence.

The UN Experts were: Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Ahmed Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues Fernand de Varennes, Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Peaceful Assembly and Association Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, and Special Rapporteur on the Right of Everyone to the Enjoyment of the Highest Attainable Standard of Physical and Mental Health Ms. Tlaleng Mofokeng.

The Experts said: Imposition of cremation as the only option for handling the bodies confirmed or suspected of COVID-19 amounts to a human rights violation. There has been no established medical or scientific evidence in Sri Lanka or other countries that burial of dead bodies leads to increased risk of spreading communicable diseases such as COVID-19,” said the experts.

All of the bodies were cremated according to the fourth amendment of the Provisional Clinical Practice Guidelines on COVID-19 suspected and confirmed patients issued on 31 March 2020.”

The decision to make cremation mandatory followed alleged expert advice, including that by the chief epidemiologist who claimed that burials could contaminate ground drinking water. However, the World Health Organization has reiterated there is no evidence to suggest that cremation prevents the spread of the disease, while the College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka and the Sri Lanka Medical Association issued statements recently clarifying that there has been no proof that burial of COVID-19 dead bodies constitutes a public health hazard.”

While we must be alert to the serious public health challenges posed by the pandemic, COVID-19 measures must respect and protect the dignity of the dead, their cultural and religious traditions or beliefs, and their families throughout.”

We deplore the implementation of such public health decisions based on discrimination, aggressive nationalism and ethnocentrism amounting to persecution of Muslims and other minorities in the country.” 

Such hostility against the minorities exacerbates existing prejudices, inter-communal tensions and religious intolerance, sowing fear and distrust while inciting further hatred and violence.

We are equally concerned that such a policy deters the poor and the most vulnerable from accessing public healthcare over fears of discrimination,” the experts said, adding this would further negatively impact the public health measures to contain the pandemic. Information received by the experts indicates that cremation often takes place immediately upon the notification of the test results without granting family members reasonable time or the opportunity to cross check or receive the final test results.”

There have been several cases of cremations based on erroneous information about COVID-19 test results.”

The President and Prime Minister had instructed the health authorities to explore options for burials in Sri Lanka.

However, we are concerned to learn that the recommendation to include both cremation and burial options for the disposal of bodies of COVID-19 victims by a panel of experts appointed by the State Minister for Primary Health Services, Pandemics and COVID Prevention was reportedly disregarded by the Government.”

We strongly urge the Government of Sri Lanka to stop the forced cremation of COVID-19 bodies, to take all necessary measures to combat disinformation, hate speech and stigmatization of the Muslims and other minorities as a vector of the pandemic; and to provide remedy and ensure accountability for cremations that were carried out by error.”

According to media reports, more than 150 bodies of Muslim victims of COVID-19 had been cremated. This list includes Sheyk, a boy only a few days old.  

වෛද්‍ය රසායනාගාර විද්‍යාඥ වෘත්තීයවේදීන්ගේ විද්වත් සංගමය

පසුගිය කාලය පුරාම අවශ්‍ය ප්‍රතික්‍රීයක ලබාදෙන්නට කියලා ඉල්ලීම් කලත්, අමාත්‍යාංශය ඒ පිළිබඳව ඇහුම්කන් දීමක් කළේ නැහැ. රසායනාගාරයක් පවත්වාගෙන යාම සදහා  අවශ්‍ය සැපයුම් පද්ධතිය නිසි පරිදි යථාවත් විය යුතුයි.  රසායනාගාර වල අවශ්‍යතා සාකච්ඡා කරන්නට සෞඛ්‍ය අමාත්‍යාංශය ඊට අදාළ වෘත්තිකයන්ට ඉඩක් ලබාදීලා නෑ.  

මේ වනවිට රසායනාගාර කළමනාකරණය වෙමින් තියෙන්නේ, ඒ පිළිබඳව නිවැරදි දැනුමක් ඇති අයගේ  සහභාගීත්වයෙන්  නෙවෙයි. ඒ හින්දම මේ මට්ටමෙන් හෝ රසායනාගාර පවත්වාගෙන යන්නේ විශාල වෑයමක් යොදලා, තමන්ගේ පෞද්ගලික වැඩක් කරගන්නවා වගේ. 

☝️වෛද්‍ය සැපයුම් ගැලපෙන්නේ නැහැ

වෛද්‍ය සැපයුම් අංශයෙන් මිලදී ගන්න සමහර ප්‍රතික්‍රියක රසායනාගාරයේ දී නිවැරදිව වැඩ කරන්නේ නැහැ. රසායනාගාර වලට ලබා දෙන PCR ප්‍රතික්‍රීයක ජාත්‍යන්තර වශයෙන් පිළිගෙන තිබෙනවා ද? ඖෂධ නියාමන අධිකාරිය වලංගු කිරිමේ පරීක්ෂණ කරල තියෙනවද?  සුදුසු ප්‍රතික්‍රියක බවට ඇගයුම් කමිටු වල සහතික ලබාදීලා තියෙන්නේ මොන විශේෂඥ වෛද්‍යවරයා ද? ඒවා ඉල්ලලා තියෙන්නේ කොයි රසායනාගාරයෙන් ද? වැනි කරුණු පිළිබඳව කිසිදු පැහැදිලි අවබෝධය කාටවත් නැහැ. සමහර අය තමන්ගේ සන්නාමය මිලදී ගැනීම සඳහා විශාල ව්‍යාපාරික අරගලයක් කරනවා. තවත් සමහරු වැරදි සහගත මිලදී ගැනීම් පිළිබඳව අපරාධ පරීක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව සිදුකරමින් තිබෙන පරීක්ෂණයට බලපෑම් කිරීම සඳහා, PCR රසායනාගාර අඩපණ කරන්නට උත්සාහ කරනවා. තවත් අය, තමන්ට හිතවත් වලට නිදර්ශක ටික යැවීම සඳහා ප්‍රතිපත්ති වෙනස් කිරීමට කටයුතු කරමින් සිටිනවා. රටේ මහජනතාව වෙනුවෙන්  අමාරුවෙනි ස්ථාපිත කරවාගෙන තියෙන PCR රසායනාගාර වලට අවශ්‍ය සැපයුම් ලබාදෙන්න, ඒවායේ වැඩ කරන වෛද්‍ය රසායනාගාර විද්‍යාඥ වෘත්තිකයින්ට අවශ්‍ය යටිතල පහසුකම් කවුරුත් හොයල බලන්නෙ නෑ. 

☝️බිලියන ගණන් පිල්ලි ගහමින්, අතිකාල කපලා ඉතුරු කරන්න හදනවා

සමහර අධ්‍යක්ෂවරු, සෞඛ්‍ය අමාත්‍යාංශයේ බලධාරීන් මිලියන ගණන් නාස්ති කරන ගමන්, බිලියන ගණන් වංචා කරන්නට ඉඩ හරින ගමන්, සල්ලි ඉතුරු කරන්න යන්නේ රසායනාගාරවල දිවා රෑ වැඩ කරන වෛද්‍ය රසායනාගාර විද්‍යාඥයන්ගේ අතිකාල කප්පාදු කරලා. සෞඛ්‍ය අමාත්‍යාංශය යටතේ PCR රසායනාගාර 18ක් තියනවා. ඒ එකක්වත් පැය විසිහතර දුවවන්න අවශ්‍යතාවයක් ඔවුනට නැහැ. හදිසියට විවේක ගන්න, කෑම වේලක් සපයන්න, නවාතැන් පහසුකමක් හදලා දෙන්න තබා, අවුරුද්දකට වැඩි කාලයක් එක දිගට, දිවා රෑ නොබලා මේ රාජකාරියේ යෙදෙන කාර්‍යමණ්ඩලයෙ ධිරිමත් කිරීමටවත් ඔවුනට නොහැකි වෙලා තියනවා.

☝️වසර පහලොවක් පැරණි තාක්ෂණය

අපි තාම මේ රසායනාගාරවල  භාවිත කරන්නේ වසර 15 කට වඩා පැරණි තාක්ෂණය. එක PCR පරීක්ෂණයක් කරන්න පැය 8 කට වඩා කාලයක් ගත වෙනවා.  රසායනාගාරයේ වේගය වැඩි කිරීම එහි ඉන්න කාර්යමණ්ඩලයට හිතෙන ආකාරයට කරන්නට බැහැ. ඒ සඳහා අවශ්‍ය දියුණු තාක්ෂණය ගැන රසායනාගාර සේවාවේ ඉහල පුටු රත් කරන අය දන්නේ නැහැ. එහෙම නැත්නම් පවතින ක්‍රමය තුළ ඔවුන් විසින් ලබාගනු ලබන වාසි අත හරින්නට කැමති නැහැ. පැය එකහමාරක වගේ කාලයකින් පරීක්ෂණ වාර්ථා  නිකුත් කරන්නට පුළුවන් තාක්ෂණය පිළිබදව මාස ගණනාවක් තිස්සේ ජනාධිපතිවරයා දක්වා දැනුවත් කරලා තියෙනවා. ඉල්ලීම් කරලා තියනවා. ඒ මොනවාද කියලාවත් හොයලා බැළුවේ නෑ.

අළුත්ම තාක්ෂණයට අදාල ලබා ගන්න PCR  යන්ත්‍රයක් කටුනායක ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන් තොටුපළ රසායනාගාරයට ආධාර වශයෙන් ලබාදීලා මාස තුනක් විතර වෙනවා. අඩු ගානේ ඒක රසායනාගාරය ඇතුලේ හයි කරලා දෙන්න සෞඛ්‍ය අමාත්‍යාංශයට තවම බැරිවෙලා තියෙනවා.

☝️පරීක්ෂණ කරනවාට වඩා විශාල කාලයක්, වාර්ථාව අතර මැදතැන් වල ප්‍රමාද වෙනවා

PCR නිදර්ශක රසායනාගාරයට එන්නෙ හවස වරුවේ. රසායනාගාර පැය විසිහතර පුරා පවත්වා ගෙන යන්න ආයතන ප්‍රධානීන්ට බැරිවෙලා තියන නිසා, පරික්ෂණ  කරන්න පටන් ගන්නෙ පසුවදා. එදිනම වාර්තාව නිකුත් කරනවා. සමහර වෛරසවේදීන්  වාර්තා නිකුත් නොකර තමන් ලග ගොඩ ගසා ගන්නවා.  එම වාර්තාව නැවත යන්නේ වසංගත ප්‍රාදේශීය වසංගත  ප්‍රධානියාට. මෙම සාම්ප්‍රදායික ක්‍රම වේදය අනුව රසායනාගාරය තුළ PCR පරීක්ෂණය සිදු කරන්නට යන කාලයට වඩා, තුන් හතර ගුණයක කාලයක්, වාර්තාව අදාල පුද්ගලයා වෙත යොමුකරන ගන්න ගත වෙනවා. 

☝️ජංගම රසායනාගාර කිහිපයක් හදන්න තාම බැරිවෙලා තියනවා

ක්ෂේත්‍රයේ එකතුවන විශාල නිදර්ෂක ප්‍රමාණයක් රසායනාගාර වලට පැමිනීම පහසුවෙන් වැලැක්වීමට ස්ථානීය PCR යන්ත්‍ර සහිත, ජංගම වෛද්‍ය රසායනාගාරයකට පුළුවං. ජංගම වෛද්‍ය  රසායනාගාර දහයක් නිර්මාණය කරගැනීමට අවශ්‍ය බස්රථ දහයක් ඉල්ලලා අවුරුද්දකට වැඩියි. ජනාධිපතිතුමා තමන්ට හිතවත් සංගම් වලට පවා බස්රථ බෙදනවා අපි දැක්කා. සෞඛ්‍ය අමාත්‍යාංශයට ජංගම බස්රථ දහයක් අරගෙන, ජංගම රසායනාගාර දහයක් හදාගන්න අපිට තවම බැරිවෙලා තියෙනවා. ජංගම රසායනාගාරයක් තුළ ප්‍රතිදේහ පරීක්ෂණ සහ ස්ථානීය PCR පරීක්ෂණ එකවර සිදු කරන්නේ නම් ක්ෂේත්‍රයේ සියලු PCR පරීක්ෂණ රසායනාගාර වලට බරක් නොවී ක්ෂේත්‍රය තුළ ම අවසන් කිරීමට හැකියාව තිබෙනවා. 

☝️රසායනාගාර කළමණාකරණය අයාලේ යන්නට ඉඩ හැරලා, හොද ප්‍රරතිඵල ලබා ගන්නට බැහැ

රසායනාගාර සේවාවේ අවශ්‍යතා ගැන, සෞඛ්‍ය අමාත්‍යාංශය තුළ හෝ ජනාධිපති කාර්ය සාධනය බළකාය තුළ හෝ  නිරන්තර සාකච්ඡාවකට ලක් වෙන්නේ නැහැ. සාකච්චා සිදු වුවද, PCR  පරීක්ෂණ සිදුකරන වෛද්‍ය රසායනාගාර විද්‍යාඥ වෘත්තිකයින්, ඊට සහභාගී කරවා ගන්න ස්වභාවයක් නැහැ. අදාළ වෘත්තීයවේදීන් සමග හොද ගණුදෙණුවක් ඇති කර ගැනීම, වෛද්‍ය පරිපාලනයට ගැටලුවක් වෙලා තිබෙන බව තමයි පෙනෙන්නට තියෙන්නේ. ඒ නිසා රසායනාගාරයේ තියන ඇත්ත ප්‍රශ්නය සෞඛ්‍යය ලේකම්වරයා හෝ ඇමතිවරු හෝ ජනාධිපතිවරයා හරියටම දන්නේ නැහැ. ඒ වෙනුවට විවිධ විශේෂඥ වෛද්‍යවරුන්ගේ සන්නාම අරගල සඳහාත් නොහැකියාවන් වසා ගැනීම සඳහාත්, වෘත්තීය කුහක බවේ විලි වසා ගැනීම සඳහා සෞඛ්‍ය අමාත්‍යාංශය තුළ විශාල පරිපාළණ ඉඩක් ලබාදී තිබෙනවා. මේ පිළිබඳව ජනාධිපති වරයා පවා දැනුවත් කර ඇති නමුත්,  මැදිහත් වීමේ හැකියාවක් ඔහුට පවා නැති බව තමයි පෙනෙන්නට තියෙන්නේ.

☝️රසායනාගාර ධාරිතාවේ නොහැකියාවට වඩා, පවතින්නේ පරිපාළණ නොහැකියාවක්

මේ වන විට සෞඛ්‍ය අමාත්‍යාංශය සතුව පවතින රසායනාගාරවල සාමාන්‍ය ධාරිතාවය දිනකට පරීක්ෂණ 25000 ක පමණ ප්‍රමාණයක් බව තහවුරු කළ හැකියි. මේ වන විට, PCR නිදර්ශක ගොඩගසාගෙන ඇති රසායනාගාර ඇතුළු රජයේ බොහෝ රසායනාගාර වල සිදුකල හැකි ධාරිතාවෙන් අඩක ප්‍රමාණයක් වත් තවම අපි සිදුකරන්නේ නැහැ. එය,  රසායනාගාර කළමණාකරන දුර්වලතාවයක්.

රවී කුමුදේශ් 

සභාපති 

වෛද්‍ය රසායනාගාර විද්‍යාඥ වෘත්තීයවේදීන්ගේ විද්වත් සංගමය 

උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස්

ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණේ මහලේකම් සාගර කාරියවසම් මහතා පිං මන්ත්‍රීවරයකු බවත් ඔහුට ඇමති විමල් වීරවංශ මහතාට අත දමන්න එපා යයි යෝජනා කල නොහැකි බවත් පූජ්‍ය මුරුත්තෙට්ටුවේ ආනන්ද හිමියෝ සඳහන් කරති.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=431600658044482&t=8

පසුව විවිද නම් දා ගත්තද මහින්ද සුලද නම් දරුවා ඉපදුනේ කලකට පෙර අභයාරාමයේදී මූලාරම්භයක් ලබා ගනිමින් බවත් උන්වහන්සේ පැවසූහ.

එම ආරම්භක අවස්ථාව සඳහා විමල් වීරවංශ මහතා ඇතුළු හතර පස් දෙනෙකු මූලිකත්වය ගත් බවත් උන්වහන්සේ පැවසූහ.

සාගර කාරියවසම් මහතාට පාර්ලිමේන්තු යාමට පවා ශක්තියක් ලබා දුන්නේ මහින්ද සුළඟ සහ පැවිදි හඬ විසින් මූලාරම්භය තැබූ එම ජන බලවේගය බව අමතක නොකරන්න උන් වහන්සේ කියා සිටිති.

මේ ආකාරයේ සදාචාරාත්මක නොවන කටයුතු සිදු කළහොත් ඊට විරුද්ධව කටයුතු කිරීමට සිදුවන බව උන්වහන්සේ කියා සිටියහ.

උන්වහන්සේ මේ බව සඳහන් කරන ලද්දේ භයාරාමයේදී පැවැති මාධ්‍ය හමුවක් අමතමිනි.

මහජනතාවගේ පීඩාවන් දුෂණ වංචා ගැන නිරන්තරයෙන් පෙනී සිටින ලෙසත් ඒ සදහා තමන් වහන්සේ දිගටම සහයෝගය ලබාදෙන බවත් උන්වහන්සේ විමල් වීරවංශ මහතාට ද එහිදී කියා සිටියහ.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa today handed over letters of appointment to 12 new High Court Judges at the Presidential Secretariat.

The new High Court Judges received letters of appointment were;

01- N.K.D.K.I. Nanayakkara – District Judge

02- R.L. Godawela – District Judge

03- V. Ramakamalan – District Judge

04- U.R.V.B Ranatunga – District Judge

05- S.H.M.N. Lakmali – Additional District Judge

06- D.G.N.R Premaratne – District Judge

07- W.D. . Wimalasiri – Additional District Judge

08- M.M.M. Mihal – Chief Magistrate

09- Mahee Wijeweera – District Judge

10- I.P.D. Liyanage – Additional District Judge

11- J. Trotsky – District Judge

12- N.A. Suwandurugoda – Senior State Counsel

Sheain Fernandopulle Courtesy The Daily Mirror

It was revealed that a mature plant, endangered crudia zeylanica could also be found at the Henarathgoda botanical gardens and another small plant on the border of the 14th km point on the central expressway, the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) said today.

The CEA said it came to light during the field observation by the CEA, the National Botanic Gardens Department, the Wildlife Conservation Department and the Road Development Authority (RDA) in December 31, 2019.

it was initially recommended by the wildlife conservation department to uproot the endangered crudia zeylanica plant on the expressway construction site, and replant it at another suitable location.

The CEA said it had also been informed by the RDA that there are more places in the country where crudia zeylanica could be found. It was the RDA that has been vested with the responsibility of taking further action in the future pertaining to the rare plant species,” the CEA added.

The Sri Lanka legume (crudia zeylanica) was discovered and named a new species in 1868; in 1911 it was found in another locality. Since then, however, there was no trace of it even being seen, and it was eventually presumed to be extinct.

The only surviving tree of crudia zeylanica was re-discovered close to the Daraluwa Railway Station in Gampaha along the Kadawatha-Mirigaa stretch, where the central expressway is being constructed.

Environmentalists raise serious concerns over removing it and doubt whether Sri Lanka is equipped with such technology to relocate the plant.

Courtesy Adaderana

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa says that permission will be granted for the burial of COVID-19 victims.

The Premier mentioned this in response to a question raised by Parliamentarian S.M. Marikkar during the parliamentary session today (February 10).

Quoting State Minister of Primary Health Care, Epidemics and COVID Disease Control Sudarshini Fernandopulle, the parliamentarian said COVID-19 does not transmit through water and requested the Prime Minister to grant permission to bury victims of novel coronavirus.

In April last year, the Sri Lankan government amended a law to make cremation compulsory for those who fall victim to the novel coronavirus with the intention of preventing any potential threat.

The Quarantine and Prevention of Diseases Ordinance (Chapter 222) was accordingly amended by an 
extraordinary gazette notification issued by Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi.

The decision sparked heated debate locally and internationally, as concerns were raised stressing that it is against the dictates of Muslim community’s faith.

Former Minister and Leader of All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) Rishad Bathiudeen, former MPs Seyed Ameer Ali, Abdullah Mohamed Mahroof, and Hussein Ahamed Bhaila meanwhile petitioned against the government’s decision, arguing that there is no scientific evidence to support the conclusion that cremation is safer than burial to prevent the infection from the coronavirus.

The topic was also brought to the attention of the Cabinet of Ministers on several occasions.

However, the Cabinet decided to refer the matter back to the experts’ committee to look into the possibility of burying Covid-19 victims in a remote, dry area.

Later in November, UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, Ms Hanaa Singer wrote to PM Mahinda Rajapaksa, reiterating the concerns of the United Nations with the existing Health Ministry guidelines, which stipulate cremation as the only method for the disposal of bodies suspected of COVID-19 infection.

In her letter, Singer had noted that the common assumption that people who died of a communicable disease should be cremated to prevent spread is not supported by evidence.

Courtesy Adaderana

Five more COVID-19 related deaths have been reported in Sri Lanka today (February 10), the Director-General of Health Services confirmed.

Following the new development, total lives claimed by the novel coronavirus outbreak in the country have climbed to 375.

According to the Department of Government Information, a 73-year-old woman who was residing in Colombo 05 has died yesterday (February 09) while receiving treatment at the Colombo National Hospital. The cause of death was recorded as COVID-19 pneumonia, heart disease and stroke.

The second victim is a 51-year-old woman who was transferred to the Mulleriyawa Base Hospital from a private hospital in Colombo, after testing positive for the virus. She has fallen victim to COVID-19 pneumonia on February 08.

Meanwhile, a man aged 67 years died yesterday due to blood poisoning, acute kidney disease and COVID-19 pneumonia. He had been moved to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases from a private hospital in Colombo after it was confirmed he was positive for novel coronavirus. He was identified as a resident of Aluthgama area.

In addition, a 75-year-old man from Gampaha area passed away while receiving treatment at the Divulapitiya District Hospital today (February 10). He has succumbed to COVID-19 pneumonia.

Reports revealed that a 61-year-old man who was living in Wellampitiya area also fell victim to COVID-19 pneumonia. He had been under medical care at Iranawila Treatment Centre at the time of his passing today (February 10). He was transferred from Colombo National Hospital after testing positive for the virus.

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lanka registered 424 new positive cases of COVID-19 today (February 10), as total novel coronavirus infections reported within the day reached 963.

Department of Government Information says 940 of the new infections are close contacts of earlier cases linked to the Peliyagoda cluster. Meanwhile, 15 have been reported from the prison cluster.

The remaining 08 were identified as arrivals from the United Arab Emirates.

The new development has pushed the country’s confirmed COVID-19 cases count to 72,174.

According to COVID-19 figures, 6,160 active cases are still under medical care at selected hospitals and treatment centres.

BY EDWARD THEOPHILUS

Mr.Bandula Gunawardane, a minister of the government expressed in a recent press conference that the government has decided to reduce the prices of dhal (lentil), sugar, rice, and other several consumer items. He again stated in the parliament that the gazette notice has been canceled as no retailer sells goods for a controlled price.  Although the changes of prices of consumer items should be based on the price mechanism the government should get away from intervening in the determination of prices of consumer items. Food shortages created during the second world war forced to supply two measure of rice and in 1951 it became a political football and a serious protest in Sri Lanka under the leadership of Marxist parties conducted and Mr.Dudley Senanayake resigned from the Prime Minister position considering the difficulty to face the issue.  Rice had been a political football till J.R.Jayawardane changed it to eight-pound of cereal grains before the election in 1977.

The argument of J.R after coming to power in 1977, was in an open market system not only eight pounds, but more can purchase and he changed the policy with an accelerating Mahavelly project.  Why again cheap dhal (Lentil), sugar, and other consumer items came political platform is difficult to understand and it shows that politicians in Sri Lanka much enjoy using the prices of consumer items than developing policies for sustainable development.

The prices of consumer items are depending on various factors especially production and the quantity of supply. This is an automatic mechanism and the government should not intervene in this price mechanism and if Mr.Gotabaya Rajapaksa direct intervene making a production economy this type of retail issue will not come to politics.

The government gives subsidies and cash allowances to lower-income earners. In such a background, it is not necessary to intervene in determining the market prices and the role of the government is to educate people on how to determine consumer prices. If the government creates competition among retail sellers prices will drop without government gazette notifications.

Politics is a short term matter and economics is long term behavior. What is Mr.Bandula Gunawardane wants politics or economics? 

Thalif Deen Courtesy The Daily News

Sri Lanka’s envoy in China Dr Palitha Kohona-Journalist Chakravarthi Raghavan

When the 134-member Group of 77, the largest single coalition of developing countries, was trying to strike a hard bargain in its negotiations with Western nations years ago, one of its envoys famously declared: You have the numbers. We have the money.”

But that implicit threat – signifying the power of the purse– did not deter the G77 from playing a key role in helping shape the UN’s socio-economic agenda, including sustainable development, environmental protection, universal health care, South–South cooperation, eradication of extreme poverty and hunger – all of them culminating largely in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in 2015 and targeted for a 2030 deadline.

The People’s Republic of China, the world’s second largest economy after the US, has remained an integral part – and a strong supporter – of the G77, going back to the historic 1992 Earth Summit in Rio.

At that summit meeting – which marked a battle between the West and the global South over funding to promote development while protecting the environment – a G77 delegate told his colleagues in a closed-door gathering: We have to confront them with an iron fist cloaked in a velvet glove.”

The G77’s strength in numbers – with over two-thirds of the UN’s 193-member states – provides it with an unparalleled political clout ranking ahead of the Non-Aligned Movement (with 120 members), the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (57), the Asian Group (55), the African Group (54), the Latin American and Caribbean Group (33) the European Union (27) and the Eastern European Group (23).

While the G77 focused on achieving sustainable development, NAM pursued the hard-core politics of the global South, including human rights, neo-colonialism, international security, military conflicts and UN peacekeeping.

Speaking from Beijing, Dr Palitha Kohona, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to China, told IPS that while many countries in the Western camp have tended to dismiss the G77 and China as irrelevant to contemporary economic and political developments, the Group has provided the platform for developing countries to make a profound input to contemporary global economic policy formulation.

In its heyday, he pointed out, the G77 and China contributed significantly to the development of the New International Economic Order (NIEO) and the Law of the Sea regulatory framework.

Today, the Law of the Sea Convention is considered to be the Constitution of the oceans and seas,” said Dr Kohona, a one-time Chief of the UN Treaty Section and a former Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations.

More recently, he noted, its influence on the Rio Process, the conventions on Climate Change, Biological Diversity, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been seminal.

He said the G77’s influence on global policy development in these major areas of importance to humanity remain undiminished and cannot be underestimated.

These global rules are now impacting on policy formulation in the Bretton Woods institutions as well,” he added.

The role played by individual intellectual giants from the developing world in highlighting the G77 and China needs to be acknowledged, he argued.

Today China has assumed a lead role in addressing the challenge of climate change affecting the very survival of humanity,” he declared.

Mourad Ahmia, Executive Secretary of the G77, told IPS the integral role played by the Group in economic diplomacy and projecting the development interests of the global South is a testimony to its continued relevance in the ongoing global development dialogue.

When it was established on June 15, 1964, the signing nations of the well-known Joint Declaration of Seventy-Seven Countries formed the largest intergovernmental organisation of developing countries in the United Nations to articulate and promote their collective interests and common development agenda.

Since the First Ministerial meeting of the G-77 held in Algeria in October 1967, and the adoption of the Charter of Algiers, he pointed out, the Group of 77 laid down the institutional mechanisms and structures that have contributed to shaping the international development agenda and changing the landscape of the global South.

Over the years, he said, the Group has gained an increasing role in the determination and conduct of international relations through global negotiations on major North–South and development issues.

The G-77 adheres to the principle that nations, big and small, deserve an equal voice in world affairs….Today the Group remains linked by common geography and shared history of struggle for liberation, freedom and South–South solidarity, said Ahmia.

The Group has a presence worldwide at UN centres in New York, Geneva, Nairobi, Paris, Rome, Vienna, and Washington D.C., and is actively involved in ongoing negotiations on a wide range of global issues including climate change, poverty eradication, migration, trade, and the Law of the Sea.

The G-77 remains the only viable and operational mechanism in multilateral economic diplomacy within the UN system. The growing membership is proof of its enduring strength.

Chakravarthi Raghavan, the former Chief Editor of the Geneva-based SUNS, told IPS since its founding in 1964, the G77 came into being, along with the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), as an organ of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) and brought about several changes for the better in the international economic system.

With UNCTAD came the scope for ‘alternate view’ to ‘liberal/neoliberal economics’ and Generalized System of Preferences (GSP schemes) – True, they are voluntary, not mandatory.”

The principle of non-reciprocity, and Special and Differential treatment in trade relations with developed countries (initially non-binding, Part IV of GATT-1947, but contractual for developing countries after 1994 Marrakesh Agreement for WTO) that the US now is trying to eliminate as part of its proposals for ‘WTO Reform’, said Raghavan, a former Editor-in-Chief of the Press Trust of India.

The G77 also created the concept of ‘development’ as against the original IMF Bretton Woods concept of ‘Reconstruction and Development’ for war-ravaged economies of Europe, said Raghavan, winner of the 1997 G77/UN Development Programme (UNDP) Award.

In the immediate post-war order, the major Industrialized countries decided on policy (with US holding a veto on most decisions) that others were forced to accept. Now there is at least an attempt at dialogue (from G7 to G20).

Initially, said Raghavan, the G77 concerned itself only with economic issues; the much earlier NAM dealt with political and security issues.

But gradually, individual G77 members, brought their political and security issues and alliances with Great Powers, to influence the G77 decision-making. This has resulted in weakening the G77 positions and influence in international economic matters, declared Raghavan.

(The writer is a former editor of the Journal of the Group of 77)(IPS)

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Dr Sudath Gunasekara Mahanuwara

As it is revealed (Jan 31 (Island) Indian scientists will soon undertake a possibly first scientific expedition to date the chain of corals and sediments forming the Ram Setu, also known as Adam’s Bridge.

This 48-km long bridge-like structure between India and SL finds mention in the great Hindu epic Ramayana, but little is known or scientifically proven about its formation. Recently, a central advisory board on archaeology, functioning under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), approved the project proposal submitted by more

Since this area stretches between two countries (India and Sri Lanka) and is owned by both countries it is politically very sensitive area  I think this study should be a joint venture .As the news item reveals the study is undertaken by India without consultation or collaboration with Sri Lanka. Therefore I  would like to draw the attention of Sri Lankan authorities  to get in touch with the Indian Government and get this project converted to a by partisan study  so that both countries can share the results and avoid any future possible  conflicts. A mono Indian research project will always come out with conclusions favorable to India and India will definitely use them in defeat any Sri Lankan claim in all International for The will not respect the Sri Lankan interests as they are doing presently with regard to fishing in this region Therefore Sri Lankan Government should intervene at the outset  to avoid  future conflicts.

KAMALIKA PIERIS

Peduru Hewage William de Silva (1908-1988) was the only son of a wealthy professional family of Batapola, near Ambalangoda. William studied at the Buddhist Mixed School in Batapola, then at St. John’s, Panadura, later at Richmond College, Galle, and finally at Ananda College from which he entered Ceylon University College.  He had joined the Suriyamal movement when he was a student at University College, Colombo.  After one year, disenchanted and bored, he left University College and went abroad for higher studies.

He went to Oxford, then studied law in London and was called to the Bar in 1940. He was President of the Ceylon Students Union.He joined the India League and a Marxist study group with other Ceylonese students in London. He was influenced by Laski and was attracted to Trotskyism.  In London William associated closely with Krishna Menon, later Defence Minister of India and Jomo Kenyatta, later Prime Minister of Kenya.

He returned to Ceylon in 1940 and joined the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP). He was leader of the All-Ceylon Estate Workers Union and Vice-President of the All-Ceylon Congress of Samasamaja Youth Leagues.

He was arrested in 1943, for fomenting strikes, and spent the remaining years of the war in prison.  He was held in Bogambara  and Badulla Prisons from 1943–45. He funded the break out of the LSSP leaders from prison.  During the war when the LSSP was proscribed and the leaders had fled to India, he kept the underground movement going   using his wealth.  The family estate and graphite mining business which his father had built up brought him the income he needed to engage in full time politics, observed Bandu de Silva.

P.H.William Silva represented Ambalangoda in Parliament from 1947-1960. He won the 1947 election as a member of the Bolshevik Leninist Party of India (BLPI) led by Colvin R de Silva. In 1952 he won as nominee of the merged LSSP and BLPI. William Silva left the LSSP, In 1953  together with a dissenting group and later joined the Viplavakari Lanka Sama Samaja Party    (VLSSP)  where he  was made deputy leader. He won in 1956 on the MEP ticket. He later became Vice-President of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

William Silva was appointed Minister of Industries and Fisheries in the 1956   MEP government (1956–59). His name is forgotten today, but it was under William Silva, that the country saw the beginnings of industrialization in Sri Lanka.

There were no local industries when MEP came to power in 1956, everything was imported. The country was importing everything, from a pin, comb, pencil, biscuit to mammoties, water pumps, agriculture and industrial machinery, reported economists. 

William Silva   decided that in such a situation, the state had to step in and provide a lead in developing industry. He   presented a White paper on Industrial policy. Budget 1957-58 included various tax concessions for industry.

He introduced the State Industrial Corporations Act of 1957. .. Corporations were established under State Industrial Corporations Act 1957, as well as special legislation. These corporations were provided with startup capital in form of grants and loans, confirmed economist Saman Kelegama. 

He saw the state leading with a few basic industries whilst the rest were left to the private sector.The State with its limited resources had to promote private enterprise in industry by providing the infrastructure, credit and other incentives.  We are going to invite people to invest in small scale industries. We are not only going to encourage them, we are going to offer them inducements by way of tax concessions, tariff protection, and so on, said William Silva.

William Silva thought that the state    should undertake   ‘large’ industry, such as cement, steel and machinery.  He drew up three lists of industries.  The first list consisted of items reserved for the state. They included iron and steel, cement, chemicals, fertilizer, salt, mineral sands sugar, power alcohol and rayon. 

The second list had industries which were open to both state and private sectors. They included textiles, tyres and  tubes, tiles, asbestos products, bicycles, industrial alcohol, acetic acid,   sugar, vegetable oil, ceramic ware, glass ware, leather products, plywood, paper, electric bubs, dry cell batteries, accumulators, barbed wire, lumber, agricultural implements, wood working, furniture and cabinetry,  and concrete products. 

There was a third list of 82 industries ranging from motor car assembly to activated charcoal, reserved exclusively for the private sector.  Persons embarking on these industries would receive tax concessions and tariff protection. Meegama observed that this period therefore saw the beginning of a private sector in industry with government encouragement. Industrialists promptly asked the government to stop imports in the goods they are producing.  

The first industrial estate was established at Ekala, with a grant from the US, giving facilities for the small industrialist, so that he could avoid the expenses for land, building and provision of water and electricity. Ekala started to operate in 1960.

The main obstacle to the creation of local industry when the country became independent was the lack of credit. World Bank Survey of 1951 reported that the banks operating in Ceylon did not support local industry. Development of private industry was retarded by inadequate facilities for medium and long-term credit, it said.

 The Agricultural and Credit Corporation (est.  1943)  for the express purpose of Providing such credit had not done so. Those who went there found it impossible to arrange acceptable security. The British and Indian commercial banks present in the country, only lent for    short term import export transactions.

Bank of Ceylon did not help either. Mortgages had to be secured by personal assets of borrowers. Bank of Ceylon did not give loans on new enterprises unless the bank officials knew the person.  The local moneyed class was also not prepared to invest in industry. William Silva observed that when a local person made money, he preferred to buy an estate and get a quick return.

William Silva needed to find funds for the state industries. World Bank had refused to finance local industry when the earlier government had asked them, so this time William turned to Russia. Russia gave money to start the steel factory at Oruwala, tyre factory at Kelaniya, cement factory at Puttalam and the State Flour Milling factory.  A Ceramic Corporation, Leather corporation, Plywood corporation and Caustic soda project were set up by the MEP government later on.

The Mineral Sands Corporation was started by William Silva. William Silva was aware of the value of these mineral sands.  It contains  titanium oxide, rutile,  and zircon, he told Parliament . He was hoping to process them with the limited technical knowledge we possess.

 He  also took note of the Monazite available. There is monazite washed up by the tide. It is there on the shore. We can collect about a thousand tons for nothing, he said.   Having collected it, you separate by magnetic operation, the monazite from the sand. Monazite is radioactive. We will not sell it. We will stockpile pile it, so that we can use it someday in an atomic programme for peaceful purposes said William Silva hopefully.

William Silva set up a National Textiles Corporation and a new spinning and weaving mill at Veyangoda. He encouraged handloom weaving  by supplying yarn at a reasonable price.  He stopped the import of Indian handlooms to give a boost to the local handloom industry. It was on the foundation laid by him that the industry forged ahead and tens of thousands of rural girls found employment or self employment, said Bandu de Silva.

In 1956, Lakshman Rajapaksa, MP for Hambantota and Deputy Minister for Commerce and Trade set up a cotton processing factory at Mirijjawila near Hambantota to encourage cotton cultivators in Hambantota and Monaragala. During this period cotton was a popular crop in the Eastern part of Hambantota and Monaragala, and cotton was cultivated under rain-fed conditions. This factory functioned satisfactorily and it started processing their home grown cotton. It was set on fire  by the JVP in 1971.

William Silva was responsible for the mechanisation of the deep sea fishing industry. This was a far reaching change. Till then deep sea fishing was done in the traditional   35 foot oruwa. This was replaced in 1958, by a locally built 27 ft, three and half ton mechanized boat with a 25 horse power engine, built with Japanese aid. The catch increased, and fish landing doubled in 1964 and trebled in 1969. A cold room was installed at Mutwal.

William Silva he not only gave a boost to the industry but also improved the living conditions of fishermen throughout the island especially by providing them housing, said Bandu de Silva. William Silva also promoted inland fisheries by breeding tilapia and gourami.

William Silva was a close friend and a comrade of Philip Gunawardena. He was   a calm personality and a glutton for sustained hard work like Philip, said Meegama.  In 1959 the two of them resigned from the MEP Cabinet, due to pressure from other Cabinet members. William Silva, usually mild, was angry and showed it in his resignation speech.  He never held cabinet office again .  

In 1970, he became the Ceylon High Commissioner to Canada. He was also Chairman of the Press Council,  1974-77.  Sri Lanka commemorated the hundredth Birth Anniversary of P.H. William de Silva with the issue of a new Stamp and a First Day Cover in 2008. (continued)

S. Akurugoda

I remember the days before 1956, when the official language of the country was English.  Most of the Sinhala schools in villages had classes up to 8^th standard and those who wanted to do higher studies in English had to go to collages in the main cities.   All most all the government officials other than low-ranking workers were English educated.

Things have changed remarkably after the introduction of the Official Language Act, paving the way for the majority community, especially those who lived in villages including myself to move forward.  The Official Language Act of 1956 replaced English as the language of the country with Sinhala.

After the introduction of the 13^th Amendment to the Constitution in 1987, stating the official language of Sri Lanka is Sinhala” while Tamil shall also be an official language,” with English as a link language”, followed by the 16 Amendment in 1988, the status of the Sinhala language maintained for 32 years from 1956 to 1988 as the country’s official language started diminishing gradually while that of English language appears to be regaining slowly but surely.

As per the 16th Amendment made in 1988, Sinhala language, in effect, is no longer the Official Language or the language of administration throughout Sri Lanka. It is only an Official Language, in the sense that it is the language of administration in seven provinces other than the Northern and Eastern Provinces, whereas Tamil can be the language of administration throughout Sri Lanka in addition to its Official Language status, since there is no limitation imposed on its application as in the case of Sinhala. Sinhala is no longer the language of administration throughout Sri Lanka. https://island.lk/16a-removed-sinhala-as-countrys-official-language/

On the other hand, International Schools are popping up everywhere and national languages are no more the medium of their education.  Sinhala, we hear in TV channels (including the national channels) and we read in printed media now is not the Sinhala we learnt but a mixture of Sinhala and English.

Even after 64 years of the replacement of English as the language of administration of the country, the highest court of law of the country is still conducting its investigations and delivering their judgments in English.

It is interesting to note how the Law Collage stopped its medium of legal education, Sinhala, in 2010 after 25years, when the Ministry of Justice was under Rauff Hakeem. Soon after this change, an abnormal number of law applicants got admission to the law collage from a specific community. Most recently, there was an attempt by the current minister to recruit 150 Tamil (Sinhala is not a requirement) speaking lawyers to police department.

 Making the situation worse, Council of Legal Education has issued a Gazette Notification upgrading English, the link language, as the mandatory medium of legal education commencing from 2022, thus preventing the use of Sinhala for the purpose of legal education, anymore, anywhere within the country.  This rule is applicable not only to Law Collage but to all the universities, the Open University and the Kotelawala Defence University.

The Gazette Notification No 2208/13 dated 30/12/ 2020, under the subject Council of Legal Education Ordinance”, the following new rules 28A have been introduced.

28A.   (1)  All courses conducted at the Sri Lanka Law College shall be conducted in the English Medium.          

              (2)  English shall be the mandatory medium of examinations and shall be introduced in the following manner-

  (a) Preliminary Year, commencing from the year 2022– a minimum of three (3) subjects to be answered in the English medium;

(b) Intermediate Year, commencing from the year 2023– a minimum of five (5) subjects to be   answered in the English medium;

   (c) Final Year, commencing from the year 2024 – all subjects to be answered in the English   medium.

(3) The Council may, considering the medium of instruction at any university established or;deemed to be established under the Universities Act, No. 16 of 1978, the Open University of Sri Lanka or the Kotelawala Defence University, at its discretion, grant exemptions to any person who has obtained a Bachelor of Laws Degree (LL.B) from any such university, from the application of this rule until the year 2025.”

The law is a scheme of control backed by the state for the protection of social interests. Unlike engineering and medicine, the law is social engineering and social medicine. Hence it is the responsibility of the state to ensure its free availability to its citizens to understand their rights and duties and to act according to the law.

Once the new rule 28A is in action, imposing further limitation of the use of Sinhala (the language of the 74.9% of the population, according to the 2012 censes) in the legal system throughout the country, the entire legal proceedings including hearing of court cases will be in English violating the constitutional provisions and rights of the ordinary citizens. The Council of Legal Education consists of 14 members chaired by the Chief Justice.  Out of 14members, six are appointed by the Minister of Justice. Thus any legal action against this injustice may not be possible.

By chasing away our 2500 year linguistic heritage to the backyard, what patriotism are we trying to protect? The nation “Sinhala” lives only until its “language” is alive. The day the Sinhala Language becomes dead that would be the funeral date of Sinhala nation!

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

ජනතා බලාපොරොත්තු ඉටුවන පරිදි රජයේ සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘති නියමිත පරිදි කඩිනමින් අවසන් කිරීමට පියවර ගන්නැයි ගරු අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා අද 2021.02.09 දින පැවැසීය.

නාගරික සංවර්ධන හා නිවාස අමාත්‍යංශයේ පැවැති ප්‍රගති සමාලෝචන රැස්වීමට එක්වෙමින් විෂය භාර අමාත්‍යවරයා වශයෙන් අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා මේ බව කියා සිටියේය.

කාලය සමඟ සටනක නිරතවෙමින් වසර පහක කාලයක් සඳහා ජනතාව බලාපොරොත්තු වූ වැඩ කොටස ඉටු කිරීමට අප මහන්සි විය යුතුයැයි නාගරික සංවර්ධන හා නිවාස අමාත්‍යංශ ආයතන ප්‍රධානීන් හමුවේ අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා අවධාරණය කළේය.

ඒ සඳහා අවශ්‍ය ශක්තිය හා පලපුරුද්දක් සහිත රාජ්‍ය නිලධාරී පිරිසක් අප සතුව සිටින බව කී අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා, සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘති සම්බන්ධයෙන් යම් ගැටලුකාරී තත්ත්වයන් ඇත්නම් ඒවා මඟහැරවා දීමට තමන් පෞද්ගලිකවම මැදිහත්වන බව පෙන්වා දුන්නේය.

නාගරික සංවර්ධන, වෙරළ සංරක්ෂණ, අපද්‍රව්‍ය බැහැර කිරීම හා ප්‍රජා පවිත්‍රතා කටයුතු රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යංශයට අයත් ආයතන හා ඒවායේ ක්‍රියාත්මක ව්‍යාපෘතිවල ප්‍රගතිය මෙහිදී අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයාගේ අවධානයට යොමු විය.

සිය රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යංශය යටතේ ආයතන 7ක්  තිබෙන බව පෙන්වා දුන් රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය ආචාර්ය නාලක ගොඩහේවා මහතා සෞභාග්‍ය යේ දැක්ම ප්‍රතිපත්ති මාලාවේ අඩංගු සියලුම වගකීම් ඉටු කිරීම සඳහා සැලසුම් සහගත වැඩපිළිවෙළක් දැනට ක්‍රියාත්මක බව සඳහන් කළේය.

කැලණි ගගෙන් උතුරට තිබෙන ඉඩම් අක්කර 400ක් පමණ සංවර්ධනය කිරීමේ හැකියාව තිබෙන බව ශ්‍රී ලංකා ඉඩම් සංවර්ධනය කිරීමේ සංස්ථාවේ සභාපති මේජර් ජෙනරාල් (විශ්‍රාමික) එම්.ආර්.ඩබ්ලිව් ද සොයිසා මහතා පෙන්වා දුන්නේය.

බේරෙ වැව පිරිසිදු කිරීම අඛණ්ඩව ක්‍රියාත්මක අතර එය අවශ්‍ය තත්ත්වයට ගෙන ඒමේ ප්‍රධාන ගැටලුව වී ඇත්තේ කොළඹ මහ නගර සභාවේ කසළ මුදා හැරීමේ ක්‍රියාවලිය යැයි ද හෙතෙම පැවසීය.

ප්‍රධාන සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘතිවලට අමතරව ශ්‍රී ලංකා ඉඩම් සංවර්ධනය කිරීමේ සංස්ථාව ඔස්සේ දිස්ත්‍රික්ක තුනක කුඩා වැව් ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණය කිරීම සහ කොළඹ පවතින ආකාරයේම ව්‍යායාම මන්ත්‍රීරු සහ ළමා උද්‍යාන සහිත උද්‍යාන 21ක් දිස්ත්‍රික් 21ක් තුළ ස්ථාපිත කිරීමට නියමිතව ඇත.

අනවසර ඉදිකිරීම් හා ගොඩකිරීම් සිදුවන ස්ථානවලට පළාත් පාලන ආයතනවල නිර්දේශ මත විදුලිය හා ජලය ලබාදීම ගැටලුවක් බව මෙහිදී හෙළිදරව් වූයේය. අනවසර ඉදිකිරීම් හා ගොඩකිරීම් කරන පුද්ගලයන්ව අත්අඩංගුවට ගැනීම සඳහා බලාත්මකවන නව නීති රෙගුලාසි නොබෝදිනකින් ප්‍රසිද්ධියට පත් කිරීමට නියමිතව ඇති බව මෙහිදී සඳහන් විය.

මේ අතර වෙරළ ඛාදනය වැළැක්වීම සඳහා රට පුරා වෙරළ වැඩබිම් 22ක් ස්ථාපිත කර ඇත. ඉන් පොතුවිල්, අරුගම්බේ වෙරළ ඛාදනයට සංචාරක කර්මාන්තය ගැන සළකා බලා මෘදු විසඳුමක් දීමට වෙරළ සංරක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව පියවර ගනිමින් සිටියි. ඊට අමතරව එම දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව යටතේ යාපනය මනල්කාඩු වැලි කදු වැටිය රක්ෂිත ප්‍රදේශයක් ලෙස ආරක්ෂා කිරීමට නියමිතය.

ප්‍රධාන මාර්ගවල සිට ජනතාවට වෙරළට සමීපවීමට තිබෙන මාර්ග අවහිරවීම වැළැක්වීමට පියවර ගන්නැයි අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා මෙහිදී නිලධාරීන්ට උපදෙස් දුන්නේය. එසේම වෙරළ කලාපයේ ඉදිවන අනවසර ඉදිකිරීම් ඉවත් කිරීමට කටයුතු කරන්නැයි අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා නිලධාරීන්ට උපදෙස් දුන්නේය.

අනුරාධපුරය ඇතුලු ස්ථාන කිහිපයක පසුගිය ආණඩු සමයේ සිට ක්‍රියාත්මක ණය ආධාර සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘති කිහිපයක් ආරම්භ කිරීමටත් පෙර එම කාර්ය මණ්ඩල නඩත්තු කිරීමට රුපියල් මිලියන ගණන් මුදල් වැය කිරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා මෙහිදී අවධානය යොමු කළේය.

එම ව්‍යාපෘති සදහා වැය කරන්නේ රටේ මුදල් නිසා ඒවා නාස්තිවීම වැළැක්වීමට සියලුදෙනාගේ අවධානය යොමු විය යුතු යැයි රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය නාලක ගොඩහේවා මහතා ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ නිලධාරීන්ගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටියේය.

උතුරු හා නැගෙනහිර පළාත්වල නැවත පදිංචිවීම් ඉතා සීඝ්‍රයෙන් ඉහළ ගොස් ඇතැයි මෙහිදී සඳහන් විය. ඒ අනුව එම පදිංචිවීම් අක්‍රමත්බව නිලධාරීන් පෙන්වා දුන්නේය. ඒවා විධිමත් කිරීමට පියවර ගන්නැයි අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා පැවැසීය.

ලෝක බැංකු ව්‍යාපෘති යටතේ ක්‍රියාත්මක කොළඹ මෙට්‍රො ව්‍යාපෘති 35න් 26ක් මේ වනවිට අවසන් වී තිබේ. ඉතිරි ව්‍යාපෘති 9 මේ වසර අවසන් වීමට පෙර නිමා කිරීමට නියමිතය. එසේම එම ව්‍යාපෘති සඳහා ඉදිරියේ දී දේශීය ඉංජිනේරුවන්ගේ දැනුම යොදා ගැනීමට ද මෙහිදී තීරණය විය.

මෙට්‍රො මාර්ග පද්ධතිය සක්‍රිය කිරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් ද අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා මෙහිදී අවධානය යොමු කළේය. 2019 වනවිට කොළඹ මගී බස් රථවල සාමාන්‍ය වේගය පැයට කිලෝමීටර් 10-15 අතරට පැමිණ ඇති බවත් 2025 වනවිට එම වේගය පැයට කිලෝමීටර් 4-5 දක්වා අඩුවන බවත්, නිලධාරීන් මෙහි දී පැහැදිලි කළේය.

මෙම තත්ත්වය මඟ හැරීම සඳහා  කොළඹට ප්‍රවිශ්ඨ වීම ආවරණය වන පරිදි රාගම, මොරටුව, මාකුඹුර, සහ කඩවත ඔස්සේ ආරම්භ වන මෙට්‍රො දුම්රිය හඳුන්වාදීම තුළින් මෝටර් රථ වාහන තදබදය හේතුවෙන් දිනකට අහිමිවන රුපියල් මිලියන 1000ක පමණ මුදල රුපියල් මිලිය 450 දක්වා අඩුකර ගත හැකි බව මෙහිදී නිලධාරීන් විසින් පැහැදිලි කරන ලදී.  ඒ අනුව වසර 4ක් තුළ ක්‍රියාත්මක කළ හැකි මෙම ව්‍යාපෘතිය පිළිබඳව අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමාගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන් මුදල් අමාත්‍යංශයේ දී ඉදිරියේ දී සාකච්ඡාවක් පවත්වා තීරණයක් ගැනීමට නියමිතය.

මෙම අවස්ථාවට නාගරික සංවර්ධන, වෙරළ සංරක්ෂණ, අපද්‍රව්‍ය බැහැර කිරීම හා ප්‍රජා පවිත්‍රතා කටයුතු රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය නාලක ගොඩහේවා, නාගරික සංවර්ධන හා නිවාස අමාත්‍යංශ ලේකම් සිරිනිමල් පෙරේරා, අතිරේක ලේකම් ආචාර්ය සුදත් යාලෙගම, අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය කාර්ය මණ්ඩල ප්‍රධානී යෝෂිත රාජපක්ෂ මහත්වරු ඇතුළු අමාත්‍යංශයේ සියලු ආයතන ප්‍රධානීන් හා උසස් නිලධාරින් රැසක් එක්ව සිටියහ.

Senaka Weeraratna

Britain was colonizing, enslaving Asian people before WW2. The British Empire ruled South Asia for 180 years. Though Japan lost WW2, however it was the consequence of Japan’s entry to war in December 1941 with its attack on Pearl Harbour that all S E Asian countries and  South Asian countries achieved their long hoped for independence from the Western colonial powers within 15 years after the end of the War. 

As the famous British historian Arnold Toynbee said:

Japan put an end to West’s colonialism in Asia once and for all” 

On November 14, 2018, a meeting was held  on the premises of the Japanese Parliament (Diet) Building in Tokyo, Japan to commemorate the 100^th Anniversary of Japan’s Proposal for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, sponsored by the Japanese Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact. 

   Three speakers made presentations at this meeting: Mr. Senaka Weeraratna, Attorney at Law, from Sri Lanka, Mr. Kase Hideaki, Foreign Affairs commentator and President of the Society, and Dr. Yamashita Eiji, Professor Emeritus, Osaka City University.

   Mr. Senaka Weeraratna was the keynote speaker at this meeting.  He stated: 

I am here today not only to share my thoughts on what needs to be done to rectify a blatant historical injustice done to the leaders and people of Japan in the aftermath of the Second World War, through manipulation of the media and the writing of history, but also to fulfill a long overdue duty, as a Buddhist Sinhalese from Sri Lanka, as a representative of South Asia and a fellow Asian, to thank Japan for setting in motion a phenomenal process that brought about the liberation of Asia from Western colonial domination.” 

   His entire speech is here:

 URL: http://www.sdh-fact.com/essay-article/1275/

PDF: http://www.sdh-fact.com/CL/Senakas-Speech.pdf

The video footage of the concluding segment of his talk has been uploaded on to the YouTube channel. 

Here he is seen sharing some perspectives on the fairness and the impartiality of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE) (Tokyo Trial) that was established in 1946 to try Japanese leaders for alleged war crimes in the second world war. 

YouTube Channel link below

Senaka Weeraratna

ජාතික උරුම,ප්‍රාසාංග කලා හා
ග්‍රාමීය කලා ශිල්පි ප්‍රවර්ධන කටයුතු රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යංශය.

පුරාවිද්‍යාව සහ පුරාවිද්‍යාත්මක ස්ථාන පිළිබඳව යාපනයේ ජීවත්වන ජනයා තුළ වැරදි මතයක් ගෙන යාමට සමහර ද්‍රවිඩ දේශපාලඥයින් කටයුතු කරනවා යැයි යාපනය සිවිල් සංවිධාන කේන්ද්‍රයේ කැඳවුම්කරු අරුන් සිද්ධාර්ත් මහතා පවසයි.
පුරාවිද්‍යාවට මුවා වී රජයේ හමුදාවන් දෙමළ ජනතාවගේ ඉඩම් බලහත්කාරයෙන් අත්පත් කර ගැනීමට කටයුතු කරන බවටද අසත්‍ය මත ප්‍රචාරය කිරීමකද ඔවුන් නියැලෙන බව අරුන් මහතා වැඩිදුරටත් සඳහන් කරයි.
අරුන් මහතා මේ බව සඳහන් කළේ ජාතික උරුම, ප්‍රාසංග කලා හා ග්‍රාමීය කලා ශිල්පී ප්‍රවර්ධන කටයුතු රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය විදුර වික්‍රමනායක මහතා අතර අද (08) අමාත්‍යංශයේදී පැවැති හමුවකදීය
යාපනය ප්‍රදේශයට පැමිණ මෙසේ විවිධ මත ගෙන යන පාර්ශවයන් හමුවී ඔවුන් සමඟ සාකච්ඡා කර සත්‍යතාව පැහැදිලි කරන මෙන් එහිදී අරුන් මහතා අමාත්‍යවරයාගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටියේ ය.
අරුන් මහතාගේ ඉල්ලීමට සතුට පළකළ අමාත්‍යවරයා කඩිනමින් යාපනයට පැමිණ අදාළ පාර්ශවයන් හා සාකච්ඡා කිරීමට කටයුතු කරන බව එහිදී සඳහන් කළේය. මෙම අවස්ථාවට කොළඹ ත්‍රීවීල් රියදුරන්ගේ සංගමයේ සභාපති ලලිත් ධර්මසේකර මහතා ද සහභාගී වී සිටියේය.
මේ පිළිබ`දව ඔබතුමාගේ මාධ්‍ය මගින් ජනතාව දැනුවත් කරන මෙන් කාරුණිකව ඉල්ලා සිටිමු.

කංචක අසේල ගාල්ලගේ
මාධ්‍ය ලේකම්,
ජාතික උරුම,ප්‍රාසාංග කලා හා
ග්‍රාමීය කලා ශිල්පි ප්‍රවර්ධන කටයුතු රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යංශය.

Daily Excelsior,

Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan’s (ISIL-K) new leader Shihab al-Muhajir heads its operations in India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and is said to have had an earlier affiliation with the dreaded Haqqani Network.

The 12th report of the Secretary-General on the threat posed by ISIL to international peace and security and the range of United Nations efforts in support of member states in countering the threat said that ISIL-K currently has 1,000-2,200 fighters in Afghanistan spread across several provinces. Daily Excelsior, February 5, 2021.

Courtesy BBC

International experts investigating the origins of Covid-19 have all but dismissed a theory that the virus came from a laboratory in China.

Peter Ben Embarek, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) mission, said it was “extremely unlikely” that the virus leaked from a lab in the city of Wuhan.

He said more work was needed to identify the source of the virus.

The investigation could now focus on South East Asia, one expert said.

The WHO team are currently at the end of their investigation mission.

Wuhan, in China’s central Hubei province, is the first place in the world that the virus was detected in 2019. Since then, more than 106 million cases and 2.3 million deaths have been reported worldwide.

Dr Embarek told a press conference the investigation had uncovered new information but had not dramatically changed the picture of the outbreak.

Experts believe the virus is likely to have originated in animals before spreading to humans, but they are not sure how.

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Dr Embarek said work to identify the origins of Covid-19 pointed to a “natural reservoir” in bats, but it was unlikely that this happened in Wuhan.

He said identifying the animal pathway remained a “work in progress”, but that it was “most likely” to have crossed over to humans from an intermediary species.

The experts also said there was “no indication” that the virus was circulating in Wuhan before the first official cases were recorded there in December 2019.

Liang Wannian, an expert with China’s Health Commission, said Covid-19 could have been in other regions before it was detected in Wuhan.

The team called for further investigation into the possibility of “cold chain” transmission, referring to the transport and trade of frozen food.

Dr Peter Daszak, a member of the WHO team, said the focus on where the origins that led to Covid-19 might be, could be shifted to South East Asia.

“We’ve done a lot of work in China and if you map that back it starts to point towards the border and we know that there is very little surveillance on the other side in the whole region of South East Asia,” he told the BBC’s John Sudworth in Wuhan.

“China is a very big place and South East Asia is a very big place. The supply chains to the Huanan seafood market were extensive, they were coming in from other countries, they were coming in from various parts of China, so to really trace that back it’s going to take some work.”

He added that the focus should now be on those supply chains.

The WHO mission began in January, following months of negotiations with Beijing. The experts’ visit was closely-monitored by the Chinese authorities.

Complicated task

It was unlikely that the expert group, in its politically-charged mission, would be able to pinpoint the source of the pandemic in China a year after it began. But, after visiting the Wuhan Institute of Virology, they have closed the lid on a controversial theory that coronavirus came from a lab leak or was made by scientists.

Their search for clues also included a visit to the now-famous wet market in Huanan – selling fish, meat and live wild animals – that was linked to some of the first human cases.

The team say the virus may have jumped from animals to humans, but they don’t have the proof yet.

Possible carriers include bats and pangolins, but tests so far have yet to find convincing evidence for this. Another line of investigation is whether the virus could have spread through imported frozen food. The hunt for the origin will continue.

What was the laboratory theory?

Speculation about the Wuhan Institute of Virology – one of China’s top virus research labs – began last year and was propagated by former US President Donald Trump.

In April, US state department cables came to light suggesting that embassy officials were worried about biosecurity there.

The office of the US national intelligence director said at the time that while the virus was not man-made or genetically modified, officials were investigating whether the outbreak began through contact with animals or through a laboratory accident.

But Dr Embarek said a visit to the laboratory during the mission showed it was “very unlikely” that anything could have leaked out.

He said the laboratory theory was “not in the hypotheses that we will suggest for future studies”.

Courtesy BBC

Travellers having to stay in quarantine hotels in England will be charged £1,750 for their stay, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced.

The measures, which come into force on Monday, apply to UK and Irish residents returning from 33 red list countries.

Those who fail to quarantine in a government-sanctioned hotel for 10 days face fines of up to £10,000.

Meanwhile, all travellers arriving into Scotland from abroad by air will have to go into quarantine hotels.

People travelling from red list countries to Wales and Northern Ireland will be required to book and pay for quarantine in England, as neither destination currently has any direct international flights.

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Travellers arriving into England who lie on their passenger locator forms about visiting a red list country face a fine of £10,000 or up to 10 years in jail.

It comes as the UK reported another 12,364 confirmed cases of coronavirus and a further 1,052 deaths within 28 days of a positive test – bringing that total to 113,850. More than 12.6 million people have received a first dose of the vaccine.

Delivering a statement in the Commons, Mr Hancock said 16 hotels have been contracted for the programme, with 4,600 rooms secured.

The health secretary also confirmed a new “enhanced testing” regime for all travellers arriving into the UK would begin on Monday, with two tests required during the quarantine process.

They will be required to get a test on days two and eight of their 10-day quarantine period, whether they are isolating at home or in a hotel. The tests, conducted by NHS Test and Trace, will cost travellers £210.

“People who flout these rules are putting us all at risk,” the health secretary told MPs.

Airlines and travel companies will be legally required to make sure travellers have signed up for the new measures before they depart, with fines for companies and passengers if they fail to comply, he said.

The penalties include a £1,000 fine for travellers who fail to take mandatory tests and a £2,000 fine for failing to take the second mandatory test – along with a 14-day extension to quarantine.

Failing to quarantine in a designated hotel carries a fine of between £5,000 and £10,000.

Asked when the travel rules would be relaxed, Mr Hancock said: “We want to exit from this into a system of safe international travel as soon as practicable and as soon as is safe.”

Passengers required to stay in a quarantine hotel will need to reserve a room online in advance using a booking system that opens on Thursday.

The £1,750 fee for an individual includes the hotel, the cost of transport and testing. The additional rate for one extra adult or a child aged over 12 is £650, and for a child aged five to 12 it is £325.

These travellers will only be allowed to enter the UK through a “small number of ports that currently account for the vast majority of passenger arrivals”, Mr Hancock added.

Responding to Mr Hancock’s statement, Labour’s shadow health secretary said the public wanted the government to “go further” on border quarantine measures.

Jonathan Ashworth told the Commons: “Our first line of defence is surely to do everything we can to stop (new variants) arising in the first place. That means securing our borders to isolate new variants as they come in.

“He’s announced a detailed package today but he hasn’t announced comprehensive quarantine controls at the borders.”

Mr Hancock later said the red list was kept “under review”.

Announcing Scotland’s tougher measures, which apply to arrivals from all countries, Scottish Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said the “targeted, reactive approach” of the UK government was “no longer sufficient” to deal with the threat from coronavirus.

උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස්

ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණ සහ අමාත්‍ය විමල් වීරවංශ මහතා අතර ඇතිවී තිබෙන මතභේදාත්මක තත්වය සම්බන්ධයෙන් ශ‍්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණේ නායක අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා අදහස් පළ කරයි.

ඔහු සඳහන් කරන්නේ තමන් ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණේ නායකත්වයෙන් ඉවත් කළ යුතු බවක් විමල් වීවරංශ මහතා ප්‍රකාශ කල බවක් තමන් නොදන්නා බවයි.

අගමැතිවරයා මේ බව සදහන් කර ඇත්තේ ආණ්ඩු පක්ෂ නායකයින්ගේ රැස්වීම අද පස්වරුවේ රැස් වූ අවස්ථාවේදීය.

එම හමුව සඳහා සහභාගි වූ ජාතික නිදහස් පෙරමුණේ නායක අමාත්‍ය විමල් වීරවංශ මහතා පවසා ඇත්තේ තමන් පුවත්පතට කළ ප්‍රකාශයෙන් අදහස් කළේ මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා පක්‍ෂ නායකත්වයෙන් ඉවත් කිරීමක් ගැන නොව ජනාධිපතිතුමන් දේශපාලන පක්‍ෂ ව්‍යුහයක් තුල නොමැතිවීමෙන් ආණ්ඩුවේ මන්ත්‍රීවරුන් සහ ජනාධිපති අතර සමීප සම්බන්ධතාවයක් ගොඩ නොනැගෙන බවයි. එනිසා ජනාධිපතිටද පක්‍ෂය තුල ඉහල තනතුරක් දිය යුතු යයි තමන් අදහස් පල කල බවද ඔහු සදහන් කර ඇත.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා එහිදී සඳහන් කර ඇත්තේ තමන් එය තේරුම් ගත් බවත් තමන් ඉවත් කිරීමක් කල යුතු බවට සඳහනක් තමන් නොදුටු බවත්ය.

කෙසේ වෙතත් මෙම ගැටුම තවදුරටත් අරන් යා යුතු නැති බවද අමාත්‍යවරයා පෙන්වා දී ඇත.

උණුසුම් තත්වයක් ඇතිවෙතැයි අනුමාන කර තිබූ එම පක්ෂ නායක රැස්වීම එවන් තත්වයක් ඇතිව නැත.

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lanka has reported 05 more coronavirus related deaths, the Director-General of Health Services confirmed today (February 09).

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

The new deaths bring the number of COVID-19 related deaths witnessed in Sri Lanka to 370 in total.

01. The deceased is a 45-year-old female from Kapuliyadda. She died on 08.02.2021 while undergoing treatments at Theldeniya Hospital. The cause of death is mentioned as acute COVID-19 pneumonia, bronchitis, and high blood pressure.

02. The deceased is an 81year old male from Moratuwa. He died on 09.02.2021 while undergoing treatments at Kotalawala Defense Hospital. The cause of death is mentioned as acute kidney disease and blood poisoning due to COVID-19 pneumonia.

03. The deceased is a 56-year-old male from Ketawala. He was diagnosed as infected with the COVID-19 virus and transferred from National Hospital Kandy to the Base Hospital Homagama where he died on 02.02.2021. The cause of death is mentioned as COVID-19 pneumonia.

04. The deceased is a 73-year-old male from Kurunegala. He died on 08.02.2021 while undergoing treatments at District Hospital Narammala. The cause of death is mentioned as COVID-19 pneumonia and acute asthma.

05. The deceased is a 74-year-old female from Anuradhapura. She died on 06.02.2021 on admission to the General Hospital Colombo. The cause of death is mentioned as COVID-19 pneumonia and acute diabetes and high blood pressure.

Courtesy  Hiru News 

Army Commander General Shavendra Silva stated that another 404 have tested postive for coronavirus infection.

The total for the day has exceeded 900 with this report. Today 975 cases have been reported so far. 

This is the first time that the daily count has increased beyond 900.

Courtesy Adaderana

The Attorney General has informed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) that the Criminal Investigations and the material submitted in the respect of the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks are incomplete.

Attorney General Dappula de Livera has directed IGP C. D. Wickramaratne to conduct further investigations on the matter.

He has further instructed the IGP to submit the material called for without a delay, says Attorney General’s Coordinating Officer State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne.

By M D P DISSANAYAKE

There are several  high profile cases  involving current and former  politicians scheduled to be heard  beginning this month. 

In addition, there are also several Presidential/Prime Ministerial Commissions findings  where public looking forward  for punishment for wrongdoers and relief for aggrieved parties. 

In the past, the recommendations of the Commissions appointed by the Prime Minister and or President  have not been implemented in full.   In fact these reports are not available in the public domain. The current President Gotabaya Rajapakse has committed to dislodge the trend and implement the recommendations.

There are several reports of such Commissions, requiring further action.   The Easter Good Friday Commission, Bond Scam, Commission report on misuse of Rs 11 billion from the Central Cultural Fund were few examples of most recently concluded cases, pending further action.

Other interesting cases involve current and  former Ministers  on alleged White Van fabrication, Swiss Embassy fiasco, bribery case for accepting a gratification for  leasing a luxury penthouse at Monarch Housing Complex at Colpetty, bribery case against a mansion built in Kaduwela for Rs 70 million, thus  making some politicians  panicking ahead of court case hearings.

Using Ranjan Ramanayake case, the politicians are likely to press ahead to create a precedent through the Speaker, in spite of the fact the judgement was delivered by the Supreme Court, with the ulterior motive that future politicians if found guilty  could access the loophole for their advantage.

The public demand punishment for politicians alike if they are guilty. The general public has the utmost confidence in the current regime to ensure clean and independent system of governance. 

ආචාර්ය වරුණ චන්ද්‍රකීර්ති

බහුතරයකට පිළිගත හැකි පොදු සංස්කෘතික අරමුණක් හඳුනා නො ගත් කල ජාතියක ශක්තිය රාජ්‍යයේ බලය වෙනුවෙන් ගොනු කළ නො හැකි ය. බෙලහීන වූ රාජ්‍යයකට කිසිදු සමාජ – ආර්ථික ඉලක්කයක් සාක්‍ෂාත් කරගත හැකි නොවේ. ශ්‍රී ලංකා රාජ්‍යයේ බලය ගොඩ නැගුණේ බුද්ධ ශාසනයේ චිරස්ථිතිය” නම් පොදු සංස්කෘතික අරමුණ මුල් කරගෙන ය.

මේ උදෙසා සිංහලයන් විසින් බුද්ධ ශාසනයේ චිරස්ථිතිය” යන සංස්කෘතික අරමුණ තෝරා ගත්තේ ඇයි? මෙම කාර්යය වෙනුවෙන් සිංහල භාෂාව සුරැකීම” වැනි සංස්කෘතික අරමුණක් තෝරා ගත නො හැකි ද? සිංහල වෙදකම, වාරි තාක්‍ෂණය හෝ තමන්ට අනන්‍ය වූ වෙනත් කාරණයක් හෝ මේ අරභයා අරමුණු කරගත නො හැකි ද? අපි එම කාරණය විමසා බලමු.

සිංහල යනු පුරාතනයේ සිට පැවත එන, අදහස් ප්‍රකාශනය අතින් පොහොසත් භාෂාවකි. තමන් අයත් යැයි වර්ග කෙරී ඇති ඉන්දු – ආර්ය භාෂා පවුලෙහි දක්නට නැති විශේෂිත ලක්‍ෂණවලින් ද සිංහල භාෂාව පෝෂිත ය. එය හුදෙක් ඇ-කාරයේ භාවිතය ඉක්මවා යන්නකි. උක්තාඛ්‍යාත පද රිසි පරිදි අත් හැර සන්දර්භය තුළ අර්ථ නැංවෙන පරිදි ව්‍යවහාර කළ හැකි වීම, ක්‍රියා සන්ධානයක් නැතිව හැසිරවීමේ හැකියාව, ගණනයේ දී සංඛ්‍යාවට පූර්වයෙන් ඒකකය යෙදීම යනාදී විශේෂතා විශාල ප්‍රමාණයක් සිංහල භාෂාව සතු ය.

අනන්‍ය බව, දිගු ඉතිහාසයක් තිබීම, අදහස් ප්‍රකාශනයේ පොහොසත් බව සහ ඉහතින් දැක් වූ විශේෂතාවලින් අනූන වීම යන කරුණු සළකා එහි උරුමක්කරුවන් වශයෙන් අපි සිංහල භාෂාව පෝෂණය කර රැක ගැනීමට කැපවිය යුතු වෙමු. මෙම කාර්යය සඳහා අවශ්‍ය භාෂාප්‍රේමීත්වය සිංහලයන් තුළ නො අඩුව තිබේ. එහෙයින් මෙම උරුමය පිළිබඳව ආඩම්බර වන අතර ම එය රැක ගැනීම වෙනුවෙන් විවිධ වූ ආයතන සහ ව්‍යාපාර මෙහෙයවීමට ද අපි කටයුතු කරමු.

කෙසේ වුව ද, භාෂාවක් යනු වෙනස් වෙමින් රැකෙන්නකි. භාෂාවක් ගතික ය. මෙම ගතිකත්වය සිංහල භාෂාවට ද අදාළ වේ. අප අද වහරන්නේ මෙයට වසර සියයකට පෙර වැහැරූ සිංහල නොවේ. පද පිළිවෙළ සම්බන්ධයෙන් පවා දැඩි ව්‍යාකරණ බැඳීම් නැති බැවින් සිංහල භාෂාව ඉතා නිදහස් ලෙසින් හැසිරවිය හැකිය. එහෙයින් ගතිකත්වය අතින් සිංහල අනෙකුත් භාෂාවලට ඉදිරියෙන් සිටියි. මෙවැනි භාෂාවක් සුරැකීම අරමුණු ලෙස ගෙන රාජ්‍ය බලය තහවුරු කළ නො හැකි ය.

සිංහල වෙදකම යනු එක ම ගුරු කුලයක් තුළ පවා වෙනස්කම් ඇතිව ක්‍රියාත්මක වන්නකි. පිය – පුතු වෙදකම් අතර පවා වෙනස්කම් පවතී. එය විසින් උරුම කරගත් අනන්‍ය බව තුළ මෙ කී විවිධත්වය ද පවතියි. එහෙයින් මුළු රටට ම පොදු දැනුමක් ලෙසින් එය සැළකිය නො හැකි ය.

අප උරුම කරගත් වාරි තාක්‍ෂණය ද ප්‍රදේශයෙන් ප්‍රදේශයට වෙනස් එකකි. නුවර කලාවියේ සහ සත්කෝරළයේ පවත්නා වාර්මාර්ග ක්‍රම ඌව වෙල්ලස්ස ප්‍රදේශවල භාවිතා නො කෙරෙයි. නිරිතදිග තෙත් කලාපය තුළ භාවිතා කෙරුණේ ඒවාට හාත්පසින් ම වෙනස් වාරි තාක්‍ෂණයකි.

එ සේ නම්, ඉහත කී ආකාරයේ විවිධ වූ වෙනස්කම් පවතින අතර ම ඉහළ ගතිකත්වයක් ඇති භාෂාවක් ව්‍යවහාර කරන සිංහලයන් හට එක්විය හැක්කේ කිනම් පොදු අරමුණක් වෙනුවෙන් ද? ඒ අරභයා තෝරා ගන්නා අරමුණ මුළු ජාතියට ම පොදු වූ එකක් විය යුතු ය. එ මෙන් ම, එය කාලයත් සමඟ වේගයෙන් වෙනස් නොවන්නක් ද විය යුතු ය.

මෙ කී අවශ්‍යතා සියල්ල සම්පූර්ණ කළ හැකි එක ම සංස්ථාව වනුයේ බුද්ධ ශාසනය ය. කවර ආකාරයක නිකාය බෙදීම් තිබුණ ද පොදු බුද්ධ ශාසනයක් පිළිබඳ ඉතා පැහැදිළි අදහසක් අප තුළ වෙයි. මෙම සංස්කෘතික සංස්ථාව පිළිබඳ අදහස ගමින් ගමට, ප්‍රදේශයෙන් ප්‍රදේශයට වෙනස් වන්නක් නොවේ. එ මෙන් ම, එ කී අදහස කාලයත් සමඟ වේගයෙන් වෙනස් නොවේ. යම් ආකාරයකින් වෙනස් වන්නේ නම් හෝ වෙනස්වීමේ බලපෑමකට ලක්වන්නේ නම් එය වැළැක්වීම උදෙසා ද නිශ්චිත වැඩපිළිවෙළක් තිබි යුතු ය. සිංහලයන් විසින් චිරස්ථිතිය” යන කාර්යය භාවිතයට ගෙන එනු ලැබුවේ ඒ වෙනුවෙනි.

ගමින් ගමට, ප්‍රදේශයෙන් ප්‍රදේශයට පමණක් නොව කාලය සමඟ ද වෙනස්වීමට ඉඩ නො දී බුද්ධ ශාසනය ආරක්‍ෂා කරගත යුතු ය. වෙනසක් වෙනවා නම් සිදුවිය යුත්තේ ශාසනය පෝෂණය කිරීමේ අර්ථයෙන් පමණකි. එහෙයින් බුද්ධ ශාසනය සුරක්‍ෂිත කොට පෝෂණය කිරීම” යන පොදු සංස්කෘතික අරමුණ තුළ ජාතිය ගොනු කිරීමට සිංහලයෝ කටයුතු කළහ. ඒ ඔස්සේ ජාතියට ඒකාත්මීයභාවයක් ලබාදීමට ඔවුහු සමත් වූහ. එ හෙයින් ශ්‍රී ලංකා රාජ්‍යයේ බලය තහවුරු කිරීම උදෙසා මෙම පොදු ජාතික අරමුණ අත්‍යවශ්‍ය බව අපි තේරුම් ගනිමු.

ආචාර්ය වරුණ චන්ද්‍රකීර්ති

ලංකා ගුරු සේවා සංගමය

ගරු අධ්‍යාපන අමාත්‍ය,
ජී.එල්. පීරිස් මහතා,
අධ්‍යාපන අමාත්‍යංශය,
ඉසුරුපාය,
බත්තරමුල්ල.

අමාත්‍යතුමනි,
ආණ්ඩුව, Corvid-19 වසංගතයට මුවා වී අ.පො.ස. සා/පෙළ සෞන්දර්යය
ප්‍රායෝගික පරීක්ෂණ අතහැර දැමීමට ගත් තීරණය සම්බන්ධවයි.

ක‍දඩසා-19 වාතාවරණය හමුවේ අ.පො.ස. සා/පෙළ 2020 විභාගයේ සෞන්දර්යය විෂයන් ස`දහා වන ප්‍රායෝගික පරික්ෂණ නොපවත්වා පාසල් පාදක තක්සේරුකරණ ලකුණු ප්‍රමිතිකරණය කොට ප්‍රායෝගික පරීක්ෂණ ලකුණු වශයෙන් යොදා ගන්නා ලෙස අංක RD/16/02/5BA/OL/2020හා 2021.02.05 දිනැතිව විභාග කොමසාරිස් විසින් පළාත් හා කලාප අධ්‍යක‍ෂවරුන්ට පිටපත් සහිතව සියලූම විදුහල්පතිවරුන්ට දන්වා ඇති ලිපිය සම්බන්ධව විරෝධය පළ කරන ලංකා ගුරු සේවා සංගමය, පෙර වර්ෂවල පරිදි අදාළ ප්‍රායෝගික පරීක්ෂණ මෙවර ද පැවැත්වීමට පියවර ගන්නා ලෙස ඉතා වගකීමෙන් යුතුව ඉල්ලා සිටිමු.

02ග ක‍දඩසා-19 වසංගතයෙහි දැඩි අවදානමක් පැවති අවස්ථාවකදී පවා විභාග දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව අ.පො.ස. උ/පෙළ විභාගයේ අදාළ ප්‍රායෝගික පරීක්ෂණ පැවත්විණි. එහිදී ආසාධිතව සිටි සිසුන්ට පවා විභාගයට පෙනී සිටීමට අවස්ථාව සලසා දී තිබු අතර ගුරුවරුන් ඇතු`ඵ විභාග කාර්ය මණ්ඩල කැපවීම මත ඔවුන් සාර්ථකව විභාගයට පෙනී සිටී බව පිළිගත යුතුව ඇත.

03ග එවැනි වටපිටාවක් තුළ මෙවර පැවැත්වීමට නියමිත 2020 අ.පො.ස. සා/පෙළ විභාගයේ සෞන්දර්යය විෂයන්හි ප්‍රායෝගික පරීක්ෂණ පමණක් මේ ආකාරයට ක‍දඩසා-19 වසංගත අවදානමට මුවා වී නතර කිරීමටත් ඒ සදහා වලංගුභාවයෙන් හා විශ්වාසනීයත්වයෙන් තොර එමෙන්ම පුද්ගලබද්ධ නිතරම ක්ෂේත්‍රයේ විවේචනයට ලක් වන පාසල් පාදක ඇගයීම් වැනි ලකුණක් ගණනය කිරීමට උපදෙස් දීමත් 2 වන හා 3 වන වර විභාගයට පෙනී සිටින සිසුන්ගේ මෙම ඇගයීම් ලකුණු පිළිබදව අදාළ ලිපියෙහි නිසි උපදෙස් නොවීම ගැට`ඵ සහගත වීමත් කෙරෙහි අවධානය යොමු කරන විට මෙම තීරණය විභාග දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවෙහි අභිමතය පරිදි සිදු වන්නක් නොව ආණ්ඩුවේ පටු උවමනාවක් මත සිදු වන බලපෑමක ප්‍රතිඵලයක් බව මේ වනවිට පැහැදිලි කරුණකි.

04ග එහිදී විශේෂයෙන් මෙරට පාසල් අධ්‍යාපනය තුළ අනිවාර්ය විෂයන්ව පැවති සෞන්දර්යය විෂයන්, එකිනෙකට නොගැලපෙන තවත් විෂයන් ගණනාවක් තුළ බහා තෝරා ගැනීමට සලස්වා ඇති අතර අ.පො.ස. උ/පෙළ විෂය ධාරාව තුළ ද ජීව විද්‍යාව/භෞතික විද්‍යාව/වානිජ වැනි විෂය ධාරාවක් ලෙස වෙනම සංවර්ධනය වීම වළක්වා දිගින් දිගටම සිදු කරන ලද කප්පාදු කිරීම් වල තවත් එක් දිගුවක් ලෙස මෙම තීරණය ද ගෙන ඇති බව තහවුරු කළ හැකි කරුණු රැසක් අප සතුව ඇත.

05ග පාසල් අධ්‍යාපනය තුළ හ`දුන්වා දී ඇති සෞන්දර්යය විෂයන් අනාගත පරපුරක මානව දයාවන්ගෙන් පිරිපුන් අධ්‍යාත්මික හා පෞර්ෂ සංවර්ධනයටත් ඛෙහෙවින් රුකුලක් වු අතර එහි විෂය කරුණු හා ප්‍රායෝගික දක‍ෂතාවයන් යනු ගසට පොත්ත ලෙස වෙන් කර නොහැකි වුවකි. එවැනි විෂය ධාරාවක් කිසිසේත් පිළිගත නොහැකි කරුණක් මත කිසිදු වගවිභාගයකින් තොරව මේ ආකාරයට එහි ප්‍රායෝගික පරීක්ෂණ අත්හැර දැමීමත් පොදුවේ සෞන්දර්යය විෂය ධාරාවක් ලෙස සංවර්ධනයට සිදු කරන තවත් එක් බාධාවක් මිස අන්යමක් නොවන බව පැහැදිලි කරුණකි.

එහෙයින් ප්‍රායෝගික පරීක්ෂණ පැවැත්වීමට මෙන්ම ඊට පෙනී සිටීමට කොන්දේසි විරහිතව ගුරුවරුන් මෙන්ම සිසු දරුවන් ද බලාපොරොත්තුවෙන් සිටි තත්ත්වයක් තුළ ආණුඩුවේ පටු උවමනාවන් මත විභාග දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව හරහා ඒක පාර්ශවිකව ගත් මෙම තීරණය වහා හකුලා ගන්නා ලෙස නැවතත් බලකරන ලංකා ගුරු සේවා සංගමය එසේ නොවන්නේ නම්, අදාළ ගුරුභවතුන් සම`ග මීට එරෙහිව එළඹෙන පෙබ: 22 අධ්‍යාපන අමාත්‍යංශය ඉදිරිපිට උද්ඝෝෂණ ක්‍රියාමාර්ගවල අවතීර්ණ වන බව මෙයින් දන්වා සිටිමු.

ස්තූතියි,
මෙයට, විධායක සභාව වෙනුවෙන්,

මහින්ද ජයසිංහ
ප්‍රධාන ලේකම්,
ලංකා ගුරු සේවා සංගමය
සම්බන්ධීකරණය – 0718297022/0777685038

පිටපත – 01. ලේකම් – අධ්‍යාපන අමාත්‍යාංශය
02.විභාග කොමසාරිස් ජනරාල් – විභාග දෙපාර්තමේන්තව

Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka  

The Annual Activity Plan 2021 of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), the electricity sector regulator was unveiled today. A total of 111 projects based on service quality and consumer rights protection in the power industry, water service industry and petroleum industry are to be implemented this year.

Projects related to the electricity industry have been formulated under four main objectives such as improve productivity and convenience for electricity consumers, supplying electricity at affordable prices to the consumer and maintaining a sustainable financial position for licensees, improve the safety of every living being and properties of the general public, licensees and operators, improve environmental conditions for humans, animals and plants. Four special projects will be implemented this year to expedite the resolution of electricity consumer complaints and disputes.

Under this, a joint program will be initiated with the Divisional Secretaries to solve the problems faced by the electricity consumers during the installation and replacement of electricity poles and cables. Addition to that, steps will be taken to solve the problems that have arisen in obtaining electricity for houses located in blockout lands from real estate companies. Also, a special project will be launched to maintain the efficiency of the street lighting system in the country by introducing a standard for the installation, operation and maintenance of street lighting systems.

In order to achieve the goal of electrical safety, the national framework for licensing electricians’ program is being implemented in collaboration with other relevant agencies. Around 45,000 electricians have been identified in the country and a project will be launched to provide them with the National Vocational Qualification or NVQ 3, the basic qualification required to obtain a permanent electricity license, quickly and free of charge. The project is being implemented under a special memorandum of understanding signed with the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission and the National Vocational Training Authority.

The PUCSL, as the shadow regulator of the lubricant market, assists the Ministry of Energy in regulating the lubricant market. The projects launched last year to control the sale of substandard lubricants and the sale of illegal lubricants will be further strengthened and implemented. A project is also underway to dispose of used lubricants in an environmentally friendly manner. Also, a system will be introduced to protect the rights of petroleum consumers and to resolve their grievances.

The PUCSL as the designated body for the regulation of the water service industry in the country assists the Ministry of Water Supply and Drainage Board in regulating the water services industry.

The Commission assists the Ministry of Water Supply to introduce a methodology for resolving water consumer complaints and disputes through a declaration of water consumer rights. Also, the second phase of a series of public consultations at the local level to identify the issues of water consumer will be launched this year.

PUCSL will take steps to expedite and successfully implement all projects scheduled for the year 2021.

The speech of Chairman of Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka, Janaka Ratnayake is attached.

Ends.

Please contact : Anushika Kamburugamuwa, Assistant Director Corporate Communication via 0718622800 for more information

මාධ්‍ය නිවේදනය Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka  

ශ්‍රී ලංකා මහජන උපයෝගිතා කොමිෂන් සභාවේ 2021 වාර්ෂික ව්‍යාපෘති සැළැස්ම අද එළිදැක්වුණා. විදුලිබල කර්මාන්තය, ජල සේවා කර්මාන්තය හා ඛණිජ තෙල් කර්මාන්තය යන ක්ෂේත්‍රවල සේවා ගුණාත්මක තත්වය හා පාරිභෝගික අයිතිවාසිකම් ආරක්ෂාව පදනම් කරගත් ව්‍යාපෘති 111ක් මේ වසර කුලදි ක්‍රියාවට නැගීමට නියමිතයි.

විදුලිබල කර්මාන්තයේ ඵලදායිතාවය ඉහල නැංවීම, පාරිභෝගිකයාට දැරිය හැකි මිල ගණන් යටතේ විදුලිය සැපයීම හා විදුලි බල සේවා සපයන ආයතනවල මුල්‍ය තත්වය යහපත් මට්ටමින් පවත්වාගෙන යාම, විදුලි බල ආරක්ෂාව හා පරිසරය ආරක්ෂාකරමින් කර්මාන්තය පවත්වාගෙන යාම ආදි ප්‍රධාන ඉලක්ක 4ක් යටතේ විදුලි බල කර්මාන්තයට අදාල ව්‍යාපෘති සකස්කර තිබේ. විදුලි පාරිභෝගික පැමිණිලි හා ආරාවුල් කඩිනමින් විසදීම සදහා විශේෂ ව්‍යාපෘති 4ක් මේ වසරේදී ක්‍රියාත්මක වේ. ඒ් යටතේ විදුලි කණු හා රැහැන් ස්ථාපනය හා වෙනස්කිරීමේදී විදුලි පාරිභෝගිකයින් මුහුණ පාන ගැටළු කඩනමින් විසදීම සදහා ප්‍රාදේශීය ලේකම්වරු සමග එ්කාබද්ධ වැඩසටහනක් ආරම්භ කෙරෙනු ඇත.

දේපල වෙලදාම් සමාගම් වලින් මිලදී ගත් ඉඩම් කට්ටි වල පිහිටි නිවාස වලට විදුලිය ලබාගැනීමේ දී පැන නැගී ඇති ගැටළු විසදීමටම පියවර ගනු ලැබේ. වීථි ලාම්පු ස්ථාපනය, එම පද්ධති පවත්වාගෙන යාම හා නඩත්තුව සදහා ප්‍රමිතියක් හදුන්වාදෙමින් රටෙහි විථි ලාම්පු පද්ධතිය කාර්යක්ෂම පවත්වාගෙන යාම සදහා විශේෂ ව්‍යාපෘතියක් මේ වසරේදී ක්‍රියාවට නැගේ.  විදුලි ආරක්ෂාව පිළිබද ඉලක්කය සපුරාගැනීම සදහා ක්‍රියාවට නැගෙන් විදුලි කාර්මික බලපත්‍ර වැඩසටහන අදාල අනෙකුත් ආයතන සමග ඒකාබද්ධව ක්‍රියාත්මක කෙරේ. මෙරට තුල විදුලිකාර්මිකයින් 45000ක් පමණ හදුනාගෙන ඇති අතර ඔවුන්ට ස්ථිර විදුලිකාර්මික බලපත්‍රය ලබාගැනීම සදහා අවශ්‍ය වන මුලික සුදුසුකම වන ජාතික වෘත්තීය සුදුසුකම හෙවත් NVQ 3 මටටම කඩිනමින් හා නොමිලේ ලබාදීම සදහා ද ව්‍යාපෘතියක් හදුන්වාදීමට නියමිතයි. එම ව්‍යාපෘතිය ක්‍රියාවට නැගෙන්නේ තෘතියික හා වෘත්තීය අධ්‍යාපන කොමිෂන් සභාව හා ජාතික වෘත්තීය පුහුණු අධිකාරිය සමග අත්සන් කරනු ලබන විශේෂ අවබෝධතා ගිවිසුමක් යටතේ ය.

ශ්‍රී ලංකා මහජන උපයෝගිතා කොමිෂන් සභාව ලිහිසි තෙල වෙළද පොල ඡායාමාත්‍ර නියාමන ආයතනය වශයෙන් ලිසිහි තෙල් වෙළදපොල නියාමනය සදහා බලශක්ති අමාත්‍යංශයට සහාය වේ. තත්වයෙන් බාල ලිහිසි තෙල් අලෙවිය හා නීති විරෝධි ලෙස ලිහිසි තෙල් අලෙවි කිරීම පාලනය සදහා පසුගිය වසරේ ක්‍රියාවට නැගු ව්‍යාපෘති තවදුරටත් ශක්තිමත් කර ක්‍රියාවට නැගෙනු ඇත. භාවිතයෙන් ඉවත් කරනු ලබන ලිහිසි තෙල් පරිසරයට හානියක් නොවන පරිදි බැහැර කිරීම සදහා ද ව්‍යාපෘතියක් ක්‍රියාවට නැගේ. ඊට අමතරව ඛණිජ තෙල් පාරිභෝගික අයිතිවාසිකම් ආරක්ෂා කිරීම හා එම පාරිභෝගිකයින්ගේ පැමිණිලි විසදීම සදහා ක්‍රමවේදයක් ද හදුන්වාදෙනු ඇත.

ශ්‍රී ලංකා මහජන උපයෝගිතා කොමිෂන් සභාව මෙරට ජල සේවා කර්මාන්තය නියාමනය සදහා නම්කර ඇති ආයතනය වේ. ඒ් අනුව ජල සේවා කර්මාන්තයේ ප්‍රගමනය සදහා නියාමන කටයුතු සම්බන්ධයෙන් කොමිෂන් සභාව ජල සම්පාදන අමාත්‍යංශයට හා ජල සම්පාදන හා ජලාපවහන මණ්ඩලයට සහාය වේ. ජල පාරිභෝගික පැමිණලි හා ආරාවුල විසදීම සදහා ක්‍රමවේදයක් සහ ජල පාරිභෝගික අයිතිවාසිකම් ප්‍රකාශයක් හදුන්වාදීමට කොමිෂන් සභාව ජල සම්පාදන අමාත්‍යංශයට අවශ්‍ය සහාය සපයනු ලබයි. එමෙන්ම ජල පාරිභෝගික ගැටුළු හදුනාගැනීම සදහා ප්‍රාදේශීය මට්ටමින් පවත්වනු ලබන මහජන උපදේශන මාලාවේ දෙවන අදියර මේ වසරේදී ක්‍රියාවට නැගෙනු ඇත.

2021 වසර සදහා සැළසුම් කර ඇති සියළු ව්‍යාපෘති කාල සටහනට අනුව කඩිනමින් හා සාර්ථකව ක්‍රියාවට නැගීම සදහා ශ්‍රී ලංකා මහජන උපයෝගිතා කොමිෂන් සභාව පියවර ගනු ඇත.

by Senaka Weeraratna

Time to re – write our history books

August 15 is the day Japan commemorates the war’s end. Soon it will be 70 years after that day in 1945 when two Atomic Bombs dropped from American planes on Hiroshima and Nagasaki forced Japan to surrender.  Japan lost to foes enjoying overwhelming superiority in both numbers and material. Nevertheless Japan’s entry to war in 1941 was not without significant consequences for the rest of Asia. It had redeeming features. Within a few years of Japan’s surrender in 1945 a host of leading Asian countries achieved independence from western colonial domination after centuries of abject rule. Japan’s legacy is that the people in Asia are now free.

The purpose of this article is to re – visit the subject and re- examine it from the point of view of the de-colonized and pose the unthinkable and once unimaginable question, Are we in Asia and particularly South – East Asia indebted to the Japanese for their blood sacrifices which undoubtedly contributed to the winning of our freedom from colonial rule?

Japan is the first Asian country to modernize and then take on one of the Great Western powers, the Russian Empire and defeat the Russian Navy in an epic naval battle at Port Arthur in 1905. This raised a great deal of hope in many Asian countries that were suffering under the Western jackboot. Who else in Asia at that point in time were capable of taking on the mighty West except for Japan? Despite Japan’s ultimate defeat it’s victories over Western colonial occupation armies in the early period of WW 2, triggered the independence of many Asian countries. Japan changed the colors of both East Asia and South East Asia on the world map.

Was Japan like its Western adversaries yet another colonial power seeking to expand its empire by war?

Yes and No. In fact, according to observers Japan had never actually been an empire” before its colonization of Korea with the tacit approval and support of America. Japan had learned lessons from its Western adversaries” and developed its technology on western lines after the so-called Meiji Restoration had established a theocratic oligarchy based on the model of a British peerage with a hastily adopted Constitution” predicated on the German model, which had an autocratic ruler i.e. the Kaiser that could amend the law by a simple edict.

The only time that Japan set out to conquer and colonise foreign lands in the medieval period was under Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the 16^th century when he set out to conquer Korea. His naval armada was unsuccessful largely as a result of the valiant defence mounted by a Korean naval commander called Yi Sun-sin, who is a legend in Korea because of his victories against the Japanese Navy. After Hideyoshi’s death, the succeeding Tokugawa government not only prohibited any further military expeditions to the Asian mainland, but closed Japan to nearly all foreigners during the next 300 years.

It is time for people in Asia to review and re-write our history books. Start looking at issues not necessarily from the point of view of victors but also from the point of view of the defeated. Japan suffered defeat. But should Japan due to that alone continue to live in disgrace burdened with a heavy dose of ‘war guilt’ while others from the Occident who had benefited from colonial conquest, oppression and occupation of poor countries all over the world for centuries tend to walk with their head held high without accountability without remorse and without payment of reparations. There is an inversion of morality when such people loudly preach ‘tongue in cheek’ to the rest of the world on human rights, democracy, equality, rule of law and what not, without a qualm of conscience.

Who won freedom for Sri Lanka?

We obtained Independence in February 1948 because India and Pakistan received their independence in August 1947 and Burma in January 1948. It worked cumulatively almost in the form of a package deal.

When we talk of Asian independence movements it would be a remiss to ignore Japan’s significant military contribution towards weakening the might and resources of the British Empire during the 2nd World War.

Japan was the first Asian country to militarily defeat Russian and Anglo – American imperial armies and navies in epic battles in the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions that captured the spirit and imagination of the people of Asia long suppressed by western colonial powers and yearning for liberation, under the banner ‘Asia for Asians’.

Though Japan eventually lost the war its military effort was not in vain. It substantially weakened and demoralised the western countries then in occupation of large tracts of Asia, such as Britain, France, Netherlands, Portugal and USA that they were forced to quit Asia in next to no time.

It is political correctness and revelations of Japan’s conduct in war related atrocities during the Second World War that prevent Japan from being given due credit for its unique contribution towards hastening the liberation of Asia from western colonial rule.

Though we in Sri Lanka live under a self – styled grand delusion that independence for Sri Lanka was won from Britain exclusively by the efforts of our own leaders through exchange of letters over cups of tea, it is factually incorrect and a big myth. We were simply lucky. Our local effort was relatively minimal. History shows that it is the intervention of an external power that had always helped us to get rid of a foreign occupier from the soil of Sri Lanka.

For example, the Portuguese were expelled from Sri Lanka (then called ‘Sinhale’) in 1658 when the Kandyan King Rajasinghe II combined forces with the Dutch (an external power) to militarily defeat the Portuguese based on a treaty between the Kingdom of Kandy and theDutch Republic. It was signed by King Rajasinghe II for the Kingdom of Kandy and Adam Westerwold and William Jacobsz Coster, a commander and vice commander of the Dutch Naval Forces respectively, for the Dutch East India Company. The treaty was signed on 23 May, 1638 in Batticaloa. The treaty secured the terms under which the two nations would cooperate in defending the Kandyan Kingdom from the Portuguese. However this Treaty was very favourable to the Dutch. Then at the insistence of King Rajasinghe II who in 1647, requested for few modifications to a few articles of this agreement, the Dutch envoy Maetsuijker ‘negotiated the matter with great skill and patience and in the mid of 1649 the treaty of 1638, was in certain aspects altered and re-empowered’. (Valentijn vol. v, pt. 1 c Ceylon, page 121 vv,  Berigten van Historisch Genootschap VII, 2, pp. 377 vv.).

The Dutch in turn were expelled when the Kings of Kandy appealed to the British (an external power ) who took over the coastal areas of Lanka from the Dutch in 1796. The intervention of an external power (in this case the British) was pivotal to get rid of the Dutch from Sri Lanka.

The people of Sri Lanka had to wait for nearly another 150 years when another external power i.e. Japan, intervened to defeat allied armies (and navies) all over Asia including Sri Lanka which was bombed by the Japanese in April 1942. As much as the Japanese Armies were welcomed in Burma, Indonesia, Malaya, Singapore, Philippines, Hong Kong, and wherever they went, it is likely that had the Japanese Imperial Army stepped foot on Lankan soil in 1942 the majority of the people particularly the Sinhala Buddhists would have welcomed the Japanese. The people of Sri Lanka particularly the Sinhalese have always resisted colonial occupation of the country. Further both the Japanese and the Sinhalese have a strong bond by sharing a common faith i.e.Buddhism, and the Japanese have always had a high regard for the Buddha whom they refer to as Sakyamuni.

J.R. Jayawardene in defence of  a free Japan at the San Francisco conference (1951)

The words of Ceylon´s delegate Finance Minister J.R. Jayawardene in defence of  a free Japan at the San Francisco conference on September 06, 1951 is worthy of reproduction here. He said:

We in Ceylon were fortunate that we were not invaded, but the damage caused by air raids, by the stationing of enormous armies under the South-East Asia Command, and by the slaughter-tapping of one of our main commodities, rubber, when we were the only producer of natural rubber for the Allies, entitles us to ask that the damage so caused should be repaired. We do not intend to do so for we believe in the words of the Great Teacher whose message has ennobled the lives of countless millions in Asia, that hatred ceases not by hatred but by love”. It is the message of the Buddha, the Great Teacher, the Founder of Buddhism which spread a wave of humanism through South Asia, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Siam, Indonesia and Ceylon and also northwards through the Himalayas into Tibet, China and finally Japan, which bound us together for hundreds of years with a common culture and heritage. This common culture still exists, as I found on my visit to Japan last week on my way to attend this Conference; and from the leaders of Japan, Ministers of state as well as private citizens and from their priests in the temples, I gathered the impression that the common people of Japan are still influenced by’ the shadow of that Great Teacher of peace, and wish to follow it. We must give them that opportunity.”

After 1848 we never fought against the British Imperial armies through force of arms. There were neither civil disobedience movements in Sri Lanka like in India. In India the last great armed uprising by Indian soldiers was in 1857. The so – called Indian Mutiny was crushed but the Indian people with leaders like Mohandas Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhai Patel (a Gujerati) never gave up hope of liberation. They organized country wide civil disobedience movements under the banner of ‘Satyagraha ’.  Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose took the radical step of joining hands with the axis powers i.e. Germany and Japan and raising an Indian National Army to liberate his country. Other fellow Asians in Japan, Burma, Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Malaya and Singapore fought and shed their blood fighting for Asia’s liberation from the yoke of Western imperialism. We benefited from their bloody sacrifices though we have yet to concede this fact. The British Empire would have clung to its colonial possessions in Asia for a much longer time, if Japan did not make aggressive war against the West in Asia with the support of the colonized people of Asia, and drive fear into the colonial west of the dangers of continuing with european colonial rule East of the Suez Canal. This was the only language that the imperial west understood and grudgingly respected.

Who won freedom for India?

Indian-born American writer, author and blogger, Dr. Susmit Kumar PhD, has claimed that Hitler, not Gandhi, should be given credit for the independence of India in 1947.

rehmat1.com

There is a saying that history is written by the victors of war. One of the greatest myths, first propagated by the Indian Congress Party in 1947 upon receiving the transfer of power from the British, and then by court historians, is that India received its independence as a result of Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violence movement. This is one of the supreme inaccuracies of Indian history because had there been no Hitler and no World War II, Gandhi’s movement would have slowly fizzled out because gaining full independence would have taken several more decades. By that time, Gandhi would have long been dead, and he would have gone down in history as simply one of several great Indian freedom fighters of the times, such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Motilal Nehru, Dada Bhai Naoroji, and C.R. Das. He would never have received the vast publicity that he did for his nonviolence movement. Political independence for India was achieved not by Mahatma Gandhi, but rather by Hitler rendering the British Empire a bankrupt entity.”

The reasons behind Indian independence are nicely summarized by the esteemed Indian historian Ramesh Chandra Majumdar:

There is, however, no basis for the claim that the Civil Disobedience Movement directly led to independence. The campaigns of Gandhi … came to an ignoble end about fourteen years before India achieved independence … During the First World War the Indian revolutionaries sought to take advantage of German help in the shape of war materials to free the country by armed revolt. But the attempt did not succeed. During the Second World War Subhas Bose followed the same method and created the INA. In spite of brilliant planning and initial success, the violent campaigns of Subhas Bose failed … The Battles for India’s freedom were also being fought against Britain, though indirectly, by Hitler in Europe and Japan in Asia. None of these scored direct success, but few would deny that it was the cumulative effect of all the three that brought freedom to India. In particular, the revelations made by the INA trial, and the reaction it produced in India, made it quite plain to the British, already exhausted by the war, that they could no longer depend upon the loyalty of the sepoys [low-ranking Indian soldiers under British command] for maintaining their authority in India. This had probably the greatest influence upon their final decision to quit India.”

British Prime Minister Atlee says Gandhi’s effort was ‘minimal’

It was British Prime Minister Clement Atlee who, when granting independence to India, said that Gandhi’s non-violence movement had next to zero effect on the British. In corroboration, Chief Justice P.B. Chakrabarty of the Kolkata High Court, who had earlier served as acting governor of West Bengal, disclosed the following in a letter addressed to the publisher of Ramesh Chandra Majumdar’s book A History of Bengal:

You have fulfilled a noble task by persuading Dr. Majumdar to write this history of Bengal and publishing it … In the preface of the book Dr. Majumdar has written that he could not accept the thesis that Indian independence was brought about solely, or predominantly by the non-violent civil disobedience movement of Gandhi. When I was the acting Governor, Lord Atlee, who had given us independence by withdrawing the British rule from India, spent two days in the Governor’s palace at Calcutta during his tour of India. At that time I had a prolonged discussion with him regarding the real factors that had led the British to quit India. My direct question to him was that since Gandhi’s Quit India” movement had tapered off quite some time ago and in 1947 no such new compelling situation had arisen that would necessitate a hasty British departure, why did they have to leave? In his reply Atlee cited several reasons, the principal among them being the erosion of loyalty to the British Crown among the Indian army and navy personnel as a result of the military activities of Netaji [Subhash Chandra Bose]. Toward the end of our discussion I asked Atlee what was the extent of Gandhi’s influence upon the British decision to quit India. Hearing this question, Atlee’s lips became twisted in a sarcastic smile as he slowly chewed out the word, m-i-n-i-m-a-l!”

In a remarkable documentary now available on YouTube under the title

‘Truth of World War II – What did Japan fight for?’

www.youtube.com

Japan’s sacrifices for Asia 

The following excerpts are found:

” You don’t understand  how Malaysians and Singaporians and other nations of  S E Asia felt and thought  when Japanese military attacked and occupied Malaysia, Singapore, Burma and Indonesia etc. in the earlier part of the Pacific War”  They were all inspired by the victories of the Japanese military which motivated their aspirations for independence, freedom from the yoke of colonial powers of the West.

” Britain was colonizing, enslaving Asian people before WW2. They ruled the Indian people for 180 years. It was Japan that got rid of the British from most of Asia and later all those countries gained independence”

” Japan lost WW2 but as the consequence of Japan’s entry to war all S E Asian countries and India achieved their long hoped for independence from the Western colonial powers within 15 years after the end of the War. As the famous British historian Arnold Toynbee and Lord Mountbatten, uncle of Queen Elizabeth II, said:

Japan put an end to West’s colonialism in Asia once and for all” 

That’s why all S E Asian nations have sent their Kings, Presidents, Prime Ministers and other high ranking officials to visit Yasukuni Shrine to pay respect for the war dead. Not only that; American sailors, Italian soldiers, Argentine sailors, German military officials, French military, Spanish, Israelian, Chilean military, the former Indian National Army Colonel Sharzada Brandin Khan, Pakistani general

by Senaka Weeraratna