Sri Lanka has reported 05 more coronavirus-related deaths, the Director-General of Health Services confirmed today (February 22).
As per the Department of Government Information, two male patients and three female patients are among the victims.
The new deaths bring the number of COVID-19 related deaths witnessed in Sri Lanka to 450 in total.
01. The deceased is a 33-year-old female from Dunagaha. She died on 20.02.2021 while undergoing treatments at Teaching Hospital Kurunegala. The cause of death is mentioned as acute diabetes and acute kidney disease with Covid-19 infection.
02. The deceased is an 82-year-old female from Nugegoda. She died on 19.02.2021 at her residence. The Cause of death is mentioned as Covid-19 pneumonia.
03. The deceased is a 69-year-old male from Colombo 12. He died on 20.02.2021 while on admission to General Hospital Colombo. The cause of death is mentioned as blood poisoning and acute urinary tract infection with Covid-19 infection.
04. The deceased is an 83-year-old female from Minuwangoda. She was transferred from District Hospital Gampaha to Base Hospital Mulleriyawa where she died on 22.02.2021. The cause of death is mentioned as Covid-19 pneumonia and acute kidney damage.
05. The deceased is a 77-year-old male from Colombo 13. He died on 20.02.2021 at his residence. The cause of death is mentioned as Covid-19 pneumonia, acute diabetes, and high blood pressure.
The higher a monkey climbs, the more you see of
its behind.” —Joseph Stillwell
Who is Colombage?
Monkeying around on the seat of the Foreign Secretary in the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is a rank outsider and interloper, Pastor
Colombage, described by many insiders as the ineptest Secretary in the history
of post-independence Sri Lanka; these insiders are unable to perceive whether
Colombage is just an opportunistic nincompoop or a cunning fifth columnist
operating within the Ministry.
These opinions are based on the born-again pastor’s preposterous
gaffes, conflicts of interest and his membership in ultra-right American funded
think tanks like ‘Centre for Indo-Lanka Initiatives’ covertly nestling under
the wings of the notorious ‘Pathfinder’ organisation.
The head of the ‘Pathfinders’, Agent Moragoda, whose life and
reputation is mired in allegations of bribery, corruption and espionage was
further disgraced when his nomination as Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India
did not find favour with India.
Colombage, like his handler Agent Moragoda, is proving to be an
embarrassment to the country and a positive threat to her National Security.
Echoing his handler’s voice, it was Colombage who went public to
utter Neutrality is the number one pillar of Sri Lanka’s Foreign Policy”.
Colombage did not know the difference between Neutrality and
Non-Alignment. Then, to cover up his gaffe, he made matters worse when he
seemed to suggest that Non-Alignment is unfriendly. To whom?
His next major gaffe was when he grandiosely announced that Sri
Lanka will adopt an India first approach” as its new foreign policy plank and
protect New Delhi’s strategic security interests”.
With egg on his face and eating humble pie, Colombage was soon
making mumbling sounds that what he meant was Sri Lanka first and India
next.
Was Colombage’s retraction genuine considering that India is today
one of the four members of America’s ‘Southern NATO’, a US military alliance in
the Indo-Pacific called the ‘QUAD’.
Colombage’s latest gaffe comes on the eve of a new anti-Sri Lanka
resolution which, a small group of US underlings has declared, would be
presented at the UNHRC sessions scheduled to begin on 22nd February
this year.
These lackey-nations who describe themselves as a CORE group,
comprise Canada, UK, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Germany. Their proposed
Resolution, as reported, is based on the outrageous Report of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Verónica Bachelet, a controversial
and coquettish politician.
Tail wags the dog in the Foreign Ministry
Pastor Colambage revealed last month that the government was
having discussions with the UK-led Sri Lanka Core Group in a bid to explore the
possibility of reaching a consensus on what he, Colombage, described as a
‘consensual resolution’.
Instead of mobilising the friendly nations – the majority in the
International community – to win the 47-member vote in Geneva, Colombage was
clearly dilly-dallying, frittering away the limited time to negotiate a dubious
consensus with the Enemy, the CORE. This procrastination is helpful only to the
Enemy.
With Colombage’s strategy clearly out of step with Dinesh’s
outright condemnation of the Bachelet report, it is clear that in the Foreign
Ministry the tail is wagging the dog.
Reaching consensus on a consensual Resolution – huh?
Colombage says that he is involved in the challenging task of, ‘reaching
a consensus on a ‘consensual’ resolution.
The word ‘Consensual’ by definition is an adjective which means involving
the willing participation of both or all parties, especially in an illegal
transaction or practice”.
What does the verb co-sponsor, used in the 2015 Resolution mean?
It is defined as, together, introduce and support (a proposal) in an
assembly.”
What is the difference between Mangala and Colombage?
What then is the difference between Mangala Samaraweera’s
traitorous act of co-sponsoring a dubious American initiated Resolution on war
crimes and Colombage jointly presenting, with the American CORE group, a
consensual document, an even more traitorous Resolution?
Has Colombage let the cat out of the bag? Has he already agreed to
co-sponsor the Resolution? Is it a fait accompli?
The question arises, How does one reach consensus on a resolution
that is already tabled as a consensual resolution and where would that leave
Sri Lanka?”
Back in square one
The answer was given succinctly by that outstanding Sri Lankan
diplomat, Tamara Kunanayakam, in an interview with a leading local-media outlet
on 11 Feb 21. She gave an incisive insight on the CORE Resolution, the Bachelet
Report and the ramifications these held for Sri Lanka and the world if a
‘consensual’ Resolution were adopted; she summed up Sri Lanka’s position nicely
when she said, We will be back in square one”.
Why it is imperative that Sri Lanka rejects the Resolution?
It is Kunanayakam’s contention that Sri Lanka should reject
outright, this dubious Resolution and go for a vote; Sri Lanka can count on the
support of her friends in the Non-Aligned movement, the Global South, the Security
Council and win, considering especially the latent dangers in the Resolution
that lie in store for these supportive Nations.
Kunanayakam went on to explain that when a Consensual Resolution
is tabled, it communicates, in diplomatese, to the assembly and our friends in
particular, Look, even if you disagree with the Resolution and wish to support
us, there is no space for you now because we have already negotiated with the
sponsors, the CORE group, to jointly present this Resolution”.
Consequently, by procedural compulsion, the voices of our friendly
Nations will be muted, no vote taken, the Resolution adopted – by Consensus, if
you may – and recorded, for history, as a Resolution unanimously adopted!
Is the pastor, monkeying with words to betray Sri Lanka and
simultaneously be the Pathfinder of the Americans to the lands of the countries
in the NAM and the Global South?
David and Goliath yet exist
In 2012, Sri Lanka contributed significantly to the betterment of
the UNHRC when Ambassador Kunanayakam pointed out that the US and its allies
exploiting the fact that they virtually funded the UNHRC, had flexed their
financial muscle to man all key appointments in that organisation; this was
prejudicial to the Nations in the Non-Aligned Movement and the Global South.
A Resolution was sponsored, ably supported by Cuba and Pakistan,
to correct the disparate staffing and to make funding transparent; The
Resolution was adopted on 04 Apr 2012. The days of David and Goliath are not
over.
Sri Lanka breaking news to the world
In that world-shaking interview on 11 Feb 21, in a consequential
studio in a small corner of tiny Sri Lanka, Kunanayakam pointed out matters in
that Resolution which should set-off alarm sirens around the Capitals of the
world.
There is a plot and, in that plot, the Study Circle finds that
Bachelet is a major player. If Bachelet is the foil, the pastor is the
counterfoil.
Given Veronica Bachelet’s background of assorted dalliances,
association in massive corruption scandals, membership in extreme oligarchical
organisations like Club Madrid and intimate work with CIA think tanks like
‘Inter-American Dialogue’ and her vulnerable status, her fabricated report
comes as no surprise to those who know her.
Donald (Rumsfeld) with Veronica
(Bachelet)
Weaponising Human Rights
The US is attempting to use the Sri Lankan situation to dismantle
some of the norms of the current Global Order and replace them with US
benchmarks of governance and tools of intimidation that would facilitate US
hegemony in countries in the NAM and the Global South. The process was
described by Kunanayakam as ‘weaponising Human Rights”
Dangerous Concepts hidden in the Resolution to advance US
unilateralism and establish global precedence
Bachelet’s report contains some dangerous and precedent-setting
concepts totally contrary to the UN Charter and which violates International
Law.
In one instance Bachelet states, If the State is not willing or
unable to protect its citizens, we in the West shall intervene”! Shades of R2P
which was resoundingly defeated at the UN General Assembly.
In another instance Bachelet projects the doctrine of ‘Universal
Jurisdiction’ rejected outright by our African brothers and sisters; if, for
example, a person in one country acts in a manner that is within the law in that
country but is in breach of US law this doctrine permits that person to be
tried in the US, under US Law, in a US Courthouse.
Is this not the concept of hybrid Courts which the US failed to
establish, the first time around in 2015? This time around it is far worse.
What would the fate of our heroic soldiers be if the CORE
Resolution is passed in Geneva? Is this what Colombage is hoping to
achieve?
Carte blanche for America to invade countries at will
Also slipped in by Bachelet, in her report, is another doctrine
which permits the US to peremptorily intervene militarily in any country, if
the US, in their analysis, were to perceive that there could perhaps be a
breakdown of Human Rights in that Country.
This would be a carte blanche for the US to aggress and invade any
Country in the world. The world is only too keenly aware how good the US is at
fomenting problems in foreign countries and creating Conflicts.
Hitherto, having created Conflict, the US follows up as do-
gooders in the role of Resolving Conflict. The doctrine enunciated by Bachelet
ups the ante; the US would be permitted to militarily invade countries to save
them.
Also, in violation of International Law and Charter based Rights
is Bachelet’s recommendation calling for targeted sanctions; besides, this goes
against the charter of the Non-Aligned Movement.
The Resolution attempts to replace the Sovereign independence of
Nation States with US hegemony
The current World Order and the UN were created on the foundation
of Multilateralism; Multilateralism implies that the World Order is built
through a consultative process which embraces the recognition and respect for
Sovereign equality of all States and is based on the principles of
Non-intervention, Non-Aggression, International Cooperation, mutual benefit and
mutual respect.
The US, in the last two decades, has been trying to change the
World Order and base it on Unilateralism where the US, and the US alone, would
mould the world according to its wishes; there would be minimal consultation;
the US gives a tuppenny damn about the Sovereignty of other Nations. Nations of
the Global South and the Non-Aligned do not count.
The Sri Lankan issue in Geneva is a major step towards achieving
US Unilateralism in the world and erasing the concept of Independent sovereign
States.
Unilateralism will usher in a frightening world, where the US
would be permitted to intervene militarily anywhere in the world, with or
without international support; the rationale for US intervention is, American
interest, whatever that may be.
While Ambassador Kunanayakam is alerting Sri Lanka and the world,
the US and the UNHRC is deceptively attempting to use the Sri Lankan situation
to destroy some of the planks of the present World Order and establish in the
process a beachhead for the American World order.
People of the NAM and the Global South, let us rally to defeat the
Enemy
What happens in Geneva on 22 February does not affect Sri Lanka
alone; it will seriously undermine the Sovereignty of all the Nations in the
Non-Aligned Movement and the Global South.
When the US Plan goes into motion in Geneva, the voices of all our
friendly countries would be muted because the devilish pastor, Colombage, is
moving for a Consensual Resolution.
As explained earlier, the Consensual Resolution will shut their
mouths and the records of history will indicate that the Resolution was adopted
unanimously, by consensus.
Sri Lanka must take the lead to stop the US plot succeeding in
Geneva. Let us give leadership to the countries in the Non-Aligned Movement and
the Global South.
We reject outright the Resolution being tabled which will be a
major step towards the re-colonising of all the previously colonised
Countries.
We must challenge the Resolution and go for a vote. Then only can
the mouths of our friendly countries be ungagged. We can win without a shadow
of doubt. There can be no compromise whatsoever with countries accusing and
tarnishing us with blatant lies and unsubstantiated villainy while the
accusers, in breach of International Law, the UN Charter and procedure, give us
the finger
It is in the best interest of the country that Jayanath Colombage
be relieved of his duties until investigations probing his conduct to lure Sri
Lanka into a trap and setting the stage to sacrifice our heroic soldiers –
including the present Army Commander – are complete.
Judge not, that you be not judged. For
with what you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will
be measured back to you – Matthew 7:1,2
The
entire world needs to respect human rights. That should be a just and natural
phenomenon that all human beings should practice. Unfortunately, it is not.
Some do better than others while many preach love but practice the opposite.
The UNHCR seems to be a pulpit from which some preach to the rest of the world,
and often the preacher is a Nation whose own practices should shame itself and
the rest of the world if it understood the meaning of the word shame. The
unfortunate consequence is that the selective application of human rights
violation censuring, diminishes the credibility of the world body that is
tasked to defend the rights of those who do not have the power to defend
themselves. It is those unfortunate and helpless segment of the world
population, which happens to be the majority in the world, that continues to
suffer when Nations calling the shots, openly and behind the scenes, do so not
to promote and defend the rights of fellow human beings, but to further their
strategic political interests under the guise of advancing human rights.
The
following are some highlights from the Human Rights Watch report of the human
rights record of the USA (https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/united-states. The Sri Lankan government
and the public in Sri Lanka are encouraged to read this report, and others published
by the US State Department, Amnesty International, the Human Rights Watch on
the human rights record of the Core Group that is sponsoring the latest
resolution relating to human rights issues in Sri Lanka. The Core Group
consists of Canada, Germany, UK, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Malawi.
While
the USA is not in the UNHRC, many analysts are of the opinion that it is the
hand that is manipulating the Core Group to pressurise Sri Lanka. They also
contend that pressure is being exerted through this group as firstly, it is not
in the Human Rights Council, and secondly in pursuance of another interest, a
strategic political interest, arising from Sri Lanka’s closeness to China and
their growing influence in the country.
It
has been reported in the media that Sri Lanka has asked for India’s support to
either prevent this resolution coming up for a vote, or for help in defeating
it should it come to a vote. Sri Lanka surely has to be wary about seeking
India’s support, as, should they support Sri Lanka, they would do so at a price
detrimental to the sovereignty of Sri Lanka. This is simple logic considering
what both India and the US have an enemy in common; China, and its growing
presence in Sri Lanka. India would be like the Kapati Arakshakaya” or the
cunning saviour who first instigates others to pressurise Sri Lanka, and then
offers to help save it from the instigators, but, at a price.
Looking
at the record of the Core Group on human rights, especially that of Malawi, it
is a joke that such a group could lecture Sri Lanka on human rights violations.
While countries like North Macedonia and Montenegro, who also had and still
have human rights issues to contend with, they seem to have taken several steps
to improve their own weaknesses in human rights issues. It appears they have
not taken into consideration steps that have been taken in Sri Lanka to address
any lingering issues.
Neither
have they taken in to account the background and the environment in which Sri
Lanka had to contend with when the country fought to defend their people and
its sovereignty when confronted with the most violent and virulent terrorist
organisation in the world, the LTTE. So labelled by the world, not Sri Lanka.
The
Core Group has also not recognised that every country, including their own,
would have human rights issues arising from time to time, and that they need to
be addressed by the countries themselves. The Core Group is not a pristine Snow
White group who are suited to preach to others. Worse, it should not be a group
that lends itself to being manipulated by any powerful force in its own
strategic political interests.
No
doubt there are areas where Sri Lanka has to get its house in order, but it
cannot and should not countenance being pressurised by this so called Core
Group that is acting on behalf of a country which is pursuing this issue not
because of human rights issues but to advance its own strategic political interests.
It is not to India that Sri Lanka should turn for support on this issue but
other members of the Human Rights Council who have been similarly pressured by
interests pursuing their strategic agenda’s.
The
Human Rights Watch report presents an abysmal record on human rights issues in the
US and it certainly is not a position to lecture Sri Lanka or for that matter
any other country on human rights issues. While some specifics are attributed
to the Donald Trump term in office, many others appear endemic to a long and
sad record on human rights violations in the US.
The HRW report on the US begins by stating In 2019, the USA
continued to move backwards on rights. The Trump administration rolled out
inhumane immigration policies and promoted false narratives that perpetuate
racism and discrimination; did not do nearly enough to address mass
incarceration; undermined the rights of women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender (LGBT) people; further weakened the ability of Americans to obtain
adequate health care; and deregulated industries that put people’s health and
safety at risk.
In its foreign policy, the Trump administration
made little use of its diminishing leverage to promote human rights abroad;
continued to undermine multilateral institutions; and flouted international
human rights and humanitarian law as it partnered with abusive governments
The full report referred to above paints a grim picture of the
country that parades itself as the epitome of freedom, justice and human
rights. Besides this report, in the area of foreign policy, the duplicity of
the US in supporting countries like Saudi Arabia, an unabashed leader in human
rights violations, especially against women, Israel, which has consistently
abused the rights of Palestinians and snubbed all attempts by international
bodies to defend the rights of Palestinians, is well known. US involvement in
Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Egypt to defend justice and freedom while killing
millions of people, and prior to that in Vietnam and Laos, to defeat the what
they termed evil communism”, again, killing millions of people, are not
exactly good examples to demonstrate their respect for other human beings. The
HRW report is a telling indictment of life at home in the US and the love and
respect they show for their own citizens and hapless refuges. Following are
some extracts from the HRW report
The US continues to have the highest reported criminal
incarceration rate in the world, with 2.2 million people in jails and prisons
and another 4.5 million on probation and parole as of 2017. In several
states incarceration rose, as did the incarceration rate for women, which grew
by 750 percent from 1980 to 2017.
Stark racial disparities still exist in the prison population.
While the overall imprisonment rate was down, among black women it was nearly
twice as high as among white women and the rate for black men was almost six
times the rate for white men. For younger black men, the disparity was even
larger
Poor people accused of crimes continue to be jailed because
courts require money bail as a condition of release, forcing people not
convicted of any crime to stay behind bars for long periods of time awaiting
trial and resulting in coerced guilty pleas.
On any given day, approximately 50,000 children are held in
confinement. In the juvenile justice system, 2,200 are imprisoned for
status” offenses—noncriminal acts that are considered violations of the law
only because the individuals in question are under 18 years old.
Additionally, all 50 states continue to prosecute children in
adult criminal courts. According to the Citizens Committee for Children,
roughly 32,000 children under 18 are admitted annually to adult jails. The
Sentencing Project reports there are approximately 1,300 people serving life
without parole
Racial disparities persist at every stage of a person’s contact
with the law, leaving children of colour disproportionately in juvenile
justice systems across the country; in 37 states, rates of incarceration were
higher for black children than for white, according to The Sentencing Project.
Stark inequalities in wealth
exist throughout the United States, and poverty intersects with crime, which is
used to justify more aggressive policing in poor, often minority communities.
Rather
than address problems of poverty—including homelessness, mental health, and
gang involvement—with services, support, and economic development, many US
jurisdictions simply add more police and effectively criminalize” poor
communities, a vicious circle that fuels high rates of incarceration.
According to the Washington Post,
police reportedly shot and killed 783 people in the US in 2019 as of
mid-November. Of those killed whose race is known, 20 percent were black even
though blacks make up 13 percent of the population.
In September, the Census Bureau
released a study showing that income inequality in the US had hit the highest
level in five decades. About 40 million people live in poverty, many of
them members of households with at least one wage earner making at or near
the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
At time of writing, over 55,000
asylum seekers had been returned to often dangerous and unliveable conditions
in Mexico, with significant barriers to obtaining legal representation and a
fair hearing. This included asylum seekers with disabilities or other chronic
health condition.
The number of immigrants in Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody reached a record high of 55,000 people
per day.
These
are but a few of the shameful record of the human rights violations in the US
that is noted in the HRW report.
Within
the Core Group, Amnesty International has noted gross human rights violations in
Malawi in its 2019 report. Https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/africa/malawi/report-malawi/
It says, quote 2019 was an
election year for Malawi. There were incidences of protests in Malawi
around elections, and the government used the law to silence civil society
leaders and organisers of peaceful demonstrations. Some civil society
leaders were threatened with death and their property was destroyed by ruling
party activists. Persons with albinism continued to live in fear as ritual
killers murdered at least one person with albinism. Persons with albinism
continued to be targeted for their body parts: in many of the cases
persons with albinism have been killed for ritual purposes and a superstitious
belief that their body parts would bring luck in business and politics. In
January, 60-year-old Yassin Kwenda Phiri was murdered in his house in Nkhata
Bay while his 9-year-old son George watched helplessly. Two men cut off his
father’s arms with a knife and removed his intestines with their bare hands.
Goodson Fanizo, 14, was abducted in February. Although six suspects were
picked up by police, neither the child nor his body had been found by year’s
end.
Following the May general elections, opposition
parties and civil society organizations were unhappy with the outcome, alleging
electoral fraud. The Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) organized
protests against alleged mismanagement of elections by the Malawi Electoral
Commission. The state responded by deploying members of the police service and
the military and applying for court injunctions to stop protests.
Human rights defenders and activists remained
under threat as the country prepared for its May general elections. HRDC
activists who organized and led demonstrations against alleged electoral fraud
after the May elections were attacked by ruling party youth cadres,
intimidated, and targeted for prosecution by the authorities. Timothy Mtambo,
Chairperson of the Human Rights Defenders Coalition and Executive Director of
the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR), increasingly received
death threats through text messages and was attacked by unknown people. In
October, at around 11pm unknown gunmen fired six shots at Mtambo’s vehicle as
he drove home from a meeting in Lilongwe.
On 25 September, unknown youths hacked human
rights activist Billy Mayaya and several other activists in Blantyre.
Mayaya sustained serious injuries to his head. Instead of protecting activists
from attacks, police tear-gassed demonstrators.
Excessive use of force, unlawful killings and
torture persisted with impunity. In February, Buleya Lule was arrested in
Lilongwe on charges of abducting a child with albinism and appeared in court in
February, jointly charged with five other people. Bulela Lule later
died in a police cell.
The post-mortem report released on 12 April
revealed that Bulela had been electrocuted and sustained
injuries to his head, buttocks and stomach
In September, one of the post-election
protesters, Justin Phiri, died in custody of infected
wounds that were not treated. He had been severely assaulted by
soldiers and the police did not take him to a hospital. Human rights issues included
extrajudicial killings; torture; arbitrary detention, the preceding abuses all
committed by official security forces; harsh and life-threatening prison and
detention centre conditions; criminal libel; corruption; lack of investigation
and enforcement involving cases of violence against women, including rape and
domestic violence, partly due to weak enforcement; criminalization of same-sex
sexual conduct; and child labour, including worst forms.
There
were reports the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful
killings. Media reported that, between January and August, 43 suspects had died
at the hands of police. For example, on
June 16, after police arrested 11 persons in Blantyre, four individuals,
Humpfrey Sakhumwa, Dave Sembele, Dave Gondwe, and Ashbu Daiton, were separated
from the group to be transferred to another facility. Later that day officers dropped their
bullet-riddled bodies at the local hospital mortuary. A reputable nongovernmental organization
(NGO) and the United Nations carried out a preliminary investigation into
several of the deaths that included interviews with family members and
witnesses and found the allegations generally credible and warranting a more
in-depth inquiry” unquote.
In
advocating that Sri Lanka should not succumb to pressure from the US or India
or the Core Group and should harness the support of other members of the Human
Rights Council to defeat any move to censure the country through stealth, it
does not automatically mean Sri Lanka could pretend it has a Snow White record
on human rights.
Going
back to the war against the LTTE and issues that arose upon its conclusion,
there are unresolved matters that need addressing. The LLRC report and its
action plan that has been sent to a cold room could be activated and followed
through as the Mahinda Rajapaksa began doing before the change of government in
2015, and the scuttling of it by the Sirisena/Wickramasinghe duo. The same
applies to the Paranagama commission on Missing Persons, again initiated by
Mahinda Rajapaksa and the scuttling of that report once again by Sirisena and Wickramasinghe.
The current government owes it to all people of the country to implement the
recommendations of those two reports, as they were hailed by many as sound starting points to address genuine
concerns that arose in regard to the dark days of the LTTE terrorism and the
State’s role in some questionable issues. One needs to identify any
shortcomings in those reports and act to address them, but it is common sense
that it can best be done once the available recommendations are implemented.
Sri
Lanka cannot defend itself by being the Emperor without clothes. It needs to
build itself to be a beacon for the rest of the world in ensuring the
unalienable rights of all Sri Lankans are respected and assured. A country that
calls itself the citadel of Theravada Buddhism and the defender of Buddhism,
should not do any less unless this defence of Buddhism is also a façade to
protect the strategic interests of the Buddhist institution which in turn
serves the interest of politicians and vice versa. If one lives by the Dhamma
and the original teachings of religious leaders like Jesus Christ and the
Prophet Mohammed, Sri Lanka can be that beacon which would put many other
countries to shame.
Imran Khan, the present Prime Minister of Pakistan scheduled
to visit Sri Lanka on February 22 on a two day official visit. He will hold
discussions with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda
Rajapaksa, and Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena. He was also schedule to
address Sri Lanka Parliament but later it was cancelled.
He was the only international cricketer to become a prime
minister in the world. Born after the partition, in an affluent family in
Lahore Imran completed his schooling in the Royal Grammar School of Worcester,
England where he pursued cricket for the first time and excelled at it. His
talent in bowling earned him a place in the Worcestershire County at a very
early age. He was selected for Pakistan test team at age 18, in a 1971 Test
series against England. Khan played until 1992, served as the
team’s captain intermittently between 1982 and
1992. Under his leadership Pakistan won the Cricket World
Cup in 1992. This was Pakistan’s first and only victory in the
competition. Having a beautiful free flowing bowling action he could swing the
ball both ways with the new ball as well as the old. He also mastered the
reverse-swing to decimate the clueless oppositions. On the other hand he was
even accused of ball-tampering, the use of foreign substances on the ball,
raising the seam of the ball, and deliberate roughening of the surface to
achieve the conditions for reverse-swing by force, citing the reason that there
was never a law disallowing him from altering the condition of the ball. Since
then law has been changed and now ball tampering is an offence.
He was also a dependable middle order batsman. In the ’92 World Cup, due to an
inexperienced batting order, he promoted himself to the top of the order and
played the new ball exceedingly well to reinforce his reputation as one of the
most versatile and holistic all-rounders of his generation.
He played 88 tests and scored 3807 runs at an average of 37.7
and he has 6 centuries to his credit. He has also taken 362 test wickets at an
average of 22.8. In ODI he scored 3709 runs in 175 matches at an average of
33.4 and taken 182 wickets at an average of 26.6. He has a very impressive
strike rate of 73% in ODI.
Captain Imran Khan and his team nearly pulled out of
Pakistan’s first tour of Sri Lanka in 1986. This was due to bad umpiring in the
absence of Mahinda Wijesinghe’s third umpire concept or Senaka Weeraratne’s
Decision Review System (DRS). Fortunately Sri Lanka’s then President J.R. Jayawrdene
and Pakistan President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq intervened and saved the series. President
J.R. Jayewardene called President Zia-ul-Haq to inform Your Excellency,
these 22 fools in flannels trying to disrupt the good relations between our two
countries. Therefore I am ordering Pakistan team to stay and get on with the
game.” What Jayewardene
said was true for Sri Lanka and Pakistan had a very good relationship then. Pakistan
provided arms and ammunition and training to our armed forces to fight
terrorism and to convert from a ceremonial outfit to professional force. Under
the leadership of General Zia-ul-Haq, Pakistan provided moral support to our country at
international forums against the adverse propaganda by India and Tamil diaspora.
It was a well-known fact that India under Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s premiership
provided logistic support and training for Tamil insurgents.
Prime
minister Imran Khan excelled in studies as well. From 1972 to 1975, he studied Politics,
Economics and Philosophy in Kebble College, Oxford. He managed the workload of
international cricket simultaneously to graduate with honours at the age of 23.
And hence began an extraordinary journey. Khan was awarded an honorary fellowship by the Royal College of Physicians in 2012 while serving as the Chancellor of the University of
Bradford between
2005 and 2014.
In 1991, he
launched a fundraising campaign to set up a cancer hospital in memory of his
mother. He raised $25 million to set up the hospital in Lahore in 1994,
and set up a second hospital in Peshawar in 2015.
Khan was
elected Prime Minister in 2018.
His immediate concern
was the balance of payment crisis and the shrinking current account
deficit faced by Pakistan. He tackled these problems by negotiating a bailout
package from International Monetary Fund (IMF) and limiting military spending
to curtail the fiscal deficit.
Khan
propagated for an increase in renewable
energy production with
an aim to make Pakistan mostly renewable by 2030. He also initiated reforestation and expansion of national parks. He
enacted policy which increased tax
collection and investment. His government also
instituted reforms to education and healthcare on a national and
regional level respectively. Some reforms were made to Pakistan’s social safety
net.
This educated international cricketer turned politician unfortunately
visiting Sri Lanka at a time our own cricket team is in doldrums. Our young
minister of sports should get some advice from this great all-rounder on how to
revamp our cricket.
Technical Input by Dr Herath Mantritilake – People Friendship University (Moscow) graduate and an old Nalandian
Sri Lanka’s hydraulic civilization spans over two Millenia and is integral part of our agricultural heritage. Watch the story of the origins, the rise, the golden age, the decline and the resurgence of this technology.
Voice talent – Arun Dias-Bandaranaike And don’t forget to subscribe :-) for more content For more fascinating video’s on Sri Lanka check out channel Destination Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka was a haven for
Germans in the pre – war period as well as the immediate post – war
period.
It was treated as the Mecca
of Buddhism.
The intellectual space for
exploration of Buddhism in Germany had already been created by the writings
of Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Hermann Oldenberg, Karl Eugen Neumann, among
others.
But that alone was insufficient to learn Buddhism.
Germans had to touch base with Buddhism in a setting of actual
practice and learn more from teachers well – versed in the Dhamma. The ideal
place was Sri Lanka.
Europeans, especially
Germans, using informal networks visited British Ceylon in the early period to
sap the Wisdom of the East.
They were welcomed in
Buddhist Temples and the ordained German monks were supported by the Sinhala
Buddhist laity.
German Buddhist pioneers like
Dr. Paul Dahlke, Ven. Nyanatiloka, Ven. Nyanaponika, Ven. Gnanawimala etc were
revered by the Buddhist Sinhalese. Nyanatiloka and Nyanaponika were given
Citizenship status of Sri Lanka.
When World War Two occured,
the German nationals remaining in Ceylon were arrested and first interned at
the Diyatalawa Military camp and later relocated to DehraDun in India.
The
ostracization of Germans
The ostracization of Germans
in British colonies commenced then and continued thereafter.
Almost the entirety of Europe
that was occupied by Germany during the WW2 was virtually a closed area for the
Germans after the war. Memories of the war lingered among people in former
occupied Europe.
Battered and Bruised the
Germans went through immense hardship. It was at this time that a young Sinhala
businessman, Asoka Weeraratna on his first visit to Germany in 1951 saw the
pain and suffering of the Germans. He was determined to do something positive
and long lasting for the Germans. He chose to give the gift of Buddhism to a
people in distress disillusioned with the failure of their own religions to
prevent repeated wars taking place in Europe.
Seeing the necessity to propagate Buddhism, especially in Germany,
Asoka Weeraratna succeeded with his heroic efforts, sacrificial labours,
devotion and energy in establishing the German Dharmaduta Society in
1952.
Dr. Georg
Ahrens was the first German Ambassador to Sri Lanka. He arrived in 1953. He too
became a victim of boycotts and ‘persona non grata’ treatment by the Western
Diplomats and officialdom. But the Buddhists warmly welcomed him and provided a
public platform for him to speak.
A well attended public
meeting was held at the Colombo Town Hall on September 06, 1954 sponsored by
the German Dharmaduta Society to raise funds ( One Million Rupees – Dasa Laksha
Aramudala ) to sponsor a Buddhist Mission to Germany, to coincide with the
Buddha Jayanthi Celebrations in 1956..
Mr. Dudley Senanayake, then former Prime Minister, presided at this
meeting.
Top Picture – Mr. Dudley
Senanayake is seen addressing the gathering. The monk in the picture ( left of
Mr. Henry Amarasuriya) is Samanera Friedrich Muller ( German ) who later became
well known as Ven. Polgasduwe Nyanawimala Thera ( a disciple of Ven.
Nyanatiloka Maha Thera).
Middle Picture – The
German Ambassador Dr. Georg Ahrens is seen speaking. The monk in the picture ( left of Mr. Henry
Amarasuriya) is Samanera Friedrich Muller (German).
Bottom Picture – Left to
Right Dr. G.P. Malalasekera, Hon. J.R. Jayewardene, Hon. C.W.W. Kannangara,
Hon. R.G. Senanayake, Dr. Georg Ahrens ( German Ambassador ) and Hon. U Ba Lwin
( Burmese Ambassador).
Dr. Georg Ahrens, the German Ambassador said he had been a student
of Buddhism and had been greatly impressed by its tolerance. He had visited a
German Bhikkhu in a hospital in Kandy and was much impressed by his lofty
ideals. This Bhikkhu wished all success to the mission. The world was passing
through great tribulation and people wanted peace. This was not wishful
thinking but a genuine desire for enduring peace. He wished the mission success
in its noble work to bring the teaching of the Buddha to the German people.
For a Full Report of this
Meeting in the Ceylon Daily News of September 07, 1954, please visit the
following web link
Ceylon
could give the world a gift : Peace through Buddhism
The Polgasduwa
Island Hermitage built by the highly Venerated German monk, Ven. Nyanatiloka
Maha Thera in 1911 stands as a monument to the deep cultural bonds between two
countries. So does Das Buddhistische Haus ( Berlin Buddhist Vihara) in Berlin –
Frohnau, Germany.
Ven.
Nyanatiloka’s message
In a memorable message to the publication ‘Buddhism in Germany’
(1953) Ven. Nyanatiloka says as follows:
“It was just 50 years ago in 1903, that I came first to this
island which, since then, I have considered my spiritual home, and I am
therefore happy to be now a citizen of Sri Lanka.
Yet, it will be understood that it was the great wish of my heart
to give the country of my origin the best I possessed, i.e. the Dhamma. And to
that end I have devoted the greatest part of my 50 years in the Sangha. I did
so in the firm conviction that the Dhamma will take root in my home country,
Germany, and may have a great future there.
Now it has been a very great pleasure to me to hear that Mr.
Weeraratna returned from Germany with the very same conviction, and was able to
report on lively Buddhist activities there. I believe that the chances for
Buddhist mission work in Germany are now greater than ever before. I am
therefore very happy that the Lanka Dharmadutha Society has undertaken that
great task of sending a well-prepared mission to Germany and to support
Buddhist work there, in general.
I greatly appreciate the initial work done by the Society up to
now, and particularly the sacrificing labour, devotion and energy shown by the
Founder and Secretary of the Lanka Dharmadutha Society, Asoka Weeraratna.
I should, indeed, regard it as a happy culmination of my life if
Vesak 1956, i.e. the year 2500, will see a well-established mission in Germany,
which will not fail to have a far-reaching influence on the other Western
countries, too.
I wish the Society full success in their great and noble
enterprise. Selfless effort to give the Dhamma to those who are most in need of
it will be of great blessing to those who give and receive”. – Nyanatiloka
(May 25, 1953)
Ill treatment of Germans by the Allies
The Western Allies after the
Second World War treated the Germans and the Japanese in the most brutal
fashion.
Thousands of German POWs died
in concentration camps run by the Americans and the British. Mostly through
forced starvation of the prisoners.
In Sri Lanka, we did not
adopt the hatred of the Allies towards their enemies, Germans and Japanese,
despite being a former British colony.
The Sinhalese in particular
never ostracized the Germans. Never looked at Germans or the Japanese through
the lens of their adversaries.
The German visitors to Sri
Lanka were always given a warm welcome in our homes, especially at a time when
the rest of the world, influenced by the victorious Allies shunned them. The
German people were demonized by the Allies and were made to feel guilty
collectively for the crimes of Hitler and the Nazis.
In Sri Lanka, German
Buddhist monks were treated with utmost respect and extended a high level of
hospitality that they would never receive in their home country.
The bridge of friendship that has been built between the people
of Sri Lanka and the people of Germany over the last one hundred and fifty
years must be strengthened and continued.
It is a troubling fact of World War Two history that the USA regularly employed crude racial stereotypes in the service of ridiculing and demonising their Japanese opponents.
The unannounced strike on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 sent a deep shock-wave through America and its people. The country went to war in earnest, roused to avenge those lost in the sneak attack.
Soon after President Franklin D Roosevelt had proclaimed 7 December ‘a date which will live in infamy’, anti-Japanese paraphernalia and propaganda surfaced across the United States. A notion of Japanese treachery had been planted in the minds of Americans that was open for further careful exploitation and nurturing.
Subsequent anti-Japanese propaganda was used to dehumanise, antagonise, and create fear of the Japanese people and Japanese nation. The discovery of a large Nazi spy ring within the USA heightened paranoid fantasies of a treacherous Japanese population that was working with the enemy to undermine the US war effort.
The Maha Sangha has sent a letter to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa requesting him to take immediate action regarding the statement made by the Minister of Justice in Parliament stating that the Temples and Shrines Act is a personal law.
The Maha Sangha also sent a copy of the letter to the Speaker requesting that the Minister’s statement be removed from the Hansard report in Parliament
India began its “Vaccine Friendship” programme on 20 January and has supplied COVID-19 vaccines to several neighbouring countries, including Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Seychelles, and the Maldives. It has also sent vaccine doses to Caribbean countries, South Africa, and the UAE.
The CEO of the world’s biggest vaccine maker, the Serum Institute of India (SII), Adar Poonawalla has asked foreign governments that sought to procure the COVID-19 vaccine doses from India to be patient.
Poonawalla tweeted that the SII “has been directed to prioritise the huge needs of India and along with that balance the needs of the rest of the world”.
The vaccine, which has been branded Covishield and co-developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, was granted emergency approval in India and is being produced by the Pune-based SII.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently called his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and discussed his country’s requirements for COVID-19 vaccines. Prime Minister Modi assured Trudeau that India would do its best to support Canada’s vaccination efforts, just as it had done for many other countries already.
On 14 February, Poonawalla also took to Twitter to assure the Canadian prime minister that his country’s needs would be met as soon as next month:
Since mid-January, India, which has registered more than 10.9 million cases of coronavirus since the outbreak of the pandemic, has vaccinated around 11 million people.
Those who don’t have even basic education shouldn’t be allowed to decide and act on the recommendations by the Presidential Commission of inquiries (PCoI) on Easter Sunday attacks, Archbishop of Colombo, His Eminence Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith said today.
Cardinal Ranjith who joined a protest staged by the Catholics of Katuwapitiya together with the clergy, said it is the Attorney General who should decide and act on the recommendations made by the Presidential commission.
“Those who have not got through the ordinary level exam cannot be allowed to make such decisions” the Cardinal said.
“The government should publish the PCoI report soon. We are suspicious as to why the government is reluctant to do so,” he added.
Cardinal Ranjith reiterated that he would have to seek the assistance of international institutions, if action is not taken against those who are responsible for the attack. (Yohan Perera)
Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella today questioned as to why the five-member commission appointed a ministerial committee to look into the recommendations made by the Presidential Commission, which probed the Easter Sunday attacks.
Mr. Kiriella told a press conference that this committee should have comprised senior reputed judicial officers instead of members of Parliament.
We feel suspicious that the ministerial committee was appointed to actually amend the report. The objective of this committee would have been to see that some parts of the report, which refers to some in the present government, are removed. Even Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has expressed such a suspicion,” Mr. Kiriella said.
The evidence given by the wife of Zahran who masterminded the attack before the commission is vital as she had revealed from whom her husband received money. These details should not be deleted from the report,” he added.
Also, he urged the government to seek extradition from India the wife of the suicide bomber who blew himself up at the Katuwapitiya Church as she has more vital information on the attack.(Yohan Perera)
It has been revealed that Zahran Hashim, the ring leader behind the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks, had trained 15 women to become suicide bombers.
Police Media Spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana stated that the information was revealed during the interrogation of the girl who was arrested by the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) recently.
The 24-year-old Mohamed Ibrahim Saheeda was arrested at Hingula in Mawanella on Friday (February 19) over her close links to Easter Sunday bombers.
She was identified as the sister of Mohamed Ibrahim Sadeek Abdul Haq and Mohamed Ibrahim Shaheed Abdul Haq – the main suspects in the Buddha statue vandalism incident in Mawanella. The duo, who was arrested in Gampola a week after the carnage, are still in remand custody.
Their sister, Saheeda was also taken into custody and interrogated at the time, however, she was arrested again on Friday while she was out on bail.
Saheeda has divulged that she had attended lectures on extremism conducted by Zahran Hashim at Kattankudy back in 2018.
It has been further revealed that 5 of the 15 women were killed in the explosion in Sainthamaruthu following the Easter attack.
The remaining bombers are currently imprisoned or under the custody of the TID, said DIG Ajith Rohana.
During the interrogation of the Terrorism Investigation Division, it was revealed that about 15 women had participated in the classes conducted by Zahran Hashim in December 2018.
Five of these women were killed in a suicide bombing in the Saindamardu area. Three other women have been remanded. In addition, 7 other women including the woman arrested the day before yesterday are currently in the custody of the Terrorism Investigation Division.
It has been revealed that the women had taken the ‘Bayat’ oath [oath of allegiance] after attending the classes by the criminal named Zahran Hashim. The ‘Bayat’ oath states that they will be prepared to carry out a suicide attack at any given moment.”
The 15 women who had pledged to commit suicide in the name of religion are as follows:
Five women who died in Sainthamaruthu explosion: 01. Abdula Sathar Sitti Umma (Zahran’s mother) 02. Mohamed Qasim Hidaya (One of Zahran’s sisters) 03. Adam Lebbe Fatima (Mohamed Zaini’s wife) 04. Mohamed Nashat Fatima Nafna (Mohamed Rilwan’s wife) 05. Feroza (Asad’s wife)
Three women who are in remand custody: 01. Mohamed Qasim Madaniya (One of Zahran’s sisters) 02. Mohamed Paleel Fatima Zahida (Sadiq’s wife) 03. Mohamed Ahmadullah Fatima Justa (Mohamed Milhan’s wife)
Seven others who are currently in TID’s custody under detention orders: 01. Uduma Lebbe Farizana, aged 45 years (Gafoor’s wife) 02. Mummadu Hanifa Fatima Nusra, aged 25 years (Wife of one of Zahran’s close relatives) 03. Mohamed Salih Jafadiya, aged 56 years (Milhan’s mother-in-law) 04. Abdul Rauf Fatima Zara, aged 22 years (Daughter of Darul Adar Mosque chairman Rauf) 05. Abdul Kuddasi Sitti Satuna, aged 44 years (Wife of Darul Adar Mosque chairman Rauf) 06. Seiyadu Ahmadu Asmiya 07. Mohamed Ibrahim Saheeda, aged 24 years (Sister of Mohamed Ibrahim)
Sri Lanka witnessed 10 more COVID-19 related fatalities as the death toll climbed to 445, Director-General of Health Services confirmed today (February 21).
According to the Department of Government Information, all of the deceased were aged over 50 years.
Details of recent coronavirus victims are as follows:
01. A 74-year-old man from Kolonnawa area has died today while receiving treatment at the Homagama Base Hospital. He was transferred from Colombo National Hospital after testing positive for the virus. The cause of death was recorded as COVID pneumonia and complicated liver disease.
02. An 82-year-old woman from Wellawatte area died at the Homagama Base Hospital today. She had been transferred from Colombo South Teaching Hospital upon testing positive for the virus. The cause of death was cited as COVID pneumonia.
03. A 58-year-old woman died on February 16 at her home in Kalutara area. COVID-19 infection, blood poisoning, heart disease and acute diabetes were reported as the cause of death.
04. A 72-year-old woman who was living in Waskaduwa area died at her home on February 16. The cause of death was recorded as COVID-19 infection, blood poisoning and heart attack due to high blood pressure.
05. A 65-year-old man from Bibila area has died on February 19. He was moved to Kandy National Hospital from Monaragala District Hospital after testing positive for the virus. He suffered from brain hemorrhage and respiratory tract infection along with COVID-19 infection.
06. A 68-year-old man from Guruthalawa area, who tested positive for the virus at General Hospital in Badulla, was transferred to Mulleriyawa Base Hospital where he died yesterday (February 20). COVID pneumonia, heart disease, kidney disease and acute diabetes were recorded as the cause of death.
07. A 68-year-old man from Pitakotte area has died on admission to Colombo South Teaching Hospital on February 19. The cause of death was cited as wheezing and acute diabetes along with COVID-19 infection.
08. An 83-year-old man who was living in Kudagalgamuwa area died while receiving treatment at the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital on February 14. He has suffered from COVID-19 infection, blood poisoning due to an injury and kidney disease.
09. A 90-year-old man from Ratmalana area passed away yesterday (February 20) while receiving medical care at Pimbura Base Hospital. He was receiving treatment at Sri Jayewardenepura General Hospital when he tested positive for novel coronavirus. The cause of death was recorded as COVID pneumonia.
10. A 72-year-old man from Hatton area died yesterday (February 20) due to COVID-19 infection, acute diabetes, high blood pressure and brain cell death. He had been transferred from a private hospital in Colombo to National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) after testing positive for novel coronavirus.
Sri Lanka registered 265 more positive cases of COVID-19 today (February 21) as total novel coronavirus infections reported within the day reached 519.
Department of Government Information says 495 of today’s cases are close contacts of earlier cases linked to the Peliyagoda cluster.
Twenty-three others were detected from the prison cluster. The remaining patient is an arrival from a foreign country.
New development has pushed the country’s confirmed COVID-19 cases count to 79,999.
According to COVID-19 figures, 5,265 active cases are still under medical care at selected hospitals and treatment centres.
Meanwhile, total recoveries reported in the country now stand at 74,299.
Sri Lanka has also witnessed 435 fatalities due to the outbreak of the pandemic.
Some held portfolios during the thick of LTTE terror. Some held portfolios that could have stopped LTTE terror. Some held portfolios but simply watched LTTE carnage in silent. All of them did nothing to end the suffering 20million populace suffered when LTTE bombed and committed acts of terror. All of them woke up only after LTTE was militarily defeated or on the verge of defeat and all of them are now demanding answers for how the war was fought completely erasing their inaction during LTTE terror. What are these desperados’ really up to? What should UN Member States read from these actions? When a UN that did nothing to stop terror suddenly comes out with the rule books AFTER the terror is over, it only showcases the UN system is being used to CREATE A PRECEDENCE with Sri Lanka as a guinea pig. The Third World must rally behind Sri Lanka not for anything else, but to safeguard their own nations from becoming target of UN bullies if their attempt to subjugate Sri Lanka into the UN succeeds.
The laws of war and justice was re-written according to geopolitical demands with 9/11. Thereafter, concepts, formulas and templates took the form of what suited powerful nations & their political agendas. So accountability, justice, human rights, democracy, freedoms etc came to be determined on what suited their agendas. The UN system and NGO network became the mechanisms used to fast forward these objectives.
Those who did nothing to stop Rwanda genocide – where actual dead bodies was seen to count cannot talk about any invisible genocide in Sri Lanka – where accusers have failed to present names of 40,000 dead.
Those who did nothing when the Libyan Leader was killed in front of the whole world and watched by the world’s most powerful nation whose officials simply laughed at his death – cannot talk about justice or accountability.
Those who after destroying Libya went on to destroy Syria, bombing a country to the stone age, with goal to dislodge its leader, cannot send petitions against Sri Lanka, if they simply sat in their official chair and did nothing against it using the powers of their office.
Those that watch the suffering of the Iraqi’s Afghans, Darfur, and those who know how ISIS, Boko Haram, Al Qaeda etc are funded and trained cannot just take Sri Lanka’s Armed Forces and demand their penalization and ridicule on the world stage.
Those who are watching Yemen’s humanitarian sorrow, the malnutrition children, the hungry adults and pass the buck because of the countries involved in it are too powerful have no moral right to be only pointing fingers at Sri Lanka because it is a small nation with weak leaders.
The EldersFormer President of ColombiaNobel Peace Prize Winner
2010 – 20182016
Former UNHRC heads
Name
Role / Member
Tenure
2. Mary Robinson
The EldersFormer President of IrelandFormer UNHRC Head
1990 – 19971997 – 2002
3. Louise Arbour
Former UNHRC Head
2004 – 2008
4. Navanethem Pillay
Former UNHRC Head
2008 – 2014
5. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein
Former UNHRC Head
2014 – 2018
Former Special Rapporteur mandate-holders
Name
Role / Member
Tenure
6. Charles Petrie
Former United Nations Assistant Secretary- General, Head, Secretary General’s Internal Review Panel on United Nation’s Actions in Sri Lanka
2012
7. Philip Alston
Former Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions
2004 – 2010
8. Manfred Nowak
Former Special Rapporteur on torture & other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment
2004 – 2010
9. Gay MacDougall
Former Special Rapporteur on minority issues
2005 – 2011
10. Jan Eliasson
Deputy Secretary General UN
2012 – 2016
11. Adama Dieng
Former Special Adviser to UNSG on the Prevention of Genocide
2012 – 2020
12. Christof Heyns
Former Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions
2010 – 2016
13. Juan E. Mendez
Former Special Rapporteur on torture & other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment
2010 – 2016
14. Ben Emmerson
Former Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism
2011 – 2017
15. Maina Kiai
Former Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association
2011 – 2017
16. Pablo de Greiff
Former Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation, and guarantees of non-recurrence
2012-2018
17. David Kaye
Former Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
2014 – 2020
Privately commissioned Panel by UNSG
18. Marzuki Darusman 19. Steven Ratner 20. Yasmin Sooka
Secretary General’s Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka
2010-2011
Juan Manuel Santos
Leader of Colombia from 2010-2018
Colombia’s conflict began in May 1964 between FARC rebels & Columbian Govt/Army and ended in 2016 the same time Juan Santos was awarded Nobel Peace Prize for bringing to end 50 years of conflict that claimed over 220,000 lives majority civilian and has displaced 5million (almost half being children) – between 1985 and 2012 creating worlds 2ndlargest IDPs.
By 2003, U.S. involvement in Colombia meant 40 U.S. agencies and 4,500 people, including contractors, working from U.S. Embassy in Bogota, the the largest U.S. embassy in the world.
First woman President of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights days before LTTE blew up MV Cordiality ship killing 5 Chinese crew members. What did she do against LTTE? Chair of The Elders, member of Club Madrid, Has links to Eric Solheim who appointed her Chairman of Development Assistance Committee in 2016. In December 1997 after her visit to Rwanda as UNHRC head the Rwandan govt accused her of ‘blatant distortions’ https://www.irishtimes.com/news/robinson-accused-of-distortions-1.135772
Louise Arbour
Appointed Chief Prosecutor for Rwanda & Yugoslavia. Her indictment of a sitting head – Serbian Leader Milosevic made history though he was exonerated of war crimes only after his controversial death in a prison. As UNHRC head she visited Sri Lanka in 2007 October. Since 2009 she was President of International Crisis Group. It was during her period as UNHRC head that LTTE increased recruitment of child soldiers and even assassinated Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister – Lakshman Kadiragamar all during an internationally mediate cease fire agreement. What did she do to question LTTE accountability?
Navanethem Pillay
As an ethnic Tamil, it was only right that she recused herself from handing Sri Lanka, which she did not. Her statements foretell the biased nature of her actions against Sri Lanka during her tenure as UNHRC head. When she appears on Mullaiwaikkal Memorials distorting her on statements, this proves the case.
Violated Article 2.7 of UN Charter by interfering in domestic jurisdiction of Sri Lanka – asking to demilitarize and commenting on Sri Lanka’s judiciary.
Another report leaked like the Darusman Report, attempting to shed crocodile tears of UN failing to stop a non-existent carnage, whereas UN actually failed to bring peace to Sri Lanka over 30 years. Petrie should have written about the UN failure to stop LTTE terrorism. Petrie was a UN Official in Rwanda when UN simply abandoned Rwanda. Ironically, he was made UN envoy to Burma! Petrie also headed a Norwegian funded project Myanmar Peace Support Initiative”All hotspots for Western geopolitics!
Petrie resigned from the UN at the end of 2010 but in March 2012 appointed by Ban Ki Moon to do an internal review of UN’s action in Sri Lanka. This report was leaked probably because it was shedding crocodile tears about UN failing the civilians in the final phase without crying over UN failure over 30 years to prevent LTTE terror.
Philip Alston
Ban Ki Moon private panel included only one source for alleging ‘executions’by GoSL troops presented by C4 and Alston’s report attaching 3 technical expert reports – from an US forensic analyst Jeff Spiyack who says that there is no way to confirm solely from recordings the identity of the victims or shooters.
Manfred Nowak
Visited Sri Lanka 1 to 8 October 2007.
Gay MacDougall
American lawyer and Board Member of George Soros Open Society
This expert on genocide may like to redefine what genocide is as per political agenda. Where do you have mass murders in this modern era similar to the atrocities committed during colonial times?
Another UN official overstepping mandate & violating Article 2.7 of UN Charter – demanding repealing of PTA, release of hardcore LTTE, Emmerson defended Ramush Haradinaj, the former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army.
Maina Kiai
a Kenyan lawyer and member of HRW since 2018 was also in Amnesty International in 2001. Regular recipient of letters from LTTE fronts
Also a member of the privately commissioned UNSG panel of experts and thereafter became the ‘comrade’ of LTTE fronts appearing at their events. Though paid by EU to look into affairs of South Africa/Africans she is preoccupied with Sri Lanka and its military. Her reports churned out for UN sessions are all without evidence and hype only.
Thus 20 personalities linked to the UN system have put aside all other conflicts, all other human rights or humanitarian issues and is only bothered about Sri Lanka. We want to know why? We want to know what propels them to be so obsessed with Sri Lanka ONLY AFTER they all watched Sri Lanka suffer 30 years of terrorism & DID NOTHING TO STOP LTTE TERROR?
How dare they talk about justice & accountability when they ignored 30 years people suffered under LTTE.
Out of the blue, when the Sri Lanka Armed Forces ended 30 years of terror, how dare they enter holding the rules of war when they chose to ignore all laws that LTTE flouted when they committed pre-meditated murder. They cannot simply brush 30years of terror aside and demand truth and justice for a period they wish to control and dictate to governments.
The fact that their very claim for 40,000 dead has fallen flat with their setting of the Missing Persons Commission which has not got any 40,000 dead names!
This looks nothing but a desperate attempt by UN officials (serving & former) to cover up their follies and biases. When they single out only Sri Lanka where not a bomb has gone off or LTTE suicide attempt occurring since LTTE defeat in May 2009, it baffles all of us as to why these officials are so obsessed with Sri Lanka. This needs serious attention. None of the allegations made have concrete evidence to prove anything beyond doubt.
What are they all up to?
Why are they using Sri Lanka to try to create a precedent?
This is why the third world UN membership should not allow such a precedence to be created using Sri Lanka as a guinea pig.
The increasing interventionist role of the UN and its agencies,
mainly the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), in the domestic affairs of Sri
Lanka, seen especially in the unwarranted excesses listed in the latest
Michelle Bachelet’s report, threatening, for instance, to report Sri Lanka to
ICJ, should come under unrelenting scrutiny to expose its (1) disproportionate
scrutiny and intervention in the domestic affairs particularly when M.
A. Sumanthiran says that progress has been made though not to their
satisfaction; (2) partisan selectivity manipulated by
pro-Tamil/LTTE agents abroad, including TNA, NGOs, INGOs, etc. (All these
players have been complicit in one form or another, by word or by deed,
in appeasing the Tamil Pol Pot killing his own people) and (3) politicisation to
appease the Big Brothers who are engaged in twisting the arm of Sri Lanka
to serve the urgent interests in combatting and containing
China.
So, when Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights, pretend to be the moral high priestess supervising all that is not to
her liking on earth, she must be told in no uncertain terms that in burying the
UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR), the immediate predecessor to
UNHRC, Kofi Annan, the former Secretary-General, quite rightly pinpointed
that it was put six feet under because meddlesome interlopers like Bachelet overstepped
their mark and violated the three evils mentioned above. She must also be
reminded that the new UNHRC was established not for the likes
of Bachelets to go back to the rotten old ways of the buried UNCHR but to
hold the balance and steer human rights justly, even-handedly and
proportionately to achieve the long-term interests of the human rights of
all and not just those who are vindictively waging a war in Geneva to get
even with the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) for crushing Tamil terrorists
banned by the world.
Take the case of M.A. Sumanthiran, the current holy cow of
Tamil politics, manipulating with the American Ambassadress, Alaina B. Teplitz,
to fix Sri Lanka in the coming session of UNHRC on human rights principles. Not
so long ago he was on the other side, going on his bended to Velupillai
Prabhakaran. During that time, he no qualms in pledging his loyalty to him as
the supreme leader of the Tamils when he knew that he had killed more Tamils
than any other. To this day he has not apologised to the Tamil people for
collaborating with the Tamil Pol Pot and willingly being a part of his killing
machine. At least Adolf Eichmann had a rather tenuous excuse for being a part
of Hitler’s killing machine. He claimed that he was only a cog in the wheel of
the Nazi system and he had no choice. He said he was merely carrying out
orders. But Sumanthiram had a choice. There was no compulsion for him to be an
integral part of the Prabhakaran’s killing machine. He did it on his own,
voluntarily, agreeing to be a partner in war crimes and crimes against
humanity, particularly the crimes against his fellow Tamils.
For instance, did he once go with a Tamil parent to Tamil
Chelvam, to plead for the life of an abducted schoolgirl or school boy?
He is a lawyer. Did he ever file a case in the Prabhakaran’s court
complaining about the violation of the fundamental rights of Tamils in
his quasi-state? Did he go to the American Ambassador and put pressure on
him/her to protect the dignity, justice, equality and peace of the Tamils
denied by his sole representative of the Tamils”? Today, he says that
truth will set him free, quoting the Bible. True. So when will he liberate
himself from the web of lies in which he is trapped and walk as a free
man? Also, will the American Ambassadress hold the hand of Prabhakaran’s
partner in war crimes and crimes against humanity and escort him to Geneva for
him to pose as champion of human rights?
Both of them will find themselves quite at home because UNHRC is
built on lies, biases and frauds. John Bolton, the arch conservative, was right
when he said that US did not have sufficient confidence to be able to say that
HRC wold be better than its predecessor.” (p.56 – The United Nations
Human Rights Council, Rosa Freedman, Routledge). He added: If the UN
Secretariat building in New York lost ten storeys, it wouldn’t make a little
bit of difference.” (ibid – p. 156). In any case, the UN and its agencies have
been taken over from time to time by war criminals, liars, frauds, sex maniacs,
morally blind hypocrites, etc that one more going from Jaffna will not make
much of a difference to UN’s moral failure to be a universal instrument for
peace, justice and the security of imperilled man.
A quick glance at some facts will reveal why humanity
cannot depend on the UN as an instrument for the overall good of
man:
Fact 1: Between 1972 and 1981 the UN – the highest
instrumentality set up to protect human rights – was run by a war criminal:
Kurt Waldheim. As lieutenant in the Nazi killing machine he
operated in Greece where more than 60,000 were deported to Jewish death
camps. had no qualms. Waldheim served as Secretary – General for two terms. Is
this the institution that is now pointing a finger at Sri Lanka?
Fact 2: On February 5, 2005 Colin Powell, Secretary of
State for Bush, deliberately lied to the Security Council, saying that Iraq was
hiding weapons of mass destruction from inspectors and refusing to
disarm. The unpardonable immorality of the UN-sanctioned lies
diminishes the credibility of the UN making accusations against other
countries. In the case of Sri Lanka its worse. A case is constructed against
Sri Lanka by the three hand-picked characters sitting in New York and
collecting the evidence of accusers whose names will not be revealed for
the next thirty years. What credibility or justice will there be in a case
built out of anonymous accusers whose identity will not be revealed for
the next thirty years?
Fact 3: UN-sanctioned naval cordon thrown around Iraq killed 600,000
children and when Madeleine Albright, America’s State Secretary, was asked
whether the price was worth for achieving the aims of the West in Iraq she
replied that the price was worth it. This figure of 600,000 amounts to
more than all the children killed in Hiroshima. UNHRC is crying its heart out,
wringing its hands, on an unverified figure of 40,000 dead between September
2008 and May 2009. Leaving all other factors out, at least on the principle of
proportionality will Bachelet report Albright to the ICJ? She can do it because
there is no statute of limitation for crimes against humanity. Will she
do it?
Fact 4: Derek Halliday, former Assistant Secretary General of UN
in charge of Humanitarian Operation in Iraq said that the West is waging
a war through UN on the people of Iraq, with results that you do not expect to
see in a war fought under Geneva conventions. We are targeting civilians… its
monstrous situation for UN, for the Western world, for all who are part of some
democratic system and the implementation of economic sanctions”.
Halliday calls it genocide and believes when history books are written the
Security Council, the UN, Washington and London will be ’slaughtered’ for their
actions (British Medical Journal – March 11, 2000.
John Pilger’s documentary Paying the Price – the killing of the
children of Iraq.)
Fact 5 : Under UN Security Council Resolution 819 Srebrenica
enclave was declared a safe area by UN. The safety status was extended to
Sarajevo, Zepa Gorazde, Tuzla Bihac. All cities were placed under UN
peacekeeping units UNPROFOR. Member states who voted for it were for political
reasons not willing to take necessary steps to ensure the security of the safe
areas When the Muslims of Srebrenica were panicking fearing the imminent attacks
from Serbs the overall UN Commander rushed and assured the Muslims that they
are safe because they are under the protection of UN forces. The next day under
the very eyes of the of UN forces commanded by a Dutch unit 8,000 Muslim men
and boys were massacred in a pre-planned genocidal attack. Dutch state was
found liable in Dutch supreme court and the Hague district court of failing to
do enough to prevent more than 300 deaths. (Wikipedia).
In the Darusman report the GOSL is accused of firing into zones
declared as No Fire Zones. This is denied by the GOSL. But let’s assume that it
did happen. Unwittingly the Darusman report provides the answer. It says that
the LTTE placed military equipment where civilians were to provoke fire
from GOSL forces. GOSL forces did not rush into the No Fire Zone to launch a
genocidal attack under the blind eyes of the UN. It was reacting to provocative
fire from the LTTE. This is different from UN forces turning a blind eye to the
genocidal attack on Muslims who were in the UN protected Safe Zone.
If anything near to what happened in Srebrenica happened in the No fire Zone in
the last days of the 33-year-old war Ms. Bachelet’s would have danced by now
her politicised Cancan in Geneva without knickers.
The overall pattern emerging from her irate report indicates
that she in cahoots with the NGOs, anti-Sri Lankan Western powers who
overlook – and even defend – the violations of human rights of their
allies, the Tamil diaspora, India with its pinch-the-baby-and-rock-the-cradle
policy – all of which is taking UNHRC down the very same path that led to the
burial of UNCHR.
To understand the inexcusable immorality on which the whole
attack on Sri Lanka is based one has to look at the framework on which it
stands. Organised Tamil violence against the democratically elected began
officially when the Vellala elite declared war in the Vadukoddai Resolution on
May 14, 1976 urging the Tamil youth to take up arms and never rest until they
achieve Eelam. Since then they have financed it, mobilised cadres for it,
internationalised it, lobbied and raised funds for Tamil terrorism in
every available corner of earth for it, manufactured theories and excuses
for violations of human rights and crimes against humanity, glorified war
crimes, triumphantly hailed every killing and/or massacre that led to
territorial gains, demonised or eliminated any potential rivals including
the cream of Tamil elite, justified the suppression of all liberties that
denied the dignity, justice, liberty, and peace etc. This war ran for 33-years
with the backing of the Diaspora, local elite and even at time with the
support of India who never fails to profess eternal friendship with Sri Lanka.
It ended on May 19, 2009.
Now here comes the irony of ironies. In its infinite wisdom UN
pundits picks only eight months out of 33 years to accuse Sri Lanka in the main
of violating human rights and subjecting Sri Lanka only to disproportionate and
severe strictures and judgment of the UNHRC and UN. The unanswered – and even
the unasked — question why limit the judgment on a war of 33 years to the last
eight months only? On what logic? On what rationale? And who was it who drew up
the dates? For what reasons?
The dates were arbitrarily determined by the three UN zombies
sitting in New York for their convenience. They were not after serving
justice or peace, or human rights, or the truth. They were out to pick bits and
piece from wherever they could, stitch them together as credible evidence” and
hang Sri Lanka at the end of their rope. Apart from their personal convenience
there is a grand design behind it. It was the only way they could
eliminate all the other responsible actors in originating, causing, promoting,
financing, and directing a needless war and pin it exclusively on Sri
Lanka. It provided the rationale for the whole world to gang up against
Sri Lanka as the only culprit responsible for the 40,000 (a figure picked out
of the skies) that died in the last days of the war.
This arbitrary dating avoids (1) the key issue of crimes against
peace committed by the Tamil leadership under the Charter of the Nuremburg
Tribunal principle where they planned and conspired and made preparations for
waging a war of aggression – the principle under which the Nazi war criminals
were tried and sentenced – in passing the Vadukoddai Resolution on May
14, 1976 declaring war against the democratically elected government of Sri
Lanka; (2) the interventionist role of India which engaged in deliberately
pursuing a policy of aggression in recruiting, training, financing and
directing Tamil terrorist to destabilise a friendly neighbour violating
universally accepted international law ; (3) the guilt of Western nations which
provided safe havens for agents of Tamil terrorist to raise funds and
propagandize terrorism violating Resolution 1373 of the UN ; (d) war crimes and
crimes against humanity committed by the IPKF in massacring patients,
doctors, nurses in the Jaffna Hospital etc., (e) the issue of safe havens
given in Western countries to LTTE agents who had directly aided and abetted
the violations of human rights and been an active part of the killing
machine of Tamil terrorists (.e.g Adele Balasingham and V. Rudrakumaran, lawyer
of Prabhakaran) (f) the refusal to give information on LTTE agents hiding in
Western havens as refugees , thereby hampering the overall attempt to bring
justice and reconciliation based finding the truth, etc.
It is the responsibility of the Ms. Bachelet’s, if her office is
genuinely concerned about dealing with human rights issues to help the GOSL
with these issues instead of passing the buck to GOSL on every minor
issue. For instance, it is immoral for her to limit her investigations arbitrarily
only to the last eight months of a 33-year-old war. If truth finding is vital
for reconciliation and peace then revisiting the past – the entire length and
breadth – is imperative to arrive at a fair and reasonable judgment. If she
sits in Geneva like the Darusman zombies in New York and continues to pass
judgment impulsively, with eyes wide shut, is will be doing a disservice to the
reputation and viability of UNHRC. Even at this stage she has to take a
holistic view of the crisis and be fair by all parties.
UNHRC has been battered by all sides. It has been used mainly by
US to wipe its feet whenever it decides to get out or come in. Her task is to
lift the UNHRC to a new level of respectability and acceptability. Can
she do it? Can she make a difference? Her latest report indicates that
she has the capacity to act only like the monkey dancing to the organ grinders
behind her.
There is no great achievement in becoming a Dittohead to the
paymasters. Any mug could do it. It is Ms. Michelle Batchelet’s turn to write a
new chapter to the UNHRC. She should, for instance, go back to the
beginning and start from the Declaration of War by the Tamils against the
democratically elected state and see how it went all the way to Nandikadal. The
Declaration of War took place in Vadukoddai and though it’s a short
distance as the crow flies to Nandikadal where the war ended it took 33 years.
How fair is it, Madam, to judge a journey of 33 years with
the events of only last eight months, eh? Can it serve truth and justice?
Doesn’t it all come back the original sins of selectivity and
politicisation? You didn’t break through the glass ceiling just to follow in
the footsteps of the male chauvinists, did you Madam?
By Noor Nizam – Peace and Political Activist, Political Communication Researcher, SLFP/SLPP Stalwart, Member of Viyathmaga and Convener – “The Muslim Voice”, February 20th., 2021.
A visit by Hon.
Mahinda Rajapaksa to Islamabad in the near future, can pave the way for Pakistan’s engagement in Sri Lanka for
the betterment of both brotherly Nations.
Pakistan is
a good friend of Prime Minister Hon. Mahinda Rajapaksa, President Gotabaya
Rajapksa, Basil Rajapaksa and the Sinhalese Nation of Sri Lanka where
the minority communities had lived in “Peace and Harmony”, if not for
the problems the Minorities created themselves for political greed and
selfishness.
Sri Lankan majority community will never forget the UNSTINTING SUPPORT Pakistan gave Sri Lanka in the war against the most ruthless terrorist group the LTTE organization and to defeat the so-called Tamil Tigers. The communication between PM Imran Khan and HE. Mahinda Rajapaksa is much appreciated and welcome by the Muslims of Sri Lanka at this moment of history making in our “Maathruboomiya”. HE. Mahinda Rajapaksa should accept any invitation that maybe extended my PM Imran Khan during his official visit to PM Mahinda Rajapaksa to make an official vist to Pakistan (Islamabad) at the earliest. Pakistan investments should be encouraged and more trade between the two brotherly nations should prosper as a result of the new frienmdship extended, while we maint an Equilibrium in international relations with our neighbour India. Pakistan investments should be encouraged and more trade between the two brotherly nations should prosper as a result of the new friendship extended, while we maintain an Equilibrium in international relations with our neighbours. With regards to bilateral relations, this is the correct moment for Pakistan to extend all support and assistance to Sri Lanka to get through with the budened debt crisis that the country is facing presently.
Pakistan should also offer more educational scholarships
to Sri Lankans in educations,
especially in the technical trades and animal husbandry and designate more
experts in the field of Technical experts in agriculture and especially
in animal husbandry and
“Dairy Farming”. Pakistan should come forward to take over and “turn
around” the large “Dairy Farms” that the West, Australia and
NewZealand has dumped on Sri Lanka under the pretext of assisting to
increase milk production, but really sold thousands of cattle (milk cows) that
are NOT Acclimatized to the weather conditions of Sri Lanka.
They have been sold
to Sri Lanka at
large prices on strict country to country loans and fraudulent deals, one of
the causes of Sri Lanka’s present debt crisis. This is how the West
operate bilaterally to criple the economy of growing nations like Sri Lanka. Pakistan with a track record of having
developed the dairy indusrty to become one of the largest diary industrial
producers out beating even European countries with having the 3rd., largest
cattle breed in the world, should come
forward to assist Sri Lanka to
follow their foot-steps in the dairy industry. The Sahiwal and the Red Sindhi
breeds may suit Sri Lanka the best and Pakistan should try
to introduce these breeds to help Sri Lanka’s Dairy Industry. Unlike the production
systems in the developed countries, milk production systems in Pakistan represent smallholding with
subsistence- or market-oriented-level farming followed by peri-urban or
commercial-level farming. This can be an answer to failing Diary Indusrty
of Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka governments
plans to import around 1 million milking cattle heads in the coming 4 years, it
has been revealed by the The
Task Force is responsible for reviving the economy and eradication of poverty
while paying special attention to the challenges posed and opportunities
emerged in Sri Lanka in the wake of COVID – 19 outbreak. This Task Force is
headed by the Former Minister Basil Rajapaksa.
Pakistan has
also to make sure that no undesirable persons enter Sri Lanka,
with the assistance of the Sri Lankan
security forces and the Immigration authorities and help Sri Lanka to
prevent the flow of drugs into Sri Lanka by nefarious characters operating
through Pakistan soil. While it
is very much appreciated taht HE. PM Imra Khan is visiting Sri Lanka on the
22nd., of February 2021 on a two day official visit, a visit by Hon. Mahinda
Rajapaksa to Islamabad in the near future, can pave the way for Pakistan’s engagement in Sri Lanka for
the betterment of both brotherly Nations.
The Minister of Education Professor G.L. Peiris states that the report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on the Easter Sunday Attack will be publicised.
He stated this at a press conference held in Colombo today (15),
The Minister of Education also acknowledged that the Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has stated that he will seek international support if justice is not served, therefore a copy of the report will be submitted to him as well.
Colombo, February 20 (Daily Mirror) – Following complaints that several people who were not under the ‘vulnerable groups’ had received the Astra Zeneca vaccinations against COVID-19 in recent days, health officials at a meeting yesterday decided to get tough and strictly implement the programme according to the groups officially allocated.
A senior health official told the Daily Mirror yesterday that since the vaccination programme had opened out, especially to the vulnerable groups in the Western Province this week, several individuals who were not under the ‘vulnerable group’ had received the vaccination, eventually leaving out those who urgently require it.
Following these complaints, health officials have decided to implement the programme strictly from today and will begin to vaccinate those above the age of 60 years who are on the third priority list. Vaccination programmes will also begin among the workforce aged 30 to 60 as they are said to be the worst affected by the COVID-19 while the highest mortality rate was reported among those above the age of 60.
Meanwhile, health officials have insisted that despite being vaccinated, the transmission of the COVID-19 virus would not halt and people were urged to practice all health guidelines.
Officials said there was a possibility that a vaccinated person could contract the virus again but the vaccine would help develop the antibodies to fight the virus within.
Therefore we urge people to strictly adhere to the health guidelines even after being vaccinated and urge everyone to get vaccinated once the vaccines are available,” the official said. (Jamila Husain)
