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A total of 326 new cases of novel coronavirus have been identified today, the National Operations Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) confirmed.
It said that 172 new cases are from the Peliyagoda cluster while the remaining 154 are from the prisons cluster.
This brings the total number of cases from the Minuwangoda, Peliyagoda and prisons clusters to 24,648.
It was revealed at the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) that the then Foreign Minister has influenced the procurement process of the National Lotteries Board which was under the purview of Foreign Ministry in 2017.
Accordingly, a tender which had completed the procurement process for the printing of scratch lotteries in 2017 has been suspended by a Cabinet decision at the request of the then Foreign Minister.
Even though the then Minister of Finance Mangala Samaraweera had given an observation stating that suspending the tender was not the right decision, the Cabinet had decided to withdraw the above tender.
Accordingly, the tender for the printing of scratch lottery tickets which was due to be awarded to Aqua Flex Lanka (Pvt) Ltd has been stopped. The COPE has also observed that this cabinet decision has been made under the influence of Print Care Secure (Pvt) Ltd. The Cabinet decision has caused a huge financial loss to the National Lotteries Board and, it is still not possible to call for a new tender for the printing of relevant lottery tickets until 2020.
This was revealed at the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) which met in Parliament on 04th December under the chairmanship of Parliamentarian Prof. Charitha Herath to look into matters relating to the Procurement on the Print and Delivery of Lottery Tickets of National Lotteries Board.
In addition, it was revealed that the annual reports of the National Lotteries Board for the years 2017, 2018, 2019 have not been submitted to Parliament. Accordingly, the COPE has instructed to look into the matter and submit the relevant reports to Parliament as soon as possible, the statement said.
Victoria’s hotel quarantine program has restarted, with Melbourne Airport welcoming its first international flights in more than five months.
SriLankan Airlines flight UL604 from Colombo landed just before 8am on Monday, the first of eight international passenger flights carrying 253 travellers due to touch down today.
Victoria has not accepted international flights since early July, when it was revealed a number of hotel quarantine workers had contracted COVID-19 from guests.
The outbreaks went on to spark the state’s second wave, which resulted in more than 18,000 infections and 800 deaths.
The state has since recorded 38 consecutive days without a new COVID-19 case.
Victoria Police will take the lead in enforcing the new-look hotel quarantine program, with support from Australian Defence Force personnel.
Eleven airport and CBD hotels will participate, including the Stamford Hotel, one of two hotels where outbreaks occurred in June.
Hotel guests will have to pay about $3500 for their 14-day stay, while fresh-air and exercise breaks will be banned to prevent movement inside hotels.
Source: SBS News
Millions the world over are addicted to drugs. Their whole lives are ruined. Their families are in disarray. All this suffering is because selling drugs has become a lucrative avenue for a bunch of people who want to become filthy rich – taking the shortest route. They don’t care how they make money or whose lives they destroy. They are only bothered about the millions they make from the drug business. Their children are educated from the money that have destroyed the education of millions. They buy fancy cars and houses from the money gained from turning people into addicts. They go on holidays and stay in luxury hotels, with the money gained from destroying families. Do these thoughts not traumatize their minds? Are their families not aware of the illicit money that make their wealth?
Drug addiction is a menace to families and society. Addicted individuals are of no use to themselves, their families or society. They become a burden to society as the families and State have to spend on their rehabilitation and re-introduction into society. It takes years of time and money. Their entire productivity and years are lost. All this is unnecessary if the wicked few who bring drugs into a country, distribute them and draw them into becoming addicts are dealt with and rehabilitated instead. Their sick minds need medication. Their sick mentality to make money at the cost of destroying lives is what should be treated first.
These same individuals are also pumping money to create computer games, gambling systems, pornography and other ill-methods to draw people to become addicts so they can get richer quicker. All these are impacting on people’s nervous systems – opium, marijuana, cocaine, nicotine, heroin, even alcohol and nicotine are addictive modes. They affect and effect the psychological and physical behaviors of people. Without going after the main culprits the law enforcements always run after the paid entities who are simply paid to distribute and induce people to take drugs. Look at the number of bars that operate and the numbers addicted to alcohol.
The real culprits are the ones who bring the illegal drugs into the country and then create the nexus for its distribution.
To have over 270million people addicted to make a handful rich is a crime. The productivity of these millions are wasted. Their homes are in ruins. The hopes and aspirations they had for these children by their parents have gone down the drain. They end up having to spend whatever earnings they have trying to meet the medical costs for rehabilitation. In the meanwhile, the wicked souls that bring the drugs, put them out into the market, distribute them through crafty means to children and youth – take their families to plush hotels, buy them the most modern and up to date gadgets, travel in luxury cars and spend the blood money on themselves and with that create more nefarious ventures to create more innocent victims to enlarge their wealth. This money is even used to campaign to bring themselves to power or to bring others who will help them continue their illegal wealth making system.
Admiral Sarath Weerasekera has been appointed the Law & Order Minister. No sooner he was appointed the excise department on a tip off seized 100kg of heroin and 100kg of ICE with a street value of over Rs.300m. Who are these masterminds operating from Dubai – who are their agents in Sri Lanka. No sooner their identities are established; they must be barred from entering Sri Lanka. All those connected with them must be investigated. We cannot expect to make any meaningful campaign against drugs if the main culprits are untouched and political pressure prevents action from being taken against them.
How ridiculous it is if the very agents of drugs sit on panels to end drug addiction, or those who are involved in bringing drugs into the country or enjoy funding from those who bring drugs into the country are put on committees to end drug addiction in Sri Lanka.
Therefore, if we are to be sincere and genuine about ending drugs – we must have the courage to first deal with the main culprits that bring drugs into the country first, then those who facilitate these drugs being brought into the country, thereafter those that are tasked to distribute the drugs while simultaneously running programs to show the end result of taking drugs, to educate the youth and adults to realize the dangers of experimenting with drugs and becoming addicted to them. At the same time, realizing how these drugs are introduced to youth – there must be social programs to address the psychological issues children and youth are suffering from to help them recover so that they are not drawn to drugs as a short term but dangerous solution.
In terms of rehabilitation – it should be the evil men and women who want to make money from ruining the lives of others who should be put into rehabilitation first!
Shenali D Waduge
After the LTTE war, the most internationally noted incident in Sri Lanka was the unrest in Mahara Prison, and pictures of the incident have been viewed globally through social media. The factors that contributed to unrest seem to be contradicted and ordinary people are confused by a range of information provided by the authority, government, analysts, opposition politicians, media, and many others. Some people attempted to use the case to animadversion the government and to disgrace the government using the points that may use for the internationalization of the issue. Not only in Sri Lanka but also many countries have prison management related issues, and no country is immune to the problem that should be critically looked by policymakers.
As a ratio, the involvement of people in the case in Sri Lanka is less than 0.001%, and many people who observed the incident attempted to express concern saying they were not involved in, and the morally significant question is, can people wash hands or deviate from the issue purely considering the point that they have no individual or collective involvement? The reporting system focused to point out to give a message that prisoners involved in the unrest were narcotic dealers or consumers, and when people are associated with narcotic, good people also could become violent and involve anti-social behavior that is applied all over the world and the law and order have failed to control it. Policymakers of the country need to think about the issue and look to broader perspectives or angles to change the behavior of people. Attitudes of people contribute to make the world to construct or destroy.
When deeply analyzes the incident, it invites policymakers to open eyes on deeply rooted issues in the country that are neglected by responsible authorities. Before the presidential election in 2019, people demanded was to take firm action to eliminate narcotic and the underworld from Sri Lanka’s soil, and Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has taken firm actions to eliminate drugs and the underworld. Illicit drug dealing and the activities of the underworld are all over the world and many governments spend trillions of dollars to control the issue, however, despite large spending illicit drug production, distribution, and underworld activities are operating in the world. Individually, no country can deal with the issue, and changing the attitude of people may be an effective way of control.
Economically, illicit drugs and the underworld activities in Sri Lanka have created a black economy that harm, the day-to-day life of poor people, increasing inflation, shortage of essential items, misuse of foreign exchange, and many others. According disclosed evidence, drug dealers disregard foreign exchange regulations of the country and use illegal methods to transfer money for the payments of narcotic and it seems a legally acceptable way of transferring money. The actual economic value of illicit drug dealing and underworld activities has not been estimated, and the impact of such activities on peace-loving people is unknown. Few individuals have been benefited from these drugs, underworld activities, and organized crimes, and no doubt that the liberalized economic policies and the wars of terrorists (LTTE and Islamists) have contributed to promoting anti-social and corrupt behaviours in the country. Why people engage in this anti-social behaviour when they have a simple way to go forward? Some left politicians talked about the issue in the parliament and attempted to attract public attention to the incident, however, it showed that the public has no sympathy toward anti-social behavior because people have suffered enough from drug dealers, consumers, underworld activists, and the environment created by these group of people. In Sri Lanka, many people talk about religions and the unrest of the Mahara Prison shows that religions are not working in society and sometimes, it is easier to assume that religions are working like opium that is not working to change the attitude of people in society.
During the LTTE war, many social analysts assumed that the possibility of social unrest or expanding anti-social activities in the country after ending the war because the war had strings from outside and manipulators of the war associated with anti-social behavior. Since the early 1990s, the behavior of young people has been focused to make money by whatever strategies using and liberal rules of movements in many countries motivated young people to make money engage in whatever business. The behavior of young people pressured parents, and political and economic policymakers have not been stressed by the potential social issues that would cost a massive volume of government funds to deal with the issue.
The major bestowal for the issue was the education policy of the country that continuously pursued isolation of young generation in society and promoting self-centred attitudes, disregarding the promoting and be responsible for issues in society. Young men who are being attended in the education system must have a good understanding to apply values in the life. It is not like religious preaching but training to apply values entire life and understand the impact of actions to society. Education policy in Sri Lanka promoted individualism, and this selfish policy got the involvement of parents in education of kids than giving an opportunity to learn about the society by kids understanding causes and effect of day-to-day practice of society. Despite the learning role giving to kids, parents are involved in education and competitive process of learning, and in this way, kids are not learning or gaining the values from education. The major role of education is supposed to be performed by schools to create a value laden society, however, the role is pushed to private tuition providers and parents, and the significant involvement of parents than kids to really take part in education. Education in Sri Lanka has not focused students to analytically or positively think about the society.
The system of competitive examination such G.C.E. (Ordinary Level) and G.C.E (Advanced Level) and Scholarship examinations forced parents to involve more than motivating students to engage in productive education and the government spent a large sum of funds for the competitive testing ignoring reforms required in education. The education system should focus to make creative and value respected society. The current education system is running out of the requirements. Academics involved in education reforms were products of the weak system, and had no knowledge, skills, and experience to change the system to promote a productive society, and positive thinkers and to apply social values and heavy involvement of parents has turned education to promote make money rather than to make responsible members in society. In such a background, creating people involve in narcotic business is not strange, and it is the negative impact of current education system.
Many articles in Sunday newspapers analysed the Mahara Prison incident or unrest of prisoners, but nobody focused that the declining of value education in society supported to create the problem, and declining or ignoring value education in schools has massively contributed to the problem. The education system in Sri Lanka promotes hate and disregard values in the efforts of making money. Why policymakers of education think about this massive issue while promoting knowledge and skills through education?
(මෙම ලිපිය කියවීමට පෙර ආක්රමනිකයින් සහ රටේ පාලක පන්තිය එකට එක්වී ඔවුන්ගේ ඕනෑ එපාකම් ඉටුකරගැනීම සදහා පමණක් සෑදූ ශ්රි ලන්කාවේ අරුම පුදුම ආණ්ඩුක්රම විවස්ථා 30 .11.2020. දින ලන්කාවෙබ් අඩවියේ පලවූ මගේ ලිපිය කියවන මෙන් මම ඔබගෙන් ඉල්ලමි).
1987 ජූලි 29 වන දින දරණ ජේ ආර්/රජිව් ඉන්දුලඅන්කා ගිවිසුම අහෝසිකොට පලාත්සභා හූනීයමද කපා පලාත්සභාද අහෝසිකොට මේ රටේ සන්ස්කෘතික පදනම පාදකකොටගත් විවස්ථ්හාවක් හදන තුරු කිසිදාක මේ රට නිදහස්, ස්වඉරී, ස්වාධීන රටක් වෙන්නේ නැහ
මන්ද ප්රතමයෙන්ම මින් පළමු කරුනු දෙක බලාත්මකව පවතින තුරු මේ රට ඉන්දියාවේ යටත් විජිතයක් හෝ ප්රාන්තයක් වශයෙන්ම පවතින බැවිණි.දෙවනුව මේ රටට විවස්ථාවක් හැදිය යුත්තේ මේ රටේ 2500 ක සන්ස්කෘතික පසුබිම පාදක කොට ගෙන මේ රටේ භූමිපුත්රයින්ගේ අයිතිවාශිකම්, අපේක්ෂාවන් සහ අභිලාසයන් ඉටුවන පරිදි බැවිනි. එසේ නැතිව දැනට පවතින විවස්ථා මෙන් බ්රිතාන්ය, ඇමෙරිකා.ප්රන්ශ හා ඉන්දියානු ක්රමවල සිව්මුහුන් ආකෘතියේ විවස්ථාවක් කිසිදිනෙක මේ රටට් නොගැලපේ. එසේම එවැන්නක් මේ රටේ සින්හල බෞධ ජනතාව මින් මතුවට කිසිදිනෙක පිලිගන්නේද නැත. එසේම එවැන්නක් මගින් සිදුවනුයේ තවදුරතත් භූමිපුත්රයින්ගේ ජන්ම අයිතිවාසිකම් පාවාදීමකි.
එම නිසා එකී කරුණු තුන පලමුව සම්පූර්ණ නොකොට කුමණ විවස්ථාවක් හැදුවද එය විවස්ථා කවන්ධයක් පමණක්වනු ඇත.
එබැවින් දැන්වත් මේ රටට ගැළපෙන විවස්ථාවක් හැදීමේ පරම වගකීම ජනාධිපති තුමා ඇතුලු මේ රජයට පැවරී ඇත. මෙහිදී අත්ත වසයෙන්ම මේ රටට ගැලපෙන ආණ්ඩුකරම විවස්ථාවක් හැදීමේ අවන්ක අදහසක් කිසිවකු තුල තිබේනම් ප්රථමයෙන්මෑ ඒ සදහා මෙම මූලධර්ම තුන පාදක කොටැ ගත යුතුය.ඉහතින් දැක්වු 3 වන සාධ්කය යටතේ සැලකිල්ලට ගතයුතු කරුණු අතර රටේ භූගූලීය සාධක, ඉතිහාසය, වසර, 2500 ක තිස්සේ පැවති රාජ්ය පාලන කරමය, බූමියේ අයිතිය, සම්ප්රදායන්, සිරිත් විරිත් මෙන්ම භූමිපුත්රයින්වන සින්හලයින්ගේ ආගමික සන්ස්ක්රිතික උරුමයන් සහ අනගත අභිලාෂයන් යන කරුණුද වේ.
එබැවින් මා එසේ කියන්නේ ඇයි කියා පලමුවම පැහැදිලි කරමි, අනතුරුව මේ රටේ අනාගත පැවැත්මට තිරසාර පදනම විය හැකි විවස්ථාවක් නිර්මානය කිරීම ආරම්භ කිරිමට පෙර විවස්ථා භූමියේ ඇති කටුකොහොල්ද සුද්ධ කර ගතයුතුය. ඒ මොනවාදයි ලිපියේ අගට දක්වමි.
1987 ජූලි 29 රජිව්/ජේ ආර් ගිවිසුම
බ්රතාන්ය යටත්විජිතවාදීන් විසින් 1833 කෝල්බෲක් කොමිසමෙන් අනාගත දෙමළ ඊලමේ පදනම වශයෙන් වර්ගවාදය අනුව මේ රට බෙදා පාලනය කිරීම සන්දහා රටෙන් 1/3 ක් සහ වෙරලින් 2/3 ක් පමණ අයත්වන පරිදි උතුරු නැගෙනහිර පලාත් දෙක ඇතුලු පලාත් ක්රමය ඇතිකිරීමෙන් පසු මේ රටේ භූදේශපාලන ඉතිහාසයේ ඊටත් වඩා භයානක මෙන්ම ප්රජාතන්තරවිරෝධි ජාතිද්රෝහි සිද්ධියවූයේ 1987 ජූලි 29 වන දින දරණ ජේ ආර්/රජිව් ඉන්දුලන්කා ගිවිසුමය. ඉන්දියාවේ බලපෑම සහ තර්ජන මධ්යයේ අප හිසමත පටවනලද ඉන්දුලන්කා ගිවිසුම අත්සන් කිරීම සහ එසේම ඊට අනුමැතිය ගැනීම සහ ඒ යටතේ පලාත්සභා පිහිටුවිම සන්දහා විපක්සයේ සහ මුලු රටේම දැඩි විරෝධතා මැද පාර්ලිමෙන්තු මන්ත්රීන්ට බලපෑම්කොට 13 වන විවස්ථා සන්සෝධනය සම්මත කොටග නු ලැබින. මෙය සම්මත කොට ගත්තේ පාර්ලිමෙන්තු මන්ත්රිවරුන්ගෙන් දිනරහිතනඇති ඉල්ලා අස්වීමේ ලිපි බලහත්කාරයෙන් අත්සන්කොට ගෙන, මන්ත්රීවරුන් හෝටලයකට ගාල්කොට තබා වෙලාවට මැතිසභයට ගෙන්වාගෙන චන්දය ලබා ගෙනය.
1 ඉන්දියාවේ දැඩි බලපෑම් යටතේ උතුරු නැගෙනෙහිර පලාත් දෙක ඒකාබද්ධකොට මේ රටේ වසර 2500 ක ඉතිහාසය මුලුමනින්ම විකුර්තිකොට එම පලාත් දෙක මේ රටේ අයිතිහාසික ද්රවිඩ නිජභුමිය වශයෙන් පිලිගැනීම
2 ඒ පලාත් දෙක ඒකාබද්ධකොට එක් පලාත් සහාවක් වශයෙන් පිලිගැනීම
3 ඒ දෙක සමන්ග තවත් පලාත් එකාභද්ධ කිරීමට ඉඩකඩ සැලස්වීම
4 මේ රටේ සිටින පුරවැසියන් නොවන සියලුම ඉන්දීය ජාතිකයින්ට දිවුරුම්පෙත්සමක් මත පුරවැසිකම ලබාදීම,
5 1978 විවස්තාවේ ලන්කාව පුරා රාජ්ය භාෂාව වසයෙන් ප්රකාශකොට තිබුණු 18 වන වගන්තිය පරිච්චින්නකොට දෙමල භාෂාවද රටේ රාජ්ය භාශාවක් වශයෙන් පිලිගැනීම සහ අනාගත පෙඩරල් රාජ්යකට පදනම වන පලාත්සභා 9 ක් පිහිටුවීම සහ පාර්ලිමේන්තුව සතු විවස්ථාදායක බලයද පලාත්සභා වලට පවරමින් එවාට අධිකරන,විධායක සහ ඉඩම් බලතලද පැවැරෙන පරිදි 13 වන සන්සෝධය සම්මාත්කොට ගෙන ලන්කා එක්සේසත් රාජ්යයේ මිනී පෙට්ටියට අන්තිම ඇණය ගැසීම
6 එතෙක් ලන්කාවේ පුරවැසි කම නොතිබුණු සියලුම ඉන්දීය ජාතිකයින්ට පිට රැටියන්ට රටක පුරවැසි කම දීමේදි අනුගමනය කෙරෙන ක්රියාදාමයන් කිසිත් නොසලකා කිසිදු විමර්ෂනයක්ද නොකොට රුපියලේ මුද්දරයක් මත සමාදාන විනිස්චයකාරයකුගේ අතසනක් මත පමණක් මේ රටේ වටිනා පුරවසිභාවය දීම ආදී තීරන මගින් 1978 ආණ්ඩුක්රම විවස්ථාවද උඩුයටිකුරුකොට ලන්කා රාජ්යයේ ඒකීය භාවය අහෝසි වනපරිදි ෆෙඩෙරල් රාජ්යයකට පදනම දැමීම මෙම ජාතිද්රෝහි දේශද්රෝහී ගිවිසුමෙන් සම්පූර්ණ කෙරින
ඒ මගින්
9 වසර 2500 කට වැඩි ලෝකයේ කීර්තිමත් ඉතිහාසයක් ඇති මේ සින්හල රටේත් සින්හල ජාතියේත් එසේම සම්බුද්ධ සාශනයේත් මළගම මේ ද්රෝහී ගිවිසුමෙන් ඉතිහාසපොතේ සටහන් කෙරින.
1987 දී මෙම ගිවිසුමෙන් ඉන්දියාව ලන්කාව ආක්රමණය කොට සිදු කලේ 1815 ආක්රමනිකයකු වශයෙන් සහ 1947 සෝල්බරී විවස්ථාවෙන් සුද්ද්දා කළ කුමන්ත්රණයට නොදෙවැනි දරුණු දේශපාලන අපරාධයකි. මෙම ගිවිසුමෙන් අප රටේ ස්වාධීනත්වය, නිදහස, ස්වරීභාවය මෙන්ම ජනතාවගේ පරමාධිපත්තියද අහෝසි විය. වර්තමානයේ. ඉන්දියාව ඉදිරියේ බලුකුක්කකු මෙන් ලන්කා රාජ්යට වලිගය වකුටුකොටගෙන හැසිරීමට සිදුව ඇත්තේ මේ නිසාය..
1978 විවස්ථාවේ ජීවය අමු අමුවේ මරා දමා අනාගත්යේදී මේ රට උතුර, නැගෙනහිර සහ මද්ධයම තනි දෙමල ප්රාන්ත රාජ්යයකින්ද රටේ ඉතිරි 1/3 සින්හල, දෙමල සහ මරක්කල මිස්ශ්ර ප්රාන්ත රාජ්යයක් වශයෙන්ද යුත් ප්රාන්ත රාජ්යයන් දෙකක් ඇතිකෙරීමේ මුලික පියවර තැබීම දියාව විසින් සිදුකරණලද නවතම ආක්රමණයකි. ඉන්දියාවට මෙය අලුත් දෙයක් නොවනුයේ කිතුවසින් 2 වන සියවසේ සිටම මේ රට ගිලගැනීමේ නොතිත් ආශාවෙන් නිතර නිතරම මෙවැනි ආකරමණ කිරීම ඉන්දියාවේ සහජ පුරුද්දක් නිසාය.
බ්රතාන්යයන් 1815 දී සිදුකරණලද ආක්රමනයත් 1987 දී ඉන්දියාව කරණලද මේ ආක්රමනයත් අතර වැඩි වෙනසක් මම නොදකිමි. ඉවසිය නොහැකි ලජ්ජාව්නම් අපේ අත ඉඹ ඉඹ විලිලජ්ජා නැතිව ඉන්දියාව මෙවැනි අපරාධයක් අප රටට කිරීමයි. මෙය වූ කලී මෙම ආක්රමණයට කිසිදු විරෝධයක් නොකොට ලන්කාව සියතින් බෙල්ල කපාගැනිමකි. එසේම 1948 දී ලබාගත්තායයි කියන සොච්චම් නිදහසද අහිමිකර ගැනීමකි. එදා විධානය දුන්නේ අධිරාජ්ය වාදී ඉන්ග්රීසීන්ය. මෙදා ඉන්දියාවය. Vඑනස එපමනය. ඓන්ග්රීසිහු වසර 133 කින් පසු ආපහු ගියහ. නමුථ් ඉන්දියානුවන් කිසිදිනෙක එසේ නොයනු අත.
මෙය වූකලි නිසැකයෙන්ම 21 වන සියවසේ ඉන්දියානු දේශපාලුවන්ගේ නින්දිත ආක්රමන්යකි. මෙහිදී ඉන්දියාව හොදින් මතක තබගතයුතු එක් කරුණක් ඇත.එනම් මෙය බුදුන්ගේ දේශය බවය.ලක්වැසියන් එය තුන් වරක් උන්වහන්සේට පූජා කොට ඇත. රාම කාලේ සිටම තිබුණු මේ ඉන්දියානු දොළදුක තවම සුවවී නැනි නිධන්ගත රෝහයකි. අනෙක් අතින් මේ රටේ දේසද්රෝහී, රටට හෝ ජාතියට අබැටක් පමණ හෝ කිසිදු ආදරයක් නැති ජාතිද්රෝහි දේශපාලකයින් විසින් ආත්මාර්තය සදහා කෙරුණු අති දුස්ඨ පාවාදීමකි.එහෙත් තවම් මේ රට අල්ලආ ඝැනීමට නොහැකිවිය.ඉදිරියේදීද ඉර හන්ද පව්තිනාතුරුම් එය ඔබට කළ නොහැක, එබැවින් දැන්වත් ඔය කුහක කැත ආශාව අතහල මැනවි සහුර්දයාණෙනි.
මේ මගින් ලන්කා රාජ්යයේ එක්සේසත් බව විනාශකොට රට පූර්ණ බලති ප්රාන්ත රාජ්යන් 9 කින් යුත් අර්ධ පෙඩරල් රාජ්යක් බවට දැන්ටමත් පත්කොට ඇත. එසේ වීම තාවකාලිකව් සම්පුර්ණවීම නතරවී ඇත්තේ පනතේ පරිදි ඉඩම්. අධිකරණ සහ පොලිස් බලතල තවමත් පලාත් සභා වලට නොදුන් නිසාය. ලන්කාණ්ඩුක්රම විවස්ථාවේ 3 වන වගන්තියද අමුඅමුවේ උල්ලන්ගනයක් ඉන් සිදුකොට ඇත. එමනිසා 13 විවස්ථා සන්සෝධනය අයිතිහාසික විවස්ථා උල්ලනග්නයකි. ඒ නිසාම එය විවස්ථා විරෝදීය. ඊටත් වදා පුදුමයනම් 1967 දී එයට විරුද්ධ සටන්මගට බැස සිතති වර්තමාන අගමැතිවරයාද තවමත් පලාත් සභා තබා ගැනීමට පමණක් නොව 13 + දීමටද සූදානම් බව වරෙක ප්රකාශකොට තිබීම සහ දැනටමත් පලාත් සභා මැතිවරන පැවැත්වීමට සූදානම්වී සිතීම තහවුරු වීමකි.
මේ නිසා ඉන්දියාව විසින් ලක්මව මරා මුහුදට විසිකොට තමිල්නාඩුවේ දිගුවක් මෙහි පිහිටුවා ලෝකයේ පලමු ඊළම් රාජ්යය ලක්පොලවමත පිහිටුවීමට පෙර දැන්වත් 13 සම්පුර්ණයෙන්ම ඉවත්කළ යුතුය. එසේ නොකලහොත් 2500 වසරක සින්හල බෞද්ධ රාජ්යයේ මළගම හෙටම් ඉතිහාසපොතේ සටහන්වනු ඒකාන්තය.
මෙම සන්සෝධනය කලේ පලමුවෙන්ම ඉන්දියාවේ බලපෑම මත නිසා මේ මර උගුලෙන් දැන්වත් මේ රට හා ජාතිය බෙරා ගන්නාමෙන් මුලු මහත් ජාතියම ජනාධිපති තුමාගෙන් ඉල්ලාසිටියි.
පැරණි සින්හල රාජ්ය පාලන රතාව : රට, දිසා සහ ගම්
මේ රටේ ඉතිහාසයේ ආරම්භයේ සිටම පැවත ඇත්තේ රට, දිසා සහ ගම් වශයෙන් බෙදුනු පාලන ක්රමයකි. ක්රි. ව 427 දී පණ්ඩුකාභය රජු විසින් මුලු රටේම ග්රාම සීමා පිහිටුවා මේ රට රුහුණු, මායා සහ පිහිටි වශයෙන් තුන් රටකට බෙදා ඒවා නැවත දිසා සහ ග්රාම වශයෙන් බෙදා අනුරාධපුරයේ මහරජෙකු යටතේ රුහුණු, මායා දෙරටේ යුව රජුන් දෙදෙනෙකු විසින්ද තුන් රට නැවත දිසා වශයෙන්ද එවා නැවතත් කෝරල් හා ගම් වශයෙන්ද බෙදා ගාමනීන් යටතේ පාලනය කෙරින.
ඉන්ග්රීසීන් විසින් 1833 දී ඒ ක්රමය වෙනස්කොට මුලු රටම එක් රටක් වශයෙන් ගෙන පලාත් 5 කට බෙදා පසුව පලාත් 9 කට බෙදා පාලනය කිරීමේ උපාය යටතේ වර්ගවාදී පදනනමක් අනුව පාලනය කෙරින.එදා සුද්දා විසින් අටවනලද ඒ මරෞගුලේ නවතම මුහුනුවර මේ රජි/ජේආර් ගිවිසුමය. මේ රටේ පරමාධිපත්තිය තියෙනවා කියන ජනතාවගේ අනුමැතියක්ද නොමැතිව එළඹගත් මේ දුෂ්ඨ රජිව්/ජේ.ආර් ගිවිසුම සහ 13 වන විවස්ථා සන්සෝධනය නැමැති ඉන්දීය මර උගුල් දෙක වහාම අහෝසි කොට ලක්මව මරනින් බේරාගන්නා මෙන් වර්තමාන රජයෙන් අපි දැඩිව සහ අවධාරනයෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටිමු.
ශ්රීමත් ජනාධිපති තුමනි
1987 සිට මේ දක්වා 33 වසරක් පුරා දේශපාලකයින්ට සහ ඔවුන්ගේ චක්ගෝලයින්ට සිතූ පැතූ දේ ලබාදුන් කප් රුකක් වූ එහෙත් රටට හෝ ජාතියට මෙලෝ සේවයක් නොවූ මේ හුනියම වහාම අහෝසිකර එසේම මේ රට් දේශපාලන, පරිපාලන, ආර්ථික.සාමාජික හා ආරක්ෂක වශයෙන් අවුලෙන් අවුලට ඇදදැමූ පලාත් සභා හූනියම් යක්යාද පලවා හැර මේ රටේවසර දහස් ගානක් තිස්සෙ ක්රියාත්මක් වූ දිසා (දිස්ත්රික්ක) පාලනය නැවතත් ස්ථාපිත කරන මෙන් රටට, දැයට හා සසුනට හිතැති ඔබතුමාගෙන් අපි ඉල්ලා සිටිමු. 1948 ඊනියා නිදහසින් පසුව වුවද 1970 දසකයේ මැදක් වනතුරුම මෙම රාජ්ය පාලන ක්රමය මැනවින් ක්රියාත්මක විය. එහෙත් ඉන් පසුව දේසපාලනීකරණය වූ රටේ පාලනය වුර්තීය රාජ්ය නිලධාරින්ගෙන් ගැලවී දේසපාලකයින්ගේ ගොදුරක් බව්ට සීග්රයෙන් පත්විය, ජනතා කොමිටි වලින් ආරම්හ වී දිසාඇමතින්ද,1987 න් පසු පලාත් මහඇමති ආදි වසයෙන් එය විකාෂනයවිය. දිසාපතිවරුන් දිසාපති කාර්යාලවල කාමරවලින් එලවා දිසා ඇමතින්ද පසුව මහ ඇමතින්ද පලාතේ සහ දිසාවේ සින්හාසනාරූධ විය.ඊටත් අමතරව පලාත් සභා 9 භරව ආණ්ඩුකාරයින් 9 දෙනකුද පත් කෙරින. මේ අනුව 1987 න් පසු මුලු රටේම පාලනය රාජ්ය නිලධාරින්ගෙන් ගැලවී දේසපාකයින්ගේ ග්රහනයට හසු විය. සියලුම රාජ්ය ආයතනවල නිලධාරීන් මේ යටතේ පලාත් දේසපාලකයින්ගේ හුදු අතකොලු බවට පත්වූ අතර රාජ්ය සේවයේ ප්රසස්ථ ගුනාන්ගයක් වූ අපක්ෂපාතීත්වයද වල් වැදින.
සුද්දා විසින් දායාදකොට දී ගිය දේශපාලන පක්ෂ ක්රමය නිසා ප්රජාතනත්ර වාදය වල්වැදී බලයේ සිටින පක්ෂයේ අත්තනෝමතික පාලනයක් බව්ට ර්ටේ පාලනය පත්විය. මේ යටතේ මේ රටේ සෑමමිනිසුන් 3232 කටම එක දේසපාලකයකු ඇති ලෝකයේ එකම රට බවට අද මේ රට පත්ව ඇත. දේශපාලකයින් චන්දය පසුපසම හබා යන, රටක් නැති, ජාතියක්ක් නැති ආගමක් නැති, ආත්මාර්තකාමි, රටේ මහබැන්කුව මහදවල් හොරාකෑ අගමැති වරයකු ප්රධානකොට ඇති දේසපලකයින් සීටින පිස්සන්කොටුවක් බවට අද මේ රට පත්ව ඇත.
මීට සමාන්තරව රාජ්ය සේවකයින් සන්ක්යාවද පුදුමාකාර අන්දමින් වැඩිවී ඇත. උදාහරනයකට මහනුවර දිසාව් ගතහොත් 1987 වනතුරු එක් දිසාපතිවරයකු සහ ප්රාදේශීය ආදායම් පාලකවරුන් 12 දෙනකු සහ දිසාපති කාර්යාලයේ තවත් ඒ මට්ටමේ මාණ්ඩලික නිලධාරීන් තිදෙනකු දිසාව තුල සිදුකල කාරිය කිරීමට අද ඒ මට්ටමේ නිලධාරීන්ම 80 ක් පමනද ඒ අතරේ ප්රධාන ලේකම් වර්යකු ඇතුලු අමාත්යාන්ස ලේකම්, නියෝජ්ය ලේකම්, සහකාර ලේකම් ආදි වශයෙන් ලේකම් වරුන්ම 75 ක් පමනද තවත් විධායක නිලධාරින් රැසක්ද සිටී. ඊට අමතරව ආණ්ඩුකාරයෙක්, මහ ඇමති වරයකු, තවත් ඇමතීන් 4 දෙනෙක්ද මීට් අමතරව මෙකී දේ ශපාලකයින්ට පුද්ගලික නිලධාඊන් පිරිසක්ද වෙනම සිටී. මේ සියලුදෙනාටම කාර්යාල,වාහන අතට,නිවසට හා ඇතැම්විටැ පයටද දුරකතන, පඩිනඩි සහ තවත් අනේක විධ පහසුකම් වෙනුවෙන් වසරකට ජාතික ධනයෙන් කෝටි ප්රකෝටි ගණනින් නිරපරාදේ වැය වෙයි.
එහෙත් 1987 ට පෙර ඉහත සදහන්කළ පරිදි සුලු නිලධාරීන් පිරිසකගෙන් සිදුවූ ප්රසස්ථ සේවයෙන් අඩක්වත් අද සිදුවන බවක්ද නොපෙනේ. ඇත්ත්වශයෙන්ම මේ ක්රමය නිසා අද සිදුව ඇත්තේ දේශපාලකයින් වැඩිවී, ආයතන වැඩිවි රාජ්ය වියදමද අහස උසට වැඩිවී, දූෂනය, නාස්තිය වැඩිවී රාජ්ය සේවය අවුලෙන් අවුලට පත්වි රටපුරා අරාජික තත්වයක් මුල්බැසගැනිම පමණි. ජනතාවට පොරොන්දු වූ සේවාවන් විම්ද්යගත කෙරීම වෙනුවට එය තිබුනාතත් වදා කෙන්ද්රගතව ඇත. උදාහරණැයකටැ ලග්ගල විල්ගමුමේ පුද්ගලයකුට මාතලේ දිසාපති කාර්යාලයෙන් කර ගැනීමට තිබුණු දෙයක් කරගැනීමට අද මහනුවර පල්ලෙකැලේට ඒමට සිදුව ඇත.
1987ට පෙර තිබුණු සම්ප්රදායික ක්රමය
මේ රටේ ඉතිහාසයේ අරම්භයේ සිටම පැවත ඇත්තේ රට, දිසා සහ ගම් වශයෙන් බෙදුණු පාලන ක්රමයකි. ක්රි. ව 427 දී පණ්ඩුකාභය රජු විස්න් මුලු රටේම ග්රාම සීමා පිහිටුවා මේ රට රුහුණු ,මායා සහ පිහිටි වශයෙන් තුන් රටකට බෙදා ඒවා නැවත දිසා, සහ ග්රාම වශයෙන් බෙදා ඇනුරාධපුරයේ මහරජෙකු යටතේ රුහුනු මායා දෙරටේ යුව රජුන් දෙදෙනෙකු විසින්ද තුන් රට නැවත දිසා වශයෙන්ද එවා නැවතත් කෝරල් හා ගම් වශයෙන්ද බෙදා ගාමනීන් යටතේද පාලනය කෙරින.
ඉන්ග්රීසීන් විසින් 1833 දී ඒ ක්රමය වෙනස්කොට මුලු රටම එක් රටක් වශයෙන් ගෙන පලාත් 5 කට බෙදා ඒවා පසුව පලාත් 9 දක්වා වැඩිකොට ඒ යටතේ දිසා ,කෝරල, පත්තු සහ ගම් වශයෙන් බෙදා පාලනය කෙරින. මේ යට්තතේ විකාශනය වූ දිසා (දිස්ත්රික්ක) පාලනය දිසාපතිවරුන්,. රටේමත්වරුන්, කෝරාල වරුන් සහ අවසානවශයෙන් ගම්පතීන් යටතේ පාලනය විය.1948 ඊනියා නිදහසින් පසුව වුවද 1970 වේ දසකයේ මැදක් වනතුරුම මෙම රාජ්ය පාලන ක්රමය මැනවින් ක්රියාත්මක විය. එහෙත් ඉන් පසුව සීග්රයෙන් දේසපාලනීකරණය වූ රටේ පාලනය අද රාජ්ය නිලධාරින්ගෙන් ගැලවී දේසපාලකයින්ගේ අත්තනෝමතික අදිරාජ්යක් බවට පත්ව ඇත.
සුද්දා විසින් දායාදකොට දුන් ක්රමය පාලකයින්ගේ ගොදුරක් බව්ට සීග්රයෙන් පත්විය. ජනතා කොමිටි වලින් ආරම්හ වී දිසා ඇමතින්ද,1987 න් පසු පලාත් මහ ඇමති සහ ආණ්ඩුකාරයින් ආදි වසයෙන් විකාෂනයවිය. සාපති වරුන් දිසාපති කාර්යාලවල කාමරවලින් එලවා දිසා ඇමතින්ද පසුව මහ ඇමතින්ද පලාතේ සහ දිසාවේ සින්හාසනාරූධ විය.ඊට අමතරව පලාත් සභා 9 භාරව ආණ්ඩුකාඅර්යින් 9 දෙනකුද පත්කෙරින. මේ අනුව 1987 න් පසු රටේ පාල්ලන්ය සම්පුර්ණයෙන්ම දේශපාලක්යින්ගේ දැඩි ග්රහනාය්ට හසු විය. ශියලුම් රාජ්ය ආයාතන්වල නිලධාරින් මේ යටතේ පලාත් දේසපාලකයින්ගේ හුදු අතකොකොලු බවට පත්වූ අතර රාජ්ය සේවයේ ප්රසස්ථ ගුනාන්ගයක් වූ අපක්ෂපාතීත්වයද වල් වැදින.දේශපාලන පක්ෂ ක්රමය නිසා ප්රජාතනත්රවාදයද වල්වැදින.. මේ යටතේ සෑම මිනිසුන් 3232 කටම එක දේසපාලකයකු ඇති ලෝකයේ එකම රට බවට අද මේ රට පත්ව ඇත.දේශපාලන පක්ෂ චන්දය පසුපසම හබා යන, රටක් නැති, ජාතියක් නැති ආගමක් නැති ආත්මාර්තකාමි රටේ මහබැන්කුව මහදවල් හොරාකෑ අගමැති වරයකු සිටි මුලු රටේම පාලන්ය රාජ්ය නිලධාරින්ගෙන් ගැලවී දේසපාලුවන්වූ දේසපලකයින් සීටින පිස්සන් කොටුවක් බවව අද මේ රව පත්වී හමාරය.
මීට සමාන්තරව රාජ්ය සේවකයින් සන්ක්යාවද පුදුමාකාර අන්දමින් වැඩිවී ඇත. උදහරණ්යකව මහනුවර දිසාව ගතහොත් 1987 වනතුරු එක් දිසාපතිවරයකු සහ ප්රාදේශීඅය ආදායම් පාලකවරුන් 12 දෙනකු සහ තවත් ඒ මට්ටමේ මාණ්ඩලික නිලධාරීන් තිදෙනකු දිසාව තුල එදා සිදුකල කාරිය කිරීමව අද ඒ මට්ටමේම නිලධාරීන් 80 ක් පමනද ඒ අතරේ අමාත්ය මන්දල මත්තමේ ප්රධාන ලේකම් වරයකු ඇතුලු අමාත්යාන්ස ලේකම්, නියෝජ්ය ලේකම්, සහකාර ලේකම් ආදි වශයෙන් ලේකම් වරුන්ම 75 ක් පමනද තවත් වීධායක නිලධාරින් රාසියකද සිටී. ඊට අමතරව ආණ්දඩුකාරයෙක්, මහ ඇමති වාරයකු, තවත් ඇමතීන් 4 දෙනෙක්ද මන්ත්රීවරුන් 17 ක් පමණද සිතී. මීට් අමාතර්ව මෙකී දේශපාලකයින්ට පුද්ගලික නිලධාඊන් පිරිසක්ද වෙම සිටී.. මේ සියලුදෙනාටම කාර්යාල,වාහන යනාදී තවත් අනේක විධ පාහ්සුකම් වෙනුවෙන් වසරකට ජාතික ධනයෙන් කෝරටි ප්රකෝටි ගනනින් රජයේ මුදල්ද නිරපරාදේ වැය වෙයි.
1987 ට පෙර සුලු නිලධරීන් පිරිසකගෙන් සිදුවූ ප්රසස්ථ සේවයෙන් අඩක්වත් අද සිදුවන බවක්ද නොපෙනේ. ඇත්වසයෙන්ම මේ ක්රමය නිසා අද සිදුව ඇත්තේ දේශපාලකයින් වැඩිවී, ආයතන වැඩිවි රාජ්ය වියදම වැඩිවී, දූෂනය, නාස්තිය වැඩිවී රාජ්ය සේවය අවුලෙන් අවුලට පත්වි අරාජක තත්වයක් රට තුල මුල්බැසගැනිම පමණි.
පාලාත් සභා දැන් විසුරුවා හැර ඇති බැවින් ඒවායේ පාලනය ආණ්දුකාරයින් විසින් මෙහෙයවෙයි. මුලු රට පුරාම ක්රියාත්මක වන්නේ අද මේ ක්රමයයි. ආණ්ඩුකාරයින් ජාධිපතිගේ නියෝජිතයින්ය. Eසේම ඔවුන් බලයේ සිටින ආණ්ඩුවේ හිතවතුන්ය. හිස්බුල්ලා. ඇසාද් සාලි වැනි ජාති ද්රෝහින්ද ආණ්ඩුකාරයින් වශයෙන් පත්වන්නේ මේ දූෂිත ක්රමය තුලය. ඔහු සියලුම ලේකම්ලාගේ මෙන්ම අද තම දිසාවතුල අධිපති කමක් නැති දිසාපතිවරුන්ගේ මෙන්ම පලාතේ සමස්ථ රාජ්ය සේවයේම ප්රධනියාය. පවතින මේ රාජ්ය පාලනය ගැන කථා කිරීමෙන්ද පලක් නැති. බව පොදු ජනතාවගේ මතයයි. ආණ්ඩුකාරයෙකුගේ බලප්රදේසය පලාතක්. එය අති විසාල ප්රදේසයක්. දිසාපතිවරයෙකුගේ පාලන ප්රදේශ්ය දිසාවක්. ඔහු යටතේ ප්රාදේසීය උපදිසාපතිවරු කීපදෙනෙක්ද එක් එක් ප්රා. උ. දිසාපති වරයකු යටතෙ ග්රාමසේවක හමුදාවක්ද සිටිනව මේ අනුව මනාසේ සන්විධානය වූ එසේම එකිනෙකාට වගකියන නිලබල අධිකාරි වියුහයක් තියෙනව. එමනිසා නිවැරදි තොරතුරු ලබාගැනීම මෙන්ම රාජ්ය ප්රතිපත්ති ක්රියාත්මෙ කාර්යෂ්ම නිල බල ජාලයක්ද දිසාපති වරයකු යටතෙ තියෙනවා. අනෙක මොවුන් සියලු දෙනාම රාජ්ය සේවකයින්. .කිසිවෙකු දේසපාලන පක්ෂ නියෝජනය කරන්නේ නෑ. එමනිසාම දේශපාලනයෙන් තොර අපක්ෂපාති සේවයක් ඔවුන්ගෙන් ලබගැනීමේ සම්භාවිතාව ඉතා ඉහල මට්ටමකද තිබෙන බාව්ද කිව යුතුය
අනෙත් අතින් ආණ්දඩ්කාරයින් කියන්නේ කෙලින්ම් බලයේ සිටින රජයේ ජනාධිපති වරයාගේ නියෝජිතයෝ. ඔවුන් තොරතුරු ලබගාත යුත්තේද තීරන ක්රියාත්මක කලයුත්තේද මා මුලින් කී රාජ්ය නිලධාරින් හරහාය. ඔහුදෙස නිලධාරින් බලන්නෙත් දේශපාලකයකු වසයෙන්. එසේම් ඔහු නිතරම තිරණ ගන්නෙත් ඔහු අයත් දේසපාලන පක්ෂය වෙනුවෙන් මිස අපක්ෂපාති ජනතා ඇසකින් නොවේ. මේ නිසා ජනතාවට ඔවුන්ගෙන් සාධාරාන් අපක්ෂපාති සේවයක්ද කිසිසේත් බලපොරුත්තු විය නොහැක.මේ තුල සමස්ථ ක්රියාදාමයම පක්ෂ දේසපාලනය විසින් ගිලගෙන ඇති බැවින් එවැනි ක්රමයක් තුල ජනතාව්ට සාධාරන සහ යුක්තිසහගත සේවයක් අපේඛ්සා කල නොහැක. මෙම ක්රමය තුල මෙවැනි ඌනතා සහ ගැටලු රාසියක් ඇති නිසාද එය අසාර්තක අථදා බැලිමකි. ඒ අනුව බලනවිට දේශපාලකයි, නිලධාරීන් සහ රාජ්ය විදම් වැදිවීම සහ ඒ තුලින් නාස්තිය සහ දුෂනය වැදිවීම් මෙන්ම සමස්ථ රාජ්ය පාලන ක්රමයම අවුලෙන් අවුලට ගොස් ඇති අතර ඊට සම්බන්ධ් දේශපාලක්යිඟෙන්ද රටට හෝ ජාතීයත කිසිදු යහපාතක් සිදුවී ඇතැයි කිව නොහක. පලාත්සභා වසා දමීමේ ඇති අවස්යතාවට මෙයද ඉතා ප්රබල හේතුවකි.
තවදුරටත් මේ රටේ ජාතික ධනය 30 වසරක් පුරා මකර කටට ඇද දැමූ එසේම මේ රටේ දිසා පාලනය විනාශකලාවූද, රාජ්ය පාලන යාන්තරනය අවුලෙන් අවුලට පත්කලාවූද, මේ රටට ආණ්ඩ්කාරයින් 9 දෙන ක, මහ ඇමැති වරුන් 9 දෙනකු සහ පලාත් සදහ තවත් ඇමැති වරුන් 36 දෙනකු පලාත් සභා මන්ත්රිවරුන් 700 පමනද අමතර නිලධාරීන් 12,000 පමනද පත්කොට, සුකෝපභෝගී ගොඩනැගිලි , යාන වාහන සහ අමතර උපකරන ආදිය සදහ කෝටි ප්රකෝටි ගනන් ජාතික ධනය වැය කරමින් 13 යටතේ පිහිටුවා තිබුණු පලාත් සභා නැමැති හූනියම සහ රටට සතයකවත් සේවයක් නොවෙන අමතර පරපුටු දේශපාලන හමුදාවක් බිහිකළ මේ ජරා දේශපාලන, ආර්තික හා සමාජ සුදුඅලියා දැන්වත් දේශපාලන වනසණ්ඩයත එලවා දැමිය ඒ සදහා මූලිකව පෙරමුණ ගතයුත්තේ ජනාධිපති වාර්යායයි මම සිතමි. මන්ද මේ රතේ මිනිසුන් 69 ලක්සයකත වැදි පිරිසක් ඔහුට චන්දය දුන්නේ මේ අයිතිහාසික වෙනස ඔහු විසින් කරණු ඇතැයි යන දැඩි බලාපොරොත්තුවෙන් නිසාය.
එසේ නොකලොත් දිසා පාලනය මුලුමනින්ම බින්දවැටී මේ රට අරාජක වී මුලු රටම එකම් පිස්සන් කොටුවක් වන දිනය වැඩි ඈතක නොවන බව ඉස්ථිරවම කිවහැක.
මෙම ක්රමයෙන් වසර 33 ක් තිස්සේ වර්ධනයකොට ඇති පරිපාලන,ආර්තික, දේසපාලන සහ සමාජ අවුල් ජාලය අද රට මහා දේශපාලන ගිනිකන්දක් මුදුනට ගෙනගොස් ඇත.එය කුමන මොහොතේ පුපුරා යාවිදැයි කිව නොහැක,
එදාට සින්හල ,දෙමල සහ මරක්කලයින් උනුනුන් මරාගෙන මැරෙන දේශ්යක් බවට මෙ පින් බිම පත්වනු කිසිවෙකුට වැලැක්විය නොහැකිවනු ඇත.. එහි අවසාන ප්රතිපලය වනුයේ මුදල්, ආයුද බලයෙන් සින්හලුන්ට වඩා ඉදිරියෙන් සිටින දෙමලුන් සහ මරක්කලයින් සහ කවදාත් මේ රටට සහ සින්හල බෞධයින්ට විරුද්ධ බටහිර ලෝකයේ. ඉන්දියාවේ සහ උන්ගේ ආවතේව කාරයින්ගේ සහයද ඇතිව සින්හලුන් සමූලඝාතනයකොත මේ රට උන්ගේ රටක් බවට පත්කර ගනු ඇත.
එමනිසා දනට රට තුල ක්රියාත්මක්වන මේ දේසපාලන පරිහානිය සහ ශින්හල බෞද්ධ විරෝදී කුමන්ත්රණකාරී වැඩ පිලිවෙල වහාම පාලනය නොකලොත් වසර 2500 කට වැදි කාලයක් මේ මිහිපිට බැබලෙමින් පැවති සින්හල ජාතිය සදකාලිකවම මිහි පිටින් අතුරුදන්වන දින නුදුරේදීම ලගාවනු ඇත.
මේ මරගුලෙන් රට ජාතිය සහ සම්බුද්ධ සාශ්නය බේරා ගැනිම සදහා රජය විසින් අලුත් විවස්ථ්වක් හැදීමට පෙර වහාම ගත යුතු ක්රියාදමයන් කීපයක් පහතින් දක්වමි. මේ රටේ උරුම කරුවන් වන සින්හල මිනිසු 70% ඔබට චන්දය දී ඇති නිසාද, පාර්ලිමෙන්තුවේ 2/3 කකට ආසන්න බහුතරයක් දැන් ඇති නිසාද පවතින විවස්ථාවට අනුකුලව වහාම ගත හැකි පහත සදන්හ පියවර ගන්නා මෙන් මුලු මහත් ජාතියම වෙනුවෙන් අපි ජනාධිපති තුමාගෙන් සහ රජයෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටිමු.
මන්ද විවස්ථාවකින් පාලනය කිරිමට පලමුව රටක් තිබිය යුතුය, ජාතියක් තිබිය යුතුය. එමනිසා ප්රමුඛතාව දියයුත්තේ පලමුව රට හා ජාතිය රැක ගැනීමටය
එබැවින් පවතින විවස්ථාව සහ නීති යටතේ. හෝ ඒවා ප්රමානවත් නැති අවස්ථාවලදි නව නීති සම්පාදනයකොට හෝ පහත සදහන් මාරක ප්රස්න පළමුව විසදා පලමුව රට ස්ථාවරකළ යුතුය. නව විවස්ථාවක් හැදීම කලයුත්තේ ඉන් ඉදිරියට යාම සදහා පමන්ණි. එසේ නොකොට ආණ්ඩු කර්ම විව්ස්ථාවක් හැදිම කඩුල්ලේ හරස්ලීය සමගම අමුඩය ගැසීමක් බදුය. මන්ද අමුඩය නොලිහා කිසිසේත්ම කදුල්ලෙන් ඉදිරියට යා නොහකි නිසාය.
1 පවතින විවස්ථාවේ 6 වන සන්සෝධනය උල්ලන්ගනය කරන සියලු දෙනාටම විරුද්ධව සින්හල, දෙමළ මරක්කල භේධයක් නොමැතිව නීතිය අකුරටම ක්රියාත්මක කිරීම සහ බෙදුම්වාදය සහ අන්තවාදය රඅටින් තුරන් කිරීම. එසේම දිවා රෑ දෙකම පැය 24ම නිනිදා පහන්කාර්මින් ලකා රජයට විරුධව අදෝනා කියමින් ඉන්දියාවඇත් සහ් තුන්ලෝකයතම යදින සම්බන්දන් ඇතුලුකොට ඇති සියලුදෙනාතම මේ කන්දොස්ක්රියා නතරකොට මේ රතේ පුරවැසියන් මෙන් හැසිරෙන මෙන් අවවාද කරන්න, ඊතත් කන් නොදේනම් නීතිය ක්රියාත්මක කරන්න.
2 ඊට පටහනිව ක්රියාකරන සියලුම දේසපාලන පක්ෂ සහ සන්විධාන තහනම් කිරීම සහ පවතින නීති ප්රමාණ්වත් නොවේනම් අලුතෙන් නීති හදා හෝ ජනවාර්ගික හා ආගමික අන්තවාදය, තුරන් කිරිම සහ ඒ යටතේ මද්රාසා පාසෙල් ෂරියා නීතිය හා බුර්ලක් ගෝනිබිළි ඇදුම් ආදිය ලන්කාව තුල තහනම් කිරීම සහ ඒ නොපිළිපදින උන්ට දැදි දදුවන් දීම..
3 ඉතිහාසයේ ආරම්භයේ සිට 1815 දක්වාම මේ රටේ නම වූයේ සින්හලේ වීම සහ එම නිසාම සින්හලේ වැසියන් සින්හලයින් වූ නිසා 1815 දක්වාම එහි සියලුම මිනිසුන් සින්හලයින් වසයෙන් හැදින්වු බැවින් දෙමල හෝ මරක්කල වැනි කිසිම ජනකොත්ථාශයක් මේ රටතුල ජාතින් වශයෙන් හැදින්වීම නීති විරොධී කිරීම.
4 ඒ අනුව මේ රට බහුජාතික, බහු ආගමික බහු වාර්ගික සහ බහු සන්ස්කෘතික යන කුණු හරුප හැදින්වීම් නීති විරෝධී කිරීම සහ භාවිතයෙන් ඉවත් කිරීම
5 1978 ජූලි 29 රජිව්/ජේ ආර් ගිසුම වහාම අහෝසි කිරීම
6 13 වන විවස්ථා සන්සෝදහ්නය වහාම අහොසි කිරිම සහ ඒ යටතේ පිහිතුවා ඇති පලාත් සභාද වහාම අහෝසි කිරිම. දැනටැ වසාර් 3 4ක් තිස්සේ ඒවා නැතිව රටැ පාලනය් කිරීමෙන්ම පලත් සභා නොමැතිව මේ කුදා රාත්පාලනාය් කලහැකි බව මැනවින් ඔප්පුවී ඇත.
7දෙමල. මුස්ලිම් ආදි වර්ගවාදී හෝ ආගමික නම්වලින් පිහිටුවා ඇති වර්ගවාදි බෙදුම්වාදි දේශපාලන පක්සහ සියල්ල වහාම තහනම් කිරීම
8 වහාම ක්රියාත්මකවන පරිදි මේ රටට එක නීතියක් හදුන්වා දෙන්න මුස්ලිම් නීතිය දෙම නීතිය සහ වෙනත් නීතියක් අවස්ය අයට ඒ නීති තියෙන් අරටකට යනමෙන් උපදෙස් දෙන්ට
9 ඔබට කිසිදාක චන්දය නොදෙන ඉන්දියාවට හදුන්කූරු පත්තුකරන ඉන්දියානුවනුවන් නැලවීම දැන්වත් නතරකොත 1815 සිට 1948 දක්වා මේ රට ජාතිය සහ බුදු සසුන රැක ගැනීමත පරසතුරන් සමග සටන්කොට තමන් සතු මහපොලව, කෙත්වතු ,හරකා බාන සහ සිය ජීවිතද අහිමිකොටගෙන මියගිය දැයේ වීරයින්ගෙන් පැවත එන උදරත සින්හලයින් පුනරුත්ථාපන්ය සන්දහා පිහිතුවා තිබුණු, 2014 ජ 1දා ඔබගේ රජය විසින්ම අහෝසිකළ. උ. ගැ, පු. ඩෙපාර්තමේන්තුව නැවත පිහිතුවා ඒ සදහා ජනධිපති වරයා හෝ අගමැතිවාරයා යටැතේ අමත්යාන්සයක් පිහිතුව ඔවුන් ගොදගනීමේ වැදපිලිවෙලක් වහාම ආරම්භ කරන්ට
10 සින්හල බෞද්ධ උරුමයට විශාල තර්ජනයක් වී ඇති දෙවන්ගල. ලන්කා පතුන, කුරගල මූදුමහා විහාරය වැනි අයිතිහාසික උරුමය මුස්ලිම් අන්තවාදීන් ගෙන් වහාම ආරක්ෂා කිරීමට තවත් කල් නොමරා වහාම පියවර් ගන්න මෙම් ඔබගේ අධිකරන ඇමතිවරයාත නියෝග කිරීමට බැරි අයි.
11 මුදු මට්ටමින් අදි 5000 ට ඉහල සියලුම ප්රදේස අධි ආරක්ෂිත තහනම් කලාප වසයෙන් ප්රකාසකිරිම (රජ කාලේ මෙන්) සහ එම ප්රදේශවල රාජ්ය ආරක්ෂාව සහ සන්නිවේදන කටයුතු වැනි දෙයකට හැර වෙනත් කිසිම කටයුත්තකට තැනීම් සහ ඉදිකිරීම් තහන්ම් කිරීම
12 සියලුම ජනාවාස අඩි 3500 පහල ප්රදේශවලට සීමා කිරීම. මේ රතේ භූගෝලීය හදවත වන මධ්යම කන්දුකරය රැක ගැනීම සදහා මෙය අනිවර්යය.
13 තනිකර වර්ගවාදදී ගම්මාන දිවයිනේ කිසිම ප්රදේශයක ඇතිකිරිම තහානම් කිරීම සහ අරාබි, ඉන්දීය හෝ වෙනත් ස්ථාන නම් හෝ නගර ග්රාම නම් රජයේ පුර්න අනුමැතියකින් තොරව තැබීම නීති විරෝධී කිරීම
14 සුද්දන් විසින් මේ රට බෙදා පාලනය කිරීම සදහා සුළු ජනකොටස්වලට දී ඇති වරඔරසදයක් වූ තේසවලමේ මුස්ලිම් නීතිය වැනි නීති තහනම් කිරීම සහ මේ රටෙ සියලුම පුරවැසියන්ට එක් නීතියක් ක්රියාත්මක කිරීම.
15 සම්ස්ථ රටේඉම දිසා පාලනය අදාල දිසාපතිවරුන්ට පැවරීම සහ ඒ සදහා විශිෂ්ඨ ගනයේ නිලධාරීන් පමණ්ක් පත්කිරීම
16 දැනටමත් පලාත් සභා ක්රියාත්මක නොවෙන බැවින් ඒවා අහෝසි කිරීමේ මූලික පියවර වශයෙන් ආණ්දඩුකාරයින් සියලුදෙනාම වහාම ඉවත්කොට ඒ ඒ දිසාවල පාලනය දිසාපති වරුන්ට පැවරීම සහ ඔවුගේ ප්රධානත්වයෙන් පොලිසියේ සහ හමුදාවේ නිලධාරීන්ද සහිත කලින් පැවති දිසා සම්භන්ධීකරන කමිටු ප්රාණවත් කිරීම
17 දැනට පවතින ප්රාදේසීය සබාද විසුරුවා හැර එක් ග්රාම සේවා කොටසකට එක් ගම්සභාව බබැගින් කලින් පැවති ගම්සභා ක්රමය නැවත පිහිටුවීම සහ ගම මේ රටේ පරිපාලනයේ මෙන්ම සන්වර්ධනයේද පදනම වන පර්දි ප්රතිසන්විධානය කිරීම සහ සමස්ථ ග්රාම සේවා ක්රමයම රටේ රාජ්ය පරිපාලන සහ ජාතික සන්වර්ධනයේ පදනම් බවට පත්කිරීම
18 එසේම කාලීන පරිපාලන හා සන්වර්ධන අභියෝගයන්ට සාර්ථකව මුහුන දිය හැකි පරිදි සමස්ථ ග්රාමසේවාවම ප්රතිසන්විධානය කිරීම
19 රාජ්ය පාලනය ජාතික, දිසා, ප්රාදේසීය සහ ගම් මත්ට්ටමින් පක්ස දේශ්පාලනග්රහනයෙන් මුලුමනින්ම මුදා ගැනීම සහ සියලුම රාජය සේවකයින්ට චන්දය ප්රකාශකිරීම හැර වෙනත් කිසිදු දේසපාලන අයිතියක් නොදීම, බහුපෂ ක්රමාය්ක් මේ රට තුල තිබෙනතාක් කල් අපසපාතී රාජය් සේවක් කිසිසෙත්ම බලාපොරුත්තුවිය නොහැක
20 තවද දනට ක්රියාත්මක්වන දේසපලකයින්, රාජ්ය නිලධාරීන්ට තීරුබදු රහිත වාහන සහ නිලරත ලබාදීමේ සමාජ අසාධාරනයද වහාම නතරකොට ඒ සියලු දෙනාටම වාහන මිලදීගැනීම සදහා ණය මුදලක් (කලින් පැවති ක්රමයටා ලබදීම. (Jඅනාධිපති, අගමැති සහ ඇගවිනිසුට හැරා විශාල අර්ථික අර්බුධයකට රට පත්ව ඇති මේ වෙලාවේදි එවැනි තීරණයක් ගැනීමෙන් ජනාධිපති තුමාත මෙන්ම රජයටද ඉමහත් ජනප්රසාදයක්ද ඇතිවනු ඇත.
මේ උදාවී ඇත්තේ 1948 සිට මේ රටේ දේශපාලනයතුල සිදුවූ ඒ බරපතල අතපසුවීම් සියල්ල නිවැරැදි කර ගැනීමේ ස්වර්ණමය අවස්ථාවකි. (විසේෂයෙන්ම 2009 ත්රස්ථවාදීන් පරාජය කිරීමෙන් පසු: මවිසින් මීට පෙරද කියා ඇති පරිදී මේ සියලු දෑ 2009 කොටි පරාජය කිරීමත් සමගම මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ ජනාධිපතිවාරයා විසින් සිදුකලයුතුව තිබුණු කරුණුය. එහෙත් ඒ වනවිට මේ මහුසද–ඡානක්ය උපදේසය දීමට තරම් විඡක්ෂණ නුවනක් ඇති කිසිවකු ඔහු වතේ සිට නැති සේය්කි. එය එතුමාගේත් රතේත් මෙන්ම ශින්හල ජාතියේ අවාසනවයයි මම සිතමි. ඒ වනවිත ඔහු මේ රතේ සර්වබලධාරී විධායක ජනාධිපතිවරයාය. Jඅන්ප්රියත්වයේ මුදුන් පෙත්තටම නැග අගනිටා බඹලොවටම ගොස් සිටියේය. පාර්ලිමෙන්තුවේ 2/3 කත වැදි බලයද තිබුනේය. කොතින්ම කියතොත් ඒ වනවිට ඔහු සින්හලයේ ඔටුණු නොපලන් මහරජානෝය. එසේ තිබියදීත් මේය නොකලේ මන්ද යන්න මටනම් තවමත් නොතේරේ. මා ඔහු ලග සිටියේනම්, වික්තොර් රත්නායාක් කී පරිදි අනිවාර්යෙන්ම මම ඒ උපදේස ර්තුමාටැ දි එතුමා මේ ශින්හල රතේ දෙවැනි දුටුගැමුනු බවට නියත වශයෙන්ම පත්කරමි.
එම පියවර ඒ අවස්ථාවේදී නොගනීම ඔහු විසින් කරන ලද ලොකුම වරදයයි මම අදත් කියමි. ඒ අවස්ථාවේදි ඔහු එසේ කලේනම් 2015 දී කිසිසේත්ම ඔහු නොපරදින අතර ඊනියා යහ පාලන රජයක් කිසිසේත්ම නෝනුස්ථිරය.එසේම ඊනියා යහපාලන රජය යටතේ සිදුවු විනාශයන් කිසිවක්ද නොසිදු වනු ඇත.අද මේ උදාවි ඇත්තේ ජනාධිපති වරයආ සමන්ග එක්වී ඒ අතිත අදඩුපාදුකම් නිවැරැදිකොට ගෙන
අද මේ උදාවී ඇත්තේ 2019 සහ 2020 දී ඔබ දෙපලට සහ පොදුජන පෙරමුනට දහසක් පැතුම් පොදි බැදගෙන චන්දය දුන් ලකෂ70 ක ජනතා අපේක්ෂාවන් ඉටු කිරීමට ලැබී ඇති දෙවන අවස්ථාවයි. මේ සොහොයුරන් දෙදෙනා මේ වතාවේත් ඒ ස්වර්ණමය අව්ස්ථාව මගහැරියොත් එය ඉතටු කිර්රිමට යලිත් අව්ස්ථාවක් ඔවුන්ට නොලැබෙනවා පමණක් නොව කිසිම දිනක කිසිවෙකුට එය කිරීමටද අවස්ථාවක් ඉතිහාසය විසින් ලබා දෙනු ඇතැයි මම නොසිතමි.මන්ද දැනත මේ රටට සහ සින්හල ජාතියට එරෙහිව මේ රට තුල ක්රියාත්මක වන දෙමල මුස්ලිම් අන්තවාදි ක්රියා බටහිර අධිරාජ්යවාදී බාලවේගයන් සහ ඉන්දියාව විසින් දියත්කොට ඇති සින්හල ජාතියට මෙන්ම සින්හල රටටද එරෙහිව ක්රියාත්මක වන දුෂ්ඨ බලවේග ගැන සිතන විට හෙට උදාවන විටත් මේ පින් බිම මේ සින්හල අපට අහිමිවීමට ඉද ඇතැයි මහත් බියක් මා තුල උපදී..
අවසානවසයෙන් තවත් එක් වැදගත් දෙයක් කිවය්යුතුයයි සිතමි.
ශ්රීමත් ජනාධිපති තුමනි. අගමැතිතුමනි දිඅවන්නා දූපතේ රැකියාව කරන සියලුම් මැති ඇමති වරුනි.
2024 වනතුරු නැවත ජනාධිපති වාර්ණැයක් නැත. එසේම 2025 වන්තුරු පාර්ලිමෙන්තු මැතිවරණයක්ද නැත. එමනිසා හෙට යලිත් මැඉවරණයක් ඒයයි නොසිතා රට් ගැන, ජාතිය ගැන සහ මේ රතේ සැමදාම පරාජිත මිනිසුන් ගැන මොහොතක් සිතන්න. එසේ සිතා දැන්වත් ආත්මාර්තය පසෙක තබා චන්දය ගැනම නොසිතා රට, ජාතිය සහ පොදුමහ ජාන්තාවගෙ ශුභ සිද්ධිය ගැන සිතා ක්රියා කිරීමට දෙන්වත් අධිස්ඨාන කරගනත. රාස්ත්රතපාලකයින් වසයෙන් ඔබ සමගේ මුලික මෙන්ම අවසාන පැතුම විය යුත්තේද එයයයි මම සිතමි.
අවසානය
මා තුල මගේ රට, දැය හා සසුනත ඇති ආදරය නිසා හුදු සද්භාවයෙන්ම ඉදිරිපත්කර ඇති මේ අදහස් හා යොජනා එක පිස්සෙකුගේ අදහස් මෙන් ඉවත නොදාන මෙන් මම ජනාධිපති තුමාගෙන් සහ අගමැතිතුමාගෙන්ද, රජයෙන්ද එසේම විපඛ්ස්යෙන්ද ඉල්ලා සිතින්නේ මේවා මගේ පුද්ගලික අදහස් මෙන්ම මේ රතේ දේශප්රේමී බහුතර සින්හල බෞද්ධ ජනතාවගේ හදවත් තුලින් බුර බුරා නැගෙන පොදු අදහස් සහ අපේක්ෂවන් බැවිනි.
භවතු සබ්බ මන්ගලම් -රක්ඛන්තු සබ්බ දේවතා
Fire and brimstone. That’s one way of talking about the week that has passed. Fire, on account of the tragedy that unfolded at the Mahara Prison, brimstone as metaphor for what was feared (but didn’t transpire) by way of a cyclone, Buravi. Of course we are still caught in the so-called Second Wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and a budget debate.
Let’s first get to the Covid-19 situation. As of December 3, total infections confirmed stood at 26,038 against 19,032 recoveries with 129 fatalities. As such, according to Epidemiology Unit data, there are a told of 6,877 active cases. The relevant authorities impose restrictions and, probably following careful monitoring, relax the same and even lift them completely. Colombo is obviously the hardest hit district. This has obvious implications for economic activity. Most institutions have opted to restrict numbers coming to work and have put in place work-from-home systems. Until when, however, is a question that no one can answer.
‘Let’s wait for the vaccine’ is, in a sense, a sign of resignation. The fact of the matter is that despite promising updates on multiple vaccines, there are none yet that the World Health Organizations have approved. Affordability will probably be an issue that will accompany availability. Meanwhile, as has been the case from the beginning of this story, it is best to assume that YOU ARE INFECTED or, if that’s a bit terrifying, to assume that YOU MAY BE INFECTED. So what do you do? Well, if you can’t stay at home, isolated, and indeed aren’t required to since you’ve not tested positive, limit travel, avoid public places, wear a mask as per mask-protocol, wash your hands and maintain recommended social distance. In short, follow guidelines.
That’s what civic responsibility is all about. Of course, not everyone is responsible. Forget civic responsibility, even basic civility is spat at (literally) by some. Yes, we are talking about the incident in Atalugama (yes, the very same village that’s acquired a poor reputation on account of Covid-19) where an infected individual spat in the face of a Public Health Inspector.
Gross, first and foremost. Irresponsible to the core, moreover. If someone is infected, knows it and knowingly acts in a way that could infect someone else that’s not just irresponsible but criminal. Given the nature of the virus and the possibility of death, it has to be treated as equivalent to ‘attempted murder’.
The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA), which has been offering regular advice to the Government with regard to how the pandemic ought to be handled has, on behalf of health professionals, issued a dire warning. It is mulling ‘very serious decisions regarding the provision of services for people in the area.’
The GMOA is a trade union. It is made of professionals in the medical field. It has every right to air the grievances of its membership and to contemplate collective action in the face of any act(s) that put them at risk of any kind. The GMOA’s advice should be taken in good faith, but this doesn’t mean that decision-makers should take it as the last word on the matter. They have the qualifications to talk about viruses, diseases and treatment, but they are not experts on the social and economic entirety in which the pandemic is located and moves.
In this instance, it’s about protecting members from possible infection. Understood. However, to contemplate what is essentially the punishment of an entire community for the wrongdoing of a single member of that collective is morally wrong.
After the incident of a Covid-19 infected individual spitting in the face of a Public Health Inspector (PHI) in Atalugama in Bandaragama, the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) said health professionals would have to take very serious decisions in future regarding providing their services for the people in the area.
They claim, ‘no one in the village spoke against this person (the spitter)’ nor offered support to the PHI officers. That’s not crime enough for a deliberate denial of health services.
Let’s go to Mahara. The prison riots and the outcome brought back memories of ‘Welikada’ (2012 and 1983). This time around there wasn’t an armory for the prisoners to raid. The target was the pharmacy. There was unrest over PCR rests and here the blame falls squarely on the health authorities of the prison who were either ignorant or mischievous with respect to possible anxieties and alleviating the same.
How did it escalate to a point where arson took place, hostages were taken, prisoners attacking one another and a warranting of the use of force? At the end of it all, 11 persons were dead and over 100 wounded. A prison is all about security but insecurity was what was most evident in this incident.
Whether the victims were in prison for drug-related offenses, petty theft, brigandry or scamming the Central Bank is absolutely irrelevant here. No one subjected to a prison sentence would think he/she would enjoy luxurious accommodation, but neither would they believe they could die there.
The Government has taken responsibility. Inquires are under way. Those responsible for negligence or incompetence or both at every key point in the process need to be held accountable.
It is not illogical to move from prisons to courts, so let’s discuss judicial appointments. A few weeks ago, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa nominated several persons to the Supreme Court. When the 20th Amendment was first proposed, the objectors raised questions about judicial independence. These objectors, nor surprisingly were ardent fans of the 19th Amendment. They applauded the Constitutional Council and decried the Parliamentary Council the 20th would replace it with. The CC was politician-heavy and even the non-politicians were essentially political pals of the then regime, in particular the Ranil Wickremesinghe faction of it. Meritocracy and seniority were shoved aside in favor of the ‘safe’ and ‘loyal.’
Six individuals have now been promoted as judges of the Supreme Court. They were the six most senior judges in line for promotion. A total of 14 have been appointed to the Court of Appeal. Eleven are senior judges of the high courts, two from the Attorney General’s department and the last from the unofficial bar who is in fact a former district judge.
Draconian. Hitler-like. Dictator. Military-mindset. Those were the tags pinned on Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Well, the president seems to have done an immense disservice to his reputation! His detractors, meanwhile, are in thumb-twiddling land on these appointments.
That said, the course of action chosen by Gotabaya Rajapaksa does not necessarily mean that someone else would do the same if in his place. Ranil Wickremesinghe, as Prime Minister, was ‘okay’ with the Near-n-Dear Mode. If he, or someone like him (and there are many in all political camps), was in Rajapaksa’s shoes, there’s no guarantee that meritocracy and seniority would be similarly affirmed. The President, however, has set a precedent. A good one. Reason has bested emotion and self-interest. We should applaud.
Related to all this is of course ‘The Constitution.’ A committee has been appointed to draft a new constitution. The public has been requested to submit recommendations. Well, there’s a set of recommendations which may require constitutional amendment that this committee headed by Romesh De Silva can wipe the dust off and use as a foundational text when deliberating on certain elements of constitutional amendment: The Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Security.
This committee was appointed in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday attacks in 2019. The 17-member committee headed by Malith Jayatilleka, came up with many recommendations on 13 different subject areas which, in their minds, would ‘eliminate new terrorism and extremism,’ or rather threat of the same. It is all about streamlining matters, especially in key areas such as education, religion, media and defence.
The Report was released days before the expected dissolution of Parliament, i.e., on February 19, 2020. That could have been a coincidence. Dissolution was followed by Covid-19 related restrictions and then parliamentary elections. The document was the work of a previous Parliament, true. The movers and shakers of that parliament got creamed on August 5, 2020. Nevertheless, some of the committee members were returned. All this notwithstanding, we don’t have any report that can even come close to this in terms of taking cognizance of relevant factors and recommending corrections with a view to tackling the vexed problem of extremism.
Not all recommendations require constitutional amendment. A simple gazette notification would suffice for most of them to be put into operation. Others may require cabinet approval or acts of parliament. Some, amendment of the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Law and the Waqf Law might require an amendment; no doubt interested parties will petition the Supreme Court to hear their objections. All that, for tomorrow. Today, it makes sense to use the report at least as the basis for conversation if not far-reaching restructuring of institutions and adjusting of processes to ensure reconciliation and peace.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in his election campaign, fervently pledged that he would work towards a system that affirms the notion ‘One-Country, One-Law.’ The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) used that slogan in the run up to the August elections. They need to make good on that pledge. They have 6.9 million backing them. In fact they have more, for if they use this Report as a base document for reform that aims for cogency in the law, the constituencies of the authors and the parties they represent would significantly swell those numbers. Let us not forget that Sajith Premadasa’s campaign also insisted that the unitary nature of the state would not be fiddled with. His backers also spoke the one-country-one-law language.
The report can be found online if you go to www.parliament.lk and look for ‘committee reports.’ It’s the one right on top. We recommend a close reading of that text.
Finally, we have the anticlimax. Buravi.
There was much anxiety on account of Buravi. It was heartening to hear that the Governor of the Eastern Province, Anuradha Yahampath, visiting villages considered to be at risk, advising them, offering help and instructing all relevant state agencies to be ready for any eventuality. The Disaster Management authorities were ready. Officials on the ground were on alert.
The devastation feared did not take place. One person has gone missing, four are reported to have been injured and over 12,000 persons adversely affected. The Disaster Management Centre (DMC)
The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) has released the following numbers: 2, 252 people in 3, 575 families affected, 15 houses fully damaged and 192 partially damaged. A total of 10, 336 persons in 2, 911 families have been placed in 79 safe locations Mannar, Jaffna, Killinochchi, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya and Trincomalee districts. The district-wise breakdown of the affected is as follows. Mannar: 7, 749 people in 2, 236 families; Jaffna: 2,986 people in 829 families; Killinochchi: 41 people in 10 families; Mullaitivu: 1, 149 people in 405 families; Vavuniya: 236 people in 74 families; Trincomalee: 91 people in 21 families.
What next? Provincial Councils? Ruling party politicians are making a bit of noise about PC elections. Maybe they are testing waters. It’s in their interest. Political consolidation is part of the story.
PC elections have been repeatedly postponed. This is not a good thing. The democracy-watchdogs, not surprisingly, haven’t uttered a word about this. Interestingly they also happen to be high on ‘devolution.’ Maybe they are punch-drunk. Maybe they were never sober or were unsighted by party loyalty and outcome preferences.
The 13th Amendment, which gave us PCs, was illegally pushed through. However, it is not part of the constitution. As such elections should be held.On the other hand, we are told that a new constitution is on the way. In that case, why waste time and money on maintaining this white elephant which was the issue of an ungainly union between Indian hegemony and a spineless regime way back in 1987? The intended beneficiaries, after all, aren’t lamenting the fact that they haven’t elected representatives to relevant PCs. Administration has not come to a standstill.
The drafters of the new constitution should consider these issues as well. We await word from them on progress made, what we can expect and when. We need to know what they propose to do with the 13th Amendment as well.
One week rolls into another and Covid-19 rolls along. We are relieved that Buravi’s bark was worse than its bite. We are alarmed that ‘Mahara’ happened. We are encouraged by judicial appointments. We remain wary, as is prudent, always.
malindasenevi@gmail.com
මාවැල්ල ධීවර නැංගුරම්පොළෙහි ඉදිකිරීම් කටයුතු ගරු අග්රාමාත්ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතාගේ ප්රධානත්වයෙන් අද 2020.12.06 දින ආරම්භ විය.
යෝජිත නැංගුරම්පොළ තුළ මීටර් 260 කින් යුතු ප්රධාන දියකඩනය, අක්වෙරළ දියකඩන දෙකක් හා නාවුක ගමනාගමනය පහසු කරවීම පිණිස පිවිසුම් ඇළක් ද ඉදි කිරීමට නියමිතය.
පිටත එන්ජිම සහිත ෆයිබර් යාත්රා 350 ක් සඳහා පහසුකම් සපයා දීම මෙන්ම යාත්රා සඳහා ආරක්ෂාකාරී යාත්රා පිවිසුමක් ලබාදීම තුළින් ධීවර කාර්මිකයාට මෙන්ම, පවුල්වල පිරිස් සඳහා වඩා සුරක්ෂිත වෘත්තීය මට්ටමක් මේ තුළින් ලබාදීමට අපේක්ෂිතය. එමෙන්ම මෙහි බහුදින ධීවර යාත්රා සඳහා ද ධීවර කටයුතු වල නියැළීමට අවශ්ය පහසුකම් සපයා දී තිබේ.
යෝජිත මාවැල්ල ධීවර නැංගුරම්පොළ ඉදි කිරීම තුළින් 1500 ක පමණ පිරිසකට ජීවනෝපාය සැලසෙන අතර ඒ තුළින් ධීවර ප්රජාවගේ ධීවර කටයුතු වඩා ඵලදායී වනු ඇත.
මාස 15 වැනි කෙටි කාලයක් තුළ මෙහි ඉදි කිරීම් අවසන් කිරීමට නියමිත අතර ඇස්තමේන්තුගත පිරිවැය රුපියල් මිලියන 380.07 කි.
මෙම අවස්ථාව සඳහා අමාත්යවරුන්වන ඩග්ලස් දේවානන්දා, නාමල් රාජපක්ෂ, මහින්ද අමරවීර, ජී.එල්.පීරිස්, රාජ්ය අමාත්යවරුන් වන ඩී.වී.චානක, කංචන විජේසේකර, පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්රීවරුන් වන උපුල් ගලප්පත්ති, දිලිප් වෙදආරච්චි, අජිත් රාජපක්ෂ, දකුණු පළාත් සභා සභාපති සෝමවංශ කෝදාගොඩ, දකුණු පළාත් සභා හිටපු ධීවර අමාත්ය ඩී.වී.උපුල්, ධීවර අමාත්යංශ ලේකම් ආර්.එම්.අයි.රත්නායක, රාජ්ය අමාත්යංශ ලේකම් ජයන්ත චන්ද්රසෝම මහත්ම මහත්මීන් ඇතුළු පිරිසක් එක්ව සිටියහ.
රැකව ධීවර නැංගුරම්පොළ ඉදිකිරීම ගරු අග්රාමාත්ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතාගේ ප්රධානත්වයෙන් අද 2020.12.06 දින ආරම්භ විය.
කළමැටිය ධීවර වරායේ ගින්නෙන් සිදු වූ හානි ප්රතිපූර්ණයට කළමැටිය ධීවරයින් 26 දෙනෙකු සඳහා, එක් ධීවරයෙකුට රුපියල් ලක්ෂ හත හමාර බැගින් වටිනා ධීවර යාත්රාවක් සහ ධීවර ආම්පන්න බෙදාදීම ද අග්රාමාත්යතුමා අතින් මෙහිදී සිදු විය.
රැකව තොටුපොළ ආශ්රිතව පවුල් 300 ක් පමණ ධීවර කර්මාන්තයේ නිරත වන අතර, ඉදි කිරීමට යෝජිත රැකව ධීවර නැංගුරම්පොළ තුළින් ධීවර ප්රජාවගේ ධීවර කටයුතු සඳහා එය වඩා ඵලදායී වනු ඇත.
තංගල්ල හා හම්බන්තොට ධීවර වරාය අතර පිහිටා ඇති මෙම යෝජිත ධීවර නැංගුරම්පොළ තුළ මීටර් 300 කින් යුතු ප්රධාන දියකඩනය, මීටර් 75 කින් යුතු වැලිකඩනය හා නාවුක ගමනාගමනය පහසු කරවීම පිණිස පිවිසුම් ඇළක් ඉදි කිරීමට යෝජිතය.
පිටත එන්ජිම සහිත ෆයිබර් යාත්රා 350 ක් සඳහා පහසුකම් සපයා දීම මෙන්ම යාත්රා සඳහා ආරක්ෂාකාරී යාත්රා පිවිසුමක් ලබාදීම තුළින් ධීවර කාර්මිකයාට මෙන්ම, පවුල්වල පිරිස් සඳහා වඩා සුරක්ෂිත වෘත්තීය මට්ටමක් මේ තුළින් ලබාදීමට අපේක්ෂිතය.
රැකව ධීවර නැංගුරම්පොළ ඉදි කිරීම තුළින් 1500 කට අධික පිරිසකට ජීවනෝපායන් සැලසෙන අතර බහුදින යාත්රා 70ක් පමණ ධීවර කටයුතුවල නියැළෙනු ඇත.
අවුරුද්දක් වැනි කෙටි කාලයක් තුළ මෙහි ඉදි කිරීම් අවසන් කිරීමට නියමිත අතර ඇස්තමේන්තුගත පිරිවැය රුපියල් මිලියන 379.53 කි.
මෙහිදී අදහස් දැක්වූ අග්රාමාත්යතුමා,
මේ ධීවර වරාය අපේ ඔලුවල එදා 70 මන්ත්රී කෙනෙක් වෙන්න කලින් ඉදලම තිබුණා. මගේ මැතිවරණ ඉතිහාසයේ මුල්ම සාකච්ඡාව පටන් ගත්තේ රැකව ඉදලා. රැකවෙන් තමයි අපි සාකච්ඡා කරලා මුලින්ම දේශපාලන කටයුතුවලට එළියට බැස්සේ. ඒ නිසා රැකවත් එක්ක අපිට තියෙන්නේ ඒ සම්බන්ධතාවය.
විශේෂයෙන්ම මම සන්තෝෂ වෙනවා අද. මොන පක්ෂෙන් ආවත්, ආණ්ඩු කළත් හැම දේශපාලන නායකයාගේම හිත්වල තිබුණා, හැම දේශපාලන නායකයාටම ඕනි වෙලා තිබ්බා මේ ධීවර වරායන් හදන්න. නමුත් එය ක්රියාත්මක කරන්න පුළුවන්කම ලැබුණේ අපට. හුගක් අය මොනවා කිව්වත් රට පුරාම අද වෙනකොට ධීවර වරායන් 22ක් තියෙනවා. අපි ධීවර කර්මාන්තය දියුණු කරා. ඒ ගැන අපි විශේෂ අවධානයක් යොමු කරලා තියෙනවා. කම්කරු ඇමතිව ඉදලා ධීවර ඇමති වුනාම සංවර්ධනය කරන්න අමාත්යංශයක් භාර අරගෙන ධීවර ජනතාවගේ අවශ්යතාවයන් ලබා දෙන්න අපි ඒ කාලේ ඉදන්ම පියවර ගත්තා. අපිට ඒ සදහා පුළුවන්කම ලැබුණා. රට වටේට මුහුද තියෙනවා. අපි තවමත් පිටරටින් මාළු ගේනවා. අපේ මුහුදෙ තියෙන මාළු ටික වෙන රටවල් අරගෙන යනවා. මේක නැවැත්වීමට අපි පියවර ගන්නවා. ධීවර අමාත්යතුමා ඇතුළු සියලු දෙනා එකතු වෙලා එය නවත්වන්න පියවර ගන්නවා. අපි අපේ මුහුද ආරක්ෂා කරගෙන ධීවර කර්මාන්තය වඩා දියුණු කරලා ජනතාවට අවශ්ය මාළු ටික සපයනවා විතරක් නෙමෙයි අපිට විදේශ මුදල් ලබා ගැනීම සඳහා පිටරට යැවීමත් කරන්න පුළුවන්. දැනටමත් අපිට විදේශ ආදායම් ප්රමාණයක් ලැබෙනවා ධීවර කර්මාන්තයෙන්. අපි මේ කර්මාන්තය දියුණු කරන්න පළාත දියුණු කරන්න අපේ වගකීමක් ලෙස සලකා කටයුතු කරනවා. මේ ආණ්ඩුව පිහිටුවාට පස්සේ ධීවර කර්මාන්තය විතරක් නෙමෙයි අනෙකුත් කර්මාන්තත් දියුණු කිරීම සඳහා පියවර අරගත්තා. විශේෂයෙන්ම යටිතල පහසුකම් දියුණු කරලා ලංකාවෙම යටිතල පහසුකම් ලබාදෙන්න අපි කටයුතු කළා. මේ සියල්ල විශේෂ අවධානයක් මේ රටේ ජනාධිපතිවරයා යොමු කරලා තියෙනවා. ඒ නිසා අපි ඇමතිවරු වශයෙන් ජනතාවගේ ඒ අවශ්යතාවයක් ඉටු කරන්න කැපවෙලා ඉන්නවා.
තමුන්නාන්සේලා දන්නවා ඔබේ රාජ්ය ඇමතිවරයා අපි බලාපොරොත්තු වන අපේ ක්රියාත්මක කරන්න තියෙන ප්රතිපත්ති ගැන තමුන්නාන්සේලාට ප්රකාශයක් කළා. අපි අනිවාර්යෙන්ම ධීවර කර්මාන්තය දියුණු කරන්න, ධීවර කටයුතු පහසු කරන්න, ධීවර නිවාස වැඩපිළිවෙළ ක්රියාත්මක කරනවා. මට මතකයි ඉස්සර අපි යනකොට පොල් අතු පැළ වල තමයි ධීවරයෝ හිටියේ. අපි ආරම්භ කළා පොල් අතු පැළවල් සියල්ල අයින් කරන්න. ඒ අනුව අපි උළු වහළවල් ලබා දෙන්න පොරොන්දු උනා. ධීවර ජනතාවට තට්ටු නිවාස වැඩපිළිවෙළක් අපි ආරම්භ කළා. මොරටුව, අම්බලන්ගොඩ, වැලිගම, සීනිමෝදර තට්ටු නිවාස ආරම්භ කරලා අපි නිවාස ලබා දුන්නා. ඉස්සෙල්ලා ප්රශ්නයක් ආවා දැල් ටික තියා ගන්නේ කොහෙද කියලා. ආම්පාන්න තියා ගන්නෙ කොහොමද කියලා. දැන් ඊටත් වඩා හොදට උතුරේ ජනතාව අවුරුදු 30ක යුද්ධයකින් බැට කෑව. ඒ ධීවර ජනතාව ගේ අවශ්යතාවය ගැන හිතලා ඩග්ලස් දේවානන්ද මහතාත්, දකුණ බලාගන්න කාංචන විජේසේකර මහතාත් පත් කළා යැයි පැවසීය.
මෙම අවස්ථාව සඳහා අමාත්යවරුන්වන ඩග්ලස් දේවානන්දා, නාමල් රාජපක්ෂ, මහින්ද අමරවීර, ජී.එල්.පීරිස්, රාජ්ය අමාත්යවරුන් වන ඩී.වී.චානක, කංචන විජේසේකර, පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්රීවරුන් වන උපුල් ගලප්පත්ති, දිලිප් වෙදආරච්චි, අජිත් රාජපක්ෂ, දකුණු පළාත් සභා සභාපති සෝමවංශ කෝදාගොඩ, දකුණු පළාත් සභා හිටපු ධීවර අමාත්ය ඩී.වී.උපුල්, ධීවර අමාත්යංශ ලේකම් ආර්.එම්.අයි.රත්නායක, රාජ්ය අමාත්යංශ ලේකම් ජයන්ත චන්ද්රසෝම මහත්ම මහත්මීන් ඇතුළු පිරිසක් එක්ව සිටියහ.
Good Afternoon. Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you for inviting me to speak to you today. The title of my presentation is ‘Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour ignited the liberation of Asia from Western domination – Time to Express Asia`s Gratitude to Japan`. This is a very important topic not only for the people of Japan but also for people of Asia and beyond.
I am indeed honoured and privileged to be among such a distinguished audience in the Japanese Diet. I am grateful to the Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact for providing me this precious opportunity and in particular Mr. Hideaki Kase (President), Mr. Hiromichi Moteki, Mr. Hiroyuki Fujita and Mr. Yukio Tanimoto, with all of whom I have been having informative and cordial correspondence on matters relating to accurate dispersal of news and views particularly relating to the Japanese involvement in the Greater East Asian War.
The Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact is doing something marvelous and timely. To correct distortions in historical narratives which are usually biased, euro- centric and prejudiced against Japan. Ever since the end of the war Japan has been the victim of malicious propaganda that is directed against Japan, demonizing Japan and its people as the guilty party or the wrong doers, who deserve to be punished and shamed. This has to be challenged and countered in the interest of ensuring truth and establishing historical fact. The existence of the Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact is therefore warranted and its work eminently justifiable.
Mr. Hideaki Kase’s book ‘The Greater East Asian War: How Japan Changed the World’ and British Journalist Henry Scott Stokes book ‘ Fallacies in the Allied Nations’ Historical Perception as observed by a British Journalist’ serve as excellent resource material towards obtaining an insight into the true causes that forced Japan to enter the war.
I am here today not only to share 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 history writing, 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.
This year on December 8th 2018 the 77th anniversary of the Japanese bombing raid on Pearl Harbour will be commemorated. Special ceremonies will be held to remember the loss of the loved ones, friends and relatives. We share their grief.
On December 8, 1941, Pearl Harbour was attacked by 353 Japanese fighter planes, bombers, and torpedo planes in two waves, launched from six aircraft carriers. All eight U.S. Navy battleships were damaged, with four sunk. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, and one minelayer. 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed; 2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 others were wounded. Japanese losses were light: 29 aircraft and five midget submarines lost, and 64 servicemen killed.
The purpose of my presentation today is not to embark on an inquiry to determine who was at fault and who was not. This is a complex issue with enough evidence readily available today to show that Japan was not the aggressor nation but was pushed under unavoidable circumstances to enter the war. Japan had no other option left to secure oil to sustain its existence as a nation, after USA regardless of probable consequences deliberately ceased oil exports to Japan in July 1941.
What is intended here is to examine the effects of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour and other western colonial possessions in Asia, on the psychology and morale of the people of Asia then mostly under western colonial domination, and ask whether Japan’s anti–colonial leadership and battle success in the early phase of the War helped Asia’s freedom fighters to step up their campaign for liberation from foreign occupation and achieve independence.
In the early part of the 20th century, it is undisputed that Japan was the only major country in the world that stood out openly for the liberation of Asia from western colonialism and had the capacity and resources to take on the challenge. ‘Asia for Asians’ became a battle cry of the Japanese. No other Asian country including China and India, took up such a Pan–Asian slogan or was placed in such militarily strong position.
On the day of the attack on Pearl Harbour i.e. December 8, 1941, an Imperial Rescript described Japan’s war aims: to ensure Japan’s integrity and to remove European colonialism from and bring stability to East and Southeast Asia.
On December 08, 1941, the Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo read out the Japanese Emperor Hirohito’s proclamation of war to the Empire, excerpt of which are as follows:
It has been unavoidable and far from Our wishes that Our Empire has been brought to cross swords with America and Britain.
Eager for the realization of their inordinate ambitions to dominate the Orient, both America and Britain, …. have aggravated the disturbances in East Asia. Moreover, these two powers, inducing other countries to follow suit, increased military preparations on all sides of Our Empire to challenge us. They have obstructed by every means our peaceful commerce and finally resorted to direct severance of economic relations, menacing gravely the existence of Our Empire.
Patiently have we waited and long have we endured in the hope that Our Government might retrieve the situation in peace.
But our adversaries, showing not the least spirit of conciliation, have unduly delayed a settlement, and in the meantime they have intensified the economic and political pressure to compel thereby Our Empire to submission.
This turn of affairs would, if left unchecked, not only nullify Our Empire’s efforts of many years for the sake of the stabilization of East Asia, but also endanger the very existence of our nation.
The situation being such as it is Our Empire for its existence and self-defense has no other recourse but to appeal to arms and to crush every obstacle in its path.”
President Roosevelt called the attack on Pearl Harbour ‘a day of infamy’.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill declared that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was a staggering blow” and our prestige suffered with the loss of Hong Kong”. In early 1942, Churchill reassured the House of Commons amidst widespread, mass resistance to colonialism in India, that the Atlantic Charter’s provisions were not applicable to [the] Coloured Races in [the] colonial empire, and that [the phrase] ‘restoration of sovereignty, self-government and national life’…[was] applicable only to the States and the Nations of Europe’.
Japan’s war policy intended a total break from Western dependence, including a rejection of bankrupt Western cultural traditions, which had been slavishly adopted since the Meiji restoration, and a return to an Asian consciousness (as opposed to Western) and civilizational values as a source for national greatness. Critical to the nation’s survival in the midst of unbridled Westernization was political and cultural regeneration and a pan-Asian solidarity under Japanese leadership which was articulated as a new Order for Asia in resistance to Western imperialism.
Matsuoka Yosuke, Japanese Foreign Minister, proclaimed the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere” in August 1940. The idea of decolonization under Japanese leadership resonated with Asians widely because, in the words of former U.S. President Herbert Hoover in 1942, universally, the white man is hated by the Chinese, Malayan, Indian and Japanese alike,” due to his heartless and spiteful conduct as a colonial master over a few hundred years.
Japan’s military success in the Battle of Tsushima in 1905 fired the dreams of Asians and Africans for freedom.
Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany appealed to Europe to rise above its parochial disputes to defend your holiest possession,” Christianity and European civilization, against the rising threat of the Yellow Peril”.
Within a decade of the German Kaiser’s raising of the alarm of the danger of the yellow peril,” Japan defeated Russia in 1905.
It prompted a young Oxford lecturer, Alfred Zimmern, to put aside his lesson on Greek history to announce to his class the most historical event which has happened, or is likely to happen, in our lifetime has happened; the victory of a non-white people over a white people.”
Japan’s spectacular military victories at the beginning of the 20th century and their impact on Asian intellectuals are well documented in Pankaj Mishra’s book titled, From the Ruins of Empire: The Revolt Against the West and the Remaking of Asia.”
This work is a survey of Asian intellectuals in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and their role in pan-Asian, pan-Islamic, and anti-colonial movements. The book begins with an electrifying moment in Asia’s struggle for liberation from Western domination: the spectacular Japanese naval victory over Russia at the Battle of Tsushima in May 1905, which stunned Asians and Africans living at the time under the yoke of colonialism.
This victory of the small but resurgent Japanese navy over the imperial might of what was then accepted as a major European power fired the imagination of an entire generation of Asian leaders.
Jawarharlal Nehru, Mohandas Gandhi, Sun Yat-Sen, Mao Zedong, the young Kemal Ataturk and nationalists in Egypt, Vietnam and many other countries welcomed Japan’s decisive triumph in the Russo-Japanese War with euphoric zeal. And they all drew the same lesson from Japan’s victory,” Pankaj Mishra writes. White men, conquerors of the world, were no longer invincible.”
Even Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India, noted that the reverberations of that victory have gone like a thunderclap through the whispering galleries of the East.” The world wars that followed further shrunk Europe of much of what remained of its moral and political authority in Asian eyes. In the long view, however,” Mishra concludes, it is the battle of Tsushima that seems to have struck the opening chords of the recessional of the West.”
Japan’s defeat of Russia in 1905 was uplifting news for Asians. For the first time since the middle ages, a non-European country had vanquished a European power in a major war. And Japan’s victory gave way to a hundred- and-one fantasies – of national freedom, racial dignity, or simple vengefulness – in the minds of those who had bitterly endured European occupation of their lands.
Mahatma Gandhi then made an astute far reaching forecast. He remarked that so far and wide have the roots of Japanese victory spread that we cannot now visualise all the fruit it will put forth.”
Japan’s proposal for equality of races at League of Nations
Japan had championed the cause of peoples under European colonial rule at the Treaty of Paris (1918–19) and the formation of the League of Nations. Japan proposed an amendment to the League’s covenant that would ensure equal and just treatment in every respect, making no distinction, either in law or in fact, on account of their race or nationality.” To their great shame, the western colonial powers rejected the notion of equality between human beings, fearing that it would become a challenge to white supremacy and the Colonial Order which suppressed non–white people. However, Japan by this proposal for recognition of equality of all, gained the esteem of Asians and Africans as the logical leader of all coloured peoples.”
In respect to the Second World War, Jawaharlal Nehru observed;
it became ever clearer that the western democracies were fighting not for a change but for a perpetuation of the old order, ” and both the Allied and Axis powers shared a common war interest, the preservation of white supremacy and the colonial status quo. Both sides, he noted, embraced legacies of empire and racial discrimination,” and in affirmation after the war, the old imperialisms still functioned….”
Japan’s stunning military victories in 1941 – 1942
Thirty-six years after its victory in the Battle of Tsushima, Japan struck the greatest decisive blow ever by any non – white country or non – white people to European power in Asia with the attack on Pearl Harbour. In about 90 days, beginning on December 8, 1941, Japan overran the possessions of Britain, the US and the Netherlands in east and south-east Asia, taking the Philippines, Singapore, Malaya, Hong Kong, the Dutch East Indies, much of Siam and French Indochina, and Burma with bewildering swiftness to stand poised at the borders of India by early 1942. All over Asia, subject people cheered the Japanese advance into countries forcibly held and occupied by western colonial powers.
Days before Singapore fell to the Japanese in early 1942, the Dutch Prime Minister-in-Exile, Pieter Gerbrandy, had conveyed his fears and anxieties to Churchill and other Allied leaders in the following words Japanese injuries and insults to the White population … would irreparably damage white prestige unless severely punished within a short time”.
Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia’s former Prime Minister, has said most Asians felt inferior to the European colonisers and rarely did we even consider independence a viable option.” The colonies, he explained, were structured to serve the European demand for raw materials and natural resources,” and were thus dependencies. But Japan’s expulsion of the British changed our view of the world,” showing that an Asian race, the Japanese” could defeat whites and with that reality dawned a new awakening amongst us that if we wanted to, we could be like the Japanese. We did have the ability to govern our own country and compete with the Europeans on an equal footing.” So despite the suffering under Japanese wartime occupation and the tremendous disappointment” over the return of the British after the war, Mohamad wrote, the shackles of mental servitude” had been broken.
Similarly, Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew testified that Japan’s defeat of the British completely changed our world”.
General Tomoyuki Yamashita – Tiger of Malaya
The brilliant military campaign of General Tomoyuki Yamashita in the Malay Peninsula in early 1942 is described in great detail and displayed with graphics in the Yushukan Museum which is found next to the Yasukuni Jinja (Shrine) in Tokyo.
The Japanese conquest of Malaya and Singapore (considered impregnable by the British colonial rulers) in a mere 70 days under the leadership of General Yamashita and the sinking of the British warships Prince of Wales (Pride of the British Royal Navy) and Repulse by Japanese carrier – borne torpedo aircraft led to the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill calling the humiliating fall of Singapore to Japan as the worst disaster” and largest capitulation” in British military history. It was one of the biggest blows to Western prestige in Asia as it was coupled with the surrender of 130, 000 British Empire troops to General Yamashita’s Japanese army of 30,000 troops. This was the death blow to European colonialism and it was never able to recover their supremacy in Asia thereafter.
Expressions of praise and gratitude to Japan
The Japanese with their stunning military victories over a common foe had made Asian people proud and stand erect with their heads held high.
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.”
British historian Arnold Toynbee said: Japan put an end to West’s colonialism in Asia once and for all.”
Toynbee added In World War II, Japanese people left a great history. Not for their own country but for countries that achieved benefit from the War. Those countries were ones that were included in the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, a short-lived ideal that Japan held out. The biggest achievement Japanese people left in history is that they succeeded in displaying the fact that Westerners who dominated the world were not Undefeatable Gods.”
Former Thai Prime Minister Kukrit Pramoj Expressed his Admiration for Japan
The former Prime Minister of Thailand, Kukrit Pramoj, who was Chief Editor of the newspaper ‘Siam Rath’ at the time and who took office as Prime Minister in 1973, stated:
It was thanks to Japan that all nations of Asia gained independence. For Mother Japan, it was a difficult birth which resulted in much suffering, yet her children are growing up quickly to be healthy and strong.
Who was it that enabled the citizens of the nations of Southeast Asia to gain equal status alongside the United States and Britain today? It is because Japan, who acted like a mother to us all, carried out acts of benevolence towards us and performed feats of self-sacrifice. December 8th (1941) is the day when Mother Japan – who taught us this important lesson – laid her life on the line for us, after making a momentous decision and risking her own well-being for our sake.
Furthermore, August 15th (1945) is the day when our beloved and revered mother was frail and ailing. Neither of these two days should ever be forgotten.”
Long accustomed to servility in colonial countries, western powers grossly underestimated the post-war nationalism that the Japanese had both wittingly and unwittingly unleashed. They had also severely miscalculated their own staying power among foreign subject people innately hostile to them. Despite futile counter-insurgency operations and full-scale wars, especially in Indochina, the spread of de – colonisation was swift and extraordinary.
Burma, which hardly had a full blown nationalist movement before 1935, became free in 1948. The Dutch in Indonesia resisted with a rear guard defense and US and British assistance but Indonesian nationalists led by Sukarno finally overpowered them and pushed them out in 1953. Postwar chaos forced Malaya, Singapore and Vietnam into long periods of insurgencies and wars, but an ultimate European retreat was never in doubt.
Japan’s unsung role in India’s independence struggle
British governance in India — three centuries of exorbitant taxation, unfair trade practices, rampant free-marketeering and deliberate starvation had led to the deaths of millions of Indians in preventable famines. Japan played a critical (largely unsung) role in India’s struggle for independence by supporting Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and assisting him to form the Indian National Army (INA).
It is argued with vehemence by informed observers that without Bose’s INA, India might never have achieved independence.
This is because, although the INA failed militarily in the Battles at Kohima and Imphal along the India–Burma border in 1944 as part of the Japanese attempted entry to India, its troops (INA) got another opportunity to challenge the British Colonial Government in a Delhi courtroom in 1945. Three INA Officers were put on trial for treason at Red Fort. This move backfired on the British. The accused a Muslim, Sikh and Hindu justified their roles as liberators of a colonized nation and won the sympathy of the Indian public.
This led to support for the defendants spreading throughout the nation — including among Indians serving in the British Indian Army. These newly radicalized troops staged strikes and mutinies across the subcontinent in 1946 against the British occupation. With its once-solid military foundation shaken to the core — and facing widespread, huge demonstrations and possible mutinies by the three forces, Army, Navy and Air Force, on a scale bigger than the Indian Mutiny in 1857 — the British authorities decided that it was time to pack up and leave. On August 15, 1947, they granted India its independence.
An unwise partition of the Indian subcontinent, which placed two new nation-states in endless conflict, marked Britain’s humiliating departure from India in 1947.
Europe,” Jean-Paul Sartre claimed in his preface to Franz Fanon’s Wretched of the Earth, seemed to be springing leaks everywhere.” In the past we made history,” Sartre asserted, and now it is being made of us.”
The retreat of the West from its colonies in the East may well be said to be the singular most important event of the 20th century.
My presentation is also intended to make a plea to right a great wrong done to Japan. In other words, to call on Asian countries to shun looking at Japan as an aggressor with criminal intent to plunder and loot other Asian countries a line pushed by massive western propaganda but to look at Japan as the real spark that ignited the fight all over Asia for independence from western domination. The time has come for fellow Asians who have benefited from Japan’s massive war effort and the blood sacrifices of Japanese soldiers to concede due acknowledgement to Japan.
To single out Japan for war crimes selectively while avoiding any mention of the crimes committed by western countries in third-world countries including calling for reparations which both Germany and Japan have paid, is anything but a travesty of justice.
What is surprising and morally repugnant today is the unrepentant nostalgia for western hegemony that has not only gripped many prominent Anglo-American leaders and opinion-makers but also several servile Asian politicians, NGOs and columnists writing as cheer leaders of neo–colonialism, who strive to see Asia through the narrow angle of protecting western colonial interests, leaving unexamined the historical memory and the collective experiences of Asian peoples during the dark period of western colonial rule.
Colonialism and foreign occupation constitute crimes against humanity. They represent some of the most serious violations of national sovereignty of states and breach of international law, and in almost all colonial territories in Asia, Africa, North and South America horrendous crimes against humanity have been committed by the occupying colonial powers. The perpetrators have yet to be held accountable and brought to book under international law for these genocidal crimes.
De-colonise Asian minds and show gratitude to Japan.
The challenge before fellow Asians is to de-colonise our minds and look at Japan’s conduct before and during the Second World War afresh. 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 the US, that they were forced to quit Asia in next to no time.
Tragically today the legacy of Japan’s heroic contributions and sacrifices as the first Asian country that stood up and fought to drive out European colonialism from Asia in the 20th century, is seldom acknowledged, rarely celebrated, and hardly observed as a form of thanksgiving.
It is never too late to show Asia’s gratitude to Japan and re-write the historical narrative.
Sri Lanka’s Independence – a direct outcome of Japan’s entry to the Second World War which sealed the fate of European Colonialism in Asia
Now let me talk about Sri Lanka’s Independence.
Sri Lanka together with several other Asian countries owe much in winning their freedom, to Japan’s entry to the Second World War and the resulting chain of events that sealed the fate of European colonialism in Asia.
Jawaharlal Nehru, the Indian Prime Minister (1947 – 1964) when asked in the 1930s to name a likely date that India would win independence from Britain, replied by saying it would probably be in the late 1970s i.e. long after their time.
According to Major – General Mohan Singh of the Indian National Army (INA) The British had not given even an empty promise to grant us complete freedom after the war” ( The Reader’s Digest Illustrated History of World War II).
The fact that India gained freedom in 1947 much earlier than the date that Nehru thought was possible, followed by Burma and Ceylon in 1948, was largely due to the interplay of both external and internal factors.
Today, there is a great turn around in Historiography in respect to the role of Japan in the Second World War. Japan no longer has a pariah status or subject to isolation because of its conduct in the war. In fact, except in a couple of Far Eastern nations, Japan is increasingly gaining acceptance and recognition in much of Asia for being the catalyst in igniting the relatively dormant Asian Independence movements.
Nehru himself refused to take part in the San Francisco Peace Treaty Conference held in 1951 on several specified grounds and declared that Japan has done no wrong to India for India to seek an apology and reparations from Japan. India’s sympathies beginning with Subash Chandra Bose and Judge Radhabinod Pal ( the only dissenting Judge in the Tokyo War Crimes Trial) have always been with Japan. J.R. Jayewardene from Ceylon made a resounding plea for Japan citing the Buddha’s insightful words that ‘Hatred does not cease by hatred,but only by love;this is the eternal law.”
Asia’s leaders and Historians now see a direct and incontrovertible connection between the Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour and Western Colonial bases in Asia, and the subsequent success of the independence movements which drew inspiration from Japan’s courage to take on the West and liberate Asian colonies. Japan more than any other Asian country was responsible for sealing the fate of European colonialism in the Orient.
Historiography and the narrative on who won Independence for India in 1947 is also rapidly changing with an increasing number of writers prepared to give credit to Netaji Subash Chandra Bose, Indian National Army and Japan for the eventual liberation of India, while conceding to Mahatma Gandhi and his followers due respect for their noble and sustained efforts in seeking freedom from British colonial rule.
New Book – ‘ Bose: An Indian Samurai’
In a new Book ‘ Bose: An Indian Samurai’ by military historian General GD Bakshi, claims that the former British Prime Minister Clement Atlee had said that the role played by Netaji’s Indian National Army was paramount in India being granted Independence, while the non-violent movement led by Gandhi was dismissed as having had minimal effect.
In the book, Bakshi cites a conversation between the then British PM Attlee and then Governor of West Bengal Justice PB Chakraborty in 1956 when Attlee – the leader of Labour Party and the British premier who had signed the decision to grant Independence to India in 1947 – had come to India and stayed in Kolkata as Chakraborty’s guest.
Chakraborty, who was then the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court and was serving as the acting Governor of West Bengal, is quoted as saying : When I was acting governor, Lord Attlee, who had given us Independence by withdrawing 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 Attlee 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 had to leave?”
In his reply Attlee cited several reasons, the main 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,” Chakraborty said.
Toward the end of our discussion I asked Attlee what was the extent of Gandhi’s influence upon the British decision to leave India. Hearing this question, Attlee’s lips became twisted in a sarcastic smile as he slowly chewed out the word, ‘m-i-n-i-m-a-l’,” Chakraborty added.
Fear of another Indian Mutiny
Though Japan lost in 1945, the legacy of Subhas Chandra Bose endured to stir the Indian masses and soldiers of the British Indian Army and ratings of the Royal Indian Navy to mutiny following the trial of the INA Officers at the Red Fort. It was the fear of such a Mutiny on a scale bigger than the Indian Mutiny in 1857, that convinced the British that it was time to quit India, and Burma and Ceylon within a few months.
No colonial country withdraws voluntarily from its colonies unless there are insurmountable ‘ push ‘ factors or except under compelling circumstances. The best illustration of this proposition is the shameful return of the Dutch and the French to regain their colonies in Asia after the end of the second world war. Japanese occupation during World War II had ended Dutch rule, and the Japanese encouraged the previously suppressed Indonesian independence movement.
Despite their opposition to the tyranny of Nazi rule of France and Netherlands (1940 -1944), and delight in being liberated by the Allies, these two colonial powers were not prepared to share the freedom they gained in Europe with the subject people in Asia ( and Africa). They were not welcomed when they returned. Indonesians under Sukarno with the help of Japanese volunteers that remained in Indonesia after the defeat of Japan, defeated the Dutch in a series of military battles to finally gain independence in 1949. Likewise the Viet Minh under Ho Chi Minh performed admirably to wrest control from the
French by defeating them at Dien Bien Phu in 1954 and finally resulting in their withdrawal from all colonies of French Indo – China under the Geneva Accords of 1954.
External factors
Mainstream writings on the Independence movement in British occupied Ceylon have so far failed to account for the external factors that contributed to advancement of the date of independence.
A study of colonial history of Ceylon shows clearly that local Kings have sought external help to end foreign occupation of parts of Ceylon. Several Kings of Kandy had contacts with the Dutch finally leading to the Treaty of 1638 signed in Kandy where the Dutch undertook to assist the Kandyan Kingdom under King Rajasinghe the Second to expel the Portuguese which was successfully achieved in 1658.
Likewise the Kings of Kandy solicited the assistance of the British Empire towards the end of the 18th century to end Dutch occupation of Ceylon. This was achieved in 1796.
It is necessary to show that external factors again contributed substantially to end British occupation of Ceylon finally leading to independence in 1948.
To remain oblivious to these external factors and extend credit exclusively to the locals on the ground that they were ‘Freedom Fighters’ is an exercise in fantasy. There were no authentic freedom fighters in Ceylon after 1848. The last shot for freedom from colonial rule was fired in Matale in 1848 during the second war of independence (also called the Matale Rebellion).
The succeeding generations yearning for freedom produced marvelous orators, letter writers, pen pushers and even collaborators who preferred British colonial rule to continue rather than handing over the country to the locals. Several were quite happy to accept knighthoods and other perks, and co – exist with the colonial administration. There was no fight in them compared to what we have seen in warriors such as Keppetipola Disawe, Gongalegoda Banda, Puran Appu or even earlier in Kings such as Sitavaka Rajasinghe, Mayadunne, Veediya Bandara ( son in law of Buvanekabahu the 7th), Wimaladharmasuriya I, Senerath and Rajasinghe the Second, among others.
Local leaders pursued ‘ Constitutional Reform’ and not total independence though armed resistance e.g. Indonesia, or even large scale civil disobedience movements e.g. India. They were far removed from the type of fight and determination we have seen in other Asian nationalist leaders who fought against Western domination of Asia such as Hideki Tojo ( Japan), Subhas Chandra Bose (India), Mao Tse Tung (China), Ho Chi Minh ( Vietnam), Sukarno ( Indonesia), and Aung San ( Burma). These Asian freedom fighters and patriots preferred to use the only language that the West really understood and respected i.e. force of arms.
Except for Angarika Dharmapala, the world`s first Global Buddhist missionary, the freedom movement in Ceylon never produced a single leader of repute who enjoyed widespread support and admiration overseas for speaking out and engaging in battle for the liberation of Asia.
Historiography – a neglected field in Sri Lanka
Ceylon was very fortunate in gaining independence in 1948 despite not having fought in the real sense of the word to rid the country of foreign occupation. It is soldiers from other Asian countries e.g. Japan, who primarily made blood sacrifices to fight western domination of Asia during the Second World War. We were beneficiaries of these sacrifices and battles. We have to acknowledge this support from fellow Asians at some point in time.
Historiography in Sri Lanka is lagging behind the rest of the world. It is a relatively neglected field. In respect to the narrative relating to the Second World War, our Historians have been merely echoing western perspectives and self – serving interpretations instead of carving out a separate original and independent path of research and writing.
It is time that we learn to look at historical events not from the angle of the colonizer but from the angle of those who have resisted foreign occupation both within and outside Sri Lanka.
Perspectives on the Tokyo Trials
Finally, as a lawyer, I would like to end this speech by sharing some of my perspectives, on the International Military Tribunal for the Far East ( Tokyo Trials):
Japan was not prepared to accept the freezing of the World Order based on colonialism and making it the Status Quo that could not be challenged or changed except at the risk of being branded as committing crimes against peace. Japan led the world in rejecting the western theory of Manifest Destiny which held that the United States was destined—by God—to expand its dominion and spread democracy and capitalism across the entire North American continent and there after the Asia – Pacific.
Japanese leaders have unfortunately paid the supreme penalty for their defiance of the West. They were brought before Tribunals which in the words of their own American judges were nothing but ‘ high grade lynch mobs’. In a sense these Tribunals were nothing but ‘ Kangaroo Courts’.
A survey of Courts set up by colonial authorities all over the world in European colonies to try freedom fighters, whether they be black, brown, yellow or even white, shows a remarkable consistency in the manipulation of justice to serve political ends of colonial rulers.
Victor’s Justice was what was served to those who had fought for freedom of their people and were unfortunate to be defeated and then be brought before courts accused of committing crimes against peace, humanity and war crimes.
The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (also known as the Tokyo Trials) was a larger and more sophisticated manifestation of Kangaroo Court type trials held in European colonies during the last 500 years.
In Sri Lanka the rebels who fought in freedom struggles in 1818 and 1848 were executed and the entire communities in rebel controlled territories were subject to vicious reprisals e.g. Uva- Wellassa (1818) and Matale (1848) that were not very different to what happened to the innocent civilians in Lidice in Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia in 1942.
The Nuremberg Trials for major Nazi War Criminals (1946) and the Tokyo Trials for Japanese war time leaders were not conducted on the same footing though there were some similarities in respect to procedure adopted.
There were critical differences in the alleged war crimes. Racial prejudice against the accused of the Tokyo Trials stood out prominently. This was not surprising as the Japanese proposal for Racial Equality was rejected by several western countries in the League of Nations in 1919.
The Jewish Holocaust was the highlight of war crimes in the European theater of war. It had no parallel in the history of any country though anti – semitism has religious roots. There were no such similar crimes in the Greater East Asian war.
The Judges in the Nuremberg Trials were all Europeans. The majority of Judges in the Tokyo Trials were European though the theater of war was exclusively Asian.
In excluding Asians from the panel of Judges bar three out of the eleven judges the authorities displayed a crass colonial attitude of contempt and insensitivity to Asian claims for equality and like treatment.
Only one Judge had the spine and moral backbone to challenge the legitimacy of the Trial. He was the legal luminary Justice Radhabinod Pal (India). In his 1, 235 page landmark dissent he condemned the trial as unjust and unreasonable, contributing nothing to lasting peace. He saw the exclusion of western colonialism and US use of nuclear (Atom Bomb) weapons, on Hiroshima and Nagasaki from the list of war crimes and the side lining of Japanese judges (of the vanquished nation) from the bench of the IMTFE, as signifying the failure of the Tribunal to provide anything other than the opportunity for the victors to retaliate ”
Justice Pal referred to the US dropping of Atomic Bombs on Japanese cities and innocent Japanese civilians as the worst atrocities of the war comparable to Nazi crimes.
Weren’t Western countries morally guilty as well in practicing colonialism? If the acts of aggression of Western countries were not indictable as war crimes why should only Japan be singled out for war crimes, was Justice Pal’s line of thinking.
In every aspect of the Tokyo Trials there was unfairness and perversion of justice to achieve both political and unlawful objectives. Basically the trials were one sided and lacked even the trappings of Justice.
The conviction of the Japanese leaders was based on grounds that were not criminal at the time of the commission of such conduct. Retroactive trials are bad in law and unsustainable in societies that respect the Rule of War.
In applying the method of selectivity and singling out the Japanese and in turn excluding the victors i.e. British (India), Dutch (Indonesia), French (Vietnam), Russia (Poland), America (Philippines) from any form of investigation for war crimes in their colonies the controllers of the Trials showed extreme bias and prejudice, and lack of impartiality.
Japan is a part of the proud Asian civilization. Asia’s liberation after centuries of evil colonialism of the West was largely due to Japan’s daring effort to rid Asia of Western dominance.
Should Asia not be grateful to Japan for having come to our rescue when we were down and out?
How shall we repay our debt to Japan for contributing to our liberation from the stranglehold of western colonialism?
We must try to wipe out the ignominy of the Japanese being judged and convicted as war criminals and wrong doers in show trials that did not have even the slightest attribute or pretense of fairness and impartiality.
Enlightened leaders of Asia drawn from various professional and academic backgrounds must convene a Tribunal of Judges (like the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal which works like a court of conscience rather than as a UN Backed body which has powers to enforce its determinations) to re- examine the verdicts of these so called ‘Tokyo Trials’ and set aside the flawed judgments as unacceptable as they constitute a travesty of justice.
‘Asia for Asians’ is not a slogan of the past. It has power and relevance in this ‘ Asian Century’. It is Asia’s turn to ensure Justice for its fellow Asians. There is no greater feat of Justice in Asia than to have a Re – Trial for the wrongfully convicted Japanese leaders by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. Even the dead are entitled to be exonerated from false charges and wrongful convictions.
Former Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara made the following observation in 1995 Many Westerners act as if Human Rights are their moral ace in the hole, until their abysmal record in Asia is cited, and their position collapses like a pack of cards. Pointing out their hypocrisy does not deter the Americans, however. They blunder on badgering Asian Governments …. ”
” Heramba Lal Gupta, one of the leaders of the Indian Independence Movement, gave the following speech in 1946: I think that the International Military Tribunal for the Far East will surely be re-evaluated by the nations of Asia by the time we enter the twenty-first century, and then, a second Tokyo Trial will be held where Asia and all the world will regain its good sense and will judge all deeds in a fair, equal, and truthful manner. At that time, all the war heroes of the United States and of the great powers of Europe, who have been committing acts of aggression against Asia for many years, will receive stern punishments. Conversely, the Japanese who were accused of serious crimes by the IMTFE, especially the seven killed as Class A war criminals, will be rehabilitated, and the day may come when they shall be worshipped like gods as the saviors of Asia. That is what should rightfully happen.”
When both Germany and Japan stood condemned like outlaws or pariahs of the international community by the victorious Allies at the end of the Second World War, seeking huge amounts of reparations and heavy punishments for their leaders, political and military, as war criminals, the leaders and people of Ceylon / Sri Lanka adopted an entirely different approach to both these countries. It was an approach based on the Buddha´s teachings.
The words of Ceylon´s delegate Finance Minister J.R. Jayawardene ( who later became President of Sri Lanka in 1978) in defense of a free Japan at the San Francisco Peace Conference on September 06, 1951 are 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 the Buddha 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 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.”
Mr. Kase`s father Kase Toshikaz participated in the surrender ceremony accompanying plenipotentiary Shigemitsu Mamoru. He was standing right beside Foreign Minister Shigemitsu on USS Missouri as he held back his tears and signed the Instrument of Surrender at the table placed directly in front of General MacArthur.
When Hideaki Kase was in middle school, he had asked his father what was going through his mind while he was on board the USS Missouri. His father`s reply was as follows：
Although Japan had been defeated in battle, we had liberated the people of Asia from hundreds of years of oppression and enslavement. As I stood on the deck of the USS Missouri, I knew in my heart with pride that Japan had actually won the war, insofar as we had led Asia into a great new era of history. Shigemitsu felt the same way.”
Mr. Kase says: As I grew up, I felt the same pride and sorrow that my father did the day that he stood on the deck of the USS Missouri. These feelings have still not left me. The impact of Asia’s liberation, which Japan had won at such a high price, was soon felt on the African continent as well. The peoples of Africa, who had been oppressed by Western powers, achieved their independence, one after another. Japan played a monumental role in human history. Today’s world of racial equality was forged through battles fought by Japan.”
I wish to end this presentation by reminding the people of Asia as a fellow Asian that the time has now come for Asia to express its gratitude to Japan.
Thank you, Japan.
Senaka Weeraratna
The Director General of Health Services has confirmed three more Covid-19 related deaths today, increasing the death toll from the virus in Sri Lanka to 140.
One of the deceased is a 98-year-old male from Kotte who was admitted to the Homagama Base Hospital after being identified as a coronavirus patient. He had passed away today (06) while the cause of death is cited as pneumonia caused by Covid-19.
An 80-year-old male from Kahathuduwa had passed away at the Homagama Base Hospital on Saturday (05). The cause of death is reported as lung failure along with Covid-19 infection.
The other victim is 71-year-old male from Maggona who also passed away on Saturday (05) while being treated at the ICU of the Homagama Base Hospital. Cause of death is pneumonia caused by Covid-19.
The Chairman of Lanka Sathosa Nushad M. Perera today refuted the statement made by MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake, alleging that as soon as the import duty was reduced he had made an irregular purchase of 5,000 MT of sugar from a close associate of himself and that of a VVIP.
Issuing a statement in response, the chairman said that Lanka Sathosa Ltd being the price setter to the nation for essential commodities makes all its purchases through government approved procurement guidelines commonly known as tenders.
He said the above stated procurement was carried out through a Ministerial Procurement Committee (MPC) which is chaired by the Secretary to the Ministry of Trade along with officials from the Ministry of Finance as well as Chairman of Lanka Sathosa as members.
In addition a technical committee sits along with the procurement committee. The technical committee consists of an Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Trade, a senior official from Ministry of Agriculture, the Food Technologist of CWE and DGM Finance CWE Security, the release said.
The said procurement of sugar was carried out on October 20, 2020 adhering to all procurement guidelines by the above committee and was the lowest quoted price for sugar at the procurement tender, he said.
Nushad M. Perera further said that the total purchased sugar quantity was 750 metric tons which is the weekly consumption demand and not 5,000 MT as stated by MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Parliament.
The chairman clearly states that at no time has there been any pressure exerted upon him by the President to make any purchase from anyone.
All purchases are made by following a clearly defined government procurement framework decided by a committee rather than one single individual, he added.
The National Operations Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) says that 286 new cases of coronavirus have been identified today.
It said 166 of the new cases are from the Peliyagoda fish market cluster while 120 from the prisons cluster have also tested positive.
Accordingly a total of 648 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported so far today while the tally of cases from the Minuwangoda, Peliyagoda and prisons clusters has risen to 24,322.
What a come down for the most feared terrorist in the world to end up with his face printed on anything & everything just to make money for a handful thinking of ways to enlarge the LTTE illegal kitty and continue the bogus eelam” song. Replacing guerilla marketing” is ‘tiger marketing’ which has recently even seen the terrorist heads face on a cake that would eventually end up being cut and gobbled by those that sang a song for him! It’s like a tragi-comedy and probably Prabakaran must be reeling in hell. Who would have thought this mighty mass murderer would end up a commodity – face printed on flags, caps, t-shirts and anything mass produced forcing Tamils to purchase – at a price of course. Where does all this money go to? This question is for the countries that have banned LTTE which includes the prohibition on materially supporting LTTE.
Just look at the tamashas the LTTE Diaspora hold overseas. Elaborate shows, all by LTTE supporting Tamils living overseas. Most have obtained asylum, refugee status and have upgraded that status to citizenship and hold foreign passports. None of them are likely to want to return to Sri Lanka to settle down except arrive on holiday while lodging to gullible foreigners that they are too scared to return to Sri Lanka!
Has a single penny been sent to the families of LTTE combatants who have died throughout LTTE terror rule? All the income generated from the tamashas go nicely to the pockets of the organizers living overseas and holding foreign passports.
Prabakaran & LTTE abused children by turning them into child soldier killers. LTTE Diaspora is doing the same and questions what foreign Governments are doing about the indoctrination of separatist/terrorist ideology into the minds of young children living overseas. There are LTTE madrassas operating across all of the countries that LTTE Diaspora are given free reign by the very foreign governments that has banned LTTE.
11 years on the bogus ‘war crimes’ song continues. It is as if the world is taking the side of the terrorists against the People who are today relieved they are free from LTTE suicide missions, assassinations and daily bomb attacks. The countries and international organizations that chose not to stop attacks by LTTE and issued only unemotional statements after every attack, have been asking Sri Lanka how and why LTTE terrorists were killed? These questions only imply that they preferred to have LTTE survive and thrive. This immediately implores us to think that beneath the terror by LTTE, these international entities were carrying out their geopolitical agendas. With LTTE eliminated, their programs came to a halt and obviously this is what has angered them. Their anger can only be shown by questioning Sri Lanka on the manner LTTE was eliminated. This totally ignores, the lives that have been saved since May 2009 as Sri Lanka has seen no terror attacks or loss of lives by LTTE.
The arguments posed by LTTE supporting international entities are again reminded that any cross examination of Sri Lanka’s elimination of LTTE questioning civilian deaths must necessarily prove that Sri Lanka armed forces intentionally killed civilians and these civilians can only qualify to be called ‘civilian’ if they had not engaged in hostilities. Nevertheless, LTTE fought in civilian clothing and LTTE had a trained, armed civilian unit. These deaths cannot be categorized as civilian deaths. It is also noteworthy that all of the 12,000 LTTE combatants that surrendered to the armed forces were all in civilian clothing including the 594 child soldiers.
Without international agencies being able to specify
Sri Lanka Armed Forces can only be held for category 6 and that too if properly proven that it was intentionally committed. The whole world is unfairly trying to pin all killings on the Armed Forces. We cannot accept this and we will not allow this.
Sri Lankan Armed Forces were called to militarily end LTTE after 30 years of Sri Lanka suffering terror. USA after just one attack in 9/11, without even confirming who ordered the attack, bombed Iraq & Afghanistan and remain occupying these countries for over 20years!
Sri Lanka’s terror that began in 1980s with loss of innocent lives by LTTE terror had to watch as one after another attempts for peace failed.
Peace negotiations – failed
Unconditional Cease Fires – failed
Negotiations abroad – failed
Foreign-mediated negotiations – failed
Foreign-mediated ceasefires – failed
What was Sri Lanka to do? Continue to have innocent civilians become victims of LTTE terror simply because foreign entities did not wish to have LTTE eliminated as it was an obstacle to their geopolitical agendas?
Is this why, the same countries are now allowing LTTE diaspora to carry out campaigns against a sovereign country? What good is their talk and public statements against terrorism, if they are openly supporting the terrorists?
When LTTE is banned in foreign countries and these foreign countries allow tamashas by LTTE diaspora, the only message relayed to us is that these foreign countries are supporting terrorists. So be it. They can allow banned LTTE to reign in their countries and face repercussions with time. Look at how France is suffering – teachers are getting beheaded. India supported LTTE and LTTE killed their Prime Minister on Indian soil.
Sri Lanka’s government must take all measures to safeguard Sri Lanka & Sri Lankans from all types of terror. If foreign governments wish to allow banned terrorist organizations to do as they please, we cannot stop it. But we can and should prevent any form of terror and separatism in Sri Lanka.
Shenali D Waduge
USA was determined to capture Sri Lanka, politically and militarily in the Yahapalana period 2015-2019. US made it clear that it needed the support of Sri Lanka for its control of Bay of Bengal.
US said in 2016 that given Sri Lanka’s strategic location, it is in America’s interest to increase military collaboration and cooperation with Sri Lanka. US intended to expand military leadership discussions, increase naval engagement and focus on defense institution building.
In February 2016 Admiral Harry.B. Harris Jr, head of the US Pacific Command told the US Senate Armed Services Committee, we have an opportunity to expand US interest in Sri Lanka. Given Sri Lanka strategic location it is in America’s interest to increase military collaboration and cooperation. US will expand military leadership discussions, increase naval engagement and focus on defense institution building.
Admiral Harris attended the Sri Lanka Navy’s Galle Dialogue 2016”. He said USA and India had sent low ranking officers to the first Galle Dialogue. The People’s Republic of China had been represented by a high level delegation. It was different now. ‘The Indian Ocean matters to USA, Sri Lanka matters to the US and I believe that US matters to Sri Lanka.’ Sri Lanka could help to complete the defense ring around the Indian Ocean.
At the Galle Dialogue 2017, Admiral Scott Swift, Pacific Fleet Commander said they look forward to the expansion of our military to military relations. Addressing the 3rd Annual Colombo Air Symposium, October 2017, United States Air Force Major General James Eifet called for increased partnership and information sharing among nations in the Indo-Pacific region in the face of a nuclear threat from North Korea. Sri Lanka was also within the range of an attack by ballistic missiles from North Korea, he said.
In May 2018, a delegation from the House Armed Services Committee of the U.S. Congress visited Sri Lanka. The House Armed Services Committee, a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives, is a powerful Committee, responsible for the supervision of armed forces and the Department of Defence. The delegation was led by its Chairman Mac Thornberry.
The visit was to find out ways of strengthening defence cooperation between Sri Lanka and USA. President Sirisena told the delegation that he greatly appreciated the defense training provided by the US, such as the joint military exercises carried out by US and Sri Lanka. Such programmes should continue for security purposes.
The US Army’s Pacific Region Head Gen. Robert B.Brown made an official visit to the Island in July 2018. He met Sri Lanka‘s Chief of Defence Staff. Gen. Brown’s visit was aimed at strengthening military cooperation and mutual friendship and thus deepening the US-South Asia understanding. Lengthy discussions took place on how the US Army can assist the Sri Lankan Army on disaster management activities and as to whether the Sri Lankan Peace Keeping Mission can get international training. Gen Brown also admired the professional competency of the Sri Lankan Army on demining.
US Indo-Pacific Command Chief Admiral Philip Davidson told the US Senate’s Armed Services Committee, during a Congressional hearing, in January 2019 that Sri Lanka was a significant strategic opportunity in the Indian Ocean. Despite the political upheaval in Sri Lanka, it is in America’s interests to continue military collaboration and cooperation with Sri Lankan Forces he said. Military-to-military relationship continues to strengthen between the two nations., said Davidson.
Thomas J.Vajda US Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State dealing with South and Central Asia visited Colombo in February 2019 and said ‘we view Sri Lanka as a critical partner in the region.’ He decided to woo Sri Lanka with some flattery. As the United States increasingly turns its focus to more robust engagement in the Indo-Pacific region, it also looks to Sri Lanka as a valued friend and a partner to be a leader in that process, he said.
He spoke of Sri Lanka’s important role in the region. Your country has a hugely influential role to play in the region said Vadja. Located at the nexus of the Indo-Pacific, Sri Lanka has the opportunity to shape the region’s future concluded Vadja.
Robert. O. Blake, U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives from 2006 to 2009, visited Sri Lanka in May 2019. He said that Sri Lanka is a very attractive partner and a military role is expected of Sri Lanka. Military links between USA and Sri Lanka are getting strengthened, he said. USA military and Sri Lanka military train together. There are joint exercises with all three services.
US had obtained access to Sri Lanka military well before 2015. In 2002 the US Pacific Command team was invited to report on the Sri Lanka armed forces. The team prepared a top secret report which was also shown to the Sri Lanka authorities.
Access to the military greatly increased Yahapalana rule. The first US Sri Lanka operational level bilateral defense dialogue took place in August 2016. The purpose was to develop a programme of bilateral training and exercises for the next three years.
The Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka (INSSSL) briefed a delegation from the Young Alakai Warriors of the U.S. Army Pacific on Security Challenges of Sri Lanka in the Next Decade” in March 2017.
A contingent of 33 US Army Cadets, from US Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (AROTC) came to Sri Lanka in June 2017, on a familiarization tour. They were given an initial training in weapon handling, field practices, physical training, by the Sri Lanka Army. The Cadets visited the Sri Lanka Military Academy , Security Force Headquarters, Sri Lanka Light Infantry Headquarters, Regimental Headquarters of the Sri Lanka Engineers and the Army School of Artillery at Minneriya.
In 2018 US said, we launched the Bay of Bengal Initiative, as part of the maritime security theme to help enhance the capacity of civilian and military maritime actors in this vital region, which is home to important sea lanes linking the Indian Ocean to East Asia.
Under the Bay of Bengal Initiative, the United States will ‘work with other partners in the Bay of Bengal, including Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to enhance the capacity of civilian and military maritime actors in the Indian Ocean Region to improve the target areas of detection, information-sharing, and response to emerging threats.’
A 17-member delegation of the United States Land Forces in the Pacific Command arrived in Sri Lanka for participation in ‘Land Forces Pacific Programme’ sessions In April 2018.
In August 2018 the U.S. Department of State announced that it would provide approximately $39 million in Foreign Military Financing for Sri Lanka, pending Congressional approval.”We look forward to discussing with the Government of Sri Lanka how this contribution can support our Bay of Bengal initiative and Sri Lanka’s humanitarian assistance and disaster response priorities”, it said in a statement.
Sri Lanka took part in the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) maritime exercise 2018 held in Hawaii and Southern California in June 2018. This was the first time Sri Lanka was participating in this exercise.
RIMPAC 2018 was an American led combined live field training exercise that included operational and tactical level training. The Sri Lanka team also had a week of Field Training Exercise and similar training engagements with Royal Australian Navy Marines and US Marines in Townville, Australia.
U.S. Ambassador stated in January 2019 that “U.S.-Sri Lanka security cooperation includes a variety of joint exercises and training, helping among other things, interoperability. This cooperation was designed by both countries to address our mutual security interests. Every joint exercise, every training in disaster response, is done at the invitation of our Sri Lankan hosts.
The United States and Sri Lanka agreed to expand military-to-military cooperation” said a joint statement from the Foreign Ministry in May 2019. The cooperation included demining, joint military engagements, Sri Lanka’s peacekeeping operations, human rights training for Sri Lankan officers, and visits by U.S. ships and military officials. The use of the term ‘joint engagements’ (rather than ‘joint exercises’) is significant as it suggests a combat role, commented Lasanda Kurukulasuriya.
United States Air Force Airmen from across the Indo-Pacific met with their Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) counterparts at the SLAF Headquarters in Colombo in 2018 for ‘Airman to Airman’ talks.
In 2019 the US embassy wanted to have a display of US Air Force aircraft in Colombo .They suggested conducting an air parade over the skies of the Galle Face Green using aircraft from the USS John Stennis, the Nimitz class nuclear powered carrier strike group which was lying off the shores of Sri Lanka. The US embassy thought Sri Lankans would love this. The Foreign Ministry did not think they would. The idea was abandoned.
US wanted to bring Sri Lanka under its militia control through three agreements, ACSA, SOFA and MCC. These have been extensively discussed elsewhere. Ranil Wickremesinghe said in Parliament that SOFA was not an agreement but an exchange of letters signed between the US Embassy and our Foreign Ministry. These agreements generally establish the framework under which US military personnel operate in a foreign country. SOFA provides for rights and privileges of US military while in foreign jurisdictions and how the laws of foreign jurisdictions apply to US personnel. US has signed SOFAs with many countries. (Continued)
On February 25, 2019, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rejected the United Kingdom’s claim of sovereignty over the Indian Ocean, Chagos Islands, and determined that Britain must return the islands to its former colony, Mauritius, ‘as rapidly as possible’. The Chagos islands house the Diego Garcia military base of the USA. It is a huge US military base. It is illegal under international law said an analyst. It is kept secret. Not many have heard of the Chagos Islands, because the islands are not shown on maps.
Diego Garcia base is vital to the US military. It serves as a landing spot for bombers that fly missions across Asia, including the South China Sea. Diego Garcia was used to guide tactical aircraft supporting US military missions in Afghanistan and Iraq and featured remote satellite tracking stations. It also had an Air Force Space Command as well as Pacific Air Force support and logistics teams.
With the decision of the ICJ regarding leaving Chagos, US now needs to find another base to go to. The nearest base is Trincomalee. US had happily planned to set up a US base there in 2015 with the assistance of the Yahapalana puppet government. US diplomat Atul Keshap said in 2015, before his arrival in Sri Lanka as US ambassador, that he planned to setup a US base in Trincomalee harbor.
US is working towards establishing a base in Trincomalee for its Seventh fleet, reported Island in September 2015. It was making Sri Lanka’s military vacate strategically important locations.
Plans are afoot to set up a US base in Trincomalee harbor, said Tissa Vitarana in February 2016. Yahapalana government was planning to hand over Trincomalee port to US and very soon US 7th fleet will be in our waters, he warned. A bilateral agreement in this regard has been signed secretly between Sri Lanka and America. US has not hidden its interest in getting Trincomalee and hopes to partner with Sri Lanka to encircle China, agreed others.
This topic entered popular discussion. The general opinion in Sri Lanka and abroad was that USA wanted to turn Trincomalee into a US base, said the media. Firstly, USA would like to have Trincomalee as a counterweight to China-controlled Hambantota, which sits on the edge of one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, said analysts. “It will be about balance not containment of China,” they added.
Secondly, Trincomalee would be a useful, highly strategic base for the US navy. Trincomalee is one of the world’s largest natural deep water harbors. Entrance to the harbor is four miles wide and five across. Inner harbor which lies in the north covers about 12 sq miles and is securely enclosed by outcrops huge rocks and small islets. It has great depth.
In the time of sailing ships the harbour could ensure the safety of a whole fleet during the monsoon from October to March. A fleet so protected was in a position to dominate the Bay of Bengal and the eastern sea. Therefore any power that controlled this harbour had a great advantage from a naval and strategic perspective. Trincomalee is ideal for nuclear submarines. They can dive low in the inner harbour and effectively avoid radar and sonar detection.
However, there was virulent resistance in Sri Lanka to the idea of an American base on Sri Lanka soil. This resistance, despite repeated government denials, showed just how strongly citizens feel a foreign military base would hurt national interests, said observers. A foreign base raises questions of sovereignty and foreign interference, they observed.
By 2019, the Yahapalana government and its handler, the US, had become very unpopular. US decided to back down. US denied that it intends to establish a military base in Sri Lanka. United States has no intention of building a base here. Instead, we are building relationships that will help keep both our countries safe, US embassy said. A base has never been a part of the relationship nor have there ever been discussions aimed at establishing one, the embassy concluded.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also denied that US plans to set up a military base in Sri Lanka. Ranil Wickremesinghe said that US navy is “not a fleet of fishing trawlers and they do not need any bases in Sri Lanka”. David Brewster, a senior research fellow at the Australian National University researching Indian Ocean security, said that United States has no need for a military presence in Sri Lanka.
Nowadays the US strategy is not to establish full-blown, costly military bases overseas but to use the ‘Lily-pad’ concept, whereby it increases its force deployment globally, but with a smaller footprint. This affords a more nimble capability to move equipment and personnel where they are required in a contingency, observed Lasanda Kurukulasuriya.
This confirms that what the US wants is a hub. The U.S. navy has its eye on Sri Lanka’s northeastern port of Trincomalee to serve as a logistics hub, said analysts. The US Navy announced in December, 2018, the setting up of what it called logistic hub in Sri Lanka to secure support, supplies and services at sea, reported the media. The purpose of this hub would be to secure “mission-critical supplies and services to U.S. Navy ships transiting through and operating in the Indian Ocean.”
The US Navy first operated this air logistic hub in late August 2018. Under the ACSA, the US Navy transferred cargo between planes at the Bandaranaike International Airport. The cargo was meant for the strike group at Trincomalee. Experts think the move was a test run to ascertain timing and other procedures for re-supply using the Colombo airport as a launching pad during an exigency. ( Continued)
During Yahapalana rule, there was much emphasis on the Sri Lanka navy. The Sri Lankan Navy is a well-trained and professional force with the potential to contribute to multi-lateral maritime interoperability in the Indian Ocean, said US Indo-Pacific Command Chief Admiral Philip Davidson in 2019.The US Indo-Pacific command would focus in 2019 on increasing navy-to-navy engagement with Sri Lanka.
Before that, officers of the US 7th Fleet and Sri Lanka Navy met at the Naval Headquarters in May 2017 for discussions. Such discussions were important for furthering mutual cooperation between the two navies, they said. US Captain Brian Anderson ‘expressed his contentment over a range of matters including bilateral cooperation. A Sri Lanka Marine Corps was set up with US help in 2017.
The U.S. Coast Guard gave a high endurance cutter, formerly the USCGC Sherman, to the Sri Lankan Navy in August 2018 at Honolulu. The cutter, a gift from the people of the United States, will be the largest ship in the Sri Lankan fleet said the media. It measures 115 meters long and when fully staffed carries a crew of 167 The ship will increase Sri Lanka’s ability to patrol its Exclusive Economic Zone, providing additional security for ships from all nations that transit the busy sea lanes of the Indian Ocean.
The public were surprised to hear that Yahapalana planned to expand the Sri Lanka navy, in keeping with the SLN’s Maritime strategy 2025. Sri Lanka plans to build a 20-ship Navy by 2025. Why do you need a peacetime fleet bigger than one available during the conflict, asked the media.
The Navy authorities replied that is was necessary to meet present and future maritime surveillance, patrolling as well as search-and-rescue needs. Even in the absence of war, we need a larger fleet to guarantee our maritime rights and interests and also to meet our international obligations. Our SAR (Search and Rescue) region is nearly 27 times that of land area therefore an expanded fleet is necessary.
The Yahapalana government said in 2016 that it was the duty of the Sri Lanka navy to protect the entire Indian Ocean region without limiting its operation to the exclusive economic zone of Sri Lanka. That will help Sri Lanka be an economic hub in the Indian Ocean region. Our navy cannot even protect us from the Indian fishermen, observed Tissa Vitharana. If Sri Lanka navy is to carry out this huge responsibility, then US ships will have to be berthed in Sri Lanka. The US 7th fleet will come to Trincomalee.
Several ships from the US 7th fleet arrived in Sri Lanka during Yahapalana time. US navy ship USS Blue Ridge, the flagship of the US 7th fleet, arrived in Colombo in March 2016 on a goodwill visit, with over 900 sailors. President Sirisena visited the ship and was received with a US navy military guard.
The Blue Ridge visit emphasized public relations one. The American sailors would paint walls, repair furniture, build playground equipment and serve food to the needy at a community centre. The US 7th fleet band would perform free at Viharamaha Devi park and elsewhere, and the performance will include a join performance with the Sri Lanka navy band, announced the media.
USS New Orleans a heavy cruiser ship, visited in July 2016. US war ship USS Frank Cable, a submarine tender vessel visited in August 2016. This ship provided maintenance and support for US Navy submarines in the 5th and 7 fleets. In Sri Lanka Its sailors were to volunteer at an animal shelter.
The US navy Poseidon aircraft, an advanced US maritime patrol aircraft, left Mattala in December 2016 after a week of consultation and expert exchange with Sri Lanka military personnel.
In March 2017, the US Pacific Fleet’s transport ship USNS Fall River visited Hambantota on a Pacific Partnership goodwill mission. It held joint exercises with the navies of Sri Lanka, Japan and Australia. USS ‘Comstock’ , a dock landing ship, arrived for a four day training workshop at Colombo harbour in March 2017.
USA’s Nimitz Carrier Strike Group visited Colombo in October 2017. USS Nimitz is a super carrier of the United States Navy, and the lead ship of her class. This was the first aircraft carrier to visit since1985. USS Nimitz arrived in full formation. Nimitz was accompanied by the cruiser USS Princeton, destroyers USS Howard, USS Shoup, USS Pinckney and USS Kidd. It was parked 150 nautical miles off Colombo. It was too large to enter Colombo harbor.
Amphibious transport dock USS Anchorage), and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) arrived at Trincomalee Port in August 2018. Anchorage is deployed to the 7th fleet area of operations to support regional stability, reassure partners and allies and maintain a presence postured to respond to any crisis from humanitarian assistance to contingency operations.
USS Anchorage was used to test USA’s air logistics hub concept which utilizes Sri Lanka’s strategic location in the Indian Ocean to ensure the quick availability of relief supplies, equipment and other material when needed by the US and partners.. The Sri Lankan navy, and the U.S. Embassy have provided tremendous assistance and cooperation in developing the first temporary air logistics hub concept in Sri Lanka, said Anchorage.
In august 2018 a joint humanitarian assistance mission called Pacific Angel, sponsored by the US Pacific Command (USPACOM) held a week long assistance programme in Jaffna in August 2016. They provided general medical care for approximately 4000 people and renovated six schools. The mission operated in Vavuniya, Anuradhapura and Sigiriya. One school assisted was Alagalla School in Vavuniya. The purpose was to provide humanitarian civic assistance and carry out civil-military operations in the Pacific region.
There were several joint navy exercises. I will list them chronologically. The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit engaged in a Theatre security Cooperation (TSC) project with the Sri Lankan Navy’s newly formed marine force, In Trincomalee in November 2016. India observed that US Marines are now training Sri Lanka Special Forces. The US-Sri Lanka defence partnership seems to be at an all time high.
The U.S. Navy and Marines and Sri Lankan Navy and Marines launched the annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise in Trincomalee in October 2107. US navy said ‘ it was pleased to add Sri Lanka to our list of CARAT partners in 2017 as part of our larger efforts to expand both bilateral and multilateral maritime security engagement across the Indo-Pacific region.’
CARAT Sri Lanka 2017 is part of a series of bilateral CARAT military exercises between the U.S. Navy and the armed forces of Bangladesh, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Thailand.
The world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise (Rim of the Pacific – RIMPAC) took place in the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California in June/August 2018. After 47 years Sri Lanka Navy Marines got the opportunity attend RIMPAC. A Sri Lanka media team joined other international media in documenting the exercise. The many exercises conducted during RIMPAC included the training on the operations of an assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard. Participants gained firsthand knowledge on how rescue operations are conducted, how victims are brought to the ship and transferred to the ICU.
In July 2018 The Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET) exercise between US Naval Special Warfare Forces personnel and Sri Lanka naval personnel from the 4th Fast Attack Flotilla (4FAF) and Special Boat Squadron (SBS) was inaugurated at the Special Boat Squadron Training School (SBSTS) in Trincomalee. The programme is held annually as part of a mutual understanding and agreements for the training and support requirements of both countries. The four – week course focused on developing professional skills and exchange of knowledge among naval personnel of US Naval Special Warfare Forces and Sri Lanka Navy
The third KDU-CNA Track 1.5 Dialogue on Naval cooperation was held in July 2018 at the Faculty of Graduate Studies, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU).The two-day dialogue was a collaborative initiative between KDU and the Center for Naval Analysis (CNA), USA. The KDU-CNA Track 1.5 Dialogue is a one-of-a-kind discussion that we organize at KDU, facilitating interaction between the navies of Sri Lanka and the United States, along with the participation of relevant academics.”
This year’s Track 1.5 Dialogue focused on how bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and the USA could be further improved in a variety of spheres and how the global security concerns are influencing the relations between the two countries. Track 1.5 diplomacy is an initiative to bring together government and non-governmental actors to discuss on a variety of topics that could improve the bilateral relations of countries. As such, this two-day deliberation witnessed the participation of analysts and academics along with naval officials from the navies of both participating countries for a discussion. Held under the Chatham House Rule, this year’s Dialogue included four main sessions, with the 5th and final session being a wrap-up session with the speakers providing forward-looking, implementable suggestions for Sri Lanka and the United States.
The last joint US-SL naval exercise, ‘Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training Exercise (CARAT) 2019,’ took place in Hambantota in April 2019, with the participation of hundreds of personnel. The two US ships participating were Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS ‘Spruance’ and Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport USS ‘Millinocket,’ which is part of the United States Military Sealift Command. The 103m long ‘Millinocket’ has a displacement of 2362 tons, while ‘Spruance’ is 155.3m long and has a displacement capacity of 9580 tons.
SLNS Sayurala and SLNS Samudura participated from Sri Lanka. The exercise was meant to strengthen the maritime security and cooperation through small boat handling, diving exercises, anti-terrorist operations.
Lasanda Kurukulasuriya observed in January 2019 the US military carried out what it called a ‘temporary cargo transfer initiative’ where US Air Force planes brought cargo into the Bandaranaike International Airport – which is a commercial airport – and transferred supplies to an aircraft carrier USS John C Stennis of the US 7th Fleet. US embassy statements did not specify where the aircraft carrier was, but reports suggest it was in waters off Trincomalee.
If the US plans to use the ports of Trincomalee and Colombo as part of a logistics hub to support its military activities in the Indian Ocean, the relevance of a high-speed rail link connecting Trincomalee to Colombo, as planned in the MCC , becomes clear, she said.
These growing military ties with the US are not in the interest of Sri Lanka, Vitharana said. If military cooperation of this nature continues, and an American military base is set up in Sri Lanka , Sri Lanka would become a US puppet like the Philippines. ( continued)
දෙතිස් කුණපයෙන් පිරි මිනිස් ශරීරය-මළ මිණියක දෙවෙනි දවස (මහා සතිපට්ඨාන සූත්ර වර්ණනාව, ලබුගම ශ්රී ලංකානන්ද හිමි, 2014, 16 පිටුව)
ඉන්දියාවේ ට්රිපල් තලාක් (Triple-Talak) නඩුතීන්දුව (2015-2019) මුස්ලිම් පිරිමියෙක් සිය යටතට ගන්නා ස්ත්රීන්ව ලිංගික භාණ්ඩ වශයෙන් සැලකූ අකාරයට විරුද්ධවය. අනිත් අතට, ඉන්දියාවේ කේරළ ප්රාන්තයේ සබරිමාලා හින්දු කෝවිල් නඩුව ස්ත්රී වර්ගයාගේ ජීව විද්යාත්මක සංයුතිය හා හින්දු ලබ්ධියේ ඇදහිලි අතර ඇති පැටලැවීම පෙන්වයි. සබරිමාලා කෝවිල, රාමා, සීතා ආපසු ලබාගැනීම සඳහා රාවනාගේ ලංකාවට එන ගමනේදී නතරවූ තැනකි. මෙහි වැඩවසනවා යයි සිතන අයියප්පා දෙවියන්ගේ කෝවිලට අවුරුදු 10-50 අතර ස්ත්රීන්ට ඇතුළුවීම තහනම්කර ඇත. මීට හේතුව රෝහිණී කවිරත්න නම් මන්ත්රිණී ප්රාණය විසින් පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේදී <පැහැදිලි කල> 1840 ස් ගණන්වල ටොරිංටන් ආණ්ඩුකාරයා පැනවූ බලු බද්දට සමාන අළුත් මෙන්සස් බද්ද වැනිමය. ගෑණු ලෝයර්ලා 5 ක් මෙම තහනම ඉවත් කර දෙන ලෙස 2006 දී සුප්රීම් උසාවියට ගියේය. 2018 සැප්තැම්බර් 28 දින මෙම තහනමට විරුද්ධව තීන්දුවක් දුන්නත්, දැන් 2020 අගවන විටත් කොරෝනා අර්බුදය ඉදිරියේ එය විසඳී නැත. දැන් එය නඩුකාරයින් 9 ක් ඉදිරියේ නැවත විමසීමට ලක්වී ඇත්තේ කේරළ ආණ්ඩුවත්, දිල්ලි ආණ්ඩුවත් උසාවි තීරණය ක්රියාත්මක කිරීමට ඉදිරිපත් නොවීම නිසාය.
නඩුව විභාගකල පස් දෙනාගෙන්, එහි සිටි එකම හා සේවයෙන් ලාබාලම කාන්තා විනිසුරුවරිය තහනමට පක්ෂව තීරණය ලිව්වේය. ඇගේ තර්කය වූයේ, කෝවිලට යන එන, එය අදහන ජන කොටසට, එවැනි ස්ත්රී-තහනම් තීරණයක් ගත හැකි බව හා එවැනි ආගමික කටයුත්තකට, සෙකියුලර් (අනාගමික?) සමාජයක්/රටක් යන නාමයෙන් අධිකරණයට මැදිහත් විය නොහැකි බවත්ය. එහෙත් සති පූජාවට ඇය විරුද්ධ එය මිණීමැරුමක් නිසාද, නැත්නම් මියගිය සැමියාගේ ගිණිමැලයට පැනීම/දැමීම ස්ත්රී පාර්ශවයට පමණක් මිස එහි අනිත් පැත්ත, එනම් සැමියා මියගිය බිරිඳගේ ගිනිමැලයට පැනීමක් නොවූ නිසාද යන්න ඇය පැහැදිලි කරදී නැත. ඇගේ මතය ගිනි පෑගීම ගැන ලංකාවේ කොවූර් හා කාලෝ ෆොන්සේකාගේ, රැෂනල් සිතීමට වෙනස්ය. විද්යාවට ගෝචර නොවන හැමදේම මිථ්යාද යන ප්රශ්ණය මෙහිදී මතුවේ.
හනුමාන් ලංකාවට ආවේ පාලමක් මවාය යන කතාවට යම් පසුබිමක් තිබිය හැකි නොවේද යන්න පණ්ඩිතයින්ට හිසරදයක් වූයේ නාසා චන්ද්රිකා කැමරා මඟින් එවැනි පාලමකට සමාන නොගැඹුරු බිම් පටියක් දෙරට අතර පෙනීයාමය. 2018, අධිකරණ තීරණයට අනුව කෝවිලට ඇතුල්වීමට ආ මෙන්සස් වයසට අයත් ස්ත්රීන්ව, ඊට විරුද්ධ, අති විශාල ස්ත්රී-පුරුෂ ජනකායක් විසින් එලවා දමණ ලදී. කෝවිලේ ඉන්නා අයියප්පා දෙවියන් සිය මුළු ජීවිත කාලයම බ්රහ්මචාරීව (සෙලිබසි) සිටි අයෙක් බවත්, ඔහු විසින් යක්ෂණියක්ව සිටි ස්ත්රියක් ඉන් මුදවා ගත් බවත්, මිනිසෙක්වූ පසු, ඔහුගේ භාර්යාව වීමට ඇය විසින් යෝජනා කල බවත්, ඇය තාමත් එම බලාපොරොත්තුවෙන් කෝවිල අසල කන්ඳේ රැඳී සිටිනා බවත් හින්දු ජනයාගේ විශ්වාසයය.
මෙම නඩුව මෙම කෝවිලට පමණක් සීමා වූවක් නොවන බවත්, එයට ස්ත්රීන්ගේ සමාන අයිතිවාසිකම් වශයෙන් ඉන්දියාවේ ඇති වෙනත් කාරණාද ඇතුලත්වන බවත් උසාවියේ නිගමනයය. නිදසුණක් වශයෙන්, පාර්සි නොවන අයෙක් හා විවාහවූ පාර්සි කාන්තාවකට, ශුද්ධ ගින්න (ෆයර් ප්ලේස්) ඇති පල්ලියට ඇතුළු විය නොහැක; මුස්ලිම් ස්ත්රීන්ට පල්ලියට යා නොහැක; ඩාවූඩු බෝරාවරු ස්ත්රී ලිංගයේ අවශ්යම කුඩා කොටසක් කපා දමයි. මේ කරුණු සම්බන්ධයෙන් ඉන්දියා සුප්රීම් උසාවිය තීරණ රැසක් ගෙන ඇත. සමලිංගික අයිතිය පිළිගැනීම, ස්ත්රී පුරුෂ අනාචාරය (ඇඩල්ටරි) අපරාධ වරදක් නොවේ යයි තීරණය කිරීම උදාහරණය. නිර්වස්ත්රව (ජනාකීර්ණ නොවන) පාරවල ඇවිදින ජයින ආගමිකයෝ අදටත් ඉන්දියාවේ සිටී. අගමැතිනි ඉන්දිරා ගාන්ධි, ජයින නායකයා හමුවුනේ තිරයකින් ඔහුව වටකර ඇය ඉන් පිටත සිටය. එය මැදි පිළිවෙත හෙවත් දෙපාර්ශයම ජය ගැනීමක් විය.
ලංකාවට එක නීතියක් ගෙන ඒමට සැදීමේදී වැදගත් වන තවත් ඉන්දියන් නිතියක් හා උසාවි තීරණයක්ද මෙහිදී සඳහන් කිරීම වටී. එකක් නම් ඇන්ටි ලව් ජිහාඩ් ලෝ වශයෙන් හැඳින්වෙන 2020 දී උත්තර් ප්රදේශ් ප්රාන්තයේ පාස් කල, ප්රොහිබිෂන් ඔෆ් අන්ලෝෆුල් කන්වර්සන් ඔෆ් රිලිජන් ඕඩිනන්ස් ය. අනිකුත් ප්රාන්තද මෙය අනුගමනය කිරීම නිසැකය. මෙවැනි නීතියක් ලංකාවේද ගෙන ඒමට 2004 දී ජාතික හෙළ උරුමය ගත් උත්සාහය කාටත් හොරාම වැළලී ගියේය. ජල්ලිකට්ටු යනු තයිපොංගල් අස්වනු නෙලාගන්නා කාලයේ දින හතරක් පුරා ටැමිල්නාඩුවේ පවත්වන, හරක් නාම්බන් මොල්ලියෙන් අල්ලා බිමදැමීමේ උත්සවයයි. මෙය ක්රිස්තු පූර්ව 400-100 කාලයේ සිට පැවත එන සිරිතක් යයි කියැවේ. මෙය සත්ව හිංසාවක් යයි කියන පිරිස ඊට විරුද්ධව පෙත්සම් ගැසුවේය. 2006 දී මැඩ්රාස් ඉහළ උසාවියක් විසින් මෙයට අවසර දීම ප්රතික්ෂේප කලේය. 2014 දී ඉන්දියන් සුප්රීම් උසාවිය එය තහනම් කලේය. මෙය තම සංස්කෘතියට හා සිරිත් වලට පටහැනියයි 2017 ජනවාරි 8-23 කාලයේ ප්රාන්තය පුරා විරෝධතා රැළි පැතිර ගියේය. මේ නිසා ටැමිල්නාඩ් ආණ්ඩුව 2017 ජනවාරි 23 එය නීතිගත කරමින් නීතියක් පාස් කලේය.
කාලි අම්මා කෝවිල් වලට සිංහල බෞද්ධයින්ද යන නමුත් ඔවුන් එහිදී බිලිපූජා කරන්නේ නැත. එහෙත් දමිළ හින්දූන් විසින් මුන්නේෂ්වරන් ශ්රී භද්රකාලී අම්මාන් කෝවිලේ වාර්ෂිකව එළුවන්, කුකුළන් (හාවුන්?) බිලි දෙන්නේය. මෙම සත්ව ඝාතන නතර කරණ ලෙස දිස්ත්රික් උසාවියෙන් තාවකාලික තහනම් නියෝගයක් දී තිබුණත්, පොලිසියට සතුන් මුදා හැරීමේ ක්රියාව ප්රායෝගිකව සිදු කලේ 2011 සැප්තැම්බර් 13 දා මර්වින් සිල්වා ඇමති විසිනි. දැන් එහි සත්ව බිලි පූජා නැත! ඔහුට පෙර එය කිරීමට ශක්තියක් තිබූ දේශපාලක පංචස්කන්ධයක් නොවීය.
ජල්ලිකට්ටු හෙවත් ගවයාගේ අංදෙකේ බැඳි සල්ලි තෑග්ග (සල්ලි කට්ටු) රඟයේදී දෙහි ඇඹුල් හා මිරිස් කුඩු ගවයාගේ ඇස්වල හා ලිංගේන්ද්රියේ ගානවා යයි චෝදනා එල්ල විය. මෙය කරන්නේ පැටව් බෝ කිරීමේ කාරියට සුදුසු නාම්බන් තෝරා ගැනීමට හා ගම්වල තරුණයින්ගේ කායික වර්ධනය සඳහා යයි ඊට පක්ෂ අය කියා සිටියේය. සුප්රිම් උසාවිය 2017 දී මේ ගැන නැවත ගෙනා පෙත්සම ප්රතික්ෂේප කලේය. එහෙත් සත්ව අවිහිංසා සංවිධාන තවමත් තම සටන අතහැර දමා නැත. දැන් 2020 දී ඔවුන් ටැමිල්නාඩ් මහ ඇමතිට මේ ගැන පෙත්සම් යවමින් සිටී. මේ ජල්ලි කට්ටුවට පක්ෂ අයගේ ජයග්රහණය නැවත මතක් කල අවස්ථාවූයේ මෝඩිගේ ආණ්ඩුව යටතේ හින්දූත්වය නඟාලීමේ ව්යාපාරයේදීය. ඉන්දියාව ලෝකයේ පෙනී සිටිය යුතු හින්දු භාෂාව මඟින් එක හඬකින් යයි ගෙනා යෝජනාවට බලවත්ම විරෝධය ආවේ 1960 ගණන්වල සිටම හින්දි විරෝධී ටැමිල්නාඩ් දේශපාලකයින් ය. ඔවුන් හින්දි වලට වඩා ඉංග්රීසියට කැමතිය! මෙම මෝඩි අදහස ඉදිරියට ගෙනාවොත් ජල්ලිකට්ටු වැනි ජන විරෝධයක් ගේනවායයි කමල් හසන්, රජිණි කාන්ත් වැනි දේශපාලකයින් කියා සිටියේය. එහෙත්, ජම්මු-කාශ්මීරය යූනියන් ප්රදේශයක් කලා මෙන්, මෙහිදීද, දිල්ලි ආණ්ඩුව වෙනත් උපක්රම අත්හැර දමා නැත.
ඉන්දියාවේ ස්ත්රීන් මුහුණ පානා හිරිහැර වලට කිට්ටුවෙන් යන්නේ, අදටත් උතුරේ දමිළ ජනයා අතර ඇති උග්ර කුලභේදය ය (පන්සල් වල මෙන්ම කෝවිල් වලද මෙන්සස් ප්රශ්ණයක් නැත. ඒවාට යෑම හෝ නොයෑම යම් ස්ත්රියක් විසින් ගන්නා පුද්ගලික තීරණයකි). පහත් යයි සළකන ජනයාට යාපනයේ වෙල්ලාල ළිදකින් වතුර ගැනීමටවත් ඉඩ නොදේ. ප්රභාකරන්ට එය බලෙන් ටික කලකට නතර කල හැකිවූවා පමණය. මැත් ප්රොපෙසර් සුන්දරලිංගම් කෝවිල් වලට මේ <පහල කුලවල> ජනයාට ඒමට ඉඩ නොදී සටන් කලේ, ඔහුගේම මැත් ශිෂ්යයෙක්ව සිටි දෙමළ පොලිස් නිලධාරියා සමගය. ඒ නිසා කෝවිල කිලිටි (පොලූට්) වෙනවාය කියාය. (අනිත් අතට මොහු ඩොනමෝර් තනිකර සිංහල අමාත්ය මණ්ඩලයක් සඳහා ගණිත සූත්රයද සදා දුන්නේය). ලංකාවේ රනිල්ද ඇතුළු දේශපාලකයින් තුලාබර බාරය සඳහා පාත්වන ඉන්දියාවේ තිරුපති කෝවිලට, ක්රිස්තියානි හෝ මුස්ලිමෙක් ගිය බව යම් ලෙසකින් දැනගත්තොත් එය වහාම යාග කර්මයක් කර හෝදනවා, පිරිසිදු කරණවා වැනිය. ක්රිස්තියානි පල්ලියේදී හා පාසැලේදී මොවුන් ඉඳගත්තේ පුටුවල හෝ බංකුවල නොව බිමය (මේ ජනයා දෙමළට හැරවුණු සිංහල ජනයා කියාද මතයක් තිබේ). 1957 අප්රේල් 13 දා ලංකාවේ, ප්රිවෙන්ෂන් ඔෆ් සෝසියල් ඩිසැබිලිටීස් ඇක්ට් යනුවෙන් නීතියක් පැණවූයේ මීට විරුද්ධවය (ජේන් රසල්ගේ ඩොනමෝර් කාලයේ ජාතිවාදී දේශපාලනය ගැන කල ආචාර්ය උපාධි නිබන්ධනයේ, පහත් කුලයේ ජනයා ඉන්නා ප්රදේශ වලට වගුරු බිම් උඩින් පාලම් දැමීමේ ව්යපෘතිවලට වෙල්ලාලයින් විරුද්ධවූ අන්දම සඳහන් කර ඇත).
1707 දී ලන්දේසින් විසින් යාපනේ මලබාර් පදිංචිකරුවන්ගේ (ඉන්හැබිටන්ටස්) සිරිත් ලේඛනගත කරණ ලදී. 1806 දී එයට නීතිමය බලයක් ලබා දෙන ලදී. එය බලපාන්නේ උතුරු පලාතේ පදිංචි දමිළ වැසියන්ටය. එය ඔවුන්ගේ දේපල, උරුමය හා විවාහ වලට අදාලය. තේසවලමෙයි සිරිත් නීතිය අනුව, උතුරේ ඉඩම් දෙමළ ජනයාගෙන් පිටතට යෑම සීමාවී තිබේ. ඊට අමතරව, 1911 යාපනයේ විවාහ අයිතීන් හා උරුම පිළිඹඳ නීතියේ 6 වගන්තිය අනුව බිරිඳට, සිය ස්වාමිපුරුෂයාගේ කැමැත්ත හා ලිඛිත අනුමැතිය නැතිව නිශ්චල/චංචල දේපල විකිණීම, මරුකිරීම වැනි දේ කල නොහැකිය. මඩකලපු දිස්ත්රික්කයේ දමිළ පදිංචිකරුවන්ගේ සිරිත් ඇතුලත් මුක්කුවා නීතියද 1707 දී ලේඛන ගත කරණ ලදී. එයද දේපල උරුමය හා විවාහ සම්බන්ධවය. 1952 දී පැනවූ උඩරට විවාහ හා දික්කසාද නීතියක්ද ඇතත්, පහතරට-උඩරට මිශ්ර විවාහ නිසා එයට එතරම් වැදගත් කමක් නැත.
මෙම ලිපියේ 1 කොටසේදීද සඳහන් කල අයුරු, මෙම කරුණු සිංහල පාඨකයින්ට ලිවීමට මට සිතුනේ, 1931 න් පසුව ප්රථම වරට කයිරාටික වංක දේශපාලකයෙක් නොවන නිලධාරියෙකුට රටේ සිංහල බෞද්ධ ජනතාව බලය ලබා දුන්නත්, ඔහුගේ ක්රියා දියාරු කිරීමේලා සතුරු බලවේග එලිපිට උඩිනුත්, මිතුරන් ලෙස පෙනී සිටිනා හතුරු බලවේග හෙමින්සීරුවේ දිය යටිනුත්, ක්රියාකරමින් සිටින බව මේ වන විට රටට පැහැදිලි වෙමින් යන නිසාය. 2006 දෙසැම්බර් 1 දා ගෝඨාභය ඝාතනයට කල උත්සාහයේ සිට දැන් 2020 අග, සජිත්ලා-කිරිැල්ලේලා අරඹා ඇති -ගෝටා ෆේල්, සිරිසේන මීට වඩා හොඳයි- යන ව්යපෘතිය විශාල ජාත්යන්තර ව්යාපාරයක අළුත්ම මුහුණතය. මීට වඩා භයානක, රටේ තිබෙන්නේ සිංහල බෞද්ධ ආණ්ඩුවක් (ගවර්මන්ට්) නොවේ යන අද්භූත කතාවය. 1815 න් පසුව සිටම මෙතෙක් රටේ එවැනි ආණ්ඩුවක් නොතිබුණු බව, 2012 මැයි මස ආරම්භවූ බොදු බල සේනාව විසින් සක්සුදක්සේ එලිකලේය. සිංහල බෞද්ධයාට දේශපාලක කළු සුද්දන් 1948 සිටම කලේ <හිත හොඳ ගෑණුන්සේ සැළකීමය>
2019 දී සිංහල බෞද්ධ ජනයා ඉල්ලා සිටියේ ක්රිස්තියානි සුද්දන් හා ඩොනමෝර් බෞද්ධ කළුසුද්දන් විසින් සිංහලයාට අහිමිකල අයිතීන් <සිංහල බෞද්ධ රජයක්> විසින් ආපසු ලබාදෙන ලෙසය. ඉස්ලාම් රටවල මෙන් බුද්ධාගම රාජ්යාගම කර සෙසු ලබ්ධි වලට හිරිහැර කිරීමක් නොවේ. 1815 ට පෙර තිබූ සිංහල බෞද්ධ රාජ්ය එසේ කලේ ඔවුන්ට වෙනස්කම් කලේනැත. භික්ෂුවකව සිට සිවුරු හැර දමා රට බේරා ගන්නට ඉදිරිපත්වූ සෙනරත් රජතුමා මුස්ලිම් ජනයාට පෘතුගීසි සමූල ඝාතනයෙන් බේරීම සඳහා මඩකලපුවේත්, ඉන් පසුව උඩරට රජු ලන්දේසීන් කතෝලිකයින් මරණ විට ඔවුන්ට උඩරට පදිංචිවීමට ඉඩ දුන්නේත් ඒ නිසාය.
ප්රේමදාසගේ සිට සිරිසේන දක්වා හැම ජනාධිපතිලා, අගමැතිලාම මුස්ලිම් චන්ද පෙරේතයින් විය. 1960 මුල සිට සිදුවූ තවත් දෙයක් නම් පෙඩරල්කාරයින්ගේ චන්ද ලබාගෙන පාර්ලිමේන්තු අගමැතිවීමේ උත්සාහය හා උපායය. ඒ කාලයේදී පෙඩරල් ක්රමයට විරුද්ධව නැඟෙනහිර මුස්ලිම් නායකයින් සිංහල ආණ්ඩුවලට එකතුවූයේ, දමිළීකරණය වීමේ උවදුරෙන් ගැලවීමට මිස සිංහල මරික්කාර්ලා වීමට නොවේ. ඔවුන්ගේ අනන්යතාවය රැකගැනීම සඳහා නොයෙක් නීති සහන ඔවුන් ලබාගත්තේය. දුර්වල, දීන සිංහල කළුසුද්දන් රවටමින් ගෙන ගිය මේ ව්යාපාරය, මේ වන විට අල්ටකියා (කපටිකම), අල් ජිහාඩ් (භීෂණය), අල්කයිඩා (ඝාතනය) යනුවෙන් ලංකාවේ පාර්ලිමේන්තුව තුලමත් ක්රියාත්මක වන්නේ විග්නේෂ්වරන්ලාගේ, ගජේන්ද්ර පොන්නම්බලම්ලාගේ හා ක්රිස්තියානි සුමන්තිරන්ලාගේ කෙඳිරිලි අස්සේය. කාදිනල්තුමා හැරෙන්නට ශාරියා නීතියට හා මඩකලපුවේ හොර ශාරියා විශ්ව විද්යාලය ලෝකයටම ශාරියා පතුරුවන බලකොටුවක් වීමට විරුද්ධව කතාකරන්නට ගෝඨාභයගේ කලිසමේ එල්ලී චන්දය දිනාගත් මන්ත්රී පුළුටු නිහඬය (සිලෝන් ටුඩේ, 4/12/2020). එක අතකින් බලන විට මොවුන්ට මේවා තේරුම් ගැනීමට ඥානයක්, දැණුමක් නැතුවාද විය හැකිය.
ජනාධිපති ගෝඨාභයට විරුද්ධව ඇති දේශීය හා විදේශීය තර්ජන පරාද කල හැක්කේ බෞද්ධ මතවාදයක් මත ගන්නා ක්රියා වලින්ය. මෙහිදී දැනට ඔහුට සිටින ලඟම හස්තය ඇමති සරත් වීරසේකරය. 2009 මැයි 19 දා කලයුතුව තිබුණේ යුද ආඥාවකින් 13-ඒ අහෝසි කර, චන්ද්රිකා පත්කල 1999 පලාත් පාලන කොමිෂන් සභා වාර්තාවේ නිර්දේශ (අභයවර්ධන රිපෝට්) අනුව යමින්, 1977 ට පෙර තිබූ පලාත් පාලන සභා ක්රමය නැවත සක්රීය කිරීමය. ඇමති සරත් වීරසේකර දැන් කියන්නේ එදා ටී.එන්.ඒ. එක තහනම් කලයුතුව තිබූ බවය (පාර්ලිමේන්තු විවාද 3/12/2020). මෙසේ කීමට ආත්ම ශක්තිය ඔහුට තිබෙන්නේ, ඔහු 19-ඒ ට විරුද්ධව චන්දය දුන් එකම සිංහලයා වීම නිසා නොව, ඔහු අවංක සිංහල බෞද්ධ රෙයාර් අද්මිරාල් කෙනෙක්වූද නිසාය. හමුදා නිල ඇඳුමෙන් සිටි ඔහුගේ පුතා ඔහු ඇමති ලෙස දිවුරුම් දුන් අවස්ථාවේ ඔහුව බදාගැනීම වරදක් ලෙස සරත් ෆොන්සේකාට පේන්නේ ෆොන්සේකාට පුතෙක් නැති නිසා විය හැකිය. කුරෝළුවූ බෞද්ධයින්ට මිස මෙහි වරදක් සිංහල පංචස්කන්ධ වලට නොදැනේ. ඇමෙරිකාවේ පුත්තු පියාට ආමන්ත්රණය කරන්නේ ජෝන්, චාලි, ඩික්, හෙන්රි, ජේම්ස් යනුවෙන්ය. විශ්ව විද්යාල ශිෂ්යයින් තම ප්රොපෙසර්ට කතා කරන්නෙත් එසේය. එහෙත් ලංකාවේ බෞද්ධ, හින්දු හෝ ක්රිස්තියානි හමුදා සෙබලෙකුට, තම පියා කොතැනදීත් පියාමය. එය වෙනස් වන්නේ සටන් බිමේදී පමණය.
මීළඟ කොටස
අංගුලිමාල-නාලාගිරි-උපසේන දමණය…
Despite arrogant and nincompoop JVP leader the alleged Goni-Billa and Ranil/Sajith’s dhobi and stooge and his cohorts’ myopic criticisms of 2021 budget and thereby displaying their impotent nature on budgets and financial matters the government has received many accolades from business magnates and professionals in the IT and digital field nd have expressed their commitment and capability and willingness to achieve the anticipated goals of the Budget. Their valid views and opinions continue:
Before proceeding further, I would like to divert attention to the matter confirming that dispelling the denial made by Anura Kumara Dissanayak(AKD) about being a member of the committee guiding the FCID unit to institute political victimization, parliamentarian Mohammed Muzammil presented the approved Cabinet Paper submitted by Ranil Wickremasinghe on 21st January, 2015 naming alleged Goni Billa AKD as a member of the said committee. MP Vijitha Herath who participated in the relevant Hiru TV programme remained (bakam nilaagene) silent without any comment. Text of the relevant Cabinet Paper will be included in the book Ravages of 2015” being written by me in the Chapter relating to JVP servility to Yamapalana.
Hayleys Group Executive Director Sarath Ganegoda pointed out that there is still significant potential even in traditional sectors and room for growth across all sectors of business. He said exports have fared well despite the challenges of COVID-19 are fuelling sectors such as hospitality which have been greatly impacted. There is a global shift in supply chains and as people look at new destinations for manufacturing, Sri Lanka must take advantage of them, he added.
However, there are a few impediments, especially for manufacturing facilities outside zones due to the lack of a comprehensive plan by authorities, he noted. As a result, Hayleys has decided going forward all its manufacturing operations will be restricted to industrial zones. But there is a lack of facilities with adequate water supplies and affluent treatment and disposal, he pointed out, with Katunayake and Biyagama the only areas with adequate industrial water and treatments facilities. We are addressing all these with authorities, and I hope these could be fast tracked. We welcome the low interest rate regime and these are encouraging for investments,” he noted.
Ganegoda also remarked on the need to enhance export credit insurance, as what was said in the Budget is very vague. It’s a thorny issue,” he said and with new customers around the globe it becomes increasingly difficult and these must be removed.
Commenting on the Government’s proposal to increase wages of estate workers to Rs. 1,000 a day, Ganegoda averred: I don’t see a gap between what Government wants to achieve and what we want. We are more than happy to do so, and they should earn more than Rs. 1,000 in today’s context. If we are talking about getting out of this middle-income trap and all that, what is this $ 5.5 a day and they should earn more? The issue is not that. The issue is cost per kilogramme for the industry. We will have to balance this. We will support the Government; we will talk to them and we will have to find a mechanism to balance both sides and have a win-win. If you look at productivity, Sri Lanka is 18kg per plucker per day, whereas Kenya is 60kg and India is 36kg per day. So, if you could agree on a mechanism to drive productivity and if you focus from our side on cost per kilogramme for plucked leaves, even if they were to get Rs. 2,000 we have no qualm and they should earn that. Without reaching productivity and you just make it a wage, then there are problems.”
Budget benefits through ICTs
This
Government places great emphasis on technology, specifically on Information and
Communication Technology (ICT). Amidst the Budget debate, a new Ministry of
Technology grouping together ICT related agencies and companies was created
with the President as Minister. The Secretary has yet to be named but the
newly-absolved Senior Advisor to the President, Lalith Weeratunga, is likely to
play a significant role.
A budget speech is an important indicator of Government priorities. Talk is
cheap, but talk backed up by financial commitment is less cheap. That is why
budgets are taken seriously.
What are the likely benefits from the perspective of the people? What
investments will be made, and what barriers will be removed by the Government
to facilitate greater access to ICTs? What taxes will be raised from ICT
services used by the people and from companies in the sector? What jobs will be
created in the software and IT enabled services sector?
According to the Sinhala version of the speech, Rs. 15
million from the Telecommunication Development Fund (TDF) is to be spent on
pushing out coverage of 4G and fibre. When we last looked, the TDF had Rs. 69
billion unspent (this was for 2015 and money kept being collected and not
spent; so, the total is likely to be higher). Was the Government committing a
maximum of 0.02% of money collected from incoming and outgoing international
calls and lying unspent?
o, the English version was checked. It appears the actual amount may be Rs. 15
billion; the Sinhala version may be a typo. Even that is a maximum of 21% of
funds lying fallow. But because they have made it complicated, starting with a
low number is good. Half the money must be spent on local suppliers; import
restrictions are in place making quick deployment of vital equipment that is
not locally manufactured unlikely. If half the money is spent within a year, it
will be praiseworthy.
The Budget speech commits to helping timely construction of towers and the laying of cables. This proposal is far superior to the (luckily unimplemented) proposals in previous budgets which imposed punitive taxes on towers and proposed all sorts of complicated structures for building and managing towers.
Because most land in this country is owned by the State, it is a good thing to make them available for telecom operators. One only hopes that the proposal will be implemented and that we will not be talking about this in the future tense next year.
For long, telecom operators have served as tax
collectors. Every telecom bill includes taxes that are collected and handed
over to the State. At present, for every Rs. 100 we pay for voice calls, we pay
an additional Rs. 37.7 in taxes to the State; for every Rs. 100 we spend on
data, we give Rs. 19.7 to the State in taxes. The odd numbers are because these
are multiple taxes layered on top of each other. In the Ravi Karunanayake years
it was worse, but the rates were lowered in 2018.
The Budget speech says that a single tax (possibly with different rates for
different items) will replace the current tax-on-tax regime for alcohol,
cigarettes, telecommunication, betting, gaming and vehicles by 1 January 2021.
It is disappointing that telecom is lumped together with all sorts of demerit
goods that the State taxes excessively to discourage consumption. It is
puzzling because these kinds of changes require legislation and usually take
effect in April, after the Budget is approved and Finance Act amendments are
approved by Parliament.
The quantum of the single tax for telecom services is not specified. But it may
be inferred that end users will pay more. The Government is expecting to
increase the revenues from taxes on goods and services (of which the
above-mentioned categories contribute around 50%) by 30%. It is unlikely that
such a big increase can be achieved by keeping the burden on the end-user at
current levels or lower.
Justification exists for lowering the taxes levied on data services in these pandemic times. It is illogical to make a big fuss about extending 4G and fibre connectivity to every nook and cranny of the country and then make data plans unaffordable by excessive taxation. But in the current circumstances, no one should be advocating for reducing State revenue.
The Budget promises to exempt earnings from both domestic and foreign sources by those engaged in businesses in software and IT enabled services from income taxes. The foreign earnings exemption has been in place for persons directly receiving payments from foreign sources if they are deposited in local accounts and declared. What this appears to allow is the exemption from taxes of all software and IT enabled service firms, which is rather radical. The test will be whether the definitions are clear, and implementation is efficient. Again, a conclusion depends on the language of the amendments.
The larger question is whether anyone has modeled the revenue loss from exempting most people in a sunrise industry from income tax. Whatever the loss is in 2021, it will be larger in 2022 and so on. Is there a real need to exempt software engineers from income tax?
The Government has allocated the rather large sum of
Rs. 10 billion for setting up five fully-fledged plug and play Techno Parks in
Galle, Kurunegala, Anuradhapura, Kandy and Batticaloa Districts”. Previous
budgets included such allocations for such parks by slightly different names,
but none were built. It appears the liking for these things comes from
officials rather than politicians.
The Malambe IT Zone was established under President Kumaratunga in the 1990s.
It was not easy to attract companies to that location which was considered too
remote. We could not even persuade HSBC to locate its regional centre, which is
not a hive of creativity, in Malambe. They insisted on the present location on
Parliament Road.
The value of the Malambe IT Zone has greatly increased now with the Athurugiriya Interchange and would have skyrocketed had the now aborted LRT been completed, but most of the land is already occupied, not necessarily by IT firms. Still the early difficulties illustrate the challenges of setting up technology parks.
They are fundamentally different from the industrial parks our officials are familiar with. The companies that locate in such parks place a premium on attracting and holding employees. The people who work in software firms and creative industries do not particularly like suburban or rural locations; they do not want to spend hours commuting. They like the benefits of agglomeration. That is why Silicon Valley emerged around Stanford University and why Bangalore and Gurgaon, with all their shortcomings, emerged as centres of IT. Coffee shops and bars play an important role in the success of IT parks.
Artificially creating techno parks in the middle of nowhere is a recipe for failure. Government officials are incapable of designing and managing such parks. They should commission studies of what has worked here and abroad and encourage private firms to build and manage technology parks in locations that will attract companies and employees.
On what basis were five districts picked for locating the parks? It would be useful to understand what happened to the tender that was floated by the Export Development Board in 2019 seeking to identify a suitable building and operator for a tech park in Jaffna. Just because something was started under a different government, it should not be abandoned. By most measures, including the quality of the educational system and the success of initiatives such as Yarl IT Hub and Uki Coding School, Jaffna is an obvious candidate, though much remains to be done on the leisure and entertainment side.
In conclusion with President Gotabhaya Rajapakdsa’s ardent desire to make Sri Lanka a digital technology nation, expeditious efforts are being initiated through 2021 Budget to achieve the President’s objectives.
Let us look at how India became an Information Technology giant within a short period. Information Technology in India is an industry consisting of two major components: IT services and business process outsourcing (BPO). The sector has increased its contribution to India’s GDP from 1.2% in 1998 to 7.7% in 2017. The sector aggregated revenues of US$180 billion in 2019, with export revenue standing at US$99 billion and domestic revenue at US$48 billion, growing by over 13%. As of 2020, India’s IT workforce accounts for 4.36 million employees. The United States accounts for two-thirds of India’s IT services exports
India’s IT Services industry was born in Mumbai in 1967 with the creation of Tata Consultancy Services who in 1977 partnered with Burroughs which began India’s export of IT services. The first software export zone, SEEPZ – the precursor to the modern-day IT park – was established in Mumbai in 1973. More than 80 percent of the country’s software exports were from SEEPZ in the 1980s.
Within 90 days of its establishment, the Task Force produced an extensive background report on the state of technology in India and an IT Action Plan with 108 recommendations. The Task Force could act quickly because it built upon the experience and frustrations of state governments, central government agencies, universities, and the software industry. Much of what it proposed was also consistent with the thinking and recommendations of international bodies like the World Trade Organization (WTO), International Telecommunications Union (ITU), and World Bank. In addition, the Task Force incorporated the experiences of Singapore and other nations, which implemented similar programs. It was less a task of invention than of sparking action on a consensus that had already evolved within the networking community and government.
In 1991 the Department of Electronics creating a corporation called Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) that, being owned by the government, could provide VSAT communications without breaching its monopoly. STPI set up software technology parks in different cities, each of which provided satellite links to be used by firms; the local link was a wireless radio link. In 1993 the government began to allow individual companies their own dedicated links, which allowed work done in India to be transmitted abroad directly. Indian firms soon convinced their American customers that a satellite link was as reliable as a team of programmers working in the clients’ office.
A joint EU-India group of scholars was formed on 23 November 2001 to further promote joint research and development. On 25 June 2002, India and the European Union agreed to bilateral cooperation in the field of science and technology. India holds observer status at CERN, while a joint India-EU Software Education and Development Center was located in Bangalore.
In the contemporary world economy, India is the largest exporter of IT. Exports dominate the Indian IT industry and constitute about 79% of the industry’s total revenue. However, the domestic market is also significant, with robust revenue growth. The industry’s share of total Indian exports (merchandise plus services) increased from less than 4% in FY1998 to about 25% in FY2012. The technologically-inclined services sector in India accounts for 40% of the country’s GDP and 30% of export earnings as of 2006, while employing only 25% of its workforce. The “Top Five Indian IT Services Providers” are Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, and HCL Technologies.
Major information technology hubs[edit]
Bengaluru is known as the “Silicon Valley of India”.
Hyderabad – known for the HITEC City or Cyberabad – is a major global IT hub, and the largest bioinformatics hub in India. Hyderabad has emerged as the second largest city in the country for software exports beating competitors Chennai and Pune. As of 2020, the IT exports from Hyderabad was US$15 billion and the city houses 1500 IT and ITES companies that provide 582,126 employment. Notable tech and pharma parks are HITEC City, Genome Valley, and Hyderabad Pharma City
Chandigarh is also one of the growing international IT services and outsourcing exporters. The next upcoming tech park will be world trade center.
Kolkata is the financial and business hub of Eastern India. The metro city has seen a significant rise in IT services. In August 2018, the West Bengal Government announced that 200 acres of land in Rajarhat Newtown will be used for the development of Bengal Silicon Valley, similar to the California Silicon Valley in San Francisco, USA. The main intention of this project is to create a business-friendly environment for IT companies to set up their business in the city. Major IT Parks include Sector V, DLF 1,2,Gitanjali Park SEZ, Ecospace SEZ.
As of 2012[update], Chennai was India’s Largest exporter of information technology (IT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) services. Tidel Park in Chennai was billed as Asia’s largest IT park when it was built. Notable tech parks are International Tech Park, DLF SEZ, Mahindra World City, SIPCOT IT Park, Olympia Tech Park and Ramanujan IT City. City has an expressway called as IT expressway and a preferred location for IT industries. Major software companies have their offices set up here, with some of them making Chennai their largest base
The Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park in Hinjawadi is a US$8.9 billion project by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC). The IT Park encompasses an area of about 2,800 acres and is home to over 800 IT companies of all sizes. Besides Hinjawadi, IT companies are also located at Magarpatta, Kharadi and several other parts of the city. As of 2017, the IT sector employs more than 300,000 people.
In Thiruvananthapuram, Technopark was established for the development of electronics and information technology in the State. It is India‘s first industrial park dedicated to electronics, software, and IT ventures. Started 1995, the campus at Thiruvananthapuram city covers an area the 330 acres campus with 4,000,000 sq ft of built-up space available currently and another 2,000,000 more sq ft of built up space coming up, is now home to over 260 companies. Over 35,000 IT professionals are working here.
The Indian experiences indicate that with the admirable initiatives taken in the 2021 budget to establish 5 IT parks covering all areas of Sri Lanka our future generations will have the opportunity of becoming commendable world leaders. (end).
තමන්ට එරෙහිව අධිකරණය හමුවේ විභාග වන නඩුවක තීන්දුව 8 වනදා ලබා දීමට නියමිත බව සමගි ජන බලවේග පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්රී රන්ජන් රාමනායක මහතා සඳහන් කරයි.
ඒ අනුව තමන් එදිනට හිරේ යාමට නියමිත යැයි ද ඔහු පැවසීය.
අද දින තමන්ගේ පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ අවසන් දිනය යැයිද ඒ මහතා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව අමතමින් කියා සිටියේය.
අඩුම මාස හයක් සහ උපරිමය අවුරුදු දෙකක් දක්වා වූ සිරදඩුවමක් තමන්ට හිමි වනු ඇතැයිද ඔහු සඳහන් කළේය.
Colombo, December 4: There is a popular saying that Justice delayed is justice denied” and apparently a major reason for last week’s prison riots that claimed the lives of 11 prisoners and injured scores of inmates and prison guards is the prevalent overcrowding of prisons with remand prisoners awaiting court verdicts for long.
There is an imperative for judicial reforms with the expansion of courts to ensure dispensation of early justice. Last week, at a time when the dark shadows of prison riots loomed, a welcome development took place with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointing six Judges to the Supreme Court and 14 to the Court of Appeal, thus marking another milestone in the judicial history of the country.
This became possible as the 20th Amendment to the Constitution allowed an increase in the number of judges. The judicial cadre in both the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal had remained static since the enactment of the Second Republican Constitution in 1978. Although the necessity of increasing the number of judges in the Superior Courts has been mooted several times in the past, the number of judges in both courts has remained the same for over 40 years.
There have been many advancements in the sphere of law in recent decades. Litigation has increased exponentially during the last 40 years. However, there has not been a corresponding increase in the number of judges.
It is therefore a matter of pride that our Government has redressed this long felt need through the 20th Amendment to the Constitution,” President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said.
Amongst the many reasons that prompted this change is the perennial problem of the law’s delays. Unfortunately, it is clear that while more and more cases were being instituted in the Superior Courts, there was insufficient judicial manpower to hear them fast and dispense justice. This was not a situation conducive to public confidence, nor to the proper functioning of the republic,” he said.
Addressing the newly appointed judges, the President pledged to support the independence of the judiciary and ensure its functioning free of politicization and other forms of interference. Access to justice is a fundamental right. It is the sacred duty and obligation of the State to provide an enabling environment to make that right real and not imaginary. Access to justice must be transparent if the people are to have confidence and faith in the judicial system.
Whether we perform our role within the Executive, the Legislature or the Judiciary, we are all custodians of that faith. We hold our office in trust for the people. As judges, the people look to you to uphold the immense dignity of your high office, to discharge your duties with integrity and independence, and to ensure that justice is dispensed equitably to all,” the President told the judges.
The President also referred to unsavory attempts to tarnish the judiciary, a sacrosanct institution. He said it is a matter of some concern that there has been an onslaught on the dignity and independence of legal systems.
The judiciary must also rise and use its powers to fight this menace. Freedom of speech is not a license to defame and malign anyone, least of all judges,” he pointed out and added, We as a Government stand prepared to support you in every way necessary to achieve the objective of administering an efficient, equitable and independent judicial system.”
This commitment applies to the uplift of the dilapidated courtrooms throughout the country, assistance in digitizing the laborious manual processes to enhance efficiency, and providing greater funding for the training of personnel in the judicial system, together with other identified requirements.
Through this, and through your efficient and judicious discharge of your grave responsibilities, I am confident that we will be able to achieve a lasting beneficial transformation of the judicial system in Sri Lanka,” the President said.
The prison riots also brought home the need for further prison reforms. The Government, saddled with the unenviable task of eliminating crimes masterminded by imprisoned convicts and remand prisoners, commenced a top down strategy by a shake-up of prison officials earlier this year. This step was taken after it was revealed that the illicit possession and use of mobile telephones by prison inmates was becoming a major issue. Prisoners were reportedly using illicitly acquired mobile telephones to make calls to give instructions about their criminal activities.
Several prison officers were interdicted for attempting to smuggle in mobile phones for the incarcerated inmates. The strict measures came after senior prison officials were admonished by President Rajapaksa and strong warnings were given to the Department of Prisons by Defense Secretary, Major General (rtd.) Kamal Gunaratne. A clean and untainted prison system is required and all inmates must be treated equally, he said and added that prison officials guilty of helping convicts to carry out criminal activities would be severely punished. He said if officers continue to engage in wrongful acts, investigations will be launched, adding that certain officers are already under the scrutiny of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).Attorney General Dappula De Livera also slammed the Department of Prisons for allowing the prison system to become a hotbed of criminals and criminal syndicates.
Serious crimes in Sri Lanka are organized from within prison walls. The underworld has found itself inside the prisons and they operate from within and outside the prison walls. They work together and commit serious crimes in the country,” De Livera said.
Following these stern warnings and change of high prison officials, many reforms were enacted and hardened criminals who controlled some prison cells with their money-power or by intimidation were transferred to distant prisons and kept in isolation.
The shakeup among the prison guards is a part of the overall operation of elimination of criminal gangs. Simultaneously, a major crackdown directed at the underworld has been underway. Dozens of hard-core criminals in various parts of the country have been rounded up.
The detention of large number of persons who violated health regulations and the curfew enforced due to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in overcrowding of prisons once again. Presidential pardon given to hundreds of remand prisoners is expected to reduce the overcrowding.
Considering the importance of prison reforms, a new State Minister has been appointed to handle the subject. Lohan Ratwatte took oaths on Wednesday (December 2) as State Minister for Prison Administration and Rehabilitation of Prisoners.
The appointment of new judges will help speed up trials in the top two courts in the country. The efficient administration of justice is not only important in terms of upholding the rule of law, it is also vital for the economic development of this nation. Reliable, efficient and effective dispute resolution through the justice system will foster the nation’s progress. I consider it a signal honor to administer oaths to such a galaxy of men and women so learned in the law,” President Rajapaksa said underlining the importance of this step.
Sri Lanka has witnessed 07 new Covid-19 related deaths, the Director-General of Health Services confirmed a short while ago.
Five of the victims are from Bandaragama, Dematagoda, Colombo 13, Wellampitiya and the remaining two were identified as prison inmates.
The new development brings the country’s Covid-19 death toll to 137, Epidemiology Unit data revealed.
Coronavirus vaccination for at-risk groups has kicked off in Moscow, the city’s coronavirus monitoring center said in a statement on Saturday.
Coronavirus vaccination began today at 70 city public health centers for those from major at-risk groups, who contact large numbers of people at work. Those include medical, educational and social workers,” the statement reads.
Applications are being received on mos.ru from people aged between 18 and 60, registered with the city’s public health centers.
However, people with certain chronic diseases won’t be able to get the shot, and those with acute respiratory infections will have to wait two weeks after recovering from it. In addition, volunteers involved in post-registration vaccine trials can’t be vaccinated though those who got a placebo during trials will be provided with an opportunity to receive the vaccine once trials are over.
-Agencies
Sri Lanka’s Covid-19 numbers went up again today (05), as 168 more persons were tested positive for the virus.
The newly-identified patients were identified as close contacts of earlier cases linked to the Peliyagoda fish market.
Following the new development in Covid-19 figures, Minuwangoda-Peliyagoda dual cluster’s infections tally has reached 23,674.
Thereby, a total of 669 positive cases have been detected within the day.
As per statistics, the total number of Covid-19 infections confirmed in the country to date now stands at 27,228.
Recoveries from the virus meanwhile climbed to 20,090 earlier today, as 652 more patients regained health.
However, 7,008 active cases are still under medical care at selected hospitals and treatment centres located across the island.
Sri Lanka has also witnessed 130 deaths related to Covid-19.
On February 19, 2020, i.e. days before Parliament was dissolved and probably in full cognizance of impending General Elections, a report was released by ‘The Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Security,’ appointed following the Easter Sunday attacks almost a year before.
The Easter Sunday attack was a clear indictment on the then government’s shortsightedness on national security issues. The liberals who pooh-poohed Islamic extremism, the NGO racketeers for whom ‘religion freedom’ meant ‘anything goes, even terrorism’ were effectively bamboozled. They shut up. The yahapalanists were routed at the election, and even a pathetic last-minute name-change didn’t help.
All that is incidental. What’s important is the report of the OCE (Oversight Committee on Extremism). The report had the OCE’s mandate clearly stated on the cover page itself: ‘Proposal for formulation and implementation of relevant laws required to ensure national security that will eliminate New Terrorism and extremism by strengthening friendship among races and religions.’ Oddly worded, but that too is incidental.
The OCE was chaired by Malith Jayathilake. Shehan Semasinghe, Vijitha Herath, Weerakumara Dissanayake, Buddhika Pathirana, M.S. Thowfeek, Palitha Thevarapperuma, S Viyalanderan, Dharmalingam Siddarthan, A A Wijethunga, M.A. Sumanthiran, Chandima Gamage, Kavinda Jayawardane, Mayantha Dissanayake, Bandula Bandarigoda, Muhammad Ibrahim Mansoon and Ashu Marasinghe were the others in the committee. Many of them are still in Parliament.
The report contained recommendations on the following areas: 1. Education, 2. Banning face coverings which hinder identification, 3. National Defence Policy, 4. Amending the Immigration and Emigration Law in line with new developments, national and international, 5. Electronic, print and social media, 6. Amending the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Law, 7. Empowering Muslim civil society, 8. Empowerment and legalization of the NGO Secretariat, 9. Amendment of the Wakf Act, 10. Suspension of registration of political parties on ethnic and religious basis, 11. Issuing birth certificates with Sri Lankan Identity Number, 12. Establishment of a ministry of religious affairs that combines all religions, 13. Building and maintaining Dhamma schools and religious centers to ensure inter-religious cohabitation, and 14. Halal certification process.
Now this is as comprehensive a report as we’ve seen on a number of key and interrelated issues. Most of the recommendations are directly or indirectly related to inter-communal tensions so perceived or defined. Many of them can be immediately implemented following relevant gazette notifications; for example in the case of the majority of recommendations pertaining to education, media, Halal certification, NGOs and defense. In the very least, the relevant line ministries can use the particular sections of the OCE report as a basis for discussion followed by policy formulation. Implementation can follow the cabinet decisions.
Some of the recommendations for the education sector have implications beyond the subject at hand, extremism, for example the streamlining of international schools. Some are cosmetic but arguably prompted by good intention, for example, changing the names of schools with ethnic, religious or community identity and of course a streamlining of school holidays. Some are directly related to the rise of Islamic extremism, for example the Madrasa institutions. The OCE recommends that Madrasa institutions should be limited to training Islamic clerics and can enroll only those who are 16 years of age or above AND have completed 11 years of formal education. The OCE while acknowledging that they don’t have all the data, asserted that there are at least 1679 Madrasas while only 317 are registered with a further 175 having sought registration. It was estimated that at least 27,000 students are enrolled in these Madrasas! The OCE recommends that 75 Madrasas are sufficient given the total Islamic population in the country.
I invite the strident voices demanding freedom of expression to read the section on ‘Electronic, Print and Social Media.’ They would, I promise, be horrified that yahapalanists could come up with such plans!
Obviously certain recommendations require amendment of existing laws and promulgation of new ones. The OCE wants the Parliamentary Elections Act No 1 of 1981 amended so that either in name or constitution a party cannot affirm or privilege a particular faith or ethnic community. This would run against basic tenets of political freedom. MP Sumanthiran ought to have resigned from the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi the moment he put his signature on the report. M.S. Thowfeek too (SLMC). Incidental, let’s say.
The most important recommendations are related to Muslim marriages and divorces that require amendment of Acts Nos. l3 of l951, 31 of 1954, 22 of 1955, 1 of 1965, 5 of 1965, 32 of 1969, and Law No. 41 of 1975. These correct the horrendous gender inequalities in that community with respect to marriages and divorce. They recommend, for example, the provision of legal rights to brides when signing a marriage contract, making registration compulsory, establishing 18 as the legal age for marriage, formulating laws that allow both groom and bride to seek divorce if required etc. Most importantly it recommends that the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act No 13 of 1951 to be considered a special law but executed under the general law of the land.
In addition, the OCE has made sweeping recommendations pertaining to the Wakf Act that make for greater accountability from religious institutions and clerics. Obviously the focus is on the Islamic community, but some of the recommendations are eminently applicable to all religious communities.
The Religious Freedom Nazis might be livid, especially those who have a bone to pick with certain religions (but not their own) and/or whose faiths have no history or numbers of the faithful of any significance (which is why, ‘equality of the ‘one-religion, one-vote’ kind is advocated even though in countries where THOSE religious communities are the majority, such generosity is hardly seen). That’s their problem.
These are yahapalanists recommendations which pohottuwa politicians are not likely to disagree with. The vast majority of them can be implemented immediately. Some require, as mentioned, amendment of the law.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his government can send a copy of the OCE report to the Attorney General. The line ministries can be asked to get cracking. There’s a lot of can-do stuff in the report. Just get it done without twiddling thumbs, navel-gazing and foot-dragging because ‘those other fellows made the report.’ At least read the damned thing!
malindasenevi@gmail.com
the fragrance that spreads from a good quality sandal wood bark remains the same when crushed and cut” – Subashithya – the Well Spoken.
We are saddened by the death of Dr Olga Mendis, one of the greatest overseas Sri Lankans who served her adopted Motherland, Australia as well as her original Motherland, Sri Lanka with dedication. She was from Moratuwa and studied at Princess of Wales College. She entered the Sri Lanka medical college. After passing out as a medical practitioner, she proceeded to the UK for higher studies. She married Dr Mervyn Mendis and served in many hospitals and as a School Medical Officer from 1967 to 1976. She immigrated to Australia in 1977.
I came to know Dr Mendis in the 90s when she was known to almost all Sri Lankans in Victoria as a leading social activist. I saw in her the resolve to pursue the objectives of her planned program and how happy she was when surrounded by the grateful beneficiaries of her work. She did not give into the whims and fancies of the armchair critics who attempted to stifle her progress but kept on marching ahead and she delivered the desired results to the community. I remember Dr Mendis extending assistance to the needy migrants by way of funds and other requirements including free medical treatment plus advise. She was simply a large-hearted lady.
I will now try to pen a few memorable achievements of Dr Mendis which I came to know through her contemporaries, and I gathered by watching her from a distance including associating her closely. In 1983 she along with Prof Christie Weeramantri and H.L.D.Mahindapala formed Overseas Sri Lankan Organization for National Unity with the objective of countering the misinformation campaign of some extremist Tamil groups and it became a major forum to promote Sri Lanka, She was the founder Treasurer and held the post for next 4 years.
From 1985 to 1987 she served as the VP of Sri Lanka Association and was very active in jointly organizing for the first time in Australia the celebration of the Sri Lanka Independence Day, Sinhala New Year functions and even Wesak devotional songs,
In 1985 when she went to meet the Minister of Immigration for a discussion she realized that there should be a forum for the Sinhalese in Victoria to represent their views and formed the Sinhala Cultural and Community Services Foundation in 1989.She was the founder President and continued in the position for more than 20 years. Perhaps, this was the first Sinhala organization in Australia. Through SCCSF she promoted study of Sinhala, Sinhala song and poetry, dancing, and traditional drumming. The SCCSF also extended its services to the Seniors by way of monthly gathering, providing meals and medical advise The SCCF raised funds by running food fairs and Sinhala drama and gave a helping hand to the victims of floods, drought in Sri Lanka and the needy in the Sri Lankan hospitals. Through Sevana Sarna Foster Parent scheme she was able to help 150 poor families in Sri Lanka to receive monthly payments.
She also organized the first Sinhala and Buddhism classes to educate the children of the Sinhala migrants whose arrival to Australia saw a big leap in the late 80s, She worked assiduously with a few volunteers to streamline the teaching of Sinhala language. Her indefatigable efforts reached a climax in 1990 when the Sinhala Language was recognized as a subject for Victorian Certificate Examination, the premier exam for secondary education.
In the mid-90s when Sri Lanka was the subject of ridicule due to misinformation campaign of some sections of Tamils, she teamed up with Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights for Sri Lanka and galvanized a program to educate and confer with Aussie politicians to provide the other side od story and also to help the injured soldiers in Sri Lanka,. The ship -loads of beds and equipment were sent to Sri Lanka to help the victims of bombs and explosives and to the rural hospitals,
She played a key role in the formation of first Sinhala community radio thorough 3 zzz when she was elected as a member of the Ethnic Communities council in Victoria while she joined a band of social activists and started ‘ SRI LANKAN’ the first Sri Lankan newspaper in Australia.
Dr Mendis also drew up a program to host visiting Sri Lankan sports teams and looking after them in Australia through the sponsored families. Sri Lankan national netball team which toured Australia annually was one of the beneficiaries,
She authored two books, one on Sri Lanka history and other on Sri Lankan migrants to Australia.
She was the recipient of many prestigious awards such as Doctor of the year in 1992.Order of Australia Medal and Excellence in Multicultural Affairs -the Centenary Award.
Her late husband, Dr Mervyn Mendis was her mentor and helped her in all possible ways to accomplish her multifaceted social service agenda.
When she passed away last week, she was 93 years and as her memory was failing. she was compelled to rest at home amidst love and care of her sons. Dr Duleep, Dr Roshan and only daughter, Dr Priyadarshani and her daughters in laws including her grandchildren. She closed her eyes in the arms of her eldest son, Duleep.
MAY HER JOURNEY IN SAMSARA BE SMOOTH
It was hilarious to find that the alleged ex-Gono-Billa and now the leader of UNP/SHB dhobi clan JVP, Anura Kuimara Dissanayake, who and his cohorts remained as that they are deaf, dumb and blind when the Sirisena/Ranil government increased VAT and taxes between the period 2015 to 2019, deprived people when their rights and dues and were always in the forefront to justify and protect adverse economic, social and other measures taken by that government have requested the government to present an amended budget saying that new Ministries have been established after the 2021 budget was presented.
It is very strange to note that they never made such demands every time Sirisena periodically and on a plethora of times changed Ministers on the request of Ranil Wickremasinghe and number of times.
JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake called on the government to submit an amended budget to Parliament because three new ministrieshave been set up after the presentation of Budget 2021.
Participating in the committee stage debate of the budget, this alleged ex-Gonibilla said a budget was presented to this House and it is being debated at the committee stage. After the tabling of the budget proposals some new ministries have been set up and now debates are going on without allocations for those ministries. Allocations have been made for statutory bodies that would come under those ministries but how could those ministries function without funds he has asked? He has asked the government to submit an amended budget before the end of the current budget debate.
Leader of the House, and Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena countering the JVP leader said that Dissanayake raised similar questions with regard to the representation of the President’s vote in Parliament and the Prime Minister would represent the President in the House and give answers on behalf of the President. He said that most of those expenditure heads belonging to the institutions which would be placed under the new ministries, have been already discussed and if` a need arises the government would introduce changes on the last day and affirmed that he does not see there is issue in this matter.
Meanwhile, the Dhobi clan JVP’s Nationalist nominee Kumar David who is one of the coterie gang that betrayed the LSSP for personal gains despite the fact that party was a formidable party in the past which got members elected from Balapitiya to Colombo South throughout coastal belt and majority of seats in the Kegalle district writing to the anti Sri Lankan website Colombo Telegraph published from London in an article titled Budget and the Virus” said that the first wave of the pandemic from mid-March to end-May was handled successfully and it seemed we had put it behind us. This pseudo Marxist Tamil chauvinist blamed the government for placing the Army Commander in charge of the Task Force; (he has a personal enmity with security forces big wigs for their crushing of Tamil terrorism) and said that it is not possible to give a virus marching orders and expect it to disappear into the twilight.
In a mean attempt to create friction within the smooth running government this Tamil chauvinist blamed President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa for not appointing Dr. Tissa Vitharana to lead the Task Force, and attributed it may be because his proclivity to use a military approach to all things.
Delving on economics David said that except for NM’s short stint as Finance Minister when the economy was salvaged to a degree every post-independence govt. has screwed the economy and pushed Lanka ever deeper into debt. He admittedly said the 2005-2015 government was corrupt to the core and sank Sri Lanka into a huge hole of indebtedness so as to execute prestige projects since they were avenues for daylight robbery. But let’s be generous and say GR is not to blame for that.
So, a fair critique of the 2021-Budget should be premised on accepting the debts the country faces. The GR regime should be faulted not for this but for grossly bad decisions in the budget itself. Two are glaring; the huge amount set aside for Highways and the continuing massive allocation for the military. Highways is the mulch cow that corrupt politicos and the clan used from 2005 to 2015 to siphon off millions and billions, respectively. He claims the swollen military budget is to keep the yakos in line.
David states that he is of the view that fiscal deficits and economic stimulus is unavoidable and Sri Lanka is headed for an unavoidable and deepening debt crisis; these are unusual times. However, if those making policy are incompetent – no more experienced in planning, policy and theory than Caabral – then one cannot expect anything better than the budget on the table. Contrast the top-notch team of liberal economists that Biden has put together. On Sundays 22 and 29 November he says liberalism as inadequate to America’s problems, and but that’s a different matter.
People Centric economic revival
Speaking at the Sri Lanka Economic Summit ‘Roadmap for Takeoff: Driving a People-Centric Economic Revival’ organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) the Prime Minister Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa recapped the efforts made by the Government to support the private sector during a difficult year. He emphasized Sri Lanka needs to return to work as soon as possible and said the Government stands ready to provide the requisite support.
The PM said that
economic and growth challenges need to be jointly managed by the private and
public sectors to move Sri Lanka beyond COVID-19 impact and towards
people-centric development..
He said We stand ready to utilize new and innovative measures to revitalize
growth in Sri Lanka and the next few years will be decisive ones for Sri Lanka
and to strengthen the economy the public and private secretory will have to
jointly manage growth challenges,” he told the virtual gathering. PM Rajapaksa
said it was an accepted fact that Sri Lanka had managed its COVID-19 challenges
far better than many other countries around the world and provided support to
keep the economy ticking over.
However, the time has now arrived to move to the next phase of turning around growth and preparing for an economic take-off and in order to achieve that the business community and other stakeholders will have to intensify efforts and make use of the policy framework provided by Budget 2021.
He said We are
satisfied with the initial response to COVID-19 but now greater things have to
be achieved on this foundation. This entire country has to be converted into
one hive of activity and we appreciate that is also the intention of this Chamber.
For this task, corporate and private sector leaders have to come together to
plan, exchange information and implement policies.”
Speaking further the Prime Minister pointed out even though remittances and
exports have proved resilient, the Government could not be satisfied with the
level of foreign direct investment and advocated that the private sector should
also work towards attracting more investment.
He told the Private Sector We will support you unreservedly in this effort and
invite you to lift up our economy once again.” He added that the Government
expected the private sector to support completion of 289 stalled projects worth
Rs. 5 trillion as well as improve Sri Lanka’s food security.
PM Rajapaksa opined that despite the multitude of challenges faced by his Government, they had stepped up and delivered. He called on the private sector to do the same and take Sri Lanka towards an economic rejuvenation,
Addressing Key insights at Bartleet Religare Securities webinar titled ‘Navigating the Paradigm Shift’ State Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal explained the Government is keen to hold interest rates steady at current levels for at least two years, and this would be given priority alongside strengthening our rate of exchange. He said that with Budget 2021 well into the second half of its journey through Parliament – a mere formality for this house – the Government had opportunity to provide further clarity to some of the proposals it listed last week, whilst the private sector too had a chance to delve deeper.
If interest rates show any tendency of rising, we are ready curtail some
public sector investment at that time to maintain rates at the levels we want
to see and the Government does not want to get them to any condition to
jeopardize the macro fundamentals, he said.
The State Minister responded to a number of questions posed on Budget 2021, and
one of them dealt with the downgrade afforded to Sri Lanka by Moody’s Rating
Agency, who stated it does not expect the budget to provide a meaningful boost
to outputs and instead enhance fiscal pressure.
In response, the Minister said: Moody’s jumped the gun and they brought in
that downgrade of two notches well before the Budget could come in, now they
are stuck with it. Whatever we put in the budget as credit positive they need
to find a loophole to say that’s not a good thing. So, I think that is what is
happening now. The nice thing about it is that investors have not followed
Moody’s. The first day that Moody’s downgraded investors got a little upset.
Then our bonds started having very high yields. But very soon, once they dived
into the Sri Lankan credit and examined it carefully, they found that Moody’s
statement was not with position. Now they have all begun to tighten much
further and today’s Moody’s reaction.
State Minister Cabraal also stated he held discussions with several large international investors, and that Government is looking to persuade them to come to Sri Lanka. We may see some movement next year,” he added.
I think the current rates are very comfortable for all. The only thing I would like to see tighten is the exchange rate, it has gone beyond the comfortable range. If I was the Governor of the Central Bank, I would say it wouldn’t have gone to that extent. I would have been a lot more sensitive to it because I know the impact it has on debt and the impact on the Budget of having to allocate that much more rupees to buy the same dollars. It is a big burden I would like to avoid. It’s a big ingredient of our debt sustainability. We will take the necessary policy measures to encourage movement in that direction,” Cabraal assured.
Responding to further questions, the State Minister said the Government has no intention to list State-owned enterprises on the Stock Exchange as privatization is not part of the Government’s agenda. However, it could consider listing some of the instruments of SOEs as long as they do not disturb this policy, he said.
Once again, he invited more companies to list debt on the stock exchange as seen in developed markets, noting this would bring stability to some organizations. We have thought outside the box and provided certain incentives, which are quite different to what was offered earlier,” and this should boost further listings on the stock exchange he said.
Speaking further Mr. Cabral said that the Government has mooted a Budget monitoring process under his ministry to keep a close tab consistently on implementation of proposals,. He said that the Government will bear the cost of the additional Rs. 2 provided for remittances of workers overseas, and provisions have already been made for this in the Budget. The new Special Goods and Services Tax on excise items will be announced before the finalization of the Budget and noted that the question for motor vehicles will not arise in the near future.
Tax administration will be improved and the 0.25 of taxation on turnover of companies will be helpful towards revenue enhancement, Cabraal said, alongside new features like the 1% tax on undisclosed income coming into the tax net. With excise, the Government will introduce new methodology that have been proven all over the world and derive greater amount of revenue – almost an additional Rs. 40 billion the Government estimates. Leakages that have been there will be plugged very well and we can have those revenue targets achieved” he asserted.
We have not said we are not going to ask questions. We have said you can bring the money. We have said you can bring the money you have not declared, and that does not mean it’s tainted. There can be instances where people have sold land and not mentioned the full value. Some countries have no taxes at all, but that does not mean it encourages money laundering. There is no danger of this going into a FATF question mark,” Cabraal noted.
He also stressed the need to reduce construction costs in Sri Lanka as it is amongst the highest in the world. The government is looking at a composite evaluation, which for instance will bring down the cost of cement, as raw material costs need to be managed. The Cess on imports of cement and clinker will be examined carefully to see how overall costs can be brought down. The Government is engaging cement manufacturers; and is interested to note if they could guarantee entire local supply from Sri Lankan resources.
Cabral also stated that port activity has sufficient space for growth, and the country needs more port related industries to come in. The new tyre factory coming in the Hambantota industrial zone with Chinese investment is going to be a very important investment, and the State would like to see many more investments like that coming in, he said, reiterating the Government is expecting some new ventures to come in over the next few months.
Joining the discussion was Krishan Balendra, Chairman of John Keells Holdings PLC, who also pointed to tremendous growth in port activity and underscored Colombo’s position as a major transhipment hub making 80% of volumes.
Balendra said that if you have the adequate capacity in Colombo you can have growth in volumes. We have the capacity for eight million TEUs. Colombo can handle more capacity; it won’t be over capacity. The need is to add capacity and then the demand will be there,” Balendra said. The proposed East Container Terminal is right next to John Keells’ SAGT, and there is a lot of potential therein for both, he added.
Compared to the
rest of the region, Sri Lanka has a lot of space to grow in almost every sphere
the group is already invested in, and our potential in every sector is immense,
the Chairman opined. In the short-term there may be over capacity, but as
businesses and traffic numbers grow there will be demand for more services. It
is in this content, JKH is looking at large integrated development like Cinnamon
Life, he explained, pointing to tremendous potential for retail and
entertainment sectors.
Balendra said there would be no real change in terms of sector focus for JKH,
adding the Cinnamon Life development will be completed well before the Port City
is finished, with over 65% of apartments already sold. The Port City will help
increase development for property, he added. It is important to manage new
supply of hotel rooms to ensure people who have already invested to get
returns, he noted.
HNB Managing
Director Jonathan Alles said Budget 2021 provides several interesting areas for
the banking sector with a lot of impetus to supporting SMEs, entrepreneurship
and local production. The Minister alluded to renewable energy and this is a
vital area we are looking to support,” he added. The banking sector must not
ignore the fact it must continuously be available to support the requirements
of the grass root sectors and make funds available,” he stressed.
Execution of the Budget becomes very important and that is where the value
addition comes in. The cost of procrastination is billions to Government and
the private sector, Alles explained. He enthused at the Minster pointing to
significant new foreign investments materializing over the course of next year,
and Sri Lanka must keep telling its story and get these transactions off the
ground without just letting them be stories.
Alles however opined that normal economics suggest it would be difficult to
hold interest rates down with domestic funds being used to bridge the deficit.
Interest rates can also marginally move upwards if credit growth picks up.
Having said that rates are at unprecedented lows, so even if they inch up
marginally it would still be very affordable, he explained.
Credit growth could be moderate in the first half of 2021, and asset quality
will continue to be under pressure, and banks need to watch what entities are
able to start repayments after the moratorium is over. The country needs
consistent taxation and it is hoped this would prevail over the coming years,
Alles said.
We expect the banking sector tax to come down from 28% to 24%. The 0.25 insurance fund is not going to go down too well because it will have a significant impact on the bottom line. The risk weighted provisioning suspension; it has an impact on your capital adequacy, but then some of us banks are more than adequately capitalised. So, we would want a rating upgrade really, because currently we are impaired on account of LGD and likely to see some further impairments on account of the downgrade of Moody’s.
Moratoriums are taken as modifications as far as accounting is concerned and not as rescheduling which means you don’t have to impair. Prudency would require banks to asses every customer and transaction, and whilst you have provided that cover is it fair and right for you to take cover under this and keep them under the current bucket? In this light you will see the industry taking a position and then taking an estimate and identifying accounts that even post moratorium will have certain challenges. You might see us staging them from 1 to 2, which will then automatically entail a higher level of impairment which we have actually projected and forecasted. Those that we feel don’t have a chance and don’t have ancillary, we might be compelled to move straight into non-performing and start looking at full impairment and other courses of action. It will be based on individual clients,” Alles stated.
He praised the Government’s initiative to encourage overseas workers to bring in money through official channels, as these then get recorded and the government can calculate and know these amounts coming in. This would be worth the Rs. 2 paid in the short term, he opined, and it will help banks to leverage those individuals and do business with those beneficiaries for those funds coming in, he said.
To be continued……………………..
ඉවත දමන කාබන් පෑන් හා දත් බුරුසු ආරක්ෂිතව ප්රතිචක්රීකරණය කිරීම උදෙසා පරිසර අමාත්යාංශය හඳුන්වාදෙන ප්රතිචක්රීකරණ බහලුම ගරු අග්රාමාත්ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතාට භාරදීම අද 2020.12.03 දින සිදුවිය.
පරිසර අමාත්ය මහින්ද අමරවීර මහතා විසින් පාර්ලිමේන්තු සංකීර්ණයේ පිහිටි අග්රාමාත්ය කාර්යාලයේදී මෙම ප්රතිචක්රීකරණ බහලුම අග්රාමාත්යතුමාට භාර දෙන ලදී.
නීතියක් නොව විනයක්” තේමාව යටතේ ක්රියාත්මක මෙම පරිසර හිතකාමී ව්යාපෘතිය රටපුරා පාසල් හා ආයතන මට්ටමින් ක්රියාත්මක වීම කාලීන අවශ්යතාවක් බව අග්රාමාත්යතුමා මෙහිදී පෙන්වා දුන්නේ ය .
මෙරට පාසල් පද්ධතිය තුළින් පමණක් දිනකට පරිසරයට බැහැරවන කාබන් පෑන් ප්රමාණය කිලෝ ග්රෑම් අසූවක් පමණ බව අමාත්ය මහින්ද අමරවීර මහතා හෙළි කළේය.
පරිසර අමාත්ය මහින්ද අමරවීර මහතාගේ සංකල්පයක් මත, මෙතෙක් අවධානය යොමු නොවූ මෙම පාරසරික ගැටලුවට පිළියමක් ලෙස ආරම්භ කළ ආරක්ෂිත ප්රතිචක්රීකරණ බහලුමක් හඳුන්වා දීමට, පරිසර අමාත්යංශය පියවර ගැනීම අග්රාමාත්ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතාගේ ඇගයීමට ලක් විය.
භාවිතයෙන් ඉවත දමන කාබන් පෑන් 3000ක් හා දත් බුරුසු 500ක් මෙම එක් බහලුමකට දැමිය හැකිය.
මෙම බහලුම් සියලු ම පාසල්වලට නොමිලේ ලබාදෙන අතර INSEE සමාගම හා ඇට්ලස් සමාගම ඒවා මිලදී ගැනීමට නියමිතය.
A recycling drop box for disposable pens and toothbrushes was handed over to Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa by Mahinda Amaraweera.
This initiative was launched based on the shared theme of Discipline, Not Law” to promote recycling and find economic-based sustainable waste solutions in Sri Lanka.
The government’s sustainable agenda to collect empty carbon pens and used toothbrushes for recycling will play a prominent role in reducing the amount of plastic released to the environment. Every day, 80KG of carbon pens are used in schools, which makes it a significant environmental issue.
The Ministry of Environment signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with INSEE Cement and Atlas Sri Lanka to support this recycling project. Under this agreement, discarded waste material such as carbon pens and toothbrushes will be collected and repurposed by INSEE and Atlas.
Each school and state institution will be given a especially-designed drop box that will hold 3,000 used pens and 500 used toothbrushes.
Prime Minister Rajapaksa appreciated this initiative, which helps tackle the recycling issue and works towards a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly Sri Lanka.
කොවිඩ් -19 වෛරසයට එරෙහිව කෑගල්ල ප්රදේශයේ දේශීය වෛද්යවරයෙකු නිෂ්පාදනය කළ හෙළ ඔසුව පිළිබඳ අවසන් සායනික පරීක්ෂණවල නිගමනය ඉදිරි මාසය ඇතුළත රජයට දැනුම්දෙන බව ආයුර්වේද බලධාරීන් පවසයි.
හිටපු පළාත් ආයුර්වේද කොමසාරිස් වෛද්ය නිමල් කරුණාසිරි මහතා ඒ බව හෙළිකළේය.
දේශීය වෛද්ය රාජ්ය අමාත්ය සිසිර ජයකොඩි මහතා සඳහන් කළේ එම ඖෂධය සාර්ථක වුවහොත් මෙරට ජනතාවට එය නොමිලේ ලබාදීම පිළිබඳ සාකච්ඡා සිදුකෙරෙමින් පවතින බවය.
කොවිඩ් – 19 වෛරසය රෝගීන්ගේ ශරීරයෙන් ඉවත් කළ හැකි දේශීය ඖෂධයක් කෑගල්ල ප්රදේශයේ ධම්මික බණ්ඩාර මහතා විසින් හඳුන්වා දී ඇති අතර අද දෙරණ ඉකුත් නොවැම්බර් 29 වැනිදා එය අනාවරණ කිරීමෙන් පසු සෞඛ්ය අංශ ප්රධානීන්ගේ අවධානය ඊට යොමු විය.
අනතුරුව, එලෙස දේශීයව නිෂ්පාදනය කළ හැකි ඖෂධය පිළිබඳ වැඩිදුර පරීක්ෂණ රාජ්ය අනුග්රහයෙන් මේ වනවිට සිදු කෙරෙමින් පවතී.
ඒ ඊට පත්කළ විද්වත් කමිටුවක අධීක්ෂණය යටතේ ය.
ඒ සම්බන්ධයෙන් අදහස් දක්වමින් වසංගතරෝග විද්යා අංශ ප්රධානී විශේෂඥ වෛද්ය සුදත් සමරවීර මහතා පැවසූවේ “එක පැත්තකින් ආයුර්වේද විද්වත් කමිටුවක් හරහා මේ දේශීය ඖෂධයේ තිබෙන ගුණාත්මකභාවය පිළිබඳ පරීක්ෂණය කිරීමටත් අනෙක් පැත්තෙන් වෛද්ය විද්යාව පිළිබඳ මහාචාර්යවරුන්ගෙන් සමන්විත කමිටුවක් හරහා නිසි ක්රමවේදයකට පරීක්ෂණයක් පවත්වා තීරණයක් ගැනීමටත් නිර්දේශ වුණා.” යනුවෙනි.
හිටපු පළාත් ආයුර්වේද කොමසාරිස් වෛද්ය නිමල් කරුණාසිරි මහතා පෙන්වා දුන්නේ “මේ ඖෂධයේ විශාල ප්රතිඵලයක් තියෙනවා කියලා සහතිකය දීලා තියෙන්නේ බටහිර වෛද්ය කණ්ඩායමක්. දේශීය වෛද්ය ක්ෂේත්රයේ බෙහෙත් වට්ටෝරු හැත්තදාහක් විතර තියෙනවා. ඒ බෙහෙත් හදන්නේ වෛද්යවරුම නෙමෙයි,” යනුවෙනි.
දේශීය වෛද්ය රාජ්ය අමාත්ය සිසිර ජයකොඩි මහතා සඳහන් කළේ මෙම ඖෂධය පිළිබඳව තවත් දින කිහිපයක් සායනික වශයෙන් අධ්යනය කරන බවය.
“මේ ගැන තවදුරටත් අධ්යනය කිරීමෙන් පසු රෝගීන් වෙත ලබා දීමට සුදුසුදැයි යන්න පිළිබඳ නිර්දේශය ලැබෙයි,” යනුවෙන් ද සඳහන් කළේය.
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