Another 528 tested positive for Covid-19 including the Covid positive prison inmates.
With the 350 reported earlier the daily total has now reached 878.
Meanwhile the total number of covid cases increased to 25,410
Sri Lanka is in 97 position below Finland who is 96th in the list with 25,887 according to the worldometer tracking of country covid totals.
Sri Lanks recorded the 49th highest daily coronavirus patient count in the world today with 878 cases reported. Finland reported 420 cases today.
1,423 patients have been reported from the two days in the month of December. Yesterday the highest number of cases were reported from Colombo District.
State Minister Arundika Fernando said that former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe influenced the judiciary through MP Ranjan Ramanayake during the last yahapalanaya government.
The Minister expressed these views at a press conference held by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna today (02).
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa says that challenges need to be managed through fresh strategies to strengthen the country’s economy in the next few years.
The Prime Minister was addressing the Sri Lanka Economic Forum organized by the Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce via video technology.
The challenges facing our government in 2020 are enormous. Those challenges are not only due to Covid.
We all know that the significant downturn in our economy from 2015 to 2019 also contributed to this. But we will not hesitate to face those challenges. I will not hesitate before a challenge. No complaining. We did not waste time blaming the opposition. Instead, we fulfilled our responsibility by playing the role that the people expected of us. Accordingly, we presented the first budget of the new government. Through this we put forward the necessary proposals to achieve 5.5% growth in the economy by 2021, to maintain the tax policy unchanged and to give a new life to the economy.
We look forward to implementing these with all Government Ministers, MPs and officials in the field of administration.
The next few years will be crucial for our country. It is a time to strengthen the economic progress of our country. If we are to succeed in the coming period, we must all work together to manage these challenges. For that, we need to implement fresh strategies.”
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has instructed State Minister Channa Jayasumana to conduct a formal investigation into the drug developed by a local Ayurvedic doctor in Kegalle to control the COVID-19 virus.
The directives were issued at the meeting of the COVID-19 Task Force which held today (01).
Ayurvedic doctor Dhammika Bandara, a resident of Kegalle, was able to develop a local medicine to control the COVID-19 virus and a preliminary investigation was carried out with the intervention of a team of Western doctors.
The medicine was administered to volunteers from the COVID-19 Treatment Centers in the estate areas. As Hiru News reported, the doctors observed that the condition of the COVID patients who were given the medicine get better.
State Minister of Indigenous Medicine Promotion Sisira Jayakody speaking in Parliament yesterday (30) stated that his attention has been drawn to this medicine.
Meanwhile, this medicine has been a subject of discussion at the COVID-19 Task Force that convened under the patronage of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa today.
State Minister of Drug Production, Supply and Regulation Channa Jayasumana who participated in the event expressed his views to our news team. The State Minister also commented on the manner in which further research is being carried out on this drug.
If these opportunities are exploited with new technologies and business models, they can lead to fortune, the Sri Lankan President told the Sri Lanka virtual economic summit on Tuesday.
Colombo, December 1: The Sri Lankan President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, told the Sri Lanka Economic Virtual Summit 2020 on Tuesday, that the new normal” brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic has created new opportunities and if these are exploited with new technologies and business models, they can lead to fortune.
The pandemic has forced the adoption of many new work practices. Working from home has been normalized for most knowledge workers. Offices, where the physical presence of staff remains necessary, are devising means to improve efficiency so that work can be carried out even by a skeletal staff. Innovative technology driven solutions have been adopted to solve logistical problems. Consumers have become more familiar with using online platforms for day-to-day activities, whether in accessing financial services or for shopping.”
Such changes can potentially transform how economies operate even after this pandemic is a thing of the past. If our institutions are agile and adapt quickly, we will see gains in productivity resulting from these changes,” the President said and added: I therefore strongly encourage the development of new business models, adoption of new technologies and platforms, and improvement of infrastructure needed to support this productivity enhancing transformation. Investment is also needed in human resource development to enable our workers to make the most of these changes.”
It must be admitted, however, that some government institutions may lag behind in this regard at the moment. This is due to legacy problems including lack of infrastructure, process engineering, and training. Changing this is one of my key priorities,” the President said.
Need To Digitalize
Referring to the very recent establishment of a separate Ministry of Technology under his direct purview, the President said that it is an important step in our overall drive towards digitization.
By converging four prominent technologies—social, mobile, analytics, and cloud—we have the potential to transform the way governance works. The recent introduction of the Staysafe.gov.lk website to ease COVID19 contact tracing is a case in point. More broadly, the fostering of citizen-centric digital governance will ensure that services such as obtaining National Identity Cards, Passports, Birth Certificates, Death Certificates, Driving Licenses, Land Deeds etc., is made faster and more convenient to the public.”
The digitization of the National Persons’ Registry in particular will enable a more streamlined and secure process for identity verification. This will in turn build the foundation for improved online service delivery in many other areas, including financial services and ecommerce. It will also greatly enhance the Government’s ability to effectively widen the tax base, which will be one of the key factors in improving our fiscal position.”
Debt Burden
Since a significant issue in Sri Lanka’s current economic context is the extremely high debt burden” that Sri Lanka is faced with, the President said: The large volume of pending debt repayments is a matter of concern. It is important to stress, however, that Sri Lanka has always met its debt obligations on time and in full, and that we will continue to do so. Nevertheless, our overreliance on loans must come to an end. That is why the focus of the government is on fostering investments. We must attract more Foreign Direct Investment and encourage more local investment to drive our economic growth. With this in view, the Government is bringing in new laws to fully protect investments. We are also committed to enhancing the ease of doing business in Sri Lanka so that returns on investment can be generated faster.”
Delayed Projects
The President noted that there have been several instances of projects, including some funded by foreign governments, that have stalled due to various reasons.
Such delays are deeply problematic because they inhibit the benefits of these projects from reaching the people. They also create a negative picture about the way the country operates. The government is keen on addressing such problems that discourage investors,” he said.
India: Closest Friend And Partner”
In this context, he referred to India, our closest friend and partner” is in the process of setting up a digital unified single-window clearance system so that access to regulators, policymakers and facilitators will all be available at one point for investors.
Such mechanisms improve the speed and ease of doing business. They also enhance transparency and reduce corruption. Mechanisms to monitor project implementation and enable intervention when required are also important. Means of introducing these are being assessed.”
Look For High End Tourists
The theme of this year’s Economic Summit—Roadmap for Take Off: Driving a People-Centric Economic Revival—is very appropriate, the President said and talked about the hard hit tourism sector.
The worst hit has been Tourism, which usually contributes so much to our economy. Leaders in this industry together with the medical community must set out a plan to restart tourism as soon as possible. This plan must adhere to all health protocols and ensure tourists have an enjoyable stay in Sri Lanka while remaining isolated from the wider public. By imposing minimum lengths of stay and attracting high-spending tourists, it should maximise earnings from tourism so that the economy benefits overall.
Especially since the number of tourist arrivals may need to be limited early on, we should first reopen to the highest spending tourists we can attract. This can also reposition Sri Lanka as a destination for higher end tourists, resulting in higher revenue generated by the industry in the long term.”
New Openings
The President said that the COVID pandemic has created new industrial openings.
Despite its overall negative impact on the economy, the current situation has nonetheless provided an impetus for improvements in certain sectors including manufacturing. Increased global demand for Personal Protective Equipment has encouraged many of our strong, well established companies in the apparels sector to pivot to manufacturing these products.”
I am in fact glad to note that Sri Lanka’s export revenue in 2020 overall has fared considerably better than the ongoing pandemic would have initially led us to anticipate. This is largely due to such commendable efforts by our private sector.”
We must also understand that the disruption of global value chains and supply chains, and constraints on traditional manufacturing hubs, create space for countries like Sri Lanka to innovate, produce new things, and enter new markets.”
Our rising entrepreneurs as well as established companies must seek out new opportunities, moving beyond their comfort zones to explore new ways to deploy their talent and capital. Instead of relying on our geostrategic position and traditional industries alone, we must seek new frontiers for our resources.”
Many companies in Sri Lanka have proven their ability to tackle complex manufacturing in some industries. Their capital, management expertise, and well-trained, experienced human resources should be deployed in new areas.”
Private Sector’s Role
With the Government as an enabler, the private sector must expand its role in the economy, the President said.
It has often been pointed out that the private sector is the engine of growth. However, for the private sector to truly live up to this reputation, it must make bold investments that can potentially realise outstanding returns, instead of continually adopting conservative, low-risk strategies. The Government will play its part to unleash the full potential of the private sector so that the interests of our people will be best served. The Budget for 2021 contains a range of initiatives designed with this in mind.”
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Poultry sectors will be exempted from income tax for the next five years. Improving productivity and enhancing earnings from these sectors is critical. The private sector must introduce new technologies that enable farmers to produce more, and to target lucrative new export markets.”
Encouraging wider adoption of organic farming and traceability mechanisms will help increase the price of our produce internationally. Finding new markets and investing in better processing, storage, packaging, and transportation is important, together with increasing value addition through agricultural product processing.”
Government Support
As regards government’s support, the President said: Tax concessions will be granted for strategic investments larger than ten million US dollars in value for agricultural product processing, IT, dairy, fabric, tourism and export industries. Exports are being strongly encouraged through the removal of import taxes on required raw materials, machinery, and equipment used by direct and indirect exporters.”
New investment into digital infrastructure is being strongly encouraged. Companies in the Information Technology space must make full use of these incentives to expand and seek new markets for Sri Lankan talent. Companies must also invest more in IT education and training.”
Need For Training
Given the fast-changing nature of the industry and its high earnings potential, companies can gain enormous returns by training large numbers of young people in this field themselves, without over-relying on government-funded institutions for new recruits, the President said.
Vocational and technical education in general can benefit from much greater private sector investment, for which the Budget also provides incentives. The forced migration of education to digital platforms has shown that there are opportunities to be exploited in online education too. This is an area to which more attention can be paid by established companies as well as by Start Ups and individual entrepreneurs.”
Small and Medium Enterprises and Start Ups are being encouraged through concessionary funding schemes and the establishment of a stronger Development Bank that should lend based on assessments of project viability instead of collateral.”
Nascent domestic industries will be supported through cess that will be selectively imposed. Other initiatives including simplifying Customs Duty and related streamlining will facilitate functional economic improvements. A range of capital market incentives are also being introduced to encourage investment.”
Public-Private Partnership
Speaking about public-private sector partnership, the President said: Setting the platform for a robust economic revival requires both the public sector and the private sector to work in partnership. We must ensure that all our initiatives in various sectors are guided by a shared central vision and driven by clear objectives and actionable plans. All initiatives undertaken by both the public and the private sector must contribute to uplifting our growth trajectory. ‘
In this context, I am aware that the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce has prepared an Economic Acceleration Framework with the participation of over 70 industry professionals for the consideration of the Government. I appreciate this initiative and look forward to perusing this document. Value generating proposals will certainly receive the Government’s serious attention,” he promised.
Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of India gave the keynote speech. Other participants were: Ajith Nivard Cabraal, State Minister of Money, Capital Markets & State Enterprise Reforms and Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.
Recently TNA spokesmen and Parliamentarian MA Sumanthiran stated that while the JVP were allowed to commemorate Rohana Wijeweera’s death, the Tamils are forbidden to remember their dead. Very mischievously, Sumanthiran was not referring to the Tamil civilians who were taken hostage by the LTTE (of which the TNA was the then political proxy). By ‘Tamils’, he was actually talking about the hardcore LTTE terrorists who died during the last battles in 2009.
This distinction is very important and should never be allowed to be blurred. During the last months of the war, according to the computations of local and international bodies, almost eight thousand Tamils died. Three quarters of this number were Tamil civilians. Though principles of proportionality would not fault with this number, it must be noted that this number could have been further reduced had civilians been allowed to move out of the war zone.
Combat and civilian distinction
Instead over 300,000 Tamil civilians were forced by the LTTE into a human shield against the advancing military. The No Fire Zones (NFZ) declared by the Military were promptly infiltrated by the LTTE. They set up their military hardware in these zones. Even when international observers asked the LTTE to remove their hardware from its location in the NFZ, they immediately complied, but only to relocate it to an equally unacceptable location. Furthermore, discarding their uniforms they engaged in the offensive from among the civilians in the NFZ. This attempt to blur distinction between combat and civilian is a serious war crime.
The LTTE were deliberately attempting to make the NFZ areas also legitimate targets for the Military. The LTTE was fast losing ground to the military and were rapidly getting confined to a progressively decreasing square kilometer area.
As a terrorist organisation, the LTTE was not party to any law, treaty or obligation. Hence their despicable strategy was to create the gravest humanitarian crisis possible. Then allow international furor over the increasing civilian casualties to pressurise the Sri Lankan Government to halt its military progress.
In late March 2009, then President Mahinda Rajapaksa invited the TNA for another round of talks to end the conflict. Even though the LTTE’s defeat was imminent, the TNA refused. The TNA demanded that the Government resolved the humanitarian crisis faced by civilians trapped in the fighting.
Civilian blackmail
On 22 April 2009, LTTE media co-ordinator Velayuthan Thayanithi, alias Daya Master along with Kumar Pancharathnam, alias George – a top interpreter for the LTTE surrendered to the military. They revealed that the LTTE were forcibly keeping the civilians from escaping and were indiscriminately shooting at those who were attempting to flee. They also disclosed the LTTE was forcing underaged young teenagers to be in active combat.
The message was very clear. The LTTE would not negotiate nor lay down arms. They would continue to forcibly hold on to the civilians and then highlight the civilians’ plight. They, as throughout its macabre past, would continue to hold the civilians to blackmail the Government to withdraw. This was an armed conflict that had deteriorated over the decades into a fully-fledged war. Since its first assassination of the Jaffna Mayor Alfred Dururaippah in 1975 as he emerged from a Kovil, the LTTE had used civilians as its bargaining chip. If the Sri Lankan Military withdrew – yet again, the LTTE would simply continue to harass and harm all civilians of all ethnicities across the Island.
Even if the LTTE was allowed their goal to form an exclusive homeland for Tamils in the North and East, the situation would not have normalised. The civilians would have continued to be under grave threat. The simple truth, many that frown over the North Korean situation, but sympathetic to the LTTE cause, have not realised is that Prabakaran openly denounced democracy, and was an unapologetic fascist.
He was a law unto himself and did not tolerate political space, difference of opinion or challenge to his position. He used people for his benefit and did not hesitate to eliminate them afterwards. Outstanding examples would be the former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination whilst at an election rally in 1991, President Ranasinghe Premadasa in 1993 during a May Day rally and his own long term friend, comrade and LTTE’s second in command Mahaththaya in 1994 on the suspicion that he was collaborating with RAW.
LTTE mouthpiece
After numerous attempts of failed negotiations with many international mediators, Sri Lanka was forced to factor that Prabakaran was not reasonable. He was the LTTE’s sole authority. He owned the TNA, who could not function as any other but as LTTE’s mouthpiece. While Prabakaran was allowed to continue along his chosen path, he would be a grave danger to all.
Prabakaran’s destructiveness was not confined only to Sri Lanka. The LTTE terrorist cells that spanned from south India to beyond Malaysia and Indonesia challenged the entire region’s security. The logistics and technology the LTTE provided other terrorist groups, especially the Islamic terrorist groups threatened the whole world. The LTTE enabled these terrorist groups to connect with their far flung targets with greater ease and agility. Even the West was not spared as the LTTE money-making machinery pumped the streets with narcotics, illegal immigrants and smuggled contraband.
A military operation was the only way forward to return to peace. Yet, the matter was made complicated by the presence of the civilians, deliberately placed by the LTTE before the advancing Military with the cruel intention of creating a humanitarian catastrophe.
Ambassador Williamson’s communiqué
At this juncture, the exchange then between Geneva-based US Ambassador, Clint Williamson and ICRC head of operations for South Asia, Jacque de Maio on 9 July 2009 is noteworthy. As per the communiqué sent by Ambassador Williamson to the US State Department in 15 July 2009, the leaked cable noted that, The army was determined not to let the LTTE escape from its shrinking territory, even though this meant the civilians being kept hostage by the LTTE were at an increasing risk. So, de Maio said, while one could safely say that there were ‘serious, widespread violations of international humanitarian law,’ by the Sri Lankan forces, it didn’t amount to genocide. He (Maio) could cite examples of where the army had stopped shelling when the ICRC informed them it was killing civilians. In fact, the army actually could have won the military battle faster with higher civilian casualties, yet chose a slower approach which led to a greater number of Sri Lankan military deaths.”
On the fateful last days increasingly desperate civilians made daring attempts to escape to safety. Many used nighttime as a shield to cross the lagoon, but still had to dodge the LTTE bullets. In the process, toddlers fell to the lagoon or drowned even whilst been held by the parents. By the time Prabakaran was eliminated many children’s and young adults’s lives had been sacrificed to save his own skin. Some died in LTTE uniforms and some in their parents arms.
Families have the right to remember
Their surviving families have the right to remember their loved ones who did not survive. Therefore, Sumanthiran’s statement the Tamils are not allowed to remember their dead is erroneous and deliberately misleading. It is the celebration of the LTTE along with its paraphernalia that is banned.
Despite the LTTE’s demise, its ideology still continues. It is most unfortunate that many agents support this ideology in numerous ways for very different agendas. This makes the banning of any LTTE-related celebration significant and a threat to the country’s peace.
Wijeweera should not be celebrated
However, Sumanthiran’s observation on Rohana Wijeweera cannot be faulted. Wijeweera too created absolute havoc in this country and caused many senseless deaths. He too terrorised civilians through extremely depraved acts and disrupted the education of many. If one computes less atrocities from the JVP than from the LTTE, it is because of the lack of opportunities the JVP had than principle.
JVP might have now renounced violence. Yet they continue to be a dark energy that continues to drag Sri Lanka’s potential. JVP’s inability to support the incumbent Administration’s efforts to revive rural economy or at least applaud the Government’s structure with line ministries specifically designed to uplift traditional economies is a case in point. The Government’s focus on job creation for the poorest of the poor and capacity building to increase tertiary education opportunities is looked upon with derision by the JVP.
They claim to be fighting for the oppressed. Yet their disinterest in supporting the Administration to meet its challenging goals but instead delighting over every hiccough exposes their insincerity to their stated ideology.
Sri Lanka regained its peace at bitter costs. Both Wijeweera and Prabakaran had to be eliminated to end terrorism in the Island. Yet, their ideologies continue to provide the space to create instability within the country. Therefore, even Wijeweera’s life, just like Prabakaran’s and their respective minions’ lives should not be celebrated by any Sri Lankan.
For the benefit of Dr Dayan Jayatilleka:
These are the views of the writer alone and do not reflect on any organisation that the writer may be attached to ranasingheshivanthi@gmail.com
A high-level investigation into the Mahara Prison riot took an unexpected turn yesterday (1) following the revelation that the prison dispensary had stored over 21,000 tablets prescribed for mental disorders and sleeping pills.
Police spokesperson DIG Ajith Rohana told a joint media briefing called by the Police Headquarters and the Prisons Department, in Colombo, that they were quite surprised that such a large stock of tablets was maintained. He said it had to be found out who had ordered the stock, how inmates got addicted to such substances, and whether a doctor attached to the Mahara Prison hospital had instigated prisoners to demand PCR tests.
DIG Rohana said that on the directions of the IGP C.D. Wickremaratne as per the instructions received from Defence Secretary Maj. Gen. Kamal Gunaratne, a 12 -member team from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was inquiring into the riot.
DIG Rohana said those who had been addicted to heroin and cocaine were believed to have used tablets prescribed to mental patients.
Prisons Commissioner Chandana Ekanayake (Administration) said that those who popped the tablets had turned on each other. Quoting officers who had been at the scene last Sunday (29) Ekanayake said they had never witnessed such scenes of violent behaviour among prisoners before.
Responding to a media query, Ekanayake emphasised that the Mahara Prison riot had erupted suddenly whereas they received intelligence warning of possible trouble at some other prisons.
National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Weerawansa told Parliament, on Monday, that the prison riot was part of a sinister plan to bring President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government into disrepute.
The media was told that at the time of the riot there had been 2,782 inmates at the Mahara Prisons complex. 585 were convicts and others suspects, DIG Rohana said, alleging that they had initiated Sunday’s violence. What initially started as common demand for all of them to be subjected to RT-PCR tests quickly had led to a riot, the DIG said.
DIG Rohana, who is also the head of the Police Legal Division, said that a section of those rioters had made repeated attempts to escape. Having failed, they had set fire to buildings within the complex. Among those destroyed were the Registry and the offices of top officials in charge of the prison.
The media was told one more inmate admitted to the Ragama Teaching Hospital had succumbed to his injuries yesterday. With that the total number of dead increased to nine, while 105 continued to receive treatment. Besides, two Prison officers taken hostage and badly assaulted by the rioters were receiving treatment at the same hospital. Several hours after the conclusion of the media briefing Police headquarters said that two more persons had succumbed to their injuries.
At the beginning of the briefing Ekanayake said that of over 2,700 prisoners, approximately 1,600 had gone on the rampage. Trouble erupted while they were being served food in line with health guidelines. They broke out from where they were held and swiftly gathered close to the main gate. They demanded immediate PCR tests on them.”
Ekanayake said 187 inmates had tested positive by then.
The rioters had attacked the main gate, Ekanayake said. Officers opened fire having failed to bring the situation under control by shooting rubber bullets.” He said the situation had taken a turn for the worse after inmates took tablets meant for mental patients.
DIG Rohana said that of the 106 who had received injuries, 80 suffered as a result of violence among the prison community. Of the injured, only 26 were believed to have received gunshot injuries, DIG Rohana said.
Commissioner Ekanayake alleged that both the dead and the wounded were those in custody on narcotic charges.
Seventy eight coronavirus positive inmates had since been moved to a quarantine facility at Adalachchenai in the Akkaraipattu police area, DIG Rohana said.
DIG Rohana said those who had been granted bail couldn’t be immediately released as the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) had issued specific instructions on subjecting inmates to two weeks quarantine before release.
DIG Rohana said that following the removal of the injured and the dead to the Ragama hospital, those granted bail and infected inmates had been moved to a special section within the Welikada Prison complex and about 2,400 remained in the Mahara Prison.
Rohana said that among them were a large number of inmates who hadn’t been involved in violence. Acknowledging that the prisons complex wasn’t yet under the control of the jailers, the DIG said that the Police, including the Special Task Force (STF) and the Prison security were making plans to carry out an operation to restore normalcy. He said they would implement a special plan while the police backed by the STF maintained its presence outside the prison.
The police deployment consisted of 400 police and 200 STF personnel.
Both Police and Prisons officers couldn’t confirm whether at least some inmates had managed to escape though they believed such attempts were thwarted.
DIG Rohana said that the rioting inmates had been prevented from seizing the armoury.
The Parliamentary Consultative Committee on Defence, too, discussed the availability of three varieties of pills totalling 21,000 meant for mental patients at the Prison. Defence Secretary Maj. Gen. Gunaratne briefed the CC on the matter and steps taken by authorities to bring the situation under control.
DIG. Rohana told the media that he had requested Justice Minister Ali Sabry, PC, to leave him out of a special committee headed by retired HC judge Kusala Sarojini Weerawardena tasked with inquiring into the riot due to conflict of interests as his duties and responsibilities as the Police Spokesperson clashed with the probe undertaken by the committee.
Sri Lanka’s Covid-19 death toll escalated to 122 today (December 01), the Director-General of Health Services announced a short while ago.
The new development came after the confirmation of 04 virus-related fatalities from Kolonnawa, Rajagiriya, Colombo 10 and Colombo 12 areas.
The details of the victims are as follows:
A 74-year-old male who was residing in Colombo 12 has passed away at his home on Sunday (29). The cause of death was cited as shock lethal caused by a germ infection while he was positive for Covid-19.
A woman from Rajagiriya, aged 93, has died of Covid-19 infection, blood poisoning and skin infection. This fatality has been recorded as home death. Reports revealed that she died on the 28th of November.
In the meantime, another 74-year-old fell victim to the virus on Sunday (29). This woman, who was residing in Kolonnawa area, had died of brain hemorrhage and Covid-19 infection.
Another male, an 81-year-old from Colombo 10 area, has died on Monday (30). He had been transferred from a private hospital to Mulleriyawa Base Hospital, after testing positive for the virus. The cause of death was determined as a chronic lung disease exacerbated by Covid-19 infection.
Sri Lanka’s Covid-19 figures saw another surge today (01), as 277 more persons were tested positive for the virus.
The Government Information Department stated that 273 of the newly-identified patients are 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 20,983.
In addition, 04 arrivals from foreign countries – two each from Japan and UAE – were also tested positive for the virus.
Accordingly, the country has registered a total of 545 active cases within the day.
As per Epidemiology Unit data, the total number of Covid-19 infections confirmed in the country to date now stands at 24,532.
Recoveries from the virus meanwhile climbed to 17,817 earlier today, as 257 more patients regained health.
However, 6,593 active cases are still under medical care at selected hospitals and treatment centres located across the island.
Sri Lanka has also witnessed 122 deaths related to Covid-19.
The death toll following the Mahara Prison riot has hiked 11, stated Police Media Spokesperson DIG Ajith Rohana.
A total of 107 persons injured in the incident are currently receiving treatment at the Ragama Hospital, he added.
Unrest at the Mahara Prison broke out on Sunday evening (29) when a group of inmates attempted to escape the facility following a conflict with prison officials.
Prison authorities had opened fire to control the situation and a team of Police Special Task Force (STF) personnel was deployed to assist prison authorities.
Subsequently, a massive fire had broken out at the prison after several inmates set fire to the health office, a storage area, and several other places within the prison.
The fire had raged on until 3.00 am yesterday (30) and was later completely extinguished with help of 06 fire trucks.
Two prison officials who were held hostage by prison inmates were also rescued.
Meanwhile, Rapid Antigen Tests carried out on the hospitalized inmates confirmed that a total of 38 hospitalized inmates are positive for Covid-19.
It was later revealed that the rioting inmates had also broken into the prison’s medical section and consumed the stored pharmaceuticals including the ones used to treat mental illnesses resulting them being more violent.
The Attorney General has instructed the IGP to take immediate steps due to Covid-19 to develop an action plan and implement directions to release prisoners on bail by Monday, in order to reduce prison overcrowding.
The AG’s coordinating officer State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne stated that the Attorney General had issued instructions to the IGP on filing cases pertaining to drug-related offences on November 09 and 16.
As there is an urgent need to reduce the number of prison inmates immediately due to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic situation, the Justice Minister had today requested the Attorney General to take suitable actions in this regard.
A special discussion on this was held today between the Attorney General, the Chief Legal advisor to the Ministry of Justice President’s Counsel U. R. De Silva, Director (Legal Range) DIG Ajith Rohana and SSP Ruwan Gunasekara.
It was revealed that the process of releasing prisoners on bail was not being practically implemented as the recommendations of the Attorney General were still not being properly carried out with regard to filing cases for drug offences.
Therefore the AG instructed the IGP in writing today to develop a proper action plan before December 03 (Wednesday) with regard to all prisoners across the island and to implement it next Monday (07).
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has appointed Justice Arjuna Obeysekara as new the President of the Court of Appeal.
Marking a new milestone in the judicial system of the country, 21 new Judges to superior courts were sworn in before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Six new Judges to the Supreme Court and 14 new Judges to the Court of Appeal took oaths before President Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat today (1).
Justice Arjuna Obeysekara was sworn in as the President of the Court of Appeal.
Judges appointed to the Court of Appeal
1. Ms Menaka Wijesundera
2. Mr D. N. Samarakoon
3. Mr M Prasantha de Silva
4. Mr M. T. M. Laffar
5. Mr C. Pradeep Keerthisinghe
6. Mr Sampath B Abayakoon
7. Mr M. S. K. B. Wijeratne
8. Mr S. U. B. Karalliyadde
9. Mr R. Gurusinghe
10. Mr G. A. D. Ganepola
11. Mrs K. K. A. V. Swarnadhipathi
12. Mr Mayadunne Corea
13. Mr Prabaharan Kumararatnam
14. Mr W. N. N. P. Iddawala
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa addressing the gathering pledged to support independence of the judiciary and ensured its functioning is free of politicization and other forms of interference.
The judicial cadre of both the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal has remained static since 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 forty years. There have been many advancements in the law and litigation has increased exponentially in this time. However, there has not been a corresponding increase in the number of judges”.
The efficient administration of justice is not only important in terms of upholding the rule of law, it is also vital to the economic development of this nation, the President said adding that reliable, efficient and effective dispute resolution through the justice system will foster the nation’s progress.
Chief Justice Jayantha C Jayasooriya, Secretary to the President P. B. Jayasundera, Principal Advisor to the President Lalith Weeratunga were also present.
Full text of the speech at the swearing in of judges:
Honourable Chief Justice of Sri Lanka Honourable Justices of the Supreme Court Honourable President of the Court of Appeal Honourable Justices of the Court of Appeal Ladies and gentlemen
It gives me great pleasure to address Your Lordships on the occasion of your elevation to the superior courts of our country. First of all, let me wish your Lordships a very successful tenure. In my view, this is the first time in judicial history that a mass swearing in of this magnitude has taken place. I consider it a signal honour to administer oaths to such a galaxy of men and women so learned in the law.
The judicial cadre of both the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal has remained static since 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 forty years. There have been many advancements in the law and litigation has increased exponentially in this time. 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. Amongst the many reasons that prompted this change is the perennial problem of the law’s delays.
There is a popular saying that Justice delayed is Justice denied”. 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.
The efficient administration of justice is not only important in terms of upholding the rule of law, it is also vital to the economic development of this nation. Reliable, efficient and effective dispute resolution through the justice system will foster the nation’s progress.
At present, it takes a long time to enforce a contract in Sri Lanka. We have been ranked 161st out of 189 countries for the enforcement of contracts, and the Sri Lankan legal system is ranked 5th out of 8 in South Asia. These indicators must improve.
The Government understands the importance of a strong, efficient and independent justice system, and it is deeply aware of the need to enhance its capacity. Today’s solemn swearing in ceremony took place against this backdrop, and as a key step taken by the Government to redress this issue.
Access to justice today 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 dignities of your high office, to discharge your duties with integrity and independence, and to ensure that justice is dispensed equitably to all.
In this context, it is a matter of some concern that there has been an onslaught on the dignity and independence of legal systems. I am deeply committed to supporting the independence of the judiciary and ensuring that its functioning is free of politicization and other forms of interference. 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.
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 uplifting of the dilapidated courtrooms throughout the country, assistance in digitising laborious manual processes to enhance efficiency, and providing greater funding for training of personnel in the judicial system, together with other identified requirements.
Through this, and through your efficient and judicious discharging 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 Cabinet and the government have decided that Sri Lanka will no longer obtain foreign loans to implement projects, says Co-Cabinet Spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella.
He mentioned during the online press conference held to inform Cabinet decisions, earlier today (01).
The Minister said that in the future, the government will use Build–operate–transfer (BOT), Build Own Operate (BOO), and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) approaches or foreign investments for projects.
Rambukwella added that if Sri Lanka continues to obtain more loans, it will exceed the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, addressing the Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2020 today (01), said Sri Lanka’s over-reliance on loans must come to an end and insisted on attracting more foreign direct investments while encouraging local investment to drive the country’s economic growth.
Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2020, themed Roadmap for Take-off: Driving a People-Centric Economic Revival”, kicked off this morning with the patronage of President Rajapaksa.
The Inaugural session featured addresses by Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of the Republic of India Shrimathi Nirmala Sitharaman, State Minister of Money, Capital Markets & State Enterprise Reforms Ajith Nivard Cabraal and Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Hans Wijayasuriya.
Addressing the Summit, the President noted that the focus of the Government is on fostering investments, adding that new laws will be brought in to fully protect investments. We are also committed to enhancing the ease of doing business in Sri Lanka so that returns on investment can be generated faster.”
He further highlighted that leaders in the pandemic-hit tourism industry, together with the medical community, must set out a plan to restart tourism as soon as possible.
The President pointed out that the number of tourist arrivals may need to be limited early on, hence, the country should first reopen to the highest spending tourists. This can also reposition Sri Lanka as a destination for higher-end tourists, resulting in higher revenue generated by the industry in the long term.”
Following the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, innovative, technology-driven solutions have been adopted to solve logistical problems, the President said adding that consumers have become more familiar with using online platforms for day-to-day activities, whether in accessing financial services or for shopping.
He, therefore, encouraged the development of new business models, adoption of new technologies and platforms, and improvement of infrastructure needed to support this productivity-enhancing transformation. Investment is also needed in human resource development to enable the workers to make the most of these changes, the President pointed out.
He went on to note that fostering the creation of a Technology-Based Society” that improves services available to citizens whilst enabling our industries to compete globally is a key pillar of the Vision he articulated before his election as President.
Full text of the speech delivered by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is as follows:
– Shrimathi Nirmala Sitharaman, Honourable Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of the Republic of India – Ajith Nivard Cabraal, State Minister of Money, Capital Markets & State Enterprise Reforms – Hans Wijayasuriya, Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce – Distinguished Invitees – Ladies and Gentlemen.
It gives me great pleasure to address you this morning at the inaugural session of the Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2020. I take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to Shrimathi Nirmala Sitharaman, Honourable Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs of the Republic of India for gracing this session as its Keynote Speaker.
This year, with the prevailing global pandemic, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce has taken the commendable step of hosting this Summit on a virtual platform.
During the past six weeks, the Government has focused intensively on containing the threat posed by the second wave of the virus. However, unlike in the early stages of the pandemic, a lot more is known about it now. This allows us to better balance the twin imperatives of containing the virus on the one hand and ensuring continued economic activity on the other. We must all adapt to this new normal.
In some ways, this new normal has had beneficial consequences. It has forced the adoption of many new work practices. Working from home has been normalised for most knowledge workers. Offices, where the physical presence of staff remains necessary, are devising means to improve efficiency so that work can be carried out even by a skeletal staff. Innovative technology-driven solutions have been adopted to solve logistical problems. Consumers have become more familiar with using online platforms for day-to-day activities, whether in accessing financial services or for shopping.
Such changes can potentially transform how economies operate even after this pandemic is a thing of the past. If our institutions are agile and adapt quickly, we will see gains in productivity resulting from these changes.
I therefore strongly encourage the development of new business models, adoption of new technologies and platforms, and improvement of infrastructure needed to support this productivity-enhancing transformation. Investment is also needed in human resource development to enable our workers to make the most of these changes.
It must be admitted, however, that some Government institutions may lag behind in this regard at the moment. This is due to legacy problems including lack of infrastructure, process engineering, and training. Changing this is one of my key priorities.
The very recent establishment of a separate Ministry of Technology under my direct purview is an important step in our overall drive towards digitization. Fostering the creation of a Technology-Based Society” that improves services available to citizens whilst enabling our industries to compete globally is a key pillar of the Vision I articulated before my election as President.
By converging four prominent technologies—social, mobile, analytics, and cloud—we have the potential to transform the way governance works. The recent introduction of the Staysafe.gov.lk website to ease COVID19 contact tracing is a case in point.
More broadly, the fostering of citizen-centric digital governance will ensure that services such as obtaining National Identity Cards, Passports, Birth Certificates, Death Certificates, Driving Licenses, Land Deeds etc., is made faster and more convenient to the public.
The digitisation of the National Persons’ Registry, in particular, will enable a more streamlined and secure process for identity verification. This will in turn build the foundation for improved online service delivery in many other areas, including financial services and ecommerce. It will also greatly enhance the Government’s ability to effectively widen the tax base, which will be one of the key factors in improving our fiscal position.
A significant issue in Sri Lanka’s current economic context is the extremely high debt burden we are faced with. The large volume of pending debt repayments is a matter of concern. It is important to stress, however, that Sri Lanka has always met its debt obligations on time and in full, and that we will continue to do so.
Nevertheless, our overreliance on loans must come to an end. That is why the focus of the Government is on fostering investments. We must attract more Foreign Direct Investment and encourage more local investment to drive our economic growth. With this in view, the Government is bringing in new laws to fully protect investments. We are also committed to enhancing the ease of doing business in Sri Lanka so that returns on investment can be generated faster.
In this context, I must also note there have been several instances of projects, including some funded by foreign Governments, that have stalled due to various reasons. Such delays are deeply problematic because they inhibit the benefits of these projects from reaching the people. They also create a negative picture about the way the country operates.
The Government is keen on addressing such problems that discourage investors. I note with interest that our closest friend and partner India is in the process of setting up a digital unified single-window clearance system so that access to regulators, policymakers and facilitators will all be available at one point for investors.
Such mechanisms improve the speed and ease of doing business. They also enhance transparency and reduce corruption. Mechanisms to monitor project implementation and enable intervention when required are also important. Means of introducing these are being assessed.
The theme of this year’s Economic Summit—Roadmap for Take Off: Driving a People-Centric Economic Revival—is very appropriate for our present circumstances. Several key economic areas have been badly affected.
The worst hit has been Tourism, which usually contributes so much to our economy. Leaders in this industry together with the medical community must set out a plan to restart tourism as soon as possible. This plan must adhere to all health protocols and ensure tourists have an enjoyable stay in Sri Lanka while remaining isolated from the wider public. By imposing minimum lengths of stay and attracting high-spending tourists, it should maximise earnings from tourism so that the economy benefits overall.
Especially since the number of tourist arrivals may need to be limited early on, we should first reopen to the highest spending tourists we can attract. This can also reposition Sri Lanka as a destination for higher end tourists, resulting in higher revenue generated by the industry in the long term.
Despite its overall negative impact on the economy, the current situation has nonetheless provided an impetus for improvements in certain sectors including manufacturing. Increased global demand for Personal Protective Equipment has encouraged many of our strong, well-established companies in the apparels sector to pivot to manufacturing these products.
I am in fact glad to note that Sri Lanka’s export revenue in 2020 overall has fared considerably better than the ongoing pandemic would have initially led us to anticipate. This is largely due to such commendable efforts by our private sector.
We must also understand that the disruption of global value chains and supply chains, and constraints on traditional manufacturing hubs, create space for countries like Sri Lanka to innovate, produce new things, and enter new markets.
Our rising entrepreneurs as well as established companies must seek out new opportunities, moving beyond their comfort zones to explore new ways to deploy their talent and capital. Instead of relying on our geostrategic position and traditional industries alone, we must seek new frontiers for our resources.
Many companies in Sri Lanka have proven their ability to tackle complex manufacturing in some industries. Their capital, management expertise, and well-trained, experienced human resources should be deployed in new areas.
With the Government as an enabler, the private sector must expand its role in the economy. It has often been pointed out that the private sector is the engine of growth. However, for the private sector to truly live up to this reputation, it must make bold investments that can potentially realise outstanding returns, instead of continually adopting conservative, low-risk strategies.
The Government will play its part to unleash the full potential of the private sector so that the interests of our people will be best served. The Budget for 2021 contains a range of initiatives designed with this in mind.
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Poultry sectors will be exempted from income tax for the next five years. Improving productivity and enhancing earnings from these sectors is critical. The private sector must introduce new technologies that enable farmers to produce more, and to target lucrative new export markets.
Encouraging wider adoption of organic farming and traceability mechanisms will help increase the price of our produce internationally. Finding new markets and investing in better processing, storage, packaging, and transportation is important, together with increasing value addition through agricultural product processing.
Tax concessions will be granted for strategic investments larger than ten million US dollars in value for agricultural product processing, IT, dairy, fabric, tourism and export industries. Exports are being strongly encouraged through the removal of import taxes on required raw materials, machinery, and equipment used by direct and indirect exporters.
New investment into digital infrastructure is being strongly encouraged. Companies in the Information Technology space must make full use of these incentives to expand and seek new markets for Sri Lankan talent. Companies must also invest more in IT education and training.
Given the fast-changing nature of the industry and its high earnings potential, companies can gain enormous returns by training large numbers of young people in this field themselves, without over-relying on Government-funded institutions for new recruits.
Vocational and technical education, in general, can benefit from much greater private sector investment, for which the Budget also provides incentives. The forced migration of education to digital platforms has shown that there are opportunities to be exploited in online education too. This is an area to which more attention can be paid by established companies as well as by Start-Ups and individual entrepreneurs.
Small and Medium Enterprises and Start-Ups are being encouraged through concessionary funding schemes and the establishment of a stronger Development Bank that should lend based on assessments of project viability instead of collateral.
Nascent domestic industries will be supported through cess that will be selectively imposed. Other initiatives including simplifying Customs Duty and related streamlining will facilitate functional economic improvements. A range of capital market incentives are also being introduced to encourage investment.
Setting the platform for a robust economic revival requires both the public sector and the private sector to work in partnership. We must ensure that all our initiatives in various sectors are guided by a shared central vision and driven by clear objectives and actionable plans. All initiatives undertaken by both the public and the private sector must contribute to uplifting our growth trajectory.
In this context, I am aware that the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce has prepared an Economic Acceleration Framework with the participation of over 70 industry professionals for the consideration of the Government. I appreciate this initiative and look forward to perusing this document. Value generating proposals will certainly receive the Government’s serious attention.
I trust that over these two days, the speakers, panellists and the leading luminaries from the public and the private sector participating in this Summit will give considered thought to innovative ways and means of fostering a truly people-centric economic revival.
Together, we have the opportunity to make a transformative and beneficial difference to Sri Lanka’s future.
In concluding these remarks, I wish to reassure you of my great and sincere confidence that together, we shall.
The Supreme Court has rejected the petitions filed challenging the gazette notification on the cremation of bodies of COVID-19 victims.
Eleven petitions were filed seeking a court order invalidating the gazette notification declaring cremation of COVID-19 victims compulsory.
The petitions were heard before a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, and Justices Murdu Fernando and Preethi Padman Surasena yesterday (30) and today (01).
Declaring the verdict after considering the petitions, Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya stated that all the petitions are rejected with the majority consensus of the Judge Bench.
When the petitions were considered yesterday, the legal team representing the petitioners, including President’s Counsels M. A. Sumanthiran, Faizer Mustapha, Saliya Peiris, and Nisham Kariyapper, pointed out to the court that there is no scientific evidence has been found that the virus spreads from the bodies of COVID-19 victims.
It
considers the unity among different community groups in a country will be an
essential condition and ingredient for prosperity and strength, either in
economic achievements or political stability. When critically tests the era of
King Parakramabahu the Great, the idea is confirmed with much evidence. The archetype had in mind of people in
history as no challenging forces against the unity of communities, and people
lived consistently maintaining unity. Before convincing Buddhism in Sri Lanka,
had primitive religious beliefs, and they were not a concrete factor for
dividing people, and people associated with primitive beliefs to gain mental
relief when they discomfort with mental stress in day-to-day life. Before
coming to the country Buddhist religious preachers and the organised religions,
it seemed people enjoyed the spirit and purposes of religions and responded to
religious messages as they were beneficial to mentally well-balanced and living
together in a harmonious society.
In
social media, many self-designated experts about the history of Sri Lanka asseverate
a contradictory opinion about historical findings on the civilization or affability
aspects of people who lived in the country.
The idea has less probability or negative probability to acceptance, and
self-designated experts describe and preach, and attempt to make exaggerated
views to populate despite right confirmation for arguments. This situation may
have created as social media allows to express independent views without
authenticity. Who gives the right direction for these experts is a difficult
task to determine, but a point that could agree with them is that people had
lived in the country before arriving Vijaya with a group from India who influenced
and contributed to change the culture of people in history, and have no
evidence to prove that historical community in the country were different
people who had a distinct culture that deviated from the Indian culture. To prove the cultural aspects of ancient
inhabitants of Sri Lanka need clear evidence from archaeological findings, and
the gratifying truth was they were a part of the Indian culture and practiced
the heritage of knowledge and skills gained from Indian society.
Culture
means rules and regulations of society that inflicted to respect and discipline
the behavior of people, and supported to build civilization. I noticed that all
those so-called historians agree with an idea that homo sapiens lived in Sri
Lanka who did not divide on an ethnic or religious basis. The culture of homo
sapiens may have homogeneous nature all over the world or deviated from one
place to another. The vital aspect of the dispute connecting society believed
existed in Sri Lanka might be valued to conclude homo sapiens converted to
modern humans, with deviated culture arrived from other parts of the world, so-called
history teachers or adroit have not specifically disclosed, interpreted, and
viewed on behavioural aspects of homo sapiens and historical people, therefore,
it is logical to express people lived in historical Sri Lankan society had a
unique association with humans who lived in India. This was the reason to
designate humans who lived in Sri Lanka were anthropological Indians.
Buddhist
religion arrived in Sri Lanka with an organised spiritual structure, and its
non-violence policy attracted people, and gradually, it became an organised
religious institution working along with the political administration of the
kings and queens. Buddhism did not want to collide with Hinduism as the origin
of Buddhism was through Hinduism, and many concepts such as God, reincarnation,
worshiping Gods, and many practical aspects of both religions related to each
other. The origin of Hinduism also has evidenced its cradled ancient religious
beliefs such as Greek and other cultures.
Buddhism
strongly supported the unity of people, and the third time visit of Lord Buddha
to Sri Lanka reported it purposed to settle a conflict among two community
leaders of the country, and people accepted the role played Buddha and the
religion, and the political administration of the country did not want to clash
with Buddhism, and people agreed to go forward with Buddhist policies. From the
point of view of many scholars, Buddhism attempted to maintain the unity of
people despite the philosophical differences of a variety of religions.
Christianity
and Islam arrived in Sri Lanka with a unique style of beliefs and
strategies. Both religions were originated
in the middle eastern culture, which had obvious historical conflicts with each
other, and the philosophy and religious beliefs of Hinduism and Buddhism
contradicted with Christianity and Islam. The concept of a sovereign God in
both religions, Christianity and Islam is analogous, but practitioners attempt
to show that they were distinct. No religious scholar has shown that both
religions, Christianity and Islam are philosophically not assailed from
specific points, and it seems both religions are philosophically similar, and
historical experience also shows despite attempts to deviate both religions,
philosophically they are identical. The
concept of God in Islam shows the belief either gained from Judaism or
Christianity, and the historical disunity of communities wanted to maintain
separate religions, and why they want to maintain disjoined religions, could
only answer by God.
The
great reformists such as Martin Luther described certain features and worships
in the Catholic Church disinclination to give priority to the concept of God,
and religious leaders in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam failed logically
thinking on the concept and beliefs, and accept the uniqueness of God in three
religions than any other worships such as saints. Most probably the conflicts
or divisions may have incurred as an error of human thinking, and attempt to
interpret the religions making strange additions than to the originators. A
religious belief that is supreme or false could be seen after the death of a
person, and the intractable situation is when a person passed away the ability
of vision of the person destroyed. In
such a situation, how could a person see the supreme truth of religion? Despite
this, many people agree religions contributed massively to human civilization.
Many
Buddhist scholars are of opinion that Christianity arrived in Sri Lanka as an
invader with the political and armed power of a Western country. If Christianity arrived in Sri Lanka in the
way other religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam) arrived, Christianity will
be a religion like other religions and will not subject to divide the united
country. The actions taken to spread Christianity in Sri Lanka by Portuguese
invaders were unacceptable and displayed cruelty, and in modern terms of
international interpretation were war crimes. There are historical findings that
Christianity was in Sri Lanka in the Anuradhapura era, but it was not recognised
by neither Sinhala nor Tamil people.
As
long as Islam became a peaceful religion, Buddhists did not consider Islam was
a threat to the unity of the country and allowed to breathe in the country.
Buddhist scholars were reluctant to make religious hate because of the
fundamental teaching of Buddhism to educate hate is a vicious quality of humans,
however, after the oil crisis in the early 1970s, Buddhist and Christian
scholars suspected the role of Islam and its practical aspect. As Robert Knox
stated, people who lived in Sri Lanka including the King, Rajasinha 2 of Kandy
suspected the role played by Islam. The converting people of Maldives to Islam
further suspected the role.
The
roles have been played by religions in the country since arriving in
Christianity mutated, and the unity of communities challenged, and religious
leaders of the country did not consider that the disunity of the society will
be a problem for a future generation when dealing with various issues. However, religious differences indirectly
promoted disunity, and neither the political administration nor the religious
administration promoted strategies to educate the vicious aspects of the
differences. The behaviour of religions in Sri Lanka should have the religions
worked in society before arrived Buddhism and religious leaders should have
canvassed this matter and get together to maintain the unity among
communities. In this situation,
Christian churches would have contributed to eradicating religious hate with
the Carbrooke Cameron Reforms. As Professor K. M. de Silva interpreted (The
Island Story- A brief history of Sri Lanka Chapter 16), the behavior of the
British rulers and religious leaders of Christianity may have contributed to
the disunity of the country.
The
Catholic church in Sri Lanka attempted to change religious hate as the Second
Vatican Council started by Pope John 23RD directed talk between
religions, and the catholic church had listened to the modernization within the
church, and many policies secretly maintained disrespecting the modernization
of the church. The catholic secretly maintained a political alliance with
capitalist political parties against socialist views and promoted disunity
within the society of Sri Lanka using the provision of education that
indirectly promoted division and reconciliation and association with
Buddhists.
Since
invading the country by Europeans Christian churches began expanding education
that helps the progress of society. After political independence in 1948, local
leaders of Christian churches have used education to make money and abet rich
by vicious practices such as insisting entrance fees for Christian schools (contributions) besides monthly school fees.
Major Christian schools refused to admit poor Christian kids though they are
living very closer to the school, charging a large or accepting a large sum of
fees or donations from Non-Christians admitted to Christian schools. For this
purpose, past pupil associations have been used to cover the cases. The entire
behavior of Christian church leaders was contradictory to the philosophy of
Christianity and promoted the disunity of society. If it happened in the colonial
period the practice of the church would have rejected the colonial rule. This
dirty policy is still intact in Sri Lanka and a Catholic-bishop who designated
himself as the in-charge of Catholic Education in Colombo archdiocese reluctant
to give an answer when I inquired about anti-christ policy in 2019 when he
visited Australia seeking donations from Sri Lankan and avoided talking with
me.
Education is a human
right and Christian churches overseas are never supposed to provide Christian
education based on a wealth of people, in holy scripts, Jesus Christ explained,
but church leaders in Sri Lanka have rejected Christ and loved wealthy people.
This is how Christian churches promoted disunity in Sri Lanka.
For seven
decades from the end of the World War II in 1945, the US Seventh fleet
dominated the Pacific area and provided much of its security said TIME. US was supported in this task, by the ‘Five Eyes’ a
highly secretive intelligence alliance of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States. According to Wikipedia, this expanded to Nine Eyes with
Denmark, France, Netherlands, Norway and then Fourteen Eyes with Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Sweden joining in.
Some of these
countries, it appears cannot stand on their own. They need a protector. New Zealand said they like US being in the
region, but if the US is not there the void has to be filled and it will be
filled by China. NATO also said it could not do without the
USA.
However, USA
is not a global superpower anymore said TIME. The US does not carry as much
weight in the world economy as it used to. Earlier it was the US which was the
single largest contributor to world growth. But now the Chinese economy has overtaken it. When the US share of the world economy falls,
its ability to wield influence will become less, said analysts.
When the 21 century
began, US found that it was not as strong as it used to be. USA was no longer able
to fight wars by itself. U.S. Army was ranked
“weak” in the Heritage
Foundation’s 2017 Index of U.S. Military Power.
US Air force
consists of ‘old models’, in stark contrast to its rivals. US Navy maintains a
moderate global presence, but has little ability to meet wartime demands. Naval air power, which since World War II has
been the main weapon in the U.S. arsenal, is no longer effective.USA can no
longer scare away countries, by dispatching carriers or guided missile cruisers
to loiter menacingly offshore.
Analysts observed in October 2019, that the U.S. Navy isn’t
ready to take on even Iran. Iran has a domestically
produced Noor antiship missile (a reverse-engineered copy of a Chinese cruise
missile) which was dangerous at over 100 miles. In 2016, the USS Mason, a
destroyer ship, discovered this when it was targeted by several Noor missiles.
The combination of these missiles and Iran’s fleet of fast and cheap patrol
boats has been enough to keep the USS Lincoln out of the Persian Gulf in 2019.
China’s army, on the other hand was getting stronger. Robert D
Kaplan said in 2009 that in the next
decade, China’s navy will have more warships than the United States’. China is
producing and acquiring submarines five times as fast as is the United States.
In addition to submarines, the Chinese have wisely focused on buying naval
mines, ballistic missiles that can hit moving targets at sea, and technology
that blocks signals from GPS satellites, on which the U.S. Navy depends.
Regardless of this, US is getting ready for war against China, and
plans to fight China, not only in South
China Sea, but also in the Indian Ocean.US wishes to prevent the rise of China
as a superpower.
Head of the US
Indo-Pacific command, Davidson, made a statement to the Senate Armed Services Committee in
February 2019, where he identified
China as the enemy and Indo Pacific as USA’s ‘priority theater’ of war. He called for
‘combat-ready deterrence’ to ‘win before fighting’ and, if necessary, ‘be ready
to fight and win.’ The armed
forces are to be ‘forward-postured in the region.’
But US alone cannot stand up to China, other countries must also
come in, US said. The challenges we face in the Indo-Pacific extend beyond what
any single country can address alone, admitted USA. USA is therefore
seeking alliances and partnerships, with
like-minded countries to fight in the
war.
US has set up
an anti-Chinese axis using India and Japan. This
became the Quadrilateral Security
Dialogue (Quad) a
military alliance between the United States, Japan, Australia and India . This has become
QUAD plus”, with UK and France added said analysts in 2019. The QUAD is
essentially a military strategic alliance to counter emerging threats from
China in the Indo-Pacific region. Warships of the Quad- were to meet in
November 2020 in Malabar naval exercise off the Goa coast.
It appears
that the Quad alone is not enough to contain China. USA needs a further Joint
Force that can act as an effective deterrent and also win in a conflict. In November 2020 Secretary of the US Navy announced
that he wants to set up a new fleet,” ‘in the crossroads’ between Indian &
Pacific Oceans, where it could act as a deterrent. We can’t just rely on the Seventh Fleet.
US has also concocted a new international region, the
‘Indo-Asia-Pacific Region’, which includes the Indian Ocean and the Pacific
Ocean. US president Barrack Obama
identified Indo-Pacific as the Centre of its international security strategy. The Indo –Pacific region has now become
important, said the US Defence Department in 2019. However, there is no such
thing as an ‘Indo-Pacific’, said Tamara Kunanayagam.
USA admits that it is not located in the Indian Ocean. USA is
located in the Pacific Ocean. However, USA says it is linked to its
Indo-Pacific neighbors through unbreakable bonds of shared history, culture,
commerce, and values.” It therefore has
an enduring commitment to uphold a free and open Indo-Pacific in which all
nations, regardless of size, are able to exercise their sovereignty free from
coercion by other countries.
USA wishes to promote a rules-based free and open Indo-Pacific. The US
wants to see a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific that respects principles such
as peaceful resolution of disputes, freedom of navigation, open and transparent
investment environments, and strong and responsible governing institutions.
Germany’ also
said it wishes to see rules-based orderinthe Indo-Pacific region. While Germany
is not an Indo-Pacific nation, many European states are joining the
Indo-Pacific axis for the enormous trade potential in Asia, Germany said. The
shape of tomorrow’s international order will be decided in the Indo-Pacific. Germany should play an active role in this.
Kevin Rudd,
former Prime Minister of Australia was very encouraging towards USA. It’s
important for Americans to understand that they are still in an extraordinarily
powerful position in relation to both China and the rest of the world, Rudd
said, in September 2020.
America
remains a powerful country in economic terms, in technological terms and in
military terms, and against all three measures still today more powerful than
China. In the case of the military, significantly more powerful than China,
said Rudd., America’s military remains formidable.
Americans
shouldn’t talk themselves out of global leadership in the future. Of course,
the gap is beginning to narrow, but this will take a long period of time, and
there are a number of potential mishaps for China, concluded Rudd.
Former United
States Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger is not so optimistic. He does not think USA will win and he does
not think it a good idea for US to start a war.
He thinks US warmongering should stop immediately.
America and
China are now drifting increasingly toward confrontation, and they’re
conducting their diplomacy in a confrontational way,” said Kissinger. The
danger is that this could lead to actual military conflict.”
Kissinger said
US should move quickly to restore lines of communication with China or risk a
crisis that could escalate into military conflict. If that happens, the world
will slide into an experience comparable to World War I, and go into a war which would be far worse than World War
II.
US and China
should jointly create a negotiating group where some leader that the US President
trusts and some Chinese leader that President Xi trusts remain in contact with
each other on behalf of their Presidents,” he said. (Continued)
LTTE was banned by UK in 2001 though UK was LTTE’s international headquarters from 1980s.
While Lord Naseby remains the only sane Britisher to realize who a terrorist is, scores of UK Parliamentarians chose to flirt with LTTE lobbies living in UK for votes and other perks coming their way. They regularly shed crocodile tears attending LTTE events and inspite of ban, unashamedly deliver pro-LTTE statements too. All this is nothing the British government is not unaware of. In fact, the woman who trained Tamil children as young as 7 to shoot & kill as well as to commit suicide biting the cyanide capsule is also happily living in UK enjoying the illegal blood money. There is obviously much that LTTE and the UK Government have in common. LTTE’s murderous past is known by all. Colonial Britain has much to be ashamed for its colonial criminal past. Not stopping there, the Iraq war and supplying arms and training to tyrants, despots and dictators makes it natural that UK finds comradery with LTTE easier than with an elected democratic government. Be that as it may, it is absolutely shocking that UK allows its Parliament to be lit for LTTE’s commemoration of its leader’s birthday while even cut outs of the brute murderer is also allowed until complaints are filed forcing removal. If LTTE is banned by UK – shouldn’t UK police be taking action instead of waiting for complaints to be filed?
LTTE took to gun by not attacking Sinhalese but by killing Tamils. The Tamil mayor was killed in 1975 and thereafter Tamil police and public servants were killed to scare them from joining government service. After scaring Tamils from joining state service, the LTTE begin complaining to the world, that Tamils were not employed by the State.
The third victims of LTTE became innocent Sinhala villagers who were attacked and killed including pregnant mothers and babies in the most horrific manner. Today, the same LTTE is complaining about human rights not given to these same killers. Who knows how many innocent Tamils LTTE killed when they didn’t tow their line? How many Tamil children were kidnapped and turned into child soldiers? How many Tamil families have had to weep the loss of their child after learning they had been kidnapped when going to school and turned into LTTE child soldiers. Who is going to cry for these sins of LTTE? Are these not crimes? What does the UK have to say about these criminal acts by LTTE?
It is absolutely shocking that UK Government and MPs apart from a handful like Lord Naseby, are more concerned about how LTTE terrorists got killed than what these terrorists did to society. LTTE even killed an Indian Prime Minister on Indian soil. These UK MPs seem not to care about the suicide bombings, assassinations, bus/train bombs carried out by LTTE. LTTE did not attack only the Sri Lankan Armed Forces, LTTE attacked unarmed civilians traveling to work, to school, visiting the temples etc. What harm did these people do to the LTTE to be killed? How many British MPs have seen fit to even think about these LTTE crimes?
As for the LTTE Diaspora, many who have hardly any intent to return to live in Sri Lanka, speaking in heavy British accents about an Eelam, which is only a campaign slogan are simply organizing grand tamashas as every tamasha affords a commercial means to make money. How much have they made from printing key tags, car stickers – today Prabakaran is nothing but an ornament to sell and make money. This terrorist leader must be turning in his grave at the number of commercial items printed and manufactured with his face with a price tag to sell and enlarge the LTTE kitty. Of course, the recipients of the profits are not the LTTE combatants who are alive or their families in Sri Lanka or the families of the deceased LTTE, but the foreign living LTTE diaspora who must be laughing all the way to the bank after the tamasha is finished and giving each other a thumbs up for their acting performances!
Making money from a banned dead terrorist Leader and his eliminated terrorist outfit is the only means by which the LTTE diaspora can generate a handsome income. Of course the others knowing the lucrative nature of this business must be getting a share for their silence.
Go after the LTTE money trail – GOSL
If LTTE is banned, anything denoting LTTE must also be banned. Declare these insignia as banned and officially inform countries that have banned LTTE to also ban these insignia and emblems. If there is no law in place to do so, write the law and immediately initiate action.
It is obvious that the US has passed the baton to UK to take on Sri Lanka at the UNHRC. If UK can be obnoxious to demand accountability from Sri Lanka, what stops Sri Lanka from slapping UK for colonial crime accountability. At least the world must know the atrocities that the British committed with impunity, is far more horrendous than what they accuse Sri Lanka of by listening to tell tales of their terrorist LTTE friends.
Here are some examples – it is shocking how British can have the audacity to point fingers at any country without atoning for these crimes first:
1817 – Maclaine given authority to kill anyone without trial.Lt. Maclaine is infamously known for having breakfast while watching Sinhalese men being hung!
John Davey British Army surgeon We didn’t manage to kill the enemy. But we killed a lot of villagers. We must have killed at least 10,000 men in the villagers.”
John Davey of British Army declares that by 1821 there were no children of patriotic families in the hill country/Uva-Wellassa. John Davey estimated at least 7% of the population in the entire Central province was killed by the British
Campbells’ memo We were under orders to destroy all coconut trees, all fruit trees and paddy fields. We were also ordered to destroy the bunds of the water reservoirs. This water was essential to them for cultivation. We wondered how long it must have taken for them to build these giant reservoirs and how long it would take them now, without having any engineers or the equipment, to rebuild or repair them.”
1818 diary of Sergeant Calladine Not a single day passed without burning a village and killing the Chingalese men. We didn’t take prisoners.”
The karma or nemesis of UK’s international policy of favoritism to separatists, terrorists and extremists have finally brought the chickens home and Scotland is now asking to separate from UK.
Its not enough that Brexit has isolated UK from EU, now Scotland desiring to leave UK means UK is left with only the extremist & separatist LTTE lobby and the Islamic terrorists as friends. What fine company for the UK Government!
With a crippling economy, imagine the position of the UK if all Commonwealth Nations also decide to say cherio to the Queen!
Sovereign countries do not require to continue honoring the Queen!
What if Scotland does leave UK – how powerful would UK be? Would UK still be pointing fingers aided by LTTE Diaspora?
Just as UK goes splitting up nations and takes sides of separatists, extremists and even terrorists – the world must also help Scotland obtain their separatism from UK. Then only UK will realize what countries go through when nosy-parker nations try to lobby rebels and fund them to split nations for geopolitical gains. This is karma coming to UK. https://youtu.be/ug8hH9UK6Lw
Over in Sri Lanka, the people want to move on. Who wants to commemorate a dead terrorist except those that thrive on commercializing the terrorist. In Sri Lanka, LTTE or Prabakaran has no commercial value!
Over in Sri Lanka, even TNA leaders have to travel to the North with the Sinhala” security to safeguard their safety! It is that hilarious! Of course hypocrisy of Tamil leaders is nothing new – it comes naturally. But, the Tamil people have rejected them by vote and that says much. The Tamil people wish to move on and the rest of the country wish to have them join to not live in the past but to move forward. UK-EU-US-Canada & India may care to continue to hen peck and showcase their double standards, but people are not fools and they can’t be fooled any more.
UK-US-EU-Canada & India are welcome to flog the dead LTTE and hold any amount of tamashas in their countries. We hope that while they are doing so they spare some time to think about all of the credit card scams, social welfare scams, money laundering, human smuggling, illegal immigrants – LTTE diaspora are involved in are fleecing their citizens and not ours. Best of luck in pussy footing the LTTE Diaspora – who are only fooling your citizens and not ours!
From
1948-72, the island of Ceylon (the English phonetic transliteration of our
native name of Sinhale/Sinhaledeepa) was a FULLY SOVEREIGN realm/kingdom.
A realm
was a sovereign state which had Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state.
Each realm functioned (and still function today) as an independent co-equal
kingdom from the other realms. Thus we had:
– full
sovereignty
– a Queen
of Ceylon, above politics
– a
democratically elected government of the People (extremely lean and efficient)
with a Parliament of honest gentlemen
– a
ceremonial Governor General, above politics and non partisan, nominated by the
democratically elected Prime Minister, as the de facto head of state
– a lean
Senate composed of eminent and honourable members of society acting as a
revising chamber/checks and balances
– a fully
independent judiciary with the Privy Council (used by Singapore until the
1990s) acting strictly according to the Ceylon Constitution and laws enacted by
Ceylon’s Parliament
– a fully
independent and lean Civil Service, based on a meritocracy and an Independent
Commission for public appointments and promotions, totally apolitical,
resulting in what was perhaps the best Civil Service in all of Asia.
– a
country whose system Singapore later emulated (and perfected and overtook us)
– the
rule of law applying to all citizens of Ceylon with ONE law prevailing over all
In
addition, Ceylon had a beneficial Anglo Ceylon Defence Agreement with Great
Britain providing a guarantee of defence from foreign attack and
training/equipment for our armed forces. This protected us from the India.
To prove our independent foreign policy and sovereignty, our leaders
subsequently also entered the Rubber Rice Pact with China.
We must
regain the spirit, integrity, efficiency and charm that we had in that early
period. History must not be politicised, nor should revisionist history be
propagated by politicians and India.
What
happened at various points in history, aside from economic stupidity, from 1972
in particular was disastrous. We lost our sovereignty to politicians. We lost
the actual name of the country. We lost a clean system and an apolitical Civil
Service. We lost our defence guarantees in 1957. No government armed the
country, or introduced national service to compensate. The 1972 and 1978 constitutions
were not constitutions for the people, by the people and of the people, but
instead for the politicians, by the politicians and of the politicians! They
were both done ostensibly to give full weight to the nation’s culture, but a
few symbolic clauses that could have been added were instead used as a ruse to
dupe the people and engage in a wholesale corruption of the system at large.
Marxism that would make the Soviets balk, was even argued by some to be part of
our national culture!
The major
flaws of both systems that exist to this day are listed below:
1. Making
a particular ideology a constitutional principle, and thereby depriving the
people of the right to determine economic policies from time to time at
periodic elections (first socialism, and later democratic socialism!)
2.
Including a truncated list of fundamental rights and almost nullifying their
effect by making them subject to excessive restrictions and numerous principles
of so-called state policy
3.
Departing from the practice of all existing republics of directly or indirectly
electing the Head of State, and providing instead for nomination by a political
migratory figure
4.
Introducing control by the Cabinet of Ministers over the subordinate judiciary,
5.
Depriving the judiciary of the power to determine the constitutional propriety
of laws, and
6.
Abandoning the principle of the neutrality of the public service.
7.
Renamed the country after the name of a political party and solidified an
artificial flag instead of the unifying national Lion flag used since ancient
times re-raised in 1948.
8.
Changed the systems of this country WITHOUT a national referendum. The party
that won power to enact the 1972 constitution did not even win over 50% of the
national vote at the General Election of 1970.
9. In
1987, India – which had already created, trained and financed a terrorist group
in the early 1970s to destroy our country and all her people, now inserted
artificial and illegal clauses to effectively give us an even more corrupt
third constitution that bares no relevance to our culture, society, common
sense and only encourages artificial, highly parochial and deeply damaging
governance, promoting only corruption and making us a virtual vassal state of
India. Our sovereignty and independence has been further stripped away by the ILLEGAL Indo
Lanka Accord (which is to this day illegal under international law and makes
the MCC agreement look like a tea party with cake).
10. Uses
inappropriate, confusing and contradictory Indian jargon (like “link
language” and “except in xyz Province” etc) making a pig’s
breakfast of the official language laws, administration and educational systems
of this country and promotes multiple ethnic laws and jurisdictions
11.
Encourages no rule of law, no accountability and no cohesion as a nation
12. Made
us a nation of slaves ruled by local slavemasters – politicians (meant to be
servants of the people) presiding over us with total ineptitude and
incompetence.
The
country has been made such a mess by the corrupt, the Indians and Indian
bootlickers, that a nation that should be more akin to Singapore, South Korea,
and Japan – and which started out far ahead of these economies – is instead
languishing in this sorry, sad and frankly pathetic state today.
Look at a
picture of 1950s Ceylon’s streets, transport, people, business and look at a
picture of us today. The once clean and magnificent countryside and towns have
been flooded with Indian junk and lorry buses. Trincomalee, which Nelson
referred to as “the finest party in all the world” sits idle and
barren. Our people are sent as menial labour to other countries. Corruption is
everywhere. The Rupee has been printed to such an extent to finance auctions of
non existent resources that it is beyond worthless. Compare us to the East
Asian nations.
If we get
the BASICS of this country right – the RULE OF LAW, ZERO TOLERANCE for
corruption, and a MERITOCRACY, then the whole nation may be developed to have
the same world class infrastructure, opportunities and stature of the upcoming
Port City in Colombo (which aspires to be a first world hub benchmarked against
the world). In short, we can become much more like Singapore and South Korea
virtually overnight.
We need a
new constitution and total system reset. The starting point should be the 1948
Constitution. From there we can decide upon whether we wish to have an
executive Prime Minister, President, Chancellor, or even a High Priestess. But
this current mess of a constitution has got to go! The symbols of Buddhist
philosophy, and codifying the official languages are simple things that can be
added (this would have been only two, or three amendments to the original
Soulsbury Constitution of 1948). A great example would be to virtually copy and
paste (adjusting for our situation) Articles 153 and 154 of the Singapore
Constitution. If the PEOPLE wish to be a Republic, that is again one simple
amendment. Such changes should be conducted via a National Referendum so the
People decide upon how they wish to be governed as a nation. We must be a
nation of laws, not of politicians.
We must
rediscover that golden era of policies, leadership integrity and honesty (with
gentleman like Dudley) and robust and clean system that will be the ultimate
fortress for a sovereign, free and successful Ceylon/Sinhaledeepa. There must
be a TOTAL cleanup of the Augean stables.
Let us
expel Indian nonsense, Indian bootlicking, corruption, inefficiency, endless
mediocrity, and the squandering of opportunity from our country once and for
all.
If this
GETS DONE, then this nation will blossom and boom overnight. It is my firm
belief that the kind, intelligent and noble people of this island nation have
extraordinary potential. We have survived through difficult times, survived the
abhorrent creation of our neighbour, we have endured hardship and even after
all that, there is nothing like the warmth, smiles and hospitality of our
people.
May we once
again become a resplendent island nation in which no one is left out, where
there is honour to all and favour to none. And where we the People live in one
nation, with one law, as one people, with one indomitable destiny, where we win
several World Cups, where opportunity is high and where potential is reached
and where brand Ceylon stands proudly up with head held high in the world.
Long live
our beautiful island nation. Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee
oh resplendent Ceylonese!
The billionaire class led by the WEF has a plan for the post-pandemic world order, but the needs of ordinary people are very different .
A sign at sunset in the Davos Congress Center ahead of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum on January 19, 2020. Photo: AFP / Fabrice Cofferini
According to the latest International Labor Organization reports, as job losses escalate due to lockdowns aimed at slowing the spread of Covid-19, nearly half of the global workforce is at risk of losing livelihoods, access to food and the ability to survive.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has stated, With some 2.6 billion people around the world in some kind of lockdown, we are conducting arguably the largest psychological experiment ever.”
As governments and corporations tighten political authoritarianism and technological surveillance, curtailing privacy and democratic protest, much of humanity is succumbing to anxiety, depression and a sense of powerlessness. Countries with some of the harshest lockdowns, such as India, have seen significant increases in suicides.
Pandemic narrative and dissent
Dominant global political and economic institutions and the media present their pandemic narrative as based on scientific authority. However, there is increasing disagreement on the origin and prevention of the virus within the biomedical profession.
Many physicians and scientists are questioning whether Covid-19 is a natural occurrence or the product of a leak from a lab experimenting with coronaviruses and bioweapons. There is concern over the accuracy of PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and false positives, as well as the classification of deaths simply as caused by Covid-19 when an overwhelming number of fatalities are related to pre-existing illnesses or co-morbidities, such as diabetes and heart disease.
Even according to statistics released last Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Covid-19 was mentioned as the sole cause of death in only 6% of the cases. The disproportionately higher rates of Covid deaths among native Americans and Alaska Inuit, for example, are due to their higher rates of obesity, diabetes, asthma, and heart disease than among more privileged US communities.
The Covid pandemic has not been the Great Equalizer” as suggested by the likes of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and members of the World Economic Forum. Rather, it has exacerbated existing inequalities along gender, race and economic class divides across the world.
Just as unemployed and uninsured Americans are pleading for support, the combined wealth of US billionaires surpassed $1 trillion in gains since March 2020 and the beginning of the pandemic,” according to a study by the Institute for Policy Studies. The top five US billionaires – Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett and Larry Ellison – saw their wealth grow by a total of $101.7 billion, or 26%, during this period.
Among the pandemic profiteers are chief executives of companies like Zoom and Skype providing videoconferencing, and Amazon providing online shopping to citizens under lockdown. Yet the success of these companies has not translated into better wages and safety conditions for their employees.
However, the political and ideological power of the billionaire class and their influence over domestic and global policymaking are increasing. Relevant in this regard is billionaire Bill Gates’ central role in the development and marketing of vaccines and interest in use of vaccines as a method of population control.
The pharmaceutical industry, ie Big Pharma (including vaccine manufacturers), are known for inflating prices, avoiding taxes and manipulating the political process to maximize profit. Unfortunately, this corrupt industry is a key player in the race to end the Covid-19 pandemic.
The incoming Joe Biden administration in the US has received extensive funding from the pharmaceutical industry, yet it has not agreed to cut the cost of a possible coronavirus vaccine developed with federal research dollars. Rather, the Biden administration, also heavily funded by the big tech, finance and defense sectors, is poised to facilitate The Great Reset,” a WEF initiative to remake the post-pandemic world order.
The ‘Great Reset’
The WEF, which identifies itself as the international organization for public-private partnership” (that is, like the Council on Foreign Relations, a geopolitical corporate power agency), sees the social and economic devastation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic as a unique window of opportunity to shape the recovery.”
Speaking at a conference organized by the WEF in June, former US secretary of state John Kerry expressed concern: Forces and pressures that were pushing us into crisis over the social contract are now exacerbated.… The world is coming apart, dangerously, in terms of global institutions and leadership.”
The Great Reset” envisaged by the WEF seeks to address these challenges through radical global restructuring. It seeks to reinvent the priorities of societies, the nature of business models and the management of a global commons … to build a new social contract,” with sustainable development and resilience as its ultimate objectives.
At its next annual gathering of the rich and powerful in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2021, the WEF is expected to adopt the Great Reset and also incorporate youth leaders from around the world into the initiative through a virtual summit.
The stated goals of sustainability and resilience are laudable, but many are questioning the true objectives of both the WEF and the Great Reset.
Many are wondering why these powerful organizations, having apparently already run the exact scenario as a test, failed to prevent or at least prepare the world for the imminent viral outbreak.
The global political economy has been moving in the direction of increasing technological and market integration through social media, artificial intelligence and biotechnology. In the wake of Covid-19, the trends toward digitization and commoditization of economic and social relations have increased.
The Great Reset seeks to accelerate and solidify these trends as well as expand corporate control of natural resources and state surveillance of individuals. In the post-pandemic Great Reset, there would not be much life left outside the technological-corporate nexus dominated by monolithic agribusiness, pharmaceutical, communication, defense and other inter-connected corporations, and the governments and media serving them.
The proponents of the Great Reset envisage a Brave New World where you will own nothing. And you will be happy. Whatever you want, you will rent, and it will be delivered by drones….” But it is more likely that this elite-led revolution will make the vast majority of humanity a powerless appendage of technology with little consciousness and meaning in their lives.
Resistance
The mainstream media establishment tends to cast all critiques of the dominant Covid narrative and solutions as conspiracy theories. Yet more and more people are questioning the narrative on the origin and management of the pandemic and, instead, see the need to shift to a truly democratic, just and ecological civilization.
Many of the anti-lockdown protests around the world have had limited focus on social restrictions and personal freedom, desires usually in tune with the individualism of globalized consumer culture. While these have gained some attention in the mainstream media, the more focused and progressive demands for social and economic rights by civil-society groups have received scant attention.
These include demands by numerous groups, such as Oxfam International, to make Covid-19 medicines and vaccines free and fair for all. There is also a demand for a global public inquiry, to be led by independent scientists, to gather evidence on the origin and evolution of Covid-19. In addition, there is a call for an International Biowarfare Crimes Tribunal, to bring perpetrators of the pandemic to justice, whether they be from the US or China.
The overall objective of these demands is greater transparency, ethics and accountability in the use of technology, especially biotechnology and vaccines against Covid-19 and other viruses. The demand for enforcement of the Biological Weapons Convention calls on the nations of the world, China, Russia, the US, to come together to enforce better verification systems for preventing the production of biological weapons in the future, before the world is put through multiple pandemics to come.”
These are concerns to be included in an alternative ethical, wise and compassionate Great Reset.
The Covid pandemic is a turning point, an opportunity to change. The reset we need now is not the creation of a post-human, post-nature” world defined by unregulated corporate-led growth of artificial intelligence and biotechnology. We need to balance digitization and commoditization with an ecological reset, a way of living that respects the environment, promotes agro-ecology, bioregionalism and local communities.
We need to raise our consciousness and understanding of humanity as a species in nature, our connectedness to one another and the rest of planetary life.
