Courtesy  Hiru News

36th COVID-19 death reported in Sri Lanka.

The victim was a 84 year old female from Kandana and she has died at the IDH.

Courtesy Hiru News

Another 184 tested positive for COVID-19. All are close contacts.

Accordingly, 356 cases of Covid 19 have been reported so far today (09)

Courtesy Hiru News

President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa stated that covid-19 can be easily controlled by the competent health service of this country and what is required is the cooperation of the people.

The President made this observation during the daily meeting with the members of the Presidential Task Force on COVID – 19 Prevention held at the Presidential Secretariat this morning (09).

“The Covid epidemic is a health problem. It is the responsibility of the health service and the government to protect the people and take the country forward. I strongly believe that we have the world’s most knowledgeable doctors and therefore the health sector can control the situation.”

There are three options we can take in the face of the pandemic. One is to impose a curfew and lock down the country, the second is to do nothing, the third is to control the disease and get the country back to normal. We chose the third option.”

“Physicians and staff have been able to diagnose and treat Covid patients in the early stages, so intensive care has not been necessary.

“After the satisfactory control of Covid-19, the media as well as the people forgot everything and neglected their responsibilities. The country cannot remain closed until the threat of the virus is eradicated from the world. Reports suggest that closure alone will not control the pandemic. “

“The easiest thing is to shut down the country, but people must live. It is my responsibility to protect the economy through the engagement in jobs, agriculture, fisheries and all other activities. The government spends more than 60 million rupees a day on PCR tests. It is the duty of the people to understand this situation and take personal responsibility to prevent contracting the disease, ” the President said.

Ambassador Sarath Wijesinghe, President’s Counsel, President of the Ambassadors Forum, Former Sri Lankan Ambassador to UAE and Israel.

War of words are not uncommon in international circles. But the war of words between China and USA relating to Sri Lanka occurring in Sri Lanka has to be taken seriously based on the context, contents and tone of the exchange of words. The fact that it has happened in our soil worries us as peaceful peace loving people. Exchange of words among the members of the diplomatic community should be based on diplomacy conventions, practices, and norms of international law and practices based on conventions and precedents.

The recent visit of the US Secretary Of State Michael Pompeo to Sri Lanka during a tour in Asia, looking for opportunities to play a role with friendship and hopes as stated in the speech has unfortunately led to controversies and discussions in many circles in the international arena. This has sent shock waves to the international community engaged in diplomacy and international affairs due to protests in Sri Lanka over various allegations. Secretary Pompeo smilingly answered the questions posed by the interviewer giving underlying messages to all the parties concerned and the sanctions imposed on 24 Chinese companies including builders of Colombo Port City. This indicates that the war of words have connotations. The Construction Company and the Chinese Embassy tweeting immediately in response to those comments made and thus aggravating the issue further. War of words or deeds on our soil will not be in our interest nor in favour and it is our duty to pacify the tension between parties using our good office based on our experience as done my Madam Bandaranaike during the Indo – China conflict in 1960s.

USA and China are world leaders in trade, fiercely competing with each other for world supremacy on trade and commerce. Both demands friendship and ownership with credentials claiming China as predators whereas USA as a true friend. Obviously trade and political power runs parallel using political power to promote trade and commerce adopting illegal and unethical practices. China has given funds to Sri Lanka lavishly and with less conditions with no expectations whereas USA expects transparency, proper fiscal management, in a democratic environment with human rights protected and adherence to international standards. China has funded Hambantota Harbour, Mattala Airport and Port City and is reminiscent of the Rubber Rice pact in 1952. USA is the single largest buyer of 45% of our apparels.

World trade is complicated and covers a large spectrum with the involvement and interference of WTO in which the Chinese obtained membership in 2001. World powers with political and economic interests are interested in extending the power in the Indian Ocean, once a quiet sea with great potential and treasures in the sea bed which has today transformed in to an active important and vibrant ocean utilized by a large number of ships. Sri Lanka is positioned in the most strategic position with historic traditional bonds running back to thousands of years with Arab, Chinese and other sea merchants often dealing with Sri Lanka on the traditional ‘Seda Mawatha’ (Silk Route) which currently embeds the Belt and Road initiative. Sri Lanka maintained links with the West due to the trade links with naval powers, resulting intervention in politics of this independent island with a long history of culture and friendship with the rest of the world. Sri Lanka’s bonds with the West, USA, UN and subsidiary bodies and international organizations are close in keeping with the model of diplomacy she has adhered to.

Since the end of the cold war between then world powers USA and USSR, USA and China has emerged as world trade leaders fiercely competing with each other for trade, commerce and political power. USA and China being the two large trade giants respectively look for a pivot role in Asia and USA is seeking entry via Indian Ocean for free access to Asia for trade and political power. International politics is a ‘Chess Game’ which is ever changing, reminding that there are no permanent friends and enemies in politics, local or international. Today USA, India, Australia and Japan have formed the ‘QUAD’ as a group to compete with the common enemy – China, allowing the new found friendship for USA to develop political ambitions and the others for trade and commerce. The visit of the US State Secretary to Asia is for a multi-purpose exploration of political, business and goodwill missions with many plans and hopes with all nations visited. Visits to other countries were without much controversy except Sri Lanka due to mass opposition to MCC, SOFA, ACSA agreements and plans for and kind of defence agreements.

The strength of a Nation is the firm and correct foreign policy. It is doubtful whether Sri Lanka is equipped and armed with this weapon as before when Sri Lanka and India led the Non-Alignment Movement in the most exemplary way in 1970s with firm political leadership. Indian foreign policy and principles are static based on India first foreign policy aiming at promoting India. Do we have a foreign policy on a Sri Lanka first basis when successive governments to date have taken different positions? The Text book version of the Sri Lankan foreign policy has been friendly with all and angry with none based on principles non-alignment and neutrality with a practical approach. Were we non-aligned/neutral and did we conduct ourselves so – especially during ‘Yahapalanaya’ regime when the Executive, Legislature and the Minister of Foreign Affairs took independent, arbitrary actions in dealing with international affairs?

On the other hand non-alignment does not mean being quiet and impartial alone. State must play a positive role in dealing with the interest of the country you represent. Switzerland is impartial in international affairs but does not belong to the Non-Alignment Movement and adhere to its principles. Sri Lanka must have a firm, powerful, correct and coherent Sri Lanka friendly foreign policy which will give strength, direction and acceptance, acting fast and smart with a proper policy framework. A nation must be fortunate have an effective Foreign Minister efficient Secretary, a vibrant Ministry and an extremely able battery of Ambassadors working round the clock, giving priority to trade and image building. We fondly remember Madam Bandaraneika as the best foreign minister ever with great respect and wish the present group will learn from our past glory hoping mother Sri Lanka will be active in foreign policy making and implementation which leads to the success of all other areas in governance.

Lord Buddha said ‘He who lives by Dharma is protected by Dharma’ meaning that the Dharma preached by the Buddha is supreme and should be practiced for success and protection and that the individual or the nation will be protected by Dhamma (Teachings of Buddha) they practice. In the same way if and when a nation has a firm and correct foreign policy in practice it will be the protection and the success of the Nation.

(The author takes responsibility for the contents of the article and could be contacted on sarath7@hotmail.co.uk)

Dr. Gamini Padmaperuma

Background

Online Learning has become a household term and is fast becoming a way of life. Schoolchildren and students from state and non-state higher educational institutions, and their teachers and lecturers have started experiencing online teaching and learning during the last several months. Although online teaching and learning existed in a limited scale before the onset of Covid-19, a rapid transition to online teaching and learning occurred following the closure of educational institutions owing to the spread of virus. The way and speed with which the educational institutions adapted to and faced the challenges of shifting to online learning are commendable. Higher educational institutions and schools, and private tutors have implemented online teaching and learning with varying success. The general satisfaction level among the students and teachers about online learning appears to be somewhat satisfactory despite certain shortcomings such as internet connection issues and associated costs, lack of suitable digital devices to practise online learning and appropriate learning material, etc.

Definitions and contexts

Online learning can be broadly defined as learning that takes place over the Internet. However, online learning is just one type of distance learning – the ubrell term for any learning that takes place across distance and not in a traditional classroom. Online learning can be used in both distance learning and in face-to-face context. Blended learning uses a mix of online and traditional face-to-face approaches. This however, makes it necessary for the online learning material to be prepared with appropriate design features. It is not effective to use teaching material prepared for face-to-face context in online teaching without modifications as the two contexts are quite different.

Current Situation

The common approaches to online teaching have been to use free videoconferencing software such as Zoom to organize online lecture sessions where the lecturer explains the subject matter using PowerPoint slides or whiteboards. Lecture notes are sent to students electronically in advance to read and come prepared for the Zoom session on a specified date.  During Zoom sessions, the lecturer explains material, solves problems, questions students, answers student queries, etc. In some sessions, video and audio clips are played or sent them for use by students at their leisure.

Notes, hand-outs, etc. prepared for face-to-face teaching may not be attractive to all the online learners. There are different types of learners in any given student cohort. Four primary types of learners are Visual, Auditory, Reading/Writing preference and Kinaesthetic. Appropriately designed online lessons shall meet most of these learner types. When particular learning material cannot meet all types learner styles, there shall be other complementary material which can satisfy the unmet styles. Ideally, there shall be different learning material which caters for different types of learners. Attention also needs to be given to learners who have visual, auditory and other impairments.

Some institutions have more structured online courses which are designed and built using Learning Management Systems (LMS) which also enable effective course and programme administration. In other institutions, LMS are used primarily for routine course administration purposes only; uploading assignments, receiving answer scripts, project submissions, conducting surveys, recording online presence, etc.

The above emphasises the importance of appropriate design of instructions to suit online learning. In order to achieve desired learning objectives, the lessons need to be designed using appropriate instructional design strategies and models. Instructions need to be developed with high visual appeal, clearly stated learning outcomes, means for close engagement, availability of feedback on student performance, summaries of core content, appropriate media components, all delivered in small chunks to sustain student attention during the lesson.

While the access to many institutional web servers has been made free by many educational institutions in collaboration with telecom providers, poor internet connections in rural areas, costs associated with general internet access, heavy dependence on mobile phones (with attendant limitations) for online learning due to lack of better devices such as tabs or laptops have not made online learning a pleasant experience to a significant portion of learners.

Actions to get the next phase right

Now that the first phase of online learning has passed, what comes next? Following are a few specific actions that universities and other educational institutions could take to help improve student learning, engagement, and experience while operating remotely.

These moves may inspire institutions to pilot new initiatives, learn what works, iterate, and position themselves to create capabilities that will enhance instruction permanently. However, the educational institutions may not be able to handle all of them alone. Due organizational, professional and financial support need to be provided by the government, public and private sector corporations, non-governmental organizations, professional institutions, philanthropists, specialists, consultants, alumni, etc.

Focus on access and equity: Moving from on-campus to remote learning raises issues related to access and equity. There are the immediate logistical challenges of ensuring students have the basic technology they need to learn remotely. Some possible actions include: offer stipends for internet access and laptop rentals or purchases. Provision of loaned equipment and hot spots for internet access to under-resourced students.

Consideration also needs to be given to effects on mental health and stress created by the epidemic, and also to mitigate the additional difficulties encountered by physically impaired learners due to shifting to online education, e.g. provision of recorded lessons with captions, etc.

Support faculty: Most academics are working hard to respond creatively to teach their students to the same standards. What methods work best in a remote environment will differ by discipline and the technology available. There are a few broad ways that institutions can help.

• Offer more teaching support. Many institutions have centres that offer support to faculty in their teaching; these should be scaled up and shift their orientation to support the academics in design and development of online learning material and learning environments.

• Use social media and online forums to share best practices. Highlighting and explaining successful remote-teaching practices during faculty meetings can cultivate a sense of camaraderie, as well as a culture of sharing and improving.

• Set up a structure for the faculty to get regular feedback on their teaching. Two sources are: student surveys and engagement data derived from LMS. These surveys should be used not to judge professors, but to give them information on how students are responding and where they can improve. Survey results can also give administrators a sense of where they might need to intervene to support student learning.

• Create online ‘student centres’.  As institutions move to remote learning, they can think about how to use existing tools to move in-person gatherings online and open up spaces for discussions, events, wellness classes, study groups and online tutoring. This is to offer virtual spaces in lieu of physical ones to enable the university community to continue to connect.

• Activate stakeholders.  One way to start is by identifying and activating tech-savvy students and staff to coach faculty and other students to use online tools. Another possibility is to ask alumni and community members to provide remote mentorship and coaching to support students with remote learning, career discussions, and virtual internships.  

• Invest in cybersecurity to ensure the continuity of teaching and learning.  This is to ensure security and data privacy while enabling teaching and learning to go on.

Summary                                                                                                    

Often with limited experience and training, our educational institutions have hurriedly shifted to online learning and teaching. Many have done so in an exemplary manner; others have not been as successful, at least so far. This can provide institutions with an opportunity to experiment and innovate. Universities may find that they have a new remote-learning capability that can be integrated with on-campus instruction, to everyone’s benefit, when this crisis has passed. This added online education capability can directly assist the government in meeting its commitment to increase the intakes to universities and provide access to higher education to all who qualify.

Author:

Dr. Gamini Padmaperuma, a Fellow Member of IESL and a former Senior Lecturer at OUSL, holds a PhD from the University of Canterbury, NZ. His PhD thesis was on Instructional Design for Computer-Based Learning. email: gamini_pad@hotmail.com

Statement by George Steuart Health

07th November 2020: As the oldest mercantile establishment in Sri Lanka, George Steuart & Company has contributed to the betterment of the nation for nearly two centuries, whilst making enormous strides in diverse fields of business.

George Steuart Health was established nearly 33 years ago and since then, has partnered with over 60 principals from across the globe, in our quest to introduce novel and advanced therapies to Sri Lankan patients.

We have been constantly evolving and thus have implemented robust growth strategies. We are considered as one of the fastest growing healthcare firms in the Island.

George Steuart Health has been at the forefront in the introduction of rapid diagnostic testing to Sri Lanka, following the establishment of the diagnostic division in 2008.

We introduced rapid diagnostics through Standard Diagnostics (SD), Korea way back in 2009 with the launch of the first WHO prequalified Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) for HIV. In 2010, we introduced the first dengue antigen rapid diagnostic test to Sri Lanka, providing a breakthrough in the management of dengue, which was rampant in the Island.

Thus far, two local clinical studies have successfully been conducted and now, this test is considered by clinicians as the main tool in detecting dengue patients at an early stage, thus helping them save valuable lives.

Today, these rapid diagnostic tests are the primary tests used for the detection of the Dengue. Subsequently, we introduced rapid diagnostic tests for influenza A/B/AH1N1. In 2013, Standard Diagnostics was subsequently bought over by Alere Medical; the world leader in rapid point of care tests and a conglomerate of 200+ rapid diagnostic and point of care test manufacturers.

We have further expanded the rapid diagnostic basket for infectious diseases including leptospirosis, hepatitis, cardiometabollics & drugs of abuse.

Following the global acquisition of Alere Medical by Abbott Diagnostics in 2018, GSH has represented Abbott Rapid Diagnostic Products in Sri Lanka.

With the outbreak of COVID-19 in China, Abbott Diagnostics introduced the antigen and antibody rapid test kits earlier this year. The use of these tests in Sri Lanka was however discouraged, due to concerns on the sensitivity and specificity of the tests at the time. Our requests to consider use was turned down by the National Medicines Regulatory Authority in March 2020, as the WHO at that time had recommended the tests for research studies only.

The rising infections have however, offered scientists a better understanding of how the virus operates. The efficacy of the test kits have since been scaled up by manufacturers.

The world health organization has subsequently evaluated rapid test kits from many manufacturers worldwide. On 28th September, Dr. Tedros Adhanom – Director General of the World Health Organization, stated that the WHO was pleased to announce that two such antigen test kits manufactured by Abbott Diagnostics and Standard Diagnostics, have proven to be effective in the identification of the virus, whilst promising to be a cost effective and faster method for screening.

Accordingly, the WHO, through funding received from the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, placed orders for 120 million tests, to be distributed amongst low and middle income countries.

Highlighting the Emergency Use Listing granted by the World Health Organization, George Steuart Health sought NMRA approval for product registration early in October 2020.

Following expert evaluation, the NMRA granted Provisional Registration for the test kits, under the condition that the tests be made available to healthcare institutions alone, at a regulated price of Rs.1,146.22 per test. Samples of these tests have also been provided to the NMRA and the Ministry of Health for validation purposes.

Having received the certificate of registration and import license on 22nd October, we received orders from major private hospitals and the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society. Requests were also received from WHO affiliated agencies, for supplies to the Ministry of Health.

Subsequently, orders were placed with the manufacturers on 25th October.

Considering the national emergency, the kits were imported through a special aircraft operated by Sri Lankan Airlines on 03rd November 2020, paying the necessary airfreight and handling charges.

A virtual training was conducted on Microsoft teams for microbiologists, virologists, epidemiologists and officials from the Ministry of Health on 2nd November, by experts from Abbott Diagnostics. Further trainings have been scheduled in the forthcoming weeks.

The goods were distributed among private hospitals and the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society on 06th November. The screening process of targeted populations will commence, no sooner the guidelines for use are issued by the Ministry of Health. These tests have a sensitivity of 91.4% and specificity of 99.8%, when tested within the first 7 days of infection, where antigen levels (viral load) and transmission rates are noted to be highest. Patients can be promptly identified within 20 minutes of conducting this test. The faster identification and isolation of patients, will aid in effectively disrupting the chain of transmission.

Following a similar routine, registration was also granted to the product from Standard Diagnostics shortly thereafter, to be marketed at the same price.

A tender for the test kits was closed by the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation on 2nd November 2020. This tender is under evaluation and is yet to be awarded.

George Steuart Health is a premier healthcare provider and a significant subsidiary of George Steuart & Company Limited.

උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස්

කොරෝනා ආසාදිතයන් ඉක්මනින් හදුනා ගැනීමට භාවිත කරන ‘රැුපිඩ් ඇන්ටිඩන්’ පරීක්‍ෂණ කට්ටල තොගයක් මෙරටට ගෙන්වීම සම්බන්දයෙන් මතබේදාත්මක තත්වයක් ඇතිව තිබේ.

එම චෝදනාව එල්ල වන ජේර්ජ් ස්ටුවට් සමාගම විසින් තම පාර්ශවයේ මතය පැහැදිලි කරමින් නිවේදනයක් නිකුත් කර ඇත.

එම සම්පූර්ණ නිවේදනය සහ පරිවර්තනය පහත දැක්වේ.

Rapid Antigen Test එක යනු කොරොනා වෛරසය හඳුනා ගැනීමේ නවතම ක්‍රමවේදයයි. මෙම ක්‍රමය නිෂ්පාදනය කරන සමාගම් දෙකකට ලෝක සෞඛ්‍ය සංවිධානය විසින් මීට මාස දෙකකට ප්‍රථම අනුමැතිය ලබා දුන්නා. එම ජාත්‍යන්තර සමාගම් දෙකේ ම දේශීය නියෝජිතයා ලෙස පසුගිය දශකය පුරාම කටයුතු කරන්නේ george stuart සමාගමයි. ලෝක සෞඛ්‍ය සංවිධානය මේ අනුමත කළාට පසුව ජාතික ඖෂධ නියාමන අධිකාරිය විසින් ඔක්තෝබර් මස විසි දෙවැනි දා ලංකාවට මෙය ගෙන්වීමට අවසර ලබා දුන්නා. එය අනුමත කල සැනින් පෞද්ගලික අංශයේ භාවිතය සඳහා, පෞද්ගලික රෝහල්වල භාවිතය සඳහා George Stuart සමාගම විසින් එම Antigen කට්ටල ලංකාවට ගෙන එනු ලැබුවා. එය සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම පෞද්ගලික අංශයේ සමාගමක් සහ පෞද්ගලික රෝහල් අතර සිදු වූ ගනුදෙනුවක් මිස රජයට කිසිදු සම්බන්ධයක් නැහැ.

කොරියන් ගුවන් සේවා විසින් කිලෝග්‍රෑම් එකකට ඩොලර් තුනක් පමණක් අය කරගෙන මෙම උපකරණ කට්ටල ලංකාවට ගෙන ඒමට කැමැත්ත පල කලත් ශ්‍රී ලංකා ගුවන් සේවය පාඩුපිට පවත්වාගෙන යන මොහොතේ එයට සහාය වීමට ශ්‍රී ලංකා ගුවන් සේවයෙන් කිලෝග්‍රෑමයක් ඩොලර් 4.50 මුදලක් ගෙවා මෙම කට්ටල ලංකාවට ගෙන ඒමට George Stuart සමාගම කටයුතු කලා. Rapid Antigen කට්ටල රැගෙන ඒම සඳහා රජය විසින් ද මේ වන විට ටෙන්ඩරයක් කැඳවා ඇති අතර, එම ටෙන්ඩරය තවමත් සම්පූර්ණ වී නෑ. එම ටෙන්ඩරය හිමිවන්නේ කාටද යන්න පවා තීරණය කර නෑ. එය රාජ්‍ය ඖෂධ නීතිගත සංස්ථාව විසින් සිදු කරාවි. දැනට ගෙන්වා ඇති කට්ටල රජයට කිසිදු ආකාරයකින් සම්බන්ධයක් නෑ.

මේ සම්බන්ධව D.V. චානක අමාත්‍යවරයා කළ ප්‍රකාශය තොරතුරු නොදැන සිදුකළ එකක්. ඔහු එය නිවැරදි කර තිබෙනවා. PCR ක්‍රමවේදය හා සමාන නිරවද්‍යතාවයක් යුතු මෙම අලුත් ක්‍රමයෙන් විනාඩි 15 ඇතුළත corona හඳුනාගැනීමටත්, රුපියල් 7000-20000 පමණ වැය වෙන PCR පරීක්ෂණය රුපියල් දහසක ආසන්න මුදලකට කරගැනීමට අවස්ථාව ලැබෙනවා.

මෙම මිත්‍යාව සමාජගත කරන සියලුම අයට විරුද්ධව නීතිමය ක්‍රියාමාර්ග ගැනීමට මේ වන විටත් කටයුතු සම්පාදනය වෙමින් පවතිනවා. එබැවින් අසත්‍ය ප්‍රචාර සිදුකරමින් කොරොනා මර්දනයට එරෙහිව ගෙනයන වැඩපිළිවෙළ අඩපන කිරීමට දායක නොවන්න.

by Dr. Upul Wijayawardhana Courtesy The Island

Rather than discoursing on the profound truths expounded by the Buddha, some Bhikkhus have specialised in telling stories. Worse still, they are spreading canards the latest being that the Buddha was born in Sri Lanka. Though I would love for this to be true, unfortunately, there is no archaeological evidence even to support that the Buddha visited Sri Lanka, leaving aside being born here. The excellent article by Bhante Dhammika of Australia printed in this newspaper proves with archaeological evidence where the Buddha was actually born (Was the Buddha born in Sri Lanka? Sunday Island, 25 October) but I am sure these Bhikkhus and their supporters would disregard archaeological evidence and concoct their own.

Fortunately, caste is a fading entity in modern society only politicians and bhikkhus attempting to keep it alive. I need not dwell much on the utterly disgraceful practice of perpetuating the caste system by some Nikayas, as I have discussed this in detail in my article Have we let down Gautama Buddha” (The Island, 8 May 2020) except to ask the question: Is it not the height of hypocrisy to deny ordination on the basis of caste when the Buddha decreed that it is not birth but actions that decide whether one is an untouchable or a Brahmin? (Kammna Wasalo Hothi, Kammana Hothi Brahmano)

We will take trade union action in 48 hours, if our demands are not met” was the recent rallying cry of a trade union leader, in the midst of a grave national emergency, which shocked me for more reason than one. Though the initial grasp in controlling the Covid-19 epidemic seems to have been lost, for whatever reason, and the problem in Sri Lanka is nothing compared to what is happening in the rest of the world, around 300 dying daily of the deadly virus in UK, still we are facing a grave situation as our battered economy is not likely to withstand any more challenges.

In this situation an implied strike, to say the least, is grossly irresponsible. And what is this trade union? A nurses’ union. Are they not supposed to be healing angels? Who is the leader of this union? A Buddhist Priest! Has he forgotten what the Buddha said: Health is the greatest gain” and He who would minister to me should minister to the sick”? For a Buddhist priest to even suggest risking patients’ lives is the greatest insult that could be done to the ‘Compassionate One’ who introduced the concepts of ‘Metta, Karuna. Muditha and Upeksha’.

It is a great shame that nurses in Sri Lanka, who are second to none, are not able to find a member of their own profession to lead their trade union. In the country that produced the first female prime minister in the world, is there no lady with leadership qualities to lead the union of a profession still largely dominated by women? It indeed is an outrage for a Buddhist priest to be lead a trade union, nursing or otherwise. Obviously, he is politicking as his latest offer is to lead the opposition to the government! Is he trying to replace Sajith?

It is true that Bhikkhus have come to the rescue of the nation at times of national peril but that does not entitle them to play a part in daily politics, which some of them are doing in various guises. At least partly due to the efforts of one Buddhist Monk who took to a ‘political clean-up campaign to get rid of Rajapaksas’ we had to endure almost five years of a rotten Yahapalanaya, unfortunately. Now another group of Bhikkhus are attempting to dictate to the new government. In fact, one of them had the audacity to state in a press conference If they want to amend the constitution, they should get our permission first”! Have they forgotten that the government is there to carry out the will of the people, not that of the Sangha? Let them be reminded that Sri Lanka does not belong to them, nor to Sinhala Buddhists alone, but to all citizens.

Bhikkhus entered the parliament and behaved as disgracefully as other elected ‘honourable’ politicians. There were brawls in the well of the House. Disappointed Buddhists stopped voting for Bhikkhus though a party which was formed by them got a seat on the national list but the debacle that followed can only be equalled to antics of the now-doomed UNP! Did the Buddha get involved in politics? Did He go round doling unsolicited advice to the rulers? Definitely not. He maintained a distance and recognised the fact that rulers had to make unpalatable choices at times. He gave advice only when sought. In contrast, some of the modern day ‘political priests’ not only attempt to be king makers but also threaten to bring down the government when it refuses to do what they want, often personal favours. By the actions of a few, unfortunately, the entire Sangha may be tainted as there are many with hidden agendas who are keenly waiting for any opportunity to discredit the Sangha.

I have heard rumours that some Bhikkhus are charging for Bana preaching in various guises. They are selling the Dhamma! However, first-hand confirmation of this came with a recent conversation I had with one of my very dear friends who, unfortunately, lost his daughter to cancer: When the Hamuduruwo, a renowned preacher whom I invited for the Mataka-Bana sent a message that he needs Rs. 25,000 I was shocked. I had only Rs. 15,000 cash with me which I sent”. This Bhikkhu discharged his noble responsibility for a fee! I am told some others insist that they need their own sound system and charge for that; a simple ruse to sell the Dhamma! We get enraged when a Buddhist exhibits a tattoo of the Buddha but venerate and encourage these businessmen in robes!

I am reminded that Ven, Walpola Rahula accepted invitations for Bana Preachings on the express understanding that no pirikara was offered. In his writings he mentions how guilty he felt after receiving an umbrella after a Bana preaching. He feels he may have indicated that he needs an umbrella but from the time he received it, every time he looked at it, guilt overcame him, that he had sold the Dhamma. I can well understand devotees desire to make an offering as we are made to believe that it adds to our good karma. Just to satisfy that desire if a Bhikkhu accepts a pirikara, perhaps it may be construed as harmless but to preach for profit is totally despicable.

Maybe, I am paving my path to hell by writing this as some Bhikkhus say that criticizing the Sangha is an unpardonable sin. Perhaps, the Buddha may not agree with them had He been alive today. Not only that, He would have been shocked and dismayed by what some members of the Sangha is doing in His name. The greatest achievement of the Buddha is empowering us to seek our own destiny; freeing us from any supernatural overlords. He gave us freedom of thought and laid the foundation for the scientific basis of analysis of questions. He walked miles and miles, most likely barefooted, around large parts of India to pass on His message to all and sundry, explaining in terms each group understood. During his travels, on most nights, the Buddha would have slept under a tree gazing at the night sky above with the vast universe beyond. His bed would have been nothing more than a folded robe. In contrast, what do some of His followers do today? They live in opulence, boast of enlightenment, seek power and profit by selling the Dhamma. What a great shame?

Thomas Frank Courtesy The Guardian

Ding-dong, the jerk is gone. Finally, we have come to the end of Donald Trump’s season of extreme misrule. Voters have rejected what can only be described as the crassest, vainest, stupidest, most dysfunctional leadership this country has ever suffered.

© Provided by The Guardian Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

Congratulations to Joe Biden for doing what Hillary Clinton couldn’t, and for somehow managing to do it without forcefulness, without bounce, without zest, without direction and without a real cause, even.

It is a time for celebrating. Let us praise God for victory, however meagre and under-whelming. But let us also show some humility in our triumph. Before we swing into a national sing-along of the Hallelujah Chorus, I urge you to think for a moment about how we got here and where we must go next.

We know that 2020 has been a year for reckoning with the racist past, for the smashing of icons and the tearing-down of former heroes. Also for confronting the historical delusions that gave us this lousy present.

In the spirit of this modern iconoclasm, let me offer my own suggestion for the reckoning that must come next, hopefully even before Biden chooses his cabinet and packs his bags for Pennsylvania Avenue: Democrats must confront their own past and acknowledge how their own decisions over the years helped make Trumpism possible.

I know: this was a negation election, and what got nixed was Maga madness. The Democrats are the ones who won. Still, it is Joe Biden who must plan our course forward and so it is Biden who must examine our situation coldly and figure out the answer to the burning question of today: how can a recurrence of Trumpism be prevented?

Biden’s instinct, naturally, will be to govern as he always legislated: as a man of the center who works with Republicans to craft small-bore, business-friendly measures. After all, Biden’s name is virtually synonymous with Washington consensus. His years in the US Senate overlap almost precisely with his party’s famous turn to the third way” right, and Biden personally played a leading role in many of the signature initiatives of the era: Nafta-style trade agreements, lucrative favors for banks, tough-on-crime measures, proposed cuts to social security, even.

What Biden must understand now, however, is that it was precisely this turn, this rightward shift in the 1980s and 90s, that set the stage for Trumpism.

Let us recall for a moment what that turn looked like. No longer were Democrats going to be the party of working people, they told us in those days. They were new Democrats” now, preaching competence rather than ideology and reaching out to new constituencies: the enlightened suburbanites; the wired workers”; the learning class”; the winners in our new post-industrial society.

For years this turn was regarded as a great success. Bill Clinton brought us market-friendly reforms to banking rules, trade relations and the welfare system. He and his successor Barack Obama negotiated grand bargains and graceful triangulations; means-tested subsidies and targeted tax credits; tough-minded crime measures and social programs so complex that sometimes not even their designers could explain them to us.

Almost all of the celebrated policy achievements of the centrist era lie in ruins

In the place of the Democratic party’s old household god – the middle class” – these new liberals enshrined the meritocracy, meaning not only the brilliant economists who designed their policies, but also the financiers and technologists that the new liberalism tried to serve, together with the highly educated professionals who were now its most prized constituents. In 2016 Hillary Clinton lost the former manufacturing regions of the country but was able to boast later on that she won the places that represent two-thirds of America’s gross domestic product … the places that are optimistic, diverse, dynamic, moving forward.”

© Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images ‘What Biden must realize now is that it was precisely this turn, this rightward shift in the 1980s and 90s, that set the stage for Trumpism.’

However, there are consequences when the left party in a two-party system chooses to understand itself in this way. As we have learned from the Democrats’ experiment, such a party will show little understanding for the grievances of blue-collar workers, people who – by definition – have not climbed the ladder of meritocracy. And just think of all the shocking data that has flickered across our attention-screens in the last dozen years – how our economy’s winnings are hogged by the 1%; how ordinary people can no longer afford new cars; how young people are taking on huge debt burdens right out of college; and a thousand other points of awful. All of these have been direct or indirect products of the political experiment I am describing.

Biden can’t take us back to the happy assumptions of the centrist era even if he wants to, because so many of its celebrated policy achievements lie in ruins. Not even Paul Krugman enthuses about Nafta-style trade agreements any longer. Bill Clinton’s welfare reform initiative was in fact a capitulation to racist tropes and brought about an explosion in extreme poverty. The great prison crackdown of 1994 was another step in cementing the New Jim Crow. And the biggest shortcoming of Obama’s Affordable Care Act – leaving people’s health insurance tied to their employer – has become painfully obvious in this era of mass unemployment and mass infection.

But the biggest consequence of the Democrats’ shabby experiment is one we have yet to reckon with: it has coincided with a period of ever more conservative governance. It turns out that when the party of the left abandons its populist traditions for high-minded white-collar rectitude, the road is cleared for a particularly poisonous species of rightwing demagoguery. It is no coincidence that, as Democrats pursued their professional-class third way”, Republicans became ever bolder in their preposterous claim to be a workers’ party” representing the aspirations of ordinary people.

When Democrats abandoned their majoritarian tradition, in other words, Republicans hastened to stake their own claim to it. For the last 30 years it has been the right, not the left, that rails against elites” and that champions our down-home values in the face of the celebrities who mock them. During the 2008 financial crisis conservatives actually launched a hard-times protest movement from the floor of the Chicago board of trade; in the 2016 campaign they described their foul-mouthed champion, Trump, as a blue-collar billionaire”, kin to and protector of the lowly – the lowly and the white, that is.

Donald Trump’s prodigious bungling of the Covid pandemic has got him kicked out of office and has paused the nation’s long march to the right. Again, let us give thanks. But let us also remember that the Republicans have not been permanently defeated. Their preening leader has gone down, but his toxic brand of workerism will soon be back, enlisting the disinherited and the lowly in the cause of the mighty. So will our fatuous culture wars, with their endless doses of intoxicating self-righteousness, shot into the veins of the nation by social media or Fox News.

I have been narrating our country’s toboggan ride to hell for much of my adult life, and I can attest that Biden’s triumph by itself is not enough to bring it to a stop. It will never stop until a Democratic president faces up to his party’s mistakes and brings to a halt the ignoble experiment of the last four decades.

Should Joe Biden do that, he might be able to see that he has before him a moment of great Democratic possibility. This country has grown sick of plutocracy. We don’t enjoy sluicing everything we earn into the bank accounts of a few dozen billionaires. We want a healthcare system that works and an economy in which ordinary people prosper, even people who didn’t go to a fancy college. Should Biden open his eyes and overcome his past, he may discover that he has it in his power to rebuild our sense of social solidarity, to make the middle-class promise real again, and to beat back the right. All at the same time.

• Thomas Frank is the author of The People, No: A Brief History of Anti-Populism. He is also a Guardian US columnist

ලංකා ගුරු සේවා සංගමය.

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

අමාත්‍යතුමනි,

පවතින වසංගත තත්වය හමුවේ පාසල් හරහා මාර්ගගත :Online
ක්‍රමයට ඉගැන්වීම් සිදු කිරීම හේතුවෙන් බහුතර සිසු දරුවන්ට
අසාධාරණයක් සිදුවීම සම්බන්ධව.

රට තුළ පවතින වසංගත තත්වය හමුවේ වරින්වර පාසල් වසා දැමීමට සිදු වීම තුළ සිසු දරුවන්ගේ පාසල් අධ්‍යාපනය අඩපණ වීම හා විෂය අධ්‍යාපන කටයුතු ම`ග හැරීම දිගින් දිගටම සිදු වෙමින් පවති.

මෙයට විකල්පයක් ලෙස පහසුකම් ඇති සීමිත පාසල් කිහිපයක් ඉගැන්වීම් කටයුතු ස`දහා මාර්ගගත :දබකසබැ- ක්‍රමය භාවිතා කරමින් සිටි.

එසේ වුවද මෙම පාසල්වල දරුවන් ද මෙම ක්‍රමය හා සම්බන්ධවන්නේ සීමිත අවස්්ථාවන් හා සීමිත දරුවන් සංඛ්‍යාවන්ගෙන් බව පැහැදිලි වී තිබේ.

මෙයට හේතුව බොහෝ දරුවන්ගේ දෙමාපියන්ට දබකසබැ ක්‍රමයට ඉගෙනීමට අවශ්‍ය තාක්ෂණික උපාංග නොමැතිවීම හා අන්තර්ජාල පහසුකම් සපයා ගත නොහැකි වීමයි. තවද එක් නිවසක දරුවන් කිහිපදෙනෙකු සිටින අවස්ථා ඇති බැවින් දෙමාපියන් සතු සීමිත තාක්ෂණික පහසුකම් දරුවන් සියල්ලගේ අවශ්‍යතාවයට සරිලන ලෙස ලබා දීමට නොහැකි වීම ද ගැට`ඵවකි.

මෙරටේ අතිබහුතරයක් දෙමාපියන් ඉතා අවම ආර්ථීක හැකියාවන් සහිතව ජීවත් වන බැවින් එම දෙමාපියන්ට තම දරුවන්ට දබකසබැ ඉගෙනීමට අවශ්‍ය තාක්ෂණික පහසුකම් සපයා දීමේ හැකියාවක් නොමැත.

එසේම ඉහත තාක්ෂණික පහසුකම් යම් මට්ටමකට සපයා දිය හැකි දෙමාපියන් ද රටේ පවතින වත්මන් තත්වය හමුවේ තම ආදායම් මාර්ග අහිමි වී තිබිම හේතුවෙන් එකී පහසුකම් තම දරුවන්ට සපයා දීමට නොහැකි තත්වයට පත්ව සිටිති.

මේ හේතුවෙන් දබකසබැ අධ්‍යාපනයට මෙරටේ බහුතර සිසු දරුවන්ට අවස්ථා අහිමිවීමෙන් එකී දරුවන් ද ඔවුන්ගේ දෙමාපියන් ද දැඩි අසරණභාවයකට පත්ව සිටිති.

පහසුකම් සහිත සීමිත පාසල් සංඛ්‍යාවක් හා එකී පාසල්වල සීමිත පහසුකම් සහිත සු`ඵතරයක් වු දෙමාපියන්ගේ දරුවන් පමණක් මෙම දබකසබැ ක්‍රමය හරහා පාසල මගින් ද උපකාරක පන්ති ගුරුවරුන් මගින් ද ඉගෙනුම් කටයුතු කරද්දී රටේ අතිබහුතරයක් සිසු දරුවන්ට පොදු විකල්ප ඉගෙනුම් – ඉගැන්වීම් මාධ්‍යයක් සකසා දීමට අධ්‍යාපන අමාත්‍යංශය අපොහොසත් වීම ඉතාම කනගාටුදායක බව පෙන්වා දෙන්නෙමු.

පාසල්වල දබකසබැ ක්‍රමයට ඉගැන්වීම් හේතුවෙන් එකී ඉගෙනුම් අවස්ථා තම දරුවනට අහිමි වීම පිළිබදව එම දෙමාපියන් අප සංගමය වෙත ද කරුණු ඉදිරිපත් කරමින් සිටිති. ඔවුන් ඉදිරිපත් කරන කරුණු ද සැලකිල්ලට ගනිමින් සාධාරණ හා පොදු විකල්ප ඉගෙනුම් - ඉගැන්වීම් වැඩසටහනක් සදහා අප සංගමය පහත කරුණු ඔබ වෙත යොමු කර සිටිමු.

01ග අධ්‍යාපන අමාත්‍යංශයේ මුලිකත්වයෙන් හා මෙහෙයවීමෙන් ජාතික අධ්‍යාපන ආයතනය, විශ්වවිද්‍යාල හා පාසල් ගුරුවරුන්ගේ සම්පත් දායකත්වයෙන් ගුවන් විදුලි හා රූපවාහිනි නාලිකා හරහා විකාශය කිරීමට හැකි පොදු අධ්‍යාපන වැඩසටහන් මාලාවක් සැකසීම.

02ග එකී වැඩසටහන් මාලාව විකාශයට ජාතික ගුවන්විදුලිය, ජාතික රූපවාහිනිය හා පෞද්ගලික ගුවන්විදුලි මෙන්ම රූපවාහිනි නාලිකාවලින් සුදුසු විකාශන කාලයක් ලබා ගැනීම.

03ග විධිමත් සැලැස්මකට හා කාලසටහනකට අනුව දරුවන්ගේ මනසට ගැලපෙන ආකාරයට විකාශන කාලයක් ලබා ගනිමින් මෙම වැඩසටහන ක්‍රියාත්මක කළ යුතුය.

04ග මෙරටේ පවතින ගුවන්විදුලි හා රූපවාහිනි ඇතු`ඵ සියලූ සම්ප්‍රේෂණ මාර්ගවල පරම අයිතිය ජනතාව සතුවන බැවින් මෙවැනි අවස්ථාවක රටේ දරුවන්ගේ අධ්‍යාපන වෙනුවෙන් පෞද්ගලික ගුවන්විදුලි හා රූපවාහිනි නාලිකාවලට ද අත්නොහැරිය හැකි වගකීමක් ඇති බව ද පෙන්වා දෙමු.

05ග එබැවින් සියලූම ගුවන්විදුලි හා රූපවාහිනි නාලිකාවලින් ප්‍රමාණවත් විකාශන කාලයක් ලබා ගනිමින් මෙම පොදු අධ්‍යාපන වැඩසටහන් මාලාව ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීමට රජයේ පූර්ණ මැදිහත්වීම සිදුවිය යුතුය.

මේ ස`දහා ලංකා ගුරු සේවා සංගමය ලෙස අපගේ පූර්ණ සහය හා දායකත්වය සැපයීමට සුදානමින් සිටින බව දන්වා සිටින අතර ඉහත කරුණු ද සැලකිල්ලට ගනිමින් මෙරටේ සියලූ සිසු දරුවන්ට සාධාරණ විකල්ප අධ්‍යාපන අවස්ථාවක් සලසා දිය හැකි ලෙස කටයුතු කරන ලෙස ඉතා ඕනෑකමින් යුතුව ඉල්ලා සිටිමු.

මෙයට,
විධායක සභාව වෙනුවෙන්,

මහින්ද ජයසිංහ,
ප්‍රධාන ලේකම්,
ලංකා ගුරු සේවා සංගමය.

පිටපත් – 01. ලේකම් – අධ්‍යාපන අමාත්‍යංශය

Mahinda Karunaratne Chairman Karuna Trust

 It’s exactly six months ago we made an appeal to our donors and
well-wishers requesting donations for our COVID  19 relief work.
There we got a very good response for it and with that donations we
severed 3412 families.

Unfortunately, the second wave came up five weeks ago and by now it
has spread all over the country. This wave is much more powerful than
the first one and It’s spreading very fast. Within these five weeks
over 9000 positive patients have been identified.

Entire Gampaha District and many police station controlling areas have
been under curfew for the last 35 days. Entire Western Province has
been under curfew for the last seven days. Under this situation there
are thousands of daily wage workers, small vendors, and visiting
housemaids who work on daily wages are having a hard life. Also there
are several thousands of three-wheel drivers who are not the owners of
the three-wheels but they run others three-wheels where they have to
pay a daily fixed amount whether they have the income or not. Now most
of the people are not traveling in three-wheels and in taxies.

After a study we decided to give a parcel of dry ration to such
families. So we allocated rupees one million from our cataract surgery
fund to buy the goods. We have already given an order to Sathos, the
Government owned consumer goods distributor, where we will be getting
a special discount if we do the distribution through the Divisional
Secretaries. Each parcel costs Rs.2116.00. Already we have ordered 500
parcels which we will be getting only on the 9th Monday.

We can’t make any request from our donors to make a donation for the
second time. It’s not even six months gone after their first donation.
It’s the wish of the donors whether to join with us for the second
time to help the neediest who suffer without food. If anyone gives we
accept it with great respect and use it to give dry ration for the
neediest people.

This morning, two of our local donors, each of them have deposited
Rs.25000.00 after hearing that we have started distributing dry
ration. Also a Los Angeles based US NGO who always supports our
activities has deposited US$.1500.00 to our account without any
request.

Herewith we have attached a few memories of our previous COVID 19 relief work.

With metta,

Mahinda Karunaratne
Chairman
Karuna Trust

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

ගරු අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමාට සෙත් ප්‍රාර්ථනා කරමින් වැල්ලවත්ත මයුරපති ශ්‍රී භද්‍රකාලී අම්මාන් කෝවිලේ පැවති ආශිර්වාද පූජාව සඳහා අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමන් අද 2020.11.08 දින පස්වරුවේ එක් විය.

වැල්ලවත්ත මයුරපති ශ්‍රී භද්‍රකාලී අම්මාන් කෝවිලේ ප්‍රධාන පූජක තුමන් වන උදය රාගම පූජකතුමා විසින් මෙම ආශිර්වාද පූජාව පැවැත්වූයේය. මෙම අවස්ථාව සඳහා අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ආර්යා ශිරන්ති රාජපක්ෂ මැතිණිය ද එක්ව සිටියාය.

මෙහිදී කොවිඩ්-19 වසංගත තත්ත්වයෙන් ආරක්ෂාවීම සඳහා අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමාගේ පවුලේ සාමාජිකයින්ට හා රට වැසියාට සෙත් ප්‍රාර්ථනා කළේය.

ඉන් අනතුරුව කෝවිල් භූමියේ පිහිටි කඩවර දේවාලයට ගොස් අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා ආශිර්වාද ලබා ගත්තේය.

මෙම අවස්ථාව සඳහා කෝවිල් භාරකාර මණ්ඩලයේ සභාපති සුන්දරලිංගම් මහතා ඇතුළු පිරිසක් එක්ව සිටියහ.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

කොවිඩ්-19 වසංගත තත්ත්වය මව්බිමෙන් දුරු වේවායි ප්‍රාර්ථනා කරමින්, රට වැසියාට සෙත් පතා  දිවයින පුරා රතන සූත්‍ර දේශනා කිරීමේ වැඩසටහන් මාලාවේ සමාරම්භක අවස්ථාවට ගරු අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමා අද 2020.11.08 දින එක් විය.

ගරු අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය හා බුද්ධ ශාසන ආගමික හා සංස්කෘතික කටයුතු අමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමාගේ උපදෙස් පරිදි අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය කාර්යාලයේ හා  බුද්ධ ශාසන ආගමික හා සංස්කෘතික කටයුතු අමාත්‍යංශයේ මූලිකත්වයෙන් දිස්ත්‍රික්ක 25 පුරා ඒ ඒ දිස්ත්‍රික්ක කේන්ද්‍රවන පරිදි මෙම රතන සූත්‍රය දේශනා කිරීමේ කටයුතු සම්පාදනය කර තිබේ.

මෙම වැඩසටහන් මාලාවේ සමාරම්භක අවස්ථාව අද දින කොළඹ 07, ආර්. ජී. සේනානායක මාවතේ ශ්‍රී සම්බෝධි විහාරස්ථානයේදී පැවැත්විණි.

එම අවස්ථාව එක්වූ ගරු අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමන් ආගමිකවතාවත්වල නිරතවීමෙන් අනතුරුව මහා සංඝරත්නය වෙත අටපිරකර පූජා කළේය.

රතන සූත්‍ර දේශනා කිරීමේ අවස්ථාව සඳහා පූජ්‍ය බොරලන්දේ වජිරඥාන නාහිමියන් ප්‍රමුඛ පූජ්‍ය ඉත්තදෙමලියේ ඉන්ද්‍රසාර නාහිමි, පූජ්‍ය ආචාර්ය කිරින්දේ අස්සජි නාහිමි හා පූජ්‍ය එගොඩ උයනේ ඥානවිමල නාහිමි ඇතුළු මහා සංඝරත්නය වැඩම කළ වදාළහ.

අමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන, රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය විදුර වික්‍රමනායක, පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී ජගත් පුෂ්ප කුමාර, බුද්ධ ශාසන ආගමික හා සංස්කෘතික කටයුතු අමාත්‍යංශ ලේකම් මහාචාර්ය කපිල ගුණවර්ධන, කොළඹ දිස්ත්‍රික් ලේකම් ප්‍රදීප් යසරත්න මහත්වරු ඇතූළු සැහැදැවතුන් රැසක් මෙම අවස්ථාවට එක්ව සිටියහ.

By Sugeeswara Senadhira/Daily News Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

The Gotabaya Rajapaksa government has taken a variety of steps to correct economic distortions brought about by the pandemic

Colombo, November 6: On the eve of the first anniversary of the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government, the Budget for 2021 is to be presented by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who also holds the Finance portfolio. Some people are of the view that the budget could also be considered as a scorecard of performance in the first year.

However, it is a wrong assumption. The government’s performance since November 2019 had been tested at the people’s court and at the August 5, 2020 General Elections and the voters had overwhelmingly given full marks to the government. They gave it a thumping victory, nearly a two-third of seats in the 225-member parliament.

Budget 2021 is being presented at a time of global and local economic retardation due to the Covid-19 pandemic forcing economic activities to slow down and in some spheres. The government will present the budget based on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s ‘Vistas of Prosperity’ Policy Statement targeting people-centric development, and the general economic development and welfare of the people.

While the economy is on the downslide, the government is faced with unemployed persons and their families amidst a drop in expatriate remittances and loss of jobs for many expatriates. Despite all these, the government will definitely put forward proposals to revitalize collapsed businesses.

All said and done, Sri Lanka’s resilience in the face of challenges is well known and the government is expected to take stern measures to ensure fiscal consolidation to reduce the deficit and give a push to economic revival.

Treasury Secretary S.R. Attygalle acknowledged that the budget deficit for 2020 would be 9% but insisted that this was largely due to expenses that were carried over from the previous year and also Covid-19 related expenses. Government expenditure for the year 2021 has been estimated at Rs. 2,678 billion with the highest allocations for the Ministries of Defense, Highways and Provincial Councils, according to the Appropriation Bill for next year.

Separate allocations have been made for State Ministries in the Budget with those related to agriculture and rural development sectors getting the bulk of the allocations along with the highways and road development sector.

Of the total of approximately Rs. 2,678 billion (Rs. 2,678,040,000,000) estimated for the period beginning January 1, 2021 and ending on December 31, 2021, Rs. 1,714,301,178,000 is for recurrent expenditure while Rs. 963,738,822,000 will be for capital expenditure.

The expenditure will be met from payments which are authorized to be made out of the Consolidated Fund or any other fund or moneys at the disposal of the Government and from borrowings made in the financial year 2021.

The limit on borrowings for the financial year 2021 has been set at Rs. 2,900 billion with the details of such loans to be incorporated in the Final Budget Position Report which is required to be tabled in parliament under Section 13 of the Fiscal Management (Responsibility) Act No. 3 of 2003.

The difference between the total short-term borrowing during the financial year 2021 and the total settlement of short-term borrowing made during the financial year 2021 shall only be considered in deciding the volume of short-term borrowing for the purposes of calculating the borrowing made during the financial year 2021 as specified by the Appropriations Bill.

Dr. Attygalle stated that the highest allocations in the Budget will be for the Ministry of Defense Rs. 355 billion (Rs. 355,159,250,000) of which Rs. 316 billion (Rs. 316,806,290,000) will go towards recurrent expenditure while capital expenditure is at Rs. 38 million (Rs. 38,352,960,000).

The State Ministry of Internal Security, Home Affairs and Disaster Management has been allocated around Rs. 152 billion (Rs. 130,818,002,000 for recurrent expenditure and Rs. 21,647,040,000 for capital expenditure).

The Ministry of Education has been allocated over Rs. 126 billion with over Rs. 102 billion (Rs. 102,670,000,000) towards recurrent expenditure and around Rs. 23 billion (Rs. 23,870,000,000) towards capital expenditure.

The Ministry of Health has been allocated around Rs. 159 billion but the bulk of the money around Rs. 128 billion (Rs. 128,480,998,000) will go towards capital expenditure while around Rs. 30 billion (Rs. 30,995,000,000) will go towards recurrent expenditure.

The Appropriations Bill provides for the financial year 2021; authorizes the raising of loans in or outside Sri Lanka for the purpose of such service; makes financial provisions in respect of certain activities of the government during the financial year; enables the payment by way of advances out of the Consolidated Fund or any other fund or monies, of or at the disposal of the Government, of monies required during that financial year for expenditure on such activities and provides for the refund of such monies to the Consolidated Fund and to make provision for connected matters.

It is a matter of fact that the government is keenly working to reduce the deficit to about four percent over the next few years.

Economists admit that it is impossible to reduce the budget deficit at once. But we hope to gradually reduce it from next year. One of the main reasons for the Budget deficit to increase to nine percent this year was unpaid bills by the State,” they asserted. Of the Rs. 242 billion that was owed, Rs. 226 billion has already been disbursed. Once these payments reach the rest of the economy, including banks, we are anticipating a resurgence of growth in the third and fourth quarters.”

State Minister of Finance, Capital Market and Public Enterprise Reforms Ajith Nivaard Cabraal has dismissed predictions of doom. He said that those predictions failed to recognize and do justice to the ground reality of the ongoing rapid economic recovery backed by the vastly improved business confidence arising from the return of political and policy stability after a lapse of five years in Sri Lanka.

He charged that a leading global credit rating agency has unreasonably and in a biased manner, downgraded Sri Lanka’s Credit Rating without analyzing the ground realities of the national economy, mainly in the successful fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and economic reforms introduced by the new government.

During the three different phases of the Covid-19 pandemic, the government was compelled to impose a curfew in order to implement social distancing effectively to prevent the spread of the pandemic. While this has curtailed the spread of coronavirus, the downside of the move was that the entire economic sphere came to a standstill. The services sector, manufacturing and retail services have come to a halt. Although the public and private sector employees have been instructed to work from their residences during the period of the lockdown, only a very few economic activities could be carried out in such a manner.

Even though the Government has allowed agricultural production to continue unhindered, doubts about marketing the produce due to uncertainties surrounding the lifting of curfew hours, difficulties in obtaining fertilizer and other inputs, and worries about possible crop wastage due to lack of storage facilities prevented a substantial section of the farming community from harvesting.

The sectors that suffer the most are the daily wage earners and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), including those in the informal sector. The daily wage earners could be taken care of by the temporary welfare scheme of giving an Rs. 5,000 handout and supply of essential food items.

However, loss of economic contribution from MSMEs which account for a little over half of national employment would be a heavy loss to the Gross Domestic Production (GDP). The absence of any meaningful economic activity for a month or two will severely affect the well-being of those involved. Since daily wage earners and many MSME employees operate on thin margins and low levels of reserve savings, a prolonged lockdown without adequate support would lead to unemployment and a major loss to the GDP.

With these in mind, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has instructed that a post-Covid-19 economic strategy should be devised to minimize possible economic downturn due to the ceasing of almost most economic activities as a result of the coronavirus. The steps taken had enhanced employment opportunities in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), leading to lower social tensions. The resulting economic activities in the country would ensure a rise in government tax revenues.

Other steps to revive economic activities included fiscal steps to augment the small and medium sector, directing and providing facilities to the Department of Agriculture and to the Department of Agrarian Services to provide seeds, plants, fertilizer and equipment required for farming and encourage seed farming, use of organic fertilizer and home gardening as well as to grant loans to farmers through State banks. Budget 2021 is expected to continue these fiscal measures to ensure a speedy revival of economic activities in these vital sectors.

By P.K.Balachandran/Daily Express Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

While containment of China will be the core of his South Asian policy, Biden will try to meet the concerns of the countries here and make the US an alternative to China as a catalyst of economic development

Colombo, November 8: In the last few years, South Asia has become important for US policy on Asia given the fact that China has spread its tentacles in the region with huge investments in infrastructural projects.

The existing regional and global powers, namely India and the US, have also been apprehensive about China’s throwing its weight about in the Indian Ocean region just as it is doing in South China Sea. This is the reason why India and the US are harping on freedom of navigation and rule-based navigation and have formed the Quad” which is an anti-China alliance of the US, India, Japan and Australia.

Therefore, China is the main factor determining America’s relations with Asia, whether it is East Asia, South East Asia or South Asia. Bilateral relations with any of the countries in the region will be determined by that country’s relations or engagement with China.

Outgoing President Donald Trump had an aggressive approach to China, and, as often stated by his Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, Trump’s goal was to dislodge the Chinese Communist Party’s from power in Beijing. In other words, the Trump Administration was going at China’s jugular. The US had made the conflict not just a fight between two nations but between two ideologies, democracy and communism, between good and evil. American’s trade and technology policies were hard-hitting and the language employed was harsh. In Colombo, Pompeo dubbed the Chinese Communist Party a predator” out to put fund receiving countries in a debt trap”. Pompeo’s idea was to sow seeds of fear in countries like Sri Lanka which are receiving huge dollops of development funding from China.

While Joe Biden will certainly attempt to contain China which is challenging America’s pre-eminence in the world, his methods will be different. Under his scheme, the emphasis will not just be on strategic/military cooperation but economic cooperation based on mutual gain. Biden is expected to put the US back in economic organizations like the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) which Trump had quit. His aim will be to provide countries with a credible alternative to China’s allegedly debt trapping Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Unlike Trump, Biden does not see China as a sworn enemy but as a competitor”. His approach will be to convince China that it would be in its interest to reform its conduct in international affairs including the trade, technology and maritime sectors. He would not want to seek a regime change in Beijing but to get together all democratic countries to put pressure on Beijing to change its human rights, trade, technology and maritime policies. Though Biden used the word thug” to describe Chinese President Xi Jinping, he would refrain from using such epithets as President of the US.

Most importantly, instead of merely curbing China, as Trump did, Biden would improve the US’s own economic and technological capabilities. This he proposes to do not unilaterally, but through cooperation with allies and other democratic countries in a mutually beneficial manner. He would also lend an ear and accommodate the concerns and needs of the countries he would be befriending. This could mean that Biden would give these countries a better alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which allegedly spawns unsustainable debt. This will suit countries like Sri Lanka which want US investments and not just criticism for accepting Chinese funds for developing infrastructure.

India

India has a border row with China going back to 1959 and the two countries had fought a month-long war in 1962. India is irked by China’s growing ties with Pakistan with which it has fought three wars – two over Kashmir and one over Bangladesh. India is also hurt that China supports Pakistan on the issue of cross-border terrorism.

Like Trump, Biden too will support India against China and seek to enhance India’s participation in the Quad. But unlike Trump, he would be less keen on seeing India and China go to war because his overall approach to China would not be muscle flexing or sabre rattling but constructive diplomacy. This will prevent a Sino-Indian war.

Unlike Trump, who cared little for the Narendra Modi government’s alleged human rights violations in Kashmir and discriminatory policies on Muslims, Biden is expected to speak out on rights violations albeit without alienating Modi. Biden is most likely to put the US back in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) which was shunned by Trump. This will be a shot in the arm for human rights advocates in India.

Impact of Iran Policy

Biden is expected to reverse Trump’s decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal with Iran. US withdrawal from the deal had only resulted in Iran’s continuing its nuclear weapons program. To cajole Tehran to yield on the nuclear issue, Biden could go soft on the sanctions against Iran. This might result in India’s getting back its abandoned projects – namely, building the Chabahar port and the Chahabar-Zahedan railway and developing the Farzad-B gas field. This will help India regain its long-standing friendship with Iran.

Sri Lanka

Biden is expected to take up Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s suggestion to Mike Pompeo that the US should find ways of investing in the island nation instead of indulging in false propaganda that China is putting Sri Lanka in a debt trap.

Gotabaya and Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena had given Pompeo a list of sectors in which American investment would be welcome. Biden is expected to take this offer seriously as he is interested in carrying democratic countries with him in his bid to make America friendly and relevant to all countries.

There is a fear in Sri Lanka that Biden will pillory Colombo on the human rights and ethnic reconciliation issues, especially after the US gets back into the UNHRC. Democrats have traditionally taken up rights issues. The Obama Administration had done that earlier vis-a-vis Sri Lanka.

There is a particular fear among the majority Sinhala community in Sri Lanka that Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris will take up the Tamil separatist” cause as she is half Tamil. The Tamil Diaspora must be working on her already, wrote HLD Mahindapala in The Sunday Observer of November 8.

However, while the Biden Administration will take up ethnic and reconciliation issues to prove its democratic credentials, it will not go hammer and tongs against the powerful and well-entrenched Gotabaya Rajapaksa government as it needs the Lankan government for its geo-strategic need to contain China in the Indian Ocean. Over time, it may try to rope strategically located Sri Lanka into the Quad.

Unlike Trump, Biden is keen on expanding existing alliances and not walking out of them. Biden might even agree to re-negotiate the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact which the Rajapaksa government wants re-negotiated.

Pakistan

Pakistan’s main concerns are ceaseless tension with India and unease with the slow progress in the peace process in neighboring Afghanistan. With Biden unlikely to be overtly friendly with India’s Narendra Modi, Pakistan could expect Modi to restrain himself in his dealings with it.

Like Trump, Biden is committed to withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan but not in a hurry as Trump wanted to. Like Trump he will encourage the Taliban and the Kabul government to reach a peace settlement as soon as possible while keeping a contingent of US troops to help the peace process. An unhurried US withdrawal and moves towards a peace settlement will be in Pakistan’s interest.

Committed to working through consensus, Biden might begin a dialogue with Islamabad and the all-powerful Pakistan army to ensure peace in Afghanistan and also to prevent Pakistan going over to China wholesale. He could encourage US investments. His commitment to lifting Trump’s ban on immigration from Muslim countries will help improve ties with Pakistan.

Nepal, Bangladesh and Maldives

US strategic and economic involvement in Nepal, Bangladesh and the Maldives is negligible as these countries come under the Indian umbrella. However, Biden will keep an eye on developments in these countries as Nepal shares a border with China and the Maldives is the gate keeper” of the Indian Ocean. The US is to establish an embassy in the Maldives.

By PTI Courtesy The New Indian Express

Fishermen association leader P Sesuraja appealed against destruction of the boats and said steps should be taken to return to their owners.

RAMESWARAM: A court in Sri Lanka has permitted officials to destroy several Indian mechanised fishing boats seized in the last 3-4 years for allegedly crossing into the island nation territory, officials here said on Sunday.

The court in Jaffna gave the orders for destroying 27 out of the 94 boats of fishermen from this region in Lankan custody, they said, quoting information received by them.

The development triggered tension in this island town and fishermen association leader P Sesuraja appealed against destruction of the seized boats and said steps should be taken to return to their owners.

Sri Lankan Navy had seized several boats of Tamil Nadu fishermen for allegedly fishing in their territorial waters in recent years.

Some of the seized boats had been released in batches in the past and brought back by the fishermen.

Courtesy Hiru News

Government Information Department states that the 35th COVID-19 death has been reported in Sri Lanka. Victim was a 78 year old Male. 

He was pronounced dead on admission to the Colombo National Hospital.

The post-mortem identified him to be infected with covid 19. The cause of death was pronounced as a heart attack due to covid 19.

Courtesy Hiru News

Another 227 have tested positive for COVID-19. All are close contacts

Therefore, the number of patients reported for the day has increased to 510.

Accordingly, the number of reported infections in the country has increased to 13,929.

H. L. D. Mahindapala

Say what you like against Donald Trump, the man was a phenomenon. Whether the legacy he leaves behind is good or bad is a judgement that will be determined finally by those who will feel the impact of his regime in the years to come. Win or lose, (he is losing at the time of writing) he will be remembered as the leader who articulated and released the underlying undercurrents that had been dormant in the political landscape, awaiting a leader to take up the challenge. Trump is the leader that represented the subterranean forces which the pundit class had never expected to rise to levels raised by Trump. Though Trump seems to be doomed at the polls (midday – Friday) Trumpism he generated has the force to haunt US politics in the foreseeable future. One of his ambitions has been to make his  mark in history. He would achieve that place as the most  unorthodox, controversial and unpredictable president ever who bucked the system and won. In short, he has changed the style, the substance and the contours of American politics with  the arrogance of an outsider spitting into the inside.

His aggressive confrontations have traumatised America and raised the political heat to a boiling point. In Michigan FBI has arrested six pro-Republican men who were plotting, with 200 men, to provoke a civil war leading to a societal collapse”. They were planning to abduct the Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and try her for treason. As usual Donald Trump has been silent, refusing to condemn undemocratic violence which has the  consent of the President. His call to the white supremacists to stand by” is ringing in their ears. The post-election period is threatening to be nasty and brutal.

A wounded Trump is not likely to lie low. Trump admitted at a recent press conference that he is a bad loser. Even before the votes have been counted he has been preparing  the ground to find excuses for his loss. Predictably, he has been blaming his opponents. But even Republican lawyers have condemned his tactics of trying to undermine the democratic  process. They said that his  allegations of voter fraud and false declarations of victory are premature, baseless and reckless.” Against all odds he is  going ahead with legal challenges believing that the Democrats had stolen victory from  him. His capacity to believe in his own lies is an incurable disease which is sapping all his energies.

Refusing to concede to the rising tide against him he is hoping that he could stop the  counting of votes coming in late and reverse the fate awaiting him. But the unrelenting developments are eroding his power by the minute. At  the moment he is  tilting  at windmills, twittering fire at selected targets which are not  going to work the way it did  when he was in office. The danger is that he still has time to wreak havoc till January. He will be concentrating more on trying to save his back than  the nation facing Coronaviurs-19 and the economy struggling alongside Coronavirus-19 to recover. But he seems to have run out of steam in mid-election. His  election was rerun of the campaign against Hilary. He tried to revive the lock-her-up slogan against Biden but it did not click the way it did with Hilary. Against  Hilary he was the rebel promising to clean up the swamp in the White House and Washington. This time  around he was seen as the swamp. He threw mud at Biden  but it  did not stick the way it did  against Hilary.

Nevertheless, he managed  to garner over 70 million votes despite the massive onslaught from the mainstream media. In the  main, his base has not abandoned  him. Despite the race riots, despite the minorities crying I can’t breathe!’ echoing the  words  of George Floyd who was choking under the  pressure of a Police knee, despite receiving the  benefits of Obama care, and despite the deadly blows from Coronavirus-19 Trump received a substantial bloc of votes, particularly in Florida, to run a close race, running neck-and neck with Biden. The fact that  he managed to be in the  race against the massive mainstream media onslaught is a testimony to his bouncing energy and his instincts to read the mood of the electorate better than  the  pundit class. 

His unbounded energy seems to flow from an inexhaustible inner source. He was like a multi-barrel gun firing non-stop. His below-the-belt red tie sits prominently on his protruding belly as a symbol of his below-the-belt  politics. At 72 he is buoyed by self-belief of greatness in everything he does and in himself, in particular. He stands out as an unabashed egomaniac who is driven by the arrogant belief that he can do whatever he likes and get away with it. He has survived two divorces, one impeachment, 26 accusations  of sex misconduct, and estimated hundreds of  law suits on tax evasion charges. Many more cases of tax frauds are awaiting him in the Federal and State courts after he leaves the White House. And yet he hopes to carry on like Johnny Walker in whiskey bottle labels.

All this is at the  personal level. The political man, despite all his missteps, misspeaks and monstrous mendacities has turned out to be the most fascinating political performer on  the American stage. He, of course, belongs only to  this  age at  this point of time. Other periods did not create the culture needed for a Trump to triumph. It is a  populist cult that combines McCarthyism with Hooverism. This duo rose and survived  in  the fear-driven ethos of the Cold War. In an atmosphere of fear, it is easy to sell lies. Both McCarthyism and Trumpism thrives on lies. The fear of a red under the bed enabled McCarthy to manipulate and ride the fears of the day to his political advantage. . But they remained as a marginal cult, with considerable power no doubt. Tramp also has the Mc Carthyist tendency of lying through  his teeth to create fear and thrive on fears of real and imaginary foes. He also has the Hooverish iron-fist to rule the roost with vindictive terror. Above all, he had crafted a new style of politics that has thrown tried and tested conventions and formulas into the winds. He has got away with never ending lies which has reduced fact-checkers to exhausted statisticians keeping useless records. His idiosyncratic style is in a class by itself. The pundit class overloaded with Cassandras are left puzzled by each unpredictable turn of events. The latest is stunning. When he got the first whiff of losing to Biden he ordered that the polling booths should stop counting. And he added even before the count had finished: ‘We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we

He steams and explodes like a volcano bubbling with hot lava from time to time to divert attention away from the problematic issues confronting him. He dances on the stage. He chants with the mob. He performs on the stage like an African leader railing and  swinging to the rhythms of his tribe. He fires them up with hate politics. The symbiotic relationship is electrifying. It has been his effective  counter-attack against the traditional forces, including some  in  the Republican Party, who had rejected from  day one. He is plugged into his base – one of the most dynamic sources of hidden American power — as no other President in history” had done before, to use one of his favourite phrases. He is wont to compare himself with some  figure in history to make him look like a unique figure destined to tower  over the American giants that dominated history.

His power to polarise is magnetic. His them-vs.-us-politics” is designed to keep his electorate loose and tight – loose enough to cover a broad church of diverse ethnics and tight  enough for his white base to follow him unswervingly as their leader. He acts as if America owes everything to him for its greatness. He rocks and he mocks as he markets the cheapest politics that  has no  relevance to the greatness of America either in the past or the present. On one occasion he claimed to be even greater than Abraham Lincoln, the revered holy father of American political culture. He parades as the enabler and the enforcer of all that is great in America without acknowledging that America has in reality dwindled in  stature after he took over. He came promising to make America great but  it is being dwarfed every day by China. Great leaders come up and thrive only in a culture  that is conducive for the rise of greatness. The post-World War II culture  that threw up the Roosevelts and the Kennedys seemed to have exhausted  its power to produce greatness. After them came  the loud-mouthed wheeler-dealers trying  to make a fast buck either on their way to the  White House or out of it.

Apart from his idiosyncratic style of governance  Donald Trump has  shown no  brilliance in  articulating or defining a noteworthy political philosophy. He is at his best when he twitters vituperative – and sometimes  misspelt – remarks that tend to irritate more than enlighten the polity. He loved to strut the international stage as if he was going to be the next messiah arriving to fulfil the mission  of being  the world’s next saviour. His meeting with  Kim Jon Un was the biggest theatrical flop which  was full of  sound and  fury  signifying  nothing. His penchant for cohabiting with the dictators abandoning his traditional allies and global institutions did not take America anywhere except into the hell-holes of N. Korea and the Middle East. His misguided dabbling  in foreign affairs has not added one  smidgin of respect or stature to  America’s standing  in the international stage.

In essence, he represented the whitelash” of American racism. The white supremacists too were happy to embrace him as their messiah. America has embraced Trump as the  man who had come to fulfil the needs of their time. And he too is playing up to that expectations with his rhetoric, theatrics, swagger and lies. In appearance he resembles more like Mussolini than Hitler – the man  who made the trains on time. Trump was equally committed to build walls and keep the people apart rather than open the doors to communal harmony.

Halting and reversing Trumpism is the main task before Biden.  He has to begin by discarding the mumbo-jumbo of medieval science and bring back America  to the 21^st century. He will have to tell the God-loving policy-makers in  the Senate that Jesus did no  charge a cent for giving  sight to the blind and  healing the sick. He will have to make the Americans understand that if their Constitution  guarantees equality to all men, and if all men are entitled to life, liberty and happiness then  all Americans are entitled to the same kind of treatment that Trump got when he was hospitalized for Coronavid-19. He will have to go all out  to  deal with Corona virus with  courage and scientific evidence.

Coming nearer to home, the new President has become more relevant to Sri Lanka more  than Trump. Trump’s policies were confined mainly to the overall strategic interests of America in the Indian Ocean Rim. America tended to keep a distance without interfering too heavily in the internal affairs. America’s interests in Sri Lanka were focused on balancing  its interest with China. But with  the coming of Biden a new element has crept  in : his  Vice-President, Kamala Harris with  direct Indian connections linked to Sri Lankan Tamils. Her presence in the White House has  added a new dimension and a deeper meaning  to US-Sri Lanka relations. Her personal links to the Tamils, and India in  general, can play a significant role in  future relations with the White  House.  Naturally, this is likely to  generate new and deeper interests in Sri Lankan affairs. The new Biden-Harris thrust into Sri Lankan affairs is likely to come from the usual human rights and minority rights issues. The hired moralists in NGOs too would gladly join  the American  bandwagon knowing that there is funding available in the NGO market to crank up American  interests disguised as human and minority rights.

Her presence in the Oval Office can make all the difference to Sri Lanka. The well-oiled Tamil lobby in USA now has a golden  opportunity which the Tamils never had before: a direct line  to the White  House. It is gift made in heaven for  the Tamils. Her role cannot be underestimated as the 78-yer-old President may not be able to bear the weight of the increasing  burdens of office.  This means that she is likely to take on a greater share of foreign policy. One can even expect an early visit from Kamala Harris to Sri Lanka with guided tours in the North to convince her that the Sinhala state” has been nasty to the Tamils. Besides, in the most unlikely event of something happening to the  President Biden (absit omen!) she is the next in line to step into his shoes. So, the real and the potential power of Kamala Harris has to be weighed in every step of the way.

Since the Tamil diaspora  is quick to grab  any opportunity that comes their way they would have made moves early in the elections  campaign to infiltrate her domain. In the previous election they ran a campaign openly declaring Tamils for Hilary” hoping to get into the White House through her.  They were also heavy contributors to Democratic Party fund. The Tamil diaspora consists of seasoned campaigners who know when and  where to sow their seeds to reap the  harvest later. Knowing that they have a sympathetic ear in the White House now they would move with all their resources to exploit Kamal Harris to pull out their political  chestnuts from the fire.

Besides, Delhi too will have easy access to the  White House through her to craft common programs that would serve the foreign policy objectives of both parties, particularly with the new Quad playing a central role in managing the Indo-Pacific region. In other words, the international pressure on Sri Lanka is bound to increase, with both India and America  operating jointly to twist Sri Lanka’s arm. The Indo-American combination is likely to come down like a ton of bricks on Sri Lanka. The likely outcome  of  this will be to  throw Sri Lanka into the arms of China in a big way.

There is no other pathway for Sri Lanka to prevent any likely moves to interfere  in  its  sovereignty and internal affairs. Any attempt to meddle in  the internal affairs will open up the Pandora’s box all over again.  Of course, both America and India are aware that the IPKF misadventure in Sri Lanka was America’s Vietnam, all over again. Any direct intervention is most  likely open the door for China  to step in. The Tamils, on their part, will move heaven  and earth to get America involved on their behalf. In  addition to the American Congressmen and the Senators in their lobby they now  have a Vice-President too.

Sri Lankan diplomacy will have to rethink its responses to the emerging situation. The Tamils too are likely to seize the opportunity and go out all to increase pressure. Some provocateurs might even instigate internal violence to destabilise the nation, hoping to benefit  by it. This, it must be emphasized, represents only a likely scenario  not  an inevitability. The fear is that  personal relationship can develop and pave the  path into harmful ends. While  the personal relationships tend  to come and go the ground situations created by personal relationships can remain with devastating consequences. The Biden-Harris administration has  a greater responsibility and duty to pursue foreign policy on the tried and tested ground realities to stabilise a volatile region rather than pursue polices based on personal preferences that may spell disaster to all parties concerned.

KAMALIKA PIERIS

The US is an exceptional country that is different from and superior to all other countries,   say admirers of the USA. I always thought that Europe and North America had it figured out. I saw them as Utopia,” a commentator from Buenos Aires told TIME. She changed her mind after the Corona virus.  Here are some other not-so-lovely aspects of the USA.

The US Presidential election, which is going on, as I write, is a historic one for USA and USA watchers.  It has thrown up a hostile, divided America unlike anything ever seen before.  Party supporters are fighting on the streets while the counting is going on. In Arizona, groups were waving Trump flags and carrying guns. Concrete barricades had been put in front of the White House. Shop fronts were boarded up expecting violence after the final result was announced.

After a four year dose of Donald Trump, America found to its surprise that a   considerable segment of the population is still for Trump.  At one point the voting was 50.5% for Biden (73,486,646 votes) and    47.9. % for Trump (69,622, 185 votes).

Trump had tapped into   the public dissatisfactions lying just beneath the surface. USA was no longer a booming economy, people were impoverished and Trump’s policies   appealed to them. Trump supporters liked Trump’s policy of America First. Trump had cut taxes, removed regulations that hampered business, raised military spending, exactly as he promised. Trumpism is here to stay said analysts. Trump practiced    racism and protectionism, said his opponents.

The term Divided States of America”   was used in 2016 in an essay in the New York Times. The author said instead of being a two-party nation, USA is becoming two one-party nations.  Frontline did a documentary in 2017 on Obama’s administration and   titled it Divided States of America”.

When the 2020 Presidential election results started to come in TV anchors used the title Divided states of America”. They said that USA is a deeply divided nation that needs healing.  Who can reunite and reconcile this bitterly divided nation, asked Deutsche Welle on its ‘To the point’ programme. Sri Lanka will laugh. The US used these exact words for Sri Lanka. US said that Sri Lanka was a bitterly divided nation which needs to be reconciled.

TIME notes that there are dynasties of a sort in American politics. Rodney Frelinghuywn,    Republican representative for New Jersey is a descendant of a line of public servants going back to the Congress in 1779. In 1970 25% of the Congress members had a close relative who served in Congress. In recent years roughly 1 in 10 members of Congress has had a close relative who has served in the Capitol. In the Senate at least 25 members have some political family history, said TIME in 2013.

In the US Congress, Senators use ‘filibuster’ to delay passing of bills. The filibuster tactic has prevented important bills from becoming law. Filibuster means talking and talking to delay the vote on a bill. Senators are permitted to speak for as long as they wish, and on any topic they choose, unless 60% of the Senate gets fed up and vote to end the discussion.

US Congress permits lobbying by interested parties, when new laws are placed before Congress. This lobbying is legal.  Lobbying is considered to come under the First Amendment   and is part of ‘participatory democracy,’ representing the interests of the ‘citizens’.

However, most of the lobbying is by corporations and businesses. They hire well-connected professional advocates, often lawyers, to look after their interests in Congress.  In 2017, New York Times reported that Devon Energy, an oil and gas company and Talen Energy a coal burning electric utility fought environmental regulations, including the landmark Clean Power plan. Lobbyist of the Association of Builders and Contractors focused on legislation on overtime pay, and workmen wages for government contracts.

In 2019, lobbyists spent USD 3.47 billion on influencing policy.  Lobbyists were able to get   exemptions worth billions inserted into legislation governing trade, job safety or industry subsidies.

Lobbyists are registered with Congress. It is a paid activity. In 2009, it was estimated that there were 13,700 registered lobbyists, in Washington. There are more than 20 registered lobbyists for every Member of Congress. Most are deployed to block anything that would tax, regulate or otherwise threaten a wealthy company, said TIME.

Lobbyists made good money. One lobbyist had received more than USD 350,000 in payments in 2014 and 2015 from a dozen different pharmaceutical companies. In 2017, one lobbyist worked for 10 different health care companies, lobbying the Medicare billing rules as well as rules for health care supplier accreditations.

In USA the law courts are central to American life, not simply to American law, said the Economist. The judiciary shapes American life by its decisions, said TIME.  Courts in USA, specially the Supreme Court, are increasingly politicized, said   critics. They are appointed according to their politics. Analysts therefore speak of the   ‘slant’ of the Supreme Court. Republicans   are in control of the Supreme Court and the Federal judiciary now said an analyst in November 2020. ”

The political and religious affiliations of Supreme Court judges are known publicly and the judges are expected to   make Supreme Court rulings according to their biases. When Supreme Court Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, recently, there was speculation about her replacement.   If Trump’s nominee is selected then six of the     nine will be conservative, said analysts. If so, the new judge could be the deciding vote on cases to strike down the Affordable care Act and the abortion law.

Amy Coney Barrett was appointed to the Supreme Court in place of Ginsburg.  She belongs to a religious community which is   against abortion.  Analysts also observed that Judge Barrett’s confirmation to the lifelong post will favor Republicans in politically sensitive cases that will come to Supreme Court for decades to come”.   In USA a Supreme Court judge is appointed for life.

Progressive legislation does not always have a smooth ride in the USA. The pro-abortion Roe vs Wade” law has still not been fully accepted. Roe v. Wade was a landmark legal decision issued on January 22, 1973, in which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Texas statute banning abortion, effectively legalizing the procedure across the United States.  But this statute has been challenged, over and over again. Americans are divided on the matter. Many states have imposed restrictions that weaken abortion rights.

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), intended to guarantee equal rights for women through an amendment to the Constitution, has not been ratified. In 1972, it passed both houses of Congress and was submitted to the state legislatures for ratification.  It seemed headed for quick approval until women groups opposed it, arguing that the ERA would affect certain laws which favored housewives , mothers and working women. The amendment received 35 of the necessary 38 state ratifications but five of these later withdrew. The amendment did not become part of the Constitution.  However, ERA has not been abandoned. Supporters are working on it.

‘Freedom of speech’ is not so free in USA. American Higher Education Research Institute found that due to the emphasis on ‘political correctness’ there are now doubts about the right answer, and teachers talk about they really think only in secret. Many University lecturers worry that saying or doing something that students object too, could lead to complaints and they could lose their jobs. Some academics have had to resign because their observations were considered inacceptable.

The Director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority was removed from his post because he sounded the alarm about the Corona virus in early January, 2020 and raised health concerns over a drug repeatedly pushed by President Trump as a possible cure for Corona virus. He said that he had been asked to buy drugs and medical products for the nation’s stockpile of emergency medical equipment from companies that were linked politically to the administration and that he resisted such efforts.

The captain of U.S. aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt”, Capt. Brett E. Crozier wrote a letter In March 2020 to the Pentagon direct, by passing the routine channels. He said that corona virus outbreak aboard his ship was spreading fast, dozens of sailors had been infected, more needed to be done to remove 5,000 sailors from the carrier docked in Guam. The media published the letter. Crozier was  promptly relieved of his command. There were not enough beds in Guam to accommodate the entire crew, explained the Navy.  (continued)

චන්ද්‍රසිරි විජයවික්‍රම, LL.B., Ph.D.

ඉහත මාතෘකාව යටතේ මා ලියූ ලිපියක්, 2009 ජූනි 22 දා අයිලන්ඩ් පුවත් පතේත්  (http://pdfs.island.lk/2009/06/22/p6.pdf), එහි සංශොධිත කොපියක් 2012 පෙබරවාරි 15 දින ලංකාවෙබ් වෙබ් අඩවියේත් පලවිය. කරුණු කීපයක් නිසා මෙම ලිපිය දැනටත් ඉතා වැදගත්‌ය: (1) 13- ඒ ප්ලස් පියා ලෙස සැළකෙන දයාන් ජයතිලක මහතා ප්‍රමුඛ, පරණ යටත් විජිත කැබලිකිරීමේ හා ඒවායේ කළුසුද්දන්ට හීනමානය ආරූඪ කිරීමේලා අළුත් උපාය මාර්‌ග දෙකක් වන, <නන්මැජෝරිටේරියන්>, <ආර්.ටූ.පී> කතාවල ලෝකල් ඒජන්තලා  කල්ලියක් බිහිවී සිටී. මොවුන් විසින්, මේ දිනවල, දිනපතාම වාගේ, 13-ඒ වෙනුවෙන් ඉංග්‍රීසි ලිපි ලියමින්, නැගී එන මිශ්‍ර සිංහලබෞද්‌ධ අන්තවාදයක් හා මිලිටරිවාදයක්  ඉදිරියේ ගෝඨාභයගෙන්, ඉන්‌දියාවේ මෝඩි ලවා 13-ඒ රැකගත යුතුයයි තර්‌ක කරමින් සිටී. මෙහිලා ටී‌.එන්.ඒ. කාරයින්, විග්නේෂ්වරන් හා පොන්නම්බලම් එකමුතුව සටන් කල යුතුයයි දයාන් ඔවුන්ට උපදෙස් දෙමින් සිටී.

(2) අනික නම් 2015-19 යහපාලනයෙන් ඉතිරිව ඉන්නා පඬරැල් හෙවත් විරුද්‌ධ පක්‍ෂය සත පහකට වැඩක් නැති නරුමයින් පිරිසක් බව ඔවුන්ගේ ක්‍රියාවලින් පෙනීයාමය. මොවුන් රට රැකීම නොව කුමණ අක්කාරයකින්, කොරෝනා මිණී උඩින් හෝ, ආණ්ඩුව බකල් කිරීම තම කාරිය යයි සිතන, දයාන් තම න්‍යායාචාරියා ලෙස සිතන බාල-මහළු පිරිසක්‌ය. ඒ නිසා දයාන්ලාට දෙන උත්තර ඔවුන්ටද අදාලය. ඔවුන් හා (අද්මිරාල් සරත් වීරසේකර හා තව කීප‌දෙනෙකුට අමතරව), ආණ්ඩුපක්‍ෂයේ මන්ත්‍රී පංචස්කන්‌ධ මෙම කාරණා දැනගැනීමේ ඇති වටිනාකමය.

(3) සමහර විට මෙහිදී වැදගත්ම කරුණ නම් දැනට පත්කර ඇති ව්‍යවස්ථා සම්පාදන විද්‌වත් කමිටුවේ සාමාජිකයින් 9 දෙනාගෙන් 8 ක් දෙනෙක්ම නීතීඥයින් වීමය. රටේ ඉතිහාසය හා භූගෝල විද්‍යව පිළිඹඳව ඔවුන්ට ඇති දැණුමට අදාලව ඇති සැකයය. පාසැල් වලින් මේ විෂයයන් දෙක ඉවත් කිරීම සිදුවූයේ සිරිමා අගමැති කාලයේ බදිුද්දීන් ඇමති යටතේය. ඇමෙරිකාවේ මෙන් නීති ශිෂ්‍යයෙක් නම් ඊට පෙර වෙනත් ප්‍රථම උපාධියක් ලංකාවේදී ඉල්ලන්නේ නැත. මේ නිසා ලංකාවේ නීතිඥයින්, නීතිය නමැති රේල්පාරේ යන කෝච්චි වැනිය.   ඔවුන් හා වෛද්‍යවරුන් අතර වෙනසක් නැත. මියගිය, විනිශ්වයකාර, මහාචාර්ය සී. ජී වීරමන්ත්‍රි වැනි මීට ව්‍යාතිරේකවන අය ඇත්තේ සුළු පිරිසකි. කමිටුවේ ඉන්නා කොළඹ ලෝ ෆැකල්ටි එකේ අයද රේල්පාරේම ගිය අය මිස, එහි සිටින එක නිතීඥයෙක් නොවන සාමාජිකයා වන ජී. එච් පීරිස් විශ්‍රාමලත් මහාචාර්යවරයා මෙන් සමාජ පර්යේෂණ කල බහුශ්‍ර‌ැතයෙක් නොවේ. පොතේ ඇති නීතිය හා ක්‍රියාවේ යෙදෙන නීතිය යන දෙකේ වෙනස දැනගත හැක්කේ ක්‍ෂේත්‍ර සමීක්‍ෂණාදිය මඟිනි.

මේ නිසා මේ කමිටුවට වෙනත් විෂයයන් ගැන විශාරද දැනුමක් ඇති  අයවද ඇතුලත් නොකිරීම බරපතල අඩුපාඩුවක් යනු මගේ මතය වන්නේ භූගෝල විද්‍යාව හා නීති විද්‍යාව සසඳමින් මා කල පශ්චාත් උපාධි දෙකෙන් ලද අත්දැකීම් නිසාය. උදාහරණයක් වශයෙන්, මෙම ලිපියේ සඳහන් වන මායා චඩ්ඩගේ (1997) කෘතිය මෙම කමිටුවේ සාමාජිකයින් වන නීතිවිද්‍යා ගුරුවරු කී දෙනෙක් කියවා ඇද්ද කියා මට සැක සිතේ. මේ නිසා මෙවැනි කරුණු ඇතුලත් මා ලියූ පරණ ලිපි කමිටු ලේකම් හරහා ඔවුන්ට යැවීමට මම බලාපොරොත්තු වෙමි.

කරුණානිධිගේ ජීවිත කතා පොත (2020)

1997 චඩ්ඩ ගේ පොතෙන් මා ඉගෙනගත් දේට අමතරව, ටැමිල්නාඩ් මහaැමතිව සිටි කරුණානිධි හා එම්.ජී. රාමචන්ද්‍රන් ගැන 13-ඒ ට අදාල විස්තර, මා දුටුවේ කරුණානිධිගේ පොත ගැන ස්ක්‍රොල්.ඉන් (නොවැම්බර් 3, 2020) වෙබ් අඩවියේ පළවූ සාරාංශයකිනි. අවුරුදු 2600 ක ලිඛිත ඉතිහාසයක් ඇති ලංකාවේ විශාල ජීවිත විනාශයකට ලෝභ-ද්වේෂ-මෝහයෙන් පිරි පංචස්කන්‌ධ අතලොස්සක් දායකවූ හැටි කෙතරම් ඛෙදජනකද? මේවා පුදගලික කෝන්තර උඩ සිදුවූදේය. ජේ. ආර්. (හා ආර්. ප්‍රේමදාස) විසින් ඇමෙරිකාවට පන්දම් ඇල්ලීමත්, සිරිමා හිටපු අගමැතිනිට දුන් වධ හීංසා නිසාත්, තමාට හා තමාගේ පුත් සංජයට, එළදෙන හා වස්සා යයි, හරක් මුත්‍රා බිව් ඉන්‌දියා අගමැති මොරාජි දේශායි (1977-8) සමඟ එකතුව උපහාසයෙන් කතාකිරීමත් නිසා ඉන්දිරා ගාන්‌ධි ප්‍රභාකරන්ලාට මිසයිල් පවා දුන්නේ ජේ ආර්ගෙන් පලිගන්නය. දැන් මෝඩි ඇමෙරිකාව සමඟ එකතුව ලංකාවට ඔච්චන් කරන්නේය. හරක් මුත්‍රා බොන අය ඔහු සමඟද සිටින්නේය!

ටැමිල්නාඩ් නාට්‍යය යනු චිත්‍රපටි නළු-නිළියන් මාරුවෙන් මාරුවට මහaැමති වීමය. එහි ලංකාවට අදාල (1987 රජිව්-ජේ.ආර් ගිවිසුම හා 13-ඒ සම්බන්‌ධ), එක් ජවනිකා අවධියක් කරුණානිධිගේ පොතේ හැටියට මෙසේය:

1969 දී ඇන්නදොරෙයි මියගිය පසු කරුණානිධි ප්‍රධාන ඇමති විය;

1981 මැයි 31 යාපනේ පුස්තකාලයට ගිනි තැබීම;

1981 න් පසු කරුණානිධි හා ලංකාවේ කඳුකරයේ උපන්,එම්. ජී. රාමචන්ද්‍රන් වෙන වෙනම අගමැති ඉන්‌දිරා මුණගැසීම;

1986 මැයි 4-කරුණානිධි විසින්, ටැමිල් ඊළම් සපෝටර්ස් සංවිධානය, මදුරෙයි නගරයේදී කැඳවීම;

1986 මැයි 6- ප්‍රභාකරන් විසින්, ටෙලෝ නායක සබාරත්නම්ව මුදාහරින ලෙස කරුණානිධිකල ඉල්ලීම නොසලකා, මරා දැමීම නිසා, කරුණානිධිට ඇතිවූ කළකිරීම;

එම්.ජී.ආර්, ප්‍රභාකරන්ට කෝටි හතරක් දීම, එහෙත් ප්‍රභාගේ අකීකරු හැසිරීම, මේ නිසා ප්‍රභාට දුන් අවි ආයුධ ආපසු ගන්නා ලෙස (කන්ෆිස්කේට්) එම්.ජී.ආර් විසින් පොලිස්පති මෝහන් දාස්ට අණකිරීම (මේ වනවිට මහaැමති එම්.ජී,ආර් ය).

මීට විරුද්‌ධව ප්‍රභා උපවාසයක් ඇරඹූ විට කරුණානිධි හා ඉන්දියා ආණ්ඩුව ප්‍රභාගේ පැත්ත ගැනීම. ප්‍රභාලාගේ සෙල්ෆ් ඩිෆෙන්ස් සඳහා ඒවා අවශ්‍යය යන තර්‌කය. මේ නිසා ඒවා ආපසු දීම.

සියළුම ඊළම් සටන් කාර පාර්‌ශව ගෙන්වා රජිව් ගාන්‌ධි පැවැත්‌වූ සාකච්චාවට ප්‍රභා ගෙන්වා ගන්නට එම්.ජී.ආර් අසමත්‌විය;

1987 ජූලි 29- ජේ. ආර්.-රජීව් ගිවිසුම, ඉන්දීය ආම හමුදාව යැවීමට ජූනි 2 දා එම්.ජී.ආර් එකඟවීම (මේ වනවිට එම්.ජී.ආර් කොන්ග්‍රස් පක්‍ෂය හා මිත්‍රව සිටියේය);

ප්‍රභා සැළකුවේ සාම හමුදාව ඔහුගේ ගමනට අවහිරයක් ලෙස්ටය;

නැවතත් මහ‌ ඇමතිවූ කරණානිධි සාම හමුදාව ආපසු කැඳවන ලෙස ඉල්ලා සිටියේ එය දමිළයින් මරණවා යන තර්‌කය නඟමින්‌ය;

1989 දී වී. පී. සිං (ජනතා ඩාල් කෝලිෂන් ගවර්න්මන්ට්) අගමැතිවීම;

සාම හමුදාව ආපසු චෙන්නායි වලට ආවිට ඔවුන් පිළිගන්නට කරුණානිධි ආවේ නැත;

කරුණානිධි, ප්‍රභාගේ ඝාතන ක්‍රියාවලට විරුද්‌ධ වුවත්, ඒවා නතර කිරීමට ක්‍රියාකලේ නැත.

මෙවැනි කාරණා දෙස බලන විට, එනම් ටැමිල්නාඩ් නළුවන්ගේ පදයට නැටූ දිල්ලි දේශපාලකයින්ගේ පඹයින් ලෙස හැසුරුණු ඒකාලයේ ලංකාවේ පක්‍ෂ දේශපාලකයින්, දැන් කෑ ගසන දයාන් වැනි කළු සුද්දන්, පරණ යහපාලන දේශපාලක ගැත්තන්, 13-ඒ බදාගෙන කරණ නිදිමැරිල්ල, දැඟලිල්ල, මානව හිමිකම්, නන්මැජෝරිටේරියන්-ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදය හරහා රට කැබලිකිරීමට දෙන උදව් මොනතරම් ලංකාවේ සිංහල බෞද්‌ධ ශිෂ්ටාචාරයට එරෙහිව කරණ  දුෂ්ඨ ක්‍රියාවක්ද?

Police powers under the 13th Amendment: A rare example
Posted on February 15th, 2012

 C. Wijeyawickrema

Leo Perera’s summary essay ‘The 13th Amendment to the Constitution – Devolution of Public Order and exercise of Police powers – Indo-Lanka Accord has no such requirement’ (The Island Newspaper, 6/10/2009) explaining (1) the conflict between 13-A and 17-A, and (2) the failed past attempts during the colonial times (1892-1905) to implement police powers by Government Agents at the Province-level, is a significant contribution especially due to three new developments we see today. These developments indicate that Tamil separatism is buried and not dead. The lucrative, many-faceted international network created by Prabakaran is rapidly raising its head again ironically, blaming the dead man for his undemocratic (inhuman?) acts!

All three developments are linked to the 13-A or a 13-A plus formula, which will open the path for Eelam by devolution sooner or later. (1) UN-SG Ban Ki-Moon as well as some Indian politicians tries to pin” President Rajapaksa to a promise” they say he made to them before the end of the war. The hint is that he will agree to Tamil group rights in a homeland, which was the apparent goal behind the 13-A passed in 1987. (2) Suresh Premachandran of the TNA now in crisis makes an interesting proposition, which is: Give rule of our province to us in a unitary state” (Lanka-e-News, 6/14/2009). He thinks replacing the words United Sri Lanka by Unitary Sri Lanka would cure all the worries of the majority people in the island against the 13-A! (3) The plan to have an Eelam government in exile by those who inherited Prabakaran’s international dowry (all kinds of business enterprises including drug manufacture, drug trafficking, gun running and money laundering) will be a pain in the neck for the IDP Tamils, village Tamils and the GOSL.

====http://pdfs.island.lk/2009/06/22/p6.pdf

As Leo Perera explained (1) the legal jargon in 13-A (1987) completely politicized the Provincial police, and (2) the legal jargon in 17-A, expected to depoliticize the Police Force. What kind of mad politics was this? To quote Leo Perera:

Under 13-A, the DIG of the Province was the Chief Minister’s nominee, with the DIG, the Chief Minister had two nominees in the three-member Provincial Police Commission, and the DIG was responsible to and under the control of the Chief Minister in the maintenance and the exercise of police powers in the Province. It removed all the powers the President had in respect of the Police Force at the national level and the powers the President had under the 13th Amendment at provincial levels. But it failed to completely depoliticize the Police Force at the provincial level…” 

…The 17th Amendment (2001) did not amend Appendix I item 4 (of 13-A) which provided for a nominee of the Chief Minister to be in the Provincial Police Commission, item 6 which required the IGP to appoint the DIG of the Province with the concurrence of the Chief Minister, and, item 11:1 which made it mandatory for the DIG of the Province to be responsible to and under the control of the Chief Minister in respect of the maintenance of public order and the exercise of police powers in the Province. It is submitted that it is a very serious anomaly to depoliticize the Police at the national level and to keep the Police politicized at the provincial level as practical police work is done at provincial levels and in that respect the 17th Amendment was an amateurish exercise in depoliticizing the Police Force…”

India and Europe

Nehru did not like the idea of language-based state boundary demarcation. In 1956, he agreed to it reluctantly, when a Telegu politician began a fast unto death! The treacherous two-India (two-nation) plan of the colonial master in India received official recognition with the 1935 Government of India Act, and from then onward the communal cancer could not be stopped. Ali Jinnah had the nerve to tell Gandhi, Mr. Gandhi, you worship the cow, and we eat the cow, how can we be friends?”

But because India is a sub-continent as big as the Western Europe, one can argue that language-based regions were unavoidable. It is like German, French, and Italian language regions in Europe. On top of that was the fact that Hindi was a newer language compared to Tamil, Telegu or Bengali. Hindi was spoken between 30-40% Indians when it was made the official language in 1949 with a majority of just one vote. Therefore, 13-A cannot be justified in Sri Lanka applying the standards of Indian politics or Indian geography to a tiny island.

Hindia and Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu was the only state which had a set of politicians with an inferiority complex in not accepting Hindi as the Indian official language. Gandhi used to ridicule Tamil politicians for not learning Hindi. It was also the only region which asked the colonial master to create a separate country for them (a Dravidasthan). Under the Indian F” system, education, land and police powers are state functions. The implementation of a unifying language policy (Hindi was made the official language for unifying the country under one language and not to kill other languages) by teaching Hindi in schools was prevented for some time by Tamil Nadu politicians because the state controlled education.

Tamil Nad police and IPKF

Quoted below is a rare example of how ‘hostile’ provincial police officers could sabotage, a larger national plan, whether the plan is reasonable or not. One can imagine how grave the situation will become in the case of Sri Lanka, considering the fact that there will always be separatist-minded Tamil elements in Colombo, Killinochchi, Malayanadu, and Tamil Nadu, helped with the money from the LTTE government in exile. There will also be a set of white politicians from the UK, the EU, Norway, Canada and the US helping them separately, jointly or using UN agencies as a veil. These politicians are not Mother Theresas overflowing with humanitarian love for the Tamil IDPs, but scheming persons who want to tap the Tamil block vote to win their local elections. Humiliation they are now suffering at the hands of the Sri Lankan government by way of deportation etc. would therefore not stop their political behaviour.

…The decision to wage a war against the LTTE was not an easy one for Rajiv Gandhi. Nor was he oblivious to the cruel irony in being forced to crush the very elements he and Indira had nurtured with care and money. Rajiv could abandon neither the Tamils nor could he support its chief representative, i. e. the LTTE…”

…Confrontation with the LTTE had followed from the need to maintain relational control and to restore balance of forces between the various actors in Indo-Lanka relations. That the balance was in danger is clear from the account of the IPKF operations by Field Commander Sardeshpande:

…We gathered credible intelligence through smugglers, boatmen- about exact bungalows, lanes, hospitals, beds, towns, cities and helpers of the LTTE cadres, convalescing Tigers, gunrunners and manufacturers of explosive devices and grenades and gave it to the Tamil Nadu police, only to be told that there were no such individuals and no such activities! We told them that the LTTE cadres after enjoying India’s shelter and medical treatment were returning to Sri Lanka and killing IPKF soldiers. All this made no impression on the Tamil Nadu government and the police. This was the tragicomedy played out on our own country…”

 …Facing an impasse in Tamil Nadu and fearing its deleterious impact on the IPKF role in Sri Lanka, the Central Government, on January 1988 imposed President’s Rule in the state.”

From Ethnicity, security, and separatism in India by Maya Chadda, 1997, p. 169

What Sri Lanka needs is not language-based spatial units with Tamil police stations in the south. Belgium, Northern Ireland, and Scotland are all examples of how language or religion-based arrangements will not work even after 100 years of experimenting. In the US, 13 colonies did not join together  as language units. German was going to be the official language of the US! Now in the Mexican border regions, with larger concentrations of Hispanic-speaking people, the old debate of making English the official language in USA has renewed. Whether students should be taught in English or it should be bi-lingual is the new issue due to the requirement that schools must show results of student learning under the No Child Left Behind Law passed in 2001.

In 1983, in Sri Lanka, the IGP, all the DIGs and the Attorney General were all Tamils. Tamil terrorists threw CID Inspector Bastianpillai into an abandoned well. He behaved as a police officer and not as a Tamil. Similarly, what Sri Lanka should do is not 13-A or 13-A plus, but recruit and train Tamil police officers on a national basis and employ them all over the island. When both Sinhala and Tamil police officers know both Sinhala and Tamil, they will become real peace officers. Why is this so difficult an idea for the Colombo crowd to understand is puzzling? When Anton Balasingham agreed to a federal solution giving up Eelam at the 2002 Oslo meeting, the then GOSL and its NGO agents celebrated it as a golden opportunity and a paradigm shift in Prabakaran’s thinking. Maybe characters with this kind of self-imposed foolishness are still lurking in the dark in some ministry corridors in Colombo.

(Karunanidhis’ biography indicates that IPKF was withdrawn, not because R. Premadasa demanded so!)

By A. Abdul Aziz.

Supreme Head of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Islam His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (May Allah strengthen his hands) made an appeal for special prayers during his Friday Sermon delivered on 6^th November 2020, at Masjid Mubarak, Islamabad, Tilford, U.K.   

His Holinesssaid that we pray for ourselves and our Community, but we must also pray for the entire Muslim world. There are some world leaders who harbour malice and spread very negative thoughts and ideas regarding Islam. These days, rather than believing in God, these leaders consider the general public to be their god and change their policies and their statements according to their wishes. They lead their people astray by proclaiming that there is no God, whilst they consider the people whom they lead to be everything. Even if they do not explicitly make such comments, they harbour prejudice towards Islam, and the general public is also against Islam due to being unaware of its true teachings. Hence it is the duty of Ahmadi Muslims to present the true image of Islam.

His Holinesssaid that in recent days, the French President openly made comments against Islam, saying that it is in ‘crisis.’ If anything is in crisis it is their own religion; that is if they even adhere to any religion. As far as Islam is concerned, it is a living, growing and prospering religion. God Almighty has ensured that it continues to spread throughout the world, and as a result of the efforts made by the Community of the Promised Messiah^, peace be on him, it is spreading to all the corners of the earth.

Ahmadiyya Khalifa said that these anti-Islamic forces and individuals are able to attack Islam in this manner because they are aware that there is no unity in the Muslim world. His Holiness commended the Canadian Prime Minister, who refuted that comments of the French President, saying that comments which explicitly injure the religious sentiments of others should be abstained from. His Holinesssaid that if only other world leaders could think like the Canadian Prime Minister and to act upon it to ensure the peace and security of the world. His Holinesssubsequently prayed for the Canadian Prime Minister.

His Holinesssaid that if the Muslim world had been united, then never would such forces rise against Islam. Muslim countries are all against one another but if the world could see them united, they would never commit such acts, nor would a newspaper publish heinous depictions of the Holy ProphetMuhammad (PBUH). His Holinesssaid that a few years ago, when such cartoons were published, some Muslim countries raised a hue and cry for some time and announced they would boycott their products, but then it all disappeared within a few months. It was in fact the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community which responded in the true, Islamic fashion which was appreciated by people and leaders around the world. In truth, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community continues these efforts today and states in response that the actions of a few misguided people cannot be regarded as the true Islam. It is not the place of any world leader to label the actions of a few people as Islam, or to label Islam as being in ‘crisis’ and that they will continue to fight against the religion. It is in fact such people who incite the emotions and actions of others. His Holinesssaid that publishing such cartoons surely injures the sentiments of any true Muslim; and if they continue to publish such things and remain persistent in their actions, then they themselves are inciting others to commit unlawful acts. Yet, these are things which are labelled as ‘freedom of expression’. Thus, it is the non-Muslim world which incites these actions.

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad continued to say that in a series of previous sermons, he highlighted what the true response of true Muslims should be in such situations, and this was much appreciated by the world. Above all, His Holinesssaid that we must continue sending Durood [salutations] upon the Holy Prophet(PBUH) and continue to pray. No matter how much we may be opposed by Muslim clerics, we will continue to defend and spread the true message of Islam. The killing of three or four people is only an expression of momentary, misguided passion. Such acts however, do not present any real solution to the problem. If Muslims world desires a true and permanent solution, then the entire Muslim world must unite as one. In response to the French President’s comments, a Turkish President and a few other leaders have made some comments. However, the impact of such comments is nothing compared to the impact of a response from a united Muslim world. Some say that the French President changed some of his statements in light of the response from the Turkish President, however desire this, he remained firm in his stance against Islam. If all the Muslim countries had united and raised their voice as one, then the French President would have been compelled to seek forgiveness and repent.

Ahmadiyya Supreme Head (Khalifa) said that we must pray for the Muslim world to at least be able to show others that they are united. Only then will true change come about.

His Holiness said that we will continue in our mission, for it is the responsibility of those who have accepted the Messiah of this age to spread the true teachings of Islam, and show the world the extremely beautiful example of the Holy Prophetof Islam Muhammad (PBUH). We should not rest, until the entire world does not gather under the flag of the Holy Prophet(PBUH). We must inform the world, that their salvation lies in recognising the One, True God and cease the committing of injustices.

His Holinessfurther said that in recent months during the pandemic, he wrote to certain world leaders, including the President of France, in which he warned them in the words of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad – the Promised Messiahthat such calamities strike the world due to the grave injustices being carried out. Thus, true justice must be established, and only such statements should be made which are based in the truth.

His Holinesssaid that we have been fulfilling our responsibilities and will continue doing so. Now it is up to the world if they wish to take heed or not. In any case, we must not forget the Muslim world in our prayers. His Holinessprayed that they may be able to recognize the Promised Messiah, who was the true servant of the Holy Prophet(PBUH). The world must realize that if it continues to move away from God, then it will only result in their ruin. Thus, we must continue our efforts of helping the world in recognizing the Unity of God. His Holinessappealed for everyone to pray for the general conditions of the world; lest it be that after passing through the calamity of this pandemic, the world is stricken by another calamity in the form of a world war. His Holinessprayed that may the world come to its senses and recognise the One, True God and fulfill the duties and responsibilities owed to Him.

By Raj Gonsalkorale

The Registrar General of Land Registration Mr N C Withanage stated in March 2019 that almost 40 – 50% of the land deeds in Sri Lanka are likely to be forged documents. He also said that it has been proven that over 1/5th of the birth certificates, marriage certificates and death certificates in the country are also forged (https://www.newsfirst.lk/2019/03/17/50-of-land-deeds-in-sri-lanka-forged-registrar-general/#:~:text=COLOMBO%20 (News%201st)%20%E2%80%93%20The,the%20country%20are%20also%20forged.

If we are to take the Registrar General at his word, in the land of Theravada Dhamma, the citadel of the most ancient Buddhist doctrine, and a fertile ground for Christianity and Islam, almost one in two Sri Lankans are stealing land that belongs to someone else, changes their identities to someone else, probably commits adultery on a mass scale by forging marriage certificates and also brings alive those who have died with forged death certificates. As far as known, only Jesus Christ rose from the dead. It is nearly 18 months since the Registrar General made this observation. The situation could be different now. Hopefully it has not worsened.

This issue is such a blemish on the character of Sri Lankans, it is hoped that His Excellency President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will take urgent measures to rescind the Bim Saviya land registration Act which does not give people access to court if their lands are affected by fraud and to direct the Minister of Justice to address the legal issues pointed out in this article by the Sri Lanka Study Circle, an informal group of concerned professionals from different walks of life. A special request to His Excellency is to launch a campaign through the Lands ministry to give wide publicity about land fraud and how citizens could verify that the eRegister contains an accurate record of their land deeds. A major anomaly in the eRegister that needs to be heeded, and addressed is the fact that what is in the eRegister would be inaccurate if the registration process has used fraudulent deeds in the first place.      

It is also suggested that the graduate employment program be extended to the Land Registry with a special unit formed to assist the hundreds and thousands of very ordinary citizens who will need assistance to have their land deeds checked in the eRegister. 

President Rajapaksa has to be commended for reiterating that the MCC Agreement will not be signed during his administration. In a news item in Newsfirst (https://www.newsfirst.lk/2020/11/01/mcc-wont-be-signed-even-in-my-dreams-president/), he had stated that MCC won’t be signed even in my dreams”. This statement is of special relevance as many have been speculating as to what might have been indicated or even promised to the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during his recent visit. In the minds of many, the MCC Agreement is the passport for US intervention in Sri Lanka, and certainly as far as Bim Saviya is concerned it is the pathway for this intervention to occur. The MCC Agreement and Bim Saviya are closely linked.

There are however some incongruences in the land registration process as defined in Bim Saviya, and the ownership of land that has been reported. A report on the Land Tenure Considerations in Sri Lanka’s Proposed National REDD+ Strategy by the Sri Lanka UN-REDD Programme in April, 2016 which states that in Sri Lanka, 82.25 percent of the country’s land is owned by the State while only 17.75 percent is privately owned, reflecting a history of centralized control over land. If this is the ground reality, the question arises as to why Bim Saviya has stringent requirements for issuing titles for State land, and in fact whether titles are needed in the first places unless the end motive of Bim Saviya is to privatise State land. Considering that the land component of the MCC Agreement and land being registered under Bim Saviya are linked, and all intellectual rights pertaining to what is in the eRegister is to be assigned to the company to be formed under the MCC Agreement, it does appear that the end objective of the Bim Saviya project is to privatise State land.

The report mentioned above is not clear as to whether land that belongs to religious institutions like Christian Churches, Buddhist temples, Moslem mosques are accounted for and if so, which category they fall into. Potentially, these traditional lands could also be privatised depending on their categorisation.

The land registration process has been an abject failure as it has managed to register less than 5% of the 11 million land blocks that were to be registered since 2007. The fault is not with the Registrar Generals department, but with the law that governs the registration process. This law, called the Bim Saviya has turned out to be a Bim Malluma!

The writer, in an earlier article titled Bim Saviya -Is it serving Sri Lanka or a foreign interest?” and published in the Sri Lanka Guardian and Lankaweb, explored the history and the reasons for this failure. Two key reasons need to be highlighted. Firstly, because Bim Saviya is based on a foreign law, the Australian Torrens Title system and its unsuitability to meet Sri Lankan historical and community heritage. Secondly, the impractical, arduous, process that requires every lot to be visited by staff from the land registry to see for themselves and ascertain ownership”. Less than 5% of the lots have been registered in 12 years. It will take more than two centuries to register the balance.

If the fraudulent deeds are to be exposed, and rightful owners identified through the tracking of the history of land ownership has to be done, and then, genuine deeds be registered. Bim Saviya has to reflect Sri Lanka’s land ownership history. This is not the case with Bim Saviya as it is set to erase the history of land ownership with inadequate and inappropriate methods to establish land ownership. There is absolutely no argument or a reason to keep Bim Saviya unless there are and were ulterior motives to retain it.

The extent of land fraud may eclipse the value of the Bond scam. In an article written by eminent lawyer Kirthimala Gunasekera titled Build a protective wall around your land-ownership deed – Some insightful information for those who own land and those who wish to buy land” published in the Sunday Times on the 15 Jun 2014”, the inroads made by fraudsters has been exposed quote An alarming feature of these incidents is that fraudsters have reportedly been successful in infiltrating the sacred inner sanctum of the land registry to destroy and deface the vital documents safely stored to support and protect the land rights of land owners. The CID has frequently warned the general public that its investigations have often failed due to the victims not being able to substantiate their (the victims’) case with evidence that normally should have been available with the custodian, the Land Registry; the ‘evidence’ having been altered, defaced, missing or torn”. She also quotes the following The Sunday Times in a recent article headlined ‘You may have deeds but you may not be the owner’

[http://www.sundaytimes.lk/120902/news/you-may-haveland-deeds-but-you-may-not-be-the-onlyowner-]

exposed the shocking news of vital documents missing from the Land Registry and how a fraudster duo of mother and daughter had sold a 14 perch land for Rs. 6 million to 8 different people”.

Ms Gunasekera suggested several precautionary measures to safeguard one’s legal ownership of land. A summary is noted below

A] Vital documents from the Land Registry

Obtain certified copies of the duplicate, and the extracts from the respective land registries.

Duplicate deed: A Notary attesting a deed is mandatorily required to file a copy of the deed referred to as the Duplicate copy with the Land Registry together with the receipt paid for stamp duty.

Extracts – All deeds are recorded chronologically in pages bound together into volumes called registers. Extracts are copies of pages or sheets of paper from these volumes where the deeds are registered.

B] Vital documents from the service providers

As stated earlier the idea is to build a wall of protection around your ownership deed with documentary evidence. Therefore, owners need to be vigilant to register their names not only in the Land Registry, but also with the relevant service providers as these service providers will provide evidence of ownership and possession when required. They are:

1. The local authority, (Municipal Council, Urban Council or Town Council where the land would be situated). Retain the tax receipts issued for payment of taxes and obtain the ownership certificate in the name of the owner after due registration of ownership. 2. The Water Board 3. The Electricity Board 4. The telephone authorities 5. The Elections Department 6. Any others such as receipts from contractors, house keepers, repairman for repairs, clearing, fencing and renovations etc.

C] Vital identification documents

Do not rush to buy land: Land purchasers rush to complete transactions especially when they find bargains. They fail to have consultations and face-to-face interviews with owners, agents, witnesses, surveyors and even notaries. Beware of people posing as notaries. They also impersonate notaries long deceased. Check from the list of notaries maintained in land registries.

Ms Gunasekera mentions an instance where a lady had been swindled to the tune of Rs. 42 million by a person. She bought the land relying on the identity card to identify the owner. She subsequently wanted to sell the land, but the prospective purchaser diligently searched the identification of the owner and found that the land belonged to the UDA, and the woman had bought the land from a fraudster who had pasted a forged folio in the register including his name as the owner. The suspect had cheated about 110 people previously.

D) Exercising due diligence: Buyers need to exercise due diligence. When buying land, enquire and find out from neighbours as to ‘ who owns the land or the house’.

Land fraud is a subject taken seriously by other nations. They have developed advanced integrated systems of transacting laws with ‘owner identification’ methods for solicitors over the course of the past decades and also adopted biometric solutions to identify owners to prevent land fraud. Many nations have introduced electronic identity data bases to land registries to register and protect the identity of land owners. They take the thumbprints, iris and digital photos of those participating in transactions at the time of notarising documents to ensure that fraud does not take place. The internet carries an extensive range of information from different countries that can be searched under the relevant names given to the data bases. They are Enjoa – new electronic notary logbook used in the US, e-Tanah in Malaysia, Bhoomi project in India, Loucha Pathap in Manipur.

It does not appear that Sri Lanka has taken land fraud seriously. Perhaps fraud per se has not been seriously treated and land fraud just a malady within a malady.

Sri Lanka has now nearly completed an electronic registration process (eRegister). However, unless this register has strong inbuilt safeguards, fraud would still go unabated considering the prevalence of Cybercrimes. The law that is linked to this register, Bim Saviya, has numerous shortcomings as has been detailed and  combination of this trifecta, an ineffective law, lack of system security for the eRegister, and the lackadaisical indifference to land fraud seems like ideal conditions for perpetuation of land fraud.

More information on land fraud could be obtained by writing to landrightsasia@gmil.com or by telephoning 0712730616. For the benefit of land owners, senior Attorney at Law Ajithaa Edirmanne, a member of the ‘committee on land fraud’ has uploaded a slide presentation titled ‘Protect Your Property from Land Scam’, which can be accessed at http://ajithaa2.wordpress.com/2014/03/20 /protect-your-property-from-land-scams/

The Sri Lanka Study Circle have noted the following. Firstly, they are unambiguous that the eRegister   has to   be   compulsory   and should be secured and that it requires to be   governed by a law familiar to   land owners and lawyers. Bim Saviya is neither and it is an impractical impossibility for it to serve as the law that governs the eRegister. The Study Circle also is of the opinion that the eRegister should be managed, staff and user capacity built by an institution like the Moratuwa University and if need be, a consortium led by the Moratuwa University and that all intellectual rights should be with the local entity (Moratuwa University) and not any company.

The Study Circle says the register requires the following amendments with immediate effect

1]  eRegister has to be made compulsory.  The Register is not compulsory under our law. A comprehensive register is where all owners ‘rights to land are registered. Therefore, require that land sales, gifts leases, agreements and all land transactions to be compulsorily registered.  

2] The eRegister is not safe as the law available does not protect the register.  The following need to be attended to as fraud and money laundering are extremely pervasive in our country. 

Registration of Documents Ordinance of 1927 Section 7   states that the Registrar is not responsible for the validity of deeds registered. This must be immediately changed as under this provision the Registrar cannot   refuse registration of forged deeds.

Unfortunately, Central Bank regulations for the safety of Financial transactions have been selectively introduced to Trust deeds to identify owners and archive identification verification documents for the buyers or whoever deals with the trust lands   in the future.   [Trust Ordinance 9 of 1917 amended by TRUSTS (AMENDMENT) ACT, No. 6 OF 2018

According to these regulations, trustees are required to maintain, verify and update the following information relating to express trusts, 1. Information about the trust (name, address, purpose), 2. Information about the author of trust, trustees and co-trustee/s (name, identification, address, etc) 3. Information of the beneficiary/beneficiaries/ class of beneficiaries (name, identification, address) 4. Information of any other person engaged in the execution of the trust 5. Information of any beneficial owners 1/2 At the same time, trustees are required to submit the information maintained above to the Registrar of Lands of the area, within which, the trust property is situated and to the Registrar General. These measures have been taken to minimize the misuse of legal arrangements/ trusts in money laundering by increasing the transparency of trusts created in Sri Lanka. The Registrar General and the trustees have to be responsible to identify the trustees and prevent money laundering]

The Study Circle is hopeful that His Excellency President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will initiate action to address the entirety of legal, political, commercial and administrative issues pertaining to land and establish true guardianship of what belongs to future generations and not to some short sighted, avaricious segment of the present generation.

Rohan Abeygunawardena ACMA, CGMA Financial & Management Consultant

The Covid19 epidemic has disrupted the economies of almost all the countries in the world including Sri Lanka.

The finance chiefs of both public and private sector should take a fresh look at the activities and projects under their purview when preparing budgets. The Zero Based concept of budgeting that we have forgotten over the years is the best tool that can be used under this scenario.

Definition of Zero Based Budgeting (ZBB);

ZBB is a management tool which provides a systematic method for evaluating all operations and programmes, current or new, allows for budget reductions and expansions in a rational manner and allows re-allocation of resources from low to high priority programmes.”

The United States Department of Agriculture introduced this system in 1964, but it was not found to be quite successful and, hence, abandoned.

Pytor, A. Pyhrr, a staff control manager of Texas Instrument Corporation (USA), studied and developed this concept and created an awareness among the financial mangers through his writings. That was in early seventies. Since then many private sector organizations in the USA adopted this concept in their budgetary control mechanism.

When Jimmy Carter became the governor of the State of Georgia successfully used the technique in the state budgetary control process saving millions of dollars. When he became the president of the USA, the concept was introduced to the Federal Government, in 1977. As a result many countries looked at this positively and adopted the concept. Even in Sri Lanka the General Treasury attempted to introduce the ZBB in 2002. Then Director General of Department of Public Enterprises Mr.V. Kanagasabapathy took a keen interest in introducing the technique to the public enterprises.

The basic idea is that each year’s budget should start from a zero base, rather than from the prior year’s spending. To facilitate this the process, start with identifying all expenditure components and then following points are to be considered under each component;

(i) Is it absolutely necessary? (Justification)

(ii) What should be the qualitative features of current activities? Can we improve them?

(iii) Will production/services be continued according to the existing system?

(iv)  What is the cost of production/service under current conditions?

ZBB is not a cost control method. But it is to create a mentality where people throughout the organisation think about value, not just cost. Of course, the end result would be identification of wasteful expenditure and eliminate them when you find an answer to ‘’Why should I spend?”

Ultimately the concept can change the culture of the organization when it will help everyone to think like an investor.

According to Wall-Street Journal many companies in the USA are turning to ZBB to take a more detailed look at their companies’ spending to enable them to face the present economic downturn, better.

Therefore I feel Public sector as well as private sector organizations should seriously think of switching over to ZBB when preparing respective budgets including National Budget.

Rohan Abeygunawardena ACMA, CGMA

Financial & Management Consultant

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

ජනාධිපති ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමා හා ගරු අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමා ප්‍රමුඛ පවුලේ සාමාජිකයින්ගේ සහභාගීත්වයෙන් දිවංගත ඩී. ඒ. රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමාගේ 53 වෙනි ගුණ සමරුවට සමඟාමීව වීරකැටිය, මැදමුලන නිවසේ දී සෙත් පිරිත් දේශනයක් හා අද 2020.11.07 පෙරවරුවේ දානමය පිංකමක් පැවැත්විණි.

ජනාධිපති ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමා, ජනාධිපති ආර්යා අයෝමා රාජපක්ෂ මැතිණිය, ගරු අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමා, අග්‍රමාත්‍ය ආර්යා ශිරන්ති රාජපක්ෂ මැතිණියගේ සහභාගීත්වයෙන් ඊයේ 2020.11.06 පස්වරුවේ ඩී. ඒ. රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමාගේ හා දන්දිනා සමරසිංහ දිසානායක රාජපක්ෂ මැතිණියගේ ස්මාරක වෙත පුෂ්පෝපහාර දැක්වීම සිදු විය.

මෙම අවස්ථාව සඳහා අමාත්‍ය චමල් රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමා, චන්ද්‍රා රාජපක්ෂ මැතිණිය, බැසිල් රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමා, අමාත්‍ය නාමල් රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමා, පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී නිපුණ රණවක මැතිතුමා ඇතුළු පවුලේ සාමාජිකයෝ එක්ව සිටියහ.

මැද මුලනේ පිහිටි ඩී.ඒ.රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමාගේ හා දන්දිනා සමරසිංහ දිසානායක රාජපක්ෂ මැතිණියගේ ස්මාරක වෙත පුෂ්පෝපහාර දැක්වීමෙන් අනතුරුව, පැවති පහන් පූජාව සඳහා ද පවුලේ සාමාජිකයින් සියලු දෙනා එක් වූහ.

පිරිත් දේශනය සඳහා හපුගම්පොත පුරාණ මහා විහාරාධිපති මිද්දෙනියේ ඉන්ද්‍රරතන නාහිමි, පල්ලෙ මුලන ගිරුවාසෑය විහාරාධිපති සපුගස් යායේ ධම්මරතන නාහිමි හා හපුගම්පොත අතුල දක්ෂිණාරාම විහාරාධිපති වකමුල්ලේ චන්ද්‍රවිමල නාහිමියන් ප්‍රමුඛ මහා සංඝ රත්නය වැඩම කළ වදාළහ

දානමය පිංකම සඳහා රුහුණේ ඓතිහාසික තිස්සමහාරාම, සඳගිරි උභය රාජමහා විහාරාධිපති, කාවන්තිස්ස පරිවේණාධ්‍යක්ෂ, මාතර කන්දබඩ පත්තුව ඇතුළු මාතර හම්බන්තොට දෙපළාතේ ප්‍රධාන සංඝ නායක, ආචාර්ය දේවාලේගම ධම්මසේන නාහිමි, සද්ධර්ම කීර්ති ශ්‍රී විමලසිරි රුහුණු මාගම්පත්තුව ඇතුළු ගිරුවාගම් දොළොස් දහස් රට ප්‍රධාන අධිකරණ සංඝනායක කසාගල රජමහා විහාරාධිපති පරිවෙණාධිපති තලම් පොරුවේ ඉන්දු සුමන නාහිමියන් හා මාතර හම්බන්තොට දෙපළාතේ සංඝනායක මුල්කිරිගල රාජමහා විහාරාධිපති බෙලිගල්ලේ සරණපාල හිමියන් ප්‍රමුඛ මහා සංඝ රත්නය වැඩම කළ වදාළහ.

කොවිඩ්-19 වසංගත තත්ත්වය හමුවේ නිසි සෞඛ්‍ය උපදෙස් පිළිපදිමින්, පවුලේ සාමාජිකයින්ගේ  සහභාගීත්වයෙන් පමණක් මෙම ආගමික වතාවත් පැවැත්විණි.

By Antony Fernando  Express News Service courtesy The New Indian Express

The Police said that the Sri Lankan couple would be lodged in Puzhal Central Prison in Chennai and the boy could be sent to a juvenile home.

NAGAPATTINAM: A 45-year-old Sri Lankan businessman was arrested along with his wife and minor son after landing at Kodiyakarai illegally. His company has been accused of cheating hundreds of investors with billions of rupees.

The 45-year-old businessman Ahamed Shareem Mohamed Shihab, from Colombo in Sri Lanka, was wanted based on complaints regarding misappropriation of funds and was arrested at Kodiyakarai in Vedaranyam block in Nagapattinam district on Friday night.  He had landed at Kodiyakarai along with his wife Fathima Farzana Markar, aged 39, and his ten-year-old son.

We secured the family near Kodiyakarai bus Stand around midnight. They gave us false aliases when we secured them. When we checked their identities and found they were lying. We learnt later that the family was run after scamming people in Sri Lanka,” Inspector M Selvaraj M from Marine Police Station in Vedaranyam told The New Indian Express.

According to police, the Marine Police received information from the fishers that a Sri Lankan family was landing near dense casuarina plantations at the shores of Kodiyakarai on Friday night around 10 pm. They had arrived in a Sri Lankan boat from Jaffna district in Sri Lanka with the help of a smuggling group. The boat had left for Sri Lanka after dropping them. The Marine Police, along with Law and Order unit, started looking for suspects with unusual appearances on the shores. They found a family of three near Kodiyakarai Bus Stand.

The family was taken into police custody and interrogated.

This The New Indian Express reporter learnt that Ahamed Shareem Mohamed Shihab alias Shiham Shereeb and his wife Fathima Farzana Markar are founding directors of Privelth Global Private Ltd. They had found the company in February 2014. Thousands had allegedly invested in the company which is headquartered in Colombo and has branches in Sammanthurai, Kalmunai, Eravur, Pottuvil and Nintavurin the Eastern Province in Sri Lanka, according to Sri Lankan news reports.

The New Indian Express learnt that this company Privelth Global Private Ltd was caught in a major controversy in recent months after the investors started to complain that they are not getting any profits. The alleged scam triggered protests and hunger strikes. The scammed amount is said to be about Rs 1200 crores in Sri Lankan currency (Rs 482 crores in Indian currency). The scam was addressed in Sri Lankan Parliament in October after the victims started to request relief from the Sri Lankan government.

The Marine Police handed the family to the Law and Order Police on Saturday at 4.00 pm after completing the initial investigation. “The family had themselves smuggled through a network of smugglers. We have booked Ahamed Shareem Mohamed Shihab, Fathima Farzana Markar and their son under Section 12 of Passport Act 1967 for illegal landing. We will produce them before a magistrate,” said Inspector S Ravichandran from Vedaranyam Police Station told The New Indian Express.

The Police told that the couple would be lodged in Central Prison in Puzhal in Chennai and the boy could be sent to a juvenile home.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

A total of 257 more Covid-19 patients were reported, Army Commander Shavendra Silva said.

All of them are close contacts of the Peliyagoda cluster.

Accordingly, the total Covid-19 cases detected so far in Sri Lanka stand at 13, 227.

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lanka has reported four more coronavirus-related deaths thus hiking the country’s death toll to 34, the Department of Government Information confirmed.

According to the Director-General of Health Services, Dr. Asela Gunawardena, 03 females, and one male had succumbed to the virus in this manner.

One of the deceased is identified as a 42-year-old woman from the Maligawatte area who had passed away at home. Reportedly, she had been ailing from a chronic heart condition in addition to COVID-19.

The next victim is also a resident of the Maligawatte area. She had been suffering from a number of chronic illnesses. When her conditions had escalated she had been admitted to the Colombo National Hospital where she succumbed to her ailments. The cause of death is reported as the worsening of a pneumonia condition due to COVID-19.

A third woman from Ganemulla, aged 88 years, has succumbed to sepsis caused by COVID-19 related pneumonia. She had been identified as a close contact of the Minuwangoda cluster patient and had been undergoing quarantine before being admitted to the Laggala Pallegama Hospital. However, with the worsening of her conditions, she had been transferred to the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) where she passed away.

The remaining victim is a 67-year-old male from Wellampitiya. He, who also suffered from chronic illnesses, had been ailing from fever over a number of days. Subsequently, he had passed away from COVID-19 related pneumonia at his home.

Courtesy Adaderana

Presidential Commission of Inquiry probing incidents of political victimization has decided to seek legal action against four parliamentarians of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).

According to PCoI chair, former Supreme Court Justice Upali Abeyratne, MPs Harin Fernando, Nalin Bandara, J.C. Alawathuwala and Mayantha Dissanayake have allegedly made derogatory comments about the commission and challenged its authority.

It is reported that notices were issued on the four lawmakers to appear before the police unit of the commission to record statements on the matter.

One of its senior officers said these MPs had made the derogatory comments speaking to the media and subsequently filed a complaint with Bribery Commission, claiming that the PCoI’s conduct has challenged the judicial process established by the Constitution and the country’s independent judiciary.

In the meantime, reports revealed that the PCoI chair has made a request from the President to extend the term of the commission until the 23rd of November.

Courtesy Adaderana

Public Health Inspectors (PHI) in charge of the Hunupitiya area in Kelaniya raided an illegal quarantine center today (07).

According to Ada Derana reporter, two persons at the center were found to be infected with the COVID-19 virus.

Subsequently, all persons found at the center were directed for quarantine at the center itself.

In addition, health authorities had sternly advised the individuals who operated the illegal quarantine center.