by A. Abdul Aziz,Sri Lanka Correspondent, Al Hakam, London.
Largest Islamic Convention in United Kingdom concludes.Ahmadiyya Khalifa His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad announced that 249408 people had joined the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community during the past year
The Jalsa Salana (Annual Convention) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the United Kingdom concluded on Sunday 27 July 2025 with faith inspiring addresses by the World Head the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the Fifth Khalifa (Caliph), His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad.
The three day Convention began on Friday 25 July, with the Friday Sermon and the first session started with raising of the black and white flag of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community alongside the Union Flag. Ahmadiyya Khalifa delivered the inaugural address on Taqwa (righteousness), a prerequisite for true success:
Ahmadiyya Khalifa in his second day address put forward a testament to continued divine support to the Community and highlighted a year of global progress. During his address, Ahmadiyya Khalifa announced that 249408 people from 111 countries and over 500 different nationalities entered the fold of Ahmadiyyat. This represented an increase of over 10,000 from the previous year, His Holiness added. Earlier on Saturday, His Holiness also addressed the female members of the Community on the rights and responsibilities of women.
One of the highlights of the three-day Convention was the pledge of allegiance, known as Bai’at that took place on Sunday afternoon (27 July), {last day of the event} where the participants pledged allegiance to Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad as the Fifth Khalifa (Caliph) of the Promised Messiah – Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(peace be upon him).
The participants formed a human chain leading to the Khalifa as they repeated the words of the pledge in unison. ThIS event concluded with silent prayer led by His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad.
During the concluding Session on Sunday (27th July 2025) Mr. Rafiq Ahmad Hayat, President (Amir), Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at UK, introduced the recipient of the 2025 Ahmadiyya Muslim Prize for the Advancement of Peace: Nicolo Govoni, Still I Rice NGO President & CEO.
Short speeches were delivered by Distinguished Guests. Greetings on Video Messages shown and text messages were read out.
A special message from King Charles to the attendees of the (Convention) Jalsa Salana UK 2025 was then read out by Mr. Rafiq Ahmad Hayat, President (Amir), Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at UK. It reads:
BUCKINGHAM PALACE.
Please convey my warmest thanks to the Members of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the United Kingdom for their loyal greetings, sent on the occasion of their Annual Convention (Jalsa Salana), which is being held this week end at Hadeeqatul Mahdi, Oaklands Farm.
I much appreciate your continued support and I was interested to learn of the any people this year’s convention will bring together, all in the spirit of unity and peace to highlight the wonderful work of your community. In return, I send warmest good wishes to all those who are present for a memorable event.
Charles R.
25th – 27th July, 2025.
Prior to this, Secretary of External Affairs of Ahmadiyya Community read out the Message sent by Honorable Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, that reads:
10 DOWNING STREET
LONDON SW 1A 2AA.
THE PRIME MINISTER
I am delighted to send my very best wishes to the UK’s Ahmadiyya Muslim Community for your Jalsa Salana event.
The Jalsa Salana gathering each year in Alton is a significant event for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community; not just in this country, but around the world. I am aware of the immense contribution that the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community makes and I am very much impressed by your message of peace, non-violence, respect for all and hatred for none. This event provides a wonderful opportunity to promote unity, harmony and mutual respect.
I am extremely grateful to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community for all that you do to bring people together, to help those in need, and for your long history in raising millions of pounds for charitable causes across the country.
I would like to especially greet His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad as he presides over the proceedings, and send my warmest regards.
I wish every one who attends Jalsa Salana over the weekend a joyous time.
(Signed) Sir Keir Starmer
In his concluding address on Sunday evening (27 July 2025) Ahmadiyya Khalifa addressed in depth on Recognizing the Promised Messiah and Mahdi.
In the end Ahmadiyya Khalifa announced 46,061 people attended this three-day Convention (Jalsa Salana), which took place at Hadeeqatul Mahdi in Alton, Hampshire, United Kingdom. The convention ended with silent prayer led by Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Head of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Islam.
NDB Bank recently continued its island-wide SME engagement efforts by hosting a focused digital transformation forum in Avissawella. Held with the participation of a diverse group of SME Business Banking clients from the region, the event served as a platform to highlight NDB’s continued commitment to strengthening and uplifting Sri Lanka’s small and medium-sized business sector through tailored digital solutions—most notably the NEOSBIZ app.
The forum spotlighted NEOSBIZ, NDB’s pioneering mobile banking platform developed specifically for SMEs, and demonstrated its powerful capabilities in driving financial efficiency, transaction security, and seamless business operations. The event provided attendees with hands-on exposure to the app, showing how it empowers business owners to manage everything from bulk payments to employee salaries, QR transactions, and real-time fund tracking—all through one intuitive platform.
Senior representatives from NDB Bank led the discussion, sharing insights on the bank’s long-standing focus on SME development, and the evolving importance of digitisation in ensuring long-term resilience and scalability. The sessions also explored how businesses can use NEOSBIZ to streamline workflows, monitor performance, and embrace real-time decision-making in an increasingly competitive environment.
The forum in Avissawella follows a string of similar events hosted across the island by NDB Bank as part of its broader effort to empower entrepreneurs with access to the latest financial tools. These regional activations are designed to educate, engage, and equip SMEs to thrive in the digital era, helping them shift away from traditional paper-based systems and embrace faster, safer, and more accessible banking methods.
As a key stakeholder in Sri Lanka’s SME ecosystem, NDB Bank remains steadfast in its mission to accelerate financial inclusion and digitally-enabled growth for entrepreneurs across the country. Through NEOSBIZ and its wider portfolio of SME-focused services, the Bank continues to bridge the gap between ambition and access, delivering lasting value to the backbone of Sri Lanka’s economy.
NDB Bank is the fourth-largest listed commercial bank in Sri Lanka. The Bank was named Sri Lanka’s Best Bank for Corporates at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2024, and was also awarded Domestic Retail Bank of the Year – Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka Domestic Project Finance Bank of the Year by Asian Banking and Finance Magazine (Singapore) Awards 2024. NDB is the parent company of the NDB Group, comprising capital market subsidiary companies, together forming a unique banking and capital market services group. The Bank is committed to empowering the nation and its people through meaningful financial and advisory services powered by digital banking solutions.
The 17th International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF 2025), one of the world’s premier defence exhibitions, was held under the auspices of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye, hosted by the Turkish Ministry of National Defence, and organized by the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TAFF). This prestigious event provided a global platform for showcasing cutting-edge defence technologies and fostering international collaboration in the defence sector.
IDEF 2025 took place from 22 to 27 July at the Istanbul Expo Centre, where the Deputy Minister of Defence, Major General Aruna Jayasekara (Retd) undertook an official visit to the Republic of Türkiye at the invitation of Mr. Bilal Durdali, the Deputy Minister of National Defence of Türkiye.
During his visit, Major General Jayasekara (Retd) engaged in discussions with several senior defence officials from Türkiye. Notable among them were Deputy Ministers of National Defence Mr. Bilal Durdali and Mr. Musa Heybet, Commander of the Turkish Land Forces General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, Commander of the Naval Forces Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu, and Commander of the Air Force, Air General Ziya Cemal Kadıoğlu.
The bilateral discussions focused on exploring avenues to enhance defence cooperation between Sri Lanka and Türkiye. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening mutual ties through cooperative initiatives.
Officials from the Ministry of Defence of Sri Lanka also accompanied the Deputy Minister during the visit.
We sincerely apologize for the publication of inaccurate information in our recent post titled “ලංකාවේ විශ්ව විද්යාල දක්ෂයන්ට බය ඇයි ? dated 18h July 2025 authored by Dr Gamini Vithana
Upon review, it has come to our attention that certain facts presented were incorrect and may have led to misunderstanding or misrepresentation of the subject matter.
The University of Colombo has informed us that there is no Department of Psychology at the University of Colombo and even department of Psychiatry has not recently called for applications from PhD holders in Psychology.
Lankaweb deeply regret any confusion, inconvenience, or harm it may have caused to the individuals or organizations affected, as well as to our readers who trust us for accurate and responsible reporting.
We are committed to upholding the highest standards of accuracy and integrity. The content in question has since been deleted, and we have taken steps to ensure a more rigorous fact-checking process going forward.
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Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith’s recent statement warning against legalizing same-sex marriage and LGBTQIA+ ideology in Sri Lanka is not merely a religious outcry — it is a national alarm echoed by the majority of the populace heard across party lines, faiths, and generations. The President’s response echoes the opposite, and demands a far more urgent rebuttal.
This line of reasoning — that people’s feelings and desires should shape national laws — is not just morally irresponsible. It is legally untenable, socially dangerous, and constitutionally reckless & one unexpected of a sitting President.
The President’s statement reveals Public Pulse Ignored
The President’s statement reveals a growing disconnect from the Public Pulse. Across temples, homes, and classrooms, the people are speaking — but the President refuses to listen.
The people are asking: Who gave you the mandate to rewrite our morality?
I. Why feelings are not a Foundation for Law
The rule of law exists to regulate feelings and desires — not to indulge them.
Foundational Legal Principle: Fiat justitia ruat caelum” — Let justice be done though the heavens fall.
The law does not bend to individual emotions or private preferences. It stands as a collective boundary that separates moral order from personal chaos. If desire becomes law, then every criminal, every addict, every predator can claim it’s how I feel” as justification.
Where does this end?
· If LGBTQIA+ ideology is accepted on the basis of feelings,” what of the adult who desires a minor?
· What of the thief who feels” entitled to someone else’s wealth?
· What of the person who identifies” as a cat, tree, or dragon and demands state accommodation?
· A murderer who feels” he has a right to kill or a rapist who feels he has a right to rape.
· Or a sibling who desires incestuous marriage?
· Shall necrophiliacs and zoophiles next demand legal recognition of their feelings”?
Laws exist not to cater to personal feelings but to protect the most vulnerable — including children and future generations — from harm disguised as personal desire.
Is the President prepared to amend the Penal Code every time someone’s feeling” is hurt by its prohibitions?
If so entire law books have to be abolished!
II. Why Laws exist: Order, Not Indulgence
In ancient times, there were no gates, no judges, no CCTV, no police. That simplicity was built on common moral values and social trust. People knew right from wrong. Good from bad.
But today, laws, regulations, and courts exist to contain:
· Human impulses
· Unethical conduct
· Harmful desires
To dismantle the law in the name of individual feelings is to abolish civilization & create chaos and confusion.
Legal Maxim: Ubi jus ibi remedium” — Where there is a right, there is a remedy.
But rights do not emerge from feelings. They arise from duties, natural law, social harmony, and public interest.
III. LGBTQIA+ is not a Human Rights issue — It’s an Ideological Trojan Horse
The attempt to mask Western-funded gender ideology as a human rights campaign must be exposed for what it truly is: ideological colonization.
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith’s warning echoes what many Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims also fear: a global, donor-driven agenda to deconstruct family, religion, and national identity.
As the Cardinal rightly said, this government is playing with fire.
IV. Constitutional and Legal Grounds to Reject the LGBTQIA+ Push
Sri Lanka is not bound by any international treaty to:
· Recognize same-sex marriage
· Teach transgender ideology in schools
· Repeal Sections 365/365A
· The 2024 Gender Equity Bill-Supreme Court determination issued by the new Chief Justice clearly nullifies any attempt to legalize homosexuality or promote LGBTQIA ideology in Sri Lanka as being against the Constitution & social & moral standards of this Nation & its civilizational history.
In fact, our Constitution (Article 9) upholds the primacy of Buddhism and the moral guidance of the Buddha Sasana — for both Sangha and laypersons. This includes upholding public morality, social stability, and cultural integrity.
The Penal Code Sections 365 and 365A, amended in 1995 and 2006, were designed to protect children from same-sex sexual abuse — not to criminalize private adult conduct to satisfy their sexual urges/feelings. These laws are protective, not discriminatory.
To repeal them under international pressure is not progress.” It opens the door to legal ambiguity that endangers children — weakening protections against same-sex sexual exploitation and grooming of minors.
V. Legal Authority against Foreign Meddling
Sri Lanka is under no obligation to accept ideological demands from the UN, IMF, or Western embassies a fact the current Government will have to accept like it or not.
· The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961) prohibits foreign interference in domestic legislation.
· The UN Charter (Article 2.7) states: Nothing shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state.”
Thus, UN Special Rapporteurs, Western embassies, and donor agencies have no legal mandate to dictate Sri Lanka’s education content, legal codes, or moral direction dangling various carrots in front of the President or his Govt.
VI. Reject the slippery slope of ‘Rights Based on Desires’
If laws are changed every time someone says, This is how I feel,” I have a right to how I feel – the law must accommodate my feelings” then the law loses meaning. Society collapses into chaos.
This is not inclusion — this is institutionalized confusion.
Children are now being told they can be cats, genderless, or anti-human. This is not progress. This is identity psychosis, financed by foreign billionaires and enabled by complicit leaders. Do parents raise children to be indoctrinated to thinking & behaving like a cat or a tree?
Parents deserve the right to raise their children free from ideological confusion — children must not become pawns in foreign-funded social experiments.
VII. A Call to All Religious and Civic Leaders
President Dissanayake’s views must be publicly challenged before his feelings” become the law.
· No one voted to erase Sri Lanka’s cultural identity.
· No leader has the right to legalize moral decay.
If a president says law must follow desire,” then he is no longer fit to uphold law.
VIII. A President disconnected from the People
President Dissanayake did not win the mandate of the people to change our moral and cultural foundation.
His rule of desire” statement represents the promotion of a dangerous external ideology — one that the majority of Sri Lankans reject across every religious, ethnic, and political lines.
He has betrayed the people’s trustby siding with foreign-funded ideologues over Sri Lanka’s civilizational heritage.
If a President chooses desire” over duty, he is no longer leading. He is indulging.
This is no longer just about LGBTQIA+. This is about a government — hijacked by foreign influence — attempting to socially re-engineer an entire civilization without public consent.
IX. Religious Leaders must act now — Silence is Complicity
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has courageously sounded the alarm. Now it is time for:
· The Mahanayakas of the Buddhist clergy
· The Muslim Ulema Councils
· The Hindu Kovils and Saiva institutions
· Catholic communities
to issue publicjoint declarationsrejecting the President’s remarks.
This is no longer about gay rights.” This is abouta government willing to rewrite law to indulge lust and confuse children— while threatening national identity, child protection, and moral governance.
When faith leaders speak as one, the nation cannot be divided.
X. A National Movement of Conscience must begin Now: Hold MPs Accountable
We call on all Members of Parliament:
· Where do you stand?
· Will you stand with the moral values of the people — or the dangerous ideology of rule by desire”?
We call on teachers, parents, lawyers, artists, youth leaders, and monks:
· Raise your voice in schools, temples, villages, and cities.
· Do not be silent as your country is ideologically colonized.
We call on the media:
· Will you question the President’s justification of desire as law?
· Will you inform the people — or censor the truth?
This isnot a partisan issue. This is a civilizational issue.
If the President will not defend our children, our culture, or our Constitution — the people will.
We the people, of all faiths and backgrounds, say NO:
· No to foreign ideological colonization
· No to rewriting laws to suit emotional whims
· No to foreign-funded psychological reprogramming of our children
· No to silence from our leaders
Let the Cardinal’s warning echo in temples, mosques, churches, and classrooms:
We defeated terrorism with unity. Now we must defeat ideological colonization with the same courage.
Let us rise — not with hatred, but with heritage.
Let us teach our children not confusion, but clarity.
Let us build a nation that honors truth, not temporary trends with lifelong damage.
Silent Agents, Sold Nation: How Sri Lanka’s Sovereignty Is Being Traded by Its Own A deep dive into how political elites are enabling foreign capture of Sri Lanka’s national assets — one MoU, one silent betrayal at a time. Sovereignty is not always lost in battle. Sometimes, it is surrendered in silence — through secret agreements, quiet betrayals, and elites playing both sides. In Sri Lanka today, while citizens focus on elections, inflation, and survival, a far deeper crisis is unfolding: the systematic outsourcing of national power, ports, energy, data, and even defense — signed away without debate, disclosure, or consent. This is not merely bad governance. It is a managed, deliberate transfer of control — enabled by politicians, officials, and so-called experts who appear loyal, but may already be promised a place in foreign-funded think tanks, global panels, or corporate boards. What we’re witnessing is not political incompetence. It is elite capture in its most dangerous form: soft colonization disguised as cooperation, and betrayal disguised as leadership. This exposé uncovers the global pattern, shows how it’s playing out in Sri Lanka, and what the people must now do to resist — before it’s too late.
Global examples: How former leaders became foreign agents
Former Secretaries who joined Think Tanks or Advisory Boards
Jim Mattis (Secretary of Defense, 2017–2018)
After resigning in December 2018, Mattis returned to Stanford’s Hoover Institution, becoming the Davies Family Distinguished Fellow in May 2019, focusing on national security research and writing. He also serves on the board of General Dynamics and works as a senior counselor at The Cohen Group
Mark Esper (Secretary of Defense, 2019–2020)
Since leaving office, Esper holds the Distinguished Chair at West Point’s Modern War Institute, serves on the board of the McCain Institute, joined the Atlantic Council’s board and advisory bodies at GLOBSEC, and co-chairs commissions on defense innovation, including software‑defined warfare
Condoleezza Rice (Secretary of State, 2005–2009)
Rice is currently Director of Stanford’s Hoover Institution, a senior fellow at Stanford’s FSI, and sits on advisory boards including the Aspen Institute, the George W. Bush Institute, and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy
John Lehman (Secretary of the Navy, 1981–1987)
Lehman is on the Board of Trustees for the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), a U.S. foreign policy think tank
William S. Cohen (Defense Secretary, 1997–2001):
Senior counselor at CSIS, advisor to US‑India/US‑China Business Councils, board member of CBS
Thomas Pickering (Under-Secretary of State / career diplomat, later advisor levels)
Though not a cabinet secretary per se, Pickering has served in ambassadorial and senior State positions and post-retirement has joined advisory boards at the International Crisis Group, Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, American Academy of Diplomacy, Stimson Center, and others
Robert Rubin (Treasury Secretary, 1995–1999):
Co‑founder of The Hamilton Project, senior counselor at Centerview Partners; former Chairman of Council on Foreign Relations
Timothy Geithner (Treasury Secretary, 2009–2013): Chairs Yale’s Program on Financial Stability, serves on CFR board, is President at Warburg Pincus
Steven Mnuchin (Treasury Secretary, 2017–2021): Launched a Washington-based investment fund targeting sovereign wealth capital
Janet Yellen (Treasury Secretary, 2021–2025): After stepping down, joined The Brookings Institution and holds roles on boards like the Pacific Council on International Policy
All of these individuals transitioned after leaving office into roles where they advise or lead policy‑oriented institutions.
There are numerous others from earlier administrations—such as Madeleine Albright, Henry Kissinger, George Shultz, Edmund Muskie, and Robert Rubin—who similarly joined think‑tank advisory boards (e.g. Center for National Policy) after retiring.
Note: as of July 2025, the Pentagon has suspended all participation in think tank forums, impacting former Defense secretaries like Mattis, Esper, and Lloyd Austin from engaging publicly at major policy conferences
Prominent International Former Ministers & Leaders
Florence Parly (French Minister of Armed Forces): Trustee at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) alongside other global figures
Lord Mark Malloch‑Brown (UK Deputy Secretary‑General, UN): President of Open Society Foundations; board member of the UN Foundation and the Royal Africa Society
Kanwal Sibal (India, Foreign Secretary 2002–2003): Contributor to major Indian newspapers and serves in policy forums (Board of Leaders”)
Maria van der Hoeven (Dutch, Minister of Economic Affairs; former IEA Executive Director): Advisory board of UN Energy for All”; board member of Total; fellow at Clingendael think tank and Rocky Mountain Institute
Pierre Vimont (France, former Ambassador / EU service): Senior Fellow at Carnegie Europe; served diplomatic & advisory roles post-office
Kim Campbell (Canada, former Minister & Prime Minister 1993): Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School, trustee of Council of Women World Leaders, leadership program founder, Board Member Club de Madrid
Mark Green (USA, former USAID Administrator): After government service became President & CEO of the Wilson Center; board advisor at Bush Institute and others
Glen S. Fukushima (U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce 1990): Senior Fellow at Center for American Progress; vice-chair of SIPC board
Carl Bildt (Sweden, former Foreign Minister / Prime Minister): Distinguished fellow at CIGI; advisor to Ukraine reforms and international policy firms; columnist for Project Syndicate
Notable Trends
Widespread revolving door” from public office to high-level advisory, think tank, or corporate board roles.
Defense and economic secretaries are particularly sought after for corporate and policy posts.
Recent U.S. policy shifts: as of late July 2025, the Pentagon has banned senior officers from participating in think tank events
Think Tanks: The Soft Power weapon nobody sees
How Think Tanks & Policy Boards Influence Government Policy
1. Post-Retirement Placements & Influence
When a former Secretary or Minister joins a think tank or corporate board:
They bring insider access, relationships with sitting officials, and deep knowledge of policy frameworks.
They often help shape the agenda of the institution they join, influencing research focus, policy papers, and media appearances.
These outputs are then cited by lawmakers, presented at Congressional hearings, or used to legitimize controversial policy proposals.
Example:
Jim Mattis joining the Hoover Institution (which advocates strong U.S. military posture) after stepping down — Hoover regularly issues policy papers that are circulated in Pentagon and Hill circles.
Many of these former officials worked with or received briefings from think tanks or interest groups while still in office.
Potential Conflicts of Interest:
These entities may have lobbied them indirectly—through briefings, closed-door panels, position papers, private dinners, etc.
Once the official retires and joins them, the move raises suspicions of a soft landing” or quid pro quo.
Example:
Robert Rubin (former Treasury Secretary) later chaired the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), which was frequently consulted by Clinton administration economic teams.
Steven Mnuchin reportedly fielded Wall Street lobbying and briefings from firms that later participated in his post-office investment fund.
3. Think Tank Reports as Lobbying Tools
Think tanks:
Produce policy recommendations that align with certain donor or corporate interests.
Hold invitation-only briefings with government officials.
Offer testimony in congressional hearings and publish op-eds that influence public perception.
Example:
The Brookings Institution and Atlantic Council have been repeatedly cited in Congressional sessions on foreign policy and energy, often shaped by corporate sponsors.
Former officials like Mark Esper and Condoleezza Rice were part of panels shaping national security or energy policy even while their affiliated think tanks received donations from defense contractors or oil companies.
Do Think Tanks lobby Secretaries while in Office?
Yes — though not always formally:
Soft Lobbying:
Policy briefings,” expert panels,” roundtables,” and research symposia” are indirect influence mechanisms.
Think tanks often funded by corporate interests frame these as neutral academic engagements.”
Backchannel Influence:
Staffers from Brookings, AEI, CSIS, Atlantic Council, etc., have private access to officials under the guise of knowledge-sharing.”
These think tanks often anticipate or pre-build connections with secretaries nearing retirement.
Evidence of influence while in Office
Investigative reporting (e.g. from The Intercept, Politico, New York Times) has shown that:
Defense Secretaries received input from think tanks funded by weapons manufacturers.
Treasury Secretaries were influenced by economic forecasts from institutions funded by investment banks or lobbying arms of multinational corporations.
Example:
In 2020, The Intercept revealed that Brookings, Atlantic Council, and CSIS accepted millions from defense contractors while influencing Pentagon planning through retired generals on their boards.
Revolving Door Examples
Former Official
While in Office
Post-Retirement Role
Potential Conflict
Jim Mattis
Defense Sec (briefed by Hoover, CSIS)
Hoover fellow, General Dynamics board
Defense ties while managing military procurement
Robert Rubin
Treasury Sec (consulted CFR & banks)
CFR Chair; economic policy influencer
Wall Street links during deregulation efforts
Condoleezza Rice
NSA/State Dept (worked with think tanks)
Hoover director; boards of oil firms
Oil and military overlap during Iraq War
Mark Esper
Defense Sec (worked with McCain Institute)
McCain Institute & Atlantic Council
Arms sales policy overlaps with sponsor priorities
Florence Parly (France)
Defense Minister (worked with IISS panels)
IISS Trustee
Close defense industry-military think tank ties
Key Policy Mechanisms influenced by these entities
Foreign Policy: Through narrative shaping and elite influence (e.g., Atlantic Council pushing NATO expansion)
Defense Budgeting: Think tanks funded by Raytheon, Lockheed, Boeing promote higher spending and tech upgrades
Trade & Regulation: Economic policy boards often backed by Wall Street or tech lobbies
Sanctions & Cyber Policy: Specialized panels (e.g. at Center for a New American Security) influence US sanctions regimes
Ethical Questions Raised
Transparency: Are former officials disclosing their prior interactions with the same entities they now serve?
Undue Influence: Are public policies being skewed to favor donors of these institutions?
Accountability: Are decisions made in the public interest or under influence of future job prospects?
National Security Risks: Do foreign-funded think tanks compromise decision-making?
Let us consider the Sri Lanka context:
Sri Lanka’s Silent MoUs: What they Signed, what they hid
Why are politicians & officials silent on sovereignty erosion?
Due Process bypassed
Major agreements (e.g., Trinco Oil Tank Farm, renewable energy grids, Adani port, defense MoUs, and now even Maritime Rescue Coordination) have been signed without Cabinet-wide discussion, public disclosure, or Parliamentary debate.
Despite their impact on sovereignty, security, and national assets, political parties offer lukewarm, ambiguous responses.
Some even echo foreign talking points — “strategic partnerships,” “regional integration,” “economic necessity.”
Red Flag: If sovereignty-impacting agreements bypass democratic process with no institutional resistance, it suggests either willful silence, collusion, or pre-assigned roles in a larger game.
Are Politicians/Officials acting as post-handover Agents”?
Likely. Here’s how it works globally — and now in Sri Lanka:
The Playbook of Proxy Rule through elites
Stage
Modus Operandi
1. Grooming
Selected politicians, bureaucrats, think tankers are invited abroad, given scholarships, or hosted at forums (e.g., Pathfinder, NITI Aayog panels, U.S. Track II events).
2. Seeding Influence
Foreign embassies, multilaterals, or donor entities fund local NGOs, advisors, experts” who gradually enter policy advisory roles.
3. Silent Agreements
Deals are signed with non-disclosure, and no resistance from either opposition or government — they pretend to protest, but never legally challenge or reverse them.
4. Post-Handover Rewards
Those who “played along” are offered post-retirement or post-political office roles: consultancy, speaking roles, board seats in foreign-funded think tanks, UN bodies, or private sector firms.
Signs this is happening in Sri Lanka
Cross-party silence on sovereignty sellouts — NPP, SJB, SLPP, UNP all avoid meaningful opposition to Indian control over ports, energy, and even coastguard functions.
No audit or public explanation of MoUs — Why are even major infrastructure MoUs not tabled in Parliament or reviewed by oversight committees?
Same bureaucrats rotate across parties — Officials who once signed deals under one regime resurface under another, continuing the same pattern.
Retired diplomats/officials appear in think tanks — Some join foreign-funded institutions, advisory panels, or Western/Indian forums with little national accountability.
Are their public statements just roleplay to fool citizens?
Very likely. The behavior of politicians on national topics mimics what is called managed opposition”:
They make token statements to appease public concern.
Yet do not mobilize protests, initiate legal action, or block implementation.
Instead, they use divisive distractions — ethnic tensions, religious issues, or personal scandals — to divert attention.
Result: The people think something is being done,” when in reality, the betrayal is being institutionalized quietly.
Silent understandings: The unspoken pact
There appears to be a tacit understanding among elite political and bureaucratic circles:
You don’t challenge our external partners, and you’ll be taken care of after office.”
Don’t expose the deals — pretend there’s debate, but don’t take real action.”
Give the people a villain to blame (the other party), but ensure the foreign plans continue no matter who is in power.”
This explains why:
Even the Left (NPP) is silent on Indian military MoUs.
The Right (SLPP/UNP) is silent on land, ports, energy being handed over.
The SJB only raises issues when politically convenient, not as a sustained national interest defense.
What Can Be Done?
Track affiliations of politicians/officials post-retirement.
Who joins foreign think tanks, banks, or regional advisory roles?
Expose think tank–foreign donor networks.
Who funds Pathfinder Foundation, Advocata, Verité Research?
Demand public release of all MoUs and treaties.
Table them in Parliament or sue for disclosure under RTI.
Mobilize nonpartisan civic resistance.
Public campaigns must name and shame the silence.
A country can lose its sovereignty without a shot being fired — all it takes is silent betrayal, managed opposition, and a people kept in the dark.”
Sri Lanka’s sovereignty is not being lost by war — but by political actors acting out a script, ensuring that no matter who wins elections, the foreign agenda prevails.
Country
What Happened
Lesson for Sri Lanka
Greece
Politicians signed EU bailouts without public review
Lost ports (Piraeus), sovereignty eroded
Ukraine (pre-2014)
Oligarchs & foreign advisors privatized land & industries
Foreign-funded regime change followed
Zambia
Silent MoUs with China on mines & infrastructure
Debt trap, loss of assets
Afghanistan (Ashraf Ghani era)
U.S.-backed govt was packed with silent foreign agents
Govt collapsed instantly
Sri Lanka (NOW)
Energy, ports, defense handed over via silent MoUs
Mass silence = complicity
This is a tested playbook — we are the next test case.”
The Silent Agents Among Us: How Sri Lanka’s Sovereignty Is Being Traded Behind Closed Doors”
A nation is not lost when it is defeated by war — it is lost when its guardians silently sell it piece by piece, while pretending to protect it. ❞
Sri Lanka is under siege — not by foreign armies, but by deals signed in silence, with the complicity of local elitesfrom all political parties. While citizens focus on elections, economic hardship, and survival, a much deeper betrayal is underway. Our lands, ports, power, data, and even security functions are being quietly transferred — often without public debate, Parliamentary scrutiny, or legal review.
The tragedy? Not a single party or political leader has truly stood up. Their so-called resistance is lukewarm, vague, and often conveniently timed. Behind this silence may lie a far more disturbing truth: some of these individuals are already promised a seat at the table of those pulling the strings.
What’s Really Happening?
Since 2024, a surge of agreements — mostly with India and certain Western interests — has targeted strategic assets:
Energy grids, now entering joint control under India-backed companies
Ports and harbors, gradually transferred under the guise of cooperation”
Defense coordination, allowing foreign militaries access to critical maritime zones
Data and IT infrastructure, being centralized with foreign-managed platforms
Disaster management and coastal control, falling under Indian-led frameworks
Yet there’s no uproar. No mass resignation. No court challenge. Not even a united public campaign by any party — not NPP, not SJB, not SLPP, not UNP. Why?
Are These Leaders the “Silent Agents” of a Foreign Script?
Let us be blunt. There appears to be a quiet understanding across party lines:
Don’t challenge the real foreign agenda
Play out token opposition
Ensure the betrayals are irreversible
Get rewarded later — with global postings, think tank seats, board positions, or advisory roles
This is not speculation. It is the same global pattern we’ve seen in:
Greece, where the port of Piraeus was sold quietly to China under bailout” politics
Zambia, where silent deals left generations in debt slavery
Afghanistan, where the US-backed government collapsed like sand because its elite was serving others
Ukraine (pre-2014), where foreign-funded NGOs and ministries set the stage for geopolitical collapse
The Betrayal, Explained in Simple Terms
Imagine your father sells your house — the land your family lived on for generations — and tells you it’s to ‘modernize.’ He promises you’ll be safe, but the contract was signed in another language, and the buyer now controls the front gate. You’re still in the house, but only until you’re told to leave. That’s Sri Lanka today.”
This is not just poor governance. It is managed betrayal. The politicians who signed these agreements pretend they had no choice, but in reality, they may have secured their future at the cost of ours.
Why the Silence from All Parties?
Because the role of most politicians today is not to protect sovereignty — it is to maintain the illusion of democracy while foreign interests take root.
That’s why:
Opposition parties don’t demand MoU disclosures
Government MPs don’t explain why land or energy are being sold
No party has published a full audit of foreign agreements in the past 10 years
This is scripted theater. The people are the audience. The deals are already done backstage.
So, What Can the People Do?
Step One is Awareness. Step Two is Resistance.
We must:
Name the betrayal: This is not development.” It is soft colonization.
Identify the silent agents: Who are these politicians, advisors, officials, and experts” tied to foreign-funded institutions?
Demand full transparency: Every agreement, MoU, and secret clause must be tabled before the people.
Refuse to be distracted: Ethnic issues, cultural debates, and election drama are designed to keep us blind.
This is Not a Political Crisis. It is a Sovereignty Crisis.
Sri Lanka is not being taken over by invaders with guns. It is being handed over by our own, with pens and silence. They sign away our ports, power, and national authority in the name of diplomacy — and we applaud them because we are kept in the dark.
This article is a call to every citizen, youth, monk, mother, soldier, and worker:
Your country is not being sold. It’s already sold — unless you rise now.”
Elite Capture Model in Sri Lanka: 5 steps to Betrayal
Model: No Bribe Needed — Just Future Rewards”
STEP 1: Soft Grooming During Office
Tactic: International Exposure & Intellectual Flattery
Examples:
Central Bankers (2021–2024): Regularly invited to Harvard Center for International Development; introduced to modern monetary frameworks” aligned with IMF.
List Sri Lankans invited to: World Bank, IMF side events or think tanks like Pathfinder, advocating debt-for-climate swaps” or SOE reform.
NPP representatives (2023): Quietly engaged by Indian policy groups (Observer Research Foundation, NITI Aayog) for youth governance” forums and non-aligned regionalism” discussions.
Legal officials: Invited to UN OHCHR or ICRC Humanitarian Law” programs which later shaped how they viewed 2009 war accountability.
Psychological hook: You’re not a local leader anymore. You’re a global thinker.”
STEP 2: In-Office influence and secret deals
Tactic: Decisions made via external Experts” or via MoUs unseen by the People
Examples:
35 Indo-Sri Lanka agreements (Dec 2024–Apr 2025): Nearly all signed without full Cabinet or Parliamentary debate. The Trincomalee Tank Farm, West Container Terminal, and land–energy–power sectors were committed through MoUs, often drafted abroad.
BOI officials in 2023-2025: Consulted Indian embassy-linked advisors on investment zones and offered them security jurisdiction without public debate.
Lands Ministry officials (2022–2024): Pushed World Bank-supported cadastral surveys and e-title registration enabling foreign leasehold bypasses.
Ministry of Power: Restructuring and selling off CEB units in line with ADB/IMF blueprints, not public mandate.
Every national resource becomes open for investment” — without public approval.
STEP 3: Post-Office Gratitude — No bribe, just career rewards
Tactic: The Payoff” happens Only After they leave office
Examples:
Former diplomat or foreign secretary (2020–2022): Now sits on UN Development Advisory Board & boards of private think tanks in Singapore and India.
Ex-Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera (prior to death): Rewarded with media space, international praise, post-retirement roles in international forums.
Former CBSL advisors: Appointed to UNDP, WB or think tank fellowships after pushing through” restructuring policy while in office.
High-profile lawyers involved in post-war legal reform: Now on international arbitration panels or special envoys.
We didn’t take money — we just got prestigious jobs later.”
STEP 4: Maintaining influence through Think Tanks
Tactic: Stay relevant as expert” to push same policies
Examples:
Pathfinder Foundation: Hosts ex-officials and military brass promoting closer Indo-Lanka military/economic integration.
Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute: Publishes thought pieces by ex-diplomats advocating balanced foreign policy” that’s pro-West/India.
Multiple Sunday newspapers and webinars: Regularly feature former decision-makers subtly justifying past choices.
Today’s traitor is tomorrow’s public intellectual.”
STEP 5: Silencing dissent and demonizing Nationalists
Tactic: Frame Critics as Regressive,” Extremist,” or Xenophobic”
Examples:
Media-funded commentators attack those opposing Indo-Lanka agreements as fearmongers” or racists.”
Social media pages (funded by EU/US embassies) amplify liberal-progressive figures who mock cultural nationalism.
Academics who question the IMF narrative are called anti-development” or accused of spreading fake news.”
Religious leaders who resist LGBTQIA decriminalization branded as hate preachers,” ignoring cultural context.
The new colonial weapon isn’t a gun — it’s public shaming.
Summary
Stage
Tactic
Sri Lankan Examples (2020–2025)
1. Grooming
Foreign trips, elite invitations
CBSL officials, legal officers, NPP advisors
2. In-office MoUs
Quiet agreements, donor scripts
India deals, WB/ADB reforms, land registry
3. Post-career payoff
Jobs/fellowships after exit
UN panels, think tanks, board roles
4. Echo chamber
Think tank/media recycling
Pathfinder, Verité, newspaper columns
5. Silencing critics
Media + NGO narrative control
Anti-nationalism slurs, social media smears
What we should now do with this knowledge:
Publicly audit foreign trips and think tank affiliations of current officials.
Expose each MOU and its implications before they are implemented.
Demand full transparency on privatization and investment deals.
Name and document this elite capture” model in Sinhala/Tamil — so ordinary people can recognize it.
Support nationalist legal scholars, monks, civil society who expose this soft-colonial playbook.
A nation is not betrayed in one grand act — but in a thousand silent signatures, made by those entrusted to protect it.
Sri Lanka is not under military siege. It is under elite capture. The betrayal is not foreign invasion — it is internal collusion. The traitors wear no uniforms — they wear suits, give speeches, and smile for the cameras.
They signed the MoUs. They bypassed Parliament. They echoed foreign scripts. They silenced dissent. They prepared their escape routes — think tanks, panels, board seats.
This is not incompetence. It is calculated surrender — executed by silent agents across all major parties, hiding behind development,” strategic partnerships,” and regional integration.”
While the people suffer economic hardship and hope for change, the real power is being outsourced — ports, power, land, data, even defense coordination. The betrayal is bipartisan. The silence is coordinated. The agenda is foreign.
This is not democracy. This is soft occupation.
People must now
1. Name the Betrayals: This is not modernization. It is managed surrender. Stop calling traitors visionaries.”
2. Demand Transparency: Table every MoU and agreement in Parliament. No deal should be valid unless seen and debated by the people.
3. Track the Agents: Record where our former leaders go — which think tanks, boards, or foreign missions they join. Expose who funds them. Follow the money trail.
4. Educate the Nation: Translate and spread this Elite Capture Model to every home, temple, classroom, and village — so no one is fooled again.
5. Reject the False Drama: Political theater is a distraction. While they debate slogans, they sign away sovereignty. Unite beyond party lines — this is not left vs. right, it is traitors vs. patriots.
“Sri Lanka is not being conquered by foreign armies. It is being handed over by its own elite — one silent MoU at a time.”
Let history record this moment clearly: If we do nothing, we will be the generation that watched our nation be sold — not by war, but by whispers in air-conditioned rooms.
The time to resist is NOW. Not through violence, but through exposure, legal action, public vigilance, and unyielding civic courage.
Let no traitor hide behind a smile or a title again.
NDB Bank, in collaboration with the National Credit Guarantee Institution Limited (NCGI) and Hatch Works, recently hosted a focused awareness session at Hatch Innovation Hub in Colombo to introduce Sri Lankan startups to the benefits of the NCGI-backed loan guarantee facility. This initiative marked a significant step in expanding access to finance for emerging entrepreneurs, particularly in the IT and technology sectors.
The session was attended by over 40 startups and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with representation spanning diverse industries including agriculture, manufacturing, digital solutions, and services. The key objective was to shed light on the National Credit Guarantee mechanism—an empowering facility that enables entrepreneurs to access business loans without the need for traditional collateral. Once a business is backed by the NCGI guarantee, the guarantee itself serves as the security for the loan, significantly improving access to finance for early-stage businesses.
Representing NDB Bank at the session were Nilendra Vithanage, Chief Manager and Zonal Head – Business Banking, and Sudesh Fernando, Senior Manager – SME Refinance. The National Credit Guarantee Institution was represented by Jude Fernando, Chief Executive Officer, and Himansu Wickramasinghe, Head of Guarantee Administration. Hatch was represented by its Chief Executive Officer, Mevan Peiries.
As a pioneer in financial inclusion and SME empowerment, NDB Bank is committed to supporting entrepreneurs at every stage of their growth journey. The Bank has remained steadfast in its mission to provide tailored financial solutions that meet the unique challenges of startups, particularly in fast-growing innovation-led sectors like IT. With the support of NCGI and forward-thinking incubators such as Hatch, NDB is expanding its reach to foster the next generation of Sri Lankan entrepreneurs who are set to shape the country’s economic future.
Commenting on the initiative, Nilendra Vithanage of NDB Bank noted, Our partnership with NCGI and Hatch is a reflection of our unwavering belief in the potential of Sri Lankan startups. We understand that access to finance remains a key barrier for many new businesses, especially those without traditional assets or collateral. The NCGI guarantee transforms this dynamic, and we are proud to be enabling access to opportunity.”
This collaboration between NDB, NCGI, and Hatch is expected to continue in the months ahead, with plans to extend further knowledge-sharing sessions and financial accessibility programs to entrepreneurial communities across the island. Together, these institutions are building a more inclusive startup ecosystem, one where innovation is supported, and financial solutions are accessible, secure, and sustainable.
NDB Bank is the fourth-largest listed commercial bank in Sri Lanka. The Bank was awarded Domestic Retail Bank of the Year – Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka Domestic Project Finance Bank of the Year by Asian Banking and Finance Magazine (Singapore) Awards 2024, and was named Sri Lanka’s Best Bank for Corporates at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2024. NDB is the parent company of the NDB Group, comprising capital market subsidiary companies, together forming a unique banking and capital market services group. The Bank is committed to empowering the nation and its people through meaningful financial and advisory services powered by digital banking solutions.
The Sinhala version of the Beena Sarwar’s international documentary film ‘Democracy in Debt: Sri Lanka – Beyond the Headlines’, produced by Priyantha Pradeep Ranasinghe under the title ‘ණය ප්රජාතන්ත්රවාදය: ශ්රී ලංකාව – සිරස්තලවලින් ඔබ්බට” (26 Minutes), will be screened at the Sri Lanka Press Institute, Colombo, this month (July 30) at 4.00 p.m. Beena Sarwa, a Pakistani multimedia journalist and producer currently residing in the US, who produced the original film, will join the event.
Originally produced in English with the support of the Pulitzer Center in the United States, the 25-minute documentary was released last year. Filmed in both Dutuwewa, a remote village in Sri Lanka, and Colombo, the documentary presents a compelling, multi-layered narrative that explores universal issues of governance, accountability, and the resilience of democratic hopes. While deeply rooted in the Sri Lankan context, its message resonates across borders in countries such as India, Bangladesh, and the United States, where people continue to fight for democratic values and transparency.
Ahead of Sri Lanka’s recent presidential election, the film was screened at several venues in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and the United States. Its critical success led to further screenings at more than 70 venues in nearly 20 countries, spanning five continents. The film received favourable reviews from prominent media outlets, including The Wire in India and Dawn in Pakistan.
The Sinhala version is particularly significant for Sri Lanka, as it is believed to be the first time an international documentary has been produced in Sinhala. The film also predicted the social and political transformation that followed the country’s presidential election in 2024, making it a timely and relevant contribution to the national conversation.
Beena Sarwar is a respected multimedia journalist, editor, and documentary filmmaker. She has held senior editorial positions in leading print and television media in Pakistan and has been a founding member of several key media initiatives, including Himal Southasian magazine and Panos South Asia. She holds a Master’s degree in Television Documentary from Goldsmiths, University of London, and has received prestigious fellowships from the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University and the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Since 2011, she has lived in the Boston area in the United States and has taught journalism at institutions such as Princeton University, Brown University, Harvard Summer School, and Emerson College. In 2021, she launched Sapan News, an independent media outlet offering a syndicated features service. The platform evolved from the Southasia Peace Action Network (Sapan), a volunteer-led regional peace initiative launched earlier that year.
The Sinhala production, translation, adaptation and advisory role for the film was undertaken by Priyantha Pradeep Ranasinghe, a seasoned journalist with more than 20 years of experience in print, electronic, and digital media in Sri Lanka. He has worked at leading national media organisations and played a vital role in making the documentary accessible to Sinhala-speaking audiences. ……………
We invite you to provide media coverage on this event and join us in watching the film.
Venue – Sri Lanka Press Institute, 96, Kirula Road, Colombo 5, Sri Lanka Date & Time – July 30 th Wednesday 2025, at 4.00 – 6.00 p.m., For more information – 0717640015
Priyantha Pradeep Ranasinghe 0773124550 …………….
දර්ශන හා පින්තුර පහත ඇත The videos and pictures are below.
Urges discussions with business community, AI/IT experts, PCs, uni. lecturers
The main Opposition, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), alleged that the Government has not appointed educationists to support the proposed education reforms and has not reached out to the parties that can significantly contribute to these reforms.
This was stated during a press briefing held yesterday (28) at the SJB headquarters, where the SJB’s Gampaha Seat Organiser Waruna Rajapaksha opined that although the Government should obtain the opinions and suggestions of business figures for these reforms, they should not be deciding on the final reforms. He added: At the same time, the Government should hold talks with those in the information technology (IT) sector who are experts in artificial intelligence (AI) regarding the new education reforms. Their opinions and suggestions should be obtained. However, they themselves cannot formulate education reforms.” In addition, he claimed that since most schools in Sri Lanka are managed at the Provincial Council (PC) level, the Government should also hold talks with the heads of PCs. According to him, another group with whom discussions should be held is university lecturers.
Moreover, Rajapaksha opined that the proposed education reforms are vague, especially when it comes to their ultimate objectives, and lack a proper implementation plan.
Catholic Church wants Prez-Govt. to make ‘apt’ decision
Deputy Min. Jayasekera denies any impact
Major General Aruna Jayasekera (Retired) functioning in the post of Deputy Defence Minister, could impact the credibility of the investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks, the Catholic Church stated, urging President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the Government to make an ‘appropriate’ decision on the matter.
Several Opposition Parliamentarians have recently called for Jayasekera to be removed, claiming that since he was the Army’s Eastern Commander at the time of the attacks, his current role could influence the related investigations.
However, when the allegations were made in the Parliament, the Government front bench stated that there was no reason to remove the deputy minister from his role.
When contacted by The Daily Morning regarding their position on the matter, the Spokesperson for the Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Father Cyril Gamini Fernando said that the Church too believes that Jayasekera’s role as a Deputy Minister could affect the investigations. We also feel that there is an issue here. The investigations are not handled by his ministry — they are being carried out by the Police and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which come under a different minister (Public Security). But still, he’s serving as a Deputy Minister, and it can have an impact,” Fr. Fernando pointed out. He emphasised that the Government and the President should pay attention to the issue, saying: The President and the Government should give this some thought and take an appropriate decision. When he (Jayasekera) is serving as a Deputy Minister, it’s natural for people to feel that there could be some influence on the investigations. Then there is a question about the credibility of the investigations.”
Referring to a statement made by Jayasekera in the Parliament, where he said that certain military intelligence officers were involved in the said attacks, Fernando said that it should be determined whether Jayasekera was unaware of this during his time in command in the Eastern Province. As the (Eastern) Commander, did he not receive any information? These matters need to be investigated. I remember him saying that he gave a statement to the CID. The investigations should move forward based on that. Only after the investigations can we know if he had any connection or not,” Fr. Fernando observed.
When contacted by The Daily Morning, regarding the assertion made by Father Cyril Gamini Fernando, Deputy Minister Jayasekera responded stating that there is no impact (on the investigations)”.
The Minister of Public Security, Ananda Wijepala recently said in the Parliament that there is no need for Jayasekera to resign to ensure a fair probe into the Easter Sunday terror attacks as the investigations are carried out by the Public Security Ministry. On the same day, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya also said in the Parliament that the investigations would be carried out in a credible and transparent manner.
On 21 April 2019 Easter Sunday, three churches and three luxury hotels in Colombo were targeted in a series of coordinated suicide bombings. Later that day, another two bomb explosions took place at a house in Dematagoda and the Tropical Inn Lodge in Dehiwala. More than 270 people excluding the bombers were killed in the bombings, including about 45 foreign nationals, while at least 500 were injured.
Colombo, July 28 (Daily Mirror) – President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) National Organiser Namal Rajapaksa happened to be on board the same flight to the Maldives today.
The President was heading for Male on a state visit at the invitation of his Maldivian counterpart, whereas Rajapaksa was travelling there to attend a wedding ceremony.
They were in the business class of SriLankan Airlines flight UL 101 from Colombo to Male.
By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana, Courtesy Daily Mirror
Colombo, July 28 (Daily Mirror) – Whilst an extensive public debate is being carried out on the government’s education reforms, the Sectoral Oversight Committee on education has decided to seek the assistance of experts who have been involved in compiling education reforms in the past.
The Chair of the Committee MP Hesha Withanage told the sectoral committee meeting that experts from relevant sectors who have been involved in reforming the education sector in the past are expected to be consulted to examine the proposed education reforms more comprehensively.
He stated that the full support of the Committee will be extended to ensure that proper education reforms would be implemented.
Members of the oversight committee emphasised the need for properly structured syllabi when implementing reforms in the education sector.
Secretary to the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Training, Nalaka Kaluwewa, representatives of the National Education Commission, the Director General of the National Institute of Education, along with several other senior officials of the Ministry of Education, participated in the meeting.
The Ministry officials explained to the Committee the proposed education reforms.
Meanwhile, the attention of the Sectoral Oversight Committee was also drawn to the Samurdhi (Amendment) Bill. The Committee inquired into the operations of the Samurdhi Bank, and the relevant approval was granted to present the said Bill to Parliament for the Second Reading.
Members of Parliament Sunil Rajapaksha, Chanaka Madugoda, Thurairasa Ravikaran, Nilusha Lakmali Gamage, Attorney at Law, and Krishnan Kalaichelvi also participated in the meeting.
Colombo, July 28 (Daily Mirror) – Retired MPs Collective is contemplating legal action if MPs pension is abolished, its secretary Premasiri Manage said.
“There are 30 ex-JVP MPs who have retired and are depending on the pension. Also, he said there are 50 JVP MPs who have given up public service to take up politics. What would become of them if their pension is slashed?” Manage questioned.
Further, he said retired MPs will lodge complaints with the International Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva with regard to the matter.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved a draft legislation to repeal pensions for Members of Parliament and cancel special entitlements for former Presidents and their families last month.
Cabinet Spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa, who made a comment during last month’s cabinet briefing, said it was decided to instruct the Legal Draftsman to formulate two separate bills to curtail the special privileges historically granted to former Presidents and their families, as well as cancelling the pension of the MPs.
Dr. Jayatissa said the move is in line with the Government’s broader policy vision titled ‘Pohosath Ratak – Lassana Jeewithayak’ (A Wealthy Country – A Beautiful Life), which was presented to the public as part of the Government’s mandate.
He said the decision reflects the people’s will. People voted for this Government to repeal the excessive and unjustified benefits previously granted to former Presidents and MPs,” he said.
He said once enacted, the reforms would abolish lifetime pensions for MPs, which they currently receive after five years of service and withdraw perks for former Presidents and their families, which include housing, vehicles, staff and other allowances funded by the taxpayers.
In just five months, the JVP-NPP-led government under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake signed 35 agreements with India — the largest, fastest foreign policy shift in Sri Lanka’s post-independence history.
What was promised as a new era of transparency, sovereignty, and people-first governance has instead raised urgent questions:
Who really benefits from these deals?
Was Parliament consulted?
Are we now India’s satellite in the Indian Ocean?
This is not partnership. This is strategic entrapment.
Sri Lankans must now ask:
Was our sovereignty sold in exchange for survival — or surrendered without resistance?
The 35 Indo-Lanka Agreements (Dec 2024 – April 2025):
The agreements dilute Sri Lanka’s decision-making autonomy in:
Strategic ports and harbors
National energy infrastructure
Defense surveillance and security data
Cultural heritage & religious tourism
Comparison: Even under pro-Western or India-leaning administrations (Yahapalana 2015–19 or Sirisena-Rajapaksa 2019–2024), strategic deals were more cautious, staggered, and often faced parliamentary or legal scrutiny. The JVP/NPP government has bypassed both.
Part 3 – Strategic entrapment vs regional partnership
Dependency loopsin digital and energy infrastructure
Permanent Indian institutional presence
Terms that benefit Indian companies withfew local benefits
Has Sri Lanka lost its renowned role as a non-aligned state —is it becoming a satellite of India, without the protections of formal alliance.
Comparison: Past governments balanced relations with China and India or West and India — the JVP/NPP regime has tilted entirely and blindly toward India.
Part 4 – From Anti-Imperialism to Indian Alignment
The JVP — once fierce critics of foreign domination — are now:
Facilitators of Indian capital, diplomacy, and strategic policy
Silent on sovereignty, transparency, and external control
Promoters of what they once calledneo-imperialism”
Comparison: The JVP led protests against Indian intervention in the 1980s. Today, they are signing agreements that exceed even the Indo-Lanka Accord in reach.
India now shapes Sri Lanka’sIndian Ocean posture, BIMSTEC presence, and energy routes
Indian private and state actors are being institutionalized in Sri Lanka
Sets a precedent for other foreign actors to demand similar access
Comparison: Previous administrations tried to balance India and China — the JVP/NPP gave India unilateral privileges, risking long-term diplomatic imbalance.
JVP-NPP campaigned onsovereignty, justice, and anti-imperialism
JVP-NPP now stand accused of themost sweeping surrender of national autonomy
History will remember whether you correct this course — or double down
Comparison: Past governments may have been pragmatic or pressured, but the JVP/NPP came to power promising a people-first, country-first revolution — and now face the starkest betrayal of their own legacy.
The most sovereignty-compromising administration since Independence?
While past governments may have erred or compromised in parts, none have conceded strategic control to a foreign power across this many sectors, this quickly, without any remorse.
The JVP/NPP must now choose:
Course-correctand return to its foundational principles
Or be remembered as theregime that delivered Sri Lanka into strategic subservience under the cover of reform
History will not forget. And the people will not forgive.
A word to JVP/NPP supporters
This is not the time to blindly defend leadership or stay distracted by short-term economic optics.
The cost of silence today will be strategic loss tomorrow.
The betrayal of sovereignty cannot be justified by promises of digital ID cards, rooftop solar panels, or recovery”.
You campaigned for change, not compromise.
Hold your leaders accountable — not as enemies, but as patriots.
A call to All Sri Lankans
If we remain silent, preoccupied with day-to-day survival, distracted by political drama, we risk waking up to a country:
Militarily bound to a regional hegemony
Digitally governed by foreign systems
Economically tied to foreign monopolies
And powerless to say no in our own Parliament
It won’t matter who is President then. The Parliament will be ceremonial. Elections will be irrelevant or a mere theatre.
‘Before you study the economics, study the economists!’
e-Con e-News 20-26 July 2025
‘If the country were turned into a giant hotel, turned into a huge plantation, turned into a large garment factory: we would not need schools or universities, for they require few modern skills…– SBD de Silva
The media is full of the most intricate yogic posturings to demonstrate the many ways by which our bodies can be twisted and bent over, hogtied and tongue-tied, to kneel down before the latest shenanigans of the USA and their killer poodles, the EU & England. Yet we often wonder how many professors or economists, repelled by the USA’s latest economic gunboat diplomacy, have conducted research to highlight the trajectory and ramifications of Sri Lanka’s inevitable political & economic separation from the USA, and/or the EU, and finally & most importantly, separate from England? To firmly locate us in the world where we live, in Asia, standing tall between Africa and China…
Export, export, export, is all this media cry out, wail & scream, stating we must do whatever it takes to stay in the good graces of the imperialist beasts, whose jaws & appetites (markets) are to be desired. And no one dares study, let alone declare the necessity & consequences of weaning Sri Lanka off its deadly addiction to the old colonial import-export plantation fraud, while transforming ourselves into a modern industrial nation? Well, SBD de Silva certainly did. SB pointed out, the media do not even know what ‘modern’ & ‘industrial’ even really mean. Then again, why should they care? It is increasingly apparent that the media – and the numerous foreign-government-funded Non-Government Organizations (FGNGOs) they readily and lavishly love to quote – are all run by a few foreign embassies in Colombo and Delhi, led by that extraterritorial blockhouse by seaside Kollupitiya junction. As for SBD, he rejected the notion that the export sector is ‘modern, progressive & advanced’; to expose this being one of the objectives of his monumental work.
Oxford University wished to publish his 1962 London School of Economics (LSE) PhD thesis, but he held them off. A decade later, Oxford cried, ‘Nothing in this world is perfect’, but he still held them off. He in fact had come to reject the tenets underpinning his LSE thesis. The product of his rejection was The Political Economy of Underdevelopment (TPEU), published in 1982.
This ee continues serializing SBD de Silva’s classic, The Political Economy of Underdevelopment. Last week, SBD’s Preface detailed how social science has become a big business. He described the social nature of his personal motivations, to state his case, no matter the immediate profits or losses involved – for ‘knowledge has to be tested & developed through a process of confrontation’. One colleague, a famous Sri Lankan professor, told him to be careful, for he had too many references to Karl Marx! And his Australian Masters thesis supervisor, Professor HW Arndt told him, ‘Your book stands in contradistinction to everything we uphold.’ And yet, SB held fast to his beliefs to the very end, that the plantation system with its origins in chattel slavery could never set us free. And in this week’s reproduction of his ‘Introduction’, he delineates his objectives in writing the book, describing the shifting shapes of economists and economics, and the methods he had to use midst the erasure of evidence inside the country (see ee Focus).
SBD always lamented the lack of an economic history of Sri Lanka. He had even sued Professor KM de Silva, who in his Oxford A History of Sri Lanka used SBD’s work without accreditation, while distorting his arguments. Anyway, history is supposedly being removed as a subject by the latest IMF- & merchant-authored educational reforms, and this should make the English very, very happy. The English too prevent their colonial, let alone their full internal, histories being taught, except to a select few, even in their own country. Yet, the English love of history – like a thief or murderer who worries they left incriminating fingerprints behind – becomes evident in the limited media exposé of their ‘Operation Legacy’, which demanded the burning by their high commissions abroad throughout the 1950s and 1960s, of any criminalizing evidence, files, etc, detailing their occidental despotism in our world.
This hidden history, which SBD gathered by traversing the world over inside his book, is the history of a non-settler colonial nation, where a colonized class of merchants & moneylenders has failed to develop into a class dedicated to investing in modern production & accumulating capital. They instead keep the country underdeveloped as a spendthrift class of rentiers & consumers (like the ‘profligacy of the feudal aristocracy’ SBD’s Introduction refers to), whose rallying cry is ‘wine, women (or men), & song’…. One of SBD’s favourite questions about Sri Lanka’s oligarchs was: ‘What do the rich think rich means?’
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‘The University of Ceylon was recently moved
from the capital city of Colombo, where many
of its students could live at home & attend at
low social cost, and placed in beautiful but
expensive new buildings, 60 miles inland
in the country. The move symbolizes the
university as an institution removed from
& contemplative of the World,
not a part of the world & its problems…’
– Central Bank of Ceylon Deputy Governor
& US citizen, Theodore Morgan, 1956
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• The University of Peradeniya (referred to above) opened in 1952 (headed by ‘Sir’ Ivor Jennings, who also authored that 1947 ‘Constitution of Ceylon’) remains a fraud – from its bright beginnings, to when a disillusioned SBD de Silva quit teaching Economics there – to this day… The novelist Sena Thoradeniya recalls that the literature produced by Peradeniya has been tailored to fit the concept of colonial universities as expounded by its first Vice Chancellor Jennings. It was a literature of a minority where vast majorities were kept outside of it. Once again, a minority was riding roughshod over the majority, as the danger of dollar-hungry movements grew to dominate the literary, art and cultural fields. Thoradeniya in his Birth, Rise & Fall of The Peradeniya School of Literature (Peradeniya Gurukulaye Upatha, Nageema ha Bindaweteema, 2018), expresses a sensitive and controversial truth: In the fifties the university was filled with some village youth who were plagued with an inferiority complex. Within the campus there emerged a person who was capable of becoming their Messiah”. This was Ediriweera Sarachchandra (formerly Eustace Reginald De Silva). These youths came to see Sarachchandra as a great intellectual who could override the primordial rural culture they had inherited.” They sought to expunge the Sinhala Buddhist culture of their ancestors, as declared in Sarachchandra’s article, ‘Ascetic Ideal’. Sarachchandra, like the coterminous Sarvodhaya movement of AT Ariyaratne was also funded by the US Rockefeller (Exxon) Foundation. Though oil greased certain alienated ideas, it resolutely left out such questions as posed by DJ Wimalasurendra, whose vision for the country had been thwarted by this very same ‘Big Oil’ indeed. Sarachchandra eventually had to recant and go back to his roots to enrich his dramaturgy.
Perhaps the University of Peradeniya should be transformed into a cluster of technical colleges. We notice the university’s railway station, Sarasavi Uyana, is being refurbished, perhaps because many MPs in the almost-new NPP government hail from there? Indeed, the story of the destruction of the railway system, in order to promote the import of secondhand cars from Japan, is surely a story to be told. But the better question is, why do we graduate engineers who make no engines? The continuing colonial separation of arts & sciences is a luxury we can ill afford. Let alone the incessant droning about how education is being hijacked by those who wish to tie education to the needs of the economy, and oppose critical thinking. But, what kind of critical thinking does not think about how our economy will never properly employ people with dignity & skills, and why our merchants & moneylenders always oppose real modern development?
SBD de Silva resigned from his post as a professor in the University of Peradeniya’s Economics Department, after he saw how the entire institution had been hijacked. Students had no interest in transforming a colonial import-export plantation economy into a modern society, where the university could be a manufacturer of manufacturers, inventor of inventors. Students, especially after 1977, were directed to obtain a scroll of white paper by any means, to exhibit their qualifications to hopefully get a sedentary day job. And not just them – look at the procession of abbreviated ‘qualifications’ behind some columnists’ names in the print media! Then again, SBD would report how teachers were holding private tuition classes in full view in Peradeniya town; or getting their wives & favorite students to mark papers. The hijacking of Peradeniya is not new. Right from its first foundation stone, there seems to have been little intention to strengthen the country’s real independence by educating about the realities of colonial underdevelopment and how to transform the society to overcome it, by ensuring a production culture…
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• If you happen to have Rs50,000 to spare for 2 hours, to buy a ticket into the Cinnamon Life Hotel’s Cumulus Ballroom in Colombo – and also get KPMG or Ernst & Young (E&Y) to write it off your tax bill – you can go hear ‘National University of Singapore Asia Research Institute Distinguished Fellow Prof Kishore Mahbubani’ wax on ‘Navigating the Asian Century – Opportunities & Risks for Sri Lanka’. The invitation for 30 July declares, ‘As Asia’s geopolitical & economic influence grows, Sri Lanka stands at a pivotal moment to redefine its role in the region.’ Risks indeed! Curiously, the talk (who says words are cheap?) is sponsored by the usual US thinktanks & fronts like the Chamber of Commerce, Advocata, Verite, LirneAsia. These ‘NGOs’ have been at the vanguard, vociferous in demanding that Sri Lanka sell off its national enterprises to the highest bidder. Let them tell state-centric Singapore (& China, whom the erudite Mahbubani has been relatively positive about) such nonsense, and these US thinktanks would be told to deport themselves ICE-quick to their sponsors on Washington’s Beltway!
Will it be yet another lecture on how great Singapore is, and how rustic Sri Lanka is? One of SBD’s famous anecdotes was about Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) walking into a lecture hall filled with National University of Singapore (NUS) professors: Despite LKY’s entrance, they continue jabbering, horsing around & lounging about. He then yells at them, ‘I am the leader of this country, when I come in, you stand up!’ And they all go hush, and stand up meekly – and have done ever since, before every Singaporean leader, long after Lee joined his ancestors.
Lee Kuan Yew & Singapore are ever tediously invoked in the media in Sri Lanka, especially when they wish to give us lectures on how lazy & tribal the Sinhala Buddhists are, and how the rule of law dominates in Singapore (except when it comes to harboring a criminal fugitive named Arjuna Mahendran!). Yet, few realize that there is no compare: Sri Lanka is a civilizational state of thousands of years, now dominated by merchants & moneylenders (led by the US World Bank). Singapore is a johnny-come-lately city-state, a strategically located rock (really!), minus its own water supply – but it also has a highly industrialized economy, with lucrative origins as an entrepot for England’s piratical opium trade from India, pushed through wars on China. Our media hacks don’t mention that Singapore has a mandatory policy of a Chinese majority, for as Lee Kuan Yew declared, if Indians dominate (as they do here!), the country will not progress…
SBD de Silva was critical of academics who saw no link in their work to transforming the country’s economy. He, too, loved to quote Lee Kuan Yew, but not in the same obsequious manner as the media. He knew well Singapore’s history, having studied it and having taught there. He recalls LKY asking those very same academics on that fateful day of his grand entrance into the NUS: why so many years after Singapore’s ‘independence’ from Malaysia in 1965, had they not done any studies on the separation & its consequences? Singapore is very much dependent on the resources & markets of the rich Asian hinterland surrounding it. After all, even we still import oil from there – oil which sails past us from West Asia to be refined there before being sent here. We recall Singapore developed its refineries by providing refuelling facilities for the US bombers in the 1960-70s, on their way to murder millions and flatten Southeast Asia. We also recall that Boustead Bros, those monopoly importers of coal & oil & steel who undermined DJ Wimalasurendra’s plan for hydroelectrification, were based in Singapore – so that English colony still has a historical duty to keep undermining us. We assume Mahbubani has no such foul tendencies, even though we cannot say the same for the servile anti-national elements he will find himself thrown among…
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• This ee Focus also reproduces an excerpt from Kumari Jayawardena & Jennifer Moragoda’s book on their relative, NU Jayawardena, and his involvement in the famous 1934 Ceylon Banking Commission (CBC). It tells how the English banks refused to lend to, let alone hire, local people, and how they used Indian Chettiars & Afghans (Baluchis?) as middlemen. They mention the Bank of Ceylon (BoC) that arose from the CBC, but not how the BoC was subsequently hijacked.
ee Focus also continues looking at the 19th century New York political machine known as Tammany Hall: how the rulers of that famed ‘Metropolis of America’ used violence and rigged elections, selling the spoils of office; how they were great supporters of chattel slavery in the South. It also describes how their system of so-called democracy gave rise to the ‘big man’ in politics, and the demagoguery we see today, oft times camouflaged, sometimes openly, strutting across the world stage, whether it be an Obama, a Biden or a Trump…
There are remarkable patterns of history, organized violence, and Disinformation between events leading to the pogrom and forced population displacements in Sri Lanka in 1983, and British occupied Palestine, 35 years earlier when the Nakba unfolded amid Cold War escalating in Europe.
Both, Ceylon and Palestine were British occupied in 1948, and both got faux independence that year as the British officially left but stayed behind to stage Gladio Style Stay Behind” Operations and Shocks in the post/colony; These included riots, protests, coups, assassinations such as SWRD Bandaranaike in 1959, with the CIA and MI-6 as happened to Patrice Lumumba in the Congo and Chile’s Socialist President Salvador Allende in 1973 for regime change and destabilization of the Global South struggling to de-colonize and be Non-Aligned.
While the Crown Colony of Ceylon morphed into a British Dominion with pageantry and pomp for its bemused natives on February 14, 1948, the violent birth of the state of Israel followed exactly three months later on May 14, 1948 amid the Nakba in Palestine with thousands killed and millions forcibly displaced.
As the British mandate expired and its military withdrew in May 1948, Zionist militias, many trained by British occupation forces, divided and partitioned a culturally mixed Palestine to birth the Jewish State of Israel. This, to secure the Suez Canal and expiate Europe’s guilt for its Nazi Gas Chambers and the extermination of six million Jews at the end of World War 2.
The violent partition of British India into West and East Pakistan had happened a year earlier in 1947. Pakistan was increasingly rendered a US-CIA Central Intelligence Agency ‘Garrison State’, while India aligning with the Socialist Block and Russia.
Cold War Proxy War in South Asia: Weaponizing Identity Politics
A regional Cold War was developing in South Asia in parallel to the Cold War between the Western Capitalist Allies US, UK, Western Europe, and Communist Block led by Russia (1945-1991), or NATO and the Warsaw Pact countries. India had been partitioned by the retreating British in 1947 and allied with the Global Left, while Pakistan became a base for the Western Block.
By then, the racialization of religious and linguistic cultural differences and the weaponization of ethno-religious identity politics to divide and rule the post/colony and buttress British claims to racial superiority and government were in place, As the Cold War between the Western Allies against God-less Communists escalated across the de-colonizing Global South, Gladio style. stay behind” operations were staged across Asia, Africa and South America, as much as in Europe against Communists and Socialists. This was to protect the economic and security interests of the retreating European empires against socialist and communist led National Independence and decolonization movements across Asia, Africa and South America.
With the wisdom of hindsight and new research based on de-classified documents, it is clear that both Palestine and Sri Lanka, geostrategic countries at the cross-roads of global trade routes were subject by the same forces and neocolonial secret agencies including British MI-6 and Zionist Mossad networks specialized in Gladio operations. It is not an accident that Bernard Guffler the US special Ambassador in Sri Lanka, who was familiar with Gladio Operations in Germany, was present at the residence of Socialist Prime Minister, S.W.R.D Bandaranaike, just before he was assassinated on September 25, 1959.[i]
Similar Catastrophes and Shock Doctrines – assassination, coups, pogroms, staged riots and protest for regime change and forced displacement of populations to divide mixed cultural geographies and histories, un-mix populations and construct partitions and divided histories unfolded– of course in collusion with local political elites and their networks. Much of this was accomplished with funds from the International Development Aid gravy train.
Because of its geostrategic location at the Center of Indian Ocean energy, trade and Submarine Date Cable routes, Sri Lanka, South Asia’s wealthiest country by all metrics except the exorbitantly privileged US Dollar, still suffers from being an international aid Donor Darling’”: Currently the scenic island is trapped in an Colonial Club de Paris and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Eurobond debt trap and the Chabad- Lubovitch ‘Spider Web’.
Recall that, Ostrovsky quoted Penny Jayawardena, wife of Ravi Jayawardena, the son of President J.R. Jayawardena who was involved in setting up of the Special Task Force (STF) -Mossad-KMS- training camps on how World Bank Funds that were earmarked for the Mahaweli Development Project were diverted for covert operations and the setting up training bases in the Eastern Province.
Proxy Wars against De-colonization
With the wisdom of hind sight and new research based on de-classified documents available in the British Archives and US National Security Archive it is now clear that Sri Lanka’s so-called ‘internal ethnic conflict’ triggered 43 years ago in July 1983 was part of a much wider geopolitical jigsaw puzzle of Cold War regional Proxy Wars across the de-colonizing Global South. These included both Palestine and Sri Lanka. Of course, the July 1983 Nakba had elements of the Jakarta Method (1965), detailed in Vincent Bevin’s book, adapted to Sri Lanka.
The ethnic conflict research and Human Rights research industry which was part of Cold War Area Studies in the American Academy served, often inadvertently, to promote racialized narratives about dark natives engaged in perpetual ethno-religious violence in the post/colony. These islanded, colonial and Orientalist histories reeked with Raj Nostalgia and buttressed narratives of internal” ‘ethnic conflict’ that concealed the external geopolitical forces, actors and networks involved in Weaponizing identity politics.
The Weaponization of ethno-religious identity politics entailed the same external actors who preached liberal democracy and human rights, literally providing weapons and training to State run paramilitary outfits to promote internal ethno-religious violence, and Dirty War terror and torture house operations.
Contrary to our everyday lived multicultural histories, social reality, and mixed cultural geography, a story of permanent ethno-religious violence in the post/colony and the concomitant superiority of British rule with its mask of liberal democracy and human rights was constructed through the Ethnic Conflict Research and Peace Building Industry.
This too, is how we were Gaslighted into believing in our inferiority and inability to govern ourselves, or as Franz Fanon termed the colonial condition– Black Skin-White Mask. The ethnic conflict research industry was in turn part of Cold War Area Studies grant programs in the American academy, connected to the FBI and CIA, and funded by the State Department and later USAID. It included human rights, democracy and peace building, trauma and reconciliation, literature and film production. As University of Chicago Historian, Bruce Cumming noted in an influential article titled Area studies and international studies during and after the cold war” in the Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars: The evidence suggests that the Ford Foundation, in close consultation with the CIA, helped to shape postwar area studies and important collaborative research in modernization studies and comparative politics that were later mediated through well-known Social Science Research Council (SSRC) projects.[ii]
Sri Lanka’s 30 year armed conflict waxed and waned between cycles and bouts of international peace building as part of a regional Cold War Proxy War waged between India then close to the Soviet Socialist Block led by Russia against the Western allies, seeking military bases in the geostrategic island nation– then as now.
Sri Lanka’s Cold War Proxy War
In a nutshell, India set up, trained, armed and funded the Liberation Tigers of Tamil (LTTE), and other Tamil militant groups in the north, after the pro-American J.R. Jayawardena regime came to power in 1977. India then allied with the Soviet Socialist Block feared, then as now the prospect of foreign US and UK military bases in her backyard. The Mahaweli Development Project had already got going, with population transfers roiling the Eastern Province near the Trincomalle deep sea port.
India was not successful in staving off foreign bases in Sri Lanka. The staging of the July 1983 Pogrom after President J.R. Jayawardena came to power in 1977, enabled British and Israeli military ‘advisors” to enter the county and set up long desired bases in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. This was under the guise of the British Keenie Meeni mercenaries and Israel’s Mossad providing security to President J.R. Jayawardena regime to fight the Indian RAW-backed LTTE. Bases were set up purportedly to fight the LTTE in 1984, overseen by his son Ravi Jayawardena. Much of this history is contained in books by Phil Miller on the Keenie Meenie mercenaries, Herman Gunaratne / Malinge Guneratne who worked with the Mahaweli Authority resettlement program in Trincomalee, and corroborated by Victor Ostrovsky in his book By Way of Deception: The Making and Unmaking of a Mossad Officer’.[iii]
The cover up investigation of Ostrovsky’s revelations about Mossad’s activities in Sri Lanka, done by a former Justice Wadugodapitiya PC is demonstrably flawed and contrary to the facts including those revealed in a hagiographic book on Ravi Jayawardena, titled The Unassuming Legend” that details visits to Israel and a soujorn as the Buddhist monk in Thailand. Not so coincidentally this was when the CIA through the Asia Foundation was weaponizing Buddhism as detailed in Yale University historian Eugene Ford’s book: Cold War Monks: Buddhism and America’s Secret Strategy in Southeast Asia” published in 2017.
Recall that back in 1959, Socialist Prime Minister S.W.R.D Bandaranaike was assassinated by a ‘man in robes’ at a time when Asian religions (Buddhism and Islam), were being weaponized in the course of what the scholar Dianne Kirby has termed the ‘Religious Cold War” in America. This was in order to fight ‘Godless Communists’ in the de-colonizing Global South, including by American Evangelical Christian Zionist networks[iv].
The cover-up investigation into the 1959 assassination of Prime Minister Bandaranaike which retrospectively reads like the plot of Peter Greenaway’s clever film. The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover” was done by Britain’s Scotland Yard!
The Mahaweli Development Project: Colonialism by Other Means?
Israeli operatives had already started work in Sri Lanka in 1977 through the Agriculture Sector and Mahaweli Development scheme which saw populations transfers setting the stage for massacres in the area to spread its tentacles along with the British MI 6. This was the backdrop to July 1983, triggered by clandestine external actors with deep historical knowledge of the country’s cultural diversity and experienced in weaponizing ethno-religious identity politics in collusion with local political elites and their cronies.
Tamil civilians in Batticalo used to call the British KMS mercenaries Mossadu” as Phil Miller details in his book ‘Keenie Meenie: the British Mercenaries who got away with War crimes”. The 1983 riots had elements of the Jakarta method. Lists of Tamil homes and businesses to be attacked had been complied and some Trade Unions in the Colombo Port and Senior Government Ministers were implicated in the violence.
Skilled in unleashing violence and reigning it in, the unmaking of ties among the Tamils and Muslims of the Eastern province clearly was the handiwork of Mossad operating with and training the State’s Paramilitary Special Forces in the Eastern Province.
Subsequently as Indian Peace Keeping Forces moved in and took over the Northeast Province, the British KMS mercenaries and Mossad’s operations and bases to train the STF moved to Southern Sri Lanka where Dirty War double game operations unfolded with a re-branded and resurgent anti-Indian JVP in tow.
It is now clear that the 1989 period of Dirty War with the JVP and STF both penetrated by foreign intelligence agencies with established history in Sri Lanka, ensured prolonging their sojourn in Sri Lanka with paramilitary outfits they had trained in terror, torture house ops. disappearences including Batalanda etc. as the Cold War in Europe reached its end in early 1990. Subsequently, President Premadasa ordered the Mossad out of Sri Lanka, and he was killed.
Remarkably it is alleged that, Sir Ivor Jennings, the first Vice Chancellor of the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya had earlier suggested the Ceylon may be an appropriate terra nullius (an empty land or territory), for the Zionist settler colony. Ceylon like Palestine was portrayed as more or less empty of people and hence suitable for European Jewish occupation and settlement – then as now given the Chabad houses. After all the colonized dark natives hardly counted, and were eminently disposable in the colonial administrator’s Orientalist imagination. The British government however chose Palestine, closer home and more geostrategic given proximity to British Oil’s Persian (Iranian) Oil fields, the Suez Canal, and the ‘Holy Land or Jerusalem. Mercifully Ceylon and her hapless natives were spared but Britain in retreat was intent on ensuring its economic and security interests everywhere. This, increasingly in partnership with the rising American Empire.
As Cuming notes: With the end of the Cold War, U.S. government/intelligence priorities have focused much more openly on what has probably been the underlying priority all along: protecting US. interests and power in the world. A major part of this is promoting US.-based global corporations and exports, with the free market “world without borders “as the accepted paradigm for economic development. For US. research institutions supporting government/intelligence priorities this involves collapsing the diversity of human experience into an assumed universal self-interested desire for material development. Even without the Cold War, then, there is a need to separate academic and government functions so that there can be truly free inquiry and opinions, with the opportunity to explore a diversity of paradigms.
At this time British and Israeli secret services continue to work together notes Carlos Cruz Mosquesa. Investigative journalists from Declassified UK have uncovered the fact that the British government, which claims to be working with Israeli leaders toward a cease-fire, has supported them with a staggering five hundred military intelligence flights over Gaza during the twenty-one months of violence.[v] That is aside from direct arms supplies to the Israeli Defense Forces who are accused of war crimes. The attempts to halt the genocidal violence unleashed on Palestinians coincide with Western nations’ efforts to protect and support Israel and those responsible for war crimes. While the United States’ unconditional military support remains the most important for Israel, much of the Western world is also complicit.
Given histories of European imperialism and related divide and rule policies, de-colonizing countries in Asia, Africa and South America, often had tensions between majority and minority communities which were negotiated and accommodated over time. The tensions that escalated into armed conflict and dirty war scenarios in de-colonizing Global South countries were due to external geopolitical actors Militarizing tensions by providing arms training and funding in order to Weaponize internal ethno-religious identity differences in the post/colony. This to secure their neocolonial economic and security interests as happened after Ceylon morphed into a British Dominion in 1948, and even beyond. While the Socialist SWRD and Sirimavo Bandaranaike regimes were in power from 1956-1977, external interference was covert and through the opposition JVP, rather than capture of State institutions aside from the attempted coup of 1962.
The deep infiltration and penetration of local and national institutions, law and order and investigative institutions under the guise of foreign Development Aid, training and so-called ‘capacity building’ programs were and are an inherent part of the Weaponization of identity politics– both with State and non-state including civil society sector, actors and networks.
The impunity of Zionist Chabad houses operating in all parts of Sri Lanka to service Israeli tourists and Defense Forces despite local protests at this time is indicative that the infiltration and penetration of National intelligence and investigative Institutions by external geopolitical actors and intelligence agencies, which escalated after the July 1983 Pogrom continues to this day. This was also evident at the end of the Aragalaya protest operation to stage Sri Lanka’s first ever Sovereign Default and Regime Change when violence and destruction of property targeting government and Ministers unfolded. The culprits remain free and there has been little interest in investigation. So too the chilling killing of Mr. Dinesh Shaftter primary witness in the Central Bank Bondscam case against Ranil Wickramasinghe and others.
With the wisdom of hindsight. it is now clear, 42 years after our July 1983 Nakba that the Western veneer of liberal democracy and human rights had us fooled along with the well-funded ethnic conflict research and Raj Nostalgia history industry that has islanded Sri Lanka. This despite expanding NATO military bases around the world, now totaling 750 plus in more than 80 countries to promote Human Rights and Neoliberal Democracy, while supporting clandestine Dirty War operations in the Global South against leftist de-colonization, national Independence and liberation movements. This was much like Gladio Operations in Europe against communists, all of which served to advance the economic and security interests of the Euro-American empire- then as now.
Visuals created with the assistance of Microsoft Copilot
On Thursday, Parliament disclosed that 20,755 students dropped out of school in 2024, citing the need to close certain schools. However, it overlooked a more critical issue: the denial of university admission to 151,700 qualified students. This alarming figure highlights the urgent need to expand higher education infrastructure and increase funding, rather than limiting access. The failure to address this gap risks deepening educational inequality and stalling national progress.
To get compensation from the ICC for the use of the Decision Review System (DRS) in cricket, Sri Lanka needs to demonstrate that the system is a Sri Lankan invention and that they have the intellectual property rights to it. This would likely involve legal and diplomatic efforts, potentially including a formal claim to the ICC, negotiations with the ICC, and potentially legal action if necessary.
Here’s a more detailed breakdown:
1. Establish Ownership and Copyright:
Evidence of Invention:
Sri Lanka needs to prove that the DRS, or a similar system, was first conceived and proposed by a Sri Lankan individual or entity. Claims suggest the system was initially proposed by lawyer Senaka Weeraratna in the late 1990s.
Documentation and Claims:
Gather all relevant documents, publications, and correspondence that support the claim of Sri Lankan authorship of the DRS concept.
Copyright Protection:
Determine the extent to which copyright or intellectual property rights can be claimed under international laws and regulations.
2. Formal Claim to the ICC:
Communication with ICC:
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) or the Sri Lankan government should formally communicate with the ICC, presenting the evidence of Sri Lankan invention and requesting recognition and compensation.
Negotiation:
Engage in discussions and negotiations with the ICC to reach a mutually agreeable settlement regarding the use of DRS.
3. Potential Legal Action:
Legal Counsel:
Consult with lawyers specializing in intellectual property and sports law to explore legal options.
Arbitration or Litigation:
If negotiations fail, consider pursuing arbitration or legal action against the ICC to enforce the claim and seek compensation.
4. Diplomatic Efforts:
Government Support:
The Sri Lankan government should actively support the claim through diplomatic channels and international relations.
International Pressure:
Seek support from other cricket-playing nations and international organizations to exert pressure on the ICC.
5. Public Awareness and Advocacy:
Raise Awareness:
Educate the public, the cricket community, and the media about the Sri Lankan claim to the DRS.
Advocacy:
Encourage public support and advocacy for the claim through various channels.
In summary, Sri Lanka needs to build a strong legal and factual case, engage in formal negotiations with the ICC, and potentially resort to legal or diplomatic action to secure compensation for the use of the DRS.
A BYD Seal electric vehicle on display in a showroom in Pakistan. BYD accounted for roughly 90 per cent of fellow South Asian nation Sri Lanka’s EV sales in May. Photo: Reuters
Aggressive pricing, shrewd tax engineering and a trusted local partner have propelled China’s BYD to a commanding position in Sri Lanka’s electric vehicle and hybrid market, disrupting a sector long constrained by import restrictions and setting the stage for dramatic expansion.
Sri Lanka’s car market, starved of new imports for nearly five years under a sweeping ban imposed in the lead up to the economic crisis of 2022 to stabilise foreign reserves, reopened in February as the government lifted restrictions. But a new tariff regime – with excise duties reaching 300 per cent, 18 per cent value-added tax, and luxury taxes of up to 100 per cent – has sent car prices soaring.
The name Eelam” was never Tamil in origin, nor did it denote a separate ethnic homeland. It is a historical term rooted in the identity of the Sinhalese — the island’s first and continuous inhabitants. While Part 1 exposed the linguistic and literary distortions behind the modern separatist claim, this second part dismantles the political fraud using the tools of constitutional law, legal maxims, and international jurisprudence. The truth is clear: Sri Lanka is a unitary, sovereign nation — and the Sinhalese have defended that unity for centuries, often with their lives. To twist Eelam” into a separatist slogan is not only a lie — it is a violation of truth, law, and justice. No movement for Tamil Eelam can erase the fact that Eelam was always the island of the Sinhalese.
(Part 2 of: ‘Did You Know Eelam Originally Referred to the Island of the Sinhalese?’)
Recap Part 1: Linguistic, literary, and colonial evidence proves Eelam” denoted Sri Lanka as the island of the Sinhalese.
This part will now show how law, constitutions, and maxims of justice uphold that fact against separatist distortion.
2. Historical Etymology and Indigenous Identity
Reaffirms:
Eelam” derives from Hela”/Elu” = Sinhalese people.
Ancient Tamil texts referred to Sri Lanka as a Buddhist, foreign land(not Tamil).
Colonial authors (Baldaeus, Queyroz, Knox, Tennent) confirm the island was ruled by Sinhalese kingdoms.
Legal Maxim: Veritas non est alleganda contra factum
Truth cannot be alleged against an established fact.” You cannot fabricate ethnic sovereignty in the face of overwhelming historical record.
3. Constitutional Framework of Sri Lanka
Article 9: Buddhism given foremost place, protected by the State — rooted in Sinhalese Buddhist civilization.
Articles 1 & 2: Unitary state; Sovereignty rests with the People (not ethnic groups).
Article 3: Sovereignty is in the People and is inalienable.
Article 157A: Prohibits promotion of separatism. Even peaceful advocacy for a separate state is unconstitutional.
No clause provides for ethnic secession or a mono-ethnic federal state.
The Sinhalese are not a settler community—they are the native custodians.
Lex est quod populus constituit” – The law is what the people have established.”
The Constitution is the will of Sri Lanka’s people, who overwhelmingly rejected separatism in Parliament and by vote.
Supreme Court of Sri Lanka – 2006 ruling on the de-merger of the North and East:
There is no legal basis for a merged Tamil homeland. The merger was never constitutionally valid.”
4. International Law and the abuse of Self-Determination
Article 1(2) – UN Charter: Self-determination must not interfere with territorial integrity of sovereign nations.
Declaration on Friendly Relations (UNGA Res 2625):
…Nothing in the principle of equal rights and self-determination shall be construed as authorizing any action which would dismember or impair… the territorial integrity of sovereign and independent States.”
UNGA Res. 2625 (1970): Self-determination cannot disrupt existing sovereign states or be used for ethnic separatism.
ICJ ruling (Wall Opinion, 2004):
Self-determination cannot be invoked to violate the territorial integrity of an existing state unless a people is under colonial domination.”
Legal Maxim:Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus
False in one thing, false in everything.”
Tamil separatist narrative rests on false history — it discredits the entire claim.
Nemo plus juris ad alium transferre potest quam ipse habet” –No one can transfer more rights than they themselves possess.”
Tamil separatists cannot demand secession on lands they never historically owned or ruled.
ICJ Advisory Opinion (Kosovo, 2010): Only permitted when a people are under oppression or colonization — not applicable to Sri Lankan Tamils. In fact the National Armed Forces carried out the world’s biggest & first humanitarian rescue operation to save some 300,000 Tamils held hostage by banned terrorists LTTE.
5. The Vaddukoddai Resolution:
Declared in 1976 by elites (TULF), falsely claiming historical Tamil sovereignty.
It had no legal foundationand was never recognized by any international body.
Led directly to the terrorist LTTE campaign, which killed Sinhalese, Tamils, and Muslims alike.
Legal Maxim:Constructive Fraud — deception without a direct lie, used to influence international sympathy.
Legal Maxim:
Ex turpi causa non oritur actio” – No right of action arises from a base cause.”
A political resolution based on fabricated history, false racial oppression claims, and leading to terrorism, cannot give rise to any lawful demand.
International Principle Violated:
The Montevideo Convention (1933) defines a state as requiring a permanent population, defined territory, government, and capacity to enter into relations. Tamil Eelam meets none of these.
6. Sinhalese Sacrifice & the Defense of the Island
UN Charter Article 2(4):
Prohibits use of force against the territorial integrity of a member state. LTTE violated this, not only against Sri Lanka but also international law.
From ancient invasions to colonial resistance to LTTE terror — it has been the Sinhalesewho have defended the island with their lives.
Legal Maxim:Ubi jus ibi remedium — Where there is a right, there is a remedy.” The Sinhalese, as historical custodians of the island, have both the right and the moral claim to protect its unity.
Later day arrivals cannot stake claim to any part or whole of island that had been nurtured & defended by the original custodians.
World’s Largest Hostage Rescue Operation (May 2009) by Sri Lankan Armed Forces saved 300,000 Tamil civilians, exposing the fraudulent oppression” narrative.
Legal Maxim:
Justitia nemini neganda est” – Justice is to be denied to no one.”
The Sinhalese, who have given their lives to protect all communities, deserve international justice and recognition — not false accusations.
Legal Maxim:
Fiat justitia ruat caelum” – Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”
The truth must prevail — even if it shatters decades of separatist propaganda backed by billions in foreign funding.
7. Conclusion: Restore the Truth, Reject the Lie
The next time you hear Tamil Eelam,” ask not just what it means — but who it belonged to.
And ask how many billions were wasted on an internationally illegal, historically false, and constitutionally prohibited campaign to carve out a homeland from a land that was never theirs.
Sri Lanka is one nation, one people, one history — and the Sinhalese, by blood and by birthright, remain its rightful defenders. That is why it is a national betrayal to remove History from the school curriculum (Grades 1–5).
On what legal, educational, or cultural grounds — and to appease whom — is this being done?
A nation without its history is a nation waiting to be hijacked and turned into a vassal state again.
One of the best kept secrets from school and media history is the British Ceylon Flag. It’s so secretive that only a very few even know about it. British Ceylon flag mercilessly slays many myths including the myth of Tamil homeland. It is a brutal reality that Tamils and how they were referred to before 1911 had no connection whatsoever with the island nation even until 1948. What’s most striking is all Tamils accepted it without any complaint.
This is the British Ceylon flag from 1875 to 1948. It has the Union Jack on the left side corner which was and still is very common in a number of British territories. Nothing special about Ceylon in that regard. What is unique about Ceylon is the Sinhala Buddhist pagoda (stupa) and the elephant close by. The type of pagoda (stupa) depicted on the flag is uniquely Sinhala Buddhist. The structure and the shape are atypical of a Sinhala Buddhist construction. Similar constructions are found around the island numbering thousands. The elephant is no accident. Elephants were and still are associated with Sinhala Buddhist shrines and their processions. UNESCO World Heritage Kandyan Perahera is a case in point.
What about the lion with the sword? British rulers would not allow it as it is the same flag used by sections of the British monarchy. Leaving it out is understandable.
What about Tamils, Muslims and Christians? The British did not consider them to be associated with the island nation for factual reasons. While Sinhala Christians were once Buddhists, they too can claim to be associated with Sinhala Buddhists until incentives by the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British motivated them to change only their religion while maintaining their ethnic Sinhala identity.
All Tamils and Muslims accepted this Sinhala Buddhist only flag without any complaint. None of them raised their resentment, disagreement or disapproval. In doing so they accepted the fact that the entire island nation had only a Sinhala Buddhist identity.
These facts clearly bust Tamil homeland clams. In fact, this settles many a debate about who came first and divisions said to have existed within the island. The entire island had one and only one identity even the British were compelled to accept and that was its Sinhala Buddhist identity.
After Independence in 1948 the flag underwent a number of changes. The main change was the addition of Indian stripes to the left of the flag. These stripes were taken from the Indian flag to represent Hindus and Muslims – just as in the Indian flag. However, the Dharma Chakra” in the Indian flag was maliciously omitted. As the Indian flag was used as a guide to bring parts of it, the Dharma Chakra” should also have been added within the amber and green strips on Sri Lanka’s flag.
Successive Sinhala government deliberately hid this flag from the people since 1948 in order not to hurt the sentiments of Tamils and Muslims. It was done in good faith. However, this good gesture was not reciprocated by Tamil and Muslim elected politicians, civil activists and other community activists. They considered it a sign of weakness. Hence this reminder. Unlike the British Ceylon flag, the Sri Lankan flag is inclusive but not necessarily connected to historical facts of the island. It’s a flag of a new nation created only in 1972 separated from its historical roots.
A BYD Seal electric vehicle on display in a showroom in Pakistan. BYD accounted for roughly 90 per cent of fellow South Asian nation Sri Lanka’s EV sales in May. Photo: Reuters
