by Melani Manel Perera Courtesy AsiaNews.it

The Archbishop of Colombo led Easter Mass without worshippers, streamed live, urging the faithful to bear witness to the resurrection of Christ through a new life, as an instrument of transformation of society.” About 218 people have tested positive so far for the COVID-19 virus.

Colombo (AsiaNews) – Despite the coronavirus outbreak the country is struggling to cope with, no one in Sri Lanka has forgotten last year’s Easter Sunday attacks, on 21 April, which left at least 279 people dead and almost 600 wounded from blasts in three churches, two Catholic and one Protestant, and three hotels.

Even though they wanted to destroy us, we didn’t seek revenge. We loved them,” said Card Malcom Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, during the Mass on Easter Sunday.

Due to the safety measures taken to control the pandemic, the service was held without people, but was streamed live. The cardinal’s two auxiliary bishops, J. D. Anthony and S. Maxwell, took part in the celebration.

We forgave them,” said Card Ranjith. We could have taken a worldly and human decision and reacted against them, but we did not do so”. Instead, we responded with the Good News of Risen Lord, and forgave them.”

One year later, it is still unclear who was behind the attacks. The then president Maithripala Sirisena first blamed Islamic extremists, then international drug traffickers, supposedly trying to undermine his anti-narcotics drive.

At the time, Card Ranjith had called on the entire Sri Lankan cabinet to resign, given its failure to investigate an “international conspiracy” behind the attacks.

The prelate called on Catholics to bear witness to Jesus’s resurrection. Let us try to show that we are not worldly, earthly beings. We have something that is noble inside each of us, whatever our religion, culture or language. Everyone has something to contribute to humanity.”

No one should think only about themselves. This is about the resurrection, the new existence. As for a second chance, let us give quality to our lives by following what the Lord says, and become an instrument of transformation of society.”

Sri Lanka’s Health Ministry has reported 218 coronavirus cases so far with no deaths and at least 59 people completely recovered.

By KYLIE WALTERS FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

Gordon Ramsay was a huge hit with audiences when he appeared in the premiere of MasterChef: Back to Win on Monday night as a guest judge.

But the 53-year-old celebrity chef was left slightly red-faced when he made a terribly awkward gaffe while praising competitor Dani Venn on her curry dish.

After explaining that Sri Lanka was a very special place to her because she’d met her husband on the island, Dani presented the judges with her tasting plate featuring a mud crab curry, pineapple curry and some homemade roti and sambal.

Awkward! Gordon Ramsay (pictured) was  left red-faced on MasterChef on Monday night  after he makes a terrible gaffe while praising competitor Dani Venn over her ‘authentic’ Sri Lankan curry

Gordon and the other judges were impressed at how authentic the dishes tasted.

‘Dani, you blew us away with that authenticity. Whatever happens, stick close to that Sri Lankan husband of yours,’ Gordon gushed.

Dani then awkwardly revealed that her husband Chris Burgess wasn’t from Sri Lanka- he was from New Zealand.

Yum! After explaining that Sri Lanka was a very special place to her because she’d met her husband on the island, Dani presented the judges with her tasting plate. The dish featured a mud crab curry, pineapple curry and some homemade roti and sambal (pictured)

‘Oh, he’s not Sri Lankan… I met him in Sri Lanka… He’s a kiwi,’ she said.

The cringeworthy moment didn’t go unnoticed by eagle-eyed Twitter fans. 

‘Oh he’s not Sri Lankan… awkies,’ one viewer Tweeted. 

‘Oh, he’s not Sri Lankan… I met him in Sri Lanka… He’s a kiwi’: Dani (right) was left to explain her husband Chris Burgess (left) wasn’t from Sri Lanka, but New Zealand

Another added: ‘That awkward moment when Gordon Ramsay assumes your husband’s ethnicity’.  

But all was forgiven when Dani’s dish was so impressive, that Gordon went on to award her with the season’s only immunity pin. 

A huge advantage, the pin can be used as a ‘get out of jail free card’ if Dani finds herself in the bottom of the competition. 

Courtesy Adaderana

Fourteen new cases of COVID-19 infections have been confirmed in Sri Lanka, stated the Minister of Health.

Accordingly, 15 new cases have been reported as of 10.30 pm today (14).

With the addition of the new cases jump the total figure of coronavirus infections in the country to 233.

All 15 cases have been reported from quarantine centers across the country. Eight of the confirmed patients have been identified at the Palaly quarantine center, while 4 from the Mulankovil quarantine center and one from the Puttalam quarantine center have been identified.

The 14 new patients are revealed to have closely associated COVID-19 infected patients.

The Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry says that 153 active cases are under medical care with 61 total recoveries.

Sri Lanka has confirmed 7 fatalities due to COVID-19 so far.

Courtesy Adaderana

World Health Organization (WHO) officials say not all people who recover from the coronavirus have the antibodies to fight a second infection, raising concern that patients may not develop immunity after surviving COVID-19.

With regards to recovery and then reinfection, I believe we do not have the answers to that. That is an unknown,” Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO’s emergencies program, said at a press conference at the organization’s Geneva headquarters on Monday. 

A preliminary study of patients in Shanghai found that some patients had no detectable antibody response” while others had a very high response, said Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s lead scientist on COVID-19. Whether the patients who had a strong antibody response were immune to a second infection is a separate question,” she added.

More than 300,000 of the 1.87 million coronavirus cases across the world have recovered, WHO officials noted, adding that they need more data from recovered patients to understand their antibody response, whether that gives them immunity and for how long. 

That’s something that we really need to better understand is what does that antibody response look like in terms of immunity,” Van Kerkhove said.

Ryan said there are questions about whether the virus can reactivate after a patient recovers and tests negative for COVID-19.

There are many reasons why we might see the reactivation of infection either with the same infection or another infectious agent,” he said. In general, there are many situations in viral infection where someone doesn’t clear the virus entirely from their system.” Some patients can also clear the main infection but develop a secondary bacterial infection, he said. 

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that it is developing a test to detect the presence of coronavirus antibodies to determine if a person could be immune to the disease. While such a test can determine who has been exposed to the virus, it’s not clear if it can identify those immune to reinfection, according to the WHO.

WHO officials also warned Monday against lifting social distancing restrictions and reopening businesses, even as U.S. political leaders, from President Donald Trump to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, have said they hope to reopen businesses as soon as it is safe to do so. 

While COVID-19 accelerates very fast, it decelerates much more slowly. In other words, the way down is much slower than the way up,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference at the organization’s Geneva headquarters on Monday. That means control measures must be lifted slowly and with control. It cannot happen all at once.”

Tedros outlined a checklist for countries before they should consider lifting social distancing measures:

-The transmission of the virus should be controlled.
-A surveillance system should be in place to detect, isolate and treat patients.
-Outbreaks in hospitals and nursing homes should be minimized.
-Preventive measures in essential locations such as schools and workplaces should be in place.
-The risk of importing the disease from abroad should be under control.

Control measures can only be lifted if the right public health measures are in place, including a significant capacity for contact tracing,” Tedros said.

Source: CNBC
-Agencies

Courtesy Adaderana

The two police officers have been interdicted after they had punished several individuals violating the curfew in Colombo have been reinstated to service.

Ada Derana on March 12, reported that two police officers had punished four persons who had violated the curfew at Darley Road, Maradana by forcing them to hold their ears and do squats, before subsequently letting them off with a stern warning.

Accordingly, the Police Headquarters, yesterday (13) issued a statement that the two police officers in question – a police sergeant and a constable – had been interdicted over the charges of disobeying orders and disreputable behavior.

The Police Headquarters also that disciplinary action would be initiated against the two officers.

However, DIG Ajith Rohana said that the interdicted sergeant and constable have been reinstated to service.

Courtesy Adaderana

Riyadh Bathiudeen, brother of former Minister Rishad Bathiudeen, has been arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

The arrest has been made with regard to the probes on the Easter Sunday terror attacks which took place on April 21 last year.

Courtesy Adaderana

Former MP Ranjan Ramanayake has been remanded until April 20 by the Gangodawila Magistrate’s Court.

The former deputy minister was arrested last evening (13) on charges of violating curfew laws, abetting the violation of curfew laws and obstructing police officers in the execution of their duties.

A person from Piliyandala had arrived at Madiwela Parliament Members’ Housing Complex and informed the police officers on duty that he intends to meet former MP Ramanayake. 

As the said person did not possess a valid curfew permit, the officers had made an inquiry into him.

However, Ramanayake who arrived at the scene had attempted to bring the person into the Housing Complex by threatening and obstructing the officers from carrying out their duties, police said.

Subsequently, the former MP and his visitor had been arrested by the Mirihana Police at the former’s house and taken to the Mirihana Police Station.

Ramanayake was produced before the Gangodawila Magistrate’s Court today (14) where he was ordered remanded until April 20.

Courtesy Adaderana

A total of 1,606 individuals have been arrested for violating curfew orders during the last 24 hours ending from 6.00 am today (14).

In the meantime, 373 vehicles were also taken into custody during this period.

The Police said 26,637 persons have been placed under arrest for violating the curfew since March 20 and 6,799 vehicles have been seized.

Sri Lanka Police has warned of strict legal action against people caught violating the countrywide curfew.

They will be immediately arrested, even without a warrant, and police bail will not be granted for them, police said.

Police also noted that none of the vehicles taken into custody will be released back to their respective owners, until the prevailing Coronavirus threat is eliminated.

The government imposed an island-wide curfew to minimize public movement in order to contain the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak in the country.

Emma Tucker Courtesy Daily Beast

The first case of a dead body transmitting the coronavirus to a medical examiner was reported by scientists in Thailand, a discovery that has prompted concerns that those handling coronavirus victims might be at risk of infection, BuzzFeed News reported on Monday. This is the first report on COVID-19 infection and death among medical personnel in a Forensic Medicine unit,” the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine Study announced on Sunday. The disinfection procedure used in operation rooms might be applied in pathology/forensic units too,” wrote Won Sriwijitalai of the RVT Medical Center in Bangkok and Viroj Wiwanitkit of Hainan Medical University in China. There is a lack of knowledge about whether corpses can infect others with the novel coronavirus, however the finding in Thailand has reaffirmed advice from health experts that people handling the bodies of those who have succumbed to the virus, including morgue and funeral home workers, should use safety precautions, according to BuzzFeed.

Anyone coming into contact with a COVID19 positive body, alive or dead, should be using personal protective equipment to prevent exposure,” said Summer Johnson McGee, health policy expert at the University of New Haven. Autopsies and subsequent investigations present real risks for coroners to acquire COVID-19,” McGee told BuzzFeed.

Courtesy Adaderana

Three more COVID-19 positive patients have been identified increasing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 217.

The Ministry of Health confirmed that these three new patients are also from the Punani quarantine centre.

Earlier today, four new cases had been reported while all of them were from the Punani quarantine centre as well. They had close contact with a Covid-19 patient from Beruwala.

Seven new cases have been reported so far within today while all of them are from the Punani quarantine centre. 

As of 7.00 p.m. today, a total of 154 patients (active cases) are under medical care while 56 patients have recovered and have been discharged from hospital. 

Meanwhile 117 suspected Covid-19 patients are currently under observation at selected hospitals.

The death toll due to Covid-19 in Sri Lanka currently stands at 07.

Courtesy Ada Derana

Former MP Ranjan Ramanayake has been arrested for obstructing the duties of police officers. 

The former deputy minister was arrested, a short while ago, on charges of obstructing police officers in the execution of their duties, Senior DIG of Western Province Deshabandu Tennakoon said.

He said that the arrest was made by Mirihana Police at the Madiwela Housing Complex.

KAMALIKA PIERIS

This essay provides additional information on Sri Lanka’s role in establishing Theravada Buddhism in South East Asia. It is a supplementary essay to the earlier essays on    subject.

Historians agree that the major impact of Sinhala Buddhist culture was on South East Asia, on Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and the Yunnan province of China.  Sinhala Buddhism was found there from around the 5^th century at least.

There is plenty of information on the other four countries, but very little on Vietnam. The Dong Dong Buddha image from Champa, which is displayed in Ho Chi Ming museum, has been identified by Boisellier as influenced by Anuradhapura of the period 3-4 AD.  It is a standing Buddha made of bronze, a little over a meter high. Dupont (1959) has suggested that the Buddha figures from Dong Duron in Vietnam, Sikendeng and Jember in East Java closely resemble those from 5th century Sri Lanka. 

By the 12th century, Buddhism had been in retreat In the South Asian subcontinent, said Gunawardana. Islam and Hinduism, introduced by Indian traders had replaced it. But, in the middle of the 12 century,   South East Asia decided to turn again to Buddhism. Sri Lanka was the foremost centre of Theravada Buddhism in South Asia.  

Reaching out to Sri Lanka was not a problem. There had been long standing diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Culavamsa records Vijayabahu I (1055-1110) sending envoys with gifts and letter written in his own hand in Pali to king of Ramanna (probably Arakan) seeking his assistance to defeat the Colas.  Parakrama bahu I (1153-86) had a fight with Arakan. But this was settled amicably and the kings who came after him, kept in touch with Burma.

 Vijayabahu II (1186-7) wrote a letter in Pali to the Burmese king and also signed a treaty of friendship.  Nissanka Malla (1187-96) also had friendly relations with Burma.  In Burma, king Narathu poisoned the heir to the throne. The Sangharaja of Burma, Ven Panthagu left Myanmar in disgust and lived in Sri Lanka for six years from 1167.

There were marriage connections too. Luce (1969) said that rulers of south East Asian countries were eager to get consorts from Sri Lanka. Mahavamsa mentions a ship carrying a Sinhala princess to Cambodia, during the time of Parakrama bahu I (1123–1186). King Dharanindravarman II had asked for a bride for his son Jayavarman VII. Dharanindravarman was Buddhist. According to Glass Palace Chronicle, Burmese king Alaungsitthu (1112-1167) had visited Sri Lanka, married the Sri Lanka king’s daughter and returned to Burma. 

It could be mentioned here, that during Portuguese rule, the Indonesian kingdom of Aceh had sent an embassy, asking king Dharmapala for a Sinhala princess as a bride. The Udarata kingdom, hearing this had told   Aceh that Dharmapala had no such princess, but Udarata could supply one.

The medieval period started with Sri Lanka seeking assistance from Southeast Asia. .Vijayabahu I wrote to Burma in 1071, asking for learned monks to restore the Sangha. 20 senior Burmese monks arrived and the Upasampada was re-established. Inscriptions have spoken of arrival of monks from Ramanna, (Thaton) and the purification of the Sangha, but indicate that Sri Lanka   considered it to be ‘our own upasampada’ which was now returning.

Following this, there was a revival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka in the 12 century. This led to the rise of several active centers of Buddhist scholarship in Sri Lanka that attracted young monks from Southeast Asia. The visiting monks were taught the Theravada Buddhism of the Mahavihara (Skilling, 1996).  Mahavihara emphasized the study of Pali and knowledge of the   Vinaya. The training included a study of Sumangalavilasini, Papancasudani, Saratthappakasini, Manorathapurani, also Bodhivamsa and Samantapasadika, said R.A.L.H Gunawardana.

An important feature of this transfer of Sinhala Buddhism was the transfer of the vana vasi (forest dwelling) tradition to Southeast Asia, said Gunawardana. The forest dwelling monks, led by bhikkhus of the Udumbaragiri fraternity had played a leading role in the Sangha reform movement in Sri Lanka. These bhikkhus were also among the most reputed Buddhist scholars of the time. They    participated in the transfer of Sinhala Buddhism to Southeast Asia.

In 1424, for instance, a ceremony of higher ordination was held in Sri Lanka for a group of South east Asian monks who had studied under Vanaratana, of the forest dwelling sect. 28 were from Chiang Mai, 8 from Cambodia, 6 from Burma.  These monks had learned Sinhala and the Sri Lanka style of intonation and recitation of Pali texts.

Dipawamsa and Mahavamsa inspired the tradition of chronicle writing in the entire Southeast Asian region, said Hema Goonetilake.  Mahavamsa became the model for their histories. The vamsa literature influenced Myanmar and Thailand and to a lesser extent, Cambodia and Laos. The Mahavamsa virtually became a household text in the entire region.

The Mahasammata vamsa, the oldest extant chronicle of Burma has been modeled on the Mahavamsa.  The ‘Sasana vamsa’ , the Lanna chronicles and other chronicles written in Thailand followed the Mahavamsa model. Prabang chronicle and the Wat Keo inscription of Laos were also in the vamsa tradition.

Historians have found that Buddhism did not go  from Sri Lanka  to South East Asia in  a map-like order, Burma first, then Thailand, then Cambodia and so on.  Instead, Sinhala Buddhism has gone direct to Cambodia from Sri Lanka. It went to Thailand and Laos from Cambodia. Cambodia was the most powerful state in the region at the time and many of the Pali texts found in South East Asia were in Khmer script. Cambodia  also showed a sense of mission. Tamalinda, son of Jayavarman VII of Cambodia had gone to Sri Lanka with Thai monks, studied there for 10 years, came back and then went to Burma and promoted Buddhism there. Therefore this essay looks first at Cambodia.

CAMBODIA

Cambodia and Sri Lanka have been in touch from the 6^th century, at least.  In 505 AD a Pali text of the Abhayagiri vihara, Vimuttimagga, was translated into Chinese by Sanghabadra, a monk from Funan (Cambodia).

Records indicate that Sinhala bhikkhus arrived at Angkor from Ligor in Thailand, in time of King Jayavarman VII (1181 – 1218). They established the Sinhala Lankavamsa ordination. This Lankavamsa ordination then spread into Thailand and Laos. The stone stupa in the Prasat Phra Khan temple built by Jayavarman VII  showed the influence of Kiri vehera.

By the 14 century Sri Lanka monks had become advisors to Cambodian kings . A 15th century Cambodian inscription refers to a monk named Lanka Sriyasa. He taught the Dhamma to the royal princes. He also did much to popularize Buddhism.  When King Po Hea Yat founded the capital Phnom Penh in 1422,  all five temples built in Phnom Penh were headed by Sinhala monks. Wat Lanka was designated the principle library in the country. the Tripitaka was taught there by Sri Lanka monks.

LAOS

Laos became an independent state when the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang was established in 1353. Before that Laos was part of the Khmer empire.  Sometime in the 1330s, the heir apparent to Laos, was exiled to Cambodia, with his son, Fa Ngum   Fa Ngum was looked after by the Cambodian king, Jayavarman Paramesvara, who gave his daughter in marriage to him in 1332.  Fa Ngum (1353 – 1372) then returned to Laos, united the various Laos provinces  and declared himself king. 

His queen wanted Buddhism introduced to Laos.  Her father, the Cambodian king sent a mission. The mission included 20 Buddhist monks and   four groups of artisans, skilled in painting, writing and casting images. Phra Maha Pasaman, a Cambodian monk and Mahadeva Lanka, a Sinhala monk, were the leaders of the delegation.  

The delegation included three Sinhala monks, Mahadeva Lanka, Mahadeva ….. and Mahadeva Nandipanna. Mahadeva Lanka was given a long Lao name, Phru Silavavisuddha  Uttamacarinanavisesa Viseyyateyapidok Pavartep Lanka, abbreviated to Phra Maha Tep Lanka  and made chief monk of Wat Keo, a temple specially built for this team  by  the king.  Mahadeva Lanka later became the monk advisor for Fa Ngum and the first Sangharaja of Laos.

the  second Sinhala monk was  made chief monk of  Wat Xien Kan, and was also given a long Lao name, Mahasanghasena Sasanabhiromm Uttamusami Silavisesa Tep Lanka, shortened to Phra Tep Lanka and was made chief monk of Wat Xien Kan. The third monk was   given the Lao name Maha  Nandipanna.

Wat Keo inscription  says that on the arrival of the Cambodian mission, a monastic complex was  established, with a Bodhi tree, Vihara, ceti and residential quarters. The  Bodhi  was from a sprout of the Sri Maha Bodhi and the vihara was known as Wat Po Lanka ( Lanka Bodhi Vihara)

When the  Cambodian king  sent  the mission to Laos, he  also sent his proudest possession, the Buddha image Prabang” with miraculous powers. According to the ‘Prabang Chronicle’, this image was cast in 874 AD in Sri Lanka , by Culanaga thera , at the  request of the   Cambodian king. It was sent as a gift from Vijayabahu I. The statue was    83 cm in height, standing  in abhaya mudra and had  been made from an alloy of gold, silver, copper and brass.   This  statue was treated as   the symbol of the right to rule Laos.  It was kept in the capital city and the capital was named Luang Prabang.

Fa Ngum’s son, Sam Saun Tai ( 1373-1416)  also built temples and founded monastic schools for the study of Buddhism. He  elevated Maha Tep Lanka  and Maha Pasaman to the  rank of Sangharaja. By the end of his reign, Luang Prabang city had won recognition as one of the most important centers of Buddhist teaching in the region. Lao chronicles specifically state that it was the Sinhala form of Buddhism that was introduced to Laos. ( continued)

KAMALIKA PIERIS

THAILAND

Thailand had received Sinhala Buddhism by the   6^th century at least. A Mon inscription dated 550-650 AD found in Narai cave in Saraburi province spoke of a group of Anuradhapura persons who had settled in Dvaravati. 

However, Gunawardana says, the earliest Sinhala Buddhist influence  found in Thailand, was  at Nagara Sri Dhammaraja,   known thereafter as Ligor and today as Nakhon Si Thammarat. Vat Phra Borom Mahatit, the main temple at Nakhon, led in the dissemination of Sri Lanka Theravada 

Nakhorn Si Thammarat was strategically located between the Bay of Bengal and the Gulf of Siam, practically in line with Sri Lanka.  It was open to influences from Sri Lanka and elsewhere. The port mentioned most in connection with visits to Sri Lanka  is Tran, on the western coast of Nakhorn.

Gunawardana said that according to the chronicles, Nakhorn was founded by king, Dharmasokaraja who was forced to leave his kingdom of Hamsavatti in south Burma due to an epidemic.  Before he founded Nakhom, a delegation of a hundred men and four nobles were dispatched by ship to consult the ruler of Sri Lanka. The Sri Lanka king had approved the idea of the new city, and sent a leading monk named Buddhagambhira back with them. Buddhagambhira was going to an already Buddhist land, said the chronicles.

A manuscript from Badalun monastery, speaks of the arrival from Sri Lanka of a monk named Anomadassi who brought along with him sacred relics. The chronicle of Ma’an Nagarasiri Dharmaraja and the Chronicle of the Holy reliquary of Mo’an Nagarasiri Dharmaraja, discovered at Nakhorn Si Thammarat, contain material from the Sinhala Dhatuvamsa.

Dupont (1942) noted that in a number of Buddhist images in the Chaiya region of Ligor, dated between 8-12 centuries, the major influence was Sri Lanka.  Researchers found that Phra Boromathat ceti   in Nakon Pathom, the first Sinhala style stupa, was modeled after Kiri vehera in Polonnaruwa. Goonatilake (2007) reported that six other Sinhala style stupas built around the same time in the Ligor peninsula were inspired by the Sinhala monks who went there.

Chandrabanu of Ligor invaded Sri Lanka in the 13 century.  In the Vat Hva Vian inscriptions datable to 1230 .Chandrabanu is identified at king Siridhamma of Dhammarajanagara. Dhammaraja nagara has been identified as Nakhorn and the ruler has been identified as the Chandrabanu who invaded Sri Lanka.

Thailand seems to have received some of its Sinhala Buddhism from Cambodia.  Some Pali texts from Sri Lanka, found in Thailand are in the Khmer script. The Noen Sa Busa bilingual inscriptions found in Prachinaburi are partly in Pali and partly in Khmer.   The three verses of the Sinhala  Thelakatahagatha included in it,   were in Khmer script. The Sinhala script   came into use in Thai Buddhism only around 15 century.

Kings of Northern Thailand , such as King Lu Thai ( 1317-1347)  of Sukhothai and king Kilana( (1355-1385) of Chiang Mai, wanted the Sinhala upasampada. They requested Udumbara Mahasami who was living in Muttima in Burma to send a monk to perform upasampada. Udumbara sent Sumana thera  , who had received upasampada  under him in Muttima. Sumana thera established the Sihala sect in Sukhothai ,Chiang Mai, and Haripunjaya  (Lamphun). Gunawardana sees this as  the continuation of the forest dwelling tradition of Sri Lanka .

According to    the   Khmer ‘inscriptions  of  the Mango grove’, a religion dignitary who possessed a profound knowledge of  Theravada  Buddhism ,and had held high ecclesiastical office in his land of Sri Lanka   arrived at Sukhodaya in 1361 during the reign of king  Lu Tai (1347-1368). This would have been Sumana.

Sumana received a magnificent reception from King Lu Thai. The king had staged a grand spectacle in  honor of the bhikkhu.  King Lu Thai  then studied  Buddhism under Sumana.  then abdicated  and became a monk (or received temporary ordination). The ceremony at the Golden Tower of the palace   where the king received temporary ordination was described in detail in inscriptions, said Goonatilake. Lu Tai  emphasized the centrality of Sri Lanka in the Buddhist world, observed Gunawardana. Lu Thai refers to Anuradhapura’s Ruvanveli  in his work, Traibhumikatha

Jinakālamālī, a Chiang Mai chronicle, said that the arrival of the Bhikkhu Sumana  in Chiang Mai during the rule of king  Kilana ( 1355-85) led to the setting up on a large number of Buddhist monuments and sculpture in that region. This is supported by stone inscriptions at Wat Phra Yun in Haripunjaya  written in Pali and Thai script. King Kilana built an artificial cava Wat Umong, in Chiang Mai to house the visiting Sinhala monks.

Goonatilake  says Si Satha, (Sri Sraddha) a ‘prince monk’ from Sukhothai spent ten years in Sri Lanka, learning the Dhamma and visiting the major Buddhist sites . He returned in 1344. Gunawardana   says he  came back with the title ‘Sri Lankapradipa’, bringing along several bodily relics of the Buddha.  A special monastery called Vat Mahadhatu was built for him. The royal monk lived at Vat Mahadhatu, but maintained a link with the forest dwelling tradition.  his preference was to mediate in the forest, observed Gunawardana.

Gunawardana says there was evidently a large Sri Lanka  retinue   at Vat Mahadhatu, belonging to the ‘five groups’ attached to this monastery. In Sri Lanka monasteries, the term ‘five groups ‘ refers to carpenters, ironsmiths, weavers, leatherworkers, and barbers. 

Goonatilake says Si Satha, returned with several craftsmen from Gampola. The craftsmen were settled in five  villages in Sukhothai, and they added Sinhala style motifs of makaras to the Mahathat stupa, the main stupa of Sukhothai. These were based on Lankatilaka temple, which had been built during Sri Sraddha’s time in Sri Lanka . The bell shaped stupas and the standing elephants emerging form niches  were also inspired by Lankatilaka and Gadaladeniya.  

The next recorded link with Sri Lanka is in the reign of Paramaraja (1370-1388) of Ayuthya also known as Boromaraja. the Thai bhikkhu, Dhammakitti  had studied in Sri Lanka and returned to Ayutthaya to live in a monastery named Lankarama  built for him by  king  Paramaraja. He had received upsampada from Sangharaja Dhammakitti  Mahasami of Gadaladeni.

There is also mention of Nanagambhira, a leading figure in the  Chiang Mai group that went to Sri Lanka in 1424. He was responsible for the vigorous expansion of this group in Chiang Mai as well as other placed in Thailand including Sukhothai, and Haripunjaya.

Lanna chronicles of Thailand say that King Tilokaraja (1441 – 1486) of Chiang Mai, had in 1455 planted a bodhi branch brought from Anuradhapura, and built a monastery in Chiang Mai, known as Wat Sinhalaram, today known as Wat Cedi Cet Yod. Wat Sihalaram became the first centre of Pali studies in Thailand. The king   had convened the eighth World Tripitaka Council there in 1477.

King Tilokaraja was a great patron of the Sihala sect. He had invited a Sinhala monk from Lamphun, named Mthangkon, to spend the vas at Ratchamonthian temple and given him the title of Phra Maha Swami.  In the time of this king, a general named Sinhalagotta (Sinhala clan) rebuilt the shrine called Rajakuta in Chiang Mai and deposited in it a sacred relic brought from Sri Lanka.

Three Buddha images from Sri Lanka played an important part in the politics of Thailand and Laos.  One was  the Prabhang Buddha of Laos, which has been discussed earlier.  Thailand eyed it and took it whenever the opportunity arose.  There were two other Buddha statues which became politically important, the Sihinga Buddharupa and the Emerald Buddha.

the Sihinga Buddarupa’s origins seem to be uncertain. It went from Sri Lanka to Thailand. Jinakalamai (1516 AD) refer to a joint mission sent to Sri Lanka by Rocaraja (identified as king Rama Khamheng 1279-1298) of Sukhothai and the king of Nagara Sri Dhammaraja, requesting the Sinhala king to send them the Sihinga Buddharupa. this statue was seen as a symbol of sovereignty.

The kings of      the various kingdoms in Thailand, all wanted it, and the image went from king to king,   spending time in the various Thai capitals, such as Ayutthaya,   Chiang Mai and    Sukhothai. Records indicate that it was installed at Chiang Mai between 1369 and 1371 and treated with great reverence. However, copies had been made and today there are three images all claiming to be the original. They are in Chiang Mai, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Bangkok, said Goonetilaka.

The third image is the emerald Buddha image, a seated image made of green jade. This has been made in Pataliputra, India, then it was sent to Sri Lanka for protection, and from there to Thailand at the request of the Thai king. King Anawrahta of Burma,  had also asked for the     image.

On the journey, it went by mistake to Angkor, Cambodia and had to be rescued.  In Thailand, it went from kingdom to kingdom,  form Ayutthaya to  Chiang Mai  which was under Kilana. At one time, it was  in Luang Prabang in Laos. Goonatilake observes that at one point of time, all three images were in Luang Prabang. After going to and fro,   the Emerald Buddha is now kept in state in Bangkok.

Sinhala Buddhism influenced the Buddhist art of Thailand. Ayutthaya has hundreds of the Sinhala stupa. The Bo saplings planted in Thailand and elsewhere were from Sri Lanka. Griswold (1966) concluded that Buddha image brought from Sri Lanka played a crucial role in Buddha sculpture in Thailand. The 6 century Buddha image form Khorat is one such example. Boiseller (1963) also argued that the earliest Southeast Asian Buddha images such as those found at Dvaravati were inspired by Anuradhapura .

MYANMAR

The introduction of Buddhism to centers in Burma such as Hmawza and Old Prome are dated between 5-8 century AD, said Gunawardana. Hmawza , deep inside Burma,  belonging to the kingdom of Srishetra,( 5-7^th AD)yielded many inscriptions on caskets, plates and stupa. De Casparis     studied the gold plates from  Hmawza,written in Pali  and  Pyu languages and concluded that the script resembled 4^th century Sinhala.

However, researchers  say that Buddhism  took root in Bagan, the first capital of the future Burmese state. The Bagan kingdom existed from 9^th to 13 century. King Anawrahta (1044-77), sent     a request to Sri Lanka  for the Tripitaka  commentaries  and Sri Lanka complied. Sri Lanka refused a request for the Tooth relic and instead sent a duplicate of the tooth relic. The Burmese king had made more duplicates and enshrined the first in Shwezigon Pagoda. King Kyanzitta ( 1084-1112) revised the Tripitaka based on the Sinhala version.

In the time of King Narapatisithu (1174-1211) and his successors, several large monasteries dedicated to Sinhala monks, were built in Bagan. These monasteries are located near the  village of Myinkaba, and the Sinhala monks were known as Tamani sect.

Pali Inscription dated 1271  found in the Tamani complex talks of a mission taken by a Bagan monk to Sri Lanka asking for monks to propagate Buddhism. A Burmese inscription dated 1197 records the enshrinement of four sacred relics sent by king of Sri Lanka . Several stupas  there are in Sinhala style. One complex has three large monasteries near each other. One had two floors and could accommodate 100 monks. Another was for samanera.

Murals depicting Mahavamsa were found in Kubyauk-gyi temple in Myinkaba village. The temple was constructed by son of King Kyanzitha, Prince Rajakumar   in 1113. Major events from Mahavamsa   are recorded such as visits of Buddha to island, Bo tree brought by Sanghamitta, also Dutugemunu, Elara, the justice bell and the cow. Text was given below in Mon language . These paintings were prominently placed on two long walls, facing each other.

‘Manavulu Sandesaya’ speaks of a Mahathera Kassapa, resident in Bagan.  The text included a request to come and purify the Sangha in Bagan.   Manavulu Sandesaya is a 13^th century text in Pali written by Nagasena thera at Ramba vihara, Sri Lanka. Godakumbura has set this in the reign of King Narapatisithu.

Successors of king Narapatisithu 1174-1211, patronized the Sinhala monks. Inscription dated 1233 mentions a Sinhala monk called Buddharamsi as head of a monastery  located near the  Sinbaung monastery where Sinhala monk Ananda was chief priest. Post Bagan period also, Sri Lanka monks continued to be respected. Inscription from Sale, 32 miles from Bagan, dated 1409 says monastery was built for Sinhala monks.

A large number of influential Sinhala monks taught at Myanmar. They   enjoyed high prestige. Jinakalamali says Udumbara Mahasami from Sri Lanka arrived in Burma in 1331. He arrived in Hamsavati ( Pegu in Lower Burma) with 12  Mon monks who had re-ordained in Sri Lanka. This group of monks, including Chapata,  had studied under  Udumbaragiri fraternity. On their return they established a centre of the forest dwelling monks at Martaban (Muttima, lower Burma.) headed by ‘Udumbarapuppha Mahasami’. This Udumbara Mahasami has been identified as Sangharaja Medhankara, the author of Lokappadipakasara. His fame attracted the attention of king Lodaiya and King Kilana of Thailand.  

Researchers  say that there would have been a great number of Sinhala bhikkhus in Burma to carry out the task of teaching Pali through Sinhala script and help translate  text on a large scale form Pali to Mon and later to Burmese.

King Dhammazedi who was earlier a Mon bhikkhu, and now king of Bago in Lower Burma received his education in one of the many Sinhala Sangha monasteries in Ava.  Kalyani inscription  of Dhammazedi, says Dhammazedi  sent 22 Burmese mahatheras to Sri Lanka , in 1476  to received upsampada afresh under Vidagama Mahathera. When they returned King Dhammazedi had the Kalyani sima created for them. After three years all the monks in Burma, 15,666 of them were re-ordained there.  In hundred of ordination halls. Bhikkhus from lower Burma, Arakan, Ava, Toungoo, Shan, Sukhothai and Chiang Mai in Thailand, and even Cambodia came and took ordination again.

King Minbin (1531-53) also known as Andaw, king of Arakan, now part of Burma had close relations with Sri Lanka. A replica of the sacred tooth relic was  placed at Andaw stupa during reign of Min bin. Many copies of Tripitaka brought form Sri Lanka were placed around the most venerated Buddha image there.

Inscription indicates that Mahavamsa and Culavamsa were popular texts in Burma. They were in temple libraries.  The libraries also held Anagatavamsa,        Thupawamsa, Bodhivamsa and their tikas.

The Burmese (Myanmar) chronicles were directly modeled on the Mahavamsa.  The first Burmese chronicle, Yazawinkyaw of 1520 was based on Dipawansa. Goonatilake says that six-sevenths of the space is allotted to the Mahavamsa. The rest is a list of Burmese kings and their works of merit. The Maha-ya-zawin-gy, written in 1720, and the Hman-nan-ya-zawin (Glass Palace Chronicle) written in 1821  were also modeled on the Mahavamsa. The Burmese chronicles Mahasammatavamsa, Rajavamsa and Sasanavamsa were all directly modeled after the Mahavamsa.

When Sri Lanka lost its own copies of the Mahavamsa and Dipawamsa, the Southeast Asian countries came to the rescue. Oldenburg says that all the copies of Dipawamsa he saw seemed to be copies from a single Burmese original.  Turnour says his copy was from an original brought from Thailand, reported GP Malalasekera.

Myanmar archeological department identified over 80 stupas of the Sinhala style, said Goonatilake.  Deputy Director General of archaeology, Burma had told Hema Goonatilake that there were over 260 large monuments in Bagan which showed Sinhala influence from 11^th to 17 century. The last Sinhala type stupa was Konimhutoau in Sagaing, built in 1648. It was  modeled after the Mahathupa at Anuradhapura.

Goonatilake also records a unique event which took place in modern times.  Vaturegama Dhammadharatissa thera, a Sinhala bhikkhu, ordained in Myanmar in 1800, went to Assam which was then under Burma. He was  very popular teacher of Buddhism there.   Assamese king invited him to be his advisor. The king was killed in 1824, when Britain attacked Assam. But before that, the king had handed over government temporarily to the monk.  The ministers unanimously decided to appoint the thera as king of Assam.   Ven.Vaturegama persuaded Assam to settle for peace with Britain, instead of fighting. The  British in gratitude wanted to grant him anything he wanted. His wish was to be sent back to Sri Lanka safely. This is related by Goonatilake (2018) but no reference is provided.

References are: RALH Gunawardana.  Relations linking Theravada communities of Sri Lanka and Thailand with special reference to Nakhorn Sri Thammarat. In Janaprabha Amaradasa Liyanagamage felicitation volume”. / Hema Goonatilake.  Sinhalese influence on Laos. JRASSL. Vol 53 2007/ Hema Goonatilake, The Mahavamsa illustrated 2018 / Hema Goonatilake, Presidential address, SLAAS annual sessions 2006/ Hema Goonatilake.  Buddhist times. 1(11) march 2003. ( Concluded)

Dilrook Kannangara

The pandemic has proven how disastrous the western open economic system is without checks and balances. This is the perfect time to invest in a local production of food, transport, storage, and retail. The government must get back to the business of food.

In order to do so, the government must have large and distributed storage facilities, transport systems, warehouses and outlets (or agreements with commercial outlets). It is a substantial investment but it pays off quickly.

The final consumer price must be based on the world market prices of those commodities with a local discount. Retail, storage and transport legs of the chain can be allocated a set cost per tonne. Once they are taken out, the price to be paid to the farmer can be calculated.

Food importation must be only done by the government.

The price of intermediaries must be based on the set price per tonne and it should not be increased other than for inflation. If any government-owned intermediary runs at a loss, their efficiency must be increased profitably by taking whatever action needed.

This method will earn the government billions of rupees every year in profit without having to tax people. Singapore follows a similar model in many industries (agriculture is not a major industry in Singapore) that is working very successfully. The western dogma that governments cannot do business is proven wrong. What is required is a commercially viable business model for the government.

Dr. Daya Hewapathirane

AGENT ORANGE is the best known highly toxic herbicide and defoliant chemical, developed by Americans and used by the U.S. military as part of its chemical warfare program in Vietnam and neighboring countries. Between 1962 and 1971, during the Vietnam war, the United States military sprayed nearly 20 million gallons of various toxic chemicals – the “rainbow herbicides” and defoliants – in Vietnam, eastern Laos, and parts of Cambodia as part of its chemical warfare known as Operation Ranch Hand”, reaching its peak from 1967 to 1969. During the Vietnam war, Agent Orange was used extensively in Laos and Cambodia  because forests on the border with Vietnam were used by the Viet Cong. In 1961, it was John F. Kennedy, the US President, who authorized the criminal Operation Ranch Hand”, involving the widespread aerial spraying of Agent Orange or the toxic herbicide and defoliant chemical, in South Vietnam. USA justified its use by citing that Britain had already used herbicides and defoliants in Malaya during the Malayan Emergency in the 1950s and thereby has established a precedent for chemical warfare in Asia.  As the British did in Malaya, the goal of the U.S. was to defoliate rural/forested land, depriving Vietnamese rebels of food and concealment and clearing sensitive areas such as around base perimeters. The program was also a part of a general policy of forced draft urbanization, which aimed to destroy the ability of peasants to support themselves in the countryside, forcing them to flee to the U.S.-dominated cities, depriving the rebels referred to by them as guerrillas, of their rural support base

JOINT INITIATIVE BY USA AND BRITAIN

Several herbicides were developed as part of efforts by the United States and Great Britain to create herbicidal weapons for use during World War II. In 1943, the United States Department of the Army contracted botanist and bioethicist Arthur Galston, to find chemical means to destroy enemy crops in order to disrupt their food supply. (Galston is the American scientist who later discovered the herbicide and defoliant chemical named Agent Orange used  extensively in Vietnam and neighboring countries, to destroy forests and crops in view of disrupting food supply). U.S. began a full-scale production and aerial application of these herbicides against Japan in 1946 during Operation Downfall. In the years after the war, the U.S. tested 1,100 compounds, and field trials of the more promising ones were done at British stations in India and Australia, as well as at the U.S.’s testing ground in Florida, in order to establish their effects in tropical conditions. Between 1950 and 1952, trials were conducted in Tanganyika, at Kikore and Stunyansa, to test arboricides and defoliants under tropical conditions. During 1952–53, USA supervised the aerial spraying of these defoliants in the eradication of tsetse fly in Kenya.

MALAYSIAN EMERGENCY

The British gained control of what is now Malaysia in 1795 and formally made Malaysia a British colony in 1867. In 1909, the British merged all Malaya territory under their control to form Malaya. Using divide and rule tactics, the British encouraged rivalries between Malaysia’s different ethnic groups and between the sultans. During the Malayan Emergency (1948–1960), Britain was the first nation to employ the use of herbicides and defoliants to destroy bushes, trees, and vegetation to deprive insurgents of concealment and target food crops as part of a starvation campaign in the early 1950s. Malayan Emergency was a guerrilla war fought in the Federation of Malaya from 1948 until 1960. The conflict was between Commonwealth armed forces led  by Britain and pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army, the military wing of the Malayan Communist Party. The Malayan Emergency was a counter-insurgency operation undertaken by the Western powers,  where the British and Commonwealth forces defeated a revolt in Malaya. A detailed account of how the British experimented with the spraying of herbicides in Malaya was written by two scientists, E.K. Woodford of Agricultural Research Council‘s Unit of Experimental Agronomy and H.G.H. Kearns of the University of Bristol. After the Malayan conflict ended in 1960, the U.S. considered the British practice of using defoliants as a tactic of warfare. 

DEFOLIATE FOREST-LAND AND DESTROY CROPLAND

Agent Orange was usually sprayed from helicopters or from low-flying aircraft, fitted with sprayers. Spray runs were also conducted from trucks, boats, and backpack sprayers. U.S. Air Force records show that 6,542 spraying missions took place over the course of Operation Ranch Hand. By 1971, 12 percent of the total area of South Vietnam had been sprayed with defoliating chemicals. In South Vietnam alone, an estimated 39,000 square miles or 10 million ha of agricultural land was ultimately destroyed. It destroyed 20,000 square kilometres of upland and mangrove forests and thousands of square kilometres of crops. Overall, more than 20% of South Vietnam’s forests were sprayed at least once over the nine-year period.

The U.S. military began targeting food crops in October 1962, primarily using what was referred to as Agent Blue”. US Military personnel were told they were destroying crops because they were going to be used to feed guerrillas. American policy during the Vietnam War was to destroy civilian crops and a greater part of the rural economy, because Americans believed that the Vietnamese rebels -the Vietcong obtained most of their food from the neutral rural population. Crops were deliberately sprayed with Agent Orange; areas were bulldozed clear of vegetation. It was discovered later that the food that was destroyed was not produced for guerrillas but for the local civilian population. In  Quang Ngai province, 85% of the crop lands were destroyed in 1970 and this contributed to widespread famine, leaving hundreds of thousands of people malnourished or starving.  In addition, the rural population was subjected to bombing and artillery fire. This led to excessive migration of people to urban areas and estimated 1.5 million people living a miserable life in the highly overcrowded Saigon slums. Urban population in South Vietnam nearly tripled during this time, growing from 2.8 million people in 1958 to 8 million by 1971.

ENVIRONMENTAL-DAMAGE
Agent Orange caused enormous environmental damage in Vietnam. Over 3.1 million hectares or 18% of the total forested area of Vietnam was sprayed and defoliated. Official US military records refer to the destruction of 20% of the forests of South Vietnam and 20-36% of the lush mangrove forests of Vietnam. Forests that were sprayed multiple times show the greatest ecological damage and in most places, there has been total annihilation of vegetal cover and loss of animal life. Destruction and removal of forested areas severely destroyed all lifeforms big and small and totally disrupted the ecological equilibrium in Vietnam. Defoliants eroded tree cover and seedling forest stock, making reforestation difficult in numerous areas. The diversity of land and water-based animal species, bird-life and microorganisms, was sharply reduced owing to defoliant sprays of forests. The persistent nature of dioxins, erosion caused by loss of tree cover, and loss of seedling forest stock meant that reforestation out of the question in many areas. Defoliated forest areas were quickly invaded by aggressive pioneer species making forest regeneration difficult. Dioxins from Agent Orange have persisted in the  environment settling in the soil and sediment and entering the food chain through water and through animals and fish which feed in the contaminated areas. The movement of dioxins through the food web has resulted in bioconcentration and biomagnification. The areas most heavily contaminated with dioxins were former U.S. air bases.

LOSS OF LIFE AND SEVERE HEALTH EFFECTS

In addition to its enormously damaging ecological/environmental effects, about 400,000 Vietnamese were killed by the toxic effects of Agent Orange. Up to four million people in Vietnam were directly exposed to the Agent Orange. The most illustrative effects of Agent Orange upon the Vietnamese people are the health effects. It has caused major health problems for several millions of people including children. As many as 3 million people suffered illnesses because of Agent Orange. Up to 1 million people are disabled or have health problems as a result of Agent Orange contamination. Millions of Vietnamese are living with the effects of Agent Orange and more are being born with defects linked to the herbicide. In 2019, infants were still being born with birth defects linked to a toxic herbicide used by the US military to weed out Viet Cong fighters. Many living in poor villages do not receive the health care and rehabilitation they need, simply because they cannot afford to seek treatment. Environmentalists say the country could see 6 to 12 more generations of victims. Exposure to Agent Orange is associated with many diseases – diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and several forms of cancer.

Rigorous studies have been conducted to measure the levels of dioxin still present in the blood samples of the citizens of both North and South Vietnam. These studies indicate Vietnamese citizens have had severe  exposure to breadth and scope of the target. The Red Cross of Vietnam estimates that up to 1 million people are disabled or have health problems due to contaminated Agent Orange. According to a study by Dr. Nguyen Viet Nhan, children in the areas where Agent Orange was used have been affected and have multiple health problems, including cleft palate, mental disabilities, hernias, and extra fingers and toes. In the 1970s, high levels of dioxin were found in the breast milk of South Vietnamese women, and in the blood of U.S. military personnel who had served in Vietnam. The most affected zones are the mountainous area along Truong Son (Long Mountains) and the border between Vietnam and Cambodia. The affected residents are living in substandard conditions with many genetic diseases.

The U.S. government has documented higher cases of leukemia, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and various kinds of cancer among USA Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange. An epidemiological study done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that there was an impact of birth defects of the children of veterans as a result of Agent Orange. Twenty-eight of the former U.S. military bases in Vietnam where the herbicides were stored and loaded onto airplanes may still have high levels of dioxins in the soil, posing a health threat to the surrounding communities. The soil and sediment on the bases have extremely high levels of dioxin requiring remediation. The contaminated soil and sediment continue to affect the citizens of Vietnam, poisoning their food chain and causing illnesses, serious skin diseases and a variety of cancers in the lungs, larynx, and prostate. In 2008, Australian researcher Jean Williams claimed that cancer rates in Innisfail, Queensland, were 10 times higher than the state average because of secret testing of Agent Orange by the Australian military scientists during the Vietnam War.

LAWSUITS AGAINST USA

The United Nations being a paw in the hands of the USA and the Western world, played its usual hypocritical role by passing Resolution 31/72, which is not a complete ban on the use of herbicides and defoliants in warfare. In 2002, Vietnam and the U.S. held a joint conference on Human Health and Environmental Impacts of Agent Orange. These negotiations broke down in 2005, when neither side could agree on the research protocol and the research project was canceled.

However, the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam resulted in massive legal consequences with lawsuits filed against the USA.  Since  1978, several lawsuits have been filed against USA companies which produced Agent Orange, among them Dow Chemical, Monsanto, and Diamond Shamrock. The chemical companies involved denied that there was a link between Agent Orange and the veterans’ medical problems. However, in 1984, some chemical companies settled the class-action suit out of court agreeing to pay $180 million as compensation if the veterans dropped all claims against them. Many veterans who were victims of Agent Orange exposure were outraged the case had been settled instead of going to court and felt they had been betrayed by the lawyers.

In 2004, a victim’s rights group, the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin (VAVA), filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn, against several U.S. companies for liability in causing personal injury, by developing, and producing the chemical, and claimed that the use of Agent Orange violated the 1907 Hague Convention on Land Warfare, 1925 Geneva Protocol, and the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Dow Chemical and Monsanto were the two largest producers of Agent Orange for the U.S. military and were named in the suit, along with the dozens of other companies (Diamond Shamrock, Uniroyal, Thompson Chemicals, Hercules, etc.). On March 10, 2005, Judge Jack B. Weinstein of the Eastern District – who had presided over the 1984 U.S. veterans class-action lawsuit – dismissed the lawsuit, ruling there was no legal basis for the plaintiffs’ claims. He concluded Agent Orange was not considered a poison under international law at the time of its use by the U.S.; the U.S. was not prohibited from using it as a herbicide; and the companies which produced the substance were not liable for the method of its use by the government.  It was argued that “if the Americans were guilty of war crimes for using Agent Orange in Vietnam, then the British would be also guilty of war crimes as well since they were the first nation to deploy the use of herbicides and defoliants in warfare and used them on a large scale throughout the Malayan Emergency. Not only was there no outcry by other states in response to Britain’s use, but the U.S. viewed it as establishing a precedent for the use of herbicides and defoliants in jungle warfare.

HELP FOR THOSE AFFECTED IN VIETNAM

To assist those who have been affected by Agent Orange/dioxin, the Vietnamese have established “peace villages”, which each host between 50 and 100 victims, giving them medical and psychological help. As of 2006, there were 11 such villages, thus granting some social protection to fewer than a thousand victims. U.S. veterans of the war in Vietnam and individuals who are aware and sympathetic to the impacts of Agent Orange have supported these programs in Vietnam. An international group of veterans from the U.S. and its allies during the Vietnam War working with their former enemy—veterans from the Vietnam Veterans Association—established the Vietnam Friendship Village outside of Hanoi. The center provides medical care, rehabilitation and vocational training for children and veterans from Vietnam who have been affected by Agent Orange. In 1998, The Vietnam Red Cross established the Vietnam Agent Orange Victims Fund to provide direct assistance to families throughout Vietnam that have been affected.

By Michael Waldholz Courtesy Sciencetific American

Slated for human trials, EIDD-2801 could become the first pill for COVID-19

An oral medicine was able to hinder the coronavirus behind COVID-19 as it attempted to replicate itself in human lung cells in test tubes, scientists reported Monday. It also hampered closely related coronaviruses from reproducing in mice for several days and improved their lung functions.*

The drug, called EIDD-2801, interferes with a key mechanism that allows the SARS-CoV-2 virus to reproduce in high numbers and cause infections, the researchers explained in the journal Science Translational Medicine. Human trials have not yet been done, but if the effect is similar in people, the drug would be the first pill available to help with the COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in more than 1.3 million cases and about 76,400 deaths worldwide. An oral medication would be a boon, because it would be easier to give to more people than an intravenous injection.

The study was done by a team at Emory University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. A company that has licensed the drug, Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, has just been granted permission from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin 10 patient trials of the antiviral pill in the next few months.

The same university collaboration had already found that Gilead Sciences’ experimental medicine remdesivir was effective in shutting down replication of the coronaviruses that caused the original SARS and MERS epidemics. Remdesivir has received attention because it entered clinical trials against SARS-CoV-2 in March, and the first results may come by late April. The findings announced yesterday indicate that EIDD-2801 was possibly even more successful in disrupting coronavirus replication than the Gilead drug. On March 20 the researchers investigating EIDD-2801, co-led by Tim Sheahan of Chapel Hill, posted the results of their animal studies on the preprint server bioRxiv while submitting them for peer review. Given the current COVID-19 crisis, it was important to share,” says George Painter, a professor of chemistry and executive director of the Emory Institute for Drug Development, which first produced the drug.

Back in 2018 Painter and the labs he leads identified EIDD-2801’s activity during a search for a universal influenza medicine. Last October, before the pandemic hit, the Emory program got $15.9 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to perform human tests of the drug against the flu virus that was likely to be circulating later in the year. When SARS-CoV-2 emerged, Painter’s group immediately shifted focus.

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN HEALTH & MEDICINE

APRIL 2020Volume 2, Issue 2View Details

EIDD-2801 inhibits the coronavirus’s self-copying operations in a manner that is different from remdesivir. While remdesivir brings that replication process to a full stop, EIDD-2801 introduces mutations—mistakes—into the virus’s RNA as it makes copies so that the viral RNA becomes so damaged that it cannot infect cells. Another feature of the drug is that it is able to work against a host of other RNA viruses. Thus, it could serve as a multipurpose antiviral, much in the way some antibiotics can work against a wide variety of bacteria. In several preclinical studies, researchers from multiple labs have shown that EIDD-2801 was effective against several strains of influenza, as well as the viruses for respiratory syncytial virus and the viruses for chikungunya, Venezuelan equine encephalitis and Eastern equine encephalitis—all microbes that intermittently pop up in different parts of the world and produce widespread sickness in their wake.

The compound may be initially beneficial as a prophylaxis [that] health care workers can take to prevent an infection,” says Wayne Holman, co-founder of Miami-based Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, which has licensed the drug from Emory’s nonprofit biotech company Drug Innovation Ventures at Emory (DRIVE). Another potential use of EIDD-2801 might be to protect uninfected nursing home residents and workers if an outbreak occurs inside a facility. Holman says the wider goal is to have an oral pill that can be taken twice a day by patients at home early in the course of the disease to prevent it from progressing to hospitalization, mechanical ventilation or death.

In addition to planning clinical trials in the U.S., Ridgeback has also asked U.K. authorities to start tests there as well. We’ve done three to four years of development work in just the past three to four weeks in response to the new pandemic,” Holman says.

On 5^th April 2020, a group of 163 civil society activists & 17 organizations placed their names on a letter to H E President Gotabaya Rajapakse on behalf of the Muslims appealing to grant burial to covid-19 dead. This is not to argue against their petition but to ask 2 questions. Firstly, why not issue a similar petition on behalf of the Catholics who also bury their dead? Isn’t their mental state affected as well? If mental state is what the petitioners are highlighting how about the feelings of the families of the other victims who had to forsake their traditional customs as well. Did these petitioners comment one word on behalf of the other dead victims? Secondly, why not speak on behalf of the Sinhalese & Tamils who comprise almost 90% of the population & had their Avurudu (New Year) celebrations cancelled by the Government-aren’t their sentiments hurt too? Doesn’t this selective championing of ‘justice’ highlight very clearly the bias of these petitioners?  

These 163 ‘civil society voices’ were appealing to address the ‘country’s distressed Muslims’ and ‘put to rest their fears’ that they are being ‘punished’, and that the country has ‘little respect for their concerns’. They cite the cremation of a Muslim on 30^th March 2020. The activists claim that the Muslim faith requires the dead to be buried and not cremated.

Close to 70 signatories are Muslim, just over 40 signatories are Tamils, close to 40 signatories are Sinhalese:

Prominent names on the list include

Academics: Dr. Nimalka Fernando, Attorney-at-law, Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, Dr. Jehan Perera, National Peace Council Prof Ameer Ali, Dr. Farzana Haniffa, University Of Colombo, Prof. Arjuna Aluwihare, Dr. Kaushalya Fernando, Prof. Arjuna Parakrama, University Of Peradeniya, Prof. Gameela Samarasinghe, University Of Colombo.  Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Open University Of Sri Lanka

Legal: Lal Wijenayake, Attorney-at-law, Justice. Dr. Saleem Marsoof, Srinath Perera, Attorney-at-aw, United Socialist Party, K.S. Ratnavel, Attorney-at-law

Journalist: Latheef Farook, Emil van der Poorten

Others: Radhika Coomaraswamy, Bhavani Fonseka, Visakha Tillekeratne, Chief Commissioner, Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association Ruki Fernando, Devanesan Nesiah, Bishop Duleep de Chickera, Prof. Rajan Hoole, Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole

Some of these names of course are well known for their open bias but it is strange to see the signatories of Church heads who ideally should have insisted on the petitioners mentioning the denial of Catholics to bury dead too. Why is the entire petition voicing only 1 community only?  Then you get a member of the Election Commission also signing and he does what he likes.

A day after the petition the Island newspaper carried a statement by the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commissioner Deepika Udugama Cremation of Muslim covid-19 victims – Govt should have consulted the community’  – leaders of the Muslim community, medical professionals of the Muslim community, scientists of the Muslim community.

http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=220968

If the SLHR Head is highlight religious sensitivities why is she not asking if the Govt consulted the Buddhist leaders, the Hindu leaders and all others who were going to celebrate the Sinhala-Tamil Aluth Avuruda? Why is she not coming forward to speak on behalf of the Buddhist-Hindu sensitivities for having their cherished and ancient custom completely cancelled. Avurudu is a time where there is much sharing and giving, families prepare all sorts of food items which are shared to family and friends, there are rituals like preparation of meals, going to the temples, worshipping one’s parents, visiting one’s relations, the exchange of money which even the banks and companies look forward to, there is exchange of clothes and gifts and there are plenty of games and fun that all communities take part in and look forward to. The government has not only imposed curfew throughout this period but the police have declared that even if anyone is going visiting family or friends with sweetmeats they’ll end up eating them in prison.

How about the sensitivities of the country’s majority faith and populace who are told they cannot celebrate Avurudu? Why is the SLHR not coming forward on behalf of them and speaking for their sensitivities too? Why are the 163 petitioners and other organizations also ignoring the mental condition and sensitivities of these people?

Covid-19 Dead

Victim 1 – Sinhala Buddhist

Victim 2 – Muslim

Victim 3 – Muslim

Victim 4 – Sinhala Buddhist

Victim 5 – Sinhala Catholic

Victim 6 – Sinhala Catholic

Victim 7 – Muslim

Though the victims died on different days the same procedure was followed for all

• Bodies were not washed, embalmed or touched
• Bodies were placed inside a sealed bag and coffin was sealed
• Bodies were taken to crematorium within 12hrs of their death
• ONLY 2 of the closest relatives were allowed to witness
• GMO explained to relative the cause of death & procedure being carried out
• Bodies were placed in incinerator that generated heat of over 1200 centigrade
• Protective garments of pallbearers were destroyed immediately afterwards
• All involved were sprayed with disinfectant
• Crematorium was disinfected
• Vehicle that transported coffin was also disinfected.
• NONE of the victims had final rites as per their faith

It is completely wrong of the 163 petitioners to claim that Muslims are being ‘punished’ and that the country has ‘little respect for their concerns’ and that the Government should ‘put to rest their fears’. The petitioners were voicing only 9% of the people of Sri Lanka.

What about the 91% why are the petitioners ignoring their sensitivities?   

Seven persons died of covid-19 of this only 3 were Muslims.

2 Sinhala Buddhists and 2 Sinhala Catholics also died.

Final rites and customs were not performed on these 4 non-Muslims too. No victims’ funeral took place following their cultural values or religious practices. Why then are the petitioners presenting a notion that Sri Lanka was purposely targeting only Muslims?

Only highlighting the sensitivities of only one community totally ignoring the other communities equally victims is unacceptable and the petitioners and the SL Human Rights Head owes the 91% a public apology.

For academics, professors, professionals, attorneys and people holding important portfolios in society this is a despicable act and quite unbecoming of them.

However, in so doing it has publicly exposed their names and their characters to all.

The opportunism of NGOs can be seen in this post

Shenali D Waduge

Professor Anthony Costello courtesy The Guadian (UK)

Anthony Costello is professor of global health and sustainable development at University College London

Data from east Asia shows testing, tracing and isolating people with coronavirus is the best way to tackle the pandemic

When will the pandemic end? The future is uncertain, but it seems likely that over the next 18 months the UK will experience a cycle of national lockdowns while it awaits a vaccine. This is far from ideal. Repeated lockdowns could lead to mass unemployment, rising national debt, uncontrolled bankruptcies and widespread social unrest as people grow sick of draconian measures. Many people are now asking how quickly the lockdown can be lifted – and how soon we can return to normal.

Monitoring the reproductive rate of infection figure, R₀, will be crucial to any decision about lifting the lockdown. The figure indicates how contagious an infection is. As the R₀ number drops below one, each existing infection causes less than one new infection; eventually, the outbreak will decline and die out. When R₀ remains steadily less than one, governments may decide to gradually loosen restrictions, with the lockdown relaxed earlier in lower intensity areas and later in hotspot cities such as London.

New data published this week in the Lancet, from a team of researchers at the University of Hong Kong led by the clinician Gabriel Leung, shows that the spread of infection in China outside Wuhan, measured by the R₀ in four major cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Wenzhou) fell below one within two weeks of partial lockdown. This is good news; it shows a partial lockdown can quite quickly suppress transmission of the virus. Our national lockdown and social distancing measures may already have brought the R₀ down across much of the country.Advertisement

But the problem still remains of how to prevent a second surge. The Hong Kong researchers worry that as economic activity restarts, local and imported cases of coronavirus could lead to new outbreaks. And the R₀ rate varies across different regions: case fatality rates were just below 1% in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Wenzhou compared with 5.9% in Wuhan. We will likely also see a higher rate of infection and death rate in London than the rest of the UK.

Moreover there’s a crucial difference between the response to coronavirus in China and that in the UK. From the beginning of the outbreak, the Lancet researchers note, only residents were allowed to enter residential communities, face mask-wearing was made compulsory, and non-essential community services were shut down”. Health authorities also found cases, traced contacts and isolated them, monitoring their quarantine closely.

So it was not just a lockdown and social distancing that were responsible for bringing down the R₀ number in China, but the country’s community surveillance approach. Scarred by memories of the Sars outbreak in 2002, China and other east Asian states acted with greater speed, imposing total or partial lockdowns supported by a protective shield of community measures – finding people with the virus, isolating them swiftly, and tracing those they contacted.

In South Korea, this took the form of mass testing and digital contact tracing; in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Vietnam, health authorities identified cases based on people’s symptoms, and used testing when available. Strict isolation of cases and contacts was monitored by phone apps and home visits. Rather than enforcing a one-size-fits-all approach, China varied the lockdown across different regions. While Wuhan was under total lockdown, other provinces had more autonomy, and focused on quarantining the household clusters where most transmission took place.

Data seems to show that this approach is the right one. Death rates in Asian countries have been lower than in the US and Europe (South Korea’s death rate, for example, is four per million and stable; the UK’s is 105 per million – and rising). In addition to helping reduce the R₀ number, a community shield may also allow governments to lift national lockdowns more quickly. Rather than maintaining a prolonged lockdown, governments can target measures at people who actually have coronavirus. This would likely be far less disruptive to the economy: better to quarantine 10% of people who have coronavirus symptoms than an entire population.

At first, Britain eschewed the community shield approach. On 12 March the government stopped community testing and moved to a delay” phase, explaining that a managed spread of the virus across 60% of the population, with a case fatality rate around 1%, would hopefully produce herd immunity and allow the economy to move on. After its modellers realised this strategy would overwhelm the NHS, the government enforced a lockdown. It is now attempting to conduct 10,000 tests a day, mostly in hospitals for patients and health workers.

Despite Britain’s slow start, there are reasons for hope. Behind the scenes, general practices and public health workers are working at tremendous speed to build our own protective shield. They’re finding places to treat infected patients who aren’t sick enough for the hospital but can’t be nursed at home, visiting those with long-term conditions or coronavirus symptoms, and building a picture of community spread using 111 data. The UK should also be able to roll out contact tracing using the new NHSX app and the popular Zoe Covid symptom tracker.

We have four to six weeks to ramp up testing and build our community shield before we lift the lockdown. After this, we can then get most people back to work, focus on quarantining individual cases and contacts, and suppress outbreaks if they arise. Hopefully, this approach will help us avoid further national lockdowns. But it will take a long time before life returns to normal.

• Anthony Costello is professor of global health and sustainable development at University College London

Chanaka Bandarage

Galle Face Green was established in 1859 by Governor Sir Henry Ward, for the sole purpose of recreation. 

A 1.6 km long promenade was constructed along the oceanside, especially with the purpose of ladies and children to saunter and take in the air.

Galle Face originally was spread over a much larger area than it exists today. Records indicate that its northern boundary extended up to Beira Lake (near Gangaramaya temple).

The very large Green was used for various sports such as golf, hockey, cricket, and horseracing. The first-ever Royal – Thomian cricket match was played at Galle Face in 1879 (which Royal won by 56 runs). It is stated that the two teams rowed across the Beira Lake to reach the ground.

Galle Face was always a very flat land until in the early 1990s the then government decided to erect terraces and sections divided within.

Today, Galle Face is Colombo’s largest open space (about 5 hectares).

Galle Face was always fully covered with grass, hence the name, Galle Face Green. Given that grass is replaced by the soil in many places today, is it appropriate to call it the Galle Face Dirt?

(Dirt = Topsoil)

Until the turn of the century, families flocked to Galle Face to enjoy the sea under the vast open sky. There were many who used the Green for their early morning or evening strolls and physical exercise. People used to buy gram/wade from vendors. They were simple, mobile traders, not established eateries. Ice cream vans of reputed firms parked alongside the Galle Road and sold quality ice cream.

In mid/late 1990s eateries were established alongside the promenade from the Galle Face hotel side to the giant flagpole; this permanently changed Galle Face’s dimension.

One of the main attractions of today’s Galle Face is food – it is famous for greasy/oily, meaty foods such as kotthu, roties/parata, burgers, fried potatoe chips, hotdogs and buriyani. Now, there are permanent gram/wade stands. A Wade with a tiny fried crab on top is very popular. The crab is mostly caught in Galle Face sea itself, so fresh wade is fried on the spot. Various carbonated and sweetened drinks are sold in the eateries. All the eateries and permanent wade stands have a brisk business.

The thick greasy smoke and the strong smell that emanate from various foods are expanded by the sea breeze to the rest of the Green. It is an offensive smoke/smell.

Areas, where the eateries located, are very crowded and noisy. Some shops have erected stadium type lights.

This is the last thing that those who come to the Green for quiet enjoyment/evening stroll want.

Now, Galle Face attracts fewer families and individuals that go to enjoy the breeze, do exercise.

Galle Face has largely lost its traditional users, it now attracts youngish, vocal, impatient crowds.

Though Galle Face was known worldwide as Colombo’s place for peaceful/serene enjoyment; today it is famous as Colombo’s place for street/junk food.

The two identities do not complement each other, they are poles apart.

One would argue that the writer is wrong; that, Galle Face now has two distinct identities and it is good.

The writer states that the newly introduced commercialization has eroded Galle Face’s innocence, originality, and authenticity.

One could see men in small groups secretly drinking alcohol hidden under the night’s darkness. Recently, an upmarket restaurant commenced operations – located at the very beginning of the Galle Face, on Galle Face Centre Road. They have erected big signs. They sell alcohol with a band playing live music. The noise amplifies into the Green. It will not be a surprise if similar restaurants pop up in that area.

Galle Face is full of various kinds of vendors; there is no control of them. Some act as if they ‘own’ the place. Kite sellers, plastic toy sellers have forcibly acquired large swaths of the Green, people find it difficult to maneuver through and walk. At dark, children and even adults fall over upon entangling on kite string – kites anchored on the floor for sale. When such things happen, they often receive abuse as if it was their fault.

A visitor to Galle Face in the early morning could see thousands of crows converged on the park to eat the previous night’s leftover food in dustbins and food scattered across the Green. In the early mornings, there are many stray dogs. Large rats have risen up, some are big as cats.  Wastewater from food businesses could be seen lying stagnated in the open dilapidated drains.

All these are new additions to Galle Face thanks to the introduction of many eateries. There is a strong possibility that eateries could increase up to the Kingsbury Hotel’s end. The cash strapped governments are greedy for rent monies.

Opening up Galle Face for such large scale eateries is contrary to the purpose in which it was established.

The writer is not against good, quality eateries being formed in Colombo. He states Galle Face is not the place for that. If they want to eat junk/fast food, those people should go elsewhere. They could well be established along Galle Road from Colpetty towards Mt Lavinia. 

Colpetty/Bambalapitiya can be the Centre for street/fast food eateries. There are properties on Galle Road and Marine Drive available for this. Colombo’s nightlife can blossom in those areas, not at Galle Face.

Galle Face is a place for calm, tranquil relaxation. It is the only place in Colombo where people can breathe quality fresh air, enjoy the sea breeze and simply relax. They should be able to freely roam everywhere in the Green.

People should be able to visit Galle Face with families. Those who want to jog/walk/do workouts, bring pets (on leash) and even meditate/yoga should be able to freely do them. Children should be able to run around, fly kites and go on pony rides.

Galle Face is so important to Colombians (all Colombo residents – big and small). It is part of Colombo’s psyche. It would have easily qualified for World Heritage status, but unlikely now.

චන්ද්‍රසිරි විජයවික්‍රම

ලංකා ලංකා පෙම්බර ලංකා
පිනවමු ඔබ ලංකා
හොබවමු ඔබ ලංකා
දිවිදී
සුරකිමු ඔබ ලංකා…

බලි තරු රාවණ ගැමුණු විජයබා
නිරිඳුන් ලද ලංකා
පුලතිසි දැමි සිරි රහල් කුමරතුඟු
පඬුවන් ලද ලංකා
විදු සක්‌විති මහ පැරකුම් කිවිසුරු
කිවියන් ලද ලංකා
ඔබ රැකුණොත් ලොව කුඹුවද අපහට
ශීත ගඟුලි ලංකා

ලංකා ලංකා පෙම්බර ලංකා…

මහවැලි කළු කැළැණී වලවේ
අත් හතරක් ඇති ලංකා
සමනොල කිරිගල් පිදුරුතලා
නෙක කෙහෙ ගැට බැඳි ලංකා
තේ වතු පොල් වතු කෙත්‌ වතු පෙළ
උකුළේ නළවන ලංකා
මුහුදින් අඟලක් ඔබ වැවෙතොත්
එහි පනිමු පනිමු ලංකා

ලංකා ලංකා පෙම්බර ලංකා…

හෙළ මුතු මිණි වැල් එකට දමාලා
ඔබ සරසමු ලංකා
ගස් වැල් වලැ මල් එකට ගොතාලා
ඔබ පළදමු ලංකා
රුහුණේ කිරි පැනි එකට හනාලා
ඔබ පිනවමු ලංකා
ඔබ වෙනුයෙන් එන වෙඩි සැර
මල් පෙති සේ සලකමු ලංකා

ලංකා ලංකා පෙම්බර ලංකා…

ඔබ හට අත පොවනට උන් මුන් හට
ඉඩ නොතබමු ලංකා
අවහොත් මෙහි උන් ලුහුබඳවා
ගොළු මුහුද ගෙවමු ලංකා
ගොඩ දියෙ අහසේ හැමතැනැ
ඔබගේ නම කියවමු ලංකා
අවසනැ ඔබටමැ පොහොරට
මේ කය මෙහිමැ හොවමු ලංකා

ලංකා ලංකා පෙම්බර ලංකා…

ගායනය: සුනිල් ශාන්ත
පදබැඳුම: අරිසෙන් අහුබුදු

මේ දිනවල මා ලියමින් සිටින ලංකාවේ බොරු ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදය නමැති ලිපි මාලාවේ හතරවන කොටසට පෙර, මෙම ලිපිවලින් ඉදිරිපත්කරමින් සිටින මගේ පණිවුඩයට කෙළින්ම අදාලවන උදාහරණයක් පසුගියදා මතුවිය. එය මා දැනගත්තේ සේපාල් අමරසිංහගේ යූ-ටියුබ් බ්ලොග් එකෙන්‌ය (අප්ප්‍රියෙල් 10, 2020). ගායන ශිල්පී සුනිල් පෙරේරාගේ පුතා කොරෝනා නිසා ඇමෙරිකාවේ හිරවී සිටින බවත්, ඔහු ලංකාවට ගෙන්‌වා ගැනීමට විධියක් නැතිව සුනිල් පෙරේරා වික්‍ෂිප්තව සිටිනා බවත්, මෙය කටේ නරිවාදන් රෙද්දපල්ලෙන් බේරීමක් බවත් මුහුණු පොත ඔස්සේ ප්‍රචාරය වනවා යයි සේපාල් කියයි. මේ ගැන ඔහු කරණ විග්‍රහය කියවූ විට මට මතක්‌වූයේ 2015 දී නන්දා මාලිනි ගැයූ පින්කෙත ගීතය යොදාගනිමින් සුනිල් පෙරේරාගේ කල දේශ භ්‍රෂ්ට කතාවට විරුද්‌ධව මා ලියූ රචනාවය (ලංකාවෙබ්, 2015/9/01 ). එය නැවත මෙහි පහතින් කොපිකර ඇත.

සුනිල් පෙරේරා මේ බලු කියමන කරණ විට ඔහුගේ දැන් ඇමෙරිකාවේ හිරවී සිටින පුතාත්, තව කොල්ලන් දෙන්නෙකුත් ඊට හිනාවෙමින් සිටින හැටිත්, එසේ හිනාවෙන විට, එය නැවැත්‌වීමට සුනිල් ක්‍රියා නොකිරීම නිසා සුනිල් දුන් නිවැරදි පණිවුඩය, එනම් වරද රටේ පවතින දූෂිත ක්‍රමයේ මිස රට ඇත්තටම පින්කෙතක් බව යන්න, රටට කල අපහාසයක් හා අවමානයක් බවට පෙරළුණු බව, සේපාල් පෙන්‌වා දෙන්නේය. මෙම සේපාල් වීඩියෝව හරහා අප දැන් නැවතත් දකින්නේ ලංකාවේ බොරු ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදය ගැන නොදන්නාකමින්ම සුනිල් විසින් කල ප්‍රකාශයකි. සුනිල්ලා වැනි ලක්‍ෂ සංඛ්‍යාත ජනයා නොදැනගෙන දන්නා මෙම සත්‍යය ඔවුන්ට දැනගෙනම දැනගන්නට සළස්‌වන්නේ කෙසේද?

සුනිල්ට තම පුතා ගැන ඇති භය සුළුපට නොවිය යුතු යයි මට සිතෙන්නේ ඇමෙරිකාවේ විශාල පඩියකට යූ.එන්.ඕ රක්‍ෂාවක් කරණ, නිව්‍යෝර්ක් සිට කොළඹට මාස තුනක නිවාඩුවක් සඳහා පැමිණ මාර්තු අග ආපසු යෑමට සිටි අවුරුදු හැට පිරි මා දන්නා අවිවාහක කාන්තාවකගේ කතාවය. අප්‍රියෙල් 10 දා ඇය දැනගත්තේ ඇගේ නිව්‍යෝර්ක් තට්ටු නිවාසයේ අයෙකුට කෝරෝනා සැදුන බවය. මේ නිසා ඇගේ කොළඹ ජීවත්‌වන ඇගේ වැඩිමහල් අවිවාහක සොයුරිය ඇයට කියන්නේ රක්‍ෂාවෙන් විශ්‍රාම ගෙන තමා ලඟට එන ලෙසය. ලංකාවේ පක්‍ෂ දේශපාලක කළු සුද්දන්ගේ වැඩ ගැන කළකිරී රටින් පිටව යාමත්, රටේ හෝ රටින් පිට සිට තමා උපන් රටට ගැරහීමත් කාරණා දෙකකි. ඔවුන් දොස් පැවරිය යුත්තේ බොරු ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදයටය. සුනිල් වලිගේ පාගා ගත්තේ මේ දෙකේ වෙනස නොදැනය. තමන්ට ඇති මරණ භය නිසා, දැන් පිටරට ඉන්නා මෙතෙක් මව්බිම හෙලා දකිමින් කතා කල අයටත්, රට තුල සිටිමින් පිටරට යෑමට සිහින දකිණ ගමන් රටට ගරහන අයටත්, මව්බිමේ අගය සිහිපත් කරදීම ගැන කොරෝනාවට අප ස්‌තුති කල යුතු නොවේද? රූප රාජිණියගේ මළසිරුර ගන්නට කැමති කෙනෙක් හොයාගත නොහැකිවූවාසේ ඉතාලියට, කොරියාවට, අරාබි රටවල වැසිකිළි සේදීමට හෝ යාමට අයෙක් සොයාගැනීම අසීරුවී තිබීම කෙතරම් වාසනාවක්ද?

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සුනිල් පෙරේරාලාට පේන්නේ නැති අමරදේව දුටු පින් කෙත සිංහල බෞද්ධයා නමැති මුව හමට තඩිබෑම
Lankaweb- September 1st, 2015

චන්ද්‍රසිරි විජයවික්‍රම

සිංහල බෞද්ධ නායකයින් හා හාමුදුරුවරුන්ගේ එකමුතුවක් නැතිකම නිසා ඉන් ප්‍රයෝජන ගන්නා හබන් කුකුළන් අතර කලාකාරයින් සෙට් එකක් දැන් ලංකාවේ බිහිවී සිටී. මීට මාස ගණනකට පෙර බෞද්ධයින් ඇයි මෙතරම් ප්‍රචණ්ඩත්වයට ලොල්” යනුවෙන් ධර්‍මසිරි බණ්ඩාරනායක නම් චිත්‍රපටිකාරයෙක් කල ප්‍රකාශය ලංකාවේ සිංහල බෞද්ධ පදනම විනාශ කලයුතුය” යන රට බෙදීමටද රුකුල් දෙන ඇන්ටි මහාවංශ ව්‍යාපාරයේම වලිග කොටසකි. බෞද්ධ සොල්දාදුවන් සිටිය හැකිද යන මාතෘකාව යටතේ පවා බටහිර සුදු ප්‍රොපෙසර්ලා ලිපි ලියති. මියගිය ස්ටැන්ලි තම්බයියාට ප්‍රශ්නයක් වූයේ බෞද්ධයින් මිනී මරන්නේ කොහොමද යන්නය (හව් කැන් බුඩිස්ට්ස් කිල්). යාපනයේ කුල භේදය වෙනුවට තායිලන්තයේ ථේරවාද බුද්ධාගම හැදෑරීමට ඔහු මුලින්ම පිටරට ගියේය. මේ ගැන මා කලකට පෙර ඉංගිරිසියෙන් ලියූ ලිපියක් තම්බයියාට යැව්වත් ඔහු පිළිතුරක් එව්වේ නැත. ඒ ලිපිය සිංහලට පෙරලා මෙම බ්ලොග් (හරිමග.බ්ලොග්ස්පොට්.කොම්) එකේ දමන්නට සිතා සිටිමි.

දැන් අළුතින්ම මා දැක්කේ බයිලා ගායක සුනිල් පෙරේරා විසින් අමරදේවගේ පින් කෙත මේ ලක් දෙරණේ යළි උපදින්නට හේතු වාසනා වේවා” යන ගීතය හාස්‍යයට ලක්කිරීමේ සිද්ධියයි. සුනිල් පෙරේරා ඒ ගැන හිරු ටී වී එකට කල මිනිත්තු 20 පැහැඳිළි කිරීම තමන් නොදැනම ඔහු විසින් කරන ලද ඇන්ටි මහාවංශ ව්‍යාපාරයට කඩේ යාමක් බව මගේ අදහසය. අවංක මෝඩයින්, වංක මෝඩයින්ට වඩා නාස්තිකාරීය. ධර්‍මසිරි වංක මෝඩයෙක් නම් සුනිල් අවංක මෝඩයෙකි.

සුනිල්ගේ කතෝලික පවුලේ දහ දෙනෙක් විය. ඒ අතරින් බෞද්ධ කෙනෙක් කසාද බැඳගත්තේ
සුනිල් පමණය. සුනිල්ගේ කාතාව අනුව සුනිල්ගේ නෝනා ඇගේ දුවට පල්ලියට යන කෙනෙක් සොයන සේය. සුනිල්ගේ ගෙදර ජේසු රූපය ලඟින් බුදු පිළිමයක් තබා ඇත. සුනිල්ගේ නෝනා ගෙනා අඟල් දෙකේ බුදු පිළිමය වෙනුවට සුනිල් ලොකු බුදු පිළිමයක් ගෙනාවේය. එය දුටු සුනිල්ගේ අම්මා හ්ම්” කියා ගියේය. ඉස්ලාම් ආගමේ මෙන් රූප/පිළිම වන්දනාව ක්‍රිස්තියානි ආගමේදී අයිඩොල් වර්ෂිප් කියා මුලදී හැඳින්වුනත්, දැන් කාරණා වෙනස් වී ඇත.

සුනිල් අසන ප්‍රශ්නය නම් ලංකාව පින් කෙතක් නම් හැමෝම ලංකාව අතහැර පව්කාර රටවලට යන්නේ ඇයි කියාය. ඒ රටවල සුද්දන් ලංකාවට එන්න පොර කන්නේ නැත්තේ ඇයි? ලංකාව ටොප් නම් ලංකාවේ ඉස්පිරිතාල වෙනුවට අගමැතිලා ජනාධිපතිලා පිටරට ඉස්පිරිතාලවලට යන්නේ ඇයි? පිටරට ලමයි ලංකාවේ ඉස්කෝළවලට එන්නට පොර නොකන්නේ ඇයි? ලංකාවේ ලමයි පිටරට ඉස්කෝලවලට යවන්නේ ඇයි? මේ ප්‍රශ්න වලට බයිලා උත්තර නොසෑහේ.

සංගක්කාරට සිංදු කියන්නට හෝ තමන්ට ක්‍රිකට් ගහන්නට දීම සුනිල් සළකන්නේ නූගත් අය පාර්ලිමේන්තුවට යාම වගේය. ඔහුගේ ඕ ලෙවල් සාමාර්‍ථය ඒ සඳහා නොසෑහෙනවායයි සුනිල් පවසයි. සුනිල්ගේ පවුලට, පුතාගේ ඇමෙරිකා අධ්‍යාපනයට ප්‍රශ්න නැති රටේ ප්‍රශ්න ගැන නිහඬව ඉන්නැයි සුනිල්ගේ නෝනා කරන ඉල්ලීම සුනිල් තරයේම ප්‍රතික්‍ෂේප කරයි. සමාජයේ විෂමතාවන්ට බයිලා මගින් නිර්දය ලෙස පහරදීමේ සුනිල්ගේ මේ ප්‍රතිපත්තිය නිසා වරක් එක් තරුණ දේශපාලකයෙක් සුනිල්ට හිරිහැර කලේය. එහෙත් ඔහු හදිසියේ මිය ගියේය.

සුනිල් කියන්නේ දේශපාලකයින් මන්ත්‍රීකම් සඳහා යන්නේ ඔවුන් තමන් නොදන්නා බව නොදන්නා නිසාය කියාය. සුනිල්ගේ මේ කියමනෙන් පේන්නේ සුනිල්ට ඔහුම කියන යථාවාදී ලෙස සිතීම මඟහැරී ඇති බවය. දේශපාලකයින් මන්ත්‍රීකම් සඳහා දුවන්නේ ඒ මඟින් ලබාගත හැකි ධනය හා බලය නිසා මිස නොදන්නා බව නොදන්නා නිසා නොවේ. සුනිල් විසින් බයිලා හරහා රටේ ප්‍රශ්න ගැන කරන උපහාසාත්මක විවේචනය අපක්‍ෂපාති නොවේ කියා මම සිතමි. මහින්ද රාජපක්‍ෂ රෙජීමයට පමණක් නොව දේශපාලක කළු සුද්දන් 1948 ටේ සිටම ලංකාවට කල විනාශය සුනිල්ගේ තේමාව වියයුතුය. ඒ වෙනුවට පින් කෙත කතාවක් ඉදිරියට ගැනීමෙන් සුනිල් පෙන්වන්නේ ඔහුද ලංකාවේ ඉතිහාසය පටන් ගන්නේ 1505 න් පසුව කියා සලකන කෙනෙකු බවය. මඩු පල්ලිය දුටුවිට මෙන් නොව තිසා වැව හෝ රුවන් වැලි මහසෑය දකිනවිට මගේ ඇඟ කිලිපොළා යයි. සුනිල්ට වෙන්නේ මෙති අනිත් පැත්ත විය යුතුය.

ක්‍රිස්තියානි පසුබිමකින් හැදුන වැඩුන සුනිල්, ඔහු මියගියාට පසුව ඔහු බෞද්ධයෙක් ය කියා රට දැනගත් ගාමිනී පොන්සේකා මෙන් නොව, කැළනියේ ආර් එස් පෙරේරා (කතානායකව සිටි) පවුල් පවා බෞද්ධ ක්‍රමයට හැරවූ ඉන්දියානු ගායිකා ජී එස් බී රානි (පෙරේරා පවුලට කසාදයෙන් එක්‌වූ) මෙන් වියයුතුය කියා මම නොකියමි (රේඩියෝ සිලෝන් එකේ බණ කීම ආරම්භකරවූයේ ඇයය). නමුත් සුනිල් තමන්ගේ සාමාජ සේවය සඳහා සිංහල බෞද්ධ පදනම හාස්‍යයට ලක් නොකල යුතුය. ඊට හේතුව සුනිල් නොදන්නා බොහෝ දේ ඇති නිසාය.

උදාහරණයක් වශයෙන් දන්නෝ බුදුන්ගේ ශ්‍රී ධර්‍මස්කන්දා” යන උපත අනුව ක්‍රිස්තියානිවූ ජෝන් ද සිල්වා ලියූ ගීතය 1948 ට පෙර හා පසුව ලංකාවේ ගම්වල ජාතික ගීය විය. ඒ අනුව අනුරාධ නගරය මිහිබට සුරපුරකි. සුනිල් මේ ගීතය දැන සිටියා නම් කොහොමට සිටීද?

සුනිල් පෙරේරලා විසින් දැනගතයුතු කරුණු:

1. ලංකාව ලෝකයේ බොහෝ රටවල් හා සසඳන විට පින් කෙතකි. ලංකාව විනාශ මුඛයට වැටුනේ යුරෝපීය ක්‍රිස්තියානි බලවේග නිසාය. අද වනවිට ලංකාව අධ්‍යාත්මක හා සදාචාරත්මක අතින් පිරිහී තිබෙන්නේ රටේ හෝ රටේ සිංහල බෞද්ධ ශිෂ්ටාචාරයේ වරදක් නිසා නොව 1832 න් පසුව සිට ක්‍රිස්තියානී සුද්දන් හා කළු සුද්දන් විසින් කල විනාශය නිසාය.
2. ලංකාව දකුණු ඉන්දියාවෙන් බේරී සිටියේ මුහුද නිසාය. ලංකාවේ සිට ඉන්දියාවට හා ඉන් ඔබ්බට භාෂාව පවා පැතිරී ගියා යයි සිතීමට ශාක්‍ෂි ඇත. උදාහරණයක් වශයෙන් වතුර යන වචනය සිංහල හා යුරෝපයේ ජර්‍මන් භාෂාවේ ඇත. මෙය සිදුවූයේ කෙසේද?
3. පෘථුවියේ කාන්දම් බලය දක්වන සිතියමක් ගත් විට ලංකාව එහි සුවිශේෂ ස්ථානයක් ගනී
   භූමි කම්පා, සුලි සුලං, සාගත, වසංගත, ගංවතුර, නායයාම් ආදියෙන් ලංකාව ආරක්‍ෂාවී තිබුණේය. අද මෙම විනාශ ලංකාවට එන්නේ අධර්මිෂ්ට දේශපාලක ක්‍රියා නිසාය.
4. මිනිසුන් රට අතහැර යන්නේ රටේ වරදක් නිසා නොව රටේ පාලන ක්‍රමයේ වරද නිසාය. අමරදේව කිව්වේ රට ගැන මිස රටේ පාලක හොරුන් ගැන නොවේ.
5. මෙසේ රටහැර යන අය බොහෝ දෙනා සුද්දන්ගේ රටවල, සුද්දන් කරන්නට අකමැති පහල කම්කරු රක්‍ෂාවල් කරන්නේය. මෙය විශේෂයෙන් ශීතල යුරෝපයට හා කැනඩාවට යන දෙමළ ජනයාගේ ඉරණමය.
6. ඩුබායි හෝ කොරියාවට හෝ යන මිනිසුන් විඳින දුක දන්නේ ඔවුන් පමණය. තුවාලය කසන්නා වාගේ රටින් පිටට යාමට වලිකන මොවුන් වලේ වැටී සල්ලි ටිකක් හොයාගෙන ආපසු ලංකාවට ඒමට සිටින අයය.
7. ඇමෙරිකාවේ හෝ යුරෝපයේ හෝ මිනිසුන් මානසික වශයෙන් හෝ සෞඛ්‍ය අතින් හෝ ලංකාවේ මිනිසුන්ට වඩා දියුණුද? සල්ලි නැත්නම්, වයසට ගියවිට හෝ ලෙඩවූවිට ඇමෙරිකාවේ බොහෝ දෙනා දුක්බර ජීවිතයක් ගතකරයි.
8. සුනිල් නොදන්නා දෙයක් නම් සුදු රටවල් වල බුද්ධාගම පැතිරෙමින් පවත්නා වේගයය. පල්ලි වලට සෙනඟ නොපැමිණීම ලොකු ප්‍රශ්නයක් ව ඇත.
9. මේ රටවල මිනිසුන්ගේ ප්‍රශ්නවල තරම මේ දිනවල ඇමෙරිකාවේ ඩොනල්ඩ් ට්‍රම්ප් ලබා ඇති ජනප්‍රිය බවෙන් එලි දරව්වේ. ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදයට මුවාවී ඇමෙරිකාවේ සුළු පිරිසක් සෙසු ජනයා සූරාකන ආකාරය සුනිල්ට ඔහුගේ පුතාගෙන් විමසා දැනගතහැකිය.
10. ලෝකයේ මිනිසුන්ගේ අධ්‍යාත්මක පිරිහීමට විසඳුම් බුද්ධාගමේ චතුරාර්ය සත්‍යය අනුව ලබාගත හැකි බව දැන් ඉතාමත් පැහැදිලිය. ඩොලර් බිලියන් ගණන් ක්‍රිස්තියානිකරණය සඳහා යොදවන ලෝක ක්‍රිස්තියාන් සංවිධානත්, ඉස්ලාම් තෙල් සල්ලිත් ඉදිරියේ බුද්ධාගම පැතිරී යන්නේ ලංකාව නමැති පින් කෙත ථේරවාදී බුද්ධාගම ලෝකයට රැක දුන් නිසා බව සුනිල්ට වැටහෙනවා නම් ඔහු මෙවැනි උපහාසාත්මක අපහාස නොකරන බව නිසැකය. ඉන්දියාව, පකිස්ථානය, බංගල දේශ්, කොරියාව, ඇෆ්ඝනිස්ථානය, ඉන්දුනීසියාව, පිලිපීනය යන මේ රටවල් කලින් බෞද්ධ රටවල් වුනත් අද සිැුවී ඇත්තේ කුමක්ද?

පෝප් ෆ්‌රැසිස් විසින් බුද්ධාගම ගැන කියන කතාව ඊට කලින් සිටි පෝප්ලාගේ කතාවට වඩා වෙනස් ය. බුද්ධාගමට ගරු කරන බව එය අධ්‍යාත්මික වශයෙන් ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨ බව ඔහු කියයි සුනිල් තම සමාජ සේවයට තම අධ්‍යාත්මික ගුණවගාවද ඇතුලත් කරගත යුතුය.

චන්ද්‍රසිරි විජයවික්‍රම

මතුගම සෙනෙවිරුවන්

              ලෝකයම වෙලා ගත් නව වසංගත තත්වය හමුවේ අද වන විට සියල්ලෝම හුදකලා වී සිටිති. ඇඳිරි නීතිය වේවා නගර වසා තැබීම  වේවා මගින් ඇති කරන ලද සමාජ දුරස්ථකරණය හමුවේ කාර්මික විප්ලවය විසින් ඇති කරන ලද ගෝලීය මනෝභාවය අර්බුදයට පත්ව තිබේ. ලංකාව දූපතක් බැවින් වසංගත තත්වයන් නිරතුරු පැතිරෙන්නේ සාංක්‍රමණිකයන්ගෙනි. මේ නිසා ගුවන් තොටුපළ වසා දැමීමට සිදු විය. විදෙස් වලින් පැමිණි සියලු දෙන නිරෝධානයකට ලක් කෙරිණ.හැත්තෑව දශකයේ සිට වර්ධනය වූ වෙළෙඳ පළ ආර්ථික ක්‍රමය මේතත්වය තුල බිඳ වැටෙමින් පවතී. නිවාස අඩස්සියට පත් ජනතාව තමන්ගේ කුටුම්භය අවට පරිසරය ගැන නැවත හිතන්නට පටන් ගෙන ඇත. ගෙවතු වගා පෙරළියකට මං පෙත් විවර වී තිබේ.එහෙත් තාප්ප වලින් වටවූ පර්චර්ස් දහයකට පහකට සීමා වූ නාගරිකයන් සුසුම් හෙළමින් මානසික පීඩනයන්ට ලක්ව සිටිති.මෙයට හේතුව විවෘත ආර්ථික සංකල්ප තුළ පහළ වූ නූතන ජනාවාසකරණයයි.1914 දී පමණ බ්‍රතාන්‍යයෙන් බිහිවූ නූතින නගර සැලසුම් සංකල්ප ලංකාවට ආදේශ වන්නට වැඩි කලක් ගත වූයේ නැත. 1947 දී නගර හා ග්‍රාම නිර්මාණ සැලසුම් පණත බලාත්මක වීමෙන් පසු බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය වාස්තු ශිල්පීන් අනුගමනය කළ පුද්ගලයන් ලංකාවෙන් ද බිහි විය. අනුරාධපුර නව නගරය බිහිවන්නේ ඒ මග ගිය ඔලිවර් වීරසිංහල නම් මහත්මයෙකුගේ සංකල්පයකට අනුවයි. එහි ඇත්තේ අපේ ඉපැරණී  ක්‍රම වේදයන් නොවේ.

          සිංහලෙයෝ ගම් ගොඩ නගා නගර බිහිකරන්නට සැලසුම් කර ඇත්තේ විජයාගමනයටත් පෙර  පැවති ශිෂ්ඨාචාරය තුළ දී බව පුරා විද්‍යා සාධක මගින් ඔප්පු වී ඇත. පණ්ඩුකාභය රජ දවසදී මෙලෙස නැන් වී තිබූ ගම් එක් කර විධිමත් සැලසුමකින් රාජ්‍ය ගොඩ නැන් වූ බව කියැවෙයි.අනුරාධපුර නගරය සැලසුම් කිරීමේදී අනුගමනය කළ වාස්තු සැලසුම් සැබවින්ම ඉතා නවීන නගර සැලසුම් පරදවයි. විසිඑක් වන සියවසේ ( බුද්ධ වර්ෂයෙන් නම් විසිහය වන සියවසේ ) අද දවස වන විට ලෝකයේ ජනගහන ව්‍යාප්තිය අනුව නගර මෙන්ම ජනාවාස සැලසුම්කරණයට ඇත්තේ සීමිත භුමි ප්‍රමාණයකි.ලංකාවේ ජන ඝනත්වය තුළ නිවාස පිහිටා තිබෙන ආකාරය ගැන කල්පනා කර බැලුවහොත් බස්නාහිර කලාපයේ ඉතිරිව පවතින්නේ ඉතා කුඩා භුමි භාගයන්ය. ඒ අතර අධිනගර වැනි නවීන සංකල්ප මගින් ලංකා භූමියෙට යෝග්‍ය නොවන  යෝජනා ඉදිරිපත් වෙමින් ඇත. වරාය අසල මුහුද ගොඩකර වරාය නගර සැදෙමින් ඇත. ගම්බද ජනාවාස සඳහාද රජයට නිශ්චිත ප්‍රතිපත්තියක් නොමැත.

      පසුගිය කාලයේ ගං වතුරවෙන් හෝ නාය යෑම් නිසා අවතැන් වූ ජනතාව සඳහා නිවාස ලබා දීමේ අරමුණින් කට්ටි කඩන ලද භූමි ප්‍රමාණයන් විශාලය.ඒ හැම ඉඩම් කට්ටියක්ම පර්චර්ස් දොළහේ කොටස් වේ. රජයේ වතු හෝ පුද්ගලික වතු වල ඉඩම් මේ සඳහා වෙන්කරගෙන ඇත. මෙම ජනාවාස සැලසුම් කර ඇත්තේ ප්‍රා දේශීය ලේකම් මිනුම්දෝරු අධිකාරිය සහ දේශපාලන අධිකාරියේ මැදහත් වීමෙනි. මෙම ජනාවාස සැලසුම් දෙස විශ්ලේශණාත්මක බලන කල්හි එම සැලසුම් සැබවින්ම වර්තමානයට නොගැලපෙන යල් පැන ගිය සැලසුම් බවට හෙළි වෙයි.

       1973 නිකුත් වූ ඉඩම් කොමසාරිස් ගේ පාලන වාර්තාවේ ඉඩම් ජනාවාසකරණය ගැන මෙලෙස දක්වා තිබේ.භෞතික සැලසුම් කිරීමේ ක්‍රමයද වගාවට හා නිවාස සදහා ඉඩම් කට්ටිවලට මුහුණලමින් මාර්ග අද්දර නිවාස පිහිටි හා සැතපුම් එකක් හෝ දෙකක වට ප්‍රමාණක් සහිත ගොවිපළවල් වලින් යුක්ත රේඛීය ක්‍රමය එකකි. මේ ක්‍රමය තීරු සංවර්ධනය නමින් ප්‍රසිද්ධය. මේ ක්‍රමයෙහි එක් අවාසියක් නම් ප්‍රජා සංවර්ධනයට එය හිතකර නොවීමයි. ජනපදිකයන් අතර පවතින සමාජ සම්බන්ධය අඩුවේ. නිවාස තැනින් තැන විසිරී පවත්නා හොයින් විදුලි බලය ජල පහුසුකම් හා අනෙක් වානිජ පහසුකම් සැපයීම් ඉතා වියදම් සහිතයයි ඔවුන් පවසති. අනෙක් ක්‍රමය වන්නේ නිවාස එක ළඟ පිහිටි ඒකරාශී ජනාවාස ක්‍රමයයි.

           සැබවින්ම යුරෝපීයන් අනුදත් මෙම ඒකරාශී ජනාවාස ක්‍රමය දැන් අප දශක ගණනාවක් තිස්සේ අත්හදා බලා තිබේ. කවුඩුල්ල පොළාන්නරුව සේම මහවැලි ජනාවාස පිහිටුවීමේ දීද මේ ක්‍රමයන් දෙකම අඩු වැඩි වශයෙන් යොදා ගෙන තිබේ. මේ ජනපදිකයන් ගේ වර්තමාන ජීවන රටාව දෙස බලන කල්හි ඔවුහු එකිනෙකා ගෙන් වෙන්වූ පෞද්ගලිකත්වයට මුල් තැන් දෙන පිරිසක් ලෙසට පත් වී තිබෙන බව පෙනේ. ඔවුන් ගේ කුඹුරු ඉඩම් පිහිටා තිබෙන්නේ කි.මී. දෙක තුනක් ඈතින්ය. මේ ගොවිපළවල් වලට යෑමට ඊමට තිබෙන පහසුකම් අවමය. ඒවා දියුණු කරන්නටද නොහැකිය. පාරවල් තාර දැමීමෙන් ප්‍රශ්ණ විසඳී නැත. සිදු වු ඇති එකම දේ ගොවීන් විශේෂයෙන් තරුණයන් ගොවිතැන අත්හැරීමයි.වීදි දෙපස ගෙවල් සෑදිම මේ නවීන ජනාවාස රටාවේ ක්‍රමයයි. ගොවිපල හෝ වැව ප්‍රධාන නොවුණු මහපාර ප්‍රධාන වන මේ ක්‍රමය තුළ මුල් උදුරා  ඉවත් කරන ලද පිරිසක් රටට බිහිකර තිබේ. මෑතකදී උතුරේ අවතැන් ජනතාව පදිංචි කරවීමේදීද අනුගමනය කර ඇත්තේ මෙවැනි ක්‍රමයකි. උතුරේ අවතැන් සිංහල ජනතාව පදිංචි කරවීමේ දී හමුදාව විසින් අනුගමනය කර ඇත්තේද ඒකරාශී හෙවත් පොකුරු ගම්මාන ක්‍රමයයි. විශේෂ පරිශ්‍රමයකින් මහපාර තනවා තාර දමා විදුලිය අරන් දීමෙන් පසු. පාර දෙපස තීරු වෙන් කොට පදිංචි කරවීම නිසා අද මේ ප්‍ර දේශ වල සුවිසල් ප්‍රශ්ණ ඇති වී තිබේ. ප්‍රධාන ප්‍රශ්ණය නම් පානීය ජලය නොමැති යි. දෙවැන්න ගොවිපළක ආශ්‍රය නොලැබීමයි.ගොවිපළකට යෑමට අලි ගැවසෙන භූමි ප්‍ර දේශ පසුකරමින් කී.මී. දෙක තුන යෑම් ඊම් කල යුතුය. මේවා නාගරික ජනාවාස ලෙසට වැඩෙන්නට ඉඩ හැර තිබේ. ගම් වල බහුතරයක් දුප්පතකම නිසා උදේ රැයින් පිටවී කුලී වැඩට යති. ගැහැණුන් ගාමන්ට් වල රැකියා සඳහා යති.මේ ගම්වල තිබූ පැරණි වැව් කපා හෙළමින් පාරවල් දැමීමද සිදු වේ ගමත් වැවත් පන්සලත් අතර තිබෙන සම්බන්ධය බිඳි වැටීමට මෙම ජනාවාස කරණය බෙහෙවින් බලපා තිබේ.

    සිංහලයන් ගේ පැරණි ගම වනාහි වැවක් කඳුරක්  උල්පතක් අශ්‍රිතව බිහි වූවකි. වැව් ගම්මානයක් නම් ගම්මැද්දේ නිවාස ඝණය පිහිටා තිබුණි. වැව  යටතේ පෝෂණය වූ කෙත් බිම් අසලම විය.හේන පිල්ලෑව තිස්බඹේ සහ ඔබ්බෙන් වූ වනය නිසා ආහාර සුරක්ෂිතතාවය මැනවින් අත්දැකිය හැකි විය. වැව් ගම් ස්වයංපෝෂිතය. අටු කොටු පිරී පැවතුණි. ගම්මුන් වැවෙන් වතුර පානය කළහ ස්නානය කළහ ගවාදි සතුන් පවා නෑවූහ. වැවෙන් නිකුත් කළ ජලය කුඹුරු කරවන්නට යෙදුණි. වැව පාමුළ සිසිල් දියෙන් පිරි ළිඳක් ද ඇතැම් විට විය . වැවේ සාමූහික ක්‍රියාවලිය නිසා ගැමියන් ගේ භූමිපුත්‍ර අයිතිය තහවුරු විය. කඳුකර ගම්මානයන්ද එසේ වුවද එහි භූමි පිහිටීම් මත නිවාස ඉඳි කිරීමේ කලාව වෙනස් ලෙස දකින්නට හැකිය..පුරාණ යක්ෂ වංශික ගම්මානයන් බොහොමයක් කඳුකරව වර්ධනය වූ බව පුරා විද්‍යාත්මක සාධක වලින් තහවුරු වෙයි.

    වසංගත තත්වය මත ගෝලීය සමීපබව වෙනස් වී තිබේ. ලෝක ආර්ථිකයක් මගින් පාලනය වීමද අර්බුදයට පත් වෙමින් පවතී. ලංකා රජය මේ සම්බන්ධව නිශ්චිත අදහසක් නොමැතිව වල්මත් වී සිටී.අඳුරු නීතිය නිසා අර්බුදයට ලක් වූ ආර්ථිකය දේශීයත්වයට නැඹුරුවන ආකාරයට ගොඩ නගන්නට දරනා උත්සාහයක පෙර නිමිත්තක් පවා නැත.නාගරික ජනාවාස මෙගා නගර වෙනුවට සුන්දර ගැමි වට පිටාවකින් යුත් තදබදයෙන් තොර ගම්මාන සෑදීම දිරි දීම කළ යුතු බව මේ විපතෙන් අප ලත් පාඩමයි. මහල් නිවාස වුවද උද්‍යනයක් පොදු ගෙවත්තක් සිහිතව සැලසුම් කරලීමට අපට බල කරයි.විහාර මහා දේවී උද්‍යානය යනු එම සංකල්පය නොවේ.එය ජනාවාස රටාවෙන් වියුක්ත ය.ආහාර ලොරි නිවෙස් අසලට පැමිණෙන තෙක් බලා සිටින අතමිටේ මුදල් නොමැතිව ලතවෙන ජනමනස වෙනස් කරන්නට මේ කාලය බව මෙරට ජනතාව ට හැඟෙන්නේ නම් බෙහෙවින් සතුටට පත් විය යුතුය..

‍ මතුගම සෙනෙවිරුවන්

ඒ. ජේ. එම්. මුසම්මිල් වයඹ පළාත් ආණ්ඩුකාරවර

මේ වසරේ අප්‍රේල් මස 12 සහ 13 දෙදින වෙන්ව තිබෙන්නේ සිංහල සහ දමිළ අලුත් අවුරුද්ද නිමිත්තෙන්ය . ශ්‍රී ලංකාවාසි සිංහල සහ දමිළ ජනතාව මෙය සළකනු ලබන්නේ තමන්ගේ ප්‍රධානම ජාතික උත්සවයක් ලෙසය . බක්මහට යෙදී ඇති සිංහල දමිළ අලුත් අවුරුද්ද මුළු රටම නැවුම් අසිරියකින් පුරවාලන බතින් බුලතින් ගහ කොළෙන් මුළු රටම සශ්‍රීක වන අපූරු කාල සීමාවකි . මේ අවුරුදු උත්සව කාලය මෙරට ජාතීන් අතර මෙන්ම පවුල් අතරද මිත්‍රත්වය සාමය සහයෝගය වර්ධනය කිරීමටද මනාව ඉවහල් වන කාලයකි .

මේ ආකාරයට මුළු මහත් රටම අපූරු සහෝදරත්වයකින් පුබුදුවාලන මෙවර බක් මාසය අතීතයේ පටන් පැවත ආ චාරිත්‍ර වාරිත්‍ර පෙරටු කරගනිමින් සතුටින් සුන්දරත්වයක් ගත කිරීමට සැමරීමට ලක්වැසි අප ඔබ සැමට අවස්ථාවක් උදාකරදී නැති බව අප සැවෝම ඉතා පැහැදිලිවම දන්නා කරුණකි . ඊට හේතුව කොවිඩ් – 19 නමැති මාරාන්තික වසංගතය අප රට පමණක් නොව සමස්ත ලොවම ඉතා භයානක ලෙස ⁣වසාගෙන තිබීමය . සමස්ත ලොවේ රටවල් රැසක්ම මෙන්ම අප රටද මේ මාරාන්තික වසංගතයේ ගොදුරක් වී ඇති අවස්ථාවක සැම රාජ්‍යයකම අරමුණ තම රටත් රට වැසියනුත් මේ වසංගතයෙන්  ගලවා ගැනීමය . සෑම රටක්ම එ් සඳහා ජනතාවට ලබාදෙන ප්‍රධානම සෞඛ්‍යාරක්ෂිත උපදෙස වන්නේ තම නිවසටමවී කාලය ගත කරන ලෙසය . ඒ උපදේසය අනුව යමිනුත් අප රජය විසින් ක්‍රියාත්මක විවිධ ක්‍රමවේදත් හමුවේ මෙම වසංගත⁣ තත්ත්වය යම් තරමකට පාලනය කරමින් ජනතාවගේ ජීවිත රැක දෙමින් ජාත්‍යන්තරයට ආදර්ශයක් ලබා දීමට අප රට සමත්ව සිටීමද සතුටට කරුණකි .

ඒ අනුව යමින් අකැමැත්තෙන් වුවද මෙවර සිංහල හා දමිළ අලුත් අවුරුද්ද තම නිවෙස් වලින් බැහැරව නොයමින් තම පවුලේ සාමාජිකයින් සමග එක්ව සමරන ලෙසට රජය උපදෙස් ලබාදී ඇත . ජීවිතයේ පළමු වතාවට එය අසීරු කරුණක් වුවද රටත් ජාතියත් තම ජීවිතත් මේ මහා ව්‍යසනයෙන් ගලවා ගැනීම සඳහා ඔබ එම කැපවීම කරනු ඇතැයි මා විශ්වාස කරමි . මේ ව්‍යසනයෙන් අපේ මවුබිම ජයග්‍රහණය කළහොත් එදිනට ජාති ආගම් බේද වලින් තොරව එම ජයග්‍රහණය බක්මහ අවුරුදු උත්සවයක් ලෙස සැමරීමට ඔබට සහ මට අවස්ථාවක් උදාවනු ඇත .

එළඹෙන සිංහල සහ දමිළ අලුත් අවුරුද්ද ඔබ සැමට වාසනාවන්ත නීරෝගිමත් අවුරුද්දක්ම වේවායි මා ඉත සිතින් පතමි !

ඒ. ජේ. එම්. මුසම්මිල්
වයඹ පළාත් ආණ්ඩුකාරවර

By : A.A.M.NIZAM – MATARA.

Mr. Mass L Usuf, who is well versed in Islamic jurisprudence in an article titled Understanding the question of Cremation and Burial” written to Colombo Telegraph has said that almost everyone, some way or the other, is bounded by religion and religious traditions, the disposal of a dead body is also bound by religious significance since the deceased has departed from his/her earthly sojourn. Beliefs, traditions, rituals, and practices dictate as to how the dead has to be laid to rest. The ancient Zoroastrians believed that the burial or cremation of the corpse would pollute water and soil which was forbidden in their religion. Therefore, in India, a Parsi’s dead body is placed in a built-up place called a ‘Dakhma’ known as the Tower of Silence. Here birds of prey like vultures would devour it. This 3,000-year-old ritual is called ‘sky burial’, and the Tibetan Buddhists also practice Sky burials in their traditional methods of body disposals. It is their belief that such disposal illustrates the impermanence (anicca) of life.

In Islam, he says, the religious instruction is to bury the dead and cremation is forbidden. It is unimaginable for a Muslim to allow his/her loved one to be cremated. This religious sentiment has to be recognised with humanity and mutual respect. It is not something new that is demanded but has been in practise for thousands of years as is in all religious traditions.

It must be emphasised that this prohibition in Islam is flexible. Islamic jurisprudence has provision for cremation if that is what is medically required for the common good of all the living beings – maṣlaḥah (public interest). Rationally, in addressing this topic, specific to burial, what needs to be looked at is the medical viewpoint.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the incubation period for the novel coronavirus is estimated at 5 to 6 days, ranging from 0 to 14 days. When compared with the Ebola virus, the incubation period, or the time interval from infection to onset of symptoms, is from 2 to 21 days. Comparatively, Ebola virus is a high-risk contagion identified as a fatal disease. 

Mortality Rates: The death rate for Ebola virus disease (formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever) can go up to 90%. The mortality rate of the new coronavirus is around 1% according to the UK’s chief medical officer, Chris Whitty. The World Health Organization’s director-general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, talked of 3.4%.

Infection After Death: Levels of Ebola virus remain high after death, thus bodies of those who have died from the Ebola virus disease must be handled only by people wearing appropriate personal protective equipment and must be buried immediately. WHO advises that bodies of people who may have died from Ebola virus disease should be handled only by trained burial teams, who are equipped to properly bury the dead, safely and with dignity.

In contrast, the after-death infection in COVID-19 is explained very clearly by the Royal College of Pathologists, the U.K as follows with regard to the risk to Mortuary staff, it is greater from visitors than the deceased from the COVID-19.”

Ebola virus can persist in used needles, syringes or vials for several weeks. The virus can persist in the body fluids of survivors for many months and can be transmitted well after recovery, or in rare cases can result in relapse – as we have already seen during the outbreak. Despite the high-risk levels of the Ebola virus disease 26,000 safe and dignified BURIALS had been conducted as per the remarks by Dr. Ibrahima Socé Fall (World Health Organization Assistant Director-General, Emergency Response, 6 March 2020 Statement).

From a medical science point of view burial of a COVID-19 corpse has been accepted.

The protocols for BURIAL of the deceased of the COVID-19 are already in place in several countries.

Australia issuing a statement on the handling of bodies by funeral directors has said that Funeral directors and mortuary personnel are unlikely to contract COVID-19 from deceased persons infected with the virus, however, precautionary strategies should be used to minimise public health risks and to prevent the spread of disease.

In Nevada, U.S.A  the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that decedents with COVID-19 may be BURIED or cremated according to the family’s preferences. The state of Nevada specifically clarified and said: Decedents with COVID-19 can be buried or cremated.”

Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) issued strict orders on how to prepare COVID-19 bodies for BURIAL. (THESTAR, 24.03.2020).

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in India issued guidelines for its citizens with regard to protocols to be followed in the case of BURIALS.

The National Burial Council of the United Kingdom has been working with Public Health England to best plan for facilitating the BURIAL of Muslims who pass away from COVID-19.  In answer to the question, What is the UK Government position on enforced cremation?”, the following was the reply.

On 23 March, the UK Government has confirmed that the emergency legislation to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic will now recognise the importance of ensuring faith communities are able to bury the deceased instead of cremating in the event of significant deaths due to Coronavirus. The legislation has now made clear that enforced cremation against the wishes of the individual, will not take place when there are burial facilities available.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) Technical Report states that decedents with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 can be BURIED or cremated as usual. (Stockholm: ECDC; 2020).

An examination of these precedents will help us to formulate our local policy in this regard. It is very clear that there is no danger to the public in burying the dead from Covid-19. Of course, the final wish of the deceased and/or the family members have to be respected. Anyone who wishes to be cremated, such a wish has to be carried out. In any event, a Muslim’s wish will always be a burial. Those who died of the Ebola virus disease had been buried even though it was a more infectious virus. In comparison, there should not be an issue in burying the decedents of the Covid-19 virus. However, it is extremely important that guidelines for handling covid-19 bodies are strictly followed.

Meanwhile, Shiranthi Ranasinghe in an article written to News in, Asia website on Cremation over burial states that controversy over the cremation of Muslims began with a message posted on Facebook by Leader of the Muslim Congress MP Rauf Hakeem. Whether his post initiated the controversy or whether he simply articulated some discontent from within the Muslim community is difficult to say.

However, at the All Party Conference, he did not want to bring this issue before the assembly and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa then pointed out that there is nothing to hide and it is best to discuss this matter openly as all political leaders and officials responsible for decision making were present.

The article says that after much insistence from the Premier,  Hakeem noted his concerns as,

– According to the earlier guidelines issued by the Director-General of Health Services Dr. Anil Jasinghe, burial or cremation was permissible

– This is in line with the guidelines issued by the WHO as well

– WHO has clearly stated that the possibility of the COVID-19 spreading from a corpse is a myth.

Dr. Jasinghe, who was also present at this conference, then explained the reasons for the officials to eventually choose cremation as the best and most effective means to dispose of bodies of COVID-19 positive patients as,

– The WHO guidelines are only a general guideline. It has not taken into consideration the topography and other factors that are unique to each country.

– In Sri Lanka, the water table is high, which is the main issue in this matter.

– In addition, our soil is very porous and the composition itself is very absorbent. This might pose a danger of becoming a medium for the virus to spread.

– The topography in Sri Lanka changes within kilometers. This makes it difficult to separate areas with a clear demarcation line. Therefore, it is not possible to accommodate these variations when formulating a standard.

– It is the people that need to be taken into consideration. Then, differentiate people according to ethnic groups is not possible.

– When death occurs, the priority is to dispose of the body as quickly as possible. Thus it needs to be disposed at the closest possible location.

It must be also noted that,

However, according to the mathematical modeling done by the Medical Faculty of Colombo University, the number of infected can reach as high as 1,400.

Dr. Jasinghe assures that the free health service in Sri Lanka is getting ready to meet this challenge.

In the meantime, the Government Medical Officers Association has warned that if this number exceeds 2,500, our systems will fail and it is impossible at this stage to predict whether the numbers would reach 1,400 or exceed 2,500.

This virus is reported to be spreading exponentially. We do not have any immunity against it. Therefore, we must physically stop it from spreading.

Unlike in a war, where the outcome is dependent largely on the combatants, in this crisis, the outcome lies with each and every individual citizen. This means that we are dealing with a situation with a large number of variables.

For example, the third Sri Lankan patient to die of this virus has compromised at least 326 people through simple association. Thus it is clear that one person’s irresponsible act(s) can unravel even the best-laid plans. Hence, we must prepare for the possibility of dealing with a large number of deaths, as is the reality in many other countries.

As WHO notes, we still know very little about this virus. According to the findings so far, it is believed that while heat kills it, dampness helps it to thrive. What does this mean in an untreated body filling with fluids remains to be seen? Certain scientists claim that the virus can survive in the refrigerator for up to 28 days. This of course perhaps needs to be verified further by other scientific sources as well.

Even though this body is in a sealed body bag and in a sealed coffin, it is not possible for us to guarantee the outcome in 100 or more years. One may dismiss this as far fetched or an exaggerated worry. At the same time, let us not dismiss offhand accounts of scientists and excavators dying suddenly due to unknown causes after days of opening ancient tombs and coffins. It is easy enough to blame a mysterious curse, when in fact it might have been a virus as deadly as COVID-19. The last thing we would want is for this highly infectious, deathly virus to revisit our world – even 100 or 1,000 years later.

Taking all these factors on board, it is obvious to the logical mind that the best option is to destroy this virus completely. Yet, instead of reporting on Sri Lanka’s success or even mentioning it, certain international media channels have erroneously reported that the Government,

– Held hostage by extreme hardline Buddhist monks

– Had forcibly cremated the bodies of the Muslim patients

– To hurt the feelings of the Muslims.

Very mischievously, these journalists have completely omitted that the final rites of the other patients, who were not Muslim, were also not allowed. It must be noted that the Catholic to bury their dead. Buddhists also sometimes opt for burial than cremation.

This raises the question, whether these journalists who wrote these very erroneous and utterly irresponsible articles were truly ignorant that,

– Buddhists and a Catholic were also among the dead;

– Final rites of all were not performed;

– The disposal of the bodies was not in line with any cultural values or religious practices.

The bodies of the patients who were Buddhists were not treated any differently from those of other faiths.

Interestingly, though these articles appear on different channels, the same errors are seen to eclipse in most reports. Perhaps these journalists were too lazy to do their own homework. They may have copied each other’s work and instead of verifying, modified it enough to pass it off as their own work. It is also possible that these journalists might have been sponsored to write such tribal-minded, incendiary articles. Either way, the result is the same. Their unprofessionalism compromises the integrity of the media.

A fine example of attempting to use the current situation to espouse anti-Muslim sentiments in the Sinhala community was made by the notorious Pakiasothy Sarawanamuttu, who sustain two websites with foreign funds – The Ground Views and Vikalpa.org – mainly devoted to bloat the UNP, the terrorist diaspora, and the TNA scoundrels and heads an anti-Sri Lankan outfit called The Centre for Policy Alternatives. I think for the first time this Judas has got hold of some hitherto unheard so-called magnanimous Muslim ladies to write a joint article against the government’s disposal of the bodies of  Corona infected bodies.   

They say that it is with heavy hearts that they have listened to and observed the debates on whether or not burials should be permitted for Muslims who succumb to COVID-19 in Sri Lanka and parts of Muslim communities in Sri Lanka believe that the government acted unfairly in hastily cremating the remains of two Muslim victims of COVID-19, that the will and wishes of families of the deceased were not considered, and that there was no explanation of why WHO guidelines that allow for burials with strict conditions could not be followed.

Continuing, they say that grieving the dead and funeral rites are important to all people, regardless of religious affiliations and the rituals that each of adopts whether traditional or not, whether informed by religion or not, is based on a deep desire to secure dignity and peace for our deceased loved ones and the rituals also provide a degree of control over how we grieve and give us a meaningful way of honouring our loved ones as they pass from this world.

In epitomizing Pakysothy’s vicious racist and communal jargon these ladies state that Muslims are equal citizens of Sri Lanka and this equality transcends every aspect of their lives and ensuring this equality places responsibilities on the state, as well as the respective Muslim communities. Repeating the hollow remarks that had been made by Pakyasothy many times, they say the state has the responsibility of giving due consideration and respect to the views and beliefs of its citizens, and in today’s context to also set an example of respectful, non-xenophobic, non-discriminatory conduct and use language that does not place blame or incite ill will. The government and media must ensure the privacy of those in quarantine, patients, and the deceased and their loved ones. The strict protocols relating to COVID-19 deaths can be implemented with the utmost dignity and respect for human beings who have passed away. It is both an individual and a collective right to dignity.

The is a typical example that the abhorrent friction that was attempted to create by Hakeem and Mujibur Rehan is now being used by miscreants like Pakiasothy and it will not be a surprise if despicable pettifogger fellows like Sajith Premadasa’s mentor Victor Ivan (1971 JVP’s bomb manufacturing Guru) Sambandan, Sumanthiran and even JVP’s newfound ideologue Kumar David ventured in the forthcoming days to politicize the situation. 

It should be noted that the WHO has issued several directives against employing racial discrimination and prejudice related to Convid-19 matters and the Sri Lankan government has issued a new gazette notification on 12^th April as well in addition to the previous gazette providing guidelines on the burial of COVID-19 dead bodies.

Sunil Wimalawansa

The importance of social distancing, personal hygiene, and governmental actions needed to control the current pandemic of COVID-19.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgcTivH1nGwymgX_cb0V4Mg

Embassy of Sri Lanka Washington D.C.

 The Government of Sri Lanka has introduced a new bank account termed Special Deposit Account (SDA) for all Sri Lankans living in and outside the country to remit their foreign currency earnings, savings and investments to any bank of their choice in Sri Lanka. It is in the form of Term Deposits either in any designated foreign currency or in Sri Lanka Rupees.
 
Any Sri Lankan individual resident in or outside Sri Lanka as well as dual citizens, citizens of other States with Sri Lankan origin, non-nationals residents in or outside Sri Lanka, Funds, corporate bodies, associations incorporated/registered outside Sri Lanka and any other well-wishers can open Special Deposit Accounts at any Sri Lankan bank of their preference.
 
While there is no prescribed minimum amount to be deposited, the minimum period of maturity is six (06) months. Higher interest rates than the normal rates offered to foreign currency deposits will be offered at maturity. Accordingly, 1 percent and 2 percent points per annum for SDA with a tenure of 6 months and 12 months respectively will be paid. Funds are freely convertible and repatriable outside Sri Lanka on maturity.
 
Please see the following two attachments containing information on SDA:
 
1.      Press Release issued by the President’s Media Division on 11^th April 2020.
2.      Relevant Government Notifications
 
The Sri Lankan Embassy in Washington D.C. invites fellow Sri Lankans living in the United States of America and other foreign nationals to invest in SDAs, while expressing their solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka, during this challenging environment.
  
For inquiries, please contact:
 

1. Mr. Sarath Dissanayake       
    Deputy Chief of Mission                                                    
    Mobile: 202 816 9666                                                      
    Email:dcm@slembassyusa.org
 
2. Mr. Niranga Palipana           
    Second Secretary                                                    
    Mobile: 202 579 4729                                                      
    Email: niranga@slembassyusa.org
 
3. Mrs. Aruni Warnakula         
    Accounts Officer                                            
    Mobile: 202 288 8546                                            
    Email: accounts@slembassyusa.org

Embassy of Sri Lanka
Washington D.C.

By P.K. Balachandran courtesy Ceylon Today

The US now accounts for a third of the “active” COVID-19 cases in the world. According to the latest figures put out by the WHO, there were 1,101,497 active cases in the world as a whole on Thursday April 9. Out of this, 397,472 were in the US. In contrast, China had only 1,160 active cases.

Of the 88,565 deaths due to COVID-19 in the world as a whole, the US accounted for 14,797 and China 3,335. The US stood at the top of the pile in terms of active and critical cases, though in terms of the number of deaths, the toll was more in Spain and Italy.

Experts say that while the US is rich and has a sophisticated health infrastructure, its healthcare facilities are expensive and out of reach for millions. It is not State-backed to the extent it is in the UK. When Barack Obama was President, he introduced the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)” in 2010, which came to be known as “Obamacare”.

Obamacare based on the insurance system

But Obamacare is still based on the insurance system, unlike the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK, which is entirely free and available to all irrespective of class. No wonder, the US was topping the list in coronavirus infection on April 9, while the UK was eighth.

According to available literature on the subject, Obamacare mandated that everyone buy insurance. As a result, healthier young people paid premiums even though they didn’t use their insurance as much as older people did. That offset insurance companies’ cost of insuring even the most sick.

The ACA prevented companies from excluding anyone. As a result, everyone could afford to see a doctor before their symptoms turned into a crisis. Prior to the ACA, the uninsured used expensive hospital emergency rooms as their primary care provider.

Obamacare expanded subsidies for middle-income families. That allowed more people to afford better insurance packages. Prior to the ACA, only families with corporate-sponsored insurance could afford comprehensive plans.

Obamacare tax increase resented

To pay for the subsidies, Obamacare increased taxes on health care providers and high-income earners. People making US$ 200,000 a year (US $250,000 for married couples) paid higher income and investment taxes. To enforce the mandate, a tax penalty was levied on those without insurance. The US Congress repealed the tax penalty with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. It went into effect in 2019.

But the increased tax burden generated opposition from conservatives. This led President Donald Trump to declare that he will repeal Obamacare. However, it is still there benefiting about 4.1 million people.

UK’s NHS  

The NHS of the UK is completely state-funded and is comprehensive. It is also cheaper than Obamacare. The NHS spends much less per person than the American health-care system does, yet it achieves better outcomes, according to the Commonwealth Fund  which monitors health management in select Western countries.

The Netherlands’ system is not based on a single-payer of the bill (unlike the NHS). But like the NHS, it also achieves near-universal coverage through close government regulation. The US system is also too expensive by European standards. Despite Obamacare, which made health insurance somewhat affordable, insurance is still expensive as per European standards. No wonder 26 million Americans did not have health insurance as recently as in 2016.  

The US doesn’t invest in social services. Things like home visiting, better housing, and subsidised healthy food which could improve chronic disease outcomes don’t exist there. It is because of all these factors that life expectancy has been going down in the US as compared to the 1960s.

Choosing guns over butter  

The US spends more on weapons of war than public health. It downsizes budgets of health institutions for the sake of spending more on weapons programs, says  Gregory D. Koblentz and Michael Hunzeker of George Mason University who are experts in biological threats to National Security.  

They wrote in The Atlantic that the US Establishment has been consistently ignoring threats from viruses and has been spending heavily on weapon systems.  

The American Establishment had forgotten that viruses could kill more Americans than weapons in war. The 1918 Spanish flu pandemic killed at least 40 million people and among the dead were 195,000 Americans.

Koblentz and Hunzeker point out that the Trump administration was not interested in fighting threats from viruses. “It raided the Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s budget for working with other countries on biosecurity threats to pay for more research on hypersonic missiles. 

The National Nuclear Security Administration saw its budget increased by 20 percent to pay for new nuclear weapons, even as the administration slashed the budget for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by 15 percent,” they say.

The entire 2019 federal budget for all health security-related programs was about US$ 13.6 billion. In contrast, the Trump administration has requested almost US$ 46 billion in funding for nuclear weapons programs in its 2021 budget proposal, the authors point out.

Koblentz and Hunzeker quote Nobel laureate Joshua Lederberg who said that the single biggest threat to humanity’s continued dominance on this planet is the virus. Biomedical research, public health preparedness, and international cooperation are the keys to global health security, the laureate said.

But what President Trump is doing is just the opposite. He is going to cut funding for WHO because it allegedly prevented him from clamping a ban on travel when the COVID-19 threat was spotted on the horizon. He charged that WHO was working behind the scenes for China.

If indeed US funding for WHO ceases, the only world organisation working for disease control and health across the globe will go kaput.

Courtesy Adaderana

Seven more persons have tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) today bringing the country’s infections tally to 210, says the Ministry of Health.

All the coronavirus cases confirmed today were found among the persons who were put under mandatory quarantine for having close contacts with the previously identified COVID-19 patients.

According to the Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry, 147 coronavirus patients are currently under medical care.

Out of the total number of confirmed cases in Sri Lanka, 56 patients have recovered completely while 7 persons succumbed to the virus.

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lanka has amended a law to make cremation compulsory for those dying from the novel coronavirus to prevent any potential threat.

The Quarantine and Prevention of Diseases Ordinance (Chapter 222) has been amended by a gazette issued by Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi, the government said.

Wanniarachchi said that the body shall be burned at a temperature between 800 to 1200 degrees Celsius for a minimum period of 45 minutes to one hour.

She said that the cremation should take place at a cemetery or a place approved by the authorities.

The amended law prevents bodies from being handed over to anyone other than to persons who undertake the necessary duties of cremation”.

The attire and non-reusable personal protective equipment used by persons who handle the corpse shall also be destroyed during cremation.

Extraordinary Gazette on Cremation of COVID-19 Victims by Ada Derana on Scribd

Courtesy Adaderana

A decline in the coronavirus infections in the country is expected in the coming days, said Director General of Health Services Dr. Anil Jasinghe.

The patients identified are all linked to one patient; therefore, there is no difficulty in identifying the spread of the infection, Dr. Jasinghe said.

Obtaining samples from high-risk sites for infection have been increased in order to curtail the spread of the virus, he added.

Jasinghe further said that the results of the tests carried out yesterday could be expected today.

Meanwhile, a total of 208 samples have been collected from Punani quarantine camp alone and that is the highest number of samples obtained from a single site, he said.

However, cases of infection are still reported and this should be brought down to naught, Jasinghe pointed out.

Army Commander Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing was carried out at quarantine centers even today (12).

Harsha

https://www.facebook.com/harsha.perera.5661/videos/10156634654887531