Courtesy Adaderana

Courtesy Adaderana

Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa says that one can work to develop the country even while in opposition.

The Leader of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) expressed these views attending an event held today (30) to hand over medical equipment to the Wethara District Hospital in Polgasowita.

He says that other parties try to serve after obtaining power. However, SJB has realized that a certain amount of work can be done even while in the opposition, he added.

Strengthening the country should not be limited to the funds from the government, Premadasa said.

If politicians are able and have a desire to, they do not need to wait for governing powers to serve the people. We, too, can serve through certain programs”, he points out.

Courtesy Hiru News

The Ministry of Health states that the number of coronavirus infections in the country has increased to 3,012.

This was with the identification of 02 new patients. 

The number of corona patients discharged from hospitals after complete recovery is 2860

Earlier 10 more persons confirmed for Covid -19: SL Country total increases to 3,010

10 more arrivals from the UAE tested positive for COVID- 19, increasing total infected in Sri Lanka to 3,010

Courtesy Hiru News

A team of officers from the Geological Survey of Sri Lanka visited the Kandy area today to inquire into the unusual tremors that are reported to have occurred in several areas.

The tremors have been felt in Kandy, Anuragama, Haragama, Gurudeniya, Thalathuoya and several other areas last night.

The tremors were recorded at the Pallekele Seismic Station.

Sajjana de Silva, Director General of the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau told our news team that the tremors could not be termed as an earthquake.

However, officials from the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau today launched an investigation based on data and information obtained.

A special discussion will be held tomorrow with the officials of the Disaster Management Center.

Courtesy Hiru News

The Minister of Power and Energy Dullas Alahapperuma states that the report of the committee appointed to investigate the recent power outage island wide will be uploaded on the internet.

The Minister stated this while participating in a public meeting held in Hakmana, Matara yesterday.

The Minister also expressed his views regarding an electricity mafia.

He alleged that the electricity mafia was not active in the CEB or the Ministry of Power and Energy and that it was operating in Diyawanna.

The Minister said that although the Electrical Engineers and the Electricity Board had taken steps to prepare a National Electricity Generation Plan, there had been obstacles in obtaining the plans for approval in Parliament in the recent past.

By Senior Lawyer Sri Lanka Study Circle [ srilankastudycircle@yahoo.com ]

Parliament has enacted legislative framework for the e register [ e  LR ] modeled on the  Australian ‘Torrens System’ of title registration (Registration of Titles Act No. 21 of 1998, popularised as Bim Saviya / Title Registration ).  This has convulsive    changes to our land law. The Act 21 of 1998 ,  is more or less a copy paste version of the original statute introduced in   1858 in Australia.  It  does not include any of the  amendments made subsequently  by  the Australian Government to make the e register comprehensive compulsory and free of fraud . 

Although the public   have a right to information under the                               ’ ‘Right to Information  Act 12 of 2016’ , there is very little dissemination of knowledge to the public and the lawyers with regard to this law.  If  the  e register is  governed by the Australian law,  the   land rights under  the personal laws ,   other laws  that permit  shared interest and  servitudes enjoyed by land owners mainly for agricultural purposes  will not be accommodated .   

It is therefore the duty of patriotic and public-spirited politicians, administrators, lawyers and media leaders to vitalise  the  Sri Lankan law with necessary amendments specifically to prevent fraud to enable effective administration of the  e register  .

 ‘ One law for all’ ? .

 An   owner  registered in the e register, under Bim Saviya has  conclusive indefeasible ownership [ Section 33  Act 21 of  1998 ]which cannot be questioned in a court of law   and cannot be challenged in a court of law,  even  if the owner received title by way of a forged deed or  even if the owner did  not receive  rights under the  personal laws.  Section 73  Act 21 of 1998 expresses the superiority of the Bim Saviya law states ‘ the provisions of this law shall have effect notwithstanding any other law. ‘ 

The    Samarasekera report  consisting of expert lawyers appointed by President Mahinda Rajapakse  to investigate in to this law   declares that the

 ‘ Bim Saviya law can be maintained only if the customary and statutory inheritance laws of our country  are made inapplicable.’ Can this be done?

Bim Saviya   compels   registration of only  one owner for a block of land and  will not register  complex ownership rights  under our  customary law or personal laws , Ande cultivation right  ,  law of preemption  , rights to plantation, rights to chena lands  etc . Samarasekera report concludes that compulsory registration under Bim Saviya    is   an impossible task and totally unworkable’.  The Title Commissioner  [ officer appointed to register owners under the new law Bim Saviya ]after 20 years  confirms the view states in the 2018 report that    1.9 million blocks   could not be   converted to Bim Saviya  since they were governed by coownership rights and customary laws  

If further convincing is necessary readers are advised to read the World Bank’s ICR report it states   Sri Lanka’s titling project is a failure. The project only issued titles for parcels with clear land rights and deliberately shied away from problem parcels and from helping people in the field work out their problems . As a result the project failed to improve the adjudication process. http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/996161474635250504/pdf/000020051-20140617135844.pdf

This situation has caught Sri Lanka between two stools. The country has two systems of law . The vexatious old law that requires immediate  revision  and   Bim Saviya which is economically unaffordable .   This has confused and disturbed land owners  including the judiciary with many court cases instituted and pending.  During   court proceedings  ,  the defendants produce conclusive Bim Saviya Certificates to prove ownership, where the Title Commissioner the Government’s  adjudicator  had gone ahead to  conclude ownership , without the   knowledge of the law .    

Proceeding with Bim Saviya against all legal advice  

Fifteen years ago the Bar Association  made amendments to Act 21 of 1998  thereafter   Samarasekera report   concluded   that the imposition of compulsory investigation of title will create thousands of land disputes. .

Contrary to the  legal advice given  Government   continued and as predicted  the effort to implement Bim Saviya  with a non legal process failed.  The  cost of this futile exercise was exorbitant with the  government having to  visit  all land owners  making plans and adjudicating rights .  For  20 years only 0.72 Million blocks were registered  in the Bim Saviya register out of 12 Million blocks of land.  With that conversion indicator  it will take over 100 years to implement the law  for the e register.

What happens to the land coming under the MCC  project?  As per proposal       [ Annex 1 page 21]  there would be only 5 Million  people benefitting after 20 years .What happens to the others  and how long is the project ?.

Judicial    adjudication of  legal ownership rights entrusted to the  administration

The post of  commissioner of Title Settlement was  created to mandatorily    investigate  ownership of all land owners converting   land rights of  both private  and government land owners to the Bim Saviya law.  The law   compels the owners to   forego their  deeds to be exchanged to  certificates All  future land   transactions[such as sale and gifts etc]  are  to be made on Transaction Forms published in the  Gazette 1886/58   dated 31.10. 2014 , The statutory  forms published in the gazette  have no  provision to recite the servitude rights or other shared rights under personal laws as they  cannot be included in the  register .  The Bim Saviya has provision to destroy notarised land transactions and they are not returned to owners.  Section 53 provides to destruction of  land transactions,   as the register  by law has to erase the history of  ownership  to reflect only the owner and is therefore named as  ‘ Mirror Title’’.     .

New procedure to reduce court actions under Bim Saviya Section 60 of Act 21 of 1998  

Surprisingly a new   alien law has come into operation called the  statutory ‘Assurance Fund’ .  Government has to be responsible    to pay compensation to owners  aggrieved by registration under  Bim Saviya . If the owners lose their rights under Bim Saviya ;  they may not  get back their  house or land they have lost , they can  obtain compensation from the Assurance Fund.   A poor substitute for the loss of their   fundamental right to access  court to seek redress.

The law of Bim Saviya  referred to as Torrens law  had operated in Australian   for over a century and the Australia’s  Government’s ‘ Assurance Fund’   has sufficient funds to compensate owners . [  Victoria registry in  1981 -87 made a gross profit of Au Dollars 189.5 million New South wales of Au Dollars  249.5 Million of which 50 Million was gross profit  as the    fund is  maintained with the  fees collected from land owners.]

The phenomenal cost of registering land under Bim Saviya

 To register land in Australia under the Torrens law [ Bim Saviya ] it cost approximately 180 AUD for a  land owner, as owners have to maintain the  Assurance fund.    Land registry has  already commenced charging fees for registration to build the  Assurance fund.  Is this economically viable for a poor country?.  Sri Lanka  Government has to find the funds to establish the Assurance Fund  , as the MCC  will not grant funds for the establishment of the Assurance fund or the implementation of Bim Saviya .  

USA in Several States have rejected the law

 Several states in USA had  rejected this law as they did not agree that   the  fundamental rights to access court  should be  replaced with a law that requires a  Government Assurance fund to pay  compensation to owners.   Throughout its thirty-five years of existence in USA  has at most been only sporadically successful  https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/151518291.pdf

Sri Lanka need to be  cautious as   over-reliance   on funding agencies and their legal advice may not be the best way forward .   

According to the MCC draft document the  government has been unsuccessful  in the implementation of  Bim Saviya.    MCC however advises  to   continue with the failed law  Bim Saviya  with amendments [The MCC  Annex 1 —34]  

The suggested amendments  are ,  ironically to re introduce the rights that are best available under our law and the deed system .   Why introduce a law alien to the country and amend the law to return to the existing law ?.

Other nations have made the same mistake

Sri Lanka has to learn from others experience.  Several nations have made the mistake and  is regretting . To remedy the situation they are repeatedly   introducing   amendments to their Torrens statutes. Their judiciaries are compelled   to encounter unknown legal issues.  Malaysian and Singapore has exposed the law where   criminals gain land rights .    The system is based on the law of  Australia in the 19th century and is totally inadequate to deal with the challenged of the  21^st century https://www.accaglobal.com/hk/en/member/member/accounting-business/2019/04/in-focus/land-fraud.html

Singapore A law which favours forgers: Land fraud in two Torrens jurisdictions  https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/2325/

Why are successive governments  ignoring the advice of  Sri  Lankan Lawyers  for the implementation of an effective e register  with the Sri Lankan law

The e register [ e  LR ]  will be   completed very soon and e register could operate with the law of our country.   The  advice of the Sri Lankan lawyers has been  to revise and amend the law. Sri Lanka requires laws to maintain the integrity of the register free of fraud  for the  safety of the owners  registered in the e register .   

The expert advice from lawyers are given in ——-

 1] Samarasekera Committee Report .  A committee appointed by President Mahinda Rajapakse   has given  expert advice which will not economically burden the  government. They recommend  to   do away with compulsory  conversion recommended by Bim Saviya.  Concludes that  it  is   impossible task and totally unworkable’. The Law Reform Commission has also consistently opposed compulsory implementation of the law.   The committee recommends that the implementation be initially voluntary.     2]  The amendments to the colonial statutes   by a committee appointed by the Ministry of Justice to prevent fraud [when Mr Milinda  Morogoda was the Minster]   3] Amendments to the Bim Saviya Act 21   1998 by the  Bar Association 4] Reports from the Banks of Sri Lanka  

If we are compelled to introduce the   Australian law  at least follow Australian Practice

If we are compelled to proceed with  Bim Saviya  for the 11 Million blocks remaining ,  having failed in the project for  20 years, the Government should not ignore to assess the period required and the cost   and should not ignore  the years of research  made in  Australia to improve the Torrens law made,  by the    Australian Registrars’ National Electronic Conveyancing Council (ARNECC)  and  the  Property Exchange Australia Ltd (PEXA) which gives publicity and directions to lawyers and the public

It would be also important to observe that Australia has recognized the  customary laws of the people.

 Customary rights were recognised recently on the  3^rd of  June 1992. , High Court of Australia  ruled  that the lands of this continent were not terra nullius or ‘land belonging to no-one’ when European settlement occurred, and that the  people were ‘entitled to their customary rights possession, occupation, use and enjoyment of  the lands  Mabo v. Queensland  .

Asoka (Weerasinghe) Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . Canada

29 August 2020

Mr. Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, LL.B (London)
Leader of the Tamil National Peoples’ Front (TNPF)
Member Parliament for Jaffna
Parliament of Sri Lanka 
Kotte
Sri Lanka

Dear Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam:

Permit me to introduce myself to you, as you might wonder who this guy is, who calls himself Weera-sinha (Courageous-Lion), born and bred in Colombo.  Born at 54 Mount Mary off Baseline Road.  Son of a Ceylon Government Railway Steam Locomotive Engine Driver.  A Sinhalese-Buddhist to boot, who was schooled at Nalanda (Vidyalaya) College, and left home for London, England, on 3 December 1956, on a British BOAC 56 seater propeller DC4 plane from Ratmalana Airport.  It took 41 hours for me to reach Heathrow.  And I met your Dad some time in the early 1960s, when he was brought to my home (flat) at 51 Faraday Road, Ladbroke Grove, in London, for a cup of tea, by our  mutual  friend, a Quantity Surveyor, Balasubramaniam.

And do you know what Gajendra, after all these 64 years away from home, I am still romancing my beautiful Motherland, Sri Lanka, who gave me a free education to make me who I am today — a Geologist-Palaeontologist-Museologist.  And this is important for you to know.  I am on a Mission in Canada – that no one, absolutely no one, and that includes you, will spit at, and kick her when she is down, and harm her with God-damn lies unfairly,  spitting out words like, Genocide, Discrimination, Persecution, and Human Rights Violations of the Tamils. 

Gajendrakumar when I mean no one, it means,  not even the Prime Minister of Canada.   All the Prime Ministers since August 1983, have heard my voice loud and clear, like that of the sound of the chime of London’s Big Ben at noon,  when their statements hurt my Sinhalese psyche, my Sri Lankan-conscience and for the love of that beautiful island.

So I question your gall and temerity to stand up in the well of the Sri Lankan Parliament chambers and reiterate Genocide allegations.  So I seek help for you from Sweet Mother of Jesus”, to help this Tamil politician, who seems to have a skewed  understanding of the active word,Genocide”.

Gajendrakumar, well son, what is reassuring about my past is that all of this has happened.  And I am sure that you who have lived in London will share my sentiments:

‘From  Hyde Park’s fog, a white-man walks out

preaching mnemonic fears of love… and shouts

I’ve painted white…I’ve painted black

 I’ve painted white upon the blacks’.

With all that crap that you and I had to endure, we don’t have to crap at each other  with exaggerated, Humbugging lies which you had just done in Parliament.  I just don’t like it. It annoyed me and got my goat and told myself  ...O! No!! There comes another lying Tamil cunning-politician.

And that’s when it hit me when I told myself – O! No,  I will not allow that cunning Fox, G.G. Ponnambalam, nor a member of his progeny, to try his 50-50 stunt to give the 10 percent of the island’s Tamil people a chance to govern the 70 percent of my Sinhalese people, on a separatist Tamilian- whim. 

At that point Gajendrakumar, it occurred to me that you Tamils have had difficulty to give up your ‘privileged minority’ status you all enjoyed during the 131 years of colonial rule, and couldn’t care a tuppence about the professionalism, dignity and social status of the wronged majority”, the Sinhalese, during that 131 years of Colonial rule. Right Gajendrakumar!

Nor will I allow GG’s progeny, who pride in their initials LL.B behind their names,  to try the cunning tricks of the Grandad to dissect my Mother Lanka into two, with cunning lies as we are children of the same Mother of Lanka as she had adopted you lot as her sons and daughters who had come over the 18 miles divide of salt-water in the Palk Strait.

So I hope you got my drift, and I will say it my way, as I am not good at playing ‘Hide and Seek’ with the Tamil community, or throw riddles at you to solve them.  I am a straight ‘face-to-face’ talker.

I say to you, Gajendrakumar, don’t  do anything stupid to wipe out another generation of Tamil youngsters by picking a war with the majority’Sinhalese and their Government. It is not  worth it.

This is how I see it Gajendrakumar, and I am sure you see it my way too:

This corpse speaks to me
still warm and its mouth foams
with his Mother’s milk.

A medallion of a misplaced
courage of drying blood
stuck to his chest after a flood of blood
where a bullet had pierced
in the assault cracking dark.

I am tired carrying
around your mother’s tears
washed with her breast-milk
which were your afternoon feed.

And I see all around you others strewn
hastily like poppy-chested flowers
with eyes of executed children…

sent to the Front line with
cyanide capsules strung around
their necks by adults in Tiger-khaki
 who live in safety in brick-houses
and gunny-bags full with rice-paddy
walled bunkers.

So join me Gajendrakumar and sing with me the joy of sharing,  harmony and freedom…yes, let’s hold hands as we could harmonize better –  I will count, one – two- three, and then we will start together. Alright!   Here we go now – 1 – 2 – 3

This land is your land and this land is my land
From Point Pedro to  Dondra Head,
from the plush Tea gardens, to the Mahaweli waters,
this land was made for you and me.

As I went walking the A9 Highway
I saw the endless Kandy-Jaffna skyway
I saw below me, sapphire-gravel valleys
as this land was made for us, you and me.

If you still have intentions to chop it into two
you are free to go back to Tamil Nadu
your Motherland where 75 million
of your brothers and sisters
are waiting anxiously to embrace you. 

While all voices around us were singing;
Halleluja..Halleluja…Halleluja,
Vaarungal…vaarungal…..vaarungal…
Namo…namo…Matha…..uppergay Sri Lanka Matha…”
and while the sun was switching off for the day
the Tamil and Sinhalese voices were still chanting,’
This land was made for us, You and Me.”

As a final note from WikiLeaks, which makes you look like a weak-kneed cunning junior GG-Fox. Here is what it said:

The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeaks database.  The ‘Confidential” cable discusses what had happened on the ground during and since the conflict.  The cable was signed by the U.S.Ambassador to Geneva Clint Williamson on July 15, 2009.

After the meeting with Jacque de Maio, ICRC Head of Operations for South Asia on July 9, 2009. Just two months after the war, the ambassador wrote; The army was determined not to let the LTTE escape from its shrinking territory, even though this meant the civilians being kept hostage by the LTTE were at increasing risk.  So, de Maio said, while one could safely say that there were ‘serious widespread violations of IHL,’ by the Sri Lankan Forces, it did not amount to Genocide.  He could cite examples of where the army had stopped shelling when ICRC informed them it was killing civilians.  In fact, the army actually could have won the military battle faster with higher civilian casualties, yet chosen have won the military battle faster with higher civilian casualties, yet chosen a slower approach which led to a greater number of Sri Lankan military deaths….”

So there you are Gajendrakumar.  It doesn’t look good on you, does it?  You have three choices.

It is up to you to use this information judiciously thus guarding your integrity, your decency and shield your credibility as a lawyer-politician; or tear the piece of paper that it is printed on and throw it into a waste-paper basket; or roll it into a cigar and smoke it.  The choice is entirely yours.

Take care Gajendrakumar and be Wise.

May the Devas: Ganesha, Durga, Sarasvathi,
Vishnu and Lakshmi  protect you.
Sadhu…sadhu….sadhu.

Warmly

Asoka (Weerasinghe)

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

කඩවත, මහර ප්‍රදේශයේ ජනතාවට අත්‍යවශ්‍ය සෞඛ්‍ය පහසුකම් සහිත රෝහලක් ලැබීම පිළිබඳව තමන් සතුටට පත් වන බව අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමා 2020.08.29 දින පැවසීය.

මහර රෝස්වුඩ් පෞද්ගලික රෝහලේ නව වාට්ටු සංකීර්ණය, ශෛල්‍යාගාරය සහ රසායනාගාරය විවෘත කිරීමේ අවස්ථාවට එක් වෙමින් අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා මේ බව සඳහන් කළේය.

පළාතේ අවශ්‍යතාවය තේරුම්ගෙන ජනතාවට සේවයක් වන සේ මෙම රෝහල ඇරඹීම පිළිබඳව රෝස්වුඩ් කළමනාකාර අධ්‍යක්ෂ වෛද්‍ය අසේල විජේසුන්දර මහතාට අප ස්තූතිවන්ත විය යුතු බව අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා පැවසීය.

වෛද්‍ය අසේල විජේසුන්දර මහතා තමන් දැන හැදින ගත්තේ, දන්ත වෛද්‍යවරයෙකුට වඩා කලා කරුවෙකු ලෙස යැයි සිහිපත් කළ අතර, අසේල විජේසුන්දර මහතා උපන් ගම් ප්‍රදේශය වන කුරූණෑගල, මහව, නාගොල්ලාගම ප්‍රදේශයෙහි ඇති ගැමි පරිසරය නිසා ඔහු වෛද්‍ය වෘතියත්, කලාවත් එකසේ ප්‍රගුණ කළ බව මා විශ්වාස කරනවා.”

එවැනි පුද්ගලයෙකු අතින් මහර ප්‍රදේශයට මෙවැනි රෝහලක් ලැබීම ගැන තමා සතුටට පත් වන බව වැඩිදුරටත් අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා ප්‍රකාශ කරන ලදී.

මෙම අවස්ථාව සඳහා කොළඹ ගංඟාරාම විහාරවාසී ආචාර්ය කිරින්දේ අස්සජි හිමි, කඩවත බ්ම්බාරාමයේ විහාරාධිපති හුරිගස්වැවේ සද්ධාවාස හිමි, ජනාධිපති නීතීඥ ප්‍රසන්න ලාල් ද අල්විස් මහතා, දේශය” කර්තෘ රංජිත් ආනන්ද ජයසිංහ මහතා, ගම්පහ දිස්ත්‍රික් පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී සහන් ප්‍රදීප් මහතා, බියගම ප්‍රාදේශීය සභා සභාපති ගනේපොළ මහතා, විශේෂඥ වෛද්‍ය විජිත් ගුණසේකර මහතා, විශාරද අමරසිරි පීරිස්  මහතා ඇතුලු කලාකරුවන් හා මාධ්‍යවෙදීන් පිරිසක් මෙම අවස්ථාවට එක් වූහ.

උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස්

මෙරට සිදුවන අඩු වයස් විවාහ වැළැක්වීම සඳහා අවශ්‍ය පියවර ගැනීමට අවධානය යොමු වී ඇති බව අධිකරණ ඇමැති ජනාධිපති නීතිඥ අලි සබ්රි මහතා පවසයි.

ඇමති ධුරය භාරගැනීමෙන් පසු අස්ගිරි-මල්වතු මහ නාහිමිවරු බැහැදැකීම සදහා එම විහාරස්ථාන වලට ගිය අවස්ථාවේ ඔහු මේ බව සදහන් කලේය.

මුස්ලිම් ජාතික කාන්තාවන් සංගම් හැටියට පැමිණ මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් තාමන් සමගින් සාකච්ඡා කර ඇතැයිද ඇමැතිවරයා පැවසීය.

තමන්ට මේ මෙම කටයුතු කරද්දී අභියෝගවලට මුහුණ දෙන්න සිදුවනු ඇති නමුත් අභියෝගාත්මකව රට ගොඩනැගීමේ කාර්යය සඳහා දායක වන බවද ඔහු සඳහන් කළේය.

තමන් අධිකරණ ඇමති ධුරයට පත් කර ඇත්තේ සියළුම ශ්‍රී ලාංකිකයන් වෙනුවෙන් වැඩ කිරීමට බවත් පැවසූ ඔහු තමන් ඉස්ලාම් ආගම අදහන්න එක වුවද පෝෂණය වී ඇත්තේ සිංහල බෞද්ධ සංස්කෘතිය තුළ බවද ඔහු සඳහන් කළේය.

අස්ගිරි මල්වතු නාහිමිවරුන් හමුවේ ඔහු මේ බව කියා සිටියේය.

By Express News Service Courtesy The New Indian Express

The parents of Advocate Sivakami Sundari said that it was the Madurai-based lawyer who first raised suspicion over the death of Sri Lankan underworld criminal Angoda Lokka.

MADURAI: The parents of Advocate Sivakami Sundari said that it was the Madurai-based lawyer who first raised suspicion over the death of Sri Lankan underworld criminal Angoda Lokka.

The lawyer’s father, Dinakaran, said that it was because of her suspicion that an autopsy was performed on Lokka’s body.

Speaking to TNIE, Dinakaran and his wife Pandiammal said that after Sivakami was informed by someone about Lokka’s death over phone, she had left Madurai for Coimbatore. “Had Lokka’s postmortem report raised any suspicion of unnatural death, the police could have made the arrests by invoking murder charges. But here, all the people were arrested on charges of forging documents,” he said.

Meanwhile, Pandiammal, the mother of Sivakamai, said that Sivakami was accompanied by Amani Dhanji when she returned home after the cremation of Lokka at Thathaneri in Madurai.

‘Lokka was brought to Madurai by me’

Meanwhile, Dinakaran confirmed that Lokka (known to him only by the name Pradeep) was brought from Chennai to his house in Madurai by him. “A female friend from Sri Lanka introduced Lokka to me under the pseudonyme ‘Pradeep’ and told me that he was from Dubai. She told me that ‘Pradeep’ wanted to stay in Madurai. Later, it was me who introduced him to Sivakami,” he said, adding that he came to know about the real name of the man only when the media stared carrying the stories. 

Dinakaran, known as Batsha and Ayya said that one of the main principles of LTTE was not to be involved in any drug dealing. “It was shock of a life when I came to know that Lokka was a drug peddler. Though I tried contacting the female friend from Sri Lanka, I was unable to reach her,” he said, adding that he has more than 20 cases, including weapon-smuggling cases, pending against him.

“Though a search operation was carried out at my house after Sivakami allegedly confessed to CB-CID about the presence of a few weapons in the house, no such weapon was recovered,” he added.

Courtesy Adaderana

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has insisted that the construction of the Neluwa-Lankagama road should not cause environmental damages.

The President meanwhile ordered the completion of the construction within 90 days, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said in a media release issued today (29).

He made these remarks while engaging in an inspection visit at the Neluwa-Lankagama road site.

Courtesy Adaderana

Minister of Justice, President’s Counsel Ali Sabry has pledged to bring an end to the issue of child marriages.

He mentioned this while paying a courtesy call on the Chief Prelates of Asgiriya and Malwatta chapters today (29).

All Sri Lankans have a responsibility and a duty to nurture Buddhism according to the Constitution, the Justice Minister pointed out.

We have to guarantee that regardless of the race or religions,” he said further.

During his visit to Chief Prelate of Asgiriya Chapter, Most Venerable Medagama Dhammananda Thera, the focus of the discussion fell on the issue of child marriages.

The Justice Minister stated that delegations representing Muslim women have met with him to bring his attention to the issue.

Calling on the Deputy Chief Prelates of Malwatta and Asgiriya chapters, Minister Sabry noted that in all societies there are those who hold extremist views.

We are looking at ways to select such individuals and rehabilitate them,” he continued.

However, the majority wants desperately to live together as the best Sri Lankans possible, the Justice Minister said further.

Courtesy Hiru News

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa reiterates his intention of fulfilling public aspirations in such a manner that does not harm the environment.<

The president today (29) inspected the renovation of the Neluwa-Lankagama road and spoke to the stakeholders about allegations that the work is harming the Sinharaja forest.

Officials of the road development, wildlife, environment and other relevant ministries joined in the inspection.

On the occasion, president Rajapaksa said the long-standing requirement for a road for the villagers should be met while safeguarding the environment.

Lankagama is an ancient village that dates back to the reign of King Walagamba and the main livelihood of its inhabitants is tea cultivation.

They take their produce to Deniyaya and Neluwa via a road that is located close to the Sinharaja.

Also, patients going to hospitals and schoolchildren widely use this road.

The Army is renovating the 18 km long road under RDA supervision to make the present nearly four hour journey shortened to a mere 45 minutes.

A bus will play on the road between Neluwa and Deniyaya once work is completed within 90 days.

A suspension bridge at Lankagama will be replaced with a bridge 120-feet in length and six-feet wide.

The president also instructed that reforestation there be encouraged by providing each of the 700 families of Lankagama with three plants each free of charge.

Courtesy Hiru News

Former Member of Parliament Ruwan Wijewardena of the UNP reiterated that he would definitely contest for the leadership of the party.

He was participating in a party meeting held in Anuradhapura.

Former Member of Parliament Ashu Marasinghe was also present at the occasion.

By ASOKA BANDARAGE Courtesy Asia Times

On August 5, a new government was elected in Sri Lanka, bringing down the previous regime associated with the Central Bank bond scam, the Easter Sunday bomb attacks and controversial international agreements.

The new government has come into office with a two-thirds majority in parliament, promising to bring prosperity, security and communal harmony to the beleaguered country. Achieving these goals depends to a large extent on how neocolonialism and sovereignty are addressed.

Colonialism involves control of a less powerful country by a powerful country to exploit resources and increase its power and wealth. In essence, neocolonialism involves the same factors: militarism, external expropriation of natural resources, deception and manipulation, collusion with local elites, incitement of ethnic and religious differences (and other forms of balkanization and destabilization) and consequential local resistance to external aggression. 

Neocolonialism and geopolitical rivalry 

Today, strategically located in the ancient east-west Indian Ocean maritime trade route, Sri Lanka faces competition for control by China on one side and the US-led Asia-Pacific Quadrilateral Alliance (also including India, Japan and Australia) on the other.

The new Sri Lankan government says it will reconcile competing external interests. Speaking on behalf of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the recently appointed foreign secretary, retired navy commander Jayanath Colombage, has stated: Sri Lanka should be a neutral country. Sri Lanka does not want to be caught up in the power game. Sri Lanka wants to develop friendly international ties with everybody. Sri Lanka should have Sri Lanka-first policy.”

Is Sri Lanka’s current foreign policy moving in this direction?

Chinese expansion        

Sri Lanka has been a participant in China’s US$4 trillion Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) since 2005. In January 2017, the previous government granted an 85% stake of the Hambantota Port, in the most strategic central point in the Indian Ocean, to the China Merchant Port Holding Company in a 99-year lease. 

China is Sri Lanka’s largest creditor and has provided generous support during the Covid-19 pandemic. Given local concerns over the Hambantota Port deal, President Rajapaksa has previously stated that, on election, he would revisit the lease agreement and renegotiate it. More recently, he has stated that his government is not planning to amend the commercial terms of the agreement, but wishes to amend agreements concerning port security.

While Sri Lankan activists have been protesting the environmental and social impact of expanding Chinese projects, the Quadrilateral Alliance is seeking to involve Sri Lanka in countering Chinese expansion in Asia, making the country a key battleground of geopolitical rivalry. 

Allaying the fears of India and the US that Hambantota Port could become a Chinese military base, the new Sri Lankan government has stated that the port should be limited to commercial activities only. It is zero for military purposes…. Sri Lanka will not afford any particular country to use Sri Lanka as a staging area to do anything against another country- especially so India.”

But how would the Quadrilateral Alliance respond if there were real or perceived military activity? It is not hard to imagine a dangerous military situation escalating far beyond Sri Lanka’s control. 

Indian expansion 

The policy of President Rajapaksa, as articulated by Foreign Secretary Colombage, is that as far as strategic security is concerned, Sri Lanka will always have an India-first approach. That means Sri Lanka will not do anything harmful to India’s strategic security interests. As far as economic development is concerned, we cannot depend on one country. We are open to anyone.”

However, India’s political and military involvement during the separatist war, especially its impositions of the 13th Amendment of the Sri Lankan constitution and the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) on Sri Lankan soil, have left fear and antipathy toward India.

The Indo-Lanka Accord that introduced these developments was hammered out in secrecy and signed without parliamentary consultation on July 29, 1987, during a 24-hour curfew. It faced massive resistance and ushered in one of the most violent and anarchic periods in the island’s modern history. 

Despite India’s failure to curb Tamil militancy and the failure of the provincial-council system, India wants Sri Lanka to maintain the 13th Amendment and the provincial councils that it introduced to appease Tamil separatist sentiments. However, the new Sri Lankan government is under increasing domestic pressure to abrogate the 13th Amendment and to assert Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and political independence from India.

Concerned about Chinese encroachment at Hambantota Port, India is pursuing control over Sri Lanka’s other strategic seaports and to develop the British-colonial-era Oil Tank Farm in the eastern seaport town of Trincomalee, through a subsidiary of the Indian Oil Corporation, despite protests by Sri Lanka’s petroleum trade unions. 

Port power

External powers are also keen to gain control over the Port of Colombo, one of the busiest in South Asia and an important transit hub in the region. Japan is keen for access given its high dependency on energy supplies via the Indian Ocean. There is now a push by the US and India to privatize the Colombo port’s Eastern Container Terminal (ECT) and hand it over to an Indian company. 

Rajapaksa remains committed to honor a memorandum of understanding signed in 2019 by Sri Lanka, India and Japan on the ECT. According to Colombage, the policy of the president was that no national asset would be given in total control to any country” and the MoU is being honored because it is an arrangement between the two countries. The only thing is that there is opposition to it from port workers.”

On July 31, 10,000 Colombo port workers resisting the privatization of state assets began a strike blocking all roads into and inside the port, completely paralyzing it. President Rajapaksa refused to talk to the unions.

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the president’s brother, did meet with union leaders and indicated that their key concern was to avoid antagonizing India. Is this an indication of further Sri Lankan subservience to external power, at the cost of local agency and sovereignty? 

US expansion

Given the history of US hegemony and foreign interventions, there is a justified fear in Sri Lanka of American interference in local governance and control of resources. Unsurprisingly, the country is experiencing intense pressure via multiple US military and economic-development treaties.

On November 6, 2019, 10 days before the election that brought Gotabaya Rajapaksa to power, the Government Medical Officers Association filed a Fundamental Rights Petition seeking to halt progress of three pending treaties with the US: the MCC (Millennium Challenge Corporation) Compact on infrastructure development, and two military treaties, the ongoing ACSA (Acquisition and Cross Service Agreement) and new SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement).

The petitioners stated that the MCC compact would violate fundamental Sri Lankan sovereignty and independence, clearly upheld by the constitution. There is also concern at the irreversible nature of such far-reaching treaties. 

Among other objectives, the MCC Compact seeks to privatize and commodify state land for investors, including foreign corporations. Gotabaya Rajapaksa promised to discard the MCC Compact during his election campaign, and after coming into office his government appointed the Gunaruwan Committee to study the issue.

Its final report in June raised serious issues on its implications to social, economic and security interests of the country. The Sri Lankan government plans to submit the report to the cabinet and then to the parliament for debate on a compromise, that is, as Colombage indicates, the government plans to go ahead with the MCC Compact in some form or other. 

There have also been clear reports that, whether or not the compact is signed, certain elements will proceed regardless. For example, the e-land registry, cadastral mapping, parcel fabric map, deed registry scanning and digitizing, state land information and valuation are being outsourced to multiple private parties selected by the US Embassy in Colombo.” Are external pressures so great that they will inevitably find a way to mold Sri Lanka’s future?

Military engagement with Sri Lanka is considered vital to US objectives in the region. The ACSA signed by the previous Sri Lankan government on August 4, 2017, provides the basis to set up a US logistic hub” in Sri Lanka to secure support, supplies and services at sea. 

Similarly, the proposed SOFA would allow US military personnel to operate in any part of Sri Lanka, without restriction. Sri Lankans fear that SOFA would make the whole island … a US-controlled super state operating above the Sri Lankan laws and state….”

A cabinet spokesman suggested on July 1 that the SOFA has already been signed but the new government has made no denial or retraction. Meanwhile the Sri Lankan public is left completely in the dark.

‘Sri Lanka first’

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa were voted in with the faith and respect of most Sri Lankans, not least for their roles in ending the 30-year war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Most do not doubt their devotion to the country. Their exemplary management of the Covid-19 pandemic has reinforced this respect.

However, there is a growing sense in the country that the overt and covert pressures from external powers, exemplified by these impending agreements, are so great that a path of neutrality will require deep resolve and conviction. It is, then, the democratic responsibility of Sri Lankans to stay informed, see through the bias of power, and exercise their freedom of expression nonviolently.

Our ancestors sacrificed their blood, sweat and tears to safeguard the sovereignty and independence of our country, and it has no price. A luta continua.

ASOKA BANDARAGE

Asoka Bandarage PhD is the author of Sustainability and Well-Being, The Separatist Conflict in Sri Lanka, Women, Population and Global Crisis, Colonialism in Sri Lanka and many other publications. She serves on the boards of the Interfaith Moral Action on Climate and Critical Asian Studies and has taught at Yale, Brandeis, Mount Holyoke, Georgetown, American and other universities. More by Asoka Bandarage

C. Wijeyawickrema, LL.B., Ph.D.

Where is Lanka, a spot with lowest gravity on earth, located on these two maps of the ancient world?

Sinhala [language]’s s survival as a clearly Indo-Aryan language can be considered a minor miracle of linguistic and cultural history” –James W. Gair, Studies in South Asian Linguistics: Sinhala and other South Asian languages, 1998, Chapter 14: How Dravidanized was Sinhala phonology? Pages 185-199).

[Vigneswaran, is known for his unusual habit of uttering some sloka in Sanskrit, before he starts his prepared speeches aimed at audiences in the Sinhala South. Of course, no one, but he only understood, what it meant!  He deviated from this practice, in his maiden talk at the 2020 parliament. The strategy behind this change of behavior could be multiple. One, is to pick up a verbal fight with others in the parliament, so that he is ahead of others such as Abraham Sumanthiran or the Ponnambalam grandson, in competition for the Tamil genocide claim in Sri Lanka. And, this way, he could go home (not in Jaffna but in Colombo) to his two Sinhala daughters-in-law, and in turn using them as body guards, take a psychological revenge from his two sons for polluting his Tamil race, by their repetitive acts of love is blind. After all, his granddaughter wanted to be with her mother’s father and not with Vigs at the parliamentary party photo op!

As the proverbial, holding the tiger’s tail goes, Vig’s strategy is going to boomerang on him, because he will face a constant barrage of counter attacks, destroying him ideologically, the likes of which the island has not seen since Ponnambalam Arunachalam initiated Tamil separatist agenda in 1923/4. Vig is instrumental in introducing a new Great Panadura Debate (1873) into the well of the 2020 parliament, no matter what the black-white remnants and the dollar agents in it think. In this connection, I was able to uncover an essay, I wrote over a decade ago (which I know needs updating with the new ideas now propping up on Ravana and the island of Lanka), which is relevant to this Vigneswaran’s love-hate controversy]

PART-I

Introduction

In his opinion page letter (Island, 1/14/08), the American-living anthropology professor H. L. Seneviratne (HLS) stated that (1) Sinhalese are a variety” of Tamils and (2) that Sinhala language is Tamil, in its grammatical and syntactic structure, with a 20% Tamil vocabulary. On opinion number 2, no one denies Tamil influence on the Sinhala language. The traditional question has been the extent of this influence.

There are about 30 (?) Tamil words in Sinhala. This is not even half the number of Portuguese and Dutch words, respectively, in use in Sinhala. If 30 words are 20% then Sinhala has a total of how many words? Does borrowing words make the borrower the lender? Over 50% of English common words came from non-Anglo-Saxon stock (The mother tongue English and how it got that way, Bill Bryson, 1990).

The disunity and jealousies amongst the Kandy chiefs were the reasons to have a Tamil king in the first place. Just like Muttu Coomaraswamy’s dress impressed Queen Victoria, those Kandy chiefs must have taken Tamil tuition to impress their Tamil king and his queens. When Karawa and Govigama English-educated were fighting between them for the new Colombo seat, a Tamil got elected. I give these examples to show that as a professor HLS should not have cited such high-class behavior to support his theory. Could he give examples from folk songs or from Pal Kavi? Sinhala language belongs to villagers and not to feudal or Colombo chiefs.

In 1932, the late Theodore G. Perera (TGP) published a book titled, the Sinhalese Grammar” to dispel the theory in vogue at that time that the source of Sinhala language was Tamil. He presented evidence to show its Indo-Aryan origin. In more recent times, at least two American linguists studied Sinhala in depth and one of them, James Gair considered it a linguistic miracle that Sinhala language thrived despite a massive Tamil onslaught.

HLS’ opinion number 1 above, is too simplistic and provocatively Eelam-oriented. It goes beyond the usual India-based explanations on Sri Lankan history given by the English-educated, Western-oriented ruling elites in the colonial Ceylon. Thus, the late professor G. C. Mendis, a Christian, divided the pre-1505 history of Ceylon into four periods of North and South Indian history. Michael Roberts’ doctoral research-based book on the history of the Karawa caste in Ceylon showed how more recent South Indian migrants settled down on the western coastal areas subsequently became the Karawa and Durawa castes. When the last Tamil king of Kandy was captured in 1815, the two natives present at the scene happened to be ancestors of SWRD and JRJ who had non-Sinhala origins.

Sinhalese must have had a lot of Tamil and even Portuguese blood in them. The mother of either the king Vijayabaahu I or the Paraakramabaahu, the great, was a Tamil. The word urumaya” of JHU is a Tamil word. But a blanket extension of this Tamil influence to theorize without facts that the Sinhala-Buddhist heritage was actually a Sinhalized-Tamil heritage is unprofessional and unreasonable. England was populated by Germanic tribes (the Frisians, the Saxons, the Jutes and the Angles) beginning in the 5^th century A.D., but Englishmen today do not become Germans (map on page 6 in the Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language by David Crystal, 1995).

The purpose of this reply is to present to the reader information available out there which does not support HLS’ theory. In fact, the new information uncovered by researchers about the Sinhala language could provide a basis for a new paradigm. Instead of the blind belief that everything came from India to Sri Lanka” it is perhaps time to ask whether it was possible that Sinhala went from Sri Lanka to India or even to Asia/Europe?”  The origin of Sinhala could be Indo-European or older, and not Indo-Aryan. Such questions got buried under an anti-Mahavamsa movement deployed in the guise of a theory of Sinhala Buddhist chauvinism as fodder for international consumption.

PART – II

Anti-Mahavamsa movement in Sri Lanka

The humiliation of native Sinhala-Buddhist culture began after1505, until a resistance movement slowly emerged by way of revival of Buddhism in the 1840s-1880s of which the Great Panadura Debate in 1873 was a climax event. An anthropology guru of HLS, Gananath Obeysekara, called this Protestant Buddhism.” The behavior of Christian colonial masters and their local supporters, the Christian-born/converted local elites, adversely affected the Sinhala-Buddhist heritage in the island, but one cannot say there was an organized anti-Mahavamsa movement in Ceylon at that time. White rulers and white archeologists did not have any reason to distort island’s history. But with the introduction of universal franchise and the territorial representation to the State Council in 1931, replacing communal representation which began in 1832, the majority Sinhala-Buddhists gained voting strength after 450 years of discrimination and oppression.

When the Legislative Council debated the motion presented by a Hindu Tamil (P. Ramanathan) to make Vesak a public holiday in the colonial Ceylon (1885), with the backing of an American Olcott, the Sinhala representative A. L. de Alwis, a Christian, opposed it. The Governor Gordon, who was for the motion said he was embarrassed by de Alwis’ behavior. Colombo ruling families opposed the grant of universal franchise, free education, labour rights and other welfare measures, but 1931 was the end of 100 years of communal governance. Those who held power under colonial patronage began to orient and emerge themselves as an anti-Mahavamsa movement in the soon-to-be-freed colony. The constitutional coup of the English-educated locals with the backing of governor Manning in 1923-24, and the Christian who reverted back to Hinduism, GG Ponnambalam’s demands, were the early tips of this iceberg. A long-awaited reaction to this arose in the 1960s as Buddhist National Force (BJB) spearheaded by the late L. H. Metthananda who focused on an official church document titled Catholic Action.” By the early 1970s, traces of a theory of Sinhala Buddhist Chauvinism began to appear, first in the writings of Mrs. Vishaakaa Kumaari Jayawardhana (daughter of an English mother). It spread like wildfire all over the world after the government blunder in1983 when the president of the country told the people to defend themselves. Thus, Prabakaran and his web sites could freely propagate against a Mahavamsa mentality.

Eelam politics and Boston-area professors

As a follower of HLS’ political anthropology works in print, I am not surprised by his new theory. HLS, his principal guru S. J. Tambiah, the late political science professor A. J. Wilson, history professors C. R. de Silva and Michael Roberts (Australia), (K. Indrapaala is a recent addition), could be grouped as a network of Boston area professors who suppressed” historical facts in their professorial public writings. For example, SJT in his Buddhism betrayed book mentioned in detail, the1967 Dodampe mudalali coup and 1968 Colvin-Leslie Kollupitiya march against the Tamil Language Reasonable Use Regulations, but ignored completely the real coup by the Chritian-Tamil police and navy officers in 1962 and the infamous Imbulgoda march by JRJ in 1958 against the Reasonable Use of Tamil Language Bill. To give another example, in his book the work of kings” (which he dedicated to his guru SJT) HLS alleged that the mess of ethnic clash in Sri Lanka was due to the actions of two solitary monks, Vens. Yakkaduwe Pragnaraama, and Walpola Raahula. HLS thanked WR for help given to him in writing his book, but WR died before his book was published, thus, losing an opportunity to respond. The Boston group was influential enough to convince the Massachusetts Legislature to pass a resolution against the government of Sri Lanka for allegedly oppressing the Tamils (Massachusetts House Journal for 1979, page 977 reads: … Resolution memorializing the President and the Congress to protest and utilize the powers of their offices to rectify the gross injustices which have been inhumanely inflicted on the Tamils of Sri Lanka”).

Colombo black-whites (coconuts – white inside, brown outside)

The most culpable conduct of these professors and their Colombo contacts was their hiding the fact that the problem in Sri Lanka was a problem of mismanagement by the Colombo ruling families, who created and later benefitted from a clash between the Tamil and Sinhala languages. If in India, Gandhi was for a unifying language despite Hindi was spoken by only 30-40% of the people, making Sinhala the unifying language could not be a disaster for Tamil-speaking people in the island. By 1948 there were two countries in Ceylon—the English-speaking Colombo country and the Sinhala-Tamil-speaking village country. The ruling elites and their officer agents made sure the continued existence of this division by converting English versus Swabhasa clash into a Sinhala-Tamil conflict. Ironically, Col. Karuna finally exposed this game by a simple demand—Give us what Colombo gets. He did not ask for a homeland. The late Kumar Ponnambalam, (a Christian?), on the other hand felt that Tamils have aspirations.” The destruction of Sri Lanka since 1948 could be explained not by a Sinhala-Buddhist chauvinism paradigm but by a Colombo black-white paradigm. Because the professors, officers, peace mudalalis, UN agency officers, foreign ambassadors in Colombo and the human rights INGOs are predominantly, if not 100%, Christians they failed to understand that a Sinhala Buddhist cannot be a violator of human rights. Unlike faith-based Christian and Islam where human life is uni-directional (linear) in Buddhism life is cyclical and everything is impermanent (sabbe sankaara aniccaa). This was the basis for a harmony of different faiths at the Buddhist village level. This was why 50% of the Tamil population in Sri Lanka lives among Buddhists.

With the church organization run like a corporate business, and the last Pope’s desire to convert Asia into Christianity in the 21^st century,” I am only pointing out the bad behavior of Christian politicians, the powerful and the Colombo ruling families. I am not blaming in this essay the average Sinhala or Tamil Catholic or Christians who have suffered along with the Sinhala Buddhists in the Non-Colombo country of the island. For example, the Marxists brains at least from 1935 to 1964 were active in anti-Mahavamsa affairs irrespective of their ethnicity. A section of the JVP is still struggling to overcome its anti-Mahavamsa mind set.

PART – III

Types of evidence against HLS’ theory

1. Ven. Ellawala Medhananda’s research

The history of Sri Lanka and its North and East that Ven. Ellawala Medhananda Thero has painstakingly constructed after forty years of archaeological field work (Our heritage of the North and East of Sri Lanka, 2003) is radically different from a Tamil rooted ethnic origin of its settlers. The scripts found on hundreds of rock caves that he was able to trace and record, did not support a Tamil theory. Some donors of these cave dwellings (to Buddhist priests) had Tamil names. If all donors at that time had a common Tamil origin, then all of them must have had Tamil-based names. These cave donations span from the 3^rd century B.C to 5^th century A.D.

The oldest Brahmi scripts were found in Anuradhapura (5^th century B.C.) which was not Tamil Brahmi. Recently, Brahmi scripts were found in Tamil Nad at Adichanallur near Tirunelveli (www.hindu.com/2004/05/26/stories). It would be interesting to see if they are older than what was found at Anuradhapura. The Indian archaeologists expect that the carbon-14 dating would take Adichanallur ruins to 7^th or 8^th century B.C. HLS’ theory may have to wait until these results are out and analyzed.

2. Theodore Perera and Sinhala (1932)

The second source is the Sinhala Grammar book written by Theodore G. Perera (TGP), published by M.D. Gunasena Co. Ltd. in 1932. This work was supported by Maha Mudaliyar J. P. Obeyesekere. In a chapter titled, History of the Sinhalese language” TGP summarized facts known by him at that time.

TGP mentioned the purpose of his book was to dispel the theories in vogue at that time that Sinhala was a derivative of Tamil. At that time no one dared to say that the Sinhalayas were former Tamils! While admitting the influence of Tamil on Sinhala, TGP provided evidence to show the dissimilar origins of Tamil and Sinhala. For example, he supplied a table with 16 Sinhala words comparing them with Sanskrit, Maagadhi (Pali), Greek, Latin and English (example: nama (Sinhala)-naaman (Sanskrit), naama (M), onoma (G), nomen (L), name (E), peyar (in Tamil). Only word that matched was ata (eight) which is ettu in Tamil. The archaeological commissioner of Ceylon at that time, Dr. Goldschmidt concluded Sinhalese is now proved to be a thorough Aryan dialect, having its nearest relations in some of the dialects used in Asoka’s inscriptions.” TGP felt that Sinhalese is decidedly an Aryan language not only on the side of its vocabulary, but in its orthography, grammar, rhetoric, and prosody. 

TGP thought that by the time of the arrival of Ven. Mahinda (son of King Ashoka) Sri Lanka had a language based on some north Indian language which he called Sinhala. This language was also taken to the Maldives and Lakadive Islands (the language of the Maldives Islands (Divehi) is a Sinhala dialect). TGP said that the commentaries to the Pali Tripitaka were first written in Sinhala at the time of Ven. Mahinda, which (commentaries) were later translated to into Pali by the Ven. Buddhaghosha.

TGP pointed out that the Thonigala inscription (B.C. 161-137 or B.C. 88-76) used the same Brahmi script found in the Ashoka inscriptions in India. He thought these Brahmi letters as well as the Devanaagari and other north Indian language letters were based on Semitic-Phoenician letters. If Tamil was the source language of Sinhala, then Sri Lankan inscriptions should have had Tamil scripts. For number of centuries, Sinhalese language did not seem to have had any connection whatever with Tamil.” Only after the eleventh century A.D. one could see the first traces of Tamil words appearing in Sinhala inscriptions or books. The first Sinhalese grammar written in the middle of the thirteenth century A.D. was mainly based on Pali and Sanskrit grammar. Therefore, under an Indo-Aryan language framework, similarities one finds between Sinhala and Tamil could possibly be due to the fact, that both languages borrowed them from Sanskrit.

TGP showed the evolution of the Sinhala hodiya using six rock inscriptions. (hodiya is a chart of phonemes, alphabet is a list of symbols for writing). He concluded that despite the fact that Sanskrit was in use from an earlier time and that Pali was introduced with Buddhism in 307 B.C., Sanskrit or Maagadhi (Pali) sounds were not used in the inscriptions written in 200 B.C. Until 100 A.D. they were not used with Sinhala. All this leads us to understand that Sinhala is a language first developed in the island.

3. James Gair and Sinhala

As the map reproduced on page 187 of Gair’s book indicates, Sinhala, Tamil, Persian and a few dialects found above the Telegu language region in India do not have an aspiration (mahappraana- eg., t as in ata (eight) versus th as in Gothaabaya) contrast. The rest of India has some form of aspiration recognition. Germanic languages also do not have an aspiration contrast but at least they have certain aspiration sounds as in the case of the difference between the two words pin and spin. In pin p is an aspiration. Sinhala has no aspiration whatsoever, in speech or writing (those like Gothaabaya are Sanskrit). Therefore, in pronouncing the English word pin as well as the Sinhala word piti we say it as in the word pitisara (rural). 

Gair also pointed out the overwhelming left-branching syntactic character, in particular, the exclusive or overwhelmingly dominant use of preposed relativized clause structures found in Sinhala and Tamil, not found in the rest of India.

Unlike Tamil which has only consonant p, since the 13^th century A.D., Sinhala has had p, b, d and g. Thus, in Tamil balla (dog) is valla and sudu (white) is suthu; sudda (a white man) is suththa. If Tamil was the source language how did this happen?     

On page 189 of his book Gair reproduced a list comparing Sinhala with Tamil and other Indo Aryan (IA) languages. Thus:

1. Sinhala has fewer phonemes (about 30) than in IA (though more than in Tamil)
2. In Sinhala, the volume of opposition of cerebrality (i.e., retroflexion) is less than in the rest of IA
3. The absence of dipthongs in Sinhala, unlike in eastern IA
4. The absence of nasalized vowel phonemes
5. The partial neutralization of s and h in Sinhala, because of the change s > h already at work in Sinhalese prakrit” (eg.,  handa > sanda (moon)
6. The opposition of long and short vowels, common in Tamil, less so in IA
7. The loss of aspiration in Sinhala commonly retained in IA

4. The Rigveda and Sinhala

The word vatura (water) is not only closely cognate to the Germanic words and Hittite water,” but it represents a form which is impossible to explain on the basis of Sanskrit or Indo-Aryan etymologies (The Rigveda,” a historical analysis by Shrikant. G. Talageri, 2000, New Delhi). This means that Sinhala could be an Indo-European language and not an Indo-Aryan one.

Talageri’s original purpose was to demonstrate that Indo-Aryan languages (Sanskrit and Paali etc.) evolved in India and went westward to Asia. Under the prevailing European-white-based scholarship, Sinhala came out of this I-A branch of parent I-E. But when Talageri stumbled on vatura  (or eliya (light) which Geiger dismissed as insignificant) and other unique Sinhala words such as oluva, bella, kalava and kakula, as an impartial scholar he had to adjust or re-examine his own thesis. The new question is was it possible that Sinhala was indigenous to Sri Lanka and went north (to western India) and west (to Iran, Asia Minor and Europe)?

As the paragraphs quoted verbatim below from Talageri indicates, Geiger could not come out of his western or Asia Minor (religious heartland called the Levant) thought box. Our own S. Paranavithana thought of a Sinhlala link with western India but he could not think that perhaps the direction could have been not from Punjaab or the Lata region (Gujarat) to Sri Lanka but from Sri Lanka to India.

The Sinhalese language of Sri Lanka is generally accepted as a regular, if long separated and isolated, member of the Indoaryan” branch of Indo-European languages; and no linguist studying Sinhalese appears, so far, to have suggested any other status for the language.

However, apart from the fact that Sinhalese has been heavily influenced not only by Sanskrit and (due to the predominance of Buddhism in Sri Lanka) Pali, but also by Dravidian and the near-extinct Vedda, the language contains many features which are not easily explainable on the basis of Indo-aryan.

Wilhelm Geiger, in his preface to his study of Sinhalese, points out that the phonology of the language is full of intricacies… We sometimes meet with a long vowel when we expect a short one and vice versa”, and, further: In morphology there are formations, chiefly in the verbal inflexion, which seem to be peculiar to Sinhalese and to have no parallels in other Indo-Aryan dialects… and I must frankly avow that I am unable to solve all the riddles arising out of the grammar of the Sinhalese language.”

However, not having any particular reason to suspect that Sinhalese could be anything but an Indoaryan” language descended from Sanskrit, Geiger does not carry out any detailed research to ascertain whether or not Sinhalese is indeed in a class with the other Indo-Aryan dialects.”  In fact, referring to an attempt by an earlier scholar, Gnana Prakasar, to connect the Sinhalese word eLi (light) with the Greek hElios (sun), Geiger rejects the suggestion as the old practice of comparing two or more words of the most distant languages merely on the basis of similar sounds, without any consideration for chronology, for phonological principles, or for the historical development of words and forms…”

However, there are words in Sinhalese, of which we can cite only one here, which cannot be so easily dismissed: the Sinhalese word watura, water”, is not only closely cognate to the Germanic words (which includes English water”) and Hittite water, but it represents a form which is impossible to explain on the basis of Sanskrit or Indoaryan etymologies. Geiger himself, elsewhere, rejects an attempt by an earlier scholar, Wickremasinghe, to derive the word from Sanskrit vartarUka as improbable”; and although he accepts the suggestion of another scholar, B. Gunasekara, that the original meaning is ‘spread, extension, flood’ (M. vithar)… Pk. vitthAra, Sk. vistAra,” he notes that vocalism a.u. in vatura is irregular, cf. vitura”.

M.W.S. de Silva, in his detailed study of Sinhalese, points out that Indo-Aryan (or Indic) research began with an effort devoted primarily to classifying Indian languages and tracing their phonological antecedents historically back to Vedic and Classical Sanskrit… Early Sinhalese studies have followed the same tradition.” However, Sinhalese presents a linguistic make-up which, for various reasons, distinguishes itself from the related languages in North India… there are features in Sinhalese which are not known in any other Indo-Aryan language, but these features, which make the story of Sinhalese all the more exciting, had not received much attention in the earlier studies.”

He also points out: Another area of uncertainty is the source of the small but high-frequency segment of the Sinhalese vocabulary, especially words for parts of the body and the like: eg. oluva ‘head’, bella ‘neck’, kakula ‘leg’, kalava ‘thigh’, etc. which are neither Sanskritic nor Tamil in origin.  The native grammarians of the past have recognized that there are three categories of words – (a) loanwords, (b) historically derived words and (c) indigenous words… No serious enquiry has been made into these so-called indigenous words”.

In his preface, de Silva notes that there is a growing awareness of the significance of Sinhalese as a test case for the prevailing linguistic theories; more than one linguist has commented on the oddities that Sinhalese presents and the fact… that Sinhalese is ‘unlike any language I have seen’.” Further, he quotes Geiger: It is extremely difficult, and perhaps impossible, to assign it a definite place among the modern Indo-Aryan dialects.”

But, it does not strike de Silva, any more than Geiger, that the reason for all this confusion among linguists could be their failure to recognize the possibility that Sinhalese is not an Indoaryan language (in the sense in which the term is used) at all, but a descendant of another branch of Indo-European languages.

From the historical point of view, a vast body of material has been gathered together by way of lithic and other records to portray the continuous history of Sinhalese from as early as the third century BC.”¹⁶³ in Sri Lanka, and attempts have been made to trace the origins of the earliest Sinhalese people and their language either to the eastern parts of North India or to the western parts”.

But de Silva quotes Geiger as well as S. Paranavitana, and agrees with their view that the band of immigrants who gave their name Simhala to the composite people, their language and the island, seems to have come from northwestern India… their original habitat was on the upper reaches of the Indus river… in what is now the borderland between Pakistan and Afghanistan”, and quotes Paranavitana’s summary of the evidence, and his conclusion: All this evidence goes to establish that the original Sinhalese migrated to Gujarat from the lands of the Upper Indus, and were settled in LATa for some time before they colonised Ceylon.”

A thorough examination, with an open mind, of the vocabulary and grammar of Sinhalese, will establish that Sinhalese represents a remnant of an archaic branch of Indo-European languages [not Indo-Aryan]”.

5. Jayantha Ahangama’s silent service

JA was working at his father’s printing press in the 1960s before he came to study computer science in America. Unlike the new generation of computer science Ph.Ds, JA was well versed in the Sinhala grammar. He found Sinhala Hodiya as a highly scientific sound system arranged according to the movement of lips and tongue from front to back in the mouth.

While working on a project to convert the Pali Tripitaka into Sinhala and English, in order to place it on the internet for analysis and research, JA uncovered some innocent errors that crept into the English transliteration pioneered by the late Rhys Davids in the early 1900s. Thus, in Rhys Davids English translation, Namo Thassa (as in tharu, stars) became Namo Tassa (as in takaran, tin sheet).  JA solved this problem by borrowing three letter sounds from Icelandic (language of Iceland, which is similar with Sinhala and the Old English). The sounds are tha (as in thana, grass), da (as in datha, tooth) and ae (as in  aeta in aetaya, seed). In the process he also made Sinhala language Internet compatible in the most efficient and effective manner.

With electricity replacing paper as the medium of writing and storing data (filing cabinets versus removable disks of the size of a finger), thirteen European languages including the Icelandic formulated an internet’s Brahmin club, placing them at the front end of the Unicode system (Latin -1). JA, invented a system called Romanized Sinhala to take Sinhala into this club as its 14^th member. The club uses Latin letters and because Sinhala is also using Latin letters borrowed from the Old English/Icelandic, for this purpose he named it Latin Sinhala.”

He has been doing this work single-handedly and without any support, encouragement or any appreciation by the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA). On the Internet use of Sinhala, he is without doubt a modern-day Munidasa Cumaratunga, facing roadblocks from vested interests in the computer domain (please visit his website, www.Ahangama.com).

In English language, a letter is just a letter. This is why, a spelling bee contest is possible among the English-speaking. Thus, u is used in put and but with different sound effect. This is not so in Sinhala. This is why, school children play with English letters as if they are words! For them, the four English letters I-O-C-A, could convey the sound Ayyo Seeye (Oh! Grandfather, as if he narrowly escaped a hit by a fast-moving car when he was crossing the road carelessly). JA capitalized on this unique ability of native Sinhala speakers in inventing a Romanized Sinhala or Latin Sinhala.

JA used his American-living friends as a laboratory in perfecting his new invention. A Sinhalaya cannot pronounce the word bicycle” the way an Englishman pronounces it unless of course the Sinhalaya goes to a Colombo elocution class. The American companies using Indians for telephone customer services do this by giving them intensive accent training. The most revealing difference between Tamil and other Indian languages on the one hand and Sinhala on the other, is the inability of Sinhalayas to use retroflex consonant na” (as in tana kola (grass, not breast) and la” (as in mala (dead, not flower). Yes, they are in written Sinhala, but we cannot curl our tongue and say them as Indians do. As such, the ta vargaya in the hodiya is muurdhaja group in Indic. Thus, pronouncing the word bicycle the way an Englishman does is not a problem for a Tamil but impossible to the Sinhalese. Also, we do not use mahapparana (aspirants) at all while North Indians do it without any extra effort.

JA suggests an out-of-the-box thinking on Sinhala, and questions the west-worshipping thinking of English-educated professors. Encouraged by new discoveries by Talageri, and his own ‘field work’ JA proposes a new theory.  In his book Talageri suggests that Indo-European languages went from India to Asia Minor. Then he stumbled on to the word vatura in Sinhala and the other unusual words such as oluva (head), bella (neck), kakula (leg) and kalava (thigh). These words are not found in Sanskrit, Pali, Tamil or any other language. So, JA asks, is it not possible that a Sinhala language went north and west from ancient Sri Lanka? After all the Yavanas mentioned in the Mahavamsa are present-day Iranians. He disagrees with TGP’s suggestion in 1932 that Sinhala had more affinity with the Semitic and Phoenician script.  He says Semitic and Phoenician scripts which write from right to left does not have all the sounds that the Sinhala and Brahmi scripts shared in common. 

Malayalam is a new language, and the remarkable similarity between Sinhala and Malayalam letters makes one wonder if Sinhala letters influenced Malayalam letters. The reason for this is the possibility that Sinhala could be even older than Sanskrit or Pali. The Sinhala words vatura (water) and hakuru (jaggery) are found in Germanic languages and not in Indo-Aryan languages. Why?

If one looks at the oldest world maps available, in one map (Map 2 above, by Eratosthenes, 276-194 B. C.) the British Isles and Sri Lanka take a prominent place. So much detail of the latter is shown in Ptolemy’s map (Map 1, by Ptolemy, 150 A.D.). As a tropical resplendent island located on the path of seasonal Monsoon winds, compared to the dry and barren South India, people who lived in Lanka for example, during the Raavana time, could have had contacts with lands now known as Iran and Europe. Why would King Ashoka send both his son and daughter to Sri Lanka, unless it was the most important land outside India at that time? It is like who the president of Sri Lanka sends to Somaliya and USA as his ambassadors.

Denis Fernando in an essay Indian ocean should be named the Asiatic ocean,” (Island, 2/23/07) presents a post-colonial approach to world history and geography by a Sri Lankan researcher. Perhaps, HLS unintentionally contributed to this new way of thinking with his politically biased, Marxist theory of Sinhalized-Tamils. I hope this topic would generate research interest among both Sinhala and Tamil students/scholars.

Sarath Bulathsinghala

28 Aug 2020

From what we have heard so far down the grapevine, the power failure on 17^th August 2020 has happened due to a single act of carelessness by an operative of the CEB who accidentally ‘grounded’ a 220kV electrical system during routine maintenance work.

The interim report of the Independent Committee on the island wide power failure that occurred on 17 August 2020, which was handed over to Cabinet yesterday, has concluded that the Kerawalapitiya Grid Substation tripping was due to correct maintenance procedure not being followed by relevant officials, including the Electrical Superintendent.

In his note to Cabinet under Cabinet Memorandum 52/2020/PE, Minister of Power Dullas Alahapperuma has observed that it is a huge management lapse that there was no Maintenance Protocol at the Kerawalapitiya Grid Substation for the implementation of maintenance.

Usually these protocols are worked out subsequent to what are called HAZID (Hazard Identification) / HAZOP (Hazard and Operability) studies. The Hazard Identification Study is a process that breaks a project down into component parts for detailed analysis. This analysis helps identify hazards that could cause injury to personnel, asset damage or loss, environmental damage, loss of production, etc. A hazard and operability study (HAZOP) a structured and systematic examination of a planned or existing process or operation in order to identify and evaluate problems that may represent risks to personnel or equipment, or prevent efficient operation; it is carried out by a suitably experienced multi-disciplinary team (HAZOP team) during a set of meetings. HAZOP is a more detailed review technique than HAZID.

Either there was no protocol or if there was one it was inadvertently ignored. It looks more like a systemic failure to be more to the point! That is because this is a repeat of similar electrical failures that happened in March 2016 involving ‘exploding transformers’!

What is inexcusable in this case is that there are hundreds of thousands of similar installations throughout the world and proper protocols for such maintenance operations available freely to follow or emulate to suitably modify such a protocol to suit the local situation and set up a new protocol or a set of procedures. Literally we do not have to ‘reinvent the wheel’!

The CEB Association of Technical Engineers and Superintendents who also made written submissions of their observations on 22 August regarding the incident on the request of the Committee stated, Two generators have been installed at the Norochcholai power plant for continuous operation of the cooling systems in the event of a breakdown. Had these generators run at the time of the system crash, damage to the cooling systems in Units 2 and 3 during the 17 August crash could have been prevented.” It is these very same two UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply Systems) which became an issue around March 2016 that are involved in this instance too.

Meanwhile, the independent committee in its interim report has strongly recommended a standard compliant, systematic, fool proof, safe procedures and maintenance protocols to be put in place in CEB during operation and maintenance. The committee understands that there is no operation and maintenance related risk management mechanism in place. Therefore, it is recommended to establish a risk management mechanism to determine the proper mix of preventive measures, mitigation levels, shift or retention of risks and consequent level of robustness of operation and maintenance protocols that would indicate the positive impact on the overall system,” the committee stated. 

Very powerful words indeed! What worries citizen Perera is whether all this will be forgotten as in March 2016 – four and half years earlier and another similar catastrophic event will eventuate in the not too distant future if left in the hands of the same management and the words – CEB Mafia will resonate once more on the lips of the consumer!

We are confident however that Gotabhaya Administration will put a stop to such mishandling of public assets in the future and those responsible will be disciplined.

Ignorance, bigotry, slanders, politics and Norochchalai!

Dilrook Kannangara

Another way to look at the MCC is to consider how USA helped Sri Lanka progress towards its development goals in the past 200 years of close relationship” between the two countries. Can anyone name a port, airport, any major road or bridge, conference hall, power station, a dam or irrigation scheme, boat shed, ship yard, vehicle plant or a refinery Sri Lanka received from USA?

None! Nothing!

This is the report card of US contribution to Sri Lanka’s development.

China, Japan, EU countries, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Israel and even South Africa have helped Sri Lanka built capability and infrastructure to support its development objectives. USA never did and never will. MCC is no exception. It is not for Sri Lanka’s benefit. It is solely for USA’s military expansion at the expense of Sri Lanka.

USA has spent money in Sri Lanka mostly doing useless and destructive work in pitting ethnic communities against each other, Americanization of Sri Lanka’s governance, dragging the island nation into US geopolitical conflicts and continuing slavery-based outdated industries like garments. Even the so-called US aid to import wheat was insufficient on one hand and destructive of local agriculture on the other.

Expecting any benefit to come from the MCC deal with USA is simply insane. It is not intended to benefit Sri Lanka any way.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

දිවයිනේ සියලුම නගර සඳහා ව්‍යාපාරික හා නේවාසික ස්ථාන වෙන් වූ විධිමත් නාගරික සංවර්ධන සැළැස්මක් සකස් කරන්නැයි අග්‍රමාත්‍ය හා විෂය භාර අමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමා  2020.08.28 දින පැවසීය.

බත්තරමුල්ල සුහුරුපායේ පිහිටි නාගරික සංවර්ධන හා නිවාස අමාත්‍යංශයේ පැවති ප්‍රගති සමාලෝචන රැස්වීමට සහභාගීවෙමින් අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමා මේ බව සඳහන් කළේය.

නාගරික ප්‍රදේශවල  ජනතාවට පදිංචිවීමට වෙන්කර තිබෙන නේවාසික ප්‍රදේශ කිසිවෙකුගේ බලපෑමකට ලක වී ව්‍යාපාරික ස්ථාන සඳහා වෙන් නොකිරීමට වගබලා ගන්නැයි අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා මෙහිදී නිලධාරීන්ට උපදෙස් දුන්නේය.

මුහුදට අපද්‍රව්‍ය එක්වීම වැළැක්වීමේ පියවරක් ලෙස, ගංගාවන්වලට කැළි කසළ එක්වීම වැළැක්වීමේ වැ‍ඩපිළිවෙළක් සකස් කිරීම පිළිබඳව ද අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා නිලධාරීන්ගේ අවධානය යොමු කළේය.

රජයේ සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘතිවලට අමතරව තරගකාරී බවින් යුතුව පෞද්ගලික අංශයේ සංවර්ධන ව්‍යපෘති සඳහා යොමුවීමේ වැදගත්කම රාජ්‍ය ඉංජිනේරු සංස්ථාවට අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා විසින් මෙහිදී පෙන්වා දුන්නේය.

පසුගිය ආණ්ඩුව අවසන් නොකළ ව්‍යාපෘති පිළිබඳව සොයා බලා ඒවා ජනතාව වෙනුවෙන් අවසන් කරන්නැයි නියෝග කළ අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා ඇතැම් නිවාස ව්‍යාපෘති කිසිඳු වගකීමකින් තොරව අලි වැට ඇතුළත පවා ඉදි කර තිබීම ගැන විමතිය පළ කළේය.

නාගරික සංවර්ධන හා නිවාස අමාත්‍යංශය ඉදිරි මාස 04 තුළ රුපියල් බිලියන 28 ක සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘති ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීමට නියමිතය.

පසුගිය ආණ්ඩු සමයේ අවිධිමත්ව කළ පත්වීම් සහ ක්‍රියාකාරීත්වය හේතුවෙන් පාඩු ලබන ආයතන බවට පත් වූ  සියලු ආයතන ලබන දෙසැම්බර් 31 වනදාට පෙර ලාභ ලබන ආයතන බවට පත් කරන බව නාගරික සංවර්ධන හා නිවාස අමාත්‍යංශය ලේකම් සිරිනිමල් පෙරේරා මහතා විශ්වාසය පළ කළේය.

රාජ්‍ය ඉඩම් සංස්ථාවේ මාසික ආදායම රුපියල් මිලියන 90ක් වුව ද, පසුගිය ආණ්ඩු සමයේ සිදු වූ අවිධිමත් පත්වීම් නිසා එහි මාසික වියදම රුපියල් මිලියන 166ක් තරම් ඉහළ අගයක් ගෙන ඇතැයි අමාත්‍යංශ ලේකම්වරයා කියා සිටියේය.

නාගරික සංවර්ධන අධිකාරිය යටතේ පසුගිය අවුරුදු හතර හමාරක කාලය තුළ ඉදි වී තිබෙන මුළු නිවාස සංඛ්‍යාව 450ක් තරම් අඩු සංඛ්‍යාවක් බව මෙම ප්‍රගති සමාලෝචන රැස්වීමේදී හෙළිවිය.

ඉදිරියේදී ප්‍රධාන නගර ඉලක්ක කර ගනිමින් කොළඹ, මහනුවර, අනුරාධපුර, මාතර, කුරුණෑගල නගරවල රථ ගාල් ඉදි කිරීමට නියමිත බව නාගරික සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියේ අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජනරාල් ප්‍රසාද් රණවීර මහතා පැවසීය.

පළාත් පාලන ආයතන විසින් මේ වන විට එකතු කරන කැළි කසළ බැහැර කිරීමේ වගකීම නාගරික සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියට පවරා ඇතැයි කී ප්‍රසාද් රණවීර මහතා එම වගකීම වෙනුවෙන් ජනාධිපතිවරයා විසින් කමිටුවක් ද පත්කර ඇති බව සිහිපත් කළේය.

අඩු ආදායම්ලාභී, පහළ ආදායම්ලාභී, මධ්‍යම ප්‍රාන්තික, ඉහළ ආදායම්ලාභී හා රාජ්‍ය සේවකයින් ඉලක්ක කර ගනිමින් ඉදිරියේදී අමාත්‍යංශයේ මඟ පෙන්වීම යටතේ නිවාස ව්‍යාපෘති ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීමට නියමිතය.

පැල්පත් නිවාස ලාභීන්ට නොමිලේ ලබාදීමට තට්ටු නිවාස 1400ක් අලුතින් ඉදි කර ඇති අතර එම පැල්පත් නිවාස පැවති ස්ථානවලද නව නිවාස ව්‍යාපෘති ක්‍රියාත්මක කරන බව ප්‍රසාද් රණවීර මහතා කීවේය.

මෙයට අමතරව මධ්‍යම ප්‍රාන්තික නිවාස 608ක් රජයේ සේවකයින් වෙනුවෙන් ඉදි කර ඇති අතර තවත් නිවාස 800ක් රජයේ සේවකයින් වෙනුවෙන් 2021 වර්ෂයේදී ඉදි කර අවසන් කිරීමට නියමිතය.

මෙම නිවාස ව්‍යාපෘතිවලට අමතරව ඕනෑම පුද්ගලයෙකුට අයදුම් කොට මිලදී ලබා ගත හැකි නිවාස 3300ක් ව්‍යාපෘති 10ක් යටතේ ඉදිරියේදී ඉදි කෙරෙන බව ප්‍රසාද් රණවීර මහතා කියා සිටියේය.

ජාතික නිවාස සංවර්ධන අධිකාරිය මේ වන විට නිවාස 8701ක් ඉදි කර තිබෙන  බවත්, ලබන වසර තුළ නිවාස සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියේ රුපියල් බිලියන 6ක ආදායමක් බලාපොරොත්තු වන බවත් ජාතික නිවාස සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියේ සභාපති රේණුක පෙරේරා මහතා පැවසීය.

සෙවණ නිවාස අරමුදල පසුගිය ආණ්ඩු සමයේ අවභාවිත කිරීම නිසා එම මුදල් නිවාස ඉදි කිරීමට පරිභාහිර කටයුතුවලට යොදා ගෙන ඇතැයි හෙළි වූ බව රේණුක පෙරේරා මහතා කියා සිටියේය.

මෙම අවස්ථාවට නාගරික සංවර්ධන, වෙරළ සංරක්‍ෂණ අපද්‍රව්‍ය බැහැරලීම හා ප්‍රජා පවිත්‍ර කටයුතු රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය ආචාර්ය නාලක ගොඩහේවා මහතා, ග්‍රාමීය නිවාස හා ඉදිකිරීම් හා ගොඩනැගිලි ද්‍රව්‍ය කර්මාන්ත ප්‍රවර්ධන රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය ඉන්දික අනුරුද්ධ මහතා, වතු නිවාස හා ප්‍රජා යටිතල පහසුතකම්  රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය ජීවන් තොණ්ඩමන් මහතා ඇතුළු මැති ඇමතිවරුන්, අමාත්‍යංශ හා රාජ්‍ය ආයතන නිලධාරීන් රැසක්  එක්ව සිටියහ.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය

ධීවර ක්ෂේත්‍රය, ශ්‍රී ලංකා – නෝර්වේ ද්විපාර්ශ්වික සම්බන්ධතාවල  වැදගත්  අංශයකි.  මෙම ක්ෂේත්‍රවල ව්‍යාපෘති ගණනාවක් ඔස්සේ එම සබඳතා තවදුරටත් ශක්තිමත් කිරීමට නෝර්වේ රාජ්‍ය උනන්දුවෙන් පසුවේ.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමා සමඟ 2020.08.27 දින අරලියගහ මන්දිරයේ පැවති සාකච්ඡාවේදී  ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ නෝර්වේ තානාපතිනිය  ට්‍රයින් ජෙරන්ලි එස්කෙඩාල්  මහත්මිය  මේ බව ප්‍රකාශ කළාය.

ධීවර කර්මාන්තය අපගේ ද්විපාර්ශ්වික සබඳතාවල මූලික පදනම” යැයි තානාපතිනි එස්කෙඩාල්  මහත්මිය පැවසුවාය.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ධීවර ක්‍ෂේත්‍රයේ ඇති වැදගත්කම සඳහන්  කළ අගමැති මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමා සමුද්‍රීය පරිසරය විනාශ කරන ට්‍රෝලර් පන්නයේ මසුන් මැරීමේ ක්‍රමය පිළිබඳව පවතින ගැටලු මෙහිදී පෙන්වා දුන්නේය.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ප්‍රමුඛතාවය මේ වන විට COVID-19 ට මුහුණ දෙමින් ආර්ථික සංවර්ධනය සඳහා යොමු වී ඇති බව සඳහන් කළ අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමා, ජනාධිපතිවරණයෙන් හා මහ මැතිවරණයෙන් පසුව  ආකර්ෂණීය ආයෝජන ඔස්සේ ඉතා විශ්වාසනීය ලෙස ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ව්‍යාපාර කටයුතු පවත්වාගෙන යාමට හැකි පරිසරය උදා වී ඇති බව සඳහන් කළේය.

COVID-19 වසංගතය පාලනය කිරීමට වඩා යෝග්‍ය හා ක්ෂණික ක්‍රියාමාර්ග ගැනීම ගැන  තානාපතිනි එස්කෙඩාල් මහත්මිය රජයට ප්‍රශංසා කළාය.

නෝර්වීජියානු මැදිහත්වීම දැනට ක්‍රියාත්මක ව්‍යාපෘති හා ඉදිරියේදී ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීමට සැළසුම් කරමින් තිබෙන නව ව්‍යාපෘති කිහිපයක් සම්බන්ධයෙන් දෙරටේ දූත පිරිස සාකච්ඡාවක නිරත වූහ.

 අපට දැනටමත් හොඳ ද්විපාර්ශ්වික සබඳතා තිබෙනවා. අපට එය ශක්තිමත් කිරීමට අවශ්‍යයි, ” ශ්‍රී ලංකාව කෙරෙහි අපගේ කැපවීම තහවුරු කිරීමට අපට අවශ්‍යයි.” යැයි ද තානාපතිනී එස්කෙඩාල් මහත්මිය පැවසුවාය. 

HON PRIME MINISTER’S MEDIA DIVISION

The fisheries sector has been an important part of the Sri Lanka — Norway bilateral relationship, and Norway is interested in further strengthening those ties through a number of projects in the fisheries and maritime sectors.

During a meeting with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees yesterday (Aug. 27), Ambassador of Norway to Sri Lanka Trine Jøranli Eskedal spoke about the long-standing friendship between the two countries that started with cooperation in the fisheries sector.

Fisheries is the cornerstone of our bilateral relations,” Ambassador Eskedal said.

Noting the importance of the fisheries sector to Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Rajapaksa stressed the need to address the problem of bottom trawling that is destroying the marine environment.

Prime Minister Rajapaksa also conveyed to Ambassador Eskedal that the main priority for Sri Lanka now and during the post COVID-19 years will be economic development, with a specific focus on attracting investors who can now have more confidence in doing business in Sri Lanka following the stability achieved after the Presidential and General Elections.

Ambassador Eskedal commended the government for its swift and quick reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Congratulations on managing the election during COVID,” the Ambassador said. It was a very peaceful election and very well-managed with the challenges of COVID. Congratulations on your successful campaign.”

The two delegations further discussed a number of ongoing projects that has Norwegian involvement and several new projects that are being planned for future implementation.

We already have good bilateral relations; we want to strengthen that,” Ambassador Eskedal said. We want to confirm our commitment to Sri Lanka.”

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය

කොළඹ පෞද්ගලික රෝහලක  ප්‍රතිකාර ලබන ශ්‍රී ලංකා අමරපුර මහා නිකායේ උත්තරීතර මහ නායක අග්ගමහා පණ්ඩිත මහෝපාද්‍ය කොටුගොඩ ධම්මාවාස නාහිමියන් බැහැ දුටු අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමා 2020.08.26 දින උන්වහන්සේගේ සුව දුක් විමසා බැලුවේය.

අග්ගමහා පණ්ඩිත මහෝපාද්‍ය කොටුගොඩ ධම්මාවාස නාහිමියන්ට ඉක්මන් සුවය ප්‍රාර්ථනා කළ අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා නාහිමියන්ගේ අත්‍යවශ්‍ය ප්‍රතිකාර පිළිබඳව සොයා බැලීමට නිලධාරීන්ට උපදෙස් ලබා දුන්නේය.

Courtesy MailOnlin

Plastic in Sri Lankan landfills has become a major killer of elephants

Sri Lanka will ban the import of most plastic products in a bid to protect wild elephants and deer that die eating the waste, the environment minister announced Friday.

Plastic in Sri Lankan landfills is a major killer of elephants, with autopsies showing kilos of it in the stomachs of animals who died after rummaging at dumps.

Environment minister Mahinda Amaraweera told parliament legislation was being drafted to stop imports of plastic goods, including polythene, that end up in landfills. Officials said it would be introduced within months.

“Plastics are doing untold damage to our wildlife — elephants, deer and other animals,” Amaraweera told AFP shortly after his announcement.

“We need to take immediate action to arrest this situation.”

Sri Lanka has already banned the manufacture or import of non-biodegradable plastic used for wrapping food and shopping bags since 2017.

Endangered wild elephants are protected in Sri Lanka by law although clashes with farmers are claiming a heavy toll on both sides.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has given wildlife officials two years to implement a plan to reduce human-elephant conflict that has claimed the lives of 607 elephants and 184 people since last year.

Amaraweera said the proposed import ban — that covers mainly toys and household utensils — will be extended to local manufacturing, but did not give a timeline.

Courtesy Adaderana

Another new positive case of COVID-19 has been detected today (28) increasing the total number of positive cases in the country to 2,989.

The novel coronavirus patients detected today are arrivals from the United Kingdom, the Department of Government Information confirmed.

Earlier this evening, two arrivals from the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait also tested positive for the virus.

The Epidemiology Unit says 135 active cases are currently under medical care at hospitals.

In the meantime, the number of recoveries from the disease in Sri Lanka moved up to 2,842 as 12 patients were discharged from the Welikanda and Minuwangoda base hospitals earlier today.

Sri Lanka has thus far witnessed 12 deaths due to the virus outbreak.

Courtesy Adaderana

The committee studying the recent island-wide power outage has stated in its Interim Report, that no proper maintenance procedures had been followed in the routine maintenance task that resulted in the breakdown.

It has recommended that a more detailed set of protocols be introduced when dealing with such high-risk procedures.

Members of the committee, holding a media briefing today (28) on its conclusions in the interim report, said they expect to submit a more detailed report.

However, that will take some time. But we have promised the minister that a detailed report will be submitted,” Secretary to the Ministry of Energy, Mr. K.H.D.K. Samarakoon said during the media briefing.

Professor Rahula Athalage meanwhile said, in parts 1 and 2 of the report of the committee’s conclusions, they have clearly noted that this incident occurred during routine maintenance.

Further, we have also stated that there is a set of protocols that must be followed when handling a high-risk task such as this in conventional, nuclear and chemical plants. The committee has not been able to uncover any evidence to determine if such protocols exist to be followed,” he added.

Responding to a question, General Manager of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) G.G. Aluthge said, The CEB has a set of maintenance procedures that include procedures detailing things such as which switches must be turned off and which ones must be turned on and such. However, it is very clear that those procedures were not followed. This is why the committee recommends that a better set of protocols must be introduced.”

The Media Secretary of the Ministry of Energy Sulakshana Jayawardena, speaking on the officer responsible for the incident, said the CEB has a disciplinary code, hence, there is a possibility of disciplinary action being taken against him.

The initial disciplinary inquiry will be concluded within three months,” he said noting that there is a process where the Head of the institution can decide if there is a need to suspend an employee based on recommendations.

The CEB General Manager, speaking further, stated that it was the employee himself who informed the system control that such a mistake was made by him. At that time, he was not aware that the entire country was without power. So he informed the system control that he had made a mistake and that power was down at the Kerawalapitiya Station. The Electrical Superintendent was brought before the committee and we spoke to him. He admitted at the time that such a mistake happened under his watch and that is its something that should not have happened.”

Courtesy Hiru News

Former senior members of the United National Party say that its leader Ranil Wickremesinghe is responsible for the downfall of the party.

They point out that the party leadership should be handed over to former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya and the United National Party and Samagi Jana Balawegaya should unite.

However, heated discussions are currently taking place between the two parties regarding the discussion that arose at the UNP Working Committee meeting regarding the party membership of former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya.

In a statement, former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya’s media unit had stated the day before yesterday, that with the announcement that Karu Jayasuriya was ready to take over the leadership of the party, absurd and ridiculous allegations were being leveled against him.

It was also stated that he had duly updated his party membership.

However, former UNP MP Sandith Samarasinghe said in a statement yesterday that according to Article 3.1 of the UNP constitution, former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya is not a life member.

It also stated that former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya has not contributed to the party fund since 2015.

Today the media unit of former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya had issued another statement in response to this , stating that several individuals responsible for the destruction of the UNP were making baseless allegations.

A copy of a Rs. 20 membership card obtained for the year 2020 and a copy of the Rs. 1000 membership card was also attached to the statement issued. 

Former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya also said that it would be more appropriate to address senior politicians to further confirm the life membership and that the views of political infants who have no understanding of the party’s path are not relevant to him.

Courtesy Hiru News

he former director of the State Intelligence Service told the Presidential Commission that the series of Easter attacks could have been prevented if all security forces worked togther and had arrested Saharan’s follower as a precautionary measure.

Courtesy Hiru News

Former Inspector of the Police Narcotics Bureau Neomal Rangajeewa has stated in the Colombo High Court that the places and times in the information book on the raids carried out by the Police Narcotics Bureau were changed with the intention of preventing drug traffickers from receiving prior information.

Our court correspondent stated that he revealed this before the three member bench of the High Court comprising Gihan Kulatunga, Pradeep Deep Hettiarachchi and Manjula Tilakaratne when the case pertaining to the Welikada prison clash was taken up for hearing.

Investigations have revealed that Wele Suda, a drug trafficker, had paid Rs. 150,000 a month to a police constable of the Narcotics Bureau to obtain information about raids planned by the Narcotics Bureau.

Accordingly, Inspector Neomal Rangajeewa stated that the relevant police constable who provided information to the drug dealer Wele Suda was arrested after conducting an extensive investigation into the incident.

Daily News 

Pearl Energy (Pvt) Ltd., signed an agreement with the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka to launch ‘Hambantota LNG Hub’ – a floating storage LNG trading facility at the Port of Hambantota, bringing LNG to the doorstep of Sri Lanka, with a primary aim of trading LNG in the region utilizing the strategic location of Hambantota.

The LNG Hub will become a landmark infrastructure development for the region paving the way to broader access to natural gas as a primary fuel in South Asia. Commencing commercial operations within 6 months, Pearl Energy will utilise a floating storage unit (FSU) with an initial capacity of 1 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).

The company will deploy small LNG Carriers to re-distribute LNG to South India &t he Maldives providing LNG as a clean and affordable alternative to the industries in these locations.

‘It is our pleasure to embark on this journey of bringing clean energy to the doorstep of Sri Lanka & the region. Taking the ‘early mover’ Advantage we will strive to place Sri Lanka as a future LNG Hub of the world. Factors including the strategic location of Hambantota, Newly established stable government & its investor friendly policies & the fast growing regional demand for LNG Encouraged our investors led by Omar Siraj of Saudi Arabia to place their confidence on this project despite the global economic downturn causedBy Covid-19 pandemic’, said Tania Siegertsz, Director, Pearl Energy.

‘Sri Lanka is extremely well equipped to meet the change in dynamics in the global LNG market and consolidate its position as a key player for the future. Though our project is launched targeting regional trade, the fact that a world class LNG hub will soon be within the Port of Hambantota, we are confident that Sri Lanka too will be encouraged to convert its power plants to LNG Thus saving millions of USD whilst also increasing the efficiency & producing more power to the national grid.”

The Port too could also commence using LNG for bunkering thereby making Hambantota Port & its industrial Zone as a ‘Clean Energy Zone’ of the future”, Tania stated.

Hambantota Port has the geographic advantage of being strategically located nearest to the world’s busiest shipping lane with the added benefit of a deep water coastline. This allows the port to be capable of handling the world’s largest container ships and super tankers making this port an ideal location for the transshipment of goods and natural resources moving across the subcontinent. Hambantota is also integrated into the global development strategy of the Chinese government, the Belt and road initiative (BRI), providing the opportunity for wider regional maritime connectivity.

Moreover, this port has the benefit of the vast expanse of land available in the Hambantota District for its expansion and has the potential to emerge as the most favoured International business hub.

The Project of Pearl Energy is poised to take advantage of these and will cater to the region’s thriving manufacturing clusters, providing natural gas to power plants, industrial and commercial customers within a 300 km radius. Pearl Energy’s investment is tipped to pave way for many more projects to follow suit, considering the availability of LNG for development of industries via reliable and affordable access to clean energy. Pearl Energy hopes to work closely with the recently established State Ministry of Solar, Wind & Grid Power Generation Projects Development by the new government in achieving its vision of converting all of Sri Lanka’s power installations to LNG, a reality within the very near future.

The MCC agreements binds Sri Lanka to make legislative changes before, during & after signing of its Compact. For a paltry $480m given to a private company that reports to US, is it worth it, is a question policy makers are evading answering. In so doing, this country is likely to land in a precarious situation, one that politicians have a record of placing the country in, resulting in Sri Lanka never reaching the heights of development it could. Warnings and likely outcomes given to decision makers have a habit of being ignored.

Below quotes exact clauses from the MCC Compact agreement

Section 2.6      Government Resources; Budget.

(a)       The Government shall provide all funds and other resources, and shall take all other actions that are necessary to carry out the Government’s responsibilities under this Compact.

(b)       The Government shalluse its best efforts to ensure that all MCC Fundingit receives or is projected to receive in each of its fiscal years is fully accounted forin its annual budgets for the duration of the Program.

(c)        The Government shall not reduce the normal and expected resourcesthat it would otherwise receive or budget from sources other than MCC for the activities contemplated under this Compact and the Program.

Section 2.7      Limitations on the Use of MCC Funding. 

The Government shall ensure that MCC Funding is not used for any purpose that would violate United States law or policy, as specified in this Compact or as further notified to the Government in writing, including but not limited tothe following purposes:

(a)       for assistance to, or training of, the military, police, militia, national guard, or other quasi-military organization or unit;

(b)       for any activity that is likely to cause a substantial loss of United States jobsor a substantial displacement of United States production;

(c)        to undertake, fund, or otherwise support any activitythat is likely to cause asignificant environmental, health, or safety hazard, as further described in MCC’s Environmental Guidelines and any guidance documents issued in connection with such guidelines (collectively, the iv/CC Environmental Guidelines”); or

(d)       to pay for the performance of abortions as a method of family planning, to motivate or coerce any person to practice abortions, to pay for the performance of involuntary sterilizations as a method of family planning, to coerce or provide any financial incentive to any person to undergo sterilizations, to pay for any biomedical research which relates, in whole or in part, to methods of, or the performance of, abortions or involuntary sterilization as a means of family planning.

Section 2.8 

(b)       The mechanisms that the Government shall useto implement the tax exemptionrequired by Section 2.8(a) for certain principal taxes are set forth in the Program Implementation Agreement.Such mechanisms may include exemptions from the payment of Taxes that have been granted in accordance with applicable law, refund, or reimbursement of Taxes by the Government to MCC, MCA-Sri Lanka, or to the taxpayer, or payment by the Government to MCA-Sri Lanka or MCC, for the benefit of the Program, of an agreed amount representing any collectible Taxes on the items described in Section 2.8(a).

© If a Tax has been paid contrary to the requirements of Section 2.8(a) or Annex V, the Government shall refund promptly to MCC(or to another party as designated by MCC) the amount of such Tax in United States Dollars or the currency of Sri Lanka within sixty (60) days(or such other period as may be agreed in writing by the Parties) after the Government is notified in writing (whether by MCC or MCA-Sri Lanka) that such Tax has been paid. Failure to refund such amount within the specified time shall result in interest accruing on the unpaid amount in accordance with Section 5.4.

IMPLEMENTATION: Section 3.1         Program Implementation Agreement.

The Parties shall enter into an agreement providing further detail on the implementation arrangements, fiscal accountability and disbursement, and use of MCC Funding, among other matters (the Program Implementation Agreement” or PIA”); and the Government shall implement the Program in accordance with this Compact, the PIA, any other Supplemental Agreement, and any Implementation Letter.

(b)       With the prior consent of MCC, the Government shall designate an entity, to be established as a company limited by guarantee under Sri Lanka’s Companies Act No. 7 of 2007, as the accountable entity to implement the Program and to exercise and perform the Government’s right and obligation to oversee, manage, and implement the Program, including without limitation, managing the implementation of the Projects and their Activities, allocating resources, and managing procurements.Such entity shall be referred to herein as MCA-Sri Lanka”and shall have the authority to act on behalf of the Government with regard to all Program activities. Any provision of this Compact obligating MCA-Sri Lanka to take any action or refrain from taking any action, as the case may be, means that the Government shall cause MCA-Sri Lanka to take such action or refrain from taking such action, as the case may be. The Government hereby also designates MCA-Sri Lanka to exercise and perform the Government’s right and obligation to oversee, manage, and implement the activities described in the Amended and Restated Grant and Implementation Agreement, dated June 18, 2018, as amended, between the Government and MCC (the CDF Agreement”). MCC hereby acknowledges and consents to the designation in this Section 3.2(b).

(c)        The Government shall ensure that any Program Assets or services funded in whole or in part (directly or indirectly) by MCC Funding are used solely in furtherance of this Compact and the Program, unless MCC agrees otherwise in writing.

(d)       The Government shall take all necessary or appropriate steps to achieve the Project Objectives during the Compact Term (including, without limiting Section 2.6 (a), funding all costs that exceed MCC Funding and are required to carry out the terms hereof and achieve such objectives, unless MCC agrees otherwise in writing).

(e)       The Government shall ensure that the Program is implemented with, and that the Government carries out its obligations hereunder with, due care, efficiency, and diligence in conformity with sound technical, financial, and management practices, and in conformity with this Compact, the Program Implementation Agreement, any other Supplemental Agreement, any Implementation Letter, and the Program Guidelines.

Section 3.3      Policy Performance.

In addition to undertaking the specific policy, legal, and regulatory reform commitments identified in Annex I, the Government shall seek to maintain and to improve its level of performance under the policy criteria identified in Section 607 of the MCA Act, and the selection criteria and methodology used by MCC.

Section 3.6      Procurement and Grants.

(a)       The Government shall ensure that the procurement of all goods, works, and services by the Government or any Provider to implement the Program shall be in accordance with MCC’s Program Procurement Guidelines(the 1l1CC Program Procurement Guidelines”). Accordingly, neither the Government Procurement Guidelines (2006), nor any other laws or regulations of Sri Lanka regarding procurements shall apply to procurements to implement the Program.

The MCC Program Procurement Guidelines include the following requirements, among others:

(b)       Unless MCC otherwise consents in writing, the Government shall ensure that any grant issued in furtherance of the Program (each, a Grant”) is awarded, implemented, and managed pursuant to open, fair, and competitive procedures administered in a transparent  manner acceptable to MCC.In furtherance of this requirement, and prior to the issuance of any Grant, the Government and MCC shall agree upon written procedures to govern the  identification of potential Grant recipients, including, without limitation, appropriate eligibility and selection criteria and award procedures. Such agreed procedures shall be posted on the MCA-Sri Lanka website.

Section 3.7      Records; Accounting; Covered Providers: Access.

(a)       Government Books and Records.

The Government shall maintain, and shall use its best efforts to ensure that all Covered Providers maintain, accounting books, records, documents, and other evidence relating to the Program adequate to show, to MCC’s satisfaction, the use of all MCC Funding and the implementation and results of the Program(Compact Records”).

In addition, the Government shall furnish or cause to be furnished to MCC, upon its request, originals or copies of such Compact Records.

(b)       Accounting.

The Government shall maintain, and shall use its best efforts to ensure that all Covered Providers maintain, Compact Records in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles prevailing in the United States, or at the Government’s option and with MCC’s prior written approval, other accounting principles, such as those (i) prescribed by the International Accounting Standards Board, or (ii) then prevailing in Sri Lanka. Compact Records must be maintained for at least five years after the end of the Compact Term or for such longer period, if any, required to resolve any litigation, claims, or audit findings or any

applicable legal requirements.

Section 3.8      Audits; Reviews.

(a)       Government Audits.

Except as the Parties may agree otherwise in writing, the Government shall, on at least a semi-annual basis, conduct, or cause to be conducted, financial audits of all disbursements of MCC Funding covering the period from signing of this Compact until the earlier of the following March 31 or September 30 and covering each six-month period thereafter ending March 31 or September 30, through the end of the Compact Term, as well as the one hundred twenty (120) day period following the expiration of the Compact Term. In addition, the Government shall ensure that such audits are conducted by an independent auditor approved by MCC and selected in accordance with MCC’s Guidelines for Financial Audits Contracted by the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s Accountable Entities(the Audit Guidelines”). Audits shall be performed in accordance with such Audit Guidelines, and/or other processes and procedures directed from time to time by MCC. Each audit must be completed and the audit report delivered to MCC no later than ninety (90) days after the applicable audit period, or such other period as the Parties may otherwise agree in writing. Any changes to the period to be audited shall be included in an audit plan developed and implemented by MCA-Sri Lanka in accordance with Audit Guidelines and Program Implementation Agreement and as approved by MCC (the Audit Plan”). nonprofit organization, on the other hand, state that the United States nonprofit organization is subject to the applicable audit requirements contained in the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, issued by the United States Office of Management and Budget; (ii) a United States for-profit Covered Provider, on the other hand, state that the United States for-profit organization is subject to audit by the applicable United States Government agency, unless the Government and MCC agree otherwise in writing; and (iii) a non-US Covered Provider (whether a for-profit or nonprofit organization), on the other hand, state that the non-US Covered Provider is subject to audit in accordance with the Audit Guidelines.

(c)        Corrective Actions.

The Government shall use its best efforts to ensure that each Covered Provider (i) takes, where necessary, appropriate, and timely, corrective actions in response to audits, (ii) considers whether the results of the Covered Provider’s audit necessitates adjustment of the Government’s records, and (iii) permits independent auditors to have access to its records and financial statements as necessary.

Section 4.2      Representatives.  

For all purposes relevant  to implementation  of this Compact, the Government shall be represented  by the individual holding the position  of, or acting as, the Minister of Finance, and MCC shall be represented  by the individual holding the position  of, or acting as, Vice President,  Compact Operations(each of the foregoing, a Principal Representative”).  Each Party, by written notice to the other Party, may designate one or more additional representatives of the Government or MCC, as appropriate (each, an Additional Representative”) for all purposes relevant to implementation  of this Compact except for amending this Compact pursuant  to Section 6.2(a).

MCC hereby designates the Deputy Vice President for Europe, Asia, Pacific, and Latin America and the Resident  Country Director  for Sri Lanka as Additional  Representatives  for MCC. A Party may change its Principal Representative to a new representative that holds a position of equal or higher authority upon written notice to the other Party.

Section 5.3      Refunds; Violation.

(a)       If any MCC Funding, any interest or earnings thereon, or any Program Asset is used for any purpose in violation of the terms of this Compact, then MCC may require the Government to repay to MCC in United States Dollars the value of the misused MCC Funding, interest, earnings, or asset, plus interest thereon in accordance with Section 5.4 within thirty (30) days after the Government’s receipt of MCC’s request for repayment. The Government shall not use MCC Funding, proceeds thereof, or Program Assets to make such payment.

Section 5 .4     Late Payment Interest. 

If the Government fails to pay any amount under this Compact or the Program Implementation Agreement when due (including amounts under Section 2.8(c) and 5.3(a)), the Government shall pay interest on such past due amount.Interest shall accrue on such amount at a rate equal to the then current U.S. Treasury Current Value of Funds Rate, calculated on a daily basis and a 360-day year from the due date of such payment until such amount is paid in full. Any such payment shall first be credited against interest due, and once the interest due amount is extinguished, then payments shall be credited against outstanding principal.

Section 6.8      MCC Status. 

MCC is a United States government corporation acting on behalf of the United States Government in the implementation of this Compact. MCC and the United States Government assume no liability for any claims or loss arising out of activities or omissions under this Compact. The Government waives any and all claims against MCC or the United States Government or any current or former officer or employee of MCC or the United States Government for all loss, damage, injury, or death arising out of activities or omissions under this Compact, and agrees that it shall not bring any claim or legal proceeding of any kind against any of the above entities or persons for any such loss, damage, injury, or death.

The Government agrees that MCC and the United States Government or any current or former officer or employee of MCC or the United States Government shall be immune from the jurisdiction of all courts and tribunals of Sri Lanka for any claim or loss arising out of activities or omissions under this Compact.

Section 7.1      Domestic Procedures. 

The Government shall proceed in a timely manner to complete all of its domestic requirements for this Compact and PIA to enter into force. The Parties understand that, consistent with Sri Lankan law, prior to the Government sending the letter described in Section 7.3, this Compact is to be submitted to and enacted by the Parliament of Sri Lanka.

ARTICLES.

ADDITIONAL GOVERNMENT COVENANTS

Section 8.1      Permitted Account. 

The Government shall ensure that MCA-Sri Lanka shall maintain the Permitted Account in a private commercial bank.

Section 8.2      Foreign Exchange Accounts. 

The Government shall ensure that MCA-Sri Lanka, any foreign personnel (individual consultants or personnel of firms), and any foreign company providing goods, works, or services under the Compact have the legal right to maintain a foreign currency bank account.

Section 8.3      Employment Requirements.

The Government shall arrange for any foreign personnel (individual consultants or personnel of firms) providing goods, works, or services under the Compact to be provided promptly with any necessary entry or work visas.

1. DESCRIPTION OF PROJECTS

Set forth below is a description of the Project and the specific activities (each, an Activity ) thatthe Government shall implement, or cause to be implemented, using MCC Funding to advance the Project Objective.

The Transport Projectfocuses on leveraging and creating synergies with other development partners. The WB is planning an urban transport program incorporating a bus modernization component that shall likely extend beyond the term of the Compact. The Government shall coordinate closely with the WB to integrate the Transport Project interventions with the WB’s investments in this sector.The Japan International Cooperation Agency is slated to begin construction of the country’s first light rail transit line, connecting central Colombo with one of its suburbs to which many Government ministries and departments have relocated. The BTSM Activity is expected to include feeder service to and from these stations as part of its route rationalization efforts. The Asian Development Bank is launching a program to improve rural roads (Class C, D, and E) throughout the country, some of which connect with the Class A and B roads improved under the CRRN Activity.

• The Government shall include a distinct budget category in the national budget for the ATMS Activity and allocate sufficient funds to cover the cost of staffing and O&M requirements at each stage of the ATMS implementation.
• To facilitate the development and implementation of the ATMS, including the TMC functions, the Government shall establish a steering committee composed of relevant stakeholders to develop, manage, maintain, and update the concept of operations for the traffic management system, as well as to facilitate maintenance and protection of traffic during construction.
• TheGovernment shall ensure and facilitate all necessary coordination with all stakeholders and inter-governmental ministries and agencies to allow the ATMS to function effectively.
• TheGovernment shall provide MCA-Sri Lanka with access to data that is relevant to monitor Project progress and evaluate the outcomes of the Transport Project.
• During the implementation of the BTSM Activity, the Government shall establish a revenue support fund to cover any possible revenue losses for bus operators during the transitional period.
• As part of the BTSM Activity, the Government shall work with provincial authorities to enforce performance standards and optimize bus route networks and schedules according to passenger demand forecasts.
• As part of the BTSM Activity, the Government shall facilitate the deployment and adoption of an automated fare card system and performance-based bus operations.
• For the CRRN Activity, the Government shall adopt a multi-year maintenance plan for Class A and B road’s developed through the project technical assistance, and commit to regular updates of the plan through a data-driven process.
• The Government shall fund any intervention s that require direct support to the Sri Lanka police during the implementation of the Transport Project.

(a)       Registration of Absolute Land Grants Sub-Activity.

MCC Funding shall support Government efforts to convert permits and grants in State Land to absolute land grants” that are expected to be registered as freehold rights in land.The sub­ activity would support the conversion of State Lands to the private domain, creating a marketable and bankable title to this land in the name of the land holder. 

The Government shall register the absolute land grants in the title registration system, allowing the use of land as collateral for loans and the free transfer of this land without excessive government restrictions.

The Land Special Provisions Act (LSPA”) is expected to define the process the Government shall use for this conversion of land rights.

The availability of MCC Funding for this Activity is dependent on the enactment of the LSPA that states that registration of absolute land grants is completed in the title registration system and creates a presumption of registration of rights to absolutelandgrantsjointlyin thenameof husbandandwifewithatime boundopt-outprocessthatisfree,fair,andwithoutcoercion

Land Research

MCC and the Government shall agree on the most appropriate location in government for the LPRG.

MCC Funding shall be made available for this Activity once the Government and MCC agree on the location for the LPRG and the body is established by a formal Government decision.

(c)        Gender and Social Inclusion.

To maximize the positive social impacts of the Land Project, the activities shall address cross­ cutting gender and social inclusion issues such as women’s equal access to and control over land rights. To ensure compliance with the MCC Gender Policy and Gender Integration Guidelines, the Government shall conduct relevant social and gender assessments, and shall: (i) develop a comprehensive Social and Gender Integration Plan, which, at a minimum, identifies approaches for regular, meaningful and inclusive consultations with women, the poor and other vulnerable groups, and sets forth strategies for incorporating findings of the consultations and social and gender analyses into final Project design; and (ii) ensure, through monitoring and coordination during implementation, that final Activity designs, consultancy and construction tender documents, and implementation plans are consistent with and incorporate the findings of the social and gender analyses and the Social and Gender Integration Plan. The Social and Gender Integration Plan shall include a Land Project-specific Social and Gender Integration Plan that includes a work plan for ensuring equal land tenure security for women and men.

(d)       Donor Coordination.

The WB prepared studies on the land sector in Sri Lanka that were used to inform the Land Project design. The Government shall ensure coordination with other donors active in this sector during the implementation of the Project.

MCC Funding may be used to develop a roadmap for work in the land sector.

(g)       Policy, Legal and Regulatory Reforms.

The Government shall address legislative gaps centering on decentralizing authority for the approval of absolute land grants, simplifying procedures, and ensuring gender equality in the issuance of absolute land grants, among other issues.

Gender issues– Permits and grants to State Lands are usually given to men as head of the household, and the eldest son inherits in accordance with the land law. As a result, women face barriers to have control over the State Lands for productive purposes, thus reducing their economic potential, which does not comply with MCC Gender Policy. This also places women and their children at risk when there is divorce, abandonment, death, or discord within the family.

To remedy this situation, the Government shall enact the LSPA that includes a presumption that registration of rights to absolute land grants shall be made jointly in the name of husband and wife with a time bound opt-out process that is free, fair, and without coercion.

Government shall implement amendments to the RTA that are necessary to allow for (i) joint ownership of land when a property owner conveys the rights to another party via grant, sale, or other transfer; (ii) titling of land using a general boundary survey that can later be upgraded to a cadastral survey; (iii) streamlining and decentralization of the approval for issuance of title certificate and registration of rights; and (iv) alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve disputes and other problems that may prevent the titling and registration of rights in land.

In view of the above, implementation of the following reforms, in form and substance satisfactory to MCC, are necessary to ensure that the Land Project meets its Project Objective.

• The Government shall maintain the land info1mation technology (IT’) systems and to provide budget funding for the maintenance and updating of software and hardware in each year during the Compact Term;
• The Government shall maintain in place all legislation required to implement the Land Project in a timely and efficient manner;
• The Government shall make sufficient resources available to ensure that registration of land parcels occurs in a timely manner; and
• The Government shall provide data necessary to MCC for monitoring and evaluation of the outcomes of the Land Project.

1. IMPLEMENTATION FRAMEWORK

1. MCA-Sri Lanka.

(a)       Independence and Autonomy.

The Government shall establish an accountable entity, MCA-Sri Lanka, as a company limited by guarantee that shall be created under the Companies Act No. 7 of 2007.

MCA-Sri Lanka shall be the Government’s primary agent responsible for exercising the Government’s right and obligations to oversee, manage, and implement the Program and Projects.

1. Implementing Entities.

Subject to the terms and conditions of this Compact, the Program Implementation Agreement, and any other related agreement entered into in connection with this Compact, the Government may engage one or more entities of the Government to assist with implementing any Project or Activity (or a component thereof) (each, an Implementing Entity”).

The appointment of any Implementing Entity shall be subject to review and approval by MCC. The Government shall ensure that the roles and responsibilities of each Implementing Entity and other appropriate terms are set forth in an agreement, in form and substance satisfactory to MCC (each an Implementing Entity   Agreement”).

1. Fiscal Agent.

Unless MCC agrees otherwise in writing, the Government shall engage an individual or firm with expertise in fiscal management to serve as fiscal agent (the Fiscal Agent”), which shall be responsible for assisting the Government with its fiscal management and assuring appropriate fiscal accountability of MCC Funding.The duties of the Fiscal Agent shall include those set forth in the Program Implementation Agreement and an agreement, in form and substance satisfactory to MCC, between the Government and the Fiscal Agent.

1. Procurement Agent.

Unless MCC agrees otherwise in writing, the Government shall engage one or more procurement agents (the Procurement Agent”) to carry out and certify specified procurement activities in furtherance of this Compact. The roles and responsibilities of the Procurement Agent shall be set fo1ih in the Program Implementation Agreement or such agreement as the Government enters into with the Procurement Agent, which agreement shall be in form and substance satisfactory to MCC. The Procurement Agent shall adhere to the procurement standards set forth in the MCC Program Procurement Guidelines and ensure procurements are consistent with the Procurement Plan by the Government pursuant to the Program Implementation Agreement, unless MCC agrees otherwise in writing.

ANNEX II

MULTI-YEAR FINANCIAL PLAN SUMMARY

This Annex II sets forth a multi-year financial plan summary (Multi-Year Financial Plan Summary”) for the Program as Exhibit A hereto. By such time as specified in the Program Implementation Agreement, the Government shall adopt, subject to MCC approval, a multi-year financial plan that includes, in addition to the multi-year summary of estimated MCC Funding and any Government contribution of funds and resources, the annual and quarterly funding requirements for the Program (including administrative costs), which for each Project, shall be projected both on a commitment and cash requirement basis.

ATMS Activity:

(a)  The Government shall provide funds for operations and maintenance of the ATMS.

BTSM Activity:

(a)  Political Economy:

The Government shall commit to implement and enforce new reforms.

3.1       Goal, Outcome, Output, and Process Indicators

(a)       The M&E Plan shall establish baselines for every Indicator (each, a Baseline”). An Indicator’s Baseline should be established prior to the start of the corresponding Project, Activity and/or sub-activity. Baselines demonstrate that the problem can be specified in measurable terms and are thus a pre-requisite for adequate intervention design. The Government shall collect Baselines on the selected Indicators or verify already collected Baselines where applicable.

Potential evaluation questions include the following. MCC and the Government shall agree on the final evaluation questions based on the final Project design.

• Is the cost of transportation (time savings and volatile organic compound savings) reduced compared to a no build” scenario? This question links to the following outcome Indicator: [Time of travel and delays; Vehicle operating cost savings]
• Has the flow rate of people and goods increased as a result of the Project? This question links to the following outcome Indicator: [Kilometers of travel per passenger; Hours of travel per passenger; Average speed/travel time within the network; Kilometers of travel per vehicle, disaggregated by type of vehicle].
• Has bus ridership increased as a result of the Project? This question links to the following outcome Indicator: [Number of riders; Number of passenger kilometers; Number of boarding’s].

Potential evaluation questions include the following. MCC and the Government shall agree on the final evaluation questions based on the final Project design.

• Have land transactions increased? This question links to the following outcome Indicator: [Number of transactions].
• Has access to land for both government and private sector improved? This question links to the following outcome Indicator: [TBD].
• Is more investment taking place on land as a result of MCC’s intervention? This question links to the following outcome Indicator: [Increased investment on land].

Shenali D Waduge