Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

High Commissioner Gopal Baglay said he has prayed to Lord Buddha for the prosperity of Sri Lanka and India

Colombo, May 14 (newsin.asia): The new High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay presented his Letter of Credence (credentials) to the Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday in a ceremony held through video-conferencing, a release from the Indian High Commission said.

The High Commissioner thanked the President for arranging the traditional ceremony in an innovative manner and stated that the use of technology to overcome challenges, such as those posed by the global COVID-19 pandemic, has been stressed by the leadership of India as well as Sri Lanka.

He pointed out that today’s novel initiative underscores the significance the two countries attach to their friendly and multi-faceted ties, and also highlights India’s continued commitment to closely working with Sri Lanka in facing common challenges.

The High Commissioner conveyed to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the people of Sri Lanka warm greetings from the leadership and the people of India. Stressing the immense significance attached by India to its relations with Sri Lanka, he reiterated the abiding commitment at the highest levels in India to developing and strengthening the existing close friendly ties and cooperation between the two countries.

Highlighting the shared Buddhist heritage of Sri Lanka and India, the High Commissioner stated that he had prayed to Lord Buddha through video calls earlier this week to Most Venerable Mahanyake of Asgiriya Chapter and Most Venerable Anunayake of Malwatte Chapter, for peace and prosperity of our two peoples.

The High Commissioner recalled that as Sri Lanka’s closest maritime neighbor, India has been the first responder when Sri Lanka faced difficulties, be it natural calamities, or the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, the High Commissioner noted that India has sent four consignments of essential life-saving medicines and medical material weighing over 25 tonnes to Sri Lanka in the last few weeks as goodwill support from the people of India.

In addition, Sri Lankan health professionals have also participated in various online-training program organized by eminent health institutions in India on management of COVID 19 pandemic.

Re-iterating Prime Minister Modi’s commitment to jointly fight COVID-19 pandemic, the High Commissioner assured President Gotabaya Rajapaksa of India’s continued cooperation to Sri Lanka, including for economic recovery, in all manners possible.

The High Commissioner recalled that Prime Minister Modi had paid a solidarity visit to Sri Lanka during his first overseas tour after assuming the office in his second term. He noted that the first overseas visit by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to India in November 2019 had imparted significant momentum to the bilateral relationship. Similarly, the first overseas visit by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in February 2020 after assuming office to India had guided the implementation of bilateral understandings for shared prosperity and security.

The High Commissioner stated that he looked forward to working closely with the leadership of Sri Lanka for their further implementation as well as deepening India’s long-standing partnership with Sri Lanka as our closest maritime neighbors in South Asia and the Indian Ocean Region.

Prior to his current assignment, High Commissioner Gopal Baglay served as Joint Secretary in Prime Minister’s Office in India since 2017. Earlier, he had worked in the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India including as the Official Spokesperson of the Ministry, Joint Secretary (External Publicity) Division, Joint Secretary (Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran), and Joint Secretary (States) from 2014-’17.

Baglay also served as the Deputy High Commissioner of India to Pakistan (2011-2014), and in Indian Missions in Kathmandu, London, Russia and Ukraine. A Masters of Science, he speaks Hindi, Urdu, English and Russian and has also studied Sanskrit, Ukrainian and Nepali. He is currently observing the stipulated health protocols, at India House.

Courtesy The Island

The coming two weeks are critical to Sri Lanka’s battle against COVID-19, Army Commander Lt. Gen Shavendra Silva said, yesterday, urging people to follow health guidelines. “If people follow these regulations, we will be able to rid the country of COVID-19,” he said.

Silva, who also heads the presidential task force battling the coronavirus, said that the new COVID-19 cases were found only from quarantine centres and no new cases had been reported from the community.

“A lot of sacrifices were made by all to ensure this. If we act responsibly, in the next two weeks, we should be able to overcome this,” he added.

Kelum Bandara Courtesy The Daily Mirror

The government has worked out a roadmap for reopening the Bandaranaike International Airport for inbound and outbound passengers with guidelines that include the setting up of a laboratory to test them for COVID-19, Civil Aviation Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said today.

He made these remarks regarding the inauguration of a new passenger terminal and an access road to the airport. He said arrangements had been to reopen the airport anytime soon, subject to clearance by the health authorities.

The Minister said precautions would be taken to ensure that COVID-19 cases were not entering the country.

According to health guidelines, all inbound passengers would be disinfected upon arrival. The disinfectant cubicles have already been installed at the airport. There will be arrangements made for social distancing.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Brandix Apparel Limited has started to export 200 million face masks to the United States, the company said.   

Issuing a statement Brandix said that Special Representative of the President and Head of the Presidential Task Force on Economic Revival and Poverty Eradication, Basil Rajapaksa, symbolically handed over the first batch of face masks from a production of 200 million face masks for export by Brandix, to U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives Alaina B. Teplitz.

The handover took place at the Brandix Headquarters on 14th May 2020 in the presence of A. Sukumaran – JAAF Chairman, Ashroff Omar – Brandix Group Chief Executive Officer and Ms. Ranga Ranmadugala – Board Member of Brandix Apparel Limited. 

U.S Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives Alaina B. Teplitz expressed her appreciation to Mr. Rajapaksa and Brandix. As the world combats this global pandemic, the long friendship between the United States and Sri Lanka is helping both our countries overcome this challenge.  Our collaboration has resulted in quality products that can help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Impressively, the fabric used for the face masks was produced in Sri Lanka, while the chemicals used for the antimicrobial finish were made in the United States, demonstrating a synergy that benefits all. We look forward to continuing our cooperation with the Sri Lankan Government and Brandix to sustain the global supply of PPE.”

Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Rajapaksa said, We are proud that products manufactured in Sri Lanka such as these 200 million face masks are being exported to nations like the US, where it will play a vital role in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. This collaboration between the two countries has resulted in sustaining our national economy, in addition to paving way for global customers to reach out to Sri Lanka for quality products in the months ahead. We are glad that a leader in apparel like Brandix utilized its resources to lead the way in this journey, giving the global market a glimpse of the advanced infrastructure and agility that is already in place within Sri Lanka, in order to meet the current and future market demands.” 

The face masks produced by Brandix have been manufactured combining the efforts of over 15,000 of the company’s Associates and an extended network of several supply chain partners in the country. The face masks, produced as 3-ply and of cotton-based fabric with antimicrobial finish, is stretchable for better fit and meet stringent hygiene standards.

Speaking on the endeavour, Ms. Ranga Ranmadugala – Board Member of Brandix Apparel Limited commented, The apparel industry is a key export revenue generator in Sri Lanka, generating $5.6 billion of exports in the last fiscal year itself. However, the unavoidable decline in trade and production output resulting from the COVID-19 crisis, has left the industry facing its toughest predicament in recent times, impacting Sri Lanka’s positioning against other apparel export markets. In this daunting background, the production of a large volume of face masks for export to the US is truly heartening as it reaffirms the continued trust and partnership the two nations uphold.” She added, Despite the challenging conditions and the tough road ahead, the industry will continue to do its part to combat potential long-term impacts of the pandemic and bring in revenue to replenish the national economy. We are also happy that we can continue to sustain livelihoods through continued production as well. As a leader in apparel, we assure the Government of Sri Lanka that we will do our utmost to support the journey ahead.”

  Comments – 0

Courtesy Adaderana

Nine more persons are reported to have contracted the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, according to the Ministry of Health.

With the new cases, the total number of cases in the country has come up to 925.

As per the tally of the Epidemiology Unit, 471 active cases are currently under medical care at selected hospitals across the island.

Meanwhile, the total number of recoveries in Sri Lanka rose to 445 today (14).

There have been nine fatalities due to the virus in the island.

Wesak Day is marked with great veneration in Sri Lanka. It is the day celebrating the birth, enlightenment and passing away of Buddha. It is one of the most colourful events in the world. It is also a day many Buddhists go to the temple to meditate. It was also why LTTE on orders of LTTE Mannar Commander Victor chose 14 May 1985 to kill pilgrims and Buddhist Theros inside Buddhists’ most sacred town of Anuradhapura arriving in buses dressed as Sri Lanka military and then going on a shooting spree that killed 146 civilians and wounding over 80 and killed a further 18 Sinhalese civilians in Wilpattu while escaping. This was just one of over 300 such attacks by LTTE over 3 decades which finally saw an end to LTTE in May 2009. The so-called international community that never bothered to end LTTE attacks against innocent unarmed civilians, is today questioning the Sri Lanka Armed Forces on whether it applied proper laws of war to eliminate LTTE and doing its best to frame charges against Sri Lanka for ending LTTE. It highlights the hypocrisy of the entities supposed to be protecting unarmed civilians that did nothing to question what rules of war LTTE was using to kill people.

LTTE terrorists in arms are no more but there are plenty of terrorists operating in suits and holding foreign passports and today there are more non-Tamils representing LTTE than when Prabakaran was alive. The secret lies in the very rich and powerful LTTE kitty which was $300m annual profits in 2004 and which must be far more now that expense for maintaining combatants and buying arms and ammunition is not required.

The power of money is what prevents justice against all those that were linked to LTTE terrorism covertly/overtly. Today, Tamils that had nothing to do with LTTE, Tamils who realize that LTTE was simply fooling them and Tamils who are fed up, with the lies of their Tamil politicians, want to just live in peace. They have far more important things to think about than an elusive Eelam. But, they are not allowed to live in peace because the political system is such that the miscreants continue to pressure their lives and the justice system is weak not to take action against those that were party to terrorism while the political system is such that the biggest sinners end up getting elected to Parliament and prevent any legislation that will take action against them. The international system is such that lobbying and money can influence them to turn the other way or go on a witch hunt against the victims.

This is the sorry state of affairs we have to live in.

Fast forward to 2019, exactly 10 years after LTTE defeat, members of the other minority has been roped into to quote hate speech from their religious texts and carry out the gruesome multiple mass murder on another religious event – Easter Sunday. Over 300 innocent lives perished including some 46 foreigners when rich and educated Muslims struck 7 venues almost simultaneously. We do not know why or what their objective was but from the recent arrests taking place, it is noted that some high profile people are involved. The arrests also note that these people are camouflaging their ulterior motives behind the positions they hold and this is far more dangerous than a terrorist carrying a gun.

Why do people want to take the life of another? How many do they need to kill to achieve their objective? Can they really reach their objective?

Who are steering people to kill and who are controlling the one’s steering people to kill?

What is important at this juncture is to identify the bigger enemy. Is it the men, women and children who were trained to take up arms and kill or the one’s that provided the training and indoctrination to kill?

We all know the answers, but nothing gets done because of the web of deceit that prevails. All of these murderous entities have powerful political ‘friends’ and monetary backing that are able to use people and propaganda to their advantage. That is how LTTE has prevailed and that is why Easter Sunday plotters and planners are still on the loose.

The power of money is such that they are able to get other influential people to canvas for their release, the power of propaganda is such that they can present any wicked mind as an innocent lamb. The apparatus is run and influenced by money and able to play with people’s minds and divert, distract or completely change people’s perceptions – they can make the most innocent person into a psychopath and a psychopath as an innocent being.

Is it a surprise that in 1945 when World War 2 ended there was no other conflicts plaguing the world? Today, apart from 11 countries, every country in the world is having some sort of conflict. Who is benefitting by these conflicts? Who are the actual victims?

One thing that is clear and should be understood is that – if people are going to back evil plotters just because he/she belongs to their community or is a member of their religion, the world will never see peace because people who back the wicked are themselves aiding and abetting murder indirectly.

People must not simply denounce LTTE. LTTE is just a name but that name is given life by people who promote it – therefore when denouncing LTTE people must openly denounce all those linked to LTTE (Tamils, non-Tamils)

People must not simply denounce the Easter Sunday bombers (they are now dead) people must now identify and denounce the one’s linked to them, the one’s that planned and plotted this crime.

People must not defend wrong doers just because they belong to one’s community or religion. Let this be a start to change!

Shenali D Waduge

By Rohana R. Wasala

The Island on Monday 11, 2020 reported: ‘Samagi Jana Balawegaya leader Sajith Premadasa, yesterday, called for an end to the discriminatory and prejudicial manner in which the government conducted the last rites of Muslims who had died of Covid-19, and continued racist attacks on Muslims.

“Racist attacks perpetrated against our Muslim brethren is abhorrent and should be confronted by all of us. Such heinous acts are contrary to the noble teachings of the Lord Buddha”’

 According to another news report in the same newspaper, All Ceylon Makkal Congress leader Rishad Bathiudeen in a long petition to the president appeals to him ‘to permit Muslims dying of Covid-19 to be buried and not cremated…’.

We saner ordinary Sri Lankans feel that both the defeated presidential candidate and the  controversial Muslim politico who has been under a cloud for some time now accused of causing environmental damage to the Wilpattu forest reserve, and considered worthy of being questioned   in the course of fresh investigations being conducted into last year’s April 21 terror bombings, are making a mountain out of a molehill to gain some political advantage out of the Covid-19 emergency. Their desperate pretensions need not worry anyone and need not be answered.

It was regrettable that even the sedate Bimal Ratnayake of the JVP, former MP, lamented  alleged discrimination against Muslims, who, he said, should be allowed to have an honourable burial if they are not let live honourably (as reported in lankacnews a couple of days ago). I never believed the formerly decent Bimal Ratnayake could utter falsehoods, but now I do.

UNP parliamentary candidate Oshala Herath has filed a fundamental rights petition (May 11, lankacnews) before the Supreme Court challenging the practice of cremating bodies of Muslims who died of Covid-19 infection. Whether the judiciary will intervene to countermand a vital scientific recommendation of the health authorities of the government appointed task force to maintain and control the spread of the deadly Covid-19 contagion  is yet to be seen, as my common sense tells me. 

However, opinion in the Muslim world about cremating bodies of dead Muslim Covid-19 victims is divided. Most sensible Muslims accept cremation as a scientific imperative which should be accommodated with necessary adjustments if possible to make it compatible with their religious beliefs in the prevailing situation.  A report by Agaddir Ali carried in Gulfnews.com on April 3, 2020  under the headline: ‘Coronavirus: Sharjah Ruler issues directive on burials’ ran: 

 ‘His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohamed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, on Friday directed the Department of Islamic Affairs in Sharjah not to allow the burial of any coronavirus victims in Al Saja’a area of Sharjah’ 

(Doesn’t ‘not to allow the burial of’ in this context mean ‘allow the cremation of’?)

A month ago (April 12), Colombo Times carried this piece of news: ‘President of the All-Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama Sheikh Rizwie Mufthi said here in a TV interview that the ashes of the dead person who is cremated could be buried with due Islamic rites in a Muslim graveyard’.

The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has issued a statement (as reported in The Island of May 9, 2020 and in other print and online sources) expressing its ‘deep concern over reports on escalating hate speech and hostility towards Muslims in Sri Lanka and rejected the publication of allegations ….(against)… the members of the Muslim community…………… as responsible for the spread of the new coronavirus epidemic (COVID-19) in this country, the authorities’ cremation of bodies of the Muslim victims of the pandemic, and the arrest of members of the community who reject these practices’. The OIC ‘reaffirms its position rejecting all policies and practices targeting the rights of Muslims anywhere, and calls on the authorities in Sri Lanka to ensure the safety and security and rights of the Muslim community, a commitment to respect their practices and religious rituals, safeguard their dignity and stand firmly against all parties behind the promotion of hatred, Islamophobia, and anti-Muslim sentiment in Sri Lanka’. 

While thus articulating its cautious expression of concern, the OIC stresses the importance of synergetic global cooperation among nations in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. My description of the OIC’s ‘expression of concern’ as cautious is because it diplomatically expresses concern only over ‘reports’, rather than perceived or actual instances, of discrimination against the Muslim citizens of Sri Lanka. We Sri Lankans know that these allegations are fanciful fabrications.

The objective way The Island reported on the issuing of the OIC statement was not followed elsewhere. The tamilguardian and the Daily FT websites ran the headline: ‘OIC deeply concerned over the targeting of Muslims………’, and Colombo Times similarly cried out ‘OIC rejects targeting Muslims in Sri Lanka…’., where mere allegation was reified as reality, perhaps in the interest of journalistic sensationalism.    

The relevant Sri Lankan government authorities will respond to the OIC statement in an appropriate manner if they consider it important to do so. I as an ordinary Sri Lankan think that the document is based on misinformation provided by some source/s in Colombo that is sympathetic to one or more of a number of fundamentalist Islamic groups that are said to be active outside the mainstream Muslim community in Sri Lanka. Muslims form some 9.7% of the country’s multiethnic, multi-religious population.  Although it has been issued from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where the OIC is headquartered, it refers to Sri Lanka as ‘this country’, which suggests that it originated in Colombo. So, the voice is likely to be that of the fundamentalist sympathisers in Sri Lanka. It does not reflect the opinion of the peace-loving mainstream Muslim community.  

Those reports about hate speech and general hostility towards Muslims in Sri Lanka that the OIC communique mentions are baseless.  Sri Lanka is a democracy. People have a right to criticise persons, groups, and institutions freely, but without infringing their rights in the process.

Criticising persons, institutions, or ideologies that deserve such criticism cannot be should not be identified as hate speech. That some young Muslim men vandalised  a number of Buddha statues in Mavanella, and that they had some relationship with a fundamentalist terrorist group that had a secret arms dump at a place called Wanathavilluwa are facts. That the April 21 terror attacks om some churches and hotels last year were carried out by young Muslim suicide bombers is also a fact. However, ordinary Muslims were not attacked in retaliation by Sri Lankans of other faiths including the victim Catholic community. 

Actually, it was not the rights of the Muslims that were being violated in this connection during the six months prior to the election of the current president followed by the change of government. Before November there was general dissatisfaction in the country with the lackadaisical way investigations were being conducted into these heinous crimes, barely a month ahead of the tenth anniversary of wiping out Tamil separatist terrorism. Some tangible progress has been made since, with breakthrough discoveries of secret hideouts, training centres, and arms caches of terrorist suspects, and some significant arrests by the CID, which seems to be working with fresh initiative. Media are being apprised of the progress of the investigations with utmost care and necessary restraint so as not to unnecessarily expose the normal innocent Muslim community (amongst whom the terrorists were taking refuge incognito) to the threat of indiscriminate suspicion and social exclusion. Some powerful Muslim politicos who were flourishing in previous administrations thanks to their conscienceless ability to switch allegiance to the winning party or alliance with each change of government are being suspected of having had undisclosed relationships with the terror suspects. 

As reported in the media, latest  revelations made in the course of investigations seem to confirm those suspicions. Naturally, other people tend to look askance at them when these individuals appear to be too worried about performance of funeral rites that tend to violate the health guidelines laid down for the safe disposal of bodies of victims of the deadly, highly contagious Covid-19 disease, which is still killing hundreds of thousands around the world.

By Rohana R. Wasala

The Island on Monday 11, 2020 reported: ‘Samagi Jana Balawegaya leader Sajith Premadasa, yesterday, called for an end to the discriminatory and prejudicial manner in which the government conducted the last rites of Muslims who had died of Covid-19, and continued racist attacks on Muslims.

“Racist attacks perpetrated against our Muslim brethren is abhorrent and should be confronted by all of us. Such heinous acts are contrary to the noble teachings of the Lord Buddha”’

 According to another news report in the same newspaper, All Ceylon Makkal Congress leader Rishad Bathiudeen in a long petition to the president appeals to him ‘to permit Muslims dying of Covid-19 to be buried and not cremated…’.

We saner ordinary Sri Lankans feel that both the defeated presidential candidate and the  controversial Muslim politico who has been under a cloud for some time now accused of causing environmental damage to the Wilpattu forest reserve, and considered worthy of being questioned   in the course of fresh investigations being conducted into last year’s April 21 terror bombings, are making a mountain out of a molehill to gain some political advantage out of the Covid-19 emergency. Their desperate pretensions need not worry anyone and need not be answered.

It was regrettable that even the seemingly sedate Bimal Ratnayake of the JVP, former MP, lamented  alleged discrimination against Muslims, who, he said, should be allowed to have an honourable burial if they are not let live honourably (as reported in lankacnews a couple of days ago). I never believed the formerly decent Bimal Ratnayake could utter falsehoods, but now I do.

UNP parliamentary candidate Oshala Herath has filed a fundamental rights petition (May 11, lankacnews) before the Supreme Court challenging the practice of cremating bodies of Muslims who died of Covid-19 infection. Whether the judiciary will intervene to countermand a vital scientific recommendation of the health authorities of the government appointed task force to maintain and control the spread of the deadly Covid-19 contagion  is yet to be seen, as my common sense tells me. 

However, opinion in the Muslim world about cremating bodies of dead Muslim Covid-19 victims is divided. Most sensible Muslims accept cremation as a scientific imperative which should be accommodated with necessary adjustments if possible to make it compatible with their religious beliefs in the prevailing situation.  A report by Agaddir Ali carried in Gulfnews.com on April 3, 2020  under the headline: ‘Coronavirus: Sharjah Ruler issues directive on burials’ ran: 

 ‘His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohamed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, on Friday directed the Department of Islamic Affairs in Sharjah not to allow the burial of any coronavirus victims in Al Saja’a area of Sharjah’ 

(Doesn’t ‘not to allow the burial of’ in this context mean ‘allow the cremation of’?)

A month ago (April 12), Colombo Times carried this piece of news: ‘President of the All-Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama Sheikh Rizwie Mufthi said here in a TV interview that the ashes of the dead person who is cremated could be buried with due Islamic rites in a Muslim graveyard’.

The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has issued a statement (as reported in The Island of May 9, 2020 and in other print and online sources) expressing its ‘deep concern over reports on escalating hate speech and hostility towards Muslims in Sri Lanka and rejected the publication of allegations ….(against)… the members of the Muslim community…………… as responsible for the spread of the new coronavirus epidemic (COVID-19) in this country, the authorities’ cremation of bodies of the Muslim victims of the pandemic, and the arrest of members of the community who reject these practices’. The OIC ‘reaffirms its position rejecting all policies and practices targeting the rights of Muslims anywhere, and calls on the authorities in Sri Lanka to ensure the safety and security and rights of the Muslim community, a commitment to respect their practices and religious rituals, safeguard their dignity and stand firmly against all parties behind the promotion of hatred, Islamophobia, and anti-Muslim sentiment in Sri Lanka’. In this statement, quarantining is interpreted as arrest!

While thus articulating its cautious expression of concern, the OIC stresses the importance of synergetic global cooperation among nations in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. My description of the OIC’s ‘expression of concern’ as cautious is because it diplomatically expresses concern only over ‘reports’, rather than perceived or actual instances, of discrimination against the Muslim citizens of Sri Lanka. We Sri Lankans know that these allegations are fanciful fabrications.

The tamilguardian and the Daily FT websites ran the headline: ‘OIC deeply concerned over the targeting of Muslims………’, and Colombo Times similarly cried out ‘OIC rejects targeting Muslims in Sri Lanka…’., where mere allegation was reified as reality, perhaps in the interest of journalistic sensationalism.    

The relevant Sri Lankan government authorities will respond to the OIC statement in an appropriate manner if they consider it important to do so. I as an ordinary Sri Lankan think that the document is based on misinformation provided by some source/s in Colombo that is sympathetic to one or more of a number of fundamentalist Islamic groups that are said to be active outside the mainstream Muslim community in Sri Lanka, who form some 9.7% of the country’s multiethnic, multi-religious population.  Although it has been issued from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where the OIC is headquartered, it refers to Sri Lanka as ‘this country’, which suggests that it originated in Colombo. So, the voice is likely to be that of the fundamentalist sympathisers in Sri Lanka. It does not reflect the opinion of the peace-loving mainstream Muslim community.  

Those reports about hate speech and general hostility towards Muslims in Sri Lanka that the OIC communique mentions are baseless.  Sri Lanka is a democracy. People have a right to criticise persons, groups, and institutions freely, but without infringing their rights in the process.

Criticising persons, institutions, or ideologies that deserve such criticism cannot be and should not be identified as hate speech. That some young Muslim men vandalised  a number of Buddha statues in Mavanella, and that they had some relationship with a fundamentalist terrorist group that had a secret arms dump at a place called Wanathavilluwa are facts. That the April 21 terror attacks on some churches and hotels last year were carried out by young Muslim suicide bombers is also a fact. However, ordinary Muslims were not attacked in retaliation by Sri Lankans of other faiths including the victim Catholic community. 

Actually, it was not the rights of the Muslims that were being violated in this connection during the six months prior to the election of the current president followed by a change of government. Before November 2019 there was general dissatisfaction in the country with the lackadaisical way investigations were being carried out into these heinous crimes, barely a month ahead of the tenth anniversary of wiping out Tamil separatist terrorism. Some tangible progress has been made since the re-opening of investigations with breakthrough discoveries of secret hideouts, training centres, and arms caches of terrorist suspects, and some significant arrests by the CID, which seems to be working with fresh initiative. Media are being apprised of the progress of the investigations with utmost care and necessary restraint so as not to unnecessarily expose the normal innocent Muslim community (amongst whom the terrorists were taking refuge incognito) to the threat of indiscriminate suspicion and social exclusion. Some powerful Muslim politicos who were flourishing in previous administrations thanks to their conscienceless ability to switch allegiance to the winning party or alliance with each change of government are being suspected of having had undisclosed relationships with the terror suspects.

 As reported in the media, latest  revelations made in the course of investigations seem to confirm those suspicions. Naturally, other people tend to look askance at them when these individuals appear to be too worried about  the performance of funeral rites that tend to violate the health guidelines laid down by the authorities for the safe disposal of bodies of victims of the deadly, highly contagious Covid-19 disease, which is still killing hundreds of thousands across the world. Should we worry about the selfish concerns of those politicians who are indulging in a desperate struggle for political survival, clutching at straws?

A GP Nurse in the UK

If you get Covid-19

You basically just want to prepare as though you know you’re going to get a nasty respiratory bug, like bronchitis or pneumonia. You just have the foresight to know it might come your way!

Things you should actually buy ahead of time (not sure what the obsession with toilet paper is?):

• Kleenex,

• Paracetamol,

• whatever your generic, mucus thinning *cough medicine* of choice is (check the label and make sure you’re not doubling up on Paracetamol) 

• *Honey and lemon* can work just as well!

• *Vicks* vaporub for your chest is also a great suggestion.

• *a humidifier* would be a good thing to buy and use in your room when you go to bed overnight. (You can also just turn the shower on hot and sit in the bathroom breathing in the steam).

• *If you have a history of asthma* and you have a prescription inhaler, make sure the one you have isn’t expired and refill it/get a new one if necessary.

• *Meals* This is also a good time to meal prep: make a big batch of your favorite soup to freeze and have on hand.

• *Hydrate (drink!) hydrate, hydrate!* Stock up on whatever  your favorite clear fluids are to drink – though tap water is fine you may appreciate some variety!

• *For symptom management* and a fever over 38°c, take Paracetamol rather than Ibuprofen.

• *Rest lots*. You should not be leaving your house!  Even if you are feeling better you may will still be infectious for fourteen days and older people and those with existing health conditions should be avoided!

• *Wear gloves and a mask* to avoid contaminating others in your house

• *Isolate* in your bedroom if not living alone, ask friends and family to leave supplies outside to avoid contact.

• *Sanitize* your bed linen and clothes frequently by washing and clean your bathroom with recommended sanitizers.

*You DO NOT NEED TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL unless* you are having trouble breathing or your fever is very high (over 39°C) and unmanaged with meds. 

90% of healthy adult cases thus far have been managed at home with basic rest/hydration/over-the-counter meds.

*If you are worried or in distress or feel your symptoms are getting worse* 

*Preexisting risks* If you have a pre-existing lung condition (COPD, emphysema, lung cancer) or are on immunosuppressants, now is a great time to talk to your Doctor or specialist about what they would like you to do if you get sick. 

*Children-* One major relief to you parents is that kids do VERY well with coronavirus— they usually bounce back in a few days (but they will still be infectious), Just use pediatric dosing .

*Be calm and prepare rationally* and everything will be fine.

[4/1, 10:04 PM] Karen Allen: This is to inform us all that the pH for corona virus varies from 5.5 to 8.5.

All we need to do, to beat corona virus, we need to take more of an alkaline foods that are above the above pH level of the Virus. 

Some of which are:

 *Lemon – 9.9pH* 

 *Lime – 8.2pH* 

 *Avocado – 15.6pH* 

 *Garlic – 13.2pH* 

 *Mango – 8.7pH* 

 *Tangerine – 8.5pH* 

 *Pineapple – 12.7pH* 

 *Dandelion – 22.7pH* 

 *Orange – 9.2pH* 

How do you know you have coronavirus?

1. *Itching in the throat,* 

2. *Dry throat,* 

3. *Dry cough.* 

4.   High temperature 

5.   Shortness of breath

6. Loss of smell or taste

So where you notice these things quickly take warm  water with lemon  and drink.  

Aloysius Hettiarachchi.

I am not a medic, but in this Covid-19 pandemic, the most qualified medical experts or scientists appear to be clueless as we are as to how Covid-19 behaves. Hence, I like to put the above question for our medics to ponder, giving my own observations and those of a few others.

A few days ago I wrote an article that was published in this forum giving a link to a video showing how the 5G mobile transmissions affect bees by the distortion effects it has on earth’s magnetic field. That discussion explains how a compound called ‘cryptochrome’ present in all living beings including viruses are being shaped by the earth’s magnetic field and helps them to find a sense of direction on earth. So, it is natural to think that man-made EMFs of very high frequencies ( in GigaHertz) affect the covids as well as all animals including we humans. I give that video link once again below:

I give below another link to a write up by an expert who had worked in the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) of the US giving the very bad effects of high-frequency radio communication.

I have heard that living very near to transformers or staying or playing in fields over which high tension power lines cross also cause cancer and leukemia type of diseases due to high-frequency radiations coming from them. I had to point out all these to stop a 5G testing program in Colombo.

The point I am trying to make is that it is mostly in countries where 5G is being used where we observe the effects of Covid-19 is felt most. In the case of patient 32 in Korea about 10,000 worshipers were packed to a single hall and an enormous amount of radiation of 5G,4G, etc would have been concentrated in that building. Even in Singapore, the sudden upsurge of cases occurred in congested living spaces of construction workers who no doubt would have used mobiles all the time. Similarly in all those cruise ships and battleships where thousands of passengers and sailors got affected there would have been heavy mobile users. Even in the case of the Welisara Naval base, those young guys would have been using smartphones most of the time. Even the non-smart phones use high-frequency waves (~ 1.2 GHz) with sufficient power to give a headache if used for a long time.

Therefore my humble opinion is that our medics should study how Covid-19 has spread in SL and see whether there is a link to the two.

Aloysius Hettiarachchi.

Palitha Mapatuna

As authorised by the constitution, a proclamation was issued by the president, whereby dissolution was made of (the last) parliament. He also, per requirement, made stipulation of the dates of the following resulting general election and convening of the new parliament.

However, subsequent intervening of unforeseen circumstances in Sri Lanka (Covid 19) made meeting the aforesaid dates not possible.

These circumstances were beyond the control of the president and it is, therefore, apparent that he would be absolved of the necessity of adhering to these dates, as it is not possible to do so.

                                                           ***

The general election and convening of the new parliament are dependent on the dissolution and not vice-versa. The election and convening are secondary and functionally different to the dissolution.

Again, if one conceives dissolution, election and convening as three parts of a hierarchical structure and in that order of precedence, a change in the latter two will leave the first part intact.

The validity of the proclamation and consequent dissolution derives from constitutional authority in the president and, assuming the proper procedure had been followed, these will remain unimpaired due to necessary postponement of dates.

Devoid of ‘stories’ that may cloud basic principles, the essential position seems as above.

It appears that, in the circumstances, the commission of elections would need to hold elections when conducive to do so, relying on Sections 24(3) and 129 of the Parliament Elections Act (No. 1 of 1981).

Covid 19 and the related circumstances are extra-ordinary occurrence. It cannot be reasonably expected that provision had been made for them in the law. As such, and if required, the ‘doctrine of necessity’ may need to be utilised.

Palitha Mapatuna

CraXe

TEDxBerlinSalon

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Mallence Bart-Williams introduced her second home Sierra Leone and its talented people, who are part of her project FOLORUNSHO.

Find out more via http://www.tedxberlin.de Mallence Bart-Williams was born in Cologne, Germany. She is a Sierra Leonean writer and filmmaker and a German fashion designer. She pursued her studies in economics and finance in Paris, Singapore, and Great Britain. Today she lives across the globe, produces an all-natural cosmetics line in Hong Kong, and is the founder and creative director of the Freetown-based creative collective FOLORUNSHO, a ‘SHARITY’ that she initiated with street kids in Sierra Leone.

Due to her German-Sierra Leonean roots she perceives herself as a bridge connecting two vastly different worlds. Her diverse background enables her to see creative solutions to common problems. Within their three years of operation, her collective has taken homeless children off the streets and into school, developed a sneaker and clothing collection, published a book and documentary of their story, and has held fine art exhibitions.

Through her work with FOLORUNSHO she connects cultural contrast, enabling people to share ideas, take action, and get results. About TEDx, x = independently organized event In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

Economy

May 13 (Reuters) – Sri Lankan stocks rose on Wednesday, boosted by gains in financials and consumer stocks, while the central bank announced stimulus measures to bolster the tourism-dependant economy during the COVID-19 pandemic after markets closed.

** The benchmark stock index closed up 2.81% at 4367.25, snapping a two-day losing streak.

** Sri Lanka’s central bank said it would provide additional funding under refinance facility or other credit operations for the banking sector, adding it would now permit licensed banks to consider some assets as liquid in computation of the statutory liquid assets ratio.

** The island nation, which is heavily dependent on tourism, has reported 889 confirmed coronavirus cases and nine deaths as of Tuesday.

** Ceylon Cold Stores Plc, which makes soft drinks and ice creams, rose 17% and was the biggest boost on the index, while Ceylinco insurance, down 21%, was the biggest drag.

By Feizal Samath Courtesy TTG Asia

Sri Lanka – similar to Maldives – is considering reopening its air and sea borders in July to foreign tourists.

However, Sri Lanka Tourism’s chairperson Kimarli Fernando said arrivals would be mostly overseas Sri Lankans returning to visit relatives and friends. In anticipation of this, the government is planning to aggressively promote domestic tourism in nine provinces to help fill hotels and resorts.

She was speaking at a webinar on Monday hosted by the Cinnamon group of hotels, titled Charting a course for Sri Lanka’s tourism future, in conjunction with several other tourism stakeholders.

To reassure travellers, Fernando shared that hotels will have to go through a new certification process to ensure their properties are compliant with globally accepted health and safety standards. Also in the works is the Visit Sri Lanka Year campaign in 2022.

Another positive sign Fernando shared was that several airlines have expressed an interest in resuming flights to Colombo, and were actively seeking partnerships with tourism authorities.

Anita Mendiratta, UNWTO’s special advisor to the secretary-general, shared that according to latest projections, there will be a 60 per cent drop in global tourism travel, yet Asia will be the first region to recover. Business travel and people travelling to meet their loved ones overseas would be the first to take off.

Dillip Rajakarier, CEO, Minor Hotels Group, believes that tourism will take 12 to 18 months for a full recovery.

We are looking at cash flows and how to sustain during this period,” he said, adding that in light of the situation, buffet-type meals will also not be offered for a long time to maintain social distancing.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators has issued a set of guidelines for DMCs to follow once tourism gets underway. For instance, group photographs will be discouraged, while local guides on the tour bus will have to speak from behind a screen.

By Dr.C.G.Ilangakoon Courtesy Ceylon Today

COVID-19 has triggered a precise message to humanity and the whole world with no exception whatsoever – “I, your Mother-Earth, tell you very seriously, these words are my final warning. I don’t need you. I can live without you. Even right now, I am living in the presence of your absence. Then, it is you who want me and who cannot live without me. Thus, should you want to live with me, in and on me, observe my laws of love, mutual understanding, cooperation and collaboration. Be constructive instead of being destructive. 

Respect not, man-made social labels like Sinhala, Tamil or Muslim or respect not, the religious labels like Buddhist, Hindu and Islam, but the truth I created about humanity. 

Besides, honouring the dignity of mother earth, I do not care about super powers, whatsoever the self-declared supremacy by some. Just look at the miserable agony, some so-called super powers have been de-superised in to. This is my FINAL WARNING”!

This is the first insight, the prosperity vision any country must be guided by, should its central objective be to reach the loftier altitudes of authentic development. Why authentic development? The “development”, in its generalised context, can cause not only deterioration, but also total destruction. 

This is what the BR Vision is all about, the GR Viyath Maga perception is all about and the SLPP Manifesto is all about. Their final destination is to achieve authentic development, the discerning victories of which, would cascade down, to benefit the absolute majority of the people of Sri Lanka and to patriotically profit the future of our motherland.

Failed governance

With fake promises of “Good Governance”, the UNP with a limited number of SLFP politicians captured power, only to fail Sri Lanka of its military, political and economic victories gifted by the Rajapaksa administration. 

The President of the Good Governance himself appointed a presidential commission to probe the Central Bank scam, which mortgaged the Nation and the future generation to be born, for a terrific period of more than 30 years. Destroying the economy of the country totally, the 7% developmental index of the island was reduced to 3%. 

The victory over the LTTE terrorists and the peace, the people enjoyed thereafter, were blown up in to pieces by the Islam State of Syria and Iraq religious racists. In short the UNP good governance   failed miserably. Hence, the vast majority of the country rejected it along with its living masters. Now there is a call for the former Parliament to be reconvened along with its failed and also people-rejected politicians. 

A winning journey cannot be attained with the failures of the UNP team. That will be against the wishes of the people. Thank God that we have a courageous newly elected President, who can take sweeping decisions, which would benefit the public and profit the people. The people are fed up of a corrupt West-worshipping cult of politicians betraying the motherland.

Wisdom vs. Ignorance

What the world needs is not intelligence, but wisdom. Why? Intelligence can understand and know only what “appears to be”.  Wisdom can comprehend not only what appears to be, but also that, which “is” the truth. Now, the confusion is, “the man is taking that which is, to be that which is not and he is taking that which is not, to be that which is”. 

This mishmash is conditioned by intelligence and in such context, intelligence could be deemed to be a component of ignorance, which is not-knowing or the inability to know. eg: Does the American President consider himself to be Donald Trump? The present writer, of course does not. However, if the US President is in the affirmative, he is an intelligent man and not one of wisdom. Why? When he was born in to this world, he was not “Donald Trump”, but a nameless innocent human – baby. Then, how did he become “Donald trump”? His parents gave him that social label. Why? For him to be identified as a separate individual. 

Thus he became a label-being. In such a frame of reference, we all are artificial label-beings, who are devoid of the beautiful truth of human-being. Why has the current writer taken up this “Intelligence Vs Wisdom” dialogue in a text, the actual orientation of which is economic prosperity? If anyone wants a promising wish to be fulfilled, powerfully willed in to the opulence of milk and honey, before all, he/she must be a conscious natural human-being, well set in the void of aforesaid artificial social labels like “Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim” and man-made religious labels like ” Buddhist, Hindu and Islamic”.

The presence of these artificial labels, which comprise lies in place of truth, will never allow the explosion of any true development and this is exactly what has dishonoured the whole world. 

With so much social and religious labels, with such a high degree of the progress of science and advancement of technology we are all on the verge of a catastrophe. Why? The commonality of the human-being is destroyed and the fake identification in to separated false social and religious entities is established and this utter foolish and devastating process is being granted a stupid extent of reputation and recognition. This unfortunate condition promotes communal terrorism and religious racism. The Tamil LTTE Elam dream and the Caliphate of Islam State of Iraq and Syria( ISIS) are best terrorist and racist examples of this.

SLPP Manifesto

This crucially central factor, in my personal opinion, has well been innovatively grasped by the BR Vision and it is qualitatively seeded in the SLPP Manifesto – the proposed and people-approved Constitution of the Economy of Sri Lanka. Thus in Section 9, The Heading Para, under the rubric of “Virtuous, Disciplined and Law-abiding Society”, at Page (70) of the Sinhala version of it writes: “For any country, what is required to have for its authentic development is, the attainment of economic prosperity, refined with the nourishment of spiritual advancement. A person, to whatsoever the extent, may be rich and wealthy, if he is full of fear, doubt and suspicion, jealousy, hatred and vengeance, he is not a rich man. 

To be rich, his mind must be full of happiness, wealthy in well-intensions and must have the ability to be kind and compassionate. Then only a birth could be given to a society, wherein, the mutual respect shall be rich and the cooperation with each other shall be the order of the day. Hence, we are powerfully devoted to create, not only a rich person, but also an individual, rich in discipline and righteous in thought, word and deed”. This is the human-being, with whom the attainment to the right prosperity is possible.

New Propensities

The SLPP Manifesto is a beautiful prosperity-pregnant policy document. Nonetheless, it is not in a static state and destined to the stagnation of hibernation and dogmatism. It comprises dynamism with the capacity to be empirically operative in the law of the survival of the fittest. In such context, no doubt could be had on its adaptability. 

COVID-19 has projected a useful space for it to be augmented with couple of new trends and domains of operation: (1) A foundation has been powered by COVID-19 to be innovative in creating a private-public partnership. The germ has depicted the truth that people should not burden each and everything on the State and relax in lethargy, anticipating that the culmination of their all dreams shall be reached by the government itself, without their active involvement. 

Then, conversely, it has pragmatically convinced the Government that in the absence of peoples’ participation, no sensible project could be successful. In fact this is what has happened to Sri Lanka. The public delight in lethargy, blaming the Government for each and everything. 

Now, if both parties can rise above intelligence and be galvanised in to action via the above said wisdom, seeing things for what they truly are, the COVID-19  curse can be transformed in to a beautiful blessing (2) A pragmatic space has been created to seek new opportunities. 

The investors should seize these possibilities to engender the trends of long-term technological innovation and also capital market reforms (3) The dire need to revitalise the entrepreneurial spirit in the domain of commerce and trade of Sri Lanka. The recent outbreak of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka has led to significant impacts on businesses and industries. 

Hence, a webinar can be hosted with the participation of all pertinent stakeholders, in order to structure an insight, with a view to reacting for the mitigation of the negative impacts and adaptation to the changes, preparing for the bounce back in new opportunities (4) Consideration of the reflections of public opinion. 

The social media, Web chats, official webinars etc. can be made use of to assimilate the public opinion and simultaneously be transparent to intensify the public trust in the agenda of the present Government to be revolutionised (5) Balancing imperatives between disease control, economic recovery and population movement to reach the annual GDP growth at least to  5%  for the year 2020 (6) The refinement of monetary policy by the relaxation of the reserve requirement ratio and the loan prime rate. 

However, a new cycle of global interest rate cuts to be initiated by the US Federal Reserve, to address the stock market fall must be in careful view (7) The regulation of Fiscal policy via tax reductions, payment concessions, introduction of social security packages and target funding (8) Formulation of policies for returning to work and the implementation of the production process through Local Government Bodies, however, under the total supervision and control of the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in order to prevent the empirical and secret involvement of communal terrorists and religious racists.

Entrepreneurial paradigm shift

The adversity is a state of mind. Now it is vital for the entrepreneurial spirit to feature the faith and capability to turn the existing crisis into opportunities. The business models are already shifting. Remote work and online business, which faced obstacles previously, are now a necessity. 

Business must embrace the following strategies in order to seek and seize opportunities: (1)Digitalisation is the future. The outbreak is an opportunity to reshape and implement digital strategies. It in turn will create new opportunities. Capability building and new value creation are key for such transformations (2) Risk management needs to be re-evaluated. 

More attention will have be directed to insurance, multiple sources of income and customers, and integration of online and offline business. To many Sri Lankan businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), separation of family and business, diversified asset allocation and insurance are fundamental to risk management (3) SMEs need to take initiatives actively. Beside cost control, unique competitive edges have to be developed to the fullest. SMEs need to reflect on how to relate to and seize the next wave of growth.

A safe and healthy living environment is now considered equally, if not more important than economic growth. Earlier detection and prevention will be crucial for a future public health and management system. The system in Sri Lanka has to prove its capability subsequent to the outbreak that the private sector has made a significant contribution. This again demonstrates the necessity and potential of public-private partnership. 

The outbreak has accelerated the need for the application of new technologies. Social communication has to be greatly diversified, making room for efficient and online measures of interaction. This trying time is also shaping the entrepreneurship of the private sector. Many businesses were driven not only by profits but also a desire to provide a social good.

Government support for innovation

The UNP-introduced market-liberalisation destroyed, not only the independence of the economy of Sri Lanka and the food security based self-sufficiency, maintained historically, nourished with the concept of  Tank, Dagoba and  Temple, but also the beautiful mutual understanding, mutual respecting and mutual cooperating ethicality in the character of the individual. Besides, it never allowed any domestication of innovation. 

The domesticity of the novelty was never a boon for the marketers of commercial liberalism. If a talented youth was successful in a scientific discovery, no priority was given to it. On the contrary, it became a barrier for their governance. Why? The invention impeded the import of the invented commodity and such impediment became a huge barrier to play the game of commission for those who had the competence to import.

COVID-19 now vividly demonstrated the promotion of the innovation-localisation is an indispensable imperative. Besides, many talented youth, men and women mushroomed from many domains with their invented products, which the present President and the Prime Minister subjected to their valued scrutinisation. 

But, the powerful lesson, taught by the COVID-19 pandemic is not fully satisfied only with such appreciation. Such mastery of our own citizens should be caused to be transcended to higher result-oriented altitudes to profit the motherland and its people – indeed, one of the best paths to perpetuate the consistence of the political power of the Rajapaksa regime.

 Therefore, the perseverant supportive efforts of the Government on following realm would be truly appreciable : 

(1) Emerging New business models, especially in sectors such as health, logistics, automation, online office, entertainment, retail, and education (2) New generation smart cities, which can be the  key to the future public agenda. Besides certain urban functions, a new generation smart city will systematically enhance public management by integrating supply chains, traffic, emergency and disaster warning (3) Big data Banks could be more widely used for public wellbeing, especially for tracking, analysing, and supporting timely public decision-making (4) Transcendence of Offline-driven businesses to begin into online, especially in education, entertainment, and retail (5) The extension of value chain of healthcare to cover early detection and prevention along with the  promotion of a comprehensive healthy ecosystem for public health agendas (6) Transformation of Social media from being the channel between not only individuals and business, but also public and the Government.

About the writer:
Dr. Gamini Ilangakoon is a Lawyer, specializing in International Treaty Laws.

By Rohana Aryaratna Courtesy Ceylon Today

It is a proven fact that LTTE terrorists led by a mentally deranged criminal changed their terror tactics by disguising themselves as saviours of the Tamils from the Sinhalese scourge. By transforming the conflict into an ethnic issue, they could easily brainwash innocent Tamil civilians into becoming a combatant force sans military fatigues.

Makkal Padai Brigade

They named it the ‘Makkal Padai Brigade’ (Tamil civilian armed force) and trained its members to kill. The Brigade comprised of all ages ranging from 7 to 35, including even angry grandfathers. Hence on the advice of their theoretician who spent a luxurious life in London, or the Tamil diaspora, or maybe the bankrupt Tamil politicians, the LTTE changed their terror tactics into an ethnic war.

At present, the LTTE relics and their Western allies, who were down-hearted by the defeat they had to suffer at the hands of the heroic and patriotic Armed Forces, are trying to make amends, by bringing in so-called human rights organisations to instigate a worldwide prejudice against Sri Lanka, its rulers and the armed forces. 

The recent pardoning of Staff Sergeant Sunil Ratnayake by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has come in handy to these defeated and bankrupt elements. They have aligned their war crimes charges and so-called human rights violations alongside this pardoning issue. Western Nations, their lackey NGOs and the pseudo human rights groups who were dependent on the LTTE diaspora for various political reasons, have taken up this pardoning issue as a kind of world shattering news as well as an unpardonable offence.

Staff Sergeant Sunil Ratnayake was one of the 14 suspects said to be involved in the murder of eight Tamil civilians, including two underage boys. As we earlier mentioned, LTTE terrorists had trained civilians including children and were using them as combatants against SriLankan soldiers. 

There had been several attacks launched by Tamil citizens and also due to the findings of the intelligence services about the existence of the Makkal Padai Brigade, Tamils wearing civilian attire were strictly barred from entering areas where the Army was located. 

Although the Army personnel were ever ready to lay down their lives in order to protect their motherland they too should be considered as human beings, not willing to get killed in a situation where it is not a face to face combat position. And as it is, they have been ordered to be more careful when meeting enemies wearing civilian attire.

It was revealed during the trial against Ratnayake that the nine displaced Tamil civilians had returned to Mirusuvil to collect their belongings and in the process had been arrested by the soldiers from a nearby camp. According to Maheswaran, the only survivor of the so-called massacre, these civilians had been stopped by two soldiers and later more soldiers had joined in the interrogation process.

You may call this speculation but we have to ask this question regarding the dependence on one witness who may have been angry and confused about the harassment as well as may be the failure of their alleged mission to attack the soldiers. And the other question is why was the circumstantial evidence and the versions of Ratnayake and others not considered as reliable evidence at the trial.

Was Maheswaran a reliable witness?

Why was Maheswaran unable to recognise or identify these nine soldiers? It can be argued that he was unable to do so due to the stressful and complicated mental condition he may have been experiencing at that moment. If a witness is governed by revenge or is in a stressful mental condition can his evidence be considered as reliable?

Be that as it may, of the 14 soldiers who were charged, nine were acquitted, four discharged and only one remained – Staff Sergeant Sunil Ratnayake, and he was considered as the sole accused for the murder of eight Tamil civilians only on the evidence of Maheswaran who was unable to identify the other accused. Why was Maheswaran unable to identify the others who is said to have got involved in the crime? 

Wouldn’t it be due to his disturbed mind he was not able to identify them? If so can Maheswaran be treated as a credible witness?

In any case after a lengthy 13-year long trial out of the 14 soldiers charged for the controversial incident dubbed ‘Mirusuvil massacre’ where nine dubious Tamil civilians were killed, the soul accused Sunil Ratnayake was found guilty and was sentenced to death.  In other words Ratnayake who was found guilty of 15 charges, was ‘proved’ to have single-handedly killed all these 8 civilians.

Yahapalana regime pardons LTTE terrorists

Many members of the Armed Forces and the public felt that his conviction was unjustified, especially as a whole slew of convicted LTTE terrorists were pardoned by the Yahapalana regime.

With the pardoning of Sunil Ratnayake by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa the whole bandwagon of pseudo crusading gangs calling themselves human rights activists and instigated by frustrated Western nations and LTTE relics have condemned the President’s action as an unpardonable offence.

If these human rights activists are genuinely interested in redressing the wrong decision, why were they silent when the LTTE butchers who had murdered pregnant Sinhalese and Muslim women and children, were released by the previous Government? And if they are so concerned about justice, why did they not object when Presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena were releasing hardcore LTTE ‘butchers’ who had butchered sleeping women and children, people in prayer, Buddhist monks in temples etc.

This concern for human rights seem to be a bluff that is used as a kind of an excuse to cover up the frustrations they had to experience after the Great Defeat. Under the SriLankan Constitution, the President has the arbitrary power to release anyone found guilty of criminal charges. And the President has acted accordingly.

President Trump grants clemency

Similarly in the United States where every act is seemingly performed according to Democratic principles, President Donald Trump had recently granted clemency to a former Navy Seal who had been found guilty of war crimes.

Chief petty officer Eddie Gallagher had been convicted of posing with the dead body of a teenage Islamic State terrorist, he had killed in Iraq in 2017. He had also boasted in an e-mail to a friend, after sending the above mentioned photograph that shows him holding the deceased captive by the head, saying ‘Good story behind this, got him with my hunting knife.’

After the President Trump’s action there was uproar from military leaders and the Navy Secretary Richard Spencer who had written a scathing opinion piece for the Washington Post attacking Trump, was ousted by the White House.

This is how things happen in a country like US where every action is said to be aligned with Democracy and also are very much concerned and worried about human rights state in other countries.

‘What’s sauce for the goose’ should be ‘sauce for the gander’ too. In conclusion I would like to add some excerpts from a speech by Justice A.H.M.D.Nawaz, President of the Court of Appeal: “So I articulate the proposition that law and justice cannot be distant neighbours. If they become distant neighbours in the hands of judges,the quality of justice is undermined and it reminds me of Jesus Christ who said  “the Sabbath was made for man and no man for Sabbath”. Justice must not be rigid and the rigour of the law untampered by milk of human kindness is not justice but akin to denial of it.”

Justice Nawaz continuing further said: “Instead of coalescence between law and justice, there has grown a dangerous distance between the two, and the law and lawyers have begun to lose much of their legitimacy among people whom they are unable to protect against injustice. 

All this is painfully true, but it is not the whole truth. I have watched with wonderment that there are other influences and traditions at the bar which never died and which must be crucial for the commitment we have made under the Constitution to bring real justice, dignity and freedom to all citizens of this extremely exciting country, of so much promise and richness: so much romance and cruelty.”

(aryaratnar@gmail.com)

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) are providing US$400,000 (LKR 74 million) to the Ministry of Education (MoEd) towards the National School Meal Programme. 80,000 primary school children will receive one month’s worth of food rations to help them and their families cope with the school closures due to COVID-19.

The contribution is reflective of the long-standing partnership between WFP and the Government of Sri Lanka and WFP’s continued support for the country’s flagship National School Meal Programme since 2003. It will enable the Ministry of Education to commence the first phase of the take-home ration programme, while further resources are mobilized by MoED to expand the programme.

The generous funding contribution from the Government of Australia is very timely,” says Brenda Barton, WFP Country Director in Sri Lanka. Already, 40 percent of all primary school-aged children are too thin. For many children, the meal they get in school is often the only meal they will get in a day. Take-home food rations will be key to help safeguard children’s health and nutrition during this difficult time when the country is battling COVID.”

The packages comprise eggs, lentils and other dry commodities specified by the MoEd, to ensure diet diversity for children and their families. Distribution will start later this month to children at schools identified by the MoEd in the Central, Uva, Northern and Eastern Provinces. After this initial phase, the take-home rations will subsequently be extended by the MoEd to all schools covered by the National School Meal Programme. 

The Government’s decision to close schools within 48 hours of Sri Lanka’s first Covid-19 case, was integral in preventing the spread of the virus” says the Minister of Education and Sports, Hon. Dullas Alahapperuma. We recognise the importance of sustaining the National School Meal Programme amidst these school closures. We are thankful to WFP and the Government of Australia for providing us with funds to supply take-home rations to children covered by the School Meal Programme.”

Globally, WFP has supported school meals since 1963 as an essential safety net which helps bolster children’s access to education, health and nutrition. In Sri Lanka, over 1.1 million primary school children have been receiving mid-day meals through the Government-funded National School Meals Programme. The take-home ration method has also been widely used by WFP, even before COVID-19, when restrictions arise such as limited access to schools.

The devastating economic impact of COVID-19 has highlighted the need to ensure food security for Sri Lankans. WFP will continue to work with the Government of Sri Lanka to complement the National School Meal Programme by supporting locally-grown food production and value chains through smallholder farmers. Furthermore, WFP is supporting MoEd on measures such as in-school handwashing stations, in preparation for the re-opening of schools.

Courtesy Ada Derana

Two more persons have tested positive the novel coronavirus raising the tally of total cases in the country, stated Ministry of Health.

The two new Covid-19 positive patients are navy personnel, according to the Director General of Health Services Dr. Anil Jasinghe.

Accordingly, the total number of cases reported from Sri Lanka stands at 891.

Currently, 500 active cases are under medical care at selected hospitals across the island, as per the Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry.

Meanwhile, with seven new recoveries reported today (13), the count of recoveries recorded in the country is at 382.

Nine of the coronavirus patients reported from the country have succumbed to the disease so far.

Courtesy Hiru News

Former Parliamentarian Rajitha Senaratne who was ordered to be remanded until the 27th of this month was brought to the Negombo Pallansena Youth Correctional Center.

Commissioner General of Prisons Bandula Jayasinghe stated that all suspects who were remanded were taken to the Center for quarantine purposes due to the prevailing covid 19 pandemic.

They will be sent to the remand prison after conducting a medical examination.

Rajitha who was remanded until 27 May, taken for quarantine (Video)

Former MP, Rajitha who was remanded has been taken to the youthful offender’s correctional center at Pallansena in Negombo.

Former parliamentarian Rajitha Senaratne who was ordered to be remanded until the 27th was taken to away from the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court a short while ago.

It was to the youthful offenders correctional center at Pallansena in Negombo.

Commissioner General of Prisons Bandula Jayasinghe stated that all suspects who were remanded were taken to the Center for quarantine purposes due to the covid 19 epidemic.

They will be sent to the remand prison after a medical examination.

Courtesy Hiru News

Minister S M Chandrasena advised the officials that an inquiry should be initiated against those who have illegally distributed lands of the ‘Muhudu Maha Viharaya’ which belong to the Department of Archeology.

This was at a meeting with state officials today following the revelation by Hiru CIA regarding the illegal land grabbing of the ‘Muhudu Maha Viharaya’ land.

Hiru CIA has been investigating the illegal acquisition of the ‘Muhudu Maha Viharaya’ land, in Pottuvil in the Eastern Province. CIA continued to raise awareness on these matters to authorities.

Minister SM Chandrasena had summoned a team of government officials such as the Department of Archeology and the Coast Conservation Department to the Ministry of Environment for a special discussion in this regard.

Courtesy Hiru News

Organization and the ‘Nawa Sinhala’ Organization allege that President’s Counsel Ali Shabri had made a racist statement expressing his views to Al Jazeera International News Service.

They made these comments at two press conference held today.

We contacted President’s Counsel Ali Sabri regarding these allegations.

Dr. Gamini Padmaperuma

Background

It was clearly observed how the existing digital infrastructure was over-stretched and overwhelmed during this difficult time, which led to computer system and website overloads or crashes. Also, long queues for securing necessary food provisions, medicines, etc. were observed. All public and private educational institutions were closed which disrupted most of the educational programmes in the country.

It was also observed that the distribution of various government relief packages (such as provision of Rs. 5000 allowance) was met with some drawbacks due to issues relating to identification of individuals who are really entitled.  Provision of other government services such as issuance of curfew permits, etc. was also a phenomenal task that the Police Department had to face with.

Further, parents were concerned and anxious about the missed classes of their children while university students were worried about their missed lectures. Continuation of academic work of millions of pupils and students has become a concern of the whole nation.

The Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA), the apex ICT institution of the Government, has done and is doing a great deal in building digital infrastructure for making Sri Lanka a knowledge-based society through digitally empowered citizens. It has undertaken many projects for fulfilling the above mandate given to them. Just as a response to Covid-19 Outbreak, ICTA has developed and launched many computer systems, databases, applications to facilitate emergency government services, communication and collaboration tools, platforms for digital education, etc. The country is now faced with many more challenges based on the problems posed by the current pandemic which are different in intensity and nature to those encountered under normal conditions. These problems need long term solutions so that future emergency situations can be handled more readily and effectively.

His Excellency the President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has decided to implement all digital technology services and technology projects under the supervision and management of the ICT Agency and to bring the agency under the Ministry of Defence. This is a clear indication of the level of priority given by the Government to build the necessary digital infrastructure and launch necessary projects to make Sri Lanka a digitally advanced country. 

Strategies and actions

A well-established digital infrastructure by way of e-commerce, e-governance, e-health, e-learning, etc. could help face situations similar to the current one more effectively and safely. It is very important to assess the current capacity of country’s digital infrastructure; e-commerce, e-health, e-governance, e-learning, etc. and expand and enhance them to a level that citizens in all corners of the country have access to a sufficiently reliable Internet facility. Availability of such facility would enable efficient handling of relevant transactions of citizens through e-commerce, e-health, e-governance, e-learning, etc. This will create opportunities for citizens to avail the services of businesses such as pharmacies and supermarkets through e-commerce, health services through e-health, government services through e-governance, online learning through, e-learning, etc. with minimal need to meet face-to-face.  Avoidance of meetings and maintenance of social distance are primary concerns under situations such as current pandemic.

Development of Internet facilities and providing their access to the citizens countrywide is only half the battle. What is equally important is to prepare sound systems and applications to facilitate transactions between concerned parties such as business to consumer, business to business, government to citizens, educational institutions to students etc. Development of systems and applications need detailed analysis of existing systems and transactions, interrelationship between business/government processes and procedures, etc. This effort should not be a mere computerization of existing transactions. For example, business processes, either in public sector or private sector need to be thoroughly analysed. Efforts need to be made to simplify the processes and make them more efficient. It is therefore important to look at the existing practices with an open mind and challenge each step in the processes for its relevance, necessity, timeliness, etc. This could entail reengineering of business processes and disruptive innovations involving radical changes to current business practises.

It is also important to develop comprehensive databases consisting of biographical and other data such as income levels, professions or trade skills, etc. of all citizens. This could help many activities of the government in planning development and aid programmes, distribution of relief packages, implementation of strategic development programmes, etc. As primary information of citizens are already available through Persons Registration Department, Elections Commission, etc., its expansion to include more details could be addressed with relative ease.

E-health could be used to maintain patient records such as prescribed medicines, diagnosed illnesses, residential addresses, phone numbers, etc. so that distribution of medicine could be handled with ease during a crisis situation such as the current one. Also, consultations with doctors at a remote location could be arranged through video links, etc. thus avoiding the need to travel to a hospital.

E-Learning also can be developed as an alternative or complementary medium to face-to-face teaching and learning. Here again, proper need analyses and instructional designs need to be made with proper academic input to make the teaching and learning effective. Audio and video clips, discussion forums, timely feedback, group work and presentations, continuous assessments, progress monitoring, online tutoring are some of the important features of e-learning. This medium could also be used to train and retrain people with relative ease and speed.

It is therefore proposed that a consultative body under the leadership of ICTA with representatives from relevant fields in both public and private sector be formed to look into the above issues in terms of strategy, direction, technology and infrastructure, systems development, change management, implementation, etc. Use of digital technology can be looked at from both national and sectorial levels, which again are integrated to form the national economy. Experts from economic, health, education, business, agriculture, engineering and construction, public administration, etc. fields can be called upon to work along with IT experts from ICTA and other related agencies to identify, prioritise and analyse areas that need to be digitalized in keeping with national policies and programmes. What is very important is not to just computerize the existing manual processes, also referred to as paving the cow path, but to look at each process afresh and develop direct, simple and efficient processes that can be computerized and integrated with other similarly developed processes in the same sector or otherwise.

Author:

Dr. Gamini Padmaperuma is a Chartered Professional Engineer, an Honorary Fellow Member of IESL and a former Senior Lecturer of OUSL. He can be contacted at gamini_pad@hotmail.com

BY EDWARD THEOPHILUS

It is widely accepted that the invention of personal computers, mobile phones, and other information technology-related devices, which had been used to acquaint information bolstered the initiation of social media. The freedom of expression and the right to express independent views are affirmed by social media. It is a good development and allows us to express open views and varieties without restrictions. 

The print media has been playing the role and the right of publication, and the ability to express independent views augmented by social media. The cost associated with print media, and the policies of owners towards the media management have constrained media freedom, and the political affiliation of media companies further limited the independent expression of views. Social media removed barriers to the expression of views to a certain extent.

A vicious factor related to print media, and other communication devices such as television, and radio was, they had been controlled by major shareholders of media companies, although the government issued guidelines for media management media owners respected to such guidelines was a question. The personal power to blot free expression of views has been tactfully applied by media owners when there was an absence of social media to express views. It seemed a monopoly power of media owners

It seemed that soft targets have been lucrative to use by owners of print media, and other communication devices at the cost of free information. To make a large sum of financial and other gains, media owners unreasonably used media freedom. The practices of media owners appeared a privilege of media ownership. They changed the public opinion and perception of various affairs, and social media has changed the monopoly of print and other media.

It is supposed to operate independently, but social media seems to be operated with invisible hands and links to program producers. The users of social media have no understanding of such invisible controls and links.

Although social media responsible to confirm the freedom of expression beyond the barriers and doubts, many users of social media abuse the freedom of expression, independent views publishing mythical views, lies, immoral exposure of pictures, and using bad terms in writing to mislead others. The worse scenario is that certain users of social media attempt to expose disgusting pictures, unacceptable language to attract minors to engage with unacceptable behaviour. 

I heard certain kingpins of social media in Sri Lanka are using various techniques to express mythical views to mislead community members, who have gained a low level of education, youngsters in primary and early secondary schools, to promote hate speeches, and camouflage with mythical beliefs, and to impersonate famous figures that are akin to many ambiguous and unacceptable practices. They beguile the public on political, social, religious, scientific, and medical practices, and many others. School authorities in primary and secondary contexts have no proper skills, social, and technology education to detect or trace the real behaviour of kingpins in social media. Honestly speaking, inventors of social media never aimed at such abuses, and practices when they were inventing the programs.

The worse scenario is that minors in Sri Lanka are used in social media by crooks to promoting violence, sex, cheating, and misbehaviour.  Recently, police intelligence services detected such minors and arrested them. It is published that a culprit was a son of parents who engage in teaching and the minor has been studying a famous school at the regional level. YouTube channels were opened to publish immoral matters and to attract young girls and minors to promote disgusting and illegal businesses. The programs pressure on parents to allow young girls to engage in immoral business. 

Another vicious practice in social media is spreading lies in a situation where society is concerned with issues and unsure about real factors. I read many lies published in social media related to the coronavirus pandemic. It is understood that the personnel, who posted such lies and misguides or elucidations with full knowledge of they were doing the wrong thing and knowing the responsibilities, obligation, and implications of acts. They were doing wrong acts to mislead society. It is morally wrong and legally binding.

The behaviour of certain users of social media might subject to a criminal breach of conduct or negligence although the authorities of social media reluctance to take legal actions against the culprits. Sometimes, it could believe that the inventors of social media do not know about misuses as the media operates in different languages.  There is evidence in many countries’ misbehaviour in social media. In some countries, such as Sri Lanka spend a large volume of government money to curb such behaviour and to protect people from potential damages.

Unacceptable language is widely used in social media that is not delightful or ethical to express ideas and views on various matters. Any language consists of bad terms that cannot be expressed in public, but I observed that chickenshit terms in Sinhala and Tamil languages are used by many users and they used words that should be ban in social media. If there are controlling personnel in social media why should they reluctant to prevent such posting?

The use of flash Language and Cockney are concerned matter in English speaking and English widely used countries.  Slang types of terms are used in Sinhala and Tamil languages, and in some instances, swearing words are used without shame.   The use of swearing words or blasphemy in writing and vocal language is a taboo in Sinhala and Tamil societies. It seems that such words are used in social media such as on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and others. The causal factor for the use of bad language might be a misunderstanding of civilized practices and the nature of cultural habits.  Some people may not consistent with civilized practices when they are dealing with society. I noticed in the Maldives, some people used bad or indecent terms in DIVEHI Language when they were talking day to day communication. Public comments in UTUBE programs are widely used swearing words or blasphemy, which are unacceptable to civilized communication.  

Many users of social media in Tamil and Sinhala languages may have noticed that dialog in certain popular programs have been dubbed dirty terms and presented in YouTube programs. and it is a question of why original players in programs did not protest this matter. Was the dubbing done with the consents of the original players?  If people are civilized, they should use civilized language, and dubbing bad terms to the original dialog must be stopped.

Social media plays a wide role in the community and the users must not abuse the media and should engage in a responsible role.

I viewed many postings in UTUBE, which were immoral and promoting sex stories between parents and children, between siblings and many other immoral stories. In a civilized society, because of gaining financial advantages, people are not ready to engage in immoral behaviour. Social media may be equally treating people; however, it should not promote an immoral society.

Many users of social media want to attract readers, viewers, likes, and sharers because there may be a regulation to give financial benefits, who make attractive postings.        

By M D P DISSANAYAKE

The worst political liars are in Sri Lanka.  From time to time, they are on both sides.  The most recent fiasco relating to the then Presidential Candidate relating to his citizenship status was hilarious.   Let’s recapitulate:

Harin Fernando took the front line fight to charge that Gota is still a US citizen. When Facebook took down his post, HF   took to Twitter to post his anger  American companies shouldn’t interfere on behalf of an American contesting Sri Lanka’s election. I stand by my every word,” 

Dr. Inguruwatte Sumangala Thero began a fast unto death demanding SLPP produce documentary evidence to prove revocation of US citizenship, otherwise, he will continue his fast unto death.  His banners read in Sinhala, meaning Save our country from the conspiracy by Gotabaya Rajapakse who is attempting to betray our Great Mother Land to America”.

The monk is still living and well. Sadhu! Sadhu!!

Prof. Chandragupta Thenuwara  ( Professional of Visual Arts)  and Gamini Viyangoda( a professional driver who worked overseas) filed applications in the  Court of Appeal and then lost.  Then appealed to the Supreme Court and lost again. 

Lankaweb reported on 4^th October 2019, under the caption MR  GAMINI WIYANGODA  GOES GO KUNUGODA” and said, Mr. Wiyangoda once again has gone to the place where he deserves to reside, i.e. Kunu Goda” when his application was rejected by the CoA without consideration.  

According to Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe of JHU,  two persons who filed a petition challenging Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s dual citizenship, Gamini Wiyangoda, and also Prof. Chandragupta Thenuwara are receiving death threats now and there is a great deal of hatred and violence on the other side. We would like to appeal to all those who defend law and order at this time we ask for the protection of these two petitioners”.  Prof Thenuwara left Sri Lanka on 16 November, we wish him a long life!

Patali Champaka said Gota was trying to claim power illegally,  he said so after meeting Malwatte Chapter in Kandy, claiming  Gota still has no documents to prove revocation of US citizenship and attempting to grab power illegally”

Gotabaya Rajapakse remained silent throughout,  but finally on 30 September 2019 he made it loud and clear by saying: Judiciary will determine my innocence” declares Gotabaya Rajapaksa: says He has followed the relevant procedure in all matters and that documents concerning his identity and citizenship being challenged in Courts are authentic.

Gotabaya is a man who speaks the truth.  He knows if the 4^th precept of Musawada Weramani is broken, then naturally you break at least one more precept.

Long live  Gotabaya. 

S .Akurugoda

As per media reports, several Fundamental Rights (FR) petitions were filed at the Supreme Court,  challenging the decision of the President to dissolve Parliament, on March 2, and the decision by the Elections Commission to reschedule elections, on June 20, amidst the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), a well known foreign-funded NGO, is among the eight petitioners who filed the applications.

In a news item appeared on May 8, 2020, Rohana Hettiarachchi Convener of another foreign-funded NGO, People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL), has said that the conduct of the parliamentary election wouldn’t be possible on June 20 due to the incidence of Covid-19 and he is expected to meet EC Chairman  Mahinda Deshapriya within the next few days.

Let us examine who are representing these NGOs and what their objectives would be when challenging the decision of the President to dissolve Parliament.

According to websites of NGOs,  CPA is financed by more than 20 donor agencies from USA, EU, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Denmark, Sweden and UN (including UNICEF, UNDP and UNHCR) while  PAFFREL is funded by agencies from USA, UK, Canada, Sweden, Norway and Australia in addition to UNDP, British High Commission and embassies of Japan and Germany in Colombo.  It is interesting to note that NGOs like The National Peace Council and Sarvodaya are leading partners of PAFEEREL. In fact, most of the sources of donor agencies and the local agents who are running these NGOs are the same.          

It is also interesting to note that the Chairmen of the CPA , Chandraguptha Thenuwara , is the one who leads a malicious campaign against Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s dual citizenship certificate during the last presidential election. The other notable directors Jayadeva Uyangoda and Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu need no introduction since there are several publications available describing what they have said and done during the war against terrorism. 

 We remember how these NGOs justified international intervention (including through the UN and US) and called for solutions manufactured from the outside spending billions of Rupees got from foreign donors which money should have gone to the poor people in the country. These NGOs and their colonial masters in the West were behind the propaganda on behalf of separatism in general and the LTTE in particular.

Although the CPA and similar ilk were in the driver’s seat during the Chandrika-Ranil failed regimes, and later during the Ranil-Sirisena (so-called yahapalana) regime, attempting to brainwash the country from top political hierarchy to grassroots level, spending billions of rupees, the mass support received from the general public to eradicate terrorism in 2009 and to chase away the above notorious regimes even before the end of their terms are clear proofs that the peace-loving people of Sri Lanka are wiser than the foreign-funded policy prophets.

It looks like these NGOs have started, once again, to achieve their objectives disregarding the rights of the majority citizens of the country.  The aim of the politicians involved is well known since the voters rejected them twice, repeatedly, once in 2018 (Local Government Election) and again in 2019 (Presidential Election). What these politicians say is to cancel the election and to reactivate the old parliament.  Foreign-funded NGOs are providing moral support to those rejected politicians to destabilise the country once again.

Sri Lanka is a sovereign nation and its people must have the supreme power to choose their representatives in the Parliament to govern them, as they wish, and it should not be a right of the opportunistic local agents of colonial masters of the west. Certainly, it is not the intention of the people of Sri Lanka to reinstall an administration rejected twice during the last two years by the majority of its citizens?  

S .Akurugoda

Shelton Mahadivulweva 

Below is the Island Editorial today. As all of you know, Island is owned by Upali Newspapers of which the current owner is the brother of former SLFP MP Kumara Welgama (who has now joined with Sajith Premadasa) and yesterday’s paper gave prominence to a statement made by him. The Island which used to always provide space for writers like Rajan Phillips, Jehan Perera, etc. who are connected to NGOs and funded by them is now giving space not only to articles or statements quoting the danger of holding a general election in near future due to the epidemic but slowly attempting to convince the readers also of such a danger using the editorial. Any Sri Lankan with an average IQ would comprehend the fact that some in the opposition as well all the anti-nationalist elements are up on their feet to postpone the general elections are doing so not because they care for the health of Sri Lankan citizens but only because the opposition is facing a severe defeat especially due to the split in the UNP. These newspapers are not independent at all but they are voicing for their masters and no doubt some of the journalists are bought by the NGO’s funding the anti-nationalist elements. While most of the countries in the rest of the world including those suffering from higher statistics of Corona affected patients and deaths are endeavouring to come out of the lockdowns, restore normalcy, kick start their economies and engage in providing access for democratic rights of their citizens such as casting vote at elections, it’s sad that these so-called independent journalists are writing to please their masters while attempting to deceive the readers.

Virus, franchise and ghost election

Tuesday 12th May, 2020

May 11, 2020, 9:43 pm

Poland has recently had a ghost election owing to a political tug of war between the government and the Opposition. A presidential election was held, on Sunday, but nobody voted due the coronavirus pandemic. There have been about 16,000 Covid-19 cases and 800 deaths from the disease, in that country, and it is only natural people did not want to vote. One may want to know why on earth that election was ever held. The answer is that Poland is in the same predicament as Sri Lanka thanks to a bunch of politicians who have anything but the national interest at heart.

The ruling party and the Opposition, in Poland, had locked horns, with the latter accusing the former of exposing the public to Covid-19 by conducting an election; they had not cared to put their heads together and decide when to hold the election. The Polish Electoral Commission (EC) had been all at sea, and, as a result, Sunday’s election had been neither cancelled nor postponed. It has been reported that the voter turnout was zero. The EC has finally declared that the onus is on the Speaker of Parliament to announce, within 14 days, a new date for the election. Its decision is said to have put an end to the debate over when the presidential election should be held. But the question is whether he will be able to do so, as required by the law, because nobody knows when the coronavirus threat will be over.

A Polish political commentator has been quoted as saying, “We are in a fog of legal absurdity.” A similar fate has befallen Sri Lankans, and now the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court has been invoked to clear the legal fog troubling them. But the miasma of political uncertainty, here, won’t go away unless the polluted constitutional swamp, from which it emanates, is drained, once and for all.

South Korea, which went to the polls, recently, braving as it did the coronavirus pandemic, has detected new clusters of infections. No sooner had the Korean election been concluded than the Rajapaksa government asked why Sri Lanka could not do likewise. The Opposition protested, urging it not to endanger people’s lives. The Election Commission has made its contribution to the legal mess by scheduling the general election for 20 June. It is now facing several fundamental rights cases.

Interestingly, Sri Lankans have a history of saving democracy by risking their lives to vote. Some of them have even died, defending franchise. In the late 1980s, the JVP unleashed barbaric violence in a bid to sabotage the provincial council, presidential and parliamentary elections, and, in fact, killed dozens of people who dared vote in defiance of its orders. UNP goons also went all out to prevent their political rivals from voting so that they could stuff the ballot boxes. People voted and put paid to the attempts to strangulate democracy. JVP violence and the low voter turnout, however, stood the UNP in good stead.

So, it may be argued that the people would vote even if parliamentary polls were to be held before the Covid-19 threat is neutralised fully. But this does not mean they should be made to run the risk of being exposed to the germ in the name of an election.

We must not lose sight of the situation in other countries while lockdowns are being eased here. Some new clusters of coronavirus infections have been found in Wuhan. This shows how elusive the virus is and that we must not lower our guard. There should be no room for complacency.

Aloysius Hettiarachchi

Today is International Nurses Day. We are deeply indebted to them for the services they provide. They are the frontline soldiers in the battle against Covid-19 in our country right at this moment. Perhaps one of them saved my life too, on a day in 1975 at the general hospital, Colombo. I got myself admitted one evening to the hospital for a cystoscopic examination of the bladder on the following morning. I was told not to drink anything until after the medical procedure. Following morning I was feeling very thirsty and drank water. The nurse who happened to be there and saw it said that she will tell the doctor not to do the operation on me as I would vomit and die on the table. So, I was not taken in and was sent home; she did her duty and may have saved me.

Today I see on the TV the nurses display their hero’s statue, that of Florence Nightingale.

In the UK they teach their children from the very young age to consider her as a national hero. I give below a link to a narrative by my grand daughter about a story of a nurse they were taught in the school. A week after this was recorded she was taken to an exhibition by her parents where the portrait of Nightingale was on display. She had immediately run up to the portrait and was seen touching it affectionately.

රජිත් කීර්ති තෙන්නකෝන් හිටපු දකුණු පළාත් ආණ්ඩුකාර

අමාත්‍යාංශ ලේකම් තනතුරු සදහා ජනාධිපතිවරයෙකු විසින් පුද්ගලයින් පත් කරනු ලබන්නේ රජයේ ප්‍රතිපත්ති ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීම සදහා ය.  ශ්‍රීි ලංකා පරිපාලන සේවයෙන් පිට ලේකම්වරුන් ගණනාවක් කාලයෙන් කාලයට අමාත්‍යාංශ ලේකම් තනතුරු සදහා පත්ව ඇත.  මේ රටේ සුවිශේෂ කාර්ය භාරයක් ඉටු කළ පරිපාලන සේවයේ නොවන ලේකම්වරුන් ගැන සිහි කිරීමකි. 

ශ්‍රී ලංකා පරිපාලන සේවයේ නොවන (හෝ පරිපාලන සේවයට අන්තර්ග්‍රහණය කළ) විශාල පිරිසක් රටේ සිටී. ලංකාවේ ජනාධිපති ලේකම්, අගමැති ලේකම්, අමාත්‍යාංශ ලේකම්, කැබිනට් ලේකම් ධූර දැරූ මේ අය විටෙක සාර්ථකත්වයේ ද, විටෙක අසාර්ථකත්වයේ ද ප්‍රතිමූර්ති බවට පත් ව ඇත.

1965 – 70 හත් හවුල් රජයේ (කැබිනට් අමාත්‍යාංශයක් වූ) රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යාංශය පැවරුණේ ජේ.ආර්. ජයවර්ධන ටය. ජේ.ආර්. ගේ සිය ස්ථිර ලේකම් ලෙස පත් කර ගත්තේ ආනන්ද තිස්ස ද අල්විස් ය. අද රටට වැඩිම විදේශ විනිමයක් ගෙනෙන ‘සංචාරක පනත‘ 1966 හැදුවේ ආන්ද තිස්ස ද අල්විස් ය. 1977 කථානායක ධූරයට පත් වූ අල්විස්, 1977 සැප්තෑම්බර් මස තමා ස්ථිර ලේකම් ධූරය දැරූ රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යාංශයේ අමාත්‍යවරයා ලෙස දිවුරුම් දුන්නේ කෝට්ටේ මහජන මන්ත්‍රීවරයා ලෙස ය.

1977 ජේ.ආර්.ජයවර්ධන කෘෂිකර්ම හා ඉඩම් අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් ලෙස පත් කළේ වැවිලිකරුවෙකු වූ රංජන් විජේරත්න ය. අක්කර 50 ට වඩා ඉඩම් සන්තකයේ තබා ගත නොහැකි වූ රාජ්‍ය ප්‍රතිපත්තියක සිට ලෝකයේ මුල්ම නිදහස් ආර්ථික ක්‍රමයක් සහිත බවට රටක් බවට පත් වූ ලංකාවේ කෘෂිකර්ම හා ඉඩම් ප්‍රතිපත්තිය සකස් කිරීමේ කාර්ය භාරයට රංජන් උර දුන්නේය. 1989 දී රංජන් විජේරත්න වැවිලි කර්මාන්ත අමාත්‍යවරයා ද, ආරක්ෂක රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යවරයා ද, එජාප මහ ලේකම් (1988 – 91) ද, ලෙස පත්විය.

ක්‍රමසම්පාදන අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් ලෙස ආචාර්ය වික්‍රම වීරසූරිය සිදු කළ බොහෝ දේ ගැන ඉතිහාසයේ ලියවී ඇත. වික්‍රම, තම බලය පාවිච්චි කර, විෂය පථයට ද පිටින්, මහවැලි කාර්යාලයක් නුවරඑළියේ ස්ථාපනය කොට දිවාරත්න නම් නිලධාරියා එහි ස්ථානගත කළේය. නුවරඑළිය නගරයේ අනවසර පදිංචිකරුවන්ගේ ගැටළුව ‘රෙගුයුලයිස්‘ කිරීම කළ යුත්තේ ‘සහකාර ආණ්ඩුවේ ඒජන්තවරයා‘ ය. දිවාරත්න ෆයිල් හැදුවේය. ඉඩම් ආඥා පනතේ වගන්තිවලින් කනින් රිංගා, ආණ්ඩුවේ ඒජන්තට ගත නොහැකි තීරණය වික්‍රම කැබිනට් පත්‍රිකාවකින් ලබාගත්තේ වජිරපුර, රාහුලපුර අනවසර සිංහල පදිංචිකරුවන්ට ඉඩම් ලැබෙන අන්දමිනි. එදා, නුවරඑළිය මන්ත්‍රී ගාමිණී දිසානායක වික්‍රම ගේ මස්සිනාය. මහ නගර සභාවට අදටත් සිංහල නගරාධිපතිවරයෙකු පත්වන්නේ (එය හරිද? වැරදිද? යන්න වෙනම කථාවකි) ගාමිණී දිසානායකගේ නම ගිය, වික්‍රම ලේකම්ගේ මේ වික්‍රමය නිසාය. (මෙවැනි හපන්කම් පරිපාලන සේවයේ නිලධාරීන්ට කර ඇති බව (අම්පාර සම්බන්ධයෙන්) කොළඹ හිටපු දිසාපති සුනිල් කන්නංගර Sunil Kannangara ට පන්හිදේ සටහන් තබනු ඇත.

1978 මාර්තු මස උසස් අධ්‍යාපන අමාත්‍යාංශය ඇරඹන විට එහි ලේකම් වූ මහාචාර්ය ස්ටැන්ලි කල්පගේ නම, උසස් අධ්‍යාපන අමාත්‍යවරුන්ගේ නම්වලට වඩා මිනිසුන්ට සමීපය. 1970 දශකයේ ආචාර්ය බද්දුදීන් මොහොමඩ් අධ්‍යාපන අමාත්‍යවරයා තරමටම ආධ්‍යාපන ලේකම් ආචාර්ය ප්‍රේමදාස උඩගම නාමය ද අද්විතීය වන්නේය. 1984 – 89 මෙරට අධ්‍යාපන කේෂ්ත්‍ර යේ දැවැන්තම පරිවර්තනය සිදුවූ සමයේ අධ්‍යාපන ලේකම් ඊ.එල්.විජේමාන්න අධ්‍යාපන පරිපාලන සේවයේ නිලධාරියෙකි. හමුදා නිලධාරියෙකු වූ කර්නල් වී.එස්.කුඩලිගම ද අධ්‍යපන හා ක්‍රීඩා ලේකම් ලෙස කටයුතු කර ඇත.

අධ්‍යාපන පරිපාලන සේවයේ තිස්ස හේවාවිතාන යහපාලන අධ්‍යාපන රාජ්‍ය ලේකම් ය. දැන් එම තනතුර දරන රංජිත් චන්ද්‍රෙසේකර ද, අධ්‍යාපන පරිපාලන සේවයේ ය.

ඩී.ආර්.ඕ. මහත්තයෙකු ලෙස සිට පරිපාලන සේවයට (පැරණි සී.සී.එස් සේවයට) අන්තර්ග්‍රහණය කරන ලද ඩබ්.එම්.පී.බී. මැණික්දිවෙල ලංකාවේ පළමු විධායක ජනාධිපතිගේ ලේකම් විය. චන්ද්‍රිකා කුමාරතුංග මහත්මියගේ ජනාධිපති ලේකම් කේ. බාලපටබැදි ද පරිපාලන සේවයේ නිලධාරියෙකු නොවේ. ඒ නයින් බලන කළ, ආචාර්ය පී.බී.ජයසුන්දර මේ ලැයිස්තුවේ දෙවැන්නා නැතිනම් තුන්වැනියා ය.

1993 දී බස්නාහිර පළාත් සභාවේ ප්‍රධාන අමාත්‍යාංශයේ + අධ්‍යාපන අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් ලෙස චන්ද්‍රිකා කුමාරතුංග පත් කර ගත්තේ ගණකාධිකාරී සේවයේ වැලිමඩ, එස්.බී. අමරකෝන් ය. චන්ද්‍රිකා ජනාධිපතිනිය ධාරා විජේතිලක (නීති) – විද්‍යා හා තාක්ෂණ ලේකම් ලෙස ද තාරා ද මෙල් – අධ්‍යාපන ලේකම් ලෙස පත් කළේය. 1994 – 2000 සමෘද්ධි, යෞවන හා ක්‍රීඩා ලේකම් වූයේ ක්‍රමසම්පාදන සේවයේ ආචාර්ය ආර්.එම්.කේ. රත්නායක ය. 2000 – 2001 ආණ්ඩුවේ (ඇමති එස්.බී. ගේ) සමෘද්ධි, ග්‍රාම සංවර්ධන, යෞවන, ක්‍රීඩා හා පාර්ලිමේන්තු කටයුතු ලේකම් වූයේ ආචාර්ය සුනිල් ජයන්ත නවරත්න Sunil Nawaratne ය. පේරාදෙණියේ මහාචාර්ය ගාමිණී.බී. කීරවැල්ල ජාතික ඒකාබද්ධතා අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් කළ චන්ද්‍රිකා, පත්තරකාරයෙකු වූ ජනදාස පීරිස් ජනමාධ්‍ය ලේකම් කළේය.

දින 100 ආණ්ඩුවේ කරුණාරත්න පරණවිතානන Karunarathna Paranawithana ජනමාධ්‍ය ලේකම් විය. මහින්ද ආණ්ඩුවේ අනුර සිරිවර්ධන ද, යහපාලන ආණ්ඩුවේ තවත් විවාදාත්මක චරිතයක් වූ නිමල් බෝපගේ ද ජනමාධ්‍ය ලේකම්වරු වූවේ චන්ද්‍රිකා පූර්වාදර්ශයට අනුව යමිනි. නීතිඥ නිමල් බෝපගේ ගණකාධිකාරිවරයෙකි. විගණන නිලධාරියෙකි. කවි ද ලියන ජනාධිපති උපදේශකවරයෙකි. ලේකම් ධූරයේ සිට කළ වැඩ නිසා බොහෝ කලකට අමතක නොවන්නෙකි. (නිමල් බෝපගේ කලක් පරිපාලන සේවයේ සිට 1996 දී ඉන් ඉවත් විය. ( ලංකා පරිපාලන සේවයෙන් ඉවත් වී ලංකාවේ රැදී සිටින පළමු හා එකම පුද්ගලයා නිමල් විය හැකිය) නිමල් යහපාලන ආණ්ඩුවේ ජනමාධ්‍ය ලේකම් වූයේ පරිපාලන සේවයේ නිලධාරියෙකු ලෙස නොවේ.

ඉන්ජිනේරු කරුණාසේන හෙට්ටිආරච්චි ජල සම්පාදන හා නාගරික සංවර්ධන අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම්වරයා වූයේ මහින්ද පාලන සමයේ ය. ඔහු යහපාලන රජයේ ආරක්ෂක ලේකම් වූයේය. ජර්මනියේ තානාපති ධූරය ද දැරීය.

ආරක්ෂක අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම්වරුන් වූ සේපාල ආටිගල, සිරිල් රණතුංග, තිස්ස වීරතුංග, සී.ඒ.ධර්මපාල, හැමිල්ටන් වනසිංහ, හේමසිරි ප්‍රනාන්දු, ශාන්ත කෝට්ටගොඩ, අසෝක කාන්තිලාල් ජයවර්ධන, ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ, කමල් ගුණරත්න හමුදාවෙන් පැමිණ ලේකම් පුටුවේ වාඩිවූ අයයි. සිරිල් හේරත් පොලිස්පතිවරයාව සිට පසුව ආරක්ෂක ලේකම් වූවේය. ලේකම් සේපාල ආටිගල ලංකාවේ වැඩිම කලක් (1967-1977) යුධ හමුදාපති ධූරය දැරූ පුද්ගලයා ය. 80 දශකයේ සුවිශේෂ හමුදා තනතුරු රැසක් දැරූ සිරිල් රණතුංග, වයඹ ආණ්ඩුකාර ධූරය ද දැරූ අසෝක ජයවර්ධන තනතුර බැබලවූ ආරක්ෂක ලේකම්වරුන් ය.

නාවික හමුදාපති අද්මිරාල් වසන්ත කරන්නාගොඩ 2010 අප්‍රේල් මස මහා මාර්ග ලේකම් විය.

වසර 5 කට පසුව රටේ ජනාධිපතිධූරයට පත්වන්නේ, 2005 – 15 ආරක්ෂක ලේකම් ධූරය දැරූ ලෙෆටිනන්ට් කර්නල් ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ යි.

කාලයෙන් කාලයට නම් වෙනස් වූ, පොලීසිය බාර අමාත්‍යාංශයට ද එයට වඩා වෙනසක් නැත. 1962 හමුදා කුමන්ත්‍රණයේ සැකකාර සිඩ්නි ද සොයියා අභ්‍යන්තර ආරක්ෂාව පිළිබද ලේකම් ධූරයට පෙර නියෝජ්‍ය පොලිස්පතිවරයෙකි. මේජර් ජෙනරාල් නන්ද මල්ලවාරච්චි වැඩ බලන හමුදාපති ධූරයෙන් පසුව නීතිය හා සාමය, ක්‍රීඩා අමාත්‍යාංශවල ලේකම් විය. බ්‍රිගේඩියර් ඩෙනිස් හපුගල හමුදාවෙන් විශ්‍රාම ලබා අභ්‍යන්තර කටයුතු ලේකම් විය.

අගමැති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ සිය අතිජාත මිතුරෙකු හා එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂයේ සභාපති වූ චරිත රත්වත්තේ 2002 – 2004 දී මුදල් ලේකම් ලෙස පත් කළේය. 2004 දී ආණ්ඩුව බිද වැටීමට චරිත රත්වත්තේ භුමිකාව කොපමණ දායකත්වයක් දැක්වූයේ ද යන්න ගැන පර්යේෂණ නිබන්ධයක් ලිවිය හැකිය.

ජනාධිපති මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා ද පරිපාලන සේවයේ නොවන පුද්ගලයින් ස්ථිර ලේකම්ධූරවලට පත් කිරීමට පසුබට නොවීය. ඉංජිනේරු සේවයේ ඩී.කේ.යූ.ඒ. වික්‍රමසිංහ – වනජීවි අමාත්‍යාංශය, දකුණු පළාතේ වත්මන් ආණ්ඩුකාර විලී ගමගේ – රාජ්‍ය ව්‍යවසාය සංවර්ධන අමාත්‍යාංශය, ව්‍යාපාරික ධම්මික පෙරේරා මහාමාර්ග අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම්වරුන් වූයේ ඒ සමයේ ය. ආචාර්ය සුනිල් ජයන්ත (එස්.බී.ගේ) උසස් අධ්‍යාපන අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් විය. ව්‍යාපාරිකයෙකු වූ එච්.පී.සී. හේරත් 2010 දී ආචාර්ය මර්වින් සිල්වා ඇමතිවරයාගේ ‘මහජන කටයුතු හා මහජන සම්බන්ධතා අමාත්‍යාංශයේ‘ ලේකම් විය. මර්වින් ද, අමාත්‍යාංශය ද එකවරම නැති විය. කීර්තිමත් ඉංජිනේරු අයිවන් සිල්වා 2010 දී වාරිමාර්ග හා ජල සම්පත් කළමනාකරණ ලේකම් ලෙස සුවිශේෂ භුමිකාවක නිරත විය.

මහින්ද යුගයේම, කොළඹ විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයේ ආචාර්ය ලලිතසිරි ගුණරුවන් ප්‍රවාහන ලේකම් ද, පේරාදෙණිය වි.වි. යේ චරිත හේරත් ජනමාධ්‍ය හා පසුව පරිසර ලේකම් ද විය. ඉංජිනේරු ප්‍රේමසිරි – ජල සම්පාදන ලේකම් විය. ඉංජිනේරු ආර්.ඩබ්ලිව්.ආර්. ප්‍රේමසිරි මාර්ග සංවර්ධන හා මහා මාර්ග ලේකම් විය.

කීර්තිමත් වරලත් ගණනාධිකාරිවරයෙකු වූ ගාමිණී වික්‍රමනායක, මෙරට පරිපාලන සේවයේ හදවත බදු වූ රාජ්‍ය පරිපාලන හා ස්වදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම්වරයා ලෙස කටයුතු කළේය.

හිටපු පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රීවරයෙකු වූ මහාචාර්ය රජීව විජේසිංහ යහපාලන රජයේ ආපදා කළමනාකරණ හා මානව හිමිකම් ලේකම් වූවේය. මෛත්‍රීපාල සිරිසේන පොදු අපේක්ෂකයා ලෙස 2015 ජනාධිපතිවරණයට ඉදිරිපත් වූ පසුව මහාචාර්ය රජීව් දේශපාලනයේ ද, අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ද කළ කී දෑ රස කථා ගොඩකි.

පරිපාලන සේවයේ නොවන ලංකාවේ පළමු ලේකම් ආචාර්ය ගාමිණී කොරයා විය යුතුය. (ආනන්ද තිස්ස ද අල්විස් හා ඔහු එක ලග දිනවල පත්වීම් ලබා ඇත. මුල් පත්වීම කාටදැයි තහවුරු කර ගත නොහැකි විය), ගාමිණී කොරයා මිය යන විට කොළඹ රාජකීය ගොල්ෆ් සමාජයේ පැරණිය සමාජිකයා තමා යැයි ආඩම්බරයෙන් මිතුරු කථාවේ දී කීවේය. ගාමිණි කොරයා ගේ ගොල්ෆ් සගයා ඩඩ්ලි සේනානායක 65 – 70 ආණ්ඩුවේ අගමැතිය. 56-59 යුගයේ අගමැති බණ්ඩාරනායක රජය ජාතික සැලසුම් ගැන විශාල ලෙස උනන්දු වූවේය. කොරයා, ජාතික සැලසුම් ලේකම්කාර්යාලයේ ප්‍රධානීයා විය.
1965 ඩඩ්ලි ගේ ආණ්ඩුව පිහිටවූ විට ඔහු ගාමිණි කොරයාට මුදල් ඇමති වන්නට ආරාධනා කළේය. ගාමිණී එය පිළිගත්තේ නැත. අගමැති සැලසුම් හා ආර්ථික කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශය බිහිකර එය තමා යටතේ තබාගෙන ලේකම් ධූරය ගාමිණී කොරයාට දුන්නේ මහ බැංකුවේ 8 වන මහලේ කාමරයේ සිට තමාට සෘජුව වගකියන තත්වය ද සමගය. මුදල් ඇමතිකම එපා කියූ ගාමිණී කොරයා ලංකාවේ පළමු (හෝ දෙවන) පරිපාලන සේවයේ නොවන ලේකම් වූවේය.

මුදල් ලේකම්වරයෙකු වූ ආචාර්ය ලාල් ජයවර්ධන, හිටපු මහ බැංකු අධිපති එන්.යූ. ජයවර්ධනගේ පුතා ය. ආචාර්ය කුමාරි ජයවර්ධනගේ ස්වාමියා ය. World Institute for Development Economics Research (WIDER) හි පළමු සභාපතිවරයා ය. ටී.බී.ඉලංගරත්න, ෆීලික්ස් ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක හා එන්.එම්.පෙරේරා මුදල් අමාත්‍යවරුන් සමග මහ බැංකුවේ හා අමාත්‍යාංශවල විවිධ තනතුරු දැරූ, ආචාර්ය ජයන්ත කැලේගම විද්‍යාලංකාර විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයේ ආර්ථික විද්‍යාව පිළිබද පළමු මහාචාර්යවරයා ය. මුදල් ඇමති එන්.එම්. ගේ ගෝලයා යැයි කීවේ කැලේගම ටය. 1970 – 1977 සමගි පෙරමුණු රජයේ, විරුද්ධවාදීන් කියන විදිහට සාගත යුගයේ, කරවල, භුමිතෙල් රෙදි, බීජ, ඇතුළු සියළු දේ පිළිබද තීරණගත් බලවත්ම අමාත්‍යාංශය වූ අභ්‍යන්ත හා ජාත්‍යන්තර ‍වෙළද ලේකම් වූයේ ජයන්ත කැලේගම ය.

සෞඛ්‍ය අමාත්‍යාංශයේ වෛද්‍ය වෘත්තිකයින් රැසක් ලේකම් තනතුර දරා තිබේ. සිරිමා බණ්ඩාරනායක මැතිනිය 1970 සෞඛ්‍ය ලේකම් ලෙස පත් කළේ වෛද්‍ය සෝමදාස වීරතුංග ය. වෛද්‍ය නිහාල් ජයතිලක, වෛද්‍ය අතුල කහදගම හා උගුරු කණ නාස විශේඥ වෛද්‍ය රුබේරු යන අය ද පරිපාලන සේවයේ නොවූ සෞඛ්‍ය ලේකම්වරු ය. වෛද්‍ය නිහාල් ජයතිලක ආර්ථික සංවර්ධන අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ද, (පළාත් පාලන ආයතනයන් හි සීමා නිර්ණය කිරීමේ කාලයේ දී) පළාත් සභා අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ද ලේකම් ධූරය දැරුවේය. රේණුකා හේරත් යුගයේ සෞඛ්‍ය හා වනිතා කටයුතු ලේකම් වූයේ (1994) වෛද්‍ය ජෝ ප්‍රනාන්දු ය.

පාලිත කොහොන (2009) යුද්ධය පැවති, විදේශ බලපෑම් විශාල ලෙස රටට එල්ල වූ සුවිශේෂ කාල පරාසයකට විදේශ ලේකම් වූවේය. එක්සත් ජාතින්ගේ නිත්‍ය නියෝජිත ආදී තනතුරු රැසක් ඔහු දරා තිබුණේය. විදේශ ලේකම්කම නිසා ලෝකයට පාලිත කොහොන නැති විය.

ශිරාල් ලක්තිලක Shiral Lakthilaka මැයි 7 මුහුණුපොතේ මෙසේ ලියා ඇත. ‘‘නිහාල් ජයවික්‍රම 1970 – 77 රජයේ අධිකරණ අමාතයාංශයේ ලේකම්වරයා ය. මගේ පැරණි ගුරු ජී.එල්. ගේ මස්සිනාය. දෙදෙනාම නීති විශාරදයන්ය. හැබැයි අර්බුද අවස්ථාවල දී ජී.එල්., නිහාල් මහතා ගෙන් උපදෙස් ගන්නා හැටි මම දැක තිබේ. මගේ අදහස නීතිය පිළිබද විශ්ලේෂනයේ දී නිහාල් මහතා සැම විටම මගේ ගුරුදේවයන් වු ජී.එල් ට වඩා ඉදිරියෙන් සිටී.‘‘ සුහද ගම්ලත් හා මර්වින් විජේසිංහ පරිපාලන සේවයට පිටින් අධිකරණ ලේකම් වූ තවත් දෙදෙනෙකි.

පළාත් සභා ක්‍රමය ආරම්භ වූ යුගයේ අද මෙන් නොව පරිපාලන සේවයට පිටතින් පළාත් අමාත්‍යාංශ ලේකම්වරුන් පත්විය. මධ්‍යම පළාතේ දෙවන මාර්ග අමාත්‍යාංශ ලේකම් (1990 – 91) කේ.ඒ.ටී. නිකපිටිය මාර්ග සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියේ ඉංජිනේරුවරයෙකි.

දින 52 ආණ්ඩුවේ මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ අගමැතිතුමාගේ ලේකම් එස්.අමරසේකර ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රමසම්පාදන සේවය ය. කෘෂිකර්ම හා මහා මාර්ග අමාත්‍යාංශවල ලේකම් තනතුරු දැරූ අමරසේකර, දී.මූ.ජයරත්න අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ලේකම් ද විය. ඔහු අද කැබිනට් ලේකම් ය. 2010 – 15 කෘෂිකර්ම ලේකම් ඊ.කේ. කරුණාතිලක ශ්‍රී ලංකා කෘෂිකර්ම සේවයෙන් ලේකම් තනතුරට පත්වූවෙකි.

වී.සිවඤාණසෝති යහපාලන ආණ්ඩුවේ අගමැති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ යටතේ පැවති ආර්ථික හා ප්‍රතිපත්ති අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් විය. චාන්දනී විජේවර්ධන මලික් සමරවික්‍රම ගේ ආර්ථික ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ හා ජාත්‍යන්තර වෙළෙදාම අමාත්‍යාංශ ලේකම් විය. මුදල් කොමිෂන් සභාවේ ලේකම්වරුන් ලෙස කටයුතු කළ ටී.ජී.ජයසිංහ, ඩබ්ලිව්.එච්. මුණසිංහ සහ වත්මන් ලේකම් ඒ.ටී.එම්.යූ.ඩී.බී. තෙන්නකෝන් යන සියළු දෙනාම ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක්‍රමසම්පාදන සේවයේ නිලධාරීහු වෙති. ආචාර්ය දමිතා ද සොයිසා 2010 – 13 ධීවර අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ද, 2014 වැවිලි කර්මාන්ත අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ද ලේකම්වරිය වූවේය. 2002 දී මධ්‍යම ප්‍රදේශ සංවර්ධන අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් වූ සී.මාලියද්ද වයස අවු. 80 දී ද අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය (රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ) උපදේශක, ආර්ථික කළමනාකරණ කොමිටිය ආදියේ සාමාජික වූ ක්‍රමසම්පාදන සේවයේ අයෙකි. (* ක්‍රමසම්පාදන සේවය ඔසවා තැබීමට මාලියද්ද සුවිශේෂ කාර්ය භාරයක් ඉටු කළේය)

ජාතික කෞතුකාගාර දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජෙනරාල් ආචාර්ය නන්දා වික්‍රමසිංහ 2014 සමයේ දී ජාතික උරුමයන් පිළිබද අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් ධූරයට පත් කෙරෙුණි.

ගෝඨාභය ජනාධිපතිතුමා ගේ සමයේ නාගරික සංවර්ධන හා ජල සම්පාදන ලේකම් ප්‍රියත් බන්දු වික්‍රම ය. මහ බැංකුවේ නිලධාරියෙකු වූ එස්.ආර්. ආටිගල, වත්මන් මුදල් ලේකම් ය. මහාචාර්ය රංජිත් දිසානායක, නාගරික සංවර්ධන රාජ්‍ය ලේකම් ය. මහාචාර්ය සුනන්ද මද්දුම බණ්ඩාර, තොරතුරු සහ සන්නිවේදන රාජ්‍ය ලේකම් ය. ඔහු කැලණිය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයේ පරිපාලන සේවයට පිටින් ලේකම් ධූරයක් ලැබූ පළමුවැන්නා විය හැකිය.

සුනන්ද මද්දුම බණ්ඩාර Sunanda Maddumabandara‍ෙ, 1990 ජනාධිපති ප්‍රේමදාස සමයේ පරිපාලන සේවයේ පළමු ශ්‍රේණියේ තනතුරක් වන රජයේ ප්‍රවෘත්ති අධ්‍යක්ෂ ධූරය (දැන් විශේෂ ශ්‍රෙණියේ තනතුරකි) ද දැරීය. ලේකම්වරු ගැන කථා කරන අතර රජයේ ප්‍රවෘත්ති අධ්‍යක්ෂ ධූරය ගැන කියන්නට තවත් හේතුවක් තිබේ. යහපාලන රජයේ 2019 ඔක්තෝබර් දක්වා ප්‍රවෘත්ති අධ්‍යක්ෂ සුදර්ශන ගුණවර්ධන Sudarshana Gunawardana යි. ඊට පෙර 2016 සිට 2017 අගෝස්තු දක්වා එම තනතුර දරූවේ රංග කලංසූරිය Ranga Kalansooriya යි. ඊට ත් ඉස්සර, යහපාලන මුල්ම අවධියේ පේරාදෙණිය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයේ කථිකාචාර්යවරියක් ද එම තනතුර දැරීය. මට ත්, ඇය සමග වැඩ කළ ආයතනවල බොහෝ දෙනෙකුට මතක නැත.

මිනිස්සු තනතුරුවලට යති. එති. සමහර පුද්ගලයින්ගේ නම් තනතුරු සමග බොහෝ කල් මතකයේ නොමැකී පවතී.

ප.ලි. 2020 මැයි 10 දින දැනට ක්‍රියාන්විත සේවයේ සිටින මේජර් ජෙනරාල් සංජීව මුණසිංහ, (විකීරණ විශේෂඥ වෛද්‍ය) සෞඛ්‍ය ලේකම් ධූරයට පත් කොට ඇත. ඔහු හමුදා සෞඛ්‍ය සේවා අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජෙනරාල්වරයා ලෙස කටයුතු කරමින් සිටී.

රජිත් කීර්ති තෙන්නකෝන්
හිටපු දකුණු පළාත් ආණ්ඩුකාර

ආචාර්ය වරුණ චන්ද්‍රකීර්ති

චීන වෙදකම ගැන සෑහෙන දෙනෙක් කතා කරනවා. ඒත් ඇත්තටම චීනයේ තියෙන්නේ එකම එක වෙදකමක් නම් නෙවෙයි. වෙදකම් මහ විශාල ප්‍රමාණයක් චීනයේ තියෙනවා. චීන වෙදකම කියලා ප්‍රසිද්ධ වෙලා තියෙන්නේ චීනයේ ප්‍රධාන ජනවර්ගය වන හන් මිනිස්සුන්ගේ වෙදකම. චීන ජනගහනයෙන් සියයට 92 ක් ම ඉන්නේ හන් මිනිස්සු. හන් මිනිස්සුන්ට අමතරව තවත් ජනවර්ග 55 ක් චීනයේ ඉන්නවා. ඉතින් ඒ ඒ ජනවර්ගවල මිනිස්සු හදා වඩාගත්ත වෙදකම් විශාල ප්‍රමාණයකුත් චීනයේ තියෙනවා.

ටිබෙට්, මොංගෝලියානු, මියාඕ, ඊ, චුවං, යාඕ, තායි, වෙයිගුර් සහ පැයි කියන ජනවර්ගවලට අයිති වෙදකම්වලට ‍චීන සමාජයේ සෑහෙන තැනක් තියෙනවා. මේ වෙදකම් රැක ගන්න, ඒවා තව තවත් දියුණු කරන්න, ඒ වෙදකම්, චීන වෙදකම සහ බටහිර වෙදකම අතර සම්බන්ධයක් ඇති කරවන්න චීන ආණ්ඩුව උදව් කරනවා. ඒ වගේ ම මේ වෙදකම් කරන ඉස්පිරිතාල මහ විශාල ප්‍රමාණයකුත් චීනය පුරා ම තියෙනවා.

මේ වෙදකම්වල එක් එක් ලෙඩ රෝග සනීප කිරීමේ විශේෂඥතා පවා තියෙනවා. ඉතින් ඒවාට අයිති බෙහෙත් වර්ග විවිධ ක්‍රමවලින් වෙළෙඳපොළට පවා එනවා. මාංශ පේශීවල වේදනා සමනය කරන මියාඕ ඖෂධයක් වෙළෙඳපොළට ඇවිල්ලා තියෙන්නේ ස්ප්‍රේ එකක් විදිහට. ඉතින් මේ බෙහෙත් පාවිච්චියත් ඒ එක්කම ජනප්‍රිය වෙලා.

මොංගෝලියානු වෙදකමේ ඉතිහාසය ගැන අධ්‍යයනය කරද්දි ඒකේ වර්ධනයට අපිත් දායක වෙලා තියෙනවා කියලා අනුමාන කරන්න පුළුවන්. මුලින් ම තිබිලා තියෙන්නේ මොංගෝලියානු ජනවර්ගය විසින් හදා ගත්ත ගොඩ වෙදකමක්. පස්සේ කාලෙක ඒ අය අතර ඇතිවෙච්ච මූලික ආගම විසිනුත් ඒක පෝෂණය වෙලා. පස්සේ කාලෙක තමන්ගේ වෙදකමට ථෙරවාදී බෞද්ධ රටවල්වලින් ආභාසයක් ලැබුණු බවක් මොංගෝලියානු වෙද මහත්තුරු කියනවා. මියන්මාරය, කාම්බෝජය සහ ඉන්දුනීසියාව ගැන තමයි ඒ අය කියන්නේ. ථෙරවාදයේ මහ ගෙදර ලංකාව හින්දා මේ වැඩේට අපේ සම්බන්ධයක් තියෙන්නත් පුළුවන්.

වෙනත් වෙදකම්වල ආභාසය ලබලා තමන්ගේ වෙදකමක් දියුණු කරන්න පුළුවන් කොහොම ද කියන එක තේරුම් ගන්න තියෙන හොඳම උදාහරණය තමයි මොංගෝලියානු වෙදකම. ඒ වෙදකමේ සංවර්ධනයට ආයුර්වේදයේ, ටිබෙට් වෙදකමේ සහ චීන (හන්) වෙදකමේ ආභාසය ලබාගෙන තියෙනවා. ඊට අමතරව ග්‍රීක වෙදකමේ ආභාසයත් තමන්ට ලැබුණා කියලා ඒ අය කියනවා.

චීනයේ ජනප්‍රිය වෙදකම් ගැන කතා කරද්දි ආගමික සම්ප්‍රදායයන් එක්ක බැඳිච්ච වෙදකම් ගැනත් යමක් කියන්න ඕන. ඒවා අතර ඉදිරියෙන් ම තියෙන්නේ තාඕ ආගමට අයත් වෙදකම. මේ වෙද සම්ප්‍රදායට අයිති ගුරුකුල මහ ගොඩකුත් තියෙනවා. අපි අහලා තියෙන චී-කුං ක්‍රමය අයිති වෙන්නෙත් තාඕ වෙදකමට. දුර ඉඳලා ලෙඩ්ඩු සනීප කිරීමේ හැකියාවත් තාඕ වෙද මහත්තුරුන්ට තියෙනවා. බාහිර ප්‍රතිකාරවලට අමතරව අභ්‍යන්තර ක්‍රමත් තාඕ වෙදකමට අයිතියි. ඖෂධවලින් ලෙඩ සනීප කිරීම අයිති වෙන්නේ බාහිර ක්‍රමයට. ථැයි චී යුවාන් වගේ අභ්‍යාස සහ වෙනත් ක්‍රම හරහා ශරීරය තුළින් ම ප්‍රතිකාරය නිපදවා ගැනීම අයිති වෙන්නේ අභ්‍යන්තර ක්‍රමයට.

බෞද්ධ වෙදකමත් චීනයේ ප්‍රසිද්ධයි. ලෝකය පිළිබඳ බෞද්ධ විග්‍රහය මුල් කරගෙන තමයි මේ වෙදකම වර්ධනය කරගෙන තියෙන්නේ. ඉතින් සිත් විවරණය, හේතු ඵල විභාගය, කර්ම විග්‍රහය වගේ කාරණා මේ වැඩේට අදාළයි. හේතු ඵල විභාගයේ දී බාහිර හේතු ගැන වගේ ම අභ්‍යන්තර හේතු ගැනත් හොයනවා. බාහිර බෙහෙත් සහ අධ්‍යාත්මික බෙහෙත් මේ වෙදකමේ පාවිච්චි කරනවා.

එච්චර ම ජනප්‍රිය නැතත් කොන්ෆියුසියානු වෙදකම අනුගමනය කරන පිරිසකුත් චීනයේ ඉන්නවා. මේ අයගේ වෙදකම බොහෝ දුරට රැඳිලා තියෙන්නේ ඊ-චිං (ඒ කියන්නේ විපර්යාස ශාස්ත්‍රය) සම්බන්ධ කරුණු උඩ.

මේ කිසිම වෙදකමක් තවත් එකකට වඩා උසස් පහත් කියලා සැළකීමක් චීනයේ නෑ. ඒ ඒ වෙදකමේ කෙළ පැමිණිච්ච වෙද මහත්තුරු වගේ ම මහාචාර්යවරුත් විශාල ප්‍රමාණයක් චීනයේ ඉන්නවා. විශ්වවිද්‍යාලවල සහ ඒ මට්ටමේ ආයතනවල මේ වෙදකම් උගන්නනවා. ඒ වගේ ම සාම්ප්‍රදායික විදිහට ඉගැන්නීම් කරන අයත් ඉගෙන ගන්න අයත් ඕන තරම් ඉන්නවා.

ඒ ඒ වෙදකමට වෙන වෙන ම සළකනවා වගේ ම ඒවා අතර ඒකාබද්ධතාවක් ඇති කරන්න උත්සාහ කරන වැඩපිළිවෙළකුත් ක්‍රියාත්මක වෙනවා. මේ කාරණයේ දී මූලිකව ම සළකලා බලන්නේ අන්‍යොන්‍ය විදිහට ඒ ඒ වෙදකම්වලින් ගන්න පුළුවන් උදව්ව මොකක්ද කියන කාරණය. ඒ කියන්නේ එක වෙදකමක් කරද්දී අවශ්‍යතාව ගැන සළකලා තවත් වෙදකමක් හවුල් කරගන්න පුළුවන්. බටහිර වෙදකම් කරන අය පවා මේ වැඩේට යොමු වෙලා තියෙනවා. ඒ වගේ ම, බටහිර සහ චීන වෙදකම් අතර එකමුතුවෙන් වෙදකමක් හදාගන්න පුළුවන් ද කියන එක ගැන පර්යේෂණ කරන පිරිසකුත් ඉන්නවා.

මේ දේවල් දිහා බලලා අපිටත් යමක් ඉගෙන ගන්න බැරි ද? එහෙම නැතිනම් තමන්ගේ සමාජ බලය ගැන විතරක් හිත හිතා අනිත් අයට ගරහන වැඩේ ඉස්සරහටත් කරනවා ද?

ආචාර්ය වරුණ චන්ද්‍රකීර්ති