President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has briefed the Maha Sangha on the measures taken by the Government to control the spread of COVID-19 virus and the progress made so far, the President’s Media Division (PMD) says.
During a meeting held at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday (24), the President has explained about the control of the spread, quarantine process, reliefs granted to people and future measures to revive the national economy.
The support rendered by every segment of the society including health, security and the entire state mechanism in the face of current challenges is enormous, President has said.
The President, stressing the necessity of a strong Parliament to fulfil the aspirations of the people bestowed on him with the landslide victory, has said that there are no Constitutional powers to reconvene the old Parliament but to convene a new one.
President also noted that he expects to meet Maha Sangha regularly on the third Friday of every month.
Nayaka Theros of all three Chapters have said that they approve the conduct of the President and the Government.
Stating that the country should not be put in jeopardy by reconvening the old Parliament, Maha Sangha unanimously agreed with the decision not to convene the dissolved legislature.
Ven. Niyangoda Vijithasiri Thero has emphasized that the previous Parliament should take the responsibility for the current financial crisis in the country, the PMD said.
Ven. Thrikunamale Ananda Thero, the Maha Nayaka of the Amarapura Sri Dharmarakshitha Chapter has said that when looking at the initiatives taken by the President to prevent the spread of coronavirus as well as for the future, it is clear that there is a new vision being implemented in the country.
Ven. Prof. Medagoda Abayathissa Thero was of the view that the measures implemented by the President to prevent the spread of the coronavirus could be an example for other countries in the world. The young generation of the country and other various groups have invented many new products. This is a golden opportunity for a better future”, the Thero further said. He also said that the Maha Sangha of the country will always support the steps being taken by the President.
Ven. Prof. Indugare Dhammarathana Thero presented a set of proposals comprising 12 points to make the island secure.
Ven. Dr. Diviyagala Yasassi Thero and Ven. Prof. TubulleSeelakkanada Thero pointed out the importance of creating an environment to celebrate the Vesak festival using electronic media while staying home. A decision was reached to appoint a Committee on the matter.
Maha Nayaka of the Asgiriya Chapter Most Ven. Wendaruwe Upali Thero said that the steps taken by the President to feed the hungry including the beggars are commendable.
The Maha Nayaka Theros and Anu Nayaka Theros representing the Tri-Nikayas and Maha Sangha participated in this meeting, the PMD said further.
Ongoing curfew in Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara and Puttalam districts will continue until 5.00 am on the 4th of May, the President’s Media Division (PMD) announced.
In a press release, the PMD stated that the curfew in all other districts will be lifted at 5.00 am on Monday (27) and re-imposed at 8.00 pm on the same day.
Curfew in these districts will be relaxed between 5.00 am and 8.00 pm every day until the 1st of May.
However, the curfew in Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara and Puttalam districts will be eased from May 4 in order to facilitate the functioning of public and private sector institutions.
Departments, corporations and statutory boards under the purview of the government, as well as private sector factories, building constructions, other work places, vegetable/fish grocery stores will be permitted to remain open.
Today, about 21% of the global population are in the so-called Western industrialized countries and 79% in developing countries. This small % of excessively greedy white men of the Western industrialized consume about 80% of the world’s natural resources and are also responsible for the production of about 80% of all waste and pollutants in the world. Therefore, it is clear who is the biggest enemy of the earth, and of humanity. Nearly 70 percent of the accumulated emissions of carbon dioxide in the last 50 years have come from the excessive consumption of energy of industrial countries. Carbon dioxide emissions are among the main culprits of global warming, now threatening the stability of people and ecological processes all over the world, particularly in tropical developing countries.
Besides global warming, the greatest environmental challenges faced by humanity today, are nuclear war, biotechnology, genetic engineering, cell and tissue culture technologies aimed at modifying living organisms, including animals and plant life, in addition to artificial intelligence and ever-sophisticated algorithms are tapping into our values, habits, tastes, desires and the very thought patterns that define us — all to control how we shop, what we read, and whom we vote for. The notion of free will is defunct. With the rise of Big Data algorithms, it becomes increasingly easy to hack humans, manipulate their feelings, and control their desires. It means an external system can know you better than you know yourself. It can predict your choices and decisions. It can manipulate your emotions, and it can sell you anything, whether a product or a politician. Previously in history, the most important resource was land, the natural environment. Now data is the most important resource. Politics is becoming the struggle to control data, and the future belongs to those who monopolize the data. One of the biggest political questions of our era is. How do you regulate the ownership of data?
If we consider the long history of colonialism, slavery, abuse, exploitation, and misery that, for centuries, have been imposed on developing countries by the main industrial nations, we could conclude in a gigantic environmental, economic and social debt, with which industrial countries have so far got away with. Environmental devastation is directly related to international economic and political relationships. The depletion of resources, and the environmental and social costs involved, are deliberately ignored by the established economic system in the West. Developing countries are the most affected by the growing social and environmental damages derived from decades of imposition of the established international economic order. Most of their economies are based on the ruthless exploitation of both people and natural resources, to feed industrial processes mainly driven by industrial nations. The interpretation that the population growth in developing countries is the culprit of worldwide environmental damage is a total fallacy. Such interpretations are at the bottom of foreign policies of industrial nations, as part of the overall attempt to preserve the established international economic order, regardless of how profoundly unfair it may be too much of humanity.
Nearly three-quarters of all people in developing countries are already below the poverty line. Over 14 million children, under the age of 5, die each year from hunger, thirst, malnutrition, or from easily curable or preventable diseases. An average of 26 children per minute. At the same time, nearly 14 million hectares of natural tropical forests are destroyed every year, also in tropical developing countries.
Massive and irreversible destruction, mainly due to the expansion of the agricultural frontier, in order to accommodate growing numbers of people in extreme poverty, practicing survival agriculture. The growing numbers of people involved are not only due to the increase in population. It is mainly driven by rampant unemployment and a dramatic economic impoverishment.
Dr.
Daya Hewapathirane
daya.hewapathirane@gmail.com
There is
widespread condemnation of clearance of the precious Wilpattu National Park to
resettle Muslim IDPs.
If the allegation
is true, the last two governments (2010 – 2019), and the ex-Muslim Minister who
is in the centre of the allegation, have committed a serious offence.
News emanating
from the North now shows that that the Muslim IDPs have been resettled in
Mannar District. Given that Wilpattu is primarily
located in the Puttlam and Anuradhapura Districts, if this news is correct, it
is a great comfort for those who love Wilpattu.
Nobody wants
Wilpattu – a national treasure and perhaps a World Heritage, to be disturbed in
any form or the other.
It is of paramount
importance that further in-depth investigation about this is carried out.
Why is it that
resettling the Puttlam Muslims in Mannar a good thing?
Puttlam is part of
the North Western Province and Mannar is in the Northern Province.
When Prabhakaran
chased out Muslims from the North (primarily from Jaffna) in 1980s and 1990s, there
were in excess of 1 lakh of them living there permanently.
Prabhakaran was
engaged in ethnic cleansing. He wanted the North and East to be confined to
Tamils only.
Many of those Muslims
went and lived in refugee camps in Anuradhapura and Puttlam. Some went to live with relatives in
Kurunegala, Negambo and Colombo.
After the war,
some of them were resettled in the North (primarily in Mannar district).
To preserve Sri
Lanka as one Nation, it is of paramount importance that Sinhalese and Muslims
live in large numbers in the North.
North and East is
a large area of Sri Lanka. It is about 1/3 of Sri Lanka’s total landmass and
2/3 of the coastal area. Separatists have not given up their desire to create a
Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka. The country
still suffers from that threat (not militarily anymore). Thus, we need large
Sinhala and Muslim populations living in the North and East.
Now is Sri Lanka’s
‘Populate or Perish’ moment.
TalaiMannar is Sri
Lanka’s prime Gateway. From time immemorial, South Indians have used this
Gateway to invade Sri Lanka (and we successfully chased them back, through the
same Gateway).
If Mannar District
is confined only to Tamils (like largely today), it is probable that eventually
the North will secede. Wigneswaran and
TNA are trying all tricks in the book to achieve this.
There are over 60
million Tamils living in Thamilnadu.
Given that TalaiMannar is about 25 km away from Sri Lanka, Tamil
separatists will do all they can to carve out a separate Tamil Eelam out of Northern
Sri Lanka. This could only be prevented
by allowing non-Tamils (Muslims and Sinhalese), who do not want the creation of
a separate nation in the North, to settle there.
Corono Virus is in
a serious situation in India. There is a likelihood that Thamilnadu Tamils may
flee to Sri Lanka to escape the pandemic. Northern Tamils may have no
alternative but to accept them. If there are Muslims and Sinhalese living in
the North, it will be very difficult for such illegal migration to take place.
The same rationale
applies in curbing illegal fishing by Thamilnadu fishermen in our coastal
waters.
During the Eelam war,
Muslims worked to preserve Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Muslim military men such as Nizam Muthalff, Tuan Nizam Dane and MZR Sallay come
to mind; they gave their lives for mother Lanka.
The bottom-line is
that Muslims have never demanded a separate state, only the Tamils.
Muslims have a better chance
of living in the North, and this must be encouraged (the fact that they speak
Tamil is an advantage).
It is believed that when the Sinhalese were ethnically
cleansed by Prabhakaran in late 1970s to early 1990s, there were at least
50,000 Sinhalese permanently living in the Northern Province (including the Sinhala
public servants).
For nearly 65 years, the Sinhalese
have been denied from settling in the North and East by Tamil politicians.
This has been a systematic, very successful campaign by them. The irony
is that both the Southern politicians (except DS Senanayake) and Sinhalese as a
community, have not shown the need to change this racist policy.
Today,
the number of Sinhalese families permanently living in the North should be less
than 1500; disregarding a further 2000 or so Sinhalese families that live from Nandimithragama
to Janaka Pura, largely in Vavuniya South and East. These villages include Nandimithragama,
Salalihinigama, Namalgama, Bogaswewa I and II, Veherathenna. Welioya, HelambaWewa
and Janaka Pura.
The writer understands that
according to the Delimitation Commission recommendations (set up by the previous
President in 2017), about 1200 Sinhalese villages in the Northern Province (Vavuniya
South Pradeshiya Sabha) may end up being reallocated to North Central Province.
The affected villages would include Namalgama, Bogaswewa I and II,
Veherathenna.
It is feared that Sinhapura and HelambaWewa villages (Padavi-Sri
Pura and Muhudu-Bada Patthuwa Pradeshiya
Sabhas respectively), that are currently part of the Eastern Province may end
up being reallocated to North Central Province.
There is the fear that Grama Sevaka
divisions of Athawetunu Wewa, Kiriibban Wewa and Kokilai, that are currently in
the Eastern Province (Sampath Nuwara Pradeshiya Sabha) may be reallocated to
North Central Province (to Padavi Sri Pura Pradeshiya Sabha).
If these proposed re-allocations eventuate,
the Sinhala populations in the North and East will be further eroded. Their numbers in the North Central Province
will increase. Then, the Separatists will have a greater claim both locally and
internationally that their demand for a Tamil Eelam is just and fair.
It is imperative that a country should have an unwavering, unshakable, and firm determined and dedicated leader with a firm backbone if that country is to progress. Unfortunately in the recent past, we have had three Presidents and a Prime Minister who have shamelessly and cowardly genuflected in front of foreign powers and our sworn enemies. For instance
J.R, Jayawardene who after adopting the 1978 constitution that became popular as the Bahbootha Vyawasthawa”, the Bizarre Constitution bloated saying that he is so powerful and he cannot only change a man into a woman and a woman into a man shamelessly and unblushingly bowed down before the hegemonic Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and agreed to conditions imposed by him including to force upon us the white elephant provincial council system utterly unsuitable for a small country like Sri Lanka, station Indian troops on our soil, and allow the country to be ruled under the dictates of Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka J.N.Dixit, who behaved like an uncrowned viceroy ;
R.Premadasa without any guts and willpower allowed him to be fondled by a tiger terrorist sympathizer and their behind the scene architect Paskeralingam and under his command brought the terrorists to Colombo for homey moon talks, ordered the IPKF out as it was decimating the LTTE, ordered over 600 odd Police officers serving in the East and belong to all ranks to surrender to LTTE as a result of which they got killed summarily, supply a massive stockpile of arms and ammunition and money to LTTE which were only used only to kill and maim our gallant soldiers, facilitated the assassination of Lt. General Denzil Kobbejaduwa who had a splendid record of operations against the LTTE terrorists. Along with him Brigadier Wijaya Wimalaratne and several illustrious high ranking officers also got killed, and nourished hardcore LTTE cadres to use his residence in Colombo as a haven for them and ultimately got dumped by a LTTE suicide bomber known as Babu whom he has fed and trusted as a confidante.;
Mrs. Chandrika was responsible for making the country suffer the biggest debacle due to her arrogant and astigmatic rule. The losses perpetrated by the LTTE during her rule were immense and e included entrapping over 40, soldiers of ours in Jaffna and compelling the country to seek Indian assistance to save them from their siege and bring them back to Sri Lanka, loss of the Elephant Pass camp, which was Sri Lanka’s largest camp in the North, and in this attack, the LTTE killed over 1,500 of our soldiers who were in that camp and confiscated all military hardware in that camp including artillery, multi-barrel guns, and heavy arms, loss of the: Pooneryn camp, sinking of several high-speed naval vessels with large numbers of navy personnel, shooting gown of several military aircraft that were flying out from Palaly airbase with armed soldiers and destruction of several passenger aircraft at the Katunayake Airport and many fighter planes and jets at the Katunayake Airport Hanger. This old hag, in obliging to LTTE demands was also was responsible for needlessly facilitating Norway to interfere in Sri Lanka under the guise of a peacebuilder.
In addition to the above referenced military debacles, she had a craziness and a passion to please the Tamil community at the expense of other communities. She seemed to be very fond of megalomaniac Prabhakaran and offered him to rule the North without any form of elections for a period of 10 years. She could not get Prabhakaran agreed to this offer as he was only interested in carving out a separate exclusive Tamil State called Tamil Eelam comprising 1/3 of Sri Lanka’s and 2/3rd of maritime territory. Then she commissioned another Terrorist ally, Dr. Neelan Thiruchelvam to formulate a new constitution called The Package” to grant regional autonomy to provinces with much emphasis on North and East. This proposal received strong opposition and condemnation from people belonging to all walks of life and Mt. Mahinda Rajapaksa held a long meeting with her and forced her to abandon that proposal.
When the Tsunami struck the country lots of funds were received and a mechanism named Post Tsunami Operations Mechanism (PTOM) was drawn up and she insisted and was adamant that PTOM activities in the North and East should exclusively be handled by the LTTE. Along with her sycophant quisling Mangala Samaraweera she also launched another program called Sudu Nelum (white Lotus) program with the support of Norway saying that its objective was to rebuild North and East.
Economically
her rule was the worst Sri Lanka ever had and the growth dwindled to a minus
growth rate for the first time in the country, which forced several key
Ministers of her government to quit and join the opposition.
Sometime last year she made a statement saying that in the parliament there are 225 MPs and the majority of them are Sinhalese. She said that during her tenure as President she couldn’t do much for the Tamils and hence in the future she would spend much time serving the Tamils.
Then we come to the period of Prime MinisterRanil Wickremasinghe which ran parallel to Chandrika’s 2nd term of presidency. This period was completely a period of genuflecting to the dictates of the tiger terrorists. Sajith Premadasa despite the fact that his father was killed by the LTTE fully associated with Ranil Wickremasinghe in all measures he took to please the tiger terrorists.
Ranil started his innings with blindly signing the ignominious ceasefire agreement (CFA) drafted by Norway under which the terrorists were made de facto rulers of the North and East. At the, megalomaniac terrorist leader’s post-CFA news conference for foreign journalists Balasingham told the media men that Prabhakaran is both the President and the Prime Minister of the North and East and Ranil Wickremasinghe is only the Prime Minister for the rest of Sri Lanka. Both timid Chandrika and Ranil remained silent over this remark. Under the CFA our soldiers were locked up in barracks and the terrorists were permitted to move freely carrying their arms. Our Air Force pilots and crew were forced to taxi terrorist leaders from North to East and vice versa, Under the CFA a monitoring mission was established manned by Scandinavians and there had been over 3,000 ceasefire violations by the terrorists but all these violations went uninvestigated and unpunished. During this period the government allowed the terrorists to bring in several container loads of material and these containers were allowed to be taken to the North unchecked. It is suspected that these containers contained dismantled light aircraft, artilleries, and sophisticated electronic modern communication and surveillance equipment, etc.
During this government, a conference named Sri Lanka Aid Conference was held in the Japanese capital Tokyo attended by several foreign countries and in which a program titled ISGA” (Internal Self Government Authority) was presented by the LTTE and Ranil accepted this proposal in return for U.S$ 4.5 Million promised by the so-called donor nations. This same proposal in toto was included in the 13 point formula by the TNA and other Tamil parties during November presidential campaign for which imbecile Sajith Premadasa wholeheartedly agreed and it was reflected in gratitude in the Tamil voted polled for him in the North and East.
It was under such a background the 5th President iron-willed Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa came to power on 18th November 2005 promising to take concerted action to end the terrorist aggression early and establish an honorable peace in the country. The terrorists misjudged his determination and dedication and attempted to continue with their old games. They made unsuccessful attempts to kill Army Commander Sarath Fonseka and the President’s brother the Defence Secretary Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa but managed to assassinate Sri Lanka’s internationally reputed former Foreign Minister Mr. Lakshman Kadiragamar. The determined government increased the troop strengths and liberated the Eastern province. When it was done Ranil Wickremasinghe and his cohorts undermined the achievement made by our troops and the liberation of the main terrorist camp Topppigala in the East was ridiculed by Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe saying that Toppigala was an insignificant jungle.
Then the war moved to the Northern theatre and when our troops were advancing shattering terrorist posts again the UNP ridiculed the war and whilethat party’s vice President Ravi Karunanayake asserted that the troops are only going to Pa,amkada claiming that they are going to Alimankade (Elephant Pass) and going to Medawachchi claiming going yo Kilinochjchi, the notorious quisling and terrorist sympathizer and currently Sajith Premadasa’s senior advisor Mangala Samaraweera said that Sarath Fonseka was not fit to command our army but fit only to lead the Salvation Army and our troops will learn unforgettable lessons if they attempt to enter Kilinochchi.
It was under these circumstances our divisional commanders under the direction of the Commander in Chief the President and the guidance of the Defense Secretary our divisional commanders led our dedicated and determined troops to capture all forward line terrorist posts and drove the megalomaniac Prabhakaran and other terrorist leaders together with their remain9ing terrorist troops to Nabndekadal for the final encounter When this operation was going on the American Ambassador in Colombo Robert Blake wanted the President to halt the war and allow them to evacuate terrorist leaders through Mullaitivu to an undisclosed western destination which the iron-willed President rejected outright. At the same time, the British Foreign Secretary David Milliband and the French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner arrived in Sri Lanka to urge the President to halt the war. The President at this time was in Embilipitiya and maintaining his illustrious status he did not proceed to Colombo to meet them and wanted them to come to Embilipitiya if they want to discuss anything with him. Accordingly, they came to Embilipitiya and urged him to halt the war and allow them to evacuate the terrorist leaders. This demand was also totally rejected making Sri Lankans feel proud of having a defiant President who dared to stand firm boldly rejecting the demands made by the world’s three most powerful nations.
Apr 23 (FT) Over 200 enterprises in the Free Trade Zones, employing over 30,000 workers, are currently in operation and contributing to economic development, despite partial shutdown to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country, Govt revealed. Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said 217 BOI enterprises are functioning after the Govt allowed resumption of economic activities in the FTZs, subject to companies following strict health and safety guideline
I manage a shipbuilding and ship-repair facility in Colombo which is one of the pioneering industry under national export strategy I have lost millions of dollar income due to Corona Spread Few million dollars worth jobs cannot be secured and also existing jobs cannot be completed due to restrictions imposed by the state While maintaining discipline in the country state can help us in following manner Area police chief’s Whatsapp, number and email to be made available to all heads of industries who should have opportunity to contact them regarding issuance of passes for workers ,vehicle and parts materials which are necessary to complete the work For an example, I wanted to get some of the key engineers and skilled workers from areas with and without a curfew , but when they go to the police to get the passes they have to go physically to the stations endangering their health They often have to wait until OIC to return To office from the field where they are busy in arresting curfew violators and illicit brewers and booking them They wait hours in the police station and by that time ship is gone ( we say a train has left )
Shops selling parts for Repair based in Colombo are closed and they fear to supply materials due to possible prosecution One OIC of police in Galle area has said he cannot endanger Colombians going in and out because of fear of spreading I should have been able to send an email or WhatsApp message with some electronic signature which is approved by Task Force so that I can confirm the need I fully agree with the need to control but police need to be told that we need to earn money for future What Export Development Board can-do is to get CEO’s details forwarded to Task Force Corona for prevention who can send them to area police officers or army officers whom we should be able to send a request to issue permits to travel CEO should have right to contact with OIC in the case of doubts and get an officer to issue permit at his own justifiable discretion I sent a WhatsApp message to area OIC reg my own permit and for the last three weeks, he has not even opened the message World is developing depending on Digital Communication Tools where, we CEOs use Zoom Skype. Google hangout, Face time Emails, etc and we should be able to use them with law enforcement agencies to support the industries
Dr
Sarath Obeysekera
CEO Walkers Colombo Shipyard
Colombo
Sri Lanka
As of today in Sri Lanka, there are 417 confirmed COVID19 cases in the Island from which 107 have recovered and 7 deaths reported. COVID-19 cases count in Sri Lanka has hit 417 as another person tested positive for the virus as of 10.45 pm today (24), the Ministry of Health says.
Colombo, April 24 (newsin.asia) – The silent streets of Colombo captured by our photographer today morning April 24, 2020. Colombo continues to remain under a curfew due to a rising number of COVID19 cases detected from the city in recent days. The curfew may continue until the threat of the virus is eliminated.
As of today, there are 417 confirmed COVID19 cases in the Island from which 107 have recovered and 7 deaths reported.
Three risk categories, high, moderate and low, identified for a phased lifting of lockdown restrictions
Colombo, April 24 (newsin,asia): The College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka (CCPSL) on Friday submitted a scientific exit strategy to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for the COVID-19 affected Colombo Municipality area, which the most densely populated and economically important area in the island nation.
Colombo City Profile:
Colombo city is the economic hub of the country. It is the most populous city in Sri Lanka, with 650,000 –750,000 people living within the city limits. This is also added with a 500,000 daily floating population. People of Colombo City are from a multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural background, representing a mix of several ethnic groups, mainly Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Tamils and Sri Lankan Moor.The City covers an area of 37 sq. km divided into six Districts. The Districts are further divided into 47 Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) Wards for its administrative purpose.
District 1 Colombo North; 2. District 2A Colombo Central; 3. District 2B Colombo Central; 4. District 3 Borella; 5. District 4 Colombo East; 6. District 5 Colombo West.
The latest coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) data as per 24th April 2020 indicate that 91 out of 334 confirmed cases are from the Municipality area. Considering the uniqueness of Colombo as the commercial capital of Sri Lanka and the urgency in establishing normalcy, an exit strategy unique to Colombo Municipality area is indispensable.
However, at the same time, the fact that Colombo Municipality area is the worst-hit geographical area due to COVID-19 epidemic should be taken into consideration.
Key objectives
The key objectives are; 1. Maintaining a low case load; 2. Returning to near normal public life; 3. Economic recovery.
Nagalagam Street and Gunasenghepura, from which cases were reported previously, are currently cleared” of cases. The case no. 21 was reported from Bandaranayake Mawatha on 16th April 2020. This is a typical watta” found within a CMC ward and is located in a 16–18 perch geographical area with 230 people living in 62 houses. A sudden death of a 37 year old male has been reported from the same locality on 27th March 2020. RT-PCR testings performed on selected people in Bandaranayake Mawatha resulted in 81 cases and the adjacent 146 Watta has found 64 cases. In Princegate, all the samples tested were negative.
The above information gives an idea of the behavioral pattern of people in specific locations within a CMC Ward, such as in watta” and the impact on the spread of the disease. Therefore, in addition to the caseload, it is essential to study the scatter of the households (families) and properties of people within Colombo Municipality area limits.
Properties within the city:
Residential Properties – 106,068; Commercial Properties – 35,604; Government Properties – 10,158; Exempted Properties – 3,671. Total Number of Properties – 155,501
High density low-income clusters (‘Watta’): The average population density of Colombo Municipality area is 172 people per hectare (Department of Census and Statistics, 2001). However, high-risk pockets for COVID-19, similar to Bandaranayake Mawatha located within some CMC Wards, show higher densities such as 974 people per hectare. The highest population density is in Colombo North, which is predominantly a low-income residential area.
Half of the population of Colombo Municipality area has been living for many years in low income settlements, such as ‘watta’. The 2001 Survey carried out by the Colombo MC and SEVANATHA has identified a total of 77,612 families living in 1,614 low-income settlements in the city.
A unique character of these settlements was that they are relatively smaller in size. Further, 74% of them have fewer than 50 housing units while the larger settlements with more than 500 units account for about 0.7% of the total low-income settlements in Colombo.
Household size
In such high-density low-income clusters, nearly 60% of families have 5 to 7 members, while 8% of the households have more than 10 members per unit. Twenty per cent of housing units have more than 2 families. Often, when children marry, they too settle down in their parents’ house. Some families have rented out part of their house to earn an additional income.
Less-density high risk clusters
In addition to the typical high-density low-income settlements, there a Less-density high risk clusters. In addition to the typical high-density low-income settlements, there are clusters smaller in size confined to a few streets in some CMC Wards. And also there are populations in urban new settlements. Flats, mostly in Modara, Maligawatta, Dematagoda, Bluemendhal, Wanathamulla, Ingurukade and Slave Island area. The socio-cultural contexts and health behavior of these communities may also be different from other areas in the city.
Economic Implications of the low income populations
The city needs services of the people living in low income settlements for the proper functioning of various sectors of the urban economy. About 45% of the income-earning household members engage in unskilled employment activities (waged laborers, CMC garbage collectors, road cleaners, helpers, etc.).About 9% of families do not have any source of regular income. As such, lack of a regular source of income is a problem for about 54% of urban poor families.
Situation in Colombo as per WHO criteria:
1.Disease transmission is under control: Stage 3 b ;
Health systems are able to detect, test, isolate and treat every case and trace every contact: Yes
Hot spot risks are minimized in vulnerable places: Yes
Schools, workplaces and other essential places have established preventive measures:
Guidelines formulated. Schools not started: Not yet
The risk of importing new cases can be managed”: Yes
Communities are fully educated, engaged and empowered to live under a new normal: Not sure.
Disease transmission is under control
The Colombo district, including Colombo Municipality area, has witnessed an increase in the confirmed cases during the past week. However, it is apparent that the stage of the epidemic is shifting from the level of family clusters to village clusters. But health systems are able to detect, test, isolate and treat every case and trace every contact.”
The Colombo Municipality area has the highest population density and has the highest movements of the people. A well-coordinated mechanism is essential in tracing not only cases and contacts, but also to capture possible community transmission.
Specifically, active case detection in CMC wards with lower socio-economic families should be continuously carried out. In addition, they should be targeted for testing at every given opportunity, such as when they report to work related to services (e.g. CMC labourers) and commercial/ business premises (e.g. manual labourers) within CMC sector. Currently, there is active surveillance conducted by the CMC health authrorities to detect infected persons in these high risk areas for COVID-19.
Categorization of the CMC wards as High Risk, Moderate Risk and Low Risk should be worked out based on the following parameters:
Number of cases reported within the last 28 days;
Extent of the primary / secondary contact load within last 28 days;
Geographical scatter of the households / families within a CMC Ward (Presence of Watta” communities or other less density high-risk clusters);
Judgment on the compliance of the resident population with epidemic control measures.
In addition to the above, following aspects should also be considered: 1. Pregnant women / Persons with chronic illnesses; 2. Age over 65 years population; 3. Skilled / unskilled work force in each CMC ward; 4. Location of essential services / industries within a CMC ward.
Within each of the areas according to their identified risk profile, the withdrawal of curfew / implemented measures / restrictions needs to be carried out in phases in a staggered manner, while ensuring the continuity of interventions carried out so far to contain the epidemic.
Exit Strategy for three categories:
Stringent restrictions in high risk areas
Moderate restrictions in moderate risk areas
Relaxed restrictions in low risk areas
The optimal operationalizing of the strategy will also need rigorous inputs of real-time epidemiological geo-spatial data originating from ward level. Further, the exit strategy should be time-bound and requires change depending on the emerging local epidemic data and will be revised by a team of multidisciplinary experts when appropriate.
Generic considerations (irrespective of the risk):
Following services should continue irrespective of the risk level or the geographical area:
Key essential services: Health / Transport / Water / Electricity / Gas / Postal / Petroleum / Telecommunication / Harbour/ Vehicle breakdown services /Road maintenance / Irrigation; 2. Essential industries (non-crowding): farming, fisheries, construction sites; 3. Selected market places / industries will be opened; 4. Control of daily floating population – This should be addressed by a specific mechanism with restrictions enforced on the presence of minimal staff working at essential services / government and private offices.
STRINGENTRestrictions for High Risk Areas:
Lockdown status 24 hour curfew will be enforced. If the ward includes mainly highly dense lower socio-economic families, they will be shifted to quarantined centers based on the judgment on their health behavior. Other families will remain in their houses under strict supervision of Police and Armed Forces.
Travel Inbound or outbound travel will not be allowed, unless for a specific humane reason. Other vehicular movement allowed without stoppage, if a main road is crossing the ward or if a ward is along a main road.
Personal level measures including hand-washing, respiratory etiquette and social distancing should be practised. No private gatherings for any purpose, no religious congregations and all places of worship shall remain closed. Transport: No public or private transport allowed. All offices government / private remain closed. Home delivery services to continue and to be more strengthened. Schools / Other academic institutes will remain closed. Small Businesses will remain closed. Banks should operate mostly via ATM, online or mobile services. No physical client services offered. Carefully selected industries will be allowed to function with 50% workforce.
Moderate Restrictions:
Modified 24 hour curfew will be enforced. Families will remain in their houses under strict supervision of Police and Armed Forces. Travel In bound or outbound travel–not allowed unless there is a specific humanitarian reason. Personal level measures including hand-washing, respiratory etiquette, and social distancing should be practiced. Only one person per house will be allowed outside the house premises at a time for a specific purpose. A token system should be introduced. Pregnant women should remain at home but allowed to attend routine clinics. Other vulnerable groups (persons above 65 years / patients with chronic illnesses are NOT permitted to move outside the house unless for medical reasons. They should obtain special passes if needed or may use the clinic record as a pass.
No private gathering for any purpose more than five persons, no religious congregations and all places of worship shall remain closed.Attendance at weddings and funerals should be restricted to 10 persons. No public or private transport allowed. All offices government / private remain closed. All pharmacies / General Practice / Medical Centers are allowed to open and should follow guidelines issued by Ministry of Health & College of GPs. Food & Groceries Home delivery services to continue and to be more strengthened. Schools / Other academic institutes all remain closed. Banks Should operate mostly online or mobile services.
Bank client services should be started with 2 sessions, 7.00 am – 12.00 N 12.30 N – 5.30 pm. Services offered once per week per customer. Different work hours may be introduced to reduce overcrowding in public transport. Daily wage-dependent employees are allowed with specific restrictions posed to employers on social distancing and basic hygienic measures. Carefully selected industries will be allowed to function with 50% workforce.
More Relaxed Restrictions:
These will be applicable to Low risk” areas. The curfew will be lifted day time. Supervision by police and Armed Forces will continue. No restrictions on inbound or outbound travel. Personal level measures including hand-washing, respiratory etiquette, and social distancing should be practiced. No restrictions on moving outside the house premises, but stay home” promoted. Pregnant women should remain at home but allowed to attend routine clinics.
Other vulnerable groups (persons above 65 years / patients with chronic illnesses are permitted to move outside the house for a specific purpose for a limited time period. No private gathering for any purpose more than 10 persons. Religious congregations and all places of worship will be opened for only 10 people at a time. Weddings and funerals should be conducted with minimal participants, complying with hygienic practices and maintaining social distancing.
Public transport (CTB / Private / Train) allowed for travel with 50% seating capacity within the area. Private vehicles / Taxi are allowed with only 2 passengers. Three wheelers / Motorcycles / Bicycles can carry only one passenger. All healthcare services (government and private) should be resumed with triage systems to care for patients with fever.
All workplaces (Government / Private) in the geographical area to resume work with 2 sessions 50% employees per session (one group per week of every other day:; 7.00 am – 12.00 N 12.30 N – 5.30 pm. Different work hours may be introduced to reduce overcrowding in public transport. Food & Groceries home delivery services to continue and to be more strengthened. Small groceries / shops allowed to open with minimal crowding.Larger food / grocery outlets (Supermarkets) –restricted entrance with one token card per family for a designated outlet / Token valid once per week for 1 hour. The catchment area and the catering population should be considered.
Economic Centers and other large scale wholesale food markets are kept open in compliance with safety health measures. Schools / Other academic institutes All remain closed. Non-grocery supermarkets, malls, Hardware and shops selling other merchandise like jewelry, textiles and electronics will be opened. Eating places, restaurants, tea shops, bakery will be opened. Eating allowed in-house for 50% seating at a time. Restaurants are allowed to open with minimal crowding.
Theatres, bars, etc. with closed air-conditioning will remain closed. Banks should operate mostly online or mobile services.Client services should be started with 2 sessions: 7.00 am – 12.00 N 12.30 N – 5.30 pm .Services offered once per week per customer.
Different work hours may be introduced to reduce overcrowding in public transport.Daily wage dependent employees are allowed with specific restrictions posed to employers on social distancing and basic hygienic measures. Lottery sellers & other street vendors –allowed with social distancing and basic hygienic measures.
Industries / larger factories to resume work with 2 or more sessions 50% or less employees per roster.Different work hours may be introduced to reduce overcrowding in public transport. Other Religious congregations, large events, political meetings or conferences or cultural gatherings shall continue to be prohibited.
In a broader perspective, Western Province is the economic hub of the country. With a high number of cases reported, WP is still considered as a high risk area. Even with the proposed strategy above for the Colombo Municipality area, it will take longer time to bring back the normalcy and the economic repercussions would be many. As such, a micro planned strategy with inputs from all the relevant non health stakeholders is indispensable.
Tourism is the third-largest earner of foreign exchange in Sri Lanka. The decline in tourist arrivals has hit the island nation’s tourism industry in a big way.
Sri Lanka is set to enter into an agreement with the Reserve Bank of India for a currency swap worth USD 400 million to boost the foreign reserves and ensure the financial stability of the country which is badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, a top minister has said.
The Cabinet has approved a proposal made by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Finance Minister to enter into an agreement with the RBI for the financing facility to meet short-term international liquidity requirements, Co-Cabinet spokesman Information and Communication Minister Bandula Gunawardena said.RELATED NEWS
Sri Lanka will enter into the agreement with the RBI for a Bilateral Currency Swap Arrangement worth USD 400 million, Gunawardena said, adding the facility from the RBI is aimed at boosting the island nation’s foreign reserves.
The swap arrangement is a decision two countries reach while doing trade related payment.
Sri Lanka has placed critical economic measures to save the resources hit badly by the COVID-19 pandemic which has infected 373 persons in the country and the death toll reached 7.
Addressing the Cabinet media briefing yesterday, Gunawardena said the Cabinet meeting chaired by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa paid special attention to the control of the coronavirus pandemic, its success and the distribution of goods and relief to the people.
The minister pointed out that the whole world is now experiencing the economic collapse since World War II resulted from the COVID-19 outbreak and a single country alone cannot find a solution to the crisis.
So the Cabinet of Ministers has approved this proposal in order to ensure the financial stability of the country, Gunawardena said.
The country has ordered imports restrictions to prevent non-essential imports.
This is in view of the local rupee falling to its historical low against the US dollar. The rupee now hovers over 195 to the dollar gaining somewhat from being down to 200 mark.
The government has also announced talks with Asian Development Bank and China’s Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. A USD 300 million budgetary support is anticipated from the ADB, officials said.
The announcement for getting the USD 400 million financial facility from India came as the rating agency, Fitch on Wednesday warned Sri Lanka to reform its soft-peg and block the ability of its domestic operations department to inject large volumes of cash below the ceiling policy rate to stop monetary instability.
Last month, during a video conference of Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with leaders and representatives from SAARC nations, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said, Our economy has taken a severe blow due to the coronavirus, particularly in tourism… Our exports are also adversely affected.”
Tourism is the third-largest earner of foreign exchange in Sri Lanka. The decline in tourist arrivals has hit the island nation’s tourism industry in a big way.
Largely owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Bank recently forecast Sri Lankan economy to contract by 3 per cent this year as against a 2.4 per cent estimated growth last year, whilst the IMF predicted the global economy to contract by 3 per cent as well.
COVID-19 cases count in Sri Lanka has hit 417 as another person tested positive for the virus as of 10.45 pm today (24), the Ministry of Health says.
According to the tally, Sri Lanka has confirmed a record surge in coronavirus cases with 49 new infections within the day.
The 49 coronavirus patients identified today include 11 from Bandaranayake Mawatha in Colombo 12, 30 naval personnel from the Welisara Navy Base, 5 naval personnel who were on leave and a pregnant woman from Maradana area who had been admitted to De Soysa Hospital for Women in Colombo 8.
The five naval personnel who were on leave are from Hidilla Kanda in Ratnapura, Udapola in Polgahawela, Keeniyapola in Kurunegala, Rathkinda in Badulla and Athabodhiwewa in Dambulla.
The Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry says that 301 coronavirus cases are currently under medical care.
In the meantime, the island has reported 109 recoveries and 7 fatalities due to COVID-19.
COVID-19 cases tally rises to 416 with one new case
Another case of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has been confirmed in Sri Lanka, says the Ministry of Health.
Accordingly, Sri Lanka has identified a total of 416 COVID-19 patients so far.
Sri Lanka saw a record daily surge in coronavirus cases today as 48 persons tested positive for the virus.
Earlier today, 11 coronavirus patients were reported from the Bandaranayake Mawatha in Colombo 12.
Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva later confirmed that 30 more naval personnel from the Welisara Navy Base have tested positive for the virus.
Subsequently, it was reported that 5 naval personnel who were on leave have also contracted the novel coronavirus. They are from Hidilla Kanda in Ratnapura, Udapola in Polgahawela, Keeniyapola in Kurunegala, Rathkinda in Badulla and Athabodhiwewa in Dambulla.
A pregnant woman from Maradana area, who had been admitted to De Soysa Hospital for Women in Colombo 8, also tested positive shortly afterwards.
The Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry says that 300 coronavirus cases are currently under medical care.
In the meantime, the island has reported 109 recoveries and 7 fatalities due to COVID-19.
Record daily total of 47 cases in Sri Lanka today
Sri Lanka has confirmed a record surge in positive cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as 47 persons tested positive for the virus today (24), says the Department of Government Information.
Accordingly, the country’s total count of coronavirus infections has soared to 415.
Earlier today, 11 coronavirus patients were reported from the Bandaranayake Mawatha in Colombo 12.
Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva later confirmed that 30 more naval personnel from the Welisara Navy Base have tested positive for the virus.
Subsequently, it was reported that 5 naval personnel who were on leave have also contracted the novel coronavirus. They are from Hidilla Kanda in Ratnapura, Udapola in Polgahawela, Keeniyapola in Kurunegala, Rathkinda in Badulla and Athabodhiwewa in Dambulla.
Another positive case was then confirmed from De Soysa Hospital for Women in Colombo 8. The latest person to have contracted the virus is a pregnant woman from Maradana area.
Meanwhile, 109 COVID-19 patients have made complete recoveries while 7 persons died of the virus.
Another 30 naval personnel from the Navy Base in Welisara have tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as of today, says the Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva.
Addressing the media briefing of National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 this evening, he said that the Welisara Navy Base has reported a record total of 60 coronavirus cases so far.
Sri Lanka saw the highest daily surge of coronavirus cases today, with 46 new infections including 11 from Bandaranayake Mawatha in Colombo 12. Accordingly, the country’s cases tally now stands at 414.
On Wednesday (22), it was reported that a Navy officer attached to the Welisara Navy Base tested positive for the virus upon admittance to Welikanda Hospital over a sudden illness.
Later it was confirmed that 29 naval personnel at the navy camp tested positive for the virus on Thursday (23).
The Army Chief says that a large number of PCR tests were carried out at the Welisara Navy Base since Thursday, leading to the detection of 30 new positive cases of coronavirus.
Welisara Navy Base has been put under complete isolation and every person within its premises are being quarantined, he added.
The Ministry of Health and the medical corps of Sri Lanka Navy are carrying out more PCR tests on the people who had been in contact with the coronavirus-infected naval personnel, the Army Chief continued.
He noted that all personnel of the Navy Base who recently went on leave have already been called back.
In the meantime, the families of these naval personnel have been directed to a separate quarantine centre, which was set up under the directives of the Navy Commander, Lieutenant General Silva said further.
Police headquarters said that that there was irrefutable evidence to link Attorney-at-Law, Hejaaz Hisbullah, who had been recently taken into custody by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday suicide bombings.
Police spokesman Attorney-at-Law SP Jaliya Senaratne denied accusations the arrest had been made without sufficient evidence.
The suspect’s father, Naina Hisbullah, recently filed a Habeas Corpus application against the arrest, made about a week before the first anniversary of the Easter Sunday attacks.
Law enforcement authorities said that a group of civil society activists, too, recently issued a statement drawing the attention of the Chief Justice to Hisbullah’s arrest over the alleged involvement with those responsible for the Easter Sunday attacks.
SP Senaratne said that the suspect had been directly in contact with those responsible for the worst atrocity committed, since the successful conclusion of the war, over a decade ago. Among those who endorsed the statement was Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy, JVP-led Jathika Jana Balavegaya (JJB) National List nominee for the 2020 general election Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, civil society activists Ruki Fernando and Dr. Carmena Gunaratne, former Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka member Ambika Satkunanathan, and Prof. Maithriee Wickremesinghe.
Responding to criticism of the lawyer’s arrest, SP Senaratne told The Island yesterday that Hisbullah had been taken in on charges of conspiracy and aiding and abetting in the Easter Sunday carnage, after comprehensive investigation.
Asked whether the attorney-at-law had been involved with Riyad Bathiudeen, brother of former minister and Samagi Jana Balavegaya parliamentary polls candidate Rishard Bathiudeen, arrested by the CID also in connection with the Easter Sunday attacks, SP Senaratne said they weren’t connected though arrested over the suicide attacks.
Both Hisbullah and Bathiudeen were arrested, in Puttalam, on the night of April 14.
The near-simultaneous suicide attacks killed nearly 270, at six locations. The blasts wounded over 400 persons. Of the six locations, the Shangri-La Hotel, in Colombo, was targeted by two suicide bombers, including their leader Zahran Hashim.
SP Senaratne said that Paniyudeen Mohammed Riyad Bathiudeen, 41, was taken in from No 11, 10th Cross Street, Maraiikar Mawatha, Puttalam, and Hisbullah from No 02, 3rd Cross Street, New Settlement Road, Puttalam.
In addition to the CID, the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) is conducting inquiries into the Easter Sunday carnage. According to SP Senaratne, the Colombo Crime Division (CCD), too, was engaged in the investigation.
So far, about 120 persons had been taken into custody in connection with the attacks. Of them, about 40 were being held under Detention Orders and were under investigation by the CID, and about 80 by the TID, SP Senaratne said.
The government proscribed three organizations, including the National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) over the attacks.
Colombo, April 23 – Sri Lanka’s Army Chief, General Shavendra Silva yesterday said that opening schools on May 11 may not be possible as several logistics would have to be put in place to ensure the safety of children in classrooms.As of now I do not foresee that it can be opened on May 11. My belief is that 75 percent it may not be possible,” General Silva said, quoted in the Daily Mirror.
He explained that even if schools do re-open, there will have to be a first handed special operation put in place and guidelines will have to be set as Sri Lankan schools had a minimum of 30 to 40 children per class.A lot of logistics are required to think and practice before schools start. Everyone in the school will have to know exactly what they can do and what they cannot. There is a lot of planning to do before children can attend school. So considering all these logistics we wonder whether every school has that much of facilities to cope up and open.
This is the reason I believe we may not be able to open on May 11,” General Silva said.The government on April 11 announced that schools will be reopened for their second term on May 11, revising its decision to reopen schools on April 20.However Education Minister Dullus Alahapperuma explained that this decision would be reviewed again in the first week of May, by health experts and if schools were advised to remain closed considering the country’s situation, then the government would further delay its opening.Opening schools is not a political decision. We will let the health experts review the situation and advise us what to do. If schools cannot open on May 11, we will keep it closed further,” Alahapperuma said.
On 21st April 2019
multiple suicide attacks claimed the lives of over 300 innocent persons. These
attacks took place despite 97 intel warnings from India the last coming hours
before the first suicide bombing, giving venue, names of suicide bombers and
even their phone numbers. No other country would have allowed the leaders
elected to, protect the Nation & people, to simply walk scot free without
being held to account. Simply, relegating responsibility to failures of the
officials and intelligence units and washing off one’s own actions by
appointing a dubious and controversial Parliamentary Select Committee is an
affront to the common man but warrants history to record this debacle and the
characters that either aided and abetted the criminals or simply watched the crime
take place, both instances that denote nothing but criminal negligence.
Germany & Japan were defeated in World War 2 by the Allies. The Nuremberg Trials and the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal did not have a single German or Japanese on the panel. But, in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday attacks ministers whose names were allegedly linked to the suicide bombers were not only seated at the press conference that saw yahapalana Ministers laugh off the heinous crime but the same Minister sat as a panel member at the Parliamentary Select Committee as well.
All of the people in places of
power claim they did not know – the President says he was clueless, the PM says
same and the envoy representing the world’s most powerful nation says her
country too did not have prior knowledge of attacks. The then Army Commander
told the Parliamentary Select committee he came to know about the incident only
from social media! But India had given 97 warnings and by letters too.
Pre-Easter Sunday incidents
When a government is created by
gluing nefarious actors with questionable record of anti-national actions, it
was like watching a volcano about to erupt. Incompetent officials put in place,
the competent sidelined, the systems and units placed to protect the nation
virtually neutralized or asked to lay low or closed down completely, systems
opened to even foreigners to poke their noses was what was taking place post
regime change in 2015.
The appeasing policy adopted and
the attitude that the minorities ruled and the majority are insignificant did
not help matters for it encouraged all sorts of destabilizing objectives to
descend and commence their agendas across Sri Lanka. They did so knowing the
leaders and their stooges were looking the other way and officials were also
indirectly told to do the same. The crimes of omissions that took place from
2015 is testimony.
Special mention must be made of
37-year old Mohamed Razak Taslim of Mawanella who ended up shot by Zaharan’s
men and today lies paralyzed. His crime was to put country before religion and
his punishment resulted in being shot at. In December 2018 a number of Buddhist
statues were getting vandalized. It was an obvious attempt to inflame communal
tensions. Investigations and search for the 2 brothers linked to the vandalism led
to another stash of 100kg explosives in a coconut grove in January 2019. This
was no small number and it should have alerted authorities that something was
brewing in the air. These suspicions should have been connected with the intel
briefings sent by India. Taslim was shot in March 2019 while sleeping. Taslim
had cried when he heard the news of Easter Sunday telling his wife ‘I told you
something bad was going to happen’.
Another clue escaped attention.
Zaharan’s brother injured himself while experimenting with explosives months
before Easter Sunday and had been secretly brought to a private medical clinic
in Colombo and was treated. No one reported the incident to the local police
who would have investigated how he had injured his hand from explosives. This
would certainly have led to Zaharan and his hideouts and perhaps even prevented
the Easter Sunday attacks. Has this doctor been questioned for hiding Zaharan’s
brother until his recovery? Aiding and abetting a terrorist is equal to taking
part in terror.
Post-Easter Sunday
findings
Within 24hours the security
services were able to nab over 50 suspects highlighting that the systems were
well in place and only orders were lacking. Then came the shocking revelations
of detonators, explosives, swords, even military uniforms found across the
island even in mosques. A UNP Colombo Municipal Councilor was also arrested in
possession of 46 swords, while another Deputy Major in Negombo was arrested in
possession of a sword, dagger & 37 mobile phone batteries. As the country
watched in shock Rs.1.2million was found under the bed of a not-so-well to do
house in Weligama. Security forces also traced vehicles registered under the
names of the suicide bombers/wives and relations. In Kalpitiya a man was
arrested with 22 NICs of women (29Ap2019), while antoher was arrested with army
uniforms in Lunugala with 18 passports. Quite a number of foreign Muslims were
also arrested during search operations. In fact, on 2nd May media
disclosed that Fathima Ilham the wife of spice owner Ibrahim’s suicide bomber
son who also blew herself up in Dematagoda is the daughter of Alaludeen jewelers
& Alahudeen is Bathurdeen’s uncle as well as Treasurer of ACMC. What is the
status of these arrests?
The arrests were many but
loopholes in law and lethargy of the system cannot prevent or deny justice to
innocent people who became guinea pigs of bigger and powerful agendas –
political or religious.
Yahapalana leaders were made to
believe that the minorities helped them to power and whatever the minorities
did they should not object or disagree or come in their way. Some Ministers
including the yahapalana President have openly admitted this ‘we cannot anger
the minorities’. So every ill happening was always ignored and when authorities
and officials saw the body language and actions of their leaders, naturally they
too thought it pointless bringing any national issue to them knowing what their
reactions would be.
All this was made obvious with
the co-sponsorship of the Geneva-Resolution in October 2015 that virtually
sealed Sri Lanka’s fate and accepted Sri Lanka’s guilt in front of the world by
a bunch of people who never sided with Sri Lanka’s Armed Forces and never
provided even moral support to end LTTE.
In this scenario of the
government that was ruling, the policies they were adopting and the general
attitude towards protection of the country, should we be surprised when people
directly linked with the suicide bombers and their families sit at the
immediate post-Easter Sunday press conference and laugh at what happened on 21
April 2019?
Further rubbing salt to the wound
they are even selected to be on the panel of the Parliamentary Select Committee
to be grinning away at the cross examination of officials.
Can we expect justice from yahapalana
for the crime that took place purely because of negligence?
Together these controversial
figures found salvation in wiping all blame from their own hands and passing it
off to the officials and intelligence units who were made to sit and disclose
the most confidential of state secrets and relayed publicly to all and sundry.
These brave officials answered as best as they could and their magnanimity was
such that they did not pass blame like their leaders and accepted blame for what
their leaders should have been responsible for. If a Committee passes blame to
officials and holds them responsible absolving leaders of all blame, do we need
to elect them, do we need to spend millions on maintaining them and their
families. We can allocate that money to the officials!
It is disgusting to see the
yahapalana President and Prime Minister behave as if they had no role to play
in the debacle that took place. The manner that they can laugh off their role
and see fit to pass blame is incomprehensive. Both have got away – one with a
800m house and the other unashamedly continuing to fool the masses still. Shameless
they want to both continue in politics.
What took place or what led to
Easter Sunday is a culmination of bad policies based on horse trading and
bartering for one’s personal gain.
The guinea pigs for Easter Sunday blame became the security and intel officers and the public must never forget or forgive every person linked to what took place on 21 April 2019 Easter Sunday
Article 92(b) and Clause 20(4) of the 19a and Article
91(1)(d)(XIII) of the Constitution says persons who are dual citizens are
DISQUALIFIED from being elected as MPs or the President. If this is so the onus
is on the Election Commissioner to ensure no MP submits nominations withholding
that they are dual citizens. Has there been any nominations submitted declaring
the contestant as a dual citizen. If so, Election Commission has to reject his/her
application. However, what is the election commissioner’s solution to those
withholding that they are dual citizens and submitting nominations and
Elections Commissioner even accepting nominations? How can elections commission
allow this as it is breaching his task to ensure no dual citizen is elected to
Parliament.
The reason to raise this question is
that there are continuous allegations that the majority of TNA MPs are dual
citizens but functioning in Parliament. How can this happen?
Key members of the TNA were architects
of the inclusion of the ‘dual citizenship’ clause in the 19a primarily meant to
prevent the ruling President from contesting elections.
If these MPs who went to such trouble
plugging a clause denying anyone who was a dual citizen from contesting they
have to also face the tune.
This means no MP sitting in Parliament
can apply for dual citizenship so long as he/she is a Member of Parliament.
It also means that if anyone wants to
keep their dual citizenship status then they have to forsake being a MP. In
which case the TNA MPs who are dual citizens along with any others have to make
a choice – be a MP or retail dual citizenship or give up Sri Lankan citizenship
and go live in the other choice of country!
The citizens and voters have every right to know who in
Parliament is a dual citizen.
This question didn’t arise earlier but with the insertion of 19a
– we all want to ensure NO DUAL CITIZEN is in Parliament enjoying our tax
payers money and also enjoying perks in a different country.
Everyone who boasts of upholding the
Constitution must also come forward to support the need for transparency regarding
declaration of dual citizenship.
How do we find out whether TNA MPs or any other MPs are dual
citizens?
The contestants
have to personally declare so. The only person who did was Geetha Kumarasinghe
and she lost her seat as a result of personal honesty.
But who were
the others who kept their dual citizenship status hidden? Obviously, the
architects of the clause themselves – this is outright dishonesty. This is very
unparliamentary of them.
If there is a
clause that states MPs cannot be dual citizens, then the President is well
within his powers to ask each to declare that they are not dual citizens by
affidavit. The PM can and should make the same demand.
The Foreign
Ministry can also request selected countries to confirm from their records if
any of Sri Lanka’s MPs are dual citizens.
The
Immigration dept can also check up on their status
Defense
Ministry should also have details regarding this
If the President had to face a humiliating court case to prove
his citizenship, then those hiding their dual citizenship should also face the
same tune.
However, the onus is on the Election Commission and Election
Commissioner to make this call. The question is why did he not do so?
The commission that talks about
following rule of law & the Constitution is nicely ignoring that they are
responsible for ensuring no dual citizen gets elected to Parliament.
Ironically, it appears an Election Commission member is also a
dual citizen. Is this why the team are strategically avoiding the issue of dual
citizenship.
If President & MPs who as dual
citizens are barred from contesting elections, all public servants who are dual
citizens should also be barred. Especially the holier than thou Independent
Commission members.
Elections Commission & Elections Commissioner cannot make a
mockery out of democracy and the Constitution by ignoring key clauses on dual
citizenship which is related to electing MPs under their powers.
19a was inserted specifically
targeting key individuals to prevent them contesting. It was a shallow endeavor
by people who themselves are allegedly dual citizens.
It is now time to come clean.
Election Commissioner, we want to know if any contestant informed
they were dual citizens in their nomination papers and if they didn’t and are
hiding their dual citizenship status, what action you propose to take against
them BEFORE the elections.
You have all the time and means to issue a letter asking nominees to
reconfirm that they are not dual citizens and in the meanwhile you must
reconfirm to the voters that everyone contesting elections are not dual
citizens.
You cannot be silent and allow dual
citizens to contest and not use your department’s authority to find out who and
who is not a dual citizen.
By Constitution the Election Commission is bound to ensure no
person who is a dual citizen gets elected to Parliament.
Many of
these ‘dual citizens’ are attempting various juggernauts to upset the government
as it grapples to deal with covid-19. The only way to deal with such trouble
makers is to question and expose their dishonesty democratically,
constitutionally & legally.
This essay lists some of the many changes
and improvements made by the MEP government of 1956. These changes, carried out between 1956 and
1958 have not got the recognition it deserves.
UNP
government followed an anti-communist and pro western foreign policy. The MEP
government, on the other hand, swung to a non aligned position in foreign
affairs. A
number of world leaders visited Sri Lanka
when SWRD was Prime Minister. They included Robert Menezies, Prime Minister
of Australia, Walter Nash, Prime Minister of New Zealand, Diefenbaker, Prime Minister
of Canada, Harold Macmillan, Prime Minister of UK, Ludwig Erhard, Deputy Prime
Minister of Germany and Soekarnao, President of Indonesia. This was an
impressive recognition of SWRD and a tribute to his policy of non alignment,
said Vernon L.B. Mendis.
MEP government established
diplomatic relations with socialist countries. Viliam
Široký Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia and
President Josip Broz Tito, President of Yugoslavia
visited 1958.Sri Lanka was one of the first countries to
establish diplomatic relations with Cuba soon after Fidel Castro took power in
1959. ‘Che’ Guevara visited Ceylon as Castro’s special emissary in August 1959.
Guevara visited Yahala Kele rubber estate in Horana and planted a Mahogany tree
there.
MEP decided to
open diplomatic relations with the Peoples’ Republic of China and the Soviet
Union. Before doing so, SWRD informed the British and U.S. governments of his
intention. In this way, he avoided
abrasiveness in implementing foreign policy decisions, said diplomat Bandu de
Silva.
In
1955 the UNP government did not allow soviet scientists to come here to observe
the eclipse of the sun. In
1957, the MEP government established diplomatic relations with Russia. Gunapala Malalasekera was the first
ambassador to Russia. This was an excellent
choice. In 1958, an agreement on
cooperation in economic and technical spheres between the Soviet Union and
Ceylon was signed. Sri Lanka was able to gain Russian assistance in many
fields’, projects including Oruwala Steel Mill, Modera Flour Mill, Kelaniya
Tyre Factory, Samanala Weva hydro-energy project, Russian aid and technology.
Sri Lanka also
received heavy machinery such as tractors, tippers, cranes. Russia helped some
housing projects, too. Russia gave scholarships
to Sri Lankan students, to study medicine and engineering at prestigious
Russian universities. Sri Lanka exported
tea, rubber, coconut oil and coir products to Russia. Tea was the major export
item to Russia.
SWRD established
diplomatic relations with China in 1957. Chou en Lai visited in 1957 during his tour of
Asian countries. He was invited to
participate at the ninth celebrations of Sri Lanka’s Independence. He came with
Vice Premier He Long. Prime Minister Chou
climbed Sigiriya and also visited a colonization scheme and met colonists. Sometime
later, China sent the Beijing Opera to Sri Lanka.
It was
significant that within a space of four months in early 1957, the Prime
Ministers of India and China were here as State guests, said D.C.Ranatunga.
First to come was Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai. The second leader to visit
Sri Lanka was Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, accompanied by daughter
Indira The highlight of his visit was a trip to Anuradhapura where a large crowd
was present to listen to his address. Nimal
Karunatilleke translated Nehru’s speech into Sinhala. Prime Minister
Bandaranaike hosted official receptions at Temple Trees, for Nehru and Chou en
Lai, when they visited. The foreign affairs commentary
in Radio Ceylon was headed by an Englishman. SWRD did not like its rightwing
slant. He appointed Mervyn de Silva to the post.
When Britain withdrew from Ceylon, the naval
port of Trincomalee, Katunayake Air base and some camps at Diyatalawa remained
in the hands of Britain. DS Senanayake as Prime Minister readily agreed to this
when the terms of independence were negotiated. SWRD got back Trincomalee and
Katunayake, when he became Prime Minister. Trincomalee was taken back on October
15 1957 and Katunayake on November 1 1957.
SWRD had presented a Cabinet paper on the
transfer of army and navy bases back to Sri Lanka. Britain wanted the transfer
subject to their terms and conditions. SWRD did not agree. He said that the return of the bases was something
that Ceylon had the right to demand without any qualifications. Britain
accepted that Ceylon could give them notice to quit. Britain had no grounds on which to
refuse. ‘In the last resort we have
depend on the good will of Ceylon’, admitted Britain.
Vidyodaya Pirivena, (Maligakanda), and
Vidyalankara Pirivena (Kelaniya) were the leading pirivenas of the time. They
had played a historical role during the British occupation, in preserving
Buddhist learning and in projecting the image of a strong Maha Sangha. SWRD recognized this and took action to
elevate these two Pirivenas to University status.
Vidyodaya University and Vidyalankara University Act No 45 of 1958
converted these two pirivenas to universities. The two universities were duly
established at Maligakanda and Kelaniya respectively. This was sneered at. The
western oriented University of Ceylon was quite sufficient, said the opponents
of SWRD.
Ven. Welivitiye Soratha who was the Principal of the
Vidyodaya Pirivena was appointed as the first Vice-Chancellor of the Vidyodaya
University, and the university was ceremonially opened on 16th February 1959.
Today, this has become University of Sri Jayawardenepura. Vidyalankara Pirivena
became the Vidyalankara University in 1959. It is today University of Kelaniya.
In 1956 for the first time a
Ministry was formed for Cultural Affairs.
Ministry of Cultural Affairs was established on
12.04.1956 in accordance with the Throne Speech made by the MEP
government when it came into power in 1956. It was established to formulate and
implement a national cultural policy to regenerate the indigenous cultural
tradition which had been suppressed for so long, under colonial rule.
In 1956, Parliament passed the Official Language Act
no 33 of 1956. It was passed
after a marathon debate, with 66 ‘for’ and 20 ‘against.’ The Act said that the Sinhala language ‘shall be the
one official language of Ceylon.’ The Act came into effect on 1st January 1964. All government transactions throughout the
country had to be in Sinhala from 31.10 1964.
Therefore it was not ‘Sinhala in 24 hours’. That statement is incorrect.
‘Sinhala only’
was never ‘Sinhala only’. Critics observed that the Act had failed to limit the use of Tamil
and English, ‘as it should have done’. Nor did it make
Sinhala compulsory in schools. No subsidiary legislation was
passed under the Act either. Implementation was based solely on administrative
orders and Cabinet directions. As a result, state administration was conducted
in English above a certain level.
There
were many positive results from Sinhala Only.
It brought a hitherto submerged class onto center stage and upward
mobility, said Meegama. TIME said until
now, citizens could not send telegrams
make long distance calls, make out a bill of lading or hold a government job
unless they spoke English. Sinhala only
also led to
significant changes in the administration of justice in Sri Lanka. Sinhala was
made the official language in 1956 and
this led eventually to the use of Sinhala in courts of law, said WTA
Leslie Fernando.
A National Planning Council was
formed it. This was a first for the country. This Council brought out Ceylon’s
first Ten Year Plan for 1959-68. It was the first comprehensive and systematic plan
covering both public and private sectors, unlike earlier plans which covered
only the public sector. It extended beyond the usual five years, said the
Central Bank in its 25 anniversary review.
The MEP government made a lasting contribution to the social
legislation of the country. There was significant labour legislation, said
Meegama. These laws are now taken for granted. The pioneer role of the MEP is forgotten
today.
The Prevention of Social Disabilities Act, No.
21 of 1957 prohibited discrimination on the basis of caste. This was a boon to the low caste groups in Jaffna, who at the time
were prevented from entering certain temples and barber shops.
The Act permitted all persons to
enter and be served at, any public hotel, rest house,
eating house, and restaurant. Obtaining or using water from any public well,
spring, water-pipe or any other source of supply of water to the public.
Entering, or obtaining the service provided at a public hairdressing saloon or
laundry. Entering any public cemetery and attending or taking part in any
burial or cremation. No person should be prevented from entering and worshipping
in any temple which belongs to that person’s religion.
MEP government set up Conciliation
Boards to facilitate amicable settlement of disputes. The
Conciliation Boards Act No. 10 of 1958
was passed amidst opposition from vested interest. Conciliation Boards were to operate
in all villages. Boards were empowered to settle dispute of a civil nature, especially
those which related to moveable property.
It was not until 1958 that a serious attempt
was made to reintroduce the concept of the ‘amicable settlement of disputes’ by
introducing the Conciliation Boards Act 1958, said legal experts. The Act
provided for mandatory community level resolution of minor disputes by
impartial conciliators. The objective of the Act was to make available to
disputants a much more accessible, less expensive, speedy and participatory
dispute management process. They did a tremendous service by settling the
disputes at village level and preventing length litigation in courts, said WTA
Leslie Fernando.
The Conciliation Boards operated from
1958- 1977. Problems with the implementation and
application of the Act ultimately led to its repeal in 1977, said analysts. The Mediation Boards Act no 72 of 1988 is nothing but a
continuation of the Conciliation Boards, said WTA Leslie Fernando.
Labour Tribunals were set up on 2.5.1959.
. Until these tribunals were set up, a worker had to go to the civil courts
when he was wrongly dismissed. This was beyond the worker’s means. With the creation of Labour tribunals, the
workman with a grievance now had a place to go to. He could get a non lawyer to
appear for him in the Labour Tribunal. The Labour Tribunals provided speedier
justice than the courts . TB Ilangaratne minister of labour, housing and
social service in the 1956 government was responsible for introducing the
legislation for this in Parliament.
The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) was
established under the Act No. 15 of 1958 and is currently the largest Social
Security Scheme in Sri Lanka. It had an asset base of Rs. 2,289 billion in
2018.
MEP government of 1956 nationalized the ‘port
‘and the bus services. All cargo handling operations in the port of Colombo
were nationalized in 1958. There is no
further information on this. It is different with nationalization of bus
services. There is plenty written on that.
MEP had promised to nationalize the
bus companies and create a State Transport Board. There were several large bus companies at the
time. South Western Bus Company of Cyril de Soyza operated on the Colombo-Galle
route. Silver line bus service operated
in Colombo. Sri Lanka Omnibus Company owned
by Jayasena Madanayake of Peliyagoda, operated Colombo-Kandy- Gampaha-,
Kurunegala run. Panadura Motor
Transport Company of Leo Fernando operated on Panadura- Ratnapura- Wellawaya-
Buttala route.
There was a host of smaller companies
in the outstation. Siri Medura Bus Company ran buses from Gampaha to Waturugama. There was the Blue line Company, Green line
company, Uva Bus company, Madhyama Lanka, Kandy Omnibus, Galle Motor company and so on.
There was long standing
dissatisfaction with the bus service provided by these private companies. There
was much public anger over the deplorable service provided and the huge profits
that the bus owners were making, which they did not use to improve the service.
There was rivalry between the bus owners and brutal fights. Employees were
badly treated.
The call for nationalization of
bus service had been there for a long time, but the UNP government was not
prepared to nationalize. The Bus company owners were all supporters of the UNP.
They provided the UNP with funds and also provided gangs for intimidation
during elections. In the 1950s, 27 MPs had interests in the bus companies.
The MEP nationalized the private
bus service. The Motor
Transport Bill for the nationalization of bus services was presented to the
House of Representatives on September 24, 1957 and passed on October 17, 1957. It was passed without division. Buses were nationalized in 1958. SWRD wanted the nationalization
done in stages, Philip Gunawardene insisted that it must be done in one go.
All road passenger transport services were
transferred from private to state ownership and on January 1, 1958 by Transport
Act No. 48 of 1957. The Ceylon Transport Board (CTB) was created to operate an
all island bus service.
SWRD
appointed a senior member of the Civil
Service, Vere de Mel as Chairman, He was an excellent choice. He handled the
takeover expertly, then set up an integrated bus transport system which for the
first time catered to hitherto
inaccessible parts of the island. CTB also made it possible for passengers to
travel to distant places without having
to change buses at several points,
noted Meegama. It should be observed, however, that while this may have been
good for transport, it was a calculated hit at the emerging Sinhala business man. The takeover was a severe blow to them and
many ‘bus mudalalis’ never recovered from it.
May Day was declared a holiday in Sri Lanka in
1956 for the Government sector, bank and mercantile sectors. Ayurveda was revived, . A
film and recording studio
was set up In Kirula Rd, Colombo for
making films.
This was very welcome. Until this studio was set up, the Sinhala film makers had to go to India to
get their films processed. ( Continued)
Former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya today rejected the reports that said he would reconvene the Parliament unilaterally.
“While fighting Covid-19, Sri Lanka does not want another constitutional crisis. Therefore, rumours that I would reconvene the Parliament unilaterally are false. All efforts must be taken by the Executive to avert a crisis. In a dispute, I am bound to uphold judiciary’s decision,” he tweeted today.
Yesterday, Mr. Jayasuriya said as the election date has been fixed now, all effort must be made not to allow a constitutional crisis, that can cost the nation dearly of its economy and legitimacy.
“With good faith, I hope Sri Lanka can confine Covid-19 to a health and economic challenge, not a political one
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a guaranteed price for 14 main crops of Yala Season with the intention of strengthening the income of local farmers by uplifting the country’s agriculture sector.
Minister Bandula Gunawardana stated this addressing the media briefing to announce Cabinet decisions today (23).
Accordingly, the Cabinet has also given its approval to procure crops from farmers if they are unable to sell the crops for the guaranteed price in the market.
The guaranteed prices for 14 main crops (per kilogram) are as follows:
Sri Lanka Police says that 36,008 individuals have been arrested in total for violating the curfew during the period of over a month since the curfew was imposed.
Over 9,000 vehicles have been taken into police custody for curfew violations during this period, the Police Spokesman’s Office said.
The curfew in Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara and Puttalam districts, which have been identified as Covid-19 high risk zones, is to continue until Monday while the curfew in other districts is temporarily lifted at 5.00am daily during weekdays.
Meanwhile in the areas where the curfew is in effect, arrests continue to be made of persons traveling by road without curfew passes.
The Police Spokesman’s Office said 687 curfew violators were arrested within the 24 hours ending at 6.00am this morning (23) while 186 vehicles were also taken into custody.
Twenty-nine Navy personnel at the Sri Lanka Navy base in Welisara have been confirmed to have contracted COVID-19, Army Commander Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva said.
The Navy personnel had been infected while on a recent search for suspects from Suduwella, Ja-Ela, the Army Commander said issuing a special statement.
A Navy officer attached to the Welisara Navy Base had been tested positive for the virus yesterday (22) upon admittance to Welikanda Hospital over a sudden illness.
Thereby, other Navy personnel who shared the same lodging quarters and office spaces as the infected sailor and all persons who associated with him had been quarantined and directed for PCR testing.
As per the results of testing, 30 Navy personnel, including the previously identified sailor, have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Accordingly, the Navy Commander, yesterday, declared the Welisara Navy Base an isolated area.
It is confirmed that the previously identified sailor had been infected by another Navy personnel who shared lodging with him, said the Army Commander.
The relevant Navy personnel had been infected while on duty to search and quarantine suspects connected to drug-related offenses in the Suduwella area, he added.
All navy personnel at the Welisara Navy Base will be quarantined and subjected to PCR testing immediately, he said.
Further, all personnel of the Navy Base who had recently gone on leave have been called back immediately and will also be subjected to PCR testing as well, said the Army Commander.
Thereby, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Sri Lanka has surged to 368 cases, according to the Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry.
The November 2019 inauguration of president Gotabhaya Rajapaksa rekindled bright hopes of national resurgence. The visions of peace and prosperity that bloomed in the years following the end of nearly three decades of civil war in 2009 faded in the years 2015-19. While the people were eagerly looking forward to electing a new parliament, the entirely unexpected COVID-19 pandemic struck the world and its deleterious impact is being currently experienced in Sri Lanka as well. The state health and security forces tasked with containing the spread of the disease are doing their job extremely well, hardly caring for their own health. The leadership provided by the president and the government is a vital factor here, as much as the patriotic commitment of the health sector workers (doctors, nurses, and paramedics), the triforces and the police personnel, and the intelligence sectors. This was complemented by the high level of cooperation extended by ordinary citizens. However, such galvanizing of the state machinery and the citizenry would be inconceivable without the kind of true leadership that is being provided by those at the helm today. As Simon Sinek said, Leadership is a responsibility. It is not about being in charge. It’s about taking care of those in your charge.” The president and the government-appointed under him are taking care of the country and the people.
How well this is being done by them has already been acknowledged even internationally. A research study commissioned by the Institute of Certified Management Accountants (Australia) to evaluate the response and leadership observed in each country, and to thereby develop a Global Response to Infectious Diseases (GRID) index to indicate the level of efficiency and effectiveness of its leadership and the preparedness of its health system demonstrated in confronting the Covid-19 pandemic. The ICMA thinks that the index will be a motivator for the relevant country in tackling a future pandemic or other crisis situation. Sri Lanka is ranked 9 in the highly reliable ICMA study. New Zealand ranks 1, and Australia 4, and America 70.. This is unprejudiced international recognition of the efficiency and effectiveness of Sri Lanka’s current political leadership.(Information used here about the ICMA and its GRID Index, and the Simon Sinek quote above is taken from the cmawebline.org website)
Former UNP MP and current SJB member Ajith Perera was heard (April 19) trying to discredit this distinguished ICMA ranking of Sri Lanka by arguing that the government got its friends in Australia to produce that allegedly fake result. He said that some Sri Lankans including Nalaka Godahewa are influential members of the ICMA. Such baseless accusations are more likely to be condemned as an unwarranted smear on that globally operating civic organization of certified management accountants than a blind attack on the Sri Lankan government on its management of the effects of the pandemic. The only saving grace in this Ajith Perera episode is that he himself has not much credibility as a local politician and that therefore his words need to be taken with a pinch of salt. As for the Melbourne headquartered ICMA, it is a legally established business professional body; it was duly incorporated under the laws of the Victoria State government in the year of its inauguration (1996) and is accredited by the Commonwealth of Nations under the category of Civic Organisations. There are many certified management accountants of Sri Lankan origin who are members of the ICMA. Nalaka Godahewa, with a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of South Australia (2008), and various other advanced qualifications from UK universities relating to his field of speciality, demonstrated his excellent management skills as a brilliant technocrat during the time of the 2009-14 government of the then president Mahinda Rajapaksa. His well-intended, result-oriented but his novel, daringly unconventional methods earned him the envy of his detractors and made him vulnerable to legal persecution at the hands of MR’s successors in 2015. Ajith Perera may be reverting to his partisan dislike of Dr. Nalaka Godahewa.
The ICMA sponsored study obtained its raw data (i.e., unprocessed information or data not subjected to doctoring) from the Worldometer website, something that guarantees the credibility of the results. Dr. Chris D’Souza is Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of CMA, Australia. So contrary to what local critics like Ajith Perera may say, the authenticity of the Global Response to Infectious Diseases (GRID) index assigned to Sri Lanka cannot be called into question.
While the government is thus handling the Covid-19 crisis with a fair degree of success, the opposition consisting of the estranged Yahapalana politicos, currently left high and dry, appear to be seeking to make a comeback courtesy the coronavirus pandemic, all the time pretending that the government is anxious to have early elections at any cost. Even the Yahapalanaya appointed Election Commission seems to be sympathetic to them. The EC’s constitutional role is of vital importance in this context. The EC commissioners are responsible for conducting the electoral process in absolute impartiality. However, the sayings and doings of two members of the three members of the Election Commission over the past four or five years have been perceived by neutral observers as favouring a return to the anarchical Yahapalana state of affairs. The Island editorial points out today (April 20), one of the serious flaws of the controversial 19A is that for meetings of the EC to be quorate, all three members must attend them. This gives anyone dissident member to absent himself so as to make the meetings inquorate. I remember Foreign Relations minister Dinesh Gunawardane predicting, a few weeks ago, a situation like this that could worsen a possible constitutional crisis involving the holding of elections. Meanwhile, Jayampathy Wickremaratne PC, a former national list MP and a so-called constitutional expert who is usually made out to be the principal drafter of the faulty 19A is calling for reconvening the malfunctioning parliament of buffoons that stands dissolved today. Such attempted sabotage of the country’s transition from Yahapalana anarchy to political stability under the SLPP will be lethal for democracy, which these worthies habitually swear by. The Island had to interview Hoole while he is apparently holed up in Jaffna due to the curfew is significant. (A new date for the next parliamentary election – June 20 – was declared, apparently amidst controversy, by the Election Commission after the first draft of this article was emailed to The Island newspaper, where it appeared yesterday/April 22, 2020. It was marginally touched up for Lankaweb.)
