MCC is one of the 3 pillars of US National Security Strategy initially rolled out in 2002 (Defense, Development & Diplomacy) ACSA and SOFA are clear US strategic military arrangements while MCC falls into category of US national security strategy ‘development’ pillar.  US national security strategy’s 3 pillars aligns to Dept of State & USAID Joint Strategic Plan 2018-022. The 4^th pillar of the NSS (Advance American Influence”) stresses the importance of collaboration with partners and focusing investments where the U.S. Government can have the most impact (this is envisaged via privatizing State land for commercial purposes with US companies and transnational companies operating the economic corridor). By virtue of MCC Board having member of USAID – the MCC-USAID connection is also clear. With US Secretary of State & Congress aligned to MCC-ACSA-SOFA the connections of the 3 cannot be ignored either. Some are naïve enough to demand to be shown in black & white how the 3 are connected! While the 4-member Committee only subjecting their review to the clauses of MCC Agreement, the GoSL cannot afford to ignore the geopolitical objectives of the US aligned to its national security strategy, indo-pacific strategy and overall objective to contain China as well as grab resources in Asia Pacific for US & Allies. We are foolish not to connect the dots & ignore the future dangers.

It is not a US military base that US intends to set up in Sri Lanka but a US military logistics hub (‘lily-pad concept)

In 2017 Congress passed the Reinforcing Education Accountability in Development (READ) Act, (Division A, Public Law 115-56). US agencies part of this ACT are U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Department of State, Department of the Treasury, Department of Labor, Department of Education, Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), National Security Advisor, and Director of the Peace Corps. These agencies will work with partner countries, other donors, multilateral organizations, the private sector, non-government organizations (NGOs), and faith-based institutions around the world. The READ document features 3 players operating in Sri Lanka – US State Dept, MCC & US Peace Corps. https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1865/USG-Education-Strategy_FY2019-2023_Final_Web.pdf

How US is influencing Sri Lanka

• LAW ENFORCEMENT: US training & assisting Sri Lankan officials in counter-narcotics, counter-terrorism
• JUDICIARY: USAID assisting rule of law & improve management of legal system & policy formulation in partnership with Sri Lanka Bar Association & US Legal Aid Commission
• TREASURY: US Treasury assisting fiscal & debt challenges
• AGRICULTURE: US has given $21m to increase dairy sector
• EDUCATION: US Peace Corps to teach ‘AMERICAN’ English
• MEDIA: US embassy Colombo training journalists on access to information, types of stories covered and improving English
• PARLIAMENT/MPs: 2016, collaboration between Sri Lanka Parliament & US House Democracy Partnership training MPs and Parliament staff
• LOCAL GOVERNMENT: USAID training local government institutes in Eastern Province & reintegration and stabilization in North & East
• GENERAL PUBLIC: USAIDtraining democratic governance, women and minorities

Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 specifically calls for expanding cooperation with democratic partners in South Asia, including Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.”

US influence increasing since 2015 Regime Change

• 2018 – US ‘brilliantly succeeded’ in deploying US Indo-Pacific Command within days of Easter Sunday attack on pretext of assisting Sri Lanka fight ISIS.
• Aug 2018 USS Anchorage and a unit of US Marines visited Trinco port.
• Dec 2018 – US set up ‘logistics hub’ to ‘receive support, supplies & services’ for US Navy ships operating in the Indian Ocean.
• Jan 2019 – US Navy’s 7^th Fleet for 2^nd time carried out ‘temporary cargo transfer’ using Bandaranaiake International Commercial Airport to move supplies to US aircraft carrier USS John C Stennis located in Trinco (Colombo-Trinco connecting by air) US Military craft did not come under Sri Lanka Civil Aviation Authority but was landing on Sri Lankan soil & over Sri Lankan airspace & were levies paid or waivered – if an accident/crime happened who would adjudicate?
• 23 Jan 2019 US Embassy Colombo “The United States Navy is doing a cargo transfer operation at Sri Lanka’s main international airport under a plan to use the island’s location to make it a MILITARY LOGISTICS HUB”
• Jan2019 Commenting on the cargo transfer operation – 7^th Fleet’s Logistics Readiness Cell Chief Lt. Austin Gage says “We are generating standard operating procedures to optimize our supply chain to be more agile and mobile and utilize strategic locations in the Indian Ocean.” 
• USS John C. Stennis Leverages Logistics Hub in Sri Lanka – (US Navy website) https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=108052 September 2019 Taking advantage of a growing naval partnership with Sri Lanka, the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) established a logistics hub in Sri Lanka to receive support, supplies and services at sea”
• Dec 2019 – USS John C Stennis visits Trinco Port as part of Pentagon’s plans to establish a logistics hub for US Navy. A Mass Communication Specialist on board USS John C. Stennis in a dispatch to the US Navy official web portal wrote: The primary purpose of the operation is to provide mission-critical supplies and services to U.S. Navy ships transiting through and operating in the Indian Ocean. The secondary purpose is to demonstrate the U.S. Navy’s ability to establish a temporary logistic hum ashore where no enduring U.S. Navy logistic footprint exists.”
• The primary purpose of the operation is to provide mission-critical supplies and services to U.S. Navy ships transiting through and operating in the Indian Ocean,” said Lt. Bryan Ortiz, John C. Stennis’ stock control division officer. The secondary purpose is to demonstrate the U.S. Navy’s ability to establish a temporary logistics hub ashore where no enduring U.S. Navy logistics footprint exists.”

SOFA allows US personnel rights & privilege in a host country

Status of Forces Agreement includes access to facilities free of charge, right to own and operate telecommunication systems and use of radio spectrum, waiver of claims for damages and losses including death, disputes to be settled by consultation and not through any national or international court.

SOFA establishes the rights and privileges of US personnel present in a country in support of the larger security arrangement.

Draft text of SOFA leaked via Sunday Times. Provisions in the SOFA include, the wearing of uniforms, taxes and fees, carrying of weapons, use of radio frequencies, licences, and customs regulations.

Washington was ‘pushing hard’ to sign SOFA which Pentagon traditionally demanded as pre-requisite to establishing military bases in foreign countries (M K Bhadrakumar Jul2019)

https://dailynewsteller.blogspot.com/2019/07/what-is-sri-lanka-and-usa-sofa-agreement.html

ACSA allows US logistics & supplies usage in a host country

Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA), the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) and Millennium Challenge Compact (MCC) are agreements integral to US national security and self-defense strategies

ACSA provides for joint military cooperation between Sri Lanka and the US and includes logistic support, supplies, services and the use of airports and ports during „unforeseen circumstances‟. ACSAs also allows visiting military forces to receive logistic support in the form of supplies; petroleum; transportation; base operations support; use of repair and maintenance facilities; and access to airfields and ports.

The 2007 ACSA required renewal but the 2017 ACSA signed by Ranil Govt & contents not disclosed to the Public or Parliament does not require renewal.

This would be the FIRST TIME foreign US/Allied troops would be permitted to freely roam the country in uniform, carrying weapons and communications equipment. Note IPKF was confined ONLY to war torn areas of North/East.

Sri Lanka has no authority to take any legal action against US troops in Sri Lanka for any crime or abuse committed by them.

While China’s presence in Sri Lanka and Hambantota Port, the US ACSA and SOFA are purely military for servicing US personnel (uniformed and civil) as well as contractors.

US PEACE CORPS

https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/library/peace-corps-and-sri-lankan-ministry-education-sign-memorandum-understanding/

https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/18-226-Sri-Lanka-Cultural-Exchg-Peace-Corps.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2vNWXdZPzc6-7sxbtmhzxTx7gIynMsS72-Y3sLh6q1RHP50J42keBxFW4 (please read the exemptions and immunities given to the Peace Corps and what is Sri Lanka getting in return? Americanized English and ‘American values’?

Article 1 (4) The Government of Sri Lanka shall bear such share of the costs of the Peace Corps program incurred in Sri Lanka” HOW MUCH ?

MCC: AID as part of US National Security Strategy

ACSA Sri Lanka was signed on August 4, 2017

MCC is a US Government entity. Its Board is headed by the US Secretary of State and includes Secretary of the Treasury, USAID, US Trade Representative and private sector officials. MCC Grants are funded by US Congress.

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is requesting $800 million for fiscal year (FY) 2019, to support compacts in Tunisia, Burkina Faso, and Sri Lanka……… This request will advance U.S. values and interests overseas”

Sri Lanka’s compact will focus on modernizing the country’s transportation and land management sectors. These interventions are aimed at reducing transport bottlenecks and congestion in the Western Province and between the Western Province and other regions; and optimizing the use of state lands for commercial purposes.”

https://www.mcc.gov/resources/story/story-cbj-fy2019-executive-summary

We have explained that the Indo-Pacific Strategy is the name we give to US policy. It describes what we Americans strive to do to protect and advance a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific Region,” US Ambassador Randy Berry to Nepal on MCC.

https://tkpo.st/2niJVdW

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia David J Ranz, said that the Millennium Challenge Corporation(MCC) where the US has put $500 million in grant to Nepal is part of the Indo-Pacific Strategy

http://bit.ly/2JCCLuk

MCC part of US National Security Strategy – https://www.jstor.org/stable/25261924?seq=1

Foreign Aid component is a key component of a comprehensive US national security strategy and every bit important as investment in military power (Is the Millennium Challenge Corporation Overstating Its Impact by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Foreign Affairs. Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and the Global Environment)

Republican lawmakers (Paul Ryan’s FY2015 budget) and, more recently, by the Heritage Foundation—calls for scaling back or phasing out the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and elevating the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) as the lead foreign assistance agency. https://www.cgdev.org/blog/should-trump-administration-cut-usaid-expand-mcc

https://www.heritage.org/global-politics/report/foreign-aid-congress-should-shift-usaid-funds-the-millennium-challenge (Congress should shift USAID funds to MCC proposal by Heritage Foundation)

ACSA signing was mooted by Prasad Kariyawasam who unknown to all was employed by the US federal government backed Agency for International Development (USAID) but working inside Sri Lanka’s Parliament.

M K Bhadrakumar says that US interference is ‘destabilizing’ Sri Lanka and that it is happening only because of ‘India’s passivity bordering acquiescence’ – it is unfortunate that India is going to be held accountable by Asia for destabilizing entire Asian continent.

WHAT IF family member end up working for MCC-PEACE CORPS in Sri Lanka & all are entitled to IMMUNITIES and TAX EXEMPTIONS?

Shenali D Waduge

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lanka has taken strong objection to the imposition of travel restrictions on Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva and his immediate family members by the Government of the United States, based on independently unverified information.

The media release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, published today (14), noted that Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva was appointed as the Commander of the Army by the then-Head of State, taking into account his seniority and that there were no substantiated or proven allegations of human rights violations against him.

His elevation as the Acting Chief of Defence Staff by the current Head of State President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was on account of his being the senior-most serving military officer,” it read further.

The Sri Lankan government also pointed out that the timing of this travel restriction six months after Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva’s appointment as the Army Chief is concerning.

It is disappointing that a foreign government should question the prerogative of the democratically elected President to call upon persons with proven expertise to hold key positions on national security-related matters,” the statement continued.

The Government of Sri Lanka has accordingly requested the United States to verify the authenticity of the sources of information and to review its decision.

The State Department of the United States today (14) designated Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva due to credible information of his involvement, through command responsibility, in gross violations of human rights, namely extrajudicial killings, by the 58th Division of the Sri Lanka Army during the final phase of Sri Lanka’s Civil War in 2009.”

The press statement of the State Department noted that this measure was taken under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act.

Section 7031(c) provides that, in cases where the Secretary of State has credible information that foreign officials have been involved in a gross violation of human rights or significant corruption, those individuals and their immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States.”

Hence, the immediate family members of Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva were also publicly designated and barred from entering the country

Courtesy Adaderana

The State Department of the United States has designated the Commander of Sri Lanka Army, Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva due to credible information of his involvement in gross violations of human rights”.

The press statement published by the State Department read that it will designate Shavendra Silva’s immediate family members as well.

The State Department’s complete statement is as follows: 

The Department of State has designated Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, current Commander of the Sri Lanka Army and Acting Chief of Defense Staff, as required under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, due to credible information of his involvement, through command responsibility, in gross violations of human rights, namely extrajudicial killings, by the 58th Division of the Sri Lanka Army during the final phase of Sri Lanka’s Civil War in 2009.

Section 7031(c) provides that, in cases where the Secretary of State has credible information that foreign officials have been involved in a gross violation of human rights or significant corruption, those individuals and their immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States.  The law also requires the Secretary of State to publicly or privately designate such officials and their immediate family members.  In addition to the public designation of Shavendra Silva, the Department is also designating his immediate family members.

The allegations of gross human rights violations against Shavendra Silva, documented by the United Nations and other organizations, are serious and credible.  His designation underscores the importance we place on human rights in Sri Lanka and globally, our concern over impunity for human rights violations and abuses, as well as our support for promoting accountability for those who engage in such acts.  We urge the Sri Lankan government to promote human rights, hold accountable individuals responsible for war crimes and human rights violations, advance security sector reform, and uphold its other commitments to pursue justice and reconciliation.

We deeply value our partnership with the Sri Lankan government and the long-standing democratic tradition we share with the Sri Lankan people.  The United States remains committed to strengthening the bilateral relationship with Sri Lanka and helping reshape its security forces to tackle current and emerging threats.  Security cooperation will continue to emphasize respect for human rights as a fundamental component of our training, assistance, and engagements.

The United States will continue to use all available tools and authorities, as appropriate, to address human rights violations and abuses around the world no matter when they occurred or who perpetrated them.  Today’s actions underscore our commitment to support human rights, promote accountability for perpetrators, and encourage reconciliation in support of a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Sri Lanka.

උපුටා ගැන්ම  හිරු පුවත්

පසුගිය ආණ්ඩුව සමයේ සතොස ආයතනයේ සිදුවූ බව කියන මූල්‍ය වංචාවකට අදාළ බවට සැක කෙරෙන ලිපි ගොනු සොයා ගත් වැල්ලවත්ත ප්‍රදේශයේ නිවස හිටපු අමාත්‍ය රිෂාඩ් බදියුදීන්ගේ බිරිඳ වන එම්.එම්. අයිෂාට අයත් නිවසක් බව අපරාධ පරීක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව, ගල්කිස්ස මහේස්ත්‍රාත් අධිකරණයට අද දැනුම් දුන්නා.

ඒ අනුව මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් හිටපු අමාත්‍ය රිෂාඩ් බදියුදීන්ගෙන් සහ ඔහුගේ බිරිඳගෙන් ප්‍රකාශයක් සටහන් කර ගැනීමට බලාපොරොත්තු වන බවයි එම දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව ගල්කිස්ස ප්‍රධාන මහේස්ත්‍රාත් මොහොඩ් මිහාල්ට කරුණු වාර්තා කරමින් සඳහන් කළේ.

>අපරාධ පරීක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ නියෝජ්‍ය පොලිස්පතිවරයාට සහ අධ්‍යක්ෂවරයාට ලද තොරතුරකට අනුව ගල්කිස්ස අධිකරණය හරහා ලබා ගත් නියෝගයක් මත අදාළ නිවස පරීක්ෂා කර තිබෙනවා.

එහිදී අදාළ නිවසේ තිබී ඉඩම් ඔප්පු 240 ක් සහ සතොස ආයතනයේ සිදුවූ මූල්‍ය වංචාවකට අදාළ බවට සැක කෙරෙන ලේඛන කිහිපයක් සොයා ගෙන ඇති අතර, එම නිවසේ සිටි ඉම්රාන් මොහොමඩ් නැමැති පුද්ගලයෙකු ද අත්අඩංගුවට ගැණුනා.

අදාළ ලිපි ලේඛන තොගය තුළ තිබී පොරොන්දු නෝට්ටු කිහිපයක් ද අපරාධ පරීක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව සොයා ගෙන ඇති අතර, නිවස භාරව සිට අත්අඩංගුවට ගත් පුද්ගලයාගෙන් සිදුකළ ප්‍රශ්න කිරීම් වලදී ඔහු ප්‍රකාශ කර ඇත්තේ අදාළ පොරොන්දු නෝට්ටු රුපියල් නව ලක්ෂ 35,000ක වටිනාකමින් යුක්ත ඒවා බවයි.

කෙසේ වෙතත්, අපරාධ පරීක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව සිදුකළ පරීක්ෂාවට අනුව ඒවායේ වටිනාකම රුපියල් නව කෝටි තිස් පන්ලක්ෂයක් බවට අනාවරණ වී තිබෙනවා.

මේ අතර, අත්අඩංගුවට ගත් සැකකරුගේ සහෝදරයෙකු සහ සේවකයෙකු සිද්ධියේ සාක්ෂිකරුවන් ලෙස හඳුනාගෙන ඇති බැවින් ඔහුට ඇප ලබාදීම විමර්ශනවලට බාධාවක් විය හැකි බවට අපරාධ පරීක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව අද අධිකරණයට කරුණු වාර්තා කළා.

ඒ අනුව, අදාළ කරුණු සලකා බැලූ ගල්කිස්ස ප්‍රධාන මහේස්ත්‍රාත්වරයා නියෝග කළේ නිවසේ සිටියදී අත්අඩංගුවට ගත් පුද්ගලයා මේ මස 28 වන දා දක්වා රක්ෂිත බන්ධනාගාර ගත කිරීමටයි.

Mahinda Gunasekera

Discussing the subject matter on Pathikada program today to try and figure out the large sums of money lost by the National Airline as a result of irregular Commissions availed of by the CEO and other unknown parties holding positions on the Airline’s Board and politicians who played role in the original order from AirBus and subsequent decision to cancel a segment of the original order resulting in penalties to be borne by the airline and payment of commissions to those negotiating terms with the supplier.

This ill-conceived order based on earning commissions by high ups and subsequent cancellation resulting in huge penalties, plus personal commissions extracted from the debt-ridden airline coming on top of the Central Bank Bond Scam is a double whammy that would sink the airline and the public who will be required to make good such losses.

The authorities concerned should get to the bottom of this scandalous robbery and ensure that the monies wrongly obtained are recovered and due punishment meted out.  Your suggestion to withhold voting any politician tainted with such dishonest conduct, and electing those free of any wrongdoing or corruption will serve the nation well.

The LINK to the Pathikada discussion is given below.

Sri Lankan Airlines Airbus , Bribery Scam-

https://youtu.be/TuSLMRnhhK

Mahinda Gunasekera

වරුණ චන්ද්‍රකීර්ති

23 වැනි ව්‍යවස්ථා සංශෝධනය – ඒ මොකක්ද?

2020 පෙබරවාරි 9 වැනි දා ඉරිදා “දෙරණ 24 – INSIGHT” වැඩසටහනට සහභාගී වී ඉදිරිපත් කළ අදහස්

මෙම වැඩසටහනේ දී අවධාරණය කෙරෙන “23 වැනි ව්‍යවස්ථා සංශෝධනය පනත් කෙටුම්පත” පහත සබැඳියෙන් බාගත කර ගන්න පුළුවන්.

https://files.fm/u/h7udmumn#/view/23A_Final.pdf

මාධ්‍ය නිවේදනය ශ්‍රී ලංකා මානව හිමිකම් කේන්ද්‍රය

කේන්ද්‍රය ඉල්ලයි. එහි අධ්‍යක්ෂිකා සුරංගි ආරියවංශ මහත්මිය පවසන්නේ මීගමුව කඩොලාන ශාක පද්ධතිය රැක ගැනීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් සෘජුව සිය විරෝධතාව දැක්වීම නිසා ඇය වෙත තර්ජන එල්ල වීමේ දැඩි අවධානයක් පවතින බවයි. මේ නිසා ඇයගේ රැකියාවේ සුරක්ෂිත භාවය සහ ආරක්ෂාව තහවුරු කිරීම රජයේ වගකීමක් වන බව  ආරියවංශ මහත්මිය පෙන්වා දෙයි.

එම සිදුවීම සමාජ මාධ්‍ය ඔස්සේ ප්‍රචාරය වීමත් සමඟ ඊයේ (12) පස්වරුවේ රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය සනත් නිශාන්ත මහතා ඒ සම්බන්ධයෙන් පැවැත්වූ මාධ්‍ය හමුවේදී ද ඇයගේ  ආරක්ෂාව අනතුරේ පවතින බව පිළිගනිමින්  “අනූ නමයෙන් බේරුණේ. මමයි බේරාගත්තේ නැත්තං එයාට  ගහනවා ” යනුවෙන් ප්‍රකාශයක් කර ඇති බව ශ්‍රී ලංකා මානව හිමිකම් කේන්ද්‍රය අවධාරණය කරයි.  එම ප්‍රකාශය වන සංරක්ෂන නිලධාරිනි දේවානි ජයතිලක මහත්මිය වෙත  අනියමින් එල්ල කළ බලපෑමක්  බව ද සුරංගි ආරියවංශ මහත්මිය පෙන්වා දෙයි. මේ නිසා සිව්දරු මවක් වන දේවානි ජයතිලක මහත්මියගේ ආරක්ෂාව .තහවුරු කිරීම මේ මෙහොතේ රජයේ වගකීමක් වන බව ආරියංවංශ මහත්මියගේ අදහසයි.

මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් ගරු ජනාධිපතිවරයාගෙන් සහ පොලිස්පතිවරයාගෙන් ශ්‍රී ලංකා මානව හිමිකම් කේන්ද්‍රය ලිඛිතව ඉල්ලිමක් කර ඇති බවද ආරියවංශ මහත්මිය සඳහන් කරයි. මෙම සිදුවීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් දේවානි ජයතිලක මහත්මියගේ වෘත්තිය ජීවිතයේ සහ පෞද්ගලික ජීවිතයේ ආරක්ෂාව වහා තහවුරු කළ යුතු බව එම ලිඛිත ඉල්ලීමෙහි දැක්වෙන බව ඇය සඳහන් කළාය.

මාධ්‍ය ඒකකය

ශ්‍රීලංකා මානව හිමිකම් කේන්ද්‍රය

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Cabinet spokesman, Minister Bandula Gunawardana said today the family members who accompanied Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on his visit to India last week had spent their own money for air tickets and accommodations.

He said this in response to a journalist at today’s weekly cabinet news briefing asking who footed the bill of the family members.

Courtesy Ada Derana

Former parliamentarian Mohamed Mussammil, today (13), lodged a complaint with the Inspector General of Police (IGP) against former Minister Rishad Bathiudeen.

The complaint has been lodged regarding the illegal transfers of money to a bank account of Bathiudeen in the United States.

It was recently revealed that Rishad Bathiudeen has been credited with US $ 100,000 to an American bank account between October 26 and December 16, 2018, when he was the Minister of Industry and Commerce.

Courtesy Ada Derana

Bridges must be built to create peace instead of creating distances between communities, says President’s Counsel Ali Sabry.

He expressed these views addressing a function held at Zahira College in Maradana last evening (12).

We in this country live in great fear and doubt of each other.

Muslims are always in fear that there would be an issue for them. On the other hand Sinhalese wonder when another bomb would blast. Both sides have fear.

We should build bridges to overcome this fear.

If we can get together and talk to each other, we will realize that no one in this country is conspiring against others.

And that all just want to develop the country in peace.”

Courtesy Ada Derana

The President and the Cabinet of Ministers will stand up for the District Forest Officer of Gampaha, who refused to bend the laws to construct a playground in a mangrove land in Negombo, says Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Bandula Gunawardana.

He stated this addressing the media briefing held this morning (13) to announce Cabinet decisions.

The government always stands up for public servants who act according to the law, the minister said continued.

During a meeting in Negombo, chaired by State Minister of Fisheries and Inland Fisheries Industry Sanath Nishantha on Monday (10), a group of residents of the area had demanded the construction of a Volleyball playground in part of the preserved mangrove land and engaged in a verbal clash with the said female District Forest Officer.

A video of the meeting went viral in which District Forest Officer, who stood her ground, could be seen flatly refusing to bend the law for this purpose despite the pressurization from the State Minister and the villagers.

The District Forest Officer emphasized the fact that the proposed land is preserved and belongs to the government and pointed out the need to protect ecosystems in the country.

Courtesy Hiru News

The OIC of the Colombo Crimes Division informed the Court today that he has not yet received necessary legal advice to arrest the interdicted High Court Judge Gihan Pilapitiya.

The case regarding telephone conversations between MP Ranjan Ramanayake and interdicted High Court Judge Gihan Pilapitiya was taken for hearing before Nugegoda Additional Magistrate H.U.K. Pelpola.

The Colombo Crimes Division OIC Neville De Silva said that since he has not received any legal instructions so far, he is not ready to obtain an arrest warrant on Judge Pilapitiya today as well.

Anyhow, the Attorney General’s Department informed the Court yesterday that the Acting IGP is not taking any action regarding this incident based on instructions issued by the Attorney General.

A President Counsel, Ali Sabri, who appeared for High Court Judge Gihan Pilapitiya stated that the chairman of the Bar Association president counsel Kalinga Indratissa has informed him and another 5 president counsels to look into this case and report the facts to him.

Later, Nugegoda Magistrate ordered to call the case again on February 26th.

Courtesy Hiru News

MP Nalin Bandara states that the UNP New alliance will contest under the heart symbol unless the UNP allows it to contest under the elephant symbol.

He was addressing a media conference held at the Opposition Leader’s Office this afternoon.

However, MP Naveen Dissanayake said that the heart symbol is sarcastic.

He was addressing a media conference held at the UNP Headquarters, Sirikotha.

උපුටා ගැන්ම  හිරු පුවත්

එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය ප්‍රමුඛ නව සන්ධානයට ‘‘අලියා’’ ලකුණ ලබා නොදෙන්නේ නම්, ‘‘හදවත’’ ලකුණෙන් තරඟ කරන බව පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී නලින් බණ්ඩාර පවසනවා.

මන්ත්‍රීවරයා මෙම අදහස් පළ කළේ විපක්ෂ නායක කාර්යාලයේ අද පස්වරුවේ පැවති මාධ්‍ය හමුවකට එක්වෙමින්.

කෙසේ වෙතත්, සිරිකොත එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂ මූලස්ථානයේ පැවති මාධ්‍ය හමුවකට එක්වූ එම පක්ෂයේ ජාතික සංවිධායක පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී නවීන් දිසානායක කියා සිටියේ හදවත ලකුණ හාස්‍ය ජනක සලකුණක් බවයි.

උපුටා ගැන්ම  හිරු පුවත්

තරගකාරී විභාග මූලික කරගත් අධ්‍යාපනික ක්‍රමය හේතුවෙන් මෙරට දරු පරපුරට දහම් අධ්‍යාපනය මෙන්ම නිදහස ද අහිමි වී ඇතැයි අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා පවසනවා.

සමස්ත ලංකා ශාසනාරක්ෂක බල මණ්ඩලයේ භික්ෂූන් වහන්සේ සමඟ ඊයේ පැවැති හමුවකදී අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා මේ බව ප්‍රකාශ කළා.

ඉරුදින සහ පොහොය දින උපකාරක පන්ති පැවැත්වීම තුළින් දහම් පාසල්වලට දරුවන්ගේ පැමිණීමේ ශීඝ්‍ර ලෙස අඩුවන බවට සමස්ත ලංකා ශාසනාරක්ෂක

බලමණ්ඩලයේ භික්ෂූන් වහන්සේ අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයාට පෙන්වා දුන්නා.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා එහිදී පැවසුවේ රජයක් වශයෙන් ඉරුදින දහම් පාසල් පැවැත්වීමට අවශ්‍ය සියලු සංවිධාන කටයුතු තමන් සිදුකරන බවයි.

උපුටා ගැන්ම  හිරු පුවත්

ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථා ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණය කිරීමේදී ඒ සදහා සිංහල බෞද්ධයින් ඇතුළත් නොවන්නේ නම් තමන් එම ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ පිළිනොගන්නා බවට අස්ගිරි පාර්ශ්වයේ ලේඛකාධිකාරී පූජ්‍ය මැදගම ධම්මානන්ද හිමියන් පවසනවා.

අද පස්වරුවේ කොළඹදී පැවති වැඩසටහනකදී උන්වහන්සේ මේ බව ප්‍රකාශ කළා.

යුතුකම සංවිධානය විසින් ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථා සංශෝධනය සිදුකළ යුතු ආකාරය පිළිබඳ සැකසුණු යෝජනාවලියක් ජනාධිපති ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ මහතාට පිරිනමනු ලැබුවා.

එම යෝජනාවලිය ප්‍රධාන කරුණු 5ක් යටතේ සකස් කර තිබෙනවා

(A Paper Published by the Sri Lanka Geo- Political Study Circle)

/contd from Part 1

Reading the draft MCC Agreement, America’s plan for Sri Lanka is clearly evident; their plan is to take-over Sri Lanka’s Land and subjugate the Island Nation to the US by replacing, Sri Lanka’s Parliament, Sri Lanka’s Administration and Sri Lanka’s Judiciary (in all matters and in all geographical locations connected with the American project) with a MCC-Parliament, a MCC-Judiciary and a MCC-Administration. (See Annex 1, page 34 of the draft MCC Agreement).

 The initial American Landgrab of Sri Lanka’s territory begins with the 2-Million Acre Corridor from TCO to CBO, the two Ports in TCO and CBO and all land covered by the proposed Japanese Monorail transport system, the latter under the MCC transport component.

 The TCO-CBO Corridor coveted by the Americans is replete with minerals and other resources. Furthermore, the area is a treasure trove of Sri Lanka’s rich cultural heritage.

 The draft MCC Agreement has not included a Cultural map of the land, in the US desired Corridor, that would reflect the precious history and heritage of our country which would be lost forever if the Agreement is signed.

 Not included either in the draft MCC Agreement is a detailed economic map of the US ‘focus-of-interest’ Corridor, indicating the values, the quantities, the qualities, the depths and extents of the diverse resources and minerals found therein.

 And gallingly, there is no environmental report on, how these minerals and resources should be extracted, what impact the extraction of such minerals and resources would have on the environment .

 Is there a business plan on how the wealth from the minerals and other resources would be shared?   

 If the draft MCC Agreement is signed, brought before Parliament and, in Parliament, a 2/3 majority obtained in favour of the draft Agreement, the Government would invoke Article 157 of the Constitution. From that point on, the MCC Agreement cannot be retracted.

 Article 157 lurks insignificantly, but menacingly, in the Constitution. It permits the conditions laid out in an Agreement – such as the draft MCC Agreement – to have the full force of the law once a resolution is appropriately passed in Parliament.

 Article 157 of the Constitution arguably allows the Constitution to be changed without getting the people’s mandate at a referendum.

 Gotabaya’s waffly conduct continues to worry about the people of Sri Lanka. Is this one of the prime reasons why Gotabaya is asking for a 2/3rd majority in Parliament so that he can obviate the need to go before the people and get their mandate if the Agreement is signed?

 The Americans appear to be jubilant at the way the Country is slithering forward.

 In the run-up to the Presidential Election, Gotabaya posed off as the champion of the anti-MCC Movement. But his subsequent conduct, after being elected, suggests that he had deliberately hoodwinked the 5.9 Million people who voted for him.

 Gotabaya appears to be suffering from a, ‘To-Hell-with-The-People’ syndrome, a common post-election condition that affects politicians across the board; his mind is now fogged. He does not know whether the MCC is inimical to the interest of the Country or not.

 In a sneaky move, Gotabaya has attempted to shy away from his responsibility by setting up, on 20 Dec 19, a committee of four to decide on the merits and demerits of the draft MCC Agreement.

 The Committee is headed by Gunaruwan from the pen of Western Economics; he is no stranger to the Pathfinder Foundation.

 Gotabaya should have known better; he cannot delegate responsibility. Indeed, when he went to battle on 16 Nov 19 and championed the anti-MCC cause on behalf of the Sri Lankan people, the people justifiably imagined that he had studied the battlefield thoroughly.

 Gunaruwan and his committee will be submitting their report only after the General Elections,

 But, by reading just annex 1 (page 34) of the draft MCC Agreement, not to speak of the other sections of the Agreement laden with more sell-out clauses, it is glaringly obvious to even the ‘not-so-erudite’ that the draft MCC Agreement is a total sell-out of Sri Lanka’s sovereignty to the Americans.

 It does not take 10 minutes to read, understand and digest annex 1 (Page 34) of the draft MCC Agreement to perceive the danger to the Country.

 This Study Circle exhorts the Committee to issue an interim report immediately, to warn the Government against signing the draft MCC Agreement and, to make the contents of that interim report available to the People. The main report can follow, as was previously instructed.

 It needs no emphasis that the Committee functions with the largesse of the people’s money and it is their country that is under attack, due to a secret deal made by the politicians and the Americans.

 This is the opportunity for the Committee to take their stand and save our Motherland; the people stand solidly behind you just as much as they would with the Survey Department which has been tasked unfairly by the Americans to accelerate the survey of the TCO-CBO Corridor in order to accelerate the issue of a million Land Grants.

 Without appropriate survey maps, the million Land Grants cannot be issued and without Land Grants, the MCC is stymied.

 This is the opportunity for the committee of four to underline their integrity and have their names written in Gold in the pages of Sri Lanka’s history for saving Sri Lanka. They and their families will be revered by all Sri Lankans and the unborn generations to come.

 The cost of conducting a Presidential Election is heavy and this burden is borne by the people of this country.

 If the presumption given afore, about Gotabaya posing off as a Champion in the anti MCC campaign and his subsequent selective amnesia is accurate, Gotabaya has deliberately misled the people; his (and his team’s) dishonesty about a crucial issue affecting the future of the Country has made the Election meaningless and he has thereby subverted democracy.

 Going on the same presumption re Gotabaya’s conduct, as far as the people are concerned, the money expended on the Election has been spent on a meaningless exercise, made meaningless by Gotabaya and his teams’ seemingly dishonest disposition.

 The people opine that Gotabaya and his team in such a scenario should account to the people for this colossal waste of their money.

 We, in this study circle, hope and pray that our presumptions are inaccurate

 Some people are posing the question today. Is Gotabaya a Crypto-American?

 Gotabaya, albeit a good Administrator, is politically naïve; his naivete has been frequently exposed when making Reagan-like public utterances. 

 A classic gaffe is about Sri Lanka being a Neutral country when the Country’s committed policy, as a founding member of the Movement, is one of Non-Alignment.

 ‘Neutrality’ may be his personal opinion perhaps; but the people do not give a toss for his personal opinion. He is the people’s representative and he must be mindful of the people’s opinion. He has not been empowered by the people to change a Country’s Foreign Policy according to his whims and fancies.

 Or was that remark made on the advice of his mercenary American-advisors whom Gotabaya has surrounded himself with? It appears that the ‘Pathfinder’ Foundation is  

Provided by Daily News (via HT Media Ltd.) President Gotabaya Rajapaksa receives the ‘Study on Managing Foreign Policy and Relations with the UN System’ from Pathfinder Foundation Chairman Bernard Goonetilleke.

educating Gotabaya on the rudiments of Foreign Policy

 As a politician, Gotabaya does not have a vote base to speak of; he came to power on the shoulders of Mahinda Rajapakse, a charismatic personality who has a genuine feel for his Motherland.

 People recall with pride how Mahinda handled Miliband, Kouchner and Blake during the critical stages of the terrorist war. 

 Mahinda is a hero in the eyes of the Sri Lankan people; a part of that shine rubbed off on Gotabaya, because of his good Administration, during the war against Eelam terrorism. The Rajapakse name is consequently etched in the hearts of Sri Lanka’s rural families.

 But from hero to zero is but a step away. One act of treachery, like Gotabaya signing the draft MCC Agreement and surrendering the Country to the Americans, would tar all Rajapakses with the same brush; it would drag the Rajapakse name from its revered pedestal into the dust bin of Sri Lanka’s history.

/to be continued

මාධ්‍ය ඒකකය කැෆේ සංවිධානය

ඉදිරි මැතිවරණයකදී තැපැල් ඡන්දය ප්‍රකාශ කිරීමේ අවස්ථාව පෞද්ගලික අංශයේ සේවකයින්ටත් ලබා දෙන්නැයි කැෆේ සංවිධානය ඉල්ලයි. මැතිවරණ කොමිසම වෙත ලිපියක් යොමු කරමින් එම සංවිධානය මෙම ඉල්ලීම කර තිබේ. ජනාධිපතිවරණයකට සාපේක්ෂව ගත් කළ  මහ මැතිවරණ, පළාත් සභා , සහ ප්‍රාදේශිය සභා මැතිවරණ සඳහා ඡන්දය ප්‍රකාශ කිරීමේ අඩු උනන්දුවක් ජනතාව තුළ පවතින  බැවින්  අගනුවර හෝ වෙනත් ප්‍රධාන නගර ආශ්‍රිතව පුද්ගලික අංශයේ අත්‍යවශ්‍ය සේවාවල නිරතවන්නන් ආදී පිරිස් ඡන්දය ප්‍රකාශ කිරීම සඳහා සිය ගම්බිම් වලට යාමට මැළි කමක් දක්වන බව එම ලිපියේ දැක්වෙයි.

මැතිවරණයකදී ඡන්දය ප්‍රකාශ කිරීම සඳහා පුද්ගලික අංශයේ සේවකයින්ට අදාල ඡන්ද මධ්‍යස්ථානයට ඇති දුර සලකා බලමින් ඒ අනුව ඔවුන් වෙත නිවාඩු ලබා දෙන ක්‍රමවේදයක් මේ වනවිට ක්‍රියාත්මක වෙයි. නමුත් ඇතැම් දුර බැහැර පදිංචිකරුවන්ට ඡන්දය ප්‍රකාශ කිරීම සඳහා පමණක් මුදල් වැය කරමින් පැමිණ යළි  එසැනින් ආපසු යාම යනාදී කරුණු බරපතල ගැටළු සහගත තත්වයක් නිර්මාණය කර ඇති බව එම ලිපියේ සඳහන් වෙයි. මීට පිලියම් වශයෙන් ඇතැම් අය  ඡන්දය දිනය සහ ඊට පෙර හෝ පසු දින සිය පෞද්ගලික නිවාඩු අයදුම් කර ඡන්දය ප්‍රකාශ කිරීමට පැමිණෙන අතර මේ නිසා ආයතනික කාර්යක්ෂමතාවයද හීන වී යන බව කැෆේ සංවිධානයේ අදහසයි.

මෙම කරුණු සැලකිල්ලට ගනිමින් විශේෂයෙන්ම පෞද්ගලික රෝහල්, ආරක්ෂක සේවා, හෝටල්, ඇඟලුම්  වැනි  අංශවල සේවයේ නිරත පෞද්ගලික සේවකයින්ට ද තැපැල් ඡන්දය ප්‍රකාශ කිරීම සඳහා සුදුසු ක්‍රමවේදයක් සකසන මෙන් මෙම ලිපිය මඟින් ඉල්ලා තිබේ. කැෆේ සංවිධානයේ විධායක අධ්‍යක්ෂ අහමඩ් මනාස් මකීන් මහතාගේ අත්සනින් යුතුව  මෙම ලිපිය යොමු කර තිබේ.

මාධ්‍ය ඒකකය

කැෆේ සංවිධානය

Media Unit CaFFE Organization

Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) yesterday urged the Commission of Elections to expand postal voting to cover private-sector workers. Writing to the Commission, CaFFE Executive Director, Manas Makeen said that people’s interest in voting at general, provincial and local council elections is less, compared to Presidential Election.

“Therefore people employed at essential services in the private sector are not that interested in returning home to vote. Those in the private sector are given leave, calculated according to the distance to their home from the office. However, this only allows time to reach home, vote and return. This is not an attractive proposition to those who have to travel long distances,” Makeen said in the letter.

Expanding the postal vote for those employed in private hospitals, security firms, hotels, and garments would allow these workers to cast their vote with ease. Given that a general and provincial council election is to be held this year, CaFFE urged the Elections Commission to consider their request.

Media Unit

CaFFE Organization

By Shamindra Ferdinando Courtesy The Island

A Simmering controversy over massive kickbacks received by former CEO of SriLankan Airlines Kapila Chandrasena and his wife Priyanka Niyomali Wijenayaka to influence the acquisition of 10 airbuses and leasing of four other aircraft and the subsequent termination of the leasing agreements for three aircraft, A 350-900, has taken a new turn with a revelation that the then Public Enterprise Minister Kabir Hashim informed the Cabinet that the national carrier on Oct 04, 2016, had finalized three early termination agreements without the approval of the line ministry (Public Enterprise Development), the Cabinet and the Attorney General.

Chandrasena and his wife are in remand pending investigations. They are to be produced before the Fort Magistrate’s court again on Feb. 19.

Sources said that the national carrier had sought Cabinet approval on Oct 28, 2016, to terminate leasing agreements, more than three weeks after finalising them.

The total amount of compensation paid to AerCap leasing Company was not known yet though SriLankan referred to USD 98 mn as the payment in case certain conditions were met by the airline, but the paper presented by the airline placed the amount at USD 154 mn, sources said.

The national carrier initiated re-fleeting project during the 2010-2015 Rajapaksa administration and the termination of leasing contracts on three aircraft was effected during the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration.

Although Public Enterprise Development Minister Hashim, on President Maithripala Sirisena’s advice, on Feb 02, 2017, briefed the Cabinet on the termination of aircraft leasing agreements, the government refrained from initiating an inquiry.

UNP MP Mujibur Rahman recently called for the setting up of a Presidential Commission of Inquiry to probe the Sri Lankan re-fleeting plan.

SriLankan negotiated with AerCap though original agreements had been reached with International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC). Neither the line ministry nor the Cabinet was not informed why SriLankan had negotiated with AerCap in the absence of any provision to do so in terms of the original agreements with the ILFC.

All papers related to the termination of leasing agreements hadn’t been submitted to Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CCEM) and the Cabinet.

According a memorandum dated Feb 08, 2017 submitted to the Cabinet, in response to President Sirisena’s directive, the Finance Ministry, on Oct 26, 2016, outlined the process followed by the national carrier in termination of the lease agreements. However, the line ministry hadn’t been involved in the decision making process, sources said, adding that SriLankan was on record as having informed the Cabinet that it gone ahead with the termination as the Finance Ministry raised no objections.

SriLankan also claimed that the Prime Minister, too, had approved the process, according to the Cabinet paper dated Feb 02, 2020.

The line ministry received a copy of the termination agreement late January 2017, three months after the signing of it.

AerCap forfeited USD 7.5 mn paid as a security deposit. Inquiries revealed that the aircraft lease termination had been carried out under controversial circumstances with the line ministry informing the Cabinet that commercial agreements entered into by the national carrier didn’t require approval the Attorney General’s approval.

Courtesy Ada Derana

India’s Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the signing and ratification of the protocol amending the agreement between India and Sri Lanka for the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion in respect to taxes on income.

The move entails the updation of preamble text and inclusion of Principal Purpose Test, a general anti-abuse provision in the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA), which will result in curbing of tax planning strategies which exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules.

An official release said that the existing DTAA between India and Sri Lanka was signed on January 22, 2013, and came into force on October 22 that year.

India and Sri Lanka are members of the Inclusive Framework and are required to implement the minimum standards under G-20 OECD BEPS (base erosion and profit shifting) Action Reports in respect of their DTAAs with Inclusive Framework countries.

Minimum standards under BEPS Action 6 can be met through the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (MLI) or through agreement bilaterally.

India is a signatory to the MLI. However, Sri Lanka is not a signatory to the MLI as of now.

Therefore, amendment of the India-Sri Lanka DTAA bilaterally is required to update the preamble and also to insert Principal Purpose Test (PPT) provisions to meet the minimum standards on treaty abuse under Action 6 of G-20 OECD BEPS project,” the release said.

Source: ANI
-Agencies

Pushpakumara Mallawarachchi Courtesy The Daily Mirror

A proposal to construct a playground in the Kadolkele mangrove of the Negombo lagoon had been withdrawn following the strong stand taken by the Gampaha District Forest Officer Devani Jayathilaka at meeting chaired by the Fisheries and Inland Fisheries Industry State Minister Sanath Nishantha Perera on Monday (10).

A video containing the footage of the discussion where some residents of the area are verbally clashing with the forest officer asking her to allow the construction of the playground, has gone viral on social media.         

The forest officer who sticks to her stand flatly rejected the proposal saying it is illegal to construct the playground within the mangrove, which has been designated as a protected ecosystem by the government.       

She proceeded to say that the proposal had been made only heeding to the voice of the people but not giving priority to the scientific facts and possible environmental hazards.

This is an ecosystem. The proposed land belongs to the government. We have an aim at increasing forest cover in the country. Still, we are lacking thousands of hectares of Mangrove areas,” she said. ()

By : A.A.M.NIZAM – MATARA

The Prime Minister Mr. Mahinda Rajajapaksa has returned to the country after ending a very successful exultant 4 days official visit to India.  He has boldly and candidly spoken on the envisaged Indo-Sri Lankan relationship and ties with other countries, measures to be taken to rescue the Tamils in the North and East from racist political oppressions, rejection of myopic agreements made by the former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe, and on the firm policy of non-bartering of Sri Lanka’s National assets and natural resources. and about the steps to be taken in respect of the Hambantota Harbour which has been leased to China by the Sirisrena/Wickremasinghe government without any foresight.

Almost all the Indian newspapers, the popular websites , weekly magazines and All India Radio gave extensive coverage to give publicity to all aspects of the Prime Minister’s visit.  He has held one to one official talks with the Indian Primne Minister Narendra Modi, President  Ram Nath Kovind, External Affairs Minister S.Jaishanker and several Indian Ministers. 

The Prime Minister has given two very fruitful interviews to two prominent and internationally reputed Indian journalists Suhasini Haider (SH) of the Indian newspaper the Hindu and Ms. Padma Rao Sundarji (PRS) of Hindustan Times.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa during an interview with The Hindu in New Delhi on February 8, 2020.   |

SH says that in the outset Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR) who  met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi,told The Hindu about his hopes for debt-restructuring, and also about projects now on the anvil, although his government will not carry forward the projects agreed to by the previous Sirisena/Wickremasinghe  Sri Lankan government.

Whem SH asked about non-announcement of any agreements after discussions at some length with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, MR has said that they did speak about several projects, some of which India is interested and it was a fruitful and successful meet, for both side., Mr. Rajapaksa who is also the Minister of Housing in the new government has said he housing project is something that is a priority area for Sri Lanka, and he has  asked for more funding from India for that. MR has explained about the new initiative taken by him to cover the whole country, every village for building houses, and has stated that Sri Lanka like to get some support for that. Apart from housing, he has said that there were several projects they discussed.

SH has pointed out that in April 2017, the previous Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe signed a MoU on economic cooperation for infrastructure projects, including energy and oil projects in Trincomalee that India has been keen on and has asked whether these matters were discussed?

In response MR has said that they didn’t discuss the Trinco projects, but did talk about the Eastern Terminal [in Colombo] which India and Japan are jointly investing in, and about the LNG terminal. Mr. Rajapaksa has asserted that whatever was signed [in 2017] was not even pursued by the last government and President Sirisena actually rejected all the projects PM Wickremesinghe had signed and hence the present government is not responsible for those projects. He has said that the Mattala airport project is also out. Mr. Rajapaksa has stated that his government has a firm policy on not allowing any national resources to be given to foreign control.

When SH stated that an additional $50 million from the Indian Line of Credit India offered during President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s Indian visit  have been earmarked for security cooperation, especially after the Easter Sunday bombings last year and asked what was decided about that fund. MR has responded saying that we have decided that we must have more intelligence sharing now, and increase the technical assistance from India, as well as training. On the Easter bombings, we have an ongoing investigation into the conspiracy, and a commission is looking into it. We hope that India will continue to help us on that. I n addition, we want to continue our earlier pre-2015 project for trilateral terror and security cooperation between Maldives-India- Sri Lanka. We might have the meeting for that as soon as possible, possibly in the Maldives and discuss how to take the trilateral idea forward.

Stating that defence secretary Mr. Kamal Gunaratne has also spoken of security and intelligence sharing with Pakistan, SH asked won’t the balance prove difficult, given India’s concerns about terror emanating from Pakistan, which has also held up the SAARC process, MR has responded saying that we are a friendly country and we have friendly ties with all countries in the region and we are friendly with China too. But the Indian relationship is much stronger and very important for us. I couldn’t discuss the SAARC process with PM Modi, as I know that India is not very interested in the summit, especially since the next meeting is due to be held in Pakistan. I do believe that we have already gone a considerable distance with building SAARC and that should be continued. Now there is also the BIMSTEC grouping.

When SH said that both PM Modi here and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, when he visited Colombo have made a point of their concerns for the Tamil population in Sri Lanka, and the expectations India has from your government and asked how do you respond ,MR has said that wee have always understood these concerns and explained soon after the war ended in 2009, we had elections, and we allowed the North to select their own Chief Minister. We held those elections despite knowing we would lose them. But nothing moved after that. We are now expecting to hold our parliamentary elections this April, and after that the provincial council elections. We will appoint a team to go to Jaffna to discuss the way forward.

When SH said that the way forward on devolution of powers, as was promised in the 13th amendment MR has responded well, it all has to be discussed. We want to go forward, but we need to have someone to discuss, who can take responsibility for those areas. So the best thing is to hold elections, and then ask for their representatives to come and discuss the future with us. At the moment the TNA (Tamil National Alliance) is not interested in talks. They are asking for things, which the majority community in Sri Lanka will not accept.

President Gotabaya has prioritized development over devolution as the way forward. Is there a difference between your positions?

No, no. People need development. They have suffered for 30 years without it. So first we have to develop the area.

When SH said that there has been a controversy over the decision to drop the National Anthem in Tamil during Sri Lanka’s national day ceremony, and asked how you reassure Tamils if this is the signal sent out MR has explained it saying if you look around the world, the national anthem is sung primarily in one language. In India, you have so many languages, yet on your national days, you sing it one language. Our structure is the same. When I go to Jaffna, to a Tamil school, they sing the anthem in Tamil. We have no objection if people want to sing it in their way. He has emphasized that some political figures are raising this issue; but the general public is not interested in this issue.

Referring to the economy. SH has said that your biggest challenge this year will be servicing the domestic and foreign debt, which totals about $60 billion and has asked how do you plan to deal with this issue, MR  has responded that it is indeed a worry and that is something he discussed with the Indian government as well, and have asked if we could get a moratorium on all loan repayments for three years, until we can revive the economy. He has said that if the Indian government takes this step, then other governments might agree to do the same thing, including China. He has emphatically pointed out that the previous government took so many loans, they beggared the economy, and it is a mess. It all depends on the stand India takes, he has added.

This year alone, you have to pay about $5 billion to service the debt, the highest in Sri Lankan history. Will you be able to do that SH has asked.

MR has responded that we have to do it, and we will manage somehow. He has said that we don’t want to default on our debt no matter what happens.

Responding to a question asked by SH whether President Gotabaya when he goes to Beijing will raise the question of giving back Hambantota harbour to Sri Lanka,he has said that we are discussing it, but it is difficult, as the previous government had already completed the handover of control. He has said that he thinks China may agree to the request on some terms, and we will keep the negotiations going.

As regards the statement made by the  Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to Colombo that China will ensure that there is no outside interference in Sri Lank and the query made by SH  whether it was an indication to the US, or to India or some other country, MR has said that he doesn’t know about it and she will have to ask him that (laughs). MR has stated that Sri Lanka didn’t take the statement too seriously, as no one has yet tried to interfere in our matters… other than during the last elections 2015. Then, all the countries got involved in the elections but now we would like to have good relations and work with all the countries.

Responding to a question as to Sri Lanka will move forward on the 19th amendment, that shifts power from the Presidency to the PM and parliament, MR has said that first of all, we have to get rid of the 19th amendment. Then we will think about how we will move forward and has revealed that the former Law Minister G.L. Peiris is already studying it, and we will take opinions on what to do. At the moment, neither the President nor the Parliament has clear powers. So we do have to decide on the division of power and the majority of voters in Sri Lanka voted for President Gotabaya, and that means people want him to have some control of the country’s development and governance, and we must respect that.

Given that the President is also your brother, could the tussle over the 19th amendment cause problems between you?

No, no, no. The way the present constitution is structured and the confusion with the 19th amendment, only two brothers like Gota and I can handle this (Laughs). Otherwise no President and PM will ever agree on this issue, he has pointed out,.

Finally, SH has asked what does it feel like to be back here as Prime Minister, after five years, when you visited, but were out of power?

Well, I am grateful to PM Modi for inviting me and receiving me both when I was out of power and now. I never felt the difference, in that sense. Whenever he is ready to visit Sri Lanka now, we are ready to welcome him Mr, Rajapaksa has said.

In his interview with Journalist and Author Ms. Padma Rao Sundarji for Hindustan Times, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has said that ‘India a relation for us, while other nations are friends’

The Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR) has spoken to Padma Rao Sundarji(PRS) about Sri Lanka’s relationship with Pakistan, which India accuses of being involved in cross-border terrorism; proposed changes to Tamil provincial councils instead of giving them greater autonomy under the constitution’s 13th amendment; and the island nation’s strategic ties with China, which is its largest investor.

Suicide attacks by Islamist bombers who killed more than 200 people and injured hundreds in Colombo last year. But you’ve been discussing the same issue with Pakistan, which, for India, is the fountainhead of state-sponsored terror. Isn’t that a contradiction?

A:We are against terrorism, wherever it comes from. So we discuss the subject with both India and Pakistan, and will continue to do so. And by the way, both Pakistan and India helped us to end the 30-year-long war against another kind of terrorism: that of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Pakistan gave us weapons and planes. India too helped, but didn’t want to publicise it at the time. Why, without India’s help, I don’t think we would have won that war.

Q: From western investigators to Indian intelligence, many have warned that Pakistan has for years used its diplomatic presence in Colombo to radicalise Sri Lankan Muslims and to encircle India with hostile Islamist groups in neighbouring countries. Given this backdrop, can India take discussions with Sri Lanka on counterterrorism seriously?

A:We don’t know about those charges, since we didn’t receive that information. But now, of course, we can see what’s going on and have to take action. Look, India and Pakistan — you have your own problems. But that is your internal matter. Whether Islamist terrorism or another kind, we must have some form of cooperation with India. We must exchange views and information. Prior to the Easter suicide bomb attacks in Colombo last April, India shared warnings and intelligence, even on the morning of the attacks itself. But our previous government didn’t take them seriously. That is why those heinous attacks happened. We have appointed a commission now to look into that tragic lapse. The inspector general of police and the defence secretary of the time were taken into custody and released earlier this week.

Q: The Pakistan Navy chief was in Colombo this month, the Pakistan Air Force chief is currently on a visit — there is a constant stream of military visitors from Pakistan to Sri Lanka. Earlier this week, Sri Lankan media quoted its high commissioner as urging Sri Lanka to condemn India for lifting Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir. Isn’t this an interference in your bilateral relationship with India?

A: Look, whatever the view of any country, we will not get involved in the internal matters of India. But remember this: I always say India is a relation. Others are friends.

Q: India wants Sri Lanka to implement the 13th amendment to your constitution, which led to the creation of Provincial Councils in the Tamil-dominated areas and urges maximum autonomy for them. But President Gotabaya Rajapaksa suggested recently that the councils may be redundant. Will they be abolished?

A: No, on the contrary, we are going to strengthen the system of provincial councils. But then, those councils must use what we give them for the development of the North and East regions. Up to now, that didn’t happen. We gave them money for development; instead of trying to help the people of those areas, they returned the money and we did all the development. Even the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), which is well-represented in our parliament was never interested in development. All they were talking about was devolution and creating a separate state for Tamils.

Q: A Free Trade Agreement with India is stuck because Sri Lankans fear an onslaught of Indian goods on the small Sri Lankan markets. Did you discuss it with your counterparts?

A: No. Right now, we’re working on specific projects that will build up to, and give everyone the confidence to finally ink an FTA.

Q: China is your largest investor. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi says China is Sri Lanka’s strategic partner. Your brother, too, notes the strategic nature of your port of Hambantota, which was built by the Chinese and on which they have a 99-year-lease and massive equity. Please define this ‘strategic’ relationship?

A: China helped us for the sake of development, that is all. Our war had shattered our country, we needed help to develop; they were ready, so why not? We took their money and developed that area. Hambantota is a valuable strategic asset because of its location, right in the middle of the Indian Ocean. It is sensitive geographical space. Unfortunately, the previous government literally gave it to China by swapping debt for equity and signing that lease. We would not have done the same and are trying to find a way out along with the Chinese now.

Q:   But the Chinese foreign minister also said that China will ‘not allow outside influences to interfere’ in Sri Lanka. That is open to interpretation. How will you assuage India’s apprehension on this front?

Since India is not interfering in our domestic matters that statement is not meant for India which has never interfered. In fact, even India has made similar statements, that you will always protect us. And I am absolutely sure you will. Look, that is China’s view; ultimately, we Sri Lankans have to decide on what is interference and what is not.

Q: The United States is pushing you to sign and renew a Millennium Compact Account (MCA) and a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). The reworked terms of the latter may enable the US to put boots on the ground in your country. Are you going to sign them?

A: We have appointed a commission to look into both those agreements.

Q: Big power alliances are swarming all over the Indian Ocean. There’s the Quad on the one hand, and big powers such as China and Russia on the other. Will Sri Lanka join the Quad if asked?

A: That has not yet come up for discussion but we would have to talk it out among ourselves first and if we want to do it, we would have to first go to our cabinet. Whatever we do, Sri Lanka will assert its own interests first.

Q: Sri Lanka is part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. (BRI). But it is under fire from many countries around the world for its ‘debt-trap’ development. Do you share those concerns?

A: Sri Lanka has received a lot of benefits from being part of BRI. By the way, let me remind you – our external debt towards China is only 12% of our overall external debt, and we have not defaulted. We used whatever money we took from them to build infrastructure.

Indian weekly India Today” said that After Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa backed India’s decision bringing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) by calling it an “internal” matter of India, the same was resonated by his minister Arumugan Thondaman Sri Lanka’s Minister of Community Empowerment and Estate Infrastructure Development. Mr. Thondaman, is one of the two Tamil Ministers in the 15 member Sri Lanka cabinet, in an exclusive conversation with India Today TV said that the citizenship legislation is for minorities from “friendly” and “neighbourhood” nations but Sri Lankan Tamil refugees needn’t have been included in it since “they are a  family”.

Calling it an “internal” matter, Arumugan Thondaman said, “It is your internal matter and I am convinced that the relationship we have with India is different from others. It is like the stepmother or your own kid. We are your own kid. They are friendly but we are family.”

Justifying Modi government’s decision and backing it, he said, “India has to protect itself and we cannot comment on India’s policy formulation which is done for the best of India’s interests.”

“I am confident that Sri Lankan government will realise expectations of Tamil people for equality, justice, peace within united Sri Lanka I am confident the government will work towards reconciliation,” Modi had said during a joint press briefing in New Delhi on Saturday.

Interestingly, while the Sri Lankan minister assured speedy resettlement, he also blamed the past administration for going slow on the process to “tarnish” the image of the country internationally.

India Today said that the fishermen issue was also largely discussed by both the sides during bilateral talks on Saturday.

“Indian government fishermen indulge in bottom trawling which Sri Lankan has objected to.

To questions on the looming fear among Tamil and Muslim population of Sri Lanka with the return of the Rajapaksa government, minister Thondaman assured that nobody has anything to fear in his country and if you are a Sri Lankan, you don’t have to fear anything. I am a Sri Lankan and a minority and I have no fear,” said the confident minister.

This, despite the fact that there were reports of the national anthem not being allowed to be sung in Tamil on the occasion of the 72nd Independence Day of Sri Lanka. He rubbished the reports and said, “There was no such decision. These are rumours. How it has been for all these years it will continue to be so. Whatever has been happening from day one will continue.”

He also blamed critics for fanning controversy due to the lack of any credible criticism against Rajapaksa government. He said, “Sri Lanka is a Buddhist country and we are co-living. There are many who sing in Tamil and nobody is asking them to stop it. Ask those who are creating a controversy because the Opposition has no other issue that they can criticise the current government on.”

He also said, “Under Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, things are falling in line.”

The two sides also spoke at length on the issue of counter-terrorism efforts. To a question on the dastardly attack on Easter Sunday in April last year, blaming the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration of inaction, the minister said, “The unfortunate incident of Easter attack was negligence. The then government neglected the intelligence given by India. Security was in place but information was neglected, so we paid for it. Now, things will change.”

The members of Prime Minister’s delegation comprised Ministers Douglas Devananda, Arunmugam Thondaman, MP Prasanna Ranaweera,  Secretary to the President Dr. P.B.Jayasundera, Secretary to the Prime Minister Mr. Gamini Senarath, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance Mr. S.R.Atygalle, Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mr. Ravinath Ariyasinghe and the former Minister Peof. G.L.Peiris,

The Prime Minister also visited several Buddhist and Hindu religious sites during this visit.

By Janaka Perera

In the wake of the hullabaloo over MP Ranjan Ramanayake’s phone call recordings, a retired senior police officer recalls how a politician attempted with a phone call to obstruct the path of justice. 

It was at the height of the JVP’s second insurgency (1987-90) when a number of so-called bhikkhus were involved with the insurgents.  Former DIG Terry Amarasekera – then Senior SP – in charge of the Mount Lavinia Division.  He had instructed the then Headquarter Inspector Mount Lavinia Nimal Mahagamage to go with a team to arrest one of these robed rebels. The latter was arrested in Matara and locked up after being brought to Colombo by the HQI and party.

Apparently the monk had some connections with the ruling party despite being a fiery anti-government activist hailing from a province which was a hotbed of JVP activity.

Late in the night after the arrest, Tyronne Fernando, then Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, rang SSP Amarasekera had ordered the suspect be released immediately.  When the SSP refused the Minister wanted the suspect to be bailed out. When that request too was refused Fernando had tried to have Amarasekera transferred to Jaffna.

When the latter conveyed this to the then Inspector-General of Police Cyril Herath, a legendary police chief, he prevented the transfer to Jaffna and instead got SSP Amarasekera transferred to Police Headquarters, Colombo.  When the SSP asked IGP Herath the reason for the sudden transfer the IGP, according to Amarasekera, had replied:

Gamini Lokuge and Ranil Wickremesinghe wanted you transferred. You can work here as Director Special Investigations Unit at Headquarters. You may come in the morning and go in the evening.”

Later, Terry Amarasekera was promoted DIG and posted to the Uva Province. He kept a record having served in Uva for five years and three months before retirement.

Cyril Herath though he served as IGP only for three years he performed an exemplary service.

දහදිය සිත්තම වැඩකරන ජනතා කලා උළෙල. (ජාතික වෘත්තීය සමිති මධ්‍යස්ථානය.)

ජනමාධ්‍ය නිවේදනය හා ආරාධනයයි

දහදිය සිත්තම ‘‘ජයලත් මනෝරත්න උපහාර’’ කෙටි නාට්‍ය උළෙල අපේ රටේ රාජ්‍ය හා අර්ධ රාජ්‍ය, පෞද්ගලික හා වතු ක්‍ෂේත‍්‍රයන්හි සේවයේ නියුතු ජනතාවගේ නිර්මාණශීලී හැකියාවන් වර්ධනය කිරීම, වැඩිදියුණු කිරීම හා ජනගත කිරීමේ අරමුණු සහිතව මෙම කලා උළෙල වසර 12 ක් පුරාවට අඛණ්ඩව සිදුකරනු ලබයි. වැඩකරන ජනතාවගේ නිර්මාණශීලී හැකියාවන් එකම වේදිකාවක ඇගයීමට ලක්කරන ලාංකීය එකම කලා උළෙල මෙම උළෙල බවද සිහිපත් කරමු.

ඊට සමගාමීව වාර්ෂිකව සිදුකරන දහදිය සිත්තම කෙටි නාට්‍ය උළෙල පෙබරවාරි 13 සවස 2.00 ට මරදාන ටවර් රඟහලේදී පැවැත්වීමට කටයුතු යොදා ඇත.

දහදිය සිත්තම කෙටි නාට්‍ය උළෙල වෙනුවෙන් පුරා වසර 12 ක් තිස්සේ කරනු ලැබූ දායකත්වය සිහිකරමින් මෙවර කෙටි නාට්‍ය උළෙල ‘‘ජයලත් මනෝරත්න උපහාර’’ උළෙලක් ලෙස පැවැත්වීමට සාහිත්‍ය අනුකමිටුව තීරණය කරන ලදී.

එම කෙටි නාට්‍ය උළෙල පළමු වටයේ පිටපත් විනිශ්චයකින් අනතුරුව දෙවන වටයේ විනිශ්චය වෙනුවෙන් වේදිකාගත කර අවසන් වටය සඳහා සුදුසුකම් ලැබූ කෙටි නාට්‍ය අවසන් උළෙල වෙනුවෙන් ඉදිරිපත් වීමට නියමිතව ඇත. වේදිකාගත කිරීමට නියමිත කෙටි නාට්‍ය,
හේෂාන් කුරුප්පු අධ්‍යක්‍ෂණය කල බෝම්බ ගැහුවට කමක් නෑ අපි සින්දු කියමු
ගාමිණී ප‍්‍රනාන්දු අධ්‍යක්‍ෂණය කල සිල්ලර මිනිස්සු
පේ‍්‍රමරත්න තෙන්නකෝන් අධ්‍යක්‍ෂණය කල වෘක අස්වැන්න
චතුරංග පෙරේරා අධ්‍යක්‍ෂණය කල ස්පෙෂල් ඩොට් කොම්
චරිත් මධුරංග අධ්‍යක්‍ෂණය කළ අන්කලූයි මමයි
සරත්චන්‍ද්‍ර වල්පොල අධ්‍යක්‍ෂණය කල කර්ටර්න් කෝල්

පෙබරවාරි 13 දින සවස 2.00 ට මරදාන ටවර් රඟහලේ පැවැත්වෙන කෙටි නාට්‍ය උළෙල නැරඹීම සඳහා ඇතුල්වීමේ ගාස්තු අය නොකරන අතර කලාකාමී සියලූ සහෘදයින්ට මේ හා සම්බන්ධ වන මෙන් විවෘතව ආරාධනා කරන්නෙමු.

මෙම කලා කටයුත්ත පිළිබඳව ඔබ මාධ්‍ය ආයතනයෙන් ප‍්‍රචාරය කරන මාධ්‍යයන් වල පූර්ව ප‍්‍රචාරක කටයුත්තක් කර දෙන මෙන් කාරුණිකව ඉල්ලා සිටින අතර, එදින එම කටයුත්ත ආවරණය කිරීම සඳහා ද ආරාධනා කරමු.

ස්තූතියි.

මෙයට,
චන්දන සූරියආරච්චි
සභාපති
සාහිත්‍ය අනුකමිටුව
ජාතික වෘත්තීය සමිති මධ්‍යස්ථානය.

RANJITH SOYSA

Amnesty International continues with its tirade against Sri Lanka by going off their rocker again in their recent statement in 2020.( AI review of 2019 issued on 20^th Jan 2020) For AI almost everything is rotten in Sri Lanka especially the policies and programs adopted by Sri Lanka for the protection of its people, sovereignty etc.

It barks at the steps taken regards the attack by the Islamic terrorists on the unarmed civilians on the eve of the Easter Day 2019. AI  does not identify HR violations of this most brutal terrorist act in South Asia which killed more than 300 civilians and injured nearly 400. Instead,  the AI report goes it blind by mentioning that “the fallout from April bomb bred communal violence, endangered minorities”. This is practically a false reporting by any standards as apart from a few isolated incidents, the Government was able to maintain peace in the country.

Then the AI touches on the ‘justice and reparation for the 30-year conflict’. They have very conveniently forgotten that it was a non-international armed conflict against a terrorist group that was fighting the elected Sri Lankan governments for over 30 years. Sri Lankan government was fighting the  Tamil Tiger terrorists on behalf of its people. Then, how come reparations are applicable and claimed only by the Tamil ethnic group and on behalf of Tamil Tiger members?

We are well aware of the talk shops including the AI which keep on harping on thousands of missing Tamil people and Tamil youth. The million-dollar question is who

is crunching these numbers and what is the basis on which these claims are made? Who has reported the information and to whom? If one examines these claims

it will be able to see through the web of lies and about ninety-five percent of the so-called missing are actually the LTTE members and helpers who were killed in combat or

thousands who sought asylum in the West. The commentator. Shenali Waduge  who found holes in this unenviable story of missing Tamil people in Sri Lanka says:

“The President of, ” enforced disappearances organizations, a Tamil says ” her son surrendered to the Army at the Omanthai checkpoint just after the war ended in May 2009. We were all there. They said they would question him and release him. I am still waiting,”  So according to her, in her presence her son who was an LTTE combatant surrendered. With an LTTE-friendly Govt in power since 2015 and TNA playing a major part in it, how is it that Leelathevi Ananthanatarajah could not trace what happened to her son from Jan 2015 to November 2019? Where are the demands from her during this period?  Did she first file a complaint to the police? Did she inform SL Human Rights Commission? Did she report this to the OISL, is her case featured in any UNHRC report? Is her case recorded with the Paranagama Commission or even with the Office of Missing Persons? Has she filed habeas corpus? ” The stories of the majority of the missing persons are identical to the case of this mother. The disappearance took place after the innocent Tamil youth surrendered to the Sri Lanka defence forces!. Is this the truth?”

According to this narrative, only a few hundred took arms against Sri Lankan defence forces and they died in combat. And, many thousands were enforced to disappear by

Sri Lankan forces! “The war ended in 2009 and we are in the year 2020!

It is pointless taking this into another decade when no one is spending an iota of time on justice for the victims killed by LTTE.”

The absurd story weaved by anti-Sri Lankan NGOs and other campaigners for the terrorist LTTE is like playing the same tune for the last 10 years.

Next item on which the AI attempts ridicule Sri Lanka is about the freedom of religion. AI and the fellow travelers such as Human Rights Watch etc conveniently forget that Sri Lanka is home to four major religions in the world and the Sri Lankan constitution provides protection to the adherents of all religions to follow their practices. No one can deny that religion plays an important part in the lives of Sri Lankans unlike in many other countries where the places of worship are almost empty. By clinging onto a few incidents the anti -Sri Lankan advocates attempt to paint a dark picture of Sri Lanka even going off the rocker like AI to state that there is no religious freedom in Sri Lanka. The AI statement,  to say the least, compels one to question their basic I Q.

Then the AI  proceeds to dictate terms to Sri Lanka by rejecting the appointment of senior officers of the defence forces as there are ‘allegations’ against some of them regarding action taken in defeating the LTTE. By their determined action to deprive the brutal LTTE of capturing the Government controlled area and defending unarmed civilians, every member of the Government forces helped the liberation of 21 million people by going out of their way to protect the Tamil civilians. Their stories of how they sacrificed their limbs and lives to deter the Tamil Tigers are remarkable

monuments of upholding the human rights of all Sri Lankans. To harp on the so-called unproven allegations and attempts to make a stand on these and dictate to the Sri Lankan government how to promote the officers in the armed forces is indeed is frivolous.

Here, I like to quote Thuppiah’s review to reveal how the witch hunt for the defence forces and Sri Lanka was initiated.

“As the annual witch-hunt directed at Sri Lanka from the UNHRC at Geneva looms, we can benefit from recalling the role of the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, in this pantomime. Ban Ki-moon is a South Korean who has been identified as a lackey” of the USA in the same category as Kofi Annan by the Canadian activist Chris Black in email communication on 20^th January 2020. Ban Ki-moon and the UN Rehabilitation Commissioner, Navy Pillai were behind the selection of Marzuki, Sooka and Ratner to man the UN Panel of Investigation whose report has served as the foundation

for the campaign mounted by the UNHCR offices in Geneva to hound Sri Lanka for human rights abuses. What occurred then? Ban Ki-moon descended on Sri Lanka. This – we know in retrospect –was a retributory mission. He immediately visited the camps at Manik Farm where the displaced Tamil people had been sequestered in a huge operation involving INGOs, NGOs and both Sri Lankan civilian and military personnel. His principal intent was then indicated when he flew by helicopter on the 23^rd May 2009 over the arena of fighting, with a hired cameraman taking photographs of the desolate wind-ravaged Last Redoubt.” His partialities and his limited desk-bound capacities of discernment were displayed to the world in his summing up of the scenario generated by the abandoned tent city” that had been one of the outstanding features of the overcrowded Last Redoubt.  Complete devastation,” he said in summary conclusion.“

Since then the AA, HRW, and other Sri Lankan bashers had been tickling the ears of parties who are dead keen in creating political instability in Sri Lanka by recounting the snippets from Ban Ki Moon’s retributory mission.

The AI also refers to the stance adopted by the present Sri Lankan President and the government that they refuse to accept the endorsement of UN HCR Council resolution 30/1. It is very clear to any unbiased observer that the contents in the resolution are half baked and are presented in a devious manner to the UN HCR as rebutted by Sri Lanka Global Forum in Geneva and differ from the views of the vast majority of the Sri Lankans. Hence, elected by a substantial majority the new President cannot democratically agree with the efforts of the interested NGOs and some countries to put a noose around his country.

Finally, the AI request that the Prevention of Terrorism Act should be replaced, This demand has been made- if the Sri Lanka government agrees to do away with the PTA- to push the country towards instability and anarchy. Many countries including the USA do have legislation to deter or prevent terrorism such as the Patriot Act as terrorism is one of the modern-day crucial issues facing the countries. The legislation on the prevention of terrorism in countries such as the USA and the UK, for example, limits the general rights of the public with a view to protecting the vast majority of the people from unlawful terrorism-related acts. If the  PTA is lifted one of the obvious, yet, the dangerous repercussions will that all who are convicted and those who are held to be charged under the PTA will have to be released. One should be able to guess the plan of the AI, the HRW and other INGOs who have been acting as the savior of the LTTE terrorists when they insist that the PTA should be replaced. They want the offenders under the PTA to be released. We should request the AI and the HRW to direct their efforts to USA’s Guantanamo prison and similar institutions of the UK in Diego Garcia as a first step to get the suspected offenders freed to uphold their human rights and not to bother Sri Lanka, one of the few countries which were able to put an end to the most brutal terrorist organization in the world.

We would request the AI, HRW and another anti- Sri Lanka NGOs and international and Sri Lankan do-gooders, to consider immediately to REAPPRAISE their obviously  biased attitude with regard to HR related issues in Sri Lanka. We wish to invite the AI’s attention to the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 and on the protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflict (Protocol II ) of June 8th 1977.

These have been approved and is a part of Customary Law. Its foundation is International Humanitarian LAW (IHL) and let those who are interested in the welfare of all Sri Lankans examine and judge the incidents and all aspects of the conflict in relation to IHL. Please remember that the armed conflict in Sri Lanka was non-international.

It is high time , that the AI , HRW, and  fellow travellers get off their beaten track and spend their valuable time and funds to be constructive in their approach rather than writing volumes to create instability in Sri Lanka

Courtesy THE ISLAND (SRI LANKA)/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

A now-retired SriLankan Airlines A340-300. Photo supplied

Sri Lanka’s UNP MP Mujibur Rahman on Sunday said that yahapalana government had paid compensation to the Netherlands-based aircraft leasing company AerCap Holdings NV for the cancellation of the leasing agreement in respect of four Airbus A 350-900 ordered by the previous administration. The decision to cancel the agreement had been taken on the recommendation of JC Weliamuna report, the Colombo District MP said.

Rahman said the government had acted on the premise that the country would have incurred a far bigger loss if the national carrier had gone ahead with the project.

The UNPer said so when The Island asked him at the Opposition Leader’s Office media briefing why compensation had been paid to the aircraft leasing company at issue.

Rahman said the yahapalana government had not been able to renege on an agreement between the government of Sri Lanka and an international organisation.

Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation Arjuna Ranatunga in February 2015 named board of inquiry headed by attorney-at-law JC Weliamuna to inquire into four specific allegations, including irregularities in procurement and leasing of aircraft.

Asked as to why the then Public Enterprise Development Minister Kabir Hashim, who is also the Chairman of the UNP acted hastily in that regard, lawmaker Rahman pointed out that the minister concerned acted on the Weliamuna report. The UNPer also explained the action taken by the FCID (Financial Crimes Investigation Division) and the Precifac (Presidential Commission of Inquiry to Investigate and Inquire into Serious acts of Fraud, Corruption and abuse of power, state resources and privileges) in respect of the controversial Sri Lankan Airlines re-fleeting project undertaken during the previous administration.

The cabinet of ministers approved payment of compensation to the tune of $146 million nearly a year after the payment had been made though Minister Hashim subsequently claimed only $ 98 million was paid.

The Island pointed out that though UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe recently called for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government to take tangible measures to obtain compensation from France-based Airbus Company, the matter regarding Sri Lanka paying massive compensation was yet to be discussed.

Weliamuna was later named Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to Australia. Since the change of government in November 2019, the President’s Counsel has been recalled.

Alleging that losses suffered by the country as a result of SriLankan Airlines corruption were far bigger than that of 2015 and 2016 Treasury bond scams, lawmaker Rahman emphasised the then Sri Lankan CEO Kapila Candrasena and his wife Priyanka Niyomali Wijenayake couldn’t have engaged in such a massive bribe-taking project without political backing. The UNPer alleged that the Chandrasenas had the blessings of the powers that be to undertake the operation. The UNP spokesman asked the media whether it would be possible for Chandrasenas to arrange the deal without the backing of his political masters.

Asked by The Island whether his assertion such massive corruption couldn’t take place under any circumstances without the backing of political heavyweights whoever in power also applied to Treasury bond scams perpetrated during yahapalana administration as well as other mega cases, the UNPer said, ‘yes’.

Rahman pointed out that in spite of Kapila Chandrasena being exposed before Precifac, the government formed after President Maithripala Sirisena sacked the democratically elected government on October 26, 2018, had no qualms in elevating the controversial CEO to the post of Chairman, Sri Lankan Airlines. The MP however appreciated President Sirisena immediately cancelling that appointment.

At the onset of the briefing, lawmaker Rahman explained that the Chadrasenas had received $2 million only though the original consensus was for a staggering $16 millin. Pointing out that they had re-negotiated the money offered due to Sri Lankan Airlines decision not to fully implement the original re-fleeting project, MP Rahman alleged that the plans went awry due to the change of government in January 2015.

Had Maithripala Sirisena lost the presidential election, they would have gone ahead with the re-fleeting programme, lawmaker Rahman said. The UNPer alleged that when Vasudeva Nanayakkara raised the SriLankan re-fleeting plans at the cabinet, he was told there was no requirement for the cabinet of ministers to approve it.

MP Rahman said that those who had been in power owed an explanation as to why the re-fleeting plans were discussed at the official residence of the then Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa. Kapila Chandrasena had been so influential he was appointed as an advisor to two enterprises in which the government had stakes as a particular Finance Ministry circular prevented him being on the boards of directors of those while being Sri Lankan CEO, MP Rahman said.

Lawmaker Rahman alleged that the national carrier suffered in the wake of the then government taking over the management following a dispute with the then Emirates-run airline’s British head Peter Hill in December 2007 over President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his entourage being denied seats. In 2010, Sri Lanka reacquired 43.6 per cent stake in SriLankan worth $70 million Kumaratunga administration sold to Emirates.

MP Rahman questioned as to why the then government extended Chandrasena’s contract in 2014. The UNPer also found fault with the appointment of Nishantha Wickremesinghe, the elder brother of former first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa, as the Chairman of the National carrier. The UNPer compared the performances of businessman Harry Jayawardena and Nishantha Wickramasinghe as the Chairman of the national carrier, explaining how the management collapsed during the administration of the latter.

Lawmaker Rahman alleged that those who had been involved with Chandrasenas may have tried to move them out perhaps from Negombo in a boat. Obviously, they couldn’t have taken a flight out of the BIA as Kapila Chandrasena risked being identified therefore sea route was safe for them, the UNPer. However, they couldn’t do so, the MP said.

The UNPer warned the government not to suppress the investigation though the Chandrasenas were remanded till February 19 pending investigations.

Courtesy Ada Derana

The Attorney General has expressed his displeasure to the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) over the response in dealing with the AG’s advice and directives on Justice Gihan Pilapitiya.

On January 23, the Attorney General instructed the Director of the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) to obtain a warrant and arrest interdicted High Court Judge Gihan Pilapitiya and to produce him before the court for conspiring to fabricate false evidence” along with MP Ranjan Ramanayake.

On the same day, the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) C. D. Wickramaratne appointed a five-member committee to study the abstracts on the investigation on interdicted Judge Gihan Pilapitya.

The committee was also instructed to make recommendations on the Attorney General’s instructions to arrest interdicted Judge Pilapitiya.

Subsequently, the Attorney General called for an explanation with regard to the non-compliance with his advice to invoke the judicial process in interdicted High Court Judge Gihan Pilapitiya’s case.

Embilipitiya High Court Judge Gihan Pilapitiya was interdicted on January 22 over the controversial phone conversation he had with UNP MP Ranjan Ramanayake.

A series of audio recordings of phone conversations between the MP and several high-profile officials in the country including former Director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Shani Abeysekara and three judges, were leaked to the media earlier this month.

Recordings contained phone conversations between the parliamentarian and Justice Gihan Pilapitiya, retired Judge Padmini Ranawaka, and Magistrate Dhammika Hemapala.

As per the Attorney General’s instructions, the CCD recorded statements from HC Judge Pilapitiya, Retired Judge Padmini Ranawaka and Magistrate Hemapala.

Courtesy Ada Derana

The Colombo Magistrate’s Court has ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to obtain the Government Analyst’s report on the mobile phone of the Swiss Embassy staffer, Garnia Bannister Francis, and to submit a progress report on the investigations on March 31.

The case was taken up before Colombo Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne today (11).

Senior State Counsel Lakmini Girihagama, speaking on behalf of the CID, told the court that a statement with regard to the details uncovered during the probes was recorded from the former Director of the CID SSP Shani Abeysekara on January 23.

She added that the probes had recovered a contact number from the phone of former editor of Sunday Observer newspaper Darisha Bastian, which belonged to the current editor of the said newspaper, Anurangi Priyamvada Singh. Accordingly, the CID has recorded a statement from Priyamvada Singh yesterday (10), the senior state counsel further told the court.

Attorney-at-Law Upul Kumarapperuma, the defence counsel, told the court that his client’s defence statement is based on the data that is stored in her mobile phone. He, hence, requested the court to issue a decree that these data, recorded from May 01 to November 25 last year, be kept secured.

The chief magistrate has then informed the defence counsel to make this request in writing during the next hearing of the case.

The case was then scheduled to be taken up on the 31st of March.

It is also reported that the Garnia Bannister Francis appeared before the court today for the hearing.

Courtesy Ada Derana

China on Tuesday commended” Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s remarks that the island nation has received a lot of benefits” from Beijing’s ambitious multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The BRI is an initiative launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping when he came to power in 2013. It aims to link Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Gulf region, Africa and Europe with a network of land and sea routes.

During his recent visit to India, Rajapaksa said his country has received a lot of benefits from the BRI.

China, in the last few years, received over $8 billion funding for its infrastructure projects. Sri Lanka handed over its Hambantota port to China in 2017 as a debt swap.

When asked for a reaction to Rajapaksa’s remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said, China commends the comments made by Prime Minister Rajapaksa”.

China and Sri Lanka share a strategic cooperative partnership based on sincere mutual assistance and ever-lasting friendship,” he said.

Based on Sri Lanka’s development needs, China offered loans to support its infrastructure building and other major domestic projects concerning people’s livelihood. These projects and loans have boosted Sri Lanka’s economic growth, created a large number of local jobs and contributed to the country’s sustainable development,” Geng said.

Those outcomes have been commended by the government and people of Sri Lanka. China stands ready to strengthen BRI cooperation with Sri Lanka to deliver more benefits to the two people,” he said.

Source: PTI