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President Gotabaya Rajapaksa made an inspection tour of the Thambuttegama Economic Center today (23).
Looking into the prices of rice at the Economic Center President Rajapaksa also inquired from traders about the current price of rice.
The President also engaged with a friendly conversation with the traders.
The Colombo Magistrate’s Court has issued an overseas travel ban on the former Minister Rajitha Senaratne, stated Ada Derana reporter.
Considering a request made by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the Colombo Additional Magistrate Priyantha Liyanage issued the order to the Controller of Immigration and Emigration, today (23).
The CID informed the court that investigations have revealed that the relevant media briefing under investigation has been conducted under the full patronage of former Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne.
Accordingly, the CID requested the court to issue an order preventing the MP from leaving the country as it might hinder the investigations.
Meanwhile, former Minister Rajitha Senaratne has filed two anticipatory bail applications preventing his arrest. His first anticipatory bail application was rejected while the second application got him a date of inquiry (December 30) after submitting fresh affidavits.
On the 10th of November this year, Senaratne had called the said press conference, which was attended by two persons named Anthony Douglas Fernando and Athula Sanjeewa Madanayake.
During the briefing, the duo had made controversial statements and allegations regarding white vans” and purported incidents of certain abductions, assassinations, robberies and forced disappearances during the administration of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
One of them had claimed that he was a white van” driver involved in abducting people while the other claimed he once served as a driver to transport a stock of gold in previously LTTE-held areas.
On December 02, the CID presented a submission to the Colombo Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne regarding the said media briefing.
Considering a request made by the CID, the chief magistrate had ordered several media institutions to submit the unedited video footage from this press conference to the investigators for onward probes.
The investigations in this regard were launched after a complaint was lodged by an individual named Kumudu Pradeep Sanjeewa Perera.
The CID later arrested the two individuals in question and detained them for 72 hours for onward interrogations.
The duo was subsequently produced before Colombo Chief Magistrate, who delivered an order to remand them until December 27.
2016 වසරේදී රාජගිරිය ප්රදේශයේදී පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්රී පාඨලී චම්පික රණවකගේ රථයේ ගැටී තරුණයෙකු අනතුරට ලක්වීමේ සිද්ධිය සම්බන්ධයෙන් අනිවාර්ය නිවාඩු යවා සිටින පොලිස්පති පූජිත් ජයසුන්දරගෙන් ප්රකාශයක් ලබා ගැනීමට අවශ්ය පහසුකම් සලසන ලෙස කොළඹ මහේස්ත්රාත් අධිකරණය, වැලිකඩ බන්ධනාගාර අධිකාරීවරයාට අද නියෝග කළා.
ඒ, කොළඹ අපරාධ කොට්ඨාශය මගින් වාර්තාවක් ඉදිරිපත් කරමින් සිදුකළ කරුණු දැක්වීමකට අනුවයි.
එම වාර්තාවෙන් දක්වා තිබුණේ එම රිය අනතුර සම්බන්ධයෙන් සිදුකෙරෙන විමර්ශන වලදී දැනට අනිවාර්ය නිවාඩු යවා සිටින පොලිස්පති පූජිත් ජයසුන්දරගේ නම ද සදහන් වූ බැවින් ඔහුගෙන් ප්රකාශ ලබා ගැනීමට අවශ්ය බවයි.
ඒ අනුවයි මේ මස 26 වනදා සිට 30 වනදා දක්වා, කාලසීමාව තුළදී ඔහුගෙන් ප්රකාශ සටහන් කර ගන්නා ලෙසට කොළඹ අතිරේක මහේස්ත්රාත් ලෝචනා අබේවික්රම, බන්ධනාගාර අධිකාරීවරයාට නියෝග කළේ.
එමෙන්ම, පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්රී පාඨලී චම්පික රණවක භාවිත කළ ජංගම දුරකථ අංක කිහිපයක දත්ත වාර්තා කොළඹ අපරාධ කොට්ඨාශයට ලබාදෙන ලෙස ද අදාළ දුරකථන සමාගම් වලට අතිරේක මහේස්ත්රාත්වරිය නියෝග කළා.
පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්රී රාජිත සේනාරත්නට අධිකරණය විසින් විදෙස් ගමන් තහනමක් පනවා තිබෙනවා.
ඒ, අපරාධ පරීක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව කොළඹ අතිරේක මහේස්ත්රාත් ප්රියන්ත ලියනගේගෙන් සිදුකළ ඉල්ලීමකට අනුවයි.
සුදු වෑන් මාධ්ය හමුව හිටපු අමාත්ය රාජිත සේනාරත්නගේ පූර්ණ දායකත්වය යටතේ සිදුව ඇති හෙයින් ඊට අදාළ විමර්ශන කටයුතු අඛණ්ඩව සිදුකරගෙන යාම සඳහා ඔහුට විදෙස් ගමන් තහනමක් පනවන ලෙසටයි අපරාධ පරීක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව අධිකරණයෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටියේ.
මේ අතර, සුදු වෑන් මාධ්ය සාකච්ඡාව සම්බන්ධයෙන් තමන් අත්අඩංගුවට ගැනීම වැළැක්වීමේ නියෝගයක් නිකුත් කරන ලෙස ඉල්ලා හිටපු අමාත්ය රාජිත සේනාරත්න ඉදිරිපත් කළ සංශෝධිත අපේක්ෂිත ඇප අයදුම්පත ලබන 30 වන දා විමසා බැලීමට අධිකරණය අද දින නියම කළා.
ඒ, අදාළ ඇප අයදුම්පත කොළඹ අතිරේක මහේස්ත්රාත් ප්රියන්ත ලියනගේ හමුවේ කැදවූ අවස්ථාවේදීයි.
එහිදී මහේස්ත්රාත්වරයා, වගඋත්තරකරුවන්ට එදිනට අධිකරණය හමුවේ පෙනී සිටින ලෙස ද නොතීසි නිකුත් කරනු ලැබුවා.
එහි වගඋත්තරකරුවන් ලෙස අපරාධ පරීක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ අධ්යක්ෂවරයා සහ අදාළ විමර්ශනය සිදුකරන ස්ථානාධිපතිවරයා නම් කර තිබෙනවා.
තමන් අත්අඩංගුවට ගැනීම වළක්වාලන ලෙස ඉල්ලා පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්රී රාජිත සේනාරත්න පසුගිය 10 වනදා ගොනුකළ ඇප අයදුම්පත කොළඹ ප්රධාන මහේස්ත්රාත් අධිකරණය විසින් ප්රතික්ෂේප කෙරුණා.
ඒ අනුව, ඔහු විසින් දෙවන වරටත් අපේක්ෂිත ඇප අයදුමක් පසුගිය 20 වනදා ඉදිරිපත් කළ අතර ඊට සංශෝධන කිහිපයක් ද අද එක් කරනු ලැබුවා.
දණ්ඩ නීති සංග්රහයේ 192 සහ 485 යන ඇප ලබාදිය නොහැකි වරදවල් සම්බන්ධයෙන් තමන් අත්අඩංගුවට ගනු ඇති බවට සාධාරණ බියක් ඇති බවට පෙත්සම්කාර පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්රී රාජිත සේනාරත්න, සිය අපේක්ෂිත ඇප අයදුම්පත මගින් කරුණු දක්වා තිබෙනවා.
පෙත්සම්කරු වෙනුවෙන් පෙනී සිටි ජනාධිපති නීතිඥ වසන්ත නවරත්න බණ්ඩාර, අධිකරණය හමුවේ කියා සිටියේ පෙත්සම්කරු විසින් මාධ්ය සාකච්ඡාවකට ඉදිරිපත් කළ පුද්ගලයින් දෙදෙනෙකු සිදුකළ ප්රකාශ මත තම සේවාදායක අත්අඩංගුවට ගැනීමේ සූදානමක් පවතින්නේ යැයි බියක් මතුව ඇති බවයි.
තම සේවාදායකයා හෘද රෝගියෙකු බවත්, ඔහු නිරන්තර වෛද්ය අධීක්ෂණයට ලක්විය යුතු පුද්ගලයෙකු බවත් එහිදී ජනාධිපති නීතිඥවරයා කරුණු දක්වමින් කියා සිටියා.
ඒ අනුව, මෙම අපේක්ෂිත ඇප අයදුම විමසීම සදහා දිනයක් නියම කර වගඋත්තරකාර පාර්ශව වෙත නොතීසි නිකුත් කරන ලෙස ඔහු අධිකරණයෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටියා.
වගඋත්තරකාර පාර්ශවය වෙනුවෙන් පෙනී සිටි නියෝජ්ය සොලිස්ටර් ජනරාල් දිලීප පීරිස්, අතිරේක මහේස්ත්රාත්වරයාගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටියේ නොතීසි නිකුත් කිරීමට පෙර පෙත්සම්කරු විසින් මීට පෙර ගොනුකළ අපේක්ෂිත ඇප අයදුම ප්රතික්ෂේප කරමින් කොළඹ ප්රධාන මහේස්ත්රාත්වරිය ලබාදුන් නියෝගය පිළිබදව අවධානය යොමුකරන ලෙසයි.
අපේක්ෂිත ඇප අයදුමට අදාළ වගන්ති පෙත්සම්කරු විසින් සදහන් කරන බී – වාර්තාවේ නොමැති බව පෙන්වා දුන් නියෝජ්ය සොලිස්ටර් ජනරාල්වරයා වැඩිදුරටත් කියා සිටියේ, පෙත්සම්කරු විසින් උපකල්පනය කළ කරුණු මත පිළිගත හැකි මූලාශ්ර නොමැතිව මෙම අපේක්ෂිත ඇප අයදුම්පත ගොනුකර ඇති බවයි.
අපේක්ෂිත ඇප, පුද්ගල නිදහස ආරක්ෂා කරනු ලබන මෙවලමක් මිස යම් යම් අපරාධකරුවන්ට නීතියෙන් ගැලවීයාමට ඇති මාර්ගයක් හෝ එල්ල වී ඇති චෝදනාවලින් ආරක්ෂාවීමේ පළිහක් නොවන බව නියෝජ්ය සොලිස්ටර් ජනරාල් දිලීප පීරිස් අධිකරණයේදී කියා සිටියා.
එබැවින් නොතීසි නිකුත් කිරීමකින් තොරව පෙත්සම ප්රතික්ෂේප කරන ලෙසයි නියෝජ්ය සොලිසිටර් ජනරාල්වරයා ඉල්ලා සිටියේ.
කරුණු සලකා බැලූ අතිරේක මහේස්ත්රාත් ප්රියන්ත ලියනගේ සිය නියෝගය ප්රකාශයට පත් කරමින් කියා සිටියේ අපේක්ෂිත ඇප අයදුමක් බී වාර්තාවක් නොමැති අවස්ථාවක දී වුව ද ඉදිරිපත් කළ හැකි බවයි.
එසේම එම අයදුම ඉදිරිපත් කරන්නේ අනුමිතීන් සහ යම් විශ්වාස මත බව පෙන්වා දුන් මහේස්ත්රාත්වරයා එසේ විශ්වාස කිරීමට හේතු පෙත්සම්කරු විසින් දිවුරුම් ප්රකාශයක් මගින් අධිකරණයට දන්වා ඇති බැවින් පෙත්සම්කාර පාර්ශවය ඇප පනතේ 21 වන වගන්තියේ කරුණු සංතෘප්ත කර ඇති බව මහේස්ත්රාත්වරයා කියා සිටියා.
ඒ අනුව ලබන 30 වනදා මෙම අපේක්ෂිත ඇප අයදුම විමසීම සදහා දින නියම කළ අධිකරණය එහි වගඋත්තකරුවන්ට නොතීසි නිකුත් කළා.
නත්තල් උත්සවය දා උපරිම ආරක්ෂාවක් ලබාදීමට කටයුතු කරන බව යුද හමුදාපති ලූතිනන් ජෙනරාල් ශවේන්ද්ර සිල්වා පවසනවා.
ඔහු මේ බව සඳහන් කළේ බත්තරමුල්ලේ පිහිටි මධ්යම පරිසර අධිකාරී මං සන්ධියේ සිට නව යුද හමුදා මූලස්ථානය දක්වා දිවෙන මාර්ගය දෙපල අරලියපැල රෝපණය කිරීමේ තුරු මිතුරු නව රටක් ව්යාපෘතිය ආරම්භ කිරීමේ අවස්ථාවට අද එක්වෙමින්.
පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ සිටින අපරාධකරුවන් වරප්රසාද මුවාවෙන් ආරක්ෂා නොකරන්නැයි සිංහල රාවය සංවිධානයේ මහ ලේකම් පූජ්ය මාගල්කන්දේ සුදත්ත හිමියන්, කතානායක කරූ ජයසූරියගෙන් ඉල්ලීමක් කරනවා.
උන්වහන්ස් මේ බව කියා සිටියේ නාරාහේන්පිට – අභයාරාමයේ අද පෙරවරුවේ කැඳවා තිබූ මාධ්ය හමුවකට එක්වෙමින්.
අපරාධ පරීක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ හිටපු අධ්යක්ෂ ශානි අබේසේකරගේ මූලිකත්වයෙන් සිදුකෙරුණු නඩු යළි විමර්ශනය කළ යුතු බව මව්බිම වෙනුවෙන් රණවිරුවෝ සංවිධානය පවසනවා.
එහි කැදවුම්කරු නීතිඥ විශ්රාමික මේජර් අජිත් ප්රසන්න කොළඹ අද කැදවා තිබූ මාධ්ය හමුවකට එක්වෙමින් මේ බව කියා සිටියා.
පාස්කු ඉරුදින ත්රස්ත ප්රහාර මාලාව සම්බන්ධයෙන් සිදුකෙරෙන විමර්ශනවලට අදාළව හිටපු අමාත්යවරුන් වන රිෂාඩ් බදියුදීන් සහ රවුෆ් හකීම් යන මහත්වරුන්ගෙන් ප්රකාශ සටහන් කර ගැනීමට අපරාධ පරීක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව සූදානම් බව නීතිපති දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව අද අධිකරණයට දැනුම් දුන්නා.
ඒ, මෙම සිද්ධියට අදාළ නඩුව කොළඹ අතිරේක මහේස්ත්රාත් ප්රියන්ත ලියනගේ මහතා හමුවේ අද කැඳවූ අවස්ථාවේදී.
පාස්කු ඉරුදින ත්රස්ත ප්රහාර මාලාව වළක්වා ගැනීමට ක්රියා නොකිරීම මගින් රාජකාරිය පැහැර හැර සාපරාධී මිනීමැරීමේ සිද්ධිය සම්බන්ධයෙන් චෝදනා ලැබ සිටින අනිවාර්ය නිවාඩු යැවූ පොලිස්පති පූජිත් ජයසුන්දර සහ හිටපු ආරක්ෂක ලේකම් හේමසිරි ප්රනාන්දු ද අද අධිකරණය හමුවට රැගෙන විත් තිබුණා.
නඩුව කැඳවූ අවස්ථාවේ රජයේ නියෝජ්ය සොලිසිටර් ජනරාල් දිලීප පීරිස් මහතා සඳහන් කළේ මෙම පරීක්ෂණවලට අදාළව හිටපු ජනාධිපති මෛත්රීපාල සිරිසේන, හිටපු අග්රාමාත්ය රනිල් වික්රමසිංහ සහ කථානායකවරයාගෙන් ප්රකාශ සටහන් කරගැනීමට නියමිත බවයි.
>කාදිනල් හිමිපාණන්ගෙන්ද නත්තල් උත්සවයෙන් අනතුරුව ප්රකාශ සටහන් කරගැනීමට නියමිත බව නියෝජ්ය සොලිසිටර් ජනරාල්වරයා සඳහන් කළා.
මෙම විමර්ශනවලට අදාළව නියෝජ්ය පොලිස්පතිවරු දෙදෙනෙකු සහ කැබිනට් ලේකම්වරයෙක් පමණක් ප්රකාශ ලබාදී ඇති බව සඳහන් කළ නියෝජ්ය සොලිසිටර් ජනරාල්වරයා යම් පුද්ගලයෙකු පරීක්ෂණවලට අවශ්ය ප්රකාශ ලබාදීම හිතාමතා ප්රමාද කරන්නේ නම් ඒ සම්බන්ධයෙන් මීළඟ නඩු දිනයේදී අධිකරණ නියෝගයක් ලබාගැනීමට අපේක්ෂා කරන බවද දැනුම් දුන්නා.
මේ අතර දැනට රක්ෂිත බන්ධනාගාර ගතකර සිටින අනිවාර්ය නිවාඩු යැවූ පොලිස්පති පූජිත් ජයසුන්දර සම්බන්ධව ලබන ජනවාරි මස දෙවැනිදා පැය 60 ක කාලයක් සඳහා තාවකාලික මුදා හැරීමේ ඉල්ලීමක් මෙතෙක් තමන් වෙත ඉදිරිපත් වී නොමැති බව බන්ධනාගාර කොමසාරිස් ජනරාල් ජයසිරි තෙන්නකෝන් මහතා ප්රකාශ කළා.
ඒ පසුගිය නඩු වාරයේදී අනිවාර්ය නිවාඩු යැවූ පොලිස්පතිවරයා වෙනුවෙන් පෙනී සිටි නීතීඥයින් කළ ඉල්ලීම පිළිබඳ හිරු ප්රවෘත්ති කළ විමසීමකට ප්රතිචාර දක්වමින්.
එවැනි ඉල්ලීමක් තමන් වෙත ඉදිරිපත් වුවහොත් ඒ සම්බන්ධයෙන් අධ්යයනය කිරීමට සූදානම් බවද බන්ධනාගාර කොමසාරිස් ජනරාල්වරයා වැඩිදුරටත් සඳහන් කළා.
කෙසේ වෙතත් කොළඹ අතිරේක මහේස්ත්රාත් ප්රියන්ත ලියනගේ මහතා අද නියෝග කළේ අනිවාර්ය නිවාඩු යැවූ පොලිස්පති පූජිත් ජයසුන්දර සහ හිටපු ආරක්ෂක ලේකම් හේමසිරි ප්රනාන්දු ලබන ජනවාරි මස 6 වැනිදා දක්වා යළි රක්ෂිත බන්ධනාගාර ගත කිරීමටයි.
මේ අතර මෙම විමර්ශනවලට අදාළව ප්රකාශ ලබාගැනීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් හිටපු අමාත්ය රවුෆ් හකීම් මහතාගෙන් මාධ්යවේදීන් ප්රශ්න කළා.
පාස්කු ඉරු දින ප්රහාරය සම්බන්ධයෙන් සොයා බැලෙන ජනාධිපති කොමිසම හමුවේ පසුගිය දිනවල නම කියවුණු පොලිස් අධිකාරී සංජීව බණ්ඩාර අද සාක්ෂි ලබාදුන්නා.
එහිදී අනාවරණ වුණේ ඔහු පොලිස් විමර්ශන ඒකකයට සහ ජනාධිපති කොමිසමට ලබාදුන් සාක්ෂි අතර පරස්පරතා පවතින බවයි.
දිවුරුම් පිට සාක්ෂි ලබාදෙමින් අසත්ය කරුණු පවසන්නේ නම් අධිකරණයට අපහාස කිරීමේ චෝදනාව යටතේ ඔහුට නීතිමය පියවර ගත හැකි බව මෙහිදී ජනාධිපති කොමිසම පොලිස් අධිකාරී සංජීව බණ්ඩාරට අවවාද කළා.
පාස්කු ප්රහාරය සිදුවූ දින නියෝජ්ය පොලිස්පති ලලිත් පතිනායක ආරක්ෂාව වැඩි කරන ලෙස තමාට ලබාදුන් පණිවුඩය එම අවස්ථාවේදී තමන් යටතේ පවතින පොලීසිවල ස්ථානාධිපතිවරුන්ට දැනුවත් නොකළේ ඇයිදැයි රජයේ අධිනීතිඥ සංජීව දිසානායක පොලිස් අධිකාරීවරයාගෙන් මෙහිදී වැඩිදුරටත් ප්රශ්න කර සිටියා. ඊට පිළිතුරු ලබාදෙමින් පොලිස් අධිකාරීවරයා කියා සිටියේ එම අවස්ථාවේ අකුණු සහිත අයහපත් කාලගුණයක් පැවතීම නිසා දුරකථන ඇමතුම් ලබා ගැනීමට එදින තමාට නොහැකි වූ බවයි.
සාමාන්ය පරිදි ආරක්ෂාව වැඩි කිරීමට උපදෙස් ලබාදුන්නා සේ සිතා තමන් පොලිස් ස්ථානාධිපතිවරුන්ට එදින රාත්රීයේදීම අදාළ පණිවුඩය ලබානොදී පසුදින පෙරවරුවේ ලබාදුන් බව ද ඔහු කියා සිටියා.
කෙසේ වෙතත්, අප්රේල් 8 වන දා සිට 31 වන දා දක්වා පොලිස් අධිකාරී සංජීව බණ්ඩාරට ලැබුණු සහ ලබා ගත් දුරකථන වාර්තා මෙහිදී රජයේ අධිනීතිඥයා මෙහිදී කොමිසමට ඉදිරිපත් කළ අතර, එහිදී අනාවරණ වුණේ ප්රහාරයට පෙර දින පස්වරු 7.26ට නියෝජ්ය පොලිස්පති ලලිත් පතිනායක ලබා ගත් දුරකථන ඇමතුමෙන් අනතුරුව පස්වරු 7.55 කාලය දක්වා මෙම පොලිස් අධිකාරීවරයා ඇමතුම් කිහිපයක්ම ලබාගෙන ඇති බවයි. අවශ්යතාවක් තිබුණේ නම් තමන්ට ස්ථානාධිපතිවරුන් දැනුවත් කිරීමේ හැකියාවක් තිබූ බවත් ඊට කාලගුණය බාධාවක් වී නොමැති බවත් රජයේ අධිනීතිඥවරයා කොමිසම හමුවේ වැඩිදුරටත් පෙන්වා දුන්නා.
මේ අතර, පාස්කු ඉරු දින ත්රස්ත ප්රහාර මාලාව සම්බන්ධයෙන් සිදුකෙරෙන විමර්ශන වලට අදාලව හිටපු අමාත්යවරුන් වන රිෂාඞ් බදියුදීන් සහ රවුෆ් හකීම්ගෙන් ප්රකාශ සටහන් කර ගැනීමට අපරාධ පරීක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව සූදානම් වන බව රජයේ නියෝජ්ය සොලිසිටර් ජනරාල් දිලීප පීරිස් අද අධිකරණයට දැනුම් දුන්නා. පාස්කු ඉරු දින ත්රස්ත ප්රහාර මාලාව වලක්වා ගැනීමට ක්රියා නොකිරීම මඟින් රාජකාරිය පැහැර හැර සාපරාධී මිනී මැරීමේ සිද්ධිය සම්බන්ධයෙන් රිමාන්ඞ් කර සිටින අනිවාර්ය නිවාඩු යැවූ පොලිස්පති පූජිත් ජයසුන්දර සහ හිටපු ආරක්ෂක ලේකම් හේමසිරි ප්රනාන්දු ලබන වසරේ ජනවාරි 6 වනදා දක්වා යළි රක්ෂිත බන්ධනාගාර ගත කිරීමටයි අධිකරණය නියෝග කළේ.
මීට අමතරව අද නඩුව කැදවූ අවස්ථාවේදී රජයේ නියෝජ්ය සොලිසිටර් ජනරාල් දිලීප පීරිස් අධිකරණය හමුවේ කරුණු දක්වමින් කියා සිටියේ මෙම පරීක්ෂණවලට අදාලව හිටපු ජනාධිපති මෛත්රීපාල සිරිසේන, හිටපු අග්රාමාත්ය රනිල් වික්රමසිංහ සහ කතානායකවරයාගෙන් ද ප්රකාශ සටහන් කර ගැනීමට නියමිත බවයි. එමෙන්ම කාදිනල් හිමියාණන්ගෙන් ද නත්තල් උත්සවය අවසන් වීමෙන් පසු ප්රකාශ සටහන් කර ගැනීමට නියමිතව
As Eelam war IV came to an end, the armed forces moved onto Rescue, Rehabilitation and Resettlement. This essay is about the Rescue.
From mid 2008 civilians from LTTE controlled territory, were entering government controlled territory. They came in small groups, as well as large numbers, wherever and whenever possible. They escaped in the daylight and at night. Sri Lanka army had provided night moves to help them get across at night.
The biggest escape came on 21 and 22 April 2009 when the LTTE embankments were opened up and the hostages came streaming out. Before the day was over, army had rescued around 80,000 civilians. By following morning 174,564 more had come in. Hundreds of LTTE cadres had also dropped their weapons and joined the large crowd fleeing across the lagoon. ‘It was like hitting a ‘meevadaya’, the army said later.
On our television screens, we saw them running eagerly towards the armed forces. We also saw how the soldiers compassionately carried across the hostages who could not walk and helped others who could. The civilians were able to escape because of the assistance offered by Security Forces. Sri Lanka armed forces took the lead role in this emergency humanitarian effort’. This must be recognized and never forgotten.
All those who crossed over to Government controlled areas received immediate care and attention. The army looked after them. As they came in they were given a bottle of water, and immediate medical attention.
Medical teams from the Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps looked at their health status. Dehydration and hypoglycaemia were treated at the initial point of contact, and anyone with bleeding was given emergency treatment to arrest the flow of blood. No distinction was made between civilians and combatants in the services provided.
Those with injuries and illness were sent to medical stations for treatment. Eight Advanced Dressing Stations were established within 500 meters to 1 kilometre of the front lines for minor surgical procedures. More complex procedures were carried out at the five Main Dressing Stations established in the army divisional headquarters area. Those with severe injuries were sent to hospitals at Vavuniya and Anuradhapura using helicopters.
The Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) were then taken to registration centers and registered with assistance of the Red Cross and UN agencies including UNHCR. These were transit centers with medical, food, water, sanitation facilities and clothes. IDPs were processed and accommodated within 5-7 days. A social profile was prepared for each IDP, which included level of radicalization and socio economic status. LTTE cadres who surrendered were taken to other centres for further investigation and rehabilitation. Former child combatants were looked after separately.
The civilians were then taken to the shelters prepared for them. Reception centres had been established and detailed preparations had been made beforehand. Government schools and institutions in Vavuniya district with large buildings had been taken over
Gamini Keerawella observed that the government was able to absorb the initial shock of satisfactorily providing shelters, water, medical care, food supply as well as identification and registration of IDPs. This was a gigantic task, he said. Around 300,000 civilians were rescued altogether. This figure shows the magnitude of the operation and the logistic support necessary.
After initial screening, all civilians not requiring medical treatment were sent to the relief villages established by the Government of Sri Lanka at Menik Farm, a sprawling 700-hectare site outside the northern town of Vavuniya. 100 acres of Menik farm was cleared by the army for the purpose. Menik farm was selected it was only 22 km away from Vavuniya town. The villages in Menik Farm were named Anandakumaraswamy, Arunachalam, Kadirgamar and Ramanathapura. 262,629 IDPs were accommodated there. Families were kept together as far as possible.
Government took responsibility for the management of the welfare villages and took full control over all activities The Sri Lanka army saw to overall management supervision and maintenance of security. Menik farm was considered the world’s largest camp for internally displaced people. At its peak, it held 225,000 people. Rs 2777 million was spent on these relief villages from 2009-2012
The villages had schools, pre schools, healthcare centers, hospitals, community kitchens, tube wells, water tanks, shops, cooperatives, banks, post office, telephones, libraries, children’s parks and place of religious worship., Many organization and individuals from elsewhere in the country spontaneously and overwhelmingly responded by making donations of water, food and non food items but not the Tamils.
A family from Adampan in Mannar had travelled, on the orders of the LTTE all the way to Nanthikadal. On the way, family got split up. The survivors had later regrouped in Ramanathapuram in Menik Farm, but one sister had gone missing after they crossed over.
Menik Farm closed in September 2012. Several schools and hospitals which were located within Menik Farm were retained. The government of Sri Lanka said its work at Menik Farm was wonderful. The west which had supported the civil war and deeply resented the defeat, thought otherwise. This is what they had to say, as given in Wikipedia.
The Sri Lankan government/military describes the camps as “welfare centres” or “welfare villages” but the conditions imposed on the IDPs have prompted others, inside and outside Sri Lanka, to use other terms to describe the camps, said Wikipedia. Western critics have described the camps as “prisons” or “closed camps” because the IDPs were not permitted to leave the camps.
Some, including the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights Navaneetham Pillay, have gone further and described the camps as “internment camps” because the IDPs were not permitted leave the camps; access to the camps by independent aid organizations, independent media, IDPs relatives and opposition politicians is heavily restricted or denied completely; and the camps are controlled by the Sri Lankan military, continued Wikipedia.
Tamil activists have described the camps as “concentration camps“, using an image of IDPs standing behind barbed wire fences to liken the camps to the concentration camps of World War II and Bosnian Civil War, added Wikipedia, helpfully. Indian and Tamil MPs, Catholic priests, academics, Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal based in Milan, Booker Prize-winning author Arundhati Roy and Noam Chomsky as well as the Telegraph and Times newspapers also described the IDP camps as concentration camps said Wikipedia.
The conditions imposed on the IDPs, the conditions inside the camps and the slow progress of resettlement have attracted widespread criticism from inside and outside Sri Lanka, went on Wikipedia. Shelters had been built from tarp and sticks. Much of the displaced civilians were often forcibly detained in camps lacking even the basic amenities.
The IDPs were not allowed to leave the camps initially. Human rights groups believe that this effectively meant that the IDPs were being detained indefinitely without charge or trial, in contravention of international law continued Wikipedia, citing , nonsensically, Articles 9 and 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantee the rights to liberty, freedom from arbitrary detention and freedom of movement.
On 1 December 2009 the camps were opened up, giving the IDPs limited freedom. The IDPs could leave the camps for up to 15 days after giving their details to the authorities but they would have to return to the camps on a stipulated day. Some IDPs could leave the camps permanently but would have to report to the police regularly. The Sri Lankan military has threatened to “track down” IDPs who don’t return to camps or report to the police. The camps are being described by some as “open prisons” because of these strict conditions imposed on the IDPs, said Wikipedia.
Access to the camps by independent media is heavily restricted. When the media are allowed into the camps they are monitored by the military and all contact with the IDPs is filmed by the military. Access to the camps by the IDPs’ relatives is also heavily restricted Wikipedia went on.
Initially the Sri Lankan military denied all access to the camps by NGOs. This was later relaxed after pressure was exerted by the international community. Many local and international NGOs now work in the camps but they continue to report problems with access. However, human rights groups and others who wish provide advice to the IDPs were denied access said Wikipedia.
The Menik Farm site is very prone to flooding because it lies on low ground near a number of rivers and streams including the Aruvi Aru (Malvathu Oya). In August heavy rains flooded the site, causing heavy damage to the tents housing the IDPs and sending raw sewage into the camps and the rivers providing drinking water. There is widespread concern that the north east monsoon season (October to March) will flood the site.
By the end of September 10,000 IDPs had been identified as having some links to the Tamil Tigers. This includes not only former cadres but also their relatives, those who worked in the Tigers’ civil administrative structures and anyone believed to be a supporter or sympathizer of the Tigers They have been moved to separate camps. The Red Cross and UN have been denied access to them. Many of those being detained as Tamil Tigers are children, said Wikipedia adding that In June 2011, government claimed that all former female LTTE combatants were released.
The play ‘Dear Children, Sincerely’ is a play first performed in 2015 , in Colombo. It was commissioned by Office of National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR) and funded, inter alia, by the Neelan Thiruchelvam Trust and the Embassy of Switzerland.
This play had added a new scene into it when I saw it again in 2017, Scene 7 ‘the story of Menik Farm’ . The programme note spoke of the ‘infamous Menik farm which not many saw’. This farm, said the programme note, split the experience of the end of the war into two isolated camps, victors and victims. This reinforces, at the level of theatre, the notion put forward by the Tamil Separatist Movement , once the war ended, that the public in the north were ‘innocent victims’ who had nothing to do with the war.
The inspiration for the scene, said the programme note, came from an old lady who was displaced at 90 years of age at Menik Farm. This scene was based on a poem written by one of the persons interviewed by the project. She had visited the camp and worked with the people there and the poem was based on the many conversations she had with them.
Scene 7 condemned Menik farm as an awful, diabolic place. Children died there and IDPs disappeared, never to be seen again. Scene 7 was delivered as a monologue. Repeated reference to ‘sweet smelling jasmines ‘ and the inclusion of hymns in Tamil were the main artistic devices used.
Some of the data in this essay is taken from Ministry of Defence report” Sri Lankan Humanitarian Operation, Factual Analysis” (2011) . The full text could be found at http://slembassyusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Sri-Lankan-Humanitarian-Operation-Factual-Analysis.pdf ( continued)
Rajapakses, Geopolitics, ‘Eurocentric Developmentalism,’ and the western hegemony (Part 22)
The etymology of Sinhala language related to paddy cultivation in Sri Lanka proves the ethnicity of the people who lived in this island since time immemorial and who built this splendid civilization. Paddy cultivation is the Jewel in the Sri Lankan cultural crown; therefore, paddy farmers must be appreciated and crowned with due cultural recognition. Protecting and conserving paddy cultivation in the island is equivalent to not only defending the nation’s heritage but also upholding the ownership of the people who inhabited the island beyond known history and who built this civilization to what it is.
When we carefully analyze the elements of Sri Lankan culture, we can find that most of the elements are originated from a central activity of survival, paddy farming, and Chena cultivation. Not only that; most of the art forms also originated from the same roots. For instance, traditional dancing in Sri Lanka largely related to the activities of paddy cultivation. Kohomba (Paddy) Kankariya, or Riddi (Water) Yagaya is a part of the rituals related to Paddy farming. No difference in traditional music as well. There are innumerable poems, vannams, folk songs to name a few that related to agricultural activities in Sri Lanka.
Above all, however, there is a significant political aspect related to paddy cultivation in Sri Lanka. In the backdrop of the public statement of the separatist ‘Wig’-naswaran, (The god Ishvara wearing a blond ‘wig’) who contested the Sinhala race’s historical relationship to the island, it might be timely and appropriate to bring this information to the public discussion.
Paddy farming, the main and most important part of food production
Like many Asian countries, rice is the main staple food in Sri Lanka. Seemingly, the Sinhalese had seriously considered from ancient times that sustaining a steady supply of rice to their communities as the most important and essential aspect of prosperity. It seemed to be the highest priority for them. For that fundamental reason, most of their cultural elements had revolved around this central economic activity.
However, the language used in this main economic activity is the key here. Although the language used in paddy cultivation is one of the most important anthropological evidence to identify the people who lived in this island nation for many millenniums, it had never been received deserved attention by the researchers. The paddy cultivation is amongst the most attentive and oldest occupational human activity in the island. The vocation demanded tons of knowledge comprising the research of the paddy plant, identifying its varieties, climatic and weather conditions that related to growing different varieties of the plant, required soil types for different paddy varieties, seed production and preservation, cross-breeding of different varieties and most importantly, irrigation and water management. When it comes to irrigation and water management, this complex task required engineering knowledge including surveying and leveling to construct large scale reservoirs and waterways. And these tasks are technological as well as scientific in nature. Sinhalese had developed the necessary technology to handle these tasks to the ultimate refinement.
This proves that paddy cultivation is a huge institution of knowledge. This knowledge had been preserved and distributed, transferred and communicated with a specific language. That language is none other than Sinhala. There are hundreds of thousands of original uncorrupt (Elu) Sinhala words to address all aspects of the vocation; therefore we can consider that Sinhalese had advanced the art of paddy farming and hydraulic engineering way before the Vijayan conquest occurred: because the Sihala language went through drastic changes in the post-Vijaya-conquest and after the introducing of the great doctrine Buddhism in 3rd century B.C. In addition, if this particular knowledge developed in the post-Vijaya conquest, then the language related to paddy cultivation and Vapi culture must be having Indian language connotations. The Sinhala words used in the paddy farming activities and ancient irrigation work are the oldest versions of Sinhala language and which has no Tamil, Pali, Sanskrit or any other Indo-European language origin in it. Paddy cultivation and Vapi culture and its related language are the living etymological testimony that can find in the island to prove who inhabited the land throughout history and beyond. There are no other languages related to this vocation with such a historical relationship to the distant past of the inhabitants.
It resonating again and again that paddy farming is archaeological and anthropological evidence that proves that the Sinhalese were inhabiting this island beyond the known history. Therefore rituals and customs related to it deserves due protection and preservation as one of the oldest archaeological and anthropological specimens of human activities in this land. The paddy farmers must be paid an appreciative stipend for still occupying in the vocation and maintaining this ancient knowledge and traditions. The culture of paddy cultivation must be well documented, well-looked-after in similar care to that of Sigiriya or any other archaeological site because, on one hand, it possesses a living knowledge and on the other hand, it holds the true story of the man who lived and built this marvelous civilization.
However, sadly, paddy farming is in the rapid decline in Sri Lanka. Paddy farmers have become a football kicked around by politicians. Paddy farmers lived in the fringe of the society for so long becoming useless species and even patients suffering from CKDU kidney decease today. Our politicians have been failed at least to ban the deadly chemicals that suspected for causing these sicknesses. Wouldn’t that be a part of the design of some unknown agenda of destroying this ancient activity and to completely erase the ethnocultural evidence it holds once and for all?
In the 1990s there were some discussions held in the ministry of finance with representatives from the American embassy and other world bodies about the future of paddy cultivation in Sri Lanka. The idea floating around was that Sri Lanka would be better off if it abandons paddy cultivation due to high production cost and to advice that importing rice from the world market at a cheaper price would be a better solution. (As they suggested, the USA would be a potential supplier of cheaper rice) And in parallel, there were some other discussions going on in the same ministry and other relevant authorities to privatize water resources in the island as well including ancient reservoirs. A brilliant plan for destroying an entire history of people. If my memory serves right, Dr. P.B. Jayasundara was the secretary of finance at that time. I hope Dr. Jayasundara might have abandoned those types of stupid and destructive neoliberal economic policies and agendas by now, otherwise, I believe he wouldn’t be able to become current Pres. Gotabhaya’s secretary. Because we firmly believe that Pres. Gotabhaya will revers all harmful neoliberal economic policies of our country and keep that beast within arm’s length.
The new president seems to understand the sensitivities of the relationship between paddy cultivation and Sri Lankan culture. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the relationship between the paddy plant and the inhabitants of the island is much older than that the relationship between Buddhism and Sinhalese. They built marvelous irrigation systems for paddy cultivation and consumed rice as their staple food much earlier than the known history of Sri Lanka.
I was born and raised in Colombo city, therefore, I know nothing about paddy cultivation other than the knowledge I have cultivated through the association of paddy farmers and through reading and direct association of my village friends. If I can understand the importance of paddy cultivation within our cultural heritage, then our policy planners in high echelons cannot have excuses not to. Personally, I know some of our high-level bureaucrats who are even in top-level positions today, believe that paddy cultivation must end in Sri Lanka due to high production cost. These ignoramuses think importing rice from the USA or any other country at a cheaper price might be a solution to the problem rather than finding solutions to cut down the cost for the rice-production in Sri Lanka. In the same breath, they even ready to negotiate to privatize water resources in Sri Lanka. They did so during Chandrika administration and the privatization of water had extended even including the ancient reservoirs. They are so insensitive not to recognize the relationship between Sri Lankan culture with the culture of paddy cultivation and water preservation and ancient irrigation system. They are so blind therefore could see this issue only through the supply and demand rules of economics. They wouldn’t bother to do the research to understand the relationship between the culture of Sri Lanka and the paddy plant and water management. Why Sri Lankan culture is so attached to paddy cultivation and related rituals?
Paddy and Vapi culture
Sri Lankan culture is largely shaped up by the interrelations of paddy farming and the ethos and mythos of Vapi culture, together with related social norms that are still prevailing in the hinterland of the island. First of all, if we look into the history of the paddy plant, that along goes beyond the known history of mankind and the plant was here in Sri Lanka way before Vijaya conquest and Buddhism was introduced to the island. It is said that when prince Pandukabhaya dispatched his armies to engage the armies of Vijaya’s relatives, prince Pandukabhaya had to cross a vast patch of paddy fields in the present-day northwestern province. I assume this area must be the famous rice bowl in the region. Paddy cultivation and Vapi culture are not two different things but evolved parallelly in the same evolutionary scheme as it has been revealed by traditional language use in paddy farming and reservoir related activities, rituals and customs. The language used in paddy cultivation in Sri Lanka is based on pre-Vijayan ‘Elu’ language roots and it has kept its unique form intact even to date. If the entire Vapi culture was a development of post-Buddhist civilization, the words used in the culture of paddy cultivation and reservoir related customs must have some language connotations of Endo-European languages. If there is anything that doesn’t have any relationship to post-Buddhist culture and language, it is the original Sinhala language used in paddy cultivation and Vapi culture in Sri Lanka.
As I said repeatedly, the language use, belief systems and rituals related to Vapi culture and the traditions of paddy cultivation have no connection whatsoever with Indo-Aryan languages or the Sanskrit language origin. They are not even having any Dravidian languages origin either. For example, වක්කඩ Wakkada, නියර Niyara, ලියැද්ද Liyadda, බිත්තර වී ගෙඩිය Bittara Vee gediya (they never called it a seed), වැටි wati, කොසඹ Kosamba කොසඹා නුවර (Kosamba Nuwara means not a city of කොහොඹ Kohomba trees, but a region of paddy fields. Kosamba means Paddy or කුඹුරු ගොයම Kumburu/goyama). කොහොඹා කංකාරිය Kohomba Kankariya (Goyam kankariya ගොයම් කංකාරිය orRiddi yagaya රිද්ධි යාගය), Riddiරිද්දි could be another word for diya දිය (water) because, Ridee Bandilla රිදී බැඳිල්ල means, arresting water in Vapi language.) Kohomba Kankariya කොහොඹ කංකාරිය isa folk ritual traditionally played in Kamatha කමත after paddy harvesting, among other words, goyama ගොයම , piduru පිදුරු, heeya හීය , haama හෑම , da-kathi දෑකැති , ඇඹුල Ambula, නගුල Nagula, අම්බරුවන් Ambaruvan aresome of Elu words related to paddy cultivation of Vapi’ culture.
Then when we come to rituals and language that is related to reservoir related activities, they also are not derived from any of Indo-Aryan languages, Sanskrit or Dravidian language. Asta අස්තා is another word for Wewa වැව . Ihastawa වැව ඉහස්තාව = Iha+asta ඉහ+අස්තා is the catchment area of the reservoir. Iha ඉහ means up and Astha අස්තා means Wewa වැව. Therefore, Wewa වැව . Ihastawa වැව ඉහස්තාව meaning upper part of the reservoir. Horowwa හොරොව්ව (Sluice) Mada Horow මඩ හොරොව් and goda Horow ගොඩ හොරොව් , Biso Kotu බිසෝ කොටු, Athul Wana ඇතුල් වාන , Pita Wana පිට වාන, Isweti ඉස් වැටි , Potaa Weti පෝට වැටි, Kalingula or Kalingu Bamma කලිඟුල හෝ කලිඟු බැම්ම, Kulu Wew කුළු වැව් or Pota Wew පෝටා වැව්, Wew Thaawulla වැව් තාවුල්ල , Weda Inamaluwa වැඩ ඉන්නා මළුව , Ala Weli ඇල වේලි , Pera Wati පෙර වැටී , Biso Wew බිසෝ වැව් , Rala Pana රැළ පනා , Ridee Bandilla රිදී බැඳිල්ල are some of the words.
None of these words have been derived from Indo Aryan language streams, Sanskrit language or Dravidian languages. This reveals that these activities were part of the life of pre-Buddhist Lanka. If the activities of Vapi culture are pre-Buddhist, then we will have to accept the fact that this pre-Buddhist culture must have had a highly developed technology. There is no reason to deny these facts since Indian mythology already proved this in their epic Ramayana.
That means Vapi culture and its highest technological marvels are older than Buddhist Sri Lanka.
Then we find some evidence that proves the reservoir as a part of the landscape even before Vijaya conquest was taken place. This has been revealed when the chronicles describe the meeting of Kuweni and Vijaya. According to which, Vijaya meets Kuweni by the side of a big reservoir while she was spinning cotton yarns for fabric weaving.
By avoiding to mention the existence of a fully matured irrigational civilization prior to Vijaya conquest, even the greatest Sinhalese epic Mahavamsa has done the greatest injustice to Sinhalese, the true owners of Vapi civilization. This omission of pre-Buddhist culture eventually implies the entire achievements of Lankan civilization as a result of the introduction of the great doctrine of Buddhism and the resultant influx of cultural knowledge from India. But ironically, India doesn’t have any archaeological evidence of hydraulic engineering marvels in a similar scale.
However, Mahavamsa mentions that Pandukabhaya built the city of Anuradhapura and many reservoirs after the eradication of entire clan members of Vijaya regaining lost sovereignty of the native. That statement proves that the technology was existing there in the island before Buddhism was introduced. The evasion of Mahavamsa the details of pre-Buddhist culture, naturally questions about the true intention of the author of Mahavamsa, and these arrays of omissions of this epic make it more political than a historical document. It might be a very innocent omission, but it would have been better and the justice would have been served if that omission was avoided.
In regard to the liberation struggle of Pandukabhaya, it is also said that when Pandukabhaya was advancing his armies to engage the armies of Vijaya’s descendants, he had to cross a vast region of paddy fields; which obviously establishes a fully matured culture of paddy cultivation in prior to Vijaya’s arrival. In addition, according to Mahawamsa, it is said that prince Anuradha built a reservoir south of Anuradhapura in the 4th century B.C. All constructions were completed way before Buddhism being introduced. But Mahawamsa is silent about the larger part of pre-Buddhist history. We must understand that the history of Sri Lanka is much longer than what Mahavamsa has recorded.
If we really need to protect and preserve the heritage of the nation from being erased, we must ‘modernize’ paddy cultivation to attract future generations into it. And above all, paddy cultivation and its related cultural heritage must prevail within the new era of neoliberalism. So it is the duty of our researchers to record all customs, rituals, and knowledge related to Paddy cultivation and related knowledge of the Vapi culture for the reference of future generations. Therefore the culture and the language of paddy cultivation must be the subject matter and the research topic of our intellectuals due to its political significance in this era of separatism in the Indian Ocean region.
2009 වන විට චීන ව්යාපෘති ලංකාවේ ආරම්භ කොට තිබුනේ නැත. භාරත ලක්ෂ්මන් මිය ගොස් සිටියේ නැත. අගවිනිසුරු ශිරානි බලයෙන් පහ කොට තිබුනේ නැත. තජුඩීන් මිය ගොස් සිටියේ නැත. අළුත්ගම ගිණිගෙන තිබුනේ නැත. ආන්ඩුවට එරෙහිව තිබුනේ ලසන්ත , එක්නැලිගොඩ වැනි කේස් කිහිපයකි. ෆොන්සේකාද එකී චෝදනාවල සම අයිතිකරුවෙකි. නමුත් 2009 වසරේ මහින්දට එරෙහිව ෆොන්සේකා ජනපති සටනට ආවේය. මහින්ද සිය කැම්පේන් එකට අභියෝගාත්මක තේමා පාඨයක් ගෙන ආවේය . ඒ ”කෘතඥතාවය ” පිලිබද පාඨයකි. මිනිසුන් සරත් ෆොන්සේකා අකෘතඥ පුද්ගලයෙකු ලෙස ප්රතික්ෂේප කොට ඉදිරි නායකයා ලෙස මහින්ද තෝරා ගත්තේය.
5 වසර ශිෂ්යත්ව විභාගයට දියනිය රැගෙන යමින් සිටි පියා වල් අලි ප්රහාරයකට ලක්ව මිය ගිය සිදුවීමක් පසු ගිය ආන්ඩු කාලයේදී වාර්තා විය. එම සිදුවීමෙන් පසු ෆොන්සේකාට වන ජීවී ඇමතිකම ලැබුනි. ඔහුට අලි මිනිස් ගැටුමෙන් පීඩාවට පත්ව සිටින මිනිසුන්ට සෙතක් සැදීමට යුතුකමක් තිබුනි. විසදුමක් දීම තියා අලි මිනිස් ගැටුම වටහා ගැනීමටවත් උත්සාහ නොකල ෆොන්සේකා නියෝජ්ය ඇමතිවූ තෙවරප්පෙරුම හීලෑ කිරීමට ඔට්ටු වූයේය.
මිනිසුන් ලෙස අප සමාජයේ ජීවත් වන විට පවත්වාගෙන යායුතු මානුෂීය ගුණධර්ම රාශියකි. සරත් ෆොන්සේකා යනු ශිෂ්ඨ සම්පන්න සමාජයක රැකිය යුතු යයි සම්මත අවම ගුණධර්ම වත් නොරකින අශිෂ්ඨයෙකි.2009 කැම්පේන් එකට ලැබුනු මුදල් ෆොන්සේකාගේ පෞද්ගලික ගිනුම් වල තිබී හමු විය. ඒවා අදටද නඩු භාන්ඩය. නායකයෙකුගේ සුජාත භාවය විද්යාමන වන්නේ ජයග්රහනයේදී නොව පරාජය කළමනාකරණය කරන ආකාරයෙනි. ෆොන්සේකා යනු ජය පරාජය දෙකේම පිස්සු කෙලිය අයෙකි .මොහු පාර්ලීමේන්තුවේ සිටින්නේ මහජන ඡන්දයෙන් නොව ජාතික ලැයිස්තු සෙල්ලමකිනි.
ෆොන්සේකාගේ චරිත කථාව තුල කොටින්ගේ නොනවතින රැල්ල පරාජය කිරීමේ සිට මේජර් ජෙනරාල් ජී.ජී. කුලතුංගගේ නිවසේ සිටි මෙහෙකාරිය දූෂණය කිරීම දක්වා කථා කියවිය හැක. ඊයේ වැලිකඩ ගොස් චම්පික බලා පැමිනෙන අතර ෆොන්සේකා තවත් අවලං වැඩක් කළේය. සංදීපගේ අනතුර ගැන නොකිව යුතු කථාවක් කීවේය. යතුරුපැදිය පැයට කිලෝමීටර් 170 ක පමණ වේගයෙන් ධාවනය කොට ඇති බවත් නීතිය ක්රියාත්මක කල යුත්තේ චම්පිකට නොව සංදීපට බව ෆොන්සේකා කීවේය.
චම්පිකට එල්ල වී ඇති බරපතල චෝදනාව රිය අනතුර නොව, වෙනත් රියදුරෙකු ඉදිරිපත් කොට සාහසික ලෙස අධිකරණය නොමග යැවීමය. මෙවැනිම සිදුවීමක් 2001 වශයේදී වාර්තා විය. එවක ගුවන් හමුදාපති වූ එයාර් මාෂල් වීරක්කොඩි පැදවූ මෝටර් රථය බොරැල්ල හන්දියේදී අනතුරට ලක්විය. ඔහුද මේ ආකාරයෙන්ම වෙනත් රියදුරෙකු ඉදිරිපත් කොට සත්ය වසන් කළේය. අවසානයේ ඔහුට ගුවන් හමුදාපතිකම අහිමිවූයේ බීමතින් රියපැදවීම හෝ අනතුරක් වලක්වා ගැනීමේ චෝදනා වලට නොව සත්ය වසන් කිරීම නිසාය.
චම්පිකට එරෙහි ක්රියාන්විතය දේශපාලන ”මෝටිව්” එකකින් යුතු නමුත් එය සිදු වන්නේ නීතිමය රාමුවක් තුලය. චම්පිකට එරෙහිව බිදහෙලිය නොහැකි ප්රභල සාක්ෂි ඇත. කරුණු එසේ හෙයින් චමිපිකගේ සිද්ධියෙදී තුන් කල නුවනින් කටයුතු කල යුතුය. චම්පිකට වඩා අබාධිත තරුණයා දෙස මානුෂීය කෝණයෙන් බැලීමට එජාපය ශූක්ෂම විය යුතුය. එසේ නොවුවහොත් පුරවැසියන් හමුවේ සදාචාර බලය එජාපයට අහිමි වනු ඇත . සමාජය හමුවේ බලවත්විය යුතු මානුෂීය මුහුණුවර එජාපයට අහිමිවනු ඇත. දිගින් දිගටම චම්පික නැමති චූදිතයා වෙනුවෙන් පෙනී සිටිය හොත් ප්රජාවෙන් එජාපයට ලැබෙනුයේ ම්ලේච්ඡ හංවඩුවකි.
තවද
තිස්වසරක යුද්ධය නිමාකල සටනේ ජෙනරාල් කෙනෙකු යයි කියා කිසිවෙකුට මානුෂීය ගුණාංග
අතික්රමණය කිරීමට හෝ ඉන් වියුක්තව සිටීමට බලපත්ර දිය දිය නොහැක. වහාම ක්රියාත්මක
පරිදි ෆොන්සේකා ශිෂ්ඨාචාර ගත විය යුතුය. නොඑසේනම් ප්රජාව විසින් ඔහු ශිෂ්ඨාචාර ගත
කල යුතුව ඇත.
India is no more a secular country; it is a country meant only for the Hindus; and the minorities there, including the Sikhs, the Buddhists, the Christians, could live a second grade life full of compulsions and restrictions if they wish to be a part of the Indian society; this is the message Mr. Modi has successfully conveyed to the minorities in India. Though apparently this message is only for the Indian Muslims but inwardly it is a message for all the minorities. Today Mr. Modi has given direction to all the Muslims they all must migrate to the Islamic countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. In the days to come, same instruction might be given to the Christians, the Sikhs and the Buddhists that they must move to Sri Lanka, Nepal or other respective countries. Mr. Modi has very clearly told to the minorities that India has no room for these ‘junk’ items.
Modi’s approach towards the all minorities particularly towards the Muslim community has ever been hostile and aggressive. Just look back to the Gujarat Massacre of 2002 which claimed the lives of more than 1000 Muslims, hundreds of women were raped, countless hoses and shops were burnt to ashes; all this was done under the ‘kind’ supervision of the Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Many of us would never forget the painful story of Bilqees Bano whose whole family was butchered before her own eyes and she herself was mercilessly raped by a mob among the bleeding dead bodies of her family members. Talking to a media group, a few days back, Bilqees narrated with tearful eyes remembering that horrible night. We had boarded a truck in a desperate attempt to escape communal riots that had swept our village. We were hoping to escape to Ahmadabad, some 200km away. Over the next few minutes, a mob of the local Hindus attacked the truck, 12 men took turned to rape me despite my being five months pregnant. Neither did they show any mercy to my cousin, Shamim, who had given birth a day earlier. She was forced to watch as the men butchered her newborn child. The men murdered all members of my family and shamelessly raped eight of the women in the process.”
Ten years earlier to the Gujarat massacre, on 6th December 1992, a large group of Hindu activists of the Vishva Hindu Parishad and allied organizations demolished the historical Babri Mosque in Ayodhya. The present prime minister of India, Narendra Modi was then the general secretary of BJP’s Gujarat unit. He was among the main organizers of the Demolish Babri Mosque Movement. His joy and happiness after demolition of Babri Mosque and after Court’s verdict on the issue new no bound and he expressed this joy in different statements too. Modi’s role in Revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir is also among his crime’s list against the Muslims. After this decision life remained at a halt for many months there in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. So many lost their lives and countless were deprived of their business and properties. As per tradition the deputed security forces used ‘rape’ as a tool against the local people. The fire of indignation and aggression is still blazing there. The people have been deprived of their basic human rights. They are still facing the worst shortage of food and medicine. The government has cut off all internet lines to paralyze all communication in the valley. No one is allowed to enter the valley from the outer world. Some of the international media groups tried to send their representatives for the coverage of the situation but even they were barred from approaching and listening to the helpless local Kashmiris.
Mr. Narendra Modi seems working on an agenda which would never be acceptable to the people of India; the agenda of breaking one of the world’s biggest democratic and secular democracies into debris. The recent amendment in The Citizenship Law is really a very ‘horrible’ example which supports this notion. If things keep on drifting in the same direction in India, if the flames of hatred between the Muslims and the Non-Muslims keep on rising to the sky, if the streets of Lucknow, Mumbai and Delhi keep on presenting a battlefield like scenario, probably in next few years, world would witness India scattering into small states fighting with one another. This all would do nothing but promote more terrorism and more extremism in the world. Modi’s dream of turning India into a complete non-secular state would bring a catastrophic disaster to India. In short Mr. Modi has always been deeply and whole-heartedly involved in every action which could be harmful to the Muslims.
India without Muslims is Modi’s old dream. He is doing all his best to drag this dream to reality. It is because of his stubbornness that today the ‘Shining India’ is passing through one of the darkest phases of its life. Graveness and severity of the situation could be estimated through a recent report of CNN published on the 20th December 2019. The report said that tens of thousands of people took to the streets in at least 15 cities across the country, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Ahmadabad, Mangalore, and Lucknow in a show of nationwide public anger against the law considered by many to be unconstitutional and discriminatory against Muslims. At least two people died in only one day protest. Thousands of people were arrested. It is something very remarkable that in many areas, the Muslim protesters are being supported by the Christians, the Buddhists and the Sikhs because they know that they would be the next target of Modi’s extremism. Let us wait and see how does the world around respond to the hatred and prejudice of Mr. Modi against the religious minorities.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) stands ready to engage with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s administration and to continue its constructive cooperation with Sri Lanka, an IMF official said. The Fund is in contact with the Ministry of Finance to obtain further information to assess the recently announced tax measures, IMF Mission Chief for Sri Lanka, Manuela Goretti said on the status of the program and the recently announced measures.
Gorretti said the IMF will continue under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement the development of a comprehensive policy agenda which supports economic growth for the people of Sri Lanka and reduces inequality, while managing external risks and the challenges of public debt sustainability. The Executive Board completed the Sixth Review of the EFF arrangement on November 1.
The Seventh and final review of the EFF arrangement can take place any time after April 3, 2020, based on the EFF schedule, with the arrangement set to expire on June 2.Sri Lanka’s extended arrangement was approved on June 3, 2016, in the amount of about SDR 1.1 billion (US$1.5 billion or 185 percent of quota in the IMF at the time of the approval of the arrangement).
On May 13, 2019, the Executive Board approved an extension of the arrangement by one additional year, until June 2, 2020, with rephasing of remaining disbursements.The completion of the sixth review, upon the granting of a waiver of nonobservance for the end June 2019 performance criterion on the primary balance, enables the disbursement of SDR 118.5 million (about US$164 million), bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to SDR 952.23 million (about US$1.31 billion).
Meanwhile Secretary to the President, Dr. P.B. Jayasundera had told a group of foreign correspondents in Colombo, Sri Lanka is likely to start talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a possible deal in line with the new administration’s policies in January.”Sri Lanka successfully completed the sixth review, enabling the next disbursement of supporting funds. Whether we want to get the last tranche or whether we want a different co-operation arrangement will have to be discussed,” he had said.
Last week the Finance Ministry said in a statement after Fitch Ratings revised Sri Lanka’s Outlook to ‘Negative’, the Government will continue its engagement with multi-lateral lending agencies.The current IMF program will have its final review by February next year and the authorities are certain that the performance targets for this year will be duly met.”
The envisaged direction of the recent tax measures is expected to boost private sector led growth.The switching of resources from unproductive public expenditure to the private firms and individuals will be growth friendly in a context where there has been a persistent output gap.Higher growth will have a positive impact on the overall debt dynamics of the country as well,” the statement added.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa says the law must be enforced on everyone equally.
He expressed these views addressing an event at Wadduwa today (22). A cordial meeting of the social media activists of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) was held this morning under the patronage of the Premier.
The law is being strictly enforced today, the Prime Minister said adding that it does not matter whether it is Champika, Rajitha, Ranil or Mahinda.”
The Premier also stressed that political lawsuits and personal lawsuits are different matters.
PM Rajapaksa also pointed out that they are the ones who are being accused of certain actions of other persons.
UNP Parliamentarian Ashu Marasinghe says no one can forcibly oust party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Joining Mokada Une” (What Happened?) programme of Ada Derana 24, the parliamentarian also said Wickremesinghe is not a leader who should leave behind his posts.
Speaking further he said, there is no division of any sort within the United National Party (UNP).
The parliamentarian commented that the main reason for the UNP’s presidential election defeat was the failure to attract the Singhalese Buddhist vote base.
මාධ්යවේදී ප්රගීත් එක්නැගිලිගොඩ අතුරුදන් වීමේ සිද්ධියේ ප්රධාන සැකකරු හිටපු අමාත්ය පාඨලී චම්පික රණවක බවට චෝදනා කරමින් මව්බිම වෙනුවෙන් රණවිරුවෝ සංවිධානය පොලිස් මූලස්ථානයට පැමිණිල්ලක් ඉදිරිපත් කළා.
එමගින් එම සිද්ධියට අදාළ විමර්ශන නැවත ආරම්භ කරන ලෙසට වැඩබලන පොලිස්පතිවරයාගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටි බවයි එම සංවිධානයේ කැදවුම්කරු විශ්රාමික මේජර් අජිත් ප්රසන්න කියා සිටියේ.
පසුගිය රජය සමයේ හිටපු අග්රාමාත්ය රනිල් වික්රමසිංහ තමන් සිරගත කිරීමට උත්සාහ කළ බව අමරපුර සිරි සද්ධම්මවංශ මහ නිකායේ අනුනායක පූජ්ය බෙංගමුවේ නාලක හිමියන් පවසනවා.
උන්වහන්සේ මේ බව කියා සිටියේ අදට යෙදී ඇති සිය 71 වන ඡන්ම දිනය වෙනුවෙන් කැළණිය ශ්රී පඤ්ඤානන්ද ධර්මායතනයේ පැවැත්වු විශේෂ වැඩසටහනකට එක්වෙමින්.
>එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂයේ අර්බුද විසදීම සඳහා නායකත්ව මණ්ඩලයක් පිහිටුවීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් යෝජනාවක් ඉදිරිපත්ව ඇතැයි පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්රී ආශූ මාරසිංහ පවසනවා.
ඔහු මේ බව කියා සිටියේ සිරිකොත පක්ෂ මූලස්ථානයේ අද පැවති මාධ්ය හමුවකට එක්වෙමින්.
හිටපු අමාත්ය පාඨලී චම්පික රණවකට එල්ල වී ඇති චෝදනා සම්බන්ධයෙන් දැනටමත් වරදකරු බව පෙනී යද්දී, දේශපාලන වාසි තකා පුද්ගල වන්දනාවේ නිරත නොවන ලෙසට රාවණාබලය සංවිධානයේ මහලේකම් පූජ්ය ඉත්තෑකන්දේ සද්ධාතිස්ස හිමියන් ඉල්ලීමක් කරනවා.
උන්වහන්සේ මෙම ඉල්ලීම කරනු ලැබුවේ කොළඹ අද පැවති මාධ්ය හමුවකට එක්වෙමින්.
රක්ෂිත බන්ධනාගාර ගතව සිටින පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්රී පාඨලි චම්පික රණවක අත්අඩංගුවට ගැනීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් අදත් විවිධ පාර්ශ්ව අදහස් පළ කළා.
It is heartening to note that our new Government is taking action to stop the import of items that we can easily make. This has commenced with kites, wesak lanterns, jos sticks and palm oil.
This Import Substitution is to my thinking the only certain method of rejuvenating our economy. If we make our own items then by stopping imports we can definitely gain by saving the foreign exchange that we use for imports and also be certain of finding employment for our own people. This means income- poverty alleviation.
Today, import substitution is the only development method available to the Government. Tourism, touted to bring incomes only helps employment creation. Tourism does not bring in foreign exchange as most tourists cash dollars at private dealers and the intake of dollars does not get into Government coffers. Only bank intakes get into Government coffers. Further hotel bookings are mainly done through the internet where the hotelier is paid in Rupees but has to pay at least 15% and this goes out through a bank in our foreign exchange. Under FDI(foreign direct investment) too we incurr a loss of foreign exchange as they(Pizza Hut, Uber etc) trade in Rupees but repatriate their profits in our foreign exchange. Then there are the investors in water, power etc. who trade in Rupees by providing power, water etc. but take away profits in our foreign exchange. All this leaves Import Substitution as the only method to rejuvenate Sri Lanka.
Five decades ago, when I as the Government Agent at Matara, established the Crayon Factory at Morawaka., Harry Guneratne the Controller of Imports was happy to give us some foreign exchange to import dyes, the only item in the ingredients that went into the making of crayons, and he slashed the import of crayons. Coop Crayon established under my direction by Sumanapala Dahanayake, the Member of Parliament for Deniyaya in his capacity as the President of the Morawaka Coop Union, was able to have islandwide sales. Our country saved foreign exchange as well as found employment for over a hundred youths from Morawaka. That was instead of our providing employment for workers in foreign countries and profits for foreign multinationals.
It would behove our new Government to consider the creation of a major programme of import substitution in the coming Throne Speech. The last such major programme was the Divisional Development Councils Programme of Premier Sirimavo as far back as 1970. After that it was all welfare grants. We failed to teach people to fish. Instead we were providing fish.
Import Substitution is nothing new to us. Coop Crayon was equal in quality to the Crayola crayons of today. Five decades ago it was Reeves and when fine tuning the Coop Crayon to get it equal to Reeves crayons I was beside Vetus Fernando, my Planning Officer the chemistry grad who unearthed the method of making it at the Rahula College Science Lab at Matara. It was the culmination of a myriad of attempts at making the crayon for three long months every working day from six to midnight.
Let me tell anyone that if we can make crayons there is absolutely nothing that we import that we cannot make ourselves. Let our chemistry grads (They are today on the roads agitating for employment) and science teachers do that task. I am told that the science lab at Anuradhapura Central is far more equipped than at Rahula College. That tells me of what our science teachers can achieve if put to that task. They need leaders to give them the GO AHEAD for that task.
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Let us look at other things that we did achieve ourselves. At Matara after a fierce battle with both the Ministry of Plan Implementation and the Director of Fisheries who were objecting to my establishing a Boat Making Cooperative at Matara, I won the day, and established a Boatyard making 30 foot long seaworthy fishing boats. We made 30 to 40 boats a year and provided them to Fishery Cooperatives. That was a feather in the cap of the Divisional Development Councils Programme of 1971-1977. Now that Boatyard is no more, closed down by the Jayawardena Government under the instruction of the IMF and we continue to import fish.
At Matara we established a smithy making tools . That smithy is yet there, worked by people who find it hard to find the scrap metal. In the meantime I have seen knives made as far as Mexico for sale in our Supermarkets. We do sell our scrap metal to India. We have to develop our Smithys. Today if one wants a fine knife one has to get it from the Smithy at Kotmale. Is it not sad that we sell our scrap metal to India instead of developing our own Smithys.
Once four decades ago we made paper out of straw at Valachenai. The machinery was intended to make paper out of illuk and when the stock of illuk ran out it was our scientists that found the art of making paper out of straw. Then with success we established a second paper factory at Embilipitiya. The Tigers ate the Valachenai Factory and mismanagement ate Embilipitiya. In its hey day the farmers at Hingurakgoda and Polonnaruwa made money by selling their straw to Valachenai. I used the Paper Factory Circuit Bungalow for my stay on circuit and became familiar with the paper making process. Under the Divisional Development Councils Programme a Paper Factory was established in Kotmale. That was also a real success, There paper was made from waste paper.. Many countries recycle waste paper into paper but not Sri Lanka. When I addressed hundreds of youths in Bangladesh on my never ending seminars to goad them to commence self employment ventures, we provided them with lunch and the paper cartons that contained their lunch was carefully collected by youths who had paper making small factories. We do sell our used Cardboard to India-some seventy tons a month and buy back cardboard from them. It is sad that we do not make any paper now. China and India make paper from straw. They copied the art of using straw to make paper from our Valachenai scientists.
Let me wish the new Government luck in import substitution. The way ahead to my thinking lies in the establishment of a Ministry for Employment Creation through industries and agro industries under the Hon Prime Minister, because the activities cuts across several ministries and the task will not be successful due to the fact that Ministries will not cooperate. My experience is that Ministries want to shine themselves and never cooperate. . Minister Philip Gunawardena established our Industrial Development Board, staffed with able scientists, which should take the initiative but in 1971 they were never cooperative with my initiatives- they always blocked my path to establish industries which made me go entirely solo helped only by my Planning Officer and the Science Teachers at Rahula in the making of Coop Crayon. They were the only scientists I had.
Let us take textiles. The Small Industries Department(once I worked there as a Deputy Director) imported yarn and distributed it to textile factories, to the powerlooms and handloomers. By 1970 we were self sufficient in textiles. At Matara as the GA I managed five powerlooms, run as cooperatives and the Divisional Secretaries were in charge. These were very successfully run and my Hakmana Powerloom made suiting that was in high demand even in London.
. Our country does not need massive factories that take years to establish and they devour the raw material within a few years. That is the history of the Plywood Factory at Avissawella and the Sugar Factories at Kantalai and many more.
It is adviseable to go for small scale machinery that can be established in a Divisional Secretaries area. There are plenty of small scale paper factories in India and China. Similarly there are many small scale food processing factories. We do have plenty of fruits to make juice and jam. The administrators who can establish these units till they are on their feet are today wasting their time in SLAS jobs and the scientists are in limbo as science teachers. They can be enlisted within a flash like what I did at Coop Crayon.
Based on my experience in industry in Sri Lanka I can make a firm statement that we can easily succeed in establishing the following industries to ward off imports and also create employment
1. Paper Making. Import a few paper making small scale factories from India and have them installed in the colony areas where there is plenty of straw., I can venture to state that a few Paper Making Factories can be established within three months and these can recoup the foreign exchange incurred to import the machines within a year or two.
2. Fruit Juice and Jam Making can be successfully established. Once the Marketing Department(MD) had a Cannery which was privatized. I worked in MD for over five years. When the MD ran this Cannery we purchased all the Red Pumpkin, Ash Pumpkin, Pineapple, Tomatoes and Melon we could find and made them into Jam and Juice. Producers, mainly chena cultivators made good money. Today we import all these items. We can be self sufficient in all our Jam, Juice and items like Tomatoes Sauce within two years and this will offer employment for hundreds and also save foreign exchange.
3. Boatyards can easily be established within three months and these boats will help us to stop fish imports.
4. Import bus and lorry chassis and get going with making buses and lorries.. Today we have a stray carpenter labouring to make a lorry on a chassis. This is an area where we can easily succeed.
5. Once recently I needed a step ladder and surveyed Nawala to find one made in Sri Lanka. I found that we make less than ten percent of our step ladders. . Making step ladders is a far easier task than either Paper or Fruit Juice Making. Judging with the speed we worked at Matara in 1971-1973, we can make all our step ladders within three months..
May these ideas reach the eyes and ears of our leaders. I have quoted instances of how we did things ourselves, so there is no danger of going wrong causing a waste of funds. That is why I have not included crayons. All what I have suggested is far easier than making crayons.
These thoughts come to you from a son of Mother Lanka who established the Youth Self Employment Programme in Bangladesh when he worked there as the Commonwealth Fund Advisor to the Ministry of Labour and Manpower in 1981 to 1983, a task where the ILO had failed in the earlier three years. My task was to design and establish the programme and train the officers to continue it. I had to challenge the ILO and the ILO had to eat humble pie when I succeeded. This Programme of employment creation had guided two million youths to become self employed by 2011 and guides 160,000 youths a year currently. It is a programme of employment creation that has withstood the sands of time.
All what I have said can be achieved. Every idea in this paper has been proved to the hilt. The success of Coop Crayon in 1971-1977 tells anyone that we do have within us patriotic politicians, administrators and science teachers that can do that job. In Morawaka we established the Coop Crayon Factory in a record two weeks time working on a 24 hour basis. We do have the ability if called upon to have some industries going within two to three months. We did work that fast then.
It is upto our leaders to go ahead.
Garvin Karunaratne,
Ph.D. Michigan State University former GA Matara,20 th December 2019.
(2019 දෙසැම්බර් මස 21 වෙනි දින අග්රාමාත්ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමා දියතලාව යුද හමුදා අධ්යන පීඨයේ කැඩෙට් නිලධාරීන් හැටියට පුහුණුව ලබා යුද හමුදා සේවයට එක්වෙන තරුණ නිලධාරීන් හා ඔවුන්ගේ දෙමාපියන් අමතා කළ කතාවේ පිටපත.)
අතිපූජනීය මහා සංඝරත්නයෙන් අවසරයි, සියලු ආගම්වල පූජකතුමනි, ආරක්ෂක රාජ්ය අමාත්ය චමල් රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමනි, ආරක්ෂක ලේකම්තුමනි, ආරක්ෂක මාංඩලික ප්රධානීතුමනි, ශ්රී ලංකා යුද හමුදාපතිතුමනි, යුද හමුදාවේ නිලධාරීන් හා සාමාජිකයිනි, දියතලාව යුද හමුදා අධ්යන පීඨයේ කැඩෙට් නිලධාරියනි, දෙමාපියනි, සම්භාවනීය අමුත්තනි,
අද යුද හමුදා නිලධාරීන් හැටියට පත්වෙන මේ කැඩෙට් නිලධාරීන් බොහොම වාසනාවන්ත තරුණ පිරිසක්. ඔබට මේ ආයතනයෙන් ලැබිලා තියෙන්නෙ ජීවිතේ ඕනම දේකට යොදවන්න පුලුවන් ශික්ෂණයක් හා ඉතාමත්ම වටිනා පුහුණුවක්. මේ විනය පදනම් කරගත් ප්රවේශයෙන් පුලුවන් හමුදා නිලධාරියෙක්ගෙ වෘත්තීය විතරක් නොවෙයි, වෙනත් ඕනෑම වෘත්තියක් වුණත් ප්රගුණ කරගන්න.
අද ඉඳලා හමුදා සේවයට එකතු වෙන මේ තරුණ නිලධාරීන්, විවිධ කාර්යභාර ඉටු කරන රෙජිමේන්තු වලට එක්වෙයි. මේ හැම එකකටම විශේෂඥ දැණමුක් ඕන. ඒ දැණුම ප්රගුණ කරන තරමට තමයි ඔබේ රාජකාරිය සාර්ථක වෙන්නෙ.
ඔබ අද සිට ඇතුළත් වෙන වෘත්තීමය මෙහෙවරත් සුළුපටු වැදගත්කමකින් යුක්ත එකක් නොවෙයි. මේ රට අද මෙහෙම තියෙන්නෙ ත්රිවිධ හමුදාව නිසා. නිදහස ලැබුවට පස්සෙ, සුළුපටු අභියෝග වලට නෙමෙයි අපි මුහුණ දීල තියෙන්නෙ. මේ රටේ ප්රජාතන්ත්රවාදී ක්රමයට පිටින් දේශපාලන බලය අල්ලා ගැනීමට සංවිධානාත්මක පිරිස් ඇති කළ ආයුධ සන්නද්ධ කැරළි තිබුණ 1971 සහ 1980 ගණන් වල. දශක හතරක් විතර මුලුල්ලේ රට බෙදීමට දියත් කරපු ත්රස්තවාදී ව්යාපාරයක් තිබුණු උතුරු නැගෙනහිර පළාත්වල.
ඒ සියල්ල පරාජය කරලා මේ රට අද පවතින තත්වයෙන් රැකගත්තෙ ත්රිවිධ හමුදාවයි. ඔබ මේ බැදෙන්නෙ ලෝකේ දරුණුම් ත්රස්තවාදී සංවිධානය හැටියට නම් කරලා තිබුණු කොටි සංවිධානය පරාජය කරපු අභිමාන්වත් හමුදාවකටයි. ඔබට ඉදිරියේදී වෙනත් රටවල යුද හමුදා සාමාජිකයන් හමුවුණාම පෙනෙයි, ඒගොල්ලො ලංකාවේ හමුදාව ගැන කොයිතරම් ගරුත්වයක් තියෙනවද කියන එක. සමහර බටහිර රටවල් ලංකාවේ යුද්ධය ඉවර කෙරුවට විරුද්ධයි.
නමුත් දේශපාලන බලධාරීන් මොන මතයක් දැරුවත්, ඒ රටවල් වල හමුදා නිලධාරීන් තමන්ගේ වෘත්තීය පැත්තෙන් දරණ මතය වෙනස්. ඒ නිසා අපිට කිසිම පැකිලීමක් නැතුව කියන්න පුලුවන්, ලෝකයේ යුද හමුදාවන් අතර විශාල කීර්ති නාමයක් දිනාගෙන තියෙන යුද හමුදාවක් තමයි ලංකාවේ තියෙන්නෙ. ඒ සාර්ථකත්වය හා කීර්තිය නිසාම ශ්රී ලංකා ත්රිවිධ හමුදාවට විරුද්ධ පිරිසකුත් ඉන්නවා. ත්රිවිධ හමුදාවේ රට රකින කාර්යභාරය නිසාම රටට එරෙහි අය ඔබටත් එරෙහි වෙනවා.
නමුත් මේ රටේ ජනතාව ඉන්නෙ රට වෙනුවෙන් තමන්ගේ යුතුකම් ඉටු කරන, රට රකින රණවිරුවොත් එක්ක. පහුගිය කාලේ, ඕන ගොනෙකුට යුද්ධ කරන්න පුලුවන්” කියපු පිරිසක් ආණ්ඩු කරපු විදිය ඔබ දැක්කා. පැවතිච්ච ආණ්ඩුව යුද්ධය දිනපු හමුදාව ගැන දැක්වූයේ වෛරයක්. හමුදාවේ ඉන්නෙ රණවිරුවෝ නොවෙයි, හොරුයි, මිනී මරුවොයි කියලා ජනතාවට ඒන්තු ගන්වන්න හැදුවා. භික්ෂුත්වයට පුදුම විධියට නිග්රහ කරා. පසුගිය අවුරුදු පහ ඇතුළත මේ රටේ හිටපු පාලකයෝ ඇතිකරන්න හැදුවේ දෙමවුපියන් තම දරුවන් සසුන්ගත කරන්න හෝ හමුදාවට බැදෙන්න දෙන්නෙ නැති තත්වයක් ඇති කරන්න.
ත්රිවිධ හමුදාවේ පොලීසියේ ඉහලම නිලධාරියාගේ ඉඳලා පහලම සෙබලා දක්වා එක එක තරාතිරම් වල නිලධාරීන් පොලීසිය ඉදිරියට ගෙනල්ලා ප්රශ්න කරල බොරු චෝදනා ගොතලා හිරේ දැම්මා. ඒවා දැක දැකත්, දෙමව්පියෝ තමන්ගේ දරුවන් හමුදාවට එව්වේ රටට තියෙන ඇල්ම නිසා. හමුදාව කරපු කාර්යභාර්ය ගැන අවබෝධයක් තියෙන නිසා. ඒ වගේම යුක්තිය කවදා හරි ජය ගන්නවයි කියන විශ්වාසය නිසා. ඒ දැකපු දේවල් වලින් දුර්මුඛ වෙන්නෙ නැතුව තම ළමයි හමුදා සේවයට බැඳවීම ගැන මම මෙතන සිටින සියලුම දෙමව්පියන්ටත් ස්තුතිවන්ත වෙනවා.
මම මේ අවස්ථාවේදී මේ නව හමුදා නිලධාරීන්ටයි, මෙතනට රැස්වෙලා සිටින දෙමව්පියන්ටයි දෙන ප්රතිඥාව තමයි පසුගිය අවුරුදු පහ ඇතුළත ත්රිවිධ හමුදාවේ සාමාජිකයන් ඉලක්ක කරගෙන සිදුකරපු ඒ දඩයමත්, අවමානයටත් සාධාරණයක් ඉටු කරනවයි කියන එක.
රණවිරු ගායට තිත තියන්න කියලා ඡන්දෙ ඉල්ලපු අයරට ජනතාව දීපු පිළිතුර ඔබ ගිය මාසේ දැක්කා. අද අතිවිශිෂ්ඨ ජනවරමකින් රටේ ජනාධිපති හා ඔබේ සේනාධිනායකයා බවට පත්වෙලා ඉන්නෙත්, ඔබ වගේම මේ දියතලාව කඳවුරෙන් පුහුණුව ලබලා මේ විදියටම පෙරට්ටුවට ඉදිරිපත් වෙලා යුද හමුදාවේ දෙවන ලුතිනන් තනතුරෙන් තමන්ගෙ වෘත්තීමය ජීවිතය පටන්ගත්ත සටන් අත්දැකීම් සහිත රණවිරුවෙක්.
ඒ බල පෙරළියත් එක්කම, නව ජනතා යුගයක ආරම්භයක් පිළිබඳ බලාපොරොත්තුව රට පුරාම ඇතිවෙලා තියෙන ආකාරය ඔබට පේනවා. රටේ හැම තැනම තරුණ පිරිස් පොදු ස්ථානවල බිත්ති පිරිසිදු කරලා ඒවායේ චිත්ර අඳිනවා. ලස්සන ලංකාවක්, සෞභාග්යමත් දේශයක් ගැන බලාපොරොත්තුවක් මුලු රට පුරාම පැතිරිලා තියෙනවා. මට මතකයි, 2006 දී අපි ත්රස්තවාදය පරාජය කරන්න යුද්ධය ආරම්භ කරන කොටත්, මේ වගේම උද්යෝගයක් මුලු රට පුරාම ඇතිවුණා. තරුණ පිරිස් විශාල වශයෙන් හමුදාවට බැඳුනා. වෘත්තිකයන්, වෘත්තීය සමිති, සාමාන්ය ජනතාව, සියලු දෙනාම ත්රස්තවාදය පරද්දන්න ඒකට එකතුවුණා. ඒ ගැම්මෙන් තමයි පරාජය කරන්න බෑ කියපු කොටි සංවිධානය පැරද්දුවේ.
විසි එක්වෙනි ශතවර්ෂයේ පළමු දශකයේ මේ රටේ තරුණ පරම්පරාව ලබපු ලොකුම ජයග්රණය තමයි පරද්දන්න බෑ කියපු කොටි සංවිධානය පරද්දන එක. ඒ යුද්ධයේ ඉදිරි පෙළ සිටගෙන සටන් කළේ තරුණ නිලධාරීන්, තරුණ සෙබලුන්. දැන් විසි එක්වෙනි ශතවර්ෂයේ තුන්වෙනි දශකයටයි අපි පා තියන්න යන්නෙ. එළඹෙන දශකයේ තේමාව වෙන්නෙ ලංකාව සෛවරී, අභිමානවත්, සෞභාග්යමත් රටක් හැටියට ගොඩ නැගීමයි. මේ සියල්ලටම අඩිතාලම සපයන්නෙ රට රකින ත්රිවිධ හමුදාවයි – ඒ කියන්නෙ ඔබයි.
අවුරුදු පහක අවපාලනයෙන් පස්සෙ ත්රස්තවාදය නැති කරලා තිබුණු මේ රටේ දැන් නැවතත් ත්රතවාදයක් ඇතිවෙලා තියෙනවා. ඒ ත්රස්තවාදය ඇතිවුණෙත්, පහුගිය ආණ්ඩුව ත්රිවිධ හමුදාව දඩයම් කරලා අකර්මණ්ය කරපු නිසා. පාස්කු ඉරිදා ප්රහාරය තරම් ලොකු ත්රස්තවාදී ප්රහාරයක් සිවිල් ජනතාවක් ඉලක්ක කරලා ආසියාවේ වෙන කොහෙවත් සිද්ධවෙලා නෑ. නමුත් ඒක ලේසියෙන්ම වලක්වාගන්න තිබුණා. මේ ප්රහාරය සිද්ධ වෙනවයි කියලා කලින් සේරම තොරතුරු පිටරටින් ලැබිලා තියෙද්දි තමයි පාලකයෝ ඒ තොරතුරු ගණන් ගන්නෙ නැතුව හිටියේ. ඒ ත්රස්තවාදය නිසා රට බරපතල විදියට ආර්ථික පසුබෑමටත් ලක්වෙලා තියෙනවා. ඔබ කවුරුත් දන්නවා පාස්කු ඉරිදා බෝම්බ ප්රහාරයෙන් පස්සෙ ලොකු කුඩා සංචාරක හෝටල් සිය ගණනක් කරගන්න බැරුව විකුණන්න දාලා. නමුත් අපි මෙතෙක් ආපු සියලුම අභියෝග ජයගත්තා වගේ මේ අභියෝගයත් ජයගන්නව.
ජනාධිපතිවරණයෙන් පස්සෙ ආපු ගැම්මෙන් අපි සපුරාගන්න ඕනේ පළමු ඉලක්කය තමයි රටේ ජාතික ආරක්ෂාව නැවතත් ස්ථාපිත කරලා ආයෝජකයන්ට මෙන්ම සංචාරකයන්ටත් මේ රට සුරක්ෂිතයි කියන විශ්වාසය දෙන එක. ජනතාව අපිට බලය දුන්නෙ, මේ රට මුහුණ දීලා තිබ්බ දෙස් විදෙස් තර්ජන වලින් රට මුදවා ගන්නයි. ඒ සම්බන්ධයෙන් දේශපාලන බලධාරීන් හැටියට ඒ අවශ්ය නායකත්වය අපි ලබලා දෙනවා.
ලොකයේ යුද හමුදාවන් අතර අද්විතීය ස්ථානයක් දිනාගෙන සිටින ශ්රී ලංකා යුද හමුදාවේ තරුණ නිලධාරීන් හැටියට ඔබ ඔබේ යුතුකම ඉටුකරන බවට මට කිසිම සැකයක් නෑ. ශ්රී ලංකාවේ ඒකීය බවත්, ස්වාධිපත්යත්, භෞමික අකණ්ඩතාවයත්, ප්රජාතන්ත්රවාදී දේශපාලන ක්රමයත් තහවුරු කරලා, අනාගත පරපුරට උරුම වීමට රටක් තියෙන බවට වගබලාගන්නේ ඒ පරපුරේම කොටසක් වෙන මේ තරුණ හමුදා නිලධාරීනුයි. අද සිට රාජකාරී ආරම්භ කරන ඔබේ වෘත්තීය ජීවිතය සර්වප්රකාරයෙන්ම සාර්ථක වේවායි මම ප්රාර්ථනය කරනවා.
ස්තුතියි.
During the short period after the presidential election as the elected president of Sri Lanka, Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa has successfully initiated an excellent policymaking and policy implementation process. The vital aspect of the policy process to the country is the vision and dedicated thrust to work for the achievement of economic advancement, which cannot be gained overnight, but need tremendous work to perform. To achieve economic advancement, Sri Lanka needs good governance, incentives, and motivation for people to participate in economic activities. Mr.Rajapasa has shown to the world what is yahapalanaya or good governance despite the bogus yahapalanaya has been launched by the Mr.Ranil Wickramasinghe’s government.
It is observed that Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa was talking like John Menard Keynes when he was expressing views about providing 100000 job opportunities to unemployed poor youth in regional Sri Lanka. John Menard Keynes expressed that if there were no jobs in the economy, tell the unemployed workforce to dig holes in the morning and close in the afternoon and pay for people, then they will participate to generate and increasing aggregate demand and eliminate unemployment from the economy. When there is excess capacity in the economy, this type of policy action would be supported to accelerate growth and to achieve more than 7% of the growth rate in Sri Lanka.
Many developed countries in the West do not give doles for unemployed now and they are trained for various skills to find own work than becoming dole bludgers. The similar way President Rajapaksa has initiated a program instead of dole style samurdi to provide product training and employment. It is a visionary process to maintain less than 4% of unemployment in the economy and to uplift the purchasing power of poor people and to expand the aggregate demand of the country. People in Sri Lanka have no understanding of economic jargon, but president Rajapaksa’s strategic vision is great.
When Sri Lanka gains economic advancement with high GDP, high foreign reserves, higher trade balance, lower unemployment, and excess or very lower budget deficit, there is no doubt that western countries will come behind Sri Lanka for selling their products and services. When President Clinton was in power, he openly said that America wanted to maintain a favorite nation status to China, which was economically vital to the USA. How China rose in the world economy using completeness, productivity, and many qualitative factors will motivate Sri Lanka for enhancement of productions and many other factors are needed to use by Sri Lanka to gain economic advancement. Recently I watched a program 360 of Derana TV and my feeling is solving economic and education problems are appeared to be simple tasks with acumen ship and stewardship of the leadership.
It is also reported in media that prices of rice and vegetable have gone up. It is an incentive for producers to increase production. According to the price theory of economics, the issue must be resolved applying economic theory to practical situation. When there is a lower supply of goods, the price will go up to gain advantages from the situation and producers will be motivated to increase production. When production increased, it is positively impact to reduce prices and to make lower equilibrium price. The temporary conditions of the country at this moment such as festive season, raining weather, floods will have a short-term impact on increasing prices of essential goods, which will be lower in the medium term and during the Sinhala/ Hindu festival season, people can observe that there will be a lower equilibrium price. These types of situations are simple economics and shouldn’t be taken as points for politics. As Richard J. Lipsey stated the government may need intervention to maintain a reasonable price for producers and consumers.
The repayment of debt is not an issue if the country has a higher GDP growth above 8% per annum, which means Sri Lanka’s economy will be double within 6 years as a result of the multiplier process. If Sri Lanka can double it’s economy current debt can be settled in the medium term and borrow more to develop new projects. Sri Lanka has many options and strategies to tackle debt problems and in 2018 I explained what should do to tackle the problem. Increasing the production and selling the excess to overseas is the most effective answer to the problem.
There may be internal saboteurs, who attempt to disturb the economic and other policies of President Rajapaksa. The best example is the Swiss Embassy case, which reflected that Switzerland was publicly talking about democracy and attempted to exercise hegemony over Sri Lanka, where is a developing country endeavoring to achieve economic, political, social and cultural success. Did Switzerland Embassy Officials attempt to give an international disgrace to Sri Lanka showing a fabricated opinion against the country despite the real behaviour to the world that Europe is democratic group of countries. It is a regret to the democratic world that Switzerland showed an undemocratic behaviour working against the rule of law attempting to work against the legal process of Sri Lanka. Western democratic countries honestly know that many political asylum cases are manipulated attempts to achieve migration to developed countries than a genuine process of meeting qualification and skills requirements for the purpose. That is why the USA, India, China, Japan, and the UK was maintaining silence on this matter as they did not like to relegate the democracy and the rule of law to a laughing matter for the international community.
Regarding Mr. Champika Ranawaka and Mr. Rajitha Senaratne’s cases, there is local and international legal evidence that both were working against the prevailing law of the country. Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa needs to motivate the judicial system to act on Central Bank bond scam and other corruption cases.
It is now abundantly clear that neither Switzerland nor Sri Lanka want to escalate what followed the alleged abduction of a local employee of the Swiss Embassy in Colombo. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa went on public record saying that Switzerland did its duty by standing up for its employee while Sri Lanka did its duty by thoroughly investigating the complaint. But he was clear that there was no abduction according to the physical and technical evidence examined. In effect he was saying that the alleged victim’s story is untrue. She has been arrested and remanded and due process in the court will now follow. The embassy employee, on a court order, has been produced before a panel of specialist psychiatrists. Its finding has not yet been made public. This would, no doubt, be conveyed to the court which directed the examination possibly in the course of this week.
Developments both in Bern and in Colombo and public statements from their respective capitals indicates that neither party wishes to endanger hitherto cordial relations between the two countries. Switzerland has beefed up its diplomatic presence in Colombo by sending an experienced ambassador who was previously posted here to explore the possibilities of “clarifying” the incident. This can be interpreted as a perception by Bern that the matter, from their end, may not have been properly handled. Clearly the embassy totally believed the version of the alleged ‘victim’ and acted accordingly with complaints lodged with the prime minister and elsewhere. That was why the woman concerned and her family were given refuge in the ambassador’s residence. Other actions on the Swiss side included broaching the possibility of using an air ambulance to take her out of the country and skyped consultations with Swiss doctors. These are understandable in terms of the severity of the complaint which includes poking a barrel of a firearm into her mouth, opening her mobile phone and sexual molestation. Our sister paper, The Island, last week pointedly asked the question why a skyped interview with a Swiss police officer was also not undertaken similar to the medical consultation.
The question in everybody’s mind is that if a false complaint had been lodged, what was the motive of the person making such a complaint? Most people believe that possible asylum in Switzerland may be the intent. Given that Switzerland had recently granted asylum (or is looking at the possibility of doing so) to Chief Inspector Nishantha Silva, Head of the Organized Crime Division of the CID, who recently left the country ballasts this view. Silva has been transferred out of the CID to the Negombo Police following the regime change. He had been handling several sensitive investigations described as “witch hunts” by former administration leaders and his sudden departure raised many hackles. There have been unconfirmed reports that Colombo would seek his extradition. Policemen handling politically sensitive investigations are placed in an unfortunate situation. They are often subject to influence by powers that be seeking a particular outcome. They may comply expecting to be rewarded with promotions or other perks. On the other hand, there’s a Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads in the event of a regime change.
This is where the Police Commission comes in. The various Independent Commissions were appointed under the constitution to ensure proper merit based appointments, promotions etc. and obviously prevent victimisation. They are appointed by the Constitutional Council. There has been criticism that the Constitutional Council, headed by the Speaker, is skewed in favour of politicians. In addition to the Speaker, the members of the 10-member Council includes the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and one member appointed by the President. These are all ex-officio members. Additionally, five members are appointed by the President on the nomination of both the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition. The minor parties and independent groups represented in Parliament will by agreement select one nominee who will be appointed by the President. The majority of the Council would thus comprise politicians, admittedly from both the government and opposition sides and this has been subjected to criticism. The various Independent Commissions – the Public Service Commision, Elections, Police, Audit Service, Human Rights, Bribery, Finance, Delimitation, National Procurement, University Grants, Official Languages have been constituted to ensure independence.
Whether there has been delivery by all of them is a moot point. The recent transfers of SSP Shani Abeysekera, former CID Director as Personal Assistant to the DIG Galle is being challenged through a Human Rights petition filed on Friday. Abeysekera handled many sensitive investigations that earned him powerful enemies. The Police Commission is responsible for making such transfers and whether this move was initiated through political influence or not is an open question. A retired Senio DIG recently went public in a newspaper article headlined “The Shani Abeysekera Tragedy” describing Abeysekera as a “tenancious investigator.” He qualified this by saying that he does not know to what extent his conduct was ethical and correct. If there were doubts on this score, the other side of the story must also be heard, he said. In the same article he mentioned the usual pre-election transfers of OICs saying that it did not happen this time possibly due to a fiercely independent Election Commission.
Hopefully whatever differences there may be over the alleged abduction of the Swiss Embassy employee will be quickly sorted out in an absolutely transparent manner. President Rajapaksa says he’s the “victim” in this case due to the reference to a white van (actually a white car). But he has not compromised his independent stance on this matter with wild rhetoric.
The drama surrounding the Swiss embassy employee is now in its fourth week with the Swiss government still holding that their employee is right and the Sri Lankan government is wrong despite all the evidence to the contrary that has come to light. It should be understood that Sri Lanka can never expect fair play from Switzerland. The Swiss government is more pro-LTTE than most other Western countries. Recently, the highest Swiss criminal court ruled that the Tamil Tigers are not a criminal organization and acquitted 12 LTTE activists of charges of sending 15 million Swiss Francs to the LTTE by collecting money from the Sri Lankan community in Switzerland during the war. There are around 50,000 Sri Lankans mostly Tamils living in Switzerland.
The Swiss court acquitted the LTTE activists despite the Swiss Attorney General informing the court that the LTTE front organizations in Switzerland had a sophisticated system to raise funds for armed struggle in Sri Lanka whereby the Tamil community in Switzerland was systematically registered and its ability to pay sums assessed and individuals and families who refused to pay were threatened. Regardless of this, the Swiss apex criminal court refused to consider the LTTE a criminal group and had stated that even if the LTTE had carried out terrorist attacks, their primary objective was to be recognized as an independent ethnic community. This is a strange attitude to take in this day and time to say the least.
Malaysia is rounding up LTTE activists, India and Sri Lanka are on the alert for attempts to revive the LTTE and the whole world is on alert with regard to any kind of terrorist activity because terrorism is the scourge of the modern world, yet Switzerland has justified terrorist attacks if it is to seek separate independent state. They have decriminalized the collecting of funds in Switzerland for terrorist attacks on Sri Lanka and refuses even to consider the LTTE to be a criminal group even though the FBI categorized the LTTE as the deadliest terrorist organization in the world in 2008. The LTTE military machine was smashed by Sri Lanka in 2009, but its international networks still remains intact and still poses a direct threat to countries like Sri Lanka, India and Malaysia. The Swiss government however actively promotes LTTE terrorism and provides a safe haven for LTTE terrorists on Swiss soil. This is the background in which this entire abduction drama is taking place.
Colombo Swiss embassy’s conduct
Last week, the Swiss government issued two statements on the unfolding situation in Sri Lanka. The latest statement issued on Thursday stated that the Swiss government will be sending former ambassador Jörg Frieden to Sri Lanka to clarify what they refered to as ‘the security incident’ at the Swiss embassy in Colombo. The Swiss statement further stated that the security incident ‘has severely affected the health’ of the local staffer and that the Swiss considers the health and safety of its staff to be paramount and that it is the responsibility of the Sri Lankan authorities to ensure that these are protected in the further proceedings. They also expressed regret at the decision of the magistrate to place the local employee concerned in pre-trial detention, where the conditions do not take into account her state of health in any way. They requested that she be transferred to a more appropriate location, such as a hospital, on humanitarian grounds.
The statement revealed that the Swiss ambassador in Colombo, Hanspeter Mock, had already underlined at a meeting on Tuesday with the Sri Lankan Attorney General that in this high-profile case, Sri Lanka’s reputation as a country that upholds the rule of law was at stake. It also stated that ‘the high level of media coverage, lack of privacy safeguards and public condemnation’ in this case not only endangered Swiss embassy staff but also eroded the trust and confidence required to jointly clarify the incident. What is remarkable about this statement is that even though the Swiss authorities keep harping on on the health condition of their local staffer, they have not explained why she was kept at the Swiss embassy for nearly two weeks without any treatment or hospitalization at all. The Swiss authorities have requested that she be shifted to hospital on humanitarian grounds, but that is something the Swiss themselves did not do.
Complicity of the Swiss government
Last Monday, following the arrest of the Swiss Embassy staffer, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs issued a statement criticizing the ‘lack of due process’ which stressed the following points –
* An employee of the Swiss Embassy in Colombo has today been detained on the grounds that she allegedly made false statements. The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs is concerned about this development and calls on the Sri Lankan judicial authorities to ensure better protection of its employee’s personal rights in any further proceedings and compliance with national law and international standards.
* On 25 November 2019, the local employee of the Swiss Embassy reported that she had been abducted in Colombo to force her to disclose embassy-related information. Both the victim and the Swiss embassy cooperated fully with the Sri Lankan authorities during the proceedings.
* The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly called for due process to be followed. In particular, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs has criticized the 30-hour interrogation to which the employee was subjected over three days despite being in poor health and the public statements by senior Sri Lankan officials questioning her account before the investigations had been completed.
* The FDFA expects the Sri Lankan law enforcement authorities to comply with national law and international judicial standards and to ensure that the employee’s rights are now better protected. As an employer, the FDFA calls on the Sri Lankan authorities to meet their obligations under applicable law and give due consideration to the employee’s poor state of health.
* Switzerland wishes to emphasize that in this high-profile case Sri Lanka’s reputation as a country that upholds the rule of law is at stake.
In the two statements issued last week, the Swiss government has condemned the public statements by senior Sri Lankan officials questioning the swiss embassy employee’s account before the investigations had been completed and the high level of media coverage, lack of privacy safeguards and public condemnation’ in this case. What follows are excerpts from an article that appeared in the New York Times under the title “Sri Lankan Critics Fear a Crackdown Is Underway, and Some Flee” on November 27 before we Sri Lankans knew anything about this alleged incident. Readers will note that the source quoted by the New York Times is the Swiss foreign ministry.
“In a case that raised particular alarm, a Sri Lankan employee of the Swiss Embassy in Colombo was abducted on Monday by unidentified men and forced to hand over sensitive embassy information, Switzerland’s foreign ministry said. Officials in Colombo said the men forced her to unlock her cellphone data, which contained information about Sri Lankans who have recently sought asylum in Switzerland, and the names of Sri Lankans who aided them as they fled the country because they feared for their safety after Gotabaya Rajapaksa won the presidency in elections this month. On Wednesday, a spokesman for President Rajapaksa at first denied the abduction of the Swiss Embassy employee, and then hours later said that “defense authorities have decided to look into those allegations to ascertain the truth.”
“In the abduction case, the diplomatic officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns, said the men held the embassy employee for several hours and then, before releasing her, threatened to kill her if she told anyone. The officials said the men appeared to be focused on finding information about a Sri Lankan detective who had been investigating Mr. Rajapaksa. The detective fled to Switzerland with his family on Sunday. It was not clear whether the men were connected to Mr. Rajapaksa or were acting of their own accord as supporters of the popular leader and his political dynasty.
“A spokesman for the Swiss Foreign Ministry, Pierre-Alain Eltschinger, told The New York Times, “We can confirm that a local employee of the embassy was detained against her will on the street and threatened at length by unidentified men in order to force her to disclose embassy-related information…Switzerland regards this incident as a very serious and unacceptable attack,” he said, adding that the Swiss government was “demanding an immediate and complete investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.”
Thus we see that the Swiss foreign ministry had informed the international media about this alleged incident even before they informed the Sri Lankan government or even verified whether the story was true or false. From the time the Swiss Embassy in Colombo informed the government about this incident, the only thing they wanted to do was to take this alleged victim out of Sri Lanka without even revealing her name. If the government had caved in and allowed that to take place, the person concerned would have gone to Switzerland as a victim of abduction and sexual assault by agents of the government of Sri Lanka. It is only because the government stood firm and initiated action in courts to prevent this alleged victim from being taken out of the country that this whole incident was exposed as a hoax. The entire incident as related by the Swiss authorities to the New York Times has been proved to be completely false.
Lack of cooperation by Swiss embassy
Even after it was exposed as a hoax and the embassy employee was arrested by the police on the orders of the Attorney General, the Swiss authorities have put out the above statement falsely claiming that both the employee and the embassy had ‘fully cooperated’ with the Sri Lankan authorities. The Swiss embassy took nearly two weeks after the incident to present the alleged victim for a medical examination to be carried out and for a statement to be recorded. During that entire period she was held incommunicado in the Swiss embassy in Colombo. There is no word about that in the Swiss government’s statement. Even though the Swiss authorities have condemned the 30-hours of interrogation to which the employee was subjected over three days despite allegedly being in poor health, the Swiss have not explained why this person who was supposedly in poor health was kept inside the Swiss embassy instead of being given medical help for nearly two weeks.
Even after presenting the alleged victim for a statement to be recorded, the Swiss embassy retained possession of the alleged victim’s and her husband’s phone and a court order had to be obtained asking the embassy to give that phone and the sim cards to the CID. Up to the point that this column is being penned, there are no reports to say that the Swiss embassy has complied with this order. Perhaps Ambassador Jörg Frieden’s first task in Sri Lanka should be to ensure that the embassy staffer’s phone is handed over to the investigators. We have to hope that the Swiss Embassy will not do to those phones and SIM cards what Hillary Clinton had done to her phones and SIM cards – the FBI found that they had been smashed to bits with hammers!
The behavior of the Swiss embassy from the very beginning is suspect. The incident is said to have happened on the 25th of November. It was the 27th November by the time the Swiss embassy informed the Sri Lankan foreign ministry. They had informed the New York Times before informing the Sri Lankan authorities. Even after the Sri Lankan authorities were informed, the Swiss embassy refused to divulge even the name of the alleged victim and all they wanted was to get her and her entire family out of Sri Lanka in an ambulance plane. The official Swiss government statement quoted above has made much of the fact that senior Sri Lankan officials had questioned the alleged victim’s account before the investigations had been completed. It was the Swiss foreign ministry that made the whole incident public on an international scale by informing the New York Times even before it was reported to the Sri Lankan authorities. The New York Times article can be read on the following link: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/27/world/asia/sri-lanka-rajapaksa-crackdown.html
All the details provided by the Swiss embassy to the Sri Lankan government about the alleged incident have been proved wrong. The victim herself has retracted that story and told the CID another story and that second story too has been proved wrong. So much so that she is now being subject to a psychiatric examination on the orders of the Magistrate. There are three possible explanations for what may have happened. The Swiss embassy may have been duped by this employee who was looking for a quick way to get to Switzerland by claiming to be a victim of government repression. Seeing other people like fugitive policeman Nishantha de Silva getting visas over the counter may have motivated this woman to try the same.
The need to look East
Another possibility is that this woman may have been motivated to do this by some outside party without the knowledge of the Swiss embassy. Another possibility is that she may have been put up to this by an outside party with the knowledge of the Swiss embassy. The latter possibility is what appears to be the case, when looking at the behavior of the Swiss embassy and the UNP with regard to this incident. There seems to be a close connection between the LTTE groups in Switzerland, the UNP, the TNA and the Swiss government. The new Sri Lankan government will have to figure out a way to deal with this. From the very beginning, the enemies of the Rajapaksas were the UNP and associated political parties and the Western embassies backing them. Now that the Rajapaksas are back with a huge mandate, naturally, these local representatives of the global liberal mafia are doing their damnedest to undermine the new government. We see this happening in other countries too where the global liberal mafia has been conclusively defeated.
In the USA, the Democratic Party is trying to impeach President Donald Trump in a desperate bid to prevent him from being re-elected President. In the UK, Boris Johnsons’s victory at the recent general election has had the liberal mafia in that country literally chewing its own rear ends in anguish. Desmonstrations have been held with people shouting that Boris is not their Prime Minister. One individual was shouting into the camera saying that she wishes Boris Johnson a horrible death. The difference between the USA and the UK on the one hand and countries like Sri Lanka on the other is that in the former, only the political parties and their supporters are involved in the desperate, defeatist resistance to those elected governments, but in Sri Lanka, the political parties, their supporters and some foreign embassies are all involved.
The Swiss drama which began within days of the new President assumed office clearly shows that the Western embassies will not allow the new government to rule the country in peace but will do their damnedest to undermine it. In last Monday’s statement, the Swiss authorities had indicated to the Sri Lankan authorities that it is seeking ‘a common and constructive way forward’ to resolve the security incident. This position has been reiterated in the statement issued by the Swiss authorities on Thursday as well. What is the resolution that the Swiss are seeking? If they want to have legal action against their local staffer stopped and permission to take her out of the country as they have been demanding all along, that is a not a feasible option for Sri Lanka because we would then be portrayed as the guilty party.
We have not yet got to the bottom of who is behind all this. If the government caves into the Swiss demands and stops legal action against this local staffer, will Sri Lanka be left alone? Hardly likely. It will only intensify the campaign against Sri Lanka. Thus, the only feasible option that Sri Lanka has in the present case is to come down hard on all those involved. That will at least deter any future gimmicks of this sort. We should look at what Donald Trump and Boris Johnson are doing – they are steaming ahead with their plans regardless of opposition. We have no option but to follow suit. However we have a problem that the governments of the USA and UK do not have – which is interference by powerful Western countries that seek to divide Sri Lanka. The only practical antidote for this is for Sri Lanka to seek powerful international protectors. We have to take a long term perspective with regard to this matter.
Sri Lanka’s economy too should turn east. Till the 1970s, Britain bought most of Sri Lanka’s tea. Today, the proportion of tea going into Britain is miniscule. That was not done deliberately but happened quite naturally over a number of years. In Sri Lanka’s case, the economy will have to be oriented away from the West to the east consciously over the next few years so that our dependency on the West is reduced and their ability to dictate terms goes down proportionately. It is certainly true that it is only the Swiss embassy that is involved in this spat with Sri Lanka and the other Western embassies have not got involved. But the fact that the Swiss can get away with what they have done up to now without international condemnation, indicates that Sri Lanka has no future with the West and that the wisest course of action is to look Eastwards.
It’s ironic that things should come to such a pass today, when progressive, nationalistic governments have been elected against the determined resistance of the global liberal mafia in the USA, UK and Sri Lanka. Ideally, the relationship between Donald Trump, Boris Johnson and Gotabaya Rajapaksa today should be the same as the relationship between the conservative leaders Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and J.R.Jayewardene in the 1980s. The common enemy of Trump, Johnson and GR is the global liberal mafia. However, the question of Tamil voters in the UK and the geopolitics of the Indian Ocean in the context of US-China rivalry preclude such a relationship today. Despite the victory of like minded political formations in certain important countries in the West, Sri Lanka cannot expect their help due to the compulsions of domestic politics or superpower rivalry. So we are more or less on our own and will have to seek protection from powerful countries that can stand up to the West and guarantee our sovereignty.
December 21, 2019, 5:16 pm
Article 2(4) of the UN Charter reads as follows. ‘All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations (UN). The accepted exceptions to this article are when the UN Security Council authorizes military action or when it is in self-defense under Article 51 of the charter.’
Nevertheless, the reality is different. Powerful nations act without remorse or shame, disregarding the UN Charter when it suits their interests.
History is strewn with instances of powerful nations acting in contravention of article 2(4) with impunity.
Such interventions are usually justified based on promoting democracy, upholding human rights, R2P (Responsibility to Protect), etc. On other occasions, both overt and covert interventions are justified simply as ‘geopolitical realities,’ a more polite form for muscle power, with little or no regard for the sovereign status of small and less powerful nations.
It is worthwhile to examine three incidents that took place within the first 30 days of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa (GR) taking his oath of office.
India
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s special envoy arrived in Colombo unannounced and uninvited on the day after GR took his oaths at Ruwanwelisaya. Whether a meeting was requested or demanded is not known. What can be fathomed is, a meeting with the Head of State sworn in a day earlier was taken for granted. He carried a personal invitation from Modi for GR to visit India. Jaishankar tweeted a “warm meeting” immediately afterward. He also unilaterally announced, GR would travel to India on November 29 on his first overseas visit. The accepted diplomatic practice of simultaneous announcements from both countries was ignored.
GR was greeted on arrival in Delhi with the usual fanfare, pomp, and pageantry. Lines of credit for USD 450 million for Infrastructure Development and dealing with terrorism-related issues were offered. That was the sweetener.
The promised Resolution of the Tamil Nadu fishermen poachers’ issue in February 2015 was renewed once again. Meanwhile, northern waters will continue to be bottom trawled. It reflects India’s scant regard for Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Periodic release of both arrested Tamil Nadu fishermen and fishing vessels has only encouraged the fishermen to continue their trade unabated and the Indian government to do nothing about it.
Then came the démarche. Prime Minister Modi stated, “I am confident, the Government of Sri Lanka will carry forward the process of reconciliation to fulfill the aspirations of the Tamils for equality, justice, peace, and respect.” He also stated, “The process of reconciliation includes implementation of the 13th Amendment.”
All this coming from the chief architect of Hindutva supremacy. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is the single largest party represented in the Lok Sabha (Indian lower house). Out of 303 or 56% of the total MPs, it has only one Muslim MP, having fielded just six candidates. Just under a month earlier, the BPJ rammed through the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Reorganization Act of 2019, revoking the special status granted to J&K under Article 370 in the Indian Constitution. Both regions became Union Territories of India from October 31, 2019.
Based on Modi’s own track record, does he have the right to take the moral high ground? His concerns for Sri Lanka’s Tamil citizens notwithstanding, the public expression of such sentiments rather than during a one on one meeting or bi-lateral discussions is a display of muscle power.
GR, to his credit, did state publicly of his inability to implement some provisions of the 13th Amendment “against the wishes of the majority (Sinhala) community.” His remark, “No Sinhala will say, don’t develop the area, or don’t give jobs, but political issues are different” was forthright and factual. His advice to the Indians to “stop whining about the Chinese footprint and invest more in Sri Lanka” was unprecedented and brilliant.
Two State solution in British Conservative Party manifesto
The text on page 53 of the manifesto where Sri Lanka is mentioned is as follows. “We are proud of our peace-building and humanitarian efforts around the world, particularly in war-torn or divided societies, and of our record in helping to reduce global poverty. We will continue to support international initiatives to achieve reconciliation, stability, and justice across the world and in current or former conflict zones such as Cyprus, Sri Lanka, and the Middle East, where we maintain our support for a two-state solution.”
Sri Lankan High Commissioner in London immediately sought clarification from the Conservative Party. Deputy Chairman Paul Scully provided a lame explanation. “The two-state line in that section was intended to refer only to the Israel-Palestine situation in the Middle East (as is stated policy). The commitment to Sri Lanka and Cyprus were simply about continuing existing efforts to support peace and reconciliation in divided societies.”
Some in the UK, including a group of persons in the Conservative party identifying themselves as friends of Sri Lanka, has gone to great pains to promote Deputy Chairman Scully’s explanation. A bizarre theory of the comma between the words Sri Lanka and the Middle East in the text making a distinction between Sri Lanka and the Middle East is being promoted, a tale fit for Chinese sporting ponytails.
A manifesto is the Bible of any political party before an election. It is meant to be read, proofread and reread before publication and release. The fact, the two-state solution part was missed by different layers of proofreaders speaks volumes of the professionalism of those responsible. If not, it must be assumed, parties with vested interests managed to smuggle it in at the final stages.
The explanation notwithstanding, no apology has been made by the Conservative Party leadership to the Sri Lankan State nor to the thousands of British Sinhalese and Muslims in the UK. Some of them are party supporters. Bias for British Tamils was further established in Boris Johnson’s message on the eve of elections. Starting with ‘Vannakam,’ in the 1.20 minutes video clip, he thanked the British Tamil community for all they do for the country. He made promises for the future after he gets Brexit done, before concluding with ‘Nandri.’
A similar propaganda 2.10 minutes video clip by the Labor Party Shadow Chancellor John McDonald spoke of an attempt at genocide against the Tamils and the brutal oppression against the Tamils.
With Boris Johnson’s electoral victory, Brexit is a foregone conclusion. The day is not too far away when the UK will have its own problems over a two-State or even three State solution.
The Conservative and Labor parties and the British government have, for decades, strived to undermine the Sri Lankan state. The British government refused to disclose the contents of British Military Attaché Lt. Col. Anton Gash’s confidential reports. It would have enabled Sri Lanka to counter UNHRC allegations of 40,000 deaths in the closing stages of the Vanni campaign is a case in point.
Former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s directive to the Foreign Ministry to abstain from voting during the United Nations’ non-binding Resolution on Chagos Island was unforgivable. Failure to vote with the Non-Aligned group and the African states responsible for sponsoring the Resolution could have consequences.
It would be prudent for the new government to undertake a complete review of Sri Lanka’s relations with the UK. A sizable volume of Sri Lankan exports is destined to the UK, thus eliminating the option of downgrading relations. In such a backdrop, different policy options must be explored with a view of changing Britain’s attitudes and countering the Tamil diaspora issue globally in general and the UK in particular.
The Swiss Affair
The bizarre case of a local recruit at the Swiss Embassy in Colombo being abducted by a group of men, interrogated, sexually abused, and then released has many strange twists and turns.
Local media has adequately reported the incident, and further narration of details is unnecessary. However, once again, a few instances when the Swiss have acted in a manner totally unacceptable in the conduct of diplomacy and Sri Lanka’s excessive indulgence need be highlighted.
The abduction supposedly having taken place on November 25 was first reported after 48 hours not by the employee but by the Swiss Ambassador Hanspeter Mock to the Prime Minister and not the Foreign Relations Minister. The Swiss Embassy and, by extension, the Swiss government then obstructed the investigation by local authorities till December 8, a full 14 days after the abduction by harboring the alleged victim inside the Swiss Embassy. She was made available only after a court order. Meanwhile, the Swiss government had the temerity to demand permission to airlift its employee and her family to Switzerland without local immigration formalities due to her so-called serious medical condition. The gravity of her condition had been established by Swiss medical authorities after an examination via Skype!
It now transpires the whole episode had not taken place. GR has said so during his meeting with Ambassador Mock on December 16. Having exonerated the Swiss Embassy, he advised Ambassador Mock to “distance itself from Garnier’s allegations.” He has further stated, “we can not find fault with the initial reaction of the Swiss Embassy since it had a duty to stand by its employee.”
The Ambassador arranged a Skype medical examination with Swiss doctors for the concerned person. However, he failed to arrange for a competent Swiss Police official to speak to her and verify her complaint before rushing off to lodge a complaint with the Prime Minister. He has shown extremely poor judgment for a Head of Mission.
The government has failed to request an explanation from Ambassador Mock of discrepancies between several versions of the abduction given by the alleged victim to the CID and his complaint on November 27.
In a surprise move, GR received the Swiss Ambassador and even informed him that the Swiss were not under suspicion. It would have been appropriate for GR to decline to receive the Ambassador till the matter has been cleared up. He could have been directed to deal with the Foreign Secretary and Foreign Relations Minister. That is what any self-respecting country would do.
The issue had been reported in the New York Times. The government, even at this late stage, must consider a response by way of the Right of Reply and place facts in the international domain. To remain silent would be a repetition of the pathetic media handling during the 30 years civil war when the LTTE clearly won the global publicity war.
Conclusion
Besides these three issues, the Foreign Relations Ministry is also currently grappling with several other issues. A decision is required whether to appeal Brigadier Priyanka Fernando’s conviction in a British court? How is the forthcoming UNHRC review in March to be handled? Will Sri Lanka seek the abrogation of UNHRC Resolution 30/1 as claimed before Presidential elections or request a revision, a more doable proposition?
Meanwhile, A delegation led by Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha was in Egypt last week. The External Affairs Ministry initiative of reviving Bilateral Political Consultations after several decades is most commendable. Sri Lanka must reengage with the Non-Aligned group and African block.
A fundamental requisite at this stage is the clear understanding of the role to be played by the Foreign Relations Ministry in the country’s foreign affairs. It must be the premier ministry responsible for conducting international relations and the epicenter of policy formulation based on directives from the Head of State.
The first contact point for foreign diplomats being the Foreign Relations Ministry, unfettered access to the Head of State and Prime Minister, is best avoided as in most other countries.
It is essential, the Minister for Foreign Relations, to be involved in all dealings with foreign governments and Colombo based foreign diplomats, unlike in the case of the Swiss fiasco.
Advisors and actors in other ministries will only create multiple centers handling foreign relations. It is a weakness bound to be capitalized by Colombo based Ambassadors as observed in recent years.
The golden rule in the conduct of any successful relationship is mutual respect.
That said, others will respect Sri Lanka only if it conducts itself with self-respect.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa says that Sri Lanka’s sovereignty as well as its very existence was protected and nurtured by the country’s armed forces in the face of several threats for division of the country.
He made these comments while gracing the Passing Out Parade of 321 Cadet Officers of the Sri Lanka Military Academy (SLMA) at Diyatalawa at the invitation of the Ministry of Defence and Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, on Saturday (21).
Rajapaksa also said that Sri Lankan troops showing their professionalism have worked in an exemplary manner. Although some countries are angry with our armed forces at political level but corresponding foreign armed forces admit that what our troops did was great.”
You are today joining a proud Army which has shocked the world by eradicating the world’s most brutal terrorist organization,” the Prime Minister said, addressing the Cadet Officers.
The Prime Minister, who was Chief Guest for the occasion, laid a floral wreath at the SLMA war memorial and recalled invaluable past sacrifices of fallen War Heroes in a solemn moment with Secretary Defence, Major General (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne, Commander of the Army and the SLMA Commandant, Brigadier S.K. Eshwaran.
A high level foreign army delegation, diplomats, embassy officials, parents and a large gathering were also present on the occasion.
දේශීයත්වයට වැඩි වටිනාකමක් ලබාදෙමින් අභිමානවත් රටක් ගොඩනැගීමට ජනාධිපති ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ ගෙන යන වැඩපිළිවෙල පිළිබඳව මහා සංඝරත්නය ප්රමුඛ ජනතාව දැඩි විශ්වාසයක් තබා ඇති බව කෝට්ටේ ශ්රී කල්යානි සාමග්රී ධර්ම මහා සංඝ සභාවේ ප්රධාන ලේඛකාධිකාරි පූජ්ය මහාචාර්ය කොටපිටියේ රාහුල අනුනාහිමියන් පවසනවා.
උන්වහන්සේ මේ බව කියා සිටියේ ජනාධිපතිවරයා ඊයේ පස්වරුවේ වාද්දුව – තල්පිටිය – බෝධිරාජ මහා විහාරය වෙත පැමිණි අවස්ථාවේදීයි.
එහිදී ප්රදේශයේ මහා සංඝරත්නය මෙන්ම, එම අවස්ථාවට වැඩම කර සිටි භික්ෂුන් වහන්සේ සෙත්පිරිත් සජ්ජායනා කර ජනාධිපතිවරයාට ආශීර්වාද පළ කළා.
එහිදී අනුශාසනාවක් සිදුකරමින් කෝට්ටේ ශ්රී කල්යානි සාමග්රී ධර්ම මහා සංඝ සභාවේ ප්රධාන ලේඛකාධිකාරි පූජ්ය මහාචාර්ය කොටපිටියේ රාහුල අනුනාහිමියන් ජනාධිපතිවරයාගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටියේ අභියෝග හමුවේ පසු නොබැස, ජනතා අපේක්ෂා ඉටු කරන ලෙසයි.
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