Rudra de Zoysa.

The Swiss have contributed only 2 things to human civilisation – cuckoo clocks and secret bank accounts.

The abduction of Garnia Bannister Francis is a total fabrication similar to the story of William Tell. Tell was a farmer who lived about 700 years ago and was supposed to be good at shooting his cross -bow. He shot an apple off his young son`s head and became a national hero. The fake legend of Tell extols his marksmanship and fight against Albrecht Gessler a dictator, but hardly any mention is made of his son’s bravery to keep the apple on the head. Even Rossini composed an overture for William Tell. Tell’s son kept an apple on his head on November 19, 1307. Apparently Tell killed Gessler on 25 November 1307 and so, Tell, the national hero, is sculpted in stone, in bronze, in wax, in wood and in chocolate.  In 2019 Garnia made up her story on 25 November. What a coincidence! Garnia’s story is like Swiss cheese – full of holes.

Now, the Swiss Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr. Mock (what an unfortunate name!) was gullible enough to believe Garnier and thought this was a fantastic story to censure our newly elected President, his government and Sri Lanka in general. So, what did Mock do? He started to lie about Garnier’s health and asked Sri Lanka to follow due process. He fired several shots at our government, but all of them missed the target – the bullets ricochet off one of the mara trees that line Gregory’s Road (R G Senanayake Mawatha) and hit the organ that defines Mock’s manhood. Now Mock thought he was fully conversant with all the finer points of diplomatic protocol. However, President Rajapaksa gave Mock a dressing down. We now have a special emissary to patch up the Swiss f… up in Colombo.  Mock is a charlatan. Actually, I do not blame him all together but I do blame his mother for conceiving such an imposter.

Our President did the right thing and handled the fracas skilfully. I recommend that we make sculptures of our President in marble and in Swiss chocolate and place them opposite the Swiss Embassy on R G Senanayake Mawatha. President Rajapaksa protected our international dignity and integrity.  As for me, I will shun all Swiss products till such time as the lying Swiss ambassador formally apologises to our President and the people of Sri Lanka for the sham orchestrated by him. When he does apologise make him persona non grata and send him home. I urge all national minded persons to boycott all imported Swiss products till this formal apology is given by Mock or his surrogate. As a first step I applied some disinfectant to my Swiss watch and threw in to the rubbish bin.  Mr. Mock, I have no Swiss bank account (covert or overt) but listen carefully – the cuckoo clock is ticking.
—
Rudra de Zoysa

Wimal Senanayake

There are now good evidence about the complicity of the swiss embassy in the alleged abduction of its employee. While they are being investigated one other factor that has been reported is the political advisor to the swiss embassy is a son of the infamous Nimalka Fernando, the so called right woman activitist & the NGO supporter.

Nimalka is the one who took a campaign against Sri Lanka supporting Geneva resolutions.
In an interview given to CH4 she describes about death threats by the previous Rajapaksha government and Jesus Christ being her only strength.

Therefore are we naïve not to believe how a set up can be staged by these NGO groups who were severely hurt following the victory by the large Sinhala Buddhist majority and why swiss insist on objecting to the government investigations?

It is reported she is the partner of Vasudeva Nananayakkara over thirty years in an interview given in 2005. It is also well known a daughter or daughters of Vasudeva is or are married to the ex Jaffana governor who has recently reinvigorated a campaign to denounce Sinhala Buddhists.

With these facts coming to light now how with these NGOs supported groups at the right places in action, is such a Swiss saga being staged a surprise at all?

The government should openly declare these facts for the public to understand the inimical forces behind the coup.

KAMALIKA PIERIS

On May 17, 2009, the LTTE accepted defeat and formally surrendered to the army. These LTTE cadres had engaged in high treason. They had taken arms against a sovereign state. They had conducted a protracted civil war, lasting over 30 years. Such treason would lead to severe punishment in any country.

In Sri Lanka too, the LTTE cadres were scrutinized and the hard core separated from the rest. The cadres were divided into categories, such as leaders, staunch combatants, fetchers and carriers and so on. It was found that about 15-20% were considered hardline LTTE. This group was taken into custody and put into prison. The rest of the LTTE cadres were rehabilitated. Stephen J Rapp,  US Ambassador at large, had told President Mahinda Rajapaksa  in 2014,  instead of rehabilitating terrorists you should have prosecuted them”.

However, the government of Sri Lanka preferred rehabilitation. 24 Protective Accommodation and Rehabilitation Centers (PARC) were established. 11, 600 LTTE cadres were held in these camps,   there were  594 children and 11,406 adults, 9374 male , 2032 female.  There were separate  PARC centers for males, females and children.  There were four centers for females.

Family could visit the inmates . Parents and children were  re-united. Married ex- combatants re-joined their spouses. A dedicated PARC was established at Kaithady  to cater to the reunification of married male and female ex-combatants who were undergoing rehabilitation separately at different rehabilitation centres.

A mass marriage ceremony was held on 13 June 2010 where 53 couples (ex – combatants) were formally given in marriage with the consent of their parents/families. Parents and well-wishers attended the Ceremony. Clothes, bridal dressing, wedding photographs were provided by the army. They were also given  Rs 5000 each. In the case of one orphan with nowhere to go, army found him a partner and married him off. So he had a family.

Tigers who were university students were sent back to University of Jaffna, as soon as possible. Others were permitted to study and sit for either the O-Level or A-Level examinations.  According to the media, 175 sat for the GCE O/L examination in 2010 and 38 passed in all the subjects. 361 sat the GCE A/L examination and 222 passed.

Primary Healthcare Centers were established at each PARC with regular  health screening, health education and hygiene promotion programmes were conducted regularly. A health education booklet was provided. The inmates were helped  to get documents  such as  IDs and birth certificates. There was a comprehensive Counseling Programme to  correct the distorted thinking of  the  former LTTE cadres. There were cultural activities  as well.

The government then launched a five-year strategic plan of rehabilitation, 2008- –2012.  It was Initiated, designed and implemented the Sri Lanka army.  It had six components:  Spiritual, Vocational, Educational, Sports, Social/ cultural and Psychological.  Much of the training was in the hands of the National Cadet Corps, many of whom were teachers by profession.

Using these components, the inmates were introduced to meditation, spiritual development,   aesthetics and drama therapy, sports, language training in Sinhala, Tamil and English,   leadership and personal development training, counseling and mentorship, including a pre-reintegration mentorship program.  

Drama and Music workshops conducted with the assistance of specialists in the fields of Aesthetics, Drama and Music, were very effective as therapeutic programmes. Michael Roberts observed that ‘In an imaginative leap ‘ the  Rehabilitation Bureau had provided training in dance and drama for some of the former Tigers with the result that a dancing troupe was created which was in great demand.

Those who were good in sports were given encouragement. 135 inmates were brought to the Ministry of Sports in Colombo for testing and a few were selected for cricket, swimming and karate. Three were trained in shooting. They had the potential to participate in international events.

The inmates were taken around Sri Lanka, to Hambantota harbor, to Hakgala gardens in Nuwara Eliya. They were brought to Colombo where they visited Parliament. They were shown the large number of Hindu temples in the south. They were   shown the desire of the Sinhalese to live with Tamils peacefully and harmoniously. At Deniyaya and   Narampanawa they were given lunch prepared by the villagers.

Vocational training, for males,  consisted of plumbing, aluminum work,  electrical wiring, leather work, tailoring, carpentry, masonry, welding, driving, heavy machinery training ( bulldozer)  three wheel driving, three wheel and two wheel repairs, vehicle tinker course, outboard motor engine course, coconut cultivation, mushroom cultivation, sugar cane cultivation,  use of chemical  fertilizers, , handicrafts  using Palmyra  and paper work, 

For females there was bridal dressing, hair dressing, make up, nursery management, cookery , bakery , preschool training , Juki machine operator training programme  ( given at Link Apparel, and Tri star apparel,) tailoring, sugar cane cultivation,  aquarium fish rearing, typing and  shorthand.

There were IT related vocational training programmes in the fields of Agribusiness, Garment industry and Hotel industry.There was also training for Computer aided design and 3D Design. A fully equipped mini computer lab with 30 computers was set up in 2010, with a capacity to train over 100 persons at one time. 

Here are some specific programmes.

• Learning Basic Principles of Entrepreneurship development and training at Pampemadu by Survivors Association for 40 Rehabilitants
• Palmyra leaves related Handicrafts creations training course at Poonthottam PARC facilitated by Survivors Association for 35 Rehabilitants
• Leather work training course from 28th February to 10th June 2011 at Thelippalai PARC’
• IDM Computer Training Program at Maradamadu Tamil Primary, Technical College.
• 5th batch of David Peris motor mechanic training course
• Masonry related vocational training program at Dharmapuram PARC for 200 beneficiaries for 15 days. Facilitated by National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority (NAITA) and Sponsored by Holcim Cement
• Vocational training course held at Handwork Vocational Training Centre, Payagala, facilitated by FCCISL for 60 attendees.

Michael Roberts said, what is praiseworthy in this policy has been the emphasis on vocational and technical education rather than the standard clerical streams.  Also the  involvement of mercantile companies in the training programme  such as Abans, Holcim, David Pieris Motor Company, Ventura, Virtusa, and the Federation of Chambers of Commerce & Industry.

The LTTE cadres included 594 children aged between 12 and 18. These child soldiers were not put through the rehabilitation programme and instead were given catch-up education. We felt that it was better to put them through a learning programme instead of sending them for rehabilitation. Hence, we gave them a chance to learn languages, while those who could not sit for their O/L and A/L exams were given the opportunity to complete their studies, said the Rehabilitation Bureau. They were given formal education for GCE O/L and GCE A/L examinations.  132 were selected f or University in 2012. ‘There were scholarships for higher studies.

With the help of  the Ministry of Sports and Public Recreation, Sri Lanka Cricket Board, International Cricket Council and the Cricket for Change (U.K based charity organization)  the Rehabilitation Bureau promoted Cricket for the child inmates.

The Commissioner General of Rehabilitation told the media in 2019 that around 12,191 ex-LTTE combatants had been rehabilitated and reintegrated into society. There is just one more ex-LTTE member left to be released.

He said initially we got around 10,000 male, female and child soldiers who had surrendered to the Security Forces and immediately we started the rehabilitation programme’.Others who were subsequently arrested were sent for rehabilitation later. Of those who joined us initially in 2009, by around 2010, we had completed their rehabilitation and reintegrated them into society. Thereafter, the others who were placed for rehabilitation by the courts underwent the rehabilitation programme.

The highest number of those rehabilitated and reintegrated into society were those from the Kilinochchi district. The government had rehabilitated 3,242 ex-combatants from the Kilinochchi district, (2,624 males 618 females), 3,097 ex-combatants from the Jaffna district, (2452, 647) 2,707 ex-combatants from Mullaitivu (2227, 477), 801 ex-combatants from Mannar (637, 164) 1,145 ex-combatants from Vavuniya (944,201) have been rehabilitated and reintegrated so far.

In addition, 529 ex-combatants including 447 males and 83 females from the Trincomalee district, 83 from Ampara including 73 males and 10 females, 476 from Batticaloa district, including 415 males and 61 females, 11 males from Polonnaruwa, five males from Badulla, nine males from Colombo, two males from Galle, nine from Gampaha including eight males and one female, five from Kandy including four males and one female, two each from Kurunegala and Matale, 14 from Nuwara Eliya, four from Puttalam and 44 others who have no specific hometown were among those rehabilitated and reintegrated among the total 12,191. In total those rehabilitated were 9,878 males and 2,269 females.

The government had allocated Rs.100 million for the Rehabilitation Bureau for rehabilitation in 2017, while Rs. 50 million was allocated for 2018. In accordance with international norms, statements and letters of consent were obtained from the inmates for follow-up of the rehabilitation programme.

The Commissioner General of Rehabilitation said that the rehabilitation programme carried out was very successful and that none of the rehabilitated ex-LTTE members have got involved in any major anti-social or terrorist activity after being reintegrated.

However, some of the inmates did not agree. They said they cannot see how they can earn a living by making Palmyra products or ornamental fish. Rehabilitation was worse than prison said another. I was supposed o be trained in carpentry for 6 months but  I was given training only for 60 days and I was asked to sign to say it was  six months.  (Continued)

කීර්ති වර්ණකුලසූරිය

මෙරට නීතිය උල්ලංඝනය කරමින් කොළඹ ස්විස් තානාපති කාර්යාලය හිටපු කොටි 200 කට ස්විස්ටර්ලන්තයට යෑමට සංක‍්‍රමණික වීසා ලබාදී ඇත.
 
 ඇව්රෝ ගුවන් යානාව පිපිරවූ කුලම්ගේ සිට ත‍්‍රිකුණාමල කොටි හමුදා නායක දයා මෝහන් සහ වත්මන් කොටි නායක ජෙයපාලන් චෙල්ලයියාටත් ස්විස්ටර්ලන්තයට යෑමට ස්විස් තානාපති කාර්යාලය සහාය වුණා යැයි ඉහළ පෙළේ ආරංචිමාර්ග පැවසීය.
 
 මෙලෙස සංක‍්‍රමණික වීසා ලත් හිටපු කොටි කවුරුන්දැයි ස්විස් රජය එරට නීතිය හමුවේ අනාවරණය කර නැත. මේ පිරිස ස්විස් යෑමට පෙර තානාපති කාර්යාලය ශ‍්‍රී ලංකා රජයට දන්වා නැත.
 
 වන්නි මෙහෙයුමින් පසු යළි මෙරට කොටි සංවිධානය න`ගාසිටුවීමට පැමිණ හමුදා ප‍්‍රහාරයකින් මියගිය ස්විස් කොටි ක‍්‍රියාකාරී ගෝපිගේ බිරිය වූ ෂර්මිලාටද ස්විස් තානාපති කාර්යාලය වීසා ලබාදී තිබේ

ලංකා කාර්මික සංවර්ධන මණ්ඩලය

ලංකා කාර්මික සංවර්ධන මණ්ඩලයට වසර 50 ක් පිරීම නිමිත්තෙන් ලංකාවේ සුළු හා මධ්‍ය පරිමාණ කර්මාන්ත ඇගැයීම හා දිරි ගැන්වීම සඳහා දිවයිනේ සියළුම පළාත් ආවරණය කරමින් ක්ෂේත්‍ර 14 ක සුළු හා මධ්‍ය පරිමාණ කර්මාන්ත ඇගයීමට ලක්කර, සම්මාන ප්‍රදානය කිරීම 2019.12.20 වැනි දින ප.ව. 2:00 ට බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්‍යන්තර සම්මන්ත්‍රණ ශාලාවේ දී කර්මාන්ත හා සැපයුම් කළමනාකරණ ගරු අමාත්‍ය විමල් වීරවංශ මැතිතුමාගේ ප්‍රදානත්වයෙන් පැවැත්විය. මෙහිදී පළාත් හා ජාතික මට්ටමින් විශිෂ්ඨ ව්‍යාවසායකයාන් සඳහා සම්මාන ප්‍රදාන කිරීම සිදුවිය.

මෙම සම්මාන උළෙලේ දී කොළඹ දිස්ත්‍රික්කය සඳහා වැඩි වටිනාකමින් යුත් ජාතික සම්මාන හා පලාත් සම්මාන වැඩි ප්‍රමාණයක් ලබා ගැනීමට හැකියාව ලැබුණි.

ලංකාවේ විශිෂ්ඨතම සුළු හා මධ්‍ය පරිමාණ කර්මාන්තය ලෙස ප්ලැටිනම් ජාතික සම්මානය කොළඹ දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ ලංකා ස්පයිස් පුද්ගලික  සමාගම (Mac Curry) විසින් හිමිකරගන්නා ලදී.

තවද ලුහු ඉංජිනේරු ක්ෂේත්‍රයේ ජාතික ස්වර්ණ සම්මානය තොටවත්ත ඉංජිනියරිං වර්ක්ස් ආයතනයද, රසායනික ද්‍රව්‍ය ආශ්‍රිත නිෂ්පාදන කර්මාන්ත යටතේ ජාතික ස්වර්ණ සම්මානය ලේටෙක්ස් ලංකා පුද්ගලික සමාගම (WAPP), ආහාර පාන නිෂ්පාදන කර්මාන්ත ක්ෂේත්‍රයේ ජාතික  ස්වර්ණ සම්මානය ලංකා ස්පයිස් පුද්ගලික  සමාගම හිමිකරගන්නා ලදී.

මේ අතර සෙව්කො පේපර් කෝපරේෂන් පුද්ගලික සමාගම හා ජවානා ග්‍රැ‍ෆික් (Panther) පුද්ගලික සමාගමද  ජාතික රිදී සම්මානයෙන් පිදුම් ලැබීය.

මීට අමතරව පළාත් සම්මාන 5ක් දිනා ගැනීමට කොළඹ දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ කර්මාන්තවලට හැකිවිය.

චන්දන සූරියආරච්චි සංවර්ධන නිලධාරී සේවා සංගමය.

ගරු ජනාධිපති,
ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමා,
ජනාධිපති ලේකම් කාර්යාලය,
කොළඹ 01

ගරු ජනාධිපති තුමනි,

රාජ්‍ය සේවයේ ‘‘විශේෂ දීමනාව’’ ආශ‍්‍රිත සේවා උපාධිධාරීන් ඇතුළු ද්විතීය හා තෘතීය මට්ටමේ රාජ්‍ය සේවකයින් සඳහා ද ලබා දෙන මෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටිමු.

රාජ්‍ය සේවයේ විධායක සේවා ගණයේ නිලධරයන්ට රු. 15 000/- ක දීමනාවක් 2020 ජනවාරී 01 දින සිට ගෙවීමට පියවර ගන්නා ලෙස නියෝග කරමින් 18/2015 (iii) අංක සහිත චක‍්‍රලේඛය 2019.12.07 දින රාජ්‍ය පරිපාලන අමාත්‍යාංශ ලේකම් එස්.හෙට්ටිආරච්චි මහතාගේ අත්සනින් යුතුව නිකුත් කර ඇත.

පසුගිය රජය ද රු.15 000/- ක දීමනාවක් විධායක සේවා ගණයේ නිලධාරීන්ට පමණක් ලබාදීම සඳහා කටයුතු සිදුකිරීමට සූදානම් වුණි. නමුත් ඒ සම්බන්ධයෙන් රාජ්‍ය සේවයේ අනෙකුත් සේවාවන් වල පැවති ඉල්ලීම් හා 2019.09.23 දින දීප ව්‍යාප්ත එක්දින වැඩවර්ජනය ඇතුළු රාජ්‍ය හා පළාත් රාජ්‍ය සේවක ඉල්ලීම් හමුවේ එක් සේවාවකට පමණක් දීමනාවක් ලබාදීම වෙනුවට සියලූු රාජ්‍ය සේවකයින් සඳහා සාධාරණ දීමනාවක් ලබා දීමට 2019.09.23 දින රජය සමඟ පැවති සාකච්ඡාවේදී තීරණය වුණි.

නමුත් සියලූ රාජ්‍ය සේවකයින් සඳහා අදාළ නොවන පරිදි පැවති රජය ක‍්‍රියාත්මක කිරීමට සූදානම් කර තිබූ විශේෂ දීමනා චක‍්‍රලේකය ඒ ආකාරයෙන්ම 2019.12.07 දිනැති ව නිකුත් කර ඇත.

රාජ්‍ය සේවයේ විධායක සේවාවන්හි සේවයේ නියුතු රාජ්‍ය නිලධාරීන් සඳහා රු.15 000/- හෝ ඊට වැඩි දීමනාවක් හෝ ලබාදීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් අප වෘත්තීය සමිතියේ කිසිදු විරෝධතාවයක් කිසිදු මොහොතක නොමැති බවද වගකීමෙන් දන්වා සිටිමු.

රාජ්‍ය හා පළාත් රාජ්‍ය සේවයේ ඵභ04 වැටුප් තලයට අයත් ආශ‍්‍රිත සේවාව නියෝජනය කරන සියලූම දෙනා උපාධිධාරීන් ය. සංවර්ධන සහකාර ඇතුළු සහකාර තනතුරු යටතේ මෙන්ම සංවර්ධන නිලධාරී තනතුරු යටතේ ඔවුන් ක්ෂේත‍්‍රගත හා කාර්යාලගත විශාල රාජකාරී ප‍්‍රමාණයක් ඉටු කරනු ලබන බවද දන්වා සිටිමු.

රජයේ සියලූ සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘති ඇතුළු සියලූ ව්‍යාපෘති ග‍්‍රාමීය මට්ටමින් ක‍්‍රියාවට නැංවීම, රජයට අවශ්‍ය සියලූම දත්ත හා තොරතුරු ලබාදීම, රජයට අවශ්‍ය සියලූම වාර්ථා සකස් කිරීම, සියලූ හදිසි හා ආපදා තත්වයන් වලදී අනෙකුත් සේවාවන්ට අයත් නිලධාරීන් සමඟ එක්ව උපරිම අයුරින් ඒ සඳහා රජයේ වගකීම ඉටු කිරීම ආදී සුවිශේෂී කාර්යභාර්යයක් ඔවුහූ උසුලන බවද වැඩිදුරටත් සිහිපත් කරමු.

ආශ‍්‍රිත සේවයේ මෙන්ම සංවර්ධන නිලධාරී සේවය, රාජ්‍ය කළමනාකරණ නිලධාරී සේවය, තාක්ෂණ සේවය, ග‍්‍රාම නිලධාරී සේවය ඇතුළු සේවාවන් හා ශ්‍රේණීන් ගණනාවක රාජ්‍ය සේවකයින් විසින් ඉටු කරනු ලබන රාජකාරී පිළිබඳ විශේෂ අවධානය යොමු කරමින් විශේෂ දීමනාවක් ලබා දීම සාධාරණ බව අප විසින් පෙන්වා දෙන්නෙමු.

2020.01.01 දින සිට විධායක සේවයේ නිලධාරීන් සඳහා රු.15 000/- ක විශේෂ දීමනාව ලබා දීමට කිසිදු බාධාවක් නොවන අයුරින් ඵභ04 ආශ‍්‍රිත සේවාවට අයත් රාජ්‍ය හා පළාත් රාජ්‍ය සේවා උපාධිධාරීන් ඇතුළු ද්විතීය හා තෘතීය මට්ටමේ රාජ්‍ය සේවකයින් සඳහා ද පිළිගත හැකි සාධාරණ විශේෂ දීමනාවක් ලබා දීමට පියවර ගන්නා මෙන් කාරුණිකව ඉල්ලා සිටිමු.

ස්තුතියි.

මෙයට,
චන්දන සූරියආරච්චි

සම්බන්ධීකරණය – 071 8178268
Coordinating –  9471 8178268

පිටපත් –
1. ගරු අග‍්‍රාමාත්‍ය, මුදල් අමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්‍ෂ මැතිතුමා (දැ.ගැ.පි./අ.ක.ස.)
2. ගරු රාජ්‍ය පරිපාලන හා ස්වදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍ය ජනක බණ්ඩාර තෙන්නකෝන් මැතිතුමා (දැ.ගැ.පි./අ.ක.ස.)
3. ගරු රාජ්‍ය පරිපාලන හා ස්වදේශ කටයුතු රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය මහින්ද සමරසිංහ මැතිතුමා(දැ.ගැ.පි./අ.ක.ස.)
4. ලේකම් එස්. හෙට්ටිආරච්චි මහතා -රාජ්‍ය පරිපාලන හා ස්වදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශය(දැ.ගැ.පි./අ.ක.ස.)
5. ලේකම් – මුදල් අමාත්‍යාංශය (දැ.ගැ.පි./අ.ක.ස.)
6. සභාපති – රාජ්‍ය සේවා කොමිෂන් සභාව (දැ.ගැ.පි./අ.ක.ස.)
7. සභාපති – වැටුප් හා සේවක සංඛ්‍යා කොමිෂන් සභාව (දැ.ගැ.පි./අ.ක.ස.)

By Senaka Weeraratna

Christmas is a religion-based festival that promotes peace and kindness. Love thy neighbor is a key utterance of Jesus Christ. But can these values be sustained if we fail to extend them to all living beings. Are animals also not our neighbours? Morally entitled to our love and affection?

This moral issue arises every time Christmas dawns for celebration. Innocent animals in their millions are put to death to celebrate the birth anniversary of one man, renowned as the ‘Prince of Peace’. Can this be morally justified?

Some say that Christ was a vegetarian. If so, he will be turning in his grave, if he was aware of the pain and suffering caused to animals by man’s inhumanity to celebrate his birth anniversary.

If animals can speak they will call Christmas a ‘day of infamy’ as they are forced to sacrifice their lives for a human feast on a colossal mind boggling scale all over the world. 

In every sense of the word Christmas celebration generates an Animal Holocaust, not much different to the Holocaust of the Jews during World War Two.

The moral challenge is to celebrate Christmas on the footing of Ahimsa which means non – violence and peace. Reject merry making through causing death to millions of innocent animals. Strive for peaceful co – existence between humans and animals. Meat is murder. Strive for a meat free Christmas and save the lives of innocent animals.

We must remember that the vast majority of animals killed to sustain ‘feasts’ and celebrations on religious occasions are products of intense factory farming. On factory farms, baby animals are routinely subject to invasive surgical procedures without the mercy of pain relief. Millions of ‘meat’ chickens are concealed in industrial sheds, never to see daylight or feel the earth beneath their feet. In commercial hatcheries, economically ‘worthless’ day-old male chicks are crushed to death as ‘waste products’ of the egg industry. Even the dairy industry is not free from heinous cruelty towards new-born male calves. They are dispatched for slaughter no sooner they are born while their mother cows weep for them.

Civilizational Values 

Christmas is an apt time for reflection on our civilizational values because it is the season where hundreds of thousands of innocent animals undergo extreme suffering, exploitation, and death. Millions of turkeys are slaughtered for Christmas dinner, along with ducks, geese, pigs, lambs and chickens. In western countries, puppies and kittens are given away as presents, then often neglected or discarded by new owners when the novelty has worn off.  Rabbits and foxes have their fur stripped from them to be turned into clothing and accessories.

The undeclared war that is being waged everyday against countless millions of non-human animals all over the world takes on an aggravated turn during the Christmas season. These practices are deeply unsettling to anyone who values compassion and respect for the life of others. We cannot remain silent.

Vesak

In contrast, Vesak, the Buddhist festival celebrating the birth anniversary of the Buddha is free of violence towards any living being.

Humans dread violence and death. Likewise, all living beings including the so – called food animals dread violence and death.

Compassion means sympathizing with the suffering in other beings because one sees suffering in oneself, and wishes every sentient being, including oneself, to be free from suffering and be happy. If there is a single definition of what makes one a true Buddhist, it is whether you endeavor to practice compassion or not.

This is clearly spelt out in the Karaniya Metta Sutta.

May all cultivate mettā (loving – kindess) towards all beings on an equal footing, those who live above, below, or across. May all be unhindered and without enmity.

Just as a mother would protect her only child with her life, may this protection affect all beings on an equal footing.

Whether standing, walking, sitting or lying down, may all sustain this mettā mindset (what the Buddha called Brahma Vihāra)”.

Any true celebration of peace and goodwill related to religion must be based on unimpeachable non-violence and respect for the lives of all living beings including non-human sentient beings.

An invaluable precedent from Sri Lanka 

There is an invaluable precedent in Sri Lanka i.e. Vesak, where reverence and compassion for all forms of life is stressed and consequently on Vesak day an age-old custom is legally enforced – closure of slaughter houses and ban on sale of meat. A majority of the people abstain from flesh food consumption as part of the Buddhist religious tradition and practice on that occasion.

We can set an example to the rest of the world by doing likewise on Christmas day. The biggest beneficiaries would be the innocent animals. It is time that due consideration is given to their paramount interest in living until their natural life span ends just as much as we humans do to each other.

Christians in Sri Lanka should strongly consider commencing a new tradition of kindness and goodwill to all living beings by leaving meat off their plate on Christmas day. Instead of blindly aping western traditions mired in killing and bloodshed during Christmas, why not follow a more distinctive Buddhist tradition of total non-violence when celebrating the anniversary of the birthday of the founder of a world religion.

Justice for Animals Sri Lanka was formed in 2019 under the auspices of Sri Bodhiraja Foundation led by Ven. Omalpe Sobhitha Thera to give voice to the suffering of animals, because they cannot articulate their suffering. The cause of animals has to be highlighted loud and clear not only for their sake but also for our sake because it reflects on ourselves. Our sense of justice, compassion and sharing the planet earth with all those who inhabit it. 

Environmental damage 

Becoming a vegetarian or vegan has countless benefits. Studies have shown that meat eating takes a heavy toll on the environment. A person who consumes a diet high in meat is responsible for almost twice the climate-killing carbon dioxide emissions of a dedicated vegetarian.

In respect to the environmental cost per calorie, the effect of beef consumption, for example, is horrific. The rearing of beef cattle necessitates 160 times more land and leads to 11 times more greenhouse gas emissions vis-à-vis crops like wheat, rice or potatoes. 

Perhaps the most compelling argument for choosing a vegetarian lifestyle is that abundant studies have shown that vegetarians have lower incidences of heart disease, lower BMI and lower blood pressure than their meat-eating colleagues. Colon cancer is directly associated, according to the latest medical research, with eating red meat, much as cigarettes are with lung cancer.

Around 5 million Brits in UK will have a meat-free Christmas dinner for the first time ever. This is according to new research released by The Vegan Society.

According to the study, more British people are open to the idea of having a vegetarian Christmas than they’ve ever been. Eight percent of respondents said this year will be their first meat-free holiday dinner.

It is never too late to start such a fresh endeavor this season. It will save lives.  What can be more holy and noble than that?

https://www.livekindly.co/5-million-brits-first-meatless-christmas-dinner/

Extend the spirit of goodwill to animals this Christmas by avoiding meat altogether on Christmas Day. That will be an unique and truly noble gesture. Senaka Weeraratna

උපුටා ගැන්ම   මුහුනු පොත

හිතවත් රාජිත මංත්‍රිතුමනි..,

2015 දි ඔබ කුඩුකාරයන්ගෙන් හොදට හම්බු කළ ජේලර් කෙනෙක් ,කොලොඹ පාසල් ලමුන්ට බෝම්බ ගැසු සිංහල කොටියෙකු හා මරණ දඩුවමෙන් බේරා ගන්නා බවට පොරොන්දු දි කුඩු කාරයන් කිහිපදෙනෙක් එකතු කරගෙන නියම ප්‍රකාශ සගවා අලුත් ප්‍රකාශ එකතු කර දඩයම් තලාවක් නිර්මාණය කරවිය .
කුඩු කාරයන් අල්ලන්න ගිහින් වෙඩි උන්ඩ නවයක් වැදිලා පපුවේ උන්ඩ තුනක් සහිතව හිස ද තුවාල වී මම නිවසේ සිටින විට අත් අඩංගුවට ගැනිමට ඔබේ දඩයම් බල්ලා වන රවිට උපදෙස් දුන්නා මතකද? ඔබ අද වගේ මමත් එදා නිතිපතිට කරුණු දැක්විම කලා එත් ඔබ ඒක වැලැක්වුවා මතකද ?
අද ඔබ උසාවියෙන් සාදාරණයක් ඉල්ලනවා සේම මමත් උසාවි ගියා එකත් ඔබ එදා එකත් වැලැක්වුවා මතකද ? ඒ තීන්දුව දී පැය දෙකක් යනකොට රවි එව්වා මාව අත් අඩංගුවට ගැනිමට .
තුවාල සහිතව රිමාන්ඩ් කලා මතකද ? මම සෑම රාත්‍රියේ දිම නින්දා ගත්තේ නැහැ මංත්‍රි තුමා තුවාල පරිස්සම් කලා මකුනන් ගෙන්. අතේ තිබුන හැම සතේම වියදම් කරලා ඇප අයදුම්පතක් දැම්මා එකටත් ඔබ හරස් වුනා මතකද ?
මම අල්ලපු කුඩු කාරයන් එක්ක එක සිර මැදිරියේ ඉන්න කොට දැනෙන හැගීම ඔබ දන්නවා ද
මාස හයක් ඉදලා නැවත එලියට ඇවිත් නාකොටික් එකේ ඉන්න විට ඔබේ මිතුරා රූමි ගේඋවමනාට මාව පොලිස් ඩිපෝ වේ පුස්තකාලයට දාලා ඔබ සතුටු වුනා මතකද ?
නැවතත් සේවය නැති කර දැන් මම ගෙදර ය.
දැන් ඔබ උදේ ඉදන් උසාවියේ ඉන්න කොට කරපු දේවල් මතක් වෙනවා ඇති.
මංත්‍රි තුමා ඔහොම පිච්චී පිච්චී ඉන්නවා ට වඩා හොදයි නේද පිරිමියකු වසයෙන් ඇතුළට යන එක මොකද මට වගේ තරහකාරයෝ රිමාන්ඩ් එකේ ඔබට නැහැනෙ කුඩු කාරයන් ,පාතාලයේ එවුන් ඔබගේ මිතුරන් නිසා .
මොනවා එකතු කරත් දවසක හෙලුවෙන් කනත්තට යන්න වෙනවා යන්න මතක් කිරිමට කැමති
මීට
—-නාකොටික් රංගජිව ——

උපුටා ගැන්ම   KUBIYO NEWS

අනතුරක් සිදු කර සිය බලය භාවිතා කර සාක්ෂී මකා දැමීමේ චෝදනාවට අත්අඩංගුවට ගෙන සිටිනා පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්තී‍්‍ර පාඨලී චම්පික රණවකට රජයේ මුදල් අවභාවිතා කිරීමේ චෝදනාව පිළිබඳවද කරුණු හෙළිවී ඇත.

ඒ, රාජගිරියේ සිදුවූ ආන්දෝලනාත්මක රියඅනතුරට සම්බන්ධව මේ වනවිට සිදුකෙරෙන වැඩිදුර විමර්ශනවලදීය.

රිය අනතුරෙන් පසුව පාඨලී චම්පික රණවක මන්තී‍්‍රවරයා මහා නගර සහ බස්නාහිර සංවර්ධන අමාත්‍යවරයා ලෙසයි පත්ව ඇත්තේ. මෙම අනතුරට පත්ව ඇත්තේ ඔහු විදුලිබල හා බලශක්ති අමාත්‍යවරයා ලෙස කටයුතු කළ සමයේ භාවිත කළ ජීප්රථයක්.

විදුලි බල හා බලශක්ති අමාත්‍යංශය විසින් අදාළ වාහනය සිය අමාත්‍යංශයට භාරදෙන ලෙස ඉල්ලීමක් කර ඇතත්, පාඨලී චම්පික රණවක මන්තී‍්‍රවරයා එය ලබාදී නැහැ.

පසුව අදාළ රිය අනතුර සම්බන්ධයෙන් මහා නගර සහ බස්නාහිර සංවර්ධන අමාත්‍යංශය විසින් එම ජීප් රථයට රුපියල් මිලියනයක රක්ෂණ මුදලක් ද ලබාගෙන තිබේ.

මෙම මුදල අමාත්‍යවරයා විසින් ලබා ගෙන තිබෙනවා.

මෙම රියඅනතුර සම්බන්ධයෙන් කොළඹ අපරාධ කොට්ඨාශය ද විශේෂ විමර්ශනයක් සිදු කරනවා.

ඒ, අනතුරෙන් තුවාල ලැබූ තරුණයාගේ පියා පොලිස්පතිවරයාට කළ පැමිණිල්ලකට අනුවයි. සත්‍ය කරුණු විකෘති කර අසත්‍ය නඩුවක් ගොනුකිරීම ඇතුළු කරුණු කිහිපයකට අදාළවයි එම පරීක්ෂණය සිදුවන්නේ.

එහි ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ ප‍්‍රකාශකයෙකු පැවසුවේ මෙය හුදෙක් රථවාහන නඩුවක් පමණක් නොවන බවයි. අනතුර සිදුවූ ස්ථානය සහ පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්තී‍්‍ර පාඨලී චම්පික රණවකගේ දුරකතන සංඥා ද ගැලපී ඇති බව ද පරීක්ෂණවලදී අනාවරණ වී තිබෙනවා.

සංඥා කුළුණුවලින් ලබාගත් දත්තවලදී මන්ති‍්‍රවරයාගේ දුරකතනය රාජගිරිය ප‍්‍රදේශයේ තිබෙන බවටත්, අනතුර සිදුවන අවස්ථාවේ වාහනයේ සිටි බව කියන රියදුරාගේ දුරකතනය කොස්වත්ත ප‍්‍රදේශයේ තිබූ බවටත් අනාවරණ වී ඇතැයි සඳහන්.

මේ අතර අනතුරට පත් තරුණයා පැදවූ යතුරු පැදිය, මෝටර් රථ ප‍්‍රවාහන දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ ලියාපදිංචි කළ යතුරු පැදියක් බව ද හෙළිවී තිබෙනවා.

Editorial Courtesy The Island

The prices of rice and vegetables have gone into the stratosphere, nay mesosphere, and sent both Citizen Perera and the newly formed caretaker government reeling. Inclement weather, which has wreaked havoc on farming areas and caused disruptions to the transport network have also led to sharp increases in the prices of the locally produced food items. Such price hikes are also seasonal. But they are mostly due to deplorable market manipulations and the absence of storage facilities and an efficient distribution network. This situation, which has come about due to lack of government interventions, has enabled unscrupulous traders to fleece both the producer and the consumer alike.

One may recall that about 10 years ago, the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa revealed that vegetables, grown in Ranna, reached nearby Tangalle, after being taken all the way to Dambulla, which is about 300 km away. This is how big-time traders controlled the vegetable prices, he said. But his government did precious little to protect producers and consumers. The same goes for all other food items whose prices are jacked up by wholesalers who manipulate the market to make unconscionable profits. Even the price of an egg laid by a hen in a far-flung area is said to be determined by traders in Pettah.

There are some varieties of vegetables, which perish where they grow without being harvested. Murunga is a case in point; owing to extremely low prices it fetches in the areas where it grows freely, especially in the dry zone, it almost goes unharvested, though it is expensive elsewhere. If such vegetables can be transported where there is a market for them, the public will benefit.

There has been a proposal for setting up solar powered cold storage facilities, in the vegetable producing areas, to prevent the farmers’ produce from decaying in the event of surpluses or adverse weather conditions or other such problems. It has gone unheeded. Bumper harvests which should be a blessing to farmers become a curse for them because they cannot dispose of their produce at reasonable prices. It is not seldom that we witness protests where irate farmers destroy colossal amounts of pumpkins, etc., on the roadside.

A left-wing firebrand in the SLPP-led government has reportedly revealed how to bring down vegetable prices; he wants the public to stop buying them so that a decrease in demand for them will result in a drop in their prices! We are reminded of the popular local saying, ‘bale thiyanakota mole ne, mole thiyanakota bale ne,’ (when one has power one has no brains, and when one has brains one has no power.)

The people have already reduced the consumption of vegetables to a bare minimum, but the prices still remain very high. We are not short of contortionists in the garb of ministers, blessed with hypermobility, which enables their feet to get into their big mouths easily. Another such double-jointed ministerial potentate once claimed that a family of three could live on a monthly income of Rs. 7,500 if it managed its resources frugally!

Meanwhile, attempts are being made to control the prices of rice. However welcome such measures may be, the government is barking up the wrong tree. The general consensus is that the country has enough stocks of paddy, but the big-time mill owners with political connections are not releasing them to the market so as to prevent the prices of rice from dropping. Raids are being conducted on business places in Colombo, but sprawling warehouse complexes wherein paddy is hoarded, in areas such as Polonnaruwa, have been spared. Our money is on the Millers’ Mafia having the last laugh, for the new government, in spite of its rhetoric, has stopped short of conducting raids on the godowns in the North Central Province in search of hoarded paddy. The will of the government seems to stop where the interests of the big-time businesses begin! Governments don’t hesitate to subjugate the interests of the public to their political compulsions. The SLPP-led caretaker government is no exception.

The Paddy Marketing Board (PMD) suffered a crippling blow at the hands of the JRJ government, which sacrificed vital state ventures at the altar of economic liberalisation. It has been revived but cannot compete with the buccaneering private millers. It allegedly buys the paddy stocks that private traders reject. That the PMD has a pivotal role to play in protecting the rice growers and consumers by making market interventions where necessary cannot be overemphasised. A prerequisite for making it work efficiently is to ensure that it is properly managed.

Some big-time rice mill owners have offered to co-operate with the government and release some of their stocks to the market to help maintain rice prices at the stipulated levels. Their offer smacks of a tactical manoeuvre to prevent the government from getting into a desperate situation where it will be forced to act against the Millers’ Mafia.

The government will have to get tough with the paddy hoarders if the problem of market manipulation is to be solved once and for all.

Courtesy Ada Derana

The Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court has fixed the 30th December as the date of inquiry for former Minister Rajitha Senaratne’s anticipatory bail application preventing his arrest.

Senaratne’s second anticipatory bail application was taken up for consideration before the Colombo Chief Magistrate today (23).

Meanwhile, the former Minister filed a newly amended affidavit with regard to anticipatory bail application along with new documents related to the relevant incident.

Senaratne on Thursday (19) lodged his first anticipatory bail application, stating that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is planning to arrest him over the white van” media briefing that he held several days before the presidential election last month. The Director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and several other officials were named as the respondents of this bail application.

However, the Colombo Chief Magistrate had rejected Senaratne’s anticipatory bail application when it was taken up for consideration Thursday morning (19).

Senaratne went on to file another anticipatory bail application on Friday (20) requesting the court to release him on anticipatory bail before the CID takes him into custody.

Courtesy Ada Derana

Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) has been granted permission by the court to record a statement from Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara regarding the road accident involving former Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka.

IGP Pujith Jayasundara is currently under remand custody over a case on the Easter Sunday attacks.

This order has been issued by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court considering a request made to the court by the CCD.

The request by the CCD stated that the name of IGP Jayasundara was revealed during the investigations on the alleged hit-and-run case involving MP Patali Champika Ranawaka.

Therefore, Officer-in-Charge of the Colombo Crimes Division Chief Inspector Neville Silva requested permission to record a statement from the remanded IGP on the incident.

Accordingly, Colombo Additional Magistrate Lochani Abeywickrama ordered the Prison Superintendent to allow the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to record a statement from the IGP at the Prison premises between the 26th and 30th December.

Further, the Additional Magistrate ordered several telecommunication companies to provide a report to the CCD on call details of 20 mobile phone SIM cards found during the investigation on the case.

Meanwhile, former Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka is currently under remand over an alleged hit-and-run case in 2016.

Courtesy Ada Derana

The security forces including the Army are working on providing maximum security for the Christmas season, says Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva.

Speaking to the media following an event held in Colombo, the Army Chief said President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, has given instructions to the Police and the Tri-forces in this regard.

He commented that security measures have been implemented to ensure the safety of the general public during the festive season.

Courtesy Ada Derana

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.

Courtesy Ada Derana

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.

උපුටා ගැන්ම හිරු නිව්ස්

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.

උපුටා ගැන්ම හිරු නිව්ස්

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.

උපුටා ගැන්ම හිරු නිව්ස්

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.

උපුටා ගැන්ම හිරු නිව්ස්

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.

උපුටා ගැන්ම හිරු නිව්ස්

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.

උපුටා ගැන්ම හිරු නිව්ස්

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.

උපුටා ගැන්ම හිරු නිව්ස්

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

KAMALIKA PIERIS

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)

Kudaligamage Geethanjana

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 3^rd 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 4^th 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.

ALI SUKHANVER

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 6^th 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 20^th 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.

Courtesy News.lk

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.

Courtesy Ada Derana

Courtesy Ada Derana

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.

Courtesy Dadaderana

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.