Sandun A. Jayasekera Courtesy  Ada Derana

The Elections Commission reiterated yesterday that using state officials, state vehicles and equipment, and other state resources for election propaganda would be a punishable offence under the election law.

Elections Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya reminded all ministry secretaries, heads of departments, district secretaries, heads of statutory bodies, provincial secretaries and secretaries of local government bodies, they must ensure that state resources like vehicles, equipment, human resources and other state assets are not used or misused for election propaganda.

Complaints of illegal use of state resources for election propaganda are being received daily by the Elections Commission from around the country on a daily basis. The Elections Commission has also found that most of these complaints are correct. Therefore, the EC urges all above-mentioned state officials not to let state resources under their purview, be used for election campaigns,” Mr. Deshapriya stressed.

He has instructed the relevant officials to make ministers and provincial governors aware with regard to this matter.

Mr. Deshapriya is of the view that party leaders, general secretaries, election monitoring NGOs, the media and public officials would direct their attention to the EC’s instructions and would act accordingly to ensure a free, fair and peaceful election.  

Courtesy Ada Derana

The presidential hopeful of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa says special attention must be given to the welfare of women and children when ensuring national security.

He stated this addressing the first convention of Sri Lanka Podujana Women’s Front at Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre in Colombo today (31).

Rajapaksa, pointing out the considerable increase in violence against women and children at present, stated that women cannot even travel freely in public transport.

This situation must be curbed without delay and a disciplined society that protects women’s dignity has to be established again, the SLPP presidential hopeful stressed.

Rajapaksa emphasized on the importance of bringing forth a special mechanism to expedite the conclusion of hearing cases on crimes against children.

Speaking further, he said the group of persons most affected by the increasing use of drugs in the country is the women.

Highlighting that Sri Lanka has now become an international hub for distributing drugs, the former Defence Secretary said this was a result of lack of proper security measures to resolve the issue for many years.

Hence, considering this as a need of the nation, the, the presidential hopeful said he would be committed to speed up the prevention of drug menace.

Throughout the history of the country, women have rendered consistent support to save the country whenever it was in danger, the Rajapaksa said, noting that female soldiers had sacrificed their lives during the 30-year war that plagued the island nation.

Women’s contribution is required to bring the country back to a prosperous future, former Defence Secretary pointed out.

The presidential hopeful said his future aim is as to establish a disciplined society, a prosperous nation and productive citizens.

Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, National Organizer of SLPP Basil Rajapaksa and many other parliamentarians have attended the convention.

Courtesy Ada Derana

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe says that skilled workers are required to modify the economy and to take the country forward.

The Premier reiterated that his aim is to transform Sri Lanka into a country with skilled labour within the next ten years.

He made these remarks addressing the event held yesterday (31) to lay the foundation stone for the proposed National Institute of Technology in Narangalla, Kuliyapitiya.

In countries like Japan and Korea, there are no unskilled workers, hence they have rapidly moved forward in terms of development.

There are plans to establish more vocational training centres in Sri Lanka during the next few years, the prime minister said further.

Minister of Education Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, addressing the gathering, said the current government had made a revolutionary change in the field of education.

He added there had not been a government in Sri Lanka that had invested in education as much as the incumbent administration did.

Adaderana

KAMALIKA PIERIS

Revised 9.9.19

BUDGET 2019

The Parliamentary Committee on Public Finance in its report on the fiscal, financial and economic assumptions of the Budget for 2019 has issued a damning indictment of the Ministry of Finance stating that the MoF had deliberately misled Parliament. The Committee has asked the Central Bank to formally assess the adequacy and validity of the assumptions framework of the current budget and to report to Parliament, because there were doubts about the validity of the figures provided by the Ministry of Finance.

One example given by the CoPF is the manner in which the revenues from the Betting & Gaming Levy are reported in the budget which led Parliament to be misled on the fiscal consequences of the policy change. The ambiguous term ‘revised’ is consistently used while failing to specify that some revisions are tax increases, and others tax decreases.

The Budget Speech announced the revision of the license fee of casinos to Rs. 400 million per annum in a situation where the present rate was Rs. 200 million. This was a tax increase. A revision of the Betting and Gaming Levy on Rudjino games to Rs. 1,000,000 per annum was announced in a situation where the present levy was Rs. 200 million per annum – which represents a drastic tax reduction. The casino entrance fee was revised to USD 50 per person, in a situation where the present entrance fee was USD 100 per person the revision thus representing a halving of the existing tax. But due to the use of the ambiguous word ‘revision’ Parliament had no way of knowing whether the tax was going up or down. Measures that reduce collectable revenue are presented to Parliament as measures that will achieve precisely the opposite.

The reduction in the Betting and Gaming Levy charged from Rujino centres from 200 million to Rs. one million has been presented as an increase of Rs. 10 million in tax revenue. There are four casinos and ten Rudjino centres and the Rs. one million tax has been presented as an estimated increase of Rs. 10 million in the year 2019 instead of presenting it as a revenue loss of Rs. 1,990 million) in 2019.

The Parliamentary Committee on Public Finance said that the way the Budget is presented is so vague that reductions in the Levy are presented as an increase and then Parliament is then misled even more by the Budget Estimates that present the consequence of these reductions as revenue enhancing rather than revenue decreasing measures!

There is a mismatch between the Budget Speech and the Budget estimates with regard to the expected increase in revenue due to revisions in the NBT tax. The budget speech mentions a positive impact of Rs. 5 billion in revenue gain from NBT changes. However, the budget estimates envisages a further Rs. 13.9 billion increase in revenue from NBT during 2019. This increase does not match with the information and assumptions provided with regard to changes in policy and resulting gain and loss in revenue.

EXCHANGE CONTROL ACT OF 2017

Yahapalana replaced the old Exchange Control Act with a new one, the Foreign Exchange Act, No. 12 of 2017.  The Act was drafted without consulting the Central Bank and their opinions were sought only after the Gazette was published. Central Bank said that the Act was not drafted by   the Central Bank. We were not included. It was done outside .We were actually very upset about it, said Central Bank Governor, Coomaraswamy.’  We were asked to comment on it.

Analysts said that the new Act was weaker than the previous one. Under the new Act, any person can deal in foreign exchange for their transactions without any Exchange Control restrictions. Further, the new law removed criminalization of violations of the Exchange Control Act and prison sentences.  There were loopholes.  The Act does not interpret what it means by ’wrong’. Those who had aided and abetted the transactions listed in Panama Papers exposé were able to evade legal action due to this. 

The Act   weakened the CBSL’s regulatory role with regard to illegal transactions.  Unauthorized money transactions were taking place all over the country. Foreign currencies are kept illegally. Transactions do not come into official banking system, the Central Bank complained. . Central Bank cannot initiate investigations on transactions prior to November 2017, either since the old Exchange Control Act was rescinded and replaced.

Central Bank was speaking about the Batticaloa Campus. Under the present Exchange Control Act, there were no provisions to institute legal action on individuals for transactions that were made for the Batticaloa Campus. We cannot enforce the law against transactions over the Batticaloa campus since the Penal Code demands that there ought to be an offence, however under the new Exchange Control Act, offences are loosely defined,” he said. .

PEOPLE’S BANK (AMENDMENT) BILL

The People’s Bank (Amendment) Bill was presented by the Minister of Finance on 24^th May 2019 to Parliament. This Amendment is about raising capital for the Peoples Bank, by issue of debentures. The bank will be given the freedom to issue debentures up to Rs.50 billion to increase its capital. 

 This amendment seeks to replace section 20 of the Act which says that debentures can be issued only with the approval of the Ministry of Finance given after consultation with the Monetary Board of the CBSL. The Bank authorities will have the full power to decide on debentures without any the intervention of MOF and Monetary Board.Why is it necessary for the bank to have complete freedom for this. Why grant  a license to the Bank Authorities to freely decide the supplementing of any sum of funds through debentures asked critics.

The need to provide a compulsory guarantee by the Minister of Finance  on account of the repayment of any sum due on debentures issued by the Bank is to be repealed. Future issue of debentures by the bank would not be guaranteed by the government either.  Critics fear that this will lead to privatization of the Bank. The definition of shareholders as per the section 13 of People’s Bank Act is to be changed. The private sector  may through this get a stake in the bank through debenture issues. This could lead to the privatization of the bank.

MONEY  SUPPLY

In January 2017, the media reported that Government has printed tens of billions of rupees in one of the largest volumes of Central Bank credit in a single day. On Jan 2,  the net excess liquidity in the banking system shot up by 68 billion to 89 billion indicate that a massive volume of money had been printed and let loose,  said critics. It is said that this was done at the order of the ‘fiscal authorities’ , which means this is the first time that we see fiscal dominance of monetary policy. (‘Fiscal ‘ refers to taxation, public spending, debt, and finance while ‘monetary’ relates to money and how it is supplied to, and circulates in, an economy.)  There is rising concern about the recent fiscal dominance of monetary policy and attempts to undermine the independence of the Central Bank.. This will adversely affect the economy.

NEW EMPLOYMENT LAW

In July 2019 it was reported  that   Yahapalana  was planning a new unified employment law that would replace 54 labour legislations currently in force. The Wages Board Ordinance No.27 of 1941, the Factories Ordinance No.45 of 1942, Shop and Office Employees Act No.19 of 1954, Maternity Benefit Ordinance, and Factories Ordinance will be revised and combined into a single employment law.

Wages Boards are to be scrapped giving the employer the right to decide on minimum wage irrespective of the trade or industry, This proposed law is intended to give the employer the legal right to decide all terms and conditions of employment in the private sector. .A working day to be not more than 12 hours in a 45 hour work-week that allows employer to limit work to four working days with no wages for the other three days including Sunday. Gratuity for workers have also been severely restricted and the Termination Act No. 45 of 1971 is to be repealed allowing the employer to dismiss workers as the employer wish, perhaps even without any disciplinary inquiry.

The draft  law which is yet to be made public, was presented to the National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC) without permitting discussions. The draft was prepared under USAID supervision by private legal consultants..All member trade unions in the NLAC have opposed this effort in devising a new single labour law” with direct USAID assistance.

GAS AND OIL EXPLORATION

Natural gas and oil excavations will begin next year and hopefully, the country would start producing them by 2022 said Yahapalana   Explorations at the Dorado and Barracuda (M1 and M2) blocks in the Mannar basin have progressed steadily. Proposals were now being evaluated to select a suitable party to award the tender to develop them.

The government  has amended its agreement signed in 2016 with the French oil and gas super-major ‘Total E&P’ to include the Norwegian oil and gas company ‘Equinor ASA’ as a joint study partner to explore the hydrocarbon potential in the JS-5 and JS-6 blocks of the Lanka Basin in the eastern offshore region. In 2018, two joint study blocks, covering over 50,000 square-kilometres, saw the largest ever 2D seismic survey carried out in Sri Lanka, where 5,000 line kms were acquired. It was the first-ever detailed 2D seismic survey to be carried out in the Lanka Basin. The data from this seismic survey revealed the two blocks to have a significant hydrocarbon potential, and as a result, Total E&P decided to move forward to the next phase of exploration with Equinor ASA as a joint study partner,”

WASTE IMPORTS

There are  over 1,000 unclaimed  containers at the Colombo Port and most of them are believed to contain hazardous waste from other countries, according to environmentalists. This shows that Sri Lanka is already in waist deep trash trouble with no system to track the waste trade, they said.

Banned waste categories are  freely being imported to Sri Lanka  under the final FT agreement with Singapore.” Said critics.  Sri Lanka- Singapore Free Trade Agreement was  paving the way for more hazardous foreign waste being imported here.

There are various types of waste in both Sri Lanka and Singapore lists. This includes Waste straw, Ash and residues from the incineration of municipal waste, Waste and scrap of rare-earth metals, Waste pharmaceuticals, Municipal waste, Sewage sludge, Clinical waste, Scrap and waste of Micro cellular, paper/paper board, including unsorted waste and scrap, Building blocks and bricks-concrete cement blocks encasing industrial waste sludge, Concrete cement blocks encasing industrial waste sludge, Waste and scrap containing lithium-tantalum and lithium niobium, Nickel waste and scrap, Lead waste and scrap, Waste and scrap, Waste and scrap of cobalt etc.

 There are many other types of waste included in Sri Lanka list  which are free of custom duties. Some are harmful to the environment and some are not. Since China stopped receiving foreign waste for recycling, western waste traders have sent their waste to ASEAN countries.  Since ASEAN countries are closing the loopholes, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh seems the new targets.

**&

COWS FROM AUSTRALIA.

The Presidential Commission of Inquiry investigating Corruption in the current Administration was informed,  that   the government had in 2017, distributed 3,030 substandard ,  sick,  highly infectious  imported Australian cows among 46 investors and dairy farmers who took part in a subsidized scheme to introduce high-yielding imported pregnant cows. The Ministry of Rural Economy has informed the investors that those pregnant cows would produce 20 litres of milk a day on average and advised them to get rid of the local cows on their farms..

Presidential Commission of Inquiry investigating corruption in the current administration was told  of this matter. Minister of Rural Economic Affairs, had informed the Cabinet through a memo on March 24, 2017, that they had paid a 20% advance to Wellard Rural Exports Pvt., to import milch cows. The Commission was informed however, that there was no such clause in the agreement signed between the two parties,. Commission was also  told that the payment had been made a day before the Cabinet paper was presented.  USD 924 000 was paid to Wellard.

The issue of the milch cow import scheme had been discussed when the 2018 Budget was prepared. However, the Treasury didn’t allocate any budget because there had already been complaints against the quality of the imported cows.” Despite this,  Sri Lanka had paid Rs. 1.3 billion (USD 8.3 million) to Wellard Rural Exports Pvt. Ltd, on May 08, 2018, as an advance payment to import 15,000 milch cows. ” The money had been loaned from Rabo Bank, in the Netherlands. The money was channeled through the External Resources Department of the Treasury. .” While we are saddled with a loan, Wellard has got USD 8.3 million for free. .” Almost 16 months have passed since the payment, Wellard hasn’t sent us a single cow, the Department said..”

The internal auditor  assigned to the project informed the Commission that information about the agreement, the implementation and the MoU signed with Rabo Bank of the Netherlands was extremely difficult to obtain.

.Only a few people were privy to the information and whenever I asked for it the people who handled it said they had to ask Wellard. Until I wrote to the internal auditor and the Auditor General no one outside knew about what’s going on,  he said.” Project manager didn’t provide the information the internal audit asked for, to commence the audit. They didn’t even provide information to the external auditors.”

However, a senior Finance Ministry spokesman strongly defended the transaction. He said the legality of the transaction couldn’t be challenged. According to him, a milch cow worth about Rs 450,000 was made available to local farmers at Rs 150,000 with the price difference being absorbed by a government subsidy.

As the inquiry progressed, further information emerged. Chief Auditor of the Rural Economic Development Ministry said that the Ministry carried out an audit inquiry after the first shipment of cows. As a part of the audit they had inspected some of the farms. They found many irregularities.

 The director of the project (name withheld) told us that 20 cows were given to Devinda Farm at 28 Gannoruwa Road, Peradeniya. But there was no such farm at that address, only a building that belonged to the Livestock Development Board. The Director had then said that the owner of the farm Professor Basil Alexander had given the cows to Hingurana Dairy farm in Matale on July 2017 after villagers protested against the farm, having obtained permission from the Ministry to do so. However auditors found no document to prove that Alexander had obtained the approval of the Ministry.

The Commission probed further. When the auditors went to the farm did they see any cow sheds there? Answer, no. The Presidential Commission decided that there was something fishy about this project. The information provided by Director of the project was false and instructed the CID unit attached to the Commission to investigate the matter. (Island 29.8.19 p 4)

The Presidential Commission of Inquiry found  that number of large scale farms had benefited from a subsidised scheme to import milch cows aimed at helping small dairy farmers.,a number of big names in the dairy industry had obtained over 1,000 cows under the scheme. 

The auditors said there were also a number of mismatches in the agreement with the farmers. “For example a cow was priced at Rs. 467,950. The beneficiary had to pay Rs. 200 000. The government pays Rs. 200 000. But it was not mentioned who would pay the balance amounting to Rs. 67,950. very little help had been extended to the audit by the project team. “They went out of their way to make things difficult for internal auditors.

SAMURDHI

• Chief Opposition Whip told Parliament that the government had spent Rs. 400 million on advertising a project to grant Samurdhi benefits to 600,000 more persons.
• Samurdhi recipients  have complained about Samurdhi. They demonstrated at  Ampara in June 2019, waving documents showing that those who needed Samurdhi were not getting it, but those who had three wheelers and lorries were
• In June 2019, there was a demonstration in Battaramulla, against  the government’s move to take Samurdhi funds for its programmes. Those who demonstrated belonged to the all Ceylon Samurdhi development and Agrarians assistant officers Association.
• In a media release in 2019, Mahinda  Rajapaksa said: spending money for the New Year and Christmas is being released from the compulsory savings of Samurdhi recipients in 2019 when such a thing never happened in previous years. After releasing Rs. 30,000 in a single year, it is obvious that there will no money to be released in that manner in the coming years. The purpose of having compulsory savings for Samurdhi recipients is to encourage the savings habit and to enable them to utilize that money for self-employment and other livelihood related activities. We have not heard of the compulsory savings of Samurdhi recipients being released as spending money for festivals.

THE CCEM”

Economic policy   under  Yahapalana was decided by a specially created committee, Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CCEM) CCEM  was established following a Cabinet decision on September 23, 2015.  Projects were first presented to the CCEM and then to Cabinet. The Asian Development Bank made a presentation to the CCEM on a National Ports Master Plan. It was only thereafter, the ADB was advised to meet the Minister of Ports and Shipping for detailed discussions. A vehicle importer had imported 24 used commercial vehicles in December after the budget proposals in November last year. The Customs refused to accept the duty payments. The company suffered heavy demurrage costs. The CCEM decided to recommend to the Cabinet to waive the demurrage. The CCEM was scrapped and its functions absorbed by the cabinet in 2018. Other subjects ranged from discussing grievances and offering redress. A vehicle importer had imported 24 used commercial vehicles in December after the budget proposals in November last year. The Customs refused to accept the duty payments. The company suffered heavy demurrage costs. The CCEM decided to recommend to the Cabinet to waive the demurrage. Yet another was how the Ministry of Housing and Construction was asked to submit to the CCEM a draft policy on High Rise Buildings.

GSP PLUS

IN 2016 it was observed that In its haste to regain the GSP Plus facility, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has agreed with the European Union (EU) to implement a sprawling list of 58 conditions linking human rights, national security and other domestic concerns with trade, a document obtained by the Sunday Times shows.

Among the 58 conditions imposed are to revoke the Prevention of Terrorism Act, to expedite cases of remaining detainees, to introduce a new Human Rights Action Plan, review the status of the Tamil Diaspora organizations and individuals on the terrorist list, to devolve power under the new Constitution, return all private lands to owners in the North, adopt a policy of National Reconciliation and on National Resettlement, finalize the re-settlement of all displaced persons, and to ratify the Convention on Enforced Disappearances with accompanying legislation as well as issue certificates of absence.

The Government has committed to rehabilitate all ex-combatants by 2017 and to amend the Code of Criminal Procedure to include the rights of detainees by 2016. It has been agreed to adopt new regulations for public disorder management by the police by the end of March 2016; review the Public Security Ordinance; expedite the processing of remaining cases referred to by the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; and to establish an office on Missing Persons.

The Government has agreed to security sector reform”; to put an end to all surveillance, harassment and reprisals against civil society, human rights defenders and journalists”; propose legislation allowing individuals to submit complaints to the UN Human Rights Committee under the First Optional Protocol to the ICCPR and to the UN Committee against Torture; and to reconsider the decision to establish the Press Council”.

The list also includes an undertaking to propose legislative changes to ensure non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation; to expedite prosecution of reported cases of torture; to launch wide public consultation and to disseminate information during the various stages of setting up a transitional justice mechanism; and to design a transitional justice architecture consistent with the Human Rights Council resolution and the results of the public consultation.

The EU insisted that the conditions be met before Sri Lanka can even consider applying for the GSP Plus. The stringent stipulations came with short deadlines and were accepted by the Foreign Ministry without any form of negotiations” at the EU-Sri Lanka Working Group on Governance, Rule of Law and Human Rights in January 2016

Critics observed that given our middle income status, Sri Lanka is eligible for the GSP Plus only for a few more years. There are doubts about the EU now, reported TIME in April 2019. Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain were virtually bankrupt and entirely dependent on bailouts from the IMF, and Germany after the recession. The loans given by the EU imposed severe austerity measure that squeezed ordinary citizen and cut public services.  There should be a limit to the EU’s mammoth scope and regulatory oversight.   ( CONCLUDED)

KAMALIKA PIERIS

This essay presents some administrative decisions taken by Yahapalana   government.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Yahapalana government made sweeping changes to local government elections in October 2017.  A whole new system of elections was introduced as committee stage amendments to a Bill that had been gazetted to correct some technical defects in the local government elections law.  A whole new system of elections was introduced as committee stage amendments to a Bill that had been gazetted to correct some technical defects in the Local Government Elections law .It was rammed through Parliament by the government in the face of stiff opposition.

Under the new system introduced by Yahapalana the number of councilors and representatives in local government has increased. The number of representatives has doubled and since they all have to be paid, the cost too has doubled. Colombo Municipal Council increased from 55 to 110, Homagama Pradeshiya Sabha from 25 to 46 Attanagalla from 23 to 50, Badulla from 9 to 16. This increase of Council members from about 4,000 to 8000 will lead to more corruption, critics said.

 This new mixed electoral system is very wrong. A person who gets 150 votes can get elected to the Council whilst someone who gets 1,500 votes can be left out”, said one MP. A political party with just three members elected was able to gain power in one Council.

The new law led to the creation of multi-member wards for local bodies. This is something very new.It was not a part of the Local Government system of the past. There are multi-member constituencies in parliamentary elections. They were designed to facilitate representation of large concentrations of minority electorates such as Colombo Central, Colombo South, Beruwela, and Harispattuwa. The new local government elections law had created multi-member constituencies in Local government .This will introduce ethnic and religious factors into lclcal government. That will affect the functions that local bodies are required to perform.

The Councils that are formed now are weak ones, said critics. Yahapalana government eliminated the 5% cut off point as well as the bonus seats that were given to strengthen the winning party under the old proportional representation system.  When we designed the original 2012 system of elections, analysts said, we made it a point to look at the 1977 election result where the TULF got a small percentage of the vote and became the main party in the opposition, with its leader holding the office of Opposition leader, while the SLFP which got a much larger proportion of votes at that election obtained only eight seats. We made sure that such a thing would not take place under   the system that we proposed in 2012.

Under the old first-past-the-post system, the votes of the loser were not given any value. When the 2012 local government elections system was put in place, we worked on the assumption that with 70% of the representatives being elected from wards on the first past the post basis, stable administrations would come about automatically. Therefore, the number of representatives each party is entitled to on the proportional representation quota was to be decided only after the votes of all those who had either got less than 5% of the vote and or had won in the wards on a first past the post basis were eliminated from the race.

Under the present has given us very unstable local authorities. Under the present law, once a Chairman is elected, stability can be guaranteed only in the first two years. If infighting breaks out after that, local government will come under the Special Commissioners. We may therefore, end up seeing about two thirds of the local government institutions coming under the control of the Commissioner in a couple of years’ time. We will have to restore the 2012 system if the local government institutions are to be made to work.

Nearly two months after the local council polls, confusion reigns over the formation of councils with less than half of 340 being constituted, reported the media in 2018. Contrary to democratic principles, losers have also found seats in Councils amidst allegations of bribery, corruption, intimidation and violence. In several of the Councils including the Kandy Municipal Council members who were defeated at the elections have been named through the list.

Councils have encountered difficulty in forming the Council and electing the Mayor or its Chairman. At least one complaint has been lodged with the Bribery Commission, with more than 20 other complaints of cases of intimidation, violence and cases of damage over incidents following disputes over the formation of the councils and election of Mayors or Chairman. In at least 10 Councils the party which secured the highest number of seats has failed to form the Council and instead the main opposition party has formed the Council with the support of a few members of the party that gained the highest number of seats or another party in the Council.

Some of these Councils were won by the UNP while some others by Sri Lanka Podu Jana Peramuna. The Negombo MC, Galle MC, Dehiwala – Mount Lavinia MC, Tangalle UC, Balangoda UC, Seeduwa UC, Hatton – Dickoya UC, Aranayaka PS, Pottuvil PS, Maskeliya PS are among the councils where the ruling party that gained the highest number of seats failed to form the council. Both UNP and UPFA members have violated party instructions and voted in favor of opposition candidates for the Mayoral or Chairman positions.”

At the Maskeliya Pradeshiya Sabha a heated argument broke out when selecting the Chairman of the Council where the CWC and the UNP had returned seven members each. One member got herself admitted at the Nawalapitiya hospital to avoid taking part in the elections. As a result only six UNP members were present at the voting enabling seven CWC members with the support of one SLPP member to form the council.
Violence broke out during the voting, inside and outside the Council, leading to clashes between the two groups. Two vehicles were damaged as the violence continued with fighting spreading to the Norwood area.

At the Hatton Dickoya Urban council too a heated exchange of words took place when electing the Chairman. The UNP had won the Council with seven members while the CWC had six members followed by two SLPP members and one Communist party member. However, at the voting the UNP and the CWC received eight members each after one SLPP member voted with the UNP forcing to draw lots to elect the Chairman. Again violence broke out after the CWC member was elected by drawing lots. We will need to introduce laws to prevent persons obtaining votes from one party and supporting another, said critics.  

There are 180 councils yet to be formed and the election of Mayors and Chairman to be decided. We may witness more ugly scenes including cases of money being exchanged for votes, said critics in April 2018. We are likely to experience similar problems in the Councils when it gets on with its day-to day functions as well. The new Local Government electoral system is a failure. It must be changed, said critics.

URBAN COUNCILS

All Ceylon Urban Council Chairmen’s National Platform meeting at Haputale, in March 2019. Chairmen of Urban Councils complained   that their powers are being gradually eroded.”We find that the powers we enjoyed earlier have now been restricted”, they said. With our wings clipped, we are unable to serve the people. The Organization planned to discuss the matter with Minister for Local Government.

PUBLIC SERVANTS

• Central Provincial Council Member M. Uvais reported to Parliament In December 2017 that   public servants in high positions hesitated to take decisions for fear of being summoned before the FCID (Financial Crime Investigations Division).

• In September 2019 it was observed that the number of instances where District Secretaries and Divisional secretaries were summoned to Colombo for various events, meetings and presentations has been on the rise. Apart from meetings summoned by the President and the Prime Minister, ministries also summon them for various events, Secretaries complained.  The Finance Ministry has been on the top of the list. Due to this, District Secretaries and Divisional Secretaries are obliged to keep away from their respective offices for several days. Those stationed in the far away districts are the worst affected. In addition to the impact on their duties, there is also the cost of travel down to Colombo. There is no fuel allowance for the additional trips they do.  Secretaries have complained to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

PUBLIC SERVICE

• Premier Wickremesinghe had In May 2018 sent a directive to every Minister giving the names of MPs who have been assigned to coordinate development projects and programmes in their ministries. The directive said that the ministers must assign duties to these MPs, provide them with the required staff and arrange transport facilities. Some Secretaries are challenging the legal validity of a Minister assigning functions, others are questioning about how they could authorize transport, office facilities and staff which involve expenditure. One secretary said I don’t want to end up in the FCID for abusing state funds.” Even if they have very little to do, these MPs would be happy to get more perks, said critics.
• There are over 7500 personnel employed in government institutions above the Cadre positions approved by the Treasury said Yahapalana. In July 2018 Yahapalana issued a circular that prohibited public and semi-government institutions from recruiting cadres and making payments to them without the prior permission of the Treasury.  The Secretary to the line Ministry, Chief Secretary to the Provincial Council, Head of the Department and the Head of the Finance Unit of the relevant institution    would be held responsible for any employee recruited   without permission.

Further, all ministries and public institutions, including institutions under the Provincial Councils, were to inform the Treasury about employees recruited outside the approved cadres. Also the increased salaries and allowances paid without obtaining recommendations from the National Salaries and Cadre Commission and prior Treasury approval. Secretaries to Ministries, Heads of Departments, Chairpersons, Executive Officers and Accountants of Government Institutions should hereafter take the responsibility of paying salaries to the  redundant workers they have employed.  They must also make the EPF and ETF payments for such employees.

APPOINTMENTS (1)

• It was pointed out In October 2018, that there have been three Chief Justices in 45 months since President Sirisena assumed office. He appointed Justice Sripavan on January 30, 2015, followed by Justice Dep on March 02, 2017.  And then Justice Nalin Perera who retired in the early part of 2019. He is the third CJ to be appointed within 45 months.  Jayantha Jayasuriya was appointed chief justice in April 2019.
• The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) wrote to Constitutional Council In August 2019, saying that the existing vacancy in the Court of Appeal has not been filled for the last two and half months. BASL said the recommendations made by Chief Justice and the Attorney General, should be considered in making such appointments. BASL objected to the Council bypassing the nomination of the Chief Justice and not considering the career judges for the existing vacancy in the Court of Appeal. One nominee for the vacant post court of Appeal, BASL said, is a person who has been attached to the Presidential Secretariat over a period of time. He has no judicial experience to be appointed as a Judge of the Court of Appeal.
• Lanka Sathosa’s fifth successive chairman within a space of 34 months stepped down In December 2017, amidst speculation that he buckled under intense pressure exerted by politically powerful forces that hold sway there. Lanka Sathosa runs the biggest consumer retail chain in the country.
• Officers of the Customs Department, except those at the Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake went on strike In January 2019, against the appointment of a retired Navy Officer as the new Customs Director General. The Customs Trade Union Alliance (CTUA) refused to work under the new DG. According to the CTUA, five appointments were made to the post of Customs DG from 2015 and all of them were politically driven decisions. Director General, Customs is a position that should be held by either an officer attached to Sri Lanka Administrative Service or a special grade officer of the Sri Lanka Customs service.  Any other appointment is a breach of existing law.
• Ministry of Public Administration released a gazette notification in 2017 where, the post of Librarian” was classed as a clerical post. Librarians wanted this gazette cancelled.

APPOINTMENTS (2)

The Presidential Commission investigating Frauds under the Current Administration   was told, In June 2019, that former Minister of Highways, Lakshman Kiriella had recruited 45 UNP members to the Road Development Authority (RDA) in October 2015 as public liaison officers.   The appointees were UNP members from Kiriella’s electorate and UNP local government councilors from Kandy. A large number of consultants too were recruited at the same time. The position of public liaison officer” did not exist in the approved cadre of the RDA. However, the title in Sinhala is ‘mahajana sambandatha niladari,’ which makes people believe that these positions are for public relations officials, which is a listed position.

The appointments were made without holding interviews, checking qualifications and without assigning any duties. The appointment letters, which are usually posted by the RDA, were done by the Ministry. These 45 public liaison officers were paid approximately Rs. 1.1 million per month.  They were not assigned to duty stations. They were not asked to present a work plan. After a while they were asked to create their own attendance sheets to show that they were doing something, reported the RDA.

The Minister couldn’t make these appointments without approval from the Board of Directors. Therefore when the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) started looking into the matter, in May 2016, the Ministry obtained covering approval from the Board;   nine months after the appointments were made. The letter sent to the Board said that the Cabinet hadn’t given approval for these appointments. The Presidential Committee was also told that appointing a large number of such persons was customary at the RDA since 2006.Over a 100 of them left after the government changed in 2015. (Island 13.6.19 p 3) 

APPOINTMENTS (3)

In April 2919 it was reported that  the   Secretary General, National Economic Council (NEC), the apex body responsible for economic development, will receive a monthly salary and allowance of half a million rupees In addition he will be provided with an official vehicle, a driver, and a monthly fuel quota of 200 litres.

COLOMBO MUNICIPAL COUNCIL

Colombo Municipal Council has signed in August 2019 a 20-year agreement with a private company for a smart LED lamp post project. The smart lampposts will be equipped with CCTV cameras and charging ports for electric vehicles, along with Wi-Fi and Blue-tooth facilities. This would cause potential losses amounting to Rs 3.7 billion to the municipality. CMC had authorized the private company to sell data collected via some 200 CCTV cameras installed on those lampposts. Though tender notices for the project stated that the CMC would not have to bear any cost for the project CMC will have to incur expenses during the first three years of the project. The agreement allows the private company to utilize other assets of the CMC including its buildings, reported the media.

TRANSPORT

Finance Ministry, allowed the private sector to import luxury buses whilst making every effort to undermine the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB)’s moves to add 2,000 luxury buses, to its fleet.

FILM DISTRIBUTION

In June 2018 National Film Corporation said that the distribution of films, which was handled by four private companies, would come under the purview of the National Film Corporation. This applied to both local and foreign films. “This will result in the death knell in the Sinhala cinema industry,” critics said.  The private circuits have been contributing immensely to enhance the local film scene. They had funded films, built cinemas and renovated film halls. They have also managed to bring globally acclaimed films from Hollywood, Bollywood and Tollywood to local cinemas.

LAND ACQUISITION

The Ministry of Lands now widely invokes a proviso under Section 38(a) of the Land Acquisition Act, which allows for immediate possession of land on grounds of any urgency” without consultation with affected people.  Thousands of people are helpless in the face of Section 38(a) notices. Specialists have slammed the Government’s new policy for resettling those displaced by development projects. Resettlement Policy Framework of 2018 makes the Valuation Department the final arbiter for deciding compensation payments.

WILPATTU ‘PROTECTED AREA’

In August 2019, Tourism Development, Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs Minister John Amaratunga has sought Cabinet approval to remove from ‘Protected Area’ status, several acres of the protected Wilpattu National Park where a church is located. The request states, The approval of the Cabinet of Ministers is sought to issue a Gazette Notification to exclude the area of land in extent of 6 acres and 3 roods where the St. Anthony’s Church is situated from the Wilpattu National Park by amending the Gazette Notification No. 89 dated 07/12/1973, together with the access road to the church approximately 1 km in distance from the turn off at the Suruwama junction on the old Puttalam Road.

This has shocked conservationists.  They point out that according to Section 2, Sub-sections 4 and 5 of the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance (FFPO) no part of a Protected Area can be de-gazetted without an environmental assessment. Such de-gazetting would set a ‘bad’ precedent, encouraging the removal of ‘protected’ status from other areas as well where religious sites are within National Parks (NPs),” said conservationists. De-gazetting a section of a National Park for any purpose is completely unacceptable and sets an extremely bad precedent for the future. It will pave the way for large acreages within all the NPs to be de-gazetted on the whims of politicians and religious institutions. It will destroy the integrity of a contiguous wilderness area and set a very bad precedent, said critics.

Wilpattu was declared a National Park after acquiring all the land and the Roman Catholic Church was allowed to have its feast under ‘traditional activity’ under Section 3, Sub-section 3 of the FFPO. This in no way gives the church the right to own or acquire the land within a Protected Area, said critics. The small Pallekandal church which had been used by seasonal fishermen in the distant past is in the Pomparippu area. When the NP was declared, the ‘traditional right of worship’ was granted but subject to the FFPO and under the strict supervision of the DWC.

Since the end of the war the church has expanded rapidly, with larger numbers attending the annual feast. Monthly masses too have begun now. NP regulations are violated, such as clearing bush in vast swathes, the lighting of fires, the selling of meat and car parks being created out of grasslands that are the prime feeding areas for herds of elephants concentrated only in the Pomparippu area. The DWC’s attempts to make the church conform to the regulations have been met with threats and political pressure.

Critics also questioned how Minister Amaratunga could submit such a Cabinet paper when there are legal battles being fought in the two Superior Courts. One is in the Supreme Court challenging the construction of a road through the Wilpattu NP and the other in the Court of Appeal over the unlawful and unregulated religious festivities taking place at the Pallekandal Church within the NP. The cases have been filed by the Environmental Foundation (Guarantee) and the Wildlife & Nature Protection Society. The Minister is a respondent in both cases.

Critics also point out that it is inadvisable to have ministries with conflicting mandates. John Amaratunga is the Minister for both Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs. He is Christian.  There is a major conflict of interest in this matter, one and the same person is handling ‘wildlife’ and ‘Christian religious affairs’.  I have always advocated against the establishment of ministries with conflicting mandates. This situation is a case in point, why ministries with conflicting mandates should not be combined said a critic.

ELEPHANT HOLDING  GROUND

The Department of Wildlife Conservation   plans to establish a new elephant holding ground inside the Lunugamwehera National Park. Stiff opposition from elephant experts and environmental organisations as the curtailment of habitat will adversely affect the lives of pachyderms therein and outside. The World Bank which has been asked for a loan of Rs. 2000 million, has withdrawn from backing the project in view of the opposition. However, plans are underway to spend more than Rs. 2,000 million for the highly questionable project.  The money required for the project will be taken from the Wildlife Fund of the DWC, which was created by the field DWC officers.  The project was very harmful to the resident elephant population of the National Park. Chairman, Biodiversity Conservation and Research Circle of Sri Lanka, saidthat the department’s plan would take up 3,500 hectares of traditional home ranges used by the resident elephant population in the National Park.  “This move will hamper the natural breeding process and affect the resident elephant population in Lunugamwehera National Park culminating in starvation and death of these giant majestic creatures”. Such elephant holding grounds would not help contain the human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka, the best evidence was the Horowpatana elephant holding ground, critics said.” It would lead to an increase in the human-elephant conflict around the park, as well. ” (CONTINUED)

Courtesy Middle East 

Muammar Gaddafi [File photo]

Dr Mustafa Fetouri August 29, 2019 at 4:43 pm

Friday 30 August is the 11th anniversary of the treaty signed by Libya and Italy on Friendship, Partnership and Cooperation bringing to an end a long, turbulent chapter of relations between Rome and its former colony. It is not just another pact between two countries; it is an exceptional bilateral deal about the touchy issue of colonialism. While covering many areas, it was primarily intended to heal wounds and compensate for the losses that Libyans suffered under Italy’s occupation between 1911 and 1947.

Article 8 of the treaty sets out detailed, Italian-funded financial reparations to the tune of $5 billion, paid over 20 years, to finance infrastructure and medical, educational and agricultural projects. These include about 2,000 kilometres of road linking Libya’s eastern and western borders, and a railway network linking some Libyan cities. Furthermore, article 10 obliges Italy to return all artefacts and historical documents stolen from Libya during the occupation. The treaty also spells out future Italian-funded projects such as establishing the Libyan Academy in Rome, scholarships for Libyan students in higher education and retirement pensions for Libyans forced to fight alongside the Italian occupiers.

Italy’s recognition, as a former colonial power, of the pain and suffering it inflicted on Libya is what makes the treaty really ground-breaking. For the first time, a former coloniser admitted responsibility for its actions, apologised and sought forgiveness from the entire nation it once conquered.

READ: 17 Haftar fighters surrender to Tripoli government

Arriving in Benghazi to sign the treaty with the late Muammar Gaddafi, the then Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi handed over an ancient statue of Venus, the headless Venus of Cyrene, which had been taken to Rome in colonial times. In the name of the Italian people,” said Berlusconi, as head of the government, I feel it [is] my duty to apologise and express my sorrow for what happened many years ago and left a scar on many of your families.”

This is the greatness of the treaty; it provided an apology for Italian colonialism. There have been some colonial apologies for specific atrocities committed under occupation, such as Britain saying sorry for killing a few thousand Kenyans, and Japan’s similar apology to the people of Korea. However, neither country actually apologised for colonialism itself, and nor did they pay reparations to their former colonies.

Libya did not get Italy to commit to an apology and reparations easily. It took years of negotiations and political pressure which saw Libya, on occasion, suspend economic ties with Italy. The late Libyan leader repeatedly turned down invitations to visit Italy unless it apologised and compensated Libya; that is what happened a year after the treaty was signed.

On 10 June 2009, Gaddafi arrived in Italy wearing the emblem of Libya’s famous anti-colonialist fighter, Omar Al-Mukhtar, and was accompanied by Al-Mukhtar’s son. Ignorant of the symbolism of this, the Western media mocked Gaddafi throughout his visit. The media also misinterpreted the Libyan leader’s meeting with about 200 business and professional women during his second visit to Rome in November of that year. Known to read history extensively, Gaddafi believed the story that a top Italian general, probably Benito Mussolini himself, visited Libya, met a group of women and handed them copies of the Bible. When Gaddafi met his group of women, he repaid the compliment and invited them to accept Islam before handing over copies of the Qur’an. This was his way of answering what had happened decades earlier. One of his advisors later confirmed the story to me. At the time no one had any idea why the meeting took place and Gaddafi’s inner circle kept quiet about it.

READ: US calls for ‘a political solution’ in Libya

In 2008, Libya thus achieved the unthinkable and showed the world that those responsible for the colonial era can and should be punished as severely as possible so that it cannot be repeated. Yet apologies and reparations from former colonial powers still elude victims such as India, which endured the worst of British imperialism for nearly 200 years. The best that Algeria — colonised by France for 130 years — managed to get was recognition of certain atrocities committed by the French during the colonial era.

Even the UN has so far failed to condemn colonialism plainly and forcefully, let alone eradicate it. The world body recognises 167 days every year as international days for almost every issue from World Tsunami Awareness Day to World Cities Day. June has the highest number of such days, currently 28, starting with the Global Day of Parents on 1 June and ending with International Asteroid Day on 30 June.

UN General Assembly [File photo]

Curiously, the list does not include any international day for the eradication of colonialism or a world day for reparations for colonial victims. Of course, as long as major former colonisers and their allies are permanent members of the UN Security Council with veto powers ready to kill any such proposal, it is unlikely to happen. Even more puzzling is that all resolutions designating the 167 special days are adopted by the UN General Assembly and not by the Security Council. The General Assembly, of course, has no power and its resolutions are non-binding on UN member states.

Yet the UN found it relatively easy in 1991 to revoke its 1975 Resolution 3379, which considers Zionism to be a form of racism and racial discrimination.” It has also failed to end the longest occupation in modern history, that imposed by Israel across historic Palestine.

READ: Israel-made drones downed over Libya

In his book Wretched of the Earth, French anti-colonialist writer Frantz Fanon (1925-1961), wrote that, Colonialism and imperialism have not settled their debt to us once they have withdrawn from our territories. The wealth of the imperialist nations is also our wealth. Europe is literally the creation of the Third World.” How right he was, and his statement stands true even today.

According to well-known Indian writer and politician Shashi Tharoor, the issue of Britain paying reparations to India is less important than the principle of atonement.” A simple apology is more important to people than money. I… would be happy to accept a symbolic pound a year for the next two hundred years, as a token of apology,” he added. Colonial powers like Britain and France, as well as the others, should follow the Italy-Libya example by accepting their historical responsibilities towards their former colonial victims.

The world would be a better place states and global institutions, including the UN, find ways to reconcile their horrible history of conquests and invasions, and seek a prosperous and peaceful future for all. Reparations for Africa, for example, would help to reduce the flow of migrants from south to north, and possibly end it altogether. If Spain compensates its former colonies in Central and South America, they would be likely to be able to protect the Amazon for the betterment of all human beings everywhere, Spain included. Such a step would save the rich countries their entire aid budgets which they claim to spend on helping African counties every year.

The most important lesson we can learn from the Italy-Libya treaty is that cruelty cannot be forgiven unless dealt with objectively; and that colonialism is cruel by nature and so should be punishable.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.

Courtesy Mail online

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) – A Sri Lankan court on Friday ordered police to exhume the remains of an Easter Sunday suicide bomber from a public cemetery after hundreds of people, including relatives of victims, blocked roads in an angry protest.

Police fired tear gas to disperse the protesters, who complained that the burial had been conducted without their consent.

The court told police to remove and relocate the head of the suicide bomber buried at Kalliyankadu cemetery in the eastern town of Batticaloa, police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekare said.

The head is the only known remains of the bomber who attacked the Zion church in Batticaloa, about 320 kilometers (200 miles) east of the capital, Colombo. The blast at the church killed 27 people and wounded more than 70.

Attacks by Islamic extremists on a total of three churches and three luxury hotels on Easter Sunday killed 263 people.

Gunasekare said when police briefed the Magistrate’s Court in Batticaloa about this week’s protest, the court ordered police to “exhume the buried head on Monday” and bury it at another location to be determined by the city’s top official.

“Until the burial place is determined, the court ordered the head to be kept at the mortuary of the government hospital in the area, under police protection,” he said.

The bomber was buried in the public cemetery after Muslims reportedly declined to allow his burial at a Muslim burial ground.

The attacks by nine suicide bombers from a local Muslim group, National Thowheed Jammath, were the most deadly by Islamic State group-linked militants in South Asia.

Seven bombers directly participated in the attacks. Another committed suicide after his attempt failed, while another killed herself to avoid capture.

Sri Lankan leaders and the security establishment have come under fire for not acting on near-specific intelligence information on possible attacks on churches. The government has acknowledged that some intelligence units were aware of possible attacks weeks before the bombings.

The blasts, which killed a number of foreign tourists, caused a serious setback to the country’s lucrative tourism industry.

Chandre Dharmawardana

Pothuvil  පොතුවිල් is Tamil usage. Its earlier sinhala usage  was indeed පොතුවිල, possibly derived from Budhuvila Bodhivaalaබෝදිවාල. Let the sinhalese writers at least begin to call it by the sinhala form පොතුවිල and NOT POTHUVIL.

Please see my discussion of the place name given in
https://www.dh-web.org/place.names/#P
The link takes you to the letter P. Then scroll down to Pothuvila.
The description is  as follows:
Pottuvil, Potuvil, Poththuvil (Ampare)
POTHUVILA, Bodhivāla  පොතුවිල, බෝදිවාලMeaning. ‘Pothuhaera’ in Sinhala is a type of bullrush. A similar meaning may be given to Tamil, ‘pottukkampu’, with the botanical name: Penicillaria involucratum. Other types of rush used for making mats, “pan”, are Scleria oryzoides. and Sacchorum spontaneun etc. In Tamil “vil” means “Bow” and is not valid in this context. Other possible origins, given the Buddhist antiquity of the place, are: Suggestion of S. O. Canagaratnam (Manograph on the Batticaloa District of the Eastern Province of Ceylon, 1921) that the ancient name was Bodhivila
“Buthvila”, “Bodhi vila”, or the more ancient form, Bodhivāla, are possibilities. A village known as “Bodhivāla” is mentioned in the Chulavamsa (lvii,54) in the context of the Ruhuna campaigns of Vijayabahu I. There is a strong possibility that “Bodhivāla” is the present day tamilized “Potuvil” placenmae. In Pali and Sanskr. “vāla” does mean water in compound usage [PTS dict., p 610) as in “Aalavaala”(Sanskr.], i.e, basin of water found at the root of a tree.
“vāla” is also a type of jasmine, Pavonia Odorata grown in temples. “Vaala” also means circumference or periphery (c.f., chakravaala), and “Bodhivaal” could simply mean the region enclosing a Bodhi (c.f. Devaala).
 If we consider Sinhala-tamil hybrids, “Puthuvil” could mean “new-pond”. The suggestion that “Pottundy” is a name for “Kaāli”, Hindu godess, is not supported by the Madras University Tamil Lexicon, chankam or other south Indic dictionaries that we have searched.

We also note that “podu (පොදු)”, i.e., “common property” in Sinhala (also malayalam, and tamil) may imply a pond (vila) held in common by several villages. However, “Pothuhara, Poththaenna, Pothuvaeva” and similar place names exist in other provinces. Hence we opt for “Potuvila” as a proche-form to the existing name, and aand adopt the form “Bodhivāla” as the archaic toponym.

History:  Mooddu Maha Viharaya is near by; Dhatusena 5th cent.,14th Century. inscriptions.
It has also been claimed that Viharamaha Devi landed near here, or in Kirinda.

Chandre Dharmawardana

On Friday, August 30, 2019, 7:55:27 AM EDT, Kamal Rajapakse  <sinhale.news1815@gmail.com> wrote:  මුහුදු මහා විහාරයේ ආරක්ෂාවට  මුස්ලිම් ආක්‍රමණිකයන්ගෙන් බලවත්  තර්ජනයක් තියන මෙවෙනි අවස්ථාවක STF අයගේ ආරක්ෂාව අවශියයි.   මුහුදු මහා විහාරට  බෝම්බ ගසන බව එම්. එස්. ඒ වාසීත් නැමති පොතුවිල්  ප්‍රාදේශීය සභාවේ සභාපති පවසා ඇත. සිංහල පාරිභෝගික සංසදයජූනි  8  · 

In all these discussions of the Moodu Maha Viharaya, and sorroundign areas, let us be careful to not to perpetuate errors that have been forced into the usage by the British Colonials and Tamil Nationalists working together. This form of the  name probably came into existence in the early part of the 20th century.

They call themselves ‘civil society’ but how representative are they? Note how connected they all are and how they continue to open new ‘social movements’ with sugar-coated objectives… most have been around for decades but what exactly have they done. Some of the popular entities are even accused of taking funds from multiple sources for the same task or claiming reimbursements for events not even held. But they do not shy from pointing fingers and projecting themselves as better than the politicians they want to oust. When these entities are really no better than the one’s they claim are corrupt – what really is the alternative for the people? With elections round the corner is it not possible that hidden hands and heads are pushing new movements to spread their wings with objective to marshal disgruntled voters with a hidden objective of transferring the people’s choice to the imperial choice eventually. It is quite obvious all of these have some form of international invisible backing and are being used simply to attract voters away from a nationalistic platform as it does not benefit the imperial agenda.

All of these players at some point or the other have come to the rescue of the imperial agent though to camouflage that their tactic is to say ‘Reject 225 + 1’ but then everyone who came to abolish the Presidency didn’t abolish it because they simply couldn’t. These are mere slogans used to fool the masses.

Members of the Lawyers Collective, from left, K.S. Ratnavale, Chrishantha Weliammuna and Jayampathi Wickramaratna leave after a press briefing in Colombo January 2013.

Lawyer’s Collective – “නීතිඥ එකමුතුව“

Associated names – Lal Wijenayake, Chandrapala Kumarage, and JC Weliamuna

Its facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Lawyers-collective-Sri-Lanka-නීතිඥ-එකමුතුව-913615878656918/

campaigned for 19a, promoted aluth parapura, thanked all those who strove to remove CJ Mohan Pieris – also featured on its FB is Nagahakanda Kodituwakku claiming that CJ Mohan Pieris must resign

https://www.facebook.com/NewsfirstSL/videos/843977245662535/UzpfSTkxMzYxNTg3ODY1NjkxODo5MjE2MzgxMTc4NTQ2OTQ/

Even the Executive Council of the SL Bar Association called for his resignation

https://www.newsfirst.lk/2015/01/17/basl-calls-cj-mohan-peiris-tender-resignation/72647/?fbclid=IwAR2WmvFnj1rt0HzJm39u0luadmM_7c8OYT-wUJyLUi8rHWl8N3XcRcO2NNM

The above charged President Rajapakse claiming the removal of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranaike was illegal. Why did these same lawyers not hold a similar press briefing when Chief Justice Mohan Pieris was dismissed simply by not allowing him to enter his chambers? Shirani Bandaranayake was CJ 43 – but CJ 44 is both Mohan Pieris & Sri Pavan. How can this be? How biased has this Lawyers Collective been?

https://www.facebook.com/notes/shenali-waduge/exposing-the-hypocrisy-of-the-champions-of-rule-of-law-democracy-removal-of-a-ch/10158305600209466/

Lawyers for Democracy

Senior lawyer KS Mr Rathnavel who is also member of Lawyers Collective.

In December 2018, Lawyers for Democracy issued statement in response to Mahinda Rajapakse’s statement on dissolution of Parliament – signatories to this statement were K.S. Ratnavale, J.C. Weliamuna, Lakshan Dias, Sheath Nethsinhe. Why didn’t Lawyers for Democracy raise objection to the manner RanilW was appointed PM after a Presidential Election or the manner CJ Mohan Pieris was removed without due process being followed?

Lawyers for Democracy” in a statement issued in 2017, justified the appointment of Ramanathan Kannan as a High Court Judge inspite of the Judicial Services Association (which represents the district judges and magistrates of Sri Lanka) adopting 5 resolutions for his removal.

2013 article by Dharisha Bastians titled Rajapakse hiding behind monk-led mobs to attack civil society’ covering press briefing of Centre for Society & Religion because the supposed monk-led mobs had charged them of being funded by the US embassy to provide evidence to UN inquiry using LTTE families.

Nimalka Fernando addressed briefing, CPA head Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu also gave a statement, Brito Fernando was also part of group.

Good governance activists included – Just Society Convener Prof. Sarath Wijesooriya, Gamini Viyangoda, former Ceylon Chamber of Commerce head Chandra Jayaratne

National Movement for Social Justice

Led by Ven. Madulawe Sobitha thero to usher in what infamously became known as yahapalana or good governance. In November 2014 its first meet was attended by

Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, Democratic Party Leader Sarath Fonseka and MP Arjuna Ranatunga, while the former President Chandrika Bandaranaike, issued a message pledging support to the group – it clearly established its bias and allegiance.

University Teachers’ for a Just Society

Convener Venerable Dambara Amila Thero, Prof. Jagath Kumarasinghe, Prof. Rohan Fernando, Dr. Mahim Mendis, Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri all openly campaigned for 2015 Common Candidate Maithripala Sirisena – again showcasing their bias. They attended the November 2014 ‘yahapalana’ press meeting organized by Ven. Sobitha thero.

December 2014 – Nearly 150 civil society groups under leadership of Maduluwawe Sobitha thero signed agreement in December 2014 and August 2015.

Movement for a Just Society head Prof. Sarath Wijesooriya

The architect of the Yahapalana – Good Governance Government – Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha thero launches first mass rally of the collective

‘Paravasi Balaya’  (පුරවැසි බලය Citizen’s Power) 

on Tuesday, 2 December 2014 at Hyde Park, Colombo. The theme of the rally is ‘Escaping the Trap’

The Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera,  Common Opposition Candidate Maithripala Sirisena, Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, former President Chandrika Kumaratunga, JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, TNA National List Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran, Democratic Party Leader and former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka, Mano Ganeshan of the Democratic Peoples’ Front, Sunil Jayasekara of the Free Media Movement, Ravaya editor k.W. Janaranjana, Gamini Viyangoda, Dr. Chandraguptha Tenuwara and number of other academics and activists a will address the rally.

February 2015 – Colombo-based Civil Society Group’

issue press release – conveners were Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu, Nimalika Fernando, Shanti Sachithanandan, K S Ratnavale

June 2015 – Joint statement by 17 organizations and 52 activists ahead of August General Elections

In January 2016 the Civil Society Collective

organized a press conference titled ‘Citizens Initiative for Constitutional Change’

Speakers at this event were – S G Punchihewa (human rights activist), Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu (CPA), Lal Wijenayake, Rohana Hettiarachchi (PAFFREL Executive Director), Kumuduini Samuel, Sudarshana Gunawardena (Rights Now Executive Director), Shan Wijetunga (Transparency International) Lionel Guruge CPA Senior Researcher in charge of CPA Outreach programas chaired the briefing.

https://outreachlk.wordpress.com/author/outreachlk/

April 2016 – People’s Movement Against Port City’

organized by Catholic priest Sarath Iddamalgoda led a protest to demand the government stop the Port City project.

Port City was stopped immediately in January 2015 by Ranil and recommenced by Ranil in 2016 but no Sarath Iddamalgoda to protest against it!

April 2016 – Brito Fernando, President of the Families of the Disappeared says govt should not fish for Opposition MPs

Aluth Parapura

personalities associated with this group are Sharmini Serasinghe, Samanalee Fonseka, Indrachapa Liyanage,

Anyone who knows the outcome of the Woodstock festival would immediately realize where Red Woodstock of Love 2016 was heading of course heavily funded with $$$ all aiming to infuse foreign corrupt immoral cultures as western trends.

Advocata (earlier Advocata Institute) Sri Lanka

Colombo-based neoliberal think tank connected to the US Govt  https://www.advocata.org/about  & launched in May 2016 at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute & 3 months after the launch Minister Malik S quotes Advocata’s privatization plans.

Board of Directors – CEO, Anarkali Moonesinghe, Frank Lavin Chairman & CEO, Fredrik Erixon Director – ECIPE (European Centre for International Political Economy linked to CATO Institute), Henry Ergas Professor of Infrastructure Economics, Nishan de Mel Executive Director – Verite Research, Parth J Shah

President – Centre for Civil Society, Premachandra Athukorala

Professor of economics – ANU, Razeen Sally Professor at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy – NUS, Rohan Samarajiva –Chairman – Lirneasia, Reuben Abraham CEO – IDFC Institute, Suri Ratnapala –Professor of Law, Queensland Uni.

Note: Verite Research is promoting MCC economic corridor in Sri Lanka and is MCC agent in Sri Lanka

Lirneasia – Rohan Samarajiva is its Chairman, Vinya Ariyaratne (General Secretary of Sarvodya is in Lirneasia Board), Vinya is also on the board of Sarvodaya Fusion – so too are Rohan Samarajiva, Madhu Rathnayaka (Virtusa),

In December 2018 Vinya formed National Peoples’ Movement (NPM) with Deshodaya (entity within Sarvodaya) and United Professionals Movement together with 17 civil society groups. Slogans being promoted in lieu of ‘yahapalana’ is ‘Together We Can’ and promising to ‘Save-Serve Sri Lanka’. These intellectuals believe a ‘new face’ in politics will save Sri Lanka!

Nagananda Kodituwakku’ Vinivida Foundation is also a partner of NPM. Nagananda is carrying out his presidential bid by collecting donations.

Notice United People’s Movement comprises Deshodaya (entity of Sarvodaya), Kalyanamithra Society, Sinhala Weera Widana Society.

So what’s the link with United Professionals Movement (UPM) and United People’s Movement?

National Alliance of Alternative Forces (NAAF) formed on 8 August 2019 by Professor Krishan Deheragoda (President) and Dr. Rohan Pallewatta (Leader) of Social Democratic Party of Sri Lanka, Ananda Stephen (General Secretary) of National Development Front, Navin Guneratne of Movement to Unite Motherland, Dinesh Kirthinanda of Alternative Political National Alliance, Professor Siri Hettige of Movement for Democracy & Justice, Dr. Prasanna Cooray of Democratic Social Alliance and Swarajya Foundation.

Dr. Rohan Pallewatte and Mr. Nagananda Kodithuwakku supposedly contesting for 2020 Presidency joined NAAF pledging support for a single National Candidate under the theme Reject 225 + 1” and ‘total system change”.  35 Associations representing nearly 150 organizations took part in its meeting held on 22 August 2019.

So what is the link with NPM and NAAF?

Then came Abhiman Lanka “අබිමන් ලංකා” (Dignified Sri Lanka) also launched on the same day by the same people promoting either Rohan Pallewatte or Nagananda Kodituwakku.

Incidentally, with JVP presenting its Presidential candidate as its party leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake – Abhiman Lanka invites JVP to join it – the alliances that were working in isolation are now closing ranks & joining! https://www.lankanewsweb.net/67-general-news/47670-’’Abhiman-Lanka’’-invites-JVP-to-join-alternative-force-amidst-presidential-polls–VIDEO-?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

Law & Society Trust – formed by late Neelan Tiruchelvan has on its board of Directors – Chairman Chandra Jayaratne (supporter of yahapalana government) Prof. Jayadeva Uyangoda, G Alagaratnam (BASL President in 2015),

Donors are controversial – National Endowment for Democracy (NED) for land rights (note recent Land Privatization bill attempting to privatize all state land)

https://lstlanka.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Annual-Report-2018-V2.20-for-website.pdf

Centre for Policy Alternatives headed by Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu has on its Board – Prof Jayadeva Uyangoda who is also on the Board of Law & Society Trust, Aritha Wickremasinghe appointed Director to board of National Intellectual Property Office by Ranil Wickremasinghe government.

CPA has been a promoter of ‘federalism’ in Sri Lanka and its head in 2016 was appointed, Secretary of the Task Force on Consultations on Mechanisms for Reconciliation – clearly establishing a link with the ruling RanilW government. Pakiasothy also was at one time a Transparency International Director.

https://www.cpalanka.org/donors/

Its list of donors include USAID, EU, Ford Foundation, GTZ, National Democratic Institute, NORAD, Asia Foundation, Berghof Foundation, Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung, UNDP, UNHCR

In October 2014 an expose of funding corruption in the CPA was revealed.

CPA was accused of billing for un-held workshops, getting grants from 2 donors for the same task (EU & UNESCO paid CPA to do same task – each paying EURO 99,497.16), duplicating receipts, hotel bills and hoodwinking donors. These are the people preaching anti-corruption! The article claims CPA asked Galle Face Hotel to issue 4 bills for the same amount under different descriptions omitting alcohol intake. As per the article International Federation of Journalists is one of the ‘most corrupted media organizations in the world’ including double-billing. The entire article should be read – names of Rohan Edirisinghe, Sunanda Deshapriya, Victor Ivan are all mentioned. These are the entities and mouthpieces preaching about anti-corruption and good governance and holding workshops across the country promoting it!

Exposé: Centre For Policy Alternatives Defrauded And Hoodwinked Donors

Transparency International – Sri Lanka

In 2017 Coalition Against Corruption used Right to Information Act to demand information from Transparency International SL on its case against TISL Executive Director Asoka Obeysekera, report by J C Weliamuna, Rs.1.1m fraud, and providing job to a foreign female who did not have work visa. Fascinating how these so called civil-society paragons of virtue are all hiding skeletons in their closets but broadcasting to the world their virtues! Incidentally Weliamuna was elected to global anti-corruption Board in 2010!

In April 2015 Weliamuna said Failure to bring in 19A will be a complete reversal of people’s mandate” we all know what 19a has done to the country! The RanilW Government paid Weliamuna Rs.3.5m for a 136page report on Sri Lankan Airlines which the Airline rejected! Weliamuna also filed petition against dissolution of Parliament in October 2018 and reinstatement of Ranilas PM. Weliamuna is today Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in Australia.

Top Donors in 2015: EU, Norway Foreign Ministry, Swiss Embassy, British High Commission, USAID, UNDP

Top Donors in 2016: Norway Foreign Ministry, National Endowment for Democracy (NED), USAID, Soros’s Open Society, Asia Foundation

Top Donors in 2017: Norway Foreign Ministry, NED (to mobilize citizens), USAID, Soros’s Open Society

Top Donors in 2018: Norway Foreign Ministry, Asia Foundation, Soros’s Open Society, Swiss Embassy, DAI, Neelan Tiruchelvan Trust, John Keels (Integrity Idol) It is interesting to see the type of projects that these entities have funded Transparency Sri Lanka to roll out across Sri Lanka. Putting these programs on a larger platter will help understand their overall bigger objectives – something Sri Lanka’s policy makers and advisors are obviously clueless about!

Sri Lankan Airlines: Weliamuna Inquiry Costs Rs 3.5 Million

National Peace Council

Headed by Jehan Perera. Javid Yusuf is in Governing Council while also being a member of the present Constitutional Council.

Another point that needs to be clearly reiterated is that they cannot decide who people should and should not vote for. They cannot declare anyone a crook or not a crook. Democracy is such that the choice is in the hands of the voter. A crook in the eyes of ‘civil society’ may not be a crook in the eyes of a voter – it is their choice. But obviously, these civil society groups are adamant on who people should vote for and who shouldn’t – but is this really democracy?

With them claiming to forward new faces for elections – the next & most important question is who will they ask their supporters to vote as 2^nd choice – this will give you a clue to what they are really up to!

Shenali D Waduge

Zinara Rathnayake Courtesy Adventure.com

Tourist numbers to Sri Lanka took a huge dip in the wake of the Easter Sunday bombings, but that didn’t stop these single mothers. Zinara Rathnayake visits Think Pink Sri Lanka, an inspiring new initiative that’s putting women in the driver’s seat.

A salty coastal breeze and the usual early hour scenes welcome me as I disembark the train at Hikkaduwa. Men in their office slacks and women in colorful sarees rush past me for a day’s work. I hop on a running tuk-tuk—my driver might be male but, where we’re going, we won’t need male tuk-tuk drivers.  

As we drive past the center of beach town Hikkaduwa, the rush hour buzz isn’t quite as buzzy as it used to be. Many breakfast shacks are closed for operation, and even the ones that are open have empty chairs outside. A few months ago, they’d be packed with travelers looking for a tomato, cheese and omelet roti served with lunu miris, a fiery onion relish. But the travelers aren’t here.  

The Easter Sunday bombings in April 2019 were a major blow to Sri Lanka’s tourism with traveler arrivals in May down 70 per cent compared to the previous year. A recent spate of media exposure—including being named as the world’s best island by Travel & Leisure—is helping improve the situation and the government has also taken several steps to boost tourism, such as free visas to visitors from 48 countries.

In July, over 100,000 foreigners visited the island, a healthy improvement from the 35,000 that visited in May. Nevertheless, it’s still a 50 per cent drop from the previous year.

RELATED: The social enterprise that’s cleaning up Cambodia

I want to drive foreign travelers in my tuk-tuk,” says Nilani Priyangika. It will earn me a better income—there’s hardly anyone at the Galle Fort now.”

The 39-year-old single mother has been driving tuk-tuks for just a month—she took the job to offset the income she lost after the economic decline in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday attacks. I was an independent home-based tailor and had a contract with a few shops in Galle. But their business is low now, and they told me they no longer required me to work.”

Nilani is part of the Think Pink Sri Lanka initiative, a women-only taxi service that was set up by the Rose May Foundation to help generate income for the women of Sri Lanka and Nepal. Now, as Nilani drives her tuk-tuk in the suburbs of Galle, southwestern Sri Lanka, she receives an income to sustain her family of three.

The foundation was set up by Mary and Graham Storrie, and named after their late daughter Rosie May, who was murdered at a Christmas party in Leicestershire, United Kingdom, in 2003. The organization’s aim is to protect, empower and educate at-risk children around the world.

I finally feel independent driving this tuk-tuk. As women, we shouldn’t be spending our lives within the four walls of our home.”

Jeganeshwaram

In her early 20s, Nilani lived in South Korea and worked in a junior-level record-keeping job, a job she loved and enjoyed”. But when she returned home for a visit, she discovered that her mother had already arranged her marriage with a man she didn’t know.

I couldn’t say no to my parents,” says Nilani as we talk at the Rosie May Foundation’s Sri Lanka office. A close-knit family structure and the socio-cultural norms in Sri Lanka expect daughters to be obedient to their parents—even when it comes to their choice of husband.

A few years later, her husband abandoned her for another woman, and Nilani was left to raise her two sons on her own. If I talk about going back to work in South Korea or the Middle East, my eldest son begins to cry,” Nilani says. I’m both their mother and father.”

One of Nilani’s colleagues at Think Pink Sri Lanka, Jeganeshwaram, nicknamed Jega, shares a similar story. Her husband left her for another woman a decade ago, and the 42-year-old now raises her son on her own. I finally feel independent driving this tuk-tuk,” says Jega. As women, we shouldn’t be spending our lives within the four walls of our home.”

RELATED: Heading to Sri Lanka? Don’t forget Colombo

Tuk-tuks are a popular mode of transport in Sri Lanka, but a woman driver is still a rare sight—men comprise the vast majority of the 1.2 million auto-rickshaw drivers on the island.

Think Pink Sri Lanka is helping break these social norms. Jega, for example, has secured a number of regular customers, including a few families. She earns a healthy income to support her son’s education, and pay the monthly rent and fuel charges for the tuk-tuk. The rent goes towards the maintenance of the vehicle and paying off the training she initially received.

There are currently five women driving their pink tuk-tuks on Sri Lanka’s southern roads, with four in training. We provide an intensive month-long training course for every driver,” says project manager Ramani Samarasinghe. In the first three months after their training, they don’t have to pay rent for their tuk-tuks. After that, we offer them a contract and renew it every six months.” A meter is hardwired to the tuk-tuk, which gives customers a lower price than what is usually being quoted by other tuk-tuks in the region.

Male drivers in the village do not like us driving tuk-tuks. They tease us when we drive, and one even asked me to lower my fares, and verbally harassed me for securing their hires.”

Jeganeshwaram

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), reports that 90 per cent of Sri Lankan women are harassed on public transport and on the roads, and Think Pink’s drivers do not drive men or men in groups. Their customers comprise children, solo women and families. Mothers prefer to send their kids, especially daughters, with us over a male driver,” says Jega.

While progress is being made, there’s still a long way to go in terms of the women of Think Pink being accepted in mainstream Sri Lankan society. Male drivers in the village do not like us driving tuk-tuks,” says Jega. They tease us when we drive, and one even asked me to lower my fares, and verbally harassed me for securing their hires.”

Ramani also tells me that a male driver asked her to stop the campaign because the men are losing their hires. Mothers feel it’s more trustworthy to send their kids with a female driver,” she says. We are women, driving for women.”

As Ramani and I talk, another driver pulls her pink tuk-tuk into the car park of the Rosie May Foundation office. When her husband died six years ago, Deepti Priyadarshani was left with no income. She worked many odd jobs, surviving on very little money.

I was a senior supervisor at a garment factory,” says the 53-year-old. I couldn’t work after my husband passed away—leaving my daughter alone at home wasn’t safe.”

Now, Deepti feels empowered by driving a tuk-tuk, which is still considered as man’s job. She uses her income to help support her daughter’s education, and supplements her wages by making tote bags and dresses for the volunteers who come to work at Rosie May.

Unfortunately, since the Easter Sunday attacks, those volunteer numbers have dipped along with the tourist numbers, and Deepti is still finding it difficult to make ends meet. Rosie May gave me a good income, but there aren’t many volunteers at the moment,” she says. It has become very hard to pay for my daughter’s A-Level tuition.”

Sri Lanka has always been favorite for travelers. And much of the country’s economy, both at the national and domestic level, is dependent on tourism. As time passes, there’s little doubt the tourists will return, and the women of the Think Pink Sri Lanka are looking forward to that day.

When tourism grows again, I hope I can talk to a few hotels and drive their guests in my tuk-tuk,” says Nilani, her eyes bright, wide and sparkling.

Yohan Perera Courtesy The Daily Mirror

UNP Legal Secretary Nissanka Nanayakkara today said the candidate for the presidential election could be named only after the Election Commission notify the date to accept nominations for the election.

Mr. Nanayakkara issuing a statement said UNP’s constitution does not have provisions to name a candidate until such time election commission declares the presidential election.

Also, he said the candidate will be decided by a nomination board. The nomination Board will decide on the candidate and this decision will have to be ratified by the working committee of the party according to article 9(e) of the constitution,” he said.

This provision, he said, was introduced to the party’s constitution during the time of the late President J. R. Jayewardene. 

By Shamindra Ferdinand Courtesy The Island

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera, yesterday, said he saw nothing wrong in the conflict between two groups in the government over the presidential candidate to be named. He said so in response to a question, raised by The Island, at a hurriedly summoned press conference at the Finance Ministry.

Having compared the performance of the previous Rajapaksa administration (2005 Nov-2015 January) with the current dispensation, Samarawweera stressed that the economy was in a much better shape.

 Asked by The Island why a section of the party felt the need to promote Deputy Leader of the UNP Sajith Premadasa as its presidential candidate at a time the situation was improving further primarily thanks to two key projects-Gamperaliya and Enterprise Sri Lanka as

claimed by the Finance Minister, an irate Samaraweera alleged a section of the media had what he called a slave mentality. Minister Samaraweera said that they were used to living in a country run by dictatorial rulers.

 Having compared the internal battles for top leadership in political parties in the US and the UK with that of the situation in Sri Lanka, Minister Samaraweera said that there were several persons seeking nominations from the party to contest the presidential election. “There were no restrictions,” lawmaker Samaraweera said, describing the UNP as a modern democratic party.

The Minister said that discussion/disagreement among members of the UNP in this regard shouldn’t be considered a weakness under any circumstances.

Samaraweera declared that the country was now enjoying what he called seven-star democracy.

Responding to questions regarding UNP Secretary Akila Viraj Kariyawasam demanding explanation from State Ministers, Sujeewa Senasinghe and Ajith P. Perera for throwing their weight behind Premadasa, Minister Samaraweera initially questioned the veracity of the reports to that effect. When the media said that they had copies of Kariyawasam’s letters sent to Senasinghe and Perera, Minister Samaraweera said that no single individual could decide on disciplinary action and would be the prerogative of the decision making Working Committee.

 The Matara District MP said that their party followed democratic principles and there weren’t slaves in the UNP.

 Referring to a recent media reports, Minister Samaraweera pointed out that even Minister Daya Gamage was ready to take the presidential challenge.

 When asked to reveal his position on those vying for nominations, Minister Samarawera declared Sajith Premadasa as the main contender on the basis that two-thirds of the UNP parliamentary group backed him (Premadasa)

 Both Finance Minister Samaraweera and State Minister Eran Wickremaratne dismissed a spate of media questions regarding deepening political instability and chaos in the run-up to 2019 presidential election. State Minister Wickremaratne said that the government would definitely complete its full term.

 Commenting on the progress in post-Easter Sunday recovery process, Minister Samaraweera said Sri Lanka had made much faster progress than some other countries affected by terrorist attacks.

 Asked to comment on critical US statement on the appointment of newly promoted Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva as the Commander of the Army Minister Samaraweera said that the UNF government was committed to assurances given to the international community as regards accountability issues.

 Samaraweera reiterated the UNP’s strong commitment to the signing of an agreement with the US government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) on a large scale five-year project meant to promote what the minister called inclusive economic growth.

 The Minister said that he was in touch with the MCC. Describing the US readiness to accommodate Sri Lanka in the MCC project as a unique victory for the country, Minister Samaraweera claimed that originally the agreement was to be finalized in early 2004 during Ranil Wickremesinghe tenure as the Premier.

 Claiming that following the change of government, the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa, too, had sought to finalize the MCC project, Minister Samaraweera said that the US had discontinued it in the wake extra judicial operations undertaken by that administration. Samaraweera acknowledged that he functioned as the foreign minister of that administration.

 Samaraweera said that under the direction of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe he had resumed talks with the US in that regard following the change of government in 2015 January.

 The move to finalise the MCC agreement on Dec 17, 2018 was disrupted due to the constitutional coup perpetrated in late Oct 2018. However by January 2019, the MCC project had been back on track, Minister Samaraweera said, acknowledging the absence of consensus between the UNP and President Maithripala Sirisena regarding the MCC compact.

 Declaring that Sri Lanka should enter into the agreement with the US worth USD 480 mn, Minister Samaraweera vowed that it would be finalized by the new UNP government.

Courtesy Adaderana

An agreement to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been reached between the two parties during the official meeting between the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the Presidential candidate of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The official talks between Gotabaya Rajapaksa and SLFP commenced at the official residence of the former Defense Secretary, this afternoon (29).

The meeting was attended by the General Secretary of SLFP MP Dayasiri Jayasekara, General Secretary of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MP Mahinda Amaraweera and SLFP Treasurer Lasantha Alagiyawanna.

At the meeting, the SLFP and UPFA representatives have agreed to sign an MoU with Rajapaksa on support for the presidential election.

Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has also drawn his attention to the proposals made by the SLFP to form an alliance.

SLFP representatives said they received a favorable response from Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.

However, it has also been agreed that certain points should be discussed again

By Lucien Rajakarunanayake Courtesy The Island

The Western World seems obsessed with the promotion of Lt. General Shavendra Silva as the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army. The US Ambassador here, Aliana Teplitz, came with the first charge against him, regarding allegations of gross human rights violations documented by the United Nations and other organizations that are serious and credible.

There is one thing that Ambassador Teplitz and the others from the UN, Canada and the EU too, must know. They are referring to ‘allegations’ against him, with no proof of guilt.

One hopes that these loud voices on behalf of justice and human rights know one simple reality with regard to the functioning of justice. Accusations and allegations are not proof of guilt. There have been many in this world against whom serious and grave allegations have been made, but who have been found not guilty of such offences.

The powers of the West are certainly free to make allegations, echoed by Ambassadors such as Aliana Teplitz. But, we here have much more stuff about leaders such as Donald Trump himself – that show their utter contempt and gross violations of human rights, to make the world shudder at what such action does to human decency.

Does the US Ambassador not know that President Trump unveiled new rules this week allowing the US authorities to detain immigrant families indefinitely, while asylum cases are judged. Does she not know of the many protests taking place among US citizens on detained children of asylum seekers being separated from their parents, and how much pain this is to both parents and children? This is certainly a glaring violation of Human Rights. It is against the very spirit of humanity. It is not an accusation or allegation – it is the naked truth known by protesting American citizens.

Does Ambassador Teplitz not know about the recent mass shooting this month at the Walmart store at El Paso, Texas, where 22 people were killed? Does she not know that the target of this killer were Hispanics? Does she also not know that this killer had posted a personal blog piece, just before the shooting, which virtually quoted President Trump about the ‘invasion’ by Hispanic asylum seeking immigrants? This is a reality of the respect for Human Rights and humanity itself by the US authorities.

The US Ambassador and others who are shouting loud about Army Commander Shavendra Silva should take their minds back to the killing of Saudi Arabian journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, then doing a column for The Washington Post, who was killed in Turkey by agents sent by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is strongly supported by President Donald Trump. Has the US State Department taken any action to cut down or reduce the arms sales to Saudi Arabia from the US, which President Trump boasts about?

Does the US Ambassador know nothing about all the deaths taking place in Yemen, with the Saudi-led alliance attacking the rebel forces in Yemen, and the humanitarian catastrophe caused by all the US arms supplied to Saudi Arabia?

What does the US Ambassador, who feels so bad about allegations and accusations against Gen. Shavendra Silva, know about the huge Human Rights violations by the US and the Trump Administration about Palestine and the Palestinian people. Does she not know how the cutting of US aid to the humanitarian project serving the Palestinian people, including education to Palestinian students has been a huge set back to humanitarian services there. Does she and the State Department she comes from know nothing about the gross violations of UN agreements about the Golan Heights which Trump supported acquisition by Israel? And also the violation of international agreements about the city of Jerusalem, in a possible two state solution sometime in the future?

The US Embassy in Colombo and its Ambassador must certainly be enjoying the divine links to President Donald Trump that were announced by none other than himself earlier this week.

What would a decent world think of his recent threat to release European ISIS prisoners back into their own countries?

Referring to his trade war with China, he suggests having the backing of a ‘higher power”, with suggestions of the deity: Looking up to the sky, with his palms open, and declaring: I am the chosen one!” Adding that: Somebody had to do it. So I am taking on China. I’m taking on China on trade. And you know what? We’re winning.”

So God is with this leader! And how would Christians, who are not some Evangelicals think of this? Is he to be an accused in the Divine Court of Justice? Will there be allegations of him trying to grab the powers of Divinity?

Ambassador Teplitz represents a country that is led by a President who has described many African countries as ‘shitholes”. She must remain glad in being a representative of such forces of human disgrace.

General Shavendra Silva remains the Army Commander of Sri Lanka. Yes, he is an accused person, but not found guilty; Very different to the US President Trump whose crookedness stands out as facts beyond the courts of decency, and now beyond the judgement of deities too.

උපුටා ගැන්ම  හිරු පුවත්

අමාත්‍ය සජිත් ප්‍රේමදාස මහතා ජාතික නිවාස සංවර්ධන අධිකාරිය භාර අමාත්‍යවරයා ලෙස පත්වීමෙන් පසු එම අධිකාරියේ අනුමත සේවක සංඛ්‍යාව ඉක්මවා සේවකයින් 2300කට වැඩි පිරිසක් බඳවාගෙන ඇති බව එම අධිකාරියේ හිටපු පරිපාලන නිලධාරිනිය පවසනවා.

ඇය මේ බව සඳහන් කළේ රජයේ ආයතනවල සිදූ වී ඇතැයි සැලකෙන දූෂණ වංචා සම්බන්ධයෙන් සොයා බැලීමේල ජනාධිපති පරීක්ෂණ කොමිෂන් සභාව හමුවේ සාක්ෂි ලබාදෙමින්.

අමාත්‍ය සජිත් ප්‍රේමදාස මහතාගේ පාලන කාලය තුළ ආයතනික රෙගුලාසි උල්ලංඝනය කර ජාතික නිවාස සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියට සේවකයින් බඳවාගෙන ඇති බවට එම ආයතනයේ ප්‍රගතිශීලී සේවක සංගමය පසුගිය පෙබරවාරි මාසයේදී ජනාධිපති කොමිෂන් සභාවට පැමිණිල්ලක් ගොනුකර තිබුණා.

2015-2018 කාලය තුළ රජයේ ආයතනවල සිදු වී ඇතැයි සැලකෙන දූෂණ වංචා සම්බන්ධයෙන් සොයා බැලීමේ ජනාධිපති පරීක්ෂණ කොමිෂන් සභාව එම පැමිණිල්ල ප්‍රථම වරට විභාග කිරීම ඊයේ ආරම්භ කළා.

එහි සාක්ෂි ලබාදීම සඳහා ජාතික නිවාස සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියේ හිටපු පරිපාලන නිලධාරිනි එල්.එච්.ටී ප්‍රියා පෙරේරා මහත්මිය කැඳවා තිබුණා.

ඇය සාක්ෂි ලබාදෙමින් සඳහන් කළේ සිය ආයතනයේ දිස්ත්‍රික් කාර්යාල 25 ට අනුමත සේවක සංඛ්‍යාව 2164ක් වුවත් මේ වනවිට සේවකයින් 4500 කට වඩා වැඩි පිරිසක් සිටින බවයි.

එම අතිරික්ත සේවකයින් 2300 කට වැඩි සංඛ්‍යාවෙන් 95‍% ක් ම හම්බන්තොට දිස්ත්‍රික්කයෙන් බඳවාගෙන ඇති බවද ඇය එහිදී සඳහන් කර තිබෙනවා.

තවද, සිය ආයතනයේ හම්බන්තොට දිස්ත්‍රික් කාර්යාලයට අනුමත සේවක සංඛ්‍යාව 77 දෙනෙකු වුවත්, එහි සේවකයින් 1400 කට වැඩි පිරිසක් සේවය කරන බව ජාතික නිවාස සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියේ හිටපු පරිපාලන නිලධාරිනිය සාක්ෂි ලබාදෙමින් වැඩිදුරටත් සඳහන් කළා.

ඇය පෙන්වා දී ඇත්තේ වයස අවුරුදු 60 ට වැඩි සේවකයින් 31 දෙනෙකු ද ජාතික නිවාස සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියේ සේවයේ නියුතු ඇති බවයි.

එවැනි පුද්ගලයින් බඳවා ගන්නේ නම් අමාත්‍ය මණ්ඩල අනුමැතිය ලබාගැනීම අත්‍යවශ්‍ය බවත් මෙම බඳවාගැනීම් සිදු කිරීමේදී එවැනි අනුමැතියක් ලබාගෙන නොමැති බවත් ඇය ජනාධිපති පරීක්ෂණ කොමිෂන් සභාව හමුවේ සාක්ෂි ලබාදෙමින් සඳහන් කළා.

හිටපු පරිපාලන නිලධාරිනිය සාක්ෂි දෙමින් කියා සිටියේ උදාගම්මාන සඳහා දේශපාලනික වශයෙන් උපකාර කළ ජාතික නිවාස සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියේ බොහෝ සේවකයින්ට සහ පිටස්තර පුද්ගලයින්ට චක්‍රලේඛනවලට පටහැනිව උසස්වීම්ල වැටුප් වර්ධක හා විශේෂ වාසි ලබා දී ඇති බවයි.

අයථා ලෙස සේවකයින් බඳවා ගැනීම හා ආයතනය දේශපාලනීකරණය වීමේ වගකීම විෂය භාර අමාත්‍යවරයා වන සජිත් ප්‍රේමදාස මහතා සහ ජාතික නිවාස සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියේ ඉහළ නිලධාරීන් කිහිපදෙනෙකුට පැවරෙන බවද එම අධිකාරියේ හිටපු පරිපාලන නිලධාරිනිය සාක්ෂි ලබා දෙමින් වැඩිදුරටත්පැවසුවා.

ඇය එහිදී සඳහන් කළේ සජිත් ප්‍රේමදාස මහතා යටතේ ජාතික නිවාස සංවර්ධන අධිකාරිය කිසිඳු නීති රීතියක්  අනුගමනය නොකරන දේශපාලනීකරණය වූ ආයතනයක් බවට පත්ව ඇති බවයි.

මේ අතර, මෙම සාක්ෂි විමසීමේ අවස්ථාවට සහභාගී වූ අදාළ පැමිණිල්ල සිදුකළ ජාතික නිවාස සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියේ ප්‍රගතිශීලී සේවක සංගමයේ සාමාජිකයින් අදහස් පළකළා.

මේ අතර, සත්‍ය ගවේශකයෝ සංවිධානයේ කැඳවුම්කරු නීතිඥ ප්‍රේමනාත් සී. දොළවත්ත මහතා අමාත්‍ය සජිත් ප්‍රේමදාස මහතාට විරුද්ධව අද අල්ලස් හෝ දූෂණ චෝදනා විමර්ෂන කොමිසමට හා මැතිවරණ කොමිෂන් සභාවට පැමිණිලි දෙකක් ගොනු කළා.

ඒ, අමාත්‍යවරයා ඉදිරි ජනාධිපතිවරණය ඉලක්ක කර රාජ්‍ය දේපළ අවභාවිත කරන බව පවසමින්.

මේ අතර දේශපාලනමය ප්‍රචාරන කටයුතු සඳහා රජයේ සේවකයන්, වාහන හා උපකරණ යොදා ගැනීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් සහ මහජන මුදල් විශාල වශයෙන් වැය කර දැන්වීම් ප්‍රචාරණය කිරීම හා එමගින් නිදහස් හා සාධාරණ මැතිවරණ ක්‍රියාවලියකට ඇති කරනු ලබන බලපෑම යන මැයෙන් මැතිවරණ කොමිෂන් සභාව නිවේදන දෙකක් යොමු කර තිබෙනවා.

කොමිසමේ සභාපති මහින්ද දේශප්‍රිය මහතාගේ අත්සනින් අදාළ නිවේදන යොමු කර ඇත්තේ සියලු අමාත්‍යංශල පළාත් සභා, දිස්ත්‍රික්, පළාත් ආණ්ඩුකාර, පළාත් සභා අමාත්‍යංශ ලේකම්වරුන් හා දෙපාර්තමේන්තු ප්‍රධානීන්, සංස්ථා හා ව්‍යවස්ථාපිත මණ්ඩලවල සභාපතිවරුන්, පාළාත් පාලන ආයතන

ප්‍රධානීන් සහ කොමසාරිස්වරුන් වෙතයි.

රජයේ සංවර්ධන කාර්යයන් පිළිබඳව විද්යුත් හා මුද්‍රිත මාධ්‍යවල දැන්වීම් පළ කිරීමෙන්ල පුවරුල බැනර්ල ධජ හා පෝස්ටර් ප්‍රදර්ශනය කිරීම තුලින් අනියම් ආකාරයේ ප්‍රචාරණ කටයුතු සිදු කරනු ලබන බවත් එමගින් අදාළ සංවර්ධන කටයුතු හෝ ව්‍යාපෘති පිළිබඳව කෙරෙන දැනුවත් කිරීමට වඩා වැඩි අවධානයක් දක්වන්නේ ඒ හා සම්බන්ධිත දේශපාලඥයින්ගේ ප්‍රතිරූපය ඔසවා තැබීම පිණිස බවට සිය කොමිසමට ලැබී ඇති පැමිණිලි බැහැර කළ නොහැකි බව මැතිවරණ කොමිසම පවසනවා.

දේශපාලන ප්‍රචාරන රැළි වෙනුවෙන් ප්‍රචාරන හා සැරසිලි කටයුතු සඳහා රජයේ සේවකයන්, වාහන සහ  උපකරණ යොදා ගන්නා බවට ලැබී ඇති පැමිණිලි වල සමහර කරුණුද සත්‍ය බව කොමිසම පෙන්වා දෙනවා.

මැතිවරණ උණුසුම පැතිරණ යන මෙම කාලසීමාව තුල මෙවැනි අනීතික ක්‍රියාවලට කිසිදු ආකාරයක දායකත්වයක් ලබා දීමෙන් වැළකී සිටීම අත්‍යවශ්‍ය බව රාජ්‍ය ආයතන ප්‍රධානීන් වෙත මැතිවරණ කොමිසම සිය නිවේදනයෙන් දන්වා සිටිනවා.

ඉන් වැඩිදුරටත් සඳන් කරන්නේ දේශපාලනමය කටයුතු සඳහා රාජ්‍ය දේපළ භාවිත කිරීම නීතියෙන් දඬුවම් ලැබිය හැකි වරදක් බවයි.

උපුටා ගැන්ම  හිරු පුවත්

එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂ ඉදිරි රජයක් යටතේ මිලේනියම් චැලෙන්ජ් කෝපරේෂන් ගිවිසුමට අනිවාර්යෙන්ම එක් වන බව මුදල් අමාත්‍ය මංගල සමරවීර මහතා පවසනවා.

කොළඹදී අද පැවති මාධ්‍ය හමුවකට එක්වෙමින් අමාත්‍යවරයා මේ අදහස් පළ කළා.

උපුටා ගැන්ම  හිරු පුවත්

එළඹෙණ ජනාධිපතිවරණය රට වෙනුවෙන් මෙරට ජනතාවට තීන්දුවක් ගැනීමට ඇති අවසන් අවස්ථාව බව පූජ්‍ය ඇල්ලේ ගුණවංශ හිමියන් පවසනවා.

උන්වහන්සේ මේ බව සඳහන් කළේ අද පස්වරුවේ කොළඹදී පැවති සම්මන්ත්‍රණයක් අමතමින්.

>යුතුකම සංවාද කවය විසින් සංවිධානය කර තිබූ රට රකිමු රට හදමු රට වැසියනි එක්වෙමු සම්මන්ත්‍රණය කොළඹදී පැවැත් වුණා.

By Eurasia Review

The Sri Lankan government Tuesday inked an agreement with two energy companies from Norway and France to carry out a two-year oil and gas exploration exercise in the Eastern sea basin.

The tripartite agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka, France’s Total EP and Norway’s Equinor ASA for the exploration of oil and natural gas in the Ceylon Basin off the eastern coast was signed in Colombo.

Minister of Highways & Road Development and Petroleum Resources Development Kabir Hashim and officials of Total and Equinor signed the agreement at the Ministry.

The agreement will cover oil and gas exploration in two blocks identified as J5 and J6 in the eastern offshore region.

Speaking at the event Minister Hashim said Sri Lanka will be made an oil and natural gas producer by 2022. He said Sri Lanka has entered into a study agreement with Total and Equinor to explore two blocks JS-5 and JS-6, signed in 2016, for oil and natural gas.

Total has already surveyed 50,000 square kilometers on the East coast as part of a previous study and Equinor will have a 30 percent stake in the exploration as per the new agreement, according to the Minister. The Minister said the studies done so far and data from a previous seismic survey have reported very positive results that the JS-5 and JS-6 blocks have significant potential.

He said once the exploration work is completed, the next target is the production and distribution of oil or natural gas that was discovered and the government hopes to discuss with the two companies and going forward enter into an agreement for production and distribution.

The Minister said he believes that if the explorations were started next year, Sri Lanka will be a natural gas or oil producer by 2022.

BBC

White people in the US without degrees are living shorter lives due to drug abuse and alcoholism.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-49437287/why-are-people-in-the-us-living-shorter-lives

Dr Sarath Obeysekera

When I noted the news item today about the participation of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in a Conference in Male. I thought of making the Prime Minister Aware that the ROAD MAP to develop BLUE ECONOMY should be one of the subjects to he should talk about at the event 

Details below may be useful to the consultants to prepare a speech for the Prone Minister to highlight the necessity to develop BLUE ECONOMY in the Indian Ocean with active participation by India, Pakistan, Maldives and Seychelles  Government  (including the aspirants to become the President of Sri Lanka)  is only talking about National Security, housing, agriculture and developing livestock, inland aquaculture, etc. 

Does it seem that the concept of BLUE ECONOMY based on harnessing vast resources in the ocean surrounding our country is neglected?

As an example, emerging concept of the Blue Economy has been embraced by the Government of Seychelles and some other Caribbean Islands as a mechanism to realize sustainable economic development based, around an ocean-based economy.

 The intention of these islands supported by Commonwealth is to implement the Blue Economy- concept at the national level as a framework to foster an integrated approach for sustainable development programmes.

This is predominately so, as information that does exist focuses primarily on land-based economic development or has a strong focus on conservation rather than on the sustainable use of the investment in an ocean-based economy for national benefit.

This roadmap will necessarily require the definition of short, medium and long-term actions across a broad range of sectors and will also require fundamental changes to the traditional institutional arrangements that exist to support the management of marine sectors and resources in Sri Lanka  

A coordinated  Government – approach will be a necessary condition for the successful implementation of the Blue Economy.

Sri Lankan Government in collaboration with other neighbouring countries should establish a dedicated agency to oversee completion and implementation for the Blue Economy Roadmap. 

However, while Sri Lanka and the Maldives have the existing capacity for some key sectors of the Blue Economy (e.g. fisheries and Nautical Tourism), it lacks the overarching policy and strategic expertise required to make this transition effectively.

As such, the Governments of Sri Lanka and the Maldives should seek the assistance of the Commonwealth Secretariat and the World Bank or ADB  with the provision of a long-term in-country technical expert to assist the Governments to complete this transition effectively. In addition, up to two additional technical experts may be required on a short-term basis (6 months) to undertake specific technical activities that are expected to arise as the project progresses.

Goal

The project aims to assist the Government of Sri Lanka in developing and implementing a National Blue Economy Roadmap, the purpose being to establish a broad direction for future investment in and development of a sustainable ocean-based economy in our country.

The purpose of the specific request for long-term (and shorter-term) technical adviser(s), is to assist the Government of  Sri Lanka to review, validate and implement the Roadmap and more importantly, to support Sri Lanka in its transition to a more integrated ocean-based economy.  

Question is whether newly appointed Technocrats have any idea about the Blue Economy?

As an example a recent visit by Japanese Delegation initiated by the Prime Ministry’s office consisting of private companies has expressed willingness, to develop Fishery Industry.

Unfortunately, some advisors in the PM’s office are only promoting the implementation of   Ice making Plants on Land to conserve fish caught in the deep ocean.

What our so-called experts have failed to understand is that 70% of the fish brought onshore is rotten because Sri Lanka has not developed a Mother Vessel Concept to collect fish as soon as they are caught, preserve them until they reach the shore.

Fishermen using Multiday fishing Vessels go to Ocean carrying few tons of Ice blocks to preserve fish. By the time they return after almost three weeks, ice is melted and fish is not even good for making Dry Fish!

Almost all big fish you find in the market is not good for Human Consumption

When this delegation was taken to Dikovita Harbour (a grandiose western-style harbour facility built with foreign funding) during wee hours of the day by my team, they were aghast and disgusted to note that the fish unloaded in the morning by fishermen is not suitable for Human Consumption!

One polite young Japanese Lady murmured to us and asked: Is this fish for dogs or for making chicken feed?”

I took the liberty of calling PMs’ office and explained that the installation of Hybrid Ice Making plants of Japanese Technology on land is not what we need at this stage 

We need MOTHER VESSELS to be anchored in the Ocean with Seawater Ice making Plants to collect the fish  rather than waiting for three weeks

Mother vessels are Stationery Self sustained ISLANDS in the ocean which cannot only provide Ice but Fuel and. Emergency Assistance  to multi-day fishing vessels of 40 to 55 feet which hardly have Ice Making Plants on Board  ( They do not even have generators on board but use batteries for night lights !) Impact

The successful and sustainable implementation of the Blue Economy Strategic Roadmap will ultimately deliver the following outcomes: 

·         Ocean ecosystems and biodiversity recovered and protected. 

·         Increased investment in existing ocean-based economic sectors including Nautical Tourism 

·         New data and knowledge on the Sri Lankan ocean space available.

·         marine-based aquaculture sector and marine biotechnology products and processes developed and implemented.

·         Protective measures and greater use of surveillance and enforcement tools provide greater protection.

·         Fisheries and aquaculture management improved through equitable, non-subsidized and sustainable practices.

·         Utilization of renewable energy from the ocean, ( i,e Harnessing Wave energy )

·         Surveillance of offshore waters strengthened through enhanced maritime domain awareness and law enforcement. (The above is expected to contribute to the goals of the Government of Sri Lanka

·         Capacity built and new research/data sectors developed.)

·         Streamlined implementation with an overarching system in place.

.

A broad range of relevant stakeholders and citizens will ultimately benefit from this intervention, including existing marine industry sectors, marine user groups, and local communities.

Outputs

 Implementation of the accelerated blue economy program (like Mahaweli for Farmers)

·         Comprehensive and strategic advice provided to the Minister and relevant stakeholders including the private Sector responsible for the Blue Economy.

·         Relevant documentation e.g. policy papers, project management documents, project status, and evaluation documents prepared and submitted.

·         Review of the current Roadmap ( if any)  including additional improvement/amendments in the content leading to the validation of the Road Map.

·         Stakeholder engagement and consultation facilitated as required, including the establishment of stakeholder bodies.

·         Strategies, focus areas, and projects for implementation of the Blue Economy Roadmap identified, approved and implemented.

·         Resources (financial, human capacity and technical) necessary to execute projects for implementation of the Blue Economy Roadmap, identify, solicited and secured.

·         Strategic partnerships between Sri Lanka and our neighbours such as the Maldives. India and Seychelles and relevant partners including, but not limited to: development agencies, private sector organizations, and marine research institutes, established and maintained.

·         Consistent implementation of the Roadmap across government and its respective agencies, in particular, working closely with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Fisheries, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Power and Energy and Ministry of Finance.

 Blue Economy roadmap and policy for Sri |Lanka should be promoted domestically, regionally and internationally.

Dr. Sarath Obeysekera

Courtesy Adaderana

President Maithripala Sirisena has given instructions to the relevant authorities to expedite the investigations regarding the allegations of Central Bank bond scam.

The President further advised to promptly conduct investigations and to take actions against the wrongdoers and said that the delay in conducting investigations is a hindrance to deliver justice.

He made these remarks during a meeting held with the members of the Commission to Investigate Bond Scam and other officials at the President’s Office, today (28).

During this meeting it was revealed that at present 04 interim reports have been received and the remaining reports could be present in this December.

The officials pointed out that even though they have requested banks to provide documents for the last five years relating to money laundering, still banks had not provided this information and due to this, a difficulty has occurred to conduct further investigations.

The Attorney General’s Department has stated that cases have been filed against the defendants under the Penal Code considering those crimes as criminal offenses.

It was also stated that those evidences will be presented through affidavits before this December.

President Sirisena further said that to expedite this investigation, he will provide maximum support.

Secretary to the Ministry of Finance Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga, the Governor of the Central Bank Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy, officials from the Attorney General’s Department, the acting Inspector General of Police, C. D. Wickremaratne, senior police officers and others participated in this meeting.

උපුටා ගැන්ම  හිරු පුවත්

මහ බැංකුවේ අධිපතිවරයාට ඇති කාර්යභාරය අගමැතිවරයා විසින් සිදුකිරීම හේතුවෙන් මහ බැංකු අධිපතිවරයා මේ වනවිට අසරණ තත්ත්වයට පත්ව ඇති බව හිටපු මහ බැංකු අධිපති අජිත් නිවාඩ් කබ්රාල් මහතා පවසනවා

අද පැවති ප්‍රවෘත්ති සාකච්ඡාවකදී ඔහු මේ බව සඳහන් කළා.

උපුටා ගැන්ම  හිරු පුවත්

පොතුවිල් මුහුදු මහා විහාර භූමිය ආශ්‍රිත ප්‍රදේශයේ ස්භාවික වැලි කදු කපා ඉවත් කිරීමට පොතුවිල් ප්‍රාදේශීය සභාව ක්‍රියාත්මක වීමත් සමග විහාරවාසී පුජ්‍ය උඩලමත්තේ රතනප්‍රිය හිමියන් දැඩි විරෝධය පළ කරනවා.

උන්වහන්සේ ප්‍රකාශ කලේ රෝහලක ඉදිකිරීම් සම්බන්ධ අවශ්‍යතාවක් මතු කරමින් පොතුවිල් ප්‍රාදේශීය සභා බලධාරීන් ස්භාවික වැලි කදු විනාශ කිරීම අරඹා ඇති බවයි.

හිරු සී.අයි.ඒ.හරහා පසුගියදා මුහුදු මහා විහාර භූමිය ආක්‍රමණය කිරීම අප හෙළි කළ අතර මේ එහි තවත් දිගහැරුමක්.

නැගෙනහිර පළාතේ පොතුවිල් හි පිහිටා ඇති මුහුදු මහා විහාරය පසුගිය කාලය පුරා දැඩි කථාබහට ලක්වුයේ එහි සීග්‍රයෙන් සිදුවන ඉඩම් ආක්‍රමණය හේතුවෙන්.

1951 වසරේ ගැසට් පත්‍රයක් මගින් මෙම විහාරයට අයත් භූමිය අක්කර 72 ක් බවට සදහන්ව තිබුනත් යළි 1965 වර්ෂයේදී ප්‍රකාශිත ගැසට් පත්‍රයක් අනුව එහි වපසරිය අක්කර 30 ක් බව දක්වා තිබෙනවා.

සීග්‍රයෙන් සිදුවන අනවසර ඉඩම් අල්ලා ගැනීම් හරහා එම අක්කර 30 ක භූමි ප්‍රදේශය ද මුහුදු මහා විහාරයට මේ වනවිට අහිමි වී ඇති අයුරු අප හිරු සී.අයි.ඒ.හරහා අගෝස්තු පළමු වනදා අනාවරණය කළා.

ගොඩබිම් පෙදෙස් එලෙස ඉවක් බවක් නොමැතිව ආක්‍රමණ කරද්දී, මුහුදු මහා විහාරයට යාබද වෙරළ තීරය සොහොන් බිමක් බවට ක්‍රමක් ක්‍රමයෙන් පත් කරමින් ඇත්තේ පොතුවිල් ප්‍රාදේශීය සභාවේ අවශ්‍යතාව මතයි.

විහාරස්ථානය අවට ස්භාවික වැලි කදු තීරයට ද ඇස ගසා සිටි පොතුවිල් ප්‍රාදේශීය සභාවේ බලධාරීන් අවස්ථා ගණනාවකදී කිසිදු අවසරයකින් තොරව ස්භාවික වැලි කදු කැපීමේ නිරත වුනේ සභාවේ ට්‍රැක්ටර් රථ භාවිතා කරමින්.

හිරු සී.අයි.ඒ.අනාවරණයත් සමග අඩාල වී තිබු මෙම ක්‍රියාවලිය ඊයේ සිට නැවත ආරම්භ කිරීමට ප්‍රාදේශීය සභා බලධාරීන් පියවර ගෙන තිබුනා.

වෙරළ සංරක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවෙන් අවසර ලබාගත් බව පවසමින් පොතුවිල් ප්‍රාදේශීය සභාවෙන් පැමිණ බැකෝ යන්ත්‍ර යොදා ස්භාවික වැලි කදු ඉවත් කිරීමට පියවර ගැනීමත් සමග විහාරවාසී රතනසාර හිමියන් ඊට මෙලෙස විරෝධය පළ කළා.

මෙම පුරාවිද්‍යාත්මක බිම් කඩ අනාගත දරු පරපුර සදහා රැක ගැනීමට දිවි දෙවෙනි කොට අරගලයක නිරත පුජ්‍ය උඩලමත්තේ රතනප්‍රිය ස්වාමීන්වහන්සේට පහරදීමට අන්‍ය ජාතියක පුද්ගලයෙකු තැත් දරන දර්ශන පෙළක් ද මේ වනවිට සමාජ මාධ්‍ය ඔස්සේ සංසරණය වනවා.

පසුගියදා හිරු සී.අයි.ඒ.කළ අනාවරණය පිළිබද උන්වහන්සේ මෙලෙස අදහස් පළ කළා

Courtesy BBC

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has gone on trial again over an alleged multibillion-dollar fraud involving a government fund.

Mr Najib is facing several trials over the state investment fund 1MDB – this is the most significant covering 21 counts of money-laundering and four of abuse of power.

Prosecutors say he received and covered up illegal transfers of at least $550m (£448m) between 2011 and 2014.

Mr Najib has denied any wrongdoing.

The former prime minister first faced trial over different allegations in the 1MDB scandal in April this year.

What’s the background to the scandal?

The 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) fund was set up in 2009, when Najib Razak was prime minister, to aid the nation’s economic development.

In 2015, questions were raised around its activities after it missed payments owed to banks and bondholders.

Malaysian and US authorities allege that about $4.5bn was illicitly plundered from the fund and diverted into private pockets.

The missing money has been linked to luxury real estate, a private jet, Van Gogh and Monet artworks – and even a Hollywood blockbuster.

• 1MDB scandal: The playboys, PMs and partygoers
• Najib Razak: The fall of Malaysia’s former PM

Opening the trial on Wednesday, prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram accused Mr Najib of being a key player in the scandal.

“His objective was to enrich himself,” the prosecutor said, outlining how the money was allegedly funnelled to the former prime minister.

Mr Najib was cleared of all wrongdoing by Malaysian authorities while he was prime minister.

Nonetheless, the corruption allegations played a big part in his historic election defeat in 2018 – and the new government swiftly reopened investigations into 1MDB.

Mr Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, is facing charges of money-laundering and tax evasion, to which she has pleaded not guilty.

No amount of promises to guard Sri Lanka’s sovereignty can hold water if at legislative & policy level changes are being drafted to suit a neo-liberal agenda that aspires to transfer all state assets to foreign corporate hands and turn locals to virtual slave citizens. This is the threat that Sri Lanka’s politicians need to understand and identify. Sri Lanka cannot be a sovereign nation if its wealth, natural resources, economic activities (ports, airports, railways, roads etc) are controlled by foreign entities who decide what Sri Lanka’s citizens get, at what price & in what quantity/quality and removes any role of politicians at some point or the other. The changes being done is to turn the State from protecting the People and National Assets/Resources to protecting the Corporates & Countries that will soon own or control a country’s people & resources. The ‘government’ will not be defending the citizens but dominating/subjugating them.

Undeniably the neo-conservative/liberal agenda is pro-West in particular pro-US hegemony

Their agenda is based on perception that Africans & Asians are inferior to Americans/Europeans. Concept of colonial White-Man’s Burden now masked as neo-colonial liberalism. The kalu-suddas are accepted into ‘their’ society so long as they can deliver what the white man demands of them. They are just paid ‘coolies’.

‘Civilizing’ is done via UN/INGO programs like ‘Responsibility to Protect’ ‘Reconciliation’ ‘Multiculturalism’ etc.

People are kept in check using mass surveillance, mass incarceration, open ended warfare, debt curtailing their privacy on excuse of protecting citizens.

Think tanks, media, paid journalists, civil society stooges are all tasked to brainwash citizens with sugar-coated opinion to believe these entities are working in our best interests.

Political sovereignty undermined

The UNHRC resolutions was used to force Sri Lanka to make unfair & legally questionable changes to penal code, constitution and demonize and weaken its military and demoralize by allegations and imprisonment. Placed within this context we wonder whether the Salawa ammunition storage was accidental?

Economic sovereignty undermined

Sri Lanka’s policy is now controlled by US officials, IMF, World Bank, Western Aid agencies, Western-corporate-backed think tanks, transnational corporations, foreign financial firms, foreign consultancies and foreign legal experts, foreign accountancy firms. This is the reality we will have to face.

They have identified and mastered the art of manipulating the biggest weakness in politicians to the detriment of the Nation & its people.

Sri Lanka’s labor, wealth, natural resources, public institutions, State enterprises, public utilities are being auctioned to foreigners by foreigners who have been invited to do so by the State (perhaps the State is even paying these foreigners for their ‘consultations’)

Privatization

Is privatization a solution? State enterprises privatized between 1980-2009 had performed worse than public enterprises. European cities are now reclaiming public services from private sector.

A 2015 UNDP study declared there was no set model for efficiency – that meant public, private or mixed enterprise model was no solution. How an entity was managed efficiently and effectively was what mattered.

Neo-liberal Project

Originates in the secret Mont Pelerin Society founded by Friedrich von Hayk & Milton Friedman & Allan Waters in 1947. Hayek’s vision was outlined in his book The Road to Serfdom in 1944. The book advocates

• Elimination constitutional nation-State & replaced with a supra National World Government
• Expanding US hegemony beyond US & across international borders (free cross border movement of goods, people and money)
• States will not be able to decide price of goods
• States will have no independent national legislation
• States will have no control over taxation
• State will have no power over its economy (deregulation & liberalization are all modus operandi to achieve this goal)
• State will not control its national produce, national resources, national workforce, national currency

Friedman became Economic Advisor to US President Reagan, Waters was Chief Economic Advisor to UK PM Margaret Thatcher. You can imagine the influence they would have had on the leaders!

How Think Tanks / Universities & Media are used to control the world

The oligarchs have dumped millions into setting up think tanks, business schools, influencing economic subject in universities to promoting neoliberal thinking – Heritage Foundation, Hoover Institute, CATO Institute, American Enterprise Institute, Centre for Policy Studies, Institute of Economic Affairs, Adam Smith Institute (UK), Soros Foundation are just a handful of names.

These entities are tasked to mask the real intent in language & ideas and present as if the program is for the betterment of society.

Chile became the launch pad for the 1^st neoliberal program after installing Pinochet with US backing. Mont Pelerin rolled out the project – anyone who disagreed got shot! That was neoliberal democracy! IMF & World Bank got their way. That was neoliberal economic transparency!

Media was owned by the billionaires who owned & funded the think tanks and universities. Media frames language to fool the masses on behalf of the secret societies that rule them.

https://www.desmogblog.com/2014/01/15/exclusive-mont-pelerin-society-revealed-home-leading-pushers-climate-science-denial

Mont Pelerin Society & objectives

• Shaping economic policies by infiltrating their stooges into govt positions & controlling the govt & its laws (placing policy planning network of advisors created from the think tanks & business schools & paid media into government)
• ‘Experts’ creating proposals that are in rosy language, gullible and are promoted by their ‘agents’ in media, journalists, social leaders/activists, political ‘analysts’, business speakers etc – all who have a way of influencing the politicians & their advisors
• Holding fancy conferences & seminars with full publicity with glitz and glamour to present the notion to public that their proposals are best – note recent seminar on MCC wherein moderator himself claims Sri Lanka was rejecting a gift horse!
• Shifting power from Public Institutions to Global Economic Institutes (statistics show how wealth, resources, power of the Public has been transferred to foreign corporates or local entities influenced or funded by foreign corporates) where national sovereignty is undermined by corrupting politicians and claiming corrupt politicians and political system must be replaced…

Oh yes, are we to replace corrupt politicians with the entities that corrupted them so that they could be eliminated and in place a system change of global transcorporate government would be replaced?

Mont Pelerin Society Sri Lanka Members

• PM Ranil
• Prof. Razeen Sally
• Prof. Suri Ratnapala

Atlas Network – Advocata Sri Lanka is a member

Is part of US foreign policy and plays key role in destabilizing and regime change.

Atlas Network through its associate think tanks and NGOs discretely funded by US State Dept and National Endowment for Democracy succeeded in

• military coup against Manuel Zelaya in Honduras,
• toppling Cristine Kirchner of Argentina using ‘corruption’ theme
• supported military against President Chavez in 2002
• diverting public anger against leading politicians in Brazil (similar to Sri Lanka)

The connections are obvious – Dr. Judy Shelton, senior fellow at Atlas Network is also advisor to President Trump & she chairs the NED.

Atlas Network is mostly funded by Koch Foundation, ExxonMobil, MasterCard, John Templeton, Donors Trust, and the American government. In February 2019, Atlas via its associate Advocata held the Asia Liberty Forum.

Is it a surprise that Atlas Network wanted to repeal law that made voting compulsory & withdraw funding to trade unions because people could ‘participate’ via FB, whatsap (free wifi was obviously a ruse to subtly remove entities that were challenging oligarchs with people’s support)

The effort to remove people’s representatives and hand over governance and asset/wealth control into private parties can be seen by the power some companies wield worldwide.

25 companies make more money than GDPs of these 25 countries

Spotify (Mauritania), Netflix (Malta), Tesla (Albania), Visa (Bosnia), El Corte Inglés (Libya), Starbucks (Trinidad & Tobago), McDonalds (New Guinea), Mercadona (Nepal), BBCA (Estonia), Inditex (Paraguay), Walt Disney (Bulgaria), Banco Santander (Panama), Telefónica (Luxembourg), Johnson & Johnson (Ethiopia), Microsoft (Slovakia), Nike (Cameroon), Coca Cola (Bolivia), Iberdrola (Ivory Coast), Facebook (Serbia), Repsol (Lebanon), Alphabet, Google’s parent company (Puerto Rico), Amazon (Kuwait), Apple (Portugal), Volkswagen (Chile), Walmart (Belgium)

ICBC (China) HSBC, Deutsch Bank, Credit Agricole Group, BNP Paribas, Mitsubishi, Barclays, JP Morgan Chase, China Construction Bank Corp, Japan Post Bank operate in just 6 countries and have a combined wealth of $21.1trillion – enough to fund the US Govt for 7 years.

Companies are becoming richer than countries and taking ownership of resources in countries.

How are companies taking ownership of resources in countries?

Influencing political affairs of sovereign states indirectly through their governments or NGOs or indirectly by employing government officials & getting participating in national policy committees as well as making political contributions and at times even bribing

UK/US overthrew democratically elected Iran’s leader Mossadegh because he nationalized oil and it affected US/UK oil companies, the United Fruit Company and its exploitations in Latin America with US government assistance is another example.

Advocata Institute

(part of Atlas Network founded by Mont Pelerin Society member Anthony Fisher) – neoliberal think tank promoting free market reforms.

Advocata is also connected to both Mont Pelerin Society & US administration.  

Advocata Board Member Frank Lavin

• Chairman of Public Affairs Practice for Edelman Asia Pacific on behalf of companies facing issues with various foreign governments
• 2005-2007 US Under Secretary for International Trade at US Dept of Commerce  
• 2001-2005 US ambassador to Singapore (negotiated landmark US-Singapore FTA)
• 1987-1989 Director of the Office of Political Affairs in White House
• Worked in Hong Kong, Singapore for Cushman & Wakefield
• Worked for Bank of America & Citibank
• Worked for George Bush Snr & Ronald Reagan in the Dept of Commerce, Dept of State, National Security Council & White House
• Serves on the Board of Directors of Globe Specialty Metals (worlds largest producer of silicon metal alloys) Consistel (largest telecommunications firm in SouthEast Asia), UOB Bank (Singapore), UTEX (Texas energy services firm)

Atlas Network has been financing a variety of organizations that seek to influence the public and promote capitalist ideas.

The Asia Liberty Forum was co-hosted by the Advocata Institute and Atlas Network in February 2019. Speakers were Dr. Nishan de Mel (Executive Director, Verite Research) Ravi Ratnasabapathy (Resident Fellow, Advocata Institute), Suresh Shah (Director, Carson Cumberbatch PLC), Thilan Wijesinghe (Chairman, National Agency for PPPs) and Dr. Malathy Knight (Senior Economist).

Institute for Policy Studies

Sri Lanka’s Economic Policy Think-Tank established by Act of Parliament in 1988

Executive Director – Dushni Weerakoon / Chairman Prof. Razeen Salley

How far IPS is under influence of foreign funded think-tanks and foreign control can be seen & questions how ‘independent’ these ‘government’ bodies are. What is the point in a government think tank being ‘independent’ from government institutions but dependent on western governments and donors for their funding?

How ‘independent’ is IPS if it is co-financed by the Dutch Govt & run by a Resident Coordinator from Dutch Institute for Social Studies? DISS is funded by the Dutch Govt to train intellectuals and policy makers from former Dutch colonies!

How ‘independent’ is IPS’s OWN ‘Endowment Fund’ if Sri Lankan state does not know its funding sources?

How ‘autonomous’ is IPS, Sri Lanka’s supposed to be economic think tank if its donors are UK,, US Corporations, banks & equity funds (Hewlett Foundation/Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), Netherlands, Canada and Norway? They do not give money free without some agenda!

IPS is directly connected to Mont Pelerin Society via its member Prof. Razeen Salley who is now IPS Chairman. Sally is Adjunct scholar of Cato Institute a neoliberal think tank, he is founder director of Cato-related European Centre for International Political Economy a neoconservative entity linked to CIA connected Brookings Institution.

IPS drafted Vision 2025 and organized the Sri Lanka Economic Forum in 2016 that invited George Soros ‘colour revolution architect & his Open Society Foundation to Sri Lanka. At this forum Ricardo Hausmann of the Harvard Centre was directly associated with the PM’s office, the BOI and Ministry of Development Strategy & International Trade. This same Harvard Teams’ did the land privatization Bill.

Do we need economic experts if the only solution they give is to sell public assets and privatize all state owned enterprises. Any idiot can suggest this – do we need economists & think-tanks for this?

The Chairman of IPS Razeen Sally is 24×7 advocating selling State enterprises and even suggested a deceitful strategy to handle country-wide opposition – first partially privatize state enterprise by putting such into a holding company (SL Airlines, Mihin Air, SLTB etc) and then gradually increase private sector stakes & work towards complete private ownership. Sally’s proposition for public utilities (petroleum, water, electricity etc) is to replace Board members of the Public Utilities Commission with ‘independent directors’ obviously foreign ones! And how ‘independent are these foreigners one wonders!

Neoliberals holding Public & Private positions in Sri Lanka since 2015

Prof. Salley was made Senior Advisor to Finance Minister Samaraweera in July 2017.

Indrajit Coomaraswamy present Central Bank Governor is also on board of the Institute of Policy Studies

Dr. Sarath Rajapatirana, Economic Advisor to the President is also on board of the Institute of Policy Studies is a visiting scholar of American Enterprise Institute a neoliberal think tank and had been working for World Bank from 1975 to 1999.

M. I. M. Rafeek – Secretary to the Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affair (Ranil’s Ministry) is on the board of Institute of Policy Studies

S S Mudalige Director General National Planning Department is also on the Board of IPS

In April 2019 Eran Wickramaratne also took part in closed-door discussions at the Heritage Foundation in Washington

Dr. Arvind Subramanian, the Chief Economic Adviser of the Government of India was keynote speaker at Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2017. Subramanian is also Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics a neoliberal US think tank.

Radhika Coomaraswamy, sister of Governor Central Bank – Open Society Justice Initiative, Member of the Board. Served as Chairperson of the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission during Ranil Wickremasinghe’s Govt in 2003 and then served again under his government as Constitutional Council member in 2015.

Former Foreign Minister Samaraweera addressed the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (US foreign affairs think tank) in February 2015, immediately after the regime change in January 2015. Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam embroiled in controversy for his salary payment by US was also a speaker at the same think tank in September 2015.

IPS & Advocata are both connected to US Govt and Mont Pelerin Society

Advocata was launched in May 2016 at the Lakshman Kadiragamar Institute together with a report State of State Enterprises” (a report made before Advocata was created) showcasing 55 state-owned enterprises making major losses between 2006-2015 and recommended the Govt decide which to shut down, which to privatize and which the govt should continue to keep. If a report emerged before Advocata was created it should be no surprise when Advocata is quoted by Malik Samarawickrema promoting far-reaching privatisation plans”

An interesting set of people make up its Board

Fredrik Erixon – Director of the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE) think tank co-founded with Razeen Sally in 2006. Erixon was an Adviser to the British government.

Nishan de Mel – Verite Research agents for promoting MCC in Sri Lanka. He was Executive Director of the International Centre for Ethnic Studies and the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute.

Rohan Samarajeewa – LirnAsia

Prof Suri Ratnapala – member of Mont Pelerin Society, appointed by PM Ranil himself a Mont Pelerin Member to advise the Steering Committee chaired by the PM drafting a new Constitution

Advocata is promoting privatization in Sri Lanka. Advocata proposed the privatization of Sri Lankan Airlines. In June 2016 Cabinet approved PM’s proposal to hire US firm McKinsey & Co for $2.3m to establish a Central Program Management Unit inside Temple Trees to monitor projects under new Development (Special Provisions) Bill. A foreign firm is paid to monitor Bills passed in Sri Lanka!

Advocata in November 2016 recommended that the Sri Lanka Budget 2017 reactivate 987,000 acres in the Land Reform Commission. They categorized schools, government ministries, military occupied buildings etc as ‘prime real estate’ and claimed they ‘outweighed their economic value’ and wanted them shifted! So the hue & cry to downsize the military is part of this larger objective! What excuse will they give to remove schools? Is the decision to remove 25,000 slums in Colombo City by 2020 part of this bigger objective? Will they soon remove residential housing too?

When Advocata recommends an ‘independent body free of political influence to minimize corruption’ it means give it to ‘independent’ foreigners who will bribe ministers to get what they want! This is just like Sri Lanka suddenly being upgraded to ‘upper middle class’ country as MCC grants are given only to such countries!

How can a government give access to Sri Lanka’s land records to foreigners for them to exploit and recommend to be sold to foreigners?

So we are not surprised when the Central Bank outlined new laws and institutional reforms to establish a land bank as part of a move to remove ‘archaic’ laws and then arrives Prof. Hausmann Director of Harvard Centre. All these foreign experts from neoliberal think tanks, economists etc claim to be knowing what is good for Sri Lanka and interestingly enough they want Sri Lanka to privatize ocean-related activities, shipping, statutory bodies, liberalize free trade and investment, liberalize land sale, remove restrictions for foreign ownership including in freight forwarding and shipping and all these are being plugged into some rosy proposal known as Public-Private Partnership. While sugar-coated fortunes and benefits are dished out to Sri Lankans no one is paying any attention to the misfortune likely to come when everything we own fall into foreign hands and when they decide what is to be given to us at what rate/quantity, quality or whether we are to get anything at all and if not whether we have any alternatives and what if those are also denied by these foreigners if they own access to the entry and choke points into and out of Sri Lanka?

Millennium Challenge Corporation:

MCC is a US government body. Its head is the US Secretary of State. It has an ‘office’ inside Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister’s Office. Did the MCC draft the PM’s ‘Vision 2025’? Is Sri Lanka’s strategies formulated by the foreigners working inside the PM’s office?

Why is MCC grant covering only a few provinces and selected districts if it is for all Sri Lankans? Why is MCC grant subject to conditions of privatizing all state land? How is MCC evaluating Sri Lanka? Who is evaluating Sri Lanka? Who is providing the data? How sovereign is Sri Lanka when all decisions are being drafted & wetted by foreigners?

Clearly, Sri Lanka’s governance & government has been infiltrated by foreigners and stooges of these foreigners have been placed in prominent roles.

How many in Sri Lanka have identified the enemy & understood the dangers? Should we not be devising ways to overcome and nullify the damage they are doing?

Shenali D Waduge

චන්ද්‍රසේන පණ්ඩිතාගේ විසිනි.

අපට නිතර දෙවේලේ කනට හුරු පුරුදු කතාවකි ඒ. බලය බෙදා දීම. කා විසින් කාටද මේ බලය බෙදා දිය යුත්තේ. කා ලගද මේ බලය ඇත්තේ? කාටද බලය නැත්තේ? මේ සංවාදය යන අතරේ පැන නගින අතුරු ප්‍රශ්න කන්දරාවයි.

අප දන්නා ආකාරයට අප ජීවත් වෙන පෘතුවියට බලය ලැබෙන්නේ හිරුගෙන් වෙන අතර, දෛනිකව හිරු නම් වූ අප සෞර්ය ග්‍රහ මණ්ඩලයේ කේන්ද්‍රය සෑම තප්පරයක් පාසාම නිරන්තරයෙන්ම බලය බෙදා හැරීමක නිරත වෙයි. සූර්යා විසින් නිකුත් කරනු ලබන මහා බල කන්දරාවෙන් මේ පෘතුවිය ලබනුයේ ඉතා ස්වල්පයක් වන අතර, එම බලය මෙම පෘතුවිය මත පවතින ජීවින්ට හා අජීවී පදාර්තයනගේ කාර්යයන් සදහා යොදා ගැනේ. මෙම බලය පෘතුවියේ සියළු කාර්යයන් සදහාම ප්‍රමාණවත් වුවද, මෙම බලය නිසිලෙස බෙදා හැරීමේ කලමනාකරණයක් නැති නිසා දෝ පෘතුවි තලයේ ජීවත්වෙන විශාල ප්‍රමාණයක් වූ ජීවීන් හා අජීවී පදාර්තයන් බල ඌණතාවයකින් පෙලේ. මෙම ප්‍රශ්ණය ප්‍රබල සමාජ ගැටළුවක් වන අතර, මෙය වහාම විසදීම සදහා පවතින තත්වයන් සමාජයන්ට බල කරමින් සිටී.

පලමු කරුණ වන්නේ පෘතුවියේ සියළුම පෙදෙස් වලට ඒකාකාරයව මෙම බලය බෙදා හැරීමේ කටයුත්තට අවහිර කරනුයේ සෞර්ය ග්‍රහ මණ්ඩලීය යාන්ත්‍රණය වන බැවින්, එම කාර්යය ස්වභාවය සම්මතයක්  වශයෙන් සලකා කටයුතු කිරීමට අපට සිදුව තිබේ. උත්තර ධ්‍රෑවයට හා දක්ෂිණ ධ්‍රැවයට අවශ්‍ය කරනුයේ ඉතා අඩු බලයක් බැවින් එම පෙදෙස් දෙසට ඉතා අඩු බලයක් මුදා හරින සූර්යයා නිරක්ෂීය කලාපයට විශාල බලයක් මුදා හැරීම හරහා, භූමිමය වශයෙන් විෂමාකාර බල මුදා හැරීමක් සිදු කලද, විශාල සත්ව හා ශාක පරම්පරාවක් ජීවත්වෙනුයේ මෙම නිරක්ෂීය කලාපයට ආසන්නයේ බව අවබෝධ කරගත් විට ස්වභාවයද බල මුදා හැරීමේදී අසාධාරණ ආකාරයකට එම කටයුත්ත සිදු කර නැතැයි යන්න ගම්‍ය වේ.

පෘතුවිය මතට වැටෙන බල ශක්තියෙන් මිනිසාට අත ගැසිය හැකි මානයේ ඇති දෑ සිය වර්ගයා අතර සාමූහිකව බෙදා ගන්නවා වෙනුවට ඉතා සුළුතරයක් දෙනා එම බලය සිය පෞද්ගලික අවශ්‍යතාවයන් සදහා ගොනු කර තබා ගැනීමේ හේතුවෙන් මහා බල අසමතුලිතතාවයක් මෙලොව තුල ජනිතව ඇත.  මේ හේතුවෙන් සමාජමය වශයෙන් බල ඌන තාවයකින් යුත් කණ්ඩායමක් ලොව පුරා බිහිව සිටී.

බල ඌනිත පුද්ගලයින් ගෙන් අති විශාලයක් දෙනා, මේ සිදුව ඇත්තේ කුමක්දැයි නොදනී. මෙම තත්වය පෘතුවි තලයේ සිටින සත්වයින්ගෙන් ප්‍රබලවම බල පාන්නේ මිනිසාට වෙන අතර, මෙම මිනිස් ක්‍රියාකාර කම් හේතුවෙන් අනිකුත් සත්ව හා ශාකද වලටද විශාල බලපෑමක් සිදුවෙන අතර, එය ක්‍රම ක්‍රමයෙන් වර්ධනය වන ප්‍රබල සමාජ ගැටළුවකි.

සූර්යයාගේ බල සම්ප්‍රේෂණය මගින් මෙලොවට අවශ්‍ය කරන, ඔක්සිජන්, ජල කලමණාකරණය, හා ආහාර නිශ්පාදනය මූලිකව ඉටු කරන ප්‍රධාන කාර්යභාරය වේ. මේ අනුව සූර්යා තම බලයෙන් පෘතුවිය මත මුදා හරිනු ලබන කොටස, පෘතුවි වාසී සියල්ලන්ටම අවශ්‍ය කරන වාතය, ජලය, හා ඝන ආහාර වශයෙන්ද තවත් ක්‍රියාන්විතයන් ගනනාවක් යටතේ ලබා දෙයි. සූර්යයා හා පෘතුවි වාසීන් අතර සිදුවෙන බල සම්ප්‍රේෂණ ක්‍රියාවලියේදී අතර මැදියා වශයෙන් ක්‍රියා කරනු ලබන්නේ ශාක ප්‍රජාව වන අතර, ඒ අනුව මේ පෘතුවිය තුල ශාක ප්‍රජාවන්ට උරුම වන්නේ උත්තරීතර තත්වයකි. මිනිසාටවත් උරුම නැති මේ තත්වය සම්බන්ධව මිනිස් ප්‍රජාව තුල වර්තමානයේදී විද්‍යාත්මක් අවබෝධයක් නැති අතර, ගසක් යනු ඕනෑම වේලාවක කපා බිම හෙලා දැමිය හැකි වස්තුවක් ලෙස විශාල ජන කොට්ඨාශයකගේ අවබෝධයයි. මෙම අනවබෝධය හරහා මිනිසාට උරුමව පවතින බලය මිනිසා විසින්ම අන්‍යයන් අතට පත් කර හරින සීමාවකට තල්ලුව ඇත.

මේ අතර, සූර්යා විසින් අඩු සූර්ය තාප ප්‍රමාණයක් මුදා හරිනු ලබන පෘතුවි උතුරු දේශවාසීන්ට අවශ්‍ය කරන බල ඌනතාවය මගහරවා ගැනීම සදහා බල ශක්ති මංකොල්ලයක නිරතවීම ආරම්භව මේ වනවිට ශත වර්ෂ ගනනාවක් ඉක්මවා ඇත. පලමුව කුරුදු, මුතු මැණික්, අනිකුත් කුළු බඩු වලින් ආරම්භව මේ වන විට ඛණිජ තෙල් අමු අමු වේ මංකොල්ල කෑම දක්වා වූ බලය ඩැහැ ගැනීමේ ක්‍රියාවලිය නිසි ලෙස කලමනාකරණය කිරීම සදහා විශාල සංවිධානද පිහිටුවා ගෙන තිබේ. එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ සංවිධානය යනු මේ බල මංකොල්ලයේදී පෘතුවි උතුරු දේශවාසීන් රැකවරණය සපයන ප්‍රධාන ආයතනය වන අතර, මෙය බල මංකොල්ලය සිදුකරන්නේ කෙසේදැයි තීරණය කරන ප්‍රධාන ආයතනයද වේ.

රටකට එරෙහිව, සම්භාධක පැනවීම, යුද්ධ කිරීමට බලය පැවරීම, ජාත්‍යන්තර නීතිය නමින් අටවා ගත් බලවත් රාජ්‍යයන් උදෙසා බල නොපාන නීති කඩමාල්ලකින් බිය ගැන්වීම,, ආහාර අධාර සැපයීම, සෞඛ්‍ය සේවාවන් සැපයීම, අධ්‍යපන ආධාර සැපයීම යන සකල විද ආකාරයට හැඩ ගැන්වූ ආයතන මගින්, සතුරා බල මංකොල්ලය සිදු කරයි. ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට මෙය මේ සියළු කරුණු වලට අමතරව බලය බෙදා හැරීම නම්වූ සුන්දර වචන කන්දරාචක් මවා පා මේ රට තුල යලි ගින්දර ජාලයක් ඇවිලවීමටද තැත් කරයි.

අප සැබැ ලෙසම බලය බෙදා හදා ගෙන ජීවත්වූ ජාතියක් වන අතර, විවිධ ආක්‍රමණිකයන්ගේ ආක්‍රමණ හේතුවෙන් අපට අප තුල වූ බලය අහිමි විය. අප සතුවූ බලය ආක්‍රමණිකයා සුපුරුදු ලෙස කොල්ලකාගත් අතර, අද අප ජනතාව අතට බලය අවශ්‍යව තිබේ. එය ද්‍රවිඩද, මුස්ලිම්ද, සිංහලද යන වර්ගීකරණයකට නතු නොවී සියළුම ශ්‍රී ලාංකිකයන්ටම අවශ්‍ය දෙයක් බවට පත්ව තිබේ. එදා රජ්ජුරුවන්ට කන්න දුන්න ජාතියක් අද රජ්ජුරුවන්ගෙන් කෑම යදින ජාතියක් බවට පත්කල ආක්‍රමණිකයාම වර්තමානයේ මෙරට පාලනයට බලය බෙදා හැරීමක් සම්බන්ධව බලපෑම්ද සිදු කරයි.

මෙරට ජනතාවට උරුම ප්‍රධාන බලය බෙදා හැරීම හරහා සිදුවන්නේ නොමිලේ වාතය, නොමිලේ ජලය, හා නොමිලේ ආහාර ඔවුනට උරුම වීමයි. මෙය ස්වභාවය විසින් මෙරට වාසී සියළු ජීවීන් උදෙසා ගොනු කල ස්වභාවයේ නීතියයි. බටහිර සතුරා මෙරටට පැමිණීමට පෙර මෙරට වාසී ජනතාව සුපිරි වෙළද සැලෙන් හාල් මිලදී නොගත් බව දන්නා අප, කුඹුර නම්වූ හරිත සූර්යය පැනලය නිසි ලෙස නඩත්තු කොට හිරු සපයන බලය සෘජුවම තමන් විසින් නෙලා ගත්හ. ඒ සදහා අවශ්‍ය කරන පොහොරද, බීජද ලබා ගන්නා ලද්දේද නොමිලේම වූ අතර, මෙරට ජනතාවට සැබැ ලෙසම බලය බෙදනවා යනු මෙම කාර්යයන් ජනතාව අතට යලි ලබාදීමය.

මෙම කාර්යය නිසි ලෙස කිරීමට නම් ජනතාව අතර, මෙරට තුල ඇති වගා කිරීමට හැකි, වගා කලයුතු සියළුම ඉඩම් නිසි කළමණාකාරිත්වයක් යටතේ බෙදා දිය යුතුමය. ඉඩම යනු හිමිකරගෙන ඔහේ පාළුවෙන්නට ඉඩහැරිය යුතු කාටවත් උරුම පෞද්ගලික වස්තුවක් නොවන අතර, හරිත වර්ණයෙන් දිදුලන භූමියක් විය යුතුමය. මෙම කාර්යය මනාව අවබෝධ කරගත් ජන නායකයකු අපට අවශ්‍ය මොහොතක මේ කරුණුවල ඇති විද්‍යාත්මක තත්වය අවබෝධ කරගත හැකි නායකයෙක් ඉතිහාසය විසින් මේ වන විට උරුම කරදී ඇත. ඒ ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ මහතායි.  මේ බලය බෙදාදීම නුතන තාක්ෂනය හා බද්ධව ඉතා පහසුවෙන් සියලුම ජනතාවට ලබාදිය හැක. සියලුම ජනසහභාගිත්වයෙන්, මෙය කරන්නේ නම ජනතාවට සම්පුර්ණයෙන්ම විදුලි බලය නොමිලයේම ලබා ගැනීමට තරම් දියුණු තාක්ෂණික යුගයකට අප සියලු දෙනාම අවතීර්ණව සිටින බව කියා පෑමට සිදුව තිබේ.

මෙරට තුල බල ශක්තිය ආයුධයක් ලෙස බාවිතා කරමින් ජනතාව පිඩනයට පත්කරන පුද්ගලයින් අපට තව දුරටත් මේ රටේ වගකිව යුතු තනතුරුවලට පත් කිරීමට උවමනාවක් නැත. එමනිසා මෙරට ඇති මිලියන 5ක ප්‍රමානයක්වූ සියලුම නිවාස වහල මත සුර්ය පැනල සවිකරගෙන තම තමන්ගේ විදුලි බලය තමතම්න්ටම නිපදවා ගැනීමට සහය හා බලය ලබාදෙන රජයක් හා ජනාධිපතිවරයෙක් මුළු මහත් රටම ඉල්ලා සිටි. මේ කාර්ය සදහා අවශ්‍ය නය පහසුකම් සපයන රජයකට තව දුරටත් බල ශක්තිය උපදවන් ව්‍යාපෘති සදහා මුදල් වය කිරීමට සිදු නොවෙනු ඇත. මේ ක්‍රියා වලියම සුළු හා මධ්‍යම ව්‍යාපාරික ප්‍රජාවටද ලබාදීම තුලින් වසර 5ක පමණ කාලයකට පසු නිෂ්පාදන වියදමට යන විදුලු බල වියදම පහත වැටීම හේතුවෙන්, පෙරට වඩා ඉතා අඩු මුදලකට සිය නිෂ්පාදනයන් වෙළඳ පොලට මුදා හරිය හැකි අතර ඒ තුලින් මුළු රටවාසීන්ට විශාල ප්‍රතිලාබ කන්දරාවක් උරුම කරදීමට මේ නුතන තාක්ෂණයට හැකියාව ඇත. මේ කරුණ තේරුම් ගත හැකි එකම නායකයා වන්නේ ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ මහතා බැවින මුළු මහත් ජනතාවම එකාවන්ව පෙළ ගැසී එතුමාගේ ජයග්‍රහණය උදෙසාම අප කැපවී කටයුතු කරමු.

සියලුම රටවාසීන්ට සුර්ය බලය ලබා ගැනීමට පදනම සකස් කරන්න.

සියලුම ජනතාව එකාවන්ව එකතුව මේ රට සරු කරනු ඇත.

චන්ද්‍රසේන පණ්ඩිතාගේ විසිනි.

Editorial Courtesy The Island

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya is in an unenviable position. He is never free from stress. Last year, he had to fight quite a battle to thwart an attempt to topple the UNF government. What he faced in Parliament, in defending the beleaguered government, was nothing but terrorism. He even ran the risk of being harmed by some rowdies in the garb of UPFA MPs, who went on the rampage. But for his valiant efforts, his political enemies would have consolidated their power in Parliament. Ten months on, speculation is rife, in political circles, that a plot is being hatched to grab premiership again. It was reported that Speaker Jayasuriya had said he would resign in such an eventuality. He has denied the reports as baseless.

President Sirisena revealed, at a public rally, during last year’s political turmoil, following the abortive power grab, that he had offered the post of Prime Minister to Speaker Karu Jayariya and Minister Sajith Premadasa, before appointing former President Mahinda Rajapaksa thereto. Both Jayasuriya and Premadasa had turned down his offer, he said. A section of the media claimed, the other day, that he had made that offer again. He is known for highly unpredictable moves; whoever would have thought he would sack Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, appoint Rajapaksa PM, dissolve Parliament and call a general election, in quick succession?

There is no love lost between President Sirisena and PM Wickremesinghe, as is common knowledge. The former, however, is not ill-disposed towards the UNP, which he is willing to work with under a different PM. A formidable faction of the UNP has risen against PM Wickremesinghe, and is cranking up pressure on him to name Sajith the party’s presidential candidate. They have crossed the point of no return, and won’t baulk at anything to achieve their goal. President Sirisena feels let down by the Rajapaksas who have their own agenda and joined the SLPP officially. He, therefore, may not hesitate to do anything at the expense of the Rajapaksas and Wickremesinghe to manoeuvre out of the political mire he finds himself in. He might throw in his lot with someone who is opposed to the former ruling family and incumbent PM.

The President is aware that he will be reduced to a political nonentity if the SLPP wins the presidency; his lot will be far worse in case Wickremesinghe or someone close to the latter becomes the next President. He will stand to gain or be safe only if someone who is against both the Rajapaksas and Wickremesinghe becomes President, with his support. This seems to be his battle plan, which may have given rise to speculation that he might try to re-enact the October Drama, in Parliament, with a different cast and a new protagonist.

Having foiled an attempt by President Sirisena and former President Rajapaksa to wrest control of Parliament, last year, the UNF government bragged that it was strong enough to defend itself against its opponents bent on grabbing premiership; it warned them that it was also capable of going on the offensive and bringing them to their knees. Their boastful claim reminds us of a story about an armament manufacturer, who used to boast of the strength of his products to the point of queasiness; he once claimed that there was no spear, in the entire world, which could pierce his shields, and no one had ever manufactured a shield that his spears could not penetrate. A child who happened to pass by, casually, asked him what would happen if one of his spears was thrown at one of his shields. The question that the government should be asked is what would happen if an attempt was made by someone within its ranks to grab premiership.

What would the UNF constituents and the JVP do in such a situation? Most of all, how would the Speaker react? Anything is possible in politics, where nothing is so certain as the unexpected, especially when someone like Sirisena is at the helm.

BY ROHANA R. WASALA Courtesy The Island

The artificially sensationalized controversy within the UNP ranks about the authenticity of the party deputy leader Sajith Premadasa’s educational qualifications, in the twilight of its barely legitimate rule, is a strangely anticlimactic, but justly retributive, reversal of its unbroken mudslinging campaign against the Rajapaksas, whose democratic return to power they have been determined to forestall by hook or by crook.

The controversial 19th Amendment was primarily intended to keep them out of power for the foreseeable future. The calling into question of Premadasa’s academic attainments is actually much ado about nothing, provoked by the heated leadership tussle between two camps, within the party, the reactionary jaded old guard clinging to its hereditary ‘ownership’ of the party, and a relatively younger ginger group within its ranks; clamouring for a change of party leadership trying to make it less inimical to the rising nationalist spirit of the electorate. But it promoted pro-Premadasa propaganda as a negative marketing strategy by giving a little boost to his presidential nomination bid. Sajith is embattled on two fronts: He is embarked on a struggle for rising to party leadership, and he has started, at least at the individual level, his presidential campaign. While the second (which is actually premature because it is still uncertain whether the UNP will agree to his candidacy) is already a lost cause, in view of the dismal performance of the Yahapalana regime of which he has been a senior member; his success in the first is of vital importance for himself and for his party. But Premadasa, or his potential replacement who will come to lead the faction that is now loyal to him within the UNP, will have a historic role to play in the evolution of a stable two-party system of parliamentary democracy that will be safe from the undue minoritarian influence that is at present ruining the country. What is the thinking behind this man in the street opinion of mine?

There is a popular diversionary tactic used these days by the 2015 change makers and their propagandists, against those who are set to rescue the nation state from further destabilization and destruction. It is being adopted by the JVP and a handful of recent upstarts, like lawyer Nagananda, for their own purposes. This is to attribute the country’s current politically and economically ruinous situation, as well as its strategically exaggerated developmental backwardness over the past 70 years of independence, to a single alleged cause: what they identify as the ingrained corruption, lawlessness and general depravity of all the politicians who have been ruling, generally, as members of the two main political parties, the UNP and the SLFP taking turns. Significantly, these advocates of radical change avoid talking about the much more important causes of Sri Lanka’s worsening fate, such as the 30-year civil war and its poisonous aftermath, brazen foreign interference in its internal affairs that exploits it, and the related, recently introduced, Wahabist terrorism, to name just a few of those vital factors they overlook.

This indiscriminate attack on all past politicians, and all the current 225 MPs, plus the President, may look like gospel truth for the least informed few of the normally well informed millennial generation (18 – 40 year olds). It is a fallacious argument thought up and regularly peddled by the JVP for over 50 years now. The same specious reasoning has been picked up by a few others, equally innocent of a general knowledge about how parliamentary democracy has malfunctioned; particularly after the 1956 watershed, more due to other potent factors including the communalism of some minority politicians than to corruption, which itself remains rampant, at least partly, as a result of minority politicians having the upper hand in parliament due to the fact that MPs belonging to the two main national parties are divided on party lines.(However, Lalkantha, JVP’s politburo member and well known trade union leader, publicly admitted the hollowness of the aforementioned fossilized line of thought recently; he also advocated a halt to Mahinda bashing. Whether his opinion is shared by the rest of the JVP hierarchy is yet to be seen.)

All genuine attempts, made by consecutive governments for the restoration of full national independence in terms of governance, economic development, cultural resurgence, education through the medium of native languages, and so on, with a view to creating a truly egalitarian society where all communities are treated without discrimination of any form, have always met with limited success due to the few powerful communalists among minority politicians, failing to cooperate with the non-communalist majority politicians; often they have exploited the competition between the two main national parties, the UNP and the SLFP, to dictate policies in the parochial communalistic, rather than, the national interest. The virulence of minoritarianism in parliament is such that, assisted by other factors, it has indirectly reduced the SLFP to a mere wraithlike rump already, and it is leading the UNP (the current governing party) around by the nose. This reflects the parlous state of parliamentary democracy in Sri Lanka today, which has left the vast non-communalist minded ordinary citizens that form at least 95% of the population, virtually silenced and leaderless. The few communalists there are ruling the roost.

It is up to the two main parties to put an end to this anomaly immediately and to reverse the catastrophic course that Sri Lanka is being forced to take. Of these the almost dead SLFP (hence described as ‘wraithlike’ above) seems to have no future unless integrated with the newly formed SLPP; which now represents the ‘left of centre’ alternative to the ‘rightist’ UNP in the roughly two-party system that has evolved since independence. The fact that there are no significant differences between their respective political ideologies, except for the UNP’s westward leaning neoliberal economic policies and the SLFP’s (or its reincarnation the SLPP’s) relatively independent, urban rural balanced, development oriented, economic structure and its nationalist stance in domestic politics and diplomatic relations with other countries, is a factor that is conducive for democracy. At this critical hour, considering the ground realities, the SLPP, but not the UNP, is most likely to produce the national leader that the country needs.

Sri Lankans are not so mad as to want to undergo the Yahapalana experience a second time. The election bid of every possible UNP candidate will be inevitably undermined by the stigma of their association with the destructive Yahapalanaya. Premadasa, or any other UNP candidate, will not be a formidable challenge to the SLPP nominee. Pre-2015 Secretary of Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa was officially announced as the SLPP’s presidential candidate at its first national convention held at the Sugathadasa indoor stadium in Colombo on August 11, 2019. The announcement was enthusiastically celebrated across the country, setting off crackers.

Meanwhile, it is a fact that the UNP sorely needs at least a leader, like the late Premadasa, for its survival, but Sajith is not capable of filling that vacancy; primarily because he lacks even the leadership qualities that his father possessed. I say this because, instead of trying to appeal to the people as a capable leader of the same mould as his father, he tries to impress them, mistaking them for a captive electorate mesmerised by the personal charisma that he imagines he has, by his haughtiness of manner, lack of empathy with others, and his apparent superiority complex. Sajith’s public persona, since the death of his father, has betrayed these personality deficits. Such a person is not fit to lead a political party, much less the country. Four and a half years of Yahapalanaya must have knocked some sense into the heads of the people who voted it into power in 2015.

However, I for one, think that Sajith P need not depend on his father’s name or fame alone to play the role that he is destined to play, as it were, but he’d better not dream of becoming president overnight. There is something more important for him to do before that as suggested at the beginning. It is up to him to correctly assess his importance or rather his current unimportance actually, to begin with; then, he needs to understand what that role is, and play it to the best of his ability, for his own good, and his party’s, and most importantly, for the good of the country in the long run. The historic role that I am suggesting for Sajith is to do with the preservation of the UNP as one of the two main parties in a successful two-party system (the other being the newly formed SLPP in place of the virtually obsolete SLFP), where bipartisan compromise, necessitated by national interest, obviates too much government dependence on communalist minority parties for the purpose of forming a stable government (The ground reality is that these communalist parties do not represent the vast majority of the ordinary members of the Tamil and Muslim minority communities, who are now with the Sinhalese majority). He must bide his time until he is able to claw his way up to the top of the party, and mark time until the SLPP restores the country to normality over the next few years. All peaceful patriotic Sri Lankans are patiently waiting for a democratic reversal of the catastrophic results of the foreign engineered regime change conspiracy of 2015. As for the SLPP, it should not take at face value any of the former Yahapalana worthies or their allies who now want to make common cause with them.

Courtesy Adaderana

A search operation conducted by the Terrorist Investigation Division in the locality of Karandiya in Palai of Jaffna has led to the discovery of a concealed stash of explosives, firearms as well as various other weapons.

The operation was launched after information was obtained from the recently arrested Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) of the Palai Hospital, who is suspected of having terror links.

On the 18th of August, the JMO of Palai Hospital, Sinnayya Sivaruban, was arrested by the Army and handed over to the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID).

He was then detained by the Jaffna terrorist investigation unit for questioning.

Police media spokesperson said that during the interrogations, Sivaruban had revealed information on a concealed stash of weapons after which the search operation was launched.

The seize items included AK-47 firearm, two magazines, 11 hand grenades, 10kg of substance suspected to be explosives, 120 rounds of ammunition, a telephone and a multitude of other equipment.

Police media spokesperson said that a police team of the TID led by an ASP in the locality has been assigned to conduct further investigations on the incident.