By Dr. Tilak S. Fernando Courtesy Ceylon Today

Sri Lankans born after 1948 must be the most unfortunate folk living on this planet, despite many narrations indicating, according to Buddhist belief that, Sri Lanka is a blessed country and several Gods have sanctified this nation”. Could it be the reason why this Island was once known as the Dharma Deepa?

When the Portuguese arrived in Ceylon in 1505, they introduced beef eating to the natives which then became a common habit, even among Buddhists, mostly influenced by Christians and later backed by the Colonial rulers. Anagarika Dharmapala, as a defender of the Buddhist faith, cautioned  people by going from place to place and displaying a prominent  banner,  Gavamas nokan (don’t eat beef), when consumption of beef had become a habit,  because a pound of beef at that time was thirty cents.  

(Aryadasa) Ratnasinghe- 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd).

Harmony

During the colonial regime (prior to 1948), there were campaigns calling upon the public not to eat beef. It is often said that our forefathers lived in complete harmony and being kind to each other. During foreign reign and even during Colonial rule what was remarkable, as we read in history books today, is how even Indian kings who ruled this nation and later the British rulers respected Sinhala culture and showed reverence to Buddhism. The British specifically had refrained from consuming beef at public ceremonies as a mark of respect to Buddhism as well as to the pious people of the land. It was a time when the late Singaporean Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, after visiting Ceylon, commented how he wished to emulate the Ceylon module to Transform Singapore into self-sufficient standards, akin to  Ceylon!”

Complete

But today, can we say the same? Perhaps it would be complete harmony to quote what he later uttered:   There were two options for me, either I got corrupted and place my family in the Forbes List of the richest people in the world, or leave my people (for which I was elected the Prime Minister) among the countries listed in the list of the best ten economies in the world! I hasten to say that I chose the second option.”

If the same questions were to be posed to our current crop of politicians in Sri Lanka, probably they would come with: ‘There were two options for us too, but the second option was already taken by the Singapore Prime Minister, so we had no other alternative but to seek the first option!”   Lee Kuan Yew was Singapore’s first Prime Minister and architect of the tiny city that he converted into a global trade and financial centre.

This obviously summarises the citation that, Sri Lankans must be the most unfortunate folk living on this planet”, because from the time the British left good old Ceylon, after handing over the responsibilities of running the country’s affairs to locals, Lord Solebury, who headed the Soulbery Commission, had this to say:  Sri ‘Lankans are not ready to govern their country.”

Sri Lanka was known as Dharma Deepa once, but it has turned 360 Degrees today to be explicitly called as ‘Adarma Deepa’ (a perfidious nation), because of rampant corruption that takes place from top to bottom in society.

Politics has transformed into a modern industry and parliamentarians and administrators equally, who are being elected and selected to serve the nation, have become corrupt and corrugated to the level of stinking to high heaven.
After achieving independence from the British, a few of Sri Lanka’s elite, who appeared in tail coats and top hats, began to emulate the British, rather than adopting a suitable policy that suited the local culture  that  any future Government could work on the basis of a structured policy.

Divide and Rule concept

By imitating and adapting British policies and behaviour, the new batch of politicians in Ceylon, automatically became accustomed to the British style of ‘divide and rule’ that gave rise to the formation of different political parties, under diverse hues, marking a division in society. Naive persons began to split into such groups, for their personal gains, akin to chewing gum adherence, with emotional affirmations such as ‘Kapuwath Api’ UNP, SLFP or Communist and LSSP supporters!

This trend transformed into a contagious state when the head of the family supported any particular Party, the rest of the family too blindly followed suit.
Society automatically became segregated due to various boons offered to the people such as giving employment opportunities to party members, while ignoring the other members of society; similarly, entrepreneurs contributed to both parties – the ruling as well as the opposition – playing it safe.

Exposure

This trend continued for 71 long years, until the public began to recognise politicians’ nudity in many a form, including politicians of the ruling and ruled parties and how they have allowed the country to go downhill economically, industrially, scholastically, educationally and scientifically, leaving the poor villages and villagers to suffer immensely. What the politicians should have done all these years are now being done  by various TV companies as humanitarian campaigns.

Sad situation

It is such a, therefore, the word ‘politics’ today has turned into a ‘play game’ where  some of the prominent members of the Government display egocentric tendencies rather than serving the people who have elected them to serve the country. Sri Lanka is on record as the only country where a politician, after ‘hanging on to his parliamentary seat’ for five years, qualifies for a pension for life whereas the hard-working people have to sweat for 30 to 40 years to qualify for such a privilege and at the end of the day they are shocked to find that their EPF money too had been expended on the Government on massive frauds such as the scandalous Central Bank scam!

Despite all the perks by politicians and qualifying themselves for a special allowance to attend parliamentary sessions, most of the time Parliament has had to abandon its sittings due to the absence of a quorum! Even if they were to be present, some Ministers, akin to kindergarten children, are seen coming out with flippant answers to questions raised by members of the Opposition to purposely transform the August assembly into a clowning gallery; some keep on nodding and were seen falling asleep in their comfortable chairs as if they hadn’t had a wink of sleep the night before! What a comedy!

It may be God’s grace that people in this country have awoken to find what a mockery politicians are upto at last and the word ‘politician’ has become the most despicable word spoken, as they have been manipulating the masses with all kinds of bull during election time in order to come to power and once elected are hell bent on seeking luxuries in life such as getting tax free car permits, duty free petrol and all kinds of allowances. Sri Lanka has to be the only country on this planet where an ordinary citizen has to pay millions just to buy a family car!  
Today this Island, has become a ‘debt-den’ according to political connoisseurs, who state that even our future generations will have to pay millions in the form of taxes! Politicians and rulers have had their heyday for 71 long years, taking the ordinary folks, who they consider to be naïve, stupid and mere idiots, for a ride, but the upcoming elections, which are around the corner, could see the suffering masses give a positive verdict, to send the so-called ‘old age pensioners’ home and bring new blood into Parliament as they offer a fresh start and will serve as patriots.

Inferiority complex

The major drawback for the past 71 years has been the citizenry’s inferiority complex that was carried forward from the Colonial time by calling the very representatives they elect to serve them ‘honourable members’ and worshiping them by bending into two when approaching them as if they are descended Gods, but what people forget is the fact that MPs have been appointed by the people to serve people and they are ‘technically servants’ of the people.

The  mentality of Sri Lankans was (and  still is) that they  seem to consider themselves inferior due to their mediocracy, because unlike any other developed country Sri Lankan mentality has been to look down upon the job one does for a living, due to the division of labour introduced by the Chinese from time immemorial. So, they automatically seem to think they are ‘inferior,’ without understanding the fact that there is no difference in any job one does except the variation of the responsibility one carries!  After all, human rights are given a prominent place in the world, and there are international institutions to deal with human rights violations. Therefore, it is high time that every Sri Lankan begins to think in terms of a human being who has an equal right in society and not to be discarded as a mass of human flesh!

Think sensibly

The time has come for every citizen to think sensibly as the elections are around the corner to identify and elect those who are educated, selfless, and compassionate and only those who feel the pulse of the people and not to send businessmen, thugs or rapists to Parliament.

tilakfernando@gmail.com

Courtesy Adaderana

Leader of Opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa has promised that he would not allow any injustice to be inflicted on the parliamentarians of Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).

He stated this during a meeting held with a group of SLFP members today (09).

A group of SLFP local government representatives for Kandy met the Opposition Leader at his official residence.

Meanwhile, another group of SLFP members representing the Batticaloa district also held discussions with the Opposition Leader.

Courtesy Adaderana

The Supreme Court today (09) dismissed three petitions filed in favour of the Private Member’s Bill submitted in Parliament seeking to abolish the death penalty.

The dismissal order was delivered by a three-judge bench consisting of Supreme Court Justices L.T.B. Dehideniya, Murdu Fernando and Gamini Amarasekara.

The petitions were filed by Prof. C. Gunaratne from Nugegoda and two other parties citing the Attorney General as the respondent.

When the petitions were taken up before the Supreme Court, State Counsel appearing on behalf of the Attorney General told the judge bench that the Parliament has already sought the Attorney General’s advice on the Bill in question.

The State Counsel further stated that the judiciary has no jurisdiction to conduct a hearing on this parliamentary proceeding.

Considering the submissions, the Supreme Court judge bench ordered to dismiss the three petitions.

The petitioners claim that Parliamentarian Bandula Lal Bandarigoda had recently included a proposal for the abolition of the death penalty to the Parliament’s agenda.

They have pointed out that any of the provisions of this proposal do not violate the Constitution.

The petitioners hence request the Supreme Court to deliver an order stating that this proposal can be passed with a simple majority in the Parliament.

Courtesy Adaderana

UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa says that the United National Party (UNP) should form an alliance only after naming its Presidential Candidate. 

Issuing a statement, the Minister of Housing, Construction and Cultural Affairs stated that certain newspapers had reported today that both he and the Prime Minister had agreed that a UNP-led Democratic National Front (DNF) alliance should be formed as immediately as possible.

Premadasa said that he 100,000%” agrees with the forming of such an alliance. 

However, it should be done according to the stance of the majority of the UNP parliamentarians as well as the major parties who have expressed willingness to join the alliance, after naming the Presidential Candidate,” he said.

The minister said that his personal opinion is also the same. He said that doing so would not only help create the proposed alliance, but it would also no doubt lead to numerous other parties and individuals joining together to turn it into a victorious alliance.

Premadasa said what should happen today is not the spreading of false news through the media, but the naming of the presidential candidate and then the designing of an agreement for the new alliance.

By ASOKA BANDARAGE Courtesy  Asia Times

The Indian Ocean is one of the most contested regions in the world today. China, the US and India, and also Japan, Saudi Arabia and other rich and powerful states, are struggling for influence over Sri Lanka, which is in the geographic heart of the Indian Ocean. The sea lanes of the Indian Ocean are considered to be the busiest in the world, with more than 80% of global seaborne oil trade estimated to be passing through them.

Sri Lanka is a participant in the Maritime Belt and Silk Road Initiative, China’s extensive network of ports and maritime facilities connecting the Pacific and Indian Oceans. In a controversial move in January 2017, the Sri Lankan government granted China a 99-year lease of Hambantota Port in exchange for US$1.1 billion in debt relief. China is also developing other projects in Sri Lanka, such as the $1.4 billion Port City” in Colombo on land reclaimed from the Indian Ocean.

To curtail Chinese expansion across Asia, the US is turning strategically located Sri Lanka into a military logistics hub” and the center of its Free and Open Indo-Pacific Region Policy.” Moreover, the US-Japan-Australia-India alliance is seeking to involve Sri Lanka in taking on the Chinese challenge.

Control of Sri Lanka has become more urgent for the US since the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in February that US occupation of the Indian Ocean Chagos Islands is illegal and the islands be handed back to Mauritius as rapidly as possible.” The Diego Garcia military base was established after Britain, which owns” Chagos, forcibly removed its inhabitants between 1968 and 1973. Diego Garcia is one of America’s most important and secretive military bases. It has been central in launching invasions in Iraq and Afghanistan and flying missions across Asia, including over the South China Sea. If the islands go back to Mauritius and the Chagossians who sued for their right to return are allowed back, then the US will require an alternative base. That could be Sri Lanka.

In January 2015, a US-backed Sri Lankan government replaced the former Mahinda Rajapaksa government that defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Soon thereafter, the new government and the United States co-sponsored a United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution in Geneva. Calling for accountability for alleged war crimes and missing persons in the final stage of the war against the LTTE, the UNHRC Resolution pressured the Sri Lankan government to make significant changes, including the dismissal and imprisonment of its intelligence officers and army personnel. These measures weakened Sri Lankan intelligence and security, paving the way to the Easter Sunday carnage by Islamist terrorists.

The Easter attacks are now being used to justify the acceleration of US intervention in Sri Lanka, which had already been increasing over the last few years. However, the three main bilateral agreements the US has deployed to assert its political, economic and military control over Sri Lanka – MCC, ACSA and SOFA – are facing massive local opposition.

Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a foreign-aid agency established by the US Congress, is ready to sign a compact” with Sri Lanka to facilitate private-sector investment and economic growth. Based on a Constraints  Analysis” completed by the Center for International Development at Harvard University, the compact identifies three constraints to growth in Sri Lanka: policy uncertainty, poor transportation and logistics, and inadequate access to land, especially the difficulty of the private sector in accessing state land for commercial purposes.”

The MCC Compact would undertake transportation and land management in return for a grant of $480 million to Sri Lanka. The Transport Project will include advanced traffic management, bus transportation modernization and a central ring-road network connecting the Central, Sabaragamuwa and Eastern Provinces to the Western Province. The Land Project would include a state land inventory, deeds registration improvement, land valuation improvement, land grants registration and deed conversion, and land policy and legal governance.

Two new laws, the State Land Bank Bill and a Land (Special Provisions) Bill, are to be enacted in conjunction with the MCC Compact. The proposed Land Bank would bring all publicly owned land under a single entity, making it available to private investors including foreign parties. The proposed Land (Special Provisions) Bill would grant absolute title to state lands held by citizens holding land grants, with validity for seven years.

Proponents claim that the distribution of a million deeds granting outright ownership is a poverty-alleviation measure. However, critics such as MONLAR (Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform) see a setup for a massive land grab, displacement and pauperization: … large multinational companies have made small-time farmers bankrupt and are buying off their agricultural land…. By giving desperate people an asset that they can sell, the government has ensured that these lands will be sold off.”

The Foreign Ministry is attempting to hand over the task of drawing land survey maps and creating a streamlined database of 3.6 million parcels of state-owned land  to Trimble Inc, a US-based geological information system and mapping firm, for 15 years. Survey Department trade unions have gone on strike opposing this move, which local surveyors see as a threat to their employment and national security and a wasteful expenditure.

Neither the MCC Agreement nor the new Sri Lanka Physical Plan (2018-2050) associated with the compact have yet been made public. The State Land (Special Provisions) Bill too has not been submitted to cabinet approval because of its alleged connection to the MCC. This lack of transparency has raised grave concerns among the public and the Sri Lankan diaspora regarding US control over vital resources of land and transportation and its impact on the local economy, the environment, and social and cultural norms.

A projected Physical Spatial Structure Map for 2050, details of which have been leaked to the public, has sparked fears that the economic corridor” proposed by the compact for the Trincomalee-Colombo highway could splinter Sri Lanka into two separate entities under the control of the United States, resulting in the loss of sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity.

The US-backed Sri Lankan prime minister, Ranil Wickramasinghe, has reportedly signed the MCC Agreement, but President Maithripala Sirisena has refused to do so. The US ambassador in Sri Lanka, Alaina Teplitz, has written to the president urging him to sign. The US seems to be in a hurry to seal the deal before a new government that is less friendly toward Washington comes into office by 2020.

Meanwhile, local activist groups such as the National Joint Committee and Sri Lankan diaspora activist groups such as SPUR (Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights for Sri Lanka) Australia are demanding that the government immediately reveal the contents of the agreement without any redactions to the general public. They are encouraged by the decision made by the Sri Lankan Supreme Court on the State Lands (Special Provisions) Bill in last month referring the act to the provincial councils, as it would impact passage of land provisions envisaged in the MCC Compact. As the coalition of expatriate groups Sri Lankans in USA/Amerikawe Api put it:

We welcome the Supreme Court decision, as it will put a hold on the land project of the Millennium contract.… The American public is not even aware of how our government is using our tax dollars to benefit large corporations under the guise of foreign aid to developing countries. We would like to see the entire compact terminated… We are calling for full transparency and debate, both in Sri Lanka and here in the US, about the impact of MCC as well as SOFA and ACSA.”

Acquisition and Cross Services Agreement

The previous Sri Lankan government signed an Acquisition and Cross Services Agreement (ACSA) with the United States, without parliamentary approval, during its armed conflict with the LTTE. The US Defense Department and the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defense entered another ACSA on August 4, 2017. While the 2007 ACSA was valid only for seven years, the new agreement is open-ended. While the 2007 ACSA permitted US military vessels to enter Sri Lanka ports on a one-off’ basis, the 2017 ACSA again appears to be open-ended. Whereas the 2007 ACSA was only eight pages, the 2017 ACSA is said to be 83 pages long with more than 50 annexes listing US commands and military establishments allowed to use Sri Lanka’s airports and seaports.

The 2017 agreement is designed to facilitate reciprocal logistic support between the US and Sri Lanka for use during combined exercises, training, deployments, port calls, operations, or other cooperative efforts, or for unforeseen circumstances or exigencies in which one of the parties may have a need for logistic support, supplies and services.” Reportedly, it allows every security or military apparatus in the US access to Sri Lanka, making the country the main supply hub for US armed forces in the Indo-Pacific region. Analysts argue that if it is fully implemented, it will effectively undermine the Chinese share of geopolitical control in Sri Lanka, by way of military presence in the country.”

The Sri Lankan cabinet approved ACSA 2017 hastily without careful examination or discussion under pressure from US-backed Sri Lankan officials. ACSA was approved without thorough study by armed forces commanders and officials who have serious reservations over some of its provisions. ACSA was not presented to Parliament. President Sirisena’s cabinet memorandum of June 30, 2017, in Sinhala had only a brief nine pages and no annexes. The president is now opposed to the ACSA and claims that he did not know the difference between new” and old” ACSA agreements at the time of signing.

The signing of ACSA was shrouded in secrecy without media coverage or publicity, reportedly as directed by Atul Keshap, US ambassador in Sri Lanka at the time. The renewed ACSA has not been made public despite requests for transparency by opposition political parties, the president of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), and others. The joint opposition in Parliament, the JVP (Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna) and Yuthukama civil-society organization, strongly protested against the signing of the ACSA.”

Status of Forces Agreement

The Sri Lankan government signed a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the United States in 1995 during the armed conflict to facilitate training of Sri Lankan security forces by US officials. The United States has requested that the Sri Lankan government accept a new SOFA expanding the 1995 SOFA by including an Annex B. Unlike the already signed ACSA, the new SOFA will not be limited to purchase of goods and services and will include rules governing US military personnel in Sri Lanka.

The Sunday Times published the draft SOFA on June 30, revealing that it would provide full diplomatic immunity not only to any member of the US armed forces, but also to contractors and employees of US armed forces operating in Sri Lanka. US army personnel could be present in any part of Sri Lanka without any restrictions and carry arms in uniform. They could enter and leave Sri Lanka with US identification, in other words, without passports or visas.

US army personnel could be present in any part of Sri Lanka without any restrictions and carry arms in uniform. They would be above Sri Lankan law and not be liable for criminal offenses in Sri Lanka

They would be above Sri Lankan law and not be liable for criminal offenses in Sri Lanka. They would be exempted from all taxes and checking at ports of entry and exit to the island. The US Department of Defense may not be subject to any local taxes for any material, supplies, equipment and services (including construction) they contract in Sri Lanka. The US Department of Defense would also be allowed to operate its own telecommunication systems in Sri Lanka without cost to the US government.

The draft SOFA sent on August 28, 2018, by the US Embassy to the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry stated that acceptance of the draft ”shall constitute an agreement between the two governments, which shall enter into force on the date of [the] ministry’s reply.” This meant that once the secretary of the Ministry of Foreign affairs of Sri Lanka says Yes,” the agreement is effective. The US Embassy has said that once the Sri Lankan government agrees, it has to stick by it. In other words, there would be no room for the SOFA to be discussed by Sri Lanka’s defense officials or debated in the Sri Lankan Parliament.

The SOFA has been temporarily stayed by the Sri Lankan president. With ACSA already signed and SOFA pending, US security companies, notably Sallyport, are already running ads to recruit US citizens with active top secret clearance” to work for US defense operations in Sri Lanka.

Outrage over the blatant violation of Sri Lanka’s independence and sovereignty and opposition to the SOFA as well as the ACSA and MCC Compact are mounting across different strata and sectors of Sri Lanka society. The chief of defense staff, the Chamber of Commerce, and the president of the BASL have warned of the dangers SOFA poses to national interests. The political party Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna and the newly formed STOP USA Campaign are organizing media briefings and mass rallies calling for transparency and accountability in making international agreements.

In response to the rising opposition, the US has rebranded” SOFA as a Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). Engaged in a social-media campaign to protect the agreements, Ambassador Teplitz has stated that the US has no intention to build a military base or establish a permanent military presence in Sri Lanka.” However, as Sri Lankan President’s Counsel M M Zuhair warns, With SOFA in hand, the Americans do not require a military ‘base’ in Sri Lanka … because the whole island will be a US-controlled super-state operating above the Sri Lankan laws….”

Way forward

While the US expects future Sri Lankan governments to respect international obligations taken on by the current US-backed government, the very legitimacy of the MCC Compact, ACSA and SOFA is widely being questioned in Sri Lanka. As eminent analyst Neville Ladduwahetty argues the Supreme Court must rule on procedures to be followed when agreeing to bilateral treaties determining if the procedures adopted are consistent or not with the hard core principles of the constitution” regardless of the contents or with whom the agreements are made. Laduwahetty clearly states that all agreements must have the consent of the Parliament: Any agreement/treaty signed in the name of the people by the executive, ie the president or the cabinet, without the consent of Parliament amounts to a violation of the sovereignty of the people.… Such agreements/treaties have no legitimacy vis-a-vis international law as determined by the Vienna Convention on Law of Treaties of 1969…..”

Notwithstanding the violation of people’s rights and illegitimacy of the proposed amendments, Sri Lankans recognize the importance of maintaining good relationships with the US, China, India and other countries. However, they do not wish to sacrifice the principles of sovereignty, democracy and the rule of law in doing so. In light of the dangers posed by the agreements with the United States, there are calls to reassert the policy of non-alignment that the small nation of Sri Lanka so valiantly championed during the Cold War. The National Joint Committee expresses this call in a letter it has written to the Sri Lankan prime minister regarding the MCC Agreement:

[We are] committed to protect and preserve the unity and territorial integrity of our nation. We believe that Sri Lanka should follow a foreign policy of non-alignment. Due to the fact that Sri Lanka is strategically located in the Indian Ocean, the country needs to remain non-aligned and refrain from getting involved in the geopolitical confrontation that is developing between America and China, through agreements that would enable these countries to gain a foothold in Sri Lanka.”

External aggression and resistance have been Sri Lanka’s historical trajectory. Transcending ethno-religious divide and conquer” policies promoted by external interests, we Sri Lankans have to come together at this critical juncture to protect our precious, beautiful island home.

Courtesy London South East

COLOMBO, Aug 8 (Reuters) – Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a key politician in Sri Lanka’s civil war, has renounced U.S. citizenship, paving the way for him to make a bid on his country’s presidency.

Sri Lanka does not allow dual citizenship and foreign nationals cannot contest elections.

Gotabaya, a defence chief during the civil war that ended in 2009 and the younger brother of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, announced late April that he would run in the presidential election due later this year.

He is very popular among Sri Lanka’s politically powerful Sinhala Buddhist majority, which accounts for 70 percent of the country’s 21 million population.

“I can say Gotabaya Rajapaksa has renounced his U.S. citizenship,” Basil Rajapaksa, former economy minister and Gotabaya’s brother, told a news conference on Thursday.

Gotabaya, along with his then-president brother Mahinda, is credited with having crushed the Tamil Tiger insurgent group in 2009 but he has also been accused of human rights violations, especially in the closing stages of the 26-year war.

He is facing war-related lawsuits in the United States and the claims had earlier been expected to delay the process of him dropping U.S. citizenship.

Gotabaya has rejected the allegations of human rights abuse.

Basil Rajapaksa’s party, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, is widely expected to nominate Gotabaya as its candidate for the presidential election on August 11.

Mahinda Rajapaksa, the current opposition leader, will be named as party chief the same day, Basil said. (Reporting by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Sankalp Phartiyal and Stephen Powell)

By Sumanasiri Liyanage Courtesy Ceylon Today

I borrow the title of Servaas Storm’s article that appeared in the ‘Institute of New Economic Thinking’ with slight changes for this week’s column. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is well-known for his statements, some of which are of special kind, on the economy. He might have made more than 10 in the last four and a half years. If someone reads his statements since 2015, she/he would find that they are logically consistent as the PM follows very closely the arguments of neo-liberal economists of international financial organisations. 

Neo-liberalism that has been practised by the two main parties in power has been transformed into a kind of fundamentalism under Ranil Wickremesinghe’s regime. Recently he has informed that his Government if reelected for another five years will build an economy that could fully pay off the loans it takes. 

He might have meant both the domestic and the foreign borrowings of the Government. This differs totally and qualitatively from the economic strategy that is aimed at creating an economy in which dependence on borrowing does not arise. Simultaneously, his Government has also announced that the rate of interest would be further reduced before the end of this month. It is a well-known fact that the increase in interest rate under the early part of his regime can be partially attributed to the Central Bank Bond Scam of which perpetrators are also well-known. This week’s column intends to discuss how an easy money policy be linked to build an economy that could fully pay off the loans it is supposed to take.”

Going back to the easy money policy at this moment may be attributed to three reasons. Let me list them first. As Michael Roberts in his Blog noted Interest rates globally hit a new low with negative rates (i.e. interest rates less than zero – so you get paid to borrow!), at their highest share of world Bonds ever.

 In Germany and Switzerland, Government Bond yields are negative.” So following this development initiated by the cuts of interest rate by the Federal Reserve System in the US, the economic advisers of the PM might have proposed to follow suit. FRS slashed its rate by 0.25 per cent last week. Secondly, the proposed reduction of interest rate may be a response to the forthcoming election. Interest cost is a significant portion of consumption and investment expenditure so that the Government that badly needs to come to power once again may see that the reduction of interest cost would be a plus factor. Third reason stems directly from the second. Neo-classical economic theory posits that the reduction of interest rate will have positive impact on investment as it tends to increase profitability.

Rate of Interest and Rate of Investment

We have witnessed this same policy of slashing interest rate and maintaining negative interest rate at least for some sectors of the economy was adopted in the last phase of Mahinda Rajapaksa regime. The policy makers lamented that in spite of the fact that the real interest rate (nominal interest rate – rate of inflation) was negative or closer to zero, there was no increase in investment. 

That low interest rate would increase investment and boost economic growth is a neoclassical myth. Of course, the decline of the interest rate may reflect the competitive position of the manufacturing bourgeoise over the bourgeoisie in the financial sector. As Michael Roberts has informed us, But will cutting interest rates avoid a recession in the ‘real’ economy?  Everywhere the ‘hard data’ are showing a sharp slowdown in economic growth, a collapse of the world car industry, and outright slumps in many large so-called emerging economies. 

 Above all, there is a significant contraction in world trade as the trade and technology war instigated by the US against China hots up.”

In spite of the presence of these hard data, the Prime Minister and his economic pundits expect that artificial manoeuvring of the interest rate using the Central Bank would boost economic growth and contribute to create a so-called creditable economy. This is a myth. However, it does not mean that it would have some positive effects over the sectors that experienced a noticeable decline as a result of 21 April terrorist attacks.  

The Political
Economy of Money

I wish to quote extensively Michael Roberts’ excellent diagnosis of the capitalistic system with regard to the behaviour of money and the real economy. He writes: We all have read articles in the newspapers ‘explaining’ that the Central Bank ‘sets’ the rate of interest. Yet the Central Bank controls neither the quantity of metallic money, the quantity of real capital, nor the rate of profit. Therefore, the ability of the Central Banks to influence interest rates is far less than, what the ‘lay’ public – as many economists – believe it to be.

What today’s Central Banks really control is not the rate of interest but the quantity of token money, measured not in terms of real money – gold – but in terms of dollars, pounds, euros and so on. As the bourgeois media ‘explains,’ they can create ‘any amount of money they wish’ in terms of dollars, pounds, euros and so on. But what good does that do if this money loses its purchasing power even faster than it is printed?

True, the Central Banks generally raise the interest rate during economic booms. But this is exactly the natural tendency of interest rates during economic upswings. Therefore, when they raise interest rates during a boom, they are simply following the tendency of the market, not determining it.”

So what the Prime Minister is proposing is that in the near future there would be an increase in money supply, both token money and credit money. Hence, money supply would increase and as a result, the fiscal deficit will boost up exceeding the limits of Mangala Samaraweera’s Second Budget. None of these policies will resolve the generalised economic crisis or the social, political and cultural crises associated with it. Rather the crisis would aggravate hitting the lives of the people hard, especially of the lower rung of society.

(The writer is a retired teacher of Political Economy at the University of Peradeniya.)
E-mail: sumane_l@yahoo.com)

Courtesy Ceylon Today

The Commissioner General of Examinations recently announced the candidates not to sit for the G.C.E. Advanced Level Examination wearing hijab due to the situation which prevailed in the country recently.

Yet, as reported, some students in several schools of the Eastern Province, have been seen wearing hijab during the examination.

Accordingly, some have complained that the rules and regulation of the examination have been violated by the above mentioned students who were wearing the hijab during the time of examination.

As reported, exam frauds have been committed by some of these students who were wearing the hijab. 

 CT Web 01:42 PM Aug 08 2019  0   

W.K. Prasad Manju Courtesy Ceylon Today

Decisive discussions between President Maithripala Sirisena and Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa to form a broad alliance, between the SLFP and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, to contest the next Presidential Poll were successfully concluded, informed sources said yesterday (06). These talks were held following stalled discussions in the recent past.

Talks had ended on a cordial note and both leaders decided to inform colleagues to continue ongoing discussions between the two Parties before forming a strong and viable political alliance to contest the upcoming Polls. Sources said they decided to instruct the Parliamentarians of both Parties on how to conduct further talks and formulate a future alliance. Discussions had taken place from 9.30 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. on 05 August at the former’s Malalasekera Mawatha residence.

Courtesy The Island

August 7, 2019, 9:20 pm 

Avocados are rich in antioxidants which can help prevent fine lines and wrinkles.

There are many great benefits of avocado – one is that it’s rich in good fats that moisturise your hair. It’s also well absorbed by the hair shafts and scalp.

Bananas are another natural moisturiser. The vitamin A content in bananas helps to restore lost moisture and repair damaged, dull, and dry skin.

Yes, bananas are packed with potassium – great for improving the natural elasticity of your hair and preventing breakage.

Olive oil not only acts as a hydrator but as a shield to lock in any moisture that the hair already has.

Ingredients:

* Half of an Avocado

* Half of a very ripe banana

* One tablespoon olive oil

* 2-3 drops essential oil (optional)

Directions:

1. Peel banana and avocado and place in bowl

2. Add olive oil.

3. Add essential oil (if desired).

4. Mash ingredients and mix well. You can mash with a wooden spoon, potato masher, or food processor.

Application:

1. Drape a towel over chest to absorb excess drips.

2. Rub the avocado face mask all over your face, avoiding your eyes.

3. Allow mixture to sit on your face for 10-15 minutes.

4. Pat face clean with a damp towel.

5. Follow up with your favorite moisturizer.

By A. Abdul Aziz, Press Secretary, 

 The 53^rd Jalsa Salana (Annual Convention) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the United Kingdom concluded on Sunday 04 August 2019 with faith inspiring addresses of his five speeches. by the World Head the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the Fifth Khalifa (Caliph), His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad. 

The Convention began on Friday with the traditional Friday Sermon and the first session started with raising of the black and white flag of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community alongside the Union Flag. On Saturday (the second day of the event), the Caliph conducted proceedings from the ladies marquee where 15,000 Muslim women witnessed.  His Holiness awarded prizes to women for academic achievements and delivered a speech highlighting the solution for peaceful married life based on the rights and empowerment Islam affords them.

More than 39,000 people from number of countries attended this three day Convention ( Jalsa Salana), which took place at Hadeeqatul Mahdi in Alton, Hampshire.

 Apart from the thousands of Ahmadi Muslims who participated, many non-Ahmadi and non-Muslim guests also attended.  The entire event was also broadcast live on MTA International and streamed online.

 One of the highlights of the three-day Convention was the pledge of allegiance, known as Bai’at that took place on Sunday afternoon, {last day of the event} where the participants pledged allegiance to Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad as the Fifth Khalifa (Caliph) of the Promised Messiah – Hazrat Mirza Ghlam Ahmad(peace be upon him).

 The participants formed a human chain leading to the Khalifa as they repeated the words of the pledge in unison.

 Prior to the ceremony, His Holiness announced that 668520 people had joined the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community during the past year representing 120 countries around the world. He also announced that the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was now established in 213 countries. The event concluded with silent prayer led by His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad.

සමෘද්ධි සංවර්ධන නිළධාරීන්ගේ සංගමය

ජනමාධ්‍ය නිවේදනයයි
ලේකම්,
ප‍්‍රාථමික කර්මාන්ත සහ සමාජ සවිබල ගැන්වීමේ අමාත්‍යාංශය.
සෙත්සිරිපාය,
බත්තරමුල්ල.

බඳවා ගැනීමේ පටිපටිය උල්ලංඝණය කරමින්, ජාතික සේවක සංගමයට සාමාජිකයින් බදවා දුන් සමෘද්ධි සංවර්ධන නිලධාරීන් හට පමණක් වැඩබැලීමේ සමෘද්ධි කළමණාකරු පත්වීම ලබා දීම වහා අත්හිටවන ලෙස ඉල්ලා සිටීම.

සමෘද්ධි සංවර්ධන දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව වෙත රාජ්‍ය සේවා කොමිෂන් සභාව විසින් අනුමත කර එවන ලද සමෘද්ධි සංවර්ධන නිලධාරීන් බඳවා ගැනීමේ හා උසස් කිරීමේ පටිපාටිය සම්බන්ව ඔබගේ විශේෂ අවධානය මෙයින් යොමු කරවමු.

02. උපාධිය සම්පුර්ණ කරන ලද සමෘද්ධි සංවර්ධන නිලධාරීන් 146 ආසන්න පිරිසක් දිවයිනේ සෑම දිස්ත‍්‍රික්කයකම සමෘද්ධි සංවර්ධන නිලධාරී තනතුරෙහි දැනට සේවයේ නියුතුව ඇත.
 
03. විධිමත් උසස්වීමේ පටිපාටියක් අනුමත වී තිබියදීත් උපාධිය සම්පුර්ණ කරන ලද ඉහත සමෘද්ධි සංවර්ධන නිලධාරීන් ඇතුළු සියළු සමෘද්ධි සංවර්ධන නිළධාරීන් වෙත ආසන්න උසස්වීමේ අවස්ථාවක් සමෘද්ධි අධිකාරිය ස්ථාපිත කරන ලද 1995 සිට මේ වන තෙක් සිදු කර නොමැති අතර මෙයින් සියළු සමෘද්ධි සං.නිළධාරීන් දැඩි අසාධාරණයට ලක්ව ඇති බව කණාගාටුවෙන් වුවද අප මෙයින් දැනුම් දෙමු.

04. එසේ තිබියදී සමෘද්ධි සංවර්ධන දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජනරාල්ගේ අභිමතය පරිදි අනුමත බඳවා ගැනීමේ හා උසස් කිරීමේ පටිපාටිය මුළුමනින්ම උල්ලංඝණය කරමින් උපාධිය සම්පුර්ණ කරන ලද සමෘද්ධි සංවර්ධන නිලධාරීන් වෙත පමණක් සම්මුඛ පරීක්ෂණයක් සිදු කර එයින් 45 දෙනෙකු වෙත පමණක් වැඩබලන සමෘද්ධි කළමණාකරු පත්වීම 2019.08.08 හෙට දින ලබා දීමට සැලසුම් කර ඇති බව අප වෙත තොරතුරු අනාවරණය වෙයි.

05. තවද වැඩබලන පත්වීමේ ලිපි ලබා ගැනීමට ප‍්‍රමුඛතාවය ලබා දීමට නම් ජාතික සේවක සංගමයට අනුයුක්ව සමෘද්ධි සංවර්ධන දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව තුල ස්ථාපිත වෘත්තීය සමිතිය වෙත උපාධිය සමත් එක්  නිලධාරියෙකු විසින් සාමාජිකයින් 20 දෙනෙකු බඳවා ගත යතු බවට ඉලක්කයක් වාචිකව ලබා දී ඇති අතර අදාල ඉලක්ක සම්පුර්ණ කරන ලද අයට පමණක් මෙම පත්වීම ලබා දීමට කටයුතු කරන බව සම්මුඛ පරීක්ෂණය වෙත පෙනී සිටි අය චෝදනා කරති.

06. මේ පිළිබඳව ඔබගේ විශේෂ අවධානය යොමු කර අනුමත බඳවා ගැනීමේ හා උසස් කිරීමේ පටිපාටිය මුළුමනින්ම උල්ලංඝණය කරමින් දේශපාලන උවමනාව මත සිදු කරන මෙම පත්කිරීම වහා අවලංගු කර විධිමත් ක‍්‍රියාපටිපාටියකට අනුව සියළු සමෘද්ධි සංවර්ධන නිළධාරීන් වෙත උසස්වීමේ ක‍්‍රමවේදයක් කඩිනමින් ක‍්‍රියාත්මක කර උසස්වීම ලබා දෙන ලෙසට අප සංගමය මෙයින් ඉල්ලා සිටිමු.

ස්තූතියි.

මෙයට,
චාමර මද්දුම කළුගේ,
ප‍්‍රධාන ලේකම්.

පිටපත – 01. සභාපති, රාජ්‍යසේවා කොමිෂන් සභාව – අ.ක.ස

ජාතික වෘත්තීය සමිති මධ්‍යස්ථානය

ගරු අමාත්‍ය,
රාජ්‍ය පරිපාලන හා කළමනාකරණ අමාත්‍යංශය,
කොළඹ 7

ගරු අමාත්‍යතුමනි,

වැන්දඹු අනත්දරු, වැන්දඹු පුරුෂ අනත්දරු දායක මුදල් වාර්තා ඉල්ලමින් විශ‍්‍රාමිකයින් පීඩාවට පත් කිරීම

මේ වන විට විශ‍්‍රාම වැටුප් දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව විශ‍්‍රාම යන රාජ්‍ය සේවකයින්ගේ පත්වීම් දින සිට විශ‍්‍රාම යන දිනය තෙක් දායක මුදල් අය කළ බැව් සඳහන් වාර්තා ඉදිරිපත් කරන ලෙස විශ‍්‍රාමිකයින්ට දන්වමින් ඔවුන් පීඩාවට පත්කිරීම පිළිබඳව ඔබගේ දැඩි අවධානය යොමුකරවීමට කැමැත්තෙමු.

පිරිමි අයෙක් නම් රාජ්‍ය සේවයට බැඳුනු දා සිට ඔහුගේ වැටුපෙන් දායක මුදල් අය කිරීම අනිවාර්ය අතර, කාන්තාවක් නම් 1983.08.01 දිනෙන් පසුව බැඳුණු හැම අයෙකුගෙන්ම දායක මුදල් අය කිරීම අනිවාර්යවේ. ඊට පෙර බැඳුණු අය තමන් කැමැත්ත ප‍්‍රකාශ කර ඇත්නම් පමණක් අය කිරීම කළ යුතු අතර එය ආයතනික වැටුප් සකසන නිලධාරීන් සහ අදාල ගණකාධිකාරීන් විසින් සොයා බැලිය යුතු කටයුත්තක් බව අප පෙන්වා දෙමු.

රාජ්‍ය සේවකයින්ගෙන් බොහොමයක් දෙනා එකම සේවා ස්ථානයක පත්වීම් දින සිට විශ‍්‍රාම යනතෙක් සේවය නොකරන අතර ඔවුන්ට විවිධ රාජ්‍ය ආයතන තුළ හා රටේ විවිධ පළාත්වල තම සේවා කාලය තුළ රාජකාරි කටයුතුවල නියැලීමට සිදුවේ.

මෑතක සිට විශ‍්‍රාම යන සේවකයින්ගෙන් ඔවුන් පත්වීම් දින සිට විශ‍්‍රාම ගන්නා තෙක් අයකරන ලද දායක මුදල් වාර්තා ඉල්ලීම තුළ ඔවුන් ඉතාම පීඩාවට පත්ව ඇත. විවිධ පළාත්වල, විවිධ කාර්යාලවල සේවය කළ අයට එකී වාර්තා සෙවීම සඳහා විශ‍්‍රාම ගොස් රට වටේ යෑමට සිදුවීම කොතරම් බෙදජනක තත්ත්වයක් ද යන්න ඔබතුමන්ට වැටහෙනවා ඇත. එසේ රට වටේ ගිය ද සමහර කාර්යාල ඈවර කිරීමට ලක්ව හෝ වසා ඇති අතර වසර 30, 35 පමණ පරණ ලේඛන බොහෝ කාර්යාලවල නිසි සංරක්ෂණ වැඩපිළිවෙළක් නොමැති වීම නිසා විනාශ වී ඇත.

මෙම තත්ත්වය තුල අදාල වාර්තා ලබාගැනීම ඉතාම දුෂ්කර තත්වයක් නිසා දීර්ඝ කාලයක් රට වෙනුවෙන් සිය ශ‍්‍රමය වැගිරූ විශ‍්‍රාමික සේවකයා තම විශ‍්‍රාම වැටුප ලබාගැනීමට නොහැකිව මාස ගණන් කල්ගත කරන තත්වයට පත් කර ඇත. එසේ නොමැතිනම් විනාශ වූ ලේඛනවලට අදාල කාලයන් සඳහා දායක මුදල් සේවකයින්ට අතින් ගෙවීමට බල කෙරෙමින් ඇත.

මේ තත්ත්වය තුළ ආයතනවල නිලධාරීන්ද දැඩි පීඩාවට ලක්ව ඇත්තේ වසර 30, 35 වැනි පැරණි ලේඛන සෙවීමේදී ඇතිවන දුෂ්කරතාවය නිසාය.

මේ පිළිබඳ ඔබ තුමන්ගේ මැදිහත්වීම අපේක්ෂා කරන අතර, තවදුරටත් විශ‍්‍රාමිකයා රට වටේ යවමින් පීඩාවට පත් නොකර නිසි වේලාවට විශ‍්‍රාම වැටුප් ලබා ගැනීමට අවශ්‍ය ඉඩකඩ සලස්වා දෙන ලෙසත්, ආයතන තුළ නිලධාරීන්ද අපහසුතාවයට පත් නොකර නිසි ක‍්‍රමවේදයක් සැකසීමට කටයුතු කිරීමේ අවශ්‍යතාවය පෙන්වා දෙන අතර මේ පිළිබඳව සාකච්ඡා කර විසඳුමකට එලඹීම සඳහා කඩිනම් අවස්ථාවක් ලබාදෙන ලෙසද ඉතා ඕනෑකමින් යුතුව ඉල්ලා සිටිමු.

ස්තූතියි.

මෙයට,
කේ.ඞී. ලාල්කාන්ත
සභාපති

සේනක මහින්ද ජයසිංහ
ලේකම්

පිටපත් – ලේකම්, රාජ්‍ය පරිපාලන අමාත්‍යාංශය

ප‍්‍රධාන ලේකම්,  සමස්ත ලංකා ප‍්‍රවාහන සේවක සංගමය.

ගරු ප‍්‍රධාන අමාත්‍ය අර්ජුන,
ප‍්‍රවාහන හා සිවිල් ගුවන් සේවා අමාත්‍යාංශය,
07 වන මහල,
සෙත්සිරිපාය,
බත්තරමුල්ල.

ගරු ඇමතිතුමනි,

ශ‍්‍රී ලංගම සේවකයන්ට රුපියල් 2500/- ක දීමනාව නොගෙවීමටත් නිළධාරීන්ගේ වැටුප් සංශෝධනය නොකිරීමටත් එරෙහිව ගනු ලබන ක‍්‍රියාමාර්ගයන් දැනුම්දීම.

2019 අගෝස්තු මාසයේ වැටුපට ශ‍්‍රී ලංගම සේවකයන් හට රු 2500 යේ අන්තර් දීමනා මුදල ලබාදීමට සහ විධායක සහ විධායක නොවන නිළධාරීන්ගේ වැටුප් සංශෝධනය කිරීමට කඩිනමින් මැදිහත් වන ලෙෂ ඔබතුමාගෙන් ප‍්‍රථමයෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටිමු. රජයේ සේවකයන්ට 2019 අයවැය තුලින් ලබාදුන් රු 2500 ක දීමනා මුදල මෙතෙක් ශ‍්‍රී ලංගම සේවකයන්ට මෙතෙක් ලබා දී නැත. අප සංගමයෙන් දිගින් දිගටම ශ‍්‍රී ලංගම සේවකයන් හට එම මුදල ලබා දීමට මැදිහත්වන ලෙස ඔබතුමාගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටියද එම ඉල්ලීම ඉටු කිරීමට විධිමත් මැදිහත් වීමක් ඔබතුමා මෙතෙක් සිදුකර නැත.

මීට අමතරව 2018 අගෝස්තු 31 වන දින ප‍්‍රවාහන අමාත්‍යාංශය තුලදී සියලූම ශ‍්‍රි ලංගම වෘත්තීට සමිති වලට 2018 ඔක්තෝම්බර් පලවෙනි දින සිට ශ‍්‍රී ලංගම සියලූම සේවකයන්ගේ වැටුප් 2006 අංක 30 දරන කළමණාකාර සේවා චක‍්‍රලේඛනයට සහ 2016 අංක 02 දරන චක‍්‍රලේඛනයට අනුගතව සංශෝධන කරන බවට හිටපු ප‍්‍රවාහන අමාත්‍ය නිමල් සිරිපාල සිල්වා මහතා සහ හිටපු ශ‍්‍රි ලංගම සභාපති රමල් සිරිවර්ධන මහතා ඇතුළු ප‍්‍රවාහන බලධාරීන් ලිඛිතව පොරොන්දු විය. වර්ෂයකට ආසන්න කාලයක් ගතවී ඇති නමුත් ශ‍්‍රි ලංගම සේවය කරන විධායක නිලධාරින්ට සහ විධායක නොවන නිලධාරීන්ට මෙතෙක් එම වැටුප් සංශෝධනය ලබා දී නැත. මෙය ඔවුනට කරනු ලබන බලවත් අසාධාරණ ක‍්‍රියාවලියකි.

ඉහත ඉල්ලීම් ලබාදීමට මැදිහත් වන ලෙස අප සංගමය 2019.06.27 දින සහ 2019.07.17 යන දින සඳහන්ව ජනාධිපති තුමාගෙන් ඔබතුමාගෙන් හා කළමණාකරන දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ අධ්‍යක්‍ෂ ජෙනරාල්තුමාගෙන් ශ‍්‍රි ලංගම සභාපති තුමා ඇතුලූ සියලූම අදාල නිළධාරීන්ගෙන් ඉල්ලා ඇත. මීට අමතරව ජාතික වෘත්තීය සමිති මධ්‍යස්ථානයේ සභාපති ලාල් කාන්ත මහතා ද මෙම අන්තර් දීමනා මුදල සියලූම ව්‍යවස්ථාපිත ආයතන සේවකයන්ට ලබාදීමට මැදිහත්වන ලෙස ආණ්ඩුවෙන් ඉල්ලා ඇත.

ගරු ඇමති තුමනි  2019 අගෝස්තු මාසය ඉක්ම යාමට ප‍්‍රථම ශ‍්‍රි ලංගම සේවකයන්ගේ වැටුපට රුපියල් 2500 ක අන්තර් දීමනා මුදල ලබාදීමට සහ විධායක සහ විධායක නොවන නිළධාරින්ගේ වැටුප සංශෝධනය කිරීමට කඩිනමින් මැදිහත්වන ලෙස අප සංගමය ඔබ තුමාගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටින අතර අගෝස්තු මාසය තුල එම ඉල්ලීම ඉටුකිරීමට අපොහෙසෙත් වන්නේ නම් කිසිදු  පුර්ව දැනුම් දීමකින් තොරව ශ‍්‍රී ලංගම සියලූම වෘත්තීය සමිති එකතු වී වෘත්තීය ක‍්‍රියාමාර්ගයක් ගන්නා බවට අප සංගමය අවධාරනයෙන් ඔබතුමාට දන්වා සිටිමු.

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සමස්ත ලංකා ප‍්‍රවාහන සේවක සංගමය.

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පිටපත් –
01. ගරු ජනාධිපති මෛත‍්‍රිපාල සිරිසේන මැතිතුමා
02. ගරු කම්කරු කොමසාරිස් මැතිතුමා
03. කළමණාකරන දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ ගරු අධ්‍යක්‍ෂ ජනරාල්තුමා
04. ශ‍්‍රි ලංගම ගරු සභාපති – උපාලි මාරසිංහ මැතිතුමා
05. ශ‍්‍රී ලංගම සියලූම වෘත්තීය සමිතිවෙත

මාධ්‍ය නිවේදනය දුම්රිය වෘත්තීය සමිති සන්ධානය

දුම්රිය දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ ප‍්‍රාථමික ශිල්පීය නොවන සේවා ගණයේ දුම්රිය කාර්ය සහායක/නවාතැන්, බංගලා, සහායක/කාන්තා විශ‍්‍රාමශාලා සේවිකා II වන ශ්‍රේණියට බඳවාගැනීම සඳහා මේ වන විට සම්මුඛ පරීක්‍ෂණ පවත්වමින් ඇත. දුම්රිය දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ මෙම තනතුරු පුරප්පාඩු පිරවීම සඳහා 2019.-07.19 දිනට පෙර අයදුම් පත් එවන ලෙස ප‍්‍රවාහන අමාත්‍යාංශයේ උපදෙස් පරිදි දුම්රිය සාමාන්‍යාධිකාරී විසින් 2019.07.06 දින දිනමිණ පුවත්පතේ හා WWW.Railway.lk වෙබ් අඩවියේ දැන්වීම් පළකරමින් අයදුම්පත් කැඳවා තිබුණි. ඒ අනුව අ.පො.ස. (සා/පෙ) සම්මාන සමාර්ථ දෙකක් සහිත විෂයන් 06 කින් සමත් අයදුම් කරුවන් 20000 කට අධික ප‍්‍රමානයක් අයදුම්පත් එවා තිබුණි. දුම්රිය දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ පත්වීම් අංශයේ අනිකුත් සියළු වැඩ කටයුතු අත්හිටුවා සියළු කාර්ය මණ්ඩල මේ සඳහා යොදවා සම්මුඛ පරීක්‍ෂණ මණ්ඩල 06 ක් පත්කොට සියළු අයදුම් කරුවන්ගේ සුදුසුකම් පරීක්‍ෂා කරමින් ඇත.

මීට අමතරව හිටපු ප‍්‍රවාහන අමාත්‍යවරුන් වන කුමාර වෙල්ගම මහතා හා රංජිත් මද්දුම් බණ්ඩාර මහතා දුම්රිය දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවට බඳවාගෙන ඇති, දැනටමත් වසර 05 කට අධික කාලයක් දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ සේවය කරන සේවකයින් 1500 කට ආසන්න පිරිසක් සිටියදී, ඔහුන් සියළු දෙනා සේවයේ ස්ථීර නොකොට නවක සේවකයින් ලෙස තවත් 1500 ක් සේවයේ ස්ථීර කර බඳවා ගැනීමට ප‍්‍රවාහන අමාත්‍යාංශ බලධාරීන් කටයුතු කිරීම, වසර 05 ක් ස්ථීර නොවු සේවකයින්ගේ මූලික අයිතිවාසිකම් උල්ලංඝනය කිරීමකි. ආණ්ඩුවේ මන්ත‍්‍රී වරුන්ගෙන් හා ඇමති වරුන්ගෙන් ලබාගත් නාම ලේඛන අනුව බඳවා ගැනීමට කටයුතු සූදානම් කර ඇති බව දැනගැනීමට ඇති අතර, අයදුම්පත් ඉදිරිපත්කර ඇති අයදුම්කරුවන් 20000 ක් සම්බන්ධයෙන් දැනටමත් සිදුකරමින් යන සම්මුඛ පරීක්‍ෂණ පට්ට බොරුවක් බවද ප‍්‍රකාශ කරමු. දුම්රිය දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ අදාල සේවා ගණයට අයත් අනුමත තනතුරු පුරප්පාඩු ඇත්තේ 1073 ක් වන අතර, පුරප්පාඩු අනුමත කරගැනීමකින් තොරව ඉන් ඔබ්බට කිසිදු සේවකයෙක් බඳවාගැනීම සඳහා කළමනාකරන සේවා දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව හෝ භාණ්ඩාගාරය මේ වන විටත් කිසිදු අනුමැතියක් ලබාදී නැත.

එක් අයදුම්කරුවෙකු සඳහා සම්මුඛ පරීක්‍ෂණ මණ්ඩලයේ එක් නිලධාරියෙක් වෙනුවෙන් රුපියල් 30 ක මුදලක් ගෙවන අතර, එක් පරීක්‍ෂණ මණ්ඩලයක් විසින් අයදුම්කරුවන් 100 කගේ සුදුසුකම් පරීක්‍ෂා කළ යුතුය. එවැනි පරීක්‍ෂණ මණ්ඩල 06 ක් පත්කර ඇති අතර, 2019.08.05 දින සිට 2019.08.23 දක්වා දින 11 ක් තිස්සේ සම්මුඛ පරීක්‍ෂණ මණ්ඩල 66 ක් කැඳවීමට කටයුතු යොදා ඇත. ඒ අනුව දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවට උද්ගත වන වැය බර රුපියල් ලක්‍ෂ 50 කට අධිකය. එමෙන්ම සම්මුක පරීක්‍ෂණයට සහභාගි වීම සඳහා අයදුම්කරුවන්ට ලියාපදිංචි තැපෑලෙන් ලිපි යැවීම සඳහා තවත් මුදලක් වැය කිරීමට දුම්රිය දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවට සිදු වී ඇත.

මෙපමණ මුදල් සම්භාරයක් වැයකර සම්මුඛ පරීක්‍ෂණ පැවැත්වුවද, සේවකයින් බඳවාගනු ලබන්නේ ඇමති වරයාගේ නම ලේඛණයට අනුව බව ස්ථීරය. මෙම බඳවාගැනීම සඳහා මේ දිනවල දුම්රිය මූලස්ථානයේදී සම්මුඛ පරීක්‍ෂණ පැවැත්වුවද ඊට සති කීපයකට පෙර කුරුණෑගලදීත්, ගම්පහදීත් ස්ථාන කිහිපයක සම්මුඛ පරීක්‍ෂණ පැවැත්වූ බවට තොරතුරු ලැබී ඇත.

සේවයේ ස්ථීර නොමැති කාන්තාවන් විශාල ප‍්‍රමායක් අධි සේවක පදනම මත දුම්රිය දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ සේවයේ යොදවා ඇති බව අමාත්‍යවරයා ප‍්‍රකාශයක් කළද මෙම සම්මුඛ පරීක්‍ෂණ වලට කාන්තා අයදුම් කරුවන් බහුල වශයෙන් පැමිණෙන බවද ප‍්‍රකාශ කරමු. මේ අනුව ප‍්‍රවාහන අමාත්‍යාංශයේ හා දුම්රිය දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව ඉතාමත් කෛරාටික ලෙස රටේ මහ ජනතාව රවටා ඇත. මහජනතාවද රැවටී ඇත.

ස්තූතියි.

මෙයට,
එස්. පී. විතානගේ
සමකැඳවුම්කරු

By Sonia Sarkar Courtesy Telegraph

India has a more humanitarian approach towards drug offenders than its neighbours Bangladesh and Sri Lanka

After a moratorium of 43 years, the gallows were getting ready in Sri Lanka. Two executioners with ‘excellent moral character’ and ‘mental strength’ were appointed. A list of four convicts — involved in drug offences — to be hanged was prepared. On June 26 — the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking — the Sri Lankan president, Maithripala Sirisena, announced that he had signed the requisite documents for the imposition of the death penalty for drug-related offences.

But these executions had to be stalled. The country’s Supreme Court, on July 5, issued a temporary injunction against the execution of the four convicts until October.

It is only an interim relief for the convicts, as Sirisena, who is likely to fight a re-election in December, looks adamant upon imposing the death penalty. A week after the parliamentarian, Bandula Lal Bandarigoda, submitted a private member’s motion seeking to block the return of capital punishment, Sirisena, on July 14, said he will declare a national day of mourning if the Sri Lankan Parliament blocks his proposal to reinstate the death penalty. Sirisena, it seems, wants to rely on the populist rhetoric against the threat of drug use and convince people about his ‘social commitment’ to eradicating the menace before the elections. He wants the hangings to be a ‘powerful’ message to the illegal drug trade.

According to government data, 60 per cent of the 24,000 prisoners in Sri Lanka are drug offenders. Currently, 48 people have been convicted of drug offences. All death penalties for drug convicts in Sri Lanka were commuted to life imprisonment for the past 43 years. The death penalty for drug-related offences is a violation of Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Sri Lanka is a party. Ironically, last year, Sri Lanka was among the 121 countries that endorsed a United Nations general assembly resolution calling for a moratorium on the death penalty.

Human rights bodies argue that punitive drug policy has not acted as a deterrent anywhere. Over 170 countries are said to have either abolished the death penalty or taken a position in favour of ending executions. But Sirisena is in no mood to listen. He even rejected an appeal by the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, to reconsider his decision. He has also demanded the death penalty for the perpetrators of the Easter Sunday attacks in April that killed over 258 people by calling the attack the handiwork of international drug dealers” who wanted to discourage [his] anti-narcotics drive”.

Besides Sri Lanka, Bangladesh is another south Asian country which imposes the death penalty for drug offences. Last year, its Parliament passed the narcotics control bill, 2018 which, alongside the life sentence, also has a death row provision for producing, trading and using 200 grams or more of yaba, or more than 25 grams of heroin and cocaine. Human rights bodies demanded a revocation of the law but their voices remained unheard. Two death sentences for drug trafficking were pronounced last year. Ahead of the general elections in December 2018, the prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina Wajed, adopted a populist anti-drug stance by launching a campaign to toughen punishments for drug crimes. More than 250 people were killed in anti-drug operations between May and December in 2018. The Philippines-style ‘war on drugs’ campaign has targeted the poor and underprivileged. In some cases, human rights activists alleged, the killings may have been ‘politically motivated’.

In contrast, India has a more humanitarian approach towards drug offenders. In 2011, the Bombay High Court declared Section 31A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, that imposed a mandatory death sentence for a subsequent conviction for drug trafficking, ‘unconstitutional’. Later, it made the imposition of capital punishment on a person convicted only for a subsequent offence involving possession, production or transportation of specified drugs and quantities optional and not obligatory.

The Death Penalty for Drug Offences: Global Overview 2018, published by Harm Reduction International — a London-based NGO working on social and legal impacts of drug use and drug policy — stated that only six of 915 death sentences pronounced in India from 2011 onwards were for drug offences. Last year, the Punjab government called for expanding the death penalty that is currently applicable for child rape convicts to first-time drug offenders. But the Central government rejected it, arguing that the UN office on drugs and crime opposes the imposition of the death penalty for drug offences. Moreover, last year, the Congress parliamentarian, Shashi Tharoor, introduced a private member’s bill in Parliament seeking a total abolition of the death penalty.

But the Indian Parliament, last week, passed the protection of children from sexual offences (amendment) bill, 2019, seeking to impose the death penalty for aggravated sexual assault against children. This bill has been passed at a time when a girl, allegedly raped by a former leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party when she was a minor in 2017, is battling for life in hospital. Ironically, the BJP, which supports the death penalty and proclaims its love for the ‘betis’ of India, expelled the rape accused from the party only last week, more than a year after his arrest.

Also Read

https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/books/beyond-the-death-penalty/cid/1690643?ref=also-read_story-page

Methmalie Dissanayake Courtesy Ceylon Today

The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) investigating the Easter Sunday terror attacks has reportedly decided to summon members of the Special Investigation Committee (SIC) appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena to testify on 20 August.

The SIC comprises Supreme Court Judge, Justice Vijith K. Malalgoda, former IGP N.K. Ilangakoon and former Law and Order Ministry Secretary Padmasiri Jayamanne.

According to PSC sources, SIC members had been informed to come before the PSC tomorrow (08). However, the date had to be changed due to pre-scheduled businesses of some PSC members.

Both Ilangakoon and Jayamanne testified before the PSC on 25 July. When questioned about  matters relating to the SIC, they said they could not divulge information about the SIC.

Meanwhile, a PSC member said the PSC was not sure whether Justice Malalgoda would accept the summons. However, as SIC Chair, he could nominate other members to testify. Even if one member from the SIC comes, we are ready to question him, he added.

He also said the PSC would decide whether to request President Sirisena to come before the PSC after that.

The President appointed the SIC on 21 April. It commenced work on 22 April.

Courtesy Adaderana

A petition has been filed at the Supreme Court seeking a ruling that the Private Member’s Bill presented to the parliament by MP Bandulal Banadarigoda on the abolishment of the death penalty is not unconstitutional.

The Attorney General has been named the respondent of this petition file by Prof. C. Gunaratne from Nugegoda.

On August 01, MP Bandulal Bandarigoda tabled a Private Member’s Motion at the parliament containing provisions to abolish the death penalty.

The petitioner pointed out that no clause in the proposal would violate the Constitution of Sri Lanka.

Accordingly, the petitioner has requested the Supreme Court to grant a ruling that the motion could be passed by an ordinary majority in Parliament.

By Shamindra Ferdinando Courtesy The Island

Thanks to the ongoing Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on Easter Sunday attacks, the All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) leader and Vanni District lawmaker, Rishad Bathiudeen, is no longer under heavy fire over his alleged involvement with the now-proscribed National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ).

The government proscribed the NTJ on May 13, 2019 – 23 days after the Easter carnage. The Jama’athe Milla’athe Ibrahim (JMI) and the Willayath As Seylani (WAS) were also banned in terms of regulation 75(1) of the emergency regulations.

Bathiudeen held the Industry and Commerce, Resettlement of Protracted Displaced Persons, Co-operative Development, Vocational Training & Skills Development at the time of the April 21, 2019, suicide bombing campaign.

Bathiudeen earned the wrath of the Joint Opposition (JO), a section of the Buddhist clergy, and some civil society groups, after Army Chief, Lt. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake revealed the controversial politician’s intervening, on behalf of a person, arrested by the Army, in connection with the Easter attacks and subsequently handed over to the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID). Had Lt. Gen. Senanayake refrained from exposing Bathiudeen, he wouldn’t have attracted media attention. At one point, Bathiudeen, under fire from opponents, revealed he got in touch with Lt. Gen. Senanayake on the advice of State Defence Minister, Ruwan Wijewardene.

The PSC never bothered to seek confirmation from Bathiudeen as regards Wijewardene’s advice when the beleaguered lawmaker appeared before the parliamentary body, on June 28, 2019.

Bathiudeen identified the arrested person as a son of an advisor to Postal Services and Muslim Religious Affairs Minister M.H.A. Haleem, an UNPer elected from the Kandy district. Baithiudeen, Haleem and seven other Muslims, gave up their ministerial portfolios,on June 03, 2019.

Bathiudeen received the same portfolios on July 29, 2019. Haleem and UNP Chairman Kabir Hashim broke ranks with the group of Muslim colleagues to, once again, accept, on June 19, 2019, the ministerial portfolios they held at the time of the blasts.

 For almost three months, Bathiudeen was flayed over the Easter Sunday attacks. However, shocking revelations, regarding the negligence on the part of the TID, the Attorney General’s Department, as well as the IGP, made before the PSC in the last week of July and the first week of August 2019, diverted the attention from Bathiudeen.

Those who believed the PSC was meant to clear Bathiudeen, through some trickery, and place the blame on President Maithripala Sirisena, were quite surprised by disclosures of negligence on the part of the police and the AG Department.

With pressure being eased, the indomitable politician, last week, launched a propaganda project to counter criticism directed at him. Interestingly, the media never targeted his party. Instead, Bathiudeen was relentlessly lambasted, both in and outside parliament, until what transpired before the PSC, pointed the finger at the TID, the AG Department and the IGP.

The PSC consists of Ananda Kumarasiri (UNP/Moneragala District), Ravi Karunanayake (UNP/Colombo), Dr. Rajitha Senaratne (UNP/Kalutara), Ashu Marasinghe (UNP National List), Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka (UNP National List), LSSPer Dr. Jayampathy Wickremaratne (UNP National List), M.A. Sumanthiran (TNA/Jaffna District) and Rauff Hakeem (UNP/Kandy District).

The PSC, or Catholic Church, or the civil society, never really inquired about as to why the NTJ deliberately targeted the Tamil community. At least 60 Tamils perished and over 100 wounded in suicide attacks directed at Zion Church, in Batticaloa, and the Tamil service conducted at St. Anthony’s Church, Kotahena.

As the TID and the AG Department struggled to cope up with embarrassing disclosures, Bathiudeen went on the offensive. The Illankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi-led Tamil National Alliance (TNA) never condemned the attack on the community. Instead, TNA heavyweight, M.A. Sumanthiran, at an event held at the BMICH, on April 29, 2009, justified the TNJ terror project.

Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith rejected Sumanthiran’s assertion that the failure on the part of Sri Lanka’s successive governments, to address the grievances of minorities, over the past several decades, had led to the Easter Sunday carnage.

Sumanthiran alleged that the Easter Sunday carnage was a result of Sri Lanka’s failure to ensure certain basic values. President’s Counsel Sumanthiran warned of dire consequences unless the government addressed the grievances of minorities.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, who was present on that occasion, had no qualms naming him to the PSC. Dr. Deepika Udagama, Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission, too, was present, in addition to twice President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. Bathiudeen seems to be on the offensive now. Immediately after resuming his ministerial duties, Bathiudeen launched a scathing attack on Sri Lanka Chamber for not condemning calls to boycott Muslim-owned shops, following the NTJ attacks. His English media outfit, managed by Joseph Thavaraja, reported his comments in a statement headlined ‘Rishad decries Sri Lanka Chamber for keeping mum as racist calls of prejudice erupted nationwide’

The attack on Sri Lanka Chamber was followed by a visit to Mannar where he reassured the Catholic community.

Bathiudeen, on August 01, assured the Bishop of Mannar, Most Reverend Dr. Fidelis Lionel Emmanuel Fernando, and Adikarana Sanganayake of the Northern and Eastern Provinces and Chief Incumbent of Sri Bodhidakshinaramaya, Ven Siyabalagaswewa Vipulasara, of his fullest support to government efforts to eradicate terrorism. The Island coverage of Bathiudeen’s unexpected meeting with the Mannar Bishop prompted Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith to clarify his position with regard to the Easter Sunday carnage.

Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith sent the following statement to The Island in respect of ‘Under fire from Cardinal, Rishad meets Mannar Bishop’ in the August 02, 2019, edition: “I have been intrigued and surprised about the news item appearing on the 1st page and continued on the 4th page of The Island newspaper of Friday, 2nd August 2019. It says: “Under fire from Cardinal, Rishad meets Mannar Bishop” and there is a photo of the Bishop of Mannar greeting Mr. Rishad Bathiudeen. The report further states:”The meeting took place close on the heels of the Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, alleging that those responsible for the heinous crime were still free”.

I wish to first of all state that I have never named any particular person as being responsible for the Easter Sunday bomb attack, but have insisted that an independent, impartial and trustworthy inquiry be conducted on this matter and those responsible be exposed. In fact, soon after this attack, a delegation of Muslim Ministers and MPs came to see me and I met Mr. Bathiudeen, who was in this delegation.

So, I think as a responsible newspaper, you should have reported just the fact of Mr. Bathiudeen meeting Bishop Fernando without trying to drag me into the picture. This is to say in the least a mischievous attempt to create an unethical controversy. I think this is against media ethics. I hope this will not happen again and I kindly request you to publish this in your newspaper, giving it the same prominence as the news item, for the sake of truth and, justice.”

Bathiudeen’s media team released a report on him meeting with Vavuniya-based Ven Siyabalagaswewa Vipulasara after the media reported the powwow with the Mannar Bishop.

ACMC cleared

Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe, on July 15, 2019, cleared Baithiudeen of complicity in the Easter Sunday attacks. The declaration was made in Kinniya, Trincomalee, on the basis of police reports. Thavaraja interpreted Premier Wickremesinghe statement in a communiqué, titled ‘Sri Lanka clears ACMC leader Rishad.’

The police certainly acted fast, in Bathiudeen’s case, whereas a complaint made against Zahran Hashim, way back in June 2017, was never investigated. The Attorney General Department, under flak over its own lapses as regards the bungled inquiry into the Zahran’s affair, exposed the entire police department before the PSC. The AG Department team, included Deputy Solicitor General Azath Navavi, who was earlier accused of sitting on the Zahran’s file, along with State Counsel Malik Azeez.

Azath Navavi’s father, M H M Navavi, served the parliament as a member of the UNP National List. The politician quit his seat after having served about half of his five-year term. Of course, Navavi didn’t forget to procure a super luxury Toyota Land Cruiser with a tax exemption amounting to Rs 33 mn before giving another party member the opportunity to receive the massive exemption. The UNP accommodated Navavi on its National List on Bathiudeen’s request. Navavi handed over his letter of resignation to the Secretary General of Parliament, Dhammika Dassanayake, on May 23, 2018. It would be pertinent to mention that UNP leader Wickremesinghe accommodated Navavi on the UNP National List after the people of Puttalam rejected him. Navavi is the only defeated UNP candidate to enter through the National List and the second to quit National List. In January, 2018, SLMC member Mohamed Hafeel Mohamed Salman quit to pave the way for his party to appoint another member. Salman, too, acquired a super luxury Land Cruiser, like most of his colleagues. Most politicians, in the current parliament, preferred Toyoya Land Cruiser, a vehicle with good second hand value.

The National List seems to be part of payoffs at the taxpayers’ expense, the vast majority of who are struggling to make ends meet.

Did Navavi and Salman sell their vehicles like their colleagues? Of the 225 members in parliament, the vast majority sold their duty free vehicles. Attorney-at-law Nagananda Kodituwakku made an abortive bid to have the vehicle permit scam halted.

In spite of the police and the AG Department trying desperately to shift the blame to each other, there is no doubt as to how negligence facilitated the Thowheed project. The police and the AG Department should examine the circumstances leading to an attack, described as worse than any of those carried out by the LTTE during the entire war.

Bathiudeen fights back

Following Bathiudeen’s meeting with the Bishop of Mannar, the media received two separate statements, with pix ,from the ministry. When the writer made inquiries as to why Bathiudeen’s ministry issued two different statements, on the same meeting, it came to light that the controversial politician had hired media specialist Prasanna Adikari, who, until recently, managed Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne’s media team. Bathiudeen, in spite of having the services of an exceptionally good media team, brought in Adikari as his political opponents stepped up pressure on him. Having been accused of destroying Wilpattu, Bathiudeen was overwhelmed when the JO launched a devastating attack on him over the Easter Sunday attacks. The campaign was essentially based on Lt. Gen. Senanayake’s revelation that Bathiudeen called him thrice to inquire about a terrorist suspect in custody. Interestingly, no one bothered to attack Bathiudeen over him seeking State Defence Minister Wijewardene’s intervention. The arrest of Senior House Officer (SHO) Dr. Seigu Siyabdeen Mohammed Safi, attached to the Kurunegala hospital, on the night of May 24, 2019, over amassing of wealth, in a suspicious manner, amidst accusations he conducted a clandestine sterilization project, was quickly leaked to Bathiudeen. A section of the media reported as to how Bathiudeen nominated Safi to contest the Kurunegala district on the UNP ticket at the last parliamentary election, in August 2015. Safi resigned his post to contest the election. When the electorate rejected him, he was again accommodated on the health staff through a special cabinet paper. There is no doubt Bathiudeen intervened on Safi’s behalf. S.B. Dissanayake and Udaya Gammanpila, of the UPFA, repeatedly accused Bathiudeen and his wife of buying land in the Mannar administrative district over a period of time. However, inquiries revealed that some of the questionable land transactions had taken place before Bathiudeen switched his allegiance to UNP leader Wickremesinghe, in Dec, 2014, in the run up to the presidential poll, the following month.

The JVP accommodated the father of two Thowheed suicide bombers on its 2015 National List. The JVP never explained as to how Mohamed Ibrahim, one of Sri Lanka’s wealthiest businessmen, ended up in its National List. Don’t forget Zahran himself advised those who contested the Batticaloa district, at the last general election, as to how they should conduct the campaign. Zahran’s outfit backed Maithripala Sirisena at the last presidential election.

Struggling to cope up with massive media onslaught, Bathiudeen sought Adikari’s advice as part of his overall efforts to counter the campaign against him. Adikari provided the required wherewithal to meet the media offensive as Bathiudeen prepared to face the PSC. There hadn’t been a previous instance of the police headquarters requesting the public to lodge complaints against a member of parliament. This was in addition to the No-Confidence Motion (NCM) moved by the JO and UNP National List MP Ven Atureliye Rathana against Bathiudeen. However, Ven Rathana engaged in a much publicized fast into death in the Dalada Maligawa premises which, in the end, helped Bathiudeen to survive the NCM. Wickremesinghe, under heavy pressure to sack Bathiudeen over the Easter carnage, too, heaved a sigh of relief for obvious reasons. Citing Ven. Rathana’s fast unto death, launched on May 31, 2019, Bathiudeen resigned on June 03, 2019. Eight other Muslim lawmakers, representing the UNP, SLMC and his ACMC, resigned to express solidarity with the Vanni District MP. They made the announcement at Temple Trees with the blessings of Wickremesinghe. One may ask as to how Ven. Rathana facilitated Bathiudeen’s project. The fast unto death gave an excuse to Bathiudeen to resign. The resignation made the NCM irrelevant as such a move can be made only against a minister. The giving up of ministerial portfolios enabled Bathiudeen to side-step the issue against him.

Adikari served the JVP at the beginning of his career as the media officer for the then Agriculture Minister, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, during President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga’s tenure as the president.  Subsequently, Adikari served the then Media Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, followed by Tourism Minister Achala Jagoda, North Western Province Chief Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera, Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera, Megapolis and Western Province Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka and Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne before taking over Bathiudeen’s assignment recently.

Bathiudeen’s parliamentary group consists of five members, including him. In spite of the ACMC having just five members, it wielded immense influence. Immediately after Bathiudeen meeting the Bishop of Mannar, the Minister’s  media officer, Joseph Thavaraja, in a statement issued quoted the Mannar-based priest, Right Reverend Dr. Fidelis Lionel Emmanuel Fernando, as having said: “Being a Cabinet Minister in the government enables one to render services to the public in a much bigger way. “I commend your decision to return to your Ministerial portfolio. This shall sustain your capacity to serve the public better.” Thavaraja, who handles the English media for Bathiudeen, headlined his statement ‘Rt. Rev Bishop of Mannar commends Rishad for resuming cabinet portfolio.’ How clever?

Bathiudeen entered parliament, in 2001, on the UNP ticket. At that election, he was nominated by the SLMC. Bathiudeen returned to parliament again, at the 2004 April general election, on the UNP ticket. On that occasion, too, he was an SLMC nominee. At the 2010 general election, he contested on the UPFA ticket and was one of the most influential ministers at that time. In spite of the UNP accusing him of clearing Wilppattu and corruption, he was rewarded with the important Trade and Commerce portfolios, following the last parliamentary elections in 2015 August. Bathiudeen switched his allegiance to the UNP, along with the then SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena, in Dec 2014.

Bathiudeen has now cleared the way for a crucial role in the forthcoming presidential election, scheduled for late Nov-early Dec 2019. The SLMC Chief seems confident that he can proceed with a kingmaker role with the backing of a high profile media campaign. So far, Bathiudeen appears to have succeeded in surmounting the multi-pronged offensive directed at him. Bathiudeen recently took a common stand with Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader Rauff Hakeem regarding the formation of the National Democratic Front (NDF). Their move, along with other minority parties, in the current dispensation, and the Sajith Premadasa group, compelled the UNP to put on hold the formation of the NDF. All of them want consensus on their candidate before the finalization of the agreement on the NDF. Bathiudeen is obviously back in a high profile political project. Let us await the PSC report on the Easter Sunday carnage, expected to be released before nominations open for the 2019 presidential poll. Will it confirm the Premier’s declaration that the police intelligence cleared him of complicity in the Thowheed project?

(To be continued on August 14)

By Saman Indrajith Courtesy The Island

Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, MP, yesterday, revealed that he had recently been offered the post of the Deputy Minister of Defence and a Cabinet portfolio by the Minister of Defence.

President Maithripala Sirisena is the Minister of Defence.

The former army chief said that he had turned down the offer because it was intended to silence him. He said he could not keep his mouth shut, given the situation in the country.

Fonseka said so when State Minister for Defence Ruwan Wijewardena told the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) probing the Easter Sunday attacks that the UNP had wanted him to take over the law and order portfolio.

The PSC members present, yesterday, were Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, Prof. Ashu Marasinghe, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, M.A. Sumanthiran, Minister Ravi Karunanayake, Chairman Ananda Kumarasiri, Dr. Jayampathi Wickremaratne and Minister Rauff Hakeem.

State Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardene said that intelligence services had not conveyed any information regarding the warnings of Easter Sunday attacks to him.

Testifying before the Parliamentary Select Committee probing the Easter Sunday carnage, the Minister said he should have been informed of the warning of attack.

The minister said: “There had been disagreements between the Defence Minister who is also the President and the government following the constitutional crisis. Thereafter I was not even invited for the National Security Council meetings.”

Minister Wijewardene: The National Security Council, in 2017, discussed Muslim extremism in Kattankudy. The issue under discussion was that there were rival Islamic groups and some mosques had been attacked. There was no discussion on terrorist activities while I was there. We did not get the warning. The NSC did not discuss any such warning. After the attack the issue was discussed at the NSC level. We met soon after the attack and took action to mitigate it. I was in contact with the Prime Minister.

M.A. Sumanthiran: Did you chair the NSC meetings?

Minister Wijewardene: I sat as the head, but the meeting was content by the Secretary of Defence. He presented the agenda for the meeting.

Sumanthiran: What was the role of the intelligence heads at the meeting? Isn’t it the purpose of the meeting to share intelligence?

Minister: I think so. We discussed several matters but there was no discussion on the formation of a terrorist group or preparations being make by such a group to launch an attack.

Sumanthiran: There were incidents in Digana in March 2018. Was there any issue related to the radicalization of Islamic groups discussions?

Minister Wijewardene: We discussed the factions.

Sumanthiran: When did you attend the last NSC meeting before Oct 2018?

Minister: I attended the NSC meetings before the Constitutional Crisis. I did not attend the NSC meetings during the crisis time. I was not invited to NSC meetings thereafter. The last time I attended was on Oct 7, 2018. Thereafter I attended the meetings of national intelligence only in April 2019.

Sumanthiran: Did you ask why you had not been invited

Minister Wijewardene: I asked the Secretary Defence. He told me that there had been no NSC meetings per se. The President had met only the persons heading various security establishments.

Sumanthiran: Apart from the secretary defence, did you ask your minister, who is also the President?

Wijewardene: No, I did not. I believed that the situation had arisen after the Constitutional Crisis and there were some disagreements between the President and the government. I assumed that I was not invited as a result.

Sumanthiran: How about Intelligence review meetings? Did you ask about that?

Minister: I asked the Defence Secy. He told me that I would be called for the meetings after mid-March.

Sumanthiran: Did you know that such meetings took place?

Minister: The usual procedure was for the Defence Secretary to contact my secretary and inform him such meetings. That didn’t happen.

Sumanthiran: Usually, where did such meetings take place?

Minister: At the Ministry of Defence

Sumanthiran: Your office is at the same ministry. When such meetings take place in the same ministry did you not ask you had been overlooked?

Minister: I was not invited or I was not asked not to come to those meetings.

Minister Karunanayake: Do you think that there was a serious lapse of coordination?

Minister Wijewardene: Absolutely, there was a serious lapse of coordination. The stability within the Ministry of Defence too was questionable. There had been five secretaries since 2015.

Field Marshal Fonseka: Was there any other responsibility apart from the duties assigned to you by the Gazette?

Minister: No, I attended the meetings I was asked to I visited foreign countries when I was told. I attended the functions of the forces as the chief guest.

Field Marshal Fonseka: Ceremonial functions?

Minister: Yes

Field Marshal Fonseka: They were not operational?

Minister: No. I did not have decision making powers in operational matters.

Field Marshal Fonseka: But in Parliament when there is a question you are supposed to give answer. You are inconvenienced when you are asked questions in Parliament

Minister: Yes there were occasions where I was inconvenienced.

Field Marshal Fonseka: Did you have any experience in defence related matters before you were given that position?

Minister: No. I did not have defence experience. Now, I have some knowledge since I was in the ministry for the past four years. We wanted you to become the minister of law and order. We had hopes. But that did not work out

Field Marshal Fonseka: I was recently invited to take over deputy minister of defence and a cabinet portfolio. The invitation was sent to me by the Minister of Defence. But I did not take it up because I was expected to take it and keep my mouth shut. But considering the situation now prevailing in the country one cannot take the position and keep the mouth shut. Did Zahran’s name come up or was there any attempt by Intelligence to look into the matter to curb the menace?

Minister: The police had been instructed to continue investigations

Field Marshal Fonseka:  There had been instructions to continue investigations. Investigations had been continuing till the bombs went off. Did anyone issue instructions to suppress the operations of the Zahran’s group?

Minister: No such instructions were issued

Field Marshal Fonseka: Don’t you think that if action had been taken early this disaster could have been prevented?

Minister: Yes. Certainly, it could have been prevented. There were several such occasions as far as I know. For example if the Kattankudy police had done their job properly when there were clashes among the two rival Islamic groups on that day, this disaster could have been prevented.

Dr. Jayatissa: You have been given four institutions the Ranaviru Seva Authority, Defence Services Command and Staff College, Defence College and the National Cadet Corps.

Minister: Yes, later on some others including the Civil Defence Force were placed under my purview.

Dr Jayatissa: So the institutions coming under you were not serious enough to be taken for discussion at NSC

Minister: No

Dr Jayatissa: What is the responsibility and role of yours in attending the intelligence review meetings on Tuesday?

Minister: I am asked only to help ensure national security. It is summoned by the Defence Secretary. He prepares the agenda together with the Chief of National Intelligence.

Dr. Jayatissa: On April 9 Director State Intelligence Service sent a letter to CNI and Defence Secretary warning of the attack and where the attack would take place and who would carry out the attack. Did you see it?

Minister: I saw it after the attacks

Dr. Jayatissa: So, the State Defence Minister saw the letter only after the attack, is it so?

Minister: Yes

Dr Jayatissa: You have been provided security by the Ministerial Security Division. They got the letter. Among those who got the letter was the Personal Security Officer assigned to you by the MSD. Didn’t the PSO of yours give that letter to you?

Minister: No, after the attack I summoned the PSO and asked him. He told me that his duty was to protect me not to forward the letters he received. He said he received similar letters occasionally but they only took actions necessary without passing those letters to me.

Dr Jayatissa: What is the nature of relationship between State Minister of Defence and the Director SIS?

Minister: We are in contact. I think he gives us all important information. He decides what he give me. He calls me and gives information that he thinks I should know.

Dr Jayatissa: The SIS Director had the information but he did not pass it on to you, isn’t it so?

Minister: No, I was not given that information.

Dr Jayatissa: What do you think of that now?

Minister Wijewardene: I am saddened by the fact that I was not informed of the warning of attack beforehand. Only after the attack the Director SIS told me that he had received prior information.

Dr Jayatissa: There was information of radical groups operating in the East, and of their terrorist activities. There was information that such groups were organising themselves. Weren’t those threats discussed at the NSC?

Minister: We discussed it but there was no discussion of Islamic fundamentalism developing into terrorism.

Dr Jayatissa: Soon after the attack there was an NSC meeting. At that meeting it was stated that only six out of eight bombs had gone off and there were two more left. There had been also a talk at that meeting that the ministers should protect themselves till the remaining bombs were found.

Minister: Director SIS said so. But there was no talk of ministers increasing their security. But it was mentioned that couple of more bombs would to go off.

Prof Marasinghe: Now, it is clear that you had not been informed of the prior warning till the attack took place. Whom do you think is responsible to provide that information to you?

Minister: Secretary Defence should have done that.

Prof Marasinghe: Who informed you of the attack first?

Minister: The Prime Minister informed me. Then I contacted the Secretary Defence who confirmed it. The Secretary told me that there would be an NSC meeting and asked me to come and attend it. I did so.

By Noor Nizam – Peace and Political Activist, Political Communications Researcher, SLFP/SLPP Stalwart and Convener The Muslim Voice”, August 6th., 2019.

Muslim parliamentarians on behalf of the Muslims of Sri Lanka should denounce this political process in the Indian parliament (Lok Sabah).

It is sad to see a Prime Minister of a Democratic country which is a member of the UN, without “DENOUNCING WHAT INDIA HAS DONE” to wish well to the passing of a bill by the Narendra Modi’s BJP government to oppress the Kashmir people further. The Bill is repealing legislations 35 A which deals with the peoples’ rights in Kashmir and Bill 370 which deals with India’s administration of Kashmir which was put in place on the advice of the British in 1950 just after India was partitioned in 1947. This Prime Minister of ours is playing to the gallery by his tweet published today, hoping that the Buddhist in Sri Lanka will vote him, and his alliance to power at the next presidential election and general elections.

“Ladakh” is mountainous terrain and has the very little (extremely small) population and yes, they are Buddhists. But there are Muslims and Hindus also in that population. Shame on our PM to make such a racial and discriminative “TWEET” telling that India will create a first Buddhist State.

Ranil has failed to respect the Muslim majority Kashmir which has been now made to suffer and has not made any reference to that “INJUSTICE”. THE MUSLIMS OF SRI LANKA SHOULD NEVER FORGIVE THIS SHAMELESS PM OF OURS FOR FORGETTING HOW HE IS STILL SITTING IN THE PM CHAIR BECAUSE OF THE MUSLIM VOTES THE “HANSAYA” AND THE UNF GOT IN 2015.

“The Muslim Voice” acknowledges the oppression of the Kashmiri People by India over the last 70 years, without conducting the “PLEBICITE” ordered by the UN in 1948. India went to war with Pakistan on the contrary. The BJP government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed Monday revoking Article 370 of India’s constitution, which confers special rights to permanent residents of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. “The Muslim Voice” fully and totally rejects this political move by the BJP government of Narendra Modi and his minister of home affairs, Amith Shah. “The Muslim Voice” calls the government of Sri Lanka and all 21 Muslim parliamentarians on behalf of the Muslims of Sri Lanka to denounce this political process in the Indian parliament (Lok Sabah) which is to further oppress the people of Kashmir and deny them democracy further.

Dr. Sarath Obeysekera

We keep watching TV about the daily demonstrations by young generations where male and female students with young monks with overgrown hair. What a waste of energy and valuable time.

In Russia, I remember how the young generation of the same age group in the universities behaved. They are supposed to do service in the forces after school before coming to university or after. Every summer group of youngsters was always sent to villages ( they use to call the farms KOLHOZ-means collective farm ) to either uproot potatoes or pluck cabbages. They loved those trips as they can enjoy a month on a holiday.

I used to work in Norway, where all the youngsters are supposed to go for military training. I had a Sri Lankan friend whose both children served in the military in very cold winter times, When they were back I found the very discipline and progressive mind. Today they are married, buy a house at 24 years and live a disciplined life.

I have a friend in Singapore who sent his son for military service and now he is a dentist doing well.

In Sri Lanka youngsters can be given the chance to serve in the Military where they are told to join as volunteers in Health, Agriculture, Engineering work, etc so that they have some basic idea where they can continue the education after a 1-2 year service.

It may also be prudent to plan to entice some of them to be monks lime in Thailand so that they learn some spiritual aspects of life!

President is always talking about his strong decisions making actions citing revival of the death penalty .getting rid of drug menace etc.

What he should do is use his somewhat dictatorial power (whatever left) and initiate national service for every youngster in the country.

Strict monitoring of their behavior pattern should be carried out and the government should give the option to enter into a suitable education stream.

Whether it is Premadasa or Gota of Nagananda who are aspiring to lead the country, should spell out plan to implement such a program to the people.

I am sure all the parents will vote for him

Dr. Sarath Obeysekera

Courtesy NDTV

The Sri Lankan Prime Minister added that Ladakh’s creation as a Union Territory and its consequential restructuring is “India”s internal matter”.

COLOMBO: 

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday welcomed the Central government’s move to confer Union Territory status on Ladakh, a region with a Buddhist majority.

Taking to Twitter, Mr Wickremesinghe said, “I understand Ladakh will finally become a Union Territory. With over 70% Buddhist it will be the first Indian state with a Buddhist majority.”

The Sri Lankan Prime Minister added that Ladakh’s creation as a Union Territory and its consequential restructuring is “India”s internal matter”.

The Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Bill, 2019, which strips Jammu and Kashmir’s status of a state and converts it into a Union Territory with legislature and carving out Ladakh region as a Union Territory without legislature, was passed in a division pressed by the Opposition with 125 votes in favour and 61 against, and a National Congress Party member abstaining.

By KRISHAN FRANCIS, ASSOCIATED PRESS Courtesy  abc News

Sri Lanka’s prime minister on Tuesday told a parliamentary committee investigating the Islamic State-inspired Easter Sunday bomb attacks that the country should prepare itself for new types of terrorism.

Existing policing, investigative agencies and laws had experience with ethnic Tamil separatists during Sri Lanka’s civil war, but Sri Lanka must now deal with “a new phase of terrorism,” Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in his explanation for what the government should do following criticism that the it failed to act on intelligence from foreign agencies before the attacks that killed more than 250 people.

“The terrorism we see today doesn’t have a central organization, there is no need to conduct classes to recruit people. People join through web sites,” he said.

He added: “A team can come and attack…or it can be done by one person if he makes up his mind to drive a lorry and kill 10 people.”

Wickremesinghe said that he proposed to the Cabinet and obtained a report from members to draft new laws to deal with people who travel to fight in foreign wars and who have gone to terrorist training centers. The laws will be based on British laws drafted from the 2000s until now, Wickremesinghe said.

“The whole existence of the internet and the web has made a big difference, this is a sort of phenomenon of the last 10 years. Not only us, throughout the world, but they are also facing how to deal with this? Some countries have offered to help us, UK and Singapore,” Wickremesinghe said.

Police already knew about some suspects prior to the April 21 suicide bomb attacks at three churches and three tourist hotels but the failure to prevent the attacks was the result of the security system failing to track the transition of religious extremists into terrorists, Wickremesinghe said.

He said that intelligence officials had gathered information before the attacks about some of the suspects and that police had evidence against ringleader Mohamed Zahran to charge him only for hate preaching under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. But police at the time could not locate him and he was thought to have fled to India illegally by boat.

Zahran blew himself up at Shangri La hotel in Colombo.

“Certainly there has been a lapse, I would stay the lapse started toward the end of last year because if they (police) knew a transformation (in religious extremists) was taking place they would have built upon it,” Wickremesinghe said.

Wickremesinghe insisted that he was personally unaware of the prior warnings that had been received and that he has not received a satisfactory answer on why he was not informed.

Sri Lanka still faces a threat even though all members of the group that was directly involved in the conspiracy and the attacks are either dead or arrested, Wickremesinghe said.

Other people who were not involved in the Easter attacks but were indoctrinated and trained may be at large and the government has ordered investigators to arrest and question people who met with members of groups, Wickremesinghe said.

Local Muslim groups National Thowheed Jammath and Jamathei Millathu Ibrahim had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group and are blamed for the suicide attacks that also wounded more than 500.

Meera Srinivasan Courtesy The Hindu

Sri Lankan PM tells inquiry panel that he was not informed about the terror threat despite prior intel

I am yet to get a satisfactory response on why I was not briefed about the Easter Sunday terror threat,” Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said, suggesting that the Sri Lankan government may still not have identified the reasons for the security lapse, over three months after the bombings shook the country.

Neither he nor his security division was informed about the terror threat, despite prior intelligence being available with senior security officials, Mr. Wickremesinghe on Tuesday told a parliamentary panel probing the Easter bombings. I went to Nuwara Eliya [Central Province] for a few days, but I was in the country. No one informed me about the [possible] attacks,” he said.

The Prime Minister is so far the highest official to testify before the Parliament Select Committee (PSC) that President Sirisena has accused of endangering national security”. However, resisting the pressure, the panel has continued inquiring top security officials, politicians, bureaucrats and religious leaders.

Extremist activities

Queried about his knowledge of extremist” activities in the country, Mr. Wickremesinghe said while he had received reports earlier of extremist groups that had embraced IS ideology”, he did not receive any specific information on terrorist” activity in the past. We only received reports of a person [Sri Lankan fighter] killed in Syria and intelligence agencies were instructed to investigate.”

Following the public fallout between the President and the Prime Minister last October — when Mr. Sirisena controversially sacked PM Wickremesinghe and later reinstated him — the PM had not been invited to the national security council meetings chaired by Mr. Sirisena.

The last [NSC] meeting I attended was in October 2018,” Mr. Wickremesinghe said.

To members’ questions on why he didn’t raise the matter, he said: There was one meeting in February that I learnt about later. When I enquired, I was told the council meetings weren’t going to be held thereafter.”

On whether his being kept out of the crucial meetings was a consequence of the differences with the President, he said: no,” adding that it would be difficult to conclude so.

Asked if he was aware of reports about Zahran Hashim, the alleged mastermind of the terror attacks, Mr. Wickremesinghe said reports with authorities indicated that the radical preacher Zahran had been absconding. There was one analysis that he could have gone to India by sea via Mannar, but no specific information about terrorist activities in the country.”

Further, admitting to a serious lapse” in the security apparatus, Mr. Wickremesinghe said the current structure, tuned to fight the LTTE, needed to be revamped to tackle the new phase of terror”. Mr. Wickremesinghe also called for legislation to combat hate speech, information sharing and biometrics. Not just ISIS, every religion or ethnicity has extremist activity, we need a separate team to monitor that. The Internet poses a further challenge,” he said.

Sandun A Jayasekera Courtesy The Daily Mirror

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) stance on the presidential election will be decided after the second round of discussions between President Maithripala Sirisena and SLPP and Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekara said today.

The two leaders met on Monday night. I can’t disclose what transpired at the discussion because they are expected to meet again shortly. I believe the two parties will be in a position to come to an understanding on the position to be taken on the presidential election,” he said. “The talks held between the SLFP and the SLPP have made steady progress. The SLFP Central Committee has requested them to have another discussion before finalizing a common programme.”

The MP said SLFP members would never join the SLPP and that the SLFP had several alternatives other than the SLPP and UNP. “The SLFP is not me or someone else. We have a huge membership. Any political party which needs our support must agree to our policies and work programme,” he said. We cannot win the presidential election only by fielding a candidate. We need to pool the support of all anti-UNP forces and minorities. The SLFP is not a racist party which has been formed by uniting all communities.”

MP Nimal Siripala De Silva said the SLFP would not support the UNP nor any candidate linked to it but support the candidate who contests against the UNP. The SLFP would disclose a few important decisions on September 3 at its annual convention at the Sugathadasa Indoor stadium.

We will never support the UNP. However, we are concerned with the current political situation in the country and will take a pragmatic decision,” the MP said.

Responding to a journalist, he said the SLFP had not received an invitation to participate in the SLPP convention. (

Rosie Spinks, Courtesy Skift

n the wake of a tragedy, destinations are hugely beholden to the public perception of how safe it is to travel there, regardless of the reality on the ground. But the United States — which has experienced more mass shootings than there are days in 2019 — is unfairly exempt from that struggle.— Rosie Spinks

If you type in the phrase Is it safe to travel to…” in the Google search bar, it’s instructive to see what countries come up in response: Sri Lanka, Turkey, Hong Kong, Tunisia.

Unsurprisingly, these are all destinations which have, in recent weeks or months, experienced some kind of civil unrest or terrorist incident. Whether or not these locations pose any material threat to travelers is somewhat irrelevant. In the wake of terror incidents or civil unrest, their SEO becomes their destiny.

But perhaps what’s more instructive is what doesn’t show up on that list. Rarely are you likely to find a country like the United States. A country where, according to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 253 mass shootings in the country since the beginning of 2019. That’s more shootings than days. Two of those occurred over the weekend in less than 24 hours, first in El Paso, Texas followed by Dayton, Ohio, leaving 31 dead.

Of course it’s true that sometimes, destinations truly are unsafe to visit and officials should warn accordingly. But much of the time, rebounds in tourism after a tragedy are dependent not on conditions on the ground — but rather the perception of that destination’s safety. That is largely shaped by news reporting on local officials’ guidance, but increasingly, by social media as well. And yet even in our thoroughly globalized world, there is an inherent unfairness in how we determine what countries are safe” to visit in the wake of a tragedy.

Take the Dominican Republic, which, after a slew of incidents where American tourists have died in hotel accommodations in the past year, has had to fight hard to remind travelers that there has not yet been any connection established between their deaths. When the FBI releases its forthcoming findings on the nature of those deaths, it may be the case that the destination suffered a drop in flight bookings due to nothing more than confirmation bias. By then, though, the perception of its danger level may already be set.

Or take Sri Lanka, where 250 people died in a horrific terrorist incident in April. With tourism down 57 percent in June year on year, the industry is taking steps to rebound its industry, including implementing visas on arrival. And thankfully, it seems to be working. But its recovery has still been dependent on downgraded threat levels from officials and the tone of international reporting (which, unsurprisingly, hasn’t always given the full picture). It’s hard not to notice that it’s a place fighting against a perception that others don’t have to face.

Indeed nowhere is this seemingly infinite benefit of the doubt more evident than in the U.S. It’s a useful thought experiment to imagine what the State Department, which doles out travel advisories for seemingly minor threat levels (including a level two warning for much of western Europe due to terrorism), might say about the threat level of visiting the U.S. after a weekend where there were two mass shootings in 24 hours — and another just a week before.

Unlike, say, an advisory for Turkey — which, at level three, advises travelers to reconsider travel” and stay away from regions near the Syrian and Iraqi border — there is no rhyme or reason to where the threat of a mass shooting in the U.S. lies. The consequences of America’s failure to end gun violence can manifest anywhere, at any time. And sure, while the statistical likelihood of a traveler being caught up in a mass shooting in America is low, is it any lower than that of a terrorism attack in Turkey or western Europe?

It’s true there have been some acts of diplomatic resistance in the wake of the weekend’s shootings. In what are perceived to be somewhat retaliatory moves, Uruguay and Venezuela both warned their citizens about travel to the U.S. It’s also true that U.S. is currently losing market share of global travel under the Trump administration, though the causes of that loss are less down to a perception of safety, and more down to conscious policy decisions that some foreigners perceive as actively unwelcome.

So who is to blame for all this? Of course, there are legions of Americans who desperately want stricter gun laws, and the State Department is not in the business of issuing travel alerts for its own nation. But to be an American is to indulge in a kind of identity-forging belief that it is the greatest country in the world” — even when, say, it’s the only country in the world that suffers mass shootings to this degree. Our failure as Americans to grapple with that, to hold ourselves to the same standards that we hold other countries when deciding what’s safe” — and perhaps even inject a hearty dose of humility into that calculation — is where we fall short.

On a global scale, the unfairness — and indeed, the subtle racism — of what destinations we deem unsafe” is a huge political force in the world of travel today. It means some destination marketers have to battle against travel warnings and sensationalist reporting, while others simply don’t. As the journalist Lisa Ling wrote on Instagram over the weekend, Americans who expressed concern about her choice to bring her young daughter on a trip to Guatemala should hear what Guatemalans think about the safety of taking their children to a public event in the U.S.: They never fear that their kids are going to be shot up at a mall or festival.”

Courtesy Inquirer.net

The Island/Asia News Network

COLOMBO — The first ever Sri Lankan nano satellite, RAAVANA-1 launched into an orbit 400 km away from earth on June 17, sent the first picture of earth.

RAAVANA-1 is a research satellite built by two Sri Lankan engineers, Tharindu Dayaratne and Dulani Chamika, from the University of Peradeniya and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies.ADVERTISEMENT

The satellite is expected to fulfil five missions including the capturing of pictures of Sri Lanka and its surrounding regions.

The satellite was designed and built at the Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan and is 1,000 cubic cm in size and weighs 1.1 kg. It was officially handed over to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on Feb 18.

It was successfully launched into space at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia on April 18. The satellite was boarded to the Antares rocket carrying Cygnus cargo spacecraft and reached the International Space Station the following day.

Read more: https://technology.inquirer.net/89676/sri-lankan-built-satellite-sends-first-picture-of-earth#ixzz5vr1GgD9q
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

Sulochana Ramiah Mohan Courtesy Ceylon Today

Turkey’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka Tunca Ozcuhadar alleged that the Easter Sunday suicide bomber Zahran Hashim and his group were mere ‘foot soldiers’ who carried out an attack planned by someone else.

Ozcuhadar clarified that he is not a security expert but said the logic behind the systematic bombings shows that organising simultaneous attacks are a difficult task without proper logistical and financial support.

It does not look like a home-grown terrorist group to me. The interesting part is that Zahran got himself killed, which is awkward for a leader to do. It was a very short-sighted action, hence, there is a mastermind behind all the planning and executing of the bombings. Zahran and whoever next was not the leader but a foot soldier. If he was the leader, he should be alive and this was most likely operated from outside the country. This is my view,” the Envoy said.

He added that two Turkish engineers died in the bomb blast at Shangri-La hotel on 21 April and that a couple of days later, the members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) visited Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, who said that people know that the attacks had nothing to do with Muslims nor Islam, instead there are big powers using radicals for their own power struggle. Islam has nothing to do with IS (Islamic State)… whoever interprets the Quran for a political agenda is not Islamic,” he noted.

Turkey is already fighting IS fighters and are determined to eliminate the terror corridor from its borders.

Condemning the racial attacks on Muslims in the aftermath of the bombings, the Ambassador noted it was difficult to understand why all Muslims were blamed and said it was not the first time where Muslims have come under attack.

Ozcuhadar said that the OIC represents 57 predominantly Muslim countries representing 1.5 billion people and each of these countries has good links with Sri Lanka. Everybody is cooperating with Sri Lanka and none of those countries have an agenda.” He noted that the OIC wants peace to remain in the country and the welfare of its Muslims is a concern to them. Safety and security should be provided to all communities in the country and perpetrators and provokers should be brought to justice. We can only express our concerns.” He said Sri Lanka should grow economically and tourism should pick up and that the country should not ‘shoot itself in the foot’.

He also noted that they did not find a single Sri Lankan going to Syria en route in Turkey to fight for IS.

Turkey issues roughly 1,000 visas for Sri Lankans annually.  

The Ambassador also noted around 3,000 Turkish nationals visit Sri Lanka annually and their National Carrier Turkey Airlines flies  90 percent of the tourists to Sri Lanka.

Dr. Sudath Gunasekara 

A people’s Manifesto for the next Presidential/General Election. ?

Fifty Demands for all political Parties and aspirant leaders who intend contesting next Presidential/General Election

Introduction

It is a foregone conclusion that there is no Government in this country today, in spite of the fact that there is a President, a Prime Minister,  9 Governors in the nine Provinces, nearly 157 Ministers (112 Central Government (until recently), and 45 Ministers with 5 Chief Ministers in the Provincial Councils, nearly 700 PC Members, and 336 Pradesiya Sabhas with 8825 Members,  maintained at enormous cost, bleeding the nation, with facilities and privileges not heard or given to politicians anywhere in the world. Moreover it is said that for every 16 people in this country we have 1 public servant (1/16) and for every 2235 people we have 1 politician (1/2235) all serving themselves and not the people who maintain them.

Thus we have the top heaviest and most corrupt political machinery and an inefficient, lethargic and servile public service for any country in the world, that has no concern for the country or the people who maintain all these wasteful institutions and parasites, plagued with thousands of liars and thieves.

Isn’t this total anarchy and naked day light gang robbery of a nation by corrupt politicians and their supporters, with impunity?

Furthermore even the Judiciary, the machinery of Public Service (except the Armed forces)   too has failed to win the confidence of the general public due to serious politicization. So much so today this country has almost become a failed State where top anarchy reigns.

In fact this had been the state of governance ever since this Government was installed in power in January 2015. The so-called Public Service today also has got reduced to the level of a domestic service of the political party in power, with very few exceptions found once in a blue moon. The situation is getting aggravated every day as all political parties are concerned only in vote hunting to remain in power.

Therefore the crying need to seriously address and arrest this grievous national problem immediately and find a lasting solution before the country collapses completely beyond redemption.

In order to achieve this noble objective, which, I consider will be a historic land mark in the political history of this country, I propose below a comprehensive list of 50 steps needed to be taken immediately to arrest this appalling situation and make this country once again the Pearl of the Indian Ocean, as it had been in the past, by converting it to a dynamic, vibrant and prosperous status. For this we need a strong and patriotic government that can fulfill the native people’s aspirations. With this objective in view, using the 1956 experience, I present the following proposal for all patriotic people to think seriously.

The following recipe is based on burning aspirations of the native Sinhala majority who has been discriminated and sidelined by all political parties for 70 years since the dawn of so-called Independence in 1948. It is a complete departure from the conventional manifestoes of political parties presented by them to grab people’s votes only to fulfill their own vicious and selfish ends. It is a people’s manifesto, prepared after consultation with a wide cross section of people.

In this proposal the people demand and command the politician and political parties for the first time in the history of elections, in this country since 1956, to accept and publicly agree to fulfill the people’s demands, if they want their votes. That is the fundamental difference between all previous election manifestoes and this. I hope this will also provide a precedent for all future elections in this country to lay a firm and solid foundation for democracy in this country. No political party or individual that cannot comply with this National agenda is qualified to aspire to govern this country in future or ask for a mandate from the people to do so.

The Blue Print of a People’s Election Manifesto for the next Presidential/General election

Objective

(These objectives are tailored to cover all fields like political, economic. social and cultural in nation building)

1 To replace an utterly corrupt, disastrous, treacherous and non-functioning government, by the politicians, for the politicians and of the politicians and their families, cronies and their government servants, with a “True Yahapaalanaya” by the people, of the people and for the good of the people and to set up a Civilization State” as Martin Jacques  proposed in his When China Rules the World” (2009), based on our own indigenous systems of governance headed by an honourable set of Statesmen headed by a strong patriotic Sinhala Buddhist leader and a set of True Public Servants”, who love the country, its people and their culture than their own self interst.

2 To take the reins of power of Governance in to the hands of 75% Sinhala majority, consolidate their rights as the Bhumiputras of the land and end the tyranny of minority politics in this country, which has ruined this country since 1948 while ensuring the reasonable rights of minority communities and their due place in this country within the framework of a Sinhala Buddhist State.

3To restore the name of the country as Sinhale, Sinhala Language as the State Language, Buddhism as the State religion, the national flag that was there in 1815 and the status of the total land of the motherland free from all encumbrances to restore the sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence, freedom and the cultural heritage of this great Sinhala Buddhist country and the nation as it existed for 2500 years at the time of ceding to British I n 1815. (In fact these are things that should have been done in 1948 but never done by any Government for 71 years up to date)

4 To enact a new Constitution based on the roots of the nation as embedded in its history, traditions of state craft, legal systems, the cultural heritage and the 2500 year old civilization, to lay a solid and firm foundation for nation building to make this country a vibrant, dynamic and prosperous nation.

5 To ban all Political Parties named after ethnic, religious, regional or divisive basis like Federal, TNA, TELO, SLMS, TC and EPRLF or any other like who go against the Non-negotiable conditions of the Sri Lankan State. (See Annex 1)

6 To end the conventional practice of keeping everything in the hands of corrupt politicians by getting them to implement an election manifesto prepared by the people like in 1956, instead of hitherto prevailed practice of politicians imposing their election manifestos to get the votes and get their things done, while ruining the country.

7 To get all people to give up their kepuwath, meruwath UNP/ SLFP/ JVP type of blind party political affiliations, which has divided the Sinhala people and made the minorities the King makers, and to organize the Nation as a ‘We Sinhala Movement’ as one mighty patriotic force that will put the country before the party and all other petty considerations like religion and caste to unite the nation as one formidable and undefeatable ‘Force’ and to end the minority power of hijacking the  Sinhala Buddhist nation in to political wilderness. United we stand and divided we fall. Our failure to understand this simple gospel truth and getting blindly trapped in the divisive noose of party politics set by the colonial British to ruin this country.                    

8 To restore the lost heritage of the Sinhala nation and the main aspects of their Independence and identity, starting from 1505 to date, which the politicians of this country have miserably failed to do during 71 years of so-called Independence (See Mahanuwara Charter 2019 for details).Re-starting teaching of true history of this country  should commence immediately in all schools as a compulsory subject for all citizens to differentiate between fact and fiction.

9 To scrap the Indian imposed 13th Amendment and Provincial Councils, a white elephant and a curse imposed upon us by force by India, that has completely destabilized the once effective and less costly District Administration and Governance in this country, by multiplying and duplicating public institutions, number of parasitic politicians and public servants, dividing the country in to 9 semi-federal units paving the way for permanent division of the country in to a no return situation, wasting billions of public funds with zero benefit to the country, that could otherwise have been gainfully spent on the development of the country. Concurrently the abolition of Rajiv/JR Accord of July 29th 1987 that gave birth to PCC and many other serious political disasters, like 1) the acceptance of  a Traditional Tamil Homeland in the North and East, 2) granting Official status to Tamil Language in this country (when it is not given even in India where over 70 million Tamils live) and 3) granting Citizenship to all Indian Estate labour on the plantations on an affidavit from a JP, also has to be removed forthwith.

8 To punish all involved in the CB mega Robbery starting from Ranil Wickramasinha, the chief conspirator-cum schemer and the first accused ending in recovering the total loss to the country, life imprisonment, confiscation of property and ending in death penalty for those found guilty.

9 To cancel all disastrous agreements entered in to by this Government with Foreign countries to sell or lease out the nation’s assets and making prior Parliamentary approval mandatory before signing any international agreement in future.

10 To declare all land 5000 feet above sea level as strictly reserved forests as in the days of the Sinhala Kings to protect the country’s geographical Heartland that provides the source for all rivers in this country which in turn determines and dictate the entire life system and the civilization in this Island nation: limit all human settlements to areas below 3500 feet, to protect the physical stability of the central hill country” of the country, thereby increasing the water resources for agriculture, hydro- electricity, industries and domestic use.

11 To restore all lost rights of native Kandyan Sinhalese who fought for 443 years against three enemy invaders Portuguese, Dutch and British to protect this nation for us.

12 To set up a separate Ministry for Kandyan Peasantry rehabilitation, the Authority and the Institutions recommended by the Kandyan Peasantry Commission of 1951, to rehabilitate them immediately to rectify the historical injustices done to them and to abolish the newly formed Hill country Tamil (mono) Village and Infrastructure Development Ministry and all so-called development programmes started under it with ADB assistance by this Government that will ultimately lead to the formation of a permanent Indian enclave right at the centre of this country. (These people were brought by the British after 1840, as slaves who worked for the British to enrich the British Treasury. While toiling for their British masters they earned their living and transferred all their savings to India annually up to 1948).

13 To restore all lost rights of native Kandyan Sinhalese who fought for 443 years, from 1505-1815, against three colonial enemy invaders Portuguese, Dutch and British to protect the motherland and this nation for us.

14

a)To abolish the newly formed Hill country Tamil (mono) Village and Infrastructure Development Ministry and stop all the institutions and International  assistance that will ultimately lead to the formation of a permanent Indian enclave right at the centre of this country. (These people were brought by the British after 1840, as slaves who worked for the British to enrich the British Treasury. While toiling for their British masters they earned their living and transferred all their savings to India annually up to 1948). My question to Ranil and his government and all politicians who pamper these alien people is, as to why they are giving these lands outright and privileges to decedents of an alien slave force, while the Kandyan Peasants, the real owners of these lands are being blatantly discriminated and not restored with an inch of their ancestral land.

15 To drastically reduce the number of politicians and institutions at all levels starting from Parliament and Ministries to the village level to an economically viable level the country could afford. (155 Members of Parliament, 15 Ministries)

16

a)To limit granting Citizenship to Plantation sector Indian Tamils only according to Nehru-Kotalawala Agreement of 1954 and annul all Citizenships given under any other politically motivated treacherous agendas since 1954; even among them only those who renounce all their connections both physically and mentally with India for good and accept this country as the land of the Sinhala nation and agree to integrate with the native Sinhala people as it has always happened in history shall be qualified to get citizenship under this. Others have to leave either to India or Britain as they were British citizens on Feb 4th 1948. They also should agree to abide by the 15 non-negotiable conditions given in Annex 1. In addition to fulfilling the conditions laid down in the N/K Agreement it should also be made compulsory for them to pass an examination in Sinhala and Sri Lankan history before they are qualified to receive citizenship.

b) To limit granting citizenship to all other categories and to enact strict laws on giving citizenship to foreigners; only to persons who accept the 15 non-negotiable conditions listed in the Mahanuwara Charter 2019 and who accept and respect this country as the land of the Sinhala nation and agree not to challenge this inalienable status at any date even in future. (Please see Annex1).  They also have to pass an examination in Sinhala language and history of this land.

17 To take immediate steps to restore and protect the ancient archaeological and historical monuments destroyed by Tamils and Muslims to protect the Sinhala Buddhist Civilization and culture all over this country together with the total land extend donated these institutions by the ancient Kings and pay special attention to restore all place names and names of rivers, given during the Portuguese, Dutch, British rule to their pre 1505 original status.

18 To allocate all employments under Government strictly according to ethnic ratios and have strict rules even in the private sector, to protect rights of Sinhalese.

19 To follow a Non-align Foreign policy protecting the Sovereignty, freedom and Independence of the country and to assert as an Independent nation without cowing and bowing down to anybody.

20 To make Sri Lanka  once again the Pearl of the Indian Ocean and the Miracle of  Asia by giving pride of place in the national economy to Agriculture, Livestock, Fishing, Export promotion, Shipping and Aviation as key sectors in the economy and thereby converting the nation’s economy to a dynamic, vibrant and strong status.

21 to stop all wasteful public functions such as foundation laying and opening petty projects at state expense and talking shops (meetings) organized by and for politicians with expensive flower decorations and also expensive pavilions etc. to exhibit their vanity, spending millions of public funds and wasting millions of valuable man hours and to compel the politicians to go for actions at least now and stop talking which they have done for the past 71 years and also stop forthwith all meetings organized to hand over appointments  etc and post all such letters by post to recipients as it was done in the past.  Display of politicians on Sign boards all over the country costing billions should also be banned.

22 To revise the pension scheme for all retired public servants so that every pensioner will be placed on the same pension salary point entitled to a person retiring from the corresponding post at present irrespective of the date on which the former has retired, in terms of the historic 1985 Indian Supreme court decision, in order to do justice to nearly 600,000 pensioners, who are struggling to keep their heads above water.

23 To Ban sending slave labour (especially women) to other countries including domestic servants to Middle East and to provide employment avenues for them locally to stop our cultural erosion, and to start a program of sending skilled professionals only, like Doctors, Engineers, Technicians and Managers etc enabling creation of jobs for those who pass out from our Universities and technical colleges as a major source of foreign exchange

24 To ban all Schools under the ‘International’ labels and extremist ideologies like Madrasa so that we will have only National Schools that will implement the national Education policy of Sri Lanka in this country in future, as only a broad based National Educational policy that suits the country in the context of the new world, could lay the sound foundation that could meet the challenges of this emerging world, for proper nation building. Make studying Sinhala compulsory for all Sri Lankan citizens

25 To Reduce annual Public holidays (currently in the range of 125 -135) to a number not to exceed 12 as it is accepted in most countries

26 To stop poaching and robbing all our marine resources in our territorial waters by any foreign country, including India that leads the game depleting our marine resources

27 To impose death penalty for all found guilty on all serious and anti-social crimes starting with narcotics

28 To lay down special qualifications for politicians. Things like impeachable character, a Clean record, minimum educational qualifications, reasonable assets, unassailable patriotism and character, etc + five years compulsory permanent residence in the electorate, unless he or she has birth right to that electorate for which he/she seeks nomination and an upper age limit of 75 years with recall provisions and finally to make the JRS once again the most august assembly in the country.

29 To have a strict code of ethics and conduct for politicians and public servants with clear and strict performance targets, including a ban on all politicians and public servants other than Cabinet Ministers and National level officers attending state functions outside their areas of authority unless the chief guest invites him/her for some special duty, as the present practices involves a wanton wastage of enormous amounts of public funds.

30 To demand that all politicians have to agree to work free for one year under the new system

31 To appoint a permanent commission to inquire in to malpractices of all politicians and high officials from 1987 and punish those found guilty with confiscation of property illegally acquired, removal of civil rights and any other punishment courts deem fit for the offences committed. 

32 To restructure the present system of Government Machinery with lesser number of 15   Ministries. Departments and Statutory Boards and institutions will continue as implementing agencies of policies and programmes of the Government.

33 To set up an independent professional Judiciary and a Public Service where all recruitments, placements and promotions will be purely made on merits based on competitive examinations. Meritocracy should be the hall mark in the seats of public service in all these fields including politics.

34Main features of the new Government under the new Constitution

A Central Government

1An Uttareetara Purohita Saba/ Advisory Council

An Uttareetara Purohita Saba of 17 members (see Sec.  05 of Mahanuwara Charter 2019 for details (Instead of one Purohita in the past) as stated in the Siya Panatha

2) Uttareetara Jatika Selasum Mandalaya/Permanent Supreme National Planning Council  consisting of 10 or 15 eminent persons in fields like Economics,  Law, Finance, Agriculture, Environment, Industry, Education, Trade and Commerce, History and Culture of this country etc, to prepare the overall National Plan so that politicians will have only to implement national policies after they get elected. This will also has to be regularly evaluated, monitored and corrective measures taken to get this programme and the broad work plan given in the Mahanuwara Charter 2019 to be implemented by the new Government to the end without flaws. This Council should be chaired by the Prime Minister.   

3 President

 An Executive President elected by all the people in the country who shall be the Head of the State, Head of the government and the Chief Commander of the Three Forces and restore his powers removed by the 19th Amendment. 

4 Prime Minister

Prime Minister; The Chairman of the 15 Executive Committee as stated in 6 below.

5 Jatika Rajya Sabhava

Jatika Rajya Sabhava JRS/ (Parliamentto be named as JRS) of Elected Members representing 198 electorates (Abolish National list MP, District MP, Proportional and Preference system) Five years permanent residence within the respective electorate for all candidates should be made compulsory to get nomination.

6)  Cabinet

JRS to have 15 Executive Committees whose Chairmen will form the Cabinet of 15 assisted by 15 Deputy Ministers, representing the 15 Districts that have not got a Minister. Of the 15 Chairmen one will get elected as the Chairman of the Committees (Cabinet) who will be appointed as the Prime Minister by the President. (For details see Towards a Government without Political Parties” mentioned in Mahanuwara Charter 2019)

7) State machinery

The present system of State machinery of Ministries and Departments with semi-government institutions will continue, of cause reduced in number.

8 New Constitution 

To enact a new Constitution base on our own civilization as more fully described in Mahanuwara Charter 2019.  The Constitution for any given country has to be formulated by the Bhoomiputras who have founded the land, made the civilization and lived there from inception of history of that land and who treat it as their only motherland unless it had been overrun and conquered by an alien power like in the case of   N&S Americas, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. No other outside party such as a foreign country or institution or an invader or labourers brought by them for their work and left behind when they left or left outs of invaders or itinerant seasonal traders and illicit immigrants who have their own true motherlands elsewhere, like Tamils and Muslims in this country has absolutely no right to take part in constitution making for this country. As such constitution making for this country is the non-negotiable prerogative and the birth right of Sinhalese Buddhists.

(No man or woman who is not prepared to agree to the conditions given in Annexes 1 &11 and Charter2019, even if he/she is a Sinhala Buddhist should be appointed as a Minister or a Deputy).

B

Local Government

9 To form

1) Grama Sabha,

2) Village Councils at Korale level for villages and,

3 Urban Councils and Municipal Councils for Urban centers. (Pradesiya Sabhas will be abolished under this system).

35 To restore former District and Divisional Agricultural and Coordinating Committees

to be presided over by District and Divisional Secretaries (Disapathi and Upadisapathi)

36 To completely reorganize and upgrade the present Grama Seva System with resident village level officers to be named Gampathi in place of present itinerant Grama Seva Niladhary system, transferable only within the respective divisions, transferable once in 5 years, as both the Village officer Gampathi and the Village formed the rock foundation of the effective administration in this country from the inception of history, at least from 307 BC

37 To divide the Island again in to Tun Rata with 10 districts for each totaling 30 for the whole country. Five new districts, Mahiyanganaya, Wellavaya and Seruwavila for Ruhunu Rata; Yapahuwa (kurunegala   for Maya Rata and Willpattuwa for Pihitirata)

38 To ban clergy of all religions from contesting elections to Jatika Rajya Sabhava or any other political body

39To ban appointing defeated politicians and members of politicians families to any post under government violating all recruitment procedures to government and semi-government institutions or local and foreign services.

40 To stop all special privileges to all politicians and public servants like Duty free and official vehicles and punish all those who have misused this facility by violating the PA circulars from 1987 as given in Siyapanatha item 88.

41 To abolish the of Pension rights politicians and convert it once again to an Honourable public service as it had been in the past and to end politics being pursued as a fraud and a big business

42 To disqualify politicians and all other persons including those found guilty of any treacherous action against the State or the country to hold any post in politics or public service.. Even those who are holding any public positions at the moment, that fall in to this category should also be removed immediately.  This should be followed by removing civil rights, life imprisonment and confiscating illegally acquired property in addition to any other punishment the authorities deem fit.

43 To stop all interference by foreign countries or any foreign organization in the internal affairs of this country and to govern only according to the wishes and aspirations of the Bhoomiputras of this country.  The age of Navi Pillay, Samantha Power, the British Prime Minister, Geneva and all other similar organizations like Amnesty International and UNCHR, ordering us what to do should be put to an end immediately.

44 To Terminate diplomatic relations with all countries that do not conform to these  Sri Lankan national policies and who consistently act against  the interests of the Sri Lanka Government and support the LTTE remnants  both at Home and abroad  and the so-called Tamil Diaspora  operating from New York and London  and many other countries.

45 To make the Secretary to the Treasury and the Ministry of Finance once again the Head of the Public service and the Secretaries to Ministries to be appointed only from the Secretaries Service (see Siya Panatha Sec.3 for details). This will insulate Public Service from political messing and restore independence, discipline and quality of public service and all recruitments to State jobs to be done through open competitive examinations and viva voce with no political interference. All Government institutions to have a fixed cadre

46 To resettle all displaced people due to LTTE atrocities or during the war in their original places within six months.

47 To ban all types of Communal segregations and make the whole Island open to people of all communities without any discrimination and to punish persons like Vignesvaran Sivajilingam, who openly preach and act against this principle.

48 All Universities to be made independent seats of higher learning catering to Economic. Social and Cultural development needs of the country, subject to the implementation of the Government’s National education policy. Ban all politically designed Student unions in Universities and also ban raging in all universities and Schools.

49 To Minimize foreign travel both for politicians and State Officials. Both politicians and State officials going on foreign study tours or training should submit their reports within one month after they return, as to what lessons they have learnt, that could be made useful to the country, to the JRS by politicians and by officials to the Secretary/Head of Department to the relevant Ministry/ Department.

50 Stop the present practice of allocation of public funds to politicians either by seats or through Decentralized budget invented for political bribing and to channel disbursement of all public funds through State Official as it was done in the past and to minimize financial mismanagement

(For details on each item please see relevant sections in the Mahanuwara Charter 2019).

(As no man or woman who is not prepared to agree to these conditions is fit to be a citizen of this country or to take to national politics or get appointed to public service in Sinhale, no such person should be elected or appointed to any public position).

Lastly, let there shall be no Ambalamas (stoppages) in this “Great National Leap Forward” until the final destination is reached!

Annex 1

The 20 non -negotiable conditions

1 Name of the country shall be Sinhale as it had been known at least from 543 BC up to 1972 (for 2515 years).

(All historical and literary sources have referred to it as Sinhale, Sinhala Dveepa or Seehala Deepa, Lakdiva or Lanka, but never as EELAM. Only ancient Malayalam people of South India had referred to this country as EELAM by which they simply meant the land of the Sinhala people. The country that was ceded to Britain in 1815 by the Kandyan Convention of 2nd March 1815 was Sinhale, translated to English as Ceylon, meaning the land of the land of the Sinhala people. All the 20 odd names used for this country except two means the land of the Sinhala people except two that is Taprobane (derived from Tambapanni) and Serendib (from serendipity). Therefore that original name of the country has to be restored. Note both Sinhale (Puraana literature) and Lanka (Ramayanaya) had been used synonymously from very ancient times to this country. The prefix Sri was added in 1972 Constitution when they named the country as The Republic of Sri Lanka and today it is known internationally as Sri Lanka and it has got permanently established by now. As such it could be called either Sinhale (lcally) or Sri Lanka (internationally) like Bhratdesh and India, if necessary after public consensus. Thereafter this country shall be known in all languages either as Sinhale or Sri Lanka. To call it by any other name like EELAM, Ilankai or Kalisthan thereafter will have to be declared as treason).

 2 Name of the Nation of this country shall be Sinhala as it had been in vogue at least from 543 BC up to 1948. But again the nation could be called either Sinhala or Sri Lankan for reasons given in item 1 above. Tamils or Muslims thereafter shall not be referred to or called as nations in this country any more. They shall be called minor communities only (Sulujana kotas not minorities which is erroneously translated as Sulu Jati).

3 Its Ratavesiyo (citizens) shall be known as Sinhala meaning the people of the Sinhale). Those who wish to be citizens of Sinhale should learn the Sinhala language, Take Sinhala names, renounce all allegiance to their country of origin and get fully integrated with the native Sinhala society as they did in Burma in 1947. None, other than honorary citizens, who will not comply with these requirements, shall be given full citizenship of Sinhale.

There shall be two category of Ratavesiyo under this scheme.

a) Ratavesiyo by decent or Bhoomiputrayo:  All descendants of those who were  Ratavesiyo of Sinhale before 1815.

b) Ratavesiyo by registration.

 This includes Ratavesiyo who are registered after accepting the conditions laid down in Annex 1 and 11 included here in, subject to the conditions prescribed in Mahanuwara Charter 2019 item 7 regarding Rtavesibhavaya.

4 Buddhism shall be declared the State Religion while freedom of practicing other religions, will be guaranteed with no right to manifest or propagate as it had been done from the beginning of history of this country up to 1815. Buddhism has to be accepted by people of all other religions asthe State religion of this country as it had been accepted by Kings and subjects alike in the past and even in contemporary times ‘as the main tree where all other religions are only small branches’ as Rev Malcolm Ranjith Malcom Fernando has aptly said.

5 There shall be one Law for the whole country for all Citizens as it had been up to 1815. Details have to be worked out by the Bhoomiputras, based on the traditional native laws. Simultaneously ethnic laws such as Thesawalamei (Law for Malabar inhabitants) and (for Muslims) introduced to this country by the Dutch and British to divide the Lankan nation shall be abolished and banned. Polygamy presently practiced by Muslims and Sharia marriage laws also should be scrapped along with this.

6 Sinhala should be made- The official language of the State as it had been from 543 BC. Both Tamils and Muslims can use their language. But all have to correspond in the official language with the Government as it was done before 1815. 

No one who does not know the language of the natives, that is Sinhala, shall be given full Ratawesibhavaya of this country

7 One country, One Nation, One National Flag and one National Anthem concept must be enshrined in the Constitution. It should be sung only in Sinhala as given in the Constitution.(This will enhance and consolidate the unity and patriotism as one nation)

8 This country shall be declared the Historical Maathrubhumi of the Sinhala race and all other communities have to accede to that non-debatable and non -negotiable fact of history.

9 Sinhala people also must have the right to live in any part of the country of their choice and have the right to have their religious establishments like temples and shrines just as the Tamils and Muslims currently enjoy. If anyone objects or refuses this condition then they should leave for their motherlands in India or Arabia.

10 Sinhala Buddhist culture has to be legally recognized as the national/dominant culture of the Sri Lanka nation, while the freedom of practicing their own cultures for all minor communities will be guaranteed.

11 The international community has to honour this Sri Lankan identity

 Discontinue diplomatic relations with all countries that do not agree to these conditions and deport their Diplomatic representatives immediately and terminate all relations with such countries until they agree to do so.

12 This country will not get aligned with any World power. We will strictly adhere to the Non-aligned policy as a free, Independent and sovereign nation and will have friendly relations with all countries. Any attempt by any country to interfere or intervene with the internal affairs of this country will be rejected and defeated.

13 No national asset within the Island and its territorial waters shall be sold to or otherwise divested in any foreign country or agency.

 (All these 13 conditions are nothing but the restoration of the legitimate rights of the Bhoomiputras of this Island as they were there at the time of ceding this country by the Kandyan Convention in 1815 and some of them like the place of Buddhism, machinery of administration and customs and Judicial practices were included even in the Kandyan Convention, although most of them were outlawed by the Royal Proclamation of Nov 21 1818 unilaterally and therefore illegally by the British. These conditions should have been restored in 1948 to make independence meaningful, but it was not done. Therefore none of them are new. Furthermore no Tamil or Muslim can challenge the imposition of these conditions as they themselves had been living within that very system prior to 1815 and all rights they enjoy today were given to them under suppression by the colonial powers against the will of the Bhoomiputras)

Additional Conditions

.

14 Under this proposal all Political Parties named after ethnicity, religion, region or divisive basis like Federal, TNA, TELO, SLMS, TC and EPRLF or any other etc, will have to be banned by law as they run counter to this principle.  Even the Marxist parties like LSSP, CP and JVP should be banned as their political ideologies do not suit this country. There is no need to talk about the UNP or SLFP as they are also now defunct and will die a natural death at the next election.

15 The President, Prime Minister, Chief Justice, Speaker of the Jatika Rajya Sabhava, IGP, and the Heads of the three Armed forces shall be always be Sinhalese and Buddhists both by convention and Law.

16 All recruitments to public service should be done strictly according to ethnic ratios (Please refer to Mahanuwara Charter 2019 and Siyapanatha for details)

17 Strict Programme of family planning to maintain demographic balance and  stop multiplying particularly by Muslims like rabbits

18 Ban ethnic and communal segregation

19 Ban Muslims marrying Sinhala women and polygamy

20 Ban Sending women slaves to Middle East etc. Provide employment for them at Home improving the home economy.

Annex 11 new Constitution

The New Sinhale/Sri Lanka Constitution should be based on the following historical foundation and premises.

1 Historically this country had remained the Traditional Homeland of the Sinhala Nation, at least from 543 BC up to date.

2 Since 307 BC it had been the only Sinhala Buddhist nation in the world.

3 Firstly, Sinhalese Buddhists were the people who found, developed and fostered the unique Sinhala Buddhist civilization on this Island. It was also they who protected it from all foreign devastations firstly, the Indians, more particularly, South Indians, starting in the 2nd century BC up to the 12th century AD (culminated in the barbaric Maagha devastation), who razed Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa civilizations (that ranked among the best in ancient and medieval world) to the ground.

Secondly, it was virtually destroyed for 443 years from 1505 to 1948 by the Portuguese, Dutch and British invasions. In all these wars it was the Sinhala Buddhists who had to face the brunt of the invader and die in battle in millions in defense of their Motherland. Among the long list of brutal and savages atrocities carried out by these invaders, shooting all those who could not be arrested, hanging them then and there, burning down all fields, houses and barns and slaughtering all animals of the natives to feed the soldiers of the invader could be cited as few example of the cruel crimes carried out by these invaders.

4 The name of the country ceded to British in 1815 was Sinhale as given in the Kandyan Convention of March 2. 1815. Except Taprobane and Serendib all other names over 23 like Zeylan and Ceylon simply meant the Land of the Sinhala people. Even the Tamil word EELAM means the land of the Sinhalese. This clearly shows that, right throughout history it was the Sinhala imprint that has flourished on this land.

5 Sinhala Buddhists were the architects of the civilization in this country, who fought relentlessly for millennia against the South Indian and thereafter Portuguese, and British invaders from 1505 to 1948and died in millions in battle to defend their motherland in the savages and brutal 1818 and 1948 especially in Uva and Matale historic uprisings against the British. It was they who lost all their lands in battles fighting against the enemies to defend the motherland for posterity.

6 None of the Tamils or Muslim at any time has supported the native Sinhalese in these wars. Instead they took the side of the enemy and particularly the Muslims, both in the Uva and Matale freedom struggles who supported the British by transporting their provisions, guns and ammunitions from the harbours to the interior and by spying against the Native Sinhalese. When Muslims were brutally murdered by Portuguese in 1665 and when those who survived ran to the King in Kandy it was the Sinhala King who saved them and settled in the Panampatuwa (these are the ungrateful people now asking for a separate State in the South East)

7 In the period of early political agitations even Tamil scholars wrote on the Sinhala Buddhist civilization in this country and accepted that this had been the Land of the Sinhalese from the dawn of history and they were the architects of the unique civilization in this Island nation. See what P. Arunachalam in his Sketches of Ceylon History (1906) and Ananda Coomaraswamy in his classic Medieval Sinhalese (1905) wrote and concluded about the Civilization of the country. It is a tragedy and a pity too that the present day Tamil politicians don’t understand what these great Sri Lankans had said. I invite extreme communalists like Sambandan, Vignesvarana and Sumanthiram to read these books and find out as to where they should stand in this country. Instead today they all follow a Malaysian born Catholic Tamil Chelvanayagam, who had migrated to this country (around 1903) as a 4 year old boy who later became the Father of Ilankai Tamil Arsukachchi idea (1947) and Grandfather of modern Tamil extremism in this country.

8 Even as late as 1965 K. Indrapala professor of History in his PhD ‘Thesis Dravidayan settlement in Ceylon’ concluded that there were no Tamil settlements in the interior of this country until the 13th century and they were confined to a narrow coastal strip in the north and East. I am talking here on  Indrapala, who wrote  his PhD  Thesis in 1965 and not what he had said recently at LTTE gun point in his “The Tamils of Sri Lanka”: (300 B.C.-1200 A.D.)-

9 All minority races including Tamils and Muslims are thus only descendants of immigrants who had come to this country from time to time either as traders, invaders, slaves of colonial powers or illicit immigrants. Tamils in the North and East were brought as slaves after 1505 by the Portuguese, Dutch and British to work in their projects. There are very few who descend from those left behind by early invaders. The last category is the Estate Tamils who were brought as indentured labour by British to work on their Coffee and Tea plantations after 1840. Therefore they were British citizens who were left behind by the British when they left in 1948. As such none of these categories   has any legitimate right to call this country their motherland unless and until they become full citizens of this country after learning the Language and history of the land and integrate with the native Sinhalese. The irony is none of these people accept this country as the land of the Sinhalese. Instead they all want separate independent and self-ruling regions carved out from this Land. Some people like the LTTE and their proxies have declared even war against the natives claiming the land of the Sinhalese for 30 years. All native politicians who are supposed to have ruled this country since 1948 are responsible for this unfortunate situation.

Appendix 111

Process of elections

Selection and Election of Members to the Jatika Rajya Sabha and other Sabhas

 (see sec 12 Mahanuwara Charter 2019 )

 Candidates at different levels shall be first selected by the respective Councils on public consensus by Nomination by the Council or self- application, from among qualified and distinguished persons permanently resident within such electorates. (They also can hold a primary election to select them). They will be elected on a non-party basis as there will be no parties in this system, on the first past post basis on and electoral basis thereafter. The simple criterion for selection shall be all-round suitability to hold public position.  This system will see the real Mahasammatha principle in practice. (Since Elections to JRS, are conducted at District levels for the purpose of electing them, the District Council will submit the lists

There shall be 3 or 2 names for each electorate, for the JRS candidates from among whom the voters of the respective electorate will elect 1 for the JRS

Only persons with permanent residence within the electorate are qualified to be nominated for any given electorate.

The persons who come first in each electorate will go to the Jatika Rajya Sabhava.

At the conclusion of the Election the Commissioner of Election will announce the list of Jatika Rajya Sabha.

(Please see Towards a Government without Political Parties; Key to a New Political Culture in Sri Lanka for details). It may also be useful to refer to the election process adopted during the State Council days)

All these crazy people must learn the wisdom of Rev Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith (one of the greatest sons of Sri Lanka in modern times} latest statement where he said “Buddhism in this country is the big tree and other religions are only small branches of the big tree.’ In my opinion this is by far the best description of the Sri Lankan society made by any religious dignitary or a historian ever. The same thing could be said with regard to ethnicity as well. Accordingly, I will put it as “Sinhala race in this country is the big tree and other communities are only small branches of that big tree”.

Why can’t the Tamil and Muslim politicians, the treacherous NGOs, Colombian Sinhala politicians and the so-called International Community (the five anti Sinhala groups) also understand this all-time reality, and learn to live together without quarrelling with the Sinhala people who are the true Bhoomiputras of this land. Both Tamils and Muslim could be compared to ‘parasitic plants on a Sinhala banyan tree’ struggling to kill it and trying to be the banyan tree. Now the time has come for Sinhala Statesmen to compel these immigrants either to accept this gospel truth and try to live amicably with the native Sinhalese or leave for good for their own motherlands. 

If all these five categories could understand the wisdom of Rev Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the day they do so, on that day, ends the ethnic and religious clashes in this country.

                                                                The end 

‎5/‎8/‎2019    

Dr Sudath Gunasekara

Hanthana Pedesa Mahanuwara