Although money plays a key role in our lives, the workings of our monetary system are a mystery to most of us. ‘The Waterworks of Money’ by cartographer Carlijn Kingma is an attempt to demystify the world of big finance. It visualizes the flow of money through our society, its hidden power made manifest. If you see money as water, our monetary system is the irrigation system that waters the economy. The better the flow, the more prosperous society will be. Just as water makes crops thrive, so money sets the economy in motion. Or at least that’s the idea. In reality, inequality is growing in many countries and people are dealing with a ‘cost of living crisis’. Meanwhile, the progress with making our economies sustainable is stalling, and financial instability remains an ongoing threat. These problems cannot be seen in isolation from the architecture of our money system. If we truly want to tackle them, we will have to address the design flaws of our current money system. For more info check: https://www.waterworksofmoney.com or https://www.carlijnkingma.com For the Dutch version of the animation check: https://www.ftm.nl/waterwerk Current exhibitions: ‘The Future of Money’ at Kunstmuseum Den Haag, 14 April, 2023 – 8 September 2023. ‘Plumbing The System’ at the Dutch Pavilion of the Venice Biennale, 20 May 2023 – 26 November 2023 The second animation video of this series will be released in September 2023. The Waterworks of Money is a collaboration of cartographer Carlijn Kingma, investigative financial journalist Thomas Bollen, and professor New Finance Martijn van der Linden. Kingma spent 2300 drawing hours, based on in-depth research and interviews with more than 100 experts –ranging from central bank governors and board members of pension funds and banks to politicians and monetary activists. The structure of our monetary system is not a natural phenomenon. We can choose to change its architecture. Designing the money system– and the laws and institutions that govern it–is ultimately a democratic task, and not a commercial or technocratic one. In practice, however, there is a major obstacle impeding the democratic process: financial illiteracy. By making finance and money needlessly complex, economists, bankers and tax specialists have turned most of us into ‘financial illiterates’. Everyone who doesn’t speak their financial jargon is excluded from the democratic debate on how our monetary system should work. The Waterworks of Money bypasses the financial jargon. It is an attempt to boost systemic financial literacy. Only if ordinary citizens develop their own vocabulary to participate in the debate about their financial future, can they tell their politicians which kind of ‘financial irrigation system’ they want. Authors: Carlijn Kingma, Thomas Bollen, Martijn Jeroen van der Linden Animation: Tiepes, Christian Schinkel, Cathleen van den Akker Narrator: Loveday Smith Translation: Erica Moore Voice recording: Huub Krom Music and sound: Rob Peters Photography: Studio OPPA
A large group of Chinese entrepreneurs called on Prime minister Dinesh Gunawardena at the Temple Trees today (July 13) to discuss possible investments in many spheres.
The Prime Minister said there is vast potential for investments in many fields including tourism and hospitality industry, gem and jewellery, agriculture, medicine, food processing, renewable energy and entertainment industry.
Chairman of Daguowen Culture Co., Ltd., Zhang Qihua said he is dealing with international cultural exchange, global sustainable development promotion and Sri Lanka has potential to attract more than million tourists from China. He said he would work closely with Chandra Wickremasinghe, Chairman of Connaissance De Ceylon to jointly promote Chinese tourists to Sri Lanka.
Ms. Jin Mei Yang – Chairwoman of Zhejiang Outstanding Women’s Chamber of Commerce expressed willingness to assist women empowerment programmes in Sri Lanka.
Ms. Xie Yueyu – Chairwoman of Wuxin Group,a medical research group working on collaboration between human liver cells and gemstones for human health said she was interested in setting up a branch in Sri Lanka to assist cancer cure.
The delegation included Ms. Zhang Xiaomei – General Manager of Lanzhou General Machine Manufacturing Co., Ltd. , Mr. Li Zhengguo, Chairman of Shandong Jujinlong Group (Hydrogen energy industrial park for new energy technology), Mr. Zhou Wenlong – Chairman of Shenzhen Zhongdian Core Technology Co., Ltd., Ms. Li Min – Executive Assistant at Shenzhen Zhongdian Core Technology Co., Ltd., Ms. Guo Tingting – Chairman of Anthony Walter Piano and Executive President of Wuxin Public Welfare Foundation (International artistic and cultural cooperation) and Ms. Xiao Ling – General Manager of Wuxin Group (Public emergency Chinese medicine assistance and collaboration with Chinese hospitals).
Bar association’ should be shamed for their one-sided stance with regard to the ongoing debate about the speech done by MP Sarath Weerasekara in the Parliament on 7th July 2023. It is very clear that BA stands for what and aligned with whom. Sure it is not the general opinion of all the members but of a few with vested interests. Below reply given by MP Sarath Weerasekara is self-explanatory…
The President,
Bar Association of Sri Lanka,
Colombo.
Dear Sir,
This refers to your press release appeared in The Island on 12th July 23.
I totally reject your allegation that my statement in Parliament was a brazen attack on the judiciary. You are invited to listen carefully to my parliamentary speech on 7th July 2023.
I consider this press release was to show your solidarity with the lawyers in Mulative without probing into the relevant incident that occurred at Kurundi Buddhist Temple Complex.
Every citizen in the country is fully aware that judiciary should be allowed to operate independently, free of external pressures etc. which, the Bar Association doesn’t have to emphasize.
I must remind the BA that once the TNA legislative M A Sumanthiran , in parliament, accused the Supreme Court , the highest judiciary, of swinging like a pendulum. During the debate on 22 A, to the constitution, he said if the Supreme Court can’t read and understand their own determination, ask them ” to go home “!. Why didn’t BA issue a statement condemning that? Was it not a brazen attack on judiciary? Is the BA afraid of Sumanthiran?
I would like to remind the Bar Association the report submitted by the special rapporteur Monica Pinto on “Sri lankan judiciary” to the UNHRC. A few of the allegations she has leveled against our judiciary were as under.
a. Judges are reportedly often offered government or other political offices after retirement. This practice raises concern regarding possible conflict of interest and casts doubts on the independence and impartiality of the judges who may be hoping to obtain such positions.
b. Overall, judicial independence seems to have been gradually eroded over the years.
c. Bar Association during certain periods strongly divided along political lines. The politicization of the association is a source of great concern.
d. Judges frequently push defendants to plead guilty. When defendants plead guilty judges can expedite their cases and improve their statistics.
e. In general the Admin of justice should be more transparent, decentralised and democratic.
We haven’t seen the BA , who is supposed to safeguard the independence and dignity of our judiciary, making any statement against such a derogatory report.
However I must mention that I volunteered and attended the UNHRC session on 18 th June 2017 and declared that Monica’ s report was a derogatory and contemptuous towards our judiciary with a proud history of 200 hundred years.
Also I questioned the ability and qualifications of Pinto to read, study and analyse and asked her how she came to a conclusion that SL judges were incompetent, incapable, poorly selected, corrupt, cowardly and partial within just 8 days of visit to the country.
I said it was a preconceived and predetermined observation of Pinto and invited all to go through the achievements of the judges who work for the judiciary in foreign countries.
This was how I safeguarded the pride of our judiciary at international level when the BA was keeping quiet together with the lawyers of Mulative who are now protesting against me.
I as a parliamentarian is fully aware how to conduct myself in parliament. I request BA to visit North and observe the manner in which our Buddhist ruins are being plundered and destroyed by ruffians and how the Chaithyas are raised to the ground and conducting poojas by placing Shiva Lungas on top of it.
The archeological officers are threatened with death and cases filed with the help of Mulative lawyers to deliberately delay renovations and then destroy what has been already preserved.
If the BA is concerned about upholding the rule of law , she must pay serious attention to that aspect which might lead to communal conflict in future.
We all respect our judiciary. But the lawyers also have a moral obligation by the country to think twice before appearing for goons who destroy our heritage.
Rear Admiral ( Dr ) Sarath Weerasekera VSV RWP USP
Colombo, July 12: Historically, Sri Lankans have tended, whatever their faith, to tolerate other faiths. Indeed, to some extent every religion on the island has been influenced by the others.
This mystical assimilation is reinforced by the existence of a syncretic system of folk belief underlying the major religions, incorporating a gamut of myths and legends drawn from a variety of sources. The existence of such a broad system of folk belief goes beyond the shores of this island and may be found in different forms throughout South Asia.
ADVERTISEMENT
That tendency extends to followers of the Abrahamic religions. For example, the traditional Islam of Maldives incorporates non-Islamic beliefs in Djinns and Divs corresponding to the deities and demons of the Sinhalese. Reverend Father Tissa Balasuriya, in his Mary and Human Liberation, gave voice to some of the pressures of religious syncretism on Roman Catholicism.
Other schools of thinking are also in crisis as the world is far from experiencing continuing progress; Western civilization is in a moral crisis and searching for values on which to rebuild itself. Marxist socialism too has failed to solve the problems concerning the ultimate meaning of life even when it has contributed towards a more just social order. It is within this situation that the Churches are coming together in searching their identity as disciples of Jesus and in a more open dialogue with the world religions, which till recently they considered as pagan.”
The presence of churches on the sacred sites of folk deities has imbued some of the Christian saints with the characteristics of their co-located deities, leading to their almost universal appeal. For example, the Sri Lankan belief in St Anthony of Padua, whose church reputedly lies on the site of a Shrine to the deity Suniyam, has led to pilgrimages to his cult centre in Padua by non-Christian Sri Lankans domiciled in Europe.
Similarly, one finds mosques dedicated to various Muslim saints in the holy places of the Sri Lankan folk belief system: at Adam’s Peak or Sri Pada(the mountain holy to Buddhists, Christians, Hindus and Muslims) and at Kataragama.
The Mosque at Kataragama contains the Shrine of Hazarat Al-Khizr (Al-Khidr), the Green One.” This in itself is significant. Al-Khidr has been syncretized with various Zoroastrian, Judaic, and Christian figures, including Elijah and St George. Al-Khidr, the Servant of God”, is an angel, prophet, or protector (wali) who accompanies Musa (Moses) and teaches him through a series of apparently unjust actions.
In his fervent quest for God, according to Sri Lankan Sufi belief, Al-Khiḍr embarked on an extensive journey, yearning for divine guidance, and met the Archangel Jibril (Gabriel), disguised as a wise human sage. Jibril imparted profound teachings to Al-Khiḍr through seemingly unjust actions, as the Quran says Al-Khidr did to Musa.
The role of Al-Khidr as a protector is significant. The Kataragama God in the folk belief system is also a protector. In modern times, no sooner do they buy or lease a motor vehicle, the owners drive down to Kataragama to obtain the god’s protection for it. For weeks afterwards, one may see the red plastic garland symbolic of the god festooned over the dashboard (generally hanging from the rearview mirror).
However, the god of Kataragama may have begun as a river god (note that Al-Khidr is identified as finding the water of life”). The Vannialaëtto refer to him as Oya Veddha, the River Hunter”, the river in question being the Menik Ganga, which flows past the Shrine. Even today, pilgrims wash off their physical and spiritual dirt in the river. The water-cutting” ceremony played an important role in the ritual and may have had far greater religious significance in the past.
The late mediaeval chronicle the Rajavaliya says that King Gajaba I (Gajabahuka Gamini) invaded the Chola country to rescue 12,000 Sri Lankans taken as captive by the Chola king, his path thither being opened by the giant Nila, who parted the waters of the Palk Strait with his massive mace: echoes of near-eastern legend, including that of Musa, who parted the Red Sea.
The river god may have been assimilated to Kande Yaka (mountain spirit”) the god of nearby Wedihitikanda or mount of the elders” – the elders” in this case referring to the Vannialëtto. The Vannialaëtto claim to have begun the tradition of the pada yatra, or foot pilgrimage through the eastern jungles to Kataragama, which persists to this day.
The earliest mention of Kataragama in written records comes from the 5th Century Buddhist ecclesiastical chronicle, the Mahavamsa, which says that the nobles of Kajaragama” came to Anuradhapura to witness the planting of the sacred Bodhi Tree by King Devanampiya Tissa in the 3rd century BCE.
This suggests Kataragama may have been an important spot from the earliest times. Its etymology is unclear: gama comes from the Prakrit gāma or village”, but the origin of Katara is not certain. Several derivations have been put forward, including katara or desert”, Kartikeiya for the Hindu god of war, and Tamil Kathir, ray of light.” None of these sounds plausible, any more than the Muslim derivation from Khidr-gama”, the village of Al-Khidr. Kajara in Ayurveda means the Strychnine plant (Strychnos nux-vomica) or Goda Kaduru, so Katara might stem from this plant name.
The locality of Kataragama by no means comprised a desert or jungle in ancient times. Until the British created the Yala game park, taking over thousands of hectares of paddy lands, farms covered this area. The Shrine must have been located in the midst of bustling economic activity. The reference in the Mahavamsa, which adds that one of the Bodhi saplings was planted here, indicates that it was a place of some importance.
The Buddhist ecclesiastical chronicle the Culavamsa notes that it several times acted as the capital of the province of Rohana. It occupied a strategic position on the road to Guttasala (modern Buttala) from Tissamaharama and the coast, being just 25 kilometres from Kirinda, where the Kirindi Oya river fell into the sea. Equally importantly, it lay at the same distance from the salterns.
Naturally, the god of this economic centre absorbed the attributes of the deities of the elites in the surrounding areas and of foreign merchants and pilgrims. Kande (of the mountain”) segues into Skanda, the Vedic god of war.
This association may have been reinforced by the similarity with Sikander” (the Macedonian invader Alexander), whose legendary prowess in warfare influenced folklore from the Caucasus to Bengal. As Iskander-zul-Qarnain (two-horned Alexander”), Muslims considered him the cousin of Al-Khidr.
The identification of Kataragama with the god of war is helped by his later assimilation of the deified King Mahasena, whose very name means great army.” Tradition has King Dutthagamini Abhaya (Dutugemunu) making a pledge to the god before setting out on his military campaign against the Chola king Elara.
According to Hindu mythology, before becoming the god of war, Skanda married Devasena, the daughter of Indra. However, the Kataragama god was married to a Vedda chieftain’s daughter, Devani. This contradiction worked itself out uniquely, by the deity taking two wives. The god is said to move between their two dwellings.
According to a celebrated myth, the god’s courtship of Devani had an unintended consequence. She had withstood his blandishments, so his brother Ganapati turned himself into an elephant to frighten her, allowing Skanda to pose as her savior and win her heart. However, his incompetence led to the more cerebral Ganapati being stuck with an elephant’s head.
Skanda, as the god of war, came to occupy a place among the gods of the four warrants, alongside Natha, Vishnu and Pattini. According to Gananath Obeysekere, the defeat of the Kandyan Kingdom in the war” of 1815 (more like a transaction than a war) and in the bloodily suppressed Uva rebellion of 1817-18, led to a decline in the Skanda cult.
The number of devotees making the pada yatra diminished to a trickle. Then a strange phenomenon occurred. The ranks of pilgrims expanded, with thousands of South Indian immigrant workers coming to worship Murugan, identified with Skanda or Kartikeya.
Whereas the cult of Natha, formerly the god of state, continued to decline – the god falling to the status of deity of the abandoned (anatha) – that of Kataragama developed to the pre-eminent position in Sri Lanka. When one enters the boundaries of his domain, one arrives in god’s country.”
Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus had worshipped at Kataragama for centuries. However, the recent Indian immigrants brought with them new practices and rituals, in particular rituals of self-torture, such as face-piercing and hanging by hooks, which seem to provide the staple for foreign documentaries on Kataragama.
Said to be the offspring of Siva and Parvati, his nativity is bound with the myth of the demise of Bathmasura” (rice miser”), the Asura Bhasma whom Vishnu, in the form of a woman, vanquished. Before he could shape-change back, Isvara (cognomen of Siva) had sex with him, producing seven offspring, who became the god Aiyanayaka (Aiyanar) and the six-headed Skanda, his name deriving from his mound of heads” (his kanda). A mythic mishmash indeed.
The history of Kataragama and of its resident cult underlies its modern position and mythology. The complex and often contradictory body of myths surrounding worship of the Kataragama god is a creature of the syncretism which has formed the contemporary cult. Perhaps this syncretism could provide the basis for resolving the ethnic differences and attitudes which bedevil Sri Lanka today.
Islamabad, July 12: The three-day Gandhara Symposium 2023, titled Cultural Diplomacy: Reviving Gandhara Civilization and Buddhist Heritage in Pakistan”, commenced in Islamabad today.
The Symposium has been organized by PM Task Force on Gandhara Tourism; the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISS); and the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The Inaugural Session was addressed by the President of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi, as Chief Guest. Dr. Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, Minister of State/Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Task Force on Gandhara Tourism, was the Guest of Honor.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Director General ISS Amb. Sohail Mahmood, in his welcome address, stated that Pakistan has a millennia-old, multi-layered cultural heritage, of which Gandhara is a very important dimension.
He stated that the Symposium’s objective is to put the spotlight on the Gandhara civilization and raise global awareness about the Buddhist heritage in Pakistan.
The government and people of Pakistan are proud of the fact that this rich legacy has been well preserved. He expressed the hope that Panel Discussions, Round Table, and site visits during the Symposium would help delineate a pathway to advance the desired goals, including the promotion of faith tourism.
In his address, President Dr. Alvi lauded the initiative and reminded the audience that the Gandhara Civilization held immense importance for the Pakistani nation, representing a powerful dimension of its rich cultural heritage. The President emphasized that in today’s world, where hatred is on the rise and increasing polarization is fuelling conflicts, it is time to rediscover the role of cultural diplomacy to promote dialogue among civilizations.
He stressed that cultural diplomacy holds enormous potential to strengthen global ties. The journey to revive the glorious Gandhara civilization and Buddhist heritage in Pakistan is thus vital in this regard. The President added that Gandhara was a great centre of learning that attracted intellectual discourse, and its cosmopolitan nature and cultural fusion fostered an environment of tolerance and harmony.
He underscored that leading humankind towards peace and harmony is the biggest challenge today. To address this, the President stressed that the message of peace from religion is the most important one that the world needs today.
The movement to end violence in the world is perhaps the most important and urgent need, he added.
The Chairman of PM’s Task Force Dr. Ramesh Vankwani stressed that the promotion of Pakistan’s Gandhara heritage is a ‘dream’ for him.It necessitated the assistance of all relevant Departments and institutions. The symposium symbolized a commitment to the protection and promotion of Pakistan’s rich Buddhist heritage.
He stated that the soft power of cultures needs to be capitalized on. In this regard, collaboration within the country among all stakeholders as well as cooperation from other countries is vital.
Gandhara tourism, he added, has the potential to draw 500,000 people to Pakistan which can bring about 1.5 billion USD in revenue in its first year. He also shared his ideas about the promotion of faith tourism in Pakistan as part of efforts towards building a more prosperous Pakistan.
Session I of the Gandhara Symposium was on the theme ‘Pathways to Peace: Exploring Pakistan’s Rich Buddhist Legacy.’ The speakers included religious scholars and faith leaders from Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Nepal, Sri Lanka and China.
The speakers highlighted that Gandhara has been a major centre for Buddhist learning and education and recommended preserving the Buddhist Gandhara heritage in Pakistan as well as continued efforts for its projection as part of world heritage.
Session II discussed ‘Gandhara Civilization: Celebrating Pakistan’s Buddhist Heritage.’ The presenters comprised experts, faith leaders and religious scholars who emphasized that Buddhist Gandhara heritage is paramount to Pakistan. Pakistan is blessed with rich culture and is a hub of civilizations. The Punjab and Sindh provinces have landmark historical sites with excellent archaeological research and spiritual tourism opportunities.
Pakistan’s Buddhist legacy offers a pathway to peace, harmony and tranquillity. The best way to preserve cultural heritage is to share it with the world and allow them to be part of this world. The panellists suggested that the Buddhist Heritage has economic potential and educational attraction. They recommended promoting Gandhara heritage to the world and creating economic opportunities for Pakistan.
The speakers stressed that Pakistanis must try to dispel misconceptions about Pakistan in the context of the security situation and build trust among Buddhist people so that they can come to Pakistan from around the world.
Session III delved into ways of ‘Promoting Tourism: Creating an Enabling Environment.’ Experts from Pakistan’s tourism industry and think tanks were invited as speakers. The panellists agreed that efforts need to be put in place to develop the tourist industry of Pakistan on a sounder basis that also helps present a positive image of the country.
They suggested that special attention should be given to various tourism-related matters such as visa regimes, film and media, hospitality, culinary offers, museums, tours and tourist centers to promote the potential of Gandhara tourism in Pakistan.
Lastly, a panel of religious experts, academics, curators, faith leaders and other stakeholders gathered for a Round Table on ‘Gandhara Civilization: Opportunities and Challenges.’ The points stressed during the Round Table included: Pakistan is a safe place for tourism, and the Symposium conveys the requisite message aptly.
Pakistan is going to start Gandhara Tourism, and it is ready to collaborate with other countries to enhance B2B and P2P exchanges. The Round Table concluded that the lack of security structure, deficits in awareness and marketing, needed funds for preservation and restoration, unsupervised hotels, underdeveloped roads, tourist safety, and lack of modern tourism infrastructure are a few of the challenges.
It was felt that the holding of the Gandhara Symposium 2023 had made a beginning towards raising global awareness about Gandhara.
The IMF in 2020 told nations around the world that they should maintain a budget deficit to tackle the effects of COVID-19, however, two years later, the IMF insists that this would lead to chaos, Dr. Howard Nicholas, senior lecturer at Erasmus University – Rotterdam, and International Institute of Social Studies – The Hague told The Island.
Obviously, the IMF is playing a game here. If you look at the past, it is obvious that IMF recommendations have not helped countries like Sri Lanka,” Dr. Nicholas said, adding that Sri Lanka needed to seriously think about its future.
Apart from privatising State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) the government is not doing anything. This has not helped the economic development of any country. The IMF says that Sri Lanka must reform its state administration, and there is some truth to this. However, this is no solution to the country’s economic problems,” Dr. Nicholas said.
Dr. Nicholas said that Sri Lanka must take a path of export-oriented industrialisation. He has been urging successive Sri Lankan governments to take this road for 35 years, Dr. Nicholas said.
The main reason why Sri Lanka is in crisis is because of the chronic balance of payment issues. Import expenditure was higher than export earnings for 40 years. The trade deficit on average was about 10 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The country scraped by with tourism earnings and remittances from workers. However, this wasn’t enough, and loans had to be drawn. As you know, whenever there is a global crisis, there is a drop in tourism and remittances,” he said.
Dr. Nicholas said Sri Lanka had been borrowing heavily from the International Sovereign Bond markets since 2007. The country borrowed over 14 billion dollars from the bond market between 2015 and 2019.
This had a severe impact on debt sustainability, and then came COVID-19, and everything unraveled. But the root cause of the problem is trade deficits, which started 40 years ago. The problem remains,” he said.
The Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration in 2019 implemented a serious tax cut, and that was a disastrous move, Dr. Nicholas said. The Rajapaksa administration had also dramatically reduced interest rates and stopped the import of agrochemicals without a real plan to transform our agriculture, he said.
His government made a lot of mistakes that led to the shrinking of Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves. The government, like everyone else before them, had no interest in boosting import revenue,” he said.
The Government Medical Officers’ Forum (GMOF) yesterday (13) pointed out that India couldn’t absolve itself of the responsibility for the alleged supply of low quality Indian medicines to Sri Lanka under the USD 1 bn credit line opened over a year ago. GMOF President Dr. Rukshan Bellana said so, referring to the third death due to low quality drugs reported on Wednesday (12) from the Peradeniya Teaching Hospital.
We appreciate the Indian credit line that allowed Sri Lanka to procure a range of urgently needed medicines at a time when the government was not able to meet the basic requirements of the public but there cannot be an excuse for deaths and complications caused by Indian medicines,” Dr. Bellana said.
Responding to The Island queries, Dr. Bellana said that he sincerely hoped the government would take up this matter at the highest level. Pointing out that President Ranil Wickremesinghe was scheduled to visit New Delhi soon, Dr. Bellana said that the President should take up the issue without any further delay.
The first death caused by substandard drugs was reported from the Peradeniya Hospital on June 16. Dr. Bellana said that many had expressed concern about the death of a patient at the Peradeniya Teaching Hospital who died after being given the Indian-manufactured anaesthetic Bupivacaine.
Dr. Bellana said trouble had started in May 2023, when those who had been administered Indian medicines after eye surgery at the Nuwara Eliya hospital complained about visual impairment. The doctors cited the presence of germs” in the eye medication as a reason for their patients’ condition. Health authorities initiated an inquiry and withdrew the drug.
Dr. Bellana said that Transparency International Sri Lanka had filed a fundamental rights petition in the Supreme Court, challenging the decision of the Cabinet and health authorities to procure drugs from unregistered suppliers.
The petition has further questioned the national drug regulator’s role in providing a waiver of registration to allow for the swift import of essential drugs. Gujarat-based Savorite Pharmaceuticals (Pvt) Limited and Chennai-based Kausikh Therapeutics have been named as respondents. Early in April this year the Supreme Court granted leave to proceed in the case and suspended imports from these companies.
Dr. Bellana, who is the Deputy Director of the National Hospital, Colombo, said that perhaps the World Health Organization (WHO), too, could look into the issue. According to him, leading Indian media groups have addressed the controversy over the quality of Indian medicine as well as the continuing shortage of essential medicines and equipment.
Dr. Bellana said that he intended to seek a meeting with Indian High Commission authorities to make representations. He asked whether corrupt elements (local agents) here with the help of interested parties in India were making money at the expense of a bankrupt country. Dr. Bellana Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella and Director General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardena owed an explanation to the public.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it has not discussed any plans for a digital services tax with the Sri Lankan authorities in the current program.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the global lender further clarified that it has not provided any recommendation on whether or not Sri Lanka should sign on to the OECD/G20 inclusive framework agreement for international corporate taxation.
The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)/G20 inclusive framework on BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) over 135 countries and jurisdictions are collaborating on the implementation of 15 measures to tackle tax avoidance, improve the coherence of international tax rules and ensure a more transparent tax environment.
The IMF statement came in response to some recent media reports and queries regarding its advice to digital service tax in Sri Lanka.
Revenue mobilization is a key pillar of the IMF program with Sri Lanka, the spokesperson said further, adding that as part of the upcoming first review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program currently scheduled in September, the global lender plans to discuss with the authorities how best to mobilize additional revenues. This could include considering the benefits and challenges with introducing a digital service tax.
The IMF said it would work with the authorities to put in place reforms that are in the best interest of Sri Lanka and its people.
The bank accounts of six individuals, identified as members of the Board of Directors of ‘ONMAX DT’, a private firm believed to be a pyramid scheme, have been frozen, on orders of the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court.
Accordingly, the relevant bank accounts are believed to have deposits amounting to Rs. 790 million, while 95 accounts belonging to the said company have been suspended thus far.
Investigations were launched into the firm by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division, based on a complaint received from the Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL).
In their complaint, CBSL officials highlighted the fact that ONMAX DT was, in fact, a confirmed pyramid scheme, and thus, facts in this regard were presented before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday (12 July), by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division.
There, the investigating officers told the court that six members on the Board of Directors of the company, namely, Sampath Sandaruwan, Athula Indika Sampath, Gayashan Abeyratne, Madhuranga Prasanna, Saranga Randika and Dhananjaya Gayan had deposits amounting to Rs. 790 million in their bank accounts.
Subsequently, the court ordered that the accounts in question be suspended, along with the Rs. 790 million.
While the total sum defrauded by the company is yet to be determined, the investigating officers believe that the figure is at least twenty times more than the money found in the suspended accounts.
However, no complaints against the pyramid scheme have been received from the public thus far, the police said, urging any individual who fell prey to the scheme to come forward, and lodge a complaint in this regard at their nearest police station.
It seems perhaps a bit late in the day for the Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa to appoint a committee to look into how Sri Lanka went into bankruptcy and plan to gather information from foreign institutions as a Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB)has indicated to the media.
Mr.Premadasa has apparently been awoken from a sudden pang of conscience after he turned down an opportunity when offered the Presidency once where had he accepted perhaps he could have righted many wrongs related to the bankruptcy issue among others and what happened subsequently which was no mean task but chose to be the gutless wonder now trying to close the proverbial stable door after the horse has bolted.This seemingly has lost the Opposition Leader much credibility where no amount of rhetoric could restore the faith the country needs to have in him regrettably.
The information is that Mr Premadasa will go ahead with the appointment of a committee on his own and will even get information from foreign institutions and experts as well but what would be the practicality of such a venture unless it was to bring to justice the perpetrators responsible for the huge aberrations of economic failure by a previous administration steeped in corruption, cronyism and jingoism where this responsibility truly lies in the hands of the present President which he seems to have shrugged off in a curious and almost inexplicable manner perhaps tantamount to a neglect of his responsibilities as the real culprits according to many researchers who have already done in depth analyses continue their existences.
The true culprits who are purported to have stashed away vast sums of money misappropriated during the last regime and made reprehensible administrative and policy choices that plunged the Nation into near disaster are enjoying an undeserved freedom rather than being investigated and indicted for what the Constitution deems criminal action and irresponsible misappropriation of National Funds which in reality is the responsibility of the President to investigate rather than the Leader of the Opposition.Perhaps he is biding his time in conventional wisdom.
While it bears to mind that the President has done wonderfully towards restoring Sri Lanka from her recent perils when all seemed lost, through all the resources available to him as well as his political and economic savvy combined with the confidence world leaders have in his capability there probably is that one feather in his cap missing where a complete investigation into how the country was plunged so deep into near bankruptcy, financial disaster, recession, near anarchy and those responsible brought to justice still awaits his affirmative action and the reluctance to do so somewhat perplexing to all who were so painfully affected by what transpired.
Asked about the legitimacy of a select committee appointed by the Leader of the Opposition,the SJB has said that the Leader of the Opposition would be doing so following the ruling given by the Speaker that he can summon any state officer for any inquiry at any time .
It however stands to reason that such an investigation should be initiated by the President rather than the Leader of the Opposition who in all probabilities has greater access.to all, the facts and figures concerned and the authority to ensure that justice is done for the sake of all who suffered.
The United States and Bangladesh have close, long-standing relations that have their roots in history. Friendships between the two countries have grown over the past fifty years, increasing cooperation in fields like economic development, environmental preservation, counterterrorism, democratic government, and human rights defense. However, the recent acts of the US government and President Joe Biden have strained bilateral ties. The strong ties between the US and Bangladesh have experienced considerable turbulence as a result of the United States’ poor policy choices.
The policy of penalizing RAB people in 2021 signaled the beginning of the split in US-Bangladesh relations. High-ranking RAB officials were sanctioned by the US without any thought given to the controversial and, most crucially, home issues of Bangladesh. Accusations of election fraud in Bangladesh were made in 2022 by the US ambassador in Dhaka, Hass, which was not his diplomatic duty. But he hardly ever mentioned opposing party-political violence, which included petrol bombers, national terrorism, and significant vandalism in 2014. Derek Chollet, a counselor with the US State Department, expressed his worries about Bangladesh’s waning democracy again in February 2023 and cautioned that this would limit US collaboration with Bangladesh.
Prior to the general elections in May 2023, the new US visa policy was unveiled. US Secretary Antony Blinken made a comment that read more like a threat from Washington, suggesting that it might impose visa restrictions on Bangladeshi nationals who interfere with the democratic electoral process, which is never within the scope of an outside authority. Six members of Congress issued a letter to the US President after the occurrence pleading with him to take action to ensure free and fair elections in Bangladesh. Do these activities adhere to any diplomatic norms? one could inquire.
Is Bangladesh a republic governed by the US? Are the citizens of Bangladesh so naive as to not comprehend the geopolitics and diplomacy underlying US actions? Bangladesh’s political system and dynamics are challenging. It’s nothing new. Why is the US attempting to influence Bangladesh’s political landscape?
It is obvious that the US is committing multiple policy blunders regarding Bangladesh in the name of democracy and human rights. Numerous reasons influence this US decision, but these aspects also have global implications. First, in the wake of the Taiwan dispute and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the US wants Bangladesh to join bloc politics.
Bangladesh has consistently followed neutrality in foreign policy decisions, maintained a non-aligned stance in world politics, and made choices based on multipolarity. Bangladesh and other South Asian countries boycotted twice at the UN while the war was still going on to criticize Russia. Bangladesh, on the other hand, voted in support of Ukraine on the issue of human rights.
Bangladesh has reaffirmed its support for the “One China Policy” even on the Taiwan issue. The US and its Western allies continue to place a high priority on the Taiwan issue, and South Asian allies want the US to change its stance on Taiwan. Second, the Indo-Pacific area is where the US has the most interests.
The US desired Bangladesh to join programs like QUAD or IPS in order to corner China from all angles.
Bangladesh vehemently refused joining any security alliance and gave economic diplomacy top priority for any attempts because of the country’s generally non-militaristic foreign policy, which is frequently encouraged by the constitution. Bangladesh released its Indo-Pacific Outlook in December 2022, reiterating the value of a secure and tranquil area while also highlighting China’s significance in it.
Third, the US has violated Bangladesh’s sovereignty by attempting to influence in its internal affairs. It is using democracy and human rights as a tool to meddle in Bangladeshi domestic issues and put tremendous pressure on the nation to adopt a foreign policy that is dominated by the west. Such restrictions have drawn harsh criticism from Bangladeshi residents. When the United States supports authoritarian regimes in some regions of the world while promoting democracy and human rights in other regions, it raises questions about the consistency and integrity of its commitment to democratic values.
Third, the US has violated Bangladesh’s sovereignty by attempting to influence in its internal affairs. It is using democracy and human rights as a tool to meddle in Bangladeshi domestic issues and put tremendous pressure on the nation to adopt a foreign policy that is dominated by the west. Such restrictions have drawn harsh criticism from Bangladeshi residents. When the United States supports authoritarian regimes in some regions of the world while promoting democracy and human rights in other regions, it raises questions about the consistency and integrity of its commitment to democratic values.
Such a paradox runs the risk of undermining the democratic agenda in the United States and raising accusations of unfairness.
Fourth, the US has grown concerned about Bangladesh and China’s close economic ties. 99% of Chinese markets are duty-free for Bangladeshi goods. Bangladesh also joined BRI to secure the growth of its infrastructure. China has made almost $39 billion in investments through BRI. The completion of the Bangabandhu Karnaphuli Tunnel and the Padma Multipurpose Bridge has also signaled a strong bilateral relationship between these two states. Bangladesh is also keeping a sizeable foreign exchange reserve and avoiding the “debt trap” that the west has warned about.
Bangladesh has resorted to paying in Chinese RMB even when it is difficult to do so in US dollars. Bangladesh is requesting China’s assistance in mediating the return of the Rohingyas from Myanmar. In each of these situations, the US has been unable to provide Bangladesh a meaningful policy.
Additionally, on May 26, 2023, during a period of heightened tension in relations between the United States and Bangladesh, Sun Weidong, China’s vice minister of foreign affairs, paid a three-day visit to Dhaka. Bangladesh is thinking about joining China’s Global Development Initiative. The US did not agree with this choice. Fifth, the US is even less optimistic about the developing ties between Russia and Bangladesh.
Continuous friendship was depicted by the Rooppur Power nuclear reactor. Bangladesh is working toward its objectives of having a developed economy by 2050 and a high-income nation by 2041. Energy sustainability is a priority for Bangladesh, and Russia is helping Bangladesh achieve this objective.
The internal component of the US policy error, however, cannot be disregarded. First, the US is concentrating on the opposition parties’ narrative, which is frequently unsupported by facts. The assertions of the opposition have received backing among non-resident followers of the Bangladeshi opposition party in the US. Such lobby dynamics are not understood by US leaders, who frequently choose poorly. There is no specific election platform or vision for Bangladesh held by the political party that the US is stressing.
Those parties, who were in favor of it, were quite appreciative of the idea of enacting visa limitations in Bangladesh. The present administration ran on election platforms such as “Digital Bangladesh” in 2008, “Development” in 2014 and 2018, and “Smart Bangladesh” in 2023.
The US, on the other hand, is not going back in time. When such opposition groups were in power, Bangladesh rose to the top of the corruption ranking, and the government there actively encouraged and even supported terrorism. Even historical evidence suggests that the US regime change in Bangladesh may not provide the specific gains the US is hoping for.
Given that South Asia is heavily influenced by the bureaucratic style of foreign policy, the party may support the current policies of the ruling coalition. The opposition party does not have a stance on the Ukraine issue, the Rohingya issue, or the Taiwan issue, which is another error the US is making with this approach. The US’s coercive plot and attempt to overthrow the government in Bangladesh could backfire because the people of Bangladesh would not alter their views on China, Russia, or Ukraine.
Second, US policy is slightly skewed since print, electronic, and online media outlets broadcast news stories with deceptive headlines about Bangladesh’s democratic process, creating a fictitious justification for US interference. However, by meddling in domestic politics, the US is weakening Bangladesh’s democratic process and free and fair elections. The US is losing its reputation as a trustworthy global force with this attitude. Thirdly, the US is increasing its pressure on European countries to meddle in Bangladesh’s domestic politics. Bangladesh is concentrating on joining programs like BRICS and diversifying its RMG exports, especially to Middle Eastern nations, while the US launches similar initiatives to isolate Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s strategic importance in world politics has increased as a result of its geographic location and expanding economy. Furthermore, the EU is rightfully unwilling to penalise Bangladesh in accordance with US demands.
In conclusion, it should be emphasized that implementing a “selective and humiliating visa policy” for Bangladesh, a friendly partner and an emerging economy with 170 million people, is a terrible policy decision in terms of both diplomacy and international relations in general. From all considerations and historical facts, it is harmful to try to influence Bangladesh’s electoral process through immigration policy and a few undiplomatic and forceful actions. Bangladesh is not the same as Egypt, Tunisia, or Ukraine. It is a nation with a rich history of individual sacrifices made during the Liberation, strong leadership provided by the oldest and most well supported ruling political party, and the fastest-growing economy.
Emilia Fernandez, a security and political analyst with a particular focus on South Asian geopolitics, is a Ph.D. researcher at the University of Lucerne, Switzerland.
Dr. Shakuntala Bhabani Assistant Professor and Southasian affairs researcher in the Political Science department at a Kolkata Honors College
Recent years have seen a perplexing change in the fundamental attitude of the West, led by the US, towards nations in South Asia. The US periodically exhibits a hostile and indifferent attitude towards this friendly country, despite participating in Security Dialogue and Partnership Dialogue with Bangladesh. Not just in Bangladesh is this true. In the past few years, the United States’ attitude to countries like Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Nepal, and the Maldives has experienced an intriguing change that has caused grave worries about the causes of these policy mistakes and their repercussions on regional dynamics.
Why has the US decided to pursue policies that are antagonistic toward their allies? What potential effects might there be on regional dynamics and the balance of power? These pressing issues emphasize the need to evaluate US policy and its impacts on bilateral ties, regional stability, and other governments’ influence in this strategically significant region. Most crucially, the reason why the US/West sought to strategically alienate itself in the Bay of Bengal became clear.
Since the world has seen a rise in polarization and geopolitical upheavals in the policy domains of many actors, the US and the West have played a significant role in facilitating developments. It is a goal of the west, especially the US, to bring independent nations under its wing. However, it irritates other players, prompting them to reconsider their relationship with the West and the US. Ironically, the West then accuses these nations of doing so because they are establishing tighter ties with certain powers.
Sri Lanka: Interfering in Internal Matters?
For allegedly interfering in Sri Lanka’s internal affairs, the United States has drawn condemnation. When it comes to internal matters in Sri Lanka, such as human rights and reconciliation, the US has adopted an undiplomatic and hostile posture. The US has put pressure on Sri Lanka without taking into account the delicate balance of the nation’s post-war dynamics. Bilateral ties have been strained as a result of the intervention, and questions have been raised regarding the US’s objectives in the area. In addition, the US and the West’s positions during the most recent political upheavals and economic crisis have sparked doubts about their relationship.
20 Years of Intervention in Afghanistan: A Sudden End
The dynamics of the Bay of Bengal region have been significantly impacted by the US troop departure from Afghanistan. The US has allowed extra-regional nations to increase their influence in the region by leaving a power vacuum and failing to ensure a smooth transition. This action might upset the balance of power and alter how the surrounding nations see security.
Unsuitable Reaction to Political Issues in Nepal
The US’s response to Nepal, a country facing political difficulties, has been insufficient. Despite Nepal’s potential as a regional ally and its importance to geopolitics, the US’s lack of constructive participation has been alarming. The US has missed opportunities to deepen ties and protect its interests in the case of Nepal by neglecting to provide substantive support during pivotal times, which in turn has had a ripple effect on the Bay of Bengal region.
Regional Power Dynamics and Effects
Other regional and extra-regional countries now have more potential to increase their influence and fortify their presence as a result of the US, a leader of the West, appearing to engage in a strategic self-alienation in the Bay of Bengal. By increasing its economic and strategic ties in the region, China, for instance, has benefited from the perceived US retreat. This change in power has an impact on the political and strategic dynamics of the Bay of Bengal region as a whole, in addition to the interests of the United States.
Bangladesh Case
With repeated interactions through the Security Dialogue and Partnership Dialogue, Bangladesh has been an important ally for the United States. The US’s approach to Bangladesh, however, has blatantly seemed inconsistent and unproductive.
The US has acknowledged the strategic value of Bangladesh as a prospective player in the region, but at times, its actions have sent a different message. The US has damaged the relationship and fostered a sense of disenchantment by denying Bangladesh duty-free access to the market and GSP facilities for ten years, placing restrictions on aid, pressing Bangladesh on matters like human rights, and failing to fully resolve bilateral concerns.
In recent years, the United States’ policies toward Bangladesh have generated serious concerns and strained relations between the two countries. Sanctions against seven members of Bangladesh’s elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), a unit in charge of upholding law and order, are one noteworthy instance. Aside from raising questions, this action has strengthened the impression that the US is meddling in Bangladesh’s domestic matters while ignoring the nation’s attempts to fight terrorism and preserve stability.
It might be argued that sanctioning RAB was a poor policy choice given the context and complexity of Bangladesh’s security issues. Recognizing Bangladesh’s efforts to thwart terrorism and uphold internal security is crucial. By enacting penalties, the US runs the danger of weakening mutual respect and collaboration between the two countries, which might make it more difficult for them to effectively confront shared security issues.
The new visa policy of the US has come as the final nail in the coffin. Although the formal responses of the government and opposition applaud this action, the fact is that it has sparked anti-American sentiment. The US and the people of Bangladesh have grown more apart as a result. Everyone is aware that the US is interfering in Bangladesh to advance its geostrategic objectives, which is a plain reality. The US diplomatic objectives in the region will unquestionably be defeated by this new visa regime.
The US has implemented policies that Bangladesh finds upsetting and unpleasant. These have included announcing insulting policies, voicing worries about political and labor rights developments, and openly criticizing some facets of Bangladesh’s governance. But most of the issues are settled with clarity and international organizations are already praising Bangladesh’s efforts through different reports and indexes. Any bilateral relationship benefits from constructive interaction and dialogue, but it is necessary to approach these dialogues with consideration for the partner nation’s sovereignty and internal dynamics.
The US’s perceived disregard for Bangladesh’s efforts and achievements in areas such as social development adds to the frustration felt by many Bangladeshis. Bangladesh has made significant progress in various sectors, including education, healthcare, and women’s empowerment, but the US’s policies often fail to acknowledge and appreciate these accomplishments. This creates a sense of alienation and disappointment among the Bangladeshi populace and raises questions about the US’s understanding of Bangladesh’s realities.
The US’s approach towards Bangladesh also needs to consider the broader regional context. Bangladesh has emerged as a significant actor in regional dynamics, particularly in terms of its geopolitical location and economic potential. Neglecting Bangladesh’s strategic importance and antagonizing policies risk pushing the country closer to other regional powers.
The US and the West must review their policies toward Bangladesh and adopt a more balanced and practical stance. A deeper comprehension of Bangladesh’s goals, difficulties, and contributions is necessary to forge a partnership that is more solid and mutually beneficial. Prioritizing constructive engagement, the US should concentrate on areas of shared interest, including as economic cooperation and counterterrorism initiatives, and address regional issues like climate change and maritime security.
The US’s policies towards Bangladesh have caused anxiety and strained the two countries’ ties. Sanctioning RAB without taking Bangladesh’s security problems into account runs the danger of losing cooperation and trust. The perceived US indifference to Bangladesh’s accomplishments and meddling in its internal affairs worsens the situation. To ensure a more fruitful and profitable alliance, it is essential for the US and the West to reevaluate its policies, promote constructive engagement, and acknowledge Bangladesh’s significance.
The new US visa policy was introduced before the general elections in May 2023. US Secretary Antony Blinken made a remark that sounded more like a threat from Washington, saying that Bangladeshi people who meddle in the democratic political process would face visa restrictions, which is never within the purview of an outside authority. Following the incident, six members of Congress wrote the US President calling him to take action to secure free and fair elections in Bangladesh. Do these actions follow any diplomatic rules? Someone could ask.
Is Bangladesh an American-ruled republic? Are Bangladesh’s people really that naïve as to not understand the geopolitics and diplomacy behind US actions? The political dynamics and system of Bangladesh are difficult. It is not brand-new. Why is the US trying to change the political climate in Bangladesh?
It is clear that the US is making numerous mistakes in its approach toward Bangladesh in the name of democracy and human rights. This US decision is influenced by a variety of factors, but these factors also have worldwide effects. First, the US wants Bangladesh to join bloc politics in the wake of the Taiwan dispute and the Russia-Ukraine war.
Bangladesh has constantly adopted multipolarity, maintained a non-aligned position in international politics, and followed neutrality in its foreign policy decisions. While the conflict was still ongoing, Bangladesh and other South Asian nations twice abstained from UN proceedings in order to condemn Russia. On the other hand, Bangladesh voted in favor of Ukraine on the subject of human rights.
Bangladesh has reiterated that it still supports the “One China Policy” with regard to the Taiwan question. The Taiwan problem continues to be a top concern for the US and its Western allies, and South Asian allies want the US to shift its position on Taiwan. Second, the US has the greatest interests in the Indo-Pacific region.
Bangladesh was invited to participate in initiatives like QUAD or IPS by the US in an effort to encircle China completely. Due to the nation’s usually non-militaristic foreign policy, which is frequently promoted by the constitution, Bangladesh strongly rejected to join any security alliance and gave economic diplomacy first priority for any attempts. In December 2022, Bangladesh published its Indo-Pacific Outlook, stressing the importance of a safe and peaceful region and highlighting China’s importance in it.
Third, by attempting to meddle in Bangladesh’s domestic affairs, the US has transgressed Bangladesh’s sovereignty. It is interfering in domestic affairs in Bangladesh and applying great pressure on the country to embrace a western-dominated foreign policy by using democracy and human rights as a tool. Residents of Bangladesh have harshly criticized such limitations. It raises concerns about the continuity and integrity of the United States’ commitment to democratic norms when it supports authoritarian governments in some parts of the world while advancing democracy and human rights in other parts of the world.
Third, by attempting to meddle in Bangladesh’s domestic affairs, the US has transgressed Bangladesh’s sovereignty. It is interfering in domestic affairs in Bangladesh and applying great pressure on the country to embrace a western-dominated foreign policy by using democracy and human rights as a tool. Residents of Bangladesh have harshly criticized such limitations. It raises concerns about the continuity and integrity of the United States’ commitment to democratic norms when it supports authoritarian governments in some parts of the world while advancing democracy and human rights in other parts of the world.
Such a paradox runs the risk of weakening the American democratic agenda and generating unfairness claims.
Fourth, the close economic links between China and Bangladesh have caused the US to become apprehensive. 99 percent of Chinese markets are duty-free for products from Bangladesh. Bangladesh joined the BRI as well to safeguard the development of its infrastructure. China has invested close to $39 billion through BRI. Another example of the two countries’ strong bilateral ties is the completion of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge and the Bangabandhu Karnaphuli Tunnel. Aside from escaping the “debt trap” that the west has warned about, Bangladesh is also maintaining a sizable foreign exchange reserve.
Even though it is tough to pay in US dollars, Bangladesh has resorted to doing so with Chinese RMB. China has been asked by Bangladesh to mediate the Rohingyas’ departure from Myanmar. The US has been unable to offer Bangladesh a useful policy in each of these cases.
Additionally, China’s vice minister of international affairs Sun Weidong paid a three-day visit to Dhaka on May 26, 2023, at a time of heightened volatility in relations between the United States and Bangladesh. Bangladesh is considering joining the Global Development Initiative launched by China. The US disagreed with this selection. Fifth, the US has even less hope for the growing connections between Bangladesh and Russia.
The Rooppur Power nuclear reactor represented enduring friendship. Bangladesh is aiming toward its goals of becoming a high-income country by 2041 and having a mature economy by 2050. Bangladesh prioritizes energy sustainability, and Russia is assisting Bangladesh in achieving this goal.
But one cannot ignore the internal element of the US strategy mistake. The opposition parties’ narrative, which is sometimes unsubstantiated by facts, is the focus of the US’s first strategy. The non-resident supporters of the Bangladeshi opposition party in the US have backed the opposition’s claims. US policymakers regularly make terrible decisions because they do not comprehend such lobby dynamics. The political party that the US is emphasizing does not have a specific election platform or vision for Bangladesh.
The parties who supported it were quite supportive of the concept of imposing visa restrictions in Bangladesh. Election platforms used by the current administration included “Digital Bangladesh” in 2008, “Development” in 2014 and 2018, and “Smart Bangladesh” in 2023.
On the other hand, the US is not traveling through time. Bangladesh reached the top of the corruption rankings while these opposition organizations were in power, and their government openly supported and even encouraged terrorism. Even historical evidence points to the possibility that the US regime change in Bangladesh may not result in the precise benefits the US is seeking.
Given that bureaucratic foreign policy has a strong influence on South Asia, the party might be in favor of the coalition’s current agenda. Another mistake the US is making with this strategy is that the opposition party has no position on the issues of Taiwan, the Rohingya, or Ukraine. Because the people of Bangladesh would not change their opinions on China, Russia, or Ukraine, the US’s coercive scheme and attempt to remove the government in Bangladesh could backfire.
Second, US policy is a little distorted since print, electronic, and online media channels publish news articles with bogus justifications for US intervention about Bangladesh’s democratic process. However, the US is undermining Bangladesh’s democratic system and free and fair elections by meddling in domestic politics. With this mindset, the US is losing its standing as a reliable global power. Thirdly, the US is putting more pressure on European nations to engage in the domestic politics of Bangladesh. While the US conducts similar initiatives to isolate Bangladesh, Bangladesh is focussing on joining organizations like BRICS and diversifying its exports of RMG, notably to Middle Eastern countries.
Bangladesh’s geographic location and growing economy have boosted its strategic significance in global affairs. Furthermore, it is understandable that the EU is reluctant to sanction Bangladesh in conformity with US demands.
In conclusion, it should be stressed that adopting a “selective and humiliating visa policy” for Bangladesh—a friendly neighbor and a rising economy with 170 million people—is a horrible policy choice in terms of diplomacy and general international relations. It is detrimental to attempt to sway Bangladesh’s election by immigration policy and a few undiplomatic and strong actions, according to all factors and historical evidence. Bangladesh is not comparable to Ukraine, Egypt, or Tunisia.
It is a country with a long history of personal sacrifices made during the Liberation, strong leadership offered by the longest-running and most popular political party in power, and the fastest-growing economy.
Colombo, July 12 (NewsWire) – Ms. India Inc, the esteemed beauty pageant celebrating the essence of womanhood, is all set to unveil its highly anticipated Season 4. This year promises to be a truly remarkable and international affair, as the grand finale will take place in the captivating island nation of Sri Lanka. It will be the first time in the history of Mrs. India Inc that the prestigious event will be held on an international stage.
With an impressive participation of 75 contestants from various parts of India and across the globe, Season 4 of Mrs. India Inc is expected to be the most diverse and enthralling edition yet. The pageant has attracted talented individuals from different countries, making it a truly global celebration of beauty, grace, and cultural diversity.
The highly anticipated finale week of Mrs. India Inc Season 4 is set to take place from July 13th to July 19th, offering a captivating schedule filled with exhilarating events and experiences. The week-long extravaganza will commence with a grand opening ceremony, where the contestants will be introduced to the audience in a stunning display of grace and elegance. Following the ceremony, a series of rigorous training sessions, workshops, and rehearsals will be conducted to polish the contestants’ skills and enhance their confidence. Throughout the week, the contestants will have the privilege of exploring the picturesque beauty of Sri Lanka, immersing themselves in the vibrant local culture, and creating cherished memories.
The grand finale of Mrs. India Inc Season 4 will be held at the iconic Nelum Pokuna, a world-class venue known for hosting magnificent events. The contestants will have the privilege of staying at the luxurious Cinnamon Grand Resort, one of the finest hospitality destination of Sri Lanka, ensuring their utmost comfort and convenience throughout the event.
To ensure a fair and unbiased selection, a distinguished panel of judges has been assembled, consisting of renowned personalities from various domains. The esteemed judges include: Malaika Arora, Dino Morea, S. Sreesanth, Cherag Bambbot & Bhawna Rao. Adding an extra touch of glamour and entertainment, the renowned performer Yohani will grace the stage with a special performance that is sure to captivate the audience.
The crowning moment of Mrs. India Inc Season 4 will be nothing short of spectacular, as the winners are set to be crowned and sashed by an esteemed panel of reigning queens. Adding an extra touch of glamour and prestige to the event, the reigning queens include the remarkable Capt. Chahat Dalal, who holds the title of Mrs. Galaxy, the charismatic Mrs. Juhi Vyas, who earned the coveted Mrs. Globe People’s Choice title, and the stunning Mrs. Zoya Sheikh, who secured the impressive position of Mrs. Universe 3rd Runner-up. These exceptional women embody grace, beauty, and accomplishments, serving as an inspiration for the contestants vying for the prestigious Mrs. India Inc crown. With their regal presence and firsthand knowledge of the pageant world, the reigning queens will bestow honor upon the deserving winners, making the crowning moment an unforgettable highlight of Mrs. India Inc Season 4.
Mrs. India Inc Season 4 has partnered with several esteemed organizations to create an unparalleled experience for its participants and attendees. The luxury hospitality partners, Cinnamon hotels, will ensure an unforgettable stay for the contestants. The travel alliance partner- Visit my city, will contribute to making the journey in Sri Lanka seamless and delightful. The luxury couture partner, Bhawna Rao, will bring forth her exceptional designs to accentuate the beauty and elegance of the contestants. Rotaract District 3220 joins as the youth partner, emphasizing the importance of empowerment and social responsibility.
Mohini Sharma, the National Director of Mrs. India Inc stated We are thrilled to announce the upcoming Season 4 of Mrs. India Inc, which promises to be an extraordinary journey like never before. Taking our pageant to the international stage in Sri Lanka is a momentous step for us, showcasing the talent and beauty of women from around the world. We look forward to a truly diverse and captivating event, Mrs. India Inc Season 4 will undoubtedly be a celebration of elegance, empowerment, and global unity between India & Sri Lanka”
Echoing similar sentiments, Area Vice President, Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts Colombo, Kamal Munasinghe noted, Sri Lanka is at a point where our tourism industry is set to broaden its horizons and step into new avenues. One of the key areas is presenting our island nation as a destination for international events in the calibre of beauty pageants, large outdoor and indoor musical and sporting events, and gatherings of world bodies. Cinnamon is indeed proud to be associated with the Mrs.India Inc., brand as they themselves take the brand global and venture out of the sub-Continent.”
Mrs. India Inc Season 4 promises to be a spectacular celebration of beauty, talent, and diversity, bringing together participants from around the world. This prestigious event will undoubtedly leave an indelible mark on the global pageant landscape.
Colombo, July 12: An enduring feature of tourism in Sri Lanka has been the Westerners’ fascination with the Sri Lanka Railways (SLR). Foreigners go into raptures over SLR’s old-world carriages, its quaint British-era stations and its scenic routes. The journey into the past, which is what a journey on SLR is, kindles nostalgia among seniors and is an altogether new experience for young backpackers.
Indeed, there is much that is charming about the SLR. But it also has glaring flaws, that might lead to irredeemable decay if not corrected now. Currently, the SLR is a museum piece but it cannot be one forever. It is badly in need of modernization both to survive and to play a meaningful role in developing Sri Lanka.
ADVERTISEMENT
The lack of modernization has had a telling effect on the financial health and technical competence of the SLR. Not a day passes without a derailment or the cancellation of some service.
Johan Georget, a transport specialist at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which is funding modernization, sums up the state of the SLR succinctly and fairly. He says: Sri Lanka Railways was established in 1858, but has received comparatively limited investments since the 1970s. Consequently, the sector still operates very manually, and in many aspects, SLR can be considered as a heritage railway.”
With this perspective, the work of SLR employees is truly admirable in managing to successfully operate and maintain the railway network every day, with generally old equipment and limited funds, in a tropical climate that is harsh on the infrastructure.”
The lack of funds combined with the absence of meaningful initiatives on the part of successive governments, has resulted in a very poor exploitation of SLR’s potential.
The SLR accounts for only 6% of the passenger traffic and 0.7% of the freight in the island. In its early years, when it was primarily a freight carrier and the lorry revolution had not taken place, the Ceylon Government Railways (as SLR was then known) accounted for 35% of passenger traffic and 80% of the goods traffic.
Lorries started being used for ferrying goods when the limitations on lorry transport were lifted in 1951. As a result, railway development stalled, says GWS Sisira Kumara, a top SLR official, in his paper in the Economic Review dated August-September 2011. Sisira Kumara argues that Lankan governments should have given priority to rail transport because it is cheaper than road transport.
He puts it this way: A train consumes 200 litres of fuel for a 50 km journey, while the bus needs 10 litres for a 50 km journey. But to transport 1800 passengers, 30 buses and 300 litres of fuel will be required. The manpower required for running the buses will be 60 while the train will require only four. The 300 trains in the SLR are equivalent to 9000 buses.” Trains are also environment friendly while buses pollute the atmosphere.
However, traders and passengers preferred road transport because this had a wider reach. And being under private ownership, unlike the SLR, road transport operators were flexible. As a result, the SLR became progressively weak financially.
Ravi Ratnasabapathy of the Advocata Institute says that the SLR has been losing money since 1947. The expenditure of the railways exceeded costs by 10% in 1950. But by 1968, this had grown to 52.4%. The wages policy of the government and the policy limitations imposed by the government in the pricing of passenger and goods transport were factors that contributed to this situation. This has not changed much. In 2016 costs exceeded revenues by 49.4%,” he says.
Successive governments have kept passenger fares low as social welfare became the dominant creed in the mid-1950s.
Fares per km range from 50 cents to a maximum of Rs.2.00 for 2nd and 3rd class travel. 1st class fares range from Rs.1.60-3.60 per km. Revenue does not cover even salaries. Salaries exceeded revenues by 31.89% in 2016. Based on the current operating and cost structure fares would need to double just to meet recurring expenses,” Ratnasabapathy points out.
The SLR has huge assets, but these are idling. Lease arrears not collected amounted to Rs.1.8 bn at the end of 2016. The Auditor General noted that lands of about 12,000 acres belonging to the SLR had remained idle for about 150 years without being given on lease or being utilized, Ratnasabapathy points out.
The perpetual financial crunch has badly affected the maintenance, renewal and development of the rolling stock and other technical facilities. According to the Transport Ministry, 65% of the rolling stock is over 30-35 years old. Because of technical difficulties, only 42% of the trains run on time.
Due to bad rolling stock and inadequate facilities, accidents are frequent. Sunday Times said that almost 200 people died in train-related accidents in 2022. The statistics covered deaths due to crossing rail tracks, suicide, and collision at level crossings. More than 400 suffered minor to severe injuries. Daily Mirror reported that there were 117 derailments in 2022, up from 111 in 2021. And in the first of 2023 itself, there had been 54 derailments.
ADB’s Help
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a US$ 160 million loan to modernize the operations and improve the efficiency of the SLR. The ADB’s project would: (I) improve the operational efficiency of the railway network by addressing key operating bottlenecks with the modernization of the telecommunications, ticketing, operations headquarter, and train control center systems; (ii) upgrade the railway workshop at Ratmalana, and procure rolling stock and track maintenance equipment; (iii) improve railway safety mainly through the construction of housing blocks to support the future resettlement of encroachers, and the improvement of Colombo Fort and Maradana stations; and (iv) upgrade the Sri Lanka German Railway Technical Training Center (SLGRTTC); and (v) support project implementation capacity and readiness, notably for the future modernization of the Kelani Valley line and other suburban lines.
Be that as it may, the SLR, on its own, should take certain steps, Ratnasabapathy says. He recommends the adjustment of fares and tariffs to better reflect costs and improved services; leasing of more real estate and advertising space at market prices, and partnering with the private sector to provide freight and ancillary services such as catering, courier, real estate management. Even maintenance of toilets could be privatized.
The SLR currently partners with the private sector to provide a luxury carriage on selected routes. But this could be expanded to provide additional services at peak times to cater to office commuters, Ratnasabapathy says. Idle lands could be redeveloped in partnership with private developers. Stations could be used to accommodate shops and restaurants. The SLR should cease to be a drain on the Treasury”.
But fair play must be ensured in privatization, he insists. There should be competitive public tendering. The public should be informed about the arguments for contracting a public-private partnership, the scope and terms of the contract, and its estimated value so that the public are assured that things are above board.
Some PPP contracts can be extremely complex and public officials may be overwhelmed. Capacity building within the public sector in this area is essential. Setting up an independent PPP advisory unit within the government, staffed by competent people, is advisable. Judicious use of external advisors may be necessary, depending on the nature of the contract. Above all, there should be post-implementation monitoring to ensure that value is delivered,” Ratnasabapathy says.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has deplored the burning of the Holy Quran outside a mosque in Sweden amidst Eid al-Adha celebrations two weeks ago, deeming it a violation of the freedom of worship”.
On June 28, an Iraqi named Salwan Momika, who is said to be living in Sweden, set fire to a copy of Islam’s sacred text outside the central mosque in Stockholm, sparking anger among Muslims across the world.
Swedish police had initially granted permission for the protest to take place, but the demonstrator was later charged with agitation against an ethnic or national group.
Speaking in this regard at the inauguration of a new court complex, the Sri Lankan Head of State urged the Western nations to respect the value system of the Global South – the countries around the world that are traditionally described as developing, less developed, or underdeveloped,
He also called on the leaders of Western nations to refrain from allowing disturbances under the pretext of freedom of expression.
The construction of the said court complex began on September 10, 2018, following a Cabinet decision made by President Ranil Wickremesinghe during his tenure as Prime Minister, the President’s Media Division (PMD) reported.
Accordingly, its purpose is to provide the people of Ratnapura district with a centralized location for their court-related matters.
Despite the challenging economic situation, the construction of this new court complex was completed by minimizing non-essential expenses and focusing solely on essential elements, with the total expenditure for the project amounting to Rs. 1,500 million.
This four-story building complex is fully equipped with all the necessary facilities for a judicial center. It includes two High Courts, a Civil Appellate High Court, two District Courts, two Magistrate Courts, a Legal Aid Center, and a Community Corrections Office.
Expressing his views further President Wickremesinghe said; During the commencement of this event, as I was introduced, I proudly announced that I, in my capacity as the Prime Minister, had put forth the proposal to the Cabinet for the construction of this court complex. As you witness the magnificence of this court complex today, it is evident that it stands as a testament to our commitment to upholding the rule of law.
Reflecting on my visit to this area in 1977, I was reminded of the absence of a well-developed road network. However, thanks to the efforts of Minister Nanda Mathew and Mr. Kularatne, these roads were constructed, leading to the area’s progress and development.
Today, as we observe this remarkable building complex, it serves as a symbol of our dedication to establishing a strong foundation for the rule of law in our country.
According to our country’s constitution, the principles of people’s sovereignty and the rule of law are intrinsically intertwined, leaving no room for deviation.
It is imperative that everyone lends their support to these fundamental principles. As highlighted by the Chief Justice, our judicial system boasts a rich history of over 200 years, making Sri Lanka home to the oldest legal system in Asia.
Today, thanks to this impressive complex of buildings, the public enjoys great convenience. However, as our Minister of Justice and the Chief Justice have pointed out, the issue of delays in legal proceedings has become a significant problem.
Swift resolutions must be found to address this matter, as a nation cannot progress if there are delays in the administration of justice.
The challenges posed by legal delays are not limited to the general public; even investors encounter various problems. While I won’t delve into this at length, we presented several solutions during the Bar Association meeting held in Nuwara Eliya.
To tackle this issue, a comprehensive discussion has taken place among various stakeholders, including the Chief Justice, relevant government ministers, judges representing the Chief Justice, President of the Court of Appeal, High Courts, and District Magistrate Courts, as well as members of parliament from the ruling party and the opposition, representatives from the Attorney General’s Department, and the Bar Association.
This collaborative effort instils hope, recognizing that this is a long-term problem that cannot be resolved by one group blaming another.
Additionally, our laws must undergo reform. Some laws have remained unchanged for as long as the courts themselves.
The Police Ordinance, for example, has remained unaltered for 175 years. Our Justice Minister is particularly focused on addressing this issue. In the past, new laws were enacted every six months, but now we are witnessing frequent introductions of new legislation.
It is anticipated that, by the end of this year, Parliament will need to convene for three weeks instead of the usual two in order to pass these laws.
Today, the religious activities of this festival commenced with utmost devotion. This signifies not only the religious fervour within our country but also highlights the protection of religious freedom as a fundamental right.
Currently, the entire notion of the right to practice religion is facing challenges, and it is my hope that the Human Rights Council will reach a decision on this matter by next Thursday.
Towards the end of last month, Salwan Momika sought permission from the court to burn the Quran in front of the Turkish Embassy in Sweden. Despite the police refusing permission, the Supreme Court Administrative Court ruled that it falls within the realm of the right to freedom of expression.
In this instance, the police acted based on the right to practice religion, while the Supreme Court asserted the right to express opinions. The burning of the Holy Quran triggered significant uproar in the area, impacting Sweden as well as numerous other nations.
The act was universally condemned, with even Israel expressing that such actions should not take place. It was emphasized that the Quran is a sacred book that pertains to the God of Abraham, and therefore, it should be treated with utmost respect.
Sweden has unequivocally stated that burning the Holy Quran is an repulsive and disrespectful act, amounting to incitement. However, they subsequently emphasized the importance of constitutionally protecting freedom of expression and the right to assembly.
In response to this standpoint, certain Western governments have argued that this act falls within the realm of freedom of expression.
Consequently, Pakistan has taken the matter to the Geneva Human Rights Council, submitting a proposal that deems it a violation of international law. A meeting has been scheduled in Geneva on Thursday the 13th to address this issue.
The central question at hand is whether this act constitutes a violation of freedom of religion or falls under the umbrella of freedom of expression.
While we all perceive it as an assault on religion, some Western countries aim to broaden the concept of expression in order to alleviate the existing confusion. Nonetheless, not everything can be encompassed by freedom of expression, and there should be limits.
Several international non-governmental organizations argue that if this proposal is approved, it would be a setback for Western countries. It is essential to note that this issue transcends geographical divisions, as it revolves around the right to practice religion.
Personally, while I may not be a follower of Prophet Muhammad, I highly value the Holy Quran as an esteemed book. Similarly, individuals from diverse religious backgrounds can find wisdom and guidance in texts such as the Bhagavad Gita, the Bible, the Rig-Veda, and others.
Thus, we collectively view this incident as an attack on religion, whereas some Western countries attempt to extend the notion of expression to alleviate the prevailing ambiguity.
According to their perspective, they utilize the right of expression to promote the value system of Western countries, believing that this system should be disseminated worldwide.
Democracy is something we consistently cherish and uphold, and there is no contention on that matter. However, my focus here is solely on this particular event, and I refrain from discussing other topics concerning Sri Lanka.
I acknowledge that we have not fully fulfilled our obligations as per the agreement signed between the Secretary-General of the United Nations and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Hence, we have made the determination to fulfil our responsibilities irrespective of our personal viewpoints. We raise the question to the Geneva Human Rights Council: why is there silence on this matter? Why has the commission not issued a statement yet? Why are we waiting for a vote? This issue carries immense significance for all of us, and we must declare which value system we ought to embrace.
While our judiciary draws its authority and sovereignty from the people, as members of the United Nations, we are obligated to adhere to the Declaration of Human Rights. However, the dilemma lies in deciding which value system to follow.
Thus far, we have abided by all the guidelines set forth by the Geneva Human Rights Council. Nevertheless, a problem has arisen, and everything depends on the stance they adopt.
The freedom of belief is inviolable and should not be challenged. Freedom of religion cannot be stripped away by cloaking it under the guise of freedom of expression through alternative interpretations.
The Declaration of Human Rights was conceived when the former President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt affirmed freedom of speech and expression. As he stated, the second freedom is the liberty for individuals to worship God according to their own preferences. However, in the Declaration of Human Rights, this is bifurcated into religion and belief.
Former US President Roosevelt correctly asserted that treating this as a matter of freedom of expression constitutes a blatant violation of an individual’s freedom of religion. If we classify such actions as freedom of expression, it would necessitate rewriting history.
In that case, Adolf Hitler, who burned Jewish books and synagogues, should be celebrated as a Nobel laureate. We must make a definitive choice between the two alternatives.
What course of action will we take?
We await the developments on Thursday. Should this be deemed a matter of expression under external pressure, it will create a distinct division between the powers of the Global South and the Western nations.
Furthermore, if the decision is made to recognize this as a right to believe, clear boundaries must be established regarding the right to express opinions. This pertains to the crucial aspects of freedom of expression and the potential for public harm.
Which path should we follow in this regard? I have inquired with our Foreign Minister whether this issue will be discussed within the Commonwealth. In such discussions, the Minister of Justice and other relevant parties can present their arguments. Initially, I sought to engage in a conversation with the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth.
I firmly believe that the Commonwealth of Nations should assume a leading role in protecting human rights. It should not be monopolized by a single party, leading to its politicization. This right should be safeguarded for the entirety of the people. This is the greatest challenge we face.
The Human Rights Council holds the responsibility to safeguard people’s right to believe and to determine whether limitations should be imposed on the right to express opinions. However, this is just the beginning.
Nonetheless, I believe that the Human Rights Council should respect our own values and the rights of countries in the Global South. I have instructed the Ministry of External Affairs to steadfastly oppose any attempts to alter this course.
As a member of the Commonwealth, we should take the initial step in supporting Pakistan’s proposal.
As the Buddha wisely stated, Treat every religious leader with respect.” That is precisely what we are advocating for. We are actively engaging in discussions on this matter within the Commonwealth.
Minister of Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reform, Dr. Wijayadasa Rajapakshe; A year ago, our country was devoid of an effective legal framework. However, following President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s assumption of power, efforts have been made to reinstate the rule of law and restore normalcy to the nation.
Back in 2018, the foundation stone for the construction of this court complex was laid by the former Minister of Justice, Mrs. Thalatha Athukorala. Today, after a span of five years, this court complex has been officially handed over to the people, serving as a symbol of progress.
To combat corruption within the country, the Ministry of Justice has already presented over 30 new bills. This serves as a reminder that we remain committed to establishing a future where adherence to the law is paramount.”
The ceremony was graced by the presence of State Minister of Justice and Prison Affairs, Anuradha Jayaratne, and Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, both of whom delivered addresses.
Joining the event were leaders from the Hindu, Christian, and Islamic faiths, led by Venerable Sripadasthanadhipathi, the Chief Sangha Leader of the Ratnapura District, as well as the Chancellor of the Uva Wellassa University, Venerable Bengamuwe Dhammadinna Thera.
Additionally, notable attendees included Minister Pavitra Wanniarachchi, Governor of the Sabaragamuwa Province Navin Dissanayake, Members of Parliament W.D. J. Seneviratne, Thalatha Athukorala, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Gamini Waleboda, Akila Ellawala, Attorney General Sanjay Rajaratnam, and esteemed judges from the High Court, District Court, and Magistrate Court, along with members of the Ratnapura Bar Association.
Every July & November terrorists contest for the best drama award. This year’s theme has been to open a former LTTE welfare” office in Vavuniya and use that to commemorate dead terrorists. Whether these are former rehabilitated terrorists” or terrorists that ran away, sought asylum/refugee status and have now returned, I something for state intel to investigate. If they are rehabilitated”and claim to be former LTTE”, then they cannot be lighting candles for LTTE leaders – Anton Balasingham, Thamilselvan, Sivakumar, Thileepan – what a pity they forgot to put Prabakaran’s photo too. Attending the occasion were the 2 main dramatists TELO leader Selvam Adaikkalanathan & former MP S. Kishore. These commemorations happen quite freely, without any obstruction by law enforcement & not a hum from a government that continues to ban the LTTE as a terrorist organization, well aware that the terrorism coupled with separatism remains very much alive. This type of flirting with terrorism cost not only soldier lives but the lives of innocent civilians as well as the loss of childhood for kidnapped Tamil children turned into child soldiers.
While terrorists are happiliy commemorating their dead, we are supposed to simply watch & continue our lives. We may as well give them some fire crackers and ask them to light these to celebrate all the murders they committed across 3 decades too. It has reached such a pathetic state.
The situation has been brought to such a level primarily due to the hypocrisy and bias of international organizations like the UN and diplomats. While they happily watched LTTE commit suiciding bombings, assassinations & mayhem, their response after each tragedy was to talk to the tigers”. They took no pains to prevent LTTE from committing its crimes. These entities and the diplomatic corps were well aware of the numbers of Tamil children kidnapped from Tamil families and trained as child soldiers and even trained to commit suicide and even after appointing a Tamil as special rapporteur not a single Tamil child was saved from becoming a child soldier. This was so because they had a stake in the LTTE & was using LTTE for not only geopolitical goals but other political objectives as well. Thus, when Sri Lanka eliminated the LTTE ground force, it was a bolt to the investment” by these high powers and they sought revenge & that is what is happening using the UNHRC’s legally questionable resolutions & biased statements and actions.
How many Tamils who chose not to side with the LTTE would have been bumped off – are those lighting candles on 9 July also celebrating these murders too. This list included Amirthalingam who fondly called LTTE as our boys” and LTTE shot him inside his own home. The list also included Lakshman Kadiragamar shot dead inside his own home too. The international community shies from counting the Tamils that LTTE killed and instead is bothered about the LTTE that died in the last phase. Not a single attempt was made by the UN to count the number of Tamils LTTE shot dead trying to escape to safety. These deaths are all being credited to Sri Lanka’s Armed Forces.
This is why the Sri Lankan public must stand by its armed forces who are unfairly being targeted and sanctioned without any evidence or facts of committing any crime whereas enough of evidence against the LTTE are overlooked.
LTTE used Tamil civilians as human shields – UN/International community not bothered
LTTE used Tamil civilians as hostages – UN/International community not bothered
LTTE fired from among Tamil civilians – UN/International community not bothered
LTTE blurred distinction intentionally – UN/International community not bothered
LTTE forbid Tamil civilians to leave for safety– UN/International community not bothered
LTTE denied water & food sent by the Govt to Tamil civilians – UN/International community not bothered
We can go on … none of these have been investigated nor is the UN interested to investigate.
Ironically, the same bias used against Serbia was used against Sri Lanka. That magic figure of 40,000 dead was alleged against Serbia too. Serbian leader Milosevic mysteriously died in prison and over a decade later he was cleared of the crimes he was accused of though he was dead.
Without proving 40,000 died (no dead names/no dead bodies/no skeletons/no police complaints/no habeas corpus cases) how can an international organization or countries like Canada claim genocide” was committed and foolishly even include Genocide Week” in school curriculum.
However, these fairytales continue and as a result decorated military officers are being targeted unfairly and the GoSL and its foreign ministry take no effort to set the story straight and demand answers to unpalatable questions that should be asked. This charade and drama cannot be allowed to continue any longer.
The UNHRC took pains to force a Missing Persons Commission but none of the 40,000 dead had their names logged. Then came compensation for LTTE completely ignoring the victims of LTTE. This was followed by a bogus reconciliation” – what reconciliation with terrorists. Now we are taken up another garden path with a foolish Truth Commission that aims to follow the forgive and forget” restorative justice for LTTE & retribution for the national army that ended terrorism & prevented any more loss of lives. What kind of international justice system are we living in? The world wants to give justice to the terrorists and forgive them & completely ignore the victims while punishing the national army that saved the people.
What can the victims of LTTE really do? The government has shown no interest in putting a LTTE War Crimes Memorial for people to see the crimes LTTE committed since 1980s. The youth of today are only seeing LTTE commemorating LTTE and soon they will even come to think of LTTE as some kind of heroes”.
Not only the Government but civil society, academia and even media have failed – none of them have taken pains to show to the world what LTTE did, in reality most of these entities supported LTTE silently as they were all recipients of foreign funding from sources that covertly supported LTTE.
Should we not demand the Govt to create a LTTE War Crimes Memorial at least now where the victims of the LTTE can place their loved ones for the world to know how LTTE cut short their lives. LTTE victims include Sinhalese, Muslims, Tamils & even foreigners. Justice has to have a place for them too.
The West is in a death spiral. Unable to sustain demographic, military and economic dominance over the rest of the world, the West has resorted to beef up its population with the help of Asians and Africans. A massive push to bring millions of Asians and Africans is underway in many Western nations.
Although it is a temporary fix to economic, ageing population and military challenges, it comes with many costs to the West. The most pressing is its impact on climate change. Carbon emissions are set to rise exponentially in the West as their population increases rapidly.
The West is engaged in over-population while preaching depopulation to the rest of the world! The West is worsening climate change while preaching to contain it to the rest.
The adage, do as they do, not as they say” is again proven correct.
At the same time, the demographics of the West keep changing with Asianization. Asian communities have a higher population growth rate than their existing majority communities. Added to this, people of African origin are also on the rise in Europe.
Within a generation’s time Asians and Africans will outnumber the current majority populations in the US, Canada, the UK and New Zealand. Australia, France and a few European countries will come close. Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland will also see major demographic changes as they have a very small population, very low population growth rates and generous welfare economies.
What is even more pertinent is the Asian domination of their economy, way above their population percentage, in the next couple of decades to come.
All these countries are set to continue as democracies to the foreseeable future which means Asian and African origin people there will be the kingmakers at elections. National policy will change. National values will change. Instead of Western policies of selling and imposing democracy down the throats of other nations, Western policy will change to accommodate other forms of governance and work with them. Instead of trying to dominate the world militarily, the West will give military spending a low priority in favour of more spending in education, healthcare, aged care, donations to Asian and African countries, technology, local investments and peace building.
Diversity will also lead to ethnic and religious intolerance, riots and violence in Western nations. It must be noted that all Western nations achieved developed status either through the genocide and suppression of minorities or by remaining mono-ethnic nations. Diversity was accepted only after they achieved developed status and that too was carefully planned and managed until recently. The Western economic model has not worked without these brutal initiatives. Russia is also set to suffer the same fate as it has a declining population and increasing diversity.
The West remains threatening only until these changes take effect within the next two to three decades. As astronomy has it, a dying star emits most light just before its death. The West is reaching all corners of the world for military domination ahead of its eventual decline from within.
Nations of the global south must not rush to join wars of the West (and the East) and hold their ground for another quarter of a century when the West will collapse internally and be seen as a friend than a foe, driven by dominant Asian and African values. The Old World is set to conquer the New World silently but firmly.
– Pablo Neruda, Document #35: United Fruit Co, Canto General, 1950
*
‘At President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s reception for the diplomatic community at his Nuwara Eliya official residence last week, US Ambassador Julie Chung: ‘spotted a centuries-old telephone system at the residence and pretended to be calling President Joe Biden. Given the age of the telephone system, President Wickremesinghe laughingly said the Ambassador’s call might be answered by John Foster Dulles, who served as US Secretary of State in the 1950s.’ – see ee Sovereignty, US envoy’s trunk call to Biden: Ranil diverts it to Foster Dulles
‘According to US State Department papers released recently,
US State Secretary Foster Dulles had spent $5 million
to defeat [SWRD] Bandaranaike at the elections in 1956.
Bandaranaike was assassinated in 1959.
That the hidden hand of theCIA was behind this
assassination came out at the Commission
investigating this assassination. Sirima Bandaranaike
who came to continue the Bandaranaike legacy
had to face a military coup to dislodge her,
by anti-Sinhala & anti-Buddhist elements’
John Foster Dulles’ involvement in the SWRD assassination was recalled by the novelist Gunadasa Amarasekera at the launch of Sena Thoradeniya’s latest book, Galle Face Protest: System Change or Anarchy. (US consul Bernard Anthony Gufler met SWRD Bandaranaike on the very day he was assassinated – see ee 12 October 2019, Exposing the Real Assassins).
Amarasekera went on to note:
‘The Rajapaksas were put in power by the people to carry on this Bandaranaike legacy. With the help of Sinhala nationalist Buddhist forces Mahinda Rajapaksa was able to destroy Prabhakaran and his terrorist outfit. This was an unbearable humiliation for the Western powers (Defence Ministers of England & France flew down to take away Prabhakaran). In 2015 Mahinda Rajapaksa was defeated at the elections for which $30mn were spent, as admitted by John Kerry.
In 2019 when the entire Sinhala Buddhist people voted to bring Gotabhaya back to power, it would have been a shock to these Western powers. The only way to prevent a repetition in the future was to alienate the youth who were destined to continue the traditional role as bearers of that civilisation, and also, to get them to despise and disown their inheritance.’ – see ee Sovereignty, Taking the lid off the Golden Bowl.
*
‘In 1948, George Kennan helped craft the infamous
National Security Council Directive 10/2,
which officially authorized the CIA –
with consultation & oversight from the State Department
– to engage in ‘covert operations’ in the fight against the communist menace.
The directive gave the CIA carte blanche to do
whatever was required: everything from economic warfare
to assassinations, sabotage, propaganda, subversion,
and support for armed guerrillas.’
– ee Media, A Portrait of a Soviet CIA Propagandist
• John Foster Dulles was once an attorney for the eponymous United Fruit Company of Neruda’s ode, a company whose role is played out in Sri Lanka by England’s Unilever. John’s brother Allen, also a lawyer, rose to become head of the CIA (1953-61), and is also held responsible for the escalating the US policy of assassinating Asian, African & American leaders. Where there was no ‘communism’, the US would help create a caricature of it.
The CIA’s Allen Dulles and later US National Security Advisor & Ford Foundation President McGeorge Bundy had analysed in 1949 the role of the Marshall Plan in the CIA’s intellectual world war on communism. An annual $200mn of Marshall Plan funds ‘financed the work of anticommunist intellectuals, journalists, union leaders, politicians, and other leading figures in Western Europe’. The ‘classic’ US media campaign with the UFC to overthrow Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala was conducted by General Electric shill Edward Bernays, the so-called ‘father of corporate public relations’, ‘double-nephew’ of the Freuds, and muse of the Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels.
At the Thoradeniya launch, Amarasekera also noted:
‘Julie Chang is the guiding spirit behind the Aragalaya;
she is really a remarkable woman, an ambassador,
the likes of whom we have never witnessed before.
She not only gives garden parties,
but also advises both Gotabaya Rajapakse
and the Aragalaya protesters. She patronizes the JVP.
She gives hope and succour to the Red Sahodarayas
in their pursuit of the armed struggle, knowing too well
that it would provide an opportunity for Ranil Wickremasinghe
to accede to the fourth request of the CIA chief
to bring in his troops to the country…’
– ee Sovereignty, Taking the lid off the Golden Bowl
*
There is no surprise therefore at the news that the US government’s envoys were involved in the bribing (‘threats & incentives’) of Sri Lanka Telecom to sabotage a bid by a more capable China to build oceanic internet cables. And it turns out that all cables lead to Washington via another giant blob sucking on the eyes, ears and other orifices of this world – the Texan multinational AT&T, which claims lineage all the way back to Alexander Graham Bell.
‘On the sweetener side, the US Trade & Development Agency (USTDA)
told Reuters it offered training grants valued at a total of $3.8mn
to 5 telecom companies in countries on the cable’s route in return
for them choosing SubCom as the supplier. Telecom Egypt & Network i2i,
a company owned by India’s Bharti Airtel, got $1mn apiece…
Djibouti Telecom, Sri Lanka Telecom & Dhivehi Raajjeyge Gulhun
of the Maldives each received $600,000.’ (see ee Focus)
• ee is unclear why Thomson-Reuters has chosen to supposedly ‘expose’ these ‘threats & incentives’ – perhaps to imbue a cachet of intrigue, their articles are peppered with ‘No Comment’ by almost everyone from officials in the US government to those from Alphabet’s Google, Amazon, Microsoft & Meta. The lesson Thomson–Reuters – itself very much part of the US’ military strategy – wishes to teach us, is that the US will visit war, chaos & other economic sanctions on any country that dares not do its will.
‘General, your tank is a powerful vehicle
It smashes down forests and crushes 100 men.
But it has one defect:
It needs a driver.
General, your bomber is powerful.
It flies faster than a storm and carries more than an elephant.
But it has one defect:
It needs a mechanic.
General, man is very useful.
He can fly and he can kill.
But he has one defect:
He can think.’
– Bertolt Brecht
As the hype around AI & ChatGPT reveals, the US simply cannot deliver – all it does like that famous dog who does not eat hay but refuses to let others who do, do so – that dog in a manger – is to bark create chaos and prevent others from getting on in this world. This ee therefore demystifies the torrential hype around AI, ChatGPT etc, as well as the USA’s inability to compete on what even they call a ‘level playing field’.
This ee also looks at the accusations of unfair industrial practices made against China. It turns out that the USA is accusing China of doing exactly what they and Europe themselves have done (and still do) to develop their own countries.
*
‘India has been engaged in licensed manufacture
of Soviet/Russian, French and English aircraft and engines for many decades,
but knows this cannot be considered a technology transfer
which involves not merely manufacturing but also design-development.
– ee Random Notes, US-India Drone, Jet Engine Deals Impact Indigenous Development
*
• How unique is China’s industrial policy strategy? US President Eisenhower’s 1961 farewell address called attention to the USA’s powerful military-industrial complex ‘as the linchpin of far-flung US efforts at state-sponsored, taxpayer-funded innovation’. The US’ massive military budget developed many major US technological advances, such as the internet, the global positioning system (GPS), semiconductors, etc. Japan’s ‘plan rational development state’, had their Ministry of International Trade & Industry perfect the art of ‘state-subsidized credit allocation & tariffs to protect Japan’s sunrise industries’.
Germany’s Wirtschaftswunder hadstrong state support for the Mittelstand of small & medium-size enterprises. Their recent Industrie 4.0 (2013) compares to China’s Internet Plus plan. France’s famed model of ‘indicative planning’, dates back to President Charles de Gaulle’s 5th Plan of 1966-70, with its ‘fusion of economic & political power’ that merged the French industrial system with the state… The attack on China turns out to be an attack on and a warning to any country that makes its own plans for modern industry-based independence (see ee Focus).
In Sri Lanka, the English media almost with one voice demands the destruction of a strong state. Discussion of what modern industrialization really is – is not allowed…
Sri Lanka does not possess an abundance of physical resources for large-scale industrial development but is blessed with ample human resources. It is on this comparative advantage that the country has to develop its economy. Education is the driving force with which the optimal benefit could be derived from this rare advantage and is the key to developing competitiveness and excellence. High-performing countries in the Far East considered relevant education as the foundation of economic development and social advancement. They focused on developing human capital in science and technology and vocational skills as they are pivotal to economic development. Taiwan and South Korea were both agricultural economies like Sri Lanka in early 1980 with low per capita earnings.
Taiwan is an Island smaller than Sri Lanka with a similar population. Before the 1980s it was a predominantly agricultural economy. Today it is a high-tech powerhouse leading the world in a number of high-tech industries. It has a per capita income of 36, 000 dollars. At the beginning of the 1980s, Taiwan increased the ratio for senior vocational schools and general high school to 7:3. By 2012 there were 155 senior vocational schools, 14 junior colleges, and 77 universities/colleges of science & technology, totaling 246. It is the education system that has sustained the significant development of this small nation.
In just a few decades, South Korea has transformed itself from an underdeveloped nation to an industrialized country exporting high-technology products (Domjahn 2013, p. 16). Much of this development has been attributed to improvements in the country’s education system. Various South Korean and international scholars (Ellinger and Beckham 1997; Han 1994; Kim 2000) have credited the nation’s economic success to an efficient education system that provides the quality workforce necessary for economic expansion. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284831895
In both these countries Education policies are aligned with market needs. In Taiwan education policy is geared to future needs as well. Taiwan goes to the extent of identifying emerging technologies and adopt policies and systems to meet the human capital needs to serve those technologies. There is strong orientation among South Korea’s growth strategy, labor market needs, and education policies. Every 5 years, the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology updates and improves the national curriculum, taking into account changes in the economic and national conditions (Severin and Capota 2011,)
In Sri Lanka the 1944 the Kannangara education reform was a landmark event in education policy in the country. It was radical and futuristic. Other than ‘free education from preschool to University ‘ Kannangara Committee proposed: –
Establishing three types of schools – Secondary, Senior, and Practical Schools,
Introducing Vernacular medium of instruction at Primary level and bilingual or English,
Medium schools for Junior Secondary level and English schools for Senior Secondary and higher education.
The Committee believed that although the educational system should be closely related to the present needs and conditions it has also to be planned with due regard to all possible lines which future development is likely to take. The development of education must not only keep pace with a country’s advance but should definitely contribute to accelerating the pace of the advance.”
But in the implementation and subsequent years the need for education policy to be attuned to future needs was ignored. The concept of Practical Schools was not pursued seriously. It was limited to Farm Schools and Technical colleges. Even one of the prominent members of the Committee Sir Ivor Jennings had doubts about the country needing large number ie. 15 % of Schools leavers every year with commercial and technical qualifications. He did not see no evidence that the Island is likely to be able to absorb even half that number.
The result was that the SL school education system became ‘tutories’ preparing students for examinations based on the British system. The Universities too concentrated on general education producing large number of unemployable graduates. The proposal of Kannangara Committee for English schools for Senior Secondary and higher education was submerged with the diehard stance of Sinhala only. It is satisfying to note that a new policy decision has been made to introduce English as a subject from Grade one. It is also necessary that higher education is in English. The ‘Kauwa” should be restored to benefit from the global development of information technology and other technologies like AI.
An attempt to introduce an element of practical education in the form of the NCGE for School leavers during the government of Mrs. Bandaranayake was scrapped by the next government falling back on the SSC. While SL deliberately ignored technical education with independence India established in 1950 five Institutes of Technology (IITs) in the main States of the country. These IITs were modeled on the best example of higher technical education from Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The have been the cutting edge of technology development in India and are highly recognized internationally. Many of the CEOs of leading high-tech firms Google, Infosys and IBM are alumni of the Indian IIts. It is high time that SL establishes an Institute of Technology in collaboration with one of the Indian IITs.
An education policy not aligned with technology and industrial policies of the country would be irrelevant, unimportant and an expensive luxury. It creates more problems of unemployment, dissatisfaction and social disharmony than positive outcomes. It is not surprising that there is no coherence among these policies as Sri Lanka does not have an Industrial Policy or a Technology Policy. An integrated policy package of these three vital policies is the vital need of SL at this moment.
I remember the times of RP when garment factories were built in rural areas
The progress of each factory was monitored by the president himself with a few super secretaries. Ministers were given marching orders if things go wrong
There was an incident when an Investor who was waiting to get a power supply to his factory complained about the delays during the progress meeting, President was looking for the CEB chairman who was absent
He was contacted over the phone by RP and firmly told him that the president himself will be attending the opening ceremony and requested him to provide power
Pronto – next day power was given to start the factory employing over 200 villages lasses
In January 2023 I requested permission to establish a yacht repair facilitation yard in down south.
It has taken four months and full permission has not been granted
Who do I complain to?
Ease of doing business forum with , CECM etc are nonexistent
As a director in CEA . I lamented about the delays by officers in completing EIA and gave advice to submit reports every month providing reasons for any delay
Anyone is welcome to write to me direct so that I personally intervene to help the projects ( with no hidden costs !)
One investor who wants to do a solar power project has to pay 100 m to carry out an EIA !
Our own consultants may be conniving
God knows ?
A prerequisite to attract FDI is to ease bureaucratic rules and take action to appoint a super team under the president to follow up and help investors
An Iraqi refugee named Salwan Momika publicly burned the Quran in front of the central mosque in Stockholm, Sweden, on the last Eid al-Adha. A few days ago, an anti-immigration and anti-Islam extremist organization called Stram Kurs burned the Quran in Malamo, Sweden. This heinous act was led by a fanatic named Rasmus Paludan. This hard right-wing organization has announced to burn the Quran in the future as well. We strongly condemn this reprehensible act in the name of freedom of expression. Demonstrators are protesting on the streets of Muslim countries in protest against this incident.
In January 2015, 17 people, including journalists, were shot dead by Islamist gunmen at the offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and other places in protest of drawing satirical cartoons about Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH). Millions of people across the western world took to the streets to protest the killings with the conviction to uphold the freedom of media and speech’. Most unfortunate – after the brutal murder, the newspaper again drew satirical cartoons on Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH). On February 10 of the same year, 3 Muslim members of the same family were shot dead in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Only being Muslim was their crime. But this tragic incident did not get any publicity in the western world.
This article is written in the context of the unpleasant and unwanted incident of Quran burning in Sweden. Westerners take great pride in Western media and freedom of speech. But the purpose of my writing is to highlight the misconceptions and blind beliefs that many of us have about Western media and freedom of speech.
Professor Annamarie Schimmel was born in Germany in 1922 and died in 2003. He was the world’s undisputed scholar on Islamic mysticism (the belief that knowledge and real truth about creation can be gained through meditation or spiritual insight without mind and senses, and Islamic teachings on the subject), or Islamic mysticism in short. He wrote book ‘The Mystical Dimension of Islam’. He was nominated for the ‘German Book Peace Award’ in 1995 in recognition of his 50 years of scholarship. Dr. After the announcement of Schimmel’s prestigious award, numerous intellectuals in Germany began to express anger and rage. Hundreds of writers, teachers, publishers and booksellers. A written request was made to the German Book Publishers Association not to award Schimmel this prestigious award. Even some members of parliament in Germany through strong protest. Called the award of the ‘German Book Peace Award’ to Schimmel a farce. The President of Germany usually presents the award to the recipient. The German president was put under intense pressure from various quarters to prevent him from awarding the award.
Why did so many people of such a high standard in Germany get mad at him after so many extraordinary achievements and achievements in education, literature and other matters? He said Salman Rushdie’s book ‘The Satanic Verses’ has hurt the religious sentiments of millions of Muslims. What Salman Rushdie wrote in his book is like hurting the religious sentiments of Muslims. Schimmel’s inexcusable and intolerable fallacies are thought by his opponents to be logically valid. These German intellectuals mentioned in their written letter, Dr. Schimmel criticizes Salman Rushdie’s book and gives moral support to reactionary and bigoted Muslims, which is unacceptable. Dr. Salman Rushdie’s death sentence announcement. Although Schimmel never supported him, the outrage and anger towards him did not abate. The good news is that the German president, despite all this. did not disapprove of awarding Schimmel but also announced a speech in his honor at the award ceremony. He termed the agitators as ‘believers in the theory of conflict between civilizations’. In his speech, the German President stressed the importance of understanding and dialogue with Muslim civilizations. Later Dr. Schimmel was asked, is it true that you claim to be 50 percent Muslim? To say that would certainly be an understatement, he replied. I love Muslim civilization and always speak for it, especially in the context of today’s world.
Dear reader, consider whether to speak for the feelings of Muslims or come forward in favor of them. Was Schimmel’s crime serious? Why would it be considered so unacceptable in today’s world if Muslims express anger and outrage over the desecration and burning of their holy scriptures and the insulting of their beloved Prophet’s wives? Intentional hatred against Islam and hurting religious sentiments has recently appeared as a form of inaction in many Western countries.
World renowned British journalist Robert Fisk made a documentary film titled ‘Roots of Muslim Anger’. In this film, it is shown that the reason behind the dissatisfaction of Muslims against the West is the unconditional support of the West towards Israel’s injustice, tyranny, oppression and torture. Robert Fisk was awarded the ‘British Press Award’ as an objective foreign correspondent. Noam Chomsky is a famous American intellectual. The New York Times called him a ‘living legendary intellectual’. But such a scholar is never invited by the US media for discussion. Because his views or opinions always upset and unsettle the American elite. So where is the freedom of speech of a famous intellectual like Noam Chomsky?
In 1991, an American expert speaker at a seminar organized by German National Democratic Party leader Guenter Descartes claimed that the gassing of Jews at Auschwitz never took place. Descartes was severely punished by being accused of organizing a seminar that incited racist hatred. Descartes was tried again in March 1994. At that trial, Descartes was sentenced to a year in prison, with his previous sentence reduced. Many judges strongly criticized the judge concerned for reducing the sentence. The Federal Court of Justice overturned the lighter sentence and ordered a retrial of Descartes. There is a lot of anger among the people because of such frequent proceedings. Then came the explanation in the law. In 1994, the Constitutional Court declared that freedom of speech to deny genocide or destruction was not protected. The German parliament later passed a five-year prison sentence for Holocaust denial. Many more examples can be given. But no more examples could be given as space was not available.
It would not be consistent to say that freedom of thought or speech does not exist in the Western world. To come to such a conclusion would be unfair and untrue. Citizens of Western countries enjoy more freedom of speech than any country or nation in the real sense. The right to protest, demonstration or agitation is constitutionally upheld in those countries, although these protests are not valued or taken seriously these days. At one time, the media of Western countries played or played an important role in exposing the scandals or corruption of powerful politicians and leaders to the public. Who doesn’t know about the Washington Post’s role in exposing President Nixon’s Watergate scandal. But that freedom is not unconditional or infinite. Many people question whether there should be freedom of speech. Must have. But absolute freedom of speech is not acceptable in many cases. Aggressive or hateful speech can in many cases have devastating consequences for individuals, groups or society. Such speech or behavior creates hatred, enmity and division in the society.
One more thing is worth noting. Nowadays Muslims are termed as terrorists or supporters of terrorism in one word. I said in one of my writings, terrorism in general is not a criminal act – terrorism is a political act, which is an adverse reaction to the imperialist, racist and hateful dualism of the West. Leaders and scholars of the western world should know or understand that. I also wrote that as long as the Western countries do not abandon their imperialist, racist and hateful dualism, their distance with Islam and Muslims will not decrease but will continue to increase. But I strongly believe that it is time for Muslims to realize that before they can expect dignified and rational behavior from the West, they must reach their level in intellectual, educational, economic and technological development. Muslims must understand, learn, that besides the abuse of free speech, there is another concept rooted in the Western tradition. And that is ‘double standard’ or double policy. In today’s world, we Muslims are helpless victims of this abuse of freedom of speech and naked dualism of the West. Abuse of western freedom of speech and naked dualism towards Muslims must be stopped
