by Shamindra Ferdinando Courtesy The Island

Parliament on Friday, July 26: Attorney General Dappula de Livera listening to Additional Solictor General Nerin Pulle. Additional Solicitor General Sumathi Dharmawardena, PC sits between them. State Counsel Malik Aziz looks on. This was taken before de Livera left the PSC having declined to particptate in the process.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) made quite a revelation on Friday, July 26, 2019, before the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) probing the Easter Sunday attacks.

The CBSL team comprised the Governor of the Central Bank, Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Director of Financial Intelligence Unit, D.M. Rupasinghe, and Director of Department of Supervision of Non-Bank Financial Institutions R.R. Jayaratne. Rupasinghe testified in-camera on a request made by Dr. Coomaraswamy.

Dr. Coomaraswamy succeeded disgraced Singaporean, Arjuna Mahendran, in early July, 2016.

 Jayaratne and Dr. Coomaraswamy set the record straight as regards the Finance Act of 2017, after Power, Energy and Business Development Minister, Ravi Karunanayake, challenged CBSL condemnation of the Finance Act. Having stated that the Batticaloa Campus Limited and the Heera Foundation had received funds from Saudi Arabia on seven and 15 occasions, respectively, Jayaratne didn’t mince his words when he declared the new Act weakened the CBSL regulatory role, vis-a-vis illegal transactions.

M.L.A.M. Hizbullah is under investigation over clandestine money transactions, amidst accusations that both Batticaloa Campus Limited and the Heera Foundation were involved with the National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ), responsible for the Easter Sunday attacks. At the time of the Easter Sunday attacks, Hizbullah functioned as the Governor of the Eastern Province, having served the current parliament as a UPFA National List member. Hizbullah moved to the East, in early January, 2019.

M.A. Sumanthiran, head of the Public Finance Committee, was present on the panel of lawmakers at the time CBSL made the shocking revelation. The PSC consists of its Chairman, Ananda Kumarasiri (UNP/Moneragala District), Ravi Karunanayake (UNP/Colombo), Dr. Rajitha Senaratne (UNP/Kalutara), Ashu Marasinghe (UNP National List), Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka (UNP National List), LSSPer Dr. Jayampathy Wickremaratne (UNP National List), M.A.Sumanthiran (TNA/Jaffna District) and Rauff Hakeem (UNP/Mahanuwara District).

When Jayaratne explained as to how the Exchange Control Act, introduced by the incumbent government, had impeded CBSL and was weaker than the one previously in operation, an irate Ravi Karunanayake, one-time Finance Minister, challenged the CBSL.

Ex-Finance Minister Karunanayake switched ministries with Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, in May 2017. President Maithripala Sirisena removed Karunanayake from the cabinet of ministers, in early August 2017, in the wake of shocking revelations, in the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (P CoI) on CBSL bond scams involving the disgraced Perpetual Treasuries Limited (PTL). Karunanayake was again accommodated in the cabinet of ministers, in Dec 2018, in the wake of the failed constitution coup.

RK vs CBSL

Karunanayake: Where does it say such transactions cannot be inquired into in terms of the new Act?

Jayaratne: In accordance with 2017 Exchange Control Act, Section 30, action cannot be taken.

Karunanayake: You prepared that Act. Why are you pretending as if you don’t know anything, about it?

CBSL amended it several times and sent it back.

Perhaps Jayaratne could have faced a ministerial onslaught if not for Dr. Commissary’s swift intervention. Had Dr. Coomaraswamy opted to remain silent, Jayaratne, probably would have had to suffer in silence unable to talk back to a powerful Minister

Dr. Coomaraswamy: No Sir. The Act actually was not drafted by us.

Karunanayake: Why not?

Dr. Coomaraswamy: No Sir. It was done outside. We were actually very upset about it.We were not included. That was drafted without the CBSL being involved. We were asked to comment on it

 JVP MP Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa: If Batticaloa Campus last received money in 2017, Hizbullah was aware of the new Act being drafted.

Jayaratne: Yes.

 Nalinda Jayatissa: It could have had happened.

Jayaratne: Present Act does not at least interpret what it meant by wrong.

Jayaratne: Unauthorized money transactions were taking place all over the country. Foreign currencies are kept illegally. Transactions do not come into official banking system, not even one USD.

The exchange between Karunanayake and the CBSL erupted when lawmaker Ashu Marasinghe, sought a clarification as regards the difference in the current and the previous Exchange Control Acts.

Chief of the Public Finance Committee Sumanthiran remained silent during the exchange between Karunanayake and the CBSL.

Surprisingly, the PSC refrained from questioning Hizbullah over widely reported clandestine meetings he had with several Saudi nationals, at a Pasikudah hotel, soon after the Easter attacks.

The circumstances in which the Finance Act had been introduced have been disputed by no less a person than the CBSL Governor. It would be pertinent to recall the advice given by Dr. Coomaraswamy to the electorate late last year. Dr. Coomaraswamy issued the advice before President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved parliament at midnight on Nov 09, 2018 following the sacking of Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Crucial advice to electorate

Dr. Coomaraswamy’s statement, made before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCol) on irregularities at SriLankan Airlines, SriLankan Catering and Mihin Lanka, couldn’t have been made at a better time for those who expected a genuine change in the political environment. Unfortunately, the media, pathetically, failed to provide sufficient coverage to, undoubtedly, the most important statement made by a respected public official, in the recent past, on any issue.

Dr. Coomaraswamy told the P Col that the country was facing a non-virtuous cycle of debt and it was a very fragile situation which could even lead to a debt crisis.

“Of course my colleagues in the debt department have plans and capability to manage it. But it’s the duty of every citizen to act responsibly as regards the government policy,” he told the PCol.

Dr. Coomaraswamy emphasized that people should elect MPs who were prudent enough to handle fiscal and monetary matters of the country. “I am not referring to any government, but it’s been the case ever since independence.”

The shocking CBSL revelation, before the PSC, certainly justified Dr. Coomaraswamy’s statement, before the P CoI late last year. Jayaratne deserves to be publicly applauded for his forthright stand before the PSC. If Jayaratne hesitated, Dr. Coomaraswamy, probably, wouldn’t have had an opportunity to expose an utterly corrupt procedure adopted through the enactment of the new Exchange Control Act. Parliament should inquire into the circumstances under which the said Act was brought in.

With the 2019 presidential election, scheduled for Nov-Dec, followed by the general election, Dr. Coomaraswamy’s advice is of crucial importance.

The CBSL stand before the PSC didn’t receive the coverage it really deserved. The media, both print and electronic, should review their coverage, pertaining to vital developments. Perhaps, the July 26 proceedings, in the PSC, were the most important, since the sittings began in early June 2019 – about eight weeks after the Easter Sunday attacks.

In spite of the PSC being accused of being a Temple Trees project, meant to save the All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) leader Rishad Bathiudeen, MP, alleged to have been involved with the NTJ, some members of Deputy Speaker Kumarasiri’s outfit proved their mettle.

The UPFA obviously failed to take advantage of the PSC. The UPFA, comprising the JO and the SLFP, missed a golden opportunity to question those summoned by the PSC. They probably felt comfortable in boycotting the PSC. Gampaha District Catholic MP Dr. Kavinda Jayawardena, too, squandered a chance to grill those summoned by the PSC.

Thanks to the PSC, it has been proved beyond doubt the negligence on the part of the Attorney General’s Department led to the Easter Sunday attacks. It has been established that local security authorities quite correctly recognized the growing threat posed by Zahran Hashim, in early 2017. Having inquired into Zahran’s activities, and that of the NTJ, the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID), in June 2017 sought the AG’s approval to neutralize the threat. The AG didn’t respond to the TID request till the NTJ squad carried out near simultaneous attacks, on three churches, in Colombo, Battcaloa and Negombo, and three luxury hotels in Colombo.

The PSC was told as to how the AG summoned the police, for a meeting on March 12, 2019, to discuss Zahran’s matter, in response to the TID’s request, made in June 2017.

Jayantha Jayasuriya, PC, served as the AG at that time. Jayasuriya now functions as the Chief Justice. It was also revealed, before the PSC, as to how Senior State Counsel, Malik Aziz, handling Zahran’s file, delegated the responsibility for watching video clips of Zahran to another person. Perhaps, the PSC should summon that unidentified person and ascertain how he felt when Zahran’s gang struck devastating attacks.

Shocking lapse

The following question and answer session, involving lawmaker M.A. Sumanthiran, Prof. Ashu Marasinghe, Dr. Jayampathy Wickremaratne, Senior Deputy Solicitor General Sumathi Dharmawardena as well as Malik Aziz, is revealing:

M.A. Sumanthiran: The police sent you CDs containing video clips of Zahran, did you receive them?

SDSG Dharmawardena: Yes

Prof Marasinghe: Did you watch them?

SDSG Dharmawardena: You cannot ask me whether I watched them.

Prof Marasinghe: I am not asking from you as a person but I am asking from the Department.

SDSG Dharmawardena: Senior State Counsel Malik Aziz had instructed another official to watch them and, as per the minute we have here, they have compiled a report on May 12, 2019.

Dr Wickremaratne: So you commenced the inquiry, in June 2017, and compiled the report only one month after the bombs went off?

 Sumanthiran: Did the Department ask for reports on updated situation from the police?

SDSG Dharmawardena: No

 Sumanthiran: Isn’t it the usual practice to rely on contemporaneous evidence?

SDSG Dharmawardena: I need to refer back to the file to respond to that question.

At the onset of the proceedings, lawmaker Kumarasiri raised serious lapses on the part of the AG’s Department, from Dappula de Livera. Livera succeeded Jayasuriya, in early May this year.

On the part of Kumarasiri, there was absolutely no hesitation to seek an explanation as to why the AG’s Department neglected its responsibilities, thereby paving the way for Zahran’s murderous endeavour.

Dappula declined to answer on the basis his statement before the PSC could undermine his role as the AG. Livera asserted that if he testified before this commission, rather this committee, as a witness, that would compromise his functions as AG in the discharge of his duties in cases in respect of the Easter Sunday attacks. President’s Counsel on behalf of the PSC accepted Livera’s position following consultations among the members.

What transpired after Livera left the PSC, bared the criminal negligence on the part of a department. Ashu Marasinghe exposed the irresponsible conduct of Senior State Counsel Malik Aziz who sat on the file for nearly two years while Zahran made meticulous preparations for the operation.

Ashu Marasinghe a posed contentious query to Aziz as to how he felt after the Easter Sunday carnage? Aziz, obviously, struggled to cope up with Marasinghe’s line of questioning. Marasinghe reminded Aziz as to how he ignored a note dated May 31, 2018, that reminded him of Zahran’s matter.

Proceedings on July 26, 2019 proved beyond doubt that Sri Lanka could have thwarted the attack on its own. Proceedings also underscored that though some attributed Zahran’s success to the arrest of DIG Nalaka de Silva in charge of the TID, in late Oct 2018. Before him being given bail, in early May 2019 pending investigations, the police headquarters named DIG Waruna Jayasundera as DIG, TID. Nalaka de Silva is under investigation for conspiracy to assassinate President Sirisena and former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The police, too, appeared to have not done enough to secure the required approval especially after Zahran carried out an attack on Kattankudy – based opponents.

Contrary to claims that arrest of intelligence personnel by the yahapalana government weakened the intelligence apparatus so much that Zahran was able to launch attacks, the police had sufficient evidence to zero in on Zahran, though the AG felt otherwise.

Marasinghe sought an explanation from Aziz whether he was conversant with the ICCPR (The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) and could Zahran be dealt with that law. Aziz, reluctantly acknowledged that Zahran could have been dealt with the ICCPR. It was nothing but admission of guilt on the part of the Senior State Counsel.

Marasinghe pointed out as to how those who neglected their responsibilities in Zahran’s case pounced on award-winning writer, Shakthika Sathkumara, allegedly for a story on a gay monk. Marasinghe explained the utilization of ICCPR to remand Sathkumara pending investigations. Sathkumara is still in prison.

Role of the CNI

Indian Intelligence services obviously had followed Zahran, and his cohorts, much more closely than our own law enforcement authorities. The PSC should definitely inquire into as to why the police immediately didn’t get in touch with the AG after the Chief of National Intelligence (CNI) retired DIG Sisira Mendis – a member of the National Security Council (NSC) – the received the Indian alert on April 04, 2019. The country knows all about how the NSC neglected its responsibility. Police headquarters owed an explanation as to why an immediate threat assessment wasn’t done as regards Zahran and the NTJ in the wake of the Indian warning. Strangely, the PSC so far made no attempt to establish as to why Army’s Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI), Sri Lanka’s premier intelligence agency, was deprived of the Indian warning. The previous Rajapaksa administration created the post of CNI to accommodate top intelligence veteran Maj. Gen. Kapila Hendavitharana. As the CNI, Hendavitharana oversaw the entire intelligence apparatus, since 2007 till January 2015. However, soon after the presidential poll, Hendavitharana was replaced by retired DIG Sisira Mendis, a very experienced investigator. Unfortunately, he lacked experience in running an intelligence service. It would be interesting to know as to who decided that the CNI shouldn’t share vital information with the DMI.

Mendis retired amidst a media furor. President Sirisena again entrusted the duties of the CNI with the military. Maj. Gen. Ruwan Kulatunga now functions as the CNI.

Army Commander Lt. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake is on record as having said that DMI was deprived of the Indian warning. Senanayake said so in response to a query from Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith when he visited the Catholic leader at the Bishop’s House, Borella, immediately after the Easter attacks and at the President’s House, in response to the writer’s query at a meeting chaired by President Sirisena.

The PSC never bothered to ask DIG Mendis whether he received instructions to stop sharing information with the DMI or who issued such instructions, if any. The PSC should have asked Lt. Gen. Senanayake when DMI realized the halt in intelligence sharing process.

The AG’s failure and the enactment of the Exchange Control Act, detrimental to the national economy underscored the urgent need to overhaul the current system. Have you ever heard of a parliament bringing in a law that impeded existing regulatory systems, especially those run by the CBSL. The pivotal importance of CBSL cannot be ignored. The current opposition in parliament should take up CBSL revelation as well as the pathetic AG’s Department. The AG’s Department cannot absolve itself of the responsibility for the Easter Sunday attacks. The Department allowed the time and space for Zahran to go ahead with his operation.

Close on the heels of revelations in parliament as regards the dismal performance of the AG’s Department, the Buddhist clergy lodged complaints with police headquarters, demanding the immediate arrest of Senior State Counsel Aziz. Law enforcement authorities cannot, under any circumstances, afford not to investigate whether the Senior State Counsel was subject to any sort of pressure by interested group/groups not to authorize police action.

Zahran had access to many, including politicians. In response to a query posed by the writer, National Front for Good Governance (NFGG) leader and entrepreneur Abdul Rahuman, in late May, 2019, admitted as to how Zahran summoned those contesting the Batticaloa district for a meeting in Kattankudy, in the run up to the 2015 August 17 parliamentary election. The Island raised the issue at a special media briefing, called by NFGG, at Mandarina Hotel, on the Galle road.

When The Island sought an explanation from Rahuman as to how he had contested the August 2015 parliamentary polls as his NFGG received recognition only in 2017, he said that he contested on the SLMC ticket. Rahuman disclosed how he secured nomination as a result of what he described as a tripartite agreement involving the UNP, the SLMC and the NFGG. “The SLMC contested in Batticaloa on its own though in Trincomalee all contested under the UNP ticket. The NFGG fielded a medical doctor in the Trincomalee District.” Rahuman alleged that photographs taken at the meeting arranged by the NTJ, in Kattankudy, way back in 2015, had been used to link the NFGG to those involved in the Easter Sunday carnage.

With the father of two of Zahran’s suicide bombers on the JVP National List (was arrested soon after the blasts), a hardcore NTJ operative infiltrating the parliament staff (was taken into custody) in addition to Dr. Seigu Siyabdeen Mohammed Safi of the Kurunegala making an abortive bid to enter parliament on the UNP ticket at the last general election (Safi received nomination due to Rishard Bathiudeen’s intervention – given bail pending investigations into alleged sterilization project) the threat faced by Sri Lanka is not yet over. Anyone trying to dispel fears of fresh NTJ attacks for political reasons will only invite trouble.

(To be continued on August 07, 2019)

By Shamindra Ferdinando Courtesy The Island

UNP MP Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, PC, yesterday, said that the Attorney General’s Department owed an explanation as to why it had sat on hardcore National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) member Zahran Hashim’s file for nearly two years

Nearly 270 perished in seven separate suicide blasts, and another 500 were wounded with Colombo Shangri-La targeted by two persons, including Zahran.

Addressing the media at the Sri Lanka Foundation, the former Justice Minister said that the AG’s Department couldn’t remain silent in the wake of shocking revelations made before the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) last Friday (July 26).

Pointing out that the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) had sought AG’s approval in June 2017 to take action against Hashim in terms of the ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights), MP Rajapakse said the then AG Jayantha Jayasuriya, PC, had handed over Zahran’s file to Deputy Solicitor General Azad Navavi and then to State Counsel Malik Aziz.

Referring to the incumbent AG Dappula de Livera moving court against now suspended IGP Pujith Jayasundera and the then Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando over their failure to thwart Easter Sunday attacks, MP Rajapakse asked who would indict AG Department officers.

When The Island pointed out that he was making use of revelations made before the PSC, which he had opposed, Rajapakse said he had raised objections for the sake of the intelligence officers.

Claiming that the CID since the change of government in January 2015 had questioned about 322 intelligence services personnel, MP Rajapakse compared the inquiry undertaken by the PSC with the disastrous police raid on Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) in 2002.

Responding to another query, Rajapakse expressed surprise at the Joint Opposition’s strategy. Immediately after the Easter Sunday attacks, the JO demanded a PSC to probe the attacks. Subsequently, the JO had decided against participating in the process, the former Minister said.

Rajapakse underscored the importance of ascertaining why those who were authorised to decide whether Zahran could be arrested as he posed a grave threat to the society had refrained from doing so.

Rajapakse acknowledged that the PSC was quite useful though he had written a letter to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya requesting him not to constitute it.

The PSC consists of Deputy Speaker Ananda Kumarasiri (Chairman), Ravi Karunanayake, Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, Rauff Hakeem, M.A. Sumanthiran, Dr. Jayampathy Wickremaratne, Ashu Marasinghe and Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa.

Rajapakse said that the PSC was meant to clear All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) leader Rishad Bathiudeen, MP, in addition to saving Pujith Jayasundera and placing the blame on President Maithripala Sirisena.

At the onset of his briefing Rajapakse alleged that western powers had undertaken a high profile destabilisation project here consequent to the incumbent government handing over the Hambantota port on a 99-year-lease to China. The former justice minister alleged that the Muslim community and the Islamic State were used by interested parties.

Rajapakse said that he handed over a private member’s bill to parliament yesterday (30) requesting parliament to annul the agreement with China on the basis of it having caused an unprecedented security crisis.

Courtesy Adaderana

The investigation into a complaint filed against State Counsel Malik Azeez of the Attorney General’s Department has been handed over to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) by the Police Headquarters.

The complaint was filed by the General Secretary of the Sinhala Ravaya organization Ven. Magalkande Sudatta Thera at the Police Headquarters yesterday (29).

The Thero in his complaint accuses the Attorney General’s Department of purposely neglecting their duties with regard to the Easter Sunday attacks and calls for the arrest of the official in question and the former Attorney General.

While giving evidence before the Parliamentary Select Committee probing the Easter Sunday terror attacks, the State Counsel had admitted that he had received a document regarding the mastermind of the attacks, NTJ leader Zahran Hashim, back in June 2017 and that he had not taken further action on that.

Meanwhile the ‘Sinhale National Movement’ had also requested an inquiry from the Attorney General’s Department regarding State Counsel Malik Azeez.

Courtesy Adaderana

The government has not taken any measures to curb the ideological terrorism called ‘Wahhabism’ but reinstated the Muslim politicians who were accused of allegedly supporting it, says Mohamed Muzammil, the spokesperson of National Freedom Front (NFF).

Speaking at a press conference held today (30), Muzammil said, Wahhabism is largely capable of creating suicide bombers and in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on Easter Sunday on the 21st of April, it was revealed that there are various means for Wahhabism to expand across the country.

The government has taken no steps to remove the syllabuses taught in Muslim schools that induce the spread of Wahhabi terrorism and regulation of these syllabuses, deporting foreign preachers who teach at Madrasas in secret, the NFF spokesman said.

The incumbent rulers have no intention of taking any action on the issues pertaining to the Muslim marriage law and the verdicts delivered by Kadi courts, the NFF spokesman alleges.

Muzammil commented that the government did not heed taking any measures to prevent the ideological terrorism that has suffused in the Muslim community but reinstated the accused Muslim ministers on time. This was a ‘drama’ enacted together by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the ministers who came under fire.

Speaking on Dr. Mohamed Shafi’s case, the NFF spokesman said, the accused doctor was granted bail, however, now the director and the staff of the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital have been accused. The victims who dies in the attacks at the churches at Katuwapitiya, Kochchikade, Batticaloa and the luxury hotels in Colombo have become the accused, while the accused ministers took up their positions again, he stressed.

It is up to the general public to answer these issues at the upcoming elections, Muzammil pointed out.

Courtesy globalnation.inquirer.net

COLOMBO — One-time top government trade negotiator Gomi Senadhira, yesterday, called for tangible measures to solve the importation of the British garbage to Sri Lanka. Senedhira, who had previously warned the government of dire consequences of importing of garbage of all sorts in accordance with the Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SL-SFTA) said tough measures were required. Senadhira expressed his views in the wake of Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera revealing in Parliament last Friday UK garbage imports began in 2017.

Stop the controversial process now or face an unprecedented crisis,” Senadhira, who served successive governments over a period of 32 years as a commercial diplomat, told The Island.ADVERTISEMENT

The former Director General of Commerce (2009-2011) and Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization (2004-2006), Senadhira called the much-touted agreement on UK garbage imports a total sell-out.

Senadhira had served in Sri Lankan missions in Baghdad, Kuwait, Moscow, Geneva, Washington (1998-2001) Brussels (2001-2003) before returning home to assume duties as Director General of Commerce.

Senadhira issued the following statement: Just three months ago, President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to ‘declare war’ on Canada. The reason was simple – Canadian garbage. Over one hundred containers of them.

So, in a hard-hitting speech, the president of the Philippines warned I will declare war against them. I will advise Canada that your garbage is on the way. Prepare a grand reception.” During his speech, the president not only threatened to ship containerloads of garbage back to Canada but also warned that he would dump some of the garbage at Canada’s embassy in Manila. That was tough language, even for Duterte, a man known for using the language of a street fighter than that of a statesman. But then I suppose his frustration is perfectly understandable and it was the time for a tough talk with Canada. Over one hundred shipping containers filled with Canadian garbage had been rotting in a port near Manila, for nearly six years. All the previous attempts to ship them back to Canada had failed.

Now, we have finally joined the ranks of the garbage importing nations, sorry recycling nations, and with over one hundred containers filled with British garbage rotting in our port, most for nearly two years, it is easy to recognize the eerie similarities between the two situations. Given the predicament we are in there are important lessons to be learned from the Filipino experience with the garbage without borders. So, let me briefly sum up what happened in the Philippines.

From June 2013 to January 2014 nearly one hundred containers arrived in the Philippines from Canada. Most of them were declared to contain recyclable plastic scrap materials. The containers were not claimed by the consignee and in January 2014 customs opened some of the containers, as part of measures regard to shipment not claimed for a long period, and discovered garbage including, plastic bottles, plastic bags, household garbage, and even used adult diapers. Then the customs decided not to open the rest of the containers as those also may contain hazardous waste.

All this is very similar to our own experience with imported British garbage. What happened after that?

In February 2014, just a few weeks after the containers were open the customs filed smuggling complaint against the company which allegedly imported the garbage shipment and its licensed Customs brokers. In March 2014, the Department of Foreign Affairs sent a letter to the Canadian Embassy in the Philippines requesting for assistance in shipping the garbage back to Canada.

But then, the Canadian government refused to take the garbage back as it … has no domestic or international authority to compel the shipper to return the shipment to Canada,” and suggested that they would like to explore with the Philippines options for processing the rest of the shipment – in accordance with Philippine law – in the Philippines.” To make matters worse, then-president Benigno Aquino III did not even discuss the issue of the illegally shipped Canadian garbage when he met with then Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper during a state visit in May 2015. Aquino – the scion of a political family, unlike his successor, was a genteel politician and he too believed the issue has to be addressed locally.ADVERTISEMENT

After that nothing, much happened other than the exchange of polite diplomatic notes and dumping of part of the garbage (26 containers) in a local landfill in spite of protests from environmental groups. Towards the end of the year, the new Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who visited Manila to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November 2015, was also non-committal on the garbage issue as there was … a problem that needs fixing within our own legislation,” and believed there are loopholes here that were allowed to be skirted that we need to make sure we close, both for Canada’s interest and for our good relationships with our neighbours.”

It took Trudeau two more years to agree that it was theoretically” possible for Canada to bring back the containers as Those regulations and those impediments (which prevented Canada from taking back the trash) have now been addressed,” … However, he continued to emphasize that there were other issues to iron out – like who will shoulder the costs of shipping back the trash to the country of origin.

Wheels also turned in the Philippines (though very slowly almost like in Canada). In June 2018 the Office of the Ombudsman ordered the suspension of the Departments of Environment and Natural Resources Undersecretary in connection with the shipment as he had … acted with gross inexcusable negligence.” In November 2018 they finally appointed a technical working group composed of representatives from the Departments of justice, environment, foreign affairs and customs to resolve the issue.

Though the governmental wheels turned slowly environment activists and NGOs backed by the international activists and NGOs continued to lobby with Trudeau to take back the garbage as the shipment of garbage violated the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal…a convention, ratified by both Canada and the Philippines. They also continued their demonstrations outside the Canadian embassy.

” But garbage continued to rot in the port. So, by April 2019 President Rodrigo Duterte obviously was at the end of his tether and declared ‘Yung basura ng (The garbage of) Canada, I want a boat prepared. I give a warning to Canada, maybe next week, they better pull their thing up or I will set sail sa (to) Canada, ibuhos ko basura nila doon (I will dump their garbage there), … I’ll declare war against them, isauli ko talaga tingnan mo (I will really return that, you’ll see),… I will advise Canada that your garbage, prepare a grand reception. Eat it if you want to.”

Having done that, he gave Canada deadline to take back their garbage – May 2019. When Canada rejected it Duterte recalled the Philippine’s Ambassador to Canada and instructed to ship the containers across the Pacific and dump them in Canadian waters, if necessary.

That solved the problem the garbage left the Philippines on June 1 for a voyage across the Pacific Ocean to Metro Vancouver incinerator.

The final cost to Canadian taxpayers was C$1.14 million for shipping and another $375,000 for the garbage to be burned in the incinerator. What can we learn from the Filipino experience? What is the way forward?

Be tough. A threat to ‘declare war’ or to recall the high commissioner may not be required, at this stage. But polite diplomatic notes may not deliver the required result. This is an issue that should be dealt at the highest level – PM to PM. Take action against those who were responsible, including the officials who facilitate such activities. Close the loopholes in our laws, regulations and bilateral agreements (such as FTA with Singapore) that allow garbage to move into Sri Lanka.

Don’t expect the government to solve the problem that they have created. Environmental activists and NGOs need to get involved. Use this opportunity to promote public awareness against the import of garbage. Launch a local and global campaign (with the support of international NGOs and activists) to send the garbage back.

Courtesy The Daily News

A ‘certificate of renunciation’ that purported to show that former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa was conclusively rid of the US citizenship that could prevent him from contesting the presidency in Sri Lanka was proven to be a fake yesterday within hours of being widely circulated on social media and messaging apps. The former Defence Secretary himself indicated to media last evening that he actually has the US citizenship renunciation in his possession but refused to display it to the news media.

Sources said parties linked to the former Defence Secretary’s election campaign were behind the distribution of the purported Certificate of Loss of Nationality of the United States which first reached the news media through business sources.

The fake certificate claimed that Gotabaya Rajapaksa had become a US citizen on March 13, 2003, and renounced his US citizenship at the US Embassy in Colombo on July 5, 2019. However, Rajapaksa was still in Singapore on July 5, having informed the courts in Sri Lanka that he was recovering overseas from heart-surgery.

The document circulated on social media last morning carried the signature of an US official named Joel Fifield.

Highly placed sources said the former Defence Secretary officially became a US citizen on January 31, 2003 and not on March 13.

The document purported to be Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s certificate of renunciation, bore a strong resemblance to a sample US Government document published in Wikipedia. The sample document in Wikipedia also bears the signature of one Joel Fifield”, and the seal of the US Consulate in Paraguay. The fake certificate supposedly held by Rajapaksa carries the same passport number and issuing date visible in the Wikipedia sample. Late yesterday, the former Defence Secretary admitted that the circulating document was a fake, but claimed he was in possession of the genuine certificate. He would produce it when it was required by the Elections Commission, he told the media. Rajapaksa said that he was not prepared to release the certificate in his possession proving he had renounced US citizenship to the media.

It remains unclear whether the circulation of the forged certificate was an attempt to embarrass the former Defence Secretary or an effort by his backers to bolster Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s chances of winning the SLPP candidacy.

Courtesy Stuff.co.nz

Travelling the world is the stuff of dreams … until it’s not. Maybe it’s because we’re unfamiliar with local customs in other countries and don’t want to cause offence, or perhaps it’s just damned jetlag rendering us incapable of sensing trouble, but travel scams can happen to the best of us.

As a nation of travellers, we all have a tale of that time we were an unsuspecting tourist.

Here is a tale from a contributor who wanted to remain anonymous.

READ MORE:
* Getting mugged at Angkor Wat 
* Chinese Tea Ceremony scam  
* Rome’s classic leather goods scam
* India’s “poop on the shoe” scam
* The pickpockets of Barcelona
* The Paris Metro Ticket scam

SRI LANKA HOTEL SCAM

I was in Sri Lanka for a block of meetings a few years ago and had an afternoon free. I decided to go for a walk from the hotel along the waterfront and look at the old cannons and anything else I could see. 

When you are in meetings for several days, anything outside is better than staying in the hotel.

I had hardly crossed the road when I was approached by a very neatly dressed and extremely polite local who told me that he worked for the hotel I had just left and was I aware of the temple and elephants on display there. To which I said no of course. 

Next, he tells me that he is going that way and he can show me the place, but it had to be today as the temple was not open for the rest of the week. Already I think that this is unnecessary but put it aside in my mind since he worked in the hotel I was staying, or so I thought.

So we start walking toward the central part of the city, and he says it is quite a distance and I might be more comfortable riding on a Tuk Tuk. Before I can say no, he signals one up and I feel obliged to get on. 

By now, my feeling is this is not right, and I am getting wary. After a couple of kilometres, we arrive at a temple, and the Tuk Tuk is asked to wait for us. 

So we go in, and I pay a donation to the temple as entry, but it was only about NZ$2 so not bad. The temple was quite lovely and yes it had an elephant, but I would not have rushed out to see it in reality.

After about 30 minutes we leave, and the Tuk Tuk takes us to an emerald store (ah-ha I go in my head – this is a commission trick to get you into store, and they get a cut of the sale).

The emeralds and other stones were very lovely, and I spent about NZ$100 on a couple of items that I really did not need, but in spite of pushed to buy more, I resisted and made it clear that this was all I was spending. 

The pressure is subtle but strong, and I think it would have been hard to have just walked out or refused to enter.

We travel back to the hotel where I am hit with the full cost of the Tuk Tuk there and back of about NZ$30 – they are clearly working together on this. 

At this point, I am over this and as lovely as the chap was I know that it is purely a scam to extract what they can get out of you. The chap then asked for a contribution for his time at which I point out that he will be getting a commission no doubt on the purchase and probably a cut of the fare and walked quickly back to the hotel much to his annoyance.

Next day I am talking with fellow meeting attendees over coffee and mention this scam and find out that not less than three others had exactly the same experience, although a couple admitted to spending more than I did. 

So the message is just because they look the part and sound the part when you are travelling in this part of the world trust no-one. And no, the chap did not work for the hotel, that was a just ruse to get your trust upfront.

The only plus is I feel I was scammed by one of the best and perhaps smoothest operators that have ever tried one on me.

Stuff Nation

Dilrook Kannangara

A group of UNPers, convinced they are going to lose the next presidential election big-time, is spreading false information saying that the next president will not have the same powers President Sirisena now enjoys. They argue 19A provisions relating to the powers of the president come into effect when his first term ends. This is a nonsensical view unfortunately popularized by a leading lawyer. However, he is not the only lawyer!

19A has no transitional provisions from the time it was passed to the end of Sirisena’s term. Therefore, the full impact of 19A is already effective since 2015 when it was passed. The President can change the Prime Minister at will. Only problem is if the another MP has real support far more than the appointed Prime Minister, then chaos results. This was the case even before 19A. The MP who would not cause the ruling party to lose its grip on power was appointed for this reason (no matter how ridiculous he was).

Sirisena was elected in 2015 for a term of 6 years to end on January 8, 2021. However, with the 19A, the presidential term was limited to just 5 years. Sirisena’s term after 19A ends on January 8, 2020. As per the Constitution, the presidential election must be held at least two months before that. How come this provision came into effect immediately but other provisions come into effect after Sirisena? It is an absurd argument.

The other side of the argument is the Prime Minister will assume president’s powers. This is a joke. The prime minister is part of the legislature and the head of the legislature. How come the same person be the executive! 19A very clearly states that the president is the Head of the Cabinet (the other institution that has some executive powers).

What seems to confuse the confused is the draft 19A that was struck down by the Supreme Court as it trespassed into the powers of the President. That was not passed. And that was not gazetted. It was changed and the changed bill was passed. If presidential powers were to be restricted, it must be approved by the people at a referendum. The regime that fears elections will never hold a referendum.

In fact, the next president will have far more powers than Sirisena now enjoys. Sirisena’s hands are tied as his party is just a fraction of parliament. The next president will get a parliament of his choice within months of his/her election.

Those who popularize the nonsensical argument that the next president will be merely ceremonial are affected by the ‘sour grapes’ syndrome. Their preferred candidate has no chance of winning it so they play down the importance of the office of the president. However, all candidates, voters and media know it is the most important of all elections.

2019 November presidential election will be the most keenly contested presidential election ever. Once the president is elected, everything else falls into place. The president at his/her discretion decides when to dissolve parliament and have parliamentary elections. Timing will be to maximize the benefit for his party and most damaging to the rival party. The Attorney General will also be appointed by the President and the Chief Justice too. Of course the Prime Minister and all other ministers are appointed by the president. Win presidency and everything else is a cakewalk. The president has all the powers, rightly or wrongly.

19A just created confusion. It didn’t achieve anything useful other than bring back the two-term limit, prevent foreigners from entering parliament and the office of the president and raise the minimum age of the president to 35.

UNP should be preparing for the 2024 presidential election than spread false information. 2019 is a foregone conclusion. UNP will be wiped out at all elections (provincial, presidential and parliamentary) to be held within the next 8 months. The last time the UNP won a presidential election was in 1988. That too thanks to the lowest voters’ turnout in history, violence in both the north and the south, IPKF invasion and shameless appeasement of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress via Constitutional amendments just two days before the election.

Laksiri Warnakula

I saw a picture on Facebook on (27-07-19) that made me silently cry. It was the garbage-strewn river mouth of the Kelani Ganga. It is literally a giant carpet of garbage, the thickness of which could be anyone’s guess.

Then came the containers. The ghostly shapes stuffed with garbage sitting somewhere, on this pristine land of ours, its filth slowly leaking to the ground, its stink penetrating and permeating through the air around started to play tricks on my mind. The boxes of metal now glistening as if livid with demonic rage began to float in front of me, a grotesque, savage dance prophesying the ill-health of the nation. 

People from all walks of life, the poor and the not so poor are talking about it. It has taken media on all fronts and formats by storm. It is about this despicable, disgusting act, which is tantamount to spitting on ones’ ‘Motherland’ with spite and venom, by heartless rogues and I wonder if it doesn’t make any sane person, even with a modicum of care, concern and love for the country of his/her birth, fume, what else can? 

These containers are said to contain garbage and filth, some even carrying human remains.

I heard somewhere that those containers cannot be sent back, according to ‘Basal Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste and their Disposal’, which prohibits cross-border (land/sea) traffic of garbage transport. And this ‘Treaty was also designed specifically to prevent transfer of hazardous waste from developed countries to less developed countries (Wikipedia)’. I think this is quite relevant and applicable to Sri Lanka as regards this present case since part of the garbage is said to contain health-hazardous hospital garbage including human remains, which ought to be considered hazardous by Sri Lanka in any case, which is the country of import.

The covenants, conventions and treaties have to be fair by all parties. An illegal act has taken place at the point of origin, where the despatch of the cargo was initiated and subsequently effected. Consequently its voyage to its present location was illegal too. So why that cargo cannot be sent back? I am not a lawyer. Yet, common sense and fair play suggest that it should be so.

Mr President, you were born and bred in a village. I am sure you have heard the enchanting sounds of humming bees and chirping birds, seen how beautiful the greenery can be, smelt that uniquely refreshing fragrance coming from a meadow, felt the breeze and smelt its delicate scents, which only a clean and pristine environment can give. And I am sure you had many a dip and swim in those pristine waters of our ‘ala, dola and ganga’. 

And then you are also the Minister, who is responsible for looking after our environment. Therefore, please make it a task of highest priority to initiate an island-wide campaign to handle and properly manage the disposal of garbage. Transferring of garbage from one place to another is an eyewash. It is not only unsustainable, it defeats the purpose too, which is to make our environment free of garbage and trash. I have read about few small-scale garbage sorting and recycling plants in operation in some locations. Why not make this an island-wide project, where each council has its own to cater to garbage produced in the area that comes under its jurisdiction? Or a few can work together, where capacities come into the equation, having one plant to serve them all. And I have also heard that as one would expect these days that there exist ‘garbage mafia outfits’ too in many a locality or council and you should be prepared to handle them as well. 

Sir, please make sure that those containers will be leaving Sri Lankan shores to whatever the destination without delay. And also make sure that all those, who are behind this despicable act, will also be expediently dealt with, if there is enough legal grounds for such action.

Please do not let our beautiful country drown in a sea of garbage!

Laksiri Warnakula 

Lanka News Web

https://www.facebook.com/lnwsrilanka/videos/2203715369919597/

පේශල පසන් කරුණාරත්න වැසිවනාන්තර සුරකින්නෝ සංවිධානය

කළුතර දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ වලල්ලාවිට ප්‍රාදේශීය ලේකම් කොට්ඨාශය යනු  නිවර්තන සදාහරිත වනාන්තර කීපයකටම හිමිකම් කියන්නා වූ ජෛව හා පරිසර පද්ධති විවිධත්වයෙන් පොහොසත් ප්‍රාදේශීය ලේකම් කොට්ඨාශයක් වේ. වර්තමානය වන විට ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ වනාන්තර පද්ධතියට විශාල වශයෙන් කටුපොල් වගාව  නිසා තර්ජන එල්ල වෙමින් පවතින අතර කළුතර දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ වලල්ලාවිට ප්‍රාදේශීය ලේකම් කොට්ඨාශය තුළද කටුපොල් වගාව සඳහා විශාල රක්ෂිත ප්‍රදේශයක් විනාශ කරමින් පවතී.

වලල්ලාවිට ප්‍රාදේශීය ලේකම් කොට්ඨාශයේ 849-F වීරකන්ද ග්‍රාමසේවා වසම තුල උතුරින් වන සංරක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවට අයත් ගල්කන්ද රක්ෂිතයට මායිම්ව ඇති ඉතා වටිනා ජල පෝශක කලාපයක අක්කර 40ක පමණ විශාල වනාන්තර භූමියක් බැකෝ යන්ත්‍ර සහ යාන්ත්‍රික කියත් යොදාගනිමින් නමුණුකුල (ARPICO) වැවිලිසමාගම විසින් කටුපොල් සිටුවීම සඳහා විනාශකරමින් පවතී.

වටිනාකමින් ඉහල මෙන්ම දේශීය වශයෙන් දුර්ලභ ආරක්ෂිත ශාකයක් වන විශාල වල් දෙල් ශාක සහ වටිනාකමින් එයට නොදෙවනි වීශාල පුස් වැල් රාශියක් සමගින් විශාල ශාක ප්‍රමාණයක් කපා බිම හෙලා ඇත. එමගින් මෙම පරිසර පද්ධතිය තුළ වෙසෙන ගෝනුන්, ඌරන්, කැබැල්ලෑවන්, ඉත්තෑවන් වැනි සතුන් හට මෙන්ම මෙම භූමියේ දෙනි ආශ්‍රිතව වෙසෙන උභය ජීවින්ට විශාල තර්ජනයක් එල්ල වන බවත් එම ප්‍රදේශය මීවන ශාක සහ විශාල වටිනාකමක් ඇති ඖෂධ පැළැටි වලින් ගහන වනාන්තරයක් බව ප්‍රදේශවාසීන් සඳහන් කරයි.

තවද මෙම ජල පෝශක කලාපයෙන් ආරම්භවන දොළ පහරටද මේ වන විට මෙම වන හායනය දැඩිලෙස බලපෑ ඇත. එමෙන්ම ගම්වාසීන්ගේ එදිනෙදා ජල අවශ්‍යතා සපුරා ගැනීමට භාවිතා කරන මෙම දොළ මාර්ගය සිඳී යාමේ තර්ජනයට ලක්ව ඇත. තවද වීරකන්ද නායයෑම නිසාවෙන් හානියට පත්වූ පවුල් නැවත පදිංචිකර ඇත්තේද මෙම ජල පෝෂකය පාමුල භූමියේ වන අතර මෙලෙස සිදුවන වන හායනය නිසාවෙන් මෙම ප්‍රදේශයේ නාය යෑමේ අවදානම වැඩිවීමේ ප්‍රවනතාවයක්ද පවතී. එමෙන්ම පසුගිය වසර දෙක පුරාවට කටුපොල් වගාව සඳහා වීරකන්ද ප්‍රාථමික විද්‍යාලයට ජලය ලබාගන්නා ජල පෝශකය එලි කිරීම හේතුවෙන් මේ වන විට එම විද්‍යාලයේ දරුවන්ගේ ජල අයිතියද උදුරාගෙන ඇති බවට ප්‍රදේශවාසීන් පවසයි. දිගින් දිගටම මෙසෙල වනාන්තර ප්‍රදේශ කටුපොල් සඳහා එලි කීරීමේ ප්‍රථිඵල සෙල වර්ථමානය වන විට සුලු නියඟ කාලයට විශාල ලෙස ජලය හිඟ වන බව ඔවුන් පවසයි.

වැසිවනාන්තර සුරකින්නෝ සංවිධානය මේ පිළිබඳව සොයා බැලීමේදී දැන ගැනීමට හැකි වූයේ මෙම වන හායනය සඳහා කිසිඳු අනුමැතියක් අදාල සමාගමේ වතු අධිකාරිවරයා ලබාගෙන නොමැති බවය. මේ පිළිබඳව දැනුවත් කරමින් අප සංවිධානය විසින් පරිසර අමාත්‍යාංශය ප්‍රමුඛ ආයතන ගණනාවකකට ලිපි මඟින් දැනුවත් කර ඇති අතර එහිදී මූලික වශයෙන් මෙම අනවසර වන හෙලීම සම්බන්ධව වහා නීතිමය  ක්‍රියාමාර්ග ගන්නා සෙලත් මෙම  අක්කර 40 ක ජලපෝෂකය “පරිසර සංවේදී කලාපයක්” ලෙස නම්කර ආරක්ෂා කරදීමට හෝ වන සංරක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ රක්ෂිතයකට යාබදව ඇති බැවින් අදාල ප්‍රදේශය වනසංරක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවට පවරාගෙන තම රක්ෂියට ඈඳීමට අදාල කටයුතු කිරීමට කටයුතු කරන ලෙසටත් දන්වා ඇත.

මෙම වටිනා සංවේදී කලාපය රැක ගැනීම මෙන්ම ශ්‍රීලංකාව තුළ නැවත කටුපොල් සිටුවීම සම්පුර්ණයෙන්ම තහනම් කර ඇති බැව්න් එවැනි අවස්ථාවන් වලදී ඒ සඳහා විරුද්ධව කටයුතු කිරීමද අප සියළු දෙනාගේම වගකීම වේ. එබැවින් මේ සඳහා අවශ්‍ය පියවර කඩිනමින් ගත යුතු අතර ඒ සඳහා සියළු දෙනා එක්විය යුතුය.

මේ පිළිබඳ වැඩිදුර තොරතුරු  0777771348 (ජයන්ත විජේසිංහ, කැඳවුම්කරු, වැසිවනාන්තර සුරකින්නෝ සංවිධානය) ඇමතීමෙන් ලබාගත හැක.

පේශල පසන් කරුණාරත්න

මාධ්‍ය සම්බන්ධීකාරක

වැසිවනාන්තර සුරකින්නෝ සංවිධානය

Imran Khan (official)

Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan’s Closing Message for first trip to the United States conveyed at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington D.C. USA (23.07.19)

The Honourable Prime Minister has clearly stated that the basis of international relations should be on mutual trust and friendship and not on financial aid provided by the richer party.  Such a policy will safeguard the national interest of the weaker and less wealthy party as well.  Sri Lanka should at all times adopt such a principle in
international relations without humbling oneself to receive such tainted money tied to various conditions. Please see the 3 minute video interview given by His Excellency, Imran Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan just before his departure from the USA to head home.

https://www.facebook.com/143462899029472/posts/3678020775573649?s=1706006511&v=e&sfns=morom

Bathiya N Santhush

ආචාර්ය වරුණ චන්ද්‍රකීර්ති

අපේ තාත්තා හොඳ ශ්‍රී ලංකාකාරයෙක්. 1977 අවුරුද්දේ ජූලි මාසේ 21 වැනි දා පාර්ලිමේන්තු මහ මැතිවරණයක් තිබ්බා. ඒ වෙද්දි මට අවුරුදු අටක් සම්පූර්ණ වෙලා නෑ. හැබැයි ඒ වෙලාවේ සිද්දවෙච්ච සමහර දේවල් මට තාමත් මතකයි.

අපි ඒ කාලේ හිටියේ නුවරඑළිය දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ වලපනේ ආසනයට අයති හරස්බැද්ද ගමේ. අපි පදිංචිවෙලා හිටියේ ඉස්කෝලේ ගුරු නිවාසයේමයි. තාත්තා තමයි ඉස්කෝලේ විදුහල්පති. ඡන්දේ කිට්ටුව නිල්දණ්ඩාහින්නේ රැස්වීමක් තිබුණා. අපේ තාත්තා තව මිනිස්සු මහ ගොඩක් එක්ක නිල්දණ්ඩාහින්නට පෙළපාලියකින් ගියා. ඒ කාලේ හරස්බැද්දේ ඉඳලා නිල්දණ්ඩෙට බහින්න කැලෑ පාරක් තිබුණා. මහ පාරෙන් යනවා නම් බස් දෙකකින් යන්න ඕන. මුලින් හරස්බැද්දේ ඉඳලා වතුමුල්ලට ගිහිල්ලා ඊට පස්සේ එතැන ඉඳලා නිල්දණ්ඩෙට යන්න ඕන. ඒත් පයින් යද්දි එච්චර නටන්න ඕන නෑ. හරස්බැද්දේ ඉඳලා කන්ද පල්ලෙහාට බැස්සාම හරි. ඒ පාර හැතැප්ම පහක් හයක් විතර දුර ඇති කියලා මට හිතෙනවා. ඒ ගැන ටක්කෙට ම කියන්න මම අදටත් දන්නේ නෑ.

නිල්දණ්ඩේ තිබුණු රැස්වීමට සිරිමාවෝ මැතිනිය ඇවිල්ලා හිටියා. එතුමිය ඒ රැස්වීමට ඇවිල්ලා තිබුණේ හෙලිකොප්ටරයකින්. ඒ තමයි මම හෙලිකොප්ටරයක් දැකපු මුල් ම වතාව. ඒක රතු පාට ඉරි තිබුණු සුදු පාට හෙලිකොප්ටරයක් බවයි මට මතක.

ඊට පස්සේ දවසක ඡන්දේ තිබුණා. හරස්බැද්දේ ඡන්ද මධ්‍යස්ථානය තිබුණේ ඉස්කෝලෙමයි. ඒ ඡන්ද මධ්‍යස්ථානේ වැඩට ආපු පොලිස් රාළහාමි‍ කෙනකුගේ තුවක්කුවක් ඉස්කෝලේ ශාලාවක් ඇතුළේ බිත්තියකට හේත්තු කරලා තිබුණා. ඒ තමයි මම තුවක්කුවක් දැක්ක මුල් ම වතාව. ඉතින් මම සෑහෙන වෙලාවක් ඒ දිහා බල බලා එහාට මෙහාට ගියා.

දවසක් දෙකක් ගියා ම මහ කලබලයක් පටන්ගත්තා. දවල් කාලේ තාත්තා ගෙදර හිටියේ නෑ. රෑ ගොම්මන් වෙද්දි තාත්තා ගෙදර එනවා. ඊට පස්සේ අපිත් එක්ක හරස්බැද්ද පන්සලට පල්ලෙහාට වෙන්න පල්ලමේ තියෙන මහ මානා කැලේකට ගිහිල්ලා හැංගිලා ඉන්නවා. එළිය වැටෙද්දි අපි අම්මා එක්ක ආපහු ගුරු නිවාසයට එනවා. තාත්තා එන්නේ නෑ. දවල්ට ඉස්කෝලේ පහු කරගෙන එහෙ මෙහෙ යන මිනිස්සු අම්මාට මොන මොනවා ද කියනවා. අම්මා ඒ මිනිස්සුන්ට බනිනවා.

මෙහෙම ටික දවසක් ගියාට පස්සේ අපි ගුරු නිවාසය අත හැරලා හරස්බැද්දෙන් උඩ කන්දේ තියෙන දර්පනාහෙළපතන කියන ගමේ පදිංචියට ගියා. ඒ ගමේ ගෙයක් හදාගන්න උදව් කළේ ගල්කඩපතන ගමේ හිටිය පියදාස මාමා. තාත්තාව කුරුණෑගලට මාරු කරලා යවලා. අපි දර්පනාහෙළපතනේ ඉඳලා තේ වතු මැද්දෙන් පල්ලම් බැහලා හරස්බැද්දේ ඉස්කෝලෙට යනවා.

ඒක අපිට නම් හරි ම සුන්දර කාලයක්. දර්පනාහෙළපතන කියලා කියන්නේ පුදුමාකාර විදිහට සීතල තැනක්. ඉතින් රෑ නිදාගන්න වෙලාවට අම්මා අපිට ගෝනිත් පොරවනවා. අපිට ඒකේ වගක් නෑ. උදේ පාන්දර නැගිටලා බැලුවා ම පේනවා පතන දිගේ උඩහට වල් ඌරෝ දුවනවා. මහ ගල් ගෙඩි වගයක් පහළ ඉඳලා ඉහළට පෙරලෙනවා වගේ තමයි. අපේ ගෙවල්වලට උඩින් මහ විශාල පර්වතයක් තිබුණා. ඒ පර්වතයෙන් එහා පැත්තේ තියෙන්නේ මතුරට කියලා මම අහලා තියෙනවා. ඒත් ඒ පර්වතය පැත්තට නඟින්න අවස්ථාවක් අපිට ලැබුණේ නෑ. අපේ ගෙදර ආවම බාප්පා නම් නිතර ම ඒ පැත්තට යනවා.

1978 අවුරුද්ද වෙන කල් මම ඉගෙනගත්තේ එක පංතියක. හැබැයි මගේ නම තිබුණේ පහළ පංතියේ. ඉතින් නම ලකුණු කරන වෙලාවට පහළ පංතියට ගිහිල්ලා ඒ වැඩේ කරලා මම ආයෙත් ඉහළ පංතියට එනවා. ඒ කාලේ මම තමයි පංතියේ පළවෙනියා. ඉතින් ඒ අවුරුද්දේ මට ඩබල් ප්‍රමෝෂන් එකක් ලැබුණා. ඒ කියන්නේ මගේ නමත් මම ඉගෙනගත්ත පංතියේ නාම ලේඛනයට ම වැටුණා.

ඒ වෙද්දි තාත්තා ඉගැන්නුවේ පඬුවස්නුවර ආසනයට අයිති මගුලාගම කනිෂ්ඨ විද්‍යාලයේ. 1978 අවුරුද්දේ මැද හරියේ තාත්තා අපිවත් මගුලාගමට එක් කරගෙන ආවා. මගුලාගම ඉඳලා පඬුවස්නුවරට යන පාරේ තිබුණු ගෙයක් තමයි තාත්තා කුලියට ඇරගෙන තිබුණේ. සීතල පළාතක ඉඳලා රස්නේ පළාතකට ආපු හින්දා ද කොහෙද නංගි නිතර නිතර ම ලෙඩ වුනා. ඒ වෙද්දි එයාගේ වයස අවුරුදු හතරක් විතර ඇති.

මගුලාගම ජීවිතය හරස්බැද්දේ පැත්තේ ජීවිතයට වඩා ගොඩක් වෙනස්. මිනිස්සු පාවිච්චි කරපු වචනවල වුනත් තරමක වෙනසක් තිබුණා. ගෙදර පාවිච්චි කරන ආයුධවල නම් ලියන්න කියලා කිව්වාම අනිත් ළමයි මන්නය” කියලා එකක් ගැන ලිව්වා. එහෙම එකක් නෑ කියලා මම ඒ ළමයි එක්ක වාද කළා. පස්සේ පස්සේ ඒ පැත්තේ දේවල්වලට අපිත් හුරුවුනා. ඒත් මම තාමත් කතාකරද්දි යන්ට, එන්ට” කියලා තමයි කියන්නේ. ඒවා හදන්න බෑ!

මම ශිෂ්‍යත්වයට ලිව්වේ 1979 අවුරුද්දේ. ඒ කාලේ ශිෂ්‍යත්ව විභාගය තියන්නේ වට දෙකකින්. මුල් විභාගයෙන් පාස්වෙන අයට තමයි දෙවැනි විභාගයට ලියන්න පුළුවන්. මුල් විභාගය තිබුණේ මගුලාගම මහ විද්‍යාලයේ. ඒ විභාගයෙන් අපි හත් දෙනෙක් පාස්වුනා. ඊට මාස කීපයකට පස්සේ දෙවැනි ශිෂ්‍යත්ව විභාගය තිබුණේ හෙට්ටිපොළ මහා විද්‍යාලයේ. ශාලාධිපතිතුමා පයිප්පයක් බිව්වා. ඒක පත්තු කරන්න එතුමා දිගින් දිගට ම ගිනිකූරු ගහනවා. ඉතින් මම ගෙදර ඇවිල්ලා කිව්වා පයිප්පය බොන්න ශාලාධිපති සර් ගිනිකූරු 28 ක් ගැහුවා කියලා. ඒක අහලා තාත්තාට යකා නැග්ගා. කොල්ලා විභාගේ ෆේල් වුනොත් මම ඔකාට හොඳ වැඩක් කරන්නේ” කියලා තාත්තා කෑ ගැහුවා.

කොහොම වුනත් ශිෂ්‍යත්ව ප්‍රතිඵල එන්නේ මාර්තු මාසයේ විතර. ඒ හින්දා අපිට (මටයි අයියාටයි) කුලියාපිටිය මහා විද්‍යාලයට යන්න සිද්දවුනා. ඒ වෙනුවෙන් ඇතුළත්වීමේ විභාගයක් තිබුණා. මාර්තු මාසය වෙද්දි ශිෂ්‍යත්ව ප්‍රතිඵල ආවා. මම විතරයි මගුලාගම ඉස්කෝලෙන් ම පාස්වෙලා හිටියේ. ඒ ගැන මට කියන්න තාත්තා කුලියාපිටිය මහා විද්‍යාලයේ ගේට්ටුව ළඟට ම ඇවිල්ලා හිටියා. ඒ ඇයි කියලා මට තේරුණේ වයස අවුරුදු තිහක් විතර වුනාට පස්සේ. තාත්තලා කරන දේවල් ළමයින්ට තේරෙන්නේ එහෙම තමයි!

ශිෂ්‍යත්වය පාස්වුනු හින්දා මට නාරම්මල මධ්‍ය මහා විද්‍යාලයට ඇතුළුවෙන්න පුළුවන් වුනා. තාත්තා මාව ඉස්කෝලේ හොස්ටල් එකේ නැවැත්තුවා. ඒ වෙද්දි හොස්ටල් එකේ හිටිය බාල ම ළමයා මම වෙච්ච හින්දා ඉස්කෝලේ වත්ත පල්ලෙහාට වෙන්න තිබුණු මහ ළි‍ඳෙන් නාද්දි ලොකු අයියලා තමයි වතුර ඇදලා මාව නෑව්වේ.

මම ඒ කාලේ මාසයකට වතාවක් ගෙදර යනවා. මුලින් ම නාරම්මල ඉඳලා බස් එකක කුලියාපිටියට යන්න ඕන. ඊට පස්සේ කුලියාපිටියේ ඉඳලා මූණමල්දෙණිය හරහා කටුපොත යන බස් එකකින් ගිහිල්ලා මගුලාගමින් බහින්න ඕන. ඒත් ඒ බස් එක නිතර ම නෑ. ඒ හින්දා මම හුඟක් වෙලාවට කළේ කුලියාපිටියේ ඉඳලා හෙට්ටිපොළ යන බස් එකක ගිහිල්ලා මූණමල්දෙණිය හන්දියෙන් බහින එක. ඊට පස්සේ එතැන ඉඳලා මගුලාගමට පයින් යනවා. ඒ කාලේ පොඩි ළමයෙක්ට බය නැතුව තනියෙන් බස් එකෙත් පාරෙත් යන්න පුළුවන්. ඉතින් මම වට පිට බල බලා හෙමින් හෙමින් ගෙදර යනවා.

1981 අවුරුද්දේ දී තාත්තා දඹදෙණිය ආසනයට අයිති මැටියගනේ ගමින් ඉඩමක් ගත්තා. තාත්තා දඹදෙණියට මාරුවක් හදාගෙන තිබුණා. අයියාවත් නංගීවත් දඹදෙණිය ඉස්කෝලයට ඇතුළු කරගෙන තිබුණා. අලුතින් ගත්ත ඉඩමේ කාමර දෙකක් තියෙන පොඩි ගෙයක් තාත්තා හදාගත්තා. ඊට පස්සේ මටත් පුළුවන් වුනා ගෙදර ඉඳලා ඉස්කෝලේ යන්න. මැටියගනේ ඉඳලා නාරම්මලට තියෙන්නේ හැතැප්ම හතරයි.

ගල්කඩපතනේ පියදාස මාමාගේ පුතා ජයන්තවත් දඹදෙණියේ ඉස්කෝලෙට ඇතුළත් කරපු හින්දා ජයන්ත නැවතුනේත් අපේ ගෙදර. ඒ කාලේ අයියාත් හතේ පංතියේ. ජයන්තත් හතේ පංතියේ. මමත් හතේ පංතියේ. ඒ දෙන්නා දඹදෙණියේ. මම නාරම්මල.

අපි ඉස්කෝලේ ඇරිලා ඇවිල්ලා ගෙදර වැඩ කරනවා. අම්මයි තාත්තායි ගෙදර එළවළු වැව්වා, බුලත් හැදුවා. අපි ඒවාට වතුර දැම්මා. බ්‍රහස්පතින්දා වෙද්දි බුලත් කඩන්න පටන්ගන්න ඕන. සිකුරාදා සෙනසුරා ඒවා තෝරලා අමුණනවා. ඉරිදා උදේ පාන්දර තාත්තා ඒවා නාරම්මල පොළට ගෙනියනවා.

අපේ අම්මා හොඳින් ඉගෙනගෙන තිබුණත් රස්සාවක් කළේ නෑ. ඒත් අම්මා නිකම් හිටියේ නෑ. අම්මා වත්තේ පිටියේ වැඩ කළා. හරක් හැදුවා. කුකුල්ලු හැදුවා. අපිත් ඒ වැඩවලට හරි හරියට උදව්වුනා. අම්මා ගෙදර හිටියාට අපිට කරන්නත් වැඩ තිබුණා. උදේට වැස්සිගෙන් කිරි ගන්න වැඩෙයි සම්බෝලය අඹරන වැඩෙයි කළේ මම. හැමෝට ම වැස්සිගෙන් කිරි ගන්න බෑ. ඌ පයින් ගහනවා. ඒ වැඩේ කරන්න පුළුවන් වෙලා හිටියේ අම්මටයි මටයි විතරයි. ඒත් අම්මාට උදේ පාන්දර කරන්න තියෙන වැඩ වැඩියි. ඒ හින්දා කිරි දෝන වැඩේ මට පැවරුනා. ඒ කාලේ ළූණු, මිරිස්, ගම්මිරිස්, ලුණු වගේ දේවල් මුලින් ගලේ අඹරලා පොලුත් දාලා තමයි පොල් සම්බෝල හදන්නේ. ඒ වැඩෙත් මට පැවරිලා තිබුණා.

ඊට පස්සේ උදේට කාලා ඉස්කෝලේ යනවා. ඒ යන ගමන් කිරි බෝතල් දෙකක් ගෙවල් දෙකකට දීලා යන්න ඕන. මේ හැම දෙයක් ම කරලා උදේ හයයි තිහේ බස් එකට මම නඟිනවා. උදේ හත වෙද්දි ඉස්කෝලෙට යනවා. ඉස්කෝලේ ඇරිලා එද්දි හිස් බෝතල් දෙක ඉල්ලගෙන එන්න ඕන. එක දවසක් මම ඒ බෝතල් දෙක එකට ගහ ගහා ඇවිල්ලා ඒ දෙක ම බිඳුණා. ඒවා ඉතින් එහෙම තමයි.

මුළු වත්තේ ම අලුතින් පොල් පැළ හිටවන්න තාත්තා තීරණය කළා. පොල් වළවල් කැපුවේ අයියයි ජයන්තයි මමයි. ඒ හැම වළක් ම අඩි තුනක් පළලට, අඩි තුනක් දිගට, අඩි තුනක් ගැඹුුරට කපන්න ඕන. මේක මොන විදිහකින්වත් හොරට කරන්න බෑ. මම කපන වළේ දිග පළල අයියයි ජයන්තයි මනිනවා. ඒ දෙන්නාගේ වැඩේ අපි දෙන්නෙක් සුපර්වයිස් කරනවා. ඉතින් අපි තුන්දෙනා එකතුවෙලා පොල් වළවල් හැත්තෑ ගානක් (මට මතක විදිහට හැත්තෑ දෙකක්) විතර කැපුවා.

ඉස්කෝලේ ඇරිලා මුලින් ම ගෙදර එන්නේ මම. එක දවසක් මම එන කල් අම්මා බලාගෙන ඉඳලා මට දවල් කෑම බෙදලා දීලා ළිඳට ගිහිල්ලා නාන්න පටන්ගත්තා. ඒක ටිකක් අමුතු වැඩක්. ඒත් මම ඒ ගැන වැඩිය හිතුවේ නෑ. මම සාමාන්‍යයෙන් වහළ දිහා බලාගෙන තමයි කන්නේ. ඉතින් මම ඒ දවස්වල සාමාන්‍යයෙන් නොකන දේවලුත් (උදාහරණයක් විදිහට කියනවා නම් තලන බටු) මට නොදැනීම කවන විදිහ අම්මා දැනගෙන හිටියා. බත් එක්ක අනලා තලන බටු ටිකක් පිඟානේ අඩියට බෙදනවා. ඊට පස්සේ බත්වලට උඩිනුත් තලන බඩු බෙදනවා. මම උඩ තියෙන තලන බටු ටික ඉතිරි කරලා අනිත් ඒවා ඔක්කොම කනවා. ඒකෙන් කමක් නෑ. ආයෙත් අර කතාව කියන්නම්.

අම්මා නාලා එද්දි මම කාලා ඉවරයි. ඊට පස්සේ තමයි අම්මා විස්තරේ කිව්වේ. ගෙදර අල්මාරිය ඇරිලා තිබිලා. ඉතින් කොහෙද යන ගමන් මීයක් (මී මැස්සෝ තොගයක්) අල්මාරියේ ඇතුළේ පදිංචිවෙලා. අම්මාට ඕන වුනේ ඒ මී මැස්සෝ ටික හෙමින් හෙමින් ඇරගෙන පරණ කළයකට දාලා අඹ ගහෙන් තියන්න. මම එන කල් අම්මා ඉඳලා තියෙන්නේ හදිස්සියක් වුනොත් දුවලා ගිහින් අල්ලපු ගෙදරකට හරි කියන්න කෙනෙක් ඕන හින්දා. ඒත් එහෙම කරදරයක් වුනේ නෑ. හිතපු විදිහට අම්මා ඒ වැඩේ කළා. මුලින් නාලා තියෙන්නේ දාඩිය ගඳ යන්න. දාඩිය ගඳට මී මැස්සෝ අනිනවා කියලා අම්මා අහලා තියෙනවා.

මැටියගනෙන් අපේ තාත්තා ඇරගෙන තිබුණේ අවුරුදු 17 ක් නඩු කියලා බෙදපු ඉඩමක්. ඒත් අපි ඒ ඉඩම ගත්ත ගමන් ම අල්ලපු වත්තේ මිනිස්සු අපේ ඉඩමට එන්න තිබුණු පාර වැහුවා. ඉතින් අපි වැටවල්වලින් රිංගලා වෙන වතු හරහා ගිහිල්ලා තමයි ඉස්කෝලේ ගියේ. අනිත් හැම ගමනක් ම ගියේ.

මේක කියවන සමහර අයට හිතෙන්න පුළුවන් අපි මහා දුක් විඳපු අය කියලා. ඒක බොරුවක්. අපි එහෙම දුක් වින්දේ නෑ. අපි බොහොම සතුටින් හිටියේ. ගෙදර ලයිට් තිබ්බේ නෑ කියලා අපිට වගේ වගක් තිබුණේ නෑ. අපේ ගෙදරට ලයිට් ගන්න කොට මම විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයේ තුන්වැනි අවුරුද්දේ ඉගෙනගන්නවා. ඔය දේවල් තිබුණේ නැතුවාට අපි බොහොම සතුටින් හිටියේ.

ඒ කාලේ දැන් වගේ නෙවෙයි. අපේ වතුවල කජු හරියට හැදෙනවා. අවුරුදු කාලෙට මම විතරක් කජු විසිදාහක් විතර එකතු කරලා විකුණනවා. අයියාත් එහෙමයි. අපේ ගම්වල හිටිය හැම කෙනෙක් ම ඒ දේවල් කළා. ඉතින් අපිට ඒවා කරන එක මහ ලොකු අමාරු වැඩක් කියලා තුන් හිතකින්වත් හිතුණේ නෑ. දැන් තමයි මේ මළ විකාර ඔක්කොම තියෙන්නේ.

අපි හතේ පංතියේ ඉන්න කාලේ වැස්සි ඇදගෙන ගිහිල්ලා අම්මාගේ අත කැඩුණා. ඒ දවස්වල තාත්තා ගමේ (වලපනේ) ගිහිල්ලා. ඒ කාලේ ටෙලිෆෝන් පාවිච්චියක් තිබුණු නැති බව අමුතුවෙන් කියන්න ඕන නෑනේ. ඉතින් අම්මාට වෙච්ච කරදරේ ගැන තාත්තාට පණිවිඩයක් යවන්න විදිහක් තිබුණේ නෑ. අහළ පහළ මිනිස්සු උදව් කළා. ළඟපාත වෙද මහත්තයෙක් ළඟට අම්මාව එක් කරගෙන ගිහිල්ලා බෙහෙත් බැන්දෙව්වා. මුල් දවසේ අල්ලපු ගෙදර අය තමයි උයලා දුන්නේ. ඒත් ඒ වැඩේ හැමදාම කරනවාට අම්මා කැමැති වුනේ නෑ.

ඉතින් අම්මා කුස්සියේ ඉඳගෙන අපි තුන් දෙනාට (මටයි, අයියටයි, ජයන්තටයි) උපදෙස් දෙනවා. අපි තුන් දෙනා ඒ කියන කියන විදිහට උයනවා. සතියකට විතර පස්සේ තාත්තා එන කල් එහෙම තමයි සිද්දවුනේ. ඉතින් කොහොම කොහොම හරි අපිටත් උයන වැඩේ හුරුවුනා.

අපි අම්මාත් එක්ක හරි හරියට පොල් අතු විව්වා. ඒ විදිහට පොල් අතු විව්වේ ගෙදර වහළට හෙවිල්ලන්න විතරක් නෙවෙයි. වැඩියෙන් පොල් අතු වියලා විකුණන වැඩෙත් අම්මා කළා. මඩකලපුව පැත්තෙන් ආපු ලොරිවලින් තමයි පොල් අතු ගත්තේ.

වහළට පොල් අතු බඳින දවසට කලින් දවසේ තාත්තා හරි අම්මා හරි ඒ ගැන අමරේ අයියාට කියනවා. අමරේ අයියා කියලා කියන්නේ ළඟ පාත ගෙදරක හිටිය හොඳ ඉලන්දාරියෙක්. ඉතින් පහුවදා උදේට අමරේ අයියා ඇවිල්ලා හූවක් කියනවා. ඒ හූව ඇහුනා ම අහළ පහළ තරුණ අය මැදි වියේ අය හය හත් දෙනෙක් අපේ ගෙදරට ඇවිල්ලා පරණ පොල් අතු කඩලා අලුතින් පොල් අතු බඳින්න පටන්ගන්නවා. මේ පොල් අතු බඳින දවසට කට්ටියට කන්න දෙන්න තාත්තා පාන් ගේනවා. අම්මා පොල් සම්බෝල හදනවා. ඉතින් ඒක අපිටත් අවුරුදු වගේ දවසක්. එහෙම දවසකට තමයි අපිට පාන් කන්න ලැබෙන්නේ!

නිතර ම වත්තේ කැලේ කපලා සුද්ද කරන්නත් අපිට සිද්දවෙනවා. ඒ දවස්වල වතුවල වැඩියෙන් හැදෙන්නේ පොඩිසිඤ්‍ඤෝ මරං එහෙම නැතිනම් ධනපති නට්ටන් කියන ගසුත් වල් ළූණුත් තමයි. මේවා මුලින් ම ගලවලා අයින් කරන්න ඕන. ඒ මොනවා කළත් ඒවා ආයෙත් වැවෙනවා. අපි කැලේ කොටන ගමන් ධනපති නට්ටන්වලට කිව්වේ ජනාධිපති නට්ටන්” කියලා. ඒ කාලේ ජනාධිපති ජේ. ආර්. මහත්තයානේ. තාත්තා ශ්‍රී ලංකාකාරයෙක් හින්දා ජේ. ආර්. මහත්තයා ගැන කිසිම කැමැත්තකින් නෙවෙයි හිටියේ. ඉතින් ඒ රස්නේ අපිටත් ගහලා තිබුණේ. ඒත් මේ ජනාධිපති නට්ටන් කතාව කියන වතාවක් පාසා අම්මා අපිට සත්තම දැම්මා. ඕවා කියලා ලෙඩ දාගන්න එපා කියලා අම්මා අපිට කිව්වා.

1982 අවුරුද්දේ ජනාධිපතිවරණයක් ආවා. තාත්තා වැඩ කළේ කොබ්බෑකඩුව මහත්තයාට. ඉතින් නාරම්මල නගර සභා පිට්ටනියේ තිබුණු ශ්‍රී ලංකා රැස්වීමකට තාත්තා මාවත් එක්කරගෙන ගියා. ඒ රැස්වීමේ විජය කුමාරතුුංග මහත්තයා කතා කළා. ඒ තමයි මහා සභාවක කෙනෙක් කුණුහරුප කියනවා මම අහපු මුල් ම වතාව. එ දා ඉඳලා අද වෙන කල් මම විජය කුමාරතුංග මහත්තයාට කැමැති නෑ.

තාත්තා ඡන්ද රාජකාරිවලට ගියා. ඡන්දේ ගණන් කරන්නත් ගිහිල්ලා. හැබැයි පහුවදා ඡන්ද ප්‍රතිඵල කියන්නත් කලින් තාත්තා කඩිමුඩියේ ගෙදර ආවා. වැඩක් නෑ. කොබ්බැකඩුව මහත්තයා පරාදයි” කියලා තාත්තා කිව්වා. විජේවීරට ඡන්දේ දීපු හැම කෙනෙක් ම දෙවැනි මනාපය දීලා තියෙන්නේ ජේ. ආර්ට” කියලාත් කිව්වා.

එදා රෑ අපි ගෙවල් වහලා අල්ලපු වත්තේ (ඇටැම්පොළ මහත්තයලාගේ වත්තේ) ගිහිල්ලා හැංගුණා. අපි හිටියේ ඒ වත්තේ තිබුණු සියඹලා ගහ යට. ඒ දවස්වල ඒ වත්තේ කවුරුවත් පදිංචිවෙලා හිටියේ නෑ. මෙහෙම රෑ කීපයක් ම අපි ඒ ගහ යටට ගියා. දවස් කීපයක් ගතවුනාට පස්සේ අපි ආයෙත් ගෙදර නිදාගන්න පටන්ගත්තා.

(කතාවේ ඉතිරි හරිය පස්සේ කියන්නම්)

ආචාර්ය වරුණ චන්ද්‍රකීර්ති

Shehan Chamika Silva Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Filing a writ application in Court, the tenth accused in the Treasury Bond case, Ajahn Punchihewa has stated that he could have given vital information regarding investigations over the Bond scam, as he had information about a penthouse apartment in Singapore, valued at Singapore Dollars 7.6 million, occupied by the family of Arjun Aloysius, which was purchased by a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands.

The tenth accused Ajahn Gardiye Punchihewa had filed a writ petition in the Court of Appeal citing 16 respondents including the Attorney General, the director of the CID, Inspector General, and the other nine suspects who were named as accused in the indictment.

The Petitioner had stated that the decision to initiate action against him before the High Court by the Attorney General was unreasonable. Therefore, he sought an interim relief be given until the final determination of this petition suspending the inclusion of his name on the indictment, and charges against him contained in the indictment. He also sought interim relief to restrain commencing of any proceedings against him in the High Court and taking any measures to extradite him over the case.

The Petitioner in his petition has also requested a final order in way of writ of certiorari and prohibition to issue a mandate quashing the charges against him pertaining to the charges stipulated in the indictment and to prohibit respondents from commencing further proceedings against him based on the indictment.

In his petition, Ajahn Punchihewa had comprehensively informed the court that he had no connection with the matters that happened during the time that the alleged Bond auction was taken place on February 27, 2015. He had stated that he was appointed as a director of the board of Perpetual Treasuries Ltd on February 18, 2015, on the request of Arjun Aloysius. However, he states that he did not participate in, and is not aware of any meeting of the board of Directors of PTL, whether formal or informal, during the month of February 2015. And the very first meeting to which the Petitioner was invited was for the month of March 2015. Furthermore, he had not been part of any decision making whatsoever of PTL until 13th March 2015, when the Petitioner attended a board meeting for the very first time.

The Petitioner said that he had started gathering relevant information in order to assist the CID, after he received notices on April 14, 2019, from the Chief Magistrate’s Court over the inquiry to appear before the CID on June 26, 2019.

The Petitioner states that as of his receipt of the said notice, the Petitioner had already commenced gathering further information connected to the affairs of PTL as well as the assets of Mr. Arjun Aloysius and his family, in order to assist the ongoing investigations, and in preparation to provide a detailed and truthful statement.

The Petitioner had taken the following steps:

-The Petitioner requested details of his Credit Card statements from the Standard Chartered Bank, in the belief that such details would allow him to corroborate his account of certain transactions related to his tenure at PTL.

-The Petitioner sought and obtained electronic records of various Singapore State agencies, including incorporation documents for a suspicious company operated by the wife of Arjun Aloysius , who is also the daughter of Arjuna Mahendran, in belief that certain monies and properties may have been held by the said companies and/ or have been transferred to other entities by using the said company.

-The Petitioner had obtained the title deed for a penthouse apartment in Singapore occupied by Arjun Aloysius and his wife, whose owner is a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands named “Perpetual Holdings Worldwide Limited”. The petitioner has also obtained evidence that during August 2017, the name of this company was altered to remove the word “Perpetual”.

The Petitioner states that while he had no knowledge and/ or involvement whatsoever about PTL’ s role in the alleged bond auction, he was still willing to fully assist the ongoing investigations to the best of his knowledge and ability, and was making all preparations to make a comprehensive statement before officers of the Criminal Investigation Department on or before the 26th of June 2019, as stipulated in the Notice.

The Petitioner stated that, in the meantime, he had learned that the Attorney General was going to initiate actions against him also by deliberately ignoring that the Petitioner was not given fair and reasonable opportunity to respond to the allegations against him, as the investigation was not concluded at the magisterial level.

The Petitioner further states that the CBSL is still conducting the forensic audit pertaining to the bond issue, and the said audit is not yet completed.

The petitioner had stated that indicting him and nine others in High Court put the Petitioner in jeopardy, as he was already prepared with a comprehensive statement to be given to the Criminal Investigation Department with a wide range of documents, corroborative materials, and information pertaining to PTL, and Mr. Arjun Aloysius which would immensely assist the ongoing investigations.

The information he had gathered:

-A first-hand account with documentary records of a large number of securities transactions involving Mr. Arjun Aloysius that may serve as evidence of systematic securities frauds and including possible “dumping” of overpriced shares on public entities, over a long period of time prior to January 8, 2015;

– how at the 13th March 2015 board meeting, Mr. Kasun Palisena responded to queries raised by certain directors about improprieties that had by then been publicly alleged about PTL’ s role in the 27th February 2015 bond auction, including means by which investigators could independently corroborate the account of the Petitioner;

-Emails between Mr. Arjun Aloysius, directors, officers and company secretaries of PTL over a period from March 2015 – July 2017 that establish the extent to which Arjun Aloysius was covertly involved in the executive decision-making process of PTL

– telephone calls between Mr. Arjun Aloysius and Mr. – Kasun Palisena overheard by the Petitioner and near-contemporaneous emails that corroborate the Petitioner’s account of these conversations, which may serve as evidence of possible offences under the Registered Stocks and Securities Ordinance and other relevant laws

– Evidence of Financial transactions that may be connected to proceeds of the crime including possible efforts to mask the ownership of overseas assets in 2017 during the term of the Commission of Inquiry into the Issuance of Treasury Bonds;

-instances– in which the Petitioner personally witnessed events connected to the incorporation of a company in Singapore at the instance of Mr. Arjun Aloysius, with the initial directors being Mr. Atjun Aloysius’s wife, and an officer of PTL;

-Information about overseas assets such as the particulars of a penthouse apartment in Singapore, valued at Singapore Dollars 7.6 million, occupied by

the family of Mr. Arjun Aloysius, which was purchased by a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands.

Mr.Uditha Egalahewa PC with Mr.N.K.Ashokbharan appeared for the Petitioner.

Mr.Parinda Ranasinghe PC – ASG, with Ms.Shaheeda Barrie SSC appeared for the Attorney General

The Bench comprising Justice Shiran Gooneratne, Justice Mahinda Samayawardhana, Justice Arjuna Obeyesekere ordered to reissue notices on the respondents and

re-fixed for support on September 10. )

Courtesy Adaderana

Three Muslim ministers, who had resigned from their posts, have sworn in before President Maithripala Sirisena to their previous ministerial portfolios today (29).

Accordingly, Parliamentarians Rishad Bathiudeen, Rauff Hakeem and Abdullah Mahroof have taken up their previous ministerial posts again.

A discussion was held between the resigned Muslim ministers at the official residence of MP Rauff Hakeem earlier today (29), on re-assuming their ministerial positions.

Accordingly, the newly appointed Ministers are:

Rauff Hakeem – Minister of City Planning, Water Supply and Higher Education
Rishad Bathiudeen – Minister of Industry & Commerce, Resettlement of Protracted Displaced Persons, Co-operative Development and Vocational Training & Skills Development
Ameer Ali Mohamed Shihabdeen – State Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Rural Economic Affairs
Abdullah Maharoof – Deputy Minister of Ports and Shipping

The regime change that took place in January 2015 has brought about unprecedented and shocking changes to Sri Lanka at virtually every level. In all probability those that make up what we were then promised was good governance – yahapalana, maybe themselves grinning & bearing the changes which they too know are threats to Sri Lanka’s sovereignty. Their pride will never allow them to admit their folly or will to reverse them or probably the exposure of the handouts given may be used as threat against them. Be that as it may it is important we take stock of the situation. We cannot allow an island nation with such a proud history to become a slave state when at no time in history Sri Lanka had been invaded except for those that gifted the island nation to foreign forces for their own personal gains.

Infiltration

It is clear that every public office has been infiltrated with their stooges placed in important positions leaking classified information, helping obtain sensitive information etc. We have noted the traitors in foreign ministry, elections commission, parliament, important ministries, even secretaries & senior officials have probably been tapped. All of them must be investigated at a future date & exposed.

Foreigners drafting our Legislations

The revelation by the Central Bank Governor at the PSC confirmed that the CB was not consulted on the monetary exchange bills passed in parliament & immediately raises the question – who then drafted the Bills that Parliament controversially passed often without a majority vote? The land privatization act is another such Bill that had been drafted by foreigners with local names plugged for cosmetic purposes. Bills have got passed controversially and its removal now requires 2/3 majority. This cannot be accepted.

We have to also realize that all those who planned, funded & executed the regime change of January 2015 did so with a bigger plan and it was far more than getting rid of Rajapakse. These plotters are unlikely to wish to give up all that they had spent time & money on. Understandably, they have increased the accelerator to fast forward their plans & implement them through the puppets they have placed in power before the puppets are overthrown at the next election. So we have to now be more conscious of what they will plan to do next – obviously they are playing with different sets of plans, putting forward different groups of people, all with back up plans as well. We need to begin guessing what these likely scenarios are and how to handle them.

The Opposition has a formidable task ahead of them. They cannot do this alone but they must take the stewardship on behalf of the people. Staying silent so as not to anger the external parties plotting against the country is something our voters are today smart enough to read through.

The Opposition must be mindful that just as the voters are fed up with the ruling government they are not so gaga about the Opposition unless they present a plan for how they are going to take Sri Lanka out of the mess the present government has put the country in.

The Opposition must also take into account that various initiatives are already being rolled out to break the votes. The Opposition must ensure that the voters are not taken for another ride of lies and bogus promises like last time.

How do we address this? Firstly, it is important for all to realize that the ‘ethnic’ ‘minority’ card will be used in different formats closer to elections with more power.

The Sinhalese are today quite disgusted with how the minorities have misused and abused the Sinhalese. Yes, in 1983 Tamils were attacked. No, the Tamils were not attacked by Sinhalese. Yes, the Tamils were attacked by goons despatched by the UNP. These thugs did not have any ethnicity or religion – they were just overjoyed about looting homes. Yes, Tamils got an opportunity to go overseas as refugees. No, the Tamils that went as refugees were not ALL victims of 1983, they just made use of the slogan to apply & gain refugee status. This ‘discrimination’ sing song has been drummed enough & more times. Sinhaless have kept silent because they knew that minorities were simply wanting to go to a western country & start a better life & help their families. But, when this lie is repeatedly told & now people are paid to be trained to cry & accuse Sinhalese of crimes they did not commit, we think it is now time to stop the lies. Sinhalese are really fed up being used as a battering ram for other people’s agendas. It’s just not fair by the Sinhalese and we are thankful that some minorities are also realizing this now.

Ask the minority alliances to produce evidence of discriminations & their solutions (begin a dialog before coming to power)

The Opposition having made alliances with various minority ethnic parties must immediately assign them to present what they perceive are minority grievances & what they perceive to be the solutions based on the premise that no right can be demanded if it infringes on the rights & freedoms of others.

This document is important for it should be used as a basis for the Opposition to reach out to the minorities & present to them what their own people have proposed.

It would be good for the Opposition to prepare a list of questions that these minority alliances must answer.

We need to somehow put to rest this bogus notion of minorities being discriminated or facing discriminations because they are a minority.

This is also a good way to filter minority parties who for political advantage are part of the Opposition and not for any other reason.

It is important for the Opposition to implement this for this will nullify any attempts by external forces to drum ethnic racial beats closer to elections.

Report on every Bill passed by Yahapalana since January 2015

The Opposition must also appoint a high-profile Committee of experts to study every Bill that the Yahapalana Govt has passed in Parliament and circulars or gazette notifications issued so that a clear picture will be seen as to who drafted the proposals and to whose advantage these proposals are and it will be crystal clear that all of the proposals passed as Bills have been produced by foreign lawyers, foreign experts, IMF/WB/ADB officials and a plethora of transnational corporate lobbyists who are experts are implementing neocolonial agendas in developing nations.

All of these Bills that the government has happily implemented via the budgets presented have nothing of value for Sri Lankan citizens except for some $ handout shown as investment after which the foreign companies end up draining Sri Lanka of its resources and plundering whatever we have left. Money is slowly eating up our sovereignty because we have a bunch of politicians unable to understand how the global sharks function. The dangerous implications of the Bills passed simplified & presented to the People will make them understand the plight the country is in & who brought the country to this status.

Opposition must now NAME & SHAME

This is no time to be playing buddy buddy with politicians in Parliament. The Opposition has a major role to play and it is not to simply come to power. From the 19a to all of the illegal and dangerous Acts that have been passed the Opposition MPs must divide subject matter and bring out these treacheries to the public. This is far better election campaigning than simply shouting and pointing fingers at each other.

People today want facts & evidence, the Opposition must now give them that. With a rising floating vote, people disillusioned and angry with the CHANGE that was promised & was never meant to be given, the People are waiting for an opportunity to take their revenge. The Opposition must now educate the voters to help them decide.

If the Opposition wants to come to power, they must realize that winning an election is not enough. They must have a plan to either nullify all of the detrimental agreements signed or a means to neutralize their effect on Sri Lanka & its people.

The Opposition is dreaming if it thinks that the People are voting for them just to get rid of the present government if the Opposition plans to continue all that the present Government has passed. The people are not interested in exchanging the pillow unless the contents of the pillow they are changing has something better to offer them.

Opposition Leader, Opposition Presidential Candidate & Opposition – The ball is in your court

Shenali D Waduge

Chandrasena Pandithage

The name of Gotabaya Rajapaksha spread in the political arena in Sri Lanka like a wildfire.  This name blows island wide within a very short period uplifting the downfallen people’s mind. This political storm spreading a huge amount of high hopes in peace-loving people’s minds and fear and terrible feelings in underworld dirty gangs. The Sri Lankan people who are terribly oppressed by the underworld government strongly expected a new leadership for the liberation struggle. History shows us the people’s high hopes, great expectations, and great feelings got the power to create strong leadership to face crucial situations. We could see the new creation is illuminating in Sri Lankan politics. This god gifted creation is a target for both powers. Positive and negative powers fix their eyes on Gotabaya Rajapaksha. Liberation forces keep exceptional expectations on him and the traitors are having terrible painful sufferings. 

This is not a playground. People must treat this is like a war front. Our liberation forces must turn their faces to traitors direction and investigate on their each and every single action with eagle eyes. Desperate traitor uses all the weapons to stop the ongoing liberation struggle. The enemy forces deploy everywhere, even inside our forces. The most important thing at this stage is the protection of Gotabaya Rajapaksha. The people should know the danger very well and they do not let Gotabaya Rajapaksha come out.

Our power is people. Sri Lankan people’s power is much stronger than dirty international forces. We proved the whole world how much power we are defeating the most ruthless terrorist organization. Within ten years time, the enemy forces got the power to stand another terrorist group against us. President Sirisena and PM Wickramasinghe used their all political power to stand the terrible looking camel, but the Camel stands in front of the Lion who killed the Tiger.

At this stage very important to understand the strategies of enemy forces and their deployments. Their forces spread everywhere in the country among us. Starting from the United Nations Organization, leading western embassies and leading Muslim countries who engage in dirty wars in the middle east are masterminding this dirty game. They are the foreign forces who give all the strategies and the financial support for all terrorist activities inside Sri Lanka. Their local forces are the government and all the government mechanism, JVP, leading Tamil and Muslim parties, Labour unions, NGOs and Students organizations. At the same time, they deploy their agents inside Anti-government organizations too. This is a very huge network all these organizations are working together. We must understand the enemy agents who are living with us and trying to come into us. If we recognize and study all these things wisely we could see the enemy strategies easily. That’s how we wrote an article and published in the year 2016 regarding anticipated ISIS attacks in Sri Lanka.

(https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2016/06/13/%e0%b6%b1%e0%b7%94%e0%b6%af%e0%b7%94%e0%b6%bb%e0%b7%94-%e0%b6%85%e0%b6%b1%e0%b7%8f%e0%b6%9c%e0%b6%ad%e0%b6%ba%e0%b7%9a%e0%b6%af%e0%b7%93-%e0%b6%b8%e0%b7%99%e0%b6%bb%e0%b6%a7-%e0%b6%ad%e0%b7%94/)

Now we have to prepare for another fight within a very short period. Sometimes you might get a presidential election, sometimes not. It depends on enemies strategies. All these things are in front of Sri Lankan people. Anyway, the enemy wants to carry on this government without an election. If they fail they will try to give false election results with the support of election commission. We are giving all this information to you from international experiences. we must get ready to face all these dirty tricks.wisely.

Anger cannot give any solution for Sri Lankan peace-loving people. Think wisely, flock together, get together, strongly stand with Gotabaya Rajapaksha at this stage. You will reach to the winning post smoothly.

ALI SUKHANVER

Contamination is a term used for the action or state of making or being made impure by polluting or poisoning. The target of this action of polluting or poisoning could be food, water, human minds, passions, thoughts, feelings and countless other things physical or metaphysical. I remember, somewhere in the first week of May 2018, a Pakistani scholar Professor Shazia Ghaffar presented a paper at the 3^rd International Conference on Integrated Management for Sustainable Development at Tunisia, Sousse. The presentation paper said, Water is the most precious resource on the earth. Unfortunately, advancement in technology is resulting in the deterioration of quality of water by contaminating it and this contamination is a direct threat to the food chain which guarantees the quality of human life.” It means advancement in any field of life does not make sure the enhancement in quality of life. A bitter truth is that things are getting painfully complicated rather contaminated with the so-called human progress. The sublime social values and serene human traditions seem breathing their last. Just for trivial worldly gains we are contaminating rather distorting the pure essence of life.

Terrorism is also an act which is contaminating and disfiguring all societies. Though terrorists are no doubt the most heinous characters in this rapidly contaminating world but more horrible are the faces of those who patronize the terrorists; the master-minds behind every act of terrorism. If we analyze the case of the Indian Naval Officer Kalbhushan Yadav, we find the master-mind behind is the government of India; always supervising and patronizing him in accomplishment of his heinous plans. It is a more painful reality that the government of India tried all its best to label this terrorist by labeling him as innocent. Thank God that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) did not fall a prey to the crocodile tears in case of Kalbhushan Yadav. The recent verdict of the International Court of Justice against Commander Kalbhushan Yadav has simply shown to the world that no terrorist deserves any sympathy or kindness. In other words the honourable court has given a line of action to the world that the terrorists must everywhere be treated as criminals as they are responsible for contamination of a society.

‘Founded on June 26, 1945 in San Francisco, California, United States, the International Court of Justice is ranked as the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Its primary functions are to settle international legal disputes and give advisory opinions on legal issues referred to it by the UN’, says a report on ICJ. Taking the Kalbhushan case to the International Court of Justice is itself a step of the Indian government largely criticized everywhere. People are asking if the arrest of Kalbhushan Yadav was really an international legal dispute. The story of Commander Kalbhushan is very simple, without any legal complexities or diplomatic confusions. Kalbhushan is a proven officer of Indian security services who traveled to Pakistan for more than 17 times with a fake identity. He himself admitted in his confession statement after his arrest that he was on a mission assigned to him by Indian Intelligence Agencies. He being a very competent officer performed his duties marvelously and set up a very integrated type of net-work in Pakistan to disturb the peaceful social atmosphere of the country. His target areas were Balochistan and Sind specifically. He was arrested in the Pakistani province of Balochistan. The government of Pakistan provided his mother and wife an opportunity of meeting him in a very respectable manner. According to the international rules and regulations, a terrorist could not be given the facility of meeting his country’s consular, so this terrorist was also not given this facility. A legal case was registered against him after very careful investigations. The court found him guilty and sentenced him to death. Commander Kalbhushan filed a mercy-petition which is still under consideration of the honorable President of Pakistan. In short Pakistan did no injustice to this Commander of the Indian Security Services. Even then, the government of India dragged the matter to the International Court of Justice but there was nothing the International Court of Justice could do.  The Indian government simply wasted its time and money over a useless matter. Certainly the Modi government will have to clarify its position to the people for this wastage of time and money. Pakistan being a peace-loving and international law-abiding country would certainly keep in mind the directions given by the ICJ in Kalbhushan case not as a compulsion but simply for the supremacy of international harmony. Recently, keeping in view the same sublime spirit, the Government of Pakistan has decided to grant consular access to the Commander Kalbhushan as Pakistani law does not stop it from doing so. Hopefully this kindness of the Government of Pakistan would be portrayed as a ‘legal-success’ in India but realities are realities and they could never be buried under the dirt of false hue and cry.

Courtesy FirstPost

New Delhi: The Easter Sunday bombings case in Sri Lanka is likely to be the first case for the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to probe after Parliament amended an Act empowering it to investigate terror cases abroad, officials said on Sunday.

With Parliament giving its nod to the the National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Bill on 17 July and the law ministry issuing a notification in this effect on 25 July, the first case to be investigated abroad is going to be Sri Lanka blasts, a home ministry official privy to the development said.

File photo of St. Sebastian’s Church after the Easter Sunday blasts. A Gamage/101Reporters

A two-member team of the NIA had visited Sri Lanka in May and had held discussions with authorities there about claims that some terrorists, owning allegiance to the dreaded terror group Islamic State (IS), had travelled to India, including Kashmir. However, so far the NIA has not been able to register any case due to lack of its jurisdiction. But with the amended law, the agency can probe the case, the official said.

The amended Act gives powers to the NIA to probe terror attacks targeting Indians, Indian interests abroad and having links with India. The latest amendments will enable the NIA to additionally investigate offenses related to human trafficking, counterfeit currency, manufacture or sale of prohibited arms, cyber-terrorism, and offenses under the Explosive Substances Act, 1908. A special court in New Delhi will preside over such cases, according to the amendments.

Over 250 people were killed when nine suicide bombers carried out a series of blasts in Sri Lanka on 21 April.

Before the Easter Sunday bombings, India had alerted the island nation that IS terrorists were planning to carry out strikes there. India had been regularly sharing intelligence inputs about a possible terror attack in Sri Lanka targeting the Indian High Commission and religious places there, officials said. The inputs to Sri Lanka were sent through diplomatic channels.

Earlier, the NIA had stumbled upon videos of National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) leader Zahran Hashim during the investigation of a terror case and the videos were indicative of a terror attack on religious places as well as the Indian High Commission in Colombo, officials said. Hashim was among the nine suicide bombers who carried out the series of blasts in Sri Lanka.

The videos showed Hashim asking youths from Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala to establish an Islamic rule in the region.

After the blasts in Sri Lanka, the NIA had arrested 29-year-old Riyas A, also known as Riyas Aboobacker or Abu Dujana, a resident of Palakkad in Kerala.He is alleged to be in touch with Hashim on social media platforms, the officials said. The accused had disclosed during investigations that he had been following speeches of Hashim for more than a year and has also followed the speeches delivered by controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, currently based in Malaysia.

According to inputs with the central agencies, Hashim had spent time in India last year during which he attempted to influence youths in Tamil Nadu and Kerala to join him.

Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake, the commander of the Sri Lankan Army, had claimed that the suicide bombers had travelled to some cities in India, including Kashmir. “They (the suspects) have gone to India, they’ve gone to Kashmir, Bangalore, they’ve travelled to Kerala state. Those are the information available with us,” he had told BBC in May.

However, the Jammu and Kashmir Police had denied it and had asked Sri Lankan authorities to share more information about it.

BY GAGANI WEERAKOON Courtesy Ceylon Today

Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith feared that the investigations into the 21 April Easter Sunday bombings would be swept under the carpet and added that the attacks were part of an ‘international conspiracy’.

Cardinal Ranjith was addressing a special mass at the newly renovated Katuwapitiya Roman Catholic Church, where some 115 persons perished and scores of others were injured as an Islamic Jihadist carried out a bloody suicide bomb attack.

He said, the political leaders have failed in their duty and are more interested in meeting the agendas of their foreign masters.

He added that the 21 April attacks were purely an international conspiracy that favours human rights defenders and Non-Governmental Organisations, and the Government should not support their agendas.

Even before the Easter Sunday attacks, the extremists had emerged in Mawanella and Wanathawillu but the Government and the State security agencies did very little to arrest the growing trend.

More recently, a Special Human Rights Envoy from the United Nations (UN) was in the country but instead of visiting the survivors and victims of the 21 April attacks he had opted to look into the welfare of the Islamic Jihadists currently in custody and Dr. Shafi Shiabdeen. The UN works to a particular agenda and this Body thinks it could control the entire world,” the Cardinal said.

He added that the National Security Council has not convened since October 2018.

The Muslim community in the country should not be penalised or made to feel guilty over the Easter Sunday carnage.

These attacks were carried out by a small group of misled youth, who were a part of a wider international conspiracy with a draconian agenda,” Cardinal Ranjith said.

Lotus-bud to bloom

The first invitation to the National Convention of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) was ceremonially handed over to Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa last morning at his Wijerama Mawatha residence.

The SLPP signed a Memorandum of Understanding with 10 recognised political parties that are not represented in Parliament. The MoU was signed under the auspices of Leader of the Opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa at his official residence at Wijerama Mawatha, Colombo. The event was named Susanyogaya”. The MoU was signed by the United Tamil Freedom Front, Ceylon Workers United Front, Mawbima Janatha Party, Illawar Democratic Front, Nawa Sinhala Urumaya, Muslim Ulama Party, Democratic National Movement, Bhumi Puthra Party, the Liberal Party and the United Lanka Maha Sabhawa. Four parties that supported the United National Front in the 2015 Presidential Election were also among the parties that signed the MoU.

Speaking at the event, Rajapaksa said that it is their duty to defeat the Government on behalf of the unborn generations as they are destroying and selling off land in the country. He further said that when the Government sold the port saying that they had a rock in the middle of it, for billions of rupees, that they had not paid the loans back.

The Opposition Leader further said that no one knows what was done with this money because Ranil Wickremesinghe got a Minister from the SLFP to sell off the port.

He says that when Arjuna Ranatunga had refused to sign the document, Wickremesinghe got a Minister from the SLFP to sign it. Further, former President said that although the 19th Amendment was introduced the President claims to not even see it, while also saying that there were many reasons to conduct the process of approval under wraps which ultimately swung back to the UNP who are now trying to bring in the 20th Amendment.

He added that the Government does not have the right to change the Constitution again and that their Government which would come to power next will be the one that holds the right to amend the Constitution again.

Meanwhile, Parliamentarian Chamal Rajapaksa said that he has still not taken a firm decision on contesting the forthcoming Presidential Poll.

He made this remark when journalists sought his views on Wednesday (24) on whether he had taken a decision on contesting the next Presidential Poll.

Meanwhile, former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa who was in Singapore after undergoing surgery returned home on 23 July night.

Walking down memory lane

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Maithripala Sirisena were seen together at two separate events last Friday (26).  Both were present at the Khettarama R. Premadasa Stadium where thousands of cricket fans gathered to bid adieu to legendary fast bowler Lasith Malinga as he played his last ODI. 

 
Earlier of the day the duo along with Speaker Karu Jayasuriya was seen taking a trip down memory lane at the maiden exhibition of the Photojournalists Association of Sri Lanka (PASL) titled ‘Mass Media Photo Exhibition’ at the J. D. A. Perera Art Gallery at Horton Place.

President Sirisena and Opposition Leader Rajapaksa were recalling to memory and describing each photograph with additional background stories to others including Speaker Jayasuriya. Rajapaksa was all smiles when the two of them stood in front of a photograph in which handcuffed MP Namal Rajapaksa was seen being escorted by law enforcement authorities. He must have told the President something like Oh this was when your Government arrested my son, Namal.”

Seeking divine help

While the two leaders were busy, attending various events in the country, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his wife Maithree Wickremesinghe performed ‘Nava Chandi Homa’ and offered special prayers to Goddess Sri Mookambika at Kollur on Friday.

Due to inclement weather, Wickremesinghe, accompanied by an eight-member team, had to travel by road from Mangalore International Airport. The entourage was accorded a grand welcome on the Mookambika Temple premises by Udupi Deputy Commissioner Hephsiba Rani Korlapati, SP Nisha James, officials and temple representatives, Indian media reported

Wickremesinghe and his wife Maitree reached Kollur at 11:10 a.m. and were whisked to the RNS Guest House. He arrived at the temple at 11:30 am and took part in the religious rituals held inside the temple. Maithree is said to be the devotee of the Goddess.

Later, the temple’s Chief Priest Dr K.N. Narasimha Adiga, under whose guidance the Homa was performed, told media persons that the Sri Lankan Premier performed the ‘Nava Chandi Homa’. The homa had begun on Thursday at 8 a.m. and the ‘Purnahuti’ (end of Homa) was performed at 12 noon on Friday.

He offered ‘Mahapooje’ to the Goddess after participating in Purnahuti. The Sri Lankan Prime Minister prayed for the welfare of his people in his country. He also prayed for peace and prosperity of the country. He also prayed for a better political future. He promised to visit the temple again after some time,” Dr. Adiga has said.

The couple participated in the ‘Rathothsava’. An ‘Archane’ in the name of the couple was also performed. Dr. Adiga said Kollur Mookambika Temple and Shankari Devi shrine in Sri Lanka are parts of Shakthi Peeta. Both are essential parts of the Mukhya Peeta. Both the Peetas have their own significance. Both India and Sri Lanka share a bonding since the times of Ramayan,” he added.

Wickremesinghe was also accompanied by PSO Ashoka Yatigammana, Sergeant PMSD, Sunil Ratnayake, Physician Dr. Sanka Gunavardhane, Deputy High Commissioners from Chennai V. Krishnamurthy and Yasontha D’Silva. The couple was at the temple for an hour and were served delicious prasadam at the guest house.

The couple left the temple immediately after the pooja and after staying at the guest house for some time. They departed at 2 p.m. En-route, Wickremesinghe had boarded a helicopter at Areshiroor and proceeded to Kasargod. Tight security was in place all along from the airport to Kollur and all the establishments were shut down as a precautionary measure. Wickremesinghe had visited the temple and had participated in the ‘Shata Chandi Havana’ in November 2017.

PM Wickremesinghe’s visit to India for religious rituals incidentally falls in the same time the opposition against his presidential candidacy within the party is also on the rise.

The UNP Parliamentarians’ Group Meeting last week reportedly reached explosive levels with UNP Chiarman Minister Kabir Hashim saying Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa should be nominated as the presidential candidate because the UNP could not afford to lose this time.

Hashim is reported to have taken a swipe at the party hierarchy for planning to form an alliance with the like-minded parties without his knowledge and said he learned about such an alliance through the media.

However, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe responded saying that Hashim was privy to talks conducted in this regard.

Several Ministers including Ranjith Madduma Bandara, Ashok Abeysinghe, Harin Fernando and Eran Wickramaratne are said to have expressed their support to the views expressed by Hashim.

Wickremesinghe said he would take a decision at the right time after consulting the other party leaders.

Meanwhile, a group of UNP Ministers are planning to initiate a peaceful intervention, at the inauguration of the new UNP-led alliance, known as the Democratic National Front (DNF), on 5 August, to make Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa the candidate for the next presidential poll, sources at Sirikotha claimed.

They said, on that date these UNP Ministers are planning to bring down scores of Party supporters to the Sugathadasa Stadium, to exert pressure on the party leadership to make Premadasa the presidential candidate.

Minister Kabir Hashim had, at a recent meeting at Sirikotha, proposed that Premadasa be made the candidate. He was backed by Ministers Malik Samarawickrama, Harin Fernando, Thalatha Atukorale, Sujeewa Senasinghe, and Ajith P. Perera.

However, during that meeting, Minister Ravi Karunanayake had insisted that the UNP candidate has to be the choice of a majority of Party members.

 Meanwhile, it has been decided to give the reins of the soon to be formed Democratic National Front (DNF) to UNP Leader Wickremesinghe. Source said that it has also been proposed to appoint Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratna, who had worked tirelessly from behind the scenes towards the formation of the new political alliance as its Secretary. However, this proposal has not been received too well by the party strongmen.

Maithri and Mahinda to meet

Meanwhile, President Sirisena, and Opposition Leader Rajapaksa are to meet soon for bilateral talks in a bid to iron out several key issues. The meeting was discussed at the SLFP Central Committee meeting last week, in which several senior SLFP members have pointed out that they are losing strong SLFP Parliamentarians to the SLPP increasingly.

They have also pointed out that if this continues the plight of the Party will be in dire situation, thus needs to address it soon.

President Sirisena on the other hand, has instructed the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) to seek the opinion of the Supreme Court on the order of conducting the upcoming provincial council and presidential election.

These instructions had been issued during SLFP Central Committee meeting, UPFA General Secretary Mahinda Amaraweera said.

During the meeting, the President, who is also Chairman of the SLFP, had pointed out that the Elections Commission has been insisting that the provincial polls should be held first. Meanwhile, President Sirisena had also advised his party members to continue their talks with the SLPP, in order to face the elections as an alliance under a common banner.

 BY GAGANI WEERAKOON 02:00 AM Jul 28 2019

Courtesy The Island

One-time top government trade negotiator Gomi Senadhira, yesterday, called for tangible measures to solve the importantation of the British garbage to Sri Lanka. Senedhira, who had previously warned the government of dire consequences of importing of garbage of all sorts in accordance with the Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SL-SFTA) said tough measures were required. Senadhira expressed his views in the wake of Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera revealed in Parliament last Friday UK garbage imports began in 2017.

“Stop the controversial process now or face an unprecedented crisis,” Senadhira, who served successive governments over a period of 32 years as a commercial diplomat told The Island.

The former Director General of Commerce (2009-2011) and Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization (2004-2006), Senadhira called the much-touted agreement on UK garbage imports a total sell-out.

Senadhira had served in Sri Lankan missions in Baghdad, Kuwait, Moscow, Geneva, Washington (1998-2001)Brussels (2001-2003) before returning home to assume duties as Director General of Commerce.

Senadhira issued the following statement: “Just three months ago, President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to ‘declare war’ on Canada. The reason was simple – Canadian garbage. Over one hundred containers of them.

“So, in a hard-hitting speech, the president of the Philippines warned “I will declare war against them. I will advise Canada that your garbage is on the way. Prepare a grand reception.” During his speech, the president not only threatened to ship containerloads of garbage back to Canada but also warned that he would dump some of the garbage at Canada’s embassy in Manila. That was tough language, even for Duterte, a man known for using the language of a street fighter than that of a statesman. But then I suppose his frustration is perfectly understandable and it was the time for a tough talk with Canada. Over one hundred shipping containers filled with Canadian garbage had been rotting in a port near Manila, for nearly six years. All the previous attempts to ship them back to Canada had failed.

“Now, we have finally joined the ranks of the garbage importing nations, sorry recycling nations, and with over one hundred containers filled with British garbage rotting in our port, most for nearly two years, it is easy to recognize the eerie similarities between the two situations. Given the predicament we are in there are important lessons to be learned from the Filipino experience with the garbage without borders. So, let me briefly sum up what happened in the Philippines.

” From June 2013 to January 2014 nearly one hundred containers arrived in the Philippines from Canada. Most of them were declared to contain recyclable plastic scrap materials. The containers were not claimed by the consignee and in January 2014 customs opened some of the containers, as part of measures regard to shipment not claimed for a long period, and discovered garbage including, plastic bottles, plastic bags, household garbage, and even used adult diapers. Then the customs decided not to open the rest of the containers as those also may contain hazardous waste.

“All this is very similar to our own experience with imported British garbage. What happened after that?

“In February 2014, just a few weeks after the containers were open the customs filed smuggling complaint against the company which allegedly imported the garbage shipment and its licensed Customs brokers. In March 2014, the Department of Foreign Affairs sent a letter to the Canadian Embassy in the Philippines requesting for assistance in shipping the garbage back to Canada.

“But then, the Canadian government refused to take the garbage back as it “… has no domestic or international authority to compel the shipper to return the shipment to Canada,” and suggested that they “would like to explore with the Philippines options for processing the rest of the shipment – in accordance with Philippine law – in the Philippines.” To make matters worse, then-president Benigno Aquino III did not even discuss the issue of the illegally shipped Canadian garbage when he met with then Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper during a state visit in May 2015. Aquino – the scion of a political family, unlike his successor, was a genteel politician and he too believed the issue has to be addressed locally.

“After that nothing, much happened other than the exchange of polite diplomatic notes and dumping of part of the garbage (26 containers) in a local landfill in spite of protests from environmental groups. Towards the end of the year, the new Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who visited Manila to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November 2015, was also non-committal on the garbage issue as there was “… a problem that needs fixing within our own legislation,” and believed “there are loopholes here that were allowed to be skirted that we need to make sure we close, both for Canada’s interest and for our good relationships with our neighbours.”

“It took Trudeau two more years to agree that it was “theoretically” possible for Canada to bring back the containers as “Those regulations and those impediments (which prevented Canada from taking back the trash) have now been addressed,” … However, he continued to emphasize that there were other issues to iron out – like who will shoulder the costs of shipping back the trash to the country of origin.

“Wheels also turned in the Philippines (though very slowly almost like in Canada). In June 2018 the Office of the Ombudsman ordered the suspension of the Departments of Environment and Natural Resources Undersecretary in connection with the shipment as he had “… acted with gross inexcusable negligence.” In November 2018 they finally appointed a technical working group composed of representatives from the Departments of justice, environment, foreign affairs, and customs to resolve the issue.

“Though the governmental wheels turned slowly environment activists and NGOs backed by the international activists and NGOs continued to lobby with Trudeau to take back the garbage as the shipment of garbage violated the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal…a convention, ratified by both Canada and the Philippines. They also continued their demonstrations outside the Canadian embassy.

” But garbage continued to rot in the port. So, by April 2019 President Rodrigo Duterte obviously was at the end of his tether and declared “‘Yung basura ng (The garbage of) Canada, I want a boat prepared. I give a warning to Canada, maybe next week, they better pull their thing up or I will set sail sa (to) Canada, ibuhos ko basura nila doon (I will dump their garbage there), … I’ll declare war against them, isauli ko talaga tingnan mo (I will really return that, you’ll see),… I will advise Canada that your garbage, prepare a grand reception. Eat it if you want to.”

“Having done that, he gave Canada deadline to take back their garbage – May 2019. When Canada rejected it Duterte recalled the Philippine’s Ambassador to Canada and instructed to ship the containers across the Pacific and dump them in Canadian waters, if necessary.

“That solved the problem the garbage left the Philippines on June 1 for a voyage across the Pacific Ocean to Metro Vancouver incinerator.

“The final cost to Canadian taxpayers was C$1.14 million for shipping and another $375,000 for the garbage to be burned in the incinerator. What can we learn from the Filipino experience? What is the way forward?

“Be tough. A threat to ‘declare war’ or to recall the high commissioner may not be required, at this stage. But polite diplomatic notes may not deliver the required result. This is an issue that should be dealt at the highest level – PM to PM. Take action against those who were responsible, including the officials who facilitate such activities. Close the loopholes in our laws, regulations and bilateral agreements (such as FTA with Singapore) that allow garbage to move into Sri Lanka.

Don’t expect the government to solve the problem that they have created. Environmental activists and NGOs need to get involved. Use this opportunity to promote public awareness against the import of garbage. Launch a local and global campaign (with the support of international NGOs and activists) to send the garbage back.

Courtesy The Island

Former People’s Alliance MP M M Zuhair, PC, yesterday, warned that proposed Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) would transform Sri Lanka into a US military facility.

Zuhair, who was a onetime top Attorney General’s Department officer and envoy to Teheran during the PA/UPFA administration said that the Acqusition and Cross Servicing Agreemment (ACSA) had been finalized in early August 2017.

Zuhair, who backed Maithripala Sirisena’s campaign at the last presidential election said:

“SOFA, proposed by the US, temporarily stayed by the President, would create a ‘separate state’, having an independent power structure for the US military and its contractors, within the territory of Sri Lanka. The following is the text of President’s Counsel Zuhair’s response to The Island queries as regards SOFA: “That state will be run from Washington by the US Defense Department. The Sri Lankan government, it’s Parliament, the country’s judiciary it’s armed forces or the Police will have no say, under the published agreement, over the US armed forces entering Sri Lanka at their will and pleasure, freely transiting, exiting or remaining without exiting, within any part of the territory of Sri Lanka in vehicles, vessels and aircrafts, wearing uniforms, armed with communication equipment and weapons.

“The unwritten objective of the proposed agreement would be for the US to obtain from Sri Lanka, the non-consultative status of using at any time, any part of the Sri Lankan territory, as a permanent or transit point for the military activities the US is habitually and perennially engaged in, outside the Western world.

“For the first time, fully armed American men and women can freely move within any part of Sri Lanka, as persons above Sri Lankan laws, if Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana PC replies, without reservations, the forces agreement proposed by the US Embassy in Colombo. US armed forces can move anywhere in the island both individually as well as collectively with arms and ammunition. All the recognised ingredients that constitute a technologically virtual ‘separate State’, though an unrefined concept in international law are to be found sandwiched in SOFA.

“With SOFA in hand, the Americans do not require a military ‘base’ in Sri Lanka’s Eastern city of Trincomalee or elsewhere here, because the whole island will be a US controlled super State operating above the Sri Lankan laws and State. The consequences would be the country will abdicate its sovereignty, in respect of an unprecedented list of powers exercisable by the Sri Lankan State, to the US President and his successors. US money power will also enjoy structural facilities in the island that can be used to influence future elections. Eventually the US might want a puppet regime elected or installed to consolidate more effectively and permanently its presence in this admittedly strategic location.

“As per the agreement, the US armed forces and its civilian components, while in Sri Lanka, will not be subject to Sri Lankan criminal or civil laws, hitherto applicable under the Visiting Forces Act No 31 of 1949. Several other privileges are available for US defense contractors. The list of US contractors is open ended. It will include contractors signing with the US Defense Department in the future and the future employees of the contractors, over whom Sri Lanka will have no control. The US armed forces and its civilian personnel will be governed only by US laws while enjoying privileges, exemptions and immunities in Sri Lanka that even the country’s Head of State, our Mahanayake Theros or Sri Lanka’s Judges or Generals do not have.

“Lately, we have seen the US over active in Sri Lanka under colour of joint military exercises. Almost every other month they are here. Enemies of the US in the Asian region, though pretending to be asleep, will soon fully wake up. Are we going to allow our country to be used for engineering external wars and internal conflicts?

“The US Ambassador here had tried to call the SOFA as the Visiting Forces Agreement. The one is entirely different from the other. In fact the Visiting Forces Act of 1949 is more than adequate to serve the objectives the Ambassador had been publicly posturing on this issue. She is yet to deny the document SOFA, already published in the Sri Lankan media. She has on the contrary claimed in a recent TV interview that the US is working on a new military pact with Sri Lanka to tackle ‘red tape’ in the island, citing the example of the 2017 floods here. The Visiting Forces Agreement and the Public Security Ordinance, the latter empowers Sri Lanka’s Head of State to declare emergencies, are adequate to receive any emergency assistance. But red tape is absolutely necessary to exercise due diligence before foreign forces are allowed into the country. SOFA is not limited to any emergency in Sri Lanka. It applies to any emergency the US is getting itself entangled in, presently in the Middle-East and very soon in Asia.

” The agreement is a clear threat to the national security of the country, particularly vis a vis competing international forces which the American government treats, from time to time, as its enemies.

“This country cannot afford to get dragged into the present or future wars that the US government has a devastating record of getting involved in third world countries. As the respected Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcom Ranjith said after the gruesome 21/4 suicide bombings, the West justifies, unjustified wars to market weapons and explosives manufactured by them. Regrettably it is the American arms industry that runs the US government and the world at large. Sri Lanka will have to pay a heavier price than the returns from exports to the US, when Sri Lanka is used by the US as a front line launching pad for its military operations, which could include wars in the Middle-East and Asia to confront its real and fake enemies.

The US will not give up the agreement so easily as some anticipate. No doubt the US can force its way. But to surrender in advance to the US, with its declared policy of ‘US interests first’ will turn out to be a national disaster. “

Yoshitha Perera Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Muslim women’s rights organisations around the country yesterday urged the government to implement necessary reforms to Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA).

Veteran Human Rights Activist Deshabandu Jezima Ismail addressing the media conference said that MMDA has been widely discussed for a long period with the current act permitting child marriages in the country.

She recollected that there were many incidents in the past which women who had visited her for counselling because of oppressed situations in their lives due to the present act.

It is not only the laws. It is the legal system that has also broken down in the country,” she said.

She said that this issue has been running in the country for a long period of time and they had established the Muslim Research and Action Forum.

As it’s a man-made law, amendments are compulsory where there is a necessity,” Counsel Ermiza Tegal said at the conference.

She said that the act does not need a change in ‘bits and pieces’ which make no difference to Muslim women’s lives.

They also highlighted that Muslim lawmakers had agreed to a 14 points proposal to amend the MMDA in July but certain groups had protested on behalf of the reforms.

In their press release, the groups had pointed out several issues which needed reforms in the Act. They are:

Minimum age of marriage for all Muslims must be 18 without any exceptions.

Women should be eligible to be appointed as Quazis (a Muslim court judge), members of the Board of Quazis, marriage registrars, jurors, and registrars.

MMDA must apply to all Muslims irrespective of their sect.

Signature of both the bride and bridegroom is mandatory in an official marriage.

Mandatory registration required for the legal validity of a marriage.

Polygamy to be permissible only under exceptional circumstances, with just cause, under specific conditions including financial capacity, consent of all parties, and with court authorisation.

Procedures for divorce initiated by husband and wife must be the same.

Expand dowry to include immovable assets and make recoverable at the time of divorce. Granting and obtaining dowry without recording during marriage registration to be illegal and be subjected to a penalty.

Introduce, recognise, and facilitate the concept of the marriage contract to be entered into by a Muslim couple prior to marriage.

Upgrade the quality of the quazi court system as effective family-friendly courts by improving the qualifications of quazis to ensure efficient access to justice for women and men, and a robust monitoring mechanism.  (

Sheain Fernandopulle Courtesy The Daily Mirror

The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) will take legal action against those who imported the containers of industrial waste without the proper a licence resulting in a public outcry, CEA Director General Hemantha Jayasinghe said.

He said Hayleys Free Zone Ltd., ETL Colombo (Pvt) Limited and Ceylon Metal Processing Corporation (Pvt) Ltd, were responsible for the importing, reprocessing and re-exporting the consignment of industrial waste.

These companies had not obtained either the Environmental Protection License or the Hazardous Waste Management License from the CEA for such imports,” Mr Jayasinghe said.

He said the CEA had directed Hayleys Free Zone Ltd. also known as Advantis, to export the waste material to the country of origin with immediate effect and directed the company to take immediate steps to prevent any liquid or other effluents polluting the environment.

The CEA said the import of waste material needed the consent of the relevant country of origin on the basis that Sri Lanka is a signatory to the Basel Convention.

Meanwhile, Hayleys Free Zone Ltd (HFZ) said it had no connection to the 102 containers lying at the Port of Colombo, but said the company had processed and re-exported 29 containers out of the 130 container loads of used mattresses currently stored at the HFZ yard.

With regard to the 130 container loads of used mattresses, the company said they were imported by Ceylon Metal Processing Corporation (Pvt) Ltd., which was the actual owner of the cargo. (

Mario Perera, Kadawata

With presidential elections round the corner and increasingly drawing the attention of all, there is a question the country must answer. Where are we after seventy years of Independence? Where are we after seventy years of democracy and universal suffrage: voting rights for all, men and women?

The three major upheavals since Independence in the method of governance of the country relate to SWRD, to JRJ, and to MaRa. One was focused inward, while the other was outward-oriented. That last was SELF-centered. The first was aimed at ‘bringing the top layers of society to the bottom’ and, theoretically at least paving the way for the bottom rung to reach the top. Therein lay the great expectancy of the masses. The first purpose was an apparent success. The second, however, was not.

The inward politics pushed the theory of ‘apey aanduwa’, even going to the extent of a pretentious control of the judicial system with the ‘apey usawiya’ catchword. The three branches of government: legislature, executive and judiciary were ‘apparently’ amalgamated within the ‘pancha maha balavegaya’ – the Sangha (Clergy), Veda (Physicians), Guru (Teachers), Govi (Farmers) and Kamkaru (Workers). But the concept ultimately was a flop.

When SWRD died, murdered by members of the first of the above-mentioned groups, power was taken back from the people, first by parliament, and then, by family rule. The widow of SWRD, the world’s first prime minister consolidated power in her hands, aided by members of the family: the Bandaranayake-Ratwatte clans. What her husband conceived as ‘apey aanduwa’ now blatantly became ‘magey pauley aanduwa’. Her period of office witnessed the first youth insurrection by the JVP, of poor village youth into whom so much hope had been infused but who remained bereft of resources and of a future worth aspiring to.

What the movement preconized was ultimately the communist model. It will be remembered that Sirima’s two major foreign trips were to China and Russia where she decried the politics of the ‘rapacious West’. What the two Bandaranayakes wanted to put in place was an economic structure in which all liberal professions would function under the total control of the State. But the State went bankrupt and was unable to deliver, this in spite of its stringent, even cruel measures to practice what it had preached. Those found in violation of the draconian exchange control laws, with those even very advanced in age, were bound to their hospital. beds in chains.

Those who were able to flee the country did so even reaching India in padda boats. These are deeds that bring to our minds the plight of present-day migrants trying to reach the USA. The inward movement went so backward, that the population was compelled to subsist on ala, batala and magngnocca during the final years of that rule. That system crashed.  

And so the idea of pulling the top to the bottom met with resistance. This was amply symbolized in an encounter that took place between Mr.Themis who was a postal peon and gained election to parliament on the ‘bottom to top’ policy of the Bandaranayakes. He once met Sir John Kotelawela in the corridors or the Parliamentary complex and addressed Kotelawela with the words: Hello John. That inflamed every hair on the body of the laird of Kandawala. What Themis next got was a thundering slap with the words: to fellows like you I am always SIR JOHN. Indeed the Bandaranayake policies did change society in many ways. ‘Sir’ and ‘Madam’ appellations lost their place. They were replaced by ‘uncle’, ‘aunty’ and similar.

The Bandaranayake government under Sirima took anti-British steps that helped to darken the horizons making the demonic LTTE specter to pop up. She had the British naval bases of Colombo and Trinco closed. That was also the wish of India. By doing away with that protective shield on the high seas, Sirima left the ocean open for LTTE personnel to enter the North. The LTTE had India’s help to the extent of having LTTE training camps in spite of the closely fostered relationship between Sirima and Indira. It was during the Sirima regime that Alfred Duraiappa, the SLFP mayor of Jaffna was gunned down by Prabhakaran himself which was the first open act of war by the LTTE.

In addition to shoving the British aside, Sirima’s government also set aside the British Privy council, Sri Lanka’s final court of appeal, from our judicial system. This was the first and predominant step of placing our judicial system on the slope of descent towards the degradation it presently finds itself in.

But prior to the LTTE bursting on the scene, it was the JVP revolt that broke loose. The poor, down-trodden village youth, even university students of the same breed without any foreseeable future, staged a coup, which, with support of India and even the European countries and the USA which Sirima had distanced herself from was crushed. Tens of thousands of such youth, including young monks, were brutally killed.

Mrs. B’s party was wiped out of power, being reduced to just eight seats with the lady herself having to face severe legal consequences for misdeeds.

The man who defeated her was literally voted into power by ‘hungry stomachs’.  One of his first acts was to constitutionalize dictatorship. Surely he would have been inspired by Sirima’s family rule which was dictatorial all but in the name. With JRJ government did not become a family business because JRJ had no progeny with political ambitions. And so it became a ‘one-man show’.

He turned the Sirima economic policies inside out. JRJ turned the economy completely outward. The new trademark was a ‘free economy’. For a time all went well. The markets were flooded with goods and goodies. But there was a price to pay: subservience to the ‘International Community’ which primarily meant the USA and the European Community.

Then there was the ever-lurking danger gathering more and more strength, on the horizon. It took the form of the demon that was the LTTE. That demon was worshipped by all Tamil parties, including the Tamil Catholic clergy who even gave leadership to the war drums without a word of protest by their peers,

The outward trend led to abject servility to foreign powers, including India. And here JRJ was to learn a bitter lesson. He was called ‘yanky dicky’ and counted heavily on the USA. But Sri Lanka was not that close to the USA for pretentions of a personal relationship. He also fell out of favour with Indira who was promoting the LTTE. With the Indians under Rajiv hell-bent on invading our Island, JRJ could not count on the USA to stop it. The USA was more aligned with India than with Sri Lanka. JRJ felt compelled to bow his head to Indian dictates.

That was the time of the infamous Indian invasion of Jaffna by air and sea and the promulgation of the nefarious 13th Amendment. Making the Indian invasion as its war cry, the JVP exploded in yet another armed insurrection crushed under Premadasa rule. But the JVP had given a lead to the Tamil rebels. And so began the Ealam war in earnest.

After years of war ups and downs, with the situation drawing more and more foreign attention all to the detriment of Sri Lanka, began the Rajapakse era. After much hesitance and goaded on by the Sangha, very reminiscent of the Duttu Gemunu era, Raja finally trod the warpath.  Aided by very favourable international circumstances, especially the 9/11 in the USA, and the Bombay terrorist attacks by Pakistanis, all leading to the international banning of the LTTE heralded by George Bush, Raja won the war.

The country was in a state of euphoria. Epitomizing it all, Raja returning to the country from a trip abroad, knelt before the eyes of the nation and kissed the ground of Mother Lanka. He recapped the new reality with a resonating address to parliament. The song that expressed the gratitude of the nation went on the waves through the lips of a comely maiden. She was shown, her hands turned upwards as if invoking god almighty himself, and crying out in song: Ayubowewa Maha Rajaneni.

Everything seemed to have good forebodings. But the trend of dictatorship by family rule introduced by Mrs. B and incorporated into the constitution by JRJ as a one-man show reached its apex point under the Rajapakse family rule. His family rule became unashamedly blatant and overt. His family members were so numerous that he did not have enough posts to satisfy their ambitions for wealth and power. He had knelt in the gesture of adoration to kiss the feet of Mother Lanka. But what Raja kissed on that historical day was not the feet of Mother Lanka, but his own image in the mirror of himself. It was only an act of narcissism and nothing more.

Nothing else could satisfy Raja now but the title MahaRaja. The culmination of that trend was the impending law that was the 18th amendment before which his entire followership bowed its head. He was the king. That kingship was for life, for himself and his progeny. The authoritarianism of the Raja family rules visibly derived from the Sinhala monarchy. That right he wanted to write into the constitution with the 18th amendment. Furthermore, the King could do no wrong, And so MahaRaja and especially his brother Gotabhaya engaged in excesses unprecedented in every sense.

But these excesses were too much for the nation to accept. All this was combined with mysterious deaths and disappearances, and drastic manipulations of the judiciary leading to the shameless ouster of a chief justice who had refused to comply led to Raja’s fall. And so Raja fell. Indeed great was his fall. First, he had counted on the dubious foresight of a soothsayer. Finally, he was stabbed in the back by a Brutus of his entourage. This was an act of betrayal unlike one ever seen before in a democratic country. Sira, Raja’s Brutus committed that immoral act on the prodding and invitation mainly of one also aspiring to rulership. He betrayed his boss at the immoral instigation of his boss’s rival: Ranil.

For Ranil the co-conspirator, Sira was intended to be a figurehead. Sira, to show his goodwill, promised before the Dalada Haamuduruwo that he would be a one-term president, a transitional president who would undertake the castration of his presidential powers, yielding them to the parliament of which the overlordship would ultimately be exercised by his co-conspirator the Prime Minister – Ranil.

Once ascended to the throne seat, the promises, even those to the Dalada Vahanse, were knowingly and willfully thrown overboard. The 19th amendment made a mockery of power renouncement, and that was it. From then on the President felt relegated to the back seat while the Prime Minister exercised authority with a bunch of his friends who were old school mates. Ranil was exercising dictatorial rule. The new club was not family (Ranil does not, like JRJ have a political progeny, indeed no progeny at all), it was a friends’ club or still better a Royal College club. Sira was forced to look on powerless even as the bond scam took place in broad daylight before his very eyes. His admonitions to his Prime Minister fell on deaf ears.

President Sira could stand that no longer. With the complicity of his former boss whom he had earlier betrayed, and his followers especially the brothers, he tried to cut the feet from under Ranil. He appointed his former boss the Prime Minister at an evening party whether with hoppers or not. The latter, the previous boss was a total accomplice to the second immoral act of betrayal of Sira. The next morning Ranil was informed and told to vacate Temple Trees. But Ranil stayed on provoking a constitutional crisis.

For long months the country had practically no government. The matter dragged on and on. The country had become a rudderless ship. Those with pretentions of power did not care a damn for the country: be it Sira, Ranil or Raja. The ship of Lanka had been cut from its moorings and was adrift. The country had two prime ministers holding fast to empty seats, with no cabinet, no ministers, only nominal ones bereft of power. It was a country in a state of total chaos, the concern of no one, certainly not of its elected representatives.

And so the Supreme Court had to intervene. Sira was proved wrong. He had betrayed both, his erstwhile master and his erstwhile benefactor. Most especially he had betrayed the sacrosanct constitution of the country several times at that. As for the erstwhile master and the erstwhile benefactor, they were both privy to his immoral and illegal conduct. They both, with full knowledge and full intention accepted the backstabbing of the one and the other. Yet as the traditional and pithy Sinhala saying goes: they had no qualms in slipping the venomous serpent inside their underwear.

                                            ———————–

It is a country with such a recent history that is once again at the crossroads. For whom are we going to vote? For the wizards of K-OZ on both sides of the aisle of parliament? Must we put immoral backstabbers and their equally immoral accomplices in the highest seat of power? Are we determined to go along in the same vehicles as of the past: the inward bound, the outward bound or the nowhere bound, passively led by donors and creditors with the country put out for lease or better like woman sold into prostitution? Or are we willing to try out the third force? The identification of this third force is within the reach of the Sinhala-Buddhist mind. It is that force that built the foundation on which our history, civilization, and culture rests, and has prospered for two thousand six hundred years. It is for that force together with its adepts to sort out the modalities of the leadership of the Sinhala-Buddhist nation. Indeed what is at stake is the very existence of the Sinhala-Buddhist nation.

One thing is certain, this country has nothing whatsoever to lose by rejecting Sira, Ranil and Mara and their respective bands of marauders. A glance at their histories will show that they are not worth their salts. Now for what use is salt that has lost its savor except to be thrown out into the garbage bin and confined to the fire?

If this is not done soon, we will already hear the raban girls heralding the next presidential election results with their song: Udapalagaththath wattakka, bima palagaththatha wattakka, udapalagaththath bimapalagaththath punchi punch gedi wattakka.

Under the present system, Sri Lanka will always remain the land of the Wizards of K-OZ.

Mario Perera, Kadawata

දිල් රූක් කන්නංගර

රට හැරයන්නට කලියෙන් සුද්දා වඳුරාට දැලිපිහියක් ද වහල් සේවයට දකුණු ඉන්දියාවෙන් සහ මලයාවෙන් ගෙනා වහලුන් දසලක්ෂයක් ද දෑවැදි දීමට වගබලා ගත්තේය. වැඩිකල් යන්නට මත්තෙන් සිංහලයා ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදය තමනට රිසිසේ ප්‍රජනන-තන්ත්‍රවාදයට පෙරළා ගති. දියවන්නාවටත් ජනාධිපති කමටත් එකම සුදුසුකම සම-ප්‍රජනනයයි. එහෙව් රටකට මොන අනාගතයක්ද?

සුද්දා දමාගිය රටට ණය නොතිබිණි; විදේශ වත්කම් තිබුණි. යුරෝපීයයන් බහුතරයක් සිටි රටවල් හැරුනුකොට අනෙක් සියළුම රටවල්වලට වඩා ඉදිරියෙන් ලංකාව තිබුනා. ප්‍රජනන-තන්ත්‍රවාදයට පින්සිද්ධ වෙන්න ඒ සියල්ල අද විනාශ ය.        

වසර 71 ක අසාර්ථක විවාහයක් නිසා බැටකන සිංහළ ස්වාමිපුරුෂයා සිය ආත්මගෞරවය තකා සමාජයට පෙනෙන්නට දෙවන විවාහයේ චපල බිරියන් දෙදෙනෙකු සමග තවමත් බොරු දීගෙක. එක බිරිඳක් දකුණු ඉන්දියාවේ අසල්වැසියෙක් සමග යහන්ගතවන අතර, අනෙකා අරාබිකාරයෙක් සමග ලිංගික සන්තර්පනයේ යෙදෙන්නීය. වසරින් වසර පිළිකාවක් සේ දකුණු ඉන්දියානු-කරණයට සහ අරාබි-කරණයට ලක් වන සිංහල ගම් ශෝචනීයය. පිළිකාවක් සේ, පිළිකා සෛල බෝ වෙතත් හොඳ සෛල පිළිකා තුලට ව්‍යාප්ත වන්නේ නැත.

රටට වැළඳුනු ද්විත්ව පිළිකාවන් ගැන දියවන්නාවට කිසිම ගණනක් නැත.

අරුමය නම් සිංහළ ජනතාවට මෙය නොතේරීමයි. සිහළුන් වළව් සතරක් අතර බෙදී ගොසිනි. සිංහලය එකතු කරන්නට අරාදින්නන් ඊට වඩා මෝඩයන්ය. උන්ට අවශ්‍ය සියල්ලෝම එක මගඩි වළව්වක බැලමෙහෙවරට ගෙන ඒමයි. සිඛීම් ජාතික එස්. මහින්ද හිමි දුටු සිංහලයාම අදත් ලෝකික නිර්වාණයක් සොයා යයි. රටපුරා උඩුදුවන පස්පව් මෙම ලෝකික නිර්වාණ ගමන කෙටි කරයි.

රට අද සතරමන්සලකට පැමිණ ඇත. ආමග එකකි; එය ව්‍යසනයකි. ලෝකය ඉදිරිය බලා යත්ම රටට ආපස්සට යා නොහැකිය. තව මාර්ග තුනකි. එකක් 226 ම ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කර අලුත්ම අළුත් ජනරජ මාවතකි. අනෙක ණය බර, රජ පවුල් බර සහ අරාබි-දකුණු ඉන්දියානු පිළිකාවෙන් ඉබේටම සිදුවන රට තෙකඩ වීමයි. ඉතිරි මාර්ගය අද ක්‍රමයම 226 යේ වෙනත් සම-ප්‍රජනන-ජනිතයෙක් පිටින් ගෙනගොස් සිංහලයාගේ අවසානය කඩිනම් කිරීමයි.

වෙනත් මාර්ග නැත.

ලක්මව හෑල්ලුවට, නිගාවට, දුරාචාරයට පත්කළ සිංහලයන්ට ඇය තවත් හිමිවිය යුතුද?

මෙම ක්‍රමය වෙනස්විය යුතු නොවේද?    

Courtesy The Gulf News

The contentious bill that would criminalise instant triple talaq was passed by Lok Sabha

The contentious Bill to ban the practice of triple talaq among Muslims and punish the guilty husband with three years jail was on Thursday passed by the Lok Sabha despite the opposition’s demand for its scrutiny by a Standing Committee.

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019 which prohibits divorce by pronouncing talaq thrice in one occasion by their husbands was passed with 303 votes in favour and 82 against.

Replying to debate, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who moved the Bill for passage, said the legislation is not related to politics or religion, but “a matter of women’s dignity”.

He said that Muslim women themselves have come up to him to tell him that after this law comes to be, they will celebrate Eid and Independence Day.

Noting many evils among Hindus in the country, such as sati and dowry, were penalised, Prasad said that penal law acts as a deterrent.

He said the only relevant stakeholders when it comes to the Bill are the Muslim women, not the Muslim Boards in the country.

The Minister said the Bill that advocates three years jail for a husband who goes for Triple Talaq was needed to provide gender justice and equality.

Citing the Supreme Court’s 2017 verdict striking down the illegal practice and asking Parliament to bring a law over the issue, Prasad said that women were being divorced by ‘talaq-e-biddat’ which is against gender justice.

He said the apex court had noted that 20 Islamic countries including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Jordan, Egypt and Tunisia had outlawed triple talaq. “And if they could do it, why cannot it be done in India which is a secular country?” he asked.

“The Supreme Court has said that triple talaq is arbitrary and unconstitutional and asked Parliament to make a law. When we come up with a law, it is opposed. What should our Muslim women do in this situation? Should our Muslim sisters be left (in this situation)?”

He said the Indian Constitution’s core philosophy was gender justice. “The Indian Constitution is equal for all daughters. So the Bill is needed.”

The Minister said that three ordinances had so been promulgated as a similar Bill moved by the previous Modi government could not get parliamentary approval.

A fresh Bill was introduced by the new government in June. Under the Bill, divorcing through instant triple talaq would be illegal, void and attract a jail term of three years for the husband.

Prasad rejected fears that the proposed law could be misused and asserted that certain safeguards had been put in it including provision for bail before trial.

While the Bill makes triple talaq a non-bailable offence, an accused can approach a Magistrate before trial to seek bail. A provision has been added to allow the Magistrate to grant bail “after hearing the wife”, the Minister said.

BJP ally Janata Dal-United, however, opposed the Bill, saying there was a need to create public awareness on the issue with the help of Muslim community leaders, and then walked out of the house.

Participating in the discussion, JD-U member Rajiv Ranjan Singh said his party believed the Bill would cause harm to the society.

“The Bill will produce a different feeling in the society because no one wants that there should be differences in the relationship between wife and husband,” he said.

Giving examples of misuse of other laws, he said: “You made the Anti-Dowry Act and Section 498A (of the IPC to stop cruelty against women). But these laws are being misused. So if you will make another such law, it will be misused.”

Calling the Bill “politically motivated” to target a particular community, RSP’s N.K. Premachandran said that Supreme Court has never given a directive to the government to make a law on this.

He asked why is the government not ready to make a legislation on mob lynching when it has been directed by the Supreme Court and that consecutive promulgation of Ordinances is a fraud on the Constitution.

IUML’s P.K. Kunhalikutty said the divorce rate of Muslims is very low and accused the government of playing politics. “You have a political agenda, that’s why you are bringing this Bill in a hurry”.

Congress’ S. Jothimani said the government is playing a “divide and rule policy” among women.

“Irrespective of religion, women are subjugated to injustices and have been going through this for years. Rape and marital rape are also important issues that the parliament should take up with the same interest,” she said, adding the Bill goes strongly against the rights of Muslims, and especially Muslim women.

The Bill must be sent to the Standing Committee, she demanded.

AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi said that the Supreme Court has decriminalised homosexuality and adultery, but the government is criminalising talaq. He asked who bears the burden of proof.

Government defends bill on triple talaq

Opposition MP slams it as a move to target Muslim men

New Delhi : Lok Sabha on Thursday took up for consideration the contentious bill to make the practice of instant triple talaq illegal with up to three years in jail for the husband.

Moving the bill for consideration, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the legislation was a must for gender equality and justice as despite an August 2017 Supreme Court verdict striking down the practice of instant triple talaq, women are being divorced by ‘talaq-e-biddat’.

He said, since January 2017, as many as 574 triple talaq cases and since the Supreme Court order, more than 300 such cases were reported by the media.

Under this circumstances, what should we do? Should we allow Muslim women to be continued to be exploited,” he said.

20 Muslim countries in the world, including Pakistan and Malaysia, have banned the triple talaq. Why can’t a secular India do it?

– Ravi Shankar Prasad | Law Minister

The law minister said 20 Muslim countries in the world, including Pakistan and Malaysia, have banned the triple talaq. Why can’t a secular India do it?,” he asked.

Opposing the bill, RSP member N K Premachandra said the bill has been brought with an ulterior political motive to target the Muslim community” and specific political agenda of the BJP”.

You are bringing the bill on the basis of the minority judgement of the court. If you have so much of concern, why don’t you bring a legislation to end the incidents of mob lynching. What is your stand on Sarbarimala temple,” he asked.

Premachandran said the ordinance on the subject was a fraud on the Constitution” as a civil matter is being converted into a criminal matter.

How can a jailed husband give compensation to the wife,” he said.

He also said there is no provision of imprisonment for divorce in Hindu and Christian communities.

This is not a move to protect Muslim women but to harass Muslim husbands,” he said.

Prasad said there were three different judgements of the five-judge bench of the court and in one of the judgements, the court said Triple Talaq is part of the ‘Shariah’ and a law should be enacted to end the practice.

The core philosophy of our Constitution is gender justice, irrespective of religion. We want to give honour and justice to the women,” he said.

Dr Sarath  Obeysekera 

My long-time Sri Lankan friend from Norway who has migrated  and worked over 35 years in that country, has been visiting Sri Lanka  several times every year   with his family

.He did not have any income in this country, hence he brought over 100 million Rs to Sri Lanka

Over 25 years back he bought a house in Colpettry with the money he brought.

His children grew up became citizens of Norway. They keep coming twice a year to Sr LANKA and spend money here

Two years back my friend sold the house in Colpetty and paid partly to a condominium developer in Rajagiriya with the money received by selling his only house

As he is getting old he wants to get the deed of the flat on their children’s names who are categorized as foreigners 

Children who now work in Norway also transferred 1/3 of the price of the flat from Norway’

Now the developer’s  lawyers claim that the deed of the flat cannot be written on their children’s names as the total proceeds did not come to them directly from Norway

He is dumbfounded and does not know what to do 

Can the finance minister and central bank advise these types of Sri Lankan’s living abroad who are not allowed to have dual passports, how to invest in this country?

Is there a loophole to overcome this problem?

By Chandre Dharmawardana, Canada

June 23, 1983, known as Black July” was a day of shame for Sri Lanka where a government calling itself a Dharmista Rajya” (a Righteous Regime)  permitted, aided and abetted armed mobs to attack a section of its defenseless citizens — civilian Tamils.  The fact that there were looters or the possibility that other forces fished in troubled waters (http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=74181),  or that most DIG’s of the time were Tamils (http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=74047), etc.,  are irrelevant to the very clear-cut main issue. That state-aided terror happened in the CAPITAL itself is a FACT and not some allegation based on a numbers game of guessing how many Tamils lived in the Metropolis before and after the event.

On the other hand, the claim of Genocide during the last days of the Eelam wars,  adopted as resolutions in the Northern Provincial Council of Sri Lanka, (http://www.sundaytimes.lk/150222/columns/wigneswaran-roasts-his-ethnic-nuts-over-lankas-crackling-racial-fire-136875.html) and in three municipalities in Canada (http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=206922), as well as in various rallies sponsored by Tamil Diaspora groups in many countries is a very different matter. Lumping this alleged genocide with Black July is to lower  Black July itself and diminish it to the level of the alleged but unproven genocide.

The authors of the Darusman report (https://www.un.org/News/dh/infocus/Sri_Lanka/POE_Report_Full.pdf) that came up with the figure of 40,000 were not scientists or statisticians  who routinely deal with quantitative measures and their interpretation. In fact, any such person would note the lack of  error bars” stated  in the Darusman analysis, or in most such studies.

If we determine the speed of light in an undergraduate laboratory experiment, the result usually comes to about 299000 km per second plus or minus 3.7%. That is, the actual speed of light may be anything between  287000km/sec and 310000 km/sec. So the measurement has a margin of error of plus or minus 11100 km/sec., while the most probable estimated value is 299000 km/sec. That kind of caution is not exercised when people talk of the 299000 IDPs rescued from the LTTE cordon during the first three weeks of May 2009.

In the upper and lower estimates of the speed of light, namely, 287,000 and 310,000, only three significant figures are given, while the others are rounded to zeros. Since our error is 3.7%,  strictly speaking, one should give the lower and upper values as 290,000 and 310,000 km/sec., keeping just two significant figures.

However, France Harrison, writing on the death toll in the Huffington Post (17. Dec. 2012) naively gives a figure of 101,748, i.e., a  number with six significant figures! Such accuracy calls for one part in a million precision! Clearly, Harrison has no idea of error bars or significant numbers in giving a probable estimate. If this number had been given as 102,000 we may at least assume that France Harrison is numerically educated, although that does not make the figure correct. Unfortunately, the books and writings show that she has little or no education in quantitative methods.

Unlike measurements in physics, measurements of populations, numbers dead, etc., are open to large errors, not repeatable, and not credible unless corroborated by several independent sources. The numbers must also be internally consistent. For instance, when a population is shelled,  for every person killed, some 3-4  persons are also injured. If Harrison’s figure of 102,000 killed was used, we should expect some  300,000 injured among those rescued from  the war zone in May 2009.

And yet, these claims are used to even refuse visas to members of the military or Police who may attempt to visit friends and family in western countries like Canada and Australia where diaspora groups have substantial electoral power. In contrast, US military men tainted by excesses in Iraq and Afghanistan are accorded the red carpet via  Status of Forces Agreements and various  ‘Acquisitions and Cross-Servicing Agreements’.  The genocide claims  have been enshrined in judgments at Kangaroo courts in Ireland and Bremen, run by morally militant men and clerics  combating evil” with righteous indignation.

Estimates of the probable number killed (death toll).

The claim of 40,000 dead given in  the first Darusman report (2011) to Secy. General Ban Ki-Moon was followed by a second UN report (2012) which claimed a final-phase death toll of 70,000. This implies that even the most probable estimate given in 2011 was in  error by 20,000, and the error bars are even bigger.

One of the best analyses of the available data is found in the report by the Marga Institute (2013 – The Numbers Game; Politics of Retributive Justice,

https://www.scribd.com/document/132499266/The-Numbers-Game-Politics-of-Retributive-Justice). The four-part article in the Island Newspaper (4-Feb-2014 to 8-Feb-2014) by Prof. G. H. Peiris can also be mentioned where the difficulties of estimating errors, injured-to-death ratio, etc., let alone giving a death toll are succinctly  examined.

Given these difficulties, the death-toll figures given by various organizations are destined to differ by wide margins. We have:

US state department 7000-8000, UN-internal estimate 7737, University Teachers for Human Rights, Jaffna (UTHR-J) 20000-40000, The International  Crisis Group (ICG) 35000. The Marga Institute study in 2013 proposed a death toll of 15,000  while the recent British House of Lord’s study led by Lord Naseby in 2017 used information from previously unavailable British diplomatic cables as well, and estimated a figure close to 7000.  The Sri Lankan Dept. of census and statistics, using a field survey in 2011-2012 released a death toll figure of 7400 for the last phase of the war.

War crimes are those perpetrated on unarmed civilians by armed warring groups, be they government soldiers or those who wage war against the state. If attacks on civilians are part of a deliberate policy of eliminating one ethnic group, that becomes genocide. The UN itself has not claimed that there was a genocide of Tamils during the last days of the Eelam war.

Serious difficulties arise in defining civilians” in the context of the Eelam wars as the LTTE recruited civilians and even children by force or coercion and gave military training creating Makkal Padai” (people’s armies). The Makkal Padai consisted of Eelappadai” and Gramappadai”, each consisting of some 5000, i.e., a total of 10,000 conscripted civilians (Defence ministry figures). The LTTE’s deliberate use of civilians as well as protected facilities like hospitals, schools, churches, and administrative buildings, as a cover for its military operation, is also well established. Furthermore, using a human shield” and also creating a humanitarian catastrophe were part of the tactics of the LTTE in its end game. In resonance, strident street demonstrations by pro-LTTE diaspora groups in the West pushed for Right to Protect” (R2P) interventions in Sri Lanka.

In fact, the Darusman report acknowledges some of these difficulties and states (in its paragraph 239) the following. … International humanitarian law prohibits the location of military objectives near densely populated civilian areas,….Credible allegations point to a violation of this provision … that the LTTE deliberately located or used mortar pieces, other light artillery, military vehicles, mortar pits, bunkers, and trenches in proximity to civilian areas. These locations included hospitals and concentrations of IDPs, including in each of the No-Fire-Zones”.

Error Bars for the data  used by the Darusman report.

The Marge Institute study points out that the Darusman report used the material gathered by the UTHR-J as the database for arriving at the 40,000 death toll in their first report. The number was increased to 70,000 using more subjective considerations and projections based on what were assumed to be reported numbers of injured arriving at hospitals in the war zone. However, most analysts give little credence to the 70,000 estimates and instead quoted the 40,000 death toll.

The Darusman report depends crucially on the accuracy of two numbers. These are: (i) the probable number of people in the second No-Fire-Zone in February 2009; This number N1 may be anything from 300,000 to 330,000; (ii) the actual number N2 of IDPs rescued by the army on breaching the LTTE cordon in the second and third week of May 2009. A probable value of  N2 is given as 299,000. It is the difference between these two numbers, i.e., N1-N2,  that is the core quantity used to claim that some 40,000 people are unaccounted for, and allegedly willfully massacred,  entirely by the army with no killings ascribed to the LTTE, in the last days of the Eelam war.

The first number N1 used in the Darusman report depends on an estimate given by a single individual, Mr. K. Parthipan, the Assistant Government Agent (AGA) of Mullativu. He informed (in a ‘Situation Report’, 2009)  that Almost the entire people from all AGA Divisions of the District are displaced. The IDPs of Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi and parts of Vavuniya, Mannar and Jaffna Districts are now staying in Mullaitivu District, …,  The population of Mullaitivu District at present is about 81,000 families, consisting of about 330,000 persons”. This number was not based on headcount, but an estimate given by a few grama-sevakas (village officers).

The number was used to ask for an increase in the food and other commodities sent to the Vanni through the UN World Food Program (WFP) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).  I n fact, the Darusman report accuses the government of not providing adequate food to the Vanni during the time of the conflict.

The government had issued the ICRC 534,227 metric tons of food and medicine to the conflict zone. There were also UN/WFP convoys providing food and medicine, and the UN-Darusman report mentions 7,435 metric tons of food delivered over 5 months but omits the 534,227 tons from ICRC. By ignoring these facts, the Darusman-report gives the wrong picture (https://dh-web.org/cansl1-HRW.html#ICRC-Food).  A measure of food needs accepted by the UN can be obtained from the UN-run Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps in northern Kenya: It has ~535,000 refugees and was supplied 10,000 metric tons/month by UN/WFP.  This was prior to a 20% cut in November 2013 (https://news.un.org/en/story/2013/10/454302-funding-shortage-forces-un-reduce-food-rations-refugees-northern-kenya#.UuF_p6oo7lY). This suggests that the 300,000-hostage population held by the LTTE would need 5610 tons/month, or about 28,400 tons for 5 months. Hence, using typical UN/WFP food-supply rates, it clear that roughly four times the needed amount of supplies have been provided by the Sri Lankan government via the ICRC, and the UN/WFP combined. The LTTE conscripted and hoarded the food.

Given that the purpose of the number 330,000 was for obtaining more food,  the number is open to  exaggeration. For instance, the AGA can easily ignore the fact that some 26,000 to 36,000  IDPs were already in camps outside the LTTE cordon in February 2009. This suggests that there were probably 294,000 to 304,000 people within the LTTE cordon. To this uncertainty, we should also add the fact that some 5000-10,000 people were included in Makkal Padai”, and hence the civilian count”  is likely to fluctuate by at least 5000, in addition to the uncertainty introduced by the likely exaggeration of the initial number N1. Given that the UNHR-J puts N1 at 350,000, adding to the uncertainty, we may conclude that N1 is uncertain by as much as 20,000-40,000.

The number of IDPs who received sanctuary in May 2009, N2, is about 299,000. This figure does not include IDPs who had arrived earlier and had been cared for and moved to make a place for new arrivals. Furthermore,  many new  IDPs” were  LTTE cadre or members of Makkal Padai and not civilians. There were also many who escaped, or paid their way out and even emigrated. So, N2 itself may be in error by several thousand.

A stupid way is to find the weight of the crew of an ocean liner is to weigh the ship with all the crew and then without the crew. But the methodology of the Darusman panel was exactly that. The difference between two such large numbers is subject to gross errors. The 40,000 unaccounted for in the Darusman report is a misleading consequence of taking the difference between two large numbers N1 and N2, already subject to significant uncertainties.

The estimate has not been backed up by the demonstration of any mass graves and other circumstantial evidence, even after 5 years of control of the North by a Tamil-Nationalist provincial council  that resolved that there has been a Genocide of the Tamils, not just during the last days of the Eelam war, but ever since independence. These ardent Tamil nationalists ignored the fact that the Tamil population had grown by a factor of at least 3.5 since independence. Thus the demographics go contrary to the genocide claim.

The conclusion that no genocide occurred does not mean that no war was committed. Atrocities committed by state agents as well as the LTTE have to be investigated.

The righteous indignation of ‘good people’.

It is well known that a number of religious fathers and theologians, and good men” working with NGOs and Diaspora groups have been at the helm of the claim that genocide has happened in Sri Lanka during the last days of the Eelam wars. It is less well known that Christopher Hitchens, known for his atheist stance and critical public discourse was one who questioned the  Tamil genocide claim and raised strong doubts about it  ( see Michael Roberts: https://thuppahi.wordpress.com/?s=Hitchens).

The Colombian theologian  Rev.  Fr.  Javier Giraldo Moreno came to  Sri Lanka to take part in the tenth Tamil Genocide” commemoration, held at Mullivaaykkaal on 18 May 2019, and found in it a spiritually transforming experience”. Fr. Moreno was one of the eleven judges of the so-called Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (PPT) sittings on Tamil Genocide” held in Ireland and in Bremen Germany. These sittings were arranged under the leadership of Dr. Jude Fernando, an Irish-Sri Lankan Catholic and Dublin Academic who takes the death toll to be 70,000.

Righteous indignation against evil” has been the force used against heresy, be it the Pelagian heresy which claimed that men who follow a good and holy life will go to heaven, or the gnostic heresy of the Cathers, and many others who were massacred en masse. The tradition of having witch hunts, tribunals and inquisitions are well entrenched in Western History. Imperialism as a civilizing force”,  the Manifest Destiny” of the US, or the emergence of the R2P program, and the Human-Rights commissions directed at smaller nations are the modern manifestation of one aspect of that tradition. The men and women who come to judge, often highly traditional men of the faith who have little training in numbers but rely on their conscience”, have never had any difficulty in pointing the finger at the guilty”. They always indict the sinner with the bigger crime – 70,000 according to Dr. Jude Fernando, and double that, 140,000, according to Rev. Father Rayuppu Joseph who took away the Maddona of the Madu Shrine into LTTE territory for safekeeping!

[The Author was a past Vice-Chancellor of Sri Jayawardenapura University. He is presently affiliated with the University of Montreal, Dept.  of Physics.  and the National Research Council of Canada.]