By P.K.Balachandran Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Colombo, July 23: In his book on the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, internationally known terrorism expert Dr.Rohan Gunaratna says that de-radicalization of Islamic ideology is the best way to tackle Islamic terrorism. 

In Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday Massacre: Lessons for the International community (Penguin 2023), Gunaratna says that Islamic terrorism is but an outgrowth of Wahhabism or Salafism, which is spreading rapidly across the world using modern tools of communication. It will be futile to try combating Islamic terrorism if nothing is done to destroy its ideological roots.

Gunaratna, who is Professor of Security Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technology University, Singapore, says that the April 21, 2019 bomb blasts which claimed more than 200 lives, could recur if Sri Lanka continues to lack a legal and policy framework to curb radicalization and promote moderation, tolerance, and coexistence in its place.

Typically, governments look to arresting the perpetrators after blasts but do not take steps to prevent the blasts, the researcher says.     

Governments should also build and constantly maintain capabilities in the military, law enforcement, and the intelligence agencies to prevent and pre-empt terrorist attacks, he adds.

For a de-radicalization process to succeed, Sri Lanka has to develop a common approach by eschewing confrontational politics and forging consensus on a national security agenda. Security lies in social and religious harmony. Therefore, there should be no partisanship in these matters.

Religious extremism fostered by the Wahhabist and Salafist Islam and their institutions is reflected in religious exclusivism” Gunaratna points out. Therefore, any tendency towards religious exclusivism should be combated both by State and community action.

The exclusivist tendency is manifested in the Wahhabists’ avoidance of the company of moderate Sufi Muslims and those following other religions. Such avoidance reinforces negative feelings about persons following other religions. Gunaratna says that Sufi Muslims did not get radicalized partly because they abhorred extremism and violence and partly because the Wahhabists avoided them.     

The Easter Sunday attack demonstrated a number of gaps, loopholes and weaknesses in the national security framework. On whether there could be similar attacks in the future, Gunaratna says that it would be suicidal to ignore the potential for a repetition. With enhanced globalization, ease of travel, migration, and advances in communication technology, ideas travel fast, with few restrictions. And action follows.

The Easter Sunday attacks were inspired by events in the Middle East and the ISIS’s counter actions there. Inspiration from Islamic extremists in South India such as P.Jainulabdeen (PJ) also contributed to the radicalisation of Zahran Hashim and his bunch of desperados.

Although terrorism is not new to Sri Lanka, the emergence of Islamic religious exclusivism, extremism, and terrorism presents a new set of problems. Islamic radicalism had been growing without being noticed by the powers-that-be, Gunaratna points out.

Three decades preceding the Easter massacre, radical Salafi-Wahhabi and Jamaat-e-Islami ideologies separated Muslims from non-Muslims. Foreign ideologies supplanted the inclusive Sri Lankan Muslim heritage. These virulent ideologies crystallized in operational cells, networks, and groups that gravely damaged national unity.”

The political and intelligence community noticed this development but did not see them as a threat. Even after the Easter blasts, the appreciation of the threat is weak, Gunaratna says. Many of the banned Wahhabi groups continued to operate either clandestinely or by infiltrating like-minded entities.

Although the ring leader of the terrorists Zahran Hashim committed suicide, his ideology endues. And as long as the ideology of hatred against traditional Muslims and other faiths persists, it is likely that Sri Lanka will suffer other copycat fanatics. Dismantling the ideological foundation is the apex challenge,” Gunaratna says.

But that was not done during the Yahapalnaya (Good Governance) regime headed by President Sirisena between 2015 and 2019.  According to Gunaratna the security and intelligence platforms were systematically dismantled. The architect of the security structure Brig.Suresh Salley was posted to Malaysia and politicians were allegedly under pressure from the human rights lobby to direct the police to arrest and imprison intelligence officers.

The very effective Operation Blind Eye” of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) in the Western Province was called off. Sgt.Khaleel, who was familiar with Zahran’s activities in the Eastern Province was in jail from 2016 to 2021. Intelligence personnel knew all the Easter Sunday attackers but they lacked political patronage and legal support to keep the threat under check, Gunaratna says.

However, under the Mahinda Rajapaksa Presidency, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa had raised the radicalism issue with the President of the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) Mufthi MCM Rizwe. Rizwe promised to address it but failed. Harmony Centres” were to be set up to reduce the animosity between the Wahhabis and the Sufis. But few came up. This was the situation even after the 2019 blasts, Gunaratna points out.

A number reports had come out after the blasts which had valuable suggestions. Among the suggestions were: screening and certifying local and foreign clerics; blacklisting hate speakers; developing a wholesome curriculum for clerics to bring out the commonalities among various religions and not just the differences; regularly reviewing what is taught to the clerics to remove objectionable material like justification of violence; setting up a Council of Religious Harmony at the national level as in Singapore.

There has been no effort to work out a political consensus on the national security threat from fundamentalism. When Justice Minister Wijedasa Rajapakshe told parliament that more than 30 Sri Lankans had gone to Syria to fight for the ISIS, he came in for heavy flak though he was only basing his statement on intelligence reports.

Gunaratna regrets that there is no awareness of the security dimension among political leaders across the board. Awareness needs to be created. Intelligence agencies must keep their political bosses informed and updated. Intelligence agencies must acquire greater competences by recruiting specialists in a variety of fields from various technologies to the social sciences.

There should be inter-agency collaboration. One way of doing this will be to interchange personnel. The head of the Directorate of Military Intelligence and State Intelligence Service (SIS) must be equal in rank with the chiefs of the three armed forces. There should be a National Security Council and a National Security Advisor of cabinet rank. To back up security-related action, there should be a National Security Act, Gunartana suggests. 

A Foreign Interference Act has also been suggested to prevent interference from geopolitical actors operating under the pretext of achieving human rights, democracy and religious freedom.” Foreign actors reportedly give grants to destabilize cultures, promote  divisive ideologies and break up countries.”   

Opposes Lifting of Ban

Against this background, Gunaratna disapproved of the Sri Lankan government’s latest decision to de-list five of 11 Islamic organizations which had been banned following the Easter Sunday blasts.

In a note to this writer, he said: After Muslim radical clerics and politicians lobbied the government, the government has decided to delist a number of Salafi Wahhabi groups. Like other governments, the Sri Lankan government too has compromised national security for personal and political gain. To secure votes and donations and remain in power, politicians weaken the nation’s long term national interests.”

Although politicians believe that giving into such political demands by ethnic and religious entrepreneurs will benefit them, it does not. It erodes national unity and social cohesion and eventually results in ethnic and religious hatred culminating in violence. Instead of pursuing narrow political interests, national leaders should integrate ethnic and religious leaders into mainstream national politics.”

lanka C news

ජනාධිපති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතා තව වතාවක් ඉන්දියාවට ගිය හොත් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ කිසිම දෙයක් ඉතුරු නොවනු ඇති බව ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණේ පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී ගාමිණී වලේගොඩ මහතා සඳහන් කරයි.

ජනාධිපතිවරයා මෑතකදී සිදු කළ ඉන්දීය සංචාරයේදී ත්‍රිකුණාමලයේ කොටසක් ඉන්දියාවට පැවරීමටත්, ඉන්දියාවේ සිට ලංකාවට ගොඩබිම් මාර්ගයක් ඉදි කිරීමටත්, තෙල් නලයකින් ලංකාව ඉන්දියාව සම්බන්ධ කිරීමටත්, විදුලි පද්ධතියකින් සම්බන්ධ කිරීමටත් එකග වී ඇති බව ද හෙතෙම පැවසීය.

එමෙන්ම ලංකාවේ ප්‍රධාන වරාය මෙහෙයුම් කටයුතු ඉන්දියානු සමාගම් යටතට පත් කිරීමටත් මෙරට පුනර්ජනනි විදුලි බලය නිෂ්පාදන ඒකාධිකාරිය ඉන්දියාවට ලබා දීමටත් එකඟ වී ඇති බවද හෙතෙම කියා සිටී.

ජනාධිපතිවරයා ඉන්දීය සංචාරය නිම කර ලංකාවට ආපසු පැමිණියේ ලංකාව ඉන්දියාවේ තවත් ප්‍රාන්තයක් කිරීමේ ඇණය ගැසීමට කලින් ගසන ඇණය ගසාදැයි ඔහු ප්‍රශ්න කළේය.

කොළඹ පැවති මාධ්‍ය හමුවකදී ඔහු මේ බව කියා සිටියේය.

Lanka Lead News

අරගලයෙන් පසු රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ ජනාධිපති ධූරයට පත්කළේ, ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණේ සහාය ඇතිව රටේ ආර්ථිකය ස්ථාවර කර, ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදය ස්ථාපිත කිරීමට බවයි ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණේ ප්‍රධාන ලේකම් නීතීඥ සාගර කාරියවසම් පවසන්නේ.

ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණ වෙනත් කිසිදු ව්‍යාපාරයකට සහාය දැක්වීමට එකඟ නොවූ බවද ඔහු වැඩිදුරටත් පවසයි.

සාගර කාරියවසම් මෙම අදහස් පළ කළේ රාජ්‍ය ඇමැති දිලුම් අමුණුගම, පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී ජොන්ස්ටන් ප්‍රනාන්දු ඇතුළු පිරිසක් සහභාගී වූ ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණේ දඹදෙණිය ආසන බල මණ්ඩල රැස්වීමට එක්වෙමිනි.

මේ අතර, ජේ. ආර්. ජයවර්ධන ජනාධිපතිවරයාගේ සිට ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ ජනාධිපතිවරයා දක්වා කාලය තුළ ක්‍රියාත්මක නොකළ 13 වන ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථා සංශෝධනය ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීමට රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ ජනාධිපතිවරයාට සදාචාරාත්මක අයිතියක් නොමැති බවද සාගර කාරියවසම් මන්ත්‍රීවරයා පසුගියදා ප්‍රකාශ කර තිබිණි.

Courtesy Asian Age

The visit of President Ranil Wickremasinghe last week to New Delhi was not of the customary meet-and-greet variety.

It was more than symbolic that Sri Lanka should propose a land bridge to connect with India. At no time since the breakout of the ethnic conflict in the early 1980s have Colombo and New Delhi been near enough like this to lend the belief that the geopolitics of the region have changed somewhat, for it does seem Sri Lanka has had to disengage itself from the Chinese embrace lately.

Having suffered at the hands of the debt trap diplomacy of China and in the aftermath of the serious economic strife that gripped the island last year when the Rajapaksas were forced to unceremoniously exit from power, Sri Lanka may now be looking at a settled future thanks to having learnt some home truths about the cost of friendship with China.

In recognising India’s $4bn helping hand as well as that of the IMF through its $2.9bn rescue package, which would not have come without Washington green flagging it, Sri Lanka is indeed looking to reset ties that might help it settle down to an existence nearer normal as India’s closest southern neighbour.

The visit of President Ranil Wickremasinghe last week to New Delhi was not of the customary meet-and-greet variety. It also coincided with the Tamils’ celebration of the bicentenary of their arrival on the island.  The land bridge he has proposed may take a long time to materialise, but the very fact that it is being sought now carries a clear message.

A ferry between Nagapattinam, replacing Dhanuskodi that used to be the hub for transfer to the island but was lost to nature’s fury in the 1960s, and Kankesanthurai in Sri Lanka will only be a revival of an old service, and yet an important link in these changing times of Sri Lanka trying to reverse on the big swing to China courtesy Mahinda Rajapaksa. The four pacts that the countries signed last week are also an indicator of a different kind of future in dealing with an equitable partner in promoting trade, industry, infrastructure, and green energy.

The shift in Sri Lanka’s outlook may represent the new normal as the pro-India, pro-West President Ranil is in office. But what New Delhi may find difficult to understand is the reluctance of the island to grant rights under the long-proposed 13th Amendment to their constitution that in theory should give the Tamils of the north and east a more equitable access to the development that has taken place in the southern parts.

Ranil Wickremasinghe himself may be at a loss here as he would be subject to the winds of majoritarian politics that may not permit the granting of full privileges to the Tamils who have long felt the big north-south divide. There has been little progress in attempts to address the Sri Lankan national question, which Wickremasinghe had hoped to before the nation marked 75 years of independence from the British last February. Devolution of power and the Tamils’ right to local self-determination remain unaddressed.

The New Delhi view on Tamil Nadu fishermen being harassed by the Sri Lankan Navy must necessarily be different from how Chennai sees it. There are two sides to the recurring problem of fishing outside India’s territorial waters and it may fester. But the overall Sri Lankan tilt towards India is to be welcomed in view of the island’s strategic location on the maritime routes to the Indo-Pacific. The new era is much more promising from India’s point of view.

Courtesy WION

The Sri Lankan government tightened security on Sunday (July 23) as activists in the capital city of Colombo commemorated those killed during the 1983 anti-Tamil riots which fuelled a deadly civil war for six days (July 25-30). According to a report by the news agency AFP, authorities deployed armed troops that outnumbered the protesters.

Several activists lit oil lamps and candles outside Colombo’s main cemetery, where inter-communal inter-communal riots started 40 years ago. 

“Let’s not forget the slaughter of Tamils,” read a banner carried by members of North-South Solidarity, a rights group from the Sinhalese and minority Tamil communities. The AFP report said that during the commemoration, police were seen kicking and stomping on oil lamps placed along the pavement just outside the cemetery.

In 1983, the then-government attempted a mass burial at the cemetery for 13 Sinhalese soldiers killed in a Tamil rebel land mine attack on July 23. Relatives demanded individual funerals for the soldiers and clashed with police, before turning their attacks on Tamils and Tamil-owned shops in the area.

What started as a spontaneous backlash against Tamils escalated to state-led deadly violence. Official estimates say the death toll was between 400 to 600. However, Tamil groups say the actual number is in the thousands. 

Thousands of people in Colombo and other cities were temporarily located in over 20 refugee camps. 

Current President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s United National Party was in power when the riots broke out. Wickremesinghe’s uncle and then-president Junius Jayewardene was accused of not doing anything to prevent the violence.

Shenali D Waduge

• Was the former President roped into pretend to be the nationalist” candidate BEFORE or AFTERvictory? (this should answer whether nationalists were taken for a ride from the beginning)
• IF BEFORE – does it explain why he ignored the Viyathmaga policies & began appointing pro-US/India appointees who were misusing their positions and nothing was done against them.
• IF AFTER – at what point & how & by whom was he compromised (his son in US & wishing to return to US & live –is a factor the nationalists failed to look at)
• Was his handling of COVID and initial months a means to FOOL NATION until he was used to change the systems via appointments to slowly collapse the nation (economically / administratively even weaken the armed forces by appointment of former Army Commander & not removing him inspite of many allegations against him including COVID malpractices –taking commissions from expats being brought to SL on flights)
• If former President was a US plant from beginning & US was able to get former President to do as they wanted– why did US want to REMOVE HIM in such an ugly manner? Did he deserve such a treatment? Why have we failed to comprehend the scale both US & India stoop to, to achieve their geopolitical goals. Our leaders continue to fail to learn lessons from global assassinations, regime change and election fraud. Why couldn’t or why didn’t they want to continue to use him & get what they wanted done – or were they in a hurry to get everything done & thought present President was a better bet? Did they think that the R’s would succumb to nationalist pressure & not commit the capitalist agenda they wanted to roll out?
• Was it because former PM was an obstacle (as nationalists would force him to take action) that the plan was to remove him first? Though noticeably the campaign slogan was to remove the President & not the PM.
• Was former President used to OUST MAHINDA as PM & out of politics (MR remains the symbol of nationalism – was the plot to neutralize the nationalist lobby & negate their influence in governance/govt)
• Was former President’s refusal to take LOANS part of the plot to collapse the economy (as advice regarding the impending dangers were ignored & offers of solutions were not accepted/negotiated) – it is also to be noted, that instead of obtaining vaccines from China, large amounts were paid to purchase from Pfizer (which India refused because Pfizer did not want India to test it & refused to enable litigation against them for deaths)
• Why does former President not address the nation and explain his side/version (as Sirisena did to explain why he sacked Ranil), why is he not reminding Ranil that he is not conforming to mandate given to former President by voters, this is the least GR can do to the 6.9lakh voters who placed their trust in him.
• Was former President INFORMED OF A PROTEST BEING STAGED by his handlers & asked not to take action against them– was this why he allowed protestors to park at Galle Face and ignored the illegality of the protestors permanently parking themselves in a public place for months
• Was former President asked to give orders to shoot protestors as part of plot to bring down foreign troops – was this part of the plan in case things were not working to the main plan?
• Was former President ordered to remain in Presidential Palace, falsely given assurance that nothing would happen to him? Was he forced to leave by the few still loyal to him & respecting his status of President? Did handlers bargain that components of the protestors who wanted revenge” would do what was done to Gaddafi to both GR & MR. (Even if this was not planned by the handlers, did they look at the possibility of this happening as a bonus for them)
• Was former President ordered to resign & flee to be given a dose of what his life would be if he did not agree to surrender to the dictates of those who were giving him orders from behind the scenes. WHO ARE THESE UNKNOWN FACES THAT WERE WRONGLY ADVISING HIM? 

• Why did the former President decide to resign? Why didn’t he leave the Palace & return to duties after the situation was calmed & controlled? Was he ordered to resign – by whom?

• Why did the former President appoint the present President who was then Prime Minister as Acting President after deciding to resign? Why didn’t the former President appoint a senior member of SLPP to be the President? Was it because he was told to appoint present President or did the R’s trust the present President more than his own SLPP team members.
• Everyone who played a part – whether they were corporate heads, Colombo socialites, cricketers, media, artists, political parties & supporters, academics, student unions, social media, youth fronts, Catholic Church & other clergy, numerous public personalities, local NGOs and civil society were given respective roles – no one knew what the other was tasked.They each had separate roles which put together resulted in the aragalaya, mass protest, mass destruction of state buildings & illegal occupation. No one knew what the other was tasked to do – but they were brought together on a common podium by those that were funding them or advising them – this is what needs to be understood. 

• Who else in Govt & Public Sector has been co-opted into this greater project that took place in 2022 – what are their current role (it is obvious that some have been kept to continue next leg of their program)?
• It is also important to realize that everyone who funded/supported the aragala had their own agenda & this was what came out as events” inside the protest grounds – revenge & personal hate against Rajapakses (for favors not given to them), anti-Buddhist / anti-Sinhala Culture / promotion of LGBTQ & free sex / commemoration of LTTE / Islamic extremist groups were careful not to project their agenda though they funded much of the food/ disrporportionate number of Catholic clergy & nuns reminded of the role of Catholic Action continuing since colonial times.
• The thinking public should wonder why the protestors who seem to be knowledgeable” of the economy” are now silent about present president taking loan after loan, agreeing to forfeit the handful of profitable states assets we have? If they claim that former president collapsed the economy in 2 years, why cant they see the future scenario when we have to pay back the loans taken, pay interest on the loans but we don’t have any more assets to mortgage or sell? How come these intelligent” protestors are unable to see this future reality happening with every new loan being taken, every import restriction being lifted, every state asset being given away – why are these protestors now suddenly silent? Given that they are silent now, but vocal then, raises more questions than answers
• In the meanwhile, the entities tapped to promote the system change” are now being harnessed in different ways. A good look at the target areas and target groups by US & Indian missions explains the people they are nurturing to create a bloc vote influencer – youth, low-income families, SMEs, special prominence is being given to women (youth, SMEs, social influencers, media, academics, women in armed forces & police etc) minorities (usual favorites) while dividing the majority through various programs using social media, and drawing them to illicit ways, values. People are funded (representing various roles that influence people’s thoughts) and used to indoctrinate/change people’s thinking – this is a slow steering of psychological thought process that would culminate during a future election campaign.

Are we a nation of people being handled by external forces knowingly (via funds/positions/perks/scholarships/sponsorships/gifts etc) or unknowingly (victim to social media psychological indoctrination as a result of one’s inability to think & put facts into perspective without falling prey to disinformation/misinformation) – this is the battle that prevails. So at both spectrums, our people are being pulled and roped in & most are falling prey to the deceits that prevail.

We have 2 choices – we can chose to fall prey or decide to save our nation and become an independent thinker viewing both versions, balancing one’s views & looking at the issue from the angle of what is in the nation’s interest & of national interest devoid of political colors/allegiance or expecting personal political favors.

Shenali D Waduge

Dr Sarath Obeysekera

We have seen many news items about the visit by the President of Sri Lanka and the MOUs signed between the two countries to convert Trincomalee harbor into an energy hub  A multi-product oil pipeline to be laid between Trincomalee and the nearest Indian export port coupled with the development of Steel oil  tanks built by British in Trinco can be a blow to Chinese plan to build a refinery in Hambantota where Synopac envisage to grab  business fuel bunkering of ships and tankers plying between the Middle East and Far East via southern ocean of Sri Lanka

 One might wonder whether pushing away of sea route in the south in the pretext of saving whales by IMO is an Indian-advocated move to scupper the efforts of Hambantota as the bunkering port for hundreds of ships plying via south.

A feasibility study to convert Trinco for storage and bunkering oil Centre  is being completed with the proposed pipeline from India that may change the Chinese plan to convert Hambantota as the bunkering center 

It is high time for Sri Lankan bunkering operators to move to Trinco and establish business asap 

Dr Sarath Obeysekera

RANJITH SOYSA

Indian PM Narendra Mody has advised Sri Lankan PM following many other Prime Ministers of India such as Indira Gandhi and her son Raji Gandhi. He said that India expects Sri Lanka to implement the 13th to ensure a life of dignity and respect for Tamil population” It is frivolous to believe that devolving powers in relation to land and the police to the North and the East are going to enhance the dignity and the respect of Tamils in Sri Lanka as, in fact, the majority of Tamils live in areas other than the North and the East. The Indian big brother should require guidance to understand that the demand for the devolution of powers based on provincial land is to reignite the claim of some Sri Lankan Tamils and their political parties to reignite their mythical claim that, the North and the East are the traditional homelands of Tamils. The claim resulted in the Tamil Tigers waging war destroying the valuable resources of Sri Lanka including thousands of the lives of the soldiers and civilians. Mr Mody should listen to the other side of the story and the aspirations of the majority of Sri Lankans who too desire to live in dignity and respect as citizens of a unitary Sri Lanka.

Mr Mody’s desire directly clashes with the expectations of the majority in Sri Lanka who are keen to live peacefully seeking solutions to their economic woes along with India and other international allies. We thank India for coming forward and joining this effort. But, we do reject attempts to intervene in Sri Lanka’s internal socio-political issues.

RANJITH SOYSA

Manusha Media

ජනතාව දැනුමෙන් ඈත් කරලා, බොරුවෙන් අන්ධ කරලා වෛරය කරා ගෙන යාම ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණේ අරමුණයි

ඒත් රට වැටුණ වෙලාවේ ජනතාවගේ බර කරට අරගෙන, රට ගොඩ ගැනීම එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂයේ වැඩපිළිවෙලයි

වැඩ්ඩෙක් කියලා හිතාගෙන හිටපු සජිත් ප්‍රේමදාස වැඩ බැරි දාස කෙනෙක් කියලා දැන් රටටම පෙනිලා ඉවරයි

සජිත්ට හැමදාම විපක්ෂ නායක පුටුවේ ඉන්න අපි උදව් කරනවා

ජනතාව දැනුමෙන් ඈත් කරලා බොරුවෙන් අන්ද කරලා වෛරය කරා ගෙන යාම ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණේ වැඩපිළිවෙල වන නමුත් ඉතිහාසයේ සිට රට වැටුණු වෙලාවල්වල ජනතාවගේ බර කරට ගෙන රට ගොඩ ගැනීම එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂයේ වැඩපිළිවෙල බවට පත් කරගත් බව කම්කරු හා විදේශ රැකියා අමාත්‍ය මනුෂ නානායක්කාර මහතා පැවසුවේය.

වත්තල එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂ ආසන බල මණ්ඩල රැස්වීම අමතමින් ඔහු මේ බව සදහන් කළේය.

සංචාරක හා ඉඩම් අමාත්‍ය හරින් ප්‍රනාන්දු මහතාගේ නායකත්වයෙන් මෙම ආසන බල මණ්ඩල රැස්වීම සංවිධානය කර තිබූ අතර එහිදී වැඩිදුරටත් අදහස් දැක්වූ මනුෂ නානායක්කාර මහතා මෙසේද කීවේය.


හරින් ප්‍රනාන්දු ඇමැතිතුමාගේ හැම රැස්වීමකම හරිම කල එලියක් තියෙනවා. නියම එක්සත් ජාතික පාක්ෂිකත්වය ඒ රැස්වීම්වලදී බලාගන්න පුලුවන්. එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂයේ තියෙන ආඩම්බරකම තියෙනවා. නායකතුමා මැයි දිනයක් සංවිධානය කළත්, ලොකු රැස්වීමක් සංවිධානය කළත් ඒ සියල්ලම භාරදෙන්නේ හරින්ට. ඒ වගේ දැවැන්ත සංවිධාන ශක්තියක් තියෙන පුද්ගලයෙක්.

දේශපාලනයේ හැරවුම් ලක්ෂ ගණනාවක් ඔහු අරගෙන තියෙනවා. විශේෂයෙන්ම 2015දී එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය බලයට ගේන්න, හැරවුම් ලක්ෂය වුනේ හරින්. දින 52 වෙලාවේ අපි හැමෝටම ශක්තියක් වුනේ හරින්. එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය වෙනුවෙන් තමන්ගේ මන්ත්‍රීධූරය අතහැරලා බදුල්ලට ගියා.

සජිත් ප්‍රේමදාස කියන්නේ වැඩ්ඩෙක් කියලා තමයි හැමෝම හිතාගෙන හිටියේ. දුන්නොත් කරයි කියලා හැමෝම හිතාගෙන හිටියා. ඒත් හරින් කියන්නේ වැඩ්ඩෙක් නෙමෙයි, වැඩ බැරි දාස කෙනෙක් කියලා පෙන්වන්නට හරින්ටයි මටයි පුලුවන්කම ලැබුණා. වැඩබැරි දාස කෙනෙක් කියලා රටට පෙන්නලා එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය ශක්තිමත් කරන්න අපිට පුලුවන් වුනා. දැන් අයිමත් මට රට දෙන්න කියලා කියලා කියන්න ඔහුට අයිතියක් නෑ. ප්‍රේමදාස නෙමෙයි, වැඩ බැරි දාස කෙනෙක් කියලා පෙන්නුවා

රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ නායකතුමාට දුර දක්නා දැක්මක් තිබුණා. මැයි මාසය, ජුනි මාසය වන විට අර්බුද ඇතිවෙනවා කියලා එතුමා කිව්වේ මාස ගණනාවකට පෙරදීයි. පක්ෂ දේශපාලනය අමතක කරලා, එකතු වෙලා මේ ප්‍රශ්ණය විසදා ගනිමු කියලා, හරිනුත් මමත් විවිධ අවස්ථාවලදී හැමෝගෙන්ම ඉල්ලුවා. අපිට තිබුණේ මිනිස්සුන්ගේ ජීවිත ආරක්ෂා කරගන්නේ කොහොමද කියන එකයි. කිරිපිටි ටික නැතිවෙන්න යනවා, තෙල් ටික නැතිවෙන්න යනවා, පෝලිම් හැදෙන්න යනවා කියලා අපි කලින්ම කිව්වා. ඒ නිසා තමයි ගෝඨාට බෑ කියලා අපි පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේදී කිව්වේ ඒ නිසා. ගෝඨාට බෑ කියලා විතරක් නෙමෙයි, ගෝඨාට පිස්සු කියලත් කිව්වා. ඒ විතරක් නෙමෙයි, ගෝඨා ගෝ හෝම් කියලා ජනාධිපති මන්දිරය ඉස්සරහට ගිහින් ගෝඨා ගෝ හෝම් කියන වැඩපිළිවෙල පටන් ගත්තේ හරින් ප්‍රනාන්දු මන්ත්‍රීතුමාගේ නායකත්වයෙන් කියන එක අපිට අමතක කරන්න බෑ. අන්තිමේදී ඒක ත්‍රස්තවාදීන් අතට ගත්තට ජනතාව අතරින් ආපු විරෝධය ඉදිරියට ගෙන යන්න අපිට පුලුවන් කම ලැබුණා.

තෙල් නැති, ගෑස් නැති, මිනිස්සු මැරෙන රටක අභියෝගයක් භාගන්නවා කියන්නේ ලොකු දෙයක්. රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මැතිතුමාගේ ගෙදර ගිනි තියලා තියපු වෙලාවේ පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ගිනි තියන්න සූදානම් වුන වෙලාවේ, ත්‍රස්තවාදීන් රට අල්ලාගන්න හදපු වෙලාවක තමයි රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ නායකතුමා එක්ක අ්ි ආණ්ඩු කරන්න පටන් ගත්තේ. අපි ඒ අභියෝගය භාරගෙන අවුරුද්දකුත් දවසක් ගත වෙනවා. ඒ අභියෝගය භාරගන්න වෙලාවේ හැමෝම ඇහුවේ ජීවිතවලට මොනවා වෙයිද, දේශපාලන අනාගතයට මොනවා වෙයිද කියලා. අපේ දේශපාලන අනාගතයට වඩා රටේ මිනිස්සුන්ගේ ජීවිත අපිට වටිනවා. මිනිස්සු නොකා, නොබී පෝලිම්වල මැරෙනවට වඩා මේ රට මංකොල්ලකාරයින්, ත්‍රස්තවාදීන්ගේ අතට පත් වෙනවාට වඩා අපේ දේශපාලන අනාගතය කැපකිරීම වැදගත් වෙනවා. මිනිස්සුන්ට හුස්මගන්න පුලුවන් තැනකට අපිට රට අරගෙන එන්න පුලුවන් වුනා. රට යථා තත්වයට පත් කරන්න අපිට හැකියාව ලැබුණා. දැන් තියෙන්නේ ඉස්සරහට ගමන යන්න. ඒ සදහා එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය සමග සියලු දෙනඑම එකට එකතු කරගෙන, මේ රට ජයග්‍රහණය කරවීමට, මිනිස්සුන්ගේ යහපත වෙනුවෙන් කටයුතු කරන හැමෝම එකට එකතු කරගෙන රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මැතිතුමා නැවත මේ ර්ටේ ජනාධිපතිවරයා බවට පත් කරගැනීමට කටයුතු කරනවා. 2048දී මේ රට දියුණු රටක් බවට පත් කරගැනීමේ ගමන අපි යමින් තිබෙන්නේ.

ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුනේ සද්දෙයි බොරුවයි තියෙනවා. මිනිස්සු දැනුමෙන් වියුක්ත කරලා, වෛරය කරා ගෙන යන්න කල්පනා කරනවා. එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය ඉතිහාහසේ රට වැටුණු හැම වෙලාවකම රට ගොඩ ගත්තා. 1977 රට භාරගන්නා විටත් මිනිස්සු පෝලිම්වල හිටියේ. ලාම්පුතෙල් ගද ගහන, සාරි, චීත්ත ඇන්දේ. පිරිම් අය ගන්ටාර මාක් තියෙන සරම් ඇන්දේ. එහෙම යුගයකුයි වෙනස් කළේ. ඒ රට වෙනස් කරන්න හදපු හැම වෙලාවකම වාමවාදී බලවේග ඇතැම් රටවල සහයෝගය ලබාගෙන මේ ටට දියුණු වෙන්න දුන්නේ නෑ.

1977 ජේ.ආර්. ජයවර්ධන ජනාධිපතිතුමා විවෘත ආර්ථිකය හදුන්වාදුන්නට පස්සේ, චීනයේ දැන් ඉන්න ජනාධිපතිතුමා විවෘත ආර්ථිකය ගැන ඉගෙන ගන්න ලංකාවට ආවා. සිංගප්පූරුව කිව්වේ ලංකාවෙන් අපි ට ඉගෙන ගන්න දේවල් තියෙනවා කියලයි. එහෙම දුර දක්නා දැක්මක් එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂයට තිබුණා. නමුත් හදන්න හදන හැම වෙලාවකම වාම වාදී බලවේග එකට එකතුවුනා. කවදාවත් එකට හිටපු නැති ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණ මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ එක්ක එකතුවෙලා පෝස්ටර් ගහලා රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මැතිතුමා පරාද කළා. මේ අය හැමදාම එකට එකතුවුනේ රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහත්තයා පරද්දන්න. එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය පරාජයට පත් කරන්න. මේ අය දන්නවා 77දී පටන් ගත්ත සංවර්ධනය ඉදිරියට ගියානම්, රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ නායකුතුමා අතට බලය ගියොත්, නැවත වතාවක් ආගම්වාදය, ජාතිවාදය විකුණලා, වැසිකිලි කට පෙන්නලා, සමෘද්ධිය දීලා, මිනිස්සු හැමදාම දුප්පත්කමේ තියාගෙන ඡන්ද ගන්න බැරිවෙන බව දන්නවා. ඒ නිසා තමයි මේ අය නිතරම එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂ ආණ්ඩුවක්, රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහත්තයා එන හැම වෙලාවකම ඒකට විරුද්ධව වැඩ කරන්නේ. ඒකට ඇතුලේ ඉන්න අයට විදේශීය බලවේග ඒකට උදව් කරනවා. මොකද මේ රට දියුණු වුනොත් සමහර රටවලට අවශ්‍ය ආකාරයට භූ දේශපාලනික වශයෙන් වැදගත් අපේ රට හසුරවන්න ලැබෙන්නේ නෑ. මේක අපි තේරුම් ගන්න ඕන.

දැන් අද ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණ ජනතාව රටවලට නැවත වරක් රට අගාධයකට අරගෙන යන්න උත්සාහ කරනවා. මුල් දවස්වල රටට ඩොලර් එවන්න එපා කියලා කිව්වා. අපි ඩොලර් එවන්න එපා කියලා කිව්වේ නෑ කියලා අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේදී කියනවා. ඒ වෙලාවේම මම මතක් කරලා දුන්නා, එහෙම ඩොලර් එවන්න එපා කියලා කිව්වේ ටිල්වින් සිල්වා සහ සුනිල්ග හදුනෙත්ති වන බව. ඒක දැන් සමාජ මාධ්‍ය හැම එකම යනවා. ලබන පාර්ලිමේන්තු සතියේදී මම ඒක සභාගත කරනවා. මුන් ඉන්නකම් ඩොලර් එවන්න එපා කියලා හදුන්නෙත්ති කිව්වා.

රටට ඩොලර් එව්වේ නැතොත් තෙල් ටික ගේන්න බෑ. බෙහෙත් ටික ගේන්න බෑ. ආර්ථිකය කඩාගෙන වැටෙනවා.  හංදි හංදි ගානේ මිනිස්සු මැරිලා වැටෙන යුගයක් තමයි ඊට පස්සේ උදාවෙන්නේ. අන්න ඊට පස්සේ ත්‍රස්තවාදී කල්ලියට බලය ගන්න පුලුවන්. නැවත වතාවක් ත්‍රස්තවාදී විදියට බලය අල්ලගන්න තමයි මේ අය උත්සාහ කරන්නේ. ඒ වුනාට ෆේස් බුක් එකේ ඉන්න අය අපි මාලිමාවට කියමින් යනවා. මිනිස්සු කොතරම් බුද්ධියෙන් රටවනවාද කියනවා නම් ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණේ අය සැහැල්ලු දුම්රිය ගැන බොරු වපුරනවා. අත්දැකීම් නැති, අත්දැකීම් තිබුණත් මිනිස්සුන්ට බොරු වපුරන්න තමයි මේ අය කටයුතු කරන්නේ. ඒත් කමක් නෑ අපි මාලිමාවට කියලා කියනවා

අර හරිනි මන්ත්‍රීතුමිය හරි ප්‍රගතිශීලී කාන්තාවක් කියලා කියනවානේ. අපි පහුගිය දවස්වල කම්කරු නීති සංශෝධන අරගෙන ආවා. කාන්තාවන්ට හා පිරිමින්ට සම තැන දෙන්න, කාන්තාවන්ට සේවා ස්ථානයේදී සිදුවන ලිංගික හිරිහැර වැලැක්වීමට අවශ්‍ය නීති ගේන්න අපි යෝජනා අරගෙන ආවා. කාන්තාවන්ට රාත්‍රී සේවය කරන්න අවස්ථාව දුන්නා. මේවා ආලවට්ටම්, අයිසිං කියලා හරිනි කියන්න ගත්තා.

කිසිම කෙනෙක් තවත් අයෙක් විනිශ්චය කරන්න එපා කියලා දෙවියන්වහන්සේ කියලා තියෙනවා. අපි හරිනිට කියන්නේ, අපි විනිශ්චය කරන්න යන ව්ට හරිනිම විනිශ්චයට ලක්වෙනවා. හරිනි බොරුවක් කරන්නේ කියලා විනිශ්චය වෙනවා. ප්‍රගතිශීලී කාන්තාවක් බවට බොරු මවාපෑමක් කරන බව තමයි අ්ි පේන්නේ. වෛරය ක්‍රෝදය හරහා දේශපාලන වාසි ගන්න කාන්තාවක් යැයි ඔබටත් කියන්න සිදුවෙනවා.

වසන්ත සමරසිංහ කියන හාදයා පසුගිය දවස්වල සැහැල්ලු දුම්රිය මාර්ගය ගැන අපූරු කතා ටිකකුත් කිව්වනේ. ඔහු කම්කරු නායකයෙක් ලු. හැබැයි එක දවසක්වත් රස්සාවක් කරලා නෑ. රස්සාවක් වත් නොකර හැම තැනම උද්ඝෝෂණ කරනවා. මොනවාහරි කඩාකප්පල්කාරී දෙයක් කරන්න හදන්නේ. 71දීත් 89දීත් මේ විදියට ජනතාව රවට්ටලා, දැනුම පැත්තකට දාලා, වෛරයෙක් ක්‍රෝධයෙන් ජනතාවගේ ඇස් වහලා අවුරුදු 17, 18, 19 කොල්ලෝ කෙල්ලෝ පාරට බස්සලා, කෝච්චි ගිනි තියන, බස් ගිනි තියන, ගොවිජන මධ්‍යස්ථාන ගිනි තියන තැනට රට පත් කළා. හැබැයි ඒ අවස්ථා දෙකේදීම පාලන බලය ගන්න ඒ අයට බැරි වුනා. මේ තුන්වැනි අවස්ථාවේදී මිනිස්සු රවට්ටලා, වෛරය ක්‍රෝදය හදලා, අවි ආයුද අතට අරගෙන ගැටුම් කරන්න හදන්නේ. මේ රට ගිනි තියලා ත්‍රස්තවාදී ක්‍රමයට බලය ගන්න හදනවා කියලා කිව්වත් අපි මාලිමාවට කියලා සමහරු කියන්න ගනීවි.

අපේ රටේ ජනතාවගේ ඇස් දැන් ඇරිලා තියෙන්නේ. ඒ නිසා තමයි පොදු ජන පෙරමුණට, ශ්‍රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂයට ඡන්දය දීපු අය, මන්ත්‍රීවරුන්ගේ ඉදලා හැමෝම අපිත් එක්ක අත්වැල් බැදගෙන ඉන්නේ. රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මැතිතුමා තව වතාවක් නෙමෙයි, දෙකක්ම බලයට පත් කරලා මේ රට දියුණු රටක් බවට පත් කරන්න ඕන කියලා රටට, ජනතාවට ආදරේ අය අපිත් එක්ක අත්වැල් බැදගෙන ඉන්නවා.

ඒකට සජිත් ප්‍රේමදාස. පෙරේදා වෙනකම් අපේ නායකයා. පෙරේදා අපි පක්ෂයෙන් අයින් කළා. ඒ පක්ෂයේ හිටපු ගොඩක් අය අපිත් එක්ක එකතු වෙලා ඉන්න නිසා. හෙට අනිද්දට ඔය මන්ත්‍රීවරු ටිකත් අපිත් එක්ක එකතු වෙනවා.

දැන් උදේ පාන්දර පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ඇවිත් න්‍යායපත්‍රයෙන් පිට ගිහින් මොනවා හරි අදෝනාවක් කරනවා. මේ සිල්ලර දේශපාලනය, වොයිස් කට් දේශපාලනය කරන්න එපා කියලා කිව්වා. ඒ කතාව කියලා ඉවර වුනා විතරයි, දෙමළ ජාතික සන්ධානයේ මන්ත්‍රීවරයෙක් ඇවිත් මට කතාවක් කිව්වා. අපේ ගෙවල්වල අම්මලා තාත්තලා දරුවන්ට කන්න ඉතිරි කරලා තමයි කන්නේ කියලා කිව්වා. ඒත් විපක්ෂ නායකතුමා ආපු වෙලාවේ ඉදලා වෙලාව කාලා, කාලා ඉතිරි වුනොත් තමයි අනික් මන්ත්‍රීවරුන්ට කතා කරන්න වෙලාවක් දෙන්නේ කියලා කිව්වා. ඒ වගේ වැඩ කරන විපක්ෂ නායකතුමාට හැමදාමත් විපක්ෂ නායක පුටුවේ ඉන්න අපිට දෙන්න පුලුවන් උපරිම සහාය අපි ලබාදෙනවා.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය.

“අද රට යම් යහපත් තත්වයකට පත්ව ඇති බව කුහකත්වයෙන් තොරව පිළිගන්න ඕන සත්‍යයක්.”
-කිරින්දේ අස්සජි හිමි
“ව්‍යවස්ථාදායකය හා විධායකය නොගැටී රට සුභවාදී දිශාවකට යොමු කිරිමට ජනාධිපතිතුමා සමඟ අත්වැල් බැඳ ගැනීමට අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමාට හැකි වුණා.”
– උඩවෙල කෝලිත හිමි.
උන් වහන්සේලා මේ බව ප්‍රකාශ කළේ දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන මහතා අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ධූරයට පත්ව වසරක් පිරීම නිමිත්තෙන් අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය කාර්යාලයේ 2023.07.22 දින පැවති ආගමික වතාවත් සිදුකිරීමෙන් අනතුරුව ය.

එහිදී අනුශාසනා කළ කොළඹ, ගංගාරාම විහාරාධිකාරී කිරින්දේ අස්සජි හිමි –
“ඔබතුමා අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ධූරය බාර ගත්තේ ඉතාමත්ම රට අස්ථාවර කාලවකවානුවක. ඇත්තෙන්ම රට ගිනි අරගෙන තියෙන මොහොතක  ඇතිවුණු කැරලි කෝලාහලත් එක්ක රටේ සාමාන්‍ය ජනතාවගේ විතරක් නෙමෙයි මහජන නියෝජිතයන් හැටියට මේ රටට දීර්ඝ කාලයක් සේවය කළ ඒ අයගේ ගෙවල් ගිනිබත් වෙලා රට මහා ව්‍යාකූල තත්ත්වයකට පත්වුණා. ගෙවී ගිය වසර දිහා ආපහු හැරිලා බලනකොට යම් මට්ටමකට සැනසුම් සුසුමක් හෙලන්න පුළුවන් තැනකට අද රට පත්ව තිබීම කුහකත්වයෙන් තොර ඕනෑම කෙනෙකුට පිළිගන්න පේන්න තියෙන සත්‍යයක්.
පරිණත දේශපාලනඥයෙක් හැටියට ඔබතුමා අද ඔය නිලයේ ඉන්නේ. සම්භාවනීය පවුලක මහජන සේවයට කැප වුණු  ඉතාමත්ම ගෞරවනීය  පවුල් පසුබිමක උපන්, උගත මනා යුතු අධ්‍යාපනය  පැත්තෙන් සහ ආධ්‍යාත්මික පැත්තෙන් ගොඩනඟා ගත යුතු යම් යම් ස්ථාවරත්වයක් ගොඩනඟාගෙන මහජන නියෝජිතයෙක් හැටියට දීර්ඝ කාලයක් ශ්‍රී ලංකා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව නියෝජනය කළා.  
ජනාධිපතිතුමා මේ රටේ පැවතුණු නොසන්සුන් වාතාවරණය තුළ රටේ සේනාධි නායකයා, රටේ ජනාධිපතිවරයා හැටියට පත් වුනාට පස්සේ එතුමා ගත් දූරදර්ශී ක්‍රියාපිළිවෙත් අතර මේ අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ධුරයට කෙනෙක් පත්කර ගැනීමත් එතුමාට ලොකු භාරදූර කර්තව්‍යයක් වුණා, කොහොම නමුත් ඔබතුමා කෙරෙහි විශ්වසනීයත්වයෙන් යුක්තව ඒ අවස්ථාවේ ඔබතුමාට අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ධූරය ලබා දීලා මේ රටේ ස්ථාවරත්වය ගොඩනැගීම සඳහා කැපවීමේ ක්‍රියාදාමයට සෘජු දායකත්වය ලබා දෙන්න කියලා ඉල්ලුවා.
ගෙවී ගිය වසර පුරාවටම ඔබ තුමා මේ අමාත්‍ය මණ්ඩලය මේ කර්තව්‍යයට ජනාධිපතිතුමා සමඟ අත්වැල් බැඳ ගත්තා. එහි ප්‍රතිඵලය අද මේ වෙනකොට අපිට ලැබිලා තියෙනවා. කවුරු කොයි විදිහට විවේචනය කළත් අපට සුබවාදීව බලන්න පුළුවන් බොහෝ කරුණු කාරණා මේ ගෙවී ගිය  වසරක කාලසීමාව තුළ අපට දැකගන්නට පුළුවන්.
ඒ නිසා පත්වෙන්න හිටපු අවදානම්කාරී වාතාවරණයෙන් මිදීලා රට  ඉදිරියට අරගෙන ඇවිත් තියෙනවා.  ඉදිරි වසර මීටත් වඩා  ශක්තිමත්ව  මහ ජනතාවගේ පැත්තෙන් බලලා ක්‍රියා කළ යුතුයි.

මෙහිදී අනුශාසනා කළ කොල්ලුපිටියේ වාලුකාරාමාධිකාරි උඩවෙල කෝලිත හිමි
“ගිය අවුරුද්දේ රට ගිනි ගෙන තිබෙන මොහොතක මේ රට සුබවාදී දිශානතියකට යොමු කිරීමේ අදිටනින් වත්මන් ජනාධිපතිතුමා ධුරයට පත් වුණා. ඉන්පසුව අද වගේ දවසක අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා හැටියට දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන මහතා පත් වුණා.
මේ රට වැටිල තිබුණු අගාධයෙන්  ආර්ථික අර්බුදයෙන් ගොඩ ගැනීම සඳහා ඔබතුමාලා ගේ සුසංයෝගය ඉතාමත් හොඳින් ගැළපෙන බව අපට පෙනෙනවා. ව්‍යවස්ථාදායකය විධායකය ගැටෙන්නෙ නැතුව මේ රට සුබවාදී දිශානතියකට යොමු කරන්නට ජනාධිපතිතුමා සමඟ අත්වැල් බැඳ ගැනීමට වත්මන් අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයාට සහ අනිකුත් මැතිඇමතිවරුන්ට පුළුවන්වීම සම්බන්ධව අපි මහා සංඝරත්නය හැටියට සතුටට පත්වෙනවා.
මේ හැම ජයග්‍රහණයකටම දේශපාලන නායකත්වය විශාල වශයෙන් බලපානවා. ඒ නිසා ජනාධිපතිතුමා සහ අගමැතිතුමා මෙන්ම අනිත් ඇමැතිවරුන්ගෙ සහයෝගය මේ රට ටිකෙන් ටික ස්ථාවරත්වයට ගෙන ඒමට ඉතාම වටිනවා.
දකුණු ආසියාවේ පවුල් දේශපාලනය සුලභ ලක්ෂණයක්. ලංකාවෙත් එහෙමයි. ගුණවර්ධන පවුලේ ඉතිහාසය කිවුවහම අපි දකින්නේ ඉතාමත්ම හොඳ දේශපාලන ව්‍යුහයක්. අනිකුත් පවුල් දේශපාලනය දිහා බැලුවහම ඊට එහා ගිය සුවිශේෂී කාර්‍යයන් විශාල ප්‍රමාණයක් මේ රටට සිදුකළ පවුලක් හැටියට සඳහන් කරන්නට පුළුවන්.
මෙතුමන්ගේ පියාණන් පිලිප් ගුණවර්ධන මහතා අපේ නිදහස් අරගලයේ ජාතික වීරවරයෙක්. එතුමා සිදු කළ සුවිශේෂී කාර්යභාරයන් හුගක් තියෙනවා. 56 පෙරලිය කියන්නේ නිකම්ම පෙරළියක් නෙවේ. පිලිප් ගුණවර්ධන මැතිතුමන්ගේ ඇතුළු තරුණ නායකයින්ගේ වාමවාදී දැක්ම එතුමාගේ දූරදර්ශී දැක්ම මේ රටේ නිදහස් අධ්‍යාපනය නිදහස් සෞඛ්‍යය ජනසතුකරණය රාජ්‍ය ව්‍යාපාර ආරම්භ කිරීම කියන කාරණා වලදී  බලපෑවා. ගොවි කම්කරු කියන දුගී ජනතාවගේ අයිතිවාසිකම් සහ සිහින වෙනුවෙන්. පිලිප් ගුණවර්ධන මහතාගේ අභාවයෙන් පසුව  මහජන එක්සත් පෙරමුණේ  නායකත්වය අරගෙන වත්මන් අගමැති තුමා  සාර්ථක දුර ගමනක් ඇවිත් තිබෙනවා.”
මෙම අවස්ථාවට කොල්ලුපිටිය වාලුකාරාමාධිපති මහරගම නන්ද හිමි ප්‍රධාන විහාරස්ථාන රැසක සංඝරත්නය ද, අමාත්‍යවරුන් වන නිමල් සිරිපාල ද සිල්වා, සුසිල් ප්‍රේමජයන්ත, විජයදාස රාජපක්ෂ, ටිරාන් අලස්, රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යවරුන් වන සිසිර ජයකොඩි, අශෝක ප්‍රියන්ත, සුරේන් රාඝවන්, අනුප පැස්කුවල්, පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රීවරුන් වන ගාමිණී ලොකුගේ, යදාමිණී ගුණවර්ධන, මදුර විතානගේ, ජයන්ත වීරසිංහ, ප්‍රේමනාත් දොළවත්ත, හිටපු නියෝජ්‍ය කතානායක ගීතාංජන ගුණවර්ධන, අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය කාර්යාලයේ  නිලධාරීහූ සහභාගී වූහ.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය.

Lanka Lead News

අද දින පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ දී මුලතිව් හි කුරුන්දි අශෝක විහාරය සම්බන්ධයෙන් හා වර්තමානයේ එහි ඇතිවී තිබෙන අර්බුදය පිළිබඳව පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී ජයන්ත සමරවීර මහතා විසින් බුද්ධශාසන, ආගමික හා සංස්කෘතික අමාත්‍ය විදුර වික්‍රමනායක මහතාගෙන් ප්‍රශ්න කිරීමක් සිදු කළේය.

එහිදී ජයන්ත සමරවීර මහතා මතුකළේ අද දිනයේත් දමිළ පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රීවරයකු වන රවීහරන් ඇතුළු පිරිසක් මෙම විහාර භූමියේ පෝංගල් උත්සවයක් පැවැත් වීමට සූදානම් බවට තොරතුරු ලැබී ඇති බවත්, 1931 දී කුරුන්දි විහාර ගැසට් කිරීමේ දී මෙය බෞද්ධ පුරාවිද්‍යාත්මක නටඹුන් සහිත ස්ථානයක් බව ප්‍රකාශකර ඇති බවත්ය. මෙම ස්ථානයේ පුරාවිද්‍යා කැනීම් සිදු කිරීමේ දී ද හින්දු කොවිලක හෝ හින්දු ස්මාරකවල නටඹුන් කිසිවක් මතුවී නොමැති බවත් ඒ මහතා පැහැදිලි කළේය.

මෙම ගැටලුවට හේතුවී ඇත්තේ කුරුන්දි විහාරය බෞද්ධ පුරාවස්තුවක් ලෙස නම් නොකිරීම බව පෙන්වා දුන් ජයන්ත සමරවීර මහතා, එසේ බෞද්ධ පුරාවස්තුවක් ලෙස නම් කිරීමට යෝජනා කරන බවත්, ඒ සඳහා ඇති හැකියාව පිළිබඳව හා එසේ කරන්නේ නම් ඒ කවර දිනක දී දැයි ප්‍රශ්නකර සිටියේය.

එයට පිළිතුරු ලබා දෙමින් බුද්ධ ශාසන අමාත්‍යවරයා පැවසුවේ මෙම ගැටලුව සම්බන්ධයෙන් දැනට නඩු දෙකක් විභාග වෙමින් පවතින බවත්, නීති උපදෙස් ලබා ගනිමින් මෙම යෝජනාව ඉටු කිරීමට පොරොන්දු වන බවත්ය.

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Lanka Lead News

තමා දන්නා ලෙසින් පක්ෂයේ කිසිවෙකුත් විදෙස්ගත ශ්‍රී ලාංකිකයන්ට රටට මුදල් එවන්න එපැයැයි නොකියූ බවත්, තමාගේ මෙම ප්‍රකාශය හැන්සාඩ් ගත කරන ලෙසත් ජාතික ජනබලවේගයේ නායක අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක මහතා පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ දී පවසා තිබේ.

එහෙත් ජාතික ජනබලවේගයේ සභික සුනිල් හඳුන්නෙත්ති හා තවත් ක්‍රියාකාරිකයකු එසේ විදෙස්ගත ශ්‍රී ලාංකිකයන්ට රටට මුදල් එවන්න එපා යැයි කියූ වීඩියෝ කිහිපයක් සමාජ මාධ්‍ය තුළ සංසරණය වෙයි.

වීඩියෝව නරඹන්න

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Courtesy abc News

Sri Lanka is considering the possibility of allowing the use of the Indian rupee to be used in local transactions, as the island nation struggles to build its depleted foreign reserves and to emerge from last year’s unprecedented economic crisis.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka is considering the possibility of allowing the use of the Indian rupee for local transactions, as the island nation struggles to build its depleted foreign reserves and to emerge from last year’s unprecedented economic crisis.

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said Saturday the move to allow the use of its giant neighbor’s currency would enable tourists and other people from India to directly use Indian rupees here” without going through the hassle of multiple currency conversions.

Sri Lanka imports plenty of items from India — its largest trading partner — including food, pharmaceuticals, construction materials, automobiles, fertilizers and chemicals. Trade between the two nations stood at $5.45 billion in 2021, according to official figures.

Sabry said accepting the Indian rupee would work as an advantage for Sri Lanka as the trade imbalance between the two countries is in favor of India.

We need more Indian currency, so more Indian people coming here and spending Indian currency is good for us,” Sabry told reporters a day after visiting India with Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe.

During the visit, India and Sri Lanka signed a series of energy, development and trade agreements, signalling growing economic ties between the neighboring countries.

Relations between the two countries surged last year when Sri Lanka was mired in its worst economic crisis in modern history, triggered by a severe foreign currency crunch that saw essential items run out and citizens queue for fuel for days. It also suspended its repayment of foreign debt last year.

India provided critical financial and humanitarian assistance worth over $4 billion to its neighbor, including food, medicine and fuel.

India was also the first creditor to extend a letter of support towards Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring efforts that helped kickstart support from the IMF, which approved a $3 billion bailout package in March.

Sri Lanka’s total debt has exceeded $83 billion, of which $41.5 billion is foreign and $42.1 billion is domestic. Sri Lanka has now started the process of restructuring it’s debt.

Sri Lanka’s strategic location in the Indian Ocean has long attracted attention from regional rivals India and China. For years, free-flowing loans and infrastructure investments from Beijing helped it gain an upper hand against New Delhi in the quest for influence.

But the country’s economic collapse gave New Delhi an opportunity to swing the pendulum back in its favor, especially as China delayed its support for debt restructuring, experts say. China owns about 10% of Sri Lanka’s foreign debt.

ByShishir Gupta Courtesy The Hindustan Times

During PM Modi and Wickremesinghe’s private lunch, it is not difficult to assume that China was the elephant in the room as Beijing has been engaging Colombo.

During his discussions with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi apparently reminded the visitor that India was among the first responders to economic crisis that wracked the island nation in 2022 while maintaining that Colombo must take into account India’s national security interest before collaborating with a third power.

It is understood that President Wickremesinghe agreed that Sri Lanka will be sensitive to India’s strategic and security concerns. As PM Modi and President Wickremesinghe had one-on-one private lunch extending over an hour, it is not difficult to assume that China was the elephant in the room as Beijing has been assiduously engaging Colombo under the Belt Road Initiative (BRI) with the island nation currently under a mountain of Chinese debt.

It was during the 2022 economic crisis that while the world including China hesitated, India came out with full financial, food and oil support to bail out the island nation from the deep political crisis.

While PM Modi made it known that India will stay its course in helping out Sri Lanka in times of economic crisis, the two leaders decided to take a long term view of the bilateral relation with focus on digital, oil, power, road and perhaps railroad connectivity in future.

It was President Wickremesinghe who suggested a land bridge between India and Sri Lanka on 27 kilometer long possible Rameswaram-Talai Mannar alignment, which was immediately agreed to by PM Modi. The depth of sea in this particular area of Palk Straits is also conducive as there is only one to three meters of water and a bridge could be easily constructed in the region.

The two countries have decided to cooperate in development of ports and logistics infrastructure at Colombo, Trincomalee and Kankesanthurai with mutual understanding as part of maritime connectivity. Besides this there was agreement on air connectivity, energy and power connectivity as well as renewable energy.

While the land bridge proposal was mooted for the first time, there is a strong possibility of having an oil, gas, power pipeline along with the bridge connecting the two countries. There is also a possibility to have a railroad bridge between the two countries as Rameswaram is connected with railroad just as Talai Mannar is on the Sri Lankan side.

According to experts based in Colombo and New Delhi, the two countries will have to play their cards carefully to implement the long term vision on ground as China has deep penetration into Sri Lankan polity and Beijing will do its utmost not to allow India to regain its past heft with the island nation.

Courtesy Adaderana

The former LTTE members, who were found guilty of the bomb attack on the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) on 31 January 1996 which killed 91 individuals, have been granted presidential pardon.

Accordingly, former LTTE member Selliah Navaratnam who had been sentenced to 200 years in prison and S. Shanmugarajah who was sentenced to life in prison have been pardoned and released from prison on Tuesday (18), according to the Department of Prisons.

Selliah Navaratnam is currently 69 years old, while Shanmugarajah is aged 56.

The terror attack – which left 91 individuals including 41 CBSL officers dead, 08 CBSL officers totally blind, 11 CBSL officials partially paralysed, and few hundreds wounded – was carried out using a lorry containing about 440 pounds of high explosives which were crashed through the main gate of the Central Bank, followed by a suicide bombing that tore through the bank and damaged eight other buildings nearby.

Courtesy Adaderana

Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has urged licensed commercial banks to take immediate measures to adequately reduce lending rates in view of the recent reduction of policy interest rates.

Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, in a letter directed to the Sri Lanka Banks’ Association (SLBA) chairman, said the Central Bank would be compelled to take administrative measures in the event the banking and financial sector fails to take adequate and expeditious adjustments in this regard.

Explaining that the central bank recently dropped the policy interest rates by 450 bps on two occasions with a view to enabling the economy to reach its potential while stabilising inflation at mid-single digit levels in the medium term and easing pressures in the financial markets, the governor said it is thus expected that market interest rates – particularly lending rates – will adjust downwards adequately and swiftly”.

It is also expected that the banking and financial sector will pass on this benefit to individuals and businesses, thereby supporting the rebounding of economic activities of the country and enabling borrowers to repay credit facilities which in turn enhances the asset quality of the banking sector, he added.

The governor said the central bank has observed that the deposit interest rates of the banking sector have significantly been reduced while the lending rates continue to be downward rigid. Such rigidity of lending rates would be counterproductive in the process of envisaged economic recovery.”

In addition, faster normalization of interest rate structure would not only benefit the businesses and individuals but also the banking sector as well through the expected improvement in the quality of credit, he pointed out.

Dr. Weerasinghe called for a concerted effort to reduce lending rates as it will enable individuals and businesses to re-commence or continue the repayment of credit facilities and improve the sustainability of borrowers which will lead to a positive impact on the real sector resulting in the banking sector performance to improve.

According to the governor, the central bank strongly expects this will contribute to enhancing the resilience of banks, thereby enabling expansion of banking business in the period ahead.

Hence, he urged licensed commercial banks to take measures to adequately reduce lending rates without delay.

Courtesy Adaderana

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry says that President Ranil Wickremesinghe has discussed India’s intervention for the progress of the plantation Tamil people who have been in Sri Lanka for about 200 years.

Joining a press conference held at the President’s Media Centre today (22), to announce the outcomes of President Wickremesinghe’s official visit to New Delhi, Foreign Minister Sabry detailed the agreements reached with the Government of India.

The Head of State, on July 20, embarked on a two-day visit to New Delhi at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the course of his stay, President Wickremesinghe held bilateral talks with his Indian counterpart Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Modi, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and other top dignitaries.

The minister pointed out that during the visit, attention was drawn to setting up a university in Nuwara Eliya, and also to establish Indian universities in Sri Lanka.

Sabry further emphasized that it was agreed with India to acquire new technical knowledge required for agriculture, animal husbandry and dairy farming on the island, for which a Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) was signed.

Further, the banning of bottom trawling fishing practices in the northern sea areas, which have been going on for a long time, have also been taken up during the discussions, along with the decision to allow Sri Lankan fishermen to move to the Arabian Sea through the Indian Sea.

Meanwhile, the foreign minister also expressed that an agreement was reached to work cooperatively in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) so as not to threaten the ‘mutual security’.

The two sides have also mulled using Indian Rupee (INR) in Sri Lanka as a valid currency, Sabry added.

Courtesy Adaderana

Steps will be taken to provide commercially valuable lands located in major cities in the country to investors in a bid to contribute to the economy, State Minister of Urban Development & Housing says.

Arundika Fernando also stated that the government has informed the investors in writing to resume the projects on commercially valuable state-owned land in Colombo that have been halted midway due to the economic situation facing the country.

Accordingly, the government has given an ultimatum to the investors demanding the resumption of the suspended projects, the lawmaker mentioned, adding that if the investors fail to a decision before the end of next month, these uncompleted projects would be taken over by the government and given to new investors.

The state minister made these remarks addressing a press conference organized by the Presidential Media Centre (PMC) on Friday (July 21).

Speaking on the properties with commercial worth in major cities, notably Colombo, the state minister said it has been decided to distribute them to new investors in a way that will strengthen the economy of the country.

Currently, Hilton Hotel is a lucrative business. As a result, it has been agreed to safeguard employee rights as well as the Hilton hotel chain’s conventions and improve it in order to boost the country’s economy. Along with this, steps are being taken to transfer ownership of the Battaramulla-based Waters Edge Hotel to new investors. Additionally, a committee has been established by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to examine how these new initiatives would be carried out.”

Fernando said a decision was taken to grant investors access to 24 coastal regions that have been designated as tourist destinations, so that they can boost the national economy. New investors will be awarded temporary construction rights to those coastal zones. These zones must be formed with tourist-drawing beach activities, as in other countries.”

In addition, on the advice of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, steps have already been taken to develop Colombo, Ella, Nuwara Eliya, Kandy and Trincomalee as favourable tourist attraction areas.

Some projects are being implemented with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank under the intervention of government agencies including the Urban Development Authority, the state minister added.

Meanwhile, the construction of the Aruwakkalu Scientific Sanitary Garbage Dump under the Colombo Solid Waste Management project is scheduled to be handed over to the public by the end of January next year, he said further.

by Garvin Karunaratne

The Peoples’ Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at a Seed Distribution at Mawatagama rightly said We look forward to accomplishing the special goal of building the economy of the country”. In detail, the economic development of the country has to be with the farmers”. He has also emphasized that the next challenge is to support small and medium scale industry.”(Ceylon Today: 7/7/23)

Our Prime Minister has to be congratulated for making this statement.

How can this be achieved? A year has passed by since our Prime Minister took office and it has so happened that within this year no new programmes have been implemented to bring about any economic development.

This Government inherited a situation where the farmers were deprived of inorganic fertilizer due to the ill-advised programme of the earlier President. The paddy harvest fell by around fifty per cent and consequently, the farmers’ incomes faltered and the country faced starvation. It is correct to state that easily five to six million people in our resplendent country which is blessed by Mother Nature with ample rainfall and fertile land, have had to face starvation and forgo meals. Today food is available but sadly, beyond the purse strings of the majority.

Having worked in the field of economic development in Sri Lanka for seventeen years, and having also worked in other countries- faced with youth unemployment in Bangladesh in my two year consultancy I established the Youth Self Employment Programme and trained the members of the elite Bangladesh Civil Service to continue it after my consultancy was over- and today this programme has flowered to guide over three million youths to become self employed, the most successful employment programme one can find- perhaps my ideas may be worth considering.

As our Prime Minister says farmers should come to the forefront. Recently our Minister for Agriculture hailed seed scientist GA Jinadasa for producing the seed variety AT 362, which finds a record yield. Four farmers that had harvested a yield of 10-11 metric tonnes of paddy per hectare were felicitated. (Ceylon Today: 7/7/23). In a country where the present average yield of paddy is 3 to 4.5 metric tonnes on average the variety AT362 offers a miracle solution.

Sri Lanka has well over a million farmers with small extents of land and how can this seed be provided to all the farmers? Sri Lanka, once, before 1977 had Paddy Seed Farms and today some of these Seed Farms have been sold off- privatized. Sadly our leaders fail to understand the fate of a country that privatizes its important functions. Thus actually we may have a seed variety that turns our a fantastic yield but unfortunately, we have no mechanism to produce enough high-yielding seeds and also no method of distributing it to the farmers. Our Minister talks big but this is sadly the true situation. 

The vacuum in agricultural extension is because President Premadasa in one of his unguarded moments promoted all 2400 Agricultural Overseers working at the village level to become Grama Niladharis and since then- 1992 there is no trained officer at the village level whom the farmers can contact. The agricultural officer closest to the farmers is the Agricultural Instructor at the Divisional level, but he has to attend to 3,500 farmers at Ranorawa or as many as 13,000 at Yodakandiya. In short, there is no method by which the Agriculture Department can make the miracle seeds or even if it is made, distribute it. The Agricultural Ministry can talk and make statements but it has no legs to walk and get things done. The Agricultural Extension Centres of the Agrarian Service Department do not have any officers trained in agriculture. These serve only a farmer who visits.

It has to be stated that once – before 1977 we did have a proper extension service. Then the Department of Agriculture did have 2400 agricultural overseers at the village level and also a sister department- the Agrarian Services Department had established cultivation committees- elected under the Paddy Lands Act and the Agrarian Services had over a thousand field officers trained in agriculture and it was the combined effort of these two Departments that enabled Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake to achieve self-sufficiency in paddy by 1970. I was a live party to this development- first working in the Agrarian Services Department and later as the Additional Government Agent at Kegalla. In Anuradhapura, three of us Assistant Commissioners in Agrarian Services established 296 cultivation committees in 1962-1964 and we worked with the farmers, and our meetings with the farmers continued to even late at night.

Today there is no officer trained in agriculture for the people to contact and there is no peoples organization for the people to meet and discuss and get down to work together.

Thus it is left to our Prime Minister to immediately organize training in paddy cultivation for all officers manning agricultural extension centres and also increase the training of Agricultural Instructors for each Division to have a few Agricultural Instructors. Further, these officers should be asked to develop cooperatives in all areas where the farmers can meet, discuss and arrive at decisions re-cultivation of paddy, hold kanna meetings where extents to be cultivated and when cultivation should take place etc are decided. Today even kanna meetings are not held. Paddy cultivation has become a no man’s land.

I would quote from my book: Nuwarakalaviya:

Instead of development what we are seeing today is the neglect of the irrigation systems and the total destruction of orderly cultivation that once existed when the Government Agents and later the Agrarian Services handled irrigation administration.

It is absolutely necessary that action is taken to backtrack to a vibrant system like what we had when the Government Agents were handling minor irrigation with the Vel Vidanes. Otherwise the death knell of the economy of Nuwarakalaviya is a forgone conclusion”(pg104)

It is my hope that our Prime Minister may please consider re organizing minor irrigation and paddy cultivation as was once done by the Government Agents. This does not required any legislation. The Government Agents and Divisional Secretaries are there in place and they come directly under the Hon. Prime Minister. It is only one decision by the Prime Minister to restore a system that was once in force a few decades ago, in 1965.

Our Prime Minister had also emphasized that we should develop small and medium scale industries. Not long ago- in 1970-1977 the Government established the Divisional Development Councils Programme, where small industrial and agricultural units were established. A total number of 33 200 youths were trained in agriculture, livestock and small industries. Many small industries were established in all Districts. The Divisional Secretary at Kotmale established a small factory making paper and cardboard out of waste paper. This was a great success. Sad to say that though waste paper to paper cum cardboard factories can be immediately established, we have not even thought about it. We import paper instead of making it. .

I served as the GA at Matara and in my distrcit many small industries were established like making farm implements, making sago out of manioc etc. The most successful of the small industries I established was the Mechanized BoatYard at Matara where twenty youths were trained and they did make some 35-45 seaworthy motorboats a year that were sold to fishery cooperatives. Again my Planning Officer Vetus Fernando who was a chemistry grad found the art of making crayons at the science lab of Rahula College and our Morawaka Cooperative Union  did establish Coop Crayon which did produce crayons that were sold island wide from 1971 to 1977. This was a great success. It was all done without a single dollar- dyes were purchased in the open market at high rates. I approached the Controller of Imports when he was about to authorize the import of crayons to a private firm and convinced him that we could make all the crayons if only he gave us a small allocation of foreign exchange to import dyes. He agreed but wanted me to get the approval of his Minister, Mr Illangaratne. I and the member of parliament Sumanapala Dahanayake showed the crayons to Mr. Illangaratne and said that this was produced by our Morawaka Cooperatives. I can yet remember the gleam on his face after he scribbled on a piece of paper and looked at his fingers to see whether the crayon had left a stain. He not only authorized an allocation of foreign exchange for the import of dyes but decided that all imports of crayons should be stopped forthwith. This true story tells us how we should proceed to establish industries. 

It is all in the court for our Prime Minister to act. Please direct the Government Agents to take charge of paddy production as was done by Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake in 1965. Please also direct the Government Agents to develop small industries in the districts using local produce, for our use and this will also save dollars we spend on imports. .

This is a task that can easily be achieved within a few months with no dollars- with local rupees and when we do produce some items like paper we will save our dollars that are spent on imports and if we produce crayons- which we are certain of doing, we will not only save all what we spend today to import but we can also export.

Over to you, sir, these are ideas that can be put into practice immediately if only you do decide.

Garvin Karunaratne,

former GA Matara, 19072023

By Engr. Kanthar Balanathan DipEE (UK), GradCert (RelEng-Monash), DipBus&Adm (Finance-Massey), C.Eng., MIEE, Former Director of Power Engineering Solutions Pty Ltd, Consulting Electrical EngineersLeading Engineer of the World 2006, UK Authority Award

1. General

This article is written not to scorn Tamils, but to think and educate themselves about their shortfall and correct themselves rather than insulting others. Tamils shall not think that Hinduism is the greatest religion in the world because Hindus celebrate the murders of opponents by their gods. Hindus have a mindset of imaginary thinking of events, actions, and programs. E.g., Deepavali. Most Tamils lack in mannerisms, and courtesy, have a very rude behavioural pattern and have a megalomaniac attitude.  While talking to others Tamils always try to take a short path with lies to hurt their opponents, in general, Tamils always tell lies. I am a Tamil born in the North; however, I grew up in the South and worked in various countries. Me being growing up in the South gave me a clear picture and knowledge of the behavioural pattern of Sinhalese and Tamils. In India and the North, milk is used to wash the deity/statue and the waste runs down the drain. While there are people with kids who need milk and in India people and children die starving for milk. In general, the Sinhalese citizens in Sri Lanka are kind, polite and friendly compared to the Tamils and are judged better than the Tamils.

2    General Religious Culture of Tamils

Tamils are more concerned about the caste of their people, and they restricted low-caste people to enter temples because of the cleanliness of the low-caste people. It was not the practice of the low-caste people to walk around with unclean bodies. The elites made sure with the power held by them that the low-caste people were not paid adequately, and the poverty made the people slightly unclean. They made sure that the products were sold at low prices as they decided the prices. Fish in the UK is sold at a very high price, however in Jaffna they were sold at a very low price making sure that the fisherman does not become rich.

When the elite goons go to temples, they wear/apply sandalwood paste to their body. Why is that? Because their body is full of filth and smell and to prevent their dirty smell, they apply the sandalwood paste to hide the dirty smell. However, they spread that sandalwood is god’s creation and must wear in temples. Even the granite stone god’s body they bathe with milk and apply sandalwood paste. The poor cannot buy sandalwood paste. Hence the difference.

The elites do not sensibly ask the question as to why they have several gods and why they have weapons in their hands. Gods can get weapons immediately when they want. The purpose is to KILL the opponent.  Therefore Hinduism is Killing profess.

BUUDHHISM advocates, practices, worships, peace and professes intelligence and magnanimity.

It is a challenge that any Tamil can come to a platform and enter into a debate.

In Australia and other countries Tamils immediately build temples and a medical doctor is elected President of the temple.  Does this mean that the medical doctor is incompetent to practice as a medical doctor? Tamils have a weak mentality that only doctors can be presidents and advocates can be elected to parliament. Finally, bribery and corruption infiltrate the organisation. This indicates Tamil’s mental inability to understand human effectiveness and efficiency.

I have in an earlier article stated how the Hindu temples conduct poojas. It is like a war zone. However, you walk into a Buddhist shrine, the shrine is peaceful. This is what a Buddhist priest taught King ASOKA of Kalinga.

Tamil worshippers even in a Hindu temple fight, argue and attempt murder in Jaffna. However, never in a Buddhist Shrine room. Tamils should think, understand, and learn how to live from the Sinhala Buddhists. Buddhism is practised by over several billion people in the world.

In India, Hindus fight over caste, gods, and wealth. And competition over whose temple tower is the highest. History states Raja Rajan Cholan built the Thanjavur temple tower to a height of 216 feet. Do people realise how many human lives would have been sacrificed during the tower job?

• Cleanliness of Tamils and Sinhalese in Eating Houses

• Eating Houses/Places

Take for example an eating hotel in Colombo: 1960: Luxmi Villas and Pillaiyar Villas in front of Pettah Railway Station.

I am relating this to the 60s. The serving waiter/bearer in a Tamil eating place, in general, does not wear any shirt, except wears a shorts or sarong. Bear body and use hands to serve. They have banana leaves to serve food. Serve with unclean hands. The way the customers wash their hands and mouths is abysmal.

If we walk into a Sinhalese hotel; food is served in a tray full of dishes and a plate to eat. Finally, to wash they serve a bowl full of water. The hotel and service are quite clean.  The servers wear the uniform given by the hotel/eating house. The cost is a little higher than the so-called Dosai Kades”.

The author preferred to eat in Sinhala eating houses always in Colombo and other towns.

The current trend in 2020/2023 in Jaffna eating houses is that food has worms, cockroaches, and other flying insects. What could be the reason for this? During the power cuts period and power cost, Tamils may not use lights but lanterns, which may not give proper lux. Insects flying may drop into the pots and the cooks may not worry about the migration.

Tamils are worried about caste; however, these comedians must concentrate to educate their people with appropriate good hygienic culture. The Jaffna Municipal Council Health Inspectors must visit and arrest people who do not obey the law.  That’s what the MCs are for. Not to advocate for Tamil Eelam and Power sharing”

What happened to me: In Australia, two of the Tamil spice shops had Soya meat. When I looked at the expiry date, the packets had expired the year before. When I told the shopkeeper, his answer was: We cooked the same soya meat this weak end and it was good and tasty”. What could I say to this fool? I just walked out, and I never visited the shop ever again. In the third shop, when I pointed out an expired product, they changed it. It runs in the blood of Tamils to cheat others. Today Tamil organisations are swindling millions of dollars from poor workers. Tamils do not believe in Expiry dates.

I stayed at the Hartley Hostel in 1960. The hostel was poorly managed and run. Water had to be fetched from the well for washing, toilet etc. The food was cooked by Theevu Pandarams. Very poor quality. They used American white flour for pittus and string hoppers. When this is made into a ball, it can hurt people. The dirtiest hostel in SL. Hundreds of students are bulked onto the two floors. It has been the worst hostel I have lived in anywhere in SL or elsewhere. There was only one bucket toilet at the college where over 500 students studied.

I lived in a hostel in Colombo run by the Sinhala people. I would rank the hostel as excellent.

Tamils could not even run the Northern Provincial Council. My view is that Tamils can never manage their affairs but need a walking stick. The worst dirtiest race in the world.

Whatever, Tamils should learn from the Sinhalese people about culture, living, hygiene, motivation, creativity, etc.

The following politicians should leave politics for the betterment of Sri Lanka.

Sambanthar, Mavai, Adaikkalanathan, GG Ponnambalam, Siththathar, Sritharan, selva rajah Gajendran, MA Sumanthiran, Sivajilingham, CV Wigneswaran, the Rajapaksas, Premadasa, and possibly the entire TNA clowns. They should pave the way for the young University crowd to enter politics. Young politicians like Douglas Devananda, Angajan, and Manivannan should lead politics.

The old fools have led the country to bankruptcy.

Tamils should eliminate the dowry system because the dowry system and caste differences make them corrupt and lazy. If the country needs to be technologically advanced, then all people must be equal, and people shall respect the technology and the person’s technical/professional capability.

Recently a clown Ramaraj Veerahia from TGTE attempted to talk to the President Hon MR. RW in broken English. What type of guts has this fool got to rub shoulders with the President of a Republic about Genocide”? How long are they going to bark on Genocide”? This is typical Tamil mentality. What is the highest level of education of this fool who lives in London? What was his objective for this meeting? These are the type of Fools who mess up the Sri Lankan culture and peace.

For any person who starts to work in an organisation, the first thing people want to know is about his caste. The worst culture within the Tamil race.

Today Tamils are all over the planet. All that they want is to hurt and destroy Sri Lanka.

Hon Mr Ranil Wickramasinghe shall be elected as the president again with good young politicians in parliament if people want Sri Lanka to prosper and grow economically and technologically. Dr Nandalal Weerasinghe shall continue as the governor of the CB as he is doing a great job to save Sri Lanka. Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekara should be elected again and given a portfolio to contribute to SL’s growth.

The Rear Admiral shall promote innovation, creativity, motivation, and flexibility to the industrial workers within his ministry. The Rear Admiral has lots of energy and wisdom to manage an important portfolio.

Tamils shall forget about PCs and Tamil Eelam, but join hands with the Sinhalese to be allocated portfolios to build SL. There shall be only one race in SL and that is Sinhalese Buddhist. This is good for Sri Lankan citizens and Tamils all over the world.

Ministry of Defence  – Media Centre

Her Excellency R. Demet Sekercioglu, Ambassador of Turkey for Sri Lanka, made a courtesy call on Acting Minister of Defence Hon. Premitha Bandara Tennakoon at the State Ministry of Defence today (Jul 21).

Minister Tennakoon held a cordial discussion with the Ambassador following a warm reception at his office.

Matters of bilateral importance and mutual relevance were discussed during the meeting held between Minister Tennakoon and H.E. Sekercioglu.

During the occasion, the Minister presented a memento to the Turkish Ambassador to mark the occasion.

Deputy Chief of Staff Navy and Director General – Operations Rear Admiral Pradeep Rathnayake was also present at the occasion.

වෛද්‍ය තිලක පද්මා සුබසිංහ අනුස්මරණ නීති අධ්‍යාපන වැඩසටහන

ආයුර්වේද සංශෝධන පනත් කෙටුම්පත සුසිල් ප්‍රේම්ජයන්ත ඇමතිවරයා විසින් 2023 ජූලි 05 වැනි දින පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ පළමුවර කියවා ඇත.

එයට එරෙහිව ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව උල්ලංඝනය කරන්නේය පදනමින් මත්තෙගොඩ රෝපා ආයුර්වේද රෝහලේ වෛද්‍ය බී. ඒ. රත්නපාල මහතා නීතීඥ අරුණ උණවටුන මහතා මගින් SC/SD/22/23 අංක යටතේ ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ 121 ව්‍යවස්ථාව යටතේ පෙත්සමක්
ඉදිරිපත් කර ඇත.

පළාත් සභා ලැයිස්තුව යටතේ ඇති ආයුර්වේදය අදාල කාරණා සම්බන්ධයෙන් යෝජිත ආයුර්වේද පනත් සංශෝධනය පළාත් සභා නොවිමසා ගෙනවිත් ඇති බව ඇතුලු කාරණා එකී පෙත්සම මගින් ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව උල්ලංඝනය කිරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් දක්වා ඇත.

සෙවනගල ප්‍රදේශයේ වෛද්‍යවරයෙකු වන කමල් බන්දුල වීරප්පෙරුම සහ මුල්ලේරියාව නව නගරයේ වෛද්‍යවරයෙකු වන වොෂින්ටන් ගල්හේනගේ නානායක්කාර යන අයද වෛද්‍ය රත්නපාල මහතාගේ පෙත්සම වැනිම පෙත්සමක නීතීඥ අරුණ ලක්සිරි උණවටුන මහතා මගින් ගොනු කර ඇත.

2023 ජූලි 19 වැනි දින ඒ සම්බන්ධයෙන් වැරදි කරුණු ඇතුළත් ප්‍රවෘත්තියක් දිවයින පුවත්පතේ පළ වී ඇත. එකී ප්‍රවෘත්තිය පහත පළ වේ.

එකී වැරදි ප්‍රවෘත්තිය හේතුවෙන් නීතීඥ අරුණ ලක්සිරි උණවටුන මහතාට සිය නඩුවෙන් ඉවත්වන ලෙස වෛද්‍ය රත්නපාල මහතා විසින් නීතීඥ අරුණ ලක්සිරි උණවටුන මහතාට දැනුම් දී ඇත.

එකී ප්‍රවෘත්තිය නිවැරදි කරමින් 2023.07.20 දින දිවයින පුවත්පත විසින් නිවැරදි කිරීමක්ද පළකර ඇත. එකී නිවැරදි කිරීම කළ ප්‍රවෘත්තිය පහත දැක්වේ.

ආයුර්වේද පනත සංශෝධනයට එරෙහිව මුල්ම පෙත්සම ඉදිරිපත් කළ වෛද්‍ය බී.ඒ. රත්නපාල මහතාගේ නීතීඥවරයා වූ නීතීඥ අරුණ ලක්සිරි උණවටුන මහතා මෙකී කරුණු ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණයට ඉදිරිපත්කර එකී නඩුවෙන් ඉවත්වීමට අවසර ඉල්ලා ඇති අතර නීතිපතිවරයාටත්, වෛද්‍ය රත්නපාල මහතාටත් එහි පිටපත් ලබා දී ඇත.

http://neethiyalk.blogspot.com/2023/07/blog-post.html?m=1

“නීතියේ සිංහල නුගමුල”
ෆීනික්ස් නීති සාර සංග්‍රහය (2023 ජූලි)
වෛද්‍ය තිලක පද්මා සුබසිංහ අනුස්මරණ නීති අධ්‍යාපන වැඩසටහන

Courtesy Adaderana

During his inaugural visit to India after assuming office, President Ranil Wickremesinghe commended the neighbouring nation’s unwavering support and solidarity during Sri Lanka’s recent economic crisis.

Addressing a joint press briefing, he expressed his sincere gratitude to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the government and people of India for their continued support during Sri Lanka’s most difficult times in recent history.

Meanwhile, President Wickremesinghe also praised the impressive economic, infrastructure, and technological advancements made under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership. 

He emphasised that India’s growth would have positive impacts on both, the neighbouring countries and the Indian Ocean region.

Reaffirming his dedication to achieving economic revival, sustainable development and justice for all in Sri Lanka, President Wickremesinghe engaged in discussions about a comprehensive plan for reconciliation and power-sharing, and thereby extended an invitation to all party leaders to reach a consensus. 

In response, Prime Minister Modi expressed his support and goodwill towards these initiatives.

President Wickremesinghe also asserted that Sri Lanka is steadfastly pursuing economic reforms, which are already showing positive results in stabilizing the country. 

He further noted that the measures taken have led to a resurgence of confidence both within the nation and from external observers in the progress of Sri Lanka

Highlighting the mutual agreement between India and Sri Lanka on a Joint Vision for their economic partnership, focusing on improved connectivity, the Head of State acknowledged the deep historical and cultural connections between the two nations, emphasizing that this presents an ideal opportunity for further enhancing connectivity in the future.

The President also noted that while ferry services between Talaimannar-Rameswaram and Nagapattinam-Kankesanthurai will add more impetus to sea travel between India and Sri Lanka, other forms of connectivity between the two countries are being examined, as it could become a further catalyst to boost economic growth.

Following is the statement delivered by President Ranil Wickremesinghe during the official visit to India;

I am honoured to be in New Delhi at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is my first visit to India since assuming office as President last year and it is a visit to which myself and my government attach the highest importance.

I thank the PM Modi and the Government of India for the hospitality extended to me and to my delegation.

This morning PM Modi and I had the occasion to review at length recent developments in our countries as well as in our bilateral relations. I have congratulated PM Modi on the great strides India continues to make under his leadership in economic, infrastructure and technological progress in ensuring growth and prosperity for the people of India. 

We believe that India’s growth will be beneficial to the neighbourhood and Indian Ocean region.

I have also apprised with Prime Minister Modi of the extraordinary challenges that Sri Lanka had experienced in economic, social and political terms in the past year, and of the reform measures I have spearheaded on a number of fronts, in overcoming these challenges.

I have conveyed to PM Modi and to the government and people of India our profound appreciation for the solidarity and support rendered to Sri Lanka in what was undoubtedly the most challenging period in our recent history.

Friends,

In reviewing recent developments in Sri Lanka, I shared with Prime Minister Modi my commitment to bring about economic recovery leading to sustainable and stable growth with justice and equity which will benefit all segments of Sri Lankan society in all parts of the country.

In moving forward, I have explained that I have set Sri Lanka firmly on a path of economic reform and that Sri Lanka is already witnessing the stabilizing outcomes of these measures and the revival of confidence internally and externally in the progress of the country.

I also shared with him the comprehensive proposal I presented this week for furthering reconciliation, power sharing through devolution and the multiple elements of the Northern development plan. 

I have invited all party leaders in Parliament to work towards consensus and national unity on these measures. Thereafter the Government will place the relevant legislation before Parliament.

Prime Minister Modi has expressed his solidarity and goodwill in these endeavours.

Friends,

We now need to put our economy on a growth path bringing greater revenue for the country, which requires enhanced investment in all parts of the country.

As a supportive and solid foundation for the realization of these objectives, we have agreed on a Joint Vision of the future India -Sri Lanka economic partnership through enhanced connectivity.

Today, in this 75th year of our bilateral diplomatic relations, our Vision will propel us towards a more secure future through mutually beneficial interactions, to bring tangible benefits and greater opportunities for our future generations in the coming decades.

The foundations of our joint vision of greater future connectivity have already been laid through millennia-old civilizational, cultural, human and commercial interactions between our two countries.

The thread of connectivity is woven through our history.

In our view, the present time is a most opportune moment to embark on such a vision for the future.

We recognized that modern-day connectivity plays a crucial role in realizing our vision of economic partnership. 

The recent recommencement of Chennai and Jaffna air services is an important step towards air connectivity. We believe that expansion of aviation connectivity to other destinations and further development of Palaly airport will complement this initiative. 

Ferry services between Talaimannar-Rameswaram and Nagapattinam-Kankesanthurai will add more impetus to sea travel between the two countries. Examining other forms of connectivity between Sri Lanka and India could become a further catalyst to boost economic growth.

We agreed that the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement between Sri Lanka and India is critical to enhance bilateral trade and investment in new and priority areas. Sri Lanka is pleased to welcome Indian assistance in digital tech driven service delivery and citizen centric services.

We agreed that enhanced connectivity will also a play a crucial role in strengthening our cooperation in tourism, people-to-people exchanges and cultural relations. 

The tourism industry in Sri Lanka is poised to reap the benefits of the post-pandemic world and India is currently the top market for inbound tourism for Sri Lanka. Enabling UPI based digital payments in Sri Lanka would immensely facilitate further growth in this and other sectors.

In keeping with Sri Lanka’s national priorities and global commitments towards a greener economy, and also to ensure energy security, Sri Lanka sees valuable opportunities in partnering with India in green and renewable energy development. In this context, I am pleased to note the conclusion of the Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation in the field of Renewable Energy. 

Establishing the high-capacity power grid interconnection between Sri Lanka and India would enable two-way electricity trade between the two countries.

The development of Trincomalee as an energy hub with the support of India is a crucial step towards Sri Lanka’s goal to elevate Trincomalee as a hub for industry and other economic activities. 

Prime Minister Modi and I believe that the construction of a multi-product petroleum pipeline from Southern part of India to Sri Lanka will ensure an affordable and reliable supply of energy resources to Sri Lanka.

We also discussed how to improve our cooperation in the dairy and animal husbandry sectors to realize our common interest in achieving greater socio-economic development, and enhance the nutrition status of our people.

Cooperation in the education sector is one of the key elements in our bilateral relationship. We believe that establishing new higher education institutes with the assistance from India is important. 

This will contribute towards upgrading the knowledge and skills of our youth and include them in the nation’s development drive.

I believe that my visit to India has provided an opportunity to review our bilateral relationship, leverage the strength of geographical and civilizational links, and reinforce trust and confidence for our future prosperity in the modern world. 

I am confident that the discussions we had today will lay the foundation for the next 25 years of Indo-Lanka relations and contribute to my vision for sustainable growth national unity and reconciliation for all segments of the people of Sri Lanka and for a prosperous and secure future for the people of India and Sri Lanka.”

Courtesy Adaderana

The central bank (CBSL) governor says Sri Lanka will have to go through another Domestic Debt Optimization (DDO) strategy if the targets of the current plan are not achieved.

Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe also noted that the DDO strategy announced by the government is strong enough to restore the country’s debt sustainability.

He made these remarks during the CEO Forum 2023 organized by the Chartered Financial Analysts of Sri Lanka on Friday (July 21) in Colombo.

Addressing concerns about a second DDO strategy, the central bank governor said if the country deviates from the current path, there could be another domestic debt optimization as well as another default and bankruptcy.

We don’t need another DDO because this DDO is quite strong enough and consistent with the targets to restore debt sustainability,” he said adding that the fiscal policy, structural reforms and the growth path should move in conjunction with the domestic debt optimization plan.

Dr. Weerasinghe said the Sri Lankan economy has the potential to overperform with growth levels of 4% – 5%, adding that it would will help restore country’s debt sustainability in five  years without waiting until 2032.

The central bank governor is also confident that Sri Lanka will see single-digit inflation by the end of this month

Courtesy Adaderana

India and Sri Lanka have decided to cooperate towards the establishment of a multi-product petroleum pipeline from the southern part of India to Sri Lanka, in a bid to ensure an affordable and reliable supply of energy resources to Sri Lanka.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe, on Friday (21 July), held bilateral talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi, during which a wide range of issues was discussed.

Sri Lanka and India also signed five key Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) on (1) animal husbandry and dairying, (2) cooperation in the field of renewable energy, (3) cooperation for economic development projects in Trincomalee District, (4) Unified Payments Interface (UPI) acceptance in Sri Lanka, and (5) energy permit for Sampur Solar Power Project.

The signed agreements were exchanged in the presence of the Indian PM and the Sri Lankan President.

Accordingly, it was also decided to undertake mutually agreed joint exploration and production of hydrocarbons in Sri Lanka’s offshore basins with an aim to develop Sri Lanka’s upstream petroleum sector.

Meanwhile, in a bid to not only bring down the costs of electricity in Sri Lanka, but also to help create a valuable and dependable source of foreign exchange for the island, the establishment of a high-capacity power grid interconnection between India and Sri Lanka to enable bidirectional electricity trade between Sri Lanka and other regional countries, including the BBIN countries, was discussed.

Speaking with regards to maritime and air relations between the two nations, cooperation towards the development of ports and logistics infrastructure at Colombo, Trincomalee and Kankesanthurai was discussed, with an aim to consolidate regional logistics and shipping, as per mutual understanding.

The resumption of passenger ferry services between Nagapattinam in India and Kankesanthurai in Sri Lanka and Rameshwaram and Talaimannar, and other mutually agreed places, was alos discussed.

When considering the matter of trade and financial connectivity between the two nations, it was agreed to facilitate investments from India in the divestment of Sri Lankan State-owned Enterprises (SOEs), and also in manufacturing and economic zones in various sectors.

The two leaders also discussed people-to-people connectivity between the two nations, and agreed to establish land connectivity between Sri Lanka and India for developing land access to the ports of Trincomalee and Colombo, which would thereby propel economic growth and prosperity in both countries.

Thus both, Prime Minister Modi and President Wickremesinghe directed the respective officials concerned to expedite the realisation of this shared vision.

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lanka inflation, based on National Consumer Price Index (NCPI), for June 2023 has been recorded at 10.8%, as measured by the year-on-year change.

According to the latest report published by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS), this is a slight drop in comparison to the headline inflation of 22.1% recorded in May 2023.

The contributions to the NCPI on a month-on-month basis (June 2023 as opposed to May 2023) were by the increases in food items of 0.44% and decreases in non-food items of 0.3% respectively.

The DCS report further said that in comparison to June 2022, the recorded inflation for the month of June 2023 was mainly due to the higher price levels prevailed in both food and non-food groups.

However, on a monthly basis, the year-on-year inflation of the food group has dropped to 2.5% in June 2023 from 15.8% in May 2023.

Meanwhile, the year-on-year inflation of the non-food group decreased to 18.3% in June 2023 from 27.6% in May 2023.

The contribution of food commodities to inflation on a year-on-year basis was 1.21% in June 2023 compared to the month of June 2022.

Courtesy Adaderana

India expects Sri Lanka to implement the 13th Amendment and ensure a life of dignity and respect” for its Tamil population, said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (July 21).

Welcoming Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe to India, Mr. Modi informed that both sides have held talks on a number of infrastructure projects that can ensure greater connectivity between the two countries and announced a development assistance package for the Tamils of Indian origin who are marking 200th anniversary of their arrival into the island nation.

President Wickremesinghe expressed his government’s profound appreciation” for the support that India extended to Sri Lanka over the last year which he described as the most challenging period in Sri Lanka’s modern history”.

We took up the issue of reconstruction and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. President Wickremesinghe presented his inclusive point of view to me. We hope that Sri Lanka’s government will fulfil the aspirations of the Tamil people. We expect that Colombo will take forward the process of reconstruction for ensuring equality, justice and peace. We hope that Sri Lanka will fulfil its commitment to implement the 13th Amendment and to hold provincial elections,” said PM Modi delivering his remarks in Hindi. 

PM Modi and President Wickremesinghe spoke at the end of bilateral talks held at the Hyderabad House where the two sides exchanged documents on cooperation in the field of animal husbandry, renewable energy, development projects in Trincomalee district in eastern Sri Lanka, and online payment services between the two sides.

The 13th Amendment is a three-decade-old Sri Lankan legislation that pledged devolution of power to the nine provinces which is yet to be fulfilled. Two days before the arrival of President Wickremesinghe to India, the issue came to the centre stage after the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) categorically rejected” the promise of the present government to implement the amendment sans police powers. The TNA has described the move as another hollow promise” by the Wickremesinghe-led government. 

We hope Sri Lanka’s government will ensure a life of respect and dignity for the Tamil people of the country,” said PM Modi reminding that the community of Indian origin Tamils are marking the 200th anniversary of their arrival in Sri Lanka this year which is also the 75th anniversary of India-Sri Lanka diplomatic ties. 

PM Modi announced a package of INR 75 crores for various development projects in the northern and eastern part of Sri Lanka. PM Modi noted the financial difficulty that Sri Lanka has been facing since last summer when the country was brought to a standstill by an unprecedented energy crisis which was accompanied by high inflation and near depletion of its foreign currency reserve.

PM Modi said security and development of Sri Lanka are connected to each other. We should work together while recognising each other’s security and developmental needs,” said PM Modi. 

The two sides adopted a vision document to enhance maritime, energy and people-to-people connectivity. Mr. Modi announced that a passenger ferry service will be launched soon to connect Tamil Nadu’s Nagapattinam and northern Sri Lanka’s Kankesanthurai. We have decided to fast-track the work of connecting the electricity grids of both countries,” announced PM Modi.

He announced feasibility studies for building a land bridge” as well as for a petroleum pipeline. Mr Modi informed that the two sides discussed the issue of fishermen and urged the matter should be viewed through a humanitarian perspective”.

Conveying his commitment to the development of Sri Lanka, President Wickremesinghe said that his plan will benefit all segments of Sri Lankan society” and added, I have set Sri Lanka firmly on the path of economic reform and that Sri Lanka is already witnessing the stabilising outcomes of these measures and the revival of confidence internally and externally in the progress of the country.”

Mr. Wickremesinghe said he has invited leaders of all political parties to come forward to work towards consensus”. The visiting President said Sri Lanka is focused on an economic growth path. He welcomed the Chennai-Jaffna air connectivity.

Source: The Hindu

Insight By Sunil Kumar

The events of the not too distant past relative to regime change seems to be of little or no  avail relative to Law Enforcement when it comes to the circumstances which forced then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country. Rajapaksa, long implicated in corruption and draconian measures when he was defense secretary, is also purported to have presided over an economic catastrophe amid allegations of widespread corruption with impunity and the Rajapaksas collectively over periods of political power are accused of bringing the country to her knees economically which appears to have been at least partially set right by present President Ranil Wickremasinghe for which there is much to be thankful for.

However a year later a recent media report suggests that  ” despite some superficial changes, there is no sustained improvement in the country’s economic situation as well as law enforcement that impinges many people’s human rights. The acute shortage of fuel that was the most visible feature of the economic crisis has eased. But more than six million people – nearly 30 percent of the population – are food-insecure and require humanitarian assistance and issues of law enforcement excessively applied in certain parts of the country causing some turmoil which suggest careful addressing by the present administration towards restitution relative to accuracy and verification.

A curious reality has presented itself where the new president, Ranil Wickremesinghe is accused of using the police and military to crack down on protests by some disgruntled citizens which brings to bear many unanswered questions about justification. While the previous government had announced a moratorium on the use of the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act, to the contrary the present administration is alleged to be using the law to detain student protest leaders and curb unrest which appears to be gathering storm clouds on the horizon where the now dormant Aragalaya is said to be mulling their next moved based on related realities which if accurate does not augur well and cautionary measures by the Administratioin in all probabilities is well advised.

There are talks being conducted presently about variations to the Prevention of Terrorism Act and its replacement which could be purposeful towards a viable change in the country’s climate towards unrest and perhaps a welcome one.

Furthermore a revised counter terrorism law proposed by the new administration which would have handed sweeping powers to the police, the military, and the president and created a set of new speech-related offenses has been put on hold where the administration was forced to pause the legislation amid widespread outrage, but the news is that authorities are nevertheless using other laws to clamp down on free speech which could once again throw the Nation into unnecessary turmoil considering the recent past.

Democracy and the freedom of expression which go hand in hand cannot be compromised towards the continuity of an Administration which has done well towards the recovery of the country where its leaders need to consider the importance of the related freedoms that have resulted in the restoration of a normal order which Sri Lanka is veritably enjoying today that should never be put into jeopardy based on infertile insecurities if they exist and the power of the armed forces to fortify them.

The media report referred to previously also alludes to ” The government also continuing to pursue abusive policies against minorities, such as ‘land grabs’ in the North and East, targeting Tamil and Muslim-owned land, including places of worship, on a variety of pretexts” which if verifiable and accurate needs to be seriously looked into towards restitution and correction as once again there appears to be inalienable democratic rights of citizens being impeded although these accusations may not necessarily bear accuracy relative to the true policies of the President known to have a compassionate view on such matters and someone who acts in conventional wisdom in a professional manner.

Sri Lanka remains tentatively in an economic and cost of living crisis affecting many people  especially the impoverished and the high crimes and misdemeanors in the country rife and excessive  where until complete resolution the Administration needs to recognize that upholding rights and pursuing accountability for grave crimes too is essential towards addressing the country’s problems albeit strong arm tactics never the solution .

Anup Sinha

The United States is often referred to as the ‘champion of democracy and human rights’. But over the past two decades, as it has transformed into a multicultural society, the United States has faced numerous domestic human rights problems, including institutionalized racism, hate crimes, and extrajudicial killings by criminals and law enforcement.

Numerous statistics show an alarming increase in gun-related violence, including extrajudicial executions and hate crimes, as well as systematic violations of human rights. Hate crimes, extrajudicial killings, and police violence are daily problems in American society. Additionally, the government is failing to introduce or formulate effective policies. There is a pervasive culture of impunity for extrajudicial killings. The ‘champion’ is seen struggling at home lately.

The concerns of the US and its Western allies about global human rights are well known. The United States has recently raised concerns about human rights, extrajudicial killings and political disappearances in Bangladesh. Among these, it is important to keep the news of the US house. A Bangladeshi man was shot dead by miscreants in the Missouri state of United States of America (USA) early Wednesday.  This is not the first-time armed men have attacked the United States.  The incident took place at 3:30am (Bangladesh time) and it is believed that the motive behind the crime was to rob the victim’s car and cash. The deceased was identified as Romim Uddin Ahmed, aged 22, originally from the Mirsarai upazila in Chittagong district.

According to media report, Romim was working at the gas station when a group of miscreants tried to break into his parked car.  When Romim intervened, a gunman targeted him and fired. He was later taken to the hospital by the police, where he was declared dead, he said. The police are currently looking for a 19-year-old suspect named Jatavian Scott in connection with the incident, he added. However, Romim Uddin Ahmed can be represented as a symbol of the sufferers of the US dire law and security situation disorder.  

Earlier in this year, a young man from the Bangladeshi community, Arif Saeed Faisal living abroad was shot dead by the police in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Then, many termed the death of Faisal, the family’s only child, as a ‘racist act by white police officers’.

On May 24 last year, blood was shed once again in the United States. An 18-year-old named Salvador Ramos killed 19 children and two teachers. After the incident at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Border Patrol agents shot and killed the teenager before police arrived. In other words, another extrajudicial killing took place. A gunman has been shot dead by police near a school in Toronto, Canada, shortly after a shooting at an elementary school in Texas. These are examples of extrajudicial executions that have taken place in the United States and Canada. Both countries are known in the world for their advanced human rights laws.

Such incidents often occur in the United States. Ten people were killed in a shooting at a superstore in Buffalo, New York in May last year, the BBC and AFP reported. In 2012, a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, killing 20 children and six others. Last year, there were 26 such shootings in the United States. In 2020, shootings will surpass road accidents as the leading cause of death for children and teenagers.

According to the Washington Post, an average of 1,000 people is killed by the police in the United States every year. In 2022 alone, the number of police killings in the United States was 1,944, which is one of the top 10 countries in the world. In addition, according to the police violence report, the number of people killed by the police in the United States in 2020 is 1 thousand 124. However, only 16 officers have been registered in the case of these murders. The US think tank ‘Mapping Police’ has shown in a report that international human rights law includes obligations to investigate, prosecute and provide reparations in cases of unlawful use of force by state agencies. But from 2013 to 2020, nearly 99 percent of the killings committed by the police were not held accountable.

This US concern about human rights and democracy is certainly positive for the consolidation of human rights of people in third world countries. But is there a chance to see this struggle of the United States in the establishment of democracy and human rights from a neutral point of view? On the opposite side of the headache of the United States in protecting human rights, the United States has its own interests and various strategies to fulfill them.

For decades, the US has killed thousands of civilians in bloody wars in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan to fight terrorism, protect human rights and establish democracy. In addition, there are numerous accusations against the US of white supremacy, gun violence and serious human rights violations.

For years, the United States has waged wars in various countries around the world in the name of fighting terrorism. It has killed more civilians than counter-terrorism, increased the number of refugees, created new factions and continued civil war for years. According to Brown University’s Cost of War Project’s ground-breaking report, the US has spent an estimated eight trillion dollars on the ‘War on Terror’ project, killing more than 900,000 people and displacing millions. The enormous burden imposed on people’s lives and economy has led to the creation of new militant organizations every year, in addition to the reorganization of various armed organizations, including Al-Qaeda, Islamic State, Taliban, instead of eradicating terrorism. In the name of national security and the war on terror, the United States has spread a web of global human rights abuses for decades.

The United States continues to kill suspected terrorists in these countries, including Yemen and Somalia, many of them through drone strikes. On September 30, 2011, an Obama-ordered drone strike in Yemen killed radical religious leader and al-Qaeda propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki. The man was the first US citizen to be the victim of ‘target killing’ in US drone strikes. That day the man was ‘extrajudicially killed’ in defiance of all constitutional processes. At least 10 civilians, including women and children, were killed in a drone attack in Kabul in September 2021. From 2010 to 2020, drone strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia have killed at least 16,000 people, including more than 2,000 civilians.

Racial and racial discrimination is an inherent feature of American society. Black citizens in the country have been victims of terrible discrimination for a long time. Black African Americans are killed by police at more than twice the rate of white Americans, according to the Washington Post. However, the number of blacks in the United States is less than 14 percent of the total population. The United Nations cited it as an ‘example of slavery and racial segregation’.

The United States has always been vocal about free press and freedom of expression. But everyone knows about the cruel fate of Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks in the country. The US crackdown on Assange has hampered free journalism and the free flow of information there.

The killing of Bangladeshi Ramim and Faisal by police after the suffocation of black man George Floyd—sets a precedent for extrajudicial killings and human rights violations in the United States. The time has come for the United States to focus on improving its own internal law and order rather than worrying about the protection of democracy and human rights in other countries.

Any extrajudicial execution is wrong. Such extrajudicial killings occur in many countries. But the US lacks the courage to take such steps there. It is right to argue that countries like the US or Canada should now examine themselves in the light of recent events. It is past time to change the lens through which they see the human rights situation in Bangladesh. When the United States itself violates human rights, it loses its ability to supervise others in the same way.

Anup Sinha is a researcher and freelance columnist specializing in South Asian Affairs with a particular focus on the Rohingya issue, India-Bangladesh relations, water sharing, etc. He has an MSS degree in International Relations from the University of Dhaka.

Pathik Hasan  Dhaka based security and strategic affairs analyst

Foreign diplomats become active when the election time approaches. Their activity becomes like a political party. While the ruling party protested this breach of etiquette, the opposition parties rightly took their word for it. Sometimes prompting them to be more active. They are also seen going to the embassy and paying some things.

Analysts say that according to the Vienna Convention friendly relations are developed between different countries by following certain rules. which is universal. But various influential countries ignore these rules. The activities of the diplomats of these countries involve interference in the internal affairs of a country. It is a question to the activist diplomats – people are being killed in America every now and then. Do they ever make statements? Has the United Nations ever issued a statement? Why do people die in America? A Bangladeshi boy named Faisal was killed in Cambridge, did they say how far the boy’s investigation has gone? Or have the ambassadors teamed up to make a statement? Why don’t you ask them?’

Diplomats in Bangladesh are not paying attention to the Vienna Convention

The activities being carried out by the diplomats of different countries in Bangladesh do not fall under the Vienna Convention. Their activities are not within the Vienna Convention. They do not follow any convention in their activities in Bangladesh. There is an embassy of Bangladesh where the movement is going on in France. But they did not make any statement. I don’t understand one thing, how many people have lost their lives, how many people have been arrested, what is the dire situation, there is no statement from any embassy. We have never made any statement on their internal affairs. Even the US and European embassies have not made any statement on the French incident.

But why this is happening in the case of Bangladesh, we dance on their (foreign diplomats) heads. It is our fault that they dare to do these things. for us We have destroyed our own self-respect. They have no personality. Politicians have destroyed the dignity of our country. We felt extremely bad after seeing these things and “How dare they do these things?” They make statements as if our country runs under them. Today, if we were a strong country like the United States, they would not have dared to do these things. The activities of foreign diplomats in Bangladesh are clearly a violation of the Vienna Convention. Diplomats have no place for activism. In any country in the world, they cannot and do not use it like this. Maybe they do in Africa, I don’t know for sure. Earlier they colonized there, plundered. White Europeans looted Africa. Even if they cannot loot now, they want to show that they are better than us. what foreign diplomats are doing or saying here, they should not. We are very cautious and DIPLOMATS have not taken inconsideration OF MORAL OBLIGATION OF MAINTING THE POLICY oof ‘noninterference’ And this is the primary mistake. They should not be allowed to do this.

What the Vienna Convention says

But not only the last election, but foreign diplomats are seen to be active when there is a political crisis in Bangladesh. The government party did not pay much attention to these activities. But the opposition has always been supportive. Section 1 of Article 41 of the Vienna Convention states that persons who enjoy diplomatic status and privileges in another country shall be bound by the laws and policies of that country. Besides, they cannot interfere in any internal affairs of that country.

This section has two more sub-sections. For example, it is stated in subsection number two of the article, all types of office work of diplomats, which the sending country will assign to the diplomatic mission, must be done through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the receiving country or related ministries. And in subsection number three, diplomats cannot use the premises of their mission office for any purpose not related to their activities. The agreement further states that diplomatic relations shall be based on mutual consent between the countries. In addition, one of the most important clauses of the Vienna Convention, or Article 9, states that any country can declare a diplomat of another country employed in that country as ‘persona non grata’ or inadmissible without giving any reason. The diplomat can be declared inadmissible before he reaches the country concerned. Any person serving in a country’s diplomatic mission, including the head of that mission, can be declared inadmissible. In this case, the sending country will either dismiss or withdraw the appointed diplomat. If the country fails to withdraw its diplomat in due time, the receiving country can deny the diplomat its special status and security.

Romim Uddin Ahmed and Faisal’s assassination and the politics of human rights

In the early hours of Wednesday, criminals in the Missouri state of the United States of America (USA) shot and killed Romim Uddin Ahmed, a Bangladeshi man. On December 4, Bangladeshi student Syed Faisal Arif was shot dead by the police in Boston, USA. In this incident, new questions have been raised about the country’s human rights situation. In the country which is concerned about the human rights of different countries of the world, and imposes various restrictions as a punishment, innocent people are being killed by the police in that country; But there is no trial for him. Every year in the United States, an average of 1,000 people lose their lives at the hands of the police.” This is Washington Post news, not mine. So, when their own country is in such a situation, how can they say that Bangladesh does not have human rights. why the number of police brutality in Bangladesh is so high, it is not even close to it. Just one or two makes a big stir. But every year in the United States, thousands of people are victims of gun violence. because there are not so many barriers to obtaining a gun permit in the US, people are easily killed there. Recently, a six-year-old child shot and killed a teacher. 98.1 percent of those killed by the police in the country do not face any trial. No one has to stand in court for this. Apart from the number of people who are dying on average, thousands of people are being murdered and murdered.

‘Would the United States allow meddling in internal affairs?’

No country in the world is completely accurate. But will the United States allow diplomats from other countries to comment on their internal affairs?’. diplomats are able to speak because of this; As they are being given a platform. They are holding a press conference of their own accord, not like that. They are speaking because they are given the opportunity. It may also be that the politics of this division serves their interests. the opposition party also went to the elections with the blessings of foreigners. So, their interference has increased unexpectedly. We saw in 2018 when Barnicutt said, BNP should participate in elections without a caretaker government; Then BNP went to the election. The issue of political fuel in the unethical speech of the diplomats cannot be completely ruled out. But a diplomat has to carry out his activities outside the country according to the Vienna Convention even if he has political motivation. We invite them to different places, when they meet the leaders of the government and opposition parties, it is also promoted. Our people are more interested in this campaign than diplomats. For these reasons, we ourselves cannot avoid responsibility. when diplomats work in different countries, they work silently. when they (diplomats) meet a political leader in different countries, it is not publicized. Because it is their routine work. But we bring them into the campaign for our own sake. when ambassadors meet political leaders in India, there is no news. we think that diplomats should comment more consciously when there are questions about the internal affairs of other countries.