By Ruwan Rajapakse Courtesy The Island

July 2, 2019, 9:00 pm

“I do not believe that any of the hundreds of executions I carried out in any way acted as a deterrent against murder.” – Albert Pierrepoint, Hangman, UK (1931-1956)

After a few false starts, the incumbent President of Sri Lanka seems to have acted upon his well-known belief in the utility of Capital Punishment [1]. This institutionalised crime is now due to take place in our land of ahimsa, after a hiatus of 43 years. Whether The President sprang into action because of the purported rise in drug trafficking, as he publicly espouses, or whether it was an attempt at gaining ignoble popularity prior the upcoming elections (Capital Punishment is quite a popular “solution” to serious crime in some ignorant quarters of Sri Lanka [2]), is not our concern here. Our purpose here is to discuss the value of Capital Punishment as a social instrument for mitigating the spread of serious crime, and examine its moral underpinning.

There are three popular arguments in favor of Capital Punishment:

1. It allows society to punish a wrongdoer, thereby balancing “the celestial scales of justice”.

2. It serves as a deterrent for persons who may be contemplating violent or serious crimes.

3. It serves as a redress for the victims of violent or serious crimes.

A mere century and a half ago, judicial experts and the intellectual community at large were in favour of leveraging Capital Punishment. Even that great rationalist luminary of the 19th Century, John Stuart Mill, famously argued in parliament in favor of capital punishment, albeit for the most extreme of cases: “…when the attendant circumstances suggest no palliation of the guilt, no hope that the culprit may even yet not be unworthy to live among mankind, nothing to make it probable that the crime was an exception to his general character rather than a consequence of it, then I confess it appears to me that to deprive the criminal of the life of which he has proved himself to be unworthy, solemnly to blot him out from the fellowship of mankind and from the catalogue of the living is most appropriate.” [3]

However, times have changed since the days of JS Mill. We saw two entire new branches of science emerge, which has something definitive to say about the efficacy of Capital Punishment; namely psychology and sociology.

We know today that argument #2 (i.e. Capital Punishment is a deterrent) is empirically false [4] [5] [6] [7] [8], and we know that arguments #1 (“punishment”) & #3 (“redress”) are a mere window dressing of a primitive, Darwinian instinct that was useful in stone-age tribal societies. Contrary to this vengeful instinct, many a moral philosopher, both ancient [9] and modern [10], has rejected capital punishment, and the use of retribution as a solace for victims, as an uncivilized way of conducting human affairs.

Albert Camus, that outstanding French libertarian and writer, highlighted the concern pointedly:

“But what is capital punishment if not the most premeditated of murders, to which no criminal act, no matter how calculated, can be compared? If there were to be a real equivalence, the death penalty would have to be pronounced upon a criminal who had forewarned his victim of the very moment he would put him to a horrible death, and who, from that time on, had kept him confined at his own discretion for a period of months. It is not in private life that one meets such monsters”.

The utopian human being with perfect mannerisms and an unfailing character is an imaginary socio-psychological construct, a conceptual role-model for children. The uneasy truth is that human intent is fickle, governed by a nervous system whose structure and function is fraught with aberrations, which cannot be eliminated through nurture alone. A psychopathic personality, for example, could be the direct consequence of a poor endowment of mirror neurons, as a result of generic mutations that attenuate empathy from birth [11] [12] [13]. Those with such subtle birth “defects”, no matter how peaceable their childhood influences may have been, may be saddled with a fundamental inability to empathize with other living creatures. They may not even be able to empathize with themselves, in a self-reflective manner. Not being able to feel for someone (or even for one’s own self) makes it easy for one to cause injury or distress to others. When children with such genetic predispositions for low empathy experience trauma in early childhood, psychopathy and “Cluster-B” personality disorders emerge.

An Iowa Supreme Court Justice made this observation as far back as 1840:

“Crime indicates a diseased mind in the same manner that sickness and pain do a diseased body. And as in the one case we provide hospitals for the treatment of severe and contagious diseases, so in the other, prisons and asylums should be provided for similar reasons.”

If society ends up killing every such person who yields to their natural instinct (to strike, rape or unscrupulously exploit), rather than finding ways to curb or neutralize their behavior, we then get into a fascinatingly diabolical downward spiral. The more we kill those who lack empathy, in order to better the lives of those who have it, the more we lower the empathy of the empathetic. We know that a taste for judicial killing brutalizes society [14], as was the case in Victorian England, where public hanging made life cheap, and people more and more violent. We find such a brutal society today in Saudi Arabia, where domestic workers are abused [15], and where murder and sex crimes are rampant. The executioner hacks away to no avail.

That is precisely why more enlightened nations, including Sri Lanka, aspire to practice Restorative or Preventative Justice [16].

We should also not make any mistake on the legitimacy of the actual act; Capital Punishment is a premeditated violent crime committed by the state, according to modern jurisprudence. It is not an act of self-defence (as Camus and others have clearly pointed out). Perpetrators are often executed years after their bad acts were committed, and by that time their attitudes have changed dramatically for the better, or they at least have been neutralized as a damaging force. There are ample such cases widely publicized in the media [17].

There probably are a dozen other reasons [18] for permanently abolishing capital punishment and resorting to a lengthy prison sentence, ranging from the danger of punishing the innocent, to the cost of the entire procedure outweighing the cost of a life sentence. To quote Jeffrey A. Fagan, Professor of Law at Colombia Law School:

“As states across the country adopt reforms to reduce the pandemic of errors in capital punishment, we wonder whether such necessary and admirable efforts to avoid error and the horror of the execution of the innocent won’t—after many hundreds of millions of dollars of trying—burden the country with a death penalty that will be ineffective, unreasonably expensive, and politically corrosive to the broader search for justice.” There is one very special reason why Sri Lanka should not take this extreme measure. Sri Lanka is the Asian poster child for a country operating a genuinely restorative system of justice, supposedly drawing inspiration from the compassionate philosophy of Gautama Buddha [19]. Our restorative system of justice serves as a beacon for sociocultural progress, in comparison with our neighboring countries. It is disappointing to see our President succumb to a belief in Capital Punishment, rather than stand upright and explain to people the hard truth that we cannot win the war against drugs, crimes or deviance, through mere attrition.

Advocates of Capital Punishment (including our President) often hide behind the fact that the USA and China leverage it. Let us quote that preeminent American moral philosopher Sam Harris, who refutes the pride in this assertion:

“Especially in the United States, is a barbaric system of imprisonment—to say nothing of capital punishment—that should make all citizens ashamed.”

Our own experts are unequivocal on the matter. Dr. L.B. L. De Alwis, ex-Chief JMO, had published an excellent analysis of the Lankan situation [20] in The Sri Lanka Journal of Forensic Medicine, Dec-2011, where he strikes at the core of the problem, along with a superb background analysis. Let us quote.

“In my opinion it is not the Non-implementation of the death penalty that has contributed to the rise of grave crime, especially murder, in Sri Lanka, but the release of murderers, rapists, drug barons, extortionists, highway robbers etc. sentenced to death or to long term rigorous imprisonment by the Judiciary, but later released by the executive in the shortest possible time for petty political advantage”.

Yasantha Kodagoda and other Lankan legal luminaries have held similar views [21] over the years.

It’s simply awful when drug barons rule the roost, or when terrible crimes happen. Our hearts go out to the victims and their kin, and our minds scream for justice. The state owes four things to society in instances of serious crime:

• Dispense justice swiftly and accurately, where the perpetrators are correctly identified, tried fairly and sentenced appropriately.

• Provide the next of kin of the victims with psychological counseling and support, to the utmost degree possible.

• Learn lessons from the crime and share them for the broader education of the general public.

• Firmly discourage lawlessness and mob-justice, which would interfere with criminal investigations.

The third point above is important and not to be underestimated in its value. Education, awareness and vigilance are the real weapons against serious crimes. Profiling of violent or deviant persons, cautioning parents and children about how to stay safe in ungated, low-income neighborhoods where dangers lurk, enforcing better policing etc. are all steps to be facilitated by the state. Furthermore, in counterpoint to The President’s current reasoning, a “war on drugs” is arguably a futile one [22]. There is ample expert opinion which shows that drug abuse is best mitigated through education, counseling, better parenting and social awareness. Of course we must proactively dismantle drug smuggling operations and imprison heavy traffickers for life. But laws alone are insufficient. We must “raise consciousnesses” against the use, manufacture and import of hard drugs, like we did against cigarets, and like we do for the accommodation of multiple sexualities. We must have a social awakening that makes the use of hard drugs unfashionable, and shun traffickers, not reward them (some of the largest importers were linked to Lankan politicians in the recent past [23]).

Poor parenting (and associated personality disorders in children) is not to be underestimated as a causal factor for the consumption of hard drugs. Lack of self-confidence in teenagers due to the indifference, over-control or violence of parents, is still fairly commonplace in Sri Lanka, even amongst upper middle income and wealthy homes. Such teenagers and young adults are far more susceptible to easy escape routs, like drugs, gangs or cults. We must also differentiate between hard drugs and marijuana. Experts tell us that the latter is less addictive and much less damaging to the body than alcohol or tobacco [24], and could reasonably be consumed in a safe form by psychologically balanced adults, to enjoy its soothing or psychedelic properties. Understanding this fact would help to focus the war, and not waste police resources and public money.

What the state does not owe society is a reactionary, “quick fix”, which would prejudice or pervert the broader course of justice in our country, and create an unhealthy punitive culture amongst our children. We leave the reader with these two quotes:

“I have never heard a murderer say they thought about the death penalty as a consequence of their actions prior to committing their crimes.” – Gregory Ruff, police lieutenant in Kansas

“I do not believe that any of the hundreds of executions I carried out in any way acted as a deterrent against murder.” – Albert Pierrepoint, Hangman, UK (1931-1956)

References:

1. President Sirisena on Capital Punishment (listen to the clapping as he expresses his personal approval): http://www.adaderana.lk/news/32381/capital-punishment-if-parliament-approves-president

2. Political motivation reported behind Sirisena’s move on reintroducing Capital Punishment: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48812576

3. Mill on Capital Punishment: http://ethics.sandiego.edu/books/Mill/Punishment/

4. Capital Punishment: Deterrent Effects & Capital Costs: https://www.law.columbia.edu/law_school/communications/reports/summer06/capitalpunish 5. 88% of criminologists do not believe the death penalty is an effective deterrent: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/study-88-criminologists-do-not-believe-death-penalty-effective-deterrent

6. The Death Penalty and Deterrence: http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/death-penalty/us-death-penalty-facts/the-death-penalty-and-deterrence

7. The death penalty is ineffective and indefensible: http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2014/09/29/the-death-penalty-is-ineffective-and-indefensible

8. Failure to Deter Crime: http://nccadp.org/issues/deterrence/

9. Buddhism on Capital Punishment: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/buddhistethics/capitalpunishment.shtml

10. Sam Harris on capital punishment: “The result, especially in the United States, is a barbaric system of imprisonment—to say nothing of capital punishment—that should make all citizens ashamed”. http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/reflections-on-free-will

11. Psychopathic criminals have empathy switch: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-23431793

12. Do Mirror Neurons Give Us Empathy? http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/do_mirror_neurons_give_empathy

13. How Empathy Can Be a Luxury: http://bengraves.hubpages.com/hub/Psychopaths-and-Mirror-Neurons-How-Empathy-can-be-Absent

14. Brutalizing society: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/capitalpunishment/against_1.shtml

15. GCC declares war on domestic violence: http://www.arabnews.com/featured/news/657236

16. Restorative Justice: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restorative_justice

17. The case of Karla Faye Tucker: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karla_Faye_Tucker

18. 13 Reasons to Oppose the Death Penalty: http://www.oadp.org/facts/13-reasons

19. Buddhism and capital punishment: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/buddhistethics/capitalpunishment.shtml

20. DEATH PENALTY versus LIFE IMPRISONMENT: http://www.pdn.ac.lk/med/departments/forensic/Vol2No2.pdf

21. Death penalty not the answer, expediting dispensation of justice is: http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=69674

22. The “War on Drugs” is lost: https://samharris.org/a-war-well-lost/

23. Political links to Drug Traffickers: http://www.ft.lk/article/255408/At-sea-over-drugs- 24. Alcohol vs Cannabis: https://www.livescience.com/61786-marijuana-versus-alcohol-brain.html

N. A. DE S. AMARATUNGA Courtesy The Island

There is a perceived threat of a major intrusion into the country’s sovereignty and the country being turned into a military base for the US, as part of its strategy for dominance in the Indian Ocean. Several agreements with the US and supportive parliamentary acts are said to be in the pipeline hidden from the public eye. The proposed agreements are (1) Status of Forces Agreement, (2) Acquisition and Cross Service Agreement and (3) Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact. The first would enable the US to deploy their armed forces in any part of our country with the freedom of not coming under the law of the country. The second envisages the building of an economic corridor from Colombo to Trincomalee and the third agreement would establish a corporation to utilize the land that comes under the economic corridor. Going hand in hand with these agreements are the following proposed parliamentary acts; the Land Special Provisions Act and the State Land Bank Act. These acts of parliament would facilitate acquisition of land by foreign investors and the formation of corporations for the development of these lands.

Obviously, the primary interest of the US is in the military sphere, and the secondary interest is to tighten the grip it has on the country with a strong economic involvement making us dependent on them. Our land would be made available to their armed forces and also to their investors. The economic corridor could eventually be American owned and would connect the two ports also, Colombo and Trincomalee for military and economic purposes. The US and also our prime minister seem to be in a great hurry to get our government to enter into these agreements as there is an election around. The US has indicated that they want future governments to honour these agreements, probably aiming to take an insurance against a possible defeat of this government at the forthcoming elections. The legality of these agreements and their future validity have to be seriously looked at in relation to the relative powers of the executive and the legislature, given their far reaching and obvious adverse impact on Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and land ownership.

The PM seems to be under obligation to the US for helping him to come to power and would not attempt to stop them from doing what they want. The President, going by his past performance, though he had raised objections, cannot be relied upon to demonstrate a firm and consistent stand on these vital issues. His handling of the bond scam, Hambantota Port take over, Easter Sunday attacks, and his latest position on the 19th Amendment are just a few glaring instances characteristic of a dithering nature. Prime Minister, on the other hand, apart from his apparent hurry to get it over with, has a blemished past regarding inimical agreements. The infamous Peace Agreement drafted by Erich Solheim that he signed in 2002 comes to mind. At that time there was an executive president elected by the people with full powers. All international and also national agreements have to be signed by the person who represents the people’s sovereignty. There was no provision in the 1978 Constitution for delegation of authority to sanction agreements. Yet the PM without consulting the president signed the Peace Agreement which gave parity of status to the LTTE vis-a-vis the government. The legality of PM signing the Peace Agreement in 2002 is, therefore, questionable.

Thus, at a crucial time of existential importance we are between the devil and the deep blue sea with a vulture hovering above. The President tends to waver and the PM has a tendency to act in breach of the Constitution. The PM in 2002 was doing what the west asked him to do and he is doing the same in 2019. The President in 2002 was constitutionally more powerful than the incumbent in 2019 and was able to get rid of the government. The present president hasn’t got that power as was shown in October 2018. Despite the 19th Amendment, the president may have the necessary powers to abrogate agreements entered into without his approval, but whether he would do it may depend on the factors that influence his political future and his final decision in that regard. If he aligns with the pro-US camp he may go along with the decision to enter into the agreements and, on the other hand, if he returns to the national camp he may not approve the signing of the agreements. Notwithstanding these considerations the PM, like in the past and in secret, may sign the agreement. And as it was in 2002 the agreements would be deemed to have been duly entered into and implementation may proceed by the use of force if necessary as hinted by the US. Stakes are high for both the PM and the US. Only hope is the dissenting voice within the UNP against these agreements, which at present is only a whimper.

For the US, Sri Lanka has assumed greater geopolitical importance in view of the proposed Chinese Belt and Road Initiative, and the vital role Sri Lanka may be called upon to play in that project. US Secre tary of State has stated in no uncertain terms that they would not hesitate to militarily intervene to protect their interests anywhere in the world, including sea routes for trade. Further their global economic policy is to make countries dependent on them rather than improve the quality of life in those countries. Thus they want to get a grip on Sri Lanka’s economy and make us dependent on them, which would make it easy to convert Sri Lanka into a US military base for all practical purposes. The latter is crucial for them for they may soon lose the right to have their base in Diego Garcia.

The proposed economic corridor from Colombo to Trincomalee envisages the construction of five metropolitan centres connected by super highways covering several districts, and involving a large swath of land between the two cities. All activities in this corridor will be controlled by the US owned corporations. The above mentioned parliamentary acts relating to land will provide for the acquisition of land for this purpose. US armed forces will have the freedom of movement anywhere in the country and will have diplomatic immunity. Therefore, what is proposed is virtually a military take over and total control of the economy, the one facilitating the other.

What is important to the citizens of Sri Lanka, at a time when an election is looming, is the question whether we have the political leadership needed to resist the pressure applied by the US. Today the President is not very strong either constitutionally or politically. His political future is uncertain and he is trying hard to find a foothold to launch his next move aimed at salvaging some political space. PM desperately needs US assistance to remain in power. Large scale foreign involvement in the forthcoming elections is a distinct possibility; it happened at the last election and would happen with greater force at the coming elections. Neither the US nor China would like to be mere observers and leave it to our people to decide on their future rulers, they both have huge investments in areas of geopolitical importance. China has the Hambantota Port strategically positioned in relation to its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, and the US and India would like to prevent its progress. India may acquire Mattala Airport and it too would be interested in our elections. Our people who have a reputation for resisting foreign invasions will have to unite, forget their political affiliations and rise up against foreign hegemony, their local lackeys, and decide on their future. Our very existence as a free and independent nation would depend on their decision.

By Shamindra Ferdinando Courtesy The Island

SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekera, MP, speaking on behalf of President Maithripala Sirisena, said yesterday that a final decision on the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the US should be delayed till the conclusion of the 2019 presidential election.

Similarly, the proposed Millennium Challenge Corporation (MMC) agreement, too, should be delayed till after the next presidential election. Jayasekera said.

MP Jayasekera said so in response to a query raised by The Island at the weekly media briefing at SLFP Headquarters on T. B. Jayah Mawatha.

The Island sought the SLFP’s reaction to recent US Embassy statement that the US expected whoever wins the next presidential election to honour agreements entered into by the two countries.

MP Jayasekera said that SOFA and MCC could be put on hold though Sri Lanka was now duty bound to follow ACSA (Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement).

The SLFPer said that President Sirisena had declared he wouldn’t approve SOFA and MCC under any circumstances.

Jayasekera dealt with several issues, including the ongoing controversy over President Sirisena’s decision to resume judicial executions, ACSA, SOFA and MCC, an agreement between Parliament and the US, the SLFP’s stand on the No Confidence Motion (NCM) moved by the government and President Sirisena’s candidature at 2019 presidential poll.

The MP faulted the UNP for a number agreements successive UNP administrations had entered into such as Voice of America (VOA) station. He recalled the circumstances under which in Feb 2001 the UNP had entered into a Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) with the LTTE and co-sponsored Geneva Resolution against the country in Oct 2015. On both occasions Presidents weren’t consulted, MP Jayasekera said.

Commenting on Sri Lanka entering into ACSA in March 2007 during the Rajapaksa administration and the current dispensation extending an expanded version of it recently, MP Jayasekera claimed that President Sirisena wasn’t briefed of the ACSA.

The Island sought an explanation as to why accusations were directed at the UNP with regard to ACSA because it was President Sirisena, in his capacity as the Defence Minister who placed agreement on ACSA before the cabinet and later signed by the then Defence Secretary Kapila Waidyaratne, PC.

Jayasekera said that ACSA hadn’t been discussed at the Cabinet and in Parliament. Asked whether the ACSA had been subjected to scrutiny by relevant Parliamentary Sectoral Oversight Committees (SOC), MP Jayasekera said that SOC system hadn’t been in operation at that time.

The finalisation of ACSA took place over a year before President Sirisena’s UPFA quit the government. However, he is the head of the government.

The Island pointed out that the signing of the Sri Lanka Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA) had taken place in Colombo in January 2018 in President Sirisena’s presence. When he was askedwhether President would inquire into the circumstances under which ACSA was entered into, MP Jayasekera said that proposed SOFA was far more dangerous than ACSA. He alleged that the government had not followed specific advice given by President Sirisena in respect of SLSFTA.

When the media pointed out how Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera had recently defended ACSA, SOFA and MCC, Jayasekera said that Sri Lanka shouldn’t join any particular camp.

The MP added that the US push for military agreements with Sri Lanka should be examined against the backdrop of United Nations highest court – International Court of Justice ruling the occupation of Chagos Islands illegal and that it be handed back to Mauritius ‘as rapidly as possible.’Chagos Islands are home to strategic US military base of Diego Garcia, MP Jayasekera pointed out. The SLFPer queried whether the US was looking for alternative bases for re-deployment of forces in case Chargos Islands were returned to Mauritius in accordance with the UN ruling.

Courtesy breitbart

Attorney General Dappula De Livera of Sri Lanka ordered the arrests of the nation’s former defense minister and police chief Tuesday on charges of gross negligence in relation to the Islamic State attack on Christian churches and hotels on Easter Sunday.

De Livera has suggested on Monday that the two former officials, former Defense Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara may also be guilty of crimes against humanity – an international crime – for having information suggesting that jihadists were planning a series of terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka shortly before the Easter attacks and not acting on it.

The attacks killed over 250 people, including many children. Witnesses say the suicide bombers, who targeted three hotels serving Easter brunch and three churches, appeared to attempt to detonate as close to as many children as possible.

The Islamic State took credit for the attacks and police identified an imam named Zahran Hashim, head of the fundamentalist National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ) Muslim group, as the mastermind of the attacks. Shortly after police identified Hashim, federal officials began accusing each other of having intelligence that may have prevented the attacks.

President Maithripala Sirisena ordered Fernando and Jayasundara to resign after a letter surfaced from Indian intelligence agents warning of an attack on Easter. Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, and other senior officials claimed that intelligence leaders did not inform them of the warnings.

In a dramatic 24 hours for the country, Fernando and Jayasundara both checked into a Colombo hospital following De Livera’s comments on Monday. Police entered the hospital and arrested them despite their alleged medical issues.

Sri Lanka’s Daily Mirror reported Tuesday that De Livera had instructed the current acting IGP to arrest the two men last week on charges of gross criminal negligence and carelessness and bring them to magistrate court. After the AGP refused to act, De Livera reportedly sent him a letter Monday asking why he had not yet arrested the two former officials.

On Tuesday morning, the Colombo Telegraph reported that Fernando and Jayasundara both checked into the Colombo National Hospital complaining of heart problems, settling into the hospital’s cardiac unit. The newspaper did not offer details on what symptoms the men claimed to present or any medical details of their check-in, nor if they had a prior history of cardiovascular disease. Sri Lanka’s New First outlet contradicted this report, stating that only Fernando checked in at the Colombo hospital, while Jayasundara visited the Narahenpita Police Hospital.

The Telegraph reported that the two men are facing charges of murder and could face death penalty and up to 52 years in jail as a result of the charges brought against them.”

It remains unclear if De Livera will pursue prosecution against the men for crimes against humanity at the international level, which typically occurs at the International Criminal Court at the Hague. De Livera expressed an interest in prosecuting them for these crimes on Monday.

The two officials should be brought before a magistrate for their criminal negligence to prevent the April 21 attacks,” de Livera said in the letter sent to the interim IGP last week. Their negligence amounts to what is known under international law to be grave crimes against humanity.”

The bombings, which killed over 250 and injured more than 500, occurred amid a bitter political struggle between President Sirisena and PM Wickremesinghe. Almost immediately after the bombings, Wickremesinghe’s cabinet began accusing Sirisena of blocking them out of key intelligence meetings, where officials had reason to know about the impending attacks and could have acted to stop them.

Some intelligence officers were aware of this incidence,” Minister of Telecommunications, Foreign Employment & Sports Harin Fernando wrote on Twitter, publishing photos of documents detailing the potential of a jihadist attack on Easter.

Sirisena claimed that his officials left him in the dark, as well, and accused Hemasiri Fernando and Jayasundara in particular of withholding the information. Shortly before his forced resignation, Fernando claimed that, even if he did know the attack was coming, there was nothing he could do about it.

It was quite impossible to protect a large number of Churches last Sunday despite receiving prior information on these attacks,” Fernando claimed. The hotels, meanwhile, are conducting private businesses. They have to ensure their own security. Usually the star class hotels employ top military personnel in their security divisions. Hence, they are more than capable of ensuring their own protection.”

Colombo’s swift dispatching of security to mosques following the attacks – to protect against mob raids by the angry Buddhist majority – appeared to contradict Fernando’s statement that Sri Lanka’s government could not protect houses of worship from impending attack.

State Intelligence Service (SIS) head Sisira Mendis confirmed to the nation’s legislature at a hearing on the ISIS bombings in May that some intelligence agents were aware of the plot against Christians and that they took no action to prevent it. He said he received a letter from a foreign intelligence service warning of an attack on Easter.

I had placed the letter I received on April 7 in front of me when I sat for the meeting. Since it was not brought up, when the meeting was about to close, I brought it up. I informed them that the gravity of this information can only be gauged by SIS Director,” he said, but the threat was never a main point for discussion.”

Courtesy Adaderana

A great ‘seven-fold crisis’ has sprung up within the United National Party (UNP) over the party’s candidate for the Presidential elections, stated United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MP Bandula Gunawardane.

He mentioned this addressing a press conference held in Colombo today (02).

Speaking on the agreement with the United States of America, he said that under this agreement the US Army can enter and leave the country without VISA.

He also said that this would allow US troops to walk into any place in the country in uniform.

Gunawardane further said that the US can import and export war equipment and they will not be inspected at the Customs.

Further, if a US Army personnel commits a crime while in the country, he cannot be brought to courts in Sri Lanka, he added.

Courtesy Adaderana

UPDATE: (7.25 p.m.) – Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara has also been remanded until tomorrow (03).

Colombo Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne visited the Police Chief at the Narahenpita Police Hospital, a short while ago, and ordered that he be placed in remand custody until tomorrow.

---

Former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando has been remanded until tomorrow (03) by the Colombo Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne.

The magistrate visited the former Defence Secretary, who was being treated at the Colombo National Hospital, this evening and ordered that he be remanded.

Fernando was taken into custody by a team of CID officers who visited the hospital earlier today. He continued to remain at the hospital under the CIDs custody.

Meanwhile IGP Pujith Jayasundara was also arrested by the CID while receiving treatment at the Police Hospital today (2).

The former Defence Secretary and the Police Chief were summoned to appear before the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) today, however they were both admitted to hospital this morning.

Fernando was admitted to the Coronary-Care Unit (CCU) at the General Hospital Colombo while the IGP was admitted to the Police Hospital in Narahenpita.

Attorney General Dappula de Livera yesterday wrote to the acting police chief urging him to bring charges against his predecessor, IGP Pujith Jayasundara, and the former defence secretary, Hemasiri Fernando.

There is sufficient information to prove negligence of official duties … and criminal negligence. It is also considered a grave crime against humanity under international law,” Livera said in the letter.

The Attorney General had further instructed the Acting IGP to produce the duo before courts.

For lesser charges of negligence leading to damage of property, the two officials could face up to 52 years in prison, according to the AFP news agency.

Sri Lanka is not just a country. It has a very long history & heritage that majority of citizens wish to preserve. The constitution clearly enshrines the Land & Resources as belonging to the People and for future progeny. A government is only custodian of the land & resources. Essentially this denies any Government arbitrarily taking decisions that would affect the clearly stated premise that the land & resources belong to not only the living citizens but to future citizens too. 83% of land is vested in the State for the people means that no law can be changed to deceitfully enable foreigners to buy State land being privatized via hurriedly rushed Bills prepared by foreigners. When laws that prevented foreigners from owning/buying land are being relaxed to enable foreigners and foreign companies to buy land while simultaneously 83% of state owned land is being privatized – it clearly showcases the hidden intent. Why are lawyers not taking these fundamental facts to legally address the illegalities taking place?

Let us connect the dots and understand the dangers we are today faced with following the Land Special Provisions Act being tabled in Parliament formulated by foreigners and question why they should be so interested to take so much trouble to formulate land laws for our people’s benefit unless there’s a catch – which is what we need to find out by connecting the dots to all the new changes being made to our statutes by arm twisting our corrupt politicians to sign the seal of approval.

Land Special Provisions Act

Includes virtually all elements that is differently worded in past Acts related to land. The only new element in this Act is the PROVISION TO SELL LAND which did not exist in earlier Acts.

Moreover, the new Act carries various strings & regulations that would adversely affect poor farmers leaving them in worse situation than they are in now and with no one to turn to for relief – as the Act removes land powers from the Centre and the President.

This is the most dangerous aspect of the new Land Act.

Why is this Land Special Provisions Act only valid for 7 years – is the plan to acquire all land within this stipulated period?

The present land Act is going to throw to the dustbin the following existing laws/Acts

• Land Acquisition Act 1950
• Prescription Ordinance 1871 – already repealed
• Land Reform Law 1972
• Land Grants Act 1979
• State Lands Act 1979
• State Lands Ordinance 1947
• Land Development Ordinance 1935
• Partition Law 1977 – already repealed

Already co-ownership has been nullified by 1998 Land Act.

State Land Privatized means, Personal Laws apply – ETHNIC LAWS are a violation of the Constitution

When 83% of state land becomes privatized it means ‘personal laws’ apply – in other words Thesavalamai and Muslim Laws enables or restricts sale to others which means non-Tamil/non-Muslim owned lands will be up for sale – this is a fundamental right violation of Sinhalese and a discrimination to them and violation of the Constitution giving equal rights to all citizens. Why are politicians silent on this key aspect?

Who are the people deciding – a whole list of Secretaries are named – is this an opportunity for more people like the Speakers international advisor to betray the nation for foreign interests?

Is the new Act a Trojan horse? The Land Bank Act claims to consolidate all state land given to corporates and sub-leased by them … but then why is Millennium Challenge Corporation (a US state dept entity) seeking 10 land registries. A country must have only 1 land registry! Isnt this a violation of Act 21 / Land Registry?

Moreover why does the new Land Act claim that after 10 years the registry will be destroyed – removing all evidence of land records? What kind of guinea pig is the US taking Sri Lanka for?

When reading the Act, it is clear that even the Judicial powers have been usurped. How can an Act take away the powers of one of the 3 main pillars of a democracy?

BIM SAVIYA

World Bank used the argument of helping digitalized Sri Lanka’s land records to bring a new land law that would in future benefit US. In 1998 US was able to get Sri Lanka to pass The Registration of Title Act 21 of 1998 known as ‘Bim Saviya’ & initially financed by World Bank under Chandrika Kumaratunga presidency. Bim Saviya mandates all lands (primary lease/secondary lease – sub leased or sub-sub-leased) to be registered in ‘Land Registry’ with plan of land, parties to the Agreement. How is it that such details are not available already for people to question transactions!

Similar Land Acts have been set up with US assistance in 51 sovereign nations

The land ownership certificate issued by Bim Saviya would enable land owner to transfer or sell land to anyone within 1 day!

By 2017 – 27 of the 43 land registries have been converted to ‘Bim Saviya’.

Judiciary removed of powers to adjudicate land disputes

The Act removed Judicial powers to decide on ownership of land and passed powers to the Minister of Lands who cannot be held accountable for granting ownership of land to anyone.

Bim Saviya law facilitated land sale. US surveyed Sri Lanka’s land computerized means, any foreigner can access land and purchase it influencing the Minister!

Bim Saviya makes Minister of Lands immune from prosecution for land transactions

People no longer could challenge ownership of disputed land by seeking judicial intervention.

It is no coincidence that the State Printing Dept has been brought under Ministry of Lands by special gazette notification in April 2019.

World Bank & US pumping money

World Bank view was that ‘Land’ was a commodity to be bought & sold! However, in Sri Lanka & countries with historical heritage ‘land’ is considered sacred and selling of land to foreigners is ‘unthinkable’.

Role of Trimble / Land Surveying by US

Is it a surprise that Wickremasinghe’s LTTE-linked financial advisor proposed to give Sri Lanka’s Survey Department to CIA Partner company Trimble Inc to do aerial survey & mapping of Sri Lanka? Trimble is a close associate of ‘Raytheon’ US spy agency. Trimble specialized in GPS & drone technology. Isn’t Trimble a threat to Sri Lanka’s National Security when Trimble surveys Sri Lanka’s land, uses GPS & Raytheon that can not only create catastrophic weather conditions but carry out drone assassinations too!

Note Land Ministry website mysteriously crashed for nearly a month!

The Ranil Wickremasinghe Govt has outsourced land surveying to US company Trimble. Over 80% of Sri Lanka’s land belongs to the State (the citizens of Sri Lanka)

Foreigners can own land

In 2015 the Ranil-Sirisena govt permitted foreigners and foreign-owned companies to buy & own land overruling Act 38 of 2014 (Restrictions on the Alienation of Lands in Sri Lanka to Foreigners)

Foreigners given up to 5000 acres of land to carry out projects… how can foreigners enjoy such land ownership only if it is privatized and out of State control.

Foreigners can do business without paying 100% tax on leasing of land (public-private partnership agreement) 

What is the solution?

Amend Bim Saviya and restore authority on land to Judiciary and revoke powers given to Minister of Lands. File FR in courts enabling judiciary to refer to Case Law.

Sri Lanka’s Constitution / ‘Colombo International Financial City’ Bill.

Drafted by Baker Mackenzie (US law firm with US State Dept) at a cost of $1.2m

Sri Lanka’s constitution states all land belongs to the people & land is held in custody by the Government for the People.

However, Baker Mackenzie proposal grants 269hectares which can be sub-leased to any person, company or country for 200 years with provision to annex territory within Sri Lanka.

The new constitution drafted by the threesome who drafted the 19a (Jayampathy-Sumanthiran-Pakiasothy as claimed by President Sirisena) proposed to devolve land powers to provinces. Had this new constitution gone through the annexing of land would have become a piece of cake.

This Bill repealed provisions in the ‘Crown Land Ordinance No 12 of 1840, Land Settlement Ordinance No 20 of 1931 and Act No 8 of 1947 which gave the President powers over land.

Amending – Paddy Lands Act, No. 1 of 1958 and the Agricultural Lands Act, No. 42 of 1973 to allow the farming of alternate crops. Encouraging cash crops and GMO crops is to export food and eventually ruin our fertile soil.

Release of state lands for foreign ownership – 2017 budget announced removal of restrictions limiting land ownership rights of listed companies with foreign owners / yahapalana also removed restrictions on foreigners purchasing condominiums below 4th floor.

Removing taxes on lease of land to foreigners & removed restrictions on ownership of investments enabling foreign companies to set up shop & reside in Sri Lanka which will impact small & medium local industries. Offering 5 year multiple visas to foreign investors & their labor confounds matters further. Tax concessions & visa extensions were given to those who invested over $1.5m

Special Deposit Account Act in 2017 that allows foreigners with a deposit of $500,000 to obtain resident visa to a period of 10 years. Spouse & minors also eligible to stay. These foreigners can also invest in Sri Lanka. No State monitoring authority is mentioned in act.

Millennium Challenge Corporation & Economic Corridor where American law will apply for 200 years – transnational companies will all gobble up the land!

MCC is a US state dept entity, US Secretary of State is the Chair of the Board of Directors. It is proposing a 200miles long stretch of land from Colombo to Trincomalee via Dambulla comprising 1.2m acres of mineral-rich & ancient heritage lands. Japan is chipping in with an electric fence along the railway track which virtually means anyone attempting to cross it will be electrocuted. State Land Bank Bill (will register all State lands & powers to a Land Reform Commission and enable public institutions to lease lands by repealing Part 4 – 6 of the Land Reform Act No 1 of 1972 (removes foreign ownership limit of 50acres), Land (Special Provisions) Bill are statutes being changed to facilitate this project.

ACSA & SOFA (Visiting Forces Agreement)

Why promote in secrecy if harmless.

ACSA apparently has already been signed in August 2017. SOFA will enable US boots on Sri Lankan soil and be given full immunity for any crime. ACSA will enable any military equipment to be flown into Sri Lanka without Sri Lankan permission or check. All these have direct impact on Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and are a national security concern given America’s bad record of illegal interventions and also America’s role in protecting US transnational corporations.

A closer look at how US operates globally, it is not difficult to realize that US government operates globally via US companies, NGOs and faith-based organizations all of which are given US government troop protection – with MCC land privatization project and ACSA and SOFA what it means is that not only does US plan to take over strategic land areas across Sri Lanka but it will ensure its investments are protected by its own troop presence who will have immunity for whatever crime it commits.

Is it now too difficult to connect the dots & understand the underlying dangers for Sri Lanka & its citizens?

Shenali D Waduge

Courtesy Adaderana

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara, who was sent of compulsory leave in the wake of the Easter Sunday terror attacks, has been arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). 

He was taken into custody by a CID team at the Police Hospital in Narahenpita, the Police Spokesman said.

Meanwhile former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando was also arrested, a short while ago, while receiving treatment at the Colombo National Hospital. 

Courtesy Adaderana

A team of CID officers have arrested former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fenando, who was receiving treatment at the General Hospital in Colombo, the police spokesman said.

He stated that Fernando was taken into custody by CID officers who visited the hospital, a short while ago. 

The former Defence Secretary and IGP Pujith Jayasundara were summoned to appear before the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) today, however they were both admitted to hospital this morning.

Fernando was admitted to the Coronary-Care Unit (CCU) at the General Hospital Colombo while the IGP was admitted to the Police Hospital in Narahenpita.

Attorney General Dappula de Livera yesterday wrote to the acting police chief urging him to bring charges against his predecessor, IGP Pujith Jayasundara, and the former defence secretary, Hemasiri Fernando.

There is sufficient information to prove negligence of official duties … and criminal negligence. It is also considered a grave crime against humanity under international law,” Livera said in the letter.

The Attorney General had further instructed the Acting IGP to produce the duo before courts.

For lesser charges of negligence leading to damage of property, the two officials could face up to 52 years in prison, according to the AFP news agency.

KAMALIKA PIERIS

REVISED 3.7.19

There is evidence that Saudi Arabia is connected to the bomb blasts. one of the masterminds who orchestrated the Easter Sunday bomb blasts , Milshan  was arrested in Saudi Arabia.  Later came the information that four key members of National Thowheeed Jamaath (NTJ), hailing from Batticaloa and Ampara had fled to Saudi Arabia prior to the Easter Sunday suicide bombings. A team of police intelligence officers were sent to Saudi Arabia to interrogate them. The SLFP meanwhile said at a news conference in Colombo in May 2019   that Qatar and Saudi Arabia were funding terrorism in Sri Lanka . Qatar protested.  But Army chief Mahesh Senanayake said  on  22nd May  2019 that at least two suspects have been arrested in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia has known before hand about the  Easter Sunday bombings . A leaked ‘urgent, confidential and top secret’ document obtained by Lebanese website Al-Ahed News claims that Saudi Arabia had alerted its Ambassador to Sri Lanka regarding a possible security threat some five days before the Easter Sunday attacks.

The Lebanuese  website shows a letter, which carries the date of April 16, allegedly sent by Saudi Foreign Minister Ibrahim bin Abdul Aziz al-Assaf’s to Saudi Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Abdul Nasser al-Harethi.

The document says:

                                           Urgent – Top Secret                                                            

His Excellency Ambassador Abdul Nasser bin Hussein al-Harethi

You should carry out the following measures immediately:

First: You should delete all documents, computer data and latest correspondence with domestic and foreign members and groups, in addition to imposing a curfew for the embassy personnel unless it is necessary

Second:  You should inform all those related to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia including counselors, security forces and intelligence during the three coming days, especially on the Christian Easter Day, to avoid presence in public and crowded places namely churches

Third: You should send written news about the Sri Lankan authorities and their viewpoints regularly to this ministry

Ibrahim bin Abdul Aziz al-Assaf
Foreign Minister

(Source  http://www.adaderana.lk/news.php?nid=54893  date   4.5.19)

By Rohana R. Wasala

We are dismayed by these reports that will see Sri Lanka surrender its positive record on the death penalty. Executions will not rid Sri Lanka of drug-related crime. They represent the failure to build a humane society where the protection of life is valued. The last thing that Sri Lanka needs right now is more death in the name of vengeance” 

• Biraj Patnaik, South Asia Director at Amnesty International (AI), in a final appeal from the international body  to Sri Lanka concerning the imminent execution of some prisoners on the death row for drug related crimes/June 25, 2019/www.amnesty.org 

It is reported that the president has signed the death warrants of some condemned prisoners awaiting execution, having been convicted for drug-related offences, and that all arrangements are now in place for hanging them before the June 21 – July 1 National Drug Eradication Week ends. As that period is drawing to a close, the hangings must be considered imminent. I hope the condemned persons are still alive when you read this (which I am writing on June 28). However, it is not too late for the president to desist from the rash course of action he has decided on. As AI’s South Asia Director Biraj Patnaik says executions will not rid Sri Lanka of drug-related crime. Patnaik is expressing a commonsense view, which many people share. The damning criticism implicit in the rest of the extract quoted above, though baseless, should not be taken lightly.  The president doesn’t seem to have consulted his advisors about the matter (which is a costly waste of resources). Decisions can be retracted if later found to be erroneous, but deaths are not reversible once committed, if it is subsequently discovered that they resulted from a miscarriage of justice. If someone must be executed as a judicial necessity for crimes committed, so be it. But there need not be an unexplained hurry or suddenness in executing them, as in this case there obviously is. 

It is true that Sri Lanka has a devastatingly  serious drugs problem. It must and can be contained as demonstrated in the past, until total eradication is achieved. The surest way is to enforce the law strictly, rehabilitate addicts and traffickers, break the nexus between politicians and drug dealers, and the rest of a whole host of measures as advocated by relevant experts and law enforcement specialists. It will be a never ending process like normal policing. The president’s avowed commitment to the eradication of the menace is commendable. However, his mission is doomed by what has become the order of the day since 2015: politicizing and personalising all issues from constitution making to crime busting. The current rulers do this for the dual purpose of just staying on in power ignoring the ‘Curses, not loud, but deep’ of the masses that elected them to power, now disillusioned, and of keeping their rivals out of power, or even out of politics if possible. Some reflection will show the impartial observer that little more than that has happened in Sri Lanka since 2015.

After a visit to the Philippines where the president met with his counterpart there the formidable Duterte who has adopted some drastic measures to overcome a hopelessly severe domestic drug addiction and trafficking problem in his country with a population of more than 100 million to Sri Lanka’s 21 million, he has decided to take a leaf out of the latter’s book. That won’t do. There are huge differences between the two countries, their peoples, cultures and especially the personalities of the two leaders. A tiny quail can’t match an elephant in the size of its droppings, as the Sinhala saying goes. However, the most significant difference between the two must be mentioned. Duterte stood up to the US president when the latter expressed concern about his merciless campaign against the problem that resulted in thousands of summary executions; and he launched his controversial operations without thinking of its political fallout on himself; and the other thing is that Duterte enjoys more recognition than the Sri Lankan president at the UN as a substantially large contributor of funds to the world body. In contrast, the sudden intensification of the fight on the drug menace in Sri Lanka seems to have been motivated by a desire to salvage at least the semblance of credibility that the champion thinks he still has. 

But one cannot become a hero by hanging, be it hanging for killing oneself, for carrying out judicial execution or for committing plain murder. But the lame duck president, at the tail end of his disastrous presidency, seems determined to go on with the hangings, come hell or high water, for that ‘heroic’ purpose. And in effect, he will be doing all three in an utterly meaningless ‘suicide hanging’ (on the analogy of suicide bombing), if such a thing is conceivable by any stretch of the imagination. Circumstances, for most of which he must share responsibility with his Yahapalana partners, have paradoxically lulled him into a state of self-hypnosis induced by a Macbethian sense of false security. 

The sudden ending of the thirty-three year long moratorium on the death penalty (there hasn’t been an execution since 1976 in Sri Lanka) as a desperate measure is not likely to cause the war on drugs to gain any special traction among the public other than what is already there. The reason is that, although the drug problem is a crucial issue, there are immediately more pressing problems to be addressed  before that, such as the problem of threatened national security that came to light with the April 21 Easter Sunday bombings, which, according to opposition politicians, could be a harbinger of worse trouble from geopolitical players in the region.

It will be a more dignified thing for the president to do to listen to the advice of the Most Venerable Mahanayake Theras and that of His Eminence the Cardinal to call off the executions than to seem to accede to the demand of the AI which has always had a jaundiced view of Sri Lanka due to false propaganda to ‘Halt plans for executions, once and for all’. However, though Amnesty International, as a pro-Western organization, is a biased entity as far as Sr Lanka is concerned, its request on this occasion is not unreasonable. 

Sugath Samarasinghe 

We read in an editorial in ‘The Island’ newspaper of this country that the Colombo Office of the EU had stated that: “We are deeply concerned by political and religious pressure being directed at Sri Lanka’s Muslim community which is undermining peace and reconciliation in the country.” We believe that the EU office referring here to the incident of suicide bomb explosions committed by some Muslim extremists on 21^st April in this country in 9 different places such as Catholic churches and Tourist hotels that resulted in an unprecedented over 250 deaths of men women and children in churches and over 500 other people who have been injured some of whom are still under treatment in hospitals. We are curious to know why the EU is not accusing the Muslim extremists in this country for causing such horrendous crimes on the rest of the communities by way of political and religious pressure”. How are these crimes committed on the other communities by the Muslim extremists be ignored by EU? When such incidents happen in EU countries too, do you arriange your comments that way? Could you please tell us which of these incidents did not undermine peace and reconciliation going on in this country?

Now that you have shown concern on the ‘political and religious pressure directed at the Muslim community in Sri Lanka, tell us whether following freedoms provided to Muslims here, is afforded to them in your countries?        

• The Muslims in this country who comprise a mere 10% of the population enjoy the facility of calling their flock to prayer daily, five times a day over the public address system fitted on top of the mosques though some people among the other 90% sometimes consider it a public nuisance. We are curious know whether any of your countries provide such a facility?
• The Muslims in this country stop their work in work places at noon on Fridays and rush to mosques to pray. That is not counted against their leave. Do they enjoy that kind of facility in your counties?
• The Muslims here enjoy food stuffs classified as ‘Hallal’ which only is considered wholesome food for their  consumption, marked so on packets, available in our supermarkets etc. Do you have such a facility available to them in your countries?
• Do you have as Public Holidays in your countries, days that are considered Holy by Muslims such as Ramadhan, Haj Festival and Prophet Mohamed’s Birth Day etc. where the 90% of the rest of the community also enjoy a holiday? 
• Is it possible according to the common law prevailing in your countries for Muslim males to take more wives than one which facility is not provided to males of the other communities who constitute 90% of the population though it is discriminatory against them? If they afford themselves such a facility it is construed as polygamy which is a criminal offence here.  As a result, even some members of the 90% rest of the community who wished to enjoy such freedom started converting to Mohamedism. Curiously, this practice was ruled as illegal. More curiously no body challenged this ruling as discriminatory or as unequal treatment of one section of the community! Yet more curiously, no such freedom is made available the Muslim women!!
• Similarly, does the law prevailing in your EU countries permit males to marry girls under 12 years of age even without their express consent? If not, are you devastated to know that this is possible exclusively under the Muslim Marriage Law in this country? Do you know that if any other member of the 90% of the community do such a thing, he will be arrested, charged and convicted for a criminal offence of rape according to the prevailing criminal law of this country? Do you know that this practice is not challenged as cruelty to children or a violation of children’s right or even discriminatory against them for the fear of bringing undue pressure on them endangering peace and reconciliation? Very strangely, this issue is not an issue for Human Rights groups in this country or outside our country, even in spite of the fact that we have an Independent Commission for Human Rights? Does that offend the righteous sentiments prevailing in your countries?
• Do you have in your countries, separate courts called Kathi Courts to settle disputes among Muslims, which other communities do not have? We do have.
• Do the Muslims have in your countries a variety of schools called ‘Madrasas’ to teach the Quranic doctrine to Muslim Children? We have. In fact we have allowed our Muslims to import some 600 foreign teachers to teach religion in these schools. Will our countries allow such facility? 
• Quite apart from that, do you have Schools exclusively for Muslim children run by the state as we do have?
• If so are such schools given holidays for three months when the students are required to observe ‘fasting’?
• We learn that in 2016 – 137 mosques were attacked – 60 in France, 54 in Germany, 21 in Sweden & 2 in Switzerland. Is this true or mere blasphemy? In fact the Muslim Affairs Ministry here has reported that there are in this country 180 unauthorized mosques already. In such circumstances, how valid do you think your assertion that political and religious pressure being directed at Sri Lanka’s Muslim community which is undermining peace and reconciliation in the country”? Or, is it the other way about?
• On the other hand we have heard some disturbing information about your good countries. It is reported that1700 mosques exist in UK and half of these were attacked since 9/11. 57% of British public support burka ban in UK (YouGov poll) in 2016. After the Manchester attack a mosque was torched in Oldham.

• We have another curious situation in our country in that an ancient Buddhist temple at a place called Kuragala is taken over by some Muslims claiming that it is a Muslim shrine. In another place called Mudu Maha Viharaya, we have a situation where the entrance to an ancient Buddhist temple is blocked by Muslim encroachers. Does that kind of things happen to ancient churches and other places of worship in your EU countries? If such a thing happens your counties, what will they do? Here again, isn’t it being political and religious pressure directed at Sri Lanka’s Muslim community which is undermining peace and reconciliation in the country” in the reverse?

In our country hitherto, Muslim women were wearing ‘hijab’, ‘niqab’ or whatever else they call such dresses covering their heads and faces, without any problem. After the recent bomb attacks, the Secy. Public Administration ordered a dress code for public servants, with view to enhance sense of security in public offices. The Secy. was questioned at a Parliamentary Select Committee sittings as to how dare he did that apparently violating Human rights. Does that kind of thing happen in your EU countries?

Again we are told that Netherlands – bans full face veil in government buildings, schools, hospitals and public transport. Party for Freedom declares to ban all mosques in Netherlands. Could this be true? Isn’t Netherlands an EU country?

•  Furthermore, we are told that the European Court of Justice interprets law for the EU and decisions are binding of member states. ECJ allows employers to ban hijab. Accordingly, it is reported that France was the first EU country to ban burka & niqab wearing in 2011. France has shut down 20 mosques and prayer halls for preaching radical ideology since 2016. After Paris bombs pigs head were thrown at mosques. Could such political and religious pressure” be exerted on Muslims in a highly civilized and democratic EU country like France? If it is not true, please tell us so that we could disabuse our minds. This information is claimed to have been found in http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/thousands-take-part-in-anti-islam-pegida-protests-across-europe-a6857911.html.

Again, in Italy- in Lombardy burka ban was approved in local government buildings and hospitals. Taken in this light, has our Secy. Public Administration violated any Human Rights of anybody?  

•  Austria had banned foreign sources of financing and Imams must speak German. 156 assaults against Muslims in 2015. Austria’s new ‘integration law’ banned full face veil in 2018. Isn’t Austria an EU country? Could this information be true?
•  Belgium has banned halal animal slaughter. Belgium is the 2nd country after France to ban burka in public in 2011. We believe Belgium is an EU country? Could they exert such political and religious pressure on Muslims living in their country? Are they violating any Human rights laws? 
•  In Denmark TV2 survey is alleged to have revealed that a third of respondents believed Denmark was at war with Islam – 5 Muslim hate speakers were banned and 6 radical Islamic preachers were banned from entering Denmark. Halal animal slaughter was banned in Denmark in 2014. Could this, if true, be considered Religious and Political pressure being brought on the Muslims in this country? Isn’t Denmark an EU country? 

In view of all this we in this country are confused. Could you please enlighten us as to how we could reconcile these confounding positions in EU countries and your comments on Sri Lanka?

Sugath Samarasinghe                         

The country is been swindled by two importers of grains, especially RED LENTILS and YELLOW LENTILS over a period of many years.

By Noor Nizam – Peace and Political Activist, Political Communication Researcher, SLFP/SLPP Stalwart, July 1st, 2019.

The above news which appeared in http://www.adaderena.lk should be noted with utmost importance by those concerned and political authorities who are hoping to establish a news government in 2020.

The country is been swindled by two importers of grains, especially RED LENTILS and YELLOW LENTILS over a period of many years.

They operate very large warehouses and also operate large LENTIL SPLITTING PLANTS and packaging production lines in Sri Lanka with the co-operation of Canadian Pulse farmers and exporters. The capacity of one of these importers is 340 MT per day.

Sri Lanka’s consumption of red lentils is around 150,000 Metric tons. We import around 18,000 metric tons of Chick Peas 25,000 MT of Yellow Split Peas, 16,000 MT of Mung Beans per year. Red lentils are also a major item among our principal food commodity imports. In 2016 we imported more than 154,000 metric tons of red lentils which was around 7% of the total tonnage of our principal food commodity imports of that year. In 2018 Sri Lanka’s annual imports of RED LENTILS was estimated at approximately $114 million.

Politicians and government officials who have been involved in the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Commerce and trade have supported these two major Pulse importers to swindle millions of dollars at the cost of the poor tax payers of our “MAATHRUBOOMIYA”, with the Canadians adiding and abetting.

The new President or government hoping to be elected should set-in-motion a high powdered probe on this subject immediately they come into power. Consumers in Sri Lanka who can get Red Lentils at a much much lower price which are sold the produce at high prices by this mafia, which has to stop. The exposure made by The Chairman of the Public Health Inspectors (PHI) Association Upul Rohana that over 700,000 kg of grain including dhal not suitable for human consumption had been discovered at one of the storage warehouses reveals how this MAFIA is making money selling dhal not suitable for human consumption. These two companies are the suppliers to the CWE and SATHOSA. They also supply wholesale produce distributers in Pettah and the the local super market chains.

Dr Sudath Gunasekara

I request all patriotic Sinhala people who love their country to read the following alarming news item and my comments that follow and do all whatever you can to stop this national tragedy and crisis immediately.

(I hope the Plantation Companies also will pay their attention to this).

Dr Sudath Gunasekara 01.7.2019

Plantation companies decry land grab by henchmen of politicians

By Shamindra Ferdinando The Island June 27, 2019, 10:16 pm

A political project is threatening stability in plantation regions with certain politicians encouraging estate workers to occupy sections of land leased to plantation companies, according to sources.

 The land had been sought allegedly for cultivation purposes though the real intention was to take gradual control of leased land, estate sector sources told The Island.

 Asked whether plantation companies had brought the situation in the plantations to the government’s notice, sources said that the administration was aware of the crisis but reluctant to take action.

A major plantation company recently resorted to legal action to prevent an alleged bid to occupy 53 acres of land under it.

Although an order obtained from the Bandarawela Magistrate Court thwarted the move, those responsible were yet to take meaningful measures to address the issue, sources said, alleging that some influential politicians based in the region brazenly promoted taking over of land by organised groups.

The situation could get worse in the run-up to 2019 presidential and 2020 parliamentary elections, sources said, warning of dire consequences unless action was taken to prevent the fragmentation of lands leased to plantation companies.

 Sources accused Plantation Industries State Minister Suresh Vadivel (UNP Badulla District) of interfering in police investigations. The UNPer requested DIG, Badulla, in writing recently not to initiate legal action against those occupying ‘unutilised’ land before obtaining consent of the ministry. Sources said that in addition to the DIG, State Minister Vadivel had copied the letter to SSP in charge of Badulla and Bandarawela.

MP Vadivel received the appointment as the State Minister in Dec 2018 following the failed Oct 2018 constitutional coup.

Asked whether he had written to DIG Badulla and SSP Badulla and Bandarawela regarding encroachment of state land leased to plantation companies, State Minister Vadivel said that he had intervened to prevent a confrontation between law enforcement authorities and the persons against whom plantation companies had lodged complaints over the issue. He said he had tried to ensure that those living in estates were given the opportunity to cultivate unused land. Unfortunately, some had deliberately misinterpreted ministerial intervention, Vadivel, leader of the Lanka Jathika Estate Workers’ Union, affiliated to the UNP said.

State Minister Vadivel stressed that he had acted in terms of the ‘Collective Agreement’ involving the plantation companies and trade unions.

Acknowledging State Plantation Ministry’s right to inquire into the plantation dispute, sources said organised gangs caused trouble in the estate sector. State Minister Vadivel couldn’t be unaware how they prevented stocks of tea being moved out of three estates and the forcible takeover of Kalugala bungalow, sources said, adding that they had extorted as much as Rs 50 mn recently from a top businessman in the plantation sector after warning of trouble in estates managed by his company. Another top executive had been under pressure to pay up or face the consequences, sources said, noting that the government conveniently ignored what was going on.

Responding to another query, sources said that though the matter had been taken up with the Uva Provincial Council following a bid to occupy 53 acres of land forcibly, the situation remained the same.

Sources alleged that some of those responsible for trouble were close to Akalan Senthil Thondaman, an influential minister of the provincial administration and the government should inquire into the deteriorating situation in the estate sector.

My observations

1.7.2019.

The Government should act very fast and arrest this forcible and illegitimate occupation of Tea estates owned by Planation companies, before it is too late and it escalates in to an uncontrollable and irreversible national crisis. If the Government fails to nip it in the bud immediately, or delay action for petty political reasons as it usually does, it will definitely expand in to unexpected proportions beyond anybody’s imagination like a Tsunami. Failure to curb the above trend of lawlessness and forcible invasion and occupation of public property belonging to the plantation sector, by the estate Tamil labour will definitely escalate it in to a national crisis and disaster that could be even far more disastrous with much greater consequences than even the April 21^st Easter Sunday canard or what the LTTE had done for 30 years. If the Government fails to prompt action it will definitely develop in to a no return situation for which the present Government will have to take full responsibility.

If not promptly arrested, this Estate Tamil labour invasion will rapidly expand to other plantation area as well in the whole country. In the present context of anarchy prevailing in the country this will invasion might e spread like wild fire to all districts like Matale, Kandy, Nuwareliya, Monaragala, Kegalla, Rantnapura , Galle and even Matara, where tea and rubber are grown. This invasion together with the ongoing mono Tamil village development taking place all over tea plantation areas going up to Pidurutalagala will definitely get support from India and the so-called International Community on humanitarian grounds as thy say. They might also hail this as a step forward in reconciliation, their pet child.  You can just imagine as to what scale with leaps and bounds it will spread. That is why I request the Government to curb this menace immediately before it becomes uncontrollable.

If immediate action is not taken the angered Sinhala population living in villages around the plantation areas might rise against this invasion on the part of estate labour on the one hand and silence on the part of the Government at any moment. No one knows at what moment they will run riot against this national disaster. Organized gang invasion by the Sinhala villagers living in the fringe areas in very inevitable, as they know that this is their ancestral lands plundered by the British invaders in the latter part of the 19^th century and now being taking over forcibly by Indian Tamils who came to labour for the colonial British, another foreign power, using the advantage of the prevailing anarchy in the country and more particularly the forthcoming elections. Going by past experience both the Government and the opposition might not take any action fearing losing the support of the estate Tamils at the forthcoming elections.  But I appeal to both the Government and the opposition not to play cheap politics with this extremely volatile issue. I call upon the Government to take the strict measures to curb this lawlessness and the Opposition also to support it with no reservation. Both parties should treat this as a national issue going beyond petty party politics.

I would see this as an extremely provocative action taken by the Tamil Politicians in the plantation sector well- conceived and pre-planned to coincide with the forth coming elections. It is definitely well timed, perhaps with Indian and other foreign involvement:  to make hay while the sun shines. This invasion of the plantations by the South Indians Tamils labour force I foresee as a follow up action by the British and their allies to create the Malayanadu right at the centre of the Island as planned by the British way back in 1840s as revealed by correspondence between us Governor Torrington and the Colonial Secretary in 1845. If the government fails to nip it in the bud, this invasion could bring far more devastations even than the British occupation. British did it with the gun. These Tamils do it with the power of the vote. This invasion will be definitely far more dangerous and have far reaching repercussions than all previous invasions we have had both by the Indians in early history and the Westerners in contemporary times. All those invaders in the past were finally chased out after some time. For example all major South Indian invasions that ended with the most devastative 12^th century Magha invasion were defeated and aggressors and chased out by our great Sinhala Kings like Dutugemunu, Walagamba and Vijayaba (1). All major European colonial powers that destroyed this country for 443 years one after the other, were also finally compelled to leave by 1948 and we regained the mother land leaving bahind

But if we fail to arrest this wave of illicit Tamil invasion it would be almost nearly impossible to get rid of them as a foreign enemy force for the following reasons. Although they have been here only for 70 years, almost all of them have been given Sri Lankan citizenship illegitimately by our unpatriotic politicians as they considered the Tamil vote more precious than the motherland and the Sinhala nation without realizing the crime they were committing against their own people and the motherland. As a result they have a voter strength of about 4 lahks with which they elect few of their own people who in turn join the party who ever that forms the Government alternatively by winning the highest bid. They never vote a Sinhala candidate. The present election system has made it worse. As all ethnic groups unlike the Sinhala fools, they together cast their all three preferences to their men only flooding the Parliament with their ethnic communities, often more than they the number they could get under a direct voting system. Since the Sinhala electorate is divided in to diehard sworn enemy camps like UNP, SLFP and JVP they can’t get the majority in Parliament to form a Government. This situation force them to harp on these Tamil and Muslim MPP to form the Government at very high cost often detrimental to the national interests. Thus unfortunately the minorities have come to stay as the deciding factor in Government making in this country at the expense of the interest of the county and the nation.

Secondly, the Indian factor behind them also has complicated the situation.  India treats the estate workers as Indians although they are Sri Lankan Citizens. Therefore these Tamils have come to stay as a politically formidable and dangerous force in Sri Lanka politics. This strength has enable the leaders to win all their demands incrementally at each election.

The native Sinhalese  on the other hand are disgusted with the way their elected representatives as they have completely failed over the past 71 years to restore their birth rights in spite of the far reaching recommendations made by the Report of the Kandyan Peasantry Commission of 1951 for their restoration and rehabilitation. And also by now have fully realized that within the existential political system where all Governments depend on Estate Tamil politicians for power they will never address their problems. Therefore they might opt to invade the adjoining estates in thousands in desperation as they know that there is no alternative. This will give rise to Sinhala Tamil clashes of unimaginable scale. One can imagine the scale and the proportions in to which it will escalate. Just try to imagine a free for all Sinhala Tamil war taking place at a time like this when total anarchy is prevailing in the country.

As such if the government fails to take immediate steps to curb this forcible occupation of State property, I predict we are going in for a major socio political  disaster.  

The only way to avoid this disaster is

First, (short term)

Order the encroachers to get back to previous places and arrest those responsible for the crimes committed in the following list and initiate legal action against them.

Second,

The Government should arrest Plantation Industries State Minister Suresh Vadivel (UNP Badulla District and Akalan Senthil Thondama(UNP) who have instigated, provoked and prompted these innocent estate labourers to take to the these illegal actions immediately and take legal action against them as well and ban Parliament and PC until they are proved innocent.

For the following crimes.

1Provoking and encouraging estate workers to occupy sections of land leased to plantation companies, according to newspaper sources.

2 Preventing implementation of court orders

3 Obstructing Police carrying out court orders with impunity

4 For preventing stocks of tea being moved out of three estates  

5 forcible takeover of Kalugala bungalow,

6 extorting as much as Rs 50 m recently from a top businessman in the plantation sector after warning of trouble in estates managed by his company.

7 For keeping another top executive under pressure to pay up or face the consequences, sources said, noting that the government conveniently ignored what was going on

8 Akalan Senthil Thondaman, an influential minister of the provincial administration and the government for provoking the state workers to commit these crimes.

9 Using political power to threaten the government leave it or lose Estate Tamil votes

10 Taking the law in to their hand and creating ethnic clashes and unrest and losses in the estate sector

Third,

Immediately abolish the Ministry of Upcountry Tamil Villages and Infrastructure Development and all other Institutions set up by this Government that has already established more than 20 mono Tamil villages with nearly 20,000 houses by destroying good tea estates going up to 7500 feet above sea level and temporally but immediately stop this housing programme sponsored by India and the West. That will destroy the physical stability of the Geographical Heartland, through land degradation, soil erosions and deforestation on the prime watershed of the country that provides the main source for all the rivers in the country. If we fail to stop these encroachments we are destined to lose the civilization and the entire life system in this whole country due to the drying up of all the 103 rivers that have their sources on these watersheds.

Fourth,

At least now set up a powerful institutional system under the Head of the State to ameliorate the burning issues of millions of neglected and discriminated landless and jobless Kandyan Peasants currently buried in abject poverty with a powerful Ministry with an implementing Authority as recommended by the KPC Report of 1951badly and criminally a neglected duty of all Governments in the post Independent period.

Fifth

The government should immediately take action to inquire into the deteriorating situation in the estate sector without sleeping and allowing to flare up countrywide lawlessness and serious political and social tension without allowing to flare up communal clashes that will further ruin the national economy.

Sixth,

The law enforcing authorities to enforce the law of the country and stop this invasion of our motherland. To me it appears to be a mass invasion through the ballot by Indians this time in place of the British invasion that took place in 1815 through deceit and conspiracy. I am also warning all Sinhala politicians to intervene to stop this nonsense immediately

Seventh,

I am calling upon the stupid Sinhala politicians who represent these areas first, and second, all over the country to forget your blind and mad party politics with UNP. SLLP. JVP or any P for that matter and immediately think of this small Island as  the only piece of land on this planet where you as a Sinhala man or woman could do, not only politics but also  proudly say with your head above shoulders this is our own our native land”. Therefore if you allow these Indian invaders to grab it for a few votes for temporary political power,  please remember that you will not only lose your motherland for  your children but you all will go down in history as a bunch of traitors who have betrayed your motherland for a few votes. Also immediately after you die you all will go directly to the aviicimahaa naarkadiya for betraying your motherland and the Sinhala nation.

Finally a word to these estate Tamil Leaders

Not only these two MPP, but all Tamils politicians should realize that these are not your  grandmother’s property or land brought from India when, your ancestors were herded to this country by the colonial British as their slaves to toil for them and who were left behind high and dry mercilessly as a set of stateless  labourers in the late 19^th century. You also must remember all your ancestors have served only the English masters to fatten the English coffers and every cent they saved here annually they took it to their motherland India and deposited in Indian Banks. Neither your ancestors nor you have ever treated this country as your motherland. You never loved it. You also can never love it because you have all your allegiance to India. It was only a work place for you to earn a living as you had no work there. As such there is absolutely no justification for you to claim this land belonging to some other nation, across the sea, that was protected in war with sweat, blood and lives. The patriotic Sinhala people of this country will never allow you to make the hill country the Heartland of the nation to be converted in to an Indian exclave.

If you dream to be owners of land in this country then you have to completely renounce your Indian mentality and get ready to integrate with the native Sinhala people if you want to be their equals. If you can’t do it then for heaven’s sake please go back to your cherished motherland       without            trying   to         grab     this            land by thug-gery                                                                                                                                                                              and force.   Even today you people always treat the government of India as your Government. Besides having your own communal political parties you join local political parties only to get your ends fulfilled. You have only your physical body here; your hearts and minds are always in India. These are stark truths no one can deny. You treat the Indian Prime Minister as your King.  . Even today you treat India as your motherland.   

These lands that you are trying to grab by force belong to the native Sinhala people. They are the ancestral lands of the native Sinhalese who owned them from the dawn of history and fought and died in tens of thousands in battle to protect them for their posterity. They were plundered by British invaders at gun point illegitimately using devices like the Crown land Encroachment Ordinance no 12 of 1840, Temple Land Ord of 1853 and the Wasteland Ord of 1897 and sold to British plunderers for a song to plant Coffee and Tea.

Your ancestors were a mere set of slaves implanted here by the British to toil for a pittance as the brave and proud native Sinhalese refused to work for the white invaders. Your often quoted slogan that you and your ancestors have contributed to the development of this country is a first class myth.  Prior to 1950 all what your ancestors earned was annually taken to India and you do the same even now on the sly. Since of 1950s using your numbers as a political clout your trade union leaders like Thondaman have hijacked the unpatriotic Sinhala politicians and got your political rights. Sinhala politicians on the other hand have betrayed the Sinhala nation and the country just to get your vote. Let curse be upon them!

The danger of this forcible occupation of tea plantations by Tamil labourers instigated by Tamil politicians of the Government has to be evaluated along with the ongoing large scale Housing projects carried out by the Ministry of Upcountry Tamil Village Development and Infrastructure Development Ministry of Digambaran, a Cabinet Minister of this Government with Indian assistance all over the hill country and even in the tea growing areas of Southern and Uva Provinces by this government. It has also to be noted that this programme is funded not only by India and the Western countries under ADB funding but also the money provided under the Ministry of Hill Country Development. This clearly shows that all these betrayals are done with the open support of the present government

Meanwhile reader’s attention is also drawn to the fact that the toothless and lingering Department of Kandyan Peasantry was also closed down in 2014.  I see all these activities as a part of a long term coordinated and well planned conspiracy to wipe out the Sinhala people first, from the Heartland of this Island with Indian assistance and second to convert it to an Indian exclave and third, to convert the whole country in to a vassal state of India or an eternal battle ground of global power struggle in the Indian Ocean?

Lest you misunderstand me as an anti -Tamil or anti-Muslim Sinhala Buddhist chauvinist, I must also tell you very clearly, as a true Buddhist, definitely I am not. I am only trying to defend my motherland and nation as a Sinhala patriot against foreign invasions and to save my cherished land of birth for posterity from foreign domination. I have no bone to pick with anyone or any objection for humanitarian treatment of any community or a man or a woman who has legitimately got Sri Lanka citizenship.

Requirements for Citizenship

1. who is prepared to accept this land as the motherland of the Sinhala nation and agrees to abide by the conditions laid down within that inviolable and non-negotiable framework,
2. no one should seek permanent settlement on land 3500 feet above sea level
3.  Prepared to accept that the Sinhala Buddhist culture is the bedrock of the civilization od this county
4. Prepared to swear that he or she will not challenge that basic principle laid down for citizenship
5. pass an examination in Sinhala language and the history of Sri Lanka 

6    swear that he/she will treat this country as his /her sole motherland

7) prepared to integrate with the native society within five years, in addition to any other condition laid down by the Government of the country from time to time for the      grant of citizenship.

All others who disagree to comply with these conditions have to leave this country immediately or within a stipulated time to their own countries.

Meanwhile the million dollar question I pose to the Sinhala politicians at all levels, Parliamentary, Provincial, Pradesiya and village level is what the hell are you doing,  while the present Government is doing nothing to arrest this blatant violation of the law of the land by plantation Tamils in the hill country. Why are you keeping your eyes, ears and mouths closed and shut like a bunch of monkeys while the Government is sleeping with an eye on the minority votes for the next election. After they take over the land and destroy its only water shed that provides water for the whole country and wipe out the Sinhala Buddhist civilization from the surface of this planet, where the hell are you going to do politics? Is it in the North Pole or South Pole or in the hell or the Moon”?  Don’t you people know that this is the only tiny Island of 25,000 Sq miles on the surface of this planet you can call your native motherland and your own land. 

Courtesy aljazeera

Attorney general says the police chief and ex-defence secretary should be charged for failing to prevent Easter attacks.

Sri Lanka‘s police chief and a top defence official should be charged with “grave crimes against humanity” for failing to prevent the attacks on churches and luxury hotels that killed more than 250 people in April, the country’s attorney general has said.

The bombings, claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS), took place despite repeated warnings from Indian intelligence that an attack was imminent.

Attorney General Dappula de Livera wrote to the acting police chief urging him to bring charges against his predecessor, Pujith Jayasundara, and the former defence secretary, Hemasiri Fernando.READ MORE

“There is sufficient information to prove negligence of official duties … and criminal negligence. It is also considered a grave crime against humanity under international law,” Livera said in the letter.

For lesser charges of negligence leading to damage of property, the two officials could face up to 52 years in prison, the AFP news agency said.

‘Criminal suspects’

Both should be treated as “criminal suspects”, de Livera said, strongly hinting that the two should be arrested. He ordered acting police chief Chandana Wickramaratne to record statements from both men and produce them before a magistrate without delay.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has accused Fernando and Jayasundara of failing to act on an April 4 intelligence report about an attack planned for April 21, Easter Sunday.

Jayasundara and Fernando have denied all allegations.

Jayasundara last month told a parliamentary committee led by allies of Sirisena’s rival, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, that the president had asked him to take the blame for the bombings and resign, promising him a diplomatic posting in return.

Jayasundara refused to quit and was later asked to go on leave, with his deputy standing in for him.

Fernando, who resigned as defence secretary, told parliament that Sirisena had given instructions to keep Wickremesinghe, with whom he fell out in October, out of security council meetings. The defence secretary reports to the president, who heads the defence ministry.

Sirisena has not publicly addressed the accusations but said after the testimonies last month that he would not accept the committee’s conclusions.

Sri Lankan authorities have admitted that warnings sent by India of an impending attack by a local group, the National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ), were ignored.

Three churches and three luxury hotels across the island nation were hit by suicide bombers who pledged allegiance to ISIL. Some 45 foreign nationals were among the dead and 500 people were injured.

The South Asian tourist hotspot has been under a state of emergency since.

By VOA News

Sri Lanka’s police chief and the nation’s former defense secretary should be charged with crimes against humanity as a result of their inability to prevent the Easter bombings that killed 258 people, the state’s prosecutor said Monday. 

According to Attorney General Dappula de Livera, the Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara and Defense Secretary Hemasiri Fernando ignored intelligence information forecasting the attack. 

“The two officials should be brought before a magistrate for their criminal negligence to prevent the April 21 attacks,” wrote de Livera to the acting police chief.  

“Their negligence amounts to what is known under international law to be grave crimes against humanity.” 

Fernando has since resigned his position and Jayasundara was suspended. 

Indian Intelligence shared a report of targets for an attack with Sri Lankan officials on April 4, over two weeks in advance of the attacks on April 21. President Maithripala Sirisena alleged that the police chief and defense minister failed to act on the intelligence.  

Both Fernando and Jayasundara have denied the allegations that they were negligent in the weeks leading up to the attacks.  
  
Jayasundara told a parliamentary committee that the president offered him a diplomatic job if he were to take the blame for bombings. 

Fernando told parliament that the president had ordered him to keep a member off Sri Lanka’s security council. 

Both men also accused Sirisena of not doing enough to prevent the attacks. 

Following the testimonies by Fernando and Jayasundara, the president has said that he would not accept the committee’s conclusion.

Courtesy AFP

AFP/File / ISHARA S. KODIKARAThe Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka killed 258 people

Sri Lanka’s police chief and a top defence official should be tried for “grave crimes against humanity” over failure to prevent Easter bombings that killed 258, the state prosecutor said Monday.

Dappula de Livera said Inspector-General of Police Pujith Jayasundara and Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando failed to act on advance warnings of the deadly April 21 suicide attacks.

“The two officials should be brought before a magistrate for their criminal negligence to prevent the April 21 attacks,” de Livera said in a letter to the acting police chief.

“Their negligence amounts to what is known under international law to be grave crimes against humanity.”

There was sufficient evidence to prosecute both officials for murder which carries the death penalty, de Livera said. For lesser charges of negligence leading to damage of property, they could face up to 52 years in prison.

Both should be treated as “criminal suspects”, de Livera said, strongly hinting that the duo should be arrested.

He ordered acting police chief Chandana Wickramaratne to record statements from both men and produce them before a magistrate without delay.

AFP/File / Ishara S. KODIKARASri Lanka police chief Pujith Jayasundara failed to prevent the April 21 attacks, according to the state prosecutor

The attorney general said a presidential commission of inquiry had found “major lapses” by Fernando, who has since resigned from his position which was directly under President Maithripala Sirisena.

While Fernando is the most senior defence official to face action, Sirisena suspended police chief Jayasundara after he refused to step down over the handling of the attacks.

Another nine senior police officers have also been named by the attorney-general as suspects who should be prosecuted for their role in the security lapses.

Jayasundara and Fernando have testified before a parliamentary inquiry and accused Sirisena of failing to follow established protocols in assessing threats to national security.

Jayasundara who continues to occupy his official residence in Colombo, has petitioned the Supreme Court challenging his suspension. The case is yet to begin.

-Warnings ignored-

Authorities have admitted that warnings sent by India of an impending attack by a local group, the National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ), were ignored.

AFP/File / ISHARA S. KODIKARAAuthorities have admitted that warnings sent by India of an impending attack by a local group, the National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ), were ignored

Three churches and three luxury hotels in Colombo were hit by suicide bombers who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.

Some 45 foreign nationals were among the dead and 500 people were injured in the attacks. The tourist hotspot has been under a state of emergency since.

Sri Lanka’s State Intelligence Service (SIS) has also been criticised for failing to act on the Indian warnings issues as early as April 4, nearly two and a half weeks before the attack, but no-one from the state spy service has been put under investigation.

Sirisena, who is also defence minister and law and order minister, has faced allegations that he too could have prevented the attacks if he took intelligence reports seriously.

The president has objected to a parliamentary investigation into the attacks and ordered police not to co-operate. The hearings, however, have gone ahead.

AFP/File / LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHISri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena has faced allegations that he too could have prevented the attacks if he took intelligence reports seriously

Indian intelligence shared information about the targets — gleaned from a jihadist in Indian custody.

Local Muslim groups have also alerted both police and intelligence units to a potential threat posed by a radical cleric, Zahran Hashim, who led the suicide bombings.

The minority Muslims have faulted the authorities for not arresting Hashim when they complained his radical preachings and calls for violence against non-believers.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

The Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) today said Army Commander Mahesh Senanayake has lied with regard to a call made by former minister Rishad Bathiudeen asking him about an arrested suspect in the Army custody.

Addressing a news conference, PHU Leader Udaya Gammanpila said Army Commander Senanayake has said in an interview with the state-owned ‘Silumina’ Newspaper on May 5 that there was undue influence from a powerful minister from Mannar to get an arrested suspect released.

“This was the first charge mentioned against the then minister Bathiudeen in the no-confidence motion compiled by the opposition. We handed over the no-confidence motion on May 16 and the army commander had until that day to ask the newspaper to correct the news if his comment had been altered, which did not happen. On May 17, he said in a news briefing that there was a request from Bathiudeen to release a suspect. However, he said the minister’s call can be termed as both a request and an influence,” he said.

Meanwhile, he said the army commander has told the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on June 26, a different version of the story.

He had said the former minister inquired only about someone who was in the army custody. Then, Field Marshall Sarath Fonseka had asked the Army Chief whether it was only as a joke that he had told Bathiudeen he would get back to him in one and half years time,” MP Gammanpila said.

He said if the Army Commander takes one and half years to confirm whether someone was in their custody, it was a dangerous precedent.

“The Army Commander has no need to tell the minister to call back in one and half years if he did not receive any undue influence. In his own words, the Army Commander said the army can detain a suspect for one and half years. This only proves that he has lied to the PSC and has told the truth to the media,” he said.

He said this showed that the Army Commander had received undue influence afterwards. (Lahiru Pothmulla)

By Shivanthi Ranasinghe Courtesy Ceylon Today

Behind the tightly closed doors, a few select politicians are busy finalising two highly controversial agreements with the US. These secretive deals are carefully kept out of Parliament and the Cabinet. These Parliamentarians and Ministers too seem quite content to be left in the dark. There is speculation that Maithripala Sirisena himself might not be aware of the true contents of these agreements. 

This is not something Tissa Vitharana appears to believe, though, for he had questioned the release of Gnanasara Thera who has a reputation of inciting violence against the Muslims.

These agreements that the Yahapalana Government is cooking with the US are: (1) SOFA – Status of Forces Agreement (2) ACSA – Acquisition & Cross Service Agreement (3) MCCC – Millennium Challenge Co-operation Compact.

Already, the Yahapalana Government had agreed to the ACSA, as far back as in 2017. Yet, up to date, the terms and conditions of this agreement are not in the public domain. Even though the other two agreements are yet to be agreed, these are rumoured to be in its final stages. It is also being noted that certain new laws are being introduced, with one already in effect to clear the obstacles in attaining the goals of these agreements.

These agreements, by the contents of the available documents related to the subject, are clearly a threat to our sovereignty. This threat is compounded as these do not seem to have any exit clauses. Thus, once these contracts are agreed upon, they will remain irreversible.

SOFA

From the original document of the SOFA, that the American High Commission in Colombo sent to the Yahapalana Government they helped instal, the following contentious points warrants further scrutiny by the people of our country: (1) The persons included in the SOFA Agreement are classified as USSD Persons. This will include armed personnel from the US Forces as well as civil servants from the US Department of Defence. It has been estimated that this group constitutes nearly 2.86 million persons.

(2) It has been stipulated in the Agreement that these persons should be granted diplomatic immunity.

(3) While performing their official duties, they are to be allowed to be armed and in uniform.

(4) They are to be exempted from tax.

(5) Both these persons classified as USSD Persons and the US Ministry of Defence would be allowed to,

a) Use any personal property

b) Without being subject to any inspection, license, any form of restrictions or duty, be able to import, export and use any equipment, supplies, material, technology and services and also any training as per their activities according to the Agreement.

(6) To be allowed for any US vessel, air craft or vehicle to enter Sri Lankan territory without being subject to any restrictions or inspection.

(7) Licenses issued by the US Government as well as any Federal State to be recognised. Similar immunity should also be granted to the US contractors.  

(8) To be allowed to operate their telecommunications system.

(9) For this Agreement to be binding, the one and only requirement would be for a Minister of the Yahapalana Government to sign a letter of willingness.

 It must be noted that the US Government had entered Status of Forces Agreement with at least 100 countries. Most of these countries, however, have Defence or Security Arrangements with the US. Sri Lanka does not have such an agreement or arrangement with the US Government. Even when, such agreements are in existence, it still does not guarantee a fair deal for the host country.

Okinawa Island

The classic example is the prevailing situation in Okinawa, Japan. Japan enjoys strong and cordial relations with the US. Yet, successive Japanese Governments have been helpless and unable to resolve the growing social and criminal issues the people in the Okinawa Island undergo because of the US military base and unruly behaviour of the US military personnel.

For years, there has been growing protest by the Islanders against this US military base, which up to date had fallen into stoically deaf ears. It is therefore deeply ironic that the US officials firmly believe that the Sri Lankan military must reduce its military presence within Sri Lanka.

Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement

Whenever the attention turns to the Acquisition & Cross Servicing Agreement, the Yahapalana Government and its proponents are quick to point out that the first ACSA was signed during the Rajapaksa Administration in 2007. However, that is not a satisfactory answer because there are glaring differences between the Agreement that was signed by the Rajapaksa Administration in 2007 and what the Yahapalana Government signed in 2017.

Some of the key features in the ACSA Agreement signed by the Rajapaksa Administration on 5th March 2007 are: (1) The Agreement consisted of only seven pages without any annexure. The ACSA that was signed by the Yahapalana Government consists of over 80 pages with an additional 50 annexure. However, as the contents are yet to be released to the public domain, one can only guess as to what might be included in these 80 pages plus 50 annexure. Therefore, clearly the Agreement signed in 2007 is not the same that was signed in 2017.  

(2) Had an exit clause by giving a 180 day notice.

(3) Was valid only for 10 years. It was only upon its expiry that the Yahapalana Government renewed it.

(4) Only food supplies, petroleum and transport services could be exchanged and not any form of lethal weaponry.

This Agreement signed at the height of the war against terrorism proved to be extremely valuable, especially to the Sri Lanka Navy who received from their US counterparts, intelligence of LTTE ships and floating armouries.  

It is interesting that this Agreement was first tabled by the US Government in 2002. Then also, the Premier was Ranil Wickremesinghe and the President was Chandrika Kumaratunga but the two did not see eye to eye just as at present with Ranil Wickremesinghe and Maithripala Sirisena. However, India did not give a chance to the Wickremesinghe led Government to consider this Agreement for they saw this as allowing the US to have a free military base in its domain.

 The fact, that five years later the Rajapaksa Administration was able to go ahead with this Agreement further attests to their ability to balance various powers to the advantage of our country. India too must have had faith in the Rajapaksa Administration to allow this Agreement to come into force.

Millennium Challenge Cooperation Compact

The Millennium Challenge Cooperation Compact was an institution foundered by the US Congress in 2004. Though it is said to be independent of the US Government, it is managed by top officials of the US Government. The purpose of this institution is said to be to provide development financial assistance, especially in infrastructure projects.

Within four days of the Easter Sunday Massacres, the Financial Minister Mangala Samaraweera was ecstatic that the MCCC had offered USD 460 million, in aid, to build an economic corridor from the Colombo Port to the Trincomalee Port.

 However, this constitutes 28 per cent of our territory. Furthermore, this territory will be subject to American Law and no longer be under the Sri Lankan Law. 

Adding salt to this contention is MCCC’s history of not honouring their word.

They made a similar financial pledge in 2006-7. However, up to date, this pledge had not budged beyond a verbal assurance. Indeed, given that they had made extravagant financial pledges to over 50 countries which the US Congress is yet to approve, it will not be surprising if they cannot deliver. 

Thus, there is always the possibility that we may give up more than a quarter of our land mass to a company that cannot honour their end of the Agreement. Even if they could, the question remains whether there is a price good enough for us to hand over our sovereignty, country and freedom.

ranasingheshivanthi@gmail.com

K.S. Udaya Kumar Courtesy Ceylon Today

Attorney General Dappula de Livera yesterday (28) filed indictments against former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran and nine others in the Special Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar.

The indictments were before a three-Judge Bench comprising Justices Sampath Abeykoon, Sampath Wijeyaratna and Champa Janaki Rajaratna.

Coordinating Officer to the Attorney General, State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne, said that the Court has summoned the accused to appear before the Court on 19 July for the serving of indictments.

She said that the prosecution has already named 115 persons as witnesses in the case while one million Court productions have also been submitted.

The Attorney General has indicted the suspects on 23 counts, under the Offences against the Public Property Act and the Registered Stocks and Securities Ordinance.

Earlier this month, the Attorney General had sought approval from Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya to file indictments against the 10 defendants over the Central Bank Treasury Bonds scam, in the Permanent High Court-at-Bar. On 13 June, the Attorney General received the Chief Justice’s approval to file the case before the Permanent High Court-at-Bar in the Western Province.

Content with the information filed by the Attorney General in the Bond scam case involving the former Central Bank Governor, former Deputy Governor P. Samarasiri, Perpetual Treasuries Limited (PTL) and its Directors, Chief Justice Jayasuriya ordered the Permanent High Court-at-Bar in the Western Province to try the case in respect of the offences stated in the information submitted to him.

Issuing a statement, she said that having considered the information referred by the Attorney General, under Section 12A(4)(a) of the Judicature Act as amended by Act, No. 09 of 2018 and the Chief Justice being of the opinion that the information satisfied criteria (i) (ii) (iii) and (v) specified in Section 12A(4)(a), has made the Order under Section 12A(4)(b) of the said Judicature Act directing that Criminal Proceedings in respect of the offences stated in the said information be instituted before the Permanent High Court-at-Bar in the Western Province against the suspects.

The defendants include Lakshman Arjuna Mahendran, Paththinige Samarasiri, the PTL, PTL Owner Arjun Joseph Aloysius, PTL Chief Executive Officer Kasun Oshadhi Palisena, PTL Chairman Geoffrey Joseph Aloysius, PTL Directors Pushyamithra Gunawardena, Chitta Ranjan Hulugalle, Muthuraja Surendran and Ajahn Gardiye Punchihewa.

The indictments have been filed pertaining to the Central Bank Treasury Bond auction on 27 February 2015.

Seven of the charges against the suspects are as follows;

• Conspiracy to commit criminal misappropriation in respect of Treasury Bonds to the face value of Rs 10.058 billion. (against all suspects)
• Criminal breach of trust in respect of Treasury Bonds to the face value of Rs 10.058 billion (against Mahendran and Samarasiri, the first and second suspects) and thereby causing a loss to the Government in a sum of Rs 688,762,100
• Abetting Mahendran to commit criminal breach of trust in respect of Treasury Bonds to the face value of Rs 10.058 billion (against Samarasiri)
• Criminal misappropriation in respect of Treasury Bonds to the face value of Rs 5 billion (against the PTL)
• Abetting the PTL to commit criminal misappropriation (against all the other suspects)
• Committing insider dealing by the PTL
• Abetting the PTL to commit insider dealing (against all the other suspects)

 K.S. Udaya Kumar 11:34 AM Jun 29 2019

Courtesy Adaderana

The Attorney General has directed the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) to name Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara and former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando as suspects of the Easter attacks.

Further, the Attorney General has requested the Acting IGP to produce them before courts, stated the Attorney General’s Department.

Coordinating Officer to the Attorney General, State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne said the Acting IGP was instructed on the matter last Thursday, however, no action has been taken in this regard.

Accordingly, the Attorney General has directed a letter to the Acting IGP, calling him to state reasons for not implementing the instructions.

The Attorney General last Thursday instructed the Acting IGP to name the former Defence Secretary and the IGP as suspects of Easter attacks, on the evidence revealed through investigations that the duo is culpable for the deaths and the major property damage caused by the attacks.

The special investigation board, after considering the facts and documentary evidence, has uncovered that the former Defence Secretary and the IGP’s criminal negligence and excessive delinquency have caused the casualties and property damage in the terrorist attacks on the 21st of April.

State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne added that the Acting IGP is yet to respond to the letter directed to him today.

Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Colombo, July 1 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president said Monday he had rejected a telephone appeal by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to reconsider his push to reintroduce the death penalty after 43 years.

I told the Secretary General that I want to save my country from drugs,” Maithripala Sirisena told a meeting in Colombo to mark his anti-narcotics drive.He telephoned me last week shortly after I signed four death warrants. I told him to please allow me to stamp out the drug menace,” Sirisena said.

Sirisena told reporters on Wednesday that he had signed death warrants for four drug offenders, but did not give their names nor say when and where the executions would be carried out.

He accused the European Union of interfering in the internal affairs of his country, saying that EU diplomats had threatened him with tariffs if Sri Lanka went ahead with the executions.

The EU told me that they will withdraw the GSP Plus (tariff concession) if I go ahead,” Sirisena said. This is interfering with the sovereignty and independence of our country. It is unacceptable.”

He also took a swipe at Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and at non-governmental organisations that had criticised him over his stance.

Wickremesinghe had on Sunday said that a majority of parliament members were against Sirisena’s decision to resume executions.

Sirisena faces several court challenges to his decision to restore the death penalty.

In the latest case filed in the Supreme Court Monday, the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) noted it was long recognised that hanging by death was a cruel and inhuman form of punishment, not befitting a multi-religious and civilised society.

Though convicts have been sentenced to death, the long recognised practice in Sri Lanka for over 43 years has been that they were not executed,” the CPA’s executive director Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu said.

Justice ministry sources said they were yet to fill the vacancies for two hangmen, although 26 candidates had been shortlisted for the job.

An executioner was in the post until his retirement in 2014 although no hangings were carried out since June 1976. Three replacements since have quit after short stints at the unused gallows.

Sirisena’s office has said the president wanted the hangings to send a powerful message to anyone engaged in the illegal drugs trade.

Sirisena said there were 200,000 drug addicts in the country, and 60 percent of the 24,000-strong prison population were drug offenders.

Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Colombo, July 1 (Xinhua) — Thirty five people died and over 23,000 were infected by the dengue virus across Sri Lanka in the first six months of this year, the Epidemiology Unit said here Monday.

Till the end of June, a total of 23,842 dengue cases were reported, with the highest number of cases reported from the Colombo district with 5,069 cases, followed by Gampaha in the outskirts of Colombo with 3,052 cases and Galle in the south with 2,031 cases.

With the ongoing rains, the Epidemiology Unit said it had identified five high risk districts which include Colombo, Gampaha, Galle, Kalutara in the Western Province and Ratnapura, in south central Sri Lanka.

Medical experts have urged people to seek immediate medical attention if they suffered from high fever, uncontrolled vomiting, abdominal pain, dizziness and reduced urinary.

All fever patients need rest and should refrain from attending work or school,” epidemiologists said.

Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) can be fatal,” epidemiologists added.

Medical experts have further urged pregnant women to seek hospital admission immediately on the first day of fever.

Last year, over 50 people died and over 48,000 were affected by the dengue virus in Sri Lanka, with the National Dengue Control Unit launching several programs to eradicate dengue’s breeding grounds in several districts of the island country.

By Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka/ Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Ten years ago, Sri Lanka prevailed in a Thirty Years War against a suicide-bombing separatist terrorism. Ten years later, this year 2019, on Easter Sunday, we were attacked atrociously by another type of terrorism: Islamist jihadist terrorism. So, the question of terrorism has been and remains an existential problem for Sri Lanka and it is from that perspective that I speak.

The question What is to be done?” was initially posed by the writer Chernyshevsky, but was better known after Lenin posed it. What is less well known is that Lenin followed up his question What is to be done?” with another question: Where to begin?”.

I suggest that we begin with understanding the matrix or the disease vector that produces the ideology and the mentality of terrorism, and assess what can be done to take down the matrix or to contain it.

The second question of course is What is to be done?” and there I shall be following in the footsteps of Mr. Rajinder Khanna, the high-level representative of our neighbour and friend, India.

The ‘matrix’ is a set of policies and practices in the world order. One may call it the dark side or the down side of the world order. It is those policies and practices that provide the provocations, the stimuli and the opportunities for terrorism. All you really have to do is unpack the videos that radicalized the terrorists, as well as the videos that they themselves post. You take their pedagogical material and you will see inescapably, unavoidably, the recurrence of certain themes.

The Occupation of the Palestinians and Palestine, and the worsening of that Occupation– that is true, and really is one of the catalysts. The aggression against many Arab and Islamic countries is another. This is also true, and there are videos of the bombings, the cruise missile strikes, the drones and the destruction. Then there are almost incentives provided by the patronizing of, or the space afforded to, certain types of Islamist terrorist organizations, whether it’s the Afghan mujahideen in 1978 or the KLA, or the evacuation from Raqqa in buses in more recent times.

So, you have this particular matrix of policies, of permissiveness, of a strange paradoxical mix of ‘state destruction’ and of the lassitude, for instance concerning the Russian warning about the Boston Marathon bombers. That is the matrix. What are we going to do about it? I leave that to you and our leaders. But I want to emphasize that we are about to see a powerful factor that will help the radicalization of terrorists and the proliferation of terrorists. And that is the talk of and perhaps action against Iran.

Speaking as a representative of Sri Lanka we have no involvement in the battle within the Islamic world, but the reality is that we do know that most of the terrorist organizations come from a certain stream within the Islamist space, the so-called Wahhabi or Salafist space. Not that everybody in that space is an extremist or a terrorist, but that’s where most of it comes from.

But Iran, by contrast, has been the first respondent against it in Syria, even before the decisive support extended by the Russian Federation. Now if Iran is attacked, damaged, diverted, then two things happen. You weaken one side which for whatever reason has chosen to fight against the IS terrorists physically. Therefore, an attack on Iran or weakening of Iran will automatically strengthen, empower and enable the other side within the Islamic space– that is, the side of the Wahhabist-Salafist jihadist terrorists. You also give a message to every young Muslim that it doesn’t really matter; that there is an attack or a threat against you if you belong to an Islamic country and it doesn’t matter which side or which type it is. That is powerful motivator for radicalization of young people including, lone-wolf terrorists.

Now what are we going to do? Are we going to just sit back and say OK, we watched Iraq happen, and we watched Libya, and Syria almost happened, or half happened until Iran and Russia went in? Now something bigger is going to happen which is going to destabilize the region if not the world economy and unleash a tsunami of terrorism because most of them will not have anybody to worry about within the Islamic world and the rest of them will think there is a threat against Islam as a whole. So, this is a question that the world has to ask itself right now because there is a clock ticking.

There is also the problem of permissiveness. I used to tell my French counterparts when I was serving as Ambassador in Paris, please don’t allow these demonstrations of the LTTE with the crossed machine guns on their banners. Don’t allow school kids in Parisian schools, and especially in suburban schools to give their friends videos of the Tamil Tigers’ attacks on civilian airplanes at Katunayake airport because you cannot stop the spread of a bad example.

But that is exactly what is happening in many western societies! So, any kid from a different background can pick up these videos, go home and be turned on by it. Now all of those are problems to do with the matrix. And where to begin?” is to discuss collectively what can be done to shrink this matrix; to clean up this disease vector of policies which constitute the dark underside of the world order.

The second and final point is What is to be done?”. And here I pick up from the excellent points made by India’s Rajinder Khanna. I think we have to pose a universalist definition of terrorism that is parsimonious, that is simple, but strikes a chord in every human being. And that is, we must bracket out the idea that terrorism is any and all kind of violent resistance by non-state actors, because in conditions of invasion and aggression and so on, there’ll always be violent resistance whether we like it or not. Terrorism, ladies and gentlemen, is the deliberate, intentional, lethal targeting of non-combatant civilians.

I propose that there be an attempt to have a Universalist Charter, may be at the level of the United Nations; a Charter which movements claiming to fight for causes which they consider just, can sign up to abjure the use of violence against non-combatants. This is, of course in keeping with the ICRC’s doctrine. If we draw the line of demarcation there, that doesn’t mean all violence ceases and all non-state actors become pacifists, but that is another story altogether, and that has to be dealt with separately. What we can do is bracket out terrorism and then put the ball in the court of not only movements that claim to fight for resistance or liberation but also for states that tend to instrumentalize and tolerate them.

If we make this a question of the killing of innocents, you will have a resonance right in the families of the terrorists, because there will be some who say that’s ok, there is nobody who is innocent, anybody who is involved, even indirectly involved or is passively is a legitimate target– but that will be a minority. There will always be those, a wife, a lover, a son, a daughter a mother, a father, who says this is wrong, don’t do this, Allah didn’t say this should be done, God doesn’t say this, the Buddha doesn’t say this; and they will insist that killing innocents is bad. If we can draw the line there, not an elaborate distinction, but a simple distinction concerning the right and wrong use of violence, then we take the moral high ground.

The states that refuse to go along with this, then expose themselves ethically and morally. Movements that refuse to go along with this also make it very clear that they walk around with a target painted on their back. Because those who subscribe to this, as they did with the landmine convention, and pledge that we will not wittingly engage with the killing of civilians” then, those movements open for themselves a window that someday there could be a negotiated solution with them. That my dear friends, is my answer to the two questions that I posed borrowed from the Russian political tradition, namely, Where to begin?” and What is to be done?”. Thank you very much. ”

(Text of Ambassador Jayatilleka’s speech at the Roundtable discussion on Enhancing international cooperation to combat spread of terrorist ideology and counter self-radicalization of lone terrorists” moderated by Deputy Secretary of Security Council of the Russian Federation Yury Kokov, at the 10^thInternational meeting of the high-ranking officials responsible for security matters at Ufa organized by the Security Council of the Russian Federation.)

Kamalika Pieris

In the 19th Amendment, the main blow to the powers of the President came with the Constitutional Council.  The Constitutional Council was first established in 2001 in the 17th Amendment. The idea was imitated by the civil society, led by the Organization of Professional Associations (OPA). The 17 Amendment was certified on 3rd October 2001. The Constitutional Council was removed in 2010 by the 18^th Amendment and replaced in the 19^th Amendment. 

Under the 1978 Constitution, the President made   the appointments to every important office of the State, from Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers, and Deputy Ministers to Judges of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, from the Attorney General and the Secretary-General of Parliament to the Auditor General and the Commissioner of Elections, the Public Service Commission, the Judicial Service Commission, and the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration.

19th Amendment took this away from the President and gave it back to the Constitutional Council. The unfettered power of the President to appoint persons of his sole choice to critical judicial and government posts was brought under control by the 19th Amendment   declared jubilant Yahapalana supporters.

Composition of Constitutional Council

19th Amendment   said  “There shall be a Constitutional Council which shall consist of the Prime Minister, the Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition, one person appointed by the President, five persons appointed by the President on the nomination of both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition,of whom two persons shall be Members of Parliament and one person nominated upon agreement by the majority of Members of Parliament belonging to political parties or independent groups other than the respective political parties or independent groups to which the Prime Minister and the Leader of theOpposition belongs and appointed by the President. The Speaker shall be the Chairman of the Council.

The Constitutional Council consists of ten members with the Speaker as its Chairman. Of the ten members in the Constitutional Council, seven are members of Parliament and three are outsiders nominated by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. The persons who are not Members of Parliament shall be persons of eminence and integrity who have distinguished themselves in public or professional life.   Three of them must represent the minorities, to reflect the pluralistic character of Sri Lankan society.

When the 17th Amendment was debated in Parliament, some members said that the interests of the minorities were not adequately safeguarded. It was agreed, at the last moment in 2001 to provide that 3 of the 5 nominated members would represent minority interests, Members of Parliament who belong to the respective Minority Communities would be consulted for this purpose.  This was the only provision that was hurriedly made, said Elmore Perera, who was a member of the OPA team that helped draft the Amendment.

The original plan when the 19th Amendment was drafted was to have three lawmakers and seven outsiders. This was opposed and it was decided to have seven lawmakers and three outsiders, said Jayampathy Wickremeratne.

The Constitutional Council speaking in 2019, said that its members are also of the view that the civil society representation must get the majority share in the Constitutional Council. That was the original proposal in the 19th Amendment Bill, but that had to be revised at the committee stage due to objections by the MPs. However, we are of the view that the current composition represents all party views at the Constitutional Council,” they said.

This was also included in the Draft Constitution prepared by Yahapalana. in this draft, the Constitutional Council is supposed to be made up of the following persons – the Prime Minister; the Speaker of Parliament; the Leader of the Opposition; the Speaker of the Second Chamber; one person appointed by the President; five persons appointed on nomination by both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition; and one person nominated by agreement among the majority of the Members of Parliament belonging to political parties or independent groups, other than the political parties to which the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition belong reported Chandraprema.

We see that the number of persons on the Constitutional Council is to go up from ten to eleven with the addition of the Speaker of the Second chamber, commented Chandraprema. The composition is also to change from having seven parliamentarians and three non-politicians at present to just four parliamentarians and seven non-politicians This is obviously in keeping with the idea that non-politicians were somehow more exalted, more independent, more upright and less likely to do the wrong thing than a politician,   continued Chandraprema.

The draft constitution specifically says, that other than the Speaker, Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and the Speaker of the proposed second chamber, none of the other members of the CC should be Members of Parliament, Members of the proposed Second Chamber, Members of a Provincial Council, or members of any political party. However in selecting their supposedly non-political nominees, the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition are mandatorily required to consult the leaders of political parties represented in Parliament ‘so as to ensure that the Constitutional Council reflects the pluralistic character of Sri Lankan society, including professional and social diversity’, concluded Chandraprema.

Functions of Constitutional Council

The Constitutional Council was given the task of selecting the Chairmen and members of the following commissions. a) The Election Commission. (b) The Public Service Commission. (c) The National Police Commission. (d) The Audit Service Commission. (e) The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka. (f) The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption. (g) The Finance Commission. (h) The Delimitation Commission. (i) The National Procurement Commission.

It shall be the duty of the Council to recommend to the President fit and proper persons for appointment as Chairmen or members of the Commissions specified in the Schedule to this Article, also the recommendations must reflect the pluralistic character of Sri Lankan society, including gender, said 19th Amendment.  In the case of the Chairmen of Commissions, the Council shall recommend three persons for appointment, and the President shall appoint one of the persons recommended as Chairman.

 No person shall be appointed by the President as the Chairman or a member of any of the above Commissions, said the 19th Amendment, except on a recommendation of the Council. The appointment had to be made within 14 days of receiving the recommendation. If the President failed to do so, the nominees would be deemed to be appointed.

The Constitutional Council was also to name the following. The Chief Justice and the Judges of the Supreme Court. (b) The President and the Judges of the Court of Appeal. (c) The Members of the Judicial Service Commission, other than the Chairman. The Attorney-General. (b) The Auditor-General. (c) The Inspector-General of Police. (d) The Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (Ombudsman). (e) The Secretary-General of Parliament. 

The 19th Amendment stated that in the case of Judges of the Supreme Court and the President and Judges of the Court of Appeal, the Council must obtain the views of the Chief Justice.  The first draft of the 19th Amendment had a provision making it mandatory for the Constitutional Council and the Judicial Services Commission to consult the Bar Association of Sri Lanka when appointing judges. This was shouted down by the Opposition and the provision was dropped when the 19th Amendment was finally passed.

The Constitutional Council of the 19th Amendment had a status that even the President did not have. 19th Amendment said any decision of the Constitutional Council or any approval or recommendation made by the Council, shall be final and conclusive for all purposes. This means that the Constitutional Council is immune from any sort of legal action by any Court and no person or institution can question the decision of the Constitutional Council.  However, the 19th Amendment makes the Executive answerable to the Parliament while making the Parliament not answerable to any authority whatsoever, exclaimed critic.

There is more.  No person appointed under the recommendation of the Constitutional Council shall be removed except as provided for in the Constitution or in any written law, and where there is no such provision, the person shall be removed by the President only with the prior approval of the Council.  Savitri Goonesekera pointed out that one of the limitations in the 19th Amendment is that it has not addressed, very unfortunately, the critical issue of the removal of judges of the Supreme Court. I see that this is an omission, she said.

The first Constitutional Council had Champika Ranawaka (President’s nomination), Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe (Prime Minister’s nomination) and Vijitha Herath (Parliament’s nomination), Bimal Ratnayake (minor party representative) A. T. Ariyaratne, Radhika Coomaraswamy and Shibly Aziz (Appointed members)  later Naganathan Selvakumaran, Jayantha Dhanapala and Javed Yusuf .

The Constitutional Council, once appointed, settled down to the difficult task of making recommendations to a wide range of offices, regarding which they probably knew much less than the President. Anyway they muddled through and did their job. They recommended Senior Supreme Court Justice Nalin Perera and thereafter, Attorney General, Jayantha Jayasuriya as Chief Justice. Chula Wickramaratne was approved for the position of Auditor General. Pujitha Jayasundera as Inspector General of Police.

Appointments made by Constitutional Council to judiciary.

The Constitutional Council ran into trouble over its appointments, starting with the appointment of the Chief Justice. President Sirisena’s nomination for this post was rejected because the Chief Justice was not favor of that name. Constitutional Council however, firmly refused to make public, the comments made by the Chief Justice. If the CJ says a particular judge should not be promoted due to adverse judicial behavior, we will not make that information public, they said.

Why wasn’t the most senior Judge considered? The government has claimed that the most senior Supreme Court judges name was not submitted by the President. If so, why did the Constitutional Council not ask the President why he did not,  said a critic.

The Constitutional Council continued to bungle. The Constitutional Council delayed to recommend a nominee for President of the Court of Appeal, when the post fell vacant in January 2019.  This created a problem. It was not possible to appoint ‘Acting’ Presidents of the Court of Appeal without the permanent President. An acting appointment can be made only where a sitting President of the Court of Appeal is temporarily unable to  carry out his duties, due to illness, absence from Sri Lanka or any other cause said  the Constitution. 

This left the appointment of acting Presidents to the Court of Appeal in a legal quandary, observed J.C.Weliamuna,  because, that meant that there is, no constitutionally established Court of Appeal. The Constitutional Council and the President must work together to decide on a suitable candidate, he said. The judiciary, Attorney-General’s Department and private bar have many highly qualified and suitable nominees.

 The Constitutional Council ran into trouble over the appointments to the superior courts. President Sirisena had nominated a single candidate each for the two superior courts, Deepali Wijesundera for the Supreme Court and Kusala Sarojini Weerawardena for the Court of Appeal. If she made it into Supreme Court, Deepali Wijesundera would then have been next in line for Chief Justice on the grounds of seniority. Both were knocked out, since civil society groups were against these two names and Sirisena sent in 12 more names.

In February 2019 the President complained to Parliament that 14 names of judges had been rejected by the Constitutional Council .without any reasons given. The Speaker has sent me a four-page letter stating that the seniority would not be counted as the sole criterion when making the appointments by the Constitutional Council, he grumbled.” It is said that the Constitutional Council rejects the names of the judges on the basis of judgments they have given in the past. Those who get their names rejected think that I am responsible for that. “

Analysts pointed out that the one consistent feature noticeable in these recommendations is that most senior persons have not been selected. For instance, Constitutional Council did not approve former Solicitor General Suhadha Gamlath as Attorney-General.  Mr. Gamlath was the most senior Solicitor General. He was not selected but a junior was, said a critic.  

The Constitutional Council replied its critics. The CC only approves or disapproves the nominations sent by the President, it said. Also, there are three parties, namely the President, Chief Justice and the Constitutional Council, involved in the matter. The CJ’s reasoning in approving or disapproving the nominations were given special consideration by the Constitutional Council.

The Constitutional Council thereafter announced in March 2019 that it has decided to seek the Attorney General’s opinion to draft the modalities and criteria for the appointment of judges and other members of the commissions.

Appointments made by Constitutional Council in the Police department.

In 2016, the Constitutional Council selected Pujitha Jayasundera for the post of Inspector General of Police.  He was appointed over the head of Snr. DIG S.M. Wickramasinghe. Constitutional Council nominated Pujitha Jayasundera   overlooking the most eligible candidate nominated by the President, comment critics.  ‘There were no shortcomings on Wickramasinghe‘s part that we know of, said an analyst. ’ Jayasundera‘s appointment was objected to at the time.  At the time the IGP was appointed, I told them to appoint someone else. But they did not heed my advice said Sarath Fonseka.

This appointment has been heavily condemned.  Television news showed IGP Pujitha Jayasundera speaking to a bigwig, calling him ‘Sir’ and assuring him that ‘Nilame’ would not be arrested. Here was the head of police himself assuring the caller that the law could be somehow adjusted to suit the circumstance, said a critic.

Junior ranks of the Police Department complain that the recent promotions effected by the National Police Commission on the recommendation of IGP Pujith Jayasundara have overlooked many deserving officers. Not even the person adjudged the best policeman in the country in 2017 has been considered for promotion.

 The best policeman of the year was selected in a competition among 440 stations countrywide. The person who scored the highest mark too has been overlooked among many other deserving cases.

Priority had been given to the policemen who were working for the Ministers and politicians in the Ministerial Security Division for promotions while those who served difficult areas had been overlooked,..

The NPC, on the recommendation of IGP Jayasundara, granted promotions to 2891 police officers of various ranks following interviews. The policemen who attended the interviews with the recommendations of their senior officers were given 10 marks at the interview while those who did not have such recommendations were given only five marks.

The Constitutional Council  in March 2019 decided to postpone naming a permanent Chairman to the National Police Commission (NPC) and let its members decide on a protem Chairman at its each sitting to continue its functions.

The Constitutional Council  was created to curb the arbitrariness of executive action. Therefore, if such an institution is to fulfill the purposes for which it was created, it has to gazette and place before Parliament the parameters that guide its operations. Else, it amounts to replacing the arbitrariness of an individual with that of an institution whose decisions are final and cannot be challenged.

If the Constitutional Council  had assigned weightage to the qualities they were looking for, when they developed guidelines, this would have been a non-issue. The lack of such procedures has made the guidelines for selection open to question said analyst.

Analysts were highly critical of the Constitutional Council recommendations. We could accept their selection, ignoring seniority and merit if the persons selected by them, , have been better than the seniors who were overlooked. But those who were nominated were not better than those  overlooked. It is no secret that many people in this country have reservations about the people recommended by the Constitutional Council, said critics. It should be made incumbent on its members inform an officer, when his seniority and merit are ignored, why he was not selected . After all, the Constitutional Council also must be accountable.

Seniority and merit were the age old criteria for promotion to all positions in the Public Service, Judiciary and Overseas’ Service. We should get rid of the Constitutional Council and revert to the simple principle of seniority and merit for promotion to high posts, they concluded. 

Criteria  for appointments

There was criticism that the CC lacks a set of criteria in approving the appointments referred to it. The 19th Amendment  said that  Constitutional Council  ‘has the power’ to make rules relating to the performance and discharge of its duties and functions. All such rules shall be published in the Gazette and be placed before Parliament within three months of such publication”.

The CC was created to curb the arbitrariness of executive action. Therefore, if such an institution is to fulfill the purposes for which it was created, it has to gazette and place before Parliament the parameters that guide its operations. Else, it amounts to replacing the arbitrariness of an individual with that of an institution whose decisions are final and cannot be challenged, said critics.

The Constitutional Council contested this. They issued a statement in March 2019, saying that it was using same  criteria followed by the then Constitutional Council of 2002. The Constitutional Council  has informed the President and all MPs on this set of criteria and requested suggestions if any revisions are needed.

Constitutional Council said that the Council called for applications for vacancies in the independent commissions and only considered for nomination persons who had applied. The Council examined the requirements for each Commission as spelled out in the Constitution or the appropriate legislation”, and placed priority on integrity, independence and non-partisanship.” It looked for professional experience that was relevant to the work” of the respective commission, and outstanding qualities and leadership in important institutions or positions.”

The Council also weighed maturity” against the benefits of younger candidates” who could bring new ideas” to the workings of particular commissions. Diversity, in terms of ethnicity and gender in particular” was another factor considered by the Council in recommending nominees to the independent commissions. 

When it came to judicial and other appointments under Article 41C of the Constitution, the Council was not required to call for or evaluate applications for vacancies, but only to evaluate and approve persons nominated by the President.

Constitutional Council  gave a detailed statement to Parliament as to the criteria it was using. This report tabled by the Speaker set out the different criteria used by the Council in evaluating candidates submitted by the President.

In evaluating potential Chief Justices, the Council gave preference to senior Justices of the Supreme Court, serving Attorneys-General, and private lawyers with a successful practice and at least 30 years of legal experience who are held in high regard” by the judiciary and the legal profession. With the exception of sitting Justices of the Supreme Court, other candidates for Chief Justice were expected to be below 62 years.

Persons nominated to fill vacancies on the Supreme Court were expected by the Council to be attorneys of outstanding ability” with at least 25 years of legal experience. They must be serving on the Court of Appeal, a Solicitor General level officer or higher of the Attorney-General’s Department, a private lawyer with a successful practice held in high regard” by the judiciary and the bar, Secretary to the Justice Ministry, Legal Drafts person, or a jurist or person of high academic attainments in the field of law.”

In the case of Justice Secretaries, Legal Drafts persons or other jurists”, the Council also requires that they have made a significant contribution to the development and advancement of the law” and that they are held in high regard by Judges and the legal profession.” Except for sitting Justices of the Court of Appeal, all other candidates are required to be under 62 years.

Potential Presidents of the Court of Appeal must be senior Justices serving on that court or be practicing,  with a successful career spanning at least 25 years either in the private bar with a successful practice or in the Attorney General’s Department serving in a Solicitor General-level post or above. Non-judicial applicants for this post are also required to be held in high regard” by the legal profession and the judiciary. Except for sitting Court of Appeal Judges, other candidates must be under 60 years.

Justices of the Court of Appeal are expected to be persons of outstanding ability” with at least 20 years of experience of practicing law. They may be senior High Court judges, a Deputy Solicitor General or higher grade officer of the Attorney General’s Department, a private practitioner held in high regard by the legal profession and judiciary, Justice Ministry Secretary, Legal Draftsperson, or a jurist of high academic attainments in the field of law.”

Candidates in the latter four categories are also required to have made a significant contribution to the development and advancement of the law” and to be held in high regard by the Judges and the legal profession.” Except for sitting High Court judges, other candidates must be below 60 years old.

Regarding candidates to the Judicial Services Commission, the two most senior judges of the Supreme Court are approved. However, in the event where both the Chairman and the most senior Justice are not career Judicial Officers, the most senior career Judge will be approved to be appointed as a member” of the Judicial Services Commission.

Candidates for Attorney General must be either a serving Justice of the Supreme Court, the Solicitor General or a senior Additional Solicitor General, or a private practitioner attorney with at least 30 years of legal experience who is held in high regard by the judiciary and the legal profession.

A prospective Auditor-General from the Auditor General’s Department must be a Deputy Auditor General with either 25 years or more experience in the Department or a degree in Economics, Law, Mathematics or other subject with membership of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and at least five years in an executive grade position in the public sector.

Candidates from outside of the Auditor-General’s Department must possess a degree, preferably in Economics, Law or Mathematics, be a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, and have at least 15 years of post-qualification experience in an executive grade position in accounting, auditing, finance control or monitoring, including at least ten years of public sector experience.

 When evaluating candidates to serve as Inspectors General of Police (IGP), the Council rules only allow the selection of a serving Senior Deputy Inspector General from the Sri Lanka Police, who must have uninterrupted service in the police force, at least ten years of service in operational areas including at least one year in charge of a police division in such an area, at least five years in a gazetted post in a special duty division such as the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Field Force Headquarters or Administration of Supplies and Services Headquarters, and five years of service at a Deputy Inspector General or Senior Deputy Inspector General including at least one year in charge of a police range. Potential IGP candidates who have completed a service period in a gazetted post in the field of Intelligence are given additional consideration, concluded the statement.

Criticism

The Constitutional Council was heavily criticized. The very existence of the Constitutional Council has  been questioned. The concept of an ‘independent’ Constitutional was flawed said analysts. The creation of such a Council amounts to a violation of the Constitution based on the Court’s determination that “…as long as the President remains the head of the Executive, the exercise of his powers remain supreme or sovereign in the executive field”. The transfer of key appointments from the President to a Constitutional Council should have required a referendum since it amounts to transfer or removal of executive power from the President to another body – the Constitutional Council.

The first Constitutional Council  appointed under the 19th Amendment was a 100% Yahapalana outfit,   said Chandraprema. With the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader representing opposing sides, the only practical way an agreement can be reached on making nominations to the Constitutional Council  will be if the two sides divide up the slots among themselves,  taking turns to appoint the remaining member.

I’ll scratch your back, you scratch my back’ kind of cooperation soon evolved with the political parties sharing out the slots among themselves. The President appointed his catcher, PM appointing two of his catchers, the Leader of the Opposition appointing two of his, and the smaller parties took turns appointing their catchers to the Constitutional Council  in turn.

The Prime Minister was a Yahapalanite, the leader of the opposition was a Yahapalanite, the Speaker was a Yahapalanite, the five nominees to be appointed by the Prime Minister and leader of the opposition were all Yahapalanites, the President’s nominee to the CC was a Yahapalanite and the nominee of the political parties to whom neither the Prime Minister nor the leader of the opposition belongs was a Yahapalanite. The three ostensible non-politicians on the CC are all Yahapalanites.

Every person elected to high office in the past four years was also Yahapalanite.  The former Solicitor General,  Srinath Perera admitted in an interview, that top positions were being given to political fellow travelers of the government,  said Chandraprema.

Apologists of the scheme  forget that  the Constitutional Council  only shifted the decision-making powers from the President-led Cabinet to another group of people, who were all political nominees.

The need for some kind of a vetting process in making high state appointments was of course desirable, but not the way the 19th Amendment did it. To start with, when appointing the   three non-parliamentarians the Constitution requires the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition to consult the political parties in Parliament, making it a political exercise, observed Chandraprema. Further, there was heavy canvassing by interested persons and groups .

If the Constitutional Council rejects the nominee of the President without any valid reason, the President can keep on sending names and the Constitutional Council can keep on rejecting such names. The President can also keep on sending names to the Constitutional Council knowing fully well that it might not approve them. This again creates a situation where the country becomes ungovernable, speculated an analyst.

Instead the rules for the selection to posts could have been formulated and given statutorily to the Constitutional Council. The Constitutional Council could have been directed to call upon citizens of the country either on their own or for the citizens themselves to apply to be appointed to these high posts and the selection process could be done based on the criteria provided statutorily while several names (may be 3) could have been sent to the President.

The President could have made his selection from out of those nominated. This would have been a far better method of getting the best person appointed and a practical one. The Executive power of the President, like in the American Constitution, could have been given entirely to the President where he decides on the best individuals to run the Executive.

The type of Ministries could have been decided by the Parliament and could have been fixed in terms of the Constitution itself. The control of Public Finance could have continued to be with Parliament and the Executive while the Legislative functions could have been separated creating a more efficient form of Government which would be conducive for Good Governance rather than what has been created now.

The 19th Amendment  also required the CC to forward reports of their activities to the President every three months. However, so far no progress review report has been handed over to the President , said the media in February 2019.

This essay ends with  a chorus of support for the Constitutional Council . The Council applied high standards of probity and rectitude in considering the nominees for the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal sent in by President Maithripala Sirisena, said the supporters of the Constitutional Council. It is reliably understood that the two new nominees of the Council to the Supreme Court are both upright judges currently serving the Court of Appeal. Both have a track record of being impartial and honest, the support group  said.

The Constitutional Council embodies that essential principle of key state appointments being independently vetted and approved by a collective leadership, said Harim Pieris. This has, in fact, led to a renewed Sri Lanka, where senior police officers are institutionally independent of politicians now, in their professional work and careers,.

it surely boggles the mind and is inconceivable that a collective of ten members of the Constitutional Council, comprising ex officio the Speaker, the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition, their nominees and three eminent non-partisan persons, can make a bigger mistake and be allegedly partisan, than a single individual, as would be the case of the executive president concluded Harim Pieris.

With the Constitutional Council , the country has seen a remarkable improvement in the quality of the delivery of justice. The Constitutional Council  has a mechanism and guidelines by which candidates are vetted and filtered. Judges vetted unanimously by the Council and appointed by the President, have been dignified, independent, competent and dynamic. This is an achievement discussed among the judiciary around the world, and none other than our own judges hear this for themselves when they interact with their counterparts across the globe, said J.C. Weliamuna.

Who could argue that such a process does not incentivize distinction, hard work and independence throughout the judiciary and public service? If public servants, police officers and judges know that their career prospects at the height of their careers will depend on scrutiny of their track record by a Council made up of all political parties and eminent persons from civil society, any incentive to work according to the whims of a given political master rapidly evaporates concluded Weliamuna.

 Kishali Pinto Jayawardene also sees potential in the Constitutional Council .We see cleverly managed slings and arrows being leveled at the Constitutional Council in terms of pointed questions which the Council has indeed become helpless to answer, such as if there are no credible disciplinary issues against ‘so-and-so’, why is the promotion not being made? Or if ‘so-and-so’ is fit to sit in the Court of Appeal, from whence does the unsuitability to sit as the President of that Court or in the Supreme Court arise.

 These onslaughts are part of a well orchestrated plot to undermine even the constitutional minimum that we have. In particular, the CC is being savaged as it has stood firm in the matter of judicial promotions. This issue is linked, to a larger question of disciplinary procedures relating to judges of the appellate courts. If credible allegations exist of behavior unsuitable for judicial office (viz; acceptance of money by politicians, sexual misconduct or decisions taken with political bias and conflict of interest), then these must be formally investigated in a process that is not politically compromised said Kishali. ( CONCLUDED)

By Rohana R. Wasala

The true barbarian is he who thinks everything barbarous but his own tastes and prejudices. -William Hazlitt

Sunday Island columnist Sanjana Hattotuwa (‘What we are today’/June 23, 2019), as if stoned on the drug of racist hatred and prejudice against the majority Sinhalese Buddhists who constitute 70% of the Sri Lankan population (Sinhalese account for at least 75% of the population in terms of racial composition, it could be 80% or more in reality), implicitly condemns all nationalist oppositional forces including the non-political Maha Sangha as barbarians. This, of course, is  self-inflicted racism, because, as the name suggests, the person is a Sinhalese. (All ethnicities are represented among nationalists in varying proportions; nationalists are not exclusively Sinhalese or Sinhalese Buddhists; not all Sinhalese are nationalists either.) 

What SH offers the Sunday Island readers is a stinker of a scurrilous piece of writing soiled with a verbal diarrhoeal discharge absolutely devoid of meaning. Baseless implicit or explicit charges of racial supremacism, religious exclusivism, and political majoritarianism have been repeated ad nauseam against the majority community over the past decades. Today, for all their innocence of these evils, they have become hapless victims of other people’s racism, religious intolerance, and minoritarian politics of genocidal proportions. While this is the ground truth about the predicament of the majority Sinhalese at present, Hattotuwa’s great worry seems to be over the distinct probability of the nationalist forces uniting to oust the failed foreign sponsored Yahapalanaya before long. All his allegations, particularly against the majority community and the Buddhist monks, about visiting violence on innocent Muslims are baseless assertions, which seem to have  to do with some personal embitterment in life he has experienced. He deserves to be treated with understanding and sympathy; but the truth that he wants to hide, especially from the small but important English reading public, must be stated in the national interest. Hence this article is written as a reply to SH, although I feel he is not worthy of one. It is respectfully offered to the intelligent and fair minded readers of the Sunday Island and others interested, for their critical engagement and appraisal.

His Eminence the Cardinal’s urgent appeal to the Catholics for calm, after the April 21 terrorist bombings, completely neutralized any possibility of retaliatory violence by them on innocent Muslims who had nothing to do with those terror attacks. His personal call was  much more effective than whatever the government did in that respect on its own initiative. There was no reason to fear that the Buddhists would perpetrate any violence on Muslims to avenge terrorist attacks on Catholic churches. 

Those of us who are old enough can remember at least three occasions (out of many) in the past that the Sinhalese Buddhists remained calm under extreme provocation and avoided communal violence: On May 14, 1985, LTTE terrorists shot dead 146 innocent Sinhalese Buddhist men, women and children arriving at Anuradhapura to take part in religious observances at the Sri Maha Bodhi there, some of them already engaged in those activities; on June 2, 1987, 33 Buddhist monks, most of them teenaged or younger novices, were hacked to death, at Aranthalawa by LTTE terrorists; on January 25, 1998, the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy, the holiest Buddhist shrine in the country, was truck-bombed by an LTTE suicide cadre, killing 17 early morning worshippers, and seriously injuring more than 25. When these atrocities were committed,  innocent Tamils or their shops and houses or their Kovils were not attacked by the Sinhalese, although that was what the terrorists expected to provoke them to do, in order to discredit the Sinhalese majority in the eyes of the world. (It should be noted that in Kandy, businesses are overwhelmingly possessed and controlled by Tamil speakers including Muslims.) 

So, is it likely that these Sinhalese Buddhist ‘barbarians’ wanted to attack  Muslims, their businesses and houses in Minuwangoda and Kuliyapitiya one month after those Islamic terror attacks on Catholic churches elsewhere that they had nothing to do with? Neutral media sources point out that the perpetrators of the violence in those places

which equally affected Sinhalese families, businesses and houses were strangers to the area, and that they were probably agents provocateurs. Opposition observers claim government involvement. Persons arrested by the police, the same sources allege, were people who were sight-seeing or were there to try and stop the violence and help out those already subjected to it, without discrimination. 

In SH’s opinion, such allegations as those about serving food adulterated with unknown drugs to Sinhalese customers who go to Muslim eateries, and about forced sterilization of unsuspecting Sinhalese mothers by restricting  the fallopian tubes by a Muslim doctor, are attributable not to the ‘domain of fringe lunacy’ but to something worse that is signalled by the statements of the (Most Venerable) Asgiriya Mahanayake Thera, presumably because the Thera has implied that these charges against suspected Islamic extremist sympathisers are credible (Here my interpretation could be wrong, but this is what I can make out of SH’s convoluted prose). SH chooses not to recognize or indulge the religious sensitivities of the Buddhist readers of his piece by avoiding respectful honorifics before the names of Buddhist monks. He grants the Most Venerable Warakagoda Gnanaratana, the Mahanayake Thera of Asgiriya Chapter, no more significance than that due to his seniority. 

The Asgiriya prelate’s attitude is an implicit indictment of the government’s failure to duly investigate the specific charges and take tangible action if they are found to be true or to reassure the vast majority of the multiethnic multi-religious population threatened by a small group of extremist Islamists. If the high monk’s stand is something worse than fringe lunacy as SH warns, what does he say about His Eminence the Cardinal who, in no uncertain terms, accuses the government of direct responsibility for the Easter Sunday attacks? His Eminence repeated this charge even in Rome a week or so ago. The Most Venerable Mahanayake Thera of the Malwatte Chapter, a diehard supporter of the UNP, recently chided a senior-most cabinet minister, who is a potential presidential nomination aspirant from that party, for offering surveillance  cameras for his monastery instead of doing more to ensure the security of the people. The Asgiriya High Monk’s recent candid criticism of the UNP as the party that caused the greatest harm to the country and the nation in recent times (which seems to have got SH’s goat) was evidence based, and went down well with the masses impatiently waiting for a change of government. 

As opposed to unfounded allegations hurled at the nationalist oppositional forces, there are reasonable grounds for one to assume that the serious charges that are raised against certain extremist elements in a particular community by the ‘barbarians’ are based on verifiable factual observations, although the government prefers to be in denial. That is, according to free online news media sources. SH dismisses these reported facts contemptuously without bothering to study them as part of his work in investigative journalism that he apparently wants to take credit for. Only perfect blockheads will accept his opinion regarding the matter, while rejecting the scientific fact based explanation of the allegation against the doctor in question (who has acted as a house officer in a Kurunegala hospital) by an internationally recognized young university medical professor of Sinhalese ethnicity. 

Whose views should we attach credence to? SH’s or the two religious personages’ and the medical professor’s? 

SH has also made references to Ven. Ratana and Ven. Gnanasara Theras (who are monk activists of two different models).  He accuses Ven Gnanasara of using ‘virulent words’ and doing ‘violent actions’. The truth is that though sometimes he used harsh language he didn’t mean any harm to anybody.  He only wanted people to listen to the legitimate complaints he had against the unacceptable activities of fundamentalist sects targeting peaceful Buddhists, Christians, Catholics, Hindus, and traditional Muslims. In spite of sometimes assuming threatening postures, he never indulged in physical violence on persons or property. The Islamic violence that he started warning against in 2013 materialized  on April 21 this year. That day he was still in prison. He said he cried looking at the pictures of the bodies of small children killed in the church blasts. After his release from prison, not long after, he didn’t exult claiming that he was vindicated about the passionate warnings that he had been sounding for so long. He said that he only deeply regretted that all his efforts to get the authorities to investigate the evidence he was giving them and to get them to act in order to prevent such mayhem and destruction fell through. 

On being freed from prison, he declared his intention to get back to his usual spiritual pursuits as a Buddhist monk, away from mundane affairs. He said, I have done my duty by the country. I am now tired”. But then, the young Buddhist activists who had been following him urged him to resume the work he was doing for safeguarding the country’s age-old Buddhist cultural legacy without which the Sri Lankan state cannot survive whole. It is the dominant Sinhalese Buddhist culture that ensures the peaceful coexistence and flourishing of all communities. So he relented. After all, Buddha advised his disciples to ideologically defeat all superstitions and awaken people to see things as they really are, Ven. Gnanasara says. That’s what Ven. Gnanasara will be doing in the future. He wants the Maha Sangha to remain above politicians and get them to rule righteously so that the country, the people and the Buddha Sasanaya will be saved for the good of all. 

The Maha Sangha are the spiritual leaders of the majority of the population. Yet they have been unable to provide them with the inspiring and protective moral  leadership that it is their historical duty to provide to the nation. The Cardinal provided that leadership to the Catholics, and he was immediately recognized as a national hero, most of all by the Buddhists, for playing that role with such dedication and compassion. His Eminence’s bold criticism of the suspected government’s dereliction of duty concerning national security  is just and it will go a long way towards correcting the situation soon. His praiseworthy conduct has put our leading monks to shame. It is heartening to see that they are now awakening to the reality. Ven. Gnanasara’s contribution in this connection should be recognized. 

However, three glaring defects of Ven. Gnanasara’s personality that have greatly damaged his reputation and have substantially harmed the national cause that he is championing are the impetuous nature of his temperament, his naivety and his unguarded tongue. Had he been a politician he would have controlled all these better. Not being a politico is not enough for a monk. It’s no harm having the positive qualities that successful politicians possess such as coolness, cleverness, and controlled speech.

Ven. Ratana, the scheming politician monk, put a hex on the Maha Sangha awakening that Ven. Gnanasara facilitated through his non-political activism, which, unfortunately, even led him to jail, mainly due to the aforementioned personality defects. Though Ven. Gnanasara disapproved of the other’s ‘farcical fast’ (as SH rightly describes it), he had no choice but to temporarily associate with Ven. Ratana’s demand that the three Muslim politicians he charged were connected with Islamic terrorism resign from their posts, though this was not the correct thing to be urged at that stage. Ven. Ratana’s objective was, apparently, to steal a march on the non-political monks who were just beginning to move in the correct direction. Ven. Gnanasara, after that episode including his own questionable but excusable part in it, criticised the Ven. Ratana’s realpolitik. Ven. Ratana’s gatecrashing will be an obstruction to finding a permanent solution to the crucial problem of Islamic fundamentalist threat to our country. Ven. Ratana cannot provide the political leadership that the country needs, nor can he provide any spiritual leadership either, because of the duality of his role.

If SH has any genuine concern about Sri Lanka, he must try to correctly identify the real barbarians and blockheads who are responsible for  the deplorable state of the country today. He must explain why the foreign advocated policies of the government are good for our people, if he thinks so, while demonstrating that he has a correct idea of the existential threats that they being confronted with. Please address yourself to them, not to the foreign powers who are in our region to promote what they can do there in the interest of the well-being and security of their own respective peoples back home.  

පේශල පසන් කරුණාරත්න

කළුතර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය නිවර්තන සදාහරිත වනාන්තර කීපයකටම හිමිකම් කියන්නා වූ ජෛව හා පරිසර පද්ධති විවිධත්වයෙන් පොහොසත් දිස්ත්‍රිකකයක් වේ. වර්තමානය වන විට ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ වනාන්තර පද්ධතියට විශාල වශයෙන් මානව ක්‍රියාකාරකම් නිසා තර්ජන එල්ල වෙමින් පවතින අතර කළුතර දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ වනාන්නර පද්ධතිද විශාල වශයෙන් හායනයට ලක් වෙමින් පවතී. මේ නිසා මෙම සංවේදී පරිසර පද්ධති රැක ගැනීමට විශාල වෙහෙසක් දැරීමට සිදුවී ඇත.මෙම කාර්ය ඉටු කර ගැනීම සඳහා විවිධ වූ ආයතන හා සංවිධාන විශාල කැපකිරීමක් සිදු කරන අතර වලල්ලාවිට ප්‍රාදේශීය ලේකම් කොට්ඨාසයෙහි යෞවන සමාජයන්  මේ සඳහා ප්‍රමුඛත්වයක් ගෙන ක්‍රියා කරයි.

එබැවින් වලල්ලාවිට ප්‍රාදේශීය ලේකම් කාර්යාලය විසින් ප්‍රාදේශීය ලේකම් කොට්ඨාසය තුල පවතින පරිසර පද්ධති රැක ගැනීම  සඳහා එම පරිසර පද්ධති ආශ්‍රිතව ජීවත් වන තරුණ තරුණියන්ගේ දායකත්වය ඒ සඳහා ලබා ගැනීමට හා ඒ පිළිබඳව උනන්දුව ඇති කරලීම අදිටන් කර ගනිමින් වනාන්තර පද්ධති වල ජෛව විවිධත්ව වැදගත්කම, ඒවා මුහුණ පා ඇති තර්ජන සහ එහි සංරක්ෂණය පිලිබඳව දැනුවත් කිරීම සඳහා දෙදින ගවේශණාත්මක වනජීවී හා පාරිසරක සංරක්ෂණ වැඩමුළුවක් ජුනි මස 26 සහ 27 දින රූණකන්ද සංරක්ෂණ මධ්‍යස්ථානය හා රූණකන්ද රක්ෂිතය කේන්ද්‍ර කරගනිමින් පැවැත්වුණි.

කළුතර දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ විශාලතම රක්ෂිත වනාන්තරය වන රූණකන්ද යෝජිත රක්ෂිත වනාන්තරය දල වශයෙන් හෙක්ටයාර 6500 පමණ වපසරියකින් යුක්ත වේ. තවමත් යෝජිත තත්වයේ පවතින රක්ෂිත වනාන්තරයක් වන මෙම සුවිශේෂි වනාන්තරය ලෝක උරුම සිංහරාජ වනාන්තරයේ පරිවාර වනාන්තරයක් ලෙස හැඳින්විය හැකිය. ප්‍රධාන වශයෙන් හඳුනාගත හැකි දිය ඇලි 6ක්, ශාක විශේෂ 66ක්, ක්ෂිරපායි විශේෂ 24ක්, ලංකාවට ආවේනික පක්ෂි විශේෂ 24ක්, සර්ප විශේෂ 26ක්, කටුසු විශේෂ 6ක්, මත්ස්‍ය විශේෂ 33ක්, සමනල විශේෂ 50කින් සමන්විත ජෛව විවිධත්වයෙන් ඉතාමත් ඉහල ස්ථානයක පවතින මෙම පරිසර පද්ධතිය කේන්ද්‍ර කොට ගනිමින් පැවැත්වූ වැඩමුළුව සඳහා වලල්ලාවිට යෞවන සමාජ ප්‍රාදේශීය මණ්ඩලයේ තරුණ තරුණියන් 50ස්  දෙනෙකු සහභාගී විය. වලල්ලාවිට ප්‍රදේශීය ලේකම් කාර්යාලය විසින් සංවිධානය කල මෙම වැඩසටහන සඳහා උඩවෙල ජෛව විවිධත්ව මිතුරෝ සංවිධානයේ සහයෝගයද ලැබුණී.

මෙම වැඩසටහන මෙහෙය වූ පරිසරවේදී උදය චානක මහතා විසින් ශ්‍රීලංකාවේ ජෛව විවිධත්වය, එහි ඇති වැදගත් කම, එයට එල්ලවී ඇති තර්ජන, එය රැක ගැනීමට තරුණයන් වශයෙන් දායක විය හැකි ආකාරය පිළිබඳව සහභාගී වූ තරුණ පිරිස දැනුවත් කල අතර  ඔහුගේ  මග පෙන්වීම යටතේ  රූණකන්ද රක්ෂිතය තුල සිදුකල ගවේෂණ වැඩ සටහන මගින් වනාන්තරයක් තුල ක්ෂේත්‍ර අධ්‍යන චාරිකාවක යෙදෙන අන්දම, වන සතුන් සහ ශාක පිළිබඳ විස්තර සටහන් කරගන්නා ආකාරය තරුණයන්ට පැහැදිලි  කරන ලද අතර රූණකන්ද රක්ෂිතයෙන් හමුවන වනජීවීන් පිළිබඳවද තරුණ තරුණියන් දැනුවත් කරන ලදි. මෙහිදී දඹාන ආදීවාසී කෞතුකාගාරයෙහි නිර්මාතෘ නලින් මුණසිංහ මහතා විසින් ශ්‍රීලංකාවේ ආදීවාසීන් පිළිබඳව හා ඔවුන් පරිසරය සමඟ කටයුතු කරන්නා වූ ආකාරය, දැනට ශ්‍රීලංකාවේ ආදීවාසීන්ගේ ව්‍යාප්තිය පිළිබඳව සාරවත් දේශනයක් මගින් දැනුවත් කරන ලදී. වලල්ලාවිට ප්‍රාදේශීය ලේකම් කාර්යාලයේ ළමා හිමිකම් ප්‍රවර්ධන නිලධාරී රංග අබේවීර මහතා විසින් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ පරිසර පද්ධති විනාශකාරී කටයුතු සඳහා තරුණ තරුණියන් වංචනිකව යොදා ගන්නා ආකාරය සහ එවැනි දේ වලින් තරුණයන්ට වැලකිය හැකි ආකාරය හා ඒ පිළිබඳව වගකීමෙන් කටයුතු කරන ආකාරය පිළිබඳවද දැනුවත් කරන ලදි.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සියළුම වනාන්තර හා ජල මූලාශ්‍ර මිනිස් ක්‍රියාකාරකම් නිසා දිනෙන් දින විනාශ වී යමින් පවතින අතර වසරක් පාසා ඇතිවන දරුණු නි‍යං, ගංවතුර හා නාය‍යෑම් වැනි ස්වභාවික විපත් වලට ඒවා මග පාදයි. මේවා සොබා දහමේ අකාරුණික භාවය නොව මිනිසා විසින්ම ඇති කරගන්නා  ලද උවදුරු බව පැහැදිලි කරුණකි. නොදැනුවත්කම හා තාවකාලික වාසි තකා සිදුකරන මෙවන් විනාශකාරී ක්‍රියා දිගින් දිගටම සිදුවීම වැලැක්වීමට පරිසරය පිළිබඳව දරුවන්ට ඉගැන්වීමත්, ජල පෝෂක වනාන්තර හා ජල මූලාශ්‍ර රැක ගැනීමට මතු පරම්පරාව යොමු කිරීමත් අප සියලු දෙනාගේ යුතුකමය. මෙම පුහුණු කඳවුර සාර්ථකව අවසන් කල තරුණ තරුණියන් වෙනුවෙන්  සහතික පත් ප්‍රදානෝත්සවය සඳහා වලල්ලාවිට ප්‍රාදේශීය ලේකම් රන්ජන් ප්‍රියශාන්ත පෙරේරා, අතිරේක ප්‍රාදේශීය ලේකම් එරංගි ප්‍රනාන්දු, තරුණ සේවා නිලධාරී අරුණ ජයතිලක, ළමා හිමිකම් ප්‍රවර්ධන නිලධාරී රංග අබේවීර යන මහත්ම මහත්මීන් පිරිසක් සහභාගී විය.

ස්තූතියි.

පේශල පසන් කරුණාරත්න

සභාපති

සමනල යෞවන සමාජය.

Dr Sarath Obeysekersa 

I flew in to Colombo on Saturday. Sri Lankan air line flight was full  but there were hardly any European guests  flying in to Colombo .It was full of transit passengers.

 Easter  Sunday attack ,is the main reason for lack of tourists arriving in Colombo.

When we read news items people are concentrating more on Dr Shafi s purported crime committed to prevent more Sinhala Children being born .

Government ,police ,journalists keep guessing and blaming how easy to crush Fallopian tube to prevent conceiving a child.Ordinary people came to know about the anatomy only after this incident .It is fortunate that people have forgotten about the suffering of children and people who have perished during the bomb  blasts.

 I happened to meet a Muslim regular mosque goer ,who said that Quran never advocated such heinous acts.it is the local or foreign capitalist anti perialist forces  created such monsters .Even during The times of Eelam war,there were such people who blew themselves up.But we never blamed the whole Tamil nation.

Government and opposition are deviating the  minds of people by giving publicity to Shafi Affair, Badurdeen affair,Copper factory fiasco. 

People should now understand that American Imperialism is the only beneficiary.

SOFA which is being pushed thru like the Sri Lanka Indian peace accord pushed thru many years back is the danger sign to our country and the nation more than Dr Shafi and.Badurdeen.

GMOA is wearing black arm bands and also trying to safeguard Shafi ,thus deviating the attention of the people.

JVP is also not fighting enough to stop implemtation  of SOFA like the way they fought against Signing of Indian Peace accord.

We Sri Lankan people would not like to sea hefty blue berets or US mariners white  or black freely driving thru our cities in their ferocious looking US army transporters  like in Syria ,Libya ,Iraq and Afghanistan.

For the sake of our nation and country ,Muslims ,Tamils and Sinhalese should join hands and fight aginst the SOFA ,rather than punishing Shafi and Badurdeen 

Dr Sarath Obeysekersa 

Janaka Perera

It is erroneous belief that Sri Lanka and most other European colonies were granted Independence by the Atlantic Charter the US and the UK agreed upon in 1941.

There was no formal document called Atlantic Charter with signatures of Heads of States as a Treaty. It was only a discussion paper. 

The two who discussed it Roosevelt and Churchill never meant to give freedom to people in European colonies suffering for centuries under the jackboot of European rule. The so called Atlantic Charter cannot be located anywhere with signatures. It meant different things to different people.

Winston Churchill rejected the universal applicability of the Atlantic Charter when it came to the self-determination of subject nations such as British India. The Americans however were insistent that the charter was to acknowledge that the war was being fought to ensure self-determination.The British were forced to agree to these aims but in a September 1941 speech, Churchill stated that the Charter was only meant to apply to states under German occupation, and certainly not to the countries who formed part of the British Empire.

Mahathma Gandhi in 1942 wrote to President Roosevelt: “I venture to think that the Allied declaration that the Allies are fighting to make the world safe for the freedom of the individual and for democracy sounds hollow so long as India and for that matter Africa are exploited by Great Britain…” 

While self-determination was Roosevelt’s guiding principle, he was reluctant to place pressure on the British in regard to India and other colonial possessions as they were fighting for their lives in a war in which the United States was not officially a participant.^] Gandhi refused to help either the British or the American war effort against Germany and Japan in any way, and Roosevelt chose to back Churchill.

India was already contributing significantly to the war effort, sending over 2.5 million men (the largest volunteer force in the world at the time) to fight for the Allies, mostly in West Asia and North Africa. (See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Charter  )

No body has ever said that freedom was being granted to India and Sri Lanka on the basis of an Atlantic Charter, that does not really exist. 

People in Asia fought the white man and got their freedom. It was never given free.

Examples abound.

India, Indonesia, Myanmar Vietnam illustrate this concept strikingly.

See also

·         Crawford, Neta C. (2002). Argument and Change in World Politics: Ethics, Decolonization, and Humanitarian Intervention. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521002790.)

Janaka Perera

Dilrook has said that ‘ Japan was the only country that bombed Sri Lanka”

Here is my reply:

The Easter Sunday Raid (or Battle of Ceylon) was an air attack by carrier-based aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy against Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), on Easter Sunday, 5 April 1942, during the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. This attack was part of the Indian Ocean Raid, and was followed a few days later by a similar attack on Trincomalee. The targets were British warships, harbour installations, and air bases; the object was to disrupt the war effort of British Empire / Commonwealth nations and force the British Eastern Fleet to leave Asian waters.  ( Wikipedia – Easter Sunday Raid – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Sunday_Raid)

When Singapore fell to the Japanese in February 1942, British occupied Ceylon (later Sri Lanka) became a central base for British operations in Southeast Asia, and the port at Trincomalee regained its historically strategic importance. 

Because Ceylon was an indispensable strategic bastion for the British Royal Navy, it became an irresistible military target for the Japanese.

The Japanese in their bombing raids over Ceylon in April 1942 targeted only British military bases in Colombo and Trincomalee, and not civilian locations.

The Japanese also bombed the mental asylum at Angoda, mistaking it for the fuel tanks at nearby Kolonnawa.  There was no Red Cross painted on the Roof of the Hospital.

It was what is now called co – lateral damage.

This stands in contrast to the conduct of the the Allies who deliberately targeted innocent civilians in the Anglo – American raid over Dresden, Germany in February 1945, and the Americans who mercilessly bombed innocent men, women and children using Nuclear Bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan in August 1945.

Janaka Perera