By Justice for Animals and Nature 

People in power listen only to power – bigger power. Not to their conscience. Not to their own people who elected them to power and who are now helpless. 

Once upon a time in the pre colonial era the Sinhalese (who were all Buddhists) were called the Aryavansa (noble race) by the people of neighbouring countries because of their kindness and non violence ( Ahimsa and Karuna) towards poor defenceless animals.

Sinhalese Kings then had a moral authority second to none in the world. The Sinhalese were a proud people embodying the best of noble qualities. Today the creed of non – violence in Sri Lanka has gone to the dogs with none so poor to stop violence against non humans. Remember it was India’s Arahant Mahinda, son of the Great Emperor Asoka, who preached to the Sinhalese King Devanampiyatissa who was then hunting deer at Mihintale, in the following words:

”O great King, the birds of the air and the beasts have an equal a right to live and move about in any part of the land as thou. The land belongs to the people and all living beings; thou art only the guardian of it.”

That this profound Declaration was made in Sri Lanka 2, 300 years  ago adds to the moral authority and stature that the Sinhala Buddhists commanded at that time.

Now all that has disappeared. Roles have been reversed. Just as much as the Indian Arahant Mahinda saved the Deer and all other animals from man’s inhumanity it has dawned on India’s Prime Minister Narendra Mody to save the stray dogs and elephants and all other animals in Sri Lanka from animal cruelty and even mass culling.

That is the plea of the People of Sri Lanka to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Mody. 

Justice for Animals and Nature 

Ministry of Defence  – Media Centre

A specialized medical and disaster relief team, composed of 26 members from Sri Lanka’s tri-services led by Brigadier Punya Karunathilake, departed for Myanmar on a special flight today, (Apr 5), to assist the people affected by the recent earthquake.

These disaster relief operations are being conducted under the supervision of the Defence Secretary, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retd), following instructions from His Excellency the President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. It is worth noting that the tri-service commanders swiftly tasked these special relief teams in a very short time frame.

Myanmar, a Buddhist nation that played a key role in the re-establishment of Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka, is receiving not only disaster and humanitarian aid but also supplies, including medical assistance. These supplies were donated and gathered by the people of Sri Lanka across the island, under the guidance of the Venerable Maha Sangha, led by the Chief Prelates of the three Buddhist chapters and are being sent to the Myanmar government.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Secretary to the Ministry, played a pivotal role in coordinating the diplomatic arrangements for the mission. Sri Lanka’s national carrier, Sri Lankan Airlines, also contributed to this humanitarian effort.

These operations demonstrate Sri Lanka’s commitment, along with the Ministry of Defence and the tri-forces, to strengthening regional cooperation and offering vital support to the friendly nations in times of crisis.

Voice for Democracy in Sri Lanka

Democritus Cultural Centre: 583 High Street, Northcote After years of economic collapse accelerated by a corrupt, incompetent, and authoritarian political elite and the brutal suppression of protests and Aragalaya (Struggle) for a more democratic and economically just society, the possibility of change finally arrived in 2024 when Sri Lankans elected the Dissanayake government on a promise of a radical social democratic program. What will be the road to economic recovery? Can the government break the cycle of corruption and authoritarian rule of the past? How will it approach the national question and the treatment of minority communities? Join us to hear and discuss the possibilities and potential pitfalls for Sri Lanka under the new government. Speakers include • Lionel Bopage, a veteran activist on the struggle for a more inclusive economically just nation. • Janaka Biyanwila, activist and author of Debt Crisis and Popular Social Protest in Sri Lanka: Citizenship, Development and Democracy Within Global North-South Dynamics.” • Manoranjan Selliah, an exiled journalist, and activist for the rights of the Tamil community. • Michael Cooke, who has served as an election monitor and written extensive articles on Sri Lanka. Discussion and Q and A will be moderated by Emeritus Professor Joseph Camilleri who has extensive experience spanning decades on Conflict Resolution.

වෛද්‍ය ගාමිනී විතාණ

මෑතකදී කොළඹ මහාධිකරණය ලබාදුන් තීන්දුවකින් 2015 දී දෙමටගොඩ වනාතමුල්ල ප්‍රදේශයේදී හෙට්ටිආරච්චිගේ දුමින්ද නමැති පුද්ගලයකු වෙඩි තබා මරා දැමීම පිලිබඳව නඩුවකින් එම්.කේ සරත් බණ්ඩාර හෙවත්  SF සරත් යන අන්වර්තයෙන් හැදින්වෙන පුද්ගලයකු වරදකරු කොට මරණීය දණ්ඩනය ලබා දෙන ලදි. මෙම සරත් බණ්ඩාර තමන්ගේ සේවා කාලය තුලදී කොටින්ට එරෙහි සටනේදී විශිෂ්ඨ දායකත්වයක් ලබාදී ඇති වචනයේ පරිසමාප්තියෙන් නියම  සොල්දාදුවෙකු වන අතර සෙසු නිලයින් අතර ලබාගත හැකි ඉහලම නිලය වන බලලත් නිලධාරි 1 ශ්‍රේණියට උසස්වීම ලැබූවෙක්. විශේෂ බළකායේ කුඩා කණ්ඩායම් මෙහෙයුම් වල යෙදී බොහෝ සාර්ථකත්වයන් ලැබූ අයෙකි. පසුගිය වසර කීපය පුරා මෙවැනි සොල්දාදුවෝ දිවි නසාගත් හෝ පාතාලය විසින් බිලි ගනු ලැබීය.  යුද ආතතියට ගොදුරු වූ මෙවැනි සොල්දාදුවන්ට නිසි මනෝ ප්‍රතිකාරයක් හෝ පුනරුත්තාපනයක් නොලැබීමද මේ සඳහා  එක් හේතුවකි.  

විශේසඥ මනෝ වෛද්‍ය නීල් ප්‍රනාන්දු මහතා ශ්‍රී ලංකා යුද හමුදාවේ මනෝ වෛද්‍ය අංශයට සේවය ලබා දුන් කාලයේ ක්‍රමානුකූලව යුද ආතතියට ලක් වූ සොල්දාදුවන්ට නිසි මනෝ ප්‍රතිකාර ලබා දෙනු ලැබීය. එතුමා ඉවත් වීමත් සමග ශ්‍රී ලංකා යුද හමුදාවේ මනෝ වෛද්‍ය ඒකකය බිඳ වැටුනු බව සත්‍යකි. වර්තමානයේ යුද හමුදාවේ මනෝ වෛද්‍ය ඒකකය නාමිකව පවතින් අතර නිසි අත්දැකීම් දැණුමක් හෝ දැක්මක් නොමැති නිලධාරීන් විසින් මෙම ඒකකය හසුරවනු ලබයි. මේ නිසා යුද හමුදා ස්ක්‍රිය සේවයේ මෙන්ම විශ්‍රාම ගිය සොල්දාදුවෝ නිසි මනෝ ප්‍රතිකාර හෝ මනෝ පුනරුත්ථාපනයක් නොමැතිව වල්මත් වී සමාජය පුරා සැරි සරති. මෙහි දුර්විපාක අත් විඳින්නේ මුලු මහත් සමාජයයි. මේ තත්වය තුරන් කිරීම සාමූහික ජනතා වගකීමකි. මේ නිසා මනෝ ප්‍රතිකාරයන් , යුද ආතතිය , යුද මනෝ විද්‍යාව පිලිබඳ හසල දැණුමක් තිබෙන විශේසඥ මනෝ වෛද්‍ය නීල් ප්‍රනාන්දු මහතාට ශ්‍රී ලංකා යුද හමුදාවේ මනෝ වෛද්‍ය ඒකකය නිසි ලෙස පුහුණු කිරීමට භාර දෙන ලෙස ඉල්ලා සිටිමු.

වෛද්‍ය ගාමිනී විතාණ

Lost in Context

1000 years ago, an empire of technocrats emerged on the island of Ceylon. They transformed Sri Lanka’s environment and human geography, and then faded away into the jungle.

 Courtesy The Week News Desk 

Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary Sampath Thuyacontha said the MoUs will not conflict with both Sri Lanka’s and India’s local laws and national policies.

Members of the Frontline Socialist Party shout anti Indian slogans during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Sri Lankan state visit in Colombo | AP

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi signs an ambitious defence cooperation pact with Sri Lanka, Colombo has clarified that all activities undertaken under the proposed MoU will follow the domestic laws of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary Sampath Thuyacontha told reporters that “any cooperation activities undertaken under the proposed MoU will be in accordance with international best practices and will not conflict with the domestic laws and national policies of either Sri Lanka or India”.

This came as fringe parties, including the Front Line Socialist Party (FLSP) which is a breakaway group of the ruling Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JJVP), took out a protest march, shouting anti-Indian slogans.  

FLSP Chief Secretary Kumar Gunaratnam, who once served in the politburo of JVP, questioned India’s intentions in Sri Lanka, stating PM Modi’s visit could create grave issues in the country. “The cabinet spokesman has said Mr Modi will visit the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi and will make a donation to Mannar Hospital. What does the Indian Prime Minister Modi expect through these activities? Probably he wants control of Sri Lankan ports and oil tank farms in Trincomalee. India has engaged in such an exercise for some time,” Gunaratnam was quoted by Daily Mirror on Saturday.

He said India, the US and China are embroiled in a tussle to dominate the Indian Ocean region and Sri Lanka would be unnecessarily involved in geopolitics if it goes ahead with the proposed defence pact. Gunaratnam also called the pact a historic mistake.

However, Thuyacontha sought to allay fears, stating that the agreements were “meticulously scrutinised and reviewed”.

“Relevant negotiations were conducted in terms of circular instructions issued by the Secretary to the President in January this year concerning interactions with foreign governments. The approval of the Cabinet of Ministers was duly obtained prior to signature,” he added.

He said both parties vowed to respect the national and military laws in the countries and the relevant principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations, which include the sovereign equality of States, territorial integrity and inviolability, and non-intervention in the internal affairs of the parties.

Interestingly, the defence pact comes nearly four decades after the Indian Peace Keeping Force intervened in the island nation, a move that had political implications for both countries.

Also read

• Amid China’s growing influence in Sri Lanka, India signs historic defence pact with island nation. What does it entail?
• India-Sri Lanka to sign 8 MoUs during PM Modi’s visit to Colombo
• How PM Modi’s 2-day visit to Sri Lanka is set to boost energy, economic ties between the countries

TAGS

Courtesy Adaderana

A team of Sri Lankan tri-forces personnel, including medical staff, departed for Myanmar on a special flight on Saturday to provide relief assistance to earthquake victims, the Defence Ministry said.

Tri-Forces’ medical and disaster relief teams, along with humanitarian aid collected under the guidance of the Chief Prelates of the three Buddhist Chapters left the island for Myanmar a short while ago,” the Ministry of Defence announced. 

Sri Lanka will deploy three military teams comprising rescue, relief and medical assistance in earthquake-hit Myanmar in addition to USD one million in donations. 

Accordingly, the first team left on Saturday in a special aircraft loaded with relief supplies to quake victims in Myanmar, the ministry said.

The three military teams comprising rescue, relief and medical assistance would be deployed in addition to the state’s donation of one million dollars, the ministry said. 

Additionally, the three Buddhist sect leaders have organised relief assistance in view of the close religious ties between the two countries. Close cultural and religious ties between Myanmar and Sri Lanka underlie this concerted humanitarian effort.

The Sri Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Tooth Relic) said it was collecting 15 million rupees separately to be donated to Myanmar as earthquake relief. Myanmar and Sri Lanka are historically linked in the practice of Theravada Buddhism.

The earthquake, occurring on March 28, has left over 3,100 dead, nearly 5,000 injured, and more than 370 people still missing.

Courtesy Adaderana

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that the agreement reached to build a multi-product pipeline and to develop Trincomalee as an energy hub will benefit the people of Sri Lanka.

While addressing a joint press statement alongside Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, PM Modi said that the grid inter-connectivity agreement between India and Sri Lanka will create opportunities for Sri Lanka to export electricity.

PM Modi said, The Sampur Solar Power Plant will help Sri Lanka achieve energy security. The agreement reached to build a multi-product pipeline and to develop Trincomalee as an energy hub will benefit all Sri Lankans. The Grid Inter-Connectivity Agreement between the two countries will create opportunities for Sri Lanka to export electricity.”

I am pleased that today a 5,000 Solar Rooftop System will be inaugurated for religious places in Sri Lanka. India will also provide support for the Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity project,” he added.

The governments of India, Sri Lanka and the UAE have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in the development of Trincomalee as an energy hub.

He announced a support package of approximately 2.4 billion Lankan Rupees for the social and economic development of the Eastern provinces. He further said, Today, we also inaugurated Sri Lanka’s largest warehouse for the welfare of farmers.”

PM Modi said, Tomorrow, we will inaugurate the ‘Maho-Omanthai’ railway line, and lay the foundation stone for the signalling system on the ‘Maho-Anuradhapura’ section. Work for the modernisation of the Kankesanthurai Port will begin soon.”

Stressing that India and Sri Lanka have shared security interests, he said, We believe that we have shared security interests. The security of both countries is interconnected and interdependent. I am grateful to President Disanayaka for his sensitivity towards India’s interests. We welcome the important agreements made in the area of Defence Cooperation. We have also agreed to work together on the Colombo Security Conclave and Security Cooperation in the Indian Ocean.”

He also announced that India would send the holy relics of Lord Buddha from Gujarat’s Aravali region to Sri Lanka for an exposition. He announced that India will provide support in the construction of the sacred city in the Anuradhapura Mahabodhi temple complex and the Sita Eliya temple in Nuwara Eliya.

Highlighting spiritual ties between two nations, he said, There is centuries old spiritual ties between India and Sri Lanka. I am extremely happy to announce that the Holy Relics of Lord Buddha found in 1960, in the Aravali region of my home state – Gujarat, are being sent to Sri Lanka for an exposition.

India will assist in the renovation of the Thirukoneswaram Temple in Trincomalee. India will also provide support in the construction of the sacred city in the Anuradhapura Mahabodhi temple complex, and the Sita Eliya Temple in Nuwara Eliya,” he added.

PM Narendra Modi said that he and Dissanayake discussed issues related to fishermen’s livelihood. He stated that they also discussed the reconstruction and reconciliation in Sri Lanka.

He said, We also discussed issues related to fishermen’s livelihood. We agreed that we should proceed with a humane approach in this matter. We also emphasised on immediate release of the fishermen and their boats.”

We also talked about reconstruction and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. President Disanayaka appraised me of his inclusive approach. We hope that the Sri Lankan Government will meet the aspirations of the Tamil people and fulfil its commitment towards fully implementing the Constitution of Sri Lanka, and conducting Provincial Council Elections,” he added.

He said that Sri Lanka holds a special place in India’s Neighbourhood First Policy and Vision Mahasagar. He noted that two nations have made significant progress in our cooperation in the past four months since Dissanayake’s visit to India last year.

PM Modi said, President Disanayaka chose India for his first foreign visit after becoming President, and I have had the privilege of becoming his first foreign guest. This is a symbol of the depth of our special relations.”

He noted that it is his fourth visit to Sri Lanka as Prime Minister, and his last visit in 2019 came at a very sensitive time.In his remarks, he also quoted Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar.

I applaud the courage and patience of the Sri Lankan people, and today, I am happy to see Sri Lanka back on the path of progress. India is proud to have fulfilled its duties as a true friendly neighbour. Whether it was the terrorist attack of 2019, the COVID pandemic, or the recent economic crisis, we have stood firmly with the people of Sri Lanka during every difficulty,” he said.

I am reminded of the words of the great Tamil saint Thiruvalluvar. He said: Seyar Kariya Yaavul Natt Pinn Aadu Pul Vinnaikkariya Yaavul Kaapu. Which means, in the face of challenges and enemies, there is no stronger assurance than a true friend and the shield of his friendship,” he added.

Earlier in the day, PM Modi and Dissanayake held a bilateral meeting and delegation-level talks in Colombo. PM Modi calls his talks with Dissanayake productive and extensive.”

Held extensive and productive talks with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Colombo. A few months ago, President Dissanayake chose India as the place for his first overseas visit after becoming President. Now, I have the honour of being the first foreign leader he is hosting in his Presidency. This indicates his personal commitment to India-Sri Lanka ties and the unbreakable bond that exists between our nations,” PM Modi posted on X.

PM Modi is on a State visit to Sri Lanka from April 4 to 6 at the invitation of Sri Lankan President Disanayaka. His arrival in Colombo on Friday marked his first visit to Sri Lanka since 2019.

PM Modi was accorded a historic ceremonial welcome at Independence Square in Colombo on Saturday. It is the first time that Sri Lanka has honoured a visiting leader in this manner.

Prime Minister Modi reached Colombo after concluding his visit to Thailand, where he attended the BIMSTEC Summit and held bilateral talks with several world leaders, including Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Bhutan PM Tshering Tobgay, Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli and Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus. (ANI)

–Agencies

Courtesy Hiru News

The Colombo High Court has served indictments on Yoshitha Rajapaksa and Daisy Forrest Wickramasinghe in connection with a money laundering case.

The court granted bail to both accused on two sureties each, set at Rs. 500,000.

Courtesy Hiru News

The Court of Appeal has ordered the relevant returning officers to accept around 37 nominations for the Local Government Elections that were previously rejected.

උපුටා ගැන්ම  හිරු පුවත්

ඉන්දීය අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයාගේ ශ්‍රී ලංකා සංචාරයට සමගාමීව එළඹුණු ආරක්ෂක සහයෝගිතා ගිවිසුම ඇතුලු අනෙකුත් කරුණු සම්බන්ධයෙන් ඉන්දීය විදේශ ලේකම්වරයා මෙන්ම ශ්‍රී ලංකා ආරක්ෂක ලේකම්වරයා ද අදහස් පළ කළා.

මේ කොළඹදී ප්‍රවෘත්ති සාකච්ඡාවක් කැදවමින් ඉන්දීය විදේශ ලේකම් වික්‍රම් මිස්රි දැක්වූ අදහස්.

බොහෝදෙනා අවධානය යොමුකරන්නේ ආරක්ෂිත සහයෝගීතාවය ගැන.

ඒ පිළිබඳව නායකයින් දෙපළ අතර ඉතා හොඳ සාකච්ඡාවන් පැවැත්වුණා.

එම සාකච්ඡා ආරම්භ වුණේ පසුගිය දෙසැම්බර් මසදී ජනාධිපති අනුර දිසානායක මහතා ඉන්දියාවේ සිදුකළ සංචාරයත් සමගින් එය මේ දක්වා අඛණ්ඩව පැවැත්වුණා.

මෙම සාකච්ඡාවේ සැබෑ හරය නම් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සහ ඉන්දියාවේ ජාතික ආරක්ෂාවේ සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම අභ්‍යන්තර ස්වාභාවය පිළිගෙන තිබීමයි.

ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජනාධිපතිවරයාගේ දිල්ලි සංචාරයේදී, මෙම අවස්ථාවේදී සහ වෙනත් අවස්ථාවන් හීදී ඉතා සුපහැදිලිව ප්‍රකාශ කර තිබෙනවා.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ භූමිය ඉන්දියාවේ අවශ්‍යතාවලට අහිතකර හෝ අහිතකර ආකාරයකින් භාවිතා කිරීමට හෝ භාවිතා කිරීමට ඉඩ නොදෙන බව මේ පිළිබඳව අද සාකච්ඡා අතරතුරදී ද ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ භූමිය හෝ ඒ අවට සාගර ඉන්දියාවේ ආරක්ෂාවට අහිතකර කිසිදු ආකාරයකින් භාවිතා කිරීමට ඉඩ නොදෙන බව ප්‍රකාශ කළා.

මේ තමයි රටවල් දෙක අතර ආරක්ෂිත සහයෝගීතාව පිළිබඳ අවබෝධතා ගිවිසුමේ පසුවිපරම. පළමුවරට එළැඹි මෙම අවබෝධතා ගිවිසුම හරහා පවත්නා ආරක්ෂක සහයෝගීතා මුලපිරීම් වඩාත් ව්‍යුහගත කරන රාමු ලේඛනයක් බවට කටයුතු කරනවා.

එහි ව්‍යුහාත්මක අයුරින් ආරක්ෂක සහයෝගීතාව මෙන්ම විවිධ ක්‍රියාකාරකම්ද අන්තර්ගත වනවා.

දෙරට අතර ඉහළපෙළේ සංචාරයන්, ඒකාබද්ධ යුධ ක්‍රියාකාරකම්, විවිධ අංශයන්හී ධාරිතාවයන් ඉහළ දැමීම වගේම ඉහළ ගතික පරාසයක් තුළ සිදුකරනු ලබන මෙහෙයුම් වගේ දෙරට අතර නාවික හමුදාවන් අතර සහයෝගීතාවයන් දෙරට අතර ආරක්ෂණ සහයෝගීතාවයන් ගවේෂණය ද ඇතුළත්.

මේ අතර, ඉන්දියාව සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකාව අතර ආරක්ෂක සහයෝගිතාව පිළිබඳ අවබෝධතා ගිවිසුම සඳහා අවශ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය මණ්ඩල අනුමැතිය නිසි අයුරින් ලබාගෙන ඇති බව ආරක්ෂක ලේකම් සම්පත් තුයියකොන්තා කියා සිටියා.

නිවේදනයක් නිකුත් කරමින් ඔහු සදහන් කළේ, එම ගිවිසුම අත්සන් කරන්නේ වසර 5ක් සඳහා බවයි.

2023 වසරේදී පැවති ආරක්ෂක සංවාදයේදී ද්විපාර්ශ්වික ආරක්ෂක සහයෝගීතාව සහ සම්බන්ධතාවන් වඩාත් කාර්යක්ෂමව හා විධිමත් ආකාරයකින් අඛණ්ඩව පවත්වාගෙන යාමේ අරමුණින් ඊට එකඟත්වය පළ වූ බව එහි සදහන්.

අදාළ අවබෝධතා ගිවිසුම යටතේ සිදු කරනු ලබන සහයෝගීතා ක්‍රියාකාරකම් ජාත්‍යන්තර වශයෙන් පිළිගත් වඩාත් උචිත භාවිතයන්ට අනුකූලව සිදුකෙරෙන අතර, එමගින් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ හෝ ඉන්දියාවේ ජාතික ප්‍රතිපත්ති හෝ නීති පද්ධති කෙරෙහි කිසිදු බලපෑමක් ඇති නොකරන බව ද එම නිවේදනයේ සඳහන් වනවා.

එමෙන්ම, මෙම අවබෝධතා ගිවිසුම මාස තුනක පූර්ව දැනුම්දීමකින් අවසන් කිරීමට අදාළ පාර්ශ්වයන්ට ඇති අයිතිය සහිතව වසර 05 ක් සඳහා බලාත්මක කිරීමට යෝජනා වී ඇති බවයි එහි දැක්වෙන්නේ.

By Sena Thoradeniya

Three days have passed since Trump’s declaration of tariff hike; but Julie Chung once busy pampering NPP poodles while preaching economic reforms and growth goals”,” Sri Lanka’s recovery”, Sri Lanka’s economic future” remains silent.

Trump wanted to Make America Great Again (MAGA). Chung emphasized shared goals”, shared priorities”, shared prosperity”, shared commitment” to NPP poodles, positioning them as pawns in the strategic Indo-Pacific chess board; building upon Chung’s groundwork, Trump continues to advance America’s geopolitical interests, pressing  Sri Lanka into a situation where the NPP government will be forced to agree to any agreement that primarily benefit the US. This marks the ultimate triumph of Julie Chung!

From today we begin a 3-part essay to elucidate how the Korean-American US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung, overstepped her diplomatic boundaries acting as the unofficial Viceroy of Sri Lanka. This essay contains a synopsis of our earlier essays and presented as a requiem to the outgoing Ambassador.

1. Introduction

Julie Chung, the then US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs met with the Haitian President Jovenal Moise, just before his assassination, nearly one year before the almost murder of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. She presented her credentials to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on 25 February 2022, just 34 days before the Mirihana Incident. Thus, Julie Chung was posted from that Caribbean crime scene to a new meeting place of witches and warlocks here in Sri Lanka.

Prior to the eruption of protests Chung had met with almost all Ministers, leading politicians affiliated  to all registered political parties, high ranking military officers including Commanders, religious dignitaries (of all denominations), custodians of temples and churches, NGO bosses, so-called civil society activists, media personnel, business captains, professionals, academics, scientists, marine biologists, those graduated from US universities, LGBTQ activists, visual artists, youth leaders, women leaders, war affected and displaced persons, differently abled persons, some of them more than on one occasion. Many of these men and women played a vital role in the Galle Face Protest and ousting Gotabaya Rajapaksa, her first victory was achieved in Sri Lanka.

We have documented howJulie Chung began her work as the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka,  the people she met with before 31 March 2022 and after the ouster of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, her role in the disgraceful regime change in 2022 and how she interfered with the internal affairs of Sri Lanka in our book, Galle Face Protest: Systems Change or Anarchy?” (July, 2023) and her Viceroy role thereafter in our Lanka Web News articles respectively.

On 21 March 2024, the former Speaker revealed for the first time in the Parliament foreign powers, some local politicians, a prominent Buddhist priest and a Catholic religious leader have pressured him to take over the Presidencyduring the Galle Face Protest.  Although he had not mentioned who were the foreign powers behind the coup, it was obvious that he was referring to Julie Chung and Co. He disclosed that the objective of those was to make Sri Lanka another Libya or an Afghanistan (see our article: Speaker’s Statement: Julie Chung and Her Fellow Conspirators in the Dock Again”, posted on March 27, 2024). But the former Speaker maintained an apologetic silence about the alleged visit of the unanticipated visitor Chung to his official residence.

Former Speaker not acceding to her request marked a temporary setback to Chung’s grand conspiracy. But in 2024 she made amends to the temporary setback bringing forth NPP government and crowning Harini Amarasuriya, the glorified representative of LGBTQ community as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.

Julie Chung continued her sinister activities vigorously after theregime change in 2022. We have documented this phasein the Afterword to Second Printing” of Galle Face Protest: Systems Change or Anarchy?” (August, 2023) under the title, Continuity or Change?” and in our subsequent articles that appeared inLanka Web News (Julie Chung Commemorates Black July”, on 26, July 2023;  Julie Chung Re-writes History of Mannar”, on 26, August 2023; A Sri Lankan  Buddhist Priest as a Chaplain in US Defence Establishment”, on January 12,2024; Julie Chung Opposes Online Safety Bill”, on January 26, 2024; In the Name of Public Diplomacy”: Glory Days of Julie Chung”,  on February 28, 2024).

Our articles posted after the NPP government came into power, (Have the Tamil Voters in the North and East Rejected Separatism, Racism? Or Is it the Final Triumph of Julie Chung?” on November 30, 2024; Were NPP Ministers and Parliamentarians in the Pocket of Viceroy Julie Chung”, on February 14, 2025; Unrepentant Julie Chung Carrying on Regardless”, on February 21, 2025),elucidate explicitly how Julie Chung persisted in her nefarious activities more forcefully without facing any obstacle or scrutiny.

It should be noted that the number of SriLankans she met with and their types were shocking. From the top politicians of the country she wormed her way toreach nobodies and minions at the grassroot level. Mostly nobodies were brought to the table of high politics. Greater social inclusion”, coalition building” were her beautiful words!

Under Gotabaya Rajapaksa, as a newlywed, her actions bordering on defiance that eroded the authority of the spouse.  Under Ranil Wickremasinghe she was asserting her place and establishing her own domain within the marital home. Under Anura Kumara she seized full control wielding the reins as a formidable   ancient queen dowager! 

It is significant to note that after the ascension of Malimawa government Julie Chung had changed her role from REGIME CHANGER” TO REGIME SUPPORTER”, metaphorically a PATCHWORKER”.

2. Chung’s Role as REGIME SUPPORTER”

 In this part we document her role after the ouster of Gotabhaya and under the new dispensation; the sheer number of guests on her list led to some overlap in documenting her encounters, making it unavoidable. Chung continued to meet withsame types of people and was pleased to have photo opportunities with all of them. She resumed her usual work with renewed vigor following theestablishmentof the Malimawa government.

In our Lanka Web News  articles we have given a detailed account of her meetings with the new President (several times), Prime Minister(several times), Cabinet Ministers (some more than once), Deputy Ministers, NPP parliamentarians, tri-forces commanders and new Chief Justice (discussed on commitment to rule of law, transparency and inclusive governance).  

She met with 21 Cabinet Ministers, 4 Deputy Ministers, 2 Speakers of Parliament (one disgraced), 4 NPP MPs, 4 key Secretaries, 3 NPP appointed Governors, a countless number of top officials appointed by Malimawa governmentand in summary, that slippery political eel, JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva.

Governors of Central Bank (many times), High State Officers including Ministry Secretaries, Heads of Corporations, Statutory Bodies and state banks and senior  Government officials, tri–forces commanders and top officers in regional commands (some more than once); politicians and top officials leaving for the US; (for example meeting with the then State Minister Shehan Semasinghe ahead of his visit to Washington for the IMF Spring Meeting;top government officers before their departure on International Visitors’ Leadership Programmes;Secretary of Ports, Shipping and Aviation and Chairman of SLPA and a group of Operations Managers, engineers and other specialists (in May 2024) before their departure to the US for ports-focused study tour; Sri Lankan national cricket team as they prepare to leave for the US to participate in the ICC T20 world Cup in June 2024. (for Chung it was a fantastic moment for Sports Diplomacy”).It was like paying homage to Chung before their departure;

Business leaders; Professionals and academics; Sri Lankanalumni of US universitiesincluding Fulbright alumni; Sri Lankan students heading to US onscholarship, including thosegoing to US on Fulbright Scholarships; exchange participants” who were heading to the US on a programme empowering women in STEM; 

Representatives of Administrative and professional Secretaries; regional government leaders; Climate change leaders” (a new type of leaders!); with Acting Secretary of State for Oceans, International Environmental & Scientific Affairs Jennifer Littlejohn she met with environmental activists; wild lifephotographers; so-called thinktanks” (for example American and Indian Agent Pathfinder Foundation); so-called Civil Society” representatives;

Media representatives, journalists, female journalists, social media activists, online influencers”, digital content creators and providers, mobile journalists (who played a prominent role in the Galle Face Protest);graphic design graduates,tech companies, SLPI Press Club (emphasized the importance of press freedom and free flow of information);

Youth, NextGen leaders, young leaders, Business English students;

Women groups; female police officers/ female police investigators;

Minority groups, marginalized people.

She was seen at EV Charging Stations (Charge while you shop) too.

3. Chung’s Work in the Political Front/ Meeting Politicians

Chung met with Presidents (three), ex-Presidents (Sirisena), Speakers of Parliament (three, two from NPP), Prime Ministers, Governors, Cabinet Ministers, Leader of the Opposition (several times), party leaders, parliamentarians belonging to government and opposition parties and of minority groups. Presidential Advisors, Parliamentarians who visited the US; Sri Lankan WomenParliamentary Caucus (twice) – before and after their study tour to New Zealand funded by USAID and National Democratic Institute (NDI).  

TNA members and Muslim parliamentarians (discussing minority rights”, economic recovery” and political landscape in the Central and Eastern Provinces”; Sarath Fonseka ahead of 2024 presidential election.Discussed with Cabinet Ministers about the rule of law and legislative issues”.

In Greek mythology the Goddess Circe, one of the strong and powerful or deadliest woman or Femme Fatale, lured men to her island and transformed them into animals, most famously pigs.

On 27 March 2025 the Chung visited Sirikotha, UNP headquarters to meet with UNP General Secretary and Chairman.

Julie Chung met with Namal Rajapaksa and some other SLPPers on different occasions.  It is wrong if SLPP supporters say that Julie Chung met with Namal Rajapaksa first on 14 February 2025. Previously they met on 11 May, 2024 when NR was appointed as the SLPP National Organizer. Chung messaged: As part of our outreach across the range of Sri Lankan parties met with Namal Rajapaksa in his new role as SLPP National Organizer to hear about political engagement including issues affecting youth and exchange views on strengthening US-Sri Lanka relations”. As part of our outreach” was the same phrase Chung used after her second meeting with NR on 14 February 2025.

On 18, June 2024 Chung met with SLPP State Minister Anupa Pasqual and members of Parliament’s Disability Caucus and civil society”, for sharing insights” on advancing disability access and inclusion in Sri Lanka”.  SLPP MP Madhura Vithanage and SLPP dissident Dulles Alahapperuma were in attendance. 

On 27, June 2024 Chung celebrated 248^th anniversary of US Independence with Sri Lankan officials and friends and partners”. The prominent figures in attendance were the then Foreign Minister Ali Sabry holding aloft Chung’s hand and Minister Hareen Fernando cutting a cake.

4. Meeting Tamil Politicians

Chung cultivated and maintained unique relationships with Tamil politicians before and after the regime change. She has a penchantto meet TNA/ITAK members and also when a politician is being appointed to a new post in the party (for example meeting Sumanthiran in his new role as the General Secretary of the ITAK, on March 13,2025, although she had met with him several times earlier); she continued to meet with TNA/ITAK members for the umpteenth time in January 2025 as if fate insists! Again, the discussion revolved around accountability, justice and reconciliation, her mantra when meeting with minority groups.

The other politicians who were invited by Chung veryoften – persons who were essential elements in her carefully crafted menu were Mano Ganeshan ofTPA and Bathiuddin of All Ceylon Makkal Congress.She met with Ganeshan again on 24 March 2025 to hear TPA priorities” and Bathiuddin on 26 March 2025 respectively. Priorities”, shared commitment to democracy”, have become her key words while meeting with every Tom Dick and Harry. As part of our cross-party outreach” is the term she uses meeting with political leaders.

In  July-mid August 2023 also,Chung continued to meet with Tamil politicians, the late Sampanthan to discuss issues facing Tamils and other minority communities”; Abraham Sumanthiran, Vigneshvaram, Siddharthan et al to discuss about the way forward”, questions around national identity, reforms and the (Tamil) community’s demands for accountability and justice”, importance of devolution, land returns and finding answers for families of missing persons including investigations into mass graves as Sri Lanka still strives for truth, reconciliation and lasting peace”. This meeting took place just ahead of RW’s visit to India.

5. Chung’s Dealings with TRI-Forces

On 19 February 2025Chung met with new Tri-Services Commanders to discuss US-Sri Lanka security partnership including maritime and disaster response, focusing on ensuring the Indo-Pacific remains secure with open maritime routes and a free flow of commerce in the Indian Ocean”.

Air Force Commander (Udeni Rajapaksa) was called to the US Embassy on 4 January 2024.

In March 2024 the US Department of Defense (DOD)provided the SLAF with training on carrying out Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) flight demonstrations with the emphasis on enhancing SLAF’s capabilities in Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA). SLAF Commander, Navy Commander, SLAF’s Chief of Staff and Director General Planning, Sagala Ratnayaka and Chung participated at the inauguration of this programme. 

Chung joined the commemoration of the 56^th anniversary of Sri Lanka’s Navy and Maritime Academy and visited the Diving Unit at the Naval Dockyard Trincomalee and Malima Diving Club. She met with instructors, cadres and midshipmen and discussed the importance of Sri Lanka’s maritime operations and bilateral security cooperation”.

We believe that only the Commander-in-Chief of Sri Lankan armed forces or the Navy Commander can do such things, not a diplomat crossing herdiplomatic boundaries!

Chung congratulated Sri Lanka Coast Guard Service members on completion of maritime law enforcement skill training with US Coast Guard at Mirissa. 

She visited Navy Commander. While visiting Jaffna she met with Northern Naval Commander in May 2024, to discuss US supporting Sri Lanka’s maritime sovereignty”; (can a naval officer discuss maritime sovereignty” with a foreign envoy?)

She visited advanced offshore patrol vessels of Sri Lanka Navy, discussed Sri Lanka navy’s capabilities on asymmetric naval warfare at sea, amphibious and land operations, global security threats and illicit maritime trafficking, 

She attended CARAT 2004 (Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training) concluding ceremony, largest military exercise between the US Navy US Seventh Fleet and Sri Lanka Navy.

She joined Air Force Disaster Management Centre, firefighters with PACAF (Pacific Air Force) Montana National Guard.

She was at the handing over of the Beachcraft KingAir to Air Force with US Pacific Fleet Admiral Kohler. Chung stressed the importance of tackling maritime challenge together enhancing collective effort for regional stability in the Indo-Pacific.  This has taken place in October 2024 soon after the ascension of Anura Kumara.

Chung was happy and saw it as an historic milestone to secure global maritime security, Sri Lanka Navy assuming Command of Combined Task Force (CTF) 154.

Chung met with 54 newly-trained Scene of the Crime Officers (SOCO) from the Sri Lanka Police Criminal Records Division,trained withthe support of US State INL (Idaho National Laboratory) and the Justice Department; Chung was confident that Sri Lanka police now have stronger tools to recover evidence at complex crime scenes, crack cases and  deliver justice to citizens”. The validity of her statement should be tested with the recent surge in crimes and hunt for Sevvandi!

6. Visit of INDOPAC Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo

Chung’s most significant meeting with the President Anura Kumara was with INDOPAC Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on 21 March 2025, to commend Sri Lanka’s leadership in advancing regional security initiatives such as commanding Combined Maritime Force’s Combined Task Force 154, CMF-Bahrain.” Chung added: The US proudly supports Sri Lanka’s role as a security provider in the Indian Ocean Region”. Foreign Minister, Lt. Col. Nelson of US Army, and David Ranz, Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to INDOPAC command participated in this discussion.

On the same day both Paparo and Chung met with the Foreign Minister and discussed shared priorities, economic security” and maritime cooperation”, Sri Lanka contributing to a more stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific”.

Before their meeting, welcoming Paparo, Chung messaged on 20 March 2025, that INDOPAC Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo (arrived) to reaffirm our bilateral defense partnership with Sri Lanka and share our vision and security across the Indo -Pacific. The Commander’s visit underscores US’s commitment to the diplomatic and defense investments”.

Paparo acknowledged Sri Lanka’s continued support in ensuring the security of the Indian Ocean Region and maintaining a peaceful maritime environment. 

It is questionable whether the President and the Foreign Minister are aware of what Chung was talking about – the ACSA (Acquisition & Cross Servicing Act) extended by Sirisena in 2017 without exit clause or duration, ensuring any future government from abrogating it. (GR in 2007 signed it for 10 years). The way the winds blow tells us that Malima government would sign the SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) which Sirisena did not sign. In its Presidential and Parliamentary election campaigns ACSA and SOFA were never discussed by the NPP whether for or against them.  

Anura Kumara is trapped by previous agreements and Ranil Wickremasinghe’s commitment to take up commanding Combined Maritime Force’s Combined Task Force 154, CMF-Bahrain. A pathetic situation was encountered by the leader of a political party which paid lip service to anti-imperialism, who collectively vouched to hang the last imperialist with the intestines of the last capitalist” (anthima adhirajayawadiya anthima dhanapathiyage bada welin ella marana thuru janathawata vimukthiyak netha”).

On the same day Chung joinedINDOPAC Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo and Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy aboard the SLN Vijayabahu, a symbol of (our) partnership with Sri Lanka Navy”. 

Posting a video on 27 March 2025 Chung glorifies Paparo’s visit as a testament to the strength of the US-Sri Lanka security partnership. Maritime and economic security are closely linked”.

Anura Kumara’s Malima government is effortlessly entrapped by Sister Julie, no need of a testament”. 

In 2023 Chung graced the occasion of the inauguration of Indo-Pacific Environment Security Forum (IPESP) 2003, co-hosted by the US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) at the Shangri-La Colombo. 

7. Chung Addressing Faculty and Students of the National Defence College

The most treacherous act the Sri Lankan defence authorities did was allowing Chung to address faculty and students of the National Defence College on 27 March 2025 at Diners Club, Colombo. She messaged: I spoke about the connection between economic security & national security and how both the United States & Sri Lanka share a common stake in maintaining an open, free & peaceful Indo-Pacific”. The Indian Ocean Region and the broader Indo-Pacific Region has never been important to global commerce & region’s stability…… Our fellow Indo-Pacific nations should be free to choose, free to prosper & free to charter their own course”.

In her lecture Chung stated that Sri Lanka needs to train its citizens not only for the jobs of the future, but also for the military of the future to ensure it can maintain peace through strength.  Attacking China innuendo, she said that during the 2022 economic crisis some nations pressured Sri Lanka for political concessions. US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth boasted, peace through strength”; Chung was parroting what he had stated. She conveyed only a fraction of what warmongers mean to say: Peace at any cost or peace through war!

Her words ( E)conomic vulnerability can give foreign powers leverage over national decisions impacting not just on the economy, but the very fabric of national security”, should be assessed in the context of Trump’s Liberation Day” reciprocal tariff of 44% imposed on Sri Lankan exports.

She further stated that As an island maritime nation, Sri Lanka’s economic security and national security are directly tied to the maritime domain. Because of this we all have a stake in keeping an open, free and peaceful Indo-Pacific”. 

Lecturing so Chung indoctrinates Sri Lankan military that Sri Lanka’s defence lies on the US-Sri Lanka security partnership, that Sri Lanka shares a common stake with the US in economic security and national security and Sri Lanka is free to choose the US at any future confrontation in the Indian Ocean Region and the broader Indo-Pacific Region.

They want to make Sri Lanka a partner in their Indo-Pacific” war games. Who amalgamated the Indian Ocean with the Pacific Ocean? East of the Indian Ocean was bounded by the beaches of Western Australia was the Geography we knew!

An inexperienced government consisting of 1988-1989 gonibillas, novices, street demonstrators, platform speakers and village-level tough-guys does not understand the nuances of Chung’s sermon. 

When Richard Rahul Verma, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources visited Sri Lanka in February 2024, he explored opportunities to deepen defense and maritime cooperation between US and Sri Lanka”. Verma was appointed to President’s Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB) by Biden. PIAB planned the 26 September 2022 US bombing of the Nordsstream pipeline.

Chung interviewing Verma on 26, February 2024 discussed about security cooperation, maritime security and freedom of navigation, Sri Lanka’s role in the Indo-Pacific. She said that, Sri Lanka at the heart of the Indo-Pacific, gem in the region”.

 8. Defence Agreement with India

During Indian Prime Minister Modi’s April visit to Sri Lanka, India is going to sign a defence agreement with Anura Kumara’s government without giving any details, undermining Sri Lanka’s national security. While Sri Lankan Foreign Minister and Foreign Secretary are in a deep slumber, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said, the MOU on defence cooperation is set to signal a major upward trajectory in Indo-Sri Lanka defence.

This major upward trajectory” is none other than Sri Lanka becoming a vassal state of US and India, India being a QUAD member with the US. Vikram Misri’s words commitment to ensure a free, open, safe and secure Indian Ocean Region” resonance the words expressed by Julie Chung in her X messages. We should examine these developments taking into consideration India’s much touted Neighbourhood First” policy, Act-East” policy and SAGAR” (Security and Growth for All in the Region) Vision and Akhund Bharat that asserts India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan, Nepal and Tibet are one nation.

9. Other Strategic Issues

On an earlier occasion Chung visited Colombo West Container Terminal (CWIT) at Colombo Port. She witnessed US-funded Port of Colombo capacity building programme. On 28 March, 2025 she celebrated 20+ years of Energy Partnership with Sri Lanka on the Megaports Initiative that protects the world’s shipping networks from dangerous cargo and nuclear threats”. She attended the CWIT Radiation Portal Monitor Commissioning Ceremony, commissioning new US procured equipment for detecting radioactive cargo at the Colombo West Container Terminal to combat nuclear smuggling.

This Energy Partnership makes Sri Lanka vulnerable to any attack and forces her to accept American Energy Dominance” and become a partner in catching dangerous materials enter America’s ports. 

Diving at historic Godawaya shipwreck off Hambantota, the oldest known shipwreck in the Asia-Pacific Region, Chung was elated teaming up with the Sri Lanka’s Maritime Archeology Unit of the Central Cultural Fund, (US helping Sri Lanka to study and safeguard maritime resources). This is very much useful to US as it geopolitically is concentrating on an Asia-Pacific Region programme.

Discussing with Sri Lankan officials and Anand Ramaswamy, US Department of Justice (DOJ) ICHIP expert (International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property) on combating cybercrimes, Chung said that the aim is to bring together legal experts and prosecutors to strengthen cross-border collaboration including stolen asset recovery”. 

Good news to new government and its Minister of Public Security who himself pretends as a person devoted to stolen asset recovery. Chung on 20 December 2024 met with this Minister and discussed with him on collaboration to combat trafficking, counter crime, cybersecurity and anti-corruption and rule of law.    

NEXT: PART II: 

How Chung Interfered in Sri Lanka’s Economic Sphere; With Women; With Youth; Art and Literary Workers; Meddling with Sri Lankan Politics, Policy Matters and Internal Affairs; Visiting Trafficking Victims; Visiting Provinces and Places of Worship; Meeting with Religious Dignitaries; Elections; Malaiyaha Tamils, creating another contentious issue.

Courtesy Adaderana

China on Friday announced a slew of additional tariffs and restrictions against U.S. goods as a countermeasure to sweeping tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Finance Ministry said it would impose additional tariffs of 34% on all U.S. goods from April 10.

Beijing also announced controls on exports of medium and heavy rare-earths, including samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium and yttrium to the United States, effective April 4.

The purpose of the Chinese government’s implementation of export controls on relevant items in accordance with the law is to better safeguard national security and interests, and to fulfill international obligations such as non-proliferation,” the Commerce Ministry said in a statement.

It also added 11 entities to the unreliable entity” list, which allows Beijing to take punitive actions against foreign entities.

Source: Reuters

–Agencies

Courtesy Adaderana

The National Police Commission has cancelled the transfer of the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Bingiriya Police Station by the Acting IGP, with immediate effect. 

The commission says the transfer has been ordered by the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) Priyantha Weerasuriya without the approval of the National Police Commission and the Elections Commission. 

Courtesy Adaderana

The Government of Sri Lanka says it stands ready to engage with the US administration at the earliest opportunity to explore ways to manage the trade balance in a fair manner and that it is committed to substantially reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers that hinder trade and investment.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump announced a sweeping set of reciprocal tariffs, imposing a baseline 10 per cent tax on all imports and significantly higher rates on dozens of countries with which the US runs trade deficits. 

Sri Lanka is facing one of the steepest tariffs among countries amounting 44 per cent. 

The Government of Sri Lanka said it recognizes the evolving trade landscape with the United States looking to address trade imbalances through reciprocal tariffs. 

This tariff is set at 44% which is significant as Sri Lanka exports USD 3 billion to the US,” Sri Lanka’s Finance Ministry said, issuing a statement to clarify the government’s stance on the tariffs. 

The Government reaffirmed its strong commitment to deepening economic ties with the US, a longstanding friend and trusted trading partner. 

Sri Lanka is engaged in an IMF Extended Fund Facility since March 2023 as part of its recovery from the unprecedented economic crisis and successfully completed the Third review of the programme. 

In this context, Sri Lanka said it appreciates the steadfast support extended by the US in supporting Sri Lanka’s economic recovery, in particular the support in the external debt restructuring efforts. 

We have now stabilized our economy and on a steady growth path of 5% in 2024. Considering our export exposure and potential slowdown in global demand, we are concerned that our recovery path could be constrained,” the statement said. 

The Government stands ready to engage with the US administration at the earliest opportunity to explore ways to manage the trade balance in a fair manner.”

We are committed to substantially reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers that hinder trade and investment,” the Finance Ministry said. 

Improving the ease of doing business remains a top priority of the Government, as we strive to create an environment that encourages innovation, fosters commercial partnerships, and unlocks opportunities for both nations. In conclusion, by working together, our countries have the opportunity to usher in a new era of growth, and shared prosperity for both our nations.”

By William J. Astore Courtesy Tomdispatch

I read the news today, oh boy. About a lucky man named Elon Musk. But he lost out on one thing: he didn’t get a top secret briefing on Pentagon war plans for China. And the news people breathed a sigh of relief.

With apologies to John Lennon and The Beatles, a day in the life is getting increasingly tough to take here in the land of the free. I’m meant to be reassured that Musk didn’t get to see America’s top-secret plans for — yes! — going to war with China, even as I’m meant to ignore the constant drumbeat of propaganda, the incessant military marches that form America’s background music, conveying the message that America must have war plans for China, that indeed war in or around China is possible, even probable, in the next decade. Maybe in 2027?

My fellow Americans, we should be far more alarmed by such secret U.S. war plans, along with those pivots” to Asia and the Indo-Pacific, and the military base-building efforts in the Philippines, than reassured by the good news” that Comrade Billionaire Musk was denied access to the war room, meaning (for Dr. Strangelove fans) he didn’t get to see the big board.”

It’s war, war, everywhere in America. We do indeed have a strange love for it. I’ve been writing for TomDispatch for 18 years now — this is my 111th essay (the other 110 are in a new book of mine) — most of them focusing on militarism in this country, as well as our disastrous wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, the ruinous weapons systems we continue to fund (including new apocalyptic nuclear weapons), and the war song that seems to remain ever the same.

A few recent examples of what I mean: President Trump has already bombed Yemen more than once. He’s already threatening Iran. He’s sending Israel all the explosives, all the weaponry it needs to annihilate the Palestinians in Gaza (so too, of course, did Joe Biden). He’s boasting of building new weapons systems like the Air Force’s much-hyped F-47 fighter jet, the 47” designation being an apparent homage by its builder, Boeing, to Trump himself, the 47th president. He and his defense” secretary, Pete Hegseth, continually boast of peace through strength,” an Orwellian construction that differs little from war is peace.” And I could, of course, go on and on and on and on…

Occasionally, Trump sounds a different note. When Tulsi Gabbard became the director of national intelligence, he sang a dissonant note about a warmongering military-industrial complex.” And however haphazardly, he does seem to be working for some form of peace with respect to the Russia-Ukraine War. He also talks about his fear of a cataclysmic nuclear war. Yet, if you judge him by deeds rather than words, he’s just another U.S. commander-in-chief enamored of the military and military force (whatever the cost, human or financial).

Consider here the much-hyped Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by that lucky man Elon Musk. Even as it dismantles various government agencies like the Department of Education and USAID, it has — no surprise here! — barely touched the Pentagon and its vast, nearly trillion-dollar budget. In fact, if a Republican-controlled Congress has any say in the matter, the Pentagon budget will likely be boosted significantly for Fiscal Year 2026 and thereafter. As inefficient as the Pentagon may be (and we really don’t know just how inefficient it is, since the bean counters there keep failing audit after audit, seven years running), targeted DOGE Pentagon cuts have been tiny. That means there’s little incentive for the generals to change, streamline their operations, or even rethink in any significant fashion. It’s just spend, spend, spend until the money runs out, which I suppose it will eventually, as the national debt soars toward $37 trillion and climbing.

Even grimmer than that, possibly, is America’s state of mind, our collective zeitgeist, the spirit of this country. That spirit is one in which a constant state of war (and preparations for more of the same) is accepted as normal. War, to put it bluntly, is our default state. It’s been that way since 9/11, if not before then. As a military historian, I’m well aware that the United States is, in a sense, a country made by war. It’s just that today we seem even more accepting of that reality, or resigned to it, than we’ve ever been. What gives?

Remember when, in 1963, Alabama Governor George Wallace said, Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever”? Fortunately, after much struggle and bloodshed, he was proven wrong. So, can we change the essential American refrain of war now, war tomorrow, and war forever? Can we render that obsolete? Or is that too much to hope for or ask of America’s exceptional” democracy?

Taking on the MICIMATT(SH)

Former CIA analyst Ray McGovern did America a great service when he came up with the acronym MICIMATT, or the Military-Industrial-Congressional-Intelligence-Media-Academia-Think-Tank complex, an extension of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s military-industrial complex, or MIC (from his farewell speech in 1961). Along with the military and industry (weapons makers like Boeing and Lockheed Martin), the MICIMATT adds Congress (which Eisenhower had in his original draft speech but deleted in the interest of comity), the intelligence community” (18 different agencies), the media (generally highly supportive of wars and weapons spending), academia (which profits greatly from federal contracts, especially research and development efforts for yet more destructive weaponry), and think tanks (which happily lap up Pentagon dollars to tell us the smart” position is always to prepare for yet more war).

You’ll note, however, that I’ve added a parenthetical SH to McGovern’s telling acronym. The S is for America’s sporting world, which eternally gushes about how it supports and honors America’s military, and Hollywood, which happily sells war as entertainment (perhaps the best known and most recent film being Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick, in which an unnamed country that everyone knows is Iran gets its nuclear ambitions spanked by a plucky team of U.S. Naval pilots). A macho catchphrase from the original Top Gun was I feel the need — the need for speed!” It may as well have been: I feel the need — the need for pro-war propaganda!

Yes, MICIMATT(SH) is an awkward acronym, yet it has the virtue of capturing some of the still-growing power, reach, and cultural penetration of Ike’s old MIC. It should remind us that it’s not just the military and the weapons-makers who are deeply invested in war and — yes! — militarism. It’s Congress; the CIA; related intel community” members; the mainstream media (which often relies on retired generals and admirals for unbiased” pro-war commentary); academia (consider how quickly institutions like Columbia University have bent the knee to Trump); and think tanks — in fact, all those best and brightest” who advocate for war with China, the never-ending war on terror, war everywhere.

But perhaps the soft power” of the sporting world and Hollywood is even more effective at selling war than the hard power of bombs and bullets. National Football League coaches patrol the sidelines wearing camouflage, allegedly to salute the troops. Military flyovers at games celebrate America’s latest death-dealing machinery. Hollywood movies are made with U.S. military cooperation and that military often has veto power over scripts. To cite only one example, the war movie 12 Strong (2018) turned the disastrous Afghan War that lasted two horrendous decades into a stunningly quick American victory, all too literally won by U.S. troops riding horses. (If only the famed cowboy actor John Wayne had still been alive to star in it!)

The MICIMATT(SH), employing millions of Americans, consuming trillions of dollars, and churning through tens of thousands of body bags for U.S. troops over the years, while killing millions of people abroad, is an almost irresistible force. And right now, it seems like there’s no unmovable object to blunt it.

Believe me, I’ve tried. I’ve written dozens of Tomgrams” suggesting steps America could take to reverse militarism and warmongering. As I look over those essays, I see what still seem to me sensible ideas, but they die quick deaths in the face of, if not withering fire from the MICIMATT(SH), then being completely ignored by those who matter.

And while this country has a department of war (disguised as a department of defense), it has no department of peace. There’s no budget anywhere for making peace, either. We do have a colossal Pentagon that houses 30,000 workers, feverishly making war plans they won’t let Elon Musk (or any of us) see.  It’s for their eyes only, not yours, though they may well ask you or your kids to serve in the military, because the best-laid plans of those war-men do need lots of warm bodies, even if those very plans almost invariably (Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc.) go astray.

So, to repeat myself, how do you take on the MICIMATT(SH)? The short answer: It’s not easy, but I know of a few people who had some inspirational ideas.

On Listening to Ike, JFK, MLK, and, Yes, Madison, Too

Militarism isn’t exactly a new problem in America. Consider Randolph Bourne’s 1918 critique of war as the health of the state,” or General Smedley Butler’s confession in the 1930s that war is a racket” run by the gangsters of capitalism.” In fact, many Americans have, over the years, spoken out eloquently against war and militarism. Many beautiful and moving songs have asked us to smile on your brother and love one another right now.” War, as Edwin Starr sang so powerfully once upon a time, is good for absolutely nothin’,” though obviously a lot of people disagree and indeed are making a living by killing and preparing for yet more of it.

And that is indeed the problem. Too many people are making too much money off of war. As Smedley Butler wrote so long ago: Capital won’t permit the taking of the profit out of war until the people — those who do the suffering and still pay the price — make up their minds that those they elect to office shall do their bidding, and not that of the profiteers.” Pretty simple, right? Until you realize that those whom we elect are largely obedient to the moneyed class because the highest court in our land has declared that money is speech. Again, I didn’t say it was going to be easy. Nor did Butler.

As a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force, I want to end my 111th piece at TomDispatch by focusing on the words of Ike, John F. Kennedy (JFK), Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK), and James Madison. And I want to redefine what words like duty, honor, country, and patriotism should mean. Those powerful words and sentiments should be centered on peace, on the preservation and enrichment of life, on tapping the better angels of our nature,” as Abraham Lincoln wrote so long ago in his First Inaugural Address.

Why do we serve? What does our oath of office really mean? For it’s not just military members who take that oath but also members of Congress and indeed the president himself. We raise our right hands and swear to support and defend the U.S. Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, to bear true faith and allegiance to the same.

There’s nothing in that oath about warriors and warfighters, but there is a compelling call for all of us, as citizens, to be supporters and defenders of representative democracy, while promoting the general welfare (not warfare), and all the noble sentiments contained in that Constitution. If we’re not seeking a better and more peaceful future, one in which freedom may expand and thrive, we’re betraying our oath.

If so, we have met the enemy — and he is us.

Ike told us in 1953 that constant warfare is no way of life at all, that it is (as he put it), humanity crucifying itself on a cross of iron. In 1961, he told us democracy was threatened by an emerging military-industrial complex and that we, as citizens, had to be both alert and knowledgeable enough to bring it to heel. Two years later, JFK told us that peace — even at the height of the Cold War — was possible, not just peace in our time, but peace for all time. However, it would, he assured us, require sacrifice, wisdom, and commitment.

How, in fact, can I improve on these words that JFK uttered in 1963, just a few months before he was assassinated?

What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living…

I speak of peace because of the new face of war. Total war makes no sense in an age… when the deadly poisons produced by a nuclear exchange would be carried by wind and water and soil and seed to the far corners of the globe and to generations yet unborn… surely the acquisition of such idle [nuclear] stockpiles — which can only destroy and never create — is not the only, much less the most efficient, means of assuring peace.

I speak of peace, therefore, as the necessary rational end of rational men. I realize that the pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war — and frequently the words of the pursuer fall on deaf ears. But we have no more urgent task.

Are we ready to be urgently rational, America? Are we ready to be blessed as peacemakers? Or are we going to continue to suffer from what MLK described in 1967 as our very own spiritual death” due to the embrace of militarism, war, empire, and racism?

Of course, MLK wasn’t perfect, nor for that matter was JFK, who was far too enamored of the Green Berets and too wedded to a new strategy of flexible response” to make a clean break in Vietnam before he was killed. Yet those men bravely and outspokenly promoted peace, something uncommonly rare in their time — and even more so in ours.

More than 200 years ago, James Madison warned us that continual warfare is the single most corrosive force to the integrity of representative democracy. No other practice, no other societal force is more favorable to the rise of authoritarianism and the rule of tyrants than pernicious war. Wage war long and it’s likely you can kiss your democracy, your rights, and just maybe your ass goodbye.

America, from visionaries and prophets like MLK, we have our marching orders. They are not to invest yet more in preparations for war, whether with China or any other country. Rather, they are to gather in the streets and otherwise raise our voices against the scourge of war. If we are ever to beat our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hooks and make war no more, something must be done.

Let’s put an end to militarism in America. Let’s be urgently rational. To cite John Lennon yet again: You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. Together, let’s imagine and create a better world.

Copyright 2025 William J. Astore

Featured image: nch_1671_us-troops-train-in-lithuania_145451 by NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 / Flickr

Follow TomDispatch on Twitter and join us on Facebook. Check out the newest Dispatch Books, John Feffer’s new dystopian novel, Songlands (the final one in his Splinterlands series), Beverly Gologorsky’s novel Every Body Has a Story, and Tom Engelhardt’s A Nation Unmade by War, as well as Alfred McCoy’s In the Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of U.S. Global Power, John Dower’s The Violent American Century: War and Terror Since World War II, and Ann Jones’s They Were Soldiers: How the Wounded Return from America’s Wars: The Untold Story.

William J. Astore

William J. Astore, a retired lieutenant colonel (USAF) and professor of history, is a TomDispatch regular and a senior fellow at the Eisenhower Media Network (EMN), an organization of critical veteran military and national security professionals. His personal substack is Bracing Views. His video testimony for the Merchants of Death Tribunal is available at this link. His new book, made up of the 110 pieces he wrote for TomDispatch, is American Militarism on Steroids: The Military-Industrial Complex, Unbounded, Uncontained, and Undemocratic.

MOD  Media Centre

‘Sri Lanka, due to its strategic location in the Indian Ocean, plays a critical role in regional maritime security. The maritime security strategy is considered the most important aspect in the National Security and Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) is given the highest priority’.

Highlighting this crucial aspect, Deputy Minister of Defence Major General Aruna Jayasekara (Retd), underscored Sri Lanka’s commitment to maritime security during his visit to the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) Mine Sweeper Tender JS Bungo at the Port of Colombo on Wednesday (Apr 2).

The visit coincided with the arrival of two JMSDF vessels, JS Bungo and JS Etajima, as part of the Indo-Pacific and Middle East Deployment 2025.

In his speech, Deputy Minister emphasized Japan’s role as a longstanding and steadfast partner to Sri Lanka across a multitude of sectors. This partnership has manifested in significant support through financial assistance, technological collaboration, development project implementation, humanitarian aid provision, capacity building initiatives, peacekeeping contributions, defence cooperation, maritime security enhancements and knowledge sharing.

Addressing the gathering, the Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka His Excellency Akio Isomata highlighted the deep-rooted bilateral relations between two countries and he emphasized Sri Lanka’s commitment to the regional stability as a cornerstone in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

The event featured the traditional ‘Kagami Biraki’ ceremony, involving the breaking of sake barrels and a demonstration of ‘Kendo,’ a modern Japanese martial art derived from the classical swordsmanship of the samurai.

The event was attended by numerous high-ranking officials and dignitaries, including the Commanders of Sri Lanka Army and Navy, Additional Secretary (Defence) of the Ministry of Defence, members of the diplomatic corps and senior JMSDF officers. Notably present were Captain Amano Shinsuke, Commander of the 3rd Minesweeper Division, as well as the respective Commanding Officers of the ships, Commander Tanaka Koji and Commander Oda Takayuki. 

Further, this visit and interactions underscored the strong defence and maritime cooperation between Sri Lanka and Japan, reinforcing their shared commitment to regional security and stability.

MOD  Media Centre

‘In an era defined by rapid technological shifts, evolving threats and complex global challenges, adaptability is not just an option; it is a necessity.’ Deputy Minister of Defence Major General Aruna Jayasekara (Retd), underscored this very sentiment while addressing the distinguished gathering at the Corps of Sri Lanka Engineers Symposium held at Grand Maitland, Colombo today (Apr 3).

The Deputy Minister was warmly received by the Colonel Commandant of the Corps of Sri Lanka Engineers, Major General Lanka Amarapala, on his arrival at the venue. The symposium revolved around the critical theme of “Adapting for the Future: Strategic Approaches of the Corps of Sri Lanka Engineers Blueprint for the Evolving Geostrategic Landscape.”

In his address, the Deputy Minister emphasized the indispensable role of the Corps of Engineers in nation-building. He highlighted the government’s flagship initiative, ‘Clean Sri Lanka,’ which extends beyond environmental concerns to a broader vision of societal transformation. Engineers, he noted, are uniquely positioned to leverage their expertise in national infrastructure development and the promotion of sustainable practices.

He further addressed the growing demand for Sri Lankan military expertise in international peacekeeping and humanitarian operations. Accordingly, the Corps of Engineers is set to play a pivotal role in UN peace support missions, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief (HADR) operations and demining efforts.

Concluding his speech, Major General Jayasekara (Retd) reaffirmed the Corps’ crucial contribution to Sri Lanka’s security landscape. He underscored that the Corps of Sri Lanka Engineers is not just a combat unit but a transformative force, ready to adapt, innovate and lead in both military and civil domains.

The opening ceremony of the symposium was also attended by the Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Lasantha Rodrigo, Chief of Staff Major General Chandana Wickramasinghe and senior officers from the Tri-Forces.

Wimal Weerawansa

Nava Thakuria

Guwahati: London-based global outfit dedicated for indigenous and tribal peoples’ rights, Survival International (SI) expressed relief that a foreigner was arrested after landing on North Sentinel Island in the Indian Ocean to make contact with the uncontacted Sentinelese people. Terming the news as deeply disturbing, the Sl  director Caroline Pearce commented on 2 April 2025 commented that the concerned Ukrainian-American national (identified as Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov) reached the restricted island.

It beggars belief that someone could be that reckless and idiotic. This person’s actions not only endangered his own life, they put the lives of the entire Sentinelese tribe at risk. It’s very well known by now that uncontacted peoples have no immunity to common outside diseases like flu or measles, which could completely wipe them out,” said SI director Pearce, adding that the Indian authorities have a legal responsibility to ensure that the Sentinelese are safe from missionaries, social media influencers, people fishing illegally in their waters.

Local media reports reveal that Polyakov (24) was arrested for illegally entering the North Sentinel shore under the greater Andaman and Nicobar Islands on 31 March. According to the concerned police authority, the young tourist arrived in Port Blair on 26 March and the accused (S/o Victor Polyakov, Arizona 85251, USA)  intentionally ventured to reach North Sentinel island from Kurma Dera beach in the early morning hours of 29 March with a single-seat boat.

He reached the island’s north-eastern shore by 10 am and looked for the isolated inhabitants but reportedly saw none. Even though he waited for  an hour and blew a whistle to attract the attention of the Sentinelese in vain. Later he landed briefly for five minutes and left some offerings (a coconut and a can of soda) for the inaccessible inhabitants. The Kurma Dera beach fishermen spotted him in the evening hours along with a GPS equipment and a video camera capturing footage on his visit.

The police are investigating his actual intention to visit the restricted tribal area. It’s revealed that  Polyakov tried to reach the location  in October 2023 too, but he was prevented by the Port Blair hotel staff. Later in January 2024, he arrived in Baratang islands and allegedly filmed the indigenous Jarawa tribe. A police complaint was already registered against Polyakov under the Foreigners Act 1946, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Amendment Regulation 2012. Currently Polyakov is under police custody as the probe continues.

It may be mentioned that the Sentinelese, who wish to avoid outsiders, are classified as a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG) and their hostilities towards outside elements are well recorded. Nearly seven years back, they killed an American missionary (John Allen Chau) in 2018 for reaching their remote island with an aim to convert the tribes into  Christianity. The self-styled adventurer Chau was buried in isolation and the SI appealed to the authorities not to try to bring back his mortal remains so that the Sentinelese could be protected from any disease transmission.

Uncontacted Indigenous peoples around the world are experiencing the invasion of their lands on a shocking scale. Countless uncontacted peoples in the Amazon are being invaded by loggers and gold-miners,” said SI director Pearce, adding that the un-contacted Shompen of Great Nicobar Island, not far from North Sentinel, will be wiped out if New Delhi goes ahead with its plan to transform their island into the Hong Kong of India.  The common factor in all these cases is governments’ refusal to abide by international law and recognize & protect uncontacted peoples’ territories,” she concluded.

Gospa News

Russia’s deputy foreign minister has warned the United States that any military attack on Iran’s nuclear sites would have catastrophic” consequences for the entire region.

Sergei Ryabkov made the remarks during an interview with the International Affairs journal on Tuesday, after US President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Iran if it fails to come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program.

Threats are indeed being heard, ultimatums are also being heard,” Ryabkov said, noting that The consequences of this, especially if the strikes are on nuclear infrastructure, could be catastrophic for the entire region.”

APOCALYPSE’s New NIGHTMARES in Middle East: RUSSIAN Govt WARNS on Catastrophic Effects” of any US ATTACK ON IRAN – gospanews.net (EN)

නීතීඥ අරුණ ලක්සිරි උණවටුන B.Sc(Col), PGDC(Col) සමායෝජක, වෛද්‍ය තිලක පද්මා සුබසිංහ අනුස්මරණ නීති අධ්‍යයන වැඩසටහන

1. චෝදනාව කරන අයටම හෝ තමා යටතේ ඉන්නා අයෙක් මගින් චෝදනව ඉදිරිපත් කරවා චූදිතව රක්ෂිත බන්ධනාගාරගත කළ හැකි බව,

2. චෝදනාව කරන අය සාක්ෂියට කැදවීමට ඉඩ නොදෙන බව,

3. දඬුවමේ සීමාවක් නැති බව,

4. වසර 2කට වඩා චූදිතව/ සැකකරුව රක්ෂිත බන්ධනාගාරගත කර රඳවා තබා ගත හැකි බව සහ 1997 අංක 30 ඇප පනත අදාල නොවන බව,

5. ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණය විසින් දඬුවම් නියම කළහොත් අභියාචනා අවස්ථාවක් නැති බව, (සාමාන්‍යයෙන් දඬුවමකට එරෙහිව අභියාචනා අවස්ථා 2ක් ඇත)

6. නීතීඥවරුන්ගේ විනය පාලනය සහ රීති නිකුත් කිරීම ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණයට වඩා පහළින් ඇති අධිකරණ, විනිශ්චය අධිකාර සහ ආයතන වලටත් පවරා ඇති බව,

7. අධිකරණයේදි නීතිය පෙන්වා දෙන, නඩු පවරන නීතීඥවරයාට නැවත නිවසට ඒමට නොලැබිය හැකි බව

8. විනිසුරුට එරෙහිව නඩු පැවරූ විට ඒ විනිසුරුටම නඩු පවරන්නාව රිමාන්ඩ් කළ හැකි බව

9. ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථා හැර අන් සියලු නීති අභිබවා ක්‍රියාත්මක වන බව

10. විනිසුරුවරුන්ගේ අනාගත සහ පෞද්ගලික අරමුණු ඉටුකර ගැනීම වෙනුවෙන්ද ක්‍රියාත්මක විය හැකි බව

http://neethiyalk.blogspot.com/2025/04/2024-8-10.html?m=1

නීතීඥ අරුණ ලක්සිරි උණවටුන B.Sc(Col), PGDC(Col) සමායෝජක, වෛද්‍ය තිලක පද්මා සුබසිංහ අනුස්මරණ නීති අධ්‍යයන වැඩසටහන. දුරකථන 0712063394 (2025.03.31)

Courtesy Adaderana

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) today expresses deep concern over the imposition of a 44% tariff on Sri Lankan exports to the United States.

US President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs yesterday on major trade partners, including China and the European Union.

With the US accounting for approximately USD 3 billion in exports and 25% of Sri Lanka’s total merchandise export, this development poses a significant challenge to the country’s trade and economic stability,” the chamber said in a statement. 

Additionally, broader global trade disruptions could slow economic growth, affecting overall demand in key export markets such as the US and the EU, it warned. 

The CCC said it appreciates the President of Sri Lanka setting up a committee to evaluate the impact of the US tariffs and provide solutions to mitigate potential risks to the export sector. 

Since we are halfway through the IMF Extended Fund Facility programme and navigating a tight fiscal space, it is vital that Sri Lanka is able to negotiate down from the high tariff band.” 

The Ceylon Chamber said it is an opportune moment for the Government to relook at its tariff structure and implement measures that will improve trade facilitation and improve the ease of doing business.  

The Ceylon Chamber said it remains committed to working closely with the Government to develop a coordinated and strategic response to mitigate the potential economic impact of these tariffs. 

We urge all stakeholders to collaborate in ensuring that Sri Lanka’s trade interests are safeguarded, while actively pursuing diplomatic and policy-driven solutions to sustain and strengthen its export sector,” the statement added.

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lankan animal rights activists marched on Thursday to protest the round-up of stray dogs a day ahead of a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

Authorities in Colombo and the Buddhist pilgrim city of Anuradhapura have reportedly deployed dog catchers to impound hounds ahead of Modi’s visit, which begins on Friday.

Many of Colombo’s strays are beloved by their adopted neighbourhoods despite lacking formal owners — and are dubbed community” canines rather than street dogs.

Around a dozen protesters from the Rally for Animal Rights and Environment (RARE) waved placards outside President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s office in Colombo after submitting a petition to India’s high commission. 

Stop the cruel removal of our community dogs,” one placard read.

Protesters said that many of the dogs in public parks had been vaccinated and neutered and were cared for by locals and animal welfare groups.

How can Sri Lanka promote tourism when we are a country known for animal cruelty?” another placard read.

Protesters urged New Delhi’s intervention to prevent the cruel and unnecessary removal of these dogs”, saying that the round-up of dogs would create displacement, suffering, and potential harm”.

Modi is set to receive an official welcome at Colombo’s Independence Square, where dog catchers are reported to have been busy in this week.

He is also set to visit Anuradhapura to pay homage to the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi Tree, a sacred bo tree grown from a cutting brought from the holy Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India.

Source: AFP

–Agencies 

Madyawediya

Iraj Show

Harsha de Silva

Shenali D Waduge

Are Sri Lanka’s govts, policy advisors & close coterie living in a delusional world thinking that a takeover of a country only happens via invasions as took place under Portuguese, Dutch, British ruling Sri Lanka from 1505-1972? Have they not noticed or kept track of the manner India is building its stronghold over Sri Lanka diplomatically/politically, economically, strategically, culturally and aligned to a new Arkhand Bharath – unified subcontinent including Sri Lanka under India?

Sri Lanka’s relations with India has both positive & negative aspects. Though Buddha was not born in India but in present Nepal, it was King Ashoka who sent his son who became Mihindu thero to propagate Buddhism in Sri Lanka while his daughter Sangamitta Therani brought the sacred Bo Sapling placed in Sri Maha Bodhiya, Anuradhapura.

The Sinhale kings held diplomatic/trade relations with Indian rulers though Sri Lanka suffered 17 invasions from South India. The present tensions arise from the settlements of these invasions, the colonial settler schemes by Portuguese, Dutch & British.

Sri Lanka’s distrust with India primarily follows the secret training of Sri Lankan Tamil militants on Indian soil that resulted in a 30 year bloodshed, while India used the militancy to force Sri Lanka to sign the Indo-Lanka Pact in 1987, amend Sri Lanka’s Constitution & insert clauses with historical falsehoods not in the interest of Tamils but to use the Tamil card & fortify Indian interests in Sri Lanka’s North & East.

The dispatch of Indian Peace Keepers was part of the plan though they were unceremoniously sent back by then President Premadasa who met his waterloo 3 years after IPKF was sent back.

The majority of Sri Lankans continue to blame India for the 30 year terrorism in particular their memories of how India prevented the capture of Prabakaran & whisked him off to safety in Delhi in 1987 by Indian helicopters. Sri Lankans hold India accountable for every death LTTE committed since 1987.

Another thorn is the fishing issue where internationally banned bottom trawlers are coming in their thousands from South India to illegally fish on Sri Lanka’s territorial waters & also systematically ruining the marine bed/ecosystem which will sooner than later deprive Sri Lankan fishermen in coastal areas a means of livelihood.

Majority of Sri Lankans also hold India accountable for using the concern for Tamils” to justify interfering in Sri Lanka’s internal affairs, even influencing how Tamils cast their vote. The manner India is exerting undue pressure is even beginning to annoy Tamils in the North as well.

Sri Lankans are also angered with India given its lack of support at the UNHRC resolutions against Sri Lanka, given India’s initial role in fostering & harboring terrorism on Indian soil. This angst is further strengthened by the realization that the Islamic suicide bombers were also frequent visitors to India prior to carrying out their mass suicide.

Another area where Sri Lankans fault India is the bullying it exerts diplomatically preventing Sri Lanka building relations with its historical friends like China, Cuba, Russia, Pakistan. Though they may be strategic rivals of India, they have never used Sri Lanka against India. Ironically, while India plots to overthrow Sri Lankan governments for building closer relations with China, India is increasing its investments & business relations with China.

The sincerity with which Emperor Ashoka functioned can never be compared or achieved by post-independent Indian leaders. On the contrary, Buddhism is being craftily used as a soft power foreign policy tool while at the same time forcing Sri Lanka to create a pro-Hindu bogus & solely mythical Ramayana Trail officially to attract Indians to Sri Lanka with real intents kept hidden.

Unfortunately, Sri Lanka’s politicians concentrating only on securing and enjoying power, devoid of Statesmanship are ignoring the manner that India is subtly devoring Sri Lanka into its sphere of influence, initially as a counterbalance to China but in reality to fortify its global importance across the Indian Ocean region. India is doing so economically, via imports/exports, investments, strategic support, credit lines & aid, infrastructure projects, religious/cultural collaborations, stakes in airports/ports/harbors that hold the key to an island nation, humanitarian aid, defense & energy pacts.

How has India been exerting its influence over Sri Lanka since defeat of LTTE in May 2009?

At all times, the trick is to realize that over dependency is hara kiri for Sri Lanka.

How India will wrest control over Sri Lanka –

Economically – India’s economic influence is a key soft power strategic tool

Sri Lanka’s dependency on trade with India Indian imports/exports /transshipment trade – petroleum, textiles, machinery, chemicals, food, cement.

India being a critical provider to Sri Lanka’s energy security means any disruption will impact Sri Lanka. Imagine if India STOPS sending petroleum, textiles, machinery, chemicals, foodstuff etc if Sri Lanka does not comply to India’s demands, what will Sri Lanka do?

Indian investments & credit lines means Sri Lanka is bound by conditions imposed by India where the money given has to be spent on buying goods from India thus inking Sri Lanka’s dependency further.

The loans India has given Sri Lanka can be used as political leverage against Sri Lanka demanding Sri Lanka makes foreign policy decisions to India’s advantage or settle loans.

Manipulation of trade agreements in favor of India as well as influencing clauses beneficial to India is no secret. India could also adjust” or revoke” terms of the trade agreements with India which will impact Sri Lankan businesses relying on Indian markets & causing turmoil internally.

Debt leverage should also be a concern & Sri Lanka’s politicians should not forget how India cut off electricity to Bangladesh due to non payment. Sri Lanka is signing an MOU with India to share electricity grid – will the scenario that happened to Bangladesh not occur to Sri Lanka, in such a scenario what do Sri Lanka’s politicians propose to do?

With India’s insistence to sign ECTA the service agreement that enables Indians to work, live & reside in Sri Lanka as well as employ members of Indian families to work in Indian companies operating in Sri Lanka is clearly a means of flooding Sri Lanka with millions of Indians who are unemployed & would result in a demographic catastrophe as well as place Sri Lanka’s resources (land, water, food etc) in a significantly vulnerable state.

Though Sri Lanka’s leaders have failed to realize Sri Lanka’s importance as an island in the Indian Ocean is due to its location & to self-protect & strengthen that advantage, Sri Lanka has been happily giving away the keys to Sri Lanka to entities that can use the airports/ports/harbors to even block anything entering or leaving Sri Lanka. In such a scenario how vulnerable will Sri Lanka & its citizens be?

The economic leverage India holds over Sri Lanka should be a serious concern in view of India’s action against Nepal during the 2015 economic embargo closing all entry/exit points to food, petrol, medical needs of Nepal that goes through India. This took place for several months resulting in China having to drop essentials via plane. The reason for the Indian embargo was Nepals refusal to include provisions in Nepals new constitution that India demanded. This scenario has very close links to Sri Lanka & politicians cannot ignore this possibility happening to Sri Lanka as well. India as supplier can easily decide to reduce” or delay shipments” of essential goods (food, fuel, medicines, electricity supply etc) to Sri Lanka if Sri Lanka refuses to do as India says or adopts policies India does not like.

Cultural/Religious influence & Soft Power diplomacy: while profaning reverence to Buddhism it is no secret that hundreds of Siva Lingams have arrived to replace the ancient Buddhist structures in the North & East. Vaddamana Pabbatha vihara demolition & erection of a siva lingam is a perfect example with the remaining Buddhist theros under tremendous pressure & harassment by hired racists while the calls to close army camps in the North & remove the military is to subtly remove the Sinhala Buddhist presence from the North & East leaving India to dictate how the 2 provinces are run. Part of PM Modi’s itinerary is a meditation session in Trincomalee’s Gokanna Temple which is being presented as a hindu kovil. There can be no cultural & religious collaboration if beneath the façade, attempts are foot to erase the Buddhist identity of Sri Lanka.

Defense/military/counter terrorism cooperation: Hereto it must not be forgotten how India clandestinely trained Tamil militancy against the Sri Lankan Govt that resulted in 30 years of bloodshed. Not stopping there the recent Islamic mass suicide bombers were also frequent visitors to South India before carrying out their suicide attacks. When Indo-Lanka Accord required Indian Naval to stop terrorism, LTTE was openly travelling to Tamil Nadu & using it as a logistics hub while Indian Navy looked on. Innumerable illegal smuggling is taking place via Kerala to Sri Lanka. While India is also demanding Kachchetivu island ignoring all the official documents that clearly places it under Sri Lanka’s territory. These are no actions of a friend”.

India’s heavy investments in infrastructure/ports/airports/roads/rail etc means India has the power to exert tremendous influence over Sri Lanka at every level. Sri Lanka’s politicians and advisors & the foreign ministry as well as secretaries & senior public officials are to be held accountable from not looking into the interests of Sri Lanka’s sovereignty & territorial integrity when finalizing agreements.

Thus, in short India’s control over Sri Lanka is taking place under these themes & the following choke points.

1. Trade Leverage – reducing supply to SL of essential goods (fuel, food, medicines) / revoke trade benefits under trade agreements
2. Financial Assistance/Credit lines – cut credit lines / cut financial aid & destabilize Sri Lanka’s economy / without debt relief/loans
3. Debt leverage – withhold debt restructuring / block favorable loan terms
4. Infrastructure control – delay/withdraw investments in infrastructure projects / limit involvement in strategic projects like ports/airports/harbors
5. Energy leverage – limit or cut off fuel & energy supplies & create economic crisis / cut energy supply as done to Bangladesh
6. Labor market leverage – restrict Indian labor to impact industries relying on foreign workers
7. Link aid to policy – demand Sri Lanka favor ethno-religious groups favorable to India
8. Economic sanctions/trade barriers – impose tariffs / trade restrictions on SL exports to India / revoke trade preferences to destroy Sri Lankan industries.
9. Humanitarian Air – withhold humanitarian aid during crisis / limit cultural & educational collaborations
10. Influence world financial institutions – pressure IMF/WB to withhold support for Sri Lanka unless it aligns to India’s interests.
11. Influence its military presence – increasing Indian defense collaborations & influence Sri Lanka’s defense policies
12. Indian Ocean Shipping lanes – results in India limiting Sri Lanka’s access to critical maritime routes/prevent foreign military access
13. Defense pacts – India can force dependency via defense aid”
14. Manipulate Sri Lanka’s foreign policy – India can pressure Sri Lanka to limit its military and economic ties with China,

India cannot dictate who Sri Lanka has economic relations with. Sri Lanka must clearly state that Sri Lanka will decide what is advantageous to Sri Lanka. When the question of European sanctions against Russia arose, India chose not to join & instead bought fuel at a cheap rate & sold it at higher rate to Europe! Though India was threatened with sanctions, India’s External Affairs was very clear about India’s policy. If India holds carrots for investments & trade, Sri Lanka must pursue & sign the free trade agreement with China. Sri Lanka must also expand its trade partners and not rely solely on India. The main fault line has been Sri Lanka’s dependency on imports & lethargy for domestic production & self-sufficiency. Such will automatically reduce dependency on imports & threats from India.

What is stopping Sri Lanka from voicing policy as clearly as Mrs. Bandaranaike who continues to be mentioned with respect for her ability to mean what she says & say what she means. Sri Lanka’s leaders have failed to follow her policy of non-alignment which won her friends from all corners of the world & she continues to be spoken highly unlike any of Sri Lanka’s leaders. Another key pillar Sri Lanka has failed & needs to leverage is the domestic governance vis a vis policy in handling domestic matters without allowing foreign interventions/influence & appeasing to foreign dictates. Sri Lanka must also learn to place its foot down on the cultural colonialism that is taking place alongside the digital colonialism wherein Sri Lanka’s identity is being subtly erased without a whimper.

Are Sri Lanka’s corporates, professionals, Trade Unions, 3 main pillars governing Sri Lanka, Public Servants, not worried or concerned about these scenarios or have they already been compromised to the enemy?

Sri Lanka’s politicians, policy advisors cannot be ignorant of these ground realities. If so what have they done to avert any national catastrophe as a result of over dependence on India instead of signing more agreements sealing Sri Lanka’s fate? How can Sri Lanka overcome Indian pressure & assert more independence in its foreign & domestic policies?

Shenali D Waduge