RANJITH SOYSA

Julain Assange who revealed sordid aspects of West ‘s diplomacy including on the ‘war on terrorism’ in keeping with the principles of investigative journalism is hounded by the British Police. If not for Assange and his indefatigable production of Wikileaks many political and diplomatic sins committed by the leading Western ‘democracies ‘ would have been remained as ‘rational’ and right decisions.

He commenced working on Wikileaks in 2006 creating a web-based ‘dead letter box’ for would be leaks. He was shifting from place to place in handling Wikileaks. Not only the numbers killed butmany other issues such as torture carried out by the US ,the British and the allied forces came to the light because of Wikileaks. The total number killed between 2004 and 2009  in Iraq were revealed factually as 109,032 by Wikileaks and was also reported that the US High Command refused to look into the reports of torture undertaken by the allied fores, Even little known stories of the British and the US exchange of messages on Sri Lanka’s war against Tamil Tigers are also reported in the Wikileaks. The detailed story of the expulsion of the natives from the Chagos islands too became known only thanks to Wikileaks.

Asssange was born in Townswille, Australia in 1971. Another, well known political commentator, John Pilger states ” The action of the British Police in literally dragging Julian Assange from the Eduadorean emassay and SMASHING INTERNATIONAL LAW by the Ecuadorean regime in permitting this barbarity are CRIMES AGAINST MOST BASIC NATURAL JUSTICE. This is a warning to all journalists.

RANJITH SOYSA

By Derrick Broze SOURCE: THEMINDUNLEASHED.COM

The U.S. government is still afraid to reveal the full extent of torture used on terror suspects in the years following the 9/11 attacks, but do the American people even care anymore?

A recent report by The New York Times explores the case of Majid Khan, a prisoner of the United States who plead guilty to being a courier for Al Qaeda. Khan is a Pakistani citizen who spent seven years in Baltimore before being kidnapped by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 2003, where he faced various forms of torture. Since Khan’s first court appearance in 2003, the U.S. government has sought to keep the details of his torture secret.

The Times reports:

Seven years ago, when a former C.I.A. prisoner, Majid Khan, pleaded guilty at Guantánamo to being a courier for Al Qaeda, his lawyers were warned that any mention of the word torture” would lead a court security officer to trigger a mute button so the public, listening on a 40-second delay, would not hear it.

This week the question of his treatment was front and center, this time in a pre-sentencing hearing. Mr. Khan’s lawyers asked a military judge on Monday to order prosecutors to produce evidence and witnesses about the secret prison network where the intelligence agency kept Mr. Khan incommunicado from March 2003 to September 2006.”

Khan’s case is only the latest in a battle between attorneys defending accused terrorists and both the CIA and the U.S. military. While th military now allows torture to be discussed without the 40-second delay, the battle now centers on how torture evidence can be gathered and whether or not it can be used in military tribunals at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The prosecutors cannot legally use evidence obtained via torture in the military court, but they are still reluctant to allow the details of the torture to become public. Khan’s attorneys are seeking data related to his torture so they may show his sentencing jury what exactly he was forced to endure.

During the Obama administration, some details of Mr. Khan’s torture at the hands of the CIA were made public. These include being beaten, hung naked without food for three days, kept in the dark for months on end, submerged into a tub of ice and water, and perhaps, most disturbing, being subjected to rectal feeding.” As part of that process, the CIA shoved a blended mix of pasta, sauce, nuts, raisins, and hummus up Khan’s rectum after he went on a hunger strike. Khan’s lawyer David Nevin said the term rectal feeding, or rectal rehydration, is a polite way of saying rape with the insertion of a foreign object into the rectum.”

The Times reports that Khan has agreed to a plea agreement and could be sentenced to 25 years. With credit for time served he could be released by 2037. Still, despite the potential plea deal, the military has prevented Khan’s attorneys from contacting former employees of the CIA black sites where Khan and other suspected terrorists have been held over the last two decades. The CIA has fought to keep secret the names of the employees and the locations of these black sites.

As we approach yet another anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the American people remain clueless as to the full extent of the torture, kidnapping, and killing carried out in the name of avenging those killed on September 11, 2001. Even worse, the psychologists who helped develop these sickening programs have been allowed to go free under secret deals. If the world is ever to heal from the tragedy of the 9/11 terror attacks, we must know the truth about what happened that day and we must know the truth about how the U.S. government and intelligence agencies violated international law when they chose to employ brutal, sick, and twisted methods of torture. Without these truths, the American people are simply living a lie.

Dilrook Kannangara

Team Sri Lanka should play the following squad for the WC2019 to achieve best outcomes.

Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella, Sandun Weerakkody, Kusal Perera, Upul Tharanga, Dasun Shanaka, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Mendis, Thisara Perera, Milinda Siriwardana, Asela Gunaratne, Dhananjaya de Silva, Ashan Priyanjan, Shehan Madushanka, Akila Dananjaya, Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal, Isuru Udana, Shaminda Eranga and Wanindu Hasaranga.

This is based on batting efficacy (strike rate times average) and bowling effectiveness (economy rate times wicket taking average).

Wanindu Hasaranga is an exception. Although his performance does not warrant a place for him in the squad, his exceptional ability to give the ball a good spin is considered given dead pitches for spinners where World Cup matches are played. Other interesting selections include Shehan Madushanka who is an interesting fast bowler. Isuru Udana has not played enough matches. However, he has displayed a fighting spirit not found in many Sri Lankan players. He is also a moderate all rounder.

Sandun Weerakkody is a wicket keeper batsman who can be accommodated at a different fielding position given his good and fast batting. His batting is better than Dinesh Chandimal.

Lahiru and Jeffrey cannot make it to the team given their poor performance overall. However, if some of the players listed above are not going to be available, they can make it to the squad. Dilruwan Perera who is a Test player may be included in the squad in place of Amila Aponsu.

The format this year requires the team to make it to the top four to get ahead. There is no quarter final. That is a daunting task for Team Sri Lanka which currently ranks at the eighth position (may slip to the ninth position). There is no point playing slow batters as the Team is going to lose matches anyway if fast scoring batters fail. Net Run Rate cannot bring us within the top four. Only match winnings can bring us to the top four. Therefore, no harm in losing some matches badly as long as we win other matches. However, over the years, Cricket Sri Lanka failed to unearth many fast scoring batsmen. Focus was on the batting average and most finds are unsuitable for the ODI format. Unfortunately we have to play them as better talent is unavailable.

Matthews should not be made captain as he has not been successful. Malinga is the only current World Cup (T20I) winning captain but some senior players are not very receptive to his leadership. A tough decision must be taken on the choice of captain. However, bringing Dimuth into the ODI squad for his great captaincy skills is unwise as he has no place in the ODI squad.

Batting order must change. The crucial number three position must not go to Kusal Mendis who is a slow batter. Matthews and Thisara and Isuru must play higher up in the order where they can blossom without the added pressure of running out of balls. This is what worked for WC1996. Tharanga should also play down the batting order. Often times these slow batters cause the required rate to go up and the difficult task falls on latter batsmen who are also burdened with the ball. Contribution of Kusal Mendis and Tharanga is only in the batting department. As specialized batsmen they must be able to handle pressure down the order. Otherwise they are best kept out of the team.

A total of 300 runs is the norm today and mathematically it is a certainty that if a team loses if it makes up of batsmen with far less than 100% strike rate. 

Given the long and grueling format, it is a good idea to financially assist wives and girl friends of players to get there and be with them. This can be done by limiting administration officials and their family members. They don’t play matches and they need not be in England.

As a realist with an umbrella at hand, WC2019 will be an affair to forget for Team Sri Lanka fans. However, making the most of it should be the focus this time. Take each match as a winnable game and let the numbers do the trick.

By: PTI |Courtesy Financial Express

Riyadh and Kathmandu are two upcoming international destinations for the airline.

SpiceJet will launch direct flights from Mumbai to seven international destinations, including Colombo, Jeddah, Dhaka, Riyadh and Hong Kong. Direct flights would also be operated from Mumbai to Bangkok and Kathmandu.

The no-frills airline would start the services from the end of May. In a release on Monday, the carrier said it would be the first Indian budget carrier to launch daily direct flights on the Mumbai-Colombo, Mumbai-Dhaka, Mumbai-Riyadh, Mumbai-Hong Kong and Mumbai-Kathmandu sectors. Boeing 737 NG aircraft would be deployed in the new routes.

We are delighted to connect a large number of popular international destinations from Mumbai, a city that has always been a key and integral part of our network,” SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh said. Riyadh and Kathmandu are two upcoming international destinations of the airline. The airline already operates flights to Colombo from Chennai and Madurai, Dhaka from Kolkata, Dubai from Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mangalore, Amritsar, Jaipur and Madurai, Hong Kong from Delhi and Jeddah from Hyderabad besides an upcoming flight from Kozhikode,” the release said.

Courtesy joe.co.uk

Four men have been arrested on suspicion of belonging to a banned terrorist organisation

Police arrested four men on suspicion of belonging to a banned terror group after they arrived in the UK at Luton airport from Sri Lanka.

They arrived on Wednesday night and were taken into custody before being questioned at a police station in Bedfordshire.

All four are Sri Lankan nationals and were detained under the terrorism act.

Scotland Yard said: “Police at the airport were made aware of the men the next day, Thursday 11 April and subsequently stopped them under schedule seven of the Terrorism Act 2000.”

The men are yet to be identified as they have not been charged.

The only Sri Lankan organisation on the government’s list of proscribed terror groups are the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, described as”a terrorist group fighting for a separate Tamil state in the North and East of Sri Lanka” and listed in 2001.

Police inquiries are ongoing.

By M D P DISSANAYAKE

Mr Gotabaya Rajapakse has created his own political platform providing  a nation friendly economic and socially cohesive vision to integrate all ethnic groups of the island.  He has clearly identified to distance himself from the free-flow open market economy.  Instead, he is committed to provide leadership to accelerate investing capacity of local entrepreneurs  for  all goods and services which can be locally manufactured, instead of importing.     It is in this context local manufacturers will be provided further assistance by means of technological transfer from advanced industrial nations, taking into consideration opportunity costs.

Sri Lanka is a rich island, with vast untapped economic resources.  Projects such as Tyre, Steel, Engineering, Textile, Ceramics, Paper, Hardware, Mineral Sands, Cement, Timber were commissioned to kick start the economy, which filters to benefit directly and indirectly to the rest of the areas of economy. 

Sri Lankan economy is stagnating  or gradually moving backwards at the moment.  The taxation system is being changed in an ad-hoc manner, tax revenue is declining and at the same time tax revenue is  directed for consumption instead of capital investment. 

No short and medium term tax incentives are given to local entrepreneurs.  The financial institutions are reluctant to release long term loans to private sector, as local businessmen are unable to investing in modern technology to upgrade or replace existing plant and machinery. As a consequence their Business Plans fail to meet the required standards of Due diligence Tests.

During last four years, we have been pushed to those issues which further divided the nation instead of integrating.  Our current inefficient rulers with no positive action plan were pampered by Groups and Nations thus successfully elevated ethnic issues above economic and social issues. 

GR is the overwhelming future leader for Sri Lanka and Asia to change the direction and overall the economy.

KAMALIKA PIERIS

Among certain segments of Colombo urban middle class, Mahinda Rajapaksa emerged as the most controversial and most hated ruler in post independent Sri Lanka, said Kusal Perera.  Yet in suburban and rural Sinhala south he ‘carried his charm over ordinary Sinhala people’ and polled a massive 5.78 million votes in 2015. How did he grow into this larger than life icon in Sinhala politics.

Kusal Perera in his book Rajapaksa the Sinhala selfie” tells us how. Mahinda Rajapaksa’s grandfather, Rajapaksalage Don Davith, originally from Halgahapotha in present Embilipitiya area, was vidane arachchi of Ihala Welikada korale now known as Giruwa Pattu. He married into the Weerakoon Ratnayake clan of Getamanna, Beliatta. This was a linking of two petty village nobilities.   Rajapaksa family was a landowning one with paddy fields and coconut plantations.

Don David Rajapaksa’s son Don Mathew Rajapaksa, Mahinda Rajapaksa uncle, was elected to the Hambantota seat in the State Council in 1936. Don Mathew died in 1945 and at the resulting by-election his brother D.A. (Don Alwin) Rajapaksa, Mahinda Rajapaksa’s father, was elected without a contest.D.A. Rajapaksa was thereafter elected MP for Beliatta in the 1947 General election. D.A. Rajapaksa was associated wih SWRD Bandaranaike when the SLFP was formed in 1951. DA was     a ‘quiet and unseen character’ in SLFP politics, said Kusal Perera.

 DA’s son Mahinda Rajapaksa is the third in a family of seven. He grew up in Medamulana, a hamlet in Weeraketiya, in the Matara district. He   attended Richmond College, Nalanda College and Thurstan College from where he did his O” levels and left school. ‘He was a popular youth idling in Colombo with many friends to roam with,’ said Kusal.

A relative who was the Registrar at Sri Jayewardenepura University took him in as a library assistant there. The JVP was firmly installed in that university. Mahinda knew this group, whowere also from villages in the south. According to Kusal Perera, Rajapaksa had participated in trade union work. He was made the Branch secretary of the Ceylon Mercantile Union. ( Kusal Perera p 15)

D.A. Rajapaksa , Mahinda’s father died in 1967.  Prime Minister Sirimavo  Bandaranaike,  attending the three months dane,  offered the now vacant post of SLFP  party organizer in Beliatte to the sons. Chamal was employed so their mother suggested that it be given to Mahinda. In 1968 Mahinda Rajapaksa took over his father’s position as the SLFP organizer. He was barely 21.  ‘Politics was nothing new to the Rajapaksas and to Mahinda’, observed Kusal.

Mahinda Rajapaksa was thereafter elected to Parliament in 1970 on the SLFP ticket,  as the youngest Member of Parliament, at just 24. He was carefully watched by his mother as he prepared for the 1970 election, said Kusal. Mahinda’s mother  had been the wife of a  rural politician and knew the culture.  She told Mahinda  not to drink in his new job.

While in Parliament, Mahinda , probably for the first  and last time in his life,  turned seriously to studies. He studied law at the Sri Lanka Law College and took oaths as an attorney-at-law in November 1977.  It appears that Mahinda Rajapaksa   has pursued a legal practice  running parallel to his politics.  We did not know this.

Throughout his parliamentary career, except for the period from 1994–2001 when he was a minister, he continued his law practice in Tangalle, said Wikipedia.  He  appeared in the Magistrates courts in Embilipitiya, Hambantota and Tangalle. He was in  close touch wih Colombo  lawyers such as CR de Silva and  Tivanka Wickremasinghe, said Kusal Perera. Mahinda had a  very close   personal relationship with Tivanka and often sought  advice for his own cases.

  In 1977 Mahinda Rajapaksa lost his Beliatta seat in the landslide defeat of the SLFP.  But by this time, according to Kusal,  Rajapaksa  had    cultivated  ‘for himself , a social space among influential personalities in Colombo as  an outgoing , young, friendly figure”. Till 1989, Rajapaksa was an obscure politician in the south, engaging in his law practice, said Kusal.

In 1983 Rajapaksa married the very pretty Shiranthi Wickremasinghe. She has been Miss Sri Lanka in 1973. Rajapaksa has been blessed with a happy marriage and a stable family life. When he took oaths as Prime Minister in 2004, the media commented on the demeanor of his three sons, who were very young at the time. The media said that they did not even know that Mahinda Rajapaksa had  three sons until the sons made an appearance at the father’s swearing in. At Rajapaksa first swearing in as President,  his wife and sons stood quietly as he signed and promptly returned to their seats as instructed.

In 1989, Rajapaksa was elected to Parliament to represent Hambantota District.  He started to develop contacts in Colombo. In the early 1990s Rajapaksa was making late night stopovers at different places In Colombo to meet different persons not necessarily directly involved in politics, said Kusal. At Sravasthi Rajapaksa met both government and opposition politicians. He mixed with politicians ‘of difference hues.’ He had a good rapport with the Communist Party politicians but not with the LSSP, said Kusal. He  also  met loyal SLFP business men.    

1991 and 1992 were important and successful years for Mahinda Rajapaksa as an Opposition MP, said Kusal Perera. They were the years that established Mahinda as a national political leader, within anti-UNP politics. He was sought after by numerous groups and trade unions to campaign against the Premadasa government. In the process, Rajapaksa was dragged into issues he was not familiar with but was compelled to take on, such as privatization of public enterprises, cost of living, inflation.  This would have been a  valuable learning experience for him.

He was not a very articulate speaker In Parliament, but  he was  a very provocative anti –Premadasa presence in the Opposition, said Kusal.  He obtained information from varied sources. Editor of Desathiya  ‘dropped in’ to give Mahinda some information for his speech in parliament on the    budget debate of 1992. He had very good rapport with journalists, and they gave good coverage to his outbursts in Parliament.

In 1992 Rajapaksa launched a very successful ‘Pada Yatra’ from Colombo to Kataragama. At Kataragama people had come the previous night and had camped along the route. A Saaravita betel seller who travelled the whole length of the Pada yathra from day one, gave Rs 200 for the Pada Yathra and went away saying he would pray for Mahinda mahattaya.

The ‘Kurahan satakaya’ which his uncle, D.M. Rajapaksa had introduced into politics,   was first worn by Mahinda  Rajapaksa at the Pada Yathra. ‘Kurahan satakaya’ was an earthy brown shawl  worn by Rajapaksa’s uncle D. M. Rajapaksa, State Councilor for Hambantota in the 1930s, to represent  the kurakkan cultivated by the people of his area.

This Pada Yathra energized the SLFP and the anti UNP voter.  it  transformed  Rajapaksa from a provincial leader to a national leader. Mahinda after Pada Yathra was a crowd puller in high demand at election rallies in all provinces.’ Rajapaksa followed up the  Pada Yathra with a successful Jana Gosha at Lipton square in Colombo.

The 1990s was period of conflict in the SLFP. The disagreements between Sirimavo, Chandrika and Anura helped Mahinda Rajapaksa. It ‘gave  him a leap within the party as one who strived to keep the party together ‘The southern SLFP voter looked towards Mahinda in the absence of leadership from  the Bandaranaikes.

By 1994 Rajapaksa had ‘his presence felt very much in the south’ and was certain of returning to Parliament as a formidable cabinet minister if the SLFP won. The SLFP won  and in 1994 Rajapaksa was appointed Minister of Labor. Rajapaksa proved ‘a very charming negotiator in handling labor disputes’ and a popular labor minister both among the trade unionists and the employers.’ He initiated a National Workers Charter.  He had EPF under him. He was also picking up ideas that could make him a popular minister among the public, added Kusal.

In 1997, following a cabinet reshuffle, his portfolio was changed to Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. He immediately set about using the Fisheries portfolio for his populist politics, said Kusal. He refused the position of General Secretary of SLFP saying it would make him a peon delivering statements of Chandrika. He focused instead on the Maha sangha. He was ‘working stealthily toward winning over the leading Buddhist monks,’ said Kusal.

In 2000, President Kumaratunga mooted a new Constitution, greatly influenced by Neelan Thiruchelvam, and promoting power sharing and devolution. It raised much concern among the Sinhalese.  The Maha sangha were getting ready to object to the draft.  According to Kusal, Rajapaksa led the opposition to this draft constitution. The draft was withdrawn and Rajapaksa‘s stature grew. ‘Within the Sinhala Buddhist psyche in the SLFP, both within and without the Parliament, Rajapaksa  was looked for as their leader” said Kusal.

 In 2001, Rajapaksa became Leader of the Opposition.  But he was not much in the spotlight, said Kusal. He was cultivating an image as a moderate Sinhala leader. SLFP was at the time in disarray under Chandrika. Mahinda played a very calculated game, neither supporting nor disturbing, said Kusal.  Mahinda stayed firmly with the SLFP. 

By 2004 the ‘Sinhala factor’ had got a new southern twist. Sinhala leadership should come from the south. The Sinhala business and trader community of the south  wanted this. This helped Rajapaksa stake a claim for the Prime Minister ship, said Kusal. After the Parliamentary Elections of 2004 Rajapaksa was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s 13th Prime Minister.

He was President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015.  He definitely made a lasting contribution to the country.  He ended the Eelam war, initiated and completed many major infrastructure projects. Rajapaksa was defeated in the  premature  Presidential elections called by Rajapaksa in 2015. The western powers which  were responsible for this defeat were relieved, they thought that was the end of Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brothers.

Then something unexpected happened. The public wanted Rajapaksa back.   Rajapaksa ‘s popularity grew  by leaps and bounds after his defeat, totally eclipsing the  position of Sirisena, Chandrika or Ranil. His admirers were  no longer  confined to the rural south. The urban elites also  recognized  his contribution.  A new political party,  created around  Mahinda Rajapaksa came into being in 2018, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna,  also known as  Pohottuwa.  Rajapaksa now had his very own political party.

The attitude towards Rajapaksa is ambivalent. He gets many  left handed compliments. D.B. Wijetunge did not create a heroic role around himself  with celebration and public speeches. when he  cleared the east, said Kusal Perera. Sri Lanka would have become another Iraq or Libya since MR had antagonized US, UK and EU said  S.B.Dissanayake. SB conceded that  Rajapaksa  was a great leader. ‘He ended terrorism and developed the economy between 2005 and 2010,  then went berserk.’

It must be admitted that there was  the usual political influence during Rajapaksa rule. I was told of certain appointments to a bank, (I think it was Bank of Ceylon),  where a set of new recruits had been interviewed and selected. Then a young member of the Rajapaksa family, ( name withheld) had turned up, ordered that the full  list be discarded and  his nominees be appointed.   On a visit to Anuradhapura ,  the young taxi driver who took us around said that he had been selected after interview for a particular position, They heard nothing thereafter, and on making inquires found that the project had already started  with a new set of appointees. ‘I  voted for Hansaya’ he said.

There are too many buildings carrying his name, said critics.  There is the  Mahinda Rajapaksa Port  at Magampura ,  Rajapaksa International Airport, Mattala  and the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium. This is sneered at as egoistical and low. But Sri Lanka also has Senanayake Samudra ( DS Senanayake) Bandaranaike international airport, Katunayake, ( SWRD) Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall ( Sirimavo). The profusion of ‘Mahinda Rajapaksa ‘ buildings is because  he completed more major  projects, in a very short time,  than all the other heads of state put together.

Rajapaksa’s success as a  statesman has not been  studied   academically,  ( it is too soon for this, anyway)  largely because in  elite circles he is seen as  a country bumpkin, an ignorant fellow, a  corrupt rogue,  incapable of delivering anything effectively, much less run a country. On the other hand,  the real corrupt rogues, suave, elite, westernized,  as well as politicians who for years have acted as agents of western countries, are  lovingly presented as  cultured, honest, statesmen who should be admired.

Here are some of  the qualities that made Rajapaksa  successful. Rajapaksa had the ability to   handpick suitable people. He brought  in Palitha Kohona, Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, 2006 to 2009. Kohona, who had a  doctorate  from University of Cambridge,  was  at the time Chief of the United Nations Treaty Section in New York. Earlier Kohona had worked in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia.  Kohona therefore had academic standing and international exposure. When interviewed   via satellite, Kohona once told BBC interviewer Stephen Sackur not to interrupt him till he, Kohona, finished  answering Sackur’s question. Sackur shut up.

Rajapaksa also  received much support from within his own family. His brothers, Chamal, Gotabhaya and Basil also participated in  government . They were members of Parliament, not by appointment but through popular elections. They made positive contributions. This is something very rare and should be recognized as such. It may be a world record.

Basil was considered a fine organizer, who improved Gampaha. Chamal was   a good Speaker of Parliament  ,and Gotabhaya is much admired for his military and civilian work. All the new foreign investments established in Colombo were Gotabhaya’s achievements, said Rohana Wasala. Dutch Hospital Shopping Precinct in Colombo is a flourishing modern shopping centre today.” People ran to Gotabhaya whenever they  had a problem. One example was the  ancient boat  found at Godawaya.  it  was going  on yet  another journey. This time to a western country.

Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was interviewed by the New Indian Express in 2018. Tell me about your two brothers ,Mahinda and Basil, who served as advisor to Mahinda when he was President. How often do you talk to each other? What is the secret behind this relatively tussle-free relationship in power, the interviewer asked. We always work as a team replied Gotabhaya. We think about the country. During the war,we used to interact more often. This unity comes from our earlier days, what our father  taught us.

Rajapaksa interviewed by Island was also asked the same question. What is the role of  your two brothers Gotabhaya and Basil in your political and personal life. Rajapaksa replied “Ours has always been a very united family. Gotabhaya and Basil came from overseas to help me in my presidential election campaign in 2005 and on my request, they both stayed back to help me administer the country. I did not get them involved in my government simply because they were my brothers, but because they had abilities that the country could use. I think they both proved themselves in the tasks they undertook. Both have made their mark. We have never had any falling out among ourselves.  After I lost power in January 2015, both have faced persecution by this government.

Mahinda Rajapaksa, it appears, actually knows what is going on.  Nahil Wijesooriya said in interview, Interestingly, one day I met President Mahinda Rajapaksa who had come to the Inter Continental hotel for a wedding or conference and was coming out of the lift. He said I heard you are trying to sell the hotel, don’t do it, in another three months the price will go through the roof.” I took his advice – the war was over – and I made a packet. best Investment advice I have ever received! Puts my stock and bank advisers in the shade!”

Rajapaksa ‘s public relations is excellent. We last saw this at his son, Rohitha’s wedding. The wedding ceremony, which was attended by everybody who is somebody in Sri Lanka and the people of the area, had an estimated guest count of well over 5,000 — easily the largest in the past many decades, reported the media.  Rajapaksa had  invited a member of every household from the village. An emissary of his went from house to house to invite them. There was  also a separate enclosure for the drivers bringing in the guests.  The buffet tables for them had  the same  food as in the main hall. (Concluded)

Sugath Samrasinghe             

Pray why? May I ask? What wrong has Gotabhaya done to the TNA and the Tamil people?

It was the  LTTE that terrorized the Tamil people into submission for 30 years ironically claiming to fight for a Tamil cause. Most able and rich Tamils left the country and sought refuge in Western countries. Many others escaped to Colombo and other areas in the South. The LTTE then cleansed the Northern Province of the Sinhalese and the Muslims. They brought untold suffering to the Muslims and Sinhalese in the Eastern Province. It is said that more Tamils died at the hands of the LTTE than in the confrontations with the three Forces put together.

And what did Gothabhaya do?   He finished this 30 years old war with the LTTE. He thereby prevented Tamil children being snatched away from their parents and thrown into the jungles as cannon fodder, with a cyanide capsule hanging from their necks. The Tamil children are now happily back in schools; their parents no doubt are relived. Young Tamil women returned home from their jungle hideouts, to be married and running their homes.

On conclusion of the war, Gota had 285,000 Tamil civilians rescued from the clutches of the LTTE and had them accommodated in the IDP camps, had them sheltered, clothed, fed, treated for illnesses and; thereafter moved in due course to their homes. All this was done without an iota of assistance from the TNA or other Tamil political parties, other than alleging that security forces had killed civilians.

In addition, Gota had picked up 12000 ex LTTE combatants, had them rehabilitated and released to society. He had the Northern area de-mined, removing the land mines laid by the LTTE, and rendered those areas safe and habitable for civilians          

Gota has retrieved TNA’s self-respect from humiliation, being forced to acknowledge that LTTE was the sole representative of the Tamils and being told that TNA was the mouthpiece of the LTTE. They are now in a bargaining position with the present government on their own right. Is this not due to the effort of defeating the LTTE?

The defeat of the LTTE triggered off the return of train service to Jaffna beyond Vavuniya, electricity and telecommunications restored. In short, normal life denied to the Northern and Eastern Provinces now resumed throbbing with activity despite whatever other shortcomings. Political freedom was restored by holding Provincial Council elections. It is not easy to put back what was lost for 30 years; and TNA has not helped speeding this up other than raising some parochial political issues.

That government next embarked on the re-development tasks of the two Provinces when they were defeated at elections.  The situation does not seem to have improved significantly since then. Thus, the Tamil people and the TNA have evidently gained much from Gotabaya’s efforts, though they may not acknowledge it for whatever reasons.

Sritharan MP is said to have told the journalists that Gota had killed thousands of Tamil civilians. Then how come he saved over 285,000 civilians from the battle front? Incidentally, what were those people doing on the battle front? Who brought them there and why?

Besides, in 1988-90 we had the 2^nd JVP armed insurrection in the Southern parts of this country. The then UNP government put it down ruthlessly killing thousands including the top notches of the JVP. But no body claimed that the government had killed the Sinhala youth? It appeared that almost everybody in Sinhala society that those who sought to fight the government with arms had to be put down using force. In such circumtances, why is the TNA saying that Gothabhaya killed Tamil civilians? What about the Sinhala villagers slaughtered by the LTTE in the Dollar Farm and Kent Farm, a busload of Buddhist monks at Aranthalawa and villaggers of Kebithigollewa etc. who had nothing to do with the war over which even the UNHRC appear to be unconcerned?               

A census carried out by the government shortly after the war, through Tamil government officials had revealed that some 7000 odd people had died during the period under review and that included those who died of natural causes too. The figures given by the UN officials embedded in the war zone during this time too is reported to have come up with a similar number of deaths. Then the confidential reports sent by Lt. Col. Anton Gash then attached to the British High Commission had also come up with a similar figure, with a further rider that a good portion of these deaths were of LTTE combatants and that many LTTE cadres in the last stages were in civilian clothes. He is also reported to have remarked that if the Forces were not concerned for civilian deaths the final stages could have been finished much earlier. There is also photographic evidence that many Tamil civilians were killed by LTTE in their desperation to prevent them from crossing over to the government forces for protection, during the last days of the war               

There is also independent evidence that food and drugs were constantly supplied to civilians in the battle zone regularly under the supervision of and monitored by a panel of observers including the US Ambassador, Robert Blake. There is also pictorial evidence showing how the soldiers, both men and women helped Tamil civilians to cross over to government side safety. We saw some soldiers carrying both disabled and old women physically to safety. Where else have we ever seen this kind of thing in battle fronts?    

Besides all this, one would wonder how the forces were able to defeat LTTE in battle, by killing civilians as alleged!? Then they will still be left with the LTTE combatants to deal with? Also then who killed those 28000 odd soldiers and maimed so many others in the last battles?

If Gota could achieve all this successfully, couldn’t one surmise that he is a capable person who might be able to rescue this country from its present state of disaster?  We know that this country during the last 70 odd years has been struggling to find their way, fumbling and groping in the dark, not knowing in which direction to move forward. This man says that he is not a politician but says he is willing to try his hand at it. He does not seem to have much political baggage to shed unlike the predecessors whom we have had before and have now. His track record seems satisfactory, at least better than some contenders in the field. Of course we live in a corrupt country. We know that it is difficult for anyone to turn it around in the short run. We also know that power is intoxicating. Subject to all those realities, he too may fail after moving some distance. But even now we are going round and round in the same place! So why not the TNA too give him a fair chance?

Of course, the worst case scenario is that, being human he too may fail.  If he does fail we could throw him as we did with Mahinda R!

Sugath Samrasinghe             

තරංග රත්නවීර උපුටා ගැන්ම දිවයින

කොළඹ වරාය මෙරට ප‍්‍රධානතම ආර්ථික මර්මස්ථානයකි. ආනයන, අපනයන භාණ්ඩ වෙළෙඳාම සහ භාණ්ඩ හුවමාරුව සිදු කෙරෙන මෙරට ප‍්‍රධාන නාවික තොටුපළය. එමෙන්ම ඉන්දියන් සාගරයේ සුවිශේෂී ස්ථානයක පිහිටා ඇති කොළඹ වරාය භාණ්ඩ ප‍්‍රති අපනයනය කිරීම සඳහා ලෝකයේ විවිධ රටවල් බහුලව භාවිත කරනු ලැබේ. එහෙයින් කොළඹ වරාය අතිශය කර්යබහුල ස්ථානයකි. විවිධ අවශ්‍යතා සඳහා දිනකට පුද්ගලයන් තිස්පන්දහසකට වැඩි පිරිසක් පැමිණෙන බවත් දෛනිකව වාහන දසදහසකට වැඩි ප‍්‍රමාණයක් පැමිණෙන බවත් වාර්තා වේ.

රටක මෙවැනි ආර්ථික මර්මස්ථානයක් ආරක්‍ෂා කරගැනීම අතිශය වගකීම් සහගත කර්යභාරයකි. විශේෂයෙන්ම පැවති ත‍්‍රස්තවාදී යුද සමයේ එල්.ටී.ටී.ඊ. යේ ප‍්‍රධාන ඉලක්කයන් අතර කොළඹ වරාය ඉදිරියෙන් තිබිණි. සැහැල්ලූ ගුවන් යානාවලින් (කුරුම්බැට්ටි මැෂින්* සහ මුහුදෙන් මරාගෙන මැරෙන බෝට්ටුවලින් පැමිණි කොටි ත‍්‍රස්තවාදීන් කොළඹ වරායට පහරදීමට උත්සාහ කළ අවස්ථා රැුසකි. එහෙත් ඒ සියලූ ත‍්‍රස්ත ප‍්‍රයත්නයන් දුර්දර්ශී යුද සෙන්පතියන් හමුවේ ව්‍යර්ථ විය. පැවති යුද ගිනියමේ කොළඹ වරායේ ආරක්‍ෂාව සුරක්‍ෂිතව පවත්වාගෙන ගිය ආකාරය ගැන එවකට හිටපු බටහිර නාවික ප‍්‍රදේශය භාර ආඥාපති රියර් අද්මිරාල් ආනන්ද පීරිස් අපට කීවේය. 

ඔහු හිටපු නාවික ප‍්‍රදේශයන් භාර ආඥාපතිවරයෙක් මෙන්ම සිවිල් ආරක්‍ෂක දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ හිටපු අධ්‍යක්‍ෂවරයෙකි. ත‍්‍රස්තවාදී යුද්ධයෙන් රට මුදාගැනීමට දිවි හිමියෙන් කැප වී සේවය කළ රණවිරුවෙකි. යුද ගිනි නිවී ගිය රටේ පන්සල් හාරසීයක් නැවත පිළිසකර කිරීමට මෙන්ම අලූතින් ගොඩනැඟීමට නායකත්වය ලබාදුන් පින්සාර නිලධාරියෙකි. දැන් විශ‍්‍රාම සුවයෙන් සැඳෑ සමය ගත කරන ආනන්ද පීරිස් මහතා අතිශය වගකීම් සහගතව සිදු කළ මේ හෙළිදරව්ව අපගේ වචනයෙන් කියනවාට වඩා ඔහුගේම වචනවලින් ඇසීම ඔබට වඩාත් සංවේදීවනු ඇත. මෙතැන් සිට පෙළගැසෙන්නේ හිටපු බටහිර නාවික ප‍්‍රදේශය භාර ආඥාපති ආනන්ද පිරීස් කියන ඒ කතාවය. 

‘‘2006 අවුරුද්දට කලින් මම හිටියේ දකුණේ ප‍්‍රදේශ භාර නාවික ආඥාපති විදිහට. අවසාන සටන පටන් ගන්න ඔන්න, මෙන්න තියලා එවකට හිටපු ආරක්‍ෂක ලේකම් ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්‍ෂ මහතා නාවික හමුදාපතිවරයාගෙන් මාව කොළඹට ඉල්ලලා තිබුණා. ඒ අවසරයෙන් 2006 අවුරුද්දේ බටහිර ප‍්‍රදේශය භාර නාවික ආඥාපතිවරයා විදිහට මම පත්වෙලා ආවා…’’

‘‘දකුණේ වගේ නෙමෙයි, බටහිර නාවික ප‍්‍රදේශය භාරව කටයුතු කිරීම වගකීම වැඩියි. විශේෂයෙන්ම කොළඹ වරාය. රටේ ප‍්‍රධාන ආර්ථික මර්මස්ථානය. වරායට එන නෞකාවකට පහර දුන්නොත් සේරම ඉවරයි… නැව් එන්නෙ නැතිව මුළු ආර්ථිකයම කඩා වැටෙනවා. යුද්ධය නිකංම නතර වෙනවා. එල්.ටී.ටී.ඊ ය යුද්ධය දිනුවා වගේ වෙනවා. ඔය කාලේ එල්.ටී.ටී.ඊ. සංවිධානයත් පුහුණුකිරීම්, අභ්‍යාස කටයුතු වැඩි කරලා, ඉන්ධන, කෑම වර්ග එකතු කිරීම බහුලව සිදු කරන ගමන් රට පුරා යොදවා තිබුණු ඔත්තුකරුවන් ප‍්‍රමාණයත් වැඩි කරගෙන යන බව බුද්ධි තොරතුරුවලින් අනාවරණය වෙලා තිබුණා. දුර්දර්ශීව වැඩ කරපු ආරක්‍ෂක ලේකම්තුමා කොළඹ නගරය සහ වරායේ ආරක්‍ෂාව වැඩි කරන්න කියලා එවකට හිටපු හමුදාපතිවරුන්ට උපදෙස් දීලා තිබුණා…’’

‘‘ආරක්‍ෂක ලේකම්වරයාගේ උපදෙස් පිට කොළඹ නගරය සහ වරායේ ආරක්‍ෂාව සඳහා කළුතර, මතුගම, හොරණ, අවිස්සාවේල්ල, කෑගල්ල, කුරුණෑගල, හලාවත දක්වා සමස්ත ප‍්‍රදේශයම ආවරණය වන පරිදි විශේෂ ආරක්‍ෂක වැඩපිළිවෙළක් දියත් කළා. සෑම සතියකම සඳුදා බස්නාහිර පළාතේ ආරක්‍ෂක අංශ භාර අණදෙන නිලධාරිවරු සහ පොලිස් ස්ථානාධිපතිවරුන් සමඟ ආරක්‍ෂක ලේකම්වරයා විශේෂ සාකච්ඡුාවක් පැවැත්වුවා. සමහර රැුස්වීම් උදේ 9.00 ට ආරම්භ කරලා සවස හතර, පහ වෙනකම් පැවැත්වෙච්ච අවස්ථා තිබුණා. ඒ හැරුණුකොට සෑම මාසයකම ජනාධිපති මහින්ද රාජපක්‍ෂ මහතා හමුදාපතිවරුන්ගෙන් තොරව පළාත් භාර හමුදා නායකයන් සමඟ ප‍්‍රදේශයේ ආරක්‍ෂාව සම්බන්ධයෙන් සාකච්ඡුා කළා. පසුව ආරක්‍ෂක කමිටුව රැුස් කරලා එම 

රැුස්වීමේදී ඉදිරිපත් වෙච්ච ගැටලූ සාකච්ඡුා කරලා විසඳුම් ලබාදුන්නා. ඒ වගේම සමහර අවස්ථාවල ආරක්‍ෂක ලේකම්වරයා කෙළින්ම මට කතා කරලා වරාය ආරක්‍ෂක කටයුතු ගැන සාකච්ඡුා කළා. ආරක්‍ෂාව තහවුරු කිරීමට අවශ්‍ය පිරිස් බලය, අවි ආයුධ ඉල්ලන පමණින් දුන්නා. ඒත් කොළඹ වරායට ආරක්‍ෂාව ලබාදීම අතිශය අසීරු කටයුත්තක් වුණා. මුහුද, ගොඩබිම, ගුවන තුන් තැනම දවසේ පැය විසිහතර පුරාම සෝදිසි කරන්න වුණා…’’

‘‘වරායට නෞකා ඇතුළු වන දොරටු දෙකයි. වරායට ගොඩබිමින් වාහන ඇතුළුවන දොරටු නවයක් තියෙනවා. අන්තිම දොරටුව තියෙන්නෙ මට්ටක්කුලියේ. කොළඹ කොටුව, පිටකොටුව, කොටහේන, මට්ටක්කුලිය සහ මෝදර ප‍්‍රදේශවලට දිවෙන ප‍්‍රධාන මාර්ග වගේම අතුරු මාර්ග රැසක් තියෙනවා. කොළඹ නගරයට එකතු වන වැසි ජලය පිට කරන්න විවිධ ප‍්‍රමාණයේ උමං මාර්ග දහනවයක් තියෙනවා. සමහරක් උමං මාර්ග කෙනෙකුට හිටගෙන ඇවිදගෙන යන්න පුළුවන් තරම් විශාලයි. ඒ වගේම දිනපතා විශාල නෞකා ප‍්‍රමාණයක් කොළඹ වරායට ඇතුළු වෙනවා. කොළඹ වරාය අවට මුහුදේ විශාල බෝට්ටු ප‍්‍රමාණයක් ධීවර කර්මාන්තයේ යෙදෙනවා. වරාය ආසන්නයේ මෝදර ධීවර වරායට දේශීය මෙන්ම විදේශීය ධීවර යාත‍්‍රා විශාල ප‍්‍රමාණයක් එනවා. කැලණි ගෙඟ් මෝයකට පිහිටලා තියෙන්නෙත් කොළඹ වරාය ආසන්නයේ. මේ හේතු නිසා කොළඹ වරායට ආරක්‍ෂාව සැලසීම සංකීර්ණ කටයුත්තක් වුණා. එතකොට වරායේ ආරක්‍ෂාවට හිටියේ දාහක්් වගේ පිරිසක්. ප‍්‍රථමයෙන් මම පිරිස් බලය වැඩි කළා. දෙවනුව වරායට ප‍්‍රහාර එල්ල කිරීමට ඇති ප‍්‍රධාන ඉලක්ක හඳුනාගෙන ඒවා වසා දැම්මා…’’

‘‘මරාගෙන මැරෙන යාත‍්‍රා, ප‍්‍රහාරක යාත‍්‍රා, වෙළෙඳ නෞකා ලෙස පැමිණ ප‍්‍රහාර එල්ල කිරීම, වරායට එන තෙල්, ගෑස් හෝ වෙනත් අන්තරායකර ද්‍රව්‍ය රැගෙන එන යාත‍්‍රා පැහැරගෙන යෑම, සැහැල්ලූ ගුවන් යානාවලින් පැමිණ බෝම්බ හෙලීම, ගොඩබිම මාර්ග ඔස්සේ පැමිණ ප‍්‍රහාර එල්ල කිරීමට ඇති සියලූ තැන් හඳුනාගෙන ආවරණය කළා. වරාය අවට ආරක්‍ෂිත කලාපය කොටස් හයකට බෙදලා ආරක්‍ෂිත රැකවල් දැඩි කළා. වරායට නෞකා ඇතුළු කරන දොරටු දෙකෙන් උතුරු දොරටුව සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම වසා දැමුවා. ඒ විතරක් නෙමෙයි ඒ දොරටුවේ ආරක්‍ෂාවට දවසේ පැය විසිහතර පුරාම නාවික යාත‍්‍රා කිහිපයක් යෙදෙව්වා. වරාය ආසන්නයේ මුහුද ආරක්‍ෂිත කලාපයක් කරලා ඩෝරා යාත‍්‍රා ඇතුළු ප‍්‍රහාරක යාත‍්‍රා ගණනාවක් යෙදෙව්වා. එම අධි ආරක්‍ෂිත කලාපයේ ධීවර කර්මාන්තයේ යෙදීම සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම තහනම් කළා. එම මුහුදු සීමාවේ ධීවර කටයුතුවල යෙදුණු ධීවර පවුල්වලට සෑම මාසයකම වියළි සලාකයක් ලබා දුන්නා. මෝදර වරායට එන යන සියලූ ධීවර බෝට්ටු පරීක්‍ෂා කළා. පානදුරේ සිට මීගමුව දක්වා මුහුදේ ධීවර කර්මාන්තයේ යෙදෙන සියලූ යාත‍්‍රා නාවික හමුදා මුරපොළකට වාර්තා කරලා පරීක්‍ෂා කළාට පස්සෙ තමයි, කර්මාන්තයේ යෙදෙන්න පුළුවන්. නැවත ගොඩබිමට යනකොටත් නවික හමුදා මුරපොළකට වාර්තා කරලා පරීක්‍ෂා කළාට පස්සේ තමයි පිටත් වෙන්න අවසර දුන්නේ. කැලණි ගෙඟ් වතුර බහින මෝයකට ළඟට මුරපොළක් දැම්මා. පානදුරේ මෝයකට ළඟ මුරපොළක් දැම්මා. බේරේ වැවේ වතුර මුහුදට එකතු වෙන තැනට මුරපොළක් දැම්මා. කොළඹ වැසි ජලය බහින සියලූ උමං මාර්ගවල කටවල් කම්බි දැලකින් ආවරණය කරලා උමඟ පේන විදිහට ලොකු ෆ්ලෑෂර් ලයිට් දාලා ?, දවල් දෙකේම ආරක්‍ෂාවට ඒ ස්ථානවල නිලධාරියෙක් තිබ්බා…’’

‘‘වරාය තුළ අනුඛණ්ඩ හයක් පිිහිටුවා ස්ථිර ලෙස භට පිරිස් ස්ථානගත කළා. යුද හමුදා අනුඛණ්ඩයක් වරාය තුළ ආරම්භ කළා. ගුවන් හමුදා භට පිරිස් වරාය තුළ ආරක්‍ෂක රාජකාරිවලට යොදාගත්තා. වරාය වටා ගුවන් නාශක අවි සීයක් විතර ස්ථානගත කළා. යුද හමුදාවට අයත් බර අවි කිහිපයක්ම වරාය වටා ස්ථානගත කළා. පානදුරේ ඉඳලා මීගමුව දක්වා නාවික අනුඛණ්ඩ අටක් ස්ථාපිත කළා. උස්වැටකෙයියාව ප‍්‍රදේශයේ නාවික කඳවුරක් ආරම්භ කළා. ගුවන් යානා පරීක්‍ෂා කිරීම සඳහා විශේෂිත රේඩාර් සවි කළා. වරායට ගොඩබිමින් ඇතුළු වන දොරටු නවයෙන් තුනක් සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම වහලා දැම්මා. දිවා, 

? වරාය වටා මීටර් සීයෙන්, සීය නාවික භටයන් ස්ථානගත කළා. මුහුදෙන් එන යාත‍්‍රා නිරීක්‍ෂණය කිරීමට පානදුරේ සිට මීගමුව දක්වා ගොඩබිම සහ මුහුදේ නාවික යාත‍්‍රා තුළ අධි තාක්‍ෂණික රේඩාර් යන්ත‍්‍ර විශාල ප‍්‍රමාණයක් සවි කළා. දිය යටින් පැමිණෙන කිමිදුම්කරුවන් නිරීක්‍ෂණයට සෝනාර් යන්ත‍්‍ර මෙන්ම ඔවුන් විනාශ කරන බෝම්බ සහිත නාවික යාත‍්‍රා ස්ථානගත කළා…’’

‘‘වරායට පැමිණෙන සහ පිට වන නෞකා ආරක්‍ෂිතව රැුගෙන යෑමට නියමුවන්ගේ සහායකයන් ලෙස නාවික හමුදා භටයින් යොමු කළා. ඉන්දියාවේ තූත්තුකුඩි වරායේ ඉඳලා කොළඹ වරායට එන පාරම්පරික රුවල් වෙළෙඳ නැව් පැය විසිහතරක් තබාගෙන විශේෂ පරීක්‍ෂාවකට ලක් කළා. වරාය අවට නැංගුරම්ලා සිටින නෞකාවලට ආරක්‍ෂාව වැඩි කළා. වරායට පැමිණෙන ගෑස්, තෙල් ගොඩබෑම සිදු කළේ දිවා කාලයේ විතරයි. ඒ කටයුත්ත සිදු කළෙත් අධි ආරක්‍ෂිත රැුකවල් යටතේ. ධීවරයන් විදිහට වෙස් වලාගත් නාවික භටයින් ධීවර කර්මාන්තයේ යෙදෙන මුවාවෙන් පානදුරේ සිට මීගමුවට යන තෙක් වරාය අවට මුහුදේ සෝදිසි කටයුතු සිදු කළා. සිවිල් පුද්ගලයන් මෙන් වරාය තුළ වගේම අවට ප‍්‍රදේශවල බුද්ධි අංශ නිලධාරීන් යෙදෙව්වා. අවශ්‍ය රාජකාරිවලට අවසර ලත් වාහන විතරයි, වරායට ඇතුළු කළේ. සෙසු සියලූ වාහන හරවලා යැව්වා. අවසර නොගෙන පැමිණි ප‍්‍රභූ වාහනත් හරවලා යැව්වා. එක් අවස්ථාවක අවසරයෙන් තොරව චන්ද්‍රිකා මැතිනිය ඇවිත් අංක එක දොරටුවේ ආරක්‍ෂාවට හිටිය නිලධාරීන් වාහනය ඇතුළු කරලා තිබුණේ නෑ. පස්සෙ ඒ සිද්ධිය ලොකු කතාන්දරයක් වුණා. ඒත් ඒ සිද්ධියට මුහුණ දුන් නාවික භටයව මම බේරගත්තා…’’

‘‘කොටුව, මෝදර දක්වා පාමුර සංචාර අඛණ්ඩව ක‍්‍රියාත්මක කළා. එම ප‍්‍රදේශවල සෝදිසි කටයුතුවලට යතුරුපැදි මුර සංචාරයක් ආරම්භ කළා. ඊට අමතරව ත‍්‍රිරෝදකරුවන් මුවාවෙන් නාවික භටයන් සෝදිසි මෙහෙයුම්වල යෙදෙව්වා. හැමදාම ?ට වරාය අවට කොළඹ නගරයේ සියලූම ලොජ් සෝදිසි කළා. හඳුනාගත් සැකකටයුතු පුද්ගලයන් ප‍්‍රශ්න කරලා ඔවුන්ගේ ගම්වලට පිටත් කර හැරියා…’’

‘‘වරායේ ආරක්‍ෂාව ගැන සොයාබැලීමට පෙර දැනුම්දීමකින් තොරව සතියට දින දෙකක් නාවික හමුදාපතිවරයා වරාය වටා රාත‍්‍රි සංචාරයක නිරත වුණා. මම හැමදාම රාත‍්‍රියට හිටි හැටියේ වරාය තුළ මෙන්ම අවට සංචාරය කළා. ගෙදර ඉඳලා ඒ රාජකාරිය කරන්න බැරි නිසා බටහිර ප‍්‍රදේශය භාර නාවික ආඥාපති විදිහට වැඩ භාරගත්ත දවසේ ඉඳලා මම ගෙදර ගියේ නෑ. අන්තිමේ මගේ බිරිඳයි, දරුවො තුන්දෙනාවයි මගේ නිල කාමරයේම නතර කර ගත්තා. පුංචි කාමරයක ලොකු පුතාලා තුන්දෙනෙක් එක්ක ජීවත් වෙන්න අසීරු වුණා. පස්දෙනෙකුට නිදාගන්නවත් කාමරය ඉඩ මදි. ඒත් වරායේ ආරක්‍ෂාව ගැන හිතලා ඒ කැපකිරීම අපි කළා. හැමදාම උදේ නවයට සියලූ අණදෙන නිලධාරීන් දැනුවත් කිරීමක් කළා. වරාය ආරක්‍ෂක නිලධාරීන්, පොලිසිය සහ වරාය සේවකයින් සමඟ සතියකට දෙවරක් පුහුණු වැඩමුළු පැවැත්වුවා. ආරක්‍ෂක ලේකම්තුමාගේ, නාවික හමුදාපතිවරයාගේ දැනුවත්වීම මත සැකකටයුතු යාත‍්‍රාවක්, ගුවන් යානයක් දුටු සැණින් ප‍්‍රහාරදීමට ආරක්‍ෂක නිලධාරීන්ට උපදෙස් දීලා තිබුණා…’’ 

‘‘අවට ප‍්‍රදේශවාසීන් දැනුවත් කරලා ඔවුන්ගේ උපරිම සහයෝගය මත හැකි උපරිමයෙන් වරායේ ආරක්‍ෂාව තර කර තියෙද්දීත් එක දවසක් ?ක වරාය පැත්තට කුරුම්බැට්ටි මැෂිමක් එනවා රේඩාර්වලට වැදිලා තිබුණා. මමත් රේඩාර්වලින් දැක්කා. මීගමුව පැත්තෙන් එනකොටම ප‍්‍රහාර දෙන්න කියලා මම නියෝග කළා. මල් වෙඩි වරුෂාවක් වගේ වෙඩි උණ්ට අහසට විදිනකොට වත්තලට මඳක් එපිටින් යානය හැරිලා ගෙනාව බෝම්බ තැන, තැන හලාගෙන ගිහින් තිබුණා. එදා කොටි ඇවිත් තියෙන්නෙ වරායට ගහන්නම තමයි. ඊට පස්සෙ 2007 ජනවාරි 28 වැනිදා මරාගෙන මැරෙන කොටි යාත‍්‍රා හතරකින් වරායට ප‍්‍රහාර දෙන්න ආවා. පාන්දර හතරට විතර දෙහිවල පැත්තෙන් එනකොටම කොල්ලූපිටියේ මුහුද අයිනේ උස කුළුණේ හිටපු නාවික භටයෙක් යාත‍්‍රා හතර දැකලා තියෙනවා. ඒ මොහොතේම නාවික භටයා ප‍්‍රහාර දීලා. ඊට පස්සෙ අනිත් සියලූ මුරපොළවලින් ප‍්‍රහාර එල්ල කරලා. මුහුදේ තිබුණු ඩෝරා යාත‍්‍රාවලිනුත් 

ගැහුවා. ආරක්‍ෂක ලේකම් ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්‍ෂ මහත්තයා සිද්ධිය බලාගෙන ඉඳලා මට කතා කරලා ‘ආනන්ද මොකද තත්ත්වය…’ කියලා ඇහුවා…’’

‘බොහෝ දුරට තත්ත්ව පාලනය වෙලා ඉවරයි…‘ කියලා මම කියනකොට ගෝඨාභය සර් කියනවා ආනන්ද පරිස්සමින් ගොඩබිමින් ඇටෑක් එන්න පුළුවන්…’ කියලා. ඒ කියනකොටත් මම අවශ්‍ය සියලූ තැන්වල ආරක්‍ෂාව තර කරලා ඉවරයි. පැය දෙකක් විතර ප‍්‍රහාරදීම සිද්ධ වුණා. අන්තිමේ එක යාත‍්‍රාවක් ගිහින් නැවක හප්පලා පොඩි හානියක් කළා. අනිත් යාත‍්‍රා තුනෙන් දෙකක් අපි ගහනකොට විනාශ වෙලා තිබුණා. එකක් උන්ම විනාශ කරගෙන තිබුණා…’’

‘‘පැය දෙකක් විතර මෙහෙයුම ක‍්‍රියාත්මක වුණා. හතට විතර මම ඇවිත් මහන්සියට ඇලවුණා. ඒ කාලය තුළ ආරක්‍ෂක ලේකම්තුමා කොටි යාත‍්‍රාව මුලින්ම දැකපු නාවික භටය හමුවෙලා පෞද්ගලිකව ස්තූති කරලා තිබුණා. ඒ දිරිගැන්වීම තමයි අපිව ශක්තිමත් කළේ. යුද්ධය දිනන්න ප‍්‍රධාන හේතුවත් ඒකම තමයි…’‘ ආනන්ද පිරීස් දීර්ඝ කතාවකින් පසු අසුන මත හරිබැරි ගැසිණි. ඒ සමඟ යුද ගිනියමේ වරායේ ආරක්‍ෂාව සුරක්‍ෂිත කිරීමේ මෙහෙයුමේ කතාවේ ද අවසාන විය.

ආනන්ද පීරිස්ට තවත් අභියෝගයක් පැවරිණි. ඒ නැගෙනහිර ප‍්‍රදේශයන් භාර නාවික ආඥාපතිවරයා ලෙස වැඩ භාරගැනීමය. තවත් දිනක නැගෙනහිර මුහුදේ සිදු කළ වික‍්‍රමයන් 

ගැන කතා කිරීමේ අදහසින් අපි ඒ සොඳුරු කැදැල්ලෙන් සමුගත්තෙමු.

තරංග රත්නවීර

Nawagamu Deshabandu

Recently media reported that the government was considering to lower interest rates for business persons borrowing money from the banks. During this elections year, many politicians are talking about negatives of their political adversaries. But only few are brave enough to put forward a carefully written policies and plans to improve our economy.

What is needed is not only lowering interests for borrowing but also facilities for selling products on line for all Sri Lankans who intend to do business online.  Many Sri Lankans have talents and abilities to make all kind products, but they are very unfortunate in not being able to accept on line payments mainly due to our decades old financial mechanisms and procedures in the Central Bank. Because of this, very popular companies such as PayPal and Payoneer among others which facilitate International financial transactions cannot allow any Sri Lankan citizen transfer money person to person.

Besides this Individual entrepreneurs cannot afford to accept credit cards due to high cost charged by Sri Lankan banks when setting up an account which can accept credit card payments.

Our economy can be improved through tourism. Individual entrepreneurs offering services, such as small scale apartment or villa holders are unable to accept credit cards.

Many politicians and presidential hopefuls talk about big things such as making Colombo a Financial hub in the South East Asia, but it seems like no one has any solid plan to upgrade Central Bank financial mechanisms so that it will suit the standard international mechanism and procedures. Besides, the central bank has been inundated or implicit with corrupt deals, for example, bond scams and bankrupted financial deals such as ETI.

It is very essential that we have a strong financial mechanism to lift the economic and personal lives of all Sri Lankans through international business activities. Our politicians at present or in the past have failed to understand this. It can create many job opportunities for many people.  But, however many of our politicians have improved their skills on cheating and fooling us with mega talks and stealing money for themselves by under hand black money deals. We are a country that goes back!

SOURCE: ZERO HEDGE

While government whistleblowers and subversive journalists languish in prison or are on the run, state crimes — especially those perpetrated by western governments and high officials — not only go unpunished but don’t even warrant investigation apparently. International Criminal Court judges ruled on Friday to reject a request by the court’s prosecutor to investigate possible war crimes by the US-led coalition during the war in Afghanistan.

The ICC judge claimed a lack of evidence and a poor outlook for state cooperation — the latter reason essentially meaning the US and UK have already condemned the prospect of opening such an investigation.

The ICC had previously vowed to continue to operate “undeterred” by any US threat of punitive action against the ICC when it first considered examining allegations that US personnel committed war crimes, including instances of unlawful detention and torture of Afghans, as well as killing of civilians. The window of time ICC prosecutors considered for their investigation ran from May 2003, within the opening years of the US occupation, to 2017.

The chamber hereby decides that an investigation into the situation in Afghanistan at this stage would not serve the interests of justice and accordingly rejects the request,” the judges said in their decision, as cited by Reuters. But the obvious first question is: whose interests are being served here?

The ruling to reject inquiry into any misconduct by US or allied coalition personnel continued: Notwithstanding the fact all the relevant requirements are met as regards both jurisdiction and admissibility, the current circumstances of the situation in Afghanistan are such as to make the prospects for a successful investigation and prosecution extremely limited,” the judges stated.

Reuters cited an ICC court expert to note this essentially means the United States will never be investigated by these standards:

Kevin Jon Heller, associate professor of International Criminal law at Amsterdam University, said the decision appeared to impose significant hurdles on any case before the ICC in terms of the chances of a successful prosecution.

If these are the criteria they are never going to open an investigation”, he said.

Last month the US threatened to revoke visas for members of the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague should they so much as investigate any criminal actions of American military personnel. The United States has never been a member of the ICC and considers it without authority over matters related to Americans or allies conducting joint operations.

Direct US threats work wonders apparently… case closed:

The Hill✔@thehill

Sec. Mike Pompeo: “I’m announcing a policy of US visa restrictions on those individuals directly responsible for any ICC investigation of US personnel. This includes persons who take or have taken action to request or further such an investigation.” http://hill.cm/hUeep4w 367:01 PM – Mar 15, 201988 people are talking about thisTwitter Ads info and privacy

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a scathing rebuke on March 15 following initial ICC statements that the world court would look investigate US crimes in Afghanistan, and as pressure also mounted for the court to bring cases against Israel for human rights crimes against Palestinians. We are determined to protect the American and allied military and civilian personnel from living in fear of unjust prosecution for actions taken to defend our great nation,” Pompeo said at the time.

Pompeo also went to far as to specifically address ICC members and employees: If you are responsible for the proposed ICC investigation of U.S. personnel in connection with the situation in Afghanistan, you should not assume that you still have or will get a visa or will be permitted to enter the United States,” he said during the March statements.

He also warned about potential economic sanctions against member and host nations “if the ICC does not change its course.”

But Friday’s bombshell decision to close the door on any ICC case brought against western coalition forces in Afghanistan was perhaps to be expected, as the pattern has long been of only third world, African, and Balkan warlords actually being brought to justice at the Hague, and never western officials.

My past experience in marine sector worldwide and direct involvement in installing the BARGE MOUNTED POWER PLANT in the Colombo port near Colombo Dockyard ,I can render some timely advise to CEB In finding a suitable location for the barge mounted power plants

Following locations are suitable 

Panadura Fishery Harbour

Oluvil Fishery’s Harbour 

Modera beach next to Mutwal Harbour

Trincomalee  Harbour 

Panadura harbour is hardly used due to sand bank formation and there are no mores than 25 fishing boats currently using the harbour

CFHC can seek advance for building a small breakwater and accommodate them

Oluvil harbour is having same problem CEB can help smaller fishery harbour by placing a dredger to clear annual sand bar formations and remove sand 

Next to  Modera Fishery harbour there is an illegal encroachment who can be relocated and make way for the Barge

Trincomalee near Sampur is ideal and no obstruction 

Like in Bangladesh government shall invoke a Marshal Law type rule and hand over the premises to the Navy who should  import or build them in Sri Lanka 

. SPECS OF A BARG MOUNTED POWER PLANT 

The Function of Barge is to contain and deliver 1(one) combined cycle barge mounted floating in  power plant of nominal net capacity 220 MW, consisting of 4(four) Once Through Steam Generator (OSTG), 1(one) steam turbine generator (STG), 4(four) combustion gas turbine generators auxiliary equipment condensers, chilling system for air intake and the remaining balance of plant. Thebasic design is to include the barge and the connections to the mooring system, together with the power plant equipment 

The Design data of the barge

a) Barge size (length x wide x depth).  106m x55m x 6 m

b) Barge draft for towing.                        2.4m

c) Total barge weight.                               14000 tons   

(barge itself including steam turbine hall, control building and above  deck foundations: approximate 6,000 tonnes)

Stability

a) The barge is designed to comply with the intact stability regulation of US 46 CFR Chapter I, Section 174.015 for river and harbor service.

b) The barge is designed to comply with the one compartment damage stability regulations of US 46 CFR Chapter I, Section 172.065. The Barge shall comply with g a wind heeling moment as I g defined in CFR Chapter I, Section 174.055

c) The Barge is designed to comply with IMO International Convention on Load  Lines

Four(4) ramps are designed to access the barge from shore, one(1) main ramp 6m wide

one(1) ramp 4.5m 

two(2) auxiliary ramps 3.5m wide respectively.

Barge Ventilation

Below deck spaces are ventilated according to the recommended practices of SNAME T&R 4~16 o

Calculation Merchant Ship Heating, Ventilation and Air Condition Design”.

Fans are sized to limit the temperature rise in the ventilated spaces to be less than 5oC and to Provide sufficient ventilation air to ensure noxious fumes are below accepted occupational Safety regulation levels.

There will be so many objections and government should place country in emergency footing and implement above

Dr Sarath Obeysekera

Courtesy latestbuzztoday.com

Scientific studies show that sleep is one of the most crucial parts of living a happy and stress-free life, but many adults are still sleeping with inferior pillows.

If you find yourself feeling tired or discouraged throughout the day even after a long sleep the night before, it’s probably due to you unknowingly experiencing some kind of discomfort when you’re asleep. 

Similar to sleep apnea (where your body has to stay partially awake to breathe) – if your posture is even partially incorrect, your body has to correct for it all night long, never getting a chance to truly rest. More than often, all these issues are due to the usage of old and inept pillows.

Not only that, but ask yourself: When was the last time you really changed pillows? According to many studies, pillows found in our bedrooms tend to be these are older than 3 years. This generally means that are infested with millions of germs and in some bad cases, even harmful and dangerous mold.

Bottom line: Bad sleep affects millions of humans worldwide every year. Due to the lack of information and data, few ever hear about it. This revolutionary anti-allergenic bamboo memory foam pillow helps you overcome bad sleep, for a fraction of the usual price. You can get it now here for 50% off…

Because of this concept, you may get 8+ hours of sleep every night but still feel tired throughout the day. This is troubling, because a lack of energy despite plenty of sleep is one of the single largest contributors to depression and anxiety. 

Difficulty completing tasks, lack of interest in socializing, and depression are all symptoms of a lack of real rest.

Many resort to harmful sleeping pills through a doctor or over the counter. Unfortunately, many of these sleeping pills are known for being highly-addictive, largely ineffective, and always overpriced.

This bamboo memory foam pillow could change all that

Called Sleepsy”, this futuristic pillow utilizes the cutting-edge technologies of memory foam and refined bamboo to create a pillow that’s comfortable, breathable, and compatible with any sleeping position. 

The cool and breathable memory foam pillow has been meet with excitement worldwide – equally from the medical community which has been recommending it strongly and also by its users who can finally enjoy more relaxing and refreshing sleep quality.

How it works:

Sleepsy makes sure your neck stays in a neutral position, throughout all the night

Scientists at Sleepsy have ingeniously wrapped memory foam in bamboo-derived material, combining the benefits from both into a truly superior pillow.

The memory foam allows for a comfortable and even sleep from any angle or position, while the breathable, antimicrobial, and hypoallergenic bamboo fibers allow for a clean and cool sleep.

The memory foam composition makes the pillow comfortable for sleeping at every angle and position. Regardless of your sleeping position, your back, hips, and joints will be able to fully relax and rest, which makes for great recovery after a busy day.

From what we’ve seen, the Sleepsy does a fantastic job in supporting the back, hips, knees, or any other joints that may need extra support. We brought this up to the creators, and they agreed to include an extra free Sleepsy for anyone who buys two at the same time! Support of your entire body after a long day is much easier when you have multiple memory foam pillows to help.

And for frequent pillow flippers”, the bamboo material is also highly absorbent, making for a much cooler night’s sleep. The natural fibers from the bamboo make it much more breathable.

How does this advancement help you?

Amazing for your neck, your sleep and your daily mood

Research shows that only a small percentage of the world population sleep well at night. Scientists at Sleepsy have found the two main causes to be discomfort from the angle/position of your body, and the lukewarm temperature of your pillow (causing your head and body to have a slightly uncomfortable temperature).

Sleepsy is designed to fix both problems at once. By using memory foam, the pillow allows your body to rest at any angle, without having to adjust for your posture. And by wrapping the memory foam in breathable bamboo material, the pillow is able to circulate air and remain cool all night.

Features

• Versatile and portable – Take it anywhere!
• Extra protection against bacteria & non-allergenic
• Convenient and relaxing
• Invented by neurologists and sleep experts

Your pillow may be packed with germs

Bamboo Memory foam adapts itself to the form of your head perfectly

Using an old pillow? You’re probably sleeping with millions of germs in your face. Unfortunately, it’s near impossible to get rid of the countless amounts of dust mites that live and breed there.

Luckily, bamboo is a natural antimicrobial, and prevents bacteria from adhering to the surface of your pillow! Plus, the hypoallergenic properties of bamboo fibers are treated with much less harmful chemicals during their production, and thus are less likely to have allergic sensitivities.

Courtesy The Daily Mail

• Laurence Fox visited the Barberyn retreat in Beruwala, on Sri Lanka’s west coast  
• The Victoria TV star met with an Ayurvedic doctor as part of his ‘no-frills detox’
• He was surprised how tasty the food was – he sneakily had the odd beer or two

The month began with gin, and it wasn’t long before strange, melancholic headaches became a regular feature. By the third week of this particular month (I’m not saying which), things needed to change.

That’s how I find myself at the Barberyn retreat and spa in Beruwala, an unfussy little town on Sri Lanka’s west coast, a two- hour drive south from the capital Colombo.

I’m having a first meeting with my Ayurvedic doctor and sheepishly responding to questions about my vices. The doctor surveys me with kind, non-judgmental eyes, takes my pulse and blood pressure and fills in a form as the roof fan wobbles drunkenly from the ceiling above.

Healing: Laurence Fox visited the Barberyn retreat in Beruwala, on Sri Lanka’s west coast (stock image)

My room at Barberyn is a hexagonal number with views out over the golden mile, the name the locals use to describe the beach the colour of burnt caramel that stretches south and disappears beyond the horizon.

Small numbers of tourists roam by day and if the internet is to be believed, smugglers chance their luck by night.

I think it’s fair to say that they don’t go for mega creature comforts here, but that’s half the point. Wi-fi only can be found in the area around reception. I don’t see any TVs. No one rushes, staff congregate in the shade, waiting for their sunburned charges to arrive for their next treatment. I get the impression that not much has changed in the 50 years the hotel has been in operation.

On my first day, I saunter off past the smiling staff to the buffet. I’m hungry and need, to quote from Withnail & I, ‘something’s flesh’. But I am going to be a vegetarian, or pescatarian if I fancy, for a week.

I select a plate full of bits and trudge back to my seat. And wow! My tastebuds don’t know what’s hit them. Mint, zest, lemon, spice. Each of the tiny bowls holds some secret invigorator. After a few days of this, I feel lighter and much more energised.

Laurence Fox as Lord Palmerston in ITV drama Victoria. He said he felt ‘rejuvenated’ after his ‘no-frills detox’

Sri Lanka is a thrilling place. I was here in 2005 to visit a friend who was helping rebuild the shattered coastline after the Boxing Day tsunami.

I saw a steam locomotive that must have weighed hundreds of tonnes, perched high up in palm trees. I was left in awe, not only by the disaster itself, but of the great courage of all those devastated by that horrific event.

Chari, a local who arranged some fishing for me, says that as the sea was sucked back to fuel the coming waves, all seven of the offshore reefs became visible and before finding shelter in the second floor of a hotel, he had dashed towards the ocean and collected a sizeable barracuda that flipped and flapped on what was the seabed moments before.

WHAT IS AYURVEDA?  

• Known as the Science Of Life, Ayurveda dates back to 1,000 BC and has been recognised as a medical system since Indian independence in 1947.
• From the Sanskrit terms Ayur (life) and Veda (knowledge), it aims to balance mind, body, senses and soul, seeing each person as an individual with unique physical, mental and emotional needs. The goal is to be in harmony with your true nature as an antidote to the effects of modern living.
• To prevent illness, you need to maintain perfect balance between mind, body and spirit: any imbalance — believed to ‘deviate from nature’ — will create disharmony. Disease is treated by working on reversing these imbalances.
• Digestion and gut health are key to Ayurveda, as is living alongside nature and the flow of the seasons. The elements of ether/space, air, fire, water and Earth give rise to three energetic forces (doshas), with each person’s constitution, body type, physical and mental characteristics corresponding to either Vata (ether and air), Pitta (fire and water) or Kapha (water and Earth).
• Ayurvedic spa treatments include wraps, massage and body scrubs. They often involve massage — tapping, kneading and squeezing as well as the more traditional massage strokes — with therapeutic natural essential oils to suit your dosha. Ayurvedic herbal baths relax and revitalise, with flowers added to the water along with herbs and oils. Christy Turlington, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Aniston and Julia Roberts are devotees.
• To find out your dosha and lifestyle guidelines, see euroved.com/en/ayurveda/test/

He watched the devastation unfold while clutching this fearsome predator to his chest. He was 12 years old.

The Barberyn retreat clientele are a kindly bunch. I’d forgotten to bring sunscreen and, after two days applying Sri Lanka’s answer to Ambre Solaire, I am medium rare. That’s when a gentle, sophisticated German lady gives me her suncream and tells me I must look after myself. That’s why I’m here, I dutifully reply.

The days consist of being massaged and covered in oils and pressed with hot towels. The evenings I spend reading or walking down the beach to watch the deep red sunsets. I must confess, I do imbibe the occasional Lion Lager towards the end of the week in one of the many little bars that dot the beach.

Detox: Digestion and gut health are key to Ayurveda, as is living alongside nature and the flow of the seasons

I leave feeling at peace and rejuvenated. A rarity for me with any form of short break. I think two weeks would serve better, but I still have a bounce in my step.

I now try to eat vegetarian once a week and have discovered some tasty recipes. If you’re interested in a no-frills detox, the Barberyn is the place for you.

Panos Mourdoukoutas Courtesy forbes.com

In dealing with China, Malaysia has dared to do something Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and the Philippines didn’t: bring Beijing back to the negotiating table to cut the cost of the investment projects assigned to Chinese contractors.

This week, China agreed to cut the cost of East Coast Rail Link project by one-third.

The new deal is a big win for Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. He made good on his election campaign promise to re-negotiate China’s investments in the country, which served the interests of Beijing more than they served the interests of Kuala Lumpur.

The East Coast Rail is one of the dozens of China’s infrastructure projects around the world – a bid to write the next chapter of globalization and advance Beijing’s geopolitical agenda.

China has political and military ambitions to fill this void,” says  Xiaomeng Lu, China practice lead at Access Partnership, a global public policy consultancy for the tech sector. Chinese President Xi aims to realize the ‘great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation’ by projecting power overseas through the Belt and Road” initiative, which covers both Southeast Asia and Africa. This political economy effort is paired with China’s growing military might in the South China Sea and the African continent, posing a growing challenge to the U.S. security umbrella worldwide.”

The trouble is that many of China’s infrastructure projects aren’t economically viable, as they are built at inflated costs and leave countries involved heavily indebted to Beijing.

That’s what happened to Sri Lanka.

Courtesy Machinery Market.

Rolls-Royce Power Systems (www.rrpowersystems.com) and Chinese company Dongfang Electric International Corporation have reached agreement on the supply of four MTU 12V 4000 R41 rail engines to be installed in ‘railcars’ made by CRRC (based in China and the world’s largest train manufacturer), and operated by Sri Lanka Railways. 

This is the fourth time since 2007 that Sri Lanka Railways has chosen MTU drive systems. 

The four additional engines will bring the total number of Sri Lanka Railways’ CRRC railcars with MTU engines to 60. The vehicles ordered in 2007, 2010 and 2018 to date are S10, S12 and S14 railcars that are in service throughout the country. 

CRRC and Rolls-Royce Power Systems agreed a strategic partnership in November 2017; this sets out, among other things, that CRRC will continue to consider MTU engines as a drive solution for diesel railcars and locomotives in the future. 

The agreement references China’s infrastructure plan to expand and enhance the connections between Asia, Europe 
and Africa, with the aim of improving the movement of goods. 

It is said that China plans to invest the equivalent of hundreds of billions of euros in the infrastructure of many countries in these regions, and that CRRC plays a central role in this. 

Rolls-Royce has been partnering with CRRC for many years: CRRC has to date ordered over 500 MTU Series 4000 engines for locomotives and railcars for use in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Sri Lanka and South Africa.

By P.K.BalachandranCourtesy NewsIn.Asia

Colombo, April 12 (Daily Express): Earlier this week, the General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Dayasiri Jayasekara, told the media that the chairman of his party and Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, intends to seek the opinion of the Supreme Court on the plea that his term of office should be deemed to have begun on June 21, 2015 and not January 9, 2015.

President Sirisena was sworn-in on January 9, 2015. But Jayasekara pointed out that the nature of the Presidency was altered by the 19 th.Constitutional Amendment which was signed into effect by the Speaker of parliament on June 21, 2015.

Therefore, Sirisena’s term should be deemed to have begun on June 21, 2015 and not January 9, 2015. It should be deemed to be ending on June 21, 2020 and not on January 9, 2020.

Sirisena has been wanting to be a joint Presidential candidate of the SLFP and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) in the coming Presidential election. He has been working hard launching popular campaigns on various issues to build up his image among the masses – an image which had suffered a beating because of his association with the right-wing and pro-West party, the United National Party (UNP) since 2015.

But the SLPP, which is but a breakaway group of the SLFP, is insisting that the Presidential candidate should be from its ranks. It feels that its candidate has the best chance of winning going by the stunning victory it attained in the local bodies elections in February 2018.

Given this situation, the next best thing to do for Sirisena, was to try and stay on in office beyond January 9, 2020 to June 21, 2010 so that he can use the time to execute his political projects and buttress his claim to be the joint opposition candidate.

With the prospective SLPP candidate, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in a spot of trouble over getting release from US citizenship because of two civil suits filed against him in a US court, there is an off chance that the SLPP might be forced to field Sirisena instead of Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Earlier, in January 2018, Sirisena had wanted to know from the Supreme Court if his term was for five years or six. The Attorney General had told the court that since Sirisena was elected in January 2015 for six years, its reduction to five would be a violation of the people’s sovereignty. The 19th.Amendment which came into effect in June 2015 had reduced the Presidential term from six to five years. The court, however, ruled that as per 19A the five-year cap applies to him too.

Sirisena’s Bid Not Unique

While this is so, Sirisena’s bid for a longer term is not unique. Almost every Sri Lankan President except R. Premadasa and D.B.Wijetunga, had sought extension, though no one other than J.R.Jayewardene had succeeded.

Ironically, Chandrika Kumaratunga, Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena had all come to power with a pledge to abolish the Executive Presidency and go back j to the pre-1978 Westminster-style parliamentary system.

The Executive Presidency was brought to Sri Lanka by Prime Minister J.R.Jayewardene, through the promulgation of a new constitution in 1978. The new constitution gave a directly elected President a six year term and not five as before. Parliament also got a six year term instead of five.

Jayewardene named himself the first Executive President in 1978. Subsequently, the first direct vote to elect a President of Sri Lanka was held in 1982. Jayewardene, who was a candidate, got 52% of the votes cast and was declared elected.

In order to maintain the UNP’s parliamentary super-majority obtained in the 1977 elections, Jayawardene decided to extend the life of parliament without holding direct elections.

In order to do this, his government presented the 4th constitutional amendment in 1982, which proposed to extend the life of the parliament by six years to August 4, 1989. The bill was found to be constitutional by the Supreme Court but it had to be passed by a two thirds majority and ratified through a referendum. Both were done successfully by Jayewardene.

Jayewardene’s plea was that such measures were needed to turn the Sri Lankan economy around. The State had to be powerful and stable.

Sri Lankans, who were tired of the shortages and strikes which marked the socialist regimes headed by Mrs.Sirimavo Bandarnaike of the SLFP, went along with Jayewardene.

Kumaratunga’s Bid

The next bid to extend the term of the President was made by President Chandrika Kumaratunga. Her term was to end in 2005 but she argued that because she had called for a Presidential election one year ahead of time in 1999, she should be able to get one more year in office over above the normal six years.

To be able to make this claim, she said that she had taken oaths for the second time at the end of 2000 albeit secretly. The idea in taking the oaths for the second time was to be able to count the beginning of her term from 2000 and not 1999, and be President till 2006 and not 2005.

This was challenged by the prospective Presidential candidate and fellow SLFP member, Mahinda Rajapaksa.

When the matter was taken to the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Sarath Nanda Silva ruled that Kumaratunga’s claims were untenable and that her term would end in 2005. The constitution had clearly stated that the term of the President begins on the date he or she is sworn-in. And there had been a public swearing in immediately after her victory in 1999.

Constitutional expert Prof. G.L.Peiris said that the second swearing-in that is alleged to have occurred was absolutely unique in any democratic country” and raised grave issues of credibility.”

Sharply criticizing the President’s position in a Sinhalese language interview over State TV, Peiris said: That degree of arrogance is unacceptable with regard to the tenure of any public position. No one who holds public office is in a position to say that they will decide for themselves when their office comes to an end.”

But Kumaratunga had said that she was constitutionally empowered to continue her present term of office until 2006, whatever arguments were advanced to the contrary. She said it was her prerogative to step down before or otherwise.

According to Kumaratunga, the oath of office taken in December 1999 was done in an abundance of precaution in the wake of an attempt on her life.”

She pointed to the constitution and said that Where a poll for the election of a President is taken, the term of office of the person elected as President at such election shall commence on the expiration of the term of office of the President in office.”

But the Supreme Court thought otherwise.

Rajapaka Removed Cap on Number of Terms

When he came to power in 2005, again on the promise that he would abolish the Executive Presidency, Mahinda Rahapaksa tried to be President for more than the constitutionally stipulated two terms.

He brought in the 18 th.Amendment to the constitution to remove the two-term cap. But this was annulled in 2015 after he was defeated by Maithripala Sirisena in collaboration with the UNP.

The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government brought in the 19 th.Constitutional Amendment which restored the two-term limit set by the 1978 constitution which brought in the Executive President. The 19 th.Amendment also reduced the terms of the President and parliament from six to five years.

However, for his personal political reasons, President Sirisena is now trying to get the Supreme Court’s approval for an extension of his term from January to June 2020. But success is likely to elude him as it did in the case of Kumaratunga and Rajapaksa.

by Editor Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Colombo/Los Angeles, April 12 (newsin.asia/Ada Derana/Republicnext ) Former Sri Lankan Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa was given an enthusiastic welcome when he arrived here from Los Angeles on April 12. At Los Angeles, he had been given notices of two cases filed against him for alleged violation of humanitarian law during the war against the Tamil Tigers. A

But Gotabaya has dismissed the two lawsuits filed against him as baseless” and insisted that the cases would only motivate him and his supporters to push for political change in Sri Lanka. He said that the cases were meant to delay renunciation of US citizenship so that he will not be able to fight the coming Sri Lankan Presidential election. As a dual citizen he cannot contest. Therefore, he had taken steps to renounce US citizenship. Gotabaya told news persons at the airport that he had completed the formalities in regard to this successfully.

tHe is planning to contest the coming ri Lankan Presidential election as a candidate of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) founded and headed by his brother and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

To contest the election, as stipulated by the 19 th. Amendment of the constitution, he cannot be a dual citizen as he is till date. He has to renounce his US citizenship and be exclusively Sri Lankan.

Commenting on the two law suits against him in the US alleging complicity in the torture of a Sri Lankan Tamil and in the murder of a Sri Lankan newspaper editor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that these lawsuits have been filed to delay the US citizenship renunciation process and discourage him from contesting.

I have handed the matter to my lawyers [in Los Angeles] to take care of and I’m looking ahead to what needs to be done for our country,” Gotabaya Rajapaksa said. He met with his attorneys in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Legal Process

The first step Rajapaksa’s attorneys will take is to determine if the lawsuits are within the statute of limitations. Depending on the type of case, California’s statutes of limitations range from one year to 10 years. The clock starts to click on the date of the incident or the date of discovery of the harmful action.

Initially, they may also file a demurrer,” which is essentially a pleading in state court to have the case dismissed, challenging the sufficiency of the complaint. While not disputing the facts of the case, a demurrer argues on the grounds that there is no legal claim even if the facts presented by the plaintiff are true.

Thousands of civil cases are filed in the California’s sprawling court system which serves a population of more than 39 million people—about 12% of the total US population. In 2016, a total of 610,627 cases asking for damages over $ 10,000 were filed. State Government statistics show 95% to 96% of personal injury cases being settled pre-trial.

Finding Jury and Judge

Finding a jury or even a judge knowledgeable enough in Sri Lankan matters to rule on the cases against Rajapaksa will be particularly challenging, say experts.

One of the cases has been filed by the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) based in South Africa and the US law firm Hausfeld on behalf of Sri Lankan-Canadian Roy Samathanam who claims he was tortured while in custody in 2007-2010 by a terrorism investigation unit reporting to the Defense Secretary.

The second case has been separately filed by another organisation on behalf of Ahimsa Wickrematunge, daughter of journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge, assassinated in January 2009.

Rajapaksa, widely expected to run at the presidential elections later this year, told Daily FT the lawsuits were a tactic to distract him and his supporters and that the charges against him would not stand up in a court of law.

These are baseless allegations made by people outside our country to delay the process because I’m a strong candidate,” he said. Let them attack, I’m prepared.”

He added that far from being discouraged, he and his supporters would be more motivated by these tactics of foreign-based agencies.

People in Sri Lanka are disgruntled and want a change. When we were in power, we achieved great things. We were able to deliver, not just talk. We want to solve common problems people in the north and the south are facing. These type of attempts by outsiders will get our people more motivated to bring our country back under proper leadership.”

Rajapaksa was on a short visit to attend a wedding and spend time with his son who lives in the area. Process servers presented him with papers for the two lawsuits last on 7 April at a Trader Joe’s in Pasadena, about 10 miles northeast of Los Angeles. The city, at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains, is home to a large number of Sri Lankan expats and houses the oldest Sri Lankan Buddhist temple on the west coast.

In its press release, ITJP calls on other survivors of torture” to come forward, expressing to possibly turn the ITJP’s lawsuit into a class action”.

Mr. Rajapaksa has to give up his US citizenship to be able to stand in presidential elections so this is probably the last chance for a long time to begin to hold him accountable. We hope other survivors of torture will join the suit and make this a class action.”

A class is also a civil lawsuit, but brought by a group of people who are similarly situated,” usually a group of people harmed in a similar way by a business entity.

But Class actions are very complex and must first be certified by a judge before they can proceed.

Fonseka Can’t Stop Gotabaya

Newsin.asia adds:Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan media has been putting out reports that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will be asking President Maithripala Sirisena to appoint Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka as Internal Security Minister with the intention of preventing Gotabaya Rajapaksa from becoming a Sri Lankan citizen and contesting the coming Presidential election.

But sources close to Gotabaya said that this cannot be done because Gotabaya is already a Sri Lankan citizen. He is a citizen of Sri Lanka as well as the US, a dual citizen. When he is finally allowed by the US to relinquish US citizenship, he retains his Sri Lankan citizen. No government or minister can take away his Sri Lankan citizenship.

The ruling United National Party and some sections of President Sirisena’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party are keen on preventing Gotabaya from contesting. The court cases in the US and threats of some hostile actions at home in Sri Lanka are seen as attempts by his opponents to keep him away from Sri Lankan politics and demoralize his followers.

Colombo Telegraph carried transcript of speech by TNA leader R Sambanthan on 5 April 2019 titled Mullaitivu 2009: 400,000 Lived, 290,000 People Came Out, What Happened To The Balance? – Sampanthan Asks”.  Sambanthan claims that on 21 January 2009 he highlighted plight of some 400,000 but as per press release on 21 January 2009 published by Tamilnet, TNA claims there are over 360,000 IDPs out of a total population of nearly 500,000 people in LTTE controlled areas. This entire population is living within an area of about 400 square kilometers”. Sambanthan cannot give press releases and then say something else in Parliament on the same day!  

LTTE kills fleeing child – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOEwN58UVys&fbclid=IwAR0O8ZjhHoHfs-LWvqHCCTrOUXssRRESgMvnF9JxkaATivYlp1e7qa6To04

LTTE snipers kill Tamils fleeing to Sri Lanka Army https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ7zlRiijfM

Tamils used as human shields by LTTE

Australian Govt condemns LTTE for terror tactics & asks release of Tamil civilians

Rajeswari Balasubramaniam from London says LTTE is violating human rights

Sambanthan claims he protested on 21 January 2009 regarding Tamils being fired at and ‘running helter-skelter’ however as per Tamilnet website TNA press release addressed to the international community claimed ‘over 360,000 IDPs out of a total population of nearly 500,000 people’ were in a 400 sq.km area.

https://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=28090

Based on what evidence is the TNA placing a population figure of 500,000?

How many LTTE were there to herd this many people with them?

There would be no civilians with LTTE, if the LTTE did not herd them. Can Sambanthan answer this simple hypothetical question.

TNA press release quotes 66 civilians killed – how many of these died while trying to flee LTTE?

Sampanthan claims 40,000 people have been killed – who claimed this & on what evidence? Even the Ban Ki Moon Panel report says 40,000 may have been killed” which is not the same as 40,000 was killed. While those that claimed less than 10,000 dead can produce names & details of every person dead, those that claim 40,000 & more are only throwing numbers.

Its now 10 years since LTTE defeat. No one claiming 40,000 dead has produced names of 40,000, details of their families and no one has even filed police ‘missing’ or sought death certificates. There are no skeletons either and its no easy fete to be digging graves to stuff 40,000 dead bodies (not even in skeleton stage) while engaged in hostilities with LTTE who were in uniform, in civilian clothing and civilian LTTE force as well as civilians forced to take up gun dying for which LTTE must take full blame for putting non-LTTE combatants in harms’ way.

Sambanthan claims probably around 400,000 based on our own investigations’ were with LTTE. What investigation was this? How many of them were LTTE cadres, how many were civilian LTTE & how many were really civilians?

Sambanthan claims food, medicines and other supplies were sent only for 60,000 – 70,000. The Government & the UN agencies sent supplies. It was obvious that bloating up of numbers were given as LTTE needed provisions for their cadres & families lest the conflict dragged on. There is enough evidence to highlight that Tamils that were not associated with LTTE were denied food & essentials sent by the Govt.

Connecting the dots of allegiance – it was no coincidence that TNA supported the regime change that took place in 2015, it was for that reason that TNA with just 16 MPs in a 225 Parliament became the Opposition & TNA leader the Opposition Leader. For the first time the TNA supported the budget. TNA supported the government at every crucial juncture inspite of being in opposition. TNA leader was not vocal for the Opposition except to promote the demands of Tamils aligned to TNA. UN & UNHRC conducted 2 investigations and they have found absolutely no evidence to substantiate their claims except continue to quote 3^rd party / 4^th party ‘invisible witnesses’.

On 21 January 2009 the Sri Lankan military declared a 32 square kilometres (12 sq mi) Safe Zone 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north-west of Puthukkudiyiruppu, between the A35 highway and Chalai Lagoon (this safe zone has no legal binding as it was created by only one party & was not agreed by the other party)

On 12 February 2009 the military declared a new 10 square kilometres (3.9 sq mi) Safe Zone in this area, north-west of Mullaitivu town.

Let it be noted that Navi Pillay publicly stated on 13 March 2009 that 2800 may have been killed & over 7000 wounded since 20 January 2009 (this implies from 20 Jan to 13 March Navi Pillay quotes 2800 as dead & 7000 as wounded)

http://www.peaceinsrilanka.lk/for-the-record/the-relentless-posturing-of-navi-pillay

All of these UN heads & international agencies quote from sources outside of the war terrain and thus they cannot be accepted as witness accounts. As for those claiming to be ‘eye witnesses’ they must first establish they were actually in the war terrain.

Sambanthan is quoting various international parties questioning Sri Lanka’s dead but why has Sambanthan not asked – the lost generations of Tamils because of LTTE that created TNA?

• How many Tamil children did LTTE kidnap since 1980s
• How many of these kidnapped Tamil children died during training, trying to flee LTTE camps & return home, engaged in hostilities
• How many young men, women were denied their right to educate, work and make a career for themselves & ended up holding a gun & wearing a cyanide capsule?
• How many LTTE cadres & child soldiers died following orders to commit suicide by biting cyanide capsule – LTTE must take full accountability for these suicides.
• How many LTTE cadres were trained to commit suicide – taking one’s life is a crime, training people to commit suicide must be far worse a crime.

Sambanthan is quoting the US Constitution – the Colonial British invaded the Americas and colonized it initially with prisoners from British prisons in 1607. It took just 169 years for the 13 colonies to severe ties with Britain and declare independence adopting confederal constitution in 1776. When 7 out of the 34 confederates attempted to secede the confederacy was abolished and replaced with the present constitution in 1790.

Confederacy which ITAK/TNA promotes did not last even 20 years in US.

Sambanthan quotes Indira Gandhi on Bangladesh & asks the question ‘how long has the Tamil question remained unresolved”? We would like to know what is the Tamil question first and we have been asking this for 70 years! All that we have been given is a bucket-list of solutions without knowing what the problem is.

We would like to challenge Sambanthan’s statement that Tamils are ‘second-class’ citizens – Tamils & Muslims constitute the larger populations in Colombo 1 to 15 capital of Sri Lanka. Tamils & Muslims run the main wholesale business in Sri Lanka. Tamils have the most jewellery outlets, communication outlets pharmacies in Colombo. Both the present & past governors of the Central Bank were Tamil. There are over 30 Tamils in the 225 member Parliament representing all political parties. Tamil political party held the post of Opposition in 1978 and 2015.

Our question for Sambanthan & any others who claim to fault the Sinhala Buddhists this simple question

What is it that the Sinhalese enjoy because they are Sinhalese that the minorities do not enjoy because they are not Sinhalese”?

What is it that the minorities do not enjoy because they are the minority that which the majority enjoys because they are the majority”?

What is legally, constitutionally & legislatively given to the majority that is not given to the minorities”?

Name a single country that has changed its original national anthem, national flag just to please & appease the minorities & have these afforded any reciprocity by the minorities?

Tamil was made official language by India’s Indo-Lanka Accord in 1987 and there are less than 2million Tamils physically residing in Sri Lanka. India with over 70million Tamils and a separate Tamil only state has not even made Tamil an official language or including anything Tamil in India’s national flag.

Name a single country where Tamils are the minority which have declared Pongal as a national holiday, Maha sivarathri, Deepavali as public holidays.

Name countries where Tamil minorities are given cabinet rank positions in government representing minority political parties, top post in Police, foreign minister, chief Justice (Sri Lanka has had 3 Tamil chief justices), judges & ambassadors.

Name countries that have issued stamps for Tamil minorities

Name any country that will allow laws like Thesavalamai to exist when everyone chants equal law – equal justice for all.

Tamil minority are powerful in many ways – Largest supermarket chain is Cargills and recently the Govt gave state funding to it. The largest brewery is Carsons owned by Tamil family. Largest media network is owned by the Maharajah family who also own the largest hardware – SLON, Kevilton.

The largest construction conglomerate St Anthony’s is owned by the Gnanam family.

Examples of discrimination by Sinhalese against Tamils

If Tamils have left the country, it is by their own free will & as a result of them leaving and being domiciled in Western countries they are helping their families back home. We would like by affidavit for TNA MPs to confirm that they themselves are not dual citizens as many of their children are studying overseas.

Sambanthan refers to the North-East development – we like to remind him that LTTE ran a defacto rule for almost 30 years in full control of these areas while LTTE was making annual profits of $300m so the better question is what did LTTE do with this money if it really stood for the needs of the Tamil people. Immediately after LTTE defeat those that visited the North-East could see for themselves that other than posh bunkers for LTTE and fancy homes for LTTE families all others were living in horrible conditions. Some areas of the North-East did not have electricity, were not allowed to watch tv even. These people were living in the cave-days under LTTE rule.

The Sambanthan-Sumanthiran letter to Finance Minister Mangala regarding a special fund takes us back to the PTOMs where a similar proposal was made for even direct funding to come to LTTE held areas without going through the Central Govt. The very areas Sambanthan covers are identical to the proposals suggested by the PTOMs and ISGA.

Why should there be a special fund starting with Rs.5billion only for the North which is the least populated of all the provinces in Sri Lanka? Allocation is given to each of the provinces based on the funding requested by the provinces and the Northern budget is almost always 2^nd to that of the Western province but it is never spent & returns to the Treasury while there is a separate budget allocation for each province spent by the Central Govt to develop the provinces & this gets spent and is accounted for. What audacity for Sambanthan to ask Rs.5b only for the north when 7 out of 10 people are Sinhalese tax payers and Sambanthan & TNA are eternally accusing Sinhalese of treating Tamils as second-class citizens. What right does the Finance Minister have to create such a fund only for the North & camouflage that by calling it ‘Palmyrah Fund’ and open it for ‘donations’ obviously serving as an outlet for money-laundering and we like to question why the PM is also the Minister for Northern Development too – does the PM function only for the Northern Province?

Sambanthan or TNA cannot be allowed to get away spreading lies & distortions when successive governments should have investigate TNA for links with LTTE and applied 6^th amendment against TNA for there is ample evidence by TNA statements and photos to depict the TNA’s gameplan.

Shenali D Waduge

DHARSHAN WEERASEKERA

10^th April 2019

There can be no better endorsement of Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa (‘GR’) for the Presidency of Sri Lanka than the fact that his enemies have already begun a campaign to scuttle his chances of running for that office, even before his candidacy has been officially announced. 

I refer to the reports in a number of newspapers that two civil cases have been filed against GR in the U.S., one allegedly by the daughter of slain journalist Lasantha Wickrematunga and the other by the NGO International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) representing a victim of purported torture by the Sri Lankan security forces.[1]

In this article, I shall briefly discuss what one can reasonably expect the enemies of Sri Lanka to do in the coming weeks and months to scuttle GR’s chances of running for the Presidency.  I write as a Sri Lankan citizen and a concerned voter who will vote for GR if he runs, and I hope that his campaign staff will address the concerns below, which I think are shared by many others in my position. 

THE CONCERN

If GR runs, he will run as the candidate of the SLPP.  At the 10^th February 2018 local government elections, the SLPP stunned a lot of people by trouncing the UNP as well as Sirisena’s SLFP.  To the best of my knowledge, the final results of those elections were:  45% SLPP, 33% UNP and 13% SLFP.[2]  The election had a 65% voter turn-out.[3]   

If there is a similar high turn-out at the next Presidential Election, and under normal circumstances there will be, it is reasonable to suppose that the SLPP will be able to get its candidate roughly 44% percent of the vote.

In order to win a Presidential Election, one needs to get over 50% of the vote.  Therefore, GR must get a minimum of 5-7% of the vote either from the SLFP, the traditional UNP vote-base, or the minorities.  I have no doubt he is capable of getting such a portion, especially if he runs a campaign focused on the factors that most Sri Lankans today find to be essential, starting with the economy.

GR brings to the table a combination of service to the country, experience and proven administrative skills that no conceivable candidate that the UNP or the minorities can conjure up against him can match.  Therefore, all things being equal, if the Presidential election is held tomorrow, or a month from now, or six months from now, and GR is a candidate, he will win.

Conversely, from the point of view of GR’s enemies, the best way to scuttle his chances of winning the Presidency is to reduce the number of SLPP voters who will turn out to vote.  And one of the best ways to do this is to create the impression that GR is saddled with many lawsuits, each capable of annulling his candidacy, or if elected, prevent him from functioning, that a vote for him is tantamount to throwing away one’s vote.

Therefore, it is essential that if GR is running for President his campaign staff now itself take steps to reassure voters that they (i.e. the staff) are aware of the aforesaid threats, and have formulated counter-measures or are in the process of doing so.  I am not saying that they should publicize what the counter-measures are; that would be to inform the enemy unnecessarily.  But, it is important to let voters know that the relevant threats have been identified, and efforts are underway to address them.

At present, a number of persons purporting to represent GR’s interests have made public statements denying that any cases have been filed against GR in the U.S. More disturbing, to the best of my knowledge, these persons have in general dismissed the possibility that cases may be filed, whether in Sri Lanka or abroad, to obstruct GR’s from running for President of Sri Lanka. 

Unfortunately, in the eyes of most voters, these persons have very little credibility to comment on legal issues.  This is especially so because, if I am not mistaken, the same persons were at the forefront in defending Sirisena’s dissolution of Parliament in late October 2018.  They claimed that, Article 33 of the Constitution permitted such an action.  The Supreme Court made short shrift of that argument.

If at the next Presidential election SLPP voters were to put all their hopes on GR, and at the last moment hear that his candidacy has been cancelled or suspended pending the outcome of one or more lawsuits, it would absolutely devastate the morale of those voters.  In such a situation, it is reasonable to suppose that a fair number of them will avoid going to polls, and this will no doubt throw the election to the UNP candidate. 

The last thing that SLPP voters need is a ‘surprise’ such as what happened in the weeks prior to the August 2015 Parliamentary elections.  At that time, UPFA voters (today’s SLPP voters) were ecstatic that Mahinda Rajapaksa had a chance to become PM.  But, Sirisena yanked that possibility away at the last moment by announcing that he would never make MR Prime Minister, leaving many voters devastated.

Therefore, to repeat, if GR is running for President, his campaign staff must address the issue of these cases, if indeed they have been filed.  More importantly, they must address the possibility that cases may be filed in the future, whether in the U.S. or Sri Lanka.  Among other things, they must address the following issues:

1. It is well known that a U.S. citizen can relinquish his or her citizenship by informing the U.S. Government of that purpose, and normally the cancellation is granted without any difficulty.  However, under extraordinary circumstances, are there instances where the U.S. Government has prolonged cancelling a person’s citizenship, and if so, what are the remedies available to such person?

• Under Sri Lankan law, how would the fact that a cancellation of a citizenship is pending (as opposed to being granted) affect an attempt by that person to run for the Presidency of this country?

• Would an elections officer be able to reject the nomination of a particular candidate at such officer’s discretion, and if so what are the remedies available for the rejected candidate?

• Would it be possible for petitioners to obtain ‘interim relief’ preventing a candidate from contesting elections until cases against such candidate, cases challenging his/her eligibility to contest the Presidency, are heard.  And if so, what are the possible appeals against such a ruling and how long will they take?

Depending on the answers to such questions, voters can make up their minds as to whether it is in their interests to support a run for the Presidency by GR.  The 10^th February 2018 LG polls proved beyond a doubt that the Sri Lankan voter is an intelligent and perceptive voter. 

In the run-up to the LG polls, though most pundits predicted that the SLPP would win, no one predicted that they would win by such a lopsided margin, especially against the SLFP.  Also, recall that, in the run-up to the elections, Sirisena and Ranil, who were as ‘thick as thieves’ at the time, tried to make the elections turn on the issue of corruption, that is, they asked the voter to choose the party that would be able to fight corruption the best. 

However, the voters, especially UPFA voters, correctly understood that the real issue was not corruption but rather Sirisena’s hijacking of the SLFP and the resulting loss of their (i.e. the voters’) ability to influence the way that the country was being run.  And they made both Sirisena and Ranil pay. 

In a similar way, the voters will correctly identify the relevant issues for the Presidential elections.  They will vote for GR if they think it is in their interests to do so.  I am sure they will vote GR President with an overwhelming majority if and when they get a chance.  No doubt this is the fear that is driving GR’s detractors.   So, GR has to level with the voters also.  If there are threats to his candidacy, he must let the voters know what those threats are, and what his campaign intends to do about them.  

[1] See ‘Two lawsuits against Gota in U.S.’ Daily Mirror, 9^th April 2019; also, ‘GR faces legal action in U.S.’ The Island, 9^th April 2019 

[2] LG polls results, Daily Mirror, 12^th February 2018

[3] ‘65% voter turnout  at today’s election:  EC,’ Daily Mirror, 10^th February 2018

Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Los Angeles/Colombo, April 12 (DailyFT/Ada Derna/Newsin Asia): Former Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa has dismissed the two lawsuits filed against him as baseless” and insisted that the cases would only motivate him and his supporters to push for political change in Sri Lanka.

On his arrival from the US on April 12, Gotabaya said that he had completed all formalities in regard to the renunciation of US citizenship. He is planning to contest the coming ri Lankan Presidential election as a candidate of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) founded and headed by his brother and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

To contest the election, as stipulated by the 19 th. Amendment of the constitution, he cannot be a dual citizen as he is till date. He has to renounce his US citizenship and be exclusively Sri Lankan.

Commenting on the two law suits against him in the US alleging complicity in the torture of a Sri Lankan Tamil and in the murder of a Sri Lankan newspaper editor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that these lawsuits have been filed to delay the US citizenship renunciation process and discourage him from contesting.

I have handed the matter to my lawyers [in Los Angeles] to take care of and I’m looking ahead to what needs to be done for our country,” Gotabaya Rajapaksa said. He met with his attorneys in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Legal Process

The first step Rajapaksa’s attorneys will take is to determine if the lawsuits are within the statute of limitations. Depending on the type of case, California’s statutes of limitations range from one year to 10 years. The clock starts to click on the date of the incident or the date of discovery of the harmful action.

Initially, they may also file a demurrer,” which is essentially a pleading in state court to have the case dismissed, challenging the sufficiency of the complaint. While not disputing the facts of the case, a demurrer argues on the grounds that there is no legal claim even if the facts presented by the plaintiff are true.

Thousands of civil cases are filed in the California’s sprawling court system which serves a population of more than 39 million people—about 12% of the total US population. In 2016, a total of 610,627 cases asking for damages over $ 10,000 were filed. State Government statistics show 95% to 96% of personal injury cases being settled pre-trial.

Finding Jury and Judge

Finding a jury or even a judge knowledgeable enough in Sri Lankan matters to rule on the cases against Rajapaksa will be particularly challenging, say experts.

One of the cases has been filed by the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) based in South Africa and the US law firm Hausfeld on behalf of Sri Lankan-Canadian Roy Samathanam who claims he was tortured while in custody in 2007-2010 by a terrorism investigation unit reporting to the Defense Secretary.

The second case has been separately filed by another organisation on behalf of Ahimsa Wickrematunge, daughter of journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge, assassinated in January 2009.

Rajapaksa, widely expected to run at the presidential elections later this year, told Daily FT the lawsuits were a tactic to distract him and his supporters and that the charges against him would not stand up in a court of law.

These are baseless allegations made by people outside our country to delay the process because I’m a strong candidate,” he said. Let them attack, I’m prepared.”

He added that far from being discouraged, he and his supporters would be more motivated by these tactics of foreign-based agencies.

People in Sri Lanka are disgruntled and want a change. When we were in power, we achieved great things. We were able to deliver, not just talk. We want to solve common problems people in the north and the south are facing. These type of attempts by outsiders will get our people more motivated to bring our country back under proper leadership.”

Rajapaksa was on a short visit to attend a wedding and spend time with his son who lives in the area. Process servers presented him with papers for the two lawsuits last on 7 April at a Trader Joe’s in Pasadena, about 10 miles northeast of Los Angeles. The city, at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains, is home to a large number of Sri Lankan expats and houses the oldest Sri Lankan Buddhist temple on the west coast.

In its press release, ITJP calls on other survivors of torture” to come forward, expressing to possibly turn the ITJP’s lawsuit into a class action”.

Mr. Rajapaksa has to give up his US citizenship to be able to stand in presidential elections so this is probably the last chance for a long time to begin to hold him accountable. We hope other survivors of torture will join the suit and make this a class action.”

A class is also a civil lawsuit, but brought by a group of people who are similarly situated,” usually a group of people harmed in a similar way by a business entity.

But Class actions are very complex and must first be certified by a judge before they can proceed.

Fonseka Can’t Stop Gotabaya

Newsin.asia adds: Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan media has been putting out reports that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will be asking President Maithripala Sirisena to appoint Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka as Internal Security Minister with the intention of preventing Gotabaya Rajapaksa from becoming a Sri Lankan citizen and contesting the coming Presidential election.

But sources close to Gotabaya said that this cannot be done because Gotabaya is already a Sri Lankan citizen. He is a citizen of Sri Lanka as well as the US, a dual citizen. When he is finally allowed by the US to relinquish US citizenship, he retains his Sri Lankan citizen. No government or minister can take away his Sri Lankan citizenship.

The ruling United National Party and some sections of President Sirisena’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party are keen on preventing Gotabaya from contesting. The court cases in the US and threats of some hostile actions at home in Sri Lanka are seen as attempts by his opponents to keep him away from Sri Lankan politics and demoralize his followers.

Sudath Guansekara

Sivajilingam should be arrested immediately for obstructing public servants in their legitimate duties in the following incident and charge them for obstructing these officers and rioting against the State.

All the land in the country belongs to the State. A such the government can acquire any land anywhere for a public purpose. It is specially so when it comes within the subject of  security of the State

The surveyors who have gone their obviously with authority should have informed the police and the police should have arrested Sivagilingam and accomplices on the spot for obstructing their official duty.

Now that has not been done the President or the Minister who gave the order should immediately instruct police to arrest these culprits and charge them for obstructing  the surveyors and also charge them for rioting against the State.

The government must either govern or go home. This applies equally to Ranil Wickramasingha as well as the President Maitripalagn immediately whether it is in the North or the South before the situation become worse and irretrievab

 Enough is enough !…

Sudath Guansekara

නාවික හමුදා කඳවුර පුළුල් කරන්න ගිය මිනින්දෝරුවන් ආපසු හරවා එවයි

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යාපනය වේලනෙයි මණ්ඩතිව්හි පිහිටි නාවික හමුදා කඳවුරු භූමියේ මැනුම් කටයුතු කිරීමට අද (11) පැමිණි මිනින්දොරුවරු පිරිසකට උතුරු පළාත් සභාවේ හිටපු දෙමළ සන්ධාන මන්ත්‍රී  එම්.කේ සිවාජිලිංගම් ඇතුළු පිරිසක් විරෝධතාව පලකළහ.

මණ්තිව්හි නාවික හමුදා කඳවුර ආසන්නයේ මෙම විරෝධතාවය පැවති අතර එහිදී අද දින අදාල නාවික හමුදා කඳවුරු භූමිය විශාල කිරීම සඳහා අවශ්‍ය කරන මැනුම් කටයුතු වෙනුවෙන් මිනින්දෝරුවරුන් පැමිණි වාහනය හරස් කරමින් එයට ගමන් කිරීමට නොහැකි වන අයුරින් විරෝධතාවයේ නිරත වීමට හිටපු මන්ත්‍රීවරයා ඇතුළු පිරිස පියවර ගෙන තිබිණි.

අදාල පිරිසේ විරෝධතාවය හේතුවෙන් මැනුම් කටයුතු සඳහා පැමිණි මිනින්දොරුවරුන් පිරිස ආපසු හැරී ගොස් ඇත්තේ වෙනත් දිනක නැවත පැමිණෙන බව පවසමිනි. නමුත් විරෝධතාවයේ නිරත සිවාජිලිංගම් ඇතුළු පිරිස පවසා ඇත්තේ මණ්ඩතිව් නාවික හමුදා කඳවුර විශාල කිරීමට රජය ගෙන ඇති තීරණයට තම ජනතාව කිසිසේතම එකඟ නොවන බවයි.

KAMALIKA PIERIS

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa    continues to be recognized by Asian governments. Rajapaksa had a private meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi when Modi visited Sri Lanka in May 2017. This was widely discussed in political and diplomatic circles. Many an eyebrow has been raised over former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s late night meeting with visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at India House said the media. Both sides remain tight-lipped over what was discussed.  The discussions were “confidential,” they said  .

Political observers believe it was not for nothing that an invitation was extended. “The Indians wanted to send a message that they haven’t totally abandoned Rajapaksa.” Analysts said that this was probably a high level discussion and was probably initiated by India. Indian High Commissioner told the media that the meeting had taken place at the request of the former Sri Lankan president. It was a courtesy call. India wanted to maintain a dialogue with all major political powers in Sri Lanka.

Mahinda Rajapaksa went on an official visit to South Korea in 2016 and met the Prime Minister.  Island newspaper ran a photo of the two of them engaged in conversation. Rajapaksa also took a delegation on a tour of Japan in May 2017.   The Japan-Sri Lanka Buddhist Organization for International Cooperation had invited him to participate in a function at the Muryoko-in, a Buddhist temple located on Mount Kōya.   During this visit, Rajapaksa met Yukio Hatoyama, who had briefly served as Prime Minister 2009-2010 and Nikai Toshihiro, former Minister of Economy, trade and industry.

Rajapaksa had also met the Sri Lankans living in Japan.  The Sri Lankans in Japan were frustrated with the Yahapalana government and they calling for a regime change in Sri Lanka, said Mahinda Rajapaksa.  The Lankan businessmen including vehicle importers had complained that they were no longer in a position to survive due to the disastrous government policies, Rajapaksa said. They are asking us, the Joint Opposition, to take up this issue with the government .

Gotabhaya Rajapakse also went to Japan in December 2016, on an invitation extended to him by the Sri Lankan community in Japan who are supporting former President Mahinda Rajapakse.

Mahinda Rajapaksa went to Malaysia in 2016, to attend a conference of Asian political parties organized by the Malaysian government at the Putra World Trade Centre. This visit had much drama. A group of Tamils with alleged links to LTTE had assaulted the Sri Lankan high commissioner to Malaysia, I.S. Ansar in a restricted area of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The attackers had come in search of former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, The assaulters came and asked Ansar about the whereabouts of ‘war criminal Rajapaksa.’ When he replied that they should go and find out from security officers, they beat him and left him bleeding,” said a foreign ministry official.

That was not all. When they heard that Mahinda Rajapaksa was to visit the Malaysian Buddhist temple, members of the Malaysian Indian Progressive association, Malaysian Tamilian Association and Malaysian Indian Education Transformation Association, went there and assaulted its Chief Priest. They had abused him with vulgarities and then hit him.  They punched him in the face and also kicked him. The group had gathered at the temple ‘as they wanted to give a stern warning to all Buddhist temples not to allow the mass murderer here.’ they would keep vigil to make sure that Mahinda Rajapaksa did not enter the temple, reported Daily News.

Mahinda Rajapaksa is recognized by these countries, because he knows how to manage international relations. Answering a question about his government’s relations with China and Pakistan during his days in office, Rajapaksa replied, in 2018, “Sri Lanka has always had close relations with India, China and Pakistan and these friendships will continue in the future as well. Pakistan is a valued friend which has helped us at crucial moments during the war and on the diplomatic front. Likewise, China is a valued friend with whom we have had many economic dealings. It has helped us on the economic front. Even though the present government of India may have had reservations about my government in 2014, I believe they will look at things differently now.

Sivashankar Menon, former High Commissioner for India in Sri Lanka, said in his memoirs published in 2016, “I found that as the Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya, had a clear view of Sri Lanka’s interests, one that was compatible with ours. Immediately after the war, he reassured Indian troika about the nature of Sri Lanka’s defence relationship with China, and helped Indian companies re-enter the reconstruction of Colombo. Security was Gotabhaya’s preoccupation, which made him sensitive to India’s concerns, while his brother Mahinda was much more compliant with Chinese demands, having built a political machine on Chinese money. 

The war-winning Rajapaksa government had been under heavy Indian pressure to acquire Sri Lanka’s defence ‘needs’, including training and intelligence from India. This led to the ‘unprecedented’ post-war bilateral agreement between Sri Lanka and India in 2014, for the building of two Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel (AOPVs)   for Sri Lanka, built by the Government of India owned Goa Shipyard Limited.  This was part of a project meant to enhance Sri Lanka -India relationship, said Shamindra Ferdinando. The first AOPV arrived in 2017.

Rajapaksa also succeeded in having an arrangement with the USA. in May 2007, Sri Lanka and the United States, , signed the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA), valid for 10 years, to facilitate transfer and exchange of logistics supplies, support and re-fuelling services. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and the then American Ambassador to Sri Lanka Robert Blake signed the agreement. This Agreement facilitates reciprocal logistic support between the United States and Sri Lankan military, for unforeseen circumstances or exigencies in which one of the parties may have a need of logistic support, supplies and services of the military forces of the other party.  This arrangement was brilliantly used by the Navy, to obtain location information from USA to   destroy the five LTTE weapon ships.

To the question What is your reaction to observations on Sri Lanka moving closer to China, Chinese interests in the Indian Ocean region and the huge investments being made in Sri Lanka, Maldives and Pakistan” Rajapaksa replied, Sri Lanka has had close relations with the People’s Republic of China since it was founded. The relationship that my government had with China was purely economic. Some of the key projects that China did like the Hambantota Port was first offered to India but was declined and it was then handed over to China.

 When my government was in power, there was never any move to lease the entire Hambantota free port along with its precinct of 5,000 acres to a private company. My government had made plans to lease only the container terminal the same way the terminals in the Colombo harbour have been leased to private companies. But the free port and its 5,000 acres would have remained under the Sri Lanka Ports Authority. I must say that China also never asked us to lease the free port to them. This idea of leasing the entire Hambantota free port to a private party came up only after the change of government in January 2015.

The economy improved under Rajapaksa. Statistics show that Sri Lanka achieved middle income status, that the general lot of the masses was improving, said Samantha Kumarasinghe. In the last three years of the Rajapaksa regime, economic growth was high, ranging from 7- 8.5%., said Sinharaja Tammita Delgoda. Sri Lanka had the best growth rate among SAARC countries ruing 2009-2014, said Samantha Kumarasinghe.

Rajapaksa also said he managed the economy well. Rajapaksa said, under my presidency, the economy grew at an average annual rate of 6% from 2006 to 2009 despite a raging war and at 7.4% in the five post war years from 2010 to 2014. No government in post-independence history has achieved an average growth rate of 6% leave alone 7.4%. Because of that growth, the economy was able to absorb the relatively modest annual increases in taxation under my government.

The exchange rate was controlled to prevent increases in the prices of imports. So whatever was given by my government as salary increases actually stayed in the hands of the recipients. During my nine years in office, our per capita income grew by an average of USD 286 per year said Rajapaksa.

There was never any problem about meeting the payments for the Hambantota port because it was paid out of the profits of the Ports Authority’. Even though there was this talk of huge debts incurred by my government for infrastructure projects, the loans taken for those projects was actually quite small whencompared with the foreign currency borrowings of the present government. Sri Lanka was never in any kind of Chinese debt trap during my tenure in office even though some sections of the Western media portrayed it as such. Today’s debt crisis has been brought about by the present government.

The  Rajapaksa  regime had implemented one of the most ambitious development plans in the world by setting up a US$1.4 billion deep sea port, an international airport, as well as a tourism zone, conference centre, an international cricket stadium and some of the best highways in the country, said Bandula Sirimanne.  The Port city, Colombo Harbour south container terminal, Colombo Katunayake expressway,  and the Lotus tower must be added to this list.

There was fast infrastructure  development   in the tertiary sector too. New roads, bridges, schools, hospitals were  built across  the  country  Bridges were built in rural areas, within six months, using new technology. In 2014, the media reported that 210 bridges are almost complete, they include Polwatte oya bridge, in Matale Dambulla,  Weddawala bridge, Hapuvida bridge near lower Rattota Matale, Kuda oya bridge at Ethiliyawewa in Balahuruwa, Wellawaya.    major housing schemes, fisheries harbors were launched and completed. the   rural electrification project was extended to  remote regions.   

Mahinda Rajapaksa  was the single most important factor behind these impressive achievements said Rohana Wasala. He  just had  a brief five years after  end of the war in 2009  to accelerate economic development and  achieve social progress in a peaceful environment.

Rajapaksa’s plans for Hambantota  are praised. I remember visiting the Hambantota Port in 2014 and being very impressed with the 10 Year plan to develop the region, said Janaki Chandraratne.

Jetwing Air Director Sunil Peiris    had positive things to say about  Mattala airport. Peiris sees huge potential for the Mattala airport. It has lot of unused land that can be developed.”  the, development of the Hambantota Port, extension of the Southern Expressway to Hambantota, the planned oil refinery, and more luxury hotels opening in the Southern Province, Mattala international airport will be a busy aerodrome in the future,  he  said. with the opening of five star hotels like the Shangri La, Anantara Tangalle, Marriott Weligama, two Hilton hotels in the deep South and other new hotels opening in Tissa and Yala, Mattala will be a bustling airport in the future.

Peiris  said Jetwing has flown down groups for special events such as weddings and corporate events at the South coast hotels. Peiris believes that in the future tourists visiting the Southern and Eastern coasts will opt to fly directly to Mattala instead of Colombo. Budget airline Flydubai, owned by the Emirates Group, has operated uninterrupted  to Mattala since it opened in March 2013 and currently has four weekly services.

When the Colombo international airport was being refurbished, SriLankan Airlines’ China bound flights made a stopover in Mattala and saw heavy movement of passengers from Mattala. Jetwing is also in close talks with the Ministry of Labour to have Sri Lankans seeking employment in Dubai and living in the South and East to opt to travel from Mattala instead of Colombo, Peiris said.

Despite ‘all the dents of the last two years’ Mahinda Rajapaksa’s charisma and political appeal continues to endure said Sinharaja Tammita Delgoda. In 2016, when Rajapakse visited Rathupaswela area to address a public gathering some people tried to organize a protest against him but it failed with less than a dozen people turning up. Sending the army to quell the disturbances in Rathupaswela was a bad mistake but it did not affect the voting pattern of the area either, despite the manner in which the riot was put down. The people of the area  knew that the whole thing was  controlled by agents’ provocateurs, said Chandraprema.

In August 2017 Rajapaksa  accompanied his wife, Shiranthi to the law courts   at Hulftsdorf as Shiranthi Rajapaksa   had been summoned by court to appear before it. This could be considered a ‘private’ visit. But  when   Rajapaksa emerged from the law courts, with his wife and got into the  car, the crowd went wild .  Rajapaksa had to get out of the car  and wave  briefly before leaving.

Similarly in August 2017, Rajapaksa attended a pinkama organized in memory of Janaka Bandara Tennekoon’s father.  That too was a private visit. however,  when he arrived, there were  enthusiastic crowds waiting to greet him. Television cameras showed them waving to him. Some had climbed trees to get a  glimpse of Rajapaksa. (Derana News. 13.8.17)  (continued)

by John Pilger

Drawing by Nathaniel St. Clair

The glimpse of Julian Assange being dragged from the Ecuadorean embassy in London is an emblem of the times. Might against right. Muscle against the law. Indecency against courage. Six policemen manhandled a sick journalist, his eyes wincing against his first natural light in  almost seven years.

That this outrage happened in the heart of London, in the land of Magna Carta, ought to shame and anger all who fear for democratic” societies. Assange is a political refugee protected by international law, the recipient of asylum under a strict covenant to which Britain is a signatory. The United Nations made this clear in the legal ruling of its Working Party on Arbitrary Detention.

But to hell with that. Let the thugs go in. Directed by the quasi fascists in Trump’s Washington, in league with Ecuador’s Lenin Moreno, a Latin American Judas and liar seeking to disguise his rancid regime, the British elite abandoned its last imperial myth: that of fairness and justice.

Imagine Tony Blair dragged from his multi-million pound Georgian home in Connaught Square, London, in handcuffs, for onward dispatch to the dock in The Hague. By the standard of Nuremberg, Blair’s paramount crime” is the deaths of a million Iraqis. Assange’s crime is journalism: holding the rapacious to account, exposing their lies and empowering people all over the world with truth.

The shocking arrest of Assange carries a warning for all who, as Oscar Wilde wrote, sew the seeds of discontent [without which] there would be no advance towards civilisation”. The warning is explicit towards journalists. What happened to the founder and editor of WikiLeaks can happen to you on a newspaper, you in a TV studio, you on radio, you running a podcast.

Assange’s principal media tormentor, the Guardian, a collaborator with the secret state, displayed its nervousness this week with an editorial that scaled new weasel heights. The Guardian has exploited the work of Assange and WikiLeaks in what its previous editor called the greatest scoop of the last 30 years”. The paper creamed off WikiLeaks’ revelations and claimed the accolades and riches that came with them.

With not a penny going to Julian Assange or to WikiLeaks, a hyped Guardian book led to a lucrative Hollywood movie. The book’s authors, Luke Harding and David Leigh, turned on their source, abused him and disclosed the secret password Assange had given the paper in confidence, which was designed to protect a digital file containing leaked US embassy cables.

With Assange now trapped in the Ecuadorean embassy, Harding joined the police outside and gloated on his blog that Scotland Yard may get the last laugh”. The Guardian has since published a series of falsehoods about Assange, not least a discredited claim that a group of Russians and Trump’s man, Paul Manafort, had visited Assange in the embassy. The meetings never happened; it was fake.

But the tone has now changed. The Assange case is a morally tangled web,” the paper opined. He (Assange) believes in publishing things that should not be published …. But he has always shone a light on things that should never have been hidden.

These things” are the truth about the homicidal way America conducts its colonial wars, the lies of the British Foreign Office in its denial of rights to vulnerable people, such as the Chagos Islanders, the expose of Hillary Clinton as a backer and beneficiary of jihadism in the Middle East, the detailed description of American ambassadors of how the governments in Syria and Venezuela might be overthrown, and much more. It all available on the WikiLeaks site.

The Guardian is understandably nervous. Secret policemen have already visited the newspaper and demanded and got the ritual destruction of a hard drive. On this, the paper has form. In 1983, a Foreign Office clerk, Sarah Tisdall, leaked British Government documents showing when American cruise nuclear weapons would arrive in Europe. The Guardian was showered with praise.

When a court order demanded to know the source, instead of the editor going to prison on a fundamental principle of protecting a source, Tisdall was betrayed, prosecuted and served six months.

If Assange is extradited to America for publishing what the Guardian calls truthful things”, what is to stop the current editor, Katherine Viner, following him, or the previous editor, Alan Rusbridger, or the prolific propagandist Luke Harding?

What is to stop the editors of the New York Times and the Washington Post, who also published morsels of the truth that originated with WikiLeaks, and the editor of El Pais in Spain, and Der Spiegel in Germany and the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia. The list is long.

David McCraw, lead lawyer of the New York Times, wrote: I think the prosecution [of Assange] would be a very, very bad precedent for publishers … from everything I know, he’s sort of in a classic publisher’s position and the law would have a very hard time distinguishing between the New York Times and WilLeaks.”

Even if journalists who published WikiLeaks’ leaks are not summoned by an American grand jury, the intimidation of Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning will be enough. Real journalism is being criminalised by thugs in plain sight. Dissent has become an indulgence.

In Australia, the current America-besotted government is prosecuting two whistle-blowers who revealed that Canberra’s spooks bugged the cabinet meetings of the new government of East Timor for the express purpose of cheating the tiny, impoverished nation out of its proper share of the oil and gas resources in the Timor Sea. Their trial will be held in secret. The Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, is infamous for his part in setting up concentration camps for refugees on the Pacific islands of Nauru and Manus, where children self harm and suicide. In 2014, Morrison proposed mass detention camps for 30,000 people.

Real journalism is the enemy of these disgraces. A decade ago, the Ministry of Defence in London produced a secret document which described the principal threats” to public order as threefold: terrorists, Russian spies and investigative journalists. The latter was designated the major threat.

The document was duly leaked to WikiLeaks, which published it. We had no choice,” Assange told me. It’s very simple. People have a right to know and a right to question and challenge power. That’s true democracy.”

What if Assange and Manning and others in their wake — if there are others — are silenced and the right to know and question and challenge” is taken away?

In the 1970s, I met Leni Reifenstahl, close friend of Adolf Hitler, whose films helped cast the Nazi spell over Germany.

She told me that the message in her films, the propaganda, was dependent not on orders from above” but on what she called the submissive void” of the public.

Did this submissive void include the liberal, educated bourgeoisie?” I asked her.

Of course,” she said, especially the intelligentsia …. When people no longer ask serious questions, they are submissive and malleable. Anything can happen.”

And did.

The rest, she might have added, is history.

by ROB URIE Courtesy CounterPunch

Drawing by Nathaniel St. Clair

The American war against Iraq was among the more idiotic and gratuitous slaughters in human history. It was premised on lies, prosecuted by criminals and fools, outsourced to professional murderers and it isn’t over. In addition to those murdered directly and indirectly in the war, several million refugees were scattered across the Middle East, including over a million into Syria. ISIS grew from the ranks of the disbanded Iraqi army. This fiasco appeared as it was to all the world, the gasp of a dying empire sunk under the weight of its ignorance and arrogance.

Late in the war Julian Assange and his colleagues at Wikileaks published documents and videos allegedly leaked by Chelsea Manning that brought the gratuitous nature of American violence home for all to see. The most damning was this videothat shows American soldiers carefully and methodically slaughtering civilians, including Reuters staffers, outside of any determinable theater of war. The label ‘collateral murders’ was attached to the video, but those murdered were targeted— they weren’t ancillary to otherwise justifiable murders.

Julian Assange has reportedly been charged by an American Grand Jury for his role in publishing this leaked video, among others. He will apparently be extradited to the U.S. where he is expected to stand trial for doing what reporters do— publishing true information in the public interest. The New York Times and other newspapers also published the leaked documents, but have as yet not been charged. This legal maneuvering appears to be a politically motivated vendetta against Julian Assange for embarrassing the War Criminals behind the Iraq war.

National Democrats and the liberal press have spent the last 2.5 years demonizing Mr. Assange for his role in publishing leaked DNC emails in the run up to the 2016 Presidential race. As with the government’s case against him, the content of the leaked videos and documents is not in dispute. They are what they are purported to be. American soldiers did murder civilians and Reuters staffers who posed no immediate threat to them. Hillary Clinton’s campaign staff did screw Bernie Sanders out of the Democratic nomination and she did give contradictory information about her political positions depending on what she thought her audience wanted to hear.

Mr. Assange’s accusers are largely those responsible for the imperial decline that his reporting has illuminated. The leading Republicans and Democrats behind the Iraq war should have been charged with War Crimes. There is no statute of limitations on War Crimes. The national security officials among Mr. Assange’s accusers illegally spied on Americans and lied about doing so under oath to congress. The CIA illegally spied on the congressional committee charged with investigating illegal torture in the Iraq War after illegally destroying videotape evidence of its crimes. What is Julian Assange being charged with again?

What Mr. Assange did is expose the crimes of the rich and powerful. Arguments over his methods conflate process errors with the gratuitous murder of civilians. If these murdered civilians had been well-to-do white Americans and staffers at the New York Times, where might ‘process’ fit into the utterly predictable (and justifiable) calls to give those charged fair trials and prison sentences if convicted. Through what lens are the crimes exposed by Mr. Assange and Wikileaks not crimes? As with everything about a gratuitous war in which a million or more civilians are killed, why aren’t its architects and chief instigators in the dock at The Hague pleading for their lives?

While the political pump has been primed in the U.S. by war-state Democrats and war-state liberals to go after Julian Assange without legal restraint, he is lauded by much of the world for bringing the crimes of the American elite into public view. What will be illuminated by prosecuting Mr. Assange is the crimes of the elite and their use of power and office to cover up their crimes. While most Americans haven’t seen the video (link above) of American soldiers murdering civilians and press staffers, the publicity of a trial will certainly stir public interest.

Much as the Iraq War was a late gasp of an empire in decline, the prosecution of Julian Assange is the desperate act of a political establishment that is losing its grip on power. Mr. Assange is but a messenger. This establishment is the agent of its own demise. And it couldn’t happen to a more deserving group of people. Free Julian Assange and All Political Prisoners. All Power to the People!Join the debate on FacebookMore articles by:ROB URIE

Rob Urie is an artist and political economist. His book Zen Economics is published by CounterPunch Books.

ජනමාධ්‍ය නිවේදනය සමෘද්ධි සංවර්ධන නිළධාරීන්ගේ සංගමය

සේවක අයිතීන් කොල්ලකන 2019/3 චක‍්‍රලේඛණය හකුලා ගන්නා මෙන් බල කරන අපේ‍්‍රල් 16 දින සමෘද්ධි බැංකු මගීන් අළුත් අවුරුදු ගණුදෙනු කිරීමේ චාරිත‍්‍රයෙන් ඉවත් වීමේ  වෘත්තීය ක‍්‍රියා මාර්ගයට අපගේ සහය.

දිවිනැගුම පනත මගීන් සමෘද්ධි සංවර්ධන දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ සේවය කරන 25000 ආසන්න සේවකයින් හට සිදු කර ඇති බරපතල සේවක අසාධාරණයට විසදුම් ලබා දෙනවා වෙනුවට සේවක අයිතීන් කොල්ල කෑමේ අරමුණින් ආණ්ඩුවේ උවමනාව මත නිකුත් කරන ලද 03/2019 අභ්‍යන්තර චක‍්‍රලේඛණයට විරෝධය පල කරන අපේ‍්‍රල් 16 දින නැකතට ගණුදෙනු කිරීමේ චාරිත‍්‍රයට සමගාමීව සමෘද්ධි බැංකු හරහා ගණුදෙනු කිරීමේ ක‍්‍රියාවලිය වර්ජනය කරන දීප ව්‍යාප්ත සංඛේත වැඩ වර්ජනට පුර්ණ සහය පල කරන බව අප සංගමය මෙයින් ප‍්‍රකාශ කරමු.

සමෘද්ධි අධිකාරියෙන් දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවට අන්තර් ග‍්‍රහණය කිරීමට 2014 දී එවකට ආන්ඩුව විසින් ලබා දුන් අවස්ථාව නැවතත් සංශෝදනය කිරීමට සමෘද්ධි සංවර්ධන දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ සමෘද්ධි අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජනරාල්ගේ අත්සනින් යුතු 2019.04.04 දිනැති DSD/HO/02/Ad/01/Circular යන 03/2019 අභ්‍යන්තර චක‍්‍රලේඛණය මගීන් වසර 19 ආසන්න කාලයක් සමෘද්ධි අධිකාරියේ හා සෙසු අධිකාරීවල සේවය කරමින් උපයා ගත් සේ.අ.අරමුදල් සේවකයින්ගෙන් නැවත ලබා ගැනීමට තීරණය කර ඇත. තවද සේවකයින් මෙතෙක් ලබමින් සිටින මුලික වැටුප අදාල තනතුරේ ආරම්භක වැටුප තෙක් අඩු කරන අසාධාරණ තීරණයද උක්ත චක‍්‍රලේඛණයෙන් ගෙන ඇති අතර මෙම තත්වය මත නිමා නොවන තවත් ගැටළු ගණනාවක් නිර්මාණය වී සේවකයින් කබලෙන් ලිපට වැටෙන තත්වයකට පත්ව ඇත.

ආණුඩුවේ තීරණය මත නිකුත් කරන ලද මෙම සේවක අසාධාරණ චක‍්‍රලේඛණය අහෝසි කරන මෙන් කොතෙක් ඉල්ලීම් කර ඇතත් එය ඉවත් කර නොගන්නා තීරණය මත එළඹෙන අපේ‍්‍රල් 16 සිංහල හා හිංදු අළුත් අවුරුදු ගණුදෙනු කරන නැකත් චාරිත‍්‍රයට අනුව දිවයිනේ සමස්ත සමෘද්ධි බැංකු වෙත එදිනට සමෘද්ධි සේවකයින් සේවයට වාර්ථා නොකර සිටීමේ සංඛේත වැඩ වර්ජනයට අප සංගමයේ පුර්ණ සහය ලබා දෙන බව අප මෙයින් පෙන්නා දෙමු.

තවද මෙම ගැටළුව දඩමීමා කර ගනිමින් පටු දේශපාලන වාසි වෙනුවෙන් අපේ‍්‍රල් 21 දින රටපුරා සමෘද්ධි බැංකු මගීන් සිදු කරන අපගේ සංස්කෘතික ගුණාංග විදහාපාන බක්මහ උළෙල කඩාකප්පල් කිරීමේ උත්සහයක ඇතැම් සංගම් නිරත වන බැවින් ඒ සඳහා ඉතුරුම් සතිය වෙනුවෙන් ජනතාවගේ ඉතිරුම් මුදල් ඒකාරාශී නොකර සිටීමේ කඩාකප්පල්කාරී කටයුත්ත අප පිළිකුලෙන් යුතුව හෙලා දකින අතර ඊට අප සංගමයේ කිසිදු සහයක් ලබා නොදෙන බව මෙයින් අවධාරණය කරන්නෙමු.  

ස්තූතියි.

මෙයට,
චාමර මද්දුම කළුගේ,
ප‍්‍රධාන ලේකම්.

C.A.Chandraprema Courtesy The Island

In this interview, former Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal speaks to C.A.Chandraprema about the tax policy of the UNP government since 2015 and the Budget for 2019.

Q. You were a private sector person for the better part of your career. How is the Sri Lankan private sector taking the Prime Minister’s comment that even King Parakramabahu charged VAT and that the paddy cultivators of that era were taxed twice or thrice because they had so much money? 

A. Sadly, our Prime Minister has now become a comedian who makes funny comments. Many people do not take him seriously today. Parakramabahu the Great was a king who ensured that the farmers of Sri Lanka were motivated and supported. As a result, King Parakramabahu was able to make Sri Lanka the “Granary of the East” through the efforts of the farmers. Today, our economy is stagnant. The Government’s agricultural policies are openly hostile towards the farmers, and overall, Sri Lanka is experiencing a huge recession, although the Government is cooking up figures to show otherwise. In the past four years, the GDP has officially grown by only about 7% in US dollar terms, while in the previous nine years, it grew by over 207%. Even the present dismal growth is quite dubious, and if not for the disgraceful “massaging” of figures by the Census Department, it will be much less! The taxes imposed by this Government have however doubled during the last four year period, and this contradictory situation is clearly not sustainable. There is no way the private sector could now make ends meet, and it’s only a matter of time before some irreversible and permanent damage is caused to a majority of the economic stakeholders, and not just the farmers only. While all this damage is being inflicted on the economy, the Prime Minister and a few of his ministers make silly jokes and pretend the economy is flourishing. The people and the private sector however are not amused or deceived, and are suffering tremendously in silence.

Q. You were with the UNP many years ago in the JRJ era. How do you see the UNP tax policy then and now? 

A. The UNP was generally considered to be a Political Party with an economic policy that assists and encourages the private sector. However, when Ranil Wickremesinghe came into power in 2015, the UNP Government started off with a draconian “super gains tax” and several other debilitating taxes which crippled the private sector and de-motivated entrepreneurs. The UNP’s “economic czars” were also hell bent on increasing government revenue, and kept on chanting the “mantra” that their Government was going to quickly increase the tax income up to the levels of developed countries. That, they did brilliantly well by taxing the people and businesses mercilessly. This foolhardy and blind approach of increasing government revenue at any cost without considering the consequences has driven the private sector to the wall, and today, we see all economic stakeholders reeling under this terrible tax onslaught. There is no capital formation, no incentive to foster growth, and the number employed is falling drastically. But, the government is unmoved, pretends all is well, and continues to collect even more taxes, which will ultimately drive this country’s economy to collapse.

Q. Is there anything called a quintessentially UNP tax policy and a quintessentially SLFP/SLPP tax policy?

A. After the 1970-77 pro-left “closed” era, the SLFP was generally known as the Party that was not too friendly towards the private sector. Thereafter, the economy was liberalized in 1977 by J R Jayewardene, and thereby the pro-right UNP was identified as a more private sector friendly Party. However, after the centre-left Mahinda Rajapaksa led SLFP administration from 2006 to 2014, that perception changed completely. The Rajapaksa administration, through its pragmatic policy mix, was able to expand the economy at a phenomenal average growth rate of over 6% per annum, from USD 24 billion to over USD 79 billion, while local and foreign investments flowed to all sectors of the economy. Poverty reduced dramatically and infrastructure across the country improved visibly. People and Businesses enjoyed stable interest rates and exchange rates for the first time in the post-liberalization history. Most tax rates were reduced, although the total tax income increased as a result of the fast growth of the economy and better compliance. Instead of continuing with that successful tax policy, this Government, in its haste to collect even more taxes, disturbed that equilibrium, but only managed to kill the goose that laid the golden eggs. Today, there are no golden eggs and no golden goose.   

Q. Every government depends on a few perennial favourites to raise tax revenue. The import tax on vehicles, tobacco and liquor feature very prominently in that list. Today, we hear loud complaints that vehicles have been taxed out of reach of the local buyers. The tax on the Suzuki Wagon R is said to have been doubled since the present government came into power. What are the market dynamics when taxes are raised on vehicles? 

A.  The underlying principle of a successful system of taxation is that the system must be convenient, affordable and yield the required results. From a convenience point of view, many governments impose taxes on vehicles, tobacco and liquor because those are easy to impose, administer and collect. However, there is always an optimum level beyond which it is not feasible to collect taxes from whatever source. In the case of imported vehicles, taxes increase the cost of the vehicle while the currency depreciation too adds heavily to the cost. It is therefore not surprising that some of the popular vehicles have recently doubled in price, which has, in turn, made it impossible for middle class citizens to afford such vehicles. Another aspect that needs to be considered is whether the tax rate has increased to a level where the consequent fall in demand for the vehicles has led to a lower amount of taxes being collected. In such a situation, the government will end up having less revenue that they originally intended to collect.

 Q. When taxes on liquor and tobacco are raised, some see it as a positive thing because it will discourage the use of such products. Should tax policy get mixed up with promoting morality?

 A. Some persons resort to promoting a moral angle when they cannot find an economic justification to their economic policies. However, almost always, everyone sees through those shallow stories, and do not believe such pathetic claims.

 Q. If we take the Sri Lankan economy, can the government survive without liquor and tobacco taxes?

 A. Liquor and tobacco taxes contribute significant amounts to government revenue. Such taxes are quite helpful in meeting government expenditure. In a crunch situation, the government may of course survive without liquor and tobacco taxes, but that would mean the resulting shortfall in taxes would have to be re-couped by increasing taxes elsewhere.

 Q. The present over dependence on indirect taxation is because the proportion of direct taxation is so low. When you were in the government, why is it that you were unable to increase the proportion of direct taxation?

 A. Whether it is direct or indirect, the burden of tax is ultimately upon the taxpayer – be it as a producer or as a consumer. Let’s take the example of a person who has avoided or evaded the direct taxes due from him. If however, he buys a new car, he will pay a huge tax amount by way of custom duties. If he celebrates his daughter’s wedding at five star hotel, he will pay a substantial tax amount as VAT. If he buys a bottle of whiskey he will pay another significant indirect tax as an excise duty. Finally, in some form or another, his income will get taxed via indirect taxes, each time he consumes. So, overall, there are merits and de-merits of the different methods of taxation. The challenge for a government is to choose the most appropriate and practical mix of direct and indirect taxes at the different levels of GDP and per capita incomes, in a reasonably equitable manner. During the previous regime, the Government’s approach to taxing the public was practical with a sensible mix of indirect and indirect taxes. That system was carefully designed to yield the desired results, while encouraging the private sector. That is why a steady stream of investments continued to flow from the private sector, which contributed to the healthy macro-fundamentals in the nine years, 2006 to 2014.

 Q. As these questions are being formulated, a private bus strike has been announced to protest against the increase in fines for traffic violations. For some offences the fine could be as high as Rs. 25,000 or multiples of that. Is there some benchmark where fines and charges should match the average income of the relevant country?

A. In any country, the charges for services as well as fines for offences must be proportionate to its general levels of income. Just because a heart surgeon in UK charges UK Pounds 15,000 for a heart by-pass operation in that country, it would not be feasible or reasonable for a surgeon in Sri Lanka to charge the equivalent Rs.3.6 million for a similar operation in Sri Lanka. Just like professional fees and/or taxes, fines must be proportionate to the country’s levels of development and incomes. If not, huge imperfections and hardships may be caused to the people. The current Government has however showed that it is not at all sensitive to the people’s needs, and therefore I won’t be surprised if they increase the current Rs.25,000 fines to Rs.100,000 in a few months time, just like how they increased the fines of Rs.2,000 to Rs.25,000 overnight.    

Q. How would you respond to the charge that the Rajapaksa government gave out too many tax exemptions which resulted in the shortfall in govt. revenue?

 A. What is important to a Government is not how much it is taxing the private sector or whether the Government has the stomach to tax the people until they collapse. The Government must be smart and sensible enough to collect revenue that is only sufficient to run the government machinery and to pay its dues. While taxing, the Government must also ensure that sufficient funds remain with the people and private sector so that they could make adequate investments and ensure the growth of the economy. In that regard, the Rajapaksa government did well, because it was able to simultaneously generate strong economic growth, bring down the fiscal deficit, and reduce the debt to GDP levels. Even after giving various tax exemptions which served as incentives to the private sector, the Rajapaksa Government had sufficient funds to undertake a massive quantum of public investment, the likes of which had not been seen before or after that era. Unfortunately, this Government has a narrow focus of only increasing revenue, and within that policy framework, they have cancelled many tax incentives and increased tax rates, little realizing that by doing so, they have seriously compromised private investment and growth. Today, the entire economy as well as the people is suffering, businesses are crashing, banks are foreclosing on private assets, and livelihood opportunities are being lost in hundreds of thousands. 

 Q. If your side if re-elected to office at the end of this year, the biggest challenge you will have to face is raising enough revenue to meet the expenditure of the government. How do you intend meeting that challenge?

 A. There is no use raising revenue by taxing the stakeholders with high tax rates and a plethora of taxes, if the economy is contracting as a result. That is what this Government has achieved. We will not follow that foolish path taken by this Government. We will take a practical and pragmatic approach, and will actually reduce the tax rates as well as do away with certain obnoxious levies which hinder and hamper the growth of businesses. We are confident that many businesses will then be re-vitalized, and that will lead to quicker and higher growth, which in turn, will lead to higher tax revenues, thereby compensating the reduction in taxes due to the lower rates. That would mean we will still have the necessary funds for the government expenditure and investment. At the same time, as a result of our pragmatic and business-friendly policies, the economy will experience a stable Rupee and an overall decline in interest rates, where the biggest beneficiary will be the Government. In the last four years, due to the foolish and corrupt practices of the leaders of the current government, the government securities’ interest rates increased by a massive 4% thereby imposing a huge burden on the government coffers by way of a higher debt servicing costs. The average stock of Government Securities in the four years 2015 to 2018 amounted to approximately Rs.4,500 billion, and accordingly, this 4% increase in the interest rates would have caused an additional expenditure of about Rs.180 billion to the Government each year, which is only slightly less than what the Rajapaksa Government would have spent to construct two 900 Mw Norochcholai Power Plants!

 Q. There is now unrest among senior government servants over proposed increases in the salaries of judicial officers. Others holding equivalent rank are now demanding an equal pay hike. How feasible is that economically?

 A. The adjustment and/or revision of the emoluments of senior government servants is a very sensitive issue which has to be implemented after careful study and recommendations of knowledgeable experts. Up to 2015, the revision of public servants’ emoluments was tackled in that manner by highly respected and senior public servants, and not by corrupt politicians with dubious agendas. When blatantly corrupt politicians who themselves are under a cloud for masterminding corrupt scams, take ad hoc decisions pertaining to the adjustment of top public servants’ salaries, it naturally leads to doubt, disquiet and unrest amongst the top echelons of the public service.       

 Q. Would you agree with the statement that the economy was in much better shape when you assumed power in November 2005 than it is today?

 A. The Sri Lankan economy was in shambles in November 2005 when we assumed office. The country was suffering from low growth, declining employment, stagnant per capita income, low foreign reserves, low investment, rapidly depreciating currency, high interest rates, unsustainable fiscal deficits, high inflation, low business confidence and a falling stock exchange. In the nine years that we were in office, we improved every one of the country’s macro-fundamentals to reach levels where Sri Lanka could boast of having the best macro-fundamentals in South Asia, while also occupying a leading position in the entire Asian Region. In fact, many global investors categorized Sri Lanka as a “breakout nation”, and as a leading and fast-growing emerging economy of the world! Today, after four years of this hotch-potch Yahapalanaya, Sri Lanka’s macro-fundamentals are once again in shambles, and can be described in almost exactly the same terms as in November 2005. In fact, the current situation is worse than in November 2005 because that at time, the economy had the greater challenge to grapple with the internal conflict, which resulted in the sapping up of a lot of resources. But that is not the case now, which suggests that the present downturn is entirely due to the mismanagement of the Government’s economic team.

PBS Hemachandra Lieutenant Commander (retired) Sri Lanka Navy Courtesy The Island

Carbon dating of the bone samples collected from the Mannar Mass grave in Sri Lanka confirmed that bone samples belonged to the periods when Sri Lanka was ruled by European. Books written by Portuguese, Dutch and English historians recorded massacres of Singhalese people lived in these areas by Europeans. These Massacres fit into the time frame of mass graves. Links to read some books on the internet are indicated below. I have also tried to indicate relevant pages where ever possible for your easy reference to prove Singhalese people lived in these areas and were massacred during freedom fights to prevent invasions.

1. “The Temporal and Spiritual Conquest of Ceylon” written by world-famous Portuguese historian Father Fernao de Queyroz translated by AG. Perera. Internet link to read 4 volumes of this book is https://www.scribd.com/doc/190212853/The-Temporal-and-Spiritual-Conquest-of-Ceylon-Vol-I

2. “A True and Exact Description of the Great Island of Ceylon” written by the Dutch priest Phillipus Baldaeus translated by Pieter Brohier. His writings are considered eye witness accounts and internet link to read this book is https://www.scribd.com/document/171123339/Baldaeus-Philip-A-True-and-Exact-Description-of-the-Great-Island-of-Ceylon

3. An Account of the Island of Ceylon’ (1805) by Captain Robert Percival Another eye witness account of an English army officer who served in Ceylon from 1796. internet link to read this book is http://ia801209.us.archive.org/26/items/accountofislando00perc/accountofislando00perc.pdf

4. ‘Description of Ceylon’ by Reverend James Cordiner. Another eye witness account. Especially read the Kandyan Singhalese campaign in 1803 to free North and East from British Invaders. internet link to read this book is https://archive.org/details/adescriptioncey03cordgoog

5. The Private Correspondence of the Earl Grey & Viscount Torrington. Edited by K.M. de Silva

6. “The English in Ceylon” from The United States Magazine and Democratic reviews Vol XXXVIII No CLV -1851 May, Page 409 to 412 Publisher J & HG Langley, New York. Link to read is http://lakdiva.org./books/cornell/1851_english_in_ceylon.html

7. An account of the interior of Ceylon, and of its inhabitants. by John Davy. The Internet link is http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupname?key=Davy%2C%20John%2C%201790%2D1868

8. “An Historical Relation of the Island of Zeilon (Alias Ceylon) in the East Indies” 1817 Edition by “Robert Knox” Who was taken a prisoner by King of Kandy. Internet link to read this book is https://books.google.com.au/books/about/An_Historical_Relation_of_the_Island_Cey.html?id=QcxKAAAAcAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false.

9. “Fatal History of Portuguese in Ceylon” by George Davison Winius

10. “Yalpana Vaipava Malai.” translated by C. Broto

11. Report from Committees on Ceylon Volume 3 Part 1 1951 Internet link to read this volume is https://books.google.ca/books?id=BpNMAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA162&lpg=PA162&dq=We+obtained+possession+of+the+Kandyan+provinces,+which+completed+our+tenure+of+the+whole+island,+in+the+year+1815.+That+is+35+years+ago,+and+within+that+period+there+have+been+six+treasonable+movements&source=bl&ots=f5GqwVMVgT&sig=ryTODkDr-fy5fXLR7hWqGQckVOI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjUzJSB3e7PAhVr4IMKHQziDYgQ6AEIHjAA#v=onepage&q&f=false,

The above references recorded pillage, burnings, confiscations, and genocide of Singhalese people lived in these areas by Portuguese, Dutch and British invaders. After heartless tyranny, exaction and confiscation of lands belonged to Singhalese and making a solitude of immense track of north and east of Ceylon especially by British governors Sir Robert Brownrigg and Viscount Torrington transported shiploads of Malabars with their headmen and priests from India and settled them in Lands confiscated. Despatches between Colonial Secretary Earl Grey by Governor of Ceylon Viscount Torrington prove these facts. Though it does not matter very much today these facts are presented just to prove that Singhalese people lived in these areas ruled by kings of Ceylon.

In the book “The Temporal and Spiritual Conquest of Ceylon” by Queyroz you can read how Singhalese (Chingalaz or Chingala) freedom fighters were killed when conquering Jaffna and Mannar. Further Queyroz and “Yalpana Vaipava Malai” give details of how a prince called Changali, ruler’s son from a Tamil concubine, became the ruler of Jaffna in 1519 after killing his father and how Changali massacred the Christians lived in Mannar and then massacred most of the Singhalese people lived there. According to Queyroz in 1627 the King of Kandy (Ceylon) sent an army of 10000 men commanded by General Atapata (Atapattu) to free Jaffna and Mannar from Portuguese. But they too were massacred by Portuguese. These are a few good examples fit to the time frame of the mass graves found in Mannar. A few pages for easy reference are 48 and 49 from book 1, pages 356 to 371 of book 2, page 469 of book 4 and page 464 to 466 of book 4 written by Queyroz. “An Account of the Island of Ceylon” (1805) by Captain Robert Percival confirmed in Pages 6,30,71,72,75,79,84,186,379 and 420 that Singhalese people living in Mannar and Jaffna. Further confirmation can be found in pages 2,47,68,79,95 and 316 in the book “A True and Exact Description of the Great Island of Ceylon”. In 1803 According to Pages 244 to 246,254 of Volume 2 of “Description of Ceylon” by Reverend James Cordiner, English army massacred all Kandyan Singhalese Campaigned to free Jaffna, Mannar, and East of Ceylon. Doctor John Davey’s writings confirm many more massacres in 1818 and 1848. On the orders of the governor Sir Robert Brownrigg, British soldiers killed all the Sinhalese aged between 18 – 35 and raped all Sinhalese women, destroyed all fruit trees, paddy fields, and reservoirs. Lieutenant. Mclane was infamously known for having breakfast watching Sinhalese men being hanged and Colonel Hook ordered Sinhalese to be hanged without trial thereby reducing the number of Singhalese living in North and east in population statistics in 1800s.

PBS Hemachandra

Lieutenant Commander (retired)

Sri Lanka Navy

by Sanjana Hattotuwa Courtesy The Island

April 12, 2019, 3:39 pm 

“The lie is revealed. There was no summons served. The photo depicts a lookalike of Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The FBI is engaged in an effort to ascertain who produced this false information”. The Facebook Page with this content originally in Sinhala also featured a screenshot of a news story from a leading private electronic media institution. This TV channel, with pages on Facebook in both Sinhala and English that regularly generate very high engagement, ran a story which strongly suggested news of Gotabaya Rajapaksa being sued in the US was false and incorrect.

Also on Facebook and in response to the entirely unexpected development around the former Secretary of Defence when on holiday in the US, nearly a dozen posts in Sinhala venomously decrying those who brought the lawsuits, journalists who reported it and anyone who welcomed it was published in the space of a day. Each post saw very high levels of engagement by way of responses and sharing. The usual hate prevailed, with one post on a fan page with close to 100,000 followers noting that the entire pack of dogs who brought lawsuits against Gotabaya Rajapaksa would be chased out beyond the ends of the earth once he became President.

Official social media accounts of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, at the time of writing this column, were silent on the lawsuits but published other content featuring meetings and gatherings in the US. Namal Rajapaksa, soon after the first reports of his Uncle being served papers at a car park in the US, tweeted a denial anchored to ignorance of the family around what at the time was carried in the media. A deluge of tweets around his birthday, the day after, soon subsumed this single tweet on the Uncle. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was completely silent, producing absolutely nothing by way of a vehement denial or a post indicating strong support.

Google Trends, which showcases search interest over a term or phrase of a given period, showed a dramatic increase in interest around ‘Gotabaya’ from April 8, by way of domestic as well as international traffic. Disaggregated by Google, much of the search traffic from Sri Lanka came from the Western Province, followed by the Central and Southern Provinces. On Twitter, the news spread rapidly. Just two tweets by BBC correspondent Azzam Ameen on the lawsuits respectively filed by Ahimsa Wickrematunge and the International Truth and Justice Project generated nearly 700 likes in under two days.

Clearly, on account of this, vicious posts on Facebook against Ameen’s reporting appeared on pages linked to political parties and politicians allied to Gotabaya Rajapaksa or the SLPP. A motley array of braying apparatchiks on social media took to two common themes to dismiss concerns arising out of the lawsuits, noting that any publicity was good publicity and that the news served only to strengthen Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s appeal and prospects of candidacy. On WhatsApp, news of the development was repeatedly shared with me as well as the concern around the safety and security of those involved or referenced in the lawsuits, including family and relatives in Sri Lanka. Though not explicitly noted, there was fear and anxiety over even expressing an opinion around the development in public.

For a man who has yet to be officially nominated as a candidate for the Presidential election, Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s every statement and move already generate tremendous levels of interest and related media content. There is clearly more on him than there is content produced officially by him, which fits a pattern; on the one hand, a strategic distancing from the frothing fans and their open racism, hate and violent nationalism. This allows for plausible deniability when the worst of this content is highlighted, while at the same time allowing the content to seed and spread amongst audiences it was clearly aimed for. On the other hand, through both Viyathmaga and official accounts pegged to the individual, the careful construction of an identity which is part saviour, part visionary and all about delivery. A cardinal mistake would be, entirely independent of the prospects of candidacy, to dismiss all this.

As with all populists, Gotabaya Rajapaksa is a product of a system of governance that has fragmented polity and society. His appeal is in effect the desire for the good life by those who are tired of its pursuit and angered by its unreachability. While the deep or the dark state economy will obviously throb and thrive under Gotabaya, the perception of so many whose comments I study online is that there will also be the opportunity for many others to succeed in a society where order and discipline prevail. This is a compelling fiction projected and promoted in extremely nuanced ways over many platforms. It is an illocutionary act, which disguises strong demands through utterances and content disguised as that which expresses the will of the downtrodden, forgotten or a majority interested in a better future.

The campaigns – and it is very much in the plural – of Gotabaya Rajapaksa are engaging studies in the adoption and adaptation of media for populist appeal. From creating enemies of elites to emphasising the sovereignty (or power) that resides in the people, campaigns also promote an exclusive Sinhala-Buddhist heartland which represents core values of culture, country and community. Problems are flagged, but instead of government or state responses or redress, Gotabaya’s campaigns perennially promise personal attention or action – promoting self and individual power over democratic institutions.

The lawsuits in the US will fuel the heightened production of content that is anchored to all this. But in a larger sense, the dynamics before the dramatic development in the US, endure at least in the complex media ecosystems I study and their relationship with electoral outcomes. Gotabaya is isolated from within the family, unable, yet, to elicit even a single tweet from Mahinda even after a significant development. Gotabaya attempts to cement, and soon, his candidacy as a given by feeding a large, pulsating fan base, tearing, straining and snapping at anything or anyone hindering an official nomination. It is this feverish, frothing, feeding frenzy that elder brother and nephew stand, for now, apart from. But this may change, and developments in the US may serve to in the short-term, strengthen domestic appeal, forcing the hand of those who have held back. The New Yorker magazine in 2011 published a fascinating account of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, where the writer was shown four sharks in his garden, in massive tanks. When describing them, Gotabaya giggled softly.

This succinct capture of man and mentality still gives me shivers. But he represents a growing disconnect between elected officials and ground realities, which cannot be defeated by derision, denial or dismissiveness. Gotabaya’s sharks, we are told, needed fresh sea-water every fortnight, which was trucked in. All predators thrive in conditions that allow them to feed and grow. Sri Lanka’s socio-political rot, decades in the making, is populism’s rich nutrient base. That’s the problem. Gotabaya Rajapaksa is just a symptom.

MEGAN WHITE Courtesy The Evening Standard

Counter-terror police have arrested four men on suspicion of being members of a banned organisation hours after they flew into the country.

The four Sri Lankan nationals arrived at Luton Airport on 10 April and were arrested by police the next day.

The Metropolitan Police said the men were stopped under the Terrorism Act 2000 and arrested under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.

The four remain in custody at a police station in Bedfordshire.

Membership of a proscribed organisation is contrary to section 11 of the Terrorism Act 2000.