{"id":86944,"date":"2019-04-03T14:23:56","date_gmt":"2019-04-03T21:23:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=86944"},"modified":"2019-04-05T15:31:12","modified_gmt":"2019-04-05T22:31:12","slug":"yahapalana-as-a-puppet-regime-part-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/04\/03\/yahapalana-as-a-puppet-regime-part-9\/","title":{"rendered":"YAHAPALANA AS A PUPPET REGIME Part 9"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Revised\n6.4.19<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This essay\ndeals with the continuing story of USA, its allies and Yahapalana.   Activities are presented in inventory form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 STATUS OF FORCES AGREEMENT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sunday\nTimes<\/em> stated in January 2019 that Sri Lankans are blissfully unaware\nthat agreements have been signed with an important foreign government without\nproper consultation or studying the implication involved.  One agreement gives the defence forces of\nthat powerful country legitimate access to Sri Lanka. Parliament has not been\ntold about these defense deals.  Only\ncursory cabinet approval has been granted. \nSunday Times<\/em> has seen the\nlengthy renewed document signed on behalf of the country. If the previous agreement\nran to a few pages this one is a thick volume, each section defines a\nparticular arrangement. Its far reaching implication will be felt only as time\ngoes by and the provisions take effect one by one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sunday Times\nis obviously referring to the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) Sri Lanka has signed with USA.\nIn February 2019 JVP MP Bimal Ratnayake told Parliament that a Status of <\/em>Forces Agreement (SOFA) with\nthe USA   has been signed. This would\nhave an adverse impact on the country\u2019s sovereignty.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He related the history of the agreement. On\nMarch 05th, 2007 the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) had been signed\nbetween the US and Sri Lanka allowing US forces to utilize various facilities\nin Sri Lanka such as ports, airports, communication facilities etc.”This\nagreement was signed by the then Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and the\nUS Ambassador Robert O. Blake. That pact, as far as we know, said Bimal, was\nnever presented to the Cabinet or Parliament. To our knowledge it was secretly\nsigned and both parties were US citizens. Thereafter, we brought up the issue\nin Parliament for months, asking the then government to reveal details of this\nagreement to Parliament. After six months in 2007, July a section of the\nagreement was tabled in Parliament but several of the annexes were not\nincluded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nexpiration of the term of the pact, Acquisition and Cross-Services Agreement\u201d\n(ACSA) ended on  March 5, 2017,\u201d  said the JVP . The Agreement says that it\ncould be extended for a further ten year period by mutual consent of the two\ngovernments.We learnt that the government had already held many discussions\nwith a focus to giving its consent to the Agreement\u2019s continuation,\u201d he\nsaid.We have reasons to believe that the present government too would follow\nthe example of the previous regime and give its consent for the continuation of\nthis Agreement secretly,\u201d he stated.We seriously ask the government to stay\naway from this defence pact which was signed under the previous government\nwithout the approval of Parliament. It holds no advantage for the country.\nNevertheless, it will bring harmful consequences to the country in the course\nof time,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to\nthe Agreement, both countries are bound to provide facilities such as logistics,\nland, fuel and other facilities to defence personnel, aircraft and vessels,\u201d he\nsaid.Sri Lanka is unlikely to engage in wars, but the US is. Hence the\nAgreement has no impact in terms of Sri Lanka\u2019s disposition. Should the US\nengage in a military mission in the region, we are bound to provide the US with\nland, fuelling, ammunition and other hardware,\u201d he explained.We vehemently\nopposed this Agreement which was signed during the time of the previous\ngovernment, because of its seriousness in terms of possibilities that could\nengender regional discord, said JVP in March 2017. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The JVP then\nmoved on to the present agreement.  On 4\nAugust 2017 they signed the ACSA agreement again, Bimal Ratnayake said.\nThe President has signed this agreement without any time frame. The armed\nforces representatives warned that this agreement is inimical to the country,\nbut the President as the head of defence, did not heed their opinion.  This treacherous agreement jeopardizes the\ncountry\u2019s security and sovereignty. There is a clause in the agreement that\neither party can pull out, having given six months notice, but we all know that\ngetting out of these agreements is not so easy, said Bimal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Now, the government is trying to sign a\nnew agreement with the USA called Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).\nDiscussions are now underway, continued Bimal Ratnayake. “Reading out\nsections of the agreement Ratnayake said: “In terms of the proposed\nagreement prepared after a several rounds of talks between the representatives\nof the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US mission in Colombo, it has been\nproposed that US personnel be accorded the privileges, exemptions and immunity\nequivalent to those accorded to the administrative and technical staff of a\ndiplomatic missions under the Vienna Convention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US personnel may enter and exit Sri Lanka\nwith US. identification and with collective movement or individual travel\norders; that Sri Lanka shall accept as valid all professional licenses issued\nby the United States, its political subdivisions, or States thereof to US.\n“Further US military personnel would be allowed to wear the US military\nuniform Sri Lanka and carry their weapons, Ratnayake said.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The Government of Sri Lanka recognizes\nthe particular importance of disciplinary control by US Armed Forces\nauthorities over U.S. personnel and, therefore, authorizes the Government of\nthe United States to exercise criminal jurisdiction over U.S. personnel while\nin Sri Lanka, Which means they will not come under the law of this country. So,\nno matter what they do here, we will not be able to take any action against\nthem, Ratnayake said. Requesting that the full text of the ACSA agreement be\npresented to parliament, he called for a parliamentary debate on the SOFA\nagreement before it was inked. (Sunday Times 25.2.19)\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LOGISTICS HUB\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The media\nreported in December 2018 that US has now has established a\nlogistics hub in Sri Lanka to help provide supplies and services to ships at sea.\nThe Logistics Hub, established on a temporary basis, provides logistics support\nto U.S. Navy ships operating in the Indian Ocean. It involves the use of a Sri Lanka\nairport and storage facilities for large-scale shipments.  Items will thereafter be sent out to ships at\nsea. The supplies will\nbe sent first to aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74)\nof the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Trincomalee, for distribution to the ships, said the US statement\non the matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The primary purpose of the Logistics Hub is to\nprovide mission-critical supplies and services to U.S. Navy ships operating in\nthe Indian Ocean.  The Hub would also be\nused to provide logistics support during humanitarian and disaster relief\nmissions (HADR). The US statement also noted that this logistics hub in Sri\nLanka will demonstrate the U.S. Navy\u2019s ability to establish a temporary\nlogistics hub in a country which did not have a previous connection to the U.S.\nNavy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. Navy has\nbegun a temporary cargo transfer initiative that promotes Sri Lanka\u2019s efforts\nto become a regional hub for logistics and commerce, reported the media in\nJanuary 2019.  The\nfirst two transfers were in August 2018 at Bandaranaike International Airport\nand Trincomalee and in December 2018 at Bandaranaike International\nAirport.” The third was in January 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

US announced that “From January 21 to 29,\n2019 the U.S. Navy will perform a transfer operation to move cargo between\nplanes at Bandaranaike International Airport .This is part of a\nlarger temporary cargo transfer initiative that promotes Sri Lanka\u2019s\nefforts to become a regional hub for logistics and commerce.  The January\ntransfers will contribute approximately 25 million Sri Lankan Rupees to the\ncountry\u2019s economy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Under the initiative, several U.S. naval\naircraft are scheduled to land and depart from the commercial airport, bringing\nin a variety of non-lethal supplies.  The supplies will be transferred between\nplanes and then flown to the ship U.S.S. John C. Stennis\u201d at sea. \nSupplies may include personal mail for sailors, paper goods, spare parts\nand tools, and other items.  No cargo, military equipment, or personnel\nassociated with this initiative will remain in Sri Lanka after the completion\nof the cargo transfer.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The January\ntransfer was photographed by the media. Our pictures show supplies being loaded\nto a US aircraft to be taken from the Bandaranaike International Airport to the\naircraft carrier USS John C Stennis which is in International waters off Sri\nLanka, said Sunday Times<\/em>.\nThe cargo was brought to\nthe BIA by a US military cargo plane from Bahrain.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lasanda Kurukulasuriya commented at length on\nthe matter. In December, 2018 the world\u2019s superpower pulled off a heist in\nterms of extending its military footprint in Sri Lanka and, by extension, in\nthe Indian Ocean, she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between 24\u2013 29 January, the US Navy\u2019s 7th\nFleet for a second time carried out what it called a \u2018temporary cargo transfer\ninitiative\u2019 in Sri Lanka using the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), to\nmove supplies on to the US aircraft carrier USS John C Stennis, located off Sri\nLankan waters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 During\nthe previous December operation involving the same aircraft carrier, the US had\nset up what it called a \u2018logistics hub\u2019 in Sri Lanka “to receive support,\nsupplies and services” for US Navy ships operating in the Indian Ocean.\nThe BIA was used for US military planes to bring in supplies, and for aircraft\naboard the John C Stennis to fly in, load, and ferry them back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The planes that gained entry to Bandaranaike\nInternational Airport (BIA), which is a commercial airport, were military\ncraft. They do not come under Sri Lanka\u2019s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). It\nremains unclear whose jurisdiction these military craft would come under, while\nin Sri Lankan airspace and on Sri Lankan soil. Asked if the CAA had any role in\nthe operation, Director General of Civil Aviation said “The Defence\nMinistry informed us that they had granted approval for the operation.\u201d The CAA\nhad nothing to do with military craft and has no control in this regard.\nMilitary related matters were totally under government control and public\naccountability too was government\u2019s responsibility, he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka Customs, Police and Military have no\npower to inspect the cargo, observed Lasanda. There is no information on\nwhether duties or charges are levied for services. A US embassy statement says\n“Supplies may include personal mail for sailors, paper goods, spare\nparts and tools, and other items,” which sounds innocuous enough. But the\nnext sentence says: “No cargo, military equipment, or personnel associated\nwith this initiative will remain in Sri Lanka after the completion of the cargo\ntransfer.” Why would military equipment or personnel be mentioned here,\nunless there is a possibility that they could be part of such transfers. Also who\nwould adjudicate if an accident or crime involving US aircraft or personnel\ntakes place causing death or injury to Sri Lankans, or damage to property,\nasked Lasanda. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lasanda noted that the embassy tried to present\nthis activity as a series of commercial transactions\u201d that promotes Sri\nLanka\u2019s efforts to become a regional hub for logistics and\ncommerce” (embassy news release). In a statement on the Sri Lanka\ncargo transfer operation the 7th Fleet\u2019s Logistics Readiness Cell chief Lt.\nAustin Gage hinted at such an approach when he said: “We are generating\nstandard operating procedures to optimize our supply chain to be more agile and\nmobile and utilize strategic locations in the Indian Ocean.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another US statement however has reportedly\ndescribed the facility as a “military logistics hub,”   showing that Sri Lanka is being used for\nmilitary purposes. Washington-based Daya Gamage in an Asian Tribune report of\n31.01.19 quotes a  Jan. 23rd statement\nissued by the US mission in Colombo saying: “The United States Navy is\ndoing a cargo transfer operation at Sri Lanka\u2019s main international airport\nunder a plan to use the island\u2019s location to make it a MILITARY LOGISTICS\nHUB” (emphasis added).The US statements have been careful to avoid\nmentioning where, off Sri  Lanka  waters, the aircraft carrier was anchored, and\nwhere the military logistics hub is physically located. But local media reports\npoint to Trincomalee. This new\narrangement between the US and Sri Lanka is military in its stated objective of\nservicing US naval craft in the Indian Ocean. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nowadays the US strategy is not to establish\nfull-blown, costly military bases overseas but to use the \u2018Lily-pad\u2019 concept,\nwhereby it increases its force deployment globally, but with a smaller\nfootprint, observed Lasanda. Lily pad\u201d is more nimble when it comes to moving\nequipment and personnel to where they are required in a contingency. The\nLily-pad approach involves bilateral arrangements with strategically located\nstates, sometimes called \u2018Status of Forces Agreements.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rights sought to be secured through such \u2018Status\nof Forces agreements usually include, access to facilities free of charge,\nright to own and operate telecommunication systems and use radio spectrum,\nwaiver of claims for damages and losses including death to personnel both\nmilitary and civilian, disputes to be settled by consultation between parties\nand not through referral to any national or international court. The Maldives\nrefused to sign such an agreement with the US, concluded Lasanda. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ROYAL AUSTRALIAN NAVY\u2019S\nINDO-PACIFIC ENDEAVOUR <\/strong>2019 <\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Australia and\nher allies Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom have increased their\nmilitary-to-military cooperation with Sri Lanka after 2015, reported the media.\nAustralia\u2019s 2016 Defence White Paper acknowledged Sri Lanka\u2019s location on a\nvital maritime corridor in the Indian Ocean, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka was\nan important strategic node in the Indian Ocean region, a major area of\ninterest for the Royal Australian Navy. Sri Lanka\u2019s location on a vital\nmaritime corridor in the Indian Ocean has seen Australia gradually increase\ndefence cooperation,\u201d the White Paper noted. High profile Australian Defence\nForce officers have attended a string of Sri Lankan defence seminars and discussions\nin the last few years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Royal\nAustralian Navy annually conducts a multilateral defence cooperation exercise,  known as Indo-Pacific Endeavour with the\nobjective of helping regional security and stability. In 2019, \nfor Indo-Pacific Endeavour1,000 Australian\nDefence Force<\/em> (ADF) personnel \nparticipated in a series of \nactivities and military training exercises during port visits in India,\nIndonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam  in Sri Lanka both Colombo and Trincomalee harbors\nwere included in the exercise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Joint task\nforce of 1,000 Australian Defence Forces (ADF) personnel consisting of Army,\nNavy and Air Force personnel arrived for this program in Sri Lanka.\nFour\nRoyal Australian Navy ships HMAS Canberra, Success, Newcastle, and Parramatta arrived. HMAS Success was a replenishment oil tanker, HMAS Parramatta was a\nfrigate. HMAS Canberra and HMAS Newcastle arrived at the port of Colombo\nwhile HMAS Success and HMAS Parramatta entered the port of Trincomalee. A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P-8\nPoseidon maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) was also scheduled to visit Mattala\nInternational Airport as part of the joint exercise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 230.9m long and 7.9m wide HMAS Canberra,\nhas a displacement of 27500 tons and a crew of 483 officers and sailors\nonboard. HMAS Newcastle  has a\ndisplacement of 4200 tons and a crew of 205 officers and sailors onboard, is\n138.1m long and 7.9m in width. HMAS Success, is 157.2m in length and 8.4m in width\nand has a displacement of 17900 tons with a crew of 178 officers and sailors\nonboard. HMAS Parramatta which has a displacement of 3900 tons and a crew of\n190 officers and sailors onboard, is 118m long and 6.2m in width. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ADF personnel\nand their Sri Lankan counterparts engaged in several training exercises and\nactivities aimed at improving cooperation and familiarity between the armed\nforces of the two nations and exploring opportunities to further promote\nregional stability.  Humanitarian\nAssistance and Disaster Response (HADR) and Maritime Surveillance were key\nareas.  Other areas included helicopter\nexchange operations, Maritime domain awareness activities. In Trincomalee  the \nactivity  focused on Navy-to-Navy\nengagement between the two countries,\u201d concentrating  on inter-operability. The ADF  delegation also visited several Sri Lankan\nmilitary training establishments \nincluding the Kukule Ganga Peace Operations Training Centre.  There were o Sports events between  the two groups and  a Tri Forces Band performance with Australian\nDefense Force Band. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is our\nfirst stop in the IPE 2019 mission. it is an important stop given the history\nSri Lanka holds in the Indian Ocean in the present time and, I believe, the\nfuture,\u201d said Commander of the Joint Task Force. He expressed Australia\u2019s desire\nto be part of Sri Lanka\u2019s involvement in the Indian Ocean. . We would like Sri\nLanka to have us as a strategic partner in the Indian Ocean,\u201d he stated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

JAPAN-SRI  LANKA PARTNERSHIP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both Japan and the US,  saw Sri Lanka as of great importance in the\noverall Indo-Pacific strategy, after Yahapalana government took power. Kentaro\nSonoura,  Special Advisor to the Prime\nMinister of Japan, visited  Sri Lanka\nin  February 2019.”  Before that, Japanese Defense Minister\nItsunori Onodera visited  in August 2018,\nthe first Japanese defense minister to visit Sri Lanka. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Japanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs,\nKazuyuki Nakane, also visited in August 2018, and further consolidated  the \u2018Comprehensive Partnership\u2019 between the\ntwo countries. The first such post-World War II Japan-Sri Lanka agreement was\nreached in early October 2015,. The far reaching agreement came into being,\nfollowing Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe\u2019s three-day visit to Japan, in\nOctober 2015, on the invitation extended by Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe. The\njoint declaration, issued at the end of the visit, dealt with the Japan-Sri\nLanka naval cooperation among other issues. Abe and Wickremesinghe agreed on\nclose military cooperation between the two countries, particularly on maritime\nsecurity, including port calls by the vessels of the Japan Maritime Self Defense\nForce (JMSDF). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Japan has \nsingled out Trincomalee as one of three in the Indian Ocean to be\ndeveloped as part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe\u2019s “free and open\nIndo-Pacific strategy.” The other two are Myanmar\u2019s Dawei and Bangladesh\u2019s\nMatarbari. Interestingly, Japan praised Sri Lanka for co-sponsoring the Oct\n2015 Geneva Resolution. In fact, all Co-Chairs appreciate Sri Lanka\nco-sponsoring a Resolution against its own interests, at heavy political\nexpense, back at home, observed Shamindra Ferdinando. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

OFFICE OF\nRESIDENT DEFENCE ADVISOR, BRITISH HIGH COMMISSION, COLOMBO <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UK has again set up an Office of Resident\nDefence Advisor at the British High Commission, Colombo after a lapse of\nten years, reported the media in 2019. The UK suspended defence relations with\nSri Lanka during the tail end of the second term of Rajapaksa administration\nover accountability issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since we announced the re-establishment of\ndefence relations in 2015, a Non-Resident Defence Advisor based in New Delhi\nhas managed our defence relationship with Sri Lanka, said  the \nHigh Commission in January 2019. Changing this to a resident position\nenables us to work more closely with Sri Lanka on defence issues as a\nCommonwealth partner and friend; to support the Sri Lankan armed forces as they\nwork towards modernization and reform; and help them to play a positive role in\nfulfilling Sri Lanka\u2019s commitments to the UN Human Rights Council.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MODERNISING\nLEGAL  SYSTEM.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

USAID is   working with the Justice Ministry, the Bar\nAssociation of Sri Lanka (BASL), the Legal Aid Commission (LAC), provincial bar\nassociations, educational and research institutions, and key NGOs towards  modernizing Sri Lanka\u2019s judicial system, said\nUSAID in 2018.   This  will \nimprove the quality of the profession and deliver a justice system fit\nfor the future\u201d.  This is handled by the\nUSAID Coherent, Open, Responsive, And Effective Justice Programme (CORE\nJustice. USAID  is  funding several   other projects, to the tune of more than Rs.\n4.5 billion  for youth employment, rule\nof law and reconciliation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TRANSITIONAL\nJUSTICE, MISSING PERSONS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018   Washington, \ndecided to  allocate USD 35\nmillion to Sri Lanka , exclusively  for\nprogrammes relating to the identification and resolution of cases of missing\npersons  and certain transitional\njustice mechanisms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These include\nrepealing laws that do not comply with international standards for arrest and\ndetention by security forces, investigating allegations of arbitrary arrest and\ntorture, supporting a justice mechanism as identified by the United Nations\nHuman Rights Council, and returning military-occupied lands in war-affected\nareas to their original owners. In addition, the US government called for substantially\nreducing the presence of the armed forces in former conflict zones\u201d and\nrestructuring the military for a peacetime role that aids in reconciliation.\nThe bill also states that USD 500,000 in military assistance can only be used\nin humanitarian and disaster response preparedness and maritime security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AMERICAN\nCORNER<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US\nembassy has launched a new American Corner at the Matara Chamber of Commerce\nand Industry   in March 2019. This Corner\nfulfills a longtime dream to offer Southern Province youth more connections to\nU.S. culture said the ambassador. The\nCentre offers courses in entrepreneurship, coding, English  also \na3D printing service.  We have a\nwonderful library of books that will help students who want to study in the\nUSA. We also offer educational advice services for Sri  Lanka \nstudents who might want to pursue a degree in America.  We hope they will also learn about the United\nStates, America and the American people at this centre.  Membership, programs, and courses are all\nfree of charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RENOVATION OF\nSCHOOLS IN NORTH AND EAST<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 U.S.\nIndo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) renovated \nschools in north and east. They \nrenovated two schools in Nintavur and Soodaikkudah.   Al\nMazhar Girls High School  got 12\nclassrooms, a 35,000-liter rainwater harvesting system, and 17 additional\nbathroom stalls.  Soodaikkudah School,  got five new classrooms and a 35,000-liter\nrainwater harvesting system. The classroom building incorporates an emergency\nshelter on the top floor, providing a safe location for local families in the\nevent of a natural disaster. There was also a new handicap-accessible toilet\nblock with ten stalls. INDOPACOM also \ngave Hindu Ladies\u2019 College, Jaffna a newly refurbished building <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NDOPACOM  renovated two schools in the Eastern\nProvince. Kavathamunai al-Ameen school saw the renovation of a classroom\nbuilding and the construction of an emergency kitchen, 10,000 liter rainwater\nharvesting system, and ahandicap-accessible\nbathroom.  Abdul Cader school  project renovated a classroom building\nand constructed an emergency kitchen, 10,000 liter rainwater harvesting system,\nand a handicap-accessible bathroom.  ( Continued)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS Revised 6.4.19 This essay deals with the continuing story of USA, its allies and Yahapalana.   Activities are presented in inventory form.  STATUS OF FORCES AGREEMENT Sunday Times stated in January 2019 that Sri Lankans are blissfully unaware that agreements have been signed with an important foreign government without proper consultation or studying the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[144],"class_list":["post-86944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kamalika-pieris","tag-yahapalanaya"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86944\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}