By

D.B.S.Jeyaraj

William Shakespeare wrote in his play “Julius Caesar” thus – “His life was gentle, and the elements So mixed in him that Nature might stand up And say to all the world, This was a man.” . Much hackneyed as they may be , these enduring words of the Bard of Avon aptly describe veteran journalist Gamini Weerakoon who breathed his last on 11 November 2023.His funeral was held at Kanatte on Sunday Nov 12.

Gamini Weerakoon known to his friends and colleagues as “Gamma” was an integral part of Sri Lanka’s English journalistic realm for more than five decades. He entered journalism as a news reporter and gradually rose up from the ranks to retire as Editor. He served in many capacities such as reporter, sub- editor, feature writer,news editor,deputy editor, editor, columnist and consulting editor in his eventful career. Until the very end he was in harness as a journalist by writing the weekly column titled “Doublespeak” for the “Sunday Times”.

Though his entry into Journalism was through “Lake House” Gamma spent the greater part of his journalistic life at Bloemendhal road with Upali newspapers. It was there that he excelled as editor for more than two decades. “The Island”of 13 Nov 2023 published an editorial titled “When great Oaks fall” about the former editor. The editorial sums up Gamini Weerakoon’s contribution to Journalism concisely. Here are some excerpts –

“When Great Oaks Fall”

Continue reading ‘Gamini “Gamma”Weerakoon: From Reporter to Editor.’ »

By
D.B.S.Jeyaraj

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eleam (LTTE) leader Veluppillai Prabhakaran was born on 26 November 1954. If he were among the living, Prabhakaran would be celebrating his 69th Birth Anniversary today (Nov 26). This article intends focusing on the life and times of the man who determined the politico-military course of the island nation for many years.

I have in the past written extensively on the LTTE and its supremo. As such I do not intend re-inventing the wheel all over again. Instead I would be focussing in this piece on some lesser known facts of the LTTE leader’s personal history with the aid of earlier writings.

At the outset I want to emphasise that this article is neither a biography nor an eulogy. It is not even a critique or analysis. What I hope to do is to try and shed some light on the man and his personality without attempting to glorify him. I shall try do so by highlighting certain facets of Prabhakaran’s eventful life.

Thiruvengadam Veluppillai Prabhakaran was born on November 26th 1954. He was the youngest in a family of four children – two boys and two girls. The two sisters live in Canada and India. The brother resides in Denmark. Prabhakaran’s father was Veerasamy Thiruvengadam Velupillai. Prabhakaran’s mother’s name was Paarvathipillai. Her maiden name was also Velupillai. His parents who lived in the northern mainland, Wanni, later surrendered to the armed forces and were placed under protective custody Both are no more now having died of natural causes.

Valvettithurai (VVT)

Prabhakaran’s family hailed from the Northern coastal town of Valvettithurai referred to generally as VVT. His father joined the Government clerical service and eventually became a district lands officer. I think he retired from Govt service when the late Gamini Dissanayake was Lands minister.

Prabhakaran’s family was of respected lineage in VVT. They were known as belonging to the “Thirumeni kudumbam” or Thirumeni family. Prabhakaran’s ancestors constructed the famous Sivan temple of VVT. His father should have been the chief trustee but declined to be so as he was in govt service. So his younger brother became chief trustee instead.

The LTTE leader’s father was a duty conscientious mild-mannered gentleman well respected and well-liked. People of VVT used to say that even the grass wouldn’t get crushed when Mr. Velupillai treads on it. Later many comparisons were made about father and younger son. In fact the father disapproved of the son’s path and was not on speaking terms with Prabhakaran for many years.

Continue reading ‘Little-known Facts About Legendary LTTE Leader Veluppillai Prabhakaran’ »

By

Kishali Pinto – Jayawardene

Weeks after the November 14th decision of the Supreme Court with the majority holding gross failures in fiscal and monetary discipline by the Rajapaksa-led regime from 2019-2022 had comprised an extraordinary breach of the Public Trust triggering Sri Lanka’s bankruptcy, it does not seem that political leaders or their cheering squads have learnt important lessons reflected therein.

How the mighty can fall

Debates on both the majority (four judges) and minority (one judge) rulings are primarily driven by political partisan agendas. Predictably, the cherry on top of this pedestrian squabbling is a ridiculous distinction drawn between whether the majority decision had said that the Rajapaksas were ‘responsible’ for the economic crisis or (merely?) that their actions were ‘contributory’ thereof.

But analysing the sequence of reasoning in the majority opinion makes it quite clear that this so-called distinction is without a palpable difference, legally and factually. Some aspects of the majority ruling have been remarked upon in these column spaces previously. This includes the Court’s assessment that the late 2019 policy decision to revise taxes leading to an enormous loss of revenue was a direct factor in the collapse of the economy.

Appropriate remedial action to offset the adverse consequences had not been taken in time. But what could not be remarked on earlier due to constraints of space is the manner in which that judicial assessment is laid out, offering the public a fascinating glimpse into how a nation is driven to ruin by a cabal of political, corrupt, inept and incompetent opportunists.

Continue reading ‘The mood on the street is clearly ugly and turning towards an even more deep-seated rejection of the ruling political establishment beyond the ‘Aragalaya’ (protest) of last year. Then, it was spontaneous anger combined with an idealistic demand to ‘send the crooks home. What is surfacing now is deadlier and vastly unpredictable in form.’ »

By Mimi Alphonsus

In April 2020, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested Mohamed Razeek Mohamed Ramzy at his home in Katugastota for violating the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), among other charges.

His crime was to have written a Facebook post urging Muslims to counter alleged racist attacks against their community through an “ideological jihad” (struggle) using the “pen and keyboard.”
Today, free and exonerated by the Supreme Court (SC), Mr. Ramzy, a poet and social media activist, reflects on that painful period and the permanent scars it left on him, his wife, and their two teenage children. “I suffered so much,” he said in an interview with the Sunday Times. “And my family suffered a lot, too.”

Asked if he regrets using the word ‘Jihad’ in his post, which became contentious–and whether he would have phrased the post differently–he said, “I don’t think it’s necessary to change anything about the post. I only need to change something if it’s wrong.”
“I used the word ‘Jihad’ because I wrote that post for the Muslim community,” he maintained. “So, when I address them I should allude to things understood by Muslims, not writing like a plain report. We use poetic words and language from our literature.”

Continue reading ‘The Persecution of Mohammed Ramzy for writing a Facebook post urging Muslims to counter alleged racist attacks against their community through an “ideological jihad” (struggle) using the “pen and keyboard.”’ »

By
Meera Srinivasan

Recent arrests made by Sri Lanka police using a controversial anti-terrorism law, whose repeal remains a key demand of rights defenders in the island nation, has sparked concern among Tamil legislators, activists, and international agencies including the UN.

In a post on social media platform ‘X’ on Friday, Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian Shanakiyan Rasamanickam said: “Govt is not genuine in its reconciliation efforts. So far 10 individuals have been arrested under the PTA [Prevention of Terrorism Act] in Batticaloa this week. Amongst the arrested is a woman, student and a politician. The most ridiculous arrest is of a bakery employee for selling a cake. #repealPTA”.

He was referring to the arrests made around ‘Maaveerar Naal’ [Heroes’ Day], marked earlier this week, by Tamil families to remember Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadre who died in the country’s civil war.

Continue reading ‘Recent Arrest of 10 Persons by Sri Lankan Police Under the “Draconian” Preventionof Terrorism Act Sparks Concern among Tamil MPs, Human rights activist and International Agencies Including UN.’ »

For someone who promoted his own views so tirelessly, Henry Kissinger was surprisingly misunderstood. Many see him as the arch-exponent of an amoral realism that tarnishes America. Sure enough, like any diplomat, he lied for his country (and occasionally himself). More disturbingly, he was willing to see tens of thousands of people killed if he thought that the national interest demanded it. Yet what distinguishes Mr Kissinger, who died this week aged 100, was not only his realpolitik, but the fact that his practice of diplomacy was also shot through with idealism. It is a style that still holds valuable lessons today.

The would-be Kissingers in the Biden White House (and they exist) confront some daunting challenges. The rivalry between China and America is increasingly poisonous. Bitter wars rage in Ukraine and Gaza. Political divisions are tearing apart Western democracies. Hard-to-solve global issues, such as how to curb climate change and minimise the risks of artificial intelligence, are piling up.

Speaking to The Economist in April, Mr Kissinger himself seemed almost overwhelmed. But his central theme cut to the heart of his idealism. His life’s work, he said, had been devoted to preventing a repeat of the wars in 1914-18 and 1939-45 that had destroyed his childhood in Germany and much of the world besides. Today that means keeping the peace between China and America.

Continue reading ‘Many see Henry Kissinger as the arch-exponent of an amoral realism that tarnishes America.More disturbingly, he was willing to see tens of thousands of people killed if he thought that the national interest demanded it.’ »

Early in june 1970, soon after America had invaded Cambodia, Henry Kissinger secretly visited Brian McDonnell, a 27-year-old peacenik he had spotted in Lafayette Park opposite the White House. It was one of his many efforts that year to persuade his younger critics that they should give war a chance.

As with so many others, he failed with Brian, but they stayed in touch. While Richard Nixon sulked in the West Wing, his national security adviser and the long-haired activist would meet from time to time to talk about the war and the philosophy of Kant, struggling, Mr Kissinger wrote, “to fashion at least a temporary bridge across the mutual incomprehension”. He never lost the belief that he could win over his critics. And not just the movers and shakers, but also those far from the cover of Time and out of range of the Oval Office microphones. By arguing and arguing some more, he was asserting that he belonged and that he counted.

He had started as an outcast, growing up in pre-war Germany among people who despised and rejected him for being a Jew. The Nazis sacked his father from the public high school in Fürth, near Nuremberg. His mother was the first to grasp that the “Hitler State” held no future for her children.

In 1938, 15-year-old Heinz, as he was then, fled to America with his family. He never shed the accent; his voice, like gravel in a goldfish-bowl, added deeply to his seriousness. But his younger brother Walter learned to speak like a regular American, claiming later to be “the Kissinger who listens”.

Even his detractors admitted he had a brilliant mind. His undergraduate thesis was so profuse, at 383 pages, that it supposedly led Harvard to introduce the “Kissinger rule”, limiting students to less than half that length.

Continue reading ‘Henry Kissinger’s style was to work outside the official machinery of the State Department and the foreign service, which he thought had sapped American diplomacy of its vigour and creativity.’ »

(Text of Editorial appearing in the “Daily FT”dated 30 November 2023 under the heading “Get basics right first in Colombo city before envisioning entertainment hub)

President Ranil Wickremesinghe announced plans this week to make Colombo an “entertainment hub.” Any plan to make the country’s metropolis a more liveable city and make it tourist-friendly is welcome.

Colombo has seen a rapid change in the past decade with the addition of high-rise buildings being the most visible among them. These buildings have altered the face of Colombo, particularly the sea facing areas and has attracted many new residents to the country’s commercial capital.

Along with them have come the high-end shopping malls, cinemas, restaurants, etc. all intended to attract high spending tourists, both local and foreign. While the focus of any visitor to Colombo is on these new shiny structures, there are many areas in the city that are grossly neglected and have been so for years.

Continue reading ‘President Ranil Wickremesinghe is a Colombo. Resident. Before Making Colombo an “Entertainment Hub”,he should be aware of the numerous issues that not only the residents of the city face but also thousands who come to the city every day.’ »

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By

Suhasini Haidar

India has set up a “high-level” enquiry committee to look into allegations made by the United States government regarding an Indian plot targeting Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a U.S.-based Khalistani activist wanted on terror charges, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced here on Wednesday.

The explosive allegations, contained in a U.S. Department of Justice indictment that was publicly released on Wednesday, accuse a senior Indian intelligence official, as yet unnamed but referred to as CC-1, of masterminding the assassination plot. The indictment alleges that the official enlisted an individual named Nikhil Gupta to hire a hit man with an advance payment, and also suggests that the Gujarat Police dropped criminal charges against Mr. Gupta at the behest of the Indian intelligence official in order to facilitate the contract killing.

It also claims that there is a link between the alleged plot against Mr. Pannun and the plot to kill Hardeep Singh Nijjar, which Canada has accused Indian government agents of masterminding.

Continue reading ‘US Justice Dept Files Indictment against Indian National Nikhil Gupta Over Alleged Conspiracy to Assassinate US Citizen Gurpatwant Singh Pannun; Senior Indian Intellige Official Suspected of Masterminding Plot to kill Sikh Activist Pannu on US Soil’ »

By’

Meera Srinivasan

Sri Lanka has reached an “agreement in principle” with India and the Paris Club group of creditors including Japan, on a debt treatment plan that will help the crisis-hit island nation tap the next tranche of the International Monetary Fund’s nearly-$3 billion recovery package.

“The OCC [Official Creditor Committee] and Sri Lanka agreed on the main parameters of a debt treatment consistent with those of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement between Sri Lanka and the IMF,” the Paris Club said in a statement on Wednesday. While the statement did not spell out the parameters, the OCC said it “stands ready and looks forward to formalising” the agreement in the coming weeks in a Memorandum of Understanding with Sri Lanka.

At the height of last year’s crippling economic crisis, Sri Lanka decided to default on its nearly $51 billion foreign debt. A comprehensive restructuring of loans became necessary to begin an economic recovery programme backed by the IMF. Major lenders formed the OCC in May 2023 in response to Colombo’s request for debt treatment. It is co-chaired by India,

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka has reached an “agreement in principle” with India and the Paris Club group of creditors including Japan, on a debt treatment plan; Lenders ‘expect’ transparency from ‘other bilateral creditors’ alluding to China’ »

By

Kishali Pinto -Jayawardene

President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s highly inappropriate jocularity in Parliament this week when commenting about the ‘Public Trust’ Doctrine only reinforces the (unfortunately) pejorative stamp of his Presidency as undermining the Constitution.

‘Public Trust is everything’

Mind, this is not in the typically crude sledgehammer style of Medamulana rule but more subtle and hence far more dangerous.

The President alleged that the Opposition Leader’s refusal of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s offer to take the Presidency last year in the wake of unprecedented public anger against the Rajapaksas, was a breach of Public Trust.

‘Where does this (ie; Public Trust) end?’ the President caustically asked. This was an obviously sneering aside to the Supreme Court ruling earlier this month referencing the breach of Public Trust by the Rajapaksa ruling coterie and its supporters who catastrophically mismanaged the country’s monetary and fiscal policy from 2020/2021.

That was held by the Court to have directly contributed, (by commission and by omission), to Sri Lanka’s painful bankruptcy.

That extraordinary crisis from which the country is still struggling to extricate itself, has precipitated large segments of the populace into penury, led to the breakdown of the public health and education systems resulting in thousands fleeing its shores.

Not satisfied with that aside, the President went on to say that if he is not given the ‘support’ that he needs at this critical juncture, that again violates the Public Trust.

Components of the Public Trust Doctrine

But such frivolity is both unseemly and imprudent. The core components of the majority Supreme Court ruling is far from what the President mockingly reduces it to.

Public Trust is not a question of a Presidential demand for ‘public support’ or finding fault with the Opposition Leader’s decisions as the case may be.

In fact, this cursory treatment of an important legal doctrine going to the heart of political accountability is a reflection of how little Sri Lanka’s leaders regard the Rule of Law. President Wickremesinghe would do well to refresh his memory on the manner in which the doctrine of Public Trust had been painstakingly developed as an expansion of judicial review of executive and administrative action from the early 1990’s.

Certainly this is not a new jurisprudential graft on judicial thinking of the apex court and he is not the first President challenged therein. On the contrary, the doctrine forms a bedrock of jurisprudence based on public law principles read with Article 12 (1) ensuring the equal protection of the law.

Its core warning is that discretions and powers vested in those wielding executive and administrative office cannot be ‘absolute, unfettered and unreviewable.’

Gross failure in managing Sri Lanka’s economy

Through decades, (I must add, when the Court was propelled by its conscience as opposed to political ambition of a few judges), the doctrine has been judicially employed to reprimand constitutional violators for capricious, arbitrary and unreasonable exercise of power.

This has ranged from giving relief for citizens affected by land acquisitions, compensation for evictions, appointments and dismissals and the corrupt exercise of political power.

In the instant decision, the Court’s majority reasoning meticulously examines the various factors that led to the country’s financial collapse. Particularly pivotal were the 2019 tax revisions of the Gotabaya Rajapaksa Presidency which had been justified by the respondents as ‘re-engineering’ the tax system, creating a positive environment to spur business growth despite enormous loss of revenue.

In dismissing that explanation, the Court observed that legislation to that effect had been introduced only in mid 2021 even though, by that time, it was patently clear that such a positive impact had not been evidenced. Instead, an ‘unmanageable budget deficit’ had been created and the country’s credit ratings had been lowered by ratings agencies.

This in turn led to the ‘loss of access to capital markets at reasonable costs which resulted in the drying up of foreign exchange inflows (see at page 74).

‘Irrational and unreasonable’ leadership

Remedial measures were imperative but not taken. These failures had a domino effect on the economy, which finally collapsed. Even so, the response by the Government of the day had been ‘confrontational’ with the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank refusing to accept the downgrading. This was, in the Court’s view, both irrational and unreasonable, breaching the Public Trust reposed in the (then) President, Prime Minister, Finance Minister and the Secretary to the President.

That same gross negligence was demonstrated in seeking assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and in not properly assessing the fact that a so-called ‘homegrown solution’ would not be viable to resolve serious economic ills. ‘The sudden departure or deviation from commitments with the international organisation had resulted in consequences detrimental to the country’ the Court observed (see at page 78).

Even so, the attack on the ‘Public Trust Doctrine’ was not the only constitutional fracas that arose vis a vis the President’s remarks in the House. Firing on all guns as it were, President Wickremesinghe also characterised the Constitutional Council (CC) as being ‘part of the executive’ and claimed that it was ‘sabotaging’ the appointment of a new Inspector General of Police (IGP) and judges to the superior courts.

The CC is not ‘part of the executive’

For good measure, it has been proposed to appoint a Parliamentary Select Committee to ‘examine’ the CC’s working. The CC, as initially envisaged in the 17th Amendment, was conceived as a constitutional creature, sui generis in nature, meant to ‘restrict’ Presidential discretion when making appointments to constitutional commissions and key public/judicial offices (SC Determination No 6/2001, Decisions of the Supreme Court on Parliamentary Bills, 1991-2003, Vol VII).

Undeniably, the CC was established to check executive power not to act as an executive appendage. Indeed, this Presidential reduction of the CC places it on par with the discredited Parliamentary Council of the Mahinda Rajapaksa-driven 18th Amendment and the Gotabaya Rajapaksa-driven 20th Amendment. In other words, President Wickremesinghe cannot run with the hare and hunt with the hounds as it were.

He cannot boast that he made a ‘change’ with the 21st Amendment (and earlier with the 19th Amendment) by doing away with the obnoxious Parliamentary Council. And at the same time, reduce the CC to a cipher.

This is not to say that the CC is all that it should be. Far from it. It is deficient in its supposed claim to ‘independence’ in its composition, presided over by the Speaker.

What is this Parliament all about?

The CC’s procedures in regard to its functioning should also be far more transparent. This has been a long standing problem for several years. That is not rectified by the Opposition Leader’s tabling of the minutes of the CC justifying his position over the still pending appointment of the tenth member to the CC.

But all that does not justify the description of the CC as ‘part of the executive,’ let it be said clearly.

Meanwhile, what is this squabbling over who should occupy front row seats in the House which took up a considerable amount of time with legislators jeering as the President baited the Opposition Leader. Are these matters that should even take up the time of parliamentary business forsooth?

President Wickremesinghe was heard the other day to announce that parliamentary time should not be wasted. Well, it seems as if he is the first offender thereof.

This sort of devilry in the House is to the detriment of the country, the people and indeed, the incumbent holder of the seat of the Presidency himself.

Courtesy:Sunday Times

By

D.B.S.Jeyaraj

November 27, 1989, was the day on which the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) first observed its annual “Maaveerar Naal” or Great Heroes Day (GHD). The event continues to be observed in Sri Lanka and by sections of the Global Tamil Diaspora despite the military debacle suffered by the LTTE in May 2009. The event has lost much of its lustre after the demise of Tiger supremo Veluppillai Prabhakaran.These are days of decline when compared to the manner in which Great heroes day was observed when the LTTE ruled the roost. Nevertheless, commemorating the fallen Tigers as great heroes annually remains an enduring Tiger legacy despite the LTTE being militarily decimated in Sri Lanka.

There is a mystique about “Maaveerar Naal” that has captured the imagination of a very large number of the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora. What makes the GHD tick despite the debacle of Mullivaaikkal?

In that context the evolution and growth of the Great Heroes day event makes an interesting study. This writer has in the past written several articles on the topic. This article therefore draws liberally from my earlier writings. Let me begin by tracing in brief the history of this event.

Continue reading ‘The Birth and Growth of the “Maaveerar Naal” (Great Heroes Day) Event.’ »

(Text of Speech made by Jaffna District Parliamentarian MA Sumanthiran in Parliament on 22.11.2023)

Thank you Hon. Chair for the time allocated to speak a few words on these heads of expenditure We have had an interesting debate so far, with his Excellency also participating. One of the institutions under consideration is the constitutional council, many things have been said today back and forth about the constitutional council but I want to raise a more fundamental issue.

There is a vacancy in the constitutional council; all ten members have not been appointed, this is a very serious issue, it’s a very serious issue for us. Because we were entitled to nominate a member, and such a meeting was held, and I proposed a senior parliamentarian Hon. Dharmalingam Siddharthan to be that member in the constitutional council. But to date he has not been appointed to the constitutional council.

We have raised this many times; the leader of the opposition has raised in Parliament, at the party leaders’ meeting, and the Hon. Speaker has clearly said that it is our right.

In fact others who are claiming to have a right to nominate are all members of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna. The general secretary of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna has written to the speaker and said that they are members of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, if they are not members of the SLPP, they can’t be members of parliament.

So they can’t claim to be ones who have the right to nominate this member to the constitutional council. But this is not just a technicality, by this, the 3rd largest party in parliament, the second largest party in the opposition, has been deprived of our right to participate in the deliberations of the constitutional council.

Continue reading ‘“Former President Mahinda Rajapakse,must resign, if he has any semblance of a sense of dignity, and if he respects rule of law, if he respects democracy, he must promptly resign from Parliament and accept responsibility.”- MA Sumanthiran MP’ »

By

Tisaranee Gunasekara

“It is apparent that the continued inaction to reintroduce and/or to raise taxes, and regain the government revenue that was lost, brought about an adverse impact on the economy which had a domino effect on the entire social fabric.” Supreme Court of Sri Lanka

The Supreme Court judgement about the Rajapaksa culpability for Sri Lanka’s economic ruin couldn’t have come at a better time. The sense of hope generated by the ending of chronic shortages and the partial restoration of normalcy has waned. The forward movement of the economy has grinded to a halt, impeded by multiple malaises solidified through inaction and indifference into components of the governance landscape. The president is no longer walking the talk and the parliament is a demented kindergarten where most debates degenerate into a violent slanging matches.

Economic pain is no more a shared problem as it was during the months of crippling shortages. Now the affliction belongs to those occupying the bottom half of the income totem pole. In 2022, the shared hardships of fuel queues and power cuts brought about a rare sense of solidarity.

At Galle Face and across the country, the rich, the middle classes and the poor stood shoulder to shoulder united in their common deprivation. Now that sense of being in it together is gone. There’s no solidarity any more. Only anger. Nearly a half of Sri Lankans are hurting without hope, a condition that bodes ill for all.

The findings of a recent UNDP survey demonstrate the extent to which the public has lost confidence in the political class, in national institutions, in governance itself.

The judiciary is one of two exceptions to this general disenchantment. Forty percent of respondents trust the judiciary. This week’s landmark supreme court judgement proves that that trust is not misplaced. The judiciary is not immune to the general attrition but it is not broken. It remains a part of a solution rather than a part of the problem.

That the Rajapaksas have learnt nothing from the disaster is obvious from their reaction to the judgement. They don’t believe they did anything wrong. Therefore, they don’t believe they need to change. Maybe some superficial alterations to regain the lost sheen, a bit of a propaganda hype but nothing substantial, nothing real. They and their supporters remain confident of their own inerrancy and their infallibility. In their worldview, the only problem with Gotabaya Rajapaksa is that he ran away.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lankan military is Sri Lankan in name only. In reality, it is a Sinhala-Buddhist military wedded to Sinhala-Buddhist interests. An anomaly in a demographically pluralist land and a dangerous one.’ »

By

Ranga Jayasuriya

Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that the three Rajapaksa brothers and a cabal of officials were responsible for the economic crisis, delivering an unprecedented judgement that could be the precursor to Sri Lanka’s long march for justice.

The Court ruled by the majority judgment that the Rajapaksa brothers and five of their acolytes who were handpicked to the top government positions “had demonstrably contributed to the economic crisis” by their actions, omissions, decisions and conduct.

Alongside the Rajapaksas – President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, then prime minister and Finance Minister Mahinda and Basil Rajapaksa, who succeeded Mahinda as Finance minister- the Court found guilty five close associates who held key government positions by virtue of their loyalty to the family: former Central Bank Governors Ajith Nivard Cabraal and W.D. Lakshman, former Treasury Secretary S.R. Attygalle, the Monetary Board’s former member Samantha Kumarasinghe, and former Finance Ministry Secretary and Presidential Secretary P.B. Jayasundera.

The 120-page judgement highlighted a number of costly ideocracies of Gotabaya Rajapaksa that precipitated the economic crisis, driving millions of families into destitution and doubling the poverty rate in a year.

The Court noted that Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s ‘imprudent” tax revision in 2019 brought about a ‘domino effect’, which resulted in downgrading by rating agencies, depletion of foreign reserves, and loss of access to the international finance market.

Continue reading ‘Supreme Court ruling has opened a window for any Sri Lankan to seek compensation from the Rajapaksas for economic, physical and psychological distress they had been subjected to due to the economic crisis.’ »

The name of a top Sri Lankan politician has emerged in the latest release of Pandora Papers two years after the first leak of financial secrets of shell companies in overseas tax shelters.

The individual, a minister in President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s cabinet, has been identified as the beneficial owner of two such firms registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), a known tax haven.

Tiran Prasanna Christopher Alles is listed as the owner and director of Banham Ventures Limited and Brompton Properties since July 2017. Both are incorporated in the BVI.

Continue reading ‘Pandora Papers name Sri Lankan Public Security Minister Tiran Alles as the owner and director of Banham Ventures Limited and Brompton Properties registered in the British Virgin Islands Since July 2017’ »

By Josh Robertson

A retired police commander has shed new light on claims that the former Sri Lankan government may have colluded with a terrorist group for political gain, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people, including Australians, in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings.
The attacks by Islamic state-inspired terrorists on churches and luxury hotels killed 269 people including two Australians and injured about 500 other people.

The head of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka is now calling on the Australian government to support an independent investigation into the allegations, a call backed by Melbourne woman Chathudilla Weerasinghe, who survived the attack on Colombo’s Kingsbury hotel.
“They should carry out an investigation … because there were so many blasts on the date — similar timings, coordinated – it has to be a major planned-out thing,” Ms Weerasinghe said.

In September, the UK’s Channel 4 aired claims by a former government aide, Asad Maulana, that a top intelligence official met with members of the terrorist group National Thowheed Jam’ath (NTJ) as part of an alleged plot to help former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa win government by creating a national security crisis from the attacks.

Continue reading ‘Former Deputy Inspector General of Police Ravi Seneviratne Tells Australia’s ABC investigations that Probe by Police into the 2019 Easter Attacks were Derailed Through Political Interference Immediately after Gotabaya Rajapaksa was Elected President; Says Leade Investigator and 22 others were Removed and Over 700 CID Personnel Intimidated by an Overseas Travel ban.’ »

By
Meera Srinivasan

China is “prioritising” the extension of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) to Sri Lanka, the country’s Special Envoy told President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday, in an indication that China is looking to scale up the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project in South Asia.

Paying a courtesy call on the Sri Lankan President, Special envoy of the Chinese President, state councillor Shen Yiqin, said China is prioritising the extension of the Corridor to the island nation, according to a press statement issued by Mr. Wickremesinghe’s office on Monday.

“Additionally, both parties agreed to expedite the implementation of the China-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement,” the statement said.

Continue reading ‘China will Prioritize the Extension of the China -Myanmar Economic Corri dor(CMEV) to Sri Lanka states Visiting Chinese Special Envoy Shen Yiqin in Colombo at meeting with President Ranul Wickremesinghe’ »

By

D.B.S.Jeyaraj

Today November 11th is observed in many parts of the World including Sri Lanka as Remembrance day or War memorial day. It is also called Poppy day due to the tradition of wearing a poppy flower. Remembrance day has its origins in the end of world war one. Although world war 1 concluded officially on 28 June 1919 with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, hostilities on ground had ended “at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month” of 1918 with the signing of the armistice . Hence Nov 11 is observed as remembrance day on which soldiers who fought and died for their country are commemorated.

It is against this backdrop that this column remembers a fallen Sri Lankan soldier in this article . Brigadier L.A.R. “Larry”Wijeratne the then commander of the “Vadamaratchy” division in the Jaffna peninsula was killed on 14 May 1998 in an explosion triggered by a suicide bomber assassin of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE). Larry Wijeratne who was posthumously promoted as Major – General personified the hackneyed phrase ‘an officer and a gentleman”.

The fair, handsome Sinhala officer mistaken very often for a burgher was killed in Point Pedro on the last day of his tenure in Jaffna. The erstwhile commander of the Vadamaratchy divisional zone was returning to base after a farewell ceremony. Fate in the form of a suicide bomber decreed that it was not a case of Larry bidding au revoir to Jaffna but adieu to the world.

Continue reading ‘Larry Wijeratne: The Sinhala Army Officer who Won the Hearts and Minds of Vadamaratchy Tamil People.’ »

By
D.B.S. Jeyaraj

Popular Tamil cinema actor Gemini Ganesan whose 103rd birth anniversary falls on November 17th is regarded widely as the greatest romantic lover in Tamil cinema . In a career spanning more than five decades Gemini Ganesan made his mark in Tamil films as the romantic hero par excellence. In fact he was dubbed “Kaadhal Mannan,” meaning “King of Romance”. What is most interesting about Gemini Ganesan is the fact that his romantic on-screen and off-screen persona got intertwined in reel life and real life.

While the actor hero crooned and danced his way into the hearts of many lovely heroines on screen, the off-screen Gemini too romanced many women in real life.

Gemini had four wives plus several liaisons including live -in relationships with attractive women. He himself admitted to his numerous affairs with other married women to the Indian magazine”Debonair” in an interview . When the magazine wanted more details, Gemini declined to elaborate saying, “Gentlemen don’t tell!”

This article therefore focuses on Gemini Ganesan to commemorate his 103rd Birth anniversary.I have written about Gemini earlier and shall rely upon some of these writings to help revive pleasant memories of an actor who gave me and millions of others immense pleasure through his movies.

I would like to start off this article on a personal note.

Continue reading ‘Gemini Ganesan Known as “Kaadhal Mannan” (Romance King) was the greatest lover on the silver screens of Tamil Cimema’ »

By

Kishali Pinto-Jayawardene

A ringing reminder by the Supreme Court this week holding three Rajapaksas (two former Presidents and a Minister of Finance) along with their economic tsars and a politically driven Monetary Board responsible for Sri Lanka’s calamitous bankruptcy, was that ‘the Rule of Law is not only rights and equality….(it) is also about functionality and efficiency for (the) sustainable economic development of the nation and all of its people.’

Politicians and the evils that they do

That awful pronouncement must surely make the political establishment, its avaricious panjandrums and the sundry collection of white collar parasites still feeding off Sri Lanka’s rotting carcass, shudder in their well heeled shoes. The instant decision is, in many respects, an interesting accompaniment to an earlier decision of the Court holding another former President (Maithripala Sirisena), his defence and police chiefs culpable for reckless failure to prevent the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.

Indeed the sequence of events relevant to the disasters in point (2019 and 2022) speak to certain commonalities in their happening, Both cumulatively tipped Sri Lanka into an abyss from which there is yet no salvation, if there can ever be.

In focus were two singularly catastrophic eventualities that called upon the Court to examine extraordinary situations of national distress.

Both were brought about by a vicious combination of an unquenched thirst for power and raw greed on the part of those once hailed as Sri Lanka’s saviours but whose actions, ironically, led to the ‘death’ of the nation as we know it. That was combined, we must not forget, with mind numbing personal and professional opportunism by a galaxy of men and women who stood by and said nothing, did nothing and heard nothing as the country died, ‘not with a bang but with a whimper.’

Continue reading ‘Supreme Court Ruling must surely make the political establishment, its avaricious panjandrums and the sundry collection of white collar parasites still feeding off Sri Lanka’s rotting carcass, shudder in their well heeled shoes’ »

By Dan Sheehan

In a video address to the Munich Literature Festival yesterday, the human rights activist and Booker Prize-winning author of The God of Small Things Arundhati Roy made a powerful speech in solidarity with the Gazan people, and with the millions around the world marching for a ceasefire.

Roy—who could not attend the Munich Literature Festival in person because she is currently facing trumped-up sedition charges in India for comments she made in 2010 about Kashmir—forcefully condemned the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the siege of Gaza, as well as the German government’s draconian crackdown on pro-Palestinian advocacy and the continued bankrolling of the occupation by the US and other countries, stating that “If we allow this brazen slaughter to continue … Something in our moral selves will be altered forever.”

Below is the text of Roy’s remarks in full:

Continue reading ‘“The solution can only be a political one in which both Israelis and Palestinians live together or side by side in dignity, with equal rights. The world must intervene. The occupation must end. Palestinians must have a viable homeland.”- Arundhati Roy’ »

(Text of Speech made by Jaffna District Parliamentarian MA Sumanthiran During the Budget Debate on – 15th November 2023)

Thank you presiding member for the opportunity to speak at the second reading of the budget proposals that have been presented to this House by his Excellency the President and Minister of Finance.

Whenever I have spoken on the second reading and if it was the president who held the portfolio of finance, I have consistently raised my objection to that fact and I must place my objection today also. I have said this since 2010. The reason is that the constitution says that public finance is a matter that is entirely in the preserve of Parliament, and therefore I take the view that it is only a Member of Parliament who is accountable to Parliament in that way, who must hold the portfolio of finance.

His Excellency the president is not a member of parliament, although he can attend Parliament and he can answer questions. I take the view that the chief of the executive, who is not a member of the legislature, should not hold that post. Having said that, I want to start by welcoming some of the proposals that have been made, for instance we welcome the increase in monthly cost of living allowance of public sector employees and pensioners.

Although insufficient it is a welcome increase. Also the increase the monthly allowance for persons with disabilities, elderly citizens and kidney patients – most welcome. Then expediting compensation for missing persons. There was a large sum that was allocated several years ago, that was not spent. There is an amount in the appropriation act but over and beyond that His Excellency in his speech said, he is allocating a further sum to expedite the payment.

Providing land ownership to farmers; Yes! that’s a very salutary proposal and we welcome that, fishery industry development in the northern region; a long felt need and in the budget proposal that has found mention and we welcome that. Construction of houses for internally displaced person, initiating preliminary work for the water supply project in Jaffna: all of these are matters in the budget proposal that we welcome.

However, it is one thing to have these proposals and it is quite another thing to see them realized. So that is why we have reacted with scepticism, when even these welcome proposals are mentioned. We have tracked or several agencies have tracked the progress made on budget proposals.

Continue reading ‘“Public Money has been Stolen by he Former President,his brothers and several others who worked with them. They have taken the money out of the country. What the Supreme Court should have done is to have ordered them to pay compensation for every citizen of this country, and bring that money into the treasury and that would have seen the revival of this country’s economy.”- MA Sumanthiran MP’ »

By Chandani Kirinde

President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday in Parliament presented his Government’s 2024 Budget, the second since taking office in July 2022 and the last before the country goes to the polls to elect a new Head of State late next year.

Though the President made it a point to say it was not an Election Budget, it was characteristic of what most finance ministers would do ahead of an election year with incentives for public servants, pensioners and those on State welfare programs as well as promises of housing and land ownership for thousands of others.

The President began his Budget speech at 12 noon, a break from tradition as most Budgets are presented later in the afternoon post-lunch. Speculation was that an auspicious time may have been selected for the crucial speech.

Continue reading ‘President Ranil Wickremesinghe Presents Pre -election year Budget with incentives for public servants, pensioners and those on State welfare programs as well as promises of housing and land ownership for thousands of others.’ »

By

Lakmal Sooriyagoda

The Supreme Court today held that several respondents including former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa and former Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal are responsible for economic crisis in the country.

Continue reading ‘5 Judge Bench of Supreme Court Headed by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya in 4;1 Majority Ruling Holds that Gotabaya,Mahinda,Basil and Cabraal are Responsible for Economic Crisis in the Country.’ »

(Text of Press Release Issued by the President’s Media Division on 14 November 2023)

President Ranil Wickremesinghe underscored his desire for a resurgence of cricket in the country, linking its revival to the broader economic recovery.

He made these remarks in response to a journalist’s inquiry during a meeting with heads of media organization at the Presidential Secretariat this afternoon (14). The purpose of the meeting was to brief media heads on the Budget 2024, with representation from print and electronic media.

Expanding on the significance of this year’s budget, the President asserted its transformative impact on the nation’s economy and politics. His primary objective is the restoration of the country’s fractured economy, emphasizing a non-political approach to achieving this goal.

Continue reading ‘“This year’s budget is poised to reshape both the nation’s economy and political landscape. My goal is to ensure the success of the country’s economic development program without the influence of politics.” President Ranil Wickremesinghe Tells Media Institution heads’ »

In a historic ruling, the Supreme Court yesterday determined that ex-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, along with former Finance Ministers Mahinda Rajapaksa and Basil Rajapaksa, bear responsibility for Sri Lanka’s severe economic crisis and had thereby violated the fundamental rights of the people by mismanaging the economy between 2019 and 2022.

The apex court found that the 13 respondents, which also included Central Bank Governors Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Prof. W.D. Lakshman, former Secretary to the Ministry of Finance S.R. Attygalle, former Secretary to the President P.B. Jayasundara and Members of the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka had violated public trust and breached Article 12 (1) of the Constitution, in their administration of the economy, leading to the economic crisis in the country.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka Supreme Court determines that ex-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa along with former Finance Ministers Mahinda Rajapaksa and Basil Rajapaksa, bear responsibility for Sri Lanka’s severe economic crisis and had thereby violated the fundamental rights of the people by mismanaging the economy between 2019 and 2022.’ »

(Text of Budget Speech Delivered in Parliament by Preside Ranil Wickremesinghe in his Capacity as Finance Minister on 13 November 2023)

Honourable Speaker,

The Lord Buddha has elucidated on a concept called “Samjeewikatha” (balance living). He explained this concept in the Vyagghapajja Sutta. The concept elaborates on how to balance our budget.
The Buddha has advised against leading a pompous and extravagant life, while receiving a low income. He explains that a mindful person would lead his life in a way that his income is aligned with expenditure.

We should spend according to the income we receive. That is what the Buddhist economic philosophy demonstrates to us. But, for the majority of the 75 years following the independence, our spending has often diverged from our generated revenue. When I say this, one might think that the governments of this country spent lavishly and wasted money. Not just governments. The country as a whole has lived beyond its means.

We resorted to borrowing or printing money to provide jobs, increase salaries, distribute free rice, offer relief, and maintain state-owned enterprises. We won elections by making promises about giving government jobs, safeguarding public resources, delivering relief packages, reducing commodity prices, and increasing salaries. We became indebted to the country as well as to the world to lead pompous and extravagant lives by not aligning revenue to our expenditure.

In the Samajjapala Sutta, the Lord Buddha has emphasized that we should borrow for investment rather than for consumption. But we borrowed for consumption. Ina Sutta in Anguttara Chakka Nipatha specifically points out that it is very dangerous to borrow and pay interest in this manner.

After 75 years of independence, we now find ourselves in a dire situation as a result of ignoring Samajeewikatha and the Buddhist economic philosophy. Our economy collapsed completely, leading us to a status of bankruptcy.

Continue reading ‘Budget themed “A Prelude to a Bright Future,” Presented in Parliament by President Ranil Wickremesinghe in his Finance Minister Capacity:Full Text Of Budget Speech’ »

By

D.B.S. Jeyaraj

The landmark verdict delivered by a three -judge bench of the Supreme court in the first week of October has brought “glad tidings of great joy” to most Sri Lankan political parties in general and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) in particular. The Supreme court bench comprising Justices Padman Surasena , S. Thurairajah and Mahinda Samayawardhena heard a petition filed by former SLMC deputy leader Zainulabdeen Nazeer Ahamed challenging his expulsion from the party. The unanimous supreme court ruling dismissed the petition and upheld the expulsion.

Nazeer Ahamed had been elected to Parliament on the SLMC ticket from the Batticaloa district at the August 2020 elections. He had in April 2022 been appointed the cabinet minister in charge of Environment by the then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The SLMC’s apex body known as the High Command (Athi Uyar Peedam) had taken a decision to vote against the 2022 Budget (Appropriation Bill) but Nazeer Ahamed breached party discipline by voting for it. The SLMC had expelled him after going through the due process of calling for an explanation. Nazeer Ahamed ‘s petition challenging the party decision had been dismissed by the Supreme court in a 62 page judgement.

The significance of the Supreme Court ruling was that it upheld the right of a political party to expel a member for flouting party discipline. An undesirable feature of the Sri Lankan political landscape in recent times has been the ease with which MPs defied party leadership and broke party ranks. Several crossed over with impunity to the Govt from opposition. It has been possible for these MPs to get away without censure due to favourable court rulings. Since this “impunity”had become the norm, many political parties had given up hope that they would ever be able to penalise errant party members.

In that context the October 5th SC verdict was like a refreshing breeze blowing in the musty legal corridors of Hulftsdorp. As a result of the ruling, Nazeer Ahamed lost his seat in Parliament.. The vacancy has been filled by the SLMC’s Seyed Ali Zaheer Moulana who has been sworn in as Batticaloa district MP. He polled the second highest number of preference votes on the SLMC list at the 2020 hustings.

Continue reading ‘Rise and Fall of “Hafiz” Nazeer Ahamed in the Muslim Congress.’ »

By

Kishali Pinto – Jayawardene

The Supreme Court’s pronouncement while examining Sri Lanka’s Online Safety Bill in the determination communicated to the Speaker earlier this month that, ‘Parliament need not wait till a crime is committed to enact laws’ invites a measure of critical scrutiny in good conscience.

What or who does the Bill protect?

It is self-evident that the legislature need not ‘wait’ till crimes are committed to enact laws. Nor has any legislature, including this country’s rambunctious House, exercised such extraordinary patience. But the point in issue is a different one altogether. In short, this is whether, as petitioners contended in challenging the Bill, a real and not fanciful fear existed that certain clauses of the Bill may, by virtue of their overbroad nature, lead to (unconstitutional) restrictions of basic liberties.

The Court engaged in a descriptive account of the rise of online sexual abuse of children and adults, the need for regulation of the internet, oneline financial scams and ‘interference with the administration of justice particularly when important matters of public discourse are taken up for hearing.’ In those circumstances, it was remarked that the State has a responsibility to enact legislation to prevent such crimes.

These sentiments may be laudable. The judicial litany of rising online abuse may also be conceded without much quarrel. In principle, there is no doubt that sensible and fair regulation is needed. The question remains however as to whether the Government’s Online Safety Bill is a fit and proper legislative vehicle for the purpose? That is so even with the profoundly astonishing number of amendments proposed by the Attorney General (thirty in number) before Court.

Continue reading ‘In principle, there is no doubt that sensible and fair regulation is needed. The question remains however as to whether the Government’s Online Safety Bill is a fit and proper legislative vehicle for the purpose?’ »

The Editors’ Guild of Sri Lanka has expressed its profound sorrow at the passing away of one of its founding members, Mr. Gamini Weerakoon, whose funeral took place in Colombo yesterday.

Mr. Weerakoon was the former Editor of The Island and the Sunday Island.He joined Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd., as a parliamentary reporter in 1966 and rose to the position of News Editor of the Ceylon Observer and Ceylon Daily News and specialized in international affairs. He covered several Non-Aligned summits and interviewed a wide range of foreign presidents and prime ministers during his long and distinguished professional career.

Continue reading ‘Editors’ Guild of Sri Lanka Mourns the Passing away of Former Editor of “The Island” and “Sunday Island” Gamini Weerakoon; Expresses Profound Sorrow at the Sunday Funeral of Veteran editor who was one of the Founding Members of the Guild’ »

Gamini Weerakoon, veteran journalist and one-time editor of The Island and Sunday Island, passed away yesterday (Nov 11 2023) after a brief illness.

An alumnus of St. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia of which he was later a loyal old boy, he entered the Science Faculty of the University of Ceylon (Colombo campus) and later transferred to the Law Faculty but cut short his undergrad studies to join Lake House (Associated Newspapers of Ceylon) in the mid 1960s.

Continue reading ‘Veteran Journalist Gamini Weerakoo (Gamma)n No More! Former Editor of “The Island” and “Sunday Island” Passed Away on 11 November 2023 After a Brief Illness.’ »

By

D.B.S.Jeyaraj

This is the fourth and final part of the article about how I was arrested by the CID and detained on the infamous 4th floor in October 1987. The first,second and third parts were published in the “Daily Mirror” on 14,21 and 30 October respectively. In this fourth and final part the focus would be on how I was released by the Police and cleared of all charges by courts.

As stated last week, one of the CID officers quizzing me on the fourth floor had told me confidentially that I was going to be detained indefinitely to prevent me from reporting on the fighting between the Indian Army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE). Though I had been taken into custody under the emergency regulations, I was going to be charged under the Prevention of terrorism Act(PTA)soon.

While conversing further this police officer who seemed genuinely sympathetic towards me observed “You have been writing about the war between the Sri Lankan army and the tigers to Lankan newspapers and even Indian journals all these years but nothing happened to you. But when you wrote about the Indian army fighting with the LTTE you got into trouble . So think about it. Who would have got you arrested?

The Police officer then told me in cryptic terms “Lokka(JR) is pressured by powerful diplomats on your matter. “Apey minissu” can’t do anything for you. You must get an Indian diamond to cut another Indian diamond.”

I realised what he implied. It seemed clear that only powerful Indian intervention of one kind could save me from powerful Indian pressure of another kind.

Continue reading ‘How I was Released from 4th Floor Detention by the CID and Cleared of all Charges by the A-G Dept and Courts.’ »

(Full Text of keynote address by First Lady Prof. Maithree Wickramasinghe delivered at the Breast Cancer Symposium 2023 on the theme ‘Empowering Hope, Uniting Hearts and Advancing Minds’ organized by the Indira Cancer Trust on Friday,13 October 2023)

I consider it a distinctive privilege to be here this morning, (though not necessarily to be dressed in pink even though it is the custom for those campaigning for breast cancer awareness), but to be here, to articulate my views on breast cancer – stemming not only from my research on the topic but also from my personal experience of being a cancer patient.

I would like to thank Dr Lanka Jayasuriya-Dissanayake and her team as well as the diverse assemblage of stakeholders present here this morning for organizing the event and for their immeasurable and invaluable work in the aetiology, epidemiology, prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, supportive/palliative care and awareness-raising relating to the disease.

In particular, I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation for the Indira Trust Fund for their foresight, motivation, and commitment to offering opportunities for the support, respite (even relief) of cancer patients undergoing treatment – especially, children.

I gather that the aim of the forum today is twofold. One – to take forward the conversation between and amongst multi-stakeholders in developing substantive initiatives to support the early detection. Two – to initiate and promote a national programme for the early detection of breast cancer.

And it is with this second objective in mind that I conceptualised this speech. Consequently, I would like to focus on the cultural and psychological factors, and social conditions that could deter the early detection of breast cancer – and contemplate on ways and means of negotiating these constraints – predominantly from experiential evidence.

In the year 2020, of the total number of cancers diagnosed in women, 25.7% were diagnosed with cancer in their breast. This translated to 3,975 new cases of breast cancer that year. And I was one of these ‘cases’ – detected during the month of March to be precise – just as COVID-19 began sweeping the world and our island went into lockdown. The clinical diagnosis was a Stage I HER2 carcinoma of the right breast. And I was in the 4.2% of all Stage 1 island-wide breast cancers diagnosed in 2020. This was an aggressive cancer and one reason for my presence here today was the early detection of the disease.

Continue reading ‘“I was Diagnosed with Breast Cancer in March 2020 just as COVID-19 began sweeping the world and our island”—- First Lady Prof. Maithree Wickramasinghe talks about her experience with Cancer for the First time at a Public Event’ »

The International Cricket Council (ICC) Board has suspended Sri Lanka Cricket’s membership of the ICC with immediate effect, the world’s cricket governing body said on Friday, a day after the island nation’s parliament unanimously decided to remove the current administrators of the sport.

Sport Minister Roshan Ranasinghe stubbornly took the leadership to sack the current Sri Lanka Cricket Board members following the 2023 World Cup debacle where the island nation lost seven out of nine games they played, their worst performance since 1999 World Cup.
Instead, Ranasinghe appointed an interim committee led by Sri Lanka’s former captain Arjuna Ranatunga.

“The ICC Board met today and determined that Sri Lanka Cricket is in serious breach of its obligations as a Member, in particular, the requirement to manage its affairs autonomously and ensure that there is no government interference in the governance, regulation and/or administration of cricket in Sri Lanka,” the ICC said in a statement.

“The conditions of the suspension will be decided by the ICC Board in due course.”

Continue reading ‘International Cricket Council (ICC) Suspends Sri Lanka Cricket(SLC) from Membership of the ICC with Immediate Effect a day after Sri Lanka’s parliament unanimously Resolved to remove the current administrators of SLC’ »

Scientists have rediscovered a long-lost species of mammal described as having the spines of a hedgehog, the snout of an anteater and the feet of a mole, in Indonesia’s Cyclops Mountains more than 60 years after it was last recorded.

Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna, named after British naturalist David Attenborough, was photographed for the first timesince 1961 by a trail camera on the last day of a four-week expedition led by Oxford University scientists in June and July.

Having descended from the mountains at the end of the trip, biologist James Kempton found the images of the small creature walking through the forest undergrowth on the last memory card retrieved from more than 80 remote cameras.

Continue reading ‘Mammal Species with Hedgehog Spines, Anteater Snout and Feet of a Mole re-discovered by Scientists in Indonesia’s Cyclops Mountain 60 Years after it was last recorded; Attenborough’s Long Beaked Echidna was named after British Naturalist David Attenborough’ »

In a rare moment of unity, parliamentarians of both the Government and the Opposition yesterday came together to unanimously pass a resolution in Parliament against Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).

The resolution, titled “Removal of Corrupt Officials, Including the Chairman, from Sri Lanka Cricket Board,” received unanimous support from both Government and Opposition MPs, leading Speaker Mahinda Abeywardena to pass the resolution without a formal vote.

Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe, announced that the resolution would be forwarded to the International Cricket Council (ICC) and urged the SLC officials to resign promptly, preserving their honour.

The resolution, presented by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa was seconded by Ports, Shipping and Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva on behalf of the Government before being taken up for debate.

Continue reading ‘Without Taking a Formal Vote, Parliament Unanimously Passes Resolution Against Sri Lanka Cricket(SLC) , titled “Removal of Corrupt Officials, Including the Chairman, from Sri Lanka Cricket: Sajith Premadasa Proposes and Nimal Siripala de Silva Seconds “Unity” Resolution.’ »

(Text of Speech made by Jaffna District MP M.A.Sumanthiran PC in Parliament on 08th November 2023)

Thank you Deputy Chairman for the time allocated for me to speak on the very important bill that has been presented by the Minister of Justice today.

I am saying important bill because for a long time the need was felt that the issue of contempt of court needed some intervention by the legislature. So what we thought was the application of the common law of contempt with all its uncertainties, be regulated better particularly with regard to the procedure one adopts in the Superior Courts.

The civil procedure code has a chapter that prescribes procedures for the inferior courts, and therefore there is some procedure prescribed. The judicature act prescribes limitation with regard to sentences that can be imposed and in any case that is in facie contempt – they cannot try anything done outside that court unless specifically authorised by law. Our constitution has given the jurisdictions to the court of appeal to try those.

The superior courts of record, both the Supreme Court and the court of appeal have adopted their own procedure in dealing with this issue. We have seen in the past not very long ago, when the Supreme Court in the exercise of its fundamental rights jurisdiction has summarily detained persons without a charge being read out; sent them to prison and tried and committed persons to judicial custody holding them in contempt.

This happened in one particular case or two cases, if I remember right, one with regard to sand mining and the other with regard to sound pollution, where the then Chief Justice Sarath Silva, presiding in the Chief Justice’s court, would entertain even photographs that somebody gave; will look at it and say “Ah here you have done sand mining” and sentence them to prison. These things happened.

Continue reading ‘“Fundamental right cases at leave stage itself have been argued for 10 days – surely to argue for 10 days there was reason to look into the matter. After full 10 days of arguments, full bench has said we see no reason to grant leave to proceed! That’s the only reason”- MA Sumanthiran MP’ »

By

Sahan Tennekoon

The Minister of Sports Roshan Ranasinghe claimed that the recent stay order issued by the Court of Appeal (CA) suspending the Interim Committee appointed to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) depicts the downfall of the country’s Judiciary.

Making a special statement in the Parliament yesterday (8), Minister Ranasinghe said that a conflict of interest prevail in the country’s judicial system which has resulted in the deterioration of SLC and alleged that Room Number 301 of the CA has been a stronghold of the corrupt administrators of SLC whose conduct was recently approved by a stay order.

Speaking further, the Minister questioned the conduct of the President of the CA, Justice Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne who headed the bench which issued the particular stay order, citing his (Karunaratne) relationship with one of the closest aides of SLC Chairman Shammi Silva named Asela Rekawa who is an attorney-at-law by profession.

Continue reading ‘Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe Flays Appeal Court for Issuing Stay Order Suspending SL Cricket Interim Committee. Alleges in Parliament that Appeal Court President Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne’s Sister in Law;s son and Lawyer Asela Rekawa is Closely Associated with SLC Chairman Shammy Silva’ »

By

Jamila Husain

Hours after Sports Minister Roshan Ranasingha appointed an interim committee headed by former cricketer Arjuna Ranatunga to assume control of Sri Lanka Cricket yesterday, an angry President Ranil Wickremesinghe telephoned Ranasingha and asked for an immediate explanation as to why he had made such a move without consulting him or the cabinet.

The Daily Mirror learns that the President was made aware that the Sri Lanka Cricket Board had been suspended and an interim committee was appointed only by seeing the messages on the news and was surprised as to why Ranasingha had not consulted him or anyone in the cabinet.

An angry Wickremesinghe immediately telephoned Ranasingha and called for an explanation and asked him to be present at the cabinet meeting last evening.

Continue reading ‘Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe Suspends Sri Lanka Cricket Board and Appoints Interim Committee to Take Over Without Consulting President or Govt. A Furious President Ranil Wickremesinghe Berates Ranasingha and Calls for Explanation;Cabinet Appoints 4 Member Ministerial Committee to Oversee SLC’ »

By

D.B.S.Jeyaraj

The first and second parts of this article published on 14 and 21 Ocober respectively narrated the story of how I was arrested by the CID in October 1987 and detained on the 4th floor for having exposed the realities of the war between the Indian army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) in Northern Sri Lanka. In this third part the focus would be on how I was interrogated by the CID while being held on the infamous fourth floor.

At the outset I wish to state that I have been pleasantly surprised by the positive response shown towards the previous articles by readers. The feedback I have been receiving indicates that readers want to know in greater detail about these happenings as opposed to the mere recording of facts. Also some human rights activists have evinced interest in gaining further insight into the relationship that prevailed between the police and the press in those days. It is against this backdrop therefore that I continue relating my experience of being “grilled” by the CID on the 4th floor.

The interrogation and recording of my statement was tedious and I do not intend writing too many boring details about it. When I was first brought to the CID headquarters, I had been shown a letter by CID director DIG Bennet Perera. This letter was from the then Defence secretary Gen Sepala Attygalle instructing the Police to question me regarding the killing of four Rupavahini employees by the LTTE. Strangely enough only one question was put to me about the killing of the Rupavahini crew at Maruthanamadan Junction. In Jaffna. This defeated the ostensible purpose of my detention which was to find out more details about that particular incident.

Continue reading ‘How the CID Interrogated me About Suspected LTTE -JVP Links on the 4th Floor.’ »

By
Meera Srinivasan, Dennis S.Jesudasan

A video-recorded message by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin was not telecast at the ‘Naam 200’ event in Colombo on Thursday due to reported objection from the Government of India over its “last minute” inclusion. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had addressed the event in person.

However, Mr. Stalin’s video message was circulated to the local media by the organisers. A transcript of his address was released in Tamil Nadu by the Department of Information and Public Relations.
The ‘Naam 200’ event was organised by Sri Lanka’s Minister of Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development Jeevan Thondaman to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the arrival of Indian-origin or Malaiyaha Tamils in the island nation from southern India, mainly Tamil Nadu.

A Colombo-based official source said: “Since the Finance Minister was the main guest, New Delhi needed to clear the agenda. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s recording arrived barely two hours before the event, and, hence, could not be obtained.”

Continue reading ‘Did BJP Govt in New Delhi Stymie Tamil Nadu Ruling Party DMK Participation in “Naam 200” HHill Country Tamil Event in Colombo? Chief Minister Stalin’s Message not Telecast; Delayed Clearance Prevents T,Nadu Finance Minister Thennarasu from Attending.’ »

(Text of address delivered by President Ranil Wickremesinghe when declaring open the modern courts complex in Welimada on November 3 2023)

“The administration of justice we have is about the oldest in Asia coming from the Dutch and the British and we are the oldest as far as the rule of law is concerned. It was applied here before it was applied anywhere else. Not even in India not in Japan, so that is the history we have and we have upheld this rule of law. Now the rule of law though at that time confined to a few countries, have now become universal and it is also enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which we have all to follow.

And that is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which we have all respected and will continue to respect. But it requires every country to adhere to it. Today, there are major issues that have arisen with regard to the declaration of human rights and the course of normal international affairs.

I only must refer to the war that is taking place in Gaza. When Hamas attacked Israel, on the 07th of October the Government of Sri Lanka condemned it. I said though Sri Lanka stands by the principle of Palestine in statehood, we cannot condone this act. We can’t condone terrorism and it also left the government with the right of retaliation within the laws and rules available in the international community.

But, that in my view does not in any way justify the killing of over 10,000 people in the Gaza strip. This is not figures that I have, these are figures that are being quoted by the UN agencies. Now, this raises another issue. Are you entitled to declare war to one area of your own country. Can you go to war against it? Now we have gone through this question. And can countries condone it? Because, when we brought a motion for the ceasefire, many of our countries, all of us voted for it, USA opposed it and some other countries also opposed it.

Continue reading ‘It has been said that you must come to courts with clean hands. So why shouldn’t it apply to the Human Rights Council? Next September come with clean hands and we will also answer you. If you haven’t got clean hands, why should we answer you? -President Ranil Wickremesinghe’ »

By

Kishali Pinto-Jayawardene

President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s cracklingly combative question as to ‘why does the United Nations apply one rule to Israel and another rule to us?’ when declaring the opening of the Welimada courts complex this Friday must surely delight the hearts of his steadily growing band of nationalist cheerleaders in Sri Lanka.

“The end of times’?

Certainly these are repugnant hypocrisies, played out on the world stage to devastating effect. As thousands of bloodied children coated with dust are pulled out from the rubble of the Gaza Strip, Palestine bodies pile up on the streets and clog corridors in hospitals that have also been bombed. Israeli settlers are being armed by the security forces to infiltrate and chase out the Palestianians in the West Bank even as bombs flatten Gaza.

These horrifying scenes go to question the very basis of humanity, symbolising the evils that men do to each other and the atrocities that are unblushingly perpetuated in the name of religion, history and land. Make no mistake, the carnage that is continuing in the Palestine has a far wider impact than vexed questions of Israeli occupation or the right to self determination of Palestinians.

In effect, what is unfolding before our eyes is the final dismantling of the international ‘rules based order’ that emerged from the barbarities of two world wars when just men and women sat together and decided that there could never be a recurrence of the horrors that the world had witnessed. In the most dreadful irony, the killing of Palestinians, their ‘extermination’ and their ‘dehumanizing’ as ‘animals’ is justified by vocal front runners of Benjamin Netanyahu’s rightwing regime.

Continue reading ‘In each and every place where populations are ‘dehumanised,’ where children are killed and countries destroyed, the violators work to a single play book.It is the victims who have no voice.’ »

By Krishantha Prasad Cooray

Friends are the family we choose for ourselves. Friends are the home we never lose, the refuge we can count on when the world turns against us. Friends are the tree that shelters us from everything that is inclement and unseasonal. Johann Wijesinghe was such a friend to me. With him in my life, I never felt lonely, or alone. Now that he is gone, I feel as if I’ve lost a world.

I ask you to consider. What man or woman would find time, again and again, to visit a friend’s parents when that friend is away from the country? Not just the parents, but the father-in-law as well? What man or woman would stop the car if he sees a friend’s father-in-law going for a walk, talk to him and send his friend a photo saying ‘uncle looking good’?’ Johann Wijesinghe did all of that and more. When circumstances drove me out of Sri Lanka, a move that was as unexpected as it was wrenching, I knew that I could count on him to keep an eye on my aged parents and father-in-law. That lessened my burden a little.

Johann was close to my family, especially my two daughters. He would write to them on their birthdays and conspire with them to plan surprise birthday parties for me. However busy he was, however bowed down by care, he found the time to be an indispensable uncle to my daughters. He never looked down on them from the height of adulthood. He bent down to their level and became a part of their lives. He became their friend as he was mine.

Continue reading ‘“Friends are the tree that shelters us from everything that is inclement and unseasonal. Johann Wijesinghe was such a friend to me. . Now that he is gone, I feel as if I’ve lost a world”’ »

By Tisaranee Gunasekara

“How much past tomorrow holds.”
Mahmoud Darwish (A rhyme for the odes Mu’allaquat)

During her 2013 visit to Sri Lanka, then UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay wanted to lay a wreath to commemorate the war-dead. “When I go to a country, I like to honour the victims, all victims, victims of LTTE, soldiers, families,” she explained.

The Rajapaksa regime refused permission and launched a campaign of lies against her. “Informed sources said that Pillay had initially been informed of her desire to offer a floral tribute to the late LTTE terrorist leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran,” The Daily News wrote.

The Rajapaksas dubbed the final Eelam War a humanitarian offensive with zero-civilian casualties. Acknowledging civilian Tamil deaths was equated with playing the Tiger game. Mourning was a crime, criticising Lankan forces treachery, and referring to the root causes of the conflict justifying Tiger-atrocities. In this us-vs.-them universe, Pillay’s condemnation of the LTTE as a ‘murderous organisation’ counted for nothing.

Pillay, like UN agencies and humanitarian organisations, based her stance on International Humanitarian Law (IHL). IHL is premised on the concept of jus in bello, just conduct of war, which includes principles such as non-combatant immunity and proportionality. The Rajapaksas practiced the antithesis of IHL. As Prof. Rajan Hoole wrote, “From 2006, the Government began to do what would have been unthinkable after 1987. Intense shelling and deliberate displacement of Tamil populations became integral to its military strategy… (Himal – February 2009).

Before launching the final offensive, the Rajapaksas ordered all UN agencies, INGOs, and media to leave the war-zone. During the 2014 Gaza War, a pro-Netanyahu columnist in The Jerusalem Post urged the Israeli PM to learn from Lanka’s example of ‘resolute use of military force’ and give Hamas ‘the thrashing it deserves’(https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Fundamentally-Freund-Defeating-terrorists-From-Sri-Lanka-to-Gaza-371428).

Today Israel is waging a total war in Gaza, a war that has killed over 3000 children so far (one child killed every 15 minutes). According to Save the Children, more children have been killed in Gaza in three weeks than in global conflicts annually in the last 4 years (2985 children 2022, 2515 in 2021, and 2674 in 2020). Oxfam has accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war. The UN is warning of hunger and desperation in Gaza leading to societal collapse.

Continue reading ‘Hamas committed war crimes. Israel is committing war crimes. And the West, the self-appointed guardians of International Humanitarian Law, is enabling Israel to go on committing war crimes.’ »

By
Lakmal Sooriyagoda

State Minister of Tourism Diana Gamage will keep her Parliamentary seat after the Court of Appeal ruled in its majority decision that there is no merits in the writ petition which sought an order declaring that she is not qualified to be a Member of Parliament.

Social activist Oshala Herath filed this petition seeking an order in the nature of a Writ of Quo Warranto declaring that Diana Gamage is disqualified to be a Member of Parliament and is thus not entitled to hold office as a MP.

Oshala Herath told Daily Mirror that he is expecting to file an appeal in the Supreme Court challenging the legality of the Court of Appeal judgment.

Continue reading ‘Appeal Court Dismisses Writ Petition against State Minister Diana Gamage in 2 to 1 Majority Judgement by Justices Karunaratne and Swarnadhipathy ; Justice Marikka Dissents and Issues Writ of Quo Warranto Separately Ruling That Diana is Disqualified as MP;Petitioner Oshala Herath to File Appeal to Supreme Court Challenging Appeal Court Order.’ »

By

D.B.S. Jeyaraj

It’s almost official or unofficially official! President Ranil Wickremesinghe has stated publicly that the next Presidential election would be held in 2024.

Addressing the United National Party ( UNP)’s Special convention held at the Sugathadasa Stadium on 21 October 2023, the President outlined the timeline for upcoming elections in line with the constitutional provisions. He said the presidential election would be held next year, followed by parliamentary elections.

“Next year, I will conduct the presidential election as mandated by the Constitution. Subsequently, parliamentary elections will be held, and perhaps Provincial Council elections in early 2025,” he told the UNP convention and emphasised that the party should begin electoral preparations now. Significantly President Wickremesinghe made no mention of elections to Local authorities.

Continue reading ‘Why Ranil Wickremesinghe Wants to Hold a Presidential Election First in 2024.’ »

By
Meera Srinivasan

Chinese research vessel Shiyan 6, which arrived in Colombo last week amid concerns raised by India and the United States, is set to begin its two-day research off the Sri Lankan coast today, Sri Lankan authorities said.

The research will be pursued off Sri Lanka’s western coast, and in collaboration with Sri Lanka’s National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) and the University of Ruhuna, according to a spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombo.

Asked about the nature of research, the spokesperson told The Hindu: “It is marine scientific research.” The Ministry had earlier said the vessel was at the Colombo port for “replenishment”.
Research ship Shiyan 6 was added to China’s fleet of marine research vessels in December 2020. Said to be the country’s first scientific research vessel focusing on geophysical exploration,

Continue reading ‘Chinese research vessel Shiyan 6, which arrived in Colombo last week amid concerns raised by India and the United States will begin its two-day research off the Sri Lankan coast today.’ »

Sonia Gandhi

On October 7, 2023, on the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, Hamas launched a brutal attack on Israel, killing more than a thousand people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping over 200 more.

The unprecedented attack was devastating for Israel. The Indian National Congress strongly believes that violence has no place in a decent world, and the very next day unequivocally condemned Hamas’s attacks.

This tragedy is, however, being compounded by the Israeli military’s indiscriminate operations in and around Gaza that have led to thousands of deaths, including large numbers of innocent children, women and men. The power of the Israeli state is now focused on exacting revenge from a population that is largely as helpless as it is blameless.

The destructive might of one of the world’s most potent military arsenals is being unleashed upon children, women and men who have no part in the Hamas assault; they, instead, for the most part, have been at the heart of decades of discrimination and suffering.

Continue reading ‘The world was diminished by the brutal attacks on Israel; the world stands diminished again by Israel’s disproportionate and equally brutal response.’ »

By

D.B.S.Jeyaraj

It was in October 1990 that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) forcibly expelled the Tamil speaking Muslim people from the Northern Province in an atrocious act amounting to ethnic cleansing. Within a few days the Muslims were chased out of their homeland where they had lived for many, many centuries. The thirty-third anniversary of this cruel, inhuman episode in the history of Tamil –Muslim relations in Sri Lanka is being widely remembered at present.

The mass expulsion of Muslims from the North in 1990 was a human catastrophe. Uprooting a people from their habitat at gun point and driving them away after depriving them of their cash and jewellery was despicable and unpardonable.

I have often written about this tragedy in the past. I shall be drawing on some of my earlier writings in a bid to revive memories of this mass expulsion by relating in brief the tale of this terrible tragedy. I also want to trace the sequence of events that led to this sordid exercise in which the Tamil speaking Muslims were chased out by their gun toting linguistic brethren.

“Black October 1990”

“Black October” 1990 began in the Jaffna peninsula with the expulsion of Muslims of Chavakachcheri on October 15th and ended with the Muslims of Jaffna town on Oct 30th. The mass eviction of Muslims on the Northern mainland began a few days before it commenced in Jaffna town and concluded a few days after the peninsula was “cleansed” of Muslims.

The bulk of Northern Muslims were then living in the Mannar district .They were sent out. Apart from Jaffna and Mannar, the Muslims of Mullaitheevu and Kilinochchi districts were also sent out. The Muslims in Vavuniya were luckier as most of their villages were in the Government controlled areas. More than 50,000 Muslims were expelled from the northern mainland by the LTTE. Together with those of the peninsula the Muslims driven out from the Northern Province numbered around 75,000 in 1990.

Continue reading ‘“Black October”: The Mass Expulson of Northern Muslims by the LTTE 33 Years ago’ »

By

D.B.S. Jeyaraj

(This is the second part of the article “How I was Arrested by the CID and Detained on the 4th Floor” published last week)

As stated last week, the CID director DIG Bennet Perera showed me the letter written by Defence Secretary Gen.Sepala Attygalle instructing the Police to question me for information regarding the murder of four Rupavahini employees in Jaffna. I immediately told the DIG that I did not know anything about the Rupavahini killings beyond what had been already reported in newspapers. I also said the matter had not been discussed with the then LTTE deputy leader “Mahathaya” when I was interviewing him.

DIG Bennet Perera responded by saying that I would have to make a detailed statement about related matters such as my trip to Jaffna and interview with Mahathaya. I replied that
I was a professional Journalist who had absolutely nothing to hide from the law enforcement authorities.I said that I could make a full statement about my Jaffna visit without divulging my sources. I suggested that I be allowed to go home and return the following day to make a statement with either the Island editor or a senior journalist in attendance.My suggestion was turned down.

I was then told that I had to stay overnight at police headquarters and that my statement would be recorded the following morning. I said that Gen Attygalle’s letter had not instructed the police to detain me. The CID director’s reply was that they the CID were the best judges of deciding as to how information was going to be elicited from me. I was also told that I was going to be detained temporarily under the emergency regulations.

At that point I got agitated a little and asked the DIG for a lawyer or my editor to be present at my interrogation. The reply was that I was not going to be interrogated but would merely be asked to clarify matters. I again asked for a lawyer but was refused. DIG Bennet Perera said the recording of the statement was not going to take much time and I would be free to go in the morning.

I insisted then that I should be given a telephone call as I wanted to inform the Island editor. The DIG said that the editor had been informed and that I need not be given a call.

I then asked DIG Perera as to why the CID had resorted to the elaborate ruse of pretending to be JVP when they could have been straightforward and introduced themselves as Policemen. The reply was that in a previous experience with a well-known journalist whom the CID had to question, they had had a bad experience. The journalist in question had pretended to be his cousin and had eluded them for a number of days. That was why the CID first posed as the JVP with me and confirmed my identity , I was told.

Subsequently when I was being questioned by the CID I was repeatedly asked the question whether I had JVP links and what I thought of a LTTE -JVP political alliance. So I suspect that the “JVP pretence” ruse had more to it than what had been said.

Two Amusing Things

I was taken from the DIG’s office to the infamous fourth floor and formally detained. I had to hand over all my possessions to a policeman who dutifully recorded everything. Two amusing things happened.

I had in my pocket a brooch with a Sikh emblem. This was pinned by Sikh soldiers on their turbans. Mahaththaya had distributed some of these taken from dead Sikh soldiers to some of the Journalists in Jaffna. I also got one. I had brought it to office to show a friend at the Island. Now this was in my pocket and I was worried that the cops may identify it . When the policeman asked me what the brooch was I deadpanned “tie pin” and so it was recorded as a tiepin. The Policeman did not bother to think as to why I had a tiepin in my pocket while not wearing a tie.

The other amusing thing was that I had some Vitamin B complex capsules in my pocket. When the cop saw it he became excited. “What are these? cyanide capsules? he asked me in Sinhala. I realised that being a Tamil he was viewing me as a Tiger and suspected that I was carrying such capsules. I told him that It was vitamin B but he did not seem convinced and asked whether he could throw them into the waste paper basket. I agreed and so the “Vitamin – Cyanide” capsules were dumped.

I was then taken to a room. It was a routine office room. The telephone extension there was disconnected. Later I was given a rice parcel to eat and asked to sleep in the same room. A police constable in civils was guarding me and would accompany me to the toilet.

The room that I was placed in had charts of the names of alleged Tamil “terrorists “ and the movements to which they belonged. They were pasted on the walls. There were several errors in those. I pointed them out to my “guardian” policeman who got upset and said “Don’t say these things.Mind your own business”. There was also a very large roadmap plastered on the wall. When I tried to do some map reading the policeman became uncomfortable and said “Don’t do this. Just go and sit”. I complied.

I started conversing with the policeman. It was quite pleasant. The fact that I could speak Sinhala reasonably well helped to communicate. My credentials as a journalist attached to the English sister of the Popular Sinhala “Divaina” newspaper also helped. Another factor was that my family was then residing in Kurunegala and therefore I was not considered as being from Jaffna.

Panoramic Harbour View

There was no bed to sleep on. I sat for a long time by the window which overlooked the harbour. It was a panoramic view with a myriad of lights. One had to pay a cover charge to get the same view at the harbour view room at the then Taprobane Hotel and here I was getting it free. Finally I took a cushion from one of the chairs, placed it on a table, climbed on it and went to sleep.

I did not sleep well at all mainly because of anxiety. I was deeply troubled by the thought that no one may possibly know about my plight. I did not believe that the Police had informed the Editor Gamini Weerakoon. Since they were refusing me a telephone call I feared the worst. While I was tossing and tuning on the table the policeman guarding me was dozing comfortably in his chair.

At dawn the police constable told me that the waterflow in the bathroom pipes was heavy in the morning. I could bathe but I had no towel, soap or change of clothing. Still I wanted a bath. There was no bathing bucket. Improvising, I washed the toilet bucket well and then filled it and began pouring the water on my body. After bathing there was no towel to dry myself and I got into my dirty crumpled clothes again in a wet state. I could not shave myself too.

I found that my detention room by night was actually an office room by day and that civilian police personnel worked there. I was given a string-hopper parcel and plain tea for breakfast. I tucked in. Thereafter I kept on requesting for a telephone call. Also no one seemed interested in recording my statement. My repeated requests that I meet with senior police officers to record my statement were also ignored. I was merely asked to sit at the desk by the window and gaze. My request for a newspaper was also not heeded.

I was beginning to get more and more worried that I was going to be held indefinitely without any statement being recorded or the outside world knowing. So I decided to do something and rectify the situation. Rasiah Partheeban alias Thileepan of LTTE “fast unto death “fame was my inspiration. I decided to go on a hunger strike.

Refusal to Eat Lunch

At noon I was given a rice parcel for lunch. Instead of eating as was expected I refused to eat it. When the police constable guarding me queried as to why I was not eating, my reply was that my statement was not being recorded and that I was not being given a telephone call to inform my editor and as such I was not in a mood to eat. To emphasise my troubled state of mind I folded my arms and placed my face downwards on the desk. A little later some more constables came and asked me to eat saying that the recording of the statement would commence as soon as I finished eating. I politely refused saying I wanted a telephone cal firstl.

Then one of the police inspectors who arrested me came and wanted me to eat but I said I wanted a telephone call first. After some time I was taken to another room where everything was in place for the recording of my statement. I was told that I was delaying matters unnecessarily by refusing to eat. “Recording your statement is going to take some time so you had better eat because you are going to be here tonight also” I was told.

At that point I stressed that I must be allowed to speak to the Island editor. Again I was told that he had been informed but I insisted that I should be able to speak to him directly and confirm it. Despite the pressure I continued to maintain that I would not be in a position to eat and make a statement or answer questions until and unless I was allowed to speak to the Editor directly.

I was not abrasive when I asserted my position but very mild-mannered and polite. This helped to minimise the irritation that the Police officers were feeling at my attitude. After a great deal of talk, I was asked to go back to my original room of incarceration.

I continued to remain at my desk with my face buried in my folded arms. I was woken up time and again by some civilian female personnel who gently admonished me for refusing to eat and entreated me to do so. I was touched by their behaviour but declined politely to do so.

Two Minute Telephone Call

After a long lull I was taken to the CID director’s Office where the top man blew his top at me. “What is this? Are you trying to do a Thileepan here and put us all in jeopardy?” Bennet Perera rasped. Once again I explained my position politely. Finally DIG Perera yielded and instructed his subordinates to get the Island Editor online “Only two minutes” he barked and kept on listening to the conversation on the extension.

I think Island Editor Gamini Weerakone’s gruff voice never sounded sweeter to me as on that fateful day. He confirmed that that he had indeed been informed by the CID and that he had informed my family and close friends of the position. He also told me that “HIndu” associate editor N.Ram too had been informed through Dr.Neelan Tiruchelvam. The Island police beat reporter Jehan Haniff will be in touch with the 4th floor guys constantly on your matter he said. Asking me not to worry “Gamma” began telling me of certain politicians and Lawyers who were interceding on my behalf when the phone was yanked out of my hand. My time was over.

I went back to the Interrogation room refreshed in spirit. My lunch parcel had turned cold but I was given a bun, plantain and tea and my brief imitation of Thileepan was over.

The recording of my statement commenced on Tuesday (Oct 27) afternoon. Before questioning began there was a minor hitch when the Police officers said that the questioning had to be conducted in Sinhala and that the statement would be recorded in Sinhala too. I said I was not very competent in Sinhala and that I would prefer English .They said that was not possible. So I then demanded that it should be recorded in Tamil as according to my constitutional rights. The reply was that they were short of personnel proficient in the Tamil language and that I may have to wait indefinitely.

Recording Statement in English

I said that was all right and again expressed the view that it would be mutually beneficial if the statement was recorded in English. The officers went out and returned presumably after consulting higher-ups and beamed. “It is English then” they said. The recording of my statement began. What happened thereafter will be related in the third part of this article next week.

D.B.S.Jeyaraj can be reached at dbsjeyaraj@yahoo.com

This is the “DBS Jeyaraj Column” appearing in the “Daily Mirror”of 21 October 2023.It can be accessed here –

https://www.dailymirror.lk/opinion/How-I-Went-on-a-Hunger-Strike-in-CID-Custody-on-the-4th-Floor/172-269638

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Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Spokesman and MP M.A. Sumanthiran writing to IGP C.D. Wickramaratne yesterday questioned the police’s inaction against the recent controversial comments inciting “racial hatred and violence” made by the Chief Incumbent of the Magalaramaya Vihara, Batticaloa – Ampitiye Sumana Thera.

In a recent video shot this week the Thera’s behaviour became highly agitated after he made an accusation that a contractor had engaged in the demolition of a burial ground exclusively designated for the Sinhalese community in the area. This alleged action he said involved in the destruction of numerous burial plots, including that of the Thera’s own mother. The Bhikku was observed employing racially derogatory language while raising questions about the ethnicity and religion of the individual responsible for the action.

The MP in his letter noted that the Bhikku had threatened to cut Tamils living in Sri Lanka’s South “to pieces” following the incident.

Continue reading ‘Batticaloa Magalaramaya Vihara Chief Incumbent Ampitiye Sumana Thera Threatens to cut Tamils Living in South to Pieces;MA Sumanthiran MP writes to IGP CD Wickramaratne Questioning Police Inaction over Monk’s Statement Violating the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act’ »

Sri Lanka’s human rights activist Ambika Satkunanathan has been appointed to the Board of Trustees of UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture by the UN Secretary General António Guterres.

Satkunanathan has worked over twenty years with persons and communities impacted by human rights violations, especially in the conflict-affected North and East, and assisted them with accessing remedies. She served as a Commissioner at the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (2015-2020), leading the nation’s first comprehensive prison study.

Prior to that for eight years she was a Legal Advisor to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Continue reading ‘UN Secretary General António Guterres. Appoints Former Sri Lankan Human Rights Commissioner Ambika Satkunanathan to the Board of Trustees of UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture .’ »

By
Buddhika Samaraweera

In the wake of recent controversies pertaining to lands in the Batticaloa District, Eastern Provincial Governor Senthil Thondaman said that the Government has dealt with the people who have forcibly acquired State lands in the district in accordance with the relevant legal provisions and not on the basis of their nationality or religion.

Claiming that there are attempts to evict people from the Divulpothana village in the Batticaloa District, Chief Incumbent of the Mangalarama Temple in Batticaloa, Ven. Ampitiye Sumanarathana Thera had recently called on the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) to intervene in the matter. Further, he constantly accuses the Government of preparing to evict Sinhalese who are engaged in cultivation activities in certain areas of the Batticaloa District.

Speaking to The Daily Morning on the matter yesterday (26), Thondaman said that action would always be taken against people who have encroached on State land according to the relevant legal provisions. “The country has legal provisions on how to deal with people who acquire land illegally. Most of the land in the Batticaloa District belongs to the Mahaweli Authority, so they always take action in case of land encroachment according to the relevant legal provisions.”

Continue reading ‘“Not only the Sinhalese, but also Tamils and Muslims who have acquired land illegally have been evicted from some lands in the East. This monk Ampitiye Sumanarathana Thera is living in an illusory world. He should first understand that the law of the land is being enforced”- Eastern Governor Senthil Thondaman’ »

By
Buddhika Samaraweera

While it is up to the Defence Ministry to decide whether to implement the Parliament’s Sectoral Oversight Committee (SOC) on National Security’s recommendation to inform United States (US) Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung to refrain from making remarks regarding the internal affairs of Sri Lanka, the said SOC stated that their message has, however, reached the relevant parties.

The said SOC had recently recommended the particular ministry to inform Ambassador Chung to refrain from commenting on Sri Lanka’s internal affairs.

Continue reading ‘US Ambassador Julie Chung “has intervened in Sri Lanka’s internal affairs too much. It should come to an end.” says Rear Admiral (Ret.) Dr. Sarath Weerasekera’ »

By

Ranga Jayasuriya

If you keep yourself up to date with local news, you are also likely to be bombarded with an overdose of negativity, which might make an inquisitive tourist ponder whether he or she is in a different country.

That dichotomy may partly be due to the differential exposure to the local life, but that is also because, as I have written here previously, Sri Lankans have done a better job than anyone else to run their country down before the world and at home- and they relish at it.

If you dig deeper into this discourse, you meet a motley group of activists who have self-anointed themselves as heirs to Aragayala, the people’s struggle that ousted Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The Aragalaya was an unpartisan mass struggle. The folks who now claim to be the heir to the Aragalaya are partisan accessories of the disgruntled political fringe

They are not the heir to, but the imposters of Aragayala. Their Aragalaya-coated groups are fronts to the Peratugamis and JVP. Most other civil society groups of the same flavour can have their entire contingent travelling in one or two three-wheeler taxis.

But, they enjoy a disproportionate media space, not befitting to their sparsely attended protests, for most television stations in this country are driven not so much by news but agendas.

Continue reading ‘During the “Aragalaya” the JVP and Peratugamis, had far-reaching objectives. Their objective was not just the ouster of Gotabaya but the regime capture by exploiting the political vacuum.’ »

The Judiciary of the Nineteenth Judicial District of the Commonwealth of Virginia on 20 October hosted a special ceremony to mark the investiture of the Divani Raveena Nadaraja who is of Sri Lankan origin.

Judge Divani Nadaraja’s journey to this prestigious position has been marked by a wealth of experience and dedication to the pursuit of justice.

Judge Divani Nadaraja officially joined the Fairfax County of Virginia’s Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court bench on 1 May bringing with her a remarkable background.

Continue reading ‘Divani Nadaraj of Sri Lankan Tamil Origin appointed judge in Nineteenth Judicial District of the Commonwealth of Virginia.USA.’ »

(Text of Press Release Issued by the Presidents Media Division on 23 October 2023)

The three Cabinet ministers took their oaths at the Presidential Secretariat this morning (23), in the presence of President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Mr. Keheliya Rambukwella now serves as the Minister of Environment, Mr. Mahinda Amaraweera as the Minister of Plantation Industries and Dr. Ramesh Pathirana as the Minister of Health.

Continue reading ‘Keheliya Rambukwella, Mahinda Amaraweera and Dr.Ramesh Pathirana Sworn in by President Wickremesinghe as Cabinnet Ministers in Charge of Environment, Plantation Industries and Health Respectively; State Finance Minister Ranjit Siyambalapitiya Appointed as State Minister of Plantation Enterprise Reform also’ »

Apparently ending speculation, President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Saturday confirmed that the elections cycle will begin from next year.

Speaking at the UNP’s convention, the President outlined the timeline for upcoming elections in line with the constitutional provisions, detailing that the presidential election is slated for the following year, followed by parliamentary elections.

Furthermore, local Government elections are expected to transpire in the first half of 2025.

“Next year, I will conduct the presidential election as mandated by the Constitution. Subsequently, parliamentary elections will be held, and perhaps Provincial Council elections in early 2025,” he told the UNP convention and stressed the party should begin preparations now.

His confirmation may put an end to speculation that Wickremesinghe along with Rajapakse-backed Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) were exploring multiple options not to conduct or postpone elections scheduled from next year.

Continue reading ‘“Next year, I will conduct the presidential election as mandated by the Constitution. Subsequently, parliamentary elections will be held, and perhaps Provincial Council elections in early 2025,” -President Ranil Wickremesinghe at UNP Special Convention’ »

By

Tisaranee Gunasekara

“Do not use our death and our pain to bring the death and pain of other people and other families…” Israeli peace activist Noy Katsman (eulogy for his brother Hayim Katsman murdered by Hamas on October 7)

Jewish Currents is a US-based leftwing Jewish magazine. Soon after October 7 Hamas attack, its editor, Arielle Angel, a vocal proponent of Palestinian liberation, penned a letter to the readers. “I watched the bulldozer destroying Gaza fence again and again, and cried tears of hope,” she wrote. “I watched Palestinian teenagers seemingly out joyriding in a place half a mile away that they’d never been…But these images were quickly joined by others – the image of a woman’s body mostly naked and bent unnaturally at the back of a truck; rooms full of families lying in piles, the walls splattered in blood. I wanted desperately to keep these images separate – to hold close the liberatory metaphor and banish the violent reality. By the time I began to accept these were the pictures of same reality, I was distraught…”….

The October 7 attack itself was historical – Palestinians breaching Israel’s supposedly impregnable defences, a written-in-fire reminder to Arab leaders of the immediacy of the Palestinian question. But that operation could have been carried out without murdering civilians, including women and children.

Had Hamas attacked only military targets, the focus would have been on the Netanyahu’s government’s failure to defend Israel, and on the axiomatic link between Middle East peace and a just solution to the Palestinian question. But with the murders and the rapes, Israeli government was able to pivot attention away from its own egregious failures to Hamas brutalities. (Incidentally, most victims of the Hamas attack were left-wing Israelis supportive of Palestinian rights.)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was reportedly warned of a likely Hamas operation by Egypt’s intelligence chief Abbas Kamel. He opted to ignore the warning and prioritise illegal Jewish settlement in the West Bank, to appease his ultra-orthodox allies. Had Hamas attacked without targeting civilians, Mr. Netanyahu would now be fighting for his political life rather than trying to snuffle out all Palestinian lives in Gaza. Hamas provided the beleaguered Israeli prime minister with a political lifeline, and an invaluable excuse to the Israeli hard right to ethnically cleanse Palestinian lands of Palestinian people.

Eqbal Ahamad, the renowned Pakistani academic and resistance activist (he was once a member of the Algerian FLN) explained that armed struggle “was supremely unsuitable to the Palestinian condition.”Instead, Palestinians should identify and expose the primary contraction in Israel, “that it was founded as a symbol of the suffering of humanity…at the expense of another people innocent of guilt.”This contraction cannot be brought out by armed struggle. “In fact, you suppress this contradiction by armed struggle. The Israeli Zionist organizations portray the Jews as victims of Arab violence…” (On Empire).

Continue reading ‘When religion marries politics, death and destruction are the offspring they bear, a universal truth we in Sri Lanka too should remember.’ »

By

Kishali Pinto-Jayawardene

Sri Lanka’s political establishment continues to be in unusually excited tumult following this month’s Supreme Court decision in the Nazeer Ahamed case, upholding the opposition Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC)’s expulsion of a dissident member of parliament for voting against the party whip in Parliament.

Amusing repercussions of the Court ruling

He has now forfeited both a ministerial portfolio with which he was ‘rewarded’ after crossing over, and his parliamentary seat, to the little regret (one would presume) of his constituency given this luckless worthy’s less than stellar performance. Regardless of his fate, the wider impact of the ruling on the spectrum of ‘crossover’ MPs has led to somewhat amusing repercussions.

These include members who have ‘crossed over’ from the party on which they were elected and who now either sit with the Government (with some holding Cabinet portfolios) or profess to be ‘independents’ in the House. Many of them have resorted to running hither and thither, pleading with their erstwhile party command to refrain from taking disciplinary action against them. On the other hand, political parties hitherto reticent in dealing with dissident MPs, have taken the upper hand.

All of this would be laughable if not for the serious consequences that these convulsions result in for the unfortunate electorate as a whole. The affected MPs may console themselves by the thought that a single swallow does not make a season. Or to put it more aptly in a local setting, the cry of a single ‘koha’ will not bring about the ‘Avurudu’ season. In other words, this ruling of a three-judge Bench of the Court earlier in October is but one of a plethora of decisions which are diverse in their views.

Continue reading ‘Supreme Court Ruling in Nazeer Ahamed Case; the cry of a single ‘koha’ will not bring about the ‘Avurudu’ season.’ »

By

D.B.S.Jeyaraj

Thirty-six years ago in October 1987, I was arrested by the Sri Lankan Police and detained at the Crminal Investigation Department(CID) Office on the fourth floor of the Police secretariat in Fort, Colombo. I was then working as a journalist for “The Island” in Colombo. I was also the Sri Lanka Correspondent of the Indian English daily “The Hindu” and newsmagazine “Frontline”. The United National Party (UNP) Government headed by President Junius Richard (JR) Jayewardene was in power then.

President Jayewardene and the then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had signed an agreement on 29 July 1987. This historic agreement referred to as the Indo-Lanka Accord temporarily ended the conflict between the Sri Lankan armed forces and the Tamil militant organizations including the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE). An Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was stationed in the Northern and Eastern provinces of the Island

Fighting broke out between the IPKF and LTTE on 10 October 1987. I was in Jaffna at that time and witnessed first hand the eruption of war. I returned to Colombo on 21 October and wrote articles and news stories in detail about what was happening in Jaffna for the “Sunday Island” of 25 October 1987. An exclusive interview with the then LTTE deputy -leader Gopalaswamy Mahendrarajah alias “Mahathaya” was also published. My writings about prevailing realities in Jaffna contradicted the “official version” then being trotted out by the powers that be about the war against the LTTE.

I was arrested by the Police on Monday 26 October and detained at the then CID Headquarters on the 4th floor of the Police Secretariat in Colombo 1. Recently a post-graduate student, interviewed me about the circumstances of my arrest and detention for her PhD thesis on media suppression in Sri Lanka. I had written about my arrest related matters in detail , 26 years ago for “The Island”newspaper and had to wander down memory lane again. It is against this backdrop that I re-visit my arrest and detention in Oct 1987 with the aid of earlier writings in this article. It is a first-person account of my experiences.

Continue reading ‘How I was Arrested by the CID and Detained on the 4th Floor.’ »

(Text of Speech made on the current Israel – Palestine conflict by Jaffna District Parliamentarian M.A.Sumanthiran on 20th October 2023 in Parliament )

Thank you deputy speaker for the time allocated to speak on this very important issue that is shocking the conscience of the world. Let me at the outset express my solidarity with the people who are suffering as a result of violence, destruction, and wanton killing that’s taking place even as we debate this.

We have seen footages, we are hearing news of humanitarian crises of enormous proportion. And therefore even as a small country in the world, we cannot remain mute. We have to necessarily raise our voice on behalf of the suffering people. The crises in Palestine and Israel is a political crisis, is a complicated one, we all know that. I’m not going to discuss the rights and wrongs the claims and counterclaims of both sides to that political conflict. This is not the time to discuss that. Now is the time to condemn the violence to appeal to all sides that are indulging in violence that are Prosecuting the war to immediately bring a halt to that, and end the human suffering.

We speak – I speak today, also as a representative of the people who have suffered as a result of long, protracted violence. Now, when people suffer through violence, it is almost immaterial as to who is responsible for that. Well, it is important to identify the perpetrators, but the point that I’m making is, it it is important, it is urgent, first to bring that suffering to an end; to bring that fighting to an end; to call for a ceasefire. I’m saying this because how can we live in – as we claim – in a civilised world and look upon and wait when nations seek to settle their differences, through violence.

That may have happened centuries ago, but in today’s world, does that even have a place? Is it not possible to resolve, however complex the issue is, by means of dialogue; through intermediaries; through mediations, without resorting to violence; without resorting to killing each other. The answer seems obvious. But what we see in the world, it is not so obvious. Constantly there are fightings going on in many places in the world. This is happening in Ukraine and now in the Middle East.

I cannot but say at this moment, how strikingly similar the events that are unfolding now in the Middle East are to what we experienced for three decades more than 15 years ago.

Continue reading ‘“I speak as a representative of the (Tamil ) people who have suffered protracted violencThe events that are unfolding now in the Middle East are strikingly similar to what we experienced for three decades more than 15 years ago.”- MA Sumanthiran MP’ »

By

Yohan Perera

In accordance with the Constitution, the Presidential election is scheduled for next year, followed by the parliamentary election, President Ranil Wickremesinghe assured today despite reports that there will be Constitutional reforms instead.

“Both the Presidential election and the general elections will be held next year while the Provincial Council election will be held in early 2025,” the President said while addressing the UNP Convention in Colombo.

Continue reading ‘“Both the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections will be held in 2024 While Provincial Council Elections will be held in Early 2025” States President Ranil Wickremesinghe in his Address at the UNP Convention in Colombo’ »

By

Gideon Levy

This bloodbath must be stopped immediately; it isn’t leading anywhere good. Massacres can be answered with massacres, but even a terrible massacre like the one perpetrated in southern Israel cannot justify whatever follows it, with no limits.

A terrible massacre might even be able to justify another terrible massacre if it has a goal other than punishment and vengeance, and if that goal is both legitimate and achievable. But that isn’t the case for the war in the Gaza Strip, which has no clear, realistic purpose and certainly has no answer to the question of what happens on the day after.
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But even if it had a clear purpose, even then there would have to be limits to the devastation. The bloodbath now taking place in Gaza, which has only just begun, shows that there are no limits. And in the face of this, it’s impossible to remain silent. This cannot be justified.

It is impossible to be silent in the face of the terrible images from Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City – dozens of bodies lined up one after the other, many of them children with lacerated bodies and missing limbs – just as it’s impossible to be silent when faced with the pictures of death and destruction that occurred here. Hundreds of desperate Palestinians were killed Monday after trying to find shelter in the open air near the hospital, in the false belief that they would be safe there even during this cursed war.

Continue reading ‘What happened October 7 shook Israel beyond recognition. But even in the heat of our anger and frustration, we must not lose whatever remains of our conscience and moral compass. We must not let all of Israel become Hamas.’ »

Sri Lanka has received conditional nod from the staff of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) following the completion of the first review of the $ 3 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program.

IMF said the staff-level agreement is subject to the approval by its management and the Executive Board in the period ahead, contingent on: (i) the implementation by the authorities of all prior actions; (ii) the completion of financing assurances reviews, which will include confirming whether adequate progress has been made with debt restructuring to give confidence that the restructuring will be concluded in a timely manner and in line with the program’s debt targets.

Upon approval by the IMF Executive Board, Sri Lanka would have access to SDR 254 million (about $ 330 million), bringing the total IMF financial support disbursed under the arrangement to SDR 508 million (about $ 660 million).

Continue reading ‘International Monetary Fund Staff Level Agreement Green Lights , $ 330 Million Second Tranche of Extended Fund Facility to Sri Lanka Subject to Approval by IMF Executive Board.’ »

(Text of Press Release Issued by President’s Media division on 20th October 2023)

President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China stated that China is committed to assisting Sri Lanka in achieving economic stability without any political agenda. He expressed his desire to collaborate closely with President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Furthermore, President Xi Jinping acknowledged that Sri Lanka’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly, delivered by President Ranil Wickremesinghe, reflected the country’s strategic independence and its neutral stance.

Bilateral discussions between President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is on an official visit to China and Chinese President Xi Jinping took place at the Great Hall of the People. President Xi Jinping warmly welcomed President Ranil Wickremesinghe and after a friendly exchange, the two leaders engaged in bilateral talks.

Continue reading ‘President Xi Jinping states China is committed without any political agenda to assist Sri Lanka in achieving economic stability; Acknowledges President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Speech at UN, reflected Sri Lanka’s strategic independence and its neutral stance.’ »

State Minister Diana Gamage has been admitted to the Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital following her claims about being assaulted by a male parliamentarian representing the main opposition.

She also filed a complaint with Welikada Police prior to getting hospitalized.

Earlier today, during the parliamentary session, Damage accused Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Sujith Sanjaya Perera of assaulting her outside the Chamber and called for a comprehensive investigation into the matter.

This prompted the temporary adjournment of the session by Deputy Speaker Ajith Rajapakse, at the request of PM Dinesh Gunawardena.

Continue reading ‘State Minister Diana Gamage Hospitalized Following Alleged Assault by SJB MP Sujith Samaya Perera in Parliament. Was Allegedly Involved in Argument with SJB MP Rohana Bandara who says “We, men, also need to defend ourselves when we are insulted and attacked.”’ »

By Yohan Perera

No one should contest the next presidential election for the sake of the nation, UNP Chairman and Member of Parliament Vajira Abeywardana said yesterday.

“It is better if no one comes forward to contest the Presidential election next year as it would help the nation to stabilize,” MP Abeywardana told a media briefing.

Continue reading ‘If No One Comes Forward to Contest the Next Presidential Election, the Incumbent President Can Continue in Office and Bring about Economic Stability says UNP Chairman Vajira Abeywardana MP’ »

By

Jamila Husain

President Ranil Wickremesinghe is likely to make drastic changes in the higher up of the gov-ernment including in the cabinet and the defence ranks following the budget in November, the Daily Mirror learns.

The move comes at a time when the government is feeling the heat over the inability of some ministers to perform in their portfolios and a call for change in some high defence ranks.

Amidst the tussle to appoint a new Inspector General of Police, (IGP), the Daily Mirror learns that DIG Deshabandu Tennekoon is likely to get the seat once his name is recommended to the Constitutional Council after the three week extension of C.D. Wickramaratne ends later this month.

Continue reading ‘President Wickremesinghe Likely to Make Drastic Changes in Composition og Government and Upper Echelons of Defence Sector after November Budget’ »

By

Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana

There are no moves to scrap the Executive Presidency as it is a difficult task, Minister of Justice Wijedasa Rajapaksha told Parliament today.

“Scrapping the Executive Presidency is a complicated and difficult process. There is no way we can do it through the present Parliament. It is also an exercise in which the people of this country have to be engaged in,” the Minister said.

Continue reading ‘No Moves on to Abolish the Executive Presidency says Wijedasa Rajapakshe;“Scrapping the Executive Presidency is a complicated and difficult process. There is no way we can do it through the present Parliament, Justice Minister says.’ »

The United National Party (UNP) will effect major changes to its constitution at its special convention scheduled for October 21 similar to the reforms introduced way back in 1978, party’s chairman MP Wajira Abeywardena said.

He said that the Special Convention will be conducted at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium in Colombo, at 2p.m.

He said it is needed to initiate significant changes in the Party Constitution, to accommodate necessary political change.

Continue reading ‘The United National Party (UNP) will effect major changes to its constitution at the special convention scheduled for October 21 states partychairman Wajira Abeywardena MP’ »

By

Kishali Pinto -Jayawardene

Not so long ago, on the cusp of some general election or the other, there was a pithily phrased segment in one of Sri Lanka’s electronic media channels titled ‘Kawde Pannin Ne?’ (in other words, ‘who will jump next?’)

Heady inducements of ‘cross overs’

That was a ‘must watch’ commentary on behind-the-scenes happenings in the run-up to the elections with wild speculations by news anchors as to who had been paid how much to ‘jump’ from one party to the other. That is all well and good if the ‘jumping’ concerned had been limited to the pre-hustings period. But what had gone stunningly wrong in Sri Lanka’s cesspit of politics was that the circus of ‘jumping over’ continued even after election to Parliament.

This pattern had manifested itself in recent decades not with one or two parliamentarians ‘crossing the floor’ on a question of conscience as was the case in Sri Lanka’s legislative assemblies of old but with considerably less noble motivations in mind. Those included outright monetary payments, the amount of which varied depending on the political clout that the individual concerned was assessed to have. Other heady inducements related to ‘power, position and Ministerial portfolios.’

Now, a somewhat amusingly breathless suspense has gripped Sri Lanka’s parliamentarians who have been expelled from the political parties on whose tickets they were elected, ‘crossed over’ but have nevertheless retained their seats. The fact that thereafter, they act in every which way contrary to the popular mandate are truly remarkable acrobatic feats.

This unexpected result has come in the wake of a recent decision by the Supreme Court holding that one such expulsion was valid (Nazeer Ahamed v SLMC and others, 6th October 2023).

Continue reading ‘Supreme Court ruling on Nazeer Ahamed v SLMC and others, case redresses a tilt evidenced since the year 2000 in favour of an expelled political party member and to the clear disadvantage of the political party concerned.’ »

Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz

(Dr Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz are chairman and assistant director (RTI), respectively, at Research Initiatives, Bangladesh ).

The importance of people’s right to information (RTI) for good governance and sustainable development is often loudly proclaimed but quietly ignored by people and governments alike.

It is heartening, therefore, that a recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) report prescribed a greater role for the RTI law to prevent a recurrence of the kind of financial and political crisis faced by Sri Lanka early last year – and to assure the country’s steady recovery.

The report emerged from the Sri Lankan government’s request to the IMF earlier this year to undertake a Governance Diagnostic Assessment (GDA) of its efforts, following the crisis, to stabilise the country and its economy. These included a combination of steps to restore fiscal and debt sustainability, improve governance, and reduce corruption risks.

The findings and recommendations of the GDA provide an excellent assessment of Sri Lanka’s governance system and a comprehensive prescription of corrective measures to overcome continuing impediments. For RTI enthusiasts, the most welcome aspect of the recommendations is their emphasis on a more transparent and accountable governance, and the role RTI can play in ensuring that.

Continue reading ‘How the Right to Information(RTI) Law Helped Sri Lanka Manage its Crisis and Enabled Citizens to Probe their Government More Thoroughly’ »

By

D.B.S. Jeyaraj

Mohammed Mihilar Mohammed Hanzeer alias Azad Maulana was the main whistleblower featured in the Channel 4 documentary on Sri Lanka that was aired on 5 September 2023. . Azad Maulana made some startling revelations against former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, State Intelligence Service head Maj-Gen Suresh Salley and Rural Road Development State Minister Shivanesathurai Santhirakanthan known widely as Pillaiyan in that film. Gotabaya, Suresh and Pillaiyan have denied the allegations..

There were two main aspects in the disclosures made by Azad Maulana. One was the allegation that top Sri Lankan intelligence officials were involved with those responsible for the horrible Easter Sunday terror bombings of Churches and Tourist Hotels on 21 April 2019. Maulana alleged that the bombings were done as part of a plot to help Gotabaya become President by creating feelings of insecurity among the people.

The other important aspect of Azad Maulana’s statements in the TV documentary was the allegation about a killer squad reportedly formed by Gotabaya Rajapaksa when he was the Defence Secretary under his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa. It was alleged that many members of the Thamil Makkal Viduthalaip Puligal(TMVP) led by Pillayaan were part of this squad known as “Tripoly Platoon” and that this squad was responsible for many extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances and other human rights violations.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa who became the President of Sri Lanka in November 2019 and quit office in July 2022 broke his conspicuous silence by issuing a statement of denial after the documentary was aired. However Gotabaya made no reference to the allegation about “Tripoly Platoon” in the statement. The statement issued by the Defence Ministry refuting the Channel 4 “revelations” also had no reference to this.

Continue reading ‘Life and Death of EPRLF Razeek the Relentless Tiger Hunter.’ »

By Indika Sakalasooriya

China has taken the front seat in Sri Lanka’s external debt restructuring process making a calculated move akin to a chessboard strategy, catching everyone off-guard, by entering a preliminary debt deal with the Sri Lanka authorities.

Despite being Sri Lanka’s largest bilateral lender, China remained in shadows as Sri Lanka initiated negotiations with its creditors to restructure its debt, following a default on its foreign loans in April 2022.

Even when Japan, France and India announced a common platform for talks among Sri Lanka’s creditors to address the country’s debt restructuring programme, China only joined the official creditor committee as an observer.

However, this week, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced that Export-Import Bank of China had entered into a preliminary debt treatment agreement with Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka’s Finance Ministry confirmed this in a statement yesterday, calling it a “landmark agreement” that will help Sri Lanka to arrive at a deal with all its foreign creditors and clear the path for the approval of the first review of the International Monetary (IMF) Fund programme.

Continue reading ‘China Exim Bank enters preliminary debt deal with Sri Lanka authorities Surprising Other Creditors and IMF;Finance Ministry hopes deal will facilitate approval by IMF Executive Board and the disbursement of the next tranche of IMF financing’ »

Human Rights Watch has determined based on verified video and witness accounts that Israeli forces used white phosphorus in military operations in Lebanon and Gaza on October 10 and 11, 2023, respectively. The videos show multiple airbursts of artillery-fired white phosphorus over the Gaza City port and two rural locations along the Israel-Lebanon border.

White phosphorus, which can be used as a smokescreen or a weapon, has the potential to cause civilian harm due to the severe burns it causes and its lingering long-term effects on survivors.

Its use in densely populated areas of Gaza violates the requirement under international humanitarian law that parties to the conflict take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian injury and loss of life. It also highlights the need to reexamine the status and adequacy of Protocol III of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), currently the only international law dedicated to governing incendiary weapons.

Continue reading ‘Israeli Forces Used white phosphorus in military operations in Lebanon on October 10 and Gaza on 11, 2023, States Human Rights Watch: videos show multiple airbursts of artillery-fired white phosphorus over the Gaza City port and two rural locations along the Israel-Lebanon border.’ »

In a static decades-long conflict that has rotted for the past 20 years, it can be hard to believe that real change is possible. Be in no doubt, however, that Hamas’s murderous assault has blown up the status quo between Israel and the Palestinians. The coming weeks will determine whether war in Gaza sinks the Middle East deeper into chaos or whether, despite Hamas’s atrocities, Israel can begin to create the foundations for regional stability—and, one day, peace.

Change is inevitable because of the gravity of Hamas’s crimes. More than 1,200 Israelis, most of them civilians, many of those women and children, were murdered in their homes, on the street, in kibbutzim, at a music festival. Perhaps 150 more have been dragged to Gaza and shut in makeshift dungeons. Israel’s belief that it could indefinitely manage Palestinian hostility with money and air strikes crumpled early on October 7th, as the first Hamas bulldozer breached the security fence. Hamas has chosen mass murder and there is no going back.

Gaza is now awaiting a huge Israeli ground offensive. Its extent and success will determine the legacy of Hamas’s bloody assault. So will the fundamental choice that Israel’s politicians face after the worst catastrophe in their country’s history: do they unite or continue to exploit divisions for their own advantage? A third factor is the choices of Israel’s Middle Eastern neighbours, including Iran.

Continue reading ‘If Israel destroys Hamas in Gaza and pulls out, who knows what destructive forces will fill the vacuum left behind?The only way to eradicate Hamas is for Israel and its Arab allies to create stability—and, one day, peace. -The Economist’ »

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By

D.B.S.Jeyaraj

Kathiravelu Nythiananda Douglas Devananda is a senior Sri Lankan Tamil political leader. The Secretary-General of the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party(EPDP) has been continuously representing the Jaffna district in Parliament since 1994. Devananda known generally as Douglas , has served as a cabinet minister in different Governments for more than 15 years. He is currently the minister of Fisheries in the Government headed by President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Douglas Devananda is one of the few Tamil political leaders who has been courageous enough to oppose the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) in politico-military terms in the past. Though many Tamil politicos who fell foul of the LTTE were killed by the tigers, Douglas Devananda is one of the few Tamil frontline leaders who has escaped death at the hands of the tigers. There were many assassination attempts by the LTTE, but the doughty Douglas survived them all.

It is against this backdrop that this column focuses on an attempt on Devananda’s life 25 years ago. This attempt on 30 June 1998 was quite peculiar in the sense that it was different to the usual modus operandi adopted by the LTTE. In this case Devananda then a MP was set upon by Tamil prisoners held at the Kalutara jail and brutally attacked with crudely fashioned improvised weapons. He had gone there on a goodwill mission to end a hunger strike by some Tamil detenues. The attackers were suspected hard core LTTE members. Devananda was seriously injured but survived miraculously. One of his eyes suffered permanent impairment.

When the Kalutara attack happened President Chandrika Kumaratunga was in power. The prisons department came under the purview of the Justice Ministry then. The minister of Justice was Prof.G.L.Peiris. The EPDP headed by Devananda had nine MPs in Parliament then. The EPDP supported Kumaratnge’s Peoples Alliance(PA) Govt in Parliament while being in the opposition. Though having MPs in Parliament, the EPDP was also a para-military outfit collaborating with the Sri Lankan armed forces in the war against the LTTE. As such the LTTE branded the EPDP as traitors and tried in many ways to assassinate the EPDP leader Devananda.

Continue reading ‘The Brutal Attack on EPDP Leader Douglas Devananda by LTTE Suspects at the Kalutara Jail.’ »

Jamila Husain

Sri Lanka’s political circle has gone into a quandary after information has spread that moves are underway to abolish the executive presidency before the Presidential Election next year as no candidate or political party will be able to secure an over 50 percent win at the polls.

The Daily Mirror learns that discussions to this effect have already been held by President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has already drafted a cabinet paper to change the electoral system.

This cabinet paper is part of the step which might eventually lead to a public referendum being called to see if the Executive Presidency should be abolished and Parliament being further strengthened with an executive prime minister.

However the main political parties, after hearing of such moves have already begun holding internal discussions with most of them stating that they will object to such a move when it is raised in Parliament.

Continue reading ‘President Ranil Wickremesinghe Engages in Discussions to Examine the Question of Abolishing the Executive Presidency Before Scheduled Presidential Elections newx year; a Referendum on the abolition of the Presidential system being Mooted.’ »

Meera Srinivasan

Several Foreign Ministers, including those of India, Bangladesh, Mauritius, Iran, Malaysia and South Africa, will participate in the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Council of Ministers meeting in Colombo on October 11, 2023, according to the Sri Lankan government, which is preparing to take over as Chair of the regional grouping this week.

The Council of Ministers meeting in Colombo will see the participation of 16 Ministers, including the Foreign Ministers of Bangladesh, India, Iran, Mauritius, Malaysia and South Africa as well as ministerial and senior level participation from Australia, Comoros, France, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen (member countries) and from China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russia, Turkiye, the United Kingdom and United States of America (dialogue partners), a statement from President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office said.

Continue reading ‘Several Foreign Ministers Including India’s S.Jaishankar in Colombo to Participate in IORA Council of Ministers Meeting Even as Sri Lanka takes over as Chair of Indian Ocean Rim Association’ »

In the 18 years since withdrawing from the Gaza strip, Israel has invaded it twice.

A third ground invasion, in response to the massacre of Israeli civilians by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that runs Gaza, is imminent. It looks likely to be larger, longer and more violent than anything that came before.

Air strikes and artillery, including missiles launched from land and sea, are already pounding Gaza. This is taking place on a massive scale and with less deliberation and advance warning than in previous campaigns.

Israeli officials say that the IDF is no longer applying its policy of “roof knocks”, whereby the air force would give warning of air strikes by first launching a harmless round on the targeted building. At least 900 Palestinians, many of them civilians, have so far been killed, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza.

Israeli political leaders are now considering the scope of their ground offensive.

One option is a shallow incursion of the sort which occurred in 2014, when the idf captured territory adjacent to the border with the aim of closing tunnels used to smuggle food, fighters and arms. It stuck to the outskirts of main towns to avoid urban warfare. Another is a deeper invasion to occupy larger tracts of the Gaza strip, a densely packed area of more than 2m people, including entering cities, as in 2009. Yet these past approaches may seem inadequate to Israelis given the widespread revulsion at Hamas’s atrocities.

“The scope of this is going to be bigger than before and more severe. It’s not going to be clean…We are going to go very, very aggressively against Hamas,” Israel’s military spokesman, Richard Hecht, told reporters on Tuesday morning. “We should all change the paradigm.” Israeli leaders have promised to “destroy Hamas”, rather than simply weaken it, as in the past.

Continue reading ‘Ultimately, Israeli leaders are caught between the maximalist rhetoric of eliminating Hamas and the implausibility of re-occupying Gaza.- The Economist’ »

The attack by Hamas was as unexpected to ordinary people in Gaza as it was in Israel. The Jewish state was horrified not just by videos of black-clad gunmen taking women and children hostage, murdering hundreds of unarmed civilians and overrunning military bases. It was also shocked that its intelligence and military forces had so misjudged the intentions of Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza.

Before this attack Israel and Hamas had fought four major wars and had a number of smaller clashes since the Islamist group took control of Gaza and its 2m people in 2007. These cost thousands of lives, most of them Palestinian. But since the end of a two-week-long battle in 2021, Hamas has avoided escalating the conflict and has indeed restrained other Palestinian militants when they fired rockets into Israel.

Many Israelis believed the Islamist group was more interested in maintaining a ceasefire in order to focus on rebuilding the impoverished and overcrowded coastal strip than in sparking another bloody and pointless war.

The Israeli government hoped that allowing thousands of Palestinian labourers to work in Israel so long as calm prevailed would provide a further incentive to keep the peace.

And some officials hoped that Hamas itself could be co-opted into a long-term truce. Its brutal attack on October 7th shattered that illusion. “Once a terrorist group, always a terrorist group,” says Yaakov Amidror, a former head of Israel’s National Security Council.

Yet for some time there have been signs that Israel might have been misreading the situation in Gaza. For years, Israeli officials have shrugged off warnings that living conditions in the enclave were so dire that the frustrations they caused could spark an explosion.

Continue reading ‘Hamas’s militants are now preparing for the Israeli ground invasion they assume is imminent -The Economist’ »

The vicious success of Hamas, the Islamic movement that controls Gaza, in launching a massive terrorist attack on October 7th against communities in southern Israel, leaving at least 800 dead within Israel, without their plans being unveiled is matched by the astounding failure of Israeli intelligence at every level. Officials are in shock that an assault that must have required months of planning and that entailed a significant military buildup escaped their notice.

That will surely be the subject of multiple investigations once the fighting in Gaza is over. But it is already clear that the failures came in two forms: one of intelligence-collecting and the other of assessing and interpreting that intelligence.
First, Israel was let down by its extensive array of electronic sensors, surveillance systems and old-fashioned human intelligence in the form of agents on the ground. These are all the responsibility of the army’s intelligence branch and Shin Bet, the domestic security service which is tasked with covering Gaza and the West Bank.

Second, the information that they did manage to collect which now, with hindsight, could have pointed to an impending attack, was misinterpreted or ignored leading to the wrong assessment of Hamas’s intentions.

It is a failure which resonates with Israelis 50 years after the Yom Kippur War. That began with an attack by the Egyptian and Syrian armies that caught Israel’s intelligence agencies and armed forces unawares and which is still to this day called “the failure” by Israelis. In that assault, too, crucial intelligence was misinterpreted.

The first may be explained by what was evidently a high level of operational security by Hamas. Those who knew about the operation in advance would have been limited to an extremely tight circle of senior operatives who did not risk using phones or any other form of electronic communication that Israel would have intercepted given that it monitors all communications in Gaza.

Continue reading ‘Hamas’s textbook military operation attack was an Israeli intelligence failure on multiple fronts -The Economist’ »

By

D.B.S.Jeyaraj

78th Birth Anniversary of Vijaya Kumaratunga on 9 October 2023.

Kovilage Vijaya Anthony Kumaratunga, known to the world as Vijaya Kumaratunga, was born in Seeduwa on 9 October 1945. Vijaya was an endearing personality with an enduring vision whom I liked, admired and respected very much.

He was a man who envisaged the transformation of Sri Lanka into an inclusive, multi-ethnic, egalitarian and plural nation. A much-loved man of the masses who may have altered the destiny of this resplendent isle in a very positive manner, had he not been felled in the prime of life by foul assassins. A man whose worth is increasingly valued in the present time where communal discord is deliberately promoted for short-term political gain.

I write this week about the beloved actor-turned-politician Vijaya Kumaratunga whose 78th birth anniversary falls on 9 October 2023.

I have written some articles about Vijaya in the past. I will be drawing on some of them in writing this article which will focus on his political career. Also I must mention that Vijaya’s surname was originally spelled ‘Kumaranatunga’. It was as Vijaya Kumaranatunga that he blazed a trail on screen. Subsequently, the name was modified from Kumaranatunga to ‘Kumaratunga’. I shall however be referring to him as Kumaratunga in this article though he was actually known as Kumaranatunga for the greater part of his life. Also his name has been spelled as both ‘Wijaya’ and ‘Vijaya’. I shall refer to him as Vijaya in this article.

Continue reading ‘Vijaya Kumaratunga:Acting was his Accredited Profession but Politics was his Chosen Vocation.’ »

Israelis woke on October 7th, Simchat Torah, the Jewish festival which celebrates the end of the yearly cycle of reading the Torah, to a hail of more than 2,000 rockets from the Gaza Strip, the Palestinians’ tiny coastal enclave. But soon reports began filtering through of a much more devastating attack.

Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist organisation which runs Gaza, had launched a series of attacks within Israel. The fortified border fence between Israel and Gaza was breached by trucks and bulldozers laden with explosives while fighters in motorised gliders flew over the fence. Hamas fighters also used boats to attack an Israeli coastal base.

The footage of the attacks, shared by both Hamas and Israeli citizens on social media, was shocking for Israelis hunkered down in their bomb-shelters who are used to their military dominance. Videos showed Palestinian fighters in jeeps and on motorcycles firing on civilians on the streets of small Israeli towns and kibbutzim near Gaza. Shooting was reported within the Israeli military’s main divisional headquarters for Gaza. Palestinian militants killed and wounded dozens at a music festival.

As civilians, off-duty soldiers and police officers battled on their own, special-forces units were being rushed south. In the evening of October 7th, Israel’s emergency rescue service said that at least 200 had been killed.

Even more worrying for Israelis are the videos published by Hamas of captured Israeli soldiers and civilians being hustled across the border into Gaza. Hours after the attacks began, Israel’s chief military spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, acknowledged that the fighting was still continuing and said that Israeli authorities were working on the assumption that members of Hamas were still in Israel in the area close to the border with Gaza.

“We are at war,” announced Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, in a statement to the nation. It was not, he continued, a military operation or an exchange of fire, but war. Mr Netanyahu promised that Israel will “return fire of a magnitude that the enemy has not known. The enemy will pay an unprecedented price.” Israeli defence officials said that they had ordered dozens of air strikes in response.

Continue reading ‘Israel reels from Shock as Hamas launches a spectacular and bloody offensive on Simchat Torah, the Jewish festival celebrating the end of the yearly cycle of reading the Torah’“We are at war,” announces Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister’ »

Kishali Pinto -Jayawardene

If the Bard once said in a somewhat excessively sentimental aside that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, we can only remark that Sri Lanka’s counter terrorism or anti-terrorism bills emanate a distinctly unpleasant odour, irrespective of whatever ‘name’ it possesses.

Risk of imperilling national security

To be clear, this is not to join the chorus of optimistic spirits who believe that terrorist offences can be dealt with under the ordinary penal law. On the contrary, a specifically focused anti-terror law is needed but with a narrowly drawn scope, outlining precise offences that do not overlap into the realm of the (mundane) criminal law.

Ignoring that fundamental distinction raises the risk of confusing the public and law enforcement officers alike.

The end result is that national security is more likely to be imperilled than not. It is not simply a matter of parroting, as the Minister of Justice did some time ago, that if any person has a problem with Sri Lanka’s Anti-Terrorism Bill, the Supreme Court can be appealed to. The Minister must remind himself that judicial review takes place within a circumscribed intent to check if the restriction of liberties is constitutional.

The result thereto also depends on the vagaries of a particular Bench, the liberal or conservative leanings of the Justices who constitute the same as jurisprudential realists would warn for good measure.

Quite apart from anything else, this also depends on the competencies of those arguing the matter as well those hearing the same. In short, the responsibility of the Government in making sure that a good law is drafted goes beyond deflecting the responsibility to the Court.

Continue reading ‘Govt’s deliberately poised pincer moves with the Online Safety Bill and the Anti-Terrorism law poses the greatest threat to Sri Lanka’s national security, quite apart from internal or external threats as the case may be.’ »

By

D.B.S.Jeyaraj

The first part of this article was published in the “Daily Mirror”of 16 September 2023 under the heading “Who is Hanzeer Azad Maulana the Whistleblower on Channel 4?”. The focus of that piece was Mohammed Mihilar Mohammed Hanzeer alias Azad Maulana who appeared on a documentary aired on 5 September 2023 by the UK’s Channel 4 TV. A lot of detais about the man who identified himself as Hanzeer Azad Maulana in the film was disclosed in the first part of this article .

The former aide to Thamil Makkal Viduthalaip Puliga l(TMVP) leader and Batticaloa district MP Shivanesathurai Santhirakanthan made several allegations in the documentary concerning the April 2019 Easter bombings and the murders allegedly committed by the Govt sanctioned killer squad “Tripoly Platoon”.

Hanzeer Azad Maulana was the main whistleblower featured in the Channel 4 documentary. Azad Maulana made some startling revelations against former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, State Intelligence Service head Maj-Gen Suresh Salley and Rural Road Development State Minister Santhirakanthan known widely as “Pillayaan”. Gotabaya,Suresh and Pillayaan have denied the allegations.

Maulana has been accused of concocting a false story to help him gain political asylum abroad. He reportedly fled Sri Lanka more than a year ago and sought asylum in a European Country. In this second part, the focus would be on how and why Azad Maulana left Sri Lanka and became a refugee in the west.

It must be emphasised at the outset that all allegations made by Azad Maulana are yet to be verified and authenticated. Moreover they have been denied as falsehoods by those whom the allegations were levelled against especially Maj-Gen Salley. The charge made against Salley by Maulana hinges around an alleged meeting at Karadippooval in Puttalam between the intelligence chief and Zahran Hashim the National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ) leader and livewire behind the Easter bombings.

Maulana’s allegation as stated in the documentary is essentially conjecture and inference based on that meeting. However it must be said in fairness to Suresh Salley that he has denied being in Sri Lanka at the time the meeting allegedly happened. If that is substantiated by Salley, ,Azad Maulana’s main allegation would become a “terminological inexactitude”. His credibility would be eroded thereafter.

Continue reading ‘How and Why “Whistleblower” Mohammed Hanzeer Alias Azad Maulana Suddenly Fled From Sri Lanka and Sought Asylum in Europe.’ »

By

Lakmal Sooriyagoda

The Supreme Court in a landmark judgment today determined that the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress’ decision to expel Minister Nazeer Ahamad from the party membership is legally valid.

With this Supreme Court judgment, Nazeer Ahamad’s expulsion will lead to the loss of his parliamentary seat.

Continue reading ‘Environment Minister Nazeer Ahamed will Lose His Parliamentary Seat Following Three Judge Bench Supreme Court Ruling that the Batticaloa District MP’s Expulsion from Party by the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress *SLMC) is Legally Valid’ »

By Tisaranee Gunasekara

Ramzi Razeek was arrested in the early days of the pandemic when knowledge of the virus was sketchy and myths filled the gaps. The Rajapaksa regime had militarised a health crisis. The army commander was running the show. Patients were treated like enemy aliens, entire communities forced into poorly-prepared quarantine centres literally at gunpoint by soldiers often without even facemasks.

As the ‘enemy-invasion’ narrative of the pandemic solidified, so did the nature of the enemy; Muslims, naturally. Online commentators started accusing Muslims of birthing the virus and calling Muslim patients ‘suicide bombers.’

Razeek, a retired Government official and social media commentator, criticised this hatemongering on social media, advocating an ideological jihad (struggle) for justice and democracy. The struggle should be waged with pen and keyboard, he wrote, and on behalf of all Lankan citizens.

Sri Lanka was still living in the long aftermath of the Easter Sunday massacre. The word Jihad was a red rag. Within hours, Razeek began receiving online-threats. He complained to the police. Then the CID arrived, not to investigate the threats, but to arrest him for violating ICCPR and Cyber Crimes acts.

Two of the officers assaulted him, he would subsequently claim. He was produced before a magistrate and remanded. Taking into consideration his health condition, the magistrate ordered the police to take him to prison hospital or general hospital. The police took 25 days to obey that order. In the interim, Razeek was held in Negombo’s Pallansena Prison with no medicine or medical attention.

During the first wave of the pandemic, if anyone violated the ICCPR, it was the likes of General Shavendra Silva and Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage – by inciting Muslim-phobia. The General led the way, telling Derana, “Yesterday, a patient was discovered from Akurana… Then we discovered another person from Puttlam… He is a Muslim. In both places they are Muslims.”

The Minister followed, opining at a talk-show, again on Derana, “Today, 20 patients were identified. Of these, 19 were of Muslim faith. 19!” In April 2020, if anyone violated the Cyber Crimes Act, it was those who threatened Razeek online. Yet all of them remained as free as uncaged birds while Razeek spent 161 days behind bars. Arrested on 9 April 2020, he was finally bailed out on 17 September.

Last month, the court released him from all charges at the request of the AG’s Department. As in the case of writer Shakthika Sathkumara, the authorities had failed to find even a shred of evidence against him.

Another chapter in life thus ended, Razeek wrote on his social media. But for the country, a chapter of even greater persecution might be beginning.

Continue reading ‘If the proposed Online Safety Bill becomes law, Sri Lanka will have a stringent blasphemy law on the books. Without mentioning the word blasphemy even once, the Bill will make religious repression legal – and frighteningly real.’ »

By

Kshama Ranawana

Ranil Wickremesinghe just dug himself into a hole!

In attempting to outsmart Deutsche Welle’s Martin Gak during an interview, President Wickremesinghe said that there had been no external involvement in the 2019 Easter Sunday massacre.

Claiming that the Sri Lankan government will not entertain an international inquiry, Wickremesinghe said he forgot to tell Dak of the ‘FBI report which says that no one outside was involved.” He added, ‘We had the FBI, we had the British police, we had the Australians, the Indians, the Chinese, the Pakistanis…” “… those secret service agencies have given reports. You are talking nonsense.”

In September, former head of the CID, Ravi Seneviratne, too, told the TNL Janahanda programme, that foreign intelligence agencies had come in 2019 to determine ISIS involvement, and found no evidence.

Wickremesinghe who bragged he knows better than Gak, as he has been in the ‘game’ for long, also accused the interviewer of taking the recent Channel 4 exposé on the Easter bombings as the “Gospel truth.”

What began as a friendly chat soon turned nasty, the minute Gak posed a question regarding the Channel 4 documentary.

Continue reading ‘President Ranil Wickremesinghe gets embroiled in Verbal Clash with Deutsche Welle’s Martin Gak During Interview; friendly chat turned nasty when a question regarding the Channel 4 documentary was posed’ »

BY

Kesara Abeywardena

In recent times, President Ranil Wickremesinghe has been making headlines with his candid and outspoken remarks on critical geopolitical issues during his foreign visits.

His latest interview with DW News in Germany, although more of a verbal sparring match than a usual run-of-the-mill television interview, shows a stance against what could be termed as biased narratives perpetuated by Western ‘woke’ media.

In a world filled with carefully scripted diplomatic exchanges and guarded statements, President Wickremesinghe has been quite notable with his frank comments.

The President’s recent assertiveness on the world stage has been surprising many, particularly his critics, as he fearlessly addresses vital issues.

In a discussion few weeks ago at the Carnegie Centre in New York regarding the geopolitical aspects of the Indian Ocean region, he unequivocally expressed his views on AUKUS, labelling it as a mistake. He also rationalised China’s activities in the region, emphasising the need for constructive engagement rather than antagonism.

During the Berlin Global Dialogue, President Wickremesinghe boldly declared that the current global financial architecture was outdated, advocating for a new global financial order.

He stressed the importance of dialogue between the West, particularly the United States and China, acknowledging the reality that we must engage with China without alienating them.

Continue reading ‘President Wickremesinghe’s recent Remarks on the International stage Showcase his Resilience in the face of Biased Questioning and Emphatically Present a Counter Viewpoint.’ »

By

Ruki Fernando

Today, 4th October will be 5000 days since the disappearance of cartoonist, journalist and human rights defender Prageeth Ekneligoda. It is also nearly 5000 days since I first met his wife Sandya Ekneligoda, in the initial days of her struggle to search for Prageeth and to hold those responsible accountable.

The Ekneligoda case

As far as I know, not a single person has been convicted for very serious crimes against journalists in Sri Lanka, including killings and enforced disappearances. Only two cases have reached the prosecution stage.

In one of them, media reported that the Attorney General had instructed the courts not to continue the case against the suspects in 2021. The only case that is continuing is that of Prageeth, with several army personnel being arrested and indictments being filed against the nine accused.

Most of the case’s progress was made under the Sirisena government, but the return to power of the Rajapaksa family in November 2019 presented new obstacles with the Rajapaksa government pledging not to prosecute ‘war heroes’ (military personnel).

A top investigator on the case went into exile and the chief overseeing the investigations was arrested and detained, before being released on bail by a higher court and going into retirement.

Although a Trial at Bar was appointed to hear Prageeth’s case, judges have changed and there’s long delays in court hearings, Witnesses have changed their testimony after the return to power of Rajapaksa’s and defied court orders to testify before a government appointed Commission of Inquiry.

I recall that present President Ranil Wickremesinghe has used Prageeth’s name in highlight state of media freedom, impunity in Sri Lanka as an opposition politician and called for information about the progress on investigations when he was Prime Minister between 2015-2019.

But now, under his presidency, there are signs the prosecution’s commitment to ensure justice is weakening. Even the minimum progress is largely due to Sandya’s efforts, and she continues to fight to keep alive the search for truth and justice, in courts, on streets, in media and internationally.

Continue reading ‘The Enforced Disappearance of Cartoonist-Journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda 5000 Days ago and his Remarkable Wife Sandya Ekneligoda’s Long Search and Relentless Pursuit of Justice.’ »

By

Dr.Radhika Coomaraswamy

More than any other religion Buddhism has the capacity to capture the imagination of many people born to other faiths. Its intellectual clarity, its appeal to reason and foresight has appealed to those not born into the tradition.

Being an outsider allows you to forsake the ritual and customs that parochialise all religions.

The intellectual tradition of Buddhism is hard to resist and many the world over are drawn to its teachings. Shyam Selvadurai is one such person. He came to appreciate Buddhism after he was, ironically, traumatised by “security personnel” belonging to a state that is ostensibly dedicated to the practice of Buddhism. Western approaches failed him in dealing with this trauma and other aspects of his existence. It was Buddhism with its emphasis on “impermanence” and “dukka” that finally broke through his wall of suffering. Mansions of the Moon is this tale told through a novel of epic proportions.

The novel begins slowly as Shyam lays the philosophical bases for his novel. It soon turns into a page turner, a novel in the grand tradition. The first thing to remember is that this is a work of fiction. It is the work of the imagination.

Those of us brought up on the tales of Buddhism as told by orthodox religion and mythology may at first be wide eyed at the tale he weaves. Although the broad outlines remain the same, the story he tells is full of the cares, passions and responsibilities of individuals of this historic period as imagined by one of Sri Lanka’s greatest novelists.

The beautiful language makes the tale irresistible and the Buddhism that emerges fully recognises human failing and aspiration. His description of his characters, their inner and outer worlds, makes them vivid and alive. The visceral experience of the novel through evocative language is its strength. No matter how great the plot, it is the language that finally embeds you in the book.

In the book, Shyam introduces us into the world of 500 BCE, perhaps the greatest epoch of world history. In India, he brings to life the intellectual turmoil and debate that would define the world for centuries to come. An atmosphere of cerebral quest in a world of courtesans, wealthy merchants and rule by empire permeates the novel.

Continue reading ‘Shyam Selvadurai’s “Mansions of the Moon” ia Novel of epic proportions.The beautiful language makes the tale irresistible and the Buddhism that emerges fully recognises human failing and aspiration.’ »

BY

D.B.S.Jeyaraj

(Article Commemorating Sivaji Ganesan’s 95th Birth Anniversary on October 1st 2023)

Sivaji Ganesan, M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) and Gemini Ganesan comprised the triumvirate that dominated Tamil cinema in India from the fifties to the seventies of the 20th century. The most senior of the trio was M.G.Ramachandran who was born in 1917. MGR passed away in 1987. Gemini Ganesan born in 1920 breathed his last in 2005. The youngest of the three was Sivaji Ganesan, born in 1928 and died in 2001.

Though Sivaji, MGR and Gemini were hailed as the ‘Moovaenthar’ (Three Kings) of Tamil cinema, it was widely acknowledged that Sivaji Ganesan was the finest actor among the three. He was called “Nadigar Thilagham,” meaning ‘Doyen of Actors’. It was the Tamil film journal “Paesum padam” which bestowed upon him the honorific.

Sivaji Ganesn’s acting career, which began at the age of eight, could be divided into three phases -1936 to 1952, when he acted only on stage; 1952 to 1974, when he acted for the big screen and also gave stage performances; and 1974 to 1999, when he acted only in films.

From his first film ‘Paraasakthi’ in 1952 to his last film ‘Pooparikka Varugiroam’ in 1999, Sivaji Ganesan acted in 307 movies in all. Of these 296 were in the Tamil language; six were in Telugu; two each in Hindi and Kannada, one in Malayalam. 20 of these roles were done free of charge in an honorary appearance (Gaurava Nadigar). At a time when the success of a film was gauged by the number of days it was screened at a stretch in theatres, 178 of his movies ran for more than a 100 days in cinema halls; 16 of these ran for 25 weeks or more celebrating silver jubilees.

Despite achieving stupendous success on the screen, Sivaji remained faithful to his first love; the stage, and acted in plays for decades. Essentially a creature of the stage when he entered films, Sivaji Ganesan brought that baggage with him and superimposed it effectively on the film medium. Yet his brilliant acting made this so-called violation of screen norms the accepted norm of his film acting.

Continue reading ‘Many Tamils earnt to appreciate the beauty and power of the Tamil language because of Sivaji Ganesan . He made many Tamils love their language more.’ »

By

Kishali Pinto -Jayawardene

Four months ago, President Ranil Wickremesinghe was quick to retort to his detractors, (friendly or otherwise), who were outraged by the Broadcasting Regulatory Commission Bill that he is a media ‘defender’ and, as such, had abolished criminal defamation laws in Sri Lanka.

Presidential assurances and UK precedents

Apparently stung by strident public criticism of badly framed laws, the President rebutted with a deceptively devious attempt at diversion. Reassuring his captive audience at the Homagama Divisional Secretariat, he said that the Government’s (innocent) aim is merely to bring laws that will ‘assist those who are harmed by the media.’

Towards that end, his officials were informed to look at the laws and practices prevalent in the United Kingdom (UK). The Attorney General had been instructed ‘to present the Bill in UK terms because we can obtain precedents in making decisions there’ (See ‘After repealing the criminal defamation law, President firmly vows to uphold the right to freedom of expression, ensuring that it remains intact,’Presidential Secretariat, June 15th 2023).

Certainly, the tortuous language of the President’s media team in framing that sentence for public release left much to be desired.

Nonetheless, the Broadcasting Bill was withdrawn ostensibly for public consultations. However, what gives the lie to those easy Presidential reassurances in Homagama are the actions of his Cabinet thereafter. Take the obnoxious Online Safety Bill for example, following close upon the heels of the Broadcasting Bill and in a far worse form.
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka’s Draconian Online SafetyBill seeks to protect the Wickremesinghe Government which is apparently ‘frightened out of its skin’ by the possibility of another ‘aragalaya’ (mass protest).’ »

Ravana

Foreign Minister Ali Sabry has needlessly poked his finger into the Canada-India row. Sri Lanka has nothing to do with the Khalistan issue. The Canada-India row is purely a bilateral issue, where Sri Lanka has no status to get involved in a dispute outside her political spectrum.

Minister Sabry was going on at a tangent, attacking Trudeau, even though he may not know why this verbal diatribe by a foreign minister of another country is totally out of context.

The objective appears to be to retaliate against Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for his remarks on Sri Lanka during the Tamil genocide week held in Canada.

If Sabry wishes to take on Canada on account of Trudeau’s remarks on Sri Lanka, he has to do so separately without making a foray into bickering between two other countries. These are the diplomatic etiquettes expected of a high-profile minister, but notwithstanding all that, he acted like a novice.

Sabry should realise that an organisation acting against the interests of one country does not fall into the same category as a terrorist group in another unless they commit offences under their law on their soil. In other words, they are precluded from being a terrorist outfit in a third country.

Different countries have different definitions of what constitutes a terrorist group, and some countries may not consider a good few organisations as terrorists. For instance, the US may consider a group to be a terrorist group, while another country may not.
However, our concern is whether Sabry has put his foot in his mouth by making such an inappropriate statement which will not augur well for the country in the long run and for Sri Lankan expatriates there. Sabry has already become a laughing stock among foreign affairs analysts here and elsewhere.

In these circumstances, Sabry’s statement is seen as an attempt to gain political mileage by appealing to certain elements of society. His comments are seen as irresponsible and intendedto cause a diplomatic rumpus. His actions have been widely seen as inappropriate and unwanted.

Continue reading ‘The Diplomatic Buffoonery of Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Ali Sabry’ »

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By

D.B.S.Jeyaraj

Remembering the Tiger “Martyr” Thileepan on his 36th Death anniversary -Part Two

Rasiah Partheeban alias Thileepan engaged in a fast unto death protest on 15 September 1987. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE )stalwart died after 12 days of fasting on 26 September without even drinking water.

Thileepan’s 36th death anniversary was on 26 September 2023. This column focuses on the LTTE “martyr” Thileepan in this two-part article. The first part published last week was on Thileepan the person and his role in the LTTE. This second part is about his death – fast and its aftermath.

The Indo -Lanka accord of 29 July 1987 signed by Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President JR Jayewardene and the deployment of Indian soldiers as the Indian Peace Keeping Force(IPKF) in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka was widely welcomed by the Tamil people of Sri Lanka. Tamil eyes smiled at the end of war and prospects of an enduring peace underwritten by India. The chief Tamil political party at that time the Tamil United Liberation Front(TULF) was fully supportive of the accord.

The premier Tamil militant organization the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) too fell in line reluctantly. The LTTE mindset was illustrated vividly by tiger supremo Veluppillai Prabhakaran’s historic “We Love India” speech at Sudhumalai on 5 August 1987.

However as the days progressed the LTTE began feeling insecure and increasingly unhappy. Many of the promises given by Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to LTTE leader Veluppillai Prabhakaran were not being implemented speedily opined the LTTE. The tardy progress as well as other acts of omission and commission by Indian authorities made the LTTE resentful. Covert machinations by the JR Jayewardene Govt were also suspected.

Moreover the overwhelming affection and goodwill displayed by the Tamil masses towards the Indian army in the initial stages of deployment also irritated the LTTE. The tigers felt the ungrateful Tamil people had forgotten the sacrifices made by the LTTE and were gravitating towards “Mother India”. The LTTE was beginning to feel threatened by this. The “thinking” sections of the LTTE were troubled and concerned.

Chief among tigers of this mindset was Rasiah Partheeban alias Thileepan the political head of the LTTE. Thileepan felt something had to be done to both jolt India as well as the Tamil people. Thileepan knew that a violent response to India was to invite disaster as the Tamil people themselves would not be in favour of it. So he decided to adopt a non-violent course of action against India by undertaking a fast unto death.

Continue reading ‘Rasiah Partheeban Alias Thileepan Weaponised Non-violence Through his Death Fast.’ »

Meera Srinivasan

A district judge from Mullaitivu in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province has resigned and fled the country citing threats to his life, Tamil media in Sri Lanka reported on September 29.

In a letter that several publications reproduced in their news reports, Mullaitivu District Judge T. Saravanaraja — who recently ruled on two cases pertaining to a religious site in Kurunthurmalai and a remembrance event to commemorate LTTE member Thileepan — had written to the Secretary of Sri Lanka’s Judicial Services Commission last week, on his decision to resign owing to “threat of my life and due to lot of stress”.

In July, the judge also visited a mass grave site in Kokkuthoduvai with the police and ordered excavations. Fourteen years after the civil war, Mullaitivu, in the island nation’s war-affected, Tamil-majority Northern Province has been witnessing many contestations, as its residents navigate huge losses suffered during the strife, and seek truth and justice.

Continue reading ‘“The Judiciary is under severe stress and challenge today. For the first time ever, a judge is said to have fled the country fearing for his life, for having made a judicial order,” – MA Sumanthiran PC’ »

By

Siva Parameswaran

A senior Tamil Judge in the war-torn district of Mullaitheevu has resigned from his post and has fled the country fearing for the safety of his life.

Mullaitheevu District Judge and Magistrate T. Saravanarajah has said his life is under threat in his letter of resignation sent to the Judicial Services Commission on 23 September.

“I hereby inform you that I resign my post of District Judge, post of Magistrate, post of family court Judge, post of primary court Judge, post of small claims court Judge, post of Juvenile court Judge due to threat of my life and due to lot of stress”.

The judge is no more in the country, according to journalists in the Wanni. This is the first judge in recent years to flee the country.
He has been continuously hounded by racist comments and intimidating remarks from hardline Sinhala MPs in particular Sarath Weerasekara from the Sri Lanka Podujana Party led by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Justice Saravanarajah was summoned by the Attorney General to his office on the 21st of September and pressurized to amend his judgments regarding Kurunthoormalai, say unconfirmed sources from the region familiar with the case.

Continue reading ‘Mullaitheevu District Judge and Magistrate T. Saravanarajah Resigns and Flees Country in Fear after Threats made to his Life;Official Security was Reduced; Attorney -General Exerts Pressure on Judge to Revise his earlier rulings on the Kurunthoormalai temple/Vihara Issue’ »

Mullaitheevu District Judge T. Saravanarajah has tendered his resignation from his posts due to threats on his life and a lot of stress, the Mullaitivu District Magistrate said.

His resignation letter was sent to the secretary of the Judicial Services Commission on September 23.

According to the letter, he resigned from the post of District Judge, the post of magistrate, the post of family court judge, the post of primary court judge, the post of small claims court judge and the post of Juveniles court judge.

However, it was reported that the threats and pressure stem principally from his involvement in the contentious Kurunthoormalai archaeological site cases.

Courtesy:Daily Mirror

By Anusha Rathi and Jack Detsch

Congress is calling on the Biden administration to formally hold Sri Lanka responsible for its human rights abuses and violation of international humanitarian law, including decades of torture, military abuse, and other “horrific crimes” carried out against the country’s minority Tamil population.

In a letter sent to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and obtained by Foreign Policy, 12 members of Congress from both sides of the aisle urged the State Department to follow Article 30 of the United Nations Convention Against Torture and hold Colombo, which has “consistently failed to make tangible progress toward justice and accountability,” responsible.

“In our view, the impunity enjoyed by Sri Lankan perpetrators, which has also enabled Sri Lanka’s economic and political crises, is counter to America’s commitment to upholding human rights and democratic principles and must be stopped,” wrote the lawmakers, led by Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) and Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), who are calling on the State Department to hold Sri Lanka legally accountable to the U.N. convention on torture.

Since the Sri Lankan Civil War broke out in 1983, the country has been marred with sectarian violence between the majority ethnic Sinhalese and minority ethnic Tamil population at the hands of the armed forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a rebel group that aimed to establish an independent Tamil state. During the three-decade insurgency, which ended in 2009, the Sri Lankan military carried out deadly attacks on civilians, sexually abused hundreds of Tamil women and girls, and forcibly disappeared thousands of Tamil people who remain unaccounted for still. Four decades later, the families of victims and witnesses of the atrocities are still calling for justice.

While successive governments have tried to establish independent commissions—more than 15 have been set up since the 1970s—to carry out criminal investigations into the country’s dark past, including one by the current administration led by President Ranil Wickremesinghe, none have achieved success in doing so and continue to play deaf to the pleas of the Tamil community.

Continue reading ‘12 Members of US Congress Write to Secretary of State , Anthony Blinken,Urging the Biden Administration to Hold Sri Lanka Responsible for Violations of International Humanitarian Law; “would like to see the Biden administration take the case all the way to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Hague”’ »

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D.B.S.Jeyaraj

The first part of the article titled “Who is Hanzeer Azad Maulana the Whistleblower on Channel 4? Was published in these columns last week. Even as I was writing the second part of the article, I received some interesting information about an event in Geneva relating to the Channel 4 TV documentary and Hanzeer Azad Maulana the chief whistleblower featured in the film.

While the UN Human Rights Council sessions were underway in Geneva, the documentary aired on Dispatches by Channel 4 on 5th September titled “Sri Lanka’s Easter Bombings” was screened by the Universal Human Rights Council(UHRC) on the evening of Thursday 21 September. The venue was the Octagon Campus 2, Chemin du Pavillon 1218 Grand Saconne. The screening was sponsored by the ”Geneva Times.”

The documentary director and producer Mr. Thom Walker and executive producer Mr. Ben de Pear were present at the screening which commenced after a brief introduction. There was a discussion after the screening. Prior to the discussion, copies of a detailed statement issued by Hanzeer Azad Maulana was distributed to those present. Azad Maulana who was not present physically answered questions via Video.

The statement issued by Hanzeer Azad Maulana was a clarification and amplification of the comments made by him in the documentary. The information he divulged in the film was placed in perspective by provided more details in the statement. However it must be noted that the two important persons against whom allegations have been made by Azad Maulana – SIS director Maj-Gen Suresh Salley and State Minister Shivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias “Pillayan – have both denied the accusations.

Hanzeer says in the statement that he fled Sri Lanka and sought asylum abroad in fear of his life. He says that he fears abduction or assassination. Hanzeer also alleges that his mother and sister in Sri Lanka are being harrassed. He also states that he and his family are being attacked on social media.

Hanzeer Azad Maulana also says that he is witness to several attacks, assassinations and abductions and that he is prepared to testify before an independent international investigation.

Continue reading ‘Channel 4 Documentary Whistleblower Hanzeer Azad Maulana Discloses More Info About Easter Bombings at Geneva Screening Event.’ »

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By

D.B.S.Jeyaraj

The twenty-sixth of September has become an important day in Sri Lanka ever since the then Prime minister Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike (SWRDB) was assassinated in 1959. Bandaranaike who was shot by Talduwa Somarama Thera on 25 September, succumbed to his injuries the following day.

September 26th however is of particular significance to a substantial number of Sri Lankan Tamils also . For it was on this day in 1987 that a senior member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Thileepan died in Nallu after undertaking a fast unto death.

Although the Tigers have lost thousands of cadres during the many years it waged war against the Sri Lankan State, the death of Thileepan was entirely different from the deaths of other LTTE fighters Thileepan’s demise was not due to direct violence but due to non-violent direct action. He engaged in a fast unto death protest on 15 September 1987 and died after 12 days of fasting without even drinking water. This was after the Indo-Lanka accord of 29 July 1987. The Indian army referred to as the Indian Peace Keeping Force(IPKF) was stationed in Jaffna then.

Thileepan’s fast and death has been etched into the collective memory of Tamils over the years. His death is commemorated on a wide scale every year. The period between Sep 15 and Sep 26 is marked with acts of memorialisation in many parts of Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka and also in many countries where there are substantial concentrations of Tamils.

Thileepan’s 36th death anniversary falls this week on 26 September 2023. It is against this backdrop that this column focuses on the LTTE “martyr” Thileepan in this two part article. The first part will be about Thileepan the person and his role in the LTTE. The second will be on his death – fast and its aftermath.

Continue reading ‘Remembering the Tiger “Martyr” Thileepan on his 36th Death anniversary.’ »

Meera Srinivasan

Following India, the U.S. has raised concern with the Ranil Wickremesinghe administration, over the scheduled visit of a Chinese research vessel to Sri Lanka in October, Colombo-based media has reported.

In a recent meeting with Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Ali Sabry, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland took up the coming visit of Chinese research vessel Shi Yan 6 to Sri Lanka, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported on Monday. Reportedly, Mr. Sabry reassured the American official that Colombo would adhere to a “Standard Operating Procedure” that the government has recently finalised, for all foreign vessels intending to call at a Sri Lankan port.

New Delhi had recently raised the matter with a top Sri Lankan official, Colombo-based sources told The Hindu.
Continue reading ‘USA Joins India in raising Concerns with President Wickremesinghe’s Govt over led ScheduVisit of “Chinese geophysical scientific research vessel Shiyan 6” to Sri Lanka in October’ »

By
B.Kolappan

As the country gears up for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the political discourse in Tamil Nadu is highly polarised. An opinion on any issue in the news is expected to be in favour of either the Hindutva ideology or the Dravidian ideology; a middle path is viewed with suspicion from those on both sides of the divide.

Personal attacks have been taking place frequently. Leaders long gone have been dragged into debates to prove a point. People keep attempting to find out whether the narrative of their rivals is shaped by caste and/or religion.

Leaders who remain silent and organisations which refuse to take any stand on an issue are branded as the ‘B team’ or ‘sleeper cell’ of their political rivals.

When an issue triggers a debate, leaders and their supporters form teams and launch a no-holds-barred attack on those holding a different point of view.

Continue reading ‘Political Discourse in Tamil Nadu gets Highly Polarised Between Hindutva Ideology and Dravidian Ideology; Middle Path Viewed with Suspicion by Both sides’ »

By

Bhuvanesh Chandar

Greta Lee’s Nora turns her back to Teo Yoo’s Hae Sung and to a life she could no longer even daydream, and walks back to John Magaro’s Arthur, a life she was gifted with. The rain outside as I watched the scene might just be the tears of all star-crossed souls. And hours after watching Past Lives, a romantic could only sigh at the cinematic wonder and whisper, “How could something seem so effortless?”

Back home, meanwhile, a believer in Tamil cinema raises a suspicion, of what seems like a growing distrust in exploring niche conflicts in a relationship, with creators always opting for a more mainstream approach to silver screen romances.
The death of old-school romance

With creators struggling to understand the sensibilities of Gen Z audiences who are quick to conclude any old-school displays of emotions, like love, as ‘cringe-worthy,’ the long-gone but still dampening fatigue for old-school romance has evidently affected the way creators look at relationship dramas.

It is as if they no longer see value in exploring the vastness that is a human’s affair with another. While we have seen many love stories this year that sometimes teased a niche conflict such as in Dada, Good Night, and segments of Modern Love: Chennai, it becomes apparent that even though good love stories are in regular supply, there has been no mainstream attempt to evaluate if there’s an audience for a Normal People-like series, even on streaming platforms.

Often, ‘niche’ is relegated to only a doomed romance or a well-fought-for relationship between two starkly different characters, but seldom in the last few years have creators tapped into the crevices that divide two people, of eight billion, who carry billions of dreams and desires that make them.

Continue reading ‘Why is Tamil cinema so reluctant to explore varied shades of romance?’ »

By

Kishali Pinto -Jayawardene

It takes a Government wholly insensible to public opinion to be audacious enough to gazette two Bills grievously impacting on constitutional liberties of citizens literally within a few days apace.

Doom for Sri Lanks’s constitutional governance

Or maybe this was precisely the intent, deadly and clear in its message. First, the so-called Anti-Terrorism Bill is presented purportedly in revised form but with unacceptably overbroad and vague definitions of what constitutes an ‘act of terrorism’ left undisturbed. The second is a grievously mistitled ‘Online Safety Bill’ which should read rather as, the ‘Safety of Government’ Bill.

The third in this abysmal trilogy is the Broadcasting Regulatory Commission bill hurriedly withdrawn by a mumbling Justice Minister after public protests.

These three Bills spell doom for civil governance and democratic space. One important preliminary observation is called for. Overall, the Government seems to have abandoned even paying lip service to the concept of ‘independent oversight’ as these Bills ruthlessly demonstrate.

There is an immediate paradox here. President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s oft heard boast is that he reversed the ravages of the 20th and 18th constitutional amendments effected under the Presidencies of the Rajapaksa brothers by bringing in the 21st constitutional amendment. If so, why is his administration bringing Bill after Bill that does away with independent oversight bodies, substituting ‘the President’s bodies’ instead? Let us take specific examples to establish this point.

Continue reading ‘While President Wickremesinghe talks the sweetly reasonable language of debt equity, climate change and what not to the world, his regime is busy drawing an anti-liberties net over Sri Lankans.’ »

By

D.B.S.Jeyaraj

Britain’s Channel 4 TV aired the documentary “Sri Lanka’s Easter Bombings” in its “Dispathes” program on Tuesday 5 September 2023 at 11:05pm. Prior to the telecast, Channel 4 Dispatches stated that the documentary has “exclusive interviews with high placed whistleblowers who allege that some Sri Lankan government officials were complicit in the bombings.

Who or what is a whisleblower?

The Oxford dictionary defines a Whistleblower as a “source who makes public information about alleged wrongdoing, typically by or within the organization in which they are employed. A person blowing the whistle to journalists”

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary says a whistleblower is “one who reveals something covert or who informs against another”.

The Cambridge dictionary describes a whistleblower as “a person who tells someone in authority about something illegal that is happening, especially in a government department or a company.”

According to Collins dictionary a whistle-blower “ is someone who finds out that the organization they are working for is doing something immoral or illegal and tells the authorities or the public about it.”

In this context the Channel 4 documentary featured three “whistleblowers”. One was Hanzeer Azad Maulana the former aide of Tamil Makkal Viduthalaip Puligal (TMVP) leader and Batticaloa district MP Sivanesathurai Santhirakanthan alias “Pillaiyaan” who is currently the state minister. for Rural Road Transport.

The second was Ex-police officer Nishantha Silva the Police sleuth who probed the murder of Lasantha Wickrematunge and who in the process of doing so interrogated Gotabaya Rajapaksa intensively.

The third was another top Sri Lankan Govt official who remained anonymous without his image being shown. Both Azad Maulana and Nishantha Silva are reportedly living in Europe now.

Star Whistleblower

Although three whistleblowers were featured in the documentary, the star among them was Hanzeer Azad Maulana. The allegations levelled by him against persons such as Ex-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, State Intelligence Service chief Suresh Salley and State minister Pillayan helped the documentary film makers to make out a strong case. The importance of Maulana’s role in the documentary was acknowledged by Gotabaya himself.

Continue reading ‘Who is Hanzeer Azad Maulana, the Whistleblower Featured in the Channel 4 TV Documentary on Sri Lanka’s Easter Bombings?’ »

In a damning report released in Geneva, coinciding with the 42nd regular session of UN Human Rights Council, the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) has named 58 from the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) of the Sri Lankan police as those involved in systematic brutal torture and sexual violence against men and women.

Seventy-three survivors

In 24 cases, detailed dossiers have been prepared on the individuals identified.

ITJP’s latest report is the first to examine the extensive use of torture over the last decade by the TID.

The report is based on the testimony of 73 survivors of torture, both Tamil and Sinhalese, interviewed in five different countries, says ITJP.

“The indifference to repeated allegations of police torture is shocking and makes a mockery of Sri Lanka’s stated commitment to security sector reform, let alone transitional justice,” said the ITJP’s Executive Director, Yasmin Sooka.

Continue reading ‘New ITJP Report released in Geneva Names 58 Sri Lankan Policemen Including High Ranking Officers as being Allegedly Involved in Systematic Brutal Torture and Sexual Violence against Men and Women; Report Based on Testimonies of 73 Tamil and Sinhala Survivors of Torture’ »