(Text of Speech delivered by President Ranil Wickremesinghe on 21 July 2023 before a distinguished gathering including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at New Delhi during his first official visit to India)

“I am honoured to be in New Delhi at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is my first visit to India since assuming office as President last year and it is a visit to which myself and my government attach the highest importance.
I thank the PM Modi and the Government of India for the hospitality extended to me and to my delegation.

This morning PM Modi and I had the occasion to review at length recent developments in our countries as well as in our bilateral relations. I have congratulated PM Modi on the great strides India continues to make under his leadership in economic, infrastructure and technological progress in ensuring growth and prosperity for the people of India. We believe that India’s growth will be beneficial to the neighbourhood and Indian Ocean region.

I have also apprised with Prime Minister Modi of the extraordinary challenges that Sri Lanka had experienced in economic, social and political terms in the past year, and of the reform measures I have spearheaded on a number of fronts, in overcoming these challenges.
I have conveyed to PM Modi and to the government and people of India our profound appreciation for the solidarity and support rendered to Sri Lanka in what was undoubtedly the most challenging period in our recent history.

Continue reading ‘President Wickremesinghe Shares with Indian PM his Comprehensive Proposals to further Reconcilation,power sharing through devolution and the multiple elements of the Northern development plan; Narendra Modi expresses his solidarity and goodwillfor these endeavours’ »

By
D.B.S. Jeyaraj

Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa known as Gotabaya or Gota Rajapaksa made a glorious entry to the pinnacle of political power through a grand victory at the presidential election held on 16 November 2019. The former military officer and ex-secretary of defence who polled 6,924,255 votes(52.25) at the hustings was sworn in as President at the historic Ruwanweli Seya in Anuradhapura on 18 November 2019. 32 Months later President Gotabaya Rajapaksa made an inglorious exit from Sri Lanka in an Air Force plane and reached the Maldives on 13 July 2022. From there he went to Singapore and resigned as President on 14 July. This week marks the first anniversary of Gota Rajapaksa’s ignominious fall from power and flight (literal and metaphorical)from Sri Lanka.

Monumental misgoverance coupled with colossal corruption had been the hallmarks of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s brief rule as executive president. The country was in the grip of an unprecedented economic crisis. There were acute shortages of food, fuel and electricity. This had resulted in a widely popular protest movement against the President known as the “Aragalaya”or Struggle. The Aragalaya’s key demand was “ Go Home Gota ”

When the protests began, Gotabaya had retreated from his private residence in Mirihana and Presidential secretariat at Galle face. He holed up in the President’s official residence “Janadhipathy Mandiraya”(President’s house) in Fort. A number of protest demonstrations asking Gota to quit had been foiled by the Police and Security forces.

Mounting public anger resulted in massive mobilisation of the people on 9 July 2022. Hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life marched towards the President’s House ready for the “Anthima Satana”or final battle. Tear gas and water cannon were used to disperse the crowds. Baton charges were conducted. Even gunshots were fired in the air. All to no avail! The protesting multitudes besieged the President’s House and were on the verge of entering the premises.

Continue reading ‘The Ignominious Ouster and Inglorious Exit of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July 2022’ »

By
Meera Srinivasan

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) on Tuesday(July 18)) “categorically rejected” Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s offer to implement the 13th Amendment sans police powers, terming his proposal for development and power devolution “another hollow promise”.

The 13th Amendment is an over 30-year old Sri Lankan legislation on the devolution of power from Colombo to the nine provinces, but has never been fully implemented.

“If the government is not willing to implement what is already in our Constitution, it is a revelation of the lack of political will to go beyond the 13th Amendment, and meaningfully devolve power,” TNA spokesman M.A. Sumanthiran told The Hindu, following a meeting convened by Mr. Wickremesinghe with Tamil political parties. “We categorically rejected the President’s proposal,” the Jaffna MP said.

Continue reading ‘President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Offer to Implement the 13th Constitutional Amendment without Police Powers is “ Categorically rejected” by the Tamil National Alliance.’ »

(Text of Press Release issued by the Presidents Media Division on 18 Jukly 2023)

During a discussion with Tamil Parliamentarians representing the North and East today (18), President Ranil Wickremesinghe emphasized that he has already put forth a comprehensive proposal to address the problems faced by the people in those regions and it is up to the Tamil Parliamentarians whether to take it forward or not.
Responding to Member of Parliament Mr. M A Sumanthiran’s statement regarding former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s support for the full implementation of the 13th Amendment, the President clarified that he is Ranil Wickremesinghe, not Ranil Rajapaksa.

President Wickremesinghe expressed his genuine intention to resolve the issues faced by the Tamil people without any political motivations. He elaborated on various bills and plans concerning the functioning of provincial councils, the Office of National Unity and Reconciliation, the Truth-Finding Mechanism, the Office of Missing Persons, and the development of the Northern and Eastern provinces.

Furthermore, the President highlighted the government’s development initiatives for the Northern and Eastern provinces, including projects focused on renewable energy, water supply, infrastructure development, investment promotion zones, and the tourism industry.

Ultimately, the President underscored that the full enforcement of the 13th Amendment can only be achieved if all party leaders in the Parliament agree to a comprehensive devolution of powers. The President’s proposal and discussions centered around multiple measures to address the challenges faced by the people in the North and East regions.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe reiterated his unwavering dedication to upholding justice for the people of the North and East. He emphasized that any further actions taken for their benefit must receive the full support of Parliament through discussion and consensus.

Continue reading ‘President Ranil Wickremesinghe Formulates comprehensive proposals to address the problems faced by the people in the North and East and says it is up to the Tamil Parliamentarians to decide whether to take it forward or not.’ »

By
Meera Srinivasan

For singer Srinivas, Sri Lanka is familiar performance terrain. He has been visiting since the 1990s, first in his corporate avatar and later as a musician.

In his recent show for the Colombo-Indian CEO Forum’s 10th year celebration last week at the Taj Samudra, he had a special request from a member of the audience — a song from Bobby.
It was the President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe who asked for a song from the iconic album that made waves, exactly half a century ago. Wickremesinghe, who was the chief guest at the milestone event for the Indian business community in Sri Lanka, attended most of the concert, along with First Lady Prof. Maithree Wickremesinghe.

Srinivas sang ‘Mein shayar to nahin’, adding to his charming, largely retro Hindi playlist, dominated by the singer’s icon Kishore Kumar. It included Mohammed Rafi and Mehedi Hassan, apart from a couple of Srinivas’s own hits in Tamil.

“I am at my happiest while performing songs of Kishore Kumar and Mehedi Hassan, my sources of inspiration,” says Srinivas. He is also particularly delighted to perform in Sri Lanka, where the audiences have shown him “unconditional love”, the kind “you rarely see”.

Continue reading ‘Father -Daughter Singing Duo Srinivas and Sharanya Perform together in Taj Samudra with Sri Lankan Artistes at Colombo -Indian CEO Forum’s 10th Year Celebration event; Srinivas sings ‘Mein shayar to nahin’,from “Bobby” for Chief Guest Ranil Wickremesinghe’ »

President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s proposal to implement the 13th Amendment (13A) to the Constitution with the exception of police powers fell foul of the Tamil National Alliance yesterday forcing Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M.A. Sumanthiram to remind the President that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa in three joint statements with India had promised to implement 13A in full.

“The joint statements issued by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa with India promised to implement 13A in full and to build on it to achieve meaningful devolution. It said 13A in full. Not 13A in full but minus police powers,” the MP recalled.

Continue reading ‘“I am Ranil Wickremesinghe and not Ranil Rajapaksa. I am not bound by what President Rajapaksa did,” states President Ranil Wickremesinghe; tells TNA that he was not bound to any joint statements issued by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.’ »

President Ranil Wickreme-singhe yesterday placed the responsibility for making further progress on the 13th Amendment to the Constitution (13A) back in the hands of Sri Lanka’s Tamil MPs representing the North and East. He urged them to reach a consensus on its implementation with the exception of police powers during the meeting held yesterday in Parliament.

Wickremesinghe outlined his plans for devolution of powers stating that the 13A would be implemented with full powers, excluding police powers for the time being as specified under List 1 while incorporating designated functions from List 3 in the provincial council’s list.

The President urged the MPs to form a committee led by MPs Susil Premajayantha and Prasanna Ranatunge to hold discussions on the matter.

“You have to decide if you want to go ahead with this or not because we must draft the legislation,” he noted.

Continue reading ‘President Wickremesinghe tells Tamil MPs from North and East to Reach Consensus on fImplementing 13 Amendment Sans Police Powers; “You have to decide if you want to go ahead with this or not because we must draft the legislation,” says Ranil’ »

By

Meera Srinivasan

A group of religious leaders, educationists, and professionals from Sri Lanka’s Tamil-majority north and east have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to “persuade” President Ranil Wickremesinghe to call for provincial council elections, without further delay.

The civil society members handed over their letter at the Indian Consulate in the northern city of Jaffna, days before President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s scheduled visit to New Delhi. Sri Lanka’s provincial councils have been defunct for about five years now, with all nine provinces under Governor’s rule since the elected councils’ terms expired in 2018 and 2019. Authorities have also postponed local body elections this year, citing the island nation’s persisting economic strain.

Meanwhile, Mr. Wickremesinghe has called for a meeting with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the largest grouping representing the Tamils in the legislature, on Tuesday. It is the President’s latest attempt to speak to Tamil parties after talks on power devolution ended in a virtual deadlock this May.

The TNA MPs who took part in earlier discussions — some other parties boycotted the talks terming the President’s outreach “insincere” — called it a “time-wasting” tactic. No agreement was reached.

Continue reading ‘Group of Tamil religious leaders, educationists, and professionals from Sri Lanka’s north and east write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to “persuade” President Ranil Wickremesinghe to call for provincial council elections, without further delay.’ »

Kishali Pinto -Jayawardene

President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s assertion during a recent interview with the French media that the Government of Sri Lanka will invite foreign jurists to ‘observe’ the sittings of the proposed Truth and Reconciliation (TRC) Commission and that therefore, ‘no one can say that it is a cover-up,’ is political satire of the most rip-roaring kind.

Circus tricks to satisfy international audiences

I say this with tongue firmly in cheek.

Typically, President Wickremesinghe pulled out what would have occurred to him as a trump card before international media. But for Sri Lankans with reasonably good memories, that proclamation of ‘foreign observers’ as a bulwark to preserve the integrity of the TRC process has terrible echoes of deja vu.

For this is not the first time that a Head of State has resorted to this particular circus trick to deflect pressure.

The very last example we had was in 2007 when former President Mahinda Rajapaksa invited eleven international jurists headed by former Indian Chief Justice PN Bhagwati to ‘observe’ the sittings of the Udalagama Commission of Inquiry tasked with probing sixteen human rights violations.

The incidents included two of the most egregious instances of extra-judicial killings of civilians in Sri Lanka’s turbulent history of deadly conflict.

Continue reading ‘President Wickremesinghe Telling the French Media that Foreign Jurists would be invited to Observe Sittings of the Proposed Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is Political Satire of the most Rip-roaring Kind.’ »

The Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) leader Mano Ganesan has said that his party wants India’s support for the social advancement of the people of Indian Origin in Sri Lanka and not for their political goals.

The TPA has changed the usual practice of demanding political support from the Indian government and asking the Government of India to speak to the Government of Sri Lanka on their behalf.

Continue reading ‘Hill Country Tamils Want India’s assistance for Social Progress only and not for achieving political goals states Tamil Progressive Alliance Leader Mano Ganesan MP in a remarkable change of stance’ »

By
D.B.S. Jeyaraj

Sri Lanka experienced its first suicide bomber attack by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) on 5 July 1987. The Sri Lankan armed forces had commenced “Operation Liberation” on 27 May 1987 and succeeded in recapturing the Vadamaratchy region of the Jaffna peninsula. A major detachment of the Army was stationed at the Nelliaddy central college premises near Nelliaddy junction. The LTTE re-grouped and launched a counter attack on the military camp on July 5.

Vallipuram Vasanthan alias “Capt Miller”, a son of a bank manager ,drove an explosive ladedn truck into the Nelliaddy camp precincts camp and triggered off an explosion. . This was followed by a coordinated multi-pronged LTTE attack. Both sides incurred huge losses. The attack was a sensation in those days as it was the pioneering suicide bomb attack by the tigers. The first suicide bomber “Capt Miller’ was hailed as a “Karumpuli”. This was translated into English as black tiger instead of panther.

Thereafter the LTTE conducted many more “black Tiger” suicide bomber attacks. July 5th was declared as Black tigers day. It is still obseeved annually as such by tigerish elements in Tamil Nadu and the Diaspora. When the LTTE was militarily active, attacks were conducted on July 5th to denote Black tiger day. Some of these attacks were not black tiger operations.

Ten years after Capt Miller’s death on 5 July 1997, there was an LTTE attack in Trincomalee town on Black Tigers day. The target was the then Tamil United Liberation Front(TULF) Trincomalee district MP Arunasalam Thangathurai.

Continue reading ‘“Golden Lord” A.Thangathurai was Trincomalee District’s Man for all Seasons.’ »

By Krishantha Prasad Cooray

Someone in Sri Lanka, right now as I write, is distraught because a child, a parent or a loved one has died, is dying or is seriously ill due to lack of medicine and medical care.

Some die because doctors just cannot handle the overwhelming number of patients, or they simply cannot afford the eyewatering private hospital charges.

In a world of increasingly glaring disparities, we could dismiss such situations as inevitable, especially in a time of unprecedented economic stress, but such dismissal can only be defended if all necessary steps have been taken to ensure that what is possible can indeed be delivered. It is abundantly clear that this is not the case.

We are not talking about critical care necessitating costly drugs and sophisticated surgery, but non-serious medical situations that can be and have been treated successfully in Sri Lanka.

In a time of crisis hard choices must be made. Priorities must be revisited and revised. Cutbacks are inevitable even when it comes to areas that have previously been treated as untouchable. This is true of households, and it is true of nations.

Consumption patterns quickly change in poorer households. Relative luxuries are shelved, but a lot of care is taken to make sure that nutrition and health are not compromised beyond certain minimum levels. It is not hard to understand. In the end it is life that counts.

It is the same with a country. A nation without people is not a nation. A nation in which people are sick and cannot get the treatment is a sick nation. No amount of debt restructuring can cure such a nation.

Continue reading ‘President Wickremesinghe can and must speak to the medical fraternity. The President himself has to convince them of the plans to turn things around, what has been done, what is going to be done, and why their support at this hour is so crucial for the wellbeing of the country and its citizens.’ »

By

D.B.S.Jeyaraj

This year 2023 marks the bicentennial of the arrival of people from India as ”indentured labour “ to work in Sri Lanka. Though persons from India have been coming over to the Island from time immemorial, it was in February 1823 that people were first brought “officially” as workers. This was during British colonial rule.The man responsible for this was the then British Governor Sir Edward Barnes who served in Ceylon -as Sri Lanka was known then – as acting Governor and Governor from 1820 to 1831 with a break in between of 2 years.

Governor Barnes a retired Lt.General in the British army initiated the construction of the major road between Colombo and Kandy and also introduced coffee cultivation in the Island. Indian workers mainly Tamil speaking were brought from the Southern regions of what was known as the Madras presidency during British rule in India. Indian workers were required to clear forest areas for coffee cultivation and for construction.

Subsequently coffee growing was discontinued. Tea was planted instead from 1867. So too was rubber. More labour from India was required. There was also increased road construction. With the advent of trains in 1864 ,Railways also needed workers. Increasing urbanization created a need for sanitary workers. As a result there was a steady flow of Indian workers to the Island until the last years of British rule.

Many of the pre-dominantly Tamil speaking Indian workers returned to their motherland after some years but fresh workers kept coming and replenishing numbers. A large number of people began settling down in the country to whose economy they had contributed immensely. Many Indian Tamils put down roots and made this resplendent Isle their adopted homeland. However compulsory repatriation and communal violence targeting them forced many to depart from these shores over the years. This resulted in their numbers getting depleted.

Fourth-largest Ethnicity

Continue reading ‘The Injustice Meted out to “Malaiyahath Thamizhar”( Hill Country Tamils) Since Independence in 1948.’ »

(Text of Bar Association of Sri Lanka L statement titled ‘Upholding the Rule of Law and safeguarding the independence of the judiciary’ and signed by BASL President Kaushalya Nawaratne and BASL Secretary Isuru Balapatabendi)

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) re-affirms its commitment to upholding the Rule of Law and safeguarding the Independence of the judiciary, in light of recent trend of pressure being exerted over the Judiciary that would potentially threaten and undermine these important principles.

The BASL is deeply concerned of the growing trend of members of Parliament, exploiting parliamentary privilege, by making statements in Parliament, for matters which are sub judice.

Specifically, we find the recent statement by Sarath Weerasekesera MP in Parliament, on the 7th of July 2023, currently circulating in social media platforms, as an unfounded, brazen attack on the Judiciary and the social fabric of this Country.

Continue reading ‘MP Sarath Weerasekesera’s Recent Statement in Parliament on 7 July 2023 is an unfounded, brazen attack on the Judiciary and the social fabric of this Country states Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL)’ »

Meera Srinivasan

India is seeking a “positive transformation” in its ties with Sri Lanka, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said, following a meeting with President Ranil Wickremesinghe in Colombo on Tuesday.

In a visit aimed at laying the groundwork for Mr. Wickremesinghe’s upcoming trip to New Delhi on July 21 — his first official visit to India since becoming President under extraordinary circumstances a year ago — Mr. Kwatra said he discussed ties across “the entire matrix of economic partnership” between the two countries.

“My discussions earlier today with the Sri Lankan leadership, as also with the Foreign Ministry, were essentially focussed on trying to ensure that the upcoming visit of Hon. President of Sri Lanka is actually a point of positive transformation in the relationship,” Mr. Kwatra told local media.

Continue reading ‘India seeks positive transformation” in its ties with Sri Lanka says visiting Indian Foreign Secretary; “trying to ensure that the upcoming visit to New Delhi of President Ranil Wickremesinghe is actually a point of positive transformation in the relationship, states Mr. Vinay Kwatra’ »

By

Ranga Jayasuriya

A year ago, on July 9th, hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans, dispossessed by the economic destruction unleashed by a government they elected not long ago, descended on the Capital, Colombo. They stormed the President’s House while President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was hurriedly evacuated to a waiting naval ship.

Three days later, Rajapaksa resigned, leading to the appointment of his Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as the stopgap president. Later Wickremesinghe won a parliamentary vote to hold the office for the remainder of Mr Rajapakaksa’s vacated term– with the help of the MPs from Rajapaksa’s Pohottuwa. This week marks the first year of his presidency as well.

The ouster of Gotabaya Rajapaksa was the culmination of mass protests which began barely months ago. In February, as the consequences of economic mismanagement were gradually evident, people in modest numbers gathered in Colombo suburbs, holding night vigils. These silent protests grew in numbers and spread across the country as the economic meltdown hastened.

In April, people heeded social media calls to occupy the Galle Face Green, which became the centre of protests and a carnival of social and cultural diversity. On May 9th, Pohottuwa apparatchiks returning from a meeting at the Temple Trees, the official residence of then Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, attacked the protestors in the Galle Face green, causing an outpouring of mass anger.

In the ensuing violence, the Houses of ruling party MPs were torched; Rajapaksa’s ancestral house was attacked; a ruling party MP was killed. Mahinda Rajapaksa was forced to resign, and, Gotabaya appointed Ranil Wickremesinghe as the prime minister after Sajith Premadasa hesitated. If throwing his elder brother and his cabinet under the bus was to save his skin, the ploy did not work for Gotabaya. July 9th sealed his fate.

Continue reading ‘Those who took part in “Aragalaya” Demanding Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s ouster Won;Those who Tried to use “Aragalaya” to Grab Power for Themselves Lost.’ »

(This article appeared in the Asia section of “The Economist”print edition under the headline “If the dead could only speak”)

As dark clouds of economic crisis, political chaos and mass protest loomed over Sri Lanka a year ago, optimists saw one silver lining. So incompetent and corrupt was the soon-to-collapse government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, it had united the country in anger, crossing the ethnic divide that had blighted its post-independence history.

But hopes that this might lead to a lasting rapprochement between the island’s Tamil, and largely Hindu, minority and its Sinhalese Buddhist majority have proved to be short-lived.

This is illustrated by the fragile state of the latest effort at communal bridge-building. In May Sri Lanka’s current government, run by Ranil Wickremesinghe, opted to form a South African-style “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” (trc) to look at the history of Sri Lanka’s civil war. It started 40 years ago this month and ended in May 2009, with a slaughter of thousands of Tamil civilians on a bloody beach during the Sri Lankan army’s final victorious assault.

The vexed and unimpressive efforts of other Asian countries to confront the darker chapters of their recent pasts suggested Sri Lanka’s would not go well. That looks increasingly likely.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Plans to form a South African-style “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” (TRC) Seem Increasingly Unlikely to Succeed- “The Economist”’ »

By

Dilshan Joseph

The Anglican Church in Sri Lanka (Church of Ceylon) has made an immense contribution to education. The great school by the sea has educated thousands of young men, imparting in them core values of Christianity.

When we read the Bible we find that Jesus was taken to the synagogue by his parents and continued to learn the scriptures, which shows the importance of a holistic education.

To all who have been associated with S. Thomas’ College (STC), the magnificent College chapel has influenced their lives, touching them in significant ways. It is the vibrant heart of Thomian life.

This beautiful chapel and more importantly the good work done through it enriches the student mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

In the Old Testament, there is a story of young King Solomon, aspiring to build a sanctuary for the people of Israel that they might pray to almighty God. Perhaps, it was this same divine passion that strongly inspired Warden Stone and Warden Mc Pherson, as they envisaged building a house for God’s children at S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia.

Continue reading ‘The Chapel of the Transfiguration has played a crucial role in the life of S. Thomas’ College, Mt.Lavinia and in the lives of all Thomians.’ »

By

Nimal Sanderatne

The government’s controversial domestic debt restructuring (DDR) plan has been approved by parliament. This is a necessary condition for the restructuring of the foreign debt and stabilising the country’s foreign finances.

Hopefully, this would enable the restructuring of foreign debt favourably.

The country’s foreign debt liabilities are expected to be reduced by 30 percent. The restructuring of the Chinese debt too is expected to be agreed on bilaterally.

Continue reading ‘The Central Bank is guaranteeing that the EPF and ETF pension funds will get 12 percent interest on their govt bonds till 2025 and thereafter 9 percent. This assurance from the govt and the CB we hope will be kept’ »

By

Kishali Pinto -Jayawardene

This week’s order of the Colombo High Court granting bail to comedian Nathasha Edirisooriya imprisoned under Section 3(1) of the much abused International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR Act, 2007) for commenting ‘disrespectfully’on Buddhism, is a fine example of legal rectitude if not basic judicial commonsense.

Understanding the limits of the law

The pages of the court order must be pinned up high in the offices of Sri Lanka’s police command throughout the land. Perhaps (and only half in jest), this may be the first act of the hopefully-to-be extended Inspector General of Police which may mercifully see an end to nasty quarrels over succession by subordinates marked only by their extraordinarily bad human rights records and kowtowing to politicians.

But to return to the focus of this column, the ICCPR Act has been recklessly and ridiculously used in Edirisooriya’s case and many others for purposes that are completely contrary to its aim.

To be clear, that is an entirely different matter from the question as to whether the impugned remarks qualifies as good humour or not. As subjectively assessed, the remarks were tasteless at best and crude at worst. Even so, it was not the quality of comedy that was on trial.

What the High Court found fault with, in a lengthily reasoned order, was the subversion of Section 3(1) of the ICCPR Act. That Section unambiguously sets out the elements of the offence, prohibiting the propagation of war or the advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred which constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence. It is the caveat of ‘incitement’ that is key to its operation.

Continue reading ‘Colombo High Court Order granting bail to comedian Nathasha Edirisooriya imprisoned under Section 3(1) of the much abused International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR Act, outlinines the proper legal use of Sri Lanka’s ICCPR Act.’ »

By Rathindra Kuruwita

When the next Human Rights Council session comes up, Sri Lanka would have to present the steps it has taken to ensure the welfare of those affected by economic reforms, former head of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) Prof. Deepika Udagama said, addressing the media recently.

There was hardly any focus on economic and social rights in Sri Lanka as most people and successive governments had associated rights with civil and political issues, she said.

In the past, the United Nations Human Rights bodies had also focused on disappearances, torture, killings, arbitrary arrests, and similar issues during the conflict with the LTTE and youth uprisings in the South, she said.

Continue reading ‘“Sri Lanka had to seek IMF assistance because the rulers of the country created an economic crisis. When we implement IMF policies, everyone knows that the poor suffer. The Sri Lankan government has a great responsibility to protect these people,” – Former HRCSL head Prof. Deepika Udagama’ »

(Text of Jaffna District Parliamentarian M. A. Sumanthiran’s speech in Parliament on 1 st July 2023 during the Debate on Domestic Debt Restructuring )

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for the time allocated to me to participate in this very important debate today.

As I begin, I wish to bring to the notice of this house and to the country the several false holdings that the government has been making to the country with regard to this Domestic Debt Restructure.

We have one State Minister of Finance on record, just three weeks ago – no, not yourself, the other State Minister, saying categorically that there will not be any domestic debt restructure. But in the cabinet memorandum that we have that has now been placed before this House, the cat is out of the bag, because in pages, 2 and 3, it says “priority”…I’m reading from page 3 of the cabinet memorandum the first line “…priority being the implementation of the DDO described here in domestic debt optimization and then in parentheses, it says, “which is also a stated precondition” – stated precondition! for the restructuring of FLFC, debt owed to the members of the ad hoc committee holders of Sri Lanka’s International Sovereign Bonds. So now we are being told that there is a precondition with the international sovereign bond holders that there will be a domestic debt restructuring and therefore this must be done first – this must be done first.

Priority for the implementation of DDO! So all this time, you have lied to the country saying there won’t be domestic debt restructuring. At least important, responsible – ought to be responsible – State Minister of Finance has said that, but that is not the case. Even while he was saying this, you had agreed with that ad hoc committee that first you will do a domestic restructuring and it says “stated”, so obviously, it is in writing as well.

Undertaken in writing to first do the domestic debt restructuring. You’ve been lying to the country that, either it won’t be done or that you have not taken a decision with regard to that up to now.

Continue reading ‘“You dare not touch these Vultures because they’re your friends, they are your funders, they give you your election campaign money. They are the ones who give you kickbacks for doing this. So you are selling the soul of the country.”- MA Sumanthiran MP’ »

By Nisthar Cassim

The Central Bank yesterday allayed unfounded fears and debunked doomsayers over the Domestic Debt Optimisation (DDO) insisting it did what is best for Sri Lanka considering multiple factors and eyeing the broader goals of the country.

Amidst criticism from the Opposition and some analysts, the Central Bank defended the DDO framework saying it was “most fair and reasonable” and the best option carved out after considering multiple factors.

“Benefiting all stakeholders from a broader sense, the DDO framework is the best deal with which we can move forward,” CBSL Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe told journalists yesterday. He said it has been positively received by the markets as well as internationally.

”We as the Central Bank have responsibility for financial system stability. Our position has always been because of the high inflation rate our domestic debt has already been effectively restructured to a certain extent. Our position at that time obviously was that we do not see a need for a further restructuring and even today I maintain the same position,” CBSL Governor said.

Continue reading ‘Central Bank Governor Dr.Nandalal Weerasinghe dismisses the assumption that DDO will result in Rs. 12 trillion impact to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and alleges “ it was wrong, misleading and a misrepresentation of facts, figures and reality”’ »

By

Meera Srinivasan

Sri Lanka is counting on tourists from India, its primary source market, to boost foreign exchange earnings and aid economic recovery, as the island expects fewer tourists from Europe amid the ongoing recession.

Colombo is currently hosting the 67th convention of the Travel Agents Association of India, in a bid to further boost Indian tourist arrivals in the coming years.

Addressing participants on Thursday, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said tourism would emerge Sri Lanka’s chief foreign exchange earning sector in the next decade. Pitching a collaborative regional effort to promote tourism, he asked “Why don’t we make our whole BIMSTEC area one borderless tourist area?”, pointing to the scope in the region to showcase diverse sites and cuisines.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka is Counting on Getting more Tourists from India as fewer European Tourists are expected due to the Recession; 1,23,004 tourists or 24 % of the total arrivals were from India in 2022’ »

By
D.B.S. Jeyaraj

It has been the practice for this column to devote the first article of each month to a topic on films, film personalities or film-related matters. As such this week’s article will focus on the evergreen “Dingiri Dingaley” song from the Tamil film “Anbu Engay?”(Where is love?) that was first screened 65 years ago. Although a Tamil film song, the number was hugely popular among Sinhalese too. I have written about this song in my blog earlier. This is the first time I am publishing an article about it in a newspaper.

“ Dingiri Dingaale Meenatchi Dingiri Dingaale, Ulagam Poara Poakkaip Paaru Thangamay Chiillaaley” was a song that rocked Sri Lanka then known as Ceylon in 1958 and the years that followed. The rollicking song from the Tamil movie “Anbu Engey?” was widely popular during my childhood days. The film was first screened in India on 12 December 1958. It was released in Sri Lanka some months later in 1959. However songs from the film like “Dingiri Dingaaley”had been aired over “Radio Ceylon” from mid -1958 onwards .

The rapturous “Dingiri Dingaaley” was the most famous among Tamil film songs then. No sing -song or dance at a party was complete without it. Even at children’s parties this song would be sung or played with every one dancing. Singing Dingiri Dingaaley and dancing to the song was a regular feature of life in those years.

Continue reading ‘“Dingiri Dingaley Meenatchi Dingiri DingaaleyUlagam Poara Poakkaip Paaru, Thangamay Chillalay” : ”The Evergreen Tamil Film Song from “Anbu Engay”.’ »

BY Tisaranee Gunasekara

“What causes do we not invent for the misfortunes that befall us? On what do we not place the blame, rightly or wrongly, so as to have something at which to strike?”

– Montaigne (Essays)

The question was simple: how the candidate was going to fund the many and extravagant election promises, considering the already high debt burden.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa seemed to be listening intently. He nodded, turned his head to the right then to the left, played with a pen, leaned back and leaned forward. Behind the spectacles, his eyes regarded the world with bemusement. When the questioner asked about the candidate’s links with the international community, Rajapaksa touched his forehead.

When the question ended, he sat back and pointed a finger at his elder brother.

Mahinda Rajapaksa’s answer was as relevant as a summer dress in the Russian winter. He talked about 2005, how everyone predicted bankruptcy and yet, he proved them wrong. Money would be no problem, he indicated.

There were no follow up questions.

Continue reading ‘Sajith Premadasa seems to be modelling himself on SWRD Bandaranaike and Gotabaya Rajapaksa rather than his father who didn’t need or want monks telling him how to govern’ »

The approval rating of the Government doubled to 21% in June 2023 from the 10% that was recorded in both February 2023 and October 2022, according to the latest round of the Gallup style ‘Mood of the Nation’ poll of Verité Research.

The survey showed satisfaction with the state of the nation increased, although only to 12% in June. Economic confidence also improved from the (-) 78 recorded in both February and October but remained in negative territory at (-) 44.

The Mood of the Nation poll is conducted periodically by Verité Research and is based on an island wide nationally representative sample of responses. The sample and methodology are designed to limit the maximum error margin to under 3% at a 95% confidence interval, which meets the gold standard of surveys.

Continue reading ‘Approval Rating of President Wickremesinghe Govt Doubles from 10% In February to 21% in June According to Latest “Mood of the Nation” Opinion Poll Conducted by Verite Research’ »

(Text of Press Release Issued by the Presidents Media Division on 5 July 2023)

President Ranil Wickremesinghe emphasized the importance of avoiding misleading arguments and instead urged the entire opposition, led by the opposition leader, to join the government in addressing the country’s challenges.

He pointed out that the opposition’s allegations regarding the restructuring of local debt have been proven false.

The President encouraged the opposition to participate in the next presidential election and contribute to rebuilding the country by fulfilling their responsibilities to the people. He also expressed his willingness to assign additional duties to the opposition in consultation with the Speaker, if necessary.

These remarks were made by President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the “Amarawiru Abhiman 32” ceremony, which honoured Mr. Mahinda Amaraweera, the Minister of Agriculture, for his 32-year political career.

During the event, the President received a special commemorative edition of “Amaraviru Abhiman 32” and presented commemorative gifts to farmers, agriculture supporters, and students who achieved academic success in the Hambantota district.

Minister Mahinda Amaraweera presented a memento to President Ranil Wickremesinghe as a tribute to the people of Hambantota, and the President reciprocated by presenting a souvenir to Minister Amaraweera in appreciation of his dedicated service to the people of the district.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe further commented:

Continue reading ‘President Wickremesinghe Invites Opposition Leader and Opposition to Join Govt and Solve Challenges Faced by the Country Instead Engaging in Misleading Arguments’ »

By

Ranga Jayasuriya

Parliament on Saturday (1 July 2023) approved a domestic debt restructuring program that would rework nearly half of the country’s US$ 42.1 billion domestic debt. The plan covered US$ 19.5 billion of Domestic debt in Treasury bills and bonds held by the Central Bank and superannuation funds (mainly the EPF and ETF) and excluded the domestic banks due to the fears of destabilizing the banking sector.

The superannuation funds would have the choice of swapping their short-term bills and bonds to those of longer maturity (2027-2038) at 12% interest until 2025 and, after that, 9%, failing which, they have the option to pay a 30% in tax, instead of the current 14% preferential rate.

Fear that the pension funds would be forced to take a haircut on the principle did not materialize, perhaps disappointing those who wished for chaos. A five-day bank holiday preceding the vote also highlighted the concerns over the potential market instability, much less for the function of market forces, but for the deliberate manipulation and disinformation leading to a bank run.

For a country with a history of even the slightest economically meaningful measures being forced to roll back by the protestors, a successful domestic debt restructuring is a salient feat. Optimism might be premature, for the usual naysayers may gang up and challenge the plan in the coming weeks.

Continue reading ‘By opposing every govt measure to lift the country out of the economic crisis, the Opposition might be misreading public opinion. That may come to haunt them in future elections’ »

Asiri Fernando

The special parliamentary session on the Domestic Debt Optimisation (DDO) plan of the Government was approved last evening (1) with a majority of 60 votes, following a lengthy and occasionally-heated debate about the impact on superannuation funds.

Secretary General of Parliament Kushani Rohanadeera then informed Finance Ministry Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana in writing that the DDO programme had been passed by Parliament.

The vote on the plan saw 122 votes in favour and 62 against, with the members from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) leaving the chamber prior to the vote while dissident SLFP MPs voted in favour of the proposal.

There was also a split in the votes of dissident Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MPs in the Opposition, with some voting in favour of the DDO and some voting against.

The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), National People’s Power (NPP), and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) voted against the DDO plan.
The Parliament was adjourned till Wednesday (5) following the vote.

Continue reading ‘Parliament Passes Govt’s Domestic Debt Optimisation Plan by 60 Vote majority; 122 vote for and 62 against; SJB,NPP and TNA Vote against while SLPP in Govt and some SLPP dissidents in Opposition vote for;SLFP keeps away while Dissidents vote for;COPF chair Harsha de Silva votes against’ »

By
D.B.S.Jeyaraj

Former Sri Lankan President and ex-defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa known generally as Gota figured prominently in an Associated Press (AP) news report dated 22 June 2023 . According to AP, Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been accused of allegedly “tampering with police records in order to hamper investigations into mass graves discovered in an area where he was a military officer at the height of a bloody Marxist insurrection in 1989”. The allegation was made in a report released last week by activist groups including the International Truth and Justice Project, Journalists for Democracy and Families of the Disappeared in Sri Lanka.

The report alleged that Gota Rajapaksa while serving as Defence secretary under his brother President Mahinda Rajapaksa had “ ordered the destruction of all police records older than five years at police stations in the region after mass graves were discovered in the Matale district of central Sri Lanka in 2013.”
The mass graves were suspected to date from the time of a violent Marxist insurrection in 1989, when Rajapaksa, as a military officer, was involved in counter-insurgency in the region.The report called for action against Rajapaksa and senior police officials involved in the alleged hampering of the investigations.

It is well-known that Gotabaya Rajapaksa was appointed commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, Gajaba Regiment (1GR) and military coordinating officer of the Matale district during the second insurrection of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) which took place from 1987 to 1990.Gota reportedly functioned in Matale District from May 1989 to January 1990. “He (Gota) was posted to Matale as the district coordinating officer tasked with bringing the JVP under control,” wrote well-known journalist and former envoy to the UN in Geneva, C.A. Chandraprem in his biography “Gota’s war”.

There have been numerous allegations of enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, torture, and extra-judicial killings being committed by Government security forces between May 1989 and January 1990, in the Matale District, during the JVP uprising. Over 700 persons most of them Sinhalese allegedly disappeared then. There has been complete lack of accountability and judicial action against the State authorities allegedly identified as perpetrators of the violations committed so far.

Continue reading ‘Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Human Rights Violations in Matale District During the 1988-90 JVP Insurgency.’ »

By

Kishali Pinto -Jayawardene

When Chilean-born author Isabel Allende wrote with consummate skill of Chile’s ‘disappeared’ under Pinochet’s dictatorship in her best-selling book, ‘Of Love and Shadows’ (1987), about the mothers who, ‘were no longer afraid and had no hesitation about placing their lives in jeopardy though life was all they had left; everything else had been taken from them,’ she was writing of conflicts past, present and future.

A tone-deaf State

She could have been writing presciently about Sri Lanka or Kashmir or anywhere else in the world racked by the agony of human beings caught in the crossfire between the State and its bitterly adversarial enemies.

Uncannily similar too are the agonies of parents who died while still hoping for their sons and daughters to come home. Their pain echoes across continents and through millennia, right down to anguished lamentations to the gods for justice that never came.

Typically, the Sri Lanka State has been tone-deaf to these lamentations. A few days ago, the release of a report on the country’s ‘mass graves’ and ‘failed exhumations’ compiled by a collective of local and foreign civil society organisations reawakened much of these old – but still recurrent – nightmares.

What is remarkable in that release is not so much the contents of the report which encapsulates, analyses, and reflects on decades-old documentation on Southern (Sinhalese) and Northern (Tamil) partially exhumed mass graves, numbered as being at least twenty from Mannar to Matale, but in the questions still left unanswered.

Why has Sri Lanka not yet adopted an exhumation policy on mass graves that adheres to international law and gives the affected families the right to join in and be represented?

Continue reading ‘The joining of common struggles for justice for the ‘disappeared’ from Point Pedro to Dondra may have been a powerful point of pressure on all Sri Lankan Governments, rather than divisions along race and ethnicity’ »

(Text of Message from Eric Walsh, the High Commissioner of Canada to Sri Lanka on the occasion of Canada Day on July 1, 2023)

Happy Canada Day!

As High Commissioner to both Sri Lanka and Maldives, it gives me great pleasure to extend my warmest greetings to all Canadians and friends of Canada working, traveling or residing in this part of the world.

On this special day, the 156th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation, the thoughts of Canadians around the world turn to home – a country known for its breathtaking landscapes, multiculturalism, and unity in diversity – a vibrant society standing as a beacon of inclusivity and progress.

Today, we celebrate the remarkable achievements and contributions of the Canadian people, and reflect upon the values that have made Canada an inspiration for many around the world.

Since my arrival in December, I have met Sri Lankans from various communities across the country who have either travelled to Canada to further their education, to visit family and friends, or to make it their home.

The connections between our respective peoples run deep and I am pleased to celebrate our national day among so many who have strong ties to my homeland. Canada has been a steadfast partner to Sri Lanka over many decades.

My drive down the Canada Friendship Road upon first arriving in Colombo is but one example of our long partnership. I have also had the pleasure of visiting Maldives twice in recent months, and it is heartening to observe our growing collaboration firsthand. I was especially proud to see how Canadian seaplanes are contributing to island connectivity in Maldives.

I am keenly aware that I started my tenure in Sri Lanka at a pivotal moment, in the midst of an economic crisis of unprecedented severity. Canada has contributed to the relief of those hardest hit by the effects of the crisis, and we continue to stand with Sri Lankans in their pursuit of economic recovery.

Continue reading ‘“As Canada continues to grapple with the hard truths of its own past and to work with Indigenous peoples to address long-standing injustices, we remain ready to draw upon our own experiences in support of Sri Lanka’s efforts toward meaningful and lasting national reconciliation.” – Canadian Envoy Eric Walsh’ »

Bharathy Singaravel

The heart and soul of Maamannan is Vadivelu. After all, the title takes the name of his character. And it feels as if the actor never forgets that for even a moment when he is in front of the camera. This is a Vadivelu so spectacularly in form that you cry when he cries, and you are enraged for him when his grief gives way to anger. Nearly every minute of the story you are made to travel with him. Mari Selvaraj, after Pariyerum Perumal (2018) and Karnan (2021), delivers yet another film that will redefine how Kollywood talks about caste.

The film is set in the Kongu-belt, in Salem district. Maamannan (Vadivelu) is a Dalit MLA from Kasipuram. His son Adhiveeran, fondly called Veeran, (Udhayanidhi Stalin) and him have not spoken to each other in over ten years, despite living in the same house. The reason?

When Veeran is a child, men from the local dominant caste attack him, leaving him deeply traumatised. Maamannan, only a party cadre at the time, is cornered into giving up his quest for justice. His son is unable to forgive him.

Veeran is a man understandably haunted by the past. He wears the scars from the attack – both physical and mental – like a talisman furiously driving him onwards in his fight against dominant caste men. This is without doubt Udhayanidhi’s best performance to date.

Continue reading ‘It is interesting to see how director Mari Selvaraj in “Maamannan”manages his critique of electoral politics and caste in Tamil Nadu with the DMK’s heir-apparent Udhayanidhi Stalin helming the film.’ »

Gopinath Rajendran

In one of Maamannan’s most important and stunningly captured sequences, a bunch of kids are having the time of their lives, swimming and playing in the temple well. When upper-caste men know about this, they stone almost all the kids to a watery grave. The news of caste-related violence is unfortunately not new. But it’s the way Mari Selvaraj frames this particular sequence that makes it stand apart and feels apt to be part of the Mari Cinematic Universe, if one can call it so.

The kids from the oppressed community are at the bottom of the well while the oppressors are on top, attacking the defenceless. One of the kids manages to escape from the onslaught of stones thrown and runs to the top of a nearby hill; so high that the ones who stood on top look small. The kid cries at the fate he escaped while understanding how high he has to reach to be liberated from the perils of caste. This subplot also happens to be the story of Maamannan, starring Udhayanidhi Stalin, Keerthy Suresh and the fantastic Vadivelu and Fahadh Faasil.

The film starts with a shot of our State Assembly and just like how Asuran asserted the importance of education, Maamannan stresses the significance of position and responsibilities that come with power. Vadivelu plays the titular character, an MLA who rose up the ranks – from being a cadet in a party named Samathuva Samooganeedhi Makkal Kazhagam where Rathnavel (Fahadh Faasil), is the district secretary, a position that was once held by the latter’s father. But what’s a position and its powers when self-respect and social justice go for a toss? An altercation causes Maamannan and his son Athiveeran (Udhayanidhi Stalin) to have a meet with Rathnavel and seeing how his father had been disrespected for years, Veera lashes out at the opposite fraction, starting a chain of events that cannot be undone.
Apart from the politics and ideologies surrounding social justice Mari has become synonymous with his unique metaphors and imagery, and Maamannan is no different. Rathnavel indulges in dog races and has no qualms about killing the poor creatures when they lose. He sees his fellow party members from the oppressed community as akin to the hounds he breeds and expects only loyalty and results in exchange. On the other hand, Veera is fascinated by pigs, saves one from ritualistic sacrifice as a child and even dreams of them having their own pair of wings. Similar to how the titular hero of Pariyerum Perumal considered his pet Karuppi to be an extension of him, Veera finds that parallel with a piglet, the sole survivor of an unwarranted attack, just like him. Right from Mari’s signature wide-angle shots and hat tip to Buddha, Ambedkar and Che Guevara the references continue subtly to a Wakanda T-shirt and Veera being an Adimurai master, a martial art not commonly practised by those from the oppressed community.

Continue reading ‘Actors Vadivelu and Fahadh Faasil’s impeccable performances save Mari Selvaraj’s politically-charged film “Maamannan”’ »

Sri Lanka United National Businesses Alliance (SLUNBA) Chairperson Tania Abeysundara yesterday expressed her disappointment at the Government’s failure to provide debt relief to local businesses struggling due to the ongoing economic crisis.

“We requested our debt to be restructured. We asked to be given a grace period for repayments,” she said.

“We simply requested the Government to consider our challenges with compassion and to establish a supportive environment that allows us to rebuild our businesses,” she further added.

However, Abeysundara said unfortunately only about 10% of the MPs in Parliament heeded their pleas for support.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka United National Businesses Alliance Chairperson Tania Abeysundara expresses disappointment at Govt’s failure to provide debt relief to local businesses struggling due to the ongoing economic crisis.’ »

By

Victor Ivan

In this article I venture to analyse how Sri Lanka has become a failed and bankrupt nation and who should be held responsible for that? So far no one has endeavoured to make a rational political analysis about it.

Sri Lanka remained a stagnant, underdeveloped nation when it became a British colony in 1815. Then, after 133 years of colonial rule and when the British left the country in 1948, Sri Lanka had made amazing progress. In terms of development, Sri Lanka was ranked second only to Japan among Asian countries.

However, the outcome of 73 years of home rule ensued since independence was such that the country which was so advanced at the time of independence had become a failed and bankrupt state. Why did the indigenous leaders who ruled the nation after independence, the bureaucracy that worked with them and the Sri Lankan society in general fail to continue the progress that the British had bequeathed on them?

The lack of vision and operational ability of the rulers, the bureaucracy and the society in general could be attributed to be the main reason for this deplorable situation. However, a brief but an in-depth analysis would offer a picture as described below.

We inherited from the British a proper system of institutions and a modern Constitution which enshrined the principles to be adopted in maintaining a democratic society to a large extent while protecting the framework of freedom, equality, fraternity and the rule of law which necessarily constitute the basis of the modern system of governance.

But our rulers, government officials or the society at large did not have a vision or a sophisticated modern mind to maintain those conditions. Despite the fact that most of them appeared to have become modern to some extent from outside, their inner core remained feudal in character. They did not have a proper understanding of liberal concepts like individual freedom, equality, brotherhood and the rule of law. Their main concern was the ethnicity, caste, religion and culture to which they belonged. They even didn’t recognise the need to respect the Constitution, the supreme law of the country.

The Soulbury Constitution received from the British lasted only until 1972. The Citizenship Act in 1948 and the Official Language Act in 1956 were enacted violating the Soulbury Constitution. Then the First Republican Constitution was enacted in 1972 in a manner that led to the deprivation of the language rights of the Tamil people.

Continue reading ‘After independence, the Sinhalese majority and their rulers wanted most of the benefits gained from independence to be shared among them, the Sinhalese people.’ »

During a special press briefing held at the Presidential Media Centre on Domestic Debt Optimization (DDO), Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, the Governor of the Central Bank, emphasized the importance of relieving the burden on the banking system caused by the already excessive 50% taxes. This measure aims to safeguard the treasury, strengthen the economy, and ensure the protection of the 57 million public and private bank deposits in Sri Lanka.

The Governor highlighted the severe repercussions that would result from a collapse in the country’s banking sector. To prevent such a scenario, Friday, June 30th, was declared a bank holiday until the Parliament approves the restructuring of local debt.
Furthermore, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe assured the public that the existing Employee Provident Fund (EPF) would remain untouched. Additionally, he guaranteed a minimum interest rate of 9% for the EPF.

In attendance at the press conference were Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga, the Senior Advisor to the President on Economic Affairs, Mr. Mahinda Siriwardena, the Secretary of the Finance Ministry, Mr. A.K. Seneviratne, the Deputy Treasury Secretary, as well as heads of media organizations and media representatives.

Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, the Governor of the Central Bank, further commented on the DDO;

Continue reading ‘Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe States the existing Employee Provident Fund (EPF) would remain untouched. Guarantees a minimum interest rate of 9% for the EPF and accessibility to funds upon retirement.’ »

By

Ranga Jayasuriya

Five years back in China, I submitted my doctoral dissertation, having chopped off two complete chapters on my supervisor’s advice to be on the safe side for both of us. It was an analysis of competition for power and influence by China and India in South Asia. Given the vast power asymmetries between the two regional powers, I titled it ‘an uneven contest’. India’s economy then (and now) is barely one-fifth of China’s measured in nominal US$.

What a difference five years could make! Power disparities between the two competing regional powers have not changed. The Chinese economy, at US$ 17.7 trillion, is still nearly four and half times India’s. India’s economic growth rate has momentarily overtaken China’s. Still, even if the Indian economy continues to outpace China by a modest margin, the power differences, though lessened, would persist for several decades into the future.

But, the pendulum of economic growth is gradually shifting from China to India. Geopolitics serves New Delhi most profoundly as well. India would probably be the only large country to benefit from the West’s call for global companies to decouple/ de-risk from China, thereby diversifying hitherto China-dependent supply chains. Though countries such as Vietnam and Mexico are reaping the immediate benefits of supply chain disruption and diversification, India has the greatest absorption capacity for sustainable long-term relocation of supply chains when the trend persists. It also has the geopolitical heft to justify its piece of the pie.

Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded a state visit to Washington, where he was flattered with a red-carpet welcome, a state banquette and invited to address a joint session of the Congress, for yet another time, a rare honour accorded to those like Winston Churchill. PM Modi was showered with defence deals, including domestic production of General Electric’s jet engines. He signed a long list of joint initiatives on telecommunications, semi-conductors, artificial intelligence and space exploration. The critics had a field day, too, criticizing India’s human rights record, some of which are rather overblown. However, none of the self-righteous advocacy could mask the ensuing shift in the balance of power in the region and the wider world and India’s pivotal role as a hedge against China.

Continue reading ‘The pendulum of economic growth is gradually shifting from China to India. The Sri Lankan economy if Integrated with India’s, would be better equipped to benefit from India’s rise.’ »

By
Meera Srinivasan

Sri Lanka will shut down its banks and financial sector for five days beginning Thursday, ahead of an extraordinary weekend debate in Parliament on the government’s plan to restructure its domestic debt.

The move comes a year after Sri Lanka decided to suspend servicing its foreign debt, to combat a devastating economic meltdown — the country’s worst since Independence. The government subsequently entered an agreement with the International Monetary Fund and secured a nearly $3 billion-dollar package from it, while agreeing to restructure both its foreign and domestic debt that the Fund estimated at about $41 billion and $42 billon respectively, as of March 2023.

In May, the IMF pointed to “tentative signs of improvement” in Sri Lanka, while underscoring the need for timely restructuring agreements with the island’s creditors ahead of the Fund’s first review scheduled in September.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka to shut down its banks and financial sector for five days from June 29 ahead of an extraordinary weekend debate in Parliament on the government’s plan to restructure its domestic debt.’ »

By
Krishan Francis

Sri Lanka’s former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was accused in a report released Thursday of tampering with police records in order to hamper investigations into mass graves discovered in an area where he was a military officer at the height of a bloody Marxist insurrection in 1989.

The report by activist groups including the International Truth and Justice Project, Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka and Families of the Disappeared said even though hundreds of remains were unearthed in some 20 exhumations of mass graves in the past three decades, no action has been taken to identify the victims and return their remains to their families.

Tens of thousands of remains could still be buried in undiscovered mass graves, it said.

Continue reading ‘New report accuses Ex- President Gotabaya Rajapaksa of tampering with police records in order to hamper investigations into mass graves discovered in Matale where he was a military officer during Marxist insurrection in 1989’ »

By
D.B.S.Jeyaraj

Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga recently raised a pertinent question on Twitter about Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Ven.Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera and others of his ilk. She asked in her tweet why no action had ever been taken against Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera and others who had insulted other religions practised in the country. Kumaratunga said their words spreading hate against Muslim and Tamil citizens of Sri Lanka were far more vicious than those uttered by Stand- up Comedienne Nathasha Edirisuriya who was arrested recently for making comments deemed insulting to the Lord Buddha. “What about monk Gnanasara and a host of others who insulted Islam, burnt churches and places of Christian worship and mosques? They spread hate speech against Muslim and Tamil citizens more vicious than Nathasha’s words,” Stated Kumaratunga who is reputed for stating inconvenient truths openly.

It is an incontrovertible truth that the Buddhist monk Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) , rode to fame or notoriety, in a vehicle of venomous and vitriolic anti-Muslim propaganda. At times this hate speech fuelled anti-Muslim violence. Though the Bhikku and the BBS had been active for some years, it was in June 2014 that Gnanasara Thero became known world wide. The controversial monk captured headlines because of the anti-Muslim violence of June 2014 at Aluthgama and Beruwala in the Kalutara District.

The BBS was accused of fomenting violence against Muslims then. Gnanasara Thera allegedly played an active role in instigating violence though he was not involved directly in any violent act. The Aluthgama – Beruwala anti-Muslim violence was reported extensively in the global media then. Gnanasara Thera’s name figured prominently in those reports. He was even equated with Ashin Wirathu, Myanmar’s Buddhist monk known for his Muslim persecution.

I wrote in great detail about the anti-Muslim violence when it occurred nine years ago. The Irish statesman Edmund Burke reportedly said, “Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.” Spanish philosopher George Santayana is credited with the aphorism, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill stated , “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” It is against this backdrop therefore that this column -with the aid of earlier writings – revisits briefly the tragic events of June 2014 pertaining to the BBS and the Aluthgama-Beruwala anti-Muslim violence.

The Poson “Accident”

A minor “accident” was the original spark that belatedly ignited the subsequent conflagration’; 12 June 2014 was a public holiday being Poson Poya day. A Buddhist monk, Ven. Ayagama Samitha Thero, was travelling in a three-wheeler to a temple through a largely Muslim inhabited area in Aluthgama. Some Muslim youths were engaged in conversation after parking their motorcycles by the roadside. Two motorcycles parked on the road by the Muslim youths had obstructed the Buddhist monk’s vehicle.

Continue reading ‘Gnanasara Thero , Bodu Bala Sena and the June 2014 Anti- Muslim Violence in Aluthgama -Beruwala.’ »

By

Krishantha Prasad Cooray

On Monday , the 26th of June 2023 , my father will turn 86. He’s not in the best of health and is in no condition to celebrate. My mother, brothers and perhaps some close relatives and friends will be there to wish him.

I will be a few hours late. By the time I reach home from the airport he is likely to be asleep. That kills me because my father would always be a few hours early for my birthday and those of my brothers.

Eric Cooray, my father, was always surrounded by lots of people as a young man, but all that changed when he married my mother. From that day onwards he was absolutely devoted to her and later to us as well.

I can’t remember my baby days, but I vividly remember my first days at St Thomas’ College, Mt Lavinia. I insisted that I sit close to a window. He was strictly instructed to locate himself so that I could see him. He didn’t need to be told. I was extremely attached to him and he loved all of us very much, as I realised much later, for it was a pattern — he never let us down. He put up with all our nonsensical demands and quite happily too. Nothing has impressed me more than the fact that he has always been a family man, first to his wife, then to his sons and now to his daughters-in-law and grandchildren.

A few weeks ago, when he was in hospital, there were times I fell asleep out of exhaustion. I always woke up feeling guilty because I remembered how he stayed up by our beds when we fell sick, checking on us throughout the night. Then I understood and appreciated all over again the fact that he has always been my hero. He has set the standards that I aspire to achieve and maintain.

Continue reading ‘My Father Eric Cooray has always been my hero. He has set the standards that I aspire to achieve and maintain.’ »

The Sri Lanka Core Group on Tuesday (June 20) called on the Government to protect freedoms of expression and association whilst several other recommendations.

Delivering its statement at the 53rd session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, UK Human Rights Ambassador Rita French said Sri Lanka’s initial steps towards addressing concerns around land returns, long-term detentions and corruption are welcome.

“These steps can provide a basis to begin a process to protect the rights of all Sri Lankans, from all ethnic and religious communities,” she said on behalf of the Core Group comprising Canada, Malawi, Montenegro, North Macedonia, the UK and the United States.

Continue reading ‘UK Global Ambassador for Human Rights,Rita French calls on Sri Lankan Govt to Protect Freedoms of Expression and Association while speaking on behalf of the UN Core group on Sri Lanka at the 53rd UNHRC session in Geneva’ »

President Ranil Wickremesinghe participated in the 40th anniversary event of the International Democrat Union (IDU) in London on the 19th and the 20th of June and joining the forum with former Canadian Prime Minister (Conservative Party) Chairman of the IDU, Mr Stephen Harper, he explained the circumstances that paved the way for his presidency and the country’s journey towards economic recovery. Following are excerpts from What President Wickremesinghe stated –

If I look back to May-June last year, Sri Lanka was on the verge of chaos. No one seemed willing to take charge or show leadership. I found myself in a peculiar position. In the 2019 Presidential Election, our party wanted to adopt a populist approach, so they chose our deputy leader as their candidate. Unfortunately, as I had anticipated, he suffered a significant defeat.

Then the COVID pandemic struck, and in August 2020, we went ahead with the election. Personally, I believed that we should stick with the IMF program. This program, which we had initiated in 2016, required Sri Lanka to commit to a primary surplus and reduce subsidies. We diligently worked towards these goals, and by 2018, we managed to achieve a primary surplus of USD 300 million. While it was a modest amount, it gave us a starting point to build upon.
However, the new government that came into power subsequently decided to cancel the IMF agreement. It was at that point that I advocated for revisiting the IMF and requesting them to reinstate the agreement. Furthermore, I suggested that we explore other options to raise USD 5 million.

Continue reading ‘Ranil Wickremesinghe Relates the Tale of how and why he became Prime Minister and President of Sri Lanka to Former Canadian PM Stephen Harper at the International Democratic Union (IDU) Forum in London.’ »

By

Meera Srinivasan

Accountability remains the “fundamental gap” in Sri Lanka’s attempts to deal with the past, a senior U.N. official has said while warning that “as long as impunity prevails, Sri Lanka will achieve neither genuine reconciliation nor sustainable peace.”

Referring to the Sri Lankan government’s plans to set up a Truth Commission, to probe allegations of war crimes and grave human rights violations during the country’s civil war, U.N. Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif noted that Sri Lanka has “witnessed too many ad hoc commissions” in the past that failed to ensure accountability.

“What is needed is a coherent plan that connects the different elements of truth, redress, memorialisation, accountability and creates the right enabling environment for a successful and sustainable transitional justice process,” she said, in an oral update to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday.
While it is fundamentally the Sri Lankan authorities’ responsibility to directly acknowledge past violations and undertake credible investigations and prosecutions the international community can – and should – play complementary roles in the process until the “accountability deficit” remains, Ms. Al-Nashif said, amid known resistance within Sri Lanka’s Sinhala-majority to any international participation.

Continue reading ‘U.N. Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights states Accountability remains the fundamental gap”in Sri Lanka’s attempts to deal with the past; “as long as impunity prevails, Sri Lanka will achieve neither genuine reconciliation nor sustainable peace.” Says Nada Al-Nashif’ »

(Text of Editorial appearing in the “Daily FT’ 22 June 2023 under the heading “Take gun violence seriously”)

For a country like Sri Lanka where private ownership of guns is highly restricted, the number of shooting incidents, most resulting in fatalities, is a danger sign that can no longer be ignored.

In the first five months of this year, over 43 persons were gunned down, according to the Police and this number is certainly on the increase given almost daily reports of gun-related violence.

Police often explain away these incidents saying they are drug-related or contract killings given by those seeking to settle personal scores but whatever the circumstances, gun violence cannot be taken lightly.

For a country with two failed insurrections in the south and a prolonged separatist war in the North that ended in 2009, the proliferation of weapons is not a surprise. Both in the north and south, a large number of weapons belonging to the Police and armed forces were seized by the JVP as well as the LTTE while the number of military personnel deserting with their weapons has also been high. Added to that, smuggling of weapons into the country was all too common during the war years and since then, the drug trade has increased the demand for illegal weapons.

Continue reading ‘“Firearms and ammunition pose a high level of risk to public safety and security. In several instances, bystanders have become victims of gun violence, and these include women and children.”-Daily FT’ »

(Text of Jaffna District Parliamentarian M.A.Sumanthiran’s Speech in Parliament on 21st June 2023)

Thank you, honourable presidin)g member,

I’m glad to speak just after the acting Minister of Finance who recognized some good that may have come about as a result of the economic crisis, he did say it, it’s not a good thing to have the economic crisis, but there are some lessons that we are learning from that as well. I agree with him, but before I get on to the Anti – corruption bill I want to just deal with the civil procedure code amendment.

Honourable Minister for justice it’s a good amendment particularly running down cases, Motor accident cases, and so on, this will be of immense use. So I congratulate the minister for this amendment and the new bill on assistance to have and protection of victims of crimes and witnesses. This has a history, and I’m glad that this is also now being brought in some new features; particularly video evidence is being enabled. President Mahinda Rajapaksa is here, when he was president and he appointed the commission of inquiry and the Justice Udalagama, there was a video evidence that started to be recorded from Dr. Manoharan whose son was one of the five young persons who were killed by security forces in Trincomalee and halfway through his evidence that was stopped.

And it was not permitted from that time onwards, to enable video evidence through law was mooted, but it wasn’t possible under that regime, and it was only in 2015 when there was a change in government that for the first time witness victim protection act was enacted but that too had serious shortcomings. And I’m glad that some of those are being rectified here. The point that I want to make here is that accountability is an important issue

Continue reading ‘“A year ago, the constant chorus that we heard in this country was Kaputu Kaak ka. Why Kaputu Kaak Ka ? the big crow that steals. This govt is still controlled by that kaputu kaak ka. It is the same people who sit in the govt ranks, no change. “- MA Sumanthiran MP’ »

By
Meera Srinivasan

Imported Indian drugs are at the centre of a medical storm in Sri Lanka, following cases of medical complications and fatalities, reportedly after patients were administered medicines sourced from India.

On June 16, local media reported the death of a patient undergoing treatment at the Peradeniya Teaching Hospital, in the Kandy district, after being given the Indian-manufactured anaesthetic Bupivacaine. The news sparked concern among locals, especially since the incident came less than two months after a pregnant woman was reported dead at the hospital, after being given an Indian anaesthetic drug. Following the April incident, the Health Ministry suspended the use of that drug.
Unregistered suppliers

Even prior to these incidents, Transparency International Sri Lanka had filed a fundamental rights petition in the Sri Lankan Supreme Court, challenging the decision of the Cabinet and health authorities to procure drugs from unregistered suppliers. The petition further questioned the national drug regulator’s role in providing a waiver of registration to allow for the swift import of essential drugs. Gujarat-based Savorite Pharmaceuticals (Pvt) Limited and Chennai-based Kausikh Therapeutics were named as respondents. Early in April, the Supreme Court granted leave to proceed in the case and suspended imports from these companies.

Continue reading ‘Medical Storm Rages in Sri Lanka around Imported Indian drugs following cases of medical complications and fatalities, reported after patients were administered medicines sourced from India.’ »

By Vijitha Yapa

Can a person who does not know how to write be the copyright-holding author of a book on a subject of which he is an expert? The person concerned is Publis, a culinary expert who works at Mount Lavinia Hotel. His name is recognised as an expert on Sri Lankan food.

When he decided to put his recipes and the story of his life into a book he asked a friendly journalist, Dharma Samaranayake, to take down the details, edit it and give it to him so that it could be published as a book by Sarasavi Publishers. She was paid Rs 25,000 for her services by the publisher on the instructions of Publis and is acknowledged as the editor in the book , published in 2005. In the credits page it was stated clearl y that Publis was the copyright holder with the copyright symbol ©.

Three years later, in 2008, after the publication of six editions of the popular book, Dharma Samaranayake suddenly awoke like Rip Van Winkle and claimed royalty from Sarasavi Publishers saying that she was the actual copyright holder. When the publisher refused and said the royalty had been paid to Publis, the copyright holder, she sought legal help and a case was filed in the Commercial High Court. The publisher Sarasavi was named as the defendant.

The key royalty figure in the case was Publis who was not named and summoned as a witness by either the editor or the publisher. One reason why the publisher was reluctant to put Publis as a witness may have been because the author could not write. They may have felt that putting him in the witness box would give an opportunity for the petitioner to highlight his inability to write and tear him to pieces. Publis was a humble self-made man whose first assignment at Mount Lavinia Hotel was as a helper in the kitchen carrying coal to the hearth. He rose through his determination, to become a director of the Hotel and served even as a cook for the Governor General

Continue reading ‘Culinary Expert Publis Silva’s Book:Can a person who does not know how to write be the copyright-holding author of a book on a subject of which he is an expert?’ »

By

Tisaranee Gunasekara

“Already the snow falls…” Karl Kraus words in verses III

In his fifth labour, Heracles cleans the Augean Stables by rerouting the rivers Alpheus and Peneus through the filthy abode of King Augeas’ divine cattle. Many believed that the aragalaya would have a similarly cleansing effect on Sri Lankan society, washing away the filth of primordial extremisms with the waters of its idealism.

As the Kurundi storm demonstrates, ethno-religious racism didn’t die. The extremity of the crisis and the resultant antipathy towards the Rajapaksas drove it underground. To paraphrase Albert Camus, the plague bacillus lay dormant in the dark corners of religious places and political organisations, of imagined histories and collective memories until the time was right to rouse up its rats again.

That time might be now.

Less than one year after the aragalaya sent Gotabaya Rajapaksa fleeing, his saffron cohorts are back, ready to set the country on fire again for a slice of power and a chunk of land. They are all there, from Medagoda Abayatiss Thero (laughingly equating Tamils and Muslims of today with the Nigantayas of the Buddha’s lifetime who bribed a king and tried to take over a temple) to Akmeemana Dayarathana Thero of Sinhala Ravaya (hinting at separation and bloodshed).

The political monk began his comeback bid with the successful persecution of Nathasha Edirisooriya and Bruno Divakara. Had the Wickremesinghe government upheld the rule of law instead of succumbing to political expediency, the political monk might have retreated to await a more propitious time. But the administration played dead, allowing not only the distortion of the ICCPR into an anti-blasphemy law but also its selective – thereby discriminatory – application. So Nathasha Edirisooriya and Bruno Divakara are still in custody for defaming Buddhism while Dilith Jayaweera (who wondered whether “Siddhartha was a loser”), Balangoda Kassapa Thero (who tried to incite Sinhala-Buddhist anger towards Christians), and Akmeemana Dayarathana Thero (who threatened a religious conflict that would make it impossible for non-Buddhists to leave their houses) are free to ply their divisive politics.

The cowardice and the opportunism of the political class empowered the political monk. So began the march to Kurundi. If they win in Kurundi, they’ll become unstoppable, again. And this will be their country.

That is precisely the claim of Walawahangunawawe Dhammarathana Thero of Mihintale. This country is the property of the Sangha (sanghika) he says, since it was donated to the monkhood (Sasana) by ancient kings.

Other monks are trying to create a nexus between Northern/Eastern land issues and the restructuring/sale of state-owned enterprises. Their political agenda is thus in direct opposition to President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s economic agenda. They have also linked the Kurundi issue with the full implementation of the 13th amendment, another Wickremesinghe promise.

Theirs is a project to turn Lanka into what it never was, a Sinhala-Buddhist theocratic land where monks have the final say on matters large and small, from devolution to which radio plays are permissible. (Playwright Malaka Devapriya was summoned to the Organised Crime Prevention Division in October 2019, subsequent to an ICCPR complaint by Ahungalle Jinananda Thero – the prime mover in the Shakthika Sathkumara case.)

Continue reading ‘“When archaeology is weaponised by monks, politicians and those professionals subservient to vested interests, it can become a seeding ground for brutal conflicts and long wars.”’ »

By

D.B.S.Jeyaraj

Jaffna district Parliamentarian Gajendrakumar Gangaser Ponnambalam (GG Ponnambalam) has lately been very much in the news. The 49 year old lawyer was arrested by the Police at his Colombo residence, produced before the Kilinochchi magistrate and released on Rs 500,000 surety bail. Earlier he had been involved in an altercation with Police officers at Maruthankerny in the Jaffna peninsula. The MP’s controversial arrest was allegedly due to charges filed by the Police following the incident.

Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam known generally as Gajen or Gajen Ponnambalam is the Secretary-General of the Ahila Ilankai Thamil Congress (AITC) and the President of the Tamil National Peoples Front(TNPF). Gajen Ponnambalam subsequently made a statement in Parliament concerning his arrest in which he raised a breach of parliamentary privileges issue. He has also lodged a complaint with the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission in Jaffna.

Currently underway are a Magisterial inquiry by the Kilinochchi court, a probe by the Parliamentary Privileges Committee and an investigation by the Human Rights Commission (HRC) into the arrest. The Jaffna MP is awaiting the outcome of these three probes before contemplating further legal action over his arrest.“Since the charges levelled against me are criminal in nature by the police who are also the main party in this case, I’m waiting for the final verdict from the Court,” MP Ponnambalam told the “Sunday Times”.

Gajen Ponnambalam’s arrest caused a furore in Parliament with several MPs including the Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa referring to it in the House. Ponnambalam himself engaged in a heated exchange of words with Public Security minister Tiran Alles who seemingly defended the action by the Police. Among those who criticized the manner in which Ponnambalam was treated by the Police was the firebrand Batticaloa MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam.

In doing so Rasamanickam referred to the murder of Gajendrakumar’s father Gaasinather Gangesar Ponnambalam known popularly as Kumar Ponnambalam and alleged that the Police was involved in that murder. Kumar Ponnambalam was shot dead in his vehicle at Wellawatte on 5 January 2000. Though 23 years have passed no one has been arrested or prosecuted.

Continue reading ‘The Controversial Killing of Tamil Congress Leader Kumar Ponnambalam in Colombo on 5 June 2000.’ »

By

Kishali Pinto -Jayawardene

Speaking at the Homagama Divisional Secretariat this week, President Ranil Wickremesinghe effortlessly recasted the currently heated debates on Sri Lanka’s proposed Broadcasting Regulatory Commission Bill as a choice between ‘reasoned regulation’ and ‘giving the media the licence to commit arson.’ But in going to the aid of his embattled Media Minister in this manner, he does himself the greatest injury, no more and no less.

Deliberately devious speech by the President

What we have here is a fundamentally bad Bill that gives the Government the freedom to establish a so-called ‘Commission’ which is not a regulatory body per se but a political creature in every way size, shape or form. That simple fact cannot be just glossed over by the President asking as to ‘why everyone is worried about the Bill?’ He has claimed that this is a set of broadcasting standards relevant to the media and in regard to which complainants offended or harmed by malicious reporting may approach the regulator.

But that claim is simplistic at best. In fact, this brings a basic question into play. Has the President actually read the Bill? Or does he go by whatever silly fluff his media team proffers to him? Even if the full purpose of the Government was unambiguously to enact a Bill that would ‘tame’ the broadcast media, this draft is so utterly bad, so full of mistakes (legal and grammatical) and so clumsy as to defeat that very purpose.

Even the Government’s staunchest supporter may grumble as to why its clauses could not have been inserted with a tad more ‘balance’ or finesse so that the document could be taken more seriously. As it stands, the contents look like the mad scribblings of a particularly servile ministerial acolyte who is entirely unfamiliar with the English language and the law alike, (‘committee’ is spelt ‘commettee,’ the year of enactment of the Telecommunications Act is missing as are crucial interpretation sections).

Continue reading ‘Why is the Government so resistant to establishing an independent broadcast regulatory body in compliance with the 1997 guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court?’ »

By
D.B.S.Jeyaraj

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) organization ceased to be a functional entity in Sri Lanka after being militarily defeated by the armed forces in May 2009. The LTTE known widely as the tigers was a powerful armed militant group which ruled over swathes of land in the Northern and Eastern provinces of the Island for several years.

At its heyday , the LTTE exercised autocratic control over Tamil public life in Sri Lanka and even amidst the global Tamil Diaspora. The tigers brooked no political dissent or criticism among Tamils. Those who did not toe the LTTE line or dared to defy tiger diktat were ruthlessly dealt with. Many Tamil politicians who “offended” the tigers at different times were assassinated. This resulted in most Tamil political leaders of yore becoming subservient to the LTTE in those days.

Nevertheless there were a few honourable exceptions to this norm too. These courageous politicians of principle not only challenged the LTTE openly but also managed to survive physically . Due to their refusal to kowtow before the tigers, they suffered politically and were reduced to being powerless politicians.. Their only consolation was the courage of their convictions and the satisfaction of retaining their self-respect by not bowing before tyrannical power.

One such democratic Tamil leader who refused to kowtow before the tigers is an octogenarian who will become a nonagenarian very soon. Tamil United Liberation Front(TULF) secretary -general and former Kilinochchi and Jaffna Parliamentarian Veerasingham Anandasangaree will turn 90 on 15 June 2023. A grand 90th Birthday celebration will be held at Kanakapuram in Kilinochchi on the same day.It is being organized by party stalwarts, supporers ,well-wishers and above all members of the Kilinochchi public.

It may be recalled that the present administrative district of Kilinochchi was until 1983 a part of the Jaffna administrative district. The people of Kilinochchi had to travel miles and miles to go to the Jaffna Kachcheri to get things done. Anandasangaree in his caoacity as Kilinochchi MP played a very constructive role in demarcating Kilinochchi as a separate administrative district. The Kilinochchi people remain grateful to him for that.

The TULF formed on 14 May 1976 swept the polls in the Northern and Eastern provinces at the July 1977 Parliamentary elections by winning 18 out of 19 Tamil majority seats. Of these 18 MPs only 3 are among the living now. The first is former Batticaloa MP Chelliah Rajadurai who is retired from Politics now. The second is the present Trincomalee district MP Rajavarothayam sampanthan. The third is Anandasangaree elected from Kilinochchi then. The first two are nonagenarians while the third will join their ranks next Thursday.

This column focuses on Veerasingham Anandasangaree this week to denote the 90th birth anniversary of the TULF leader. I have written extensively about Anandasangaree known as Sangaree in the past. This article will draw from such writings.

Continue reading ‘Sangaree : The Tamil Leader Who Refused to Kowtow Before Tiger Tyranny.’ »

By
Himal Kotelawala

The historicity of Tamil Buddhism in Sri Lanka has not been a subject that has captured the public imagination to the extent that it perhaps deserves, at least in the south, though President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s recent remarks on the matter may have sparked fresh interest.

According to Prof G P V Somaratne, former Head of the Department of History and Political Science at the University of Colombo, the ancient history of Buddhism among Tamils in Sri Lanka has been entangled with prejudices associated with the more recent ethnic dispute between the Sinhalese and Tamils.

In a paper he published titled ‘Tamil Buddhism in Sri Lanka’, Somaratne notes that a number of Buddhist archaeological sites in Sri Lanka’s Northern and Eastern provinces have given rise to controversial claims and have been subject to a politicised interpretation with the escalation of the conflict.

“Both groups argue with an agenda to promote the claims of their side, overstepping the boundaries of academic impartiality,” the academic writes.

According to Somaratne, archaeologists including a prominent Buddhist monk who famously dabbles in archaeology have attempted to ascribe a Sinhala Buddhist origin to certain archaeological discoveries made in the Tamil-dominated provinces, while other scholars have interpreted a wholly Tamil heritage or Tamil ownership of Buddhist ruins found in the two provinces.

Continue reading ‘The ancient history of Buddhism among Tamils in Sri Lanka has been entangled with prejudices associated with the more recent ethnic dispute between the Sinhalese and Tamils.’ »

BY Buddhika Samaraweera

The Police will not initiate any action against then-State Minister of Prisons Management and Prisoners’ Rehabilitation and incumbent State Minister of Plantation Industries Lohan Ratwatte until the directions of the Cabinet of Ministers are received, although such has been recommended by the one-member committee that investigated the incidents involving the State Minister who had allegedly forcibly entered the Welikada and Anuradhapura Prisons and intimidated several inmates in 2021, The Daily Morning learns.

Under the directions of the Cabinet, then-Minister of Justice and incumbent Minister of Foreign Affairs, President’s Counsel (PC) M.U.M. Ali Sabry appointed a committee with the sole membership of former High Court Judge Kusala Sarojini Weerawardena to investigate the said incident.

The Committee has, in its final report, recommended that the Police file a B-report under several charges including those of attempted murder, to the Anuradhapura Magistrate against Ratwatte if they (the Police) have not done so already.

Continue reading ‘Police Cant Initiate Action Against State Minister Lohan Ratwatte on the Basis of High Court Judge Weerawardena’s Report Until it Receives Instructions From Cabinet through Public Security Ministry Says Poice Spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa’ »

By
Ruwani Fonseka

Due to the economic crisis in the country and the inability to repay debts, it is highly unlikely an election could be held this year, says cabinet spokesperson MP Bandula Gunawardena.

He made this statement during the cabinet meeting held today (13).

“We are unable to repay our debts. Without managing this situation the country cannot move at least a step forward. Due to this, it is highly unlikely that elections can be held,” he said

Meanwhile, President Ranil Wickremesinghe tabled a proposal to draft a new Bill, titled Elections (Special Provisions) Act, containing amendments made to several elections Acts and Ordinances.

Thereby, the new legislation will comprise the amendments to the Parliamentary Elections Act No. 01 of 1981, the Local Authorities Elections Ordinance, the Presidential Elections (Special Provisions) Act and the Provincial Councils Elections Act.

Continue reading ‘President Wickremesinghe wants to draft new Bill titled Elections (Special Provisions) Act that would amend the Parliamentary Elections Act, the Local Authorities Elections Ordinance, the Presidential Elections (Special Provisions) Act and the Provincial Councils Elections Act.’ »

By Sulochana Ramiah Mohan

Days after being severely criticised by the President during a meeting, Director General of the Department of Archaeology, Professor Anura Manatunga, tendered his resignation to the Secretary of the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe, during the said meeting on 8 June, asked Prof. Manatunga, when an issue pertaining to the allocation of lands to an archaeological site came up, “Are you trying to teach me history? Or do you want me to teach you?”

Several Tamil politicians from the North and the East, including MPs M.A. Sumanthiran, S. Sritharan, Shanakiyan Rasamanickam and ITAK General Secretary Mavai Senathirajah met Wickremesinghe to discuss various issues related to the Tamil people. During the meeting a team from the Department of Archaeology, headed by Prof. Manatunga, also spoke about the acquisition of lands that they claimed were heritage properties in Thannimurippu and Thiriyaya in the Eastern Province

Continue reading ‘Director General of Archaeology Dept , Prof Anura Manatunga tenders resignation after being Reprimanded by President Ranil Wickremesinghe for not following Cabinet policy by refraining from seizing lands belonging to the public.’ »

BY Buddhika Samaraweera

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) will not initiate any form of disciplinary action against State Minister of Plantation Industries and former State Minister of Prison Management and Prisoners’ Rehabilitation Lohan Ratwatte over the incident of the latter having forcibly entered the Welikada and Anuradhapura Prisons and intimidated several inmates in 2021 until the charges against him are proven through the relevant court proceedings, The Daily Morning learns.

A committee with the sole membership of former High Court Judge Kusala Sarojini Weerawardena that investigated the incident, in its final report, has recommended that charges including those of attempted murder be filed against Ratwatte as per the provisions of several legal provisions, including the Penal Code.

The Daily Morning queried SLPP General Secretary and Government MP Attorney Sagara Kariyawasam as to whether the SLPP would initiate any form of disciplinary action against Ratwatte over the said incident, based on the said committee’s recommendations.

Continue reading ‘Sagara Kariyawasam says SLPP Will not Take Disciplinary Action Against State Minister Lohan Ratwatte now; “SLPP is not in a position to initiate such action as several practical issues may arise if they were to do so.” Says Party Gen Secy’ »

Buddhika Samaraweera

The one-member committee that investigated the incident of then State Minister of Prison Management and Prisoners Rehabilitation Lohan Ratwatte having forcibly entered the Welikada and Anuradhapura Prisons and allegedly intimidated several inmates in 2021, has recommended that charges including those of attempted murder be filed against Ratwatte, The Daily Morning learns.

The recommendations for charges have been made in accordance with several legal provisions including the Penal Code, it is learnt.

The report has also recommended stern action against prison staff who allowed the Minister to enter both prisons while armed, and has called for CCTV camera systems to be installed in prisons to monitor entries and exits.

On 23 September 2021, a committee comprising former High Court Judge Kusala Sarojini Weerawardena was appointed to investigate the said incident and submit appropriate recommendations and observations within 60 days.

The report prepared by the committee, which was seen by The Daily Morning, mentions several crimes committed by Ratwatte, for which there is credible evidence.

Continue reading ‘Former High Court Judge Kusala Sarojini Weerawardena who Conducted Probe into Incident in Anuradhapura Jail where Lohan Ratwatte Threatened Tamil Prisoners at Gun Point Recommends Charges Including Attempted Murder to be Filed Against State Minister’ »

By

D.B.S.Jeyaraj

(This article is a modified version of an Obituary published in the Indian Newsmagazine “Frontline” in June 2002)

Former Parliamentarian, Deputy Speaker and President of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), Murugesu Sivasithamparam passed away in a Colombo hospital 21 years ago on 5 June 2002. Sivasithamparam hailing from Karaveddy in the Vadamaraatchy division of Jaffna peninsula. , was known affectionately as “our Siva” or “Em Siva” in Tamil on account of his initial “M”(em). Born in 1923, Sivasithamparam’s birth centenary will be commemorated on July 20 this year.

Sivasithamparam was a well-built six footer with a stentorian voice. He did not need a microphone to amplify his voice. This earned him the sobriquet “Simmakkuralon (Lion-voiced) Sivasithamparam” . Siva who represented the Udupiddy electorate in Parliament for many years was also dubbed the “Uduppiddy Singham “or Uduppiddy Lion”.

The larger than life M. Siva was for more than four decades an accredited leader of the Tamil people in the island. The brilliant lawyer was a powerful orator and ebullient debater who cut a flamboyant figure at the height of his career.

He was the scion of a maniagar or hereditary chieftain in charge of a revenue division during the British colonial days, but Sivasithamparam was enamoured of Marxism and was a Communist party member during his undergraduate days. He dropped out of University and later joined Law College. He also abandoned communism and took up the cause of Tamil nationalism by joining the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, the oldest Tamil political party in the country. He went on to become its general-secretary and president.

In 1956, Sivasithamparam contested from the Point Pedro electorate in the Jaffna peninsula as an independent candidate and lost. He was returned to Parliament for the first time in March 1960 when he won the Udupiddy seat on the Tamil Congress ticket and repeated his performance in July 1960 too. He was then the sole representative of the party in a Parliament of 157 MPs as almost all Tamil constituencies had been won by the Federal Party.

Continue reading ‘“Uduppiddy Singham” (Uduppiddy Lion) “Em” Sivasithamparam was a Champion of Tamils’ Rights.’ »

By S. Rubatheesan

After raising a breach of Parliamentary privilege in the House this week, Jaffna district Parliamentarian Gejendrakumar Ponnamablam is awaiting three separate bodies to conclude their probes into an incident involving two police officers in civvies, before he considers further legal action against his arrest which he claims is “illegal and arbitrary”.

A Magisterial inquiry, a probe by the Parliamentary Privileges Committee and an investigation by the Human Rights Commission (HRC) are currently underway over the incident last week.
“Since the charges levelled against me are criminal in nature by the police who are also the main party in this case, I’m waiting for the final verdict from the Court,” MP Ponnambalam told the Sunday Times.
When Mr Ponnambalam was produced on Wednesday in the Kilinochchi Magistrate Court the court called for a report from the Senior Superintendent Of Police (SSP) on the conduct of the police after observing contradictions in the B report and the video evidence submitted by the police.

Continue reading ‘A Magisterial inquiry, a probe by the Parliamentary Privileges Committee and an investigation by the Human Rights Commission ) are currently underway into Incidents Concerning Jaffna MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam and Police Officials’ »

By
Kishali Pinto -Jayawardene

When a collective of Sri Lanka’s Cabinet Ministers and their servile acolytes in the legal profession or administrative service sat down in sub-committee to prepare the draft Broadcasting Regulatory Commission Bill, was it their intention to deliberately infringe the 1997 Supreme Court ruling on constitutional imperatives in every conceivable shape and form?

A hideously problematic Bill

This question must be asked in deadly seriousness. For I am puzzled otherwise than to attribute a clear and specific intention to violate the well-known precedent (Athukorala and others v the Attorney General, 5th May, 1997) when vainly trying to comprehend as to how such a truly horrendous document could have originated from the bowels of the Government. Or should we discard even the semblance of logic and reason in trying to understand how this administration works? Perhaps that may be best conducive to preserving one’s own sanity, perchance.

Regardless, these proposals have been proudly flourished before the befuddled Sri Lankan public by the Minister of Justice who has explained that this is ‘just a draft.’ That is no reassurance. Was the Minister himself so blissfully unaware of the 1997 legal precedent?

Did he not cursorily run his eyes through the Bill which would easily disclose the flouting of the Court’s specific guidelines within a matter of minutes?

More to the point, is this how President Ranil Wickremesinghe hopes to fashion a brave Sri Lanka, putting to nought his previous commitment to well crafted media law reform?

Continue reading ‘A tsunami of bad laws coming the nation’s way! Sri Lankans need to prepare ourselves for political attempts to turn legal and regulatory systems upside down, wreaking havoc on an already terribly weakened governance environment.’ »

(Text of Editorial Appearing in the “Daily FT”of June 8th 2023 under the heading Archaeology Department must act impartially in N & E)

The past few months have seen several protests held in the North and East over the acquisition of land to construct new Buddhist shrines. It has been alleged that Buddhist monks aided by army personnel have been engaged in these questionable activities with the tacit approval of the Archaeology Department which have led to tensions among the local population and the military.

At a recent meeting with Archaeology Department officials, President Ranil Wickremesinghe weighed in on the issue and chided Department officials for taking money from Buddhist monks to carry out their work and reminded them that they do not work for a private firm but a Government institution that has to act according to the law.

The Archaeology Department on its part says that they are giving priority to the work in the North and East as the area was neglected for 30 years but this over-enthusiasm to concentrate their efforts in one part of the country is leading to unnecessary friction between communities.

Continue reading ‘The New Trend of Buddhist monks bulldozing their way into lands in the North and East claiming they were historically places of Buddhist worship is unacceptable.’ »

By
D.B.S.Jeyaraj

Today June 3rd is the 99th birth anniversary of Muthuvel Karunanidhi, the former chief minister of Tamil Nadu, the closes Indian state to Sri Lanka both geographically and historically.Karunanidhi who passed away on 7 August 2018 was the leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham (DMK) for nearly 50 years.His son M.K. Stalin is the present Tamil Nadu Chief minister.

Official Birth centenary celebrations of the versatile Karunanidhi commencing from today June 3 will culminate next year with the construction of a gigantic pen shaped mid-sea monument off the Marina beach in the state capital Chennai.

The birth centenary monument being designed in the shape of a pen is to denote and honour the multi-faceted writing skills of Karunanidhi.

The multi -talented Karunanidhi was widely known as “Kalaignar” or artiste. He was referred to respectfully as Kalaignar more than as Karunanidhi in later years. In his eventful life “Kalaignar” was a journalist, editor, dramatist, stage actor, film script writer, short story writer, novelist, literary commentator, poet, lyricist, film producer and TV channel proprietor.

This column focuses this week – with the aid of earlier writings – on “Kalaignar” Karunanidhi’s immense contribution to Tamil movies in a cinematic career spanning more than six decades of his life. It has been the practice for this column to devote the first Saturday of each month for an article on films, film personalities or film related matters.

It was Karunanidhi’s entry into filmdom which brought him much recognition and more remuneration in early life despite his lack of tertiary education. His rise in cinema helped him greatly to carve out a name for himself as a politician too. Although Karunanidhi was very correctly recognised and respected as a political leader, there is no denying that it was his association with films that gave him the necessary popularity with the masses of Tamil Nadu.

Continue reading ‘“Kalaignar” (Artiste) Karunanidhi; From Tamil Film Script Writer to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister.’ »

By Tisaranee Gunasekara

“He who controls his hand, controls his foot, controls his speech and is well-controlled in all respects, delights in meditation, is composed, solitary, and content – him they call a bhikku.”
The Buddha (Bhikku Vagga, Dhammapada)

In 2005, the Newsweek magazine reported that officials at Guantanamo flushed a Koran down a toilet to hurt the feelings of Muslim detainees. In several Muslim-majority lands, protests erupted. 15 people lost their lives.

An Australian journalist called religious leaders of that country, including Ajahn Brahmawanso, asking a test question. What would you do if your holy book was flushed down the toilet? Answered Ajahn Brahm, “If someone took a Buddhist holy book and flushed it down my toilet, the first thing I would do is call a plumber.”

Once the journalist stopped laughing, the monk explained his answer. “The book is not the religion. Nor is the statue, the building, or the priest. These are only ‘containers’. What does the book teach us? What does the statue represent? What qualities are the priests supposed to embody? These are the ‘contents’. We can print more books, build more temples…but when we lose our love and respect for others and ourselves and replace it with violence, then the whole religion has gone down the toilet.”
(https://wisdomexperience.org/ebook/dont-worry-be-grumpy/1-the-container-and-the-contents/)

If even the rumour (true or false) of a Buddhist text being so treated reaches the waiting ears of Lankan political monks, would their response be any less violent, any less irrational than the reaction in Afghanistan or Pakistan over the Koran issue? Probably not, going by their incendiary reaction to Natasha Edirisooriya’s joke. Trying to unleash another round of religious bloodletting over a few inapt words is not just un-Buddhist; it is the very antithesis of what the Buddha taught.

Having exhausted the potential of the Tamil and the Muslim enemy (for now), political monks are pivoting to the Christian enemy, again. “A Christian fundamentalist program even more dangerous (than Islamic fundamentalism) is happening in this country,” preaches political monk

Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Gnanasara of Bodu Bala Sena. “In a land where more than 70% are Sinhala Buddhists, those who attack the Buddhist culture should be scared. Keep that fear… Born Again clique has been planning this for a long time… Because the Rajapaksas have become weak, we cannot watch while Sinhala-Buddhist ideology is being attacked.” That was political monk Balangoda Kassapa, a newcomer to the scene who turned himself from a nobody into a somebody by playing a visible role in the Aragalaya (the Government helped him inadvertently by arresting him for illegally entering the PM’s office).

Continue reading ‘Trying to unleash another round of religious bloodletting over a few inapt words is not just un-Buddhist; it is the very antithesis of what the Buddha taught.’ »

(Text of statement issued by “Justice for All” on 7th June 2023 about the current political and economic state of our Country)

We are alarmed by the undemocratic measures pursued by President Ranil Wickremasinghe and his government that continue to undermine the rule of law, fundamental rights and democracy in Sri Lanka.

Of particular concern is the alarming trend of enacting and threatening to enact laws and regulations that in effect restrict fundamental rights and freedoms and legitimise the democratic backsliding and shrinking civic space.

These laws and regulations, mooted under the pretexts of economic recovery, stabilizing the country and ensuring national security, have the potential to further suppress debate and dissent with deep consequences for our fragile democracy.

We recognize and condemn this autocratic law reform agenda by an unelected president. ‘Rule by law’ is not Rule of Law, and must be called out for what it is, authoritarianism.

The Sri Lankan people are hard hit by a crisis that has been aggravated by bad governance.

Continue reading ‘“Justice for All” alarmed by the undemocratic measures pursued by President Wickremasinghe and his Govt that continue to undermine the rule of law, fundamental rights and democracy in Sri Lanka.’ »

Tamil National Peoples Front (TNPF) leader and MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam who was arrested over an incident in Jaffna between him and the police, was gran

ted bail by the Kilinochchi Magistrate’s Court.
He was granted bail with a surety of Rs. 500,000.

Continue reading ‘Jaffna District MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam who was Arrested in Colombo by Maruthankerni and Jeyapuram Police Is Released After being Granted Rs 500,000 Surety Bail by Kilinochchi Magistrates Court’ »

Ruwani Fonseka

MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, who is accused of obstructing the duties of police officers, was arrested this morning (June 07).

The parliamentarian was taken into custody by a team of officers attached to Maruthankerny Police at his residence in Colombo.

The Jaffna District MP, who represents the Ahila Ilankai Thamil Congress (AITC) or the All-Ceylon Tamil Congress in the parliament, is complicit in obstructing the duties of police officers and verbally abusing them during a recent event in Vadamarachchi.

A recent video which went viral on several social media platforms showed a heated exchange of words between the MP and several officers, believed to be attached to the Jaffna Police, while Ponnambalam was engaging with area residents.

The tense situation had ensued when the police officers asked MP Ponnambalam to call off his public meeting at the Thalaiyadi playground, in consideration of the students sitting for the Ordinary Level examination at the nearby Thalaiyadi Roman Catholic Mixed School.

Continue reading ‘Tamil Congress Jaffna District MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam Arrested On June 7th Morning at his Colombo Residence;Will be taken to Maruthankerni Police Station In Jaffna Peninsula for a Statement to be Recorded Regarding Earlier Incident of Friction With Police’ »

Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga yesterday took to Twitter to question why no action was ever taken against Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera and others who insulted other religions practised in the country.

Kumaratunga said their words spreading hate against Muslim and Tamil citizens of Sri Lanka were far more vicious than those uttered by Standup Comedian Nathasha Edirisuriya who was arrested recently for making comments deemed insulting to the Lord Buddha.

“What about monk Gnanasara and a host of others who insulted Islam, burnt churches and places of Christian worship and mosques? They spread hate speech against Muslim and Tamil citizens more vicious than Nathasha’s words,” she said.

Continue reading ‘Chandrika Kumaratunga asks why no action has been taken so far against Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero for Insulting other Religions; his words were more vicious than Comedian Natasha Edirisooriya says Former President’ »

By
D.B.S.Jeyaraj

The Ilankai Thamil Arasuk Katchi(ITAK) known in English as the Federal Party(FP) is in the grip of two problems. The premier political party of the Northern and Eastern Sri Lankan Tamils is presently facing an inter-party crisis as well as an intra-party crisis. The inter-party crisis relates to the recent split in the Tamil National alliance (TNA) of which the ITAK was the chief constituent. The intra-party crisis is over leadership stakes in the party. This article will primarily focus on the break up of the TNA and its implications for the ITAK.

The ITAK/FP was formed on December 18th 1949.The 75th birth anniversary will be celebrated next year. The ITAK was the leading political party of the Sri Lankan Tamils before the advent of the Tamil armed struggle. Though the ITAK has diminished in size and influence over the years, it is still “Primus Inter Pares”(First among equals) in comparison with other Sri Lankan Tamil nationalist parties.

It is indeed noteworthy that the ITAK/FP is the only Sri Lankan Tamil political party that has parliamentary representatives from all five electoral districts in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. Currently the party has six seats in Parliament including one on the national list. Of these two were elected from the Jaffna electoral distruct and one each fron the Wanni, Trincomalee and Batticaloa districts. The national list MP is from the Digamadulla /Amparai electoral district. It could be seen therefore that the ITAK represents Tamils from all electoral districts of the North-East in Parliament.

The ITAK has had from its inception in 1949 a colurful history with many ups and downs. In the new millennium the party became the dominant entity in the premier Sri Lankan Tamil political configuration known as the Tamil National Alliance(TNA). The TNA contested Parliamentary, Provincial and local authority elections under the ITAK symbol of House from 2004 onwards. The split in the TNA early this year has resulted in two of the three constituent parties of the TNA ganging up against the chief constituent ITAK.

Continue reading ‘Tamil National Alliance Breaks up with TELO and PLOTE Challenging ITAK.’ »

By

Kishali Pinto -Jayawardene

The unsightly and itchy rash of ‘bad laws’ being proposed by the Sri Lankan Government seems to be never-ending.

The Government’s unconvincing explanations

Hot on the heels of the appallingly crafted Anti-Terrorism Bill and the Anti-Corruption Bill comes a proposal to establish a Broadcasting Regulatory Commission replete with major contradictions. A fundamental flaw goes to the root of the independence of the proposed Commission which I shall return to later.

The Minister of Justice has been quick to frame this merely as a ‘proposal’ by a cabinet sub-committee and not a ‘Bill’ as such.

However Sri Lankans are familiar with the manner in which proposals’ suddenly emerge in the form of ‘Bills’ overnight. These Bills are rushed to be placed on the Gazette and thence, through a compliant Parliament.

The 2018 Counter-Terrorism Bill proposed by the ‘yahapalanaya’ Government was one such example. Its adoption into law was prevented only by the draft being ‘leaked’ to the media leading to a defensive roll-back by its originators.

This time around, an unconvincing explanation has been advanced that broadcasting licences have not hitherto been issued with ‘due process.’ Thus, the Government is merely seeking to ‘regulate’ that process and not to ‘control’ the broadcasting media. But that justification is wholly ridiculous, to be blunt, when a specific legal regime already exists. If that regime had to be more tightly governed to bring runaway broadcasters to heel, specific amendments could be made to relevant laws.

Continue reading ‘Is the proposal to establish a Broadcasting Regulatory Commission yet another ploy for the Govt to control the ‘public mind’ in the economically hard times ahead?’ »

Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles yesterday ( June 3) called for a report into the incident where Tamil National People’s Front Parliamentarian Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam’s life had allegedly been threatened by a Police officer at gunpoint.

When contacted, Minister Alles downplayed the allegations that MP Ponnambalam had been assaulted and stated that a report into the incident had been requested.

Alles also pointed out that the Police had not received any complaints regarding such an incident.

“I am not certain that there was an assault; there is a video of the incident,” Alles added.

Meanwhile, Ponnambalam told The Sunday Morning that he had reported the incident to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka’s branch in Jaffna.

“An individual claiming to be a Police officer assaulted me while I was involved in a meeting with a sports club in Jaffna. Then another Police officer in Police sportswear loaded and aimed his pistol at me. I have already lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka,” Ponnambalam told The Sunday Morning.

Continue reading ‘Jaffna District MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam Alleges Police Official in Sports Attire loaded and aimed his pistol at him; TNPF leader says he has registered complaint with the Human Rights Commission in Jaffna;Claims he did not go to Police Station to Complain because his life was at risk there.’ »

(Text of Special statement by President Ranil Wickremesinghe on June 1st 2023 explaining to the nation, the national transformation road map to re- build the country)

Since the day I took charge of our nation’s economy, I wanted to ensure that Sri Lanka’s actual economic situation was made clear and transparent. Over the recent months, I have provided regular updates on Sri Lanka’s economic state, outlined strategies to overcome our challenges, and emphasized the role each of us must play for the betterment of our nation.

We have endured numerous hardships due to a struggling economy, but we are slowly making progress towards achieving stability. Our weakened and crippled economy from the crisis is gradually regaining its footing.

This achievement is a result of the correct policies and practices my government has implemented. It is also a testament to our collective effort as a nation in rising above the many challenges and hardships that came our way.

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all Sri Lankans for persevering through these hardships for the sake of our motherland. If we continue on this path for just a little longer, I am confident we will be able to establish a stable economy free from the difficulties we endured together as a nation.

Sri Lanka is now ready to embark upon a journey of collective growth and prosperity.

In what manner should we proceed on this journey? Which practices should we adopt to ensure our progress?

Today, it is my honour to share with you a roadmap detailing the steps we intend to pursue to forge a brighter and prosperous future for all Sri Lankans.

Throughout my tenure as President, I have consistently emphasized the need for comprehensive economic and social reforms in Sri Lanka. In the 2023 Budget, I highlighted several reforms that aim to restructure and modernize the nation. It is crucial that we remain committed to these reforms to build a better future for Sri Lanka.

I want to remind you that some decisions we make may not always be popular. However, it is only by pursuing policies that are right and difficult can we uplift our country once again. I can assure you that if we remain committed to reform, we can create a nation where future generations can live freely and happily.

Unfortunately, some groups involved in traditional politics are actively working to hinder our economic revival. They are spreading false information about our reform agenda and intentionally misleading the public with claims that we are selling off the country.

Throughout history, these groups have continuously resorted to fear-mongering tactics, falsely asserting that our actions are driven by a desire to sell out our nation. They have deceived many Sri Lankans in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and even the 1980s, instilling an irrational fear of the country being sold away. From then until now, these groups have disrupted real progress for economic reform by perpetuating this slogan of “selling the country”.

I am confident that you will no longer be deceived by such slogans. It is imperative for all of us to work diligently and to totally devote ourselves to the upliftment of our country. Our objective is to transform into a fully developed nation on the global stage by 2048. If we fail to align our economy with the modern world and the latest trends in technology, we will regress. The consequence of failure is the country becoming an economic colony. Let us forge ahead and shape our economy in a way that enables us to compete on the global stage. Let us carry out the necessary economic reforms for the greater good of our nation.

Continue reading ‘“We will not allow anyone to drag our motherland back to where we were a year ago. Today,some individuals seem to have forgotten the hardships endured by Sri Lankans during that time.”- President Ranil Wickremesinghe in Special Statement to the Nation’ »

(Text of Statement on Recent Arrests under the ICCPR Act & Shrinking Space for Dissent issued by the Centre for Policy Alternatives)

The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) is deeply concerned with the recent arrest of comedian Natasha Edirisooriya reportedly under the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Act (ICCPR Act), the latest move to stifle freedom of speech in the guise of protecting religious harmony.

CPA notes that this is not the only arrest under the ICCPR Act in recent times where persons have reportedly been arrested for content that pose a threat to religious and national harmony, and national security.

Continue reading ‘Centre for Policy Alternatives Expresses Deep Concern over recent Arrest of Comedian Natasha Edirisooriya under ICCPR act; “the latest move to stifle freedom of speech in the guise of protecting religious harmony’says CPA’ »

By
Ravinatha Aryasinha

( Text of tribute paid by former Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha at the funeral service for Late Ambassador Jayantha Dhanapala, at Trinity College Chapel, Kandy, on 29 May 2023)

I am humbled to have been asked by the family of the late Ambassador Jayantha Dhanapala to speak a few words on this solemn occasion, as we prepare to lay him to rest.

I wish to express the condolences of my colleagues in the Sri Lanka Foreign Service, as well as my own, whose professional lives Ambassador Dhanapala has enriched both directly and indirectly over his long years of public service.

He was undoubtedly Sri Lanka’s most accomplished diplomat, but his life also impacted many other spheres – both domestic and international, where he was respected for his vision, steadfastness, and the high degree of integrity he brought to any task undertaken.

As he fittingly makes his last journey from Trinity College, where his global vision was nurtured and celebrated, I want to focus on Jayantha Dhanapala – the Diplomat, the Advocate of causes, and the Mentor.

Continue reading ‘Jayantha Dhanapala – the Diplomat, the Advocate of causes, and the Mentor.’ »

(Text of Editorial appearing in the “Daily FT” of June 1st 2023 under the heading “Not too late to bring to book those responsible for Jaffna library burning”)

Among the many tragic stories that Sri Lankans are familiar with, the burning of the Jaffna Public Library, 42 years ago, stands out as one of the most heinous of crimes. 1 June 1981, the day the library was set on fire, is not one any rationally thinking Sri Lankan can remember without remorse and anger. The fire burnt to the ground over 95,000 volumes, invaluable manuscripts, rare first edition books, microfilms, etc.

The fire was no accident but a deliberate act by a group of policemen, angry at the killing of two of their colleagues by members of a militant group the previous night and emboldened by the presence of several powerful UNP politicians who were in Jaffna in the run up to the District Development Council (DDC) elections in the district scheduled for 4 June.

The burning took place amidst heightened tensions in Jaffna with the UNP determined to win the DDC polls by hook or by crook, which resulted in the monumental tragedy which till today pulls at the heart strings of Sri Lankan Tamils and all right-thinking people in the country. The UNP’s leading candidate for the election S. Thiagarajah had been shot dead by a gunman on 24 May which prompted the Government to bring in additional police personnel numbering around 1,000 into the Peninsula and a Commission of Inquiry appointed by former President Chandrika Kumaratunga in 2002 concluded that “there is material evidence to conclude some of these police officers were responsible for the destruction of the Jaffna Public Library.”

Continue reading ‘The Burning of the Jaffna Public Library on June 1st 1981 was a Heinous act Committed Deliberately by a Group of Policemen’ »

Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) Leader Mano Ganesan, taking to Twitter yesterday called for the laws relating to hate speech to be applied equally to Buddhist clergy as it is applied to civilians and those of other religious faiths.

Directing his tweet at President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and the National People’s Party (NPP) Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Ganesan expressed his concerns about the selective application of the law. The MP demanded that Buddhist clergy and certain activists must be stopped from enjoying impunity for their actions.

Continue reading ‘Mano Ganesan Questions Impunity Given to Buddhist Clergy and Activists who Engage in Hate Speech against Other Faiths;“If Pastor Jerome and Nathasha Edirisuriya are breaking the law with their speech then the same law should be applied to monks who have sprouted hate speech against fellow religions. The law can’t be one-sided anymore!” Tweets TPA leader’ »

(Text of Editorial appearing in the “Daily FT”of May 30th 2023 under the heading “No right to laugh”)

In yet another brazen violation of a citizen’s right to free speech a stand-up comedian was arrested by the police for a joke she made on stage. Nathasha Edirisooriya was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at the Bandaranaike International Airport just before she was to fly out of the country.

The police claims that it received a complaint that Edirisooriya had allegedly insulted Buddhism during a stand-up comedy show recently held at a leading school in Colombo. The arrest of the comedian comes within days of the police announcing that they will arrest a controversial Christian pastor for his alleged comments against Buddhism.

These recent developments, especially targeting minority ethnic and religious communities follow what is now a common script. The application of hate speech laws has been selective in Sri Lanka showing a clear pattern of the law being used to intimidate minority communities while the majority Sinhala Buddhists, their clergy and political leaders incite violence and spread hate speech with impunity.

Tragically and quite ironically, the legislation of choice for these actions is the ICCPR Act of 2007 meant to uphold civil and political rights of the citizens including the freedom of expression, association, conscience and the freedom of religion and belief.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka is clearly spiralling towards further ethnic and religious divisions further exacerbated by an economic crisis. Sadly Sri Lanka has not learnt a single lesson from its bloody history’ »

By
Ranga Jayasuriya

I have written on these pages that when the fuel queues disappear and a semblance of old times dawns, Sri Lankans themselves will return to their old habits. The usual charlatans would crawl back from their hiding spots, promising to protect the country and Buddha Sasana from an imaginary enemy.

Conspiracy theorists would start afresh. In their default mode, the majority of Sri Lankans tend to be mesmerized by conspiracy theories, racist dog-whistling and miracles of the sort of the cobra that slithered from the depth of the Kelani River carrying ‘Dathu’, one of the precursors to Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s presidency.

It seems I am right on the money. Two weeks back, the country momentarily forgot the collective misery of the economic crisis to lambast an evangelical priest who had allegedly slighted Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam. ‘Self-proclaimed prophet’ Jerome Fernando of the affluent “Miracle dome” church faces arrest over his remarks made in a religious sermon and has filed a Fundamental Rights petition pleading a court injunction against his arrest.

Jerome Fernando is, at best, a money-spinning conman, the type of evangelical clergy pervasive in Africa who offer salvation from miserable everyday existence for a fee. (One of those types in Kenya persuaded his followers to starve to death to go to heaven before the coming apocalypse. Many complied, and the Kenyan authorities are now digging up mass graves in a jungle religious sanctuary).

Continue reading ‘Stand-up comedian Natasha Edirisooriya has been arrested and remanded for her comic performance. The role of stand-up comedy is to amuse and to offend testing the limits even to mild discomfort bordering irrelevance.’ »

By the “ Sunday Times” Political Editor

Honoured as Very Important Persons (VIPs), most users of the hallowed gateway to the world, the VIP Lounge at Bandaranaike International Airport, are Members of Sri Lanka’s Parliament.

Officials dare not ask questions when they arrive or depart. An added perk for these VIPs is the free refreshments they receive at State expense. This is whilst they relax in the well-cushioned sofas for their baggage to be rolled in or out. That is again for cursory approval by Customs.

At least for once, that changed last Tuesday morning. Flydubai, an Emirati government-owned low-cost airline, was to touch down at the Bandaranaike International Airport just past 9 a.m.

Ahead of the arrival of flight FZ 547, a Boeing 737, the Revenue Task Force (RTF), a Customs unit (one of three) that functions from Orugodawatte in Colombo received a tip-off.

These three units are manned by some expert Customs top investigators who have laid bare several rackets. Functioning under the direct command and control of the Director General of Customs, the RTF monitors all imports and exports. That is to ensure goods imported into the country are cleared on payment of all levies.

They are authorised to carry out surprise checks at airports, courier services, warehouses, and other similar places.

Playing a key role in the RTF team was an officer known for his daring actions. In one instance, he sealed the warehouse of a liquor manufacturing company though the owners had very close connections with the minister in charge. In another, he seized a luxury vehicle gifted by a businessman to the son of a powerful politician, who is also in politics. Customs said that the young politician was aware that duty on the vehicle had not been paid and had been using the vehicle freely.

The RTF team was instructed by Director N. Samaratunga and included Nalin Premaratne, Superintendent of Customs, U. Indrajith, Superintendent of Customs, Nalin Premaratne, Senior Deputy Director of Customs and the Operations were handled by Aruna Amerasinghe, Deputy Superintendent of Customs.

Others in the team were two Customs officers, two Customs Guards and two Customs Inspectors. The ten-man team that went to work immediately found that Mohamed Fairoon, described as an “assistant” (or helper) to M.A. Raheem Ali Sabri, Member of Parliament for Puttalam District, had flown to Dubai a day ahead of the MP. He was returning to Colombo last Tuesday with Sabri in the same Flydubai airline flight. Plans were carefully mapped out and put into effect.

Continue reading ‘How the Customs Revenue Task Force Apprehended Puttalam MP Raheem Ali Sabri Attempting to Smuggle Gold,Jewellery and Smart Phones Into Sri Lanka From Dubai.’ »

By

Ranga Jayasuriya

Last time, when the world’s richest industrial nations, G-7, met in Japan, the only Asian country in the group, in 2016, then president Maithripala Sirisena was invited for the outreach meeting, alongside regional heavyweights from Indonesia, Bangladesh and Vietnam.

The invitation to Maithripala Sirisena was in recognition of the democratic reforms in the country after two terms of quasi-authoritarian rule of Mahinda Rajapaksa, who lost to Sirisena in his bid for a third term in office. He did not grasp the importance of such global recognition. That may be part of the wider question of whether he ever understood the intricacies of power and responsibilities at the highest political office in the country.

But, for one thing, like most of his counterparts in this part of the world, that vacuum was filled by the short-termism of personnel and political interests.

After low-key and manageable skirmishes with his own Yahapalanaya government, on whose back he came to power, Sirisena pulled off a constitutional coup, sacking the government. The catalyst of the power grab was none of the policy differences but the UNP’s plan to field its presidential candidate, most likely Ranil Wickremesinghe.

By then, Maithripala had nursed ambitions for a second term despite his promise at his inauguration to limit himself to a one-term presidency.

The constitutional coup was foiled by a Supreme Court ruling, but it unleashed three months of chaos, followed by near-complete dysfunction for the remainder of the term of the government. Maithripala lost his gamble.

Today, he is an outlier, a rather unloved one, not to mention court cases he is facing over the Easter Sunday attack, which were probing his role in the multifaceted dysfunction of the state and its security apparatus, leading to the tragedy.

Continue reading ‘Maithripala Sirisena created the opening for Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s political entry.He empowered the usual culprits and conspiracy theorists who have peddled anti-Western conspiracy theories and racist dog-whistling to grab power.’ »

Meera Srinivasan

Marking 200 years since their arrival in Sri Lanka from southern India, to work in the British-run plantations, members of the island nation’s historically marginalised Malaiyaha [hill country] Tamil community have sought greater recognition, political rights, and improved living and working conditions.

“Design, resource, and implement a 10-year development plan that is explicitly based on the principle of affirmative action in response to the decades of structural exclusion that has resulted in poor human development indices of Malaiyaha Tamil community when compared with all other communities,” a key demand read, in a declaration released after a recent three-day public event held in the central Nuwara Eliya city.

The development plan must aim to reduce poverty, provide land and housing, enhance public health and education access, while ensuring labour rights, including a fair living wage and legal protection, the declaration said. Further, it asked the Sri Lankan government to recognise the Malaiyaha Tamils as a community with “a distinct identity and as equal citizens”, and ensure appropriate political power sharing and proportional system of electoral arrangements.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka’s historically marginalised “Malaiyaha” [hill country] Tamil community Seeks greater recognition, political rights, and improved living and working conditions’ »

(Text of Statement issued by Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on 18 May 2023 for Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day)

May 18, 2023
Ottawa, Ontario

“Today, we reflect on the tragic loss of life during the armed conflict in Sri Lanka, which ended 14 years ago. Tens of thousands of Tamils lost their lives, including at the massacre in Mullivaikal, with many more missing, injured, or displaced.

Our thoughts are with the victims, survivors, and their loved ones, who continue to live with the pain caused by this senseless violence.

“The stories of Tamil-Canadians affected by the conflict – including many I have met over the years in communities across the country – serve as an enduring reminder that human rights, peace, and democracy cannot be taken for granted.

That’s why Parliament last year unanimously adopted the motion to make May 18 Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day. Canada will not stop advocating for the rights of the victims and survivors of this conflict, as well as for all in Sri Lanka who continue to face hardship.

Continue reading ‘Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau encourages everyone” to learn more about the impact of the armed conflict in Sri Lanka, and express solidarity to all those who suffered or lost loved ones.”’ »

(Text of Editorial appearing in “the Island”of 24 May 2023 under the heading “Badger and mastiffs”)

The Rajapaksa-Wickremesinghe regime’s shameful efforts to oust Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), Janaka Ratnayake, remind us of some gory western flicks, where swashbuckling, trigger-happy scumbags hang public officials who refuse to carry out their illegal orders.

Ratnayake has become a marked target for retaliation by defying some questionable government orders. One, however, should not be so naïve as to believe that he is driven by pure altruism like a knight errant. His mission is not without a Quixotic element, and his critics allege that some of his decisions on power tariffs are coloured by his commercial interests; he is a real estate magnate.

Opinion may be divided on whether Ratnayake’s opposition to power tariff increases emanates from a genuine concern for the public, or his vested interest or even his animosity towards the current dispensation, but the government is unquestionably at fault, for it is misusing its parliamentary strength to remove a public official who refuses to do its bidding. It has retained its majority in the House with the help of some crossovers notorious for striking Faustian bargains. If it succeeds in seeing the back of Ratnayake today, it will be emboldened to oust all other independent public officials it considers obstacles in its path.

Continue reading ‘Any other public official would have caved in under government pressure, but Janaka Ratnayake has proved that he is made of sterner stuff.’ »

Jamila Husain

Just over a year since former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned from office following nationwide protests demanding him to step down, evidence has come to light that the former president’s staff who are mostly political appointees continue to be retained in the President’s Office under a newly created unit called ‘special projects’.

Even though Rajapaksa did not complete his full term and was forced to resign due to his mismanagement which spiraled the economic crisis, Rajapaksa’s hand-picked staff including his former private secretary Sugeeswara Bandara continue to receive a salary and perks from the state as they head the special projects unit in the President’s Office.

Rajapaksa himself continues to receive the incentives entitled to a former president despite his early resignation following public anger and has also had security appointed at his luxury bungalow provided to him by the state at Malalasekara Mawatha in Colombo and outside his private residence in Mirihana.

Continue reading ‘Though Gotabaya Rajapaksa Resigned last year the Former President’s Staff who are mostly Political Appintees Continue to be retained in the President’s Office under a newly created unit called ‘special projects’.’ »

Kishali Pinto -Jayawardene

When French Prime Minister during World War I, Georges Clemenceau rousingly said that ‘war is too important to be left to the generals,’ Sri Lankans may be justified in muttering to themselves more than a hundred years later that, ‘laws are far too important to be left to the lawyers – or to Ministers of Justice, perchance.’

Putting the President to right

Law reform has had few success stories in this country. Always somewhat of a dance with the devil as it were, that dance has become even more preposterous in recent years. As was editorially (and pungently) observed in this newspaper, the Supreme Court is routinely being called upon to correct legal lacunae which should be the task of the draftsperson to minimise and the responsibility of the Attorney General to vet.

Quite apart from mediocre if not outright bad drafting, political agendas drive law reform efforts. The periodic emergence of an Anti-Terrorism Bill (earlier called the Counter-Terrorism Bill) with ghastly violations of civil liberties at its core, is just one example. There are others. Take the new anti-corruption law that President Ranil Wickremesinghe has announced with ill placed aplomb, ‘will be the best in South Asia.’

Inferentially, we are asked to believe that existing anti-corruption laws are ‘bad’ and all would be remedied when the ‘good’ laws come in. That is, of course, anything but the truth.

Sri Lanka’s anti-bribery and corruption reforms in 1994, pulled together valiantly at the time, were highly creditable. However, its implementation was miserably politicised. For that, the political establishment must bear the responsibility, inclusive of putting their ‘favourites’ into the Bribery and Corruption Commission and blocking each and every effort to nab the ‘big fish’ as it were.

Continue reading ‘Contrary to President Wickremesinghe’s claim that the new Anti-corruption law ‘will be the best in South Asia’, the anti -corruption law is a ‘riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma’’ »

By

Tisaranee Gunasekara

“Not only our actions, but also our inactions, become our destiny.” Heinrich Zimmer (The King and the Corpse)

This week marked the 14th anniversary of the ending of the long Eelam War.

This week also saw the re-emergence of BBS head-honcho Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara to save the nation from that enterprising entrepreneur of cloth, Pastor Jerome Fernando. Much verbal thundering was heard warning of a new religious war.

Later in the week, a bunch of Sinhala-Buddhist extremists crashed into a ceremony at the Borella Cemetery held in the memory of all the war dead. They condemned the event as a commemoration of the Tigers, probably on the grounds that those Tamils who died in the war (especially in the Rajapaksas’ humanitarian operation with zero-civilian casualties) were Tigers, right down to babies and toddlers.

The week ended with another group of lay-and-monk warriors gathering by the Buddha statue outside the Fort Railway Station, pledging to protect rata, jathiya, and agama.

Fortunately ordinary Lankans, immersed in the real struggle for economic survival, ignored these theatrics, turning what could have been explosions into damp squibs.

The ending of the long Eelam War brought neither peace nor prosperity even for the triumphant Sinhalese. The much awaited peace dividend was swallowed by a defence establishment that continued expanding.

The Rajapaksas treated the entire Tamil population of the North and parts of the East like enemy aliens, locking up every man, woman, and child in open air prison camps called Welfare Villages (Indian and international pressure eventually compelled them to abandon this policy of mass incarceration).

When the cry of the Undead Tiger failed to impress the South, the regime sought other enemies, flirting with “alien Christians” before settling on “Encroaching Muslims”. The harvest of that toxic seeding was reaped in April 2019, three weeks short of the 10th anniversary of Eelam War’s ending.

The war was unnecessary, preventable. Every step towards it was motivated not by national necessity or even popular demand. The motive force was the hellish union between political opportunism and religio-racial extremism. As the events of the last week indicate, that union is far from dead and its current partners are waiting impatiently to return to political mainstream. Unchastened by our blood-soaked history, they want to repeat it.

Continue reading ‘The motive force for the War was the hellish union between political opportunism and religio-racial extremism That union is far from dead and its current partners are waiting impatiently to return to political mainstream. Unchastened by our blood-soaked history, they want to repeat it.’ »

Jamila Husain

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa who is alleged to have links with controversial Pastor Jerome Fernando and Zimbabwean Pastor Uebert Angel yesterday said he had no connections with either and had met them only on one instance when Pastor Jerome’s office had sought a meeting when Rajapaksa was the Prime Minister.

Rajapaksa further condemned the recent derogatory remarks made by Pastor Jerome against religions and said there was no room for communal disharmony or hatred in this country.

“I strongly condemn remarks made by any individuals who attempt to cause communal disharmony in Sri Lanka especially when we fought hard as a nation to bring in unity and end all divisions,” Rajapaksa said when contacted by Daily Mirror.

“I have no links to the Zimbabwean Pastor Uebert Angel or Pastor Jerome Fernando but I recall that there was a request from Pastor Jerome’s office to meet me when I was the Prime Minister,” he added.
Rajapaksa further said that as he was also the Minister of Religious Affairs during that time, Pastor Jerome’s office had coordinated with the Prime Minister’s office seeking a meeting to which he had agreed.

Continue reading ‘Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa Denies Having Links with Pastor Jerome Fernando Or Zimbabwe’s Uebert Angel: says he met both only for a Prayer Meeting at their Request when serving as PM and Religious Affairs Minister’ »

Susitha Fernando

Prophet’ Jerome Fernando, the man in the middle of controversy over his statement on other religions including Buddhism, is reported to have left the country. It is learnt that Fernando has gone to Singapore and he is planning to travel to Malaysia.

However a spokesman for Glorious Church led by Jerome Fernando denied that the ‘prophet’ left Sri Lanka. “He never fled the country but went to attend an event. We have various events in other countries. This is a journey that was planned earlier,” Ryan Perera, a leader of Glorious Church said.

However on Tuesday evening Colombo Fort Magistrate issued a travel ban on Jerome Fernando following a complaint by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

The self-proclaimed prophet became notoriously popular with his connection with the powerful politicians, extravagant spending and more questionable doings; bestowing himself as the spiritual son of Uebert Angel, Zimbabwe’s Ambassador At Large who was exposed for using his diplomatic status to launder millions of US dollars through a gold smuggling scheme according to an Al Jazeera undercover investigation recently.

Continue reading ‘Colombo Fort Magistrate Issues Travel Ban on “Prophet” Jerome Fernando Who is Reportedly in Singapore and Will Travel to Malaysia;”He has not Fled the Country but only gone for an Event Planned Earlier”Says Glorious Church Spokesperson’ »

By

Ranga Jayasuriya

Security has been beefed up in Colombo after ‘unspecified intelligence’ that the Inter-University (IUSF) Students Federation was massing students to the Capital to launch a fresh ‘Aragalaya’. Additional security forces were mobilised, and check-points were put up on the roads leading to the Capital. Army and Police were deployed around the universities, Temple Trees, the President’s House and Parliament and key government institutions.

What this’unspecific’ intelligence was not clear. But some reports say it was actually a social media post by Wasantha Mudalige, the IUSF coordinator. It says in Sinhala: “Anthare is positioned everywhere. Why only Colombo? The entire Country should be surrounded.” On the back of that, there was an order made at a Colombo University Student’s canteen for 1,500 lunch packets, which the Police interpreted as an IUSF plan to bring in students from other universities to Colombo. However, it was later revealed that the food order had been made by organisers of an event in the Arts Department, where some 500 new students were expected to attend, some with parents.

After the president was alerted of the intelligence, the president’s chief of Staff, Sagala Ratnayake, held an emergency meeting with public security minister Tiran Alles. Later, Army Commander Lt. Gen. Vikum Liyanage, Major General Suresh Sallay, and Western Province SDIG Deshabandu Tennakoon were summoned to the President’s Office, where the decision was made to deploy additional security forces to aid the Police. Security was to be tightened in key protest sites and government establishments.

Continue reading ‘If the IUSF and other fellow travellers plot a state capture, the govt has every right to curtail it. But, overreaction and high-handedness by the govt would only provide validation to groups who are on the fringes.’ »

By
Meera Srinivasan

The talks on power devolution between Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Tamil legislators yielded no positive outcome, according to the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the largest grouping of MPs from the island’s north and east.

Following his renewed pledge on May Day to address Sri Lanka’s long-pending national question, President Wickremesinghe met almost all MPs from the Tamil-majority areas, including from the TNA, on Monday (May 15) as part of his latest round of discussions.

The Tamil National People’s Front, which has two MPs, stayed out of the talks that it said were “simply aimed at appeasing the international community”.

After his ascent to Presidency last year amid a debilitating crisis, Mr. Wickremesinghe vowed to resolve Sri Lanka’s national question before February 4, 2023, when the island nation marked 75 years of Independence. After having failed to meet his deadline, the 74-year-old leader has renewed his promise to solve the ethnic problem by the end of the year, even as the Tamil leadership remains sceptical of his outreach.

Continue reading ‘Talks Between President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Tamil Parliamentarians Representing the Northern and Eastern Provinces End in a Stalemate without any Positive Outcome’ »

Minister of Tourism and Lands Harin Fernando yesterday said the Government aims to recruit the entire parliamentary group of the main opposition party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) soon.

“We do not want to take in one MP at a time. Instead, we want to rake in the SJB in its entirety,” he said.

Continue reading ‘Govt wants to take in all the Samagi Jana Balawegaya MPs soon says Harin Ferando.“We do not want to take in one MP at a time. Instead, we want to rake in the SJB in its entirety”States Tourism Minister’ »

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Vice President and former MP P. Harrison yesterday announced his decision to resign from all posts in the party to rejoin his former political party, the United National Party (UNP) and extend his unconditional support to President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The former MP held a press conference in Anuradhapura over the weekend where he blamed the weak leadership of the SJB for his decision to leave the party and rejoin his former political party instead.

“We are not satisfied with the decisions being taken within the party,” Harrison noted.

Continue reading ‘Samagi Jana Balawegaya Vice President and former Anuradhapura MP P. Harrison announces his decision to resign from all posts in the SJB and rejoin the United National Party ; extensd his unconditional support to President Ranil Wickremesinghe.’ »

By

Ranga Jayasuriya

Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, once reportedly quipped the Sinhalese have short memories. Prabakaran’s nihilistic terrorist struggle for a separate state that lasted for twenty-five years cost the country as much as the current Gross Domestic Product if a conservative estimate of 2 per cent of annual loss growth is counted. That the Tiger supremo could wage war for so long and unleash so much destruction partly because the entire strategic, tactical and operational manoeuvring of the LTTE was designed to exploit this particular weakness of the Sinhalese majority and the opportunism of their political leadership.

Now, another man is testing Praba’s premise. Basil Rajapaksa, the founder and self-anointed strategist of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), made a glorious entry at the SLPP’s May Day event. That grandeur welcome placed him on par with Mahinda Rajapaksa, the disgraced former president and prime minister.

In contrast, the incumbent Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena received a rather lukewarm reception. SLPP’s plan for a grand May Day rally was a flop. Instead, the empty rows of chairs and poor attendance blighted the occasion meant to showcase the party’s resurgence. That itself elevated Basil Rajapaksa in the news cycle.

Basil himself seems to think this is his moment. The patriarch of the family, Mahinda, has exhausted the constitutional limit of the two terms of presidency. One of the Rajapaksas should rise to the occasion to keep the party within the family.

Continue reading ‘If Dual Citizen Basil Rajapaksa wants to Contest in the Sri Lankan Presidential Elections, he has to Renounce his US citizenship first; But a potential legal investigation by the US Justice Dept may complicate his plans.’ »

By

Kishali Pinto -Jayawardene

There is a stark difference between Sri Lanka’s multifaceted ‘aragalaya’ (the peoples’ struggle) of 2022 and the current unrest in Pakistan, with the deploying of the army throughout the land.

A different trajectory of similar struggles

To be blunt, that difference is the role of the Opposition in both countries. Common to Pakistan and Sri Lanka is the collapse of the respective national economies and disastrous political leadership. Eruptions of public fury on Pakistan’s streets have been somewhat tempered this week by the declaration of the Supreme Court that the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan was ‘illegal,’ an interesting legal point that we will return to later.

But the larger issue is the abrupt contrast that is presented between Pakistan’s burgeoning protests and Sri Lanka’s similar tumult one year ago. The protest movement started in this country as spontaneous citizen-anger against a shamelessly corrupt, stupendously foolish and supremely arrogant dynastic Rajapaksa leadership.

This had precipitated a dangerously growing economic crisis born out of decades of financial, monetary and economic misrule (for which all Governments were responsible) into outright bankruptcy.

That peoples’ struggle soon metamorphosed into a creature of a different and far more complex kind when its unique vigour was rudely co-opted by opposition parties, some more successfully than others. At the time, red comrades of the National Peoples Power party (NPP) led by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) declared that the protests needed ‘political leadership’ and infiltrated the ranks, finally becoming so bold as to drop its calm and reasonable facade with top rung leaders calling for the surrounding of Parliament.

Continue reading ‘Apart from the ‘same old, same old’ rhetoric by the Sri Lankan opposition, where is the fiery energising of the Sri Lankan citizenry? Is that not precisely what an Opposition is supposed to do?’ »

By P.K.Balachandran

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which had been hoping to recapture Karnataka State to help it over-run South India and complete its conquest of India in the coming years, received a crushing blow in the Karnataka elections.
‘India Today’ reported Saturday evening that the Congress had secured 137 seats, the BJP 63, the Janata Dal (Secular) 20. and others four, in the State Assembly of 224 members.

The BJP fought on communal grounds, fostering and sharpening the contradictions between the majority Hindus and the minority Muslims and Christians. It manufactured divisive issues like Halal food, hijab and Love Jihad to isolate and create hatred against the Muslims. In some places, Hindu extremist outfits barred Muslim traders from setting up shops in markets around Hindu temples during Hindu festivals.

The BJP government enacted a law to criminalize religious conversions. Goons of the BJP’s sister organizations like the Sri Rama Sene attacked Valentine’s Day celebrations in Christian areas to cow down the Christians.

As a final stroke it hyped the Congress party’s declaration that it would ban the Hindu communal outfit ‘Bajrang Dal’ to paint the Congress as a party wanting to ban the Hindu God Hanuman. The BJP unethically conflated an extremist and violent Hindu outfit like the Bajrang Dal with the God Hanuman. Bajrangbali is another name for Hanuman.

Continue reading ‘India’s Congress Party wins 137 out of 224 seats in South Indian State of Karnataka Elections while Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party Gets only 63 seats. Janata Dal(S)-20 and Rest -04.’ »

By Kalinga Tudor Silva

Sociological explanations frequently serve as a counter point to popular conspiracy theories. Historically, sociology evolved as a subject that tried to prove that social reality cannot be reduced to the separate actions of the individuals who make up that society, such individual motivations or what was understood as the standard way persons think and behave in given situations being the dominant analytical frameworks in other social sciences, like economics, psychology, and political science.

A key founder of sociology, Frenchman Emile Durkheim, tried to identify the social as external to and in some ways imposed from outside upon the individuals who are included in the social reality. In his unique way, he demonstrated the validity of the social by explaining how even a deeply personal and emotional matter, such as suicide, must be seen as a socially determined phenomenon.

Of course, these views have been interrogated by many critics over the years for his single-minded preoccupation with the social by deemphasizing its natural linkages with the psychological and for his denial of the agency of human beings.

Sri Lanka has always been a hotbed of conspiracy theories. Matters of national importance whether we are talking about collective uprisings against the state such as the JVP uprisings in 1971 and 1987-1989 and the LTTE uprising from 1980s until 2009, and public decisions such as signing of a peace accord between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE, in 2002, were explained by certain observers in terms of conspiracy theories of one kind or another. A secretive nature and lack of transparency often added to public confusion about these events.

More recently, the Aragalaya uprising has also triggered a variety of conspiracy theories, despite its openness to the public and explicit accommodation of diverse viewpoints. Nearly always conspiracy theories are ways of explaining away the compounded social and political reality using flimsy evidence by parties with vested interests in keeping with their own political and ideological moorings without making a genuine effort at reaching an objective explanation of the complex reality we are dealing with.

Continue reading ‘Conspiracy theories of various kinds merely serve to accuse an identified public enemy without providing any reliable evidence. Just like gossip and rumour, conspiracy theories serve to spread fake news and false alarms in ways that divert public anger towards identified targets’ »

By

Suhasini Haidar

“Who do you work for? Which Indian agency has sent you here?” I could tell from the tone and rising voices of the mob around me that things could get very sticky very quickly if I didn’t move. I was at Lahore airport in 2011, attempting to take a flight back to Delhi, when a group of people who seemed to be journalists surrounded me and asked for an interview on the impressions of my visit to Pakistan. But the exchange turned unfriendly as what they really wanted to ask about was an interview I had done with a senior Army official.

He had said that it was “possible” that those who had trained and guided the terrorists during the Mumbai 26/11 attacks may have been formerly in the military, but that the Pakistani Army had no knowledge of them. The interview had made headlines in both Pakistan and India. The Army had issued a clarification on the comments, distancing itself from the interview.

Clearly, the establishment had no intention of allowing me to leave the country without feeling some heat for the story. Back home, I faced more questions — this time on why I had even interviewed someone in the Pakistani military.

Facing the heat for an interview is a part of every journalist’s life, and comes in many forms — from governments who find it inconvenient for a counter-view to be “platformed” to commentators who believe that it is an “anti-national” act to interview officials of an unfriendly country.

Continue reading ‘Journalists have duties that are separate from those of govts, politicians and powerful establishments. A journalist’s job of presenting the first draft of history is incomplete if it only presents one state-approved View.’ »

By Lakshmi Subramanian

In a major reshuffle of portfolios of his cabinet, Tamil Nadu Chief minister MK Stalin on Thursday moved Palanivel Thiaga Rajan (PTR) out of the Finance portfolio and allocated it to senior leader Thangam Thennarasu. The industries portfolio held by Thennarasu has been allocated to Mannargudi MLA TRB Raaja, who has been newly inducted into the cabinet.

An official press release from the Raj Bhavan said that, on the recommendation of the chief minister, Governor RN Ravi has additionally allocated Tamil Development portfolio, held by Thennarasu to Information and Publicity minister MP Swaminathan.

Mano Thangaraj who was the Information Technology minister has been allocated Milk and Dairy Development which was held by SM Nasar who has been dropped from the cabinet. PTR will now be the new minister for Information and Technology.

This is the third time Stalin’s cabinet has been reshuffled. The first time was when portfolios held by ministers Raja Kannappan and SS Shivashankar were swapped. The second time was when DMK youth wing leader Udhayanidhi Stalin was inducted into the cabinet as the sports minister. But this is the first time a minister is being dropped and a new person inducted.

Continue reading ‘Tamil Nadu Chief minister MK Stalin Moves Palanivel Thiaga Rajan (PTR) from Finance to Information and Technology Portfolio after release of two of PTR’s purported audio clips alleging that Stalin’s family has earned Rs 30,000 crores.’ »

By

Krishantha Prasad Cooray

There are three things that matter when it comes to air travel. Punctuality, baggage not being lost and inflight comfort.

There’s been a lot of chatter recently on the national carrier SriLankan and I want to add my own experience in the interest of the silent majority. Too often the opinion of a single traveller, when voiced aloud on the internet, is taken to be the general perception of all. This is far from the truth.

There’s something I learnt when I spoke about my personal experience with SriLankan Airlines pilot Capt. Rajind Ranatunga, one of the proudest employees of the national carrier. Typically, he said, much noise is made when there’s a bad experience but those who have nothing to complain about or felt that the entire experience was as good as in any other airline would at best say ‘thank you.’ They don’t whip out their smartphones and hammer out a story as though they’ve been appointed to represent all the passengers. I belong to this category of passengers.

Therefore, I caution the reader not to extrapolate. This is my story and I speak for myself.

Continue reading ‘One Sri Lankan Family’s Experience Aboard the Sri Lankan Airlines UL318 Flight to Malaysua from Colombo’ »

By
Meera Srinivasan

The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has ruled that a Bill seeking to decriminalise homosexuality is “not inconsistent with the Constitution”, clearing the way for a Parliamentary debate and vote on the subject.

“The Supreme Court is of the opinion that the Bill as a whole or as any provision thereof is not inconsistent with the Constitution,” Parliamentary Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena announced on Tuesday morning.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka Supreme Court rules that a Private Members Bill seeking to Amend Penal Code and decriminalise homosexuality is “not inconsistent with the Constitution” thereby clearing the way for a Parliamentary debate and vote .’ »

By

Kishali Pinto -Jayawardene

Exactly twelve months ago to the coming Tuesday, state goons led by key Rajapaksa Ministers attacked peaceful protestors at Galle Face Green leading to the incendiary flaming up of what was perhaps, the single most potent peoples’ uprising in Sri Lanka since independence.

May Day musings on Rajapaksa wrongs

As Rajapaksa mansions and museums were set alight by once adoring followers in the deep South, the cry of ‘system change’ was in the air. Former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and members of his family sought refuge in an Eastern naval base long rumored to be where bitter critics of the regime had ‘disappeared’ when ‘Rajapaksa magic’ held the Sinhala heartland in thrall.

May 9th 2022, one year ago set the trend for the coming events of the succeeding months when former President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa would hurriedly leave his presidential house. This was later to be invaded by the madding crowds who would dance on his bed and riffle through his belongings, making global headlines. Mounds of cash were found by the delighted invaders to be handed over to the police and still held in the grip of a court case on its orgins.

This Monday, stirring songs were sung at the Sri Lanka Podujana Party (SLPP)’s May Day rally where Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa said that, ‘we know where we went wrong.’ But did he?

Will he, his family or the Rajapaksa ‘patronage networks’ that have entrenched themselves deep into the bowels of Sri Lanka’s legal and political systems much like a poisonous growth, ever ‘learn’?

Will its Ministers ‘learn’, now sitting under the protective umbrella of the Ranil Wickremesinghe Presidency?

Continue reading ‘Will Mahinda Rajapaksa, his family or the Rajapaksa ‘patronage networks’ ever Learn?Will they ever acknowledge that Sri Lanka toppled into the abyss as a result of their cumulative greed, ignorance and racism?’ »

The President’s Office has directed four provincial governors to step down following complaints received by parliamentarians representing the provinces.

Accordingly, the decision has been conveyed to Eastern Province Governor Anuradha Yahampath, North Western Province Governor Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda, Uva Province Governor A.J.M. Muzammil and Sabaragamuwa Governor Tikiri Kobbekaduwa.

Continue reading ‘President’s Office Directs Four Provincial Governors Including Eastern Province Governor Anuradha Yahampath and Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda the North -Western Province Governor to Step Down Due to Complaints Received from MPs’ »