(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’ »

Charles III was crowned monarch of the United Kingdom and 14 Commonwealth realms yesterday at Britain’s first coronation for 70 years, during a ceremony steeped in a millennium of ritual and spectacle.

The day before yesterday’s coronation, King Charles III met Commonwealth leaders at the Commonwealth Secretariat at Marlborough House.

During the event, President Ranil Wickremesinghe extended his congratulations to King Charles III and emphasised the importance of the Commonwealth playing a more significant role in supporting education reforms that encourage youth involvement.

First Lady Prof. Maithree Wickramasinghe was also in attendance.

Continue reading ‘President Ranil Wickremesinghe has Cordial Conversation with King Charles III at Marlborough House on the Eve of his Coronation with First Lady Prof.Maithree Wickremesinghe also in Attendance’ »

He came to praise his mother—and to bury suspicions. On September 9th King Charles III gave his first public speech as monarch. Explicitly, it honoured the queen—“my darling mama”—for her dedication, service and duty. Implicitly, it answered questions about what kind of king he is going to be and spoke, quietly, to some of the many criticisms levelled at him while he was heir apparent.

The man who is now called king has long seemed uneasy about, perhaps even unsuited to, the job that 73 years ago he was born to do. Charles once described the realisation that he was going to become king as dawning with “the most ghastly, inexorable sense”. Others echoed his doubts: Princess Diana, his first wife, said the role of king would be “suffocating”. The British people seemed to share this cool appraisal of him. A poll carried out in May 2022 put his popularity rating at 54%, far below the late queen’s at 81%.

Little of this is unusual. Transitions from one monarch to the next are, as Tracy Borman, a royal historian, has pointed out, notoriously uneasy moments. Henry VII’s courtiers so feared his death would lead to the downfall of the Tudors that they hid his body in his rooms and brought his corpse meals for two days.

When Elizabeth II came to the throne she was derided as a “priggish schoolgirl”, while her coronation was dismissed by John Osborne, an angry young playwright, as a “gold filling in a mouthful of decay”. Will her reign, asked the Daily Mail—not known for doubts about the monarchy—“be a flop?” Both the Tudors and Elizabeth II survived.

Continue reading ‘What kind of a Monarch will King Charles III turn out to be? Would he Replicate his Mother Queen Elizabeth’s style rather than deviate from it? – “The Economist”’ »

By

Jamila Husain

A tussle has erupted in the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) camp after BasilRajapaksa was given a notable welcome at the May Day rally and his picture was shown on the main SLPP banner on stage alongside party leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Daily Mirror learns.

Senior SLPP sources said that strong objections were raised with General Secretary of the party Sagara Kariyawasam as to why Basil was promoted alongside Mahinda Rajapaksa, as many SLPPERS saw this as a move to dampen the party image.

Continue reading ‘Prominence Given to Basil Rajapaksa at SLPP May Day Rally Irks Party Seniors while Some Pohottuwa MPs Launch Campaign to Promote Basil as Party Leader’ »

By
Tisaranee Gunasekara

“Too many things have happened that weren’t supposed to happen and what was supposed to come about has not.”
– Wyslawa Szymborska – The Century’s Decline

For a few hours in early April, 2022, Wikipedia page of Ajith Nivard Cabraal described the then Governor of Central Bank as: “A chartered accountant and the principal scum bag responsible for the current economic crisis in Sri Lanka.” Wikipedia also named the Finance Minister of Sri Lanka as Basil Kaputa Rajapaksa and listed money laundering as a family tradition of Minister Namal Rajapaksa.

According to internet reports, this creative editing was the work of unnamed Lankan teenagers prevented by their parents from taking part in the burgeoning protests.

Those were desperate times, and unprecedented ones. According to surveys, more than 90% of Lankans experienced some form of economic distress, from familiar poverty to unthinkable shortages. Primordial and socio-economic cleavages that kept people divided collapsed into the general ferment of want and despair. And from that national condition, the Aragalaya was born.

On 9 April, Occupy Galleface began. On 9 May, in response to a Rajapaksa-sanctioned attack on Gota-go-gama, people across the country unleashed mayhem on ruling party politicians. On 9 July, around a million Lankans converged on Colombo and forced President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee.

9 June was relatively quiet. Basil Rajapaksa resigned, promising to return. But people didn’t occupy the streets as they had done on 9 April and 9 May. Gota-go-gama activists were as militant as ever. But Lankans were in a wait-and-see mood. Their fury had been appeased by the mob violence of 9 May. The departure of Mahinda Rajapaksa and new prime-minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s frank acknowledgement of the crisis had generated a modicum of hope.

Between 9 June and 9 July, hope died, reviving anger. The crisis was worsening. Instead of dealing with queues, President Gotabaya busied himself undermining PM Wickremesinghe and sabotaging the proposed 21st Amendment aimed at reducing excessive presidential powers.

In a clear sign of the coming avalanche, irate consumers, many of whom waiting in queues up to 20 days, ringed the Galle Stadium with empty gas cylinders ahead of the Sri Lanka-Australia test match. But all omens were lost on the Rajapaksas, until the human deluge reached their doorstep.

On 19 April, when people were protesting against the unavailability of fuel in Rambukkana, the police shot to kill and killed Chaminda Lakshan, father of two and the sole breadwinner of this family (Last month, the Human Rights Commission handed over its report on the incident.

Its recommendations include identifying the exact officer who fired the killer-shot and taking legal action against him and paying compensation to the family of Lakshan and those who suffered injuries from the attack. Whether the ministers in charge of Police and Justice heed these recommendations, and whether the Opposition takes up this cause remain to be seen).

The Bastille which stood for 400 years as a symbol of absolute power and unleavened tyranny fell in less than a day, between morning and evening of 14 July 1789. It was conquered by 900 citizens, many of them tradesmen. A few months later, the great Versailles Palace fell to an army of mostly Parisian women armed with anger and desperation.

Tear gas and live bullets are effective when protestors are limited to thousands, not when they number in hundreds of thousands, and not when they could include your family and your superior officer’s family, marching side by side.

The key is the public mood. When the general public is largely indifferent, repression is possible. When the public is a seething volcano, the police and the army will not obey orders to shoot even if orders are given.

Continue reading ‘Freedom,Safety,Order and Democracy are the basic pillars of a liveable life. So far, all attempts to reignite the Aragalaya have failed, because Wickremesinghe has got enough of the combination right. A kind of normalcy has replaced generalised chaos.So it is too early for Aragalaya Season 2.’ »

Avantika Shankar

The opening line of V.V. Ganeshananthan’s sophomore novel, Brotherless Night, will give you pause. Maybe you’ve settled down in an armchair with a cup of tea, or maybe you’re leaning against a shelf in a bookstore, on the prowl for your next big read. Either way, the opening line will disarm you.

“I recently sent a letter to a terrorist I used to know.” In a way, the line speaks to the specific challenges of documenting the Sri Lankan civil war. Thousands of narratives clamour for precedence, and no single strand of politics, empathy or logic can do justice to them all.

What Ganeshananthan, 43, American writer and journalist of Ilankai Tamil descent, seeks to do is bring obscured voices back into the conversation. And for that, she first dismantles the very language of terrorism.

“One of the things that the rhetoric of terrorism seeks to do is to make the terrorist unintelligible,” says the author over a Zoom call from Minneapolis, where she teaches creative writing at the University of Minnesota. “The majority of people who have been referred to in that way are not unintelligible. Discussing their motivation doesn’t justify it, it just tries to understand it and to think about how someone might have arrived at that point.”

Continue reading ‘V.V.Ganeshananthan the American writer of Ilankai Tamil descent, Seeks to dismantle the very language of terrorism in her Sophomore Novel “Brotherless Night”.’ »

(Text of Editorial appearing in the “Daily FT”of 2 May 2023 under the heading “Undiplomatic Tragicomedy”)

Sri Lanka’s top diplomat, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry made news last week for his most undiplomatic conduct in Parliament. In an exchange with Batticaloa District MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, the Foreign Minister resorted to unparliamentary language which had to be expunged from the Hansard. Sabry accused Shanakiyan of playing communal politics when the Tamil National Alliance MP raised an issue concerning the people of Batticaloa which according to Sabry is not a “Sri Lankan issue.”

Sabry, unlike Rasamanickam, is an unelected member of parliament who was appointed through the National List for the sole reason of being the personal lawyer of former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa. He has no electorate to serve nor a mandate after the ouster of his political master. Even after his patron was chased from office through an island-wide mass uprising in July 2022, Sabry has managed to survive in ministerial office.

Having granted a degree of credibility to the otherwise purely ethno nationalist regime of Gotabaya Rajapaksa as its only Muslim member of the Cabinet, Sabry soldiered through some of the most vile and racist decisions made by that administration.

Continue reading ‘Shanakiyan Rasamanickam Raised His Voice in Solidarity with Muslims in Parliament when Ali Sabry Served as Justice Minister in the Gotabaya Regime which Targeted the Muslim Community with Atrocious Policies like Forced Cremation.’ »

(Full Text of President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Address Via Electronic Technology to the May Day Rally held by the United National Party(UNP) at Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium on may 1st 2023)

“After assuming the presidency, I have had the opportunity to address the United National Party and all of you who support the party.

When I took office as president, the country was experiencing its worst economic crisis in 30 years. The economy had completely collapsed, and people were suffering from shortages of food and fuel, leading to protests on the streets. Additionally, some individuals attempted to exploit this crisis to undermine the democratic system and the parliament.

Today, the country’s economy has achieved stability, with no shortage of food, and a functional democratic system where the parliament operates without any threats. Furthermore, everyone has the opportunity to carry out their work without hindrance.

Prior to assuming the presidency, I reflected on one thing: the United National Party prioritizes the welfare of the country. The United National Party is a political party that is close to my heart. In fact, in the United National Party’s 2020 election manifesto, we explicitly stated our intention to seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, with a goal of securing $7 billion. As a party, we were the only ones who mentioned these critical points. On the other hand, other parties made empty promises they could not fulfil despite knowing the existence of the country’s economic problem.

After honestly sharing our party’s policies, the United National Party ended up in the national list. Our policy is to be transparent with the people, even if it means conveying unpleasant truths. We announced our goals for 2020 and 2021 without hesitation. As the economic crisis deepened in 2022, I met with the former President, Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and recommended that he seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund.

During the discussions on this matter, the former President summoned a meeting of the party leaders in parliament. While other opposition groups refused to attend, I, along with the Tamil National Alliance, actively participated in the discussions.

My motivation was not rooted in politics, but in properly managing the country’s economy and alleviating the burdens on its citizens. For this reason, I took on the role of the presidency, as I had faith in my ability to revive the economy and work alongside supportive ministers to achieve these outcomes.

Continue reading ‘“If we are to address the issues faced by the Tamil community in this country, let us collaborate within this system, particularly in the Parliament as part of the government. To the Tamil parties, I say that it is futile to distance oneself from this endeavor.”- President Ranil Wickremesinghe’ »

By

Kishali Pinto – Jayawardene

Protests issued by the Government of Sri Lanka over the United States Government decision to ‘blacklist’ former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda and his wife from entering the US are farcical, to say the least.

The Foreign Ministry must up its game

First, there is little that Sri Lanka can do, despite this bellowing and distinctly ridiculous rhetoric. ‘Denouncing’ the ‘blacklisting’ comes to nothing in the final result. These are matters entirely within the discretion of States. The Foreign Ministry’s agitated response is that this has been done without following ‘due process.’

Is the Ministry under a confused perception that the US ‘designating’ of individuals under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programmes Appropriations Act, 2023 is akin to a domestic legal process?

It has further claimed (preposterously) that the designation of the former Navy Commander ignores ‘tangible progress made by the Government in strengthening the country’s democratic governance and reconciliation structures’ (see press release of April 27th, 2023).

This is even more bewildering. What ‘tangible progress’, we may well ask?

Continue reading ‘Why do Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith and Ven. Omalpe Sobhitha Thero want ‘international justice’ Selectively for some and not for others?’ »

By
Srinivasa Ramanujam

The events of Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan: 1, which released late last year, left audiences not just on a high, but also with many questions: What really happened to Arunmozhi Varman? Who is the mysterious lady who makes fleeting but impactful appearances? And most importantly, what happened to the succession battle for the Chola kingdom?

Ponniyin Selvan: 2 answers these queries — as it should. Mani Ratnam’s sequel takes liberal creative liberties by leaving out some parts from the Tamil classic in order to present it cinematically — and the climax might be the subject of some discussion in this context, especially among fans of the book — but it largely encapsulates the myriad twists and turns as the story unravels.

We were given a sneak peek into the romance of Aditha Karikalan (Vikram) and Nandini (Aishwarya Rai) in the first part. Ponniyin Selvan: 2 opens with this angle; the first shot is that of a young Nandini taking a dip in a river. Remember this shot, because it makes a sort of a comeback later in the film. In the span of a few minutes, Ratnam packs in almost three short AR Rahman songs to narrate this story of young love, before he plunges into the actual story.

We get why, though. The Karikalan-Nandini angle is the root of most of the confusion in the Chola kingdom, a place that continues to see much turmoil. Arunmozhi Varman aka Ponniyin Selvan is well and alive — but he suffers from an illness. Can he return and reclaim his position as the successor to the throne? Will Aditha Karikalan meet Nandini and what will transpire of that? And what about Vandhiyathevan (Karthi), through whom we were introduced to the main characters?

Continue reading ‘“Ponniyin Selvan 2” : Ace Filmmaker Maniratnam’s cinematic adaptation of Kalki’s Epic Novel with the interpersonal dynamics and drama between its main characters make a Satisfactory Watch’ »

(Full Text of Press Release Issued by the US State Department on 26 April 2023 Under the Heading “Designation of Sri Lankan Governor Due to Involvement in a Gross Violation of Human Rights”)

The United States is designating Wasantha Karannagoda, Governor of North Western Province in Sri Lanka, pursuant to Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2023, due to his involvement in a gross violation of human rights during his tenure as a Naval Commander.

As a result of today’s action, Karannagoda and his wife, Srimathi Ashoka Karannagoda, are ineligible for entry into the United States.

The allegation that Wasantha Karannagoda committed a gross human rights violation, documented by NGOs and independent investigations, is serious and credible.

Continue reading ‘US State Department Designates North Western Province Governor Wasantha Karannagoda due to his Alleged involvement in a gross violation of human rights during his tenure as a Naval Commander.’ »

By

Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana

In response to a request made by the Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa to walk the talk and thereby put into practice what he had talked of, President Ranil Wickremeinge today told Parliament those in Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) will walk towards a common journey with him soo

“I must tell the President that he should walk the talk,” Premadasa said.

“ I assure that no one in SJB will walk with you,” Opposition Leader said.

Continue reading ‘“I must tell the President that he should walk the talk,” Opposition Leader Premadasa.“I will walk the talk but I would like to tell you that those in SJB will start walking with me,” Responds President Wickremesinghe.“ I assure that no one in SJB will walk with you,” Sajith Tells Ranil.’ »

(Full Text of Special Statement made in Parliament on 26 April 2023 by Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe)

I would like to address the concerns that have been raised in the media and elsewhere about the economic and financial issues that our country has faced. In July 2022, Sri Lanka was hit with riots, arson, and state bankruptcy, causing a complete loss of trust in our country.

However, after eight months, we have managed to turn things around and it’s now being called the Sri Lanka comeback story. We have entered the path of renaissance and are reborn, and I am counting on the support of the whole country to take it forward.

Let me give you a brief overview of the situation we faced. Our tax cuts in late 2019 cost us 4% of gross domestic product, and things only got worse with the Covid epidemic. In February 2022, the Sri Lankan Rupee depreciated by 40% against the US Dollar within three months, and it continued to depreciate. Economic growth contracted by 7.8% throughout 2022, and inflation in September 2022 exceeded 70%, with food inflation rising as high as 95%.

In this challenging backdrop, I decided to assume the presidency in July 2022 because I believed that our country could recover. If I had not taken responsibility during a time of agitations and protests, our country would have been completely destroyed. I didn’t hesitate even when the paintings in my home library were burnt down and destroyed.

At that time, Sri Lanka’s total debt was 83.6 billion US dollars, with foreign debt at 41.5 billion US dollars and domestic debt at 42 billion US dollars. By now, our overall debt ratio as a percentage of GDP has become 128%. Due to non-repayment of bilateral and private loans, the amount of outstanding debt from April to December 2022 was estimated at 2.7 billion US dollars.

By the middle of 2022, Sri Lanka was unable to import goods and services from abroad due to the worsening foreign exchange deficit. In May 2022, interest related to foreign loans failed to be paid. This was the first time in the history of Sri Lanka that we had to face such a situation.

As soon as I took over the government, I began negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank. As a result, in September, we reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund regarding extended credit facilities.

Continue reading ‘“We have no other option but the IMF agreement. If there are no other alternative suggestions, let’s approve this. I also urge the opposition to work together.Let’s get both parties together and pass this.”- President Ranil Wickremesinghe in Special Statement to Parliament’ »

(Excerpts from Speech made in Parliament on 25 April 2023 by Jaffna District TNA Parliamentarian MA Sumanthiran PC)

I am mentioning this Kurunthoor malai issue and according to the code of conduct I am making a disclosure that I have an interest in that matter, in that I appear for two members of parliament and another former provincial council member in the Supreme court in a fundamental rights application SCFR 186/202, that is still pending in court.

Several organisations have made applications for intervention and as result that had got delayed. Now it is fixed for support on the 05th of June in the Supreme Court on top of the list. While that matter is coming for support on top of the list in Supreme court, I have got an invitation from the Archaeology department to say that there is an event that is to take place in that place on the 19th of May 2023 at 2.30 P.M. on the conclusion of excavation and conservation work this area is to be bestowed to the department of Archaeology.

Now this is an ancient Hindu shrine, that was destroyed by thousands of soldiers, we have pictures, led by Hon. Vidura Wickramanayaka who went in there, broke the trident that the Hindus worship
threw it into the shrubs.

Continue reading ‘Ancient Hindu Shrine on Kurunthoormalai Hill was Destroyed by Soldiers led by Minister Vidura Wickramanayake states Jaffna District MP Sumanthiran in Parliament;Urges Govt not to Continue in Racist Direction’ »

BY Sahan Tennekoon

The Chairman of the Independent Television Network (ITN), Attorney Sudarshana Gunawardana has appointed a committee to investigate into reports on social media about the alleged sexual harassment faced by a former ITN news anchor Ishara Dewendra.

This was revealed by the Minister of Mass Media Dr. Bandula Gunawardana in Parliament yesterday (25) while responding to a question raised by Samagi Jana Balawegaya Opposition Parliamentarian Rohini Kumari Wijerathna Kavirathna about the measures taken by the Government regarding sexual harassment against women in Government institutions. “Until now, I have not received any complaint regarding that incident. Without a complaint, we are not able to start an investigation. Therefore, I informed the Secretary to the Ministry of Mass Media Anusha Palpita to call the relevant parties and receive complaints, but no such complaint has been received yet. Therefore, it is not possible for us to conduct an investigation at the Ministry level,” he said.

Speaking further, Dr. Gunawardana said that a special investigation has been initiated regarding this incident as per the instructions of the ITN Chairman.

Continue reading ‘Independent Television Network Chairman Sudarshana Gunawardana appoints External committee Headed by Woman Lawyer to investigate reports on social media about alleged sexual harassment faced by a former ITN news anchor Ishara Dewendra.’ »

By

Meera Srinivasan

Tamils in Sri Lanka have witnessed an escalation in the attack on Hindu temples in recent weeks, a trend that they note is part of the State’s “ongoing Sinhalisation project” in the island’s north.

In recent weeks, Tamil media reported multiple incidents of vandalism at temples, where Hindu deities were found missing or damaged. In Jaffna, some Tamils have sought to counter the trend by placing a Hindu deity in a public space, prompting police to petition the court seeking its removal.

Several Tamil political parties have called for a protest on April 25 against the recent temple attacks, among other issues.
Simultaneously, Tamils also point to an increase in the number of new Buddhist structures and shrines coming up in the Northern Province, where Hindus form the largest religious group, followed by Christians and Muslims, with Buddhists in the fourth place.
The developments come amid heightening activity of Sri Lanka’s Department of Archaeology in the Tamil-majority north and east. Authorities have restricted public access to some temples, citing ongoing “archaeological research” in the historic sites. In one instance, media reported the arrest of a youth who attempted to worship at a temple in Vedukkunarimalai, Vavuniya.

A large protest was held in the area last month protesting the vandalism of idols at this temple.

Jaffna legislator and Tamil National People’s Front Leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam sees the incidents as part of a larger, persistent assault on Tamils’ rights, including to worship.

Ever since the end of the war, consecutive governments have “accelerated the Sinhalization” of the north and east, he said, “as if to catch up with the gap of the 30 years during the war that they missed out on.”

Continue reading ‘Sri Lankan Tamil Parties Perturbed over escalating attacks on Hindu temples in recent weeks ; this is a trend that is part of the State’s “ongoing Sinhalisation project” in the island’s north, they note’ »

By

Tisaranee Gunasekara

“On land a tiger, in the water a crocodile.” A Bengali proverb

In Sri Lanka terror means Tamil or Muslim. When the J.R. Jayewardene government responded to the ethnic problem not with the promised political reforms but with repression and the PTA was born, the concept of terror (and its prevention) invoked an image. Not of the Tiger chief, for his face was yet to be seared into the collective memory of the Sinhala South, but of the Tamil.

Every Tamil symbolised terror, from the politician defending the Eelam demand in parliament to the old woman sweeping the street who knew nothing of a separate state. They were the descendents of South Indian invaders of yore, political heirs of the timeless project of occupying and unmaking this land of Sinhala-Buddhism.

The PTA was thus born and lived most of its 44 year existence as an anti-Tamil law. It was first enacted as a temporary measure when the armed Eelam movement was in its infancy, hardly a movement, just a ragtag band of dreamers and malcontents. Within four years of the PTA’s birth, the fledgling insurgency had turned into a raging war, fed by innumerable political crimes and mistakes, ranging from the burning of the Jaffna library to Black July. Had those atrocities not happened, had a political solution to the ethnic problem been enacted, the Eelam War could have been prevented, with or without the PTA.

So the PTA was a colossal failure. It failed not only to nip the Tamil insurgency in the bud, or to do the same with the JVP insurgency of 1987-89. It also failed to stop the Easter Sunday massacre. The anatomy of that final failure is extensively documented through a number of investigations and inquiries. Revisiting their findings is timely since that tragedy is being used by the administration to push through the potentially more draconian ATA.

The Easter Sunday massacre was preventable. It wasn’t prevented not because the PTA had loopholes but because of “the deplorable want of oversight and inaction…in the conduct of affairs pertaining to security, law and order and intelligence.” That was the Supreme Court in its January 2023 judgement. Information about an impending attack first became available on April 4, 2019, yet the men in charge of ensuring national security and public safety did nothing.
That failure happened not because the PTA didn’t confer enough powers on the security establishment but because of their “lack of strategic co-ordination, expertise and preparedness,” as the Supreme Court put it succinctly.

If any one man symbolises this failure, it is Nilantha Jayawardana, the then head of the SIS. He was the first top official to receive concrete information about an impending attack. By April 21, he had in his possession the names of several potential attackers: Mohamed Zaharan, Mohamed Milhan, and Mohamedu Rilwan.

Continue reading ‘The govt’s determination to push the ATA is creating new political fault lines the economy could ill afford. Sri Lanka has avoided Lebanon’s fate and achieved a modicum of stability thanks to President Wickremesinghe’s economic policies. ATA is a diversion from that sensible path’ »

By

Kishali Pinto – Jayawardene

Two years after Sri Lanka’s former Attorney General (AG) claimed on the eve of his retirement, that the savage attacks on churches and hotels by homegrown ‘jihadists’ in April 2019 discloses ‘a grand conspiracy,’ the country’s Minister of Justice has issued a flurry of directions to state agencies to ‘summon’ the former chief state law officer for questioning.

Action needed, not media dramas

If we are to be polite in our profound puzzlement, the why and the wherefore of this sudden Ministerial activation is a mystery of and by itself. He has (reportedly) remarked that, ‘a certain degree of scepticism’ surrounds the former AG’s claim But a fairer assessment would perhaps incline towards the view that, more than a degree of public scepticism attaches to the Minister’s own actions.

Why this ‘ministerial’ awakening to the former AG’s statement after many moons have passed?

If the Justice Minister was this concerned, surely that concern may have been evidenced far sooner and in better ways conducive to the Rule of Law rather than indulging in a media drama, replete with a depressing entourage of clowns and fakirs competing for ‘soundbites’?

The Government may feel pressurised to do ‘something’ when this doleful month of April comes around each year. Victims and the Catholic clergy walked on Colombo’s streets this week demanding justice. Are their demands best served by farcical exercises? Moreover, the impact of these ministerial spats reverberate beyond the media circus.

Continue reading ‘Could the 2 019 Easter attacks have been prevented if the 2023 Anti-Terrorism Bill been law at the time? The answer to that question is a resounding ‘NO.’’ »

By

D.B.S.Jeyaraj

The long delayed elections to Sri Lanka’s nine provincial elections could be held very soon if a private members bill submitted by Jaffna district parliamentarian MA Sumanthiran is passed by the House next week.

Sumanthiran is due to table the bill in Parliament on April 25th 2023 for its first reading

After the first reading is done the house must agree to proceed to the next level, which is referring it to the Govt. Since it is a private member’s bill, it remains to be seen as to whether the Govt will accept or call for a vote to reject it at that stage.

Continue reading ‘Jaffna District TNA Parliamentarian MA Sumanthiran Due to Table his Private Members bill in Parliament for first reading on 25 April 2023; if bill is adopted, long awaited elections to Lanka’s nine provincial councils could be held very soon’ »

With reference to the comments by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa on the legitimacy of the mandate of President Ranil Wickremesinghe to hold that office and the demand for a Presidential election to seek a fresh mandate, Former Parliament Secretary General Priyanee Wijesekera has responded with the following facts.

“Our Constitution, by article 40 provides for a process of succession in the event of a vacancy occurring in the post of Executive President. This provision was used previously when the late D. B. Wijetunga was elected by the Parliament following the assassination of President R. Premadasa. On that occasion there was not a hum of protest and in fact the then Leader of the Opposition Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike fully supported the move.

“Even under the previous Constitution of 1947 it was legitimate for Mrs. Bandaranaike to be appointed as Prime Minister from the Senate. Thus she too was not elected by popular election.

Continue reading ‘Former Parliament Secretary General Priyanee Wijesekera Responds with Facts to Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa’s Demand for a new Presidential Election to seek a Fresh Mandate’ »

By

Meera Srinivasan

Sri Lanka on April 21 marked the 4 th anniversary of the Easter Sunday terror bombings that shook the island nation on April 21, 2019, even as families of victims marched, and many gathered outside churches, demanding truth and justice.

Nearly 300 persons died and hundreds were injured in the coordinated serial blasts, across churches in Colombo, suburban Negombo, and the eastern city of Batticaloa; and luxury hotels in Colombo. The gruesome incident, that a network of Islamist radical suicide bombers claimed, rocked the relative peace that Sri Lanka experienced for a decade after its bloody civil war — in which tens of thousands of Tamils were killed — ended in 2009.

Sri Lanka’s Catholic Church, especially the Archbishop of Colombo Archdiocese Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, has been raising concern over authorities’ “slow-paced” investigations into the incident domestically and internationally, including at the Vatican and the UN Human Rights Council. Formerly a supporter of the Rajapaksas, the prominent Catholic priest has maintained that the Easter bombings were not merely the work of religious extremists but a “grand political conspiracy”. He has called for a comprehensive international probe to help trace the “real masterminds” behind the incident.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka marks 4th anniversary of Easter Sunday terror attacks with Families of Victims Marching for Justice and Christians Standing Outside Churches Protesting Delay in Probe’ »

(Excerpts from Media Release Issued by the Institute for health Policy(IHP) Regarding the latest Sri Lanka Opinion Tracker Survey (SLOTS) polling in March 2023 )

The latest Sri Lanka Opinion Tracker Survey (SLOTS) polling in March 2023 reveals little change from February, with NPP/JVP at 41% of likely voters maintaining a clear lead over the SJB on 30%. The UNP share did increase two points to 6%; although within the margin of error, this might be early signs of a real increase.

The NPP/JVP continued to lag a little in voter enthusiasm, with this reducing its lead over the SJB in likely voters by 2% versus all voters.

During the four months ending in March 2023, there was also little change in preferences at provincial level, although the NPP/JVP took a clear lead in Sabaragamuwa over the SJB, whilst closing the gap in Uva.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka Opinion Tracker Survey (SLOTS) Conducted by the Institute for health Policy(IHP) for March 2023 Reveals JVP/NPP has 41% Support Among Voters currently While SJB has 30% and UNP 8%’ »

(Text of Press Release Issued via Twitter by the Chinese Embassy in Colombo on the toque macaque monkeys issue)

The Embassy has noticed recent disinformation on local and foreign media about Sri Lanka to export “100 thousands” of “endangered” toque macaque monkeys to a Chinese private company for “experimental purpose”, as well as detailed clarifications by the Minister of Agriculture and the Cabinet Spokesperson of Sri Lanka thereafter.

The Embassy has also checked with relevant authorities in Beijing.

Continue reading ‘Chinese Embassy in Colombo refutes Purported Disinformation in Media about Export of 100,000 Toque Monkeys from Sri Lanka to China : Chinese National Forestry and Grassland Administration not aware of the request and has not received such application from any side.” Says Press Release’ »

By

Meera Srinivasan

Zoologists and conservationists in Sri Lanka on April 19 slammed a recent government proposal exploring the export of monkeys to China, terming it an ad-hoc, illegal, and short-sighted response to a long-standing human-animal conflict.

Earlier this month, Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera said the government was studying a proposal from a Chinese company to purchase Sri Lankan toque macaques, a golden brown-coloured monkey endemic to the country.

The Chinese firm, said to be an animal breeding company according to Sri Lankan portal Newswire, had written to the Ministry, making an offer to buy “a large quantity of monkeys” from Sri Lanka, as the island nation was reportedly looking to “get rid of certain crop-destroying species”. Local media reports said authorities were considering exporting about 1,00,000 monkeys.

Continue reading ‘Proposal to Export 100,000 Monkeys to China Severely Criticized by Conversationists in Sri Lanka; With only 300,000 Toque Macaques Existing in the Island,they are a threatened species points out primatologist Wolfgang Dittus.’ »

(Text of Editorial Appearing in “The Island”of 17 April 2023 Under the Heading “Bin the bad Bill”)

The Rajapaksa-Wickremesinghe government has chosen to bite off more than it can chew. Now, it is planning to present its controversial Anti-Terrorism Bill (ATB) to Parliament on 25 April, according to media reports. Why it is in a mighty hurry to rush such a bad law through defies comprehension. It has left room for its critics to argue that it is driven by a desire to suppress democratic dissent and bulldoze its way through amidst fierce resistance the Opposition and trade unions are offering to the implementation of the IMF recommendations, which are expected to bring about socio-political upheavals.

The government would have the public believe that once the ATB is presented to Parliament, the opponents thereof could invoke the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, which will review the proposed law before its ratification. Judicial scrutiny and parliamentary approval are no doubt prerequisites for making laws in a democratic manner, but they are not the only necessary conditions that have to be satisfied to ensure that laws are good. It may be recalled that even the 18th Amendment to the Constitution was referred to the Supreme Court, albeit as an urgent Bill, and ratified by Parliament with a two-thirds majority. But it was one of the worst laws this country has ever seen.

The same goes for the 20th Amendment to the Constitution. Sri Lankan governments also circumvent judicial recommendations anent Bills by abusing the committee stage to smuggle sections thereinto and rushing them through. The Provincial Council Elections (Amendment) Bill of 2017 is a case in point. It has now been revealed that the Parliamentary Elections Act of 1981, as amended in 1988, contains a section that was not there in the original Bill passed by Parliament, or, in other words, it was smuggled into the Bill after its ratification! Section 64 (05) thereof enables political parties to bypass the constitutional provision governing the appointment of National List (NL) MPs; they engineer NL vacancies so that they can appoint ‘any member’ of a political party to Parliament! All political parties have stooped so low as to make use of this abominable legal provision.

The absence of constitutional provision for post-enactment judicial review of legislation makes all laws faits accomplis after their ratification with or without additions and/or deletions recommended by the judiciary.

The fact that Parliament did away with bad laws including the 18th Amendment and the 20th Amendment, having passed them with two-thirds majorities, is ample proof that judicial scrutiny and parliamentary approval alone do not necessarily help make good laws. Ironically, among the staunch proponents of the ATB are some MPs who voted for the aforesaid constitutional amendments; they made volte-face and backed the abolition thereof subsequently!

They are likely to make an about-turn on the proposed anti-terror laws as well when they are relegated to the Opposition, and the boot is on the other foot.

Given the benightedness of most legislators, who have helped pass appallingly bad laws over the years, the advisability of leaving the task of making anti-terror laws entirely to them is in question. Hence the need for the involvement of all stakeholders in the process of introducing vital laws.

One can only hope that Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, who is one of the few learned MPs, will care to take the dissenting views about the ATB on board and effect changes to the Bill instead of presenting it to Parliament, where decisions are taken not on the basis of the merits and demerits of proposed laws, etc., but on the basis of the political interests of strategic alliances. Dr. Rajapaksa has claimed that the opponents of the ATB have not even studied it. This is a sweeping statement, we reckon, but it may hold true for most government politicians, among whom are former chain snatchers, cattle rustlers and bootleggers.

The ATB is fundamentally flawed, and, if passed, will not only help governments suppress democracy in the name of fighting terrorism but also tarnish the country’s image internationally. It has to be ditched forthwith and a new anti-terror law formulated with the concurrence of all stakeholders.

Courtesy:The Island

By
Meera Srinivasan

Despite possessing enviable social indicators at the time of Independence in 1948, Sri Lanka, at 75, is a “failed state”, former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga said on Sunday.

“Seventy-five years is a long time for a nation to achieve considerable progress. Even after 450 years of destruction by colonial rulers, at Independence, Sri Lanka possessed some of the best socio-economic indicators. Today, at 75, Sri Lanka is a failed state,” she said, delivering the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Madanjeet Singh Memorial Lecture of 2023, in an online event, organised by the South Asia Foundation and the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai.

“We are incapable of managing the affairs of the state,” said the 77-year-old former head of state, who hails from one of Sri Lanka’s most powerful political clans.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka After 75 Years of Independence has become a Failed State says Chandrika Kumaratunga;“We are incapable of managing the affairs of the state,” tates the Former Sri Lankan President’ »

By

Meera Srinivasan

In a bid to ensure Sri Lanka’s main political parties do not “take numerical minorities for granted” anymore, Opposition MP Mano Ganesan has recently mooted setting up a “Tamil caucus” in Parliament.

The “caucus”, he said, would allow Tamil legislators to express the “collective desire” of the island’s Tamil speaking peoples. Although Sri Lanka’s Tamils in the north and east, the Malaiyaha Tamils living across Central, Uva, Southern and Western Provinces, and the Tamil-speaking Muslims, may have different aspirations and political aims, their shared desire to live “within an undivided Sri Lanka, sharing wealth and power as combined stake holders of national sovereignty” must be collectively articulated, the leader of the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) said.

“It [the caucus] will help us commence a collective dialogue with all the national political parties, and beyond politicians, reach out to the Sinhala community leaders and organisations; as well as the international community and development partners, and urge them to use their good offices to ensure Sri Lanka stands by its international commitments,” Mr. Ganesan told The Hindu at his Colombo residence. So far, some parties have responded positively, he said.

Continue reading ‘TPA Leader Mano Ganesan Moots Proposal to set up a “Tamil Caucus ‘in Parliament that would Enable Tamil legislators to express the “collective desire” of the island’s Tamil speaking peoples.’ »

By

Dinakar Peri

The construction of a military facility on Coco Islands in Myanmar and a proposed remote satellite receiving ground station system in Sri Lanka, both coming up with Chinese help, have raised concerns in India of possible surveillance across the region.

Recent satellite images show the construction of a military facility on Coco Islands, located very close to India’s Andaman and Nicobar island chain.

In the second case, sources said China has proposed setting up a remote satellite receiving ground station system through a collaborative effort between the Aerospace Information Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of Ruhuna in southern Sri Lanka.

Given its critical location, it can be used to spy on Indian assets and intercept sensitive information and also across the region, sources in the security establishment said.

Continue reading ‘Setting up a remote satellite receiving ground station system in Southern Sri Lanka through a collaborative effort between the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of Ruhuna Raises Security Concerns in India’ »

At the start of the academic year this month, 12th-year students of history and politics at tens of thousands of schools across India returned to a syllabus and textbooks that had been significantly altered. Tweaks are good when they reflect new thinking in a discipline or correct blind spots.

Those overseen by the National Council of Educational Research and Training do not do that. Rather, they reflect the strident vision of nativism, known as Hindutva, adhered to by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (bjp) and its leader, Narendra Modi. Disdaining the actual record, it imagines India as a purely Hindu land.

Consider the abuses of history that flow from this fever dream. It is impossible to understand the Indian story without appreciating the immense role of the Mughal emperors. Invaders from Central Asia, these Muslim dynasts ruled much of India—often illustriously, sometimes with bigotry—from the 16th to the 18th centuries.

India’s built heritage is thick with Mughal work—think of the Taj Mahal and, perhaps sweetest of all, Humayun’s tomb in Delhi. The Mughal administrations employed Hindus in eminent positions. That one-seventh of India’s population of 1.4bn is Muslim today is a Mughal legacy. Yet in Mr Modi’s new textbooks, chapters on the Mughals have been shortened or scrapped.

Key excisions uncovered by the Indian Express newspaper have also been made to the history attending modern India’s birth pangs, among them the assassination of Mohandas Gandhi. Textbooks used to teach that “Gandhi’s steadfast pursuit of Hindu-Muslim unity provoked Hindu extremists so much that they made several attempts to assassinate [him].” It has been cut. So has a description of Gandhi’s assassin, Nathuram Godse, as belonging to the Brahmin caste (an important bjp constituency).

Continue reading ‘“Narendra Modi led BJP Govt Rewrites History in School Textbooks According to the “Hindutva”Vision of Reimagining India as a Purely Hindu land’; Muslim Contribution to India is being Expunged in History Books”-The Economist’ »

By

Ajita Kadirgamar

This article is written on the occasion of Lakshman Kadirgamar’s 91st birth anniversary which falls on 12 April.

With every year that passes and every person in their nineties that departs this earth, we lose precious memories and stories of times gone by. This was made painfully clear to me with the recent passing of Lakshman’s first cousin, YMCA stalwart Alagan S. Kadirgamar, at the age of 93.

I had merely scraped the surface of Alagan’s memory when I interviewed him in 2015, to collect stories about LKs early childhood for the biography ‘The Cake that was Baked at Home’, that I wrote to commemorate LK’s 10th death anniversary.

The cousins first met when Alagan was seven and LK was five, and still sporting long curly, girlish locks. Alagan’s father J.W.A. Kadirgamar was a priest who in 1941 relocated his family from Jaffna to Colombo and eventually further ashore to Seremban, Malaya where he took up the position of pastor at the Tamil Church and the Wesley Methodist Church. How fascinating life must have been for Alagan and his siblings, discovering a new country, mixed cultures, the advent of World War Two and the Japanese occupation. Alagan and family returned to Ceylon in 1946.

Could I have kept my audio recorder going that day to include more of Alagan’s recollections? Certainly, I should have, but I was on a tight deadline to complete LK’s biography. Thus my regrets pile up, particularly where family history is concerned.

Continue reading ‘Lakshman Kadirgamar departed too early, with no lasting legacy penned in his own words, and no narrative whether fact or fiction to sit on library shelves for posterity’ »

(Text of Press Release with President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Message for the April 2023 New Year)

The dawn of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year subsequent to the transition of the Sun from the house of Pisces to Aries, is considered as an extremely momentous occasion by the Sinhala and Tamil communities in the country.

On this propitious celebration, people traditionally engage in observing New Year customs at stipulated auspicious times, with the wish of securing abundant prosperity.

Continue reading ‘“Despite differences in political affiliation, ethnicity and religion, a fresh beginning is imperative to create a brighter future for us and our nation, in this New Year.”-President Ranil Wickremesinghe in his April New Year Message’ »

(Text of Editorial Appearing in “The Island”of 13 April 2023 under the heading “It’s ATB, stupid”)

Government politicians are blindly supporting the proposed anti-terrorism Bill (ATB), which has been put on hold. It is doubtful whether most of them have ever seen the ATB, much less read it. But Foreign Minister and former Justice Minister Ali Sabry, a senior lawyer, has struck a slight discordant note. He has taken exception to some sections of the ATB; the DIGs should not be empowered to issue detention orders, he has said.

One could not agree with him more on this score, but he is being charitable. The Bill is like the proverbial curate’s egg. All it takes to spoil a pot of milk is a smidgeon of cow dung, as they say. The ATB is a pot of milk with more than a dab of dung.

Justice Minister Dr. Wijayadasa Rajapakshe is disappointed that there has been so much resistance to the ATB. Maybe he is genuinely desirous of introducing an alternative to the PTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act) and ensuring that national security is well protected. But where laws are concerned, even well-intentioned ones could have negative effects if any room is left for crafty political leaders to manipulate them. There’s the rub.

Continue reading ‘The Govt ought to abandon the Anti-Terrorism Bill (ATB) and formulate a new law with the help of all stakeholders to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) – “The Island”’ »

By

Kishali Pinto- Jayawardene

If the Executive Presidency was foisted on Sri Lanka by her ‘Old Fox’ President, JR Jayawardene in 1978 tying the country’s constitutional systems up in knots that could not be entangled decades later by far lesser minds, the 2023 Anti-Terrorism Bill under the (parliamentary endorsed) Presidency of Ranil Wickremesinghe promises far greater evils.

A Bill that promises unholy chaos

To be clear, it does so because of its acutely confused contents rather than exceptionally clever clauses. Quite unlike the consummate skill with which the 1978 Constitution was devised, this Bill is replete with internal contradictions. Vague offences overlap into each other, blurring the lines between ‘ordinary’ penal offences and ‘terrorist offences.’ In large part, the same was true of its predecessor, the Wickremesinghe-Sirisena led ‘yahapalanaya’ Government’s Counter-Terror Act (CTA, 2018) in 2018, later withdrawn by that regime.

Ironically, ‘yahapalanaya’ proponents who stayed mum in the face of the CTA (then), have come out fighting against the Bill (now). Hypocrisy, it seems, is not limited to Sri Lankan politicians alone. Regardless, the 2023 adaptation has new features that worsen its impact.This includes bringing in Section 3(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act as a component of the ‘offence of terrorism.

’
This results in a provision hitherto used to arbitrarily lock up dissenters being elevated to the level of a ‘terrorist act,’ as observed in last week’s column spaces. In effect, the Bill precipitates the Department of the Police into a legal ‘no-man’s land.’ It will be difficult if not impossible to distinguish what action, in given circumstances, falls within the definition of conduct prohibited by the normal law and by this new ‘terrorism law.’

Continue reading ‘Clauses 10 and 11 of the 2023 Anti-Terrorism Bill are Clearly aimed at all media Including print, electronic and web-based.’ »

By

Jamila Husain

President Ranil Wickremesinghe will contest the next Presidential Election and has hinted at a possible presidential poll to be held early next year, the Daily Mirror learns.

In a meeting held with minority political party parliamentarians this week, Wickremesinghe informed them that he would contest as a presidential candidate and would call for an election early next year following consultations with the Elections Commission, Treasury and Attorney General.

Wickremesinghe also informed the opposition parliamentarians that the economy was on an upward trend and would improve in the coming months. The President said the country was in a better position when compared to a few months ago and once the economy stabilizes, he would consult all political parties and other parties concerned and call for a presidential poll.

Continue reading ‘President Wickremesinghe States he is not in a rush to Take Opposition MPs into Govt as he has a Comfortable majority in the House; Ranil says Opposition MPs who want to Cross Over must do so voluntarily Without Expecting Portfolios in Return’ »

By Tisaranee Gunasekara

“The main obstacle to the creation of a well-informed public is its own indifference” – I.F. Stone: ‘The Best of I.F. Stone’

When the IMF deal came through, some presidential supporters turned silly and lit crackers. The IMF facility is no panacea. Nor is it the poisoned chalice of the Opposition’s fervid imagination. Irrationality is at the core of these antipodal reactions, more a reflection of our extreme political dysfunction than of any of the IMF conditions.

Sri Lanka’s fast-track from relative solvency to bankruptcy was paved with one irrational step after the other, from gutting the tax base to a rampage of money printing, from organic fertiliser fiasco to hard-pegging the exchange rate. According to Al Jazeera, the adverse consequences of the sweeping tax cuts in Candidate Gotabaya’s manifesto were so obvious the then Government dismissed them as election gimmicks.

They weren’t. Post-victory, the Rajapaksas made tax cuts their first priority. As the Human Rights Watch pointed out in a sane (fact-based) analysis of the IMF deal, “Official corruption and tax rules that benefited the wealthiest were key drivers of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis.”

The 2019 tax cuts also germinated a powerful anti-direct tax movement. Decrying direct taxation is now a ‘progressive’ value and tax cuts a radical left slogan. When the Opposition, state-sector trade unions and professional associations rail against oppressive taxes, they are not referring to VAT but to direct taxes affecting them directly.

So it was not the Opposition but the HRW which highlighted the danger inherent in the governmental pledge to impose VAT on almost all basic food items by 2024. The Opposition has nothing analytical or constructive to say about a new social safety network either, even though it would affect millions of Lankan families for good or ill. Gotabaya Rajapaksa is gone, but Gota-economics is alive and thriving. Come a national election, the Opposition is likely to compete with the SLPP and with each other in offering the most generous tax-cuts to middle classes and the wealthy.

Continue reading ‘Repealing the PTA is an urgent need. Unfortunately, the anti-terror law the Government intends as its replacement contains within it even greater potential for abuse.’ »

By

Jamila Husain

The opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya is in a quandary following the Daily Mirror article tilted “Sajith loses grip on a dying SJB?” which was published on April 4, 2023 in its newspaper and online platform. While MPs such as Harsha De Silva, Eran Wickremaratne and even Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa himself were quick to take to social media, criticizing the Daily Mirror, there were many MPs within the party who agreed on its contents and wanted an actual change following the publication of the article.

Yesterday, senior MP Rajitha Senaratne at a media briefing said several SJB MPs were willing to support President Ranil Wickremesinghe and they will do so as a group.

Senaratne said MPs such as Harsha de Silva were willing to support President Wickremesinghe no matter what anyone says and further said that many MPs want to work with the President but were a bit reluctant to contest an election with him.

Continue reading ‘Samagi Jana Balawegaya Leader Sajith Premadasa Meets Party MPs and Tells them that he has heard a group of MPs including Harsha de Silva are talking to the President and Urges them to Stay Together in the SJB’ »

By
Jamila Husain

In a desperate attempt to keep the main opposition – the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) alive, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa invited all SJB Parliamentarians to dinner at the Monarch Imperial in Battaramulla last evening in order to coax them into remaining in the party which is now on the verge of collapse.

Senior SJB members who attended the dinner told Daily Mirror that amidst the drinks and food which was hosted by Premadasa, there was also a plea made by him to the MPs to remain in the party and discussed its future.

Premadasa’s latest desperate attempt to keep the SJB alive comes at a time when three of its most senior MPs – Harsha De Silva, Kabeer Hashim and Eran Wickramaratne are in talks with President Ranil Wickremesinghe to join the government as the three have supported the President’s present economic policies, a senior political source close to both camps said.

Infact, it is reliably learned that Harsha is likely to be appointed as the Minister of Policy Implementation if he agrees, in a cabinet reshuffle which is expected soon with some functions of the Finance Ministry being brought under this new portfolio.

Continue reading ‘Sajith Premadasa Tries Desperately to Keep Samagi Jana Balawegaya(SJB) Intact as many Party MPs Engage in Discussions With the Intention of Crossing Over to President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Government’ »

By

Kishali Pinto – Jayawardene

Will the booing of Ministers by disgruntled voters run the risk of being classified as an ‘act of terrorism’ under the Anti-Terrorism Bill recently gazetted by the Sri Lankan Government?

Clever Presidential sidestepping and public anger

Can that be construed within the Bill’s prohibition of ‘wrongfully or unlawfully compelling’ the Government ‘to do or abstain from doing any act,’ ie; for example, restraining Ministers from performing ‘lawful acts’? Or could that come within the ambit of ‘unlawfully preventing the Government from functioning’? The risk is high if the ‘act’ in question is combined with ‘causing serious damage to property’ as the Bill ambiguously specifies.

What is ‘serious’ of course, is anybody’s guess. The surging crowds who invaded state buildings last year and toppled a sitting President, a Prime Minister and his Cabinet from office would collectively have been, in one fell swoop, guilty of ‘terrorist acts’ if this terrifying Bill had been law then.

As President Ranil Wickremesinghe holds forth ad nauseam, these impertinent invaders ‘damaged’ historic state property and spirited away valuable paintings.But no exact evidence is forthcoming, at least in the public domain, of the ‘damage’ so alleged.

The President’s explanations moreover rarely include mention of the attacks on peaceful protestors at the Galle Face Green last year by baton wielding ruffians led by two Minister-loyalists of former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who still remain at liberty.

Continue reading ‘If the Anti-Terrorism Bill passes the seal of Parliament as currently framed, Sri Lanka will pass from a de facto police state to a de jure police state. The political consensus must be to reject the Anti-Terrorism Bill wholesale.’ »

By

C.Narayanaswamy

(The writer is formerly of the Ceylon Civil Service and Retired Senior Professional of the Asian Development Bank)

The recent visit to Jaffna, after several years of forbidden travel due to the pandemic, provided an opportunity to revisit areas of interest and observe the changes, including positive and negative developments, in both the economic and social fronts. It was a quick visit and unexpectedly the timing of the visit coincided with the visit of the President who declared open the Jaffna Cultural Centre on 11 February 2023. The festive atmosphere that prevailed on that day was combined with a subdued celebration of the 75th anniversary of Sri Lanka’s Independence. The atmosphere signified that Jaffna is slowly emerging from the isolation that kept its charms hidden.

Economic Activities

The war-torn city of Jaffna is coming back to life after almost three decades and three years of the pandemic while struggling to cope with day-to-day cost of living pressures and erosion of well entrenched societal values. One could witness the disappearance of bullet marked buildings which are being renovated with remittances received from overseas.

The end of the war saw significant road development initiatives sponsored by the central government. This resulted in paved roads including the major artery-A9-and other pivotal highways that connect Kankesanthurai, Palaly and Point Pedro. Unfortunately, some areas did not benefit from this uneven development. For example, the road leading to some of the main Islands like Velanai,Pungudutivu and Nainathivu is in a dire state requiring immediate attention. There could be similar situations elsewhere not traversed by the author.

Renovation of old houses and temples, and establishment of small businesses appear to have occurred during the pandemic. The emergence of supermarkets combined with a surfeit of wedding halls give the impression that there was money circulating in the community despite lack of evidence of enhanced economic activity-remittances from abroad have been used to reconstruct damaged houses and buildings as well as invest in some less productive ventures. Anecdotal evidence suggests that most of the wedding halls will soon be white elephants!

While construction activities proceeded on a small scale with private funding, public places like the Jaffna market and Tinnevely market areas remained largely untouched. Except for the cleaning up and beautification of Aryakulam and its environs with a benefactor’s contribution, the Jaffna Municipal Council does not appear to have initiated any significant renovation and refurbishment work in public areas. The development of the Aryakulam area into a place of both historical and touristic attraction is a welcome move, but may require further investments to enhance its potential.

Continue reading ‘Is Jaffna booming, blooming or busting is the question that arises in the minds of those familiar with Jaffna’s heritage, historical background, culture and socioeconomic development patterns.’ »

(Full Text of statement delivered by President Ranil Wickremesinghe in Parliament on 22 March 2023 following the agreement with the IMF. Press Release Issued by the Presidents Media Division on 22nd March 2023)

I wish to officially inform this august Assembly that we have been able to secure the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Full control over public finance has been vested in Parliament through the Constitution. Therefore, while tabling the IMF Agreement today, I wish to make my first official statement before Parliament regarding the EFF Sri Lanka has received.

On the 9th of July last year, I took over a country that was on fire. A country that was in chaos. A country that seemed to be without an iota of hope for the future. A country that had officially declared itself bankrupt. A country where inflation had risen to 73.7%. A country where people suffered for days in queues for fuel and gas. A country with schools closed. A country where ten or twelve hour power cuts were imposed. A country without fertilizer hampering cultivation by farmers. A country where anarchy prevailed in place of law and order. A country where outsiders had forcefully entered public buildings and were in occupation. A country where mob attacks were widespread. A country where homes of opponents were set ablaze. A country where people were assassinated on roads in broad daylight.

No one was willing to accept responsibilities in such an environment. Some were reluctant. Some asked for time to check their horoscopes. Some sneaked away. Some panicked. I was requested to take over the country at a time when nobody came forward to shoulder that responsibility.

I unconditionally accepted the challenge. I had no power in Parliament. I had no Members of Parliament from my Party to call my own. Even though I had none of these, I had just one strength. This was only my own conviction that I am capable of rebuilding my country. I had numerous experiences to support this conviction of mine.

In 2001 the economy of the country experienced a minus growth rate. However, I was able to shift the economy of the country to the right track, within a period of less than two years from the time I took over governance. At that juncture, I was able to secure aid worth 4 billion US$ through the Tokyo aid summit. Unfortunately, that aid was not properly utilized by those who took over governance subsequently.

In the same manner, when I took over the economy in 2015, it was in a weak state. But we were able to achieve a surplus in the budget primary balance by 2018. We also took action to increase salaries by approximately 106% while extending various other relief measures.

I only had the confidence gained from previous experiences when I accepted this serious challenge. I accepted the challenge with the conviction that even if I failed, the country would not.

Continue reading ‘“I had no power in Parliament. I had no MPs from my Party to call my own. Even though I had none of these, I had just one strength. This was my conviction that I was capable of rebuilding my country. I accepted the challenge with the conviction that even if I failed, the country would not.”- President Ranil Wickremesinghe’ »

By

Mahesh Langa

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was sentenced to two years imprisonment by a local court in Gujarat’s Surat on March 23, 3023, in a criminal defamation case filed against him over his remark on the “Modi surname” that he had allegedly made during campaigning for 2019 parliamentary polls. He was granted bail.

The sessions court in Surat soon suspended the sentence for 30 days, so that Mr. Gandhi can appeal in a higher court. The court has given bail to him on ₹10,000 bond.
02:01

Mr. Gandhi was present at the court when the judge passed the verdict.

Continue reading ‘Rahul Gandhi Sentenced to Two Years Imprisonment and Granted Bail in Criminal Defamation case by Courts in Surat,Gujerat;Alleged to have said ““How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?” in 2019 Election Meeting’ »

By Krishantha Prasad Cooray

The season of big-matches is upon us. These cricket encounters are big for the respective schools, not for others. In fact as far as the particular schools are concerned they are huge. It’s THE event of the year.

Today there are big-matches in all parts of Sri Lanka, so many that few can escape them for the spectacle is not contained by the walls of the schools. It not only spills over to the streets but climb over the walls of other schools as well. Well, the girls’ schools at least.

For history and spectacle, however, it can be argued that no match comes even close to the Royal-Thomian encounter. Royal College and St Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia have played this annual encounter for over 140 consecutive years. That’s including the war years and the period of Covid-19 related lockdowns.

All good fun for the most part. And so, over the years we have come to expect phrases such as ‘Big Match Fever,’ and ‘Mad March Days.’ Today, several decades after leaving St Thomas’ I feel that it’s not a disease; the Big Match, the Battle of the Blues that is, is a healer. There’s nothing ‘mad’ about March; the Big Match provides sanity in a world of routine and grind marked by chaos, uncertainty and drudgery.

For me, like for countless Royalists and Thomians, the Roy-Tho is not only the oldest continuously played cricket series in the world but an extraordinary carnival that adds value to comradeship and friendship.

Continue reading ‘The Royal-Thomian is here Again! Let the “Big Match”healing Begin.“We were so much younger then, and we can only be as young again on the three days in March when we attend the Royal Thomian.’’ »

By

Meera Srinivasan

The main ask — and the most popular chant — of the ‘Janatha Aragalaya’ [people’s struggle] witnessed in Sri Lanka last year was “Gota go home”. Scores of angry citizens, who took to the streets to protest acute shortages of essentials and long power cuts, squarely blamed the country’s most powerful leader for their misery. They deemed the former military man unfit to govern or occupy the country’s top office, and ousted him dramatically.

At the same time, some who were part of the protest movement confronted another question. Will the mere ousting of a failed President do, if ‘system change’ is what the country needs? What if another leader in his place resorts to destructive policy choices, such as Mr. Gotabaya’s overnight ban on agrochemicals in 2021, that continues to hurt farmers and the country’s annual crop yield? An impulsive leader wasn’t the only problem, they concluded. The office of the executive president, which bestows unchecked powers on one individual, was as much, if not more of a problem.

The Executive Presidency system came under focus, and the call to abolish it emerged loud and clear and dominated public discourse for a while.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka has debated the need to abolish the All Powerful executive presidency for decades but Country is yet to find a leader who is ready to renounce this power’ »

By

Meera Srinivasan

Early February, a group of saffron-clad Buddhist monks gathered near the Sri Lankan Parliament and burnt a copy of the 13th Amendment. They were registering their rage and protest after President Ranil Wickremesinghe vowed to implement the law in full. He had told an all-party conference that it was his “responsibility” as the Executive to carry out the current law.

“For approximately 37 years, the 13th Amendment has been a part of the Constitution. I must implement or someone has to abolish it…,” he said. The monks resisted it, despite Mr. Wickremesinghe stressing he was “not ready to divide the country at all” and would not “betray the Sinhalese nation”.

An unfulfilled promise

Neither the pledge made by President Wickremesinghe nor the monks’ reaction is new to Sri Lankans. Past presidents, including Mahinda Rajapaksa, have made the same promise more than once. Monks and other reactionary groups similarly agitated then too.

At the same time, Sri Lankan Tamils, who continue to demand equality, dignity, and the right to self-determination, do not know what it might look like, when the promise is indeed kept. Despite power devolution being enshrined in the Constitution for nearly four decades — it was an outcome of the Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987 — they have never seen the piece of legislation being implemented in letter and spirit till date.

Continue reading ‘After decades of relentless agitations, and an armed struggle, Sri Lanka’s war-affected Tamil community in the north and east are still demanding justice, equality, and dignity. And the long-pending political solution remains elusive’ »

By

Suhasini Haidar

Colombo sees the Adani projects in Sri Lanka as a “government to government kind of deal”, said Sri Lankan Foreign Minister MUM Ali Sabry, as it was the Indian government that had identified the Adani group for infrastructure projects including Northern Sri Lanka wind power project.

Stressing that his government is “very very confident” that Adani Ports, Airports and Energy companies have strong fundamentals despite the $140 billion drop in share values after the publication of a negative report by US short seller Hindenburg, Mr. Sabry said that the Adani group has already begun investing in its projects, which also include the $700 million Colombo West Container Port project.

“So, we are not panicking,” Mr. Sabry told The Hindu.

in an interview in New Delhi where he met with External Affairs Minister S.Jaishankar and participated in the MEA’s Raisina Dialogue conference. Mr. Sabry said Sri Lanka is grateful for India’s assistance with the economic crisis, and hope for more Indian investment in the next phase of its economic recovery, once it is able to receive a $290 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund, scheduled to meet next month.

The Adani wind power project had come into controversy last year when the chairman of state-owned power entity Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) MMC Ferdinando had told a parliamentary panel that it was granted on the basis of a request from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to then Sri Lankan President Gothabaya Rajapakse. Mr. Ferdinando subsequently retracted his statement and resigned from the post.

Excerpts from interview

Sri Lanka’s economic recovery, trade, investment and the development partnership were at the top of the agenda as Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry met with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Delhi on March 4. Speaking to The Hindu earlier, the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister said that his government’s focus is on the IMF bailout package expected to be decided at the Spring Session in April, for which China’s written assurances are still needed. He also said that despite the company’s recent troubles, he is confident that the Adani group will complete its projects in Sri Lanka, which were negotiated as “government to government” deals.

You last dealt with New Delhi as Finance Minister. How much has your focus shifted as Foreign Minister, and what [was] on the agenda for talks with EAM Jaishankar?

Continue reading ‘Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali sabry is Confident that India’s Adani Group’s Current Financial Crisis will not Affect Its Envisaged Projects in Sri Lanka- Interview with Suhasini Haidar of “the Hindu”.’ »

(Text of Press Release Issued by the President’s Media Division on March 7th 2023)

President Ranil Wickremesinghe, announced to Parliament that he had received a financial assurance letter from the Exim Bank of China last night and the letter of agreement, which he signed with the Governor of the Central Bank, had been sent to the International Monetary Fund.

Accordingly, the President stated that he has completed his obligation to the country and anticipates that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will fulfil its responsibility prior to the end of this month.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe said this delivering a special statement in Parliament this morning (07) to provide an update on Sri Lanka’s current economic situation and the progress made with the IMF’s assistance to the country.

Furthermore, the President cautioned that if the on-going program implemented by the Government is disrupted, the country could be pushed to an even more perilous state than it was in February and March of 2022.

Following is the full speech delivered in Parliament by President Ranil Wickremesinghe;

In mid-March 2022, the Government decided to seek the assistance of the IMF as a positive solution to Sri Lanka’s economic crisis. When the foreign exchange crisis worsened thereafter, in mid-April 2022, it was declared that it was impossible to pay the country’s foreign debt.

Since then, Sri Lanka has operated as a bankrupt economy. All of you in this country have experienced its negative impact. By mid-2022, this country has experienced many problems such as fuel queues, gas queues, electricity cuts, food shortages, difficulties in procuring medicines, inflation, depreciating rupee, and increasing poverty. It is a fact which everyone accepts that the country has never experienced such a catastrophic situation in modern history.

The economic problems that existed since June 2022 have gradually been resolved to some extent. Due to the provision of fertilizer, we achieved a good harvest last year during the Yala and Maha seasons. The export of agricultural products also returned to normalcy.

Continue reading ‘“The agreement with the IMF is of special importance to restore our economy.I invite the Opposition to join us in this endeavour of stabilizing the country’s economy. After accomplishing this, we can decide on holding the presidential election and general election. The country would take this decision.” -President Wickremesinghe in Special Statement to Parliament’ »

By

Ranga Jayasuriya

After a one-day token strike last week, which achieved nothing other than inconveniencing hapless patients in the government hospitals and holding up several ships at the Colombo port, the government trade unions threatened to go on an island-wide from tomorrow (March 8).

If the question concerns any moral justification for the threatened union action, the answer is ‘nothing’.

Championed by the better-remunerated sections of the government service, hence their opposition to the new tax code, the protest action is also self-seeking, opportunistic and hypocritical.

The main grudge of the trade unions is the government’s new income tax reforms, which were endorsed by the IMF last week as the right thing to do to address the long-standing crisis in public finances and invoke confidence in the creditors. The new tax code, a progressive tax system, lowered the taxable threshold to Rs. 100,000 per month and levied an incremental tax at 6% for each additional earning of 500,000 per annum. The maximum tax rate is 36%. That would still apply to only the highest 10% of the country’s salary earners. An employee who earns a monthly salary of Rs 150,000 ( with the first Rs. 100,000 non-taxable) would pay only 2.3% of taxable income, but the rate increases to 28% for someone who earns a monthly salary of One million.

The government unions have demanded that the taxable threshold be increased to Rs. 200,000 a month, and the maximum tax rate be lowered to 24%. The real motive of the latter demand is to save income from the private practice of government doctors.

Workers of CEB and CPC, two colossally loss-making institutions, were roped into the protest after the SOEs were instructed to discontinue paying the PAY taxes on behalf of the employees.

Later, slogans such as the high cost of living increased electricity tariff and shortage of medicine in the hospitals were inducted to make the protest campaign palatable to the majority of lesser-earning peers.

Continue reading ‘Threats of an indefinite strike betray a sinister intent to destabilize the country as it slowly but steadily lifts itself up from the nadir of the worst economic crisis.A govt worth its salt should ensure that would not happen, not for its political preservation, but for the preservation of the country.’ »

By
Nisthar Cassim

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) on Friday declared it was ready for the $ 2.9 billion four-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) Program of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) having completed all due prior actions.

“We have done all prior actions required and we stand ready for the IMF program,” CBSL Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe told journalists following the Monetary Policy Review meeting on Friday at which policy rates were increased by 1%.

The CBSL as well as the Government expects the IMF Executive Board to approve the Sri Lanka program in the next few weeks.

Previously, President and Finance Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament that on its part the Government completed its 15 prior actions with the upward revision of electricity tariff on 15 February.

Continue reading ‘“We have done all prior actions required and we stand ready for the IMF program,” says Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe; CBSLand Govt expects the IMF Executive Board to approve the Sri Lanka program in the next few weeks.’ »

By

Mirudhula Thambiah

Although Opposition political parties stated on 5 March in a letter to the Election Commission (EC) that they do not see any reason for the EC to consult Secretary to the Treasury and Finance Ministry Mahinda Siriwardana or anyone else, now that the EC are bound to comply with the interim order issued by the Supreme Court (SC), EC Chairman Attorney Nimal G. Punchihewa said yesterday (6) that he will meet Siriwardana today (7) since the consultation is important as it is the Treasury that releases the needed allocations to conduct the Local Government (LG) Poll.

When queried by The Daily Morning with regard to the letter of the Opposition and the above stance, Punchihewa further said: “You cannot refrain from consulting the Treasury. It is only they who provide the necessary funds. If we don’t consult them and they refrain from providing funds, we will have to go to the SC again and follow that procedure. Therefore, we need to discuss with the relevant parties when carrying on with it.”

He also noted that political parties can make different statements according to their political opinions and goals, but that the EC has a way of dealing with matters and would therefore, follow such procedures.

Continue reading ‘Election Commission Chairman Nimal Punchihewa to Consult Treasury Secretary about Holding Local Govt Polls Despite Opposition Party Demand that Elections Should be Held Before March 19 Without Consulting Treasury Secy’ »

By
Dr.Sujata Gamage

The feeble attempts by the Election Commission (EC) in face of resistance from the Government to hold local elections and the awkward missteps that followed have brought two critical issues to the fore.

What are limits to the independence of independent commissions? Did the EC overestimate its independence and act unilaterally?

Has the Parliament shirked in its duty as per Article 158 where it states that the Parliament shall have full control over public finance?

There is an uproar in the media and on the streets by the opposition, trade unions, and others demanding the holding of local elections. The EC has maintained that despite claims of no money by the executive there are indeed ways of managing the money.

They have gone to the Supreme Court assuring that they will hold the election according to the law. Missing in this conversation is the main actor, the Parliament, the ultimate authority in fiscal matters and to which the EC is ultimately accountable.

EC has been going back and forth to the SC and the media, but not reported to the Parliament the fiscal situation communicated by the Executive. How correct is that?

Continue reading ‘“The opposition should be in Parliament checking on the President’s claim that there is no money for elections, not creating havoc in the streets demanding an election.”’ »

By

Meera Srinivasan

Sri Lanka’s northern fishermen on Sunday said they “fiercely oppose” the government’s plan to issue licences to Indian fishermen to enter Sri Lankan waters, terming the move a “serious setback” to their nearly 15-year-long struggle.

On February 22, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry told Parliament that authorities were looking into possibly issuing licences to Indian fishermen, as part of Sri Lanka’s efforts to find a solution to the long-persisting fisheries conflict, through “cordial” bilateral talks.

“This was discussed this with Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar…Sri Lanka’s priority is to safeguard fishermen’s livelihoods, the country’s marine resources, and find a long-term solution…India has proposed this licensing system as a solution, and we are holding discussions on it,” he said, adding that such a system would help Indian authorities better regulate their fishermen, and will also bring in money that could be used for Sri Lankan fishermen’s betterment. About “2,000 to 3,000 [Indian trawlers] come to our seas every day and our Navy is unable to control that,” Mr. Sabry further noted.

The Minister’s remarks have sparked serious concern among northern fishermen, said Annalingam Annarasa, who leads a Jaffna-based fishermen’s association. “We are very worried, this will be a serious setback to our struggle for the last 15 years to stop Indian trawlers from entering our seas,” he told The Hindu. “Moreover, some political actors are trying to turn fishermen of our two countries against each other, using this problem. We need an urgent solution to this.”

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka’s Northern Fishermen “Fiercely Oppose” the Plan to Issue Licenses to Indian Fishermen to Enter and Fish Freely in Sri Lankan Waters; Govt move is condemned as a “Great Betrayal”’ »

By

Kishali Pinto-Jayawardene

When the President of Sri Lanka pronounces weightily that a change in political power can take place only through a parliamentary process and not as a result of street protests, a delicious irony is quickly manifested.

The poisoned chalice of the Presidency

In other words, Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe’s ascent as head of State, despite being unable to retain his parliamentary seat, was precisely as a result of the protests that he now disparages. Whether this led to an actual ‘change’ in Government or not, is to quibble over words. Many would say that the same old corrupt faces remained in power, their privileges and
positions intact.

Even so, the (uncomfortable) fact of the matter is that the President’s ‘elevation’ was directly due to the upsurge of popular anger which led to former President Gotabhaya Rajapakse fleeing the shores of this land. Taken in conjunction with a peculiar constitutional quirk that is unique to Sri Lanka’s political system, the incumbent was catapulted to the most powerful position in the land.

So, much like that beloved Danish fable regarding the Emperor’s invisible clothes which required a bewildered child to point to the truth while fawning courtiers lied about how magnificent he looked, it is mystifying as to why and how such assertions are made. Or does the seat of the Presidency come with a poisoned chalice which reduces its occupants to gibbering simpletons?

Continue reading ‘“What is sown now, will soon come to be reaped as a bitter citizenry reacts with uncontrollable anger against the political establishment.It is a myth, much like the Emperor’s new clothes, to think that this anger can be controlled by state force.”’ »

By

Rajasinghe

Tourism is the ‘low-hanging fruit’ of the Sri Lankan economy. It has had bipartisan support from both J.R. Jayewardene (JRJ) and Sirima Bandaranaike (Mrs. B). Now even the National People’s Power (NPP) under Anura Kumara Dissanayake has pledged to support it as said in its meeting with the business community.

After all, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) General Secretary Tilvin Silva began his career as a hotel employee. However, by trying to form unions of hotel workers in a trade which is already overpaid with service charges, etc., the JVP will have difficulties in persuading the hotel sector to believe it.

‘Made by God for tourism’

As Arthur C. Clarke used to say, Sri Lanka is made by God for tourism. With its wide sandy beaches, large swaths of sea, ever-changing scenery from the beaches to the highlands, year-round favourable climatic conditions of alternate monsoon seasons, varied wildlife, cultural diversity, and a hospitable population – the Sri Lankan smile, and being in an advantageous position as a long-haul destination with much less flying time when compared with Bali and Thailand, it is a resource which can only be destroyed if politicians and their jackass nominees interfere as they usually tend to do.

Fortunately, in the early days of tourism, the Government did not meddle in its affairs. JRJ appointed as Chairman of the Tourist Board Chandra Soysa, an accountant, who had extensive contacts with Germany, which was a target catchment area.

Mrs. B appointed Dharmasiri Senanayake, who was a communist who enjoyed living like a capitalist.

Senanayake got on with the private sector like a house on fire and we were doubling tourist traffic every year till 1983 when the communal riots ended that bull run.

So many ventures already on the drawing boards were abandoned and trained staff who left our shores were snapped up by hotels and airlines particularly of the Middle East.

Competing destinations, particularly the Maldives, benefitted from our communal insanity. Fortunately, our leading companies invested in the Maldives, which helped them to survive the self-created losses in their home base.

Continue reading ‘Rajapaksa First Cousin Udayanga Weeratunga has emerged as the saviour of our tourism at a difficult time by bringing thousands of tourists from Russia and Ukraine’ »

By
Meera Srinivasan

The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka on Friday issued an interim order restraining authorities from withholding funds allocated for the local government election, which was earlier scheduled for March 9, but postponed.

The order, preventing state functionaries including the Secretary to the Finance Ministry and the Attorney General from withholding funds, was issued after the apex court heard a petition filed by the main Opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB or United People’s Force) general secretary and legislator Ranjith Madduma Bandara.
The Election commission, which had postponed the elections citing the “lack of funds”, on Friday said it would announce a new date by early next week.

Commenting on the development, Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa said in a tweet: “The historic order of the Supreme Court today on an application made by the SJB General Secretary confirms the fact that democracy in Sri Lanka is very much alive & the independence of our noble judiciary is further reaffirmed. Mr. President, let the voices of the masses be heard.”

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court issues interim order restraining authorities Including Finance Ministry Secy and Attorney-General from withholding funds allocated for holding the local govt election which was earlier scheduled for March 9.’ »

By

Col R.Hariharan

February ended as a month of discontent for the public after the government raised power tariffs for a second time on February 15. It was said to be the last of 15 conditions to be met for the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of $2.9 billion. But the uncertainties over the EFF are not over as the IMF is yet to receive assurance from China as India and the Paris Club have done. China has offered only a two-year moratorium on its debts.

Opposition SJB MP and economist Dr Harsha De Silva, while strongly condemning the raising of power tariffs for a second time, said Sri Lanka could technically still receive IMF support. He said it can be done through Lending into Official Arrears Policy (LOAP) with support from the US, if 50% of debtors have agreed to restructure their facilities. He suggested that if loans from the China Development Bank can be moved under commercial loans instead of bilateral loans, this could be achieved.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe speaking at various forums has focused on economic recovery. While addressing a Rotary gathering on February 18, he emphasised the importance of economic recovery and improving citizens quality of life. He said democracy depends on the maintenance of public order which requires law and order. Following the country’s economic recovery, next year it would be able to decide on the future it wants, with the use of the ballot (italics added), clearly indicating he was against the LG election.

Addressing Tax Forum 2023 on February 21, he strongly defended the current tax policy, as a rescue operation and not a normal tax policy. If the policy is disrupted, Sri Lanka will not be able to join the IMF programme and lose the opportunity to do business with foreign countries.

Continue reading ‘“The President is applying his masterly skills at obfuscation to handle questions on the long overdue LG elections.If there is an award for obfuscation in politics, President Wickremesinghe will win a platinum award.”’ »

Former Trade Unionist and President’s Trade Union Director General Saman Ratnapriya has declared yesterday’s trade union strike action a failure. Holding a press conference, Ratnapriya said as a trade unionist he is dismayed by it as in the past he was part of trade union actions that were successful. “However, we carried out these strikes when it was needed and when it was possible to obtain our demands,” he said.

Ratnapriya claimed that not even 5% of the health sector staff joined in the strike action and not a single postal worker joined in either. “They claimed they would wear black and put-up black flags in schools, but I did not witness any such occurrence,” he said. Ratnapriya said all services carried on as usual across all sectors despite the strike action.

However, trade unions across various sectors including ports, railways, power and energy, health, banking, education and telecommunications were seen taking part in mass protests and demonstrations across the country yesterday citing several demands including the reversal of the Government’s new tax regime, increased banking interest rates and the failure of the Government to increase salaries and allowances in the current crisis situation.

Continue reading ‘President’s Trade Union Director General Saman Ratnapriya says strike action was a failure but Trade Unions Threaten to launch a continuous strike action across all sectors after 8 March if Govt. fails to respond to their demands.’ »

By Tisaranee Gunasekara

It could have happened.

Wislawa Szymborska (Could Have)

Once upon a time, a tryst was announced for angry masses to inundate Colombo and boot the government out. “We will occupy public places and begin the great satyagraha to send this government home,” an organiser proclaimed. “We will come home after we’ve installed our government again.”

No that was not April, May or July 9, 2022. That was September 5, 2018. The battle-cry belonged not to an Aragalaya activist but to parliamentarian Pavithra Wanniarachchi. The event was not Gota-go-home, but Rajapaksa-led Joint Opposition’s Janabalaya Colombata (Peoples Power to Colombo). Fearing street battles between millions of Rajapaksa supporters and the police, Colombo shut-down early. “Peoples’ Power has started the Colombo invasion,” a pro-Rajapaksa website crowed.

The Government, though worried, decided to do nothing. No curfews, judicial orders, riot police, tear gas, or water cannon; no arrests, no one injured, no lives lost. The protestors were given a free run. Instead of millions, a few thousand turned up. Having created more work for CMC/Abans cleaning crews, those who were bussed to Colombo left at nightfall. Organisers were compelled to cancel plans to ‘occupy’ downtown Colombo till whenever.

Mass upheavals often take revolutionary parties, organisations, and activists by surprise. That is the lesson from French and Russian revolutions to Arab Spring and Lanka’s recent Aragalaya. When people reach the breaking point, when they bypass politicians and take politics into their angry hands, they cannot be stopped, not without a bloodbath. But the breaking point must be reached and felt, all hope of better times gone.

Had Gotabaya Rajapaksa introduced the QR system in May 2020, he would still be president. If Ranil Wickremesinghe didn’t end the fuel queues, he would’ve been out by December.

Continue reading ‘Clearly we are living in a Sinhala-Buddhist Iran with saffron-robed Ayatollahs deciding how we live. If a govt’s right to policymaking ends on the edge of an upraised saffron robe, why bother with elections or parliament?’ »