Madyawediya

Courtesy Hiru

C. Wijeyawikcrema, B.A. (Hons.), LL.B., M.A., Ph.D.

වෙස්වලාගත් භාග්‍යයක් (crisis & opportunity)

කතානායකතුමාට (ව) ඇන්දවීම
Posted on November 25th, 2024

ඉහතින් සඳහන් කෙටි ලිපිය ලියා සති තුනක් යාමටත් පෙර මෙවැනි අළුත් මාතෘකාවකින් කථානායක රන්වලගේ ජවනිකාව ගැන ලියන්නට සිදුවේ යයි මා හීනෙන්වත් සිතුවේ නැත. ඔහු වංචාවක් කලාද නැද්දට වඩා වැදගත් වන කරුණු රාශියක් ඒ මඟින් මතුවිය. මෙහිදී මට මතක් වන්නේ චන්ද්‍රිකා තම උපාධි සහතිකය නිවසට ආ හිතවතාට පෙන්වන්නට එය ගේන්නට උඩ තට්ටුවට ගොස් ප්‍රමාදවන විට පහල සිටි ඇගේ සැමියා, නැති සහතික හොයන්නේ නැතිව පහලට එන්නැයි කිව්වා යයි යාළුවෙක් මට කී කතාවය. එහෙත් රන්වල හරහා එලිවන වෙනත් කාරණා කොසොල් රජතුමා දුටු හීන දාසැය සිහිපත් කරවන්නේය.  අනුර කුමාර ආණ්ඩුව විසින් මෙම උපාධි අර්බුදය කොටි වලිගයක් කරගන්නවා වෙනුවට එය තම පක්ෂ සාමාජිකයින්ගේ දුර්වලකම් (ලෝභ-ද්වේෂ-මෝහ) අඩුකර ගැනීමට ලැබුණු අවස්ථාවක් ලෙස සළකා ක්‍රියා කල යුතුය. යම් දේශපාලකයෙක් ඓතිහාසික රාජ්‍ය නායකයෙක් වන්නේ එසේය (from politician to a statesman).

අධ්‍යාත්මය (හෘදශාක්ෂිය)–à JVP–à npp

අනුර කුමාරලාගේ (jvp) හෘදය ශාක්ෂිය ගැන යලි යලිත් ප්‍රශ්ණ කලේ නාගානන්ද කොඩිතුවක්කුය. ජනතා  විමුක්ති පෙරමුණට (jvp) යාහැකි මඟ-part 1 (20/11/2023), ජාතික විමුක්ති පෙරමුණ හා සිංහල බුද්ධාගම (jvp &Buddhism) – part 2 (2/12/2023) යනුවෙන් ලිපි දෙකක් මා අනුර කුමාරට හා පක්ෂයට යැවූවේ jvp විසින් මාලිමාවට අධ්‍යාත්මය සපයනවා යයි අනුර කුමාර කල ප්‍රකාශ හා එක්තරා භික්ෂු සංවිධානයක් ඔවුන්ට සෙත් පිරිත් කියමින් රටවටේ යාමද නිසාය. 1935 සිටම අඩුවැඩි වශයෙන් රටපුරා වෛරය වැපුරූ මාක්ස්වාදී කළු සුද්දන් වෙනුවට 2024 වනවිට මෛත්‍රීයෙන් පිරිණු හෘදය ශාක්ෂියක් පිළිඹද විශ්වාසයක් අනුර කුමාර චන්දදායකයින් තුල ගොඩනගා ගත්තේය. මෙම හෘදය ශාක්ෂිය පළුදු කර ගැනීම ඔහු කර නොගත යුතුය,

වික්ටර් අයිවන්, ලයනල් බෝපගේ, නන්දන වීරරත්න, සුනන්ද දේශප්‍රිය යනාදීන් විසින් දැන් වයස ගියවිට කරණ පාපෝච්චාරණ අනුව බලනවිට, 1971 අප්‍රේල් jvp කැරැල්ල ගැන 1971 දෙසැම්බර් මාසයේදී මගේ වයස 25 දී මා දැරු අදහස් කෙතරම් යථාර්ථවාදීද කියා මට සිතේ. 1971 හා 1987-90 කාලයේ JVP ට උපකාර කල ප්‍රින්ස් ගුණසේකර මහතා දරා තිබෙන්නේ ද මෙවැනිම අදහසක් (ආයුධ අතට නොගන්නා ලෙස) බව මා දැනගත්තේ අදය (RNK ලංඩන් TALKS).  දිලිත් ජයවීර හැරෙනවිට අනිත් විරුද්ධ පක්ෂ මන්ත්‍රීන් අවලංගු කාසිය. එහෙත් ආණ්ඩුවේ මන්ත්‍රීන් 159 දෙනා ඉගෙන ගත යුතු පාඩම් බොහෝය. (NPP JVP අධිමානය- ලයනල් බෝපගේ, සාලිය ගලප්පත්ති සමඟ කල සාකච්චාව, විශ්ව වාහිනී TV 20/3/2024; දේශප්‍රිය, සන්නස්ගල සමඟ කල සාකච්චාව).

ඩෝබිලා හා දායක සභා

රසික ජයකොඩි දේශපාලකයින්ගේ විනාශයට හේතුවන කරුණු දෙකක් සඳහන් කලේය. එකක් නම් බලය ලැබුණු විට ඇතිවන උද්දච්ච කමය. අනික නම් ඔවුන් වටකරගෙන ඉන්නා මැටි මොල් රැලය. මොවුන් ඩෝබිලා හෝ දායක සභා හෝ විය හැකිය. ඩෝබිලා කරන්නේ  උදාහරණයක් වශයෙන්, ආරම්භයේදී රන්වලට කඩේ ගොස්, රෙදි සෝදා ඉන් පසු ඔහු අමාරුවේ වැටුණ විට ඔහුට අවාසිවන ලෙස රෙද්දේ අනිත් පැත්ත සේදීමය. මොවුන් AKD ආණ්ඩුවට කරන්නේ බලවත් හානියකි (ලියනගේ අමරකීර්ති, නිර්මාල් රංජිත් දේවසිරි- ජානක අධිකාරි යන ඔරිජිනල් jvpකාරයින් තුන් දෙනාගේ සමාජ ජාලා සංවාදය බලන්න, 13/12/24).

පන්සිල් පද පහ හා රංවලලාගේ ටයිටල්

රන්වල නොබෙල් තෑග්ගක් දිණු අයෙක් වුනත් කථානායක <හවරිය> දාගන්නා හැටි අසා දැන නොගත් එක උද්දච්ච්කම හෝ නූගත්කම අතර අර්බුදයක් බව මීට කලින් ලියූ කෙටි ලිපියේ සටහන් කලෙමි. ඔහු විසින් කල යුතුව තිබුනේ සිස්ටම් චේන්ජ් යටතේ එම ලෝගුවට විශ්‍රාම දීම නොවේද? හිසට දාඩිය දමද්දීත් නඩුකාරයින් නම් එය දමාගෙන ඉන්නේ සමහරවිට තට්ට හිසකට යම් ගාම්භීරකමක් ලබා දීමටය.

සමහර ඇමතිවරු ත්‍රීපීස් සූට් ඇඳගෙන යනවිට එය ඔවුන්ට පුරුදු නැති නාඩගමක් බව වීඩියෝ වලින් පෙනේ. අනිත් කාරණය නම් ඔවුන්ටත් සජිත් ප්‍රේමදාස ගාය (පොල් පරාල ඉන්ගිරිස් වලින් කතා කිරීම) වැළදී තිබීමය. රජා මරන්නේ නැතිව සිංහලෙන් කතා කර භාෂා පරිවර්තකයෙක් යොදා ගැනීම ලැජ්ජාවට කරුණක්ද? සිරිසේන ජනාධිපති පෝප් ඉදිරියේ කටුනායක ගුවන් තොටුපල අසලදී කරගත්තා මෙන් විහිළු සැපයීම සඳහා ඇමති ධූර පාවාදිය යුතු නැත. මෙය එක්තරා අන්දමක හීනමානයක් නොවේද? දැන් බලාගෙන යනවිට ආණ්ඩුවේ ඉන්නා අවංකම පංචස්කන්ධය ලාල් කාන්ත පමණක්ද කියා මට සිතේ. ඩයානා, කුමාරීයක් වූ පසු ඇයට ඉංග්‍රීසි කතාකරන්න ඉගැන්වූයේය. ඒත් ඇය රැජිනට කිව්වේ ටොප් ලේඩි කියාය. ඇමෙරිකන් ජනාධිපති දෙවෙනි බුෂ් යේල් යුනිවර්සිටි එකට ගියත් හරි හැටි ඉංගිරිස් දැන සිටියේ නැත.

කොසොල් රජතුමා- හොබ්/ලොක්/රූසෝ/ කාල් මාක්ස්

කොසොල් රජතුමා දුටු හීන දාසැය පිළිඹඳව මහා සුපින ජාතකයේ දැක්වෙන  විවරණය ලෝකයේ ප්‍රථම දේශපාලන විද්‍යා සූත්‍රයක් වැනිය. රන්වල නිසා රටේ මතුවූ උපාධි අර්බුදය ලංකාවේ සිංහල බෞද්ධයයි කියාගන්නා පක්ෂ දේශපාලක කළු සුද්දන් විසින් රටට කල විනාශයේ තවත් සිස්ටම් හුටපටයකි. ලංකාවේ තිබෙන ලොකු කුඩා දුෂ්ඨ ත්‍රිකෝණ වල නිලධාරියා යන අංශයට අයත්වන අනු සිස්ටම් තුනක් වන, ප්‍රොපෙසර්, දොස්තර හා ලෝයර් මාෆියා ගැන ක්‍රියාකිරීමට AKD ආණ්ඩුවට අනගි අවස්ථාවක් දැන් ලැබී තිබේ. ඔහුගේ ආණ්ඩුවට මුක්කුගසන මේ කොටස් තුන ශුද්ධ කිරීමට ඉඩක් ලැබේවිද යන සැකය ඇතිවන්නේ රන්වල සිද්ධියේදී ආණ්ඩුවේ මැති ඇමතිලා හැසිරෙන ආකාරය නිසාය.

දණ හිස්සෙන් පහල

නලින්ද ජයතිස්සට අනුව රන්වල සිද්ධිය දණ හිසෙන් පහල කතාවකි. මෙය මිනී දණ හිස්සෙන් ඉහලට ඔසවා ගෙන යාම තහනම් කල jvp යුගය සිහිකරවයි. මෙය රසික ජයකොඩි කියන උද්දච්චකම නිසා පාලකයින් විනාශවී යෑම නමැති මිනිස් දුර්වලතාවයට උදාහරණයකි. රන්වල ගැන අසත්‍ය කරුණු සැපයූ අයට විරුද්ධ ක්‍රියාකරණවා යයි නලින්ද දුන් උත්තරය ගහේ අත්තේ අග ඉඳගෙන ගහමුලින් අත්ත කපා දැමීමක් වැනි යයි ජනප්‍රිය  කාරිගේ චැනල් 1 න් දුටු දේ අනුව මට සිතේ. මෙවැනි ආකල්ප දැරීමේ භායනක කම නම් තමන්ගේ ශාඛා සමිති 13,000 මඟින් ගම්වල ජනතාව එක් රැස් කර  ගම පාලනය කරනවා යන කතාවට වෙන්නේ කුමක්ද යන්නය. පක්ෂ දේශපාලනයෙන් තොර ස්වාභාවික මායිම් සහිත ජන සභා ක්‍රමයක්  මඟින් රටේ ප්‍රශ්ණ සියේට හැට හැත්තාවක් පමණම විසඳාගත හැකිව තිබෙද්දී නලින්දලාගේ ආකල්පය ගම්වල jvp/npp නායකයින්ද අනුගමණය කලොත්, 1972 කාලයේ ආරම්භකල ජනතා කොමිටි සංකල්පය, ජනතා කොටි වශයෙන් අභාවයට ගිය අන්දම සිහිපත් කරලන්නේය.

සුගන්ධිකා ප්‍රනාන්දු විසින් දර්ශන හඳුන්ගේ සමඟ කල සාකච්චාවේදී පෙන්වා දුන් අන්දමට මුළු යුක්තිය පසිඳලීමේ සිස්ටම් එකම (උසාවි, නඩුකාරයින්, ලෝයර්ලා. පොලිසිය, හිරගෙවල් යනාදී) අතිශයින් දූෂිත මහජනයා පීඩාවට පත්කරන්නකි. සෞඛ්‍ය සේවය වගේම විශ්ව විද්‍යාල ගුරුවරුන්ද කරගෙන යන මාෆියාව දැන ගැනීමට ඒවායේ සිසුන්ට පුද්ගලිකව කතා කලයුතුය. මොවුන් නෝට්ස් කියවනවා මිස රටට වැඩක් ඇති පර්යේෂණ කරනවාද? වාරවසානයෙදී මොවුන්ගේ සේවය තක්සේරු කිරීමට  සිසුන්ට අවස්ථාවක් ලබාදිය යුතුය.

චතුරංග අබේසිංහ වැනි jvp තරුණ මන්ත්‍රීලා රන්වල සිද්ධිය ගැන කියන කතා ඩෝබි කතාය. කෙසේ හෝ පක්ෂයට සිදුවූ හානිය අවමකර ගත හැකියයි සිතා ඔවුන් කරණ කතා වැල්ලේ කඩදාසි ගෙවල් හදනවා වැනි බව ඔවුන්ට නොතේරේ. හර්ෂණ නානායක්කාරට ඔහුගේ නමට ආචාරිය කියා දැමීම ප්‍රශ්ණයක්වී CID ගියේ ඒ ගැන කතාවක් මතුවුනාට පසුවය!

රොනී ද මැල් සින්ඩ්‍රෝම්

නිලධාරියාගෙන් දේශපාලකයාට බලය මාරුවීමේ උපනතිය කල්තියාම දැක, ඒජන්ත රක්ෂාවේ ඇති රස දැනසිටි සිය බිරිඳගේ දිගුකාලීන විරෝධය ජයගත් වහාම විශ්‍රාම වැටුපත් එපා කියා සිවිල් සේවය අතහැර දේශපාලනයට බැස පක්ෂ මාරුකිරීමේලා වාර්තා තැබූ රොනී ද මැල්, මෙම උපාධි කලබගෑනියේ එක් පැත්තක ආරම්භය සනිටුහන් කරයි. සිංහල මාධ්‍යයෙන් OL, AL හා විශ්ව විද්‍යාවලට ගිය ගම්බද දුගී පිරිස් තමන්ට රාජ්‍ය සේවයට, විශ්ව විද්‍යාල ගුරුකම් වලට ඉඩකඩ ලැබුණත් ඉංගිරිස් නැතිකමේ හීනමානයෙන් පීඩා වින්ඳේය. රොනී දුටු උපනතියට ඔවුන් මුහුණ දුන්නේ දේශපාලකයා ගොනාට අන්දවමින් තමන්ගේ බඩගෝස්තරය රැකගැනීම හරහාය. දේශපාලකයා හත පාස් නැති, කසිප්පු මුදලාලි යනාදී වශයෙන් ඒම JR/RP ගේ චන්ද ක්‍රමය අනුව 1978 න් පසු ප්‍රචලිත විය.

ගංගොඩවිල සෝම හිමිඳුන්

තමන්ගේ අණසක යටතේ ඉන්නේ  උපාධිකාරයින් යන කාරණය නූගත් මන්ත්‍රීලාට මෝඩ අභිමානයක් ගෙනාවේය. මාකටින් දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ කඩයක බඩු විකුණමින් සිට ඇමතිකෙනෙක්වූ මර්වින් සිල්වා මෙම හීනමානය වසාගත්තේ සල්ලිදී ආචාර්ය සහතිකයක් ලබාගෙනය.  ඔහු කියා සිටියේ ඔහුටත් G. L පීරිස්ටත් ආචාර්ය උපාධි තිබෙන බවය! මෙවැනි කාරණා නිසා හොර උපාධිකඩ හතු පිපෙනවා මෙන් මතුවිය. එක්තරා උපකුලපති කෙනෙකුගේ ඥාති සහෝදරයෙක් ලක්ෂ දෙකකට ආචාර්ය සහතික විකුණුවේය. දකුණු පලාතේ ආණ්ඩුකාරයෙක්වූ විලී ගමගේ  නමත් මීට අයත්ද යන සැකය දුරු කල හැක්කේ ඔහුටම පමණය.  පාසැලට දමා ගැනීම සඳහා කුඩා ළමයාට පදිංචි ලිපිනය ගැන බොරුවක් කියන්නට සලස්වන දෙමාපියන් සිටින සමාජයක වෙනත් නොයෙක් දූෂණ අක්‍රමිකතා අතර හොර අධ්‍යාපන සුදුසුකම් පෙන්වීමට හිරි-ඔත්තප්ප භාධාවක් වන්නේ කෙසේද? වෙනකක් තබා ලංකාවේ ජනාධිපති වීමට තරම් ජනප්‍රියවූ සෝම හාමුදුරුවෝ රුසියාවේ අපවත්වූයේ උපාධියකට තිබූ ගිජුකම නිසා උගුලකට අසුවිමෙන්ය.

කොටි වලිගය

අනුර කුමාරට අතිමහත් රාජ්‍ය පාලන බලයක් ලැබීමට මූලිකම හේතුව වූයේ පක්ෂ දේශපාලක හොරුන් විසින් ඇතිකල දූෂිත, අශීලාචාර, ආත්මාර්ථකාමී, සමාජයක් වෙනුවට විනය ගරුක රටක්  බිහිකිරීමට ඔහුට හැකිය යන විශ්වාසය නිසාය. රටේ තිබෙන අනිත් හැම අර්බුදයක්ම මෙම සදාචාරය, අවංකභාවය හා විනය ගරුක සමාජයක් පිලිඹද රටවැසියාට ඇති ආශාවට යටය. උදාහරණයක් වශයෙන් ගම් නගරවල ඇති සෑම වගා නොකල, පහසුවෙන් වගා කල හැකි හිස් බිම්වල වගාකිරීමට නීතියක් පනවා එය රජයේ ප්‍රාදේශීය ලේකම්ලා යටතේ නිලධාරීන් මඟින් ක්‍රියාත්මක කර (සෑම GSN කොට්ථාශයකම නිලධාරීන් 6 සිටී), එම ක්‍රියාවලිය මොනිටර් කිරීම සඳහා දැනටමත් සංවිධානය කර  තිබෙන JVP  ශාඛා සමිති 13,000 උපයෝගී කරගත හැකිය. මෙම ශාඛා සමිති විනය ගරුක, සාධාරණ පුදගලයින්ගෙන් සමන්විත විය යුතුය.

AKD ආණ්ඩුවේ සෑම මන්ත්‍රී කෙනෙක්ම පත්වූයේ පක්ෂය මඟින් ක්‍රියාත්මක කල සංවිධානාත්මක සැලැස්මක් හා දැඩි විනයක් යටතේය. මේ නිසා යම් පංචස්කන්ධයක් බොරු තොරතුරු චන්ද දායකයින්ට පැවසුවා නම් ඔවුන් දුසිමක් දෙකක් වුවත් මන්ත්‍රීකමින් ඉවත් කර ලිස්ට් එකේ ඊලඟ මනාපකරුව/කාරියව පත් කල යුතුය. මීට හේතුව ඔවුන් වංචාකර ඇත්තේ පක්ෂයට හා මහජනයාට යන දෙකොටසටම වීමය. මෙවැනි එඩිතර දැඩි තීරණයකින් මිස AKD ආණ්ඩුවට මෙම  අර්බුදයෙන් ගැලවීමට නොහැකිය. මෙසේ කලොත් 1958 දී SWRD බණ්ඩාරනායක අගමැති ගෙන් පසුව මෙවැනි පියවරක් ගත් රාජ්‍ය නායකයා වන්නේ 2024 දී AKD ය. වෙඩිකෑ ඌරන්සේ හැසිරෙන පරාජිත දේශපාලක රොඩු මෙය අත අරින්නේ නැත. මැති ඇමතිලා හා පක්ෂයට කඩේ යන අය කියන නොයෙක් නිදහසට කරුණු පැස්බරා වැල්ලේ හිස ගසා ගන්නවා වැනිය.

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vijitha Herath, has provided an update on the country’s strategic efforts to revitalize its tourism sector, which has faced unprecedented challenges in recent years due to the Easter Sunday attacks, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the economic crisis.

Speaking at the India Foundation Program, Herath stated, We too had such a big tourism before the Easter Sunday attack, 2018. We got (the) highest amounts of tourists. And at that time, according to my memory, we earned four billion (dollars).”

Herath pointed out the compounding challenges Sri Lanka faced due to these crises: After the Easter Sunday attack, there was a COVID-19 situation. After that, the economic crisis was there. Because of those three factors, we faced so many difficulties. The first one was the Easter Sunday attack. The second one was COVID-19. The third one was the economic crisis. Now, all those factors are not there,” he explained, adding that these barriers are no longer present.

Looking forward, the Minister expressed hope for boosting tourism, particularly from India: We can increase our tourism industry. And we hope to open our hands to India. And we hope the Indian tourists will come.”

A key part of the strategy to boost tourism involves a policy change set for January 2024. Herath revealed, At the beginning of next January, we will pass some cassette notification in the parliament. In that cassette notification, we will give free visas to 39 countries.”

This move is expected to make it easier for tourists, including those from India, to visit Sri Lanka.

Additionally, Herath made an appeal regarding travel facilities for Sri Lankans to India, stating, Then the most of the Indians, not only Indians but also so 39 other countries, tourists can visit us easily. And apart from that, I feel from your country, you asked also for that facility. India has not given that facility yet. Therefore, please inform your government to give that facility to Sri Lankans.” 

(ANI)

–Agencies

Courtesy Adaderana

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has expressed his gratitude to the Chinese government for its support during debt restructuring as well as in the face of the economic crisis.

He stated that his appreciation extends to China’s assistance in the debt restructuring program and its provision of loans to Sri Lanka during the economic challenges.

President Dissanayake made these remarks during a meeting with Ms. Qin Boyong, Vice Chairperson of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), held today (18) at the Parliamentary Complex, the President’s Media Division (PMD) reported.    

Ms. Qin Boyong noted that China looks forward to continuing its work with the new government of Sri Lanka, further strengthening the longstanding relationship between the two countries.

The President also expressed his gratitude for China’s assistance during Sri Lanka’s disaster situations and the provision of school uniforms for children. He emphasized the continued need for China’s support in the future.

President Dissanayake highlighted the importance of completing the unfinished sections of the Central Expressway under Chinese management and expressed hopes to expedite the commencement of supply hubs and institutional projects cantered around the Colombo Port City and Hambantota District.  

Ms. Qin Boyong stated that there are plans to restart maritime research activities, which were temporarily halted for various reasons, along with initiating relevant projects, the PMD said.

Furthermore, she mentioned that Chinese companies intend to establish themselves in the Hambantota investment zone, aiming to provide Sri Lanka with better global access. She also revealed that preparations are underway to warmly welcome President Anura Kumara Dissanayake during his future visit to China.  

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment, and Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath, Deputy Speaker Dr. Rizvie Salih and committee member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Mr. Ma Youxiang, among others, were present at this event.  

–PMD

Madyawediya

Courtesy Hiru News

During yesterday’s (17) parliamentary session, MP Chamindranee Kiriella addressed allegations about her educational qualifications, posting a statement on her Facebook page in response to questions raised in Parliament.

Kiriella stated that recent social media allegations had made baseless and malicious claims about her qualifications, aiming to damage her reputation for narrow political reasons. She clarified her status as a barrister, explaining that she passed the bar exam at Lincoln’s Inn, UK, in 2000, and underwent 12 months of training (pupillage) with leading barristers in the UK, which allowed her to practice in any UK court. She emphasized that well-known figures, such as former British Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, are also barristers from Lincoln’s Inn.

Kiriella further explained that in Sri Lanka, titles obtained due to foreign educational qualifications are accepted, citing examples like the use of “Dr” by individuals with a Ph.D. from abroad. She also clarified that the term “barrister” is not used in the Sri Lankan Supreme Court, as the Sinhala translation of “barrister” is understood as “Adineethinga” in local language translations.

She reaffirmed her legal credentials, stating that she was sworn in as an advocate of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka in 2003. Kiriella also provided details of her academic background, including her Bachelor of Laws (LL.B Honours) from the University of Buckingham, UK, and a Postgraduate Diploma in International Finance and Law (LL.M) from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

In conclusion, Kiriella reiterated her commitment to upholding the trust placed in her by the people of Sri Lanka.

Courtesy Hiru News

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa addressed parliament today (18) to present and clarify his educational qualifications in response to questions raised by Minister Nalinda Jayatissa.

Premadasa detailed his educational journey, starting with pre-school at St. Bridget&rsquo;s Convent, primary education at St. Thomas Primary School (Grades 1-5), and secondary education at Royal College (Grades 6-9), after which he moved abroad without sitting for the Ordinary Level examination in Sri Lanka.

He explained that he completed his O-Level studies at Millhill College in England between 1983-1984, achieving 2 A passes, 2 B passes, and 3 C passes, while also receiving the School Prize for Political Science and Economics in the Upper 6th class, equivalent to the Advanced Level. He passed the A-Level examination with 2 B grades and 1 C grade.

Premadasa stated that he was admitted to the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he completed his degree in 1991. He later joined the University of Maryland College Park in the United States for a Master’s program in Public Management but discontinued it due to his father’s passing.

He also disclosed that in 2021, he enrolled at the Open University of Sri Lanka to pursue a Master’s degree.

Premadasa denied allegations of falsifying his qualifications and displayed his records to substantiate his claims. He refuted rumors of a fake W9 result attributed to him, affirming the authenticity of his credentials.

The Opposition Leader asserted that he would resign as a Member of Parliament, Opposition Leader, and politician if anyone could prove that the educational qualifications he presented were fabricated.

I am a degree holder, says Sajith

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa claimed today that he is a degree holder and tabled all his certificates in Parliament.

“I attended Kindergarten at St. Bridget’s Convent and then joined S. Thomas Prep for my Primary Education. I studied at Royal from Grade six but sat for my Ordinary Level and Advanced Level examinations at Milhill College UK. I joined the University of London and obtained by first degree. However, I could not complete my Masters as I returned to Sri Lanka in 1993 after my father’s death and took up politics. However, later I joined the University of Maryland, US and then did a Masters degree at the Open University. Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya was my lecturer at the Open University,” he said.

Premadasa tabled all his educational cirtificates in the House.

Sugath Kulatunga

Sri Lanka Public Service (PS) is a massive organization with 1.3 million public servants in a ratio of 1to16 members of the population. It costs the government Around LKR 1 trillion annually on salaries and approximately LKR 300-400 billion annually on pensions. As a percentage of GDP Public sector expenditure represents about 10-15% of Sri Lanka’s GDP.

The largest service within the PS is the clerical service (CS), with 28,000 members which plays an important role in the PS by maintaining records and facilitating decision making. As subject clerks, they are the keepers of information.

The locus in which information is stored, analyzed, and decisions are recorded is the FILE, which is treated with reverence.

A file is like a book but with the difference that the first page of a file is the bottom/last page. On the left of a file are a few folios where minutes are recorded.  The standard procedure is when letters are received (called Tappal) the OA or the Chief Clerk distribute the mail to the relevant subject clerks.

In the olden days the subject clerks used to submit minutes quoting relevant rules and precedents and even pros and cons of a decision to be made. Most staff offifcers were over dependent on the recommendations of the subject clerks who were the jealous controllers of information leading to a tyranny of the subject clerks.

On the other hand, today most subject clerks submit files to staff officers with a perfunctory minute or the favorite submission of ‘for orders please’. At present minute sheets are not maintained, and endorsements are made on the letter received.

A popular criticism of the office procedure is that public servants are dictated to by the the contents in the ‘in-tray’.

The cyclic movement of Files are upwards for instructions and downwards for action.

In every office the daily attendance of personnel is recorded in an attendance register. Which is a farce. It is manipulated to accommodate late comers. It should be replaced with time recording machines. In city offices clock watching is a common practice towards closing times. Hardly any work is done during the last half an hour. In Colombo train times determine the office times of many public servants.

The average daily routine of many public servants is signing the attendance register, spending 10 minutes in the washroom, 20 minutes at breakfast in the canteen, another 30 minutes to browse through newspapers. These times may differ between males and females, but the fact is that they start work only after 40 to 60 minutes. There many exceptions.

The cost per hour of a public servant earning Rs 50,000 per month, works out to be

Rs 30 per hour or 50 cents per minute.

Can the public servants be blamed for this waste of time? Most of them who work in the City spend at least an hour on travel to office in jam-packed buses, perhaps standing. They do not have time in the morning to have breakfast at home. By the

time they come to office they are exhausted.

The urban travel time cannot be reduced due to traffic congestion which has no easy solution. The better answer is to decentralize the office system. There are two solutions. One is to move departments where the work is more relevant to a particular region to those regions. For example, Colombo District has no major irrigation works but this big department is located in Colombo. It can be shifted to Anuradhapura. The very large Department of Agriculture is in Peradeniya operating efficiently and effectively. This is necessary even as a measure of decentralized administration.

The second solution which becomes easier with digitalization is to establish satellite secretariats in the peripheral towns around Colombo. These can be located in towns which already have hospitals, schools and other facilities, like in Negombo, Minuwangoda, Homagama, Horana and Panadura. An example of such a possible set-up is given below. This will be a systems change to make the PS more effective and more public servant friendly.

Central Office:

1. Fiber optic line connects to a switch/router.
2. LAN devices (desktops, servers, printers) connect locally via Ethernet or Wi-Fi.
3. Satellite Office:
   • The other end of the fiber optic line connects to another switch/router.
   • LAN devices at the satellite office are integrated into the network.
4. Routing and Security:
   • A secure link (e.g., VPN or MPLS) ensures that data between the two offices is encrypted and safe.
   • IT teams might set up firewalls, VLANs, and QoS (Quality of Service) to prioritize traffic.

Where necessary CCTV cameras can also be installed for monitoring.

Sugath Kulatunga

London Talks

1971 මෙන්ම 1987 -1990 අතර කාලය ශ්‍රී ලාංකාවාසින් නැවත මතක් කරන්නට අකමැති මුසල දේශපාලකයන් මෙන්ම අවස්ථාවාදී මිනිස් වෙස් ගත් වෘකයන් ජිවත් වූ යුගයකි. අනෙක් අතින් සිය යුගයේ මිනිසුන්ගේ සහ ගැහැණුන්ගේ ජිවිත වලට යහපත් දවසක් උදා කිරීමේ හුදු අරමුණින් යුතුව සමාජ ශෝධනයක් සහ නව සමාජයක් උදෙසා සිය දිවි පරදුවට තබා සටන් වැදී මානව හිතවාදී, දේශ හිතැති, සිය ජිවිත මෙන්ම ඒ හා බැඳුනු සියළු දෑ අහිමි කර ගත් තරුණ පරපුරකි. එහෙත් අවි ආයුධ සහිත සහ ආරක්ෂක බල ඇණි සිය පාලනය යටතේ තමනට රිසි පරිදි මෙහෙයවා ගත් බල ලෝභී, කුරිරු, අධම කපටි දේශපාලකයන් ඔවුන් සතු බලය යොදවා උක්ත තරුණ නැගිටීම් අවි බලයෙන් මෙල්ල කලහ. එත් ඒවා තාවකාලික මෙල්ල කිරීම් වූ බව ඉතිහාසය මෙන්ම වතමානයද සාක්ෂි ගොනු කොට ඇත. 1971 මෙන්ම 1987-90 කාලයේදී සිය නිර්ධන පන්තියේ මිනිසුන්ගේ අයිතීන් රකින්නට තමනට ගෙවන්නට හැකිව තිබු සුඛෝපබෝගී ජීවිතය පවා අමතක කරමින් අධිටනින් කොට, ජේ ආර් ජයවර්ධනගේ රාජ්‍ය ත්‍රස්ත වාදී ආණ්ඩුවේ දැඩි උදහසට පත්වූ ඒ සුන්දර මිනිසා නමින් ප්‍රින්ස් ගුනසේකරය.ඔහු නීතිඥවරයෙකි වෘත්තියෙ වරයෙකි. ඔහු විසින් එංගලන්තයට පිටුවහල් කොට සිටියදී ලියන ලද ‘අහිමි පරපුර’ කෘතියේ දෙවන සන්ස්කරණය ජනගත කිරීම වෙනුවෙන් පවත්වන ලද සම්මුඛ සාකච්චාවකි. වැඩසටහනේ සම්පත්දායකයන්: ජ්‍යෙෂ්ට මාධ්‍යවෙදී, ගත් කතුවර නන්දන වීරරත්න නීතිඥ රන්ජිත් පනාමුල්ලේ ගාමිණි මුතුකුමාරණ වැඩ සටහන මෙහෙයවීම : හේම සිරිවර්ධන , හිටපු ජ්‍යෙෂ්ට කථිකාචාර්ය ජනමාධ්‍ය

By Nalliah Thayabharan

Canada’s deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, quit her job, just before she was set to deliver the latest budget, like calling in sick before an important meeting that you know you can’t handle. The $62 billion deficit that was set to be announced – $22 billion more than finance minister Chrystia Freeland’s projected target – might have had something to do with it.

Chrystia Freeland claimed that she was pushed out first, though, writing in her resignation letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, On Friday, you told me you no longer want me to serve as your Finance Minister and offered me another position in the cabinet.”  Chrystia Freeland also informed that she rejected costly political gimmicks” like sales tax holidays and one time cash handouts, presumably, which she herself had spent months relentlessly promoting. Chrystia Freeland makes it sound like she was a sudden voice of reason, and referred to strenuous efforts this fall to manage our spending in ways that will give us the flexibility we will need to meet the serious challenges presented by the United States.”

The first person to descend at any random bus stop in Canada is about as qualified as Chrystia Freeland to manage Canada’s finances, and this would explain why inflation, cost of living, and unemployment have skyrocketed on her watch. But it’s really just a vibecession,” she recently suggested. Damn Canadians just need to shift their mindset and stop pretending that her economy sucks.

Canadians are always the problem for Chrystia Freeland, particularly when Canadians stand in the way of whatever agenda this World Economic Forum protégée and trustee is trying to force feed them. When Canadians pushed back against Covid jab mandates through the Freedom Convoy trucker movement, Chrystia Freeland ordered their bank accounts blocked.

Chrystia Freeland’s expertise seems to come from the financial journalism that she did, from Ukraine, where her grandfather once ran a World War II-era Nazi newspaper. Maybe she could just go be the finance minister there now, since the Ukrainian Canadian Congress just issued a statement calling her one of the key leaders in the G7 and international community in developing the plan to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, she ensured continued and predictable support for Ukraine’s defense of the freedom of Europe.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for a no-confidence vote against himself on Monday, officially asking the parliamentarians of the Bundestag whether they might wish to do him the honor of taking a foot to his arsch – a case of political suicide-by-cop. Chancellor Olaf Scholz wanted them to put his current mandate out of its misery because he’s totally impotent, politically speaking. Why? Because the yellow light centrists of his traffic light coalition bailed on him and he no longer has the majority needed to ram things through parliament.

All this came about because Scholz’s finance minister, Christian Lindner, from the centrist Free Democratic Party, decided back in November that he wasn’t interested in a career as a magician attempting to work miracles with Scholz’s spending priorities. Germany virtue-signaled itself right into economic devastation following along with EU sanctions to impress their girlfriend Vladimir Zelensky. Then Scholz told his finance minister to just lift his foot up off the debt brake a bit so he can go on another €15 billion ($15.7 billion) spending joyride for Ukraine. And Lindner was like, nope, how about you just dust off some of those long-range Taurus missiles in the closet and give those to your girlfriend instead? Yeah, they’re dangerous, but they’re also just sitting there like an unused exercise bike with laundry hanging off it, so it’s a win-win – well, except for that World War III risk.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz didn’t want to do that because it would mean babysitting Kiev so it didn’t start a third world war against Russia. It would also mean sending German troops to Ukraine so Zelensky could sit on their lap and pretend to drive the Tauruses. And it’s never the toddler who gets blamed for those accidents.

So Scholz and Lindner had a falling out over a month ago that ultimately led to a breakup, with Lindner and his yellow light centrists walking away from Scholz’s coalition table like a teenaged clique in the school cafeteria.

German lawmakers welcomed the opportunity to kick Scholz in the lederhosen and out of the Biergarten. One down, one more to go. Because next up (probably) is Christian Democrat leader Friedrich Merz, currently topping the polls ahead of an expected February election. He seems keen on giving Washington and Brussels even more power over German decision-making. Yeah, maybe Washington can advise Berlin on nail placement for its economic coffin, too? As if that’s really Germany’s big issue right now – that it wasn’t sycophantic enough under Scholz, with Merz saying how it was embarrassing how Scholz acted in the European Union.” Scholz shrugged off Nord Stream being blown up, putting the German economy at the mercy of pricey American gas, and Merz doesn’t think Scholz was enough of a team player?

Ukrainians sound about as well-off now as a result of Chrystia Freeland’s efforts as Europeans are free,” so she’s clearly done a bang-up job on both fronts. Just like she has in Canada.

Next up to pop the escape hatch: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself. Maybe. He’s reportedly considering his options. Ziplining into oblivion behind Chrystia Freeland sounds like a good one. If all these globalists could please just form an orderly line for a permanent express checkout, they’d be doing their citizens and the entire Western world so much more of a service than their presence ever has.

The Western political establishment is in crisis. The dominoes are falling, and it’s the leaders who once championed the very agendas driving their countries into economic and political disarray who are now jumping ship. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland have already taken the emergency exits, leaving behind chaos and fractured coalitions. The big question now is who else will flee soon.

Western leaders are pushing the world towards a global economic collapse and military conflict which could cost millions of lives. In the Middle East despite overwhelming evidence of fundamentalism and genocide, and also deliberately antagonizing China into conflict through escalated militarization in the Pacific, South China Sea and Indian Ocean.

Because the Global South is unifying economically and strategically, and with time will challenge the Western dominance which enables it to extract wealth and resources from poorer nations like Sri Lanks. Western imperialism is threatened, and Western governments clearly see war as the means for maintaining the status quo. 

By Dimitris Konstantakopoulos .Courtesy defenddemocracy

In my previous article on Syria I argued that there is a Damascus-Tehran (not forgetting Lebanon and Palestine) train that is now preparing to depart”.

The ink on the article did not have time to ‘dry’, so to speak, since no ink is used anymore, and the train started to whistle for departure.

The Prime Minister of Israel himself, after congratulating himself for the triumph” in Syria, rushed to address a speech in English to the citizens of Iran, promising regime change” much sooner than he thought, with the help of Israel itself of course. Judging by what happened in Syria, we can imagine what fate awaits the Iranians and their country if these plans come to fruition. 

According to the Times of Israel, the Israeli armed forces have already begun preparations for an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, considering that, after the destruction of Syria, a window of opportunity” has been created. Netanyahu accused Iraq and Iran as early as 1992 (!) of being ready to build nuclear weapons, accusations that were never proven, rather the opposite, but served as an excuse for the US-British invasion of Iraq, of which he himself was the architect. In an attempt perhaps to restrain Israel’s hotheads, CIA chief William Burns stressed last October that there was no sign of a change in Tehran’s decision not to build nuclear weapons. Similar assessments have been made by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the US Pentagon. 

Of course Israel wants to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme. But as in the case of Iraq, the alleged existence or preparation to acquire nuclear weapons serves as a pretext. The real aim is to overthrow the regime in Iran, if not to dismember that country, in accordance with the Yinon and Cohen strategies and the neoconservative Middle East war programme drawn up under the supervision of the current Israeli Prime Minister.(see for example the important article by the distinguished Columbia University Professor Jeffrey Sachs, the article and Ekaterina Matoi’s article on the geopolitics of Zionism)

Besides, the constant aggression and threats against Iran tend to act as a self-fulfilling prophecy” that may eventually push Iran to build nuclear weapons.

The American factor 

Mr. Netanyahu knows, however, that Israel’s forces are not sufficient for such a purpose. Despite Israeli triumphalism, despite Israel’s great recent successes, Iran remains a powerful military force and a serious state. No one can be sure what an attack on it will mean and what the results of an attack on it will be. 

That is why Netanyahu wants both the approval and the assistance of the Americans. And because he has tried many times to get it, often by methods of deception and misinformation, he has created a kind of antibodies” inside the American state, especially in the armed forces, to some extent in the CIA, and even in part of the US political staff, despite its unprecedented dependence on the Lobby. 

But Netanyahu’s forces are already working in Trump’s environment to get the approval of the newly elected American President who, in his first four years of government, has more or less acted as a Netanyahu’s proxy. The assistance of Israel’s intelligence services also apparently played a decisive role in his election in 2016. Trump abrogated the international Iran nuclear deal that Obama had concluded, thus paving the way for the wars now being fought and the much larger ones that threaten to break out. 

After all, Trump himself urged Netanyahu last October to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, either because he shares this goal or because he wanted to get more support from the Israeli lobby. Of course he did not say what America should do. He remembers and even said it once that he agreed with Netanyahu for a joint operation to assassinate one of Iran’s leaders, General Suleymani, but in the end Israel left him in the cold to carry it out on his own, causing a near war between the US and Iran. 

 Trump, of course, faces two problems. The first is that he was elected promising Americans to stop the wars, not start new ones, even if deception and promise reversal has now,  for structural reasons,  become the bread and butter of Western politics. All tendencies of the Western establishment make policies contrary to the expectations of the vast majority of citizens. Even if they don’t want to, most Western politicians are forced to lie. 

 When jihadist and Turkish forces invaded Syria, Trump said it was none of his business, it was a Syrian affair. Of course, the American, British and Israeli secret services have close ties with the jihadists, Turkey is a member of NATO, even NATO’s secretary Rutte was in Ankara on the eve of the attack on Syria, where the head of the Israeli spy agency, Shin Bet, also went. But in the absence of a direct, visible American involvement Trump could say it was none of his business. And the American magazine Time, which did a long interview with the new president made sure not to ask him anything about Syria. 

 The second problem Trump faces is that Iran is a critical strategic ally of Russia and China. He must be confident that these two states will not decisively assist Tehran in the event of an attack on it. 

To deal with the first problem, he has already begun to prepare public opinion. Speaking to Time, he did not rule out the possibility of the United States being at war with Iran, and the magazine itself helped him by raising the unsubstantiated, if not outrageous, theory that Tehran had tried to assassinate him. The whole interview, moreover, constitutes a statement of adherence to Netanyahu’s Middle East agenda, with Trump neither defending the long-standing position of two states in Palestine nor disapproving of the possibility of Israel’s annexation of the West Bank. At the same time, his transition team” staff leaked to the Wall Street Journal information that he is seriously discussing attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Stick to Tehran, carrot to Moscow. 

But Trump has also to calm down Moscow, if he plans an attack on Iran.  

In the same interview to Time, Trump decried Western long-range missile strikes deep into Russian territory and stressed the need to stop the conflict in Ukraine, even saying at one point that Kiev should back off a bit, but avoiding being even remotely specific about the kind of agreement he seeks and believes possible. Of course, the disapproval of the strikes came more than a month late and after Moscow responded with a warning military escalation. It is, after all, unlikely that Biden would not have briefed Trump in his meeting with him before the strikes were launched or that Trump would have strongly disagreed and not made his disagreement public in time. 

 Of course, what Trump will do about the Ukrainian issue after assuming the presidency remains completely uncertain. For now, what is certain is what is happening in the Middle East. 

The heart of the Empire—the true power behind the increasingly absurd Western governments—now appears to be divided into various factions. However, most of these factions share a common strategic goal: maintaining the West’s global dominance at any cost. This may involve instigating a world war while striving to avoid nuclear annihilation, though the likelihood of completely avoiding this outcome over the long term seems very improbable.  

There are of course serious tactical differences between the various sections of the ruling oligarchy in the West, including the choice of targets and the timing of the attacks. Some give priority to Russia, others to Iran, others to China. Those who may possibly realise that all this is dangerous and dead-end adventurism probably constitute a small and marginalised minority. Maybe some do understand that NATO is unable to realise its ambitions,  that it has already been defeated, and think it would be well advised to recognise reality and move on to other fronts, undistracted from Ukraine. But even them they would like before doing it to get as much as they can from Russia. Others consider probably a disaster to acknowledge reality, that is, defeat in Ukraine. We cannot know now which part will prevail.  

 Iran, key to the world situation 

The speed at which Netanyahu is moving, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, with parallel strikes in Iraq and Yemen, is somewhat reminiscent of the lightning wars” that Germany waged between 1939 and 1941, occupying one after another European countries before taking by surprise the Soviet Union, which thought it had an alliance with it, in June 1941. 

It is also reminiscent of the period from 1989 to 1991, when one after another the Eastern regimes collapsed before the players had time to fully realise the stakes and organise their defences. 

The destruction of Syria is certainly a serious blow to the world forces resisting American-Israeli hegemonism and the quest for the reconstitution of a unipolar world, but it is also a great victory for the forces of Chaos and the Clash of Civilisations”  in reality the War against Civilization. It would not make sense to deny the reality. But the overthrow of the Iranian regime and the dissolution of Iran would be a world-class catastrophe. It would plunge the entire Middle East into chaos, torpedo all Chinese plans and Beijing’s access to essential energy resources, and turn it into a privileged base of aggressive campaign in the former USSR, Russia and China and elsewhere, while further encouraging a Western aggression already manifesting itself strongly and simultaneously from Moldova, Romania and Georgia to South Korea, Venezuela and Cuba. 

 Such an outcome would be an immense strategic victory of the collective West, which of course includes Israel to its rank and with a special leading” role. Of course, even is such a scenario will come true in the long and very long run the West (the Empire) does not have the ability to take over the whole planet. But it has the ability to destroy human civilization, as events in Syria prove.  

Instead of going to a world of cooperation, necessary to manage productive forces and technologies that can destroy life on Earth, we are going back to the mentality of Alexander the Great, the Roman Emperors, Napoleon or Hitler, which except of being morally reprehensive, are also unrealistic, they will get all of humanity to annihilation. If we want to save humanity, we must all mobilise to turn this page. 

Mankind may once again stand at a pivotal moment in its history, one potentially as significant as 1989, or at the very least, of great historical importance. We find ourselves at a new crossroads in world history, perhaps equally crucial to the transformative period of 1989–91. 

The outcome in Iran will decide the direction our world will take for decades. 

PS. One can’t help but wonder about China’s conspicuous absence during the Middle East crisis. Could Beijing have not extended even a modest form of financial aid to Syria, which was being bombarded by sanctions and airstrikes from all sides? What is China’s strategy in allowing others—many smaller nations in particular—to be crushed by the overwhelming force of Western military, economic, and political pressure, while it sits idly by, accumulating wealth, and in dollars at that? Is Beijing waiting for the U.S. to arrive in the Taiwan Strait or the Korean Peninsula before taking action? By then, it will be too late, and the costs will be far higher.

Now Iran’s turn. The spectre of a new “1989”

Judge Napolitano – Judging

Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Dec 17 (NewsWire) – Sri Lanka has renewed its interest in joining BRICS, with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake conveying the country’s aspirations during his three-day state visit to India.

India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri during a special media briefing on President Dissanayake’s visit said that Sri Lanka’s request however will be considered only when BRICS deliberates new memberships in the future.

Currently, there are no new members being considered by BRICS in addition to the ones that were already on the list since last year. But as and when there is a consensus within BRICS to start looking at new members, we will certainly take into account the interest expressed by Sri Lanka. This was something communicated to the Prime Minister by President Dissanayake,” Misri said.

BRICS, a forum for cooperation among emerging economies, currently includes nine members: Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Russia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates.

Earlier this year, Sri Lanka formally applied for BRICS membership, signaling its interest in aligning with the bloc of rapidly developing nations.

By P.K.Balachandran Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

 Colombo, December 17: In much the same way as it wooed the pro-China Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, New Delhi is now wooing Sri Lanka’s new pro-Chinese President Anura Kumara Dissanayake with generous and timely financial grants.  

Many grants and big ticket development initiatives were announced by India during the talks between Dissanayake and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held in New Delhi on Monday.

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Both sides candidly stated their interests and concerns, but at the same time agreed to work around the ticklish ones to put the relationship on a mutually beneficial and durable footing.  

Dissanayake and Modi had clearly struck a chord which was evident in their body language, with Modi putting his hand over Dissanayake’s shoulder in an easy manner as an elder would do to a younger person. The two were sporting broad smiles as they engaged in their one-on-one interaction.

The bonhomie appeared to emerge from the fact that both Dissanayake and Modi came from the same political stock. Both had humble origins, and had risen to the top from the grassroots level, honing their ideas and political skills in the course of a long and arduous political journey.

Mutual empathy and accommodation were evident in the joint communique issued at the end of the talks.  Being ardently and sometimes fiercely nationalistic, Dissanayake and Modi put forward their countries’ concerns and interests in a definitive manner, even as they compromised on some issues to find middle ground that will be a basis for building a sustainable relationship.

What came through from the Delhi parleys was that India and Sri Lanka were aware that their relationship was umbilical and that there was no way that they could discard, disregard or ride rough shod over each other.  

Historic Transition 

A few years back, such a scenario could not be imagined. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), to which Dissanayake belongs, had built itself as an avowedly nationalistic force resolutely opposed to India’s Sri Lanka policy since the 1980s, seeing it as hegemonic.

But with Dissanayake’s ascendance to the leadership of the JVP and the JVP’s metamorphosis as the broad-based National Peoples’ Power (NPP), the equation with India changed almost radically.

In the guise of NPP”, the JVP acquired, within a remarkably short period, a wider social class ethnic, religious and geographic constituency. This propelled a small NPP with only three MPs, to the pinnacle of power in Sri Lanka, namely the Executive Presidency and a majority in parliament. These feats made New Delhi sit up and take notice.

The moment Dissanayake won the Presidential election against the predictions of conventional political pundits, Indian External Affairs Minister S.Jaishankar rushed to Colombo to congratulate him and made some irresistible offers to build friendship with the new kid on the block before rival China could do it. The fear in India and the West was that Dissanayake as a pro-China leftist would continue to be so.   

Dissanayake was receptive to Jaishankar, accepting most of the latter’s offers. He also assured Jaishankar that his government would not allow Sri Lanka to be used against India’s security. The allusion was to China’s bid to find a foothold in Sri Lanka with an intention to complete the encirclement of India. By assuring India on its security concerns, Dissanayake addressed New Delhi’s principal concern vis-à-vis Sri Lanka, which is its policy on China.      

Comprehensive Partnership

At the Delhi talks, Dissanayake told Modi that he deeply appreciated the unwavering support given by India during and after the unprecedented economic crisis in 2022. He added that he looked forward to India’s continued support. Prime Minister Modi, in turn, assured him of India’s full commitment in this regard.

The two leaders went further and affirmed their commitment to take the relationship to a mutually beneficial comprehensive partnership”.

An interesting new input in the joint communique was the call for increased political interactions” and the intensification of political engagements at the both the leadership and ministerial levels.” Seen against the India’s failure to foresee and forestall the recent catastrophic events in Bangladesh, where the friendly Sheikh Hasina regime was overthrown by a mass movement, the pledge to have and intensify” political dialogues with Sri Lankan parties makes sense. The joint communique said that the two leaders underscored the importance of regular parliamentary level exchanges to promote democratic values.”

Economic Assistance

Dissanayake appreciated India’s continued support for the implementation of projects despite the ongoing debt restructuring. He acknowledged India’s decision to extend grant assistance for projects that were originally undertaken through Lines of Credit, thereby reducing the debt burden of Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan President thanked Modi for India’s support in stabilizing the Sri Lankan economy through unparalleled and multi-pronged assistance including emergency financing and forex support worth USD 4 billion.” He acknowledged India’s crucial assistance in Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring process, especially as co-chair of the Official Creditors’ Committee (OCC).

The Lankan President thanked India for extending financial assistance of US$ 20.66 million to settle payments due from Sri Lanka for projects completed under existing Lines of Credit, thereby significantly reducing the debt burden at a critical time.

The Kankesanthurai harbour is to be modernized with a grant of US$ 66.5 million. The signalling system on Maho-Anuradhapura rail line is to be installed with an Indian grant. 

Investment-led Growth

Importantly, the two leaders agreed that a strategic shift from debt-driven models towards investment-led partnerships across different sectors would ensure a more sustainable path to economic recovery.

They took note of the success of the India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA) that had enhanced the trade partnership between the two countries and called for an expansion of trade ties. Both agreed that it was time to start discussions on the Economic & Technological Cooperation Agreement. (ETCA). Previous Sri Lankan governments had negotiated about ETCA but only to drop it finally, fearing Indian domination. It remains to be seen if the Dissanayake government will be any different. 

It was also agreed to take forward Indian-Rupee-Sri Lanka Rupee trade and encourage Indian investments in key sectors in Sri Lanka to enhance exports.

Connectivity

Connectivity is the new buzz word in India, perhaps motivated by China’s successes in using connectivity projects in other countries to develop its geopolitical outreach. But the argument put forward by India to push connectivity in the Delhi talks was that it would help harness the complementarities between the two economies for mutual economic development.

In this connection, only the Kankesanthurai port modernization and the ferry service between Nagapattinam and Kankesanthurai were  mentioned. The proposal for a bridge and road link between India and Colombo  was not mentioned, though it had found a place in an earlier Indian communique in another context. In the past, Sri Lankan governments have consistently refused to proceed with India’s proposal for a rail and road link across the Palk Strait. In their view, it would impinge on their security from a more populous and powerful India.

India would also install, free of cost, the signalling system on the rail line between Maho and Anurdhapra

Energy Projects

India stresses a lot on energy production and trans-national energy connectivity for ensuring energy security. Dissanayake and Modi called for the implementation and expansion of the solar power project in Sampur in Trincomalee district;  the supply of LNG from India to Sri Lanka; the establishment of a high-capacity power grid interconnection between India and Sri Lanka; and cooperation between India, Sri Lanka and the UAE to build a pipeline from India to Sri Lanka. The UAE might supply expertise and/or finance, added  Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in a press conference. 

The Indian and Lankan leaders agreed on the joint development” of offshore wind power projects in the Palk Straits in north Sri Lanka, while prioritizing environmental protection including fauna and flora.”

 Environmental protection, now agreed to by India, is an important concession to Sri Lanka because the Dissanayake government had wanted Gautam Adani’s wind power project to be reviewed citing differences over the pricing of power and environmental concerns. However, the pricing issue, which concerns the Sri Lankan government most, does not find mention in the joint communique. This prompts the question as to whether Dissanayake had agreed to the price as decided by a different regime in 2022.

The two leaders decided to support the development of Trincomalee as a regional energy and industrial hub.” But this, like many other projects mentioned in the joint communique, is an old plan yet to be implemented.  

People-Centric Digitization

Modi’s India has been an ardent proponent of people-centric digitization, which has helped improve governance, transform  service delivery, ushered transparency, and contributed to social welfare. President Dissanayake conveyed his government’s interest in exploring the establishment of similar systems in Sri Lanka with Indian assistance. This is a new Indian and Sri initiative.

India also offered to help the Information Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA), with mentorship for Sri Lankan start-ups.

Agriculture

Noting President Dissanayake’s emphasis on agricultural modernization, the two leaders agreed to establish a Joint Working Group to examine possibilities for a comprehensive development of the agricultural sector in Sri Lanka. Both leaders appreciated the ongoing collaboration in the development of the dairy sector in Sri Lanka to ensure nutritional security.

Security Assurance

Recognizing shared security interests, both leaders acknowledged the importance of a regular dialogue based on mutual trust and transparency and giving primacy to each other’s security concerns.”

Such an accommodative formulation should assuage the feelings of Sri Lankans may be apprehensive about the military asymmetry between Sri Lanka and India.

Dissanayake assuaged India’s fears about Sri Lanka’s becoming a cockpit for Chinese or Pakistani intrigue against it, when he stated that Sri Lanka will not permit its territory to be used in any manner inimical to the security of India and regional stability.

India’s fear is primarily over China’s efforts to expand its footprint in Sri Lanka and pose a threat to India’s southern flank.     

Defence Agreement

Importantly, both leaders decided to explore the possibility of concluding a framework Agreement on Defence Cooperation and  foster cooperation in hydrography.

Defence cooperation with India is welcomed in Sri Lanka in so far as it concerns training and joint exercises. But a defence treaty with mutual obligations is a different kettle of fish altogether. Sri Lankans are wary about being drawn into conflicts between other countries in which they have no direct stake. Having fought a 30-year war with the Tamil separatists and suffered economically, they dread being drawn into another war, especially not their own.  

Chinese Research Vessels

India had been raising the issue of visits by Chinese research” vessels to Sri Lankan harbours. To the Indians these are spy” vessels in disguise. In response to India’s concerns, Sri Lanka had put a year-long moratorium on visits by research vessels from all countries. But India wanted only Chinese vessels to be barred, putting Sri Lanka in an awkward situation vis-à-vis China, a major development partner and creditor.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that India raised this issue at the Delhi talks and the Sri Lankan side explained that they had some  issues that needed to be addressed (with China). India and Sri Lanka  finally agreed to continue discussions on the question.

The ball is now in Sri Lanka’s court to find a modus vivendi with China on this issue. However, it appears that India may not make it a sticking point in the relationship as Dissanayake’s had categorical assured that Sri Lanka will not allow itself to be used to harm the security of India. The underlying aim of the Delhi talks was to find common ground on various issues and build on them and not score points.                   

END

By P.K.Balachandran Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Colombo, December 17: The Anura Kumara Dissanayake government in Sri Lanka, which was sailing smoothly despite unsolved economic issues, suffered the first jolt since coming to power, when parliament Speaker Ashoka Ranwala resigned on Friday amidst accusations that his Ph.D” was fake.

Urban Development and Housing Minister Anura Karunatilake and  Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara were also assailed for falsely  claiming that they had doctoral degrees.

Ranwala maintained that he had acquired a Ph.D, and said that he had no documentary proof of the doctorate. He said he would produce it on getting it from the Waseda University-affiliated institution in Japan he was registered with. In the case of Nanayakkara, it came to be known that it was the parliament’s fault. It had appended Dr” to his name deviating from the text he had given them.  In the case of Karunatilake, he was not a doctorate and yet was using the prefix Dr”. He said that he was a Ph.D student about to complete his programme. Because of the public exposure, all three dropped Dr” from their on-line platforms.

However, the squeaking clean image which the ruling National Peoples’ Power (NPP) government had, was sullied. The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MP Namal Rajapaksa urged government MPs to resign if they failed to provide evidence of their educational qualifications. Taking to X, he criticised the NPP for misleading the people saying that they would give an honest and transparent government with people having good educational qualifications. People voted for the NPP in the Presidential and parliamentary elections this year impressed with the high” qualifications of the NPP candidates in contrast to their challengers, many of whom could have been mere high school graduates.

Root of the Problem

Fake degrees are not confined to Members of the Sri Lankan Parliament and pushy politicians trying to impress the public. It is widespread in society in Sri Lanka, South Asia and even in the UK and USA. In all these countries there are those who falsely claim they have a university degree. There are others who have a fake degree, and there are yet others who provide fake degrees for a hefty fee. There is also a tribe of ghost writers of Ph.D dissertations.   

The craze for fake degrees reflects the rarity or expensiveness of education in a society. A tight job market makes it necessary to have a degree, fake or real. Among a population of uneducated people, flaunting a university degree, whether real or fake, helps gain recognition and opens the doors to jobs when jobs are scarce.  

When politics became popular and intensely competitive in South Asian countries, politicians began to add educational qualifications, real or false, to their CVs as additional feathers in their cap. They also began to use their political clout in local universities to get honorary doctorates which they unethically deemed to be doctorates got after pursuing a rigorous doctoral programme.

The number of politicians getting such doctorates increased exponentially after universities, to curry favour with governments and politicians, starting giving doctorates to Chief Ministers, Ministers and other political bigwigs. The number of political doctorates in India ballooned with the politicization of the universities. Both state and private universities were in this racket as both needed State funds ad political patronage to conduct their educational business.”

All countries in South Asia developed economically, especially after they liberalized, but job opportunities did not grow commensurately. The new needs arising from a liberalized economy and the intense competition that the needs generated resulted in a craze for getting higher qualifications” no matter how dubious these qualifications might be.

Degree Shops

To meet the needs of these wannabes”, shops came up selling degrees from nice sounding but dubious universities, both local and foreign. In 2022, the Colombo-based Roar Media carried a story on the degree racket in Sri Lanka. It cited the case of the director of a sanitary ware company, who while scrolling through his Facebook page, saw a message from a local representative of a university based in the US.” The gent offered honorary doctorates for LKR 390,000 each.

Manav Bharti University was a private university in Himachal Pradesh state in India which had sold 36,000 degrees for US$1,362 each, South China Morning Post said. Offers of fake degrees came from the US and Nigeria also. The prices for a doctorate varied from USD 62 to USD 1400. Even convocations” were held in expensive places to impress the recipients and others, but at an extra cost of USD 626 per client.

Some of the known fake universities are: Indian Virtual University; Universal Tamil University, Chennai; Kings University, U.S.A.; International Peace University, Germany; International Tamil University; and University Asia, Kathmandu, Nepal.

The fake degree agents claim high connections. According to India Today, a Chennai man ran an International Coaching Centre under the auspices of the International Labour Organisation/United Nations Development Programme for getting Ph.Ds. MBAs and MBBS degrees from New York University and Stanton University

American fake degrees are, of course, the most sought after. The United States Education Foundation in India (USEFI), Chennai, run by the US Education Department, had said that most of the US universities” giving degrees” were fake. The list includes International University, California, Stanton University and City University of New York.

Some shops touting fake degrees really seek research work. One India-based entity gave a PhD certificate in 45 days for USD 1065 after a 250-page thesis was submitted. To help write Ph.D. dissertations there arose ghost writers.

In 2019, 11 professors at government arts and science colleges in Tamil Nadu state were suspended after their PhD certificates were found to be fake. The same year, the Education Ministry launched an investigation into six universities – including three public ones – that had been accused of selling fake degrees.

Fake Degrees in UK

In 2018, the BBC reported that one of its staff was offered a degree from the fake Nixon University for US$ 3,600. Thousands of UK nationals have bought fake degrees from a multi-million pound diploma mill” in Pakistan, a BBC Radio 4’s File on Four” programme investigation found. Buyers included National Health Service Consultants, nurses and a large defence contractor. One British buyer spent almost £500,000 on bogus documents.

Axact” which claims to be the world’s largest IT company”, operates a network of hundreds of fake online universities run by agents from a Karachi Call Centre. With names such as Brooklyn Park University and Nixon University, they feature stock images of smiling students and even fake news articles singing the institution’s praises.

In 2015, Axact sold more than 215,000 fake qualifications globally, through approximately 350 fictitious high schools and universities, making US$ 51 million that year alone.

According to documents seen by BBC Radio 4’s File on Four” programme, more than 3,000 fake Axact qualifications were sold to UK-based buyers in 2013 and 2014, including master’s degrees, doctorates and PhDs.

A trawl through the list of Axact UK buyers reveals various National Health Service clinical staff, including an ophthalmologist, nurses, a psychologist, and numerous consultants also bought fake degrees,” BBC said. Defence contractor FB Heliservices bought fake Axact degrees for seven employees, including two helicopter pilots, between 2013 and 2015

Extortion

Fake degree agents have also taken to extortion and blackmail. One could get a telephone call that looks like it’s coming from your embassy or local law enforcement, threatening to arrest or deport you unless you get some additional documents to help support the phony diploma you already have.

The BBC mentions the case of Cecil Horner, a British engineer based in Saudi Arabia, who kept getting threatening calls from Axact agents after paying nearly £500,000 for fake a fake degree. Sometimes, these fly-by-night operators would pocket the money and disappear without issuing a certificate.  

Rajib Ray, president of the Federation of Central Universities’ Teachers’ Associations, told South China Morning Post that most fake degree scams in India involved private institutions – a sector that has been booming since the 1990s following a surge in demand for IT and management courses.

END

Courtesy dd News

Sri Lanka has the potential to produce surplus energy and could export it to India and other neighbouring nations if new energy projects are initiated, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the India Foundation Programme, Herath invited Indian companies to participate in the development of Sri Lanka’s energy sector. He said that while some energy projects are already underway, discussions are ongoing for others.

On India’s role in Sri Lanka’s energy security, Herath said, We have surplus energy power, we have wind power and solar power. If we can start new energy projects, we can export to India and all other neighbouring countries because we have the ability to produce surplus energy. Therefore, we are in stand with the support of your companies (the Indian companies) to develop our energy sector.”

He further added that proposals and projects are currently being discussed for regions like Sampur, Mannar, and Jaffna. Herath said, There are so many proposals out there, and we have already started some projects. We are talking with some projects because there are some technical issues in Sampur, Mannar and Jaffna. There are so many projects and proposals. Therefore, we need to finalise within a short period, and then after that, we can start those projects. After succeeding in those projects, I think, as a country we can share our energy with our neighbouring countries also. In that scenario, those projects are very valuable.”

On bilateral ties, Herath pointed to the strong relationship between India and Sri Lanka, highlighting Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s ongoing visit to India as a reflection of their shared ties.

The current visit to India of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is his first visit and symbolizes the closely knit bilateral ties which our nations share. India-Sri Lanka relations are founded on historical, civilizational, religious and cultural bonds. These bonds go back to time immemorial, more than 2500 years the least,” Herath said.

He elaborated on the cultural and religious links between the two nations, noting the role of Buddhism and Hinduism. India had given us the gift of Buddhism, which gave rise to a flourishing Buddhist civilization in the island more than two millennia ago, and the influence of Hinduism was built into our socio-cultural fabric over the centuries of movement of people and interactions. Along with these religions, literature, languages, architecture, sculpture and agrarian economy, etc. developed in Sri Lanka.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake held a meeting at Hyderabad House in Delhi on Monday.

Reported By : Madhuparna Das Courtesy news18

Sri Lanka’s new government is likely to discuss the projects under BRI with China and also talk about Beijing’s other commitments, including central highways. Additionally, there will also be talks around the lease of Hambantota Port, a proposed refinery, and other projects

The new government in Sri Lanka is likely to re-negotiate” China’s strategicBelt Road Initiative (BRI)projects in the 

island nation and recalibrate” its old commitments, foreign affairs minister Vijitha Herath told News 18 on Tuesday, signalling Colombo’s intent to maintain cordial diplomatic and financial ties while fostering relationships with Beijing as well as New Delhi.

Walking the tightrope between two Asian giants—India and China—the new government in Sri Lanka is now carefully crafting a balanced foreign policy. China is our friend, just like India is,” the minister said.

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Announcing that the delegation, including Anura Kumara Dissanayake, President of Sri Lanka, and the foreign affairs minister himself, would be travelling to China in January, Herath told News 18 that the visit will focus on renegotiating key Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects, including the Hambantota Port deal, apart from other projects, as the new government now seeks to recalibrate its economic commitments with China amid debt pressures and geopolitical sensitivities.

Recalibrating BRI deals with China

Sri Lanka’s new government is likely to discuss the projects under BRI with China and also talk about Beijing’s other commitments, including central highways. Additionally, there will also be talks around the lease of Hambantota Port, a proposed refinery, and other projects.

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At this point, we can now confirm that during our visit to China, there are certain plans to renegotiate certain Belt and Road Initiative projects. We have a few proposals too, Herath told News 18. He was speaking on the sidelines of a reception programme organised by the India Foundation, a think tank that specialises in geopolitical relations.

Discussions will include plans for building a central highway and reviving earlier commitments, such as the construction of a convention hall in the Port City, which was previously agreed upon as a grant. We aim to move forward on these projects with renewed focus,” he added.Talking about the new government’s policy towards China, Herath said, We hope to build strong and cordial relationships not only with India but also with China, the USA, Russia, Cuba, and even North Korea. As an 

island nation, it is crucial and very vital for us to engage with all countries to rebuild our country and grow. Our first state visit was to India, and next month, the President, myself, and our delegation will visit China to further strengthen ties.”

Ties with India

However, he reiterated that the new government is working on strengthening ties with India further. It is also going to announce visa-free access for 39 countries to boost tourism and seeks to have the same for Sri Lankans while travelling to India. Indians currently do not need a visa to travel to Sri Lanka.

Citizens across religious divides in Sri Lanka are eager to travel to India for several purposes, which include pilgrimage, education, and healthcare, but many, especially from underprivileged sections, cannot afford air travel. A proposal to construct a road bridge fromDhanushkodiin Tamil Nadu and Talaimannar on Mannar Island , an island off the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka. We need to study its feasibility,” he said.

Commenting on India’s security concerns over the foreign research vessels in Sri Lankan waters, Herath said, The current moratorium on research vessels ends in December. A special national committee has been appointed to review this and introduce a comprehensive national policy on the matter.”

Suhasini Haidar,Meera Srinivasan Courtesy The Hindu

Minister Vijitha Herath says rebuilding the economy is new government’s biggest priority as he calls for more tourism, visa concessions from India

After his trip to India, Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will visit China next month, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said, while adding that the newly elected government wants win-win” ties with all countries.

A day after Mr. Dissanayake’s talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where the President said that he would ensure that Sri Lankan territory is not used in any manner inimical to the security of India as well as towards regional stability”, Mr. Herath reaffirmed the commitment. On Tuesday, Mr. Dissanayake travelled to Bodh Gaya to offer prayers, and returned to Colombo.

As a new government, we hope to have a good relationship with China also, as well as India. And also with other countries like U.S., Russia, Cuba and North Korea…,” Mr. Herath told an audience at an event organised by the India Foundation in Delhi.

 India, Sri Lanka decide to ramp up defence, energy, trade ties

After this first visit to India, our next visit is to China next month,” he said, indicating that the government would continue to seek support from both Delhi and Beijing, even as Mr. Dissanayake has clearly prioritised the Indian visit first.

On a visit to Jaffna last month, Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong said that China welcomed” Mr. Dissanayake’s visit to India as it was a close neighbour” to Sri Lanka, adding that the visit by Mr. Dissanayake to Beijing would enhance [China-Lanka] traditional friendship, promote bilateral economic cooperation, and bring more benefits to our peoples”.

 Held fruitful discussions, says Sri Lankan President Dissanayake after meeting Jaishankar, NSA Doval

Responding to questions in Delhi, Mr. Herath said that Sri Lanka’s first priority was to shore up its economic situation, restructure its debt package with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, as well as push for new tourism inflows.

Reviving tourism

Mr. Herath, who is also the Minister of Tourism, explained that after hitting a peak of 2.5 million tourists in 2018, the Sri Lankan tourism industry had been dealt three successive blows — the Easter Sunday terror attacks in 2019, Covid pandemic in 2020-21, and the economic crisis and debt default in 2022.

He announced that the Dissanayake government would soon issue a gazette notification making visas free of charge for nationals of 39 countries including India, and called for India to reciprocate the measure, and to increase tourism in both countries.

Foreign vessels

Responding to questions at the event, Mr. Herath gave no clear indication on whether Sri Lanka would continue to allow foreign research vessels, particularly Chinese ships, to berth at Lankan ports after a one-year moratorium on all such research expeditions expires on December 31.

The Sri Lankan Foreign Minister said instead that there was a need to build a national policy” on the issue, and that a committee had been set up to look into it. India has consistently objected to Chinese vessels on research visits to Lankan ports, as it says the ships have a dual purpose” to also collect sensitive, strategic data in the Indian Ocean, a charge Beijing has denied.

 Bottom trawling by Indian fishermen must stop: Sri Lanka’s Fisheries Minister

After the Modi-Dissanayake talks on Monday, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that India had offered its own capacities and training to Sri Lanka to circumvent the need for other foreign vessels.

 It’s bilateral, says Centre on Tamil Nadu fishermen’s issues with Sri Lankan authorities

To a question from The Hindu after the event, Mr. Herath said that the  Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) government would consider” the situation of Sri Lankan refugees living in India. Many of the refugees fled violence in the 1980s, are ineligible for citizenship in India and are unsure of their future in Sri Lanka. He said that while there were procedures in place for their repatriation, not all of them wish to return to the island nation.

According to the India-based Organisation for Eelam Refugees’ Rehabilitation, there are approximately 57,000 displaced persons living in 104 camps in Tamil Nadu, while about 34,000 others are settled in various cities in the State, outside the camps.

Courtesy independent (UK)

Anura Kumara Dissanayake pledges Colombo’s commitment to India’s security interests amid rising Chinese activity in the Indian Ocean

Sri Lankan president Anura Kumara Dissanayake has assured Narendra Modi that Colombo will not allow its territory to be used in any way detrimental to India’s security interests.

The statement came during Mr Dissanayake’s first bilateral visit to New Delhi on Monday, amid growing concerns over China’s increasing influence in the Indian Ocean region.

I have given an assurance to the prime minister of India that we will not have our land… be used in a manner that is detrimental to the interest of India in any way,” Mr Dissanayake said after talks with Mr Modi at Hyderabad House.

The two leaders emphasised their shared commitment to ensuring regional stability and the security of the Indian Ocean, with Mr Modi stating: We both agree that our security interests are interconnected. We have decided to soon finalise the defence cooperation agreement.”

The assurance follows diplomatic tensions sparked by recent visits of Chinese military ships to Sri Lanka and China’s development of the Hambantota port in the island nation.

A joint statement from the two countries reiterated the importance of trust and transparency in addressing mutual security concerns and underscored their commitment to countering threats in the region.

India pledged continued assistance to strengthen Sri Lanka’s maritime and defence capabilities.

Mr Modi expressed hope for swift implementation of collaborative measures, including enhanced defence cooperation and capacity building. Both sides agreed to work on a framework for supplying defence platforms, conducting joint exercises, and expanding maritime surveillance.

On the contentious issue of Chinese vessels docking in Sri Lankan ports, Mr Dissanayake reaffirmed his country’s policy of prioritising India’s security interests, a position described as a trusted and reliable partner” in the joint statement.

Energy cooperation was another focal point of the discussion. Both nations agreed to establish electricity grid connectivity and develop multi-product petroleum pipelines to deepen their energy partnership.

India will also support Sri Lanka in enhancing renewable energy capacity, with projects such as the solar power plant in Sampur.

Mr Modi highlighted the broader economic partnership, which will focus on investment-led growth and connectivity” to facilitate development and reduce Sri Lanka’s debt burden.

Mr Dissanayake and his party have in the past been seen as more ideologically aligned with China.

After his win, analysts predicted that could mean drawing more Chinese investment, which slowed after the Sri Lankan government was blamed for taking on too many Chinese loans that added to the country’s debt as its economy collapsed in 2022.

Chinese money quickly became a cautionary tale in the country, while the economic crisis allowed India to gain some sway as it stepped in with massive financial and material assistance to its neighbour.

Just after Mr Dissanayake was sworn in, Beijing said it wanted to work with the new government on boosting development and cooperation in building China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Under Mr Dissanayake, there’s a possibility of more Chinese money coming into Sri Lanka”, Happymon Jacob, founder of the New Delhi-based Council for Strategic and Defense Research, earlier told the Associated Press, adding that this could concern India. However, the newly elected president attempted to allay some of the fears, prior to his win.

As a neighboring country, we need to be concerned over India’s stability, national interests and national security when taking decisions”, Mr Dissanayake told the Associated Press in an interview a few weeks before the election.

Our main objective is the safety of the region and we will not allow any party to use our land, sea and air to create instability,” he added.

by Dr Upul Wijayawardhana Courtesy The Island

Asoka Ranwala

I continue to be amazed by the parallels in politics in the country of my birth and the country of my residence. But before going in to the latest developments in the field of politics, let me make a clarification regarding a response to my opinion piece What is in a title?” (The Island, 13 December). My grateful thanks go to Philosophiae Doctor (Canterbrigensis) for the tutorial on degrees (A degree is not a title! The Island, 16 December) from which I learnt a lot, but may I humbly point out a wrong assumption. Though in the said piece it is stated The learned physician who identified a Ph.D. degree as a title (The Island, 13/12/24) was wrong. The cardiologist had missed the heart of the matter.” What I stated in my piece was that ‘when challenged, among others, by the much respected and vociferous former elections chief, though the entry in the official parliamentary website dropped ‘Dr’ title and there had been a dramatic rewrite of his profile in the much-used people’s encyclopaedia, Wikipedia, he is yet to respond.” Obviously, What is in a title?” referred to was ‘Dr’, a title, not to the degree PhD!

Much more has surfaced regarding the former speaker since the publication of my piece. He has tendered his resignation, belatedly, from the post of the Speaker which has been accepted by the President; although he had no choice considering the circumstances. The excuse given, as I guessed in my opinion piece, is that he was looking for the documents but could not find them; an excuse nobody bar himself would believe! To make matters worse, he states that there is a likelihood of his obtaining the relevant documentation from the research institute affiliated to Waseda University. Surely, in this era of electronic communication such a feat does not need a gestation period!

As a trade unionist, Ranwala was the president of the State Medical Faculties’ Parents Association and spearheaded the 2018 protests against an attempt by Dr Neville Fernando’s pioneer institute SAITEM (South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine) to award medical degrees locally. He claimed it was a ‘degree shop’ where a degree could be bought for money! The Sunday Times of 15 December has a photograph of him leading the protests and, more importantly, states that media reports, at the time, referred to him as ‘Prof. Ranwala! ‘Prof. Ranwala, who led the protests against private medical education in Sri Lanka now claims to have obtained a PhD from a private university in Japan! Is this not the height of hypocrisy? How come the JVP/NPP failed to detect these anomalies?

Another minister, who claimed to be a professor, turned out to be a person who had stagnated, for years, as a senior lecturer because he was not able obtain a PhD. He has said he will be submitting his thesis in three months! Perhaps, submission was delayed by all the planning and electioneering over the past few months and now that he has ample free time as a member of parliament, he can complete the thesis and be assured of acceptance as he is in the governing party!

Though some others have got ‘Dr’ titles removed hastily from the parliamentary website, the Minister of Justice has made a complaint to the CID, that parliamentary staff has wrongly called him ‘Dr’ in an attempt to discredit him. This action raises two questions. First, why did he take so long to note that mistake? Second, is it not more prudent to have an internal inquiry, led by the Secretary General of the parliament before contemplating police action.

True, the government is getting some results in some fields but it has lost the shine too soon, just like the Labour government did in the UK; which also came to power with a massive majority like the NPP. This becomes all the more significant as the NPP offered a change in political culture with honest, educated members of parliament but what has happened is just the opposite. It moved far too slowly over the speaker fiasco and the Speaker waited without any explanations, resigning only when he was left with no alternative. Attempts by NPP social media supporters to glorify the Speaker’s resignation as the actions of a transparent government are absurd.

As the saying goes, ‘coming colours no good!

Courtesy The Island

File photo of President AKD and Speaker Ranwala(Image courtesy Parliament of Sri Lanka)

‘To prove that degrees, per se, are worthless. Often, they are honorifics of true scientists or learned scholars or inspired teachers. Much more frequently they are false faces for overeducated jackasses.’ – Robert A. Heinlein 

It is the above quote that came to mind when witnessing the barrage of information coming out on the saga of the Sri Lankan parliamentary speaker Asoka Ranwala’s PhD qualification, or the lack of it. Of course, true to form, we have outdone ourselves – yet again. In Sri Lanka’s case, degrees are not only the false faces for overeducated jackasses”. Our people who often wear degrees like expensive jewellery are the worst of the uneducated louts, to put it mildly.  The fiasco surrounding former speaker Ranwala’s resignation has also brought to the fore one of the most serious ailments our society has been afflicted with for a very long time, i. e. false pretense for social recognition and/or profit, mostly by superimposing degrees or other perceived qualifications on one’s public persona.  This is not new, but the recent saga has invited a significant degree of prominence. This is not only due to Ranwala’s recently acquired status as the Speaker and the country’s third citizen but, more importantly, as a result of the moral high ground on which the NPP campaigned and was elected to Parliament with an unprecedented majority.

Soon after my undergraduate studies in the 1980s, I met a friend in Pettah who had studied history at the University of Colombo during my time, but was practising medicine in Tissamaharama.  Quackery is part of this same scheme and is better known though it is structurally part of the same cluster of scams. These scams involving non-existent degrees or inflated qualifications usually involve lying to the public. Quite simply, it is a matter of public dishonesty. But politicians and dubious characters affiliated with politics have been the worst culprits in this scam. Sajith Premadas’s bachelor’s degree from the London School of Economics has been an unresolved bone of contention for a long time, and has resurfaced again now. Similarly, Namal Rajapaksa’s Attorney-at-Law qualification (not a degree) from the Sri Lanka Law College after sitting for the final exams in restricted conditions by himself (easily doable under the Rajapaksas) is another well-known case, which also has become part of the debate again.  Ironically, both are now asking the present government to cleanse itself of false degree holders! The demand would have been more believable if the Opposition began its war cry by cleansing itself of its most obvious culprits.

The late Eliyantha Lindsay White, heavily sponsored by the Rajapaksas, who claimed to be a doctor with miraculous healing powers, and Viranjith Thambugala’s alleged PhD and teaching at well-known institutions, including at NASA, are among more recent cases.  None of these people – from Premadasa to Thambugala – have ever uttered anything sensible that can vouch for their alleged advanced formal training.  Nevertheless, they have been allowed to remain untouched, beyond short-lived public outcries, because such fakery is not a crime, but an ethical issue. More importantly, they had enormous political protection. Besides, ethics are of no concern for such people. This, however, was not possible for Ranwala.  The question is why not, and what feeds this ailment in our country.

The short answer to what feeds this ailment” is, because of the long-standing importance given to education in our country, in the context of which advanced education and university affiliations are taken very seriously beyond simple professional matters.  What these nefarious people from universities and outside are doing is to make use of this broad-based public interest and institutionalized respect, for their own private social and political gain.  Up to now, it has been a safe game to play.

Information available suggests that Ranwala does not even have the bachelor’s degree from the University of Moratuwa, which he had initially claimed.  In his resignation letter, which itself is a fascinating document, he has claimed that he had not been able to collect the paperwork pertaining to his PhD from Waseda University, Tokyo, but he nevertheless has the degree.  But this is late 2024 and not the 15th century.  One does not need to send a delegation bearing gifts to the Vice Chancellor of this Japanese university to get the transcripts and authenticated degree certificates pertaining to any former candidate in any degree programme.  All that was needed in this case was for Ranwala to make that request himself or otherwise authorize someone else to do it and make the required payment.  The information would have come via email in a few days if not a few hours. There is no indication this was ever attempted. If that was done sooner — if the former Speaker’s claims are true — this fiasco would not have reached the heights it did. It also would have saved the government needless embarrassment.

But this also opens another more important question.  That is, why did the NPP wait for so long to get their man to relinquish his duties as Speaker, and that, too, with a somewhat non-committal resignation letter, with its spokesperson Nalinda Jayatissa deliberately evading questions by journalists. Some of its Ministers, like Wasantha Samarasinghe and Deputy Minister Namal Karunarathna, went to the extent of issuing an unnecessary threat amidst much bravado that they have the numbers in place (which we the people had given them not too long ago) to defeat any no-confidence motion by the Opposition.  What this means is that the NPP was willing to compromise its own ethical standards for the protection of one person and his possible dishonesty. This was not merely a debate over a certificate.  More crucially, it is about lying in public to all of us and getting elected because some voters would have voted for him assuming him to be a learned man. I am sure it is this belief in the integrity and the perceived qualifications of its man that the JVP was moved to appoint Ranwala as the Speaker when there were many better qualified people in Parliament to hold that responsibility, but without such dubious baggage.

Ultimately, this is about the confidence in the man, others like him and by extension the government itself.  Not just this incident, but the lackluster way in which it was handled by the NPP and the way in which its JVP members at large justified Ranwala’s status publicly and vociferously have only done one thing: it has created a needless rupture in the moral high ground with which the NPP was ushered into power. All indications are, he was protected within the government until it was no longer possible (with an impending no-confidence motion and widespread bad press) because he was an important member of the JVP.  None of us are doubting the work he has done tirelessly for years for the betterment of the JVP in considerably difficult times and with risks to his life. But would the same position be adopted if the individual concerned was from another entity within the NPP?

It seems there are many more Ranwalas in Parliament now in the ranks of the NPP. Since the eruption of the Ranwala saga, their degree and professional claims on social media handles and platforms they control have disappeared, opening more questions about their integrity than any answers. These degree claims were also part of their campaign arsenal.

Again, the lead for this was provided by Ranwala himself by discontinuing his LikedIn page as soon as the fiasco emerged.

But to be clear, the incident has so far only dented the government’s moral high ground, and it has not been dismantled – yet.  But if the government is serious about maintaining this hard won moral high ground and the trust people had placed in them, then, it needs to clean shop right now.  People who have lied during their campaigns claiming for themselves degrees and qualifications they do not have, should be identified via a thorough disciplinary investigation and made to resign or be removed. But not only from their positions in the government but also as MPs. The same applies to Ranwala. After all, we did not vote for them to be Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Speaker, but to be MPs.  Needless to say, all this should also apply to similar dishonest people in Opposition if they have any interest at all in reinventing themselves within slightly higher moral standards.

There is no point in arguing as some in the JVP’s public and social media bandwagons have already begun that these are not crimes and others have done it before.  We know all this.  But we did not vote this government in for it to tread along the same dubious and treacherous path other worse culprits have tread before.  That moral high ground that the government once had, and which I think can still be retained, must clearly be retained if it is to do what it promised all of us. But it must be done with effort and sincerity and not with nonsense and bravado. And to do so, we must be shown the government is serious about corruption at all levels.  Public dishonesty is the worst form of corruption. This cannot be an excuse for any reason simply because some of the culprits might be their own. For us to be led by elected leaders, we have to have trust in their integrity.  If not, what would be the difference between this government and those who came before but were booted out decisively?

I hope the President was serious when he said recently in public that the government will deal with all people appropriately within its ranks if they have done anything wrong.  Public dishonesty is ethically wrong, Mr President; it is morally repugnant though it is not illegal. It cannot be an excused for leniency whatever the pressures within might be.

A former student told me recently I should not be too critical of the government as it is doing its best.  I damn well have the right and the responsibility to be exactly this: critical but with self-reflection.  I voted for the NPP and went public for the first time in my life asking people to do so, too, as we as a country needed serious change. But in that same address to the public, I also said that if the government deviated from its principles we supported, we also had the right to object, come to the streets and look for alternatives.  Hopefully, that future will not come.  Hopefully, another Gotabaya saga will not come, which fortunately is in the mind of the President, too, going by his many public statements since the parliamentary election victory. The only way to ensure that this government governs effectively and with dignity is to be honest in public, to be honest in private, to be honest in words, and to be honest in action. Personally, I still have considerable hope for this regime.  But it needs to call off its over-enthusiastic and unenlightened public bulldogs drunk with the power of victory and majoritarian euphoria and begin to grow up politically and morally and not be caught up in the corrupt politics of the past. They also need to realize, most of us did not blindly vote for the JVP but for the JVP-led NPP.  Erasure of this crucial fact would be a serious mistake from which neither the NPP nor the country would be able to recover.

උපුටා ගැන්ම  ලංකා ලීඩර්

රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතා 2023 ජූලි 21 ඉන්දියාව සමග එකඟවූ එකඟතාවයේ දී එට්කා ගිවිසුම සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම ක්‍රියාත්මක කර අවසන් කරන බව ප්‍රකාශකර තිබූ බවත්, මෙවර එකඟතා ප්‍රකාශයේ ද ඒ පිළිබඳව සඳහන්කර ඇති බවත් දේශහිතෛෂී ජාතික ව්‍යාපාරයේ මහ ලේකම් වෛද්‍ය වසන්ත බණ්ඩාර මහතා පවසයි.

එහෙත් අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක ජනාධිපතිවරයා ඔහුගේ කතාවේ දී ඒ පිළිබඳව සඳහන් නොකළ බවද, 13 වැනි සංශෝධනය සම්පූර්ණයෙන් බලාත්මක කරන ලෙස ඉන්දියාවේ අගමැති නරේන්ද්‍ර මොදි ප්‍රකාශ කර තිබුනත් අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක මහතාගේ කතාවේ දී ඒ සඳහා එකඟතාව පළවී නැති බවත් ඒ මහතා සඳහන් කරයි.

මේ බලපෑම්වලට යටත් නොවී අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක මහතා කටයුතු කරනු ඇතැයි බලාාපාරොත්තු වන බවත් සඳහන් කරන වසන්ත බණ්ඩාර මහතා, ජනතා විරෝධය හමුවේ හිටපු ජනාධිපතිවරු 8 දෙනෙකුටම 13 සම්පූර්ණයෙන් බලාත්මක කිරීමට නොහැකි වූ බවත්, ජනතාව අනුර දිසානායක ජනාධිපතිවරයාට බලය ලබා දී ඇත්තේ හිටපු ජනපතිවරු 8 දෙනෙකු නොකළ දේ කිරීමට නොවන බවත් සඳහන් කරයි.

සවිස්තරාත්මක වීඩියෝව නරඹන්න… 

Courtesy Adaderana

The year-on-year GDP growth rate for the third quarter of 2024 has been reported as 5.5 percent of positive growth rate, the Department of Census and Statistics indicated.

Accordingly, the GDP for the third quarter of 2024 at constant price (2015) has increased up to Rs. 3,151,941 million from Rs. 2,987,544 million which recorded in the third quarter of 2023.

The year-on-year GDP growth rate for the third quarter of year 2024 has been reported as 5.5 percent of positive growth rate, while the Agricultural, Industrial and Services activities expanded by 3.0 percent, 10.8 percent and 2.6 percent respectively in the third quarter of 2024, according to the department.

උපුටා ගැන්ම  ලංකා ලීඩර්

ඉන්දියාවේ සිට ශ්‍රී ලංකාව දක්වා තෙල් නළයක් ඉදිකිරීමටත් ඉන්දියාව හා ශ‍්‍රී ලංකාව විදුලි සම්ප්‍රේෂණ ජාලයන් මගින් සම්බන්ධ කිරීමටත්, දෙරට අතර වන එක්ටා ගිවිසුම ඉක්මනින් අවසන් කිරීමටත් ජනාධිපති අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක මහතා සමන්ග සාකච්ඡා කළ බව ඉන්දීය අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය නරේන්ද්‍ර මෝදි මහතා පැවසූ බව ඉන්දීය මාධ්‍ය වාර්තා කර සිටී.

දෙරටේ රාජ්‍ය නායකයින් දෙපළගේ හමුවීමෙන් පසුව නවදිල්ලියේ ‘හයිද්‍රාබාද් හවුස්’හි පැවති ඒකාබද්ධ මාධ්‍ය හමුව අමතමින් ඉන්දීය අගමැතිවරයා මෙසේ පවසා ඇතැයි ඉන්දීය මාධ්‍ය පවසයි.

‘අපිට සතුටුයි ඔබා ජනාධිපති වූ පසුව ඔබගේ පළමු විදේශ සංචාරය සඳහා ඉන්දියාව තෝරා ගැනීම සම්බන්ධයෙන්. ඔබගේ මෙම සංචාරය අපගේ සබඳතාවලට නව ජවයක් ඇති කරනවා. භෞතික ඩිජිටල් සහ බලශක්ති සම්බන්ධතාවය අපගේ හවුල්කාරීත්වයේ වැදගත් කුළුණු වනු ඇති. දෙරට අතර විදුලි බල ජාල සම්බන්ධතාවය සහ බහු නිෂ්පාදන පෙට්‍රෝලියම් නල මාර්ග ස්ථාපනය කිරීමේ කටයුතු ඉදිරියේදී ආරම්භ වේවි. සම්පූර්ණ සූර්ය බල ශක්ති ව්‍යාපෘතියට ජවයක් ලබාදෙනු ඇහ්ටි.ඒ වගේම ලංකාවේ බලාගාර වලට අප එල්.එන්.ජී. සපයනවා.

ද්විපාර්ශවික වෙළඳාම නංවාලීම සඳහා දෙපාර්ශ්වයම ’එක්ටා’ ගිවිසුම ඉක්මනින් අවසන් කිරීමට උත්සාහ කරනවා.අපේ දෙපාර්ශවයේම ආරක්ෂක අවශ්‍යතා එකිනෙකට සම්බන්ධ බවට අපි දෙදෙනාම සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම එකඟයි.දෙරටේ අරක්ෂික සහයෝගිතා ගිවිසුම කඩනමින් අවසන් කිරීමට අපි තීරණය කර තිබෙන්නේ ඒ නිසයි. ධීවරයන්ගේ ගැටලු ගැනත් අපි සාකච්ඡා කළා. මේ කාරණය සම්බන්ධයෙන් මානුෂ්‍යයේ ප්‍රවේශයකින් ඉදිරියට යයුතු බවට අපි එකඟයි.ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණය සහ සංහිඳියාව සම්බන්ධයෙන් අපි කතා කළා. දිසානායක ජනාධිපතිතුමා එතුමාගේ මතය ඒ සම්බන්ධයෙන් මට පැවසූවා.ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය දෙමළ ජනතාවගේ අභිලාෂ ඉටු කරනු ඇතැයි අපි බලාපොරොත්තු වෙනවා. ඒ වගේම ශ්‍රී ලංකා ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීම සහ පළාත් සභා මැතිවරණ පැවැත්වීම සඳහා වන කැපවීම ඉටු කරනු ඇතැයි අපි විශ්වාස කරනවා.ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සංවර්ධනය සඳහා වන ඔහුගේ ප්‍රයත්නයන්හිදී ඉන්දියාව විශ්වාසදායක හවුල්කරුවකු ලෙස පවතින බවට මම සහතික වෙනවා.’ලෙස  ඉන්දීය අගමැතිවරයා පැවසූ බව ඉන්දීය මාධ්‍ය පවසයි.

Madyawediya

Madyawediya

Monara