According to the results released so far, the National People’s Power secured a resounding victory, with 80-70% of the votes
Hambantota District: NPP takes 5 out of 7 seats in Rajapakse stronghold.
The National People’s Power (NPP) has emerged victorious in the Hambantota District in the 2024 General Election, receiving 234,083 votes, which represents over 66% of the total votes.
National People’s Power (NPP) 234,083 (5 seats Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) 52,170 (14.79%, 1 seat) Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) 26,268 (1 seat
With this substantial lead, the NPP has secured 5 seats, while the SJB and SLPP each earned one seat in the Hambantota District.
NPP wins Jaffna polling division in Jaffna District
The National People’s Power (NPP) has won the Jaffna polling division in the Jaffna District.national Peopl’s Power (NPP) 9,066 Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK 2,582 Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) 1,612
NPP wins Galle District with over 68% of votes, secures 7 seats
The National Peoples Power (NPP) has claimed victory in the Galle District in the 2024 General Election, polling 406,428 votes, which accounts for more than 68% of the total votes.
National People’s Power (NPP) 406,428 (7 seats Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) 93,486 (15.66%, 1 seat) Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) 31,201 (1 seat)< With this decisive lead, the NPP has secured 7 seats, while the SJB and SLPP each gained a single seat in the Galle District.
The National People’s Power (NPP) has won the Polonnaruwa District in the 2024 General Election, polling 159,010 votes, which accounts for over 68% of the total votes.
National People’s Power (NPP) 159,010 (4 seats)
Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) 43,822 (1 seat}
With this overwhelming support, the NPP has secured 4 seats in the district, while the SJB earned 1 seat.
Image by history: The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand On the eve of the assassination’s centennial, discover how a teenage Serbian nationalist ignited the flames of World War I.
Sri Lanka recently hosted the Pathfinder Foundation’s fifth Dialogue with Diplomats at Cinnamon Grand Colombo, focusing on The Great Power Competition in the Indo-Pacific and its Impact on Small States in South Asia, with Special Reference to Sri Lanka.” This event brought together diplomats, experts, and local participants to discuss the complex geopolitical dynamics of the Indo-Pacific region and their implications for smaller states like Sri Lanka. The dialogue generated valuable debates and insights.
But as the author, I would like to offer another perspective to those engaged in the discussion surrounding this geopolitical event. In the context of the current geopolitical landscape, even a small, pocket-sized meeting can underscore the sensitivity and significance of such an event. It serves as an important reminder of the inherent risks that come with even minimal engagement in the great power competition.
For Sri Lanka, one of the most significant risks is the potential for strategic dependence. Even slight alignment with a major power could severely restrict Sri Lanka’s ability to make independent decisions. History has shown that such dependence often results in the erosion of sovereignty, turning smaller nations into mere pawns in a larger geopolitical chessboard. By aligning with one major power, Sri Lanka could find its foreign policy and domestic affairs influenced by external interests, compromising the nation’s autonomy and diminishing its ability to act in the best interests of its people.
Economic vulnerability is another pressing concern. Sri Lanka has long been susceptible to external economic influence, and over-reliance on foreign powers for aid, trade, or investment could open the door to economic coercion. Such dependency risks recreating a cycle of exploitation, reminiscent of colonial economic systems, where Sri Lanka’s economic sovereignty is compromised for the benefit of external powers. In today’s global order, this could jeopardize Sri Lanka’s economic stability and growth, pushing the country further from self-sufficiency and exposing it to external pressures that may not align with national interests.
Diplomatic isolation is another risk of becoming too aligned with any single power. Aligning too closely with one geopolitical bloc could alienate others, diminishing Sri Lanka’s influence in regional and international forums. The nation’s credibility and ability to advocate for its own interests would be significantly weakened, especially in forums where global cooperation on issues like human rights, trade, and security are crucial. By maintaining an independent foreign policy, Sri Lanka ensures that it can continue to build relationships with a variety of global actors, keeping its diplomatic options open and its national interests safeguarded.
Security is another area where Sri Lanka could face serious risks if it becomes entangled in the great power rivalry. The region has already become a focal point for escalating tensions between major powers, and Sri Lanka’s strategic location makes it vulnerable to military competition and conflict. The involvement of global powers in the Indo-Pacific could disrupt the delicate balance of Sri Lanka’s national security, leading to instability. Furthermore, involvement in security arrangements dictated by external powers might lead to compromises in national sovereignty, potentially exposing Sri Lanka to military conflict or unwanted interventions.
Internal divisions within Sri Lanka could also be exacerbated by foreign alignments. The country has a long history of political and ethnic divisions, and foreign influence could deepen these rifts. Competing factions within Sri Lanka might support differing foreign policies, leading to domestic instability. This internal disunity could ultimately weaken national cohesion and impede efforts to promote humanrights, democracy, and social justice—foundational values for Sri Lanka as a sovereign nation.
Sri Lanka’s historical stance of non-alignment and strategic autonomy offers valuable lessons in navigating these complex geopolitical waters. Our membership in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) has been instrumental in allowing us to maintain independence while avoiding entanglement in global conflicts. These lessons, drawn from our past, underscore the importance of remaining neutral and preserving the autonomy that has allowed Sri Lanka to maintain stability and sovereignty. The dangers of strategic dependence, both economic and political, are too great to overlook, and it is crucial that Sri Lanka avoids repeating the mistakes of other nations that have sacrificed their independence in pursuit of short-term geopolitical gain.
The potential consequences of missteps in the geopolitical arena are clear. History is filled with examples where small, seemingly inconsequential actions have led to catastrophic outcomes. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914, for instance, triggered a chain of events that led to WorldWar I. Similarly, the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany in 1939 marked the beginning of World War II. More recently, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has demonstrated how local conflicts can have far-reaching global impacts. These events serve as stark reminders of how small decisions in the realm of foreign policy can spiral into larger crises. For Sri Lanka, even minimal engagement in the great power competition could have unforeseen consequences that may be difficult to reverse once set in motion.
The growing geopolitical tension in the Indo-Pacific, particularly between the United States and China, further complicates Sri Lanka’s position. China’s rise as a global superpower has changed the balance of power in the region, with the U.S. viewing this shift as a direct challenge to its global hegemony. The growing U.S. interest in the region, driven by competition with China, has led to increasing pressures on smaller states, including Sri Lanka, to take sides. While partnerships with major powers can offer economic benefits, the costs of such alignments—particularly in terms of sovereignty—may outweigh the advantages.
One example of this is the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) agreement, which Sri Lanka abandoned in 2020 after widespread public opposition. The MCC agreement aimed to promote economic growth by improving infrastructure, but concerns over sovereignty, particularly the risk of foreign-controlled land grabs, led to its termination. This agreement was linked to other U.S.-Sri Lanka agreements, such as the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) and the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which could have potentially given the U.S. significant influence over Sri Lanka’s military and strategic assets. These agreements raised serious concerns about the erosion of Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and the potential loss of control over its own resources and territory. The public opposition to the MCC agreement demonstrated the strong desire among Sri Lankans to protect the nation’s independence and avoid becoming embroiled in the global power struggles of larger nations.
Public discourse on sensitive geopolitical topics is also fraught with risks. While intellectual debates can provide valuable insights, openly airing discussions about strategic alignments can be misinterpreted by external powers, potentially escalating tensions. Sri Lanka’s internal political polarization further complicates matters, as factions within the country may seize on these debates to advance their own agendas, exacerbating domestic divisions. To avoid these risks, it is crucial that Sri Lanka takes a more measured and cautious approach to foreign policy discussions, ensuring that they do not undermine national unity or provoke unnecessary external pressure.
The dialogue hosted by the Pathfinder Foundation can be insightful, but it is crucial to remember that strategic discretion and caution are key to protecting Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and ensuring a stable future. This review is based on the article available at Lankaweb.
In conclusion, Sri Lanka must tread carefully during this period of great power competition. While it is important to engage with global powers, such engagement must not come at the expense of Sri Lanka’s sovereignty, security, and long-term stability. Strategic discretion and caution are essential to avoid the risks of entanglement in conflicts and power struggles that do not align with our national interests. The wisest course may often be to refrain from participating in a competition where the stakes are high, and where the potential consequences could be disastrous for our people and our future. By maintaining strategic autonomy and prioritizing national interests, Sri Lanka can safeguard its sovereignty and preserve its democratic values in an increasingly complex and polarized world.
As the Dhammapada wisely advises: One is not called wise because one speaks much. One who is peaceful, friendly, and fearless is called wise.” Let us strive to be a nation that is peaceful, friendly, and fearless in the world.
Sri Lankan Airlines in a 5-minute advertisement is currently promoting ‘Ramayana Trail’ in India.
This video has gone viral on India’s social media.
In the advertisement, a grandmother is seen narrating the Hindu epic to her grandson where she states that the Ramayana is real.
Even the Archaeological Survey of India through an affidavit in the Indian Supreme Court stated that there is no historical and scientific evidence to establish the existence of Lord Ram or the other characters of the Ramayana. It denied that the Ram Sethu or Adams Bridge is a man-made structure.
But, Sri Lankan Airlines now seems saying all these are true.
In the video, the grandson questions the grandmother about the island where Sita was taken by Ravan after getting kidnapped; the grandmother replies that the kingdom of Ravan is today’s Sri Lanka
She states all the places in the Ramayana are real. Today we know Lanka as Sri Lanka,”
When the grandson asks Is the bridge still standing,” she asserts “Yes, you can still see it today,”
This is the SethuSamudram (Ram Sethu) Bridge.
The grandmother utters that Ravana was a great worshiper of Lord Shiva.
Indian X users have been so delighted by the advertisement and now state they want to visit Sri Lanka to follow the Ravana Trail.
One commented Beautiful, Visited Ella and Sigiriya! Thanks Sri Lanka for keeping the spirit of Ramayana alive”.
Another user commenting about Sigiriya stated one can still feel the presence of Mighty Ravana in Lion’s Rock!”.
Although some Hindus in India believe the story of the Ramayana, most people in this country do not believe it. Even majority of our Tamil bretheren did not believe Ravana until recently. They believe in Gods like Shiva , Vishnu, Gana and Parvati.
But now in some Tamil temples Ravana is worshiped as a God.
Koneswaran temple site in Trincomalee is today dedicated to Lord Shiva. Many Dravidian Hindus flock to this place. A huge idol of King Ravana worshiping Lord Shiva, near the sea, is built there.
Koneswaran is also believed to be a Buddhist temple – built by King Mahasen (334 – 361 AD). Buddhists believe that the 3 pagodas seen in the temple today are the ruins of that temple.
History books show that the ancient Portuguese Commander General Asawedu demolished this temple and stole its valuables. Although the Portuguese did not damage the Bodhi there, that was destroyed during the 1958 Sinhala/Tamil riots that happened under SWRD Bandaranaike’s watch.
In 1968, the Federal Party withdrew from the Dudley Senanayaka’s government over the ownership of the Koneswaran temple. This led to Dudley Senanayaka leading a very weak UNP government from 1968-1970. Dudley Senanayaka was adamant that Koneswaran was also a Buddhist place of worship.
In 1958, the SWRD Bandaranaike government (provocatively) introduced the ‘Sri’ letter to vehicles. This upset Jaffna Tamils. For the first time, Tamil-Sinhala riots flared up across the country.
In these racist riots, Sinhalese in Jaffna, Trincomalee and Batticaloa were subjected to torture. Many Sinhalese had to leave those areas and move to the South. In the South, in Wellawatta and Dehiwala areas, innocent Tamils were tortured.
It is true some Buddhists believe in Hindu Gods like Vishnu , Gana , and Shiva (due to the Up Country’s Nayakkar influence). But, they worship them believing to be local Gods, not Indian.
No Buddhists believe Ravana to be a God. This is the situation even today. Thanks to private television stations and YouTube channels, Sinhalese have started to accept Ravana as a king of ancient Sri Lanka.
This writer was told that a Sinhala program titled ‘Jeewamana Ravana’ or similar name is being aired in weekly segments even now by one Tamil dominated private TV channel. He is unsure of the veracity of this.
None of our ancient history books mention about a Ravana king. No archeological evidence has been found to support the presence of a Ravana kingdom being here about 4,500 years ago.
Of course, people lived here before Vijaya came. Balangoda Manawakaya was here 40,000 years ago.
According to Mahavansa, they were the Rakshas , Yakshas and Nagas. In general, we consider them as Hela.
Vijaya, the son of King Sinhabahu of the Laata country of Dambadiva’s Wanga Desh, mingled with the local Hela people and formed the Sinhalese nation (Sinha + Hela = Sinhalese). That was around 2,500 years ago .
Although some Sinhalese do not accept Mahavansa, India generally accepts it.
According to Mahavansa Sri Lanka is a Sinhala Buddhist state. The foundation for same was laid by the duo – King Devanam Piyathissa and Mihindu Maha Thero. During this time almost the entire country became Buddhist (except some Vaddhas).
If Ravana existed here, about 2,000 to 2,500 years before Vijaya’s arrival, he was a Hela.
There is no archaeological evidence here that such a person existed.
Ravana Ella , Ravana Cave , Sita Eliya , Sita Gangula are not names associated with Ramayana.
Ravana in Sinhala means ‘sound’ and Sita means ‘cold’.
In the Ravana Trail program (this includes areas such as Unawatuna (Rumassala) , Trincomalee , Chilaw, Sigiriya , Nagadeepa , Ella , Bandarawela/Nuvara Eliya, etc.), are we trying to heed the opinion of racists/separatists like Vigneswaran?
Dravidian separatists have been trying for some time to show that Sigiriya was the creation of a Dravidian king (Ravana) in Sri Lanka. This effort now has the blessing of Sri Lankan Airlines?
The Ravanaists have stated that the claws of the Lion in Sigiriya are not the claws of a Lion but the claws of Ravana’s Guru.
The world opinion about Ravana supports Tamil versions.
Websites/books like Wikipedia , BBC, Encyclopedia of Britannica, Oxford Encyclopedia – all state that Ravana was a staunch Hindu – meaning he was a Sri Lankan Tamil. International history books now say that the Chola king who invaded South India also treated him (Ravana) with respect.
World history books have established that Ravana was the best devotee/servant of Lord Shiva.
Because Ravana is accepted as a Tamil, they strongly imply that Hela people were Tamil. It is very difficult to break this international opinion now.
Between 1994 – 2015 our governments allowed our history to be distorted willy nilly,
If their opinion/argument is true, then Tamils are the original inhabitants of this country. This is why they say Sri Lanka is not a Sinhala Buddhist country.
As stated earlier, we say that the Helas were not Dravidians, after mingling with Vijaya’s Sinha, they became Sinhalese.
Thus, Sri Lanka is a Sinhala Buddhist country. Its foundation is not Dravidian, but Sinhala Buddhist.
Today, we are in the bottom of poverty. Does it mean we are ready to do anything for money?
It is important to bear in mind – a noble woman, no matter how poor she is, would not sacrifice her purity for money.
Sure, thousands of (mainly North and some South) Indians will flock here to traverse the newly created Ravana Path.
They are very welcome.
When they are here, they should be allowed to perform their religious rites/rituals.
We will earn lots of foreign exchange as a result of their visits.
But, we cannot allow our accepted history to be changed/distorted.
Simply for money, we cannot betray our history/nation.
Rumors are now spreading that there are ruins of Ravana everywhere in this country. This is to show thousands of Indian tourists who will flock here.
After the war, ancient stone pillars of the Sinhalese kingdoms (such as those of Devanam Piyatissa) that are in the jungles of the Eastern Province were used to create new Hindu temples. Now they say that are ancient Hindu temples, that existed prior to the Sinhalese arrival.
Conclusion – Rama and Sita are very sacred Godly figures to many Indian Hindus. We must respect this. They will come here in droves to explore the ‘Ravana Trail .’ Let them do whatever they wish.
The fact of the matter is that they are their religious beliefs, not ours.
Merely to facilitate them, we cannot ‘move our goal posts’ (ie, change/distort our history).
For example – we all know Sigiriya was built by King Kashyapa and not Ravana.
We cannot relate different histories to different nationalities. Eg. one history to Indians and another to the British.
Also, our children should always be taught the true history. There is the fear that they may pick up the history that we are currently ‘inventing’. This is very dangerous.
This writer has in previous articles pointed out that our school history text books are full of lies and fabrications.
For us – Rama , Sita , Ravana are fictional characters that come in the Ramayana Chapter of the Great Chronicle – Mahabharata; authored by Valmiki. Let us preserve this status quo. the other characters of the Ramayana
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference.” Serenity Prayer – Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971).
By Mohamed Nader Al-Omari Courtesy defend Democracy
Protracted and unprecedented Arab resistance has depleted Israeli troop and reservist forces and forced Tel Aviv to seek out unconventional methods – including the recruitment of foreign mercenaries – to sustain Israel’s weary military and escalatory war goals.
Editorial Comment: (Israeli bombing has injured Sri Lankan UN Peace Keepers in Lebanon while other Sri Lankans are also sent as migrant agriculture and farm workers to that Middle East War zone. Israeli Soldiers of the IDF meanwhile dressed as tourists seek reset and relaxation in Zionist Chabad Community Houses set up across Sri Lanka. They are protected by the Sri Lanka military at the behest of US Ambassador Julie Chung who issued a terror alert last month, once again targeting the geostrategic Indian Ocean island’s Tourist economy. New forms of colonial bonded labour migration continue between Israel and Sri Lanka, neocolonizer and debt-trapped and occupied countries. It’s a Woke Migration Game.)
Facing increasing domestic pressure to reveal the true extent of their military losses in Gaza and Lebanon, Israeli officials have released figures that are likely to only reveal minimal numbers. The data claims that since the beginning of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on 7 October 2023, around 12,000 soldiers and officers have been injured or forced into rehabilitation under the occupation state’s Ministry of Defense.
This includes 910 wounded during what Israel calls a limited ground maneuver” launched by Tel Aviv on the Lebanese border, in addition to the deaths of over 760 officers and soldiers and 140 left completely disabled. These admissions, although selective, have stirred growing skepticism within Israeli society, already at its most politically divided since the inception of the state in 1948.
The struggle to maintain power
Following the sacking of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, questions are mounting: how does Israel plan to sustain its fighting force amidst the Lebanese resistance’s deadly daily attacks on them?
Opposition against compulsory military service from religious groups, particularly the Haredim, has compounded the army’s challenges – so has the removal of Gallant, an army dropout rate soaring above 17 percent, a wave of reverse immigration that has reached one million people in a single year, the highest since 1948, and increasing reluctance among shell-shocked reservists to return to the horror of battlefields in Gaza and the Lebanese border.
The treacherous northern front, especially, has become a symbol of perpetual fear for Israeli soldiers stationed there against Hezbollah, as history repeats itself in south Lebanon.
The huge shortage” of capable fighters has forced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to explore a range of unconventional options, especially after the Haredim conscription law passed in mid-July proved insufficient in addressing the manpower gap.
Turning to mercenaries
Many of these options are centered around utilizing tens of thousands of mercenaries, drawing on assistance from western intelligence agencies, and enlisting unconventional fighters, including Jewish militias.
For the past seven decades, successive Israeli administrations have been reluctant to encourage a wholesale migration or naturalization of African Jews – the ‘Falasha’ from Ethiopia – to an Israel rife with racism, citing their ‘lower status’ to Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews.
As a result, only around 80,000 Ethiopian Jews, 20,000 of whom were born in the occupation state, hold Israeli citizenship. But today, desperate for manpower, the Ministry of Defense has begun granting amnesty to Falasha currently imprisoned for attempting illegal entry into Israel or for overstaying their visas.
These men, aged between 18 and 40, are being fast-tracked for citizenship on the condition that they enlist. The Zionist organization ‘Al-Harith’ has also been active in Ethiopia, recruiting and training Ethiopian Jews with promises of citizenship, job opportunities, and residence within Israel after the war. It is estimated that by October 2024, more than 17,000 Falasha, including only 1,400 women, have been recruited.
Germany’s collaboration in exploiting asylum seekers
Another initiative by the Netanyahu administration involves cooperation with German intelligence and Zionist organizations in Germany to recruit asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria. Over the past seven months, the Values Initiative Association and the German–Israeli Association (DIG) have worked to enlist these refugees from war-torn Muslim-majority countries as mercenaries for Israel.
Offered monthly salaries ranging between €4,000 to €5,000 and fast-tracked German citizenship, many have joined the fight. Reports suggest that around 4,000 immigrants were naturalized between September and October alone.
This shift highlights a significant change in Berlin’s position – which once served as a mediator in prisoner exchange deals between Israel and Palestinian or Lebanese factions, but now vocally and materially leads global support of Israeli military objectives, under the guise of a moral obligation toward the occupation state.
Germany’s policy of supporting genocide in Gaza and terror in Lebanon was expressed by none other than Berlin’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her recent visit to Lebanon and then in her speech in the German Parliament, the Bundestag, in late September:
Germany considers Israel’s security to be an extension of its national security. Therefore, Germany is committed to Israel’s right to defend itself and to provide all possible assistance for that.”
The German government’s overt backing extends beyond policy statements. The Ministry of Defense announced that German warships in the Mediterranean – operating under UNIFIL – had shot down unidentified drones and provided logistical aid to the Israeli Marines in operations such as the kidnapping of a Lebanese naval captain suspected of being linked to Hezbollah.
The militaristic alliance and Germany’s role in gathering intelligence to counter Hezbollah rocket attacks have further solidified Berlin’s support for Tel Aviv, driven by a desire to make amends for its Nazi past.”
After the start of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, Germany imposed further restrictions on citizenship applicants from Arab and Muslim countries, requiring them to make pledges not to criticize Israel or show sympathy for Palestinians as a litmus test for naturalization.
In early November 2024, Germany introduced a law for compulsory conscription of these Arab and Muslim applicants, claiming an intent to fill manpower shortages. Yet, this conscription would not involve service in Germany – a stipulation that has left many of these refugees wary of who and where they could end up fighting.
Desperate times
Israeli intelligence agencies, including the Shin Bet and Mossad, have also reconnected with remnants of the disbanded South Lebanon Army (SLA) militia to help recruit allies inside Lebanon. These recruits would either spy on Hezbollah positions or potentially take up arms against it should a regional escalation, akin to what happened during the war in 1982, materialize through provocations.
Meanwhile, Israeli intelligence has collaborated with European agencies and mercenary recruitment companies – including Blackwater, led by the Zionist Eric Prince – to enlist European mercenaries for the occupation army.
Although this practice dates back to 2023, recruitment efforts have surged lately. As reported by the Spanish newspaper El Mundo in late November 2023, a 28-year-old Spanish mercenary named Vidio Diaz Flores admitted to being recruited by Blackwater for approximately €4,000 per week to fight in Palestine. Israel sought to keep these kinds of recruitment initiatives under wraps, especially after five ‘foreign workers’ were killed when a resistance rocket targeted the Metula settlement.
These factors combined reveal an urgent desperation within Israel to address its human resource crisis in the ranks of its military forces, all while authorities are covering up their use of foreign mercenaries, likely to protect the image of their invincible army.”
Tel Aviv’s reliance on mercenaries resembles the US strategy in Iraq post-2003 – not only as a stopgap for declining manpower but also as a method to deflect criminal accountability since many of these mercenaries do not hold Israeli citizenship.
The cracks in the once-unshakable image of the occupation army are widening, and whether it can hold together under mounting internal and external pressures is far from guaranteed.
We remind our readers that publication of articles on our site does not mean that we agree with what is written. Our policy is to publish anything which we consider of interest, so as to assist our readers in forming their opinions. Sometimes we even publish articles with which we totally disagree, since we believe it is important for our readers to be informed on as wide a spectrum of views as possible.
It’s time to talk about Silicon Valley as an imperial force and what has to be done to resist its power.
Silicon Valley corporations are taking over the digital economy in the Global South, and nobody is paying attention.
In South Africa, Google and Facebook dominate the online advertising industry, and are considered an existential threat to local media. Uber has captured so much of the traditional taxi industry that drivers have been petrol bombed in the South African taxi wars”. Similar battles have broken out in Kenya.
Meanwhile, Netflix is not only pulling subscribers away from local television services, they are buying up content in Africa. The streaming giant is now the number one source of Internet traffic across the world.
In India, Facebook was forced to cancel its Free Basics” programme that gave the social media giant control over the Internet experience on mobile phones. Indians protested that the service deepened Facebook’s monopoly power and subjected them censorship and surveillance. Nevertheless, Facebook is expanding in most countries, including India, and Free Basics is active in over sixty countries. Through the project, Facebook has retained its influence in countries like Kenya and Ghana.
Big Tech corporations are wreaking havoc on the Global South. There’s a crisis in the tech ecosystem, and it’s called digital colonialism.Bottom of Form
What is digital colonialism?
Under classic colonialism, Europeans dispossessed native peoples of their land, exploited their labour, exercised extraterritorial governance, and perpetuated dependency and plunder through strategic underdevelopment. Corporations like the East India Company played a pivotal role in this process. In their pursuit of profit and power, Europeans took ownership and control of critical infrastructure, including ports, waterways, and railroads.
Under this arrangement, imperial powers designed railways for plunder by foreign empires: They bypassed the villages of the indigenous populations and linked up commercial and military outposts to the sea ports. Native peoples were exploited to extract raw materials, which were sent back to Europe for manufacturing. Surplus European products would then flood the colonies, undermining the indigenous population’s ability to develop its own local industries. Colonial powers deployed this infrastructural domination across their vast empire.
Similar to the technical architecture of classic colonialism, digital colonialism is rooted in the design of the tech ecosystem for the purposes of profit and plunder. If the railways and maritime trade routes were the open veins” of the Global South back then, today, digital infrastructure takes on the same role: Big Tech corporations use proprietary software, corporate clouds, and centralised Internet services to spy on users, process their data, and spit back manufactured services to subjects of their data fiefdoms.
For example, Google siphons user data from a variety of sources – Google Search, Maps, Ads, Android location services, Gmail – to provide them with one of the richest collections of information on the planet. Through the Open Handset Alliance and proprietary control of their killer apps, they ensure the world’s data flows into their corporate cloud. They then process the data for consumer and business services.
Thus, tech corporations have expanded their products across the globe, extracting data and profit from users all around the world while concentrating power and resources in one country, the US (with China a growing competitor).
Poorer countries are overwhelmed by readily available services and technology, and cannot develop their own industries and products that compete with Western corporations. They are also left unable to protect their people from exploitation.
Can Big Tech be held accountable?
Control over how technology works forms the foundation of digital colonialism. Software is often proprietary, which means that users cannot read, modify, or share the source code. This prevents them from understanding and controlling how their computers work.
The public cannot hold Big Tech corporations accountable if they cannot take direct action to change how their software works.
It is for this reason that American software programmer Richard Stallman started advocating for Free and Open Source Software in the early 1980s. A nonfree program is a yoke, an instrument of unjust power,” Stallman reasoned.
People should be given the freedom to control their computers, which requires them having access to software source code – the set of instructions that tells your computer what to do.
Free Software licenses are written to invert the authoritarian power of proprietary software: They secure the user’s freedom to use, study, modify, and share the software. They keep software free and open for everyone and enable accountability.
For example, Microsoft configures its Windows operating system to spy on its users. If it were not under the proprietary control of Microsoft, computer hacktivists would surely strip out its spying services and release a modified, spy-free” version of Windows for the public.
However, Free Software alone is not enough to protect the public interest because in recent years, surveillance capitalism has given rise to centralised Internet services outside of user control. Platforms like Facebook function as information intermediaries” which stand between end users. Want to send a picture to a friend? You send it to Facebook first, and then your friend downloads it from Facebook.
With the shift to centralised services run by corporate giants, the surveillance of users sky-rocketed. Cloud computing plays a key role. While Free Software creates accountability for software running inside your own device, it cannot produce accountability for cloud services run by corporations. This is because the software is running on someone else’s computer (Facebook, Google, etc). Corporate clouds dispossess the people of the ability to control their computers.
Cloud services provide petabytes of information to corporations, who use the data to train their artificial intelligence systems. AI uses Big Data to learn” – it requires millions of pictures to understand” how to recognise, say, the letter A” in its different fonts and forms. In this sense, data is the new oil”.
When applied to humans, the sensitive details of people’s personal lives become an incredibly valuable resource that tech giants are incessantly trying to extract.
The concentration of data is concentration of power
Feedback effects” of Big Data make the situation worse: Those who have more and better data can create the best artificial intelligence services, which attracts more users, which gives them even more data to make the service better, and so on.
Network effects, economies of scale, and vast resources for infrastructure, training, and product development further concentrate corporate power. Silicon Valley can hire the best computer engineers, purchase startups and competitors, and lobby governments for favours.
Add to this the fact that the Internet is universal and platforms are not easy to restrict without draconian censorship tools like the Great Firewall” of China, and we have a situation where Silicon Valley is concentrating power at the global level.
American Big Tech companies are just as dominant outside of the US as they are inside of it. And with US markets relatively saturated, they are seeking to colonise emerging markets.
Microsoft and Google, for example, are investing in efforts to place their software in Global South classrooms through programmes like Microsoft Partners in Learning and Google Classroom. This hooks young people into their products from an early age, and biases Global South software developers towards their software ecosystems.
Big Tech corporations are also building their own server farms in foreign countries to capture emerging markets and shift them towards the Silicon Valley model of a centralized cloud economy.
Some commentators maintain that for all the problems of Big Tech, they offer valuable services. A common trope is that Facebook connects the world’s users”. Using the same logic, people still praise the British for providing colonial subjects with railroads. The obvious point is that these systems were designed for domination, when they could have been built to benefit local communities.
At the same time, countries in the Global South are less able to protect their people from exploitation. Countries with power – the United States, the EU states, Australia – are the ones calling the shots on Big Tech companies.
This poses a problem: Users around the globe are being subjected to the norms set by US-based companies. Code is law” in the sense that computer code constitutes privatised regulation binding all users. If YouTube wants to block, say, the sharing of content protected by fair use, there’s not much that foreign jurisdictions can do.
The same goes for speech regulation, content moderation, and freedom of association: The major social networks use algorithms and employee rulebooks to censor content, shape what people see in news feeds, and determine which activist and other social groups people are allowed to form on their platforms.
This means that users outside of the US are under the de facto extraterritorial governance of Silicon Valley.
What can the Global South do?
If a system is designed for exploitation and control, then it needs to be changed. Railroads are great, but bypassing local villages for imperial power is not. If you want to stop exploitation and surveillance, you have to redesign these systems.
A movement to combine Free and Open Source Software with tools to re-decentralise the Internet is attempting to do just that. In 2010, Columbia Law Professor Eben Moglen announced the FreedomBox project: Free Software that turns computer devices into personal servers that provide the technology needed to run cloud services without a middle-man in control.
FreedomBox can host decentralised social networks like Mastadon or GNU Social as well as email and messenger services. It builds in the option for Tor onion routing to protect your privacy and allows you to store your data on your home device – and access it on the go.
The FreedomBox project incorporates major contributions from core developers Sunil Adapa and Joseph Nuthalapati. Over the past few months, they worked with NGO Swecha to successfully implement FreedomBoxes in twelve Indian villages.
The project uses old devices to offer WiFi connectivity to villagers while providing them decentralised services and blocking surveillance. The FreedomBox project is expanding to other villages, and it is open-sourced and built for replication across the world.
Initiatives like India’s FreedomBox should be developed and scaled up. In a feasibility study, researchers at MIT found that Internet re-decentralisation is workable from a technological standpoint. There are challenges, to be sure. Development is under-funded and getting millions of people to use new services could be difficult, but it is not impossible and its cost outstrips its benefits by far.
Tech that is Free and Open Source, interoperable, and decentralised can be built so that no institution anywhere in the world could own or control it. This would alleviate many problems of territorial jurisdiction. Adding in new legal tools to complement an overhaul of the digital ecosystem would further strengthen digital rights.
Fighting digital colonialism is important not only from the perspective of privacy and individual user rights and raises issues of Data Security and varacity. At a time where the global divide is threatening the environment and with it, our very survival, we cannot afford to further concentrate wealth and power. We must ensure that technology will serve the world’s people, not the interests of the one percent.
As the Vice Chancellor of Wits University in South Africa warned, Considerations of [technological innovations] have not even entered the public discourse and we are at a collective risk of once again merely being victims of economic forces and processes beyond our control.” Exceptionsnotwithstanding, few are contemplating how this actually works.
It’s time to talk about Silicon Valley as an imperial force, and take seriously the fundamental changes needed to stop digital colonialism.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
Visiting Fellow of the Information Society Project at Yale Law School
Michael Kwet is a Visiting Fellow of the Information Society Project at Yale Law School and a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Johannesburg. He is the author of Digital colonialism: US empire and the new imperialism in the Global South, and hosts the Tech Empire podcast.
Millions of Sri Lankans voted Thursday to choose a new parliament in a key election that will decide if the country’s new leftist president gets the mandate to push ahead with his agenda of improving lives for millions of people struggling with an economic downturn and stamping out corruption.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake swept to power in September on his promise of systemic change in a country where public anger with mainstream political parties has been running high since the country’s crushing economic collapse two years ago.
Hoping to build on the widespread support he secured in the presidential election, he dissolved parliament and ordered snap polls about a year ahead of schedule. Dissanayake’s party, a fringe group, held only three seats in the 225-member parliament.
His coalition, the National People’s Power (NPP) is likely to win a majority, according to political analysts.
Normally in this country the presidential winner gets enough parliamentary backing to enable him to govern,” Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, Executive Director of the Center for Policy Alternatives in Colombo, told VOA. Getting to the half-way mark, that is 113 seats, is crucial because he needs a majority to implement his program.”
About 17 million people were eligible to choose from about 8,800 candidates.
Many of the candidates contesting from the NPP are newcomers to politics. Some analysts say that is an advantage because they are not tainted by corruption in a country that has rejected traditional parties, blaming established politicians for a corrupt culture. Others point out that because they are mostly unknown faces, much will depend on whether President Dissanayake, a charismatic leader, was able to convince voters to back them.
Parliament needs more NPP members to establish a strong government which will eliminate bribery and corruption,” the Sri Lankan leader said in his final public meeting before the polls.
Although Dissanayake was a member of parliament for 25 years, his party, the JVP or People’s Liberation Front, was a fringe group on the margins of Sri Lanka’s politics. In the runup to the presidential polls, the 55-year-old leader put together a coalition that consists of members of his party, professionals, civil society organizations, women and youth groups.
People queue at a polling station before casting their ballots to vote in Sri Lanka’s parliamentary election in Colombo on Nov.r 14, 2024.
Public expectations in the country ran high as people headed out to vote on Thursday. Melanie Gunathilaka, a Colombo resident, who voted soon after polls opened, said she is optimistic the elections will pave the way for the change that many Sri Lankans are yearning for.
There was a lot of resentment among people like us about the misuse of state funds and mismanagement by the established parties,” she told VOA. We hope the new government will reflect a political culture that is rooted in transparency and accountability.”
The main challenger to Dissanayake’s coalition NPP, is the Samagi Jana Balawegaya, led by opposition leader Sajith Premadasa. The New Democratic Front (NDF), backed by former president Ranil Wickremesinghe, is also in the fray.
But the opposition campaign in the runup to the parliamentary polls was low-key. The opposition is in disarray, so the sense of a contest is not there. Only the NPP has held big rallies,” according to Saravanamuttu.
Voters directly elect 196 members of parliament, while the remaining 29 seats are allocated according to the proportional vote obtained by each party. Tens of thousands of security personnel were deployed at the more than 13,000 polling stations set up across the island country, at schools, temples and other public places.
The outcome of Thursday’s polls will be important in determining how smoothly Dissanayake is able to implement reforms he has promised, such as cutting taxes and supporting small businesses. His first task will be to appoint a full-fledged cabinet. At the moment he only has a prime minister and two ministers.
He backs policies that will ease hardship for working class people and has said that he will renegotiate the terms of a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund, while sticking with the program. While the IMF package helped stabilize the country’s economy, subsidies were slashed as part of austerity measures imposed by the IMF. Since the economic collapse, millions have fallen into poverty, food and fuel prices have skyrocketed and citizens say there are fewer job opportunities.
In the light of the prevailing utterly confused and divided and completely lost electorate, I opine it is a foregone conclusion that no party will get a clear majority to form a stable government at this election. The nation is stranded and dying in the midst of a vast sandy desert where there is no hope of a drop of water to drink.
Thanks to Ranil and Sajith on the one hand and thanks to Chandrika, Mahinda and Sirisena on the other, the UNP and the SLFP are already dead and buried long time ago with no chance of any revival at all, as formidable political forces in the country any more. Their misdeeds and blunders have driven the masses to look for an alternative in desperation to save their lives between the devil and the mid seas.
It is under such a unfortunate situation, where there is no hope of any political salvation, the JVP has extended its hands to save a sinking nation in mid seas. Today the JVP appears to be the best organized political party, particularly at the grassroot level that can give a ray of hope for a desperately sinking nation. But it too lacks any farseeing vision or a clear plan of addressing the burning issues of this country such as the skyrocketing cost of living or a solid future plan for nation building. Its powerful rhetoric against the past regimes and the class grievance articulated, setting the have nots against the haves are the motive engines of attracting the votes of the depressed and depressed masses that has catapulted them to power. The blunders of all other major traditional parties like the UNP, SLFP and the SLPP in the recent past have driven the masses in to a dream world of imaginary utopian world of their own. Whether they will enter a utopian world of plenty and prosperity or a world of more chaos and confusion under the new regime is a moot question. It is in to this world of uncertainty; the results of tomorrows election will definitely take this nation.
My perception of the election results of the 196 elected members on the 14th is
1.No single party will get a majority to form a government.
1 Nevertheless it is discerned the JVP will lead the election results. But it is doubtful whether it will get a solid majority to form a government of their own. It might end up somewhere around 75 to 80 seats the most.
2 Jaatika Samangi Bala Wegaya will come second with around 60- 70
3 The Dilip J’s bracelet might emerge as the third force with about 25-30
4 All others might get about 25 including the 17 Tamil MPP in the North and east.
5 Even if the Gase cylinder, the SLPP and the SLFP end up with no elected seat, it wants be a surprise.
This situation will most probably create a situation that no party will get 113, even with the national list members to form a stable government. Under this situation most probably Dilip Jayaweeras bracelet will be the deciding factor in forming the next government and it will definitely be a coalition Government and the bracelet might emerge as the party with the highest bargaining power, destined to play a major role in Sri Lankan politics.
Sarath Wijesinge – President’s Counsel, Solicitor in England and Wales, President Ambassador’s Forum (UK/Sri Lanka), former Chairman Consumer Affairs Authority, and former Ambassador to UAE and Israel
Rice and coconut are not directly and traditionally price controlled items
Rice and coconut are not price controlled items in Sri Lanka as the traditional price control act is abolished under act no 9 of 2003 by (at) the establishment of the Consumer affairs authority act thereby the power to control of certain consumer affairs were taken to S /19 onwards to the CAA act where only certain consumer items and services could be price controlled for the maximum price only on certain circumstances with the involvement of the ‘Line Minister’ under special circumstances of special and unusual necessity. Does rice and coconut come under this category? Yes ! some category of rice in very special instances, despite the controversial shortages of rice monopolized by few massive rice mill owners flexing the ugly muscle on the government and the poor farmer and the consumer. There is Paddy marketing Board to purchase paddy from the farmer at guaranteed price, with ample storage available and when the duty of the state employees is mealy to purchase paddy and release it to the market to be utilised by the small mill owners. It is such a simple process and now it is informed the Paddy marketing board has incurred losses to the extent of 20 million which is unbelievable whereby the massive mill owners have been given free hand to play and play out the famer and citizen. Plight of coconut is similar. Once tea,rubber and coconut have been the main income of the nation which is now gone down due to the mismanagement and lack of improvement in infrastructure and outdated cultivation processes. Currently Sri Lanka is self sufficient on coconut with the need to import soon due to mis management of the estates and destruction by the wild animals and pests destroying most cultivation. If managed well with the most inefficient and infective coconut board all parts of the coconut tree can be made productive to make it a treasure tree in the modern world of digitalised and AI age.
Aspiration of the consumer
The aspiration of the consumer is described and defined at the CAA act no 9 of 2003 ( which is the main legislation in force in Sri Lanka in addition to many subsidiary legislation) as a citizen or a citizen intended to use the items and services at a reasonable price ( consideration) in Sri Lanka leading a reasonable hard life due to the high cost of living ever increasing world over due to unavoidable circumstance where the governance appointed is expected to provide relief to the citizen/consumer for the existence of the consumer and the extended family. Cost of living is ever increasing with propionate increase in developed economies, but not in Sri Lanka which is economically unstable. Every citizens consumes consumer items and services for a consideration which is defined in different ways world over mainly in the British jurisprudence due to the development of trade within and outside the country due to naval power colonisation and active external trade with the western world dominated the trade with naval power. Aspiration and the demand of the consumer ( citizen) is for consumer items and services of quality at the reasonable price is mostly a dream than a reality when the country is embroiled in an economic turmoil with the citizen fighting to make ends meet with fast rising of cost of living world over in Sri Lanka citizen with a limited and static income. Rice and coconut are main consumer goods that are in short supply many due to the mismanagement and lack of vision and strategy and it is the duty of the young and educated to take these matters for rejuvenation.
Consumer,Trader, and the Regulator to play together for a better atmospheres on consumerism
The communication with the consumer, trader, CAA that is the main regulator is fast disappearing which is not a satisfactory situation on consumerism in Sri Lanka that needs rejuvenation on the introduction of the modern international platforms, effective presence of Artificial Intelligence and process of digitalisation changing the outlook of consumer and consumer with sky rocketing the prices of almost all consumer items and services. It is for their own benefits that they must identify their parameters and work together for the betterment of themselves and the nation they live in to avoid crisis situations. For example however powerful the trader is if he exploits the consumer that may not last as the end result would be his loosing clientele and the goodwill created that needs for his existence. The regulator should perform his job well impartially and effectively and the consumer has a duty to be award of their rights duties and obligations to excursive the rights as smart and educated consumers for the trader to be vigilant. The legislation (CAA) lacks teeth yet could be made poerful by creating by laws rules and strictly adhering to the regulatory process with the help of powerful legal team, as any less powerful legal system could eb mad effective by acting with a vision and proper leadership.
Cost of Living
Cost of living is money needed for essentials such as home health food ect. Essentials are a relative term when heating is an essential item in cold climates, and smart phone has become essential even in a remote village in Sri Lanka for the education of the downtrodden children in remote villages with lack of basic facilities who raise above odds quite successfully. Complains of high cost of living is a common occurrence worldover and governments are accused of rise of cost of living and any part of the world. Price of bread is now over one pound in the United Kingdom when it has been 6 (six) pence sometime back which is the stable food in UK when rice in Sri Lanka too is sky rocketing, and bread too is a controversial issue in UK and Sri Lanka with the existence old Bread Ordinance which is still in force in both countries. Same applies to the other consumer items and services. Consumerism is the mechanism is the process and the behaviour of the consumer, trader, industrialist and the regulator in regulating trade, protecting the consumer and the trading patterns such as competitive law and trade practices with modern platforms at this AI and digital age in the fast changing world. Therefore cost of living is a key factor in day to day with world economy and world politics affecting the citizens worldover irrespective of where they live. In Sri Lanka and developing world cost of living is a key factor in governance and developments that has a ripple effect worldwide economical politically and globally that trickles down to the villager in ‘’Hambantota ’’ in a debt ridden nation with limited resources and pressed with poverty due to lack of resources .
Who are responsible and answerable for the high cost of living?
Generally the government is power, trader, industrialist, manufacturer, are accused of the high cost of living and exploiting the consumer (citizen) in all parts of the world. Reduction of the cost of living is a joint effort/ venter by the consumer/citizen, trader, manufacturer, industrialist and of course the regulator that is the state which has the executive and legislative power and the legal systems incorporated to conduct the administrative and legislature mechanism and in Sri Lanka it is monitored and controlled by the Ministries of Trade, Health, Finance, many other Ministries and statutory bodies and incorporated Consumer Affairs Authority established by the act no 9 of 2003 established replacing the traditional legislation Consumer Protection act no 1/79, Fair Trade act no 1/87 and control of prices act of 1950 still in force successfully in the United Kingdom to date. CAA act formulated is a mixture of many systems such as Canadian, Australian, British and EU with a new system of directions in place of price control and direct application promoting competition, consumer education and establishment of consumer organizations for the implementation of the new system still in force with no changes at all since the inception. In the circumstances the responsibility on the smooth consumerism regime is on the shoulders of the CAA the governance and the consumer itself and you are expected to be active and organized as an educated and effective consumer who is expected to act in par with the CAA governance and the Consumer Organizations with ample powers on the CAA which the media sometimes say a toothless lion due to the ineffective and inefficient nature of the conduct of bushiness.
Food shortages and ‘’hoarding of food’’ now known as ‘’Food mafia’’ with sub titles ‘’Egg and rice Mafia’’ in Sri Lanka
Due to the mismanagements and non implementation of the legitimate powers of CAA and many other statutory bodies dishonest traders , producers, manufactures, and traders in general tend to Store/Hord consumer items illegally by creating artificial shortages for excessive profit’s at a later stage is not uncommon in Sri Lanka which is illegal and unethical under the provisions of CAA other legislation and norms of good trade practices on illegal and unethical exploitation of the citizen/consumer. Rice is the stable food in Sri Lanka imported and also locally produced yet on short supply due to monopoly of few traders monopolizing the entire rice trade against concepts and aspirations of the consumer and the governance to be in terms of competitive law as clearly directed in the CAA act and trade practices, yet it is happening due to the conduct of the greedy monopolistic traders in the shields of shady politicians and strength of black money. This is happening in open which is difficult to control with the limited staff of the Consumer Affairs Authority hereafter called CAA at the cost of the consumers and the practices on consumerism traders accumulating enormous and dipropionate profits regularly all the time in all kinds of consumer items such as eggs, vegetables and other. There is rarely a situation will arise on the basis of impossibility, on the possibility that there is a solution for any issue however difficult it is. Identify the solution and culprits behind the backtracking and find the person to lead the battle with honest experienced and committed dedicated and educated leadership. (Sarath28dw@gmail.com today is the world consumer day on topic digital market place 15/3/2018 Mirror by the author/ Digitalization and marketing 12/4/21 Colombo Telegraph/ SL on the path of Digitalisation Lanka Web/ case for a Consumer Ombudsman26/1024 Lanka Web/ World Consumer Day Lanka Web 14/3/24/)
The Tamil Separatist Movement continued the Settler Colonialism project after the British left. Illegal Tamil settlements were established in the north and east, after Sri Lanka got its independence. These Tamil settlements were set up silently and secretly, without the knowledge of the public. A small number knew about these illegal settlements, but when they reported it, the matter was treated very lightly.
Bandu de Silva observed that the process of settling Tamils in Vanni has been going on since 1950. Illicit immigrants were encouraged to come in by the rich Jaffna Tamils who had obtained large tracts of land in Vanni but did not have the labor.[1]
Senior Tamil government servants, such as Government Agents, also engaged in Settler Colonialism. Lorna Wright recalled that her husband was transferred in 1956 from Kandy to Vavuniya as Government Agent because the previous GA, Rajadurai had given 40 Tamils quarter acre of land each in Vavuniya.[2]
Gamini Iriyagolle in his book Tamil claims to land said that since 1957 ,there were secret agreements between successive governments and Tamil political parties, that land in the north and east would not be given to the Sinhalese. [3] The Tamil Separatist Movement was able to secure from the governments, the assurance that the north and east could be settled only with Tamils. The Sinhalese peasantry was excluded from all benefits of major projects in the north and east since 1957, observed Iriyagolle.
Accordingly, when 245 allotments were to be distributed at Morawewa Scheme in Trincomalee District, in 1962, the selection was limited to the Tamils in that district. The Sinhalese in that district were not included. As a result, there were only 225 applicants for 245 allotments that had been developed and irrigated at high cost, said Iriyagolle.
The existence of a secret agreement between the Tamil parties and the government is confirmed by Neville Jayaweera. Neville Jayaweera was GA in Jaffna, Trincomalee and Vavuniya in the 1960s. He observed that the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayagam Pact of 1957 and Dudley Senanayake Chelvanayagam Pact of 1965, had specified that all settlers of colonization schemes, were to be exclusively Tamil. There was strong opposition to this and both Pacts were abandoned. The BC and DC pacts were torn up but their contents were applied scrupulously,” said Neville Jayaweera. [4]
G. H Peiris in his essay “An appraisal of the concept of a traditional Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka” stated that ‘no Sinhalese peasants have been settled in the colonization scheme located in the districts of Jaffna Mullaitivu, Batticaloa and Mannar.[5] Cecil Dharmasena added that in land distribution, the original ethnic ratios in each AGA division were maintained. Sinhalese were settled only in the predominantly Sinhalese AGA divisions and in uninhabited forest lands. [6]
Dharmasena observed that the government set up many colonization schemes in the Northern Province for the benefit of Tamils, located at minor as well as major irrigation systems. Here is the data for major irrigation systems. At least 25 settlements schemes were set up and of over 10,000 families only 7 were Sinhalese, Dharmasena noted. Here are the figures
The Tamil Separatist Movement wished to expand its settlements, but lacked the numbers to do so. They decided to use estate Tamils to create new settlements. The Sirima-Shastri Pact of 1964 had agreed that 525,000 estate Tamils would be repatriated to India. These persons were picked up from the estates and taken to the north to be sent to India. They never got to India. The Tamil Separatist Movement intercepted these Tamils and planted them in the north and east, such as the Vanni. This was done silently without the knowledge of the public.
Neville Jayaweera said that in the late 1970s, the Gandhian Movement in which Devanesan Nesiah was very active, was engaged in moving estate Tamils and illicit immigrants from south India into Vavuniya with a view to colonizing that fat belt of land.[8]
Ven. Kitalagama Sri Seelalankara, Chief Incumbent of the Dimbulagala Temple (Dimbulagala Hamuduruvo) said that in 1971 or 1972 K.W. Devanayagam MP had brought estate Tamils to Kalkudah.
I wrote to Mrs. Bandaranaike and there was an inquiry. The authorities agreed to remove the squatters but Devanayagam intervened and asked for time for them to reap the harvest. They were given three months but the authorities failed to remove them. Instead of quitting, the encroachers went into the interior of thick jungles where they could live concealed, continued Dimbulagala.
These settlers were assisted by Sarvodaya, World Food Progamme and Gandhian Movement. Later they were given land in Vadumunai area in Batticaloa. Tamils in Batticaloa carried out a smear campaign against me. They went on to encroach on land in Polonnaruwa, concluded Dimbulagala.[9]
Jayatissa Bandaragoda was GA Trincomalee in the period 1978- 1981. During this time Bandaragoda had come across clandestine Tamil settlements in jungle areas inside Trincomalee, in China Bay, Kuchchaveli, Morawewa and Tampalagamam areas. In most of these, the people reported that a Catholic priest, an MP and his brother were helping. The one in China Bay was in the form of a religious peace haven or retreat and people settled there were all Tamils from tea estates. This was a campaign to colonize vacant land with Tamils. This was a well planned effort, he said. [10]
The columnist Kumbakarna exposed this strategy in Sunday Times in 1999. He pointed out that the combined population of the Vavuniya and Mullaitivu districts was 73,010′ in 1971. In 1981 it had increased to 143,803. Mannar population which was 53,025 in 1971 had increased to 68,178.This meant that at least 10,000 had been brought into Mannar, 60,000 into Vavuniya-Mullaitivu and another 30,000 settled in Kilinochchi district.
Who were these Tamils and where did they come from. This lakh or so of Tamil people were from among those to be repatriated to India under the agreement between the two countries. They were illegally settled in the Wanni during 1978- 87[11] said Kumbakarna.
Who carried out this scheme and who provided the financial resources? The Gandhian Movement of Rajasunderam, and the Tamil Relief and Rehabilitation Organization led by Nityananda and Kandasamy were principally responsible for carrying this out. Kumbakarna also named SEDEC, Sarvodaya and Redd Barna. Redd Barna was funded by Norway. Gandhian Movement, it is alleged was funded by America, concluded Kumbakarna. Redd Barna was a Norwegian NGO.
Anil Ameresekera said, at Menik Farm, I found several Indian Tamils who spoke good Sinhalese. They were estate Tamils who had lived in the hill country, they were to be repatriated under the Sirima Shastri pact to India, but had been resettled in Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi by NGOs such as Redd Barna.[12]
Settler Colonization use of estate Tamils continued in the 1980s. After the 1983 riots, people were collected from plantations in the south and transported out. This happened in our village Batapola where there had never been any ethnic strife, said Bandu de Silva. All Tamil laborers were collected one night and transported in lorries. [13]
A friend who had an estate in Deraniyagala area told me that her estate labor disappeared and then re-appeared some time later. She thought they had been taken to the north-east and then returned.
At the Mahaweli Ministry, Malinga Gunaratne received a report dated 12.10.1983 where it was stated, inter alia, that a new village had been created at the Alankulam and Navalangkulam tanks, which were located in the southern part of the Mullaitivu district. Alankulam tank is in Thirumurukandi, Oddusuddan.
The settlement was set up by the Gandhian movement with the support of the Ceylon Workers Congress, the report said. The settlers were estate Tamils. The team saw about 20-30 new families arrive from estates while they were there. Within a few hours they had built 12 cadjan sheds.
The settlement had 60-80 houses of semi permanent nature, a store and a small meeting hall with a young Christian priest. The investigating team were informed that that a group of young Tamils regularly came down to this village through Nedunkerni and directed the cultivation and the training of the youth. The priest had links with both Madhu and Kilinochchi. The settlers were kept under rigid supervision. They were paid a substantial living allowance by an unknown, well organized movement.[14]
In 1984 Jayatissa Bandaragoda was appointed Deputy Commandant for Civil affairs in the Joint Services Operations division of the armed forces. Bandaragoda’s team travelled to all the villages in districts of Mannar, Vavuniya, and Kilinochchi on a fact finding tour.
While doing this survey we found that a large number of families of estate Tamils had been settled on state land in these three districts. We prepared a map of the districts giving the ethnic composition of each grama sevaka division.
We found that in the period 1971 to 1981 about 80,000 people had been added to the population of these three districts in addition to the normal growth. They were persons repatriated in Sirima- Shastri pact. They were presumably stopped on their way to India and taken to these areas for settlement, apparently with the knowledge of the government servants of the area. A number of NGOs were involved in providing financial and organization assistance to these settlers.
Ceylon Workers Congress had given leadership to this and had retained the full loyalty of the Tamils. Each house we visited in the new settlements had Thondaman’s photo and each house donated a rupee per month to the CWC fund. The new land cleared by the settlers was cultivated with green gram. The government did not eject them and later they were given citizenship, concluded Bandaragoda. [15]
Redd Barna has carried out a resettlement programme of Tamil people from up country to Vavuniya in 1985, with the assistance of Sarvodaya, said Vijitha Herath. Herath said so in 2008 in his interim report to Parliament as Chairman, Select Committee of Parliament for investigation of the operations of NGOs and their impact.[16]
We do not know how many Tamils from India came into the north during the 30 years of Eelam war (1981-2009).[17] LTTE had encouraged Tamils to bring relatives from Tamilnadu over. Grama Niladhari was then bribed to state in an affidavit that they had been long time residents of Kilinochchi.[18]
The Tamil Separatist Movement was not deterred by the Mahaweli Development programme, which started operations in 1981. The Tamils were in an advantageous position where Mahaweli was concerned.
R. Paskaralingam, a much respected administrator knew the detailed scheme for Mahaweli long before the rest did. He outlined the scheme to a very appreciative audience at a SLAAS meeting I attended. I cannot recall his designation and have forgotten the date of the meeting but Accelerated Mahaweli had just been announced and SLAAS was anxious to know how it was going to be done. In 1980, the Permanent Secretary to the Mahaweli Ministry was T. Sivagnanam.
Malinga Gunaratne’s book ‘For a Sovereign state’ (1988) gives an account of Tamil activity at Mahaweli. When the Mahaweli scheme started, Settler Colonialism made sure that it had influence in the Ministry. Malinga found that the senior officials in all strategic positions at Mahaweli ministry were Tamil. They were in all strategic points in the Ministry and they were working for Eelam, said Malinga. They praised the LTTE, saying how brave and clever they were.
Those working in the Ministry saw the deceitful compromises made by those in power with the Tamil separatist politicians, said Malinga. He did not elaborate. When the government was told of illegal Tamil settlements in the Accelerated Mahaweli area, the government reacted with apathy almost as if the north was not a part of Sri Lanka.
At Mahaweli, the Tamil officers outmaneuvered and outflanked their complacent Sinhala counterparts, through clever stratagems, said Malinga. Their machinations were well calculated, well planned out and executed with clinical precision. The strategies adopted by them are too numerous to be mentioned in the book, he said. That is a pity. This information would have been valuable.
The Tamil officers made sure that the colonization schemes in the Mahaweli scheme were thinly populated, recorded Malinga. Large tracts of land were designated as elephant corridors, forest reserves, national parks and no settlement was allowed in them.
The Tamil officers provided facilities to the Tamil settlements only. Sinhala settlements were neglected and given step motherly treatment. Direct dialing facilities were installed in all Tamil outposts but the Sinhala settlement at Padaviya had no telephone, no electricity and no commercial activity. The Minister knows about these activities but he is helpless, the Tamil lobby is too strong, Malinga was told. [19]
Padaviya was bursting at the seams by 1980. The area could not accommodate the 2nd and 3rd generations. They would have had to fan out to Vavuniya and Mullaitivu .Tamil Separatist Movement saw this and started installing Tamil settlements on the border of Padaviya leaving a massive buffer zone between these settlements and the Vavuniya- Mullaitivu districts.[20]
Tamil Separatist Movement had studied the Mahaweli plan carefully and had marked out two strategic locations where Sinhala settlements could puncture Eelam. They were Maduru oya and Yan oya deltas. At Yan Oya illegal Tamil settlements were established by 1983. [21]
Mahaweli authorities had decided to divert Mahaweli water to Maduru Oya and develop the right bank of Maduru Oya. While the right bank canal was being cut, Tamil Separatist Movement started encroaching on Maduru oya delta from Batticaloa. Part of Maduru oya came within the administration of Batticaloa.
In August 1983 we got news of large scale land grabbing at Maduru oya. Messages were pouring into Mahaweli Ministry stating that there was a massive encroachment of Tamils on the right bank, reported Malinga.
Maduru oya engineers spoke to Malinga. They were frantic. They said we are developing the right bank at enormous cost to that that entire nation would benefit. But by the time we finish work there will not be any land left for settlement. It is all getting occupied by Tamil settlers. This activity is being encouraged by Tamil officials from Batticaloa who are working closely with the separatist movement. Politicians on the government side are also with these separatists. Please notify the Minister. The engineers came a second time to Malinga. Please hurry, they said, she situation is becoming very serious.
Mahaweli Minster Gamini Dissanayake, when he heard, wanted an army post placed at Maduru oya. But Director General of Mahaweli, NGP Panditeratne was reluctant to make this request and the army was not stationed at Maduru oya. Nothing was done to curb the illegal encroachment from Batticaloa. These encroachments did not engage the attention of any one. People in the south were not concerned, complained Malinga.There was studied apathy at the top.
In August 1983 Malinga sent two Mahaweli officials, to check on illegal settlements on Maduru Oya right bank. They reported that Tamil settlements were coming up around numerous small tanks in Maduru oya. They were being made in a systematic and methodical manner. Food supplies were coming to the encroachers from an organized body. More and more settlers were flocking in.
The delta was a hive of activity. Houses were coming up over night. Villages were given Tamil names, the few Sinhala settlers, mainly Vaddha were given Tamil names. District boundaries were being altered. The illegal Tamil settler was establishing himself with the active assistance of the Batticaloa administration. Malinga informed the Director General who took immediate action. Maduru oya delta was a declared a Mahaweli area, GA Batticaloa had no authority over it, thereafter.
At the same time, Ven. Kitalagama Sri Seelalankara, Chief Incumbent of the Dimbulagala Temple (Dimbulagala Hamuduruvo) came to Mahaweli Centre to meet Panditeratne. Malinga was present. You are the DG of Mahaweli. What you are doing while Mahaweli land is illegally occupied by Tamils from Batticaloa, Dimbulagala thundered.
Do you know that while you people are seated in this big office, separatist Tamils are mounting a massive encroachment on Mahaweli land at Maduru oya? They are encroaching on the right bank from Batticaloa. They are altering district boundaries, converting Sinhala villages by giving them Tamil name and changing the names of poor Sinhala people, continued the angry Dimbulagala.
I have been complaining to GA Polonnaruwa and all the officials of the Mahaweli for a long time but they have taken no action. There is tremendous pressure for land from people in Polonnaruwa, Minneriya and Hingurakgoda. They are objecting to the Tamil encroachments .Can you not send Sinhala people to this land quickly. Unless something is done soon, there will be no land left for the Sinhala people, concluded Dimbulagala. [22]
Dimbulagala was asked to send in some Sinhala settlers to Maduru oya, to match the Tamil settlements. Dimbulagala did so enthusiastically. He over did it, Tamil politicians complained, the government got scared and the Sinhala settlements were forcibly and brutally removed. That ended the Maduru Oya Sinhala settlement project. The Tamil settlements continued undisturbed. (Continued)
[1] Bandu de Silva. Sunday Island. 17.7.2011 p 15 .
[2] Lorna Wright. The A9 road. Sunday Island . 19.11.06 p 17.
Colombo, November 10 (newsin.asia): It all started on Friday, September 6, 1946 at 5.00 p.m in ‘Palm Court’, Albert Crescent, Colombo. A Tamil member of the State Council, S. Natesan, proposed that a new political party be formed and that it be named United National Party (UNP). A Muslim member of the State Council, T. B. Jayah, seconded the proposal, thus laying the foundation of a party which manifestly stood for national integration.
United” – that’s what the UNP used to be in its heyday, when it was the ruling party from 1947 to 1956; from 1965 to 1970; from 1977 to 1994; from 2001 to 2004 and finally, from 2015 to 2020. In total, the UNP had governed Sri Lanka for 36 out of the 72 years since independence in 1948. The Party had control of the Executive Presidency (EP) for 16 years from EP’s institution in 1978 to 1994.
What made the UNP such a powerful and durable party? The answer lay in its having sound leadership and people-centric policies. From the time of Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake up to President Ranasinghe Premadasa, apart from representing the business community, the UNP’s leadership had adopted people-oriented policies on agriculture, power-generation and infrastructure development. It opened up the economy, thereby putting an end to excruciating and artificial shortages of articles of common use. It launched the Swarnabhoomi” land grants program, and the Mahapola” educational scheme. It set up two universities (the Ruhuna and Eastern). It fulfilled the Million Houses Program, launched the Gam Udawa” Janasaviya”, and the 200 garments factories” program. It also decentralized the administration, which appealed to the masses, especially at the grassroots level.
Getting on to the Ranil Wickremesinghe era, from 1994 –2001, the UNP was in the opposition. Wickremesinghe was a relatively young politician with pro-West views and a penchant for neo-liberal economic policies. But what he sorely lacked was the common touch and an understanding of the needs of the hoi polloi. However, he had a rare political skill which enabled him to keep the UNP under his thumb even in adversity. He remains the leader of the UNP even when it has been reduced to a rump, as indeed it is now.
By 2001 Sri Lanka was facing the worst economic downturn since independence, brought about both by the badly going war against the LTTE and gross governmental mismanagement. The GDP had shrunk by 2.5% and the growth rate was negative. Not surprisingly, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP)-led government fell in 2001 because of the defection of disgruntled people from its ranks. In the ensuing elections the UNP-led coalition won and Wickremesinghe became Prime Minister. The UNP fought on a platform of peace with the LTTE so that economic development could be pursued, a cause which had the peoples’ support.
Wickremasinghe became the Prime Minister for the second time (the first time being in 1993-94) and began a ‘cohabitation’ arrangement with President Kumaratunga who belonged to the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). Two months into his Premiership, Wickremesinghe signed a controversial ceasefire agreement with the LTTE. The agreement was followed by intense peace negotiations to find a solution to the ethnic conflict. But President Chandrika Kumaratunga believed that there had been a sell out to the LTTE which resulted in her taking over some key ministries which in a way crippled the Wickremesinghe government. But more on that later.
With ceasefire in place, the UNP-led government maintained strict fiscal discipline and market-friendly policies, which led to a resurgence in the economy, large-scale investments, and rapid economic growth. The government created key economic institutions such as the Board of Investment, the Ministry of Small and Rural enterprise and the Information Communication Technology Agency. Economic growth continued to accelerate, reaching almost 6% at the end of 2003, while inflation was at less than 2%, an all-time low. Many local and foreign experts believed that Sri Lanka was poised to reach double-digit economic growth within a few years.
So, what went wrong for the UNP? Although peace reigned and the economy grew, the ceasefire agreement with the LTTE was not popular and more importantly did not have the support of President Kumaratunga who, took over some key ministries to cripple the UNP government. Given the nationalistic wave Kumaratunga created along with her alliance with the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), her United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) won the 2004 elections, throwing the UNP again into the limbo.
In the Presidential election of 2005, the UPFA’s new candidate, the then Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, beat Wickremesinghe, though the latter performed reasonably well by bagging 48.43% of the vote. However, it is widely believed that if not for the boycott of the polls in the North and parts of the East, due to LTTE’s intimidation, Wickramesinghe would have won. Nevertheless, it must be acknowledged, that Wickremesinghe had lost much support among the Sinhalese majority because of his dalliance with the dreaded LTTE.
The second reason for his downfall was his penchant for supporting friends even when these friendships were costing him public support. In 2001, a friend, Arjuna Mahendran, was appointed Chairman and Director-General of the Board of Investment, where his conduct was reportedly controversial. He was to come back as Central Bank Governor in 2015 only to indulge in the US$ 11 million bonds scam.
After winning the 30-year-old war against LTTE in 2009, President Rajapaksa called for an early Presidential Election in 2010. The UNP and JVP backed Gen (Rtd).Sarath Fonseka. This was the first time UNP had backed a non-UNP member for President. Though Fonseka was a formidable challenger as a war hero, Rajapaksa won with 57.88% of the popular vote. In April, Rajapaksa called for parliamentary elections which the UPFA won, bagging 144 seats while UNP-led United National Front (UNF) bagged only 60. Rajapaksa was still seen as the war winner and his charisma was infectious.
Puffed up with pride, President Rajapaksa, called for an early election in 2015 to seek a third term, not knowing that his corruption and misrule had dented his image greatly. The UNP and several other parties backed the rebellious SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena. Sirisena emerged victorious with 51.28% of the popular vote, in an election which saw a record turnout of 81.52%. Immediately after Sirisena was sworn in, Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Prime Minister for the third time in his political career.
Being Sirisena’s main prop, the UNP took 70% of the ministerial posts. Wickremesinghe felt free to pamper his buddies and cohorts with plum positions in the cabinet and other semi-government organizations. Charitha Ratwatte’s brother Suren Ratwatte was appointed CEO of Sri Lankan Airlines. Towards the end of Ratwatte’s 6 months’ probation, when the Board failed to unanimously agree to confirm him, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe pushed for his confirmation. The same year, Wickremesinghe’s other buddy, Malik Samarawickrama, was appointed to Parliament on the National List. Later he became the Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade and Chairman of the UNP.
In 2015, Arjuna Mahendran was appointed the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka without the consent of President Maithripala Sirisena. And as pointed out earlier, during Mahendran’s tenure, a financial laundering scam took place in the CBSL which caused an estimated loss of more than US$11 million to the nation.
On 20 August 2015, the major political parties UNP and Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) signed an MOU to form a National Government for at least two years to resolve serious issues in the island. On 3 September 2015, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe presented a motion to exceed the limit imposed on the number of cabinet and non-cabinet ministers. According to the 19 th.Amendment, the cabinet cannot exceed 30 ministers. But in the event of the formation of a National Government, the number could go up. Parliament approved the increase of Cabinet Ministers to 48 and non-cabinet ministers to 45.
On 9 September 2015, President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe formed a National Government with a total of 46 Cabinet Ministers, 19 State Ministers and 22 Deputy Ministers.This was the first time in Sri Lanka’s post-independence history that two major parties had formed a National Unity Government.
However, partly because of personality differences between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe and partly due to the contradictory provisions of the 19 th.Amendment, the government became dysfunctional. This state was on public display when, despite the availability of accurate intelligence from India, the government could not prevent the multiple bombings carried out by Islamic terrorists on Easter Sunday in 2019.
Prior to that, in 2018, the UNP had suffered a crushing defeat in the 2018 local bodies’ elections. It was able to secure only 34 councils out of 340, while Mahinda Rajapaksa’s proxy the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) won 231 councils. The SLPP got 44.65% and the UNP 32.63% of the votes.
Because of its failure to address the concerns of the people and its failure to win elections, the party was in turmoil with many calling for Wickremesinghe’s ouster. Eventually, Wickremesinghe was forced to give up his ambition of standing for the Presidential election again. He agreed to support Sajith Premadasa, the party’s Deputy Leader. But the SLPP’s Gotabaya Rajapaksa won the election with 52.25% of the votes and Sajith got 41.99%.
The defeat led to a formal split in the UNP with the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) emerging as a separate outfit under Sajith Premadasa. The UNP and the SJB fought the August 2020 parliamentary elections separately. The split was one of the factors which helped the SLPP win 150 seats out of 225. The SJB got 54 and the UNP none.
The UNP had suffered its worst-ever defeat in its history, receiving only 249,435 votes, which was 2.15% of the valid votes cast. For the first time in its history, it had failed to win a single seat in parliament. It got a National List seat though thanks to the Proportional Representation System. Clearly, Wickremesinghe had made a grievous mistake by not giving the leadership to Sajith and cooperating with him at the appropriate time.
So what ailed the UNP? Leave alone disunity at national level, the party old guard did not want to give way to the young. The leadership was more intent on helping and safeguarding its friends and political cohorts’ interests than in meeting the needs of the people and the party cadres.
I am in no doubt that the founder members of the Grand Old Party must be turning in their graves. It is amazing that even with the party in ruins, Wickremesinghe is refusing to vacate the leadership. The fact that the few leaders still left in the UNP have not been unable to oust him and elect a new leader shows that disunity still plagues the party. A party which was led by stalwarts like D.S. Senanayake, Dudley Senanayake and R.Premadasa is now nothing but a coterie of Lilliputians.
However, the UNP, as an ideology, cannot be written off as its voter base is not inconsiderable. In the 2018 local bodies’ elections, it got 32.63% while the SLPP got 44.65%. In the November 2019 Presidential election, it got 41.99%. And in the August 2020 parliamentary elections, the SJB, which is but an offshoot of the UNP, got nearly 24%. Therefore, what the UNP got was a drubbing and not annihilation. If the UNP/SJB’s constituency is consolidated by the emergence of a suitable mass leader, it can be revived.
Though divided Between Sajith Preadasa and Ranil Wickremesinghe, the UNP’s voter base is still intact. If a strong leader emerges from its ranks, the Grand Old Party might become a national force again. The recent Presidential election showed that Sajith Premadas of the SJB and Ranil Wickremesinghe had together got 49.8% of the votes as against 42.3% by Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Therefore, if the original UNP was united, its candidate might be the President today, and not Dissanayake!
Chanu Nimesha, 49, a member of the Socialist Party of Sri Lanka, is contesting from the Kegalle constituency and is focusing her campaign on social justice issues.
Transgender people, about one per cent of the country’s population, face social rejection and lack political representation which Ms Nimesha, 49, is seeking to change.
I’m not concerned about winning or losing,” she said in an interview with Reuters. But it’s important for me to be present in this space, to be seen, to inspire others like me. I want to help everyone, not just my community.”
Ms Nimesha is one of about 8,000 candidates in Thursday’s parliamentary election.
The crisis, caused by high debt, economic mismanagement and lost tourism revenue due to the Covid pandemic, triggered street protests that felled former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2022.
In part with the help of a $2.9bn IMF bailout, the country has begun a slow recovery, though poverty still affects a quarter of the population.
Ms Nimesha claims to have participated in the protests that forced Mr Rajapaksa to resign as the president and flee the country.
To support her activism and campaign, Ms Nimesha works as a quantity surveyor at a nearby construction site. She is an amateur actress, composes music and has written a book scheduled for release in the coming two months.
Chanu Nimesha carries pamphlets while campaigning in Warakapola, Sri Lanka, on 8 November 2024 (Reuters)
Mr Dissanayake dissolved the parliament on 24 September and called an early general election, seeking broader support for his reformist agenda as his party held only three seats in the outgoing legislature.
Nearly 17.1 million Sri Lankans are registered to vote to elect 225 parliamentarians, 196 directly and 29 through a proportional representation system.
The results are expected by Friday. The new parliament will convene on 21 November, when Mr Dissanayake is slated to present his policy agenda.
Ms Nimesha says people need to see the humanity in each other and accept each other” to build a society where we all belong”.
Born in Galle in southern Sri Lanka, she lost her father to political violence when she was 14. It marked a turning point in her life, she says, eventually leading her to relocate to Colombo in search of new beginnings and opportunities.
As she embraced her identity and pursued a path as an activist, her relationship with her conservative family grew strained. I understand their decision to cut ties with me. This is why I’m so passionate about the need for inclusiveness,” she told Reuters.
Nelson Samarasinghe, fellow candidate from the Socialist Party of Sri Lanka, told EFE news agency: No one has given a chance to a transgender candidate before. We are happy that Nimesha has joined us.”
Ms Nimesha describes her candidature as a historical change”.
The first step is always difficult, and it is easy to continue that journey,” she says. She hopes that more people from the LGBTQ+ community will contest in future elections.
The government has announced a new initiative to issue copies of birth, marriage, and death certificates to Sri Lankans living abroad through Sri Lankan embassies, aimed at providing greater convenience to the expatriate community.
The program will be launched as a pilot project across seven selected foreign missions, including the embassies in Kuwait, Japan, and Qatar, and the consulates in Melbourne (Australia), Toronto (Canada), Milan (Italy), and Dubai (UAE), according to the President’s Media Division (PMD).
In Sri Lanka, efforts are underway to enhance the e-BMD (electronic Birth, Marriage, and Death) database system, which is jointly managed by the Registrar General’s Department and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This will allow birth, marriage, and death certificates to be issued through foreign embassies, following a model already in place for obtaining certificates at Divisional Secretariat offices across Sri Lanka.
In the initial phase, only the approximately 45 million birth, marriage, and death certificates that have already been scanned and stored in the e-BMD system will be issued, the PMD added.
These will include records for births, marriages, and deaths that have been registered since January 1, 1960. While the majority of these records will be available, there may be occasional delays in updating certificates that have been revised after their initial entry into the database.
“• ‘Garvin Karunaratne writes again today. I have read his Dahanayaka & red-onion affair several times in the Island. His telephone handling at the Marketing Department’s Tripoli HQ resembles Mountbatten’s war operations room.’”
We did use phones in a remarkable way to move veg and fruit from far away to Colombo.
It was always a hive of activity from the time I parked my Hillman Minx at eight or nine and walked in. The attempt was to see that all the produce available at the Producer fairs were purchased at a higher price. The telephones rang again and again and our lorries did move fast to bring the produce. We got so many oranges at Tripoli that we even built a makeshift grader to grade them by size.
In the outstations we had to be in the good books of the Government Agent, so that we could walk in to his office and use his special phone to get to Tripoli. He too had a few phones and one phone was special as we could dial Tripoli Market to get approval to purchase everything the producers brought to the Fairs.
Economic theory that we learned from books tell that a number of traders would compete and offer higher prices. But I had known that this never happens at the Fairs. The traders are in a group and offer low prices. As dusk sets in the producers are at their mercy as they must sell. It was the Marketing Department that did give good prices and I hope to see a Marketing Department being formed soon after the election.
It is sad that we being blessed with rain and shine cannot produce all our food. Once we did produce all the rice we needed- that was in 1956-1970, when we gave a ration of rice free to everyone. I have never heard of that being done in any other country . Mind you the MD Cannery did make Sri Lanka self sufficient in all fruit products within three years 1956 to 1958, We even exported pine apple rings and pieces- eight percent of what we made went abroad earning dollars. Tomatoe Juice was the drink that Professor Sarathchandra liked most.
Once in Matara I set up a Crayon Factory. It took three months of nocturnal experiments locked up in the science lab at Rahula College Matara for my Planning Officer to find the recipe to make crayons. Then I summoned Sumanapala Dahanayake the Member of parliament for Deniya who happened to be the President of the Moraka Cooperatives to set it up with the cooperative funds he held, I had no authority to use coop funds for that but I did authorize. Sumane purchased all the ingredients, pot and pans and burners in a day, twenty youths were found in the next day and we- myself and Vetus Fernando my Plnning Officer moved in with some six officers and working pell mell for two weeks on a 24 hour basis we trained the youths and filled two large rooms with Crayons. We showed the crayons to Minister Subasinghe and he came down to open sales the very next day and lo we did sell Coop Crayon islandwide all done at the end of the third week. In about the fifth week we approached the Controller of Imports Harry Guneratne as we got wind that he was about to authorize imports of crayons. We did convince him that he should give our Crayon Factory a small allocation of forex to import dyes. He wanted the Ministers approval. Sumane and I went to meet Minister Illangaratne who not only approved a cross allocation, never done earlier but also happily shouted to the Import Controller to ban the import of |Crayons.
Over to our new President . Dear Excellency we did work fast once and allayed poverty. I am certain that you can do it better. I was only a GA. Excellency you are the President of Sri Lanka. You can do it.
The electorate is fractionalized as never before. SJB shares a disproportionately large chunk of the Muslim vote. It is so large comparatively that a large portion of SJB’s elected MPs will be Muslims. It is also supported by strong Muslim support for the SJB at the presidential election where Sajith won all Muslim majority electorates in both 2019 and 2024.
SJB voters may be disappointed as their choice may not be elected to parliament due to this reality. Their votes will only boost the total SJB vote helping those who vote as a bloc to their community candidates but will be insufficient to send most of their very own choices to parliament.
This development will have significant implications in both Sri Lankan politics and policy. The ruling party is not likely to have many elected MPs from minority communities which will drive them to appease minorities with the false hope of winning their vote the next time. While it is a self-defeating and suicidal political strategy, it will guide Sri Lanka’s political outlook for the next few years.
However, the nation must carefully avoid local and international pitfalls this situation presents. The government must not be directed by the main Opposition. It has been voted into power to deliver certain national priorities, not sectarian ones. Relations with India, USA and Israel must follow what benefits Sri Lanka, not an individual community.
The SJB must also ensure that it’s party values and policies are not overly aligned to one community but remain focused on national issues instead. Otherwise, it will be taken over by one section at the expense of others.
On the other hand, this fractionalization of the SJB allows the other national parties – SLPP, UNP (contesting under a new name), Sarvajana Balaya and another party led by a former MP – to gain seats at the expense of the SJB. All these other parties can produce only Sinhala MPs as they have no minority support today. This also makes it difficult to take a joint stand on issues in parliament. The large Muslim contingent within the SJB will be willing to work with the ruling party than others in the Opposition. It will be the task of the SJB leadership to keep all that under control.
Pathfinder Foundation hosted its fifth Dialogue with Diplomats, focused on “The Great Power Competition in the Indo-Pacific and its impact on Small States in South Asia, with a special reference to Sri Lanka” held Cinnamon Grand Colombo recently. The Dialogue provided a platform for Colombo-based diplomats and subject experts to explore the complex geopolitical dynamics of the Indo-Pacific region and their implications for small states such as Sri Lanka. The event attracted diverse participation from the diplomatic community and local experts and generated a rich debate, exchanging constructive ideas and perspectives.
The panel of speakers included key figures with expertise in Sri Lanka’s strategic issues and foreign policy. The presentations focused on the growing rivalry between major powers, and its impact on regional security and maritime stability while reflecting on challenges faced by the new administration in Sri Lanka following the General Election later this month. Lead Presenter, Dr. Harinda Vidanage, Director of the Centre for Strategic Assessment at the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, presented the latest insights on evolving power struggles in the Indo-Pacific. Ambassador (Retd.) H.M.G.S. Palihakkara, former Foreign Secretary of Sri Lanka, provided valuable perspectives on the country’s foreign policy strategies in navigating the delicate balance between competing powers. Commodore Rohan Joseph, Commandant of the Naval & Maritime Academy of Sri Lanka, elaborated on maritime challenges facing small island nations in the Indian Ocean, including the rise of non-traditional security threats.
A key policy imperative discussed at length was the need for Sri Lanka, as a small state, to strike a delicate balance in its relations with major global powers while maintaining its sovereignty and independence. The panel highlighted Sri Lanka’s historical non-alignment stance and discussed how the country is recalibrating its foreign policy to address evolving Indo-Pacific dynamics. The need for a flexible and pragmatic approach to diplomacy was stressed, ensuring Sri Lanka’s strategic autonomy amidst increasing pressure from competing superpowers. The fact that the ‘rules-based’ has become a doctrine grounded on rivalry and containment rather than rules-based cooperation was flagged as a concern. Furthermore, it was emphasized that the country should have greater freedom in making domestic policy decisions as long as such decisions do not threaten countries in the neighbourhood.
Focusing on Sri Lanka, an important point highlighted was linking government institutions, think tanks, and academia to the decision-making process and encouraging a think tank culture. Furthermore, it was stressed that rather than a policy on non-alignment, small states could adopt a policy of ‘right alignment’, which would empower them whilst ensuring autonomy.
The event was moderated by Bernard Goonetilleke, Chairman of Pathfinder Foundation. The interactive Q&A session allowed diplomats and experts to share their views on how Sri Lanka can safeguard its sovereignty while engaging constructively with regional powers. The Dialogue underscored the importance of strategic autonomy for Sri Lanka, highlighting the need for a nuanced approach to foreign relations that prioritizes national security and regional stability.
In his concluding remarks, Dr. Dayaratna Silva, Executive Director of Pathfinder Foundation, emphasized the Foundation’s commitment to fostering discussions on critical geopolitical issues impacting Sri Lanka and the Indian Ocean Region. The event was a success, with participants expressing appreciation for the insights shared and the depth of the discussions.
pictures
1. The event was moderated by Bernard Goonetilleke, Chairman of Pathfinder Foundation, Dr. Harinda Vidanage, Director of the Centre for Strategic Assessment at the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Ambassador (Retd.) H.M.G.S. Palihakkara, former Foreign Secretary of Sri Lanka also in the Picture
2. Lead Presenter, Dr. Harinda Vidanage, Director of the Centre for Strategic Assessment at the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, presented his views. Commodore Rohan Joseph, Commandant of the Naval & Maritime Academy of Sri Lanka, Bernard Goonetilleke, Chairman of Pathfinder Foundation, Ambassador (Retd.) H.M.G.S. Palihakkara, former Foreign Secretary of Sri Lanka also in the Picture
3. Commodore Rohan Joseph, Commandant of the Naval & Maritime Academy of Sri Lanka, presented his views. Dr. Harinda Vidanage, Director of the Centre for Strategic Assessment at the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Bernard Goonetilleke, Chairman of Pathfinder Foundation, Ambassador (Retd.) H.M.G.S. Palihakkara, former Foreign Secretary of Sri Lanka and Dr. Dayaratna Silva, Executive Director of Pathfinder Foundation also in the Picture
4. Participants of the Pathfinder Foundation hosted its fifth Dialogue with Diplomats
Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) leader Sajith Premadasa has called on the government to retract the gazette notification on the Thriposha Company if it does not intend to liquidate it, instead of issuing conflicting statements.
Premadasa made these remarks while addressing the Ratnapura District People’s Rally organized by the SJB in Balangoda, ahead of the upcoming general election. The rally was held under his patronage, drawing attention to his stance on safeguarding the future of the Thriposha Company amidst concerns over its potential liquidation.
Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe has called on the current government, led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, to put forward its economic policy, emphasizing the need for a solution to the ongoing economic crisis. Wickremesinghe made these remarks at a public meeting organized by the New Democratic Front in Maradana for the upcoming general election.
Addressing the crowd, Wickremesinghe criticized the government’s lack of experience, holding up an “L-board” and describing the administration as an “L-board government,” implying it is akin to a novice driver’s designation. He remarked that inexperience at all levels of leadership has contributed to the nation’s growing economic challenges, making them increasingly difficult to resolve.
Pivithuru Hela Urumaya leader Udaya Gammanpila has accused the current government of attempting to politicize the school system similarly to its alleged politicization of university education. Gammanpila made these comments during a press conference held in Colombo today (11).
He cited an example from a recent Advanced Level Second Semester Examination at a school in the Kalutara district, where he claimed the first five questions in the general public test paper were related to the National People’s Power, suggesting a political bias in the education system.
