Understanding The Causes Of The Sinhala-Muslim Conflict In Sri Lanka

By Tilak Samaranayaka -May 5, 2013 

Tilak Samaranayaka

There have been several articles in the print media and in a few internet sites expressing views about the on-going conflict between the Sinhalese Buddhist organizations and Muslims over a number of issues, including the issue of Halal certification of consumer products. Most views expressed on this issue were sympathetic towards Muslims and, importantly, a number of these articles were from Sinhala writers. Using Dammaphada, Buddhist principles, and the Buddhist way of life, they have emphasized the need for a tolerant approach to this issue. At the same time, some have strongly criticized Buddhist monks and Buddhist organizations such as Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) for carrying out protests against the growing influence of Muslims within the Sinhala community and its culture and religion. The BBS in particular is being accused of creating disharmony by promoting extreme views and hate campaigns against Muslims.

The articles that were very critical about the actions of the BBS attracted abusive and very derogatory comments from some readers, including those with Sinhala names. Most of these comments were in response to articles that appeared on some news sites that very heavily defended Muslims and their rights, while discrediting BBS and other Buddhist organizations for their role in the conflict. Among the Sinhala writers supporting Muslims on this issue, the focus is primarily on the need to follow a Buddhist way of life as described by Dhammapada and other writings on Buddhism and Buddhist philosophy.

The argument that we should follow Buddhist principles and live accordingly has no relevance when there are two sides to a problem. In fact, we are dealing with real people and real issues, and these issues involve two cultures, two religions, two languages, and two different life styles. Religion, cultural practices, and social values of Muslims are poles apart when compared with the Sinhalese.  It is an absurd assumption to accept that by living according to Buddhist principles, these problems can be automatically solved. It is very unfair to suggest that only the Sinhalese should sacrifice their rights and values and provide a solution to this problem. Since the Sinhalese are beginning to take action to protect their culture, religion, and fundamental rights, they are branded as ‘extremists’.

In any event, it may be possible to advocate a more tolerant approach acceptable to both sides. If we are to solve this issue amicably, we must all understand the root cause of the conflict, and then deal with them in a way that the solution will not adversely affect one party more than the other.  Since we have been informed in detail about the Muslims concerns, my objective is to highlight some of the long-standing issues and concerns of the Sinhala community so that it is possible to look at both sides of the problem more objectively.

Muslims live everywhere in the country. In some regions, there are more Muslims than the Sinhalese. They not only live with the Sinhalese, but also carry out most of their economic activities with the Sinhalese and supported by them. Furthermore, they practice their religion the way they want despite the inconvenience caused by their religious practices to others living in the area.  Evidence that the Sinhalese are a tolerant community is that they allow Muslims in their neighbourhoods, contribute to their economic base, and allow their religion to practice. This does not mean, however, that there is no limit to their tolerance. Can the Muslims be considered a tolerant community, if they are placed in the same context?

Muslims are a community living within a community. They never participate in any social or community activity. Their participation in any sport in the country is practically non-existent. There are no cultural or religious links between the Sinhalese and the Muslims.  Although Muslims live with the majority Sinhala population –practically everywhere in the country—most  Muslims cannot even speak the language of the majority in the country. It is even difficult to know how many are familiar with the national anthem of the country.

The growth and distribution of the population is one of the key issues that often come up when talking about Muslims. The belief that Muslims are reproducing much faster than that of the other communities is common among the Sinhalese. This is one of the key issues of this conflict.

According to the preliminary reports available from the 2011 Census of Population, Sri Lanka recorded a total population of 20.3 million in 2011. Out of this total, the Sinhalese accounted for 15.2 million, Sri Lankan Tamils 2.3 million, and Muslims 1.9 million. As a percentage, the three ethnic groups accounted for 74.9%, 10.8%, and 9.2% respectively.

The increase in population between 1981 and 2011 has been 7.1 million. Of this, the Sinhalese accounted for 4.3 million while Muslims accounted for 1.0 million. However, the difference in the average growth rates of the two groups clearly highlights one of the major causes for perceived threats by the Sinhalese from the expanding Muslim population. During the thirty-year period from 1981 to 2011, the average growth rate of the Sinhalese has been 0.94% compared with 1.8% growth rate of Muslims. Over the next 25 years, the Muslim population is likely to reach over 5 million, more than double the 2011 population, with the Sinhalese population increasing to about 19 million. With a projected total population of about 27 million by 2040, the share of the Muslim population will increase to over 18% while the share of the Sinhalese will decline to 70%.

The rapid increase in population in one community compared with other communities creates not only an imbalance in the composition of population, but also a significant misallocation of resources. To meet this future Muslim population growth, scarce resources will need to be allocated for food production, health services, housing, education, and various other social services. In addition, the increase in population will also need more land to build schools, to expand infrastructure facilities for trading and other activities, and to put up more mosques. The latter need arises because the increasing population and mosques always go together. In a country where scarcity of land is a critical issue, the demand for additional land that results from excessive growth of population among the Muslims will make the issue even more critical.

In absolute terms, a zero growth of population does not add to the existing population, but as the growth rate increases, the population will also increase by an increasing rate. This can be seen clearly from the difference in growth of population of the two communities.

Sri Lanka is one of the countries in the world with a relatively high population. Its current population density is 323 per square kilometre and, in terms of average population density, Sri Lanka ranks twenty-third position in descending order in the world, which consists of 192 countries. This means that only 22 countries in the world that have a population density greater than Sri Lanka.

The rapid increase in population also increases the base population as well as the female population in the child-bearing age group. All these factors will contribute to a further widening in the gap in the composition of Sinhala and Muslim population. This can be clearly seen from the sharp increase in the ratio of Muslims to Sinhalese over the years. In 1981, for example, there were 7.8 Muslims per 100 Sinhalese and, in 2011, this number has jumped to 12.3 per 100 Sinhalese. At the current growth rate, the number of Muslims per 100 Sinhalese is projected to double to 26.3 persons by 2040. It was during the 1981 and 2011 period that the population increase among Muslims became quite visible because of the sharp decline in population growth of the Sinhalese.

Another issue that comes up frequently from the Buddhists is the conversion of Sinhala Buddhists into Islam. The Census and Statistics data also give ample evidence to support this belief. In 2011, for example, there were 101,319 non-Muslims practicing Islam in the country. This number in 1981 was 65,755. Accordingly, another 35,000 non-Muslims have become followers of Islam since1981. This can only happen from conversion of non- Muslims into Islam, and it is quite possible that  almost the entire number of non-Muslim followers of Islam could be Sinhalese. This practice started with the first settlements of Muslims in the Eastern Province where there are still Muslims with traditional Sinhala names. Although so many Sinhalese have been converted into Islam, it is difficult to find the reverse with Muslims converting to Buddhism over the last three hundred years of Muslim settlements in Sri Lanka.

The Sinhalese are also living with two other communities in the country: Sri Lanka Tamils and Indian Tamils. Although an emerging conflict between the Sinhalese and the Sri Lankan Tamils was evident since the 1950s, which later became a bloody conflict causing more than 70,000 deaths on both sides, its foundation was largely political. There is no animosity between an average Sinhalese and an average Tamil. The two communities share  long standing  social and cultural links, and have common cultural and social customs. The relationship between the Sinhalese and the Tamils soured during the 1983 July disturbance,  it is gradually improving since 2009.

Although an increase of 1.7 million has been recorded under Sri Lankan Tamils in the 2011 Census, it cannot be considered as a net gain because the coverage of the 1981 census was limited to few parts of the Northern Province due to the ethnic conflict that was emerging in the North at that time. Therefore, the 2011 census does not give a clear picture of the increase in the Sri Lankan Tamil population. It is, however, believed that the growth of population of the Sri Lankan Tamils is quite comparable with the Sinhalese. Although the size of the Indian Tamils was quite close to the size of the Muslim population in 1981, they added only 92,000 over the 30-year period compared with one million by the Muslims.

The ongoing conflicts throughout the world are either directly or indirectly related to Muslims whose ideologies are based on the rigid form of Islam. This is giving rise to ultra-national groups in some countries to strengthen their power base. In France for example, the last presidential election polled 20% to the Le Pen party, which campaigned on a platform against Muslim immigration. They are confident that within 10 years they will capture the power, which will allow the party to further their agenda of limiting immigration of Muslims into France.  The former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was the first Western leader to enforce a ban on burqas and niqabas (face veils) in France, but this decision was never challenged by any organization as a human rights violation. If, on the other hand, a country like Sri Lanka introduces a similar rule, there will certainly be a lot of criticisms and protests from the local Muslim community, branding it as a human rights violation. In Netherlands too, there is growing resentment to Muslim immigration in that country.

The wearing of burqas and niqabas is not a universal practice among Muslims. Even in traditional Muslim countries such as Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt, and Turkey, these practices are not compulsory and there are many women that wear normal dresses without burqas or niqabas. According to some Muslims, these are not the practices of Islam. Muslims must also understand the implications of these on themselves because wearing of these articles make them more conspicuous in a crowd, inviting undue attention from troublemakers.

The importance of religious tolerance in a country where there are followers of different religions is also an issue that needs serious consideration. Muslims appear to be pushing their boundaries beyond the limit and this may be because they expect other Muslim nations will influence the government of Sri Lanka for favourable outcome for the Muslims demands. Some are arguing that because Pakistan and some other Muslim countries supported the Sri Lankan government at the UNCHR resolution, these countries should advise the Sri Lankan government to ban Buddhists organizations that oppose certain Muslim practices.

It is a terrible mistake for another country to intervene in Sri Lanka’s domestic issues. Although there are many Muslim countries openly abuse some minorities, including Buddhists, the Sri Lankan government has not adopted the practice of intervention into the affairs of other countries. By considering their human rights records, it is difficult to find a single country that could take up this issue with the Sri Lankan government.

Every conflict is based on some issue and it is this issue, whether it is social, religious, personal, or communal, that eventually becomes the source of a particular conflict. A solution to any such conflict needs a correct understanding of the causes that lead  to the conflict, without thrashing one side of the conflict while sympathising with the other.  Unfortunately, almost 90% of the articles written by various writers on this subject are doing just that.

In this article, I have highlighted the main arguments of the other side of the conflict, and they are not based on extreme views, but on established facts. If this conflict is not changing its form and magnitude overtime, then it is possible to continue with the tolerant approach, as suggested by many writers on this issue, since it does not have any long-term implications. Unfortunately, it is a dynamic problem because it changes its composition, form and magnitude overtime with the changes of the factors that contribute to the conflict.

If both communities are determined to live together in harmony, it is important that Muslims also accommodate the values and the rights of the Sinhalese community. Ethnic conflicts often arise in countries when the boundaries that normally exist among different ethnic groups are pushed beyond the limit, and this is the key factor in the Sinhala-Muslim conflict in Sri Lanka as well. The Sinhalese feel that they have been pushed beyond the tolerant level by the activities of the Muslims. Unless the concerns of both parties are treated equally, with a view to finding a long-term solution, this conflict could be vastly different from its current form and dimension in a few years’ time.

 *Tilak Samaranayaka is an economist currently living in Australia

What the Muslim world believes, on everything from alcohol to honor killings, in 8 maps, 5 charts

Posted by Max Fisher on May 2, 2013 

A sweeping, 226-page report from the Pew Forum explores attitudes and opinions from Muslim communities around the world. In the process, it turns up some fascinating insights into not just the views held in the “Muslim world” but the wide diversity of those views between Muslim communities. Here, we explore some of those insights using maps and charts.

First, some caveats. The findings here do not represent all Muslims; just as they show diversity of opinion between communities, so, too, is there diversity within communities. After all, a poll of all American Christians would not capture the differences between Baptists and Catholics, much less between New Jersey Catholics and Louisiana Catholics. There is, in other words, no such thing as a monolithic Muslim worldview.

Also, Pew unfortunately did not survey the world’s third-largest Muslim population, which is that of India, and does not include Muslims from Iran, China or Saudi Arabia, much less those who now live in the Western world. But it does offer a wide, comprehensive view of many of the world’s largest Muslim communities and their opinions.

Now the data.

1. Most want to implement sharia, disagree about what that means

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Majorities of Muslims in wide swaths of the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa say they support making sharia the official law of their country. Support is highest in Afghanistan, where 99 percent of respondents support sharia, followed by the Palestinian territories, Malaysia, Niger and Pakistan.

Support is lowest in Central Asia and Europe, where only minorities support sharia. In Turkey, where an Islamist political party has been in power for several years and has implemented some Islam-influenced conservative legislation, only 12 percent say they support sharia.

Pew points out that “sharia law” is not exactly clear, and people who say they support it often disagree on what it means. There is a wide divergence of opinion among people who support sharia, for example, on whether or not corporal punishment for thievery is acceptable, or on social issues such as divorce. In other words, Muslim communities seem to favor the idea of sharia law far more than any specific laws.

2. Most Muslims prefer democracy

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Wide majorities of Muslims in most countries say they prefer democracy over a “strong leader,” which is Pew’s standard question for determining support for democracy. Support is particularly high in Africa and Southeast Asia. It’s more mixed in the Middle East, with opinion varying between countries but generally leaning pro-democracy. Support is weakest in post-Soviet countries, as well as in Pakistan.

What’s interesting here is that, in general and with some significant exceptions, people seem to get the kind of government they want. Demand for democracy is high in Egypt and Tunisia, where protesters led peaceful revolutions in 2011, but it’s lower in Jordan, a monarchy, and in countries with authoritarian-leaning governments such as Russia, Kazakhstan and Afghanistan.

If there is any causal truth to this trend — in other words, if people are more likely to get the kind of government they want — then Pakistan’s unusually high support for a “strong leader” does not bode well for its troubled democracy.

3. Few support suicide bombings, with exceptions

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Unsurprisingly, most Muslims say that suicide bombings in defense of Islam are never justified; majorities in every Muslim community surveyed reject the tactic. The only exception is the Palestinian Territories, where only 49 percent say they’re never justified.

There are many countries in which less than 10 percent of Muslims say suicide bombings can be defensible, particularly in Europe and Central Asia.

There are two countries where more than a third say suicide bombings are sometimes justified: the Palestinian Territories, at an alarmingly high 40 percent, and Afghanistan at 39 percent. Suicide bombings have not been common in Israel-Palestine since the Second Intifada, which ended almost a decade ago. But they are still common in Afghanistan.

I was surprised to see that there does not appear to be a clear, consistent correlation between countries where suicide bombings are prevalent and countries where Muslims condemn or accept them. Suicide bombings are far less likely to be supported in Pakistan than they are in Afghanistan, for example, though they occur in both. And the bombings are widely condemned in Iraq, where they’ve been causing havoc for years, but receive 29 percent support in Egypt, where they are very rare.

4. Most Muslims reject alcohol, often by wide margins

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I admit that I was surprised by this: Across dozens of surveyed countries, a majority of Muslims in every single one said that drinking alcohol is “morally wrong.” The percentage of Muslims who reject alcohol soars well into the 90s in several countries, including in hard-partying Thailand.

The numbers in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia are generally on par with those in the Middle East. Even in the post-Soviet world, which otherwise appears relatively liberal in Pew’s results, majorities condemn alcohol.

Of course, just because people believe something is morally wrong doesn’t mean they never do it. As I’ve written before, the alcohol trade is prosperous even in ultra-conservative and officially booze-free Iran.

5. Mixed views on honor killings 

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Pew asked asked survey respondents “whether honor killings are ever justified as punishment for pre- or extra-marital sex.” In the practice, a person is killed — often by his or her own family — for having sex out of wedlock. The victim is typically a woman.

Honor killings still happen, and the data reflect why: Majorities of Muslims surveyed rejected the practice in only 14 out of 23 countries. Support for honor killings appears to be highest in Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt and Jordan.

Survey respondents were generally more likely to support honor killings when the “offense” was committed by a woman rather than a man, although the margin is typically quite small. The difference was highest in Jordan, where Muslims are more than twice as likely to oppose an honor killing of a man than of a woman.

6. Wide support for Islamic political parties

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Most people surveyed tended to say that they prefer Islamic political parties to other parties, with exceptions in the post-Soviet world and, surprisingly, in Turkey.

Here’s how the map works: Pew asked people if they believe Islamic political parties are better than other parties, worse than other parties, or the same. In the blue countries, the respondents who called Islamic parties “better” outnumbered those who called them “worse.” In red countries, the “worse” answers outnumbered those who said Islamic parties are “better.” Purple countries found a tie or a marginal lead by Islamic parties.

Islamic political parties are least popular in the Palestinian territories — perhaps indicating a rejection of Hamas — as well as in Kazakhstan and Bosnia. They also found little support in Turkey, where an Islamist party has been in power for a decade, a hint of trouble for Turkish Islamist leaders.

Amazingly, after the two years of painful and sometimes violent political turmoil since Islamists took power in Egypt, Egyptians showed more support for Islamic political parties than in any other country surveyed. That’s good news for the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood’s hold on power.

7. Majorities in six countries support the death penalty for anyone who leaves Islam

A majority of Muslims in several countries say that any Muslim who leaves the faith should be executed, with the share who support this nearing two-thirds in Egypt and Pakistan. In Afghanistan, 78 percent say apostates should be killed.

As I wrote yesterday, the issue of apostasy is a complicated one with its roots in Islam’s unique foundational history. But the effect is a deeply chilling one for religious freedom, with atheists and converts often persecuted.

8. Religious conflict seen as a big problem in Pakistan, Nigeria, Tunisia

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In most countries surveyed, less than half of Muslim respondents said religious conflict was a very big problem in the country. But majorities do believe this in Tunisia, Pakistan, Nigeria and Niger.

Each of these cases is obviously quite different, and keep in mind that calling conflict a “very big problem” is relative and subjective. Perhaps Tunisians, whose country is actually quite peaceful, answered yes in such large numbers because they are more sensitive to the violence that has come to their country since the 2011 revolution.

Religious violence, sometimes involving attacks with dozens killed, is indeed a big problem in Nigeria and Pakistan. In the latter, Shiite Muslims are most often targeted. The former has struggled with Muslim-Christian violence for years.

But the good news is that most do not see religious conflict as a very big problem in their countries, particularly in post-Soviet states.

9. Most see Islam as compatible with modern society

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Earlier Islamist movements have argued that Muslim communities should return to conservative, traditional practices because their faith is somehow incompatible with modern society. But, with a small handful of notable exceptions, this view does not appear to have taken hold; most Muslims say their religion is not in conflict with modern society.

The three countries where Muslims are more likely than not to see a conflict between their religion and modern society are Bangladesh, Chad and Kenya, all of which have indeed struggled to more fully integrate into the globalized world, although that struggle is not necessarily a function of Islam.

In a number of countries, though, Muslims are about as likely to answer yes to this question as no. Most of these are in Africa, although Pakistanis and Tunisians also appear to be struggling with questions of how to be at once Muslim and a member of the modern world.

Still, wide majorities in many countries say they see no such conflict, from the Middle East to Southeast Asia to Europe. And maybe this is the thing to keep in mind with the overall Pew survey and its findings.

Religion is in many ways subjective, and can be experienced differently within different cultural contexts. Attitudes about its place in the world are, often, self-actualizing: Muslims who see democracy or Islamist parties as preferable tend to put them into power. Muslim communities that accept honor killings tend to get them. And people who believe their faith is in conflict with the broader world are perhaps more likely to see that belief manifest. But that does not mean that Islam and the world are necessarily at odds, any more than it means that sharia must necessarily forbid, say, divorce. Opinions, after all, can and do change.

The BBS That My Mother Likes

By Darshanie Ratnawalli -May 5, 2013 |

Darshanie Ratnawalli

I am the legitimate issue of a woman who unabashedly claims to admire theBodu Bala Sena. This affords me a critical perspective into the issue, without which everyone is floundering like headless chickens. There may be other people, whose mothers etc. harbor soft spots for the BBS. But because they are not me, they would either try to keep these mothers in the closet or, in contradistinction, empathize with these soft spots; whereas I…Well you shall see.

My mother represents the Sri Lankan equivalent of Middle America and, as such, the demographic bloc that makes or breaks any movement dependent on mass support for its success. In Middle America (SL), one becomes a Buddhist by being a stakeholder of the Buddha Sāsana (deliberately called henceforth, the Buddhist Church of Lanka) and by emotionally aligning oneself with the age-old mission of fostering this Sāsana on this soil for the allocated five thousand years.  Once one has fulfilled this basic requirement adherence to Buddhism proper becomes peripheral and is largely left to personal discretion.

This is the context which empowers my mother to look pityingly at anyone who’d urge her to shift her alignment and allegiance from the Buddhist Church of Lanka, where the religion stands together with the State and the people forming the famous ‘Loka- Sāsana’ axis, to Buddhism (stand alone, nonaligned to any worldly axis). The pangs of allegiance towards the BBS felt by Middle America (SL) would be silenced only if and when voices genuinely identifying with the Buddhist Church and its Mission are raised against the BBS. Spokespersons for Buddhism not aligned with the Sāsana will not have the credibility and be dismissed as naive.

A very good example is Rev. Galkande Dhammananda, whose message of tolerance presented as two video clips on the web became an instant hit in certain circles, with monks of his ilk hailed as what this country needed in thousands. According to Prof. Sudarshan Senevitatna, ‘Rev. Dhammananda has been extremely concerned about the subversion of a doctrine of peace for destructive parochial ends and is committed to what he believes as re achievement of peace and understanding, a sentiment that comes from his heart’. Well and good. The only problem is Middle America (SL) will instantly spot the ‘missing ingredient’ in his message. The missing ingredient is the Sāsana. Why is there an implicit as well as an explicit absence of this entity in his message? Why does an overwhelming concern for the Church (the Sāsana) fail to find expression in his message? Perhaps the Rev.Dhammananda thinks that all Churches are parochial institutions that subvert peaceful doctrines. But the Sāsana is not a dirty secret nor is Middle America (SL) going to disown it no matter how many protégées of Sudarshan Seneviratne do it.

Supposing another erudite monk came forward and put forth a parallel message; A) frankly acknowledging the challenges encountered in the present day by the Sāsana, with its inbuilt drives for maintaining a certain brand identity for the country (These drives are by no means criminal or unique to this Church, nor is this brand identity non inclusive- being merely asymmetrically inclusive or differentially incorporative); B) emphasizing the need to find modern and non-regressive ways of countering these challenges, drawing on this particular Church’s rich heritage of tolerance compared to all the other Churches; C) stressing the critical need for Bhikkhus with the intelligence, education and the exposure to the wider world to be at the helm of these counter moves; D) admitting that the degenerate, debased and degrading nature of the BBS movement reflects the overall deterioration of the entire Sāsana; E) reiterating nevertheless that live seeds of resurgence still exist.

If such a message could be put forth on behalf of the Buddhist Church of Lanka, it will be heard. At the moment, with everyone mouthing platitudes about Buddhism, BBS stands tall as the sole champion of the Sāsana, heir to its legacy, executor of its mission and the focal point by default, of Middle America (SL)’s allegiance.

Another toxic ingredient is the absence of true redemptive intent in the current civil initiatives against the BBS. What The Hour demands of these initiatives are clinical, secular perspectives (in contrast to the wet schmaltz aspired to by the Candle People) that can spotlight and challenge all negative patterns in the fabric. Every Buddhist archeological site in the North and the East obliterated by a bulldozer, built upon or otherwise encroached into under the aegis of uncouth, unscrupulous and unethical Muslim and Tamil politicians, whose regional political clout earns them Government sanction, deserves a candle. We need to searchlight the literal excrement dumped into the Dighavapi site (the encroachment into this ancient archeological site also consisted of building toilet complexes on it[1] as well as the metaphorical excrement dumped by the BBS upon the Lankan social fabric. Every ancient landmark such as Matota(Manthai)[2] and Kuragala targeted by obliterative agendas should be co-candled with every Muslim enterprise threatened. The psychical darkness[3]that begets all brands and hues of intolerance should be switched off equally.

*The article is reproduced courtesy of The Nation and I am @ http://ratnawalli.blogspot.com/  and rathnawalli@gmail.com

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[1] This titbit was shared by Dr. Nimal Perera, Deputy Director General, Department of Archeology at a Royal Asiatic Society Sri Lanka lecture (24^th September, 2012) on ‘New discoveries from Deeghavapi and Nilagiri sites’.

[2] Matota (Maha-Thittha) is an ancient port in Lanka and archeological landmark, which is currently being effaced through the over enthusiastic building activities conducted on behalf of the Tiruketiswaram temple.

[3] Note the staggering degrees of ignorance (that can truly be called illiterate and uncouth without prejudice) that characterize the two opposing poles generating the present climate of tension. One pole exemplified by Face Book hate speech groups hold fast to the belief that underwear sold in Muslim owned clothing stores are lined with chemicals that can cause sterility. The other pole includes journalists such as Dharishna Bastiansand  Latheef Farook who recently wrote articles propagating the belief that the Sinhalese Brahmi rock inscriptions(which are typical of garden variety cave donations to the Monastic Buddhist Church of the 2^ndcentury BC Lanka, that are found all over the island except the northernmost extreme, where there are no caves.) of the now famous Kuragala are Arabic inscriptions. Farook actually went so as far to state that the only evidence that Kuragala was a Buddhist monastery of the 2^nd century BC is a board placed by the Archaeological Department in 1972. Compare this ‘native ignorance’ with the presentation by British Civil Servant, C.H.Collins in Journal R.A.S (Ceylon) Vol. XXXII, No 85 of 1932.

Govt. sells medical degree for Rs.7.5 million – Peradeniya rejects Students sent by UGC

FRIDAY, 03 MAY 2013 

Nine Sri Lankan students sent by University Grants Commission to the Faculty of Medicine of Peraduniya University yesterday (2nd) have been rejected.  The UGC had asked the University in writing to charge the students Rs.7.5 million at the rate of Rs.1.5 million (US$12,000) from each student annually.

With the arrival of the nine students at Peradeniya University students who have entered the University after passing the A/L examination have got disturbed and carried out a 'Sathyagraha' at University premises opposing the government's policy of selling the medical degree.

The University Senate decided to reject the students sent by the UGC only after the regular students carried out the 'Sathyagraha.'

The students who have had their education in foreign countries were asked to be admitted to Faculties of Medicine on a decision taken by the cabinet said a senior official of the UGC. Faculties of Medicine of Sri Jayawardenepura, Ruhuna, Kelaniya and Rajarata universities too have been asked to admit students who have had their medical education in foreign countries said the official.

He said the .5% ratio that existed to admit to Sri Lankan universities the Sri Lankan students in foreign countries has been raised to 5% at present.

TWO TEMPLES BROKEN INTO, STATUES AND CASH STOLEN

May 5, 2013 

Two metal statues of great historical significance have been stolen from the Anuradhapura Sama Viharaya. A statue of the Dedimunda deity and a Saraswati Devi Statue have been stolen, said the Chief Incumbent of the Vihara, Mahawilachchiye Wimala Thera.

The Thera said that he had returned to the temple last night, after attending a religious ceremony in Galle, when he notices that both statues were missing.

A complaint has been filed with the Anuradhapura Police regarding the theft while investigations are ongoing. 

Meanwhile it has been reported that thieves have broken into the Seenigama Temple in Hikkaduwa and stolen a gunny filled with cash, estimated at Rs 500,000. 

 Mitiyagoda and Elpitiya police stations are investigation the robbery which occurred last night when thieves had entered the room where money is stored by removing tiles from the roof and making a hole in the ceiling, police sources said.

Police suspect that the robbery was planned by persons who know about the room where the cash is stored and the temple in general.

It is also reported that the robbery had taken place just two months after a new caretaker was appointed for the temple, dedicated to the Devol Deviyo.

Mattala As A Metaphor For Sri Lanka’s Predicament

By Emil van der Poorten -May 5, 2013

Emil van der Poorten

The ongoing saga of the newest white elephant of the Rajapaksa Regimeshows no sign of ending.

The most recent scandal is about the monkeys being electrocuted by the high tension power lines serving the airport and the fact that, each time this happens, the power supply to the international airport is affected providing, as can easily be imagined, a significant safety hazard for planes coming into or leaving that facility.

Not so long ago, when the power lines serving our neck of the woods were installed, the electricity didn’t flow along the (un-insulated) cables for quite a while because the political-powers-that-be, while they weren’t waiting upon an astrologer’s prediction to throw the switch, had to try and milk some partisan political benefit from it by tying it in to an upcoming election.  In the interim, the monkeys in the neighbourhood discovered that, not only did this provide a highway for their peregrinations, it also lent itself to fun and frolic on “the high wire!”

Alas, the day did arrive when the power was turned on!  What ensued was random interruptions of electricity supply (fortunately during the daylight hours only), each time a macaque chose to commit (unwitting) suicide using what was meant to be our power supply!  Every occasion of such hara kiri was accompanied by a loud “pop” and the power going off until someone from the Ceylon Electricity Board arrived to turn the “breaker” back on.  Thankfully, this state of affairs has, to a large extent, abated as the monkeys wise up to their new existential reality!

I suppose that, sooner or later, the langurs of the Hambantota region will also recognize their new Rajapaksa-driven “fact of life.” They will then stop killing themselves and interrupting the supply of electricity to the newest addition to the list in the “Debacle of Asia.”

However, it is not this newsworthy tidbit that constitutes the entirety of the Mattala Airport being a metaphor for the political reality that we all have to suffer under.

To begin with, there was no economic imperative for the enormously expensive attempt at establishing an international airport in the most sparsely-populated part of Sri Lanka.  The possibility is that the facility, which was preceded by a harbor and cricket stadium among other initiatives in Sri Lanka’s arid zone, is that someone watched Kevin Costner in “Field of Dreams” once too often and took his statement that “If you build it they will come.”  An unswerving belief in this proclamation is the only logical explanation for the Rajapaksa “development” extravagances in southern Sri Lanka, the airport included.

The fact that the pursuit of a similar (paraphrased) “If you name an airline after the President, everyone will clamber on board,” has proved to be little but a recipe for a haemorraging of Sri Lanka’s economy has not deterred an arrogant and monumentally stupid Rajapaksa Sycophancy bent on doing anything to maintain their courtier status.  A cricket stadium that very nearly totaled the finances of Sri Lanka Cricket and a harbor that, despite all the cajoling and blackmail, continues to be “underutilized” obviously meant nothing to a Royal Family and its courtiers intent on helping the former indulge its every whim and fancy.

Mattala, every step of the way, has been nothing short of a disaster.

For starters, the reports of no environmental impact study being done prior to this massive construction being started, gave a clear indication of yet another display of arrogance that was simply “in your face” for anyone having environmental or other concerns about this multi-billion dollar project.

At the first hint, if “hint” is the word, of a serious avian hazard to aircraft in an area famous for an unequalled wealth of migratory bird life, the suggestions of a retired Director General of Wildlife appeared, indicating that the “solution” to the problem of “too many birds” in the vicinity of the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) was to remove what attracted them – water.  A very interesting suggestion coming from an ornithologist who, literally, re-named many of Sri Lanka’s birds in a field guide which has their English names (many of them his re-named ones), the Sinhalese ones (many of which I could not have confirmed by local – Sinhalese – villagers), and without the Tamil name for even one of the birds in his otherwise-encyclopaedic tome!  One cannot but connect some philosophical dots between the tenor of that omission – which not even ornithologists in the days of “Empire” were guilty of – and the current regime’s policies.  Talk about “Birds of a feather….!”

And if the firestorm subsides to some extent in the coming months, it will have a rather simple explanation – migratory birds arrive, in their hundreds of thousands at the end of the year and return to their northern hemisphere spring nesting grounds in the first quarter of the next year.  They arrive with the North East Monsoon and depart with the South West Monsoon.  This means the bird population in the Hambantota area will drop enormously in the next few months.

However, the problems with terrestrial fauna will continue year round because they don’t have the luxury of departing the Rajapaksa Paradise for northern climes but are stuck with the herd of white elephants in and around the Rajapaksa fiefdom which they happened to populate long before that family came into residence!

Electric fences might deter elephants and the larger ungulates, but it will, inevitably, force them to seek other pastures for survival.  Possibly, the cultivated lands of southern farmers don’t you think?  As for the proliferating pea-fowl population that has exploded over the last few decades, short of some sort of netting, you are not going to be able to keep them away from the grassy areas that, without exception, border airport runways, with the electric fences already being built.  And they do fly high enough to be a hazard to a landing aircraft, particularly when they are significantly larger than the gulls that have been sucked into jet engines with disastrous results!

Not to labour the point, all it will take is one accident to have Sri Lanka labeled with yet another “first” – the land where passenger aircraft with tourists on board have to compete with elephants, ducks, gulls and pea-fowl for landing rights – a new experience for sure but a debatable one in the matter of how much of a tourist attraction it will prove to be even if our spin-doctors can turn such occurrences into mythic tales of “dhandu-monara–yantharayas competing with jet aircraft for landing rights!”

What has happened in and around Hambantota epitomizes Sri Lanka’s status quo where stupidity is coupled with highway robbery and laced with a large dollop of sycophancy to present a concoction typical of what has now become typical of the land that was once the Pearl of the Orient; all to provide the Rajapaksa Sycophancy with an excuse to shout “Ehei Hamduruwaney” as they wend their way to a banquet bankrolled by the misappropriated wealth of a citizenry that sweated blood to create it.

It has already been suggested that the name of the place where the MRIA is located should be modified to read “Mutt-ala” because that first syllable provides a very apt description of the kind of people responsible for this unfolding tragedy.  For my part, I would suggest that particular attention be paid to the second syllable when that happens because it will enshrine the memory of the staff of life (water) being sacrificed on the altar of monumental arrogance and vanity.